Memorial Day "Massey-cree"

This week at Sunnyside Troy returns to the studio following a week off, a flipped chicken tractor, time spent at State Track reflecting on Iowa Nice and the loss of Congressman Massey from Kentucky in the primary. Perhaps it's time for a Gen X led America...shine up your banana seats and get ready for the new "Alice's Restaurant" and a special memorial to the 13 airmen and soldiers lost since the Iran War began on this Memorial Day 2026.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Hello, friends and neighbors, and welcome back to the sunny side of life. Troy Thompson here. Once again, it's been a couple of weeks. And I was going to I was gonna just I waited last week. Uh I was gonna do the show a day or two later. I was gonna I waited for the results of the primary election in Kentucky uh with Thomas Massey because as you recall, uh I like Thomas Massey, and I was super hopeful that uh he would win. So I was really looking forward to uh celebrating that win come last Wednesday, and um that's not what happened, is it? No, actually, it is not what happened at all. Massey lost by eight points to Ed Gallrine, and um so he's no longer going to be the um the representative uh from uh Kentucky that uh uh apparently is just uh a real um fly in the ointment to the uh the Trump administration. So they succeeded, and man, I was PO'd. I was mad about that. So I it took me a couple of days to kind of put things together, uh, what my thoughts were. At first, I was upset. Uh obviously, I think uh his supporters uh in Kentucky were upset as well, but boy, there was a lot of stuff on social media um claiming that he got what he deserved, and um there was uh quite a turnout in that particular district. He had uh been very successful in winning his stuff for uh well, everything except this last one. And um, and he lost by eight points. And they spent, I've heard different numbers, something, you know, I don't even know. Uh uh is it $32 million now that they say I think $32 million um total that was spent um on the campaign, um and uh most of that being spent, uh at least two-thirds of it being spent uh to to oust him. Um and um and that was something that we talked about on the last episode. I was pretty sure that he was gonna win, and man, was I I was I was wrong, and I was and I am still disappointed. But it took me a little bit to, you know, as the week got going, and I thought I was gonna, like I said, I thought I was gonna do the show on Wednesday uh because uh I was gonna really be celebrating this this victory of uh Thomas Massey, and uh I just didn't uh I didn't do it, it didn't happen, and I I it took me a while to get my thoughts together. And I'm glad it did. Um I'm sorry that we didn't have a show last week, but um there was just so much um that I had to, you know, um consider uh what it actually means for folks that um that care, I guess, about uh the future of um America and uh maybe the Republican Party to some degree. I've I've lost a lot of um you know, this has come and gone in the in in several uh in the last several years. Um I I you know, I I was Republican um my whole life, uh, and then after the 2020 election, uh my view was that there was so much um uh angst and uh really I thought disgusting actions in the Republican Party uh against Donald Trump that um that I was like, well, this party doesn't even uh support the change that um that Trump had brought. And so um they kind of uh that disgusted me, and so I became uh a libertarian, just broke, said I I'm registering as a libertarian, as you well know. And I did that um and discovered that the libertarians um they uh there's so much that I like about the libertarian philosophy, uh particularly about economics um and administration and how um you just a world view of what our role as a nation is uh in in the world and what it is uh to our individuals uh in our own country. Uh and I like all that, but man, what a bunch of there's a lot of weirdos in the Libertarian Party. And I don't concur with uh a lot of their um philosophies on on certain things. And those things, you know, if you're if you're uber libertarian, you probably are not uh Christian. And so that became a problem for me as well, because you do have to um, you know, your faith is what guides you, uh, and your faith is the most important thing in your life. It's more important than party. Neither no party has has got the corner on the market for uh faith. Um uh and I'm and I'm actually quite disturbed uh by the uh Democrats who um claim to have faith, and um but they seem to m use their faith as a uh you know as a springboard for uh obscure, absurd pol political policies. And the Republicans do the exact same thing. Uh Republicans um claim that they're the most Christian of all, and in many cases, and that's a big part of who runs for office and what they say when when they're running and all of that. And it's not that I doubt that people's faith is uh real. Uh I certainly hope that it is, uh, whatever party that they're running on. But um I've come to the conclusion that your faith um is uh there is not a um I don't think that there's an American um well like well apparently there is an American version of faith. Um and when but it's it's it's not um it's it's it's not Christianity. There there it may have the same wording and some of the same um scripts uh and some of the references uh from the Bible. Um but it is not uh it is not it is not Christianity. Um I'm always been very um uh positive on kind of the rugged individualist, the the uh individual who is capable of uh thinking um critically and and being able to make decisions and and observe um life and be able to um uh employ your values in a in a in a positive way in the decisions that that one makes uh and then can go out and do things as an individual, and that you should be able to do things as an individual. That's why I spend uh a lot of time doing things with my hands, building stuff and making stuff and taking care of uh livestock, which since I've retired from the military, I I find great peace and a closer proximity to God um by taking care of other living things. Uh, of course, my family, my children, uh, my grandson, but uh also animals, animals that inevitably we're probably going to eat, but to get them to that point and making sure that they are cared for uh helps me um just as a man. And uh so there is a sense of individualism in that mentality, and it's something that um, well, it's been a big part of this show, actually. Life, liberty, and the pursuits which make us happy, and we talk about those things here on the sunny side of life, and our guests uh over the the years have uh employed some sort of uh version of of that and just appreciate that individuality. But um the the the the true um aspect of of of faith in in God um in as a Christian uh is that the triune God, right? So uh the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity uh is not an individual. And it is also a uh it's also not a democracy or a republic. Um and there is no voting for what uh you're going to um uh expect God to do for you or me. And so um some of those things do conflict with um the nature of our government, uh or really any government, but um certainly our government. So I don't buy that we are uh a faithful republic uh or that any particular party has, like I said, the corner on the market on Christian faith, um, because it gets skewed uh so drastically by our concepts um that are uh very American uh and very nationalist. And I don't think that those are bad things. I think you can be proud of your country. I think that's why it was so effective for Donald Trump to say, let's make America great again. That's a very appealing marketing slogan, and his 2016 concept was, in my opinion, successful. And it looked like in 2020 that um he was making uh headway into that uh into that agenda. He lost that election. Some people dispute that, but he he lost that election, and uh in the four years that then you know you know transpired, uh lots of things, law fair, etc., etc., all of these things occurred, and it was gross. It was just disgusting. And so that was um uh very off-putting for most people, I think. And it's probably why he was able to um having survived the law fair, having survived the assassination attempt, uh, and where is that, by the way, where where are we at with that? And since then, three more assassination attempts. Um, it just seemed like, you know, that uh he was able to build this coalition of people, um uh because of of all um uh races and uh backgrounds and economic backgrounds and all of these things very successfully, and something that the Republican Party had not done um well um probably since Reagan. Uh and and even this was different. Uh the numbers were different for for Trump. And because we thought that he was going to be um uh not getting us into any uh stupid wars. Um he has, and uh he has and we thought that he was going to um you know do some things um you know regarding taxes, which we did. We were able to, you know, get a reduction in in our income taxes, which was nice. Uh he has not made the uh economic situation of the United States government better at all. I think we're approaching forty trillion dollars now of debt, which is insane. And um and so Republicans are a part of that uh huge problem, as much as Democrats are. Uh they've been in power for a long time, both parties, and they uh, in my opinion, like a lot of people say, um they are kind of a uniparty. And so what's disjust very disappointing is in this last year, uh a lot of the things that I thought, with the exception of um immigration, uh a lot of the things that I thought that Trump was going to do, and it looked like he was going to do successfully, and it looked like he really had his team put together and he had learned from the mistakes of trusting the wrong people in the Republican Party, uh, and that things were going to go um a lot better. And I don't think that they've gone a lot better at all. In fact, I think they've gone a lot worse. He has not drained the swamp um whatsoever. Uh and the uh Republican Party, the same people uh who were very much against him in 2016 and in 2020 uh are now whispering in his ear, and uh he seems to be doing their bidding. Uh we've gotten into this w illegal war with Iran uh for no reason. Uh they keep changing the reasons and uh what they say that our our goal was. We don't know how to get out of it, and things are not going well. Our gas prices are higher than they've been in a long, long time, and they weren't that way before. And it's not just about gas prices, it's about uh the petrol dollar, our status in the world, uh how we are um really weakening ourselves between the uh money that we've spent and the weapons that we've deployed to Ukraine in support of their effort and the things that we've done with Iran and the things that we continue to do around the world has not uh made us stronger uh by and in fact it's made us weaker. And they don't seem to care. They being uh whoever is actually running the party. And that's why I was so disappointed when um on Wednesday morning, after, you know, actually it was Tuesday night when we, you know, uh when Tom Massey gave his concession speech, you know, he he lost and uh he's got uh uh seven months left in the Congress. Uh we'll see what uh that brings for him. And that's why I was so disappointed, because I would like it if there was just somebody that was still um adhering to the perceived values of the Republican Party, people that would um uh lead on principle, that would you know say yes or no uh to uh good, bad, and indifferent policies, to try to reduce the uh overreach of of our federal government all the way down to the the local level. Uh Republicans um I was hopeful that that they always say that, but they don't actually do it. Uh and so it's um it's just very it's very it's very disappointing. And of course, at this point, um Trump has got the lowest ratings anywhere except in Israel. I guess Trump is very proud of his 99% rating, uh approval rating in in Israel. Who cares uh if your approval rating in Israel because you're doing uh the heavy lifting we're doing, we're paying for uh their wars uh and uh and he's got a 99% approval rate, so now he's gonna leave office and then he he said and he was joking, I hope, um, but then he's gonna maybe he could go run and be the president in Israel. But that would never happen for a variety of reasons, even though anybody that's not Palestinian can be um become a uh an Israeli, apparently. Uh so he would probably be able to be a citizen of Israel and um and all of that, but they would have no use for him. If he's not in office, they would have no use for him. And being the president of of Israel um would have he would have no influence whatsoever. So uh you would think that uh he would, because it seems like we have uh a lot of Israeli influence, but uh the reality is that obviously that will never happen. I mean, he's not gonna leave the United States. It doesn't matter what his approval rating is in a tiny country like Israel. Um but that's so that was just a joke. But uh on his part, and it sort of landed, you know. Um, but it's kind of falling on deaf ears. The rest of America, uh in many cases, at least 70% of America, is like, who cares? What are you talking about? The 30% who would, you know, die by the the the whatever Trump says is is right, uh they're they're uh they're they're all in favor of it. So who knows what'll happen. So I had to put all of this together over the course of a very busy week. It was exciting uh for a lot of reasons. Uh our son Colin uh qualified for uh state track in four events. Um he was a high jumper, he came in sixth at state track, which was very exciting. And um, so he's the sixth best jumper in the state of Iowa in class two way. That's that's great for him. He's a he's a junior in high school and uh still got uh another year left. And um very, very, very fun to watch that. And he was also in uh sprint medley. Uh both uh the they have a 1600 sprint medley and the 800 sprint medley. He was in those and also the four by four. And we went down to Des Moines to uh to watch the state track, which I have to say we're very blessed because all four sons have qualified um in their high school careers to attend state track in some events. Uh and so uh it's kind of been, I don't say a tradition, but uh it's sort of been a tradition. As long as we have kids in high school, we've always gone to state track because we've got a kid that's in state track. And uh I think Iowa does a great job with state track. And so um uh the the announcer, I've said this before uh on previous episodes, uh, just does a fantastic job. Uh he's so well researched and just is so positive on the great state of Iowa. It's such a great place to hear uh the names of towns that you may not hear in normal conversation uh in that one place. And of course, it's just jam-packed with athletes who are doing their absolute level best to go out and uh and win uh in the field of competition, whatever it happens to be, whatever their race uh or medley or event uh or field event happens to be. And so it's it's a really uh great time. If you've never been to the uh uh state track and the state of Iowa, uh it's worth going. Just this is also the same place. It's held at Drake University where the Drake relays are held, world famous Drake uh relays. Uh and so uh it's just a wonderful environment. And um I will say that uh it's it's it's been um they did not they didn't, by the way, the the results in the other three events were not uh meddled. Uh so so uh Colin meddled in the high jump and the other ones did not. We stayed at a hotel uh which is uh Element by Merritt Marriott, and uh uh we love uh a lot of the uh Marriott hotels. Uh I've been doing some research on the Marriott um family. I don't know if uh if we should be doing so much business with Marriott, but uh anyway, um we do like their Marriott hotels and and we do like to stay in Marriott. I've got I'm a I'm a gold elite member, not bragging, just got a lot of points uh by staying in all these uh Marriott places. But the element is uh it's a newer hotel, um, but it's just not my it's not our vibe. Um and um it's a little preachy. Uh they've got lots of signs in your rooms and around uh telling you um that they're conserving water and basically uh the whole environmental how to live your life situation is just a little too much for me. Um the the rooms are nice, it's good, great, you know, good appointments and all of that. However, um it's just uh it's not my it's got a different vibe, and it's not our thing. Uh so it could have done could have done without that. Probably won't be staying at the the element. Uh the element. It's like you stay, it's like you're visiting like uh um your adult niece, uh, her her home uh after graduating from college, and she's got great design and great uh decor. And um you have but to in you know to visit, you have to listen to her talk about all of the uh leftist politics that she learned in college, and that's kind of uh what uh what I felt like staying at the element. I don't get that from the other places uh when we stay at other Mariette Hotels. So that was a little bit of a a thing. Um, but um I will say this year felt a little bit different uh at State Track, and it has caused me to think that this Iowa nice uh thing that we've that we've kind of prided ourselves on for uh for forever, you know, being in Iowan, um you feel like you're um hardworking, rational, friendly, polite, kind. The joke was always in Hollywood movies when I was growing up that the the nice guy tourist uh was probably from Iowa, or they'd you know, the innocent one was probably where did you grow up? I'm from Iowa, you know, and so we kind of have that. Um we're always you know apologizing, uh, typically, if you even if it's not your fault and say, oh, oh, oh, sorry, uh go ahead, you know, whatever it happens to be. And you go out of your way to uh cross a street quickly because you know traffic wants to get moving, and you wave uh to people on the highway, whether you know them or not, and um you're just doing things, uh going out of your way to be to be kind and polite and not to uh obstruct somebody else's whatever they're up to. However, this time at State Track, it just kind of had a vibe. I think that there is a shift in our Iowa nice, and it's not so nice. Um, and this is based totally on just a couple of things, but primarily based on, you know, we sit uh where you sit in in Drake Stadium, uh, so you can watch the uh the high jump, which is at the course at the end of uh the football field, be on the south end, and um, of course you want to see you know the jumps and all of that stuff. And um and and we sit kind we were kind of in the middle of this row, and so to get out of that when you're you're done watching and you're gonna go to the concession stand or the bathroom or whatever, um you you just you know you need to get to the end of the row and and and go up the steps. So normally in Iowa, what would happen in is that you would you know get up and uh say pardon me excuse me I just need to get you know and people would get out of their way you could go out of their way to make sure that you could get by and they would be affable as well because it's state track and everybody's happy um and that is not my experience this time like they were just they were like put out by the fact that they had to get up and and it was like why are you le why are you why are you walking like how else do you get out of this row? You know if you're sitting on the end of the row just expect that you're going to get up a lot because people are going to need to get out and um that was my experience every time every single time wherever we sat and it wasn't like we were you know constantly moving up and down and getting in and out of the rows it's just like we went we watched we were there for quite a while and then it was time to move and um man people just did not want to uh get up and they kind of seemed like they were put out that they had and one guy didn't even get up he didn't even want to get up and um our oldest son Tate uh who comes up uh uh he's been at all of these state track uh and field events he's you know 31 uh and he just loves coming up to state track he came up from Kansas City and uh watched Colin and that was great uh to have him there and you know both of us he's a Tate's a big guy and and I'm kind of you know crusty and uh both of us wanted to just pick this guy up and throw him which is not Iowa nice either. And so that has changed. I don't know what it is. I don't know if people are living too close together in the metro area or I don't know what's happening. But um there is definitely a shift in the attitude of what um used to be Iowan Ice so we need to get back to that I think um that that because state track is such a great representative of uh a representation of who we are as a as a state and you're really watching these kids uh do their thing and um obviously there's only you know one first place in each event uh but everybody else earned their spot to get there in one way or the other and so state track was great so uh we were we we left for that and uh spent a couple of days in in Des Moines uh we did some shopping we got some plants we planted our garden uh this weekend uh we've planted we planted about 20 21 trees as we develop our uh uh you know our property but also the property that uh for the sunny side hollow so we got lots of fruit trees now that we've lined uh keep uh the the the road down to the pond as we uh develop that into pasture and and uh in a in a very unique place so we've been busy busy busy and uh and then um the thing about the thing about so I didn't do a show on Monday as you know and and and like I said I was waiting to see what the results would be uh for the election in Kentucky and uh but Monday I wouldn't have been doing a show anyway because Sunday night we had uh a week ago Sunday uh we had a tornado uh area not we didn't have a tornado but there were tornadoes all over and really really high winds like maybe 80 mile an hour winds that uh that kind of just whipped through the area and so uh we went down to the basement we don't often do that a lot of times what you do in Iowa is when you get a tornado warning and the buzz is on your phone or whatever you just go outside and see what's going on and of course uh we've done that many times but this time we thought this is different let's go down to the basement so we did we were down there for oh about an hour and then um nothing really happened um they did lose power we don't lose power uh but um um we have a generator so we lost you know for a minute and then it and it came on so our lights were ablazing and the neighbors were all dark um it looked like we were having a party over here in a tornado and and uh we just um we went to bed things had settled down it was still windy and raining but it wasn't there was no longer a threat of tornado so off you go to bed we woke up and uh I was getting ready for the day to do my chores um and um Heidi had left and uh was going to work and she called me uh and said the chicken tractor is on its roof and so that is crazy so uh as I've discussed before the chicken tractor that I built for the hens I built out of two by sixes in metal you know steel uh siding that I that I had on hand and uh just built that in a day and and uh it's quite heavy. In fact it's too heavy to move by hand. So um there's a lot of people that have chicken tractors and they just pick them up you know they they roll them along and how light they are and then they can keep their chickens on fresh grass which I believe in and that's why I move them every day for the same reason. However this thing is too heavy to do that. So I have to use a tractor to move the chicken tractor and probably get get made fun of uh for having such a heavy chicken tractor. So I don't know how strong that particular wind had to be but it caught that particular shed which was probably facing the wrong direction to be honest with you. I was had I had gone uh along the hayfield all the way to the east and then I turned them around and started bringing them back to the west so the way that particular route is uh was uh pretty much wide open uh to the southwest and so that's probably why that's where all the storms come in Iowa they all all the tornadoes they all come from the southwest and so that wind must have just caught it perfectly and flipped it right up in the air and it landed on its roof. And so I drove out there with the tractor like you do because that's what it takes to move my chicken tractor and uh I was just expecting pure utter devastation. I bet all of the hens were mutilated and crushed and probably under the roof and I was just not looking forward to my Monday morning as I drove out to the hayfield. And I got out and sure enough that chicken tractor was on its roof uh upside down like it had it had flipped completely over and kind of landed uh just exactly behind where it where it had been which is they must have just picked it up and I don't even know how it would have been cool to see. Um but anyway uh I went up to it I'm driving up and I'm expecting uh utter devastation I can't see any dead chickens around I don't see any chickens running around so I'm assuming this is a bad situation I get out of the tractor kind of glum I get up to the I look inside the upside down chicken tractor which is now open to the sky because it's the floor is now open to the you know on the top and the roof is on the bottom and they're all in there just pooping on the ceiling. They're just walking around a little up a little peeved a little upset they're still contained in the chicken tractor and they're all okay it's I don't say it's a miracle but it's like what would what was that situation? How did that happen? That the wind just picked it up and then flopped it on its on its roof uh and pointed the opposite direction and all the chickens are in it and nobody's got a broken wing or hurt feet or anything. They're just walking around on the metal and uh they're kind of wet because it had been raining and they don't like that and they were upset um though of course the water had all spilled out and they're and you know the the the their feeder was literally in the same spot. It that sits in the middle on the ground and it's uh they have like I don't know eight little holes that they can put their heads in and eat their their little grains or whatever. That's still in its same spot uh outside of uh where the the the chicken tractor and so I could I couldn't believe it. So I went and got the forks on the tractor and uh I put and I got a little I got my my my chicken moving kennel which is an old dog kennel put all the chickens in there. They did not like that but they I got them moved and uh they sat and watched me uh as I just picked up this chicken tractor uh and flipped it over with the forks and it just I so it got it standing on its end and then pushed it over and I'm like this is no way that this is gonna the door probably won't open things are gonna get out of whack and uh it's fine. So you might say uh that I uh Joel Salatin would probably would definitely say that I overbuilt my chicken tractor that you should be able to move it with your hand. If I could move this thing with my hand it would be in the neighbor's yard and our neighbors are a quarter mile away or further and uh so this thing is fine. I overbuilt it or did I? I don't think I did uh I couldn't believe it they were all and I moved them back in and they are on fresh grass and they're loving life they were a little peeved but things are back to normal I could not believe that they all survived no no problem unbelievable so that happened on Monday and uh a variety of other things. So that was that was you know why I didn't do a show last week uh between State Track and this chicken situation on Monday and waiting for the results on Tuesday uh and and on and on and on and um now it's baseball season isn't it so um we we we're into high school baseball and we've got a we've got a game or two this week and uh and then it's maybe more than that it's just on like Donkey Kong and of course I look forward to announcing the high school baseball games uh at home like I've been doing for several years and so looking forward to that but um on to the next thing and so here we are it's memorial day week it's memorial day and uh uh we've got a couple of things for you but uh I did want to put together something look the future I don't know what to get back to the Thomas Massey thing uh I'm glad that I took a week to just kind of get my thoughts together to calm down a little bit and to look forward to an optimistic future I'm hopeful that um that Thomas Massey does um continue to involve himself in politics he will be out of Congress um in you know December January uh is when the new Congress comes in uh the Trump administration got what they wanted um by uh targeting and spending 32 million dollars or whatever it was on this particular one race uh to get um to get who they wanted in there and they they succeeded in that and some people are really cheering on the president for look how powerful he is he still can pick the winners and stuff like that but I don't see it that way I I feel that uh all that has really happened I hope what has happened is that we have um as a nation we are starting to open our eyes just a little bit and realize um that uh the current administration is not working for uh us uh they don't care if the prices are high uh they're doing whatever they're doing for whatever reason they're doing the things that they're doing and that's not making any sense to me um they're not making things uh more affordable they're not getting less intrusive they're not uh reducing regulations they're not doing the things um they're not spending less uh they are getting more and more involved in in war it's not going well and I think people are kind of waking I hope people are waking up maybe they're not maybe I don't know but I think that there is I don't think that there'll be a split in the Republican Party but I do hope that there is a uh a new wave of folks that um are kind of put out by uh what has happened this past year. It's only been a year um year and a half maybe since uh in the Trump administration so very soon uh we'll be a lame duck president I mean he's uh this is his second term uh he can't run again uh and this midterm election in the fall uh my guess is is that um the Republicans regardless of what they're doing uh and some good things for the gerrymandering around the states and then maybe they're picking up a seat a few seats here and there uh I just don't think that they're gonna hold on to um Congress and that's too bad but they brought it upon themselves um by the actions that they've taken and and um I don't know what that will bring um my guess is that it will bring a lot of pointless uh um investigations uh I'm sure that um they'll be bringing up impeachment uh all the time and and everything so nothing is going to probably get not much is going to get done um after January uh if the Republicans don't hold on to Congress and I'm not um particularly sure that um that they should uh so but I'm not interested in what the Democrats have to offer either. We're gonna hold Trump accountable and all you're gonna do is waste you know time um with uh with uh you know going after Trump and and and all of that other stuff. But he might deserve some of that but I'm just saying um that's probably what we have to look forward to in the next couple of years more spending the dumb regulations um probably we'll see where this war stuff goes. That doesn't sound very optimistic but there is an optimistic outline to it and that is that maybe that will make people actually who are um conservative who don't want bigger government who want people to actually uh live by their values uh that maybe somebody like Thomas Massey could run for president would he win the primary for a Republican I don't know I don't know but I guess it'll just depend on um who I guess he's going to run against and I don't even know if he's gonna run for president but I sure would like to see that and I would be in big support of that because I'd like to see a little bit more uh uh activity from my generation to be honest with you uh he uh Massey had incredible support from uh basically everybody that was younger than the boomers uh but uh the problem is is that the boomers um they've got they they vote uh but just like their parents voted you know and you get to a certain age um you're looking forward to that Tuesday uh whatever whatever Tuesday it happens to be whenever it is and so they're also um just like you know the the you know my parents generation the greatest generation um I don't know if that's true but they um but they uh they voted and and and my parents generation did they got irritated by that but we've had boomer presidents um you know we had Bill Clinton he was the first one um we had we've had Obama we had George Wat Trump you know who's uh and I think he's 80 so he's like a boomer uh first year maybe um or first class of the the boomers and and on on and on and on so we've had boomers we have enough boomers we have enough boomer presidents um so who do we have from the the next generation which is my generation uh and that would be Thomas Massey um I think that I don't I don't know I I don't know if um I don't know if JD Vance is actually a an Gen X or if he might be a millennial to be honest with you so we don't need a millennial yet sorry um the Gen X our generation right we need to step up and and and we need to get a Gen X president in what would a Gen X president actually look like because we're a we're we're a different generation and I don't want to make this generational political warfare by any means but every generation kind of starts to feel it you know I'm sure that my parents' generation was they were a little tired of listening to the heroes from World War II always running things. They need to get out of the way and so they gave us um you know we got Clinton and Bush and Trump and Obama that's what we got out of that. And then uh so we'll see I don't know we'll get a Gen X president in there maybe we'll get somebody maybe we'll get something different. I don't know actually I don't know how old Obama actually is so I don't know if he might have been Gen X. I don't might have been one of the early ones but I don't I don't think so I think he was I think he's a boomer um but it's crazy to me you think about it um you know the Gen X and younger does not rely on uh a major news media you know uh and the uh the boomer generation now they're the old ones sorry mom and dad they're the old ones and they are used to uh th having three channels of course we've had more than three channels for decades now and um the Fox News uh folks and the Republican Party like they believe everything that is on Fox News and on the other side they believe everything that CNN and MSNBC or MSNow or whatever they're called uh they believe all of that stuff and it's like why are you trusting these people um you know we the they kind of grew up with Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley and whoever the other guy was telling them what to think uh Gen X we had Peter Jennings Dan Rather Tom Brokaw and Jennings you know he wasn't even an American uh Peter Jennings was Canadian he died of lung cancer uh I always felt like he was kind of like Roger Moore he was charming but not so great as the the con the Sean Connery bond um so rather Dan Rather proved to be uh an inventor of news and uh I think Dan Rather was kind of always more impressed with himself than he should have been and then Tom Brokaw is a uh I think he's from South Dakota he's a Dakotan anyway and I think in my opinion he has a great voice um uh but he probably he is responsible for mislabel mislabeling the generation that gave us the boomers um the greatest generation to ever collect social security um and then uh they gave us the boomers which will be the largest generation to ever collect social security and probably the last generation to do so that's a Generation X perspective on how things are going. And uh you know we all love our parents and our grandparents and everything like that but things are not uh going that great uh where we can just say yeah you go ahead and collect your social security it'll be uh you'll be the last ones to get it and nobody's doing anything uh about it which is maybe that's what has to happen you just have to run it out so a massive presidency might be uh a good thing might I would think it would be it might be uh more like a Jeffersonian I mean the you know the Democrats claimed Thomas Jefferson but uh Jefferson was also a scientist he thought of himself as a farmer and a scientist and a little bit uh reluctant in in in some of those things so maybe uh Massey who is also a scientist inventor and farmer maybe that would be uh maybe that would be a good time maybe that's a new era maybe that's something that the that the Gen X can actually bring to the table and maybe we can uh you know Jefferson was wildly against having public debt he thought that having public debt was shameful he died in debt of course uh himself but uh public debt was shameful because it was uh an unsolicited tax on your children and your grandchildren the generations that come after you we don't care about that in America you know we don't give a damn about taxing our children grandchildren and great grandchildren 30 40 trillion dollars and it's fine as long as we keep getting our stuff and uh we just keep on kicking things down the road that would be something that uh Jefferson would be just rolling in his grave over and really not interested in getting involved in in foreign wars. He did have to put the hammer down of course on those pirates uh the Barbary pirates you know um that's how we get that line in the the marine hymn uh the shores of Tripoli but uh other than that really just was kind of innovating and uh wanting uh wanted America to be more like an agrarian more of an agrarian kind of place but of course it was you know other folks like the Hamilton guy he wanted to make you know what we are we are a big business uh big business country and um and and so um uh uh to me a a Thomas Massey is more of a a Jeffersonian character and that would be a pretty good start to a Gen X presidency which also my guess is if it was a Gen X presidency we probably wouldn't have a cabinet and an entire White House staff comprised of former B list Fox News contributors which is like is this what Donald Trump all he watches is Fox News let's get that one. I'm gonna get that that'd be a that'd be a good person for the Department of War should be called the Department of Illegal war that would be more accurate. But um yeah we're just picking people out from Fox News you know cherry picking that's where you get like you're getting them from the Fox News Corporation that's where everybody's coming from kind of crazy um I don't know and but it would be different uh it would uh if a a masse presidency a gen X presidency would be different um just how we grew up uh kind of the last generation to grow up without um instant communication in our hands uh or porn at the push of a button uh you know we had to work for our entertainment by God and uh we had banana seats on our bikes we had Big league chew, we had candy cigarettes so we could appreciate the efforts of our tobacco industry. We thought that the war grandpa fought was the good one and the one dad fought was the wrong one, and that Grenada was our best war until Kuwait uh wasn't raped like we were told, and then we believed in uh all of us when we were growing up in the 80s, we believed in the Wolverine spirit, and that for a moment that C. Thomas Howell guy was actually an action hero. Uh we were pretty sure that we'd miss you know, miss out on uh big government war effort based on grift and fraud, but we were lucky and we got the biggest one to date after Pearl Harbor happened on our Pearl Harbor happened on September 11, 2001. The 60th anniversary, by the way, of the dedication of the pentagram. I mean the Pentagon. Isn't that weird? 60th anniversary, September 11th. Uh interesting. Anyway, uh it would be it would be a different type of presidency. It would be a presidency where uh with the with the uh Gen Xers in charge, uh, these are people like myself who were not so worried about who shot JR, but more are concerned about why Bobby Ewing was married to Chrissy Snow. Um and these are the types of things that you know, Gen X is a little bit um apathetic uh about um world politics. We don't really trust any government agency. We're not particularly keen on any uh of our allies. Doesn't mean that we can't have allies, uh, but uh that doesn't mean that we're particularly you know fond of of them either. Um we have good memories of growing up in a great America. That's why Make America Great Again uh reminded me in 2016 of what I thought it was like growing up in the eighties under Reagan. And then I thought that that's what that meant, and I thought that my kids would then grow up with that as well. They haven't, this hasn't been the experience whatsoever. It's just uh it's not the same thing. Uh I talk about Iowa Nice disappearing from the state track meet, it has also disappeared from um uh politics, unfortunately. Long gone are the days when Tip O'Neill and and Ronald Reagan have conversations and call each other Dutch and you know, whatever. Um those days uh uh uh uh sadly um might be gone. And I was kind of hoping that they would come back. And maybe you know, I don't know how effective uh a Gen X president would be. To be honest with you. I don't really even know. Um but it would be cool if it was like Massey Gabbard, you know, Tulsi, she's gone now. And who who, you know, is to take care of her husband who's got a rare form of cancer, and that's probably true. Uh, but there's probably certainly more to it. They've been ignoring her and pushing her uh away for quite some time. Um so I just like these people that stand up on values and principles and uh don't seem to be able to be bought, and and uh and um and that really offends some Republicans, which I don't care. I don't care. I mean, I think that's the problem. Uh so we'll see what happens. I'm that's the silver lining to me. I'm hopeful that he doesn't go away entirely, and I'm hopeful that um there's just enough that could happen. He even said it in his uh concession speech that what happened, um, you know, this is God's plan. Uh we don't know what God has in mind, uh, but uh, you know, Massey's conceding and he's like, well, this is God's plan, and and we're just gonna go uh with that and and see what comes next. And of course, he didn't remind everybody that he still has seven months to go and and all of that. So we'll see, we'll see what happens. It gave me a little bit of time to tone down my rhetoric and get and and and take a more positive view. My hope is that the change, not hoping change, but my hope is that there will be change that will come and it will be uh based on principles, good principles, uh not bought and paid for ones, uh, and certainly not foreign interest ones. So uh that is um that's my that's my take on what happened last Tuesday. Uh, and I'm looking forward to uh seeing what happens in the next seven months and then and then after that, we'll certainly uh be tracking all of those things as well. Uh but I do want to uh I did want to put together a little a little thing for you, uh a little massacree of my own. So if you are if you're aware of um a guy named Arlo Guthrie, he really only had one um hit song uh and it was called Alice's Restaurant. It was um is based on a true story. It actually happened to him. Arlo Guthrie is the son of uh Woody Guthrie. Uh this land is your land, this land is my land. So folk singers, American folk singers, uh Arlo came along, uh he's he's a baby boomer. Uh came along in um the 60s. Uh in the mid-60s, he actually got arrested for littering with his buddy, and they and then he made a song out of it that was kind of a talking jazz type song called Alice's Restaurant, and it went on forever. It went on for 18 minutes. So it didn't get a lot of radio play, but it was very popular uh because it kind of went through his experiences uh of being rejected from the draft because uh because he had been convicted of littering. And I just found that song very humorous. It is an incredibly funny song, it's got a good little rhythm to it, and it rem and I had heard that song for the first time when I was a teenager. I had discovered that my dad had uh these these before there were cassette tapes, before there were eight-track tapes, between eight-tracks and records, they had these things called reel-to-reel machines, and it was basically the same type of tape that you'd have in the old cassettes or even the eight-tracks, but it was on a big wheel. And um, and then so you could re and you could record your own music on these big wheels of tape, and that's what apparently they did. Uh, I don't know if he did it when he was in Germany uh or when he was in Vietnam, but he had a reel-to-reel machine, and he had all of these reels that had this these tapes on it, and it was just loaded with songs that I had never heard before. Some of them I had, you know, it was like the music that they would listen to when they were soldiers or whenever he had them. I don't really know. I assumed that they were from that time, could be, I don't know. Um, but I just set that thing up in my room as a teenager and would just play that reel to reel. I had I was working at the radio station, I started it when I was 16, so I knew how we still used reel to reel for editing, and so I knew how to you know make it work and everything like that. I was surprised to find that my dad had one, and so I found these you know boxes, these narrow, thin boxes that had these reels in them and set up this his old reel-to-reel machine and plugged them into some old speakers and listened to the what my dad listened to when he was much younger. And I came across many, many different songs that I'd never heard of, some of them I'd never heard since. Um, and then of course lots of great songs, you know, rock and roll from the 60s, and then there was, of course, uh Some Country on there, a lot of Johnny Cash, and then there was, of course, um um the Rat Pack stuff, Frank Sinatra, and so forth. So he had like all this eclectic variety of music on these this number of reels that he had. And I would just listen to them. I'd do my homework, I'd clean my room, I'd be in my room just listening to what my dad listened to on this old reel to reel. And surely they just must have recorded it off of records or something like that. I don't know exactly how they did it, because these were not like purchased with all this music. They were just clearly before there were before you could rip music off, uh, they were just ripping music off and you know, recording it on these reel to reels. And that's how you got the you could have like an hour or two hours uh of play, and you could record on both sides. So you just flip the reel over once it got on the other side and put it on and flip it around, and you could have so you have all this music on there. And uh Alice's restaurant was on it. And I had never heard of this guy named Arlo Guthrie. Of course I'd heard of Woody Guthrie, and this land is your land, this land is my land, uh uh, but I had never heard of Arlo. And so he had this funny song called Alice's Restaurant, and um it's the song was actually called Alice's Restaurant Massacree. Uh, it goes on for about 18 minutes, and it tells this whole story of how over Thanksgiving he had uh he and his buddy had gone to Alice's house, which was an old church, and they'd taken the garbage out for it because they had a lot of garbage, and uh, but the the dump was closed, so they just threw it in uh over a cliff, and then they uh they got there was a whole investigation, and it was a funny situ, you know, funny description is they have to go to court and to get arrested, and Alice bails him out, and then he goes down to get uh you know, and then later he gets he ends up getting off, he gets off of that because I don't know. But it it's just a very funny you have to listen to it. It's you can find it. Uh if you've got 18 minutes of your life, you should you should listen to it. But I'm gonna bring some of it around because it is a bit of a protest song about a war that um a lot of people did not like. Uh and uh but it really ended up, if you ask Arlo Guthrie, who registered as a Republican in 2008, by the way, uh, which is kind of funny. Um then he read then he became an independent in 2016, and now he's like, I don't even know what I'm gonna do. Because just like a lot of people, he's like, Oh my god. It's uh what it where are we at right now? But uh the Arlo Guthrie said that it was really more of a protest of stupidity, and uh, I would say that that has been Thomas Massey's entire political career. Uh Donald Trump says that he uh that he always votes against the Republicans, which is an absolute lie. Uh he votes with the Republicans 93% of the time, and then there's just a few times when you hold out because you're like, this is dumb, we're not doing we shouldn't be you said you weren't gonna do it and they're like, don't care, you gotta do exactly what we say. Uh get those uh get those marching boots on and do what you're told. And and he didn't, and now he's not gonna be a congressman because of it, so that's what that's the price you pay, I guess. And he understands that. Um so I just feel like wouldn't it be cool? Uh Trump also said that he's the worst congressman in history. Anytime Trump says anything about history, you know he doesn't actually know what he's talking about, right? Because he doesn't know anything about history or faith. Maybe really nothing except maybe real estate. Other than that, you know, he's like, this is the worst in history. Like, I mean, clearly you don't even know history. But um he has said that, and you just kind of take it with a grain of salt anymore because it's all puffery. Um but uh I thought, wouldn't it be cool if we just took some of the clips uh and we just put it together uh uh over Alice's restaurant and and uh and just kind of tied this whole thing up neatly with a bow for uh Thomas Massey and this whole arduous process that has uh now resulted in defeat. But looking forward to an optimistic future, whatever that happens to be. And maybe, like Massey was saying, I guess is what this is what reminded me of it, maybe it'll be a movement. Maybe it'll if if two or if if two or three or fifty people, if fifty people, if uh if you had if you had twelve people like Massey said in Congress who did this, they can't they can't spend thirty-two million dollars on twelve people to try to run them out. Maybe if people would just do you know, vote their conscience and do the right thing, and maybe it would be a movement. Maybe it would be the m the the the uh the Alice's restaurant massey and not massicree. And so I'm gonna put I put this together for you. I hope you enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 55:15

What if I lose? Being independent, having your own opinions is one thing. Voting against the party, you're eventually gonna make too many enemies. I wish that that weren't the case, but politics is politics. You can't expect the party to actually back it.

SPEAKER_04 55:30

There are members of Congress, they tell me on some of these votes, they're like, yours is the right vote. I just can't do that today. And they're like, I just can't die on this hill. That actually might be making a logical decision. Ed Gil Rain is fantastic, but forget that. You don't have to be a rubber stamp on foreign policy.

SPEAKER_02 55:51

If they're bad people named mean harmed our sheep, we're on it.

SPEAKER_04 55:54

We know we don't want a war, and we know why young people are, and you know, middle-aged people are against the next war. Cause we'd be the ones fighting it. They're trying to bring back the draft. Screw that. We're not gonna fight some other country's wars. We don't want to spend our money overseas. Today is the six-month anniversary of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

SPEAKER_03 56:16

Thomas Matthews from Kentucky. He is so bad. Masty's the worst congressman in the history of our country.

SPEAKER_04 56:24

What happened tonight was God's will. What was God's purpose? What is he showing us tonight? Politics is politics. You don't like your con. I do believe this is an inflection point.

SPEAKER_05 56:37

Ask me if I've rehabilitated myself. What I wanted to do is give you all credit. I mean, I just I'm sitting here on the bench. I mean, I'm sitting here on the group W bench. We're not gonna fight some other country's war. Cause you wanna know if I'm moral enough to join on me, burn women, kids, houses, and villages after being a litter bone. We don't wanna send our money overseas! And the only reason I'm singing in the song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar situation. You can survive. Or you may be in a similar situation, and if you're in a situation like that, there's only one thing you can do.

SPEAKER_04 57:16

Live to fight another day, and you can fight all the righteous fights. Let's say we get a dozen of them who who vote with me on the next thing where I would have been the only no, they APAC can't spend 30 million dollars on a dozen people. When they saw the influencers here, they panicked, they sent the secretary of war here, and you stopped the war for a day.

SPEAKER_05 57:42

You know, if one person just one person does it, they may think it's really sick and they won't take and we're on it. And if two people, two people do it, they're bad people.

SPEAKER_04 57:53

And if three people do it, knock that off, you're gonna make me feel good about losing.

SPEAKER_05 57:58

Can you imagine three people walking in singing a bar? Alice's restaurant walking out, they may think it's an organization. You have it and can you can you imagine 50 people at that? 50 people at dinner walking in, singing a bar, Alice's restaurant walking out, and they may think it's a movement. That's what it is. Alice's restaurant and that's the creative movement, and I'm gonna do the minus that's nothing.

SPEAKER_04 59:37

I will talk about it later. Thank you, and God bless.

SPEAKER_02 59:40

Okay, and that's that. So I don't know what you thought about that, but I hope you enjoyed that little bit there. And uh, if you get a chance, go by all means and listen to the actual version of uh Alice's Restaurant Massacree by Arlo Guthrie. You can find it on any of your streaming services, or maybe you're maybe if you dig through the attic, you might find a reel-to-reel from your dad, and you'll be able to listen to it that way. That would be great as well. But uh as we wrap up, folks, this is Memorial Day. And uh it is uh Memorial Day 2026. And I would be remiss if I did not um um pay homage to uh the the the the men and women uh of our country who have served and and given up their lives, the ultimate sacrifice. That's of course what Memorial Day is all about. It's uh Veterans Day is to you know, that's when you can thank a veteran. Uh Memorial Day is for the ones that uh we just don't get a chance to say thank you to them because they they've moved on. Uh and so this is uh this is a solemn day, and uh and we're thankful for the the many sacrifices of of uh all of our American soldiers, sailors, airmen, marine um who have given their lives over the course of our 250-year history, uh, and we're very grateful that not every war, um, not every conflict that we have gotten into has um m turned out to be what we thought it was going to be. But every person who gave their life did so um they uh did so um because they took an oath. And that it wasn't that they wanted to die. Uh they weren't looking for that opportunity. They had other things going on, they had other plans and they wanted to be uh just like you and me, enjoying life in the greatest country in the world, and I still believe that for sure. Um but um we're just a step or two away uh always from from losing it. And thanks to uh our men and women in uniform who uh unfortunately have given their lives, uh, we were able to have a pretty darn good one. And so uh be thankful and and uh remember that today. Uh so what I'm gonna do this time though, because as you know, I don't think we should be fighting this war in Iran. And um this Memorial Day today, there are thirteen there are thirteen Americans who um are part of Memorial Day in a way that they didn't anticipate that they would be uh because of this uh unnecessary conflict that we've got going on um with Iran. Plain and simple. There are thirteen uh Americans who um are now part of uh a Memorial Day uh program because um we just decided that we were gonna go ahead and and start something up with Iran. And I'm gonna name their names and I'm gonna tell you a little bit about them, and uh that's where we will uh end our show this week. And so um for Memorial Day, I want to honor all of our uh men and women who have given their lives, I want to particularly mention these thirteen major John Alex Clinner, age 33 from Auburn, Alabama, United States Air Force, the father of a two-year-old and seven-month-old twins, Captain Ariana G. Savino, age 31 years, at Covington, Washington, is where she's from. United States Air Force. Her passion for flying came from her father, who was a pilot for Alaska Airlines. Tech Sergeant Tyler H. Simmons, age 28 from Columbus, Ohio, part of the Ohio Air National Guard, an only child whose teacher is described as well-mannered and disciplined. Tech Sergeant Ashley B. Pruitt, age 34, from Bardstown, Kentucky, United States Air Force, a devoted wife and mother of two young children. Captain Seth R. Coval, age 38, from Mooresville, Indiana, part of the Ohio Air National Guard. He met his wife on a childhood church mission trip. They have one son. Captain Curtis J. Angst, age 30 from Wilmington, Ohio, part of the Ohio Air National Guard, the son of a flight attendant and private pilot who grew up in a plane with toy planes. Sergeant Declan K. Cody, age 20. From Des Moines, Iowa, United States Army Reserves, an Eagle Scout who loved the outdoors. Captain Cody Cork, age 35, from Lakeland, Florida, United States Army Reserves, a man with an infectious spirit and generous heart, defined by devotion to character, and service. Sergeant First Class, Nicole Amore, age 39, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, United States Army Reserves. A mother to a senior in high school. What a commencement they must have had. And also the mother of a fourth grader. Her husband says she was just days away from coming home. Sergeant First Class, Noah Tejins, age 42 from Bellevue, Nebraska, United States Army Reserves. A double black belt in taekwondo and Filipino martial arts. Something he shared with his wife and only son. Major Jeffrey O'Brien, age 45, from Coggan, Iowa, United States Army Reserves. He coached his kids in track, supported their gymnastics, and he taught them to love music and theater. Chief Warren Officer 3, Robert Marzon, age 54 from Spotsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States Army Reserves. And at the time of his death, he was just two months away from his 55th birthday and retirement from the military, which he joined in 1990. Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington, age 26. Glendale, Kentucky, United States Army Reserve. Everyone who knew him knew he was destined to be an army man. And there was no convincing him otherwise. Rest in peace. To these 13 Americans who serve their country and lost their lives in this most recent conflict with Iran. 13. On this 250th anniversary of the United States of America, born from 13 colonies. God bless them, and God bless America, and may God bless you, as you become the sunny side of someone else's life.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:54

When the shadows fall and doubts begin to creep, remember together we're strong, never weak. Lift your neighbor up with kindness every day. Let your actions speak the words you want to say.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:11

The sunny side of life is a weekly production about our life on the family farmstead here in Iowa. The liberties we pride and the pursuits which make us happy. None of this is possible, of course, without Christ in our lives. For the Lord God is our son and our shield. He gives us grace and glory.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:36

Share your light and joy through struggle and strife.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:03

Together we will share this sunny side life. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may the sunny side of your life in Christ be made evident unto you each and every day and give you peace.