December 19, 2024 • 24 mins
BIN News anchors Alexandria Ikomoni and Mike Eiland join Host Ramses Ja on today's podcast to discuss the major news stories of the week,
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's been another busy news week and we like to
review the major stories of the week here on the
Black Information Network. Today, we are joined by Black Information
Network news anchors Alexandria, Ikimoni and Mike Island to discuss
this week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast, and I'm your host, ramses Jah. All right,
welcome back to the show. You too, Alexandria, tell me
(00:23):
something good?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
What's the latest?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Hello, happy to be here, as always, ready for the holidays,
and you know we're here rolling out at twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Indeed we are, Mike, talk to me, man, what's the
latest with you? All good here?
Speaker 4 (00:37):
You know, I'm ready for the holidays as well. You know,
four daughters, three grandchildren, you know, converging on the home here,
so they may end up on the air here, b I.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
In So okay, all right, well we look forward to to.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Brianazon keeps trying tapping with them, you know, the microphone, one,
two three, he's ready to.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
All right, Well, I'm not mad at it. We'll be
here if if they're ready. So all right, let's get
to say first up, as we approach the five year
anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Convicted cop Derek
Shelvin is back in the news again, and it's still
not for a good reason. Alexandria, let's get today's episode
started with you give us an update on Derek Shelvin
and then Mike will come to you next.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yes, So just kind of breaking what's happening right now,
and I feel like there's not a lot of people
that really know what's really going on with this. You
have to pay attention to the news to really know
this update, but I definitely think it's something that many
should hear. So Derek Chauvin's legal team filed emotion to
look into heart issues and fluid samples after this theory
(01:39):
came out that George Floyd may have died from a
rare heart condition and not related to Chauvin putting his
knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. We
all know that part of the story, but according to
court records, a federal judge did grant the motion, So
this is, you know, being looked into more closely. But
right now, the whole point of this and why you
(02:01):
know the legal team even bow this motion is because
Chauvin is really trying to overturn his federal conviction. You know,
he was convicted for violating Floyd's civil rights. Of course
we talked about, you know, the knee on his neck,
and right now he's serving a more than twenty year
life sent and not life centers, excuse me, a twenty
year sentence because in relations to George Floyd's death might
(02:26):
talk to.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Us a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
What do you think, Yeah, well, I'm I can't say
I'm altogether too surprised, because my mindset is that anything
that's happened to some people, it's just going to be
reversed in this new administration. I think a lot of
this is sparked by the fact of the political win
and the comfort that everything's going to fall into favor
(02:49):
if we reverse all the things that they don't like
that happen. But the only part of the story I
don't understand is why the test of his blood, Why
the blood samples weren't tested in the beginning. I don't
know the whys and wherefores of that, But this is
going to you know, and it may not even come
(03:11):
through totally when they try to do this. But I'm
just thinking that we're going to see an interesting twenty
twenty five with this case. I didn't think I'd hear
Derek Chauvin's name again until somewhere around mid twenty twenty five,
but this definitely comes as a surprise. A pre existing
(03:33):
condition is basically what the story is. He had a
pre existing condition, so he died from that, you know,
not from what happened afterwards, and that kind of a twist.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, well, this is the theory, at least according to
this one doctor. In fact, I'll share a bit from
Hollywood Unlock. According to doctor Schaitzel, Floyd appeared to have died.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
From a high level of.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Catecholamines, which CBS News reports is a neural hormone important
in stress response associated with the flight or flight response
or Takotsubo myocarditis, a heart condition that develops in response
to an intense emotional or physical experience. So it's to
(04:23):
me that sounds like smoke and mirrors, because again, if
it's fight or flight, that doesn't happen unless you feel
like your life is in jeopardy or in danger, And
that doesn't happen unless there's a knee on your neck,
which we saw. So they're just trying to put some
steps in between what ultimately happened and Derek Shulman's responsibility
for it. And again, these are theories that may or
(04:46):
may not be true. They're just getting evidence. But the
thing is, overall, it's insulting and hurtful because of course,
we all saw the video. Everybody in the world saw
that video. And one of the things that if Donald
Trump has shown us anything, it's shown us that, or
(05:06):
rather his presence in the political arena has shown us
that people don't necessarily need facts to believe something that
they want to believe. People don't need video evidence to
believe something that they want to believe. Right, And you know,
to your point, Mike, you know, under this new administration,
there might be something that you know, can happen provided
(05:30):
that they can get this case retried. And so them
kind of going back through the evidence to us, those
of us who subscribe to the same reality that is
based in fact, look at this as hurtful and insulting,
and it looks like a desire for a lack of accountability. Again,
(05:50):
we all see it, We know it. We saw what happened.
This man would be alive and well walking around if
that man did not put his knee on his neck
for eight minutes, okay or two again, create some distance,
cast some doubt, try to, you know, chronicle a new narrative.
This is this is the play, and unfortunately with a
new administration, we have to be mindful of the fact that.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
That play works. Yeah, people, more to be true, more
to come. Yeah, I just said more to come, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Moving on, and now there are two. Earlier this week,
President elect Donald Trump announced another appointment to his administration,
and his choice has raised a few eyebrows. Mike, this time,
we're gonna start with you, tell us more about Trump's
latest black appointee, and then Alexandria will follow up with you.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Well, here's another name. I didn't hear all during the campaign,
so I didn't think I'll hear this name again. But
Herschel Walker. And he's a former Buck Eye, so hey,
go Bucks. You know he's back. And she was disappointment
as ambassador to the Bahamas. It's a very interesting appointment.
I don't know if it was an appeasement thing on
(06:59):
the on the part of Donald Trump. I do. I
have read reports where he has promised him he had
promised him a position the last time around, and I
think this must have been it. So he's back as ambassador.
I don't know whether we will hear much from that
unless he makes some big error in the process of
(07:21):
being ambassador, like saying he'll say something out of kilter
or something like that. But him being ambassador to the
Bahamas doesn't really affect us as much as some of
the things that are that are coming in the twenty
twenty five. But I think it was kind of an
appeasement appointment, and I'm not sure of the qualifications for
(07:41):
doing something like that or what an ambassador of of
a place, you know, does, I'm not sure of those duties.
But very interesting nonetheless that he will be back in
the news in some form or another.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Sure, sure, Alexandria, what do you think?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yeah, And he did have a run here, like we're
talking about here in Georgia, so there are ties to
Georgia as well, And I just, you know, I just
find it interesting. And you guys kind of touched on
this just a little bit, but I wanted to just
make it a bigger point. There are only two nominations
for black people people of color. Of course, you know,
(08:20):
we'll people of colors a little bit more, but it's
just we kind of expected it, but you still wish
that there were more, you know, on this administration being nominated.
But I mean Trump was just saying, you know, he
feels like he's a black man spending decades serving as
an ambassador to the nation's youth military service member athletes
as a way to to you know, support this nomination.
(08:44):
Of course, yes, yes, just kind of let him know, like, Okay,
he's done a lot of great stuff according to this
post on social media from Trump, and then you know,
just having him have an unsuccessful run against Rafaya Warnock.
I mean that speaks for itself. But he does also
have ties here to Georgia too, and that's kind of
(09:05):
where I'm based and that's kind of my market as well.
So you know, you said, go whoever, Mike Island, I'm
going to say, u ga, you know, go dogs over here.
So winning the heighs and trophy on this end. So
we'll see, we'll see. We know, of course, he has
to be appointed by the Senate, so I guess we're
just going to watch and see what happens next.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Sure, Yeah, he's uh, I I you know, I said
it before this guy is he's he's like clearly clown shoes.
He's just a He's not an intelligent man. He's not
There's very little in the way of redeeming qualities from
(09:46):
where I sit, you know what I mean. But at
the end of the day, he is a black man
and he's doing something. So but I think what I'll say,
I'll try to frame this in a in a more
positive light, because I really don't like talking bad about
black men.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
It just is a it's a thing for me.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
But I have to be realistic and understand that some
black men represent the interests of a very adversarial facet
of this country, adversarial in terms of their approach toward
black people in general. Think Uncle Tom's right. So I'll
(10:30):
try to kind of get through this as best I can.
I will say that I am happy that rough or
that herschel Walker rather is the ambassador to the Bahamas,
and good for him because originally he was Trump. Trump
(10:51):
suggested that he would put herschel Walker in charge of
a new missile defense shield if he got elected, So
that seems like rather more in the way of responsibility,
and the stakes would be a lot higher for someone
that I don't feel is the most intelligent or measured
(11:11):
or truthful or you know, pick a thing, and so
him just kind of representing, hey, I'm the US here
on Bahama soil or whatever. Uh. That feels like lower
stakes and probably in terms of a government positions, probably
among the most appropriate position for a man of his talents.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Right, I thought they were going to him a missile Yeah,
make him a missile defense shield. I wasn't understanding that.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
So yeah, So again, I don't consume a lot of
herschel Walker news just because I feel so betrayed by him.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
I just do.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I'm not a sports guy, but that's a name that
I know from sports, And when I took a look
into like who who was the man behind this name?
I thought, oh, just just you know, you got to
stifle your vomit to consume anything from this guy. So
Black Information Network news anchors Alexandria Ikimoni and Mike Island
(12:16):
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. All right,
our next story involves the Supreme Court, the state of
South Carolina, and planned parenthood. Alexandra, you covered portions of
the Carolinas for the BIM, So let's start with you again,
give us some details on this story, and then Mike
will come to you for your reaction.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Absolutely, of course, so we all know, or I should
say that this is all stemming from abortion rights and
abortion rights access and a big conversation that was had
since the overturning AOV Wade, but also during the presidential election,
that was a big selling point for a lot of
people on who they wanted to vote for. So I
didn't want to start off by saying the magnitude of
(12:56):
what this is. But the United States Supreme Court, we'll
be hearing arguments on South Carolina cutting medicaid funding to
planned parenthood, so affecting a lot of people who need it.
The state made that decision in twenty eighteen, but it
was blocked by a lower court after being challenged by
Planned Parenthood as well as a patient. So now the
(13:16):
state is appealing that ruling to the country's highest courts,
and now we're all on edge waiting to see what happens.
But the case is set to be argued in the
spring of next year, twenty twenty five, so we had
to wait a few more months to kind of really,
you know, see what happens in regards to that.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Yeah, it seems like a matter of unfinished business. What's
going on with this ever since the overturning of Roe v. Wade,
Like the Fourth Court Circuit Court of Appeals relying on
Supreme Court, the Supreme Court President had sided with planned parenthood,
and there were four other federal appeals courts they issued
similar rulings, but two other appeals courts, the conservative Fifth
(13:57):
and Eighth Circuits, they ruled the other way. So it's
going to be a back and forth as we go
along and hearing more about this. But it's all a
part of unfinished business. You could see it coming. It
didn't get completed between twenty sixteen and twenty twenty, but
all this started then and then came to an abrupt halt,
(14:17):
and now it's back to unfinished business. And it's catching
some people by surprise because they, you know, the normal
way of thinking that in twenty twenty, well it's over.
Nothing new is going to happen from this, but they
decided to restart. It's basically a reboot of everything that
we heard about in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Yeah, in short, so just to rewind a little bit.
In short, in twenty eighteen, prior to the Supreme Court
ruling of the Supreme Court overruling Roby Wade, Yeah, South
Carolina's governor said abortion clinics were unqualified to provide family
planning services under Medicaid, and so now.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Planned Parenthood is suing to.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Be able to provide services other than abortions, because you know,
statements like that have kind of shifted the optics of
what indeed planned parenthood does. And to your point, Alexandria,
that affects a lot of people. So it's a weird
place to be in because Planned Parenthood, yes, they do
help with parenthood, all facets of it, and you know,
(15:35):
they've become such a boogeyman and such an enemy to
those on the right that it appears as though even
you know, court justices are finding it tough to be
objective in that because again we have this decision that
is getting kicked all the way up the ladder.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
So we'll see what happens. But for our final story here.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
We head over to Texas, where a black city manager
is claiming acts of retaliation are coming her way after
she filed a discrimination suit. So Mike, let's go back
to you share with the audience a little bit more
about the story and then Alexandria will come you to
close this out.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Yeah, black city manager of small Texas town. She a
video was posted of her doing a pole dance, dancing
during a work trip, not in a bar, but street
street light, you know, just walking down the street having fun.
And you really got to watch this. You know, little
things you do. You can do a line dance in
(16:33):
the middle of Broaden High Street in the middle of
the Dayton City or something like that. And if you
have a history of some type of discord with any entity,
that will be a big deal. If you're favored in
some way and you're cool with everything, you can pole dance,
you know in Washington, d c. In the middle of
(16:55):
the street, and then you'd be fine. But in this case,
it appears be a big deal about nothing. You know,
the video was shot in Dallas. She uh, what was it?
The she was left hanging in the balance pending in
investigate investigation into unprofessional conduct. So she has a history
(17:17):
of that insubbortanate behavior, and controversy erupted with among several
city council members because of her actions, and people said,
leaders don't do that. You know that type of thing,
you know, the dancing and just having fun. Leaders don't
have fun basically is what I got out of it.
But it was it was a few say, what was
(17:38):
once two minutes or something like that, maybe even less
than that.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
I read that it was one second, one or one second. Yeah,
I read that repeatedly, that it was a one second video.
I couldn't find a video. It sounds like you couldn't
find it either.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
No, I looked for it. I thought it was very interesting,
it would be an interesting thing to see. But how
insignificant that the action was. But like I said, if
you have a history and you've made someone mad, then
everything you do is under scrutiny, and so people in
leadership roles have to recognize that. Or even you know,
people like you and me, you know, we've done something
(18:12):
and we've created a discord between people or something like that.
Every little thing you do that no one cared about
before will matter then, And that's what we have here.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah, Alexandrea, Yeah, I want to want to start off
by saying that this judge went to this Texas Municipal
League conference representing the city of Dayton. As to why
you know, they're saying it wasn't professional and as to
why they're doing what they're doing. But if I feel like,
(18:45):
you know, there would be no base for this one
second clip, if you know, she was just out on
the town with her girls or whatever the case may be.
And I love that we are owning in the fact
that this is just a one second clip showing her dancing.
But I also find it interesting. I know Mike Island
just touched on this just a little bit, but this,
(19:07):
you know, is happening at weeks. This video, I actually say,
came up weeks after she filed that racial and sex
based discrimination complaint against city leaders. But I thought was
interesting as well. But I am very curious to really
understand when this video was taken and how long they
whoever had access to this and why it came out.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Now, I'll keep it just like that, but I.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Will say others there were people spoke out in support
of her at a city council meeting. Others opposed it.
So the people in this actual community have mixed feelings
about what went down.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, well that I think that shows the mixed feelings
part at least shows how manipulative politicians can be and
how easily manipulated a population can be. And to be fair,
I didn't see the video, so I'll see that in time.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
But I have.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
I have to believe that you cannot deduce much from
a one second video if that is indeed true showing
a fifty nine year old woman dancing, I'll say, next
to a light pole. Now, this isn't a stripper pole,
(20:24):
which is of course the connection that they are trying
to make by saying pole dancing. It is a light pole,
you know, and a light pole can represent a stationary figure.
And as you know, most of the dances throughout history
are dances that you know, you dance with someone else.
You know, there's rarely a dance where it's just a
(20:45):
single person and no other bodies present.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
So a light pole is.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
You know, there's any number of ways that you can
dance next to a light pole. But if you are
doing a quote unquote stripper pole dance with a light pole,
it's hard to deduce that that is actually what's happening
from a one second video, Even if you are doing
it right, it can be just one move among you know,
(21:13):
any other thing. But you know, of course, black people
don't get plausible deniability. We don't get you know, we
always get the worst optics right. And this is part
of the reason why I think we as the people
say we have to be twice as good to be
you know, good enough, or some variation of that exists
through throughout every part of black culture in this country.
(21:37):
You know, Chris Rock said that, you know, we have
to run to something that a white man can walk to.
And this story shows exactly how far perfection is in
the minds of you know, white people with power. For
black people, you have to be perfect, way more perfect
(21:58):
than the person I voted into the offense of the
presidency because we can see and hear him making mistakes
constantly and still vote for him enthusiastically. But if we
encounter a one second video of you dancing next to
a light pole, and we can spin it in such
a way to where we can get you out of
(22:18):
our hair and out of our politics and out of office,
then that's exactly what we're going to do. This isn't
based on character, This isn't based on job performance, This
isn't based on merit, This isn't based on qualifications. This
is based on a one second video of a human
being doing what human beings do, and because it's a
black woman and not a rich white billionaire who is
(22:41):
duped in entire country three times twice successfully, then this
is the way the story goes, and she's fighting for
her career, and to that, I say kudos to the
both of you for protecting black women, Kudos to the
Black Information Network. I know people have told me since
(23:04):
this past election that the job that I do is
more important now than ever, and I'm inclined to agree
because without places like this, stories like this just happen.
She gets ousted, and then black people are even more
underrepresented in terms of politics than we are now. And
(23:25):
it's not fair. There's nothing about this. There's zero about
this story that's even remotely fair. So to your point,
Ale Grandria, the fact that you know people have mixed
feelings about the one second video, it again, I think
everyone that was telling me that this position that we
all hold is more important than ever, I think that
it lets me further know how right those people were.
(23:46):
So let's keep protecting black women and we'll leave that
one right there so well out in mind, I'd like
to thank you both very much again for your time
and your Insight once again. Today's guests are Black Information
Network news anchors Alexandria, Ikimoni and Mike Island. This has
been a production of the Black Information Network. Today's show
was produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd like
(24:06):
to share, use the red microphone talkback beature on.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
The iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download
all of our episodes. I'm your host, ramses Jaw on
all social media, and I'll be hosting another episode of
Civic Cipher this weekend on a station near you. For stations, showtimes,
and podcast info, check Civiccipher dot com and Jonas Monday.
As we share our news with our voice from our
perspective right here on the Black Information Network Daily podcast
It's been another busy news week and we like to
review the major stories of the week here on the
Black Information Network. Today, we are joined by Black Information
Network news anchors Alexandria, Ikimoni and Mike Island to discuss
this week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast, and I'm your host, ramses Jah. All right,
welcome back to the show. You too, Alexandria, tell me
(00:23):
something good?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
What's the latest?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Hello, happy to be here, as always, ready for the holidays,
and you know we're here rolling out at twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Indeed we are, Mike, talk to me, man, what's the
latest with you? All good here?
Speaker 4 (00:37):
You know, I'm ready for the holidays as well. You know,
four daughters, three grandchildren, you know, converging on the home here,
so they may end up on the air here, b I.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
In So okay, all right, well we look forward to to.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Brianazon keeps trying tapping with them, you know, the microphone, one,
two three, he's ready to.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
All right, Well, I'm not mad at it. We'll be
here if if they're ready. So all right, let's get
to say first up, as we approach the five year
anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Convicted cop Derek
Shelvin is back in the news again, and it's still
not for a good reason. Alexandria, let's get today's episode
started with you give us an update on Derek Shelvin
and then Mike will come to you next.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yes, So just kind of breaking what's happening right now,
and I feel like there's not a lot of people
that really know what's really going on with this. You
have to pay attention to the news to really know
this update, but I definitely think it's something that many
should hear. So Derek Chauvin's legal team filed emotion to
look into heart issues and fluid samples after this theory
(01:39):
came out that George Floyd may have died from a
rare heart condition and not related to Chauvin putting his
knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. We
all know that part of the story, but according to
court records, a federal judge did grant the motion, So
this is, you know, being looked into more closely. But
right now, the whole point of this and why you
(02:01):
know the legal team even bow this motion is because
Chauvin is really trying to overturn his federal conviction. You know,
he was convicted for violating Floyd's civil rights. Of course
we talked about, you know, the knee on his neck,
and right now he's serving a more than twenty year
life sent and not life centers, excuse me, a twenty
year sentence because in relations to George Floyd's death might
(02:26):
talk to.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Us a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
What do you think, Yeah, well, I'm I can't say
I'm altogether too surprised, because my mindset is that anything
that's happened to some people, it's just going to be
reversed in this new administration. I think a lot of
this is sparked by the fact of the political win
and the comfort that everything's going to fall into favor
(02:49):
if we reverse all the things that they don't like
that happen. But the only part of the story I
don't understand is why the test of his blood, Why
the blood samples weren't tested in the beginning. I don't
know the whys and wherefores of that, But this is
going to you know, and it may not even come
(03:11):
through totally when they try to do this. But I'm
just thinking that we're going to see an interesting twenty
twenty five with this case. I didn't think I'd hear
Derek Chauvin's name again until somewhere around mid twenty twenty five,
but this definitely comes as a surprise. A pre existing
(03:33):
condition is basically what the story is. He had a
pre existing condition, so he died from that, you know,
not from what happened afterwards, and that kind of a twist.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, well, this is the theory, at least according to
this one doctor. In fact, I'll share a bit from
Hollywood Unlock. According to doctor Schaitzel, Floyd appeared to have died.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
From a high level of.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Catecholamines, which CBS News reports is a neural hormone important
in stress response associated with the flight or flight response
or Takotsubo myocarditis, a heart condition that develops in response
to an intense emotional or physical experience. So it's to
(04:23):
me that sounds like smoke and mirrors, because again, if
it's fight or flight, that doesn't happen unless you feel
like your life is in jeopardy or in danger, And
that doesn't happen unless there's a knee on your neck,
which we saw. So they're just trying to put some
steps in between what ultimately happened and Derek Shulman's responsibility
for it. And again, these are theories that may or
(04:46):
may not be true. They're just getting evidence. But the
thing is, overall, it's insulting and hurtful because of course,
we all saw the video. Everybody in the world saw
that video. And one of the things that if Donald
Trump has shown us anything, it's shown us that, or
(05:06):
rather his presence in the political arena has shown us
that people don't necessarily need facts to believe something that
they want to believe. People don't need video evidence to
believe something that they want to believe. Right, And you know,
to your point, Mike, you know, under this new administration,
there might be something that you know, can happen provided
(05:30):
that they can get this case retried. And so them
kind of going back through the evidence to us, those
of us who subscribe to the same reality that is
based in fact, look at this as hurtful and insulting,
and it looks like a desire for a lack of accountability. Again,
(05:50):
we all see it, We know it. We saw what happened.
This man would be alive and well walking around if
that man did not put his knee on his neck
for eight minutes, okay or two again, create some distance,
cast some doubt, try to, you know, chronicle a new narrative.
This is this is the play, and unfortunately with a
new administration, we have to be mindful of the fact that.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
That play works. Yeah, people, more to be true, more
to come. Yeah, I just said more to come, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Moving on, and now there are two. Earlier this week,
President elect Donald Trump announced another appointment to his administration,
and his choice has raised a few eyebrows. Mike, this time,
we're gonna start with you, tell us more about Trump's
latest black appointee, and then Alexandria will follow up with you.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Well, here's another name. I didn't hear all during the campaign,
so I didn't think I'll hear this name again. But
Herschel Walker. And he's a former Buck Eye, so hey,
go Bucks. You know he's back. And she was disappointment
as ambassador to the Bahamas. It's a very interesting appointment.
I don't know if it was an appeasement thing on
(06:59):
the on the part of Donald Trump. I do. I
have read reports where he has promised him he had
promised him a position the last time around, and I
think this must have been it. So he's back as ambassador.
I don't know whether we will hear much from that
unless he makes some big error in the process of
(07:21):
being ambassador, like saying he'll say something out of kilter
or something like that. But him being ambassador to the
Bahamas doesn't really affect us as much as some of
the things that are that are coming in the twenty
twenty five. But I think it was kind of an
appeasement appointment, and I'm not sure of the qualifications for
(07:41):
doing something like that or what an ambassador of of
a place, you know, does, I'm not sure of those duties.
But very interesting nonetheless that he will be back in
the news in some form or another.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Sure, sure, Alexandria, what do you think?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yeah, And he did have a run here, like we're
talking about here in Georgia, so there are ties to
Georgia as well, And I just, you know, I just
find it interesting. And you guys kind of touched on
this just a little bit, but I wanted to just
make it a bigger point. There are only two nominations
for black people people of color. Of course, you know,
(08:20):
we'll people of colors a little bit more, but it's
just we kind of expected it, but you still wish
that there were more, you know, on this administration being nominated.
But I mean Trump was just saying, you know, he
feels like he's a black man spending decades serving as
an ambassador to the nation's youth military service member athletes
as a way to to you know, support this nomination.
(08:44):
Of course, yes, yes, just kind of let him know, like, Okay,
he's done a lot of great stuff according to this
post on social media from Trump, and then you know,
just having him have an unsuccessful run against Rafaya Warnock.
I mean that speaks for itself. But he does also
have ties here to Georgia too, and that's kind of
(09:05):
where I'm based and that's kind of my market as well.
So you know, you said, go whoever, Mike Island, I'm
going to say, u ga, you know, go dogs over here.
So winning the heighs and trophy on this end. So
we'll see, we'll see. We know, of course, he has
to be appointed by the Senate, so I guess we're
just going to watch and see what happens next.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Sure, Yeah, he's uh, I I you know, I said
it before this guy is he's he's like clearly clown shoes.
He's just a He's not an intelligent man. He's not
There's very little in the way of redeeming qualities from
(09:46):
where I sit, you know what I mean. But at
the end of the day, he is a black man
and he's doing something. So but I think what I'll say,
I'll try to frame this in a in a more
positive light, because I really don't like talking bad about
black men.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
It just is a it's a thing for me.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
But I have to be realistic and understand that some
black men represent the interests of a very adversarial facet
of this country, adversarial in terms of their approach toward
black people in general. Think Uncle Tom's right. So I'll
(10:30):
try to kind of get through this as best I can.
I will say that I am happy that rough or
that herschel Walker rather is the ambassador to the Bahamas,
and good for him because originally he was Trump. Trump
(10:51):
suggested that he would put herschel Walker in charge of
a new missile defense shield if he got elected, So
that seems like rather more in the way of responsibility,
and the stakes would be a lot higher for someone
that I don't feel is the most intelligent or measured
(11:11):
or truthful or you know, pick a thing, and so
him just kind of representing, hey, I'm the US here
on Bahama soil or whatever. Uh. That feels like lower
stakes and probably in terms of a government positions, probably
among the most appropriate position for a man of his talents.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Right, I thought they were going to him a missile Yeah,
make him a missile defense shield. I wasn't understanding that.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
So yeah, So again, I don't consume a lot of
herschel Walker news just because I feel so betrayed by him.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
I just do.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I'm not a sports guy, but that's a name that
I know from sports, And when I took a look
into like who who was the man behind this name?
I thought, oh, just just you know, you got to
stifle your vomit to consume anything from this guy. So
Black Information Network news anchors Alexandria Ikimoni and Mike Island
(12:16):
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. All right,
our next story involves the Supreme Court, the state of
South Carolina, and planned parenthood. Alexandra, you covered portions of
the Carolinas for the BIM, So let's start with you again,
give us some details on this story, and then Mike
will come to you for your reaction.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Absolutely, of course, so we all know, or I should
say that this is all stemming from abortion rights and
abortion rights access and a big conversation that was had
since the overturning AOV Wade, but also during the presidential election,
that was a big selling point for a lot of
people on who they wanted to vote for. So I
didn't want to start off by saying the magnitude of
(12:56):
what this is. But the United States Supreme Court, we'll
be hearing arguments on South Carolina cutting medicaid funding to
planned parenthood, so affecting a lot of people who need it.
The state made that decision in twenty eighteen, but it
was blocked by a lower court after being challenged by
Planned Parenthood as well as a patient. So now the
(13:16):
state is appealing that ruling to the country's highest courts,
and now we're all on edge waiting to see what happens.
But the case is set to be argued in the
spring of next year, twenty twenty five, so we had
to wait a few more months to kind of really,
you know, see what happens in regards to that.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Yeah, it seems like a matter of unfinished business. What's
going on with this ever since the overturning of Roe v. Wade,
Like the Fourth Court Circuit Court of Appeals relying on
Supreme Court, the Supreme Court President had sided with planned parenthood,
and there were four other federal appeals courts they issued
similar rulings, but two other appeals courts, the conservative Fifth
(13:57):
and Eighth Circuits, they ruled the other way. So it's
going to be a back and forth as we go
along and hearing more about this. But it's all a
part of unfinished business. You could see it coming. It
didn't get completed between twenty sixteen and twenty twenty, but
all this started then and then came to an abrupt halt,
(14:17):
and now it's back to unfinished business. And it's catching
some people by surprise because they, you know, the normal
way of thinking that in twenty twenty, well it's over.
Nothing new is going to happen from this, but they
decided to restart. It's basically a reboot of everything that
we heard about in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Yeah, in short, so just to rewind a little bit.
In short, in twenty eighteen, prior to the Supreme Court
ruling of the Supreme Court overruling Roby Wade, Yeah, South
Carolina's governor said abortion clinics were unqualified to provide family
planning services under Medicaid, and so now.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Planned Parenthood is suing to.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Be able to provide services other than abortions, because you know,
statements like that have kind of shifted the optics of
what indeed planned parenthood does. And to your point, Alexandria,
that affects a lot of people. So it's a weird
place to be in because Planned Parenthood, yes, they do
help with parenthood, all facets of it, and you know,
(15:35):
they've become such a boogeyman and such an enemy to
those on the right that it appears as though even
you know, court justices are finding it tough to be
objective in that because again we have this decision that
is getting kicked all the way up the ladder.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
So we'll see what happens. But for our final story here.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
We head over to Texas, where a black city manager
is claiming acts of retaliation are coming her way after
she filed a discrimination suit. So Mike, let's go back
to you share with the audience a little bit more
about the story and then Alexandria will come you to
close this out.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Yeah, black city manager of small Texas town. She a
video was posted of her doing a pole dance, dancing
during a work trip, not in a bar, but street
street light, you know, just walking down the street having fun.
And you really got to watch this. You know, little
things you do. You can do a line dance in
(16:33):
the middle of Broaden High Street in the middle of
the Dayton City or something like that. And if you
have a history of some type of discord with any entity,
that will be a big deal. If you're favored in
some way and you're cool with everything, you can pole dance,
you know in Washington, d c. In the middle of
(16:55):
the street, and then you'd be fine. But in this case,
it appears be a big deal about nothing. You know,
the video was shot in Dallas. She uh, what was it?
The she was left hanging in the balance pending in
investigate investigation into unprofessional conduct. So she has a history
(17:17):
of that insubbortanate behavior, and controversy erupted with among several
city council members because of her actions, and people said,
leaders don't do that. You know that type of thing,
you know, the dancing and just having fun. Leaders don't
have fun basically is what I got out of it.
But it was it was a few say, what was
(17:38):
once two minutes or something like that, maybe even less
than that.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
I read that it was one second, one or one second. Yeah,
I read that repeatedly, that it was a one second video.
I couldn't find a video. It sounds like you couldn't
find it either.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
No, I looked for it. I thought it was very interesting,
it would be an interesting thing to see. But how
insignificant that the action was. But like I said, if
you have a history and you've made someone mad, then
everything you do is under scrutiny, and so people in
leadership roles have to recognize that. Or even you know,
people like you and me, you know, we've done something
(18:12):
and we've created a discord between people or something like that.
Every little thing you do that no one cared about
before will matter then, And that's what we have here.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah, Alexandrea, Yeah, I want to want to start off
by saying that this judge went to this Texas Municipal
League conference representing the city of Dayton. As to why
you know, they're saying it wasn't professional and as to
why they're doing what they're doing. But if I feel like,
(18:45):
you know, there would be no base for this one
second clip, if you know, she was just out on
the town with her girls or whatever the case may be.
And I love that we are owning in the fact
that this is just a one second clip showing her dancing.
But I also find it interesting. I know Mike Island
just touched on this just a little bit, but this,
(19:07):
you know, is happening at weeks. This video, I actually say,
came up weeks after she filed that racial and sex
based discrimination complaint against city leaders. But I thought was
interesting as well. But I am very curious to really
understand when this video was taken and how long they
whoever had access to this and why it came out.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Now, I'll keep it just like that, but I.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Will say others there were people spoke out in support
of her at a city council meeting. Others opposed it.
So the people in this actual community have mixed feelings
about what went down.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, well that I think that shows the mixed feelings
part at least shows how manipulative politicians can be and
how easily manipulated a population can be. And to be fair,
I didn't see the video, so I'll see that in time.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
But I have.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
I have to believe that you cannot deduce much from
a one second video if that is indeed true showing
a fifty nine year old woman dancing, I'll say, next
to a light pole. Now, this isn't a stripper pole,
(20:24):
which is of course the connection that they are trying
to make by saying pole dancing. It is a light pole,
you know, and a light pole can represent a stationary figure.
And as you know, most of the dances throughout history
are dances that you know, you dance with someone else.
You know, there's rarely a dance where it's just a
(20:45):
single person and no other bodies present.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
So a light pole is.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
You know, there's any number of ways that you can
dance next to a light pole. But if you are
doing a quote unquote stripper pole dance with a light pole,
it's hard to deduce that that is actually what's happening
from a one second video, Even if you are doing
it right, it can be just one move among you know,
(21:13):
any other thing. But you know, of course, black people
don't get plausible deniability. We don't get you know, we
always get the worst optics right. And this is part
of the reason why I think we as the people
say we have to be twice as good to be
you know, good enough, or some variation of that exists
through throughout every part of black culture in this country.
(21:37):
You know, Chris Rock said that, you know, we have
to run to something that a white man can walk to.
And this story shows exactly how far perfection is in
the minds of you know, white people with power. For
black people, you have to be perfect, way more perfect
(21:58):
than the person I voted into the offense of the
presidency because we can see and hear him making mistakes
constantly and still vote for him enthusiastically. But if we
encounter a one second video of you dancing next to
a light pole, and we can spin it in such
a way to where we can get you out of
(22:18):
our hair and out of our politics and out of office,
then that's exactly what we're going to do. This isn't
based on character, This isn't based on job performance, This
isn't based on merit, This isn't based on qualifications. This
is based on a one second video of a human
being doing what human beings do, and because it's a
black woman and not a rich white billionaire who is
(22:41):
duped in entire country three times twice successfully, then this
is the way the story goes, and she's fighting for
her career, and to that, I say kudos to the
both of you for protecting black women, Kudos to the
Black Information Network. I know people have told me since
(23:04):
this past election that the job that I do is
more important now than ever, and I'm inclined to agree
because without places like this, stories like this just happen.
She gets ousted, and then black people are even more
underrepresented in terms of politics than we are now. And
(23:25):
it's not fair. There's nothing about this. There's zero about
this story that's even remotely fair. So to your point,
Ale Grandria, the fact that you know people have mixed
feelings about the one second video, it again, I think
everyone that was telling me that this position that we
all hold is more important than ever, I think that
it lets me further know how right those people were.
(23:46):
So let's keep protecting black women and we'll leave that
one right there so well out in mind, I'd like
to thank you both very much again for your time
and your Insight once again. Today's guests are Black Information
Network news anchors Alexandria, Ikimoni and Mike Island. This has
been a production of the Black Information Network. Today's show
was produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd like
(24:06):
to share, use the red microphone talkback beature on.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
The iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download
all of our episodes. I'm your host, ramses Jaw on
all social media, and I'll be hosting another episode of
Civic Cipher this weekend on a station near you. For stations, showtimes,
and podcast info, check Civiccipher dot com and Jonas Monday.
As we share our news with our voice from our
perspective right here on the Black Information Network Daily podcast
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