🏛️ Age Limits for Congress & Migrating Monarchs

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The Ten News: Season 4, Episode 9

Today on The Ten News: 🏛️ With age, comes wisdom. But, is that always the case? Correspondent Pamela Kirkland breaks down age and term limits for Congress 🦋 Nature Nerd's Laine Farber explains why you might be seeing a whole bunch of monarch butterflies, lately 🦖🐦‍⬛ Did you know that President George Washington thought dinosaurs were giant humans, plus learn about Vaux swift birds swarming the skies for their annual migration 🤔 And, on the trivia throne: how old was Maxwell Alejandro Frost when he was sworn into the house?

Resources

• https://historyfacts.com/famous-figures/fact/george-washington-didnt-know-that-dinosaurs-existed-2/

• https://www.pdxmonthly.com/travel-and-outdoors/2023/08/vauxs-swifts-portland-birds-chapman-elementary-chimney

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TRANSCRIPT:

00:00 PAM: Ry, look! A butterfly followed me in and landed on my desk! It’s so cute!

RYAN: Sweet Summer child. Get that away from me and do not say that word again–

PAM: What?! It’s just a harmless, sweet little bu—

RYAN: Don’t say the B word. Don’t do it.

PAM: Butterfly?

RYAN: AHHHHNONONO! EWWW. I said don’t say it! 

PAM: Do you want to talk about this, Ry?

RYAN: NOPE. I wanna start the show and pretend you didn’t say that freaky word.

PAM: Alrighty then. I’m Pamela Kirkland.

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard. It’s Thursday, September 21st.

PAM: This is the Ten News. 

RYAN: Yo Pamela, when I see some of these politicians talk, I can’t help but wonder…how old are they?! It feels like they’ve been in office FOREVER. 

PAM: Yeah, the age of our elected officials and how long their terms are, is definitely a thing. 

RYAN: I think some of them are older than donuts. 

PAM: Donuts were invented by Dutch immigrants in the late 17th century.  

RYAN: So… you’re saying I’m right?

04:47 Pam: Ryan. Did you know the longest serving Senator served for 51 years, 5 months, and 26 days!! Robert Byrd was a Democratic Senator from West Virginia. He was first elected to the Senate in 1958 and again in 1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000, and 2006 (can we speed up my voice as I keep reading the years?)

Ryan: Wow! That sure is a long time.

Pam: There’s been a lot of conversation around age limits in Congress as two Senators have been having some health problems. Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader in the Senate, has had two instances where he froze in the middle of a press conference. His office said the Senator was fine and just feeling lightheaded, but at 81 years old, there are questions about whether his age and his health are limiting his ability to do the job. 

Ryan: I TOLD YOU THEY WERE OLDER THAN DONUTS!

Pam: Let’s dive in. Here in the U.S., politicians can stay in office for a really, really, reeeeaaaaaaly long time! But is this a good thing or a bad thing? Can someone be too old to be in office anymore? Let's break down the numbers. The average age of a U.S. Senator is 65. And even though the first Gen Z representative was elected to the House, it didn’t do much to bring down the average age there—which is 58. And in the White House, President Joe Biden is 80—making him the oldest president elected in U.S. history. And don’t forget he’s already kicked off his reelection bid. But with age comes wisdom! (Or at least that’s what they say). Some people think that having experienced politicians in office for a long time can be a good thing. Having someone who knows how Washington works and can use that knowledge to make better decisions would be a pro. Plus, they may have more influence to be able to get things done. On the other hand, having politicians in office for too long could mean recycling the same old ideas. With fewer new people, there’s less opportunity for new ideas and perspectives. Some people worry that these long-term politicians can become disconnected from the concerns of younger generations and may not be as responsive to changing times. Another concern with age is how it affects different people MENTALLY. We know people age at different rates, but as Congress gets older should there be limits on how long a person can be in office? Term limits are rules that say politicians can only serve a certain number of years, or terms, in office. They're like a 'use-by' date for politicians. One big advantage of term limits is that they can bring fresh faces into government. With politicians leaving after a set number of years, there's a better chance for new voices to be heard. Georgia Democrat  Jon Ossoff is currently the youngest U.S. senator and Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost, is currently the youngest U.S. representative. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Critics argue that term limits can lead to a loss of valuable experience in government. Imagine if your favorite video game only let you play for a short time, and just as you got really good at it, you had to start over with a new game. Some people think this is what happens when experienced politicians are forced to leave. Do we need a sell-by date for our public officials? I’m not sure, but what I do know is snacks don’t run for reelection. Just remember to check the date!

RYAN: The first U.S. President George Washington lived over 200 years ago and died in 1799. He knew about a lot of things, but guess what he didn’t know about…dinosaurs! Yes, the founding father thought that fossils that were found during his lifetime were from giant humans. It wasn’t until 1842 that Richard Owen, an English paleontologist coined the term dinosaur. 

PAM: Isn’t it cute, Laine? I think I’ll name it Mary, short for mariposa, which is butterfly in Spanish!

LAINE: It’s so cute! Mary is a great name.

RYAN: What’s going on here? 

PAM: Nothing… 

RYAN: I spy a Nature Nerd in our studio–

08:21 LAINE: Hi Ry. 

RYAN: –Hi Laine. What’s happening? Is that…bubberyply still here?

LAINE: The what?

RYAN: The bubberyply The colorful winged demon–

LAINE: …a butterfly? 
RYAN: BLEAAAH! UGH! Don’t use that word. 

LAINE: They’re harmless, Ry! And I think it’s actually a Monarch Butterfly. 

RYAN: That sounds menacing and unstoppable. I’M OUT!

PAM: Laine, I’ve seen a bunch of these butterflies, why are we seeing so many?

LAINE: Pull up a seat Pamela, I got you. 

Laine Monarch Butterfly segment

PAM: Wow Laine. Monarch Butterflies are AWESOME. How can we get Ryan on board?

LAINE: I think Ry has Lepidopterophobia.

PAM: What’s Lepidopterophobia?

LAINE: That’s the fear of butterflies.

11:23 PAM: Well I do owe him one for the fake cockroach prank he pulled on me… Speaking of migration… an annual event in the skies of Oregon is happening earlier this year. The Vaux swift bird migration is underway. Each year, thousands of the swifts make the flight to Central America and crowd the skies of the Pacific Northwest on their way. When they need a break, they can’t perch, so instead, they hang onto flat, vertical surfaces and stay together for warmth. It normally happens in the fall, but thousands have already appeared, most likely due to Oregon’s early Summer weather this year.  And one favorite rest spot this year? The chimney at Chapman Elementary School. According to the Portland Audubon Society’s Swift Count, as many as 35,000 swifts have been counted at Chapman. Now that’s a lot of swifties in one spot!

OWEN: Welcome to the Trivia Room!

RYAN: OWEN! DUDE. I gotta hide in here.

OWEN: Ok…is everything alright?

RYAN: Yeah. There might be a colorful flying monster out there, and you can protect me, right?

OWEN: Sure. But only if you hop up on the Trivia Throne. And answer CORRECTLY. 

RYAN: Oh gosh. The pressure. FINE.

OWEN: Pam mentioned earlier that the average age of a member of the US House of Representatives is 68, and that the first Gen-Zer was recently elected to the house. That Gen-Zer is Maxwell Alejandro Frost, but how old was he when he was sworn in? Is it:

1. 32 years old

2. 25 years old or 

3. 26 years old

RYAN: Okay if Maxwell is Gen-Z, he’s not 32…but I thought I’ve heard he’s 26….but wasn’t he 25 when he was sworn in? Ahhhh, I’m gonna go with B, 25, because it’s my lucky number.

OWEN: The answer is… B! 25-years-old. Representative Frost, of Florida’s 10th Congressional District, was born on January 17th, 1997. He was just 25 years old when he was sworn in on January 3rd, 2023 and turned 26 two weeks later. And by the way, 25 years is the minimum age a person must be to serve in the House! 

RYAN: Oh thank goodness. So, you’ll let me keep hiding in here?

OWEN: No, I actually have to lock up, I have head home to do some homework… Hey Ten’ers, do you want to join me in the Trivia room and drop some knowledge? Visit The Ten News Dot Com Slash Contact to get in touch, and we might have you on the show!

RYAN: Okay, if I can’t hide in the Trivia Room, maybe I can hide in the–

13:57 PAM: Hey Ry, wanna see butterfly? 

RYAN: NO OF COURSE NOT.

PAM: Catch!

RYAN: Did you just throw a stick of butter at me?

PAM: Yeah. I made butter, fly. 

RYAN: Okay, that was a good one. That was really good. Touché.

PAM: Thanks. Wanna give Ten News Snaps to one of our listeners? 

RYAN: Yup, but before we do, here’s a quick note for the grown-ups. 

RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!

PAM: Ten’ers Andy and his Father left us a review on Apple Podcasts and said: “This is amazing.”

RYAN: That is a quick, concise and phenomenal review. Thank you Andy and his Father. And thanks for listening to the Ten News. Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in-depth reports drop every Thursday. And if you want some bonus content, you could join the Ten’ers Club on our website or on Apple Podcasts.

PAM: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts, and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.

RYAN: The Ten News creative team is making fun of Ryan for his fear of butterflies (WHO WROTE THAT?!) and includes Tracey Crooks, Logan DeYoung, Corinne Catibayan, Carson Potter, and Chad Chenail. Our favorite Nature Nerd, Laine Farber, and our Ten’er Owen contributed to this episode. 

PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. 

RYAN: I’m Ryan Willard 

PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland; thanks for listening to The Ten News.

PAM: Goodbye Mary, enjoy your trip to Central America!

15:48 RYAN: AND GOOD RIDDANCE YOU TERRIFYING BEAST