Episode 83

Fritz Coleman (00:00:05):

Welcome to Media Path. I'm Fritz Coleman.

Louise Palanker (00:00:07):

And I'm Louise Palanker.

Fritz Coleman (00:00:08):

Here on Media Path, we put you toward entertainment that speaks to topics that are part of the current national discussion. And today we're going into politics in a big way. We've got some great films we'll talk about later, but right now, a wonderful book written by a man who's been at the vortex of all we've been through in the last five years or so. Congressman Adam Schiff. He's the Democratic Congressman from once, district 28, now number 30, we're gonna talk about that in the state of California. He's in his 11th term. His district has, uh, recently reconfigured, but it includes parts of the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys here in Southern California, down the Hollywood Echo Park, silver Lake, Las Villas. He's the chairman of the House, permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. And the work that thrusts him into the global spotlight was his being the lead prosecutor in the first Donald Trump impeachment trial. And we're here to talk about his best selling book, midnight in Washington. It is a detailed moment by moment parsing of the January 6th insurrection. It's the cautionary tale that has been the Trump administration, and it's a contemplation of whether or not democracy can survive. And it's beautifully written and, uh, a fascinating perspective. Congressman, we're so happy to have you with us today.

Adam Schiff (00:01:27):

Well, thank you. It's great to be with you.

Fritz Coleman (00:01:29):

Um, uh, uh, and, and these changes to your district are relatively recent. Tell us what's going on here and who's now included in your district.

Adam Schiff (00:01:39):

Well, I, I was, uh, relatively fortunate compared to, uh, many of my colleagues in California and around the country in that my district didn't change all that much. Uh, I picked up some new neighborhoods, um, like, uh, Hancock Park, uh, park LaBrea, uh, and, uh, the Toka Lake, uh, part of Burbank. Um, I did, uh, lose one area, Pasadena, but then I gained a different area, Pasadena. Um, what was most heartbreaking was I lost La Kenya Oh man. Which I've represented for a long time in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Um, but, uh, but the, the, uh, the core areas of Burbank and Glendale and Silver Lake, Los Feas, echo Park, Atwater, Les Valley, Hollywood, west Hollywood, all that remains the same. And, uh, very excited to continue representing my constituents and to represent some new ones.

Fritz Coleman (00:02:31):

A and I just want to, uh, a ask one additional question, because it's as recent as this morning's news, the Supreme Court sort of upholding that appeals court decision about, uh, keeping the Republicans in control of the redistricting in Alabama. Do you have any comment about that?

Adam Schiff (00:02:47):

I do. You know, in, in California, as you know, we do redistricting through an independent commission, which is really the way it should be done, uh, so that voters can choose the representatives instead of representatives choosing who they want voters to be. Um, the Supreme Court, this particular Supreme Court, though, has for the last several years, uh, this conservative court, uh, has basically said you can do a partisan gerrymandered of, uh, as much as you want, um, to make it as skewed a map as possible, and we're not gonna look at it. Um, and I, I think that is such a body blow to our democracy. But this recent decision by the Supreme Court is along that line, which is, if you are doing a gerrymander, basically to stick it to the other party, then we're not going to, uh, we're not gonna say that anyone loses as a result, least as far as the Constitution is concerned. I think it's a terrible misreading of the Constitution and does real damage to our democracy. Mm-hmm.

Louise Palanker (00:03:44):

<affirmative> agreed. Congressman, your book on Amazon has inspired over 3,437 reviews with a solid five star rating. For example, Alyssa writes, this is a better read than I expected. Ryan Rices ignore the bad reviews by individuals that haven't bought the book, much less Reddit <laugh> to them, truth are lies and lies are truth. So our country has a propaganda problem. How should we best communicate with the people in our lives who believe the lies?

Adam Schiff (00:04:13):

Uh, it's a great question and, uh, you know, thank you for mentioning the reviews. Um, what, uh, what I find so remarkable is, uh, and I think I benefited from this, people have very low expectations about politicians writing books. Um, they, you know, they, you and, and not without reason, a lot of politicians books as basically a long campaign brochure. Um, what I wanted to write was quite different. I wanted to write a draft of history. Uh, impeachments are very rare in this country, thankfully, although not as rare <laugh>, uh, in the last administration as they have been through the rest of history. Um, so I wanted to write an historical count, but I also wanted to sound the alarm about how close we came to losing our democracy, uh, and why we're still so much at risk. And a big part of that is just what you put your finger on, and that is the fact that we now get our information from such different places.

(00:05:05):

Uh, you know, one of the things I write about is that when I was in college, I'm old enough to have rushed back to my college dormitory to watch Walter Cronkite's last broadcast. Uh, and that was an era when there was a large body of agreed upon fact, and we might differ with what to do with those facts, but at least we agreed that there was a thing called fact. Uh, we've now moved into an arena in which, um, people say they're entitled to their own alternate facts. Uh, you have, uh, propaganda outfits, uh, like Fox Primetime masquerading as, as news, uh, and the gaslighting effect, uh, can be just devastating. Uh, what I find is that in this polarized media environment, some of the most important communication now goes on at the level of one to one. Uh, it's neighbor talking to neighbor. Sometime it's family member talking to family member, having some difficult conversations, but important ones to break through that information bubble. Uh, and finally, uh, we need to deal with the algorithms on social media that really contribute to the polarization of our society by leading people down these Alice Wonderland crazy rabbit holes. Um, we have to stop incentivizing as we have done these tech giants to, uh, set their algorithms for engagement, which really means setting them for fear inducing anger, producing content, uh, because I think it's really tearing us apart.

Fritz Coleman (00:06:36):

One of the most powerful comments you made during your closing, which was in the first impeachment trial, which was like a civics lesson to the United States. You said, Trump is not who we are. And that sort of increased the echo there in the Senate Chamber, I thought when you said it, but there's another side of the argument that we get the elected officials that we deserve. So he, he's really, uh, uh, only a symptom. So how, how do you respond to that?

Adam Schiff (00:07:06):

Well, I, it's a really good point, uh, because I think that, uh, one of the things that I emphasize in the book is that power, and this is, this is something Robert Caro, the historian once said, the power doesn't corrupt as much as it reveals. It doesn't always reveal us for our, uh, our best, but it says a lot about who we are. And power over the last several years, revealed a lot about the people I served with in Congress, many of whom it turned out didn't believe any of the things that they'd been saying, that nothing really mattered to them except their own power or position and perpetuating that. Um, but it also revealed a lot about the country. Uh, it tore off a lot of the veneer in the country, uh, and allowed people to express, uh, you know, the most, uh, pernicious, uh, forms of bigotry quite openly.

(00:07:54):

Uh, and so it, it has revealed things about our country, which we, I think rather, uh, preferred not to known, uh, but, uh, um, but, but nonetheless, um, were there, uh, to behold and important for us to see. Um, I made that argument, Fritz, in the trial, um, when I said, uh, that, um, it was important for senators to convict. Um, not because the president didn't believe, uh, in the truth, not because he didn't know right from wrong, not because he was fundamentally indecent, but because, um, they were, they were decent. Um, because I needed them to recognize that someone with the basic immorality of the former president could not run our great country, uh, could not be counted upon to, uh, to uphold our democracy. I was appealing to their better angels. Uh, and, uh, uh, and I do believe that he is not who we are as a country. Um, but there is this dangerous flirtation right now in the g o p with, uh, autocracy, with authoritarianism. Uh, and I never thought we'd see it in America, but it is here. Uh, and, uh, and many are openly espousing the model of Victor Orban, the want to be dictator and Hungary as a model that we should follow here. Um, well, we should not follow that model here. We have a really proud legacy as a democracy that we should cherish. Uh, but, uh, but it's at risk, and we need to wake up to that fact.

Louise Palanker (00:09:35):

Um, I'm wondering if you can talk about the history of Russian disinformation campaigns under Soviet rule in the fifties and sixties as a godless state. They went for America's left flank, which was idealistic youth who were disillusioned with capitalism, et cetera. In the two thousands under Putin, they began to value mirror our right flank, fainting, pro-gun, anti-gay, and Christian beliefs. How can we help folks understand that authoritarian rule poses a greater threat than do fellow American Democrats?

Adam Schiff (00:10:07):

Um, I, I think you're exactly right about, uh, Russian use of propaganda has a long and sorted history. Um, it's important for Americans to realize that the Russians aren't partisans. Um, they're opportunistic. Uh, they view the world in a zero sum terms. What's good for Russia is bad for America, uh, and what is good for America is bad for Russia. Uh, and so fundamentally, they wanna undermine our democracy. Uh, Putin is terrified of these color revolutions that swept the, the country and forced rulers out, uh, throughout one of the Ukrainian leaders. It's one of the reasons why he is so fixated on Ukraine, on his border. If Ukrainians can enjoy democracy, it causes Russians to ask themselves why can't we? Um, but, uh, but it's important to note that while the Russians have amplified these right wing themes, while Russians amplified attacks on Hillary Clinton, and then attacks on Joe Biden, many of the same attacks said, questioning their health of Hillary Clinton, then questioning the health of Joe Biden, um, while they clearly had a favorite in our presidential elections, um, it was because they viewed Donald Trump as good for Russia.

(00:11:16):

Uh, it's because they were afraid of a Clinton presidency. Uh, it's because they believed that Joe Biden would stand up to Russia in ways that Donald Trump would not. Uh, it wasn't because they're Democrats or Republicans, they're Russians. Uh, and, uh, and first and foremost, they just want to set Americans against other Americans. Uh, so that took the form of amplifying false claims of election fraud. Uh, it took the form of, uh, you know, um, inserting itself into the fight over gun rights, uh, or, uh, immigration. Um, but we need to realize it for what it is. They do not have our best interests at heart. Uh, and, and we need to defend our fellow democracies and stand up to authoritarians. Uh, and that means we need to do it at home, and we need to do it abroad. Um, uh, and so I do think that, uh, all of us that grew up in the post World War II generation came to take democracy for granted, uh, and, and failed to realize that every generation has to struggle to keep it alive, uh, and we need to struggle to keep it alive in this country.

Fritz Coleman (00:12:22):

Uh, are are, are you at all uncomfortable with this new unholy alliance over the last couple of weeks between Putin and she and whatever's going on behind the scenes there? Should we be concerned about that? Or is that just a public relations ploy by Putin?

Adam Schiff (00:12:41):

No, we should be very concerned about it, because I think what's at the root of it is China is watching Russia, Ukraine, and the world reaction with an eye towards potentially invading Taiwan. Um, and so China is looking for an ally in Russia for the day when they may choose to invade. Uh, and, and I think President Xi thinks if he is critical of Russia, uh, invading its neighbor, then will the Russians be critical when they invade, if they invade Taiwan? Uh, so it's very transactional, uh, and, uh, and I do think, um, both because we need to defend our Ukrainian democratic ally. Uh, and this is the, the biggest threat of military force since World War ii, uh, with Russia trying to once again, remake the map of Europe, uh, dinton military force. Uh, it's important in its own right, but it's also important because if the world doesn't respond, um, then she will take this as license, uh, to use China's military might, uh, to remake the map of Asia, um, and, and very much as Taiwan and its sites. Uh, so I, I don't think this is merely, you know, making nice or a, uh, just a press opportunity. Uh, I think it is a, um, we'll, look the other way while you invade your neighbor, if you look the other way when we invade ours.

Fritz Coleman (00:14:08):

No, that's so interesting. Wow.

Louise Palanker (00:14:10):

Do you believe that Covid has been weaponized to divide us?

Adam Schiff (00:14:16):

Yes. Uh, I mean, you, getting back to your question before, the Russians certainly have at attempted to weaponize our debate at home over covid. The sad thing is that the Russians don't need to invent these controversies anymore. You know, back in the day of the Poll Bureau, they had to invent things. Now they just have to amplify the nonsense that comes from some of our own people. And in particular, the nonsense that comes from our former president. Uh, and it's, it's a terrible tragedy. We've now lost 900,000 Americans. 900,000 are fellow citizens. Uh, and so many of them did not have to perish from this terrible play. Um, but because it has been politically advantageous for some to, to politicize the, the virus, the vaccine, and wearing masks, because some have sought political advantage in doing so, uh, because others have pushed out, uh, misinformation, um, it has cost us dearly in lives.

(00:15:19):

And, uh, we have to find our way back to making this public health crisis a non-partisan issue, uh, and, and focusing on the welfare of own citizens. We just had an altercation here in Congress today, uh, with, uh, a member who's a Republican member who accosted a Democratic member when she asked him to follow the rules and wear a mask, um, which we're trying to do. Well, the O Omicron has still been, uh, so high here in DC and the, and the hill has been unfortunately hotspot. Um, so, uh, the, the decibel level on this is way off the chart. Uh, and it is just, uh, I think making us less safe as a country.

Fritz Coleman (00:16:00):

Wow. I wanna go back to the first impeachment trial because I, I think that was such a valuable lesson for the United States. And you all were counting votes in the Senate before you even did your testimony. You knew which way the vote was gonna be. There was this iron curtain that probably would not be cracked. Did you find that not only your presentation, but the other wonderful presentations by, uh, Mr. Raskin and Val Demings were all so beautifully worded that you were really just broadcasting to the American people and trying to convince them as opposed to knowing you're gonna convince a majority of the Senate to vote to impeach this man?

Adam Schiff (00:16:44):

Uh, you know, I think my, uh, experience was a bit different than Jamie's, uh, in the first trial. Um, I did not believe a barring, um, a very unexpected turn that we would get a two-thirds majority of the Senate to convict. Uh, and when the speaker asked me to be the lead manager, uh, I remember telling her this would be the first trial I would go into not expecting to win. I'd been a federal prosecutor for six years, or almost six years, and, um, won every case and expected to win every case because I was very careful in how I charged them. And because I expected and enjoyed impartial juries, this was not going to be impartial, an impartial jury. And I used to tell the managers, as we were trying the case, we always had to keep in mind who the jury was, and the jury was.

(00:17:33):

The four senators on the Republican side, we thought had an open mind and the 40 million Americans that we thought had an open mind. Um, but, but I, I mentioned the speaker at the very outset, because we couldn't expect to win. We had to think about this trial differently. We had to think about how, how could we win by losing. And I thought the way you can win by losing is by making the case to American people, even if you can't persuade the biased jury in the Senate. Uh, and that's what we tried to do. And I think that was what Jamie, uh, also tried to do, uh, in the second trial. Now, Jamie had a different expectation. I think he thoughtfully that, uh, they would, they would prevail. Um, I had, uh, a different, uh, view and, and it was a different case. Uh, and, and maybe my view of the senators was, was more cynical, uh, than his, um, tragically even after people saw in the Senate, um, the impact of their, uh, acquittal, um, leading as we predicted to e new and even worse efforts to cheat in the election leading to a bloody insurrection even then they wouldn't convict.

(00:18:39):

Um, but we did view it, um, as important to informing the public, even if we can't move the senators to live up to their oath of office,

Louise Palanker (00:18:50):

It, it appears that the, the insurrection is part of a multi-pronged attempt to overthrow our government and the folks who stormed the capitol were radicalized and perhaps unwitting. So, is it a, a crime to indoctrinate people to the point where they're, uh, engaging in criminal behavior on, on behalf of, of the cause?

Adam Schiff (00:19:10):

I think it gets into the realm of criminal when you get into the realm of incitement of violence. Um, and that is obviously an issue that the Justice Department is investigating and prosecuting. Uh, they recently took an important step in charging seditious conspiracy, something very rarely charged against some of the people involved in that attack on the Capitol. But, um, it's very important, as you point out to consider, there were multiple lines of effort to overturn the election. It just wa it wasn't just what happened on January 6th. And I am concerned that the Justice Department does not appear to be investigating other potential criminality concerning the effort to overturn the election. And, uh, you know, very particularly, uh, the former president was on the phone with the Secretary of State of Georgia trying to coer the secretary in defining 11,780 votes that didn't exist, the exact number he would need to overturn the election in Georgia.

(00:20:11):

Uh, I think if anyone else were on that call, they'd be under investigation. And not just by the Fulton County District Attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, but by the Justice Department. And I am concerned, I don't see the Justice Department investigating those acts, which may very well be criminal. Um, so in terms of the, you know, leading people to believe the big lie, um, in most cases, that's not criminal unless it borders on incitement. Uh, there may be, there may be a criminal fraud involved if you are soliciting money on the basis, uh, of that, uh, false claim. Um, but, uh, but I do think that there are other ways in which the, uh, the former president and others were engaged in trying to overturn the election, that also to be investigated, uh, as a potential, uh, criminal act,

Fritz Coleman (00:21:04):

You know, toward the end of your book in the last third, when you were sort of putting it into a larger context, can we survive and have a democracy? I, I I I, I don't think there's a book that's been written about the Trump era that's had more wonderful specifics, but I came away with this really horrible feeling that of all the people you talked about, the doj, all of his sick offense, all the people at National Security, all the people that were peripheral players in his little, uh, scams, no one has been held accountable yet. Not one single person has been prosecuted. And you mentioned the Do oj do you think Merrick Garland is just playing his cards really close to the vest? And slowly these cases will evolve and there'll be some big third act culmination down the line? I, I hope that that's true. And it's not that they're just letting it slide out of fear or something.

Adam Schiff (00:22:01):

I, I think Mark Garland is a man of great integrity, and I have enormous respect for him. And it's wonderful to see the department being well led by a person of integrity, again, after the disastrous years of Bill Barr and, uh, uh, sessions and, and, and a couple in between. Um, but, uh, uh, I, I do worry that, um, out of an abiding concern of keeping the department out of a controversy, um, out of a desire not to look backward, um, the Justice Department and the Attorney General, um, may not be investigating things that they should, uh, because it would be controversial. Um, well, that controversy comes with the territory. Uh, and if you take the position as the Justice Department did for four years, that you can't prosecute a sitting president, uh, and then you take the position that as a practical matter, you can't prosecute a former president, cuz that would be too controversial or backward learning looking, then essentially the President becomes above the law. That is not something the founders would've ever subscribed to. It's a very dangerous idea. Uh, and given that, that that same law breaker, um, is I think very much running for presidents again, uh, it's a very dangerous idea.

Fritz Coleman (00:23:22):

And, uh, and I'm sorry, just, I just wanna do, uh, oops. You're being called to

Adam Schiff (00:23:27):

Chris. I, I, we are in the middle of a series of votes, and I'm gonna have to, you

Fritz Coleman (00:23:30):

Know what to vote. Uh, we, we are so thankful that you were generous with your time, and we could just talk to you for hours. You're one of the clear voices of reason in Washington, and we certainly appreciate you being with us. Thank you so much.

Adam Schiff (00:23:42):

Well, thank you. Great to be with you. Thank you so much. You both take care now.

Fritz Coleman (00:23:45):

We'll see you again. Take

Louise Palanker (00:23:46):

Care.

Adam Schiff (00:23:47):

Thank you. I'm gonna run upstairs. Thank you

Fritz Coleman (00:23:50):

Both. Go for it.

Adam Schiff (00:23:52):

Okay.

Fritz Coleman (00:23:52):

Vote with your conscience, Congressman. Okay. <laugh>, I'm sorry, I just had a follow up question about that same topic, so I didn't mean

Louise Palanker (00:23:58):

To, you could ask me. I'm, you know, I may be lucid, but it's not probably

Fritz Coleman (00:24:02):

Now. So you'll, you'll cut this together and I'll just go into,

Louise Palanker (00:24:05):

Oh, we're just gonna keep, we're gonna, this is the show. Well, there's, oh, okay. Cool. There's,

Fritz Coleman (00:24:09):

There's, I, I have an official introduction to the next segment of the program. Hang

Louise Palanker (00:24:12):

On a second. Oh, if there's any hiccups, I'll edit them out. But so far I think we're,

Fritz Coleman (00:24:15):

No, we're doing

Louise Palanker (00:24:16):

Great hangout. We are just smooth. Yeah. We should ask each other the remainder of our questions. <laugh>. I was gonna ask him about

Fritz Coleman (00:24:23):

How's my wife Eva? No, Adam and Eve, those are e That's, isn't that great?

Louise Palanker (00:24:27):

I'm sure they never tire of hearing jokes about this.

Fritz Coleman (00:24:29):

All right. Well, anyway, now we're gonna do some suggestions of some interesting movies since we're talking about politics. And we talked about gerrymandering at the beginning of the thing. Yes. Got a couple of great primers on gerrymandering. One called Slay the Dragon, focusing on the redrawing of voting districts in Michigan. And one that you saw, which I'm really fascinated to hear about, called, can you Hear Me Now? Focusing on Wisconsin. And we're gonna look at the Filibuster with a beloved Frank Capra film starring Jimmy Stewart. Mr. Smith goes to Washington, and I think one of the most brilliant and haunting movies ever made a face in the crowd, a frighteningly prophetic, fictional account of how somebody like Donald Trump even gets into office in the first place. And we're also gonna look at a film that tears open their discussion about high school tragedies and how kids deal with them sometimes leading to positive change in the world. Right.

Louise Palanker (00:25:19):

That's pretty much what's in the lineup. Yes. Okay. We're gonna start with a face in the crowd, because it's first on my rundown. <laugh> less, less scrolling involved. Um, <laugh>. So this is an interesting film from 1957, so it's kind of pre Andy Griffith show, but you will be haunted. You can, you, it may, may interrupt your enjoyment of, of Mayberry <laugh>. I'm just, just to just give you that kind of like, alert in advance may not be for squeamish Mayberry viewers. Um, a Facing the Crowd chronicles the rise to power of a performer called Larry Lonesome Rhoads, played by Andy Griffith. He's discovered an Arkansas Drunk Tank by Marsha Jefferies, played by Patricia Neal, a local radio producer with ambitions of her own, his charisma. And cunnings soon propel him to the heights of pop culture, stardom and political demagoguery, forcing Marsha to contend with the opportunistic sociopathic manipulative monster she has created, directed by Ilia Kaza from a screenplay by Bud Schulberg. This incisive satire features an extraordinary debut screen performance by Andy Griffith, who brandishes an entirely sinister version of his country charm. A modern viewer is persistently reminded of a similarly dangerous figure. Interestingly, the film was a flop on its initial release during an Eisenhower presidency. It may not have seemed remotely plausible, however, subsequent generations have marveled at its eerily prescient diagnosis of the toxic intimacy between media and politics in American life.

Fritz Coleman (00:26:51):

It's so, the Trump story and Bug Schulberg wrote one of my other favorite movies on the waterfront. Oh, yeah. So this guy just knows how to write current topics. Yeah. But I, I just love that film and I saw it totally by accident and knew nothing about it on TCM one time. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and it haunted me for two weeks. I thought, wow, this really is the rise of Trump.

Louise Palanker (00:27:11):

Right? It's that whole cult of personality, I guess Yes. Has been dangerous throughout history. So that's what you'll blur

Fritz Coleman (00:27:17):

As soon as mass media came in, that's exactly what happened.

Louise Palanker (00:27:21):

Well, it was, it was dangerous during the time of Hitler. It was probably dangerous during the time of the Caesars, and, you know, whoever else was the magical figure that would heal mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, our, your troubled life or whatever they were promising, or snake oil salesman or whoever it is that comes through town and says, Hey, you know, I've got the answers right here. You know, whether it's an evangelical tent or someone's selling some sort of elixir or something as dangerous as becoming the President of the United States.

Fritz Coleman (00:27:49):

Yeah. Yeah. Really, uh, uh, an amazing movie. I've seen it a couple times. I'd like to see it again. Well, I'm gonna do one of the first, uh, movies that we saw about gerrymandering. This is called Slay the Dragon. It's on Amazon Prime right now. This is a documentary about a grassroots effort to change the system of gerrymandering in Michigan. Gerrymandering is when a political group tries to change a voting district to create a result that helps them and hurts the group that's running against them. Now, in most states, the legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan. They come up with a new plan every 10 years because it's based on the census. The problem is that these days, with the aid of some of the new voter suppression laws, Republican state legislatures stay in office for years at a time taking power away from the Democrats, meaning wink, wink minorities, meaning wink, wink, black people, gerrymandering, got its name from Eldridge Jerry, the governor of Massachusetts years ago, who came up with this mapping system to favor the party in power.

(00:28:52):

The shape of one of those districts looked like a salamander. So they called the system gerrymandering. Both sides do it, Republicans and Democrats. This movie shows a grassroots effort to change the system in Michigan, the focus is on a young activist by the name of Katie Fahe, who believed that voting districts ought to be decided by a citizen's commission, like the congressman mentioned, is done in California, not by state politicians in power. It goes through a whole bunch of scenarios. There are launch point is the Flint River water controversy, where the Republicans in the state legislature seized back power and changed the water supply that turned out to be toxic to humans. And then, uh, this young woman, Katie Fay, had to get 350,000 signatures to put proposition on the Michigan ballot, and they want, and went all the way to the Supreme Court. It's a great David and Goliath story. And I think the most powerful aspect of this film was in the opening credits with a quote from John Adams gets slowly dissolved on the screen, and it says, democracies never last long. They commit suicide. Wow. So I went through the first half of the movie thinking about that, but it's a, it's a wonderful premier

Louise Palanker (00:30:12):

That's haunting. Yeah. So, in a similar vein, probably a couple years later, they made a film in Wisconsin, which seems to be the, the ground zero for gerrymandering. Uh, the film is called, can You Hear Us Now? Wisconsin is a minority rule, state and grassroots citizens are boldly and purposefully attempting to rescue and reclaim their voices and their representation. For example, Kenosha is a democratic stronghold. And the folks who live there deserve to have their values reflected in their state representative. They don't, the city has been cut in half. The top district is drawn to pull in conservatives from way into the surrounding area. The same has been done to the bottom half of the city. This goes on statewide to where Democrats won 54% of statewide votes for assembly candidates. They won just 36% of the seats. I,

Fritz Coleman (00:31:00):

I, I, I don't get how that's legal,

Louise Palanker (00:31:02):

It's just, it just criminal. Wisconsin voters are finding their lives increasingly irrelevant to state lawmakers. This film follows everyday folks with multiple jobs and kids running for local office. You will come away with a better understanding of the use of the term running in regards to elections. It's a marathon and a sprint. Long hours, long drives, long walks through neighborhoods, early mornings, late nights. These are folks fighting to fix our broken system. The setting is Wisconsin, but it's happening in towns and cities across our nation. Can you hear us? Now is a call to action, and you can watch it on Amazon Prime.

Fritz Coleman (00:31:39):

And it sounds like the same emotion you're left with, with, can you hear us now? Uh, in, in combination with Slay the Dragon is you have these ordinary citizens that have a little idealism trying to change the system, and they're bucking up millions of dollars in Republican headwinds against them. And it's just, it's, it's sad, but it's wonderful in, in, in another way. Well,

Louise Palanker (00:32:05):

It's, in, it, it's, it's inspiring because you, you know, you, you feel this sense of community that they're building in, in terms of striving for something together and how that bonds you to your neighbors and that sense of purpose. And so it really does wanna make you, it does inspire you to become part of the solution. It doesn't, I, it didn't scare me off. It just makes me wanna rise up and see, well, you know, what can I

Fritz Coleman (00:32:24):

Do that doesn't scare me off? It just makes me, oh, you see, they're, they're bucking an impossible, uh, thing here. And also in Michigan. Uh, I don't wanna give the movie away. Uh, but they won. They, they got that on the state ballot, and they won. They did. This little group of well-meaning older ladies, <laugh> made, made a difference. And it was wonderful. But, oh gosh, when you look at the amount of money being thrown at it by, anyway, here's one of my favorite movies of all time. Yeah. I wanna talk about this one too. Mr. Smith goes to Washington, one of Frank, uh, Frank Capra's most beloved movies, and one of Jimmy Stewart's most beloved performances. This film was made in 1939. Jimmy Stewart plays a naive youth leader of a group called Boy Rangers, and he's appointed to fill a vacant senate seat from his home state.

(00:33:15):

He's got I idealistic plans when he gets to Washington, but they run headlong into political corruption, including some from his home state. He's taken under the wing of a publicly esteemed, but secretly crooked politician, who is a great friend of his father's at one time, which made it even harder. Smith's naive, honest nature makes him easily manipulated by the unforgiving Washington press, which is, so today he comes off as a bumpkin. Now, the interesting thing, this is based on an unpublished story by Lewis R. Foster called the Gentleman from Montana, which was loosely based on a true story, the life of Montana. Senator Burton Wheeler in the story, Jefferson Smith, as he's called, and is no accident that Jefferson is his first name. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, he proposes a bill about funding a campsite for young boys in his home state. His plan bucks up against plans that a cabal of other crooked politicians have to put up a dam at the site where Smith wants to put his camp.

(00:34:23):

Well, Smith won't give up, and that's where the filibuster comes in. A filibuster is a form of not letting the game end, or not letting the other side have a break until they give up and say, you win. It's like a game of political chicken. It's designed to protest or, uh, protect, uh, minority views. And there are other specifics about a filibuster that we don't have to go into here, but the poignancy of Mr. Smith is he does this 24 hour, uh, marathon on the house floor. And, uh, he's a hero and he, he garners all this grassroots from people all over the United States, and it's wonderful. But, but honestly, if you look at this movie in terms of where we are right now, the darkness of our political atmosphere, the poignancy of Mr. Smith goes to Washington, comes in, in Jimmy Stewart's wide eyed enthusiasm and idealism when he first gets to Washington, he revels at Scene, the Capitol Dome, and the Lincoln and Washington monuments. And it's such a stark contrast, uh, with the way the Capitol was desecrated during the insurrection and the low self-esteem our country finds it in, uh, finds itself in right now, you wanna feel better about the United States. This is a great view.

Louise Palanker (00:35:40):

Yeah. And all, you know, his, his tour of the monuments also is in, in complete contrast to what he then immediately encounters, which is a lot of diabolical behavior and kind of like hidden deals and, you know, graft and secret kind of handshakes and monies being lined, or pockets being lined, et cetera. But like, you know, people think about Mr. Smith goes to Washington in terms of the, the great filibuster. But what it really also depicts that it's just kind of harrowing how similar it is. And it just kind of speaks to maybe this is human nature and the nature of people when they come to power, or the types of personalities that seek power. But the disinformation campaign, the controlling of the media, you know, in, in, in that time it was, it was the, the newspapers. They tried to make sure that none of the newspapers in his state published the truth. They com they completely twisted the truth. They made up lies about him. They kind of flooded the Senate floor with, uh, telegrams that were coming in that, that were asking him to get off the floor and relinquish the, the floor. The telegrams reminded me of that scene where Trump and his kids had these stacks of papers, <laugh>, it was like, you know, pure theater. So this is 1939

Fritz Coleman (00:36:48):

And the big money in politics, and I thought about Citizens United when we're watching that guy Powell, or whatever his name was, that was, he was buying all the politicians.

Louise Palanker (00:36:57):

Yeah. And so the tactics have not changed. It's the exact same. The technology has shifted, but the tactics are the same. It's, it's this disinformation, uh, campaign to discredit him. And he, like, they were trying to al Franken him. They were trying to get him to step down from his senate seat, not just to step off the floor, but to step down from his Senate seat. Yeah. But in disgrace. And he had done nothing other than, you know, working for the

Fritz Coleman (00:37:19):

People. I just loved his morality. I loved his enthusiasm for the country. And I kept saying to myself, I wanna feel like that again. Really? It was a, it was a wonderful movie.

Louise Palanker (00:37:28):

Yeah. So those are great movies to watch. It's like, what's so great about our technology? One of the great things about it is that everything's accessible. So, you know, we can say the name of the movie. You can jot it down into the notes of your, of your, uh, iPhone, or you can just, uh, call it up. You know, I was talking to Fritz about our guest next week, and he pulled up his phone and, and downloaded the book about the book while we were waiting for, uh, uh, Congressman Schiff to come on the line. So that's how quickly, you know, we can access the media that, that we're seeking mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so now we're gonna talk about a current movie, because I think it's, it has a, a political resonance in terms of why is this still a problem? Because it, it, it absolutely, you plant your f your face in your hands when you watch this.

(00:38:08):

The movie is called The Fallout, and it's on H B O explores the emotional impact of surviving a school shooting as shots ring out through the hallways. Vita Huddles terrified in a bathroom stall with Mia, a classmate birth sin covered in his slain brother's blood. They survive. And the shared terror bonds them as we track their efforts to navigate through a reality that has been forever changed for them. Veda and Mia hibernate and escape through drugs and alcohol. Their friend Nick turns to activism much like David Hog, but not everybody is capable. We're, we all react differently to trauma. Um, Quentin focuses on his family grief. He has lost his little brother. We are each different. And the film invites us to wonder how we would process this level of devastation and to ask, what are we doing to our kids who undergo live shooter drills and walk through their schools terrified every day. It also left me asking out loud if Republican lawmakers refusing to pass gun safety reforms, even have kids, and if they have them, do they love them? Why are they so busy banning books and not guns? I'd like to share this tweet from David Ho, can you pull that up? Uh, it's on your rundown. Thomas. You know, how many kids and staff books killed at my high school? Zero. You know how many kids and staff a former student killed with an ar 15, 17? Guess which one the Florida legislature is working on Banning.

Fritz Coleman (00:39:29):

So, right. Tweet. Yeah. I I I really, uh, we, we only had limited time, but I wanted to get into that book situation right. With the congressman, because he's been very passionate about a peripheral item, which is to make sure that, uh, textbooks in classrooms reflect the truth, always bring them up to date, new interpretations of history, but make sure they're factual. So I'm sure he had an opinion or two about this current book burning thing we're going through right now. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to talk to 'em about that.

Louise Palanker (00:39:58):

Yeah, and I mean, I, I, and you know, maybe Thomas and Dina can speak to this, but I think the Streisand effect is in effect here, because if you tell kids not to do something, that it's entirely accessible to them if we, as we have recently discussed. And so, yeah, I would think kids being kids, you, you tell someone not to read something, you know, she's gonna want to read it. And you've just brought attention to the book. And I, I wouldn't be surprised if these band books are at the top of bestseller lists currently, just by virtue of them having been called out.

Fritz Coleman (00:40:30):

It's all the culture wars. It's all based on this phony controversy of critical race theory, which is only being taught in one law school in the South. It's not even being taught in high schools. It's all this manufactured culture war that at the end of this election cycle probably will evaporate and we'll never hear

Louise Palanker (00:40:47):

From it again. I'm just, I'm just curious as to whether or not we ha the the times are, are gone when you can simply burn a book and make it disappear. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Dina (00:40:56):

Yeah. Well, I think that, um, it's, it was really myopic on the part of the, the Tennessee, I don't know what, I can't remember what part of Tennessee, but the school board to Ban Mouse, because there entire explanation for it was because there were some bad words.

Fritz Coleman (00:41:16):

Yeah. And there was one picture of a guy with no clothes on, which was everybody in the camp,

Louise Palanker (00:41:20):

I think it was

Dina (00:41:21):

Niman. And there could have been like nipple a nipple situation. I mean, it was just so ridiculously inconsequential mm-hmm. <affirmative> and

Fritz Coleman (00:41:31):

No, it's antisemitic is what it boils down to. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it really doesn't have anything to do with, you

Dina (00:41:35):

Know. Yeah. Yeah. And then we're also having just to, you know, this is like a broader thing, but because of that and Whoopi Goldberg on social media, there's a, a really big conversation, um, that's happening about like, you know, about Jews and like, you know, is Jewish a race? Is it an ethnicity? Everyone is like discussing this, which is really shedding a light on how little people know about this topic, how little, um, Jewish history and Jewish, the Jewish American experience is known about.

Louise Palanker (00:42:06):

Yeah. I mean, I think it's fine for her to say that, you know, when you walk through the world as a black woman, you're, it's different than my Jewish friend walking by my side who seems white. And, you know, race is a social construct anyway. It's like we're all just saying that something is a thing. And maybe there's genetics that back it up to some

Fritz Coleman (00:42:22):

People, but there ought to be more understanding between the oppressed classes, you know? Sure.

Louise Palanker (00:42:26):

I mean, in like, like the point I made to the congressman was that in the si in the, in the sixties, Jews were the first ones to get on a bus and go down and help black people register because we related to each other. You know, they had just survived the Holocaust. The children of Holocaust survivors were signing up, uh, people to vote in the South. And, uh, we understood oppression. Also, Jews have a history of slavery. If you go back to the Bible. So can't we just all work together? It just seems like there's right wing factions that are terrified of oppressed people teaming up. And so they, they seek to divide us by pitting us against each other.

Fritz Coleman (00:43:00):

Dean is our producer Dean. I think you should tell people, the few people that might not know what Mouse is to describe what it is. It's a graphic novel for written for

Dina (00:43:07):

Young people. So I'm afraid I haven't read it. Although I was a Barnes and novel <laugh> this, and it's funny because it, so I was at Barnes and Noble to buy my son Manga this weekend, and it's like right there on display, right? Like, they put it out because it's being talked about. Of course. Yeah. And now it's like an opportunity for everyone to, to breed and buy and read Mouse. Um, but what I know about it is that it's a graphic novel. It's, uh, my understanding is that it's a representation of, you know, what went on in the camps where Jews are represented by Mae. And, um, the Nazis are represented by, by Cats.

Fritz Coleman (00:43:47):

And it's a way of explaining the Holocaust to young people because it's too big for small brains to understand. Exactly. And there it is very important, you know, and I mean, they're now, they want a band like To Kill a Mockingbird and stuff that's been part of the American literary cannon for years and all this stuff. And what was the one that was just banned by the Pulitzer Prize winning, um, uh,

Louise Palanker (00:44:12):

Tony Morrison.

Fritz Coleman (00:44:13):

Tony Morrison.

Louise Palanker (00:44:14):

Yeah. Yeah. You can't just, you just can't just imagine a world where these, these strives have not existed and where we don't still have to heal from them. That just makes the wound fester. Go ahead.

Dina (00:44:26):

So I just think it's fascinating that we're having this discussion, and this happened to come up, you know, in Tennessee, right? As we're having, um, a discussion about Joe Rogan and Spotify mm-hmm. <affirmative>, where so many of Rogan's supporters are their entire basis for their support. Not of Joe Rogan specifically, but of, you know, him staying on Spotify is the issue of free freedom of speech. And yet we have this au like simultaneously there's a situation where they're banning this book and not a single Joe Rogan fan is talking about that.

Fritz Coleman (00:45:03):

That's so true. It's a great irony. That's crazy.

Dina (00:45:06):

It's really incredible. And the difference between, you know, like there's so much that these books are offering so much, you know, potential discu, I mean, there's just like a limitless amount that can come from reading these books, knowledge and conversation, everything. And Joe Rogan is just a guy who lets people like spout, you know, shoot their mouths on his show. I mean, it's this huge difference in like, value between what, and, and the discussion is completely separate.

Louise Palanker (00:45:38):

No, and I don't think that the Republicans should be permitted to speak about cancel culture without first mentioning what they did to the Dixie Chicks

Fritz Coleman (00:45:45):

<laugh>. Yeah. Oh

Louise Palanker (00:45:46):

Yeah. So, and that, you know, and that may have happened before the internet. I'm not exactly sure what year that was, but, which

Fritz Coleman (00:45:52):

Was complete crap. It was just

Louise Palanker (00:45:54):

A joke because Trump said way worse things about America on foreign soil than Natalie Maines ever said. All she said was about, you know, she was, she was, uh, upset about the Iraq war, and that was the extent of, it wasn't anything. So, and they, and, you know, country radio stations publicly burned their records. That was when you still had CDs. Let

Fritz Coleman (00:46:14):

Me ask Dina question. So how old is your son, Dina?

Dina (00:46:18):

He's, he's gonna be 11 in May. Do they

Fritz Coleman (00:46:21):

Ever dis, are these issues ever part of the conversation in elementary schools?

Dina (00:46:25):

They do. Um, they talk about, uh, the experience of oppressed and marginalized groups in America. You know, especially, you know, now that it's February, there's a lot of discussion about Black History Month. You know, I do have to say that since Covid <laugh>, they've gotten a little lax with, um, or at least, you know, that's how, that's just how I feel, you know, my experience, just one classroom, you know, L A U S D is a huge, you know, organization, but my experience is that there was a little more like, um, uh, you know, they were focusing a little bit more and doing a little bit more work where they were exploring like Black History month. Like, you know, we were talking about ver you know, various, um, black people who made a huge contribution to culture, to science, you know, everything that defines America. I feel like there's a little less of that going on now, but there's definitely been a discussion of, I'm glad to hear that Black Americans, you know, the whole,

Fritz Coleman (00:47:29):

I just wonder if the fear about the books is translating to fear about even having a discussion in a classroom and letting kids ask questions or Yeah.

Louise Palanker (00:47:35):

Is that happening in California where teachers would be concerned about talking about slavery and, and,

Dina (00:47:40):

Uh, I'm sure

Louise Palanker (00:47:41):

Native American

Dina (00:47:42):

History, I'm sure that it's happening in parts of California. I wouldn't be as a L a U S D parent. I don't see that happening in, in Los Angeles County, just because we have just so many, I mean, I have separate groups. I have to like admit that, you know, most parents are left liberal leaning and

Louise Palanker (00:48:03):

Also a lot of parents are parents of color. Like no one's talking about appearance of color as being parents. Yeah,

Dina (00:48:09):

Exactly. Yeah. In

Fritz Coleman (00:48:11):

California City, you know, we're, we're way different than the rest of the purple and red states. Sure. And we're,

Dina (00:48:17):

You know, yeah. I mean, Los Angeles is a special case. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I wouldn't be concerned, I'd be concerned about anywhere else. Um, but definitely not Los Angeles. There's just more, you know, openness because, you know, we're, we have the entertainment industry here. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, you know, culture, society, everything here leans towards open discussion.

Louise Palanker (00:48:37):

Yeah. You know, I noticed that there was like a, an immediate pushback to this being Black History month. Like it's a surprise, you know? Oh my gosh, y you know, how, let's make sure that this isn't discussed in my child's school, but all of the networks, whether it be Netflix or Hulu or Amazon prominently display Black History Month as being the first choice of content that you could select. So we don't seem to be in the entertainment industry shying away from presenting people with things that might interest them, educate them and form them, et cetera. You know, just because there's this whole Republican contingency pushing against it,

Fritz Coleman (00:49:13):

You know? And I, I, I agree. And I also think that we can't analyze the rest of the country. Like we analyze California, I know the rest of the country, you know, they're trying to figure out what the next step is gonna be with the three percenters and the Proud Boys and all these people. It's stage the insurrection. And it seems like their new method of operation is to go local, go into local politics, show up at school board meetings, and announce the protests. So you have to, there's a lot of noise in some of these various locales around the United States. You have to be able to separate what is that agenda with what's really going on in these schools. And maybe it's not as bad, it's just we're paying attention to the noisiest part of this discussion right now.

Louise Palanker (00:49:55):

You know, that that could be, uh, you know, it, it's concerning that a teacher would worry that if she just presented a basic idea that she could be putting her job at risk. Yeah. You know, the idea of being kind to one another.

Fritz Coleman (00:50:10):

Yeah.

Louise Palanker (00:50:11):

You know, like, what, what's happening to us? You know, cuz people making a lot of noise can create terror. The terror is just being afraid. So if you're afraid, you know, if you're, if you're thinking like, you know, just to give you like a strange example, um, when I was at Premier, we were producing these bits about like, uh, they were kind of parody commercials about Scientology. And we'd send them out to radio stations. Well, we started to get harassing phone calls from the lawyers at Scientology. And I told my team, let's just stop. In other words, it worked. I didn't need this headache. So there are teachers who are thinking, is it, is it worth it, you know, to teach something and then risk someone going home and saying, Hey, we learned about Harriet Tubman and, and now the next thing you know, I'm outta this teacher's outta work. But you can't afford to be outta

Fritz Coleman (00:50:57):

Work. Yeah. And it's not just disagreeing with a viewpoint. It's these, these people's lives are being threatened, like the election workers and stuff. I mean, it's dangerous and all this is dangerous. We're in a very violent town.

Louise Palanker (00:51:08):

And that's the definition of terrorism. Creating terror. Right. Exactly.

Dina (00:51:11):

There's just something that I, I have to say, which is it really disheartens me the lack of respect that's being shown to teachers. Unbelievable. And, um, the disrespect that is like the slander of like teachers unions, you know, that are looking out for, you know, our teachers since, since the pandemic and since ha you know, having to deal with like some homeschooling. I really have a newfound respect for teachers

Louise Palanker (00:51:37):

And that all parents do.

Dina (00:51:38):

And the fact that these, you know, hardworking, underpaid, undervalued individuals are getting treated the way that they are. Just, it, it destroys me. It makes me feel really sad for like this moment that we're in.

Fritz Coleman (00:51:51):

Well said. Well said Dina. And not only that, but because of, you know, the nuclear family, the fabric of the nuclear family's falling apart. So teachers are not only teachers now, they're being like a surrogate parent. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, these are single parent kids and they're, they have to be a disciplinarian and they have to solve home problems in school. It's, they're, they're having, they're being, um, assigned with more than being a teacher now, which is really hard. Right. And as you say, they're underpaid and the unions are designed to protect them for these moderate salaries that they have, you know, with insurance and retirement and everything else.

Louise Palanker (00:52:27):

Right. And they have the most important job in the world. Oh yeah. Educating our children, which, you know, there's nothing more important. Um, I would like to talk about what we can do and you know, something that, a project that I took on that I, you know, hopefully will inspire you that there's something that you, where you can take what your strength is and apply it towards being part of the solution. Myself and some lady friends, I'll call them, although one is my sister-in one is my sister-in-law. We created, this is just hot off the presses, a website called Give the Gift of Democracy. And what it is, is it's just really a clearing house that sends you to the swaggy sites, uh, where you can purchase, you know, a mug or a hat or something fun and have that be the gift that you give a loved one.

(00:53:10):

So if you're thinking about, you know, your gift list and you're also thinking about saving democracy, you can do both in one move where you click and someone's getting a, an apron. So Yeah. Says your dad has enough drills, your sister has enough shoes, what they need is a future. And then when you scroll down, you can click um, and click on the top one, the Democratic store. Cuz de Democratic store has some really sweet swag. Um, that should be a link. Yeah. And you can buy all kinds of fun stuff. And then that can be the gift that you get someone for whatever.

Fritz Coleman (00:53:38):

So this was preexisting or the

Louise Palanker (00:53:39):

Designer? Yeah. So we're just No, no, no. We're, we're linking to the swag site. So if your candidate has a swag site as Adam Schiff does, and you can go down and click on Adams because he was just on our show. So he gets a click. He's created some sweet swags.

Fritz Coleman (00:53:51):

Oh, I wish we would've told him that.

Louise Palanker (00:53:53):

I know. I, I didn't know how long we would have him, but, you know, that's

Media Path Team (00:53:56):

Okay. I mean, we're looking at it right now.

Louise Palanker (00:53:57):

Yeah. And you can, I think people will feel inspired to buy something for a loved one and then also stock up on something for themselves. Cuz it's just fun stuff. Yeah. And I, I was just thinking this is something easy that people could do, is to just buy a gift for someone and have that be also a donation, you know, towards a, a candidate or a cause that's fighting to, uh, save our democracy.

Fritz Coleman (00:54:18):

That's a wonderful idea.

Louise Palanker (00:54:20):

Thank you. Fritz.

Fritz Coleman (00:54:21):

Never been a more important, I'll buy you something. How much of a profit are

Louise Palanker (00:54:24):

You taking? No, nothing. We're simply linking. All my friends ask this, like, what's your cut? No. <laugh>. No, I, we paid for the URL and we're paying to host it on Wicks. And we're, we just want,

Fritz Coleman (00:54:34):

I'm being sarcastic. We

Louise Palanker (00:54:35):

Wanna we wanna know what you want Fritz for, for Christmas or for your birthday. Do you want a tote bag or a magnet?

Fritz Coleman (00:54:41):

I would like some, uh, I would like the, uh, I believe in democracy lingerie. Do you have anything like,

Louise Palanker (00:54:47):

Can you scroll through there, Thomas? Is there any lingerie?

Fritz Coleman (00:54:50):

Okay.

Louise Palanker (00:54:50):

Um, we're Oh, the apron. If you wore that without anything else, I'd tell.

Media Path Team (00:54:54):

Yeah. I think you can make that look pretty Lingerie

Fritz Coleman (00:54:56):

Down with autocracy.

Louise Palanker (00:54:57):

<laugh>. I could see you. Those are Joe's aviators. Nice. There's also a a, a Joe. Oh, that's

Fritz Coleman (00:55:04):

Cool. I like

Louise Palanker (00:55:04):

That. There's a, there's a ice cream scoop that you can get a Biden ice cream scoop. And there's a fly swatter, or is that a spatula? I don't know. Maybe it could

Media Path Team (00:55:11):

Be both. It's a grilling spatula, but I'm sure you can do all sorts of things.

Louise Palanker (00:55:14):

There's a lot of fun stuff. So have fun. It's cool. Go shopping and save the world.

Fritz Coleman (00:55:19):

What's the website again?

Louise Palanker (00:55:20):

It's give the gift of democracy.com right

Fritz Coleman (00:55:22):

There. You know, this gives us a chance to tell you how much people love us. Let me, let me give a couple of comments.

Louise Palanker (00:55:27):

How much do they love us?

Fritz Coleman (00:55:28):

They love us and I can't even imagine how much it cost us to get these particular testimonials. Just kidding. Uh, the title of this one was called Hysterical. I think I found a new favorite show. This show had me laughing the whole time. I almost cried from being double O. Which show was that? The hosts are amazing and I love the weighty banner between them and their guests. My favorite episode so far is the one on comedy I've listened to four times. Wow. And that's from, I see a bunch of numbers. It looks like a ab an account number AB 27 93. What's that special? That's

Louise Palanker (00:56:02):

Their prison number.

Fritz Coleman (00:56:03):

So whoever you are there, AB 27 93. We appreciate it. Thank you. And I hope they shorten your sentence. <laugh>, Fritz and Weezy. Two of a kind. What a crazy pair. One pair of matching bookends. Different. Different as night and day when Fritz enjoys a Minette, the ballet Rus and the crepe su are wheezy likes to rock and roll A hot patty Night to

Louise Palanker (00:56:26):

Rock Kimberly a hot

Fritz Coleman (00:56:28):

Your moves in the review. Don't sing. Just listen to the review and then sing. Wheezy likes to rock and roll a hotdog makes her lose control. True fact. What a wild duet. <laugh>. And that's just episode one. <laugh>. Wow.

Louise Palanker (00:56:44):

If he, if I, I didn't know that I could like write reviews for people's books and shows simply by quoting TV theme song lyrics.

Fritz Coleman (00:56:53):

Is that what that was? I didn't even write.

Louise Palanker (00:56:55):

Yes, that is the Patty Duke show. <laugh>.

Fritz Coleman (00:56:57):

What? What the ballet roosh. What's that from?

Louise Palanker (00:56:59):

And I mean, that's what Kathy likes. Oh, okay. Yeah. Cuz she's, was she

Fritz Coleman (00:57:03):

British? I'm old enough to remember. Don't <laugh> <laugh> <laugh>. All right. Well, I screwed

Louise Palanker (00:57:10):

That up. It's hard to believe that earlier Adam Schiff was here.

Fritz Coleman (00:57:13):

I know. Well, we're so much has happened. We, we had to be respectful for 20 minutes and now we're just exploding <laugh>. Now we're showing our real selves. Yeah. Right. Room review about this part of the show, lady.

Louise Palanker (00:57:24):

So we hope that you'll write a review and all you have to do really is quote, you know, Gilligan's Island theme. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Honestly, as long as you give us five stars, it doesn't matter what you type. Yeah.

Fritz Coleman (00:57:33):

We would, we would love to hear, and you know, we would love to hear stuff that you would enjoy hearing on our podcast. You know, what our strengths are. If you would like us to interview maybe a deposed ruler from a foreign country, something like that. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. We'll do anything, uh, give us some suggestions. We'd love to hear those.

Louise Palanker (00:57:49):

You know, I know that Adam Schiff told us that he was going downstairs to vote.

Fritz Coleman (00:57:53):

Yeah, I know that's true because that voice says, please report to the floor of the Congress for vote number 7 42. Didn't you hear that?

Louise Palanker (00:57:59):

I did hear that, but I don't think he actually voted. I think he went down there and he spoke to Nancy Pelosi about possibly being on this amazing podcast and she would

Fritz Coleman (00:58:07):

Just, that would be unbelievable. Yeah. She is a Californian

Louise Palanker (00:58:10):

Unit. Yes, she is. And, uh, and we just wanna thank Adam Schiff for being with us. That was, you know, quite a treat to

Fritz Coleman (00:58:16):

Speak with him. He's a very charming person. And I, as I said to him in person mm-hmm. <affirmative> like two years ago. Right. I said, I know this sounds like I'm pandering to somebody in power, but I you are one of the few, this is sort of the last third of the Trump administration. I said, you are truly one of the voices of reason. And thank you for your hard work. It must seem very lonely out there right now, because there weren't that many, you know, there weren't, uh, uh, opinions similar to his pushing back against the onslaught of bad media.

Louise Palanker (00:58:48):

Yes. It, it, he was, uh, heroic. And, uh, you know, and surefooted, you know, whenever he speaks, you know, every word is so well chosen, his brain is just quite well organized to deliver just common sense in, in a, in a way that's approachable and digestible. And it, it really helped, uh, bolster us through the Trump, uh, regime because that's

Fritz Coleman (00:59:11):

Why his book was, uh, really well written. It was beautifully written.

Louise Palanker (00:59:15):

Yeah. He really is quite an ele an eloquent and, and great storyteller. So you should get midnight in Washington and read it. You know what I did, Fritz? I, I listened to him. Tell me the book.

Fritz Coleman (00:59:27):

That's even

Louise Palanker (00:59:27):

Better. And it was like having him as a passenger in my car,

Fritz Coleman (00:59:30):

I learned something about, pardon me mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I learned something about books on tape and I wish I knew this when I was younger. I learned more from hearing something than to reading it. So I love books on tape. When I read something, I think it's an a d d thing. I have to read the same paragraph like twice or sometimes three times to absorb it. But when I'm listening it, it's, it's one pass and I seem to absorb it more. It requires different muscles of concentration.

Louise Palanker (00:59:54):

I think I'm the opposite. I think I remember books that I've actually read with my eyeballs better than, to me, I just missed Adam talking to me. But I don't remember the book as well as if I had read it. But I, I love listening to his voice so that, so there's that. And, uh, I, it's just, he's just a beautiful writer because I think when you're listening in the car and your mind was wandering, you can't, you can't go back. Whereas if your mind is wandering when you're reading, you can go back and read the paragraph. Does that make any sense? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, I don't want to be a distracted driver. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, job one is driving, even if you're listening to editor,

Fritz Coleman (01:00:28):

I'm sure technologically, uh, stunted that I wouldn't know how to wind back my audio tape to listen to it.

Louise Palanker (01:00:34):

There's a little button and we can show it to you. Like, um, in the lower left you can go 30 seconds back and on the lower right you can go 30 seconds forward, but not while you're driving. You've gotta focus on the road in front of you. But I think we should all learn how we learned best. Cuz you're right, some of our visuals, I

Fritz Coleman (01:00:53):

Discovered that about myself. So I would've done a lot better in college and the latter half of high school where I just to be able to listened to the teacher talk as opposed to,

Louise Palanker (01:01:01):

You know, when I was in middle school and I would hear about that, you would have to take notes in high school. This is what all the older kids were saying, that you're gonna have to take notes. I, I was terrified. How am I gonna write and listen at, at the same, like, how do you do that? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I thought, I'll, I'll

Fritz Coleman (01:01:16):

Never. Now kids just record it and go back and

Louise Palanker (01:01:18):

Yeah. But back then it was like, I'll never be smart enough, you know, and no one taught me, you know, you can maybe write down like a little one word prompt that will remind you of the topic and know which, you know, it was, I, I, I think I'm a definitely an a ddr. Mm-hmm.

Fritz Coleman (01:01:32):

<affirmative>. Oh, I am.

Louise Palanker (01:01:33):

That, that's, that's, and there was no help for that. So when my nephew went to high school, he actually, uh, was able to pick up notes from another kid.

Fritz Coleman (01:01:42):

Yeah. Well, he's a genius. Don't compare yourself

Louise Palanker (01:01:44):

To, he is a genius. But it was, it was understood that this is how his mind works. He's not gonna be able to take notes. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, let's a kid who's good at listening and writing at the same time. Someone who's, whose mind works that way. And then, you know, share the notes. There's just better tools or better understanding of how different kids learn now than there was when we were growing up. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> when we were growing up, it was like a, you know, a kick to the seat of the pants and you were told you were stupid if you didn't, if you didn't have all your homework done. And, uh, for me, absent-minded, a daydreamer I think was what they called us. If they didn't wanna say idiot, they said Daydreamer

Fritz Coleman (01:02:15):

Doesn't live up to his potential.

Louise Palanker (01:02:17):

Yes. Porks and plays well with others, but does is not living up to his potential. I think we should wrap up this show. Let's go Cause it's been a great show.

Fritz Coleman (01:02:22):

Let, it seems like two and a half, three hours

Louise Palanker (01:02:24):

<laugh>. Yeah. We've been here talking for

Fritz Coleman (01:02:25):

What to thank Dina. Dina had some great, uh, um, what was a great addition to the show today.

Louise Palanker (01:02:30):

Great in and thank Ryder for being here in in spirit, her son <laugh>. Yeah. And thank you Thomas for

Fritz Coleman (01:02:35):

Thank you Thomas for

Louise Palanker (01:02:36):

Orchestrating all of the above. We would love for you to join us online and on Instagram and Twitter where we are at Media Path Pod and on Facebook where our show is Media Path Podcast. And our Facebook group is Media Path with Fritz and Weezy podcast community. You can find full episodes with all kinds of bonus visual content on our YouTube channel Media Path Podcasts. We would love to know what media you have been enjoying. You can contact us at our social media or email us at media path podcast gmail.com. We want to thank our guests, Congressman Adam Schiff, vote for Schiff. Our team includes Dina Friedman, Francesco Demond, John Maddox, Sharon Beo, bill Felipe, Thomas, Hubble, Mason Brown, and you. Our theme music is by me and John Maddox. I am Louise Planer here with Fritz Coleman, and we will see you along the media path.