Misplaced Generosity and the Battle for Liberty

On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Kim Monson explores the tension between freedom and government force with author Brad Beck, entrepreneur Kyleen Rush, attorney Jon Boesen, and Epoch Times journalist Nathan Worcester. The broadcast examines how misplaced generosity through taxation and government programs undermines individual liberty while forcing Coloradans to bear the consequences of failed energy and health care policies.

Misplaced Generosity and the Erosion of Liberty

Start listening at 3:29 – Hour 1

Brad Beck opens with an Aesop’s fable about a woodsman who asks the forest for a sapling to build an axe handle, only to use it to chop down all the trees. This allegory frames his essay “Misplaced Generosity,” which examines how Americans have slowly voted away their neighbors’ money through referendums and tax measures. Beck traces the concept of altruism to French philosopher Auguste Comte, who argued people should live for others rather than themselves.

The conversation turns to the approaching 250th anniversary of American independence and the unique achievement of the Founders in recognizing universal equal natural rights. Beck argues that citizens need to trust their neighbors to make their own decisions rather than using government force to redistribute wealth. The discussion connects historical immigration, where newcomers expected no handouts and worked to improve themselves, with modern welfare programs that create dependency.

“Going back to the progressive era, to the Great Society, even to the whole Green New Deal, there is a misplaced idea that we can just print more money or steal it from our neighbors rather than go out and earn it from the sources of our ingenuity, which is our minds.”

Brad Beck, Author and Co-founder of Liberty Toastmasters

Xcel Energy’s Power Shutoff Threatens Colorado Families

Start listening at 20:41 – Hour 1

Kyleen Rush, a mother of two young children in Milliken, describes receiving notice that Xcel Energy may shut off power for up to 24 hours or longer due to high winds. Her home, built in 2017, has only electric appliances because government policies pushed builders away from natural gas. Rush explains she purchased a propane camping stove to heat her home and cook for her children, but such solutions carry safety risks including carbon monoxide poisoning.

The segment exposes how electrification mandates have eliminated consumer choice while utility companies fail to deliver reliable service. Rush notes that neighbors across the Front Range received similar notices, raising questions about whether this represents a test run for future shutoffs. Meanwhile, other states with high winds like Wyoming and Kansas do not shut down power, highlighting Colorado’s unique policy failures under Governor Jared Polis and the PUC commissioners he appoints.

“All of my appliances are electric because my house was built in 2017. How am I going to feed my kids and heat the house when power could be out from anywhere from 8 to 24 hours, and they said maybe even a couple of days.”

Kyleen Rush, Entrepreneur and Mother

GLP-1 Drug Side Effects Demand Disclosure

Start listening at 65:14 – Hour 2

Jon Boesen of Boesen Law reports receiving nearly two calls daily from people experiencing severe side effects from GLP-1 weight loss medications. Patients describe intestinal blockages, gastroparesis where the stomach shuts down, and gallbladder removals. Boesen emphasizes that pharmaceutical companies know about these problems but fail to adequately disclose them because profit takes priority over patient safety.

The attorney explains that none of the affected individuals he has spoken with had any idea about potential adverse effects before taking the medications. This pattern of inadequate disclosure repeats across the pharmaceutical industry, where temporary symptoms become permanent conditions for unsuspecting consumers making uninformed decisions.

“I am getting on average close to two calls a day from folks that have experienced some really nasty stuff associated with their use of GLP-1s, intestinal blockages, gastroparesis where your intestines, your stomach just kind of shut down.”

Jon Boesen, Attorney at Boesen Law

Health Care Subsidies and Senate Appointment Battles

Start listening at 74:16 – Hour 2

Nathan Worcester of the Epoch Times reports on the Senate’s rejection of competing health care bills addressing expiring Obamacare premium subsidies. Enhanced premium tax credits implemented during COVID were supposed to be temporary but have been repeatedly extended. Democrats seek a three-year extension while Republicans propose using Health Savings Accounts to empower individuals rather than subsidizing insurance companies.

Worcester also examines the Senate’s blue slip tradition, which allows home-state senators to block judicial and U.S. attorney nominees. This tradition forced Alina Haba to resign as Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney in New Jersey after Democratic senators declined to return their blue slips. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley defends the tradition despite pressure from President Trump and Republican colleagues to modify it for certain nominations.

“I can tell you as someone having been out on the marketplace a few years back when it was very new, it was kind of shocking seeing just how expensive it was.”

Nathan Worcester, Award-winning Journalist, Epoch Times