August 8, 2025 • 24 mins
On part 2 of today's podcast, Hosts Ramses Ja and Q Ward discuss Trump's threat to deploy the FBI on Texas Democrats.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Broadcasting from the Civic Cypher Studios.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Welcome to the QR Code, where we share perspective, seek understanding,
and shape outcomes. The man you're about to hear from
is a man who takes care of me, the man
that tries.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
His best to make sure that.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm spiritually balanced, and a person that I am honored
to be on this journey with.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
He is the Q in the QR code and he
goes by the name of Qboard.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
The voice you just heard is giving me way too
much credit. The truth of the matter is he is
the Hope, not just the R in the QR code,
and gives me a north Star win things don't feel
that awesome. He goes by the name ramses Jah, and
I hope I don't let you down.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, we need you to stick around because you know,
if you're a longtime listener of the show, you know
we deal with some heavy topics and today there is
no exception. Not going to pretend that we got good news,
but you know, we do have to talk about the
goings on in the world so that you're informed and
you can and make decisions that hopefully contribute to a
(01:02):
better world for all of us. And we are on
this journey with you, for better or worse. We don't
intend to give up on you. So later in the show,
we're going to be talking about how Donald Trump has
threatened to deploy the FBI on Texas Democrats that have
fled the state in protest of the states attempts to
jerry mander and secure additional Republican seats for the midterm elections.
(01:27):
We're also going to be talking about a brutal, a
verbal beat down of Mike Flood during a town hall.
You know, people really had a lot to say about
him and his policies in Lincoln, Nebraska. We got some
audio to share with you. And then we're also going
to be talking about how black unemployment has surged under
(01:51):
Donald Trump's administration. We talked about black women, but it
turns out it's black people across the board who to
thunk right. All that and so much more to stick
around for. But first and foremost, it is time to
start off with a feel good feature. In today's feel
Good Future, we are going to spotlight PA dot org
and I'll share regional educational groups serving children and adults
(02:11):
are cautiously optimistic after the US Department of Education reinstated
over two hundred and thirty million dollars in federal funding
that was withheld during a review earlier this month. Quote
it's all been very successful.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Un quote.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
CEO of Literacy Pittsburgh, Carrie Harris said, The statement goes on,
but when we all found out.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
We were very relieved. These were tiers of joy.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Unquote.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
The nonprofit offers free educational programs for almost four thousand
adults in families.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Each year.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
A third of their seven point three million dollar budget
is funded through federal grants that have been reinstated. Quote
we're cautiously optimistic. We've been told there are new conditions
attached to the funds unquote, Harris said. Statement goes on
to say, what is the government telling us to do differently?
If anything, we are just waiting. A senior administration official
(03:01):
with the Federal Office of Budget and Management said in
a statement that funds, which the Associated Press reports is
over six billion dollars, will be released to all states,
and then new guardrails are in place to ensure they
are not used in violation of executive orders or administration policy.
It was not immediately clear how the funds may have
been misused Governor Josh Shapiro joined a multi state lawsuit
(03:23):
filed in mid July against the Trump administration for withholding
the funding.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Quote.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
We sued the Trump administration, and now the Department of
Education has told us that every dollar of the two
hundred and thirty million dollars unlawfully withheld from Pennsylvania schools
will be returned to US critical funds that school districts
rely on to meet their budgets. Trained teachers, provide after
school programs, and more. Unquote, Shapiro said in a statement,
So sometimes we have feel good features, and they actually
(03:50):
do feel good. It shouldn't have had to fight for
money for education. But the fact that they fought in
one that's not nothing in today's climate. So that at
least made us feel good around here. All right, Black
unemployment rates, So you know, one of the things that
(04:12):
we've we've talked about. I feel like we talked about
this yesterday. Might have been yesterday that we mentioned it,
but I remember I think it might have been me
that said it. I'm not sure it might have been you.
Who knows, but you know, black women, in particular of
black women voted for Kamala Harrison the last election, and
(04:36):
even more voted against Trump because of course there were
third party candidates. Black women, in theory, should have been
the north star on this election and every election. You know,
the health of a society and the morality of a society,
(04:58):
I think is determined by how the society treats the
lowest in that society, and unfortunately, the lowest has always
been in this country black women. Now I'll add to
that that black men I believe voted against Donald Trump
(05:19):
somewhere north of eighty two percent, and those two percentages
were the most pronounced percentages in the last election, full stop.
Every other racial group broken down, was closer to the middle.
Black people were was the only group that kind of
voted in the extreme against the current administration. But black women.
(05:45):
What we said yesterday was that black women kind of
saw this coming. I kind of saw that it would
make the world harder for them and for everyone. But
they have often been sort of the canary and the
coal mine. Unfortunate. That's a heartbreaking thing to say. But
you know, how healthy is the society? Well, how healthy
(06:06):
are black women? They warned us, They told us it
was a black woman running for president. So that was
the gut punch. You know that the country said no
to the black women running for president, but also they
knew what was coming with this administration, and indeed, black
(06:26):
women suffered the greatest job loss in American history based
on actual numbers. And you know, your heartbreaks for this
group of people that they don't black women don't hurt people,
they're not. You know, it's for what what more can
(06:52):
you have from a group of people that you've stolen
from their homeland, renamed, raped into submission, be into submission,
taken everything from time and time again, and yet and
still voted for this man who has taken from them again, right,
And uh, it's just an awful reality. But indeed they
(07:18):
clocked it because, as I mentioned, black unemployment has surged
under Donald Trump. So I'll share an article from the
Black Information Network. Those are my two cents Q, and
I'll give the rest of the time to you, but
again from the BI in A recent spike in black
unemployment may be an early indicator of broader economic troubles,
according to economists. According to the Labor Department, the unemployment
rate for Black Americans climbed to seven point two percent
(07:40):
in July, which is up from the six point eight
percent in June and the six point three percent from
a year ago. The black unemployment rate is also significantly
higher than the national average, which lies at four point
two percent. For black women, unemployment has increased from five
point five percent to six point three percent over the
past year. Contributing factors to the trend include federal job cuts,
which disproportionately affect did black workers, and agencies like the
(08:01):
Department of Education and Health and Human Services, black employees
represent over twenty percent of the workforce. Significant increases in
black unemployment are also occurring in states like South Carolina
and Michigan, where the rate has reached ten percent, nearly
double the states overall. Experts have also cited business uncertainty
around trade policy, the rise of AI, and political efforts
to roll back DEI programs as other potential factors contributing
(08:23):
to the spike in black unemployment. Economists are warning that
the current pattern of black and employment looks like an
emerging trend of the overall labor markets slowing down, and
it's been noted that more than three hundred thousand black
women lost jobs in the first half of twenty twenty five.
These types of shifts often precede a wider economic downturn.
So yeah, que I want to talk up all the time,
(08:46):
So let's get you away in.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
H This is one of those topics where I wish
you would have talked up all the time, and them
just having a harder time trying to perform hopefulness, trying
to not appear and or sound displaced and discouraged and hopeless.
(09:16):
You keep hoping that one day you're going to turn
on the television or open up newspaper, or click on
your favorite website, or turn on our show, and we'll
have something good to say, something redeeming, something hopeful, something encouraging.
And you know, those who work in newsrooms across the
(09:39):
country know, like Rams and I know that there's so
many stories we don't even get to cover. Yeah, there's
so many families we don't get to comfort, we don't
get to reassure. There's so many things that we see
that we don't even We just know there's not enough
time in it data talk about all of the difficult
(10:01):
things that happened, except we know they're happening because we
get those stories, we get those headlines. We go through
our databases and we you know, we talk about the
stories that are either already receiving the most coverage or
that we think, you know, have some significance and a
lot of people will be impacted by it. Like this
(10:22):
story I didn't want to do just to bring you
guys behind the curtain and our production meetings we talk
about which stories, and I didn't want to do this
story because it was, like, man, we just told people
that black women lost the most jobs and had the
most had the largest surgeon unemployment in the history of
the United States. We're going to piggyback that with oh, sorry,
(10:45):
another surgeon unemployment for black people in general. And Ramsay's
responsibly said, man, people need to know this stuff, And
I agree. I just wish it mattered. I wish our
sadness and our outrage and our disgust frustrations mattered. I
wish how do all the people with all the stuff
(11:08):
or how are all the people who have all the stuff,
all the money, all the resources, all the access to food,
to healthcare, to yachts, infinitypool's mansions, private jets, helicopters, those
people who should be having the happiest life, How are
all of them on the bad team? There's no people
with power and resources and money and influence who aren't bad,
(11:33):
people who aren't completely selfish, apex predator, capitalist, nobody cares
about everybody else that has it. You got a billion dollars,
you got multiple billion dollars, You have all the success
anyone could ever want. Your children's children's children will never
want for anything. And at this rate, we hope your
(11:56):
children's children's children have a planet. Because you know, we're
getting rid of satellites that show us the effects of
climate change, so we can pretend it's not happening. None
of you care about everybody else or anybody else, or
have you guys started construction on your private bunkers that
will make sure that you and yours have all you
(12:16):
need while the while the rest of us starve and
wither away. Like how much of this are we supposed
to take? It's every sector of life, where we work,
where we eat, where we get our educations, where we're
trying to improve our lives, where we're trying to just
(12:39):
make a living and feed our families. Make it all
harder for us, Take it all away from us all
the time, right, because it's generation throughout history, this has
been the case, but never in our lifetimes at least
has it been a daily thing. And I don't mean
the oppression itself. I mean additional policy. More. Let's add
(13:01):
more stuff to the table that takes away from those
who already don't have. Yeah, we've already taken everything, but
let's find some more to take. It's comprehensively hope defying. Man,
I'm drowning now.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Bro.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I'm trying my best, you guys, but every day another
headline and every day a worse headline.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Well, I want to say something, if I may first
time I hear you and believe it or not, I
do believe in a better tomorrow. Maybe not a better tomorrow,
but a better let's call it later this month. And also,
just to add some credibility, I read that NPR article
(13:50):
about them wanting to burn the satellites up in the
atmosphere because it was giving data that supported climate change
and our effect on the planet. So I wanted to
make sure that's an NPR article for anyone wants to
check that out.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
But I remember reading that, so I just wanted to
say that, all right.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Let's move on, because I kind of like this next one. Okay,
So you know what I teased that Mike Flood, the
Republican from Nebraska, he went and held a town hall meeting.
And the way this country is right now, having a
(14:28):
town hall is scary work, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (14:33):
But you know, credit wheres do?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
He said that he's accountable to his citizens, and he
held the town hall, went out there and they gave
it to him with both barrels. So let me paint
this picture for those that don't know, and then we'll
get a little bit of audio and get into it.
So excuse me. This is from the Washington Post out
of Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska was anything but nice. Representative Mike Flood,
(14:57):
the Republican from Nebraska, faced about seven hundred and fifty
voters during a contentious town hall on Monday. The two
term Republican lawmaker was there to explain his vote for
President Donald Trump's signature achievement, the One Big Beautiful Bill
that extended the twenty seventeen tax cuts and plowed billions
into immigration enforcement while slashing healthcare and food programs for
the poor. But from the start of the ninety minute session,
(15:19):
Flood was met with an angry crowd that asked substantive questions,
but rarely seem satisfied with his answers. It was a
rare moment in which a Republican lawmaker publicly engaged with voters,
as GOP House members have largely shunned such gatherings out
of concern they will spark negative headlines and be overrun
with political foes. I want to add my own note here.
(15:39):
I do enough picking on Republicans. I think Republicans can
do better. I also think Democrats can do better. But
I don't want to be unfair. It's not just GOP
folks that have been avoiding town hall meetings. Both parties
have been avoiding townholl meetings. Is a tough time in
the country to hold one, all right, let me get
(16:01):
back to the articulatum, all right. The mayhem started before
Flood stepped onto the stage. When his opening act singer
and Air Force veteran Jimmy Webber finished playing a rendition
of God Bless America, one attendee shouted all Americans. The
heckling continued from their attendees yelled liar, and chance of
free Palestine erupted more than once. Good Rabble Rouser One
(16:25):
Rabble Rouser sorry was escorted out after refusing to sit
as he shouted down the congressman. The jeers, Booze and
Chance highlight the challenges Congressional Republicans face in selling their
tax and border bill as they fight to hold onto
their narrow House majority in the twenty twenty six midterm elections.
It doesn't help that polling indicates that most Americans opposed
(16:45):
the One Big Beautiful Bill, or that Trump's approval ratings
have been falling. At one point, Flood had to defend
federal cuts made to the very school where he was
hosting the event after one attendee express concerns about university
officials announcing a twenty seven point five million dollars budget
production over the next four years. Okay, so let me
(17:06):
give you some insight into what this sounded like. So
I'm gonna grab this video and pull this up. So
this should take you right into this moment.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Okay, here we go. Do not get free healthcare. You
do not get free healthcare.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Do you think that people who are twenty eight years
old that can work and refuse to work should get
free healthcare?
Speaker 4 (17:36):
Congressman A Lot Spins talked about Medicaid healthcare, etc. A
lot of countries in the world, Europe, Canada, they have
healthcare for the people they are outside you just now
you said, you know you don't want to see a
lazy twenty.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Eight year old get healthcare.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Whatever. My point is every word wor and retired Americans
should be entitled to healthcare. Would you would you sign
on or write up a bill for medicare for all.
We've got medicare. Now we can start rolling back the
age five ten years at a time. Would you support that?
Speaker 1 (18:20):
We can't afford that?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Okay, So that gives you an idea of the temperature
in the room there, and obviously they're talking about healthcare
in that clip. The actual conversation went a lot of places.
So I want to go first here, Q if I may.
First off, I love that, it's like my favorite My
(18:47):
favorite thing is like when people get like active and
they like.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I love when politicians fear their constituents.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
That's the way it should be. These people are elected
to serve the public, so they should be concerned if
the public is not happy. So getting out there and
letting them know that you expect certain things of them
is absolutely the way that the relationship should be. We
live in an environment now where I see it more
(19:21):
on the right. But there are a lot of people
who are in fear of Republican leadership. They don't want
to upset their Republican overlords, and I don't think that
that's the right way to be. They don't want to
get on people's bad sides and whatever. No, this is
our country. We were born here the same way they
were born here. That's that's the only thing that entitles
(19:44):
them to anything in this country. Right, So they're not better,
they don't have any magic powers, they were not chosen
by God, none of that. So keeping them on their
toes and keeping the relationship framed in that way, I
love that.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Like active people, you know, we still have the bullhorn
in the studio. We still make our signs ME and Q,
and we get outside when it's time to protest, when
it's time to be seeing, we get outside.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
You can check our social media. We really dom guys.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Right, But back to the point about healthcare, Okay, and
this idea that is really widely circulated on the right,
which is that you know, people are going to get
health care that don't deserve it, right, and it's hard
for them to imagine health care going to people that
(20:33):
don't deserve it, Right, But I want to I want
to focus on that who deserves what? Okay, so let's
go with how about we go with sidewalks. Okay, Uh,
there are people who don't pay taxes. My son doesn't
pay taxes. Right, but sidewalks. You can walk on the sidewalks,
(20:55):
you can go play in the park. Right. There are
people who probably don't work. Maybe there's a twenty eight
years world who doesn't work. Okay, maybe he just doesn't
work just because he doesn't feel like it. The worst
type of people in these people's minds. If that person's
house catches on fire, I think that he should be
able to call the fire department.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I pay taxes, plenty of them. He should be able
to call the fire department to put out the fire.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
This is not every man for himself. There is a
government in place, and the extent to which the government
provides services is kind of the line that we're talking
about here. But what is the purpose of a government
if not to care for the people better than they
otherwise could care for themselves as individuals?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Right?
Speaker 2 (21:43):
And when I think of care for the people. Indeed,
I don't think about parks that comes a way later.
I don't think about sidewalks that comes away later.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
I don't think.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
About police officers are the right to call nine to
one one and fired apart. I don't think about any
of that. When I think about caring and what a
government should do in terms of caring for its citizens,
the first thing I think about is health care.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Health Care spreads just like fire.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
If my neighbor gets sick with COVID, I could get
sick just as easily. My neighbor's house catches on fire.
My house could burn down too. Happens all the time.
But the idea that healthcare will be socialized and suffer
as a result of it as a result of it
is something I think that cripples Republican thinking for those
who are decent Republicans. There are some Republicans I know
(22:29):
that they just don't want They don't want more people
to have health care because that means more people will
be living longer, And I don't get it.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
It benefits everyone. It's the sort of a backwards way
of thinking.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
But I wanted to make sure at least that I
said that much, because I think this audience in this
video shows exactly where people are.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Health care.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Medical costs of the number one cause of bankruptcy in
the United States of America. In the United States is
the only developed country that doesn't have universe health care.
It is absolutely possible, and it is often the Conservative
party that is blocking it. It's only the Conservative party
that's blocking it at this point. So Q, I know
just a handful of seconds left if you wanted to
(23:14):
say anything, yea, this one I wanted it, but I told.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
You the hand for the seconds.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
I'm sorry you forgot to say the word racism a
bunch of times, because that's why we have it. Yeah, yeah,
straight forward reason that we don't have it, and it's
uncomfortable to say because we don't want to fall into
the why are you race baiting and why are you playing.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
The victim and why you blah blah.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
The straightforward reason why we don't have universal health care
and universal education is racism. Yeah, flatly, black and brown
people would have access to free health care and free education,
so we don't want anyone to have it.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Yeah, hard stop. Well we did.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
We did a full episode on that on Civic Cipher,
so we had to get all the notes and the
research and the history, so it's it's facts and you
can check it out
Broadcasting from the Civic Cypher Studios.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Welcome to the QR Code, where we share perspective, seek understanding,
and shape outcomes. The man you're about to hear from
is a man who takes care of me, the man
that tries.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
His best to make sure that.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm spiritually balanced, and a person that I am honored
to be on this journey with.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
He is the Q in the QR code and he
goes by the name of Qboard.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
The voice you just heard is giving me way too
much credit. The truth of the matter is he is
the Hope, not just the R in the QR code,
and gives me a north Star win things don't feel
that awesome. He goes by the name ramses Jah, and
I hope I don't let you down.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, we need you to stick around because you know,
if you're a longtime listener of the show, you know
we deal with some heavy topics and today there is
no exception. Not going to pretend that we got good news,
but you know, we do have to talk about the
goings on in the world so that you're informed and
you can and make decisions that hopefully contribute to a
(01:02):
better world for all of us. And we are on
this journey with you, for better or worse. We don't
intend to give up on you. So later in the show,
we're going to be talking about how Donald Trump has
threatened to deploy the FBI on Texas Democrats that have
fled the state in protest of the states attempts to
jerry mander and secure additional Republican seats for the midterm elections.
(01:27):
We're also going to be talking about a brutal, a
verbal beat down of Mike Flood during a town hall.
You know, people really had a lot to say about
him and his policies in Lincoln, Nebraska. We got some
audio to share with you. And then we're also going
to be talking about how black unemployment has surged under
(01:51):
Donald Trump's administration. We talked about black women, but it
turns out it's black people across the board who to
thunk right. All that and so much more to stick
around for. But first and foremost, it is time to
start off with a feel good feature. In today's feel
Good Future, we are going to spotlight PA dot org
and I'll share regional educational groups serving children and adults
(02:11):
are cautiously optimistic after the US Department of Education reinstated
over two hundred and thirty million dollars in federal funding
that was withheld during a review earlier this month. Quote
it's all been very successful.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Un quote.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
CEO of Literacy Pittsburgh, Carrie Harris said, The statement goes on,
but when we all found out.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
We were very relieved. These were tiers of joy.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Unquote.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
The nonprofit offers free educational programs for almost four thousand
adults in families.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Each year.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
A third of their seven point three million dollar budget
is funded through federal grants that have been reinstated. Quote
we're cautiously optimistic. We've been told there are new conditions
attached to the funds unquote, Harris said. Statement goes on
to say, what is the government telling us to do differently?
If anything, we are just waiting. A senior administration official
(03:01):
with the Federal Office of Budget and Management said in
a statement that funds, which the Associated Press reports is
over six billion dollars, will be released to all states,
and then new guardrails are in place to ensure they
are not used in violation of executive orders or administration policy.
It was not immediately clear how the funds may have
been misused Governor Josh Shapiro joined a multi state lawsuit
(03:23):
filed in mid July against the Trump administration for withholding
the funding.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Quote.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
We sued the Trump administration, and now the Department of
Education has told us that every dollar of the two
hundred and thirty million dollars unlawfully withheld from Pennsylvania schools
will be returned to US critical funds that school districts
rely on to meet their budgets. Trained teachers, provide after
school programs, and more. Unquote, Shapiro said in a statement,
So sometimes we have feel good features, and they actually
(03:50):
do feel good. It shouldn't have had to fight for
money for education. But the fact that they fought in
one that's not nothing in today's climate. So that at
least made us feel good around here. All right, Black
unemployment rates, So you know, one of the things that
(04:12):
we've we've talked about. I feel like we talked about
this yesterday. Might have been yesterday that we mentioned it,
but I remember I think it might have been me
that said it. I'm not sure it might have been you.
Who knows, but you know, black women, in particular of
black women voted for Kamala Harrison the last election, and
(04:36):
even more voted against Trump because of course there were
third party candidates. Black women, in theory, should have been
the north star on this election and every election. You know,
the health of a society and the morality of a society,
(04:58):
I think is determined by how the society treats the
lowest in that society, and unfortunately, the lowest has always
been in this country black women. Now I'll add to
that that black men I believe voted against Donald Trump
(05:19):
somewhere north of eighty two percent, and those two percentages
were the most pronounced percentages in the last election, full stop.
Every other racial group broken down, was closer to the middle.
Black people were was the only group that kind of
voted in the extreme against the current administration. But black women.
(05:45):
What we said yesterday was that black women kind of
saw this coming. I kind of saw that it would
make the world harder for them and for everyone. But
they have often been sort of the canary and the
coal mine. Unfortunate. That's a heartbreaking thing to say. But
you know, how healthy is the society? Well, how healthy
(06:06):
are black women? They warned us, They told us it
was a black woman running for president. So that was
the gut punch. You know that the country said no
to the black women running for president, but also they
knew what was coming with this administration, and indeed, black
(06:26):
women suffered the greatest job loss in American history based
on actual numbers. And you know, your heartbreaks for this
group of people that they don't black women don't hurt people,
they're not. You know, it's for what what more can
(06:52):
you have from a group of people that you've stolen
from their homeland, renamed, raped into submission, be into submission,
taken everything from time and time again, and yet and
still voted for this man who has taken from them again, right,
And uh, it's just an awful reality. But indeed they
(07:18):
clocked it because, as I mentioned, black unemployment has surged
under Donald Trump. So I'll share an article from the
Black Information Network. Those are my two cents Q, and
I'll give the rest of the time to you, but
again from the BI in A recent spike in black
unemployment may be an early indicator of broader economic troubles,
according to economists. According to the Labor Department, the unemployment
rate for Black Americans climbed to seven point two percent
(07:40):
in July, which is up from the six point eight
percent in June and the six point three percent from
a year ago. The black unemployment rate is also significantly
higher than the national average, which lies at four point
two percent. For black women, unemployment has increased from five
point five percent to six point three percent over the
past year. Contributing factors to the trend include federal job cuts,
which disproportionately affect did black workers, and agencies like the
(08:01):
Department of Education and Health and Human Services, black employees
represent over twenty percent of the workforce. Significant increases in
black unemployment are also occurring in states like South Carolina
and Michigan, where the rate has reached ten percent, nearly
double the states overall. Experts have also cited business uncertainty
around trade policy, the rise of AI, and political efforts
to roll back DEI programs as other potential factors contributing
(08:23):
to the spike in black unemployment. Economists are warning that
the current pattern of black and employment looks like an
emerging trend of the overall labor markets slowing down, and
it's been noted that more than three hundred thousand black
women lost jobs in the first half of twenty twenty five.
These types of shifts often precede a wider economic downturn.
So yeah, que I want to talk up all the time,
(08:46):
So let's get you away in.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
H This is one of those topics where I wish
you would have talked up all the time, and them
just having a harder time trying to perform hopefulness, trying
to not appear and or sound displaced and discouraged and hopeless.
(09:16):
You keep hoping that one day you're going to turn
on the television or open up newspaper, or click on
your favorite website, or turn on our show, and we'll
have something good to say, something redeeming, something hopeful, something encouraging.
And you know, those who work in newsrooms across the
(09:39):
country know, like Rams and I know that there's so
many stories we don't even get to cover. Yeah, there's
so many families we don't get to comfort, we don't
get to reassure. There's so many things that we see
that we don't even We just know there's not enough
time in it data talk about all of the difficult
(10:01):
things that happened, except we know they're happening because we
get those stories, we get those headlines. We go through
our databases and we you know, we talk about the
stories that are either already receiving the most coverage or
that we think, you know, have some significance and a
lot of people will be impacted by it. Like this
(10:22):
story I didn't want to do just to bring you
guys behind the curtain and our production meetings we talk
about which stories, and I didn't want to do this
story because it was, like, man, we just told people
that black women lost the most jobs and had the
most had the largest surgeon unemployment in the history of
the United States. We're going to piggyback that with oh, sorry,
(10:45):
another surgeon unemployment for black people in general. And Ramsay's
responsibly said, man, people need to know this stuff, And
I agree. I just wish it mattered. I wish our
sadness and our outrage and our disgust frustrations mattered. I
wish how do all the people with all the stuff
(11:08):
or how are all the people who have all the stuff,
all the money, all the resources, all the access to food,
to healthcare, to yachts, infinitypool's mansions, private jets, helicopters, those
people who should be having the happiest life, How are
all of them on the bad team? There's no people
with power and resources and money and influence who aren't bad,
(11:33):
people who aren't completely selfish, apex predator, capitalist, nobody cares
about everybody else that has it. You got a billion dollars,
you got multiple billion dollars, You have all the success
anyone could ever want. Your children's children's children will never
want for anything. And at this rate, we hope your
(11:56):
children's children's children have a planet. Because you know, we're
getting rid of satellites that show us the effects of
climate change, so we can pretend it's not happening. None
of you care about everybody else or anybody else, or
have you guys started construction on your private bunkers that
will make sure that you and yours have all you
(12:16):
need while the while the rest of us starve and
wither away. Like how much of this are we supposed
to take? It's every sector of life, where we work,
where we eat, where we get our educations, where we're
trying to improve our lives, where we're trying to just
(12:39):
make a living and feed our families. Make it all
harder for us, Take it all away from us all
the time, right, because it's generation throughout history, this has
been the case, but never in our lifetimes at least
has it been a daily thing. And I don't mean
the oppression itself. I mean additional policy. More. Let's add
(13:01):
more stuff to the table that takes away from those
who already don't have. Yeah, we've already taken everything, but
let's find some more to take. It's comprehensively hope defying. Man,
I'm drowning now.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Bro.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I'm trying my best, you guys, but every day another
headline and every day a worse headline.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Well, I want to say something, if I may first
time I hear you and believe it or not, I
do believe in a better tomorrow. Maybe not a better tomorrow,
but a better let's call it later this month. And also,
just to add some credibility, I read that NPR article
(13:50):
about them wanting to burn the satellites up in the
atmosphere because it was giving data that supported climate change
and our effect on the planet. So I wanted to
make sure that's an NPR article for anyone wants to
check that out.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
But I remember reading that, so I just wanted to
say that, all right.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Let's move on, because I kind of like this next one. Okay,
So you know what I teased that Mike Flood, the
Republican from Nebraska, he went and held a town hall meeting.
And the way this country is right now, having a
(14:28):
town hall is scary work, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (14:33):
But you know, credit wheres do?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
He said that he's accountable to his citizens, and he
held the town hall, went out there and they gave
it to him with both barrels. So let me paint
this picture for those that don't know, and then we'll
get a little bit of audio and get into it.
So excuse me. This is from the Washington Post out
of Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska was anything but nice. Representative Mike Flood,
(14:57):
the Republican from Nebraska, faced about seven hundred and fifty
voters during a contentious town hall on Monday. The two
term Republican lawmaker was there to explain his vote for
President Donald Trump's signature achievement, the One Big Beautiful Bill
that extended the twenty seventeen tax cuts and plowed billions
into immigration enforcement while slashing healthcare and food programs for
the poor. But from the start of the ninety minute session,
(15:19):
Flood was met with an angry crowd that asked substantive questions,
but rarely seem satisfied with his answers. It was a
rare moment in which a Republican lawmaker publicly engaged with voters,
as GOP House members have largely shunned such gatherings out
of concern they will spark negative headlines and be overrun
with political foes. I want to add my own note here.
(15:39):
I do enough picking on Republicans. I think Republicans can
do better. I also think Democrats can do better. But
I don't want to be unfair. It's not just GOP
folks that have been avoiding town hall meetings. Both parties
have been avoiding townholl meetings. Is a tough time in
the country to hold one, all right, let me get
(16:01):
back to the articulatum, all right. The mayhem started before
Flood stepped onto the stage. When his opening act singer
and Air Force veteran Jimmy Webber finished playing a rendition
of God Bless America, one attendee shouted all Americans. The
heckling continued from their attendees yelled liar, and chance of
free Palestine erupted more than once. Good Rabble Rouser One
(16:25):
Rabble Rouser sorry was escorted out after refusing to sit
as he shouted down the congressman. The jeers, Booze and
Chance highlight the challenges Congressional Republicans face in selling their
tax and border bill as they fight to hold onto
their narrow House majority in the twenty twenty six midterm elections.
It doesn't help that polling indicates that most Americans opposed
(16:45):
the One Big Beautiful Bill, or that Trump's approval ratings
have been falling. At one point, Flood had to defend
federal cuts made to the very school where he was
hosting the event after one attendee express concerns about university
officials announcing a twenty seven point five million dollars budget
production over the next four years. Okay, so let me
(17:06):
give you some insight into what this sounded like. So
I'm gonna grab this video and pull this up. So
this should take you right into this moment.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Okay, here we go. Do not get free healthcare. You
do not get free healthcare.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Do you think that people who are twenty eight years
old that can work and refuse to work should get
free healthcare?
Speaker 4 (17:36):
Congressman A Lot Spins talked about Medicaid healthcare, etc. A
lot of countries in the world, Europe, Canada, they have
healthcare for the people they are outside you just now
you said, you know you don't want to see a
lazy twenty.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Eight year old get healthcare.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Whatever. My point is every word wor and retired Americans
should be entitled to healthcare. Would you would you sign
on or write up a bill for medicare for all.
We've got medicare. Now we can start rolling back the
age five ten years at a time. Would you support that?
Speaker 1 (18:20):
We can't afford that?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Okay, So that gives you an idea of the temperature
in the room there, and obviously they're talking about healthcare
in that clip. The actual conversation went a lot of places.
So I want to go first here, Q if I may.
First off, I love that, it's like my favorite My
(18:47):
favorite thing is like when people get like active and
they like.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I love when politicians fear their constituents.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
That's the way it should be. These people are elected
to serve the public, so they should be concerned if
the public is not happy. So getting out there and
letting them know that you expect certain things of them
is absolutely the way that the relationship should be. We
live in an environment now where I see it more
(19:21):
on the right. But there are a lot of people
who are in fear of Republican leadership. They don't want
to upset their Republican overlords, and I don't think that
that's the right way to be. They don't want to
get on people's bad sides and whatever. No, this is
our country. We were born here the same way they
were born here. That's that's the only thing that entitles
(19:44):
them to anything in this country. Right, So they're not better,
they don't have any magic powers, they were not chosen
by God, none of that. So keeping them on their
toes and keeping the relationship framed in that way, I
love that.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Like active people, you know, we still have the bullhorn
in the studio. We still make our signs ME and Q,
and we get outside when it's time to protest, when
it's time to be seeing, we get outside.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
You can check our social media. We really dom guys.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Right, But back to the point about healthcare, Okay, and
this idea that is really widely circulated on the right,
which is that you know, people are going to get
health care that don't deserve it, right, and it's hard
for them to imagine health care going to people that
(20:33):
don't deserve it, Right, But I want to I want
to focus on that who deserves what? Okay, so let's
go with how about we go with sidewalks. Okay, Uh,
there are people who don't pay taxes. My son doesn't
pay taxes. Right, but sidewalks. You can walk on the sidewalks,
(20:55):
you can go play in the park. Right. There are
people who probably don't work. Maybe there's a twenty eight
years world who doesn't work. Okay, maybe he just doesn't
work just because he doesn't feel like it. The worst
type of people in these people's minds. If that person's
house catches on fire, I think that he should be
able to call the fire department.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I pay taxes, plenty of them. He should be able
to call the fire department to put out the fire.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
This is not every man for himself. There is a
government in place, and the extent to which the government
provides services is kind of the line that we're talking
about here. But what is the purpose of a government
if not to care for the people better than they
otherwise could care for themselves as individuals?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Right?
Speaker 2 (21:43):
And when I think of care for the people. Indeed,
I don't think about parks that comes a way later.
I don't think about sidewalks that comes away later.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
I don't think.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
About police officers are the right to call nine to
one one and fired apart. I don't think about any
of that. When I think about caring and what a
government should do in terms of caring for its citizens,
the first thing I think about is health care.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Health Care spreads just like fire.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
If my neighbor gets sick with COVID, I could get
sick just as easily. My neighbor's house catches on fire.
My house could burn down too. Happens all the time.
But the idea that healthcare will be socialized and suffer
as a result of it as a result of it
is something I think that cripples Republican thinking for those
who are decent Republicans. There are some Republicans I know
(22:29):
that they just don't want They don't want more people
to have health care because that means more people will
be living longer, And I don't get it.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
It benefits everyone. It's the sort of a backwards way
of thinking.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
But I wanted to make sure at least that I
said that much, because I think this audience in this
video shows exactly where people are.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Health care.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Medical costs of the number one cause of bankruptcy in
the United States of America. In the United States is
the only developed country that doesn't have universe health care.
It is absolutely possible, and it is often the Conservative
party that is blocking it. It's only the Conservative party
that's blocking it at this point. So Q, I know
just a handful of seconds left if you wanted to
(23:14):
say anything, yea, this one I wanted it, but I told.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
You the hand for the seconds.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
I'm sorry you forgot to say the word racism a
bunch of times, because that's why we have it. Yeah, yeah,
straight forward reason that we don't have it, and it's
uncomfortable to say because we don't want to fall into
the why are you race baiting and why are you playing.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
The victim and why you blah blah.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
The straightforward reason why we don't have universal health care
and universal education is racism. Yeah, flatly, black and brown
people would have access to free health care and free education,
so we don't want anyone to have it.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Yeah, hard stop. Well we did.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
We did a full episode on that on Civic Cipher,
so we had to get all the notes and the
research and the history, so it's it's facts and you
can check it out
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