There is lots of hope in the Northeast. I know it sort of is the whipping region often, especially in states like Arizona where you got, you know, great policy that's being passed. You know, we're fighting a lot of things, but I'm encouraged because we're fighting for the residents of those states. We hear it constantly, whether it's New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, it's simply unaffordable to live in these states and these are government-created crises so we're we're there to really empower the people to make a difference in state houses across the northeast and we've been seeing that come to fruition whether it's in vermont where we've stopped some of the worst energy policies in the country uh or in maine where we pass great housing solutions New Jersey, where we're moving the ball forward, obviously a step back in an election. Americans are capable of achieving extraordinary things when they have the freedom and opportunity to do so. This is American Potential. Hey everyone, welcome to the American Potential podcast. I'm your host, David Frum. Well, if you like trivia, then you will like today's episode because it's our February installment of our 50 Stars, 50 Stories series, where we talk to state leaders from states that entered the union, in this case, in February. And it just gives us a great chance to talk about, you know, stories from states and the kind of little trivia and have some fun with different states. So, and for February, there were only three states that joined. The first was known for famous trials that were held back in the 1600s. Another had has the same name as a computer game that some of us played and we learned how deadly cholera was. And the last is known because millions of people travel there each year to go and look at the damage that a river has caused to rocks. Anyone have an idea of what states we're talking about today? Well, we are going to talk to Stephen Shattig, our Americans for Prosperity State Director in Arizona, and Ross Connolly, who's our Regional State Director for the Northeast States to kind of help us navigate this trivia a puzzle so let's get started the pressure is on yeah the northeast is is first in freedom for a reason we created america you're you're welcome we may have strayed from our path but yeah i mean yeah look i you know i'm from the northeast so i i have a little bias there and i i do love all the heritage of it as we come celebrate america's june's 50th birthday i i think there's there's we're going to focus up northeast for a lot of things but unfortunately they're not necessarily with the exception of, I know, your home state of New Hampshire, they're not really forging ahead with the pro-liberty policies that we'd like to see. They could use some correction, but they started off well. That's true. That's very true. You can hold on to that. All right. Let's get down to business. Two of the states we're talking about today both joined on Valentine's Day. One joined in 1859 and the other in 1912. Which two states are they? Arizona Arizona 1912 1912 Massachusetts Nope Not in 1859 1859 Should you phone a friend? The hint was There was a game That we might have played When we were younger And that was The state's name Was incorporated in It was very rudimentary Oregon Oregon there you go uh when did massachusetts join uh 1788 yes yeah quite a bit earlier 1620 they were founded as a colony uh in plymouth bay colony even before that but massachusetts bay colony was well you actually give away one of my you've already accomplished what was the first permanent english settlement in massachusetts founded in 1620 that's plymouth massachusetts so you can go Still to this day, you can go see Plymouth Rock. It's still there. It's very underwhelming. Really? Growing up watching Bugs Bunny or something, like cartoons, you always heard about Plymouth Rock. And I was always like, oh, I'd love to see. How big is it? It's a small rock. It's like right there. Yeah, it's right there. I mean, people take photos. There's a gate around it that you can go and look at the rock. There's some markings on it of when they landed, but it's just a rock. It's no Grand Canyon. Everything's bigger than the West. All right. We already got in touch with this. What famous 19th century trail was well known, but generations learned about it from a computer game that was played in school? Oregon Trail, you have died of dysentery. That was my childhood. The dysentery or the Oregon Trail? I hope not. A fun fact, by the act of Congress, the trail officially ran from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon. For settlers, though, it was a five-month journey from an old life in the east to a new one in the west. No two trips were the same. So some families jumped off from towns like St. Joseph or Council Bluffs, while others left directly from farms in Illinois and Missouri, joining the Oregon Trail wherever they could along the way. So very American, you know, kind of that manifest destiny. Yeah, it's the pioneer sphere of the west. So what famous, this should be a giveaway, 1692 witch trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts? Salem witch trials. Yeah. So between 150 and 200 people were jailed for witchcraft and ultimately 14 women and five men were hanged And one man was also crushed to death by rocks Very interesting If you go today, it's Halloween year round in Salem, Massachusetts. Really? I recommend visiting. It's an interesting town. And you can still go see the building where they held the trials, where the heads of Salem, Massachusetts, who did the trials, lived. So it's still there. You can visit it. It's a very old house. I imagine. So which Massachusetts University, founded in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States? That would be Harvard College, now Harvard University. Yep. It was a started as a religious school. Yeah. So my understanding is that it was a Puritan clergyman who donated part of his estate to start the school. They still have a John Harvard. So there's still a statue in Harvard Square. Nice. Nice. The first American lighthouse was built in 1716 on Little Brewster Island in which harbor? Hmm. Give you a hint. Boston Harbor? Boston Harbor. So all of us, I know we're going to be traveling up to Boston this year for our all-staff meeting. We'll broadcast from there. We're super excited to... I'm very excited to give people tours. We'll do the Freedom Trail. You go visit all the sites around Boston. You can go see every single house still exists. Even Thomas Paine where he wrote Common Sense is now a Chipotle. This is one of my favorite facts. so you can go see where where thomas pain wrote common sense and had his burritos in boston i do think boston is one of the great american cities it really has a unique character to it it's really cool you also when you go to those east coast cities realize how like on top of each other and not like symmetrical everything is it's like these cow paths that went this way in that way. And it's just, but it has a real, a cool feel to it. Doesn't make sense. You know, it's all cow paths, like you said. But as long as you're not driving around, Boston's a great, great city to the chagrin of the state government who tries to make it terrible. But it's a, it's a great city. Common theme for some of these Northeast states. All right. Which famous 1881 gunfight took place in Tombstone, Arizona? That'd be the shootout at the OK Corral. Yeah. With Wyatt Earp. Yeah. Yeah. Well, always one of my favorite movies from way back in the day, Tombstone. Very quotable. Yep. It's great. Great show. It's also a great town. Is it? Yeah. Yeah. You have to go there sometime. It's fascinating. Cool. I will. I should take my kids there. My boys will love it. Which Massachusetts city was the starting point of the American Revolution due to a certain tax on a drink? that was boston but i i will say before uh the boston tea party uh they were inspired by a group of woodsmen in ware new hampshire that was the first uprising against the british the pine tree riot in 1772 and then uh the tea party was 1773 i think the anniversary was at the time of this filming was was yesterday uh and they they do an annual celebration they dump it into the the boston harbor still to this day the boxes of tea well talking about the pine tree riot i had the good fortune of joining you and some of our colleagues for the pine tree riot uh event that we do every rafp chapter does every year up there and it's a super good time we didn't tarn feather anyone or ride anybody out on a rail i was very disappointed that year but maybe some people may be deserving eventually it's a little known part of american history but a lot of folks to this day say if it weren't for the woodsmen of new hampshire these these lumbermen uh it's likely we wouldn't have had at least the same time frame we wouldn't have had the revolution start when it didn't that's cool uh which arizona city is nicknamed the london bridge city because it has the actual london bridge that was bought in 1968 that would be lake havasu city arizona that is really correct yeah that's so random it is random i don't even know the story of how it came to be there i don't know if i know the story of how it came to be there um but it's uh it's been there for a long time and and it's a huge attraction for lake havasu city lake havasu city is also right there obviously on the border of arizona and nevada um and it's a very popular destination during spring break for folks to go visit. I've seen lots of boats tied up, videos of boats tied up. If you're on a trip for spring break with your family, I do not recommend a trip to Lake Heavisoo City to see the London Bridge. I would wait until maybe the winter or fall when the crowds have died down and there's a little bit more of a family-friendly atmosphere. Good advice. We are a PG. It's so random. I want to know how it ended up there. All right. What natural wonder in Arizona was carved by the Colorado River and became a national park? That would be the Grand Canyon. Yes. Yeah. So in 1857, the federal government funded an expedition to see whether the river could serve as a trade route. Army Lieutenant Joseph Christmas Ives, Christmas Ives led the mission becoming the first known European American to reach the river within the Grand Canyon. He attempted to steam up river on a 50 foot steamer but crashed below Black Canyon. And then he continued on entering the Canyon Diamond Creek now part of the Halupai Reservation All right Which planet now labeled a dwarf planet was discovered in 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona? That would be Pluto. And a local representative, Justin Wilmoth, actually just passed some legislation making it an official planet of Arizona. Wow. Yeah. That's, I mean, not only federalism issues, it's like Earth issues, I guess. That's pretty great. We have to consult the state planet of Arizona. I don't know if that's the one you want. Well, you know, Mark Kelly might have an issue with that, but we'll see what happens. Right. Those astronauts obviously know everything, right? Yep. All right. Which Oregon city is home to the deepest lake in the United States, which is 1,943 feet deep? I've never been to Oregon, so I don't know. I have, but I'm... it's called crater lake national park uh what volcanic peak visible from portland on clear days is the second most climbed mountain in the world after mount fuji mount hood yes i snowboarded there really in fact yeah one of two volcanoes that's awesome i just think volcanoes are cool yeah and you can snowboard uh mount uh kea in hawaii at certain times but mount hood you can do year-round well so arizona is one of the only places in the u.s where four states meet at one point what are the other three states so outside of arizona that'd be colorado utah and new mexico right is that where they have that spot where you can like four corners almost there and i didn't actually go to and i regret that i didn't because i was up near there and it's a lot like Plymouth Rock. All right. Which U.S. state does not observe daylight savings time along with Hawaii? Which if you all go back in our episode library, you may have seen Stephen Shattig joining us to discuss this. Which is why Arizona is the best state in the West. That'd be Arizona. With the exception of the Navajo Nation, they do observe it. True. Which is interesting. All states should get rid of it. Yes. Or permanent daylight savings so that it's not dark at 3 o'clock in New Hampshire. I agree with that. What is Oregon's official state nut that was adopted in 1989? It's the hazelnut. The state produces 99% of U.S. hazelnuts. Who knew? I didn't know that at all that's a lot of hazelnuts what iconic Thanksgiving food was likely not on the menu at the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth in 1621 turkey nope I mean there's a whole lot that was not on the menu I actually read during this past Thanksgiving that there was actually Thanksgiving like activity in it might have been Georgia or South Carolina early on with Native Americans. Some people believe it migrated up there. I don't know. What is the official state dessert of Massachusetts? Official state dessert? Give me a hint. There's a major city. Boston cream pie? Ding, ding. Yes. Which Oregon-based company founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports is now the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes? Nike. Nike, yes. Which Massachusetts island is famous for its gingerbread cottages and oak bluffs? Martha's Vineyard? Yes. What is the only U.S. state flag that has a different design on the front and back? Hmm. I didn't know this. Oregon? Yeah. Yeah, they have the state seal on the front, and then on the back, they have a beaver. Oh, interesting. Yeah. all right arizona's capital phoenix is the largest u.s state capital and the hottest major city in the u.s what is the average july high temperature average light temperature is gonna be like one we have 106 107 all right still unbelievably crazy hot and uh but it's a dry heat It's dry heat. It's wet. It's hot. Yeah. We survived the summers there. You guys survived the winters. Right now, it's like 80 at home. Yeah, I must say, we flew into Phoenix last week. Again, went down to the border. We've talked about that on the show here. And it was nice to be coming from the Chicago area. It's nice to feel the sun on your skin again. That's what warmth is like. It was really nice. Well, guys, I appreciate you doing all the trivia. You guys actually really good. That was pretty cool. I'm pretty happy with the results. We'll do the tabulations with your colleagues who have joined and see who the winners are eventually. Steven, so just talk to me a little bit about, you know, you lead AFP Arizona. What are some of the things that you guys have been working on and are going to be working on this next year? Yeah, so I think one of the most pressing issues that we're seeing across the country that really has been compounded in Arizona is our housing crisis. The average cost of housing in Arizona is now up to almost half a million dollars. Average age is 40. And that's just something that we've got to focus on. And it really is, it's a problem that has been spurred from quite frankly, somewhat of a good result of a lot of people coming to Arizona for opportunity in business and semiconductors But it just something I think we didn see the growth in So going to have a priority of addressing the housing issues and then also focusing on energy Water's always been a big issue in Arizona. One of the kind of misconceptions is with our semiconductor plants, lots of data centers are coming on which need energy. And so focusing around small modular nuclear plants and starting to get those up so we can actually have the energy for it. And then also educating on the, what I'd say, the use of water with those data centers and making sure that the record's correct on how much that actually is used versus what people think is being used. Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, we hear a lot about data centers because, you know, between the cloud and AI, we just, we need the ability to, you know, to have that data capacity. But there's, data centers kind of got a bad rap, I think. And there's been a lot of sensationalistic stuff that I think kind of the truth. you know i was talking to chris koopman who's been on from the abundance institute and he always says you know it's not just ai it's like do you like being able to pull up your grandkids pictures on your phone well that requires data and uh we consume more and more of it so i think figuring this out is a is an important thing we we have plenty of energy in the country we just need to go and harvest it yeah but there's all you know there's a lot of local and state governments are really facing this challenge. So good luck to you guys there. Thank you. So Ross, you have a myriad of states in the Northeast that you cover. What are you most excited about coming up next year? I mean, there's lots of hope in the Northeast. I know it sort of is the whipping region often, especially in states like Arizona where you got, you know, great policy that's being passed. You know, we're fighting a lot of things, but I'm encouraged because we're fighting for the residents of those states. We hear it constantly, whether it's New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, it's simply unaffordable to live in these states. And these are government-created crises. So we're there to really empower the people to make a difference in state houses across the Northeast. And we've been seeing that come to fruition, whether it's in Vermont, where we've stopped some of the worst energy policies in the country, or in Maine, where we pass great housing solutions, New Jersey, where we're moving the ball forward, obviously a step back in an election. But we're still encouraged that there's a lot of innovation and good policy that we can get done in the Garden State as well. Well, as a former Garden State resident, I'm very appreciative for your efforts there. It warms my soul. I was talking to one of our state leaders from New Mexico on a previous episode, and so often in states that have really trended progressive and really haven't embraced pro-freedom policies, so often it's just leadership that's out of step with the values of their people, really. You know, and so I think one of the roles that AFP can really play in those cases, especially is to highlight the bad leadership and the bad policy that's hurting and harming the, you know, whether it's affordability or whatever it is in that state and trying to say to people, hey, you can make a difference here. Like, let's find your voice, join with us so that we can try to make some real change. Yeah. And I mean, we've seen that happen. I know Vermont, you know, most people view it as one of the bluest of the blue states. But last election, there was 52 Democrat to Republican state legislative seats that flipped in the 2024 election. 26 of those were in the state of vermont so they they went they vote for bernie they'll vote for their their federal folks but they know what's causing their utility bill increases their tax increases they've had uh property tax increases upwards of 40 percent every single year for the past three years um so we're giving a voice to those those folks we have a great governor and governor phil scott but we have to you know there's still a an unaligned legislature that we need to get to see the light and we're getting there yeah well i know i've been on your radio show and i appreciate you having me on so if anyone wants to listen to ross connelly how do they how do they find you you can tune in it's on spotify it's the vermont viewpoint with ross connelly every wednesday you can also go to wdevradio.com and listen to any of our programming live there's always great folks I sort of am in the middle of we have another conservative host and then the former lieutenant governor is the Thursday host but we have a lot of interesting conversations with like national topics as well as state topics cool well Ross, Stephen I really appreciate you guys playing the game, trivia game but also tell us a little about like what's coming up in your, in your great state. Hopefully we pass. Yeah. I expect a prize from this, David. It's always fun. Well, you know, Matt, the Matt, the engineer will get you your prizes on the way. So, all right. Well, Hey folks, if you liked this episode and would like, like to stay connected with the podcast, be sure to like, and subscribe to us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. And always remember liberty and freedom are easily taken for granted. Don't take for granted. Go out there and defend freedom and liberty. Thanks for joining us and we'll see you on the next episode. Thank you for listening to American Potential. You may listen to more stories from Americans working every day to expand freedom and opportunity in their communities by visiting AmericanPotential.com.
