Parenting Porcupines

(Jess) If you read my campaign interviews or met me on the campaign trail you most likely heard mention of my father. From a very early age (probably 5 or 6 years old) he began including me in discussions about all things politics. It wasn’t indoctrinating, but rather done in a way that challenged me to consider all factual information, and that encouraged critical thinking. 

I grew up in, what was, a very small southern town. It was not unknown that there were some power-seeking police officers patrolling the streets, so when it came time for me to start hanging out with friends independently he gave me a “pocket constitution” and made sure I understood my rights. While he instilled in us (my brother and me) a deep respect for law enforcement and the part they play in our “civilized society”, he was also sure that we knew our constitutional rights and how to demand respect for them from “authorities”.  

I once had the occasion to use this knowledge, which was pretty shocking to the officer who pulled my friend and I over because “there were bumper stickers on the back window”, and who insisted he search the vehicle based on this “probable cause”. He wasn’t keen on being educated by a 16-year old girl who quickly told her friend not to comply and to demand he obtain a warrant should he wish to search the vehicle. Not because we had done anything wrong or had anything to hide, but because the cop was an overzealous powerdrunk asshat who just wanted to bully some kids, and I didn’t intend to aid him with any ease. 

That was where it all started for me, and why today every time there is a news story about someone being killed by use of excessive force at the hands of police officers I get angry. 

Education and Training Reform

There is something very unsettling in the lack of substantive requirement for education and training for Law Enforcement Officers (hereinafter “LEOs”). The Greenville, SC website outlines clearly the requirements for becoming a police officer in South Carolina. “Once employed as a Police Officer in Training, you will attend the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia for 12 weeks. Certified Officers from other states and Military Police may qualify for a 6-week legal portion or a challenge test. The Field Training Program (FTO) is 600 hours. This may be shortened to compensate for prior experience. The probationary period is typically 1 year.”

In contrast, attorneys complete at least 4 years of college to earn a bachelor’s/undergraduate degree, then roughly three years of law school, and oftentimes clerkship. Upon completion they must take an exhaustive Bar Examination in order to earn a license to act in defense of the rights of individuals under the laws. These are the same laws that our LEOs are authorized to use force to uphold should they feel force is necessary, and in some cases such force being lethal. Attorneys go through 7 years of education to understand and argue the laws that LEOs are allowed to enforce, with a badge and a gun, after 12 weeks of academy and 600 hours of field training. 

“One study found that of the 833 hours the average police officer receives in training, 73 of those hours cover firearms skills but only 18 (just 2%) are spent on conflict deescalation (link).” 

Mental Health Resources and Deescalation Training

In January, in the Huntington Park area of Los Angeles, a man named Anthony Lowe was shot and killed by police officers. Anthony was a double amputee who was wheelchair bound. In Deleware, 28 year-old Jeremy McDole was shot by police who approached him, guns drawn, demanding he relinquish his own weapon.

• End pretextual stops, overcriminalization, and the war on drugs
• End no-knock warrants
• End Civil Asset Forfeiture
• End Cash Bail
• End Qualified Immunity

Legislation

In May 2022, Governor McMaster signed into law some police reform efforts (story) (bill) (editorial):

• Bans putting an untrained officer on duty alone
• Expands on what qualifies as police misconduct
• Bans chokeholds across the state (outside of circumstances in which the use of deadly force would be allowed)
• Requires standards be written for law enforcement agencies and penalizes agencies that break those standards
• Expands the definition of “police misconduct” to include failing to intervene or report when a fellow officer engaged in abuse of authority
• Requires law enforcement agencies to quickly document and report misconduct

Then, in June 2023, HB 3532, the so-called “catch-and-release” bill that makes it harder for violent offenders to be released on bail and/or bond, became law. It requires judges to take into account the accused’s prior record before setting bail.

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People are protesting in France and we have a different take on this. Let’s talk about the Supreme Court decisions and checks and balances and where we stand in terms of the need for revolution. If our branches of government were checking each other, would we even need revolution? 

1. Are we the beneficiaries of our ancestors’ disdain for authoritarianism, or are we just looking for authority of a different kind?

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Living in the US we are taught from very early in our education about the revolution and the freedom our founding fathers wanted. It is human nature to question and challenge authority, but we are freer to do that than in other places in the world. 

1. When is violent uprising warranted, and when do we settle for peaceful protest?

Peaceful: Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks

Violent: Jan 6? Black Lives Matter? Ruby Ridge?

Note- The Peaceful are celebrated while the violent are not. Why?

1. How old should we be before we’re expected to revolt and/or enact change?

Our founding fathers were in their late teens and early twenties when they began their mission to stand against the King in an effort to establish a society founded in liberty. 

1. Are we willing to engage in a complete overthrow of the system for the possibility of something better?

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In Season 4, Ep 3, we talked about the death of Mallory Beach, and how we use the story as a cautionary tale to talk to our kids about being careful of the company one keeps. For those unfamiliar with the story you can go back and watch that episode, or better yet go check out Mandy Matney’s “Murdaugh Murders Podcast”. Mandy has done an incredible job of covering this unbelievable story from start to now. 

In a VERY broad overview- In February 2019 Alex Murdaugh’s son, Paul, was intoxicated and involved in a boat accident that claimed the life of a young woman named Mallory Beach. This accident set off an incredible series of events and revelations that shone light on decades and generations of corrupt power in the LowCountry of South Carolina. Shortly thereafter, Mallory’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaughs, among others. It has been revealed that Alex Murdaugh tried to influence the other parties involved in the accident as well as the investigation into the accident.  

Two years later, in June 2021, Alex Murdaugh found his wife and son, Maggie and Paul, murdered on the grounds of their hunting lodge, Moselle, in Colleton County, South Carolina. 

In September that same year Alex called 911 claiming that he had a flat tire on a back country road, and someone stopped and shot him. It was later revealed, by admission from Alex himself, that it was coordinated so that Alex could appear murdered in order for his older/surviving son to collect an insurance policy. 

In November of the same year Alex was indicted on 19 financial crimes, with 99 charges,  including fraud and embezzlement. It was discovered that he had stolen millions of dollars from his clients, his law firm, financial institutions, and those closest to him. Others are going down with him, but we won’t go down the rabbit hole. 

In the summer of 2022 Alex Murdaugh was charged with the murder of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh after high velocity blood splatter was found on his clothing from the night of the slayings. 

Now we are sitting through “the trial of the century” in South Carolina.This doesn’t even account for the death of Stephen Smith, or the mysterious death of housekeeper Gloria Satterfied (in which Alex committed more insurance fraud to collect money from his homeowners insurance for his housekeeper’s family, then kept it all for himself). There is so much more in between those lines, but that should get you pretty much caught up- at least enough to keep track.  

In our episode last year we talked mostly about the boat crash that claimed the life of Mallory Beach, the impact it had on the other people on the boat that night, and how we use it as a cautionary tale for our kids about choosing friends wisely, and how to remove yourself from dangerous or potentially dangerous situations. 

Now we have a trial where a man who was once one of the more powerful men in our state, and one of the most powerful in the LowCountry, is finally being held accountable for years of corruption and abuse of the system, and defrauding those who trusted him. He is being represented by two high-powered attorneys, one of whom is an elected Senator in SC with a lot of powerful contacts nationally. 

Alex’s attempts to drive the case and establish stories are clear throughout every witness statement that has been provided related to any of the events in this saga. Throughout all the incidents outlined above Alex tried to write his own narrative. At the hospital after the boat crash he tried to create a story with the witnesses to lessen the likelihood that his son would be the focus of any investigation. He did the same with investigators the night of Maggie’s and Paul’s murders. He did it with his mother’s caretaker to make sure she was clear on his alibi. 

National media handling of the case and coverage has been either biased or entirely founded on ignorance. Is there a lesson in this? 

A damning piece of evidence in this case is a Snapchat video Paul Murdaugh posted moments before the murders. Alex had said he was at his mother’s at the time Maggie and Paul were murdered, but his voice is heard (and has been confirmed by multiple sources close to him) on the video. Other videos Paul took show Alex in different clothing earlier in the day, and which has yet to be found. 

Why Harpootlian? Circuit Court Judges are chosen by legislature, so having a high-powered senator as your representation would certainly guarantee your judge is friendly to you, right? Is it fair that power and privilege would allow you to manipulate the system in such a way? How has Judge Cliffton Newman handled the case, and what does it teach our children? 

Innocent until proven guilty- how do we explain to our kids that even someone like Alex Murdaugh deserves representation and a fair trial when he has done so many horrible things to so many good people, and when his lies are stacked on lies and create a mountain that would dwarf Everest?

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Growing up many of us were taught that there are three things you don’t discuss in mixed company: 1. Politics, 2. Religion, and 3. Football. Living in the Social Media age, those are no longer taboo topics and are regularly discussed/debated on digital forums. What is also interesting is that those first two are beginning to find themselves colliding within churches as our division widens. We have never been so connected, yet still we are so far apart.

I (Jess) attend a progressive Baptist church, much more love-based and mission driven than the fire and brimstone Southern Baptist Church in which I grew up. Our pastors often talk about responsibilities we have to our communities in our mission to live and serve in the example of Christ. It is a shame that we live in a world where loving your neighbor, the simplest of commandments, is considered “progressive”, but I digress. 

Our Young Adults bible study group is currently working through an interesting book titled The Righteous Mind, Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion written by author Jonathan Haidt. I have not gotten very far into the book, but it provides a summary of the various political parties and the general messages people share in relation to them. Admittedly, I was very curious (probably more skeptical) when we began the study, and jumped ahead to read what “research” had told them about Libertarianism. 

While the author has done a good job of breaking out a lot of policy-related principles, and our disdain for the misuse of government authority, he has left out two of our core and guiding principles that are the most important. The first is the Non-Aggression Principle (the NAP), which is the cornerstone of Libertarianism that rejects the use of force to achieve social or political goals. In short- Don’t hurt people and don’t take their stuff. The second is free will, or the freedom to make the decisions about your own affairs (so long as they don’t infringe on the rights of another). 

So I (Kasie) attended a BIble study last year with a good friend and a group of women who were interested in studying the role of women in the foundation and perpetuation of the Christian church since its founding (i.e. Jesus’s time). We discovered through study that Jesus relied heavily on women in his practice and ministry and that the role(s) of those women have been, over the years, mangled by patriarchal interpretations of Christ.

Now, I am sure you are wondering what any of this has to do with Jesus and talking to our kids about the intersection of politics and religion. The answer is simple… Jesus was a Libertarian, and both the Non-Aggression Principle and the concept of free will support this statement, even in the most elementary of ways.

There are many examples written in the Gospels, but these three examples are simple and relatable when we are having conversations with kids about the correlation between core Libertarian principles and the teachings of Christ/Word of God:

1. God’s love is not contingent upon compliance, but rather it is given freely and humans were given the freedom to choose whether they accept his love and his grace
2. The Ten Commandments include not killing and not stealing (which sounds an awful lot like the NAP)
3. There are numerous accounts of Jesus healing the sick and feeding the poor without mandate, support, or even permission from the government
4. He even turned water into wine, making him, quite possibly, the most notorious bootlegger ever (that is a joke, guys) – yeah, but I know of Bible study in Spartanburg called What Would Jesus Brew. They meet at a brewery.

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• The purpose and scope of the episode-
  • How do we teach our kids their actions have consequences when it seems everyone wants to blame someone else for everything?
• Today’s topic:
  • Do your kids know what cancel culture is?:
    • When they don’t want to play with someone who is being a jerk, they should walk away; when others won’t play with them, they should stop being jerks.
    • Don’t be an asshole. Just because you can be, doesn’t mean you should be.
    • Grace and truth as a spectrum: treat each instance with the appropriate amount of grace and the appropriate amount of truth
  • Cancel culture is not new; social media exacerbates it. Who’s to blame?
    • Millennials who have never been punched in the face for saying something.
      • Who want everything to be fair.
      • Who expect someone else will solve their problems and take care of them.
      • The result of a failed parenting strategy that tried to protect them from everything.
    • GenX who hasn’t stepped up to lead.
      • Cynicism and snark are not leadership.
      • Being squeezed out because they don’t give a damn.
    • Baby Boomers who won’t take responsibility for the shitshow they have created.
      • Who trade in thinly veiled racism
      • Who amass power and refuse to relinquish it
      • Who make policy and legislation that erode our civil liberties
  • What can we do about it?
    • Teach your kids to resist blaming others
    • Help them see that there are real consequences for their actions
    • Model grace — forgiveness — and truth in all circumstances
    • Stop expecting to be offended by everything.
  • Full show notes on the blog
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Tonight we take on all those insecurities in modern parenthood. Namely: How do you know that you are doing a decent job? Well adjusted, kind, respectful, positive feedback from others. 

Do you find yourself trying to model your children’s childhood experiences after your own? We are not our children’s tour guide through life. Are we using our parents’ strategies/styles? 

Do you consider your parents role models in how you raise your kids? We all take things from our parents. 

Do you have a vision for the kind of parent you want to be? The vision is less “what kind of parent do I want to be” and more “ Who do I want her to be, and what can I do to build my child up”. 

Do your wishes drive you to push your kids into extra-curriculars?

Are those visions determined by your kid’s specific needs?

Did the LP influence your parenting? If so, how? Having like-minded peers who support your ideals and principles. 

As a family unit how are you function? Is a more important conversation than “are you a good mom”

In the end, it’s our kids’ success that determines whether or not we were good parents. True or false? When do we say the people we know — our siblings? — are not our parents’ fault? But the result of their own choices? 

Can we, as parents, take responsibility for our kids misbehaving? Should we? How about accepting responsibility for their social or political views? 

How can we possibly know what to do without patching together a network of experts, instructions, peer pressure, and instinct?

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Occupational licensing is the process which one must go through to be permitted to perform specific services. The idea behind occupational licensing is to have a mechanism by which the State can “protect the public” by regulating certain types of business and certain industries. If you are interested, SC Code of Laws Section 40 is the section of the SC Code which addresses this process. 

There are/have been three Bills in South Carolina related to Occupational Licensing Reform. In May, our Legislature passed, and our Governor signed, House Bill 3605 called the “EARN AND LEARN ACT”. This revision to the Code Section 40 was to go into effect immediately upon signature of the Governor, and it does three things: 

1. It tightens the process for investigations of complaints against someone’s license and provides more visibility into the process:

This theoretically adds a layer of accountability, but you’ll forgive us if we are skeptical. There are plenty of things in place to hold our government responsible for its actions, yet here we are, week after week, talking about how the government has failed. But, I digress.

1. Prohibits the denial of a license to someone with certain prior criminal convictions:

As decided by who? There is no specification as to what “certain” prior convictions qualify and which ones disqualify a person. While it may seem this is a step in the right direction toward Criminal Justice Reform, it is never a good idea to leave something so important, without specific parameters, up to Bureaucrats. 

1. Allows for one, who has met all the licensure requirements for training, education, and testing, to work in a field while awaiting the completion of the licensing process.

The second Bill is Senate Bill 165. This Bill is currently in the Senate, out of committee and pending vote. If passed in the Senate, it will go to the House, then to the Governor. This Bill is very similar to House Bill 3605, but has more emphasis on the denial based on criminal conviction. 

This Bill (165) provides stricter parameters for those decisions by clarifying that denial cannot be based on a prior criminal conviction unless it is a conviction related to a crime in that field of business where the individual is seeking licensure. This bill repeals, in its entirety, the previous sections addressing the issue. This Bill also allows for apprenticeship as a qualification standard. 

The last, and perhaps the most impactful of the three, is House Bill 3515, also called the “ENTREPRENEUR FREEDOM ACT”. This Bill is in Committee, but my sources say that it is highly likely to die there. Do you wonder why? This Bill (3515) provides for the deregulation of a number of professions requiring licensure: 

HAIR BRAIDING PRACTITIONER 

EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS

DIETITIANS

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

PSYCHOLOGISTS

SOCIAL WORKERS

SPEECH PATHOLOGISTS AND AUDIOLOGISTS

PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS

LICENSED PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL SPECIALISTS

GEOLOGISTS

AUCTIONEER

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Unless you have been living under a rock you have likely heard the name Alex Murdaugh and/or Paul Murdaugh. On this day three years ago, a group of friends took to the water of the SC LowCountry in the Murdaugh family boat, headed to an oyster roast with friends. Little did they know that night would set off a series of events that would leave multiple families devastated, numerous people betrayed, and the nation stunned. If you have not already, we would encourage you to go check out Mandy Matney’s podcast “Murdaugh Murders”. She has done an incredible job of telling this complex story. The publication Fits News has dedicated an entire section to this story. 

On February 24, 2019 Paul Murdaugh and five of his friends were attending an Oyster Roast, traveling by boat. After stopping at a gas station to purchase booze with his brother’s ID he and his friends took his family’s boat. After a few hours at the Oyster Roast they took to the waterways, stopping in Downtown Beaufort for a beverage at a local bar. An allegedly already intoxicated Paul Murdaugh was served shots before heading back to the dock. He and his friends hopped in the boat and took to the water. Shortly after he ran the boat into a piling near Archer’s Creek Bridge just off Parris Island. 

Years of corruption, drugs, fraud, malpractice, and death have come to light after the accident as Patriarch Alex Murdaugh, despite all his efforts, could not stop the unraveling that began that night. 

The Murdaugh family holds a lot of power in the South Carolina LowCountry, and they have for generations. People are drawn to power and privilege, so much so that they sometimes look past shortcomings of those who hold it and the dangers created by the illusion that by association they are “untouchable”. The truth is that all the power and privilege in the world can’t make any of us invincible. 

The thing about “power” is that the holder only has so much as those around them will allow them to have. The community allowed the Murdaugh family enough power and privilege to escape accountability at every turn. Sounds a lot like a certain government we all know, huh?

• How do we talk about “power” with our kids? What responsibilities accompany it?
• How do we talk about “privilege” with our kids?

The story that is being written in our own backyard has opened the door for many conversations with our kids. Every new piece of information in the story sets the scene for a new chapter to be penned. Privilege and corruption are prevalent conversations out of the story, but most importantly is the conversation around the importance of choosing your company wisely, and how the decisions of the company you keep can have serious consequences for you. 

• Eventually the bad choices of the company you keep will have a direct impact on you.
• How are you talking to your kids about resisting bad influences and making sound decisions?

In Libertarian circles we talk a lot about voluntary association, and if nothing else comes out of this story it has certainly provided a strong cautionary tale for parents to use in conversations about the importance of being careful when choosing what company you keep, and the importance of resistance against negative influences.

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So it’s been a while since we did a live show and that’s because some crazy shit has gone down in the last few weeks. We went to the Libertarian Party national convention in Reno (Kasie and Jess and Melissa’s husband) which was kind of a shit show and then we all had covid. Well, again, Kasie and Jess. Then, fresh off covid, we had our South Carolina state convention to nominate candidates for political office in this state and lo and behold Jessica Ethridge was nominated to run for Lieutenant Governor on a ticket with journeyman candidate Morgan Bruce Reeves who was looking for a political home and seems to have finally found it with the SCLP. Congrats to Dr. Reeves and Jessica.

Check out their website here!

In addition, our own journeyman candidate, Melissa Couture, is throwing her hat in the ring for school board which is a race she didn’t need state party approval for, but is not her first time on the ballot. So congrats, Melissa.

This episode we talk to both Jess and Melissa about being candidates, taking the LP message forward, fighting off the stigma of national LP bullshit and finding balance between work, family, and public service.

We also talk about elections as voluntary service to your community, not launchpads for international stardom and riches.

We talk about the real issues facing voters in our state and how we keep being distracted by the bull shit distracting us from solving real problems as community participants.

Finally, we’ll touch on some of the anticipated learning we expect our campaigns will bring and we can circle back to these fears in December.

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Over the last couple of months we have seen an unprecedented shortage in baby formula. It is devastating to see it first hand as I (Jessica) have a cousin whose daughter has Rett Syndrome. She is completely disabled and cannot chew, and  there is a very specific brand of formula that she is able to tolerate and upon which she relies for all of her nutrition. As of this evening she has only 12 days left in her supply. It is sold out at every supplier, and on back order from the manufacturer.  

In October 2021 the FDA received a whistleblower complaint regarding conditions in Abbott Laboratories. There was no action until late December, when the investigation was initiated, followed by inspection in January 2022 and recall following in February. Abbott holds about 43% of the market share, according to a 2011 USDA Report (most recent data available). Abbott is also has exclusive contracts with many states’ WIC programs and USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) which provide nutritional services to low-income families. 

• Only three major companies control the vast majority of the baby formula market
• Roughly 98% of baby formula distributed in the US is manufactured domestically
  • Due to regulation it is very difficult to import any supply from international providers
• The shortage is disproportionately impacting those low-income families relying upon government assistance to provide formula

Of course the government’s response to the problem it created was to throw more money at it. This week congress approved a $28 million emergency spending bill to assist low-income families with purchasing baby formula. Because let’s not address the root of the problem, right? This is a perfect example of how regulation can stifle competition and cripple the market.

Baby food isn’t the only market that’s being unveiled as crooked, crony, government shenanigans. Supply chain woes caused by covid have revealed broken systems in:

• Meat packing
• Student loan services providers and college ed (link) – so-called “scam schools” like the Marinello Schools of Beauty were found to be over-charging and under-providing and so $238M in loans to such schools were “forgiven” – meaning the students and the schools are off the hook. But guess who’s on it? Taxpayers.
• Big tech
• Crypto
• And every Libertarian’s favorite, the fed (link) – who “hiked” interest rates by a ½ point in a continuing effort to control the economy. Cuz yeah. Central control of the economy is a real thing, right? right?

And those war- and inflation-driven problems in the energy sector (link) and retail (link)

Thankfully, there’s the Democrats to blame “greedflation” (link) or corporations and swiftly prepare legislation that would limit profits. Cuz yeah. That’ll work. ::facepalm::

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