“Transparency doesn’t divide. It builds the bridge between belief and trust.”
🎧 Opening Reflection
Growing up, there was a phrase I heard more than once:
“The buck stops here.”
It meant that a leader didn’t pass the blame.
Didn’t dodge questions.
Didn’t hide behind a wall of words or a press secretary.
Our leaders knew the buck stops with them.
Somewhere along the way, that phrase vanished—from town halls, from Capitol Hill, from too many of our leaders.
What replaced it?
Deflection, Dodging, Question or Comment Screening Boxes. Forms. Submissions. Scripts. Carefully curated answers to questions never fully asked.
And with that shift, we started losing something precious: trust.
🪟 When Leadership Hides
We’ve all seen it.
You show up to a public event, and you’re told:
“Please write your question on an index card and drop it in the box.”
“Submit your comment online—we’ll follow up later.”
But when? And how? And will anyone actually answer?
And if they do, it often sounds like this:
“We’re looking into that.”
“We appreciate your concern.”
“We’re committed to a safe and prosperous future for all.”
Platitudes.
Words that float above the question without ever touching it.
That’s not transparency.
That’s camouflage.
📬 A Letter to My Senators—And What I Got Back
On May 27, 2025, I sent a letter to both of my U.S. Senators—John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis.
I wasn’t asking for a favor.
I wasn’t speaking as a partisan.
I was standing up as someone who took the same oath they did—to defend the Constitution.
I wrote to oppose Section 70302 of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—a provision that would strip the courts of their ability to enforce lawful orders unless a bond was posted.
It was buried in a budget bill. It was written to retroactively neuter court decisions. It was dangerous.
I wrote:
“Strip it from this bill. Do not remain silent while a co-equal branch is quietly handcuffed.”
I asked why this was even in a budget bill. I warned that without enforcement powers, courts become ornamental.
I appealed to their honor. I asked them to speak.
And here’s what I received in response from Senator Barrasso:
Dear Jimmy,
Thank you for contacting me. It is good to hear from you.
I appreciate hearing your thoughts on the budget reconciliation legislation. On May 22, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The legislation blocks a $4 trillion tax increase, secures our borders, and unleashes American energy. It reduces harmful regulations and eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs.
The Senate is now working to ensure the bill meets the needs of the American people. As the Senate considers H.R. 1, please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me.
John Barrasso, M.D.
United States Senator
From Senator Lummis, I received nothing at all.
🪞 A Non-Answer Is an Answer
Let’s be clear:
This wasn’t a reply to my concern.
It didn’t mention Section 70302.
It didn’t address the judiciary.
It didn’t even acknowledge the oath we both swore.
It was a form letter—a ghost note from a ghost of leadership.
And the silence from Senator Lummis? That’s not just a missed opportunity.
It’s an absence of duty.
We have fallen far, haven’t we?
Not because of one vote.
But because too many in power have forgotten that the buck still stops somewhere.
🛠️ What Real Transparency Requires
Real transparency isn’t about optics.
It’s about ownership.
It means standing in the light—especially when the answer might not be popular.
It means saying:
“I don’t know, but I will find out.”
“Yes, I voted that way—and here’s why.”
“I failed to act, and I regret that.”
We don’t need perfect leaders.
We need honest ones.
🧱 Building the Bridge, One Truth at a Time
Transparency is a bridge—but it’s not built with slogans. It’s built with:
Open records
Direct answers
Public meetings that allow for real questions in real time
And when we build that bridge?
We close the gap between cynicism and participation.
Between silence and speech.
Between belief and trust.
📖 The Buck Stops Where?
That sign—“The buck stops here”—hung on Harry Truman’s desk in the Oval Office.
He didn’t invent the phrase. He borrowed it—from a poker table in the American West. Perhaps it hung in the old Virginian in Medicine Bow or the Cowboy Saloon in Laramie.
Its original meaning was simple:
Don’t pass the buck. Don’t dodge responsibility. Don’t deflect.
And Truman kept that sign on his desk to remind himself—and us—that leadership means answering to the people.
Today, too many elected officials treat that sign like a slogan from a forgotten era.
But we haven’t forgotten.
And we’re not going to.
🧭 Transparency Is the Answer to Cynicism
We live in a time when trust is in short supply.
The cure isn’t marketing.
It’s truth.
The truth may be uncomfortable. It may be slow.
But it builds. And what it builds is stronger than popularity.
It builds faith.
🎧 Closing Thought
In Episode 5, we’ll explore what real strength means—not in soundbites or power plays, but in the quiet courage to do what’s right when no one’s watching.
Until then—thank you for asking the hard questions.
Thank you for refusing to accept silence as leadership.
And thank you for helping us build the bridge—one honest answer at a time.
This is us. Still listening. Still standing. Still stronger together.
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