WEBVTT - We Deserve Better 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:14.520 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to wok F Daily with 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:19.200 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody, recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:24.720 it is hard to believe that today is literally one 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:29.360 year out until the twenty twenty four presidential election. As 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:33.640 certain many of you have casted your ballots for local, state, 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:39.040 city elections and potentially some members of Congress that are running. 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:44.479 It is hard to believe that twelve months will go 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:47.800 by from this moment on and it'll be time for 0:00:47.840 --> 0:00:50.440 the presidential If you are paying attention to the polls 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.880 right now, they look like shit. And who would have 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:58.240 thought right that Joe Biden in his administration would think 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:01.760 that using our tax dollars to buy civilians into oblivion 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:05.480 wouldn't be a winning strategy. That when we're looking around 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:09.080 and wondering, oh, why do our schools look the way 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:11.440 that they do, our roads look the way that they do, 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:13.760 our airports look the way that they do, our rail 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:16.000 stations look the way that we do. Why are we 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:19.319 investing in any type of mitigation around climate change? But 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:22.720 you got fourteen point three billion dollars right to go 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:26.000 towards war, that that wouldn't be a fucking winning strategy. 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:32.400 So here we are, folks, where we are being forced 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:36.920 to make a really critical decision. And look, I will 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:39.720 tell you that my anger is not going to stop 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.280 me from making the decision between Donald Trump and Joe 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:46.120 Biden because I know exactly what Donald Trump plans to do. 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.400 I know exactly how he plans to round people up, 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.040 I know exactly how he plans to persecute people. I 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.840 know exactly how he plans to finish the job that 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:59.040 he started on January sixth, twenty twenty one. That is 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:02.000 not an option, But I do know that demanding better 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:07.639 from this administration, demanding better from this president, needs to happen. 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.200 You don't just get a fucking pass, because the alternative 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.600 is the devil. And that is where I find myself 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:18.919 right now. So coming up next, we have a conversation 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:26.720 with a candidate for the House seat for Adam Shipp's 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:31.400 House seat in California who next year, in twenty twenty four, 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:34.600 will be time for his election, and that is jerar 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:39.600 Radevosian coming up next to talk about being the first 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:44.480 Armenian to run for a congressional seat. He will also 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:51.239 give us some insight into the conflict and crises in Armenia, 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:55.720 where he had visited recently, as well as talk about 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.760 what he wants to see in Congress and what he 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:01.680 will offer if if he has the ability to take 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:11.120 over Adam Shipp's seat. That conversation is coming up next, folks. 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:15.000 I'm very happy to welcome to wok F Daily for 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:20.760 the very first time, hopefully not the last, a candidate 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:27.640 for Adam Shipp's congressional seat California thirtieth district that will 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:31.800 be up for election in twenty twenty four. We know 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:34.440 this because we talk about the most consequential election of 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:40.040 our times. Jar Redovosin, I am so happy to have 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:47.080 you. You are openly gay, you are Armenian, and you know 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:52.160 when folks here California, they think, oh great, like it's 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:55.160 the land of diversity. But I would like for you 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:59.520 to talk about one your reason for wanting to run 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:05.520 and maybe some of both what is pushing you and 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.760 some of the obstacles that you foresee over the next 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:12.240 year as you uh work for this seat. 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:15.520 Thanks so much for having me, Danielle, Yeah, thank you, 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:18.400 it's it's it's a pleasure to be with you and 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:23.159 to talk about these issues You're right, California is it's 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:27.120 one of the most democratic state, uh in in in 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:30.720 the country, and l A in particular where I am, 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:35.760 We're we're blessed with so much diversity and strong progressive 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:41.560 roots across across the city. But but it's definitely, you know, 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:45.120 within pockets of different communities, there are a whole spectrum 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:49.359 of different issues regarding healthcare, lgbt Q rights, women's rights, 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.920 you know. So it's never as you know, it's never 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:56.320 as simple as as you know, an Instagram video might 0:04:56.440 --> 0:05:00.600 might might showcase sometimes. I I'm born in raised here 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.840 in Hollywood, in the district which is Adam Schift's district, 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:08.840 as you said, and I'm Armenian. My parents immigrated here 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:12.200 in the mid seventies. My mom's side came from Lebanon, 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:17.240 dad's side came from Armenia, uh and being the first 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:22.520 born son of those of my immigrant family, that is 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:25.159 something a badge of honor that I carry with me 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:28.800 every day, and it's also a huge reason why I'm running. 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:33.279 When I started the race, I entered because I felt 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:36.560 the American dream. And I know people are cynical about 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:38.720 the American dream, but I still believe in the American dream. 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:42.040 The American dream worked for me and my family and 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:44.320 millions of other families, and I believe we have to 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.599 work hard to fight for it and to make it 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:49.919 possible for more people to achieve their dream. And that 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.360 dream can be however they wanted to find it, whether 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:56.560 it's access to education, healthcare, housing, But that American dream 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:00.520 is slipping away from from millions of people. Uh. And 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:03.000 even in this in this in this state of California, 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:09.200 where we have more resources, uh, more more pro science legislators, 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:11.800 so to speak. And uh, and that is that's a 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:14.520 big reason why I'm fighting. I've always in all my work, 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:18.479 I've worked to expand access to equitable healthcare to make 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:23.359 uh society more just. And now it's uh. I I 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.440 had I was working in Washington for for President Biden. 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:28.359 I had to quit my job to come back to 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:33.600 my hometown here because the issues were were so grand. Uh. 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:35.480 And we need more young people in Congress to fight 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:39.880 for for climate justice, environmental justice, housing justice, health care justice. 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:42.680 That's what's on the line. And how I show up, 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:47.240 Like you said, I'm lgbt Q, I'm Armenian, proud son 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:51.640 of immigrants. These are the values and the resilience that 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:54.359 I carry with me as I approach all the different 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:56.679 challenges on a end of day basis. 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:01.880 What are some of the issues that are coming up 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:06.240 for folks in California's thirtieth district. Like we know right 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:13.640 that the right likes to create a narrative around Blue 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:16.920 States as some type of hellhole, right as some type 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:22.040 of healthscape, And we know, just like in any place, 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:25.280 there are challenges. There are challenges to housing and whether 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:27.640 or not it can be affordable. There are challenges as 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:31.200 it pertains to those that are unhoused. What are some 0:07:31.280 --> 0:07:36.240 of the things that are coming up for your potential constituents, 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:40.400 for the people in the thirtieth district of California that 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:42.320 you think need attention right now? 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.000 Yeah, And I like the way you framed it, right 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:50.360 because there's significant progress because of some of the policies 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:54.480 that this state has put forward with regards to a 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:59.200 clean air regulations. By twenty twenty five, LA's hosting the Olympics, 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:02.560 and so there's a lot of movement around expanding transportation 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:06.320 access and so many other things that they're that the 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:09.040 city is doing to make it prepare for for for 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:11.040 the Olympics. But there are a number of there are 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:15.080 still many challenges. Housing, as you mentioned, is top of 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.480 people's mind. I spend a lot of time door knocking, actually, 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.000 I've been doing that for months, talking to voters about 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:23.200 what's on their mind. People are, you know, people can't 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:28.080 afford their rent rents California is California renters pay thirty 0:08:28.080 --> 0:08:30.440 eight thirty nine percent more in rent and then some 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.040 other states in their number of reasons for that. But 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.920 it's also home ownership is becoming harder and harder to 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:42.760 hold on to. And because of skyrocketing interest rates highest 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:46.880 than twenty five years and not having federal tax benefits 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:52.040 for for some homeowners, You're seeing younger people not even 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:54.880 plan for home ownership in their in their lifetime. And 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:59.360 that's actually really scary because home ownership is it's a privilege, 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.080 but it's also economic security for your house, for your family, 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:05.080 for your kids, right and and and if young people 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:09.920 are not thinking that that is part of their sustainable future, 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:14.440 that that's that's something that we have to address. Voters 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:16.679 here are also concerned about education. You know, I've heard 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:20.679 a lot about student loans and and how people are 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:26.119 struggling to break out of this pro pro profit institution 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:29.080 that is our student loan repayment program and and folks 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:32.040 have been paying into it for for eight nine, ten years, 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:35.160 but still have hundreds of thousands of that And that's 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:39.160 just that's just unconscionable. I think, so people a mother 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:42.680 should not have two kids and two jobs to be 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.160 able to pay for her student loans and also put 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:45.920 food on the table. 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:47.640 But that I've heard that story. 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:51.040 Over and over again, and just as as as an 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.640 openly gapers and I've also been attacked here by the way, 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:58.000 verbally in Burbank, California, of all places, you know. And 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:01.440 and it's because there's so much there the right ring, 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.600 the extreme white ring rhetoric that we have seen fuel 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:10.880 the fragmentation and the deep division that that is in Congress. 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:13.000 And we know that a lot of that it's being 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:17.800 fueled by outside organizations that has that has definitely infiltrated 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:22.079 school board meetings here across the state and in this district, 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:25.440 in liberal cities like Burbank. And you know, when my 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:29.320 husband and I were at Burbank Pride, you know, someone 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:31.720 came to me and said, you can't be Armenian and 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:34.000 gay at the same time, that's just that the Armenian 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:34.800 gays don't exist. 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:35.360 He said, you. 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.720 Should be denouncing one one of your two identities right now, 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:40.520 and wow, can you believe it? 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:40.840 Yeah? 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:42.760 And and of course that's you know, in the in 0:10:43.200 --> 0:10:46.000 compared to other people that you know, I'm not saying 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:48.600 that story to generate sympathy, because people have to deal 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:50.720 with a lot worse than that. Believe me, I had 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:53.240 the protection of my husband and the community around me. 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.040 But but that but it's just it's the kind of 0:10:56.120 --> 0:11:00.600 narrative that that this this this information system is creating 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:04.920 that is definitely also infecting. I would say our cities 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:08.040 here and I was at school board meetings fighting back 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:12.960 against the parents who were protesting the inclusion of LGBT curriculum. 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:15.320 Those issues are all alive and well in this election 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:20.400 and also in cities across Los Angeles. 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:25.120 I want to switch gears for a moment from your 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:29.520 run and talking about your family's home, right of home 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:34.360 country of Armenia and you know, on WOOKF I try 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:38.520 every once in you know, in a while, to be 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:43.120 able to bring in issues of global interest right in 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:49.800 how different countries are moving, what issues are going to 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:57.360 also affect us here in the US. While I have 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:02.560 been posting about just the lack of humanity that I 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:06.720 am seeing online that I'm seeing in the world, and 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:09.920 really trying to center people into how they regain conversation 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:13.480 and community and all of these things. Someone had posted 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:16.080 underneath one of my messages and said, but you haven't 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:20.280 spoken about Armenia and what is happening there, and they 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:24.720 were right, I hadn't, And so I want for you 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:28.679 to give my listeners the opportunity of fifty thousand foot 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:33.680 view as to because you were there recently. There is 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:39.760 ongoing strife and struggle that is happening in that region, 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:41.800 and so I want to give you the opportunity to 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:45.240 both educate me as well as the listeners to your 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:46.440 experience recently. 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:49.280 Thank you so much for raising it. 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:53.040 And also, you know, I've always appreciated the way you've 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:57.959 centered conversations around international issues, in particular on humanity, right, 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:00.199 because we all have a common humanity think at the 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:04.240 end of the day, and that also applies to people 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.920 you know of Armenian heritage or people who are Armenian like. 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:08.640 Me and my family. 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:14.040 You know this, You know for Armenians across the country, 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.080 and you know, there are more Armenians that live in 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:20.880 the US than actually in Armenia. Armenians we have suffered 0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:25.360 genocide in the early nineteen hundreds. Between nineteen fifteen and 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.640 nineteen eighteen, a million and a half Armenians were killed. 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:34.520 And so through that awful chapter in our history, many 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.920 Armenian families immigrated across the region and to different parts 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:39.760 of the world. My mom's side, as I mentioned, came 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:43.120 from Lebanon. Armians, but came from Lebanon. You have Armians 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:48.280 from Iran, from other parts of the Middle East as well. 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.439 Now fast forward to what's what's transpired over the last 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:55.000 four or five years Armenia. There's a there's a there's 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:58.880 an ethnic enclave of Armenians in a region called Nagarnojapah. 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.160 You may have seen some Armians referred to it as Arta. 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.679 That's how Armians like myself refer to that territory. It's 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:07.080 got about one hundred and twenty It used to have 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.720 one hundred and twenty thousand Armians living in that. That 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:13.480 was a state that had declared its independence, that had 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:19.080 a functioning government, It was autonomous, and it has thousands 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:22.280 of years of history of religious artifacts. They were the 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:26.480 first Christian nation and many other cultural identities that are 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:30.200 so important to how Armenians identify, and they had been 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:35.640 living there for over two thousand years. Just a couple 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:40.560 of weeks before before the escalation of war in the 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:46.440 Middle East, Azerbaijan, which is a neighbor to Armenia, had 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:50.360 and there have been some border scrimmishes over the last 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:56.920 few years, but Azerbaijan had decided to take distract and 0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:00.800 take advantage of the distraction that the world was on 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.160 because of the war in Ukraine. Russia had also been 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:10.160 weakened in the region and was occupied with Ukraine, and 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:12.880 so Osby John attacked that ethnic enclave and one hundred 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:17.560 and twenty thousand Armenians over night Danielle or I should 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:20.640 say thirty six hours roughly. Not only were hundreds of 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:24.840 hundreds killed on the spot because of the military onslaught, 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:29.200 but because of the warnings from the Ozibi Jihan government 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:33.240 that they would invade that territory. It led to an 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:35.920 exodus of one hundred and twenty thousand, nearly every single 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:38.680 Armenian in there except for a few hundred, according to 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.720 a recent report and a mass exodus out of that 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.040 ethnic enclave that was ours for two thousand years and 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:48.720 into neighboring Armenia. And so now Armenia has a humanitarian 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:54.400 crisis dealing with this influx of refugees, figuring out housing, education, healthcare, stipends, 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:56.120 all the things that people need to survive. 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:57.720 We talk about humanity, right. 0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:01.240 I was just there two weeks before this on Wow, 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:04.920 and for me it was it was such a precious 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:06.920 opportunity because I went back with my mom and dad. 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:08.840 Mom and dad had n't been in fifty years since 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.160 they came to this country. They were going through their own, 0:16:12.440 --> 0:16:16.280 their own enlightenment. I had been, I've been many times myself, 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:19.480 but going through their eyes was helpful and just a 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:23.360 whole different way of saying it. My Nigerian husband was 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:26.600 also with us as well, and he was experiencing Armenia 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:30.440 and analyzing the similarities between our two cultures, and that 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.160 was a wonderful experience. We stood on parts of the 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:36.320 land that are no longer part of Armenia now, believe 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.480 it or not. Because we had gone to that border, 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:43.520 I wanted to see the humanitarian situation firsthand. I forgot 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:46.880 to mention eight months prior to the attack, Azerbaijan had 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:50.360 blockaded this small region, very similar to the situation now 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:51.720 that we're seeing happening. 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:54.520 With Israel and Gaza. 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:58.520 And these people were did not have access to food, electricity, internet, water, 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:02.120 eight months, eight months, and then came the military onslaught 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:04.160 and so of course people are going to run away 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.800 and come back. And so I want to see the 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.600 humanitarian convoy of trucks that were parked firsthand and asked 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:13.440 questions about you know, who was getting in what the 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:17.040 ICRS was doing for Armenians that live in Los Angeles, 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:18.879 and it's a big part. Then, you know, fifteen percent 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.959 of the of the constituency in this district is our Armenian. 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:25.880 Many of us have friends and family impacted by what's 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:27.720 happened over the last twelve months. So it's a difficult 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:28.440 time for all of us. 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:33.199 Yeah, it's thank you for that. Thank you for sharing 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:37.640 that and providing some context. I think that you know 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:41.959 what happens oftentimes unfortunately inside of the United States, that 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:45.960 we are so self focused, so self centered right on 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.520 what is happening in our own body politic, that we're 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:53.440 we don't pay attention unless it is a headline grabber 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:57.600 with millions of people. Do we pay attention to the 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:02.880 moves right that are being made by aggressive military forces 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:07.840 and aggressive countries to gain land, right to you know, 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:13.160 to enhance their own power, and they think that what's 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:19.160 important about that region and what is happening is that 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:23.520 it is also emblematic and indicative of our own instabilities 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.520 that are happening. That what seemed you know, let me 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:32.480 ask you this jorre like what seemed to me ten 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:36.760 fifteen years ago as worlds away, right when war would 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:41.320 rerupt or there would be a rush of violence in 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:46.280 a particular region, there was still the illusion, if anything, 0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:50.800 of safety where we were in the United States. I 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.720 don't feel that anymore, right, And so I'll ask you, 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:58.920 you know, does do these conflicts even though with Armenia 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:02.200 that is a simal for you, But do they seem 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:05.920 far or like they're at your doorstep at this time? 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:12.399 Oh? Yeah, no, they definitely feel close, not only because 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:16.919 I'm ourmedian, but but very much because you know, you know, 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:21.400 they it feels part of a bigger, bigger shift in 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:25.439 in in in geopolitics, you know, and and the way 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:29.119 the world is aligning, you know, I've I've read some 0:19:29.200 --> 0:19:31.760 people call it, you know, are we in World War 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:35.200 three now? With the way you know, countries are are 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:38.440 aligning themselves with the West, with the US and UH 0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:43.199 and Israel versus versus you know, Russia and China right, 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:45.080 and look at the U N. I mean, the UN 0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:48.879 is completely ineffectual now. The Security Council hasn't made a 0:19:48.920 --> 0:19:53.040 single important resolution in years because of China, China, China's 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:58.760 and Russia's you know, UH impediments. So I do think 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:02.679 that what is happening, and COVID nineteen showed this in 0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:05.240 real time for anyone who needed a history lesson, that 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:08.800 all of us are interconnected, and what happens two thousand 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:12.320 miles away, whether it's in Gaza or whether it's in Armenia, 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:14.439 is very much connected to all of us. And that's 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:16.200 why I love your word humanity in terms of. 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:17.000 How we frame all of this. 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.280 So yeah, I mean not that it doesn't mean that 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:23.120 I don't feel safe, but it does mean that if 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:27.400 if there's injustice somewhere else, as Martin Luther King Junior said, 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:30.000 there's injustice here at home. And so I feel that 0:20:30.280 --> 0:20:33.560 whether it's Armenia, whether it's even even public health issues, 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:37.440 whether even if it's the housing crisis in the US. 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:41.159 We have forty five thousand people who are experiencing homelessness 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:44.359 in Los Angeles. That affects me, even though it doesn't 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:47.080 affect me. But if people are in house and I 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:50.520 see them on my way to work or or you know, 0:20:50.560 --> 0:20:53.280 if they're down the street, for me is that's part 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:55.840 of my common humanity and we it's a moral crisis 0:20:55.840 --> 0:20:57.720 of our our of our lifetime, I feel like. And 0:20:57.760 --> 0:20:59.560 so it's very it very much feels close. 0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:04.720 The last question that I'll ask for you is one 0:21:04.760 --> 0:21:08.199 that you know has been new over the last you know, 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:11.879 couple of months of a lot of my listeners as 0:21:11.920 --> 0:21:15.880 well as myself, you know, struggle with finding hope during 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:20.280 these times of like darkness and hopelessness. And so what 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:24.960 is providing you hope right now? And what advice do 0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:29.800 you have for others that are struggling to find any 0:21:29.840 --> 0:21:30.640 type of light? 0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:35.199 You know, I you're gonna laugh, or your listeners might 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:37.360 laugh when they hear me say this, But I actually 0:21:38.080 --> 0:21:42.800 am not cynical about Washington and as dysfunctional and as 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:45.879 crazy at it as it is, and we just reached 0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:49.080 a new new height of that with the most anti speaker, 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:54.080 anti woman, sorry, anti LGBTQ, anti woman speaker elected. But 0:21:54.160 --> 0:21:58.280 I'm still not cynical about about Congress and about Washington 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:01.119 and the role that government can plain in the betterment. 0:22:00.760 --> 0:22:02.239 Of our lives. And I'll tell you why. 0:22:02.320 --> 0:22:05.800 It's because I've seen good things happen. I was Congresswoman 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:10.520 Barbara Lee's legislative director for twelve years ago, twelve thirteen 0:22:10.600 --> 0:22:13.960 years ago, and working for her and with her, you know, 0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:14.600 I learned. 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:17.200 I learned so much. She's my role model. 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:20.200 And you know, we were able to work with Republicans 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:26.600 on HIV globally to fight HIV around Africa and Asia. 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:30.240 We were able to curtail the war. 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:33.080 Powers that a president has through the authorization of use 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:33.880 of military force. 0:22:33.920 --> 0:22:34.640 Barbara Lee was the. 0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:37.240 Only one who voted against that, and now the majority 0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:40.120 of Congress supports her, you know, twenty two years later. 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:44.040 So even amidst that this function and chaos that is 0:22:44.080 --> 0:22:47.720 part of our democracy, there are there are, there are 0:22:47.840 --> 0:22:50.040 there's a hope that I have that because more young 0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:53.440 people are entering the political process, because more young people 0:22:53.480 --> 0:22:56.119 are awoke, because they want to take matters in their 0:22:56.160 --> 0:22:58.080 own hand, just like I have. I had a great 0:22:58.160 --> 0:23:00.440 job in Washington, I left my home, been there, and 0:23:00.480 --> 0:23:03.600 I came to LA where I'm from to run for Congress, right, 0:23:03.760 --> 0:23:07.160 And that's because I felt the responsibility to represent. Because 0:23:07.160 --> 0:23:10.880 we only have eleven LGBTQ members in the House of Representatives. Yeah, 0:23:10.920 --> 0:23:13.200 because we have no our minions in the House of Representers, 0:23:13.240 --> 0:23:15.600 right and so, and we have so many now young 0:23:15.640 --> 0:23:19.320 people in Congress, thirty year olds. That gives me hope. 0:23:19.400 --> 0:23:21.000 That gives me hope because if more and more of 0:23:21.080 --> 0:23:22.879 us can be part of the process, be part of 0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:26.880 that constructive change, we can better not only make Congress 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:31.080 work better for us and make Congress represent be representative 0:23:31.080 --> 0:23:34.960 of the people that tries to represent. I think that 0:23:34.960 --> 0:23:37.359 that'll bring the kind of change and progress that we 0:23:37.440 --> 0:23:40.320 all want to see, whether it's in our cities, or 0:23:40.520 --> 0:23:43.120 it's in our country, or whether it's in the defense. 0:23:42.800 --> 0:23:43.639 Of our democracy. 0:23:44.520 --> 0:23:48.159 Wonderful, well, Duror. We hope to have you back, you know, 0:23:48.280 --> 0:23:56.320 as you continue your quest for the California's thirtieth congressional seat, 0:23:57.560 --> 0:24:00.240 and as we you know, kind of look ahead to 0:24:01.200 --> 0:24:04.359 twenty twenty four and we are in it. We would 0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:07.439 love to have the opportunity to revisit this conversation and 0:24:07.520 --> 0:24:11.080 check in on how your campaign is going. But thank 0:24:11.119 --> 0:24:14.679 you so much for your time today and words. 0:24:15.040 --> 0:24:17.320 Thank you so much. Yeah, thanks for being bring a 0:24:17.400 --> 0:24:19.879 light on so many issues and on Urmnian issues today 0:24:19.920 --> 0:24:22.320 and for everything you do. I look forward to being 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:24.040 back talk to you soon. 0:24:24.440 --> 0:24:32.200 Appreciate you. That is it for me today. Dear friends 0:24:32.320 --> 0:24:36.040