Good morning, welcome, welcome to Matt and Air on Air.
Jane Matt and Air, Greg Buck and Calvin Butenoff coming to you live from our studio at Radio Park in Racine.
You can always join us, call or text at 855-752-4842.
Leave a comment if you're watching on the live stream on Facebook, YouTube.
and what used to be Twitter Monday, February 17th.
As of today, the average price of a gallon of 2% milk in Wisconsin, $3.18.
That's up 8 cents from Friday.
The average price of a dozen large eggs here in the state, $5.86.
That is the same as it was on Friday, but up considerably from the week before.
We have a very busy show coming up for you today.
Lou Ann Bird.
From Bird on a Wire is going to be joining us at 1033.
We're going to be talking about civics and civic engagement and how to get involved and channel if you're feeling frustrated, if you're feeling despondent.
We can put that somewhere.
Yeah.
And make it work.
And make it work.
Luanna is involved.
And she is like Jean, who calls from old Claire area.
maybe slightly older ladies, very engaged in what's going on.
And I think they're a great example for all of us.
Lou Ann can be referred to as the unstoppable force or
the immovable object, one of the two.
Seriously.
She has a lot in common with
us.
And she's mentioned in an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, particularly related to cuts now at the VA, which has a very...
immediate impact on her and her family.
So we're going to be talking to Luanne Bird coming up after the 1030 news.
Next hour, first half hour, we're going to talk about the IRS, Elon and you.
And then what are our lawmakers in Wisconsin?
What's their priority?
What is really important to them?
as we head into the second Trump administration.
What do they want to see get done?
That's really going to help the average Wisconsinite.
We'll have details coming up about that next half hour.
We will lighten things up in the last half hour of the show.
Linda Welsh, the president and CEO of Sharp Literacy is going to join us.
And we're going to talk about a fundraiser they have coming up unwrapped Waukesha.
2025, some tasty eats involved with that.
And then we'll wrap up the show as we always do with this shouldn't be a thing.
Today it's the take a whiff of this edition.
If you ever have a thing you think should not be send it into Greg and me at Jane says at civicmedia.us J A N E S A Y S Jane says.
at civicmedia.us.
Wanted to start off just with a little reminder.
I'm sure you may have noticed this as you walked out the door.
It's really stupid cold.
Yeah,
like right now it's four.
And we're like the warm spot of Wisconsin.
Northern Wisconsin, well, Amory this morning was like 25 below.
Dr. Lyrely, where she's at work in this morning, she said it was
43 below zero.
Yeah.
So nearly all of Wisconsin is under a cold weather advisory today for wind chills as low as 25 below in the Southern counties, including Milwaukee.
This advisory runs until 11 this morning.
The chilliest winds expected this morning between six and 11 with the feels like temperature about 15 to 25 below.
So just keep in mind.
Frostbite happens really quickly.
Yep.
Much more quickly probably than you realize.
Yeah.
So, cover up.
Wear layers.
Don't wear tight things.
Yeah, wear layers.
Get some hand-warming packets.
Just
stay.
Get a
nice vest.
Get a nice warming vest or
a
woman jacket.
The fabulous thing.
Yeah.
Yeah, just stay warm.
It's easy to do.
It really is.
And don't forget your pets.
Yes, oh my gosh very important especially with your dogs and stuff like that some you know Huskies this they live for this weather.
Yeah, but for a lot of other breeds of dogs It's just too cold for them in their path their pads can actually get frostbite,
you know, Jane I never really liked the cold which is odd because my whole life I was called husky
so Jokes jokes jokes were to start off Today is president's day by the way
Today is tomorrow is primary election day.
If you have not voted early.
And again, this is one of those races that's not a presidential election.
There's not a Senate race on it.
This is a primary election.
And in a lot of places, this is going to be the only thing on the ballot.
And it's for who is going to head the Department of Public Instruction in Wisconsin.
This is not necessarily a sexy thing.
That's going to get a lot of people coming out.
Again, it's a primary.
There are three candidates.
This will narrow it down to two who will then face off on the April 1st ballot.
But I still think it's important that we know what these candidates are talking about when we talk about who is going to head public instruction for our kids across Wisconsin.
So we have three of them.
Jeffrey Wright, Jill Underly, who is the current head, and Brittany Kinzer.
So Calvin, we have a number of clips from these candidates who appeared on WISN's up front, I believe.
And thank you to them for that.
Let's start off with school superintendent Jeffrey Wright and what he thinks about public education in Wisconsin.
I'm in this race because education is incredibly important, and we need an effective Department of Public Instruction.
And I've heard from principals, superintendents, teachers, and parents that they feel the current DPI is not helping with that.
It actually is a dysfunctional relationship.
Does that go directly to the top to jail under the same superintendent?
I do think so,
because
The numbers about Wisconsin kids is not good.
Yeah, they're not good.
And I don't think anyone, well, at least we're not disputing that.
And that changes need need to be made.
Yeah.
That's what's up in the air for this, I guess.
Now we have another clip that was a sock.
Superintendent Jeff Wright.
Yeah, was that first clip?
This is Jill Underly, a clip from Jill Underly talking about privatization, privatizing schools.
And again, she is the current head of the Department of Public Instruction in Wisconsin.
Calvin, can you play that clip, please?
What sets you apart from your other two
Thanks for asking.
So first of all, I am the number one public school advocate in the state of Wisconsin as a state superintendent.
I've always been an advocate for public education.
But what sets me apart right now is that we have to have these conversations about public school finances.
We have a real threat when it comes to school privatization in vouchers in the state.
You
There's lots of talk about more privatization, more charter schools, more voucher schools, which, again, is not necessarily a bad thing, but I think about small rural communities in Wisconsin in many instances only have one public high school to serve maybe five communities.
Yeah.
there aren't a lot of private options in those areas.
So if we continue to chip away at public schools, what are gonna be the options for people who live in those areas?
Well, and on top of that too, as far as privatization or access to private schools, there just also has to be an overhaul viewpoint of accountability measures from these voucher, these schools that receive voucher money.
Absolutely.
I mean, we've talked about a lot just even last week, but we're talking about it all the time.
is if this is going to go ahead, which I mean, it feels like it's, it's the, we're being pushed and we can't push back so hard.
Um, they're just, I mean, there needs to be more accountability, which I've talked to public school teachers about in the past.
They don't hate the idea so much as they hate the accountability.
They don't like the fact that they're not held the same standard.
That's the,
you were talking about voucher voucher versus private schools.
Yeah.
Well, I agree with you.
If we're going to give our tax dollars,
to private institutions, I don't understand why they don't have the same reporting requirements.
That doesn't make any sense to me.
They're getting public dollars for this.
Does that mean they don't have to be accountable to the public?
I mean, in my opinion, they're getting public school money.
There should be a percentage.
What's the percentage you get?
At that point, when do you become a public school then?
Because if you were just able to go there because you're getting a lot of money from us and our money outweighs your endowment, then to me, you are a public school.
And that might not be the case.
Maybe some of these schools get two or 3%, but still, there still needs to be an accountability factor to getting this money.
We have the final clip from Brittany Kinzer talking about.
She is a proponent.
of school choice and private schools and voucher schools.
Here's a clip from Brittany Kinzer, again, appearing on WISN's
Great answer.
If, well, yes.
And if people want to send their kids to private schools, they should absolutely be able to do that.
Yeah.
Why they get to use public tax dollars for that.
I don't understand.
But I think the problem I have with that answer is whenever you ask a question, having to do with this type of topic, the first thing she did it, she said, well, the actual number is, if the numbers over one, it's still my money going to these schools.
So if you want this to happen.
There needs to be mechanisms in place.
And it started almost a shrug answer like, yeah, I support her.
Yeah.
Okay, cool.
Shouldn't be a surprise.
I mean, she is favored by Republicans.
Kinzer is a consultant for privatizing education through vouchers.
And she's also the former president of a Milwaukee nonprofit advocating for charter schools.
She said she's running because she wants to make sure students who are behind on reading get more one-on-one instruction and tutoring, which I think is great.
Yes, that would require, I don't know, more teachers, more teachers aids.
If they want more one-on-one instruction and tutoring, that's, that kind of intimates to me that we need more bodies.
It also means more and sustainable sources of funding.
It can't just be a
referendum every five to six years.
Over and over and
over.
It's gotta be about a
I don't know the DPI, which is a state organization working with the legislature to come up with a sustainable cash flow system of putting money into good projects.
And when we have hiccups, not hiccups, I don't want to say hiccups.
We have problems with something like MPS and their financial woes.
They need to be taken care of and people need to be dealt with and they need to be fixed and moving forward.
But you can't, you can't just say, like, we need more one-on-one.
Okay, cool.
How do we get there?
Well, and now are you going to pay for
it?
Yeah.
And who is going to fund that?
Me,
you, us.
Well, not necessarily.
It all depends upon the very handsome, highly intelligent, I'm taking a new tech, Robin Voss.
And whether or not... I thought I'd try Flattery.
Try Tall next time, too.
Oh, and he's really tall.
I love Tall Men.
Yeah, it all comes down to Robin Voss and what he wants to fund, essentially.
Bill, I see you on the line.
We will take you on the other side.
Stay with us.
You are listening to Matt Nair on air.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
We'll be right
back.
She can't hate.
She don't mean no harm.
She just don't.
Good morning.
Welcome back to Matt and air on air Jane Matt and air Greg Bach Sweet Calvary on the board coming to you from our studio at Radio Park in Racine.
Join us caller text.
It is the same number 855-752-4842.
Leave a comment if you're watching on the live stream on Facebook, YouTube and what used to be Twitter.
If you're just joining us, we're talking about tomorrow's primary election.
Please vote.
If
you are
not registered, if you're not sure, if you're registered, if you're not sure where to go, myvote.wi.gov, that's going to have everything you need.
All you have to do is type in your address, click Enter, and everything is going to come up.
In many instances, Calvin, I think you said this too, where you live, this is the only race that's on tomorrow's primary ballot.
Yeah, correct.
At least in the Village of Eagle in Southwest
Waukesha County, this is the only thing on the ballot.
That's it.
Yeah.
I got three things.
I'm looking my ballot right now, folks.
I'm on my vote.wi.gov.
And I put my information in.
I got three things.
I got superintendent, school board, and guess what?
Referendum.
Referendum.
Oh, another.
But yes, please plan and vote tomorrow.
Yes.
It's important.
Out of the three, two will be moving forward.
Brittany Kinzer is the candidate favored by Republicans.
She is a big fan of voucher schools.
We also have Jill Underly, first elected in 2021.
She is going for another term.
And then Jeffrey Wright, who is a superintendent in Salk County, I believe.
Those are the three candidates who want to move forward.
If you'd like to join the conversation, 855-752-4842.
Bill from Iconomwalk is on the line.
Good morning, Bill.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Good morning.
Say on the school voucher program, I'd like to ask Robin Bach.
boss's thoughts on this.
I think the private schools should just drop their tax-free status, and
then
we don't mind supporting them.
And then he's going to say, well, we won't allow that.
And I said, now just a minute, you're going to tell the taxpayers what they can do and can't do.
I think this is going to take a statewide referendum, Robin.
And then I'll see if you're really against
the taxpayers because you're going to have to get vocal about it and say you are going to tell the taxpayers how to spend their money, not the taxpayers with a referendum tell you.
But what do you guys think?
But Bill, I think that's the way Robin Voss has been for a decade.
It's Robin's money.
and he decides where it goes depending upon what he supports.
Voters be damned.
I'm sorry, he does not seem to care what the vast majority of Wisconsinites want, including more gun safety measures, red flag laws, universal background checks, and access to safe and legal abortions.
The vast majority of Wisconsinites all agree on those things, Bill, and yet Robyn Voss refuses to move on any of
them.
doesn't is because he's never faced a big statewide referendum on it.
Well, because there's nothing that we can do that has teeth to it.
And that's the other problem is that Robin Voss likes to talk about having a quote, representative democracy, right, where
our votes and our thoughts are represented by our, our, our, uh, leaders.
The problem is, as Jane just said, and I'm going to throw marijuana legalization there.
I'm going to also throw, uh, something in there that is actually agreed upon in his party, which is, uh, expanding Medicaid for new mothers up to 12 months.
He's against all of these things, which doesn't really represent the will of the people.
And so much so that.
Governor Evers in the state of the state said he wanted to be able, he wanted to push an agenda that allowed Wisconsinites to vote on a binding referendum on topics.
Robin Voss
immediately
against that.
Because that
takes away his power.
Thank you so much, Bill.
Really appreciate you listening.
Always appreciate you checking in.
We do have a text from Eric in Wauwatosa.
I would like to ask how our Wisconsin public schools benefit in any way from choice.
and parochial schools siphoning away billions of dollars from our K-12 system when these schools aren't part of the same system, aren't held to the same standards, and reserve the right to refuse students, which our K-12 public schools cannot do.
The straw that breaks the camel's back for me is that my non-religious tax dollars are being used to indoctrinate children with religious beliefs, traditions, and biases.
Can someone explain why this is even remotely fair to the rest of us?
That's a great point, Eric.
And I brought that up to someone well over a year and a half ago when Kristen was still here.
And he basically said, well, the Supreme Court said it's OK.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court said that you can use public money for religious institutions.
And yeah, too bad.
I'll answer it.
Eric, in terms of it, it's not fair.
It doesn't make it fair for our public school kids.
It takes away resources.
It takes away ability.
And this state, I mean, for longer than since act 10, but since act 10, I mean the vitriol, like taking away their collective bargaining rights, taking away, basically just decimating their unions down to one or two functions, but then also on the other side of the coin saying teachers are moochers and takers and not makers and making them seem like the biggest bunch of lazy thieves there are.
I mean, why would anyone want to be, why would anyone want to be a teacher period?
But I don't understand why anyone would want to be a teacher.
in Wisconsin.
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely.
If you are a supporter of private and voucher schools, please explain to me why it's okay.
They do not have to follow the same standards as our public schools if they're all receiving public money.
That I would be much more in favor of these if they had to follow the same standards.
I think a lot of us would be, okay, that's cool.
I personally
I wouldn't be but at least it would be a little more fair.
I
think but I think that even if there was if there was a more of a broader fair issue on there if there's to make it
More accountable there'd be ways of snaking around it because it's always gonna favor these schools because that's what these the GOP wants They want to make these schools the place where kids go
or they
don't go to school at all And they just start working at nine years old because everybody needs a ditch digger who's got good shoulders at a young age But the the thing too is you can't come at us with well the court said so no this is about personal feeling Why does
this sit right with you and the court's decision is not the answer?
Yeah, aside from that decision.
Why is this cool?
Why is that acceptable again that?
Private schools that get public dollars do not have to follow the same standards as public schools.
Please explain to me like I'm five.
Why that's cool?
Why that's fine?
Why you have no problem with that?
Either way, please go vote tomorrow.
Myvote.wi.gov and make a plan now to vote April 1st.
That is for the spot on the state Supreme Court.
That's a very, very big, important election.
And it's going to be bringing in tons and tons and tons of money.
from outside groups.
Isn't that interesting?
Stay close.
News is next.
You're listening to Matt Nair on air.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
Good
morning.
Welcome back to Matt Nair on air.
Jane Matt Nair, Greg Bach, and the Board Lord coming to you from our studio at Radio Park in Racine.
Join us, call or text.
The number is the same 855-752-4842.
You can leave a comment on the live stream if you're watching on Facebook, YouTube, and what used to be Twitter.
Just a heads up, the Todd All Best show follows us from noon to 2 p.m.
across the Civic Media Radio Network.
Today, Todd will have a preview of tomorrow's Wisconsin Spring Primary.
Also recap top stories from over the weekend.
In hour number two, this is great.
They always do what's worse.
which is a great opportunity for you to just check in and have your opinion heard.
Today, it's about most annoying couples edition.
Should be a good one.
What's worth with Todd Alba from noon to 2 p.m.
across the Civic Media radio network.
We are waiting for Luanne Bird to join us from Bird on a wire.
She is in transit and should be here at our studio in just a second.
Right before the break, we were talking about tomorrow's primary election between candidates Jill Underly, who is the.
incumbent going up against sock prairie superintendent Jeff right and education consultant Brittany Kinzer Brittany Kinzer a big proponent of choice schools and voucher schools and we did have a couple interesting interesting comments on the live stream Cassandra says I'll ask my neighbor about this about why they should be getting public money without having to follow the same standards I'll ask my neighbor about it.
He's the pastor at a church in my town that has a school in it
However, he and his wife are left leaning lol Tom also texting in on the On the live stream my parents sent us to a Catholic school They also knew that there had to be a sacrifice in order to send them to school by paying extra for it I also went to a Catholic grade school.
Yep You went to a Catholic school 12 years that I'm sure my parents had to pay extra for
oh
Yeah, and I've said before that the high school that I went to in Waukesha now their yearly tuition is more expensive than UW schools.
It's just mind-blowing and just also The I checked out it got a couple things about the sound on the live stream checked out everything should be good to go now.
So good good good Glad to hear it again.
I Guess I don't I don't have I would have fewer problems.
Let me put it that way I would have fewer problems with tax dollars going to public and private schools
if they had to submit to the same standards and the same reporting requirements that public schools do, but they don't.
And they can refuse any kid they want.
Yes.
And you said it before squaring it, make us make it make sense.
Talk to us like we're a five year old.
No one ever really can.
It's just.
how it is, and it's
just a
morphous thing that we don't.
Why is it a problem?
Why do you have a problem with it?
I have a problem with it because millions of dollars, millions upon millions of dollars, I'm sorry, remember to phrase that, millions upon millions of our tax dollars go to pay for these schools and we get nothing from it.
And we don't have anything to say about it either.
Agreed.
What is that website that you have mentioned in the past that actually shows how much we're paying
our money, you guys, to fund these private schools.
The
Wisconsin Education Network.
It's got a table in there that you go and you check out your school district, and it will show exactly how much money is being spent on voucher schools and other programs that are basically supporting the second school system.
And you will be shocked.
How much we're talking about.
Because I generally think people just think that the voucher school money just comes out of nowhere for some reason.
No, that's our money.
Yeah.
No, that's our money.
That's I'd love to have a back.
I'd love to have a back
Dom on the live stream.
They push this thing that it's choice.
It's not choice.
It's profit.
This is absolutely about profit Yes, because again, and we've talked about this before Choice schools can accept a student Take all this taxpayer money and then kick the kid out and keep the money.
Yep.
Yes That doesn't seem quite fair
No, it doesn't seem like a right choice for our school, our education, our children.
And you can go ahead and quote Elon Musk or whoever you want all day long saying what they've found is waste.
They haven't.
Those are lies about our schools as well to make you hate the public schools even more than people already do.
Well, since you had to bring him up.
Sorry.
I thought it was interesting.
And we're going to talk more about this after the 11 o'clock news.
Yeah.
Elon, you and your taxes, the IRS.
But if you've never checked it out yet, I would encourage you to do so.
Go to doge.gov.
Go to doge.gov.
So we can check in all the savings that Elon is finding for us by going into agencies and then firing everyone without realizing what they do.
And then having to hire them back, which we'll talk more about in the after the 11 o'clock news, but We have gotten some textures saying what's wrong with you?
What's your problem with finding efficiencies?
I don't have any problem with finding efficiencies.
I just would like more proof and hence Hence I went to Doge.gov to check on the savings because there's a savings tab right at the very top
And it says receipts coming over the weekend.
It's Monday.
At which weekend?
Was that last week
and the
week
before
the weekend is over?
Is that those receipts also going to have a health care system, health care plan on there?
Receipts coming over the weekend says Elon on doge.gov.
But there's nothing there.
Guys, let's just take the rest of the day off.
Jane, it's a holiday anyways.
The receipts are coming.
We'll be fine.
And I think it's important to remember.
that Elon could put up anything that he wants.
Because he's not supplying any evidence to back up that this is what he saved.
It's just Elon saying, yes, we saved $27 billion.
Well, that's really part and parcel for the White House that he is working for.
They're not about those pesky details, Jane.
They're all about those big actions.
Unfortunately, people are now realizing that their votes really just ended up...
I guess the FCC compliant on this one, but you know, there's, they're finding out that at the end of the day is not doing them any good.
No, unfortunately it's not very, very excited to have her joining us in studio bird on a wire.
The woman who is also eternally positive.
and she will not give up.
Luan Bird joining us in studio now.
Good morning, Luan.
Thank you so much for driving all the way down here.
Oh, good morning.
It's great to be with you all.
We have a lot to talk about.
Yes.
And a lot to do.
Yes, we
absolutely do.
One of the reasons why we really wanted to talk to you, Luan, because people are exhausted.
People are frustrated.
People are afraid in some instances.
And I think
Some of our natural instinct to do is just I'm gonna curl up in a ball and die.
I understand that feeling, but that's not the answer.
So before we talk about getting people motivated to get involved, let's talk about what you did regarding the VA and why this is so important to you and your husband.
Well, thank you for starting there.
If there's anything I feel like I'm dedicating my life to, it's helping other people learn how to do what I do.
So I had heard about the letter that all the federal workers had gotten, and I just, like everybody else, was very alarmed, but didn't pay a lot of attention to it until I was in the VA hospital here in Milwaukee, and I asked.
So we go every year for our annual physical.
Fills there a lot.
His health has really declined in the last year.
And your husband is a
veteran
and he's a Vietnam veteran right was paralyzed in a construction accident PTSD related in 1990 so he's very Complicated lately as he gets older.
He's 79 and as he ages the needs are higher
for sure, but we have a family at the VA and you know, I go toe to toe with my doctors once in a while and nurses there and they know me, but I love them.
And
you've been seeing the
same people for years and some of them, yeah, Dr. Lee has been there for probably 30 years.
He's now like the head of the spinal cord department.
So these folks have been there a long time and
So when I went in there, I asked the first person I saw, did you get the letter?
And she's like, yeah, we did, but I couldn't.
And I got a new position, but I can't get the money that goes with it because of the firing freeze.
And I'm like, oh, this is not good.
And then we get into our appointment, and I'm asking my doctor, I'm asking the nurses in there, they all got the letter.
Which said
what?
Now that is the key.
Encourage your listeners to...
Google fork in the road and read the letter because what it was very confusing It was very alarming to them because it was they were not sure what all this meant and these are professionals These are not I mean they're professionals all of our civil servants are in their own right whether they're a social worker a doctor or whatever But the letter said this like these are the four standards that we're gonna live by now as
Federal workers and if you choose to stay it went in that order if you choose to stay Thank you, but you have to live by these standards and there will be no Guarantee that your job is still going to be there that's in the letter and it encourages them to go to the private sector and then it says
the buyout.
So if you choose to leave now, we'll buy you out.
But if you stay, there's no guarantee your job is going to be here.
Now talk about sending ripples through me and my family.
I bet.
So of course, the first thing I did was organize and I let people know and I sent letters.
I wrote a letter to the presidency and sent that off.
There is a White House contact that you can at least actually the
First thing I did was make a phone call, and I had my little grandson in the car, and I'm like, hey, Siri, could you call the White House?
And lo and behold, it found a number.
And it found a person.
And so my grandson's like, you're not calling the White House.
Grandma, you can't do that.
Grandma?
Just watch me.
Well, that was just the first thing.
Then I sent all kinds of letters.
And then I let the press know, and I sent out a press release.
There was a wonderful rally for
our federal employees on downtown Milwaukee on Valentine's Day to show our love for our federal workers.
So I marched on down there and made sure I stood up there with my sign.
And
have you heard from other families of veterans?
Yes, I have.
And other people that just did not know that this letter affects our veterans.
So, you know, my story is like Phil broke his leg.
broke his ankle.
He's, he had a stroke a number of years ago.
So he needed a lot of physical therapy and occupational therapy.
And then now, you know, this, this broken leg, he needs, well, it's, it's healed now, but you know, he needed the orthodepartment and he needed, and we needed a social worker to help bring some help into the house for me.
Cause he can no longer transfer by himself.
So he's completely bedbound.
So I'm wondering what 20% of all of that do, do we need to cut for our veterans?
And also, I get a lot of caregiver support as a caregiver, or I wouldn't be able to take care of him.
I'm wondering what 20% of that we all have to give up.
I just don't think this is the way to go about making government more efficient.
I agree, that's always a thing, but I think change should happen from the bottom up, not the top down.
And that's what I do.
I've gone toe to toe with them.
more times than you can go.
That's a waste of time and a waste of money and it's not working.
And the VA also holds town hall meetings all the time for us patients so that we can let them know how things are happening.
So this is wrong.
What's happening is wrong.
And I've got my network birds on a wire and so many people are stepping up.
They're meeting with me every week to talk about actions we can take.
How can we turn that passion, like you said, and don't curl up on the couch.
Just.
get out there and do something, whether it's write a letter, whether it's make a phone call.
So I'm helping people turn that into, and not just writing letters and everything, but having an impact.
That's the goal here.
We really need to make sure that we have democracy.
And I hear people say we maybe need to reframe how we talk.
I'm not for that.
I've never been for that.
You're a very
street shooter.
I'm
not quite sure what people want you to do.
Yeah.
Well, that
was one of the things too is after the election, they said, we got to find a way to get along and find our commonality.
No, you voted for a party and a guy who wanted to cut, decimate, and hurt us.
I don't feel like I need to work too hard to connect with that.
I need to find people who want to do the work to make it better.
And that's what you're doing right now, Lou Ann.
Claire Reed has an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about your
about the VA.
We're going to include this in our show notes.
You can always find those at civicmedia.us.
Click on shows.
Go to Matt and Aaron here.
We're going to continue our conversation with Lou Ann Bird.
Join us 855-752-4842.
You're listening to Matt and Aaron here.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
We'll be right back.
Good morning.
Welcome back to Matt and Air on Air.
Jane Matt and Air.
Greg Bach, Dr. Slide on the board, coming to you from our studio here at Radio Park in Racine.
You can always join us.
The number is the same.
Call her text 855-752-4842.
Leave a comment if you're watching on the live stream on YouTube and the platform shedding more users than a molting parrot.
You can always check in with us.
No pun and
I'm just trying
no bird.
No versions.
Oh, yeah, bird
pun.
Yeah, I thought it was.
Yeah.
Oh, just like, yes.
Yes.
That's exactly why I did that.
Luann Bird is here from Bird on a Wire.
And if you're just joining us before we went to the break, Luann's husband is a Vietnam veteran and has been using the VA for many, many years.
And you were very concerned when a lot of federal employees got this fork in the road litter and it was essentially
We and we think you should join the private sector, right?
If not, yeah, you can stay but you're not really guaranteed anything
right,
right?
That was the message.
Yeah, which sounds so Warming and and makes you feel so good about being an employee like that's great to get that letter.
Well, and I guess and you would know better than I Luan There have been a lot of complaints.
I've heard about the VA.
It is not a perfect institution
There are people I've had issues with the VA, but this doesn't seem to be the right way to fix it.
No, most of the issues are around understaffing.
Understaffing.
Doggone or inefficiencies, that's true, but mostly because they are understaffed and underfunded.
There's more of a baby boomer population having greater needs and there's more wars, more people using it and needing it.
So I go back to the issue of maybe people just don't understand
We don't have to reframe things.
We have to educate people because you cannot have democracy without a bureaucracy.
And what they're doing right now, a bureaucracy is the system by which civil servants that are not elected carry out the policy makers policies that they vote on our behalf.
So this idea that we have to just cut the bureaucracy and slash and burn, that's not what we need to do.
We can't have democracy if we get rid
of bureaucracy.
So it's not a bad term.
It is just a system.
It's a way of organizing things and making sure that those policies that our elected officials, we elect them to do, get carried out through the civil servants.
They're not people you can just chop off the block like this.
I think that was great what you just said there.
And I think we need to bring that phrase, that term, into our lexicon when it comes to this kind of behavior, which is slash and burn.
No
forethought on what you're getting rid of you're just getting rid of things and then all of a sudden you're left going What happened to that thing?
Yeah, we got rid of it three months ago.
I didn't know that because we didn't look I think I think the more we need the more you use slash and burn to describe what the current White House is doing that that has a visceral and meaningful impact to people because it's just what it is and we're seeing it across the board whether it's the VA whether it's
maybe the IRS, maybe it's the... Are
nuclear agencies?
Yeah, so this is not finding inefficiencies.
This is slash and burn.
That's it.
Elan's coming in with all his 19-year-olds.
One of them whose nickname is Big Balls.
I can
assure you they do not
understand how the government actually works.
Rosanna from Oshkosh has been very patient waiting on the phone.
Good morning, Rosanna.
Thank you for joining us.
What do you want to say?
say that I have been on the front lines as a veteran in Desert Storm and I spent five years in military service and proudly serve my country.
I continued my federal work at FedBA working in the homeless program, which I understand is on the chopping block right after the veteran crisis line, which was formerly known as the veteran suicide hotline, which I manned probably once every four weeks.
I am devastated and appalled that we cannot work across party lines.
to support and protect our combat veterans and some of the most vulnerable programs in the world.
It's not a DEI, homeless programs are not just a DEI initiative.
They are serving our nation's heroes and they are on the chopping block next.
And I am just shocked and saddened and I just wanted to say thank you guys for all the work you do at W-
Oh, thank
you very
much.
Really, really, really appreciate your call.
And thank you for your service.
Absolutely.
And
I cannot imagine the level of frustration, Rosanna, for you and other veterans.
When you hear veterans used as props by our politicians and we back the, you know, if it's not back the blue, we back our vets and we do all this.
Yeah.
Except when it comes time to pay for it.
So I want to.
Tag on to what Rosanna said there in that we these are unprecedented times so I Wrote a letter to President Musk and I sent it off to the White House and I did copy DJ Trump on it but telling him that you can't run America like a business and that you know these programs serve Veterans and I said my husband put his life on the line
For our country once and now it feels like it's happening again only the not not coming in from the enemy It's coming from you.
Wow.
You are putting my husband's Life on the line right now by cutting all those programs that are keeping him alive at the VA and including what Roseanne's doing out there for homeless veterans Everybody says oh we want to support veterans But then do it with your dollars do
it with your
voices anyone listening Please call your legislators and tell them to stand up
Stand up Republicans stand up to this.
This is not what America is
Cassandra on the live stream says Luan I just signed up for your newsletter.
You're such a beacon of positivity Thank you for your work and thank your husband for his service.
My dad was a Vietnam veteran as well.
Thank you for that Cassandra.
Thank you Luan bird She is our role model Luanne and Jean from Eau Claire.
We can all do something.
Yes,
we can all do
something and we will have this article about Luanne
in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in our show notes to make sure you check that out.
We have news coming up next when we return Elon and you, Elon and us.
That's all on the way.
Stay close.
You're listening to Matt Nair on air.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
