07-16-25 - Govt Making First Reparation Payments To People Affected By Trinity Nuclear Test Blasts

Summary

Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona Episode: July 16, 2025 – Govt Making First Reparation Payments To People Affected By Trinity Nuclear Test Blasts Host/Authors: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo Release Date: July 16, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness on Arizona's #1 Morning Radio Show, host John Holmberg, along with co-hosts Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo, delve into the recent government announcement concerning reparations for individuals affected by the Trinity Nuclear Test Blasts. The discussion is marked by humor, skepticism, and critical analysis of the government's actions and broader societal implications.

Government's Reparation to Trinity Test Survivors

The primary focus of the episode is the government's decision to make reparations to survivors of the Trinity nuclear tests, which were the first-ever atomic bomb detonations.

• Skepticism About Timeliness and Beneficiaries:

  • Brady Bogen expresses confusion and frustration over the timing of these reparations, questioning the eligibility since many affected individuals would now be in their 80s or 90s.

    "[00:39] B: The best ones, the ones that the bomb did nothing to, the ones that should have gotten reparations are the ones that, you know, had their skin slough off like immediately and you give them some cash."

  • Brady further criticizes the government's approach, suggesting that only a handful of survivors remain and questioning the rationale behind providing financial compensation at such an advanced age.

    "[03:03] B: It doesn't make sense to me. The Radiation Exposure Compensation act first passed in 1990... But it wasn't available to them until now."

• Historical Context and Impact:

  • The hosts discuss the historical significance of the Trinity test and its long-term health consequences on those exposed, highlighting that many victims suffered from cancers and other ailments as a result of radiation exposure.

    "[00:15] B: ... were dropping these things, like in 44, when they're starting to load up on this stuff... but they were not included initially."

Critique of Compensation Policies

The co-hosts delve into the broader implications of compensation policies, drawing parallels with other government actions and compensation programs.

• Inadequacy of Existing Laws:

  • Brady points out the shortcomings of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, emphasizing that it initially excluded certain groups and only recently extended benefits, which he views as too little, too late.

    "[03:00] B: I don't think you should get any money. You've lived your life with the best story ever."

• Comparison with Other Compensation Cases:

  • The discussion shifts to other compensation-related lawsuits, including those involving online gaming platforms like Roblox and environmental contamination cases such as Camp Lejeune.

    "[07:25] C: I heard one I hadn't heard before. A new one. It's a lawsuit that they're settling. Is if your kid was played Roblox..."

Class Action Lawsuits and Legal Settlements

The conversation broadens to encompass the proliferation of class action lawsuits in various sectors, highlighting concerns about frivolous claims and the accountability of corporations.

• Roblox Lawsuit Discussion:

  • The hosts debate the validity and implications of lawsuits against platforms like Roblox for alleged child predation, questioning the responsibility of the company versus parental oversight.

    "[08:00] B: That could be anybody. That could be like an 8 year old pretending you had to actually like show up somewhere."

• Critique of Legal Systems:

  • Brady sarcastically suggests that compensation for such incidents might inadvertently encourage malicious behavior, such as child abductions, merely for financial gain.

    "[09:27] B: ...now you're hoping that somebody tries to abduct your kid because you get a payday."

Light-Hearted Segments and Rock Wars

Transitioning from heavy topics, the hosts engage in their regular segments, maintaining the show's entertaining tone.

• Rock Wars Competition:

  • The segment features a playful competition between the hosts, celebrating Brett's victory in the previous week's Rock Wars.

    "[10:59] B: And I think it was just Brady was gonna have to pick one, but you came up with a good idea of skipping it and why. And I'm like, well, that means you win this week, so congratulations, Brett."

• Creative Ideas for Future Shows:

  • John Holmberg suggests creating a theme song for lawyers involved in class action lawsuits, adding a humorous twist to the ongoing discussion about legal reparations.

    "[11:02] A: You know, I was gonna go one way, but then we. Let's do a theme song for these lawyers..."

Notable Quotes

• Brady Bogen on Reparations Timing:

  "[03:24] B: But it wasn't available to them until now. They passed it in 1990 and said, all right, you make it to 20, 25... maybe Donald Trump will be president."

• Brady on Personal Impact and Stories:

  "[06:40] B: Anyway, first off, the government screwed up by doing reparations that much later, but 93 year olds, I don't think you should get any money."

• Critique of Class Action Lawsuits:

  "[09:46] A: Incredible Hulk was too. Right?" "[09:47] B: Yeah. A whole bunch of radiation issues."

Conclusion

The episode concludes with the hosts balancing serious discussions about government policies and historical injustices with their trademark humor and interactive segments. They encourage listener participation for future Rock Wars topics, maintaining engagement and entertainment value.

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Note: This summary is based on the provided transcript segment and aims to encapsulate the key discussions, insights, and tone of the episode for those who have not listened to it.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the HMS podcast brought to you by MMP guns.com your most trusted online marketplace for firearms, ammunition and accessories.

[B]

Brady's imagining fart smells. I did let one loose earlier and it ruined. The room is not hanging around. Then I pretended. Well, the chair made a funny noise and I just said gas. And then I pretended to waft it into my face and looked at Brett and said nothing. I didn't really fart. Seconds later, Mini Pearl over here gets up all in a. Oh, terrible. Like nothing happened.

[C]

I don't.

[B]

No, it's there. So the man who loves farting on teenagers over state lines acts like it's a nuclear bomb dropped on him when somebody else does it. Even when they pretend psychosomatic fart smells. That's what you're dealing with over there. Speaking of Nu Dukes, I'm trying to understand this story. Victims of the first atom bomb aren't just now eligible for reparations.

[C]

Geez.

[B]

Aren't they the ones who like, weren't affected? They got to be 80 something. It didn't bother them or they've been.

[C]

Fighting the whole time for it.

[B]

They're 80 something. The bomb didn't do anything to them. You're giving reparations to the. The ultimate survivors?

[A]

Yeah, they're still around.

[B]

The best ones, the ones that the bomb did nothing to, the ones that should have gotten reparations are the ones that, you know, had their skin slough off like immediately and you give them some cash. But 80 years later we're like, are there any still alive? Throw them a bone.

[C]

Maybe we should.

[B]

I don't understand that. 14 year old Jesse Gilliland, it was awake on his porch in his family's ranch 27 miles away. Oh, it's not the Japanese ones. It was even before that.

[C]

Interesting.

[B]

So they didn't know yet, but the US army detonated the world's first ever nuclear weapon. So when they blew up the Oppenheimer one up above, there's a bunch of. Well, there was some camp they didn't even tell in New Mexico when they blew bombs up and they had them later. I don't if it wasn't the first ones, but there was some camp like 12 miles away. Yeah, like every girl in there died of cancer like when they were 20. Two of them got something later, but there you go. Well, yeah, but those are the ones you can't. That's too late. 80 years later you're like, here you go, nice job, you made it to the finish line. Well, you didn't need reparations. The bomb didn't do anything to you. You have to at least have gotten sick. Right?

[A]

You would think.

[B]

As the years passed, his family members and neighbors all became sick, often with forms of cancer. If he was 13, 80 years ago, he's 93.

[A]

Is that a good run?

[B]

That's a. That is a non reparations run. Things went well for. Does that happen? Can you, like.

[C]

So he had some form of cancer?

[B]

No, he's 93, man. If he had it, he got over it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

It doesn't make sense to me. The Radiation Exposure Compensation act first passed in 1990 and applied to people in certain parts of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. It didn't include those who were potentially impacted by Trinity and New Mexico or on Navajo lands.

[C]

They're always screwing, so they just got added to it. Right.

[B]

But it wasn't available to them until now. They passed it in 1990 and said, all right, you make it to 20, 25. Who knows, maybe Donald Trump will be president. Anyway, we'll throw a couple bucks your way if you make it to 90. Why? So what? So they get like millions, like six left.

[C]

Oh, they should be in on this now.

[B]

I don't know, but it's an awful long. I don't care about what they're deciding there. Isn't it like a waste of money?

[C]

Look how long that.

[B]

But at least there was probably plenty of them still like dealing with stuff. 20, 25. They can. They're 90 something years old. They can barely remember it. And besides that, they're fine. And they're only like probably 10 of them left, maybe. So you give them all like $10 million. How much goes out? I think if you made it to 93 years old and you got to be part of the Trinity explosion, you owe the government money for having a life with an awesome story in it. Remember when I was 13, they dropped a nuke on my camp. I made it. It's a great story. It's like if the moon gave people cancer and then you sue the government, but you're 90. I was like, no, the moon gave the other guys cancer. They're not like, you have a great story to tell.

[C]

You're.

[B]

You've been living on that forever. I guarantee you this dude who wants money for it? Yeah, my old family. What happened in your life that's like the most memorable thing? Oh, the first mushroom cloud ever landed on my house.

[C]

And you live here at this time, you know, during the, you know, 19 camp was you write down the things. Exactly. And then I lived in this house. We need to see some mortgage payments. Okay, Here you go. Here's your $7.22 for the recall in.

[B]

1942 and three, when they were dropping these things, like in 44, when they're starting to load up on this stuff. I don't think that the Nevada dirt people had a whole lot of record keeping. I know. To make you go back and say, oh, you know, they definitely had a mortgage saying through Chase Bank.

[C]

Yeah, no, because, you know, the food recalls. If you bought this food. Yeah.

[B]

You get your money back.

[C]

You got to fill out this whole thing. If you have any receipts.

[B]

I mean, it messed up a ton of people. But who's to say that I lived in Albuquerque? Maybe some of it drifted over there. And if I get cancer, it's from that, but I'll never get tested for it. I'll never know that it was the Trinity residue. My dad couldn't wait to drive the family to that site when we first moved out west. We're going to go visit where the first nuclear bomb was, and we're going to Ruido so downs to watch. And the only reason he wanted to go to Rudoso Downs or whatever the hell that place was called is because that's where they filmed Black Beauty. Dude was nuts. Moving to the west, my dad went crazy. We started dressing funny. We're going to rodeos and Crystal Gale concerts together. It was. It was weird. We were just a totally different group of people. Crystal Gale. Oh, the first day we were in New Mexico, it was Christmas Eve. I don't even think we unpacked. Get in the car. We're going to the nuke site. And we drove, like, as fast as we could to where the bomb dropped. And we didn't understand that. I was 8, 7.

[C]

For 10 years, we lived in Asbestos Acres.

[B]

Anyway, first off, the government screwed up by doing reparations that much later, but 93 year olds, I don't think you should get any money. You've lived your life with the best story ever. I Wish I was 90 when I'm 93. I wish I had a couple of nuclear bomb stories that I survived. I was there like, oh, he's the most interesting man in the world. Anyway, good luck to you. If you're one of those people, then you get reparations because your parents got sick. I mean, that could be all of us, you know? I don't think the Camp Lejeune thing's ever gonna get settled. They still run commercials for that. One of these people get paid. Aren't they all sick from something? We better hurry up.

[C]

I heard one I hadn't heard before. A new one. It's a lawsuit that they're settling. Is if your kid was played Roblox. A child predator from playing the video game Roblox.

[B]

Oh. If some.

[C]

And now they're settling. Roblox is paying the kids?

[B]

Yeah. The family.

[C]

Families that got in touch because people. The predators were.

[B]

How far did it have to go?

[C]

Talk to the kids. They'd get in.

[B]

But if they just chatted with you.

[C]

Or if you chatted in and because that's.

[B]

That could be. Because that could be anybody. That could be like an 8 year old pretending you had to actually like show up somewhere.

[C]

Well evidently this law firm that was commercial.

[B]

If you get trafficked or you get.

[C]

Picked up or didn't know this solicited.

[B]

And moved in money. Well I'm just going to pretend that happened. How do you prove that? This guy was asking me out on a date and I was very uncomfortable with that. I think I should get some Roblox money.

[C]

Evidently there was some meeting up.

[B]

Oh sure. That's. Yeah. Once you get face to face with the dude. But how is it the video game company's fault and not the parents?

[C]

Because they were allowing the online play.

[B]

But isn't that.

[C]

Didn't have the just online train or whatever. I don't know.

[B]

There's no filter on Madden. I quit Madden because I was playing with too many 12 year olds and that sounds bad but you let me finish. But they were calling me the N word so much I had to quit. I should sue them. I was exposed to so much racism by 12 year olds playing Madden back in 2007 when they were 2008, 9 and 10 when the Bluetooth games were playing. It was going PlayStation 3 and stuff. Yeah, I quit because the kids were too mean to me. If you were exposed to tons of terrible language from a child and couldn't fight back because it's illegal. I should get some money. And that should be off of EA Sports.

[C]

Kurt's played that.

[B]

It's.

[C]

I'm gonna go some cash.

[B]

Yeah, but it's not the end. Now you're hoping that somebody tries to abduct your kid because you get a payday.

[C]

I need to talk to you when.

[B]

You set that up anyway. Yeah. Spider man was. Wasn't he radiated with the spider from the bomb? Did he get money?

[A]

Incredible Hulk was too. Right?

[B]

Yeah. A whole bunch of radiation issues. I don't get giving 9 year olds money to say, sorry, we cut your life short. That just doesn't make sense. Anyway, and I hope your kids weren't abducted on Roblox, but you should pay more attention to who they're talking. If your kids are gaming online, you should check in now and again to make sure. And if suddenly one of your kids says, I want to go to the mall, the kids today don't want to go to the mall. That's. There's a rapist waiting for them. Don't let them go. Weirdos. Anyway, what a strange thing. I haven't seen that commercial. I just keep seeing Camp Lejeune and then the ladies whose vaginas have fallen out twice. They have that double mesh, and the second mesh dropped. A lot of collapse. Oh, man, they're. Those things are heavy. There's a mesh in the world that's keeping that together. We built the Hoover Dam, and it's held up for years. There's a couple ladies out there. We can't stop their junk from falling out of their bodies. They get a lawsuit on it anyway. High die cross. Brett, it's almost time for Rock Wars. You won last week because we took it away from Brady. I think it was just Brady was gonna have to pick one, but you came up with a good idea of skipping it and why. And I'm like, well, that means you win this week, so congratulations, Brett.

[A]

Thanks.

[B]

What do you have for us this week for Rockwell?

[A]

You know, I was gonna go one way, but then we. Let's do a theme song for these lawyers, like that that are going after, like. Yeah, like the Camp Lejeunes and the Border Blocks thing or whatever video game you're talking about and stuff like that. So maybe like, a theme song for those lawyers or those class action lawsuit lawyers where you're gonna get, like, $7 out of that 10 billion dollar settlement.

[B]

Millions. And you get your 12 or 13 bucks. Okay. A litigious kind of blood sucker song.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. I like that. All right. I'm not against them. I think they do a great job. If I was them, I'd be doing it.

[A]

Oh, 100%.

[B]

But I don't know when the Camp Lejeune thing ends. There's a lot of you people that had Camp lejeune water for 55 years. And again, they're looking for all of them. And to all you people who survived the Trinity bombing, you should get free diapers for the rest of your life, which would be like, a year. Rock Wars. You can help us out. Holmberg at 98 KUPD com. You can text 97936. You tell us what you want to hear, we'll play Rock wars next. It's out of control now, pd.