December 8, 2025 • 24 mins
On today's program, Host Ramses Ja and Q Ward discuss the Supreme Court's decision to allow Texas to use a redistricted map.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Broadcasting from the Civic Cyper Studios. Welcome to the QR code,
where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. Man
you are about to hear from is a man who
looks like a million bucks in a suit, and you
can't change my mind.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
He is the que and the QR cod. He goes
by the name of q war.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
My brother has a way of ruining the intro, so like, so,
what's supposed to happen right there? He's supposed to introduce me,
I'm supposed to introduce him. We do like a back
and forth and it's like a play on the show
with our names because you know, the Q and the R.
But then he says something ridiculous like that. And why
it's important to call this out is because he sets
(00:41):
me up for like supreme levels of failure because he'll
say something like, it's the guy who is a supermodel
and when he wears a suit he looks more handsome
than everybody. Now people go looking like, oh, man, who
is this person? And they get to me and they
be like, what I mean?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
You know? He all right?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
He does that all the time. He is however, they
are in the QR code. He goes by the name
ramses joh.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I think you look goodness is anyway, we need to
stick around a little Later on the show, we're going
to be asking a profound question, one that we've been
wrestling with as of late as individuals, I think in
a much larger context as a country, does love exist?
Anxious to hear your thoughts on that one. Qwort's clapback
(01:27):
is dedicated to Maga. Today it seems like Maga is
a snake eating its own tail, so I'm looking forward
to hearing your thoughts there as well. We're going to
ask the question why doesn't the fire department cost money?
Like in terms of costing you individually? And originally we're
going to go with something else, but we feel like
framing the conversation that we'll have in that way allows
(01:50):
us to touch on some key things we want to
talk about, So why doesn't the fire department cost you money?
And then we're going to start off the show with
the Supreme Court allowing Texas to move ahead with the
redistricting efforts that benefit Republicans.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
But as always, would like to start off with a
feel good feature.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
In today's feel good feature comes from the Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority Incorporated. This is an event that Q and
I got to go to in Phoenix, Arizona, and it
felt really special, so we thought we'd share it with
you because it made us feel good, all right. Fashion
out of twenty twenty five Couture Renaissance, the signature fundraiser
of the Phoenix Akarama Foundation, is a bold revival of
fashion as art where you'll see garments that transcend trends
(02:28):
and become storytelling tapestries. This year's theme celebrated the signature
fashion trends as part of the signature Fundraiser of the
Phoenix Acarama Foundation and Alpha Kapa Route Alpha Sorority Incorporated
Delta Beta Omega Chapter. With nearly seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars raised for programs and scholarships in the Great
Phoenix area. The work of the Foundation continues to directly
impact the community and that work will continue. So yeah,
(02:53):
in short, it was good to get out there among
all of these incredible, successful, brilliant, beautiful Black women and
learn about the good work that they're doing, also have
fun and have some conversation and network. But for Q
and I to be in a room like that. For
those who don't know the Akas, the Alpha kapa al
(03:15):
As a black sorority, think Kamala Harris. For us to
be in a room like that, it was energizing, was
really special. I want to make sure you got a
little bit of time here to share any thoughts that
you had from that event.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I mean, you hit it on the head. Whenever we
get to be in rooms like that, it is a
reminder that we are not in a silo and what
we're experiencing, what we feel, the things that matter to us,
the people and the things that we care about. It's inspiring.
And being the guest that many people have heard us
say her name before of doctor kim Milla Westenberg is
(03:51):
always the most honorable thing ever. We kind of look
at each other like, yeah, she's the truth and we
get to be.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Here with her. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
And when you see things like that, the resilience of
black women in particular these days amidst a hostile government reinvention,
you know, it's energizing. It's emboldening to see them remain
(04:23):
so resilient and continue to do the good work that.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
They can do.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
So shout out today Akas everywhere all the Skiwis are
always very kind to.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Me and to Q. So all right, let's move on.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
So the Supreme Court allows Texas to redistrict for Republicans. Okay,
this might be a story that you followed. If you
listen to every episode of this show. You know, we've
covered the backs and the fourths over this. But it
turns out that they got this one. So we'll start
this from the bi in. The Supreme Court allowed Texas
(04:56):
Republicans to move forward with next year's congressional elections under
a redistricting map that a federal court said likely discriminates
against black and Latino voters.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Realkirk, I want to make.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Sure that I double stamp that the federal court said
that the map discriminates against black and Latinos. The Supreme
Court said, no, it's fine, go ahead, all right, let
me get back to the article. According to the Associated Press,
the ruling temporarily pauses a lower court decision that blocked
the map and gives the state approval to use it
(05:28):
while the legal battle continues. So effectively, they're just going
to allow this to happen. The order came as Texas
begins a candidate qualifying for March primaries and follows an
emergency request from the state. Justice Samuel Alito had briefly
halted the lower court ruling earlier this week. While the
(05:48):
fore court reviewed the case, the justices did not issue
a written opinion explaining the decision. The approved map was
enacted last summer at the urging of President Donald Trump,
and is designed to give Republicans five editions seats in
the US House, bolstering the party's slim majority. Texas was
the first state to implement a redistricting plan aligned with
Trump's demands, followed by Missouri and North Carolina. Each state
(06:10):
drew new maps favoring Republican gains, while California voters passed
a ballot initiative to add five seats for Democrats in response.
The Texas map remains under review after two federal judges.
US district judges Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, and
David Gauaderrama, appointed by former President Barack Obama, ruled that
(06:30):
the districts likely violated the Constitution by deluding the political
power of the voters of color. Brown wrote that quote
politics played a role in drawing the twenty twenty five
map unquote, but said evidence showed quote it was much
more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially
jerrymandered the twenty twenty five map unquote. The ruling prompted
a sharply worded dissent from Judge Jerry Smith, a Ronald
(06:53):
Reagan appointee on the panel. Smith accused Brown of pernicious
judicial misbehaved and claim the opinion would qualify for a
Nobel Prize for fiction if there were such an award.
He added, the main winners from Judge Brown's opinion are
George Soros and Gavin Newsom.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
The obvious losers are the people of Texas and the
rule of law.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
The justices are also weighing a separate case from Louisiana
that could further redistrict race based district protections under Section
two of the Voting Rights Act, a decision that could
influence challenges to maps in Texas, California.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Missouri, and other states.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
The Supreme Court order remains temporary and leaves the door
open for a final ruling later in the term. So,
in short, again, the Supreme Court's temporary ruling is allowing
Texas to move forward. It's not a final decision, but
in effect that allows Republicans to get a shot at,
(07:48):
you know, the midterms. And when we last covered this,
it was the lower court decision that had sort of paused.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Republican efforts in Texas.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
This is a a tough one because.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
I think it's a reminder of exactly what.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Those of us who see the racism, those of us
who see the reality of the situation.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I suppose.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
It's a reminder of just kind of how powerless we
are at this moment. This is not a perpetual state.
I don't believe. I'm not going to give into despair.
Despair will not have the last word in my life,
but in this moment, I do recognize that we're powerless.
Donald Trump with a stacked Supreme Court behind him and
(08:43):
you know, both Houses of Congress.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, it's it's tough.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Q famously said that, you know, he has all the
levers of government and is able to pull them on
a whim, and the rest of us are just kind
of having to deal with that. It has been established
in federal court that these districts are racially jerry mandered
(09:16):
for political gains. So this is another posturing of this
government to suggest that race is not something that will
be protected. It's something that you can actively discriminate against,
and it you will not suffer any consequences. Indeed, it
encourages it by turning a blind eye to it. Now,
(09:40):
the one good thing that I'll say, it's a silver
lining and then I'll let you share your thoughts here
is that. And I've shared this before on the show,
so this may be second or third time.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
You've heard it. But Red states historically have.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Gotten off their gerrymandering efforts through loopholes and sort of
quasi you know, realistic.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Explanations, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Where it's to those of us that see the racial component,
it's very obvious. But since they have of an ear
of plausibility for their for the basis of their efforts,
they've been able to kind of sneak these things through
over the years. So a lot of Red states have
already been jerry mannering for such a long time that
(10:33):
they've kind of reached the end of what is really
possible given you know, the populations of their state and
where people live. Blue states don't have as pronounced a
history toward that end, and so there's a lot more
room for Jerry Mannering and Blue states. It just will
take a lot of gall because the Blue states aren't
(10:55):
accustomed to these sorts of political maneuvers. This is why
there was such a the Gavin Newsom was so celebrated
for his efforts in California because it's felt sort of
like fighting fire with fire. So there is room there
with blue states, less room with red states, and it
seems like the Supreme Court's not going to It's like
(11:17):
nobody cares about us. So that feels a little sad,
but we got a room to fight back. So there's
that cue.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Where you ended this kind of where I live right now.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
It's like nobody with power cares about us. It's like
nobody with money cares about us. And this is kind
of the point that I always make that I have
to be very very careful about making. Now I'm actively
reconsidering even saying it out loud now because this administration
is not only trying to make it illegal to disagree
(11:52):
with their commander in chief, but to categorize people that
disagree with him as terrorist. And we've seen that there's
nothing to stop them from doing that and then acting
on that, and then you know, treating you as if
it's true because they said it the way that this
(12:17):
Supreme Court is so blatantly zealot like in their loyalty
to this administration. But like there's no protections man, Like
we're talking about gerrymandering, you know, voting districts. But we
(12:42):
all know it's so much deeper than that, and it's
there's there are things are so much worse than that
that are happening right now. It's hard for our focus
to be that narrow and that singular. It's just another
example that there's no length that they won't go to,
there's no bottom. They'll do whatever he says, whatever he
wants and whatever to keep that power. Which is the
(13:05):
kind of scary thing about what you said, that this
is just a moment and we won't always be here
about I don't I'm not sure when they can just
change all the rules for everything, how do you ever
get them out of power? When voting isn't the thing,
then what's the thing? You can't physically move them. They're
the government and the military and the law enforcement and
the intelligence agencies. They're all of it. They're every branch
(13:30):
of government and everything that we thought existed that would
go against a tyrannical government, a hostile government, a government
that wasn't for the people or the constitution. We always
thought there were all these things in place that would
come to our defense in the event that this happened,
and none of them are. Not only are they not
coming to our defense, but they're complicit. They're participating in
(13:53):
the lawlessness.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Well bleak as it seems, you know, And I know
we have to cover a lot of bleak stories here.
I wish we could do happy stories. That'd be fun.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
You know, we haven't lost everything. You know.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Again, we the people, right, so it only takes a
handful of us to make a change, ten percent of
the of one half of the population. We'll move mountains
and so you know, we still have our dollars just
to have the capacity that capitalism does have its Achilles hill.
(14:38):
We just have to recognize it. You know, we still
I mean, for better or worse, are able to vote.
Look at Mom, Donnie, look at you know, there's other
elections around the country where the people have spoken.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
We're still in the fight. Just right now. We recognize
that they got the upper hand. So just don't lose faith.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
I'll try not to lose faith for me and Q
and q' is gonna always keep it real. We need
that too. So but speaking of which, you know, rethinking
kind of, I guess what our government is and who
we are relative to our government? What power do we have?
(15:17):
What we deserve as a population. We were asking the
question where we were debating. I'll give you a little
bit of peak behind the curtain here. Aque and I
were debating in our pre production meeting whether or not
to include an article that basically it just gets into
the weeds about you know, Medicare and Medicaid and people
(15:37):
losing access and all that sort of stuff. Right, it
wasn't too dense, but you know, radio we got to
kind of we got to kind of share a little
bit of facts and then really more opinions.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
It's just kind of the way this beast works. Okay.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So, because we wanted to arrive at a certain point
and have a conversation, and the articles would have been
the starting point, we were like, hey, let's not go
through the weeds. Let's just start where we want to start.
And so that's why this segment sounds a little different.
Why doesn't the fire department cost you money. Okay, Now,
(16:12):
eagle eyed viewers will remember a conversation that I had
recently with Bobby Nichols, who is a Democratic Socialist candidate
for city council. And he came up recently on the
show and discussed, you know, the enthusiasm found in the
(16:33):
Democratic Socialist movement here in the United States, and he
said something he told him story which I didn't verify,
but you know, he seems like he's a competent individual.
And even if this story is completely made up, I
think it gives some insight into how we can start
to rethink about things.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
He said that.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
In I believe he said Rome, ancient Rome, there was
no fire department per se.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Department was owned by an individual. It was privatized, right
for the people.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Just coming to the conversation, capitalism is where the means
of production are owned by individuals and socialism is where
the means of production for a society are owned by
the people. Right, And so the nature of business, rather
than to benefit the individual, is to benefit the people.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Right. It's just two different ways of thinking.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Of course, there's a lot more complicated explanations for them,
but that's a quick and dirty version.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Helps us to say this next piece.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
So the fire department in ancient Rome being owned by
an individual. What would happen is this individual would see
a house on fire or people would tell him. Then
he'd get his like wagon, water and whatever, run up
to the house and say, hey, you know, I could
put your house on fire. I could put the fire
out if you sell the house to me. You know,
(17:55):
you got about ten more minutes and then you have
your health. Is your is worth zero? Right now, I'll
give you at least something for it, and then I'll
put the fire out, will make it nice again, and
you can rent from me for the rest of your life,
you know. And that way you don't end up with zero.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Right.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And this was like taking advantage of people because it
was privatized, right, and so it would be unconscionable for
us to think of the fire department in that way. Now,
imagine if something if you had a house fire. You
imagine your house catching on fire. It's Christmas, you have
(18:31):
a tree up, it catches on fire. I know that's
a very eighties PSA sort of scenario, but you know,
stranger things have happened. And then the fire department rolls
up to your house, and it's like, all right, well,
I'll tell you what. We'll give you thirty grand for
your house. It's all it's worth now, you know, or
one hundred ground whatever. I don't know where you live,
(18:51):
but whatever, just some low ball offer and then at
least you'll have something. Otherwise it's just going to burn.
You'll have nothing, you know, and then you can use
that and rent back from us. You would feel taken
advantage of, right, it'd be something that'd be impossible to
think about. Well, I want you to hold that example
in your brain, and I want to shift gears and
talk about other public services. Right, So let me answer
(19:14):
this question first. Fire departments generally don't charge you directly
because they're funded by local taxes, property and sales part
of the city's general budget, and treat it as an
essential public service like police, similar to an insurance policy
for the whole community through though fees can apply for
false alarms or non emergency services, and sometimes out of
area responses or private EMS bills are separate.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
But for the most part, fire departments are pree.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Well, we were using that article in our pre production
meeting to talk about medicaid and how we are the
only country. Like I think the number one cause of
bankruptcy in this country is medical debt. Right, we have
to pay for the hospital. We don't have to pay
for the police. We don't have to pay for the
fire department. We don't have to pay to go to
the park. We don't have to pay. And to think
(19:59):
about that, imagine if you had to pay to go
to the library to research something. You'd be like, you
would push back against that, like, oh my god, why.
But so many of us push back against health care,
the idea of government supported healthcare. So many of us
push back against it, and we are sold fear of
(20:22):
what could potentially go wrong. And yet and still we
don't see those things going wrong anywhere else. And by
that same logic, I would argue that those of us
that see something wrong with the way that policing is
done in this country, those of us that usually they
look like me and look like Q.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
We're black men.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
For those that can't see us, For those of us
that are critical the way the policing is done, no
one ever comes to the table and says we should
privatize the police departments and you should pay per police call.
No one ever says that, but they have all of
the stuff to say about a private healthcare system or
(21:02):
and not wanting a public health care system, and it's
the most backwards, asinine things. We are getting taken advantage
of day in and day out, and.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
We've been taught.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
That that system would fail us. We've been taught to
fear something that seems to be working around the world
just fine, and we are fighting each other as a
result of that.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
To the rest of the times, yours fear is a
masterful manipulation tool. The same fear that would never allow
people to suggest privatizing police right because they're afraid that
they wouldn't show.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Up right, Yes, go ahead. Is that it's flipped on
its head to say, hey, other.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
People that need health care would get it off of
your money, and you don't want that. It's just they
just re manipulate you with the same logic. It would
save you money. Even if the idea was I'm paying
for health care for my neighbors, it would still be cheaper.
(22:08):
So none of even what stops you from doing it
is real. I think to the tune of like almost
five hundred billion dollars, it would save the country if
we did universal health care five hundred billion, won't do
it because we've been tricked into it. Before we move on,
(22:29):
I just wanted to give you some backing because you
presented this as something that you were uncertain of. Yes,
in Rome, the first fire brigade was a wealthy man
named Marcus Crisis, and exactly as you described, if the
(22:51):
owner refused to pay him, he would let their houses burn,
offering to buy it while it's on fire, and negotiating
in a predatory way, exactly like you described. Very important
to point out, though, because that's the first instance of
private fire brigade and firefighters in the way that we
think of them. But guess who had a different idea
(23:14):
the ancient Egyptian sans.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
I knew you were going to say that.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Who worked on preventative measures, you know, like the things
that we suggest regarding crime. There's ways to put things
in place to help prevent problems that haven't happened yet.
And of course ancient Africans had that idea with regard
to fires, preventing them and then fighting them because they
(23:40):
saw them as a problem for everyone they happened. Isn't
that crazy? How throughout history? I won't even say what
I'm going to say beyond that, just a very very
interesting look into the differences in the starting of fire fighting.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Stick Around will come and write that book more
Broadcasting from the Civic Cyper Studios. Welcome to the QR code,
where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. Man
you are about to hear from is a man who
looks like a million bucks in a suit, and you
can't change my mind.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
He is the que and the QR cod. He goes
by the name of q war.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
My brother has a way of ruining the intro, so like, so,
what's supposed to happen right there? He's supposed to introduce me,
I'm supposed to introduce him. We do like a back
and forth and it's like a play on the show
with our names because you know, the Q and the R.
But then he says something ridiculous like that. And why
it's important to call this out is because he sets
(00:41):
me up for like supreme levels of failure because he'll
say something like, it's the guy who is a supermodel
and when he wears a suit he looks more handsome
than everybody. Now people go looking like, oh, man, who
is this person? And they get to me and they
be like, what I mean?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
You know? He all right?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
He does that all the time. He is however, they
are in the QR code. He goes by the name
ramses joh.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I think you look goodness is anyway, we need to
stick around a little Later on the show, we're going
to be asking a profound question, one that we've been
wrestling with as of late as individuals, I think in
a much larger context as a country, does love exist?
Anxious to hear your thoughts on that one. Qwort's clapback
(01:27):
is dedicated to Maga. Today it seems like Maga is
a snake eating its own tail, so I'm looking forward
to hearing your thoughts there as well. We're going to
ask the question why doesn't the fire department cost money?
Like in terms of costing you individually? And originally we're
going to go with something else, but we feel like
framing the conversation that we'll have in that way allows
(01:50):
us to touch on some key things we want to
talk about, So why doesn't the fire department cost you money?
And then we're going to start off the show with
the Supreme Court allowing Texas to move ahead with the
redistricting efforts that benefit Republicans.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
But as always, would like to start off with a
feel good feature.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
In today's feel good feature comes from the Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority Incorporated. This is an event that Q and
I got to go to in Phoenix, Arizona, and it
felt really special, so we thought we'd share it with
you because it made us feel good, all right. Fashion
out of twenty twenty five Couture Renaissance, the signature fundraiser
of the Phoenix Akarama Foundation, is a bold revival of
fashion as art where you'll see garments that transcend trends
(02:28):
and become storytelling tapestries. This year's theme celebrated the signature
fashion trends as part of the signature Fundraiser of the
Phoenix Acarama Foundation and Alpha Kapa Route Alpha Sorority Incorporated
Delta Beta Omega Chapter. With nearly seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars raised for programs and scholarships in the Great
Phoenix area. The work of the Foundation continues to directly
impact the community and that work will continue. So yeah,
(02:53):
in short, it was good to get out there among
all of these incredible, successful, brilliant, beautiful Black women and
learn about the good work that they're doing, also have
fun and have some conversation and network. But for Q
and I to be in a room like that. For
those who don't know the Akas, the Alpha kapa al
(03:15):
As a black sorority, think Kamala Harris. For us to
be in a room like that, it was energizing, was
really special. I want to make sure you got a
little bit of time here to share any thoughts that
you had from that event.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I mean, you hit it on the head. Whenever we
get to be in rooms like that, it is a
reminder that we are not in a silo and what
we're experiencing, what we feel, the things that matter to us,
the people and the things that we care about. It's inspiring.
And being the guest that many people have heard us
say her name before of doctor kim Milla Westenberg is
(03:51):
always the most honorable thing ever. We kind of look
at each other like, yeah, she's the truth and we
get to be.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Here with her. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
And when you see things like that, the resilience of
black women in particular these days amidst a hostile government reinvention,
you know, it's energizing. It's emboldening to see them remain
(04:23):
so resilient and continue to do the good work that.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
They can do.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
So shout out today Akas everywhere all the Skiwis are
always very kind to.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Me and to Q. So all right, let's move on.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
So the Supreme Court allows Texas to redistrict for Republicans. Okay,
this might be a story that you followed. If you
listen to every episode of this show. You know, we've
covered the backs and the fourths over this. But it
turns out that they got this one. So we'll start
this from the bi in. The Supreme Court allowed Texas
(04:56):
Republicans to move forward with next year's congressional elections under
a redistricting map that a federal court said likely discriminates
against black and Latino voters.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Realkirk, I want to make.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Sure that I double stamp that the federal court said
that the map discriminates against black and Latinos. The Supreme
Court said, no, it's fine, go ahead, all right, let
me get back to the article. According to the Associated Press,
the ruling temporarily pauses a lower court decision that blocked
the map and gives the state approval to use it
(05:28):
while the legal battle continues. So effectively, they're just going
to allow this to happen. The order came as Texas
begins a candidate qualifying for March primaries and follows an
emergency request from the state. Justice Samuel Alito had briefly
halted the lower court ruling earlier this week. While the
(05:48):
fore court reviewed the case, the justices did not issue
a written opinion explaining the decision. The approved map was
enacted last summer at the urging of President Donald Trump,
and is designed to give Republicans five editions seats in
the US House, bolstering the party's slim majority. Texas was
the first state to implement a redistricting plan aligned with
Trump's demands, followed by Missouri and North Carolina. Each state
(06:10):
drew new maps favoring Republican gains, while California voters passed
a ballot initiative to add five seats for Democrats in response.
The Texas map remains under review after two federal judges.
US district judges Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, and
David Gauaderrama, appointed by former President Barack Obama, ruled that
(06:30):
the districts likely violated the Constitution by deluding the political
power of the voters of color. Brown wrote that quote
politics played a role in drawing the twenty twenty five
map unquote, but said evidence showed quote it was much
more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially
jerrymandered the twenty twenty five map unquote. The ruling prompted
a sharply worded dissent from Judge Jerry Smith, a Ronald
(06:53):
Reagan appointee on the panel. Smith accused Brown of pernicious
judicial misbehaved and claim the opinion would qualify for a
Nobel Prize for fiction if there were such an award.
He added, the main winners from Judge Brown's opinion are
George Soros and Gavin Newsom.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
The obvious losers are the people of Texas and the
rule of law.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
The justices are also weighing a separate case from Louisiana
that could further redistrict race based district protections under Section
two of the Voting Rights Act, a decision that could
influence challenges to maps in Texas, California.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Missouri, and other states.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
The Supreme Court order remains temporary and leaves the door
open for a final ruling later in the term. So,
in short, again, the Supreme Court's temporary ruling is allowing
Texas to move forward. It's not a final decision, but
in effect that allows Republicans to get a shot at,
(07:48):
you know, the midterms. And when we last covered this,
it was the lower court decision that had sort of paused.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Republican efforts in Texas.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
This is a a tough one because.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
I think it's a reminder of exactly what.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Those of us who see the racism, those of us
who see the reality of the situation.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I suppose.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
It's a reminder of just kind of how powerless we
are at this moment. This is not a perpetual state.
I don't believe. I'm not going to give into despair.
Despair will not have the last word in my life,
but in this moment, I do recognize that we're powerless.
Donald Trump with a stacked Supreme Court behind him and
(08:43):
you know, both Houses of Congress.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, it's it's tough.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Q famously said that, you know, he has all the
levers of government and is able to pull them on
a whim, and the rest of us are just kind
of having to deal with that. It has been established
in federal court that these districts are racially jerry mandered
(09:16):
for political gains. So this is another posturing of this
government to suggest that race is not something that will
be protected. It's something that you can actively discriminate against,
and it you will not suffer any consequences. Indeed, it
encourages it by turning a blind eye to it. Now,
(09:40):
the one good thing that I'll say, it's a silver
lining and then I'll let you share your thoughts here
is that. And I've shared this before on the show,
so this may be second or third time.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
You've heard it. But Red states historically have.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Gotten off their gerrymandering efforts through loopholes and sort of
quasi you know, realistic.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Explanations, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Where it's to those of us that see the racial component,
it's very obvious. But since they have of an ear
of plausibility for their for the basis of their efforts,
they've been able to kind of sneak these things through
over the years. So a lot of Red states have
already been jerry mannering for such a long time that
(10:33):
they've kind of reached the end of what is really
possible given you know, the populations of their state and
where people live. Blue states don't have as pronounced a
history toward that end, and so there's a lot more
room for Jerry Mannering and Blue states. It just will
take a lot of gall because the Blue states aren't
(10:55):
accustomed to these sorts of political maneuvers. This is why
there was such a the Gavin Newsom was so celebrated
for his efforts in California because it's felt sort of
like fighting fire with fire. So there is room there
with blue states, less room with red states, and it
seems like the Supreme Court's not going to It's like
(11:17):
nobody cares about us. So that feels a little sad,
but we got a room to fight back. So there's
that cue.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Where you ended this kind of where I live right now.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
It's like nobody with power cares about us. It's like
nobody with money cares about us. And this is kind
of the point that I always make that I have
to be very very careful about making. Now I'm actively
reconsidering even saying it out loud now because this administration
is not only trying to make it illegal to disagree
(11:52):
with their commander in chief, but to categorize people that
disagree with him as terrorist. And we've seen that there's
nothing to stop them from doing that and then acting
on that, and then you know, treating you as if
it's true because they said it the way that this
(12:17):
Supreme Court is so blatantly zealot like in their loyalty
to this administration. But like there's no protections man, Like
we're talking about gerrymandering, you know, voting districts. But we
(12:42):
all know it's so much deeper than that, and it's
there's there are things are so much worse than that
that are happening right now. It's hard for our focus
to be that narrow and that singular. It's just another
example that there's no length that they won't go to,
there's no bottom. They'll do whatever he says, whatever he
wants and whatever to keep that power. Which is the
(13:05):
kind of scary thing about what you said, that this
is just a moment and we won't always be here
about I don't I'm not sure when they can just
change all the rules for everything, how do you ever
get them out of power? When voting isn't the thing,
then what's the thing? You can't physically move them. They're
the government and the military and the law enforcement and
the intelligence agencies. They're all of it. They're every branch
(13:30):
of government and everything that we thought existed that would
go against a tyrannical government, a hostile government, a government
that wasn't for the people or the constitution. We always
thought there were all these things in place that would
come to our defense in the event that this happened,
and none of them are. Not only are they not
coming to our defense, but they're complicit. They're participating in
(13:53):
the lawlessness.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Well bleak as it seems, you know, And I know
we have to cover a lot of bleak stories here.
I wish we could do happy stories. That'd be fun.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
You know, we haven't lost everything. You know.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Again, we the people, right, so it only takes a
handful of us to make a change, ten percent of
the of one half of the population. We'll move mountains
and so you know, we still have our dollars just
to have the capacity that capitalism does have its Achilles hill.
(14:38):
We just have to recognize it. You know, we still
I mean, for better or worse, are able to vote.
Look at Mom, Donnie, look at you know, there's other
elections around the country where the people have spoken.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
We're still in the fight. Just right now. We recognize
that they got the upper hand. So just don't lose faith.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
I'll try not to lose faith for me and Q
and q' is gonna always keep it real. We need
that too. So but speaking of which, you know, rethinking
kind of, I guess what our government is and who
we are relative to our government? What power do we have?
(15:17):
What we deserve as a population. We were asking the
question where we were debating. I'll give you a little
bit of peak behind the curtain here. Aque and I
were debating in our pre production meeting whether or not
to include an article that basically it just gets into
the weeds about you know, Medicare and Medicaid and people
(15:37):
losing access and all that sort of stuff. Right, it
wasn't too dense, but you know, radio we got to
kind of we got to kind of share a little
bit of facts and then really more opinions.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
It's just kind of the way this beast works. Okay.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So, because we wanted to arrive at a certain point
and have a conversation, and the articles would have been
the starting point, we were like, hey, let's not go
through the weeds. Let's just start where we want to start.
And so that's why this segment sounds a little different.
Why doesn't the fire department cost you money. Okay, Now,
(16:12):
eagle eyed viewers will remember a conversation that I had
recently with Bobby Nichols, who is a Democratic Socialist candidate
for city council. And he came up recently on the
show and discussed, you know, the enthusiasm found in the
(16:33):
Democratic Socialist movement here in the United States, and he
said something he told him story which I didn't verify,
but you know, he seems like he's a competent individual.
And even if this story is completely made up, I
think it gives some insight into how we can start
to rethink about things.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
He said that.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
In I believe he said Rome, ancient Rome, there was
no fire department per se.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Department was owned by an individual. It was privatized, right
for the people.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Just coming to the conversation, capitalism is where the means
of production are owned by individuals and socialism is where
the means of production for a society are owned by
the people. Right, And so the nature of business, rather
than to benefit the individual, is to benefit the people.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Right. It's just two different ways of thinking.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Of course, there's a lot more complicated explanations for them,
but that's a quick and dirty version.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Helps us to say this next piece.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
So the fire department in ancient Rome being owned by
an individual. What would happen is this individual would see
a house on fire or people would tell him. Then
he'd get his like wagon, water and whatever, run up
to the house and say, hey, you know, I could
put your house on fire. I could put the fire
out if you sell the house to me. You know,
(17:55):
you got about ten more minutes and then you have
your health. Is your is worth zero? Right now, I'll
give you at least something for it, and then I'll
put the fire out, will make it nice again, and
you can rent from me for the rest of your life,
you know. And that way you don't end up with zero.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Right.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And this was like taking advantage of people because it
was privatized, right, and so it would be unconscionable for
us to think of the fire department in that way. Now,
imagine if something if you had a house fire. You
imagine your house catching on fire. It's Christmas, you have
(18:31):
a tree up, it catches on fire. I know that's
a very eighties PSA sort of scenario, but you know,
stranger things have happened. And then the fire department rolls
up to your house, and it's like, all right, well,
I'll tell you what. We'll give you thirty grand for
your house. It's all it's worth now, you know, or
one hundred ground whatever. I don't know where you live,
(18:51):
but whatever, just some low ball offer and then at
least you'll have something. Otherwise it's just going to burn.
You'll have nothing, you know, and then you can use
that and rent back from us. You would feel taken
advantage of, right, it'd be something that'd be impossible to
think about. Well, I want you to hold that example
in your brain, and I want to shift gears and
talk about other public services. Right, So let me answer
(19:14):
this question first. Fire departments generally don't charge you directly
because they're funded by local taxes, property and sales part
of the city's general budget, and treat it as an
essential public service like police, similar to an insurance policy
for the whole community through though fees can apply for
false alarms or non emergency services, and sometimes out of
area responses or private EMS bills are separate.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
But for the most part, fire departments are pree.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Well, we were using that article in our pre production
meeting to talk about medicaid and how we are the
only country. Like I think the number one cause of
bankruptcy in this country is medical debt. Right, we have
to pay for the hospital. We don't have to pay
for the police. We don't have to pay for the
fire department. We don't have to pay to go to
the park. We don't have to pay. And to think
(19:59):
about that, imagine if you had to pay to go
to the library to research something. You'd be like, you
would push back against that, like, oh my god, why.
But so many of us push back against health care,
the idea of government supported healthcare. So many of us
push back against it, and we are sold fear of
(20:22):
what could potentially go wrong. And yet and still we
don't see those things going wrong anywhere else. And by
that same logic, I would argue that those of us
that see something wrong with the way that policing is
done in this country, those of us that usually they
look like me and look like Q.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
We're black men.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
For those that can't see us, For those of us
that are critical the way the policing is done, no
one ever comes to the table and says we should
privatize the police departments and you should pay per police call.
No one ever says that, but they have all of
the stuff to say about a private healthcare system or
(21:02):
and not wanting a public health care system, and it's
the most backwards, asinine things. We are getting taken advantage
of day in and day out, and.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
We've been taught.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
That that system would fail us. We've been taught to
fear something that seems to be working around the world
just fine, and we are fighting each other as a
result of that.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
To the rest of the times, yours fear is a
masterful manipulation tool. The same fear that would never allow
people to suggest privatizing police right because they're afraid that
they wouldn't show.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Up right, Yes, go ahead. Is that it's flipped on
its head to say, hey, other.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
People that need health care would get it off of
your money, and you don't want that. It's just they
just re manipulate you with the same logic. It would
save you money. Even if the idea was I'm paying
for health care for my neighbors, it would still be cheaper.
(22:08):
So none of even what stops you from doing it
is real. I think to the tune of like almost
five hundred billion dollars, it would save the country if
we did universal health care five hundred billion, won't do
it because we've been tricked into it. Before we move on,
(22:29):
I just wanted to give you some backing because you
presented this as something that you were uncertain of. Yes,
in Rome, the first fire brigade was a wealthy man
named Marcus Crisis, and exactly as you described, if the
(22:51):
owner refused to pay him, he would let their houses burn,
offering to buy it while it's on fire, and negotiating
in a predatory way, exactly like you described. Very important
to point out, though, because that's the first instance of
private fire brigade and firefighters in the way that we
think of them. But guess who had a different idea
(23:14):
the ancient Egyptian sans.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
I knew you were going to say that.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Who worked on preventative measures, you know, like the things
that we suggest regarding crime. There's ways to put things
in place to help prevent problems that haven't happened yet.
And of course ancient Africans had that idea with regard
to fires, preventing them and then fighting them because they
(23:40):
saw them as a problem for everyone they happened. Isn't
that crazy? How throughout history? I won't even say what
I'm going to say beyond that, just a very very
interesting look into the differences in the starting of fire fighting.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Stick Around will come and write that book more
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