I Don’t Understand What America is Doing! - A Conversation with Joanna Johnson

Summary

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The PoliticsGirl Podcast

Episode Title: I Don’t Understand What America is Doing! - A Conversation with Joanna Johnson
Date: May 12, 2026
Host: Leigh McGowan (PoliticsGirl)
Guest: Joanna Johnson (unlearn16)

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Episode Overview

This episode brings back Joanna Johnson, Toronto-based teacher, author, and social media commentator, for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation on the current state of American democracy, international perceptions, the erosion of rights and institutions, and the interplay between capitalism, oligarchy, and power in the U.S. Leigh, fresh from a controversial TV appearance, seeks perspective and camaraderie on what feels like a series of surreal, troubling events in U.S. politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. International Perspective on U.S. Decline and Fear

• Joanna shares Canadian students' perspectives on coming to/studying in the U.S.
  • Anxiety among minorities and immigrants about rights being rescinded.
  • The shift among youth: those outside the U.S. can now joke about the situation, but there’s an undercurrent of relief to be out of harm’s way.
  • Quote (Joanna, 02:37): “The idea that you have rights because you’re a person in the United States no longer applies.”
• Minimization of threat until it’s personal
  • People, “Republicans don’t care until it happens to them… Democrats care that it never happens to anyone.” (Leigh, 05:14)
  • The tendency is to ignore atrocities until they hit close to home.

2. America’s Foreign Policy and “Decline of Empire”

• Questioning motives for war and global antagonism
  • Leigh expresses dismay at recent U.S. aggression, asking: “Is it just so that a handful of people can insider trade? Are we being blackmailed? Is this just a business opportunity?” (Leigh, 06:00)
• Joanna’s analysis: U.S. wars not about being forced
  • “The United States has never had to be blackmailed into going to war. It has always served something that they’ve wanted to do.” (Joanna, 07:07)
  • U.S. military adventures have whether won or lost, always diminished genuine power and goodwill.
  • On the “empire in decline”: Other power blocs (like BRICS) are strategizing to dethrone the U.S. from its superpower status.
  • “If you have power, you don’t have to go to war to prove it.” (Joanna, 09:43)

3. The Perils of Blind Patriotism

• Patriotism as a double-edged sword
  • “I am not dedicated to a country… I am proud of… a constitutional basis of justice.” (Joanna, 12:33)
  • Blind patriotism fosters unchecked power and moves nations away from justice and human rights.
  • “The more that’s our drive [to amass and flex power], the worse everything’s going to be.” (Joanna, 13:57)

4. America’s Global Reputation and Isolation

• Canada/Obama event vs. American Exceptionalism
  • Obama visits left-wing think tank Canada 2020: Focus on multilateralism, not “fixing America.”
  • “If you’re the richest kid at school… telling everyone you’re number one all the time… you’re not making a lot of friends.” (Leigh, 17:17)
• Refusal of help = narcissism
  • Bush denying Canadian aid after Katrina as a symbol of damaging isolationism (Joanna, 17:45).

5. Voting Rights, Gerrymandering, and Erosion of Democracy

• Explanation of the “Redistricting Wars”
  • Mid-decade redistricting led by Texas, followed by retaliation from California, triggering a national spiral (Leigh, 24:23–27:40).
  • Supreme Court essentially green-lights partisan gerrymandering; Confederacy states race to further disenfranchise Black voters.
  • “If you have drawn people out of power, you’ve also drawn yourself out of power.” (Leigh, 36:10)
• Historical context and systemic racism
  • American segregation—deliberate redlining, racist housing, and school policies—built deep, generational inequality (Leigh, 30:43).
• Representation gap
  • Breakdown of disparities in representation (Canada: 150–200k citizens per MP, U.S.: nearly 1 million per Rep.)

6. Rigged Systems, Oligarchy, and Capitalist Decay

• Monopolies and the endgame of capitalism
  • Joanna: “Doesn’t matter if it’s the government or Elon Musk. If they own all of it, we are screwed.” (Joanna, 46:15)
  • Example: Del Monte burns peach trees—environmental and economic insanity—in pursuit of profit (Leigh, 46:45)
• Billionaire worship and “King” mentality
  • Why do ordinary people stand by billionaires?
    • “It’s the same reason that people like having a king and serving a God. They don’t want the responsibility.” (Joanna, 48:54)
  • Leigh’s run-in with Elon Musk’s online “simps” after a CNN debate.
• Tax breaks and government subsidies fuel oligarchy
  • “The only reason they are where they are is because we gave them such obscene tax breaks… We allow Walmart to pay their workers so poorly the government has to give those people food stamps.” (Joanna, 51:20)

7. The Trump Factor: Catastrophe as Catalyst

• Will things have to get truly disastrous for America to change?
  • “That’s the unfortunate reality… every major revolution will only happen ever amidst disaster.” (Joanna, 54:27)
  • “There is no Phoenix without the ashes. And Donald Trump is just the pirate.” (Leigh, 58:10)
  • Trump as the “only one willing to burn it all down because he doesn’t care.” (Leigh, 58:22)
  • “If I was the next president, my first job, I swear to God, I’m tearing it down… It represents everything that is disgusting, embarrassing, ostentatious, capitalistic, with absolutely no oversight…” (Joanna, 58:51)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On international perspective:
  “If America sets something on fire, the rest of the world can get burned.” (Leigh, 02:24)
• On why people ignore injustice:
  “It’s a human tendency to minimize horrible things unless horrible things knock at your door.” (Joanna, 04:18)
• On America’s motives for war:
  “Never had to be blackmailed… It’s always for something they’ve wanted.” (Joanna, 07:07)
• On patriotism:
  “I am not dedicated to a country. I am not dedicated to a flag.” (Joanna, 12:33)
• On disenfranchisement:
  “Every single state in the Confederacy is now falling all over themselves to make sure not a single Democrat, which in southern states is also the majority of black voters, can win seats.” (Leigh, 27:37)
• On American exceptionalism:
  “You’re not making a lot of friends, it doesn’t matter if people are scared of you because you’re big and strong.” (Leigh, 17:17)
• On oligarchy:
  “It is the same thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s the government or if it’s Elon Musk. If they own all of it, we are screwed.” (Joanna, 46:15)
• On billionaire worship:
  “They want somebody to tell them who to be… to stand up and say, ‘That’s bad, that’s bad, don’t worry, I’m going to protect you.’” (Joanna, 48:54)
• On hope for change:
  “Every major revolution will only happen ever amidst disaster… and we’re not there.” (Joanna, 54:27)
• On Trump:
  “Donald Trump is just the pirate.” (Leigh, 58:10) “He just wants stuff with his name on it and he knows it’s going to burn down… that’s why he wants that ballroom, because it’s really a bunker.” (Leigh, 58:32)

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Important Timestamps

02:24 – International student perspectives and fears about coming to the U.S.
05:14 – “Republicans don’t care until it happens to them…”
06:00–09:30 – The motivations (and absurdity) of recent U.S. foreign policy
12:33 – The perils and pitfalls of patriotism
14:50–17:45 – Obama’s visit to Canada, American isolationism, and reputational decline
24:23–28:26 – “Redistricting wars” and acceleration of gerrymandering
30:43 – Historical roots of systemic racism in the U.S. (redlining, housing, schools)
36:10 – If politicians don’t have to listen to voters, everyone loses
46:15 – Capitalism, monopolization, and the problem with billionaire control
48:54 – “King” mentality: why people cheer for the ultra-rich
54:27–58:51 – The idea that cataclysm and collapse may be what brings meaningful change—and Trump’s role in this dynamic

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Episode Tone

Leigh and Joanna maintain an urgent, frustrated, and often darkly humorous tone—punctuated by sarcasm and exasperation. Both show emotional investment and a sense of impending crisis mixed with moments of hope that Americans and Canadians have the empathy and community spirit to “course correct”—if and when circumstances become intolerably dire.

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Conclusion

This episode is a clarion call to wake up to America’s democratic backsliding, institutional rot, and the dangers of unchecked power—whether it comes from government or oligarchs. Leigh and Joanna challenge listeners not to minimize threats until they’re personal, to demand systems that truly represent the people, and to question the prevailing myths of invincibility, exceptionalism, and billionaire salvation.

Despite the darkness, the message ends on a cautious hope: real change and restoration of democracy will only arise from authentic collective action—hopefully before the ashes become uninhabitable.

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Follow Joanna Johnson:

• TikTok & Instagram: @unlearn16
• Podcast: unlearn16: Class is in Session
• Book: "That's Not What This Book Is About," with Book 2 coming in the fall

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Transcript

[A]

It doesn't matter if it's the government or if it's Elon Musk. If they own all of it, we are screwed.

[B]

Yeah, when you put capitalism first. Like, I just heard that the Del Monte Company is going under because they can't get their cans at the right price because of the tariffs on aluminum. Aluminum. So they're closing their peach farm, but they're just going to burn all the trees to the ground, like acres and acre because it's not making money anymore. So they're just gonna. And I was like, are we the stupidest species in the entire world?

[A]

We are. We really are.

[B]

Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl Podcast. I'm your host, Lee McGowan. Let's get into it. So I know I had this guest on just a few weeks ago, but I had such a weird weekend after kind of a weird week that I just wanted to share it with someone and get their insight. And if I'm being honest, Joanna is one of my favorite educated, unfiltered people to get insight from. So today I'm having Joanna Johnson back on the show to talk about the past week of the news, my time on cnn, discussing the past week of the news and the fallout from one of those appearances. Honestly, I think it should be a really fun episode. And I'm not someone that has that much fun anymore, so I'm really looking forward to it. If you don't know Joanna Johnson, she is known online as unlearn16. She's a content creator, an author, and a teacher from Toronto who, like me, is interested in keeping our critical thinking skills fresh. So without further ado, please welcome my guest teacher and social media phenom, Joanna Johnson.

[A]

Welcome back, Joanna.

[B]

You're such a join me phenom. Well, last time I said you are a superstar and you were like, too much. Now, listen, I know it's a bit ridiculous to have you back on the show so soon, but there's so much, so many things I wanted to talk about.

[A]

We should just run this as a. As a jo.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. This should be the show.

[A]

This should be the show.

[B]

But literally, sometimes I feel like I'm just talking to myself or I'm talking at my audience, and I don't want them to feel like that. I want them to get different perspectives. I want to talk through a bunch of things that happened last week and what I did on television last week that I just felt like, am I losing my mind here? And I wanted someone else here to bounce those ideas off of. I didn't want to just make a monologue to give to my audience. I wanted to a conversation. And you're one of my favorite people to have a conversation.

[A]

I mean. Well, thank you. You as well.

[B]

Well, listen, you're a teacher. What are you guys talking about? About what's going on down here right now. How are you guys looking at what's happening south of the border? Because none of this stuff exists in a bubble. If America sets something on fire, the rest of the world can get burned.

[A]

It's interesting because I have a lot of kids graduating. I have international students. So I'll give you a couple of perspectives. I have one student and who just got into ucla, so that's incredible. We're super, super happy. But on the back end is very, very cognizant and aware of how she's going to be treated, what that's going to feel like when she's there, whether or not they can take away those things when they want. She's in the business program, you know, she also is a person of color, so she's a little nervous. She's a little nervous about it. But as kids do, they tend to just push it aside. I have another student who almost got a green card in the United States before all of this happened. And for some reason it up and they got turned away and she ended up in. They ended up in Canada. And she's like, could you imagine had I gone there and then this happened? The idea that you have rights because you're a person in the United States no longer applies. Obviously, the notion that rights apply to everybody who puts their foot on the ground in the United States no longer applies. And that makes for immigration insane, legal immigration terrifying. It makes travel scary. So that's what my older kids, my younger students, we've had a lot of kids move here from the United States at the onset of this and go to school here and move here, period. So those kids are like, you know, sometimes you can you. They joke more about it, like, oh, and they. They see it more in a humoristic kind of way. But they're here now. They're not there.

[B]

They've got the perspective of being outside of it, that they can now see the funny as opposed to being inside of it.

[A]

That's right. And. And I think kids tend to, unless something's happened directly, and I think this is true of people, Lee. I really do. I think unless it happens directly to you or somebody, you know, and somebody you love, you negate it. You push it off, you minimize it, especially if it gets in the way of what you need to do or what you want to do or what's going to better your scenario. Right. And I think that's a little bit of a human. I don't even need to, I'm not even, you know, dismissing it. I think it's a human tendency to minimize horrible things unless horrible things knock at your door. I think we've done it forever when it comes to human rights violations in the world. I think we've done it when it comes to environmental degradation. I think we do it consistently because fighting it seems overwhelming, constant and never ending. So, you know.

[B]

Yeah, no, I do know. And I think about, there's an old quote down here that's like, Republicans don't care until it happens to them. Which is like the concept of Nancy Reagan, you know, not caring about AIDS until they knew someone that had it. Or, you know, Dick Cheney hating gay people until his daughter came out as gay. Yeah, sure. But there's this expression that says Republicans don't care until it happens to them and Democrats care that it never happens to anyone. Like they make plans before it happens to themselves. Like they're working on gay rights even if you're not gay. We're working on women's rights even if we're not a woman. And I try to live by that, even though I don't think the Democrats live by that all the time. But as far as a two party system, there is definitely a difference between those two about who cares until it happens to me. I do think that there is one sort of side of the population here that cares, even if it's not happening to them. The people that are at the rallies, the people that are at the marches, the people go to the protests, even if they're not personally affected by it. I just, you know what I have to tell you, like, I just genuinely don't understand, and I was saying this on TV last week, I just, I genuinely don't understand what America's doing. Like this war that we're in. I mean, at this point, is it just so that a handful of people can insider trade using polymarket? Are we being blackmailed or tricked by Netanyahu? Is this a just a good business opportunity for the Trump family so they can make money on government contracts? Because the whole thing seems like a ludicrous waste of money, of lives, of international goodwill. It's completely screwed up our economy, the world economy, and it only continues to get worse. So I just feel like I'm not sure what we're doing here. And I'm not even sure our government can explain it. And if I was looking at it from the outside, I don't see how we can even hope to consider ourselves the good guy. And I'm confused at the people who are still trying to justify what we're doing.

[A]

Your first question about the why I think a bunch of things can be true at the same time. And I, and I also think, and this is something I think the United States people and the government needs to come to terms with is the fact that this notion they've been blackmailed or forced into war by another nation is, I feel, relatively ridiculous. The United States has never had to been blackmailed into going to war. It has always served something that they've wanted to do. And I think that going to war has been there even though they haven't won anything. Like really think about it for a second, you know, really think, did they win Iraq? Did they win Vietnam? Did they. Definitely not. What did they win in Afghanistan? What. These are the things that are set up like we are doing what's right, we are doing what's just. That is never what's happening. And somehow this is exerting our military power and our strategic importance and our might across the world. When in actuality, I think what it's done is it served to disempower, it has served to create bigger targets, it has served to create more fractionist politics and more violence in the international community. And at the same time it's actually diminished the United States actual power on the world stage. If you have power, you don't have to go to war to prove it. And the more you go to war to prove it and you lose even if you win, the less power you come out of the other side with. So what do I think Iran is about? I think it's about dictating power. I think it's about an empire that is in decline. I think that the BRICS forces on the other side of this fence that are looking to take things off the US dollar and, and, and shift things to another form of international trade, I think is looking to knock the United States off of its superpower pedestal. And do I love the idea that it's particular country? No, I don't. But, but what the United States should have learned a very long time ago, and I think in some ways was learning very slowly, is that when you're the only superpower in the room and you're constantly having to flex and you're spending $1 trillion on your military that is not sustainable.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And if that's not sustainable, what end is going to happen there? You know, it's like asking for alliances is somehow a sign of weakness rather than a sign of stability. And I think the US mindset is preset in World War I, and you've never really stepped out of that ideal. Whereas alliances are actually going to stabilize. Alliances are actually going to create interdependencies that work for many countries. There's been many a president who didn't see that as a. As a way through, but I think it's incredibly important. It's almost like if they had the forethought, they still could have wielded power. They could have been sort of a just center, the more countries you actually bring in and the more countries you actually respect. But, you know, here we are, and this is a man in an administration who has decided, and I'm going to say this out loud, almost rightly so, that the United States was in a decline, and they were in a decline for many reasons. And instead of writing the course, he is trying to undo history and. And go back to a time where the United States sat at the head of the table with all of the bluster and all of the power that they once had. What he doesn't understand or he doesn't care about is that's impossible.

[B]

Yeah, I just keep thinking of that caught on a hot mic thing he said to the Fox News reporter backstage at an event where he said, you know, when I see those North Koreans, you know, when they see their leader, they jump up and they stand to attention. I want my people doing that. Right? And I'm like, that's the thing. That's what he wants. He doesn't want a better America, stronger America. You know, like, this is not a country I'm feeling proud of right now. A country that, you know, accidentally kills children in their schools in foreign lands because they didn't bother to check the AI data. Like, you know, we let our children get killed in our schools here. Right? We are out here in the world acting like bullies, demanding things without negotiating for them. This is the third time. Last week was the third time US Attacked Iran in the middle of peace negotiations. Right. Like, I just feel like Iran is hardly innocent here, but started the war. So we technically are the ones who have to do some damage control here. And all we're doing is leading with threats, you know, and we say things like, light them up, kill them all, set it on fire. Ultimate lethality. And then we act like victims Right. And I find that just shocking and nauseating. And it's not the kind of America that I feel like I can patriotically stand behind.

[A]

The. The word patriotism's always given me pause. A lot of people are Canadian, and

[B]

we're like, ooh, you.

[A]

Yeah. And here's why. Here's why. I am not dedicated to a country. I am not dedicated to a flag. What I am proud of and what I try to hold up and what I try to be dedicated to is a constitutional basis of justice. So if that's my hallmark, if that's my center, then every single time Canada does something to embolden that, I am impressed. And every time we do something that doesn't embolden that, I am just as ashamed. And we need to be able to say those things in equal proportionality. And I think the United States. And again, a lot of people think I'm bashing the United States when I say this, but I really think that most countries, given the level of power and dominance that the United States has been able to wield since World War I, every single country, no matter what, with that kind of level of an unchecked power. And I know people will say the Soviet Union, but that level, for the most part, of an unchecked power and an unbridled level of patriotism, we will find ourselves in harm's way. We will find ourselves not being driven by justice and human rights. We will be driven by an accumulation, a drive to amass power, to control, because we think we're better, smarter, and more superior. The more that's our drive, the worse everything's going to be. Yeah. Look, some days.

[B]

Some days are just a deep sigh. I mean, listen, speaking of, you know, if you're proud of Canada or not proud of Canada, you know, if your country does something that, like, agrees with your morals and your values, you can say, I'm behind you on this. And if you do something that disagrees with my morals and values, which is what my country is doing right now, you go, I'm not behind this. It doesn't mean I'm not a patriot. It doesn't mean I don't like my country. It means that I don't like this behavior. It doesn't. It doesn't align with my values. But I'm thinking of, like, goodwill. I'm talking about how America's losing its goodwill around the world. And I think about how our former President Obama just was recently in your country meeting.

[A]

I was there.

[B]

You were.

[A]

I was at that event.

[B]

Well, it Was a coup.

[A]

She said it was a coup.

[B]

Did you watch a Coup in real life?

[A]

I was at dinner, we ate steak and there was a coup. Don't worry. Don't worry, guys. We're coming down. We're gonna fix everything. Obama and Carney sat down. We came up with a 20 point plan while eating a really nice dessert in a room full of, you know, very important Canadians. We've got you covered.

[B]

Were you really there?

[A]

I was really there.

[B]

That's freaking amazing. I love that. Oh, my God. I watched it happen. And then Laura Loomer was immediately saying it was a coup. And I tweeted back at her that she should, she should learn what words mean.

[A]

Let me explain what, what it was just so everybody understands that's listening. Canada 2020 is a left wing think tank that exists in order to have academic and real life discussions about what we can do to promote justice and human rights across the world, interconnectivity of the economies, to talk more about world politics and, you know, middle powers such as Canada and what can Canada do and where do we find ourselves. And let me be incredibly clear, Mrs. Carney. So Mark Carney's partner actually interviewed Obama. It was a bit of a discussion. Obama was, as always, the diplomat. Never once mentioned the current administration. Never once spoke about what the United States should or shouldn't do. Never once spoke about the way he would do things. Never. What he was there and what he did so incredibly eloquently is talked about things that he valued and things that Canada valued. And as a middle power, how important Canada is in this moment and how important Canada has been historically and being able to talk about bringing more countries together to have more conversations. And then we ate cake. So cake is good.

[B]

We like cake.

[A]

It wasn't like, let them eat cake. It was different than that.

[B]

Was different than that. I like the idea that, like, you can't do this alone. America is very America first.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

Alone can fix it. Especially with this particular leadership. I think that's, you know, it's sort of the. We're the greatest country in the world. We're number one. We're number one. And I often say, like, if you're the richest kid at school and you have everything and you go around telling everyone you're number one all the time, you're not making a lot of friends, it doesn't matter if people are scared of you because you're big and strong and you have a lot of money and you can ruin their lives.

[A]

That's Right.

[B]

They don't like you. And I think for a long time, people haven't liked America because we said stuff like this, and now we're behaving with our very worst instincts.

[A]

What you just said really remind me of hurricane. When Hurricane Katrina hit. I know. I'm going back a little bit. I remember Bush's government denying help. Bush denied Canadian help to go down there and do something. He denied foreign help. And I found that incredibly telling. You have a natural disaster. I don't care what we got. A country offers help, you say thank you, you praise them, you welcome them in. But to say no, and we all know what a disaster that was, to say no was sheer narcissistic sort of isolationist kind of policy to the horrific detriment of the people living in that particular state.

[B]

The right wingers are very much. When you start talking about, like, why are we in this war and what are we doing here? And, you know, for a while, they were like, you don't want to help the Iranian people. And we were like, we're not there for the Iranian people. It was like, you don't want to help Iranian women. He's definitely not there for Iranian women. And now the big line is, oh, so you wanted Iran to have a nuclear weapon? And you're like, right, no, but they didn't have a nuclear weapon. The deal we had that Obama signed was good. And Trump, as you said, tore it up. He said he could do better, he couldn't do better, and now we're at war. Right. So I think the thing is, is that we should see that what we're going through is. Is the choice of one regime rather than. And maybe one regime that was finally going to answer the call of Netanyahu, who's been telling us for 47 years that Iran was two weeks away from a nuclear weapon and we should definitely be attacking them. And this is the first president that actually jumped when he said, jump. Now, I'm not a particularly fussy dresser, but I'm finding it harder and harder to shop lately because it just feels excessive in a world where capitalism is constantly encouraging us to spend more, to get more, to buy more. I'm really trying to be more intentional about what I'm wearing. I've always leaned towards clothes that are good quality, simple in their design, but quality in their craftsmanship. I don't want to have to spend thousands of dollars just to look pulled together. That's why I like quince. Quince uses premium materials, like 100% European linen, organic cotton, ultra soft denim and 100% Himalayan cashmere. Everything at Quint's is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands and they work directly with ethical factories to cut out the middleman. So you end up paying for the quality of the clothes and craftsmanship and not the brand markup. I literally live in their linen shirts and cashmere sweaters, but I have heard people raving about Quince's oversized leather jackets and their denim. I don't personally have those, but I hear nothing but good things. So if you're thinking of refreshing your spring wardrobe, maybe do it with quince. Head to quince.com politicsgirl for free shipping on your order and 365 days of returns. And for my Canadian friends it is also now available in Canada. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com politicsgirl for free shipping and 365 days of returns quince.com politicsgirl I genuinely have no time to cook. I'm not really someone who loves cooking. I'm pretty good at it, but I do not love it. And when you don't have any time it can really become a burden. Which is why I love CookUnity. CookUnity is the first chef led meal delivery service that makes your meals in small batches inside local micro kitchens across the United States, not in factories so that every dish arrives with the kind of freshness you would get at a restaurant. The meals are from Michelin star chefs, James Beard Award winners and Food Network stars. And to be clear, CookUnity uses real culinary talent who cook in real kitchens. This is not just slapping a chef's name onto a factory product. There are hundreds of dishes to choose from and the menu is constantly updating. If you have a specific dietary preference like high protein, low sodium GLP1 pescatarian, gluten free, know that they have 10 different dietary preferences to choose from and we're not just talking about American style food. CookUnity is proud to have over 25 global cuisines, everything from Mediterranean and Italian to Korean, Thai and Mexican. So you're never going to get bored with what you're eating. Taste what happens when real award winning chefs make fresh small batched meals just for you? Go to cookunity.com politicsgirl or enter the code politicsgirl before checkout to get 50% off your first order. That's 50% off your first order by using the code politicsgirl or going to cookunity.com politicsgirl this is the first president that actually jumped when he said jump.

[A]

That's true. But I think, you know, again, I, I won't go into the. He was black male. It's. This is persons in control. I think that's all wild. I think world leaders, and not just one, I think there are many world leaders, know exactly how to work and how to utilize and how to manipulate somebody this insecure and this ego driven. Because I think it would be easy, Lee. I think it is so easy to work this particular individual that there are many a dictator, there are many a lunatic on this planet sitting back going, I can't wait for my phone call with him, because I got a compliment him. I'm going to put up a really nice gold statue of him, and then he's going to do our bidding. And proof of that, you don't need to go to Israel. You need just to go to Putin. I have never heard any president ever talk about that dictator with such admiration. And I'm gonna say it, Lee. I think it might be love. Just. Just love. Just. And, and of who he is and how strong he is and how much he. How much fear he. He elicits. As though fear is a qualifier for power, which, again, it isn't. Right. Fear is a. Is a. Is a weapon of power when the power itself is flawed and actually weak. Power doesn't need fear. Not real power.

[B]

Not real power.

[A]

And so because real power comes from a place of justice, real power comes from a place of being right.

[B]

Yeah. Real power comes when people want to follow you. Not because they're afraid. Not.

[A]

That's right. Because you're doing the right thing. That's, that's. That's actual power. If you have to force somebody, that power is waning, that power will be. Will eviscerate everybody around them.

[B]

Which is so interesting that we're seeing the, you know, the erosion of the Voting Rights act and the constant gerrymandering down here. Because I think that, you know, he's not fooling all of us. There are people that he is fooling to this day, but he's not fooling all of us. You know, last week they had every Confederate swing state, like, shifting into high gear to gerrymander every black voter in the south out of their vote as soon as the Supreme Court decision basically gutted the last remaining protection of the Voting Rights Act. And I just want to tell people, in case you're not following that story, and if you don't mind, Joanna, I'm just going to do a kind of a rundown of where we're at with that. So a brief recap of what was happening with what we're now calling the redistricting wars this mid decade redistricting, which to be clear, is not normal as congressional districts in the states are drawn every 10 years after the census to reflect population changes over the last 10 years. So they were redrawn in 2020 and they weren't scheduled to be redrawn until 2030. But then Donald Trump started to get worried that he was on track to lose the House of Representatives and that was not going to be good enough for him. So he was worried that his power would be limited. He was worried he'd be held accountable if the Democrats took over the House, so called Texas. And he told them to find more congressional seats for Republicans because he knew how unpopular he was. So Texas did what he asked. They redrew their congressional maps to give Republicans five extra seats in Congress. Now California, who warned Texas, they were like, don't do this. If you redraw the maps, we're going to have to do the same. So California watching what Texas did then had a election and we had an election down here that said, listen, can we redraw the California districts to add five more Democratic seats for the next two terms to balance out what Texas did? And the California voters were like, yep, go ahead and do that. Then it was like a free for all for Republican states to start carving up their states, states that by the way, I should say were already gerrymandered to favor even more Republicans. Places like Missouri, Florida, North Carolina so that they could increase Republican advantage. Again, they did not get the voter's permission like California did to do it. They just did it through their own Republican legisl legislatures. So in response, the state of Virginia recently went to their voters and said, can we, can we change our maps? It's for two elections only. We want to offset what's happening in the red states so that the people of the United States can have their voice heard in the House of Congress. And this wasn't something Virginia was really clear. This wasn't something they wanted to do. It was something they felt like they had to do. I think Virginia and California have always been very proud of their non gerrymandered, nonpartisan maps. But it was kind of a fire, meat fire moment. And the Virginia voters came out and they said yes, and Virginia was about to change their maps. But then the Virginia Supreme Court last week sort of busted in to say, nope, you're not allowed to change our maps. Like our Constitution says you're not allowed to change your maps. My district and it would be wonderful if they could have weighed in before they had had the election because they allowed Virginia to kind of feel this win and then they took it away and then the most recent Supreme Court decision came down that basically said, yeah, go ahead and partisan gerrymander. And every single state in the Confederacy is now falling all over themselves to make sure not a single Democrat, which is southern states, is also majority black voters can't win seats. Now, Tennessee was the first one to split up a majority black district, which is the city of Memphis, into three districts that go all the way out into rural super red Tennessee to make sure that the Democratic vote, again the black vote, is shut out from the Republicans or in this case in Tennessee, the white vote. And I should say their constitution also said they couldn't do that much like Virginia, but they changed their own Constitution before they did it to allow them to do it. Now the same thing is happening in Alabama and South Carolina and Louisiana and Mississippi and they're all working overtime to redraw their maps to dilute the Democratic, which is in this case in the south is the black vote. And it's fudgeing gross and we have to see what happens next. But I think when it comes down to you talking about people who are really strong, people who are really in power, that people are behind, they don't need to change the rules like this. They don't need to do what we are watching happen in the states.

[A]

No, no. I mean, and I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, but that change to the Voting Rights act, the one caveat that was carved out was said that you couldn't gerrymander in order to negate the black vote. That that was specific. You in fact, Supreme Court wasn't really against gerrymandering in general. It's just that after the Civil War and after, you know, the enfranchisement of black voters as citizens, as voters, as people, finally they wanted to put in the, the whole point was to put that into the Constitution to negate somebody's ability to figure out how to get rid of the black vote. Anyway, so now we gave them the vote. We, we want to make, we want to figure out how to make their vote not count. It's very, you know, the three fifths clause. It's the whole reason the electoral college exists in the first place. Let's be perfectly honest. Here's my question, and I don't know the answer to this even remotely. How do you Ever stop that process? How do you ever get. Because I've seen districts and it's not just a today problem of guys, let, let me be super clear. How do you ever. Because we, we have that going on in Canada too. How do you get to a point where you have an authentic district mapping in order to create real representation for people in each individual state and on a nation level? Because I do think it's an interesting conversation that I'm not by any means an expert on. When you start to think different areas, especially in the United States. Right. Different areas in the United States have been historically segregated. So if they've been historically segregated, you have. Even though segregation is now illegal, you still have very clear defined limits to certain demographics living in certain areas. And Canada has it to a different degree. But that's usually sort of more self imposed. You know, we're going to live here amongst people that share the same culture, the same language, the same food, whatever.

[B]

Yeah, but Americans did it deliberately. Using redlining for housing with using the school districts. When they built a freeway system, they did it to keep the black community apart from the white community. When they built rural suburbia, you know, they only allowed white people to live in it for the first 40 years. So they ended up building up their wealth and they would live in totally white communities. And by the time the black people could afford and were allowed to move there, that the houses weren't worth what they were supposed to be worth. It's like it's an entire generational problem that started with racism.

[A]

That's right. I just don't know what to do about it.

[B]

Here's what I think, and I don't.

[A]

Who gets to draw those lines?

[B]

Yeah, no, well, listen, you have a state like, and it's either Iowa or Idaho, but it's been drawn on a complete grid, like a computer did it. On a grid. Right. It's very straight. Like if you look at the state, every line is like completely straight.

[A]

And it basically just ensures, let's, let's just people that are listening. It basically ensures that each district in Canada, they're called ridings, but each district has to represent roughly the same amount of individuals. So for example, if we're talking about a House of Representative district you're talking about, correct me If I'm wrong, 800, 850,000 people that that one person is representing, which is just a wild number, by the way.

[B]

Each representative in the United States House of representatives represents between 700 and a million people. So around the size of the city of Las Vegas is entire. Yeah, it's too many. It's too many people to represent. Too many. If we were going to be in line with our peer nations, America would have far, far more congressional.

[A]

Just so everybody. Representatives in Canada, our writings for our federal government is about 150 to 200,000 people per MP. Like, per representative.

[B]

Yeah. So if we were in line with Canada or the UK or France or any of these other places, we would have about 3,000 people in the House of Representatives and which is honestly like 10 times what we have now. And literally, people are like, but where would we fit them all? And I'm like, that's really not the problem. You know what I mean? Like, build another building. Aren't we having a ballroom built? Like, build a bigger building. We really should have more representatives for less people so they can actually represent them. At this point, you're not talking to 800,000 people at any point ever. But the problem is right now is that what if you do it on a grid? At least it's a fair. A computer did it. Whatever. When you have nonpartisan map drawers, they say things like, okay, well, the city of Memphis, if we're using Tennessee, the city of Memphis is a. Like, people in Memphis are going to have the same sort of needs than someone in rural northern Tennessee. Right? So you say, we're going to give them a district here. The rural Tennessee people are going to be here. Often the Republicans use the northeast of the United States to say, see, this is all blue. It's been totally gerrymandered. And you're like, first of all, most of the states that you're using in this example, Rhode island, all these ones, they have one representative. So it's not gerrymandered. The people there chose. There's not enough a Democrat. Right. Or there's a state where it's like everyone in the. In the city chose a Democratic representative and everyone in the rural chose a Republican. Right. Like that. It. That often happens, too. But we had. In the 117th Congress, which was the one run by Nancy Pelosi, we had a bill called the. For the People's act, and we had a bill called the John Lewis Voter Rights Act. Both of them included a ban of partisan gerrymandering to have nonpartisan maps drawn throughout the country. They also included things like taking dark money out of politics, making Election Day a holiday, you know, making mail in voting across the country, all the things that would help voters vote as opposed to what we're seeing now, which is like, how can we get less people to vote? How can we make sure people's votes aren't heard? Every Democrat voted for it, every Republican voted against it. So what I would like to see is a return to at least the John Lewis Voter Rights act, which is already written and has already been voted on by the Democrats, or the for the People's act, which was a way to expand voting rights to Americans. We could do that. That would be something that we could do. Then I think we need to start talking about like expanding the House and doing things like that. You know, there's no reason that South Dakota and North Dakota should have four Senators and California should have two. Those something else we should need to be considering because it's just ludicrous. 40 million people to senators. 1.7 million people, four senators. That's.

[A]

You know what really, what really bothers me about the way the Senate works in the United States is that then you double down on the way the President works.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

I, I understand wanting to give a voice because you never would have had the 13 colonies coming together as a country if going to protect the smaller states because they know they were going to get completely outvoted. I almost don't have a problem with two senators per state. But how dare you double down on the President, then make the President throw out the Electoral College then, and at least make the President purely democratically elected one person, one vote to that particular individual in office. Individual states are getting protected all the time in, in the Senate. Right. Like they have that power. I do understand. I do think it's interesting that you try. It would make sense to try to block off different areas for the needs they have and the issues they would consider to be significant.

[B]

Yeah. Northern California, and you are growing avocados. You're going to have a completely different from your Congress person than LA proper would.

[A]

That's it.

[B]

Right. So it's, it's really important to think of it like that. And I just. It needs to be the thought of that rather than where can I find the most Republicans? Let me draw out this area and take these people and not these people. Then you get these districts that look like Jim Jordan's district, which is like a duck, you know, that looks like a child drew a duck in the moving car. I mean, it's just terrible. I think the thing is, is the people who are gutting the Voting Rights act keep saying it has nothing to do with racism. Just like the same people who gutted Roe v. Wade said it had nothing to do with controlling women. It was just about states rights. And the people that are trying to pass the SAVE act, which will limit women voters, are the same people who know it's going to limit black voters by getting the Voting Rights Act. I think we have to remind ourselves that this is all about disenfranchising voters. Right now it's Democratic voters who just happen to be majority black, but then it's going to be women voters, it's going to be gay voters. And I want people to understand, like, just because you're not the first community, it goes back to what we were saying before. Like, until it happens to you, just because you're the first community that's not being targeted doesn't mean they're not going to get to you because no one is safe. If the powers that be can disable democracy, right? Like, if your representatives don't have to earn your vote, if your district is drawn so they cannot lose, why do they have to listen to everything you say? Personally, I think the Republicans are getting a little ahead of their skis, thinking that everyone's just going to keep voting Republican because they drew all Republican districts. Because what are people getting for that vote? Like, what do you get from a party that says, we don't care what people want, we're just going to draw it so we can't lose? And I look around and I'm like, yeah, but then they're not listening to you because when they get elected, they stop listening to the people, right? You have all these people in places like Utah, you know, who are like, we don't want this data center that's so loud and so hot and taking all of our water in our backyard. And they're like, we don't care. We're building it anyway. Right? Like, so if you have drawn people out of power, you've also drawn yourself out of power. And I think people need to understand that if you. If the politicians don't have to listen to you, then they don't have to listen to you. Nothing will be done. If you want the standard of living to go up, if you want a higher minimum wage, if you want to not have chemical polluting going into your drinking water, you're going to need your representatives to listen to you. And if they have drawn the voters out of power, you're in trouble, too. Okay? So we're coming into a new season. 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[A]

I think it's astounding to me the inability that women have had and continue to have to actually forge and solidify with common interests to protect the rights that took us generations to earn, to win, to fight for. And we are so easily manipulated, or some of us so easily manipulated to throw them away. Because I, I think about what the Republicans are doing and I really do feel like the Republicans will say states rights. What has the Republican Party done, this Republican Party, this particular administration, to bolster state rights besides Roe v. Wade, which by the way just serves their agenda so they don't have to worry about it, so they don't have to protect it, so they don't have to pay for it. The current incarnation of Republicans are federalists. They are more power to federal government, ICE going to war, the draft, slashing budget after budget after budget. That goes to those states when, when people, you know, they, their gas prices, their food prices. All of this, all of this is coming because of what they're not willing to do for their, the actual person that put them in, in power. And what I don't understand, but I do think it's turning how those Republican voters MAGA aside, those Republican voters aren't losing their minds on their elected representatives because let's be honest, Congressman, you get two years. It's a very short lived political life. And I think if you don't do what they need and improve their station, they will pick somebody. Gerrymander all you want. But the rural farmer in Ohio that doesn't have fertilizer, by the way, everybody's talking about oil. When I was at this thing, I met so many people. I can't even, I can't even the amount of information that was shoved in my head that I didn't have. And now that I have pieces of it that I don't quite understand. Anyways. One of the individuals was in charge of Canada's food supply and trade with the United States. She runs the Crown Corporation that does that. And she said everybody's worried about oil. What they should be worried about is fertilizer. And I went, but he's, what are you talking about? And she goes, that's where it comes from.

[B]

Yeah. We missed our planting season.

[A]

This, this, your car can't go anywhere. Fine. You're not gonna have food. And I'm like, oh, oh. You know, come the fall there should

[B]

be a massive food shortage.

[A]

People don't realize it and people in Ohio or whatever, the farming, you know, Iowa only because I really like feel the dreams those people, those people are going to feel the weight of that and you're going to lose them forever. By the way, I don't think anybody since Jefferson has treated farmers well. I think everybody else, everybody else has screwed over farmers and it's wild because,

[B]

well, I mean we have the highest foreclosures we've ever had. Farmers are losing their farms every day. Our vice president is a huge stockholder and acre trader which is buying up farms for pennies on the dollar so that we can have big corporations own them. We just signed a deal with Palantir for, with the FDA to be in charge of our food sources. I don't. The whole thing is A disaster. If you're a local farmer, you should be completely against any of this.

[A]

Aren't these capitalists concerned about monopolization and monopoly formation of our farmland? Aren't these big capitalists, like, oh, my God, the government's buying this up. They're investing in this company so this corporation can own it all. Does anybody see? It is the same thing. It is the same thing. It doesn't matter if it's the government or if it's Elon Musk. If they own all of it, we are screwed.

[B]

Yeah, when you put capitalism first. Like, I just heard that the Damonte Company is going under because they can't get their cans at the right price because of the tariffs on aluminum. Aluminum. So they're closing their peach farm, but they're just gonna burn all the trees to the ground, like, acres and acre, because it's not making money anymore. So they're just gonna. And I was like, are we the stupidest species in the entire world? You got all this.

[A]

We.

[B]

Are we really gonna burn it to the ground? But listen, I want. Before you go, I must get back to Elon's opinion.

[A]

Let's just run. Let's just fix everything. I don't need to go anywhere.

[B]

People have lives, Jonah. We have to. I am free. We have to send them free. But listen, I want to say you texted me. The reason I knew Elon Musk had tweeted about me was because you texted me and you were like, oh, hey, guess what?

[A]

You've made it on the plan.

[B]

Somebody noticed you. And I was like, oh, God, what did I do? And so it turns out that Elon Musk had retweeted a part of an interchange between me and a conservative pundit on cnn where the girl I was talking to, we were discussing the rich and taxing the rich and how the rich people are saying that, like, saying tax the rich is just as bad as a racial slur. It's so unfair that they should be, you know, we should have statues to them. We should look up to them. Anyway, Elon chose to pick the part where the girl who.

[A]

She went on her little tirade.

[B]

She was just glazing him up, right? She was basically saying, billionaires every cent they've ever made. We're so lucky to have capitalism. We should be so grateful to these guys who've given us such an excellent way of life. Now, obviously, I disagreed with her, with the sentiment, and Elon posted it. And then if you know every single Elon stand within a 10,000 mile radius came for me. But I said to you at the time, like, I don't understand this, like, why, why are these people attacking me? I'm sticking up for them. I'm the one that said we should be taxing billionaires to take care of regular people and the things that we need. And she's saying, embrace their greed, get on their side, right? And like, very dramatically begging for the rich to get richer. And I just didn't get it. And then I said to you, like, why are people such simps for billionaires? I don't understand.

[A]

And what did I say? Do you have it written down?

[B]

I probably have to go back to my texts.

[A]

I have it written down right here. The reason why women and citizens in the United States want to give over their money to musk is the same reason that people like having a king and serving a God. They don't want the responsibility on their shoulders. They want somebody to tell them who to be. They want somebody to tell me, what is it to be a good person. They want somebody to stand up and say, that's bad, that's bad. Don't worry, I'm going to protect you all from it. Because it means they don't need to think, they don't need to act, and they don't need to manufacture. They don't need to instill in themselves any degree of responsibility, civic duty, or empathy. They don't want any of it. And if there's a guy standing up there worth almost a trillion dollars and that's all that we are caring about, that's the guy I want in control. I watched the movie Food Inc. Not too long ago with my young kids. And one of the guys who I love, he's a farmer. In the movie, I can't remember his name at the time, he said, we've gotten really good ex. We use technology, we use marketing systems, we use satellite systems to hit the target on the wrong goddamn bullseye. But we've gotten really good at it. And the whole thing was about food production. How do we mass produce? How do we do this, how do we do that? How does it never go bad? Let's. Can we just jam a whole bunch? How do we make it a commodity crop? Meanwhile, all the food is killing us. And it's the same when it comes to these ridiculous predominantly men who thinks they are little mini he man figures. And in high school no girl would date them. And now they have billions of dollars and they're. They're living out their really embarrassing lack of high school lives. Honest To God. It is their, they are ego driven children and, and now they think because they have billions that they have a better opinion, a better idea, a better notion of empathy and world ethic. And it's laughable because the only reason they are where they are is because they've negated their humanity to do it. That's it.

[B]

I will also say the only reason they are where they are is because we gave them such obscene tax breaks, because we kept all the loopholes in, and because we gave, in Elon's case, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of government contracts. That's taxpayer money that built his companies not.

[A]

But it's the same idea. It's, it's the same premise. Give these people who make boatloads of money more money because they're doing something right. We think it's somehow a sign of an evolutionary advantage. We give them the ideals or we label this ideal of social Darwinism upon them. Meanwhile, the system is set up, constructed in order to grow their power falsely with subsidies, right? With taxpayers breaks, with buyouts, with every single thing we can give. We allow Walmart to pay their workers so poorly that the government has to give those people food stamps. The taxpayer subsidizes at every single road in order to allow those companies to make hundreds of billions of dollars. And nobody's seeing the big picture because we're so friggin impressed that Elon Musk has a trillion dollars because it's a

[B]

capitalistic society where we equate money with value. So he must be the most valuable because he has the most money. But I think about like someone like Mackenzie Bezos, I think this is a perfect example because Mackenzie is really good with her money. She's a billionaire, she's spending really good with her money. But here's the thing, this is what I want people to understand. Mackenzie Bezos got something like $33 billion when she divorced Jeff. She has given away 26 billion of it. She now how much she. 44 billion. 47 billion. 44 billion.

[A]

So like that's how much money that

[B]

is, that the money makes money on money, on money. You can give away almost all of it and you're still going to have more because once you're at a certain level, that's just the way it is. But I also think this idea, the people that the same people that are simping for Elon are the same people that are still gung ho on Trump, right? He's done nothing he said he was going to do everything is more expensive. They're like I said, they're putting those data centers everywhere that are stealing people's money water. And they're still like, he's my guy, right? I, I just, I find the whole thing, it's just like they're still behind him. Even as he cheats them on the phones, he cheats them on crypto, he's pocketing their money, he's out here letting his friends get away with committing financial crimes, sex crimes. They're all being pardoned. And then they tell us that the economy is amazing. As if we're not buying our own groceries and buying our own gas. As if credit card debt isn't at an all time high. One of the cabinet members was on TV last week being like, just so you know, credit card debt is at the highest peak it's ever been. And you're like, does he not know that's a bad thing? Like that means everyone's putting something on their credit card because they can't afford anything anymore. All the homes are being foreclosed on. Like, I just feel like it's so insulting to people and yet they continue to eat from the trough.

[A]

I think there's a hope, there's this, there's no. I'm sorry, I'm not giving you that kind of hope. I think there's a hope by those individuals, sorry, I think there's a hope by those individuals that one. And this is the, this is the American dream, Lee. Right? This is what every movie, this is what every rags to riches story that you've ever been told, that if you do this, if you do that, you too can be Jeff Bezos, you too can be Elon Musk, you too can be Larry Ellison. And in no other country in the world do you have the ability to be able to rise to that, to be able to gain that kind of power and that kind of privilege. And it's the promise of such delusional thinking, and I blame Hollywood, such delusional thinking that keeps people hooked. And it keeps people hooked until their farm is foreclosed on. Until they are living in a trailer and they never, you know, are in their car until their daughter, their 14 year old daughter has to travel to California to get health care, all of those things. And then all of a sudden that, that's the unfortunate reality of the human experience. Until it knocks at our door, it brings us full circle. That doesn't apply to me. That only applies to people who are lazy. That only applies to people who are drains on the system. And until it knocks at that door. And that's why every major revolution will only happen ever amidst disaster. It has to be disastrous, it has to feel disastrous, or else the majority of people. And we're not there. We're just not there. It doesn't. I know it, I know it feels like we're on the cusp of it. I know we're seeing all of these things, but for the most part, people are still going home to their house. They might not be getting steak as often as they used to, they might be complaining at the pumps, but they're still filling their car. Right. We haven't been leaving our cars on the side of the road yet. That's the unfortunate part of our brains that will block out terrifying circumstance or potential because you. It's too much until it faces us. And I do believe here is my hope. I believe in the average American. I believe in the average Canadian. I believe truly in my heart that people are empathetic, that people do want to take care of each other, that people are based in community. And we will collectively, we will individually figure out what to do when we have to do it. I just, I unfortunately think it has to get worse. And I, and I think Donald Trump is the guy to do it. I know that sounds awful. It sounds awful. But in order to write our goals, in order to course correct in a real legitimate way, it has to be crappy. It has to feel. You have to feel the weight of the flip side of capitalism. Right. Like every other country, by the way, has felt across the world as we cheer globalization and a kid is working for 4 cents to make Jordans. We need to feel that. I think we might be about to.

[B]

Yeah, unfortunately, I think you're right. There is no Phoenix without the ashes. And Donald Trump is just the pirate.

[A]

There it is. There it is. That's the clip, by the way, the

[B]

only one that I think was willing to burn it all down because he doesn't care.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

At all.

[A]

Doesn't care.

[B]

He just wants hold. He doesn't.

[A]

He just wants stuff with his name

[B]

on it and he knows it's going to burn down. That's why he wants that ballroom, because it's really a bunker. It's what, it's what Zuckerberg build in Hawaii. It's what Teal has built in New Zealand. He's. He's having the taxpayers build his. His bunker for the world he creates and sets on fire.

[A]

And if I was the next president, my first job, I swear to God, I'm tearing it down. I'm tearing it down. It represents everything that is disgusting, embarrassing, ostentatious, capitalistic, with. With absolutely no oversight, with no care, with no consideration, with no need. It is. It is the hall of Mirrors that is Versailles, and it's not a tourist attraction. I'm tearing it down. I'm not proud of it. I'm embarrassed by it. And I'm telling you right now, that's what the next president should do. Take his name off every goddamn thing. Tear down that. Everything gone. Take his names right out of the history book. Just put a blank few pages in and say, you know what? We're not even going to talk about it.

[B]

We have to talk about it or we won't learn from it, and we'll do it again.

[A]

It's true. All right. You know that's true. So true.

[B]

Thank you so much for joining us today, Joanna, you're like you. You are so brillian. I always, always love talking to you and hearing what you have to say. So tell people how they can follow you moving forward so they can follow your work.

[A]

Unlearn16 on Tik Tok. On Instagram. I have a podcast, unlearn16. Class is in session. And what else do I have? I'm on Twitter, but nobody really wants to come over there. Really?

[B]

Great book.

[A]

Thank you. Oh, I do have a book. That's not what this book is about. That's true. And I will have a book 2 coming out in the fall, so just wait. Yay.

[B]

Oh, I'm so thrilled. All right, well, thanks for coming and talking to me about all this, because I had so many ideas in my head, and I thought, I need someone to bang them around with.

[A]

Of course. Anytime I'm here.

[B]

So that was Joanna Johnson reminding us that the word patriotism should give us pause, that we need to stand for our values, for our morality, for our sense of justice, but not just for our country. Because blind patriotism is what got us to a place where our constant need to flex that we were the best has made us unable to evolve, to make real friends. And watching our superpower, Wayne, is too much for our country's collective ego to handle. So we are acting out by who we elect, by how that administration behaves and who we hold up, that, as Joanna says, the war in Iran is in itself about an empire in decline trying to dictate power it no longer has. And we. We are living through a group of people who just cannot adjust and try to undo our history and take our country back to a place where we are once again at the head of the table without caring if we're sitting at that table alone or how many of us have to suffer to get back there. I want to thank Joanna for joining us and you for caring enough about democracy to be here until next week. PGF before you go, I just want to remind you that the American government is trying to silence any voices that don't toe the party line. They don't care about the truth. They want state run propaganda. Which is why we need to fund independent media. Mainstream media, cable news and social media are almost now exclusively run by a handful of Trump supporting billionaires. So if you respect what I'm trying to do here, if you learn something from my podcast and rants, if you would like to get this podcast ad free delivered directly to your inbox along with my kitchen rants and TV appearances, please consider becoming a member of Politics Girl Premium by going to politicsgirl.com and signing up. If you're already a premium member of this podcast, thank you so much for your support. And if you're not a member, please consider becoming a patron of my work. If you want real knowledge in a world of lies, it's essential to support those of us out here still trying to bring them to you. There's a link to sign up in the bio of this episode, but [e-mail] and as always, please like and share these podcasts so we can grow our audience. Because the more people who have access to this kind of information, the better. As always, thank you for your time and support. The Politics Girl Podcast is written and performed by me, Leigh McGowan and produced and edited by Happy Warrior Entertainment. All rights reserved.