What A Day - The Dude Abidens

Episode Date: August 21, 2020

Last night was the final night of the DNC, featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, former 2020 presidential candidates, and most notably, Joe Biden’s acceptance speech. In a stark contrast to his campaign thus far, Biden barely mentioned Trump by name, talking instead about the enormity of the situation America faces. The state of Michigan announced a $600 million fund to compensate Flint residents who were harmed by lead-tainted drinking water. This fund comes after years of litigation and more than 18 months of negotiation. And in headlines: 1.1 million people filed for unemployment this week, a former USPS Board of Governors member reveals how Louis DeJoy got his Louis DeJob, and boat-man Steve Bannon gets arrested.

it's friday august 21st i'm akilah hughes and i'm gideon resnick and this is what the day where we are getting super pumped for dnc night five yeah i mean we know there isn't actually one officially but we are just planning to get on zoom maybe at six o'clock and just do speeches to each other yeah i've been working on mine nonstop for the last four years. I forgot we said we were going to do this. On today's show, the last night of the DNC, a settlement in Flint, Michigan, then some headlines. So let's begin with night four of the Democratic National Convention. The final night was hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and featured former 2020 presidential candidates like Andrew Yang and Senator Cory Booker. Booker actually hosted a bunch of the Democratic primary candidates on a Zoom hangout

that was kind of like a real world reunion. Yeah, it really was. And there were also segments on the late civil rights icon, Congressman John Lewis, a section about faith, a section about military families. Plus, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg got a lot of speaking time towards the end. And there was also a bit of a strange amount of time for historian John Meacham. Yeah, but the main event was Biden's acceptance speech. He was introduced by his children, who also reflected on the loss of their brother Beau. Biden spoke at a podium to an empty room, and here's a clip from that speech. You know, no generation ever knows what history will ask of it. All we can ever know is whether we're ready when that moment arrives.

And now history has delivered us to one of the most difficult moments America has ever faced. Four, four historic crises all at the same time. A perfect storm. The worst pandemic in over 100 years. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The most compelling call for racial justice since the 60s and the undeniable realities and just the accelerating threats of climate change. Right. So this was a section of Biden's remarks that laid out the overlapping challenges of the moment and the huge stakes involved. He tried to plainly

spell them out, but offered a hopeful vision of tackling them. And as opposed to at the start of this primary, where the focus was solely on defeating Trump, who Biden barely mentioned by name, if at all, during the speech, he referenced FDR and talked about the enormity of the situation that America faces. So definitely a change there. Akilah, let's go through, though, some of the major themes that he touched on as well. So let's start with unity. I mean, we all know that we're living in divisive times. And that's largely thanks to Donald Trump's consistent demonization of Democrats and cities and immigrants and, and, and there's just like too many more things to add. But Joe Biden didn't really fan the flames of division at all. At one point he said, quote, this is not a partisan

moment. This must be an American moment. And he also echoed the famous Barack Obama, 2004 DNC line about how there aren't red States and blue states, but, you know, the United States. And by the same token, he spoke about race and racism and the enormous youth led movements for racial justice and equality. He mentioned George Floyd by name and even called the khaki boys from the Charlottesville rally Klansmen and neo-Nazis, which is just a little bit more pointed than fine people on both sides. So I appreciated that. That's right. Yeah. And Biden talked about that specific Trump quote on Charlottesville as the reason that he got into the race and repeated that tonight, which has been sort of a theme for him.

Yeah. And the other huge theme was, unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 crisis and Donald Trump's unrelenting failure to protect Americans from it. He reiterated that it did not have to be this bad, but it is. And he also laid out a plan to deal with COVID once he's in office. Here's a clip. If I'm your president on day one, we'll implement the national strategy I've been laying out since March. We'll develop and deploy rapid tests with results available immediately.

We'll make the medical supplies and protective equipment that our country needs. We'll make them here in America so we will never again be at the mercy of China or other foreign countries in order to protect our own people. We'll make sure our schools have the resources they need to be open, safe, and effective. We'll put politics aside. We'll take the muzzle off our experts so the public gets the information they need and deserve. Honest, unvarnished truth. They can handle it. We'll have a national mandate to wear a mask, not as a burden, but as a patriotic duty to protect one another.

Yeah. And on the coronavirus, Biden also had a section where he spoke to people who have faced personal losses from COVID-19, kind of playing into one of the big themes that he has had as a politician for decades, linking his personal grief to that of others. And the overall message in this speech was about the idea of overcoming that collective grief that the country is going through with a light versus dark comparison that would have made Marianne Williamson proud, I think. All right. So, Akilah, this was a big moment for Biden, obviously, and the culmination of a 50-year career and two presidential campaigns that had floundered before. And in this format, with a kind of State of the Union vibe and no balloons or crowds or people clapping,

it was more focused than other instances of public speaking for Biden, which have led him to speaking Matt with a kind of State of the Union vibe and no balloons or crowds or people clapping. It was more focused than other instances of public speaking for Biden, which have led him to speaking off the cuff in ways that have endeared him to people and in other not so favorable ways. So were you surprised at the end of this that he pulled this whole thing off? No, I mean, there wasn't really a doubt in my mind that he would have like a scripted speech to meet the moment. But you know, there's pundits and Republicans, a bunch of people on Twitter who just really have set the bar so low for Biden, you know, saying he was cognitively declining and might make some huge gaffe. So I think they really set him up to make, you know, to stick to the message, to deliver the address, to look more

presidential than, you know, the sort of rally speeches that we've heard for the past four years about toilets and that wall that never materialized. Always keep it on topic about toilets. Yeah. And, you know, for Biden, too, it's kind of incredible that this is what ended up happening, that this is the moment that he's reached after these previous runs for office. In 2016, he passes up the opportunity because Clinton was already in and he had tragically lost his son. Then this time at the start of the campaign, it's not going that well. And now he heads into the election as the Democratic nominee with a lead against Trump. So it's going to be really interesting to see where things go from here and whether this continues to

be a referendum on Trump and his mishandling of the pandemic, that focused kind of message, which very clearly has damaged Trump's standing. So that is a wrap on the week. Final thoughts. All right. So given the nature of any events this year, you know, I think we all knew that the DNC was going to be a lot smaller than before. And a lot of people were worried that

without the big pep rally vibe with balloons, it just wouldn't make waves. So I think given that challenge, the DNC this year was one of the best I've ever seen. I think that the shorter pre-taped speeches were really effective. You know, the focus on actual voters and people who are affected by everything in the world felt like it was right for the moment. And I think that the RNC is at a bit of a disadvantage, you know, just due to Trump's last minute decision to not host

a huge scale event. But lastly, I think I'd encourage everyone at home just to watch the speeches this week if they missed them. The clips are pretty nice, but the speeches in full were pretty groundbreaking and incisive in a way that typical DNC speeches with applause lines just cannot be. But how about you, Gideon? Final thoughts? Yeah, I agree with everything you said there. And, you know, there are a lot of questions, I think, going forward about how things are going to proceed in terms of the actual campaigning that these folks do, messaging and reaching voters who may be just getting invested or not invested or not interested just yet, but could be in the future, as well as when and how people will push this Democratic

ticket on issues like universal health care, criminal justice reform and more. But I think overall, compared to 16, when people were kind of rightfully incensed at that convention, the DNC emails had just landed showing this antagonism towards Sanders and his campaign. And because that convention was in person, all that tension was visible. Then this year, you have the pandemic and Trump's response that has definitely changed things and changed people's priorities and outlook. But this convention being virtual also meant we weren't privy as much to any sort of differences of opinion within the party. There was, you know, one hyper focus. And so going forward, it's going to be interesting to see how the party engages with everyone. All right. Well, next week, we'll have coverage of the Republican National Convention

and the beautiful voters and racists that speak there. But let's get into some news outside of the 2020 election from Flint, Michigan. Right. So yesterday, the state of Michigan announced a $600 million fund to compensate Flint residents who were harmed by lead-tainted drinking water. This goes back to 2014, when Flint switched its water supply from the city of Detroit to the Flint River in order to save money. The city was facing financial issues and was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. Still, state environmental officials advised Flint not to apply corrosion control measures to the water, even as it was flowing through old pipes.

City residents started to notice an issue with the water. It was discolored, it had a bad taste, it was causing rashes, and a lot of other issues. At the time, local and state officials continued to insist that it was safe. It wasn't until outside researchers tested the water and found elevated levels of lead that residents, particularly children, were urged not to drink the water. Residents had to switch

over to bottled water for more than a year, and lawsuits were filed against the state. A couple years later, Michigan's Civil Rights Commission determined that the water crisis had its roots in systemic racism and was a, quote, complete failure of government in a city where most residents are people of color. Right. So what do we know now about the fund that's been created and what it's actually set to do? Yeah. So the fund comes after years of litigation and more than 18 months of negotiations. And victims are encouraged to submit compensation claims. But just to give you a sense of scale, if it were divided equally among all 100,000 Flint residents, each person would get around $6,000. But that's not how the distribution is going to work. The proposal calls for 80% of the money to go to victims who were

under 18 years old at the time of the water exposure. Lead is particularly toxic for children, especially in their early years of brain development. The reaction to the announcement has been mixed among residents, with some saying the settlement is a disappointment, given the long-term health issues many are facing, including the adults who also were exposed to the water. An attorney representing the victim said yesterday that the fund isn't perfect, but quote, we should never let perfect be the enemy of the good. I say we shouldn't skimp on justice, but I digress. The settlement still needs to be approved by the plaintiffs and judge, and this isn't the end of Flint-related lawsuits. There are still outstanding cases against the EPA and a couple private companies that played a role in the water crisis as well,

so TBD on that, but that's the latest. it's friday wad squad and for today's chimp check we are talking about a story out of chile a single mother there started a honey business after the pandemic put her out of work she named her brand miel gibson using the spanish word for honey and the english word for a problematic actor well lawyers representing mel gibson served her with a cease and desist. When she went public with her legal situation, her business took off, leading to hundreds of orders and messages of support from fans. So Giddy, what's your advice to litigious celebrities? Well, as a legal expert, I'm really glad you asked.

I think that this is clearly going to have the opposite effect, right? We didn't know about this business. We did not know about this pretty hilarious and good play on words. And now, you know, we have just a stupid lawsuit from this guy who hasn't really been relevant in a long time. The last time he was relevant was like anti-Semitism, I think. Yeah, pretty much so i you know i uh i my advice to this litigious celebrity is to stop being one yeah legit i mean i i don't really understand what he was hoping for it's also kind of like poetic that it's a honey business because they say you catch more flies

with honey than vinegar and he's like i don't want a honey business i like being an anti-semitic fucking vinegar man like that's his whole business so fine it's true that's what braveheart yeah that's that's actually what braveheart was about there we go the hard-hitting news well just like that we have checked our tips uh they're sticky like honey uh like miel gibson honey interesting anyways stay safe and we will check in with you all again next week. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. The number of people filing for unemployment rose last week, despite predictions that the number would fall.

1.1 million people filed new claims, signaling that the job market is still extremely fragile five months into this pandemic. Even though weekly jobless claims have slightly shrunk in recent months, unemployment numbers remain at historic highs. An average of 1.18 million people have been filing claims each week for the past four weeks. At the beginning of this month, 28 million people were receiving some form of unemployment benefits. Seems bad to take them away. The body of a young Sudanese man who drowned while attempting to cross the English water channel has been identified. Abdul Fattah Hamdallah was believed to have been seeking asylum in the UK after his claim was refused in France. He was just one of thousands of refugees making a dangerous trek across the English Channel from France to seek asylum in the UK. 5,000 refugees have crossed the Channel this year, including

over 1,200 people who completed the journey just this month. Under British law, the only way to apply for asylum is if you are already in the country. Humanitarian groups are criticizing the British government's decision to load the channel with military reinforcement in order to make the route uncrossable. Labor Party leaders are calling this a humanitarian crisis that deserves a more empathetic response. I agree with that. Those of us who assume the postal ghoul Louis DeJoy got his job because he loved mail more than anyone else got a rude awakening yesterday. A former member of the USPS Board of Governors testified that it was very unclear what led the organization to give DeJoy its, please make sure you're sitting down for this, stamp of approval. You know, all right.

David Williams resigned in April, partly in protest of DeJoy was the only person USPS interviewed who seemed unqualified for the job and that his candidacy was pushed forward by a board member who is also a Republican donor. Shock. Surprise. Williams also said that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tried to use his department's lending authority over the Postal Service to achieve his political goals. DeJoy will appear before the Senate today, where he's expected to frame recent changes to the Postal Service as long planned attempts to balance the budget. Very similar energy to me at 16 years old, driving home in my mom's car and telling her that her bumper is supposed to be super fucked up. Yeah, listen, mom. Former Trump advisor Margaritaville Rewards Club member and leader

of the Dirtbag Right, Steve Bannon, was charged yesterday with defrauding investors as part of a fundraising effort called We Build the Wall. Bannon and his co-conspirators convinced donors to send them over $25 million to pinch hit for Trump on our country's southern border. Now, prosecutors say Bannon used $1 million of those dollars for his own personal expenses. Bannon was apprehended on a 150-foot yacht in a huge defeat for our nation's beautiful voters. And weirdly enough, he was taken in by the real not made up law enforcement arm of the US Postal Service, I swear to God. Three others were arrested around the country, including Brian Colfidge, a 38 year old Air Force veteran and triple amputee who came up with the We Build the Wall project. Now Colfidge took home

at least 350,000, part of which he spent on boat payments. Honestly, it is now an open secret that 75% of all Republican fundraising goes to boats or boat-related water sports. It's just statistics. Trump allies had previously expressed support for the project, with Don Jr. describing it as, quote, what capitalism is all about. But when experts found that the few miles of wall that the organization did build were in danger of falling into the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Texas, Trump criticized the project, saying it, quote, should have been done like the rest of the wall and was, quote, only done to make me look bad. Trump should know that's new boat erasure and we simply won't stand for it.

Yeah. Also, like what rest of the wall? And those are the headlines. That's all for today. If you like the show show make sure you subscribe leave a review help fix my mom's car please and tell your friends to listen and if you're into reading and not just margaritaville rewards club perks like me what a day is also a nightly newsletter check it out and subscribe at crooked.com subscribe i'm akilah hughes i'm gideon resick. And catch us on Night 5 of the DNC. I plan on being asleep. Yeah, I'll also be comatose. You can watch if that's what you're into, I guess. 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 Kashaka.