Afro Afro Man
Hey everyone, Steve Palmer and Norm Murdock here, fresh off another lively episode of Common Sense Ohio—and can you believe it’s already late March? Feels like tax season is flying by, and shout-out to the folks at Harper+ Accounting for helping us not lose our minds (or shirts) this time of year.
We kicked off this week with some fun history—did you know Elvis put the down payment on Graceland this week in 1957? Only a cool $1,000. As Norm Murdock put it, it was a simpler time—not perfect, but certainly less complicated than today’s mess of bureaucracy and endless paperwork.
Of course, history has a way of showing us that even the most lauded heroes and moments have their flaws. We touched on George Washington’s victory in Boston—another “this day in history” moment. It took Congress 14 years to actually award him the first Congressional Gold Medal. So, the government is dragging its feet? Nothing new.
Current events have us shaking our heads, too—this time about international relations and defense. Norm Murdock brought up the wild situation in the Straits of Hormuz, and how Trump has been pushing NATO and SEATO allies to step up for their own interests—not just rely on the U.S. It’s a wild world out there, and cutting through the noise is harder than ever, especially when everyone’s talking past one another.
We didn’t shy away from the sticky domestic issues either—from the push for voter ID laws (and the really tired argument that they’re somehow insurmountable barriers) to the legal win for Ohio’s own Afro Man after his house got raided. Turns out, you actually can use your own security cam footage to call out public officials when they overstep.
If there’s any through-line, it’s that government (local and federal) gets complicated fast—whether that’s JobsOhio mysteriously spending state money with minimal oversight or debates about energy, the environment, and data centers popping up all over. At the end of the day, we just want some transparency and common sense, and maybe a slice of pound cake that doesn’t get confiscated by a sheriff.
Till next time—keep asking questions, keep thinking for yourselves, and don’t let anybody tell you your voice doesn’t matter.
Recorded at the 511 Studios, in the Brewery District in downtown Columbus, OH.
Copyright 2026 Common Sense Ohio
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.