Thomas
Appearances
Call Her Daddy
Alix Earle: Secrets, Sex & Scandals (FBF)
I'm Thomas. I'm Alex's younger brother. I'm six years old. I love Alex because she plays with me. And I really love her a lot. And I appreciate that she plays dinosaurs with me. It's so nice to meet you. I have to hug you.
Call Her Daddy
Alix Earle: Secrets, Sex & Scandals (FBF)
Yeah. After, can I show you around the house?
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
I know this might be awkward, but I need to help you get this uniform off. And he gave me a little head nod.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
Just layers of skin came off with his wet uniform. His skin was like pruney and wrinkled up like you were in the bathtub or the pool all day. And his skin just came off almost like tissue paper. I had gloves on my hands, but my hands were just cold from handling the wet uniform and the skin on top of it.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
He wanted nothing to do with communicating. I don't know if he didn't have energy to or he was in a mental state. I'm not sure. He wanted nothing to do with talking or moving or even helping us. He was conscious, but it's almost like he was just like a zombie. And the paramedics put him on the gurney and took him to the hospital. After we got him out of the building, we all just like, whoa.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
We tried everything that was in our power. We aren't doctors. We don't work at the hospital. We can't say he's okay to come back. Like, at some point, it's just out of the scope of our job and out of our control.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
It was one of those things where you clean a cell every shift, and the next shift, it's going to be right back. An inch of water, an inch of urine later, because he wasn't getting up to use the bathroom.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
We saw him come into the booking center, he always kind of sighed because it had potential to be a use of force, only because he was so unpredictable. So you kind of look at it as a challenge to get him processed through the whole intake process or get him from point A to point B without a use of force. You take a deep breath and say, all right, let's get him through this.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
I had walked back to M Block for a pill call or something to help out, and I noticed he was in his cell on the floor.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
He would not respond to anyone. And I went back to the medical department. I said, something's wrong with Krummel. It doesn't take a doctor or any medical professional to see this.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
Just like calling the police department and saying, well, it's Friday at 8 o'clock at night. We'll have cops back on duty Monday morning. Just hang out there for the weekend. And that's the best analogy I can make with the mental health inside the facilities.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
I would come into work Sunday at 2 o'clock. We needed to go back, take the medical staff with us that we trust, and get him sent to the hospital if he's not already there by the time I come in. I don't care what the prime care provider says, what on-call says, we need to send him out if he's still in as rough shape as he was yesterday.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
So she called an ambulance. We very carefully got him up, I think in a wheelchair, off his urine and water-soaked floor. He was wearing a full uniform, but the uniform was also saturated, like it was just dripping. At this point, we know he's going out. The ambulance is on the way. And we put him in the shower area where it's off camera where we can get him naked.
Death County, PA
Hell Froze Over | 3
And sat him down in a green chair and tried asking him. I said, Jamal, dude, we need to change. You're going out to the hospital to get help. We need to get you out of this soaking wet uniform. I think you'll feel better. You'll warm up. And I asked him, I said, can I help you get undressed? I said, I've known you for a while.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios and is made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and premium members. If you'd like to listen ad-free and access weekly bonus episodes, extra long stories and our entire back catalogue, you can try out premium free for 7 days by following the link in the episode notes. Now, a quick word from our sponsors...
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
So you can have these incredible meditations on hand anytime you need them. Welcome to Get Sleepy. Where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas. Thanks so much for tuning in. Tonight we'll be back on Florence Road, where Jade volunteered for the first time at her local nature reserve. It's also where Nick lives with his brown Labrador, Juno.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
Diesmal sind wir mit Nicks Nachbarin Kate dabei, als sie das Haus für ihren Partner Joes Geburtstag vorbereitet. Es wurde von Lilly geschrieben und wird von Niki narriert. Die zwei anderen Geschichten dieser Serie sind ein ruhiges Morgen, das mit der Natur verbunden ist, und ein ruhiger Tag auf der Beach.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
I'll put the release dates in the show notes so you can go back and find them, should you wish. Better still, we'll be stitching all three episodes together and releasing it as a long-length story on the premium feed this Friday. Right now, new subscribers to Get Sleepy Premium can enjoy their first three months completely free of charge.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
If you listen on Apple Podcasts, just hit the Try Free button at the top of the feed. And if you listen elsewhere, simply visit slumberstudios.com slash premium to claim your three-month free trial. So now, my friend, settle into your cozy bed and allow yourself to bring your attention towards only the present moment. As you let your breathing deepen and lengthen,
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
Enjoy the feeling of letting go of all the noise and thoughts of the day. Enjoy just being present. It's a blissful state of body and mind. Just be here, with my voice by your side. And everything else can wait until your alarm goes off in the morning, or when you wake up naturally with the daylight outside.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
And don't worry if you're someone who often wakes up in the middle of the night and struggles to get back to sleep. Das könnte der Zeitpunkt sein, an dem du gerade hörst. Egal was, ich möchte, dass du diesen Moment wirklich genießt. Schlaf kommt, wenn der Zeitpunkt richtig ist. Aber es ist so schön, entspannt, komfortabel und friedlich zu sein. As you are now. Luxuriating in rest.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
So just continue in this frame of mind as you listen along to Nikki's soothing voice. Keep your breathing nice and steady. And allow your eyelids to softly close if they're still open. It's time for our story and for rest. Nothing else. So I'll make way for Nikki to read to us. Unsere Geschichte beginnt in der Begegnung von Kate, die sich in einem leeren Haus erwacht.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
Hey, alle. Ich habe von vielen von euch gehört, wie stressiert und nervig ihr euch fühlt. Vielleicht ist es all die politische Energie da draußen, oder vielleicht die Schwierigkeit, all die täglichen Arbeiten, die auf eurer Platte sind. Was auch immer es ist, ich möchte, dass ihr nicht allein seid.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Day of Happy Memories
Und ich habe den perfekten Podcast, den ich dir empfehlen kann, der dir hilft, Stress und Angst zu lösen. Es heißt Meditation für Angst und es bietet täglich Meditationen, die dir helfen, all diese Sorgen zu lösen und tiefen Frieden zu finden. Ein letzter Favorit meines ist Relief Nighttime Anxiety. And I found it really helpful. So follow Meditation for Anxiety on your favorite podcast player.
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
A Restful Holiday at a Georgian Manor House
Wie kann man nur so... Ausgeruht sein? Ganz einfach. Trainiere deinen Schlaf und werde auch du zum Morgenmenschen. Mit der Galaxy Watch 7 oder dem Galaxy Ring und der Samsung Health App.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E16: Money Will Take Over (FINALE)
This still affects me to this day. I'm not a normal dad. I know the tendency of some parents to be helicopter parents and hover over their kid and be concerned for their safety. But I really live a good part of my life now feeling like doom is just right around the corner. That tomorrow something is going to happen. It just all be ripped away.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E16: Money Will Take Over (FINALE)
The biggest thing that I want to say is that that is the product of this. Luckily, we have a beautiful baby boy and he's as healthy as can be. I don't know how long I can enjoy it as fully as I can without being scared that something's going to take that away. Jennifer, the quote-unquote midwife to take care of us, wasn't licensed at the time that she was seeing us.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E16: Money Will Take Over (FINALE)
Her license started May of 2022. Our son was born in February of 2022. Jennifer recently admitted that she was unlicensed at the time. She comes right out and says it. Regardless of what your bosses or employers are telling you, if you know that you're not licensed and you are treating people, seeing people on your own, you're part of that negligence. I don't drive a car without a license.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E16: Money Will Take Over (FINALE)
I don't need somebody to tell me it's okay or not. It is concerning that that is allowed to go on. In the heart of a major city across from one of the biggest hospitals in the state, if this is happening here, imagine what's happening in rural communities throughout Texas. The sickening thing is, is these people are using that movement of women empowerment and
Something Was Wrong
S23 E16: Money Will Take Over (FINALE)
women discovering their autonomy and they're using that to make money. These owners prey upon someone's desire to take their autonomy and their body back from this patriarchal system that we live in and then use that against them. Where are we going to stand up for women in this way? I would love to see the laws and the regulation around midwifery and women's care in general change.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E16: Money Will Take Over (FINALE)
I would also love to see birth trauma be taken seriously. In sharing my story with people, whether on social media or in real life, I've had so many people, especially women, tell me about their own birth trauma. They even admit and tell me about their partner's birth trauma. You don't hear people talking about birth trauma survivors. I would love for that to change.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E16: Money Will Take Over (FINALE)
I would love that to be something that as a society we talk about and really validate and support survivors. And of course, I would like some justice for this. I don't want a lawsuit and things like that. I would much rather see licenses be taken away and people being criminally punished for this.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E16: Money Will Take Over (FINALE)
Absolutely. And I just want to say, too, this was my idea. I hope you noticed. I'm actually a big fan of the show. I said, you should hit up Something Was Wrong. So here we are.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
So that's where I went, which I didn't know was kind of where they took the worst case scenarios. I remember being able to touch his hand and walking through this maze that was the hospital that we were in. He's got a bunch of things on him, but he looks fine. Some of the first pictures I have is he's in like an infant stretcher with the glass case over it.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
There's a team of nurses, and there may have been a doctor with us, but I definitely remember nurses that were obviously carrying along things that are monitoring his vitals. And then the main doctor, his name was Dr. Thomas, ironically enough, said to me, he looks like a normal baby boy, but he is not. He has not gone through anything that is normal.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
We're going to be checking him for all sorts of things. And he started listing the most serious things first, things like bleeding in the brain, brain damage due to lack of oxygen. It seemed like the list just kept going on and on. I'll never forget. I think they hooked him up to antibiotics immediately. They hooked him up to a feeding tube.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
He had a CPAP on that was helping him breathe, things like that. I was able to stay with him while they were still doing those things. I was kind of preoccupied with him, just thinking that I would get an update whenever there was something to learn about Kristen's condition. I trusted that Kristen was in the best care.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
The doula was in a waiting area. I was obviously preoccupied with Theo and luckily things were progressing well with him. At this point, things start to slow down. It's a few hours later and I'm talking to Kristen's mom on the phone. Everything happened so quick and it happened in the afternoon that no one had really been able to come up and see us.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
They're just kind of getting updates from over the phone. And I said something to the effect of, Kristen is still in surgery. And Her mom, who happens to be a nurse, was like, what do you mean she's still in surgery? I was like, yeah, you know, just assume that they'll come get me when she's out, that no one's came to get me yet. She's like, Thomas, that is not normal. That is not right.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
This has been three hours. Something is wrong. You need to go find out. That was a big turning point, realizing that not only has my son been put in grave peril, but also my wife. It was actually not long after that, that I did get called down and I did get to meet Dr. Fuller for the first time. I had been in her office and obviously she had taken care of Kristen.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
She was the one that drove Kristen to the hospital and subsequently operated on her as well. But this would be the first time that I would meet Dr. Fuller and it's now probably eight something at night. So it's been over three hours since Theo was born.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
She was very calm and basically just explained that Kristen had not woken up. They believed that she may have had some seizures, but at this point she was still out, which was not normal. So they were transferring her now to neurological ICU to be monitored. I got to actually walk from the OR with her on a stretcher and a team of doctors and nurses around her.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
And we walked through the maze of this big hospital up to a neurological ICU. I remember her hands kind of tremoring a little bit and her eyelids trembling a little bit. I was told that she had been having seizures on and off at this point, three, four hours after Theo was born. I remember them moving her from the stretcher to an actual hospital bed. She was just completely out.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
The doctor had me come over and speak to her. And I took her hand. And I remember Dr. Fuller saying, Kristen, your honey's here. I said, Kristen, I'm here. This is Tommy. I'm here with you. At that point, she did kind of start to open her eyes. And some of the doctors at first were like, she's just having seizure and voluntary action.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
But no, sure enough, that is actually when she started to wake up.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
We went through a pretty rough spell in neurological ICU. Kristen was on a ventilator. She was really emaciated too. They also put her on like a magnesium drip. But I remember it just making her feel awful. I said, okay, Kristen, let's go meet Theo. She was like, I don't know. I don't know if I can do it. I said, Kristen, if you don't do this, you're going to regret it.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
I remember her meeting him and I have photos of when they met and she just looked so beat down. She's normally such a vibrant, bright person. And she has the biggest smile you've ever seen. And that is completely absent in those photos where she met her son for the first time. It's still tough to look at.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
Kristen's recovery process actually took longer than Theo's did. He was able to be cleared from the NICU and was able to be moved into Kristen's room where we were staying and we were all able to kind of stay there together for a few days.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
ROB from the bat was very much, very blunt about her opinion on origins. And aside from that, I don't really remember too many people coming and telling us about origins at that time. But what I do remember is the parade of doctors and nurses that would come by and make time to come to our room and say, hey, I was there when you were brought in and I want to say I'm so happy you're here.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
I remember walking around the hospital to get something to eat This is a major hospital, right? On the floor we were on, all the nurses knew our story. A lot of other people did too. So that really brought out that what we had gone through was not a normal complication or a normal birth by any means. When she started feeling better, Theo was in the same room with us. We were in the hospital.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
That was actually really a joyous time. We were so happy our son was alive. Seeing him sick and emaciated to seeing him become a newborn baby right in front of our eyes. It was kind of bliss those last few days in the hospital. I remember just being so happy. And even though she was in a lot of pain, we were kind of smiling through it.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
They invited her, myself, and obviously our son. And they're like, you can come take pictures in our tub whenever you're ready. And I was like, fuck that. Like, we don't want a bath. I hate to laugh about it, but that stands out. Nobody came to the hospital. Nobody visited her. Nobody sent anything. We started to kind of see their true colors and how much danger we had been in.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
When we got home, it was like the tablecloth being ripped out from under us. We lived in the seventh floor of the loft while we were kind of finishing up our leasing. We did have an elevator, thankfully, but I mean, it was an older building too. It wasn't quiet. We're on the corner of literally Main Street.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
There's people yelling at all times of night and people drag racing in the middle of the night, things that you get in the city. I had used my time away from work, so I had to go back to work shortly after we had gone through this process. She needed to go and stay with her mom because she needed full-time help. For a month or two, we weren't even staying together.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
It was devastating for our relationship at the time. By the time I was able to rejoin them, I felt out of place. I didn't feel like part of the family unit. And I didn't feel like I knew how to take care of my son who had changed so much in his time staying there. I mean, of course, I was going there as much as I could. And I was spending the nights there, probably most nights, but still.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
Yeah, working and then I would drive to go spend the night with moms and come back early to take care of the dogs and go to work. I just remember feeling really, really lost. And I remember even my performance at work really suffering too. I'm just having moments where I'd be working and working and just kind of like look up and just be like, where am I? It was really rough.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
On top of all the new parent woes that the dad's working and then the mom is overwhelmed, we were both coming to terms with what had happened to us and the negligence and the misguided care that we had gotten. As we're discovering that, I mean, where is all that anger going to go? It wasn't something that united me and Kristen. It kind of formed a wedge between us. I think a lot of it was guilt.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
We felt like we had picked this place that was so negligent and was doing all these things. We were the idiots for doing this. We put our son in danger. And I truly think that's how we felt. And that guilt had a way of taking a toll on our marriage and our relationship. Definitely for the first year, I'd say almost two years, we really, at least for me, felt that guilt upon ourselves.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
We still thought that this is just something that happened to us, an isolated deal. It wasn't until much later on that we started to kind of piece these things together. I would say over the course of the next year or so, we started to unravel what had happened to us.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
I'll never forget, I was taking a shower. It was pretty late at night, I'd say around 1 a.m. And I came into the kitchen. We lived in like a loft style apartment in downtown at that time. And Kristen's water had broke. This wasn't completely out of the norm because we're getting closer to the due date. Now we're going to follow the instructions that they gave her.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
We're going to call the hotline and report it. And then we're going to run her a bubble bath and we're going to call our doula and we're going to relax. And so we did all those things and that continued on into the morning. She was starting to feel contractions were increasing. Eventually the doula came and joined us. We're still very happy.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
This is the beginning of this process that we've talked so much about.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
We've gone through therapy and we're in a much better place. If one good thing has come out of us deep diving into what happened to us, it was able to also kind of reunite us in understanding what each other went through. At a certain point, we moved out of that apartment. We rented a house further away from the city. So it was a lot quieter and it was nice.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
But now we live in what most people would probably call the country. And when we did, we found a new pediatrician. My son, I want to say he was a year and a half old. And of course, you know, he's walking, babbling, all that stuff. And the new pediatrician is looking through his chart and he goes, oh, oh my God, you don't see a lot of ones walking around and doing what he's doing.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
And what he was talking about was something called the APGAR score.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
His median APGAR score when he came out was a one. And I think after a few minutes, it progressed to a four. We've received a lot of reassurance, but any medical professionals that look at even just an overview of his records are like, oh my God, you're so lucky to have him and have him in the form that he's in.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
It was like somebody lit a fire under her and she just started diving into reviews on every site that she could find and weeding through the positive ones. Ironically enough, it was all the positive reviews we saw was part of what led us to Origins. They have hundreds of positive reviews.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
As she started to weed through and find these little one stars that were here and there, what we were reading was absolutely horrifying. And it was also very much akin to what we had experienced almost two years before. Kristen was on fire with this.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
As we get there, we're still very relaxed, and so are the people inside of the facility. There were two people there. I remember Jen being kind of the lead, and then there was somebody else. It seemed like nothing was wrong.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
When Kristen said that her contractions at a certain point had stopped completely and weren't making any progression, since they weren't alarmed by that, we weren't alarmed either. Jen was the one that was actually looking over her. She had this like handheld sonogram that was attached to her wrist and hooked up to her smartphone, which I thought was kind of strange.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
And she couldn't figure out how to make it connect and how to make it work. She determined that our son was breached, which we thought there was a chance of.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
I just happen to pull up right as the OB is kind of peeling out of this parking garage and I follow her. And she's not driving like normal. She's taking an illegal turn. She's running a red light. This is very close proximity to the hospital, but it's a big city. So it's not like you can just drive straight over there. And this lady's driving like about out of hell. I'm trying to follow her.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
I remember Kristen calling out that she loved me, but I mean, we couldn't even really see each other. She was a few yards ahead on a stretcher as I'm pulling up in the car. It was very cinematic. It was like watching a movie almost, except for you're in it. This was an OR that was immediate when you got in. I imagine this would be used for car accidents and other high trauma type deals.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
I didn't know this at the time, but Kristen said that when she was wheeled in there, there was probably a dozen people in there. A few of them introduced themselves, but really they just went right to putting her under and right to operating. I had to have a nurse bring me back, but I wasn't able to actually go in there with her.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
What they would let me do is I could stand outside against the wall, and there was a nurse that was peering through a little square window, and she was telling me what was going on. The speed in which this happened, the time that Kristen got there to the time that they actually delivered my son was less than 10 minutes. This was an escalated type of emergency.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
I'm sure they feared the worst based off what the doctor had told them. You're pure fight or flight, numb, head forward kind of thing that people do as a response. After my son was born, it was at 5.37 p.m. and the nurse looked through the window and called in to ask if I could look through the window too. And after it was given the go ahead, I was able to look in.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E2: Life Threatening Emergency
I'm sure they were probably making sure that my son was alive. I saw him on the table and I could see Kristen still completely, for lack of a better word, I could see her insides and her guts right there on the table still. Then they kind of immediately had a team that was going to take my son up to NICU.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E1: Built to Birth
Hi, I'm Thomas. I'm Kristen's husband. We met in 2018. We actually worked together. 2019 is when things kind of switched from coworker to dating and our relationship moved really quickly after that. We moved states a couple of times. We went through the pandemic together in 2020, living together, and then got pregnant in 2021 with our son. We had talked about wanting to have a kid.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E1: Built to Birth
So I was very excited. When she really started diving into natural birth, I really didn't have any clue exactly what that meant. She was very happy to educate me in that. So we started reading things. We started listening to stuff. She started looking into birthing centers. And all this was as foreign as a calculus class would be.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E1: Built to Birth
Once I really started to understand that it was more than just not getting an epidural, I started to kind of maybe be a little bit skeptical. Once I started really diving into the information that she was reading, I saw really just how empowered she felt about doing this and how much she was excited about it. I got on board. I saw that she was taking this seriously.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E1: Built to Birth
We looked through numerous different birth centers online and read their reviews and plans and visits. And then that led us right into Finding Origins.
Something Was Wrong
S23 E1: Built to Birth
How could you do that? Does another woman prey upon someone's desire to take their autonomy and their body back from this patriarchal system that we live in?
The Charlie Kirk Show
Ask Charlie Anything 213: Three Terms? First Hand Campus Tour Experience? Vaccine Exemptions?
Hi, Charlie. I'm from New Jersey. So I'm a 19 year old conservative pop music artist. I want to be able to share my views and build my brand around that. But I find it very hard in a liberal industry with Chapel Roan and Charlie XCX. And I've always been told, oh, you gotta push your music towards the LGBTQ community. which I thought was ridiculous.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Ask Charlie Anything 213: Three Terms? First Hand Campus Tour Experience? Vaccine Exemptions?
So my question is, how can I be a mega conservative pop star when I have everything going against me?
The Charlie Kirk Show
Ask Charlie Anything 207: Saving Idaho? Surgeon General and Smut? Amfest Breakout Sessions?
Hi, Charlie. I was wondering, as an 18-year-old from New Jersey, what I can do to help with the upcoming governor election.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Ask Charlie Anything 207: Saving Idaho? Surgeon General and Smut? Amfest Breakout Sessions?
Yeah, so we have three primary candidates, Cittarelli, Spadia, and some other guy, but I'm for Spadia. So, because Cittarelli said he's non-supporter Trump or whatever.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
It's both. I thought so, yes. But the bottom line is the offer, it was in the bill. It was in this bill, Charlie, giving up to $30,000 deduction. That would have cost us $250 billion plus over 10 years.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
continue no no you're right i mean that's the that's what i call the restoration of federalism that trump's actually getting into and and he's doing a great job and you see it all over what he's doing by cutting down the size of the federal government but i mean so there's just some of just some other issues that i i hope we work through andy biggs is going to come back we're 100 behind him biggs for arizona.com we got a big event coming up in two weeks andy keep fighting for what's right thank you thank you charlie
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Thanks, Charlie. You are the leader in the conservative movement today around the country, and to have your endorsement and your team's endorsement, that means so much. It's incredible. We're going to win this thing, Charlie. There's not a doubt in my mind.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yeah, I think so. We're on the cusp of turning the state red again, and it has to go red again because if you think of everything from the border security problem that we had under this current governor, the first thing she did, Charlie, was disband the Border Security Task Force, which has led to higher crime. We're the gateway to fentanyl in the country.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Something like 50% of all fentanyl coming into the country comes through Arizona. We've got to stop that. So Trump's done a great job on the border. We still have a problem there. This governor has actually hindered the economic growth that we should be having. Arizona is a great state, and there are businesses that want to come here and locate here. She has not worked on deregulation.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
She's not worked on creating energy. She's not worked on making sure we had the water resources or the other infrastructure we need. You know, that stuff has got to be taken care of. Education. I mean, how come our NAEP scores keep going down, but we keep spending more money on education in Arizona? We need we need bang for the buck there.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
And then I guess I guess ultimately the prototypical thing for her is she has vetoed more bills than ever. And here's one. The election integrity bill. But we want to know who wins our election on election evening, right?
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yeah, that's exactly right. And that's what our bill was modeled on Florida. I have to tell you, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania members of Congress tell me sometimes, they say, we're grateful for Arizona. First time I heard it, I said, why is that? And they said, because you make our elections look like they're run smoothly. You guys are a disaster. We're an embarrassment.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
So these are things that we can take care of, Charlie, and we can do it the first week that I'm elected because I know how the place runs. I served in the state legislature. I know how that place runs. I worked with two different governors. I know how the executive branch works here in Arizona. I wrote budgets for the state.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yeah, absolutely right. So I wrote many state budgets. And it's not hard if you actually get into it and dig. But we haven't had anybody that wants to do that. And that's what we've got to do. And if we do that, I think we're going to turn the state red again. We could turn it into the Florida West. Absolutely. In fact, I told Byron Donalds.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
I called him up when he announced, and I had already announced, and I said, Byron, you know what's going to happen about 90 days after we're elected? And he said, no. And I said, you're going to see a couple of red dots leaving you. And he says, what's that? And I said, that's our taillights. Arizona's taillights as we go past you as the most conservative, productive state in the country.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah, President Trump, I mean, he and I have a great relationship. I like to say, you know, it's one thing to have his endorsements, but it's another thing to, you know, have a personal relationship with a guy. I mean, we're talking about we've golfed together, we've dined together. For years you've had his back. Yes, that's right.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
That's right. In fact, I got investigated for standing with him.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Well, there was no need to waver. He was in the right. And, I mean, the Ukraine thing was a disaster, that bogus impeachment over that phone call. I mean, Charlie, that was bogus. But our colleagues, a lot of our colleagues, they kind of fled him. But the reality is there were a lot of us there standing with him. And then the late Nancy Pelosi impeachment. And then the Mueller investigation.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
I think it was one of the first ones. I think it was me and Louie Gohmert that stood up and said, Mueller is compromised. He should not be doing this. And we had our own party saying, we want to do this investigation. I'm like, that's bizarre. Now Mueller ended up not finding anything, which we knew he wouldn't.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yeah, no, Charlie, you're right. I've been all over the state.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
uh the we have 15 huge counties i was in one county and i said how remind me how big our counties is this county's as big as new jersey so we have massive counties here and uh i've been through uh the majority of those in fact one of the one of the counties i went to said nobody comes to our county and i said well i was a cochise or what was it it was uh it was actually graham graham oh yeah that's right graham's kind of kind of out of the way it's because you don't have a free
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
way to it yeah that's lesser appreciated yeah but that all adds up going to all those counties add up yeah i mean the people are great they've been incredibly supportive gracious and welcoming and they all want this state to succeed too i mean so we've got you've got the mineral counties you got places that we should be doing mining yes and and there's so much potential in the state by the way this is a we need more desal plants we need
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yeah. I mean, so so everything from educational choice to support parents and as they raise their children, you want to have good, solid communities. And we have we have some places that have fallen in hard times because I think because bad leadership, either on the local level or at the state level from our governor.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
But you want to make sure that they're safe and can get out and have fun and play and grow as families. But you also want to make sure that their jobs are there. And Arizona could grow. I mean, when you start talking about it, I've talked with the head of the folks at TSMC when I went to Taiwan, met with those folks. There is so much we can do there, Charlie, and you're right.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
If we make sure our power grid is strong, provides reliable and dispersible energy, we're going to be able to welcome in the data centers. And AI data, that's going to provide incredible jobs. We have the employee infrastructure here. When you start telling them that we have over 30,000 engineering students at ASU, you talk to these businesses, they're like, really? I had no idea.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
So we can get on this bus and build this state and provide these great jobs and then protect, you know, you've got to protect the water and the range management that we have to deal. So forest has got to be taken care of.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
But you know what? We've got to run through it, run through the tape.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yes and no. I mean, I knew the bill might be in trouble, but that there was enough votes to actually kill it in committee surprised me. They're going to have to redo it and bring it back up, and no doubt working this weekend to try to get rid of some of the warts. It's a big, beautiful bill.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
There's a lot of beautiful stuff in it, Charlie, but it's got a few warts and unsightly blemishes on the face of that beautiful bill.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yeah, I think that's fair to say. And then and then most of that spending reductions, Charlie, are taking place in the last two years of that 10 year cycle. And as our experience tells us, they're just not going to they're not going to realize them. Yeah, they're not going to get those those cuts.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
The framework was largely there, but they changed the details. So the way to think of it is you put a work requirement on able-bodied adults who are receiving benefits, right? none of that kicks in until after President Trump's out of office. And that's a $360 billion savings over 10 years, but it needs to be spread out over the whole 10 years.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
And because, as you know, after President Trump's out of office, a new president or a new Congress could come in and just wipe that out and kill that savings.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
I'm with you all the way. And we get back to, does it have to be a big, beautiful bill? The tax package that's in there is pretty good, right? Because it continues all the extension, it extends everything from the Tax Good Jobs Act. But it also gives you the no tax on tips, no tax on seniors, no tax on overtime, those types of things. I can't remember if there's a fourth one in there.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
How about if you just did that bill first? What would it look like if you did that?
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Well, you know, there was so many ways to do it. The president wanted a big, beautiful bill. And that's fine.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
Yeah, and I told him, I said, I actually support a big, beautiful bill if we use the leverage right to get everybody on. I mean, so you have the salt states, right? I mean, you've got a group of people there. This is a huge thing. Yeah, this is the state and local tax. And they want other Americans to subsidize their high property taxes.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Andy Biggs for Governor of Arizona!
to the tune of about $250 billion over 10 years was too little for them. They wanted more.
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
How can we help? So my question is, my wife, not recently, but a couple years ago, was diagnosed with cancer and had a hysterectomy. And so we're trying to have a surrogacy to have a biological child. And we're just trying to find out the best, smartest way to get that much cash because it's around...
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
it depends on how we do it, but like 80 to a hundred K. Um, and so we have like 40 saved up, but, um, yeah, I just don't know if we should sell our stuff, like our house, like our other house. What do you mean?
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
Well, she's, we were both in the military and then I got out and then she piece moved. So now we live in California. So our old house in Arkansas, we, um, just rented it out at the time. Um, what's it worth and what do you owe on it? Uh, we owe like one 70 and Zillow says like two 70.
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
Yeah. I mean, we only make like a hundred bucks after cause we don't charge that much rent. Um, man, But the other issue, too, is they're going to kick her out of the military because the cancer has reoccurred now a couple times. So then we're losing—she's primary breadwinner.
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
They just medically separate. Like, they look at her and go, well, she can't deploy. She can't do her— She can't do her job. I mean, she could still do her job, but she can't deploy. So they're going to medically separate her, essentially. We'll get to keep the health insurance. That's good.
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
Yeah. We don't know exactly how much she'll get VA disability, but they won't give us that rating until kind of the final steps. That's like right before they... do the deed. They pretty much tell her, okay, you're going to get this. But we're estimating, I mean, with cancer, she should get 100%, but you can never be too certain.
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
I feel like it's over on Zillow personally, but I mean, I don't know much. You still stand to walk with about $100,000 or $80,000, somewhere in that range?
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
That's, like, the big issue is I don't really know because, right, she's definitely going to lose, like, 2,000 to 3,000 a month in income. But once she gets kicked out, we don't have to live where we live because, you know, the military is making us live here.
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
Yeah, that sounds about right. Probably another $20,000 to $30,000, somewhere in that range that I would have to supplement to be comfortable living where we're at. I mean, we could deal with – because we already dropped like $3,000 in savings each month right now. So, I mean, we could – You've got more. Theoretic. Which is fine. Yeah, we would be fine, but then we wouldn't be able to be –
The Ramsey Show
Draw a Line in the Sand and Say “I’m Done!”
Because we're already pretty tight with our money. Don't do that.