Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with Reason Choice Media.
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome home to the Native landing on the podcast space. That's a for greatness. Sixty minutes. It's so hit, not too long for the great ship. High level combo politics in a way that you could taste it then digest it. Politics touches you even if you don't touch it. So get invested. Across the t's and dop the IDs, get them back to get them
staying on business with Ride. You could have been anywhere, but you chose us Native Land Podcast, the brand that you can trust us.
Welcome home, y'all. This is episode twenty two of native Land Pod where we give it to you straight, no chaser. We are your host, Tiffany Cross, the gorgeous Anger Will Ride, the handsome Dell Andrew Andrew Gillman is not thrown a lot of shade today.
I haven't not tell me I look lubricated. I appreciate that.
I think you look good, moist Ride.
I was giving Andrew like oils, you know, our oils that we used. I was giving them for every.
Oil, every oil I put on, palm all of I put onurgent.
And take that out because y'all have not endorsed them.
Yeah, they ain't get no free every sounds like he was I think he was saying palm oil.
Yeah, that's what it was.
Lord, Lord, that's a branch.
I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but Angela joined us a little party because you were interviewing someone. Can I say, can we talk about it?
I think so?
Okay, Nanda was interviewing the governor of Pennsylvania this morning for the Breakfast Club, which I'm looking forward to tuning into that interview. As you know, Pennsylvania is a swing state. Can you give us anything about the interview?
Yes, I had a great question that came from our dear sister Tiffany Cross, and I got to tie in my favorite sitcom right now, Abbot Elementary.
So shout out to you that.
Shout out to Quincy Brentson, and shout out to you doing the interview. But anyway, do we know when it's gonna air?
I hope by the time this podcast drops, I will tell you. Andrew and I were talking on side. I think he definitely has an it factor that's missing.
From the are we able to name check him.
Yeah, Governor Shapiro. We didn't say that, sorry, yes.
Yeah, yeah, No. I think I think he has what it takes to go all the way if he if he chooses, and obviously he's got to continue to do a good job at the job that he has. But assuming that all works, I think the guy has really strong, hopefully aspirations toward toward toward the White House.
I would like to see you guys on a ticket.
Oh lord, this well anyway to the point, I think, to the point, he's got a very he's got a very very state.
I would like you to address point a lot.
He's got a big as the question that h that that has to balance. No, listen, y'all, he's got to balance a lot of different demographics. And I actually think you presented a fact before that I didn't know, which was that the majority of insurrectionist who participated in the January sixth attacks on the US Capitol. You brought it up, you're right, but you brought it up before this. That's that says something, y'all, that this democratic governor was able
to compete there. Yeah, when in the same cycle that that uh, Joe Biden was able to pull that state, and hopefully they'll be able to work together to pull another miracle out of Pensylvania.
We'll see, we'll see. We'll stay tuned.
But I just want to note that you still so now when people I just want you guys to know this. When you guys get mad that I cut Andrew off, I'm always on his case.
You see. He won't answer my question.
Well, honestly, as a lot of the comments always talk about you running. When are you going to run again? We talked about this a little bit.
Well it's a good thing that that's not one of today's topics.
Okay, well, let's get to today's comics then, rude anyway, all right, Andrew, you wanted to get to this week's topics. Uh, I don't be the top of mine. I beg your pardon.
I said he doesn't want to be.
No, I beg you what Trump to say to Biden. I've planned that yesterday.
I was ready. I wasn't ready, thank.
You anyway, but he better not. We'll get into that, and that's going to be the first topic we get into. And just to be clear, I want people to understand we're not talking about the thirty four counts he was just found guilty though their state charges, Biden cannot issue a part in there. We're talking about the rest of the charges, the federal charges that he faces. Also, I wanted to get into this. Can he even vote because he's a convicted felon?
Now, well, he's a convicted felon who lives in the state of Florida some of the most restricted voting rights.
We should talk about that. I wanted to get into that. And speaking of folks getting arrested, I know by now everyone has seen the guy driving with the suspended license zoomed into court. And yes, I laughed attitude. But Angela, I know you say this is no laughing matter.
I laughed first too, But I guess there's some other there are some other things that we need to discuss this result.
Were it well, Angela like dug into it, and there's I honestly didn't. I just looked at the video and moved past it. But there's apparently a backstory. So you're gonna tell us about that. What it happened was, Yes, yeah, I want to hear about that, But you guys know, I like to throw it back before we toss it forward. So this is this is my two lettle listen, get your minds out the gutter. That wasn't a double onside there wait a minute, But when we haven't said any words, Andrew, I.
Think once upon a time and a debate, you said a hit dog. Well yeah, okay.
Anyway, do you guys know.
On June sixth in nineteen eighty four, Tetris wasn't vincent? This is yes, yes, this is it was like super popular. It was super popular nineteen eighty four. It was super popular the roads kids.
Oh you know that's true. We just shouting out brands they haven't sponsored us.
Well maybe this would be an okay.
Yes, anyway, it was popular among kids in Texas and Texas. I don't know why I even finished.
She met Tetris.
That happens when you throw it back too far, your words too hard, moving past it, you know, you see, y'all, I'm moving past it. The other thing there. I know a lot of people are going to be disappointed because we're not talking about sports on this show. So I don't want to disappoint my sports fans. On this day. In nineteen forty six, the National Basketball Association was founded on June sixth, nineteen forty six. So that's my little
sports as a sports expert. That's my little sports knowledge. But speaking of basketball, now that we do it back, Nick, make like a Jason Tatum and dust that beat on us. I got all my sport for everss today.
Wow.
Yeah, guys, very well researched.
Had I been President Biden when the Justice Department brought an indictment, so I would have immediately pardoned him. I had to pardon President Trump. Why oh, because it makes me President Biden the big guy and the person I pardoned the little guy.
Oh please?
Yeah, So this our viewers know. That was Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican senator from Utah, in conversation on one of the Sunday shows giving his recommendations on Biden. Honestly, Angeliae suggested that we talk about this. I didn't even think this was a question. I knew that the right had been saying this. I don't understand it. And just a reminder, I know we said this in the open, but just again, the president cannot pardon Donald Trump from any state charges either.
Are just the federal charges, not the criminal charges that he was just found guilty of we'll see about sentencing with that, but the remaining federal charges, do any of us think that Biden should offer a pardon?
Okay, before we do this, because we were just talking about poles last week. I want to just do a focused group pole really quick, and I want you guys to tell me yes or no. If Mitt Romney would have won the twenty twelve election and Obama was charged, do we think that Mitt Romney would.
Have pardoned Barack Obama?
No, I don't know.
I don't know because I do find that of the Republican bunch, Mitt Romney is certainly problematic, and I think like ignorant to a lot of issues. I don't find him to be a malicious person. I think he's truly ignorant to a lot of our issues. So you hear, yes, I don't know. Let's keep going.
Do we think that if Hillary Clinton would have been charged when Donald Trump won in twenty sixteen, that he would have pardoned Hillary Clinton?
Donald say, Donald Trump?
Would Donald Trump have pardoned Hillary Clinton?
Absolutely not? Okay, he would have brought back public hangings on the White House.
Lawn, Okay. And then if.
Donald Trump would have been charged under a Barack Obama administration.
Do we think that Barack Obama would have partnered on now that is possible. I think that's a yes.
So here's that.
Yeah, absolutely would have.
But this is where I wanted to go.
Here is my thing and my biggest issue, my biggest gripe right now with the Democratic Party. We do not take hard lines on in the sand for like righteousness. There's still this this this pull to want to win people over and to demonstrate that we can be the party of civility and you know, the one that galvanizes everyone, and I actually really respect that that's a thing.
However, I think there are some moments, like.
I don't know right now, the middle of a political war, where that has to kind of go by the wayside. I think that what you're seeing mostly from Joe Biden is someone who harkens back to the days where he could sit down and have lunch with strong thermat you know, where he could you know, we've been.
In in the Obama administration where he could.
The beer some where they could do all these things where they remember goodness and they could find something to hang their hats on about why we are great uniters and not dividers, and I think they're constantly trying to prove that at our own, at our expense, and that is one of the This is why I think that it is highly likely that Joe Biden would pardon Donald Trump.
So I follow you and agree with you up to this point, which is that grace it seems from Democrats tends to only extend to Republicans. Yes, the same grace that we would extend to a Donald Trump, who is now, you know, hard as a criminal, we would not extend to Democratic former political leaders or political leaders. And the sake of well, I mean, yeah, we do dot this, but I want to dot dot dot it a little bit later on as we dive into some of this
voting right stuff. But the grace or the magnanimity of it right you can look bigger because you've gotten the smaller guy out, only seems to apply to folks who are on the politically opposite side. And for you know, for me, I just feel like you don't dance with the people who brought you to the event. You whisper your favor in their direction, yet you do nothing declarative when you're in the position to make a difference. You
don't do anything to make a difference. And so I agree with your point that that it's largely going to be Democrats who act in that way and Republicans will act in that way, except only for Republicans. This is the difference in the I think in the two parties is that, yeah, Ford would would grant Nixon a pardon. But now we're calling on the Democrat president to preemptively presume, you know, one would presume Trump has not asked for this, Well,
has he not asked? But there's been no trial, right, so so we're already getting out before the putting the cart before the horse does.
He pardoned people who weren't tried yet, So that's not uncanny for.
I'm not I don't disagree with that. I'm just saying, look at the ways in which we are willing to bend ourselves backwards, upside down, recontort in every single way, and guess what, we don't even find it a hard job to do when it comes to.
For a while.
But this wasn't a question on Angelo's pole. But would Trump even ask, would you humble himself to ask? And I don't even.
Think that he would. I don't even think it would come across as a humble ask.
I think he would be like, you know, in our history, you know, elected leaders are pardoned. This is what should happen. This is what happened with Richard Nixon. He's proactively pardoned.
Yea.
So I don't think that it's you know, I think that in his mind he can't believe that he was even tried, right, honestly guilty, certainly not.
I think he's threatening us, to be honest with you guys. Earlier this week, he was being interviewed by somebody and he gave sound like there is a breaking point, you know, about him potentially serving jail time, which yes, I agree, like how would a president, a former president serve jail? But yeah, but like the Secret Service would have to go, but.
Twelve hours, his.
Prison sentence would be a lot more comfortable than most of the prison population in this country. But I think, to me, I don't take these things as hyperbolic. And I think that is a whistle to his followers of if they try to send me to jail, y'all know what to do. And that is something that's very concerning. He said it about house arrests.
He was like, my followers will not even like they won't appreciate me being put on house arrests.
I don't know if you.
Then, how do we have a system that is supposed to be treating all men women equal under law? Right, That's what everyone is expousing, including Mitt Romney. We're all equal under the law except when it comes to and the judge he even did this, I have to say, and it was a disappointing day when I heard him say it, like, you keep going against my gag order. But it is. It is troubling to me. It brings me great pain to have to consider putting you in
jail as a consequence. Now, if you or I had done it, it would have been a completely different story. And I understand the dynamics of a former president, But the truth of the matter is is when we make these kinds of exceptions, it's like completely erasing the idea that all men are supposed to be held equal in just under the law. And I just finally say that there are other countries. They're supposed to be the beacon
of democracies around the world. There are other countries who who are not given that same credit of being beacons of democracy, who have done better with reckoning with their political leaders than we have. Take even that in Yahoo, who we know is going to be now invited to speak before the Congress. He has been found guilty, he has gone before courts of law, he has been prosecuted. You don't see the Israeli people throwing their bodies on
the ground saying no, you can't take him. I just as advanced as we like to think we are as a country, Moments like this remind me of what a throwback we are. We thought we threw off the yokes of a divine ruler and a king in King George, Yeah, but this, to me, hearkens back to the divineness of a ruler. That, yeah, you can sort of window dress like they can be equally accountable. But in reality, of course, we can't put them in a prison. Of course, we
can't strip them of this. Of course, you've got run the Sanders willing to turn over the goddamn state to make sure this man can vote. Of course, we can't have a president not be able to vote for themselves. It just you cannot have it both ways. President Biden cannot have it both ways. And I'm not even saying he's considering this. But if he is, just know, just know that you're erasing everything else you said about accountability and preserving democracies.
I mean it comes down to would that cost him votes or would that gain him votes? And I think again, the Democratic Party has such a heart on for these Republican voters that they think, oh, but if I pardon you are a king, maybe then those I don't even know if he would be doing it for votes. I really think that there's something in him, like even knowing his role on Senate foreign affairs, like does this weaken us in the eyes of the rest of the world to have a former president jail.
Yeah, he's an institutionalist. He believes in decorum of places. But I also think that the people who are around him and advise him are absolutely thinking politically, and I think they are wrong. The people who are on their publican side are in the middle, who are saying be bigger, be magnanimous, and excuse the sins of this president with a pardon, are the same people who are believing that we're gonna get Nikki Haley voters right.
Well, and here's what I'm gonna tell you.
This is what I would tell him, Joe Biden, be bigger, be better, be best.
And by that I mean let this go to.
Jail, Like, if he's committed the crime, let him do the times.
If time is what is normally attributed to the.
The christology, the person who didn't Michael Cohene get three years, he's the lesser offender.
In this case, right, and it was a slightly different case. All I'm saying is I think that whatever the time is, like, until that is equally applied across the board to all people of all races, of.
All income levels.
That's another piece here. That's what needs to happen. Anyway, I'm done because Nick held up to ten minutes.
Okay, all right, well I want to ask you something about Florida and the whole voting thing. But before we do, this is a little parentheses. I don't want to get into a whole deep dive on this. Do you guys have any thoughts on the whole net and yahoo going to Congress?
You brought it up, Yeah, I mean, I just he's a big disappointment. I think he's a big disappointment. I don't even know how the Senate Majority leader went along with who just stood before I mean, in his own writing says this man needs to step down, that he is, you know, camouflaged on both his left and his right by pure racist in his government, that the atrocities he's committed are beyond recovery, and that he should he should
step down as a leader of the country. And now we would extend democracy against beacon podium to him to then spew what and then who counters it?
Right?
I mean, I feel I feel the same way about this potential visit as I did when the Republicans invited him when when Barack Obama was president, completely disrespecting exactly. But that's where they've gone, right, This isn't the party of magnanimity, that isn't the party of good graces and commitment to institution. They are How do we get even, how do we embarrass them? How do we level them? How do we how do we get them at every
single turn? That's what they do. And then us were sitting over here in the baking whether or not this now convicted felon should and I don't mean that as a pejorative or an insult, but a fact, this now convicted felon gets to escape the penalties that come with having done the done.
What he's on behalf of the party of as law and order, this party who has ridiculed police who literally fought to save their lives on January sixth, have accused them of being liars. And now you're saying, yes, we have all this evidence that the president, the former president, did break the law.
Not just evident, he is convicted. A jury of his peers have sat down, listened to the facts of the case, took their jobs very seriously, said same system that I went through and others have gone through time and time again, where you render yourself unto them for their judgment. And
now we're saying, Okay, the jury got it wrong. How come those twelve brave men and women could have done the job that they did, understanding all the dynamics, understanding what the presidency of the United States mean, and they still were able to assess the facts and reach a
conclusion unanimously that he broke the law. But we're talking about a president, a presidency, senators, leaders who can't do the same, who cannot muster the courage of these twelve individuals right well to do what they have to do.
I have a question for you Angela as our resident attorney. What women sentencing July eleven? Nice show?
Also my God, better birthday shout out to keik.
Also like what three days before the nominating three days before the nominating of the Republican Party nominee for president.
Wow the irony. Des writes itself. Yeah, legally, I guess we know that. Can he vote in Florida?
Apparently Governor Desantans is trying to uh create all kinds of new rules policies that nobody has ever heard of before. This is his statement. Florida Governor Around de Santan says he'll make sure Donald Trump can vote in his home state this November despite his felony convictions. Desanta said on Friday that he disputes the assessment of some experts who say that Trump's conviction of thirty four felon accounts would make him in eligible gast votes in the state of Florida. However,
you can toss to this sounder. I can. But let's really assess how this govern before.
We played the account. I just want to remind our listeners because there's so much that has happened since Donald Trump's presidency in twenty eighteen, tell me if I have my dates right. But Amendment four was passed by the voters of Florida, which essentially allowed people winning spell any convictions. We prefer to them as returning citizens to cast votes. So we all celebrated this victory. We all sell we thought this was a good thing. And then afterwards, but.
It's they can have their rights restored after they have been served their time and paid all their restitution.
Good point. Well, the that's the key part of that latter part paid yours to.
Undo Amendment four.
That's my point because the paid your restitution pieces Almost people were saying, this is like a poll tax because the fines, which we'll talk about later with the striverskips, but the fines that build up. And so there were all these people who had served their time and paid restitution, they were the government sent them voter cards, and he began arresting these folks. Ye, crackdown, yes on these all the issues in Florida. Yeah, the issue for him was
people casting ballots to vote. Let's take a listen, and I want you all to imagine you're going to your car, you served your time, You're going to work, and officers show up at your house. Let's take a listen to when that happened.
I guess you have a warrant, but what I'm not sure voter stuff man.
Police bodycam video obtained by the Tampa Bay Times shows Floridians being arrested for voter fraud.
Unfortunately, right now we're gonna have to take you to Dale's Vota fra.
Fro voting when you're not supposed to serve.
Because of your sex amendor status.
You're not supposed to be voting.
Right, voter voter, but I commit no fought.
Well, so that's the thing. I don't know exactly what happened with it, but you do have a warrant.
That's what it's for.
Oh my god.
So that is a video that was obtained by the Tampa Bay Times from August of twenty twenty two, two.
Am in the morning, banging on, knocking down practically elderly you know, people's doors, black women, young men, to tell them that they don't have the right to vote. So DeSantis is saying he will make sure that Trump doesn't have a problem because he's the chairman of the clemency
board right now in the state of Florida. As a result of and prior to amendment for the operating rule is in order to get your rights restored as a former felon, you must go before the governor and beg your heart out before he and his three member cabinet to say, can we vote? Can you please restore my rights? I did this thirty years ago, and since that time, I've been productive in going to church. And a member of the cabin had the nerve to say, how often
have you gone to church? As a follow up. So these are the kinds of insulting and dehumanizing kind of things that people get put before the clemency board. And he says, I'm going to make sure that the clemency board clears it so that there's no dispute that Donald Trump has his rights. And basically what that means is they are going to jump before any sentencing and anything else to say, Donald Trump, this individual will have his
rights in the state of Florida. Bind you. The clemency waiting list to get before the governor to ask for your rights to be restored is almost a decade long.
Wow.
So he's going to leapfrog the process have his rights restored by this governor. And this is a governor who has made his mark in the state of Florida by taking people's rights away.
Well, if I can no, go ahead, Angelo, just a quick question.
I think one of the things that's fascinating to me here is he's been convicted but not yet sentenced in New York. I'm fascinated to understand how Ron DeSantis would grant him clemency in Florida, or if it's just a clemency like an umbrella so that he could at least vote there. That's what I'm curious about, because they're not universal.
If you have to mark like on an applicant, even for a job you're if felon is your felony is a universal But how does it work when we're talking about someone granting clemency in a state where you can't be pardoned for a crime that was committed in another state.
No, he can't pardon him. But because he is the clemency board by and large, he and the three members of the cabinet, they can apply whatever lens they want to. He's trying to remake the law. However, how they have applied the law up to this point is not how it is being applied. In the case of Donald Trump, and I just for him to be willing to go, you know, backwards, been over for a person who hasn't waited, who had made application for it. He simply said, we're
about to They're talking about a rig system. Now, that's a rigged.
System right here. It's no secret that I do not enjoy talking about Trump, and I think this is one of the dangers in centering him in this conversation, because he is one individual and I just don't really care if he votes or not. Honestly, there are laws in forty eight states which returning citizens from voting. To me, that's the bigger conversation. Florida leads the nation in sheer numbers of people who do that at the hands of
Ron DeSantis in twenty twenty two. As of twenty twenty two, it's four point four million Americans who are disenfranchised because of former felony conviction. One in every nineteen Black voters are impacted by this. In two states, Alabama and Tennessee, more than eight percent of the adult population, that's one of every thirteen adults are disenfranchised by this. When we focus on Trump, then I think, and that's what the media, does we miss all the other things.
I should think the opposite by focusing on Trump. Their argument that he is being bludgeoned by a system that is unfair, that is going after him, that creates two systems of justice, one that punishes Republicans and Donald Trump and presumably the other system that lets everybodbody else walk free, is a blatant lie if you look at it. Nobody gets to leap frog the process in Florida as it
relates to getting your rights restored. Nobody is. Nobody is singling out the millions of people who you are talking about who are experiencing this already. In my belief, I think that system of taking people's rights or way in this way is corrupt, and it disproportionately affects many of the folks that we know and care about in the communities we care about. So essentially none of that applies
to him in this case. But y'all are acting like somehow we've created a whole nother punitive system of justice just for Republicans and Donald Trump, when these are the people who have been the benefactors of the grace of the justice system if they ever touched it. Yeah, if they ever touched it.
Yeah, what do you think by by centering Trump that the Republicans are going to say, oh, you're pointing out our hypocrisy, we should change our policy, right.
And they don't know what hypocrisy is. It's level. The word doesn't exist for them, in my opinion.
Yeah, I think you might be. I think he might be right on that. I actually have some more questions about this whole voting issue for both of you, guys, But I think we might have to pay some bills. So we're gonna go to a quick break. But guys, don't go anywhere, because on the other side of this, I have a question for Andrew about voting in Florida and a question for Angela about federal charges and voting.
And I still want to get to this driver driving with the suspended license, and so Angela can tell us why we were all in the wrong for laughing at that, and we don't need to laugh at it anymore. I did a little I'm not gonna lie I did a little bit. But Andrew mister right, exactly exactly. Yeah, two systems to systems anyway, don't go anywhere, guys, We'll be right back all right, Welcome back everybody. We're still talking about this whole I would say epidemic of people being
disenfranchised with voting. So I guess my question is I think that's a really I hadn't considered that question that you asked, because this was a charge out of New York. That's a state charge. So I wonder if you know, are the people who are disenfranchised in Florida.
They're asked, have you ever been convicted of a felony, so it doesn't matter conviction. Have you ever been convicted of a felony charge or conviction? And they don't make distinction between whether this was a state or a federal felony applications.
The clemency board, I think to go to on the clemency board, I know by application in voting, but I just wondering.
But legal experts in the state disagree with the governor's assessment about that. There is mass confusion amongst the people who actually do the work of getting these folks re enfranchised around whether or not his new advent of the law, which is we don't recognize other states based felonies, has not been applied.
Right right, Yeah, Yeah, that's why I was curious. I'm like, doe, is there precedence?
No, there is no precedence, And you have the leading groups in the state saying, we don't even know where this came from. We don't, we don't. There's no history in the state of Florida. This havn't happened. I'm just scrolling real quick so I can actually get a quotable here.
Well, but but why while you're scrolling, I just want to give a quick shout out to Desmond mead Y, who does amazing work in Florida. If you're not familiar with him, get into him. But he was a big champion of Amendment four. He is a returning citizen. I believe he earned his law degree while he was imprisoned. But there are people doing amazing work on this issue. I also, we've talked a lot about Marilyn Moseby on this show when I in full disclosure, I worked on
her ex husband's campaign for Mayor Nick Moseby. And the high amount of returning citizens in Baltimore is so voluminous that they are a political body and they actually hold mayoral forum. If you want to, you have to cross their path when you're trying to achieve something politically, and I just think that's amazing to harness that level.
And they're cling of people who are in jail without having been convicted, that have never been organized around voting. They can vote from jail if you don't have a phone, any conviction, even in the state of Florida. But many of these states, what they say, something like half a population is sitting in jail having not been found guilty of a crime. It's because the system has required them to be the here's the quote that I was looking for.
Nonprofit group that represents felons seeking to restore their voting rights disputes the interpretation of the law that DeSantis is applying. That group, the Florida Justice Center associated at Desmond me noted that the relevant Florida Statute and the state constitution provisions do not make quote any such statement or distinction regarding out of state convictions. There's nothing in the state constitutional statutes. Of course they are and it will be
unchallenged and it will be applied in this case. So, yeah, there are two systems. Adjustice trumps and everybody else's.
That was my point around clemency.
It is not normal to be able to take a clemency petition before a governor where the crime has not been committed in the state. That's so, I was like, how does how is he even what clemency is he going to offer. It's not a commutation of a sentence, it's not a pardon, so what is it? Just forgiveness to be able to vote there? Sounds like that's what he's going to do.
Yeah, forgiving the elites. They have one objective and they really don't care what the method is for getting there. They will find their way there and it will be unchallenged.
Well, you were talking about like it's the bail system and that's why there are people sitting in jail right now, which I think brings us to our what what angela one it has dug into and got some background on so.
All.
Honestly, all I know is this. I saw the clip of the guy zooming in the court while driving on a suspended license.
I don't know anything meaning driving fast but using zoom, using the tech zoom angel.
So by now I'm sure many of you all have seen a video of a Detroit area man named Corey Harris who is driving while appearing virtually ers have said, zooming in court for driving with a suspended license. So again he's driving, but he's in court for driving with the suspended license. So let's take a listen now to the viral clip. It's pretty viral now of Judge Cedric Simpson's reaction or.
CAUs case People versus Corey Harris.
A sister public is under Natalie Kate for mister Harris, who should be present.
In to zoom Mister are you driving, Ashley?
I'm pulling into my doctor's office. Actually so, so I'll just give me one second.
I'm parking right now, all right, what are we doing?
You're on a re are respectfully requesting in a German in this matter up possibly two or four weeks at the court would allow.
Okay, So maybe I don't understand something. This is the driving want of license suspended?
That is correct your enter and.
He was just driving and he didn't have a license. I don't even know why he would do that. So defendant's bond is revoked in this matter, defendant is turned himself into the Washington County deal by six pm today. Failure to turn himself in will result in the bench wart with no bond.
So you know when you look at this, I'm gonna be honest with y'all. I sent this clip to Leonard and I was like, this clearly needs to be your donkey of the day tomorrow. And I sent it last week and I don't remember what our conversation was. It was we prepped for even just our ever segments and all of that, but there was something that made me say, you know, there's something deeper about this when we think about this man's reaction. If you're driving to the doctor's office,
probably that probably means there's no other way. You probably can't afford an uber. I looked into this case and his suspension. His driver's license suspension was actually tied to a child support case.
In twenty twenty two. In January twenty twenty.
Two, a judge ordered that that suspension be lifted to allow him to drive again. So actually it was from twenty twenty the judge lifted it in twenty twenty two. The license suspension was revoked in January twenty twenty two.
It was filed with the state.
Government and for whatever there was some clearance paperwork that didn't get handled, so it.
Was never lifted.
So he had his license restored, but it was never lifted. He ended up getting stopped in October of twenty twenty three in the Pittsville township and he had to appear virtually for a misdemeanor case revolving from that particular traffic stop where he was in trouble for driving with the suspended license that was not suspended anymore based on that twenty twenty two government.
R Yes, a government air is literally.
A paperwork error, and at that time he was driving his wife to the doctor, so there's some medical issues involved.
Fast forward to anybody you know in your life who's ever been driving with the suspended license or whose license got suspended, it is nine times out of ten a financial issue child support someone not being able to and I'm not you know, poopooing the mothers that need child support, but the fact that the government gets involved in this way where it would make it more difficult because now they got to pay you the fines instead of paying for the baby.
Right, Like, there are these layers and.
Once you get into that snowball, it just keeps growing, growing and growing. No, and it's a stranglehold. So this man has literally been penalized based on a paperwork error, an administrative error at the state level, and then was sent to prison that day. Well jail, Well sure, yes, incarceration that day. Incarcerated that day, which is going to mean what more fins? Yeah, so more fines for a
license that was suspended but was reinstated. But then there was a misdemeanor based on the prior suspension even though that wasn't his error, and he's having to appear in court.
Which also costs money.
Like, at some point we have to acknowledge the fact that this justice system merely serves those who can afford to play ball, and that is really really treacherous.
So and we supposedly got rid of the debtors court. Right from Europe, we throw off the yokes of the debtors court that because you couldn't pay certain bills, you would have to be incarcerated. And in the US we supposedly rid ourselves of the system, except we then created laws, statutes, ordinances that just reinforce financial hardship on frankly offenses if you will, if you want to call them, that were
that originated out of financial hardships. So you got a hardship you can't pay such and such and such and so what do we then do We take your ability to drive to your job away from you, the job where you can then earn money to pay off the fines and whatever else preceded that that's still on your on your bill to have to pay for. We've now limited you in every single way of being able to do that, and we've thrown you into a perpetual debtor
system because you can't get under you. You just seem to never be able to come from under the loads and loads of debt that are put on you. In so many cases, so many people owe money that is way access of what the original burden was because of fines and other remittances that have been put put in layer on top of it.
Yeah, so this is gonna be a shameless plug. I'll tell you guys. I wrote a book some years ago, say it Louder Loud and but and research for this book, I looked at this issue and in the city of Ferguson, Missouri, I found that the city was financing itself with predatory practices that disproportionately impacted black folks. In this city, the median household income was forty one thousand dollars, and police were excessively harassing the citizens, pulling them over for like
a broken tail light. And how did the so the DJ got involved, A Department of Justice got involved, how did this even fall on the Department of Justice's radar? Well, police, they are shot and unarmed man Michael Brown, which invited and invests a federal investigation into the local municipalities and their practices. And this is what they uncovered. And in a city where, like I said, the median household income is very low, a single missed, late, or partial payment
of a fine, to Angelo's point, mean jail time. In one instance this was cited by the DLJ, a Ferguson resident was ticketed for parking her car illegally. That single infraction ended up costing her more than one thousand dollars and six days in jail payments from these types of counters and encounters in Ferguson. They were so aggressively that outstanding fines and fees made up one fist of Ferguson's entire revenue base. That was an eighty percent increase over
just two years prior. Black folks were funding a system that was oppressing them. Now y'all know, Ferguson is not specific to.
That valley America.
Everywhere across this country there are cities just like this where you're impacted by this. I have driven on a suspended license before. My mother has driven on a suspect shes gonna kill me, but this is when we were little sure. But she has driven on a suspended license before. I got a boot on my car before. In DC's tickets.
Get removed, the original ticket fine and the.
Storage when they told your car exactly right right, And these these kind of feeds can compound. And this is just me going through this. You imagine a single mother with two kids kids want to go on a field trip because you know, one hundred whatever dollars or whatever. It's really sad to see the way this goes. And it's even sad or why this fell on our radar. So I really love that you did this, Angelo, because
I did. I laughed when I saw this guy and now you hear the story and it's like with his license, it was a government error like.
His And the other thing that I think is significant because we we do do what we try to do a good job on this show of telling people how to solve for things. Yeah, Michigan does have a program called Road to Restoration where they address these these challenges where they help people if their licenses have been suspended how to get back on their feet. And I think those are the kinds of service.
And is it a nonprofit, No, it's a part.
Of us actually a government program.
These are the kinds of programs that we need to have in place all over the country to ensure that we rectify and right these wrongs.
Ferguson is not alone to your pain.
Yeah.
And by the way, their local ordinances that they could adopt that removes this burden in the first place. Take for instance, and most downtowns, whether it is as obvious as a government era and trying to get his situation cured, and most downtowns where courthouses exist, they know that if they had done a parking study that they have, they supply one tenth of the parking that is demanded in
that area. And then you expect these folks to show up, be there on time, leave their jobs, be able to park, come into the courthouse, do their business, get back out, and get back to work, except that you know that you have invited them into an environment where only one tenth of the parking is available for the demand that
has had. So you got parking restrictions in a place that you cannot possibly facilitate the demand that you're inviting into it, and then you penalize those people for a problem that you know your government studies already point to the fact that it's insufficient public parking, insufficient access for people. And now we're going to penalize you. And by the way, you relate to court and I'm gonna throw you in jail for disrespecting the court or rather the judge or whatever.
But nobody is interrogating. Nobody's taking the time to ask, pull back the layers and ask the question, what, judge, do we provide sufficient parking?
Yeah? You know.
One of the things I was thinking about too is growing up, there was a cartoon that I used to love to watch called Transformers more than me Ci, more than me Ci. And that is normally the case on these issues. We are led to believe in media, in print, on air that if someone is said to be guilty, then they're guilty, and there's no other nuance, no other texture, no other context offered. And I think this case is a prime example of this. When you just watched that video,
you're like, I agree with this judge. How dumb can this man be? You have no idea all of the things.
That are there.
But I thought of you, Chiff, because the media bias is real and I had to check my own self on this particular.
But the people who played the clip, like, as journalists, I think they owe us viewers, you know, to tell us the full, whole.
Complete story. And every single major network did it right. Yeah, so eager to go viral.
Viral, that's it.
Many time we have not heard from the viewers yet, so I want to exactly. So we're gonna take a quick break. Don't go anywhere, guys, because right after this break is you coming up next. So we'll be right back, all right, Welcome back to Native lamppod. Everybody listen. Every week we tell you, guys, send in your comments, your questions, even if you disagree with us, send us in a video. We want to see your faces. Keep it sixty seconds. We love your questions and this is your pod too,
So welcome home. For our first you were question. I believe it's Jenary Turner shall tell us how to say it. Let's roll that quick.
Hey, y'all, my name is Chanieri Turner and I currently live in Atlanta, Georgia. My question is, can y'all discuss the bipartisan invitation from top Senate and House leaders to NAT and Yahoo to address Congress after all of the devastation and ongoing genocide from Israel's leadership. Why would they invite him? And why would they invite a man who is currently who currently has an arrest request within the
ICC for war crimes to speak to the United States. Also, which one of y'all are going to check Hakeem Jeffries for this little stunt, because this is really starting to make me question even the quote unquote liberal or progressive Democrats.
Thank you, thank you for that question. I love that question, So Andrew, I asked you about this, but I'm so happy that the viewers are right with us. Angela. I'm curious because you've worked on the Hill a long time. I just want to point out Congressman Hakim Jefferies is not the Speaker of the House. Uh, he's in the minority. But I quite honestly haven't followed this particular story closely. I do not believe that he invited.
He did, he joined in the letter.
You know what I think is so tough and shout out to Hakim because that is my friend too. I don't know that you become Speaker of the House when Democrats get the majority without the support of APEX right now as it currently stands in our in the oversize just frankly, the oversized role that they play in our body politic. I also don't know that you get the support even if you don't get a donation from them, if you don't demonstrate an unwavering support to Israel having
a right to defend itself. I don't know though, that you have to invite Benjamin net Yahoo to speak before or a joint session of Congress, especially given his very blatantly racial racist history coming to speak when Barack Obama did not invite him. So I just I don't know
what this what this approach is. I think more than checking, I come to this with curiosity, and my question is just why, you know, what do you stand to gain here given the fact that this is such a treacherous, bloody, deadly war that's happening on our watch, And you know, are you okay with taking the posture that you're taking. You know, when history looks back on this twenty years from now, was it worth it? And his calculus may be that it was worth it, you know, and and
it's and it's hard. I think that he is put in a precarious position. There are a lot of people who look like us, who you know, rise through the ranks to become CEOs and major corporations, or to be heads of trade associations or to be leaders in in the party, and they have to make a lot of concessions that I don't think I could write, or.
Trade offs and some you know, some things you want and you have to determine how deep you want to stand in it.
Oh, that's exactly what I mean by the consis Yeah.
And I think for him, he's probably trying to eliminate whether we agree with it or not. I think he's probably trying to eliminate ciphers that can show up in the November election and cost him seats. So trying not to make an issue an issue. So if the Jewish caucus and those on the Democratic side and the moderate wing of the party, frankly it's the mainstream of the party because it's it's it's what the president also stands for.
What he says, we were un you know, deniably stand next to our ally Israel and their right to defend themselves. And they even rejected the criminal the war Crimes tribunal that that has accused net Yahu and his government of of crimes against humanity in there and as they ascious war. But Hakim does have a difficult job, and I just think we have to be careful what our expectations are of our leaders in any specific moment when we're thinking
about the road to the bigger win. And I think the bigger win he's looking toward is trying to become a Speaker of the House, not for the sake of him being speaker, but so the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party party's values and positions have the ability to be, you know, to carry the day, and right now they can.
Here is the one thing that I say that's interesting, and I think this is a perfect example of what he faces. There were four leaders who signed on to that letter. Mike Johnson, who is the Speaker, Chuck Schumer, who is the majority leader.
In the Senate. Yes, a Democrat, yes, yes, and Jewish and he's.
Also Jewish and Mitch McConnell and Hakim ms.
McConnell's still alive.
Yes, And here's the thing. Here's the thing.
The person who we've spent like the vast majority amount of time on this is talking about Hakem. He is going to be under the microscope in the fish bowl on these issues at every turn because of his role, because of his age, and certainly because of his race. And I think those are the calculations he constantly has to make. It is not fair, and as my friend, I do not agree with this one right, but I'm just saying it's it is remarkable how much more pressure
is on them. When mister Cliburn was with, there was remarkably like if there was a close vote or a lost vote, it was he was with. But also there's a whole other leadership is majority leaders anywhere there was a majority, I mean a speaker Nancy Pelosi, but it would always followup mister Clyburn.
And I think that's a you know.
I you know, I think my challenge here and I know we're coming up on times. I'll be quick. I think as as black people people we who know firsthand what it's like to be an oppressed people. And if you're making political calculations in the face of forty thousand plus dead, mostly women and children, it's hard to reconcile those two things. Is your political ambition worth this calculation. I have known the Jeffreys family like you for a long time. Have always found the entire family to be
upstanding individuals. And listen, when Congressman Haquen Jeffreys made his way to Congress, it was a joyous occasion. I mean, he still does like congressman on the corner in Brooklyn. He you know, we know him. You know he reflects us. That does not absolve you from accountability and responsibility and criticism. And so we are right to say, hey, you're getting
this one wrong. And I think to the entire House, really house incentive, But to the Congressional Black Caucus, who has always worn the banner as the conscience of the Congress, it's hard to stand with you guys on this one. You know it's hard. Well that's that's fair, that's fair. But to the members who you know, the traffic in that space, I just I don't like it.
So we break I interpret this lessons and endorsement of being able to speak and more of a how do I take this issue off the table? I think, not make it controversial. How do we just make this regular order and keep it moving now? Whether or not we receive it as that is another thing.
Yeah.
As as somebody who ran for office, I think you have a different lens.
Yeah.
I think it's far beyond his individual ambition. I think he has a lot more to do with the party is standing and where it wants to be on November six.
Yeah, all right, well, Sheenery. I hope that answered your question. You guys, please keep sitting in your videos, your comments. We love hearing from you. This is your podcast too, so welcome home y'all. We love having a seat at the table here with you guys. Okay, we have another question that I want to get to Darren Keith. Darren, you talk about what.
Is going on good people over Native Lampard. Darren Keith here from Florida. I got a quick question for Tiffany. You say that you read eight newspapers a day. So my two questions is number one, which newspapers that you read every day? And number two, do you have the paper edition or is it digital or do you have both? And if you can list them. I would truly appreciate it. Again, I appreciate you three. You all are the best if
I had any siblings. I'm an only child, but if I did have any siblings, you three would definitely be my brother and sisters. So take it easy.
We love it, love it, we love it, We love it.
You are our brother there, and you are our brother. He is our brother.
Tell you yeah, I feel like he might work for the tree conservationists and he's trying to see you really reading eight newspaper copies a day. He got to protest.
Joe ass siblings sibling moment. So I actually am all digital. But it was a hard fight for me because when I first started out in newsrooms, there were hard papers there, so it took a while for me to convert to digital papers. But I will be really quickly because we're coming up on time. I have a whole like morning routine, so I always start out with The Times New York Times. I recover to cover I don't. I try not to skip.
I do skip a lot of Trump stuff in transparency, but I know, I know my colleagues will keep me. It was normally a one above the fold. It is true. And then after the Times, I go to The Post, the Washington Post, and I read those are the two that I read cover to cover, after those who are pretty heady. So then after that I read The Atlantic, not cover to cover, but usually on the digital page of the Atlantic. They'll do like throwback articles that are
still very relevant. It's not always so political, it's just interesting things. After that, I go to Al Jazeera English because I like, you know, to get a global perspective. BBC to a lesser degree, they tend to skew a little conservative. Sometimes vox is great. They do deep dives into the things that are not always political, but sometimes they are the Hill. I do the Hill to see what if there's anything interesting happening on the Hill. They
also have little segments on the Hill. The economists have some good reads. And then I try to read a local paper. These are I made, you know, switch, but I typically read the Atlanta Journal, Constitution a jac Sometimes I'll read the Dallas Morning News. Sometimes I'll do the Chicago sometimes, and honestly, I have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. I try to read the Journal. I don't always understand it, but I will read the op
ed pages of the journal. But honestly, I try to read financial news, and my agent says to me one time, I'm not worried about you. You can talk about anything unless they're like, we want to talk about the European market, so I would be terrified. I can't really under stand financial news as well as I would like. And then I try to get my niche media in there, so I'll look at the Grio. Michael Harriet is a great columnist. I love to read his columns, and I think that's
about it, but these things change. I rarely read political Sometimes I'll do axios if they have something interesting, but I don't do that every morning. I could skip it. So I don't know. That may have been more than eight, may have been less than eight, but typically sometimes it could be ten, sometimes it could be six. But I have a pretty I hope eclectic news diet. And thank you for that question. It's digital. I appreciate the question
for thee I do not read. Yeah, I do read La Times sometimes, but yeah, just because I do feel like the West Coast gets left out of a lot of coverage because the East all the it's all headquartered on the East Coast and you do like you don't hear a lot about things, or if you do, it's from like a very East Coast perspective, you know, especially when Karen Bass was running from mayor, I was like, wow, you know, we need to have more of that. So anyway,
I hope that answers your question. I'm sure I've left things.
Out local papers. I don't know how you view local.
Well, I said I read, Yeah, I just.
Well, you got the Washington Post.
No, I just said I'd like to read local papers. I'll read the Atlanta Journal, I'll read the Dallas Morning News, or you know, I switch it up sometimes of the Chicago sometimes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm my bad for not listening. I thought. The only questionary note about many of the local pieces is that so much of it is owned by.
Saint Clair Broadcast. Yeah, there's a lot of conservative all yeah, yeah, which you know, on one hand, it's like, yeah, you want the media decentralized. On the other hand, when these conservative monopolies buy it up the Baltimore Sun, who was very unfair to Marilyn Moseby and in Baltimore, you have to know that's the hard part about your news die. You want to know who owns this, what's their interest in some of these things. So it's unfortunate, but print
drives broadcast. Folks know that people are upreading the wires. That drives broadcast. But I encourage people to read more global news because it's a lot of interesting things happening. All right, we're way over time. Thank you for that question. Keep sending your questions. We will try to get to all of them if we can. And welcome home to our native land family. We love hearing from you guys, and our new brother, our new brother, mister Darren Keith.
That's our own sibling, our new sibling. All right, we're going to take a quick break. On the other side of this break, we got calls to action. Instead'll go anywhere. We'll see you on the other body.
Welcome, Welcome, well, come, welcome, welcome, welcome.
All right, y'all, we are back with I think one of the more impactful parts of the show. What are our calls to action? Tiff? Since you've been hosting us carrying the show, you can start her. What's up? What do you want to do?
I feel like I kind of already gave it, but I would just encourage people to read global news, some global news outlets, because we could do eight shows back to back to back just on what's happening in the rest of the world that we don't get to talk a lot about here. So that would be my call to action. Get off Instagram and you know, read some some global.
News, some primary sources.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
There's a thought is different this week.
I am really struggling just with my own self on how to encourage people to get out and vote in an election that is as treacherous as this one is, when folks are feeling so torn and emotional about it. And so there was a question that came up in the interview with Governor Shapiro who said that he was, you know, all the way aligned with President Biden. And I think we do spend a lot of time talking about what is wrong with Donald Trump and not a lot of time talking about what is right with the
Biden Here's ticket. And so am I call to actually would be go, if you're someone who knows who you're voting for and why, and it's the Biden Hair's ticket, go and tell people proactively what they've done that you are proud of, that you align with that makes you want to go out and support them, And my obligation would be to come back to you all and tell you why I'm going to do that next.
Can they tell us yeah, video, Yeah, I would leve for us why you're voting for who you're voting for? Yeah, yeah, I love that.
I do too. So in the wake of the Trump convictions in his establishment as a as a as a felon, I just want to caution us, particularly on the left, against making the term felon a pejorative and sort of turning this thing into some sort of insult against people who have who have had felony charges. I think we might be trying to insult him inadvertently creating common cause
between him and other people. And as we've said before in other shows, there's no common cause in these experiences, you know, with the exception of the fact that he doesn't think he should have one, which may be what we all share. You know, many of us share that you you shouldn't have one either, But his experience, the way he's navigated again, he's only turned against this system because it's expedient for him. But this is the same
system that has protected him for decades. His father for decades, and so I just want to caution us around our language that in our effort to insult him, to diminish him, that we be careful not to really be harmful to a lot of people in our community. By bye bye, By co listing the two of them together, they're not the same, the experiences are not the same, and we're not forever measured by our worst days.
Well, before we end the show, I want to remind everyone to leave us a review and subscribe to Native lamppod. We are available on all platforms and YouTube. New episodes drop every single Thursday. You can also follow us on social media. We are Angela Rae, Andrew Gillim and Tiffany Cross. Welcome home, y'all. There are one hundred and fifty two days until election day.
It's not at us.
Thank you for joining the Natives. Attention of what the info and all of the latest rock Gulum and Cross connected to the statements that you leave on our socials. Thank you sincerely for the patients reason for your choice is clean, So grateful it took to execute roads for serve, defend and protect the truth, even if pain.
We welcome home to.
All of the natives.
We thank you.
Welcome, y'all.
Welcome.
Native Lampard is a production of iHeart Radio in partnership with Reasoned Choice Media. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.