Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Broadcasting from the Civic Ciphers Studios. Welcome to the QR Code,
where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The
man you're about to hear from is a measured man,
a man who is a deep thinker, and you'll soon
find a prolific philosopher. He is the Q in the
QR code. He goes by the name of q War.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
The voice you just heard, that hopefulness, that optimism, that
somehow joy is the captain of this ship. He's the
host of the show in the R. In the QR code,
he goes by the name ramses Jah and has said,
my name is q Ward and I just work here.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Oh you're funny. We want you to stick around, though,
because we got a lot to talk about today. A
little later in the show, we're gonna be talking about
something's been making some big news. I don't know if
you remember Dean Kane, but he was the guy who
played Superman. If I'm not mistaken, that would have been
in the nineties. Well, he is either poor or feeling
(00:57):
very republican because he joined ICE. So we're going to
talk about that and what would compel a person to
do that, especially someone with a history in Hollywood like him.
We're also going to be talking about how Donald Trump's
approval rating has plummeted with black voters. We've been kind
of monitoring this very closely for national reasons and obvious reasons,
of course, but now we have some additional data to
(01:19):
add to our longstanding conversation about Donald Trump's effect on
America and black life in America. We're also going to
be talking about how Gavin Newsom has stepped up and
been threatening to redistrict California to match Texas's redistricting efforts.
That's something that we like to see and we're really
excited to get into those weeds. We're also going to
(01:41):
be doing a little bit of a departure to kick
off today's show. When we discuss culture, We're going to
be talking about a thread that we came across that
we thought was very special, and it's a thread of
white women apologizing to black women. And I know what
you're thinking, but I promise it's beautiful. Just stay tuned.
But before we get to all that, it is time
(02:02):
for our feel good feature. In today's feel good feature
comes from Newsweek, and I'll get right into it. The
Trump administration suffered two legal defeats within hours last Friday.
The judge in California ordered the release of a Syria
national it has been seeking to deport, while a federal
Rhode Island judge blocked the imposition of new conditions on
domestic violence programs as part of the president's campaign against
(02:24):
gender ideology. Details of both cases were shared on x
by Kyle Chaney, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico News.
We contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the Department
of Justice for comment on Saturday outside of regular office
hours via email and press inquiry farm, respectively. With the
Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress as well as the
White House, the courts have emerged as one of the
(02:46):
main impediments sorry to Trump's administration's policies. The administration has
suffered a number of prominent legal defeats, including courts striking
down punitive measures introduced by Trump against law firms and
proceedings against him, blocking a bid to strip thousands of
Haitian migrants of legal protection, and removing sanctions aimed at
(03:07):
International Criminal Court employees. Friday also saw Senior District Judge
William Smith of Rhode Island rule, the Trump administration couldn't
impose fresh conditions on funds granted by the Violence Against
Women Act due to the President's Executive Order of fourteen
one to sixty eight titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology,
Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government ick
(03:30):
all right. The funding is distributed by the Department of
Justice's Office on Violence against Women. Trump's order stated that
sex is a person's quote immutable biological class classification as
male or female unquote, and that the federal government should
quote prioritize investigations and litigation to enforce the rights and
freedoms unquote associated with this position. The Office on Violence
(03:51):
against Women updated its policy on what constitutes out of
scope activities and therefore should not be funded by its
grants after this order was issued in a submitately may.
According to the court ruling, this added spending on quote
inculcating or promoting gender ideology as defined in Executive Order
fourteen one sixty eight unquote to the prohibited list. The
(04:11):
case was brought by a coalition of seventeen nonprofit groups,
which argued adhering to President Trump's position on gender was
impeding their ability to assist victims of domestic violence. Judge
Smith back the coalition's position, concluding that the fresh requirements
imposed by the Trump administration quote could result in the
disruption unquote of services for victims of domestic and sexual violence. Sorry,
(04:33):
that took a little longer than I expected, but I
wanted to get that all out because trans rights are
human rights. All right, let's move on. Um. Yeah, So,
as you know, if you're a longtime listener of the
show Q and I, we sift through news articles and
online content and we try to bring you journalistically credible
(05:00):
content that is based in fact that as well researched
that we can stand by. We don't always get it right,
but that is the intent of all the programming that
we create, the intention behind you rather and every so
often we come across something that just feels kind of special,
(05:22):
and this topic it's one of those. So there's no
article to go with it. And you know, for those
that have been listening to the show for some time,
this might feel like a departure. But my hope is
that you'll appreciate this the way that you and I
both appreciated it. One of the things that I think
it's important to share with you is that on this show,
(05:46):
you and I have long stated that a truth, a
fundamental truth, not just in the context of this program
or our programs collectively, but in the context and like
scientific context, even that black women are as close to
God as you can get on this planet. Indeed, black
(06:12):
women brought forth Homo sapien sapiens, and we affirm and
will continue to that black women deserve our support and
our protections, and so this is in that spirit. I
also want to mention that in framing the segment last week,
(06:37):
we had to deal with some news that was very disappointing.
Black women have suffered the largest ever job loss in
the history of the United States in the last six
months under President Donald Trump. Please go back and check
out our previous shows. If you have access to a podcast,
(06:59):
we are the QR code and all of our archive
shows are uploaded, and you can also check out anything
you may have missed. But this thread felt a little
bit special. Again, this is white women apologizing to black women.
So we came across this. The creator of this thread
(07:22):
is a woman named at wild Gina on Twitter, and
I'll share a few of them and then Q you
can share the rest of the time with our listeners.
It starts by wild Genius putting a post up saying
white women apologize below to black women without centering yourself.
I want to see what y'all come up with, Okay,
and just seeing I'm reading this from my phone just
(07:43):
because it's one of those okay. The first response, it's
from Heather and two Girls. It says, I'm sorry for
perceiving loudness as anger. The next is from Alexis Draft.
I'm sorry to the Black women that we have undermined
your consistent work to build community. The next one, from
(08:05):
Gina Catherine Underscore, says, dear black women, I'm deeply sorry
that the healthcare system, the education system, the workplace diminish
and to value your presence. I'm sorry that the rules
for anger and grief are different, are not acceptable for
you than white women. I'm sorry that more threatening than
a bear or a man is a white woman. I'm
shamefully sorry how long I was blind to these truths
(08:26):
and more. The next one comes from Erica Rose one
one one. I'm sorry I ever believed in the quote
I don't see color unquote crap I was taught growing
up in the eighties. The next one from m N
Matriarch says, from the depths of my soul, I am
sorry for the pain we have caused and continue to
cause Black women. Time and again, you give grace where
(08:47):
none is deserved. Salaija underscore twenty seven. Dear Black women,
from a Native woman, I'm sorry that you had to
also be freed from my ancestors as well. I'm sorry
some of you weren't recognized for your contenttributions to our
tribes until generations too late. And I'm sorry that today
we are somehow taking better care of than y'all are.
You deserve reparations. I can never redeem what you deserve
(09:09):
from the beginning. All I can do is say I
see you, and I stand with you now. Metro P, Sorry,
retro P. I'm so sorry that motherhood has been stolen
from you in ways that we cannot fathom. Whether that
was nursing white babies while yours were taken away from you,
lack of care, negligent health care and mortality rates of
(09:30):
pregnant Black women, violent testing and experimentation, and the name
of lies slash the guise of medical advancement slash discovery
all the way to the anxiety you must feel as
your children navigate a world built on your backs but
not built for them. I'm sorry your peace was decimated,
and yet you have persevered, thrived, and created families chosen
are otherwise that are enviable from all other cultures. Home, Safety,
(09:54):
Love and Lessons. It's from caffeinated Underscore book, Babe. Dear
Black women, thank you. Let's get your thoughts here.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
This segment would have to be about three hundred and
sixty five days long for us to possibly get to
the amount of apologies owed to and necessary to bring
forth any amount of actual reckoning to Black women in
this country. They have had to be the backbone. They
(10:39):
have had to be the shelter. They have had to
be the umbrella. They have had to be the voice,
the north star, the guide, the teacher, the nurse, the mother,
the sister, the wife, the head of household. Because of
a system developed in Push Forward by our government which
(11:01):
incentivized the absent father in the household for fiscal benefit,
they have had to bear the brunt of being a
double sometimes triple minority in a country that has always
targeted and marginalized minorities, They've done all of that with
(11:26):
a smile on their face. And for every other marginalized
or subjugated group, they've always been first to show up first,
to speak up first, to raise a hand to protect first,
to lend a hand, to help first, to wrap an
arm around to cover everyone else. All the time, while
(11:50):
being the most highly educated and mostly and most qualified,
they're first looked over and most often passed over. This
last presidential race was a great example when the most
qualified candidate for president in the history of a country
is brought to the center in the front of the
(12:13):
room to be read all the ways that she falls short,
while the least competent, least qualified white man in the
history of the presidency wins the second term and nobody
raises the question the lack of qualification, the lack of experience,
the lack of basic humanity and decency. We got to
(12:35):
see in real time what it means to be a
black woman in America, and when the competition or the
standard is always the heterosexual, christian white man, the black woman,
no matter how she aligned in those other categories, is
always going to be compared less favorably. Yet when this
(12:59):
country or it's people need saving, guidance, prayer, direction, food protection, tutelage.
The black woman is the first turned to and the
first to show up. There could not have been enough
(13:19):
apologies there. You can't say sorry in enough ways to
ever make them whole, or to ever provide enough repair.
But I'm so glad that someone is at least trying
to do so.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Thank you, Thank you, Q, thank you for that. Yeah,
we kind of work in this space, so we a
lot of times people cry to us, so we know
(13:58):
a lot of the pain that's behind a lot of
those words. And I, you know, I couldn't have a
better teammate, man. Thank you for that. All right, let's
move on, not but because we want to. But that's
how time works and clocks work in radio and whatnot.
So let's talk about Gavin Newsom. He has in recent
(14:19):
days and months, if I'm being honest, really risen up
as like sort of a great champion of democracy, you know,
whereas prior he would have simply been a champion of
the Democratic Party, one of the great champions there. But
he's actually, you know, he's gone into the lions den.
(14:43):
He's you know, he's unafraid, and I don't know everything
there is to know about him, but some of his
brighter moments seem like, you know, he's doing his best
to preserve democracy. So I'm gonna start this segment using
his own words, and then we'll get into a bit
(15:05):
of an article. So let's start here.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
We are moving forward, make no mistake, California's moving forward
as a state that's larger than twenty one state populations combined.
We are not a small, isolated state larger than twenty
one populations combined. We tried to play by a higher
set of standards and rules with our independent Redistrict Team,
(15:29):
and we believe in that. And we are not talking
about eliminating that commission. We are talking about emergency measures
to respond to what's happening in Texas, and we will
nullify what happens in Texas. We will pick up five
seats with the consent of the people. And that's the
difference between the approach we're taking and the approach they're taking.
(15:50):
We're doing it a temporary basis, We're doing it in
a fully transparent way, and we're doing it by asking
the people of the state of Coal for their consent
and support mark that stark contrast to what's happening in
Texas and other states.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Okay, that, of course, Gavin Newsom responding to the jerrymandering
that is taking place in Texas or that they want
to take place in Texas, and the standoff as a
result of that between the Texas House Democrats and the
Texas House Republicans, Gavin Newsom basically saying, hey, if Texas
(16:35):
is going to be all the way like that, then
we can get like that too. We got all the
people in this state, and we can nullify what they're
doing in Texas. And so it basically, if y'all are
going to start a war, we're going to respond to
a war. And there's a lot of people that are
applauding that energy. It's been Democrats, in my view, this
(17:01):
is my personal view, have really tried to historically rise
above things like this, maintain the status quo, be fair,
be polite, have some decency when it comes to politics.
You know, there is a standard and a framework in
which traditionally things would operate, and Republicans in my view,
(17:25):
have in more recent years increasingly stepped outside of that
traditional framework to accomplish their agendas. Jerry Mandering is sort
of an age old practice of basically writing out undesirables
from you know, voting, but you know, for black people
in particular, it goes back even further than that, you know,
(17:47):
because we had to live through Jim Crow and you know,
voter id laws and voter tests and all that sort
of stuff, you know what I mean. And those typically
come from conservative parties that don't want a progressive facet
of the country participating regardless of the name of the party,
because as we know, the party switch platforms in the
(18:09):
early nineteen hundreds up through about the middle of the
last century. So I just want to share this last
little bit. This is just so that it's documented. This
is to be fair and fully transparent. From gov dot
CA dot gov. So this is from the office of
Gavin Newsom, but I figured what better source. As Donald
(18:31):
Trump and Texas Republicans push rigged congressional maps to seize
power before a single vote is cast in the twenty
twenty sixth election, Governor Gavin Newsom and California leaders hosted
Texas Democratic lawmakers who are breaking quorum to defend democracy
against the GOP's hyperpartisan Jerrymander. The governor and state leaders
have floated a potential statewide ballot measure that would reaffirm
(18:52):
California's commitment to national independent redistricting and allow voters to
temporarily adjust the state's congressional map only if Texas or
other gop led states manipulate theirs. Donald Trump is tipping
the scales of justice toward injustice for us all. He
realizes his agenda is so unpopular that he'd rather rig
the next election and prevent voters from holding him accountable
(19:13):
and provide a check on his deeply unpopular policies. California
stands ready to flex its muscle to ensure the integrity
of our democracy nationwide. Quote. We came here knowing the risks. Lawsuits, threats,
and intimidation won't stop us. We swore an oath not
to Trump, not to Abbot, and not to any party.
We swore to defend the constitution and the people we represent.
We're not backing down, unquote, said Texas Representative Ann Johnson.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Now that Republicans know they are going to lose the
House next year, they're trying to change the rules to
redraw congressional district maps and rig the election in their
favorite Democrats must respond to Republicans blatant partisan powagraph. We
cannot and will not even the laterally disarm unquote, said
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. Okay, so I like this. This
(19:57):
feels like strength, this feels like a flex, and I
know that they're kind of floating the same thing in
New York. You know, what were your I guess early thoughts,
and how do you feel about it now?
Speaker 2 (20:09):
You I'm at once excited that someone's doing something, okay,
because we've been very upset out loud, but kinetically no
action to match that. So that someone is doing something
is a big deal. And Gavin has He's really put
(20:34):
me on a roller coaster with regard to how I
feel about him. A couple of years ago, he was
the person that I wanted most in the presidential race.
I thought he checked every box and would have won.
I still to this day think he would have beat
Donald Trump handedly, and not because I aligned with him
(20:54):
on everything or that he aligned with aligns with us
on everything. But I think he checks enough of the
boxes necessary for enough of the people in this country
to have faith in voting for him. Joe Biden won
an election while checking far less boxes. He checked the
two that matter most of the people in this country, however,
and that's white man, and that's a kind of false equivalence.
(21:21):
He's a far better option than Donald Trump. I don't
even want this to be a lesser of two evils
discussion that we tend to have when it comes to
that man. He's a far superior candidate in every way
that you can be to Donald Trump. But he's also
shown some allegiances and some alliances to that white man
part that have at times made me uncomfortable, like that
(21:42):
chummy conversation that he had with Charlie Kirk, making him
seem like a normal person that you could that you
should sit and have a warm at a boy conversation with.
And again that was him being able to dismiss all
of the things that are very, very foul in nature
(22:04):
about Charlie Kirk, and except that those things that they
have in common would rule the day as they laughed
and smiled and were pleasant with each other. Fire with fire, though,
is an approach that we are very very late to
the party on. We have been sticking to these polite
congenial political norms, taking the high road and playing by
(22:28):
rules that weren't even laws. As we watched the other
side stop doing that years ago, they stopped playing in
the middle, they stopped playing polite, they stopped playing politics,
and we kept doing that. No matter how many times
they beat us by going low, we kept trying to
maintain this interest. We're here for everyone approach. It's about
(22:53):
time somebody got angry enough and was bold enough to
say I have some power too, and we can play
the same game that you're playing without breaking the law.
That those type of options are available, and that someone
was willing to and able to or is willing to
(23:16):
enable to play this game different should be encouraging. But
I won't make it a habit of getting too excited
about anything until it actually matters. Sharing powerful rhetoric and
giving hopeful speeches and getting upset at Trump and doing
all these things don't matter until they're kinetic. The theory
(23:36):
and the idea that something might change is cool, But
I'm done playing the false help game too, so I'll
be late to the party on getting excited about anything
until I see something different play out in real time.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yeah, sometimes I think when Michelle Obama said they go low,
we go high. That she might have that was a
great idea at the time, but it was such a
statement that it kind of lasted in the culture longer
than its moment, and it might have even been a
little late at the time she said it. But it's
(24:12):
good to see people are now rounding that corner. All right,
better do better. Yeah, we're going to talk about Donald
Trump because he better do better. I suspect he's going
to be in here a lot. He has been in
here a lot. Let's just get into it. This is
(24:32):
from c NBC. President Donald Trump on Sunday again signaled
that he is ramping up plans to target crime in Washington, DC,
even as data shows that crime rates in the nation's
capital are falling. He also issued and this is what
I want you to pay attention to. He also issued
a warning to the city's homeless population. Quote the homeless
have to move out immediately. That's in all caps. We
(24:55):
will give you places to stay, but far that's an
all caps from the capital unquote, he wrote on True
Social Trump's remarks come as he has increased his has
increased his rhetoric. Sorry about countering crime in the district.
In recent days, after a former member of the Department
of Government Efficiency was assaulted and attempted in an attempted carjacking. Quote.
(25:19):
It's all going to happen very fast, just like the
border unquote, Trump wrote on true social quote. We went
from millions pouring in to zero in the last few months.
This will be easier. Be prepared another quote here, there
will be no mister nice guy. That's an all caps
We want our capital back. That's in all caps as well.
(25:39):
And that's the end of that quote. All right. Last month,
Trump signed an executive order making it easier for cities
to remove homeless people, drawing fire from advocates for the homeless.
The social media post is the latest sign that he
seeks to follow through on this effort, particularly in the
nation's capital. Trump's comments about crime and DC are at
odds with the data from the Justice Department that shows
(26:01):
violent crime in the city in twenty twenty four was
at a thirty year low, and homicides, robberies, and armed
carjackings have all declined. Trump also reiterated in his social
media post that he plans to hold a press availability
at the White House on Monday about crime in DC.
And a subsequent True Social post. Later on Sunday, he
(26:22):
said that the media availability will be Monday at ten am.
He said his remarks will also quote be about cleanliness
and the general physical renovation and condition of our once
beautiful and well maintained capital. Okay, I don't really have
too much for this. I'm gonna just share a couple
of things that people who voted for Donald Trump should
(26:47):
know about, and then I will see the rest of
the time to UQ, because you are really good at
bringing us home. The first thing, just a note I
have here. The phrase the poor you will have always
with you is a quote from the Bible, specifically found
in Matthew twenty six and eleven and John twelve eighteen.
It is often interpreted as a statement about the inevitability
(27:09):
of poverty in society, but it's also a call to
action to care for those in need. Jesus when speaking
these words, was using a common saying from the Old Testament,
emphasizing that there will always be people who require assistance. Okay,
so these again, this is for the people who voted
for Donald Trump for whatever reason. Next note I have
here the phrase give me you're tired, You're poor, your
(27:35):
huddled masses yearning to breathe free is a line from
the sonnet The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus. The poem
is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the
Statue of Liberty in New York City. It has become
a powerful symbol of the United States's historical role as
a haven for immigrants. Okay, that's all I wanted to
say to all of you. Trumple Trumpe was out there,
(27:57):
all you people who listen and then come find me
on Instagram and try to argue with me. Just wanted
you to know that those two things are facts.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
All right, cute anything, There's never enough time, I know,
distractions while democracy burned, the National Guard once again being
mobilized for political theater, cracked down on homelessness like it's
(28:26):
a crime the land of the free until it's time
for freedom to be expressed. So once again, hundreds of
National Guard troops gearing up in DC, not for an emergency,
but for political theater, while homeless people are being treated
(28:50):
like criminals. Clean up over compassion. Armies to the city
to erase poor people, and then they dress it up
and they call it security. Let's clean up the city.
But they don't propose building shelters. They mobilize armed forces
(29:13):
to protect an image and to remove people, to criminalize suffering.
Imagine that you're homeless, you don't have a job, you
don't have a place to live. You are suffering. Therefore
you are a criminal. So you can't be homeless. You
(29:35):
can't be black, you can't be brown, you can't protest,
you can't disagree with them, you can't speak up. I
could go on and on about all the things that
they are turning into crimes that are just really part
of the human condition. The Land of the Free, they say,
prove it.