Unfiltered | Live At Morehead State University

Summary

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Truth in the Barrel

Episode: Unfiltered | Live at Morehead State University

Hosts: Amy McGrath, with special guests (students and residents of Morehead, KY)
Date: October 9, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this special on-the-road episode of “Truth in the Barrel,” Amy McGrath records live from Morehead State University in the heart of Appalachian Kentucky. Joined by local students and residents, Amy leads a raw, roundtable conversation about American politics, the media, civil liberties, economic anxieties, and what Kentuckians want from their leaders. The dialogue spotlights generational perspectives, giving voice to young people, retirees, and lifelong Kentuckians grappling with issues from healthcare and higher education to the erosion of kindness and the state’s political identity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Media Consumption & Trust

[08:03-14:20]

• Generational Shifts: Older participants recall an era when news came from newspapers and a handful of trusted TV channels. Now, all ages admit the challenges of discerning truth amid bias and misinformation online.
  • Donna (retired, 64): Combines mainstream news with “deep dives” and cross-referencing on platforms like TikTok—admitting the allure and the risk of misinformation. Follows historians like Heather Cox Richardson for context.
  • Yvonne Baldwin (professor emerita, 77): Grew up with newspapers and recognizes their political slants; now, she is wary online: “Everybody on the internet is looking to scam old people.”
  • Students (Thomas, Addison, Tiana): Rely heavily on phones, Apple News, and social media but are cautious, fact-checking viral stories on Google or with trusted adults (“Everyone’s biased...before I comment on it, I have to get the facts.” – Addison).
  • Local Print Endures: Tiana reads her community paper, the “Bourbon County Citizen,” for local news, supplementing with the Lexington “Herald-Leader.”

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2. Top Concerns in Kentucky & Nationally

[15:06-24:44]

• Healthcare Access & Affordability:
  • Addison (student): Speaks candidly about the fear and cost attached to managing her autoimmune disorder (“Insulin may be free, but everything you need to go along with the insulin is not.” [15:06])
  • Donna: Details the staggering cost of Cobra insurance ($780/month and $10K out of pocket this year), underlining the system’s inequity even for those with prior stable employment.
• Student Debt, Higher Education Inequity:
  • Thomas: Laments the “elitist” direction of higher education; scholarships and student services are cut, making degrees less accessible to lower-income students (“Higher education is now for an elitist group of rich people.” [19:31])
• Erosion of Civil Liberties and DEI Initiatives:
  • Donna: Fears for “marginalized communities [being] demonized” by political forces (“There is a lack of empathy and kindness.” [21:13])
  • Tiana: DEI cuts hit diverse, less-connected students hardest, leaving peers in her majority-African American high school without guidance or support.
  • Yvonne: A lifelong witness to progress on civil rights, she warns the country is “heavily, heavily backwards. If we’re not careful, we will end up all the way back in the 1890s.” [24:02]

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3. Leaders, Leadership, and Accountability

[25:31-38:06]

• Disconnect Between Representatives and Citizens:
  • Addison: “People elected into Washington...have never been to a public high school, a community college, never worked fast food—no idea where we’re coming from.” [25:31]
• Need for Humanizing, Community-Building Politics:
  • Thomas: Advocates for real, face-to-face community over financial gestures (“You don’t need to spend money on things to make a community. You need to create the connections.” [27:30])
• The Politics of Division:
  • General critique of zero-sum, adversarial style— “less decency now, less empathetic” (Amy [22:15])—and longing for renewed kindness and mutual respect.

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4. Misinformation, Lies, and Political Branding

[31:14-41:20]

• Insidiousness of Political Lies:
  • “The lies, the lies, the lies, the lies. Economic lies, political lies, lies about our allies...all of it.” (Donna [33:44])
  • Specific grievances include scapegoating DEI programs and immigrants, and misrepresenting American military women.
• Personal Experience vs. False Narratives:
  • Amy recounts challenging military gender-lies on national TV: “I know that’s a lie because I lived it.” [33:44]
  • Yvonne: “We cannot allow the lies about the military and the veterans to strip aside what so many families have given.” [35:37]
• Role of Voting and Civic Engagement:
  • Thomas: Stresses accountability through voting, especially challenging the apathy among young voters. (“Voting is one of the most important senses of accountability for a nation.” [36:55])
  • Amy: “If you really love veterans...you need to vote.” [36:54]

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5. Kentucky’s Political Identity & Partisan “Branding”

[38:06-43:14]

• The negative perception of Democrats in Kentucky is discussed:
  • Addison: Points to “misinformation and egotistical people getting in power and trying to turn us against one another…”; cites the manufactured “litter boxes in bathrooms” scandal as an absurd but damaging rumor (“People just pulled it out of thin air.” [40:13]).
  • Tiana: “Such a big stereotype between Democratic and Republican...so many rumors, so many untrue theories.” [41:20]
  • Donna: Democrats, for all their “empathy and kindness,” need “stronger willpower,” door-knocking, and direct engagement—“not just let Amy and her little group do it.” [41:20]

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6. Women in Leadership, Sexism, and Public Life

[43:36-52:55]

• Yvonne: Challenges Amy about image and nastiness in public life. Wonders whether “only women with the right hair extensions, lashes, collagen” can rise, and whether the trend toward “nastiness” in national leadership is here to stay.
• Amy: “The most courageous thing you ever did isn’t flying a $70 million jet off an aircraft carrier. What takes more courage is running for office as a woman who may not look the part.” [45:55] She believes the embrace of cruelty and showboating is “temporary”—“I think people are going to move to a place where they want decency again.” [47:16]
• Addison: Details her experience with school tolerance of harassment. “Boys will be boys, you were his first heartbreak” —a response from a male principal to her complaint of stalking (“Does it give him the right to try and physically harm me?” [47:12]) and then broadens to society’s double standard for women.
• Amy: Pledges to lead by example, emphasizing the need to protect funding for domestic violence shelters and legal aid—the “little things” with big consequences.

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7. Rural Healthcare & Essential Services

[56:23-58:43]

• Thomas: Expresses real fears about losing the only rural hospital near campus: “If I needed to go to the ER and the hospital wasn’t there, I’m driving a little ways...even if I can’t even be the one to drive.” [57:36]
• Amy: Reinforces her focus on protecting rural hospital funding (“...if we don’t have that, those hospitals are at risk for literally shutting down.” [57:36]), warning what that loss means for mothers, heart attack victims, and students alike.

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8. Restoring Civil Liberties and Kindness in Politics

[58:43-61:39]

• Donna: Grills Amy on defending marginalized groups, naming lies about trans people and the need to ensure both women and people of color are not targeted.
• Amy: Clearly reasserts, “Everybody has a right to be who they are. It’s just basic American principle.” [60:00] and stresses the need for dignity and respect for all, anchored in both leadership and Congressional action.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Addison (Healthcare, 15:06):

  “Insulin may be free, but everything you need to go along with the insulin is not free...it was $4,000 to get an insulin pump. Something I need to survive—out of pocket.”

• Thomas (Higher Ed & Elitism, 19:31):

  “Higher education is now for an elitist group of rich people.”

• Donna (On Empathy, 21:13):

  “There is a lack of empathy and kindness. There is a lack of taking care of our brothers and sisters...”

• Yvonne Baldwin (Erosion of Rights, 24:02):

  "I've lived through the growth of rights for women, for Black people...You’re absolutely right. We are going backwards, heavily, heavily backwards. And if we’re not careful, we will end up all the way back in the 1890s."

• Addison (Political Disconnect, 25:31):

  "...The people that are elected into Washington have never been to a public high school, a community college...They have no idea where we're coming from..."

• Thomas (On Community, 27:30):

  “You don’t need to spend money on things to make a community. You need to create the connections to build a community.”

• Donna (On Lies, 33:44):

  “The lies, the lies, the lies, the lies. Economic lies, political lies, lies about our allies...all of it.”

• Amy McGrath (On Running as a Woman, 45:55):

  “The most courageous thing you ever did isn’t flying a $70 million jet off an aircraft carrier. What takes more courage is running for office as a woman who may not look the part.”

• Addison (Sexism in Schools, 47:12):

  “He said 'boys will be boys. You were his first heartbreak.'...Does it give him the right to try and physically harm me?”

• Amy McGrath (Restoring Civility, 47:16):

  “This shtick of shitting on other people and giving one-liners and ‘owning them’...I think it’s temporary. I think that people are going to move to a place where they want decency again.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Guest Introductions: 02:01 – 08:03
• Media & News Consumption: 08:03 – 14:20
• Biggest Concerns (Healthcare, Higher Ed, Rights): 15:06 – 24:44
• Views on Leadership & Community: 25:31 – 31:14
• Political Lies, Branding, and Misinformation: 31:14 – 43:14
• Women, Public Life & Sexism: 43:36 – 52:55
• Rural Healthcare Crisis: 56:23 – 58:43
• Restoring Civil Liberties & Final Q&A: 58:43 – 61:39
• Closing Remarks: 61:40 – 62:24

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Tone and Atmosphere

The conversation is candid, earnest, and at times deeply personal. There is warmth and humor (especially from Amy and Donna), but also palpable anxiety and frustration about America’s political and cultural direction. The discussion stays grounded in Kentucky realities—rural hospitals, student debt, intergenerational divides—and never loses sight of the need for decency and empathy in leadership.

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Summary

This live episode offers an unfiltered pulse check of Kentucky at a crossroads, as Amy McGrath blends the personal with the political. Honest, local voices underscore pressing anxieties—healthcare, education, the erosion of civil liberties—while warning against the toxic rhetoric and lies dominating American discourse. Grounded in lived experience and authentic community, the roundtable calls for a return to empathy, decency, and common purpose, reminding listeners that America’s future—like Kentucky’s—still belongs to “we, the people.”

Transcript

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Morning Zoe. Got donuts.

[Amy McGrath]

Jeff Bridges why are you still living above our garage?

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Well I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you teach me.

[Amy McGrath]

So Dana oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at T Mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.

[Donna]

Wow.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Impressive. Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.

[Amy McGrath]

Nice Je free.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

You heard them. T Mobile is the best place to.

[Amy McGrath]

Get the new iPhone 17 Pro on us with eligible traded in any condition.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

So what are we having for lunch?

[Amy McGrath]

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[Amy McGrath]

Hey everyone, I'm Amy McGrath and welcome to a very special episode of Truth in the Barrel on the Road. As some of you may have already heard, I recently announced that I'm running for the open U.S. senate seat here in Kentucky. Really excited about that. And I can't think of a better way to kick things off than getting out with the public, talking to Kentuckians about the state of our country, about the state of our commonwealth. And so I'm really excited. I'm coming to you today from Morehead State University, which is right here in the heart of Appalachia. This is our first time recording truth in the barrel outside the studio. We have a super rainy day today, but we're all here inside dry, and I couldn't be more excited. Joining me are four. Three students here at Morehead State University and two residents from Rowan County, Kentucky. And so we're going to be talking about politics, we're going to be talking about current events and how, where we go in the state of our country. So buckle up. This is going to be a great conversation of curiosity, honesty, and Kentucky spirit, which I love. So today we get to answer Kentuckians, get to ask questions of each other and myself. So I'm really excited about that. But before we get into it, folks, we want to make sure that you're following us on all the social media channels. Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, X, Truth, Social. Have I named them all? I mean, get on there, whatever your platform of Choice. We're on YouTube. If you like our episodes, and find what we're doing valuable, we'd appreciate a review only if it's a good one on the streaming platform you use. So let's get to it. I'm going to introduce everybody that we're talking to today, folks, and they're going to tell us a little bit about themselves. So you know who's here at the table in this conversation. So I'm going to start out with Addison. Addison, can you tell us a little bit about yourself here?

[Addison Davis]

Hi, I'm addison Davis. I'm 18 years old and I'm a freshman at Morehead State University. I'm a preschool education major, and I chose Moorhead just because of their incredible education program.

[Amy McGrath]

Very good. And Yvonne is sitting next to Addison.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

My name is Yvonne Baldwin and I am 77 years old. I am a retired history professor. I was on the faculty at MSU. I am professor emerita now. I taught history for 24 years, and I was married to a career soldier who unfortunately had to leave this life 12 years ago. But I'm managing as best I can without him. And I loved being at msu. I loved settling and being in Morehead, and I'm delighted to See students. And at the far end down there, I see someone that I knew from back in the day.

[Amy McGrath]

Awesome. And Yvonne, what is your history angle? Are you American history? European?

[Yvonne Baldwin]

I actually had an area in American diplomatic history, and I taught that a lot. But I also. And this speaks to the generation from which I came, it was difficult for women to enter the field of history. And I had a wonderful advisor who said, if you teach the wars, they have to hire you.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

So I've taught basically all the wars going back in World Civ from, you know, way back then. But 20th century American diplomatic was my field, but I taught Vietnam war history class, I taught the rise of modern Germany, and I taught Hitler and Holocaust. Okay, so I have some insights.

[Amy McGrath]

I bet you do. All right, great. We'll get to that. Thomas.

[Thomas]

Hi, guys. I'm Thomas. I am a senior at Moorhead. I'm originally from Louisville, so a little bit far from home. Escaped the city to come out to good old Moorhead. But I just love the area, the people, the community. We're so tighten it. It's really amazing.

[Amy McGrath]

Awesome. Thanks, Thomas.

[Donna]

Hi, my name is Donna. I am just turned 64 years old, resident of Morehead. Did work at More State University for several years, but just completed a 33 year career with an insurance company and am fully retired. So my mission in life now is to be able to give back to my community in way I could not when I was actively working a lot away from town. And also a graduate of Morehead State University. Very excited to be here today.

[Amy McGrath]

Awesome.

[Tiana Jones]

My name is Tiana Jones. I am 17 years old. I am originally from Bourbon county, but I am looking forward to colleges and I just absolutely love Morehead State life. I love the university, I love the college feel of it. So definitely gonna look into it and I'm so excited to be here today.

[Amy McGrath]

Awesome. So we have these six individuals here all talking, and I'm going to start us out by just asking everybody, where do you get your news from? Okay. Because a lot has shifted in the past, I don't know, decade. So why don't we start sort of oldest to youngest? Can we do that? And tell us where you get your news from and how. How you think of that news in terms of like, do you believe it? Do you respect those sources, that sort of thing.

[Donna]

So I rely on several different venues to get my news. One of them is a national news station. And I do respect those reporters and those journalists. A lot of. Do I believe everything? That's the question. So as a person who's 64. What I try and do is deep dives. I try to cross reference with Heather Cox Richardson. I have several other people I follow, but I do deep dives. I do. I am embarrassed to say this, but I am TikTok addicted. So I have to be very careful and also pay a lot of attention to make sure things aren't artificial intelligence and things like that. However. And yes, Amy, you were right. When we were younger, there were three stations and they were all out of Lexington.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah.

[Donna]

So that was it.

[Amy McGrath]

Little different.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Little different.

[Amy McGrath]

And so Heather Cox Richardson, by the way, interviewed her on Truth in the Barrel. So if you haven't checked out that episode, check it out.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Because I'm. I hate that term elderly, but I am, you know, and I grew up with newspapers. And back in the day, we, those of us who consumed newspapers, knew that most newspapers had at least a slight political angle. And so, you know, if you. But if you were going to read the Louisville Curry Journal, you knew that that was a really fine newspaper. If you were going to read the St. Louis Post Dispatch, you knew that was another one. If you knew the New York Times, you were going to listen to that. Read that one. During my sort of formative years, we were living in Michigan, and there was the Detroit News, which was the one that my family subscribed to. But even then, one had who was smart and wanted to know as much of the truth as you could discern from the news. You had to research and understand that there was a political bent in this modern environment. I tend to use some of the online newspapers. I like the Atlantic. I like the New York Times still. But I'm very careful when I'm on the Internet again because I'm old, and it seems like everybody on the Internet is looking to scam old people. And that's a real pain. And you know what? So I have to be careful. But I also, I listen to npr. I'm a big supporter of public radio. And I just try to watch in a national thing, I watch each of the angles because I can look at one and say that they're definitely lying. I can look at another and say, I think those people are stretching the truth a bit. And you either heard the word, it's like, oh, Lord, how do they have the nerve to even say what they're saying?

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. Yeah, good. Thomas, since we're going by age, I'm going to.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Yeah.

[Amy McGrath]

You'Re still very young.

[Thomas]

Yeah, yeah, I'll take it.

[Amy McGrath]

I'll take it.

[Thomas]

I feel like a lot of like news that comes towards young people's way is through social media and that kind of stuff. But I think that also taking like a cognitive stance that everything on social media is posted by a human being. And we all have flaws and we all sometimes can stretch the truth to some extent. And so I think that, like, looking at that and then seeing something that you may think is like, oh, this is outrageous, and then taking a deep dive and like Google searching it and looking into it and seeing, like, really of like, is this what they're actually saying or is this a little finicky? But I think that, like, especially just like, I. I'm kinda lazy, but I'll just open up my phone and look at, like, Apple News and just see what's scrolling across my page.

[Amy McGrath]

So that's how you get your news mostly on your phone?

[Thomas]

Yeah, I get most of it on my phone. Especially, like living in a dorm on campus, mail is not one of the fastest ways of information.

[Amy McGrath]

So Apple News, what else do you have, like, social media sites that you want? Facebook or what?

[Thomas]

This is maybe talking about how the oldest of the students. I'm a Facebook user. I love it. I feel like a mom on there, just like scrolling through and liking people's posts.

[Amy McGrath]

You're there with all the moms.

[Thomas]

I think that Facebook is really one of my closer ones. Cause I feel like. And I use TikTok, I use Instagram, I use Snapchat, all that kind of stuff, but I feel like I'm just more tentative to use it as it's just more articles or posted throughout that instead of little videos.

[Amy McGrath]

Okay, very good. All right, awesome.

[Donna]

Thank you.

[Addison Davis]

I feel like all of my news information comes from my phone.

[Amy McGrath]

Okay.

[Addison Davis]

And I'm kind of embarrassed saying that, but it's how it is.

[Amy McGrath]

That's where people are at.

[Addison Davis]

I use Apple News a lot. And anything I get from, like, TikTok or Instagram, I'm very skeptical of it because, you know, everyone's biased. Everyone has their own beliefs and their own way of spinning a certain story. So I have to make sure I get, like, the facts before I ever comment on it or make my own opinion of it. I have to, like, I'll go to Google or I ask my aunt. My aunt's very, like, she reads every newspaper she gets. So I will kind of talk with her to see if I can get to, like, the truth with that.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Okay, very good.

[Amy McGrath]

All right.

[Tiana Jones]

So for my local news in Bourbon County, I do read the newspaper. I like to see what's going on what newspaper? It's the Bourbon County Citizen. That's the one that I read. And then my nana at her house always has like the Herald Leader in Lexington. And so I, I try not to use TikTok and Snapchat, Instagram, other than for entertainment purposes. Cause I know I can get biased if I get all my news from there. But if I do see, like Addison said, if I do see something on TikTok, I will fact check it on Google. I like to use a bunch of different, like.org, i try to steer away from.com because I know those don't always are reliable. So, yeah, if I find anything on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, I like to double check it. I like to use the artificial intelligence to see like, what, what is fake. And yeah, pretty much.

[Amy McGrath]

Okay, so I obviously live in Kentucky and I have neighbors and friends. I've seen all of what's going on right now in our country and in Kentucky. And I don't know a whole lot of people that think we're going in the right direction, but there's a lot of different reasons for that. People have different ideas of why things are going maybe in the wrong direction. I want to ask you all, whoever wants to jump at this, what do you think is your biggest concern right now, either nationally or for this state? What's the number one issue for you?

[Addison Davis]

I think personally, because I suffer from several autoimmune disease, the healthcare crisis is very concerning to me and often keeps me up at night worrying about my future. There's my medical device going off right now. But what really concerns me is the prices of everything. Insulin may be free, but everything you need to go along with the insulin is not free. I got a new insulin pump a couple months ago and it was $4,000 to get an insulin pump. Something I need to survive out of pocket, out of pocket. So I'm very appreciative that insulin is free. But everything else, you can't just use insulin on its own. You have to have the needles, the alcohol wipes, the insulin pumps, the sensors. You have to have all of that to go to keep you alive. And the prices are just going up and up and up. And I know I'm very young and I'm very grateful that my parents helped me take care of this and like, are educating me on it. But it is very scary, very scary to think about that there could be a day that I won't be able to afford this luxury insulin pump and I'll have to go back to 15 shots a day. It's scary to think about.

[Amy McGrath]

And we haven't been able to get these prices under control.

[Addison Davis]

No, I think once they've got to this peak that they're at, it's going to be very, very hard to get them back down because no one wants to stop making with their money.

[Donna]

Yeah.

[Amy McGrath]

What else, Thomas?

[Thomas]

I think that, like, one of the biggest things is, like, I'm a senior in college. I'm graduating a year early, so this is only my third year here. But I think that seeing the kind of just attack on education in general, like, on campus. I started as a freshman, getting my tour through campus, and it was like, oh, and here's the diversity center on campus and going through, like, all of our scholarships and seeing different scholarships for different groups of people, seeing the amount of things that we're helping students day in and day out. College is not cheap. Me and my parents always talk and joke about, like, oh, when my parents were in college, like, my whole College was like, $3,000. And it's like, $3,000 can be a meal plan some places. And so, like, looking at how expensive college is getting and then the resources for students being cut further and further and further is like, the finish line was here. And it's like, oh, you're going to graduate, but we're going to take away all of these resources for you. And it moves the finish line further and further along as you're going through. And it's like some of the things that students are coming into is something that I had as a freshman. But seeing new freshmen come in and they have nowhere to go on campus. They have no options on how to pay for college, how to get loans. And then you have people who are in my position where they're about to graduate and they're applying for higher degrees, doctorates, med school, law school, all these things where now you have caps on your loans of how much you can take out. And I'm not going to say it's not doable because people make ends meet. People take out loans, they get scholarships. And I'm proud of every single person I know that's in a higher degree right now. But it's for these people that don't have those opportunities where their futures are just getting snatched away from them.

[Amy McGrath]

Why do you think this is happening?

[Thomas]

I think, like, nationally, and this is something that when it happened, it was like. Or are we just trying to save money or, like, trying to think of, like, how to rationalize this in my head to honestly just make Myself feel better of like, well, maybe, maybe it's not me, maybe it's not us. But I feel like looking at who is going to these higher degrees, who's going to med school, who's going into master program, who's going into law school are the people with money and the people who parents and families have money to where they're like, oh well, you don't have to take out a loan, you can just, we'll pay for it. And it's taking the opportunities away from people that don't have that financial lump of money to just give to their kids. I'm grateful for all of what my parents have given to me. They support me 247 if I'll be like, hey guys, can I get some gas money. They've always been there for me. But it's to the point where higher education is now for an elitist group.

[Amy McGrath]

Of rich people, very interesting. So healthcare, higher education, what else?

[Donna]

So listening to both of you guys talk about what your concerns are kind of goes right into a concern that I have right now is civil liberties and the fact that the current administration has demonized so many marginalized communities in a way that for me, I've never seen this in my ears. And I don't know how you get back from something like this. We're talking about not just immigration, we're talking about elderly, we're talking about poverty. You know, everyone that does not look like a white CIS male is under attack right now from our disabled, from our military, female in the military, my goodness. So it's just that is my big concern. I have children, I have grandchildren, and I have a 10 year old that's adopted. And we've, we've got to make this a beautiful America for our children to be able to grow up kind, empathetic. And right now there seems to be a group of individuals out there that are doing nothing but causing havoc in the lives of anyone other than billionaires or whoever.

[Amy McGrath]

The two words that stuck out for me when you just said that was kindness and empathy. How do you think I'm interested? Do you think that leaders today have this kindness and empathy in their leadership styles in America right now?

[Donna]

That's a good question. And I think of leaders in different compartments. So we have leaders at a national level in Congress, you know, at the executive branch, in the Supreme Court, we have other leaders like Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky. And so I don't want to generalize this statement, but what I am going to say is there is a lack of empathy and kindness. There is a lack of taking care of our brothers and sisters, which is what. And I don't know how some of these guys are being raised at home. I do know how one of them is being raised at home. But I think Yvonne and I came from a, a place where we were raised that you take care of your neighbors. And you know, my 10 year old, I want them to be a good citizen and they have come home and told me things about being called certain names at school. And I'm like, okay, let's discuss what those mean. Just things like that, you know, and it's different.

[Amy McGrath]

We have a society where we're sort of less decent now, less empathetic. It's, you know, how do we own libs? How do we stick it to other people? And it's really sad to see. Do you have any other comments? Because I want you to be able to ask questions too. So go ahead, please.

[Tiana Jones]

I'll make this short, but my personally, the biggest issue to me right now is the cuts in the dei. So to piggyback off of what you said a little bit, just the resources, I would say, is just insane. Everything is getting cut and I feel like it's, it's oppressing the wrong people and it's lifting up. Well, let me switch that. It's oppressing the good people and it's bringing up the people who don't need to be brought up. So just like he said, like going to college, like applying for things, it's almost impossible now. And I am fortunate enough to have a support system around me who helped me and kind of informed me on these things. But then it just makes me so sad because like a lot of my peers, they don't have that support system. And my school is mostly African American, so like, there's nothing to kind of give them that push, you know what I'm saying? It's just them and the application and they have no idea what indication to go in. They have no resources to help them. And so for the less fortunate people and the groups of diverse people, it feels like we're going back in time. And I feel like we're going in the wrong direction 100%. That's my opinion.

[Amy McGrath]

Okay, do you have any comments? Yes, please.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

I would say that I agree with everyone who has spoken and my concerns are for many of you, I have two grandchildren and I'm very concerned about that, concerned about what kind of life they can and will have. But the really sad thing is that I have lived through the growth of rights for women. I have lived through the growth of rights for black people. I've lived through so many of the things. And you're absolutely right. We are going backwards, Heavily, heavily backwards. And if we're not careful, we will end up all the way back in the 1890s. And the best case scenario right now that I can almost think of as a historian is it would go back to the 1920s, and that's absolutely one of the worst decades in American history because of all that it leads to.

[Amy McGrath]

Thank you. I want to switch gears just a little bit and ask you all what your thoughts are on leaders in Washington. What do you wish they would do better? And you can certainly ask me, you know, because I am. Obviously, I run this podcast, which I love, and it's a lot of fun, and we talk to lots of different people about the news of the day and current events. But I'm also on the side running for US Senate here in Kentucky. And so I'm interested to hear from you if you have questions of what you would like actual leaders in Washington or maybe future leaders in Washington to know. So throw it at me. You want to? Yeah.

[Addison Davis]

I think as America, we're supposed to be we the people. But I feel like under this administration, in this day and age, it's me, the man, me, me, me. I want this. We're going to do it this way. I don't care what anyone else believes. They're not taking in our opinions, our feelings, our lives. Because a lot of the times, the people that are elected into Washington have never been to a public high school, a community college. They've never worked at a fast food restaurant. They've never lived these experience that most Americans have. So they have no idea where we're coming from at all. And all they're pushing is their agenda. They're not necessarily pushing for what's good for the people. And I would just love to see that in connecting with your roots and the everyday Americans and taking what they need into consideration and take it to Washington.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah, it'd be really nice to have leaders that actually are a voice for people instead of special interests or, you know, they grow up within a party, so they only see one side. I think that's really important. Yeah. What else?

[Addison Davis]

I also think it's important. You may run under the Republican or the Democratic ticket, but at the end of the day, we're all human beings and you have to do what's best for us as humans. I'm doing this lesson right now in my Education class where you have to teach your age group, which is preschool for me, about diversity. And I'm gonna read a book about diversity to them. And then my little hands on assignment is I have these acrylic frogs and they're all green, but they have different things about them. Some only have one eye, one ear. And I'm gonna hand them out to all the. Going to list two things that are maybe different about your frogs. And then we're going to come to the conclusion that at the end of the day they're all frogs. They may be different, they may look different, but at the end of the.

[Amy McGrath]

Day they're all frogs.

[Addison Davis]

So at the end of the day we're all humans.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah, I mean, it's kind of a basic American principle that, you know, we're all created equal. And so. Yeah, what else?

[Thomas]

I think that one of the biggest things that like growing up is why do we have to spend money to create a community? Because I feel like over time everyone is. And don't get me wrong, economics are very important. Very important. I love getting paid, I love being able to spend the money that I paid. I love going shopping, all that. But you don't need to spend money on things to make a community. You need to create the connections to build a community. And I feel like that's been lost through politics nationally is that, well, if I send money to them and they get a new this or that, then they'll all be happy. That's not how that works. It's getting out there and talking to people and putting a face to a name or a tax write off or like all of these things that you see that America has become a country that is based on the dollar bill and not the people that are around you. And I feel like community is one of the most important things for a country is that that's what we were built on. We're built on community and trust and like one another. And I feel like that's been lost so much throughout the. Excuse me, throughout the years is that everybody's at each other's necks. We're all going for each other. We're all yelling at each other. You've got to be completely wrong because you're a Republican and I'm a Democrat. Or you've got to be completely wrong because you're a Democrat and I'm a Republican. That's not how things work. And it's just the lack of community that has just grown and grown and grown over the years where everybody is just so aggressive toward each other. And it's like, I go to school in a rural area. It's nothing like back home in Louisville. But it's like, coming in, it's like, I have friends that are Republicans, I have friends that are Democrats, and it's like, we all get along.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. I mean, I think that we have a lot more in common with each other, you know, even on different. We may call ourselves Republicans or Democrats or independents, but we have so much in common. And it's. Most people want healthcare, affordable healthcare. You know, most people want good schools. Most people want to be secure and safe in their homes and their communities. Most people want our nation to be secure and safe from foreign enemies, you know, and so it's just a matter of understanding that, I think. But also, there are these fights, and they're over this thing called the budget, because where that money goes is a statement of values. And so when, you know, in my belief, when these folks in Washington passed this bill this summer, that hurts Kentucky because it hurts so many Kentuckians and takes away so many of Kentuckians either health care altogether or the affordability of health care. I think that's a values problem. Meaning, like, they did that in order to give tax breaks to Elon Musk. And yes, he's very powerful and he's very rich, and I'm sure he's very smart. I don't know, but does he really need another yacht? I don't know what else. Yeah.

[Donna]

So I am appalled by the amount of lies just both lay flies that.

[Addison Davis]

People.

[Donna]

At the national level are saying and even on TV things that you can.

[Amy McGrath]

What's the biggest lie? What are some of the lies?

[Donna]

Okay, you want me to be serious or do you want me to say, we're hot, hot, hot. We're the hottest thing. You know, I'm disappointed because the first thing we heard that DEI was corrupt in a way that it incentivized people who were not valuable that were just there because of the way they looked or their gender or whatever. Not true. DEI was for our marginalized disabled people who needed ADAs, things like that, you know, I mean, and I know we have the Disabilities act for that as well. But dei, that was a big lie, okay? And the whole thing, the biggest lie was when they said that they were going to take criminal immigrants off the streets. Illegal image immigrants. And look what they're doing now. I mean, the lies keep coming and there's no. There's no correction and there's no one who's correcting these people. Right down to health care. I've worked in the health insurance industry for 33 years, and I'm going to tell you, period. And this is a woman who right now pays $780 a month for Cobra retirement insurance. I've already paid 10,000 out of pocket, which is my out of pocket for this year because I had a major crisis and almost died in January. Does that seem fair? And I'm not about fair. I don't like the word fair. But what I do like is an equal opportunity for all, okay? And when you talk about health care, and I'm paying for mine, and I believe there are people out there who need public subsidies. That's what I worked for, okay? For public subsidies to help people who needed more. And I'm appalled at the fact that we are throwing people under the bus every day and these politicians have no idea how bad the volume of increases are going to be starting in January. Yeah, but the lies, the lies, the lies, the lies. Economic lies, you know, political lies, lies about our allies across the sea, all of it.

[Amy McGrath]

What do you think, for any of you that you know in your heart is a lie? I've recently been on tv, on CNN and MSNBC to counter what I know is a lie when it comes to the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of War, whatever you want to call it, when he spouts off this stuff about women in the military and they lowered the standards for women. And, I mean, let me just tell you, it's a bunch of bs. And I know that's a lie because I lived it. What have you lived that you know is a lie right now?

[Yvonne Baldwin]

My husband was career military. He spent 24 years in the military. And I had another such moment the other day, watching Pete Hegseth talk to the generals and the admirals and strut across the stage and talk about how tough we're going to be and women can't do this and women can't do that, and people are being promoted because of they're the first of whatever and whatever. So the lies really get to me now. And I try, though, to not do. Not to be like them, but to do it from a position of love. I loved my husband. I loved the service that he engaged in. I regret the fact that a cancer took him, and it was a cancer that occurred to him because of his service in Vietnam. So millions and millions of veterans in this country, recently deceased, brother, one of them. Every family in America has been through this. Every single family in America has been through this. And we cannot allow the Lies about the military and the veterans to strip aside what so many families have given. And the leadership of women like Amy.

[Amy McGrath]

McGrath, by the way, I certainly appreciate that. How do we stop the. How do we stop the lies and be crazy? Yeah, those people didn't care, but that's it.

[Donna]

Back.

[Amy McGrath]

What do you think, Thomas? Any ideas?

[Thomas]

I feel like the biggest thing is accountability. I feel like that's something that as a country we lack, because accountability has also come from this idea that I'm just one person. I can't do anything, my vote doesn't matter. Me filling out a ballot isn't gonna change the world. And it's like you filling out that one ballot is one of the most important things to do. And it's like, I go to college and I'm like, I don't have the time to drive two and a half hours home to go and vote in Louisville. So I get a mail in ballot and it's like, I'll be filling it out. And I'm like, oh, did you all vote? Or like, oh, did you get your. And they're like, no, I just didn't feel like it. And it's just. Voting is one of the most important senses of accountability for a nation. You're writing down, I'm gonna put this person in because their mission is to fix X, Y and Z.

[Amy McGrath]

It's the most patriotic thing you could do.

[Thomas]

It is.

[Amy McGrath]

And it's what veterans fought for, you know, and I always say people, you know, when they put the yellow ribbon stickers on and that we love vets. And I'm, you know, and it's. You know what? If you really love veterans and you really respect people who serve this country, you need to vote. You need to get out there.

[Thomas]

And I feel like one of the biggest groups of people that have. It's just like, deteriorated over time is young voters. And it's. We can push it out on social media. We can hand out stickers for laptops. I mean, I've got my laptop covered in stickers. But it's just like the people that are voting are the people that aren't voting for a change. They're voting to continue what's happening and what has happened. And it's just like getting younger students and getting younger adults in general just like drilling it into their brain that, like, you can change this. Like, you have a free opportunity to change this. It doesn't cost a dime to vote. And it's just getting them fired up about change is what it's going to take to have accountability.

[Amy McGrath]

Well, let me ask you this for anybody that wants to answer. So Kentucky politics, right. This is a red state. And I've heard it since the moment that I moved back here after 24 years in the military of, well, the Democratic Party brand, not so good here. And I want to ask you all why you think the Democratic Party brand has gotten so toxic. I'm not sure that I fully agree with that. I feel like I personally want to be a voice for change and common sense and reason. But I want to ask you what you think here.

[Addison Davis]

I think it's a lot of misinformation and egotistical people getting in power and trying to turn us against one another. I feel like as I was younger, I did not hear Republican versus Democrat as much. And now it has ended several friendships in my life because it shouldn't be that large of a divide, but it really is because it's fundamentals, and it's just been really unfortunate. The best example I can think of is my junior year of high school. There's this rumor going around that they're going to be putting litter boxes in our bathrooms. And they just ran with it. They said, the liberals of Morehead are putting litter boxes in the bathrooms. Guess what? It didn't happen. It did not.

[Amy McGrath]

What was the craziness around that again? I vaguely remember that, but for people listening, what was the deal there?

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Okay.

[Addison Davis]

There was a phase that I guess kind of emerged from TikTok and other social media platforms where people dressed up as animals, Whatever. Do your vibe. They'd put the ears on the tails, like, whatever you do, you not hurt anybody. But then certain people got really upset about it and tried to just make it a bigger deal than what it was and just kept stacking onto it, saying, we're gonna put litter boxes in the bathroom so they could use litter boxes.

[Amy McGrath]

Okay.

[Addison Davis]

And that was never even a topic of discussion in the school. People just pulled it out of thin air.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. Made things up.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Yeah.

[Donna]

Yeah.

[Amy McGrath]

What else? Any other ideas about the branding issue?

[Thomas]

Yeah.

[Tiana Jones]

So to go off what Addison said a little bit, I just feel like there's such a big stereotype between Democratic and Republican. Like, I feel like if you're Democratic, they think you believe all these fantasies. And then if you're Republican, like, it's just you want everything to stay the same. And I feel like the Democrats have become such a toxic party, if you will, because of what the Republicans are putting out there. I feel like it's so many rumors, so many untrue theories. That apparently all these Democrats believe. And it's like, if you want to stand up for what's right and you want to lean more towards the left, they're going to say all these awful things about you. But if you lean towards the right, most of the time you don't want change, you just want everything to stay the same. So I feel like the reason it's portrayed to be so bad is because of all the stereotypes and the lies that are being put out into the media.

[Donna]

I'll follow up on that real quick. And that is, I do believe that when you look at the Democratic Party, our intentions as a whole are empathetic and kindness and taking care of your neighbors, whether they be on this side or the other side of the ponds. Okay, nice guys finish last. You know, a lot of people on the Republican side are very myopic, very me oriented, very much wanting to emphasize the rich. And that's not who we are as a nation. Okay? That is not who we are. And so I think the Democratic Party is going to have to get stronger in terms of our willpower to go toe to toe, face to face, and learn how to open a door. And for any person who voted for Trump in the last election who is now feeling bad about it, instead of, instead of saying, hope you get what you voted for, maybe what we should do is open that door and say, you know, we've all made a mistake, okay, but come walk back through that door with us and let's see how we can correct it. And that's what it's going to take to get those Republicans who are right there, right now going, what am I going to do? And that's democr. Democrats are going to have to stand up, get strong, knock on doors, go out and do the campaigns, not just let Amy and her little group do it. But I mean, we are going to have to do something.

[Amy McGrath]

Donna, are you running for U.S. senate? Because I'm just going to like, you need to like, just run for something. I mean, I'd vote for you. That's amazing.

[Donna]

I will campaign for you 100%.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Yeah, there you go.

[Amy McGrath]

Maybe one more round and I will ask all you all, because you guys have been doing most of the talking, which is great, I love that. But ask me. You have one question for me. I might be short with you, but let's go through around there and then we'll wrap it up. Cause this has been really fun conversation. So should we start here and then just go around? Okay.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Yeah. When they told us someone could Come and ask questions. My big question for you, because I've watched your campaigns and I've been a supporter, but my. I'm in a frightened period right now, and it seems to me that the only women who make it to the top are a certain stereotypical looking woman. One was hair extensions haven't gone down to mar a lago, eyelashes and a face full of collagen.

[Donna]

And that's gender affirming care.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Oh, I forgot that. Yeah, I forgot that. I mean, I am a child of the 60s. I remember, you know, those lashes. But it seems to go further than to just be a kind of an in look for a woman. It seems almost to be a requirement for public life.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

And the other thing that seems to be a requirement for public life as I watched the TV today with the Judicial Committee and the hearings with Bam Bondi, was it appears to me that nastiness is what wins. That if you're willing to speak over somebody, talk really ugly, that you come out ahead. And if you are a male who's got a really quick way with nicknaming everybody and putting everybody down, that that is funny and witty and it's what stays with people, and it goes so deep. And this may be simply not the way that it has occurred, but it seems to me that a lot of it goes back to Facebook and social media and the quick posts, because suddenly you can call somebody every kind of thing that you want to throw out there, and if there's an element of humor or something catchy to it, it catches on. And it never honestly occurred to me that Donald Trump could. Could be successful in defaming and cutting down people who had spent a life in politics, but unfortunately have seen it. So my question is, Amy, for you personally, how do you think about that? And how do you think you can address and be a part of that and be victorious?

[Amy McGrath]

That's a really good question. First of all, I think if people were to ask me, what's the most courageous thing you ever did? It's not strapping on a $70 million jet to my back and launching off an aircraft carrier in dark, complete darkness. And that's scary. And that takes courage. What takes more courage is running for office and running for office as a woman, and running for office as a woman who may not look the part.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Okay.

[Amy McGrath]

Just after launching this campaign, there are images and things out there that aren't great, okay? But the way I look at it is I have thick skin. I know who I am. I think if you know who you.

[Addison Davis]

Are.

[Amy McGrath]

You can get through all that. It doesn't mean that it doesn't hit you and it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. And it doesn't mean that, boy, that sucks. And you want to say f that.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Guy.

[Amy McGrath]

But you just got to be who you are. And I also think on the climate question that you have of who's winning, you may be right, but I think it's temporary. I think this shtick of, for lack of a better word, shitting on other people and giving one liners and owning them or whatever is temporary. I think that people are going to move to a place where they want decency again. Now, when I interviewed Heather Cox Richardson on the show, I asked her a similar question about climate and political climate and our country and everything. And she said, things are going to get better, they're going to get worse before they get better. And so my belief on that note is that things might get worse. But I've always believed that leaders matter. And if you can get leaders into positions that, that trickles down, meaning their leadership, people will see that, oh, you don't have to be that way. And this goes right to the top. Who do we have as a president right now? And people may have voted for him. They may have voted for him for lots of different reasons. Maybe they think he's tough or strong, or maybe they like his policies. But at the end of the day, his leadership style is very derogatory. He stood up in front of 800 Generals and Admirals and called everybody in the other political party the enemy. He said he hated them. I don't hate Republicans. I don't hate the other side. I don't hate my fellow Americans. You may have disagreements about tax policy or health care or LGBT rights. They're disagreements, okay, we don't hate each other. But from the President of the United States, to say those things matters because of his position. And it gives this blank check to so many Americans that say that that's an okay behavior. So how do you stop it? I think you get better leaders.

[Thomas]

You.

[Amy McGrath]

Just don't behave that way. Right.

[Addison Davis]

I guess one of my largest concerns is I feel like we're in a downhill fall as Americans into this generation of hating women simply for being a woman. I've noticed it for a long time. But I got into high school and I had this boyfriend and things got really scary and dangerous. And I went to my school, a male principal, to ask for help. And he said, boys will be boys. You were his first heartbreak. And I said, I May have been his first heartbreak. Does it give him the right to try and physically harm me? To follow me everywhere I go? To run me and my mother off the road, to call me vulgar names? Any chance you have. No, it does not. And that continued all throughout my high school experience. Because I was the girl that broke his heart. And he just got to hold onto that for the rest of high school. And I think on a much larger scale, it is men hating women for simply being a woman. You are hated for saying no at a bar to a guy that asks you out. You are hated for how you look, how you dress. Oh, she wore that. She had that coming. She wore that much makeup. Who's she trying to impress? Why can't we just wear what we want to wear? Because we feel great in our bodies. Why can't we choose to wear makeup? Because we express ourselves that way. Why can we choose to not wear makeup? And that's okay. It is. Every step we take is scrutinized under a lens. That men will never ever be scrutinized. I guarantee you, no one has ever looked at the president and said, what kind of suit's he wearing? You know, that doesn't fit his body type. But they'll do it to a woman every day. So I guess my biggest question for you is, how are you going to take that on if you were to be elected? Because I'm sure you're going to be dealing with a lot of sexism and a lot of disgusting things if you.

[Amy McGrath]

Are to be a. Yeah, I mean, it's already out there. You see it before. I mean, you see it as a candidate and you see it in society. So two things. One, as a woman, I'm just gonna be who I am. And proudly, I'm not gonna change. You know, I might put makeup on, I might straighten my hair a little bit. Cause it's kind of Curly. And my 11 year old says, mom, I don't like straight hair. You should go back curly. Okay, thanks, George. You know, I mean, you do certain things that you know you want to do for yourself and that sort of thing. But at the end of the day, you be who you are. So to answer your question as to what I can do, if you can get into a leadership position and be who you are, that is the coolest thing. Because then people look up to you. I mean, one of the greatest things that been able to do just being a former fighter pilot is having young girls come up to me and say, wow, you did that. I can do that.

[Thomas]

Too.

[Amy McGrath]

And I don't have to look like this. I can be who I am. That is really cool. And so I think just being who you are, whatever leadership position that is, it doesn't have to be politics, whatever on a policy front. Something that you brought up about being harassed, threatened, really hits me today because prior to this podcast, I toured a domestic violence shelter here in this county. And I didn't know this before today, but Kentucky has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the country. And it's something like 40% of women have experienced violence in relationships. And, I mean, that is just something we don't talk about enough. I know there's a stigma associated with it and things like that, but this is a real issue. It's one of the things in policy that I'd like to tackle. And I say that in a lot of ways, one of the ways is not stopping these important grants that go to shelters that help women. Okay. And that is what you're seeing in Washington right now. It's what you've seen in this bill that was just passed this summer is all these cuts to programs that a lot of guys think, oh, that's not important. That's waste. That's not wasted. That's people's lives. That's people's lives and it's resources. So let me give you an example of one resource that has gotten cut from that shelter. It's the legal aid resource. So they have a grant that goes for legal aid. So they bring in people who are lawyers and special, so that if you are a victim of domestic abuse, you know, what legal rights you have, you know, maybe. And I'm not a lawyer, so I can't speak to it, but maybe places where you can serve that partner who's abusing you with some kind of a paper that says, you can't come near me and the children, that sort of thing, they don't have the resources to bring those people in without the grants, so you lose that knowledge. And that's. I mean, those are just little things, but they're important, and it's a part of helping each other. It's a part of being a community. Okay. And I think that is also a part of something that the government should do for the rest of citizens, should help with. It's not that government runs these shelters. They're nonprofits, but they help in certain ways, and that's really important help. So that's kind of something I want to work on.

[Thomas]

I really like that.

[Addison Davis]

Yeah, that's amazing. I Think just to kind of wrap up, I would like to preface I don't hate men. That is not what all this message is about. I have three brothers. My dad is my living, breathing superhero. I have great relationships with them. But I take a great issue with the boys will be boys, because I guarantee you, if I caught my little brother doing anything that that young man did to me in high school, it wouldn't be tolerated.

[Amy McGrath]

Got it.

[Addison Davis]

So I would just. I just want to preface that.

[Amy McGrath]

Excellent.

[Thomas]

I think that something that has come to my mind, just like living in Moorhead for a while now and then going home and seeing the difference between rural and city is kind of the issue of healthcare. And looking at everyone over the summer was texting in our college group chats of like, the only hospital we have really right now in town is St. Claire. And it was like, oh, is St. Clair gonna get shut down? And it's like, well, that's where students go. Saint Glare works with our clinic on campus. That's how we stay healthy, that's how we stay up to date on vaccinations and that kind of stuff. Of like, we can't fix a hospital based off on our. On a student level. And so really saying, how are we going to take care of these people in these areas where healthcare is getting stripped away from them, not just at a financial level, but at a building level of if I needed to go to the ER and the hospital wasn't there, I'm driving, you're driving. I'm driving a little ways, even if I can't even be the one to drive.

[Yvonne Baldwin]

Right.

[Thomas]

And so it's real. It's scary to think about it.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah, it is. It's one of the things that when I say this bill that was passed in June or this summer is the worst for Kentucky in my lifetime. That's a big reason why it hits urban areas. Of course, it hurts rural areas big time. Because the rural hospitals are, you know, very dependent on a lot of that funding and dependent on Medicaid. And you know, and that is if we don't have that, those hospitals are at risk for literally shutting down. And that means if you're pregnant and you're about ready to deliver, now it's a two hour drive instead of a 15 minute drive or if your dad has a heart attack, now it's a two hour drive and not a 15 minute drive. And as you mentioned, it affects people in school as well and kids. So it's something that I'm always going to protect health care no matter what. That is the thing. I think it's so important for Kentucky and so important for our country.

[Donna]

So my question would be based on everything that we're all talking about and how. What measures will you take to help restore civil liberties to our marginalized groups? And, you know, we talked about lies. One of the biggest lies that's being thrown around right now is about transgender individuals. They say that there's only 1% in the entire United States, but yet they're the ones doing all the crime. They've done things to this group of people that are unjust and deplorable. That's just one group, you know, and women. Okay. I just want to know if we're going to get to vote. Okay, is it time to change my name back to my maiden name? So those are the kind of things. And I want to make sure that my child, who is brown, is not targeted. So my question is, how do you see us and what you can do to get back to a safer, caring, loving environment? Because I will tell you this. So goes the leader. So goes the staff, and that's what we're seeing right now. And, you know.

[Amy McGrath]

Well, I do think it's leadership that's super important. It's also Congress. You know, Congress can balance the president and the president's staff on both sides. Congress is supposed to do that. And civil liberties is something that is enshrined in our Constitution. You know, with regards to people who are trans, I mean, we have to stop the demonizing of these people. It is wrong. Everybody has a right to be who they are. It's just common sense, and it's a basic American principle. And we need to have leaders with compassion and empathy that understand that no one's trying to attack you to change. You just allow people to be who they are. And that's true for people that don't look like us. It's kind of like a basic thing that we learned in grade school. You remember when, like, in grade school that you were taught, you know, somebody. Somebody came in. I remember in my grade school, they had a program where disabled folks would come in, and some were disabled veterans, and they would come in and just teach children at a young age, hey, you treat everybody with this thing called dignity and respect. Everybody has value, you know? And so from my perspective of being in office, it's about leadership or wanting to get to office. It's about leadership and about standing up for just the basic dignity and respect of everybody.

[Donna]

Thank you.

[Amy McGrath]

All right, so I want to say thank you very much for being here with me. Okay. This was an awesome conversation. We had such an honest conversation and it was a lot of fun. This is like the most fun I've had in the last couple days, frankly. Thank you for watching this episode. For everyone out there, please, like subscribe, be a part of this. We're gonna have more conversations over the next year and I really just wanna say again, thank you for being here, for being patriots, for listening in. This is the important types of conversations we need to have in this country more and more. So thank you everyone and we'll see you next time. In Truth and the Bear.

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