Welcome back! After our brief break, we’re diving right back into thought-provoking topics and practical life takeaways — always with our signature approach: conversational, critical, and rooted in common sense. Here's a look at what stood out this week.
On This Day in History: Lessons from Lewis & Clark
Did you know that on September 23, 1806, the Lewis & Clark expedition returned to St. Louis? Their harrowing journey, guided in no small part by Sacagawea’s ingenuity and a miraculous family reunion, remains a lesson in perseverance and the hidden power of coincidence (00:16). If you’re looking to be inspired, check out Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose — and keep an eye out for the upcoming TV series!
Takeaway: Seemingly small connections and acts of resourcefulness can change the course of history — and our own journeys.
The Power (And Peril) of Speech: Freedom or Treason?
A big question this week: At what point does the freedom to criticize become dangerous? We explored how America’s openness to dissent can be both its strength and, as some fear, its Achilles' heel (12:05). From debates over the limits of free speech in the White House press room to university campuses, we considered how essential protected dissent is to democracy—but also the risks of undermining our own foundations.
Takeaway: Free speech is vital, but it requires balance, vigilance, and, above all, a commitment to respectful discourse—even when we disagree.
Foreign Policy & National Security: Strength or Bravado?
We took a close look at why some world leaders, past and present, choose bold—sometimes controversial—language and strategies (06:27). From the U.S.–Saudi oil partnership of 1933 (04:37) to Trump’s “annihilate” rhetoric at the UN, we considered: Is it bluster, or is there a method to the madness? And what’s the cost when actions don’t match words—or when policy lags behind public concerns, like with high diesel prices and energy independence?
Takeaway: In today’s world, words and actions matter. National security (and our pocketbooks) depend on steady, strategic leadership—not just headlines.
Democracy, Ideals, and Reality: Can Perfection Be Legislated?
Reflecting on philosophical and spiritual lessons, we asked: Can government force us to be “good”? Or is striving for virtue ultimately a personal journey (27:05)? The conversation touched on current political divides, youth idealism, and how lasting change must come from within.
Takeaway: Genuine change starts at home and in our communities. Perfection is elusive, but honest effort toward it benefits us all.
Heroes & Zeros of the Week
Hero: Gavin Newsom (“If Kamala runs, he won’t!”) — for making political chess a bit more interesting (55:22).
Zero: Politicians late to the data center debate. As the practical consequences hit local communities, the lesson is clear: Proactive, community-minded planning beats reactive policy every time (56:49).
Thanks for tuning in! For resources mentioned and to catch every thoughtful debate, visit us at commonsenseohioshow.com—and don’t forget to share the podcast with friends who value informed, commonsense discussion.
Until next week — keep looking forward, the common sense way!
Recorded at the 511 Studios, in the Brewery District in downtown Columbus, OH.
Stephen Palmer is the Managing Partner for the law firm, Palmer Legal Defense. He has specialized almost exclusively in criminal defense for over 26 years. Steve is also a partner in Criminal Defense Consultants, a firm focused wholly on helping criminal defense attorneys design winning strategies for their clients.
Norm Murdock is an automobile racing driver and owner of a high-performance and restoration car parts company. He earned undergraduate degrees in literature and journalism and graduated with a Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1985. He worked in the IT industry for two years before launching a career in government relations in Columbus, Ohio. Norm has assisted clients in the Transportation, Education, Healthcare, and Public Infrastructure sectors.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
Copyright 2026 Common Sense Ohio
Transcripts
Steve Palmer:
I know you need it. I do too. Your weekly dose of common sense
Steve Palmer:
back after a couple-week hiatus. Yours truly in a jury trial.
Steve Palmer:
We have real jobs. Um, Norm out racing the world, taking on
Steve Palmer:
the all-comers. It is September 23rd, 2026. This
Steve Palmer:
day in history, Norm, Lewis and Clark returned. Oh, wow.
Steve Palmer:
Um, there's 2 interesting things that happened in history. Lewis and Clark returned from their
Steve Palmer:
expedition out to the Pacific Northwest. Um, which was kind of
Norm Murdock:
a miracle. A miracle, right? Cross the Mississippi, go, uh, they returned to
Steve Palmer:
St. Louis. A lot of unfriendly situations. I mean,
Steve Palmer:
yeah, I mean, really. And anybody, there's a great book by, I think, Stephen Ambrose
Steve Palmer:
called Undaunted Courage. I read that long ago, but well worth
Steve Palmer:
a read. Now turned into a TV series. Oh, is it really? Yeah. Gonna come
Norm Murdock:
out. I didn't know that. Yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, look,
Steve Palmer:
even more relevant then. See, I'm relevant. I don't even know that I'm relevant. Hey,
Norm Murdock:
you are. But they traveled up the Missouri River in 6
Steve Palmer:
canoes and 2 longboats, wintered in the Dakotas. I mean, what's a little
Steve Palmer:
mild winter up in the Dakotas? Before crossing into Montana where
Steve Palmer:
they first saw the Rocky Mountains on the other side of the Continental Divide. They
Steve Palmer:
were met by Sacagawea's tribe, the Shoshone Indians,
Steve Palmer:
who sold them horses for the journey down through the Bitterfoot Mountains
Steve Palmer:
after passing through the dangerous rapids of the Clearwater and snake rivers across in
Steve Palmer:
canoes, they reached the calm of the Columbia River, which led them to the sea.
Norm Murdock:
So, I mean, the most amazing thing you just
Norm Murdock:
glanced off there, but if, if you read Ambrose's book
Norm Murdock:
and dig into Sacagawea, that whole thing is a
Norm Murdock:
flipping miracle. Yeah. So, so I, I don't know if you can, if you
Norm Murdock:
know this, but, and I just found out, you know, recently
Norm Murdock:
Sacagawea was married off or captured or
Norm Murdock:
something to a completely different tribe than this
Norm Murdock:
Shoshone. When Lewis and
Norm Murdock:
Clark— I mean, her— so here she is, she's pregnant or,
Norm Murdock:
or just had a baby, and she's on this expedition. She's a young girl.
Norm Murdock:
It's completely bizarre that they would even have her along. It
Steve Palmer:
doesn't make any sense, right? It makes no sense, but they have her along. And
Norm Murdock:
the key moment is she is long separated
Norm Murdock:
from her relatives in the Shoshone tribe. Like, we're talking
Norm Murdock:
several states away. Like, she's, she's from like
Norm Murdock:
Minnesota area. Yeah, and probably what, like in teens? Yes.
Steve Palmer:
I mean, imagine the age of these people and compare them to what our, our
Steve Palmer:
youth are doing. But she's like thousands of miles, or
Norm Murdock:
at least hundreds of miles away from her, her
Norm Murdock:
relatives. And Lewis and Clark meet these Shoshones.
Norm Murdock:
They're, they're, they're starving, their horses are done, they
Norm Murdock:
need supplies. And these Shoshones are viewing them as
Norm Murdock:
aliens that probably need to get killed. Yeah. Like, like, you know,
Norm Murdock:
no, we're not buddies with you. She waddles up and goes, oh,
Norm Murdock:
my long-lost brother or cousin or whatever it is. She
Norm Murdock:
recognizes her old family They recognize her.
Norm Murdock:
They have this big love-in, uh, you know, embrace.
Norm Murdock:
And, and, and then she starts negotiating and, and
Norm Murdock:
relieves all of the tension. They get, they get the ponies, they get
Norm Murdock:
the food, they get more guides in. She ends up
Norm Murdock:
staying with them, I think, and not proceeding on with the
Norm Murdock:
rest of the expedition. And it, it's just,
Norm Murdock:
it's one of those like one in a million
Norm Murdock:
kind of encounter. Yeah, it shouldn't have happened. It's like
Steve Palmer:
by God's will only, you know. Like Jefferson would have
Norm Murdock:
sent Lewis and Clark off and we would have never heard from them again. Yeah,
Steve Palmer:
scalped and dead somewhere in the Rockies, right? Yeah, just— Or just dead, frozen
Steve Palmer:
dead in the Dakota tundra. Yeah, and then what? No
Norm Murdock:
Louisiana Purchase, or I don't know. Like, I don't know what would have happened
Norm Murdock:
out of that. Really incredible. It's, it's unbelievable. Really incredible. And
Steve Palmer:
I, I— So she deserves that dollar. She does. She does, right? And
Steve Palmer:
for those who haven't read the, the Wilderness Tales, Alan Eckert's book, it talks about
Steve Palmer:
young Lewis and Clark, I think, a little bit in some of those books. Oh,
Norm Murdock:
cool. Uh, really interesting stuff. The other thing that happened, which is historically significant
Steve Palmer:
on this day, on September 23rd, 19— let's get a year for Lewis and
Steve Palmer:
Clark, by the way. Uh, that was— I don't think we ever said the year.
Steve Palmer:
1806. Yeah, a little later than I thought it was. And they actually were
Norm Murdock:
penetrating into like Spanish territory. Like
Norm Murdock:
they were going into another country's— Invading.
Norm Murdock:
Yeah. So in 1933, a party of American geologists lands
Steve Palmer:
where? At the Persian Gulf port of Jubail in Saudi
Steve Palmer:
Arabia and begins its journey into the desert where we eventually
Steve Palmer:
stake our claim. Standard Oil stakes its claim and The rest, as
Steve Palmer:
we say, is history. Yeah. Aramco and all that came
Norm Murdock:
out of all that. Partnership between Abdelaziz's government and Standard Oil
Steve Palmer:
became known as the Arabian American Oil Company, Aramco.
Steve Palmer:
Texaco soon joined the partnership. Why not? About a decade later.
Steve Palmer:
And eventually we have the war in
Steve Palmer:
Iran. Kind of what Trump is doing in Venezuela.
Steve Palmer:
Like, real. Yeah. And what Trump said is like, we found it there anyway, not
Steve Palmer:
you guys. Yeah. I don't know if that's how it was either way,
Steve Palmer:
but yeah. Yeah, right. We'll help you exploit it. Yeah.
Norm Murdock:
And you'll get to share in the benefits. But, you know, obviously,
Norm Murdock:
you know, US companies need some sort of security that you're not
Norm Murdock:
going to nationalize all this oil infrastructure and steal
Norm Murdock:
it from us. Right. You know, so
Norm Murdock:
interesting stuff. Well, Steve,
Norm Murdock:
I mean, this is— let's be more philosophical today rather than
Norm Murdock:
news-oriented. So I love that
Norm Murdock:
there's this big controversy that Trump used the word
Norm Murdock:
annihilate at the UN, right? So, so
Norm Murdock:
he presents this either this or
Norm Murdock:
that kind of vision of the future for
Norm Murdock:
Iran. Okay. On one hand, you know, we can annihilate you
Norm Murdock:
guys. On the other hand, you can change your ways.
Norm Murdock:
and decide to join the rest of the
Norm Murdock:
non-terrorist countries of the world.
Norm Murdock:
And you can metamorphose
Norm Murdock:
into, you know, this huge— I mean, the people in
Norm Murdock:
Iran are brilliant. They're brilliant engineers. They've always— the
Norm Murdock:
Persians have always been the vanguard of
Norm Murdock:
human knowledge. I mean, when Europeans were crawling around in
Norm Murdock:
caves, Persia, you know, was leading in
Norm Murdock:
astronomy and mathematics and chemistry. I mean, really,
Steve Palmer:
I didn't know that. Yeah, I mean, it was like ancient Alexandria in
Norm Murdock:
Egypt at the time, you know, the Library in Alexandria,
Norm Murdock:
you know. And in, in Europe, Britons and Frenchies were, you know,
Norm Murdock:
they were in loincloths throwing spears. I mean, really,
Norm Murdock:
the Near East, the, the, the, the the old,
Norm Murdock:
centuries-old Middle East was a bastion
Norm Murdock:
of human advancement. And Trump is saying, you guys could do that again.
Norm Murdock:
You could be one of the world's great countries. And he used the
Norm Murdock:
word annihilate. And I, you know, I'm thinking back to Winston
Norm Murdock:
Churchill where, you know, he's nose to nose with Hitler,
Norm Murdock:
right? And he says, you know, we're gonna fight you on the beaches, we're gonna
Norm Murdock:
fight you in the air, we're gonna fight you on land, we're gonna fight you
Norm Murdock:
at sea. we're never going to give up. We're never, you know, like, to the
Norm Murdock:
last British person, we're going to
Norm Murdock:
fight you, you know, with every breath. And, and
Norm Murdock:
I, I guess what I don't understand is a country that
Norm Murdock:
sanctioned this horrible attack on October the
Norm Murdock:
7th, where they, they throw babies in ovens and they do all this
Norm Murdock:
horrible stuff and, and, and blow up the Marine
Norm Murdock:
barracks and, and kill several hundred Marines in
Norm Murdock:
Lebanon, and, and all the other roadside IEDs,
Norm Murdock:
which, you know, our Marine friends know very well all
Norm Murdock:
about that, including here in Columbus. Mhm. Like,
Norm Murdock:
why aren't the Iranian mullahs viewed as
Norm Murdock:
like Hitlers? And why aren't we— why, why do words like
Norm Murdock:
annihilate, which we can use in regards to a
Norm Murdock:
Hitler or a Tojo, Why is that
Norm Murdock:
so outrageous to say?
Norm Murdock:
I know it's bravado, but so what? Well, look, some of it's
Steve Palmer:
Trumpian bravado. Some of it's like, look, we're going to annihilate you, or you could
Steve Palmer:
be our friends. I don't care either way. And he probably doesn't. He probably does.
Steve Palmer:
But it's like he does. But what he's trying to say is,
Steve Palmer:
look, we don't want to fight you anymore, but we will. But why
Steve Palmer:
politically is there such a backlash? You know,
Steve Palmer:
there's this movement that has been instilled in
Steve Palmer:
our country going way back.
Steve Palmer:
And we've taught our country to hate itself. We've taught our country to
Steve Palmer:
sympathize with its enemies. And you hear the El-Sayed saying, well, hurt people
Steve Palmer:
do hurt things. It doesn't justify anything that happened on October 7th or
Steve Palmer:
whatever that was. Yeah. It doesn't justify any of it. And people are saying,
Steve Palmer:
Whatever it is, people are now sympathizing somehow with the
Steve Palmer:
terrorists who want us to die. Yeah. We deserved
Norm Murdock:
it. Because we deserved it. And some of it has to do
Steve Palmer:
with, well, it's because we're beholden to the Israelis only.
Steve Palmer:
And I argue with people all the time. It's like, look, 2 things can be
Steve Palmer:
true here. We have a common enemy. We have a common
Steve Palmer:
enemy. One of them says, we want you guys to die. Right.
Steve Palmer:
We want to take you off the face of the planet, instill Sharia law, and
Steve Palmer:
be done with you, and be done with the West forever. You know, join Allah
Steve Palmer:
or die. Right. And the other has its own problems. Yes, its
Steve Palmer:
own evils. Like Zelensky in Ukraine. He's not a perfect
Norm Murdock:
ally. Correct. He banned opposition parties and stuff like
Norm Murdock:
that. So he's not perfect. So both things can be true. Yes,
Steve Palmer:
both things can be true. And we have to, you know, the world's not this
Steve Palmer:
perfect place, and we don't get to come hide in our country anymore. We don't,
Steve Palmer:
but we've opened up the borders to this. I've always wondered about this. I'd be
Steve Palmer:
curious, and this is philosophical, right? It's
Steve Palmer:
not— Right. But I've always wondered at what point, you know, Marx said,
Steve Palmer:
I probably said this here before, Marx said, a capitalistic society contains
Steve Palmer:
the seeds of its own destruction. And what he was trying to say
Steve Palmer:
is, well, eventually the working class is gonna rise up and
Steve Palmer:
overturn the capitalists. Well, that never happened. But to some extent, he's true.
Steve Palmer:
It's true because we have the, and it's not just capitalism, it's our brand of
Steve Palmer:
it. It's our brand of freedom contains the seeds of its own destruction because we
Steve Palmer:
let let opposition in to
Steve Palmer:
speak against us. Yes. And we let people come in
Steve Palmer:
and disseminate, uh, a message.
Norm Murdock:
Yeah. To our youth. We're a free speech society. Yeah. And we've let that in.
Steve Palmer:
So we've taught our youth that America is bad. Right. And you see it on
Steve Palmer:
YouTube. I see these people interviewed on YouTube. Like, our standard of living right now
Steve Palmer:
is better than it's ever been in the entire world history. No question. And
Steve Palmer:
these people who hate our country are doing so on their
Steve Palmer:
$1,500 iPhones and with
Steve Palmer:
unlimited data. Using data centers. Right,
Steve Palmer:
using data, right. And you can make an argument that maybe
Steve Palmer:
we have too many data centers, I don't know, but you can't,
Steve Palmer:
you know, so, but somehow that message has come true. So we have let that
Steve Palmer:
in. So the seeds of our destruction is that we let other people
Steve Palmer:
outwardly speak against our government. We consider that sacred. Right. Right? You
Steve Palmer:
have the right to do that. Absolutely. And we'll defend it. So, but when does
Steve Palmer:
it cross the line and become treason? When is it treason to say we want
Steve Palmer:
to take down the American government and fundamentally change it forever? I don't know
Steve Palmer:
the answer to that. It's a philosophical question. And you can't say, but you can't
Steve Palmer:
even bring that up now without being called xenophobic or
Steve Palmer:
whatever, you're racist, whatever. But back to your question, like, why is it bad?
Steve Palmer:
Because we've let into our ideology the
Steve Palmer:
notion that we deserve it. Yeah, well, I'll never forget, you know,
Norm Murdock:
there's been a lot of outrageous things said at the UN, and
Norm Murdock:
I'll never forget, you know, I was in college, I think,
Norm Murdock:
when this happened. I don't— Steve, you might have been a gleam in your father's
Norm Murdock:
eye, I, I don't know, uh, or, or a little
Norm Murdock:
crumb cruncher at the time, but, um, we—
Norm Murdock:
there, there's an age difference. But I remember when Yasser Arafat,
Norm Murdock:
who is head of the PLO, addressed the UN and he was wearing
Norm Murdock:
pistols. He was at the microphone with
Norm Murdock:
holsters that had pistols in them, right? And
Norm Murdock:
he's— obviously at the time they were
Norm Murdock:
hijacking aircraft. They were, they were, they were— the
Norm Murdock:
PLO was hijacking aircraft and flying them
Norm Murdock:
to Cuba where somehow Castro would welcome them.
Norm Murdock:
And it was part of this whole communist— socialist, well, we're going to
Norm Murdock:
liberate Palestine somehow by hijacking
Norm Murdock:
airplanes. Yeah. And of course, they blew up some, they killed some of
Norm Murdock:
the passengers. You know, they, they, the Germans took
Norm Murdock:
one to Uganda in support of the Palestinians. It's so
Norm Murdock:
bizarre. All of this crazy stuff, very violent. And we
Norm Murdock:
let those people speak at the UN. But Trump uses the word
Norm Murdock:
annihilate And it's the end of the world somehow. But it's interesting
Steve Palmer:
though. I mean, I listen to Victor Davis Hanson a lot and some other,
Steve Palmer:
some other thinkers. Well, he's brilliant. I think are uncontaminated by this stuff.
Norm Murdock:
Yeah. And, you know, he's a little bit more
Steve Palmer:
optimistic about this. He's saying, look, there's a, there's a pushback that's
Steve Palmer:
underpinning all that's sort of gurgling up
Steve Palmer:
in Europe. You're starting to see a pushback on open
Steve Palmer:
immigration. Yeah. In Germany. In Germany, for sure. For sure. You just start to get
Steve Palmer:
to the point where when is enough enough? Yeah. And,
Steve Palmer:
you know, we're— look, if you outwardly say to a country like
Steve Palmer:
the United States of America that has done nothing but offer you
Steve Palmer:
a peaceful hand— That's right. I mean, even through all the craziness, there's been
Steve Palmer:
wars, I get it. But eventually we're going to just
Steve Palmer:
annihilate you. We can say we're going to annihilate you or come join us either
Steve Palmer:
way. Yeah. Part of what Carter did when he had the
Norm Murdock:
when he had the peace agreement between the
Norm Murdock:
PLO and Israel,
Norm Murdock:
well, it was Egypt and Israel at Camp David.
Norm Murdock:
But part of that was we even funded
Norm Murdock:
humanitarian funding for the PLO. Just what you
Norm Murdock:
said. We reached out and said, okay, you
Norm Murdock:
hijacked our airplanes, you've killed people, you've bombed, you know,
Norm Murdock:
the Marines, you've done all this horrible stuff, and yet
Norm Murdock:
we still want to have peace so badly
Norm Murdock:
that we're reaching across the divide to at least feed or
Norm Murdock:
provide medicine for your people. Yeah, because that's what our country's always done.
Steve Palmer:
It's always done. That's right. And, and we do that in Burma.
Norm Murdock:
We do that with a lot of countries that hate us. Yeah. And now
Steve Palmer:
And now the easy trope is, well, it's the Jews, right? So you guys are
Steve Palmer:
just hijacked by the Jews. By the Jews, right. And you don't know any better.
Steve Palmer:
Yeah. And to that I say, well, look,
Steve Palmer:
we still have this common enemy, so let's at least deal with that. Right. And
Steve Palmer:
I guess they would say in response, well, the only reason you're enemies to them
Steve Palmer:
is because of the Jews. And I would say to that, well, look,
Steve Palmer:
maybe, but they're saying they want us dead. And
Steve Palmer:
they— in our way of government, our tolerant
Steve Palmer:
government, our tolerant freedoms, uh, they don't
Steve Palmer:
want that. You have to, you have to see it there. They want their own