Jesse Jackson Junior. Welcome forward to the Jesse Jackson Junior Show. This is Moving Mountain Mondays with none of the de Reverend Terry Hoard Owens, General Minister and President of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ in the United States and Canada. An author and advocate for the church living on its calling. She is the first person of color and second woman to lead the denomination since her election in twenty seventeen. Reverend Hoard Owens's ministry actively reflects the Disciples priority of being an anti racist church, being a movement for wholeness, welcoming all to the Lord as God has welcomed us, keeping with the disciples historic commitment to Christian unity. She serves in leadership at the National Council of Churches as the Treasurer of the Governing Board and a member of the World Council of Church's Central Committee. Madam President, Welcome forward to the Jesse Jackson Junior Show and to your show, Faith not the Fall on Moving Mountain Mondays. Good afternoon, so good to be with you. It's always a pleasure, Madam President. Some really interesting news coming out of the Gates Foundation. Bill Gates has set a timeline and a time limit on the United States and the world within the next five years, entering into a dark age. You can imagine the Dark Ages was a very, very difficult period for Christianity, Christianity, for theology, and for world religious systems. Madam President, your thoughts on the prediction of Bill Gates. Sadly, I think there is far too much truth in it. His own efforts have, for example, really reduced the threat of malaria in parts of the world that are underdeveloped economically. USAID people talk about it being a form of soft power. It was one of the key agencies that our church's ministries worked with around the world, and it may have been December of twenty three, I guess it was. I spent a day in DC actually working with a lot of faith based organizations and folks for USAID, kind of doing some lobbying around worldwide, aid to Haiti, Sudan, Ethiopia, so many places where we are seeing children literally starving to death, where very simple things like a peanut paste right that just a few licks of that would be able to help nourish babies around the world. We do not prioritize being kind and saving the lives of humans around the world unless there is some sort of economic benefit to the United States. We talked last week about how you know. Marco Rubio even said, this is about America's interests first and then the people of Venezuela. So we are willing to let people around the world die. Children in particular will be most impacted if the United States can't see its own economic interests being privileged. We've gone from understanding that our humanity to other human kind is one of the ways that we can even project and promote our own influence to saying it's not worth the money we need to send bombs and planes and ice agents in order to establish who we are, and we no longer care about what's happened. It's I don't think we're too far from it, Madam President. When you think about the two hundred and fifty year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and of course the magnificent words Martin Luther King Junior referred to penmanship of Thomas Jefferson that all men are created equal, and of course Elizabeth Caddy Statton, men's that language to say all men and women are created equal. And you look at the if you will the zenith of the American experiment, experiment with all that it's been through, maybe the zenith is from nineteen fifty four to the election of Barack Obama, and now we're already talking about dark age. I'm wondering in this moment, is a dark age avoidable or is it, from your perspective, inevitable. I don't think it's inevitable. But it will require a lot of us, a lot that we're really not used to giving. It will require a kind of coalescence, different kinds of coalitions then we're used to building, both those that have served us well in the past, but new kinds of coalitions, and it will require even the courage I think, particularly of corporate interests. Bill Gates has been amazingly silent about the evil that we've been seeing coming out of the Trump administration, and he will talk about this impact of money around the world. But if he and other corporate leaders were to coalesce and to say that what we stand for, even as economic engines in this country, is that we want to have positive impacts on the communities that we serve. We want to have positive impacts on the communities around the world. Because it's self serving really to want a healthy world in order to build a healthy world markets, but I don't see corporations and being strong enough to come and say that. We have to shake up a lot of church folk, a lot of people of faith and all traditions who are afraid to speak out saying all the church shouldn't be involved in politics. We've got to build coalitions in a way we've never built them before. I'm Jesse Jackson Jr. This is moving Mountain Mondays and the Faith not the Fall with Reverend Terry Hoard Owens. More coming forward on k B l a Talk fifteen to eighty with the President and General Minister of the Christian Church, the Disciples of Christ in the United States and Canada. More when we come forward on k B Late Talk fifteen to eighty. I'm Jesse Jackson Jr. Welcome back to the Jesse Jackson Junior Show on k BY Lay Talk fifteen eighty. Madam President, Reverend Teresa Terry hord Owens is the President and General Minister of the Disciples of Christ Church here in the United States and in Canada. Is our very special contributing host during this period. Madam President, welcome forward to the show. Well, thank you, it's always good to be here. Madam President. I don't think there's a person with a bigger heart in the philanthropic community than Bill Gates. He just gave his wife an additional eight billion dollars to her private finance, to her private philanthropic foundation, in large measure because he is particularly proud and excited about the resources that she has been providing to historically black colleges and universities and making missus Gates's foundation one of the premier funding mechanisms for black education, black college and advancement, not only in the United States, but quite frankly in the history of the world. Your thoughts on this season of giving, particularly in light of the DOGE cuts and administration that seems to be turning its back on its historical commitments to overcome negative action against minorities. I'm thrilled with not only Melinda Gates, but also for her ability to leverage that divorce get to get what she needed. There was a line in that that old movie The First Wives Club, where Evonna Trump is uh has just divorced Donald Trump. As she's telling these women in the movie what to do, she says don't get even get everything. Uh And I feel that uh Melinda Gates here, she didn't get everything, but she got what she needed and what her focus was on. And of course what she's already done with HBCU contributions is certainly uh stellar, building up not only the sustainability of those institutions, but reinforcing the notion that those institutions are legitimate educational institutions in our country and are necessary to a healthy society. And Bill learned about philanthropy from Warren Buffett, who apparently just recently retired I think last week, and Warren is given away, you know, most of his wealth. Scott, what's her name, Melinda Scott, Jeff Bezos's ex wife, also has been making huge gifts with the settlements that and the money that she's obtained in the divorces. So we don't have enough capacity, I don't think, as I tell people all the time, the faith community cannot fill these gaps. We don't have that kind of capacity. And maybe multiple Bill Gates might come close to doing this, but again we've got to have coalitions and courageous people. Statistics tell us there are more billionaires than ever before, but where are their priorities. Are they building ultra megayachts the way Jeff Bezos is doing. What are they doing with their money? How are they focusing their bounty for the good of others, which really serves us all. We've lost that sense of My pastor Indianapolis used to say, Lord, Lord, make me rich so I can bless somebody. And I promise you if I were rich, that's exactly what I would do. But we've lost those values that would say, let me take what I have because God has blessed me, allowed me to be a blessing. And even if you don't have a faith perspective, just the idea of sharing and doing what is good for your common humanity. If we had more million billionaires, like the fact that you can give away eight billion and still okay that is that's just amazing. It wouldn't take that much to replace a lot of what's happening with Doge. But if more of these people have these kinds of priorities, we could do it. The faith community, churches doing what they can in their neighborhoods. It's just not enough. You know, I am in the civil religion of the United States. I see paying taxes as a form of tithing. So it's very hard for me to let the entire burden for all that's wrong in society to be left to any five ozho one c three, let alone multi billion dollar five oh one seed threes. And I'm not suggesting or knocking that they're not doing good work. If Melinda Gates called me tomorrow I set up a black college, yes, I'd be very grateful, and you could do that well, sir, you could do that or point her in the direction of some that need to be funded. But to my pool, when I pay my taxes, you know, I expect the government to feed hungry people with it. I mean, you know. Warnock says that a vote is a kind of prayer that we cast for the world that we want to build. But that's the way I see taxes. I see taxes as a form of paying it forward, building good schools, teaching children multiple languages. My contribution to civilization are the taxes that I pay. I did not pay, And maybe we should find a way to designate what is in where my tax dollar goes. For example, I did not want my tax dollars to build the Gerald R Forward US aircraft carrier, the largest in the world, and presently in the career, I'd like my money to go towards providing for the least of these people who don't have much. And so increasingly we are relying upon the private sector to do what government of for and by the people is supposed to do to keep our country civilized. Do that makes sense. Absolutely, And the reason that our budgets are in such great deficits, federal budgets is because this wealthy and ultra wealthy are not paying their fair share. We have enough in this country, as you say all the time, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. If everyone pays their share, their proportionate share, we have enough so that people can earn jobs that allow them to provide for their families, that allow them to live in housing that's safe and clean and comfortable, warm in the winter, cold in the summer. To send children to public schools that don't vary in terms of resource is based on your zip code. You know. I have a family member who lived in Northbrook and they took their child out of a Christian school and put them in a public school. And it's like, oh, my goodness, Northbrook. Here we are. Every child gets a chromebook. Every child. Oh, public school is great. I said, public school depends on where you live. It's wonderful in Northbrook. But take a neighborhood in Englewood six six to eight zip code. I hear these days they may get chromebooks, but they don't have all the science facilities, they don't have the books. They can't pay the teachers that they need. They're robbing Peter to pay Paul. Every time we turn around, and other neighborhoods, the kids are. It's an embarrassment of riches. That's not what this country was built on, they say. Right, So I'm always saying, let's be who we say we are. Let's be the church we say we are, Let's be the country we say we are. But everybody should be paying their fair share. And if nothing else, to see it as a return for the opportunities that you say, oh, everybody can make it the United States. Well for those opportunities, you go it back to this society to make sure that everyone else has those same opportunities. Better. President, speaking of opportunities, just a few months ago, or a little less than a month ago, we saw eight Democrats essentially bolt the Democratic Party to end the government shutdown to the dismay of the resistance movement in the United States, to ensure that the Affordable Care Act would not be sidelined. An interesting coalition of Democrats and Republicans came together to pass the Affordable Care Act in the House of Representatives with a three year extension this past week, and now we have GOP senators reviving Obamacare and calling it putting America first. Ernest Krim in the last hour said, what a difference to day makes your thought on the new movement amongst Republicans and where you think the heat is coming from. I think the heat is coming from their constituents long ago, when people were lobbying and advocating against. I call it the horrible awful bill, not the big beautiful bill, the horrible awful bill. Statistics tell us that by the numbers, First of all, there are more people on Medicaid than there are black people. It's the percentage of black people on Medicaid that draws the attention. But there are more people in red states who are being hurt by the removal of these subsidies. In this ridiculous exponential increase in healthcare premiums, and I think it is their own people who are finally getting through to them to help them understand that this is not a Democrat or Republican issue. It's not a right or left issue. This is a matter of right versus wrong and people being able to have health care because if people can't go to the doctor, people are paying thousands of dollars in premiums and can't go to the doctor, can't get their medication. I mean, if I didn't have health care, I'm a diabetic, I would be able to afford the medication that I have to take if I had to just pay it out of my own out of my own pocket. You know, insulent some forms of insulin cost one thousand dollars a month without And as much as people talk about ozempic for weight loss, that drug was initially approved for diabetics and you couldn't get it because people could pay the one thousand dollars for weight loss. We're getting it, but we've really got to listen and the people have to start speaking up. And I think that's what's happened with some of these GOP senators who are finally hearing and paying attention. I heard Ernest say in the first hour, it is the Affordable Care Act. They called it Obamacare in order to try to denigrate it. But it's the Affordable Care Act, and if there are issues with it, then they've never offered a solution. As much as they've tried to destroy it, they haven't offered anything to make it better. Health Care insurance in this country was designed as a force for good. It was never designed to create profit for health insurance companies. And having spent some time with the Blue Cross Blue Shield system, I repent because there was a time when I would get bonuses, I would get bonuses healthcare. I was there during that time when Blue Cross went from being a nonprofit to a for profit enterprise all across the country, with Anthem being the initiator of consolidating a lot of these Blue Cross plans and moving towards for profit. We've got to also not just pass laws for subsidies. We've got to do some tough work. And again, this is what's going to call for some courageous corporate citizens to understand we got to change the healthcare system in order to make it affordable for the American people. It should not be the case that people are making billions and billions of dollars on the backs of people who can't afford to go to their doctor. I was reflecting upon the work that I did while I was in Congress, and I did this Google search, and I'm encouraging those who can hear my voice to do this Google search right now. If you ask Google the right question, AI will act provide a fairly fascinating answer. This is a question I need to ask Google. What is the difference between Jesse Jackson juniors constitutional right or health care of equal high quality for all Americans and the Affordable Care Act and the single payer health care system? What is the difference between Jesse Jackson Junior's constitutional amendment guaranteeing every American the right to health care of equal high quality and the Affordable Care Act and the single payer health care system. When you hear the answer, you're going to be baffled by what Democrats and Republicans have ultimately been doing by calling both of these things rights when in fact they are not. The answer will be I think nothing less than astounding for those of you who have time to just Google search that I'm Jesse Jackson Junior listening to Jesse Jackson Junior show we are moving this mountain on Monday, the Faith not to fall with Reverend Doctor Terry Horde Owens, the President and General Minister of the Disciples of Christ Church more on KBLA Talk fifteen eighty. When we come forward with Terry Horte Owens, I'm Jesse Jackson Junior on this the sixteenth anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti where more than three hundred thousand people perished. Our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our soul and our pocketbooks books should continue to support all of these organizations that are doing the work on the ground in Haiti. In this the sixteenth anniversary of the most devastating earthquake in the country's history. Before the break in, before I bring our very special contributor back on, I asked the question, what is the difference between Jesse Jackson Junior's constitutional right to healthcare of equal high quality and the Affordable Care Act and the single payer healthcare system. And this is what artificial intelligence says. The primary difference is that Jesse Jackson Junior's proposal was for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee healthcare as a fundamental enforceable right, while the Affordable Care Act is a federal statute that uses market mechanisms to expand health insurance access, and a single payer system is a specific funding model for universal health care that is not currently in the law in the United States. The Jackson proposed amendment to the US Constitution, which stated that all persons shall enjoy the right to health care of equal high quality, was never passed. If ratified, it would establish health care as a fundamental, inalienable human right, placing an affirmative obligation on the government to ensure its provision, potentially overriding state laws, and making equal high quality a legal standard. It aimed to create permanent foundation guarantee that transcends political changes Democrats, Republicans and various congresses and legislative acts, and lastly, but not limited in essence, jackson junior proposal was about establishing an unquestionable legal foundation for healthcare as a right. While the ACA is just a law that increases access to insurance, and a single payer system is a funding mechanism for universal coverage. Democrats and Republicans both have been missing the point. I'm Jesse Jackson Junior, and this is the faith not to fall with Reverend doctor Terry Hoard Owens on the Jesse Jackson Junior Show, The Jay Lunch Club Program. Reverend Owens, welcome forward to the show. Thank you, and I just man. I entered at Google search and got a very similar answer. I this is perhaps the human rights issue of the next decade. Seriously, I just know too much about the workings of healthcare insurance and I having worked with it, lived with it, helped prosecute fraud in it, et cetera. There's just too much that we need to do, and I think guaranteeing that right with a constitutional amendment is exactly the step that we need to take. The United States remains the only quote unquote developed country in the world that does not have some kind of comprehensive single payer system. And my grandma used to call things that she thought were just incompetent, evil, bad. She would just say it's pitiful. And I hear Grandma Jesse saying right now, it's pitiful. It's just pitiful. I think we're going to have a surprise guest on the show in just a few moments to comment on some thoughts about Haiti. But before we get to that, guest, I did want to ask you the question about about Donald Trump's efforts to remove the Federal Reserve Board chairman. And as you know that it acts mortgages, it impacts credit cards, it impacts loans, it impacts everything disproportionately for women, particularly African American women, but certainly for the poor in our nation payday lending. It impacts every single interest rate known to our system. Your concern, Madam President, about the idea that the better Reserve Board could end up being compromised under the Trump regime. My concern is that we know that Trump's concerns are not for ordinary people. He seeks to enrich banks and other financial institutions who, as we saw with the financial crisis that Barack Obama had inherited, part of the problem was lack of accountability. I was glad to see mister Powell in the news today putting out a statement in a video and indicating that he doesn't intend to remain silent the longer that corporate and economic interests are complicit, either vocally or silently. We stand in with the real possibility that are systems of accountability, which is required in a democracy. We can't have rights and liberties without balancing that with accountability to one another in the broader society. So that's my concern and that's my fear. But I am grateful to see that mister Powell has come to understand that being silent is not right now the diplomatic or appropriate thing to do right now. If you believe in anything, if you believe in these rules, in these norms, in the law, the rule of law, and the Constitution, you must speak up or you will be complicit with their destruction. Our very special guest during this show is now Millie Phaeton. Milli is a Jesse Jackson Junior Show number one contributor from Hat on the Ground. Milli, how are you. I'm doing well, how are you great? Thank you million Millie. We have about three minutes before we come forward. Can you share with us how the people of Haiti are handling this sixteenth anniversary since the devastating earthquake. Yeah, it's always a bittersweet time. Obviously, it was definitely a devastating time for the Haitian that this war just everywhere across the world, Like Haitians are spread across the world, So we remember it every January twelfth, especially in light of all that's still happening in Haiti today with the gang taken over Port of Prince. So you know, we're fighting to get it, get our country. Back to what it once was, a place where Haitians all over and and and really just all kinds of cultures came and enjoyed our country. It's a beautiful country. If you haven't been, there's still parts of Haiti that are very safe to go to, so I encourage everybody to visit places. La Capati, which is the second largest city in Haiti outside of Porta Prince, still very much a city that is welcoming nations and festivals happening all the time. But we're fighting to get the capitol back to what it once was. Billy, you went to Haiti in twenty ten during that period, can you share with us what you saw? We have about just two minutes before we come forward. Yeah, just you know, devastations, I mean all over almost gosh, close to three hundred thousand lives lost, about a million people displaced, So just a devastating site to see, especially and again in a city that was so vibrant at one time. But I got to spend about three months there, just trying to meet the needs of the people, which the biggest needs was was tense and stuff at the time, and so you know, we continue to try to send resources because obviously it's still a lot a lot of people that are displaced now in light of the gang activity that's been happening. We have about a minute and thirty seconds before we come forward, Madam President, Do you have a question of Millie Paton? Yeah, I just want to, I guess perhaps ask how best can organizations like mine. I lead a multiracial denomination, Disciples of Christ, and we partner with a lot of ministries there on the ground, how best can people of faith continue to support There's certain organizations you recommend or not recommend. Yeah, absolutely absolutely. I think one of the best organizations is Hope for Haiti. You can find them, you know, online. And then there's another organization led by doctor Bershud. You can find her online too, and I can send the links to the show. Those are the two go to that I always send people to. They've been vetted, they've been just long standing supports and stuff on the ground and Haiti way before the earthquake happened and stuff. So those are the two that I always send people to. Millie. I hope you'll stay with us. I'm Jesse Jackson Junior listening to the Jesse Jackson Junior Show on k BLA Talk fifteen eighty. We're getting a report from the ground in Haiti. I know that Millie is probably here in the United States at this point. But more on k BLA Talk fifteen eighty when we come forward on the sixteenth anniversary of the earthquake, earthquake and Katie that killed nearly three hundred thousand. Mister Jackson Junior show, this is not all with rev and Terry Howard Cohens. He has our hash just for another moment or two, maybe you have another question you like to. Ask, Sure, can you educate us on what's happening with Haitians and TPS. What's been the impact of that and are there other ways in which we when we engage advocacy to change that situation. Yeah, that TPS protection it is said to be expiring every work. So you know, the biggest resources have been attorneys who are trained. Really, you're breaking up just a little bit. Really, you're breaking up just a little bit. So that's that's the biggest resource that we need, So you know, we're we're asking our community to take don't know. I think I think we have a really I think we have a connection I'm going to have. But I think I think she said that the one of the biggest challenges that she has had and they have had us with the temporary protective status. Did you want to expound upon that, Yeah, And I think I heard her say that that legal resources are one of the biggest needs, and I think organizations that have access to legal resources that can make them available. We, for example, have in our denomination and immigration attorney who was there to assist persons to at least help them trioge their case. They can't handle the full legal workload. But I do encourage nonprofits who provide legal assistance in the immigration space not to forget Haitians and other populations, particularly Haitians who that TPS status has been in place for so many years. After fifteen sixteen years, it's hard to imagine some folks going back. But legal support for folks to help them navigate and increasingly come immigration system is going to be really important. And I know that organizations like ours will continue to advocate on that that TPS status is not removed from the Haitian population. It looked like Millie popped back in there for session. She did for just a moment. I think you're right. That's one of the great human rights issues of our day. And when one considers the history of what the Haitian people did for the United States, for the United States to not be for them at their hour of need and it has been sixteen years since their hour of need is nothing short of astounding. And it's also a signal, I think, Madam President, of the decline of our civilization as well. We have not been a good neighbor. Yeah, we have not been a good neighbor. And we are now explicitly naming countries where black and brown people are in the majority, which is most of the world actually as s whole country we have. Uh, we're more willing, not that there's anything wrong with the wars that are happening in Ukrainian Russia. We're more concerned about Europe than we are about countries in Africa in the Caribbean that have been exploited for their natural resources. I watched a little of the hearing or meeting. I guess that the Trump was having with oil executives, and it just really sickened you to hear conversations about what they were ready to bring in and what they were ready to do, and this charade of oh, we're going to sell the oil. You know, the Venezuela people are still going to have access to those profits. They are going to make a lot of money. And that's at the heart of these issues. Can I still make money off of Haiti? If not, I'm not concerned. Can I still make money off of Sedan? If not? We don't have economic interests. Human interests were not as concerned about. And that's been the big shift of the Trump administration to take the US away from its marginal I mean, USAID was major, but we've always had to fight to make the United States accountable for human rights around the world. But at least that's what we said we were, and we tried to do some of that work, and now we're just like, well, we don't care, and that's okay. It's just not okay. We're going to pay a huge price across the world for our failure to be true to who we say we are. Madam President, our producer has just shared with us that she has a clip from the Golden Globes that she'd like to play right now. Disrespect invites disrespect, Violence incites violence. When they powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose. It was that moment when the person asking to sin in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter, someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can't get it out of my head because it wasn't in a movie. It was real life, and it's instinct to humiliate. When it's modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody's life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Madam President, we have about four minutes before before the end of our show. I have seen I remember even even watching Meryl Street, but she said that people in power giving permission to violate norms, to violate a human rights, to use language, to just simply not care anymore. We're saying all across our country language and actions. You know, people are saying the quiet part out loud. Racism had for many years at least you couldn't say certain things, You couldn't openly believe or declare your belief for certain things. And now it's okay. You don't have to be in hushrooms or say them in quiet text to one another. It's okay to say it out loud. And we're spouting off scripture, but we're practicing hate and we're cloaking it all in some form of perverted What people are claiming is Christianity but violates everything that Jesus ever taught that as a Christian minister is the most vile part of this is that the way in which people are behaving, they're out of one half of their mouth. It's viewing hate and and disregard for one another. And now the other side of the mouth claiming to be Christian, holding Bibles upside down and standing with with I'm not sure who these people are or who these ministers are that would that would lay hands on Trump and claim that he's a messenger from God. It's it's it's sickening, it really is, because it's it's just not right. And we have to be able to call these things uh and and name what they are, and they're foul they're evil. I have little y'all have to pray for me. Uh in these last five years of my term. I've got a lot of people in my church who agree with what Trump is doing, and we have denominations like mine. We uh in my perusal or trolling if you will, social media while I'm on sabbatical, we did sign off on a joint letter between the Unit Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ a poe what happened in Venezuela. And there's all kinds of comments. The church should not be evolved in politics. This is political. I don't know what's become of our denomination. This leadership is taking us down the wrong path. There were lots of people in support of it, but there are still people who believe that being Christian being silent and just not having anything to do with what's happening to human beings. Jesus chose to read from Isaiah sixty one. Spirit of the Lord is upon me to set at liberty those are who are captive. Jesus said his job was to free the oppressed, take care of poor people, and to create a different society. Jesus chose that and said that so I've got to follow what Jesus says, and I think that's where hope must lie. Of all people of faith would be true to who they say they are and build coalitions, and like we've ever seen before, there is hope that we can turn this thing around. But we can't be silent. We can't be silent, Madam President. Happy New Year, Happy New Year, Sir. I'm so looking forward to the year that we're going to spend with Reverend Terry hord Owens over the course of the new year right here on Mondays and the Faith not to Fall. I'm Jesse Jackson Jr. You've been listening to the Jesse Jackson Junior Show on KBLA Talk fifteen eighty more when we come forward on KBLA Talk fifteen