September 11, 2025 • 43 mins
The assassination of Charlie Kirk forces a confrontation with uncomfortable truths about political violence, empathy, and America’s uncertain future. Carmen and Andrea navigate this sensitive terrain with nuance, revealing how this tragedy fits into a broader epidemic - where 47 other people also died from gun violence that same day.
They explore the troubling disconnect in how we respond to tragedy based on political alignment, arguing that basic human dignity demands we condemn political murder regardless of ideological differences. The professional nature of the shooting suggests this wasn’t random, but potentially the start of a dangerous trend in American politics.
Their conversation expands beyond this single incident to examine America’s complex relationship with guns, where military-grade weapons remain accessible despite overwhelming public support for stronger safety measures. The irony isn’t lost: many who oppose gun restrictions, including Kirk himself, become victims of the very violence those measures aim to prevent.
Most sobering is their assessment of America’s future. The dismantling of democratic institutions, erosion of election integrity through partisan redistricting, and loss of institutional knowledge in government suggest recovery may take decades - not just election cycles. Even if political power shifts, rebuilding what’s been lost requires more than a return to “normal.”
This episode challenges listeners to examine their political identities beyond party labels. Are you truly aligned with your party’s values? Do you understand the historical context of that alignment? By encouraging self-reflection, Carmen and Andrea offer a potential path forward - one that begins with knowing what we truly stand for.
Thank you for stopping by. Please visit our website: All About The Joy and add, like and share. You can also support us by shopping at our STORE - We'd appreciate that greatly. Also, if you want to find us anywhere on social media, please check out the link in bio page.
Music By Geovane Bruno, Moments, 3481
Editing by Team A-J
Host, Carmen Lezeth
DISCLAIMER: As always, please do your own research and understand that the opinions in this podcast and livestream are meant for entertainment purposes only. States and other areas may have different rules and regulations governing certain aspects discussed in this podcast. Nothing in our podcast or livestream is meant to be medical or legal advice. Please use common sense, and when in doubt, ask a professional for advice, assistance, help and guidance.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carmen Lezeth (00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome to All About the Joy,
culture and Consequence Andrea'sin the house.
I'm Carmen Lissette, your host,and we're kind of changing what
we were going to talk about.
But we'll get to it because wekind of have to talk about what
happened the murder of CharlieKirk and Andrea.
I want to get your thoughtsbefore I go off on my tangent.
Andrea Nunez (00:22):
My thoughts.
I don't want anybody to be shotto death.
I truly don't, and Idesperately wish that that
wasn't something that happenedin this country every single day
.
But it is and, on that note, Idid a little research in
(00:48):
preparation for what I knew wewould have to talk about this
morning and I looked it up andthere were 48 gun deaths
yesterday reported in the UnitedStates.
This is ongunviolencearchiveorg, sourced
from law enforcement governmentmedia sources.
So 48 people died.
You know that we know of in theUnited States yesterday.
(01:11):
This particular person was aperson who openly, publicly
encouraged and advocatedviolence, political violence.
This person was someone whofought against restrictions on
(01:35):
guns that could have preventedhis murder, as well as the
murders of the 47 other peoplewho died and countless others
before that 47 other people whodied and countless others before
that.
This person publicly statedthat he felt gun deaths were
worth it.
So I will save my new ageempathy and sympathy for the 47
(01:57):
other families who lost someoneyesterday, and that's how I feel
about it.
Carmen Lezeth (02:03):
So this is where you and I are going to fight.
I well, no, no, because youknow I posted a couple of
TikToks and of course, I'mgetting so much backlash, which
is the point Cause I want theconversation to happen.
But I think I think what'slacking, and has been lacking
for a long time, is empathy andour ability to just have some
fucking dignity.
Like I understand what you'resaying.
(02:26):
I don't have any love forCharlie Kirk.
I think he was a fuckingasshole, but I still have the
ability to be like.
This is wrong.
This is not good.
I feel bad for his kids.
I don't give a fuck about theadults in his life, because they
should know better than tofollow someone like him.
But the idea that we're okay orjustifying that 47 people should
(02:48):
have empathy and one personshould not, because the whole
definition of empathy is notabout being able to agree or
understand anybody.
It is to be able to say, there,but for the grace of the
universe, go I for those of uswho are not God crazy people
anymore.
But I'm just saying that'sempathy.
This is why Trump can easilyput officers on the street and
(03:14):
those officers and Trump don'tgive a fuck about immigrants,
because they have no empathy,they don't care about humanity,
empathy, they don't care abouthumanity.
And so what I'm trying to sayand what seems to be getting
lost is you can hold more thanone, two, three thoughts as a
fucking evolved human being onthe planet and say Charlie Kirk
(03:36):
was an asshole, and yet this iswrong and this is not how we do
things, and I have pain andsadness for his family, for the
people that did love him becausehe was a human being, and that
doesn't negate my feeling for 47other children.
Look, there's a gun problem inthis country.
(03:58):
That's a whole othermotherfucking conversation.
And, yes, everything that thatman did, especially to people
who were not like him, so whitepeople I'm just going to say it
because the list is long.
Yeah, I mean, I'm just sayingthat, but that does not mean we
were lacking empathy andcompassion for humanity, not
(04:23):
just with the Charlie, just ingeneral.
That's why Trump is so inoffice and because nobody gave a
fuck about what he was goingFarmers, great example.
They're all crying now but theyhad no empathy or sympathy for
what was going to happen toother people, so until it
happened to them, they didn'tgive a shit.
(04:44):
And that's what I think is thebigger issue that I'm upset
about right now.
I'm furious about it.
And one last thing, and thenI'll let you rebut, or whatever
is, all these doctors andtherapists that are all over
TikTok and some of them arelegit, but they're all like it's
okay.
It's okay to feel what you'refeeling, it's okay, and not
(05:05):
going down the rest of it.
I can feel whatever I want tofeel, but to act as if that
wasn't a human life is weird.
Or to not give a shit about the47 other is weird to me.
That we are cold fucking peopleto humanity, to human beings.
I was going gonna drop in gaza,but I'm not because I'm so
(05:34):
fucking pissed right now.
Andrea Nunez (05:35):
Yeah, well I started with.
I don't want anyone to get shotto death.
Right, it's horrible, it'swrong.
I don't want that for anybody.
I really don't Him or anybodyelse.
I just have to be honest.
I'm having a difficult timeworking up any real feeling
(05:57):
about it other than the general.
It's a horrible thing thatsomeone got shot to death, just
like it is for the other people,but I think that's fair.
Carmen Lezeth (06:05):
I mean, I think that's okay.
You're not getting on socialmedia and laughing and joking
and making like you're nottaking it to this.
Look, that's the other part ofit, right.
We've lost our ability to havejust a little bit of dignity, a
little bit of fucking manners,and I'm sorry.
I'm so thrown by how easypeople are just being vile and
(06:30):
then we get upset because peopleare not compassionate or nice
to us when our people aremurdered.
What the fuck Like?
Why is that a thing Like ourpeople who were murdered?
How come we don't havecompassion?
Andrea Nunez (06:43):
no, well, look, uh , you know I'm gonna go on my
like mini tirade here aboutsocial media.
Right, like this is one of thereasons I'm not on social media,
um it, there are all kinds ofother reasons, for sure, why we
are where we are, but there issomething about this, like, like
(07:04):
, let me put every thought intomy head out into the world and
let me make it so extreme andcrazy and whatever that it will
get attention.
And you know, I don't knowwhere on the spectrum some of
these people are.
Do they really believe that?
Or are they just trying to getattention?
Or you know, uh, you know, goviral or whatever.
(07:28):
It is right, like I don't knowwhere they are, but it doesn't
help, right?
It does not help to have all ofthese places where you can just
put your ridiculous thoughtsout into the world and be a
fucking okay, but we're usingsocial media right now.
Carmen Lezeth (07:43):
I mean, I think that's where the problem is,
like I hear you, and that's adifferent conversation about
social media that we shoulddefinitely have on this show,
because I actually think socialmedia is a good thing, I think
technology is a good thing, sowe can I hear you, I think I
hear you.
I just think that's a differentproblem altogether.
It's a part of thisconversation, I believe.
Andrea Nunez (08:05):
Yes, it's a separate conversation, but it is
a part of this.
What?
Carmen Lezeth (08:10):
you're talking about, and I actually think
there's more good from havingsocial media than not.
It's connected the world indifferent.
That's why I think it's a wholeother conversation we can have,
which we can go down this ifyou want, but I just feel like
that might be a whole.
I think the lack of empathywould still be happening right
now If we didn't have socialmedia, if we didn't have TikTok
(08:30):
or whatever.
I still think, as this countryhas moved forward and as and
it's not just this country, butsociety in general I've said
this before people get allcreamy and sad and shed a tear
when they hear a story about achild who was in a taxi or
(08:51):
something with their parent andthey found a wallet and they
brought it back to the policedepartment.
Everyone's like oh my God,that's such a feel good story.
No, that's what you're supposedto do.
That's not a feel good story,that's a fucking regular thing.
But because we don't have theability to see things like and
have emotional connections,that's what we think is a big
(09:14):
thing.
And then something like thiswe're okay, mocking, and I can't
even believe I'm motherfucking.
You know what the other thingis pissing me off is that I have
to fucking sit here and kind ofdefend this shit like I'm
pissed about it.
You know what I mean?
Like, um, I'm just angry aboutit and and I hate, I hate how I
watched a whole bunch of fuckingright wing podcasts yesterday,
(09:38):
or Christian, christian and I'mdoing fucking quotes, uh,
podcast podcast.
And like that's the other sideof it, right, the bullshittery
of pretending who he was, likethat's the other extreme.
It's just mind boggling to me.
It's mind boggling to me wherewe're at.
Andrea Nunez (10:05):
I don't really know what to say about it.
Yeah, it sucks where we're at.
I guess that's not the partthat bothers me the most about
it.
I don't know.
To me, the tragedy yesterdaywas that someone had the ability
(10:29):
to purchase a weapon that couldkill him, and that's a tragedy
that happens to people everysingle day all over the country.
Carmen Lezeth (10:39):
With my years of watching NCIS and Law and Order.
I just want to say that was aprofessional hit and that was a
fucking sniper.
It was like 600 feet away.
It was on a rooftop.
There is so much that goes intodoing that.
That was a professional hit andI'm going to make a guess here.
(11:00):
I don't think that's the lastof it and I wouldn't be
surprised totally throwing out aguess here.
I don't think that's the lastof it and I wouldn't be
surprised totally throwing out aguess here, like just a guess,
that we're going to find outthat, first of all, I don't
think it's the last of it andsecondly, that it's probably
somebody who is on the right.
You know what I mean.
Like that's the.
Andrea Nunez (11:18):
I just Well will we find that out?
I don't know.
Carmen Lezeth (11:23):
But let's just put some circumstantial evidence
on the table.
Andrea Nunez (11:28):
It was in Utah, it was apparently.
The picture they released is ayoung white man.
Wait, they released the picture.
Carmen Lezeth (11:37):
No, no, no, no, no, no.
The two people that they had incustody are not.
They released a picture today,this morning, all right.
Well, him being white is not.
I know, I know, I know that wasgoing to be it.
Andrea Nunez (11:49):
It was as you said .
You know, I don't want to say aprofessional hit, but a skilled
Very skilled Person, ncis alum.
Right, and so you put togetherthose again very circumstantial
and whatever.
Like that evidence points tosomeone on the right, not you
(12:10):
know a coastal elite havingbrunch and you know getting his
soy latte and walking over tothe you know, prove me wrong
rally to pop off we'll see, butyeah, I didn't know that they
they put up, oh my god, and thebrilliance of like someone like
Kash Patel, who is soincompetent, you know.
Carmen Lezeth (12:28):
I mean there was like 15 different.
They did catch them.
They didn't catch them, so theyhaven't caught them yet, though
, right as of this recording,correct.
Andrea Nunez (12:37):
I looked a few, you know, before I started my
crossword puzzle.
Carmen Lezeth (12:43):
It's just so weird, but yeah, I'm.
Andrea Nunez (12:49):
it's just so weird , but yeah, I'm, I'm and and
here's the other thing thatyou're right.
I don't think we will find thatout, not with this
administration.
Carmen Lezeth (12:53):
That doesn't go with the narrative that they
have already produced and putout you know, right, that it's
the democrats fault, which islike that's the other part of it
, right, not having etiquette,having manners, not realizing
that your words are going toincite more violence.
But here you are, someone in aposition of power, and your
first thought and I'm talkingabout all the Congress people
that came out, all the you knowwhat I mean, and, of course,
(13:16):
trump and everyone else who'slike and just fueling the fire.
Fueling the fire so that we canget into what they're doing
with their words.
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely so, yeah, that'll be interesting.
I just hope that no one elsegets hurt.
I honestly don't want anyone.
(13:39):
I mean, I just it's horrific.
Andrea Nunez (13:41):
It's scary, it's horrific.
I mean and I, you know, I don'twant to be that guy but like,
just over a month ago, aCongresswoman in Minnesota was
assassinated in her home in themiddle of the night and her
husband and her husband and herdog, you know, in the middle of
(14:01):
the night, by a extremeright-wing wing, you know
fascist dude pretending to be acop.
So this is not the first.
It was horrific and terriblethen.
Carmen Lezeth (14:15):
it is horrific and terrible now, you know and I
didn't see all the christian,all the podcast, I didn't see
all that empathy, I didn't seeall that consideration.
And that's what I'm trying tosay, right, because we're so
desensitized to violence in thiscountry too, we just are.
Andrea Nunez (14:37):
Well, and like the pundit class or you know
whatever you want to call them.
Like this, even on the left,like you know, it's it's one of
us, it's not just you know,those gangs in the streets, in
the cities, right, like it's oneof us that was gunned down in
broad daylight.
(14:57):
It's like, yeah, that's theterror, literally, that pretty
much every American lives with.
We can't send our kids toschool, people can't go to
church, you can't go to thegrocery store, you can't go to
the movies, you can't go to amusic festival, you can't just
be driving down the street inyour car.
People are all.
(15:18):
They're having feelings whichfor some is a new experience and
they're acting like toddlerswho don't know how to manage
them.
This means war, you know.
It's like war against what?
Take some guns back,motherfuckers.
Like that's what the war is youknow I am so tired.
Carmen Lezeth (15:41):
The irony is it's like 76% of Americans believe
there should be more gunrestrictions or whatever safety
gun laws or whatever, and it'sthe irony that we keep voting
people in and of course, the NRAstill has the power that it has
and the idea that guns are notpart of the problem.
Although this hit again NCISprofessional professional here.
(16:04):
I'm just saying this seems likesomebody who might it wasn't
somebody who went and justbought a shotgun or took their
mommy or daddy's.
Andrea Nunez (16:13):
this seems like they should not have access to a
military grade weapon that youcan't if you're in the military
which possibly this is wherethis person learned how to do
this or not you don't just getto walk off the base with your
rifle.
You know you're like, oh, I'mgoing to go home for the weekend
.
You know I'm going to take mygun.
(16:34):
Like the access to this levelof weaponry is ridiculous.
Yeah, Like what do you even say, Like nobody should have that
Right.
Carmen Lezeth (16:47):
And it's weird because there are other
countries that live without gunviolence every day and I think
they have mental health issuestoo people who are
(17:13):
anti-immigration and you know,whatever they've got all of the
things that we have, except thegajillions of guns yeah, I think
there's a gun for every adultin the united states I believe
there's more than one gun well,these are the guns they know
about, because then there areall the other guns we don't know
about.
But imagine that there's enoughguns for at least one.
I mean, there's one gun for atleast every person in the United
(17:36):
States.
That's crazy.
At least one, yeah, it's crazy,yeah.
And and then we don't have theemotional maturity to deal with
anything, because if we're angryabout anything, right, we don't
use our words.
We then want to shoot people,which you know is part of the
problem.
Andrea Nunez (17:53):
We don't know how to fight.
If you didn't love me enough,let me go kill 40 people.
Carmen Lezeth (17:58):
Can you imagine?
I mean, yes, we can, because welive with this bullshitter
every day, but it's just a weirdlike on that part.
I feel you know.
This is where I'm againstRepublicans 100%.
The whole gun thing isridiculous.
It's just.
And how would you get them offthe street now?
Right, I mean, it can be done,but it's just so saturated in
(18:20):
our culture and this standingbehind.
It's so funny how we standbehind our constitution when
it's convenient to keep our guns, but not when it's convenient
to actually give rights to otherpeople.
Right, right, hmm, yeah,interesting.
Andrea Nunez (18:36):
I mean, the levels of hypocrisy are, you know,
comical at this point, like it'salmost not worth it to point it
out, but you have to point itout because you can't let it
slide.
But like, come on, you know,the Second amendment is
apparently so sacred that anypiece of machinery that could
kill another person is allowedfor any anybody, and you can
(19:00):
walk around the grocery store init in some places.
Carmen Lezeth (19:03):
You know what I mean I think it's one of my
favorite visuals is to see likeand it's always white fat men
generally.
I mean I've seen some blackstupid men too, but generally
white fat men with like belliesor whatever and they have like
15 guns and they're at likeMcDonald's or whatever you know,
whatever Wahlberg's or whateverit is, and down South, whatever
(19:24):
the fuck they have.
It's like what are you doing?
Like, what is that about that?
Andrea Nunez (19:30):
show of force.
You definitely look tough andnot scared to death, for sure.
Carmen Lezeth (19:36):
Yeah, no, no, no, totally tough and manly, very
manly, yeah, very manly.
Andrea Nunez (19:48):
So that's always one of my favorite Americana
images that, I think, is just soindicative of how ridiculous we
are.
It's really, uh, I've been inplaces where there's open carry
and you see it live and inperson and it's like as a human
being, you see that type of gunand you're like I'm getting the
fuck out of here.
Yeah, like I don't want to bearound anybody, anybody that has
(20:11):
that going on, right, becausewho knows what's happening up
here?
Nothing good, obviously.
Carmen Lezeth (20:18):
Well, I don't have an issue, but I do.
I have issues with guns.
I don't even want to.
I think we should not have guns.
I want to be very clear aboutthat.
That is not even a question.
But if you are somebody who'slike you're a detective or
you're whatever, and you haveyour gun on you and it's like
why is it not concealed Right?
Like why, you know, I mean likeyou're off duty, you're going
to stop at McDonald's, but we'retalking about people who are
(20:39):
strapping shit, have like therifles, and it's like you
clearly put that on and took itwith you out the car so that you
could go into this, so you canmake a show of I am strong.
Andrea Nunez (20:55):
It's like cosplay.
Right, it's a costume.
Yes, I am dressing up as atough dude who can't be messed
with.
Yeah, and I need everybody tosee it, because I actually feel
really small and I don't knowhow to.
Carmen Lezeth (21:12):
I don't know how to get therapy Right and I have
a teeny, weeny one.
That's all.
I don't know that, and like oldpeople driving Porsches, sorry
it had to be old, older sonHarleys right yeah exactly,
totally Okay.
I don't want to hear it fromanyone, but I'm just saying.
It just feels the same.
(21:33):
Yeah, I don't know.
And why is it never women whoare snipers?
You know?
Like was the white person?
They showed a woman, no, is itweird for me to kind of think
that I'm not saying there aren'twomen killers out there?
Right, we know that there are.
Is there a way in which we canstart trying to think as a
(21:57):
country that it might be a goodidea to maybe have a woman in
power at some point?
Andrea Nunez (22:06):
I know, stop, oh my God, now you've really gone
mad.
Stop, oh my God, now you'vereally gone mad.
Carmen Lezeth (22:14):
I'm just saying, and then the right will say,
well, yes, we're not againstthat, but it has to be the right
woman.
Kristi Noem, yeah, there's agreat thought.
Can you imagine the mostqualified women who have run for
office?
And no, I'm not talking aboutSarah fucking Palin, Cause
(22:37):
having so much more than any manwho's ever been president, and
because we're not ready for thateither.
We're not ready for that at alleither.
But I'm just saying I have notseen women running around with
machine guns.
I don't know.
I'm sure they're out there.
I don't live in the South, Idon't.
Andrea Nunez (22:57):
I mean, there are, I'm sure.
Carmen Lezeth (23:02):
Well, those are the ones who have the Christmas
cards with their kids holdingall the right.
The family, everybody's holdingtheir guns and stuff.
My apologies, my apologies,right right, the family,
everybody's holding their gunsand stuff.
Andrea Nunez (23:11):
So my apologies, my apologies right, but it's as
far as a, you know, a womanbeing in power.
I mean we know how that goesright.
Carmen Lezeth (23:21):
Um it's not going to happen in our lifetime.
I don't think so, no I don'tthink so either isn't it sad?
It is sad about that it's supersad.
Andrea Nunez (23:29):
You know.
I was just talking to someoneyesterday Like I don't think
that what is happening now willbe significantly better in my
lifetime.
Carmen Lezeth (23:39):
Oh yeah, I agree with you.
Andrea Nunez (23:43):
Like we're on a trajectory that I actually,
sadly, don't think we bottomedout.
You know, are you serious?
Yeah, I mean, if you just lookat this, when other countries
have been kind of taken over byauthoritarians, it takes decades
(24:04):
to come out of it.
Carmen Lezeth (24:07):
I was thinking about how we would fix this in
the next election if we have one, seriously like how, whoever
the nominee is going to be, butlet's just pretend it's Gavin
Newsom or whatever, because it'sgoing to be a white man.
Andrea Nunez (24:22):
There's no, it better fucking be a white man.
You know like I hate myself foreven saying it, but like it
needs to be a white man honestly, from somewhere in the middle.
Carmen Lezeth (24:34):
Yeah, less weird, yeah, yeah.
So how, I mean, does he justsit down the first three months
and start writing executiveorders that reverse everything?
Andrea Nunez (24:46):
It's just not going to be that easy, you know
our entire federal and we, youknow we all have our feelings
about bureaucracy but, like youknow, the, you know lifetime
civil servants who have decadesof institutional knowledge, our
scientists, our statisticians,our lawyers.
(25:11):
Our FBI agents, fbi lawyers, ourFBI agents, our judicial system
, yeah, yeah, you know, likethey're gone, yeah, and all of
the knowledge of what camebefore and how things actually
work and how you get thingsmoving.
Administrators, payroll clerksI mean the people who actually
do the work right, like they'regone.
(25:33):
This is not a like best case,most rose-colored scenario.
You know, democrats take backhouse and senate in two year or
whatever, in 26, that's.
That's a year 2016.
And then maybe the presidencyagain, if we even have elections
(25:54):
, whatever.
This is still like a solid, Ithink, decade away from even
becoming something normal again,and when I say that, like the
country that we knew does notexist anymore, we have to
recreate.
Carmen Lezeth (26:16):
At this point, Well, and I shook my head a
little bit because and youtaught me this the country we
had before actually was a lie.
Andrea Nunez (26:27):
I know, like all of its flaws, but I'm saying
like, yes, what we thought wehad, but even what we actually
did have flaws, warts and all isactually gone.
You know, in terms of what itlooks like to actually run a
country.
Carmen Lezeth (26:46):
Yeah, you're talking about the technicalities
of how we run a country right,and I'm thinking of, you know,
the hope, the aspiration ifthere is like okay, so I want to
be more optimistic and justhope that there is a way you can
(27:18):
fix some of the technicalitiesof this.
I'm more concerned that theactual thing that makes America
great is that idea of hope andpossibility and you can come
here and be somebody andwhatever, like we can find a way
for people to.
(27:39):
The American dream was always afacade.
I think we're all realizingthat now, but it would be sad to
think we can't get back thereagain.
You know that's I don't know, Idon't know I, I, I'm.
I know that I'm broken about it, which means something, because
I've always been rah, rahAmerica and now I'm like, yeah,
(28:03):
blah.
Andrea Nunez (28:03):
I mean, look it's.
You know I would love to havesome optimism and some hope.
Uh, you, you know I long tofind it, but you can't have
those things without afunctioning country.
You know what I mean.
(28:24):
Like without the people whoshow up every day and make sure
that people get paid, people gettheir papers stamped, that they
need to go and do whatever thething is.
People, you know kids can getstudent loans or grants or
whatever it is.
To go to school, you knowdiplomats are fanned out around
(28:44):
the world to you know, smooththings over with other countries
and maybe some of the peoplewho are gone would come back
again, assuming everything goeswell.
But some of those people arelost forever and it's it's.
I see it.
I believe it has to be a notlike a new creation in terms of
(29:09):
a new constitution or whatever,but I don't think there's like
can we get it back?
It is we need to rebuild.
We need to build something new.
We need to create something newbecause things have been lost.
Carmen Lezeth (29:22):
Yeah, I, you look at I, I.
That's maybe a lot beyond mypay grade.
I'll just admit it right now,In my heart, I want to believe
it'll be easier to fix thestructural part as opposed to
fixing the idea of what Americaused to be.
I don't know.
I hope I, I, I hope you'rewrong, because I'm wrong, I know
(29:47):
, I hope I hope you're wrong andI hope there's a way.
But we're, I mean, right now,we're at baby steps.
Right Right now, we're at thisplace where we're questioning
whether or not we can have fairelections and people are
redistricting and you know, inCalifornia we have to vote in
November to redistrict againstour public.
(30:10):
Anyways, that's a whole otherconversation.
But basically and it's so weirdbecause I want to make sure we
try to explain things to peoplebut in California we have a
separate group of people whoactually are in charge of
redistricting the state Anindependent commission that we
voted to have.
Andrea Nunez (30:29):
That's right.
Carmen Lezeth (30:30):
It has nothing to do with politics or whatever.
They're independent people whoand actually I think that's
where we, you and I, weretalking about is that where we
both applied to be part of thatand then we decided not to do it
.
We were looking at it, Iremember.
Andrea Nunez (30:43):
We were looking at it right.
I remember that.
Carmen Lezeth (30:45):
I don't think, andrew, actually applied Right
and look, they were doing thatin order to be objective and to
make sure that they representedeach district correctly.
And now, because of what'shappened in Texas and basically
Trump cheating and asking thegovernor there what's his name,
I can't stand that man either.
(31:06):
I guess he's an enabler.
Yeah, Abbott, Whatever Abbott,the enabler Turned around and
just said yeah, we're just goingto change it the way we want it
so we can get more seats.
That is cheating.
There's no other way to explainthat people.
It's cheating.
Explain that people it'scheating.
So now the governor ofCalifornia, Governor Newsom, has
(31:32):
turned around and said we'regoing to ask the people in
November in a ballot so we haveto vote whether we want to get
rid of, just for this timeperiod, the independent
redistricting of our state sothat we can redistrict it to
fight back against the fiveillegal seats that Texas is now
doing and it's ridiculous, butwe're going to do it.
(31:52):
We're going to do it and we'regoing to vote yes, because
that's what we're going to do inorder to try to fight this.
And it's like that's the kindof bullshittery that you're
talking about, that thatstructural part is now being
dismantled, right, Having anindependent commission so that
it's done in a fair way, becausewe have to fight in the way we
(32:15):
need to fight in order to beable to have a fair election,
which is weird.
Andrea Nunez (32:19):
Yes, I completely agree with you, right, I loved
the idea of the independentcommission.
I think all we voted for we nowessentially have to vote
against, and you know, play thegame the way they're playing it.
(32:52):
I hate that, right.
But again I go back to what weknew is gone.
We have to work with what is,and what is is that you have
these states now Missouri alsolooking at it and New York, yeah
, are going to.
You know, redistrict away theiryou know Democrat, you know
(33:19):
districts where a Democrat wouldwin, and so essentially
removing those Democrats fromfrom office.
Carmen Lezeth (33:26):
And and retaliation.
What's happening is New York isconsidering you know and like,
and this is the tit for tat,bullshittery that you're talking
about.
And look, I agree with you.
I agree with you and in thesame respects, we have to fight
the fight we're fighting becauseof democracy and and for all
you Republicans andconservatives, who listen to All
About the Joy and are part ofthis community.
(33:48):
I just have to say that I'mokay with you believing what you
want to believe, but most ofyou don't have facts, which is
why this show exists.
You know, and let me be clearas well I am not a liberal to
the left.
I have always been more to themiddle, and part of what we were
going to talk about today isthat most people who think
(34:09):
they're Republicans are actuallynot Republicans, and this is
one of those.
Andrea's about to die.
Andrea Nunez (34:18):
I'm fine, I have facts.
Carmen Lezeth (34:21):
And I'm going to let you look at.
I mean, we were going to makethe whole show about this, but
maybe we can touch on it a bit.
Andrea Nunez (34:27):
But that's kind of where we're coming from Go
ahead, andrea, I just want, like, if your ideas win in this sort
of marketplace of ideas, whywould you not want there to be
(34:49):
fairness, right, and so to methat just says something about
you know, like I just want towin at all costs.
I don't want to win at allcosts, I don't.
I want it to be fair, and whenyou know my politics, the way
I've always described it is Iwant the most good for the most
people.
Right, that's the way that Idescribe it, and so, uh.
(35:09):
But to go back to theRepublican thing, I guess I said
this last week most people arenot Republicans and we were
going to talk about that.
Carmen Lezeth (35:17):
So I did get a couple of people who reached out
, which was interesting.
Andrea Nunez (35:20):
Um, so I looked it up.
Uh, you know Again, sources arewhatever they are.
I looked it up on a websitecalled USAFactsorg, which is
sourced from state governmentagencies on the registration of
the people in their states.
So, as of August 2025, so justlast month there are 37.4
(35:46):
million registered Republicansin the United States.
There are 44.1 millionregistered Democrats, so that's
more.
There are 34.3 million eitherregistered as independent or
didn't choose.
right, I'm non-party affiliateso some of those people could
(36:08):
lean right, some could lean left.
Nonetheless they are notregistered republicans.
And then, just to be fair,there are 3.1 million, uh people
in like, I guess lesser parties, I guess is the way they
described it so green partyParty, libertarian, whatever.
So that could be a mix as wellof right and left.
But the fact of the matter is Ididn't say most people are
(36:30):
Democrats.
I said most people are notRepublicans and most people, by
this data, are not Republicans,whatever that means.
Again, to go back to what yousaid, speak facts or don't speak
.
Carmen Lezeth (36:44):
Right.
I think the other part of it,too, is just when you think
about what it means to be aRepublican, and that has changed
because Trump, trumpism hastaken over the Republican party,
right, and so we might go intothis a little bit later, into in
a in another episode.
We had to talk about CharlieKirk a lot, but there's also
this weird thing that peoplewill always do, and I had to say
(37:06):
it they're like the Republicansfreed the slaves.
So Lincoln.
Lincoln was a Republican.
He really was.
That's true.
But if you don't this is how Iknow people do not know their
history At some point and it wasafter, like, I think, the 1930s
(37:26):
is where it became a big dealthe ideologies of both parties
kind of switched.
Now, that's a really simple wayof saying that the Southern
Democrats from back in the daywere people that believed really
, really conservative ideas, andthen the Republicans were in
(37:49):
the North.
Right, they were in the North.
So when you talk about Lincolnbeing somebody who is a
Republican and you try to usethat as your way to feel good
about your party, you don't knowyour history.
This is why people willassociate people like Barack
Obama with Lincoln, right,that's why, because if Lincoln
(38:12):
was around today, he would be aDemocrat.
So you have to know yourhistory and it's something I
think we should talk about, evenon that end.
Even things like social security.
You can't be okay with socialsecurity because it affects you
and then claim that it'ssocialist for everyone else.
Like it's a weird thoughtprocess.
(38:37):
You want great streets, youwant public places that have
police officers, that havebridges, that have good roads,
all of that.
All of that would be considereddemocratic policies.
You know what I mean?
Like that would be socialism.
Andrea Nunez (38:54):
It's not.
You want a weekend.
You want holiday pay.
Carmen Lezeth (38:58):
Yes, you want to be treated fair at work, all of
those things, and so when westart getting into and maybe
we'll do it next week, itdepends on what's in the news
Depends, hard to say, hard tosay.
But look, I want people to takeaway from this show today at
the very least.
I mean, I know we're going tobe talking about Charlie Kirk
(39:20):
for a long time or whatever, butbesides that, start really
figuring out what your identityis.
Are you really a Democrat?
Are you really a Republican?
Do you really believeeverything that the Trump
administration is doing Really,not just because you were around
it and that's what you votedfor and that's what you believe?
(39:41):
No, and don't do the one.
What is it?
One policy vote person.
You know how people vote forone thing and that's what they
are, what is it Single issuevoter?
Yeah, Don't be a nuance, nuance.
Andrea Nunez (39:57):
I mean, yeah, that's.
My great hope is that peopleactually really think about what
are my values?
What do I believe in?
What is actually important tome, aside from what is happening
all around me, aside from whatmy parents or my family taught
(40:18):
me, what my church, what myschool, whatever, and whatever
it is okay, but make sure thatit's actually yours and that
it's actually what you believe,and it doesn't belong to a party
or whatever.
Carmen Lezeth (40:33):
And I'm going to say something.
I know, I know I'm going tolose.
We're going to lose a lot offollowers.
But, christians, I'm going togive you a shout out here and
say seriously, sit down andreally think about what you
believe and what your Bibleseems to be telling you, because
there are so manycontradictions that are going on
(40:53):
.
And I will say this, not evenkidding I went to 12 years of
Catholic school and I, you knowI'm not going to sit here and
say I know more, but I know alot more than a lot of you who
pretend to be Christians.
So I know, I know, I know Iprobably shouldn't have said
that, but it's just mindboggling to me.
Yeah, all right, I don't evenknow what else to say to close
(41:22):
this out, but we're at that timeperiod.
We need a girl.
I know we appreciate you guyslistening and we hope you'll
come back next week.
We're going to keep havingthese conversations because it's
real talk between two friendswho don't always agree, but
fundamentally we do and we justwant I hate to say it this way
because you're going to puke butwe want the world to be a
(41:44):
better place.
Andrea Nunez (41:45):
We do.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Okay, cool, we would love forthe world to be a better place
for people to feel good and behappy and joyful and not have to
worry about getting shot in thestreets.
That's what we want.
Carmen Lezeth (41:58):
That's what we want, right?
We want to be able to walkaround freely and not be afraid.
So, yeah, so remember to checkus out on Friday nights.
All About the Joy.
We have our Friday night liveswhere everyone can come and hang
out and just chill and know wedon't talk about politics or
religion.
We may touch on it a bit.
Well, I mean, it's aneighborhood hangout, so
(42:20):
everyone is welcome.
And, of course, we also haveour Sunday show, which is why
can't I remember the name of ourSunday show Lord Jesus, the
Private Lounge.
Yay, sunday is 12 o'clockPacific, it's private, 3 pm
Eastern and we really appreciateyou being here.
(42:42):
Remember, at the end of the day, it really is all about the joy
.
Bye everyone, thank you, bye.
Thanks for stopping by.
All about the joy be better andstay beautiful folks.
Have a sweet day.
Hey everyone, welcome to All About the Joy,
culture and Consequence Andrea'sin the house.
I'm Carmen Lissette, your host,and we're kind of changing what
we were going to talk about.
But we'll get to it because wekind of have to talk about what
happened the murder of CharlieKirk and Andrea.
I want to get your thoughtsbefore I go off on my tangent.
Andrea Nunez (00:22):
My thoughts.
I don't want anybody to be shotto death.
I truly don't, and Idesperately wish that that
wasn't something that happenedin this country every single day
.
But it is and, on that note, Idid a little research in
(00:48):
preparation for what I knew wewould have to talk about this
morning and I looked it up andthere were 48 gun deaths
yesterday reported in the UnitedStates.
This is ongunviolencearchiveorg, sourced
from law enforcement governmentmedia sources.
So 48 people died.
You know that we know of in theUnited States yesterday.
(01:11):
This particular person was aperson who openly, publicly
encouraged and advocatedviolence, political violence.
This person was someone whofought against restrictions on
(01:35):
guns that could have preventedhis murder, as well as the
murders of the 47 other peoplewho died and countless others
before that 47 other people whodied and countless others before
that.
This person publicly statedthat he felt gun deaths were
worth it.
So I will save my new ageempathy and sympathy for the 47
(01:57):
other families who lost someoneyesterday, and that's how I feel
about it.
Carmen Lezeth (02:03):
So this is where you and I are going to fight.
I well, no, no, because youknow I posted a couple of
TikToks and of course, I'mgetting so much backlash, which
is the point Cause I want theconversation to happen.
But I think I think what'slacking, and has been lacking
for a long time, is empathy andour ability to just have some
fucking dignity.
Like I understand what you'resaying.
(02:26):
I don't have any love forCharlie Kirk.
I think he was a fuckingasshole, but I still have the
ability to be like.
This is wrong.
This is not good.
I feel bad for his kids.
I don't give a fuck about theadults in his life, because they
should know better than tofollow someone like him.
But the idea that we're okay orjustifying that 47 people should
(02:48):
have empathy and one personshould not, because the whole
definition of empathy is notabout being able to agree or
understand anybody.
It is to be able to say, there,but for the grace of the
universe, go I for those of uswho are not God crazy people
anymore.
But I'm just saying that'sempathy.
This is why Trump can easilyput officers on the street and
(03:14):
those officers and Trump don'tgive a fuck about immigrants,
because they have no empathy,they don't care about humanity,
empathy, they don't care abouthumanity.
And so what I'm trying to sayand what seems to be getting
lost is you can hold more thanone, two, three thoughts as a
fucking evolved human being onthe planet and say Charlie Kirk
(03:36):
was an asshole, and yet this iswrong and this is not how we do
things, and I have pain andsadness for his family, for the
people that did love him becausehe was a human being, and that
doesn't negate my feeling for 47other children.
Look, there's a gun problem inthis country.
(03:58):
That's a whole othermotherfucking conversation.
And, yes, everything that thatman did, especially to people
who were not like him, so whitepeople I'm just going to say it
because the list is long.
Yeah, I mean, I'm just sayingthat, but that does not mean we
were lacking empathy andcompassion for humanity, not
(04:23):
just with the Charlie, just ingeneral.
That's why Trump is so inoffice and because nobody gave a
fuck about what he was goingFarmers, great example.
They're all crying now but theyhad no empathy or sympathy for
what was going to happen toother people, so until it
happened to them, they didn'tgive a shit.
(04:44):
And that's what I think is thebigger issue that I'm upset
about right now.
I'm furious about it.
And one last thing, and thenI'll let you rebut, or whatever
is, all these doctors andtherapists that are all over
TikTok and some of them arelegit, but they're all like it's
okay.
It's okay to feel what you'refeeling, it's okay, and not
(05:05):
going down the rest of it.
I can feel whatever I want tofeel, but to act as if that
wasn't a human life is weird.
Or to not give a shit about the47 other is weird to me.
That we are cold fucking peopleto humanity, to human beings.
I was going gonna drop in gaza,but I'm not because I'm so
(05:34):
fucking pissed right now.
Andrea Nunez (05:35):
Yeah, well I started with.
I don't want anyone to get shotto death.
Right, it's horrible, it'swrong.
I don't want that for anybody.
I really don't Him or anybodyelse.
I just have to be honest.
I'm having a difficult timeworking up any real feeling
(05:57):
about it other than the general.
It's a horrible thing thatsomeone got shot to death, just
like it is for the other people,but I think that's fair.
Carmen Lezeth (06:05):
I mean, I think that's okay.
You're not getting on socialmedia and laughing and joking
and making like you're nottaking it to this.
Look, that's the other part ofit, right.
We've lost our ability to havejust a little bit of dignity, a
little bit of fucking manners,and I'm sorry.
I'm so thrown by how easypeople are just being vile and
(06:30):
then we get upset because peopleare not compassionate or nice
to us when our people aremurdered.
What the fuck Like?
Why is that a thing Like ourpeople who were murdered?
How come we don't havecompassion?
Andrea Nunez (06:43):
no, well, look, uh , you know I'm gonna go on my
like mini tirade here aboutsocial media.
Right, like this is one of thereasons I'm not on social media,
um it, there are all kinds ofother reasons, for sure, why we
are where we are, but there issomething about this, like, like
(07:04):
, let me put every thought intomy head out into the world and
let me make it so extreme andcrazy and whatever that it will
get attention.
And you know, I don't knowwhere on the spectrum some of
these people are.
Do they really believe that?
Or are they just trying to getattention?
Or you know, uh, you know, goviral or whatever.
(07:28):
It is right, like I don't knowwhere they are, but it doesn't
help, right?
It does not help to have all ofthese places where you can just
put your ridiculous thoughtsout into the world and be a
fucking okay, but we're usingsocial media right now.
Carmen Lezeth (07:43):
I mean, I think that's where the problem is,
like I hear you, and that's adifferent conversation about
social media that we shoulddefinitely have on this show,
because I actually think socialmedia is a good thing, I think
technology is a good thing, sowe can I hear you, I think I
hear you.
I just think that's a differentproblem altogether.
It's a part of thisconversation, I believe.
Andrea Nunez (08:05):
Yes, it's a separate conversation, but it is
a part of this.
What?
Carmen Lezeth (08:10):
you're talking about, and I actually think
there's more good from havingsocial media than not.
It's connected the world indifferent.
That's why I think it's a wholeother conversation we can have,
which we can go down this ifyou want, but I just feel like
that might be a whole.
I think the lack of empathywould still be happening right
now If we didn't have socialmedia, if we didn't have TikTok
(08:30):
or whatever.
I still think, as this countryhas moved forward and as and
it's not just this country, butsociety in general I've said
this before people get allcreamy and sad and shed a tear
when they hear a story about achild who was in a taxi or
(08:51):
something with their parent andthey found a wallet and they
brought it back to the policedepartment.
Everyone's like oh my God,that's such a feel good story.
No, that's what you're supposedto do.
That's not a feel good story,that's a fucking regular thing.
But because we don't have theability to see things like and
have emotional connections,that's what we think is a big
(09:14):
thing.
And then something like thiswe're okay, mocking, and I can't
even believe I'm motherfucking.
You know what the other thingis pissing me off is that I have
to fucking sit here and kind ofdefend this shit like I'm
pissed about it.
You know what I mean?
Like, um, I'm just angry aboutit and and I hate, I hate how I
watched a whole bunch of fuckingright wing podcasts yesterday,
(09:38):
or Christian, christian and I'mdoing fucking quotes, uh,
podcast podcast.
And like that's the other sideof it, right, the bullshittery
of pretending who he was, likethat's the other extreme.
It's just mind boggling to me.
It's mind boggling to me wherewe're at.
Andrea Nunez (10:05):
I don't really know what to say about it.
Yeah, it sucks where we're at.
I guess that's not the partthat bothers me the most about
it.
I don't know.
To me, the tragedy yesterdaywas that someone had the ability
(10:29):
to purchase a weapon that couldkill him, and that's a tragedy
that happens to people everysingle day all over the country.
Carmen Lezeth (10:39):
With my years of watching NCIS and Law and Order.
I just want to say that was aprofessional hit and that was a
fucking sniper.
It was like 600 feet away.
It was on a rooftop.
There is so much that goes intodoing that.
That was a professional hit andI'm going to make a guess here.
(11:00):
I don't think that's the lastof it and I wouldn't be
surprised totally throwing out aguess here.
I don't think that's the lastof it and I wouldn't be
surprised totally throwing out aguess here, like just a guess,
that we're going to find outthat, first of all, I don't
think it's the last of it andsecondly, that it's probably
somebody who is on the right.
You know what I mean.
Like that's the.
Andrea Nunez (11:18):
I just Well will we find that out?
I don't know.
Carmen Lezeth (11:23):
But let's just put some circumstantial evidence
on the table.
Andrea Nunez (11:28):
It was in Utah, it was apparently.
The picture they released is ayoung white man.
Wait, they released the picture.
Carmen Lezeth (11:37):
No, no, no, no, no, no.
The two people that they had incustody are not.
They released a picture today,this morning, all right.
Well, him being white is not.
I know, I know, I know that wasgoing to be it.
Andrea Nunez (11:49):
It was as you said .
You know, I don't want to say aprofessional hit, but a skilled
Very skilled Person, ncis alum.
Right, and so you put togetherthose again very circumstantial
and whatever.
Like that evidence points tosomeone on the right, not you
(12:10):
know a coastal elite havingbrunch and you know getting his
soy latte and walking over tothe you know, prove me wrong
rally to pop off we'll see, butyeah, I didn't know that they
they put up, oh my god, and thebrilliance of like someone like
Kash Patel, who is soincompetent, you know.
Carmen Lezeth (12:28):
I mean there was like 15 different.
They did catch them.
They didn't catch them, so theyhaven't caught them yet, though
, right as of this recording,correct.
Andrea Nunez (12:37):
I looked a few, you know, before I started my
crossword puzzle.
Carmen Lezeth (12:43):
It's just so weird, but yeah, I'm.
Andrea Nunez (12:49):
it's just so weird , but yeah, I'm, I'm and and
here's the other thing thatyou're right.
I don't think we will find thatout, not with this
administration.
Carmen Lezeth (12:53):
That doesn't go with the narrative that they
have already produced and putout you know, right, that it's
the democrats fault, which islike that's the other part of it
, right, not having etiquette,having manners, not realizing
that your words are going toincite more violence.
But here you are, someone in aposition of power, and your
first thought and I'm talkingabout all the Congress people
that came out, all the you knowwhat I mean, and, of course,
(13:16):
trump and everyone else who'slike and just fueling the fire.
Fueling the fire so that we canget into what they're doing
with their words.
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely so, yeah, that'll be interesting.
I just hope that no one elsegets hurt.
I honestly don't want anyone.
(13:39):
I mean, I just it's horrific.
Andrea Nunez (13:41):
It's scary, it's horrific.
I mean and I, you know, I don'twant to be that guy but like,
just over a month ago, aCongresswoman in Minnesota was
assassinated in her home in themiddle of the night and her
husband and her husband and herdog, you know, in the middle of
(14:01):
the night, by a extremeright-wing wing, you know
fascist dude pretending to be acop.
So this is not the first.
It was horrific and terriblethen.
Carmen Lezeth (14:15):
it is horrific and terrible now, you know and I
didn't see all the christian,all the podcast, I didn't see
all that empathy, I didn't seeall that consideration.
And that's what I'm trying tosay, right, because we're so
desensitized to violence in thiscountry too, we just are.
Andrea Nunez (14:37):
Well, and like the pundit class or you know
whatever you want to call them.
Like this, even on the left,like you know, it's it's one of
us, it's not just you know,those gangs in the streets, in
the cities, right, like it's oneof us that was gunned down in
broad daylight.
(14:57):
It's like, yeah, that's theterror, literally, that pretty
much every American lives with.
We can't send our kids toschool, people can't go to
church, you can't go to thegrocery store, you can't go to
the movies, you can't go to amusic festival, you can't just
be driving down the street inyour car.
People are all.
(15:18):
They're having feelings whichfor some is a new experience and
they're acting like toddlerswho don't know how to manage
them.
This means war, you know.
It's like war against what?
Take some guns back,motherfuckers.
Like that's what the war is youknow I am so tired.
Carmen Lezeth (15:41):
The irony is it's like 76% of Americans believe
there should be more gunrestrictions or whatever safety
gun laws or whatever, and it'sthe irony that we keep voting
people in and of course, the NRAstill has the power that it has
and the idea that guns are notpart of the problem.
Although this hit again NCISprofessional professional here.
(16:04):
I'm just saying this seems likesomebody who might it wasn't
somebody who went and justbought a shotgun or took their
mommy or daddy's.
Andrea Nunez (16:13):
this seems like they should not have access to a
military grade weapon that youcan't if you're in the military
which possibly this is wherethis person learned how to do
this or not you don't just getto walk off the base with your
rifle.
You know you're like, oh, I'mgoing to go home for the weekend
.
You know I'm going to take mygun.
(16:34):
Like the access to this levelof weaponry is ridiculous.
Yeah, Like what do you even say, Like nobody should have that
Right.
Carmen Lezeth (16:47):
And it's weird because there are other
countries that live without gunviolence every day and I think
they have mental health issuestoo people who are
(17:13):
anti-immigration and you know,whatever they've got all of the
things that we have, except thegajillions of guns yeah, I think
there's a gun for every adultin the united states I believe
there's more than one gun well,these are the guns they know
about, because then there areall the other guns we don't know
about.
But imagine that there's enoughguns for at least one.
I mean, there's one gun for atleast every person in the United
(17:36):
States.
That's crazy.
At least one, yeah, it's crazy,yeah.
And and then we don't have theemotional maturity to deal with
anything, because if we're angryabout anything, right, we don't
use our words.
We then want to shoot people,which you know is part of the
problem.
Andrea Nunez (17:53):
We don't know how to fight.
If you didn't love me enough,let me go kill 40 people.
Carmen Lezeth (17:58):
Can you imagine?
I mean, yes, we can, because welive with this bullshitter
every day, but it's just a weirdlike on that part.
I feel you know.
This is where I'm againstRepublicans 100%.
The whole gun thing isridiculous.
It's just.
And how would you get them offthe street now?
Right, I mean, it can be done,but it's just so saturated in
(18:20):
our culture and this standingbehind.
It's so funny how we standbehind our constitution when
it's convenient to keep our guns, but not when it's convenient
to actually give rights to otherpeople.
Right, right, hmm, yeah,interesting.
Andrea Nunez (18:36):
I mean, the levels of hypocrisy are, you know,
comical at this point, like it'salmost not worth it to point it
out, but you have to point itout because you can't let it
slide.
But like, come on, you know,the Second amendment is
apparently so sacred that anypiece of machinery that could
kill another person is allowedfor any anybody, and you can
(19:00):
walk around the grocery store init in some places.
Carmen Lezeth (19:03):
You know what I mean I think it's one of my
favorite visuals is to see likeand it's always white fat men
generally.
I mean I've seen some blackstupid men too, but generally
white fat men with like belliesor whatever and they have like
15 guns and they're at likeMcDonald's or whatever you know,
whatever Wahlberg's or whateverit is, and down South, whatever
(19:24):
the fuck they have.
It's like what are you doing?
Like, what is that about that?
Andrea Nunez (19:30):
show of force.
You definitely look tough andnot scared to death, for sure.
Carmen Lezeth (19:36):
Yeah, no, no, no, totally tough and manly, very
manly, yeah, very manly.
Andrea Nunez (19:48):
So that's always one of my favorite Americana
images that, I think, is just soindicative of how ridiculous we
are.
It's really, uh, I've been inplaces where there's open carry
and you see it live and inperson and it's like as a human
being, you see that type of gunand you're like I'm getting the
fuck out of here.
Yeah, like I don't want to bearound anybody, anybody that has
(20:11):
that going on, right, becausewho knows what's happening up
here?
Nothing good, obviously.
Carmen Lezeth (20:18):
Well, I don't have an issue, but I do.
I have issues with guns.
I don't even want to.
I think we should not have guns.
I want to be very clear aboutthat.
That is not even a question.
But if you are somebody who'slike you're a detective or
you're whatever, and you haveyour gun on you and it's like
why is it not concealed Right?
Like why, you know, I mean likeyou're off duty, you're going
to stop at McDonald's, but we'retalking about people who are
(20:39):
strapping shit, have like therifles, and it's like you
clearly put that on and took itwith you out the car so that you
could go into this, so you canmake a show of I am strong.
Andrea Nunez (20:55):
It's like cosplay.
Right, it's a costume.
Yes, I am dressing up as atough dude who can't be messed
with.
Yeah, and I need everybody tosee it, because I actually feel
really small and I don't knowhow to.
Carmen Lezeth (21:12):
I don't know how to get therapy Right and I have
a teeny, weeny one.
That's all.
I don't know that, and like oldpeople driving Porsches, sorry
it had to be old, older sonHarleys right yeah exactly,
totally Okay.
I don't want to hear it fromanyone, but I'm just saying.
It just feels the same.
(21:33):
Yeah, I don't know.
And why is it never women whoare snipers?
You know?
Like was the white person?
They showed a woman, no, is itweird for me to kind of think
that I'm not saying there aren'twomen killers out there?
Right, we know that there are.
Is there a way in which we canstart trying to think as a
(21:57):
country that it might be a goodidea to maybe have a woman in
power at some point?
Andrea Nunez (22:06):
I know, stop, oh my God, now you've really gone
mad.
Stop, oh my God, now you'vereally gone mad.
Carmen Lezeth (22:14):
I'm just saying, and then the right will say,
well, yes, we're not againstthat, but it has to be the right
woman.
Kristi Noem, yeah, there's agreat thought.
Can you imagine the mostqualified women who have run for
office?
And no, I'm not talking aboutSarah fucking Palin, Cause
(22:37):
having so much more than any manwho's ever been president, and
because we're not ready for thateither.
We're not ready for that at alleither.
But I'm just saying I have notseen women running around with
machine guns.
I don't know.
I'm sure they're out there.
I don't live in the South, Idon't.
Andrea Nunez (22:57):
I mean, there are, I'm sure.
Carmen Lezeth (23:02):
Well, those are the ones who have the Christmas
cards with their kids holdingall the right.
The family, everybody's holdingtheir guns and stuff.
My apologies, my apologies,right right, the family,
everybody's holding their gunsand stuff.
Andrea Nunez (23:11):
So my apologies, my apologies right, but it's as
far as a, you know, a womanbeing in power.
I mean we know how that goesright.
Carmen Lezeth (23:21):
Um it's not going to happen in our lifetime.
I don't think so, no I don'tthink so either isn't it sad?
It is sad about that it's supersad.
Andrea Nunez (23:29):
You know.
I was just talking to someoneyesterday Like I don't think
that what is happening now willbe significantly better in my
lifetime.
Carmen Lezeth (23:39):
Oh yeah, I agree with you.
Andrea Nunez (23:43):
Like we're on a trajectory that I actually,
sadly, don't think we bottomedout.
You know, are you serious?
Yeah, I mean, if you just lookat this, when other countries
have been kind of taken over byauthoritarians, it takes decades
(24:04):
to come out of it.
Carmen Lezeth (24:07):
I was thinking about how we would fix this in
the next election if we have one, seriously like how, whoever
the nominee is going to be, butlet's just pretend it's Gavin
Newsom or whatever, because it'sgoing to be a white man.
Andrea Nunez (24:22):
There's no, it better fucking be a white man.
You know like I hate myself foreven saying it, but like it
needs to be a white man honestly, from somewhere in the middle.
Carmen Lezeth (24:34):
Yeah, less weird, yeah, yeah.
So how, I mean, does he justsit down the first three months
and start writing executiveorders that reverse everything?
Andrea Nunez (24:46):
It's just not going to be that easy, you know
our entire federal and we, youknow we all have our feelings
about bureaucracy but, like youknow, the, you know lifetime
civil servants who have decadesof institutional knowledge, our
scientists, our statisticians,our lawyers.
(25:11):
Our FBI agents, fbi lawyers, ourFBI agents, our judicial system
, yeah, yeah, you know, likethey're gone, yeah, and all of
the knowledge of what camebefore and how things actually
work and how you get thingsmoving.
Administrators, payroll clerksI mean the people who actually
do the work right, like they'regone.
(25:33):
This is not a like best case,most rose-colored scenario.
You know, democrats take backhouse and senate in two year or
whatever, in 26, that's.
That's a year 2016.
And then maybe the presidencyagain, if we even have elections
(25:54):
, whatever.
This is still like a solid, Ithink, decade away from even
becoming something normal again,and when I say that, like the
country that we knew does notexist anymore, we have to
recreate.
Carmen Lezeth (26:16):
At this point, Well, and I shook my head a
little bit because and youtaught me this the country we
had before actually was a lie.
Andrea Nunez (26:27):
I know, like all of its flaws, but I'm saying
like, yes, what we thought wehad, but even what we actually
did have flaws, warts and all isactually gone.
You know, in terms of what itlooks like to actually run a
country.
Carmen Lezeth (26:46):
Yeah, you're talking about the technicalities
of how we run a country right,and I'm thinking of, you know,
the hope, the aspiration ifthere is like okay, so I want to
be more optimistic and justhope that there is a way you can
(27:18):
fix some of the technicalitiesof this.
I'm more concerned that theactual thing that makes America
great is that idea of hope andpossibility and you can come
here and be somebody andwhatever, like we can find a way
for people to.
(27:39):
The American dream was always afacade.
I think we're all realizingthat now, but it would be sad to
think we can't get back thereagain.
You know that's I don't know, Idon't know I, I, I'm.
I know that I'm broken about it, which means something, because
I've always been rah, rahAmerica and now I'm like, yeah,
(28:03):
blah.
Andrea Nunez (28:03):
I mean, look it's.
You know I would love to havesome optimism and some hope.
Uh, you, you know I long tofind it, but you can't have
those things without afunctioning country.
You know what I mean.
(28:24):
Like without the people whoshow up every day and make sure
that people get paid, people gettheir papers stamped, that they
need to go and do whatever thething is.
People, you know kids can getstudent loans or grants or
whatever it is.
To go to school, you knowdiplomats are fanned out around
(28:44):
the world to you know, smooththings over with other countries
and maybe some of the peoplewho are gone would come back
again, assuming everything goeswell.
But some of those people arelost forever and it's it's.
I see it.
I believe it has to be a notlike a new creation in terms of
(29:09):
a new constitution or whatever,but I don't think there's like
can we get it back?
It is we need to rebuild.
We need to build something new.
We need to create something newbecause things have been lost.
Carmen Lezeth (29:22):
Yeah, I, you look at I, I.
That's maybe a lot beyond mypay grade.
I'll just admit it right now,In my heart, I want to believe
it'll be easier to fix thestructural part as opposed to
fixing the idea of what Americaused to be.
I don't know.
I hope I, I, I hope you'rewrong, because I'm wrong, I know
(29:47):
, I hope I hope you're wrong andI hope there's a way.
But we're, I mean, right now,we're at baby steps.
Right Right now, we're at thisplace where we're questioning
whether or not we can have fairelections and people are
redistricting and you know, inCalifornia we have to vote in
November to redistrict againstour public.
(30:10):
Anyways, that's a whole otherconversation.
But basically and it's so weirdbecause I want to make sure we
try to explain things to peoplebut in California we have a
separate group of people whoactually are in charge of
redistricting the state Anindependent commission that we
voted to have.
Andrea Nunez (30:29):
That's right.
Carmen Lezeth (30:30):
It has nothing to do with politics or whatever.
They're independent people whoand actually I think that's
where we, you and I, weretalking about is that where we
both applied to be part of thatand then we decided not to do it
.
We were looking at it, Iremember.
Andrea Nunez (30:43):
We were looking at it right.
I remember that.
Carmen Lezeth (30:45):
I don't think, andrew, actually applied Right
and look, they were doing thatin order to be objective and to
make sure that they representedeach district correctly.
And now, because of what'shappened in Texas and basically
Trump cheating and asking thegovernor there what's his name,
I can't stand that man either.
(31:06):
I guess he's an enabler.
Yeah, Abbott, Whatever Abbott,the enabler Turned around and
just said yeah, we're just goingto change it the way we want it
so we can get more seats.
That is cheating.
There's no other way to explainthat people.
It's cheating.
Explain that people it'scheating.
So now the governor ofCalifornia, Governor Newsom, has
(31:32):
turned around and said we'regoing to ask the people in
November in a ballot so we haveto vote whether we want to get
rid of, just for this timeperiod, the independent
redistricting of our state sothat we can redistrict it to
fight back against the fiveillegal seats that Texas is now
doing and it's ridiculous, butwe're going to do it.
(31:52):
We're going to do it and we'regoing to vote yes, because
that's what we're going to do inorder to try to fight this.
And it's like that's the kindof bullshittery that you're
talking about, that thatstructural part is now being
dismantled, right, Having anindependent commission so that
it's done in a fair way, becausewe have to fight in the way we
(32:15):
need to fight in order to beable to have a fair election,
which is weird.
Andrea Nunez (32:19):
Yes, I completely agree with you, right, I loved
the idea of the independentcommission.
I think all we voted for we nowessentially have to vote
against, and you know, play thegame the way they're playing it.
(32:52):
I hate that, right.
But again I go back to what weknew is gone.
We have to work with what is,and what is is that you have
these states now Missouri alsolooking at it and New York, yeah
, are going to.
You know, redistrict away theiryou know Democrat, you know
(33:19):
districts where a Democrat wouldwin, and so essentially
removing those Democrats fromfrom office.
Carmen Lezeth (33:26):
And and retaliation.
What's happening is New York isconsidering you know and like,
and this is the tit for tat,bullshittery that you're talking
about.
And look, I agree with you.
I agree with you and in thesame respects, we have to fight
the fight we're fighting becauseof democracy and and for all
you Republicans andconservatives, who listen to All
About the Joy and are part ofthis community.
(33:48):
I just have to say that I'mokay with you believing what you
want to believe, but most ofyou don't have facts, which is
why this show exists.
You know, and let me be clearas well I am not a liberal to
the left.
I have always been more to themiddle, and part of what we were
going to talk about today isthat most people who think
(34:09):
they're Republicans are actuallynot Republicans, and this is
one of those.
Andrea's about to die.
Andrea Nunez (34:18):
I'm fine, I have facts.
Carmen Lezeth (34:21):
And I'm going to let you look at.
I mean, we were going to makethe whole show about this, but
maybe we can touch on it a bit.
Andrea Nunez (34:27):
But that's kind of where we're coming from Go
ahead, andrea, I just want, like, if your ideas win in this sort
of marketplace of ideas, whywould you not want there to be
(34:49):
fairness, right, and so to methat just says something about
you know, like I just want towin at all costs.
I don't want to win at allcosts, I don't.
I want it to be fair, and whenyou know my politics, the way
I've always described it is Iwant the most good for the most
people.
Right, that's the way that Idescribe it, and so, uh.
(35:09):
But to go back to theRepublican thing, I guess I said
this last week most people arenot Republicans and we were
going to talk about that.
Carmen Lezeth (35:17):
So I did get a couple of people who reached out
, which was interesting.
Andrea Nunez (35:20):
Um, so I looked it up.
Uh, you know Again, sources arewhatever they are.
I looked it up on a websitecalled USAFactsorg, which is
sourced from state governmentagencies on the registration of
the people in their states.
So, as of August 2025, so justlast month there are 37.4
(35:46):
million registered Republicansin the United States.
There are 44.1 millionregistered Democrats, so that's
more.
There are 34.3 million eitherregistered as independent or
didn't choose.
right, I'm non-party affiliateso some of those people could
(36:08):
lean right, some could lean left.
Nonetheless they are notregistered republicans.
And then, just to be fair,there are 3.1 million, uh people
in like, I guess lesser parties, I guess is the way they
described it so green partyParty, libertarian, whatever.
So that could be a mix as wellof right and left.
But the fact of the matter is Ididn't say most people are
(36:30):
Democrats.
I said most people are notRepublicans and most people, by
this data, are not Republicans,whatever that means.
Again, to go back to what yousaid, speak facts or don't speak
.
Carmen Lezeth (36:44):
Right.
I think the other part of it,too, is just when you think
about what it means to be aRepublican, and that has changed
because Trump, trumpism hastaken over the Republican party,
right, and so we might go intothis a little bit later, into in
a in another episode.
We had to talk about CharlieKirk a lot, but there's also
this weird thing that peoplewill always do, and I had to say
(37:06):
it they're like the Republicansfreed the slaves.
So Lincoln.
Lincoln was a Republican.
He really was.
That's true.
But if you don't this is how Iknow people do not know their
history At some point and it wasafter, like, I think, the 1930s
(37:26):
is where it became a big dealthe ideologies of both parties
kind of switched.
Now, that's a really simple wayof saying that the Southern
Democrats from back in the daywere people that believed really
, really conservative ideas, andthen the Republicans were in
(37:49):
the North.
Right, they were in the North.
So when you talk about Lincolnbeing somebody who is a
Republican and you try to usethat as your way to feel good
about your party, you don't knowyour history.
This is why people willassociate people like Barack
Obama with Lincoln, right,that's why, because if Lincoln
(38:12):
was around today, he would be aDemocrat.
So you have to know yourhistory and it's something I
think we should talk about, evenon that end.
Even things like social security.
You can't be okay with socialsecurity because it affects you
and then claim that it'ssocialist for everyone else.
Like it's a weird thoughtprocess.
(38:37):
You want great streets, youwant public places that have
police officers, that havebridges, that have good roads,
all of that.
All of that would be considereddemocratic policies.
You know what I mean?
Like that would be socialism.
Andrea Nunez (38:54):
It's not.
You want a weekend.
You want holiday pay.
Carmen Lezeth (38:58):
Yes, you want to be treated fair at work, all of
those things, and so when westart getting into and maybe
we'll do it next week, itdepends on what's in the news
Depends, hard to say, hard tosay.
But look, I want people to takeaway from this show today at
the very least.
I mean, I know we're going tobe talking about Charlie Kirk
(39:20):
for a long time or whatever, butbesides that, start really
figuring out what your identityis.
Are you really a Democrat?
Are you really a Republican?
Do you really believeeverything that the Trump
administration is doing Really,not just because you were around
it and that's what you votedfor and that's what you believe?
(39:41):
No, and don't do the one.
What is it?
One policy vote person.
You know how people vote forone thing and that's what they
are, what is it Single issuevoter?
Yeah, Don't be a nuance, nuance.
Andrea Nunez (39:57):
I mean, yeah, that's.
My great hope is that peopleactually really think about what
are my values?
What do I believe in?
What is actually important tome, aside from what is happening
all around me, aside from whatmy parents or my family taught
(40:18):
me, what my church, what myschool, whatever, and whatever
it is okay, but make sure thatit's actually yours and that
it's actually what you believe,and it doesn't belong to a party
or whatever.
Carmen Lezeth (40:33):
And I'm going to say something.
I know, I know I'm going tolose.
We're going to lose a lot offollowers.
But, christians, I'm going togive you a shout out here and
say seriously, sit down andreally think about what you
believe and what your Bibleseems to be telling you, because
there are so manycontradictions that are going on
(40:53):
.
And I will say this, not evenkidding I went to 12 years of
Catholic school and I, you knowI'm not going to sit here and
say I know more, but I know alot more than a lot of you who
pretend to be Christians.
So I know, I know, I know Iprobably shouldn't have said
that, but it's just mindboggling to me.
Yeah, all right, I don't evenknow what else to say to close
(41:22):
this out, but we're at that timeperiod.
We need a girl.
I know we appreciate you guyslistening and we hope you'll
come back next week.
We're going to keep havingthese conversations because it's
real talk between two friendswho don't always agree, but
fundamentally we do and we justwant I hate to say it this way
because you're going to puke butwe want the world to be a
(41:44):
better place.
Andrea Nunez (41:45):
We do.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Okay, cool, we would love forthe world to be a better place
for people to feel good and behappy and joyful and not have to
worry about getting shot in thestreets.
That's what we want.
Carmen Lezeth (41:58):
That's what we want, right?
We want to be able to walkaround freely and not be afraid.
So, yeah, so remember to checkus out on Friday nights.
All About the Joy.
We have our Friday night liveswhere everyone can come and hang
out and just chill and know wedon't talk about politics or
religion.
We may touch on it a bit.
Well, I mean, it's aneighborhood hangout, so
(42:20):
everyone is welcome.
And, of course, we also haveour Sunday show, which is why
can't I remember the name of ourSunday show Lord Jesus, the
Private Lounge.
Yay, sunday is 12 o'clockPacific, it's private, 3 pm
Eastern and we really appreciateyou being here.
(42:42):
Remember, at the end of the day, it really is all about the joy
.
Bye everyone, thank you, bye.
Thanks for stopping by.
All about the joy be better andstay beautiful folks.
Have a sweet day.
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