Normally Podcast: AOC Says Something, Bernie Gets Mad, & Randi Lies AGAIN

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Episode: Normally Podcast: AOC Says Something, Bernie Gets Mad, & Randi Lies AGAIN
Release Date: March 25, 2025
Host/Author: Premiere Networks
Description: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics, and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

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1. Introduction

The episode of "Normally Podcast," hosted by Mary Kathryn Hamm and Carol Markowitz, delves into current political dynamics involving prominent Democratic figures, education policy shifts under the Trump administration, and the influence of social media on political discourse. The hosts navigate through the complexities of internal party conflicts, policy changes, and the ethical considerations surrounding influencer endorsements.

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2. Bernie Sanders and AOC Rally Analysis

a. Rally Logistics and Attendance

The episode opens with a discussion about the recent Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) rallies. Initially scheduled to accommodate 800 attendees in Omaha, Nebraska, the event saw a significant surge in attendance, necessitating a move to a larger venue capable of holding 3,400 people. This logistical shift underscores the growing popularity and passionate support base of both Bernie and AOC.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [04:34]: "Bernie said, this is insane. I'm not running for anything."

b. Bernie's Stance and Fan Base

Bernie Sanders, a two-time presidential candidate, expresses frustration over the unexpected turnout, emphasizing that he isn't actively seeking another run. The hosts highlight Bernie's dedicated fan base, which remains eager for his message despite his personal reservations about potentially seeking higher office again.

Carol Markowitz [05:37]: "Bernie has always had a very passionate fan base and I think that passionate fan base is looking for something to do right now."

c. AOC’s Role and Messaging

AOC's involvement in the "Fight Oligarchy" tour is examined, with a focus on her ability to connect with younger and more diverse audiences. However, the hosts critique the effectiveness of her messaging, questioning whether it resonates beyond her immediate supporter base.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [06:16]: "And AOC will give you a little taste of what the messaging was like."

d. Critique of Bernie's Wealth and Relationship with AOC

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Bernie Sanders' financial standing. Despite his critiques of billionaires, Sanders owns multiple residences and earns a substantial income from book sales. This juxtaposition raises questions about his authenticity and consistency in advocating against wealth disparities.

Carol Markowitz [09:01]: "As opposed to the billionaires who killed little babies and drank their blood. That's how they made their money."

3. Department of Education Executive Order

a. Trump's Executive Order to Empower States

Mary Kathryn introduces a pivotal topic: President Trump's executive order titled "Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities." This order aims to dismantle the federal Department of Education (DOE), transferring funds and responsibilities back to state and local governments.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [20:51]: "The Department of Education met with an aggressive new executive order from Donald Trump last week that we haven't discussed in depth."

b. Critique of DOE's Performance and ROI

The hosts critically assess the DOE's efficacy, citing a lackluster return on investment despite massive federal expenditures totaling over $60 billion annually. They argue that the DOE has not significantly improved educational outcomes, pointing to stagnant literacy and math proficiency rates.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [22:22]: "Per state is around 11% from the federal DOE. Some states get a little more, but you could still have that funding, just not through the boondoggle of the Department of Education."

c. Free Lunch Programs and State Funding

Clarifying misconceptions, Mary Kathryn distinguishes between DOE funding and USDA-funded free lunch programs, emphasizing that the latter remains unaffected by the executive order.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [22:05]: "Free lunch is USDA. That's an entirely different."

d. Role of Teachers' Unions in COVID School Closures

The discussion shifts to the role of teachers' unions, particularly Randi Weingarten, in the prolonged school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hosts accuse union leaders of prioritizing their interests over students' education, resulting in significant learning loss and increased absenteeism.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [24:26]: "They were on a bad trajectory to begin with, but they caused and exacerbated many of the problems, especially absenteeism and some of this learning loss."

Carol Markowitz [26:03]: "Remote and hybrid are really the only two ways you can reopen schools safely."

4. MAGA-Aligned Influencers and SNAP Benefits

a. Influencers Campaign Against SNAP Benefits for Soda

The hosts explore the recent movement led by MAGA-aligned influencers advocating to restrict Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from purchasing soda. This initiative, dubbed "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA), aims to limit what recipients can buy with their benefits, sparking debates on personal liberty and public health.

Carol Markowitz [35:25]: "Inflencers all posted very similar content over the weekend arguing that SNAP benefits... should extend to soda."

b. Ethical Considerations and Influencer Disclosures

A critical analysis is presented on the ethical implications of influencers promoting political agendas without transparent disclosures. The hosts discuss Christina Pushaw's remarks on the necessity for influencers to openly declare paid partnerships, especially when advocating for policy changes.

Christina Pushaw [40:39]: "Influencers who promote products and brands legally have to disclose paid partnerships in their content."

c. Public Health vs. Personal Liberty

Mary Kathryn expresses a nuanced view on the SNAP benefits debate, recognizing the balance between promoting public health and respecting individual choice. She acknowledges the addictive nature of certain foods and the broader implications of government intervention in personal purchasing decisions.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [36:57]: "I get it. It's empty calories. Why should you have it subsidized for you by the government?"

5. Media Literacy and Influencer Ethics

a. Importance of Transparency

The hosts emphasize the growing need for media literacy, especially concerning influencer endorsements. They advocate for transparency as a cornerstone of ethical advertising, drawing parallels to journalistic standards.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [42:14]: "The hard and correct answer is that it's your responsibility to understand what you're consuming in media."

b. Audience Responsibility and Regulatory Challenges

Addressing regulatory gaps, the discussion highlights the difficulty in enforcing disclosure standards for political content on social media platforms. The hosts suggest that audience awareness and pressure are essential in holding influencers accountable.

Christina Pushaw [40:39]: "It's common in on other apps like TikTok and Instagram, but there's no such regulation for politics and policy."

6. Conclusion

The episode concludes with reflections on the intertwined nature of politics, media influence, and policy-making. Mary Kathryn and Carol stress the importance of informed citizenship and ethical communication in shaping future political landscapes.

Mary Kathryn Hamm [43:35]: "Just as you and I, we disclose what our ideological leanings are so that people can judge what they think of our dissection of the facts."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Mary Kathryn Hamm [04:34]: "Bernie said, this is insane. I'm not running for anything."

• Carol Markowitz [05:37]: "Bernie has always had a very passionate fan base and I think that passionate fan base is looking for something to do right now."

• Carol Markowitz [09:01]: "As opposed to the billionaires who killed little babies and drank their blood. That's how they made their money."

• Mary Kathryn Hamm [22:22]: "Per state is around 11% from the federal DOE. Some states get a little more, but you could still have that funding, just not through the boondoggle of the Department of Education."

• Mary Kathryn Hamm [24:26]: "They were on a bad trajectory to begin with, but they caused and exacerbated many of the problems, especially absenteeism and some of this learning loss."

• Christina Pushaw [40:39]: "Influencers who promote products and brands legally have to disclose paid partnerships in their content."

• Mary Kathryn Hamm [42:14]: "The hard and correct answer is that it's your responsibility to understand what you're consuming in media."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions of the episode, providing a clear and engaging overview for listeners who haven't tuned in.

Transcript

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

And welcome back to Normally the Show with normalish takes for when the news gets weird. I am Mary Kathryn Hamm.

[Advertiser 3]

And I am Carol Markowitz. Hi, Mary Kathryn. How was your weekend?

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

It was pretty good. Uneventful. I have the annual denial that I have seasonal allergies and then acceptance that I have seasonal allergies because I'm like, I am young and vibrant and no thing bothers me. And then right around mid March or late March, I'm like, what's wrong with me?

[Advertiser 3]

Right? Yes, that.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Take some Zyrtec, girl.

[Advertiser 3]

I don't know if it's youth related. My middle son has had it real bad his whole life. We moved to Florida three years ago. It largely went away. We were like, oh, Florida is the best. This is, you know, all fixed this year. Came back with a vengeance. They were. Florida was like, no, actually, we have all the pollen here and you will suffer.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Sometimes the different kind of pollen will save you. See, my pride comes from living in North Carolina and Georgia before coming here. So I was like, pollen can't touch me. And it turns out here it can.

[Advertiser 3]

Different pollen man. Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Oh, my goodness.

[Advertiser 3]

Well, there's a lot of news today. Our first story is the Bernie AOC rally. And they had a rally that had spillover crowds. You know, my normie husband pointed out like they only reserved arena for 800 people. And then they got like, more than that. And so it's like not these humongous numbers that it seems to be, but anyway, the Wall Street Journal reports they initially reserved a space at their first stop of Omaha, Nebraska, that could hold 800 people but had to move to a bigger venue. So 3400 could attend. Bernie said, this is insane. I'm not running for anything. And two time presidential, the two time presidential candidate said in an interview, people are outraged and they're frightened and they want to fight back. And this is one form of beginning that strug to fight back. Maybe, maybe or. Bernie has always had a very passionate fan base and I think that that passionate fan base is looking for something to do right now. And they love coming out and hearing from Bernie. And the new Bernie aoc, yeah, they.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Were in several places. So they, I think they were in Nebraska, they went to Denver, Colorado and they were in Tempe, Arizona where AOC will give you a little taste of what the messaging was like. Here she is talking about the Fight Oligarchy tour and we'll talk about the clumsiness of that phrase in a moment. But first, aoc, we need a Democratic.

[Advertiser 1]

Party that fights harder for us too.

[Advertiser 3]

But, but that means, here's what that means. That means our communities, each and every one of us, choosing and voting for Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand for the working class. And Tempe, I want to give you your flowers for a second because you all have been working overtime to make that happen. In fact, one thing I love about Arizonans is that you all have shown that if a US Senator isn't fighting hard enough for you, you're not afraid to replace her with one who will and win. And that's how you got two fantastic senators in, Mark Kelly and Reuben Gallego.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

So a couple things that was shots fired at Kyrsten Sinema, by the way, who was lighting up all of her former colleagues for having been, for taking out the filibuster. And now they need it.

[Advertiser 3]

Right.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

And so she was lighting up AOC for her hypocrisy and convenient change on this issue just last week on X. So that's partly where this is coming from. Kyrsten Sinema is no longer a senator because the Democratic Party was like, she seems very reasonable. Get her out of here.

[Advertiser 3]

You have that. Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

So another thing that I noticed about this clip in Arizona, behind her you have white women wearing a tax the rich T shirt, what looks like a union T shirt, a rainbow T shirt and a wanna matcha latte T shirt which came with the pink hair in the front. Just like this is the picture of the base that wants to be enthused, that wants to come out, that wants to really fight. And how do you take that message? Which I think, honestly, I think Bernie and AOC are better messengers than establishment folks. At this point, probably. But how do you take that and connect it with regular people who are not the people standing behind AOC in that show?

[Advertiser 3]

That's their big problem there. Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Are you saying Bernie's not a normal guy?

[Advertiser 3]

I don't think Bernie's a normal guy. He really hates billionaires. I mean, he really hates billionaires. Hates them, could not stand them. Multimillionaires, though he hates them a little less. He talked about his net worth on the Lex Friedman show a few years ago. Let's roll that clip.

[Advertiser 4]

Do I own three residences? Yeah, I do. I live here in Burlington, Vermont. We live in a middle class neighborhood. Guess what? I'm a United States Senator and I own a home in Washington D.C. and guess what? Like many thousands of people in the state of Vermont, I have a summer camp. It's a nice one on Lake Champlain. That's it. Now, how did I get the money? I wrote two best selling books, including this book on capitalism. And I make, I don't know, 175,000 a year. And that's more or less how I became the zillionaire that I am.

[Advertiser 3]

As opposed to the billionaires who killed little babies and drank their blood. That's how they made their money. He made his money via capitalism.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

So he should, he should be able to keep his money because he did it doing the right thing.

[Advertiser 3]

Right? And that's the only way you're allowed to keep your money is if you are Bernie Sanders and you do it the way he does it. And even if you do it the way he does it, he still might not like that because you might have the wrong opinions. You might have written a pro capitalism book as, oh, no, you can't do that as you committed capitalism.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

I think one of the problems for them is they try to reorganize. And I don't think people are off base here. Politico's comparing it to the Tea Party anger of the early Obama years. The people who are coming out are angry at establishment Democrats.

[Advertiser 3]

Right?

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Those establishment Democrats to some extent, as we saw with Schumer and the government shutdown fight, are sort of handcuffed by the impotence of not being in charge of anything in Washington and also sort of handcuffed by the fact that they love a really powerful executive and then they handed all that power to Donald Trump.

[Advertiser 3]

Yeah, it's an oopsie. Yeah, oops. Right, so, and that also explains why they're so excited about these attacks on Tesla, because it seems like doing something like, look they're doing something. They're firebombing Tesla manufacturers, they're keying Tesla cars. They're really showing that. Elon Musk, of course. And I've been loving following the Tesla stock because it looks like Tim Walls really did call the bottom.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

But that's very funny.

[Advertiser 3]

It was 225 when Tim Walls was super excited about the stock dropping. It's 271 today and climbing. Literally. We should have bought the dip when Tim Walls talked about it.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

He's like our new Jim Cramer. Opposite Jim Cramer, Politico noted Congressional Democrats have typically enjoyed higher popularity with their voting base than their Republican counterparts. But the trauma of the 2024 presidential election defeat appears to have ruptured that relationship. Congressional Democrats are now underwater with their own voters in approval ratings and this is the first time that's happened in this particular poll's history and that super majorities of them want them to do more to fight Donald Trump. This is different from 2017 because they got real excited about how the party resisted in 2017. But resisting didn't work and it's not working now, so they're less satisfied.

[Advertiser 3]

Pink hats, back out. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Go, go on a march. Kids do it.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

They need something, but they don't know what the thing is. Which is again, I think, to your point, why they end up. Oops. Burning Teslas like that. That doesn't seem like a great idea. Bernie, for his part, was asked about some of the intra party conflict in the lightest way possible by Jonathan Carl. Let's run that clip and see how he reacted.

[Advertiser 4]

She inspires young people all over the country.

[Advertiser 3]

Would you like to see her joining the Senate?

[Advertiser 4]

I. Right now we have, as I said, just a whole lot of people in the Congress. Okay, Jonathan, thanks.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Wait, I got one more.

[Advertiser 4]

I got one more.

[Advertiser 3]

This is important.

[Advertiser 4]

Well, I asked you, okay, you know, you want to do nonsense, do nonsense. No, I don't want to talk about inside the Beltway stuff. I got 32,000 people.

[Advertiser 3]

I was just asking you about AOC.

[Advertiser 4]

Because she was fine, but I don't want to talk about this.

[Advertiser 3]

I don't even think that he was being asked about the intraparty stuff. I mean, I guess if you, you could, he could have seen it as a. Do you like her? Do you like Chuck Schumer? But actually what he came off as is anti AOC to me. He came off as not liking her and not wanting to talk about her. It could have it was such a layup. He could have said anything. He could have just said, sure. Down the road, he. She would make a fantastic senator. Anything was possible.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Anything would have been better than this. Which brings attention to this and sort of reveals just how sensitive a subject it is, maybe not just for him, but for everyone in the Democratic Party. Because the question, would you like to see her in the Senate? Implies that Schumer might not be there, that Schumer shouldn't be at the top of the party, but, again, in the most friendly and innocuous way possible. And you could have just been like, oh, up and comer. Love to be on the trail with her. Just dance around it. I think this is a problem for Democrats going forward. They do not face adversarial press at all. And so when asked very easy questions that you should very easily anticipate, they end up doing this, which I don't think bodes well for the teamwork.

[Advertiser 3]

And Giancarl was like, what? No, come back.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

You want to do Nonsense, Nonsense.

[Advertiser 3]

I just looked it up. CHUCK Schumer is 74 years old. I'm sorry, I know he's not Mitch McConnell 80, or Nancy Pelosi 86 or whatever. 84. But these people are getting up in age. It's not even crazy to say, should AOC be senator after Chuck Schumer is done with it?

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Right, right.

[Advertiser 3]

I just. I don't know. Again, did you. Did you feel the. The Bernie AOC strife there? I felt like when I saw that clip, I thought, wow, Bernie doesn't like her. And then, you know, I thought about all the other possibilities, but that was my first thought.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

No, that's interesting, because, you know, they seem to have made some agreement that they are mutually beneficial to each other and that she's the new face of Bernie, which, let's be serious, they do need. They do.

[Advertiser 3]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Bernie has this fan group, but, you know, he's older and irascible. He might be annoyed that his fan base is turning to her, I suppose.

[Advertiser 3]

Exactly right. How's he gonna write another bestseller about capitalism if she's there?

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Yeah.

[Advertiser 3]

About how capitalism is.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Obviously, I am on record. AOC, despite seeming quite silly sometimes and being quite wrong, should not be underestimated because she's a pretty good speaker, can be pretty good on social media, has a few chops, I think, is decent at speaking to the working class and middle class and hitting some notes that other Democrats are not so good at hitting anymore. Including the other day at one of these rallies, she said, I'm for these things because, because I was a waitress, I understand what it feels like to be left behind. And so I think that message could be powerful in some places. It's not backed up with a lot of experience doing other things.

[Advertiser 3]

And the longer she's away from that life, the more Washington she's becoming. There's just no doubt that the AOC who came out as the bartender from the Bronx or Queensland is not the woman we see today. In fact, she drove a Tesla. I wonder if she still drives one.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

She drove her Tesla while visiting Florida during the pandemic.

[Advertiser 3]

Yes, she did. Which, you know, it might be a way to move more to the middle.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Well, I think her, her Met Gala appearance with her stupid tax the rich dress, which by the way, was also like, I think 2021, their first event back and they were pretending like they were Covid safe when they were not at all. They built an entire outdoor space that was a building so that they could have a Runway.

[Advertiser 3]

They brought the red carpet inside, outside.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

I think that was her peak elitist, Democrat, clueless spot. And since then, she's done some work to be more normal.

[Advertiser 3]

Right.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

She really got out over her skis on that one, I think.

[Advertiser 3]

Well, we'll see. We'll see if she challenges Schumer or if she just waits it out, which is again, not the worst idea either. But yeah. Is a senator AOC from New York a possibility? I think it might be. We're going to take a short break and come right back with normally.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

This is Ashley Iconetti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast.

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

To talk about the education on this show.

[Advertiser 3]

Yes we do.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

The Department of Education met with a an aggressive new executive order from Donald Trump last week that we haven't discussed in Depth. But it was entitled Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States and Communities. And what it does is it empowers Linda McMahon, who is the newly, newly minted Education Secretary, to dismantle and transfer out of the Department of Education as much money and as many duties as possible so that it is not running through a federal bureaucracy. Noting that taxpayers spent around 200 billion at the federal level on schools during the COVID 19 pandemic, on top of more than 60 billion they spend annually on federal school funding. This money is largely distributed by one of the newest cabinet agencies. And basically it concludes, we haven't gotten a lot out.

[Advertiser 3]

That's right. Their budget is close to 70 billion a year. So what are we getting for it? Who gets that money? All of these are great questions, and I think that that's the goal here. I think a lot of people are misled to believe that the end of DOE means no funding for schools. And they always try to say, like, oh, the free lunch programs or whatever will not be funded. And schools are primarily funded by state governments.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Free lunch is usda. That's an entirely different.

[Advertiser 3]

That's always slipped in there. The average per state is around 11% from the federal DOE. Some states get a little more, but you could still have that funding, just not through the boondoggle of the Department of Education.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Well, and the executive order also notes that the Department of Education, though it does not actually educate anyone and sort of funnels money, contains a PR office that includes over 80 staffers at a cost of more than 10 million a year.

[Advertiser 3]

Oh, yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

So, like, I'm happy to take that off the top. Caroline Levitt was asked about this on the outside the White House and said what many of us think, which is the Department of Education was founded in 1979, and since then we have spent more than 3 trillion at this bureaucracy. What has been the ROI for the taxpayer? Our children's test scores are incredibly concerning when it comes to literacy rates, math and science test scores. I do think that there's power in returning this money and these decision making processes to the states without strings attached. I believe Florida in the past under DeSantis, has tried to refuse federal money.

[Advertiser 3]

I'll send the money back.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

I love that guy. The only person in America who's like, you know what? I want you to take this giant chunk of cash back to Washington because we don't want to need your strings here.

[Advertiser 3]

Amazing. Yeah. He's so good.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

He is so good.

[Advertiser 3]

Yeah. And look, Democrats keep throwing kind of nonsense at this plan. Madeline Dean, who is a congresswoman in Pennsylvania, said, what you do want is an educated electorate. Not if you're Donald Trump and his cult. Like, like members. They want citizens who are not educated. And of course, uneducated is what we have now.

[Advertiser 1]

So.

[Advertiser 3]

So maybe that's, you know, he's trying to actually get people educated. I think we've thrown these numbers out before, but in New York, for example, only 23% of 8th graders are proficient in math. That number's only a little bit better for reading at 28%. And a third of the kids just don't go to school. So.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Yeah.

[Advertiser 3]

And these are Department of Education. We won't miss you.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Yeah. These are exacerbated trends almost entirely caused by Covid provisions that went on way too long that were a racket for teachers unions.

[Advertiser 3]

That's right.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

And the teachers union leaders who caused many of these problems. We were on a bad trajectory to begin with, but they were, they caused and exacerbated many of the problems, especially absenteeism and some of this learning loss.

[Advertiser 3]

When they said school was not essential, people believed them.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Yeah, that's what happened there. And we told them while that was happening that that would happen. They are, of course, very angry about this. But I would note that it is states that have led the way when it comes to the few bright spots in education in our country. Louisiana, Mississippi, this sort of southern surge of literacy. It's because those states made curriculum changes that were not dictated by the federal government, that were dictated by evidence based research. Research that perhaps we should be teaching children to actually read with phonics.

[Advertiser 3]

That would be a good idea. Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

The extent to which those guys get more power and other states can learn from them. Huge thumbs up. I know. I caught Randy Weingarten's giant lie this week talking to Branna Keillor at cnn. Let's, let's run that for the parents who remember the COVID Covid was a.

[Carol Markowitz]

Terrible time for us. And as you know, because I was on your show a lot and other shows, I wanted schools to be reopened as early as April of 2020. The issue was the fear and the issue was the safety issues. But Covid has really hurt in so many ways. But this has been a Republican talking point for a long time, ma'am.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

To be fair to her, a lot of Republican talking points from COVID are just the truth.

[Advertiser 3]

Yeah. And they really bother her.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Our talking point is the truth when it comes to teachers unions fighting to keep schools closed. In fact, our friend Tom Elliott over at Grabian has a giant supercut of Randy Weingarten talking about this and debating current Randy Weingarten. So I just want to play a few of those real quick.

[Advertiser 3]

Let's do it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Remote and hybrid are really the only two ways you can reopen schools safely. You gotta delay school opening, because if you don't have the mask, how are you gonna be able to do this? There's a huge difference between working in Walmart and working in a school. You know, even a situation like Florida where it was pretty clear that schools should not reopen and where Miami schools did not reopen because you had people who were courageous and who were willing to defy Desantis denials, and they're. Why are they closing now, Martha? They're closing now because what the city said, and frankly, what lots of other places are also seeing, is a huge skyrocketing increase in virus.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Now.

[Carol Markowitz]

You're not listening to me. What they're telling us, though, is that the wisest scientific move is to have children in school, is that they're trying to figure out a regional way of opening and closing like they did after the children. They don't need to close. That's the point. They don't need to close is the point, Martha, that when you hit that, it says a measurement of status established by the teachers union over the summer in order to reach an agreement to reopen in the first place was a 3% threshold. The mayor set the 3% threshold. What the teachers union did in New York City afterwards was to say, these are the safeguards that we need, and this is the testing we need. Given that all of these experts and scientists say the children are safer in school. It's worked across Europe, it's worked across the uk they never closed their schools during their second spike, and now they're in recovery, they're down 10%, and the kids are not missing out. And what they did and what. And what they did in Europe and what they did in New Zealand is that they had national leadership that closed that. That did masks, that actually closed the bars that did some of those things to the stimulus. Yeah. Given all that, they still say the kids are safe for. They're connected, Martha, the numbers rising. Kids are safer in school.

[Advertiser 3]

Right? Yeah. I retweeted that with the note that I always want to say is that it wasn't just school year 2020 that she tried to keep schools closed. She actually tried to keep schools closed for another school year in 2021-2022, in summer of 21, she said, we will try to open schools in September. Now, as everyone knows, schools were already open in places not under Randi Weingarten's control. She was the one literally blocking schools from opening. She rewrote CDC policy so that schools couldn't open. They wanted to change the distance from 6ft to 3ft, which is all a bunch of nonsense. 6ft, 3ft, 2ft, 1 foot, it makes no difference at all. None of it has any scientific basis. And we knew this at that time. Already she was able to stop the CDC from making that change, which at the time I noted, you can't have even three feet of space in New York City public schools, for example. So it was only places that were that she was allowed to influence that still had closed schools. And she was trying to keep them closed for a second or really a third school year.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Yeah. And she did do that. They all did this dishonest dance where they're like, oh. They would perfunctorily say, it is my heart's desire to have schools open, obviously. But also, screens are fine, your kids are doing fine, everything's good. We just need a boatload more money and a bunch of precautions that you won't possibly be able to take within this time frame. And then we'll totally go back. And then in places like where I live, they got basically everything they wanted and they still did not go back to school because the union heads were like, eh, not enough.

[Advertiser 3]

Still more.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

We need more.

[Advertiser 3]

Yeah. And then it was like, okay, but now we're gonna need vaccines. You know, we can't go back until there's vaccines. And then there were vaccines and they were still like, but the kids don't have vaccines, so they still can't do.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Well, the vaccines were too quick. No, it's mind boggling to watch these people argue this. And I just always want to remind people that the folks who are complaining the hardest about the Department of Education, which does not educate students and largely does not even fund educating students being closed, are the same people who were happy.

[Advertiser 3]

Sure.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

For millions of students to be out of school for 18 months.

[Advertiser 3]

Yeah, that's it. They didn't care then, they want to pretend that they care now. I don't believe them. I just don't believe them. They're a bunch of liars. The fact that Randi Weingarten is trying to rewrite what she did during the pandemic, you and I are never going.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

To let her do that now. And I think Becky Pringle, by the way, who's the head of the other major teachers unions. She was a little bit more saying the quiet part out loud because she said, what about all these jobs for my union members that are getting cut? It's like, okay, see that should not be your first priority. Or at least you shouldn't tell people it is. But parents have picked up on this.

[Advertiser 3]

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[Advertiser 3]

Influencers all posted very similar content over the weekend arguing that SNAP benefits, and that's what they call food stamps now, should extend to soda. They're, you know, the new Maha movement, Make America Healthy Again is trying to get rid of the ability to purchase soda with your food stamps. And you know, I, I'm, I'm kind of, you know, I'm going to be a very middle ground on this whole story because I, I'm torn about the ability to use Snap for soda. I actually don't drink soda, which is, I've got a lot of vices, but not that one. I get it. It's empty calories. Why should you have it subsidized for you by the government? But then I just feel like there's so many other things, like should they be able to buy Skittles? Like, there's a lot of other questions about what Snap benefits should be used for. If you want to go the whole distance I don't think it should just be soda. I think it should be like, maybe you're only able to buy certain items with it, but that's going to be just so difficult. And I don't know that this is the right way to go. Several of the influencers pointed out that Donald Trump enjoys his Diet Coke occasionally. You'll have a Diet Coke. I get it, Donald. Why should poor people not get to. And the fact that all of these people are on the right is what's kind of interesting about this story because they're there to pressure Donald Trump and his administration not to follow this idea. I don't know, I'm sort of a mix on this. What do you think?

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Well, okay, I apologize for being squishy, but I am sort of in the middle with you on the, on the snap benefits because it is, I understand the logical argument that like, should this just be for Staples and should we not have it for these kind of things? And you use your own money for that, that kind of thing. Right. But then you get into the question of, yeah, what are the categories that are going to be cut? And then you get a giant lobbying effort as we're sort of seeing when anything tries to get cut. So, yeah, let's put that aside. I do think it's interesting to watch an independent reporter uncover this. By the way, I believe it was Nick Sordor who spotted this. I think one of the lessons is that you're not gonna get away with this stuff when you are challenging a Trump or a DeSantis, people who other right leaning folks are invested in. I think you're gonna get found out if you don't say what you're doing. I don't really mind people saying these kind of things, even if they're paid, if they say that's what they're doing.

[Advertiser 3]

That's right.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

There's a lot of squishiness or like there's a lot of blurred lines in social media and on Instagram and all these places about, you know, endorsements and sponsorship and like, as long as you're making clear to me what you're doing. Yeah, I'm, I'm fairly comfortable with it. But be ready to be found out, I think.

[Advertiser 3]

Right. And I think it's better to say I actually believe this already and I'm being paid to say this because I believe in this. I've been accused a number of different times in my career of being paid to say something. I have never once taken a penny from anybody. But again, I am sympathetic to these influencers because I do get paid to give my opinion. So I am paid to tell you what I think. I'm just not paid by the individual interest. And I get that this is sort of the Wild west and they don't really know how it's supposed to go. So I think that, you know, kind of going forward, and maybe I'm sympathetic because I follow a few of these people, but I was also. I have been sympathetic in the past to people I don't agree with that I felt were they see this as a way to make money saying what.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

They already believed they were already going to do.

[Advertiser 3]

Right, yeah. So I get that argument. I do. But. But it's just you have to kind of look at it as you're blowing up your reputation. Yes, you might already believe it, but unless you disclose it, you are just putting yourself in a jam. Christina Pushaw, who works for Ron DeSantis and is, had some very interesting things to say about this. She tweeted, here's how I see it. Influencers are the new generation of advertisers. Advertising isn't unethical in itself, but it can be done unethically. Influencers who promote products and brands legally have to disclose paid partnerships in their content. And that's, you know, she said, it's common in on other apps like TikTok and Instagram, but there's no such regulation for politics and policy, and it might be tricky to regulate. So I think it has to be kind of pressure from the audience to say, you can't do this without telling us you're doing this, even if. And again, I think it would be just as strong to say, I don't want to see government cutting down or making policy for what's best for us. Now, of course, Maha was instrumental in winning Trump this election. So I think it's kind of a tough thing to argue right now, to say, oh, I don't think the government should get involved in what's healthy and not healthy, when literally that argument, the government should get involved in telling us what's healthy and not healthy just won an election.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Yeah, Yeah, I think you're right. There is an interesting part of this that is the evolution. And honestly, I'm sort of part of it. Right. Like when journalist Lee Fong was reporting that this happened in the past where in New York then Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed size restrictions on sugary drinks, and the NAACP and Hispanic Federation opposed the regulation without disclosing financial connections to Coca Cola. The thing is, back then that many Years ago, you could have had me for free for big soda. I was like, I love soda. It's great. Stop restricting sizes.

[Advertiser 3]

I didn't even drink soda. And I still was pro not restricting sizes because I thought, like, stay out of big government. I still do. I still kind of think that I, you know, but I, but I understand that there is a large segment of the population that doesn't agree me thinks the government should be involved in it, and those people just won an election.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Well, and I also, like, have been the person that, at least on my personal health decisions, has changed a lot since then. Right. Soda can be really bad for you. I love a Coke every now and then, but I did realize at one point that I had been dehydrated most of my, my life because I was just like drinking Coke all the time.

[Advertiser 3]

That's all of us, though. And from the 90s, no, like, we just didn't drink any water ever.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

So, like, if I, if I, as a personal liberty person who still doesn't want a bunch of mucking around with sizes and what people can buy at the convenience store, but if I have changed to that degree, then there is a large segment of the voting public who's very happy for government to meddle in this. So I think that political consideration is a huge part of this.

[Advertiser 3]

Right. Last thing I'll say is that I also see this as an opportunity. And I think again, Christina Pichaw said something along these lines. But it teaches you to be more skeptical. Why are your favorite influencers arguing something? Is somebody paying them? And I think that if you consume Internet at high levels, you kind of start to realize that there are people getting paid for their opinion to say certain things. Maybe they believe it, maybe they don't. But it teaches you to be kind of more aware of this kind of thing and to again, be discern for yourself whether or not this is real or this is paid for content.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Yeah. And this is one of the things I tell when people ask me about media literacy or I'll talk to college students, I'm like, the hard and correct answer is that it's your responsibility to understand what you're consuming in media. And it's become very, very difficult, which is why I think disclosure is helpful. It follows the same ethical guidelines that say lawyers and journalists should follow, although we see that journalists often don't disclose their conflicts of interest. But it helps people understand what they're dealing with. Just as you and I, we disclose what our ideological leanings are so that people can judge what they think of our dissection of the facts.

[Advertiser 3]

Everyone has a bias. Let's just be open about it.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Yeah.

[Advertiser 3]

All right, well, thanks for joining us on Normally. Normally airs Tuesdays and Thursdays and you can subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. Get in touch with us@ normallythepodmail.com thanks for listening. And when things get weird, act normally.

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Catch the new Hulu original comedy Mid Century Modern from the creators of Will and Grace, executive producer Ryan Murphy and director James Burroughs. When three best friends move in together, Palm Springs will never be the same. They're fun, they're fabulous, and they're turning life's lemons into spiked lemonade. Shake up a batch of cocktails, relax by the pool and get ready for some serious shade. Mid Century Modern stars Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, Nathan Leigh Graham and Linda Lavin Mid century modern premieres March 28th. Streaming on Hulu.