WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980 Alright, so you're with us today for another 00:00:01.980 --> 00:00:04.660 deep dive and we've got some pretty fascinating 00:00:04.660 --> 00:00:08.759 news articles all dated March 24th, 2025. So 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:10.789 pretty recent stuff. We're going to kind of pick 00:00:10.789 --> 00:00:12.730 them apart, see what we can learn from them, 00:00:13.210 --> 00:00:15.730 really connect the dots. I think one of the biggest 00:00:15.730 --> 00:00:17.949 themes that emerges is looking at how the Trump 00:00:17.949 --> 00:00:20.750 administration's policies are kind of shaking 00:00:20.750 --> 00:00:24.210 things up, right? And then naturally, what are 00:00:24.210 --> 00:00:25.890 the reactions going to be? How are people going 00:00:25.890 --> 00:00:27.870 to push back? What does this mean for the Democrats 00:00:27.870 --> 00:00:29.910 moving forward? You know, the whole landscape. 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:31.850 So that's what we're going to be exploring today. 00:00:32.229 --> 00:00:33.990 And it should be pretty interesting to see what 00:00:33.990 --> 00:00:35.729 comes out of all this. Yeah, no, absolutely. 00:00:35.829 --> 00:00:37.929 I think these articles give us a really, really 00:00:37.929 --> 00:00:40.759 interesting albeit kind of scary, look at where 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:43.240 things stand right now, and things are moving 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:45.259 fast, maybe even changing in some pretty fundamental 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:47.280 ways. So yeah, let's jump right in. I think it 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:49.740 makes sense to start with Trump's approach to 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:52.820 immigration, which is, shall we say, making some 00:00:52.820 --> 00:00:55.310 waves. Definitely. It seems like there's a huge 00:00:55.310 --> 00:00:58.049 focus on deportations now. We're talking about 00:00:58.049 --> 00:01:00.409 potentially over half a million immigrants being 00:01:00.409 --> 00:01:03.170 targeted for deportation, specifically folks 00:01:03.170 --> 00:01:06.829 who came from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. 00:01:06.930 --> 00:01:09.370 And what's interesting is they all entered the 00:01:09.370 --> 00:01:12.969 U .S. legally under this Biden era parole program. 00:01:13.010 --> 00:01:15.310 And the whole point of that program was to actually 00:01:15.310 --> 00:01:17.989 decrease illegal immigration, you know, by giving 00:01:17.989 --> 00:01:20.370 them temporary legal status for a couple of years. 00:01:20.370 --> 00:01:21.750 All right. And one of the authors makes this 00:01:21.750 --> 00:01:25.069 really striking Harrison, they say it's like 00:01:25.069 --> 00:01:27.430 trying to reduce jaywalking by just getting rid 00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:31.109 of crosswalks altogether. I mean, if you take 00:01:31.109 --> 00:01:32.689 away the legal pathway, it doesn't just make 00:01:32.689 --> 00:01:34.769 people disappear, they still need to get somewhere. 00:01:35.549 --> 00:01:37.629 Kind of just pushing them further into the shadows, 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:39.629 making the whole situation even more complicated. 00:01:40.150 --> 00:01:42.390 Exactly. And we're talking big numbers here, 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:46.609 like 213 ,000 people from Haiti, 120 ,700 from 00:01:46.609 --> 00:01:50.890 Venezuela, 110 ,900 from Cuba, and another 93 00:01:50.890 --> 00:01:53.980 ,000 from Nicaragua. Their legal status expires 00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:56.319 on April 24th, and after that, they're basically 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:58.519 at risk of being deported through this expedited 00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:01.439 removal process, which is, from what I understand, 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:03.980 much harsher. It really limits their ability 00:02:03.980 --> 00:02:06.719 to appeal, to fight the deportation in court. 00:02:06.859 --> 00:02:08.780 It's like fewer legal protections all around. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:10.900 Yeah, it definitely raises some serious questions 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:12.819 about due process. You've got hundreds of thousands 00:02:12.819 --> 00:02:15.379 of people potentially facing deportation with 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:17.860 limited legal options. It's going to be, well, 00:02:17.979 --> 00:02:20.159 chaotic, as one of the advocates, Karen Tumlin, 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:23.340 puts it. the Justice Action Center. They're already 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:25.360 suing the administration over this. Yeah, and 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.080 there's this, I don't know, kind of cynical observation 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:30.439 in one of the articles about Ukrainian refugees. 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:32.879 You know, at one point, there was talk of revoking 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:35.280 their parole status, too. There are about 240 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:38.319 ,000 of them. But so far, nothing's happened. 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:41.180 And the author makes this pointed comment saying, 00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:43.300 well, maybe it's because Ukrainians are white, 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:45.439 and then they throw in that line, you know, all 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:47.979 immigrants are equal, but some are less equal 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:50.469 than others. Can't help but wonder if there's 00:02:50.469 --> 00:02:52.210 some truth to that, you know? It's definitely 00:02:52.210 --> 00:02:54.870 thought -provoking. And tying it back to the 00:02:54.870 --> 00:02:57.710 bigger picture, the article suggests this is 00:02:57.710 --> 00:02:59.770 all kind of low -hanging fruit for the Trump 00:02:59.770 --> 00:03:01.770 administration. These are people from countries 00:03:01.770 --> 00:03:04.250 he's criticized in the past, and because they 00:03:04.250 --> 00:03:06.969 registered for the parole program, the government 00:03:06.969 --> 00:03:09.879 knows exactly where they are. I mean, what article 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:12.280 even mentions the possibility of publishing their 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:15.139 names and like encouraging employers to fire 00:03:15.139 --> 00:03:17.659 them? Pretty extreme stuff. It is. And of course, 00:03:17.860 --> 00:03:20.340 Trump is all over social media saying these actions 00:03:20.340 --> 00:03:22.979 are solving the immigration crisis, you know, 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:26.039 using his executive power to push through these. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.900 pretty sweeping policy changes. Now, moving on, 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:32.360 another big theme that jumps out is this concerted 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:35.219 effort to dismantle, like, really take apart 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:37.680 Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs. And 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:39.560 it's not just tinkering around the edges. It 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:42.039 seems like a very deliberate, systematic effort 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:45.500 to weaken or even eliminate programs in areas 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:47.659 like voting rights, desegregation, environmental 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:50.080 protection, education, affirmative action, health 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:52.400 care, you name it. It's a pretty fundamental 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:54.259 shift in how the government sees this role in 00:03:54.259 --> 00:03:56.300 dealing with inequality. like going back to a 00:03:56.300 --> 00:03:58.479 time before the New Deal when it was more about 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.500 individual and state responsibility. I mean, 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:02.819 just to give you some examples, they revoked 00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:07.000 Johnson's 1965 executive order on equal opportunity 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.479 for federal contractors, like right out of the 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:12.759 gate. They're reallowing segregated federal facilities. 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:15.060 They're undermining the Department of Education, 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:17.300 which, of course, manages all those scholarships 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:19.639 and loans created by Johnson's Higher Education 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:21.959 Act. And there's a good chance they'll support 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:24.990 deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. And on top 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:27.310 of all that, they're pushing for voting restrictions, 00:04:27.689 --> 00:04:29.810 which is, you know, the complete opposite of 00:04:29.810 --> 00:04:31.069 what Johnson was trying to do with the Voting 00:04:31.069 --> 00:04:32.449 Rights Act. They're like they're going after 00:04:32.449 --> 00:04:35.290 the very foundation of these programs. And one 00:04:35.290 --> 00:04:37.990 author puts it pretty bluntly, saying Trump wants 00:04:37.990 --> 00:04:41.050 to make America great again, like it was before 00:04:41.050 --> 00:04:45.449 the Great Society, maybe say the 1950s or the 00:04:45.449 --> 00:04:47.829 1850s. It's a pretty stark assessment, but you 00:04:47.829 --> 00:04:49.560 can see where they're coming from. And it seems 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:52.000 like this is driven by that deep -seated belief 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.360 among small government conservatives that these 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:57.139 programs were always overreach, you know, that 00:04:57.139 --> 00:04:59.040 the federal government just got too big and too 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:01.399 involved in people's lives and now they have 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:03.779 the opportunity to really roll back the clock 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:07.540 on decades of social progress. But, you know, 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:10.240 it's not all one sided. The articles also talk 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.120 about how states might be able to push back against 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:14.759 this. Yeah, that's a fascinating angle. The argument 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:16.579 is that Trump has been trying to weaken these 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:18.819 traditional power centers in the U .S. Congress, 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:22.360 the media, law firms, universities, by kind of 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:25.040 picking them off one by one. But states are different. 00:05:25.100 --> 00:05:27.100 They have their own governments, their own resources. 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:29.980 And the Supreme Court has often sided with states 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:32.339 against the federal government in the past. And 00:05:32.339 --> 00:05:34.379 they give this example of the conflict with Maine 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:37.220 over transgender girls in sports. Trump wanted 00:05:37.220 --> 00:05:40.319 to ban them, but the governor, Janet Mills, refused, 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:42.579 and the administration threatened to withhold 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:44.819 federal funding, you know, money that Maine is 00:05:44.819 --> 00:05:47.220 legally entitled to. It shows you the kind of 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:49.879 tension that can arise. But the articles propose 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:52.420 this interesting counter -strategy. What if you 00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:54.639 had a bunch of Democratic governors, maybe even 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:56.680 some Republicans who believe in states' rights, 00:05:57.240 --> 00:05:59.100 what if they all banded together and said, no, 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:01.560 we're not doing this? You know, they could file 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.540 lawsuits, launch PR campaigns, even put financial 00:06:04.540 --> 00:06:07.180 pressure on the federal government. Like encouraging 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:09.519 people to delay their tax payments. It's a bold 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:12.180 idea for sure. But there's something to that 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:15.439 safety in numbers logic, right? If enough states 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:17.879 and individuals participate, it could really 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:19.959 throw a wrench into things. It would be a high 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:22.620 stakes gamble, but it shows you the power that 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:25.459 states potentially have. And speaking of legal 00:06:25.459 --> 00:06:28.689 challenges, the articles highlight two specific 00:06:28.689 --> 00:06:31.910 lawsuits out of like 132 that have been filed 00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:33.829 against the Trump administration that are particularly 00:06:33.829 --> 00:06:36.430 important to watch. Yeah, these are being seen 00:06:36.430 --> 00:06:39.029 as a real test of whether the Supreme Court is 00:06:39.029 --> 00:06:41.110 going to stand up to the executive branch or 00:06:41.110 --> 00:06:43.750 just go along with whatever Trump wants. The 00:06:43.750 --> 00:06:46.389 first case is about impoundment, which basically 00:06:46.389 --> 00:06:48.910 means the president refusing to spend money that 00:06:48.910 --> 00:06:51.269 Congress has already approved. And the legal 00:06:51.269 --> 00:06:53.610 arguments against impoundment seem pretty strong. 00:06:54.050 --> 00:06:55.649 I mean, the president's oath of office says he 00:06:55.649 --> 00:06:59.290 has to faithfully execute the laws, right? And 00:06:59.290 --> 00:07:01.389 that includes spending laws. Plus, there's this 00:07:01.389 --> 00:07:04.629 law, the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, that 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:07.050 says the president has to get approval from Congress 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:09.350 if he doesn't want to spend the money. And they 00:07:09.350 --> 00:07:11.269 quote a couple of Supreme Court justices from 00:07:11.269 --> 00:07:13.350 before they were on the court, of course. John 00:07:13.350 --> 00:07:17.560 Roberts in 1985 said, No area seems more clearly 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:19.879 the province of Congress than the power of the 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:23.100 purse. And Brett Kavanaugh in 2013 wrote that 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:25.899 even the president does not have unilateral authority 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:28.939 to refuse to spend money that Congress has appropriated. 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:31.160 So it'll be interesting to see how they rule 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:33.600 on this, because if the court sides with Trump, 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:36.300 it really weakens Congress's power of the purse. 00:07:36.420 --> 00:07:38.740 And it basically means more power for the executive 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:40.500 branch. You know, that whole separation of powers 00:07:40.500 --> 00:07:42.860 thing is at stake here. The other big case is 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:45.250 about birthright citizenship. Can the president 00:07:45.250 --> 00:07:47.350 just ignore the 14th Amendment and say, nope, 00:07:47.730 --> 00:07:49.850 certain babies born in the U .S. aren't citizens 00:07:49.850 --> 00:07:53.170 anymore? The amendment says pretty clearly all 00:07:53.170 --> 00:07:55.730 persons born or naturalized in the United States 00:07:55.730 --> 00:07:58.790 and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens 00:07:58.790 --> 00:08:01.199 of the United States. Right. And they explain 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.519 that subject to the jurisdiction thereof means 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:05.879 almost everyone born here, including children 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:08.579 of undocumented immigrants, because, well, they're 00:08:08.579 --> 00:08:11.019 subject to U .S. law. The Supreme Court even 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:13.240 ruled on this in the past in a case called United 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:15.899 States v. Wong Kim Arc. They said the only real 00:08:15.899 --> 00:08:18.439 exception is children of foreign diplomats. So, 00:08:18.540 --> 00:08:21.079 yeah, this case is a big deal. One article even 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:22.879 says that if the court sides with Trump on either 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:25.480 of these cases, the impoundment one or the birthright 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:28.480 citizenship one, it could be. the end of democracy 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:31.060 and the start of autocracy. I mean, that's a 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:33.340 pretty scary thought. It definitely highlights 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:37.120 how important independent judiciary is. And looking 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.000 ahead, the articles also raise this concern that 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.820 even if Democrats win everything in 2029, the 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:46.559 presidency, the House, the Senate, it might be 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:48.580 really hard to undo all the damage that's been 00:08:48.580 --> 00:08:51.500 done. Yeah, they're saying that Trump is basically 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:53.659 restructuring the entire federal government. 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:56.340 It's like an FDR level overhaul. It's not just 00:08:56.340 --> 00:08:58.759 about revoking a few executive orders. You have 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:00.659 all these experienced government people who've 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:03.539 been fired or quit. And it's going to be tough 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:05.419 to find replacements, especially if people are 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:08.460 worried about getting purged if the next administration 00:09:08.460 --> 00:09:11.480 changes. So one idea they propose is to strengthen 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:13.500 civil service protections, you know, make it 00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:15.600 harder for presidents to just fire people for 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:18.100 political reasons, give people more legal recourse 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:20.460 if they are unfairly targeted. It's about making 00:09:20.460 --> 00:09:23.320 sure the government has a stable expert workforce, 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:26.019 no matter who's in charge. Now, shifting gears 00:09:26.019 --> 00:09:29.299 a bit, there's this upcoming election in Wisconsin 00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:31.320 for the state Supreme Court that's getting a 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:34.580 lot of attention. It's seen as a really important 00:09:34.580 --> 00:09:37.440 bellwether race. It's a 10 year term, and it'll 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.519 decide whether the court leans liberal or conservative. 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:42.639 And even though it's supposed to be nonpartisan. 00:09:42.789 --> 00:09:46.029 It's become super nationalized. Trump has endorsed 00:09:46.029 --> 00:09:49.049 the conservative candidate Brad Schimel and Elon 00:09:49.049 --> 00:09:51.549 Musk has poured over 12 million dollars into 00:09:51.549 --> 00:09:53.549 supporting him. And Musk's tactics are pretty 00:09:53.549 --> 00:09:55.470 interesting. He's been offering people in Wisconsin 00:09:55.470 --> 00:09:57.789 100 bucks for their email addresses and home 00:09:57.789 --> 00:10:00.509 addresses, supposedly for a petition drive. But 00:10:00.509 --> 00:10:02.389 it's pretty clear he's just building a voter 00:10:02.389 --> 00:10:04.909 database. Democrats are calling it buying votes 00:10:04.909 --> 00:10:06.950 and it definitely raises some ethical questions. 00:10:07.330 --> 00:10:09.539 It's a lot of money to throw around. And it shows 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:11.899 how much influence wealthy individuals can have 00:10:11.899 --> 00:10:14.200 in these state -level races. And the articles 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:16.240 also talk about how nasty the campaign has gotten 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:18.139 on both sides, you know, a lot of personal attacks 00:10:18.139 --> 00:10:19.759 and negativity, just like we see in national 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:22.980 politics. This election matters because the Wisconsin 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:25.080 Supreme Court is going to be deciding on things 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:27.720 like abortion, gerrymandering, the voting rights. 00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:30.360 So the stakes are pretty high. And it's worth 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:32.860 remembering that a Trump endorsement isn't a 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:36.039 sure thing. In 2023, a candidate he opposed actually 00:10:36.039 --> 00:10:39.120 won a Wisconsin Supreme Court race by a landslide. 00:10:39.500 --> 00:10:41.600 So it'll be fascinating to see what happens this 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:45.179 time around. Now, switching over to the Democratic 00:10:45.179 --> 00:10:47.720 Party, the articles do a bit of a postmortem 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.179 on the 2024 election and where the party stands 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:53.659 now. And the overall picture isn't pretty. They 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:55.960 talk to some top Democrats. And there are a lot 00:10:55.960 --> 00:10:58.120 of different explanations for why Kamala Harris 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:01.080 lost. Some people blame Biden for running again 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:03.759 at 80 years old. Others say Harris was just a 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:06.039 bad candidate, that she didn't do enough to distinguish 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:08.139 herself from Biden, who wasn't very popular, 00:11:08.299 --> 00:11:11.100 and that she ran an old school campaign, ignoring 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:13.710 things like podcasts and social media. They also 00:11:13.710 --> 00:11:15.950 say the Democrats didn't do a good job of fighting 00:11:15.950 --> 00:11:18.450 back against Republican attacks on wokeness, 00:11:18.490 --> 00:11:20.690 you know, things like transgender issues. And 00:11:20.690 --> 00:11:22.570 there's a sense that the party has become too 00:11:22.570 --> 00:11:25.409 elitist, too focused on catering to special interest 00:11:25.409 --> 00:11:27.570 groups. And some people say they just couldn't 00:11:27.570 --> 00:11:30.190 match Trump's, well, his testosterone, his ability 00:11:30.190 --> 00:11:32.049 to dominate the conversation. And of course, 00:11:32.149 --> 00:11:34.289 the economy wasn't great and inflation was a 00:11:34.289 --> 00:11:36.899 big issue and the border was a mess. And you 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:38.779 can't forget that Trump just has this certain 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:41.820 appeal to some voters and maybe Harris was just 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:44.279 the wrong candidate at the wrong time. It's a 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:46.899 lot for the Democrats to digest. They're basically 00:11:46.899 --> 00:11:48.779 going through an identity crisis, trying to figure 00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:51.399 out what went wrong and where to go from here. 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:53.620 And one thing that keeps coming up is this idea 00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:55.960 that They're just not connecting with enough 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:58.679 voters anymore. Yeah, they lost the presidency. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:01.519 They lost the Senate. And there's a lot of frustration 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:03.980 among Democratic voters that their leaders in 00:12:03.980 --> 00:12:06.460 Congress aren't doing enough to oppose Trump 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:08.799 and people like Musk. It's like they've lost 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:10.960 that sense of unity and purpose they had during 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:13.580 the resistance years. And some Democrats are 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:15.620 even starting to openly criticize the leadership. 00:12:15.850 --> 00:12:18.210 Senator Michael Bennett kind of hinted that Chuck 00:12:18.210 --> 00:12:20.350 Schumer should step down as Senate Majority Leader, 00:12:21.009 --> 00:12:24.009 and a CNN poll found that 52 % of Democratic 00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:26.330 -leaning voters think the party leadership is 00:12:26.330 --> 00:12:28.519 going in the wrong direction. So you have people 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:31.299 like AOC and Bernie Sanders going on their fighting 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:34.519 oligarchy tour and drawing big crowds. And there's 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:37.320 talk about AOC maybe challenging Schumer in a 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:39.740 primary in twenty twenty eight or maybe Chris 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:42.080 Murphy taking over sooner. And then you have 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:44.519 this upcoming special election in Arizona's seventh 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:47.379 district, which is seen as a kind of test case 00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:48.899 for the party's direction, you know, whether 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:50.940 they're going to go more progressive or stick 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:52.899 with a more centrist approach. It's definitely 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:55.299 a period of transition and uncertainty for the 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:58.480 Democrats. Now let's talk about Elon Musk. The 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:00.539 article suggests that his close relationship 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:03.519 with Trump could be very profitable for his businesses. 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:06.200 Yeah, even though Tesla stock has taken a hit 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:09.120 since Musk started cozying up to Trump, his companies 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:11.299 are in line to receive billions of dollars in 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:14.039 government contracts. For example, there's $42 00:13:14.039 --> 00:13:17.139 billion set aside for expanding high -speed Internet 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:19.860 in rural areas, which would be a huge boost for 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:22.980 Musk's Starlink satellite Internet service. And 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:25.000 then there's always the possibility of SpaceX 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:27.919 getting more lucrative contracts from NASA. So 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:30.600 you have to wonder if this is the payoff for 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:33.919 that 300 million dollars Musk donated to Trump's 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.080 campaign. Watchdog groups like the Project on 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:39.779 Government Oversight are warning about the potential 00:13:39.779 --> 00:13:43.000 for abusive power and corruption. It just doesn't 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:45.720 look good when a major political donor gets billions 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:48.299 of dollars in government contracts after helping 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:50.440 that politician get elected. And there's a chance 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:53.019 this could backfire on Musk. You know, his competitors 00:13:53.019 --> 00:13:55.679 like Blue Origin and Boeing are going to be pretty 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:57.960 unhappy and regular people might see it as a 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:00.120 quid pro quo. The Democrats could really try 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:03.399 to make this an issue. Now, lastly, there's this 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:05.259 interesting development with the Southern District 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:08.419 of New York, the SDNY. The SDNY is known for 00:14:08.419 --> 00:14:10.960 being this really powerful and independent prosecutor's 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:13.320 office. But Trump just appointed Jay Clayton 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:16.159 to run it. And Clayton is a former SEC head with 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:19.200 zero experience as a prosecutor. So the big question 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:22.019 is, is he going to keep the SDNY independent 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:24.080 or is he going to use it to go after Trump's 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:26.419 enemies in New York? And Clayton's history is 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:28.600 kind of mixed. His law firm has represented Trump 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:30.399 in the past, which is already raising eyebrows. 00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:32.620 And there are rumors that he was involved in 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:34.700 some shady dealings that led to the previous 00:14:34.700 --> 00:14:37.679 acting head of the SDNY resigning. So you can 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:39.519 see why people are worried that politics might 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:42.620 be influencing decisions at the SDNY. But Clayton 00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:45.139 also have this track record of supporting diversity 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:47.710 and inclusion efforts at the SEC. And he focused 00:14:47.710 --> 00:14:50.950 on protecting everyday investors. And he's friends 00:14:50.950 --> 00:14:52.970 with a former Manhattan district attorney who 00:14:52.970 --> 00:14:55.710 investigated Trump. So who knows? It's really 00:14:55.710 --> 00:14:57.870 hard to say what kind of leader he'll be at the 00:14:57.870 --> 00:15:01.789 SDNY, but it's a powerful office and the potential 00:15:01.789 --> 00:15:04.889 for politicization is definitely a concern. And 00:15:04.889 --> 00:15:07.610 just to throw in one last interesting tidbit, 00:15:07.809 --> 00:15:10.049 Trump is basically on the ballot in Canada right 00:15:10.049 --> 00:15:12.429 now. The new prime minister, Mark Carney, called 00:15:12.429 --> 00:15:15.029 a snap election for April 28th. And the main 00:15:15.029 --> 00:15:17.580 issue is how to deal with Trump. Carney has been 00:15:17.580 --> 00:15:20.820 very critical of Trump, saying things like, President 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:23.580 Trump claims that Canada isn't a real country. 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:27.480 He wants to break us so America can own us. So 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:29.480 this election is basically about whether the 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:32.360 liberals under Carney or the conservatives under 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:34.960 Pierre Poilier are better equipped to stand up 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.399 to Trump. And it'll be interesting to see how 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:40.179 Trump reacts if Carney wins with a strong anti 00:15:40.179 --> 00:15:43.259 -Trump mandate. You know, will he retaliate with 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:46.159 tariffs or start a trade war? Canadian elections 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:47.940 are usually pretty short and polite compared 00:15:47.940 --> 00:15:50.000 to ours. So this one is going to be pretty unique. 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:51.740 Yeah, it's not every day that a U .S. president 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:53.980 becomes a major issue in another country's election. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:56.700 So that's a wrap on our deep dive for today. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:15:59.320 We've covered a lot of ground. Trump's immigration 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:01.460 crackdown, his efforts to dismantle the Great 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:04.320 Society, potential for states to push back those 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:06.860 crucial Supreme Court cases, the Democrats identity 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:10.200 crisis, Elon Musk's growing influence, the SDNY 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.059 situation, and even Trump's impact on Canadian 00:16:13.059 --> 00:16:15.940 politics. It's a lot to process. And it shows 00:16:15.940 --> 00:16:18.679 you how quickly things are changing and how interconnected 00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:21.200 everything is. The decisions being made right 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:23.679 now, both in the U .S. and internationally, could 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:26.120 have a lasting impact on how our government functions 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:28.700 and how we relate to the rest of the world. So 00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:31.799 for you, our listener, as you think about all 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:34.600 these events, the policy changes, the legal battles, 00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:37.659 the political maneuvering, what do you think 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:39.240 is the most important factor that will shape 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:41.799 the future? It's a question worth pondering as 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:43.879 these stories continue to unfold. Thanks for 00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:44.460 joining us.