Natalie Harp, USS Lincoln Deployment & Public Etiquette | CC Ep 47

 In Episode 47 of Culture & Consequence, Carmen and Andrea tackle a mix of everyday public annoyances, high-profile political headlines, and military updates. 

They kick things off with a rant on speakerphone etiquette and dog owners in Santa Monica before diving into a fun presidential eligibility throwback about John McCain's birth in the Panama Canal Zone. 

The conversation then centers on Donald Trump’s executive assistant Natalie Harp—examining her role as the "human printer," concerns from the Secret Service, and how her family background sheds light on her unique position. 

Finally, they break down the extended deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East and wrap things up with a much-needed palate cleanser featuring actor Giacomo Gianniotti, his film Acquainted, and their current TV watchlists. 

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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

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[00:00:16] Carmen: I'm in such a good mood today.

[00:00:17] Andrea: glowing.

[00:00:20] Carmen: Yeah

[00:00:20] Andrea: the glass skin that the girlies love.

[00:00:25] Carmen: Oh, seriously?

[00:00:26] Andrea: Yeah, it's very

[00:00:28] Carmen: I think it's 'cause I have another light on. It's moisturizing. It's not like, uh... Yeah. Yeah, may- like, if I turn it down, maybe I won't have glassy... No, I guess it's

[00:00:38] Andrea: it's good. That's, that's what the girls want these days

[00:00:41] Carmen: The girls?

[00:00:45] Andrea: I'm just saying.

[00:00:46] Carmen: Um, I have a couple of public service announcements I'd like to bitch about for a moment.

[00:00:54] Andrea: Let's do it. Let's

[00:00:55] Carmen: Okay, this has nothing to do with politics, so this is like our regular conversation that we would normally have. The people that live across the way from me in the other building, like, nobody wants to hear your fucking conversations.

[00:01:09] Carmen: Like, why are people putting people on speaker on their phones, Andrea? Why?

[00:01:17] Andrea: about it. What... We're all spending a gajillion dollars on AirPods and headphones. Why are we not using them?

[00:01:27] Carmen: Honestly, it's also the lack of, like, consideration. Like, I think that's what pisses me off. So my neighbor on the other side, like, next to me, not in the building, but actually in my building, was doing it, like, three weeks ago, and I... And, and it's also really hot here. I know I keep complaining about this, but it, it really is the humidity.

[00:01:46] Carmen: It's just, this is not California. You know what I mean? So it's... I can't have my windows and my doors locked and whatever, you know, which would normally help with that kind of noise. So I, I, you know, I open the door, I'm like all dramatic about it, and then I realize, like, calm the fuck down, Carmen. It's not that big of a deal.

[00:02:09] Carmen: And I go to her and I'm like, "Lookit, you have every right to talk to whoever you want on the phone, but I need you to take it off of speaker. I don't want to hear this tinny, crappy..." And I said, "How do you... You hear it from out... them. Why are you doing it?" And she's like, "Uh, I don't have, um, headset," and it... I, I don't...

[00:02:30] Carmen: Then go to the back room. Like, what are you... Go in your car. There are so many ways. Don't put it on speaker. Put it to your head. Like, there are so many other ways

[00:02:41] Andrea: that's the way we all did it before. We didn't have speaker on before

[00:02:46] Carmen: gosh. Am I crazy? I just, you know what? Thank you for

[00:02:49] Andrea: No, girl, this drives me... My kids do it.

[00:02:53] Carmen: No

[00:02:54] Andrea: they're- I'm like, you know, and you hear like the little snippet of whatever the fuck they're watching, and I'm like, "Did I not just fucking buy you some AirPods? Okay, put that shit in or give them to me. I don't even have any. Give them to me. You're not using them."

[00:03:10] Carmen: I just, you know what? I think it's the lack of just consideration. Okay, the next one might actually annoy you because you are one of these people. I am really sick and tired of fucking dogs and dog parents. I'm tired of you. I, I, I don't know what's happened in Santa Mo- I think everyone has a dog but me.

[00:03:29] Carmen: Like, I think that's part of it, and I also think Santa Monica now is, like, just, it's just too many people. So I was like, you know what? It's like 6:15 in the morning. I'm gonna go for a walk even though it's still a little bit dark, whatever. I'm like, "I'm gonna go for a walk," and I'm thinking I'm gonna avoi- no, everyone's out with their dogs.

[00:03:45] Carmen: And here's my thing, pick up your dog's shit. Like, so many people are just not doing that, and I'm like, I'll call you out on it. I'ma call you out on it every time. I don't care. And I just don't understa- like, that's part of the deal. You got a dog, you gotta pick up its shit,

[00:04:06] Andrea: Right

[00:04:07] Carmen: you know? And the big dogs are worse.

[00:04:09] Carmen: I love the big dogs, but they have big shit. You know what I mean? Like-

[00:04:15] Andrea: They do. It's

[00:04:16] Carmen: I'm sorry. your pooper scooper. I don't know what to tell you, but that's your responsibility. And it's just gross because, like, at, first of all, it's just gross. But secondly, you're walking on the sidewalk and it's just there, and you're, like, jumping- I- seriously, I'm sick of... And you know what? Dogs don't belong everywhere, just like children.

[00:04:36] Carmen: They do not belong everywhere. I went to the theater the other day, to the movie theater, two people with dogs in the movie theater. So I walked out of the movie theater before the movie even started, and I was like, "I'm sorry, there are dogs in the movie theater." They're like, "Yeah, they're," what are they called?

[00:04:54] Carmen: Comfort dogs or sensitive dogs or... These were not d- so they're blurring the-- I'm like, I don't think that's the same thing as the dogs that actually people need

[00:05:05] Andrea: somewhere over the last, I don't know, like five-ish, 10-ish years, like every dog is a service dog. You got like service parrots and you know what I mean? Like, mm.

[00:05:17] Carmen: Trea, they're not.

[00:05:19] Andrea: I know.

[00:05:20] Carmen: Oh my God.

[00:05:21] Andrea: I know. I don't know, you know, like I don't know what the criteria is for that or how that's determined, but

[00:05:29] Carmen: So the, the other person's

[00:05:30] Andrea: dogs in the grocery store, every restaurant, you know, forget

[00:05:35] Andrea: about 

[00:05:35] Carmen: don't care if it's outside, like if it's outside

[00:05:37] Andrea: Oh no, people are taking them inside

[00:05:40] Carmen: Yeah, here's the thing, comfort dogs are not the same as service dogs. They're not. They're not. And, and, and I'm so... And also, a- again, it's the lack of consideration. I got my money back and they gave me fr- I have like four free tickets 'cause I'm just...

[00:05:54] Carmen: Here's a little, uh, thing you guys should know. If you have a bad experience in the movie theaters, I never knew this, you can go and complain about it and they'll give you back your money or/and give you extra tickets to use within a year or something. I had, I had no idea. So I've just been, I'm watching half of the movie...

[00:06:09] Carmen: No, you can't, you can't watch the movie and then go and

[00:06:12] Andrea: You're like, "My popcorn didn't have quite enough butter on it, so this isn't working for me."

[00:06:18] Carmen: Um, that Nicole Kidman thing is really pissing me off and it's giving me drama. You know what I'm talking about, that... I don't... AMC, the Nicole Kidman, when she comes out. Oh, you probably don't have AMC where you are.

[00:06:31] Andrea: I don't.

[00:06:32] Carmen: There's this,

[00:06:32] Andrea: to the movies

[00:06:33] Andrea: that much 

[00:06:33] Carmen: it's a promo that's been running for way too many years, and it's like right before the movie comes out, Nicole Kidman comes out and she's like, "Movies."

[00:06:42] Carmen: Th- S- Saturday Night Live did a whole fucking, like, thing on it 'cause it was, it's creepy weird. I'll send it to you. It's hilarious. It's hilarious

[00:06:51] Andrea: As you can imagine, uh, number one, I don't go to the movies that often, and when I do, I'm late. So

[00:06:57] Carmen: Oh, no, now I do that too, but this is right before the movie goes on. So you can usually do 20 minutes before... Like, if your movie starts at 12:00, go at 12:20 because it's 30 minutes of, you know, stupid trailers that make no sense and show way too much of the movie, and you're not interested in them anyway.

[00:07:13] Carmen: You're gonna watch them on streaming. Like, so, but, but yeah. So anyway, those are my, two bitchy things. Thank you for obliging me. also, I wanna give a shout-out to Laurie Moran Plante. I think it's Plante, Plante. Anyway, Laurie, who's on my Facebook page, because she came out and answered our trivia question from last week, which I know you don't remember.

[00:07:38] Andrea: Not at all. I don't even remember we had a trivia question.

[00:07:41] Carmen: Wait, you said... You, you know, it's so funny. It came out organically. It wasn't like on purpose. But we were talking about how you are a United States citizen and can run for president, but you are, were not born in the United States. Yeah. And we were like, "How could that be?

[00:07:59] Andrea: That flew right out of my brain. Yeah,

[00:08:02] Carmen: And she answered it on Facebook. She's my Facebook contact friend. So, uh, shout out to her, girl. Um, I told her, "Shh, don't mention the politician who ran for president, because we're gonna have Andrea answer that." So do you wanna tell people how this is possible for you? I can tell the, the person that ran for president and why it works.

[00:08:24] Carmen: Do you want me to do that

[00:08:25] Andrea: I-- Sure, go ahead.

[00:08:28] Carmen: So the person that has the similar situation is Senator John McCain, may he rest in peace. Um, he was born at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone. At the time, his father was a US Navy officer stationed there, and the Canal Zone was an unincorporated US territory.

[00:08:49] Carmen: under Article Two of the US Constitution, a presidential candidate must be a natural born citizen, okay? McCain satisfied this requirement based on two factors, citizenship by parentage, which is Naturalization Act of 1790. Children born abroad to American citizens are automatically citizens at birth.

[00:09:10] Carmen: Both of McCain's parents were US citizens, and US territorial jurisdiction because he was born on a US military installation located within a territory of the United States. experts agree that birth status satisfi- satisfies the natural born constitutional criteria. I did not know this part. In 2008, the US Senate unanimously passed a non-binding resolution confirming that McCain met the legal threshold.

[00:09:38] Carmen: I guess there was some question in 2008 when he was

[00:09:41] Andrea: remember there being s- like minor question, but they handled it pretty quickly.

[00:09:46] Carmen: Yeah. So you have a similar situation

[00:09:48] Andrea: think mine is exactly the same. Like I, I meet both of those criteria. I was born on an army base in Germany, so I question whether it's like a territory, but it was a US Army base, so.

[00:10:02] Carmen: And both of your parents

[00:10:03] Andrea: my parents are citizens,

[00:10:05] Carmen: are citizens, or they're US, United States citizens. Uh, yeah, so, yeah. I just thought that was kinda cool that, you know, people, um, were interested, and it came up organically. We're not gonna start a quiz every week 'cause I can't... It's

[00:10:20] Andrea: And I wouldn't remember if we did.

[00:10:22] Carmen: No, no, I mean, I remember, but I remember because she reached out, and she

[00:10:27] Andrea: If she hadn't, I literally would not even remember

[00:10:30] Carmen: Yeah. so thank you, Laurie. We appreciate you and your support, for, listening to the show and, participating in that kind of fun thing, so that was kinda cool. all right. I wanted to talk about Natalie Harp, which she is just... I just feel bad

[00:10:46] Andrea: head case

[00:10:47] Carmen: a little bit. Yeah, I just feel bad for her.

[00:10:49] Carmen: So for people who don't know,

[00:10:51] Andrea: feel bad for her?

[00:10:52] Carmen: I... You know what? 'Cause I did some more digging, um, and... No, I mean, I don't feel bad for her in that way, but... Okay, let me just

[00:11:02] Andrea: Yeah, just go. Just

[00:11:03] Carmen: Yeah, for those of you who don't know, Natalie Harp is, Donald Trump's executive assistant, and she's special assistant to the president.

[00:11:10] Carmen: She sits constantly by his side. She manages all of his social media. she also types all of his Truth Social stuff, and acts as the primary information gatekeeper, and she's been in the news a lot, and it's... They're, like, tripling down today. she is,infatuated with Donald Trump, and it's creepy weird.

[00:11:33] Carmen: And the reason why it blew up, I mean, it was still a big deal before, but Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman wrote that book, Regi- Regime Change, and they had already started talking about the letters she leaves for Donald Trump everywhere, like, "You are all that matters to me." That alarmed the Secret Service.

[00:11:54] Carmen: Like, they were just like, "Wait a minute, what?" she has extreme, is it sicko fancy? Is that the word? I'm reading it, so... Staff reportedly grew so concerned by her intense level of access and unfiltered feeding of unvetted internet stories to Trump that they tried to restrict her travel and room stays, leading to reports that she once slept in a golf club's locker room just to maintain proximity.

[00:12:18] Carmen: Um, there's also an extreme thing where she, hid in the back... She didn't hide. There was no room for her in the motorcade, so she, like, jumped in the trunk of an SUV. Like, and that's, that's, like, actual... That happened. I thought that was, like, just a meme, but she's, um... Anyways. What?

[00:12:41] Andrea: I said, you said cheese and I said disturbed

[00:12:44] Carmen: Disturbed, yeah. Um, okay, you can tell me what you think about it, and I'll tell you why I feel bad for her

[00:12:49] Andrea: Ja

[00:12:50] Andrea: No, I wanna know why you feel bad for her.

[00:12:52] Carmen: I feel bad for her because what I found out, and her brother, has talked a bit about her lately. they're estranged. she... They were both born in a devout Christian household, and, so that has its own implications.

[00:13:06] Carmen: There was, Her brother talked about how, her pa- her, his parents always talked about American exceptionalism, which has its own national Christian philosophy attached to it, and how she's still stuck in that. But the reason why I feel bad is that her father, who I believe was a pastor, I didn't write that down, but I believe he was also a pastor or a reverend or whatever they do, um, died by suicide in 2020.

[00:13:30] Carmen: And so, uh, she's kind of dealing with that grief by attaching herself to Donald Trump. Like, she sees Donald Trump as, like, a father figure. So there's all this weird insinuation that it's sexual and that it's romantic, and then when I was listening to him and reading up on it, I was like, like, she needs mental health help.

[00:13:52] Carmen: Like, she needs help, you know? It's not just the, the Trump part of it. It's just, like, if you think about her as an individual and what she has gone through, um, and she's estranged by her brother, who for all intents and purposes is doing the right thing to walk away from what was clearly a really toxic family dynamic, you know?

[00:14:12] Carmen: So that's why I feel bad for her, because I'm like, this is bigger than the Trump thing for her as an individual. Trump is a piece of shit, don't get me wrong, because he's continuously using people this way, but go ahead.

[00:14:26] Andrea: I guess, so I was, I haven't done a deep dive. I have literally just l- read the headlines, so I don't really know that much about it. But, um, I'm-- the part of it that I am kind of interested in or fascinated by is, all of the leaks and the information that we're getting and kind of what that says about the people who are there in the West Wing and, their, what they're focused on, number one, and, and number two, just like there's no w- once he's gone, whether it's in tw- you know, leaves office in '28 or dies or whatever, um, you know, it's the typical like rats on a sinking ship.

[00:15:13] Andrea: Like, they're just gonna eat their own. You know, they do not care. Um, so that part of it is just kind of, I don't know, I find that a little bit fascinating, um, how this has been going on and, you know, there's been speculation that the, some of the leaks are coming from the old press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, I think, right?

[00:15:33] Andrea: Is that her name? The lady who left.

[00:15:36] Carmen: Lips.

[00:15:37] Andrea: Yes. Yes. Lips. Um, uh, so there's speculation that it's coming from her because she was upset that she was left on the plane, that might have gotten shot down. I mean, there's all that kind of stuff. And so I just think it's kind of like let them fight it out, girls. Like go right ahead.

[00:15:59] Andrea: Like you do you over there. I mean, in, you know, and in the larger picture, it just, you know, is yet another illustration of how there's absolutely nothing going on there that is to the benefit of the American people

[00:16:15] Carmen: Nothing. Nothing. And like, if you're watching... And look it, you're not gonna find this information on Fox News because Fox News is not going to carry it. And I, and I think it's important to say at this point, seriously, if you're watching us, you already know how we feel about this administration. So the thing that's really interesting, if you watched Donald Trump yesterday talking on the tarmac, he just redid the helipad or whatever, the whole hel- He's spending all of our...

[00:16:46] Carmen: $40 trillion is what our deficit is at right now. It's never been that h- ever. $40

[00:16:53] Andrea: It's an unfathomable number

[00:16:55] Carmen: Unfathomable. And he's doing things like we already know, the ballroom and the gold statues, and now he redid the whole helipad. And for some reason, he was talking about grass for so long yesterday in this weird conversation.

[00:17:12] Carmen: There is nobody in this administration that is a serious person. And look it, we can make fun of this, this young woman, Natalie Harp, which my, my, my first thought was... And, and I'll say it this way. When I was younger, going through what I was going through, we all have our stories, so mine isn't any more or less significant than any, any others.

[00:17:33] Carmen: But when you're looking for somebody to give you structure, if you're not smart, if you don't have kind of, I- I'm just gonna say it this way, kind of the foundational ideas of what good and bad and right and wrong are, you're going to fall for anyone who will give you what you need. You know what I mean?

[00:17:54] Carmen: And I'm not saying I was perfect or whatever, but I would never have made the mistake that she's made in desperation. But here's what's even more important, there were people around me who would never allow it to happen. They would've swayed me away, and they did a couple times. You know, like I, I dated a really bad guy, and if it wasn't for friends who like intervened, that could've been a really bad thing.

[00:18:17] Carmen: And it's like nobody in this White House is even serious enough to help this young girl. You know what I mean? To see what's happening to her and to say, "Oh my God, she needs help." You know what I mean? But instead, because she has such access to Trump, she's the gatekeeper. They use her to get what they want, and that includes every fucking congressman and senator who's a Republican.

[00:18:43] Andrea: Yep

[00:18:43] Carmen: And that's what I'm talking about. Like, it's disgusting. So if you want money, if you wanna build something, you wanna get a contract without any bidding or whatever, y- you just gotta cozy up to Natalie and see if you can get your foot in the door to talk to her instead of realizing what's happened to that young woman, and I don't think that's a far stretch.

[00:19:02] Andrea: so she can put it in front of him, and he's excited about it. Um, you know. Yeah. It's, it's sick

[00:19:11] Carmen: Yep. And she was on the right plane. She was one

[00:19:14] Andrea: She got in the catering van or whatever it was, right?

[00:19:17] Carmen: Yeah. And she leaves him disturbed. And that, and that little snippet of the note is just, you know, I don't wanna... Like, that's how you know she's in trouble, and I didn't wanna read that whole thing 'cause I actually don't think it's funny.

[00:19:29] Carmen: I mean, there's so many things about this administration that's not funny, but this is, like, really disgusting. And, you know, people are trying to blame Jon Ossoff for t- he-

[00:19:39] Andrea: Right. For mentioning it

[00:19:40] Carmen: for mentioning it. He- all he said was Trump wants to travel with Natalie. That's the line he said in his... He didn't say anything else, but wow, the backlash.

[00:19:53] Carmen: Talk about guilt. Talk about, 

[00:19:55] Andrea: telling. It's so telling, right?

[00:19:58] Carmen: telling. So telling. So-

[00:20:00] Andrea: he-- One little phrase, very innocuous phrase, and in the context of these, they're not doing anything for the American people, which is accurate, right? This is what he wants to do, and we're on what? Day three of a complete and utter meltdown about it.

[00:20:17] Carmen: Yeah, because the book came out like two or three weeks ago. Yeah, I wonder why. Exactly. Uh, so interesting. And look it, I, I, I, I do feel bad for her 'cause I think she needs help, and, I don't think it's funny. I think Donald Trump is a horrible human being, and this is even more evidence of that.

[00:20:35] Carmen: Um, to use a young girl who's in this situation in that way because it flatters his ego. You know what I mean? And

[00:20:42] Andrea: Yeah, and I think another thing that I wanna say about that that y- that we've talked about here is there's a lot of talk about how she's, you know, his aide and he's so dementia-ridden that sh- you know, uh, he's not. He's not. This is who he has always been. Yeah, he may be losing some facilities and whatever, but he is not dementia-ridden.

[00:21:05] Andrea: He's not so out of it that, uh, you know, she's controlling the show. I mean, he's using her

[00:21:14] Carmen: Absolutely. And w- people like to say, especially people who were Trump supporters and are like trying to move through it, they're like, "He lied to me." He's always lied to you. That's not new. You just, you didn't see it. He's been lying since the '80s.

[00:21:27] Andrea: Yeah, or yeah, he's been, he's been lying since the '60s, '70s when he, you know, was talking about his bone spurs and whatnot. You know what I mean? Like, he's never not been a liar

[00:21:37] Carmen: Yeah, and he's always been skeevy, he's always been cheesy. There's nothing... Like, if you're a Trump supporter who's moving through this and, and finally seeing the light, bravo to you. Welcome to Earth One. You know what I mean? Like, we're, we're glad to have you back, but here's the thing you need to do, is stop pretending Trump did anything to you.

[00:21:56] Carmen: You have to take responsibility for the fact that you got easily snowed, you got easily bambooz- whatever the fucking words are you need. But you, you gravitated towards all those for whatever reasons they are, and Andrea, I know what you're gonna say. But it doesn't always have to be about racism.

[00:22:15] Carmen: Whatever it is that got you here, I'm glad you're here, but you need to take responsibility and stop acting as if Trump did something different in the past two years. He's been the same

[00:22:26] Andrea: Well, and like figure out why you fell for it. That, that's the work I w- a- and shut the fuck up about it also. Don't go, don't go on social media looking for praise 'cause you figured it out, right? Like, or, or like, "Oh no, he's lying to me. Oh no, he deported my wife." Oh, really? You didn't think that was gonna happen?

[00:22:49] Andrea: Figure out why you fell for it, and then do the work, and then, you know, shut the fuck up

[00:22:56] Carmen: Yeah, I think that's a really important thing because I, I saw that. I know which video it's... There's so many of them. I think it was like three of them. It was like, "He deported my wife." Like, and I'm like,

[00:23:05] Andrea: My wife?

[00:23:06] Carmen: "What?" 

[00:23:07] Andrea: Oh, no

[00:23:09] Carmen: uh, and because it gets to that place where it's like unless it's affecting you, you don't care, is kind of what you're doing when that happens.

[00:23:18] Carmen: If you wanna be a good and compassionate person, you wanna see the big picture. Oh, he's hurting other people too, or has the potential to hurt others. I wanna be a loving, kind, very, uh, to my neighbors, right? To, to people because I'm compa- especially if you're fucking Christian. I don't even understand how you don't see that, but whatever.

[00:23:40] Carmen: Turn around and realize that as you are spewing because something happened to you, that now it makes sense. This is why we, you and I will always have a problem with, um, Cheney. I know. Whew. It's g- going. But Dick Cheney, you remember Dick Cheney was like against gay people. He advocated against gay people, and then his daughter came out and was gay.

[00:24:01] Carmen: Is gay, not was. And all of a sudden he's like backtracking, you know what I mean? It's like, mm-mm. Actually, yeah

[00:24:11] Andrea: I, I, I have to say I'm not convinced any of these people wanna be good and compassionate people. Um, but like,

[00:24:21] Carmen: I will

[00:24:21] Andrea: the idea that it-

[00:24:22] Carmen: She won't. She gonna make you suffer for what you

[00:24:24] Andrea: Yeah, I am. Like I, the, yeah. I, I'm sorry. I'm, I'm not sorry actually, but like, um, you know, yeah, there is this sort of like, "Oh, I can't believe this is happening to me."

[00:24:35] Andrea: And I, when I say figure it out, right, I do mean like figure it out and do some work. But also, also, if you don't really care about g- being good and compassionate, and I don't think you do, then at least look at the whole idea that if he's doing it to other people, there might come a time when it happens to me, right?

[00:25:01] Andrea: So even out of your own self-interest, take a look and be smart and figure out like, "I am not immune from what's happening here."

[00:25:12] Carmen: But I think for people who have never had to deal with the ramifications of racism or classism or whatever it is, right? Because seriously, people in this country really do believe they're one or two moments away from becoming wealthy or whatever it is, or, you know what I mean? So they, they detach themselves so they can't even fathom that they might be taken by ICE, or that they might be treated badly because of whatever, their races or whatever, whatever it is, their language or whatever.

[00:25:47] Carmen: I mean, you know, Billy and I talk about the Cubans all the time in Florida. It's like they're all stunned, stunned I say, because so many of them voted for Trump and so many of their family members have been taken by ICE, and it's like, I don't know what to tell you. How did you not see that coming?

[00:26:04] Andrea: Right. When the entire convention had signs that said, "Mass deportation now,"

[00:26:11] Carmen: Right

[00:26:12] Andrea: did you think they were talking about?

[00:26:14] Carmen: Right. Right. And then you see people, you know, like this has broken my heart over and over and over again. Um, Haitians who have status to be here, and, you know, they're putting leg braces on the... What do they call those? Monitors and I don't know. It just... And it's like these are good, and I, you know what?

[00:26:31] Carmen: I think that's the other part of it too. Like Trump, you know, like if you need to understand why we're like it's racism, it's like Trump was so easy to get you to believe that the reason why we're in trouble is because of Brown and Black people, when the Brown and Black people of this country are the reason why we have food.

[00:26:53] Carmen: They're the farmers, they're the landscapers, they built this country, but he got you to believe that these are the bad criminal people. It's, it's pretty incredible, and he did it without even trying too hard. So when we say racism, it's like you were so... You may not intentionally every day wake up and be like, "I hate Black people."

[00:27:13] Carmen: Like, that's not what we're talking about. Institutional racism, racism that it's seeped in our culture happens because you can't even see when someone like Donald Trump is making you believe something you would never actually believe if confronted with somebody. Like, I think that's fair, Andrea. I mean-

[00:27:34] Andrea: that's fair and it's, you know, a lot of these folks, it's like, well, I mean, not Jose who owns the taco stand that I go to every other day. You know what I mean? It's like, yes, motherfucker, he's gonna take Jose and his whole fucking family. What are you thinking?

[00:27:50] Carmen: Right. But he got you to believe

[00:27:52] Andrea: it's like it's, they don't see the people that they know who make up this community, their community, as the problem.

[00:28:02] Andrea: It's like, oh, because they're not the problem

[00:28:05] Carmen: Right, right, He was making you hate people that didn't deserve to be hated, you know? Um, and at all. I, I have to say, I know this is so weird, but, and this is a total stereotype, but I think it's based in some fact. The Latino community are the most hardworking people I've ever known. Like, they do...

[00:28:29] Carmen: Right? And even more so when you start following accounts that are like, 'cause, uh, th- there are all these great accounts that like showing you what they do on the farm or whatever, like their, you know, Instagram and TikToks, and it's like, I can't even fathom doing this kind of work, you know? No.

[00:28:46] Andrea: Farm Workers is, you know, like that's... My grandparents, my great-grandparents were farm workers. They followed the crops. My mom worked, did, did some of that work when she was really little. So, like, this is ingrained. You know, we're like pretty California born and bred. Not me, but you know what I mean?

[00:29:05] Andrea: That the work is so, so, so hard and hasn't gotten much easier even with the, the union, you

[00:29:13] Carmen: Right, right. Or even with technology, I mean, all you have to do is watch and follow any of these accounts, and it's pretty extraordinary. But just also look at... It's just, you can't... Like, if there's anything I wanna say about the racism thing, if, if anything, you can't box people based on what they look like. I mean, if that were the case, then every white man is Timothy McVeigh. Do you know what I mean? Like, every... And if you are not that person, if you... Then, then don't be that person to other people. And, and I think that's what, you know, fucking s- what is it? Snake, snake oil salesman. What is that? You know the barnacle...

[00:29:55] Carmen: I don't even know what I'm trying to say 'cause I'm so frustrated. I hate him. But he's such a clown, and he was able to manipulate so many people. And, and I'm sad for our country 'cause here we are now, suffering through the consequences of the choices that were made, uh, because we were not better than... I don't know.

[00:30:18] Carmen: We, we... We're better than this. I mean, I know Andrea's gonna say no we're not, but I believe we're better than this, and I can't believe you've, you voted him in a second time. But okay, we're here. But let's talk about... Oh, did you wanna say something, Mel? Barnacle

[00:30:31] Andrea: No

[00:30:32] Carmen: Barker? No, what am I trying to

[00:30:34] Andrea: Carnival barker.

[00:30:35] Carmen: Carnival Barker. Yeah, I try to say all these things I know nothing about. I don't know why, like... And then I get frustrated, and then I'm like, "Whatever." Um, let's talk about one of the ramifications of this situation, the USS Abraham Lincoln.

[00:30:50] Andrea: Whoo, girl

[00:30:51] Carmen: For those of you who don't know, I don't know if you're hiding under a rock, but they are, uh, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

[00:30:59] Carmen: The USS Abraham Lincoln has been deployed for roughly nine months supporting operations in the Middle East. And when we say supporting, we're talking about dealing with the stupid ass motherfucking war that should've never happened. It's a war by choice. There was no need to do this war, and whatever you're believing from your other s- things that you're watching, it's all lies.

[00:31:21] Carmen: Um, it is

[00:31:23] Andrea: there was no imminent threat that needed to be dealt with in this way at all.

[00:31:31] Carmen: Can I also add this? This might be... I, I'm tired of men running the world, and this is one of the reasons. I, I would like to see women be involved in the leadership of our country or wherever, because all of this always going to war shit is such a fucking male-induced crapola thing that I'm tired of. Like, I, I know that sounds weird, and I'm like the, I'm not like Jo, Miss Big Ass Feminist.

[00:32:00] Carmen: Yes I am. But I'm not. But I mean, I'm just like, can we give women a shot? Like, there would be so much more talking. I just think there might be more talking. You know what I mean? Um, Record Run, the crew of over 5,000, I did not know it was 5,000 people on that fucking boat, uh, of over 5,000 sailors and Marines set a modern record by spending over 250 consecutive days at sea without entering port for a rest break.

[00:32:31] Carmen: Uh, the conditions and supply shortages, family members raised severe concerns regarding living conditions, citing shortages of basic supplies like toiletries and mo- Listen, the reason why this is happening is because they haven't gone, uh, to port, which means they haven't gone mainland-side. I don't even know what it's called.

[00:32:51] Carmen: They haven't stopped and

[00:32:52] Andrea: stopped

[00:32:53] Carmen: get on land

[00:32:53] Andrea: resupply

[00:32:54] Carmen: to resupply and let the guys and the women go and just have a fun day and just relax and, like, they haven't been able to do that in 250 days. If I don't leave my house for three days, I'm freaking the fuck out. Oh my God. Anyway, mental health and overboard reports.

[00:33:13] Carmen: of an intensifying mental health strain on the crew, including stories of sailors attempting to jump overboard. I mean- Dozens of congressional lawmakers sent formal letters demanding... I don't even give a fuck. I'm so tired of the demanding letters.

[00:33:30] Andrea: Yeah

[00:33:31] Carmen: So I'll give you the update as of this morning.

[00:33:33] Carmen: There is relief in progress, but we don't have any information what that means. That could be just Pete Hegseth saying bullshit. I have no idea, 'cause I don't believe anyone. Like, that's the other part, I don't believe anybody in this administration.the Pentagon announced that another carrier, the USS George Washington, is being dispatched to the region to relieve the Lincoln so its crew can finally return home.

[00:33:56] Carmen: So, uh, Defense Secretary Pete Dumbass and CENTCOM commanders publicly stated the reports of widespread crisis were misrepresented. No, they're not. I believe the family members. No, they're not. Yeah. So I don't know if you wanted to chime in because you support Pete Hegseth so much.

[00:34:15] Andrea: Yeah. I mean, uh, before this really, really blew up, I remember seeing, um, like a couple of posts where they were like, s- uh, sailors, people on the, uh, ship ha- had taken pictures of their food.

[00:34:33] Carmen: Oh,

[00:34:33] Andrea: and you can imagine me, I'm like, "Oh, h- I would starve. I would literally starve," 'cause I wouldn't fucking touch that with a 10-foot pole, right?

[00:34:39] Andrea: Like, it like, a, you know, a slice of white bread and some like, I don't even... Maybe it was some sort of meat or whatever, and it's like, okay, so this is how we are feeding, nourishing, taking care of the people who are supposed to be out there, you know, um, defending us, who we're putting in harm's way, literally.

[00:35:03] Andrea: Um, it's gross. It's disgusting. Uh, obviously they're talking to their family members. The family members have flagged it. You've got Trump out there calling them liars.

[00:35:12] Carmen: But we're not surprised by that, right? 'Cause he's never had any respect for the military.

[00:35:16] Andrea: he hasn't.

[00:35:17] Carmen: respect for John McCain. He called him a loser for getting c- like, just, I mean, we're not surprised by that. I

[00:35:23] Andrea: No, we're not surprised by it, but i- i- it's just like, uh, I, it's so, again, you know, going, like there is not a serious cell in anyone's body in this administration, or frankly the Republican Party at this

[00:35:38] Carmen: The Republican Party, yeah, for

[00:35:40] Andrea: I'm sorry, but the Republican Party should, should be the ones leading the charge at this point to try to do something about this, and they, you know, they, it's just never gonna happen

[00:35:50] Carmen: Well, I mean, they've not held this man, the president of the United States, accountable for anything yet. You know what I mean? And, and so why would... This is not even... Can you imagine just the idea that you would be more obsessed with a ballroom that nobody ever talked about, wanted, anything, but you're more concerned with that than the sailors on a ship?

[00:36:18] Carmen: I'm just,

[00:36:19] Andrea: It's one of the most serious, if not the most serious thing that a president can do, is send people off into harm's way where they could potentially be killed by enemy fire, right? Like, that's serious. And they do not give a fuck. They don't care. Hegseth wants his photo ops with his muscles and his tats,

[00:36:41] Carmen: He ain't got no muscles. He ain't got no muscles. Let's not even give him one.

[00:36:45] Andrea: Well, you know, whatever. Whatever he's got, right? Like, that's all he wants. Uh, it's so, it's so disgusting.

[00:36:53] Carmen: It's demoralizing. And I, I feel bad because, look it, I'm not, I'm, I'm not a fan of military anywhere. I'm not. And I'm not like a pacifist or anything, I just think going to war should be the extreme and not actually a thing you ever do. It's kinda like the death penalty. The death penalty shouldn't be like a normal thing that everyone ends up on.

[00:37:18] Carmen: And it, it just, it kinda pisses me off. That's why I keep saying I want women in office, 'cause I just, I just want us to try something different. You know what I

[00:37:26] Andrea: It was clearly not working.

[00:37:27] Carmen: Please. This is not working. We've been doing this for so fucking long and it's never working. Men just fucking bomb shit and fucking put...

[00:37:35] Carmen: Anyways, my point is, is my heart breaks for the military. I never want people to be in the military because I remember... I don't remember 'cause I was too young, but I saw Born on the Fourth of July, and I know Vietnam vets, which is... By the way, Born on the Fourth of July, you're, you're gonna like be like, "Ew," but Tom Cruise was, that was his best ever movie he's ever done.

[00:38:01] Carmen: He was nominated for an Oscar, and I, you probably haven't seen it, but b- I, I am not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but let me tell you, that movie, still one of the best, best movies about the Vietnam situation. He plays a vet and it's just, uh, heart-wrenching, and I'll never forget that movie. But what we do to our military is ridiculous.

[00:38:22] Carmen: Uh, under any presidency,

[00:38:25] Andrea: Yep, I was gonna

[00:38:25] Carmen: this... Under any presidency, but

[00:38:28] Andrea: They are not taken care of. There's a lot of, "We support the troops. Thank you for your service," and whatever, and

[00:38:36] Carmen: They're all homeless. Not all, but they're homeless. And, and no person in this country with the amount of wealth that we have should be homeless. Don't start blaming the people. Let me just say that again. This country has resour- clearly so much money, no one in this country should be hungry, without healthcare, or on the street.

[00:38:59] Carmen: No one, especially our military, and yet

[00:39:03] Andrea: And yet

[00:39:04] Carmen: Yeah. So

[00:39:06] Andrea: so hung out to dry with regards to their healthcare, their housing, support when they come, when they, you know, when they come home. It's gross

[00:39:15] Carmen: It is gross. Okay, do we need a palate cleanser?

[00:39:18] Andrea: We do

[00:39:19] Carmen: Um, so okay. I asked you if you saw that movie with, Giacomo Gianniotti

[00:39:25] Andrea: Oh, yeah. No, I didn't. Uh-uh. You sent me the link, but I didn't, I

[00:39:29] Carmen: Yeah. No, no, no. And I don't have, I don't have that, uh, video on here 'cause I sent you the link and I didn't realize it's actually the movie. Like, you can watch it free on YouTube. It's called "Acquainted." Yeah. Um, but I do have, just so in case people don't know who it is, I do wanna show who he is so that you know.

[00:39:48] Andrea: Let's take a moment.

[00:39:49] Carmen: Here we go. Let's take a moment to see why Andrea and I, uh, respect Jacques Martineau

[00:39:56] Andrea: Deeply respect his work,

[00:39:59] Carmen: deeply respect

[00:40:00] Andrea: of work.

[00:40:01] Carmen: his body of work. Okay, wait, I'm gonna play it. Wait, wait, wait, wait. 

[00:40:35] 

[00:40:36] Andrea: I love it. We're both just sitting here like, "Yes, go on."

[00:40:47] Carmen: I can't help it, he's so... I- anyways, there's a movie he did, it was like 2017 or something. It's called Acquainted, and, it's a really good movie, but it's an indie film and so what ends up happening is, um, it's actually...

[00:41:03] Carmen: I say this, I love commercial films, don't get me wrong, especially big budget ones. I'm a huge Avenger fan. But when you find a really good indie film and you find a really good film that kind of has that kind of human connection, like the ending is kind of not what I wanted it to be, but I was like, "Oh my God, this is so real."

[00:41:20] Carmen: So yeah, check it out. It's, it's, it's a good movie and he's just as hot back then. I mean, he was younger, but still just as hot, baby. Yeah.

[00:41:29] Andrea: Ja.

[00:41:29] Carmen: So yeah, I didn't know if, um, that was all I had for a

[00:41:35] Andrea: A cleanser, a little mental health break

[00:41:39] Carmen: a little mental health break we all need to see. And actually, Wes, uh, you've seen this show though. You said you saw this show, Wild Cards.

[00:41:46] Andrea: Oh, yeah.

[00:41:47] Carmen: Yeah, yeah. It's a good,

[00:41:48] Andrea: I've done a full rewatch of the entire three seasons,

[00:41:53] Carmen: Have you seen Reacher?

[00:41:55] Andrea: I haven't seen Reacher 'cause we're still on Smallville. But we're now, like we just finished Season 2. There's 10 seasons, God help me.

[00:42:04] Carmen: Oh, no

[00:42:04] Andrea: and we're-- I told my daughter, I was like, "Are we hate watching now?" Because I'm starting to like ... Uh, just like the writing, like Season 2, I was like, why are they-- Maybe they thought they were gonna get canceled.

[00:42:17] Andrea: I don't know. It's like they're throwing everything at us, and I was like, "We need to calm down and slow the roll a little bit." But ... And it's just kinda funny. She's like, "Well, he's 15, Mama." And I'm like, "Okay, the actor is like 30." So it's just all of this is a little hard for me to believe, but

[00:42:34] Carmen: Oh, so we're in hate watch

[00:42:36] Andrea: Yeah, I'm, I'm slightly hate watching, but he's still really fine, so I'm still watching.

[00:42:41] Carmen: Yeah, he was the one I looked up. Yeah, sorry. I won't say that that

[00:42:46] Andrea: won't talk about it.

[00:42:47] Carmen: I know. That is so horrible, but you know what? That's also just called aging you know? Like

[00:42:53] Andrea: And also, I f- I told her I was like, you know, doodling around while we were watching, 'cause I was hate watching, right? And I was like, "Oh my God, I have some major tea about one of the people on the show. Do you wanna hear it?" And she's like, "No, no. No, no, no." And so I'm kind of like dying to tell her, but I'm like holding back.

[00:43:19] Andrea: Am I gonna wait like eight more seasons? I don't know if I can hold it in,

[00:43:23] Carmen: tell her. Yeah.

[00:43:24] Andrea: but I can tell you if you want. Do you want me to tell you?

[00:43:27] Carmen: don't watch Smallville, so it

[00:43:28] Andrea: I know, but it's still good.

[00:43:30] Carmen: Okay, what's the tea? What's the tea?

[00:43:32] Andrea: So one of the characters, the one who I organically already hated, uh, turns out it's a girl. Um, she was one of the people who was in this like sex cult a couple of years

[00:43:46] Carmen: Oh, God. Yeah, don't tell her that. Don't tell

[00:43:48] Andrea: I know. She went to jail for it. It was a whole thing. They

[00:43:52] Carmen: Was it after Smallville?

[00:43:53] Andrea: It was way after. Yeah, it was way after. But anyway, so she went to prison for a few years, and then just the cherry on top, when she got out, she married a reformed white supremacist.

[00:44:07] Carmen: Oh, yeah, don't tell her that until

[00:44:10] Andrea: I know. But I'm just like, I see this character and I'm like, "God, I already like didn't like her, and now I just hate her so much."

[00:44:17] Andrea: I wanna say it, but I'm holding back

[00:44:19] Carmen: You know what? It, it really does change... Like, I've always tried not to pay attention to what happens outside of... 

[00:44:27] Andrea: It

[00:44:27] Andrea: does. it, does 

[00:44:28] Carmen: it, it does. And I remember, so I was a huge, huge X-Files fan. Loved X- ... I was addicted to... I would watch it every Friday night. I loved that show. And then I started hearing that David Duchovny was complaining about not making enough money.

[00:44:44] Carmen: You know what I mean? Like, and, and, and it's not a sex scandal or whatever, although he did have his own issues with that later on with Tea Leoni or whatever the hell that was about. But, um, and she's now married to Tim Daly, which I did not know that. Like, she's happily married to Tim

[00:45:00] Andrea: Oh, his wife? Yeah.

[00:45:01] Carmen: Yeah, she got remarried or whatever.

[00:45:03] Carmen: What?

[00:45:03] Andrea: McCords. The McCords. That was their name on Madam

[00:45:07] Carmen: All right, right, right. Um, but Tim Daly was from... Is, he's not on that show

[00:45:13] Andrea: On what so?

[00:45:14] Carmen: On the, the McCord show, the

[00:45:16] Andrea: he's the husband. That's where they met

[00:45:20] Carmen: Serious? Oh my God, I had no

[00:45:22] Andrea: yes.

[00:45:23] Carmen: Yeah. He's a good-looking man. And the older he gets, the better looking he gets. I don't know. But anyway, David Duchovny complaining about how much money he was or was not making, and it just, I remember being like, "All right, I'm out." You know what I mean? That was so... And, and then, and you can see that in the final seasons of the show because he was then not coming on.

[00:45:42] Carmen: He only agreed to come on six times. And it's like, it's too much information, and then it just ruins the character. You know what I mean? So,

[00:45:49] Andrea: I agree. Like I'm, I'm, I, I crave information, but then a lot of times I'm like sor- like with this one, I already didn't like her, so I didn't really care that much. But like, uh, sometimes I am really, I'm like, "Ah, I just wish I hadn't known that." I'd rather just enjoy the thing, whatever it is, whether it's the music or the movie or

[00:46:06] Carmen: Yeah. But if you already hate watching it season two, you're not gonna finish. It's

[00:46:11] Andrea: I know.

[00:46:11] Andrea: I mean, uh, maybe it'll get better

[00:46:13] Carmen: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And look at- I don't know if you're gonna like Reacher. I know that Cynthia started watching it, and she liked it. But you saw the videos I sent you of Alan Ritchson. He's just, uh, a- adorable.

[00:46:24] Carmen: Uh, and, and that's why I watched it, 'cause when I first watched it without knowing who he was, I was like, "This is too broody, too manly, too violent," you know? But whatever, so yeah. All right. Well, girl, thank you so much. Um, that was kind of fun. Yeah. Anyways, everyone, thank you so much for hanging out.

[00:46:46] Carmen: Remember, at the end of the day, it really is all about the joy, and we'll see you next time. Bye. Bye, everyone. The palate cleanser. We are lame, or I am since I chose to show it. It's always a good time to watch him though. Okay, bye.