1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Miles and Maria. I'm thrilled for you all to be 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: here today and just start talking about the group if 3 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: you will. That you have you have started up. 4 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 2: Well, Steve, I'll say at the outside, I appreciate it, 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 2: my friend, And you know this better than almost anyone. 6 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 2: Folks like us. I mean, we don't need to be 7 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 2: out here doing this, you know. And that was a 8 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 2: consideration I had after being targeted by the president. You 9 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 2: know I've done. I've been out there for seven years 10 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 2: railing against this guy and trying to warn people about 11 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 2: a second administration, and to quote Jerry Maguire, it's a 12 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 2: pride swallowing siege every single day. And there's a lot 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 2: of people in my life, a lot of people in 14 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 2: my family who would like us to just lay low 15 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 2: and go back to normal life. And that would be 16 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 2: very nice. And for a little while we got to 17 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 2: do that. But after this guy took office, and when 18 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 2: I saw, including personally, the way that he was trying 19 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,119 Speaker 2: to criminalize criticism in this country, it felt like there 20 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 2: wasn't really an option to go retreat. I mean, you 21 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 2: have two choices when someone like this comes to power, 22 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 2: whether it's a foreign land or your own country, and 23 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 2: that is either submission or defiance. 24 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: That's it. 25 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 2: There's no middle ground because if you're just staying quiet, 26 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 2: you've already chosen submission. Okay, there's not a middle ground 27 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 2: you get to be in. It is black and white, 28 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:32,919 Speaker 2: submission or defiance. And this year, as people kept asking 29 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 2: me the question what can I do? I got a 30 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 2: little pissed off that despite all the organizations out there, 31 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 2: great organizations doing great work, there wasn't like an easy 32 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 2: one word answer to tell folks about, like, hey, go 33 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 2: here and you can find a lot of different efforts 34 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 2: that you can go help out and support. And so 35 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 2: a couple of weeks ago, I pitched to a few friends, 36 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 2: why don't we just let's go get a domain name. 37 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 2: Let's recommend the groups that we love that exist and 38 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 2: are doing great work out to the world and try 39 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 2: to help drive people towards amazing efforts. And that resulted 40 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 2: in the lawn Show Defiance dot org and is doing 41 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 2: great work is the group that we're runs and us. 42 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 2: They do a whole host of amazing things, from the 43 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 2: grasstops to the grassroots. I mean, they got people like 44 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,919 Speaker 2: Michael Douglass and Jennifer Lawrence and all these incredible people 45 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 2: helping get the word out, but they also have helped 46 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 2: mobilize Americans to go put pressure on their elected representatives 47 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 2: who have a spinal cord and to not just roll 48 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 2: over for belly rubs from Donald Trump. And I admire 49 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 2: what they're doing. So at launch, one of the organizations 50 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,839 Speaker 2: that we're directing our members of Defence dot org too 51 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 2: is represent US and we're really proud to team with them. 52 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: Maria, how do you see this moment? Why are you 53 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: involved in this? 54 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, look, my background is in international human rights work. 55 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 3: I grew up abroad in Peru during a time of 56 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 3: autocracy and corruption and with the war and all sorts 57 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 3: of things, and when I moved to the US, I 58 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 3: believed and I saw that we had a thriving democratic culture. 59 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 3: This was in nineteen ninety seven. We've come a long 60 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 3: way from that, and now the problems that I have 61 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 3: spent much of my career working on internationally are very 62 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 3: much present here. And so the main issue I see 63 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 3: is a government that is slowly in some ways eroding 64 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 3: democratic norms so that eventually all the powers concentrated in 65 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 3: the president, and it's in the process of enriching itself 66 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 3: and its cronies. So the way things are going to 67 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 3: work in future and are starting to work now, are 68 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 3: all going to be about fear, you know, rewards for 69 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 3: the people who join the administration, and punishment for those 70 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 3: who stand up and dissent. Fortunately, we still have courts 71 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 3: that are independent at the lower levels. You know, you 72 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 3: still have a lot of Americans who believe in civil 73 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 3: liberties and civil rights who will go out and exercise 74 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 3: those those rights and freedoms. But the pressure is to 75 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 3: destroy that and to make the system answer only to 76 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 3: the people who are in power, right, and so that 77 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 3: is why it's critically important that we call that back. 78 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 3: We not let that power be concentrated. And that means 79 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 3: going out and protesting, It means pushing back in the courts, 80 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 3: and for represent us, it means also trying to get 81 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 3: Congress to take its power back and do its job. 82 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 3: So we've launched the Congressional Courage Campaign, which is one 83 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 3: of the things that Divines dot Org is supporting, right, 84 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,359 Speaker 3: and that is all about mobilizing Americans across the country 85 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 3: to hold their representatives to account. We're going to be 86 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 3: prioritizing some swing districts where we really think we need 87 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,799 Speaker 3: to gain traction. But across the board, we need members 88 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 3: of Congress to uphold the constitution and do so strongly, firmly. 89 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 3: We need them to hold the executive branch to account. 90 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,280 Speaker 3: That is their job they need to do. You exert 91 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 3: oversight of the different agencies, of the corruption that's going on, 92 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 3: of what DOJ is doing. And they need to reform 93 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 3: the system because our political system has been dysfunctional for 94 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 3: a very long time. A lot of people have lost 95 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 3: trust and faith in democracy because democracy has not really 96 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 3: been working the way it's supposed to. We have too 97 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 3: much influence of money and politics, you know, we have 98 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 3: too many problems like jerrymandering that have made the system 99 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:08,840 Speaker 3: less accountable to the people. And that goes back to 100 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 3: the work we've done throughout our existence as an organization. 101 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 3: We need a government that's truly accountable to the people. 102 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 3: Let's seize this moment of crisis and actually build something 103 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 3: that is better, not just return to the status quo. 104 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: As of January. When you see Maria, a masked agent 105 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 1: deploying tear gas attacking a community. Having grown up in 106 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 1: an autocratic society in Peru, during difficult days. What is 107 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: that like for you? 108 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 3: I mean, it is so appalling that we would have 109 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 3: any agents in this country who are operating wearing masks. 110 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 3: You know, this is supposed to be a country that 111 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 3: has the rule of law, that has accountability. Like we 112 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 3: had judges without a face when I was growing up 113 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,920 Speaker 3: in Peru, so judges that you couldn't see who they 114 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 3: were and they were convicting people. And I understand stood 115 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 3: there were some security issues there at the time. It 116 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 3: was a it was a very politically violent period, but 117 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 3: even that was deeply problematic. You need to know who 118 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 3: is in government, who is making these decisions that are 119 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 3: life or death or you know, very serious for people. 120 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 3: And the fact that this is happening without a second thought, right, 121 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 3: they just said, Okay, they're gonna wear masks. They claimed 122 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 3: randomly that there are security issues. I'm sorry, but the 123 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 3: security issues are coming now from the government itself. 124 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: Right. 125 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 3: Law enforcement is supposed to be protecting us. Instead they're 126 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 3: turning into an unaccountable force that is in many cases 127 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 3: it seems hurting people, targeting even US citizens just because 128 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 3: of the language they speak. And now with a Supreme 129 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 3: Court approval for some of that. It's it's it's really 130 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 3: an abdication of everything that the United States has historically 131 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 3: stood for in terms of basic freedoms, basic rights, rule 132 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 3: of law, do process. Uh, you know, a system that 133 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 3: works for the people and is accountable to it. 134 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 4: I'm Steve Schmidt. This is the warning. I invite you 135 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 4: to join this community where I promise to be honest, 136 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 4: blunt and direct about what is happening in this country. 137 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:50,079 Speaker 4: America is in crisis. Follow and subscribe to this channel 138 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 4: and on substack. Thank you.