Energy Shortages, Agricultural Trade Deficits, and the Fight for Limited Government

On December 18, 2024, Paula Sarlls, Steve Dorman, and Trent Loos joined the show. Discussed Fort Carson food quality improvements, the healing power of the Marine Memorial for veterans contemplating suicide, and the Buy a Brick matching program for the memorial remodel Previewed CUT’s 2025 legislative session preparations, explained how the organization rates 259 bills affecting taxes and property rights, and urged citizens to.

Honoring Veterans Through the USMC Memorial Foundation

Start listening at 18:21 – Hour 1

Paula Sarlls, Marine veteran, Gold Star wife, and President of the USMC Memorial Foundation, reports promising news about Fort Carson’s dining facilities following listener advocacy and media pressure. While initial reports suggested inadequate meals for soldiers, recent information indicates the main mess halls maintain adequate food supplies, with logistics challenges primarily affecting mobile food delivery to troops across the base.

Sarlls emphasizes the healing power of the Marine Memorial, recounting how at least three veterans contemplating suicide have found hope through visiting the memorial and connecting with fellow servicemembers. The foundation’s Buy a Brick program offers supporters an opportunity to honor military service, with matching donations available through year-end doubling every contribution toward the memorial’s planned remodel.

“I know personally of three suicides over the years that have been prevented. Just visiting the memorial and talking to me and coming back for the ceremony prevented him from committing suicide.”

Paula Sarlls, President, USMC Memorial Foundation

Colorado Union of Taxpayers Prepares for 2025 Legislative Battle

Start listening at 31:06 – Hour 1

Steve Dorman, Colorado Union of Taxpayers board member, warns that Colorado’s slide from a top-performing economy to the bottom ten in GDP growth stems directly from the erosion of TABOR protections and mounting regulatory burdens. CUT volunteers analyzed 792 bills proposed during the 2024 legislative session, taking formal positions on 259 that affected taxes, fees, and property rights.

Dorman highlights how the political landscape has shifted dramatically, noting that voting alone no longer suffices to protect taxpayer interests. He calls for citizens to move beyond passive voting and engage actively with organizations like CUT, which serves as the taxpayer’s unpaid lobbyist against the countless special interests employing professional advocates at the Capitol. The organization’s January 23rd legislative kickoff event at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association offers citizens direct interaction with legislators.

“In days gone by, the two political parties mostly wanted the same things. We wanted good education, prosperity, health, clean communities. Today, I don’t think the two parties even want the same things. We have one party who is borderline anarchist.”

Steve Dorman, Colorado Union of Taxpayers Board Member

America’s Growing Vulnerability in Energy and Food Production

Start listening at 70:17 – Hour 2

Trent Loos, sixth-generation farmer and rancher, delivers a sobering analysis of America’s precarious position in energy and food security. A Morgan Stanley research report projects a 32-gigawatt electricity shortage by 2028 as data centers and AI facilities demand exponentially more power while reliable coal and natural gas infrastructure faces systematic destruction. Each cryptocurrency transaction consumes 1,739 kilowatt hours, equivalent to two months of household electricity, yet China banned such facilities domestically while financing their construction in America.

The agricultural situation proves equally alarming. America now runs a $45 billion trade deficit in agricultural products, importing more food than it exports despite having the resources to feed the world. Tyson Foods announced closure of multiple processing plants including an 809-employee Kansas beef facility. Loos traces much of this vulnerability to compounding regulations, citing the 2003 BSE incident when temporary safety measures became permanent, adding $150 per head in processing costs that persist two decades later.

“We’re now approaching a $45 billion trade deficit in agricultural imports versus our exports. We’re importing $45 billion more agricultural products than we’re exporting. We are a resource nation. How can that be?”

Trent Loos, Sixth-Generation Rancher

Caller Ginny on Agenda 21 and Transmission Line Battles

Start listening at 103:11 – Hour 2

Caller Ginny, whose family has owned homestead land in southeast Colorado for over 100 years, connects the dots between Agenda 21, sustainable development mandates, and the ongoing fight against transmission line projects threatening rural property rights. She reports that Oklahoma has canceled its portion of a major transmission corridor, potentially signaling hope for Colorado landowners facing similar threats.

Ginny describes the difficult position of her 96-year-old aunt and brother fighting against neighboring ranchers who see transmission line payments as financial lifelines after decades of mounting costs have made traditional ranching unviable. Loos emphasizes that local resistance at the county level produced Oklahoma’s victory and could deliver the same result in Colorado.