You're listening to Civic Media.
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And I'm Brian Noonan.
Are we cold starting now?
There's no theme music
Seriously?
I don't start unless there's music.
Oh,
there was
music in my head.
Well,
your head is a scary spot.
auspicious start to the big show.
It's Friday.
Thankfully, we are here.
We have made it to a Friday.
Happy Deep Gra for those who celebrate.
If maybe we'll explain that later.
If not, look it up.
You're fine.
We got a lot to cover today.
We're going to be playing Factor Fiction with Ron Johnson's Telephone Town Hall.
We're going to be checking in with a grassroots organization in Minnesota because, you know, they're
It's all solved.
Everything's good.
The timing, a little curious.
So we'll get into that.
We've got a robot that may be recording your children.
There's a lot to get to.
So why not start?
And we are going to start, of course, America
It's been two weeks Jamie.
been two weeks.
We were promised that within two weeks the Funding question over the DHS part of the funding bill for next year would be settled that of course Surprise ladies and gentlemen not been settled another surprise Mike Johnson told everybody just go home.
Does this sound familiar?
Yes, it's a beautiful playbook now the Democrats will be played because
We are set toward another partial small Some would say insignificant government shutdown because there's been no deal reached on funding for DHS and The house has all gone home not for nine months like the Wisconsin
Legislature
Oh, yeah, they're fine here in Wisconsin, but again
Tonight is the night.
No, no more the two-week timetable the imaginary and always referenced two-week timetable right has come and gone
If you haven't been following along, because I know there's been a lot of headlines to follow along with.
But Democrats are demanding new limits on ICE operations following last month's fatal shootings by the agents in Minnesota.
And what they want is independent oversight and end to so-called roving patrols and a requirement that immigration warrants be signed by a judge.
Now, of course, the GOP and let's be
what they're asking is not out of line.
No, this
is not crazy demands.
No,
So Republicans, though, as you can imagine, are strongly opposing those changes, and they argue that it would cripple immigration enforcement.
Leaders say that the White House has already made concessions and are now accusing the Democrats of pushing the department towards the shutdown because it's always the Democrats' fault every
time.
Of course.
How about you stay and debate this till it's done?
Well, that would be one thing.
But come on, what is the hold up for Republicans about judicial warrants?
Could it be that if you have to have a judge sign it, you actually need proof?
You need proof to say that this person is who we say they are.
They have done what we say they did.
Here is the evidence that backs it up.
And I think most rational people...
Don't see a problem with that right because that happens in right any other criminal proceeding You need a judicial warrant the police can't come into your house just because they think you sound different or you know or they have some suspicion Well, if you have suspicion
You have to explain to the judge why, what's
your
probable cause, and then the judge will grant you a warrant.
That's how it is for everything else.
Why should grabbing people off the streets or bursting into their homes or businesses be any different?
What are you afraid of?
What are you trying to hide?
People can draw their own conclusions, but it doesn't it doesn't make any sense
It doesn't make any sense and what I think is really interesting about this is the Republicans right now is as far as public perception goes they're losing this issue
Right?
Immigration was a huge factor in Trump's 2024 reelection campaign, and it's usually been the Republican Party who's been really strong on this issue.
It was most of the reason why so many Americans decided to vote for this current administration in 2024.
If you look at recent polling, though, and I know you can only put so much stock into that, but even here in Wisconsin,
That advantage for the Republicans has been shrinking and a new survey actually finds that while Trump and most Republicans still back that tough immigration action Independent voters, which is key to both voting blocks, right?
They are increasingly uneasy and they believe that this approach is just far gone too far gone
once you murder two innocent people, right?
That kind of
Yes, it should it should anyway
it should change the tide but we don't know but it's like this one they're going to try to blow into big proportions but Jamie you and I both know yeah that this this partial shutdown is really not going to affect no day-to-day folks
much no if at all
Because again, two weeks, it's two weeks every single time, two weeks.
So this path forward is really uncertain and obviously there's no agreement right now.
And so midnight tonight, as you alluded to, will be the deadline.
But you're right, the question now becomes what happens to DHS without funding?
If you were all excited thinking, ooh, we pulled the ICE agents from the streets, Kristi Noem goes back to the dark, dark depths of her closet, which let's be real, she's already.
there because of the Alex Pretty.
You haven't seen her trotted out in front of cameras for a few weeks now.
That's not going to happen.
None of that's going to happen because even if the shutdown happens and there is nothing that comes about by midnight tonight, mostly a homeland security employees would continue to work because their roles are considered essential to public safety and national security.
Um, many wouldn't be paid until funding is restored.
Now, more than 90% of DHS is 272,000 employees actually stay on the job and more than 93% of immigration and customs.
enforcement and customs and border protection workers would also keep working.
Now, here's where it gets interesting.
Remember, we talked about the big, beautiful bill.
It was passed last summer.
Ice in particular has that extra cushion.
Do not forget that.
Last summer, they passed- Don't
cry for ice,
We'll try to find some scraps.
What do you think of all this?
If you want to get involved, 8-5-5-7-5-CIVIC, 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
John is in Oshkosh.
He wants to jump in.
Hey, John.
Well...
I'm kind of disappointed to hear that they're going to be able to run if they shut down, because I've been calling their offices every day telling them to shut this down, defund this stupidity.
And I'm so disappointed about, you know, these Republicans are the party that talks about having all these freedoms, having freedom, freedom this, freedom that, liberty this, liberty that.
But who do they mean that for us, the people, or for the government to have the freedom to do whatever it wants to do?
think it is the latter, Cindy.
Uh, yeah, I mixed up the calls and the,
there was no music.
It's throwing me off from the jump.
Uh, I'm going to be off all day.
I have fixed it though.
We'll see.
We will see.
We will see.
This
is true.
Uh, and Mark from Prairie du Sac, Texas.
It sounds like Republicans really don't like the constitution at all anymore.
I'm gonna, yes, there's a lot more of the text, but yes, that does seem to be the case mark.
That is an insightful comment because they don't really seem to care.
From tariffs to everything else, the Constitution is just...
some old antique that they are going to change just like they just like they remove
things from national parks and exhibits that they don't
You know and it's interesting with this with the Republican party because they always have been the party of American value and they've always been the one to to talk about following the laws and and the constitution you know and the Democrats were just this party of of debauchery and non-rule following and they don't care about the
constitution, when did those two roles flip?
It's mind boggling to think
about
If you've paid attention to politics at any length, right, over the course of your lifetime, you knew that those roles were very, very distinct.
All of a sudden, at some point, they shifted, they flipped, and now it's kind of like we watch Republicans take the Constitution and be like, well, let's just throw this away, the hell with it.
We're gonna, we're gonna just do whatever we want with no consequence.
And I would, I would say it's probably, you know, it's easy to say it's not every Republican, because the, the citizenry, Republican citizenry doesn't, I don't think the majority thinks that way.
Unfortunately,
They are not the ones in
Our leaders have bought into this authoritarian mindset.
And we're going to hear, when we play Fact or Factor Fiction later with Ron Johnson, you're going to hear
And it's not just Ron Johnson.
We
saw it
with Pam Bondi.
They speak with impunity like they cannot be touched.
How dare you question anything we do?
And that is, that is the mindset coming from the very top of the party all the way down to the elected officials who believe they can do whatever they want.
They're not looking forward to and I'm not, you know, you see all the memes and texts and things on social media about Nuremberg trials.
I don't think we're ever going to get there.
But, but.
there will be a reckoning at some point where your party's not going to be in power and you're going to have to answer in future elections for what you've done during this time.
And if you did not represent your constituency and only count out to the king, then that is where the reckoning is going to come.
People will be able to vote you out, hopefully.
I was told we're not going to need elections anymore, Jamie.
Scott from Addison listening on WMDX chiming in this morning on the text line as well.
He says, the Democrats should challenge the Republicans to their stance and offer an amendment that we will find any business owner $100,000 per undocumented employee.
Then we'd have to go into Texas and a lot of other red states, and that's not please.
Now Scott, that may make sense to us.
But
please.
It's not all about border patrol.
Core operations like law enforcement, the border inspections, disaster response, secret service protection, and Coast Guard missions would continue if we get into this shutdown.
The FAA, including air traffic control, also funded separately so flights wouldn't be directly affected.
You might have a longer line or two if you're gonna travel going through TSA.
I mean, what's a few extra minutes in TSA?
They're always long lines.
But all of those things will also continue.
FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund appears to be well-funded for now.
I mean, they're not giving out the grants anyway.
So yes, I'm sure there's a bunch of money sitting there.
Just ask Tony Evers how that's working out for Wisconsin.
But IRS, in case you're wondering, with taxes, national parks also remain open.
Yeah,
you're still going to have to pay your taxes.
Of course.
We're going to talk more about ICE and specifically their
Roll in Minnesota.
After 7.30, we're going to talk to a Minneapolis grassroots organization about the pullback, what it means for that community.
So that's coming up.
You're listening to Civic Media Mornings on the Civic Media Network.
get moving.
And I'm Brian Noonan, and I was just I was just reading that reading that again.
I'm double-checking.
I had to look at my notes Yes, I am in fact Brian.
You are I am for now.
We'll see Listen we talk about data centers all the time.
Why not because they're popping up everywhere every it seems like
Any town that has any extra land is getting talked about for data centers.
We talked about the backroom deals that some towns have entered into non-disclosure agreements with data companies.
And now...
Wisconsin lawmakers on the Democratic side of the aisle are proposing a moratorium.
Let's just pump the brakes a little bit on these data centers.
There's a lot of local opposition.
The people are not happy.
So maybe we just let's slow our roll when it comes to data centers, which I
Caution is always a good thing.
No, you know, and here's the thing.
I support progress.
I support innovation.
I support, you know, good paying jobs.
But at the same time, the data center companies aren't always being up front.
There's a lot of communities that have already pushed back like Deforest, Caledonia and Yorkville.
They wanted these centers stopped because they're because of the rising utility bills associated with them
and
So this proposed
would actually block construction until a state planning authority is in place and clear rules are established.
The legislation would require full reporting of energy and water usage, data-centered specific pollution rules, 100% renewable energy, fair wages for workers, and no state or local subsidies.
It would also aim to protect residents from bearing any additional utility costs and ensure some public oversight on these projects.
So what we're saying is that
that were afraid of a little oversight by the Republicans?
Is that what we're saying here?
I
think that's what the Republicans are saying.
They're also saying, listen, we're all, now we're all about the economy.
We wanna bring money and jobs into the communities.
Again, let's make up our minds.
What can we do?
We heard from different companies saying, yes, we're all about transparency.
But then we also read reports of, like I said, non-disclosure agreements and a lot of things.
And people just, I think people understand.
the need for these data centers.
I don't think it's a not in my backyard mentality.
You could put it in my backyard.
But why should I be penalized and have to pay so much more
in
my utility bills?
What is it going to mean for the long term sustainability of this land when, you know, granted, agriculture right now is in kind of a tough spot.
But someday
agriculture might be booming again and that land can't be the land and the adjacent land cannot be ruined right for for future things so it doesn't it doesn't make sense i don't your question is valid what are they and it comes in a lot of our the things we talk about what are they worried about what are they afraid of what are you trying to stop
multi-billion dollar tech companies that are bringing in these data centers.
It should not be left fully to the responsibility of the communities to fund or pay extra for these particular data centers when it comes to the utility bill, the land usage, the list goes on and on, right?
So these companies should have some sort of guardrails, I would think, and that's essentially what Democrats want.
That's all they really want.
They're not saying we don't like progress.
They're not saying let's not...
They're literally saying, let's have some oversight on this.
Now, they don't want these banned permanently.
Let's be clear, that's not what Democrats are asking.
They want to ensure that future development is responsible, transparent, and fair to these communities.
Now, supporters of this particular bill, including Representative Francesca Hong, she has been very outspoken about data centers, also gubernatorial candidate.
She says, the proposal restores community power, it safeguards Wisconsin's natural resources and holds corporate
accountable for their environmental and their social impact.
Is that where it gets tricky for Republicans?
Holding the corporations and the people with lots of money accountable?
Is that where they start losing a little sight of what's actually important at that point?
It may be because corporations do not want to have to answer to anybody.
they once they get their permits once they get it's hey this is we're building this you should be grateful that we're we've chosen your community look at the jobs we've provided look at the economic growth you don't don't question us it's a it it's the way the government is acting now don't question us right nobody has the right to question i would love to hear from somebody who maybe is listening in one of these areas where a proposal has happened
When when it came to you, how did you feel about it?
What did your community say and what reasons did you give either for?
Supporting or being against it eight five five seven five civic eight five five seven five two four eight four two We're we're talking to you all over the state So there's a good chance you live in one of these areas that has been affected maybe not in the township itself but in the surrounding area and let's be honest between
between the energy bills, traffic, everything, you would be affected.
So where do you fall on this?
Is moratorium a good thing?
Just to slow things down a little bit.
be housed in this state and not disrupt and affect people's livelihoods, their income, their communities.
I think for Democrats, it literally is about having that sort of transparency and accountability.
For Republicans, this feels to me more like it's a bottom line issue.
rather than what's best for their communities and their constituents.
I
think
believe so.
It doesn't say anywhere in there to halt any sort of data center progress.
you wear what you want.
Yes, Ron Johnson edition after this.
I'm Brian Noon and this is the Civic Media Network.
It's my new favorite thing.
So just to run down for everybody you didn't hear, the first time we played this, I'm going to play an audio clip.
of Ron Johnson from his telephone town hall the other day, and we are going to dive into whether what he said is a fact or if it's fiction.
If you hear fact.
That's the fact,
Okay.
All right.
right.
Let's start with the
Prove that you're citizen.
to register to vote.
Most people don't want their legitimate vote canceled by a fraudulent vote.
So something like 80% of the American population, regardless of political affiliation, agree and support voter ID.
I believe it's fact.
All right, Jamie says fact.
I
I know that there is a majority of people that support voter ID.
Now, 80 seems high.
So while I agree with it in principle, I am going to call thick-shown on the 80%.
That's the fact!
Yeah!
Oh, Jamie
It is a fact.
Now, here's the interesting part.
So a few research center survey found that about 83% of Americans favor requiring
All voters to show a government issued photo ID to vote with 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats in agreement.
Only 16% oppose it.
Now this gets interesting though.
The more barriers they put up and the more documents.
that are proposed to bring to the polls such as like a birth certificate or a passport which a lot of Americans don't have because that's another process that you have to go through and pay for that number drastically declines.
So yes, majority of Americans do agree in voter ID, but the more stuff you put onto it, that's where we disagree.
Because most Americans have a driver's license.
everybody.
And real ID is becoming, you know, if you're reapplying or getting a new license, then you have real ID.
Now, it's interesting, and this is where it's going to get, I think, I think the next few weeks in, well, not the two weeks, because they're going to gavel out.
But at the same time, I think it's going to be interesting to watch the SAVE Act, because underlying in all of this with voting is that that passed the House just this week.
So that's going to be very fascinating to watch to see if the Senate actually passes it.
has less restrictions, more restrictions, which will just make voting harder.
But back.
Jamie, are you stalling because you have the lead now?
please.
Democrats by and large want to make it easy to cheat.
things like automatic registration, mail-in balloting.
The Baker Carter Commission said that the greatest potential for fraud in elections is absentee ballots.
And yet during COVID, Democrats took advantage of that, doubled the number of absentee ballots.
They continued to push them.
Again, they continued to push things like automatic registration, mail-in balloting, just sending ballot to everybody.
And that would be a highly insecure election.
Wow.
is a fact that this is 100% fiction.
Fiction is the answer.
draw.
Wow.
Wow, that's a that's a whopper
But his election was okay.
I understand the enormous problem that ICE and CBP and the Trump administration is trying to clean up.
I mean, millions of people flooding this country, including those millions.
We got this, these information, this tally from DHS last year, 650,000 illegal immigrants.
convicted of some kind of crime.
On the loose.
You know, not detained.
650,000 included in that number.
15,000 people convicted of homicide.
20,000 people convicted of rape.
Wow.
And he dropped the R word.
did.
I'm so competitive I want to go the other way just in case, you know, to try to tie the game, but it all sounds fabricated.
I'm fiction as well.
Pure fiction.
Well, yeah.
The jury's kind of out on it.
Okay.
So.
The statistics that Johnson cited of 15,000 murderers and 20,000 rapists are unverified and likely cumulative numbers gathered over several years.
DHS data does not show that many violent offenders are roaming freely.
So there's...
When I did the research on this
sorry Frank really like herds of buffalo
Well, that's kind of what he said and that's kind of where it's like hard to pinpoint something as a fact There are so many numbers out there that differ for this statistic that there's really no Comprehensible true fact and remember from last time when we played factor fiction
The percentage of ICE detainees that have been convicted of violent crimes are at no more than 7%, and 65% of detainees have no prior convictions of any crimes.
And I know that's different from just the general number that Ron Johnson threw out.
Do
Jamie, I was at the RNC on the floor the day law and order was the theme.
Just the music and the video they ran at the beginning of the session made me afraid to walk the two blocks back to work because I was convinced that I was going to be either
dragged into some cartel beat down or there was gonna be roaming herds of murders and rapists and I'm too pretty to be walking down the street.
I understand that I totally understand that but sometimes I feel like I should just you know never leave my house again.
Is this the type of world that they live in and they think that we live in?
Is that how they envision things because that's sad.
I almost feel sad for them.
Anyway, back to Ron Johnson.
Frank, do
we have a, do we have a, are
there any facts?
we
We've
see.
All right, let's do it.
First of all, the Obamacare subsidies didn't expire.
The enhanced subsidies did.
Of the supposedly 24 million people in the Obamacare exchange is more than 22 million.
We'll still just get the subsidies just in.
the original Obamacare subsidy rates, which are very generous, okay?
They're for people at 400% of the poverty line or below.
The only people where the subsidies actually expire, people above 400% of the poverty line.
Yeah, I know they did extend the subsidies.
I don't, again, when there's numbers involved, that's where things get sketchy for me.
I think because just based on the ratio of fiction, I'm going to have to go fiction again.
I'm going to.
Oh, this one's tough.
Oh, all right.
Jamie looks like a big lead.
I really had to Google to understand yeah healthcare at the age of 31 so The ACA's original subsidies do remain for people earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty line But those with higher incomes do now pay full price.
Yeah, so the original Obamacare subsidies
Do stay in place.
It's the extensions that expired.
So he was telling the truth with that.
Well, Jamie, you cannot.
I cannot beat you because it's not two to nothing with one.
Jamie has two.
I have one.
But we have one more question.
OK, all right, let's do it.
I'm going to do something.
The problem is Democrats are holding out for a clean extension of all of them, which would perpetuate probably about six million people.
that really aren't on the exchange.
They just got sold policies without their knowledge.
The unscrupulous broker got the commission, the insurance company got their premium, and it's probably about $30 billion in fraud per year, which we can't afford.
So the solution here is recognizing what a disaster Obamacare is, and the solution is consumerism.
fiction.
fiction.
Pure
So again, this is another one of those statistics where there's like 20 different.
differing numbers out there.
So there's no official number to prove this.
There have been estimates and a lot of far right-wing independent studies claiming that there are billions of dollars lost to ACA fraud.
However, $30 billion cannot be contributed, especially just to brokers.
Wow.
Brokers.
People getting policies without their knowledge.
What am I paying for?
I don't know.
I have no idea where the
two
plan.
two
And I'm Brian Noonan.
Hey, Wisconsin has
some places that could be the best places to live in the country.
We'll talk about it on the Civic Media Network.
You're listening to Civic Media.
Find the latest news, information and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website, civicmedia.us.
Thank you so much for listening to Civic Media Mornings on the Civic Media Network.
If you're in Appleton or Oshkosh listening on WISS or in Richland Center listening on WRCE, we are so glad that you decided to join us.
And boy, oh boy, if you've been listening on live stream, thank you for letting us have our moment in time.
This is the day.
I'm Brian Noonan.
Hey, it's Friday the 13th.
It is.
So, you know, watch out for black cats and broken mirrors and ladders.
superstitious?
not know.
Okay, no.
Because the Irish culture is very stupid.
My dad was crazy superstitious.
Like if he for and I think of him every time I forget something and come back in the house, because I'll just come back in and get it and leave.
He would come back in the house.
He'd have to sit down, count to 10.
Then he grabbed what he forgot and he would walk out.
Wow.
The only superstition I adhere to and I don't know why because I only know about it from the movie drugstore cowboy.
I don't put a hat on the bed.
I don't
That's the only thing.
Every time I look in the mirror, I want to break
It's not superstition, it's vanity.
Exactly.
But maybe if I lived in a place, Jamie, that was a little more idyllic.
I would not worry about anything.
This is
true.
Maybe.
Perhaps if I was in a town that U.S.
News and World Report voted as one of the best places to live in America.
And wouldn't it be fun if I didn't have to travel very far to get to one of
14 Wisconsin cities made the list of 250.
And this is very, very excited, Jamie.
This is on our network.
It is.
Congratulations.
The best place to live according to U.S.
New
It is, absolutely.
And before we reveal it, because I feel like there's going to be some sort of buildup, they do measure some factors like affordable housing, local economy, schools, health care, air quality, and the risk of extreme weather.
So the top Wisconsin city to make this list is Eau Claire.
Eau Claire Wisconsin came in number 49 out of the 250 best cities.
Congrats.
There were 13 other Wisconsin cities to make the list, which is incredible.
Right, exactly.
So Eau Claire, if you're listening on 93.5 the tap this morning, congrats to you.
Appleton came in 53rd on the list, listening on WISS this morning.
Waukesha also made the list.
Oshkosh, shouting out WISS again.
Wasa, shouting out our station WXCO.
Green Bay, Sheboygan, Janesville, Kenosha, LaCrosse.
WLCX, Madison, WMDX, Fond du Lac, Racine, and Milwaukee, WAUK.
Those are the cities.
Are you seeing a correlation between places that have access to this program and being voted one of the
places to live in the United
if we're not marketing that, we
And we make you the best place to live.
cities.
That makes you laugh.
Yes.
So what makes Eau Claire?
Listen, I've been to Eau Claire.
It's
town.
It's a great city.
You know, the UW campus
there.
Very nice.
But what did US News and World Report say made Eau Claire?
the place.
is around
have an
but
know, settle
Now, I will say too, around Eau Claire, they have some beautiful state parks, Lake Visota State Park.
They've got Burnett Island State Park, which is a super awesome place.
So much theater, a lot of really great food.
There's some really cool shopping that you can do in Eau Claire.
And then, um, there's also some really great wineries around there too.
I
would
that.
Yeah, so Milwaukee was the lowest on
As far as Wisconsin,
not they
weren't 250th, they were just the lowest of Wisconsin.
And you know, Milwaukee, a bit much bigger city, their average home value there, or the median home value, which I found
was lower than Eau Claire.
At $192, $197,000.
Yeah.
Maybe it's a quantity thing.
Maybe there's more houses for sale, I'm not sure.
They also have a young population.
About 28% is under the age of 20, and just over 26% of residents are married.
My 22-year-old lives in Milwaukee.
He's
been there
Milwaukee.
Milwaukee's great.
There's a lot going on there.
There's a lot to
Good.
And that's, see, that's how you can pull, unless you're a university town like Eau Claire.
Yeah.
And there's stuff to do there if you're outdoors
things like that.
But if you're a young person who's looking for a metro area, you want a place that has not only
culture and the access to sports teams and festivals and all of that.
There's a lot going on there.
Now, in case you're wondering, here are some of the cities that made the top 10.
Troy, Michigan is on that list.
Leander, Texas.
You got League City, Texas making the top 10.
Cary, North Carolina is on here.
Fisher's, Indiana, interestingly enough.
Another Texas city, Perlund.
You've also got Carmel, Indiana and the number one city according to US News and World Report.
based, I should say, on all of their parameters and factors.
Johns Creek, Georgia.
That is the number one city.
I think I'll stick to Wisconsin.
I'm good here.
Yeah, I'm gonna pass on Georgia.
No offense.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
And when we come back, we'll be talking about the Water Pollution Notification Act, because shocking, you may have nasty water.
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