UnBolted w/ Matthew Mastronardi

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:22] Speaker B: I'm MJ Bull. I'm your host of Unbolted. And we've got with us today Matthew Masternardi, who is a fascinating person. I'm so excited that you're here with us today, Matthew. [00:00:33] Speaker A: Hey, mj, it's great to be with you. Thank you so much. [00:00:36] Speaker B: You bet. You've had a lot going on in your life lately, and I've been following it very closely as you are almost my neighbor. We live in the same community, and so I think it's a great opportunity for you to share a little bit about what's been going on. As many of you know, Matthew was just let go from his teaching position because he read from the required reading book To Kill a Mocking Board, and he read it out loud to his students or a part of it. And so it's been an interesting kind of saga to follow. It's been a few weeks since the board made their final decision to not renew your contract. So, Matthew, do you want to just kind of tell. I don't know if you want to go back because some people don't know your story. Maybe give them a little bit of history about yourself and then, you know, I'm curious as to. Okay, so now it's settled in a couple weeks since that decision, kind of. Where are you at right now? [00:01:39] Speaker A: Yeah, well, thanks so much for giving me an opportunity to share. So, yeah, I was a high school Spanish teacher here in the Spokane area, and I taught high school Spanish at West Valley High School. And I had been teaching there for three years. And yeah, it was great. It was awesome because like, my brother, he also worked at the school. He worked across the hall from me. He was another Spanish teacher. And we had a great thing, you know, we were a part of the community. We had a great relationship with the students and we really enjoyed working there. And anyway, so this last April, there was an incident where, you know, something happened in the classroom where, you know, long story short, if people really want to get all the details, they can go to my. My ex account and read my full thread there. But essentially there was a moment in the classroom where I we started talking about the book To Kill a Mockingbird. And this was because to two students were speaking about it and I overheard how they were saying how they have to skip over, you know, a word, right? We all know what the word is. It's the N word. And I sort of just calmly expressed my disagreements that they have to do that. And it led to a candid sort of spontaneous conversation about should we have to skip over words when we're reading a book as written. And does that undermine the historical context? Does it undermine authorial intent? Do you distance yourself from what the author intended you to feel? And I expressed all that. And of course I said, look, nobody. You should never call anybody this. I said that like three or four times. But reading a book is different, and you should be able to distinguish between the contexts here. And you certainly shouldn't be afraid to read a book. Fear, consequences of being called a racist or something. Or you, you, Your skin color shouldn't determine whether you can read a book honestly. Right. I was expressing all of that anyways. A girl asked me point blank, well, would you read the word if you were reading the book? And I said, yes, if I was reading from the text, I would read the book as written. I would read every word. And a boy essentially whipped out the book. He handed it to me. He was. He knew exactly what page, and he sort of wanted to see if I would, If I. If I would put my money where my mouth is, essentially. And I don't want to say it was a dare, but it was more like a student was trying to. I like, I like the phrase meet real, real curiosity with real context. You know, there was a lot of things. It was more than just about a word. I think it was more about truth. And are we allowed to be honest with our students? Are we allowed to trust our students with the truth? [00:04:55] Speaker B: Right. [00:04:56] Speaker A: And I think that's really what the heart of the matter is. And obviously I understand it's a sharp word. I, I don't say it outside of, you know, this. Reading this book, nor do I enjoy. I don't like hearing people speak foully. I don't like hearing people use obscene words like, I'm a Christian. I try to speak cleanly. And, you know, but. And I felt like I had to display, you know, I was past the point of no return at this point. [00:05:25] Speaker B: Well, and. And your students, I mean, I think, like you said, you, you said they were curious because I think I've heard you say that, you know, they had been told by other teachers to skip over the word or skip the chapter. You don't read the chapter. [00:05:43] Speaker A: Yeah. According to one or two students, they had to skip an entire chapter on the basis that the word appeared so many times. Not that. Not because they were running short on time. Not because, you know, for what. No, because the word showed up that many times. And so they skipped an entire chapter. And so it's like, we can't only pick and choose the parts that make us comfortable. [00:06:12] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:06:13] Speaker A: You know, and downstream from that, I mean, you look at what happens when our lawmakers only read the parts of the Constitution that they like. Right. There's a whole, there's a lot of consequences downstream from not reading texts as written by the authors. And it's the same thing in churches with the Bible. You know, I've been to churches where the pastors pick and choose passages and they don't. They only read the ones that make them comfortable. And you miss out on the rest of the story. You miss out on some of the deeper meanings. And that's, that's really kind of what this is about. And so, and with To Kill a Mockingbird, it's like, you know, everybody knows that if I was black and I did that, we wouldn't be having an issue here. Like, that's like the elephant in the room. And I'm not trying to make myself a victim. I just wanted to display for my students that as a learner, as a student, you have the rights and the duty to read books as written. And you should not be made to feel guilt. Made to be felt. You feel guilty or you let somebody tell you that you can only do it upon certain conditions. And that's just, that's very anti. Educational. And so I read a full passage, you know, a little, a few sentences before and a few sentences after. And I tried to make it a teachable moment. So, yeah, I went off script a little bit from my subject area. But like every teacher does that from time to time. When a student asks a thought provoking question. It's not, and it's not like I was deviating into something vulgar or trying to indoctrinate or trying to speak about something that was inappropriate. I mean, this was a text that is approved by the school. Like, it's not a habit of mine to do this every day. You know, it's just, it was just something that sort of popped up and it was, there was value there. And ultimately, as an educator, I, you know, I teach Spanish, but I also teach students well. [00:08:33] Speaker B: And you incorporate real world into teaching Spanish. I mean, it's not void of what's going on in the world or the culture or. I mean, you're going to talk about life. [00:08:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:08:45] Speaker B: When you're teaching Spanish. Right. [00:08:48] Speaker A: And, and yeah, there's, there's, there's definitely some language concepts there. You know, and I, for the first couple weeks of school, sometimes I have to review a lot of English concepts because a Lot of my students, they come in, they don't know what an adverb is, they don't know what an adjective is, they don't know what a gerund is. They don't. They don't a lot of these things. And so. Or pronouns like what pronouns actually do, you know, they replace a person's name. That's the, that's the function of a pronoun. And I have to spend a lot of time talking about that. And it's those. So I'm spe. I'm teaching them English concepts so that they can help better understand Spanish. And context is vitally important for language. And so I don't think it's a stretch to talk about a book, even though it's not directly in my curriculum. It was an educational value driven conversation that was from a student initiated question. And there was just a. Some meaning there that, you know, they were curious about. And imagine if we just shut the door in their face every time they had a question. And as a professional, we have to distinguish, like, what is appropriate to dive into. Right. Like, obviously, if a student asks me a personal question about my personal life, like, that might be crossing a boundary, but I don't think I crossed any boundaries with this. And I think a lot of students appreciated the lesson that I was trying to teach. [00:10:21] Speaker B: It was a required reading. Correct. For the lit. Lit classes, I'm guessing, or, you know, a certain year of high school lit classes. And. And then I also heard that somebody, one of one of the classes actually showed the movie which did speak, you know, these words in the classroom. Is that correct as well? [00:10:46] Speaker A: Yeah, they watched the movie where it's played out loud, high enough on the volume so everybody can hear it. But then when a teacher reads the book, somehow that's worthy for you to lose your job. And so, yeah, essentially I was recorded. I didn't know this, but a student was video recording me and that video circulated around the school, and that's eventually what led to me losing my job. [00:11:12] Speaker B: Yeah. And. And, you know, there's so many things about this that give me such pause and concern for the state of our education system where this would happen. Because to me, you're being a very good teacher and that you're tapping into a, a student's curiosity. These are, you know, teenagers. They're not, you know, child children. They're teenagers. They're in high school. And I mean, I, I think if I try to put myself back in their shoes, which was a long time ago, we won't Talk about how long. But, but it would have been such a slap to my face, almost into my intelligence to say that I have to skip over this word, like I can't handle it. You know, let's talk about this. And, and there's a lot of stuff in our history that is uncomfortable. Right. And, and we've been talking about that a lot. You know, the last, I don't know even how long, but at least the last. I know as much as I've been in education the last 10, 15 years that we need to talk about those things. We can't skip over those things. And yet this is what they were asking the students to do was skip over this. So that's. It just doesn't sit right. The other part that doesn't sit right, Matthew, is that, and I don't know, I haven't talked to the school board members, I haven't talked to the superintendent. There's always other sides of the story. But you also had not been disciplined in any way. You didn't have anything on your record prior. Correct. I mean, there was no, it wasn't like this was your third strike and, you know, you had just had an evaluation. Correct. And it was, it was all good. [00:12:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I've never had a disciplinary action against me. My, my record was flawless. The three years I was there passed every teaching evaluation. In fact, I had a teaching evaluation a week or two after the incident. And you would think that if they were looking for any sort of additional cause to get rid of me, you know, they could have maybe just flawed me on that teaching value, but I even passed that one and you know. Yeah, it's just, it's just, yeah, there's nothing else, you know, and they'll say that, you know, at the school board meeting, they were sort of grasping for other reasons. And one of the things that they listed was my use of unlicensed third party language learning software. And the only thing that they could be referring to there is duolingo. So into my and every other language teacher also uses duolingo from time to time in their classroom. And we actually talked with the previous vice principal about using duolingo in the classroom, and there was never an issue. So they're sort of just grasping at that point to give themselves more ammunition against me. But I mean, if that's the case, go talk to the other language teachers who are also using duolingo. That's the only third party software for language like I've ever used. So well. [00:14:33] Speaker B: And I, I'm gonna ask you some questions. I'm gonna dive into this a little bit because I'm really curious your perspective, especially as you've sat on this, you know, a few weeks with this final decision of the school board. You know, do you feel like this is all because partisan? Do you feel that, I mean, what is your take? And obviously I'm asking you to speculate because you, you don't know for sure. You weren't, you know, in those decision meetings or you only can go by what you saw and heard and people told you. But do you feel that there was more behind this? Was this. Or is it just this incident and they just don't want people to, you know, come close to, to not following their rules or do you think there was more is because you are a, you know, you're a conservative. You're, you're actually a pco, A Spokane Republican Party pco. You know, I don't know how many people know that. I know that that's how I got to know you. So I, I, because our, our education system is pretty liberal. Do you feel that that at all played into this? [00:15:45] Speaker A: Yeah, it would just be speculation, which maybe there's some value and that, you know, obviously we can't go back and undo anything. But I do know that when the principal first gave me my verbal warning, I'm pretty confident he thought that was going to be the end of it. And so did I. I, I think it was going to be a slap on the wrist, A, A verbal warning. And I've since heard through the grapevine, you know, take that for what you, you wish that the principal did not anticipate it leading to me being let go. So that kind of tells me that on an individual, this is bigger than just like an individual decision. There's, it went past him, it went to the school board and the superintendent recommended me for non renewal and I, there had to be some sort of pressure. There had to have been. Or maybe, you know, maybe they saw me as somebody who was on not afraid to speak the truth when it's uncomfortable. And that is not something that is sort of falls in line with the modern ethos of public education is. So maybe they saw me as somebody who might be a loose cannon and if they let me stay one more year, I'll have my tenure. [00:17:22] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:23] Speaker A: And it'll be a heck of a lot harder to get rid of me then. [00:17:28] Speaker B: But it wasn't like you had a series of events where you had displayed being a loose canyon. This was, this was the only situation that you ever got any kind of. Yeah. Warning on. [00:17:44] Speaker A: Yes, so I do. I do know that there's a lot of outside groups that. And a lot of the ideologies that govern unions and public schools today, they. They fear the backlash. They don't want to be on the wrong side of things, you know, and so. But they don't usually err on the side of honesty, nuance, figuring out the. The moral context of a situation. They. They don't take the time. They just sort of are in it to protect themselves. And so I think, you know, whether maybe there was pressure from outside groups. I don't have, like, definitive proof, but, you know, we've seen it in other cases plenty of times. You know, like, schools just. They don't want to be on the receiving end from criticism from the media. And a lot of groups, like, you know, the last thing they want is like, the NAACP breathing down their necks, which, you know, maybe. Maybe that was at play because, you know, they've been fairly critical of me in recent weeks. I don't know. Behind closed doors. But. Yeah, it's just speculation, I guess, but. Yeah, I. I speculate. [00:19:07] Speaker B: I know you don't. Yeah. And that's what I asked you to do. So. [00:19:12] Speaker A: Yeah, my. My guess is that there was pressure. [00:19:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:15] Speaker A: Exerted on the school board. [00:19:17] Speaker B: Did you get. What was your sense of the parents feedback? Did you. You know, I know you received personally a lot of support from students and parents, but did you hear of other, you know, emails and pressure from parents? [00:19:34] Speaker A: No, I haven't. I never received any email complaint from a parent. It's unclear that there ever was a formal complaint submitted because I submitted a public records request and I requested any email or phone call that invoked my name, and they didn't. There was nothing. [00:20:03] Speaker B: Okay, interesting. [00:20:05] Speaker A: So maybe, maybe this was a complaint that was more informal. [00:20:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:20:09] Speaker A: Didn't take record keeping. But then again, can you. Should you be able to use that if there's no record? That's what they put. They put on. The reason for getting one of them was parent concerns. And when I did a request. You have no official records, so why are you putting that down? So I have read some Facebook comments from one parent who is very critical of me, but that's it. The rest have been, you know, from the students that I had in my classroom, Those families, those students. Everyone's been extremely supportive. [00:20:54] Speaker B: And you weren't just a teacher, you also were a coach, correct? [00:20:59] Speaker A: Yeah, I was a wrestling coach. [00:21:01] Speaker B: One of the assistants for high school wrestling. Okay. [00:21:05] Speaker A: Yeah, we have A lot of, you know, we spend a lot of Saturdays together from six in the morning to six at night. And you know, you're hanging out with parents in the bleachers and giving advice to their, their kids. And you're building relationships not just in the classroom but, you know, on the mat, so to speak, because it was with wrestling. And you get to know your students from a different side and you get to know their families. You know, we're celebrating the end of the year at a pizza joint together and you know, just building those types of relationships and you know, I had nothing but positive ones. [00:21:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Wow. So the, the school board chose to not renew your contract like you said. You weren't, you were in that three year. They call it a probationary. [00:21:59] Speaker A: Provisional staff. So basically that means I didn't have a right to a formal hearing. [00:22:04] Speaker B: Right. [00:22:05] Speaker A: So they can, they can get rid of you for. They have, they have a lot of leeway. They have a lot of power. And I mean, and that's not unique to education. A lot of employers have, you know, that, that probationary period to make somebody like an AT Will employee, I guess you could call it. But it doesn't mean you're allowed to get rid of somebody for a bad reason. You can get rid of somebody for no cause, but you can't get rid of somebody for a bad reason. Like it likes, like discriminating against somebody. And in my case, you know, I, I do think that it was because of my viewpoints that I, that I held. And so, you know, that's being explored. That's all I'll say about that. Yeah, but yeah, it's, it's unfortunate. [00:23:02] Speaker B: Yeah. And then you talked, you mentioned your brother who was also a Spanish teacher. So not only did they lose an amazing teacher and person as yourself, you're. Your brother also stood by you and resigned. Correct? [00:23:21] Speaker A: Yeah. It was fairly dramatic too because, you know, when I, on the second to last day of school, it was Thursday, I. This was when the story was sort of going viral and it was on the Daily News and. Sorry, no, the Daily Mail, New York Post, a lot of national outlets were reporting on this story and it was of course blowing up on X. And I was, at noon, the superintendent came to my room and served me papers saying that I had to vacate the campus. So I didn't get to go to the last day of school. And my brother who was there on the last day of school said it was very sad. We had dozens of students throughout the day because the last day of school is a lot of fun, right? You know, you're saying goodbye to students, and it's kind of a free for all. Like, kids are just roaming the halls. Like, it's. It is what it is, right? It's been that way since the beginning of time. But a lot of kids were coming by, trying to say goodbye, and we couldn't do that. And he submitted his resignation. And basically saying, like, what you did to my brother sends a chilling message that fear is what's driving the educational decisions today. And unless you reinstate him, I'm leaving. And it sucks because, like, we had a really cool. I think we brought a lot of culture to the school. You know, we. We. We're right across the hall from each other. Kids know that there's these two brothers that work here, and we care about the students. You know, people see us walking together in the halls all. All the time, and like, oh, There goes the Mr. And Mr. Mastronardies. And we had a lot of really positive relationships with the students that, you know, we cultivated those, and students looked up to us, and sometimes they would argue about who the cooler Master Nardi was. And it just. It provided, like, just something fun. [00:25:19] Speaker B: That sounds very human. You know, brothers, I'm sure you guys gave each other a bad time. And, you know. [00:25:28] Speaker A: During his prep period, I would be teaching, he would just walk into my class and, like, take something out of my fridge or something. Like, something that, like, brothers do. And the kids would always laugh or they would say, like, oh, who. Who would win in a fight? And obviously, like, we're not. Like, we don't do that, but, you know, we sometimes will. They'll ask us, like, what. What it's like to work with your brother. Is it fun? Is it annoying? And it just gave us an opportunity to, like, be real. I think students and they. They got some. Some authenticity from us. [00:26:04] Speaker B: Absolutely. I think that's. I love that. You know, too much of our world, whether it's in school or out of school or business, is not human enough. Right. We put on these facades and we check all the boxes, and, you know, we. We need to bring humanity back. How. How do you. How did that make you feel, Matthew? What was your feelings or your response to your brother doing that? I. I would imagine that's not probably your idea. [00:26:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, that's a good question. We. We talked about it, you know, we said, like, what are you gonna do? Like, you gonna come work here next year if I'm. If I'm not here? Especially, like, it's gonna be the awkward for you. I mean, kids are gonna ask about, about this. And, you know, it's. But so he really wanted. And he's, he's a grown man and he's married and has kids. And so it's, it's ultimately his decision. But, you know, we talked about it and he said, like, you know, what would really make a statement of is a lasting one, is, hey, they didn't lose just one teacher, they lost two. And this was sort of a repudiation upon their decision. And so he wanted to highlight that. And, you know, we had just built so many good memories over the last three years. I think if, I think from his perspective, it's like, hey, I'm gonna go to work. And it's not going to be what it was. Not that, like, it was only because my brother worked there, but just in the way that this unfolded. So unfortunately, it would just be hard. And so he wants to look for other opportunities. And he's already, you know, he's gonna land on his feet as well. And he's got some really cool ideas still in education. Maybe it's a good time to share that. So my brother, he also lives here in Spokane. His name is Andrew. He's starting a. What do you. What do you call it, sort of like a micro school where, you know, he's a certified teacher so he can provide some oversight working together with homeschool families. So a lot of homeschool families have to still enroll their child in the public school system to get the, the foreign language credit. And so he's going to offer foreign language, health and fitness and one other thing, I think economics, but sort of providing educational services to homeschool families throughout the week. And I'm going to be contributing as well. So if people are interested in that, they can go to, I think it's homeschoolspokane.com okay. Yeah. Homeschool spokane.com if you have a middle schooler or a high schooler and you're interested in homeschool services, you should check that out. [00:29:16] Speaker B: Homeschoolspokian.com well, and that kind of leads me to my next, you know, question. And, and part of the reason why I wanted to have you on, Matthew, is you're just an interesting person and you've got a lot of things going on. So what's, you know, as this is settled and obviously, you know, kind of the finality of it, what is, you know, you mentioned this as an opportunity. What else is kind of percolating in Your life. And what do you think is next? [00:29:45] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, it was really, it's nice that the dust is finally settling because. And even though we didn't get the decision we wanted, that big question mark is, is off my back. And you can actually, you don't have to plan for two futures, you can just plan for one. And you know, I have a wife who does not. She's a stay at home mom. I almost said she doesn't work, but she works very hard. [00:30:11] Speaker B: She works very hard jobs in the world. [00:30:15] Speaker A: It's the most important job in the world. [00:30:17] Speaker B: It absolutely. [00:30:18] Speaker A: And so she works very hard but she does not earn a traditional income. [00:30:23] Speaker B: Right. [00:30:23] Speaker A: And so she's taking care of our kids throughout the day and I'm, I'm providing financially. But yeah, so there's, there's a few things. So like I have some entrepreneurial ventures that I'm, I'm going to try and one of those has to do with event planning. And so something that I'm working on right now is, you know, I'm very, I'm very involved in my local church. I am a Christian. And one thing that I think we could use more of to better our communities and make us self stronger, see more Christian marriages. And you know, if you know anybody who's single, they talk about how hard it is to just like meet godly serious people these days. And so I think more Christian marriages, which will hopefully lead to more Christian families will be something that benefits society and our community. So I'm hosting a Christian singles mixer. So what that is, it's an event where if you are single, right. We're starting off with ages 24 to 40 right now. But if you're single and you're serious about finding a godly spouse and that's a noble thing, people should not be embarrassed over that or ashamed. But yeah, come to this and if you want to reach out to me, I can give you more information. But it's on August 2nd and so that's a project I'm starting and then I'm also fairly involved with. [00:32:04] Speaker B: I think I got it here. I'm trying to pull it up. Can you see it? So here's your event. Yeah, so very exciting. So August 2nd at. And how could they get more information? Maybe just give them a contact for you. [00:32:19] Speaker A: If you can just copy and paste that link that'll take you to the register the registration form. But. And then once you do that, I'll give you the official address because we don't, we don't Want people who, you know, just random people showing up. But yeah, and then there's a second page as well, which has some more information about, like, the itinerary, which is right there. So that's sort of our philosophy and what the event's going to look like. And we have a lot of people signing up. I need more guys. I, that's a problem I did not anticipate to have. But, you know, the ladies are showing up, they're signing up. I need more men. My email right there is at the bottom, mastrotgrmail.com if you have any specific questions. But, you know, I want to, I want to get into event planning a little bit more. And, you know, I'm not going to step away from education completely. The medium is going to change a little bit. But, you know, I'm going to help my brother launch homeschool spokane.com and I'm going to work with him on that. And we're going to keep teaching. And I also have my podcast, which is something I'm trying to grow. It's, you'll see in my, my tag here. It's called the Great Reassessment, and it's a interview podcast. I interview amazing guests about different topics and we talk about, we try to pull back the curtain on truth. And I, we dive into conventional narratives that people are questioning. So I talk with a lot of doctors, authors, historians, economists, and things like that. And then like homesteading. My wife and I were trying to use our property as a way to earn an income. So we're trying to ramp up egg production, vegetables, bread, like making homemade breads and things like that. And so we're just sort of casting a wide net right now and seeing where the Lord plants us. You know, I think we'll always be involved in all of these things to some degree, but if, if one of them can sort of open up a door for a career, a way of earning an income, you know, I'm thankful I'll get paid for a few more months and be able to, you know, provide for my family in that way. And we've, I think we'll be, we'll be okay in that regard. But, you know, long term, looking long term casting that wide net to figure out what sort of sticks. And as you, as you mentioned earlier, I'm somewhat involved politically. You know, I, I've volunteered on a few campaigns. I serve as a pco and I have more time to do dedicate to that now, too. And so, yeah, I want to make a difference in, in our community and help people, you know, just change some of the laws in our country or in our state to help people be, you know, freer, to get the government off our backs and. Yeah. Remove a lot of the obstacles that, you know, for why a lot of people are fleeing our state. It's a wonderful state, but people are leaving in droves because it's getting really hard to live here, things getting really expensive. So. [00:36:11] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And even with education as well, you have an insider view. I have had an insider view of how these policies are implemented and how they play out with students directly, with teachers, with classrooms, with education. And so I think your experience with that is also very valuable. There can be great intent. Right. And, and I know a lot of the people in the education policy world because of the stuff I've done, and they're great people. I mean, really good people, good hearts. But these policies that we're passing are not good. And they're, they're, they're actually harming our students. And just like, you know, this situation, this is, this is not good for students, you know, to shield students from something that they're going to listen to in a movie in a different classroom or, or, you know, say, oh, you can't read the word. I mean, that's not helpful. That's not helpful to training them up and to giving them the full tools, you know, to do, to become contributing adults and be able to navigate these tough conversations that we are having. Which, by the way, I just wanted to ask real quick before we. Because I want to talk more about what you're doing, and I have a lot of, you know, intrigued with everything you're doing. I did want to ask. Did. Did you ever speak with the NC naacp? Because I, I think I saw some exchanges on that. [00:37:44] Speaker A: Yeah, I, they, they were quoted extensively in the recent article from the Inlander and I. In, in that article, they said, we would like to invite Matthew to have a conversation about this. And I commented, I said, I warmly accept your invitation. Just let's, let's name a time and place. And they responded saying, we'll be in touch shortly. That was about 10 days ago. I haven't heard anything. Yeah, maybe they're planning something, but, yeah, that'll be interesting for sure. Yeah, I welcome the opportunity to talk and I think it'll be respectful and civil. But I like what you were saying, like, we're shielding kids. I want people to understand that there. A word cannot be inherently or intrinsically evil. It's the intent behind a word. And I know that might make some people uncomfortable, but that's the truth. That is the truth. And we should definitely practice responsibility and discretion in the words that we use. You know, Jesus says in Matthew 12, you will give an account for every careless word you speak. But this idea that a word is inherently evil in and of itself is wrong right? Now, I believe that words can be sharp, and words are like tools. Right. Like, you know, to convey a message. And some words are too sharp for people. Like a child. Right. Like if he tried to pick up a word. Right. That word might be too sharp. You don't know how to handle it correctly. So some words are too sharp and they need to be kind of left away for the most part. However, you can conceive of a context where a sharp word is actually necessary. And that's my message I kind of want to drive home in. The example I point to is, I don't know if you've ever seen the movie 42 with Jackie Robinson. It's a movie about Jackie Robinson and how his struggle. He was the first major league baseball player who was black. And there's a scene in that movie where he is just getting hammered with racial slurs from the opposing coach. Now, and the coach is a white guy. But imagine if every time the coach in that movie, they bleeped his words or they redacted his words because it makes people feel uncomfortable. You would actually lose some of the message, and it would undermine Jackie Robinson's story. It would undermine what he went through. And you. The. The. What they're trying. The message they're trying to get across would not get across the same. It's. It's actually meant to make you feel uncomfortable. It's meant to provoke your. Stir up some emotion. Yeah. And so sharp words are. Are. Should be generally left alone. Right. For the same reason. I don't cuss generally, but you can conceive of a context where it might be necessary and, you know, and you can have that conversation, but you miss the opportunity to have that conversation if you just skip it entirely. [00:41:12] Speaker B: Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Again, it's a learning opportunity. And these are things that are in our history, are in our past. And. And, you know, as Brooke brought up, you know, they're in current songs. So, you know, you can talk about it in a. In a way of the. This is what's appropriate, this isn't. And here is what it used to be like. You know, it wasn't good. I mean, this. This word got used all the time. Was. Was terrific. And so yeah. And you can do that with compassion. [00:41:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:41:47] Speaker B: And, and so sophistication without dumbing it down, especially when you're talking about teenagers, you know. [00:41:56] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:41:56] Speaker B: And so, yeah, it's a, it's a crazy deal. Well, and, and I appreciate, like, Matthew, I've seen you, you know, know, be willing to talk to, to anybody, and I saw that exchange with NC naacp, and I, I, I really applauded that you were, you know, willing, and I think those conversations should happen, and we need to have these conversations, you know, and, and maybe that is where the pressure is coming from. You know, we don't know. I was there at your news conference when one of the gals, I believe, was from a news station, and she asked you some very pointed questions about, well, you know, how do you think that made people of color feel when you read that? And, you know, some other things that were of consideration and, you know, you didn't shy away from that. I mean, again, I think having those hard conversations is how we work through some of these uncomfortable things. We don't just write people off and call people names. [00:42:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:53] Speaker B: We have discussion and, and, you know, and, and civil debate about what's appropriate. [00:43:02] Speaker A: Yeah, I totally agree. And this. I, you know, we could switch gears here. I know you want to talk about other things. Like, let's stop pretending that there's one group that speaks on behalf of everybody. You know, I've been. A lot of black people have reached out to me saying, look, first of all, we don't care. Like, you're just teaching, doing your job. Like, let the man teach. [00:43:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:43:29] Speaker A: And then, you know, I've also had other, you know, I've had a past friend who, you know, I went to church with, who is a black. He's African American. And, you know, he's somebody. I wouldn't. If he asked me, you know, look, that word is really offensive to me, and, you know, I don't even say it. And, like, I would absolutely, you know, respect your opinion and, you know, try to do my best to, you know, meet you where you're at. You know, that's. But let's not forget, like, there's not just one. Like, the NAACP does not speak for all black people. You know, I've had a lot of black friends and contacts and over social media, see, we do not care. Stop this. Like, he's reading a book, like, and so, like, I just, it drives me nuts, like, when people just get offended on behalf of other people. And, you know, you see this all the time just in Other categories too. So. [00:44:36] Speaker B: You know, I appreciate you saying that, Matthew. I've had friends that happen to be, you know, darker skin color than me that have also like implored like mj, don't you dare make children that, you know, black children a victim. Don't you dare say that they're oppressed like that. That will debilitate them. Don't you dare. You know, I've had those very heart to heart conversations with people and I get that's not everybody. [00:45:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:45:08] Speaker B: But it is, it is something that is very heartfelt and has played into, you know, that when I was making decisions on policy around education that, you know, reminded me it's not just this one narrative that seems to be this agenda that gets pushed often and I don't even know what to call it, but there's a lot of other people that feel very, very differently. And, and, and we've got, again, we've got to have these honest conversations about this to find out what really is the best thing for, for our students. [00:45:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:45:46] Speaker B: And I want our students, yes. Our students should feel, be in a safe place in their schools where they feel welcome and they feel nurtured and they feel comfortable in their own skin. But when, you know, it's almost like we swung the other way and you know, know I have people that have kids, third graders here in the Valley going to school and they don't want to go to school anymore because they, just because they're white, they feel like they're racist third grade girl. You know, just because of the color of their skin. You know, that's not right either. So we gotta, we gotta figure this out. And I think having honest conversations with our students and hey, how do you feel? Know what makes you feel uncomfortable? What makes you, you know, that those are the things that we need to figure out. I don't think we're there yet. And I'm not saying what, where we've been in the past was perfect either. Not at all. But I, it's almost like we swung way the other way and, and we've got to find the right balance and we're not there. [00:46:50] Speaker A: Yeah. I think you just have to give people, remove the obstacles, to let people exercise, like to decide for themselves. [00:47:00] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:47:00] Speaker A: And, but as soon as you have these, these messages imposed upon people, like white guilt and self deprecation and like trying to atone for things of the past that, you know, people today are not responsible for, like, yeah, that's really sad. So. But we can review history honestly and allow people to live out their own convictions. And, you know, I think I'd rather err on that side than just imposing, imposing, imposing these, these mindsets that really, they only lead to tyranny. They lead to erasing words, erasing history and controlling and censoring and, you know, you censor words, you censor language, language controls perception of reality. Right. Like in 1940s, 1950s Russia, like the word starvation under Stalin was outlawed. Like, you could not publish the word starvation. Words, truth and freedom were removed from people's mental lexicons. So if you don't have a word for freedom, how do you actually, if you're not allowed to write about it a couple generations later, people don't talk, use that word. It's. What's your notion of freedom? If, if you just. And that's just the slippery slope we go down when we start moving words. [00:48:38] Speaker B: Yep, absolutely. And, or, or use words to label and to silence people. You know, I mean, yeah, it gets used way too often to silence, you know, Christian nationalists. I've heard that so many times. I've had people ask me about that. I've had reporters ask me about that. You know, yes, I'm a Christian and yes, I love my country, so, so is that a bad thing? You know, now you're trying to label me to silence me. You know, can we just have a conversation? Because I, I'm also supportive of the First Amendment rights and your freedom of speech, your freedom of religion. Just because I choose Christianity doesn't mean, you know, I think you have to choose. I want you to have every freedom, everybody to have the freedom to, you know, make their choices and have free speech. So, yeah, it's like you said, it's a very slippery soap and I think the tyrannical word is very true. If you are afraid to step out of line, if you're afraid to explore an intrigue or a curity, curiosity, if you're afraid to, oh my gosh, if I say anything, you know, about, I don't know, you know, some, maybe your political stance because you might lose your job. What kind of system are we creating? [00:50:03] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:50:04] Speaker B: And those are the hard things we need to talk about for sure. So, again, I think, you know, Matthew, I. It's interesting because it's, it's like, it's one of the silver lining things. Right. Like, it's sad what's happened. I'm saddened to, to what's happened to you. At the same time, I have no doubt God is working all things together for your, and your family's. [00:50:29] Speaker A: Good. [00:50:29] Speaker B: And I really do believe that good is going to come from this. And I think just. Even the conversations we're having today and the conversations you've had, you know, with a lot of other people, this is really good. We got to talk about this. So that is a silver lining. Right? I'm saddened that, you know, it causes a hardship on you or your family. At the same time, I have no doubt God promises that he will provide for all your needs. And I know as I've stood on that, God is very faithful, and I have no doubt. So let's talk about that a little more, because I want to. You have so many things, so. So if people don't know this, you created a board game last year. Show it. Yes, because. And I haven't played it, but I've heard you talk about it, and I think it's so innovative. [00:51:24] Speaker A: Yeah. And then the slogan is, it's time to pay your fair share. Yeah. Yeah. I worked really hard on this, for sure. It was more of a hobby and a passion project. I'm actually going to the lake this weekend with some friends, and they said, can you bring Biodynomics? [00:51:49] Speaker B: Great. Well, I think that's awesome. I mean, you know, and like I said, I haven't played it, but just the innovation to create something like that. And I'm. I'm sure there's some lessons in there. [00:52:01] Speaker A: When really the biggest lesson was, you know, I. This. The idea. You know, I had a. The game. The idea for the game just, you know, kind of like just a classic entrepreneurial story is like, it hit me in the middle of the night, and I just woke up my wife, and I had to tell her, like, I got this idea for a game. And, you know, she'll tell you, my wife, I have a lot of ideas, and a lot of them just, they. They're born and die in the same day. And I think that's just part of my personality. But, you know, I've started a lot of projects that I never finished. And I started this one. And I said. And there was a. A few months in, I was like, I really just wanted to quit and give up. I was like, no, I. This is not going to be another one of those stories. I've invested a decent amount of money trying to create this. And I was like, I don't even care if I just get one copy. I have to hold it in my hands to say, like, I finished it. And so it became a personal challenge at that point. And, you know, I tried Selling them. I'm not a great marketer and the first manufacturer, actually, once they found out what the game was about, that it sort of teased Joe Biden a little bit and it was at a conservative angle. They said, find somebody new, like, don't. Don't come to us. So unfortunately, that was a US Based manufacturer and I was really looking forward to having printed it in the United States, but I had to, I had to do it with an overseas manufacturer because I couldn't find another board game manufacturer that would do it here locally. And so, yeah, but I only, there's only, there's only 10 in existence. And I've, I've, I did sell a few to some friends. I did send one to Donald Trump before he became president the second time. And a couple months went by and my wife sent me a picture of a letter we got in the mail and it was from Mar a Lago and I was like, oh, my gosh. And it was a letter from Donald Trump and it has his signature. You know, I don't. [00:54:44] Speaker B: Nope, I lost you. I think I lost you there, Matthew. I hope you can come back. It's either me or it's you. Hopefully we can continue. Are you there? Are you there, Matthew? Oh, shoot. Well, we might have lost Matthew here, so if you'll hang tight with us, I'm sure this is going to get interesting. He was just gonna tell us about. Oh, nope. So we'll try to get Matthew back on and continue this conversation because as you can tell, he's a very interesting person with a lot of fascinating ideas and he's. Let me just hold on here. All right. He's getting back on everybody and we want to hear about it. And he's also into bitcoin and I want to have him give you all an opportunity to hear about his thoughts about crypto and bitcoin too, because that's something I've been following for quite a few years and, and most of you've probably heard about it now and, or maybe dabbled in it or maybe invested in it. And so Matthew has also been very researched on it. And, and so I think he's got some, some very interesting thoughts and perspectives on, on that to share. So, and, and the homesteading information. I know him and his wife have, have a tallow company as well, a local tallow. They make tallow products. I believe they have some face creams and, and some other products that you can pick up either from him directly or I believe it's at one of the vendor malls. On Trent if you're here in Spokane Valley. So very interesting person and they also the homesteading information. I found out that Matthew was getting products from Azure Standard and so we had a whole conversation about it probably about a year ago. If you don't know about Azure Standard, it's a great company. You can get wholesome products, a variety of products, you know, food, groceries, staples, but also household items, detergents and stuff from. Oh, here's Matthew. So we're going to bring him back on. Hey, there you are. Oh, hold on Matthew, you're muted. [00:57:36] Speaker A: Hey, my, my four year old unplugged my router. [00:57:39] Speaker B: Oh, See that's what happens with a four year old. Yeah. All of a sudden you were, you were there and you were telling us about this letter from Mar A Lago and then you just froze. So I wasn't sure if it was me or you. So finish about this letter. [00:57:55] Speaker A: So I got a letter and it was just, it was just really cool. So I had sent him a board game hoping that maybe, you know, he would respond. And I included a picture on it so that, you know, he, it gives me some credibility. But I put a picture of, just taped on the board game of when I got to shake Donald Trump's hand. So when I was in the military I did, I did four years in the Air Force and when Donald Trump signed the Space Force into law, I was actually standing right behind him during that. And you can actually look it up on YouTube and it was 2019. [00:58:36] Speaker B: Oh shoot, I wish I would have had that queued up. That's pretty cool. [00:58:39] Speaker A: Yeah, well I have, because I have a, my proof is I have a pen here. Wow. It's a presidential Donald Trump pen. This is, is. And he had some extra pens on his desk after the event. But yeah, so I included that picture to just to kind of, maybe, maybe it would give me some, some points, you know, to, to, you know, whoever the security is opening the mail, maybe they won't throw it away or something and if they see that I've, I was in the military and I, I shook his hand one time. So yeah, that was fun. It was, it was a long process and but yeah, I'm just glad I finished the board game and maybe we could do a print a few more manufacture a few more if people are interested. [00:59:32] Speaker B: But maybe we just should have a board game at night and invite some other pcos, Matthew or you know, I, I like doing things like that. You know, it's like we don't do, especially after Covid like, it's like, just give us an opportunity to get together and, you know, have some awesome fun. But yeah, that. That's awesome. I mean, I just applaud you for having an idea and finishing it through. It actually reminds me of rich dad, poor dad. Do you ever hear of the cash flow game? [01:00:06] Speaker A: I know who. Yeah, I've heard. I didn't know he made a game, though. [01:00:12] Speaker B: Yeah, we had it. Oh my gosh. I. Probably 20 years ago, 25 years ago, I think we bought it. And so it. That. That's always kind of connected a dot for me and I don't know if it's anything like that, but it'd be fun to play. So I want to talk a little bit. I mean, I want to talk about some of the homesteading stuff and I mentioned when you were plugging back in your router that your 4 year old plugged that you guys had tallow products too that you sell. And so just share that real quick. And then let's talk about bitcoin. [01:00:47] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So my wife and I, we've been on this, you know, like a lot of people, I think there's a nutritional and health renaissance happening in this country. People are sort of waking up to a lot of the synthetic artificial ingredients that are either commercial waste products or they're just straight up poisonous and toxic to humans. And they're in our food, they're in our products that we use on our skin. And you know, when you become a parent, it. I really started thinking twice about like, what I put in my children's bodies, you know, what I'm feeding them and what, what type of skin care products we're using. And you know, you look on a label and a lot of these are industrial sludge. They're just chemical waste products from factories or something like that. And so we just started. It's a lot cheaper to make it yourself. And so we started making. Using beef tallow to make body butters, sunscreens, things like that. And people wanted some, so we started selling them. We've gone to some of the craft fairs at the high schools around here, and we've sold a lot of our products. It's called Handcrafted Home Northwest. We don't have a website or anything, but you can find us on Instagram and Facebook. So if you look up Handcrafted Home Northwest, you'll see it there and send us a message if you want to purchase any products. We do have a stand at the Great Northwest Vendor Mall on Trent. [01:02:36] Speaker B: Yes. [01:02:36] Speaker A: So like Trent and like Fancher, like near like Havana, like where the zips is, there's a vendor mall there and we have a stand in some of our products there, like lip balms, things like that, homemade candles that are organic and they don't have any, A lot of the, you know, toxins that are released, like the toxic fumes that a lot of candles have. So yeah, we started making that and it's just been great. [01:03:08] Speaker B: There's a big, there's a big need for it and especially local because it is expensive. I've ordered stuff, you know, from other people across the country and I actually was at that vendor mall and I saw those products, I'm like, oh, awesome. Had no idea it was even you until we talked, you know, a couple weeks ago. And so they're great products, so definitely look into that. And then I was talking a little bit about how you and I connected on Azure Standard. You know, getting a lot of these wholesome products and maybe just tell people a little bit about that because I think that is a great resource for people that I didn't even know about until a few months ago. [01:03:48] Speaker A: Yeah, so if people like, if you go to a grocery store nowadays, like it's, it's hard to find organic, fresh, locally, like good, good products that are natural and not harming to your health. Usually those are more expensive. So like you said Azure Standard, if you go to Azure, it's called a zure. If you just look that up on Google, you'll find their website, but it's basically an online food catalog. I think they sell other products too, but they source natural, non toxic products that you place an order and then you find a drop site in your neighborhood or around where you live and you know, the people who order it show up to the spot and they, sometimes they'll help unload the truck and you pick up the food. There's. And so they cut out a lot of costs because they don't have to pay for a storefront, they don't have to pay employees. It's like the users are the, the people who are sort of sustain this, you know, and they cut out a lot of costs. So yeah, we buy grain from, from them, which it's. Comes from local farms, it's organic. And you know, we mill our own flour, bake our own bread and it's been great. So I, I just feel a lot better about what we're eating in our household and what we're giving our children and yeah, there's a lot of great products there. [01:05:24] Speaker B: Yeah, we could have a whole show just on that because I know I've really, it's been a. I've been dabbling in this, well, honestly, since my son was diagnosed with autism, you know, 20 some years ago, and trying to understand, you know, what's going on and what's going on with our food. And man, we even milk cows there. For a while we had a share and, and some cows so we could get. But yeah, it's a really important. I think, like you said, so many people are looking into this and, and you know, raising your own chickens and so you can have your own eggs and just all of this. So it's super important. And like I said, we might have to just do a whole show on that because I've been dabbling into sourdough and I get flour, I get Italian flour so that I make sure that it doesn't have any, you know, it's not the hybridized seed and it doesn't have the roundup. Yeah, no, because it's outlawed in, in Italy as far. [01:06:25] Speaker A: There's a lot of people who, you know, the, the, they think they have a non celiacs gluten intolerance and they, they actually might. But then they go to Europe and they can eat all the bread and all the croissants, all the cake, all the, you know, I know more than just a couple people who have done that, you know, cheese. [01:06:47] Speaker B: And I just learned about cheese, about how there's a pfizer ingredient and 95% of our cheese in America. And I went to France, what was I, 23 years ago, and I've been dairy intolerant for a long time. Like my whole life, I could eat all the cheese I wanted. And now I'm wondering since I just learned this, like, does it have to do with that as well? Like this ingredient that's in our cheese? [01:07:14] Speaker A: Azure has a great selection of raw, sharp cheddar cheeses, and they're fantastic. That's why it's important to shop local too. I mean, you have to just. You might have to spend a little bit more. And that's just. But convenience is the enemy of your health, right? [01:07:35] Speaker B: Your health is so worth it. [01:07:36] Speaker A: And you're gonna save more money in the long run. Not being in hospitals and all these medications. If you just spend a little bit more now, take a little more time now, get rid of the macaroni and cheese and the cheez its and the Cheetos and all the, you know, just cutting out pop really is a big one too. Like you know, and not to say that you can't indulge and you got to be legalistic about it, but really, everything you eat today is a vote for who you want to be in the future. [01:08:10] Speaker B: Right. And if you understood the point, that's the junk that's in it. I mean, if you look at the ingredients and do some diving into that, you know, it's pretty horrific stuff, quite honestly. And so it's. It's not like you said, you're not. You don't have to be legalistic about it, but just do some research. And lately I've been seeing some people on my feed that are making root beer from scratch. And, you know, this stuff used to be good, right? Like, there was good ingredients that were, you know, sarsaparillas. My dad will always say that I need a sarsaparilla, but, you know, that stuff. There used to be good stuff in there. [01:08:48] Speaker A: Yeah. My wife, he made homemade ginger ale. Oh, fantastic. It's amazing. And it's. It's actually healthy for you. Yeah, there's a teeny bit of sugar, but it's actually healthy for you. [01:09:04] Speaker B: Do you use like a ginger bug? Because I've wanted to do that. Do you. Is that what you use to make that, which is like a fermented ginger? [01:09:12] Speaker A: Yes, yes, exactly. Then you add a little lime and some club soda in there, and it's amazing. [01:09:18] Speaker B: Okay. Count me. And I want it to be a taster. Well, I know I. I know you've got a hard stop at 12:30, Matthew. I really do want. [01:09:26] Speaker A: 12:40 is fine. [01:09:27] Speaker B: 12:40. Okay. I want. I want to get in this discussion about crypto because a lot of people, you know, don't know or maybe know a little bit or know a little bit to be dangerous. I'm probably in that category. I've actually known about crypto since 2017. I've dabbled in it. You are. Tell. Tell everybody. You are the local chapter lead of Pacific Northwest Bitcoin, is that right? [01:09:53] Speaker A: Yes. I actually started that organization with my brother. So it's just a community building organization. We teach free classes, we host social events. We are trying to bring the community together. And when I say community, I mean people who are bitcoin enthusiasts, who care about sound money, who care about freedom, and, you know, for the most part, they just want the government out of their lives. And so that's. That pretty much. That's the type of people we're dealing with. And people who want to preserve their wealth and they want to be protected from inflation. They're tired of seeing their hard earned dollars melt away like ice cubes. And so yeah, we, we start that. That's if people want to know more, they go to P N w b t c.com and so yeah, I could just kind of do a quick over overview about what bitcoin is and why it's attractive. [01:10:56] Speaker B: Yeah, why don't you? Because the decentralization, that's what attracted me to it. Yeah, I've known about some issues with our Federal Reserve system for a lot of years. But when you know, bitcoin kind of was exposed or I got exposed to it, the decentralization of it really attracted me and it made sense that, that this like that type of system is what was necessary for us to be more free than we are right now. So yeah, talk a little bit about it. [01:11:25] Speaker A: Yeah, the decentralization aspect is probably the most important and the reason it's attractive to you is because that's just the way nature and government and society is best functions. It functions when things are decentralized for the most part. I mean that's part of the reason why in the founding of this country, you know, the, the federal government was not down your throat. You know, local communities in your town was really the only thing you cared about. And then next it was your state and then maybe next it was the, the, the country. But people didn't know. People in Vermont and in Rhode island didn't know what was really going on in Georgia and Virginia. Like they just cared and maybe people were just happier about that. You. So like when, when there's this decentralized aspect, but like when one entity, the federal government, the Federal Reserve controls money. There's, they control everything. And so the why bitcoin is attractive to me is because they can't devalue my value or my money by reckless money printing. So for people that don't know the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department kind of working together, print money, there's the dollar bills that you have, right? Like they just print, print, print, print, print. And what does that do to the existing supply? Well, those become less valuable. It's the same reason why if you have one slice of pizza left, right? Like in a room for full of hungry people, that slice is worth a lot. But if you had 10 bajillion slices, they're not as valuable. And the same concept exists. And so, but the thing is we're trading our time, we're trading our labor for this paper money that can just be devalued over time. And it steals people's wealth. So people need to. People are trying to own things that don't lose their value. And the problem is all those other things that you can buy can be controlled. If you can buy gold, people can physically take it from you. You can buy a house, you can buy a property. The government can still, you know, there's still imminent domain laws where they can seize your assets. You can buy watches, you can buy things. And those things, they have their place. Right? But the problem is like there that you can still make more of those things. Right? Like, so bitcoin is a decentralized digital money. Decentralized meaning it's controlled by no one. Digital meaning that it's native to the Internet, it's native to computers, and that's, that's the part where people get a little scared. But it's money, okay? It can be exchanged for things you can buy. You can buy things with it. Now, not, you can't go to Walmart yet and spend your bitcoin. But like, I was just in Florida and steak and shake, I don't know if anybody knows what steak and shake is. It's kind of like a five guys type of place. And they accept bitcoin. They're a national organization. And I, I spent and I bought. I went there three times actually, and I. The food is really good. They started frying their french fries and beef tallow. [01:15:25] Speaker B: Yes. [01:15:28] Speaker A: And they accept bitcoin. So more and more places are accepting it as a form of payment. But it's those three things. It's a did decentralized digital money. And people, people need to know that it's limited in supply. So there's only going to be 21 million bitcoins. And you think, well, it's. Isn't it digital? Why? And yes, it is. It is limited, even though it's digital. And so that's kind of like a, you know, people need to understand what money is. Money is a technology. It's a tool that stores your time and labor so that you can redeem it in the future. [01:16:21] Speaker B: Yep. [01:16:22] Speaker A: Right. So I trade, maybe say I trade an hour of my time mowing a lawn and somebody pays me 20 bucks. I can wait a month and I'll take that $20 to the grocery store and I'll buy some apples. I traded not the money, but my time for those apples. I mowed a lawn and I eventually got apples. The money was an intermediary. It was a medium of exchange, and it allowed me to store my, my time and labor. So I Could redeem it at a later point in time. So money is a gift from God that allows people to carry value into the future. But what happens when a government entity can devalue the money before you spent it? Well, if money is stored time and labor, and they can devalue the money, they're not devaluing these little pieces of paper. They're devaluing your time and your labor. So now you have to spend more time, more hours, working harder to. To get more of this money, so to speak, Quote, unquote money. And that's not freedom. Right. We should, like with the, with the improvements and increase in technology, things should be getting cheaper because things are getting more automated. Things are, you know, costs are being cut. But no, what we see is that things are continuously getting more expensive. And it's not because the products are becoming better quality. It's because the dollar is losing its power. It's losing its purchasing power. Since not since 1913, the dollar has lost 98 of its purchasing power. [01:18:22] Speaker B: Yeah, and what happened in 1913, that. [01:18:24] Speaker A: Was the creation of the Federal Reserve. [01:18:27] Speaker B: Exactly. In this post. I saw this yesterday. And this shows, like, back even in 1950, the purchasing power of a dollar was a dollar. Look, that same dollar. Now the purchasing power is 7 cents to your point. [01:18:42] Speaker A: Yeah. So $1 today will get you what 7 cents could get you back in 1950. And that was at a time when the dollar was actually backed by gold. So it was. You could actually exchange your gold, I'm sorry, your, your banknotes at a bank, and they would give you gold for it. There it was pegged to gold. Well now, and since 1971, when Richard Nixon took us off the gold standard, you know, they can just print as much money as they want. They don't actually have to like, because before you could only print as much money as gold, you had in the, in the reserves. But they don't have a reserve anymore. So it's kind of an oxymoron to call it the Federal Reserve because there is no reserve. So it's fiat money. And fiat money basically means it's. It's Latin for let it be. So fiat money is only has value because the government says it has value. And I mean, if you study the 20th century through a monetary lens, it is no wonder why it has been the bloodiest century than all the 19 centuries combined. Because all these wars at the root are economic wars. All of them. [01:20:10] Speaker B: Yeah, there's a. There's a infamous video called all wars are Bankerish Wars. And if you haven't seen that, highly recommend. I, it used to be up on YouTube. I don't know if it still is, but definitely watch it. [01:20:24] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, because before any war, before fiat currency, it had to be funded with money that either the government had, it was backed by gold, or you had to sell war bonds. And so if it was a just war, like you were being invaded, the people would buy war bonds to fund it in wars usually didn't last beyond two or three years. [01:20:54] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:20:55] Speaker A: But now they don't need to sell war bonds, they don't need to tax people because they can just print the money. And then you get into these forever wars where they can be funded because they just print the money. [01:21:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:21:08] Speaker A: So with bitcoin, because there's a limited amount, because it's scarce, because you don't need it. So I should mention this, you don't need anybody's permission to use it. The, the banks, they, you know, they can seize your bank accounts, they can stop your wire transfer. But if I wanted to send bitcoin right now to somebody in China, I don't need any banks, I don't need any government permission. I, it can be, it's a peer to peer transaction and it's somewhat transparent. Right. [01:21:42] Speaker B: I mean, that's the other thing, right? [01:21:44] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. All the, all the transactions that will ever happen on the, in bitcoin are logged on the Bitcoin blockchain, which is a, is a continuous ledger dating back to its inception in 2009. And you don't know who sent who bitcoin, but you can verify that the bitcoin you receive is genuine because it's traceable on this ledger that is immutable. It can never change. And so it's open and decentralized because the users are sustaining the network and nobody can co opt it, nobody can take over it. You know, it's, it's, it's the biggest force for freedom I think we've ever seen in, in all of human history. And I don't, I'm not being hyperbolic, I actually mean that I think it's the most important thing happening in the world today. Return. And here's one thing you have to ask yourself. The most important question about bitcoin, you, you can ask is whose power and freedom is increased and whose power and freedom is decreased? The people's power and freedom are increased. The banks and social elites, the people who control money, their power and freedom is decreased. [01:23:17] Speaker B: Right. [01:23:18] Speaker A: It's like, it's like the Internet of Money. What did the Internet do for regular people? Like Joe Rogan with his phone can over the Internet has a bigger audience than all of the legacy media combined. Well, this is the Internet of money. It's going to do exactly what the Internet did to legacy media and like that. It's going to do the exact same thing to the banks. Yeah, you don't know. [01:23:50] Speaker B: And it can't be manipulated. That is the thing I understood about it as you're describing because it's not owned by anybody. So it can't be like manipulated. Like the, the, unfortunately the gold and the silver dollar, the, the price of those have been manipulated. Obviously we talked about the dollar being manipulated through inflation and printing of money. So it, it helps. It's this avenue of decor of the non corruption and decentralization. Now there's, I'm cognizant of our time too. This has been known as Crypto week this week because they're doing some legislation or Congress is looking to pass some bills to help ensure that crypto is, you know, able to withstand in the US and, and you know, work a lot of talk about XRP or Ripple and there's people. So, and this is what I wanted to ask you as well. There's people like you that are like man, it's Bitcoin and it's only Bitcoin. There's other people that are man, it's XRP and it's only XRP And I'm not sure where I fall there. I'll be honest, I have both. So talk. What is your perspective Matthew, on Bitcoin versus XRP since that that's so prevalent in the conversation this week? [01:25:17] Speaker A: Well, so yeah, XRP is the token that was created. It's a cryptocurrency that was created by Ripple Labs. And that's, that's enough to just end it for me. I don't even need to go beyond that. You know who created XRP and you don't know who created Bitcoin. And the mysterious creator no longer has control of the blockchain. It's now in the hands of the millions of miners, nodes and, and people who participate in the network. XRP is a token that you know, when at its creation, 50% of the supply is already owned by Ripple Labs. So who's benefiting from this? It's a, it's a centralized cryptocurrency that is liable to lawsuit and those lawsuits largely affect the price that. We saw this starting in 2020 when the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs. For selling an unregistered security. Why did they call it a security? And whereas Bitcoin is classified as a commodity, it's classified as property. And like, you can't sue Bitcoin. It's like saying, I'm going to sue the air or I'm going to sue Gold. You can't take Gold to court, but you could, you could take Ripple Labs to court work. And then the other thing about xrp, which I'll admit, I, I'm not a complete expert on it, but like if I wanted to participate in the Bitcoin network, I could buy a hard drive and I could download the Bitcoin core software onto, onto my computer and I could start participating in the network and I could broadcast, I could broadcast transactions from my node, my computer, and I could broadcast it to the blockchain myself. I don't need anybody's permission to do that. If you want it to become a UNL or a node, essentially, I think they call them validators in the Ripple XRP blockchain, good luck. There's only 35 UNL validators in the entire XRP blockchain or that, that govern it. And it's very unclear how a normal person can just participate in that. [01:28:28] Speaker B: Interesting. [01:28:29] Speaker A: So it's not like you can just set it up yourself. Whereas like, I could do that, I could download a copy of the ledger and I could start, I could start mining, I could start, I could become a node and I could broadcast my own transactions from my own computer. And it's just, it's very unclear how you do that in the XRP network. So it's not, it's not open to scrutiny, it's not open to participation. And the fact that the ripple Labs has 50% of the existing supply is very suspicious to me. [01:29:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:29:12] Speaker A: And you know, just as easily as it was created, you know, it's, it's still largely influenced by its creators who are lobbying for it's, it's adoption and it's, to me it's centralized and it's not. And that, and that just tells me it's, it's, it's not property, it's a security. And so why you would over Bitcoin, I really, I don't, I don't see a scintilla of evidence to suggest that it's, it's better than Bitcoin. They'll say, oh, we can process transactions faster and okay, like cool whoop dee doo. I mean, you know, Bitcoin has the lightning network, which is a, is a layer Two on top of the bitcoin blockchain, which can solve that. Bitcoin is owned by its owner and it's not susceptible to a creator taking over. It's taking over the network. [01:30:33] Speaker B: Yeah, so there's, there's a lot to learn about this, you know, this technology. And, and even though, like I said, I've been aware of it and dabbling in it since, since 2017, there's still just so much I don't understand. So Matthew, you, you provide a great opportunity for people to learn more at these meetings. So tell people again how they can get in contact with you to learn more about this or to, to participate in your meetings. [01:30:59] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So we are a bitcoin only group because we believe it's the only truly decentralized bitcoin cryptocurrency. And I don't even really like to use the word cryptocurrency. I, I just prefer saying bitcoin and that's go to pnwbtc.com or you can just follow us on X@pnwbtc. And yeah, reach out and we post events and you know, we had a pretty big Christmas party last year that was pretty sweet. And yeah, we, we invite people who are curious to learn more, but we just, we try to be upfront that, you know, we don't shell out, you know, support for, you know, things like Ethereum and XRP because we, we just don't believe in their core principles. And so. Yeah, but it is a, it is a good question. It's a good rabbit hole for people to go in. Because, because you know, when you start going down that path of questioning what is money, you start to see like this whole idea of like what is sound. Well, it's something that's real, right? Like bitcoin doesn't try to circumvent the natural laws of the universe like a lot of these other cryptocurrencies are. This is one thing I didn't mention and I know we're running out of time, but like gold is worth something, right? Because it takes real work to dig it up out of the earth, to purify it, to refine it. So when you, when you buy gold, that's kind of what you're buying. You're buying the work it took to, to, to create it. And that's part of what gives its value. That's part of what makes a hand weaved basket worth more than something that was just produced in a factory. Well, bitcoin requires real electricity, real energy, to create it. And that sounds interesting because it's like, well, isn't it digital? Yes, but it takes real electricity to. To create it. None of the other cryptocurrencies actually do that. They. They're just kind of poofed into existence. And when you circumvent this idea of reaping and sowing right, God is the only one who can create out of nothing. Okay? And you see that when the government just creates money out of nothing, it eventually becomes worthless. But things that take real work, work that. That represents something real. And in this case, it's the. The electricity and the work it took to mine. The bitcoin is also what contributes to his value. It doesn't circumvent this law of nature in. In physical reality. And so, yeah, what made me say that? But, yeah, pnw, btc. I'd be happy to talk to anybody. [01:34:15] Speaker B: About it and then tell people how else they can find you. You've got your Great Reassessment. How you have a channel for that as well, on X, Correct? [01:34:24] Speaker A: Yeah. So if you just on X, look up the Great Reassessment, I think it's at Great Reassess. That Great Reassessment was a little too long to have as a Twitter handle, but if you go to YouTube or Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and look up the Great Reassessment. Yeah, I've had a great slate of guests on that, on that show, and it's growing a little bit. So I'm. I'm happy about that and so follow. So, yeah, thanks for having me on. [01:34:54] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you for being on here, Matthew. Blessings on whatever is next, and hopefully we'll get you back on here and we'll touch base with you and. And see what else is coming up. We really appreciate you and honestly, thank you for standing up for. For what's right and being courageous and making us stand. We need more people like you doing that, especially teachers, to do the right thing. So, again, blessings to you and your family, and thanks for coming on here. [01:35:21] Speaker A: Yeah, thank you for taking the time to have me on and asking me such great questions. And, yeah, hopefully I didn't ramble too. [01:35:26] Speaker B: Much at the end there, but, no, it's great. Bitcoin and crypto is a huge conversation, so it's hard to condense it. So if you. If you want. Want to have more information, definitely look up Matthew on those different channels and he'd be happy to tell you more. All right, take care. Blessings, friend.