The Young Turks - Kamala Harris Caught LYING?

Episode Date: June 29, 2019

Senator Kamala Harris walks back on a HUGE stance. Analyzing how Kamala Harris gutted ex-veep Joe Biden. Get exclusive access to our best content. http://tyt.com/GETACCESS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's a Friday at the young Turks. You may drop it like it's hot. Oh, check it out. It's a super power panel today. Yes, we got Brooke Thomas. We got Ashley and Marie Presley. On the power panel, too, have some fun today. We already discussed this, but we're going to let everyone know I missed, I'm not going to call

it purple, this is plum. It's the plum, it is, uh-huh, it is what happens when you mix all the quons a color. colors together. Yes. I mean, it's what happens when you make some excellent power panels together. I think that should have garnered a heart of your laugh. I'm not sure what's going on. Yeah, okay.

Well, I was actually, you know, because I was a nerd on these types of things, I was actually imagining the colors. I said, how would that come together? What color would that make? And as I was thinking about it. It's just a fun of years. It's all right. I still liked it.

Fun times, everyone. Yeah, yeah, we do. So another Friday, you guys. Thank you for coming first of all you guys. guys. This is going to be a fun time. We always have lots of fun and interesting topics to talk about. Send all of your lovely comments at hashtag TYT Live as you're watching with us. And also, if you have bad things to say, just keep it to yourself. That's my rule on Twitter. Leave me alone. You know, if you don't have anything overwhelmingly

nice to say, leave me alone. I don't know. I have a whole other level of pettiness, so I welcome all of the criticism. Can I send them your way? Please. Please, by all means. Goodbye. Sorry, it happened earlier. It was the thing that happened behind the scenes today.

It all matches for today. I like it. It does. Are we getting ready to get started? I think we should. Shall we do it? All right, let's get started. So the debate was last night, a lot going on.

And Senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris has actually changed her tune a little bit on a major issue from last night's debate. She now says she does not support abolishing private health insurance in the United States saying she misheard a question from NBC's moderators about Medicare for All during the presidential debate. And take a listen, because if you'll remember what happened, Lester Holt asked a question and a few answered. Senator, on health care last night, you were asked to raise your hands the entire panel,

10 of you, if you believe eliminating private insurance should be part of the Medicare for all proposal. You and Bernie Sanders both raised your hands. You've been asked and sort of clarified this question a couple of times over the course of the campaign. So once and for all, do you believe that private insurance should be eliminated in this country? No. You don't. No, I do not. But you raised your hand last night. The question was, would you give up your private insurance for that option? And I said yes. Oh, I think you heard it differently than others then. Probably because that's what I heard. Yeah, so she says that's what she heard. She heard it differently.

We'll get into that in a second. But first, I want you to see the question, hear it, excuse me, I want you to watch and hear the question directly from Lesser Holt and watch the reactions. Who here would abolish their private health insurance in favor of a government run plan? Yes. All right. Okay, so Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden, awkwardly, I guess it could be technically seen as raising his hand.

And that happened at the end. So that's what happened. And you heard her answer and her explaining, clarifying this morning. And I was talking to John Ida Rola about this. And he said that he sort of understood the question was confusing. Not necessarily talking about her answer, but just the question may have been seen as confusing or could have been clearer because I guess one could say there's a difference between would you personally abolish your own personal health insurance for what?

Medicare for all compared to, would you abolish it for everyone? I think for me, the word abolish doesn't sound like something you would just do in your own personhood. Right. Abolish sounds like a law. Yeah, definitely. It sounds official. It definitely sounds official.

And not only that, when they asked her to clarify her stance, she at the end said, probably probably doesn't sound that sure. And not only that, the Washington Post sent out a survey about health care for all. And she did not reply to the request. And then on CNN, she had a different stance. And so really, I think what it boils down to- Well, wait, stop right there. We have that CNN.

We have a little bit of that because exactly what you're pointing to is that there have been other moments where Kamala Harris has had to clarify her stance on Medicare for all, and specifically the aspect of private insurance. Here is a conversation that happened on a CNN town hall that she later had to clarify. Watch. I believe it will totally eliminate private insurance. So for people out there who like their insurance, they don't get to keep it. Well, listen, the idea is that everyone gets access to medical care.

And you don't have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through the paperwork, all of the delay that may require. Who of us has not had that situation where you've got to wait for approval? And the doctor says, well, I don't know if your insurance company is going to cover this. Let's eliminate all of that. Let's move on. So you saw the question there.

was will people who like their private insurance be able to keep it? And the end of her answer was, let's get rid of all of that. Let's move on as far as issues one may have with their private insurance. That's at least how it was interpreted from a lot of people. Therefore, the next day, she went back on CNN to clarify. Well, we were together, and you'll remember, and roll the tape, please. Yeah, we can roll the tape. Well, you support the Bernie Sanders bill, which essentially gets rid of insurance.

I support Medicare for all, but I really do need to clear up what happened on that stage. It was in the context of saying, let's get rid of all the bureaucracy. Let's get all of the ways. Oh, not the insurance companies. No, that's not what I meant. I know it was interpreted that way. If you watch the tape, I think you'll see that there are obviously many interpretations of what I said. What I meant is let's get rid of the bureaucracy.

But the bill gets rid of insurance. No, no, no. It does not get rid of insurance. So it's confusing. And as you mentioned, the Washington Post essentially kind of like broke down the question that was asked in the debate a little bit more. So saying, will you essentially get rid of private insurance in orders to have Medicare for all? I just saw her digging in her, I just saw her digging in her trick bag of courtroom antics. Like, honestly, I saw, what do you think?

Well, there's, it's, it's, it's, I guess, I don't know the right term is this, but legalese, you go through, one word will change the difference. And it works to degree because the abolish line also meant something different to me to it. When I hear abolish your health care plan, it means not my personal. and abolish my plan for the country, right? And she's like, well, you know, I would abolish mine, but you said mine. So I'm thinking my own, but abolish sounds, it depends on how it is. So she also makes sure to not say also from May when she's clarifying from January to make

sure to say, well, not that anyone was wrong, it was just misinterpreted or said incorrectly or what I meant. I understand you can mishears, all these different things of not like you were wrong, I was right, this is what I meant, you didn't get it. So it's still, and it works. I'm reading it this deep into it, but I'm still going, okay, I'll give her that much. You were able to give her at least a 50% pass so she can continue. Here's the deal, though.

Here's the deal. Why are they coming for Kamala so hard? That's a rhetorical question, because the truth is that not too many of the candidates really understand what that would entail, what the plan would entail. It hasn't thoroughly been fleshed out enough. And so if you were to ask every single candidate on that stage, Biden, Bernie, even the one who proposed it, none of them would really have answers that were that well nuanced. And so I do think that by speaking to that topic, it's an opportunity to single people

out and target people, when in reality, no one really has enough information on it, and they're just using it as a buzzword to reach the voter. So the thing is, if I have a problem with what Kamala Harris is approaching the healthcare issue, because she said she's part of it, where Bernie's plan is, she's on for it. And that was the last clarification from May was, I'm not into abolishing people. private health care, because you still need it for things like plastic surgery or elective surgery. That's the technicality, that it won't over 100% get rid of private health insurance,

but essentially you won't need it. They're saying that the services, yeah. American won't. But I'm a little bit nervous, though, because I'm also a member of the transgender community, and I'm also living under an administration that feels that reproductive rights and trans, you know, therapy that we need, that they get to decide whether we get it or not or how we get it. They'll be deemed as elective.

Yeah, so it is kind of, there are some layers to that that we do need to examine, like, what does it mean that the federal government would have full control? What would some of those options look like? And so I think that it's definitely early to say how that would work, but I think that we do need to realize that it's. It's not as black and white as we would. Yeah, and because it's early in the, yeah, in the campaign process, because it's really you have to try and make sure you appeal to all these people still.

And so that's the point of having folks in that may not think the way you do. So in having this conversation, because let's keep it real, they prepare for everything. They have pre-written lines. If I'm running for president and I'm preparing for this debate, I'm going to have folks around me and I'm okay, how is this going to affect you? Oh, okay, Southerner, how is this going to affect you? Hey, Northern white person, how's going to affect you? Hey, black guy from Kentucky, how's going to affect you?

I need everyone to know. Campaign needs, all this money, lobbying. Like, that is a huge, I wouldn't expect for the private insurance industry to go without a fight. Absolutely. I think there's one sticking point for this for me is that this question, while I can understand that if it had been the first instance of this question, it could be confusing. But it was asked, same word for word, excuse me, the night before and had been one

widely discussed. Not only that, there were only two people the night before Bill de Blasio and Elizabeth Warren who did raise their hand. And they very, I think pretty clearly explained how they interpreted the question. And then it was talked about for 24 hours, which is part of the reason why it was asked again. So it's hard for me to believe that anyone at that point could be confused about the question. Key operative to raise their hand if they didn't mean it. So is the question.

Am I being too hard? No, I think the key operative is conversation. And I think what happens, in fact, isn't that like her tagline? Like, let's have a conversation. The thing is that people aren't having a conversation. It's only people like Elizabeth Warren. And I swear like full transparency, I'm not just saying that because I'm pro-Warn. It is that how many of these candidates are actually going into the community, not just doing

meeting greets at their events, but actually sitting down and having private closed-door meetings with the people who are being directly impacted by these policy proposals. And I don't think too many people are doing that. I think that they're relying on, not in a disrespectful way, the ignorance of the voter, to not know what these policies or plans entail. And they're just trying to play on their emotional buy-in. Yeah, so people that are going to get deep into it will eventually get, as you said, the general voter will think, oh, this is too deep.

I'm not sure the exact nature of this. You appeal to the broader voter, especially at this stage. So I guess in trying to figure out whether someone is being manipulative or straight up lying, I always ask, what is her motivation or potential objective? for being misleading. Is it accidental? It's possible. Is it a well-thought-out plan to confuse everyone?

That's possible, too. So we have to determine, I guess every person has this on their opportunity to do it, man, is she trying to lie to us for a reason? Right. Because then that's part of the political game. We talk about how Republicans always say, hey, the Democrats are out to get you. They want to kill you. And it's like, calm down.

Yeah. Like, we need to be honest about what we think. I don't think that she's out to lie to anyone. I think she's just trying to buy time and stave off the really, complex, controversial issues until she can get her strong points up. And then I really do believe that if Kamala were to be elected, I think she would revisit it. I do. But I think, again, it's all about optics and people trying to save face.

And so we don't need a perfect politician. We just need an honest way. Do you think her in office would be against Medicare fraud, or at least a good enough version of it? That's the question. I don't know, because I'm looking at past Kamala on criminal justice issues. So maybe I'm not the fair analyst. for this one, but her past shows that she typically tends to go in the direction of the wind blows.

However, you know, people do change. And so I give her space for that. I definitely applaud her for at least showing up to have the conversation and clarify it, whatever that looks like. Well, moving on a little bit, this has, I guess you could say, dampened a little bit of what otherwise was a rock star night for Kamala Harris. It was actually very, it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country. And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing.

Yeah, and after this and Biden's kind of flub of an answer that we'll get back to in a bit, He spent all day today, he has spent all day trying to clarify his record on segregation. Watch this. I heard and I listen to and I respect Senator Harris. But you know, we all know that 30 seconds to 60 seconds on a campaign debate exchange can't do justice to a lifetime committed to civil rights. I want to be absolutely clear about my record and position on racial justice, including bussing. I never, never, never, ever opposed voluntary bussies.

And as a program that Senator Harris participated in, and it made a difference in their life. I did support federal action to address root causes segregation in our schools and our communities, including taking on the banks and redlining and trying to change the way in which neighborhoods were segregated. I've always been in favor of using federal authority to over. come state-initiated segregation. In fact, I cast a deciding vote in 1974 against an amendment called the Gurney Amendment, which would have banned the right of the federal courts to be able to use busing as a remedy. And you might guess in the middle of the most extensive busing order in American history in my city, in my state, it wasn't what you'd call the most

popular vote in the country at the time. It's a constitutional question to protect the civil rights of every single American. And that's always been my position. So, and I think that that's a great thing to say. It is a constitutional right, constitutional, I think, responsibility to protect the right, the civil rights of all Americans. So his answer last night, after Kamala, one could say, held his feet to the fire, is, would be confusing if you compare it to what he said there.

He was with Jesse Jackson, who you couldn't see. But I mean, yeah, it's just so transparent, you know, but let's take a look at what he said last night during the debate. Okay, so she asked him what you all just saw, and then he kind of stumbled through it. And then she made him clarify, you know, do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose busing in America then? And he says, I did not oppose busing in America. What I opposed is busing, ordered by the Department of Education. That's what I opposed. I did not oppose, and he got kind of cut off.

And so she points out, and you know, you have it there, but you don't have to see it all. At this point, you know, she says there was a failure of states to integrate public schools in America. I was part of the second class to integrate Berkeley, California public schools almost two days after Brown versus Board of Education. And Biden jumps back in and says because your city council made that decision. It was a local decision. And then here comes Harris with common sense.

So that's where the federal government must step in. That's why we have the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. That's why we need to pass the Equality Act. That's why we need to pass the ERA, because there are moments in history where states failed to preserve the civil rights of all people. And him saying what I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. That is saying I oppose the federal government stepping in to protect the civil rights of black Americans when states fail.

That's what that means. Point blank. And not only that... And that hurt my feelings last night, just to hear any Americans say that on national television in 2019. I'm even going to simplify what makes this problematic for the folks that didn't go to school for a political science degree. Let's just go back to the basic part of that.

He has used that same retired statement every time he's confronted with being problematic. I have heard you. I have listened. And I respect you. That's the same thing he said when he was held to the fire about invading women's boundaries and being handsy and touchy around the Me Too subject. And the other piece, and then he goes on to say, but, whenever you say but, you just canceled out everything that you said previous to that.

And when Kamala is sitting there telling you that she was of those children who were directly impacted, and for him to brush right over that, that is textbook gaslighting. That's exactly what that is. And I don't understand who's advising him to not just say, I was wrong. Every political advisor, every political advisor tells people not to say that. This is absurd. That's why last night, Buttigieg when he said I was wrong and it's a mess in South Bend. And some people saw that as a positive because he admitted to his fault in it and continuing fault in it.

I think a lot of people saw him, went, man, he looks weak. Because if you say my bad, people see it as that way. Well, we look at cancel culture in the way that that, like, unfolds. And so, like, I think personally, even when Tulsi Gabbard, when they dragged her and were like, girl, you were anti-LGBQ, you were all these things. And she stood there with that bone structure and just, like, looked and was like, yeah. And I've moved on and then move on. I think that, again, if we can't trust you to take accountability, we can't trust

you to represent us in the White House. Completely agree. And sometimes your past actions are so strong that regardless of how you answer, you You cannot and should not be president of the United States. You can't talk about how it's happened. Listen, with Pete Buttigieg, everyone, the facts are there. There is a, there are race relations issues in South Bend. And him as the leader of that city is failing at that.

He's failing at that when it comes to managing his police department. He's failing at that when it comes to his relationship with the community. That's already the facts, that's already there. So whether he admits to it or not, he is not ready to be president of the United States of the United States of America. Last night, I just felt like, oh, I'm glad you see what we see. My answer, you know what I mean? He didn't make it worse for himself.

He made it better that he's at least not delusional. But he was, I don't think many black Americans in South Bend ever thought this was the man that has the experience and has the perspective to lead the country. Well, I think what it is is that for some of the Gen Z years and maybe like younger millennials, they know Uncle Joe, who is. was VP to Barack Obama, the first black president. But I remember Joe Biden, who was in a video talking about the crime bill and the war on drugs and talking about thugs and pretty much telling Bush, senior, that he should butch it up basically and grow a pair and that he wasn't being tough enough. And so I think that that video, that two-minute video that you can Google and find on

YouTube encapsulates a lot of his attitudes and opinions, but you could even find instances that are more recent about Joe Biden's feelings on race in America. And so, like, I think he's been expecting to get a pass because he's given us political blackface by hiding behind President Barack Obama's presidency, when in reality that doesn't, I feel it's very harmful on social media. They made him into a meme. And so it's kind of created this soft, you want to say something? This whole episode, I think, highlights his political career.

It's a lot of times it's talk versus actions. So he talked about how the root, he was trying to target the root of the problem with segregation and all that. But he talked about how great it was that he works with segregationists and a racist, well-known all that stuff. So when you look to work with and highlight how well it is that you work to cross-eye with horrible people, what you're going to do, especially as Democrats, you give things away. That's the part that they don't point out.

If you're working across-iside with Mitch McConnell, you're giving something away the American people don't want, because Ms. McConnell does not work for the American people. So if you're working with segregationists, you're giving away something to segregations that black folks at the time in any point in history don't want, because they don't work towards black folks. They hate them. So when you say, hey, I'm working with them, the hurtful part is that you're giving something away, even though maybe in your heart you were trying to target the root of the problem

by voting against this one thing that's going to stop it, but then allowing the A-holes that are in the local communities to do what they're doing, you're kind of just spinning the wheels and saying, hey, I tried, but I'm not really doing it. Hey, black folks, I'm trying. But these horrible people keep doing it. They're acting. You're talking. Who gets hurt?

The people do. That's the basis for how long it's been. I'm sure Joe Biden doesn't hate black people. That's all Kamala started last night. She goes, I don't think you're racist, but I also don't think he cares enough to hurt the feelings of bad people to get things done for better people. I'm glad that you pointed that out, that it's unfortunate that when a black American wants to talk about race, they have to make sure to assure the public and to assure the person

that they are criticizing that they're not calling them a clan member. Right. You know what I mean? That is just, it's more emotional abuse. But then sometimes too, I'm sorry, there's a time when you need to call a racist a racist. And I think this is one of the reasons why personally the political sphere has always been a challenging space to occupy because I'm not the one. I do not have time to prioritize your feelings over my suffering.

That is the textbook definition of oppression. And so I think that, yes, it may not necessarily indicate that he is a racist. However, if you are protecting and helping preserve racist spaces and supporting people who have the power to enforce those ideologies at a federal level, then you are an accomplice. Period. People voted for Trump, they said, hey, I voted for him. I didn't vote for him because he's a rabid racist. I voted for him because he said the right things about the economy and thinking about the lost

guy. I said, so you thought those things, heard the racist things and still voted for him. That means you were able to let the racist things go. Well, you're also referring to the fiscal conservative. And so the issue with fiscal conservatives is that they do not believe there's a direct correlation between economics and social justice. And so I think that one of my biggest opportunities has been trying to, for those who are willing to work across the aisle is trying to get them to understand that

the two are connected, starting with slavery as the most obvious example. If you look at American history, somebody always had to take the shorter stick in order for the wealthy class or the 1% to continue to thrive. That's true. All right. So is it break time? I think it's break time. I think we're gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back.

We have lots more to get to Ashley Marie Preston, J.R., me hanging out. I'm glad to be here with y'all. I love it. We need to talk about a relatively new show called Un-F-The-Republic, or UNFTR. As a Young Turks fan, you already know that the government, the media, and corporations are constantly peddling lies that serve the interests of the rich and powerful. But now there's a podcast dedicated to unraveling those lies, debunking the conventional wisdom.

In each episode of Un-B-B-The-Republic, or UNFTR, the host delves into a different historical episode or topic that's generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called powers that be. Featuring in-depth research, razor-sharp commentary, and just the right amount of vulgarity, the UNFTR podcast takes a sledgehammer to what you thought you knew about some of the nation's most sacred historical cows. But don't just take my word for it. The New York Times described UNFTR as consistently compelling and educational, aiming to challenge conventional wisdom and upend the historical narratives that were taught in school. For as the great philosopher Yoda once put it,

you must unlearn what you have learned. And that's true whether you're in Jedi training or you're uprooting and exposing all the propaganda and disinformation you've been fed over the course of your lifetime. So search for UNFDR in your podcast app today and get ready to get informed, angered, and entertained all at the same time. Hey there, welcome back to The Young Turks. Thank you for watching and staying with us here in Brooke Thomas, here with J.R. Jackson and Ashley Marie Preston.

I'm so happy to be here with both of you. I think this just makes me happy. You were so happy that you even wore the same color. We were the same color. Exactly. We coordinated it's like Destiny's Child. Our Michelle over here didn't get the memo. It's fine.

I can't sing either. She can see. She's the best. I mean, not the best, but she's a good, she's a great singer. She's going to sing. That's why the solo career was awesome. Oh, my goodness. All right, so I'm going to read some member comments and DYT lives.

So this is my first time doing this too, so bear with me as I look in the wrong camera. Okay, Anja says, at least she clarified straight away rather than after the primaries. And Ignoraccio Elenchi says, oh, good grief, it wasn't that hard to understand the question. It's what she wants to say to pander to both progresses. and the establishment, hashtag playing both sides. And then on Twitter, other 95 says supposedly supporting universal health care and keeping private insurance is a sure sign that someone doesn't understand the financial pressures the health care system is under.

Hashtag do the math. She's too smart. I understand it. Yeah, you think so. You still thinking? I think they called it. No, they just spoke right to what I was saying, is that it's what a lot of candidates do. They're trying to appeal to as many bases as possible.

But with this election, there is no straddling the fence. No one gets to play Switzerland or stand by. Like, you have to take a strong stance on it. And I think that those candidates who are going to be successful are those who draw a clear line. Completely understandable. All right, let's get to our next story. Because today actually is the 50th anniversary of when Marsha P. Johnson through the first brick at Stonewall Inn, and this, of course, launched the modern-day fight for LGBTQ rights.

And I think we have a picture of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. I love this picture. I love this picture. And a lot more people are going to learn who these two women are because you may know already that Bill de Blasio announced plans for a monument honoring Johnson and Sylvia Rivera there. And just have a couple quotes I want to read you. This coming out of New York, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, defining revolutionaries for transgender rights and racial justice here in New York City and across

the country. And this is from Carmelin P. Malales, she works for the city government in New York City. Also saying this memorial honoring their legacies could not have come in a more prescient time as the federal government rolls back protections for transgender people and violence towards transgender people grows nationwide. Our city is celebrating our trans communities and doubling down on our commitment to protect them. Now, this permanent public monument honoring transgender women, it's going to, it's going to be the first of its kind in the world. It's 2019, but I guess one could say you have to start

somewhere, but it is 2019. One more thing I want to let you know. The Marsha P. Johnson Institute is opening their first office in the home of Marsha P. Johnson. I want to show you something because there's a hashtag going around on Twitter. You should go search it because there's some really cool information. There are a lot of people getting involved. But it's hashtag reclaim Marsha, and back on the Institute here, they are fundraising to meet a $20,000 goal to open this office for the national movement to help elevate, support, and nourish the voices of black trans people. And I know we've had you on to talk multiple times about the violence against black trans

women currently today in 2019. I can feel my petty percolating right now. Really? Because, yes, because when we talk about that violence, we don't talk about the violence that comes from LGBT Inc. Because, I mean, LGBT Inc. is pretty much these large organizations who like to screen trauma porn

that pertains to black trans women to rake in donor dollars, but we don't actually see any of the benefit from those dollars. And then when you have community leaders like L. Hearns, who is the one who founded Marsha P. Johnson,

the Marshall P. Johnson Institute, and people like me, we get silenced. Even when I worked in and what I now referred to as the nonprofit industrial complex, I was only one paycheck away from being in the same demographic that I served. And so when there were things that were unethical that were happening to clients who were coming for services, I wasn't able to advocate for them the way that I wanted to. So basically, we like to use black and brown bodies and faces and voices to puppet

our own, our meaning LGBT Inc., our thoughts and ideologies, but when it comes to actually prioritizing us, we are not a priority. So I am definitely all for people really standing behind empowerment. I think there is a conflation of saviorism versus empowerment. Saviorism is reinforcing your own supremacy by giving us just enough breadcrums to survive. but not really putting us in a position of leadership so that we can make informed decisions that are going to help us thrive and empower us. Is the monument a breadcrumb in the city of New York?

I think it's a beautiful gesture. It is a beginning, but it most certainly is a breadcrum. When we look at the fact that on a national, on an average, our life expectancy is only 35 years old. And then we see in the community that gay white men. still are leading the conversation around what it is that the community needs. And so we're not talking about racism. We're not talking about sexism. We're not talking about transphobia because we're allowing those individuals to use their

sexuality as a shield. And so it is no surprise that Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were the fierce warriors that they were because your fiercest warriors are going to be the ones who have nothing to lose for life itself. And so we got to see their experiences at the intersection of race, gender, and and socioeconomic disparity, they were sex workers. And so they would go out, turn some tricks, and then they would get a hotel room or an apartment. And the LGBT kids who were kicked out of their homes were being who they were in the late

60s and 70s, they would house them so that they didn't have to enter the prison industrial complex so that they didn't have to risk their lives engaging in sex work. And so they didn't have to feel they didn't have the love and warmth that any individual would need to go out and make the best lives for themselves. You hear these stories about, because it's been said a lot, about these stories about how the LGBTQ community is sometimes the most economically free or the most affluent because generally they have fewer kids and, you know, there's less worries. Like I remember when they said there's ads like Ford started doing ads and they're accepting

of the community more. And so that becomes the veneer, what you may think is the case. But then you hear some stories about the economic hardships to many folks. have. And then I think it's subconscious, since you hear about that so hard and like, oh, I feel so good that we're accepting folks that we previously hated, because we're in our bubble, because many parts of the country don't. But we accept that. So then those instances of the economic hardships must only be a few. Well, let me paint that picture for you. So in 2017, I've talked about this before,

the buying power within the LGBT community was at $917 billion. And then in 2018, it went over a trillion, but for a trans woman of color on a national average, we make less than $10,000 a year. So how is it that we have that much wealth and a community that still continues to let trans women of color, more specifically black trans women, scrape the gutters, scrape the bottom? It's because there is no intentionality about prioritizing our suffering because once we were able to lift kind of like the barrier of being gay. those, a lot of gay white men now have the full access and full benefits of patriarchy

that a cis hetero wealthy white man would have. And so I think for me, my biggest opportunities to build allyship and most of my support, quite honestly, has come from people like y'all. It's actually come from people outside of the LGBTQ community because what people don't realize is that this, again, trauma porn, there's an industry for it. And so if we don't have these tragic stories about our murders and we're not talking about the homelessness and all of these things that are going to continue raking in donor dollars so we can keep our doors open and our lights on, we're not going to be able to wield this power.

And so I think that what I've been recommending to my LGBTQ siblings is get outside of that silo. Come over to the other side. The weather over here is lovely. There are people who are for us, who do support us, who don't exploit us, and quite frankly, there have been some LGBTQ media outlets who have helped amplify voices like mine and others, but to be honest, they fear me. I'm kryptonite because I am there to pull the covers on all of it.

You know, it's just this mental, there are so many mental gymnastics and mind games that are being played and it's so oppressive. And so what is depressing is here we are 50 years later and we're still looking at the same dynamics. There's a video of Sylvia Rivera from 1973 when she's on stage talking about her. experiences in prison. She said that she had had her nose broken. She was kicked out of her home for being trans. She was homeless on the streets and all of these things. And they had the audacity to boo her off of a stage that she helped build. And so I think it goes back to this idea

that, yes, we're accepting and we're embracing, but what's in it for you? Because I feel like with a lot of the corporations who participate in Rainbow Capitalism, you're only putting in money because you think you're going to get money back. But when it comes to the community that you feel can do nothing for you, let's see where your efforts go then. Speaking of rainbow, what did you call it? Rainbow Capitalism. Did you know Donald Trump is selling, the Trump campaign is selling rainbow t-shirts?

Lord. Terrific. Remember when he wrote that? We were talking about that. Well, no, the LGBT, he held up a tattered LGBT flag and, like, written in, like, marker like Trump, LGBTQ loves Trump. or something like that when he was running. I don't even remember that.

I do. It was, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. It's great having you here. And she's still going to be here and stick around. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. We hope you're enjoying this free clip from the Young Turks. If you want to get the whole show and more exclusive content while supporting independent

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Check it out today. Brett Ehrlich, I can see him dancing right there through. He does this like when he's not trying. It's my favorite thing. But welcome back. Thank you for watching the Young Turks. I'm from Thomas. I'm here with Ashley Marie Preston and J.R. Jackson.

And we're so glad to be here. I'm going to get right to it and read some member comments and T.Y.T. Lives. Evil cookie dough. How can there ever be such a thing? But evil cookie dough says, I love you, Ashley. If it wasn't for TYT, I would have never heard of you. I appreciate this beautiful black group of hosts today to represent America's minority on a factual and progressive view on today's news on a larger platform, i.e., also, Brooke and J.R., I love you guys, too.

Oh, we snuck in there. We did sneak in there. And then Anna, not of Green Gables, says Ashley bringing some truth about trans community within LGBTQ plus sphere. electic miscellania. It says 50 years after Stonewall and less than half of states have protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This is a national disgrace and whoever the damn candidate is has to make this a national priority.

Tracy says, thank you, Ashley, for educating me, us. What an amazing woman. And then over in TYT lives, Nova Kingway says Ashley spews truth and exudes strength. Y'all just like brought myself esteemed. All the way, listen. I feel like I'm running for president. What about the healthcare? Yes.

Listen. That's awesome. I'm glad people are enjoying you. They should. I'm grateful. All right, so let's get to our first story because we, this is the story that, for me, was really important and fascinating. I'm glad we're getting to tell you about it here.

A man named Alfred Dwayne Brown actually spent 12 years in prison and not just in prison but on death row for a crime he did not commit. And even after a special prosecutor and a judge sided with him agreeing he is actually innocent, the state comptroller this week and a surprise moved denied the wrongfully convicted former death row prisoner compensation for the 12 years he spent behind bars. And let me take you back into a little bit of what happened, all right? So earlier this year, after a 10-month investigation by special prosecutor John Rayleigh, they found no credible indications of Brown's guilt.

Harris County District Attorney in Texas, Kim Ogg took the case back to court to, so they found just to breaking down, found no credible indications of his guilt, but then they have to go back to court to find him innocent, which is such a waste of taxpayer money when no credible indication of guilt should do just that, but it doesn't. But D.A. Ogg took the case back to court to ask for an amended judgment, including the words, actual innocence. So this didn't even happen immediately. The judge then ends up pondered, right?

The judge pondered this matter for weeks, wrangling with the question of whether his court had jurisdiction to reopen an already closed case. Again, where a man had been wrongly convicted and already spent 12 years on death row. In the end, this judge did though decide he did, but now that's when the Texas Comptroller of public accounts is determined otherwise and jumped in and said no. So here's the thing, this is what is being said here. So it is not clear that the district court had jurisdiction to withdraw and reenter a dismissal or enter a second dismissal in Mr. Brown's case.

This is a letter from the comptroller, okay, saying consequently the amended motion to dismiss and the order of dismissal do not clearly indicate on their face that Mr. Brown is entitled to compensation. And so just so you know, the compensation that we're talking about under Texas statute is more than $2 million. But we're talking about a lot of money, and we're talking about a lot of years, a lot of life spent on death row. Just to give you back a look into the case, because there's another part of this that

I think everyone needs to know. So the now 37-year-old was sent to death row in 2005 after being convicted in the killing of Houston police officer Charles Clark during a botched robbery of an ace of a America check cashing in South Houston. Brown always has said that he's innocent, that he'd been at his girlfriend's apartment just after the slang, and that a landline phone call he'd made to her that morning would prove it. So think about that, that's important because for years, officials actually claim they had no records

of that call. In 2013, though, a police investigator, Breck McDaniel uncovered the phone records in his garage, a discovery that paved the way for Brown's release. Brown, though, wasn't eligible for a state compensation because even though then district attorney Devin Anderson agreed to dismiss the charges, she never actually said he was innocent. Meantime, prosecutors maintain that the evidence in McDaniel's garage had been inadvertently misplaced and not intentionally concealed. So we could have not had this entire trial.

But in early 2018, in the course of discovery for the lawsuit, the DA that I told you about before Ogg, her office recovered a 2003 email showing that McDaniel had told former prosecutor Dan Rizzo about the phone records well before the case went to trial. So this is not only a case of a man being falsely accused, falsely convicted, and life ruined, but this could be a case of some sort of police or prosecutorial misconduct. It's usually that way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This isn't surprising that they would have a difficult time offering up compensation.

I mean, have we looked at reparations for slavery? I mean, let's just call it what it is. Even the criminal justice system, the prison industrial complex, it was created post-slavery because they were angry about the fact that they could no longer profit off of black bodies and that now we would somehow be filled with ego and pride or whatever it is. they thought that we would have. And so they had to break us down and put us in our place. And so we still continue to see that trend play out in the American justice system.

The fact that no one up to this point has come up with a plan or an idea about how they're going to compensate people who've been incarcerated against, you know, for something that they didn't do, it's just them sticking to the energy that it was created under. I think this speaks to our, maybe general society, I'll say our country since this is the case here, about the care for wrongfully convicted folks in the country. So in order for them to continue to get away with this, in order for prosecutors to do the things that they've done in many cases, this isn't new, many cases about concealing evidence knowingly going after the wrong person and then denying then compensation like this is, they're like, well, nobody's going to care. The public doesn't really matter. We talked before, it was during the Juneteen special about reparations for a while. And I said, you know, the people that are running for offices say, yeah, sure, sure.

They're saying it, but they don't really care. They can say it and not mean it because who's going to hold me to it? Afterwards, is someone going to say, hey, you said you wanted to influence some form of reparations, and then we go, well, nobody really cares so I can say it and move right on. Well, look at the public opinion, though, of people who are incarcerated. Like, even when you see black men who are gunned down by police, if you go through the comment section of the news article, the first thing you will see is, what did he do? Maybe he should have listened to the officer.

Maybe he should have said it nicely. Maybe and, and, and they come up with every single scenario possible other than the fact that this officer is racist and belongs to a system that continues to marginalize and essentially erase black people, black bodies. We see prosecutors as members of society that are needed to get rid of crime off the streets. But not at all cost necessary, right? So when they do horrible things like this, which again, they've done over and over again

and we're just seeing it now more, same thing with police violence, it's not like it's as new, it's just we're able to see it now because everyone has a computer in their hand. So if there's some kind of, I guess, punishment for DAs to do, or for prosecutors to do things like this, put them in prison, you know, people start saying, how dare you're putting our prosecutors in jail for doing their jobs because we care about those people. But in reality, if we cared about crime deterrent and keeping people from doing things illegally, which is what they're doing, we put them in jail. Like, okay, this guy spent 12 years in prison for something that you guys purposely hid

and concealed from everything that was happening. How about you go to jail for 12 years? Let's match up those things and give this man as $2 million. And we'd also make the focus on recidivism a priority. You know, we're talking about this vicious cycle of incarcerating people. Not only did they incarcerate an innocent man, but then to send him back out into the streets with no money, no way of supporting himself, no real. And so what is the likelihood look like that someone like that would fall back into the system?

We get people in the system and the government pays for a lot of times private prisons. You have to fill the beds. There's incentive for the government, our taxpayer dollars, to go to private prisons to make sure they fill those beds and make money off of them. They made money off of folks in prison. And then when they come out, you're gonna make sure you don't give them anything that you've wrongfully got them in prison for, and you make sure they don't get them The, by the, by the, two million is not enough.

Right. I'm not spending 12 years in prison for $2 million. Uh-huh. Because it's not talked about enough that going to prison, it's like a quadruple punitive. It's not just taking away your freedom. There's abuse. There's trauma. There's mental health.

Exactly. Yes. Not getting adequate medical treatment often. Yeah, PTSD. Exactly. All kinds of things that have. And then also, it's almost like a really screwed up version of the hunger games essentially. Because it's like if you survive this, if you, you know, may the odds forever be in your favor.

And it's like, I think that we need more people to speak up about this. And it's also the reason why Kamala, I know it absolutely shook her to her core because she just knew that she was going to slam that black woman Uno card on the table and that she just automatically had it. But no, sis, you participated. You actively participated. Even hearing Kamala Harris talk about cannabis, you know, the fact that, oh, yeah, cannabis stops this. You still have people you help put away for nonviolent crimes sitting in prison, rotting away, and then you're going to use their life and the things that they did as a talking point to get you in that seat. You're not going to see that seat until you go back, take accountability for the ways in which you participated in harming black folks and people of color,

and then come up with a tangible plan or a plan that's going to yield tangible results to help us rebuild our lives. You're completely right. I don't have anything else. Sorry, he's never enough. Sorry, and then some actions afterwards. But you've got to be heartless to not want to, forget the state's budget. You've got to be heartless to not want to do what you can to rectify this. And if two million is the limit, you've got to want to give it to that man.

Our judicial system and our city government shouldn't be about just our budget. Shouldn't be about doing whatever we can to protect our own. It's got to be about taking care of the people. And taking care of the people here, when you shouldn't have to find 10, different legal definitions of him being innocent. I think some of it also is maintaining power. It's about fear. Fear is a powerful motivator.

And I think that we see in several areas of our society, whether it's through TSA, whether it's through the prison and industrial complex, the policing. It's this police state that we're becoming. And so I think it reminds people to stay in their place because it could be you who's incarcerated and who's going to come for you and what evidence and then what you're going to depend on a public defender, you know, like there's all of these, like, different things that I think it's a tool to maintain supremacy. All right, let's move on and talk about, do we have enough time?

I guess we have a little time to talk about your president, all right? So while sitting down with Russia President Vladimir Putin, a reporter asked Trump, if he would, this is a great moment, right, to tell Putin to not meddle in the 2020 election. And he did something. Thank you. All right, let's move forward a little bit because what you just saw there, that is Trump on a global level talking about his fake news. And so I think what a lot of people picked up on there when he's talking to the

the Russian president, okay, about journalists. Either he, there's two things either happening here, right? Either he doesn't care or he doesn't know about all the murdered or dead journalists that pop up in Russia. He's got to. Not just Russia, Saudi Arabia. Yeah, all the rest of his best friends. Right.

That's always the hardest question. Not only that, how dare you sit up and tell a foreign dictator who helped. influenced the presidential elections of 2016 here in the U.S., that they don't have the problem, we have the problem. He has made, this is treason. Like, do we even use those words that they taught us in this already fragmented educational system in America? That is treason.

You have shown time and time and time again that your loyalties lie with foreign allegiances and not the people of America. Speaking of that allegiance, let's see. How he discussed meddling in the election. Is that what he did? Right, all right. Well, you tell Russia that's about it, the Democratic-20 election. Because he meant it there, obviously.

You know, they talk about President Obama leading from behind. He goes overseas and shows his weakness. So this is him showing his- At least didn't lead from Russia, what? I don't know how you can think this guy, because of course a lot of people's support for him was, oh, he's such a strong guy. When someone punched, he punches back. So does he represent himself or does he represent the United States?

So when someone says, hey, do you, are you upset that this guy's government, meddle in the elections, by the way, he denied that when the intelligence said it. Right, I'm like, this is the first time he's even like admitted, even jokingly that Russia did meddle in order to be able to tell them not to meddle. Well, we also saw that he also gave his opinion about what would happen if he found out information from a foreign government about, um, about an opponent. And he was like, well, I would listen, you know, like I would take, he even admitted that he would collude with the foreign government.

And then he's using this, um, this bebop rock steady intellect, like very, very teenage meat, Ninja Turtles, nostalgia, like very. He's a bonehead. Even when you're talking about the fact that they're like, oh, you know, he's strong, he's rar. Let's just call it what it is. Trump is not an intellectual. Like he is a, he's just not an intellectual.

And so for the first time, many Americans who did not understand the political system felt that someone was talking to them and not about them. I've said it a thousand times when he was running, the playbook on Trump from foreign leaders was get on his good side, compliment him, and then after you've got them eating out of the palm, you can do whatever you want. So as Putin is sitting there with them in these instances. They use his own line against them. You can do whatever you want.

And they did. They meddle in the election. It's to the point where that playbook is so simple. You go, well, this can't really be true, can it? And so people, when we're running the election, think, oh, well, it's not that big of a deal. Here it is in real life. So as people like Vladimir Putin do what he does, and then he leans over his, you know, fake news, at least he has one of that problem there.

I'd like to be able to walk into room and have everyone be quiet and do what I'd tell them. He had that problem, at least that line too. He loves dictators because he wants to be one. I know, it's like, oh my goodness, if you are president of the United States and you find yourself where Putin, Duterte, and Kim are your best friends. Molly, you in danger, girl. The breakfast club is the food breakfast club. Please, right.

This is a problem. And a lot of times the surface strong guys who were like, I'm so tough, the bully. The narcissist. Keep putting it down. Yeah, once they get around someone who actually has some level of power, they drop to their knees. This is why I'm also like, I'm sorry I am not taking my foot off her neck until we see some results. Nancy Pelosi, what are you doing? What exactly are you doing?

She represents this archetype of white woman that will support, defend, stand up for anything that these kind of like dictators or these type of, these white men, I just have to say it. This specific type of white man, Trump, he represents this archetype of those who pretty much are responsible for our oppression on a daily basis. And I don't understand why Nancy Pelosi will not start impeachment. She's still worried about the rest of the Trumps in the country. But it's like they have- Because you're not even doing this again. You've already said you don't even want this after this term is over.

So why not just go crazy. Right, come through. Give us a season finale. Give us something. Let us have something. We're already in the season finale. America, the final, we're already come through. They're right.

Our democracy, the earth, our dignity. Right, exactly. Give us the season finale. I like that. I like that a lot. All right. I think this is the end of the first hour. You're the only ones hanging around?

I am, and I'm so sad. Well, now, you're going to be the odd person out because you're going to be the only one in time. You're going to be the only one of Brett. I know, I tell you this, Brett better put on a maroon show. shirt. I'll tell you that, you know. All right, so Ashley Marie Preston, J.R. Jackson, two of the coolest people on Earth. I'm so glad to have you here. Honestly, wait, you're the boss here. You wrapped us up. Hey, thank you guys. This is a, this has been the end of the first half of the power panel.

We thank you guys. He's practicing letting women leave. He is. Yes. Yes. I'm, hey, I'm, I'm an ally. The second I was coming up, you're going to see Brett, and Brett's coming in with his plum, right? With his plum, he better. That's right. And Matha Alhaston is going to come in and drop some knowledge. Another one of the smartest people I've ever met in my life. So we'll see you guys in a few minutes on The Young Turks.

Thanks for listening to the full episode of the Young Turks. Support our work, listen to ad-free, access members, only bonus content, and more by subscribing to Apple Podcasts at Apple. At apple.com slash TYT. I'm your host, Shank Yugar, and I'll see you soon.