Thanks for pressing play. If you love the ser magic that can only occur in a real conversation, you're in the right place. This is Christopher Lock follow your different. The number 1 real dialogue cast for business leaders, entrepreneurs and category designers with a different mind. In the coming weeks and months, we hope to hear more from not crazy Republican Democrat and independent politicians running for office. In an attempt to have real conversation and dialogue. Not more yelling and fucking stupidity in our country. As a result, we have not invited marjorie Taylor Green or Ao on the podcast. We are seeking out thoughtful and I repeat not crazy people from all political stripes. Because we believe it's time for a breakthrough authentic conversation in America. Our guest today is the legendary S Etch, A trail basing figure whose remarkable journey from a non military family to serving on the front frontlines with the Army's elite forces exe identifies extraordinary courage and dedication. Chilean path to leadership began with a bold decision to join Rot as an undergraduate, despite having no prior family ties to the military. Her experiences ranging from leading soldiers in Iraq at the young age of 23 to being among the first women selected for special forces missions in Afghanistan, have shaped her into a formidable advocate for veterans and a passionate candidate for political office. In this episode, S shares her compelling story of resilience leadership and her unwavering commitment to serve and protect. Her insights into the sacrifices made by service members, the importance of genuine leadership and her innovative vision for political reform offer a fresh perspective on the challenges facing our nation today. Join us as we delve into S inspiring journey. Her experience is in combat and her bold bid for congress as an independent candidate. Challenging the status quo and advocating for a government that truly represents the people. Are you tired of getting lost in the crowded seas of your market? It's time to break free and join the category pirates where we chart new courses and uncover uncharted territories. The category pirates newsletter is your treasure map to mastering category design. Learn from the legends into pioneers of category design themselves. We'll teach you how to frame name and claim your var niche with unparalleled precision. Don't settle for being just another face in the crowd, transform into a true category designer. And une earth hidden treasures waiting just for you. Embark on your journey with the category pirates today at category pirates dot com. Now as Joey Ra ramon said, hey, H, let's go. Alright. Well, S, it sure is wonderful to meet you in person. Yeah. Thank you so much, Chris. I really appreciate you having beyond. I appreciate you being here. And I deeply appreciate you but running for a a high office in our country. Well, thank you. It's a big grand adventure, and, you know, I'm the first time running for office, so really diving in head first here. But I'm proud of what we're doing, and and we need to get more people in the political mix, of fresh blood for sure. Absolutely. The other thing I'd like to say you off the top from the bottom of my heart. Most people when they meet that veterans say things like, thank you for your service. And so I absolutely thank you for my service, for your service. I thank you for your service. But I was... I've been thinking about this a lot because I spent a lot of time with folks who are either in or were in our military because I love an admire and respect them deeply. And I had a dear friend die recently, a man you might have heard of named Bill Walton, and the famous basketball player. Mh. And Bill always when he was signing off either in person or text or email would say, thank you for my life. So S, I'm not confused. Because of you and the women and men who volunteer to protect me. Thank you for my life. Well, thank you for those words. They really mean a lot and and, no. Thank you. I think as service members, you know, it's an all volunteer force, you know, we choose this profession for different reasons. And it's it's really an honor, and and, you know, so... And I think it's a team effort So from a grateful nation like you and citizens like you. Thank you so much. Well, thank you. I'm not confused. I know the only reason I'm alive. Is because of you. And anybody in America who's confused about that in my opinion is very confused. Because there's a lots of people evil that wish us harm, and there's 1 reason. There's 1 reason We haven't been attacked on our homeland since 09:11. There's only 1 reason because of you. Yeah. Thank you. I think there's a lot of people don't really get to see behind the curtain of our intelligence community, our military community and how much people sacrifice and give themselves to that profession in the name of preventing another 09:11. And that's not by accident. It's not because there hasn't been, you know, plots or people around the world that would love to enact more tax like that. It's just that they've been prevented from people who are serving, whether it's in the Nsa Different. Yeah. So so so anyway, oftentimes people have no idea, But but, yeah, there are folks absolutely. Defending this great nation and making sure that that doesn't happen again. So thank you. Thank you. And if I understand your background in your story, S, it it would appear that 09:11 did have an impact on you. Did it? Yeah. So, you know, I do not come from a military family whatsoever. In In fact, I'm half Canadian dual citizen, my mother and all of her family are kind from the mountains of British Columbia. Oh, I knew I like you. I was born in Reed from Montreal, Canada, S. Oh, you were Wonderful. I'm an American citizen as well as a Canadian citizen. You all. There we go. We're dual. American. But... Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna say something that might be inappropriate in certain places, but there's some special about ladies from Canada. I'll say. Hey. I'll take it. And I think so. You know, my mom is 1 great lady, and so... And my dad's so proud to be mary duke Canadian woman. And, yeah. So anyway, I I love that about kind of my family origin story. What's your mom's name? Her name is Sheila. Sheila. I was actually named after her, So her name is Sheila Anne and she made kind of a combination of those 2 to make S. Got it. I think S is spectacular names. Perfect. It's... Thank you. You know, having unique name. I like to say it's kind of a blessing and a curse depending on the context. And, of course, starting for office, it's very convenient having a unique name. So in this instance it's been good. It's. The speaker the house's name is Mike Johnson. The most generic name you can have besides like John Smith. Exactly. And and his good friend Johnson. It's good for jobs. That's right. It's also awesome in the Google world, you know, because I have an unusual, certainly in in North America. An unusual last name. Scotland is the only place in the world I go where they know how to spell it. U. But in the Google world, in the Internet world, It's easy to find. Right? So there's not too many S and in... So Googling, you come up quickly. I even tell people. When I'm on the phone and you doing my calls and stuff, and I said, what's your name? I'm like, honestly, you really just need my first name. Like, just put it into Google It'll come up. So it's like of nice. Share. Yes. It is. It's it is. It's kind of nice. So thank you mother Sheila Anne for, you know, con con that. It's been useful at least in this endeavor. But but, yeah. So I it I did not come from a military family I I had always been a pretty in intuitive sort of serious person. I was always really interested in the news and geopolitics and and, you know, I was always into reading, like, non fiction. Was a young kid too. So when the the attacks on 09:11 happened, I was in high school. And I mean, what a jarring tragic event for our country. And and no no 1 will let you you know where you were when those happen. It is forever burned into your brain and your psyche, you know. And it just was And then following kind of our nation's response to it and there were people in my high school that were kind of enlist right after graduation that we're gonna be going to Afghanistan and you know, it just put the military on the map for me in a way that it wasn't before. And so I ended up honestly kinda taking a leap of faith and joining Rot as an undergraduate. And I just... I couldn't shake the notion that, you know, I think I need to give this military thing a shot even though I didn't really have much... I didn't have any family pies to the military or really any kind of like, mentors per s, leading me that way. So it was listening to my intuition, and and it was a good thing to do because it ended up being 1 of the best decisions I could have made. And I'm gonna get a little personal, and you can kick me under the table don't don't let me bring anywhere You don't wanna go. Okay. But don't worry Don't really let people push me around. I'm not gonna push you around at all. I'm just happy to see you, and I think you're fantastic. Thank you. Are you a religious person at Os? So I did not grow up in an institutional sort of, like, religious household. In fact, my parents were very open about exploring different religions out there and talking about, you know, a higher power and that there is a god, but it can take on many forms, and so I remember going to different denomination of churches with friends. And anyway, and since in my adult life, I have found. I would say my own brand of spirituality with all of the connected life forces on this earth and in this universe and and that there has to be some divine maker of it all. So I I really... It's it's a very strong spirituality that's rooted in I love the essence sense of love, which you do get a lot of, you know, if you wanna bring Christianity into this. A lot of the teachings of Jesus are very aligned with... I think how I feel with my brand of spirituality. But but to answer your question, no, I wasn't in any sort of, like, particularly religious organization. Because I've talked to many of our service members as well as vets. Who share a feeling of being called of 1 sort or or another, whether they're really religious or believe in a higher whatever it is, but there's something that has kind of got them and saying, hey, listen go go and join our military in and so did it feel that way at all to you? Like you were as corny as it might sound to some, being called to it? The question that keep kind... That that that kept coming back to me was will someone has to do this. We're an all volunteer force. We were violently attacked on our own soil. And I love this country. I did a small stint growing up in Mexico actually, you see poverty firsthand. You under... Like, from a small age and and I, again, like I said, I was very consumed with books and I would read about know, World war 2 or, like, the the Came Rouge and Cambodia and stuff, and it's like, no. We have, and my parents would say, I mean, you're incredibly lucky to be born in this country. And they're right. And so I kept coming back to someone has to go and bear the burdens of defending this nation. And I... I've always been the person that's like, quick to raise my hand and volunteer for things. And I thought, well, why not you? Why not you... Someone has to, why not you? And so there it was, and I also really, really as a rule of life, do not wanna live with regrets. And I also asked myself Sc. If you don't actually sign up and do this, would you regret it? Would you be that person that's, like, yeah. I thought about Survey? I thought about doing this but, you know, insert some excuse or reason. I didn't wanna live with that. So you just gotta you just gotta do it. And so I think that was the nagging poll that you're asking about? And when did you decide slash find out? That not only were you going to serve the United States of America, but you are actually gonna be in combat. Well, it was a slow road to this. So I actually joined Rot. This is this is so funny. You're gonna like this. I joined Rot, my freshman year. Okay? I'll army Rot. The thing is though, you don't have to actually contract or sign the paper until your junior year. You can try it out if you will. And and so I said, let me try this out. That first semester we did our first field exercise. That's where you go in the woods. You do your kind of war games, your whatever. I was so lost. I did not know what I was doing. I was uncomfortable, and I felt like S your you don't really belong here. And there's not that many women and, again, I just didn't... And and I ended up... I ended up coming back from that withdrawing from Rot. Saying, I tried it I tried it. This isn't this isn't for me though. And then the next semester I was like, maybe the Air force is more my style. And so I joined Air force Rot, and that ended up that experience was a lot more, you know, there's a lot of technical stuff and engineers in Air force and things like that, and that's just not really me. And it almost was like this moment or where I'm like S, you need to harden up. Like, you you still have this pull that you need to go into the military. If you're gonna do it, you're gonna do it big. Okay? You're not gonna my husband's the Air Force. Who's a fighter palace. So I'm not hating on them. I'm like, but you're not gonna wimp out by going in the Air force. Okay? And so... And so I then, the next semester rejoined Army Rot, and I gave it a better effort. It was still kinda slow to come onto it mind you, I was also in a so. I was also doing, like, a minor in women's studies. Rot in that triple venn diagram, there's no overlap besides S. And so so if you imagine the movie like legally blonde, that's kind of what it felt like for me fitting into this military organization. Okay? It was not smooth. And it was clunky. But eventually, you know, eventually, I had the right attitude, and I did get the right mentors with my Cad. And and I took it very seriously, and I said, I'm committing to this. So so, yeah, at the beginning of junior year, I finally signed the on contract, and I was, like, this is real. This is real. After graduation, I'm at least committed to 4 years in the army. It might suck. It might not... You're gonna be trading around with big ass boots and 40 pounds of deer and a giant machine gun and a helmet. Doing it. And end end, and you're doing it. Mh. We're doing it. You're in it. You're in it. So, you know, rise to the occasion. And so so, yeah, that's That was kind of the realization of it all. But, you know, when I when I first joined, I did not know I was going to be in combat. Because women were not allowed in combat. Just my virtue of your sex, if there was any job that was related to direct combat, in the army, you were barred whether you could meet the standards or not. And at the time, that was about 1 third of the jobs. And so I actually ended up my senior my senior year was selected as battalion commander. So I was the top cadet. And The time as a Battalion commander. You would not be deployed into combat given where the army was at that moment. Is that correct? So this was still an Rot. Okay. Got it. This was still an Rot. So what I'm saying is, even though I was tagged to be the top cadet, and we had a... I went to University Central, Florida, a very big school, we had over 300 cadet debts there, and they picked s to be number 1. How many women were in your Rot otc group? Oh, I'm trying to think in my graduating class. It really was not that many. I wanna say we were probably at about 10 percent. Yeah. I just Googled as you were talking, and Google tells me 16 percent of the Us military is female. Yeah. It's it's still really low. But what I'm getting at is... But you were selected a number 1 and then. You were the 1. Yes. You were the star. But that... But I still was banned from 1 third of the jobs once I actually got to the army. So it, you know, it was institutional sexism. And this isn't that long ago mind you. You know, I joined in 2008. A lot of people have no idea that this existed in the. You wanted to go fight. So, yes. So, yes, I said it's she'll... It was the whole thing. The the conversation that I had with myself. If I'm committing myself to this profession, I want to be on the ground, and I wanna be as close to, preventing more of these tax from happening again. And but I... But I wasn't allowed. So anyway, so I ended up picking military police. That was kind of, I would say, the best alternative that I had because at the time military police units were deploying a lot. They were doing a lot of, combat support type missions, providing security for, you know, logistics units or, like, base defense or training, you know, Iraqi police or Afghan police forces and stuff. So that was my initial job when I first actually commissioned and went an the army. And at the time, was that as close to combat as AAA female could be? That's right. So here's where it gets a little difference with the global war on terror and how it was waged. These wars were asymmetrical warfare. There was no forward line of troops. The enemies on this side were on this side. And so you you had like military police units, for example, that would be doing, say Con security, point a to point b. At any time on these route you could hit an Ie, and then be engaged in an ambush attack as well. And so women although they were not in say infantry units or tank units, were were in fact finding themselves in combat situations. And there were there was there were been women that have been awarded, you know, valor metals for their actions in these combat situations. So it started to chip away at this narrative that women either can't hack it or, you know, why are they banned from combat yet they're finding themselves in combat? So that was just kind of the nature of of these asymmetrical warfare. And how do you get recruited into what sounds like to me, a very special job and amongst the first women ever to be with the special forces. Yeah. So just So it was a very interesting turn of event. So, you know, we've laid the groundwork that I joined an army where women aren't allowed in these combat jobs So I do military police. I actually do... My first deployment as a platoon leader at 23 years old to body Iraq. While I had my platoon of Mps. We were in charge of the base defense for camp body at the time. And how many American military police were under your command at 23 years old in? But, for for a platoon it's 45. 40 twenties. 3 year old person, a female person, And you're now deployed and you're in charge of a real group of people doing real security work in the line of us. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's, you know, you just... It's so hard to compare that quick initiation into leadership experience and doing it in a combat zone. At such a young age. You have to grow up. You have, like, things life is coming at you fast. And so I also... That's why I make a great argument for why veterans are really great leaders and why we need more in halls of congress and public service. Which I'm sure we will get to. But that was my first deployment. I then came back from that and just a couple months later, the Us Army special operations command put down a directive. And they said, Immediately, we need to assess and select just a handful of women across the army to go on missions combat missions in Afghanistan with Army Rangers and Navy seals. These special operators are going on night raids targeting high value, A qaeda and taliban targets. Here's the problem now. Culturally the male service members could not talk to Afghan women who were on these targets, potentially leaving a myriad of intelligence untapped. Okay? And so the answer was well, we need to find the right recruit the right women, service women who have what it takes to go on these raids and do the kind of what we call it Battlefield interrogation and our tactical questioning of these afghan women on targets to find out, like, hey, where's the the these A qaeda and Taliban folks located, who are they associating with where the weapons, any vital intelligence that we can get. So that directive came down, and I thought S sc girl. This is it, step up to the plate. This is it. At a time, where women are allowed in combat, let alone doing it with our special operators, the people at the tip of the spear. The most elite fighters in the world. Absolutely. Yes. Absolutely. And so I so I immediately put in an application and was invited to Fort Brag, home of special operations. There were about 200 women. That put in applications and, handful of us were invited to actually go through assessment and selection process. It looks like a lot of sleep deprivation, a lot of physical, challenges, mental challenges, you know, the whole rigor... The whole thing to make sure that you are physically mentally competent. Like, you have what it takes to hang and do this. I ended up making the cut. And then we had to go through another, like, 3 month long crash course on training for this job. What does it look like to actually go on these night rage these and maneuvers with these special operators. And and so I ended up being 1 of 20 women that were initially selected to go do this job. That was in 2011. Again, still very much when the women in combat band was in place. So this was a somewhat of a provocative or kind of controversial thing where we are now going into Combat, And so it was really interesting to be finding myself in that position, and, you know, it was a true... It was a a true honor, but but certainly, like, I think I was exactly... That was exactly where I was meant to be and really proud of that program's role and ultimately changing the course of policy and Dod to help her send the women and combat band. God bless usually. That's so legendary. So you were 1 of the first 20 women in the army selected to be in the special forces to go go get this done. Yeah. So we were right. So we were attached to Understand. Special forces you... Yeah. So I personally was with the 70 fifth ranger regiment in, Hell Province. So that's Southern Afghanistan and arguably 1 of the more dangerous places in the country at the time. And did you lose friends and and fellow service members? Yeah. So there's there's no... We're not sugar coding this. I mean, we were there in 2011 2012, Afghanistan, really a heightened time in that war, and we really his leading service members. Every single day. And so 2 months into that 8 month deployment, a, 1 of our female teammates along with 2 rangers was killed in, the house that they were going to that they gonna be doing this raid at was essentially boob trapped all throughout with Ie ids. And yeah. Yeah. And so her name, the first lieutenant ashley white, sergeant first class... Christopher, and then a private first class christopher Horn. So they all lost their lives at night, and it, you know, all of us know that that's a possibility, and I was 25 years old, you know, when we were there, many of us were young and it's really interesting where you have to pump to grips with that. I remember when I first got there, I was... I remember Saying to the rangers like, how do you how do you try not to step on an Ie? Like, how how what's the technique here? And there's are certain things that you can look for, but the answer was if if it happens it happens, you can... You know, and so you just have to come to terms with you just have to come to terms with your own mortality. And you did that at 23 and then 25 years old. It got real. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it was really real at 25, and it was, you know, my my own team was killed 2 months in. We have 6 more months. Right. Who's gonna be next. You know, that's, you know, it's very real. And It gives such a deep perspective of, you know, a lot of the narrative we have right now in political discourse is what's the proper use of our military forces? And I think it's deeply important to have people who have actually served in war and understand, understand the true cost and nature of it. And as a 25 year old, I knew we knew that the way we were raging this war in this strategy was was really only making the next generation of terrorists, and it was just kinda of playing, like, whack a mole. It was what what sort of our end to game here in ask afghanistan. And you really have to struggle with that because you wanna feel that your friend gave her life for something, and she did. She was serving her country, but you just... You need to have our leaders that have a better understanding of the sacrifice at hand and that it's very, very serious business when you're deploying our troops to places like this. And that there needs to be proper civilian and oversight of our military in so many ways, I think in the last, you know, 2 decades of war, they were asleep at the wheel, unfortunately. Personally, sc, I would like to see us have a massive breakthrough in the percentage of people serving at all levels of government. With military backgrounds. I was just checking as you were talking to see, and according to Google, there current... As of 20 23, there were 80 veterans in the house in 17 in the senate. So not terrible, but It it comes out to about 15 percent. Yeah. Not enough. Well, well, here's an here's an interesting point that I like to bring up to people. Congress is hopeless grid locked right now. Okay. We all know that. And it didn't used to be this way. If you look at the 50 60 seventies, we had actually had decades of very productive congress. And a lot of bipartisan work. You wanna know how many people were veterans then, like 85 percent of congress is made up of veterans These were the people of the World War 2 generation, Korea, Vietnam. So it's no accident that you have people that understand to put country over party interests. And I do believe the formula is getting more of the the the the global war on terror generation veterans. Now into the halls of congress where we start see more of that cooperation again. Hey man, Hallelujah Sister. Mh. Yeah. So God at your legendary. Thank you so much. So 2 questions that... Was trying to figure out if I could ask you 1 and not the other, but they seem to fit together in my head. So I'm gonna... I'm gonna ask you both. Mh. Why run for Congress? And why run as an independent when historically, independent candidates is in our country, don't tend to do very well? We sort of you know, football has replaced religion or excuse me. Politics has replaced religion. The way football has replaced religion and just because I'm a San Francisco 49 fan means I... There's a set of teams I need to hate, and I set of people I need to love, and I just do that. Well, that's fun when you're talking about football. It's less fun when you're on 1 side of the aisle of the other and Everything my team does is it's awesome and everything the other team does is terrible. It's insane. It's bullshit. We all know it. It's ridiculous. We get lied to as a result of it. And it's all radically clear how silly it is and yet both sides are so wedded to being on their side, that cross aisle, you know, when the lions of the senate used to meet. They would roar at each other, but then they go have beers and scotch together. Right? All that seems to be as just a regular citizen. A thing of the past now. So I guess my question with all that is, why run? Why are you? Why should we put you in congress? And why are you running as an independent? Well, the the polarization that you talked about, it's a tragedy that we... That's unfolding in front of our eyes right now. And I believe it's going to be the demise of our great country. And we hear it a lot but I think it's true. There is a deep crisis of true, genuine leadership right now. And yeah I'm just yelling yes at you. I'm just on mute. There there is though. And, you know, we talked about how at 23 years old, I'm leading, you know, soldiers in a combat zone. I did it at 25. I did it in Syria again. I did it and all around the Middle East. My profession was to be a leader. And I'm deeply troubled. That we do not have that right now, not in the numbers that we need. And and true leaders are not... They are not pitting people against each other, creating fear and division for their own personal gain and their party gain And I want more than anything for these people to lose their jobs. And so I'm stepping up to the plate to bring it. And and because I love this country, and I believe in my leadership. And I hope, obviously, obviously, I wake up every day in the hopes of winning on November fifth. But I want my candidacy and I'll get into the independent stuff in a second. I want my candidacy to see. I want people to say, oh, S She a 38 year old woman, like, cheat she's stepping up and doing this, like, saying all the things that I think and here, and I wanna hear, let me do it too. We need a movement. We need a movement of the normal people the same people and to stop thinking that we can't get into the political arena 2 because we can. And so for so many reasons, you know, I'm running for Congress. 1 because I love this country and I love the ideals it stands for. You know, you don't go to places like Iraq Afghanistan, Syria and not think like holy crap. Like, we have to preserve what our founders have envisioned for this great country. And so I want... Well, so so so I I want... I'm doing this to step up and be a leader that I wanna see. Right? I'm not waiting for someone else to save me. I think that we need people to step up and start doing it. And then the independent angle. Okay? There are so many issues in hypocrisy right now that's going on with the 2 party system, the 2 party duo. We hear lots of things like, you know, saving our democracy. Well right now the anti competitiveness with the 2 party system is anti to democracy And so I really pride myself on being a person of true character and authenticity, and I had to have some deep conversations with myself. When I was thinking about running, In mind, I didn't have some grand plan about running in 2004, and I'm gonna do... And I'm gonna do it this way, and then I'm gonna climb this ladder and then in a network like this, blah blah blah blah. I've never I've never done my life that way, and I'm not gonna start. Okay? But the independent angle, I truly believe we need more independence independence in our political mix. The majority of Americans are registered as independent. The demand is there. The demand from the electorate is there for more choices. But the supply is not. Very rarely, are you having sensible level headed, independent candidates reliably on the ballot, up and up and down the ballot. And so again, it's wanting to be that change that that you wanna see. And so I know this is an uphill battle. I know independence, you know, rarely win, but, luckily for folks, I'm not afraid to fail, and I'm not afraid to, like, push the status quo for what I believe is right And in fact, my story, the way I think about it. This is the only other way I this is the only way I would run. So I decide... Yes. I decided to do as an independent because I think that's what we need and believe. And then another side note, Another side note. There's a little bit of strategic thinking behind it too. In North Carolina, where I'm running, North Carolina is 1 of the most heavily gerry standard states in the country right now. It's criminal, and I say this is an independent. It's the Gop that's doing it here in North Carolina in other states it's the democrats. Okay? Gerry Wrong. They both do them they both do it. They they absolutely. They both do it. And rob people of their were right to representation as a result. That's why they're doing it. Yes. Yes. And I think how coward, What do you... Do not think you could win without cheating? Is that what you gotta do? You know? Like, come on. What what happened to a fair fight? What are you still scared of? And so you should win based off, you know, the merits of your argument and what you're gonna do for the people, not manipulating a map. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. So anyway, this district that I'm running in is heavily gerry man to prevent a democrat from winning. A democrat will not win in this district. They haven't, and they won't So whoever the Democrat is and excuse me for not knowing in your district who that person is who's running. That person is cannon fodder. They their they're dead candidate. Yes. So the only chance you have to beat the incumbent in your mind, S is to be an independent. Well, I won't be doing it as a democrat, and plus, I don't wanna be behold into a party anyway. I wanna only represent the people. I don't wanna represent a party. Not now you're real ridiculous. So so... And, you know, if I so I actually used to be a registered to republican some time ago, but I was always very independent minded. But if I wanna wanna... If I were to want to run as a republican then I would have to be even more extreme than the guy who's already in office if I wanna have a. You gotta play these political games. I don't... And with that and that's that's not the answer for our future. So for for all these reasons, both ideological and kind of strategically, I decided I'm gonna give it a go running as an independent. And that was a gamble, Chris, it was a gamble for a couple reasons. 1, to get on the ballot as an independent, you have to go through a petition process. It's hard right. It's set up to not allow you to get on the ballot. Yeah. If this system is rigged against anybody competition that or Republican. Right. Exactly. But but but mind you, 1 third of my district is registered una affiliated. So do those voters not get a choice? You know They don't matter. They're stupid... You must you must be on 1 side or the other. I mean, come on. Right. Right. Well, that's that's the narrative they say, well like, well, you're really this or you're that, and it's like, you know, stop stop it. So I'm... I was like, well, you know what? I wanna get those photos a choice, a new a new choice. So anyway, we had to go through this petition process and there's no petition requirements if you're running with the party. So for the the the Democrat and the Republican and my, all they have to do sign paperwork do a little filing fee, boom. You're on there. That's it. That's it. I on the other hand, in a short 7 weeks had to get... We got over over. Almost 12800 signatures, of voters in the district that said, hell, yeah, we wanna see an independent on the ballot. Were pissed off and frustrated with the system as it is. And come to find out when we turn those into the state for validation and everything. They came back and said, you, congratulations Shane, you know, you're good to go you're on the ballot. By the way, you're the first person to ever do this in North Carolina history. So on the first person, yeah, I had no idea when we got this started, Chris. You're the first person in North Carolina history to run as an independent for congress? Yes. At the congressional level, the first person ever successfully complete the petition requirements to be on the ballot as an una unrelated candidate for congress. You got a lot of first in your life. Don't you lady? I And I'm not even trying to. I'm not even trying to, but I think that goes to show and your whole thing with, you know, being different and being bold. Is like, yet you you never know how it's gonna pay off and what it's gonna show. And this has been a very inspirational campaign because of it. We've gotten a lot of great press being the being, you know, the the first person to do this successfully, and people are hungry for it. I mean, my god, even just last week with the presidential debate. I mean, we are in a bad state right now. People are hungry for funny. I've had several, democratic candidates here in California reach out to me since the debate. And they don't quite say it this way, but I of course asked them. I'm very clear and very direct. And what I'm hearing, it's just Anecdotal evidence from a handful of phone calls. But if you're a Democrat trying to raise money even in California right now, you're hurting because the entire world, watch the president of the United States say he defeated Medicare. Yeah. Joe Biden said that. And it was bad. It was really bad, and then he said that. And I think a lot of people went, okay. We can't give these people money. Because they're not doing what's obviously right for the country. And, you know, Was talking to a dear friend of mine who's a... He's been a psychiatrist for 40 years. He... He's 1 of the most well known psychiatrists and accomplished psychiatrists in the Bay area. And it's just amazing how hard it is for people to do what is obviously right. And what he said to me that was interesting is, how could Joe Biden family love him? How could they do this to him? Because a man with Parkinson's and in the case of this, psychiatrist. Who's obviously a doctor, not a neurologist, but a psychiatrist. He said, Biden exhibits virtually all of the symptoms of somebody with Parkinson's from the thousand year stare to the challenge with walking and his gate, and many other things. And Yeah. Everybody in the United States of America with the Iq larger than their shoe size No matter how much they love the Democrats or how much they love Joe Biden. I voted for Joe Biden in the last election. I've admired him as a senator. I admired him as a vice president. I don't agree with him on everything. I think he's out to lunch on a lot of things, but he's an admiral man. And we can argue about the specifics. This is just it's sad and painful for the whole country to see this. Yeah. It it it is and deeply frustrating, and it makes you wonder that even people, you know, that Joe Biden you said is a good honorable man that's given a lot of his life to public service. The way I see it is the corrupt the into of power and control can infect a lot of people. And I I think that that's what what it might also be coming to, to say he's the only person that can defeat Donald Trump is a delusional statement in my opinion. And it's not putting the country ahead of perhaps their interests. And why don't we remember the example of our legendary first president. George Washington was a legendary president because he did not want to be president. He felt forced into it. And then he was out on purpose, and he said why, and he said I'm not gonna be a king. Right? And maybe you dislike both, Joe biden, maybe you hate Joe Biden. But, you know, the irony in all of this is had he announced at the beginning of 20 24. I'm not planning to seek green reelection? I wanna open the door to the next generation we're gonna complete our last year in power powerfully and set this country up and set my part day up for ongoing success. Had he done that and was doing that now and and sort of a proceeding over the democratic process and the democratic party to pick a leader He would likely go down in history as 1 of the greatest presidents of all time. I was gonna say, he could have been the the great hero of the story seriously. And when you have the democratic apparatus that their whole campaign is just about Trump's an existential threat. Vote for us, which I have problems with. You know, you need to be making coaching and arguments as to, you know, what you're gonna be doing for the American people rather than just vote for me because that guy's worse. There's a perfect opportunity. Again, yeah. Exactly what you said for biden to, you know, he did his thing, step down, and now it's time to pass the torch, but sadly, that's not the position that we're in. And I do wanna say, hey, if all those democratic donors in California aren't willing to give d their money. Hey, there's an independent gallon, North Carolina, that's really trying to break through and send a solid message to the nation. I mean, I like to think that it's... We we do need a win. For our country. We need the regular kind of common sense folks to have a win, and I think that having some... An independent breakthrough into our Congress would be a great a great way for that. And I know there's a couple other independents running around the country. And if things don't change, I think this is only gonna be gonna be more and more people like myself and others stepping up to the plate and doing it this way. Awesome. And I hope you know, but if you don't, I've already committed to your campaign. And Yes. Sitting here talking to you right now, makes sure me wanna make sure you wanna donate more. So... Thank you. I appreciate it. No. Julien, and you're awesome. And you know, of course, I'm a marketing guy an entrepreneur and category designer. It's just who I am. And so as as I experienced you before we had this opportunity the first time we talked, and then I dug in into your background and sort of felt like I got know a little bit. And of course, now, what occurs to me from a marketing and category design perspective. Is you are the antidote to Ao and Mt g. In my opinion, those 2, elected officials are emblem of the horror show in both parties on the extreme sides. They're the same evil coin. They're... It's stupidity. It's performative. It's... They care about social media followers, They they act the way they do because they they're sort of kardashian es in the way they think about this stuff. They don't leg shit. And they're just a fly in the ointment, and they they care about their own performative, successes on Tiktok and Instagram. It's... It it it is the epitome of disgusting to me. And we're I the chief marketing officer of your campaign. 1 of things I'd be doing is saying, look, We have these insane people on either side, and she the antidote because you sit in the middle and you're reasonable. So let's talk about your platform. Let's talk about what are the key issues that you're running on? Well, I do wanna do a quick plug. Oh, by means. So we actually... We did actually, our... We aired our first campaign ad, right after the presidential debate last week, and it was exactly that showing, hey, you get this or that let me be that third option that we don't need to settle for, you know, the less of the 2 evils. Excuse me for not having seen it yet, S are our Mt g and Ao in the ad? No. No. No No. No. It's just it's just me making a statement having any, you know, sitting on a couch and then just a honest real quick conversation with the audience. About, you know, addressing people's frustrations with at least... I would consider running an ad that has a sound bite from either of them. And ends with you. Mh. Okay. Well, I'm making... I'm not a political campaign expert, but I do know a few things about marketing. Yeah. Yeah. No. Absolutely. I mean, you know, I think that yeah. You know, they're they're younger ish women. I guess we... I'll have that in common and you can make that quick comparison. But Again, I think it's just the idea that common let common sense prevail. And again, I go back to the essence of what the position is supposed to be and that it does require, like, these leadership principles. I go back to the military if we had leaders or commanders, honestly, acting a fool and throwing insult not being able to control their temper or doing theo, I mean, you'll lose respect for them. If they can't respect themselves enough to behave in in in a in a comp way, how do you trust them to actually lead and be a good representative on your behalf? And so I keep coming back to this, You know, leadership and character does matter. It does. And, you know, and I trust that, even if there might be some policy differences perhaps. That's exactly what. So Mh. I think I think are a lot of people in America have moved to that place where they say you know what? If you're not fucking insane. If you're if you can think. And if you're willing to consider different opinions, and engage in authentic dialogue. We will either have civil conversation or we will have civil war. That's the... That's the 2 sides. Right? You and I we may not agree on an issue. Let's talk about 1, you pick 1. Whether we agree or not, but if we respect each other, and I say, well, you know what? She a good person who has already given her life. To save my life. And I might not agree with her on the border. I might not agree with her on Ukraine. I might not agree with her on abortion. I might not agree with her on taxes. I might not agree with her on health health care or whatever the topic is. But what I do know is if you're a principled good person, We can have a conversation, and we can push and pull each other, and we can acknowledge steal sharpen steel. And you might really piss me off. About a certain issue. But those leadership principles. I have people in my life who I love dearly who share political beliefs that I think are not, and I know they're good people. Yeah. No. Exactly. That's what it's all about. I think being, you know, a a person... When you're there in in good faith. To solve problems. And I think that's that's the beauty of our country. I mean, we are a wildly diverse country, and I love it. I love the different cultures. I love that you can still travel from point a to point in the United States and feel like, you know, you're getting such as beautiful diversity. And so that's exactly how our Congress is supposed to be, and there is gonna be that tu of, you're not gonna see eye to eye, but between that, you do find some consensus. And and and that's how it's designed. That's how it's designed. But now you have our leaders where it's 0 sum and that gives us nowhere. The ball is not advancing down the field. So I'm in complete greens with you on that. But, okay. But you asked about my platform and what's important to me. And so there are there are, of course, tons of fest issues that we hear about a lot, that I'm happy... I'm happy to talk about it get into whether it's, you know, inflation affordability, our debt, the or, you know, form form policy and intervention on there. We can... Wealth inequality Absolutely. At... Yes. Yes. Absolutely. But 1 thing that I I really really think needs to get addressed is some of these deeper, systemic reforms to our system that's going to make government and representatives to realign the incentives with how they are supposed to be. And and we've already talked about it, but Gerry Man is 1 of them. There is federal legislation that's already been drafted on making sure that federal level elections are done by independent red commissions. We need to bring the power back to the people. And right now, the people are being robbed. They're robbed of that. So I'm a big proponent on what are these electoral reforms that we can be advocating for that I would be advocating for? And so It looks like independent red restricting commissions. It looks like pulling back on citizens United and un federal amounts of corporate money in politics. The the that they they are influencing elections. And and elections should just It doesn't make it about the people anymore that are gonna be casting the votes. And so when you have our politicians and the sheer amount of money that it costs to run for office. I mean, my goodness I'm a I'm a bonafide fide tele right now. I called you, you know skin donors for money. It's 1 And This works by the way, when you call people, when you cold call people, and you say, hi. I'm s, and I'm running for Congress in North Carolina, and I and I'd like to talk to you. Do people give you money? Yeah. They do sometimes. They did. I did. I mean, you did... Well, it it just it's 1 of those things. It's a volumes game. You know, if we're getting I don't know. I'll have to crunch the numbers on how many conversions it is, but it sucks. And it's not what I wanna be doing, and it's not what our politicians should be doing. They should be out talking to the people, learning what the problems are and how they can help serve and solve them. But instead, our system is per incentives. When you have politicians spending 80 percent of their time, fundraising for their reelection campaign, and usually they're getting it from higher higher donors or corporate packs. Now you have that lesson of reciprocity there behold to that. Okay? And so people know this, and and and that's wrong. I think that... So campaign finance reform. Yes. Campaign... Yeah. Yes. Yes. And and and in the other reforms, term limits are wildly popular, they pull very, very high with folks, and I... An ironic that we'll give the president a term limit, but nobody fucking else. People are literate... Crisp, people are dying on the job... And our president, unfortunately might be next. They... You know, you've got did Dianne feinstein stein. I mean, our our, Rg g bless her heart, But I mean, it's Rg g now, and listen, we were all fans for lots of reasons. And and again, I didn't agree with all of her positions but you had to admire her. And in the end, it's painful to say she did the wrong thing. She stayed too long. Yes. Yes. And so term, you know, I I think a balanced term limit would be would be 12 years. For folks, you know, 6 in the house to in the senate, and how are making, again, realign these incentives? And I think what's trickier. This is mostly done at the state level, but, you know, you see more and more states reforming their primary systems. And I think that is key. That is the magic formula to start and get to starting to get more sane candidates elected to office. It's also the formula to help getting more independent candidates able to break through as well, And what do you think about... And I believe they're doing this already in Alaska? I might be wrong, but when... They are. They are. When when I can vote for 3 people, I can have first choice second choice and third choice. And so if my first choice drops out, my second choice gets my vote. Right? That's right. That's right. So ranked choice voting. So Alaska is a fascinating study. They the only state now doing a ranked choice voting? I think I think Maine has ranked choice voting, and then I believe it's on the ballot in Nevada this year. But, I just wanna do a plug for Alaska. So 1 that was my first duty station, so I lived in Fair bank, Alaska, You know, I was a young 20 something. But Alaska, has ranked choice voting, but here's what most people don't know. Before Alaska voted for ranked choice voting, Alaska was very gerry in the favor of republicans. So Democrats decided Well, it's really impossible for us to win. So maybe we can see if there's some moderate independent independent candidate who will step up. And after about 4 election cycles, these independent candidates started to win and get more of foothold in their state legislature. And it was after... And they... And then they had a wildly successful productive collaborative state legislature, because you're getting more moderate people that wanna do the right thing, voted into office, And it was after that that they were able to push something like ranked choice voting. And so, you know... So I just wanted to be clear you're saying you believe there's a straight line sc between independents getting elected in Alaska and their shift in voting policy to rank choice. Yes. Yes. No question in your mind. No. No. I've I've... The... Have many conversations with folks actually in Alaska in the last month, because they are... They have been pioneers. For getting more independent candidates in their state government mix, and it is paid off wet very well for the state. And I want Alaska IIII bring it up because I want them to be a case study for other states to look at. And that's why I'm proud to be doing this as an independent, and so, you know, my... Wanna get that message out. But, yeah So that's that that's that's what happened for participating. And, ultimately, would you like to see that in North Carolina throughout the country? Yes. Absolutely. And especially when, you know, again, North Carolina is so heavily Gerry man, there needs to be a balance. And here's the irony Republicans are actually the minority demographic in North Carolina. The majority are independents or una unrelated, then Democrat than Republican. But yet, the maps are drawn in a way where out of the 14 congressional districts in North Carolina, 11 of them are expected to are are gonna be going to Republican. With only 3 Democrats democrat. So that's... How do you square that when Republicans are actually the... The minority voting block in the state. So it's just, again, it goes back to that corrupt corrupt practice of gerry rem, and we need to combat that. As Shakespeare said, something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Yeah. Yeah. And so how's is your campaign going? Do you think you're gonna win? What the poles saying? Right. Right. Right. Well, you know, this is this is it's an uphill battle a especially in a 3 person race. So actually a lot of my messaging is, you know, a lot of the democrats in the district understand that democratic victory is unlikely. And you know, I actually... I really believe in my candidacy to. I think I'm very... They're the only alternative front. Here to I'm the only alternative. And how long has your competitor been serving? He is... I think on his fifth fifth term, So, you know, he's in... He'd been an incumbent for a while, and But I think it's time for him to go home. I think it's time we need to... Yeah. Well, everyone needs competition. Unfortunately, I, you know, he hasn't had much. And so that's the problem with our system. When people feel like they their seat is comfortable, they don't have to serve the people because there's no consequence to that. And so anyway... That's absolutely. So another notable thing about my district and it's home to Fort Brag military base. It's now called Fort Liberty that they did ren rename. But, you know, it's Fort Brag and I served there for many, many years. That's actually brought me to North Carolina in 2011. It's home of operations is home of the 80 second airborne. You know, it's where I served and went to warrant back multiple times. This district has not been represented by a veteran in Congress in many, many, many years. But this district is like, has doubled the amount of veterans than most just than than the average districts in the state. And so I I believe that I have had an advantage specifically with that constituency, and, you know, I use the Va healthcare care system myself, and all of you know, and all of the reasons why that... And your husband who also is saving my life right now? Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. And, you know, I can't say that about either 1 of my opponents. You know, the current guy that represents this place. He's he is the definition of a career politician. You know, he he he tout that his leadership experience is being class president. Well life's school. Again, I was leading soldiers in Iraq at that age. And and he went straight. You straight of S. Well, you know, and then went straight into kind of politics and and stayed there ever since. And so, you know, you know, how long is that gonna be. So... Well, we don't have any career politicians terrify me. Right? Because when you don't have any experience in the world doing anything something. I don't know. It doesn't it doesn't sit with me. And then the Democrat doesn't even live in the district. You know, he didn't he doesn't even live here. So I think the devs were scrambling to just find a warm body. Yeah to get in here. So... What are the polls look like right now, s? Well, we're looking at doing some polling here soon. That obviously cost money. So there's no media organization or anyone else doing that level of pulling in North Carolina right now. You you you're gonna have to pay for it. Yeah. There hasn't... There has not been any third party that has done, pulling out for the public. So if I go to 05:38, and I type in North Carolina, I'm not gonna see any poll results. For the ninth district specifically? Yeah Or any other district North Carolina for that matter? You might find some for other districts. I know district district 1 is the only kind of deemed competitive toss up district in the state. Again, is super fortunate. But stay tuned. But stay tuned. You know, we're we're getting... Wanna get some polling numbers under our belt to really kinda help assess. But I know we have issue pulling for for this area. And so the, affordability and inflation is usually the top issue along with the border as well. So those are pretty, like, high issues here in this part of this state with folks. So what do you think about those issues? Let's talk about affordability? I think it's spot on. I think it's spot on. You know, when you look at people, I And I... I've been getting around a lot in the district. And it is very... I actually watch should be presidential debate in a dive bar with a bunch of people that I didn't even know. I love it. And And because I do I love Dive var. Don't just look me... Well, you gotta get a... And I I find people fascinating and interesting. I'm deeply curious. And so, yeah, I'm happy to go in the dive bar and make some friends and let's watch this debate and, you know, I knew my ad was coming out so I wanted to see that too. But In there, I had a conversation with a woman where she's working 2 jobs, honest job. She's trying to make her ends meet. She's single she didn't have a family And she was telling me the difference in costs of what it what it is for her to just get an apartment for herself. And she's like, I can barely afford that. And so how am I gonna have time to go to school to get other skills to climb the ladder when I'm having to dedicate all of my time to these 2 jobs to make things work. And you know, when she wasn't she wasn't necessarily born in a situation or a family that give her real hand up. You know, she's putting in the honest work, and it's deeply frustrating for her, and that's the problem. You mean, you got young people that have given up on the idea of ever owning a home? Yes. Or it's too expensive to even think about having a family. And people are finding themselves more hopeless in this country. And what are we without having hope and optimism for the future. I think that's very dangerous. And when you when you look at young people, only 18 percent of people 34 and under say that they are proud to be from this country. We need to change that. And so rightfully, people are pissed about prices. I mean, and going to the grocery store. And and it's a combination of stuff. And here's what makes me mad about the narratives. You get narrative from 1 side that says, this is the president's fault. Okay? He's doing this full stop. That's him. That's it. When, you know, it's really a combination of a lot of things. And what I don't hear a whole lot is corporate gouging in the mix. You know, how do you square it where, yes, we had the pandemic. Yes, we had supply chain issues. Yes, we had a flood of cash into our economy. These are all factors that cause inflation. Okay, but we also have corporations that are like, alright, we're able to set our prices this high, and then you have record profits, profit margins. And so it's, you know, it's a more complicated mix with this issue, but we do need to help people with costs where we can, whether that's housing. Whether that's childcare care childcare care tax credit, and and to help alleviate some of these issues for folks. They need to have a fighting chance in this economy. And then the and then the border as well. You know, I think the border is a perfect example of how both parties continue to fail us. You know, there's been both meaningful legislation that's been put forward this year in in the senate. And, you know, there's a certain part that said, oh, we want a campaign off this. So we're not gonna come to the table and try to find a solution. And to me, the border common sense. I don't think it needs to be controversial that we ought to have some lawn order at the border understanding who's coming into this country, what they're bringing, you know, our role of federal government is to secure and protect our sovereign territory. And we desperately desperately need, and you probably know it's better than me in California is to reform our immigration system as well. We... It's it's it's just been... It's a c colossal. It's a colossal mess, and it's just our government's inability competency on display to solve that problem. And the people are people are tired of it. Well, and when Biden comes out and says, Well we'll shut the water when it gets to 10000 people a day. I was like, well, Why is that a? Why the fuck a number you shut? The other 1 S, I'd like to, underscore for you is, as Canadians, Of of course, most Americans don't realize the Us Canada border is the largest unprotected border on planet Earth. The law... Did you say un... Unprotected? Unprotected. Okay. And, justin Trudeau, recently announced that they are going to have, 5000 immigrants from Gaza come to Canada. I don't know if you've been paying much attention, but, in my, home my my hometown in Montreal, the Jewish community is under siege right now. I think it's very similar in Toronto. It's disgusting what's going on. And Canada is learning, the hard way that when you allow immigrants who are members of a death cult, who think throwing queer people off the top of buildings and stone women to death. And democracy are all, you know, things they can shed on. You're gonna have a problem in your country. And my fear is we're hearing a lot about Isis coming across the southern border. I've heard numbers that You know, our government has said, as they know for a fact, roughly 500 Middle Eastern terrorists have come over the border in the last few months alone. Southern border, but with Canada, Mh. Terrorists can walk across the border in Vermont. And be in the United States, and my fear is the next 09:11 terrorists are actually gonna come to us through Canada. Well, that... That's a valid fear. And, you know, I think that it's it's common sense for us to understand who's coming in this country. And I... Here's an little I anecdote for you. So I was I was pretty heavily involved in the evacuation efforts, the evacuation efforts of, afghan who we worked with in Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul. We were working with different, frankly, people who would be willing to smuggle them over the border in Pakistan and then their a long journey to the United States and a lot of them it looked in different ways. But there is this 1 group actually, my husband was helping. They ended up going to Mexico. And coming through the country through our southern border, and they did it successfully. And they got here faster than people who were trying to go through the humanitarian system. And therein lies the problem, Shane, you nailed it. It worked. It worked. It works. And so, you know, they're not here... They're not here to cause problems. They're they're here fleeing the the Taliban and, you know, our government put them in that own predicament, but they're able to do it, you know nefarious actors. Are able to do it too. We know the number of military aged Chinese men coming across the southern border is shocking. Yep. What are they doing? Why is that happening? And so here, and and you see it, and you see it as well. There's, you know, an increased number of foreign adversary activity around military bases around our country. Like I said, in my district, it's home of Fort Brag. It appears there, I've been reading recently the about the, foreign and Chinese properties being purchased. In in and around our military basis, and I forget who posted it. But I saw a map recently. Do have you seen this map she... I I have I have Terrifying. Isn't it? Yeah. It is. It is. This should not be allowed. I mean, they're and and and and so we need our leaders to to get serious and get on top of this. But we're too busy fighting each other. Then then... And we're forgetting that there are foreign adversaries completely taking an advantage of how we are distracting ourselves with our own political and games. And that's what I like to say. This isn't a game. And in fact, the nefarious actors around the world are celebrating celebrating right now that Americans are too busy qui about Democrats and Republicans, and they're are doing all of this, right now under our noses. And so and so, yeah. We even even hear where, you know, where I live. In a very county that I live. I mean, we had an incident last month where 2 ins, and this is still under investigation, but 2 c nationals were sent they were working for a electric company, but really they were spying on Us service met prominent Us service members. And I don't know if you... I don't know if the story made its way to California or not. But, this... I believe he was a lieutenant Colonel and special forces ended up going up and intervening with 1 of these guys who was on his property taking pictures with the camera, and ended up getting in a shootout out with him and and killed him and So. There's a a big investigation going, Oh yeah. I look it up. They're look it up. And so it's still... You know, a lot of this is still led but, you know, I was in special operations here for a long time, and so we would get debrief on foreign foreign nationals trying to probe the perimeter of our military base or they would try to get human intelligence from people out in the town. And so this une unequivocally is happening. And our adversaries, I think are getting more and more bold with, their tactics against us. And rightfully so, because again, we are not a United States of America. We are too busy being divided and fighting amongst ourselves over honestly, lots of silly culture war stuff, instead of getting serious about, you know, being a united front and being able to take on our app series. And as we speak, Russia is increasing the number of atomic submarines around Cuba. Yeah. Yeah. No one's was talking about it. Yes. Yes. No one's fucking talking about it. And if you don't think... In Chinese nash, Chinese nationals as well in the Caribbean right now. Like, it's This is serious stuff. It's serious stuff And post the horror show debate. If I'm an adversary of the United States, and I go, wow. The fucking president doesn't know what day it is. If we were ever gonna do something, now's is a time. Yeah. And so, actually, that was something I wanted to comment on before with, you know, should Biden run for reelection and what we all saw. Well, what worries me is, like, And people make the argument... While, you're voting, you know, for a staff and you her it's, like, no, you're voting for a commander. In chief. You need someone who you trust who has all of their faculties at 3AM if they get woken up, you need to have someone who's... And Biden has not shown us that he's there. And Neither has Trump frankly. And so I am both really worried for the sake of our country and our security. That these are our 2 presidential choices. It is not a game. You know, it is serious stuff being commander in chief. Oh, do you remember when Trump said that the January sixth was Nikki Haley fault because she didn't call in the national guard. Remember that. Yeah yeah. It's fucking day. Yeah. Yeah. Don't. We can all have verbal slips and we forget a word or, you know, it's happened to be my whole life. And if I keep getting these concussion, it seems to be happening more. But the point being, we all know the difference between you're searching for a word that happens normally and stuff like that. It is it's it's frightening. Right? We need, of course, we need somebody with all their faculties best I could tell us the hardest job in the world. Yes. Yes. And so yeah, It's just it's deeply concerning where we find ourselves right now. And and it's... And we need we just... We need better leaders. We need better leaders at the helm right now. Not just in the highest levels of office, but also in our legislative branches, and that's again, exactly why I am doing this. We need to have more people willing to step up and say enough enough. This is our country. We need better representation. It's not from you. It's not coming from you. So, you know, we might as well be doing it. And so that's why I implore folks. Like, actually, you know, when I talk to folks, I say, hey, listen. This is this is what participatory democracy looks like. When you have... If you don't feel like things, you're not being properly served. And when you have candidates and people who are stepping up to run, maybe now is not your time, you know, maybe you wanna run later or maybe the school boards is your thing or whatever, but I really tell people. I say, you are not helpless. You're not. Pick a candidate that you like. It doesn't even have to be in your own state or just somewhere. And and, you know, either just... Whether it's sharing their stuff, on on on social media or chipping in some dollars, like, it takes... I refused I refused to just cap to this is the system that we have and crazy people are running the show. Normal people need to rise up and figure out where they fit in to help, bring some sanity back. Thank you for that. Yeah. S, I could clearly talk to you for a very long time and would enjoy it, but I also know you have a campaign to run. Is there anything else you'd like to touch on? Well, 1, I really appreciate... I was excited to... I was excited to talk to you. You know, I did I did, you know, that cold call with you. Thanks for taking my phone call and and you know, being cordial with me on the phone, and then I was really excited to look you up online and your whole your whole thing of being different. And that just speaks to me. And I think that's a really that's a message that we need right now. And in our political circles, because I'm running as an independent. So lots of times what I hear. It's like, well, they don't really win or you know, isn't that a throw away though, which mind you in this gerry manager district? No. It's not. But I say it takes courage to do something different. It takes courage, and we need to embrace the different, You know, being different, advocating for different, because then we will get different results, whether that's in our own personal lives or in our families, our communities, or in politics like what we're talking about. So so anyway, I like to think that I'm living that truth and you are too, and, you know, most people that you bring on that podcast and hopefully your listeners are as well. And I will say this. I know he said most your listeners are kind of innovator business types. I love the opportunity to talk to people like yourself and people that come from, a more entrepreneurial background. And what I like to say is disruption is a good thing. You know, we need it to evolve in our lives in the business world, and we need disruption in our political arena. We need disruption to grow. And I'm so dang proud to consider myself a positive political disrupt. And so I invite people to come on board with the campaign they feel like we need disruption too. You said it takes courage to be different. Mh. Mh. And Yeah. Usually our somebody who has made and clearly does make a gigantic difference in our world. And I deeply appreciate it. And I wish you all the luck in the world in your campaign. Well, thank you so much. That really means a lot. You're welcome back anytime and when you win, it'll it'll be fun to have you back. Oh, yes. Exactly. Exactly. When I win, I like it. I like it. That's that energy. And the mindset that we need. So well, thank you so much, Chris. I I seriously appreciate your time and giving me this platform. Absolutely. Thank you so much, and bless you. Okay. Thank you. That was the legendary S Edison. To learn more about S and for all the links we discussed in today's episode, Please see the show notes on your podcast player or head over to lock dot com. And don't forget podcasts make great gifts. Share 2 podcasts you love with 2 people you love and make sure you follow us today on your podcast player of choice. We'd like to thank you We appreciate you investing part of your life with us. Are you ready to unlock the ultimate superpower and business category design? Enter the world of the category pirates? 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