WEBVTT

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This is Let's Talk About It, the official podcast

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of La Prensa, Texas, hosted by Yvette Teo and

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produced by JMT Studios. This show grows from

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a tradition rooted in culture, memory, and the

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power of community voices. Our history told by

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us in our own words. From city hall to the corner

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store, from policy to personal experience, this

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is where real conversations live. The overlooked.

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The everyday, the resilience, the stories that

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shape who we are in English, in Espanol, and

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always from the heart of our community. Not from

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the sidelines and not from a distance. This is

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the community speaking for itself. Welcome to

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Let's Talk About It. Welcome to Let's Talk About

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It, the podcast where we talk about what's happening

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in the community, where the stories that are

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told about us are told by us. I'm Ivette Teo

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with La Prensa, Texas. And I'm Jacqueline Tecorante

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with JMT Media. And we are here to really get

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down to the nitty gritty of Let's Talk About

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It. So we are extremely blessed and honored to

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be here with two amazing pioneers here in San

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Antonio, Texas, as well as the greater surrounding

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areas, our amazing Commissioner Tommy Calvert.

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And we also have Bexar County District Attorney

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Candidate Mr. Shannon Locke. Thank you both for

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being here. Thank you for having me. It's an

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honor. Congratulations on this new show. This

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is what we need in San Antonio. Antonio, so you

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are pioneering women. So thank you for leading

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the way to truth in the media in San Antonio.

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It's sure needed. We are definitely, we're working

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it. We're working it. And so we're going to start

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off by talking about a couple of weeks back,

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we were in attendance at City Hall to really

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advocate and push for the voting to be moved

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from March to November, namely for a variety

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of reasons. One, we don't want voter suppression,

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right? But we also wanted folks to be able to

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have access and the opportunity to vote and have

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it not compete against other very historic and

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community driven events such as Fiesta. I mean,

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that's a big scholarship fundraising event all

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year long. So, Yvette, can you talk a little

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bit about, you know, you were there in the audience

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as we were advocating for that. And also, Tommy,

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you came in, too. I mean, you really had some

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great things to say and to talk about what's

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going on. Yeah, I bet. I mean, you were there

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for the history. I was so impressed how many

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people came out to talk about it. And it's almost

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a no brainer if you say, do you want to go vote

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or do you want to go to Fiesta? Yeah. And Dolores

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Huerta came, which was a wonderful surprise.

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I couldn't believe that. It was like, is it the

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real Dolores Huerta? And it was so impressive.

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And I feel like, I think there was only one person

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who said, no, let's not, let's not move it. Councilwoman

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Spears did a poll the week before 70. This is

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District 9 Councilwoman Missy Spears. And I think

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it was 78 % of the people in District 9 said.

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Move it to November. Yeah, she was, you know,

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that was a complete shift, I think, from just

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from the audience perspective. I don't think

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a lot of people were expecting that. It was like

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the last inning. You're like, wait, what? What

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happened? And but you also spoke that afternoon,

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that day, that afternoon was a long day for sure.

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Yeah, no, it was important. You know, the mayor

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had reached out and any time you can make democracy

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more. easy for people to vote is important because

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there are so many elections, the way they roll

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out, this would give jurisdictions the opportunity

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to consolidate their elections because people

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in this city always are saying. oh, I just voted

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for them or I have to go again. And the less

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of that that you have going on with people, especially

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nowadays being so busy, the better, right? And

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so, yeah, there were some concerns about school

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districts, but I think a lot of them are going

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to join in on the November or move theirs in

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conjunction with the other jurisdictions, college

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districts and things like that. And I really

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think that'll help with voter fatigue. So many

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people are just like, oh, I've got to do this

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again. I've got to do this again. And it's a

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tough environment. So when I was in high school,

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understand that now high schools no longer have

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government uh required to be a government class

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we used to have a half a semester of government

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what is it civic engagements or yeah i hate to

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hear that i'm not in the legislature so i'm not

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surprised but that would that's terrible yeah

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and then half a semester of economics right in

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order to graduate you had to do a half and half

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but you know what's so silly to me about that

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is that government law policy and economics That's

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like what you have to know for the rest of your

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life. So why is it that first of all, now I was

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thinking half a semester was silly, but now they

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pulled it out of school. That's an easy answer.

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I mean, we are living in an era where the Republicans

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really don't want people to be educated about

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how their government works because there is a

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minority of billionaires and oligarchs who are

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running everything. And as long as you are dumb

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and unaware of how it works, they can. They can

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just puppet those politicians to whatever goodies

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that come out of the coffers of the governments

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possess. Right. So that is I mean, that is that

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is why they're doing it. I mean, they don't want

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people to follow the money and pay attention.

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So we've talked a little bit about following

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the money and policy. But Shannon, I mean, you've

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had 20 plus years in the courthouse, federal

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and state. Like, what are your thoughts on this?

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Absolutely. So. What real Democrats want is we

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want more people to participate in our democracy.

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That's really what we want. And so our ideas

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attract voters. And so the more people that we

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can get involved, the more likely it is that

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our ideas will be successful. Because when people

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hear our ideas, they like them. So that's basically

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what happened. And to Tommy's point, we have

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a growing pie, but a smaller minority of people

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is taking more and more of that pie. If they

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can keep us ignorant about economics, if they

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can keep us ignorant about government, if they

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can keep us ignorant about our rights, then they're

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more likely to be able to push us around. And

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at the end of the day, that's probably the...

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the bigger story. And that's what's happening

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right now. That is the culture and the climate

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of our time and of our city. And now we're talking

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about voter suppression. And when you talk about

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it, and we've seen a little bit in the paper,

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The Current did a wonderful job of covering some

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of that. And I've heard from certain people that

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have talked to the election department, and they

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are very passionate about it as well. But it

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doesn't make sense if you don't understand it.

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And that's the idea. So today, if you could,

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Tommy, just break it down just a little bit,

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just so that we can understand it. Because we

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don't know what it means. Voter suppression,

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you hear that, it's like, oh, they're not letting

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me vote. So high level, there were only two private

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sector vendors for a voter registration system

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that you could use as a jurisdiction in Texas.

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So a county, a city, etc. One of those entities,

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a California -based company, had gone belly up.

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So it left us with one private sector vendor.

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And then the Secretary of State, who administers

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elections for the state, they have a system,

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but it's largely been used for rural, smaller

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counties. It has a slow uptake. It's got less

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memory and all those kinds of things. So traditionally,

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most of your big counties have not used the state

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system. So fast forward, we had that November

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election where Project Marvel and the state constitutional

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amendments were on. And because we were on the

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state system, we had a backlog of like 77 ,000

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people's voter registrations. Now, just think

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about that. That's a lot of votes that can change

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a statewide election, particularly as it's very

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close in some of these national... often the

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prevailing wisdom of politics is that we're a

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50 -50, almost 50 -50 country. I don't think

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that's true anymore. I think that the pendulum

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is coming much more towards Democrats. That worries

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some of the Republicans at the state level. And

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their goal is always to shave off some votes

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so that they can maintain political and financial

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power because people often miss that. The contracts,

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the billions and billions of dollars in contracts

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wind their way into campaign contributions and

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the campaign coffers of Governor Abbott and his

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cronies. And as a result, it not only proliferates

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Texas politics, but it also proliferates the

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national politics and the Trumpism that's going

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on. So Texas is a very important location for

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voting. That's unfortunately why. They sold out

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to the Trump administration's DOJ and they sent

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our 18 plus million voter registration records

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to the Department of Justice. What's going to

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happen, and I'll come back to the local thing

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in a second. What's going to happen is the Department

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of Justice, the Trump Justice Department, is

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going to end up shaving off some people and saying,

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Ms. Tello, you happen to be illegal. Or Mr. Calvert,

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you committed some sort of felony and you are

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not supposed to be. Even though you are legal

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and even though I didn't commit a felony, you've

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got a name that matches somebody. And oops, there's

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a mistake. Oops, you wind up at the pole and

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maybe you got to go to work and you can't fix

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it. You know, the burden becomes on you and me

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to get that fixed. Right. So that's where it's

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important that these private sector vendors are

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able to help us as much as we can in these kinds

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of shenanigans. So early on, I found it very

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strange that, you know, there was the folks in

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the DA's office were saying that this. We didn't

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need to do the VR systems because it was too

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expensive. And I thought, that is way outside

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of the lane of a district attorney's office to

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advise the court, which is in charge of financial

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matters, about the budgetary uses of the county.

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Fast forward to September, the court does pass

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VR systems as a private sector vendor. At that

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time, the direction of the court was to look

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at other counties that have done this and their

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contracts because we needed to hurry this up.

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We didn't need to reinvent the wheel because

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the state has a cooperative buying ability that

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we are part of in the Bexar County called the

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Texas Buy Board. And that allows you to piggyback

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off of the contracts that have already been.

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written and negotiated. Like an approved vendor.

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And it's beyond that. It's approved at a certain

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price with certain contractual conditions, right?

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So when you start to mess around with the contract

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in the way that our local DA's office did, that

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puts the whole thing in jeopardy because you

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negotiate conditions at a certain price. If you

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start saying it's a cloud -based system, then

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they've got to rewrite programming to become.

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a cloud -based system and that's not what is

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negotiated at that price right is that what happened

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yeah and and and and then some i mean i'm right

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because we were just trying to save some money

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um maybe well you know these things have as i

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said a set price the county had already put into

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uh the budget Over a million dollars for Boat

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Tech. We've been doing this for decades. So I

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have one question when it comes to that. So because

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it was during, I think I read something where

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commissioner's court, everybody approved. I think

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there was only one person who did it. Commissioner

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Moody didn't. So. They wanted to use the state

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system. Right. And so, and maybe he didn't quite

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understand how it worked and why he wanted that.

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But wanted to know why then. Okay. And now the

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DA said, no, we're going to order. teams, right?

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Versus the VR. Well, he didn't say that. He said

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that the county manager, the IT department and

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the DA said they had to do staff due diligence.

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So then the IT department was blamed for some

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of the delay in terms of their computer check

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of the congruency with our systems. I'm not at

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liberty to tell you what I talked about in executive

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session. What I can say is that I think the public

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should be concerned about whether there were

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real conversations between our IT department

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and this vendor. Good. I mean, and we do need

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to know that. So, Shannon, I mean, as you're

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running for Bexar County District Attorney for

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that seat in that role, you know, we've talked

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about this. Can you kind of express your thoughts

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and feelings on this particular situation? Because

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this is clearly voter suppression. This is, I

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mean, on a business professional level, you know,

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MWBE contracts is a big deal near and dear to

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my heart, supporting advocacy and legislation.

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But from the DA standpoint, can you talk a little

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bit about that? Sure. So what you're concerned

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about or what I would be concerned about is clearly

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you have a party. the Republican party and they

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have adopted project 2025. One of the clear aims

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of project 2025 is to make sure that people don't

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get registered to vote. And so if you have, so

00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:39.000
you need to make absolutely sure as the district

00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:43.080
attorney, that as a, as a democratic district

00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:46.179
attorney, that you're enfranchising as many people

00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:48.600
as you possibly can. And so that has to be the

00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:51.879
priority. And so what I would task my civil division

00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:54.759
chief with would be, look, we need to make sure

00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:57.440
every decision that we make is enfranchising,

00:13:57.440 --> 00:13:59.500
getting people the right to vote and making that

00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:02.440
as easy as possible, because that's absolutely

00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:06.600
what a Democratic district attorney should be

00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:08.960
doing. And so the concern that I would have is

00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.720
that if you have somebody that is thwarting that,

00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:13.960
then maybe they have a political agenda that

00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:18.679
they're enacting that would be contrary to what

00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:22.299
to getting as many people registered and on the

00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:24.919
voting rolls as quickly as possible. So one question

00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:27.519
real quick, Shannon. When you say Democratic

00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:31.940
DA, you're talking about, you're not saying that

00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:34.659
you're a voting Democrat, you're just saying

00:14:34.659 --> 00:14:39.220
democracy. Well, I'm saying, well, party affiliated

00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:42.299
with a Democratic district attorney is somebody

00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.740
who should be encouraging people, but also somebody

00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:46.940
who wants a... Democratic, like a Democratic.

00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:49.340
Democracy, right. A strong democracy is strong.

00:14:49.460 --> 00:14:52.620
Right, because the votes for Republicans and

00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:55.639
Democrats are just as important. And the idea

00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:59.580
is it's about all voters. Yes. And I just want

00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:01.200
to make that really, really clear that everybody

00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.480
understand that. So now, Commissioner, because

00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:07.659
we don't understand what happens in Commissioner's

00:15:07.659 --> 00:15:11.320
Court or City Council or who's responsible for

00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:15.450
what. But clearly, the court, the commissioner's

00:15:15.450 --> 00:15:18.590
court, it was voted. It was supposed to be the

00:15:18.590 --> 00:15:21.570
VR system. The fact that that did not happen

00:15:21.570 --> 00:15:25.190
and something else was not compatible to the

00:15:25.190 --> 00:15:29.110
system we have now, we are now backlogged. They

00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:33.429
just cleared up about 6 ,000, right? Hold on,

00:15:33.429 --> 00:15:35.990
can I stop? What do you mean? How did we go from

00:15:35.990 --> 00:15:38.429
backlog to all of a sudden things are okay? Well,

00:15:38.470 --> 00:15:41.649
they did hire temporary workers, but that is

00:15:41.649 --> 00:15:44.769
a unfunded mandate. The fact that we had to pay

00:15:44.769 --> 00:15:48.129
people out of the Bexar County budget for what

00:15:48.129 --> 00:15:50.210
the state of Texas should have done and doing

00:15:50.210 --> 00:15:52.889
it right because the state of Texas system was

00:15:52.889 --> 00:15:55.600
only uploading about eight. voter registrations,

00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:57.899
whereas before it would be about 24 to 30 an

00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:00.779
hour. I think we have to be very careful, though,

00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:03.240
about being lulled to sleep. I think there are

00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:06.960
some in the Project 2025 world, those folks who

00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:09.179
do not want. people to get registered to vote,

00:16:09.299 --> 00:16:14.399
who want to lull, to mow down the backlog so

00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:15.860
that, well, they say, well, you know, we got

00:16:15.860 --> 00:16:18.480
through it. You think we can use the state system?

00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:20.740
Well, the public, from a media, public perception

00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:23.620
standpoint, it comes off as, oh, we got a problem,

00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:25.899
we have a solution in 24 hours. And you're like...

00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:28.080
How did that happen? We still have the pothole

00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:31.759
from 20 years ago. It's a manpower issue. But

00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:35.740
here's part of the bigger picture. With those

00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:38.419
70 ,000 voter registrations, we had people who

00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:41.240
were very strained at the elections department,

00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:43.740
having to work weekends, having to work really

00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:47.080
long hours. I mean, I can't fault the elections

00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:49.240
administrator for doing that because I would

00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:51.980
have done the same thing, to be honest with you.

00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:54.019
It would have been, I'm sorry, but we've got

00:16:54.019 --> 00:16:56.340
to get people in the system. But it's the process.

00:16:56.700 --> 00:16:59.019
But there were people who quit. There were people

00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:00.019
who quit because of the work. It doesn't have

00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:02.679
to be that way, though. No, it doesn't. I mean,

00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:05.779
it's not only that it slowed down at the Texas

00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:08.519
Secretary of State's team system, but the people

00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:11.619
who get registered to vote at DPS, when you go

00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:14.000
get your driver's license, the elections department

00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.900
couldn't even see certain screens to enter people.

00:17:18.099 --> 00:17:20.420
It was completely dysfunctional, right? So you

00:17:20.420 --> 00:17:25.450
can't tell me. But that's just so coincidental.

00:17:25.450 --> 00:17:28.269
Now, let me just make something clear. We've

00:17:28.269 --> 00:17:31.109
always said that the Texas team system was kind

00:17:31.109 --> 00:17:33.849
of for the rural, smaller counties. But guess

00:17:33.849 --> 00:17:36.509
what's happening as we speak? The rural counties

00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:38.789
are saying, hey, that system in state is so messed

00:17:38.789 --> 00:17:43.869
up and jacked up, we want VR. So when the local

00:17:43.869 --> 00:17:47.900
message machine. The Project 2025 people tries

00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:50.700
to get you into complacency that we can use the

00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:52.660
state system. Be advised. That's not what the

00:17:52.660 --> 00:17:54.599
rural counties are saying. They're saying. And

00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:56.920
the reason I'm bringing this up is because VR

00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:00.980
systems has said they do one county at a time

00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:04.640
for quality sake. So if we wait, we might become

00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.839
behind these other smaller counties. And we've

00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:09.000
got a lot more data and a lot more millions of

00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.779
people to work with. Right. So. We have to stay

00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:16.319
on this until it gets passed. So just in layman's

00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:20.279
terms for me to understand, it means that not

00:18:20.279 --> 00:18:27.000
everybody's vote counts. Well, there's a lot

00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.019
of things that are happening with these systems.

00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:32.680
The first thing is that if you register and your

00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:35.220
registration is not processed, then of course,

00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.940
yes, that means that you cannot be enfranchised

00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:44.579
to vote. Is that legal? Um... I don't believe

00:18:44.579 --> 00:18:48.180
it is. I don't believe it is. And I think that

00:18:48.180 --> 00:18:51.460
is a whole other conversation for our civil rights

00:18:51.460 --> 00:18:54.559
organizations who could look at lawsuits. Even

00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:56.380
our district attorney's office could look at

00:18:56.380 --> 00:18:58.740
lawsuits to hold the state accountable to be

00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:01.819
compliant with the law that is passed by the

00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:03.759
legislature. So, Shannon, do you think that that

00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:05.819
would be something that any DA would actually

00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:08.859
do? I don't know that any DA, but I think a right

00:19:08.859 --> 00:19:14.380
DA would do it. That's a really big step. I can't

00:19:14.380 --> 00:19:16.680
even believe that it's happening. Oh, this is

00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:19.640
not a drill. This is fascism on the march. And

00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:21.420
we have to be afraid of it. And I mean, I would

00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:24.460
be definitely afraid of it because you would

00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:28.599
have to come up against a very big machine. It's

00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:30.240
very difficult. Yeah, absolutely. And it would

00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.339
be a heavy lift. But it's certainly something.

00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:33.859
So you have to have a district attorney that

00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:37.160
really believes. Like, we want 100 % voter participation.

00:19:37.460 --> 00:19:39.859
We want 100 % voter registration. Obviously,

00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:42.450
that's ideal. You want to do everything you can

00:19:42.450 --> 00:19:44.390
to push to get more people involved in the process.

00:19:45.210 --> 00:19:47.690
Frankly, because we know that when our ideas

00:19:47.690 --> 00:19:50.569
are tested by the people, those ideas are successful.

00:19:50.869 --> 00:19:53.410
And so that's the goal, is that you want a district

00:19:53.410 --> 00:19:56.309
attorney who is absolutely committed to getting

00:19:56.309 --> 00:19:59.690
as many people involved in voting and in the

00:19:59.690 --> 00:20:03.220
democracy and all of those things. How about

00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:06.299
understanding, though? How about a district attorney

00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:08.279
that understands? And I don't fault somebody

00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:10.700
who didn't because, again, like I said at the

00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:14.480
beginning, we were not educated on basic government

00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:16.700
policy. Let me chime in there and I'm going to

00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:19.660
let him answer. There are more proactive things

00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:23.440
that elections departments and electeds in general

00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:26.400
can do to empower people. And there are proactive

00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:30.359
things to provide civic education that some.

00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:34.980
elections officials do do. But certainly it can

00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:38.920
be a passion of a district attorney to also make

00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:41.119
sure that people do understand. I mean, I agree

00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:45.359
with Shannon. Most of us in the Democratic Party,

00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.660
and not all of us, most of us want a lot of people

00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:52.640
to vote. Most of us want as many people and may

00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:54.940
the chips. And believe me, I don't just want

00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:57.440
Democrats to vote. I want Republicans to vote.

00:20:57.500 --> 00:20:59.980
I want independents. I want Green Party. I want...

00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:03.099
to the socialists. I want every party to be able

00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:06.619
to have their voice heard in the election process.

00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:11.940
But some people want to use the money of the

00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:15.099
government to enrich big business billionaires

00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:18.359
and oligarchs so that the treasury belongs not

00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:20.519
to the people, but to the powerful. Well, that's

00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:22.960
why we have so many parties, huh? So we can divide,

00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:26.900
right? And not unite. Yeah, so you have to be

00:21:26.900 --> 00:21:28.859
secure in your ideas. And that's what Commissioner

00:21:28.859 --> 00:21:31.079
Calvert said. I mean, he's secure in his ideas,

00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.400
so he's fine with as many people voting as possible.

00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:35.720
I'm secure in my ideas, so I want lots of people

00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:37.339
to vote and lots of people to hear the ideas.

00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:40.599
So that's absolutely important. But additionally,

00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:42.700
what you have to have as the district attorney

00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:45.220
is you have to have a clear mandate. to your

00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:47.460
people and say, listen, we're not going to be

00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:49.220
obstructionist. We're not going to slow things

00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:52.160
down. We really want to make it as easy as possible

00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:54.259
for people to register and for people to vote

00:21:54.259 --> 00:21:56.700
and get as many people on the rolls as possible.

00:21:56.819 --> 00:21:59.039
And that's your clear mandate. And when you give

00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:01.559
that clear mandate, then your civil division

00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:03.599
chief, your assistant district attorneys know

00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.279
what they're supposed to do to make that happen.

00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:08.539
Let me, let me also make one point for you all

00:22:08.539 --> 00:22:12.140
as, as those who are amplifying the public view

00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:15.660
of this whole voting thing. Let's be clear. This

00:22:15.660 --> 00:22:18.819
slowdown of the VR contract was an attack on

00:22:18.819 --> 00:22:21.480
democracy and the voting system. So what you

00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:23.660
have to understand is that this was planned by

00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:26.019
some political forces in the state of Texas.

00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:29.380
OK, from the capital, probably to the Washington,

00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:34.640
D .C. So if I'm a watchdog organization, I say

00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:37.519
San Antonio, like Tarrant County, needs to be

00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:41.640
under a. heavier scrutiny of watch just like

00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:46.529
we had the voting the the uh the uh voting rights

00:22:46.529 --> 00:22:49.930
bill had certain southern states who were, because

00:22:49.930 --> 00:22:53.130
of histories of discrimination and voting manipulation,

00:22:53.430 --> 00:22:57.230
had to be pre -cleared for their decisions. We

00:22:57.230 --> 00:23:00.230
once again, we don't have that same infrastructure,

00:23:00.470 --> 00:23:03.210
but we do have civic groups, whether it's ACLU,

00:23:03.269 --> 00:23:06.390
Common Cause, LULAC, MALDEF, NAACP, Disability

00:23:06.390 --> 00:23:09.650
Rights, all of these coalition of organizations

00:23:09.650 --> 00:23:13.230
need to come together to organize monitors on

00:23:13.230 --> 00:23:16.039
the election system. So that is a call to action,

00:23:16.140 --> 00:23:18.680
I think, for those civil rights organizations

00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:23.579
that we cannot just rely upon the elected officials

00:23:23.579 --> 00:23:26.900
to do this. It's just like the people in Minnesota

00:23:26.900 --> 00:23:31.839
going into the streets and protesting. You know,

00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:35.440
it has to be a combination of all of civic society

00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:39.259
watching this closely. Yeah, I think you hit

00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:41.859
the nail on the head. I mean, that actually takes

00:23:41.859 --> 00:23:45.359
me into kind of our next topic because people

00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:49.039
are watching. I hate to use the word finally,

00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:52.619
but finally. I mean, as we speak, by the time

00:23:52.619 --> 00:23:56.160
this is airing, whether it's on Apple, iTunes,

00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:00.559
Spotify, YouTube, we would have already attended.

00:24:01.309 --> 00:24:04.190
the Dilley rally. We would have already attended

00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:09.369
Congressman Mr. Castro's rally. And so can we

00:24:09.369 --> 00:24:12.670
talk about what people, it's not a popular topic

00:24:12.670 --> 00:24:16.470
to talk about ICE. Because I think in general,

00:24:16.490 --> 00:24:19.809
the masses assume when you talk about ICE, that

00:24:19.809 --> 00:24:22.170
means, oh, you don't want public safety. When

00:24:22.170 --> 00:24:25.009
in actuality, democracy, that's not it at all.

00:24:25.170 --> 00:24:28.430
And so Shannon, I'm going to kick it off to you

00:24:28.430 --> 00:24:34.009
because Of all eight, 10, 20 district attorney

00:24:34.009 --> 00:24:36.430
candidates, you're actually the only one that

00:24:36.430 --> 00:24:40.130
has come forward to really talk about ICE, really

00:24:40.130 --> 00:24:42.349
talk about the penal code, really talk about

00:24:42.349 --> 00:24:45.190
the statutory limitations and what can be done,

00:24:45.289 --> 00:24:48.490
even though somebody may not want to do the work.

00:24:48.549 --> 00:24:50.910
So can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah.

00:24:51.009 --> 00:24:53.069
So it's always our hope that everybody always

00:24:53.069 --> 00:24:56.630
follows the law. But really, public safety depends

00:24:56.630 --> 00:24:58.789
on making sure that you don't have anybody who's

00:24:58.789 --> 00:25:02.039
above the law. especially when the people that

00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:04.460
might be above the law have a whole lot of governmental

00:25:04.460 --> 00:25:08.460
power. So what you have to do and what we would

00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:12.500
do as the district attorney is we would, if there

00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:16.599
are violations of the penal code committed by

00:25:16.599 --> 00:25:19.180
ICE agents, we would prosecute those people.

00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:21.099
We would investigate them and prosecute them.

00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:23.079
And there's about 10 district attorneys across

00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:25.619
the country that have signed up. There's more

00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:28.440
that are coming every day. You hear that, Democrats?

00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:31.859
Yeah, I know. I mean, maybe you should name some,

00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:35.240
like Philly. It's Krasner. It's Jose Garcia.

00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.559
Who's, I think, in Austin. He's in Austin. And

00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.859
so it's in Texas. It's in Minnesota. Wake up.

00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:46.059
Exactly. And it was, having been to the debates,

00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:47.660
you know, they started off, they said, well,

00:25:47.660 --> 00:25:50.000
you can never do this. And then they said, well,

00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:53.640
it's a waste of resources. So they're slowly

00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:56.500
moving in our direction. But the reality is that

00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:59.500
this is how it happens, is that a police officer,

00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:02.059
a federal agent, is tasked with a specific duty

00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:05.759
to investigate crime. And when they commit crime,

00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.400
they're stepping outside of that duty. So they're

00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:11.500
not supposed to, for instance, a raid that just

00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:14.799
arrests everybody in a park. That's not legal.

00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:17.380
OK, because they have to have a specific target

00:26:17.380 --> 00:26:19.720
and say, OK, this person is removable for this

00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:22.259
reason. So we can arrest them. They can't just

00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:27.000
arrest everybody. OK, but I read this week that

00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.779
they actually can. And now we're not even talking

00:26:29.779 --> 00:26:34.619
about licensed police officers, former law enforcement.

00:26:34.819 --> 00:26:37.880
They kind of it's not an official bounty hunter,

00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.500
but that's kind of what they're contracted people.

00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:44.000
that can go out and just... I think what you're

00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:47.700
referring to, Yvette, is ICE is making up a rule

00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:50.640
that another... Customs and Bureau or ICE person

00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:54.180
can sign some sort of non -enforceable warrant.

00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:56.740
You don't have to sign anything. That's not constitutional.

00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:58.819
It's not constitutional. So you might want to

00:26:58.819 --> 00:27:01.900
explain that. It's allowed, isn't it? No. So

00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:05.119
it's not. Well, it's not legal. It's not supposed

00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:07.180
to be happening, but it is. It is happening,

00:27:07.380 --> 00:27:11.519
yes. And so the district attorney can then prosecute

00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:14.700
those people if they commit a crime because they're

00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:17.299
not tasked with committing a crime. So if they,

00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:20.420
for instance, do a sweep and they begin arresting

00:27:20.420 --> 00:27:22.779
everybody in a park, unless they have reasonable

00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:25.319
suspicion to detain and probable cause to arrest,

00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:29.339
they can't do that. So what we can do as the

00:27:29.339 --> 00:27:31.160
district attorney's office is we can investigate

00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:33.799
those folks. We can hold them accountable, take

00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:36.299
their evidence to the grand jury. Once the evidence

00:27:36.299 --> 00:27:38.039
is at the grand jury, if they decide there's

00:27:38.039 --> 00:27:40.519
probable cause that an ICE agent committed a

00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:43.420
crime, then a warrant goes out for the ICE agent's

00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:46.289
arrest. And once that happens, the government

00:27:46.289 --> 00:27:48.349
can decide whether or not they're going to assert

00:27:48.349 --> 00:27:51.329
federal immunity or not. And let me give for

00:27:51.329 --> 00:27:53.369
the audience who may not have gone to law school

00:27:53.369 --> 00:27:55.329
or have a civic education because we're cutting

00:27:55.329 --> 00:27:59.130
it from the schools. The proper procedure is

00:27:59.130 --> 00:28:02.690
a judge's warrant. Yes. So you want to explain

00:28:02.690 --> 00:28:04.829
a little bit more about what the proper way America

00:28:04.829 --> 00:28:06.549
is supposed to work under the Constitution? There's

00:28:06.549 --> 00:28:08.009
a difference between an administrative warrant

00:28:08.009 --> 00:28:10.309
and a judicial warrant. And so a judicial warrant

00:28:10.309 --> 00:28:13.119
is when... A police officer goes to a judge and

00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:15.640
they swear out an affidavit about a place that

00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:17.319
is supposed to be searched or a person that is

00:28:17.319 --> 00:28:19.400
supposed to be seized. And then the judge signs

00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:21.660
that. An administrative warrant is totally different

00:28:21.660 --> 00:28:25.200
and it has less effect. But they can say, I've

00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:26.759
got this administrative warrant and it's a way

00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:29.759
to trick people into then complying. And so what

00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:33.180
are their rights under an administrative warrant?

00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:34.960
So an administrative warrant, they can demand

00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:37.779
or they can... essentially demand that you get

00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:40.099
a judicial warrant is certainly one of the rights

00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:43.640
and you can certainly you know you don't have

00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:46.559
to open the door you can refuse to open the door

00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:49.259
you can assert your right to be free of an unlawful

00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:51.400
search and seizure for an administrative warrant

00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:53.759
So let me, if you don't mind, I just want to

00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:55.839
give some really important high -level history,

00:28:55.980 --> 00:28:59.819
because some of you may not know, my work was

00:28:59.819 --> 00:29:02.019
in global human rights before I became a commissioner.

00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:03.980
I used to run the first anti -human trafficking

00:29:03.980 --> 00:29:06.539
organization in the United States, in Boston,

00:29:06.700 --> 00:29:08.259
the American Anti -Slavery Group. I actually

00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:10.339
helped write the law that Ghislaine Maxwell was

00:29:10.339 --> 00:29:12.519
imprisoned on. I wrote in the 20 -year minimum

00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:15.599
for children being sexually exploited in human

00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:18.119
trafficking. Thank you. Well, it was an honor.

00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:19.880
I just figured if I was in the same circumstance,

00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:23.500
I'd want somebody to do it. So what we're witnessing

00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:29.279
in this country is what all dictators do, whether

00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:32.140
it's Russia or whether it's Nazi Germany. What

00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:36.880
they do is they say, let's put the border everywhere.

00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:42.059
Let's make the border in different cities all

00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:45.660
over the country. And let's have illegal acts

00:29:45.660 --> 00:29:49.779
of the secret militia, ICE, like the SS or others.

00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:53.859
keep them doing illegal acts without accountability

00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:57.700
from a DA or a federal authority so that you

00:29:57.700 --> 00:30:00.579
get used to them doing illegal activity. And

00:30:00.579 --> 00:30:03.880
once we take all of the Latinos, then we go after

00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:06.359
the political people you don't like, or we go

00:30:06.359 --> 00:30:10.519
after whoever we don't like. Okay. So it's, it's,

00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:14.849
it's an intentional historical. fact that's not

00:30:14.849 --> 00:30:17.569
Tommy Calvert's study. It's Yale University professor

00:30:17.569 --> 00:30:23.009
Timothy Snyder on tyranny, you know, the loss

00:30:23.009 --> 00:30:26.190
of freedom, all these documented historical realities

00:30:26.190 --> 00:30:29.109
that we are actually walking through. And so

00:30:29.109 --> 00:30:32.529
it demands the kind of conversation that Shannon

00:30:32.529 --> 00:30:35.509
has brought to the Bexar County. district attorney's

00:30:35.509 --> 00:30:38.509
race to say, just like the Philly district attorney

00:30:38.509 --> 00:30:40.950
is saying, you will not get away with this. We

00:30:40.950 --> 00:30:43.809
will get you. We will prosecute you. We will

00:30:43.809 --> 00:30:46.650
be ready when the time comes. Let me give you

00:30:46.650 --> 00:30:50.529
an example that I worked on. For decades, as

00:30:50.529 --> 00:30:52.869
a head of the American Anti -Slavery Group, we

00:30:52.869 --> 00:30:56.789
worked on a dictator named Omar al -Bashir, and

00:30:56.789 --> 00:30:59.769
we documented the liability. I mean, even as

00:30:59.769 --> 00:31:01.349
a college student, I was telling my university

00:31:01.349 --> 00:31:04.109
professor, drop stock, invest it in Sudan and

00:31:04.109 --> 00:31:05.930
this dictatorship because the liability is going

00:31:05.930 --> 00:31:08.269
to come to him eventually. It was my first campaign

00:31:08.269 --> 00:31:13.589
in 1999. And guess where he is going this year?

00:31:13.829 --> 00:31:16.529
To the Hague, to the International Criminal Court.

00:31:16.670 --> 00:31:19.750
His ass is being prosecuted today. It took us

00:31:19.750 --> 00:31:24.529
26 years, but we got him. And let that be a lesson

00:31:24.529 --> 00:31:28.670
to ICE. Yeah. So my thing is this now, because

00:31:28.670 --> 00:31:31.369
we've seen where people are capturing on their

00:31:31.369 --> 00:31:35.039
cameras, because... They don't have to have any

00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:37.619
type of body cams. There's no accountability

00:31:37.619 --> 00:31:40.920
of what happens. We heard last week about the

00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:43.900
nurse that was murdered because a woman was being

00:31:43.900 --> 00:31:47.180
beaten on the floor and he just... Alex. Alex

00:31:47.180 --> 00:31:50.200
Freddie. And it felt horrible. I know the parents

00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:52.539
came up speaking like they tried to, what the

00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:54.339
media was portraying, like that's your fault

00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:58.180
for getting involved in... in something that

00:31:58.180 --> 00:31:59.880
you shouldn't have been involved in. But how

00:31:59.880 --> 00:32:01.599
is humanity not something that we're supposed

00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:03.619
to be involved in? But he was also a nurse. He

00:32:03.619 --> 00:32:05.500
had a Hippocratic oath. He saw a woman being

00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:08.480
pushed on the ice and slipping. He went to help

00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:12.319
her up. He went to protect her. He, in essence,

00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:15.240
was defensively shielding her and trying to get

00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:17.759
her. Which is legal. He was filming. It's legal.

00:32:17.859 --> 00:32:21.000
He also has a legal right to bear arms, which

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:23.940
Second Amendment groups have said. He had a permit

00:32:23.940 --> 00:32:30.559
as well. You think about Kyle Rittenhouse, who

00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:37.460
had an AR -15 in a protest, and he was given

00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:41.400
a hero's welcome by, whether it was Turning Point

00:32:41.400 --> 00:32:44.839
USA or any number of other right -wing groups,

00:32:44.940 --> 00:32:50.140
all of a sudden. Okay, so what that is really

00:32:50.140 --> 00:32:54.819
about is white supremacy. It's okay for white

00:32:54.819 --> 00:32:57.559
people to bear arms, but it's not okay for those

00:32:57.559 --> 00:33:00.400
who fight white supremacy to bear arms. And that's

00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.599
what you're watching in that conversation. That's

00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:06.500
exactly right. And to Commissioner Calvert's

00:33:06.500 --> 00:33:09.720
point, the reaction to people that fight against

00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:12.220
white supremacy is, oh, you're crazy. Oh, you

00:33:12.220 --> 00:33:16.019
can't do that. You can't prosecute ICE agents.

00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:19.640
That's crazy. It's not crazy. It's actually absolutely...

00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:22.380
And it is absolutely essential. We have to do

00:33:22.380 --> 00:33:24.539
it. So we've got to draw the line. Absolutely.

00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:27.819
So if somebody witnessed something and this is

00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:31.579
the agent and I'm willing to say this was wrong.

00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:33.680
Yeah. What do I do? I wouldn't even know the

00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:35.180
first place. Obviously you can't call the police

00:33:35.180 --> 00:33:36.680
and you don't want to put a target on your own

00:33:36.680 --> 00:33:39.099
back. What do you do? How do you do this? You

00:33:39.099 --> 00:33:41.579
could call the police. And so that's one of the

00:33:41.579 --> 00:33:43.140
reasons I think it's important for the district

00:33:43.140 --> 00:33:45.500
attorney's office to be able to independently

00:33:45.500 --> 00:33:49.079
investigate cases. So I think there is that kind

00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:52.019
of nervousness right now that exists, especially

00:33:52.019 --> 00:33:54.740
in our immigrant communities, where they are

00:33:54.740 --> 00:33:56.440
concerned about if they call the police, what

00:33:56.440 --> 00:33:58.380
will happen. And so that's one of the reasons

00:33:58.380 --> 00:34:00.339
that I've been advocating for the district attorney's

00:34:00.339 --> 00:34:02.220
office to initiate these investigations. And

00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:04.339
again, my opponents are all saying that you can't

00:34:04.339 --> 00:34:07.680
do that. The Texas statutes are very clear that

00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:09.340
the district attorney's office can absolutely

00:34:09.340 --> 00:34:12.429
initiate investigations. If it comes from law

00:34:12.429 --> 00:34:15.389
enforcement, that's preferable. But in circumstances

00:34:15.389 --> 00:34:17.670
like you're describing, where people are like,

00:34:17.730 --> 00:34:19.030
well, I don't want to call the police. I'm not

00:34:19.030 --> 00:34:20.690
sure what's going to happen. We can certainly

00:34:20.690 --> 00:34:22.369
go to the district attorney's office and we can

00:34:22.369 --> 00:34:24.690
begin the investigation there. And that's one

00:34:24.690 --> 00:34:26.630
of the reasons the statute is there in case there

00:34:26.630 --> 00:34:28.909
is a police organization that isn't willing to

00:34:28.909 --> 00:34:32.210
investigate. And I do want to say that as far

00:34:32.210 --> 00:34:34.969
as I know, SAPD and Bear County Sheriff, they're

00:34:34.969 --> 00:34:37.110
in an outrage about what's going on as well.

00:34:37.409 --> 00:34:40.190
So I'm not saying that you cannot go to the police.

00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:42.840
saying that some people are not comfortable doing

00:34:42.840 --> 00:34:44.199
that. And that's the only reason I'm bringing

00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:46.639
that up. The other thing I want to stress is

00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:51.460
that I know for a fact that we do believe in

00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:53.780
an immigration system and that's why it's there.

00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:56.000
And that's not what we're at this table saying

00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:58.340
that nobody should be allowed. We're just saying

00:34:58.340 --> 00:35:01.039
that the way it's being handled is wrong because

00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:04.340
there is a process to get into the country. I

00:35:04.340 --> 00:35:06.719
also want to share one thing with you guys as

00:35:06.719 --> 00:35:11.769
a media piece. I remember I went to the inauguration

00:35:11.769 --> 00:35:14.989
when President Biden was elected after the January

00:35:14.989 --> 00:35:18.170
6th, and nobody was allowed to be there. There

00:35:18.170 --> 00:35:21.090
was about three, maybe four, I think it was three.

00:35:21.150 --> 00:35:24.989
It was us, and it was CNN International, and

00:35:24.989 --> 00:35:27.190
I think it was Univision. And we were the only

00:35:27.190 --> 00:35:31.469
three media pieces there. So La Prensa was essentially

00:35:31.469 --> 00:35:36.030
giving all the feedback here to the local television

00:35:36.030 --> 00:35:39.340
stations. And I found it so interesting because

00:35:39.340 --> 00:35:42.380
I was physically there and saw. So I watched

00:35:42.380 --> 00:35:45.460
the TV screen and it was what you were seeing,

00:35:45.579 --> 00:35:48.739
but it wasn't like that. And it was like everybody

00:35:48.739 --> 00:35:52.300
was so afraid for us. And it was a group of journalists

00:35:52.300 --> 00:35:54.619
that I took with us young. It was about five

00:35:54.619 --> 00:35:59.380
of us. And it was not what you saw, but you saw

00:35:59.380 --> 00:36:03.460
it. And so there's always a narrative that wants

00:36:03.460 --> 00:36:08.380
to be. They want us to believe. So it's not always

00:36:08.380 --> 00:36:10.460
what you see on TV, right? It's a production.

00:36:11.039 --> 00:36:14.000
Well, it's interesting. So speaking of production,

00:36:14.219 --> 00:36:20.440
last week at City Hall, Mayor Jones and our city

00:36:20.440 --> 00:36:25.199
council allowed for public comment. I think everybody

00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:27.199
in general, they assumed that it was going to

00:36:27.199 --> 00:36:29.340
be business as usual. You go, you can speak,

00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:32.960
you sign up. And as soon as you arrive to City

00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:35.239
Hall, the steps, right, you have protesters outside.

00:36:35.579 --> 00:36:39.340
And then inside you have drums. And I'm Native

00:36:39.340 --> 00:36:43.059
American. I'm upon Apache. And it was very emotional

00:36:43.059 --> 00:36:45.280
sitting there. Shannon and I, we were there.

00:36:45.340 --> 00:36:47.719
Also Judge Rosie, Speedlin Gonzalez was there.

00:36:48.159 --> 00:36:50.719
And we were there for six to eight hours sitting

00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:54.159
there. And as you're hearing people's responses

00:36:54.159 --> 00:36:56.739
to everything happening with ICE, what's happening

00:36:56.739 --> 00:37:00.030
in the community. It was a resounding sadness.

00:37:00.829 --> 00:37:03.929
As much as everyone was so up in arms to express

00:37:03.929 --> 00:37:06.909
themselves as they should, there was also a level

00:37:06.909 --> 00:37:10.929
of sadness of just like, wow, this is where we're

00:37:10.929 --> 00:37:14.510
at. Whether you're Republican, Democrat, it didn't

00:37:14.510 --> 00:37:16.530
even matter. You're like, this is what's happening.

00:37:16.630 --> 00:37:20.050
Grown adults are having these very... tough difficult

00:37:20.050 --> 00:37:22.590
decisions and people just want what's right is

00:37:22.590 --> 00:37:24.769
right and what's wrong is wrong there's a lot

00:37:24.769 --> 00:37:26.489
of heartbreak in the community like having gone

00:37:26.489 --> 00:37:29.050
out and and i it's probably been one of the things

00:37:29.050 --> 00:37:31.269
that took me most by surprise is that there's

00:37:31.269 --> 00:37:33.670
a lot of people that are just you know we believed

00:37:33.670 --> 00:37:35.849
in this civic structure we believed in the civic

00:37:35.849 --> 00:37:38.250
framework and the and the fabric that united

00:37:38.250 --> 00:37:42.289
us and it's being torn apart uh for what uh you

00:37:42.289 --> 00:37:46.190
know for cruelty and uh we we i think pride ourselves

00:37:46.190 --> 00:37:50.070
in our community for being as as good and decent

00:37:50.070 --> 00:37:53.190
people, and we see our government, which we have

00:37:53.190 --> 00:37:56.570
trusted for so long, do cruel things in our name,

00:37:56.650 --> 00:37:58.309
and I think people are absolutely heartbroken.

00:37:58.409 --> 00:38:01.349
I think that it's just, it is one of the, one

00:38:01.349 --> 00:38:03.250
of the things that has struck me is that people

00:38:03.250 --> 00:38:08.250
are angry. They are angry, and they are angry

00:38:08.250 --> 00:38:11.929
that they have been betrayed, is really what

00:38:11.929 --> 00:38:14.900
that comes down to. In my experience. Yeah. And

00:38:14.900 --> 00:38:16.880
they're also angry on both sides, though. Yeah.

00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:19.940
Because I know I have a lot of readers that will

00:38:19.940 --> 00:38:22.579
respond and say, get rid of these immigrants.

00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:25.079
They're criminals. Right. And they're rapists.

00:38:25.079 --> 00:38:26.320
And look what they've done. And they murdered

00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:28.639
somebody. And they've done, you know, and they

00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:30.539
do. They really highlight these things. And I

00:38:30.539 --> 00:38:33.739
don't, by all means, say that they're wrong in

00:38:33.739 --> 00:38:38.309
that sense. But, and they should have been. flagged

00:38:38.309 --> 00:38:40.469
because i will say i did see there was somebody

00:38:40.469 --> 00:38:42.969
that did like he killed actually it was a friend

00:38:42.969 --> 00:38:45.230
of mine from high school and he was out on bond

00:38:45.230 --> 00:38:47.750
like the second or third time right and so obviously

00:38:47.750 --> 00:38:50.809
our system is broken in that sense but and i'm

00:38:50.809 --> 00:38:52.269
not saying that there's anything wrong with that

00:38:52.269 --> 00:38:55.510
but i think i did read like several studies that

00:38:55.510 --> 00:38:59.889
there's less crime in immigrant uh societies

00:38:59.889 --> 00:39:05.050
and neighborhoods versus where there's not so

00:39:05.050 --> 00:39:07.610
many immigrants. Because they're here. They're

00:39:07.610 --> 00:39:09.989
very grateful for being here. They're hard workers.

00:39:10.170 --> 00:39:11.829
And they don't want to go back home. And they're

00:39:11.829 --> 00:39:13.590
very grateful for the country we live in. I had

00:39:13.590 --> 00:39:16.250
a friend of mine who told me, like, she used

00:39:16.250 --> 00:39:18.409
to pay her taxes. Like, it was income tax time.

00:39:18.449 --> 00:39:20.369
And she would pay thousands of dollars. I'm like,

00:39:20.429 --> 00:39:21.929
what are you doing? You haven't even written

00:39:21.929 --> 00:39:24.809
off anything, right? She's like, no, no, I don't

00:39:24.809 --> 00:39:26.250
want to write anything off. Like, you don't understand.

00:39:26.469 --> 00:39:29.309
Like, we have to pay taxes because it's so, you

00:39:29.309 --> 00:39:31.130
don't have the blessing of having running water.

00:39:31.150 --> 00:39:33.789
They're like, we have to boil our water. And

00:39:33.789 --> 00:39:36.809
the water that they do have access to is yellow,

00:39:37.010 --> 00:39:41.849
their laundry. One thing I will say is, Yvette,

00:39:41.969 --> 00:39:46.630
we can't be fooled about the real thing that's

00:39:46.630 --> 00:39:50.269
going on. And the Attorney General of the United

00:39:50.269 --> 00:39:54.480
States actually said it. The governor, Governor

00:39:54.480 --> 00:39:57.400
Walz of Minnesota and the attorney general were

00:39:57.400 --> 00:40:00.880
having conversations to show you it's really

00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:03.420
not about immigration. Immigration is being pimped

00:40:03.420 --> 00:40:08.920
out as the issue. Look over here. What she said

00:40:08.920 --> 00:40:11.420
was, well, if you will give us your state voter

00:40:11.420 --> 00:40:14.460
registration list, we'll leave. We'll leave Minneapolis.

00:40:15.300 --> 00:40:20.280
OK, so let's not let the weapon of mass distraction.

00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:28.000
The goal for them is staying in power, enriching

00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:31.239
themselves and their friends and using the government

00:40:31.239 --> 00:40:35.320
to do so. And it's a distraction from the Epstein

00:40:35.320 --> 00:40:39.739
files, which are going to come out. And I think.

00:40:39.880 --> 00:40:42.119
Stop talking about that. Well, that's why I brought

00:40:42.119 --> 00:40:45.360
it back. Yeah, that's right. For this election

00:40:45.360 --> 00:40:48.059
year, you know, I'm going to have Epstein files

00:40:48.059 --> 00:40:50.960
at the top of my. At the top of my tongue. To

00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:53.719
keep you focused. And so you both of you have

00:40:53.719 --> 00:40:57.280
discussed how these issues, and they're not very

00:40:57.280 --> 00:41:01.760
popular, right, with the establishment. So how

00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:10.500
do you feel about that? We're dealt a hand. We're

00:41:10.500 --> 00:41:14.519
dealt a hand. And it's up to us to reframe. And

00:41:14.519 --> 00:41:17.889
I think that... From my perspective, we have

00:41:17.889 --> 00:41:21.269
a fight in the country over those who believe

00:41:21.269 --> 00:41:23.750
that in order for you to get ahead, you have

00:41:23.750 --> 00:41:26.650
to have your foot on someone else's neck. And

00:41:26.650 --> 00:41:29.010
those of us who believe that you don't have to

00:41:29.010 --> 00:41:31.630
do that, that we actually can all share resources

00:41:31.630 --> 00:41:34.349
and harmony and peace and prosperity. And that

00:41:34.349 --> 00:41:37.510
I want what's great for you and you and you and

00:41:37.510 --> 00:41:39.250
that I'm not going to hold you down so I can

00:41:39.250 --> 00:41:43.369
have mine. But but that is the. twisted mentality,

00:41:43.650 --> 00:41:47.710
the twisted mind of white supremacists. And Biden

00:41:47.710 --> 00:41:50.469
warned us when he was president. He came out

00:41:50.469 --> 00:41:52.250
with a briefing and he said, the greatest threat

00:41:52.250 --> 00:41:54.550
to America is the threat of white supremacy.

00:41:54.730 --> 00:41:57.670
A pretty bold statement. And that's why he ran.

00:41:57.789 --> 00:42:00.489
He said, I'm running for the soul of America's

00:42:00.489 --> 00:42:05.570
at stake. So it's a spiritual. reckoning that

00:42:05.570 --> 00:42:08.090
we are grappling with I mean some of us know

00:42:08.090 --> 00:42:10.230
very clearly where we stand some of us know very

00:42:10.230 --> 00:42:14.409
clearly what will win and I will say the fascist

00:42:14.409 --> 00:42:18.409
takeover the dictatorship will not happen it

00:42:18.409 --> 00:42:21.530
will not happen and the reason I know that is

00:42:21.530 --> 00:42:24.789
the polling data and the elections that have

00:42:24.789 --> 00:42:27.150
happened we've seen Democrats win in Republican

00:42:27.150 --> 00:42:29.690
districts all over the place we wouldn't have

00:42:29.690 --> 00:42:34.420
the VR system blockade if They were worried about

00:42:34.420 --> 00:42:37.960
what's about to happen in November. And I believe

00:42:37.960 --> 00:42:40.239
there are people in our military who swear the

00:42:40.239 --> 00:42:43.400
oath of the Constitution. And I just think there

00:42:43.400 --> 00:42:48.380
are too many of us. The group that is in the

00:42:48.380 --> 00:42:52.380
fascist group is a 20 percent of the population,

00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:57.519
maybe. OK, so we have to go through this for

00:42:57.519 --> 00:43:00.909
people to see and to learn. We have I've had

00:43:00.909 --> 00:43:05.469
to sharpen my old human rights talks. And I'm

00:43:05.469 --> 00:43:06.969
even going to go through additional training

00:43:06.969 --> 00:43:10.309
to educate people about the history of how dictators

00:43:10.309 --> 00:43:14.949
do this, because Trump is a poor student of Lenin.

00:43:15.849 --> 00:43:18.869
Bannon, his campaign manager in the Conservative

00:43:18.869 --> 00:43:23.110
Political Action Committee meeting in 2017, said

00:43:23.110 --> 00:43:26.090
he said who Trump and those guys are. He said

00:43:26.090 --> 00:43:28.380
we are deconstructionist Leninist. You're like,

00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:29.980
Tommy, what the hell are you talking about? Right.

00:43:30.019 --> 00:43:32.280
What the hell? I ain't never heard of that. Well,

00:43:32.480 --> 00:43:35.500
what that is, is they looked at Lenin in Russia

00:43:35.500 --> 00:43:38.699
and Lenin came in under Russia first. Y 'all

00:43:38.699 --> 00:43:41.239
heard this America first theme. Well, he borrowed

00:43:41.239 --> 00:43:43.840
it from Lenin, Russia first. He came in saying,

00:43:43.880 --> 00:43:45.800
I'm fighting for the workers. I want to make

00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:48.420
sure those our people aren't taking your jobs.

00:43:48.739 --> 00:43:52.760
Russians first, like the white man first in America

00:43:52.760 --> 00:43:55.099
first. Right. We're going to we're going to come

00:43:55.099 --> 00:43:57.739
in. And what they did. is they came in under

00:43:57.739 --> 00:44:01.059
one political party and they flipped it and switched

00:44:01.059 --> 00:44:03.880
it and they destroyed it and became a dictatorship.

00:44:04.280 --> 00:44:07.639
And so they're saying with the deconstructionist

00:44:07.639 --> 00:44:12.480
part, we are anarchists. We're anarchists. We

00:44:12.480 --> 00:44:15.300
want to tear. He said this. This is Bannon. He

00:44:15.300 --> 00:44:17.460
said, we want to tear down the entire administrative

00:44:17.460 --> 00:44:19.559
state. What do you think is happening? It's happening.

00:44:19.619 --> 00:44:22.099
Everything is being torn down. You can see it.

00:44:22.300 --> 00:44:27.340
So, you know, it's unpopular. It's divisive.

00:44:27.500 --> 00:44:31.559
And that's actually the silver lining is that

00:44:31.559 --> 00:44:35.300
more Americans are we're not going to be Nazi

00:44:35.300 --> 00:44:38.719
Germany. We are not. We have the streets, the

00:44:38.719 --> 00:44:42.619
protests, the elections to prove Pharaoh Abbott

00:44:42.619 --> 00:44:45.630
and Pharaoh Trump will not win. So be encouraged.

00:44:45.710 --> 00:44:47.429
We've got to fight and we've got a lot of lessons.

00:44:47.769 --> 00:44:49.610
You know, it's interesting you say that because

00:44:49.610 --> 00:44:53.730
when we were prepping for this talk, Yvette had

00:44:53.730 --> 00:44:55.630
asked me, what made you get involved in politics?

00:44:55.849 --> 00:44:58.710
And I said, oh, easy. Somebody pissed me off

00:44:58.710 --> 00:45:01.789
as a business owner. I said, I never wanted because

00:45:01.789 --> 00:45:05.769
I grew up, went to Southwest High School, UTSA.

00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:09.159
And I was always taught Democrats do for the

00:45:09.159 --> 00:45:11.119
poor, Republicans do for the rich, but if you

00:45:11.119 --> 00:45:12.860
don't have money, you don't get to play the game.

00:45:12.980 --> 00:45:15.679
So I just never got involved. And it was until

00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:18.820
I was in New York for many years with my business,

00:45:18.900 --> 00:45:22.659
I had to understand what MWBE contracts are and

00:45:22.659 --> 00:45:25.880
the impact and the significance of when you don't

00:45:25.880 --> 00:45:27.719
have access, when you do have accessibility,

00:45:28.219 --> 00:45:30.559
which is going to be another episode, which we'll

00:45:30.559 --> 00:45:32.300
talk about because City Council, we're coming

00:45:32.300 --> 00:45:33.760
right back to y 'all City Council. That's what

00:45:33.760 --> 00:45:35.900
it's all about. That's what it's all about. And

00:45:35.900 --> 00:45:39.119
that's exactly the contracts. And so Democrats

00:45:39.119 --> 00:45:41.360
don't understand that. That's exactly it. And

00:45:41.360 --> 00:45:44.440
so that just added fuel to my fire. And then

00:45:44.440 --> 00:45:48.360
I got to learn through Judge Rosie that we both

00:45:48.360 --> 00:45:50.900
attended the Yale campaign school, both Texas

00:45:50.900 --> 00:45:53.980
and Antonio women representing the great state

00:45:53.980 --> 00:45:57.219
of Texas. But that just goes to show that that

00:45:57.219 --> 00:46:00.179
silver lining, that ambition and that courage

00:46:00.179 --> 00:46:02.340
to stick up, which is very hard. But I want to

00:46:02.340 --> 00:46:04.199
also commend you, Shannon. I mean, since we're

00:46:04.199 --> 00:46:07.559
being very. You know, I've had people pull me

00:46:07.559 --> 00:46:10.260
aside in parking lots and garages, which is really

00:46:10.260 --> 00:46:14.010
scary. So don't do that. And I'm 5 '11", so I

00:46:14.010 --> 00:46:16.750
can hold my own. But they're like, how are you

00:46:16.750 --> 00:46:19.170
working with a white man? That's the conversation.

00:46:19.210 --> 00:46:21.670
And I'm like, out of all the things that we could

00:46:21.670 --> 00:46:24.949
talk about, I'm like. Try it. How about you try

00:46:24.949 --> 00:46:28.949
it? You might like it. He's here for us, for

00:46:28.949 --> 00:46:32.409
our community, for our humanity. And so it takes

00:46:32.409 --> 00:46:35.750
a lot of courage to really put your best foot

00:46:35.750 --> 00:46:38.670
forward to support your community. And, you know,

00:46:38.710 --> 00:46:40.429
you've been doing it for decades. You posted

00:46:40.429 --> 00:46:42.969
recently on your Facebook page. a photo of you

00:46:42.969 --> 00:46:45.969
I think it was the first MLK March I saw you

00:46:45.969 --> 00:46:47.449
in your little suit I was 14 it wasn't the first

00:46:47.449 --> 00:46:50.269
one but I was in your little suit I loved it

00:46:50.269 --> 00:46:54.989
but what I also loved was that your father Mr.

00:46:55.230 --> 00:46:58.170
Tommy Calvert Sr. was standing there proud right

00:46:58.170 --> 00:47:00.269
next to you and I thought to myself I can't wait

00:47:00.269 --> 00:47:02.849
for my children to stand right next to me so

00:47:02.849 --> 00:47:05.090
I just want to commend you and say you've been

00:47:05.679 --> 00:47:08.159
I wasn't here when you were growing up as a young

00:47:08.159 --> 00:47:10.659
child, but as a young man, I'm very proud to

00:47:10.659 --> 00:47:14.039
sit next to you. It's been a tough road in San

00:47:14.039 --> 00:47:17.320
Antonio. It's not easy to do what my father and

00:47:17.320 --> 00:47:20.380
I have done. It's a lonely place. A lot of people

00:47:20.380 --> 00:47:23.639
don't get it. You are persecuted. We lose money.

00:47:24.539 --> 00:47:28.019
I have my, you know, tires have nails in them

00:47:28.019 --> 00:47:32.500
two or three times a year. We've got to honor

00:47:32.500 --> 00:47:35.780
our commitment to each other. And I don't wear

00:47:35.780 --> 00:47:37.460
it on my sleeve, but it's out of a faith tradition

00:47:37.460 --> 00:47:40.320
to help people. I love that. I love that. Well,

00:47:40.420 --> 00:47:42.679
I think the humanity part is the most important

00:47:42.679 --> 00:47:46.940
part, Commissioner. I think it's... It's very

00:47:46.940 --> 00:47:49.340
difficult. It's very easy for us to keep our

00:47:49.340 --> 00:47:51.920
heads down because that's what they taught us.

00:47:52.039 --> 00:47:55.280
You know, my mom and my dad, mother was brought

00:47:55.280 --> 00:47:58.780
up in Stonewall, Texas. So her adoptive parents

00:47:58.780 --> 00:48:01.599
were the nannies. The nanny was for Linda B.

00:48:01.659 --> 00:48:04.179
Johnson, President Linda B. Johnson. So mom grew

00:48:04.179 --> 00:48:06.300
up very different right out in the country. And

00:48:06.300 --> 00:48:08.039
then her adopted mother died. And then she came

00:48:08.039 --> 00:48:10.400
over here. She met dad. So dad grew up in the

00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:14.780
projects. And it was where the police would beat

00:48:14.780 --> 00:48:16.460
you because you were out after seven. Do you

00:48:16.460 --> 00:48:17.760
want a beating? Do you want to go to juvenile?

00:48:18.500 --> 00:48:21.619
Sundown town. And my dad took the beating, so

00:48:21.619 --> 00:48:23.800
my grandma didn't have to be involved in that.

00:48:24.440 --> 00:48:27.170
So he had an issue with... with police officers.

00:48:27.230 --> 00:48:30.230
He was during the riots, he was in Chicago, you

00:48:30.230 --> 00:48:32.510
know, and that was a terrible place to be at

00:48:32.510 --> 00:48:35.190
that time. He was a migrant worker. Um, so dad

00:48:35.190 --> 00:48:37.690
was against everything and you keep your mouth

00:48:37.690 --> 00:48:39.670
shut. Mother didn't understand why you would

00:48:39.670 --> 00:48:41.789
keep your mouth shut. Right. So mother used to

00:48:41.789 --> 00:48:43.929
say like, you threaten them with the media. You

00:48:43.929 --> 00:48:45.849
tell them you're going to call the media. So

00:48:45.849 --> 00:48:48.849
that's true. But when systems fail, I mean, silence.

00:48:49.369 --> 00:48:52.230
hurts all of us. That's true. And so that's why

00:48:52.230 --> 00:48:55.309
I also commend you, Yvette, for La Franza being

00:48:55.309 --> 00:48:58.329
around for so many years and now jumping into

00:48:58.329 --> 00:49:00.429
the digital age, but more than that, jumping

00:49:00.429 --> 00:49:03.179
in 10 toes down of like... Here's what we're

00:49:03.179 --> 00:49:06.099
going to talk about. And this conversation hasn't

00:49:06.099 --> 00:49:08.880
happened on any other media social that I'm aware

00:49:08.880 --> 00:49:12.619
of. Right. Yeah. And I think it's so surprising,

00:49:12.780 --> 00:49:14.960
though, because this is this is such an easy

00:49:14.960 --> 00:49:17.940
topic to talk about, whether you're on one side

00:49:17.940 --> 00:49:19.679
or the other. But it should be talked about.

00:49:19.739 --> 00:49:22.159
We need to talk about it. And I know I have the

00:49:22.159 --> 00:49:24.360
column called Let's Talk About It in our paper.

00:49:24.480 --> 00:49:26.880
And I love it. And it started like with the chancla,

00:49:26.900 --> 00:49:28.920
the reign of the chancla. And, you know, so we

00:49:28.920 --> 00:49:31.550
have some fun stuff. You have some other stuff,

00:49:31.610 --> 00:49:34.610
right? And it's uncomfortable conversations to

00:49:34.610 --> 00:49:37.250
have, but we have to have them. It's time. I

00:49:37.250 --> 00:49:39.010
mean, there was a time, like I said, dad was

00:49:39.010 --> 00:49:40.789
taught. He was told he went to high school. They

00:49:40.789 --> 00:49:43.920
said. If you're a good kid, Ralph, if you just

00:49:43.920 --> 00:49:45.559
sit in the back and keep your head down, you'll

00:49:45.559 --> 00:49:48.079
be okay. And, you know, my grandparents were

00:49:48.079 --> 00:49:51.139
divorced. And my grandma was a housewife. She

00:49:51.139 --> 00:49:53.719
did laundry, you know, to make ends meet. And

00:49:53.719 --> 00:49:55.940
that was what it was. And mother was like, no,

00:49:56.099 --> 00:49:57.599
you don't keep your mouth shut. You better stay.

00:49:57.679 --> 00:49:59.960
So she had me talking since I was like in fourth

00:49:59.960 --> 00:50:01.599
grade, right? I used to wear a shirt that said

00:50:01.599 --> 00:50:03.559
Chicana Power. Didn't even know what it meant.

00:50:04.239 --> 00:50:06.119
I wore it and it did something because people

00:50:06.119 --> 00:50:08.659
look at me. So I think it meant something. So

00:50:08.659 --> 00:50:11.539
it had a lot of direction in the way that I think.

00:50:11.840 --> 00:50:15.119
But I have seen that it's not popular to speak

00:50:15.119 --> 00:50:18.159
and it is lonely at the top. And when you say

00:50:18.159 --> 00:50:21.760
things that are not very popular. But they do

00:50:21.760 --> 00:50:23.760
talk about it. This is the thing. When we're

00:50:23.760 --> 00:50:26.340
behind closed doors. Yeah, we're talking. But

00:50:26.340 --> 00:50:29.280
this is a platform that we can use, that we can

00:50:29.280 --> 00:50:31.099
talk about. And then somebody said something

00:50:31.099 --> 00:50:35.760
really, really insightful for me. Because I was

00:50:35.760 --> 00:50:37.179
like, we need to talk about it. Let's talk about

00:50:37.179 --> 00:50:40.039
it. And somebody said, I really enjoy your call.

00:50:40.179 --> 00:50:42.099
I'm like, but you don't say anything, right?

00:50:42.159 --> 00:50:43.420
Because I want to hear the comments. So I put

00:50:43.420 --> 00:50:45.579
it on social media so they can comment. And then

00:50:45.579 --> 00:50:49.000
she's like, I didn't know what to say. But it

00:50:49.000 --> 00:50:52.050
was very thought provoking. And then I said,

00:50:52.110 --> 00:50:54.489
you know what? I'm thinking, let's talk about

00:50:54.489 --> 00:50:56.190
it. But they actually have to think about it

00:50:56.190 --> 00:50:58.110
because we're not bringing it to the attention.

00:50:58.349 --> 00:51:00.690
And again, the columns about there's no wrong

00:51:00.690 --> 00:51:02.150
or right answers. And it's the same thing with

00:51:02.150 --> 00:51:04.650
the podcast. Like when I when I ask you the questions

00:51:04.650 --> 00:51:07.369
that I ask you, it's because you guys, you know,

00:51:07.369 --> 00:51:11.710
the law, you know, policy. A lot of people that

00:51:11.710 --> 00:51:16.610
I know of in city council, even they don't quite

00:51:16.610 --> 00:51:20.500
know policy because I've had conversations. We've

00:51:20.500 --> 00:51:23.960
attended city hall meetings that don't even make

00:51:23.960 --> 00:51:25.780
sense. Like, what are they saying? Like, this

00:51:25.780 --> 00:51:28.099
is okay. They approve this. It doesn't make any

00:51:28.099 --> 00:51:31.219
sense. I'm trying not to laugh. It's a true story.

00:51:31.320 --> 00:51:34.000
That's why. Because I'm like, come on, man. Read

00:51:34.000 --> 00:51:36.400
the notes. What is happening? Let me say, let

00:51:36.400 --> 00:51:39.059
me say, let me say. Did y 'all read the agenda

00:51:39.059 --> 00:51:41.719
today? So, you know, in addition to being, you

00:51:41.719 --> 00:51:45.000
know, a board member, but also starting San Antonio

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.570
Community Radio. When I started KROV, San Antonio

00:51:49.570 --> 00:51:52.849
Community Radio, 18 years ago, I was in the Texas

00:51:52.849 --> 00:51:55.250
Association of Broadcasters convention in Austin.

00:51:59.579 --> 00:52:01.360
Don't take what I'm saying on white supremacy

00:52:01.360 --> 00:52:04.420
as the wrong way. I mean, obviously, everybody

00:52:04.420 --> 00:52:06.239
should be against white supremacy. So don't take

00:52:06.239 --> 00:52:09.119
this as singling anybody out. But it was actually

00:52:09.119 --> 00:52:11.059
the most white male. It was just where all the

00:52:11.059 --> 00:52:13.440
owners are of the broadcast institutions, TV

00:52:13.440 --> 00:52:15.300
and radio. It was the most white male room I've

00:52:15.300 --> 00:52:20.380
ever been in. There weren't women. Very little

00:52:20.380 --> 00:52:23.539
Latinos. I think we were the only black ones

00:52:23.539 --> 00:52:26.599
there. Fast forward. We just went to the Texas

00:52:26.599 --> 00:52:29.699
Hall of Fame for our dear friend, Hot Henrietta.

00:52:29.900 --> 00:52:33.019
I love her. She worked at KRLB. Yep. And so we

00:52:33.019 --> 00:52:37.039
were there. And we were the only Latina women.

00:52:38.019 --> 00:52:40.860
I was like, what? She was the only woman being

00:52:40.860 --> 00:52:44.960
honored. So my point in telling you that is that.

00:52:45.739 --> 00:52:49.280
The lack of conversation is also by design because

00:52:49.280 --> 00:52:52.760
the narrative that the oligarchs want to put

00:52:52.760 --> 00:52:55.400
forward for us to hear or not hear, it's often

00:52:55.400 --> 00:52:58.599
not what they print and write about. It's what

00:52:58.599 --> 00:53:01.199
they leave out that you got to follow, what they

00:53:01.199 --> 00:53:03.320
don't empower you with that you got to follow.

00:53:03.460 --> 00:53:07.599
And so this is an important first inaugural platform

00:53:07.599 --> 00:53:11.679
that you must continue because if you don't.

00:53:12.139 --> 00:53:14.039
There's nobody else that's going to do it. So

00:53:14.039 --> 00:53:16.380
keep it up. Thank you. I appreciate that. It's

00:53:16.380 --> 00:53:18.739
an honor. It really is. And just to give a little

00:53:18.739 --> 00:53:20.639
background about La Prensa. La Prensa is the

00:53:20.639 --> 00:53:22.639
oldest bilingual newspaper in the United States.

00:53:22.940 --> 00:53:25.460
Started in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution.

00:53:25.619 --> 00:53:27.579
Amazing. And it was when they didn't have a voice.

00:53:27.599 --> 00:53:29.679
So they'd send it over here and print it over

00:53:29.679 --> 00:53:32.900
here. Eso. I love it. We need to continue to

00:53:32.900 --> 00:53:35.420
do that. Tell our stories. But there's been such

00:53:35.420 --> 00:53:38.199
a history of our people that were never told.

00:53:38.340 --> 00:53:40.679
That's right. Even like the Indians. That's right.

00:53:40.679 --> 00:53:42.139
And everything that we were. taught right so

00:53:42.139 --> 00:53:44.719
now it is our time and this is the platform and

00:53:44.719 --> 00:53:46.460
i thank y 'all both so much for being here and

00:53:46.460 --> 00:53:49.280
helping us do this because i'm i know that this

00:53:49.280 --> 00:53:51.940
isn't a popular conversation and and the things

00:53:51.940 --> 00:53:54.079
that y 'all have to say i hope you understand

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i'm not trying to put y 'all on the spot and

00:53:56.039 --> 00:53:58.519
i have to say though i do love republicans so

00:53:58.519 --> 00:54:01.260
my best friend and i love white people i'm my

00:54:01.260 --> 00:54:05.079
best friend i'm so sorry my best friend i know

00:54:05.079 --> 00:54:09.639
oh yeah definitely This isn't about politics.

00:54:09.860 --> 00:54:12.460
This is about knowing that your vote counts.

00:54:12.860 --> 00:54:16.179
When systems fail, silence helps no one. Voters

00:54:16.179 --> 00:54:18.360
deserve better, and they're demanding it now.

00:54:18.980 --> 00:54:21.300
Transparency and accountability protect democracy.

00:54:22.039 --> 00:54:25.840
This is La Prensa, Texas, powered by JMT Media.

00:54:26.059 --> 00:54:28.139
Thank you for joining us on Let's Talk About

00:54:28.139 --> 00:54:30.599
It. We appreciate you being part of the conversation

00:54:30.599 --> 00:54:33.039
and staying engaged on the issues that matter

00:54:33.039 --> 00:54:36.139
most to our community. Make sure to follow us

00:54:36.139 --> 00:54:38.860
on the La Prensa Texas website for updates and

00:54:38.860 --> 00:54:41.619
stay tuned for our next episode. We'll see you

00:54:41.619 --> 00:54:41.860
soon.