Let That Sink In (Hour 1)

We're both dudes.

Hey,

welcome to

nightlight everybody.

It is great That you are here because we are gonna celebrate Tuesday evening the way only nightlighters can welcome to this show I'm Pete Schwabba sitting across from me in a manner of speaking is Greg Bach.

Hi, buddy.

How are you?

I'm well.

There's

my pen.

Hello

Welcome to the show.

Hi, I'm doing well.

Thank

you so

much for asking.

And I was gonna say for having me, but I'm here.

My name is on the billboard now, so I have to be here.

It's not like-

You're havin', you've been halved.

Yeah, I've been halved.

Yeah,

I'm doing

well.

Thank you very much, yes.

And I appreciate that.

Yeah, havin' a good day, havin' a good night.

We're here on Nightlight Episode Two of Version 2.0.

I love it, man.

It's great.

Our our second night and Dom Lee working the board buddy looking as handsome as ever.

Well, not quite as ever.

Slightly less handsome than you look last night.

I was about to blush.

You're very presentable.

Oh, thank you.

You really gave that compliment and just took it

right back.

I was so

happy for

a moment.

Hey,

man, you're doing great.

Not as great as yesterday, but you know, I guess, you know.

Well,

you know what, Greg?

Looks aren't everything to me.

I just meant he's slightly less handsome.

He's more on top of everything else in his life, though.

I guess I'm not as superficial as you.

So that's fine.

Wow.

Good

save.

Good

save and deflection.

Are

you talking to the State of the Union tonight?

My goodness.

All

right.

I'm the guy.

Yeah, absolutely.

Hey, we had a really fun show tonight, folks.

It's going to be we got great guests and we got a fun question.

We're going to roll out in just a few minutes.

Greg I have to get something off my chest.

I you know, I'm alone most of the day for good reason and

Turn to a sad song

here.

No, I get these dom some mood music, please.

No, I've got these Thoughts throughout the day and when I read them they drive me bananas and here is

my

new pet peeve When people say something to you or on social media that they think is earth shattering.

Yeah, and then they go let that sink in Okay

I mean, and like, for example, Brett Fyreff played his first game 31 years ago.

Let that sink in.

I got it right away.

I didn't need to let anything sink in.

Well, I mean, that's just the thing is we have a very weird relationship with the passage of time.

There's a joke from Tig Notaro where someone said the effect of like, my God, my kid's five years old.

Can you believe it?

Yeah, of course I can believe it.

That's how

time works.

I mean, it's just a matter of like,

yeah.

I just don't need to ever hear that again.

It's like when people say, so the other day, right?

Yeah, I'm with you so far.

I'm right there.

Well, that's how I felt whenever a comic would get on stage and be like, well, recently, I'm like, yeah, recently.

I'm sure three years ago, recently.

OK, fine.

No, I get that.

I get that.

Or I love the tag, just saying.

Just say it right.

You just said it.

You got it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, just saying I know you're just saying I heard you say it I have ears that work it picks up sound waves all of those noises were words you said it good job now I'm peeved

now I'm peeved It's sole purpose and saying that was you all worked up mission accomplished.

There you go.

There you go.

There you go

But you know, I'm an optimist.

I'm a happy guy.

I just, I can still point out things like this that I don't think we need anymore.

It's like the kind of the dumbing down of society a little bit.

Dom, you've worked at Civic Media for a year and a half now.

Let that sink in.

Well, there we go.

It's only been nine months, actually.

The world

is not round.

You were slightly more

handsome yesterday.

Oh, my gosh.

Let that sink in.

Oh, that's just going to hurt him later when he's in bed tonight.

He's staring at the ceiling going, oh, it's sinking in right now.

I'm not pretty.

The

world is not

flat.

Or round, let that

sink in.

Well said, Greg.

Way to go, buddy.

I knew we were on the show together.

There you go.

There you go.

Lots of fun tonight, folks.

As I mentioned, we've got... You want to introduce our grass?

Our grass?

Our...

All right, Pete, just

take a breath.

All right, we're speaking tonight.

Tonight after the 530 news, we'll be speaking to Eileen Newcomer, who is the deputy director of the League of Women Voters, Wisconsin, talking about things like the SAVE Act, the MEGA Act, how that could affect our voting abilities as far as what those laws are proposing, as well as other things having to do with this election year.

And then in the second hour at 622, we'll be talking to Megan Anderson.

Oh, I lost the other one's name.

I'm so.

Crystal, thank you very much.

They are from I want to get this name corrected.

It's absolutely wonderful.

Lakeshore foster family and friends talking about the porta potty races they hold every year.

We're talking about that event, how you can watch if you're in the area, but it's going to be really fun.

And then, of course, at the end of the show, we'll be wrapping it up with a handy tip from Greg and Pete this time.

It's about how we should treat our robot friends.

Robot.

Robot.

We

need to embrace, we're all gonna die, but we need to embrace.

Man, you're full of good cheer and fandom today, my goodness.

Dom, you're ugly.

I don't like when people talk and

we're all gonna die.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Dom, is that what you took out of that, that you're ugly?

Yeah, I wrote that actually.

Slightly, okay.

I wrote it down and said, yeah, Pete, I don't only mess with Pete anymore, so that's kind of what I wrote down.

Have you ever

read The Portrait of Dorian Gray?

That's you, Dom.

That

was a

literature reference.

He had a great hair day yesterday.

That was what put him over the time.

He looks the same.

He was

wearing a bandana yesterday, wasn't he?

I was wearing a beanie.

I always

wear my beanies.

It's like my go-to thing.

You can see my hair.

Oh my goodness.

Well, we've got a lot to get.

There's a big thing happening tonight, Greg.

Yes, there is.

Absolutely.

Something I like to call the state of the union address.

Well, that

kicks off our...

Big three stories of the day, Dom.

Tonight's the State of the Union address, my friends.

Are you excited, Pete?

What is your money on?

I feel like we can bet on this.

There's got to be betting available on the State of the Union.

That would be like the easiest odds ever, because I know he's going to talk about tariffs because of the recent vote from the Supreme Court.

I know he's going to talk about the economy.

And how amazing it is whether you like it or

not well I found this I found this post this tweet on the twitters

Which by the way, you can always catch us on the live stream if you're listening to us right now You can always watch us live on the live stream Facebook YouTube and the platform We still call Twitter and also give us a call eight five five seven five two four eight four two eight five five seven five seven But a person on Twitter put it perfectly I feel like this is a distillation of what will happen tonight This is called the mega cliff notes for the state of the union chapter one if something goes wrong blame Democrats if the economy is good credit Trump if the economy is bad blame Biden if the con if if facts contradict the narrative call it fake news

If Trump says it, repeat it.

If evidence appears, ignore it.

If question, attack the messenger.

If policies hurt people, call it patriotism.

If it creates fear, share it faster.

And loyalty over truth always.

So that's basically the rundown.

So

you

need to watch, but definitely tune in anyway, because Civic Media will be

coming.

Yeah.

So the speech, so we are in Wisconsin.

We are in the central time zone.

It takes place at 9 PM tonight, but you can watch it at 8 PM.

You can also catch it on Civic Media.

Civic Media is going to be presenting a special broadcast with host John Scott doing coverage.

beginning at 8pm tonight.

We'll be doing post address analysis as well.

There will be guests.

I believe that a winter storm on the east coast could possibly change that.

So we will just say there will be guests there.

But if you want to check that out, that'll be right here at Civic Media starting at eight with the address and then post show analysis with John Scott afterwards.

I got to tell you that if you if you're not typically a state of the union watcher, you definitely want to hear John Scott's take.

He is not a stuff shirt.

He's going to come on.

He's got that awesome voice.

Yeah.

And it's going to be like, you're going to be like in the mood to go out and party after you hear John Scott talk about it.

And it's might give you a weird sensation.

Oh, boy.

From a party standpoint.

So yeah, I think you've got supposedly only a few of the Supreme Court members were invited.

Yeah.

So

because of last week's decision from the Supreme Court regarding tariffs.

It was a six to three decision with some of what he thought his stalwarts voting against his ability to impose tariffs.

He said in an interview, actually at a podium, he said that...

the Supreme Court is barely invited to this.

In fact, he said six are not in are barely by three are invited for sure.

Those are the three who voted for what he wants to do, but they are barely invited.

And what I did, what I did a little digging into this too, in a New York Times article that I'm certainly, certainly trying to find right now, even though I'm always, there we go.

This is a New York Times article where they actually show which justices

come to the State of the Union.

And I thought it was a required thing.

They all had to be there for ceremony, pomp and all the circumstance that's available.

But really, the only one who's been there every year consistently has been Chief Justice John Roberts.

Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who I would say are his biggest allies in the Supreme Court, they never come.

What but they're not required.

I thought they won has to show up to represent and you know Roberts has been drawn the short straw or something or what

I mean, it's show that looks at this breakdown.

It's very it's a very color-coded graphic here and Alayna Kagan has gone every time so has Brett Kavanaugh Since being you know appointed, but yeah, I mean Sonya Sotomayor has gone to two since 2017 and

it's just I just I always thought they had just had to be there but at this point this year he has simply said I would like one-third of the court here the rest can go take their robes and fly off into the sunset I mean it's it's gonna be very interesting what he says to them tonight because I don't know how much he's gonna stick to the script

one-third of the Supreme Court the men's hockey team but not the women's and capitol

doing a beer bong for the hair of a dog.

I think here's what I don't get.

Yeah.

OK.

So Trump will always tout his achievements and, you know, all that kind of stuff.

Gas prices are down.

I have not found they are not talking about.

Are they are they distracted by the FD and files to the point they don't realize?

And again, gas prices are not directly because of the president.

We said

they

set up in Biden was so I get it.

I get that and he shouldn't, but I'm surprised he isn't touting his policies of fixed gas prices.

But that's the thing is no policies he can point to can show that he has, but he doesn't have, they don't have to be lower high.

He always just says they're a buck 99 and people believe that right now, according to AAA, the average fuel price in America is $2.95.

And I've seen places where I live as low as 222.

And that's

Fine.

But there are implications when the gas prices are that low.

There are big time business implications when gas, and, and, and just to reiterate, I've said this many times before on this network, presidents do not determine the cost of gas in this country.

So when it's high, it's not a president's fault.

You got to look at the deals they're striking behind the scenes.

That's what you look at.

But, you know, they're going to say, gas is a buck 99.

And that's just never been true lately.

Correct.

I think we are ready for number two.

Number two.

All right.

Cool.

We'll knock that out real quick.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Milwaukee Brewers are stepping up to help fix the pothole problem by giving the city $27,000 to pay for large capacity asphalt hot boxes to repair potholes.

And here's my favorite part, Pete, is that they're going to brand them with the Brewers logo on them.

the pothole conditions were exasperated by repeated freezing and thawing and you just drove to Milwaukee this past weekend and

you saw the potholes.

They are, they are bad.

As part of the partnership, the brewers decal will be posted on the equipment with 75 brewers logos expected to be stenciled on top of the newly filled

potholes.

That is some serious branding.

We

are, we are.

and only 27 grand.

How many potholes does that fix?

That's my question.

Four.

Let that sink in.

There

we go.

All right, all right.

Get us out of here.

Get us out of here.

All right, we've got Chris Casper on the text line says, if you have a vehicle that can take E85, it's about a dollar a gallon cheaper.

Thank you, Mr. Casper.

Hey, this is Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach.

We are coming back to give you the question of the day and talk about our third big thing.

Don't go anywhere.

This is the Civic Media Network.

Welcome back.

This is Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach.

Great to have you with us on this Tuesday night.

Just a reminder, folks, the text and phone lines are open, 855-752-4842, 855-75 civic.

Give us a call or a text.

Let us know your thoughts.

You can chime in on anything we're talking about tonight, as usual.

We've got to, hey, we got to get to our question tonight, Greg.

How do you feel about that?

Yes, I feel

great about that piece.

Ladies

and gentlemen, here's our nightlight question of the night.

Do you tip fast food workers or baristas?

Let us know what you think folks.

I have my own opinions on this as I'm sure we all do Yeah, but I would love to know what you guys think about this because I think it's a bit of a crock For many reasons Greg and I are in total agreement on this But let us know what you think you can text us on the app or if you're watching the radio on YouTube Facebook or ex Twitter You can drop us a stream comment or the good old-fashioned text line at 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 Greg

You know, this isn't controversial.

I'm referencing your comment earlier, but do you think this is a divisive statement?

About tipping?

Yes, absolutely.

Is

anyone in favor of this?

Well, I mean, I'm going to talk about it more in the second hour, but I feel like this conversation is brought up in the matter of to stoke fire.

when there is a bigger, more nuanced discussion behind the initial question that we're not addressing as a society, but I feel like that nuance is not on our things to do list in this country.

We like bite-size arguments.

We like the candy.

We want to get into Twitter fights and social media arguments, but I want to look at the reasons why we're, I want to look at the reasons why we're mad.

And there's a very good reason why people are upset about this.

So I would say that I will go deeper into that.

in the second hour.

That's fair.

And we'll get Dom's thoughts too.

I'll just say that I'm confused because I really despise this.

But oftentimes I tip.

I get so mad.

I'm like, I shouldn't take it out on this person who might need the money.

So I got my own battles

going

on inside.

There you go.

There you go.

But that's going to be more in the second hour.

We're going to talk about that.

But now we're going to move on to our third and final story of the evening.

Go ahead sir Robert Carradine passed away the actor at the age of 71.

He's part of the Carradine brood a big extended family one of those Hollywood families where they've I didn't know Martha Plimpton was a Carradine, but she didn't

know that either yeah

daughter of Keith Carradine David Carradine and you got Robert Carradine who passed away took his own life at the age of 71 after

dealing with bipolar disorder for, I guess, a couple of decades.

But for me, he'll always be remembered for that role of Lewis in Revenge of the Nerds.

I thought he was so funny in that.

And then he kind of went away while he did like four more of those movies, but a tragic story.

You hate to hear stuff like that.

And I think that, you know, that was a thing is, for me, he's frozen in time as Lewis, even

though

he's done other things.

He did really, I mean, like he's been in roles where he's played real...

kind of scummy characters.

Like he's an actor.

He's from,

and

it's like the Barrymore's or the fondas.

Like it's just a ton

of

actors in that family.

And the father, John Carradine was in the grapes of wrath.

And what really sucks is that it was, he took his life because of a struggle with bipolar disorder.

And in the statement from his family, they said that they're hoping that the good that can come from this, if anything, is that people finally,

someday start having a conversation about how this can affect people.

And, you know, that really, I mean, I was, I was, that was one of those things, Pete, where I saw it and I had to look twice.

Cause I'm like, this isn't right.

This is like, this is what?

And just, I don't know where it's going.

He's gone.

And that really, that really sucks.

And yeah.

Yeah.

It's news either way, because an actor we've all heard of passed away at 71, which isn't young, but it's not old either.

And.

What makes it so newsworthy is how he did it and that's the tragic part of it and you think to yourself well This guy is from this like this big family.

We just mentioned Who is looking out for him?

He's not living on the streets like this guy and and you know friends and family sometimes can only do so much but exactly Yeah, it's a terrible thing.

He was in mean streets.

Yes had a very small part as when he was a boy I think so got over 150 credits Really good career and it's a really terrible story

And that's just that, that just goes to reader at the point.

If you know anybody who's struggling to reach out, try to help them.

You know, you can't force yourself upon them, but if you can sit down, have a chat, help them find help, be whatever you can in their lives.

That's very, very important.

Cause yeah, he's, it's even, even if I refer to him as famous, I know there's probably a lot of people who are like, I'm not sure who that is, but to me he's famous and

it

doesn't, it doesn't, this doesn't affect one type of person.

It affects everybody.

And so my heart.

and warm thoughts go out to the Karedeen family.

According, if you read their statement, they are devastated by this.

So yeah, if you know someone who needs help or if you need help, please reach out, get some help.

And one of those families, like they're a huge showbiz family, but they're never, they're not like the Kardashians or, you know, the Charlie Sheen's family.

Like they're never in the news for terrible things, or at least not that I can recall.

They seem so many showbiz families surprise you because they're strikingly normal.

And that's what's weird about this, too.

I didn't even know he was part of that Karateen family until I read this news last night.

So, yeah, a terrible story and that wraps up our big three.

Before we hit the news, sports and weather here, folks, we've got Tom from Hartford says, low gas prices equals slowing economy.

Absolutely.

Okay.

When the gas prices are lower, that means oil is lower, which means they're drilling less, which means they'll close sites, which means people possibly lose their jobs.

There are huge implications to cheap gas prices in this country.

Right.

Tom also weighed in on our question of the night.

We can read that really quick before we go to break.

He says he only tips people that supply him custard.

OK.

Well, tell me where you live.

I'll bring you a bucket.

I'll take the cash, baby.

All right, we are coming right back after news sports and weather This is nightlight with peach wabba and Greg box so much fun still on the docket.

Yeah, I said docket let that sink in We're coming right back on the civic media network

Welcome back to Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach here on the Civic Media Network.

If you are tuning in, we're happy you are here sharing time with us.

If you want to be part of the conversation, 855-752-4842-855-75 Civic, leave a comment on the live stream.

We are currently streaming on Facebook, YouTube and the platform.

We still call Twitter still ahead.

We are going to be talking

I want to get this name correct because I like saying it correctly.

The Lakeshore foster families and friends about the porta potty races taking place coming up very soon.

And then also Greg and Pete's handy tip of the day.

Just to reiterate as well, our question of the night.

Do you tip fast food workers or baristas?

You can call in 855-752-4842 or leave a comment on the live stream or text us through the Civic.

media app.

We're going to keep the show rocking and rolling right now with our first guest this evening.

She is the deputy director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.

Eileen Newcomer is our guest.

Good evening, Eileen.

How are you tonight?

Hello, I'm doing okay.

You know, all things considered,

but I'm

very happy to be in the room with you all.

So I'm just,

I think that's a fair response.

I've been seeing that a lot lately.

I'm like, how you doing?

They're like, I'm

Fine.

That makes sense.

Yeah, that makes absolute sense.

Eileen, we really thank you for being here this evening.

I've spoken to Deb Cronmiller a number of times, and I'm excited to have you on the show this evening.

And we wanted to know, first and foremost, tell us about the League of Women Voters Wisconsin, what your mission is, what you seek to accomplish, and how you get it done by working in the community.

Sure.

So the League of Women Voters at Wisconsin is the state chapter

of a national organization but we are a federated organization which is kind of wonky and weird but we have a national league that works on national issues the state league which I work for which focuses on statewide issues and then local leagues are all volunteer run grassroots organizations in their own right and there's 21 local leagues around the state of Wisconsin and what unifies us is our shared mission to empower voters and defend democracy.

We do this by informing people of their their rights, of encouraging people to get up to vote, providing advocacy for our elections to ensure that we have fair, safe, secure elections, and then our membership also works together to determine our positions that we have on issues.

So we are staunchly non-partisan, but that

does

not mean that we're not political.

We definitely have an opinion on a whole host of issues and

It's all about, you know, getting people together to talk about, you know, what are the things that are affecting us most in our life and what are the policies that we would like to see to move things forward.

And one of the things that we have going on right now is our Unite and Rise campaign, which

is

our response to the constitutional crisis that we find ourselves in right now.

And like, I don't care what language you want to use, some people call it constitutional crisis, some call it rising authoritarianism.

Some people call it fascism.

Some people call it a dystopian nightmare.

But I think we all know what it is that we're living in right now and that it is not a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

And that's really what the league is all about, is making sure that our democracy is functioning and that it truly represents the people.

So what do you say, Eileen, to people who, like you're nonpartisan, voting should be nonpartisan, but

I know that there are some people in society that look at what you do trying to make it easier for people to vote and that becomes political somehow.

Like you kind of just mentioned, how do you change the narrative for that?

It's a great question and I always like to try to better understand where the person's coming from when they have that point of view that the act of voting is partisan because I think that there's kind of a mismatch between

Are we a democracy where it's one person, one vote, and we all have a say in a stake in our future?

Or is that idea partisan?

And I think that's part of why we see ourselves in the moment that we are in.

It's because a lot of people have started to view just the simple act of voting as being partisan.

And we all know that politicians have been using their power to try and divide us.

break the map so that they choose their voters, instead of voters choosing them.

And this is all part of that same system that is crumbling our democracy.

Well, when you bring up something like the politicians using their power, that brings me into my question regarding both the SAVE and the MEGA Act that were

passed in the House and want to be passed through the Senate.

I've seen stories say it's likely not to happen, but that doesn't make me feel better.

It gives me great pause regardless.

That we have politicians who are trying to create bills that restrict access to voting or make it that you have to pay for certain things to vote, which to me is a poll tax.

But then spinning it as, this is about election safety and keeping things consistent and safe.

How do you from the league combat that kind of very simple language by saying that's not the real story?

You have to look behind the words.

Yeah, you definitely have to look behind the words.

Whenever there is a bill that's introduced that affects voting, we really need to think about who is this going to impact most and why would it be that we want to make it harder for that group of people to vote.

and essentially with the SAVE Act it would be making it harder for older adults and women in order to vote because people are like why would that be?

I don't understand.

And we have a culture where most women once they get married they change their last name and that adds an extra layer of paperwork to be able to prove that you are who you say you are.

And

from a feelings perspective too.

It's almost like the government is asking you to track the ownership of yourself as a woman from your father to your husband.

Let's say you got divorced and you got married again to your next husband.

And that doesn't feel good either.

And that doesn't feel like a democracy that values me as a woman.

And I think we also need to remember how much our country has changed over the last 250 years and even more recently with the number of,

of access to hospitals.

And a lot of people, especially older adults, were actually born at home and never had a birth certificate.

So how are you supposed to ever get that documentation to prove that you are a citizen if you were never issued that documentation to begin with?

And so once we start looking at that, we're like, okay, what is going on here?

Why are...

what are they trying to pass the law like this?

And we can't forget that this is coming out of Wisconsin.

So my congressional leader, Brian Stile, is one of the people who is really pushing the SAFE Act and the MEGA Act and why our elections in Wisconsin are secure, they're safe, they've been audited, they've been investigated, they have been sued for issues and

You know, there have been small, minor things, but those are all tweaks that happen and we can adjust to make those things not a problem in the future.

So if people are, you know, really savvy about elections, they might know about the investigation into Madison with a few of the absentee ballots that went missing.

And so like that is a real problem.

We do have real problems with our elections.

Whether or not Susie got married three times and she needs to show her documentation of every time that she was married or

and divorced.

I don't see what that has to do with the active voting.

And if you are afraid of non-citizens voting, then just take a do a deep dive into the research.

People have studied this.

They have, again, audited this.

Non-citizen voting is extremely, extremely rare.

And the consequences for doing that are also very severe.

And so nobody wants to risk their livelihood, their ability to

Be part of the community be there with their family by voting when they are not supposed to be voting

You know, it's interesting.

You just said that you people some of these acts the mega act and the save act want people to show papers and this is gonna affect younger people and people of color more, but I would think even

you know, other people, other factions of society don't want to have to dig for all that stuff.

I know when I need a copy of my birth certificate, I'm pretty on top of things.

It takes me a couple hours to find it or a social security card or papers.

Like who wants to do that on either side of the aisle?

Exactly right.

And I think we all know people who have tried to get the real ID that one with the star on it who have had trouble.

I mean, my husband, he went and tried to get his, and his says, not for federal use, I make a joke that it's not a real ID.

But no, it is complicated and it's hard.

And my grandma, she had to go three times to the DMV to get her real ID.

And if you take that kind of thing and then put the timeline of elections, you may not have the time you need in order to get the documents to prove that you are who you say you are.

I don't want to not have people vote just because there is a bureaucratic systems that take time for people to get documents that the government already has.

Well, and to me, that's something that I've flippantly said, fine, pass the MEGA Act, pass the SAVE Act, but then the government is then responsible for putting into place systems in which we can access all of those things easily and for free because the moment you introduce

a point where you say, well, I have to buy a brand new birth certificate.

That, to me, equates a poll tax.

It requires me to pay this thing in order to vote.

But when you try to bring that up, I mentioned it on Twitter, which was my mistake to begin with.

I take full responsibility for saying anything on Twitter.

But the moment I said something, a person came back saying, well, I guess you just love for illegals and immigrants to vote in elections.

I'm like, I can't do this right now.

I don't have time because, again, we're having a conversation right now.

And we're talking about this in a nuanced sense, but it's hard to put all this information into the minds of people who don't understand the total impact.

They've just been told, we want to make elections safer.

And they leave it that, well, of course I do.

Of course I, yes, I'll vote for that.

But they don't understand the full implication because not everyone has the time.

As you said, they don't have the time to go get all these documents.

They also maybe not have the time to sit down and take all this information in.

So I guess the question I have goes back to.

As the league, what are you doing to inform folks out there to make it bite-size, if you will?

I don't mean to be insulting in that sense, but for people to look it up, see what's going on, and make their own decisions based on this nonpartisan advice or information that you would have for them to understand.

Really important point and important question.

And I think it's really important that you bring up the poll tax talking point as well, because...

that that's what this would be is that people would then have to pay in order to get documents to vote.

And so you would have to be able to pay in order to vote.

We've already been there.

We've done that as a country.

We've apologized for it.

It's part of the system that has been imported nefariously to other countries.

And I want to move forward.

I don't want to go back.

And I don't know about you, but that's where I'm at.

Our guest is Eileen Newcomer.

She is with the League of Women Voters Wisconsin.

Eileen, you know, there's so much information out there.

You know, people put it out there.

Oh, we're going to cancel the election this or we're going to do this to the election, make it more difficult to save act.

Has anything really changed in your like from the last election?

What do people need to know about the upcoming midterms as voters?

I think one of the biggest things that people need to know is that

we finally have fairer maps.

And so all of our state legislative races are going to be much more competitive than they have been for the last decade.

And that means voters have even more of a choice than they had before to decide who wants to represent them.

And I think we also can't ignore the climate that we find ourselves in.

And when we vote, we are saying we want this person to go represent us either at the state level, the federal level,

the local level, and we want to make sure that there are people who are going to represent us that actually have our best interests at heart and are not trying to sell us away, to sell our assets.

We're going to keep the conversation going with Eileen Newcomer.

She is the deputy director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.

We're talking about the SAVE Act, the MEGA Act, and how we need to protect our right to vote here in Wisconsin, as well as the rest of the country.

questions, comments, 855-752-4842, 855-755-CIVIC.

Leave a comment on the livestream.

I see texts coming in for it as well.

Don't go anywhere.

You're listening to Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach here on the Civic Media Network.

Stay tuned and stay close.

Welcome back to Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach here on the Civic Media Network.

If you want to get in touch with us, call or text the number is the same 855-752-4842-855-755.

Civic leave a comment on the live stream.

We are currently on Facebook, YouTube and the platform.

We still call Twitter.

And we see text messages coming through.

We see messages coming through on the live stream.

So we really appreciate that.

Don't forget, after the six o'clock news break at six, 20, we're going to be speaking to the Lakeshore foster family and friends about the Porta Potty races taking place.

How you can get involved, how you can see it if you're in the area.

And just the fact that we're talking about Porta Potty races seems absolutely wonderful.

But right now we're continuing our conversation with Eileen Newcomer, who is the deputy director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, discussing the SAVE Act, the MEGA Act, and just

protecting the ability to vote in this country.

And I know on the live stream I said that I wanted to ask you one thing, but I saw Sage Weill, who is the owner of Civic Media, asked me to ask a question, so I'm going to do that.

And he said that he wanted to know about very restrictive rules, which he said, ask her about the very restrictive rules for which IDs are allowed in Wisconsin, like not out of state IDs, even if it's a real ID, as far as like, how is that affecting voting, if that is affecting at all?

had a very strict voter ID law here in Wisconsin since 2016.

And there are only nine different IDs that you can use.

And even if they are government issued, if they're outside of the state of Wisconsin, beyond a passport, that doesn't work as proof of identity.

So when you use your photo ID at the polls, you're proving that you are who you say you are.

So they look at your photo, they look at the name,

and say, OK, is this the name that's on the poll book?

Does this picture reasonably match the person in front of me?

And that's the purpose and the point of having an ID when you go and vote.

And so there are nine options, passport, state driver's license, so Wisconsin driver's license or state ID card.

It does not have to be a real ID, so the one with the star.

If it's not for federal purposes, that still counts as a photo ID.

Lots of restrictions on college IDs, but there are ways that they can be used for ID for somebody who's going to vote.

Veterans IDs, tribal IDs, and certificates of naturalization that have your photo on them count.

And there may be one or two.

I didn't count as I was going off, I should have.

But yeah, so it's a very restrictive list.

And I think that it's important for people to know that you have to do that in addition to providing proof of residence.

when you register to vote.

So when you provide proof of residence, you have to provide a document that shows your name and your address on it.

And that is a document that you use to prove that you live where you say you live.

And so with the SAVAC or the MEGA Act, we'd actually be talking about adding a third layer of documentation to the two layers that already exist here in Wisconsin.

And I know that it's some of the talking points is like, oh,

Photo ID has a lot of broad support.

And I would say that is true.

But in the way that they're talking about the SAVE Act and proof of citizenship in order to vote, they're making that seem like that is just photo ID, which we already have here in Wisconsin.

And it is preventing people from voting.

After every election, I request the list of provisional voters from the Wisconsin Elections Commission so we can follow up with that list.

And that list is people who went to vote, thinking that they would be able to vote, you know, past the registration hurdle, but did not have that photo ID.

And so we actually contact all the people who show up to vote, trying to vote, but are not able to vote because of that.

And there are hundreds of them.

And there's even a study that was done by UW Madison that talked about the impact of photo ID after it was implemented in 2016.

And it prevented it.

I would say upwards of 20,000 people in the Madison, Milwaukee areas from voting.

Eileen, my parents have always been election observers and I always feel very secure when I go into vote.

Like there's very little voter fraud that's been proven but some people say there is and we should be alarmist and all that kind of stuff.

What does an election observer do and what do they look for when they're in that physical space assuming it's not some kind of

Nothing's being hacked.

There's only so much they can do.

But do we have enough election observers?

And what exactly do they look for?

Yeah, that's a great question.

So the league actually runs the largest statewide nonpartisan election observer program.

And I've been coordinating it for just under 10 years now.

And it's a very robust program.

We provide training for people to understand the rules to observe.

So people can observe with an organization like the league.

They can observe with a partisan organization like one of the parties.

or they can just show up as an individual of like, hey, I just want to know more about how elections work.

I want to see it, you know, with my own eyes and not trust what other people are saying.

Anybody who's interested in observing elections is able to do so.

There are rules that you need to follow to make sure that you don't interfere with the election process.

Like you're not, you know, talking to voters, telling them who to vote for or

you know, doing something that could be perceived as electioneering or as intimidation.

But you're really able to see the ins and outs of how elections are run on election day.

And we want people to look at, you know, is anybody being turned away?

Why are they being turned away?

Are the rules being followed?

Is anybody getting the exception to the rule that everyone else is supposed to follow?

Because, you know, all of those do make an impact in how our elections are

whether or not they reflect the will of the people.

Great answer.

In the last bit, we have left really quick.

Eileen, if people want to know more, get in touch with you, the organization, where should they go to find?

I know you've great toolboxes on your website to give information out.

Where do they go to find you?

Just Google League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.

Our website is lwvwi.org, but you can find us on the internet.

Wonderful.

Thank you so much.

Eileen Newcomer is the deputy director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.

She has been our guest this evening.

This information will be in the show notes, so go to civicmedia.us slash shows.

Look for Night Light with Peach Wabba and Greg Bock to not only look up the notes from today, but also download episodes and catch up all two episodes as of tonight.

Two episodes, so you're in the know.

Eileen, thank you so much for being here tonight.

We really appreciate your time.

Yeah, thanks for doing what you

do.

Appreciate it.

All right, when we come back, we're talking about the question of the night.

We'll be talking about some of these text messages coming through and then we'll be speaking with Lakeshore foster family and friends about the Port of Potty races taking place this week.

Don't go anywhere.

They're listening to Nightlight with Pete Schwab and Greg Bach here on the Civic Media Network here.

Stay tuned.

Stay close.

Oh, man.

I didn't realize we were the feature presentation.

That kind of ups the ante a little bit.

Hey, welcome back to Nightlight, everybody.

We are kicking off hour two.

In stand-up comedy, though, that just means you're in the middle.

If you're the feature, that means you're still a headliner?

I never understood that, because I heard you hear feature act or middle act.

Middle act makes sense.

Opener, MC makes sense.

Yeah, I'm with you, though.

The feature, you guys are feature act.

Well, what's the headliner?

Oh, he's just a guy that's gone last.

He goes longer and he gets paid more, there you go.

That is the voice of Greg Bach, one half of the nightlight co-hosting team here.

We are kicking off hour number two, as I mentioned, we had a great hour one.

I thought it was great, Greg.

I like talking about the let that sink in, my pet peeve of the day, which you seemed on board with.

We spoke with, go ahead.

No, I'd like you're like you're on board Greg.

I'm like, yes, I guess I

I think I broke something there I think I I shed some light on something that you know be addressed and Tom I think I had you on my team too, right?

Yes, you called him ugly.

Yeah, right?

No, no, no, no now hold on a second He did not have the beanie on tonight.

That's true thought he's got good hair, but I think he looks good in a beanie Anyway, we also spoke with Eileen newcomer from the Wisconsin League of women vote the League of women voters Wisconsin if you will

And the entire first act or first hour can be downloaded or listened to at civicmedia.us.

All shows are catalogued in podcast form.

That's just kind of what our way of saying thank you to the listeners, I think.

Yeah, yeah.

We know you're busy.

You might not be able to listen live.

So go ahead and go to the website, download some shows and catch up with all now one and a half episodes.

That's right, one and a half, that's right.

The second half of tonight's show is gonna be just as crazy and fun as the first hour, folks.

In just a few minutes, we're gonna welcome Megan Anderson and Crystal Growl from the Lakeshore Foster Families and Friends.

They're gonna discuss a really cool event they are doing to raise money.

Well, I'll just say it, it's a porta-potty race.

I've never been part of a porta-potty race, per se, Greg, have you?

I've been to a baseball park, yes, I have.

Listen,

I'm tailgated.

Yes, I have.

I've raced to a porta potty.

Yes, exactly.

But I've never never been part

of

it.

And even if

you reach the porta potty and it's available, nobody wins.

No, it's a porta potty is not a win.

It's

a slightly better option than someone's car in a gravel.

Exactly.

But they're putting a porta potty to good use.

Right.

And we'll talk more about that in a little bit, but.

It's time to get to the important topics, Pete.

We gotta address something very, very, very topical, posed by you today.

Go ahead, tell us, restate the question of the night.

Down, please.

Do you tip?

fast food workers or baristas or you know professions of that nature We've all been there.

We've ordered a happy meal or whatever it is or a venti drip And there's always that little thing to leave a tip That's our question of the night folks be part of the fun eight five five seven five two four eight four two eight five five seven five civic You can also text us on the civic media app.

It is free It don't cost nothing or if you're watching the radio on YouTube Facebook

or what is it, Greg, Twitter?

The

site that I still call Twitter,

but other

people can call it to me, but yeah, we're on Twitter as well.

We're on Twitter.

Yeah, so you can drop us a stream comment there, too.

Just be part of the show.

It's always more fun when you guys participate, and you can share anything that's on your mind, really.

Greg, I kind of shared a little bit about my thoughts about the tipping, but you and I are in agreement.

You got there before I could today, but we are totally in cahoots on this one.

Cahoots, indeed.

Yeah.

I feel like this is a very divisive topic because I think it's, it can be taken from a gut reaction.

You know, we're seeing people saying just straight out on the, on the text line.

Dave just says, no.

Okay.

And I understand that.

I totally understand that.

Um, and we have, you know, folks who, who sent in texts, I'm trying to find them right now.

Cause we've got a lot of texts going on.

It's very, very

nice.

See

all of the.

all of the outreach here.

We

really appreciate

it.

Yeah.

But I mean, I think that, I think that, um, you know, trumpet Joe here says, yes, a noted tipping question at five AM.

I'm definitely tipping the ladies at Duncan donuts.

It's easier to drop a dollar in the jar rather than swipe 12% on a screen, uh, for other fast food workers.

And I think that's for me personally, I just tip because on most, especially baristas, because I just do, and it's usually like a dollar.

Because I'm ordering a coffee and it doesn't and I have the ability to tip a dollar.

So I will do that I don't get angry about it I don't get like incensed about it because for me personally, I feel like this brings up a bigger question that These folks who are asking for tips it's because maybe they're not being paid enough and then someone can come back me like well, they should get a different job well Yeah, of course easy easy easy fix there buddy, but if they're asking for tips

It means maybe they're having a hard time.

Maybe the company knows that they're not able to get by on what they're being paid.

So therefore they're saying, you can ask for tips now and put it on us.

you know, the people.

It's kind of like we were talking about with Eileen.

It's a bigger nuanced discussion behind the initial question that can just make people go, yes, no, and get very mad.

But we have to talk about why people aren't paid more in this country and why we as consumers then have to not only pay for the services, but then on top of that, pay more to them because the companies they work for, like, we don't have to do that.

And what are their options?

None.

So they have to work here anyways.

Well, I agree and that that's my whole thing and I've told Starbucks employees this and I'm sure they want to hear it But I'm like, you know, you guys need to be paid more Starbucks is a multi-billion dollar They can afford to pay their workers more rather than schlep it off on you know They're already charging seven dollars for a coffee like what bothers me more is the nerve That they would put that out there because it's not the employees You're right if the employees were asking for a tip and I thought they needed I would do it, but

yeah

you know those times that I you know there's a place at Madison I eat at all the time and it's great food but they don't wait on you they just make your food and hand it to you and then they ask for a tip and I turn around and I have to wipe my own table off yeah what am I tipping for exactly they're being paid and it's not like they're being paid two dollars and fourteen cents an hour whatever waitresses make they're getting a wage you assume at least minimum wage pay them more

You're a successful company.

McDonald's, we see how many billions and billions of burgers you've sold.

Pay your damn employees a higher weight.

Well, I mean, those are some of the same companies who tell their employees, hey, don't sign up for our healthcare system because it's not very good and it's expensive and whatnot.

Go ahead and sign up for your state Medicaid program because you can afford that now because we pay you so little.

I think that I would venture to say it's been a long time since I've worked in the fast food customer service world and when I did,

We did not get tips.

There were no tips whatsoever.

I don't believe that folks who work on the counter, who work in those, in those kitchens, the folks who are making a minimum wage or maybe a little bit more, not a lot, but I mean, you think about minimum wage is still 725.

I mean, come on.

It

was like 350, 40 years ago when

I

was,

yeah.

It's to the point where it used to be fighting for 15 and now 15 is far too little.

And it needs to be like $20, $25.

blows people's heads up when they hear that, but it's just the truth.

That's how time works.

But I guarantee you that not a single person in that room was excited when some manager walked and said, Hey, today we can start asking for tips because they know that the people flipping burgers, taking orders, handing out the food, they're going to get the brunt of the anger and the frustration, not the manager in the back, not the guy at corporate.

It's the it's the kid who's like 19 years old.

trying to work three jobs in college who has to do, do this, do this.

Go.

If you want to, if you want to leave a tip, you can say it.

Like it's so just, you're putting it all on these kids and these people who are just trying to live while a manager is like going, guess what guys?

Big program.

Get excited.

They can start tipping you now.

All right.

I'm going to go play golf.

Yeah, I think it's I think it's the Starbucks one that bothers me even more because they're so expensive to begin with like that just Enrages me but like I there's a Starbucks in Madison that I go to periodically when I stayed on there and they don't let you tip They click it already for you and that makes me want to tip them weird way like it's interesting dysfunctional Yeah,

I do not know how that's because I because when I go to Starbucks

I just like again, I'll just tip a buck.

I'm lucky.

A buck is not going to destroy my finances.

And if it means, if it means that throughout the day, everyone tips a dollar, then it can, but I just, I don't get into the face, the surface argument of it all.

I want to go right to, well, why are we having this?

Why are we asking in the first place?

Why are we, why are these people being allowed to ask for tips in the first place?

What is the problem with corporate and their models of payment?

Maybe that's the thing we need to discuss.

Aaron Zommers on listening on WMDX, our buddies Aaron Zommers said, no, tips are for when companies are allowed to pay sub minimum wage and fast food slash coffee places typically pay real wages.

Tips are actually the bonus for exceptional service that they are, they are supposed to be in the, in this case.

And I, and I understand that completely.

And I, but I would ask at these fast food joints, at these coffee joints, how much are they being paid if they're being paid 10 bucks?

Again, I don't have a problem giving them a dollar.

or $2.

I'm fine with that.

My approach for a while was you shouldn't have to ask for tips.

You should be paid more money.

And I realize I'm not going to start a normal race situation here and they're going to cry union.

But I'm trying to put that in the heads of these people.

You need to be paid more.

You

can't be

shaking us down for money.

And even fast food, Greg, an individual that goes to McDonald's, 12 to 15 bucks for something that used to cost $7 or $8.

Oh, yeah.

You know, Jenny Brand on the stream says 20% is a bare minimum.

If we want quality, affordable dining, we should treat restaurant staff with dignity and deserving of quality dining options.

Sadly, fast food workers get screwed because of major corporations.

We need to demand higher fair pay for everyone, especially restaurant staff.

Well, I agree about the restaurant, if the service is

good.

We have Melissa calling from Willy Street in Madison talking about this.

Melissa, good evening.

Welcome to Nightlight.

What do you say about tipping?

I don't like the idea of tipping fast food workers or baristas, but I also have a problem with DoorDash.

They ask for a tip every time.

And if you don't put a tip on there, nobody's going to pick it up.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean,

Melissa, I could, I could, I could take three shows on my opinions on things like DoorDash and third party delivery systems.

I think those are just low rent scams that actually do a lot of harm to small businesses as well.

But yeah, I mean, I've seen the stories as well of drivers saying like, I'm not doing this.

It's not worth my time or taking it out on the customer because like, you didn't give me a tip.

Well, I'm going to not, you know, I'm not going to give you a, I'm going to give you the experience you need.

So yeah.

Yeah.

I agree with that, except in that case, Melissa, the.

Person is using their own car and I agree with you Greg.

It's kind of a scam and it's like people use their own cars And there's costs for running that that I could see a little more than someone behind a fast food But yeah, it's all kind of a racket anyway

Yeah, and I would say too is like if you ever looked at look at a breakdown of how much money a restaurant Makes in a month when they utilize these services they like

They lose money in my opinion when they utilize these services.

So I try to always just go to the place, find a place that has delivery in the house where they pay their employees.

I never use those third party systems because I just don't think they're worth it.

I'm not paying another five bucks to get my food when I can just get my car and drive three miles.

Melissa, thank you so much for calling.

Appreciate you reaching out tonight.

Yeah, this is a topic peep for me that goes way deeper than just like, I don't like paying people.

Same, and I'm happy to pay people if I think it's warranted.

Amanda Nimmer on the stream says last time minimum wage was increased, a 24 pack of soda cost five bucks.

It was 2009, is that true?

It seems so,

yeah.

I wouldn't know.

24 pack of soda was five bucks?

I am so old.

Hot fun in the summertime.

Hey, coming up next, folks, after this very short break, we've got...

Megan and Crystal from Lakeshore Foster Families and Friends are talking porta-potty races.

How can you miss that?

Don't go anywhere.

This is Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach on Nightlight on the Civic Media Network.

Welcome back.

This is Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach.

Dom Lee working the board.

That's a great song, Dom.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

Where'd you find that?

Online.

The good magical world of Google.

You know, say what you want about the internet.

It's here to stay.

Google.

I've heard of

Google.

Oh my goodness.

Isn't

it the Google?

It's the

Google.

It's a Google.

Like Michael Buble.

It's the

Google.

Folks our question of the night is do you tip fast food workers or baristas or those type of Vocations or employees?

Let us know eight five five seven five two four eight four two eight five five seven five civic most people I would say it's been a resounding no or at least they don't I do it something I do it often actually, but I'm just annoyed that these corporations make people ask I Like how you

that's how it always is I don't want to do it and then when you're there you're like

Two dollars

because I'm looking another human being in the face.

I don't have the guts You know, I don't know what this person's life is like.

I'm just such a sex

You're a nice person Pete.

That's what's called being a nice person an empathetic don't lose that ever

I'm trying to get there

Hey folks, this is exciting.

Lakeshore Foster Families and Friends is an outstanding organization that helps provide resources and support for kids in foster care.

They also know how to plan a really fun event to do so.

Joining us now from Manitowoc over the stream are executive director Megan Anderson and board member and teacher, awesome, Crystal Growl.

So great to have both of you here, welcome.

Thanks for having us.

We're

excited to be

here.

Totally our pleasure and I'm glad that you guys got in the same room for the interview that shows very, very vocational commitment.

Before we get to this fun event that is, we've been talking about all show, we cannot wait to talk about it.

Tell us a little bit, give us a little bit of background about Lakeshore Foster Families and Friends and what you guys do there in your mission.

So Lakeshore Foster Families and Friends was founded in 2018 by foster parents.

They decided to start this organization because the state does provide resources to foster parents or parents who have placement of relatives that are placed in their care, but those resources only go so far.

So we were formed to fill in that gap and provide resources like clothing, hygiene products, activities for the families to do together, a support group for the parents to come to and talk to one another and make those connections to the community.

That's great, and you have some programs too.

Can you tell us about those like programs you offer, how people can get involved, and what you do with some of the foster kids?

Yeah, some of our programs have a care closet that is run out of our Manitowoc office that parents can come in and get any clothes they need for their kids, any hygiene support items.

We have a diaper program that every month they can sign up and get diapers for their kiddos.

We also have a normalcy program, so we'll plan events for kids to go to with their siblings.

We have a really great place called Glazing Paint here in Manitowoc, so we'll take them there to do some art.

Last year we took them to a timber rattler game.

We have a really great support group as well.

So we invite foster parents or kinship parents to come hang out, to share struggles or successes, and then the kids join and the kids kind of go off and play while the adults get to connect and help each other out.

We've, you know, I feel like in the past few years, we've seen more and more outreach for people to foster young kids.

There's so many kids out there needs homes, whether, you know, it might not be ready to adopt, but would love to be a foster parent.

But before I ask about that question, you said, you said a phrase that I'd never heard.

What is a kinship parent?

What does that entail?

So kinship is when they're related to you.

Um,

so let's say a grandparent would take custody of a grandchild.

That would be a kinship placement.

Gotcha.

Now, when

You're a relatively newer organization founded in 2018.

What do you do for folks who just walk through the doors and say, I want to do this?

I want more information, but I don't know if I'm ready.

I mean, what is the intake process for folks who want to be a part of this community?

So we work with Health and Human Services who does all of the placements for Manitowoc County.

And then when they have a new placement come in, they will refer them to our agency.

And once they have a placement, they will then be able to use our services.

Excellent.

So if they want to become a foster parent, we recommend them to Health and Human Services to go through training and get certified that way.

Crystal, you're a board member.

You're also a teacher.

My wife is a teacher.