What A Day - Kamala As You Are

Episode Date: August 12, 2020

Senator Kamala Harris was announced as Biden’s VP pick yesterday, which will make her the first black woman and first Asian American to be a on major party ticket. We discuss her record on the 2020 campaign trail, as an incisive presence in Senate hearings, and as California’s attorney general. The Big 10 and the Pac 12 college conferences announced yesterday that they will postpone their fall sports seasons due to the pandemic. A group of student athletes have formed an informal union, and say they want to play this season: but only if schools institute universal health and safety standards. And in headlines: Russia approves a Covid-19 vaccine, TSA seizes more guns than ever at security, and gaiters might not be good medical masks.

It's Wednesday, August 12th. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick. And this is What The Day, where we are sending love to New Zealand as they battle four COVID cases. Yeah, I mean, it's a lot, but I would be willing to move there if they would have me still. Yeah. I mean, there are probably four COVID cases in the room that I'm in right now. So, you know, that like, it seems marginally better, if not the same. On today's show, the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences postponed their fall sports seasons, then some headlines. But first, the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences postponed their fall sports seasons, then some headlines.

But first, the latest. At long last, there is a vice presidential pick, and it is Senator Kamala Harris. Joe Biden's selection of Harris makes her the first Black woman and first Asian American, specifically Jamaican and Indian, selected to be on a major party ticket. If elected, Harris will be the first woman vice president. Biden made the announcement in a message to supporters yesterday, and it came after weeks of reporting various women that were in the mix. A lot of that reporting was gross and sexist. You might remember that comparison to The Bachelor with the rose and a variety of other things like women being ambitious. I don't know. But the two have a joint event in Delaware later today and many more events to come, along with the DNC happening next week. So Harris ran for president this cycle and is pretty well known.

But let's do a quick refresher on her personal and political biography. Yeah, so Harris, of course, has a prosecutorial background serving as district attorney of San Francisco in the early to mid 2000s, before going on to be the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017. And it was actually during that time that she got to know Biden's son Beau when he served as the AG in Delaware. And that little bit of history between the families was brought up yesterday during all the conversations about their relationship. And funnily enough, during Harris's reelection campaign for AG in 2014,

none other than Donald Trump apparently contributed money. I guess he thought that she was the better candidate. Yeah, the big fan. Yeah. And during that time, Harris was gaining more national notoriety. And in 2016, she ran for California's open Senate seat and won. And then in the Senate, one of the things that Harris has been known for is her presence in hearings and incisive questioning of people like former AG Jeff Sessions.

Did you have any communications with Russian officials for any reason during the campaign that have not been disclosed in public or to this committee? I don't recall it, but I have to tell you, I cannot testify to what was said as we were standing at the Republican convention before the podium where I spoke. My question is only as it relates to your knowledge. I don't have the detailed memory of that. Okay, as it relates to your knowledge. Did you have any communication with any Russian businessmen or any Russian nationals?

I don't believe I had any conversation with Russian businessmen or Russian nationals. Are you aware of any communications? Although a lot of people were at the convention, it's conceivable that somebody came up to me. Sir, I have just a few. Well, you let me qualify it. If I don't qualify it, you'll accuse me of lying. So I need to be correct as best I can.

I do want you to be honest. And I'm not able to be rushed this fast. It makes me nervous. Oh, wow. Well, I kind of like it when Jeff Sessions is nervous. I think for the rest of his life, he should be very nervous. But I am very much looking forward to Kamala in a debate with Mike Pence. You know, popcorn is popping. Yeah. And back to sort of the trajectory of her Senate history. When Minnesota Senator Al Franken resigned due to

accusations of sexual misconduct, Harris took over a position on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she would go on to grill Brett Kavanaugh in his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. And long viewed as a likely presidential contender, Harris ended up announcing her 2020 bid with this really huge event in Oakland at the start of 2019. And it kind of seemed as though she was one of the likelier people to win it all at the time. But of course, it didn't turn out that way. That's right. So let's take through some of the stuff she was talking about during the campaign and the dynamics there. Yeah, so one of the major takeaways from the primary was that Harris and her team had difficulty at times finding their lane and their positioning on a lot of stuff. For

example, she endorsed Medicare for All in a nod to the Sanders wing of the party, but ended up backtracking on the elimination of private health insurance. Then she devised her own plan that was intended to kind of split the difference there. And there were also many elements of her pre-Senate tenure that came under scrutiny during the primary and what it meant when Harris characterized herself as a, quote, progressive prosecutor, including, but not limited to, prior positions on truancy, wrongful conviction cases, and the prosecution of police officers who killed civilians. Though on the campaign trail in 2020, Harris was among the candidates talking about the abolition of private prisons and ending mandatory minimum sentences. And more recently in the Senate, Harris has worked on housing legislation, which includes a ban on evictions and foreclosures for a year, and the

formation of a task force to examine the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 and quote, confront the racial and ethnic disparities therein. So what a lot of people might be looking to hear more of from this ticket is how they're actually going to govern. Both Biden and Harris have seemingly evolved over the years in some ways. And during a national reckoning with police brutality and systemic racism, there will be a lot of pressure on them in the months and, if elected, years to come. Yeah. And just a few other things that Harris has worked on and spoken about recently, both in the Senate and during her campaign. So she had a bill long before COVID-19

addressing the Black maternal mortality crisis and very notably proposed a really interesting plan that would mandate states with a history of unconstitutional abortion bans to get federal approval before the laws would be on the books. But speaking of candidates' histories and their relationship, one of the most memorable moments was actually in a heated debate between Biden and Harris. We've also heard, and I'm going to now direct this at Vice President Biden, I do not believe you are a racist. And I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground.

But I also believe, and it's personal, and 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. And, you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools. And she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me. Yeah, I remember debates. There are a million of them. Yeah, so this is all the way back during one in the summer of 2019. Actually, the start of this whole process, we were so young and innocent. But at the time, candidates like Harris were perturbed when Biden had said that he previously

worked with segregationist senators. And this moment was targeted also at Biden's past opposition to busing. And it really became kind of the first major event of the primary. The Harris campaign sold T-shirts afterwards to highlight the moment. Biden's wife, Jill, had reportedly described it as quote, like a punch to the gut. And then as the campaign went on, things didn't work out for Harris in terms of winning. And she dropped out before the first votes ended up being cast. But immediately she was talked about as a possible future VP pick. Yeah. And so here we are. We've got Biden and Harris versus Trump and Pence. It's the official matchup. And I couldn't be happier that we are finally in the final phase of this. It will end one way or the other. And, you know, given the

fact that Biden would be the oldest incoming president if he wins, Harris's selection is also seen as important for potentially determining the next leader of the party. And it creates a fascinating question about who would take Harris's seat in the Senate again if they are elected with some early names like Reps Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Karen Bass, who is also in the mix for VP already being thrown out. So it's a lot to take in. And we'll, of course, return to this conversation many, many times. But Akilah, any other thoughts on gestures at everything? Yeah. Well, I will say in advance, I'm not looking forward to the media coverage as a black woman in this country. I'm already like not paying attention to that because they're not going to get it right. And it's already going to be embarrassing. And it has been and it's been

a day. But also, I think it's going to be really interesting to see how Biden and Harris intend to appeal to younger voters to more progressive voters. I think that they are going to have to make some compromises. And I look forward to seeing what those are. Yeah, I think it's going to be really, really interesting. But yes, I agree, takes are going to be bad. All right. Let's move on to one more story here. College sports. Two major college conferences, the Big Ten and Pac-12, announced yesterday that they're going to postpone their fall sports seasons due to the pandemic. In terms of what this means, you know, football is on hold, but also soccer, field hockey,

cross country, a lot of other sports. And for people who don't follow sports, some of the schools here include the Ohio State University, University of Michigan, Rutgers, Nebraska, UCLA, lots of schools. And the Pac-12 and Big Ten are the biggest conferences to stand down so far. But it's coming after the Ivies put their seasons on hold, as well as several HBCU conferences and other schools too. Some coaches and players also want to start the season. There's going to be more on that in a sec. But it's important to note that several other big conferences, HBCU conferences and other schools, too. Some coaches and players also want to start the season.

There's going to be more on that in a sec. But it's important to note that several other big conferences like the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference are still, as of now, planning to move forward with their seasons next month. As of now. Yeah. And the stakes here are obviously high. It's a health issue first and foremost, but it's also a business issue because college football in particular is worth literally billions of dollars a year. Yeah. And, you know, college budgets are really

hurting right now. There's a possibility, though, that the seasons resume later in the school year, maybe in January or spring, although football in January only for the pros. Right. But it all depends on the state of the pandemic. But back to student athletes. So a bunch of football players are starting to come together to create a sort of union or players association across their conferences, which would actually be really groundbreaking. You know, they want to play this season, but not unless there are universal health and safety standards across schools. And they want to work out a revenue sharing agreement with their leagues. You know, compensation for college athletes has been an issue for a really long time, and it's getting a new push now, partially because of the extra risk that players are facing in the middle of a pandemic.

This particular effort has been building since at least early August, and over the weekend, players started sending out tweets with the hashtag WeWantToPlay. One of the more prominent voices in this has been Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He said that he actually thinks it'll be safer for players to be back on campus. It's also kind of ironic that he's such a central voice in the movement since his own coach, who made over $9 million last year, has said in the past that he would consider quitting if players got compensated. A little bit more context, Pence and Trump have jumped on the hashtag as well, trying to co-op the movement. It's kind of their case for pushing schools to move,

to reopen and go forward with sports. I hope that eventually they tweet about things that matter, like the pandemic, but whatever. We'll keep following this as it develops, but that's the latest for now. It's Wednesday WOD Squad, and for today's temp check, we've got a big story for 90s kids and or people who want to sleep over in stores. So the country's last remaining blockbuster in Bend, Oregon, they announced yesterday that they're opening an Airbnb.

So what that means is for the insane price of $4, you can rent out a corner of the Blockbuster that's been set up with a TV, VCR, pull-out couch, and at least one beanbag chair. The offer is extremely limited. It's open for just three nights in mid-September and reservations can be made starting August 17th. So Giddy, apart from Blockbuster, what store would you want to do a sleepover in? I'm thinking GameStop. That's fair. I think you have like a lot of options of gaming

that you could do, of course. If it's in a mall, you might have access to like some snacks and some other, you know, sleeping bag arrangement type things um that's where that's that's where my head's normally they're into like strip malls you know and you could get like uh you know like some sort of uh panda express that's the that's the name you're like that's what i'm looking for looking for panda express i mean uh if i was gonna sleep over in a game stop i would definitely just be like taking money out of the register because they always underpay you for your used games.

I was giving them like a second Genesis that was $4. So there's no world where I'd be sleeping there, but I would absolutely be getting justice for how ripped off I was in my teen years. It's good to have a mandate and a mission going into the sleepover. Every sleepover is a robbery if you believe in yourself it is it's true it's true that's actually what the movie widows is about um but the same question for you so are you are you picking game stop here are you where are you sleeping oh man if i was gonna sleep over in a store it would probably be like i guess a brooks

brothers that was like really or no that's the suit clip place, right? What's the place that has the fancy? Brookstone with the chairs that are like massage chairs and then they've got like a bubble machine and like a little BB-8 toy. Like for me, I just want to play with all the things I would never spend money on and I also like am probably not going to be in an airport for a while. So I'm

like this is my opportunity to just get it in, remember what it was like and then never, ever again. I might have to revise my answer because having access to a Lazy Boy, underrated. Can you imagine? For $4? Extremely underrated.

Yeah, wow. That's a bit of a game changer. Yeah, I love it. And those things that you put on your head to massage your head. I love that. I love those stick things. Come on.

Oh, yeah. I'm not spending $30 on that at the airport. An unhygienic concept, but if it's been deep cleaned and it's my Airbnb for a little bit, I'll take it. I'll take the risk. Exactly. I am super into it. And just like that, we have checked our temps. They are cool, like air conditioning blowing through a blockbuster in 1995. Stay safe and we will check in with you all again tomorrow. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. Police in Belarus are continuing to crack down on ongoing massive protests over the results of a widely disputed election over the weekend. Over 200 protesters have now been hospitalized and

thousands have been arrested. All of this was prompted by what observers call the fraudulent re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, who some call Europe's last dictator. His opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya united opposition groups and initially rejected the election results. Yesterday, she and her family were forced to flee the country after more members of her campaign staff were detained. EU leaders discussed how they will be addressing the escalating situation in the country, and experts predict that their response might involve sanctions. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling for closer ties between Russia and Belarus. We don't love that. All right. Well, speaking of Russia, it became the first country in the world to approve a vaccine

for COVID-19 yesterday with some serious caveats. The vaccine, which Putin named Sputnik 5 after that time the Soviet Union beat America into space, hasn't gone through late stage human trials yet. At this point, it's been tested on fewer than 100 people. The early results also haven't been peer reviewed, but officials still say they plan to start mass producing the vaccine by October. Couldn't be me. Health experts around the world, including our Dr. Fauci, express serious doubts about the vaccine's safety given its rushed development timeline. Putin maintains that it's safe and effective, even claiming that his own adult daughter was injected with it.

Hey, if it's good enough for a lady I have truly never heard of until this very moment, it should be good enough for a country of almost 150 million people. Love the pettiness of the name. I do not like anything else about that, though. Add loose guns to the list of reasons to avoid flying. The TSA reported on Monday that it found three times as many guns per person in carry-on bags last month compared to July 2019, despite the fact that air travel is down 75%. These people are thinking, hey, I might have an empty row, more room for my gun to spread out and relax. Carry-on guns are still very rare.

This July, TSA officers seized about 15.3 guns per million people that were screened, and the elevated numbers could be partially explained by TSA agents letting fewer guns slip by because of lighter crowds. The current trend does fit with an uptick in gun purchases, though, which has been happening since the spring when the pandemic, protests, and an upcoming presidential election came together to create what gun vendors probably call the I'm scared of everyone holy trinity. Oh man, I'm never flying again. All right, well, the fast-moving field of mask science produced a major finding last week. Apparently, thin, stretchy face coverings called gaiters could be doing more harm than good in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Scientists at Duke University designed an experiment that let them measure the number of particles that were released by test subjects when they were wearing different masks.

Common cotton masks were shown to be about as effective as surgical masks, but a gaiter that was tested actually increased particle spread. Researchers thought this was because the porous fabric broke bigger particles up into smaller ones, like a spaghetti press, but for coronavirus. Some gaiter sellers readily admit that their products shouldn't be used for medical purposes, but one man who makes gaiters took issue with the study's methods. He said, quote, chances are their gator was a promotional quality. Look, if you're using a free Marvelous Miss Maisel gator that you got an Emmys for your consideration package, you might get what you paid for, meaning you might get a disease. The broad takeaway from the study was that masks do decrease

COVID transmission. So I personally am going to keep mine on my face. Sorry to Mrs. Maisel, the rest of the package is beautiful. Those are the headlines. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, send us your real thoughts on gators, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just Miss Maisel promotional materials like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter.

Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick. And stay healthy, Vladimir Putin's daughter. And just hopefully don't inject yourself with things that your dad gives you because he says it's fine. Yeah, I wouldn't trust him on that kind of stuff. Your dad's sketch. That's what I'm saying.

A little sketch. A little sketch. What a Day is a Crooked Media production. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tun is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein, and our senior producer is Katie Long. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kshaka.