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This is the Civic Media Spotlight.
Hello and welcome to the first hour of the Civic Media Spotlight.
In the first hour, we have Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
With Jamie gone this week, it's just Brian.
Brian talks about the childcare issues in Wisconsin and how the government doesn't do enough to set up kids for success.
local news, community stories,
and the conversations that matter most.
Now, more daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
Good morning.
Glad you are here.
Welcome.
Welcome.
I would love to hear from you this morning, 8557-5-CIVIC, 8557-524842.
Maybe you can help me with this.
What is your solution to the child care crisis in Wisconsin?
8-5-5-7-5 Civic.
The reason I bring this up is we've talked about this on the show and I've talked about it with different people for many years.
There is a child care issue here in Wisconsin.
There are, we're not paying child care work and I'm talking about preschool.
This time we're not talking about teachers.
We're talking about preschools.
We're talking about daycare centers.
We're talking about any ancillary care prior to your kids going to school and
It is very difficult for parents.
At this point, some parents are having to make the choice between daycare and working because the cost of daycare has skyrocketed.
And part of that is because it is very hard to find good daycare workers because the pay is woefully low.
So people don't stay in the business there.
And it's, you know, it's a crucial
crucial part of this society.
Unfortunately, we don't live in a time anymore where one salary is going to get it done.
And one salary is fine if you are a traditional two adult family, but if you're a single parent, you still have to go to work whether you have a kid or not.
So how do we fix this?
Well, the Trump administration
announced a series of changes in federal childcare funding Monday that Wisconsin advocates say are going to mount to less regulation and undermine attempts to support childcare providers and workers.
So once again, are these changes meant to help?
or in the end hurt, and I will let you draw your own conclusion for that.
I think you know where I stand.
The policies announced include a rollback of Biden administration programs that supported higher wages for childcare workers and put a ceiling on childcare costs for low-income families.
There's your answer.
The Administration for Children and Families in the Federal Department of Health and Human Services said in a press release, the revisions and administrative rules would lower costs, expand access, and better serve families who rely on federally funded childcare programs.
Well...
That didn't sit well with two Wisconsin childcare advocates at least two but two that were quoted in the story that I read They they said the proposals seem unlikely to live up to those expectations and where have we heard that before with?
policies coming out of coming out of this administration we cancel stuff that was working because it was implemented by another president especially a president from another party and we think we can do better so
We just slash those programs and we say we've got the concept of a plan We have some guidelines and these are going to help you and then the real people who are involved with this see those changes and say I don't know
So Corinne Hendrickson is a former New Glaris home childcare provider She said there's nothing saying there's going to be more money They're just allowing states to move the money around in different ways now Hendrickson is the co-founder of a childcare advocacy coalition that includes providers and parents She closed her childcare business in August because she said she would have been forced to increase rates more than her families were willing to pay She's campaigning for the Democratic nomination for a state Senate seat, which is
one of the reasons she's speaking out, the other because she was intimately involved in this industry.
Ruth Schmidt is the Executive Director for the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association.
She said the proposals are reversing support for policies aimed at addressing long-standing childcare challenges.
Now the actions announced Monday affect the Federal Childcare and Development Fund, which states use to cover the cost of subsidized childcare for low-income families.
They also help with the federal government's funding for Head Start child care and preschool programs.
They include direct guidance to states as well as federal rulemaking.
So here's where it gets dicey because this is where they start to tell you what you're supposed to do and how you're supposed to do it.
And I would love to hear from you.
If you are a child care worker, if you have a child care center, if you
Send your children, drop them off at childcare on your way to work.
Maybe that's what you're getting ready to do now.
What's your solution for the childcare crisis here in Wisconsin?
855-755-CIVIC.
855-755-248-42.
So one of the guidance memos that was given out to the states, encouraging states to direct more funds from the federal government's temporary assistance to needy families fund to childcare and development fund uses.
It also states that states can use TANF, which is the temporary assistance for needy families money, to quote, support needy married to parent families in which one parent works and the other.
Cares for the child at home.
This is a classic Rob Peter to pay Paul.
This is we're not we're not giving you more money.
We're not actually helping.
We're telling you You have some of this other money.
Why don't you use that without saying okay once we take money from the The temporary assistance fund and give it to the child care and development fund What do we do when we need money in the temporary assistance to needy families fund?
We've already given it over here.
So
They're not really increasing any help.
They're just saying, uh, we're not going to, we're not going to get mad if you move your money around a little bit.
The agency also sent governors a letter promoting the changes and calling the rescinded requirements one size fits all federal mandates that raise costs, limit supply and crowd out providers.
Schmidt said that the changes won't improve childcare equality and won't help support a system that would encourage professional childcare educators to stay in the field, which makes perfect sense because we have seen this for years.
This has been an ongoing thing.
It's not like all of a sudden we got to 2026 and we went, oh wow, all of a sudden we don't have any more childcare workers.
No, no, no, this has been coming.
We've been, we've been hearing about this for a long time.
So I know anytime we ask this administration to pay for things that are not border patrol or the military or gold decorations for the Oval Office, anything that actually helps people, that is almost a non-starter.
And the fact that we've got departments that are supposed to be taking care of us, like the Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration for Children and Families that are supposed to be overseeing this and trying to help states out, they're not.
They're not.
So where do we go?
How do we turn this around?
You know, we're going to talk a little bit more about the state of this.
Big spending bill that the governor is expected to sign if it passes the legislature here in Wisconsin that is going to fund schools a little more But that doesn't really take into account early childhood and I know some of the Democratic candidates are talking about that a lot So if you're in that boat you need to pay attention because I remember when we we only sent our daughter to daycare for a short amount of time I was
We had just moved to California, and both my wife and I were working, and so we took her to childcare then, to one of those, it was a kindercare kind of thing, where she sat in circles on the floor with the Funky Frogs.
That was her group, Parker, the Funky Frogs.
And we still use quotes from kindercare.
You get what you get and you don't have a fit.
That's one of my favorites.
So we still use that to this day.
But man, oh man.
When we first moved to California, I did not have a full-time job.
I had a part-time job as I was looking for other things.
My wife thankfully had a full-time job, but childcare, there was really no reason for me to have this part-time job because all of that money and some more went to pay for childcare.
And that has only gotten more and more expensive as the years have gone on.
We're at a spot now where, like I said earlier, and this is born out by people who've talked about it endlessly.
That it comes to a point where you're like if you're paying a couple grand a month for child or or a grand a month or whatever for childcare It's really hard for a lot of people to make that cost commitment and I think if you have children you know this and if you talk to any kindergarten teacher first grade teacher Getting a kid into preschool daycare
Increases their ability down the road to learn it increases their ability to socialize it increases their ability to Just do all the things you're going to need to do when you get to kindergarten or when you get into pre-k So we have to figure this out and right now it doesn't It doesn't help and it doesn't surprise me Which I think is the saddest part of all it doesn't surprise me that this administration has decided to once again
Not help the citizenry now I know if you were watching any of the news or listening to the news yesterday You heard the president say and I know at first when I saw this clip I had to investigate because it was taken out of context But I think in general it does sum up the entire administration's thought process The president was asked about how much he takes the
Financial situation of American citizens into account when he's talking about Iran and he said and I'm paraphrasing a little bit I don't think I don't think about Americans finances now one little bit and that's true He also doesn't seem to think about What is actually in the best interest of?
His citizens the citizens of this country that he is leading for now That doesn't it's all
theatrics and when it comes down to something like this where we have and I'm not I'm not saying we shouldn't fund the military we should definitely fund the military I think the military is doing pretty good if they need some more let's figure it out but I also think who's gonna be in that military down the road these kids that you're ignoring at this point
If you're not giving money for parents to allow their kids to get into childcare, first of all, some of those parents are not going to be able to work, then they're going to have to go on either unemployment or they're going to have to go on SNAP benefit, all these other things that you're putting unbelievable restrictions on.
So now you're creating more and more of a vicious circle where if we looked at the core problem and the core problem, despite some people on the right saying, well, the core problem is people having children that they can't afford,
You everybody throughout history people have had children and then struggled to make enemy ends meet That's just the cost of having a kid.
It's not a character flaw.
It's not a racial issue It's not an ethnic issue or culture issue.
It's hey You had two people who were both working now you have an extra person and this little person costs a lot of money.
Oh babies are expensive
not only just keeping them alive, which is enough of a stress, but then keeping them in diapers and keeping them in food and then thinking of how to educate them, it's nonstop.
So we have to go back to the core of this problem is that we are not caring for the people that we are going to need in the future.
We need those people in the future in our workforce.
We need the current parents in the workforce.
We also need to make sure that these children
will be able to keep society going and make a contribution and be the people in the military, be the people in business.
So it is important and I know to some people it is not.
Well, they should just be able to pay for their own kids.
I don't need to pay for everybody's kids.
We pay for everybody's everything.
And we pay for a lot of stupid stuff that we don't need and that's never gonna benefit you.
Hey, surprise, we're paying for a ballroom, friends.
We're never gonna get to dance in it.
But you know those kids who aren't getting the money for childcare?
They're gonna be your neighbors someday.
They're gonna be the people waiting on you that when you walk into a McDonald's or a Culver's and they can't make change for a dollar, you know, man, these kids are stupid.
Why didn't anybody educate these kids?
I don't know.
Maybe because there was no dough to do it.
Oh well, let's see.
Oh!
Is there anything that could make you want to sit in the last row of an airplane?
I'll tell you why I'm asking.
After this, I'm Brian Noon and this is Daybreak on the Civic Media Network.
You're listening to Civic Media.
Stay up to date on the latest news and information for your local community and Wisconsin by signing up for our free email newsletter.
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started.
Jamie's out of town.
She took a plane.
I I love to travel.
I like most of us do not like big having to deal with the whole if I could just teleport to all these places that I want to go I would be the happiest man on the planet because I wouldn't have to deal with the airport and I wouldn't have to deal with the planes and the robber barons who own these airlines who make the seats smaller and smaller while I do not get shorter and shorter I will always be
Well, until I get very old and begin to shrink Parker, which happens, but right now I am six, five.
And they do not make, and I've said this a million times and Frank will agree with me as another tall human being.
And Parker, you're pretty good size too.
You're pretty tall.
I'm
probably
six foot.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So a frat guy six foot, so you're four, five, five, four?
That's nice.
I almost said four or five.
You're four foot five?
So they got a phone book there in the boy aquarium?
What happened?
Oh my gosh, I'm surprised you could see over the console.
This is a heist tool, actually.
I'm glad it's not the high chair with the tray for when you drop all your Cheerios that you're eating during breakfast.
Only
during
lunch.
The point is that
most of us hate getting on a plane.
And what you really hate is if you get stuck in that last row, you know, the one right by the bathroom where I'm, I am blessed in one way that I cannot have a sense.
I don't have a sense of smell.
So the times I've had to sit back there, you know,
One it's been awful because everybody's lining up to go to the bathroom and you're just the Flight attendants are banging it as they try to get things into the galley and you can't really recline because it's the back row and you're right up against the toilet but What if I told you Parker that the last row?
Could become a semi private retreat would that peak your interest would that make you say ooh?
Hold on a moment.
So my private told me more
Yes, well imagine if you will Parker a secluded pod Screened off from the aisle or bathroom noise and built to give you more space for carry-on luggage.
Does that sound appealing?
I mean, yeah, I wouldn't mind
that
I wouldn't either Now again the drawback.
It's the final row of the plane.
It is called a sky nook and it is
in a concept phase now, but it was showcased at this year's Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, where all the great expos happen.
It reimagines the narrower rear wide body, the rear, yeah, the narrower rear of the wide body planes, where the twin aisle configuration, the twin aisles, you know, just two aisles, not the one in the middle, is I actually did read this before.
I know sometimes it doesn't sound like it.
So you're in the two row, two aisle configurations, you know, where you have the, and some of those rows, rows can only accommodate a double seat rather than a triple.
So where the double seats are, they're going to make again, a semi private retreat described as a cocoon light seating arrangement, not entirely dissimilar to more upscale offerings at the front of the plane.
So your low class, first class, that marketing slogan was dismissed.
I did go to Hamburg and I said, what about low class, first class?
And they said, no, I go, how about no class, first class?
And they said, no.
I said, all right, well, I guess I'm in the wrong field.
I'm going to head back to America.
And by the way, we're pulling all our troops from your country.
They said, what?
I said, listen, politics are everywhere.
So while the seats look similar to normal economy class seats, Skynooks makes use of the space between the window seat and the plane's sidewall.
Offering enough room to secure a baby carrier or space for a pet or to flex is a place to work or dine I'm digging this.
There's also a sliding divider so you can Disassociate from the aisle.
You don't have to see the people lining up You don't have to hear a grandma battling with the toilet door to try to get in there to the lavatory I shouldn't say toilet.
That's very European though.
If you've been to Europe Parker, you know, they don't call it the bathroom
They just go, you're going to the toilet.
The loo, as some say.
Well, even when I was in England, when I was in London, they said the toilet, and they would have signs in the pubs just said toilet.
And I said, ooh, I'm having a hard time getting a hold of it, even though it seems like I'm very comfortable saying it this morning.
But in countries where it became the, where it is the nomenclature, I was having, I was struggling with it.
So the sky nook no no word on whether it can repel unwanted odor So so you'd have to bring your own but you could bring you could bring like a stick them and put it on the divider yourself Which would be great because who's gonna know?
Get in there get into your little sky nook.
You slap up an air freshener You put in your headphones.
Don't bother me put up the DND Nobody can come with you it claimed first prize in the passenger comfort category of the crystal cabin award
which recognizes innovative airplane cabin products and concepts at the Hamburg Expo.
I would do it.
I would say yes.
I'm in.
I have to see how now the seat is going to be the width of the seat.
And I would imagine the depth is going to be the same.
But I like the idea that I could enclose myself to shield myself from the riffraff.
Because let's be honest, some people on a plane dress like they're going to the bus.
Yeah.
And I'm not saying we all need, I'm not Sean Duffy.
I'm not saying we all need to wear suits on a plane, but pajama pants and slides, you know, save that for the house.
You know, you can wear comfy clothes.
I'm all about comfort when I fly, but I also don't need to look like, you know, like I've just left my, I checked my shopping cart before I got on.
I hope that's, is that offensive?
Probably is.
I'm going to find out.
Well, we'll see.
But anyway, I don't want to be, I want to look like I'm housed.
After this, we are going to, oh my goodness, yes, we are going to make sure that we get into some stuff you need to know.
I want to take a moment to remind you that we have brand new social media pages.
Yes, we do.
We are on Facebook and we are on Instagram.
It's Daybreak with Brian and Jamie, so please go there, like those pages.
And if you miss any part of the program, I would urge you to go to Spotify.
I would urge you, it's imperative that you go to Spotify.
You subscribe to our podcast, Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
Then if you miss any of our scintillating conversations or interviews, you can pull them up at any time.
And if you're zipping around town, maybe you listen on WMDX and you're like, well, I really missed that last hour.
How about the free civic media app, my friends?
Did I mention it was free?
Did I mention it was an app?
Yes, I did both of those things so you can download that and listen to those anytime.
When we come back, it is time for some stuff you need to know.
This is Daybreak.
I'm Brian Noonan and this is
is the Civic Media Network.
We stick right here on the Civic Media Spotlight with Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
The flag was set to fly at half staff in Wisconsin to honor Mung Lau Veterans Day.
This leads to a conversation about the American flag and what it says about the people flying it in this day and age.
Fairly solid and better than expected.
It's
Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
Good morning.
Welcome back at 7 35.
This is daybreak.
I'm Brian noon and Jamie will be back with us next week, but you're here and I would love to hear from you eight five five seven five civic eight five five seven five two four eight four two.
Do you think curfews are a good deal?
Do you think they're a good idea for public safety or are they kind of a discriminatory strategy?
Hmm, I don't know.
Well, here's why I'm asking, because Madison, if you're in the Madison area or live in Madison itself, you know that there was a...
curfew in place before 2023.
That would have been about when you were growing up, Parker.
Now you didn't grow up in Madison proper, did you?
I did, actually.
I was on the east side of Madison.
You did?
Okay, east side of Madison.
Were you ever worried?
Were you ever out past curfew and worried that the cops were going to come and swoop you
up?
You and your friends and your malarkey?
I was never worried about it.
We were not into too much malarkey, thankfully.
All right.
Yeah, you don't want to be into too much
malarkey.
No, you don't want to have a big brouhaha.
Where you, no.
Oh my gosh, then you get into a Donnie Brooke, just turns into a whole rigmarole.
So you don't want any of those things.
No, no.
Don't want to cause a ruckus.
Welcome to Daybreak, where we use ancient words that have been out of style for decades.
I remember always hearing about curfews when I was a kid, but I guess I never violated them or they weren't enforced or whatever.
Yeah.
Well, Madison had one up until 2023.
And it's kind of reentering public discussion lately because of these big fights coming off the, uh, coming off the block party a couple of weeks ago and then with these teen takeover things that are happening all over because of the internets.
So people are starting to say, Hey, you know what?
Maybe we need to bring a curfew back.
Maybe we need to get these punk kids off the streets.
And under a certain age, my dad, and I know my dad was not the first to say this, but he was a dad, so he just repeated things that other dad said.
Nothing good really happens after midnight.
Now, of course, before people go, oh, my kid works during the, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
All curfews have those exemptions, where if a kid is driving home from work, they're not going to be stopped for having a curfew.
Anyway.
So until three years ago, Madison ordinances barred children under 17 from the streets between 11 p.m.
and 4 a.m.
on school nights.
Yeah, okay, perfect.
And midnight to five on weekends.
That's still pretty late for 15 and 16 year olds to be out.
I wasn't out that late when I was 15 and 16, roaming the streets at midnight, 1130.
You know, 15, 16, what do you like, a sophomore in high school?
Basically yeah in that in that realm.
So say freshman and sophomores in high school.
What are you doing out past 11 or 11 on during the school week?
Even if you work at a fast food job, most of those close at 10 I
Also don't
think
you're allowed to work that late as a minor
I don't think so either and you can only work, you know so many days during the during the school week.
Yeah, so
And of course, if you were at a school activity, I don't know what school activities are going that late, you were excused from the curfew as well.
So Madison's Common Council voted 13-5 to repeal the ordinance.
Now at the time, Madison's Police Department had issued just three tickets for curfew violations across several years and said teens usually went home when told about the curfew.
Yeah, and also let's be honest.
Do we really think that's top of mind for police officers?
Looking around and you're then trying to card a kid going are you 17 or 18?
Just make it a whole thing.
It's probably unless somebody's causing trouble It's low on the priority list Not that it's not a law and it shouldn't be enforced and all of that but
Also, if it came down to the list of things that police officers are worried about, a 17-year-old being out at five after 12 on a Sunday morning is probably very low on the list.
So anyway, police again now are considering options like a curfew or age restrictions following large fights on State Street after the annual Mifflin Street Block Party.
Two guns were found there.
So the police are like, all right, well, maybe we need to, uh, we need to start cracking down a little more.
What do you think?
Is this, is this a reaction just to one incident or is this an ongoing trend?
If you live in Madison, I'd love to hear from you.
Even if you live somewhere else that is considering these curfews or has a curfew, eight, five, five, seven, five, civic eight, five, five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two.
So as I mentioned.
Two guns found at this fight after the Mifflin Street block party.
We talked about that.
How many people are under 17 that are going to the block party and then coming to State Street?
Now, I haven't been to the bars on State Street in a while because, you know, I'm old, but they used to card pretty heavy because it's a college town and college towns are pretty notorious if the drinking age is 21.
Now, back when
Wisconsin had an 18 year old drinking age.
The bars were a wild west.
It was fantastic.
Bad decisions.
Don't make them kids.
Use me as a cautionary tale.
I say that all the time.
I am not a role model.
I am not Charles Barkley.
I am a guy who made bad decisions.
But the point being is, what good is the curfew gonna do for the bars or for State Street?
Yes, these teen takeovers happen.
the fights guns are a serious situation but were the guns held by kids who were violating curfew or just by ne'er-do-wells who were out there anyway and would be carrying guns and they were over 21 and maybe it was college students maybe it was not maybe it was locals maybe it was people who came into Madison from somewhere else we don't know exactly but all right if the guns are an issue let's start looking at it but is it a curfew issue or is it a crowd control issue
So we're looking at this the Madison police department spokesman Stephanie fryer said the department is not specifically asking the city to implement a curfew but different solutions are being explored That's what I'm saying.
What are what good is a curfew gonna do if the people that if the incidents that you're worried about and the incidents that you're citing as need to review these policies Don't involve Teenagers people under 17
Well, then we have to find something else.
So then what do you find?
Do you doubt?
On State Street, Parker, you've probably been there more recently than I have.
Do they I know, like, there used to be just there was just pedestrian area.
And there do they block off the streets at any point?
So it's State Street, like on a weekend night, there's no cars or buses going up and down there or no?
I suppose I actually don't know if I've ever noticed if it's actually like
Blocked off by barricades or anything like that.
I'm sure that there is I know I've seen It blocked off before I don't know necessarily
on
like a Saturday night, but I think so.
Yeah
Yeah, I'm using I'm using like the French quarter is a sure.
Yeah And now the crowds on State Street do not get as big on a regular basis as that but they do they do close the streets on the weekend nights because so maybe it is maybe it is a crowd control issue
According to the police department, their spokesperson said, we're simply starting a conversation with other city agencies and stakeholders to see what we can do to prevent these large juvenile fights.
And we are in the very early stages of these conversations.
The talks come after police recovered a gun following a large fight involving teens on State Street.
Is that 18 and 19 year olds?
Is it 14 or 15 year olds?
that led to one arrest.
More fights broke out on State Street on April 25th after the Mifflin Street Block Party, leading to an officer being injured.
I think what you need, the first thing that needs to happen is the people involved in these need to be made an example of.
You have to show, because right now, you've got so many different things.
Tyler, thank you, is listening on WMDX.
He says it's only blocked off for certain special events.
I appreciate that information, Tyler.
Thank you very much.
You can always jump in, 855-75 Civic, 855-752-4842.
So back to what I was saying, if you really prosecute these people who are involved in, you know, they...
Whoever puts them up on social media who the organizers the people that are involved if you're anywhere near Doing anything to a police officer you have to show that you're not going to put up with this and I'm not saying You know a military crackdown like they were doing in Minneapolis with ice and all of that But I'm saying if if there's a need for an arrest like these people with the guns the guns You need to make an example out of them if
Somebody injures a police officer you need to make an example out of them if you damage property if you trespass it can't just be All right kids now go home and do what you got to do because you know, we want you to we want you to stay off the streets There has that that would be the first thing my idea Secondly you have to then start monitoring and this is a manpower issue and it's a budget issue and it's I admit that it's kind of a pie in the sky idea where
You increase the police presence on State Street on the weekends.
And yes, I know that.
And now I'm not saying in a military force kind of way.
But you add a few more cops on every corner.
Just so that there is a presence so that if I'm looking to start trouble, I have nowhere to start the trouble because there are police all over.
Will that curb some people having a good time?
Maybe, but really why should it?
If the police are there and you're not doing anything wrong, and I know that's a cop out in a lot of, in a lot of other places, and I don't mean it that way, but I think if you have a high traffic area, anytime you can have more supervision to stop these things, as Barney Fais used to say, we gotta nip it in the bud, Ang.
Gotta nip it in the bud.
So the police presence is gonna nip things in the bud.
Again, these are just, these are my ideas.
Parker, I'm not a civic planner.
I'm not a law enforcement specialist, but I'm a guy who's been in big mobs before.
I've been a guy who's been out drinking late at night when I probably shouldn't have before.
So I've seen it and it's common sense.
And you combine a busy bar filled area with a college campus, with off campus housing very close.
And the potential for a lot of people to be somewhere at any specific time is much greater.
So you prepare for that.
And you do it in a way that doesn't enrage people.
You're not trying to get people agitated.
You're just there.
You're saying hi, you're building that relationship with the, not only the students, but the local businesses, I'm sure would appreciate it, because they don't want a giant teen fight happening outside their business.
They don't want the possibility of somebody getting shot on their business's doorway.
So you gotta work with businesses, you gotta work with the law enforcement community, fire department, everybody's gotta work together, but there is no excuse for these things.
And I go back to my number one option, you gotta really punish the instigators.
Because once you know what you're gonna send a message and if I'm a high school senior and I go down there with my buddies And I'm out past curfew whatever where there is no curfew now But I've put this message out on social media and all of a sudden there's 300 kids down there and there's a fight well if I Sent that invitation and the police come knocking at my door and I get charged and I get arrested My buddy is probably not gonna do the same thing again
simplistic thought I know, but sometimes that's the most effective diversion.
When we come back, you might be walking around today and going, hey, the flags are flying at half staff.
Brian, what's the deal?
I'll tell you that.
But I also want to tell you, if you miss any part of the show, you need to head over to Spotify because that's where all the cool kids have their podcasts.
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It's Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
I'll be back with more.
After this, it's Daybreak.
I'm Brian
Noonan on the Civic Media Network.
No fiction it's daybreak with Brian and Jamie Good
morning welcome back 752 I'm Brian Newton and welcome to everybody along the network We're glad you're here, and I'd love to hear from you Do you even pay attention to flags being at half staff or as we've come half mast?
Do you even notice?
Do you ever wonder why?
8-5-5-7-5-CIVIC 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
I would like to, before I give you the answer, I wish I had a prize because I would say the first person to text in or call that knows why the flags are at half staff today, I would give, but I don't have anything.
We're working on the budget.
Down the road we'll have a prize closet that we can send you into, but right now we don't.
Parker?
You're a young man who lives in Madison you All around the state of Wisconsin today flags are at half staff.
Do you have any idea why well?
You might cheat and look at
the I did not look at it Okay, I saw that we were gonna talk about like I don't know.
Yeah, I would like to be educated.
Um, well, I don't know
I All Parker, you know, that's what I live for and I live to be the smartest guy in the room
but I have never, I have never, I haven't achieved that yet.
But someday I might have, I might have one nugget of information more than others.
So the governor has ordered that the U.S.
and Wisconsin flags be flown at half staff today for Hmong Lao Veterans Day.
Yes.
I, and
I am educating myself as well because I did not know that Menglao Veterans Day was a thing, but now that now I do.
In 2021, the governor declared May 14th to be Menglao Veterans Day in Wisconsin.
The date was chosen because May 14th, 1975 was when the last U.S.
airlift evacuated Menglao soldiers from Longtang, Laos.
There you go.
Take that to a cocktail party this weekend and look like
you are brilliant.
So now Wisconsin has the third largest Hmong population in the United States.
That according to a news release, I know the Twin Cities has a very, very large Hmong population, which is actually where I first learned about Hmong people and the Hmong culture when I was up and spending some time in the Twin Cities.
So big population there as well.
Through their service and sacrifice, our Hmong Lao veteran community has earned every honor and respect we can give them by serving this nation during the Vietnam War and in many conflicts since.
And for that, we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.
That is what the governor said when he declared today as Hmong Lao Veterans Day.
Holds true right now.
So the flags at the state capital are gonna fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset today US flags typically fly at half-staff in the wake of national tragedies or after deaths of government officials or You know if you're this administration a podcaster, they'll fly him at half mass hi a half-staff for Charlie Kirk, but then not for other leaders weird
But why do I digress?
Why do I taint this beautiful story and honoring of our Hmong Lao veterans with comparisons to this administration's just idiocy?
Because anyway, they also fly at half staff on Memorial Day and other national days of remembrance, including 9-11, USA.gov.
Says that the United States flag flies at half staff or half mast when the nation or a state is in mourning the president a state governor or the mayor of the District of Columbia can order flags to fly and half staff so I Guess the president could do what he wants according to the United States.
So yeah, it's if you if you see that today
Pause a moment, give a little give a little thought to our Hmong Lao veterans on this day to celebrate.
I have an American flag at the house.
Now, I really and I really only fly it on like Memorial Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July kind of things.
I would like to have it out more because I do have a spot for it.
I do have I have the the flagpole holder mounted.
I could fly it every day.
Unfortunately,
Flying the flag has been co-opted by a movement that I want no part of.
And when you see, it's a very sad situation, and I'd love to get your thoughts on it too.
If you think the way I do, I was actually shamed into it once by my daughter.
She's like, why are you flying the American flag?
I go, well, one, because it looks really cool.
We have a really cool looking flag.
Two, I am an American.
Three, and most importantly,
despite so many objections to how things are being run, I am still proud of this country.
However, on the flip side, like I said, all of a sudden, the flag has been co-opted by MAGA and its ilk, that if you're flying it, you seem to give the message that you support what's going on.
Whereas I firmly believe you can fly the flag in spite of what's going on, to show that
Yeah, but what am I gonna do have a long conversation about my philosophy of government every time I put the flag out and somebody So it's become I can't believe that our flag has become a symbol of divisiveness amongst people and You have to explain yourself when you hang the flag So think about that too when you look at the flag today.
I don't know I do I know some people who always always fly
always have flown an American flag at their house, always will fly an American flag.
Like I said, mine comes out, mine comes out for special occasions, but even yesterday I pulled up to the house and I was like, oh, the flag, I should put out the flag.
Now, I don't know if it's a good turn into a hassle.
So that's where I stand.
I don't know if you feel that way too.
All right, if you're listening on WMDX, hey, guess what?
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I'm Brian Noonan.
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