March Madness: Busted Brackets & Broken Policies

This week on Pardon the Politics, Jeezy and Manny take the mic to break down the political slam dunks—and air balls—of the week. From Donald Trump’s bold (and eyebrow-raising) executive order to dismantle the Department of Education to his controversial move to gut DEI protections, the crew explores what’s real, what’s rhetoric, and what it all means for American students, teachers, and taxpayers.

Plus, they salute Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell (a.k.a. the only white Jerome anyone’s ever heard of) for keeping interest rates steady amidst Trump’s tariff tantrums and Klarna’s bizarre new “buy now, pay later” partnership with Doordash.

Also on the docket: Chuck Schumer lands himself in a political pickle, March Madness brackets are in flames, and the tinfoil hats come out for an eerie look at what “Make America Great Again” might really mean.

Biting humor, sharp analysis, and real talk—you know the drill.

🎧 Tune in now, and don’t forget to review, rate, and share!

Transcript

Jeezy: Hello world and welcome to part in the politics. Podcast season 2. Episode 12. I am your co-host jeezy along with my brother and my partner in politics. Manny, my brother, what is good with you today?

Manny: I can tell you what's not good. My March Madness Bracket is definitely not good

Jeezy: Hey, Bro. I understand that I was actually doing fairly well up until I took a couple of gambles, and the 1st one being Yale. I thought the smart. The smart boys were going to pull out a strategic win from a logical perspective and advance to the next round, but they failed me

Manny: Look.

Jeezy: I've been looking at these numbers. I've been doing some analysis. Yeah. And

Manny: How dare these teams with better players and better coaching these teams?

Manny: That don't that that's not supposed to happen. Where are my upsets? Where

Jeezy: I need him.

Manny: Give me one or 2

Jeezy: It has been crazy. My bracket's done. I went from being number one on Espn. To 4 ranked 4 million, and I think I've made up some ground now, because I think I'm at about 2.8 million, so there's hope I stopped

Manny: After the after the 1st day, I said, Yup, well, this dream is not not in the cards for me this year.

Jeezy: I did. I did. I did better this year than I've done in previous years. Normally, by the 1st game I'm like, well, time tear up the bracket. I made it. I made it until like late in the night for the on the 1st day. So I'm like, okay, we getting somewhere, we getting somewhere. So, man sorry about your bracket. Hopefully, hopefully, to our listeners, you've had better success with your brackets than it sounds like we have. So

Jeezy: if your bracket shot and it's terrible, you can put it aside

Manny: Clock, man.

Jeezy: Yeah, you can pay attention to the pod now. So welcome to partner politics, where all of our brackets are busted. So welcome to the listeners. We're so glad to have you join us for this episode. Hope all is well. Thank you for tuning in, and we're going to jump right into our 1st topic for the day. So that topic is on March 20th

Jeezy: our good Buddy Donald Trump signed an executive order, which he initiated. The process of dismantling the Us. Department of Education, and I believe, if I'm not mistaken, we have a clip that we have from him signing this executive order

Jeezy: today. We take a very historic action that was 45 years in the making.

Jeezy: In a few moments I will sign an executive order to begin eliminating the Federal Department of Education once and for all.

Jeezy: Should I do this?

Jeezy: He made it.

Jeezy: You want to do it.

Jeezy: Okay.

Manny: Yeah. So he did a thing

Jeezy: That Sharpie has not ran out of ink yet.

Manny: Yeah, it's I want. I just wanted a sharpie budget.

Manny: He should have an endorsement from Sharpie Bro, I mean, at this point, at this point they fire

Manny: and firing him off like rampant. Right here. Here's my other thing from this sign in

Manny: y'all, set up like a mock classroom

Jeezy: Right, cool

Manny: Shout out to those desk

Jeezy: Hey? Yeah.

Manny: I took some of the best naps of my life on them desk

Jeezy: On a on a classroom desk

Jeezy: and on a long bus ride on a on a mid-temperature day.

Jeezy: and them leather them leather seats have seen seen my forehead many a time.

Jeezy: and the side of that window, too.

Jeezy: But yeah.

Manny: Big old red spot.

Jeezy: Oh, Bruh! That's how you know you've been sleeping. Good! You had a window slightly cracked.

Jeezy: but in this, in this mock classroom that he made up where he showcased that he knew how to spell his name, and the children were able to scribble, scrabble whatever they were able to put, because I believe each kid had, like a copy of the executive order, and it was almost as if they signed it themselves. But in this key the key aspects of this executive order. He aimed to decentralize the responsibilities of the Department of Education.

Jeezy: So this reallocates essential fund functions of the Department of Education to other Federal agencies. So

Jeezy: I believe, like the the small business administration we're now going to be in charge of like student loans

Manny: Think that's even alleged at this point, because

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: Because they got handed over to them. And they're like Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! We don't want this, and he's like how this going to the Treasury. It's like Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! We don't want this, not on our books.

Jeezy: Here's what I don't understand. If you're going to decentralize these responsibilities, and then you're going to put them on other agencies. But you've cut

Jeezy: other agencies as far as the staffing they have.

Jeezy: I don't understand how this is going to be handled, I think, even down to like the programs for students with disabilities. He's trying to move that over to health and human services. So it just seems like a lot. Well.

Manny: Before we do that I'm just proud. He was able to like map it to things that kind of made sense

Jeezy: I mean, yeah, yeah, I mean, yeah, like, you know.

Manny: What health and human service. I I can see that connection. I get student loans. That's money, small business treasury. So

Manny: But yeah, no like

Jeezy: Also in this man, he looking to. He's looking to continue funding that he says that won't be disrupted, which is critical funding for programs, such as title One for Low income Schools and Pell Grants. He's saying that those things will still be able to

Jeezy: function, but it ultimately it all comes down to workforce reduction

Manny: Yeah.

Jeezy: He's already saying that they need a reduction, and he's offering incentives as he's done with all the other agencies where there's early retirement or resignation, with plans to cut approximately half of the staff. So

Jeezy: in this thing, when he talked about getting rid of the Department of Education, I was in Maryland this past week, and I thought it was wild that he made the comment essentially, saying, This is why the the department needs to be shut down. He pointed out Baltimore.

Jeezy: and he said in his comments that

Jeezy: children in Baltimore, in the public school system there was 0% of children that could do arithmetic.

Jeezy: And while I'm sure

Jeezy: we all know that in certain communities certain areas that you know, numbers can be can be low

Manny: Yeah.

Jeezy: I doubt very seriously that you're telling me that there is not a single child in Baltimore that could do

Manny: Probably not one. All of Baltimore

Jeezy: Bro.

Manny: All of it, not once

Jeezy: When he said 0%, I was like that. Come on, now, you tell me there ain't 1 kid

Manny: One right, the man looking looking around like what you call it. A lot. Brothers

Jeezy: Correct.

Manny: I got at least 10. There's got to be 10 down here. Lord.

Jeezy: That's exactly what I was about to say. What is this God trying to find one righteous person? And he only could find Noah and his family right like, be real. Bro, that's the stuff that if you wanted, if you want to dismantle department of education, okay, cool. But don't lie

Manny: Don't lie!

Jeezy: On those poor children kill their hope and say I thought I knew math, but apparently Donald Trump told me that I don't so

Manny: Kids walking around their house with a hundred percent on their math test, like, like

Jeezy: Can you imagine sitting on the floor watching, watching TV watching the news? And you hear the President tell you that nobody in where you live knows how to do, math, and you're like I'm

Jeezy: I'm on the Math Club.

Jeezy: I just got 1st place at the at the Math fair like

Manny: But we just smoked Arlington high in this math competition. What you mean I don't know. Math

Jeezy: But Donald Trump, I know trigonometry.

Jeezy: No, not even you.

Jeezy: Yeah, don't know it. But but in this

Jeezy: there's been some support of dismantling the Department of Education, and I want to just give some details. For those of you that may not know. I want to say.

Jeezy: the Department of Education was created.

Jeezy: I want to say it was during Jimmy Carter's era. I want to say

Manny: Yeah.

Jeezy: It was 19. I got it 1979, Jimmy Carter

Manny: Harder.

Jeezy: The Department of Education Organization Act into law. So when I thought about that, Manny.

Jeezy: for as long as we've been alive, we have functioned under.

Jeezy: The the guidance, I will say, or the governance of the Department of Education. I don't know a time without the department, so

Jeezy: my question is, what does this look like?

Jeezy: I don't know what the country looked like at that time, because I wasn't born. But but what does that look like not having the Department of Education in our country.

Manny: I don't

Jeezy: I don't know, and I guess we're all about to find out here in a little bit

Manny: But it's

Manny: it's so. The desire around this, my answer on this is twofold. The desire of this is to shift education back to the States and give States more control of what they're doing and

Manny: cool like.

Manny: But when we're looking at a global economy for now, who knows where we are 2 years from now, but with a global competing economy. And they're always being a concern that American students may be starting to fall behind. Of our peers in China, and peers

Jeezy: Is, an.

Manny: Like. So I guess my question there is like, How is, how was taking this going to help what I always saw? The Department of education is not only a funding and a money execution machine for for the States, but I also saw it from a standpoint of laying the foundation to say, Hey, y'all American students will know X

Jeezy: Yeah, yeah, it's a

Manny: This is the base ground, and then you, in returning that to the States. How do you have that cooperation? So I live in North Carolina, and I decide to move to Colorado

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: How does that work for my kids? Education?

Manny: Where? Okay? So as you move into the State, had you been coming from these States? Well, that's really a second grade education. But oh, oh, you're coming from these States. That's a 5th grade education. Yeah. So how do we reconcile that? How do we? And not saying it's not possible

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: And again the overarching goal that trump declared was, you know, to return a lot of these decisions back down to the States. But the second part that we've brought up several times over these first, st I don't even know how many days slash years we've been in this this new administration at this point. But

Manny: I I hear about the the program cuts. I hear about the the personnel layoffs that we're seeing. Yeah. But I'm not hearing. They're like, Hey, we're going to stop spending this money. So is money still going to get handled. So is the money that we were going to give to Pell grants instead of going to the Department of Education that's now going to the small business or treasury to help them administer it. So I'm not hearing funding cuts, and this is why I'm not.

Manny: I'm not too overly anxious right now. I'm deeply, deeply concerned

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: It's like they said. We keep seeing all of these cuts. What are we redoing? What are we doing with the money?

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: You know we we've said that, hey? We're going to do it like this. We're going to send it over here. We're going to send it over here, where you know we want all this to run better. But are we actually going to get it? You know, I think, North Carolina, if you look at our budget, I think we get about a billion dollars every year for education from the Feds. Now, a billion dollars is a lot.

Manny: But still North Carolina covers a big bulk of that.

Manny: So

Manny: it it is definitely going to be really, really painful. I think if we also, if this now becomes a situation where they're cutting off funding as well. Just in North Carolina. There, there's a lot of concerns definitely around. And I would say across the nation, around special education and those programs. And how will that money flow? And what the ultimate reaction will be?

Manny: You know, I think you'll see some states that say, Oh, budget shortfall. Okay, here's what we're going to do. We're going to pull it out of our reserves to like cover this like that's something I think North Carolina can do because we are. We are a state that consistently puts money in a rainy day account. But if you're looking at schools in Nebraska.

Manny: I have no idea how much money that they get from the Feds, but they're already dealing with some impact to their economy because of the crops and the impact because of the immigration executive orders. We start seeing seeing those. So do you? Do you tax people more?

Manny: And I think it gets real real, interesting to how people respond to that. And then I think you see other things like the civil civil rights and title ones, and the other those other regulations that would potentially flow to Department of Justice

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: Do they have time to be dealing with these very specialized roles or specialized rules that need to be enforced?

Manny: And then and then the the last piece. You just kind of put a sherry on top

Manny: trump. You can't get rid of the Department of Education

Manny: like you can start taking away responsibilities, but Congress has to move

Manny: to dismantle it, and truly, truly dismantle it. So what does that look like?

Jeezy: And I don't think they have the votes to to even do that. But I think that's why

Jeezy: what trump is is kind of instructing

Jeezy: Linda Mcmahon to do is essentially get it to as close as being dismantled as possible within his within his legal scope. But my concern with with this because I understand the pros right parents won't, which?

Jeezy: My wife's a teacher. And this is one thing that that really bothers me, because when I hear a lot of people that support the support. This, the dismantling of the Department of Education. A lot of it, I hear, are from parents wanting more, say so.

Jeezy: and from having a wife who is a a teacher.

Jeezy: the involvement and engagement that parents have in their children's education is very low. So it's crazy to me that people say I want more control, but if you go to any teacher and ask them the involvement they have from parents, they will tell you that the majority of their students, they will see them on open house if they see them, and they will not hear from the parents anymore at all unless the child is failing their grade.

Jeezy: So where is the care that you say? Oh, I want so much choice. I want so much. Say so in what's going on when you're not even present, to begin with.

Jeezy: So I think that that's a bunch of hogwash I'm pulling. I'm pulling a gun.

Jeezy: Your word out

Jeezy: to keep it clean to keep it. Pg, I believe it's a bunch of hogwash that these people say that they want more control over what their children are reading, and I and I and I get it, I understand.

Jeezy: But I, in my opinion.

Jeezy: be less worried about little Johnny reading a book that got 2 dads in it and worry about why, your kid can't count to 20.

Jeezy: If your kid can't count to 20

Manny: You got bigger fish.

Jeezy: You got bigger fish to fry than him worrying about. Why, there's 2 dads in this book

Manny: And on top of that you know the the big boogeyman of education right now, critical race theory that if we're being honest

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: And being real about it. Critical race theory is a college.

Manny: I'll say, college college at minimum. Yeah.

Manny: From my true understanding or law school level theory.

Jeezy: Yeah. Yes. Yes.

Manny: Child is not reading that 1st grade

Jeezy: And please stop. Please stop saying that they're breeding. They're brainwashing these elementary kids to hate white people. I want it to stop. My wife is an elementary teacher. There is no teaching. The same black history and civil rights things that I learned in school is the same stuff that they're learning. They didn't add any more people in. There is no pledge that you have to hate yourself because you were. You're white, and somehow, Bro, please stop like

Jeezy: half of the. I ain't even going to say that, because I don't want to get the pot in trouble. I was about to get my bag, but let me reel it back here. But but this, this.

Jeezy: this control that they want to have, I understand. But

Jeezy: where was that before this these parents never showed up and cared about having a choice of what their kids were doing until Donald Trump and his people put a scope on critical race theory, and all of these things, and now they won't you? You hadn't showed up before. So I have a problem with that. But but on the con side of this.

Jeezy: You kind of hinted at some of it for one. My problem with with the dismantling of the Department of Education which stated Trump can't do. He has to go through Congress, which I believe that Congress is working to get the votes, if necessary, to do what what they need to do. But I believe they need like 8 or 9 Democrats or something like that. And I don't think that's going to happen

Manny: I don't know. I don't know. I don't know who knows?

Manny: I don't know. Cause because we don't seen everything already.

Jeezy: I mean, yeah, at this point. But but one of the concerns I have about this is the loss of of national education standards, which is what you hinted at before

Manny: Yeah.

Jeezy: And I've said, and I believe you've said it as well on previous episodes. But the Department of Education helps set guidelines for our students nationwide. I believe wholeheartedly that

Jeezy: there are a lot of different

Jeezy: countries. I mean, excuse me, states that we have here, and each State isn't as strong as the other. So you have to have a standard across the nation for your education system. If we don't have that, then you have a vastly different Education standard. The Education standard in Louisiana isn't going to be the same in Delaware

Manny: At all.

Jeezy: And that. And to that point that is so

Jeezy: detrimental to children, to students. Because how? Let's say that I get a job. I work here in North Carolina, and our standard is here. But then I get a job that I have to take an offer that's in college that's in Louisiana. The education isn't going to be the same. So they who's hampered my child?

Jeezy: The the the States that have

Jeezy: between the States and their funding. You're going to have this inequality where wealthier states become better funded. Education have better funded education systems, and these poor states are going to struggle because they do not have the federal support. There is nothing to support those things you think about these rural areas.

Jeezy: There may be a dominant or rough in a rural area where there's a really talented smart kid. But but because of the state that he lives in or she lives in, they won't be able to have access to certain things that could enable them to become the next engineer, to become the next scientist, to become the next lawyer or become an astronaut because they sorry. Mom and dad, you live in a state where the education system is so

Jeezy: poor, because now it's given back to the State versus having a Federal agency to make sure and mandate that the State operates at least

Manny: In a certain way.

Jeezy: Level, you lose that

Manny: Well, you look at that, and then you watch that same change internally within the State. Take Robertson County, in North Carolina. One of you know, one of the poorest counties in North Carolina. You take away their title, one and their other special education funding. They could end up seeing their per student funding fall by over 30% per student

Jeezy: Cat, see

Manny: And

Jeezy: And understand the move. What? But

Jeezy: and this is what people have to understand.

Jeezy: If you're going to ask for something, you have to understand the full scope, the whole implication of what you're trying to do

Manny: Well, and then I'm like control

Jeezy: But you don't have to dismantle. You could just be involved

Manny: So the the 2 questions I have from this is on on top of all the other questions. I'm going to stop saying the 2 questions I have, because it's clear the questions I gotta I got a lot of them is, first, st

Manny: the if I understand it correctly, the budget requests from the Department of Education last year

Manny: Was.

Manny: I say, I don't say this to make the number insignificant. Yeah, because I know it. Know the impact that it has locally but 90 billion dollars.

Manny: But we, how much have we given to Ukraine? If we're trying to save money, let's stop the war.

Manny: Yeah. And then

Manny: maybe we're not writing a check over 60, 70, 80, 90 billion to Ukraine for the the war that they're fighting? That that's the 1st question. So is this really about money? And then the second question.

Manny: What what? What is it that the Department of Education does that you? You disagree with

Jeezy: Yeah, right.

Manny: Like, help me understand that like, that's the part that I like, is it? Is it? The the pell grants? Yeah, is this school safety and mental health

Manny: is English, you know English taking English as a second language.

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: Is it the career and technical training? So the vocational training and 1.4 billion dollars of that request in 2024 was for that vocational training that you hear a lot of people saying, yes, yes, we need more of it. Well, now, we're talking about not funding it at all. Is it charter schools?

Manny: Because the fact we love charter schools? Is it? Is it getting teachers getting teachers and helping teachers for their prep and professional development. You got an issue with that, is it education, research and innovation trying to figure out new ways to teach kids? What is it that that really just bothers you? Or is it the thought that somebody in Washington, DC. That has years of experience in education is making a decision that would impact everybody.

Manny: because if that bothers you, then the executive orders that Donald Trump is signing weekly at this point should bother you because it's the same

Jeezy: It's the same

Manny: Bureaucrat in Washington, DC. Making decisions for you and your family. So where are we drawing this line

Jeezy: And I think that when people come for the performance or the results of our education system, I think that you're targeting the department. Education is not valid, because if they set the guideline ultimately it's up to the State

Jeezy: and the local officials to act out and carry out those said things. So if that is the case, your problem should be with your State, not with the Department of Education, because there's just setting the standard. It's up to North Carolina. It's up to Louisiana. It's up to Colorado. It's up to the State to uphold those standards and make sure. So if you're trying to say that the issue with the Department of Education maybe you want to say that it's not operating efficiently or effectively in that manner

Jeezy: that still does not equate to dismantling

Manny: And you hinted on it before. Well, you didn't hint you talked about it. I'm going to add a cherry on top of that

Jeezy: Okay.

Manny: I grew up in Colorado, did my education. Denver. Denver. Public schools then went to private schools for a while, moved here when I was in high school.

Manny: The Civil War.

Manny: to my knowledge up to this point had always been called the Civil War, and I was like, yes, it wasn't until I moved to North Carolina that I heard somebody refer to it as the War of Northern Aggression, and I said, What!

Manny: Hold on, what? Wait a minute

Manny: timeout timeout timeout. What? Yeah. Yeah. The the North got mad and invaded the South because we we wanted our own, you know. Oh, they were. The the North was infringing on your your rights

Manny: that slavery was bad, that enslaving another person. No, it was about. It was about taxes. Yes, the non taxes you didn't have to pay because of the work the slaves were doing. What? But I'm like you're talking about standards like that, where things would be talked about wildly. Your child getting an education in rural Mississippi is going to look already looks different than somebody who lives

Jeezy: Already

Manny: San Fernando Valley

Manny: But it's going. We see a potential

Jeezy: Wildly different.

Manny: Of it becoming larger and more problematic. If you look at the current budget of the Department of Education, 45% of it is on equity based funding and special education

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: 40% is about college access.

Manny: 5% is pilot programs, data systems and equity enforcement, 5%

Manny: and 10% miscellaneous grants and support?

Manny: Where is the problem? Yeah, where?

Jeezy: I can't spot it. I don't. And I think that you know, going going to what you were just saying, and one of the risks that I think that comes with this dismantling is the political manipulation at the State level.

Jeezy: I believe that becomes a very serious problem, because and we see some of the manipulation in North Carolina, not necessarily from the education perspective, but we've seen just some of the shifts and changes and policies to to change up power. And what have you but local governments can introduce policies that align with their political agendas rather than educational best practices. I think that is a major issues. I mean a major issue.

Jeezy: When your curriculum becomes more politicized. Over history, science, sex education, everything becomes so extreme. So then think about that

Jeezy: without a standard. Let's say you live in Mississippi, and you know we Mississippi is a red state.

Jeezy: Let's say that their curriculum is politically motivated and manipulated. Let's say that family ends up moving to a blue state. That kid comes in and he is.

Jeezy: They can be like yo

Manny: Lost. You don't know

Manny: like, where did y'all find this dude? Because he, coming in talking, think about just think about kind of to the point you just said about how you always heard it was a civil war. And then now you came and you heard it was the war on Northern aggression. Think about how wide that gap is when this kid comes in talking some crazy propaganda type stuff, and he moves from a red state to a blue state. They like yo

Jeezy: What is this kid talking about? Oh, and mind you, he is so far behind where we're at on the Education Standard because his State didn't have the same standards that we have. So he comes in talking crazy, and and he's not even on the same level. So what 8th grade looks like in North Carolina ain't gonna be what 8th grade looks like in Mississippi. So then, when these kids go to college, how can you expect a child to perform

Jeezy: form on the same level when they didn't all

Jeezy: kids in college come from various places in the State, various places in the State. So how in the world is it going to be possible for all these kids to be able to gather or integrate or come together? I don't understand it.

Manny: Well, Jeez, I think I got something for our tinfoil hat community

Jeezy: -Oh! Here, but we go

Manny: You unlock this door with the key of imagination.

Manny: Oh, yeah.

Manny: Here we are, the key of Imagination Nation, and we

Jeezy: Of imagination.

Manny: So look, I'm not saying this is the plan. I'm also not saying this is not the plan

Jeezy: Okay.

Manny: But

Manny: you know, if we look at what if the the goal of this is to really just make sure there are more workers

Jeezy: Bro.

Jeezy: I've been saying that Bro.

Manny: What if the goal is to? Okay? So we are now moving out all the illegal immigrants. We're going to close off immigration

Jeezy: Yep.

Manny: We don't need everybody going to these college. We don't. We don't

Jeezy: Bingo!

Manny: Everyone targeting corporate America. We need people in these new manufacturing

Manny: So if we're not expanding ideas, if we're not really in that, because honestly, if you look at the transition that the United States has gone over. We've gone from being a manufacturing powerhouse that we saw in the early 19 hundreds to really being a thought engineering, not company thought engineering nation an idea generation. We come up with the ideas

Manny: that are then manufactured. Other places we outsource that we outsource the manufacturing of things, so we can spend more time thinking about solutions.

Jeezy: -

Manny: But you can't have all that now. So let's just kind of close some of these doors, not saying that's the plan. But if I threw my tinfoil hat on

Jeezy: I can see the pieces.

Jeezy: Bro. I'm telling you. I have said it, that I really think I was explaining this to somebody, and they probably looked at me like I, for sure had a tinfoil hat, because when they brought up this I was like.

Jeezy: just hear me out.

Jeezy: This is the plan.

Jeezy: If all of these people are gone who's going to work these jobs? Nobody. No American wants to do any of these jobs right. None of us would sign up willingly to go do any of the jobs that the that the immigrants that we have, or that we're deporting, that we're

Manny: Not for the prices they're paying today

Jeezy: But if you make it to a point where I don't have a choice

Manny: Right.

Jeezy: What choice do I have? If it's either? Once I graduate high school, I can't. College is not obtainable for me.

Jeezy: The only thing I can do is manufacturing jobs, or going back to doing some of the things where my father-in-law sits around sometimes, and he talks about how they would man tobacco fields and do all this stuff, and I'm like it sounds so a hundred years ago, but it was only 50 60.

Jeezy: So in my mind, I'm like. Is this, what trump means when he says make America great again? Because my father was like we were poor, and we didn't even know we had a good time shuckling pennies and going to the corner store to get a soda and a cookie for 5 cents like. Is that what we're going back to is that is that the great that we're going to? It seems like it to me. But you know, I think that when you start targeting

Jeezy: the Department of Education and the education system just in totality. I believe this is where your issue comes up with, and something you said earlier.

Jeezy: When you think about the Federal funding that these schools get?

Jeezy: 8. Generally in a breakdown, 8 to 10% of it comes from from Federal funding their funding. Most of it comes from the State, and most of it comes from local.

Jeezy: But if you take away that 8 to 10%, and that's just just a standard. Some, I'm sure, are more. I believe. I looked at one previously where it was like 14%. But still, if you take away that 14%, or that 14%, or that 10% is diminished by 2%, 3%. Then that funding has to be made up somewhere else.

Manny: Somewhere.

Jeezy: The state, the state funding or the local funding. So then, that reallocation that you're doing is shifting things, that that becomes a responsibility that has to be made up on others. Well, that state funding and that local funding comes from income tax sales, tax lottery revenue property taxes. So then, now do those things need to be raised more to make up

Jeezy: absolutely

Jeezy: lack. But that's problematic. So that's where going back to what you said. So then, what is your problem with the Department? Because from what I see, the only thing that every time I hear about dismantling it, it's about control. If control is the thing I don't believe dismantling is your solution.

Manny: Yeah, well, and I see other people being like, hey? Because if you look at a state like California extremely extremely populous, is it likely I've done not done the math. But is it likely that part of the taxes that I paid is going to California?

Manny: Yeah, it's very likely. But then that just brings me back to the question, what do I disagree with that? The Department of Education is doing today?

Manny: And I I'm having trouble finding it

Jeezy: I can't. I can't spot the knot

Manny: Yeah.

Jeezy: So the work he put into order. Linda Mcmahon shout out to Ecu alumni, Linda Mcmahon, I hope that in all of this dismantling you'll still make sure that good old East Carolina gets what they need

Jeezy: for for their funding. But yeah, it's it's going to be. It's going to be a hassle man

Manny: It's gonna be interesting.

Jeezy: Yeah, it's going to be very interesting. And I think that as Congress tries to work to see if they could potentially get divorced, that'll be interesting as well, too, because we've seen

Jeezy: from the Government Bill that was passed a week or 2 ago how some of those Republicans I mean Democrats that sided with the Republicans on passing, that how they were kind of slapped on the hand a little bit for so I wonder how that will affect some Democrats in voting potentially, if it makes it to the floor on dismantling the Department of Education, so

Manny: My closing thought on this is.

Manny: I feel almost the same way about this as I do about abortion a little bit different, though

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: Where are the teachers? Yeah, why are we making decisions with

Manny: without the teacher without teachers and education professionals at the forefront

Jeezy: I totally agree.

Jeezy: they are the ones that are going to be impacted. And I think you've seen on certain news and media outlets that they have interviewed some, some of those that are in the education field teachers, principals. And what have you and a lot of them? Even some that have voted for trump was like, Yeah, we we don't. We don't want this, maybe more efficient. Yes.

Jeezy: but but completely

Manny: What cost.

Jeezy: Yeah, I don't. I don't think that's something that that the people won't.

Jeezy: But we'll see. We will see what happened, man. So on that note, we'll move right over into our next topic. 1st of all, I want to say as we go into this next topic, well, let me let me introduce it on. On March 19th the Federal Reserve announced that they would maintain Federal rates within the target range of 4.2 5% to 4.5%. Now, I want to say this before we start on it.

Jeezy: I've never met a white man named Jerome

Manny: Never never met him.

Jeezy: So I have to believe. I have to believe that Jerome Powell

Manny: He's an alright man with me. He got some slack

Jeezy: He may, he may, can come to the cookout. I can't imagine a white woman somewhere in the sixties

Jeezy: gave birth to this man somewhere in the fifties and sixties gave birth to this man. And when they said, Man, what would you like to name your son? She said, Jerome.

Jeezy: but I for the life of me I have. I've searched, I've searched every mountain, and I've searched every valley, and I cannot find a white man named Jerome in

Manny: In 1953,

Jeezy: Right

Jeezy: I came. I came for the life of me. Bro. Jerome, Jerome Powell, shout out to Jerome Powell, Bro.

Manny: Jerome Hayden, Powell

Jeezy: Oh, yeah, Bro, he he might have some black in him. Bro.

Manny: And hold on. He has 5 siblings, Susan, Matthew, Tia Libby and Monica

Jeezy: Bro. How

Manny: Thank you.

Manny: End up.

Manny: How do you end up with the name

Jeezy: Name out of out of all of you and your siblings like I could see if he was the only child

Manny: Bye.

Jeezy: He got the blackest name.

Jeezy: so shout out to Jerome, but he announced on the 19th that he was holding the rates.

Jeezy: and of course, you know that ain't. That ain't made Big Donnie happy.

Jeezy: President Trump has expressed his dissatisfaction in the Fed's decision to maintain the interest rates advocating instead of rate cuts to counteract the economic impact of his administration's tariffs.

Jeezy: What's your thoughts on it, Manny?

Manny: I think, Jerome look. I think Jerome made the right play

Jeezy: Think he did too

Manny: He, we don't know, and we don't have enough stability

Jeezy: Yep.

Manny: To project

Manny: what's coming next. So they can even do calculations to see. Oh, okay, well, this this move will have this impact. So if we cut rates here, this is how it'll play out. We don't have any of that information. Why? Because tariffs get thrown on Monday, rescinded on Tuesday back on by Thursday

Jeezy: -

Manny: Off by Friday announcement of new tariffs on Saturday. No one knows. Like, again we talked about it. Last episode. There's no level of consistency that anyone can check or plan for and the fed. I think people forget the Fed's purpose. Fed has 2 purposes

Manny: Protect jobs, continue and control inflation. That's it. They don't even per se. Care about the Gdp. All that much. What are the jobs? Numbers look like. What does inflation look like and guess what? They're both not looking great

Jeezy: But

Manny: There's been other decisions made that would make it even worse. So it's kind of like, what what do you want him to do? This is his job. This is his job title. You want him just to cut rates just because you're not happy with them.

Manny: and I get it.

Manny: I would very much like rates to be cut

Jeezy: Oh, for sure!

Manny: I need the look. I know we're never gonna get back to 2% rates unless a lot of bad things happen all at once.

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: Or over the progression over another couple months. So maybe

Manny: maybe I'll have a chance later on this year. Hopefully, not but I know we're not gonna see 2% rates anymore.

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: But, like, what are you trying to do like a.

Manny: you know I'm not. I'm gonna let that. I'm just let that sit for. I'm gonna let that sit for a second. I'm gonna let it sit for the second

Jeezy: But

Manny: We're in a bad shape, like, okay? So numerically, the United States economy is not in the worst shape

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: Like we're, we're still. I think the Gdp numbers are around 2.3%. So we're still growing. Unemployment is still at. If you look over the the consistent life of us taking that measurement. It's not the lowest it's ever been, but it's still relatively low. So things are theoretically stable

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: But things don't feel good

Jeezy: Yeah, and I wanted to think.

Manny: Oh, go ahead!

Jeezy: No, I was going to say. One of the things that Powell did say is that he emphasized on this cautious stance that future policy decisions will be data dependent and consider on the balance of risk to the economic outlook. And I think that's the thing that he shout out to Jerome Powell, because he's not. He's doing

Manny: He's not backing down, and he's not backing down

Jeezy: Yeah, he his job is, and I think that in the future I mean, excuse me, in the past Trump has stated how the President should have say so in this in this arena, and I don't agree with that, and I'm glad that Jerome is standing his ground, because while things aren't aren't good, but things aren't bad.

Jeezy: essentially going forward. Things could be. And then where would that put the position of the country? Had he, you know, be so quick handed to do what the President wants him to do.

Manny: Well, and it's not like the economy. Things aren't flashing concerns. I think we're seeing at repossession rates with cars climbing, new home sales, falling home, sales in general falling, and the the

Manny: the piece that came, the piece of news that came out last week that had me like, oh, yeah, we're we're cooked. We're not cooked, but we. We're heading down that pipe.

Manny: Someone said, Let me go warm up. This oven is Doordash, having partnered with Klarna

Manny: to offer. Buy now, and pay later

Jeezy: Bruh

Manny: And look, I am

Jeezy: Row. We can't be in a good state if we

Manny: In a week, I understand, adding choice to the consumer.

Manny: I understand that, but my concern is, you know, putting on my Dave Ramsey cap very briefly, is people now taking on debt

Manny: for a big Mac meal because you were you were drunk, and you knew you needed that. That. Sit on your stomach, and now, like Oh, I'll pay for it later.

Manny: like I understand the flexibility. I think this is a big win for Klarna

Jeezy: You know, because I think they're prepping for an Ipo

Manny: But this can't be a good sign.

Jeezy: No, I

Manny: Maybe if I have to pay later for a meal

Jeezy: Yeah. Now, I will say that the important part of that is that the order has to be over $35, which is still crazy, and your 4 out your 3 options are you could pay in full. You could pay in 4. This just sounds crazy to me. 4 equal interest free installments.

Jeezy: or you could pay later, depending on your personal, financial schedule. I think that to your point, if this is something that we have to entertain. We, as an economy, can't be in the best spot

Manny: I I just wanted to note one thing, and I think I think it's key with the with the $30 limit

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: So for those of you joining the pod in in our friend group. I think I'm the boozy friend

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: I'm I'm I'm the boozy friend. So I've been doing what Doordash and and food delivery services since. What? 2019

Jeezy: Were made available.

Manny: I remember we were having a cookout at my spot, and I was like Dang. I need some pepper and some

Jeezy: So. Oh, my God!

Jeezy: Didn't have it

Manny: And you know.

Manny: or we didn't have enough. We were gonna run out. So I'm out there on the grill I was talking to. G's, I'm like, yeah, yeah. Well, no worry

Manny: had to be like, 15 min later, knock, knock, knock, knock.

Manny: I remember the look that all my boys gave me. He's like you just had that delivered. I'm like, yeah.

Manny: Yeah. Why, it it came to me what

Jeezy: Wildest thing I ever experienced in my life is seeing this man Doordash so salt and pepper what he

Jeezy: lives around the corner.

Jeezy: He waited 15 to 20 min for salt and pepper, where we could have been back and had it in 5. I was like yo this

Manny: Hey, look! Everyone.

Jeezy: Wow!

Manny: Everyone was comfortable. Everyone said I wasn't trying to break up a good time, because people because we needed salt and pepper. No, just go ahead to the crib, and while you had it, send me some sugar, some honey, and give me give me, you know. Go ahead and pick up these other couple of things

Jeezy: It was wild Bro, but

Manny: All that being said, I have a family

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: If we just go to a restaurant normally.

Jeezy: -

Manny: It's gonna be over $35.

Jeezy: Oh, indefinitely.

Manny: So I'm like, it's great to have a limit. But people are people.

Manny: I feel the same way that I feel about these pay as you go, services as I feel with like payday loans

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: I feel like they're a long term trap. And

Manny: if we're if this is becoming more of an option.

Manny: then is it really about flexibility? Or is it about overall need of the American people that they can no longer afford to to live and function

Manny: So

Manny: the economy, the economy is good numerically it does not feel good, and the constant turmoil between our trade partners that are going to affect prices and whatnot are not making people feel any better. And to what you said before, Jerome is doing a great job of navigating that pressure

Manny: against the fear, against the facts, and we will see

Jeezy: Yeah, cause what happens?

Manny: What it's rumored. Now that april second, there's going to be a global tariff that we're going to put on everybody.

Manny: What? Well, yeah, it will. Will it come into effect, will it not? No one knows

Jeezy: Jesus Christ

Manny: No one knows and no one can plan. And this is a problem

Jeezy: Jesus, just put your sandals on and come on down here, man.

Manny: I mean, he's got to be looking for him at this point right

Jeezy: You know it is when your mom called and be like, Hey, come to the car and get these groceries. You start looking for your shoes

Jeezy: at this point. Just grab any any shoes you

Manny: And you see, we don't care. We

Manny: we ain't gonna really be paying attention to what shoes you got on

Jeezy: Yeah. Just come on out here

Manny: We? We don't need you. I know I know the the Moses 3 just came out. We you know you ain't got to be that fresh fresh when you're coming through the spot

Jeezy: Whatever house shoes you have is do

Manny: With us.

Jeezy: So shout out to Jerome, Jerome, if you if you listen to the episode, hey, you can come on the pod and let the boys know? How'd you get? How'd your mama come up with Jerome?

Manny: And that's what we want. That's what we want to know.

Jeezy: One more.

Manny: This? Is it

Jeezy: I ain't worried about the job you're doing. You're doing your job well, brother, but I am intrigued to know how this white woman came up with your role for your name, so let the boys at the pod know we got questions.

Jeezy: So that is our, that is it for us on the economy. So before we get into our pickle of the week, we have one more topic that we want to bring up, and that is centered around a couple of well, I guess 2 executive orders that really have canceled each other out.

Jeezy: Those executive orders are executive order 1, 1, 2, 4, 6, which is actually issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. And if you're not familiar with this executive order number, which you wouldn't be because

Manny: It was in 1965,

Jeezy: But the purpose of this executive order was to this order prohibits Federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment decisions based on race.

Jeezy: color, religion, sex, and national.

Jeezy: Origin.

Jeezy: That was signed again in 1965

Jeezy: President Trump has signed Executive Order 1, 4, 1, 7, 3, which was issued on January of this, of 2025

Manny: 25 yep.

Jeezy: 2025.

Jeezy: But this order focused on preventing

Jeezy: diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in Federal agencies and limiting race-based hiring

Jeezy: policies, so something that was put in place by Lyndon B. Johnson, and if you are unfamiliar with President Lyndon B. Johnson, he was very instrumental in civil rights, making sure that those that he

Jeezy: deemed were discriminated against that there were policies put in place to eliminate the discrimination, and the segregation that was taking on taking place in this country to give everyone a fair chance. And now Trump has taken that away. So what are your thoughts on it, brother?

Manny: Ugh!

Manny: Okay, so let's go back to 2, 4, 6, the 2, 4, 6, or the the Lbj, or

Manny: all this orders I won't say all. But when we look at these 2 orders in context with each other.

Manny: the original executive order was just basically saying, Hey, Federal government, y'all can't do business with companies and contractors that segregate.

Manny: or you know, miss, Misclass, their users, their their users, and the employees. If they do any of those practices you can't work with them. Trump's order has essentially said, Yes, you can now do with. Do do do business with them.

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: Here's where.

Manny: Here's where I want to take a deep breath

Manny: before everyone provides that Internet overreaction.

Manny: Segregation is still illegal from Federal law.

Manny: But, man, if we're not just slowly eroding protections

Jeezy: Yep.

Manny: And other incentives for people to not do that, and is like, why, like.

Manny: you know, I understand. Hey? We want this on merit. We want people who we want businesses. To be able to, you know, as the Federal Government to be able to select people just based on who's the best. Not on any of these woke policies.

Manny: I don't believe being woke was a thing in 1965, but you know.

Manny: Hook Hook, as the the young folks say, Okay, so

Manny: it's concerning it's concerning, and it can very much be seen as an erosion of of protections that have been set up. And because this was really just more of an incentivization. Is that a word? I don't know. We're gonna we're gonna roll with that today. Incentivization of Hey, if you're going to segregate, you can't do business with us.

Manny: So it's concerning we'll see how it plays out. But it's still legally. Segregation is illegal in the United States.

Jeezy: But but to me it's almost doing the same thing like what he's doing with the Department of Education like can't be dismantled.

Jeezy: but it's close enough. You know what I mean, right

Jeezy: of it possibly being able to be done. And you know my thing is is when you say merit-based.

Jeezy: apparently being white is a merit. So when they say merit based, I believe that's that's the key, because, you know, these things are set up to make sure that the people that are qualified but may be a person of color, or maybe a woman, or may have a disability is being looked at to make sure that happens versus saying, even though you're qualified, we're going to go with this guy over here who, though he's not as qualified as you are.

Jeezy: He has a little bit of qualification, and you know we he's the he's the CEO's nephew, or something like that.

Manny: Right, right, hey!

Jeezy: -Oh

Manny: Man. I don't forgot where I was

Jeezy: I said.

Manny: My brain locked up like like a bag. Transmission

Jeezy: I you got to

Manny: I don't. I don't even know where I was going, man, I don't

Jeezy: Know where I was going

Manny: Yeah, I lost it. I lost it, Pod. I was. It was a good one. I was like. I should have wrote it down, I should have wrote it down.

Manny: But yes, now I remember what it was, so

Jeezy: Do. Do I need to queue it up?

Jeezy: Yeah, go ahead and queue it up. So we got another one

Manny: For good people.

Jeezy: You unlock this door

Manny: With the key of imagination. The key of imagination is back. Y'all

Manny: so, for our tinfoil hack community

Jeezy: Hey!

Manny: Are. Y'all just trying to bait a fight right?

Manny: Because, like again, still federally illegal, cannot do it, you know. And if I look at the time I had to go look at the timing and about when this executive order was signed versus when the other civil rights legislation had also come into effect, but like it's almost as if you're trying to bait a fight

Jeezy: What fight is that, brother?

Manny: I look, I'm gonna let the listeners put that together for themselves. But it's almost like

Manny: someone's trying to bait a fight. But you know I'm

Manny: y'all do what you do. I'm not fighting. There's some really retailers that I won't be shopping yet, but I, for one, am not going to be baited by this particular one, but

Manny: eyes are watching, eyes are watching

Jeezy: Yeah, man, it's.

Jeezy: I think, that ultimately. And this goes back to a lot of what people are saying is, is this where you're trying to take us back to this this place where.

Jeezy: you know, I saw this this interesting tweet, not Tweet. Excuse me, this Tiktok, where the black this black Lady was talking, and she was like

Jeezy: at this point, you know what? Let's just be segregated like I mean, let's stop all the back and forth. Let's stop all the you know the tiptoeing around the bush. This is what y'all want. Let's just be segregated, and it made me think, and I had a conversation with somebody about this.

Jeezy: and when we look at history

Jeezy: there were a time. There was a time that that we were separate.

Jeezy: And when you look throughout history anytime that

Jeezy: that we've been able to, as far as people of color have been able to excel. There was something that took place that pushed us back down to Square one, and we weren't able to make the steps necessary. We had Black Wall Street. We had all these things that were we, we were very fine being by being on our own.

Jeezy: But then there's almost this lack of, I guess there's a sense of jealousy in power, and then that's torn down, and it's like you don't want us apart. But you don't want us

Jeezy: like to have our own. So what is it that you want. And I've came down to the thought that maybe it's just control

Manny: Look, man. People do wild things for control.

Jeezy: Yeah, maybe it's just control. And when I think of this.

Jeezy: of what trump is doing is this just

Jeezy: being able to take control? Take back the power and control of these spaces that that are owned and occupied by people. To say, I have control, I have space. I have

Jeezy: power over this space that if I don't want you, I have every right, no matter how qualified you are, I can. I can say that I don't want you here

Manny: Right? Well, look at. There's 4 big areas where I think there are real world consequences of this. 1st is for Federal contractors. This means that there's less oversight, and it can embolden some people to do some things unless they are very directly challenged.

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: Workplace workplace diversity efforts. As we know, Dei, across the the Federal Government is gone. Essentially so, you have less institutional support. A marginalized group

Manny: In terms of enforcement of the existing civil rights law. You're going to either need the Department of Justice to do investigations under title 7, or you're going to have to, you know.

Manny: Do private lawsuits against companies and other contractors to make sure people are in compliance, and then just overarchingly public trust, like the polarization over the Federal Government's roles, is civil rights is going to be big. And that's why a lot of people are able to trust the Federal Government with some of these actions.

Manny: because they, because they have these internal checks and balances, all of that is potentially in threat. Now the the supporters of this effort does say, this is duplicative, duplicative.

Manny: and they're just trying to streamline.

Manny: But

Jeezy: We'll see

Manny: People have real reactions to things that are happening

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: And it is completely valid for people to feel the way they feel about things, especially if they've had an expectation of how this is going to run. We said this on previous episodes, that there is an expectation of how the Federal Government

Manny: operates and the consistency. I think we have the the

Manny: This is off topic, but kind of on topic. At the same point.

Manny: We have people in Washington that are that out of touch. When we look at the Treasury, I think, Lutnick, he was a small business lutnick. He was out there. He was doing an interview, and he was like, hey? If my, you know, 92 year old mother missed a social security check.

Manny: she would just think, oh, something is wrong. I'll get it next month. And he was like somebody who's trying to. You know, the the bad guys, the Con men. They will. Actually, they'll know what's missing, and they'll make a call because they're scheming for money. No people need to buy groceries

Jeezy: Right like

Manny: I don't have groceries. Look, I do, very. I do very well for myself, and it is all by the grace of God. But trust and believe

Manny: that if on 15th and the 31, st that check ain't hit the hit, the account. Do I need the money right then? Maybe maybe not.

Manny: But I'm gonna make a call a

Jeezy: Hey?

Jeezy: Y'all lying over there? Y'all

Manny: Y'all good. This is, it's coming tomorrow, right? Like

Manny: my check could be $5 off negatively.

Manny: And I'm gonna have some questions. Well, I hope

Jeezy: Oh, yeah.

Manny: Where's my $5? So I think it's again. It's the consistency and not everyone is frankly in the position that as a as a 92 year old person

Manny: could miss a check and then wait and have the other one, and also have the family support that they're able to cover any needs that that person might have

Manny: super out of touch

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: But hey, you know whatever maggot

Jeezy: Here we go!

Manny: Is, that

Jeezy: You know, I think that you know, when you think about this a great point that you made Maddy. People have real feelings and real emotions to these things, and I feel as though what everything that's going on from a from just in totality, from the deportations to certain executive orders. I just feel like this. The real feeling of does. Does the country? Does the leader care about me?

Jeezy: Not just people of color, but but women special needs. Those that are of the minority. And I think sometimes we forget minority is not just people of color.

Jeezy: There's other things that pertain to that. And I just think that when you see certain things like this

Jeezy: why, that's what my question is always, why, this is something that's going on. You didn't see this as an issue in your 1st term. Why, you know, why did you feel the need to sign this executive order? Realizing the real feeling and implication of what this, though you may say one thing, you signing this, what does this truly speak to? To what your agenda is?

Manny: And I think that's a big point about knowing that you care one of the big, I would say, probably turning points of George Bush's presidency very early on was on 9 11 when he went to ground 0 and climbed up on the rebel and grabbed that megaphone and said, I hear you. The people around here hear you, and soon the people who did this are going to hear you

Jeezy: Yep.

Manny: People don't care what you know until they know that you care and

Jeezy: A 100%

Manny: So we'll see. We'll see how it goes. But yeah.

Jeezy: Well, you know, I'm sure that we'll have another executive order by next week, so if if

Manny: Hasn't come in. While we, while we were recording

Jeezy: They be coming in fast, boy, but with that being said.

Jeezy: we are at our favorite segment of the episode, and that is our pickle of the week. We got your pickle.

Jeezy: We got your pickle.

Jeezy: We got your pickle

Jeezy: all right, all right.

Jeezy: Who's in the who's in the brine?

Jeezy: Our pickle of the week is none other than Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.

Jeezy: Chuck's in a pickle man. It's been reported that this week he has been

Jeezy: having to feel the calls of him being asked to step down from his post.

Jeezy: And that ain't, you know, that ain't good. He.

Jeezy: Nancy Pelosi, came out and criticized him. And I believe you said the same thing in the previous episode that him siding with the Government Bill essentially just giving

Manny: For nothing.

Jeezy: No, no, no.

Manny: Nothing

Jeezy: He didn't get. He didn't get a 6th or 7th round pick back. He just

Jeezy: just gave it up, and right

Manny: Could at least got like some some budget allocation in 2047, like

Jeezy: He could have made sure that when they had the bill the 1st time, and they were trying to get that increase in pay, he could have made sure that was on the bill.

Manny: Something

Jeezy: You could have got another. You could ask for espresso machine in

Manny: Look on the 3rd floor. The keurig ain' ain't caring anymore.

Jeezy: No, you couldn't

Manny: Some more K-cups

Jeezy: You could. You could have got something. We off on Fridays and every every last Friday of the month we get a food trucks and stuff. Bro, you could have done something.

Jeezy: But no, he gave it away for cheap, and ever since then there has been a lot of talk amongst the Democratic party of him needing to step down. Now if he does happen to step down, there's potential for the Senate minority whip. Senator Durbin could potentially be a leading candidate, and we expressed up here that we thought that there was also some rumblings of Aoc, and then

Manny: For the seat

Jeezy: Some talk of the potential candidate being Chris Murphy from Connecticut. So

Jeezy: Some people that they say that has a more progressive voice within the party that would help them get a little bit of a of a better backing as far as their leadership. So.

Jeezy: man, I don't see this. These calls backing down anytime soon.

Jeezy: It's okay.

Manny: No, absolutely not like if you look earlier. So right now, Aoc is out on a tour with Bernie Sanders.

Jeezy: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Manny: Colorado. They had 35,000 people turn out to see them speak. Yeah.

Jeezy: See, I I think I seen a video clip of that where she walked out. And I was like, oh, that was a that was a

Manny: That was

Jeezy: Proud.

Manny: Crap!

Jeezy: Yeah, so.

Manny: We'll see

Jeezy: With that with that being said man, you know. And when you see that Bernie's torn around Aoc out there, we talked about in a previous episode about how she's becoming taking more of a leadership tone. And we see this turning of the tide where it could be very well possible that he may be pressured to

Jeezy: take down the post man, you know, so he's in a bit of a pickle man, I think he made.

Jeezy: I feel like he made the right decision. But he just walked away with Just, and and that was, I think, ultimately you were going to have to vote for it, anyway, but at least give some type of fight, and and that just looks bad on on your leadership. You know.

Manny: And I don't think it was just the fact that he

Manny: he voted for it. I think it was the he talked big

Jeezy: -

Manny: Big game and said, Yeah, gear, that's it.

Manny: I've they called his bluff hard

Jeezy: Art. Bro.

Jeezy: Brother Chuck, I'm sorry, brother, but you

Manny: You and the Brian

Jeezy: Pickle man. I don't know how this is going to turn out for you.

Jeezy: But yeah, man, thoughts and prayers

Manny: But

Jeezy: Better better you than me

Manny: Far better than you, you than me.

Jeezy: So that that is

Jeezy: of the week. So as we've reached the end of our episode, we always like to give give you the listeners

Jeezy: our spotlights of the week. So, Manny, what? What is your spotlight of the week?

Manny: Man. So I'd like to come. Come on back home and talk about a couple things that are working its way, or have worked its way through our legislature.

Manny: First, st we'll start with the more interesting one that we'll watch and see how this plays out. But there's been a bill in North Carolina to legalize marijuana, and to expunge the records of people who have marijuana crimes

Jeezy: Hey! Hey!

Manny: I don't think this will go any. Well, I've been shocked

Jeezy: I've been

Manny: Shocked before I've been shocked before I look. I'm in the belief of a couple things around. This is that

Manny: 1st and foremost, and I would carry this across every single State.

Manny: If you are going to do legalization, then the criminal restoration has to be part of this as well

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: The expungement and addressing those issues. And I'm not talking about the people who were moving 400 pounds of marijuana. Clearly, no, I'm talking about. Oh, you had a you had a you had a dime bag during a traffic stop like

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: That's what I'm if you don't have the criminal reconciliation tied with the legalization, then we're doing it wrong. So I'm glad those 2 are coupled together.

Manny: The other piece on North Carolina is.

Manny: I've never thought that we're ever going to be able to hop immediately to recreational.

Manny: I see it taking a path that it would go through medicinal, and then eventually we would see that. So I don't believe anything will happen with this bill, especially with the makeup of the current legislature. But I've been. I've been wrong before.

Jeezy: Yeah.

Manny: But that's not the big one.

Manny: the big one is. There was a new Hurricane Relief Bill.

Manny: The North Carolina General Assembly signed off on 524 million dollars of hurricane, Helene. Relief

Manny: of that, a hundred 20 million for housing, for housing rebuilds.

Manny: a hundred 1 million for roads and bridges.

Manny: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yeah, sorry. Sorry. Let me let me fix those numbers. What? What?

Manny: Yeah? Sorry. What was approved 120 million for housing, 100 million for roads or bridges, 310 million for agriculture, not only for just Helene, but the other pass. We're still across the State dealing with the effects for Hurricane Matthew.

Manny: So we're still recovering from that. And then there was also an additional 217 million for past other hurricane projects. So a lot of money. But it was far less than what Governor Stein had requested. Governor Stein had requested upwards of 800 million towards a billion dollars worth of aid

Manny: And it didn't happen. So

Manny: about a hundred 1 million less in housing rebuilds, more in agriculture and a little bit more in past past hurricane projects.

Manny: But I think this is going to be a very interesting yet telling sign of what the 1st couple years of Governor Stein's term in North Carolina is going to look like he doesn't have. The House doesn't have the Senate.

Manny: and they're pretty much just going to figure out what they want and do that and hand it over to them. So it'll be interesting to see how Josh Stein over the rest of this long session plays through that because we're getting ready to come into budget season, and I have not seen his budget request yet.

Manny: Plan for the State for this fiscal year.

Manny: But we'll see the the difference between what he asked for. Obviously, he's going to be like, we know the areas that every governor asks for, you know, relief, education, funding teacher pay State employees pay, but we'll see what the the legislature puts together to send over to him, and what ultimately gets signed. So as North Carolina gets deeper into this longer session, we'll start seeing things like that starting to play out. So those are my 2 spotlights

Jeezy: Hey? Okay. Well, one. I have

Manny: Got

Jeezy: More of a shout out, shout out to the Pope, because I believe he's getting

Manny: He's out

Jeezy: He's out

Manny: His guy got discharged.

Jeezy: Hey! So free freedom!

Manny: Hope the Pope until until it's backwards

Jeezy: So the Pope is going home, but also my spotlight is. I just want to bring to our listeners attention that it was reported that

Jeezy: President Trump has issued a memorandum revoking the security clearances of several prominent figures, including Kamala, Harris, Hillary, Clinton.

Jeezy: and a list of others. Liz Cheney was on that list as well, too, and Attorney General

Jeezy: Letitia Leticia, James. So

Jeezy: he has. This move has been widely viewed as him, basically being a retaliatorial measure in 2021. Because I kept wondering, like, why in the world is trump doing this, and I forgot that in 2021 President Biden had prohibited trump from receiving intelligence, briefing, citing his concerns about his behavior. So now that Trump's back in office, he's like, I bet

Manny: Eddie. He's like I got you

Jeezy: But this I'm just bringing this to the spotlight as as to shine light on how we are not in a a normal state or season in our political arena.

Jeezy: It's traditional that former high ranking officials retain their security clearances, and the reason for this is to offer counsel to current administrations. So you can see that him revoking these security clearances show shows you that this, how he's used this, and how there is a disconnect between our current administration and our past administration.

Jeezy: It's almost like he's on an island by himself, with those that are his. Yes, men and supporters, and I just wanted to bring that as a spotlight to show us. Show our listeners that how everything we're going through right now is just so unprecedented, and it's unchartered territory. You've heard me say that on previous episodes.

Jeezy: but everything is just unchartered territory, and it just feels and seems weird that even though you can have differences as a nation, and one thing that stuck out to me is trump, said before he was elected, that he was going to be the person to unite the country to unite

Jeezy: our nation, and everything that he seems to be doing at this point is the opposite, so we are in very uncharted territory. I'm sure there will be more security clearances revoked, and also I don't know if you heard about it. But there was a guy that was coming over. I believe he was a French scientist this past week.

Jeezy: Yes. I know you're not

Jeezy: found out that he had kind of said, some stuff against trump

Manny: Hmm.

Jeezy: And they say, Yeah, get back on. Get back on over there in your own land. But

Manny: And so

Jeezy: It just seems like, man, we're moving into this weird space that if you are, you have anything to oppose against the the current administration, or you view things differently. You are. You're an enemy.

Jeezy: and that is unusual, and I don't think it's very problematic, so we will see what more comes of him stroking of the pen and revoking security clearances, and what other measures this administration will take. So that is my spotlight of the week, and

Jeezy: we've reached the end of our episode. Man.

Manny: Yeah.

Jeezy: Thank you to the listeners for tuning in to episode. 12 of season 2. Man, you got anything for the people, my brother

Manny: Well, a quick announcement and another point that we'd be remiss if we didn't hit before we let before we get off the White house, hey? Well, this question for you, jeez.

Manny: I've just discovered a sponsorship opportunity for the pod

Jeezy: Oh, okay.

Manny: The the White House is seeking sponsors for this year's Easter egg.

Jeezy: Oh, yeah, yeah. I saw that

Manny: And the ranges are from 75,000 to 200 K. So we'll talk about it after we get off. But

Manny: what are we talking about? We're not doing this. I got 5, Donnie. I got 5

Jeezy: When did when did they? When this has never happened before?

Jeezy: Yeah, no, I don't recall a solicitation for sponsorships, and

Jeezy: if I read correctly. I think that sponsorship they're gonna get like advertising branding at the White House like Bro. This is not. This is not a little league sponsored flag football team like when you got the Jersey with all the brands on it. Bro.

Manny: If we need sponsorship for the White House egg roll. What is truly the state of our economy

Jeezy: Bruh! See see.

Manny: I'm just saying I'm just asking. I'm just

Jeezy: Doordash door dash splitting up meal price.

Jeezy: Thank you.

Jeezy: We asking for sponsors for a

Manny: Right. So that that's and the other point

Manny: A legend has has gone on to be with the ancestors as

Jeezy: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Manny: Rest in peace, former heavyweight champion, George foreman.

Jeezy: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Manny: We would like to thank you for the grill

Jeezy: Yeah, I I might have to fire mine up to date.

Manny: Out of respect, down many a times through college

Jeezy: Oh, Bro. Man, a dorm room, classic

Manny: But but

Jeezy: Definitely for the life that you lived and the legacy you left in the in the ring. We appreciate all that you've done, not just for the sport, but for our people, so rest, rest well.

Manny: Breast well.

Jeezy: Legend rest well, so I'm good. I don't have any.

Jeezy: Yeah.

Jeezy: All hearts and minds clear, as we always say here at the pod

Manny: Are we clear here

Jeezy: Don't nobody love you?

Manny: Boys! Hear the pie!

Jeezy: In the pot, we

Manny: Love you

Jeezy: Love you.

Jeezy: So that is it for our episode. Take care, world, and we will see you on the next episode