WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 OK, so if you're scrolling through the news lately, 00:00:03.899 --> 00:00:05.679 it feels like, well, the story is always the 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:07.540 same, right? The American system is collapsing. 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:11.039 The guardrails are down. Chaos everywhere. Yeah, 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:14.240 that narrative is definitely loud. But when you 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.059 dig into the sources we looked at this week, 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:19.559 the picture gets way more complicated and frankly, 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:23.280 more interesting. Absolutely. You see this intense 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:26.399 strain, I mean, really unprecedented attacks 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.129 on things like the rule of law. We've got clear 00:00:29.129 --> 00:00:31.890 examples. We do. But then, running right alongside 00:00:31.890 --> 00:00:34.570 that, you see these pockets of resilience, sometimes 00:00:34.570 --> 00:00:37.429 quiet, sometimes surprisingly successful. The 00:00:37.429 --> 00:00:40.149 system isn't just one thing right now. And that's 00:00:40.149 --> 00:00:42.490 what we want to unpack in this deep dive. We're 00:00:42.490 --> 00:00:46.109 looking at sort of three big areas. First, how 00:00:46.109 --> 00:00:48.369 legal safeguards are holding up or not against 00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:49.929 political pressure. Then we'll get into some 00:00:49.929 --> 00:00:51.929 high stakes political maneuvering, how power 00:00:51.929 --> 00:00:54.549 and perception are being used. And finally, something 00:00:54.549 --> 00:00:57.719 a bit different. some genuinely hopeful stories 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:00.100 about success and redemption that kind of cut 00:01:00.100 --> 00:01:02.479 against all that doom and gloom. Right. The goal 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:04.599 here is for you to get a clearer sense of where 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:08.019 things are actually failing, where they're maybe, 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:11.840 surprisingly, holding firm, and what that dynamic 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:15.299 tells us about where we are right now. So let's 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:18.000 jump right into the legal side. The Michigan 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.120 elector's case, I remember the headlines. Judge 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:22.219 throws out charges against the, quote unquote, 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:25.310 fake electors. looked like a total failure of 00:01:25.310 --> 00:01:27.450 accountability. That was the immediate take, 00:01:27.469 --> 00:01:30.290 for sure. But the sources argue this is actually 00:01:30.290 --> 00:01:33.590 an example of the system working. Maybe not perfectly, 00:01:33.670 --> 00:01:36.269 but working. How so? Because dismissing felony 00:01:36.269 --> 00:01:39.390 charges doesn't exactly scream success. Well, 00:01:39.469 --> 00:01:41.750 the key is how they were dismissed. It happened 00:01:41.750 --> 00:01:44.010 after these really long preliminary hearings. 00:01:44.090 --> 00:01:46.230 And that's crucial. It's not like a grand jury 00:01:46.230 --> 00:01:48.730 where it's mostly just the prosecution. Oh, OK. 00:01:48.829 --> 00:01:51.140 So preliminary hearings are different. Very different. 00:01:51.420 --> 00:01:52.980 The defense gets to bring evidence. They get 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:54.879 to cross examine the prosecution's witnesses. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:58.620 It's designed specifically to weed out cases 00:01:58.620 --> 00:02:00.680 that don't have enough probable cause before 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:02.819 they go to a full trial. It's a safeguard. Got 00:02:02.819 --> 00:02:05.859 it. And the big hurdle here was proving intent 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:08.780 to defraud. Exactly. And that's always a tough 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:11.599 bar to clear in court. The judge looked at the 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:14.759 evidence presented in those hearings and pointed 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:17.949 to a few things. Like what? Well, first, these 00:02:17.949 --> 00:02:20.370 people weren't the ringleaders, you know. One 00:02:20.370 --> 00:02:22.650 person apparently got a call the night before 00:02:22.650 --> 00:02:25.990 saying, show up here. Doesn't exactly sound like 00:02:25.990 --> 00:02:28.090 a mastermind. Right. And they weren't exactly 00:02:28.090 --> 00:02:30.210 subtle about it either. Not at all. They post 00:02:30.210 --> 00:02:32.830 for pictures. The judge basically said, look, 00:02:33.169 --> 00:02:35.030 people trying to commit a secret fraud don't 00:02:35.030 --> 00:02:37.310 usually invite the cameras. OK, that makes sense. 00:02:37.750 --> 00:02:39.849 And their defense was they thought they were 00:02:39.849 --> 00:02:43.759 just alternates. only to be used if court cases 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:45.780 change the election outcome. That's what they 00:02:45.780 --> 00:02:48.819 testified, yeah. And the certificate itself apparently 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:51.120 didn't have the official state seal or anything. 00:02:51.659 --> 00:02:53.979 So the judge weighed all that from the preliminary 00:02:53.979 --> 00:02:56.300 hearing. And decided the prosecution just hadn't 00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:58.800 shown enough evidence of that specific intent 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:01.300 to defraud. Correct. But here's the part you 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:03.780 really need to focus on. The bit that counters 00:03:03.780 --> 00:03:06.400 the system failed narrative. Okay. The judge 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.759 who made this decision, appointed by Gretchen 00:03:08.759 --> 00:03:11.599 Whitmer. the Democratic governor. Wait, seriously. 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:16.199 A Whitmer appointee dismissed charges that politically 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:17.919 you'd think Democrats would want to see stick. 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:21.099 Exactly. That strongly suggests the decision 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:23.840 was based on the legal standard presented in 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:25.919 that hearing, not, you know, political alignment. 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:28.240 It shows that safeguard the preliminary hearing 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:30.919 actually functioned. Well, that's actually a 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:32.939 pretty important detail. It shows the mechanism 00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:35.979 can still work. It can. But, and this is a big 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:39.009 but, That example from Michigan stands in really 00:03:39.009 --> 00:03:41.270 stark contrast to what sources say is happening 00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:43.449 at the federal level. Right. You mentioned this 00:03:43.449 --> 00:03:46.090 unprecedented attack on the rule of law federally. 00:03:46.330 --> 00:03:48.710 What's the prime example there? It's the whole 00:03:48.710 --> 00:03:52.520 effort to... basically gut the independence of 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:55.280 the Department of Justice, replacing career professionals 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.180 with loyalists, redirecting resources for political 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:00.659 fights. And the specific case that illustrates 00:04:00.659 --> 00:04:03.520 this weaponization. The push to prosecute James 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:06.500 Comey, the former FBI director. Who Trump fired, 00:04:06.900 --> 00:04:08.879 even though Comey's a Republican and arguably 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:12.460 his actions helped Trump win in 2016. It feels 00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:14.800 purely vindictive. It certainly looks that way. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:17.699 So the story goes, the U .S. attorney in the 00:04:17.699 --> 00:04:19.860 relevant district, a guy named Eric Siebert, 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:23.019 he pushed back. Said he couldn't find credible 00:04:23.019 --> 00:04:26.319 crimes to charge Comey with or others like Letitia 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:29.540 James. A career prosecutor doing his job, basically. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.100 Right. And he was reportedly pressured to resign. 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:34.740 And who did they put in his place? Lindsay Halligan. 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:37.480 Trump's former personal lawyer. With, and this 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:41.139 is key, zero prior prosecutorial experience. 00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:44.060 None. And then what happens? Suddenly she secures 00:04:44.060 --> 00:04:46.959 an indictment against Comey. Obstruction of justice, 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:49.259 false statements related to testimony he gave 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:51.459 way back in 2020 about the Russia investigation 00:04:51.459 --> 00:04:54.019 leaks. And the timing. Just four days, apparently, 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:55.720 before the five -year statute of limitations 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:59.000 ran out, it screams, rush job. So what's the 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:01.920 actual basis for the charges? Is it solid? According 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:04.079 to the sources, it seems incredibly thin. It 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:06.040 apparently comes down to differences in memory, 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:08.379 basically, between Comey and Andrew McCabe about 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:10.860 who knew what about certain leaks. Trying to 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:13.480 prove someone deliberately lied based on slightly 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:16.660 different recollections years later, that's really 00:05:16.660 --> 00:05:19.120 weak. So the implication is this isn't about 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.959 justice. It's about using the DOJ for payback. 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:25.000 That's certainly the concern raised. It's the 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.779 very definition of selective, politically motivated 00:05:27.779 --> 00:05:30.439 prosecution. A huge red flag for the rule of 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.360 law. A terrifying prospect. But you also said 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:36.069 the guardrails aren't totally gone. even with 00:05:36.069 --> 00:05:38.250 these federal issues. Where are they still holding? 00:05:38.769 --> 00:05:40.670 Well, state courts are still playing a major 00:05:40.670 --> 00:05:43.550 role. We saw the Utah Supreme Court, for example, 00:05:43.889 --> 00:05:45.990 strike down a Republican gerrymander because 00:05:45.990 --> 00:05:48.850 it violated a law passed directly by citizens 00:05:48.850 --> 00:05:51.550 in an initiative. That's a state court checking 00:05:51.550 --> 00:05:53.750 political power. OK, so state level checks are 00:05:53.750 --> 00:05:56.629 still active. And even federally, the government 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:59.259 is by and large still following court orders. 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.360 Like, there's a nationwide injunction on certain 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:04.379 birthright citizenship policies that's being 00:06:04.379 --> 00:06:06.980 respected. The courts still have power. And you 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:09.560 also mentioned the people involved, the staff. 00:06:09.769 --> 00:06:12.670 Yeah, don't underestimate the thousands of judges, 00:06:12.790 --> 00:06:14.970 state and federal, and maybe even more importantly, 00:06:15.170 --> 00:06:17.730 their clerks and staff attorneys. The sources 00:06:17.730 --> 00:06:19.889 mention clerks being at their breaking point, 00:06:20.050 --> 00:06:22.889 just working incredibly hard to handle the caseload 00:06:22.889 --> 00:06:26.850 and, frankly, deal with some shoddy legal arguments 00:06:26.850 --> 00:06:29.670 coming from politically influenced parts of government. 00:06:29.810 --> 00:06:32.490 They're trying to uphold their oaths. Those dedicated 00:06:32.490 --> 00:06:35.290 individuals are maybe the real unsung guardrails 00:06:35.290 --> 00:06:37.250 here. Could be. They're the structure beneath 00:06:37.250 --> 00:06:39.870 the political storms. OK, let's shift gears a 00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:44.689 bit from the legal system to political power 00:06:44.689 --> 00:06:47.290 plays and how perception gets weaponized almost 00:06:47.290 --> 00:06:50.470 instantly. You mentioned AG Pam Bondi and FBI 00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:52.670 Director Cash Patel kind of putting on a show. 00:06:52.990 --> 00:06:55.209 Right. And the Dallas ICE shooting incident is 00:06:55.209 --> 00:06:57.329 a really stark example. Remember, a shooter killed 00:06:57.329 --> 00:07:00.029 a detainee and then himself at an ICE facility. 00:07:00.230 --> 00:07:03.120 Yes. Tragic event. Almost immediately, Cash Patel 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.220 is out there announcing it had an ideological 00:07:05.220 --> 00:07:08.300 motive. He even shared supposed evidence, like 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:11.000 a picture of a bullet casing with anti -ice supposedly 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.399 written on it, like right away. jumping straight 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:16.720 to a political motive before any real investigation 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:19.519 could possibly be done. Exactly. And then the 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:23.000 political machinery kicks in. The NRCC, the National 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.480 Republican Congressional Committee starts churning 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:28.779 out press releases, dozens of them. Aimed where? 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:31.240 Targeting Democratic members of Congress in swing 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:33.879 districts. The headlines were customized like 00:07:34.569 --> 00:07:37.269 Congressperson X's party is blatantly demonizing 00:07:37.269 --> 00:07:40.290 ICE, all using this Dallas shooting as the hook. 00:07:40.449 --> 00:07:43.810 Wow. So weaponizing a tragedy for political points 00:07:43.810 --> 00:07:46.589 within hours. That's the takeaway. It shows how 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:48.649 fast a federal law enforcement narrative can 00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:51.709 be shaped and deployed politically, you know, 00:07:51.910 --> 00:07:53.769 completely bypassing any normal investigative 00:07:53.769 --> 00:07:57.350 process. And it obviously fuels massive distrust. 00:07:57.610 --> 00:07:59.910 That's clear. But sometimes these attempts to 00:07:59.910 --> 00:08:02.110 use power backfire, right? The whole situation 00:08:02.110 --> 00:08:04.300 with Jimmy. That was a classic. Trying to use 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:06.939 the FCC, the media regulator, to go after Kimmel 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:08.620 because he made some jokes they didn't like. 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:12.819 Which just look petty, authoritarian. Completely. 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:15.500 It was a massive own goal. It made the administration 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:17.680 look small and den -skinned, especially when 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:19.639 they're always talking about free speech. And 00:08:19.639 --> 00:08:22.060 it turned Kimmel into this sort of free speech 00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:24.500 martyr overnight. And the result for Kemmer? 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:28.199 Huge ratings. His first monologue back reportedly 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:31.680 got over 20 million YouTube views, which was 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:34.679 a record for him, plus millions more watching 00:08:34.679 --> 00:08:38.500 on TV. The Streisand effect in full force. So 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:40.840 the attempt to intimidate actually amplified 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:43.259 his message. Massively. And it probably sent 00:08:43.259 --> 00:08:46.340 a message to corporations like Disney, too. Maybe 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:48.340 pushing back against this kind of pressure is 00:08:48.340 --> 00:08:50.320 actually better business, especially when you 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:53.159 factor in angry customers and even sh - Shareholder 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:55.600 lawsuits which sources say Disney is now facing 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:58.879 over this the strong -arm routine looked weak 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:01.159 Okay, let's talk about another form of leverage 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:03.759 the government shutdown threat Yeah, we had this 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:05.940 standoff Senate Majority Leader Thune thinking 00:09:05.940 --> 00:09:08.279 Democrats would get the blame Minority Leader 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:10.600 Schumer holding out for health care funding pretty 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:12.759 standard stuff, right? But then the administration 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:15.100 threw in a curveball a really nasty one which 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:17.919 was threatening mass firings of federal employees 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:20.659 if there was a shutdown Not just furloughs where 00:09:20.659 --> 00:09:23.639 people eventually get back pay, but actual firings, 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:28.600 job losses. Whoa. That's a whole different level 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:31.659 of hardball. Using people's livelihoods as direct 00:09:31.659 --> 00:09:34.039 leverage. Exactly. It completely changed the 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:36.299 dynamic. It seemed designed to hit Democrats 00:09:36.299 --> 00:09:38.120 where they're perceived to be vulnerable. They're 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:40.220 concerned for federal workers. And did it work? 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:42.929 Did it break the deadlock? Well, it definitely 00:09:42.929 --> 00:09:46.190 fractured the Republican message of being reasonable. 00:09:46.669 --> 00:09:48.850 But more significantly, sources say it caused 00:09:48.850 --> 00:09:51.629 real cracks among Senate Democrats. They were 00:09:51.629 --> 00:09:53.789 suddenly facing the prospect of mass layoffs 00:09:53.789 --> 00:09:55.769 in their states, the economic pain that would 00:09:55.769 --> 00:09:58.190 cause. The threat itself had a powerful political 00:09:58.190 --> 00:10:00.370 effect. Just the threat alone shifted the ground. 00:10:00.669 --> 00:10:02.610 Yeah. OK, we've covered a lot of the cynical 00:10:02.610 --> 00:10:04.509 power dynamics. Let's try to end on something 00:10:04.509 --> 00:10:08.539 different. Societal shifts. redemption. You mentioned 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:10.779 a really interesting program in Maine. Yes, this 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:12.779 is a great counterpoint. Maine is apparently 00:10:12.779 --> 00:10:15.279 the first state to let incarcerated individuals 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:17.820 work remote jobs, like real jobs for outside 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:20.320 companies. How does that even work? It started 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:23.120 with funding, actually, from Doris Buffett's 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:26.259 foundation, the Sunshine Lady Foundation. They 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:29.039 funded college courses inside the prison. That 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:31.600 led to getting laptops and teaching coding skills. 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:35.039 Coding skills inside prison. Yeah. And get this, 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.399 their final project is they have to develop an 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.960 app or a website specifically designed to help 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:43.019 other prisoners navigate reentry or life inside. 00:10:43.179 --> 00:10:45.100 That's actually really clever. So they gain skills, 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:47.919 build a portfolio. Exactly. They leave with a 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:50.419 professional resume, maybe some outside contacts, 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:53.460 and crucially, some money saved up, which, as 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:55.320 you know, is a huge factor in whether someone 00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:57.860 reoffends or not. Lack of money is a massive 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:00.860 driver of recidivism. Absolutely. But you mentioned 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:03.299 an impact inside the prison, too. Something about 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:06.000 violence. This was the most stunning part for 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:08.679 me. Since this program started, assaults on prison 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:13.120 staff have dropped by 91%. 91%. just from offering 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:15.519 coding classes and remote work? It seems so. 00:11:15.740 --> 00:11:18.220 The implication is that giving people dignity, 00:11:18.460 --> 00:11:21.159 hope, marketable skills, a focus on the future, 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:24.179 it fundamentally changes behavior. It reduces 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:26.539 that tension and despair. It's an incredible 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:30.240 outcome. That's genuinely astounding, a localized 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:33.320 program having that kind of measurable positive 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:35.480 impact. It really is. It's the kind of success 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:37.980 story that often gets lost in the national political 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:40.940 noise. Okay, one last piece on societal shifts. 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.820 You highlighted some poll data about how young 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:47.019 Americans define success. Yeah, an NBC News poll 00:11:47.019 --> 00:11:50.320 of 18 to 29 -year -olds. And it showed this really 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:53.580 stark split, especially along gender and political 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:56.320 lines. What's the split? OK, so for young men 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:58.419 who identify as Trump voters, what's at the top 00:11:58.419 --> 00:12:01.220 of their definition of success? Having children 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:03.600 and getting married. OK. And for young women. 00:12:03.940 --> 00:12:05.940 For young women who voted for Harris, and actually 00:12:05.940 --> 00:12:08.019 young women overall in the poll, marriage and 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:10.340 having kids rank low, what's at the top for them? 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:12.600 A fulfilling job and financial independence. 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:15.120 Wow. That's not just a little different. That's 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:16.860 like two completely different life blueprints. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.419 Exactly. The source described it as young men 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:22.159 and women preparing for two very different life 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:25.639 trajectories. It signals potentially huge cultural 00:12:25.639 --> 00:12:29.740 shifts and maybe future political divides based 00:12:29.740 --> 00:12:31.860 on these fundamentally different views of what 00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:34.200 a successful life even looks like. That is really 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:36.179 something to chew on. OK, so wrapping this all 00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:39.120 up. Yeah. We've seen this tension. Right. The 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:41.440 federal level, especially law enforcement, looking 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:45.279 fragile. vulnerable to political capture. Definitely 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:47.019 seeing signs of that. But then you have this 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:49.440 resilience, maybe at the state level, courts 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:52.000 pushing back, judges and clerks just grinding 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.340 it out, trying to uphold professionalism. Yeah, 00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:56.740 and these pockets of surprising success, like 00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:59.580 that Maine prison program, showing what localized 00:12:59.580 --> 00:13:02.340 reform can actually achieve. Right. So the question 00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:03.980 we kind of want to leave you with, the provocative 00:13:03.980 --> 00:13:07.610 thought, is this. We see these dedicated people, 00:13:07.750 --> 00:13:10.009 these state -level checks, these successful local 00:13:10.009 --> 00:13:12.470 initiatives acting as maybe the real guardrails 00:13:12.470 --> 00:13:15.669 right now. So how much of that localized success, 00:13:15.769 --> 00:13:17.690 how much of that professional integrity holding 00:13:17.690 --> 00:13:21.129 the line, how much of that does it take to eventually 00:13:21.129 --> 00:13:24.990 counter or overcome the kind of big centralized 00:13:24.990 --> 00:13:27.269 political dysfunction and abuse of power we're 00:13:27.269 --> 00:13:29.590 seeing play out federally? Where's the tipping 00:13:29.590 --> 00:13:32.440 point? That's the big question, isn't it? How 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:35.320 much bottom -up resilience is needed to fix the 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:37.539 top -down problems? Definitely something to think 00:13:37.539 --> 00:13:39.620 about. Thanks for joining us for the deep dive.