#260 Closing Out 2024 with Thankful Hearts

The State of Freedom

In this reflective episode, Danielle and Chris celebrate the Christmas season while looking back on the year 2024 and ahead to 2025. They discuss the importance of surrounding oneself with like-minded individuals during times of important transition, share highlights from their podcast, and reflect on significant legislative wins and challenges in Louisiana and nationally. The conversation also touches on the impact of recent elections and the goals for the upcoming year, emphasizing the need for accountability and active engagement.

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY:

Luke 1:39-56 TPT

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TRANSCRIPT:

Danielle WALKER (00:42) Christmas everybody. We are here this morning, well this afternoon wrapping up the last episode of the year. We'll be reflecting on 2024 and looking ahead to what 2025 has in store. But first, let's focus on the reason we're celebrating this time of year, the birth

our Lord and Savior, King Jesus. The scripture today is one that should

probably be familiar to most of you. It is Luke chapter 1 verses 39 through 55 and this we're picking up a story where Mary had just learned that she's going to be giving birth to the Messiah Jesus and she went away to stay with her elderly aunt Elizabeth and her uncle Zachariah and finds that Elizabeth is pregnant as well. All right.

Afterward, Mary arose and hurried off to the hill country of Judea to the village where Zachariah and Elizabeth lived. Arriving at their home, Mary entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the moment she heard Mary's voice, the baby within Elizabeth's womb jumped and kicked. And suddenly Elizabeth was was filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. With a loud voice, she prophesied with power.

Mary, you are a woman given the highest favor and privilege above all others, for your child is destined to bring God great delight. How did I deserve such a remarkable honor to have the mother of my Lord come and visit me? The moment you came in the door and greeted me, my baby danced inside me with ecstatic joy. Great favor is upon you, for you have believed every word spoken to you from the Lord.

And Mary sang this song,

Mighty power flows from him to scatter all those who walk in pride. Proudful princes he tears from their thrones, and he lifts up the lowly to take their place. Those who hunger for him will always be filled, but the smug and self-satisfied he will send away empty, because he can never forget to show mercy. He has helped his chosen servant Israel, keeping his promises to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

And before going home, Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months. And what hit me this morning when I was reading this is that Elizabeth and Mary understood the season that they were in. They were both women who loved God and made themselves available to him to be part of the miracle of salvation that he was bringing to earth. And in this passage, they're both filled with wonder and expectation for what the Lord would do through the ones he was birthing through them. John.

and John the Baptist and Jesus. Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist, as we know, the one who prepared the way of the Lord Jesus, who married birth. And it's also interesting to me that the Lord drew these two women who were both living with a sense of incredible expectation and found themselves in improbable circumstances. He drew them together, an elderly pregnant woman and a pregnant virgin, to be together in this delicate time.

And I think it should serve as an instruction to us as well. It's important for us to surround ourselves with the right people for the season we're in, especially as we're in a time of dreaming and anticipation for what the Lord is doing. Mary went to a place where she would be encouraged and cared for to a place where people were like-minded in their expectation for what the Lord was doing. And that's so important for the season we're in as well.

Don't spend your expectation time with dream killers. We need to spend them with people who lift this up and who are dreaming in the same direction as us. And I hope the reading of this encourages you to take a fresh look at the scriptures this season, to take a fresh look at the Christmas story and the prophecies that foretold it because our God is a God who still works miracles.

Chris (04:32) Yeah.

Danielle WALKER (04:47) He still astounds the wise and gives understanding to the humble and he still draws near to those who draw near to him. The Christmas season is one where we are accustomed to turning our heart toward a sense of expectation. And this year, I think more than most in recent history, really, we need to be positioned not only in expectation, but in personal readiness.

surrounded by like-minded people for what the Lord wants to do in us and through us.

Chris (05:17) Yeah. You know, it struck me, Danielle, can you imagine if Mary had gone somewhere else? Mary probably had other friends. She probably had other people who knew her. Can you imagine if she went to somebody else who was not of like mind, someone else who would have doubted her decision, would have called into question the providence of God, would have torn her down?

Danielle WALKER (05:37) Exactly.

Chris (05:43) She could have made a very different decision, but she chose to go to someone who was like-minded and who would affirm her and allow her to overcome what I promise you was some natural anxiety and anticipation. Can you imagine being in Mary's situation? Just thinking about that, the Holy Spirit is responsible for the conception, not only of a child, but of the Son of God.

and the Messiah coming into the world. It's like to say that that has a lot to wrap your arms around for a 15, 16 year old girl is an understatement. so your point about Mary going to someone who was of like mind, Elizabeth, and you know, probably even though it's not said in the scripture, I'm sure surrounded herself with others who supported her on her journey.

toward the delivery of the Messiah. And she was able to wait with that sense of expectation. She was able to deal with her anxiety and probably some of her doubts along the way, precisely because of that. So your point about who we choose to be around, who we choose to associate with, they're either going to be people who feed the Spirit of Christ within us or people who quench it out and try to suffocate it.

And that is such a critical decision in that association and that choice.

Danielle WALKER (07:06) Well said, Chris. Well, it has been a big year for us at the podcast and it's been a big year in our state and our country. In terms of the podcast, some updates for us. We finally moved to video, as many of you may know, and we started live streaming a few weeks ago. In fact, this is live streamed right now on RumbleX and YouTube.

on rumble, if you're having a hard time finding us, it is because our handle is T S O F podcast and on X we are freedom state. U S so we hope you will look for us there, put on the notifications. So, you know, when we're going live, we tend to do it lately at about 10 AM on Mondays and Wednesdays, but we don't always hit that mark. So today we're at a little bit later time, coming in right before the holidays.

And Chris, we have had some really incredible guests this year. We have talked to some just really amazing people on topics that span the gamut. Who were some of your favorites?

Chris (08:08) I have to tell you, Danielle, and this is not even one that I discussed. This is one that we discussed. This is one that just came to my mind as you were talking. Boone Cutler was such an extraordinary guest, moved me so much, you know, a decorated military hero, injured in battle, spent time recovering at Walter Reed Memorial. And it was that experience in combat that gave

boon the inspiration to to start a big organizations and to provide such great help for veterans who have suffered so much in combat and who truly truly need healing and hope for their lives. mean we do we forget that war is an ugly ugly thing Danielle. You know it was Douglas MacArthur who said

Danielle WALKER (08:55) Yeah.

Chris (08:59) Only the dead see the end of war and only the soldier truly understands the horrors of war. And we benefit from the scars and the sacrifice and the wounds of those warriors. And for Boone Cutler to spend his life dedicating himself to providing relief and support and services to all of our military veterans who have really paid

Danielle WALKER (09:06) Wow.

Chris (09:24) not the ultimate sacrifice because they're still alive, but very close to the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom so that you and I have the freedom to sit here in a free country and exercise a core constitutional right. It's because of the soldier. And I'm so thankful for Boone Cutler and again, having him on our show moved me very, very deeply. was obviously very, also very pleased.

to have General Flynn on, who is such a hero and patriot. David Clements, who has done probably more than anyone in the country for issues related to election integrity and has really suffered the slings and arrows and the scars to prove it. So those are just two or three of the guests that I really, really was inspired by and just so privileged to have on.

Danielle WALKER (09:53) Yeah.

Yeah, you know, some of my favorite guests are the ones that we get to have spiritual conversations with. think about you mentioned David Clements. Our first interview with him was just incredible. We totally threw away the script and Holy Spirit came in and we just talked about things that were not even on the list. Right. And then you think about people like Tina Peters, we had the opportunity to have her on the show three or four times.

What an absolute patriot and a woman who's suffering in a jail cell right now at the hands of criminal government officials that were probably not rightfully elected. But I don't know if you saw Chris this weekend, Matt Mack sent us a text of Steve Bannon saying that he was going to be speaking with President Trump and recommending that.

President Trump withhold all federal funding for the state of Colorado until those criminals in charge release Tina from jail. So not one university, not one institution, no healthcare money, nothing. No money is what Steve Bannon said needs to happen for the entire state of Colorado until Tina Peters is freed from jail. So pray with us for that. Be prayerful for Tina and those wrongfully.

Chris (11:07) Wow.

Yeah.

Danielle WALKER (11:29) wrongfully jailed in this season, especially as we're looking at these horrible clemency and pardons coming out of the Biden administration. But we also, Chris, had the incredible honor to interview Chris and Cynthia Price, some J6ers, as well as their attorney and Ed Tarpley as well, who's a Louisiana-based attorney who represented Stuart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers.

some of these people, it's just such an honor to be able to give their story some airtime, you know?

Chris (12:02) It is. And Danielle, you know, it was emotional for me at times during the Price interview, you know, the husband and wife. When you go back and think, I mean, I never thought that people like that did anything wrong whatsoever. I've always thought that this was a government conspiracy and it was designed to intimidate future people who may be inclined to exercise their constitutional rights.

against doing so. This is what happens in the United States of America when you exercise a core constitutional freedom and the prices were casualties of that. And they came on and did really just reaffirmed to us the fact that they did absolutely nothing wrong and yet were made to pay a very, very harsh consequence, not for reasons of justice, but for reasons purely of perverse partisan politics.

And I am very hopeful that we've seen the end of that chapter in our history with Trump's election and some of these cabinet nominations. I certainly hope so.

Danielle WALKER (13:07) I hope so too and I hope that justice is coming for people like Liz Chaney and so many others, crying Adam Kinzinger, everyone that was complicit and really masterminded the setup of these people, Nancy Pelosi. I'm ready to see that their faces behind bars. I really am. I really am.

Chris (13:24) Me too. And Danielle,

I am too. And remember, I asked very directly when Mark Lucas was on our show, will there be some real accountability in the new administration with Patel, with the new, with the attorney general? And he is firmly convinced that there will be real redress and real accountability. And there has to be not big. And it's not, and it's important to remember, Danielle, it's not

Danielle WALKER (13:46) There has to be.

Chris (13:51) political retaliation. This is appropriate retribution for criminal acts that took place that caused devastating consequences to people across the board. And there has to be real retributive justice associated with that so that the American people can be reassured that we do live in a country where the rule of law matters. That's why this is so important.

Danielle WALKER (14:20) Yeah. And you know, you're talking about justice and can't help but think about Craig Sawyer, the founder of Veterans for Child Rescue and JJ Carroll, who came on the former Border Patrol agent. Those two guys are doing so much to raise awareness and to really help children and women and men in really horrifying situations. And I think I probably got more comments.

I got more text messages and calls about that J.J. Carroll interview than any other interview we did this year, including the Speaker Mike Johnson interview, which was a huge coup for us and a great interview. But J.J. Carroll's story was so harrowing, and I think it really opened people's eyes to the reality of what an open border is doing to the most vulnerable among us.

Chris (14:57) Yeah.

Yes. And when you think Danielle about hundreds of thousands of young migrant children whose whereabouts are completely unknown, it is, it's staggering. doesn't surprise me that that that would have provoked, J.J. Carroll's interview would have provoked that type of response because it's horrific and it's something that's got going forward. I believe that, is it Holman?

who is the new border czar, I believe that he has made a public commitment to find those children. and, and believe. Yeah. And it was a great interview. And I think he means business. And certainly that is an issue that, you know, that, begs for, for justice.

Danielle WALKER (15:35) orders are.

Yeah, he has. He just sat down with Tucker this past week, I think. It was a great interview.

Yeah, it is. It is. You know, I just saw on Twitter, Mike Davis, who I love to follow because he's such a fighter for these nominees. And he has just been so salty and right on about everything that's going on. But he said he took back the fact that he wouldn't want to serve in government again and said that he would do it under one condition that he could hold Tom Homan's bags. And I just thought that was so great. Yeah, because he's just people

Chris (16:23) Yeah.

Danielle WALKER (16:24) can really see that Tom Homan means what he says and he has true compassion for, yeah, it's an absolute compliment. Well, before we switch gears here, I'd love to ask the listeners, what was your favorite episode of the year? Type it into the chat or send us a message. If you would maybe put it in X, send us a message on X or put it out on X and recommend some of your favorite interviews to us.

Chris (16:29) What a compliment. What a compliment. What a tribute.

Danielle WALKER (16:49) recommend them to our, or some of our favorite, our goodness gracious. I haven't had enough caffeine today. I was trying to go on one cup of coffee and it's not working for me. Okay. Yeah. The episodes you like best recommend them on X if you would and tag us, that would be so cool. We'd love to hear what you want to hear more of and it'll help us as we plot out 2025. Well, Chris.

Chris (17:01) We're getting there.

Danielle WALKER (17:57) I will switch gears now and say that we had a heck of a year in the state of Louisiana. We had three special sessions and a regular session. We had some really big wins and we also learned that we will still have some pretty big fights ahead of us, even though we have a conservative majority. What do you think?

Chris (18:15) I think that we absolutely will have some fights ahead of us, but we have some good commitments from some good legislators. Thomas Presley, the state senator who brought the Who bill, Dixon McMakin, who is doing a very good job as a freshman state rep, a commitment to actually go in and streamline our government, to reduce excess spending and to make our government more accountable to the people. We have got to cut.

spending that always seems to be the big elephant in the room that nobody ever wants to talk about. That's all we want to talk about exactly. And there's an, you know, there's an argument to be made that what this most recent fiscal session did was basically, you know, swap money around, you know, reduce the corporate income tax, reduce the state income tax, individual income tax, by raising sales taxes across the board.

Danielle WALKER (18:48) Except for us, that's all we want to talk about.

Chris (19:11) to a point where we are now, I think, the highest in the country when you combine sales tax at about close to 11%.

Danielle WALKER (19:18) kills

local business, Chris. It kills local business. mean, people are going to, I'm going to do my grocery shopping when I go to the camp in Mississippi, or I'm going to be ordering things and sending them to my son in Houston so that I don't have to pay sales tax. Like the sales tax is literally going to kill business if they don't get on top of that stat.

Chris (19:37) Absolutely, right now and it has to be done in the next session and we've got commitments that it's going to be done. know, Danielle, the governor in response to some pressure by Senator Blake Maguette and others formed this commission, this budget commission that is going to be designed to look at every area of our government and determine

where we can reduce spending, where we can be more efficient. And there is a czar that the government is going to be appointing. I don't know, we don't like that word, but who is going to be the head of it. we're going to see the proof is in the pudding. And we're going to make a deterrent. We're going to see in this next session whether or not our legislature and our governor are truly serious about mirroring, let's say, what

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are doing on the national level with Doge, which, there's no question they are serious about streamlining our government and just reducing its size and its bloatedness. So we're going to be pushing hard, following very, very closely in this next session. There's been a lot of talk, okay? A lot of talk and a lot of enthusiastic verbal commitments, but we're going to see what happens and I can promise you.

that Lecague and the state of freedom will both be following it very, closely. People are tired of bloated, big, excessive government that squanders our money. They're sick of it, and I certainly am too.

Danielle WALKER (21:11) Yeah, absolutely. Chris, on a happier note, what are some of the big highlights, some of the big wins that we saw this past year? We were so busy with session because we jumped from session to session to session. It started out with the constitutional redistricting or the congressional redistricting. Then we went into a criminal session. Then we had the regular session. Then we just wrapped up the...

Chris (21:17) well, let me tell you what.

Danielle WALKER (21:36) the tax and budget session, which was more a tax session and less a budget session.

Chris (21:38) Yeah.

Right. A great victory in the criminal session that we worked very hard on, Danielle, and I'm just very pleased with, is Representative Backele's bill that will establish a broad-based criminal database so that victims and the public generally can go and see what exactly is going on in these serious felony criminal cases. The motions that are filed, the procedure, whatever.

plea deals may have been struck, you know, that the public has grown so weary of, you know, these judges who hand down these very light sentences in these plea deals that are made in very heinous cases often, unfortunately. So the public will be able to see exactly what's going on, no more hiding the ball. And I just think that when it comes to transparency, having that database that is accessible to the public and to victims.

is critically important. We were able to get that done. The Sanctuary City Bill, Senator Blake Magass, you know, what a great bill that is, prohibiting Louisiana from ever being or ever becoming a sanctuary city for illegal aliens and criminalize it. Yes. And so across the board and

Danielle WALKER (22:50) It even criminalized it, right? It criminalized it.

Chris (22:57) And there's a provision in the bill that requires immediate termination if any local ordinance or sheriff's office or police department has any kind of a sanctuary policy. Now it has to be terminated. So Louisiana, by law now, will never become a sanctuary city for illegal aliens and have the problems that other states have had. That is a tremendous success. And obviously Senator McEvoy gets credit for that. We worked very hard on that one, too.

We've got Representative Mike Johnson. I can't tell you the number of parents down, know, Moms for Liberty is an organization that has been so frustrated with this. The fact that parents so often are cut off from and citizens generally are so often cut off from what's going on in their local municipal government. Everybody's busy. They can't always make meetings, even very important meetings. But this bill

Danielle WALKER (23:50) Yeah.

Chris (23:51) will require live streaming of these very important municipal and school board meetings so that parents and other interested parties can really know what's going on in their local community. And parents specifically can know what's going on with their children in schools. that is something that's why it's so important, again, to transparency. And I think it's going to give a lot of relief to parents as well.

I don't know, I mentioned briefly in reference to something else, Senator Presley's who bill. And I have to tell you, Danielle, this who bill that we worked again, very, very hard to get past probably was the most important bill of that session. And it simply says that the state of Louisiana will no longer comply directly or indirectly with any health protocol or emergency dictate

handed down by the World Health Organization or any other international health organization. The people who are going to be making the decisions with regard to what our protocol is going to be in response to any health emergency or pandemic are going to be the people who sit in the state capital and represent our interests. And I just think the way Senator Presley, I've mentioned this before, the way he carried that bill,

through the legislative process. was very privileged to testify in favor of it before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. I was just thrilled that that got through, that it was passed, and it is a real layer of protection for us against these tyrannical health organizations.

Danielle WALKER (25:29) Right,

and it was the first of its kind in the world. There were so many, when we were meeting with or interviewing regularly members of the Sovereignty Coalition, they continually pointed to the fact that Louisiana was leading not just the nation, but the world in this kind of legislation. And that's not a place we typically find ourselves in Louisiana. we have, that is something to really.

Chris (25:48) Well,

we found ourselves in distinguished categories periodically, but it's not generally for the right reasons.

Danielle WALKER (25:58) So that was just something to really be proud of and Senator Presley's constituents in particular should be very proud of him and the way he handled himself with that. And Chris, I don't know if you saw this, but last night, I believe it came out that President Trump said that he intends to get us out of the WHO entirely on his first day. He's got, he's...

I can't even imagine his to-do list for the first day. I hope he has started pointing at people and saying, this is what you're going to have to do on day one because that list is getting insanely long. But it's so fantastic to hear that he will be getting the claws of that nasty, horrible, I don't know, sea creature of an organization out from around us, cutting off our funding.

Chris (26:40) sea creature.

Danielle WALKER (26:42) To them, the lifeblood of that organization, I hope to see it shrivel up and die a gnarly death. I honestly do. It's caused so much damage worldwide. I'd like to see it completely just, yeah, shrivel up and die.

Chris (26:56) I would like to see it shrivel up and die as well. I would be remiss, Danielle, and there's so many other items of legislation we could talk about, but since this is supposed to be a wrap-up holiday session, I won't do so. But I would be remiss if I did not mention the several items of pro-abortion legislation that went through. These Democrats are always trying to

Danielle WALKER (26:59) Yeah.

Chris (27:25) chip away at the protections for the unborn in Louisiana and some Republicans as well. And, you know, with the help of members of our organization and, and Debbie Melvin, who are always, we, we, the people by you community number.

Danielle WALKER (27:27) and some Republicans.

Yeah, we the people by you community. She is the bulldog

in chief for pro-life legislation.

Chris (27:44) She is unbelievable. She and several other people from We the People were at the legislature. They were on top of this legislation. And fortunately, this legislation that was designed to chip away and create these gaps and holes in the pro-life legislation in Louisiana were all defeated. And so the unborn have protection yet for another year. And I'll tell you, Danielle and Debbie will tell you the same thing.

We can expect more legislation of the same kind in the next session and we're going to be there and I know Debbie's going to be there to fight it every step of the way because if there's any group in our society that deserves protection, it's the most vulnerable and defenseless and it's the unborn. And if we can't fight for the unborn, then we should just shut it all down. That's the way I look at it.

Danielle WALKER (28:30) Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. And Chris, just to mention a couple others. This was the year that had been long been waited for. Senator Blake Miguez brought legislation that enshrined constitutional carry in the state of Louisiana starting July 4th this year. People can open carry, conceal carry, whatever they want. And that's perfectly legal now, which is a return to the Second Amendment.

Chris (28:56) Exactly. It's a return to the Second Amendment. It's not the creation of any new law. is simply the reflection in statutory law of what's already in the Constitution, which is no Louisiana citizen has to have the government's permission, law abiding citizen, in order to carry a firearm on him. That is perfectly consistent with the Second Amendment and all Senator McGee's bill did was

Danielle WALKER (29:07) Yeah.

Chris (29:23) codify that in statutory law. will say this, Danielle, that the right after that bill was passed, it was amazing. The people who want to chip away at the Second Amendment immediately started the buzzards to send it and start trying to carve out all these gun free zones and create penalties for people who don't have a government issued permit. There were bills that were put forward on that front and fortunately,

Danielle WALKER (29:35) The buzzards descended.

Chris (29:50) we were able to be very aggressive in our posture against those bills and those bills were defeated. I'll give you one example, Daniel. Do you realize if one, just one bill, if it had passed, this was Representative Lyons, if his bill had passed, do you realize the entire city of New Orleans would have been a gun-free zone?

Danielle WALKER (30:11) Yep.

Chris (30:12) And there's a problem with that on so many levels. First of all, it's a fundamental constitutional right. You can't statutorily exclude a constitutional right for being exercised in an entire city. And secondly, for practical reasons, I've always wondered why these people who want these gun-free zones, the rationale and the logic, as if criminals who want to do harm with guns are going to walk down the street and say, well, I want to go kill somebody today, but

That's a gun-free zone, so we can't go in there. I just think the whole reasoning process is bizarre. But fortunately, our constitutional carry is firmly intact in Louisiana with very limited exceptions.

Danielle WALKER (30:42) Right.

Yeah. if know, Chris, on that point, these school shootings should be proof positive that gun free zones do not work.

Chris (31:02) they don't work. But you know, it's unfortunate that every time there is a school shooting, the people who want the gun free zones use the shooting as though it is a basis for their argument when it really proves just the opposite. Criminals and people who are mentally demented are not going to follow the law. OK. And so the only thing you're doing

Danielle WALKER (31:16) Yeah.

Exactly.

Chris (31:29) by disarming people, law abiding people in these zones is making them more vulnerable and more defenseless. It just doesn't make any sense.

Danielle WALKER (31:37) No, I saw a great meme this past weekend that said that if guns are responsible for killing people, then pencils are responsible for grammatical errors and spoons are responsible for making people fat. So follow that logic. All right, I've got to close out on one last piece of legislation. If you have been with us since the beginning, we have to really take a small victory lap, Chris, around this one.

Chris (31:47) I love it.

Danielle WALKER (32:02) once again defeated the cockroach bill thanks to Representative Mike Bayam's enthusiasm and just his outstanding speech on the House floor. But this one is the bill that said, tried to penalize us if we were driving down the road and talking with our phone on speakerphone, had our hand on our phone, or just.

conducting a phone call. is nothing related to texting and driving. That's already, I think there's already laws against that, but this is for people who, you know, may be looking at a map on their phone, maybe, you know, whatever. Anyway, freedom reigns supreme with your phone calling while you're driving.

Chris (32:43) Yeah,

while you're while you're driving and this is again, as we've always said, Danielle, this is just an example of government overreach. There is nothing in the Constitution that allows the government to penalize a person who is violating no law, no traffic ordinance and happens to be talking on a handheld cell phone in their vehicle in a responsible manner. This was just an example of government overreach. And I believe.

even more nefarious. was an opportunity that insurance companies saw to be able to drive up premiums and drive up rates. And this was this the second or the third time. I don't know, Daniel, that this was defeated. But I hope and I pray that it is dead for good now and that we don't even have to waste time on this. The idea that that that Louisiana citizens are not able to talk on a phone while they're driving a vehicle is just

you know, to me, that is something that will never be acceptable in the state of Louisiana. And I think our name for it, the cockroach bill is apt.

Danielle WALKER (33:46) Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, know, Chris, it would be a huge miss if we did not talk about the elections. We had big elections this year that changed the trajectory of the country. And I have to say, I'll speak for both of us, Chris. We are so proud to have been even small voices or voices that were a small part of the tidal wave of President Trump's victory. And we

We're already starting to see the fruit of that in so many ways with the stellar nominees, the choices he's made for cabinet positions with countries respecting the US again and with illegal aliens being put on notice. We also had a couple of elections locally and even regionally along with some statewide constitutional amendments that came onto the ballot in November and December.

that made a few waves here as well, Chris.

Chris (34:44) yeah. Well, obviously Trump's victory, it is such a privilege to be able to have voices on the state of freedom that have such broad reach and give them an opportunity to speak, articulate their position. Because these are heavy hitters. These are the heavyweights, many of whom we have had on our show and talking about the election, leading up to the election, all the things that can and should be done in order to

safeguard the election. And there's no doubt that our participation had an influence in the outcome of that election. There's no question about it. And I'm so thankful for Trump and the courage that he showed. I do have some concerns about the down ballots, some of the congressional races on the down ballots. I mean, I look at some of these races, Danielle, in Colorado, California, other places where Trump

Danielle WALKER (35:24) Yeah.

Chris (35:37) wins handily in the state and wins handily even in these congressional districts, Arizona. And yet the Democrat defeats the Republican who was closely aligned with Trump in that race. So are you telling me that there's no fraud, there's no manipulation? You're telling me that someone who is going to go to the polls and vote for Trump is then going to go down the ballot and vote for a leftist Democrat as opposed to conservative Republican?

Danielle WALKER (35:41) Arizona.

Or even that exactly,

or even that there were more votes in the local election than there were in the presidential election, right? Where the Democrat would be, the Democrat congressional or senatorial candidate would be winning by thousands of thousands more votes than even voted in the presidential election. That's ridiculous.

Chris (36:19) It is ridiculous. Also, the fact that it took in these congressional races, it took some of these states weeks and weeks and weeks to count the votes. And as it turned out, all of the votes that came in late or the ones that they located all seemed to favor the Democrat in those races. And now I believe, Danielle, if I'm not mistaken, the Republican congressional majority is going to be either 218, 215 or 217, 215.

very, very close. And I think that that clearly has to do with some down ballot fraud. There's no doubt about that. But very, very pleased. And I do want to mention some great news about our mayor's race right here in Baton Rouge. I have to mention this to you. Sid Edwards was the Republican in that race. Baton Rouge Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish is majority black. And most people thought

that a Republican had no chance to win. Well, Lecague, our PAC, completely disagreed with that because we saw the weaknesses in both the Democrat incumbent in the mayor's race and the other challenger, Ted James, the former state rep. We worked very, very hard to make sure that the voting public became aware of exactly who those people are and what their records are.

And you know what turned out, Danielle? Sid Edwards not only won, but he won handily. And I think that even Black citizens in East Baton Rouge Parish finally realized, we just have to have a change here. Sharon Vroom has driven the city of Baton Rouge into the ground. We could expect more of Ted James if he wins. And that was a collective decision on the part of many African-Americans to make a different decision.

and move forward with Sid Edwards. And I think he's going to do an outstanding job, Republican Mayor Baton Rouge. And, know, Lecag is just very, very privileged and pleased to have been a part of that victory.

Danielle WALKER (38:17) And cheers to you. Cheers to you. That's a fantastic win. And I hope that we will start seeing some real measurable changes in the way Baton Rouge is operated.

Chris (38:26) Absolutely. And I think we're already starting to see it. I wanted to mention a couple of constitutional amendments that we supported and that were passed as well. You recall, Danielle, the last 15, 10 minutes of the twenty twenty three regular session on the House floor where our state legislators had no idea what they were voting on. The Senate had put all these amendments on

the House Appropriations Bill with all of this new proposed spending, send it back over to the House for them to ratify it. And they had literally 10 minutes to look at this voluminous piece of legislation. No time to do it. It was a total fiasco on the floor of the House.

Danielle WALKER (39:11) not

too dissimilar to the one we just witnessed in Congress.

Chris (39:14) Exactly, exactly. So in order to prevent that from ever happening again, there were a couple of constitutional amendments that would automatically allow a two day extension of the legislative session in order to give the House an opportunity to review any appropriations bills and also to give them at least 48 hours and also to extend the session itself by two days at a time if necessary.

so that they can really do justice to the legislation. And they're not put in that position where they're having to vote on things that they don't even or not even, particularly when it comes to our money. This is all about our money and how it's being spent. So those two constitutional amendments are going to really help in that process.

Danielle WALKER (39:58) Yeah. And looking at this, looking at it in light of this whole congressional omnibus, I don't know, fiasco that seemed to play out in large part on Twitter, you know, it does provide incentives to the, the, the fiscal committees to get their ducks in a row if they don't want to be in session per in perpetuity, right? Because it will just keep going unless they figure it out.

Chris (40:23) Yeah.

Danielle WALKER (40:27) So go ahead and get your little ducks in row early and then you can go home on time.

Chris (40:33) Danielle, that was the first thing that you mentioned when I said, when we talked about these amendments and how they could potentially extend the session, have an automatic 48 days for the House to lead. The first, your first thought was, well, if anything is going to motivate these senators to make sure that they have their ducks in a row and they send things over to the House in a timely manner, these appropriations, amendments and bills, this is going to do it because they don't want to be there generally any longer.

than they have to be.

Danielle WALKER (41:02) Yeah, awesome.

So it's been a jam-packed year. We have so much to be proud of. We worked so hard and we know that the listeners work so hard. We're so thankful that you have participated with the calls to action, that you have been doing calls to action on your own to your congressional leaders in Washington and the senators as well. it's just, I feel...

I feel a lot of momentum, Chris. I feel like we are really kind of riding a wave right now. And, you know, what's coming up next year? From us, you can expect more of the same, I think. We're going to keep working on improving, but you can expect great interviews and commentary from us. Like I said early on, we'd love to hear what you want more from us, how you'd prefer to hear more.

what you would like to hear best from us. I don't know how to say what I've been trying to say this whole time. Tell us what you want to hear. That's what I'm trying to say. All right.

Chris (42:33) Understand and and

and and do not forget if you haven't done so yet to become a monthly donor and subscriber to the state of freedom because we're continuing to build our infrastructure. We're continuing to expand across the state and in order to continue to advance the voice of freedom and liberty, your voice, your voice, the voice of the citizens.

We need your support. So please become a monthly donor of the state of freedom so that we can continue to bring you really what I believe is the best content in the state and among the best content nationally because of the guests that we have and the legislative insights in our own state that you and I provide.

Danielle WALKER (43:16) Yeah, yeah, and we get to have a lot of fun. I hope that you come to come and you know, like when you're checking out one of our episodes, I hope that you feel like this is going to be fun. I mean, I hope you feel like you're coming to learn something, but hopefully you also feel like you know us and that, you know, your friends, your family, we love you guys so much.

Chris (43:37) We are and we always have fun. mean, one thing I love doing our podcast because it's always fun. It's not only informative, it's fun. And you know what? And I found someone who is willing to put up with me on a daily basis and work with me and be patient with me. And so I can't let that go.

Danielle WALKER (43:50) Hehehehehe

like whenever he throws his laptop on the ground.

Chris (43:59) like whenever I throw my laptop on the ground, although it was accidental. And I think that was God's way of telling me that it's time for a new laptop. and yes.

Danielle WALKER (44:06) It is time for a new laptop. So donate to LACAG as well. www.lacag.org.

Well, look, we are all watching and counting down to the inauguration. 2025 has some pretty spectacular things in store. Louisiana's regular session convenes in April. That'll be a fiscal session. So it'll, in theory, be shorter.

But we will also be keeping an eye out for a special session on insurance. That's a possibility that's been floated. So keep an eye out for that. Yeah. And then things are also going to be heating up in Louisiana with a senatorial election coming up in 26. So we saw, you know, we had Dr. John Fleming, our state treasurer, on announcing his candidacy.

throwing his hat in the ring against Bill Cassidy. That was episode number 256. If you missed it, would love for you to check it out. You could get kind of his full perspective on Cassidy and why he feels called to run. We've heard Blake Miguez is sending strong signals that he may be throwing his hat in the ring as well, but we think he may be waiting for Congressman Clay Higgins to see what he does because he's also considered a contender in that race.

So we have our eyes on a lot of things next year, but Chris, what is it that you're looking most forward to in 25?

Chris (45:32) Well, I'm looking forward to getting into the legislature and seeing real legislative and executive efforts on the part of our governor to reduce the size of our bloated government, to make it more efficient, to cut spending, and just ultimately to make our government more responsive and accountable to the people. That is what the people want. It's a fiscal session.

And as I said earlier, Danielle, we have commitments and I know that many reps and senators, Blake Maguiz, Dixon McMake and Thomas Presley are very eager to get in and really make the decisions that need to be made to do just that. So I'm looking forward to that in the fiscal session. I'm also looking forward to continuing our effort to make gold and silver transactional currency in Louisiana.

there was some great testimony on that bill by our treasurer, also, by the author of the bill, representative Raymond Cruz, in the last session, ultimately, I really think because of some confusion about the bill and also some high, special interest presser that was placed on some of these legislators, it did not get through, but we're going to continue to educate people on what an instrument of freedom.

this is if we were able to make gold and silver real transactional currency in Louisiana. And we are excited and will be very much focused on that among other things as well.

Danielle WALKER (46:59) Yeah, I'm also looking forward to, or at least hopeful that Louisiana, through Treasurer Fleming's leadership, will take a look at Bitcoin and having a reserve of Bitcoin for the state. Obviously, the value of Bitcoin is surging and it's an important thing to not be left behind on. It's an important asset and it will be going forward. President Trump has already signaled that very strongly and said it very directly.

and Bitcoin is surging on his election. So that will be awesome as well. I know we talked about maybe addressing the chem trails and looking at some of the states that have already done that. I pray that that's on the top of RFK Jr's list. And on top of the state stuff, I'm looking forward to seeing Trump's picks in place. I'm looking to see justice come in. I want to see the destruction of

the bureaucratic monstrosity that's strangling the innovation and economic prowess of the American people. But the same can be said for our state, right? That's exactly what you were just saying about our state. We have a lot of work to do to dismantle the Louisiana deep state, the Louisiana bureaucratic monstrosity. And I'm looking forward to all of us standing up and doing our part to make Louisiana great again, to make America great again. We all have a role to play. We've said this from the very beginning.

that there's so much work to be done and all of our voices matter. All of our efforts are what has gotten us to this point. If you think about when we started, we were on the heels. We couldn't even get legislation passed to say that parents needed to be made aware that their kids didn't have to get a vaccine that isn't even approved by the FDA. That's insane. And here we are.

going to a place where, mean, R.F.K. Jr. and Trump have talked about outlaw, well, they have been talked about outlawing vaccines, but they have said that they were very interested in getting to the bottom of the skyrocketing autism rates among, in children. And I think, I think we are gonna start seeing some erosion of all these insane wrongs that have been committed.

against the American people, whether it's through the food supply, whether it's through the health medical industrial complex, whether it's through illegal taxation and the Federal Reserve, whether it's through endless wars, that erosion, think censorship and the total disregard for free speech. There's so many areas where there's work to be done.

that we've seen people, patriots, stand up, many of them, and indicate that they are, that's a hill that they're willing to die on. So I'm looking forward to being part of that and seeing that.

Chris (49:39) very much so. And I'll tell

Me too. And there's no reason why what is being done on the federal level cannot be mirrored, as you said, on the state level. And it gives me such encouragement and it emboldens me and I know it emboldens others to see these things happening on the federal level going forward to try to accomplish the same things on the state level. There's no excuses left, Danielle. Time is up. It is time.

to move forward and do what needs to be done. And that litany of things that you just ran through is exactly correct.

Danielle WALKER (50:16) Yeah. Well, I think that's all I have on my side, but I do want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. want to just give you a reminder to subscribe to us on whatever your preferred platform is, YouTube, Rumble or X. You can find the links to those in the show notes and on freedomstate.us. Chris, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas. It's going to be probably a hectic couple of days, but

the weather's gonna look beautiful, at least down here.

Chris (50:46) Oh my gosh, is the weather here in Baton Rouge right now, Danielle, is absolutely majestic. I can't wait to get outside into it. I've got a long honeydew list from Katie that I've got to go take care of, but I expect to. Yes, I'll check it twice. I expect to implement it faithfully, even if not perfectly. So that's what it will be. But but Merry Christmas to you and yours as well, Danielle. I'm so thankful to work with you.

Danielle WALKER (50:57) Mm-hmm.

You better check that list twice.

There you go.

Chris (51:15) And just thankful to have this platform that we have as we continue to build.

Danielle WALKER (51:20) Me too. God bless everybody. God bless you, Chris.

Chris (51:23) You too.