The Bar Is Low: McConnell, Platner, and the Mediocre Men in Power

This week, Andrea and I dive straight into the chaos - starting with Mitch McConnell, the myth‑making already happening around him, and the very real damage he leaves behind. From Kentucky politics to gun violence, hypocrisy, and the endless parade of mediocre men clinging to power, we break down why voters keep choosing people who work against their own interests.

Then we head to Maine, where Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo, mustache, and mess of allegations somehow haven’t pushed him out of the Senate race. We talk DEI, toxic masculinity, and why the bar for leadership should be higher than “not a walking red flag.”

And yes… we eventually get to Disclosure Day — Spielberg’s wonder, aliens, Catholicism, and whether humanity could handle the truth. (Spoiler: probably not.)

It’s sharp, it’s honest, it’s hilarious, and it’s very us.
As always, remember it really is All About The Joy.

Thank you for stopping by.  Please visit our website: All About The Joy and add, like and share.  

You can now watch the livestream version of the show on YouTube at @CarmenLezeth 

You can also support AATJ by shopping at our STORE - Or by and buying us a coffee. 

We'd appreciate that greatly.  

Also, if you want to find us anywhere on social media, please check out the link in bio page.

Music By Geovane Bruno, Moments, 3481
Editing by Team A-J
Host, Carmen Lezeth


DISCLAIMER:  As always, please do your own research and understand that the opinions in this podcast and livestream are meant for entertainment purposes only. States and other areas may have different rules and regulations governing certain aspects discussed in this podcast.  Nothing in our podcast or livestream is meant to be medical or legal advice. Please use common sense, and when in doubt, ask a professional for advice, assistance, help and guidance. 

Transcript

[00:00:16] Carmen: How you doing?

[00:00:17] Andrea: I'm great. How are you?

[00:00:19] Carmen: I want my hair to look pretty like yours. It's all wet though

[00:00:23] Andrea: Mine's usually back. Do you want me to ponytail it? I can ponytail it.

[00:00:25] Carmen: No, no. Oh my God. Seriously? Wow. Okay. Like, wow. Okay

[00:00:31] Andrea: I will want to in a few minutes, I'm sure, but

[00:00:35] Carmen: Okay, wait. So I think we wanted to talk about Mitch McConnell first because hilarious. Okay, do you know who Thomas Massie is?

[00:00:44] Andrea: I do

[00:00:45] Carmen: Right? So he's like the, uh, he's the Republican congressman from Kentucky, from some district there or whatever, and he posted... I don't know if you saw that so many of the Republicans were saying they spoke to him 20 minutes ago, right?

[00:00:59] Carmen: This is the Republican congressman from Kentucky. He

[00:01:03] Andrea: are, I guess, bots now because they're just all posting the same thing over and over again

[00:01:07] Carmen: They're all posting the same thing, but it's hilarious. He wrote, "I spoke to McConnell for about 20 minutes this morning. He said we should end the war with Iran, quit giving aid to Israel, stop spying on Americans without a warrant, and he's really sorry about how my primary turned out."

[00:01:26] Andrea: Oh my

[00:01:26] Carmen: I just thought that was hilarious. Yeah, but everybody is doing that, they, that they've spoken to Mitch McConnell for 20 minutes because that's what the Republicans are trying to play off, that that's what's happening

[00:01:37] Andrea: Right. Right. Well, I, I, I think, I can't remember if you mentioned it or I mentioned it, but, like, I wanted to talk about him because, you know, he has either already made his descent into hell or God willing will be doing so very, very soon, and we will be hearing from people on both sides of the aisle about what a great man he was, and my good friend, and da, da, da, da, da.

[00:02:03] Andrea: And

[00:02:04] Carmen: You really think so?

[00:02:05] Andrea: I do. Are you kidding? Joe Biden will say, "My good friend Mitch McConnell, you know, I'm so sad about blah, blah, blah." He, he just will. And maybe, I don't know, maybe even Barack Obama, because that's what he does, right? Um, and so I think we need to take a little time to dispel the myth there was anything good about this person.

[00:02:30] Carmen: Uh

[00:02:31] Andrea: I've taken the liberty of writing some things down. Um,

[00:02:37] Carmen: I'm, I am saying nothing. Go ahead.

[00:02:40] Andrea: Um, Mitch McConnell, early in his career, uh, led an effort to cut taxes on coal companies in Kentucky, uh, that would've helped coal miners with their healthcare and their pension and things like that. Okay, so this was relatively early in his career. Now, um,

[00:03:01] Carmen: Wait, he was against that? He was against helping coal miners?

[00:03:04] Andrea: yes, he cut taxes on the coal companies, right?

[00:03:08] Andrea: The companies, the business owners. Um, those taxes were meant to be used on coal miner pensions and healthcare, the people who actually do the work in the mines.

[00:03:20] Carmen: And they were not. Right

[00:03:22] Andrea: Right. Now, interestingly, thank you, Wikipedia, I learned that early in his career, uh, Mitch McConnell was known as a pragmatist and a moderate.

[00:03:32] Andrea: He attended the March on Washington.

[00:03:35] Carmen: Yeah, and he's been milking that ever since, so whatever

[00:03:39] Andrea: I'm just saying. Um, he was supposedly, uh, you know, for abortion rights and, uh, and unions, supported them. Yes, early in his career. Interestingly, something that we have talked about, the longer his career in politics went on and the higher up in power he got, the more conservative he got, and the more power hungry he got, and

[00:04:08] Carmen: why?

[00:04:10] Andrea: What's up?

[00:04:11] Carmen: Can we guess why?

[00:04:12] Andrea: Why, Carmen?

[00:04:14] Carmen: Yeah. I'm gonna say because you make more money when you are cozying up to... Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Yeah, go ahead.

[00:04:23] Andrea: Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Um, he also, of course, built his career, uh, fighting gun safety regulations. So if you or someone you know, uh, has been a victim of gun violence , um, if you have ever feared going to church or the movies or the grocery store or school or a concert or kind of anywhere in this country because of a mass shooter, um, which is increasingly common, uh, you have Mitch McConnell to thank for that directly.

[00:04:57] Carmen: By the way, it's so common that we don't even talk about it on the news anymore, and the only reason why we know is independent journalists were talking about on the 4th of July how many people were killed and hurt in all these different states across the country. We're not even talking about it anymore.

[00:05:13] Carmen: Gun violence in this country, people dying and getting hurt by guns. But okay, go ahead, sorry.

[00:05:18] Andrea: shootings, right? There's gun violence all the time. Mass shootings, of course, used to be,

[00:05:24] Carmen: Big deal

[00:05:25] Andrea: breaking news, whatever. Um, and, uh, now we just don't even hear about it

[00:05:33] Carmen: No, we don't. It, it doesn't even make the news anymore. But go ahead. I didn't mean to interrupt you. Go ahead.

[00:05:39] Andrea: I, I just have a few more th- I mean, I got a lot here, but this is, these are just, you know, my main talking points. Of course, uh, as we know, the, uh, he stole the Supreme Court seat from Barack Obama, right? Now, let's just talk about that for, for a brief moment. Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, and Barack Obama nominated

[00:06:05] Carmen: Merrick Garland

[00:06:06] Andrea: famous centrist Merrick Garland, right?

[00:06:10] Andrea: Uh, and in March, I believe it was. And Mitch McConnell said that he would not allow a vote on that. Considered it one of his proudest moments, by the way, uh, because it was an election year. It was 2016. That was the Hillary and Trump, um

[00:06:27] Carmen: Okay, but just to be clear, that has never been done before at all. Go ahead. Ever, except for President Barack Obama, right? This new pretend rule,

[00:06:39] Andrea: McConnell Rule,

[00:06:40] Carmen: that does not exist. Yeah

[00:06:41] Andrea: And so then interestingly, in September 2020, also an election year, Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, right? Trump was still president. Uh, he nominated Amy Coney Barrett, and in October when people were already voting in the presidential election, obviously completely opposite of the McConnell Rule from 2016, he allowed to, a vote to go forward on her

[00:07:15] Carmen: But Andrea, why would that be? What

[00:07:18] Andrea: Oh my gosh, Carmen, I'm so glad that you asked that because due to both of those seats that were lost to Democratic presidents, we have the overturning of Roe versus Wade. We have the absolute gutting of the Voting Rights Act. we have, protections for trans people gone. We have, additional, funding or, you know, outside private sources of funding for campaign finance, which I forgot to even mention, by the way.

[00:07:48] Andrea: He fought against campaign finance ref- reform, a bipartisan law, the McCain-Feingold or Feingold-McCain, uh, bill that was help- was, the idea was to get money, private money out of,

[00:08:03] Carmen: Out of politics,

[00:08:04] Andrea: out of politics, bipartisan. fought against that and was instrumental in bringing us everyone's favorite, Citizens United.

[00:08:14] Andrea: Corporations are people, and donations are speech

[00:08:18] Carmen: Which is just money, just tons of money from rich people deciding who gets to run, who gets to win. It's ridiculous. But

[00:08:26] Carmen: yeah 

[00:08:26] Andrea: So if you're tired of seeing political commercials one after the other on everything that you watch online, everything that you watch on TV, the endless texts, uh, asking for money, you know, that's all y- you have Mitch McConnell to thank for that. And of course, the enabling and really uplifting of, of Donald Trump, even after January 6th.

[00:08:53] Andrea: J- I think it was six days after, uh, January 6th, January 12th or 13th, he said that, that Donald Trump should be impeached. And then when the impeachment was brought in February, he led his caucus to vote against it

[00:09:09] Carmen: Which is, it's just the wishy-washy, hypocrite weirdness about all of these people in the Republican Party or right of center. I just can't handle the hypocrisy and the contradictions, and they're blatant. They're so blatant, you know? So what, what I'm hearing you say, I think, is that you don't have love for Mitch McConnell.

[00:09:33] Andrea: What you're hearing me say is that he is directly responsible, I believe, for really the deaths of probably millions of people and, and millions beyond that, making people's lives worse. Making people's... Start with those coal miners, right? A- and, and lead all the way up to a, a woman experiencing a miscarriage in Texas who can't get healthcare and dies be- of sepsis, right?

[00:10:03] Carmen: part of the problem is Kentucky kept voting him in, and I,

[00:10:08] Andrea: I know,

[00:10:08] Carmen: I don't even know what to say. I, I don't even... There's so many things that annoy me about the situation 'cause

[00:10:16] Andrea: is terrible, but the world will be a better place when this man is gone, which will hopefully be any fucking minute now. If it hasn't happened already

[00:10:26] Carmen: You know, I, look it, I just wanna back up to the Barack Obama, um, Joe Biden possibly saying cordial things. They will say cordial things or whatever. I think this is kind of, um, you know, someone was arguing with themselves 'cause I refuse to engage anymore. But, um, I don't know if we need to be as nasty and dirty and angry and pissed.

[00:10:53] Carmen: We, we can be all those things, but there's something lost in, in like the mannerisms. I want Barack Obama and President Clinton and Joe Biden and, um, George W. Bush or whatever to say whatever they need to say that is of presidential quality. And I think there will be words said that are not like, "We love Mitch!"

[00:11:19] Carmen: You know what I mean? Like, I don't think that's gonna come from the Obama.

[00:11:23] Andrea: I agree with you, right? Like I w- I would like the discourse to be at a certain level, like, you know, which is why I felt

[00:11:31] Carmen: those people, from those people I'm saying

[00:11:32] Andrea: from those people, which is why I felt it important that we discuss reality here and, and actually really talk about, okay, he was your friend and maybe you golf together, great, whatever, um, but here's what this man actually did

[00:11:49] Carmen: look it, I think there's something interesting about, why people keep voting in someone who is working against your interest just because you know the name. that's, th- there's a laziness to it, right? There's... And this is nothing against the people of Kentucky, though, honestly.

[00:12:06] Carmen: Kentucky. You know what I mean? Like, I ain't got... I've been there twice. I never need to go back again. But, uh,

[00:12:13] Andrea: I drove through twice. That was enough

[00:12:14] Carmen: Yeah, that was enough. But, you know, why do you keep hiring people? These people are working for you. Why do you keep hiring somebody like Mitch McConnell, who I, you know, I think he's a disgusting human being.

[00:12:28] Carmen: I've never found anything about... If anything, it's also his stance, like the way in which he speaks down to people. Like, it's so, it's so kind of, um, minor and probably not important, and yet it tells me everything I need to know about somebody. Do you know what I

[00:12:43] Andrea: Yeah, he's condescending.

[00:12:44] Carmen: he's very condescending, and just his aura or whatever.

[00:12:48] Carmen: And, um, but you know, I, I, I think this place will be a better place when a lot of people in the Republican Party move on, in whatever way, shape, or form that is. Like, no offense to Tom Massie or whatever, like, I'm glad you grew cojones after you lost your primary. But where were you before that? You were voting, I think, 80% of the time with Donald fucking Trump.

[00:13:14] Carmen: So, you know what I mean? It's, it's hypocrisy. It's weird. Yeah, I don't know

[00:13:21] Andrea: Nobody seems to care about it. It's really bizarre.

[00:13:24] Carmen: Well, even Mitch McConnell's wife doesn't seem to care, 'cause she's in whatever country she's in. She's not even here, so

[00:13:30] Andrea: done.

[00:13:32] Carmen: I'm confused by that. I mean

[00:13:36] Andrea: Yeah, I don't even wanna know what to think about that whole thing. I mean, it's like, is she a Chinese spy? I mean, maybe. had to get out of the country, right? Like, okay

[00:13:44] Carmen: I mean, why are you not by your husband? I don't know Traditional family values. I don't think so. Um, well, let's keep talking about men of

[00:13:51] Andrea: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah

[00:13:57] Carmen: this quality. Graham Platner in Maine, who still has not, as of the recording of this conversation, um, has not bowed out of the Senate race in Maine. Uh, what are your feel- first, let me just be really cheesy. The mustache alone was a problem for me. I'm doing a total Andrea thing. But even if I were to give that a pass, 'cause I would know how pathetic that is, if you have a tattoo...

[00:14:25] Carmen: Here's, here's my barometer. If you have a tattoo that is linked to racism, Nazism, anything to do with an ism that I am not comfortable with, you're not qualified to represent any motherfucking person in this country. That's just me. He had a Nazi tattoo. Why? Why?

[00:14:49] Andrea: I w- and we knew this, like, almost a year ago. Like, uh, I was like, "Oh, okay, that's over." No. No, it's not. I didn't know. You know what? If it's true, and it's not, if it's true he didn't know, that is also disqualifying.

[00:15:05] Carmen: You're dumb as fuck. Right? Exactly. How would you put something on your body permanently and not know what it is? Like, right, even if it is true, even if it was totally like, "I had no idea," that leads me to

[00:15:22] Andrea: a dumb motherfucker

[00:15:25] Carmen: believe that you're stupid. That's a permanent scarring on your bo- Yeah, no. I, I mean, I... Look it, I think Susan Collins is another one. We can do a whole list with Mitch McConnell right there. Another one who I think the world would be a better place if she did not, was not elected again, that's all I'm gonna say.

[00:15:41] Carmen: But I'm just saying it's because she, she's so wishy-washy. She's also like, I'm tired of people who do not have integrity. I'm tired of people who do not have any stance that actually matters to others. It's all about you and your money and your power, and just move the fuck on. You don't care about people.

[00:16:00] Carmen: Move the fuck on. But him, I was confused. I was like, "Why are we..." I'm like, "Hmm."

[00:16:07] Andrea: You know what it is, Carmen? It's we, and we've talked about this before, that like, you know, toxic masculinity, the ma- you know, the male lonely we... You know, the Democrats need like a working class man man. You know? Like the, the Democrat or the, you know, progressive Joe Rogan or whatever. And so people got so infatuated with this guy,

[00:16:30] Carmen: Can I

[00:16:30] Andrea: for whatever reason

[00:16:32] Carmen: of motherfucking DEI right here, okay?

[00:16:35] Andrea: Yes. Yes

[00:16:37] Carmen: Like, you guys talk about DEI, this is the bullshit. You cannot just be white and look like a working class dumbass and walk around with a Nazi tattoo and talk out your ass and have sexually assaulted, possibly raped women, and then be like, "Oh, but I'm gonna run for the Senate."

[00:16:57] Carmen: It's not even, like, state whatever. No

[00:17:00] Andrea: for mayor. So like...

[00:17:03] Carmen: You know what I'm saying? Well, the bar now, after Mum Dani, the bar for mayor is so high. And Pete Buttigieg, you need to have, like, you need to be good at what you do. But I'm just saying, running for the Senate, like, w- the bar is just ridiculous. You

[00:17:19] Andrea: I do not know what the fuck is happening up there in Maine. They're too far north or something. It's too fucking cold. I don't know. But like, get your shit together. I'm sorry. Get your shit together

[00:17:29] Carmen: Yeah, and he needs to, he needs to just get out. Just get out. Just... He's gonna get out. He has to get out. He should get out today. It should happen right now, but he has until Monday, and then the Democ- I don't know. And I know, look it, Democrats are, we really want the Senate, and this is a problem if we don't get this seat, right?

[00:17:46] Carmen: We don't know if we're gonna win the Senate, but if we win the Senate and we win c- and we win the House, Trump is toast. It's gonna be a really big problem for Trump. So I understand, but again, we cannot... There, there has to be a bar. There has to be a bar that we as human beings live up to, and seriously, the mustache would've been, before I knew anything else, like, no, the mustache

[00:18:15] Andrea: you know, I, I, I was like not really checked in on it all. I was like, "Oh, Nazi tattoo. Okay, fuck it. I'm not even gonna pay attention," right? And then like it kept going, and then there was like... I don't even really, I just know the outskirts of like some shit happened with him cheating on his wife, and there were some text messages.

[00:18:34] Andrea: I don't even know. And then I saw him on Chris Hayes,

[00:18:40] Carmen: Mm-mm.

[00:18:41] Andrea: and I, I was li- and I listened to him talk, and I'm like,

[00:18:44] Carmen: No way, right? We

[00:18:45] Andrea: "Really? This is the guy?" Like, I just don't think he is. And he kept s- "There's nothing else. There's nothing

[00:18:52] Andrea: else." 

[00:18:54] Carmen: and g- I, I saw that interview too, and Chris Hayes did a really good job about asking him, "Is anything else gonna come out?" My question is, do we not have more people, more people in the United States who are actually qualified without all this crap behind them? Seriously.

[00:19:10] Carmen: And Stephen King, yes, the writer of horror fucking shit, writing on Twitter or whatever the fuck it is, saying something like, "Well, if we hold everyone to that bar, we'll have no one in office." Bitch, no. We'll have women in office. You know what I mean? There are plenty of women who can run this country.

[00:19:31] Carmen: What the fuck is wrong with you stupid

[00:19:33] Andrea: There's a woman running in Maine who has a lot of qualifications. I think she didn't make it to the ballot in time or whatever. Uh, Andrea

[00:19:43] Carmen: wrong with fucking men who actually think that the, that it's okay for anybody with sexual assault allegations is an okay person to run for anything?

[00:19:54] Andrea: Yes, we're just supposed to overlook that because we need the Senate.

[00:19:59] Carmen: No. Eric Swalwell, great example of how we were like done and out, two seconds. Two minutes. Two minutes. You know? And fucking Kevin McCarthy, shut your fucking mouth. Did you see him? Kevin McCarthy actually got on TV yesterday. I don't know who the fuck is asking him questions, but he got on television. And you know it was that other network, which I, I'm not gonna say their network no more, but he was on there and he was like, "Oh, um, I remember when we had a problem," and he's talking talk about Matt Gaetz.

[00:20:31] Carmen: Matt Gaetz is the reason why he lost his speakership. But he's over there touting as if Republicans have some higher moral ground that when they have a problem, they get rid of people. Do

[00:20:50] Andrea: Speaker, the Republican Speaker of the House in the early 2000s was a bonafide child molester

[00:20:57] Carmen: Oh my God, what was his fucking name? I forgot his

[00:20:59] Andrea: Pastor

[00:21:00] Carmen: Astrid, right, right. Ew, that's right

[00:21:04] Andrea: Come the fuck on.

[00:21:06] Carmen: And the president of the United States still don't wanna give that woman her money, the $5 million. What's her name? I forget. Jean Carroll. Yeah. Eugene? E. Jean? E. Jean Carroll. Yeah, he gotta give that money. He's still trying to find a way.

[00:21:22] Carmen: He can't appeal no more. Give her her money

[00:21:25] Andrea: I'll just slow walk it. Yeah.

[00:21:27] Carmen: You sexually assaulted her. But this is where we're at, that the mediocre men are fighting to stay in power where there are so many qualified women, other men, you know what I mean? There are just so many other qualified people that could run. I'm just tired of it.

[00:21:45] Carmen: I'm tired of mediocre... And Stephen King, F you. I'm done. I was shooketh. I was shooketh. I don't wanna talk about it. I'm very disappointed. Although I'm not, because again, white men. I don't even know what to say. In Maine. What? All right. What a waste of the 250th birthday.

[00:22:06] Carmen: I think we can just pass by that. I don't know. I don't, I don't know what that was about. That was a disaster

[00:22:13] Andrea: Like, uh, it was like, I mean, it was kind of entertaining I guess

[00:22:20] Carmen: you know what was entertaining? That he was lying so b- lying about the crowd size. Like, that was my favorite part. He was like, "There's 145,000 people that came," or something. I'm like, "Dude, I'm watching the same TV you're watching. What?"

[00:22:38] Andrea: I said it was the world's greatest hate watch. It's like, "Oh, let me see what, what's happening at the shit show now," you know?

[00:22:43] Carmen: I just... You know what? Let's just talk about him. Let's just get him over with, 'cause, uh, you know, he's calling... I forget what he said this morning. I was watching and I was just like, he's talking about the Republic Islamic of Japan. Like, what is he saying? It's so good. Yeah, he's ca- he's so confused. He's calling Zelensky, Putin, Putin, I can't say Putin's name, whatever.

[00:23:15] Carmen: He's confused. He's all over the place. I... The whole soccer thing, I'm, I'm sorry to say this, I'm glad they lost because anything else

[00:23:27] Andrea: never gonna win.

[00:23:29] Carmen: doesn't matter. Like, if they had won, it would've been problematic on so many levels, but even inserting himself in that

[00:23:36] Andrea: Yeah

[00:23:38] Carmen: What is wrong with this man? Yeah, we could do a whole show on that and

[00:23:42] Andrea: Oh, we could talk about, we have, I mean, we could talk about it forever and ever.

[00:23:47] Carmen: Why do you think there are people, 'cause there's still like 30% people that still believe in him. Come on, the 30%. Are they bots?

[00:23:58] Andrea: That's their guy. I don't know. Like, I can't... I think I said this last time, like I can't, I can't spend time on those folks. They're lost to me.

[00:24:09] Carmen: I know, but it is confusing to me 'cause I'm trying to think about, like, if Barack Obama or Joe Biden or Bill Clin- you and I used to love Bill Clinton a lot. I mean, we still do, but he old now. But we, you know, we loved Bill Clinton, right? And then that whole thing happened with Monica Lewinsky, and we were just like, you know, I mean, we still love you, but y- you know, like you, you, you change when somebody does something.

[00:24:33] Carmen: You, you move your barometer, you know? And what... I remember our conversation back then, we were more upset with how over the top it became. Like, it, it, the...

[00:24:44] Andrea: Well, yeah, that was crazy.

[00:24:45] Carmen: I mean, she wasn't a child, you know what I mean? It should have never happened. We're not saying it should have

[00:24:51] Andrea: Let's be very clear, it was wrong

[00:24:53] Carmen: It was wrong. It was so wrong, but then there was this weird, like, over the top... It, it reminds me of, this is so not the same thing, but it reminds me of the fucking tan suit. Like, remember Barack Obama's tan suit? It's like,

[00:25:09] Andrea: Yeah

[00:25:10] Carmen: is this so over the top? Like, it's almost

[00:25:13] Andrea: 'Cause they got nothing.

[00:25:14] Carmen: They got nothing

[00:25:16] Andrea: And that was like, I mean, it was like a perfect storm of all of the things that they love. It was, like, sexual and, like... Do you remember all of the details that they went

[00:25:26] Andrea: into? 

[00:25:27] Carmen: the, not the tan

[00:25:28] Andrea: Not the tan suit, the Bill Clinton thing. You know, like, the whole, like, dropping of the Starr Report so everyone could read, like, what happened.

[00:25:36] Andrea: It was like porn

[00:25:37] Carmen: Yeah. And the, yeah, the cigar and the dress and the... Yeah. Yeah. It was all gross or whatever. Um, it was disgusting. And, but I, I'm just saying, I remember my reaction to Bill Clinton was I was just disappointed and disgusted and angry and... You know what I mean? Like, you, you change your level based on the behavior.

[00:25:59] Carmen: I wasn't like, "He didn't do it, it was her." You know

[00:26:04] Andrea: Right

[00:26:06] Carmen: what I mean? I wasn't like, "It's the, it's the right, right-wing media or whatever." And remember Hillary Clinton came out

[00:26:09] Andrea: The vast right-wing conspiracy

[00:26:12] Carmen: about... And we were like, "Dude, what are you doing? Dude." You know what I mean? Like, we had our issues. You, you change when someone shows you who they are. You don't deny it and try to cover it up for them.

[00:26:22] Carmen: You actually believe them, believe what's happening, and then you change how you feel about them. And the Trumper people are just, they, everything is a conspiracy. Everything is not his fault. Everything is somebody else. And it's, it's a, it's a fascinating thing if it wasn't destroying our country so much

[00:26:45] Andrea: Yeah, it is fascinating. I mean, it-- they're so bought in, you know, as I've said multiple times. Like, they're just people, like, this is their whole personality. This is their whole social life and social circle. Like, this is who they are. Like, this association with him is, like, their entire thing. They got the Trump shirts, they got the Trump bumper stickers, they're posting about Trump online.

[00:27:08] Andrea: Like, this is all they have

[00:27:10] Carmen: They have the Trump coins that they've lost all their money on. Somebody, there was a article I read, he invested 40 mil- uh, $40,000, not 40 million, $40,000 of his savings into the Trump coins, and he lost all that money, right? Of course you... But of, but I mean, like, of course you did. And of course they've made all

[00:27:34] Andrea: Can you imagine giving this man money? Your hard-ear- your savings? $40,000 is a lot of money. That's a lot of money to have in savings.

[00:27:45] Carmen: And Jay, that's what I'm saying. Like, I wouldn't give Barack Obama $40,000. I would I would give,

[00:27:50] Andrea: I'm like, "Give Raga Mama 10 bucks." You know what I mean? Like

[00:27:53] Carmen: uh, he don't need no money now, but when he was running, I would've given him maybe, maybe 10 bucks. But I didn't, I didn't give money to Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

[00:28:02] Andrea: Yep, same

[00:28:03] Carmen: You know? Not, not for nothing, but like, I know they're gonna be okay. There's other people giving them money, and I'm not... Like, I'm voting for you.

[00:28:10] Carmen: That's gonna be enough of my

[00:28:12] Andrea: That's my give.

[00:28:13] Carmen: That's my gift, 'cause I don't have a lot of money. So if you have $40,000, I would've never given them that much money No

[00:28:24] Andrea: It is ab- I mean, truly, I think there's like a mental issue

[00:28:28] Carmen: I know, but I felt bad for those people 'cause that was their savings.

[00:28:31] Andrea: I do not feel bad

[00:28:32] Carmen: I know you don't. I do. I feel bad because I feel like these people are so, like, psychologically hoodwinked and they can't seem to get out of it, and that man is just... Yeah, whatever

[00:28:42] Andrea: they still don't have anything to, you know, it, it's, it's Joe Biden's fault,

[00:28:46] Carmen: Right. It is Joe Biden

[00:28:48] Andrea: It's something to do with Hunter Biden's laptop

[00:28:51] Carmen: Yeah. I love

[00:28:53] Andrea: That's why I lost my $40,000 that I bought crypto from fucking Donald Trump.

[00:28:59] Carmen: I know. I love Hunter Biden. I, I didn't realize I would love Hunter Biden, but he's just hilarious. He's just so, like... I assume, like I know this is weird, but I assume like if his father could ever really say the truth of how he was feeling , I feel like Hunter is that, that person. You know what I mean? Like,

[00:29:18] Andrea: channeling it.

[00:29:19] Carmen: he's channeling it like...

[00:29:21] Carmen: 'Cause Joe Biden is such a good man, you know? Even if he's old, he's a good person, you know? Um, unlike your favorite Mitch McConnell, but... All right. Let's talk about "Disclosure Day," 'cause I finally did go see it, and you had asked before, so I was curious what your thoughts

[00:29:36] Andrea: what are your thoughts on it?

[00:29:38] Carmen: Nope. You asked first, so I'm gonna, mm.

[00:29:41] Carmen: I'm, I'm not gonna say a word 'cause I'm just curious. I can't even believe you saw it, so-

[00:29:47] Andrea: Well, I like anything like space and alien related, so that's kind of my thing. Um,

[00:29:53] Carmen: Except if it's ET. But

[00:29:56] Andrea: Yes. That's accurate.

[00:29:58] Carmen: by the same director, but go ahead.

[00:30:01] Andrea: Yeah. So, uh, I hadn't been to the movies in a couple of years, like to the theater. Um, so that was kind of fun. But, um, you know, I, uh, I generally liked it while I was watching it. I did not like the ending, and then I didn't really think about it at all until I got your email that we would talk about it, and I was like, "Okay, what do I think about this?"

[00:30:29] Andrea: And I was like, "Okay, well, here are the problems I have with this movie."

[00:30:36] Carmen: Oi,

[00:30:36] Carmen: they 

[00:30:37] Andrea: I didn't care too much about most of the characters. I felt like there just needed to be a little bit more, like, about them. Um, and like can I sp- can I give away spoilers? Does it matter or should I not? I don't know. What's the etiquette

[00:30:56] Carmen: look it, I mean, if people haven't seen it by now, I don't know what to say.

[00:30:59] Andrea: Yeah, I just wanted more at the end. Like it, I, you know, as my daughter said, "It was called Disclosure Day, Mama." And I was like, "Well, yeah, but like what happens after the disclosure?" She's like, "That's the sequel."

[00:31:13] Carmen: Yeah,

[00:31:13] Andrea: So

[00:31:14] Carmen: well, I don't even know if it's a sequel, but it, I mean, I, I, I, I loved the ending. I thought the ending had to be exactly what it had to be because there actually is no an- You know what I mean?

[00:31:25] Andrea: I know, but like, I guess... So the whole thing with... Okay, also, I thought the aliens were so fucking cheesy it was almost unwatchable. I was like, "This is so, like, 1950s aliens." Like, I just was like, uh, it was, it took me out of the movie. Um, and I like, I wanted to care more, but like they were all so upset seeing it, and I was like I'm trying to work up some emotion about it, but like I just couldn't.

[00:31:55] Andrea: And then, and, and I, I fault the director and the writer for that not me. So there you go. That's how I felt about it. But I enjoyed it while I was there. So I

[00:32:08] Carmen: That makes

[00:32:09] Andrea: had a good movie-going experience.

[00:32:10] Carmen: You're ridiculous. That makes no sense at all. Uh, you're ridiculous. That's all I'm gonna say over and over again. I love you, but you are ridiculous. You should go see Project Hail Mary. Actually, I think you could see that online now. I think it's on streaming. You didn't go see Project Hail Mary?

[00:32:25] Andrea: I don't remember that.

[00:32:26] Carmen: Oh, yeah, you sh- well, you might not like Ryan Gosling, so I don't know. But it's a great movie.

[00:32:31] Andrea: Oh, that's the one about the sun or something, right?

[00:32:34] Carmen: Just go watch it, Project Hail Mary. Yeah, it's actually really well done. Um, I, I think you can watch it on streaming now, so. So look it, I, I, I loved it, Disclosure Day. But I'm also... Look it, there's, there's very little about Steven Spielberg that you're going to ever get me to be down on, 'cause I just understand where he's coming from, just because I, I love him.

[00:32:58] Carmen: Like, I love everything that he does. And, um, you know, a lot of people, a lot of, uh, critics, right? Critics of art need to just sit the fuck down.

[00:33:08] Andrea: You asked. I'm

[00:33:09] Carmen: not you. I'm talking

[00:33:10] Andrea: just a... Oh.

[00:33:12] Carmen: like all of these people who like...

[00:33:13] Andrea: Oh

[00:33:14] Carmen: the... It's a piece of art, and what I love about film, it's a collaborative effort and then you go in, you watch it, you enjoy it, and then you move on.

[00:33:23] Carmen: Um, I love the wonder of it. I loved the possibility of it, like what would happen if all of this information was disclosed, you know? And you could see some of the panic, you could see, how some people wanted to hide it. And I think one of my favorite was, I forget that actor's name, and I love him.

[00:33:42] Carmen: He's English. what, oh, Colin Firth. I loved how he wanted to not... He, he was stopping this, right? Because he knew what it would do to the world. And then he had Colman Domingo, who clearly was his partner. I don't mean as lovers, I mean they were partners at some point working together, and he had a different viewpoint.

[00:34:03] Carmen: He had a different point of view, which was, "No, we need to let everyone know." And that was the crux. That was the thesis of the whole film, was... And that's nothing, we're not giving any spoilers away. Steven Spielberg talked about that in all of his interviews. I loved it. And, you know, the aliens, like I, it's like they weren't realistic, like as to the ones you've seen before.

[00:34:24] Carmen: Like, they're never gonna look real because they're

[00:34:27] Andrea: I know. I mean, it wasn't that they weren't realistic, it just felt like 1950s style alien. I don't

[00:34:33] Carmen: that is the point. So okay, so I am, I'm gonna say this again with love and with every fiber of my being, you need to see ET. I think there's another part of it, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and there are, there were so many of the moments in this film that you could, you see all of Steven Spielberg's auteurism, you know what I mean?

[00:34:56] Carmen: Like, there were all these little signature moments, and um, you would not have been surprised by the aliens because you would already know them, because we see them in Close Encounters as well. Like, we see them, you know what I mean? Like... What?

[00:35:08] Andrea: I saw Close Encounters. I saw Close Encounters

[00:35:10] Carmen: See it again then. So, but you know what I mean? Like, it's kind- I know you're not gonna, but this is my point is like, the al- what the aliens looked like was not even the issue 'cause we already knew we were gonna see them, so I wasn't confused by that.

[00:35:22] Carmen: So, um, but yeah, I loved it. 

[00:35:25] Andrea: the acting was really great

[00:35:27] Carmen: I thought the acting was fantastic, I thought the writing was great. I think what I really enjoyed is, and this is the thing about Steven Spielberg that I will always love, is his childlike wonder. Everything comes from this, you know, like, how he keeps his spirit of joy.

[00:35:43] Carmen: You know, just y- everything is from a viewpoint of a little kid who is wondering about the world, and he is fascinated with aliens. Like, fascinated. And I'm sure even if he wanted to give a different ending, he couldn't do it because he doesn't know, you know what I mean? And I kinda loved that. Like, you do end up leaving the film going like, "Oh."

[00:36:05] Carmen: The last word that is spoken in that film is listen. And I was like, "Oh, it's gonna go to black." 'Cause you don't know what happens next, and it's like that, that might bother some people. For me, I was like, "Okay, yes, I got it." You know, we don't know what happens next 'cause we don't know how society will react.

[00:36:24] Carmen: Um, I actually... Okay, how would you... Okay, would you disclose or would you not? I would not trust this country or this world at all with

[00:36:34] Andrea: No, that's a great question. Um, I mean, my inclination would be disclose, but also I 100% believe that we would do evil, bad things to, to them that, you know, would not be warranted. So that would be really challenging

[00:36:53] Carmen: would we disclose if, Andrea and I were in charge, would we disclose whether or not there were aliens among us? Uh, would we disclose that information to the world? I say no. Which this is what the, what the movie's about, actually. I would say absolutely not, because I don't think as a collective, especially with the evidence I've seen, just even with this administration, but even around the world, that we would be able to do okay with this kind of information

[00:37:22] Andrea: Yeah. I mean, that's, that, that is like the crux of the film and like one of the... I can't remember the name of the character, but the one girl who used to be a nun was like, "You can't tell people," and

[00:37:33] Carmen: Wasn't she great? That was a great... The fact that he used Catholicism in this was fanta- I thought that was a great, interesting... But go ahead, I'm sorry.

[00:37:43] Andrea: did like that a lot. And, and it was like, I hadn't even thought about that. I had not even thought about that, 'cause I'm like, "Yes, of course you need to tell people. Like, why are they keeping it secret?" You know, like, that's my natural inclination. But

[00:37:57] Carmen: But she said what? I mean, you can

[00:37:58] Carmen: show that part. she 

[00:37:58] Andrea: she kind of m- made it like

[00:38:01] Carmen: nun. She's a nun

[00:38:02] Andrea: a former nun.

[00:38:03] Andrea: She had left

[00:38:04] Andrea: the 

[00:38:05] Carmen: right, right. But I'm talking about the nun she talks to, 'cause that's the one who discloses.

[00:38:08] Andrea: was, yeah.

[00:38:09] Carmen: Right.

[00:38:10] Andrea: Well, and she was saying, you know, it's all... I ca- what was the phrase? Like, it's all God's creation and, you know, like, Go-

[00:38:17] Carmen: and she was saying, "How could..." So this is the nun speaking, and I'm totally... She was saying, "How could we ever believe that we would be the only ones in this magnificent world, you know, magnificent universe or whatever?" And I was like, "That is not Catholic teachings." It was, but it was wisdom. It was such

[00:38:38] Andrea: a none for you. Um, but yeah, I mean, I, uh, I, I guess I would lean at this point more li- likely to not disclose, but I would be very, very conflicted about it.

[00:38:51] Carmen: Yeah. I mean, I, I, I think it would be a heavy burden. Um, I think that's what was happening, right? Especially with the two main characters, um, who were realizing they had powers, uh, because they had been visited before, basically. And again, I'm not... Lookit, if you haven't seen the film by now, I don't know what to tell you.

[00:39:10] Carmen: But even us sharing this isn't really telling you anything 'cause it's such an-- I thought it was very intricate, you know? Um, the idea that, I mean, the idea that they had been visited before and given these powers or powers had developed, you couldn't figure out how it happened. It wasn't like they were given to them.

[00:39:28] Carmen: It's almost like because they interacted with them somehow, they had these powers. They weren't sure what they were

[00:39:34] Andrea: were different powers that they each had

[00:39:37] Carmen: each had different powers and, and, and they came about at a certain time in their lives. One of them had them forever, and he was a crazy mathematician or whatever. And then the other one just developed it accidentally.

[00:39:49] Carmen: She started speaking different languages or whatever. And it was fascinating to see how they dealt with it, and then to realize that it was a gift that they were given and that, like... So were the aliens bad or were they good? Like, I was like, and that's where you end up. I'm like, "I think they're good, but I, I have a good nature about this shit," right?

[00:40:14] Andrea: Right, right.

[00:40:15] Carmen: But then the ending leaves you like, maybe they are gonna dominate the whole world. Like, maybe.

[00:40:20] Andrea: Maybe they should.

[00:40:22] Carmen: they should. Yeah. So I-- Listen, I know, I know we kid around about the ET thing. I really do. I know we kid around about it, but I just... It's so funny 'cause while I was watching the movie, I was thinking about you.

[00:40:37] Carmen: I'm like, "She, she's, hmm, she didn't see that. She didn't get that." Like, I don't know. I was like... Yeah. And not that he purposely put-- He, he, he doesn't do that. He doesn't do Easter eggs in, uh, in his movies. Uh, but what I will say is that, like every director, especially any great director, there's, it's called auto- like their auteurism or whatever.

[00:41:01] Carmen: Their signature is all over the place, you know? Um,

[00:41:05] Andrea: and a

[00:41:06] Carmen: yeah

[00:41:08] Andrea: of this is the way they do

[00:41:09] Carmen: This is the way they do things. Like Christopher Nolan's Odyssey is coming up. Is it Odyssey

[00:41:14] Andrea: Mm-hmm.

[00:41:14] Carmen: coming up? And I'm looking forward to that, but we already know who, how Nolan does films, so you're expecting what you're expecting, you know? Um, so yeah. Are you excited about that film?

[00:41:28] Andrea: Um, I think I'm gonna see it just because I really do like Christopher Nolan.

[00:41:33] Carmen: do too

[00:41:35] Andrea: I remember reading The Odyssey and not loving that experience.

[00:41:41] Carmen: No, wait, wait, wait, what? You didn't what? I

[00:41:44] Andrea: that experience of

[00:41:45] Carmen: was just gonna say, I remember reading it and being like, "Okay, I can't read this no more. I don't understand what's going on. I'm totally confused." I was like, "I'm out."

[00:41:52] Andrea: reading The Odyssey is an odyssey in and of itself, right? Like, it's like, okay, this is too much.

[00:41:58] Carmen: Yeah. Uh

[00:41:59] Andrea: So I am curious to see, you know, what he does with that, so.

[00:42:04] Carmen: You know what's so interesting? Just, and we're gonna talk about this for a second if you don't mind, but, um, yeah, I'm excited 'cause it's Christopher Nolan. I'm not excited with some of the main characters, uh, actors. I love all the actors in the film, but the, you know... I wouldn't normally not go see Matt Damon in a movie, you know what I mean?

[00:42:22] Carmen: But I respect him, I just... But I'm gonna go see it, and there's so many other people in the film, so I'm excited. But, um, I remember n- not wanting, not being able to understand The Odyssey, and then whizzing through Dante's, uh, Inferno, Dante's Brigantino. And w- those are separate, separate things, but I just remember being like, "How come I can understand this and read it so quickly, and then not understand any of what's going on there?"

[00:42:51] Carmen: Did you ever have that feeling when you were in college reading them? Did you read it in college or high school?

[00:42:55] Andrea: I read it in, in college.

[00:42:57] Carmen: 'Cause I was in college. Yeah, I

[00:42:59] Andrea: Yeah, I was in college. Um, I mean, I had that with different things, right? Where it's like, why... You know, like I had to-- I was a English major. I had to read Chaucer. Oh my fucking

[00:43:08] Carmen: Chaucer. Yeah. No, I wanna shoot myself. Right.

[00:43:12] Andrea: I mean, and that's

[00:43:13] Carmen: Is it Beowulf? Yes,

[00:43:14] Andrea: Yes. Right. Like

[00:43:16] Carmen: God, shoot me now

[00:43:17] Andrea: just put it in regular English for God's sake?

[00:43:19] Andrea: Like, let me... I like, I like, I just wanna know what the story is, but this is too much.

[00:43:24] Carmen: Exactly. But then some things felt really comfortable. Like, I mean, I, I had to take three semesters of Shakespeare, so I had no choice but to figure that out. And like, if I never read Shakespeare again, I'm good

[00:43:35] Andrea: Yeah. I, I like Shakespeare. I mean, I'm not like, you know, reading it for pleasure at this point, but, you know, I took a lot of-- My thesis, my master's thesis is on a Shakespeare play, so...

[00:43:46] Carmen: Ooh, really? Do you know what my ma- I, I don't have my master's, but do you know what my thesis was for college?

[00:43:55] Andrea: I don't.

[00:43:56] Carmen: Uh, 2000...

[00:43:57] Andrea: Spielberg.

[00:43:59] Carmen: It wasn't Spielberg. You know what? My, my professor hated Steven Spielberg. We had a big fight about Steven Spielberg, and, like, in the classroom, there's, like, 20 of us, and my professor, uh, would get mad at me because I was such a Steven Spielberg fan, and he was like, "Y- you cannot be an artist and be commercial."

[00:44:19] Carmen: That was his thing. He didn't like that Steven Spielberg was a commercial success and calling that art. Like, he was like, you know, it's kind of like how people talk about the Avengers now or whatever. It's like, "That cannot be art." And then motherfucking Schindler's List came out. Wait, and then Schindler's List came out, and my professor was Jewish, and all of a sudden he turned around and he's like, "No, I was trying to teach you to argue your poi-" I was like, "Motherfucker, please."

[00:44:48] Carmen: Like, I remember being... He was trying to act like he was trying to make me a stronger critic and, uh, to defend my stance. I was like, "Bitch, please. You just showed yourself. I'm out." Yeah.

[00:45:00] Andrea: Yeah. So what was it on?

[00:45:04] Carmen: Oh, 2001: A Space Odyssey, uh, the music. I did all the music of

[00:45:08] Andrea: Oh, interesting.

[00:45:10] Carmen: 2001: A Space Odyssey?

[00:45:11] Andrea: I have not.

[00:45:16] Andrea: I know. I know.

[00:45:18] Carmen: Okay, you

[00:45:19] Andrea: tried to watch it once and I was

[00:45:21] Carmen: Okay, you cannot have a conversation. Oh my God. Oh my God,

[00:45:24] Andrea: I know. I know. Sorry

[00:45:27] Carmen: I... You cannot have a conversation with me ever again about sci-fi anything until you've seen 2001: A Space Odyssey. Why didn't you like 2001: A Space Odyssey? You couldn't get through the beginning?

[00:45:38] Andrea: Yeah. I was like, "This is just not for me."

[00:45:42] Carmen: Okay, but if you tried to get through the beginning, the, the ape part, right? The apes, is that the part? It... You just get through it, it all makes sense. You know what? Don't watch Project Hail Mary 'cause you're not gonna get it. It's kind of this... No, no, no, Project Hail Mary is really good. Maybe you will. That, that was rude of me.

[00:45:58] Carmen: That was rude of me. Here's the thing. The reason why Project Hail Mary is so great is 'cause it takes from so many of the classics. Um, but there are these quiet moments where there's no sound and it really is all about the visual, and it's about that intimate moment. Like the thing about 2001: A Space Odyssey in the beginning is you really have to just get in tune with the idea that we don't know anything, which is what the apes are dealing with.

[00:46:26] Carmen: They don't understand what this big block is. We don't know anything. And then we do, and even when we do, we know nothing. That's what ends up happening, and it can destroy us. Like you would lo- I think you would love it if you can get to the next part of it. All right, okay. All right. Look at them all. I am shooketh.

[00:46:47] Carmen: Oh my God, forget ET. Go watch 2001: A Space Odyssey. You know what's so weird? You'd really like ET. That's what's weird. It's just a fun kids movie, but you'd really like it

[00:46:59] Andrea: You know what? I have a feeling I would.

[00:47:03] Carmen: I think, I think for my upcoming birthday, that's what I would like for

[00:47:06] Andrea: Oh, hell on wheels, Carmen.

[00:47:09] Carmen: Why not? What do you mean Hell on Wheels? I'm just saying, I would love it. I'm just saying that's my wish.

[00:47:16] Andrea: We'll see.

[00:47:16] Carmen: All right, leave it at that, everyone. Okay. All right, everyone. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. Andrea, I love you with all my heart, but you need to watch two movies now, 2001: A Space Odyssey and E.T.,

[00:47:29] Carmen: um, and Project Hail Mary. And, um, everyone remember at the end of the day, it really is all about the joy. Bye everyone. Bye.

[00:47:37] Andrea: Hi.