#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Democrats barred from DOE entry, Judge blocks USAID dismantling, Hiring slowdown, Decline to resign

Episode Date: February 8, 2025

2.7.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Democrats barred from DOE entry, Judge blocks USAID dismantling, Hiring slowdown, Decline to resign #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

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Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication.

Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2025, COMING UP ON ROLAND MARTIN UNFILTERED STREAMING LIVE ON THE BLACKSTAR NETWORK. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS WERE BLOCKED FROM ENTERING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BY ELON MUSK'S SECURITY TEAM. work, Democratic lawmakers were blocked from entering the Department of Education by Elon Musk's security team. We'll show you that video. A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction keeping Donald Trump and Elon Musk, his co-president, from firing personnel with the USAID office. But while that's happening, they literally are removing the name of USAID from the building.

Even though Congress has not gotten rid of the agency. We'll also discuss why federal workers should not, should not take a buyout from Elon Musk. Folks, on CNN, there was a heated debate about the differing realities faced by black and white folks. Ashley Allison let them know what it's like being a black woman with lots of degrees not getting paid her fair market value. MAGA is not happy at all.

We'll explain why they're idiots. The Illinois County has reached a settlement with the family of Sonia Massey, the black woman who was tragically gunned down in her home by a white sheriff's deputy. And we'll talk more about what is happening in this country and how regular ordinary people are being impacted by these billionaire oligarchs who want to turn the federal government

into a private enterprise. It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Let's go. He's got whatever the piss he's on it Whatever it is he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine And when it blips he's right on time And it's rolling, best belief he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling, yeah It's on go-go-go-yo

Yeah, yeah It's rolling, Martin, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Rollin' Martin Now Martell.

Martell. Folks, multiple members of Congress were denied, Democrats, let's be real clear, Democrats were denied entry today to the Department of Education headquarters. Not only were they denied entry, but the Trump administration had deployed federal law enforcement officers to stop them from coming in. About 100 Democratic lawmakers showed up at the DOE building in D.C., and this was the exchange.

We're members of Congress. All right, the blood. We're members of Congress. We're coming in. We're coming in. We're coming in. Don't lock the door. We're coming in. Who are you? You're not coming in.

Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you, sir? Do you have business here? Yes. I have sent the secretary, I have sent the assistant secretary a letter alerting her that we would be here today and we've asked her for a meeting.

Yeah, I know that that's been accepted so until that's accepted. Wait, wait, wait. Who are you? Who are you? What do you do here? What do you do here? Security responsibility. Get out of the way.

We pay for your job. We pay you. We're members of Congress. We're not a threat. We're members of Congress. We're not a threat. We're not a threat. We're members of Congress.

Nobody has accepted me. You are, your children, your children are paid by the state. We haven't heard that from your secretary. We haven't heard that from your spokesman. I'm relaying that. You are not the spokesman for the department. You are a security guard. Can you identify us? We're members of Congress? Where's your bag? Where's your bag? Where's your ID? Where's your ID?

We are not a threat to security. We're members of Congress and we want to ask a question. We walk into the White House without having to go through magnetometers. Can we get someone? This is an stand by when I'm talking to you? I'd like to speak with someone who works here. So what are you going to do? You're going to beat us up if we go in? I mean, you're going to, you know, steamroll me here? We want you to move out of the way. We're not steamrolling you.

Get out of the way. This says all access entrance. We're members of the library. This says all access entrance. Please stand aside, sir. I'm not standing aside. Why not? Because my role is to make sure that you know what I'm talking about. What authority do you have to build members of Congress. Please stand aside, sir. I'm not standing aside. Why not? Because my role is to make sure that... What authority do you have to block members of Congress from the oversight? We are oversight and sports police. By what authority can you

deny members of Congress their oversight role? You don't have a business reason to be here. You do not have authority, sir. You do not have authority. There is no authority for you to deny members of Congress their oversight responsibility. If you have an appointment and you're on a guest list, we will let you in. Can I ask you a question? You have to be on a guest list. Is what you're saying... Or you have to have an escort.

Let me ask you a question. Escort? Can I ask my question? Send them down. Are you telling me today that you have to be on a guest list in order to come to the Department of Education? Either we are informed in advance if somebody's coming or... Oh, they know we're coming. We were informed in advance.

94 members of Congress... Sir, 94 members of Congress signed a letter asking the acting secretary for a meeting and to answer a simple question. And she is apparently... I'm not aware of the meeting. So you have to be on a guest list to enter the Department of Education? Members of Congress, we don't have to be on a guest list. We want to list in advance to have access, or if you're coming, then you have to let us know who your escort is. I don't know.

That wasn't true last year. Did something change between last year? That's always good. No, it hasn't. I've walked into this building multiple times last year. Many times. I walked in. We were at least allowed to walk into that lobby, not stopped outside like this. Well, it's no difference. I mean, you'd be stopped at the visitor's desk.

We're trying to save your job. I'm doing that in advance. No, no. Why? Why are you doing that in advance? We're allowed to go to the visitor's desk. We've got 100 people out here. We're trying to save your job. We're going to Congress. We're all having a job. We're allowed to go to the visitors' desk. We've got 100 people out here.

We're going to Congress. We're trying to save your job. You won't have a job if we don't help you. You won't have any place to send your kids. We're here speaking for a ton of kids from coast to coast that deserve a quality public education. Now this department should stay open and we want to share that message. I'm sure the leadership department is working to do that. We're not so sure.

That's why we're here. That's all we want to talk to her about. Last year we'd be able to walk in and go to that desk. I mean the response I got right here, that doesn't sound like it's not dangerous. I'm going to stop you right there. No, no, no. I'm going to stop you right there and put it on the record. You did not get a dangerous response here.

She's telling me to get out of the way? You did not get a dangerous response here, so I'm not going to let you put that narrative out there. I'm not going to let you put that narrative out there. I'm going to tell you to your face that that's a lie. We are members of Congress, as she said. What I asked you is do we need to be on a guest list to be in? No one, but there was no danger or threat to you. Go get somebody.

We are allowed to go to that desk right there. There was no danger to you. We are allowed to go to that desk right there. Go get somebody to escort us. Go get somebody to escort us in. You know this building. The acting secretary, Denise Carter. Yeah, that's who we came to meet. Or Chief of Staff. So what?

I said there's not an exception. Why are you not letting us in? Why can't we ask for one? Why can't we go in and ask for one? That's not a thing. I have not seen that. Why can't we go in and ask for one? Can you send somebody from the Department of Education? Not just a security guard? I've explained why you're not coming in. Well, are you prepared to stand here for 24 hours with us? Are you prepared to stand here all night if we decide to stay? I'd go as he is. All right, well, you just stay right there.

You just stay and stare at that. Why are you letting us go to that desk like we were able to do last year? He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. I don't know. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee.

He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's not a U.S. employee. He's stay and stare at that. Why are you letting us go to that desk like we were able to do last year?

He's not a U.S. employee. This is a public institution. Did Elon Musk hire you? So are you not aware of the number of responses you've had? We're trying to save your job. He's not a federal employee. Just like I'm telling you. Show us your back again. Let's see.

How do you know who you are? I don't know. I can't see it. I'm a federal employee. We're allowed to go to that visitor's desk like we have been allowed to do in past years. We are allowed to go to that visitor's desk. We have been allowed to do in past years. We are allowed to go to that visitor's desk. We're not bringing in private or home and security. They should come out. This is absurd. They should come out.

Yeah, let them come out. Let them come out. We have those too. We have one of those too, just like you. At a minimum. Why can't we get in? We just not have one of those. We have one of those.

He ain't got one of those. We're members of Congress. Let us in. We've always been allowed in. We're members of Congress. We have one of those. He ain't got one of those. We're members of Congress. Let us in. We'd like you to... We've always been allowed in. We're members of Congress. We want to have a meeting with the...

Were you told to deny members of Congress entrance into this building, sir? I'm sorry. I said there's no meeting. That's a good question. Were you told to deny members of Congress into this building? Why did you call the department a home land security? Yes. This is absurd.

Were you told to scan here? Yeah. Were you told to deny members of Congress from entering this building? There's no business purpose to be here, so that's why. Why would there be no business purpose? We are members of Congress. Many of us are on the education committee. How could you say there's no business?

Are you making a decision for the Department of Education on your own behalf? Were you told to come out and block members of Congress? Do they know that we are here? Max, ask the question again. That's important. Were you told, are you making this decision to stand in front of this door on your own behalf, on behalf of the Department of Education, or were you told to come out here and block members of Congress from going to the desk?

You're doing my job. So everybody's... What is that? We're doing our jobs. We're trying to save your jobs. We're doing our jobs. It's not responsive. Show me your ID.

Show me your ID. Thank you. Were you told to stand here, or did you decide to stand here and block members of Congress from entering the Department of Education? This allows us access to federal buildings. You said security from Texas. We're allowed in there. So a private security contractor is blocking members of Congress. We're all members of Congress.

Maybe he doesn't understand. A private security contractor is making the decision to block members of Congress from a public access entrance. I don't think he knows. You have the authority as a private security contractor to block members of Congress. That has been knighted and granted to you. You have to at least let us go to the desk. Yeah. It's too many girls out there. It go to the desk. Yeah.

It's made the voice of the earth. Who told you to do this? Open the door. So do you understand the members of Congress are... And you don't care. Who are we then? We have a job to do. We have a job to do.

We're not dangerous people. We're not... I don't know. We're security. There are no thieves and thugs out here. We're not dangerous people. We're not, I don't know, security. There are no thieves and thugs out here. We're members of Congress. We're parents. We're teachers.

There's our ID. Right there. We were elected to do this. This is our job. This is our job. We're doing our job. You're securing this building against who? Members of Congress. Who are you protecting?

This is the beginning of full transparency of this administration. The administration that talked about they're going to open the doors to all of these things and show the American public what is going on. They won't even open the door to this building to members of Congress. We are not posing any threat here. We are not dangerous people. We have not done anything. We're trying to request a meeting, and they have a private security contractor

who on his own is making decisions on behalf of the Department of Education. So Congresswoman Hayes, what you're saying is they're not, they allow billionaires and his minions to come in to this building? I don't know who he is, but I know who I am. And I'm a member of Congress with oversight responsibilities trying to request a meeting, and a private security contractor is not allowing me to enter the building. They allow billionaires to go in this building, but not...

Congressman Maxwell Frost and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky allowing me to enter the building. Congressman Maxwell Frost and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky took to social media to let the public know exactly what was happening. Here is Congresswoman Schakowsky. I'm standing in front of the Department of Education

and a group of members of Congress want to go in to discuss any plans that the president or Elon Musk may have to diminish the rights of students. What have they done? They have locked us out. As I look inside, there are several policemen there to prevent members of Congress to go in. And a man standing in front of the door who won't even tell us who he is. This is disgusting. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

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Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Congressman Maxwell Frost also live streamed exactly what was happening. Hey everybody, I'm here with multiple members of Congress.

We're here to go to the Department of Education to fight for education, and they have locked the doors. They're not letting us in. It says all access entrance. There's this random guy out here who's refusing to let us in. His name is Jim Harfield. And right here they have armed officers as well, acting like we're dangerous. A year ago, I'd be able to walk into this building and not be locked out. This is what they're doing. Elon is allowed in,

but not you, not your elected representatives, not parents, not students. Elon can go in, his goons can go in, but not the representatives of the people. Folks, Congresswoman Summer Lee of Pennsylvania posted this. I went to the Department of Education to demand answers as Trump and Musk aim to dismantle it. Republicans never miss a chance to claim they're the defenders of children, but when it comes to making sure kids have an education that sets them up for success, they are nowhere to be found. Folks, this is happening all across Washington, D.C., but also across the country.

What Donald Trump and his co-president, Elon Musk, have unleashed is a dictatorship. Literally, a coup is taking place right before us. Now, there are people out there who are on the right who say, oh, how dare you use the language of a coup. But do understand, the people who this one security guard denied entry to the place, and his name is Jim Harefield. He is the Education Department's deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Facilities and Logistics. Now, here's what's crazy here. To suggest that he can prevent duly elected members of Congress from entering a federal building by saying, well, you need an escort is utterly nonsensical.

That's as if you or I decides to come to Washington, D.C. And if we go to the Cannon building or any of the buildings that house the House members and the Senate members, do you understand? Every single one of you has a right to walk into that building, one of those buildings, go through security, literally walk to the office of your member of Congress. So for me, in the 30th Congressional District of Texas, it's Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. I, as a constituent, have the right to decide to go to that building where her office is, walk in, walk to her congressional office, walk up to the desk of the assistant and say,

I would like to speak with my Congresswoman. But what co-president Elon Musk and co-president Donald Trump are doing, yeah, that twice impeached criminally convicted felon, what they're saying is your members of Congress do not have the right to meet with anybody in this administration to question anything, and they can't even step foot in the building. And behind him, you didn't see it, were several other security guards. My panel, Michael Imhotep, host of the African History Network show in Detroit, Matt Manning, civil rights attorney out of Corpus Christi, Texas, Dr. Zachary Kirk, educator and content creator out of Atlanta. Glad to have all three of you here. I mean, what people need to understand what's going on here, and it's not understating this,

and man, I'll start with you. They don't care about civil rights. They don't care about labor rights. They don't care about any of that. They are intruding. They are firing everyone left and right. They are, Elon Musk has access to the personal data of millions of Americans. And one of the things that is absolutely crazy to me as this thing begins to unfold is that they also announced, I'm going to pull this up, and y'all got to trip, just to understand what's going on, how these folks are operating. They literally have announced that they're treating Elon Musk,

the co-president, totally different than frankly anybody else. Let me pull this up here. Where do y'all see this here? And that is, they were asked at the White House, if you wanna know what kind of special dispensation he has, Matt, what they've decided, I'm going to show this tweet to give you a second.

Y'all won't believe, well, y'all probably, you will believe this because it's been happening. But they have designated Elon Musk as a special, as a special employee. So he's listed as a special, a White House official says Musk is an unpaid government employee who is not a commissioned, I'm going to pull up in a second, but who is not a commissioned, let's see if I can still try to get this up so y'all can see it.

Give me one second. While I'm trying to connect it, I want to go ahead and read it. He is not a, he is a special government employee who is not a commission officer. He will file a confidential financial disclosure report. So his his financial disclosure report, one of you need to be public. But if you're a federal worker, yours has to be public.

But he's an unpaid special government employee, Matt. Yeah, and from what I understand, that means he's supposed to have, you know, a certain period of time that he's allowed to do this job. I think it's 800 and some odd days is how it's customarily done. But, you know, that's that's a subterfuge. Look, what we're seeing right now is we are seeing a continuing pushing of the boundaries and descent to authoritarianism. I mean, all that's really being asked right now is, how much will the American people take before there's a real pushback, a real revolution?

Because the idea that democratically elected members of Congress cannot get access to a public building is absurd. I mean, when I was in college, I worked on Capitol Hill in the Cannon building, just like what you were talking about, right? And what happened? Constituents would come every day and go through security. They'd be vetted, and they'd go right to their public office. The fact that a dude in a polo is standing in front of these doors telling democratically

elected people that they can't come into the building should be terrifying. But what's happening right now on Fox News is they're calling Maxine Waters and all of them unhinged, and talking about how Trump and his policies have the Democrats scurrying, and they're spinning it to look like people we have elected to do our business are somehow doing something unhinged by trying to do that business. This is the tip of the iceberg. And frankly, the only question we should be asking ourselves is, how much longer are we going to let this kind of thing happen before people are just forcing entry into buildings?

I mean, frankly, like, the idea that a dude in a polo can keep out elected congresspeople is absurd. And it is proof positive of exactly the kind of thing that we go around the world saying we're trying to prevent through military action, right? All the time, we go around the world talking about anti-democratic action and why the United States is here to save the day. And in real time, we are watching that exact thing happen in the United States when Elon Musk and his cronies are given full access to data that otherwise people with high security clearances

would have access to. This is, I mean, it's unprecedented, but it's terrifying, frankly. And Michael, we absolutely know, we know 100% that if Democrats had blocked the doors and prevented Republicans from being able to enter any government building, Fox News, Megyn Kelly, Ben Shapiro, all of them would be going absolutely crazy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And so those thugs at those media outlets,

they don't give a damn either. They all are a part of the same fascist system. Absolutely. And that's why Donald Trump took so many people from Fox News, white nationalists, TV, and put them in his administration, like Caroline Leavitt, White House press secretary, like Pete Hexeth, secretary of defense. But I have to—I disagree with you a little bit, Roland. These Republicans in the Trump administration, they do care about civil rights. That's why they are specifically targeting them and erasing them. That's why he rescinded Executive Order 11246 from President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1965, which is called affirmative action.

They are specifically targeting it. Now, when we look here at what's going on with the Department of Education, he signs an executive order to shut down what was created by Congress. This is—Chapter 11 of Project 2025 deals with dismantling the Department of Education. This is what conservatives have wanted to do since President Carter signed the interlaw in 1979. And one of their arguments is that they feel, even though the Department of Education does not set curriculum, contrary to popular belief, they have been making the argument that the

federal Department of Education is overstepping their authority when it comes to certain issues. And a lot of this has to go back to dealing with segregation and desegregating schools, things of this nature. So, this is what we've been warning black people about. And one of the things they want to do is they want to stop student loan forgiveness, OK? And you're going to see them going after funding for HBCUs as well. We know under Biden-Harris, we got $17 billion for HBCUs from 2021 to 2024.

You're not going to see anything like that coming from the Trump administration. So this is what we were warning people about. And even though the president can't technically dismantle a department that Congress created, but with Elon Musk controlling the Treasury payments, $6 trillion in Treasury payments, what happens if they just cut off funding to the Department of Education and starve it? These people don't care about the law. But as Dr. Gregg Carr has told us a number of times, there are no rules.

One of these days, we're going to learn that. Zachary? There are no rules. I agree 110 percent with Michael. Because if there are rules, it would be clearly made known that Elon Musk is in violation of the Hatch Act. Even as a special advisor who is unpaid or whatever the position that they've created for this man may be, he is in violation of the Hatch Act when he is sitting here doing 2,000 tweets in one day, as he did yesterday, while still being a part of a governmental agency. Even with limited responsibility to the Hatch Act, he's in violation. So what we're seeing is indeed a takeover, like Michael said, it's a complete coup, where we have

this oligarch and his team, these multi-billionaires coming in, dictating the needs and the wants and what's best for the American people. And a president who is co-signed to do it because he wants to ensure that he never went to jail in the first place for the crimes that he committed. So, therefore, he was able to let these people buy their way into positions of power that they should have never been given. Congress has the oversight authority to monitor what's happening in that building, especially when they're being bombarded, bombarded with calls from their constituents, is shocking. It's shocking. And I think it's an absolute—we're seeing an absolute—what many people are saying, a constitutional crisis slowly beginning to unfold. Well, absolutely. And again, they don't care about oversight. They don't care about

anyone checking them. And so their whole strategy is to completely do whatever they want. And they want people getting caught up in the games of DEI and other stuff and what they're trying to do. They're making unilateral decisions as it relates to what needs to get funded. And again, outside of Congress. A little bit later, we're going to talk to Ben Dixon because they're trying to float this idea of taking government buyouts. Y'all, they don't exist. They don't exist. They don't exist.

Congress hasn't authorized them. We're going to talk about that a little bit later. So lots to unpack on today's show. So we're going to get more into it, folks. When we come back, a Giles report came. Y'all missed Joe Biden, huh? We'll tell you what the numbers look like. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network.

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through the jobs ad. Coming soon to the Blackstar Network. Well, y'all, when you're on that stage and you're seeing two and three, four generations in the audience, that's got to speak to you about the power of what y'all have become. Oh, most definitely. I think we were doing our show before our break. And remember, I was watching this kid. I could not take my eyes off him because he was about nine or so.

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and take a picture with him, you know, at the end of the show and stuff, because it was just that amazing. It was like, this is crazy. You know, the music travels everywhere. You know, like what Phillip was saying, seeing this young kid, then you see, hear our songs on commercials, cold commercials.

Then you have the younger ones that seen or hear our music in animation. How you doing? My name is Mark Currie, and you're watching Roland Martin. Unfiltered, deep into it, like pasteurized milk. Without the 2%, we getting deep. You want to turn that shit off? We're doing an interview, motherfucker. The downsizing of the U.S. Agency for International Development is currently on hold. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols has halted the plan to reduce the workforce from more than 5,000 employees to just a few hundred. Earlier this week, about 10,000 USAID employees, excluding essential personnel,

were notified that they would be placed on administrative leave starting at the end of Friday. The American Foreign Service Association, representing 1,800 foreign service officers working with USAID, and the American Federation of Government Employees, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Thursday. The legal action came after the administration announced that thousands of USAID employees will be placed on administrative leave beginning at 11.59 p.m. on Friday as part of a broader initiative

by Donald Trump and tech billionaire co-founder, co-president Elon Musk, Department of Government Efficiency, which actually doesn't even exist in a real department, to reshape the federal government. Speaking of jobs, folks, the U.S. added 143,000 jobs in January, fewer than economists expected. While the overall employment rate inched down to 4.1%, the black unemployment rate rose to 6.2%. For black men, it jumped to 6.9%. Black women stayed at 5.4%.

Morgan Harper, the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the American Economic Liberties Project, joins us from Columbus, Ohio. And Morgan, I'm sure those black men who were just trumpeting Trump, wonder what they got to say now. Well, I mean, yeah, that is the biggest jump that we saw in these numbers is Black men unemployment. The other group that we saw jump was Asian

Americans. You know, as I say, every month, Roland, when we talk about these numbers, it's important to note that it is just a spot in time. So we have to kind of see if this ends up being a trend. But certainly it is saying something that black men were the only group to see this high of a jump among all the different populations that are that are being surveyed. And so what were they expecting the job number to be? Would it exceed 200,000? So what happened? Well, you know, it's not it's not entirely clear. I mean, yeah, so they did. they did have to revise down some of the

job numbers from the end of this past year. But it did seem like this number wasn't too far out of line from what people were expecting and the markets kind of reacting accordingly. And so, you know, I think the conventional wisdom here was if we were seeing numbers that were suggesting job additions of under 100,000, that probably would have been cause for a lot of alarm. Or if there were more than 200,000 jobs, then that also would have felt out of whack from what people were expecting. But based on this number and the 140,000 range, it's on par with what people were expecting. We did see also wage growth. But it's certainly not a sign of the economy is amazingly strong and we have nothing to continue to watch.

I think there's going to be a lot of people that are going to have to, myself included, that are going to continue to follow these numbers very closely because there's obviously a lot of uncertainty that has entered the whole economy as well, as we have a new president who is making changes to economic policy pretty much every day. And so, you know, how businesses react to that, how consumers react to that in terms of their comfort level with spending in the face of that uncertainty and just flurry of activity kind of remains to be seen. I think the other thing to note that's interesting here, and we've talked about this a bit before, is among the sectors that are driving growth, they usually are the same sectors,

health care, or at least for the past few months and couple of years, health care, government jobs, and, you know, and especially calling out that government. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real.

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family.

They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. A job category. Now, of course, there's lots of different levels of government, but seeing some of the early moves from the administration to

also limit the federal workforce. It'll be interesting. And it's too quick for these numbers to reflect how that might be having an impact, but it'll be interesting to continue to monitor this and see how the job growth data is impacted by these types of federal policy changes that are happening at the government level there. Just curious, how did Fox News and Fox Business respond to this report? Because, oh, under Biden-Harris, it would be, oh my God, it's alarming that it was less than expected. Are you asking me or are you showing a clip? No, I'm asking you. Did you see any response?

Oh no, I didn't catch that. I'm just curious to how the right wing, who lost their mind even when numbers were adjusted downward under Biden-Harris, how they operated. So I'm just curious if you saw any of that. I haven't seen that. But, you know, I do think you're right that I guess I could imagine perhaps what the coverage was there. Very likely to be less critical than anything that was happening in the Biden administration. And look, I mean, I do think that it's pretty typical at the beginning of a presidential administration that, you know, not just Fox News, but a lot of different outlets are going to see how things develop and give it a little bit of time. There's a new, you know, president in office, elected, and how that all plays out. I think it's, you know, it's fair to say that what we've been

seeing in the first couple of weeks in this administration are pretty unprecedented just with the flurry of activity. You know, take, for example, another topic that we've discussed, you know, trade. I mean, to both impose a tariff and then also remove that tariff in the span of a week. And, you know, and today, for example, deciding to remove one of those tariffs after having a meeting with the CEO of a company that is directly impacted by that tariff, you know, this is not what we would normally expect from an economic policy team or, you know, from the president. So I'm curious here, today's report reflects the whole month of January, correct? Okay.'s so which also is a part of the the Trump folks as well. I mean, I just love how how they're trying to spin this by trying to blame it on Biden Harris.

That to me was what I found to be hilarious. But but again, you know, that's what they do. They will never, ever they will never, ever actually accept blame. In fact, go to my iPod. This was Fox Business. Today's jobs report reveals the Biden economy was far worse than anyone thought and underscores the necessity of President Trump's pro-growth policies. And then they claim that they have been plugging in government jobs left and right to make the numbers look better. But the reality is the growth that we saw was actually in health care and retail.

Yeah. And again, look, I mean, this is going to be this is the time for a new administration to show they have presented a vision for the country of what's necessary to spur growth, just like you saw in that statement. And we'll see how that pans out. I think that it's, again, fair to say, I mean, this isn't a partisan observation, that there are a lot of people in the administration that are very tightly connected to Wall Street, big finance, and they have very different policy priorities from the average American and certainly very different economic situation. So, yeah, today also we're seeing attacks on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency that's returned billions of dollars to consumers all over the country.

It has a budget of about $800 million. And it's not entirely clear, even if your goal is government efficiency, why that would be a target. But setting that aside, I mean, this is an agency that's actually putting money in people's pockets that they can then spend, buy things, spur the economy, and continue to keep businesses in good shape. Yeah, but the problem with that is that they hold big business accountable, and Republicans actually hate that. That's why they never liked it.

They always wanted to get rid of it because they don't like being held accountable. And so the last thing they want, these businesses, they don't want to see workers, Americans, consumers, being taken care of. It's also why even Democratic billionaires wanted to get rid of Lena Kahn at the Federal Trade Commission. And so, again, the money,

whenever the money people on the Democrat and Republican side are agreeing to get rid of somebody, they probably are doing a great job. Well, and here and here's an interesting thing there, too, Roland. I don't know if you've been seeing some of the observations from Steve Bannon, you know, certainly one of the main leaders of MAGA movement. And he's been out there saying he doesn't agree with the big tech billionaires that seem to be running, including Elon Musk, that seem to be having a, I mean, not even disproportionate amount of influence. They are actually side by side at implementing the president's agenda, though not technically members of the government, and supports and thought that

Lina Khan should have had more power. So, yeah, it's very interesting. I mean, I think you're exactly right that we see on both sides of the aisle the corruption and the corruptive impact of money in politics and policymaking. But then we're also starting to see these splinters where a lot of different types of folks are starting to call out some of this influence and actually supporting holding some of these large businesses accountable that have been profiting enormously at the expense of the average worker, business owner and a lot of communities. And ultimately now we're seeing the effects on democracy, too. To that particular point, I want to play for you. I'd never, ever play anything from Steve Bannon, but I want to play for you so. I think there's obviously a big problem. I think a big problem in Silicon Valley with, you know, these are monopolistic powers that have gone from kind of market control and profits

to really digital platforms and rent seekers. And so I'm a huge believer in that. Also a believer on taxes, the taxes are going to happen. Unless we can close the... Now, he's saying that. So what he's laying out there, because he says that he's a true populist as opposed to conservative, Republican.

And what's happening is these tech folk, what they're really doing, what they're really doing is they are desperately trying to turn the federal government into private, like a privately run company. And so when you listen to their language, when you listen to them lay out things that need to be done, you know, this is the concern. And so what they're trying to do is in many ways different from even what some Wall Street folks do.

And so it's very interesting when you listen to it. And I received a—give me one second. I'm going to pull it up. As a matter of fact, I'm going to send this to you, Morgan, because I think you're going to take it—you're going to really enjoy this. There was a document that I received that sort of explained this that I thought was really, really interesting and compelling. Give me one second.

So I can't airdrop when I'm connected to the Roku. But now I'm, let's see here. Let's see, where is it? Let me see the document. And so give me one second. Almost there. So this is what I'm seeing, is that what we're seeing is what is called a private takeover of government.

And it says, the report outlines a troubling shift happening in the U.S. government where Elon Musk and his allies are consolidating power over critical federal agencies and infrastructure. What started as an effort to make government more efficient has turned into something bigger, much bigger, a private takeover of key government functions. And so it lays out, you know, what's going on. But this is the key right here. Unvetted, inexperienced hires under 25 years old have been given control over key government functions through DOGE.

Many of them come from Silicon Valley neo-reactionary movement, a radical ideology that opposes democracy and supports a tech CEO run government. We're going to hear a lot more about that neo-reactionary movement. And that's really, I think, what jumps out here that We have to be paying attention to. And folks like Peter Thiel and others, they are so hell-bent on Bitcoin and crypto because they want to impact it. They want, frankly, they don't want the supremacy of the American dollar. So these folks are not the same, and it may sound crazy, as traditional Wall Street folks. I think that's right.

So there's a lot to unpack, and so I don't know how much we're going to do on that today. But I think the point that these guys are a different breed than your run-of-the-mill Republican is absolutely right. How do we know? Steve Bannon, who is certainly has identified as a conservative for his entire life, I believe, is calling them out as a major problem for the security of the United States. That tells us something. The fact that we saw so many of the tech billionaires at the Trump inauguration, front and center, is a pretty strong indication of their influence over our government. Elon Musk giving $250 million to- 300. 300.

300. Okay. $300 million to Trump's campaign and pretty much a pay-for-play situation here at exercising this type of influence. And he clearly has a lot of personal interests. Why is he not a part of the government? Well, if you're not a part of the government? Well, if you're not a part of the government, then you continue to run your businesses. He has a lot of personal interest in

getting contracts from the government, particularly in the defense space, not just him, but also people who are very closely connected to him. For example, in Ohio, our state government is giving a contract to a defense, a drone defense company, the owner of which is close friends with Elon Musk and also the brother-in-law of Matt Gaetz. So, you know, there's a tangled web that has been woven that we all need to be paying attention to and start to understand the different strands of, because this is a major, major threat. The only thing I, you know, and this is where I would think probably a whole different conversation is on the dollar and how much it has served us to have the dollar be considered the reserve currency for the entire globe. That does have impacts on things like

inequality, but that's a whole nother, probably a whole nother conversation. The only thing I would also add just in terms of political observations on this whole thing is, you know, it is a little tricky. I mean, a lot of people who did vote for Donald Trump and, you know, though the mandate, so to speak, is perhaps not as strong as he and his supporters would have us believe, it is people who voted with this idea that he was very open about wanting to trim the government and make the government more efficient. So I think that's where it's going to be very hard for people to follow, you know, well, is it this more efficient that So I think that's where it's going to be very hard for people to follow, you know, well, is it this more efficient that we're getting rid of certain agencies like the CFPB? Is that duplicative? But we have to stay really focused on what are each of these agencies

doing? Who is afraid of them? Who is not on the side of wanting to have someone that's going to look out for consumers and make sure that medical debt isn't ruining their finances, for example. That's what the CFPB was doing. If you're against that, then you're pro-healthcare and Wall Street billionaires. Straight as that. But I do think you're right. Overall, Elon Musk and the world are kind of playing a whole different game. And that's something that we all need to get smart about. Well, absolutely. And listen, it is about consolidating power. It's about them, again, being in control. It's how they want to use AI. And they want to cut everybody except themselves. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I do think that there is a, look, I'm not saying that there's no one that's

in the administration who genuinely wants to make government more efficient. Me, for example, I would love, I love to make government work. I've worked in the federal government. There's certainly room to make things more efficient, streamlined, but it doesn't appear that that is the main goal of some of these early actions. Again, how do we know? I mean, take, for example, something like USAID, $40 billion budget. The defense budget is $800 billion. And it's on its way to a trillion. Yes. Half of which, and this isn't Morgan making this up, this is all publicly reported. You could look at Department of Defense documents, half of which almost is going to defense contractors.

This is crazy. And so if you're serious about addressing government spending, look at that. P.S., health care is twice as much money for the federal government going to health care as to defense spending. So what are we talking about? Immediately putting people who are doing good health projects. And again, a whole different conversation about what we're doing with USAID and how much of it we should be doing. But we are being told that this is about government efficiency. And if you're talking government efficiency and you're not talking the billions and billions of dollars that are being spent on health care or the billions and billions of dollars

that are being spent by the government on defense that are going directly to huge monopolists, then you're not being serious about efficiency. And we need to be absolutely clear about that. I'd believe a second that they care about efficiency. They care about control. Morgan, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me. Ellen Weintraub, chairwoman of the Federal Elections Commission, is refusing to step down from her position after the convicted criminal in chief tried to fire her.

Weintraub received a letter on January 31st informing her that she had been removed as a member of the FEC Commission, effective immediately. This comes after the Orange One has decided to fire anyone who is not loyal to his racist agenda. White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary said it's not up to Weintraub if she remains on the commission. FEC commissioners serve staggered six-year terms with two seats subject to an appointment every two years. One seat is now vacant commissioners are nominated by the person in the Oval Office and confirmed by the United States Senate but let me

also understand explain you how shameful despicable these people are Donald Trump removed the commander of the Coast Guard removed the command of the Coast Guard. Removed the commander of the Coast Guard. And if you want to know how callous and ridiculous these people are, they informed that woman that not only are you out of your job... I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st

and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This has kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers.

But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Called her up

and had told her she had three hours to get out of her house. This is what I'm talking about here, Michael, in terms of how they're operating and how they think. To say, not only to remove you from your job, you're out three hours. Three hours woman had to pack up and leave.

Not her office, where she lived. Yeah, and from my understanding, the initial letter she was giving gave her up to 60 days to move. But something changed. And this is just petty, vindictive Donald Trump. Now, the reason that was given for her firing was they said that she was focusing too much on DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. But to my knowledge on this, they really couldn't cite any specific instances. Of course not.

Where she was actually violating any policies or anything like that. No, the problem is she's a woman. The problem is she's a woman. She's a white woman, but she's a woman. The woman spent 36 years in the Coast Guard, 36 years in the Coast Guard. And then they were like, you're out. And then because under the guise of we trying to end a lot of this government housing for retired military personnel. But it's important for people to understand when you look at the changes that are taking place, the executive orders and different things like this, policy changes, you see

a commonality of them using DEI to wipe out policies, to revoke executive orders, to shut down government entities, departments. And they don't have to give an example, but they're using that as an excuse. They'll also say something promotes Marxist theology or Marxist ideology, and then they'll say the Green New Deal, okay? But they use DEI across the board, and all this is laid out in Project 2025. This is one of the things that they explained. So, go ahead. No.

So, this is why this 2024 presidential election, the stakes were higher than ever. Okay? So, this is going to get worse. This is the fight of our lifetimes. But, Zachary, I dare say, I'm going to play this soundbite. This is what they did not like. Listen. We currently have nearly 40% women enrolled at the Coast Guard Academy.

I'm really excited about the talent and the diversity that I see coming through the academy. My daughter is in the Coast Guard as a lieutenant, and there is just nothing but opportunity for her and all of the men and women that have joined the service. I'm really excited about the future as we look. Zachary, here's the reality. They want white heterosexual men. That's what they... They want white heter heterosexual, Christian men.

They want white, heterosexual, Christian, right-wing men. Who are also undereducated. That's what they want serving, and they want to ensure that all of the opportunities given to Americans through the military benefit that group of people. I agree 100%. And that's what you say reflected in the policies that are being pushed by this president and the rhetoric, the very dangerous rhetoric, as Michael said, that he's using. And understand

these racists. Give me one second. Remember earlier in the week when Trump all of a sudden began to attack South Africa? Mm-hmm. Okay. Give me one second.

Put up the breaking news banner. We'll tell you what this white supremacist is doing, y'all. This white supremacist has now signed executive order, signed sanctions against South Africa for their recent land seizure bill. He's ordering all aid to South Africa be halted, and he's ordering federal agencies to prioritize humanitarian relief and admission to the United States

for Afrikaner refugees. So what Donald Trump is saying is, and remember, Elon Musk tweeted this a couple days ago, we need to bring these white South Africans to the United States. And just so everybody knows, Zachary,

do you know three of the biggest billionaires supporting Donald Trump? Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, David Sachs, all three white children of apartheid. That's shocking that in the same week that our president and our government decided to deny continuing to fund humanitarian aid and relief to the people of Gaza, a land that he got on a national stage and said that he wanted to take over to further colonize, he is now also saying that he wants to give financial recompensation to Afrikaners in South Africa?

This is what it says, Matt. The United States cannot support the government of South Africa's commission of rights violations in its country or its undermining United States foreign policy, which poses national security threats to our nation, our allies, our African

partners, and our interests. Huh? Exactly how is South Africa actually doing that? And so, again, he lays out in here policy. It is the policy of the United States that as long as South Africa continues these unjust and immoral practices that harm our nation. Well, I'm sorry. How does South Africa's land law harm us? The United States should not provide aid or assistance to South Africa. promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees, escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.

Y'all, remember when he was trashing the Haitian immigrants? What he's saying is, hey, all you white people from South Africa, welcome home to the United States, Matt. How are 334 million people being held hostage by two dudes? That's what's happening right now. Like, seriously, how does South Africa's land law affect us at all? Beyond that, if the three billionaires supporting you are all South African, why are we surprised by that? Like, I don't understand this.

I do not understand this, because if this happened on a much smaller level, the response to this would be overwhelming and would be violent. Let's be honest. If two dudes came onto a block and tried to tell the people who live there how they were going to live, they would get forced off. And I understand he's the elected president of the United States, but I cannot understand this. How are we sitting here trying to apply rationalization to the patently irrational? What is the response beyond revolution? I don't understand it. Seriously, what do we do? Because it does not make sense to me that two people are holding an entire country hostage in a country that purports to have a history of standing up against tyrants. This is patent tyranny.

I mean, I don't understand what we do beyond taking different action, because I don't understand how we're at this point, and I don't understand how we're all allowing it to continually being pushed out, the bounds, right? That's why all these executive orders are coming out. It's all about testing the law and seeing how far you can go. And the courts are not going to respond quickly enough. I don't understand, like, how this is happening and how we're watching it happen in real time

and we're not responding differently. First of all, it's happening. And this is for all of you folks, FBA, B1 or not, who sat here and said, oh, y'all are shills. Y'all are all in the pocket of the Democrats.

Y'all all covering up. And so, oh, he's going to make America great again. And so what happens? Casey loses in Pennsylvania. Sherrod Brown loses in Ohio. Okay? That's two seats right there.

Then you have the other losses. So the Democrats lost the Senate. You had partisan... You had political gerrymandering in North Carolina. Those three seats in North Carolina, that's how Republicans have the majority in the House. So you have no

lever of government that can actually hold them accountable because Republicans, they ain't saying nothing. And they're not going to say anything. No, they're encouraging it. Yes. They're not going to say a word. Yeah. And many of them are cowards.

Many of them are afraid of Donald Trump. They're afraid of the 1,500 domestic terrorists that Donald Trump gave a pardon to and released. But let me just tie a few threads together. This makes perfect sense. The reason why, if you go back, I think it was 2018, when Donald Trump was president before— He wanted white folks to come in. He said, why are we having people come from S-hole countries like Haiti and things like

this? He said, why can't we have more people come from countries like Norway? OK? He wanted to increase the numbers of white immigrants coming to this country. He talked about October—in October 2024, I think it was, he put out a video—this is leading up to the November election—he put out a video saying that he would give reparations in this country to white people that were harmed when it came

to discriminatory practices in the United States, OK? When he was president before, he accused South Africa of taking land from the white South Afrikaners at the same time. This is the same accusation he's making against Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa. He just made that accusation a few days ago, and Ramaphosa said, we're not doing that. So, he doesn't need evidence. He just puts the lie out and then puts this out. And after they cut U.S. aid—after they shut down U.S. aid, OK—and for those who say we shouldn't give humanitarian aid to other countries, that's less than 1 percent of federal spending.

Okay? That's only about $40 billion. Federal spending, annual federal spending is $6 trillion, for those that don't understand math. USAID was instrumental in dismantling apartheid in South Africa. Now you got this white supremacist, at one point, illegal immigrant, according to his brother, Elon Musk. And now many people think Elon Musk is the real president. Now they put sanctions on South Africa, and they want to bring white South Africans here.

This makes perfect sense. And I wish Dr. Greg Carle was on this show right now. He'll give a whole dissertation. This is white nationalism and Christian white nationalism. This is a white supremacist wet dream come true. This makes perfect sense. But again, Zachary, numerous times I laid out on this show. I'm sorry. Not even just on this show. I'm sorry. Not even just on this show. Just real simple. Everything

that's going on. Everything that's going on. There it is. I lay that right here. I try to explain to people. First of all, in 2009, in 2009, in 2009, when I was waiting to go on CNN with John Avalon, I laid out in the book, John and I were talking,

and I said, John, I want you to understand something. We're living in the beginning stages of white minority resistance. He was like, the same John Avalon who's now in Congress. He's like, Roland, what do you mean? I said, well, white America, even though they represent a majority of the country, at that time I think the number was 63, 67,

I forgot what it was, I said to him, I said, they are about to lose their minds. I said, they are about to show their true colors. They are about to go crazy because they cannot handle 2043 when America is going to become a nation that's majority people of color and I said you are about to see the reaction

for the last 16 years that's what we've seen great replacement theory. Elon Musk is constantly tweeting about birthing rates and how America has low birth rates and how white European countries, they're not having enough children because they are freaking out that it's too many black people and Latinos. We can't have this. Germany, exact same thing.

Angry with African immigrants. But Germany is losing population. Italy, losing population. These Western nations and folks, there's a direct correlation to them swinging to the right to the right wing in the face of this Because they're trying to protect whiteness And when Donald Trump last time called African nations shithole countries and When he kept attacking? Haitians andians and actually said

I forgot, was it Denmark or something? Can't we get people from like Denmark or whatever? One of those really white countries. Finland or whatever. No way. That's what he said. That's what he said. So this all the Afrikaners

oh my God, they're facing so much discrimination. Despite the fact that they got the land because of discrimination. They took it. Against the overwhelmingly black country. Mm-hmm. This executive order. This executive order by Donald Trump is about protecting

whiteness. Go to it. It's about protecting whiteness. And the person who, y'all know that boy, I don't know nothing about this. The person who is driving this is the child of apartheid.

The man who became of age in the racist apartheid system in man who became of age in the racist apartheid system in South Africa, Elon Musk. And what federal agency played a huge role in ending the racist

apartheid system in South Africa? U-S-A-I-D. Y'all, we told y'all about this. We told y'all what these white supremacists were trying to do. We kept saying it, but way too many folk.

Now, we gonna pick the couch. Now, we gonna sit this one out. We gonna teach y'all a lesson. Really? Really? It's actually happening, folks. White supremacists and white nationalists are in control of the government and do understand.

Did we tell y'all the other day with regards to, with regards to the one of Elon Musk tech guys who was fired because of racist tweets? Mm-hmm. Did y'all see what happened today? Did y'all see... Re-hire. Did y'all see where Donald Trump... Did y'all see where his vice president, J.D. Vance...

Did y'all see what happened? J.D. Vance came out with tweets saying, you know what? You know what? I really think he needs to be rehired. I just think, I just think that, you know what? This is the mediaite story. J.D. Vance angrily defends call for Doge

to rehire racist troll who called to normalize Indian hate. Oh, you know, he just made a mistake. He just made a mistake. You know, it's just, you know, he goes,

here's my view. I obviously disagree with some of Ella's posts, but I don't think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid's life. We shouldn't reward... Y'all, listen to this. We shouldn't reward journalists who try to destroy people. Y'all, the Washington Journal reporter

dug up the tweets. So he's now putting it on the reporter. We shouldn't reward journalists who try to destroy people, ever. So I say bring him back. If he's a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that. Ro Khanna responded to that. And then Elon got in on it. It was like, you know what? Yeah, good idea. Yeah, you're right. Guys, they want the racist working for them.

And remember, the other racist we told you about, that guy Beatty, remember the one who posted the, he posted the, he had the tweet as recent as October 2024. First of all, this is what that racist posted on January 6, 2021. He was fired in the first time Trump was there. He posted this on January 21st. He said that Tim Scott,

Ibram Kendi, Black Lives Matter, and K. Cole James of the Heritage Foundation all should need to learn their place and take a knee to MAGA. All black people. Two of them prominent black Republicans. That's literally what this racist posted.

Then, this same racist, this is what this same racist posted on October 4, 2024. Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work. Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities and demoralizing competent white men.

Y'all, that was three months ago. And have Republicans said anything? No, because they welcome these racists in the administration. They welcome them. And you know what I did? I actually sent a tweet to Pastor Darrell Scott, because he was constantly sitting here trying to call other folks out. And so I literally sent him, and I said, well, are you going to say anything?

And I want you, I want you to go, go, go, go on my iPad. Look right here. I have personally text him my response. Do you see anything from Pastor Darrell Scott condemning the hiring of racist white

people in the administration? Not a word. Now he called out Charlie Kirk for his attacks on the Civil Rights Act and MLK. I applaud him for that.

But now that Trump is there, his boy, he can call on the phone. He ain't saying a word. They want the racist in the administration. This is their agenda. Going to a break. We come back. If you're a federal worker, in the administration. This is their agenda. Going to a break. When we come back,

if you're a federal worker, do not take a buyout. It is a trap. We'll explain next on the Rolling Mark Unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. What's up, y'all? Look, Fanbase is more than a platform. It's a movement to empower creators,

offering a unique opportunity for everyday people to invest in Black-owned tech, infrastructure, and help shape the future of social media. Investing in technology is essential for creating long-term wealth and influence in the digital age. The Black community must not only consume tech, we must own it.

Discover how equity crowdfunding can serve as a powerful tool for funding Black businesses, allowing entrepreneurs to raise capital directly through their community, through the jobs ad. Now that Roland Martin is willing to give me the blueprint. Hey, Saras.

I need to go to Tyler Perry and get another blueprint because I need some green money. The only way I can do what I'm doing, I need to make some money. So you'll see me working with Roland. Matter of fact, it's the Roland Martin and Sherlock Holmes show. Well, should it be the Sherlock Holmes show and the Roland Martin show? Well, whatever show it's going to be, it's going to be good. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple

Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast.

Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more.

Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Folks, millions of federal workers are deciding whether to accept or reject the buyout offer that Elon Musk has presented to them. Critics say the offer is a bad deal because the criminal in chief, Donald Trump, is not authorized to make that kind of deal. Remember, Congress must approve something like that. Ben Dixon is a pastor, political commentator, author of God is Not a Republican, joining me now from Atlanta. Ben, this is a pastor, political commentator, author of God is Not a Republican, joining me now from Atlanta. Ben, this is real simple. So y'all have this campaign that y'all are focused on.

And pull the graphic up, Ben's graphic, y'all. No, that's the book. So we were late showing the book, y'all. Showing the graphic, they're promoting, they're circulating for people not to actually sign this. Do y'all have it? Thanks for having me, Roland. All right.

So, Ben, y'all are trying to get these federal workers not to accept this buyout. Explain. Yes, exactly. And I'm glad I heard you almost say black because we know so many federal workers are black people. We know for certain that Congress has not authorized any type of buyout. And we know for certain that this was off guard. A lot of people, even in Donald Trump's administration, was caught off guard by Elon Musk creating this buyout package. We are encouraging all federal workers to, one, not fall for it because, like you said, it is a trap.

But number two, they are the front line holding the line against MAGA. We need them to stay in their jobs, in their positions, and make sure that they hold the line, do not take the buyout from MAGA. Have you communicated with some? Because I saw one report earlier this week that an estimated 20,000 federal workers had actually accepted the buyout. I was talking, it's interesting, I saw this tweet I brought up yesterday from the right-wing radio person, Buck Sexton. And he was like, well, it tells you these people want to keep the buyout because, you know, they want to keep these cushy federal jobs. And my response was, no, idiot. It's because the buyout is not real. It's fake.

It's fraudulent. This is the graphic. I just pulled it up myself. This is the graphic right here being y'all pushing out. Federal workers do not resign. Do not resign. America needs you. Resist from within. Document everything. Demand excellence. MAGA will fail. But the most important thing, and spread the word, no MAGA buyout. But again, it's illegal. There's nothing there. Congress, actually, it starts in the House. Congress appropriates money. There is nothing there in the federal budget that says, yeah, we're going to pay these buyouts. That's right. That's right. So it's smoke and mirrors, and it's to create a momentum. They're trying to create a momentum so that federal workers will quit on their own.

They understand that they don't have the power. They have to go through the bureaucracy. They have to go through red tape to try to fire any of these individuals. And so they're trying to entice them to quit. But like you said, it's a trap. There is no Congress congressional approval for this. This is Elon Musk talking out the side of his neck, trying to run a fast one on you. Federal workers do not resign. And if you know a federal worker, if you know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who's a federal worker, please spread the word. Do not resign. My panel, Matt. So, Pastor, what happens if people don't take these resignations or this buyout, excuse me,

and the administration says you got to go and people just decide not to leave? Like, what are their rights, literally, in terms of being in a federal building, removal? What does that process look like? The reason I ask that is my understanding is something like 2 percent of the federal workforce is considering taking this, which means the other 98 percent are not, which means there will be mass action, presumably, as it relates to firing. What is your understanding on their rights in terms of removal and that kind of thing if they choose not to take this buyout and their hands are forced?

Well, thankfully, many federal workers are unionized, and many of the unions are speaking out right now, letting it be known that they are collectively denying and refusing to even consider this buyout. And so their first line of defense will be their unions, their union attorneys, those individuals who know how to file a wrongful termination suit. That's their next line of defense, to make sure you have your lawyers as much as you can get them, if you have them, to represent you immediately if you're fired. But while you're there, most importantly, we need you to document everything, because we expect a functioning government with MAGA, just like we did underneath Joe Biden, and so federal

workers can document the incompetence that we know comes with MAGA. And also, I mean, I've seen some stories, Ben, if you can speak to this, that where some have speculated that if you take this buyout, it could have implications regarding your federal pension. That's right. No, absolutely right. The part of the buyout, again, this is something crafted by Elon Musk, so you have to think that this is something that comes from the corporate sector. And hold on, before you say, and he's, it's literally the exact same language. He took it from what he did at Twitter, so they just copy and paste it.

Right. He copied and pasted the fork in the road email headline, right? And so this is him letting everyone know that it is Elon Musk. He is trying to show how big his ego is and how much power he has. He did not consult with any of the department heads, any of the cabinet members. He made this move. It was disruptive even to MAGA, if you can imagine that. He superseded the disruption of MAGA. And to what end? To lie to people people to try to entice you to quit.

That's how they win. Workers, federal workers, please, for the love of everything, hold the line. Do not resign. Zachary, you know, one thing that I think is kind of my question, right, as someone who does content creation, how can we get the word out on a broader scale to ensure that the federal workers know that, one, this probably is a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act and that the max you can get anyway from the government would be $25,000, so this would exceed that for many of these employees. How do we get the word out so that they know to stay and just toe the line? No, absolutely. We have to get the word out one by one. We can't, there's no platform big enough that's going to come in and save us. So we need every content creator, every person in a text thread with your family, even some folks you haven't talked to in a while, anyone that you know from high school or college or your church that might be a federal

worker. We need to reach them as individuals. We need everyone to do their part. The other thing is, I'm honestly, as I'm looking at the live audience with Brother Roland tonight, we need everyone in the live audience to go and recruit five more people to come and sit and listen to the wealth of knowledge that's happening here. It doesn't matter how much content we create if we don't get eyes on that content. So we need to get 100,000 black folks watching Roland Martin every night. That's how we get the word out. Michael. Pastor Ben Dixon, can you talk about exactly what a civil service employee is and how that differs from an appointee? And how does this play into this whole buyout?

How does this play into Schedule F employees, which is part of Project 2025, and eliminating about 50,000 at least employees and replacing them with Trump loyalists? Absolutely. Thank you so much for that very important question, because civil employees, civil workers are actually advanced based on merit, test-taking, qualifying, expertise, I mean, they go through the mill. Any federal worker would tell you they worked and gave their life, everything they could to get to the position that they are in, versus MAGA, a bunch of incompetent, cave-dwelling troglodytes who don't believe in science, who don't believe in truth, they don't believe in anything but servitude to Donald Trump.

We guarantee, we know without a shadow of a doubt, if these federal workers resign, they will be replaced by people who are incompetent, incapable, and ideologues. All right. Thank you. Matt. One more question, Pastor Ben. So, my understanding is, under President Clinton, there was some version of federal workers being asked to leave. I don't know all the contours of that. But if you would, please let us know, is there any precedent for this? And if so, how was it done legally there, so we can contrast to what we're seeing, the illegal actions going on now?

Not at this scale and not in this magnitude in terms of who's doing it. Elon Musk, the request goes against most of the policy, which requires a 30-day notice in any case with federal workers. That's the baseline, not to mention whatever the unions have on top of that. There are layers to this being done. However, if they could just get everyone to quit, then they don't have to go through those layers. And so how would it absolutely look? Actually, one second. I actually have the answer here. So a fact check was done on this here. And go to my

iPad. Did Clinton set the precedent for mass federal workers? Trump fans say his plan for federal worker buyouts is not new. In the early 1990s, Bill Clinton signed... See, I want you all to hear this is the operative phrase. Bill Clinton signed an act

allowing $25,000 buyouts for federal workers. That was passed by Congress. Right here. Under Clinton, the government offered mass buyouts. But there's a key difference with what's happening under Donald Trump. A bipartisan Congress overwhelmingly approved Clinton's program following months of review. That's the difference. There it is. That's the difference because this is being headed up by Elon Musk. He has taken his prerogative. He's taken his ego, his pride and his platform and has decided that this

is what the United States of America is going to do as opposed to Congress passing legislation. All right, then. Again, folks, we want you to... Is the graphic on your pages? I know I put it on my Instagram page. Yes, it's across all of social media at this point. We need just everyone to get this image, send it to people in real life that you know, call, text them. Federal workers do not resign.

Absolutely, because, again, if you voluntarily take the buyout, you're also putting in jeopardy your legal status. So you, and I'm sure Matt, being a lawyer, will tell anybody you want to protect every legal opportunity that you have. You don't want to take that buyout. Don't even get near it. And I need people to understand. I know Christopher Wray and the other people, they resigned. Y'all, I'm just going to tell you how this is here. When I worked at a radio station, KRLD in Dallas, Jack Hines was a news director. And so Jack wanted me to resign. I said, hell no, I ain't resigning. So somebody came to me and said,

Rolla, I don't understand. I mean, they're trying to force you out. I said, you never quit because you can't file for unemployment insurance. That's right. I said, you let them fire you. Y'all, firing, getting fired today ain't the same as it was 30, 40 years ago.

I don't give a damn. Let them fire you. Then you have a better legal standing. Then the unions can file lawsuits on your behalf. What you don't do, you don't voluntarily quit.

That's right. You don't do it. Alright, Ben, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, man. Thank you. Going to a break. We come back. Y'all, they lost their minds on CNN when a sister talked about, when she talked about being the lowest paid despite all her degrees. Now, Mag is coming after Ashley Allison. Y'all know I got to educate these fools

on the reality of systemic racism. That's next on Rolling Mark Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget to support our work. Join our Brain and Funk fan club. You want to contribute via Cash App. This is the QR code for Strike. To do so, if you're listening,

go to theblackstarnetwork.com. Folks, you can also see our check and money order, PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 2003-710196. PayPal is RMartinUnfiltered, Venmo's RMUnfiltered, Zale, Roland at Roland S. Martin.com, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. Hello, I'm Isaac Hayes III, founder and CEO of Fanbase. And right now we're accepting investors in our $17 million round to revolutionize the future of social media. Today, for just $399, you can own 60 shares of stock in Fanbase at $6.65 a share.

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That is disrupting media by allowing anyone to reach all of their following and monetize their content from day one. The market is changing, big platforms are failing to serve their users, and Fanbase is stepping up to fill the gap. Don't wait until it's too late. Invest now. Invest for yourself and your future. Go to startengine.com slash fanbase and own the future of social media. Hey, what's up? It's Tammy Roman. Hey, it's John Murray,

the executive producer of the new Sherri Shepherd talk show. It's me, Sherri Shepherd, and you know what you're watching, Roland Martin Unfiltered. So at CNN, they had a hot conversation dealing with the issue of DEI, other thoughts, and Ashley Allison, who was a commentator on the network,

you know what, she went back and forth with them talking about her experience in the workplace. MAGA is really upset with what she had to say. Watch this. People that they like to be around. Do you think they like to hire the best people for the job? But I also think around the idea of diversity. No, Donald Trump hired all of his friends.

But I want to go back to people that are in his cabinet right now. You know because you are a smart man. I know you know this. Why don't you understand how political appointments work? I don't understand. It's not about you. I don't know why you don't understand how DEI works. Can we just go beyond the cabinet?

Because, yes, the president gets to pick whoever he wants, and the Senate is now for the Republicans, and I would have hoped that some of them would have had more profiles and courage, but they didn't, and they actually put people in. I do believe in your party. You have more qualified people who could be in that cabinet. I'd like to think that, but that's not what they chose. That's not what they chose, so go for it.

The issue in this country right now is we live in different realities. That's right. I live in a reality where I know I do not have the same opportunity as you. I know I don't. And you know that, too. And I know what's going on.

And you know that. Let me just tell you about me. I don't. And you know that too. And I know what's going on. Let me just tell you about me. I'm going to let you finish, but I want to answer this. I'm not talking about how you feel. I'm talking about how I feel. Me, a black woman in this country. And I will run. I'm a New Yorker, not in this city. You cannot say that. You can't say that in this city.

I'm not talking about New York. I'm talking about... Let her finish. Okay, let her finish. I got a law degree, a master's, and two bachelors. Probably more education

than all y'all added up together at this table, right? Fine by me. And I have always been the least paid person on payroll at every institution I have worked in. And it's not because...

Even in the White House? Even in the White House. Well, whose fault is that? I don't think he worked for George W. or Trump. Well, guess what happened when I was there? D-E-I. Scott.

Look. Go ahead, Scott. You're my friend. I respect you tremendously. I think you're probably the smartest operative in the Democratic Party and they should listen to you more. That's number one. Number two, you and I share a comparable background. We're both from the Midwest. We both come from middle-class families, lower middle-class families, maybe. I actually think

we share a lot of similarities in our journey. But I think you made it, and you are the most respected voice often at every room or every table you're in, not because of anything other than your talent and your work ethic. And that's all anybody ever is asking for is for people with talent and work ethic to make it. And that's what I see in you. That's how I see you. But let me tell you something about my story and my family's story is that we have faced discrimination. I have faced it. I just said I was the least paid person, even in this

moment sometimes, to my counterparts. It is just the reality of the country we live in. And I'm not saying, I do believe I'm qualified. I know I'm qualified. You won't ever tell me I'm not qualified. But the system that I live in doesn't matter about my qualifications.

All right. See right there. And that's the key. See you heard Scott, oh my God, you're great, you're wonderful, I think you're so talented. It's about hard work and your knowledge. She's like, dumb ass, you didn't hear what I said. I'm talking about the money. I'm talking about being grossly underpaid.

See this is what the right wing does. And see, remember, Pence and Trump last time about systemic racism. I don't believe in it. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2aser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug

thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. ever had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a

teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. They want to deny it. It reminds me when I was on Patrick Bette David's podcast. I had to school his ass. I had to school his ass when it came to racism and housing. And if y'all want to see, now, first of all, his ass ain't even from here. He from Iran. He ain't even from here. Like, he tried to say in an interview, why don't I go back to the neighborhood I grew up in?

Why don't your ass go back to the country your ass from and fix that? Watch this. I just want y'all to understand how these people are nuts. Are you familiar with Palmdale? i'm gonna need you to be drug tested seriously yeah do you even know today we've done the stories in florida when somebody's black selling their house the appraisers will come in and literally give them a value a hundred to

three hundred thousand dollars less because they're black? You know that's actually happened, right? You'll take one story and say that. Oh, my God! On how many occasions has that happened? Are you serious? Do you think a message like that? Okay, why don't you go ahead and Google? Why don't you go ahead and Google?

How many times has that happened? I believe it's happened, but how many times has that happened? The New York Times literally just did a story talking about the systemic racism that exists within housing appraisals. This is a fundamental problem. I'm trying to see you're living in a different reality. What progress are you making by saying that? What progress?

So what you're doing? I'm trying to end that. Do you know how inherent? Okay, hold on. You say you're Middle Eastern, right? You're trying to, hold on. You said you're Middle Eastern, right? You're trying to. Hold on. You said you're Middle Eastern, right?

I am, yes. How would you feel? How would you feel if you're selling your home? You've got a home that you know. Right. You put upgrades in it, and you know your home is worth $500,000. Yeah. And somebody comes into your home, and they see your photos.

Right. And they see your photos right and they see your family and then they go back and they go 350 000 you go what the hell so you tell that story wait wait one second one second one second get people to know no no no no happening it's actually out of a thousand appraisals out of a thousand appraisals how many times does that happen out of a thousand appraisals, how many times has that happened? Out of a thousand appraisals, how many times has that happened? You want to pull that up? You want him to pull that up?

That's your world, though. Out of a thousand appraisals, how many times has that happened? Let's just say it happens. It is a significant issue in America. Oh, my God. Wait one second, one second. There's a big difference. When the woman takes, when the woman, a black person should not have to remove their photos from the wall and remove black art and remove black books to have a white appraiser then come in and go, oh, it's actually 550. One second, one second, because I'm going to show you how it impacts generationally.

Here we go. So when you, follow me here, because this is Housing Scholarship America. I'm with you. I'm with you. When you then get that low appraisal, you then cannot sell your house for the higher value, which then means you are not then taking those proceeds and being able to invest, being able to send your kids to school. And what I'm trying to explain to you is there is a world out here that for some reason you're like living in unity world that ain't the real america brother

you are you and i'm trying to get rid of that stuff you have the wrong guy here you have to i'm trying to get rid of it okay good for you me and i am as well but you have the wrong guy here and here's what i mean by that so when you ask the question what do you do if they praise your house 350 000 less right That's your question. Okay. I don't see myself as a victim. I stopped looking at myself as a victim a long time ago. And by the way, being Armenian and Assyrian, you know what a lot of people in the Armenian community do? You know what a lot of people in the Armenian community do? They sell victimhood mentality. I'm raised with that, which is the statement of mechka.

I know you don't know what the word mechka means. Mechka means, oh, poor Roland. Oh, poor PBD. I don't see myself as a victim. And the other part is when you use one story as an example to divide and get people even angrier because out of a thousand appraisals this happened one time, I don't think you're unifying when you say a statement like that to say, hey, this is what's taking place all the time. But going back to it, so you left because you wanted better economic situation for yourself.

Listen to what you just said again. I'm having a hard time listening to what you just said when you're saying – It's so fundamentally flawed because when you say, oh, my God, you see yourself as a victim. You do. No, no. You're selling it as a victim. No, I'm not. What I'm selling is a reality.

What I'm selling is when, this is again, since you didn't, I guess you couldn't pull it up. Okay. Oh, he did pull it up. Okay. The Biden administration, the Federal Housing and Finance Agency released 47 million appraisal reports to the public for the first time. The appraisals, which were compiled between 2013 and 2021, present evidence of a persistent widespread practice in the home appraisal industry to give higher values to homes when the occupants are white

and devalue them if the owners are people of color. That's such bullshit. That's such bullshit. You know why? Hold up. Let me tell you why that's such bullshit. They actually took the reports and showed the data, and now you call it bullshit.

Of course I call it bullshit. So you ask for the data and the facts, and now you give your opinion because you don't like the facts. Stop, bro. Come on, man. Do you run a company? Yes, I do. Okay, so when you run a company, how much shit can I find in the OPEX? In the what? OPEX.

When I go into my balance sheet and I look at my expenses, my monthly expenses, what I'm paying for, rent, employees, benefits, workers' comp. I can give a number and say, we lost $280,000 this year. And it's like, oh, my God, we lost $280,000. And then I open up the balance sheet and then, boom, I'll see you're moving your face like you don't know what I'm talking about. First of all, when I see data like this, tell me the whole story. To jump to conclusion with something like this,

when I've seen the entire story, it's ludicrous to make a comment like that. Analyzing the millions of appraisals by using census tracts as a proxy for neighborhoods and comparing communities with nearly identical housing stock, two researchers found that the results showed a clear correlation. The higher the proportion of white residents in each community, Tentacle housing stock. Two researchers found that the results showed a clear correlation. The higher the proportion of white residents in each community, the higher the appraised value of individual homes. They compared similar data.

See, again, you want to reject the facts. And what I'm trying to explain to you is this is— I am not—I am refusing to constantly have people give data without me having access to the entire thing just for their own benefit to divide it. So what you're saying is in order for you, you need access to the 47 million home appraisals for yourself. I would love to see it. Okay, guess what? It's a federal agency. File a FOIA. I'd love to see it.

File a FOIA. File a what? A FOIA. Okay, so I'd love to see it. You know why? Here's the part. How often do you see data being File a FOIA. File a what? A FOIA. Okay, so I'd love to see it. You know why? Here's the part. How often do you see data being used and we don't know the whole story? Both sides.

How often? Well, first of all, we see data out there. But what I'm saying, I'm looking at data, actual data, and I'm also looking at a reality. And here's what I'm saying to you. And, again, this is what, for some reason, you're not fully accepting. When, what is the most consistent

way Americans have been able to actually build wealth? It has been through housing. That's been historical. And when you are black in America, this is not an opinion. This is not a perspective. It's a fact. What we have seen is when you have been unable to enter the housing industry, meaning covenants saying you can't sell to black people, then when you actually buy a home and they've been grossly undervalued, that then limits you from being able to sell your home at a higher value and now take the profits and then create a business and then be able to send your kids to college. And what I'm saying to you is when that has been

persistent, when you look at the appraisals, one, when you look at inability where you're buying a house, two, all of a sudden now you see a clear way how African-Americans have been impacted, not historically, but still in present day. And what I'm saying to you is, whether you are Democrat or Republican, I want that to change because what I want is somebody... You've had 53 years. So I... Come on. So I want y'all to understand.

Y'all heard all that. See, I wanted to play that for a reason. Because, see, even when you present the facts, well, I need to see the data for myself. I need to. I don't believe that. I mean, you're bringing up just just just one example. I don't understand what you're doing. They are living in an alternate world, y'all. They are. When you show the data how much a black man makes compared to a white man,

oh, well, you know, education. Now the brother or the sister got more degrees than a white guy. Oh, well, what? You mean tell me that there's data that shows that the average black college graduate makes less than

a white high school graduate? Oh, well, I don't know. Okay, dang. Now I gotta figure... Oh, but... This is the game that they play. And then with a Scott Jennings, well, I think you're wonderful,

you're talented, you're very smart. I think you're the smartest analyst in the Democratic Party. They should be listening to you. I think you're amazing. You've got work ethic. And I... He never addressed her central issue. I get paid less. This

is the bullshit that we deal with, Matt, Zachary, and Michael. I'm going to start with you, Matt. And that white folk, even white liberals, but especially white conservatives, white Republicans, can't deal with. Ashley was on point, and MAGA, they can go to hell for attacking that sister, for trying to educate you idiots. No, it's not that they can't deal with it. It's that they won't deal with it. And what Scott Jennings did is what we see them do every time. They try to tokenize one person without looking at all of the phenomena, right?

What did he do? He started lauding her about how she's great and all that. She's talking about something that we all experience. And instead of addressing that issue, he decided to say, but you're my friend. You're cool. You're good, right? We are not judged on an individual person. We're judged across how our people are treated. And if we are getting paid systemically less than everyone, that is a demonstrably true phenomenon that's provable by evidence and it doesn't matter how midwesternly genteel and saccharine sweet you sound when you say that she's a-okay scott jennings when she's talking about a phenomenon that is easily provable it's not that they won't or they can't deal with it it's that they won't deal with

and and to that particular that they won't deal with it, Michael, here's Frank Luntz trying to white mansplain how folks in my focus group, they just don't want to hear these things because you make them feel bad. Listen. I focus group them, and they are really, really tired of being accused of either racism or sexism because they voted for Donald Trump.

And it's one of the reasons why so many of them did. I sat on this stage with you and got chewed out when I suggested there's a better language to reach out to voters, that the Harris campaign is missing what they're looking for. And I say the same thing here. Americans just want to be Americans. Not hyphenated Americans. Not female Americans. Black Americans. Jewish Americans.

They just want to be Americans. How do you think it makes people feel, black people, women, any person, who has immutable characteristics about themselves, to be told every time that something happens, that because they exist in a particular role, it is their fault. How does it make them feel?

How does it make people feel when they're told that they're a racist? No, no, no. I mean, answer... No, no, no, but answer my question. I am, because these are predetermined considerations. No, no, no. You're assuming... am, because these are predetermined considerations. But, no, no, no. You were going to do... You're assuming... You're telling me I'm calling...

Do you want an answer? Well, you're not answering my question. You're telling me... Yes, I'm trying to. You were telling me that... Actually, I am. Your response is in bad faith. I mean, what she is saying is something you're not responding to

because it doesn't address why Donald Trump immediately went to DEI as an explanation without any evidence whatsoever for what looks to be an inexcusable and certainly a very devastating and tragic plane and helicopter crash a couple of days ago. And instead, you pivot to talk about how terrible it is that some people who voted for Donald Trump are being called racist and sexist. You're refusing to grapple with...

It's also an op... It was actually a 10-minute segment, and there's no way in hell I was going to play all 10 Donald Trump are being called racist and sexist. You're refusing to grapple with. It was actually a 10 minute segment and there's no way in hell I was gonna play all 10 minutes cause I mean that bullshit gets in my nerves. But Michael, this is the fact. White folks in this country, especially white conservatives, oh my God, you're saying these things to them and that they, we're all Americans

and we're not hyphenated, all this sort of stuff. Well, they don't like hearing bad news. That's why in this country, we've always had to soften our tone, change it, because we've got to talk about these things to make white people comfortable, to make them not... That's not me.

That's why DeSantis and the Republicans changed the law in Florida where if you bring up sensitive historical facts and if a white person feels uncomfortable in the classroom, then the conversation has to stop because I'm uncomfortable. I feel like I'm being attacked because of the Scottsboro Boys. I feel like I'm being attacked because of the Scottsboro Boys. I feel like I'm being attacked because four little girls were

bombed in a Birmingham church. I feel like I'm being attacked because black people were beaten and killed. I feel like I'm being attacked because white people lynched black soldiers in their uniforms. I'm being attacked because we literally had an institution called slavery where we debased, dehumanized,

and murdered and subjugated people of African descent. And so, therefore, since I feel attacked, we can't talk about it. We can't mention it. We can't talk about it. And so, oh, I'm sorry, we can't talk about how black women, you're being grossly underpaid, but you got multiple degrees. We can't talk about it. And so, oh, I'm sorry. We can't talk about how black women, you're being grossly underpaid, but you got multiple degrees.

We can't talk about the black people in corporate America who train the white people who didn't get promoted. But the black person who's formal qualified never gets actually promoted. No, we actually can't talk about those things because, Michael, it makes them uncomfortable. Well, you're going to stay uncomfortable when I speak. So not only multiple degrees, but more student loan debt. And part of Project 2025 is to eliminate student loan forgiveness. OK? And so you're not going to have the student loan forgiveness under the Biden-Harris administration that you—you're not going to have that under Trump administration that

you have under the Biden-Harris administration. But the comments here about Scott Jennings—and I can't stand Scott Jennings. I can't—I see him sometimes on CNN. But what he did was, he does what Republicans and black Republicans always do when they are backed into a corner. They never focus on the pattern. They always make it an isolated incident. This comes straight out of the Republican playbook, OK? So he talked about—you know, he's basically saying you're one of the good ones.

That's what he said. He didn't want to deal with the fact that black women make 69 cents on the dollar that the average white male makes, and it takes the average black woman 20 months to make the same amount of money that the average white male made the previous 12 months. And that accumulates over a 40-year working lifetime, 40-year working career, almost a million dollars in lost earnings that African-American women lose out on. That's because of racism. Racism is a system of advantage and privilege distributed based upon race.

And this is why Black Women's Equal Pay Day exists. It happens in August. So, when you look at the facts on this, and CNBC.com has an article, Black women make nearly $1 million less than white men during their careers. This is from August 3, 2021. Go check the—go deal with the facts on this. So—and this is dealing with economics.

They don't want to deal with economics, because the whole purpose of racism was to now distribute wealth upon resources into the hands of Europeans. And they are reconsolidating that. And this whole backlash that we see, the attack on DEI, rescinding affirmative action, this is—this is countersetting the racial reckoning that took place after the death of George Floyd. And they said, we're done with this. Donald Trump is back in office, and they are putting in place Project 2025.

Hashtag, we tried to tell you. Zachary? They are feeling bad because they feel guilt. And the guilt hurts. The guilt hurts. It's what their ancestors did to our ancestors, and it's what they are doing currently to us and to people like Ashley Allison, who is one of the most gifted and talented journalists that we are blessed to have on our television screens. Not only is she a.

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Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication.

Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I'm an old journalistic personality and voice, but she is an entrepreneur who is fighting and combating misinformation and disinformation in the Black and brown communities

through watering hole media. I'm a huge fan, a huge fan of Ashley, not of CNN, not of CNN. I prefer, you know, Roland Martin, Unfiltered and Blackstar Network any day of the week. Everything that Michael said, I once again want to reiterate, hands down, this is all laid out in Project 2025. If you would have read it, if you would have just or not read

it, look at all the content that was being pushed out all across social media platforms about this, you would have seen that the plan is to not only take away opportunities for minorities to go to college, but to take away that funding, to take away Pell Grants, to take away student loans. All of that's in the pipeline and probably going to come down on us so that we will be able to or be forced back into the black jobs. They don't want us in the C-suites. They don't want to see our faces in the workplace.

They don't want us represented. They want us in those fields working what they determine to be our black jobs. And we have to do all that we can to educate our people and encourage our community to fight back through the available means to ensure that that day doesn't happen. We have earned our place where we are, what we have, we have earned it. We have over-earned it. We are oftentimes just like, as you said, underpaid, under-supported and underfunded continuously and consistently. DEI didn't give us any advantages. All it did was give

us due consideration. DEI did not give us any advantages. All it gave us was due consideration. The reality was, what does it say, Matt? I don't see color, Roland. I don't

see color. How often do you hear that? Oh, yeah, which is... First of all, I don't see color. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. You see color, and you think I'm the black that's acceptable. I'm okay, right?

You're the one that's all right, Matt. Doesn't matter how we treat the rest of them. You're okay. That's exactly what you saw Scott Jennings do. You're the black I'm okay with, Ashley. That's what we're OK. That's exactly what you saw Scott Jennings do. You're the black I'm OK with, Ashley. That's what we're seeing. And that's the whole trick of the colorblind society. They try to—Dr. King wasn't fighting for a colorblind society.

He was trying to dismantle white supremacy and racism. He was very proud to be black. He talked about that before. He said, be black and proud. What they tried to do, what Donald Trump said on January 20th, when he was inaugurated, is going back to a Supreme Court ruling that Clarence Thomas made. He made the majority decision on it. Right, right.

I forgot the case. But it was an argument between Clarence Thomas and Katonji Brown Jackson. And he was talking about a colorblind society. And this is the language that these conservatives latch on to. We want a colorblind society, merit-based, so we're going to get rid of affirmative action and DEI, and everything's equal.

So, I want folks, again, for all these folks who the Scott Jennings of the world, and the Frank Luntz of the world, and the Patrick Bitt Davids, here's a perfect example, a study that was done last year. White-sounding names get called back for jobs more than black ones.

This is from NPR. It's dated April 11, 2024. It said, 20 years ago, two economists responded to a slew of help-wanted ads in Boston and Chicago newspapers using a set of fictitious names to test for racial bias in the job market. The Watershed study found that applicants with names suggesting they were white

got 50% more callbacks from employers than those whose names indicated they were black. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Chicago recently took that premise and expanded on it, filing 83,000 fake job applications for 11,000 entry-level positions at a variety of Fortune 500 companies. Their working paper, published this month, entitled A Discrimination Report Card, found that the typical employer called back the presumably white applicant around 9% more than the black ones.

That number rose to roughly 24% for the worst offenders. Mm. Mm. So this is the point. Same resume, different names.

That's what Ashley Allison was trying to explain to those idiots, that you can be black and you can have five degrees and you can have a law degree and an MBA and they will underpay you compared to white counterparts. And here's what's crazy Habits of white women. I remember there was a woman who went to seminary and applied for a job at a Southern Baptist Convention church. She was a single white mother.

And there was a white man who applied for a job. And the church literally told her she was already there. The church told her that they were going to pay the white man more because he was married and had kids and she was a single woman.

Not, are you doing the job? Not, are you a hard worker? Not, are you doing the job? Not, are you a hard worker? Not, are you competent? No, he's a man with kids and a wife, and you're single, so you don't actually need as much money as he does. Those folks don't want to hear that.

And with Frank Luntz, of all people, let me be real clear, this is the same Frank Luntz who, through his focus groups, focus-tested racial language, Frank Luntz, frankly, should never be on any cable network because Frank Luntz is part of the problem with today's politics.

And he's actually talked about it in the past. It was his focus groups. How do we craft certain language that will get these white Republican voters to support or oppose certain things? He's part of the problem. And so when he sits there and goes, well, in my focus group, they're tired of being,

you know, that's just toxic language. They're tired of being called those names. Let me just say this real quick. Real quick. If you are a Donald Trump voter and you're MAGA Republican and you're tired of being called racist and being called sexist, why don't you stop supporting racist and sexist? Hmm.

What a novel concept. Sonia Massey's family has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement within Illinois County following her fatal shooting by a white sheriff's deputy in 2024 after extensive confidential discussions between county attorneys and Massey's family lawyers. Sangamon County officials negotiated a $10 million settlement through mediation. The 36-year-old Massey was shot and killed in her home near Springfield on July 6th of last year. Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson and other sheriff's deputies responded to a call about a possible prowler at her home.

She called. Grayson shot Massey when she checked on a pot of boiling water in her kitchen while saying, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. Grayson has been fired from the Sheriff's Department and is facing first degree murder charges in connection with the shooting of Massey. He remains in jail but is contesting

his detention in court as he awaits trial. Folks, let's go to our Black and missing for today. On October 2nd, Kaylin Alicia Anderson was last seen in Huntsville, Alabama. The 18-year-old is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 136 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing green pajama pants. Anyone with information about Kalen Alicia Anderson should call the Huntsville Police Department at 256-427-7117.

256-427-7117. 256-427-7117. I do want to give the three of you an opportunity to just share your thoughts. We were talking about how Democrats are responding and what they're doing and sort of different things like this. And we saw today, we started this show, we started the show with Democrats going to these different federal agencies. I personally believe they should be doing that. Dr. King always talked about I need an antagonist in order nation, the world, to see how Donald Trump and his co-president, Elon Musk, are refusing to allow members of Congress into these federal buildings. Those things should be shown.

And so I just think that—and also from a messaging standpoint, when you see what Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is doing, Congresswoman Summer Lee, the reality is they have limited power to take certain actions. But I absolutely believe, Zachary, that Democratic senators should be saying, we ain't voting for a single one of your nominees. They should be saying, we're going to put a block on considering any of these names. They had more than 15 hours of filibustering to stop the OPM, the budget director from being confirmed. He eventually got confirmed. But they should be using every single tactic to shut the GOP down as best they can.

Hands down. The fact that Senator Marco Rubio was confirmed with 99 votes. Almost every Democrat voted in favor of him. When we have not seen that kind of bipartisan support in decades, in decades, astounds me. That, for me, was my actual, like, aha moment, wake-up call. Well, you know what? Instead of calling it an aha moment, I call it an oh-no moment. And that's when I decided to look—I hate to say it. I hate to say it publicly, way more critically at Chuck Schumer and his role as a leader. And he's

completely kind of proven his lack of spine and that he really is that spineless Democrat and how he has been responding to this moment. This is a moment that the American people need Democrats to step up in the exact same way that we have been seeing Representative Jasmine Crockett do, in the exact same way that we've seen Maxwell Frost do for Gen Z. We need to see our senators do the exact same thing. And for Chuck Schumer to be the leader, the Democratic leader in the Senate, and to be unable to understand this moment, it really does, it's disappointing. There was something that Karen Swisher said,

Kara Swisher, give me one second. I'm going to pull this up. And I really think this is important, Matt. And we've talked about it on this show numerous times. But this is her on CNN, and she talked about normalizing. Listen to this. One of the things you're saying is like, there should be cuts, and maybe he has a point. This is what, you're walking right into their trap. They should do it by passing legislation. They should do it legally. They're not interested. What they do is they depend on your civility and including the media is like, well, they have a good point. Well, sure. But this is not the way

to do it. And therefore they've won the battle already because you're agreeing to it, but they're doing it in ways that have nothing to do with legislation, the power of Congress, and other laws. So what's the difference how they do it? Well, it matters how they do it here. And that's why they're running over you, because nobody's stopping them and saying, this is just nonsense. And let me just say, the last thing is they distract with other things, whether it's DEI with plane crashes, everything else. Well, they're doing that. So over here, they're doing the actual thing, which is the actual destruction that you can't take back. And what they're also doing is they are playing on the on the media and others in terms of, oh, you know what? They are like, listen to this.

There should be cuts, and maybe he has a point. This is what, you're walking right into their trap. They should do it by passing legislation. They should do it legally. They're not interested, what they do is they depend on your civility, and including the media is like, well, they have a good point. Well, sure, but this is not the way to do it, and therefore they've won the battle already.

Right there. They depend on your civility. That's the mistake the Democrats keep making. They're playing institutionalists, we're going to be civil, and they're like, yo, we're going to be gangster. There's no greater motivator than fear. Period.

And our government is not afraid of us, period. And that is why they are dismantling the government before our very eyes and allowing or, you know, pushing us into the point where we're trying to rationalize it and, you know, try to fit it into this box of civility. That is not going to work. It's not going to work. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not calling for anarchy, but I don't understand how we as 334 million Americans are being held hostage by two dudes. I sent Carol an article from Wired and the article says the United States is not a startup. And that's what Elon Musk is trying to do. He's trying to run this like a private business. You know, whatever they say. What is it? Run fast and break things or whatever the little saying is, right? It's not a startup. This is the United States government. So when we're talking about, you know, various agencies being dismantled that

affect essential services that people rely upon, like that's the thing that I don't understand from the standpoint of even if you're a Republican, even if you're a fan of small government, the idea that the government is being dismantled, just the basic essential services are going to be dismantled, extraordinarily concerning to everyone across the political aisles, right? You can—I mean, theoretically, you can be a person who is a conservative but who does not like the idea that the Constitution is being run roughshod by people who don't even have, you know, an obligation because they're elected. We are Muslim. Folks are not elected. They're tech oligarchs. And the problem is, this country

is going to be—this government is going to be, you know, completely eradicated down to the studs, just like this article says. They're going to rebuild it in their image in the way that is advantageous to them. And in the meantime, we're going to sit and debate every finer, granular issue of political strategy on how to approach it within the normal confines when they are not playing the normal game, right? It's like the kid, when you play a game with the kid and they just refuse to abide by the rules and they do whatever they want and they declare themselves the winner, you either don't play with that kid or if you end up having to give them the smoke, you give them the smoke. That's where we are. We cannot use the same

mechanisms we normally use. And, you know, I know I sound a little Don Quixote-ish, but I have no other way to say it beyond we are having two different realities. There's a reality where they are going in and looting the government, and we're sitting around hoping that they stop doing it. I don't understand how two dudes are holding an entire country hostage. I don't understand how there are not hundreds of thousands of people outside 1600 Pennsylvania demanding different action. I mean, frankly, I don't see how we as a society

allow this to continue happening. Maybe there's something I'm not considering, but I just... No, I mean, look, they voted for this crap. I mean, look, again, it ain't like, Michael, as we keep saying, it ain't like they didn't tell us. They told us, but, and ain't like, Michael, as we keep saying, it ain't like they didn't tell us. They told us, but, and then he denied it.

Well, I don't know anything about, I know nothing about Project 25. I don't know anything about that, whatever. And so that's why you see these people, well, we didn't think he was gonna go this far. And here's the deal. Listen, unlike last time, ain't no third term. So there's no, oh, I can do whatever.

Y'all can't do nothing to me. And by the way, y'all impeached me twice and Republicans didn't convict me at all. So, yo, I'm good. When you give somebody that kind of power, a fool like this, he don't believe in lines he believe in obliterating lines forget crossing lines going to the edge now he like yo i'm about to hop skip jump parachute bungee jump the fuck over these lines yeah it's uh it's it's so much here. One of the biggest differences between 2016 and 2024 is that in 2016, Donald Trump did not think he was going to win.

So there was no plan—there was no plan in place. And he didn't surround himself with as many loyalists back then as he has now. He learned from that. And in the three and a half years they put together Project 2025, they've been planning this. They've been looking at the weaknesses in the system, OK, and how to take this over. This is how Elon Musk takes over the Treasury, and nobody saw it coming. And then you have the legal analysts saying, well, you know, he can't do this with the 14th Amendment.

He can't do this with an executive order. They said, damn this, we're going to take it, and then now you come trying to take it from us. Now, Democrats keep bringing a butter knife to a political street fight and wonder why to get their asses kicked, OK? So, the fight that we've seen taking place the past few days, that has to continue. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is saying that they're ready—they're threatening to—Democrats are threatening to shut the government down in the House coming up to the March 14th funding deadline to stop Elon Musk. He put out a 10-point plan

this week. So they have to continue and intensify this. And also, the masses of people can't just put pressure on Democrats. You've got to put pressure on these weak-ass, punk-ass Republicans who are derelict in their duties as well, because if you don't, what you do is you give Republicans a pass. If Republicans don't feel any pressure from any people who they represent, they'll just keep on doing it, OK? And people—this past Wednesday, you had 50 protests around the country, many of them as state capitals.

They had the 50-51, 50 protests, 50 states one day. That was organized by Indivisible. So a lot of people are downloading that document again like they did in 2016 and organizing as well. But this has to intensify. But, you know, this is what we warn people about. And this stuff is happening faster than a lot of us thought it was going to happen. Well, again, folks, go ahead, Matt. You know what's going to happen on the 4th of July?

They're going to start talking about how this country was taken from tyranny by the American founders and how we should blot them and lionize them again, right? That is our core American ethos that annually July 4th. What do we do? We go out and talk about how they took this country from King George and they planted their flag. How are we allowing a tyrannical dictator who says he's going to be a dictator on day one, who will probably be talking about a third term sooner than later? I'm sorry, Roland, I disagree with you on that. I think that's absolutely. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer

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Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Absolutely what's coming, unless he's too old to continue on in the office. And we are acting like we're not at that point in terms of our democracy, our purported democracy. The idea that there are not people in the streets, like you cannot just take the government from us, I don't understand. I really don't.

And I don't know if it's just fear of discomfort. I don't know if it's fear of reprisal, but I know that 334 million is more than two mathematically and how we have not become pushed to action in a greater sense, I cannot understand it. I don't think we have any political mechanism, normal mechanism, to fight back. But that's why I don't want to hear that shit. I'm tired. I mean, it's tough.

No, this ain't the moment to be tired. Real quick, Trump has revoked President Joe Biden's security clearance. He said, quote, Joe, you're fired. And then this idiot has appointed himself chairman of the board of the Kennedy Center.

He's fired all of the board members, even though he actually can't do that. But again, he thinks he's a king. That's what happens. Gentlemen, I appreciate it. Zachary, Matt, Michael, thank you so very much. Hey folks, we do our best to cover all these

stories. There's a lot of stuff I didn't get to. Understand, this stuff is real what's going on. This stuff is real. And what we are seeing is an absolute coup. A takeover of this country. And if you are going to sit silently by, that's all up to you.

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That is absolutely vital, important for us to cover expenses, for us to be able to travel, for us to be able to be on the ground. Because we don't, listen, I'm not trying to sit behind this desk or sit over there every single night. No. We know we're going to have to be out there covering these stories, going to cities and towns across this country like we've done over the last six years. So your dollars absolutely make that possible. So if you want to give via Cash App, remember Cash App is closed down on all of our accounts because they changed their rules when it came to the type of companies. You can only have an LLC. Well, we are an Inc. So we're not an LLC. And so that's why we had to shut those down. But of course, we figured out a way around that. If you want to give us via Cash App, use the Stripe app.

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to access that information. Of course, be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. Yes, we took Target off of that. And so that's how you can get it. Download the audio version, which I read on Audible. And of course, you can also leave it out. Oh, of course, I want you to download Fanbase, invest in Fanbase. And if you want to be invested in it, they've raised $8.5 million. The goal is to raise $17 million in this Series A raise. Go to startengine.com forward slash Fanbase or download the app Fanbase as well. Folks, that's it. I appreciate it. As we always close the show on Friday, we show all of our donors,

and so we thank all of them. We thank you for watching. I'll see you on Monday. And let's see. Who am I picking? You know what? Damn it. I want the Eagles to win.

I want the Eagles to beat Kansas City. I want Jalen Rose to win. Because I don't support quarterbacks that like Niagara. I'm out. Holla! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm Martin. More time. Thank you. Thank you. This is an iHeart Podcast.