October 30, 2025 • 45 mins
The episode starts with shine - literal shine - as we trade retinol tips, laugh about mic placement, and compare notes on simple routines that actually work. Then the tone shifts. We walk through the government shutdown, what a “clean” continuing resolution really means, and why leaving ACA funding out isn’t a technicality - it’s a strategy that hikes premiums and pushes people off care.
From there, we go straight to the dinner table. SNAP benefits hang in the balance, and the myths crumble fast: most recipients are families with children, many are elderly or disabled, and a significant share are working. We talk about the companies paying low wages while taxpayers quietly pick up the tab, how stigma around benefits blinds us to the tiny slice of the budget SNAP occupies, and how a Portland shop is feeding neighbors with “SNAP breakfasts” funded by micro-donations from across the world. That generosity is breathtaking - and a sign that our systems are failing the people they’re meant to serve.
We unpack the middle class myth, the self-made story, and the way repetition shapes belief more than facts. We name the cowardice of leaders who won’t defend basic institutions and celebrate the people - lawyers, organizers, local officials - who keep fighting for a fair vote, fair pay, and a safety net that catches everyone. Joy shows up as a practice: caring for our skin, caring for our neighbors, and caring enough to tell the truth about power, wages, and dignity.
If this moved you, share it with a friend, rate the show, and leave a review. Subscribe for future episodes and join the conversation - who are the heroes you see, and what kind of care do you want your community to guarantee?
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.
Mark as Played
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.
This is Culture and Consequencewith Carmen and Andrea.
It's okay.
Um it's okay, fucking loser.
No, I no, I'm not I totallywould never.
I'm just um I'm just in a sadspace.
That's all.
So like like when you justwent, why does my face look so
(00:24):
oily all the time?
Andrea (00:27):
It's uh what is that called?
It's like oh god, I can't thinkof the word where it's like
super shiny and they all loveit.
I can't remember what it'scalled.
Glass skin.
It's glass skin.
Carmen Lezeth (00:39):
Okay.
No, actually, you know whatI've been using though is um,
and I know you're gonna be like,whatever, retinol.
I've never used retinol before.
And um, Neilu, who does uh myface, uh she was like, you have
to try it, but every time I'vetried it in the past, it has
dried out my skin completely.
But I then did it the way shetold me to do it.
(01:02):
And I like in person, it lookslike I look poreless.
You know what I mean?
Like, but on camera, it lookslike what did you call it?
Glassy skin.
Glass skin.
It's what I'm gonna do.
And I'm not gonna wear powder,I'm not gonna wear powder.
That's crazy.
Uh, how did she tell you to doit?
Um, well, first of all, it's acertain kind of retinol, which
is very interesting, and thenalso um you don't do it every
(01:26):
day and you don't do it twice aday.
You build up, so you do like atnight one time, like you just
do a little time, like not evena pea size, yeah, and then you
moisturize, and then you see howyou feel the next day, and then
do it the day after.
So so I really did itstrategically, and now I'm just
doing it um in in the mornings,and that's it.
(01:50):
And we started like this is uhculture and consequence,
everyone, but that's okay.
These are important topics,everybody.
Okay, wait, is your mic on?
Yeah, can you not hear?
Yeah, no, there's just an echo.
It's okay.
It's all right, it's not a badecho, it's just a room echo.
It's like, yeah.
Andrea (02:07):
Okay, hold on.
Let me see if there's uhsomething I can change.
Oh my lord.
Carmen Lezeth (02:12):
Okay, so what's happening is like when you're
close to the mic, I can hear youperfectly well.
But when you're away, there'san echo, and it's because your
voice I'll tell you why.
You have the mic to the side, Ican see it right now.
Yeah, I have the mic in frontof me.
Because what's happening isyour voice is bouncing off your
screen and then going into themic.
So if you want to have the micin front of you, put it like so
(02:33):
technical.
Andrea (02:34):
Okay, yeah, if you can put it way in front of you, and
like your keyboard feels likekind of penisy right in front of
me.
Is that what you think ishappening here with me?
No, but yours is round.
This one just isn't no yours isround too.
They're the same.
Oh, not like yours.
Carmen Lezeth (02:50):
Like it's like say look at look at penis-y,
penisy.
It's still the same.
This is the world of mics.
This is this is podcasting,honey.
This is you know, I'm leavingall of this in.
Andrea (03:03):
I was like, okay, she's for sure gonna cut all of this
out.
Carmen Lezeth (03:06):
Okay, well, if you want me to, but I mean the
other thing is that I mean, ifyou don't want it to be seen,
you can push it closer so thatyour camera is going above if
you want to.
Like, so like if I push, oops,oops, oops, oops, wait, wait,
wait.
I'm about to lose the wholerecording.
So look at I just pushed my micall the way to the screen, and
still my voice is going to behitting the mic, so you don't
(03:28):
see the mic.
I I don't care, and I like themic being in front of me, so I
don't really I I wasn't thinkingabout penises, so whatever, but
now that that image is in frontof me now, thank you.
Andrea (03:39):
Yeah, yeah, it doesn't, it doesn't really, it doesn't
really go away, but it's fine,it's fine.
Carmen Lezeth (03:44):
But you see what I'm saying, right?
That that's what was happeningbefore, that's what the echoing.
And I'll I'll delete this orwhatever.
Um, but anyway, yeah, so I'vebeen doing the retinol or
whatever, and and I'm reallyshook by it.
Here's the thing though, it's alot of work for me.
I'm not used to doing so muchskincare wise.
Um, I mean, I'm not trying toact like I don't do anything,
(04:05):
but I really it it's it's it'sbeen a thing.
So, anyways, and I don't knowwhat it keeps doing.
Andrea (04:16):
I only use it at night.
Wait, you've been doing retinolfor years?
Yeah, like oh yeah, I don't 15years probably.
I think it's very drying.
Carmen Lezeth (04:25):
I think it's very drying.
Andrea (04:26):
Well, you have to the way that I have to, yeah, it is
very drying, so but you do getused to it.
So I actually put lotion on, Ionly use it at night.
I put lotion on before and thenyou do it.
Lotion, and then I put it onand I use it like I'm gonna say
three to four nights a week, notin a row.
(04:47):
See, and I put lotion on aftertoo.
Carmen Lezeth (04:51):
Yeah, see, so I put it on, so cleanse the face,
retinol, wait a little bit, andthen the cream, facial cream,
whatever.
And we were doing okay,honestly, I had gotten all of
these kind of, I don't know whatthey're called.
I was like, it's cancer.
It wasn't, they were likelittle skin tags or something.
(05:12):
Moles, raised.
I don't know what they areraised or just like freckles.
No, no, they were like littlethings sticking out of my skin.
Andrea (05:21):
I had like the real like moles, skin tags, whatever.
Carmen Lezeth (05:24):
Whatever they are.
So the first time I went to adermatologist and paid like all
this money out of pocket, right?
Because you have to pay yourco-payment and whatever, and and
he basically got rid of it orwhatever.
And then it happened again, andI was like, so I asked Neilu,
because I see Nilu every once ina while.
And um, for those who don'tknow who Neelu is, she does my
Botox.
So just to share.
(05:46):
Um, but she you know, but sheturned around and she she was
like, No, no, no, the reason whythis is happening is because
you need to use some retinol.
She gave me some samples orwhatever, and I started using it
and it went away.
So I was like really psyched orwhatever.
Whereas the dermatologist,hello, was happy for me, I
guess, to come back every time Ineeded these things taken off
(06:09):
of me.
So I'm just saying, you knowwhat I mean?
So I ain't going to thatperson.
Andrea (06:12):
Yeah, you need someone who knows your skin and actually
wants to help you solve aproblem versus like, oh, let me
burn that off for you.
Carmen Lezeth (06:20):
Yeah.
So, and you know I don't wear alot of makeup.
So the thing that I do loveabout the retinol is that it's
allowed me to not really wearmakeup at all.
And I I just never knew thatthat was a thing, but but yeah.
So I do it, yeah.
Oh, that's so interesting.
It's just how we do itdifferently, or whatever.
I have not been using retinol.
Someone gave me hydrochloricacid.
(06:40):
Is that what it is?
Um, I've heard of that, yeah.
I'm sure it's not actuallywhatever it is.
Andrea (06:47):
Well, it's like uh diluted, so you spray like if
you're sweating or somethinglike that, so you don't it's I I
give it to the kids so theydon't break out.
Carmen Lezeth (06:55):
Whatever, and that didn't work for me either.
I'm like, this is way too muchwork, you know.
And um, and I have friends whodo like toner, and I'm like,
this is just too much work forme.
Andrea (07:05):
I mean, I I love my skincare and I do all of that
stuff, but I I also like thingsto be very simple.
Like I'm maybe like three tofour steps at any given time,
and that's I'm out.
I can't do more than that.
Carmen Lezeth (07:18):
Okay, so I have always done wash my face,
moisturize, and like foundation,which is like sunscreen if you
have a good tinted sunscreen orwhatever, but um yeah, so funny.
I love when we're talking aboutthis kind of stuff.
Um, I mean, this is part ofwhat we're doing anyway.
(07:39):
So, you know, culture andconsequence, your skincare area
to learn all the best ways.
But I do think it's sorry,that's a sunscreen.
Sunscreen is very important,but also I do think it's weird
because when I'm on camera, Isee the shine, you know.
Um you just look like you'reglowing.
I'm glowing, yeah.
I know.
(07:59):
It's just a weird, it's justit's just changed over the past
uh I've been using it now forlike two months, I think.
I don't know, our skin looksgreat to me, so I wouldn't
complain about it.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
Yeah, okay.
So it's also lighting, butwhatever.
Um, okay, we were gonna talkabout um the good that people
are doing, and you see mynegativity on it right now.
The good that people are doing.
(08:21):
Whatever.
Like I'll I'll show that uhclip that I sent you because I
did upload it.
You know what?
Actually, let me start byexplaining why the government is
still in a shutdown.
We are on day 30 of thegovernment shutdown, which is
interesting.
And for people who don't know,we are we're not arguing, but
(08:41):
the conflict between theRepublicans and the Democrats.
The Republicans want to pass aclean CR, and the CR is a
continuing resolution, whichbasically is to let the
government be funded so thatpeople can get paid through
November, I want to say 21st.
(09:03):
It's only to November 21st,which then gives the House and I
think it's the House and theSenate the ability to have a
conversation about the budgetfor the entire year.
The reason why the and can Ijust say you and I know it's so
funny how now the Republicanswant to do a clean CR, right?
Because it's in their bestinterest.
unknown (09:25):
Yeah.
Carmen Lezeth (09:25):
So people will say, why is it that the
Democrats won't just say yes andthen negotiate afterwards
whatever it is their argumentis?
Here's why.
The Democrats are saying thereis no funding in this continuing
CR for the Affordable Care Act.
(09:46):
And the Affordable Care Act,which is nicknamed Obamacare,
it's the same thing, people.
Same thing.
If you ever watch any of thelate night show hosts, I think
it's Jimmy Kimmel, they'll dothese things where they'll go,
and they've done it in New York,but they'll be like, So are you
against Obamacare or theAffordable Care Act?
And they're like, oh, I hateObamacare.
(10:07):
It's like it's the same thing.
You know what I mean?
Exactly.
It's the same thing.
It's just like nickname that Iguess Republicans thought was
going to be a really bad thing,and Obama embraced it fully and
completely.
But the reason why this is soimportant is number one, there's
no trust between these twoparties at all.
(10:27):
And I don't need to go intowhy, but the most important
thing is Republicans have beentrying since day one to get rid
of Obamacare, the AffordableCare Act.
They've been trying to do it,they have voted against it more
than 70 times.
And every time they don't win,like every time they they have
(10:48):
lost.
But this is their sneaky way oftrying to get into um weakening
it because funding for it endsin December.
And so there's no other way tomake sure that people who are
who have healthcare willcontinue to have it because it's
going to triple, triple thepremium.
(11:09):
So if I'm paying $587 a monthfor my healthcare through the
Affordable Care Act, I will bepaying over $1,500 a month come
January, which I will not bepaying $1,500 a month because I
will choose not to havehealthcare.
Which means if I get in troubleor if I have an accident or I
have to go to the doctors or Ifeel sick, I will be at the
(11:33):
emergency room, which, by theway, will then go and actually
cost taxpayers much more moneybecause I won't be able to
afford to pay whatever that billwill be because I have no
health care.
Is that like, does that kind ofvisually explain it?
I mean, that's that's thesummary.
That's the summary.
So that's what they're fightingabout uh Republicans and
(11:57):
Democrats.
And Democrats are holdingstrong.
I'm actually impressed.
I'm like, okay.
I am too.
But what's happened now is asof Friday, people who, I mean,
people are suffering everywhere.
People are sufferingeverywhere.
So many layoffs, so many peopleout of work, people are working
without pay.
But one of the big thingsthat's going to happen, those
(12:19):
things are big too, but SNAPbenefits are going to be, people
are not going to get their SNAPbenefits as of Friday.
There will be no, there's nofunding for it.
So families who rely on extramoney to make ends meet and get
food on the table are not goingto be able to eat.
If you don't know what SNAP is,it means I didn't, you know, I
(12:42):
always call it food stampsbecause that's what it was when
I was growing up.
Andrea (12:45):
Yeah.
Carmen Lezeth (12:45):
But it's actually, oh look at that.
I did the whole Obamacare thingwithout using my notes.
I'm so proud of myself.
Um it's um supplementalnutrition assistance program,
and it helps low-incomeindividuals and families buy
groceries.
And so who are these people?
Children, veterans, activemilitary, active military are on
(13:10):
Snap.
I didn't know this.
Um, and seniors.
And you're folks as well.
I'm sorry, disabled folks aswell.
Of course, disabled folks, yes.
I'm so sorry.
But I wanted to bring up onething about uh active duty and
also why so many people becauseI was like, why are active duty
people that means peopleactually working?
(13:32):
Like, um, first of all, becausewe don't pay people enough
money.
We don't pay people an hourlywage that they can live off of
if they're doing a job.
And if you're working in themilitary, I don't even
understand how that's aquestion, but you can't live off
of that.
And military people are movedaround a lot every two or three
(13:52):
years, so they can't even likethe spouse, you know, can't even
turn around and try to getlong-term work or doesn't have a
work history, or they can't getaffordable daycare for their
children.
So there are just so manyreasons, but I was shook by the
active um military people andalso just working people who are
(14:13):
working 40 hours a week, but wedon't pay a living wage.
Andrea (14:17):
Yeah, I I looked up some numbers and I I did I don't
have them in front of me, butoff the top of my head, I do
remember this.
67% of people on SNAP benefitsare are people with small
children, so families with smallchildren.
So that's a lot of kids, right?
It really is.
Um, I can't remember the exactnumber, but somewhere in the
(14:38):
30th percentile is like uh is uhdisabled people and and the
elderly.
And 38% are working people.
38% of people on SNAP benefitsare working.
So that includes the activeduty people.
That includes one thing I didwrite down is uh the top
companies whose employees areusing SNAP benefits.
(15:01):
So what that means, everybody,is that we are subsidizing these
companies in order to not paytheir employees a living wage,
as Carmen pointed out.
So Walmart.
We talked about this before.
And it let's remember that allof the CEOs and owners of these
(15:24):
companies are what?
Carmen Lezeth (15:26):
Billionaires.
Andrea (15:28):
Billionaires.
There's more than enough.
So we have Walmart, uh,McDonald's, Amazon, um Publix,
which is like a grocery storechain, Waffle House, Kroger, so
they own Ralph's.
Carmen Lezeth (15:46):
That's all mostly here though, right?
Andrea (15:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, there they have some onthe East Coast as well.
Uh the dollar stores, DollarGeneral, Dollar Tree, Home
Depot, Uber.
So another thing that thesecompanies have in common is that
most of their CEOs areRepublican donors.
And and billionaires.
Yeah, Republican donors, yeah.
(16:09):
Republican donors.
So they are raking in the cashand hoarding it, as we talked
about before, not paying theiremployees a living wage.
Taxpayers are thensupplementing so people can eat,
as is the humane thing to do.
And now the people they donatedto are essentially keeping the
(16:33):
government closed and not payingfor the food, you know, not
paying, uh, not funding SNAP sopeople can eat.
It's a disgusting littlecircle.
Carmen Lezeth (16:44):
It's it's a weird thing, right?
Because the the most amazingthing that I think wealthy
people have been able to do isconvince poor people or middle
class people that the problem ispoor people and not them.
Am I saying that right?
Like, I it's stunning to me howmany people actually believe,
(17:07):
and I mean, maybe that hassomething to do with the idea of
the American dream that we allbelieve if we work really,
really hard, we can be rich andwealthy too, right?
Andrea (17:16):
Yeah, I just saw something about that.
That like uh I can't rememberthe stat, but something about,
you know, like almost all of youknow, some some large percent,
like 90% of Americans thinkthey're middle class.
Carmen Lezeth (17:27):
I know I said that the other day, and I said
poor people, and I I was lookedat like I was an idiot.
I'm like, okay, okay, okay,like I'm sorry.
Andrea (17:36):
Well that includes the very wealthy, all the way down
to like, you know, really poorpeople who who are just making
$7 an hour or whatever.
Yeah, exactly.
And so the part of this sort ofI don't want to call it a
delusion, but it is sort of adelusion, right?
And I I I do think it has to dowith the American dream and
pull yourself up by thebootstraps and all of that, is
(17:57):
like, you know, I'm I'm just acouple of good breaks away from
being a millionaire, right?
Like I like that's I got Igotta protect that money, right?
I don't want to pay any moretaxes than I do, you know.
Carmen Lezeth (18:11):
Well, you know what?
It goes, and and you know what?
I hate to keep bringing thisup, but it's an interesting
dynamic.
When I say things like you wantto stay at a hotel in my
neighborhood and it's $500 anight, and then people will say,
Oh, you're so bougie, it's eventhat idea, right?
It is the idea that somehow, ifyou're staying in a hotel,
(18:33):
that's nice, and it's five, notunderstanding that the Elon
Musk, Oprah Winfrey, WarrenBuffett, Mark Cuban, any of
these people, they're notstaying at a $500 a night hotel,
right?
Breaking news.
They're not like so this Imisunderstanding.
(18:56):
The resistance are probably noteven seeing.
The resistance are not saying,but that's that's the thing,
right?
We have gotten to a place wherewe don't even realize the
bullshittery that's happening.
And so the Democrats who arestanding strong, and and I I'm
shook by it.
I thought by now they wouldhave bailed, but what they're
(19:18):
trying to do is say, no, wedon't trust you.
We know you've been trying toget rid of the ACA, Obamacare
for so long.
You've also weaponized helpingour neighbors and making sure
people have what they need.
Here's the thing (19:32):
most people aren't asking for more than what
they need.
The average person who isgetting fucking SNAP benefits,
it's under $200 a month.
It's like $187 a month.
It is only one shopping trip,man.
(19:54):
Wait, 1.5% of our federalbudget.
1.5% of our federal budget.
You know what?
I want to help.
That's where I want my taxdollars to go to.
I want to help people thatactually I don't care.
I don't care if they're buyingtheir kids gummy bears and
(20:16):
bullshit processed food orwhatever.
If they're eating, I'm finewith it.
I don't care.
You know, this idea that I amsupposed to be angry.
Oh, and can we just say I can'tbelieve I have to say this
because this is, I just believepeople are smart on this.
People who are quote unquoteundocumented, I was gonna say
the other word, but undocumentedpeople in this country, they
(20:37):
cannot get SNAP benefits.
You're being told lies andyou're believing it.
You're believing it over andover again, but you don't want
to believe the truth.
The truth is, red states likeMississippi, West Virginia, and
Kentucky have higher SNAPparticipation per capita in
rural areas that arepoverty-driven and mostly white
(20:59):
than any other place in theUnited States.
It's not liberal Democrats whoare stealing money from you.
I don't know.
I'm sad, right?
I I sent you an email like Ican't understand how dumb we've
become as a country.
Andrea (21:17):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, you said that just asecond ago that you want to
believe people are smarter thanthis.
Um, they're not.
But why?
How can you not be able to dothat?
This is a just becauseeducation has also been gutted,
right?
Because our media is thoroughlyin the hands of the right wing
(21:39):
at this point.
Carmen Lezeth (21:41):
Unbelievable.
Andrea (21:42):
Like unbelievable.
They're they're not, yes, theyare being told lies.
Where do they go to get thetruth if they don't have, you
know, as we talked about before,sort of the critical thinking
skills, right?
How do you and repetitionfucking works?
unknown (22:00):
Yeah, it does.
Andrea (22:00):
It does.
Yeah.
You hear it and you hear it andyou hear it and you hear it,
and it just sinks in.
Carmen Lezeth (22:08):
I'm heartbroken because I feel like as much as I
know this show is necessary,and I I know it's good because I
we're getting the feedback orwhatever, it's disheartening to
wake up every and and know thatI'm looking at the news now
because I want to see how we canexplain or teach things to
people.
I guess I'm heartbrokenbecause, and I know you're gonna
(22:29):
get mad at me, but rememberwe're being recorded.
Um, I just can't believe richpeople are this evil.
You know what I mean?
Like, I I don't like why do youwant to hurt fellow Americans?
Like, why do you want to haveyou want to hurt anybody?
I know, but okay, but I'm eventrying to be even more specific.
Like, you have so much.
Andrea (22:51):
The most basic aspect of humanity that you feed people.
Every go to any home of anyimmigrant you can think of:
Mexican, Puerto Rican, Somali,Syrian, whatever.
You sit down at their house.
I don't care if they haveabsolutely nothing.
(23:12):
You are gonna be served fooduntil you can't get up from the
fucking table.
That is basically it's thebottom thing on the hierarchy of
needs is food.
And people are somehow okaywith their fellow humans not
having enough food.
Carmen Lezeth (23:33):
Because they don't think it's about them,
because when it happens to them,they have what they think is an
excuse or a reason that makessense to them.
But anybody else getting snapor welfare or whatever it's
called is doing something badand they're not pulling
themselves up by theirbootstraps, right?
It's kind of that thing, andand I hate to bring up Dick
Cheney that's totally likewhoof, squirrel.
(23:54):
But remember we used to havethat conversation where Dick
Cheney was such an asshole, andthen all of a sudden he found
out his daughter was gay, andall of a sudden he had a better
understanding of maybe he didn'thave control over his daughter
being gay.
You know what I mean?
Like it's that kind of thing.
Like it's okay that I take awayfrom you because you're doing
(24:15):
something bad until it happensto my family and I can
understand it.
That's not fucking compassion.
Compassion is being able towalk in someone else's shoes
without actually experiencingit, right?
Having empathy.
I mean, I'm pissed right now,so I'm just fucking.
I'm just saying, like, I don'thave to experience pain to
understand that somebody else isin pain.
(24:38):
I don't know.
I'm I'm a little bit madbecause I feel like we should be
better than this.
And I don't mean Americans, Imean just human beings in
general.
Like, what the fuck?
And how much money do you need?
Seriously.
How much money do you need?
And this thing with healthcare,this country has got to have a
(24:59):
reckoning with this bullshit.
Besides food, you would thinkthe other thing is to make sure
that your neighbor is healthyand fine and good so they can
continue contributing to theworld in the magnificence that
they are.
Whatever that means.
We're human beings.
So your idea is not give themhealth care.
Andrea (25:21):
And I I think I do believe on like a one-to-one
basis, right?
Like you're a random person inthe middle of the country, and
your neighbor, I don't know, hashas a heart attack while
they're walking the dog, you'regonna go out and help them.
I don't know.
Are you are gonna go out andhelp them?
Are you?
(25:41):
I don't know.
I'm that's what I'm questioningnow.
I believe I believe if it'slike right in front of you,
right?
Somebody falls down at thegrocery store.
You know, people aren't justgonna like step over them.
No, they're gonna do this.
Oh my god, you're right.
My whole point is totally.
Carmen Lezeth (26:02):
This is what's happening.
I mean, I look at I hear you.
I the irony of this I'm usuallythe one talking fucking
Pollyanna shit.
Yeah, I'm the reason why I'msad, Andrea, is because I I
don't get it.
I I don't get it.
I I heard a couple of uhpodcasts the other day, you
know, randomly just going to gocheck out what people are
saying.
And I was like, I'm not shookby it, but my heart is shook by
(26:26):
the it's not just the damasseriathat people don't know what
they're talking about, but thatthey are actually okay in hating
the idea that people can havehealth care.
Like they're okay with peoplesuffering and not getting food
stamps.
I'm sorry, snap ben.
I just want to apologize.
I know you're not supposed tosay certain things.
I'm used to saying food stampsbecause that's what I grew up
(26:48):
understanding it to be.
Um it just it just breaks myheart.
Andrea (26:55):
I saw a clip, um, you may have seen it, I think it was
on TikTok, um, of Tom NisiCoates.
Uh he spoke at a university inMissouri.
Although he's intense.
Carmen Lezeth (27:04):
He's intense, Peter.
Andrea (27:05):
Yeah, well, so one of the it was just a brief clip,
but um, one of the things thathe said was that he was
surprised by the cowardice.
He's like, I just didn't knowhow many cowards there were.
He's like, so cowardice,really, that they won't even
defend the institutions thatthey have for their whole lives
said were so great, whether it'san Ivy League school or whether
(27:28):
it's you know the Senate oreven the country.
They have all just completelyrolled over, you know?
Carmen Lezeth (27:35):
And it boggles my mind because I keep trying to,
I understand you want morepower, you want more money, you
want to be next to power.
I'm like, but I at whatexpense?
At what expense are youwilling?
I don't know.
Andrea (27:50):
I I heard something the other day that said it that it's
it's uh and I don't totallyagree with this, but um, but
it's like an addiction, right?
Like people who are addicted tosomething and they and so I I'm
not gonna necessarily put it inthat category because that's
you know, I think that's sort ofmore of a health issue, but
there is some kind ofpsychological thing happening
(28:12):
where it's like you you are sodisconnected from the reality of
the human experience when youhave that kind of money, you
know, that it it I think itshuts certain things down.
Carmen Lezeth (28:27):
I mean, I think I look at I okay, I'm just
thinking about this, but I dobelieve that the natural human
instinct is to always want more.
I don't think that's a badthing.
I think it's why we haveprogressed as human beings.
We found fire and and then wewere like, okay, warmth, and
then you know what I mean?
(28:47):
Like we got a wheel to do thewhole time.
Yeah, but you know what I mean?
Like, so I understand thatpart, but where does the
disconnect come where you'restill progressing and wanting
more, but along the way, you'retripping over bodies or people
or climbing over bodies,climbing, yeah.
Do you know what I mean?
(29:08):
Like that's where I don'tunderstand.
Like, I and and look at I'm nottrying to be so Pollyanna about
it, but it does bother me thatas human beings, we can't see
the forest for the trees, thatso many people of wealth
continue to railroad thingsthrough at the expense of poor
(29:29):
human beings.
And Andre, you're so right.
So many people don't want tocall themselves poor.
And like when I say it, peopleget upset, especially when I'm
talking about my bougie hotel orwhatever.
And it's like, I would herehere's what my definition of
poor is if I were to lose my jobtomorrow, three months, I would
be on the street.
So is that literally true?
(29:50):
No, because I have friends andfamily.
That's the real wealth I have.
But as far as having like, youknow, investments and
properties.
And that to me is what thedefinition of poor is.
And most people in the UnitedStates can't exist for three
months without a paycheck.
Well, they can't even exist fora month without a paycheck.
I know three months kind ofmakes me middle class, I guess.
(30:13):
Like three months.
But and so I think people haveto start redefining what wealth
is because you're so confused.
You're so confused as to whatit is.
Flying first class on acommercial airline two times a
year that I maybe travel, thatdoesn't make me wealthy.
(30:34):
It doesn't even make me middleclass.
It makes me a single womanwithout children who can save up
money or put it on a creditcard and pay it over time.
Like it's a choice.
And I think that you're I Ilove what you said, and I feel
like at some point we I have todig deeper into that, but I do
think there's something wrong,and I am saying something wrong
with the American psyche that webelieve that we're all middle
(30:58):
class.
We're not, we're not there'swealthy people, there's
ultra-wealthy people, there'seven ridiculously wealthy
people, the billionaires, andthen there's the rest of us.
Andrea (31:12):
Yeah, I mean, I think the theaters agree.
Well, no, no, it's I 100%agree, right?
Like, if everyone's thinkingthey're middle class, that and
that's that's what they want,right?
Like, okay, yeah, everything'sfine.
You don't need to come togetherto fight, right?
(31:33):
You don't need any solidarityor anything like that, right?
Because you're all pretty muchthe same.
Carmen Lezeth (31:39):
And and and you're you're you're one of us.
Trump is like, I'm one of you.
How can you even believe that?
I don't even know.
You know, but that is it, right?
Like there's no need to protestthis because we're the same.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So one of the things that gotme sad yesterday was this clip.
(32:01):
Um, was it yesterday?
I don't know.
Yeah, I think so.
Let me um let me play it.
Um, I don't know if you'll beable to hear it here, but I'll
redo it in the edit or whateverif I have to.
Heretic Coffee (32:11):
Oh my god, yeah, okay.
I don't even know where tobegin with this one.
Every second another donationcomes in.
It is unlike anything I've everseen.
Someone was like, you shouldset up a donation link, and that
person's comment had more likesthan the actual post.
I was like, oh, that's kind ofcool.
If I legitimately thought wewould get like a couple hundred
dollars.
And so we just um put adonation link that's attached to
(32:33):
our register up here, and bythe end of the night, we were
over ten thousand dollars.
Crazy.
Um, we have brought in a totalthe total's at $86,000 that
people are.
Like what do you say to that?
Yeah, like, and if I were toshow you these donations, these
(32:55):
aren't people giving a thousanddollars.
This is people giving, I sawone this morning for a buck and
17 cents.
That is someone who only has adollar and 17 cents to give.
Um, those are the ones thatjust like I that just blow my
mind.
Um I'll wake up and there willbe donations from West Africa,
(33:16):
Australia.
Like, this is a global movementof humanity feeding Portland
people.
I think Portland has been inthe national news with a bad
reputation for many years now,and the entire world is coming
together to reset the reputationof what Portland is actually
like.
And this is just a small littlepiece of what Portland is
(33:38):
actually like.
There's this cult, how should Isay this, societal or like cult
cultural embarrassment maybethat comes with being on a snap
program.
And so we try to remove thatall the way.
So if you just order the snapbreakfast, sounds like a regular
breakfast menu item, and wering you up just like a
customer, except we press abutton that 100% comps that
(33:59):
order for you.
So it comes with that burrito,it comes with that breakfast,
and you are treated just likeevery other person that comes in
here.
Carmen Lezeth (34:04):
I'm like crying again.
For so many reasons, not justfor the beauty of what he's
doing, but like Africa,Australia, like this is what
it's come to.
I said a dollar, right?
People donating like whateverthey've got.
If you want America to begreat, then we need to take care
(34:28):
of our people.
I don't know what else to say.
Andrea (34:31):
Right.
But I mean, that's you sentthat to me, and I was like, I
started crying too, and I waslike, it's so beautiful.
And you know, that like what'shappening in there's so many
things that are tragic aboutwhat's happening, right?
What's happening with the snapbenefits is is you know a
slow-rolling tragedy that willget worse, especially, you know,
it's like a few weeks beforeThanksgiving, the holiday.
(34:52):
I mean, it's just everything'sa hot mess.
The underlying tragedy is thatit's necessary, right?
Is that that we need snap atall.
Well, we can we and we need it,yes, but like we really
actually don't need it becausewe have enough.
We have enough food to feedpeople, we have more than enough
(35:15):
money to pay people so theydon't need to be on Snap, so
that we don't even have the needfor a thing like Snap if people
would just pay people a livingwage.
Carmen Lezeth (35:28):
It's weird to be like we're the wealthiest
country in the world, and yet wedon't have health care, we
don't have food for our people,we have homelessness.
I say this all the time, but wealso have a mindset as
Americans that it's our ownfault.
Like it's it's so weird, right?
That like if you're homeless,that's your fault.
(35:50):
Yeah, it's not that ourgovernment and our wealthy
neighbors are not doing theirpart.
It's that somehow theindividuals who have fallen
through the cracks, for whateverreason, they got into an
accident, they got cancer, theywhatever it is, it doesn't
matter.
But we believe that the problemisn't the structure that we're
(36:15):
in, but it's our own individualfailings because we didn't pull
ourselves up by our bootstraps.
Andrea (36:22):
It's I guess in some ways, sort of the the reverse of
you know the idealized, likeindividualistic American, like
you know, the self-made personor whatever.
That's very idealized here,right?
Like everyone loves that andloves those kind of stories or
whatever.
The opposite of that is if youdon't make it, if you are a
(36:46):
person that has fallen throughthe cracks, it's 100% on you.
Carmen Lezeth (36:50):
Right, right.
The weird thing is, is and I'mI'm gonna say this, and and I I
don't mean to offend people, butif I do, I don't care.
Um, nobody makes it in theUnited States without other
people.
Nobody, no, nobody anywhere,anywhere, but definitely not in
the United States, becausethere's no way you can make it
on your own.
And so I know we all love thosestories, but they're uh they
(37:15):
are idealized, but they're notactually true.
And and isn't that thecompassionate Christian thing of
Majiggy, right?
We help our neighbors, we helpthe least among us, we help
people.
And I I'm just I look at I I'mat wit's end because I feel like
people confuse actually being agood person with being
(37:38):
socialist.
Maybe that's a good thing.
You know what I mean?
Like, I don't know.
I don't know why you wouldconfuse having basic necessities
met with socialism.
I I think most people don'tknow what socialism is.
Um, but that's that's whatthey've explained to us.
That's what they've taught us.
That's what they keep puttingin our brains so that we can
(37:59):
continue being the workforcethey need to continue making the
money that they want to keepmaking, because I don't know,
five billion isn't enough.
Yep.
Andrea (38:11):
I gotta have my rockets and my yachts and my I don't
even know.
I don't even I don't know whatelse they need.
Carmen Lezeth (38:17):
I really don't.
I don't know either.
Um, but it's a tragedy.
I don't know.
There are good people doingthings though, trying to fight
the system, and um that was whatwe were gonna spend most of our
time talking about.
But this video, I mean, thisthis uh video was what kind of
threw me, and I was just so sad.
Um, I didn't do a lot ofresearch on people doing good
(38:39):
stuff because I don't also wantto make it like, oh, so you
don't have to do anything, youknow what I mean?
But I was thinking about likeMark Elias, who is a lawyer who
is continuously um what's thename of his?
I forget the name of hisdemocracy docket or something.
Um but he is fighting in everyway, shape, and form in the
(39:01):
court system, and I love him.
And I think he's he's he stillreminds me of the guy in school
who probably was made fun ofwhen he was in high school, and
now he's like this big time asslawyer who's like fighting for
all the right things.
Like it's kind of cool, right?
Like I love that story, youknow.
I'm not saying that I agreewith that vibe, yeah.
Yeah, I'm saying that's whatthe vibe I get, like, and and
(39:23):
he's like superhero right now.
Um, so I was thinking about himand uh I'm trying to think who
else.
Well, I don't know.
I of course there's GavinNewsom and uh JD Prit Pritzker,
I can't say his name.
And Pritzer.
Yeah, whatever.
The guy, uh the governor ofChicago of Illinois.
Chicago.
I always do that because itmight as well just be Chicago.
(39:44):
Sorry, the runs of Illinois.
Andrea (39:48):
Um yeah, and I don't know, you had to be and also
from Illinois.
Um, I don't know if we sawthere's uh there's a woman, uh
young girl running for Congressthere, Kat, I don't know, Kat
Abu Ghazale or something.
It's a very long name.
She's a young girl, um youngwoman.
Young woman.
I was like, I know.
(40:09):
Well you're under like 40,you're a girl.
Um she's running for Congressin Evanston.
Uh or no, I'm well, yeah,whatever.
Anyway, she's running forCongress in Illinois, and she's
been uh protest.
Number one, her campaigncontributions, she has had for
months now a food bank at herheadquarters, and they have like
toiletries and all kinds ofthings, so people can come in
(40:32):
and get things.
But she's been protesting at umat the ICE detention center for
weeks now, and she was justindicted on a federal indictment
yesterday.
But she is an example, I wouldsay, of a person who you know is
literally putting her body onthe line and has been for a long
time and is trying to do goodfor the community.
(40:53):
So I think I think that there'sa lot of examples of that.
And like you said, I don't itit shouldn't be just left to us
individually or these smallgroups, right?
We have mechanisms in thegovernment to handle this that
essentially the levers on thosehave been turned off right now.
Carmen Lezeth (41:15):
And again, it's confusing as to why the
Republican Party is okay withit.
Like there's no checks andbalances.
And I think that's kind ofmaybe we can finish on this a
little bit.
Um I think the heart-wrenchingthing for me is that there are
no checks and balances.
There was never a time that Ican remember before Trump where
(41:37):
even the Republican Party or theparty in power and the party in
Congress was always going toagree with the president.
You know what I mean?
That's not always how it'sbeen.
Um and it we always want checksand balances.
That's how our constitution wascreated.
But even Republicans, and forthe love of God, I don't
(42:00):
understand why.
It's not because it's corrector the right way to be.
That I'm sure on.
Like, I'm not, I'm notquestioning like, am I wrong?
I'm not wrong.
I am absolutely positive that Iwant people to have healthcare,
I want people to have food, Iwant people to have minimum
wages that actually allow themto work an actual job and live
(42:21):
off of that without needingsnap.
Can you imagine if we paidpeople a normal we wouldn't need
half of this shit?
Nope.
I know I'm not sure.
Andrea (42:33):
I'm sorry, so that doesn't affect their lives at
all.
Rich people, yeah.
Carmen Lezeth (42:40):
They wouldn't notice it at all.
Even if you tax them, youwouldn't notice it at all.
They they wouldn't notice it.
Andrea (42:50):
It's not going to affect them in the slightest.
Carmen Lezeth (42:55):
Yeah, but it does affect them if you have a
well-educated, you have awell-fed, you have a happy,
popular, comfortable society ofpeople who will always question
you if you do something wrong.
But if you keep people inbegging mode, if you keep people
(43:16):
wanting stuff, needing stuff,they're always gonna go to you,
Elon Musk or whoever.
Andrea (43:25):
Easier to control.
It's easier to control to.
Easier to control.
I don't think that's a crazythought.
That's really what it is.
Yeah, it's a hundred percentwhat it is.
That's like basic, you know,authoritarian shit from the
beginning of time.
You know, going back to likesurfs and stuff, like medieval.
Carmen Lezeth (43:45):
No, I just wish it.
I I I wish I had a happierthing.
I mean, there are people doinggood things.
I think what we're saying isit's just sad to have that's why
that made me cry.
Because we shouldn't be gettingdonations from Africa.
Oh my god, we are the worldnow.
We are the world now.
Oh my god.
(44:11):
It just hit me.
They're gonna do a Christmassong for us.
Fuck Christmas number one.
Fuck Americans.
Oh my god, it's so sad.
But thank you to all the peoplethat are contributing and
helping.
And I do love that the world ison the right side of history,
even if most of the Republicansand conservatives in this
(44:34):
country are not.
So shout out to the rest of theworld.
Yeah, yeah.
Andrea (44:39):
I mean that clip that I was talking about with Tanya
Sikotz, he at the end of it, hesaid, you know, we'll we'll come
out of this eventually.
I don't know how long it willtake.
Uh but tell your children whothe cowards were.
Yes.
Yes, children who the cowardswere, and talk about it now.
And by the same token, who theheroes are.
Carmen Lezeth (45:02):
Yeah.
And on that note, thank youeveryone for stopping by.
We appreciate it.
And yes, at the end of the day,it still really is all about
the joy.
Thanks, everyone.
Bye.
Well, it's so depressing.
But retinol, really good.
Thanks for being girl.
(45:23):
Right?
It'll look good.
All right, bye.
unknown (45:29):
Thanks for stopping by, All About the Joy.
Be better and stay beautiful,folks.
Have a sweet day.
Hey everyone, welcome to All About the Joy.
This is Culture and Consequencewith Carmen and Andrea.
It's okay.
Um it's okay, fucking loser.
No, I no, I'm not I totallywould never.
I'm just um I'm just in a sadspace.
That's all.
So like like when you justwent, why does my face look so
(00:24):
oily all the time?
Andrea (00:27):
It's uh what is that called?
It's like oh god, I can't thinkof the word where it's like
super shiny and they all loveit.
I can't remember what it'scalled.
Glass skin.
It's glass skin.
Carmen Lezeth (00:39):
Okay.
No, actually, you know whatI've been using though is um,
and I know you're gonna be like,whatever, retinol.
I've never used retinol before.
And um, Neilu, who does uh myface, uh she was like, you have
to try it, but every time I'vetried it in the past, it has
dried out my skin completely.
But I then did it the way shetold me to do it.
(01:02):
And I like in person, it lookslike I look poreless.
You know what I mean?
Like, but on camera, it lookslike what did you call it?
Glassy skin.
Glass skin.
It's what I'm gonna do.
And I'm not gonna wear powder,I'm not gonna wear powder.
That's crazy.
Uh, how did she tell you to doit?
Um, well, first of all, it's acertain kind of retinol, which
is very interesting, and thenalso um you don't do it every
(01:26):
day and you don't do it twice aday.
You build up, so you do like atnight one time, like you just
do a little time, like not evena pea size, yeah, and then you
moisturize, and then you see howyou feel the next day, and then
do it the day after.
So so I really did itstrategically, and now I'm just
doing it um in in the mornings,and that's it.
(01:50):
And we started like this is uhculture and consequence,
everyone, but that's okay.
These are important topics,everybody.
Okay, wait, is your mic on?
Yeah, can you not hear?
Yeah, no, there's just an echo.
It's okay.
It's all right, it's not a badecho, it's just a room echo.
It's like, yeah.
Andrea (02:07):
Okay, hold on.
Let me see if there's uhsomething I can change.
Oh my lord.
Carmen Lezeth (02:12):
Okay, so what's happening is like when you're
close to the mic, I can hear youperfectly well.
But when you're away, there'san echo, and it's because your
voice I'll tell you why.
You have the mic to the side, Ican see it right now.
Yeah, I have the mic in frontof me.
Because what's happening isyour voice is bouncing off your
screen and then going into themic.
So if you want to have the micin front of you, put it like so
(02:33):
technical.
Andrea (02:34):
Okay, yeah, if you can put it way in front of you, and
like your keyboard feels likekind of penisy right in front of
me.
Is that what you think ishappening here with me?
No, but yours is round.
This one just isn't no yours isround too.
They're the same.
Oh, not like yours.
Carmen Lezeth (02:50):
Like it's like say look at look at penis-y,
penisy.
It's still the same.
This is the world of mics.
This is this is podcasting,honey.
This is you know, I'm leavingall of this in.
Andrea (03:03):
I was like, okay, she's for sure gonna cut all of this
out.
Carmen Lezeth (03:06):
Okay, well, if you want me to, but I mean the
other thing is that I mean, ifyou don't want it to be seen,
you can push it closer so thatyour camera is going above if
you want to.
Like, so like if I push, oops,oops, oops, oops, wait, wait,
wait.
I'm about to lose the wholerecording.
So look at I just pushed my micall the way to the screen, and
still my voice is going to behitting the mic, so you don't
(03:28):
see the mic.
I I don't care, and I like themic being in front of me, so I
don't really I I wasn't thinkingabout penises, so whatever, but
now that that image is in frontof me now, thank you.
Andrea (03:39):
Yeah, yeah, it doesn't, it doesn't really, it doesn't
really go away, but it's fine,it's fine.
Carmen Lezeth (03:44):
But you see what I'm saying, right?
That that's what was happeningbefore, that's what the echoing.
And I'll I'll delete this orwhatever.
Um, but anyway, yeah, so I'vebeen doing the retinol or
whatever, and and I'm reallyshook by it.
Here's the thing though, it's alot of work for me.
I'm not used to doing so muchskincare wise.
Um, I mean, I'm not trying toact like I don't do anything,
(04:05):
but I really it it's it's it'sbeen a thing.
So, anyways, and I don't knowwhat it keeps doing.
Andrea (04:16):
I only use it at night.
Wait, you've been doing retinolfor years?
Yeah, like oh yeah, I don't 15years probably.
I think it's very drying.
Carmen Lezeth (04:25):
I think it's very drying.
Andrea (04:26):
Well, you have to the way that I have to, yeah, it is
very drying, so but you do getused to it.
So I actually put lotion on, Ionly use it at night.
I put lotion on before and thenyou do it.
Lotion, and then I put it onand I use it like I'm gonna say
three to four nights a week, notin a row.
(04:47):
See, and I put lotion on aftertoo.
Carmen Lezeth (04:51):
Yeah, see, so I put it on, so cleanse the face,
retinol, wait a little bit, andthen the cream, facial cream,
whatever.
And we were doing okay,honestly, I had gotten all of
these kind of, I don't know whatthey're called.
I was like, it's cancer.
It wasn't, they were likelittle skin tags or something.
(05:12):
Moles, raised.
I don't know what they areraised or just like freckles.
No, no, they were like littlethings sticking out of my skin.
Andrea (05:21):
I had like the real like moles, skin tags, whatever.
Carmen Lezeth (05:24):
Whatever they are.
So the first time I went to adermatologist and paid like all
this money out of pocket, right?
Because you have to pay yourco-payment and whatever, and and
he basically got rid of it orwhatever.
And then it happened again, andI was like, so I asked Neilu,
because I see Nilu every once ina while.
And um, for those who don'tknow who Neelu is, she does my
Botox.
So just to share.
(05:46):
Um, but she you know, but sheturned around and she she was
like, No, no, no, the reason whythis is happening is because
you need to use some retinol.
She gave me some samples orwhatever, and I started using it
and it went away.
So I was like really psyched orwhatever.
Whereas the dermatologist,hello, was happy for me, I
guess, to come back every time Ineeded these things taken off
(06:09):
of me.
So I'm just saying, you knowwhat I mean?
So I ain't going to thatperson.
Andrea (06:12):
Yeah, you need someone who knows your skin and actually
wants to help you solve aproblem versus like, oh, let me
burn that off for you.
Carmen Lezeth (06:20):
Yeah.
So, and you know I don't wear alot of makeup.
So the thing that I do loveabout the retinol is that it's
allowed me to not really wearmakeup at all.
And I I just never knew thatthat was a thing, but but yeah.
So I do it, yeah.
Oh, that's so interesting.
It's just how we do itdifferently, or whatever.
I have not been using retinol.
Someone gave me hydrochloricacid.
(06:40):
Is that what it is?
Um, I've heard of that, yeah.
I'm sure it's not actuallywhatever it is.
Andrea (06:47):
Well, it's like uh diluted, so you spray like if
you're sweating or somethinglike that, so you don't it's I I
give it to the kids so theydon't break out.
Carmen Lezeth (06:55):
Whatever, and that didn't work for me either.
I'm like, this is way too muchwork, you know.
And um, and I have friends whodo like toner, and I'm like,
this is just too much work forme.
Andrea (07:05):
I mean, I I love my skincare and I do all of that
stuff, but I I also like thingsto be very simple.
Like I'm maybe like three tofour steps at any given time,
and that's I'm out.
I can't do more than that.
Carmen Lezeth (07:18):
Okay, so I have always done wash my face,
moisturize, and like foundation,which is like sunscreen if you
have a good tinted sunscreen orwhatever, but um yeah, so funny.
I love when we're talking aboutthis kind of stuff.
Um, I mean, this is part ofwhat we're doing anyway.
(07:39):
So, you know, culture andconsequence, your skincare area
to learn all the best ways.
But I do think it's sorry,that's a sunscreen.
Sunscreen is very important,but also I do think it's weird
because when I'm on camera, Isee the shine, you know.
Um you just look like you'reglowing.
I'm glowing, yeah.
I know.
(07:59):
It's just a weird, it's justit's just changed over the past
uh I've been using it now forlike two months, I think.
I don't know, our skin looksgreat to me, so I wouldn't
complain about it.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
Yeah, okay.
So it's also lighting, butwhatever.
Um, okay, we were gonna talkabout um the good that people
are doing, and you see mynegativity on it right now.
The good that people are doing.
(08:21):
Whatever.
Like I'll I'll show that uhclip that I sent you because I
did upload it.
You know what?
Actually, let me start byexplaining why the government is
still in a shutdown.
We are on day 30 of thegovernment shutdown, which is
interesting.
And for people who don't know,we are we're not arguing, but
(08:41):
the conflict between theRepublicans and the Democrats.
The Republicans want to pass aclean CR, and the CR is a
continuing resolution, whichbasically is to let the
government be funded so thatpeople can get paid through
November, I want to say 21st.
(09:03):
It's only to November 21st,which then gives the House and I
think it's the House and theSenate the ability to have a
conversation about the budgetfor the entire year.
The reason why the and can Ijust say you and I know it's so
funny how now the Republicanswant to do a clean CR, right?
Because it's in their bestinterest.
unknown (09:25):
Yeah.
Carmen Lezeth (09:25):
So people will say, why is it that the
Democrats won't just say yes andthen negotiate afterwards
whatever it is their argumentis?
Here's why.
The Democrats are saying thereis no funding in this continuing
CR for the Affordable Care Act.
(09:46):
And the Affordable Care Act,which is nicknamed Obamacare,
it's the same thing, people.
Same thing.
If you ever watch any of thelate night show hosts, I think
it's Jimmy Kimmel, they'll dothese things where they'll go,
and they've done it in New York,but they'll be like, So are you
against Obamacare or theAffordable Care Act?
And they're like, oh, I hateObamacare.
(10:07):
It's like it's the same thing.
You know what I mean?
Exactly.
It's the same thing.
It's just like nickname that Iguess Republicans thought was
going to be a really bad thing,and Obama embraced it fully and
completely.
But the reason why this is soimportant is number one, there's
no trust between these twoparties at all.
(10:27):
And I don't need to go intowhy, but the most important
thing is Republicans have beentrying since day one to get rid
of Obamacare, the AffordableCare Act.
They've been trying to do it,they have voted against it more
than 70 times.
And every time they don't win,like every time they they have
(10:48):
lost.
But this is their sneaky way oftrying to get into um weakening
it because funding for it endsin December.
And so there's no other way tomake sure that people who are
who have healthcare willcontinue to have it because it's
going to triple, triple thepremium.
(11:09):
So if I'm paying $587 a monthfor my healthcare through the
Affordable Care Act, I will bepaying over $1,500 a month come
January, which I will not bepaying $1,500 a month because I
will choose not to havehealthcare.
Which means if I get in troubleor if I have an accident or I
have to go to the doctors or Ifeel sick, I will be at the
(11:33):
emergency room, which, by theway, will then go and actually
cost taxpayers much more moneybecause I won't be able to
afford to pay whatever that billwill be because I have no
health care.
Is that like, does that kind ofvisually explain it?
I mean, that's that's thesummary.
That's the summary.
So that's what they're fightingabout uh Republicans and
(11:57):
Democrats.
And Democrats are holdingstrong.
I'm actually impressed.
I'm like, okay.
I am too.
But what's happened now is asof Friday, people who, I mean,
people are suffering everywhere.
People are sufferingeverywhere.
So many layoffs, so many peopleout of work, people are working
without pay.
But one of the big thingsthat's going to happen, those
(12:19):
things are big too, but SNAPbenefits are going to be, people
are not going to get their SNAPbenefits as of Friday.
There will be no, there's nofunding for it.
So families who rely on extramoney to make ends meet and get
food on the table are not goingto be able to eat.
If you don't know what SNAP is,it means I didn't, you know, I
(12:42):
always call it food stampsbecause that's what it was when
I was growing up.
Andrea (12:45):
Yeah.
Carmen Lezeth (12:45):
But it's actually, oh look at that.
I did the whole Obamacare thingwithout using my notes.
I'm so proud of myself.
Um it's um supplementalnutrition assistance program,
and it helps low-incomeindividuals and families buy
groceries.
And so who are these people?
Children, veterans, activemilitary, active military are on
(13:10):
Snap.
I didn't know this.
Um, and seniors.
And you're folks as well.
I'm sorry, disabled folks aswell.
Of course, disabled folks, yes.
I'm so sorry.
But I wanted to bring up onething about uh active duty and
also why so many people becauseI was like, why are active duty
people that means peopleactually working?
(13:32):
Like, um, first of all, becausewe don't pay people enough
money.
We don't pay people an hourlywage that they can live off of
if they're doing a job.
And if you're working in themilitary, I don't even
understand how that's aquestion, but you can't live off
of that.
And military people are movedaround a lot every two or three
(13:52):
years, so they can't even likethe spouse, you know, can't even
turn around and try to getlong-term work or doesn't have a
work history, or they can't getaffordable daycare for their
children.
So there are just so manyreasons, but I was shook by the
active um military people andalso just working people who are
(14:13):
working 40 hours a week, but wedon't pay a living wage.
Andrea (14:17):
Yeah, I I looked up some numbers and I I did I don't
have them in front of me, butoff the top of my head, I do
remember this.
67% of people on SNAP benefitsare are people with small
children, so families with smallchildren.
So that's a lot of kids, right?
It really is.
Um, I can't remember the exactnumber, but somewhere in the
(14:38):
30th percentile is like uh is uhdisabled people and and the
elderly.
And 38% are working people.
38% of people on SNAP benefitsare working.
So that includes the activeduty people.
That includes one thing I didwrite down is uh the top
companies whose employees areusing SNAP benefits.
(15:01):
So what that means, everybody,is that we are subsidizing these
companies in order to not paytheir employees a living wage,
as Carmen pointed out.
So Walmart.
We talked about this before.
And it let's remember that allof the CEOs and owners of these
(15:24):
companies are what?
Carmen Lezeth (15:26):
Billionaires.
Andrea (15:28):
Billionaires.
There's more than enough.
So we have Walmart, uh,McDonald's, Amazon, um Publix,
which is like a grocery storechain, Waffle House, Kroger, so
they own Ralph's.
Carmen Lezeth (15:46):
That's all mostly here though, right?
Andrea (15:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, there they have some onthe East Coast as well.
Uh the dollar stores, DollarGeneral, Dollar Tree, Home
Depot, Uber.
So another thing that thesecompanies have in common is that
most of their CEOs areRepublican donors.
And and billionaires.
Yeah, Republican donors, yeah.
(16:09):
Republican donors.
So they are raking in the cashand hoarding it, as we talked
about before, not paying theiremployees a living wage.
Taxpayers are thensupplementing so people can eat,
as is the humane thing to do.
And now the people they donatedto are essentially keeping the
(16:33):
government closed and not payingfor the food, you know, not
paying, uh, not funding SNAP sopeople can eat.
It's a disgusting littlecircle.
Carmen Lezeth (16:44):
It's it's a weird thing, right?
Because the the most amazingthing that I think wealthy
people have been able to do isconvince poor people or middle
class people that the problem ispoor people and not them.
Am I saying that right?
Like, I it's stunning to me howmany people actually believe,
(17:07):
and I mean, maybe that hassomething to do with the idea of
the American dream that we allbelieve if we work really,
really hard, we can be rich andwealthy too, right?
Andrea (17:16):
Yeah, I just saw something about that.
That like uh I can't rememberthe stat, but something about,
you know, like almost all of youknow, some some large percent,
like 90% of Americans thinkthey're middle class.
Carmen Lezeth (17:27):
I know I said that the other day, and I said
poor people, and I I was lookedat like I was an idiot.
I'm like, okay, okay, okay,like I'm sorry.
Andrea (17:36):
Well that includes the very wealthy, all the way down
to like, you know, really poorpeople who who are just making
$7 an hour or whatever.
Yeah, exactly.
And so the part of this sort ofI don't want to call it a
delusion, but it is sort of adelusion, right?
And I I I do think it has to dowith the American dream and
pull yourself up by thebootstraps and all of that, is
(17:57):
like, you know, I'm I'm just acouple of good breaks away from
being a millionaire, right?
Like I like that's I got Igotta protect that money, right?
I don't want to pay any moretaxes than I do, you know.
Carmen Lezeth (18:11):
Well, you know what?
It goes, and and you know what?
I hate to keep bringing thisup, but it's an interesting
dynamic.
When I say things like you wantto stay at a hotel in my
neighborhood and it's $500 anight, and then people will say,
Oh, you're so bougie, it's eventhat idea, right?
It is the idea that somehow, ifyou're staying in a hotel,
(18:33):
that's nice, and it's five, notunderstanding that the Elon
Musk, Oprah Winfrey, WarrenBuffett, Mark Cuban, any of
these people, they're notstaying at a $500 a night hotel,
right?
Breaking news.
They're not like so this Imisunderstanding.
(18:56):
The resistance are probably noteven seeing.
The resistance are not saying,but that's that's the thing,
right?
We have gotten to a place wherewe don't even realize the
bullshittery that's happening.
And so the Democrats who arestanding strong, and and I I'm
shook by it.
I thought by now they wouldhave bailed, but what they're
(19:18):
trying to do is say, no, wedon't trust you.
We know you've been trying toget rid of the ACA, Obamacare
for so long.
You've also weaponized helpingour neighbors and making sure
people have what they need.
Here's the thing (19:32):
most people aren't asking for more than what
they need.
The average person who isgetting fucking SNAP benefits,
it's under $200 a month.
It's like $187 a month.
It is only one shopping trip,man.
(19:54):
Wait, 1.5% of our federalbudget.
1.5% of our federal budget.
You know what?
I want to help.
That's where I want my taxdollars to go to.
I want to help people thatactually I don't care.
I don't care if they're buyingtheir kids gummy bears and
(20:16):
bullshit processed food orwhatever.
If they're eating, I'm finewith it.
I don't care.
You know, this idea that I amsupposed to be angry.
Oh, and can we just say I can'tbelieve I have to say this
because this is, I just believepeople are smart on this.
People who are quote unquoteundocumented, I was gonna say
the other word, but undocumentedpeople in this country, they
(20:37):
cannot get SNAP benefits.
You're being told lies andyou're believing it.
You're believing it over andover again, but you don't want
to believe the truth.
The truth is, red states likeMississippi, West Virginia, and
Kentucky have higher SNAPparticipation per capita in
rural areas that arepoverty-driven and mostly white
(20:59):
than any other place in theUnited States.
It's not liberal Democrats whoare stealing money from you.
I don't know.
I'm sad, right?
I I sent you an email like Ican't understand how dumb we've
become as a country.
Andrea (21:17):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, you said that just asecond ago that you want to
believe people are smarter thanthis.
Um, they're not.
But why?
How can you not be able to dothat?
This is a just becauseeducation has also been gutted,
right?
Because our media is thoroughlyin the hands of the right wing
(21:39):
at this point.
Carmen Lezeth (21:41):
Unbelievable.
Andrea (21:42):
Like unbelievable.
They're they're not, yes, theyare being told lies.
Where do they go to get thetruth if they don't have, you
know, as we talked about before,sort of the critical thinking
skills, right?
How do you and repetitionfucking works?
unknown (22:00):
Yeah, it does.
Andrea (22:00):
It does.
Yeah.
You hear it and you hear it andyou hear it and you hear it,
and it just sinks in.
Carmen Lezeth (22:08):
I'm heartbroken because I feel like as much as I
know this show is necessary,and I I know it's good because I
we're getting the feedback orwhatever, it's disheartening to
wake up every and and know thatI'm looking at the news now
because I want to see how we canexplain or teach things to
people.
I guess I'm heartbrokenbecause, and I know you're gonna
(22:29):
get mad at me, but rememberwe're being recorded.
Um, I just can't believe richpeople are this evil.
You know what I mean?
Like, I I don't like why do youwant to hurt fellow Americans?
Like, why do you want to haveyou want to hurt anybody?
I know, but okay, but I'm eventrying to be even more specific.
Like, you have so much.
Andrea (22:51):
The most basic aspect of humanity that you feed people.
Every go to any home of anyimmigrant you can think of:
Mexican, Puerto Rican, Somali,Syrian, whatever.
You sit down at their house.
I don't care if they haveabsolutely nothing.
(23:12):
You are gonna be served fooduntil you can't get up from the
fucking table.
That is basically it's thebottom thing on the hierarchy of
needs is food.
And people are somehow okaywith their fellow humans not
having enough food.
Carmen Lezeth (23:33):
Because they don't think it's about them,
because when it happens to them,they have what they think is an
excuse or a reason that makessense to them.
But anybody else getting snapor welfare or whatever it's
called is doing something badand they're not pulling
themselves up by theirbootstraps, right?
It's kind of that thing, andand I hate to bring up Dick
Cheney that's totally likewhoof, squirrel.
(23:54):
But remember we used to havethat conversation where Dick
Cheney was such an asshole, andthen all of a sudden he found
out his daughter was gay, andall of a sudden he had a better
understanding of maybe he didn'thave control over his daughter
being gay.
You know what I mean?
Like it's that kind of thing.
Like it's okay that I take awayfrom you because you're doing
(24:15):
something bad until it happensto my family and I can
understand it.
That's not fucking compassion.
Compassion is being able towalk in someone else's shoes
without actually experiencingit, right?
Having empathy.
I mean, I'm pissed right now,so I'm just fucking.
I'm just saying, like, I don'thave to experience pain to
understand that somebody else isin pain.
(24:38):
I don't know.
I'm I'm a little bit madbecause I feel like we should be
better than this.
And I don't mean Americans, Imean just human beings in
general.
Like, what the fuck?
And how much money do you need?
Seriously.
How much money do you need?
And this thing with healthcare,this country has got to have a
(24:59):
reckoning with this bullshit.
Besides food, you would thinkthe other thing is to make sure
that your neighbor is healthyand fine and good so they can
continue contributing to theworld in the magnificence that
they are.
Whatever that means.
We're human beings.
So your idea is not give themhealth care.
Andrea (25:21):
And I I think I do believe on like a one-to-one
basis, right?
Like you're a random person inthe middle of the country, and
your neighbor, I don't know, hashas a heart attack while
they're walking the dog, you'regonna go out and help them.
I don't know.
Are you are gonna go out andhelp them?
Are you?
(25:41):
I don't know.
I'm that's what I'm questioningnow.
I believe I believe if it'slike right in front of you,
right?
Somebody falls down at thegrocery store.
You know, people aren't justgonna like step over them.
No, they're gonna do this.
Oh my god, you're right.
My whole point is totally.
Carmen Lezeth (26:02):
This is what's happening.
I mean, I look at I hear you.
I the irony of this I'm usuallythe one talking fucking
Pollyanna shit.
Yeah, I'm the reason why I'msad, Andrea, is because I I
don't get it.
I I don't get it.
I I heard a couple of uhpodcasts the other day, you
know, randomly just going to gocheck out what people are
saying.
And I was like, I'm not shookby it, but my heart is shook by
(26:26):
the it's not just the damasseriathat people don't know what
they're talking about, but thatthey are actually okay in hating
the idea that people can havehealth care.
Like they're okay with peoplesuffering and not getting food
stamps.
I'm sorry, snap ben.
I just want to apologize.
I know you're not supposed tosay certain things.
I'm used to saying food stampsbecause that's what I grew up
(26:48):
understanding it to be.
Um it just it just breaks myheart.
Andrea (26:55):
I saw a clip, um, you may have seen it, I think it was
on TikTok, um, of Tom NisiCoates.
Uh he spoke at a university inMissouri.
Although he's intense.
Carmen Lezeth (27:04):
He's intense, Peter.
Andrea (27:05):
Yeah, well, so one of the it was just a brief clip,
but um, one of the things thathe said was that he was
surprised by the cowardice.
He's like, I just didn't knowhow many cowards there were.
He's like, so cowardice,really, that they won't even
defend the institutions thatthey have for their whole lives
said were so great, whether it'san Ivy League school or whether
(27:28):
it's you know the Senate oreven the country.
They have all just completelyrolled over, you know?
Carmen Lezeth (27:35):
And it boggles my mind because I keep trying to,
I understand you want morepower, you want more money, you
want to be next to power.
I'm like, but I at whatexpense?
At what expense are youwilling?
I don't know.
Andrea (27:50):
I I heard something the other day that said it that it's
it's uh and I don't totallyagree with this, but um, but
it's like an addiction, right?
Like people who are addicted tosomething and they and so I I'm
not gonna necessarily put it inthat category because that's
you know, I think that's sort ofmore of a health issue, but
there is some kind ofpsychological thing happening
(28:12):
where it's like you you are sodisconnected from the reality of
the human experience when youhave that kind of money, you
know, that it it I think itshuts certain things down.
Carmen Lezeth (28:27):
I mean, I think I look at I okay, I'm just
thinking about this, but I dobelieve that the natural human
instinct is to always want more.
I don't think that's a badthing.
I think it's why we haveprogressed as human beings.
We found fire and and then wewere like, okay, warmth, and
then you know what I mean?
(28:47):
Like we got a wheel to do thewhole time.
Yeah, but you know what I mean?
Like, so I understand thatpart, but where does the
disconnect come where you'restill progressing and wanting
more, but along the way, you'retripping over bodies or people
or climbing over bodies,climbing, yeah.
Do you know what I mean?
(29:08):
Like that's where I don'tunderstand.
Like, I and and look at I'm nottrying to be so Pollyanna about
it, but it does bother me thatas human beings, we can't see
the forest for the trees, thatso many people of wealth
continue to railroad thingsthrough at the expense of poor
(29:29):
human beings.
And Andre, you're so right.
So many people don't want tocall themselves poor.
And like when I say it, peopleget upset, especially when I'm
talking about my bougie hotel orwhatever.
And it's like, I would herehere's what my definition of
poor is if I were to lose my jobtomorrow, three months, I would
be on the street.
So is that literally true?
(29:50):
No, because I have friends andfamily.
That's the real wealth I have.
But as far as having like, youknow, investments and
properties.
And that to me is what thedefinition of poor is.
And most people in the UnitedStates can't exist for three
months without a paycheck.
Well, they can't even exist fora month without a paycheck.
I know three months kind ofmakes me middle class, I guess.
(30:13):
Like three months.
But and so I think people haveto start redefining what wealth
is because you're so confused.
You're so confused as to whatit is.
Flying first class on acommercial airline two times a
year that I maybe travel, thatdoesn't make me wealthy.
(30:34):
It doesn't even make me middleclass.
It makes me a single womanwithout children who can save up
money or put it on a creditcard and pay it over time.
Like it's a choice.
And I think that you're I Ilove what you said, and I feel
like at some point we I have todig deeper into that, but I do
think there's something wrong,and I am saying something wrong
with the American psyche that webelieve that we're all middle
(30:58):
class.
We're not, we're not there'swealthy people, there's
ultra-wealthy people, there'seven ridiculously wealthy
people, the billionaires, andthen there's the rest of us.
Andrea (31:12):
Yeah, I mean, I think the theaters agree.
Well, no, no, it's I 100%agree, right?
Like, if everyone's thinkingthey're middle class, that and
that's that's what they want,right?
Like, okay, yeah, everything'sfine.
You don't need to come togetherto fight, right?
(31:33):
You don't need any solidarityor anything like that, right?
Because you're all pretty muchthe same.
Carmen Lezeth (31:39):
And and and you're you're you're one of us.
Trump is like, I'm one of you.
How can you even believe that?
I don't even know.
You know, but that is it, right?
Like there's no need to protestthis because we're the same.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So one of the things that gotme sad yesterday was this clip.
(32:01):
Um, was it yesterday?
I don't know.
Yeah, I think so.
Let me um let me play it.
Um, I don't know if you'll beable to hear it here, but I'll
redo it in the edit or whateverif I have to.
Heretic Coffee (32:11):
Oh my god, yeah, okay.
I don't even know where tobegin with this one.
Every second another donationcomes in.
It is unlike anything I've everseen.
Someone was like, you shouldset up a donation link, and that
person's comment had more likesthan the actual post.
I was like, oh, that's kind ofcool.
If I legitimately thought wewould get like a couple hundred
dollars.
And so we just um put adonation link that's attached to
(32:33):
our register up here, and bythe end of the night, we were
over ten thousand dollars.
Crazy.
Um, we have brought in a totalthe total's at $86,000 that
people are.
Like what do you say to that?
Yeah, like, and if I were toshow you these donations, these
(32:55):
aren't people giving a thousanddollars.
This is people giving, I sawone this morning for a buck and
17 cents.
That is someone who only has adollar and 17 cents to give.
Um, those are the ones thatjust like I that just blow my
mind.
Um I'll wake up and there willbe donations from West Africa,
(33:16):
Australia.
Like, this is a global movementof humanity feeding Portland
people.
I think Portland has been inthe national news with a bad
reputation for many years now,and the entire world is coming
together to reset the reputationof what Portland is actually
like.
And this is just a small littlepiece of what Portland is
(33:38):
actually like.
There's this cult, how should Isay this, societal or like cult
cultural embarrassment maybethat comes with being on a snap
program.
And so we try to remove thatall the way.
So if you just order the snapbreakfast, sounds like a regular
breakfast menu item, and wering you up just like a
customer, except we press abutton that 100% comps that
(33:59):
order for you.
So it comes with that burrito,it comes with that breakfast,
and you are treated just likeevery other person that comes in
here.
Carmen Lezeth (34:04):
I'm like crying again.
For so many reasons, not justfor the beauty of what he's
doing, but like Africa,Australia, like this is what
it's come to.
I said a dollar, right?
People donating like whateverthey've got.
If you want America to begreat, then we need to take care
(34:28):
of our people.
I don't know what else to say.
Andrea (34:31):
Right.
But I mean, that's you sentthat to me, and I was like, I
started crying too, and I waslike, it's so beautiful.
And you know, that like what'shappening in there's so many
things that are tragic aboutwhat's happening, right?
What's happening with the snapbenefits is is you know a
slow-rolling tragedy that willget worse, especially, you know,
it's like a few weeks beforeThanksgiving, the holiday.
(34:52):
I mean, it's just everything'sa hot mess.
The underlying tragedy is thatit's necessary, right?
Is that that we need snap atall.
Well, we can we and we need it,yes, but like we really
actually don't need it becausewe have enough.
We have enough food to feedpeople, we have more than enough
(35:15):
money to pay people so theydon't need to be on Snap, so
that we don't even have the needfor a thing like Snap if people
would just pay people a livingwage.
Carmen Lezeth (35:28):
It's weird to be like we're the wealthiest
country in the world, and yet wedon't have health care, we
don't have food for our people,we have homelessness.
I say this all the time, but wealso have a mindset as
Americans that it's our ownfault.
Like it's it's so weird, right?
That like if you're homeless,that's your fault.
(35:50):
Yeah, it's not that ourgovernment and our wealthy
neighbors are not doing theirpart.
It's that somehow theindividuals who have fallen
through the cracks, for whateverreason, they got into an
accident, they got cancer, theywhatever it is, it doesn't
matter.
But we believe that the problemisn't the structure that we're
(36:15):
in, but it's our own individualfailings because we didn't pull
ourselves up by our bootstraps.
Andrea (36:22):
It's I guess in some ways, sort of the the reverse of
you know the idealized, likeindividualistic American, like
you know, the self-made personor whatever.
That's very idealized here,right?
Like everyone loves that andloves those kind of stories or
whatever.
The opposite of that is if youdon't make it, if you are a
(36:46):
person that has fallen throughthe cracks, it's 100% on you.
Carmen Lezeth (36:50):
Right, right.
The weird thing is, is and I'mI'm gonna say this, and and I I
don't mean to offend people, butif I do, I don't care.
Um, nobody makes it in theUnited States without other
people.
Nobody, no, nobody anywhere,anywhere, but definitely not in
the United States, becausethere's no way you can make it
on your own.
And so I know we all love thosestories, but they're uh they
(37:15):
are idealized, but they're notactually true.
And and isn't that thecompassionate Christian thing of
Majiggy, right?
We help our neighbors, we helpthe least among us, we help
people.
And I I'm just I look at I I'mat wit's end because I feel like
people confuse actually being agood person with being
(37:38):
socialist.
Maybe that's a good thing.
You know what I mean?
Like, I don't know.
I don't know why you wouldconfuse having basic necessities
met with socialism.
I I think most people don'tknow what socialism is.
Um, but that's that's whatthey've explained to us.
That's what they've taught us.
That's what they keep puttingin our brains so that we can
(37:59):
continue being the workforcethey need to continue making the
money that they want to keepmaking, because I don't know,
five billion isn't enough.
Yep.
Andrea (38:11):
I gotta have my rockets and my yachts and my I don't
even know.
I don't even I don't know whatelse they need.
Carmen Lezeth (38:17):
I really don't.
I don't know either.
Um, but it's a tragedy.
I don't know.
There are good people doingthings though, trying to fight
the system, and um that was whatwe were gonna spend most of our
time talking about.
But this video, I mean, thisthis uh video was what kind of
threw me, and I was just so sad.
Um, I didn't do a lot ofresearch on people doing good
(38:39):
stuff because I don't also wantto make it like, oh, so you
don't have to do anything, youknow what I mean?
But I was thinking about likeMark Elias, who is a lawyer who
is continuously um what's thename of his?
I forget the name of hisdemocracy docket or something.
Um but he is fighting in everyway, shape, and form in the
(39:01):
court system, and I love him.
And I think he's he's he stillreminds me of the guy in school
who probably was made fun ofwhen he was in high school, and
now he's like this big time asslawyer who's like fighting for
all the right things.
Like it's kind of cool, right?
Like I love that story, youknow.
I'm not saying that I agreewith that vibe, yeah.
Yeah, I'm saying that's whatthe vibe I get, like, and and
(39:23):
he's like superhero right now.
Um, so I was thinking about himand uh I'm trying to think who
else.
Well, I don't know.
I of course there's GavinNewsom and uh JD Prit Pritzker,
I can't say his name.
And Pritzer.
Yeah, whatever.
The guy, uh the governor ofChicago of Illinois.
Chicago.
I always do that because itmight as well just be Chicago.
(39:44):
Sorry, the runs of Illinois.
Andrea (39:48):
Um yeah, and I don't know, you had to be and also
from Illinois.
Um, I don't know if we sawthere's uh there's a woman, uh
young girl running for Congressthere, Kat, I don't know, Kat
Abu Ghazale or something.
It's a very long name.
She's a young girl, um youngwoman.
Young woman.
I was like, I know.
(40:09):
Well you're under like 40,you're a girl.
Um she's running for Congressin Evanston.
Uh or no, I'm well, yeah,whatever.
Anyway, she's running forCongress in Illinois, and she's
been uh protest.
Number one, her campaigncontributions, she has had for
months now a food bank at herheadquarters, and they have like
toiletries and all kinds ofthings, so people can come in
(40:32):
and get things.
But she's been protesting at umat the ICE detention center for
weeks now, and she was justindicted on a federal indictment
yesterday.
But she is an example, I wouldsay, of a person who you know is
literally putting her body onthe line and has been for a long
time and is trying to do goodfor the community.
(40:53):
So I think I think that there'sa lot of examples of that.
And like you said, I don't itit shouldn't be just left to us
individually or these smallgroups, right?
We have mechanisms in thegovernment to handle this that
essentially the levers on thosehave been turned off right now.
Carmen Lezeth (41:15):
And again, it's confusing as to why the
Republican Party is okay withit.
Like there's no checks andbalances.
And I think that's kind ofmaybe we can finish on this a
little bit.
Um I think the heart-wrenchingthing for me is that there are
no checks and balances.
There was never a time that Ican remember before Trump where
(41:37):
even the Republican Party or theparty in power and the party in
Congress was always going toagree with the president.
You know what I mean?
That's not always how it'sbeen.
Um and it we always want checksand balances.
That's how our constitution wascreated.
But even Republicans, and forthe love of God, I don't
(42:00):
understand why.
It's not because it's corrector the right way to be.
That I'm sure on.
Like, I'm not, I'm notquestioning like, am I wrong?
I'm not wrong.
I am absolutely positive that Iwant people to have healthcare,
I want people to have food, Iwant people to have minimum
wages that actually allow themto work an actual job and live
(42:21):
off of that without needingsnap.
Can you imagine if we paidpeople a normal we wouldn't need
half of this shit?
Nope.
I know I'm not sure.
Andrea (42:33):
I'm sorry, so that doesn't affect their lives at
all.
Rich people, yeah.
Carmen Lezeth (42:40):
They wouldn't notice it at all.
Even if you tax them, youwouldn't notice it at all.
They they wouldn't notice it.
Andrea (42:50):
It's not going to affect them in the slightest.
Carmen Lezeth (42:55):
Yeah, but it does affect them if you have a
well-educated, you have awell-fed, you have a happy,
popular, comfortable society ofpeople who will always question
you if you do something wrong.
But if you keep people inbegging mode, if you keep people
(43:16):
wanting stuff, needing stuff,they're always gonna go to you,
Elon Musk or whoever.
Andrea (43:25):
Easier to control.
It's easier to control to.
Easier to control.
I don't think that's a crazythought.
That's really what it is.
Yeah, it's a hundred percentwhat it is.
That's like basic, you know,authoritarian shit from the
beginning of time.
You know, going back to likesurfs and stuff, like medieval.
Carmen Lezeth (43:45):
No, I just wish it.
I I I wish I had a happierthing.
I mean, there are people doinggood things.
I think what we're saying isit's just sad to have that's why
that made me cry.
Because we shouldn't be gettingdonations from Africa.
Oh my god, we are the worldnow.
We are the world now.
Oh my god.
(44:11):
It just hit me.
They're gonna do a Christmassong for us.
Fuck Christmas number one.
Fuck Americans.
Oh my god, it's so sad.
But thank you to all the peoplethat are contributing and
helping.
And I do love that the world ison the right side of history,
even if most of the Republicansand conservatives in this
(44:34):
country are not.
So shout out to the rest of theworld.
Yeah, yeah.
Andrea (44:39):
I mean that clip that I was talking about with Tanya
Sikotz, he at the end of it, hesaid, you know, we'll we'll come
out of this eventually.
I don't know how long it willtake.
Uh but tell your children whothe cowards were.
Yes.
Yes, children who the cowardswere, and talk about it now.
And by the same token, who theheroes are.
Carmen Lezeth (45:02):
Yeah.
And on that note, thank youeveryone for stopping by.
We appreciate it.
And yes, at the end of the day,it still really is all about
the joy.
Thanks, everyone.
Bye.
Well, it's so depressing.
But retinol, really good.
Thanks for being girl.
(45:23):
Right?
It'll look good.
All right, bye.
unknown (45:29):
Thanks for stopping by, All About the Joy.
Be better and stay beautiful,folks.
Have a sweet day.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.