IT'S ELECTRIFYING! DNC UNFOLD on top speakers and pressing issues

Join Shane Ivan Nash and Jessie McGrath as we dive into the electrifying moments of the DNC! 

We're breaking down the most unforgettable speeches from top speakers and tackling the pressing issues, sparking conversations nationwide.

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Chapters

• 0:00 DNC Delegate and Trans Representation
• 7:35 Community Activism and Trans Empowerment
• 12:42 Convention Experiences and Political Activism
• 29:01 Convention Unity and Political Extremism
• 39:00 Government Power, Civil Rights, Hope
• 47:15 Harris Campaign Challenges and Unity
• 59:05 Trans Representation and Gun Safety
• 1:07:01 Trans Activism and Hope in America
• 1:15:53 Trans Activism and Political Hope
• 1:26:42 Trans Christian Identity and Political Hope
• 1:39:45 Fight for Trans Inclusivity in Sports
• 1:50:09 Transparency Podcast Show Comments and Feedback

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the.

Speaker 2: 0:01

Transparency Podcast Show.

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome to the Transparency Podcast Show. I have some special guests today. Somebody actually went to the DMC boots on the ground and also, you know, somebody we've always seen at the beginning of this show is Shelby and Jesse. How are you both doing today, hey?

Speaker 2: 0:23

Hello, I'm doing good, I've actually got some sleep for the first time in a week.

Speaker 1: 0:30

Oh my God, I can only imagine. So you went to the DNC. What was that like? Because I looked at it from TikTok and it looked beautiful and interesting and there was also some controversy. But what, what was that like seeing that in that way, because I mean, didn't they pack like two stadiums or something? It's it sounded and looked beautiful it was over 20 000 people.

Speaker 2: 0:57

I'm not sure what the exact attendance level was, but, uh, I was there as a delegate from the state of Nebraska and I got there on Sunday. It was such an amazing, amazing experience. The energy level that I saw from the people on the ground was out of this world, and it was that way the entire time. It seems like there was this gigantic lid pulled off the pot and now suddenly it's just boiling over and everyone is so incredibly enthused they're ready to get to work. We saw some incredible speakers. Speakers got some training and caucus meetings during the days, and it was such a tiring experience. To tell you the truth, I was operating on somewhere between three and four hours of sleep, if I was lucky, because we had to be in our state delegation every morning at eight o'clock. If we were not there at eight o'clock, we were not going to get our credentials to be able to get onto the floor of the convention. So we made sure everyone was there at 8 o'clock. But that was also because we had some incredible speakers who came to speak to us, and it was that way every day.

Speaker 2: 2:21

We started off the day with Lynn Walls. On day one we had Justin Pearson. On day four we had Bernie Sanders. We had some amazing, amazing speakers at our at our little tiny Nebraska breakfast. You know we only had 34 delegates at the convention. We're not a big state and we certainly were very enthusiastic, very loud, and we got a lot done. We met a lot of folks. I'm the vice chair of our state Stonewall Caucus and Mike Marachek was with me, who is the state chair. We made a lot of contacts with folks and we had a lot of people wanting to take our picture.

Speaker 1: 3:08

That sounds amazing. How did you get into even being a delegate Cause, like you know, a lot of trans folks have no idea how to even find themselves in that way of representation, and I mean something that I was a little disappointed with. I got to say there was no trans speaker there at all. There was no conversation of that.

Speaker 1: 3:34

At least that's what I've been seeing online. I could have been wrong, you know that could be a thing that you could probably clarify. But it's kind of disappointing because, like with everything going on with trans folks right now, I think it's really important for us to still have some sort of voice, but at the same time, I see visibility sometimes as a double edged sword, and maybe not talking about it doesn't fan the flame so much to Republicans and maybe kind of directs the focus on other issues which may benefit trans folks in another way. Could that could be a strategy, but I don't know. There's a lot there.

Speaker 1: 4:12

I probably just dumped a lot on you.

Speaker 2: 4:14

No, no, no. I think they're focusing more on the abortion rights issues and IVF as the gateway to personal freedoms. In relationship to that, and I got to say there was a little bit of outrage that we did not get Sarah McBride speaking at the convention. She is going to be the first France member of Congress, and so to get her a little bit of exposure early on certainly was something that the DNC should have found a way to do. Maybe cut out one musical number that isn't a star, I don't know. But over two different days, on Monday and Wednesday, the LGBTQ plus had a caucus from noon to 1.30 each day and there were a large number of trans speakers at the LGBTQ caucus and we did discuss that. We also, at the end of the second day, took a group picture with all of the trans and non-binary delegates that we had there. There were over 40, almost 50. So we did have at least some fairly good representation there.

Speaker 2: 5:27

And so, going back to the very beginning of your question is how does somebody get involved in this? Well, in my case, I've been in Los Angeles for a lot of years and it was a choice that I made after Nebraska started passing the anti-trans laws. They introduced them in 2023. I received a phone call from my old insurance agent from when I was in high school here in Nebraska who wanted to contact me and ask some questions in relationship to that, and so that's when I found out that they were doing it. So I came back to Nebraska, I testified against the bills, lobbied against them, and the day before it was passed, I told the kids and their parents here in Nebraska that if that bill passed, that I would come back to my home state and I would fight for them. And so in July of last year, I bought a house in Omaha in the legislative district of the gal who wrote the anti-trans legislation. I became a Nebraska resident, registered with the.

Speaker 1: 6:50

Democratic Party, you bought a house.

Speaker 2: 6:51

Yes, I have a house here. This is my house here in Omaha.

Speaker 1: 6:53

Wait, you made like a full financial investment. Sorry, I just stopped pause for a second. Like that is the level of commitment you made to making a difference for trans folks. As you were like hold on.

Speaker 1: 7:05

I'm going to commit to a 30 year mortgage or whatever the situation is. I'm only assuming, but like that's first of all, that's huge. I mean, go on, I love that. You were just like you know what. I'm going to go buy a house there and we're going to start voting there. Start voting there, and that's kind of how we have to make a change and having that economic impact which is really challenging to as community members, because not a lot of us even have that access. So it's amazing you've been able to do that.

Speaker 2: 7:35

I am fortunate in that I have had a great job and career with LA County as a prosecutor, and then a few years ago my parents passed away and I was able to inherit some of the family farm here in Nebraska. And so it was. I'm in a position of privilege. If I have this privilege, I have to use that privilege to try to help the people in my community. There were so many people who came before me who sacrificed way much more than I'm doing now to make sure that we even had the ability to have documentation change, to be able to live as who we are, and so for me it was a no-brainer. I had the ability to do it.

Speaker 2: 8:18

Yes, I bought a house, 30-year mortgage and everything, and I bought it in the district of the gal who was doing these evil things, and I started getting involved with the Democratic Party.

Speaker 2: 8:31

So I first started attending the Douglas County Central Committee meetings which are held every month, got to know the folks, ended up getting elected to the State Central Committee, so I'm on both the county and state central committee meeting. I got approached by the vice chair of the Stonewall Democrats at our big gala last year where we had Governor Walz speaking to us, and shortly thereafter he asked me to become the vice chair of the caucus, and so I come testify in front of our legislature here on a whole wide range of issues, not just trans-related things, it's business, unfair competition, replacing the counselors with chaplains in schools. So I made that commitment because I love my home state. My great-great-grandmother homesteaded here in the 1880s and my family's been here that whole time, and I did not like seeing what was going on with them, and so, like any good firefighter, instead of running away from the fire, I ran into it.

Speaker 1: 9:43

Like any good firefighter, instead of running away from the fire, I ran into it. It sounds like it. I mean the level of commitment there and just the progress in your career. It shows that you really were dedicated to take your privilege and use that to try to make some betterment in your community. And and just because I've learned a little bit about you and now even through this episode, just hearing you right now, it's it's interesting to see how uh committed you were to really making a difference in community and kind of using the privilege and access that you had to kind of shift that in a way that uh makes a difference may not even affect you directly, but it affects a lot of the youth, because I think we all I mean we were young trans once we remember what that's like and those that scar tissue that was created in that process and it's beautiful to see somebody uh commit themselves in that way, especially in uh spaces that don't typically have trans folks.

Speaker 1: 11:17

And the other thing that I found fascinating is it sounds like your ability to not just talk about trans issues is actually to kind of be multifaceted in that way to touch other spaces within the public sector, because with trans people is.

Speaker 1: 11:35

We kind of get stuck in this monolith idea that we only have trans issues as what we can represent. Um, but you know, if we want to look back at how trans folks used to be treated, you know, spiritually we used to be the leaders in community and guide a lot of folks way, way, way, way, way way back when yeah, I think that needs to happen more. I think the balance of that, because we can have the knowledge and the experience that we have with a lot of the economic hardship that we face being a trans person, even within privilege because, granted, you could have millions and millions and millions of dollars, but you'll still always be trans at the end of the day and you'll always still have to deal with the microaggressions that come with that. You can limit your access to it with money, but there's still always that not so fun part about being trans.

Speaker 2: 12:25

It never goes away. You're always with you, someone you know and in my case I'm so publicly open about it and everyone just knows and it's like I don't give a shit. I'm trans and I love the fact that I'm trans and what you're saying is exactly right and being involved in other things. It's funny when I testified in the legislature this year in front of the business committee about an issue involving money that nonprofits get through the 340B program. It's kind of a technical area, but something that I knew about from being on the board at APLA Health. It's something that I've dealt with a lot and so I knew the issue and I thought I could be of help to the legislators. And it probably wasn't my testimony.

Speaker 2: 13:11

But the day after the hearing on that bill, the transphobe gal added her name as the co-signer to the bill. Wow, so I, at least I, at least you know I. She knows that I know some issues and I'm pretty smart on that, but she's going to refuse to use my gender. She, she's going to miss, she's going to misgender me, she's on a uh, a podcast and and and other things, just basically saying that she's never gonna treat me as a woman and people in the trans community have such incredible talent and so, yeah, getting that out there, showcasing that and that was one of the things I loved about this convention is that I did get a chance to talk with some press. I was on a broadcast by ABC National in relationship to the LGBTQ caucus. Our local ABC station here in Omaha had a couple of those delegates on and I was featured fairly well in that, interviewed by the Advocate, interviewed by the New York Times, interviewed by the USA Today.

Speaker 1: 14:28

It was actually the White House correspondent for them who caught me and my friend Mike and asked this question.

Speaker 2: 14:31

Your phone even got excited about USA Today. It's just, you know, I, I just love the fact that it was the white house correspondent, not the, the chicago guy.

Speaker 1: 14:42

You know, it's like no, it's a huge deal. It's a huge, huge, huge, huge deal, especially again as trans folks, because visibility, I feel, um, I I mean it's nice to hear that there was an LGBT caucus and that they did provide space for trans folks, but you know, I don't know, it's kind of rough to look at that and some of the other comments that were made and some of the other communities that were left out. It's it. I don't know the strategy. Okay, but were you there for the little john moment?

Speaker 2: 15:23

I was, yes and he actually came down. We were in the house when that happened I was in the house, I was across the uh, please tell me, please tell me.

Speaker 1: 15:34

So you're just like there and just like things are happening and you're like, okay, there's a dj, this is, this is new. Like where, please describe like the smell of the air, like I need to know because you have to understand. Like how historic. When I watched the clip, I thought I was watching a movie. I was like no, this is real life. People are really experiencing this right now. So please tell me what this was like to see Little John announce Georgia, I believe right.

Speaker 2: 16:09

Yeah, I think that's what it was. Yeah Well, for me at first it was like who is that?

Speaker 1: 16:16

You understand the millennial in me. I literally was like yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 16:21

You've got to understand I'm a boomer, Although. I don't identify as a boomer. I'm a Gen Z, whatever is the one that's after boomers, Gen x gen x, gen x. Okay, no, no no.

Speaker 1: 16:39

So gen x is I'll give it to you straight because I've got it really good. So we've got the boomers right who have allegedly ruined everything. But you know it certainly really did. I'm not gonna lie like there's a lot of proof in that, because okay, but those, those, those were the boomers who were born before 1960.

Speaker 2: 16:57

The post 60 folks were okay Family wealth and all kinds of things.

Speaker 1: 17:01

I know there's a lot going on there, it's conspiratorial Rockefeller, let's not go too deep. But anyway, tiktok, listen, I always have to bring in that stuff because that's what people look at and we got to talk about it. But going from where we see us now and where we're heading to being in that DNC building, I don't even want to talk more. Tell me what was it like to experience that, because I feel like that rebirthed people wanting to vote. It reminded me of I hate to say it P Diddy when he did Rock the Vote, when people got really excited about that moment.

Speaker 2: 17:45

I mean, it was a hundred.

Speaker 1: 17:48

There was a lot of moments in time because I'm from the MTV generation, allegedly, and it was like amazing. But then, like also there's that movie idiocracy I don't know if you've seen that movie with oh yeah, okay. So I was like what's happening? Because like it was you know what I mean like it was hard to take it serious a little bit. But I also understand that they're trying to revitalize the boat and it was still a really cool thing, but it's just. It also worries me with some of those tactics you know what I'm saying Like, but also the Kamala Harris stuff on TikTok is hilarious. So I don't know, I'm torn between how I feel I feel I don't know. I feel I feel I don't know. I feel hope kind of, but I don't know.

Speaker 2: 18:41

I feel incredible hope because I've seen, especially within the party I mean when I was running for delegate, and one of the questions you asked previously was how do you get there right? Well, you attend your county convention. Some states require that you run on the ballot for the position In Nebraska. You get elected at the county convention to become a delegate to the state convention and then, at the state convention, you can be elected to be a delegate to the national convention, and that's how I did it. I also actually ran for the position of elector, which is the person who signs the electoral college certificate, and I should have won that. Ran for the position of elector, which is the person who signs the electoral college certificate, and I should have won that. Unfortunately, I did not.

Speaker 1: 19:25

But we have what we call the blue dot. I love how your phone keeps giving affirmations every time you say something. I'm sorry.

Speaker 2: 19:32

My roommate telling me she's going to bed.

Speaker 1: 19:35

Good night, my roommate telling me she's going to bed.

Speaker 2: 19:38

good night, but no, it's um and a very interesting process to do all of that. And and we do have in omaha what we call our blue dot we in nebraska divide up our electoral college votes by congressional district and twice Nebraska has gone Republican as a state but the second congressional district has gone Democratic and we've given an electoral college vote. And you know there are some scenarios out there that have the race coming down to the second district in Nebraska and that one electoral college vote could be the difference in that way.

Speaker 1: 20:42

And and again. What did it really feel like to be in that building? Because I've only really seen it through the digital content, and mostly it's through TikTok. So it's been memefied, it's been bratified, it's been very mindful.

Speaker 1: 20:59

It's. You know, it's all of those things which I love as a millennial. But then I also am like is that gonna work? I don't know. I still have trauma from 2016. So, like, I'm still like I don't know, I don't. The polls were always saying you know. So, like what, what did it really feel like to be in that building? Because it looked beautiful again, but I still worry that it was like you know it's it's.

Speaker 2: 21:24

It's a totally different experience being in there than it is watching it on television. Number one watching it on television, you can actually hear what everyone is saying, whereas when you're in and we were right beside the stage, uh, and we were right as people would walk out of the back state they walked right to us, uh, and I don't know if you saw, after uh, stevie wonder performed, uh, and who was that? Senator Cory Booker came out and he goes. I don't know what all was going on here, but backstage we could see Nebraska was getting down and he called his out by name on national television.

Speaker 2: 22:13

But being inside there number one, have constant you're, you're talking with folks, you're seeing people from other delegations who are walking by and you, you want to talk with them. So frequently you're getting bits and pieces of uh, the, the talks that are being given. Uh, when somebody starts sharing, then you know where we were. It was everybody coming right at us and it made it almost impossible to hear what somebody was saying, um, and, and so you don't get that flavor of it. It's.

Speaker 2: 22:46

It's a business like, but it is also the energy level was out of this world. The people who were there are so motivated at this point from that week long of listening to, you know, mostly uplifting messages, unlike the Republican Convention, which talked about how, you know, everything is falling apart and we have a horrible country and the only way to save us is to elect Donald Trump as our personal savior. It was so nice. It was so nice to hear the positive message, the talking about helping people. But you know, walls is really great. He came up with a couple of great things so far in this campaign.

Speaker 1: 23:34

I knew nothing about walls at all and I got to tell you the way his son reacted to him, told me everything I needed to know about that man, you can't mask that. That kid stood up and said that's my dad and started to like. I literally get goosebumps just thinking about that moment because, like with kids like that, like they don't hide their feelings, emotions you know what I mean and it's a beautiful thing it's beautiful, it's authentic and I gotta give it to harris for picking walls.

Speaker 1: 24:16

I think it was a really smart political choice, which is interesting because that's another thing when I'm hearing on tiktok is people are going like the democratics are making smart moves for once. What's going on? What the hell happened here. I mean, I mean the little moment I gotta tell you just like I was like yes, it did something for me, I will admit it.

Speaker 2: 24:38

When I ran at the state convention, I basically told folks that I was running for president Harris because I knew that Joe Biden was not going to survive a four-year term, and so I was. Just, I made everyone aware that I was voting for president Harris because that was the reality of the situation. I just didn't expect it to happen as soon as it did. But once it did, it just turned 180. And Walls, I think he got the. He won himself that position when he was on the weekend talk shows and he was talking about everybody wants to get back to. You know, being there for thanksgiving and you know, and not having you know the weird conversation. You know those guys are just weird. So he, he came with that up, with that on the cuff. And then the other is you know, yeah, you know, we have a, we have a saying in minnesota about things like that. Just mind your own damn business. You know, I mean it is. He is so straightforward he is. Yeah, he is such a friggin coach. I mean he is.

Speaker 1: 25:40

You know he is literally a quintessential disney dad that you would see on like a 20 2005 special movie like of. Like you know, he's about to coach the football football team. There's going to be a gay kid on the team. He's going to freaking make that kid the quarterback Somehow, some way. He's going to like drive the prom queen on the back of his truck. That's what I'm saying. Like the Harris campaign did a good job by choosing him. I think adds the balance to where the Harris campaign kind of can seem too liberal because of the whole.

Speaker 1: 26:22

well, she's from California, it's so woke, it's so this because she's already going to have to deal with the misogyny of being a woman, basically, and all of that the racism of being black, the racism of being Indian there that she's, it's like that she's had to deal with her whole career, exactly yeah, and you know, to be fair, there's fair criticism of some of the stuff she's done in the past, which I think is good for us to actually still be able to acknowledge that with our politicians. Like I just can't wait for when politics gets boring again, like I remember, like nobody knew who the senator of anything was, yeah, and that's when things were great, a little bit not. I mean don't get me wrong, there was a lot of other communities that were not doing well under those still things, and I'm grateful for the progress we have today, even for our trans community. But I just like I want politics to be boring. Like it's become this like hollywood thing that is actually affecting our lives. It's affecting trans people, it's affecting black people, it's affecting literally anybody in poverty, it's affecting so many different folks, even our rural communities, how there's a lot of this idea where it's like oh yeah, we're going to get your jobs back.

Speaker 1: 27:39

Like that's something that I think the Trump campaign likes to push a lot about we're going to get your jobs back, we're going to bring them back. We're going to bring them back when in reality those jobs they're gone Like they're lying to their constituents on that side. You know, I just I'm happy to see the Harris campaign and also the Democrats actually step aside, because remember, even with Bernie Sanders, when that happened and a lot of people wouldn't support him when he had kind of more of the youth vote and more what they probably needed to push over the line. I think they're making some corrections and also Harris is going to also have the advantage that Hillary didn't Is when Hillary went into the ring, trump for the first time was like doing things that no one had ever seen a politician do, that Everybody was just their jaws were dropped and they're like what do I say?

Speaker 1: 28:36

so I think harris, being a former prosecutor, is going to do very well in the ring.

Speaker 2: 28:41

I'm looking forward to the september 10th, uh, and I and I think I think they've figured out the way to kind of get under his skin and I think they're going to continue to do that and they're going to continue to do that and they're going to push those buttons during the debate, yeah, and so we're going to see some things from Trump.

Speaker 2: 29:02

I think that may be surprising, I don't know, but the convention atmosphere and the people there, just the level of enthusiasm and it was such a cross-section of america, uh, I mean, there were business people, there were store owners, there were farmers, there were ranchers, there were, you know, factory workers, union people, uh, government employee, I mean from teachers were really they're being supported. So it really was amazing just seeing this whole cross-section of people all coming together and that's the thing that really really happened. That was so, so surprising was how quickly Joe and Kamala were able to put together this coalition and bring everyone together. And, to be fair, we hear a lot of complaints about nobody voting for her. That's usually the Republicans, because if you're a Democrat, we all know we voted for her because it was a package.

Speaker 2: 30:08

It was a package deal. It's Biden and Harris.

Speaker 1: 30:13

And so we always had.

Speaker 2: 30:14

We always had Harris as our number two. So the fact that they you know somebody thought it might be a good idea to have an open you know primary week and, and you know, just let people go at each other. I'm like how incredibly stupid is that we have somebody who is probably the most qualified woman ever to be a president of anybody, who could possibly be being a local prosecutor, a state prosecutor, a US senator and vice president. I mean, that's some pretty heady stuff there and I like to joke. On the vice president side I said do you want somebody for vice president who reached the highest enlisted level in the state military of their state, who was a award winning football coach, who spent 16 years in Congress, who has been elected governor and has actually run things? Or do you want the guy who doesn't know how to order donuts?

Speaker 2: 31:15

Oh, my god, I mean for me, it's pretty simple that was so awkward. And it's like Governor Walz, I mean.

Speaker 1: 31:27

I don't mean to use the trademark, that's not even my intention right now, but it was a weird moment. Yeah, governor Walz, did you see the one where tim he goes in and I think he's like somewhere he's ordering something like I think days later at like some sort of?

Speaker 2: 31:44

oh, no, no, that's it. That's the thing I was going to tell you is that, uh, the saturday before the convention, we had a rally for walls here in omaha, yeah, where it was less than 48 hours to put together, and we, uh, we had in excess of 7,500 requests for a 2,500 seat venue, um, and we ended up with, you know, uh, about three or 4,000 overflow in the amphitheater outside. But when he got done, he, he had the the motorcade stop at the Runza restaurant, which is a unique Nebraska chain there's only, I think, there's one maybe in Iowa and one in Colorado, so it's strictly a Nebraska product and they make cabbage and beef sandwiches. Some people call them crop burgers beer rocks.

Speaker 1: 32:39

That's what I thought it was, because I saw the menu and I was like. I'm not sure, what that is.

Speaker 2: 32:42

What is a runza? It's a meal in a bunza, okay, so I mean, and so if we're in Nebraska, we all know that, and it's like you got the frings, which is an order of onion rings and fries together.

Speaker 1: 32:57

You could bring Frings to Los Angeles.

Speaker 2: 33:03

What I would really love to do is bring Runza to LA because they are so unique and so good. But so he goes in, he knows what to do. He talks to the people, he gets his order, he gets back in the motorcade and is taking it back to Minnesota because the next day they're going on the bus tour in Pennsylvania. So his wife, on Monday, when we were talking to him, he goes. Well, tim went down to the refrigerator to get ready to go to Texas or get ready to go to Pennsylvania. We were going to take them with us and we discovered that our son ate all of them.

Speaker 1: 33:37

Wow.

Speaker 2: 33:38

And so it's like, yes, I want somebody who knows how to live in the real world, as opposed to somebody who's in this fictional world, who's who has never worked at a useful job in their life? You know, managing other people, supervising, being in charge of a business. You know he basically worked for a venture capitalist who then, you know, moved to Ohio solely for the purpose of running for office, and Peter Thiel spent billions of dollars to get this guy put into the US Senate, where he's been for two years. And now they want to make him one heartbeat away from the president of the United States and nobody knows jack about him. No, I'm sorry, that's not a good idea.

Speaker 1: 34:24

Yeah, and it's weird because it feels like he's an ally. Don't quote me on this, but is he wearing guy liner?

Speaker 2: 34:34

He was friends with a trans individual at Yale Law School. They were like good friends and he was involved. He's selling himself out for political power but, like I feel like he does yes, he has guyliner.

Speaker 1: 34:47

Listen, listen. I allegedly used to wear eyeliner. That's why I tried to do my femininity before I transitioned. That looks like eyeliner on the lower lid.

Speaker 2: 34:58

He may he may have permanent guy liner. I don't know. He may have gotten them tattooed or something, but yes, it looks like he is constantly wearing uh liner and clearly we can't trust him around any couches, right? So like that's like well, that was a whole made-up thing, but hey, it was a good made-up one now listen if they had to fact check it though we went to the book.

Speaker 2: 35:21

Okay, well, it was the first edition of the book. No, here's the first. No, it's not in there. But I, what did the right do to counteract that? For the same type thing is is a fake newspaper article about Tim Walz going to the hospital for drinking too much horse semen. I mean, you haven't seen that one? Oh no, there's all kinds of folks on Twitter calling Tim Walz a cum drinker. You know drinking horse cum.

Speaker 1: 35:51

Well, I mean, oh my god, I've been to the Folsom Street Fair.

Speaker 2: 35:57

so I mean and so I'm at least thinking. You know, Vance, fucking the Couch is within the realm of possibility.

Speaker 1: 36:05

I'm just saying it sounds like they're an ally. And the thing is, I feel like I said this in an episode so long ago before a lot of folks were saying this, but I was talking about Project 2025. Episode so long ago before a lot of folks were saying this, but I was talking about project 2025. I don't remember where I said it. I've been still trying to look for the content. I don't know if it was this episode or on this season or like some other show, but I I heard about project 2025 and like that's basically a plan to overthrow the government. How is this even legal to exist? Because like isn't there section code? I forget the number, but like they're literally like breaking federal law by like even conspiring to do this because they're like.

Speaker 1: 36:47

I think you might know that better than I would but like it's.

Speaker 2: 36:51

I mean you can advocate for changes in government and eliminating government services, government projects. There's nothing that says you know that we have to have a Department of Education, for God's sakes. It didn't exist until you know, I think, nixon put it in. Epa didn't exist until you know Nixon put it in and so you know you could do these things. Nixon put it in um, and so you know you could do these things.

Speaker 1: 37:21

So talking about eliminating things like that is you know, not necessarily, uh, treasonous, but the the effect that they're talking about. I I mean, again, this might be my tiktok rabbit hole, then. That's why I'd love to get it clarified, because there's probably other people that are down this rabbit hole themselves. But from my understanding again, project 2025 is basically conspiring to rip down the entire government, put in loyalists to Trump only and rip down any department that is considered woke, like the education, et cetera, et cetera. I mean yeah.

Speaker 2: 37:56

I mean, but we as we as reason is there?

Speaker 2: 37:59

I don't know. Yeah, well, no, I mean, look, it is a crazy ass plan to yeah, yes, but advocating for removal of a government agency or service, you know nothing, is inherently you know wrong about that. Necessarily. People have, you know, opposed the Department of Education from day one, but it still continues to exist. But it's an existence of legislation and executive action. Legislation can change that. You can't universally just get rid of it because it's authorized by Congress. You would have to take over Congress. It would have to be an act of Congress to eliminate whatever wants. Now, certain departments are in the US Constitution. You can't get rid of the State Department. You can't get rid of the Justice Department. You can't get rid of the Treasury.

Speaker 1: 38:47

Those are all constitutional departments within there are three branches of government, separate for the powers to be, so Project 2025 is not attacking those three powers, because that's also oh no no, it is.

Speaker 2: 39:01

It is an attempt to secure, uh, most of the power in the executive branch by getting rid of certain departments and then making them, uh, operate under the authority of the executive office of the president. So it is transferring it from, which is a combination legislative and executive function, because legislature creates it. The executives are the ones who get to appoint the appointees in it, but most of them are all civil service. Anyway, you don't have a loyalty to a president or a party. When you get your job, you get it because you're a citizen and you get to keep it. It doesn't get changed out with the change of every administration.

Speaker 2: 39:47

Could you imagine the government trying to operate where, every single time there's a change of administration, everyone fired and and new people have to get hired? How would you have continuity of government or programs? It just doesn't exist. So, yeah, what they're advocating for is basically the total destruction of the government of the united states and placing it all in the hands of the executive, which is, you know, a horrible, horrible thing to do. Um, the there are aspects of of 2025, which I think you could consider to be a conspiracy to violate individual civil rights. I personally think that a lot of these anti-trans bills that are being put together, advocated for by these national organizations and hate groups, and being money being funneled to state legislators to you know bring this up and pass it that that is the actual conspiracy to violate the civil rights of uh, of individuals, because they're seeking to use the power of government to take away our ability to exist as humans, and that, to me, is, is, is you know a, a violation of our civil rights, and you know them engaging in that conspiracy.

Speaker 2: 41:01

Now, whether I'm going to get anybody who wants to jump on the board and, you know, take on the legislature of Georgia for their actions. And, you know, taking away the access to health care, that's going to end up being a civil case. But if we do get a finding by the Supreme Court that we do have these fundamental civil rights, then their attempting to take them away through these laws is nothing more than, you know, the same thing that they did to African Americans in trying to, you know, take away their voting rights and prevent them from being able to vote, taking away their schools those, you know and prohibit them from being able to vote, taking away their schools. So you know, organizing to take those things away from people is wrong and illegal, and I think it's the same when they do it to go after the LGBTQ plus community.

Speaker 1: 41:46

Yeah, yeah, I mean I heard, I think, this morning, that there is I forget who it was someone's advocating basically some old law, basically in constitution, that because Kamala Harris is black, that she's technically not even allowed to be voted for as well because she's technically not a person. I mean the level that they're already going to and we're only in, like what, what?

Speaker 2: 42:15

a month and a half since the well, if you, if you go to the original constitution and uh, blacks were considered uh, three quarters, I believe, of a vote or four fifths. They were not given a full personhood for purposes of census and things like that.

Speaker 1: 42:34

But that's just absolute bullcrap, because we've been in the Constitution since then, but it's horrible that they're thinking it.

Speaker 1: 42:40

Yeah, because here's the thing I'm conflicted about Kamala, sometimes with some of it, because of the whole. It's not that she was a cop, but she was a cop to a degree and there's a lot of things that were problematic with what affected a lot of things that were problematic with what you know affected a lot of community members. And looking at it in the way that she is just being hammered, hammered it's it's when you see her in the tan suit, in the same way that Obama wore the tan suit like I'm conflicted, like I'm excited to vote for her, but I'm also like still scared at the same time because of there's the whole cop city things that are popping up. There's a lot of different things that really directly affect trans people like they really do. Trans folks unfortunately are in the system at a higher rate than most communities and it's really unfortunate that there's that history for her. Because at the same time, I'm also like looking at it and going, oh my God, like I feel like Disney magic, like hope in my heart, like you know, seeing the DNC and seeing you know there was even like Mayor John Erickson there was from West Hollywood. I saw him posting and he was like right there. I think he even got an interview with um I forget what major network, but there was a lot of beautiful moments that happened in that.

Speaker 1: 44:08

But at the same time, there was like a really great streamer. Well, I wouldn't say great, sometimes he's a little problematic, but he was. He had a I think, like 90,000 folks on his stream and because he was talking about Palestine, they like pulled them out of the building. So there's like a lot of different things that are happening simultaneously and I know she can't fix it all at once and I know that we as community members also want to put our hope in. But I still fear because there wasn't even a drop of trans representation, at least in her party that we're almost like well, we got the trans vote because they know that if they vote for Trump, it's you know. Well, everything's gone. And that's that's how I feel, because Kamala still has my vote. But I just wish that my vote was more considered in a way that we're looking at the multiple genocides that are happening throughout the world and even people directly in this country legislatively.

Speaker 1: 45:11

I mean, as a trans person, I've got abortion rights that I'm fighting for and also trans stuff. So as a trans guy, I've got abortion rights that I'm fighting for and also trans stuff. So, as a trans guy, I feel like I'm getting hit in both angles and nobody's even really platforming trans men at all or having those conversations. That's also why I wore a pussy boy, because I just wanted to make sure that that was known, that I'm a trans guy If anybody's watching this and has forgotten but it's so many nuances that are happening at once and I'm still so hopeful. But it's so many nuances that are happening at once and I'm still so hopeful, but it's like this, like I don't know, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 45:42

well, to me, the way I look at it is is is there is no other choice. Do I do? I know what she's gonna do. I have a very good idea of what she's gonna do in relationship to trans rights. You've got to remember, governor Walz sponsored and supported and signed into law this sanctuary of provisions in Minnesota law to protect trans people who would come to Minnesota from another state that was seeking to persecute them, and he has a very, very good understanding of trans issues, from what I understand, and so he is going to be an advocate for us. And I know that President Harris has been at times an advocate for the trans community and at times, as Attorney General, she acted against us in seeking to prohibit medical care for trans community and at times, as Attorney General, she acted against us, you know, in seeking to prohibit medical care for trans prisoners.

Speaker 2: 46:42

But again you know, that was a lengthy period of time ago and that was the standard prevailing idea under the law in a lot of circumstances for that, and we did hire her to enforce the law in the state of California. But she also acknowledges that that was a mistake and that she would not go that route again. I mean, so she has learned as she's gone along, which is something you can't say about Trump.

Speaker 1: 47:12

He's still doubling down on the same gamut can't say about Trump. He's still doubling down on the same gamut. At the end of the day, I mean it's, it's just in the back of my mind. She has my vote. I mean I even made merch for her as well in support for her, because, as a trans person, there's so much going on legislatively, but it's also I mean it's it's under their administration. I also realized she doesn't have the same amount of power because she's VP and there's a lot of technicalities there.

Speaker 1: 47:41

But there's just a lot of, I think, challenges that the Harris campaign is going to have to face when it comes to day one in office, which I think we're all going to push over the line and get her there. I think that is going to happen. I'm manifesting, I'm hoping, I'm praying for it honestly, because I yeah, I you know I'm really worried about the other outcome, because the other outcome feels like death to me, like I don't know if you've seen the movie v for vendetta, but I was just like oh my god, okay, well, you know we're gonna put roses in the windowsill.

Speaker 1: 48:14

It's over, it's done. You know like they're just going to come knocking on our doors and when Harris was announced, I got to tell you that that was lifted off my shoulders. As a trans person with, as problematic as she has been in certain areas because she also has been as a woman, been pushed and even as a black woman, has been pushed in ways to excel, like you said, far beyond most people that have ever applied to do the job as president, which is always that whole glass ceiling. Well, it could even be a glass cliff right now, because you've got a lot going on economically as a country going on economically as a country, but it's that that whole thick glass that she has broken through.

Speaker 1: 49:02

I do acknowledge that work that she's put in and it is amazing to see a woman of her stature push through what she has and and and and become president, because that's something that you know again trans guy born with a vagina. I like to say that sometimes in the episodes, it's kind of cool to see that there's going to be a vagina in the office and I don't care if that's weird to say I'm excited for that and and I know that there's a lot of ideology politics where people are saying, well, you can't pick her because she's a woman, you can't do this because she's that. I would pick her because she's a woman, because women are asked to do twice, if not three times as much to get qualified for jobs. And.

Speaker 1: 49:48

I'm sure you can show me how I experience misogyny in a different way now, because you're like, oh shit, this sucks and she survived that, in the same way that Hillary Clinton is super problematic, in more ways even. But you can still kind of respect like her business swag, like her game, that she as a woman made it through really toxic stuff politically and I don't know. I'm really excited for Harris because those kind of V for Vendetta dreams have kind of lifted a little bit. I don't feel like we're going to get like knocked on the door and like ripped out of the room, but I just I just hope to see more like visibility for us in some shape or form.

Speaker 2: 50:32

And I think a lot of what the convention was for was not to reassure the base, because I think the base is fairly reassured and Republicans who are tired of the MAGA movement and Republicans who are maybe vocally pro-life but in reality are pro-choice and I know there are a number of them out there. I think a lot of Republicans you know they would be vocal, you know pro-life, knowing that there was the backdrop of Roe to protect them so they could have that opinion and be part of the group. But I think, as we've seen with the elections in Kansas, with the election in Ohio, when you put abortion access on the ballot, it wins and that is going to bring over some additional voters. And we have, I believe, somewhere around 14, 15 states that have constitutional amendments to protect abortion access on their ballots this fall. That is going to be a big motivating factor in getting turnout out.

Speaker 2: 51:59

The, the, the pro uh abortion, uh, I don't want to say pro-abortion, but the, the people who respect bodily autonomy and the right to reproductive freedom are are going to be coming out in force. Uh, because this is a big issue. Nobody wants to see a 12 year old girl be forced to carry her bastard son-brother, you know, it just is, or a trans guy as well, or a trans man.

Speaker 1: 52:24

Again, I don't know if you've seen some of the other episodes, but I have experienced assault. I was drugged in a bar and I needed that medication in order to Protect yourself from, and I needed that medication in order to protect myself because I was not going to do that to myself. Rights as a trans man. I'm like, oh my God, it's coming at me at both sides and I don't have anybody really representing or talking about it in a way that is getting on CNN and having these conversations and how it's affecting folks. Even so much of how we're talking about the Amani Khalif situation and the boxing situation. There's so much conversation to be had about what's going on with misogyny within so many different layers in mainstream community.

Speaker 2: 53:23

Yeah, there's there's so many, there's so many ways that we could paths, that we could go down and talking about how this is is such a problem, but it's is such a problem but it's uh, I I think that the focus now of the harris campaign is to give reassurance that we, we are going to have.

Speaker 1: 53:45

No, I will tell you that they got to get better on that communication. I mean, she, I know she said it's like the blame and and I'm really you know what I mean because I understand I don't really understand. To be honest, I'm I still learning a lot about palestine and gaza because I have focused a lot on trans rights and los angeles and that's pretty much where I focus my activism. Um, so I haven't commented too much on it, but the way that I think there was like a delegate there that was a palestinian democrat, like lifelong democrat, that they didn't have them speak but they had republicans who were like super problematic and have said some horrible stuff, um, I think there needs to be a better balance there, going through their campaign, navigate that better, because from what I'm seeing on tiktok and I'm just speaking from what I'm seeing because I can see it and say it it's, it's not looking good in a lot of ways, even though we're gonna get over that vote maybe, I don't know.

Speaker 1: 54:49

There I just got so much trauma with 2016 that I would really hope that the harris campaign finds not just using the brat summer stuff, which is really cute and it's funny. Yeah, I some of the stuff that I cannot believe is. Posting from an official account is so genius, whoever is doing that. I end up watching it on tiktok like four or five times, just going like I can't believe. This is the kamala harris hq like campaign, like promoting this tiktok sound and it like campaign like promoting this TikTok sound and it is fricking hilarious.

Speaker 2: 55:19

Like when I saw like very, very mindful, I was like, oh my God, this is it's, it's genius, but I just hope there's more substance behind it, because yeah Well, what I would like to see is Biden negotiate some type of agreement between these folks and you know in this this if we can, but that's such an extremely difficult thing to do, because you have two you have two sides four months or whatever yeah, and and it's like so what side do you jump in? How do you jump in?

Speaker 1: 55:53

not jump in, because I've seen some of the videos on tiktok of what is going on and like kids being decapitated and stuff, and it's like I'm not the only one seeing that.

Speaker 2: 56:03

A lot of america no, and it's and it's, and it's not a a good thing and uh, hopefully, you know, something will break that will break that, that deadlock where they're not able to talk to each other and at least come to some, uh, reasonable solution so they stop shooting each other for at least for a little bit, you know, and give them time to talk. But uh, that's a tough thing to do and it's and it's, it's a tough thing to say.

Speaker 1: 56:30

You know that it's the responsibility of the president and I know we're not figuring out on the show right now like yeah you know what I mean and I don't expect that, but it's just that's, but it is.

Speaker 2: 56:41

But again, what I was saying is is what they're trying to focus on is that middle american? They're trying to get those republicans that to be comfortable with, with either not voting or maybe actually voting for a Democrat for the first time, Because it's because Kamala is not somebody who is is particularly scary. She's got the background, you know, and it's just so funny, you know, seeing, you know the fact that you know, yes, we had presidents that came on and we had Bill Clinton. You know he has a background of having issues we had but, at least we had them show up.

Speaker 1: 57:21

I mean, nobody at the bush wasn't at the, the republican convention listen, I'm just saying what I'm seeing on tiktok from the younger generation, and what they're seeing and saying is and they make that's because that's you know like that's the issue that they're seeing.

Speaker 2: 57:37

And, you know, do they somehow think that Trump's going to be the one to do that? Because he's going to go in and just you know the obliteration.

Speaker 1: 57:46

Everybody's just like what the hell is this? And we've lost hope. And that's kind of like what it really looks like is. It's there's so many things simultaneously going on right now, like just historic events. Even in weather. There's tornadoes and things popping up and billionaires you know every year getting sacrificed to another boat thing. It's like there's so much going on in the world and I think it's also probably social media. We're constantly streaming. We're much more aware of it. There's so much more factors to it, because as a millennial I remember it's less stressful.

Speaker 2: 58:22

We're more easily manipulated because we get repetitive things, and so we start seeing that and that's what becomes the reality. And you know, god, I don't want to live in the world of videocracy.

Speaker 1: 58:37

I mean I know, but here's the thing I already own Crocs and they're so comfortable and those are the ones from the movie, and I see so many people still wear Crocs although.

Speaker 1: 58:46

I think I can't wear them anymore because you said something racist and now I'm like fuck man, crocs really help, because I have a wide foot Rondo. Help, because I have a wide foot rondo, it's got electrolytes. Oh my god. Yeah, I know, it's what. It's what plants crave. It's what plants crave. Oh god, I mean, you gotta admit just a little bit of you. When you were at the dnc you were like am I an idiot? Obviously a little bit like I thought president camacho was gonna come out, like if they brought terry, like all there would have been cool if we did terry cruz.

Speaker 1: 59:18

Yeah on tiktok pretending to be president for like a month or so ago, and that was hilarious.

Speaker 2: 59:24

But it's like it's also kind of scary because I'm like, oh god, I own crocs but, yeah, no, I, I I came out of there just fully convinced that we have the core of the party energized.

Speaker 2: 59:39

We've got and we had one of the guests that we had on our breakfast was David Poole, you know, who did Obama's campaign and he actually is also doing that now. And they have ads out now that are running in the key battleground states and cd2 nebraska. So we are getting the the uh, the uh advertising that the battleground states are getting because they realize our one vote is is a battleground, and they've got full-time staffers in the state of Nebraska on the ground. They've put staff into the congressional district election and they've devoted a very big media buy into Nebraska to, you know, potentially do some flipping here. So I just love the fact that I came back at this time and I'm back home in my home state and getting involved in all of this and, you know, being able to contribute to it. Yeah, time, and I'm back home in my home state and getting involved in in all of this and um, and you know being able to contribute to it.

Speaker 1: 1:00:40

Yeah, no, I mean it's. It's cool to learn more about you, because I've just watched a few episodes where you were shooting with. One of the episodes I just watched was the one of the DA or the that was my.

Speaker 2: 1:00:52

That was my first. That was, that was my first podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:00:55

So yes, yes, yes, which is really interesting, because even I've had some interesting stuff going on with. You know my personal case didn't get, you know, such the greatest attention because I feel like the DA didn't do the best of jobs there as well. But you know I digress on that. But it's nice to see someone that has the privilege A, because that's not a grand, everybody can't go buy a house but it's nice to see that you went and did do that is to move in those spaces. But I had a question though, in moving in that space as a trans person, because, like, moving into red spaces can be kind of like, oh my God, am I going to be hate crime? Because California, like you everybody, kind of leaves everybody alone. Pretty much here it's nice.

Speaker 2: 1:01:54

Nebraska passed constitutional carry.

Speaker 1: 1:01:56

I can consume my gun without a permit anywhere. Okay, so you're like, you can be a trans person. Just stay strapped up.

Speaker 2: 1:02:04

I, I can stay strapped in Nebraska, uh, and then I was in the military. I was in armor, I I know how to do uh, put together and take apart AR-15s, and I'm very proficient in firearm usage. And also they allow you to open, carry a firearm within the state capitol and I was tempted this year during the legislative session to show up a couple of times with my 40 Cal on my hip and see how fast they go. You know Ronald Reagan and the Black Panthers in Sacramento and the capitals.

Speaker 2: 1:02:48

It is because of the Black Panthers, yeah like there's a member of the state board of education and other elected officials who show up at the capitol to to protest stuff or or be in support of stuff, and they're walking around with guns on their hips and I'm like, well, okay, if they can do it, I should be able to so your suggestion to trans people if they move into red states is by have a gun be strapped, know how to use it, and that's one thing.

Speaker 2: 1:03:16

I think that trans people anywhere should at least know how to use firearms and know some of the safety and relationship to them, because if crap ever does hit the fan, I think it will become a transphobic.

Speaker 1: 1:03:33

You know we're going to it will become a transition.

Speaker 1: 1:03:36

So yeah, oh believe me oh God, I got. Honestly, though, like trans people are the most resourceful people I have ever met in my entire life, and the cool thing is is here's the advantage that we have we as a community, because of a lot of our social economic challenges we face, we actually tend to gather in groups more diversely than other communities, so trans people actually know how to communicate within other communities. Some are problematic, a lot of people can make mistakes, but still, for the most part, we're gathering with each other more mixed and diverse, so that already gives us the advantage. Plus, have you ever seen a trans person that needs to get someplace and look good? They do it on $1.50 and you're like what the?

Speaker 1: 1:04:19

hell, how did you do that? And? And trans people are so resourceful, so I would kind of be scared of a trans militia because I'd be like oh my god, they'd be making bullets out of like wood somehow, and somehow they'd be like lethal and we you know, we just get, just get a machine shop and we're going to be making those, uh, those, uh those zip guns for for everyone I wonder what the ads are that they're going to put for like. Imagine they're like guns.

Speaker 2: 1:04:47

Get your guns now but I, I I just think that, yeah, every trans person should at least know how to use it, because there may come a time when something happens and you know. So we get a zip gun. You use the zip gun to get a revolver. Use the revolver to get a semi-automatic. Use that to get a rifle, you know, and just keep upping your firepower as you go. But it's part of the reason why I have a former Marine as a roommate.

Speaker 1: 1:05:15

Oh, so you're just prepared for the zombie apocalypse. Basically, you're just like well you know, if you want to live here, you've got to have at least this rank. If you weren't an E3 or higher, sorry, you're not going to make it bud, but if you're E3, e4, mafia, all the way right.

Speaker 1: 1:05:30

Listen, I've gone down so many TikTok rabbit holes.

Speaker 1: 1:05:33

Like I'm not part of the military at all but I just love constantly learning stuff and that's why this DNC was so interesting to see from so many different perspectives of different people.

Speaker 1: 1:05:45

And it's really cool to hear that you are actually boots on the ground, like literally in the building, breathing the same air as a lot of these people, because a lot of these people have changed a lot of legislative stuff that has impacted trans people really positively.

Speaker 1: 1:05:58

It's just, unfortunately, it feels like these last couple of years I don't know, like I get scared about visibility sometimes, because maybe five years ago it felt safer to be a trans person and now, ever since, or not five years ago ago I'm probably misquoting time because covid has got me messed up on that but like right before trump got into office, like two years, even before we were even thinking about the election, I felt safer then than I do now as a trans person, even though I am fully passing etc, etc. But you know, somebody wants to Google me, they figure it out, it's pretty quick. But that shift has sometimes got me questioning about the visibility. So sometimes I'm like maybe it's a good strategy that Harris is not talking about trans people to maybe not fan the flame so much. So I'm still again conflicted on that, but it's still nice to know that there was a brunch and a luncheon and trans people were invited. Hopefully non-binary people were invited to that conversation.

Speaker 2: 1:07:01

Oh yeah, the 40 delegates, over 40 delegates. It was trans, non-binary, gender, non-conforming, so it was the group and actually the LGBTQ plus caucus met twice, so it met on Monday and on on wednesday. Oh wow, cool, cool. So, and there were a lot of speakers.

Speaker 1: 1:07:23

I got to see miss major wow, how was that like like, was there other than miss major? Was there someone else in the room that you were just like? Oh my god, I can't believe they showed up to this.

Speaker 2: 1:07:34

Oh, I was glad I got to meet Sarah McBride and talk with her. It was funny. We went up to ask her to come back to Nebraska and Mike introduced himself and I said oh, sarah McBride, it's so great to meet you. I'm Jesse McBride. She goes, I know who you are and I'm like you do. That's so cool. Oh, wow, gee, how you know when I, when you know my doing, what I'm doing. There are other. I know of other trans women. I'm on the bar, the board of the National Trans Bar Association, and I'm friends on there with Kirsten Brody, who was a lawyer from New York. She's moved down to Florida, you know. So there's some of us who are using our influence and our power and our privilege to, you know, go in and just take it head on, because that's what you have to do with bullies. You know, when people are bullies, the only way to really truly win it you just have to stand up to them and punch them in the face, you know, and then they're going to back off.

Speaker 1: 1:08:36

It's not always easy to do, though. It gives me anxiety, you know what.

Speaker 3: 1:08:40

I mean it is, it is not an easy thing to do.

Speaker 1: 1:08:42

I don't know, I'm tired.

Speaker 2: 1:08:45

The way I look at it is. I was in a. I lost consciousness at 70 miles an hour back in 2007 while I was driving, you know, on the freeway, across four lanes of traffic into the wall, four lanes of traffic into the, the, the, you know, I hit the center divider back over to the wall and I somehow lived through that and and. For me, every day since that point has just been bonus time, and and, frankly, it's.

Speaker 1: 1:09:10

I get that. Yeah, it's, it's like I.

Speaker 2: 1:09:13

I, you know I'm not gonna. I just don't have time to take shit from people. I really don't. I don't have time to be dehumanized, I don't have time for somebody to tell me that, that I don't belong when I clearly do, and so, yeah, I am not going to sit by and that's why I came back here and, you know, wanting to take this stuff head on stuff head on.

Speaker 1: 1:09:42

Well, I mean, I it's, I think the future of the kids that are in your home state are gonna truly thank you and for the folks that are really working boots on the ground in the way that they are for the community, because I mean, when you think of woke, you don't necessarily think nebraska, I mean everybody's like it's, it's always the, the outer banks of you know new york, you know chicago, la, a lot of them, you know big city kind of hollywood types, and it's it's nice to know that. Because, because I think the rural communities did get left behind too, I think that I think that it's unfortunate to really think about it. I mean, i's why Kamala Harris automatically has my vote, because it's like I'm in a safe space. I'm in a space where even if I voted, you know, for purple dinosaur or whatever the hell, it doesn't matter, because I'm in California and there's a lot of state enshrined protections here, especially for trans people.

Speaker 1: 1:10:52

But in those red states it's really important to think about, you know, because a lot of people suck on that morality of wanting to vote for Kamala because she did this, she's done that. There's this because for some people it's Palestine, for some people, it's trans rights. For some people, it's the fact that she's just been a DA and attorney general and and big sister general as she. She put in that one thing with her sister. Um, I automatically still she gets my vote. Because of that, because of those red states, because of those trans kids, because, man, like I never thought that we would even have what we have now as trans people. Why, yeah, I don't think you grew up with the idea of it. I grew up very you know. Oh my God, I can't believe we're friends and I'm here and I'm getting to live my life and I have a beard and it's like, oh my God, what.

Speaker 2: 1:11:46

And talking about the rules, I mean that's my experience is. I come from a town of 65 people. So I for me going there.

Speaker 1: 1:11:57

That has absolutely no support that, like god knows what amazing art that kid or god knows could cure cancer or whatever, not saying all trans people are, you know, but it's the missed opportunity to just show up for all of the village and to see that there were really, because I think that's something also the democratic party kind of always made the mistake in is leaving out the rural communities and leaving out people and kind of giving this like oh, I'm smarter than you, I'm better than you, I'm this. Well, nebraska, we got the, we got the dirt road Democrats. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:12:34

And we're trying to, we're trying to build the party more and getting out there into that, and again, one of the things just is is that you want that trans kid to be able to make it to live, to even make it into adulthood, and so the what they've been doing the demonizing of the kids is has been horrid, uh, but I I do, in the future, want to. I make plans that I am going to get the rainbow families here in nebraska because I think people need to hear what happens to a family when you have the power of the state telling you you're wrong, you're evil, that we're taking away your right to make decisions about your children. I think people need to hear what horrors that they had to go through for a lengthy period of time just trying to decide if their kid was going to be able to get health care, and that's something no parent should have to worry about. So I want to get them on because I think people need to hear their voices.

Speaker 1: 1:13:38

It's still like. How American is that? Like the thing that I do, like that the Harris campaign is doing, and I will totally admit this when I would look at the American flag honestly since Trump, it's been interesting. I also culturally obviously grew up as a white person. I did buy into the big American dream and living in California and all the amazing things because I live in the bubble that I live in and my idea of America.

Speaker 1: 1:14:11

My birthday's in July. I love 4th of July. I love celebrating America and the idea of the freedoms and all the things that we were allegedly taught in public school that what America was, growing up, getting older, figuring out a lot of that wasn't true. There's a lot of trauma in that Sucks, but I still I want to find a way to make the lie that I was told as a child true. I want that America for people. I not necessarily utopia, because I think every book that's ever been written about that there's always something that goes wrong. I don't know where we're going in this human experience experiment or this American experiment that we're going. But in this human experiment or this American experiment that we're going, but we've got to progress towards more rights and hope for folks, because there's the idea that we're taking care of our most vulnerable is what shows a successful society in general, like how you treat your most vulnerable is how successful and how longevity and and also investing in infrastructure, I mean there's.

Speaker 1: 1:15:16

There's a lot of things that we need to fix and stop, you know, wasting money on stuff.

Speaker 2: 1:15:22

Social issues yeah, I mean, we just got done with a special session here in Nebraska about property tax relief because they wasted almost an entire year of the legislative session to prohibit the 200 kids who received gender affirming care from being able to get it and yeah, and so it tied up everything and that you know, that's just not natural and that's just not right. But, um, I I do have hope for the future and, and you know, you being patriarchal, I I am also.

Speaker 1: 1:15:53

My first night at the DNC I wore a flag dress the Olympics also helped too, though I'm not going to lie Like seeing us win first and then having the DNC, I was like I caught myself being like, yeah, america.

Speaker 2: 1:16:10

And we had a lot of USA placards. We had a lot of USA placards, we had a lot of flags. It was a very patriotic experience, yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:16:22

You know, and I don't know, it's this scary like. Maybe it's hope, maybe it's just great marketing, maybe it's this it is hope, don't, don't, don't.

Speaker 1: 1:16:42

It is so, but I do know that a Trump presidency for so many different communities would be disastrous. Understanding, we've got some justices that are going to be retiring, so if kamala gets in, she's going to be appointing new justices, correct, which would, yes, we would be able to kind of balance this out and I think we'd actually be a four to two. I think at that point and with how many were? I could be misquoting the numbers. It's it's late for me, but it's.

Speaker 2: 1:17:09

It's it's a five, four kind of break right now and yeah, but but it's not a 5-4 because Gorsuch is actually somebody who does come over to the other side. He's the one who wrote the opinion on the effect of Title VII and whether you could discriminate against employees on the basis of their being gay or being trans, and he's the one who wrote the opinion on that. So I am kind of hopeful. I've been to the Supreme Court twice in the last two years. Two years ago in December, I was sworn in, along with a group of 10 other trans lawyers, as the first group of lawyers from the Trans Bar Association to be group admitted. Last year I was able to sponsor 10 more.

Speaker 2: 1:17:56

I don't think we're going to have enough to be able to do our small group ceremony this year, but I am planning on being there when they hold the oral argument on the Scrimetti case out of Tennessee on the gender-affirming care bans and what standard of review they use in looking at that. Is it strict scrutiny? Is it intermediate scrutiny or is it just a rational basis? And they've seen me stand in front of them a couple times. Amy Comey Barrett has looked at me for 20 minutes on two separate occasions and smiled at me and I think I'm a pretty memorable face. I don't think you know at 6'2". I'm somebody that she would probably remember.

Speaker 1: 1:18:43

I want her to see me in there when they're arguing this case to let them know that there are real trans people that this affects that this, that this affects yeah, because I mean, from what it looks like strategically is that they're using the kids as the, the roadmap to basically end up with adults, which it already sounds like they're already doing that, oh, they've, they've publicly stated they've publicly stated that.

Speaker 2: 1:19:06

Terry schilling has said that we're coming after kids because it's a little bit easier, but make no mistake about it, we're coming after, we're coming after everybody because it's a little bit easier, but make no mistake about it.

Speaker 1: 1:19:15

We're coming after everybody. Oh my God, your kid's in danger. You know something that I found again from TikTok, but it's great because I love how much information you can actually get on there. The thing is you've got to learn how to filter it, because some of it's all you know. But the most gender-affirming surgeries actually go to cis gender boys for pop surgery.

Speaker 2: 1:19:37

They got the yeah, yeah, blastomy or whatever.

Speaker 1: 1:19:41

I and I and I know parents who said I've had to have affecting cis gender boys with gender affir surgery, not realizing again the ripple effects of the laws that they're creating.

Speaker 2: 1:19:59

Although, no, that will be excluded because it's not changing from one gender. It's gender-affirming surgery for the gender that they're born in. So that's okay. Well, what about?

Speaker 1: 1:20:12

if folks come in, then still there's going to be such a oh, it's already. It's already a mess, oh my god, it's going to be just a mess for doctors.

Speaker 1: 1:20:20

We're in insurance, getting approval, and it's already hard enough as it is, even with all the progress that we've made as a community. You still get, you know, three rejection letters and the fourth one you finally get, accepted, it's's. I just wish the ideology that it's so easy to be trans and so easy to get these surgeries and so this, that and the other, those cases that people find and fly the four people around the country to say the same story to Congress over and over again. It's just not true.

Speaker 1: 1:20:48

The most of the trans people that I know either wait a very long time for them to get their surgeries, or if they get their surgeries, it's through, you know means of sometimes sex work. Sometimes, you know it's it's like survival work for them to be able to get safely in society. And it's there's not. This, just like, oh, let's just all go to the mcdonald's. And this, just like oh, let's just all go to the McDonald's. And everybody just becomes trans because they ate a big Mac.

Speaker 2: 1:21:17

Like it's it's can I get a? Can I get a forehead reduction?

Speaker 1: 1:21:21

I mean. I mean a nasal job and a boob job. I'll take that, I'll call them.

Speaker 2: 1:21:26

It doesn't happen. No, it doesn't.

Speaker 1: 1:21:28

But also, if it did happen, my Also, if it did happen, my thing is like here's another flip side too. Like why are these politicians so worried? Like are you afraid that? Like you want to transition and like, if it was that easy for you, like you got to keep the barriers for yourself. It's like Jim, if you don't want boobs.

Speaker 2: 1:21:47

You don't have to get boobs, okay, but I want them.

Speaker 1: 1:21:50

I don't understand the need to really just police trans people, and it just seems like this political card that people have gone. Trans people they're the new thing that we can use. That's shiny and distracting, because people have never seen trans people in this way before and they're used politically so much that I mean we just had a stock market crash, we had this, we had that None of those things get as much attention as trans people and I'm sorry there's not that many trans people in the world. Yes, there's more young people that have come out through transition because of social media, exposing them to who they are, through learning the language, finally, which that's all it is, because trans people will always be trans people.

Speaker 2: 1:22:40

We've always been here, it's just we didn't have the language.

Speaker 2: 1:22:42

We didn't have the language and we didn't have the acceptance. When I came out to my kids, I spoke with them and I said you guys are extremely lucky and they go. Why? Dad and I'm like. Well, if the information that exists today existed when I was a kid, if the technology that exists now existed when I was a kid, if the acceptance that exists now, that existed back when I was your age, y'all wouldn't be here, because if I had known enough I couldn't have done it. I would have transitioned as a kid. Are you kidding me? Yeah, it would have been. You know, great. I wish I had had the, the, the, the fortitude even back then to even recognize it, but I there was a large part of it where I wasn't even recognizing it.

Speaker 1: 1:23:34

You know, no, I mean, I even technically transitioned young, because I'm 35 now, but I transitioned at 17, 18 years old, and even then I felt like I could have transitioned younger. I mean, I had to deal with huge breasts, and that's not something a boy wanted to deal with, you know, and I like, uh, there was a lot of what I missed out on as a kid because of that. That even I had to later on catch up on things and and I'm still struggling, it's, it's it's beautiful to see the trans kids come out and come out safely, and it's nice to know that you are you're taking care of yourself, you're you have a friend group, you're, you're doing things you have business idea.

Speaker 1: 1:24:36

I don't know like kids getting to be kids fully themselves, safely, because, again, trans people have always existed, will always exist. It's just we've now got the language to explain who we are, which we even had the language even previously with. You know Magnus Hirschfeld's whole burning of the library that happened. We've had the research time and time again and it's been ripped away from us because trans people, to a degree I feel, are sacred in some ways.

Speaker 1: 1:25:06

To be able to be a trans person and basically do in the womb, outside of the womb, what you can do to your body and almost prove that men and women, in some way, shape or form, are exactly the same. You know it's, it's there's there's differences in this, that and the other, but at the end of the day, we're all human. It's, I think, trans people the reason why there's more trans people. Probably today, even if we want to. I'm not quite religious, but if there are Christian folks out there that want to look at it in that way, it's like maybe God are putting more trans people on earth because of what's going on with the gender wars. There's a lot of women that are being mistreated and men that are lonely and there's a lot of things that are going on and trans people being able to navigate. Hey, I've been in both bathrooms.

Speaker 1: 1:25:56

They both smell like shit you know and I can tell you that you're both going through shit and maybe you know, like maybe we can meet here and look at each other and support each other and trans people might be part of that awakening in human evolution. Like there has to be a reason why trans people exist and it's not because of the devil, because the trans people, we're humans.

Speaker 1: 1:26:19

We're just you know, it's society that creates this ideology that it's this, that and the other. It's mostly Republicans, it's mostly folks that are religious, but there's even folks that are casual to ideas that even fall into the trap of well, trans people are this and trans people are that and gawk at us that we're not human beings at the end of the day.

Speaker 2: 1:26:43

I get upset when people who are Christian tell me that I'm going against God's vision for me, and I know I'm embracing God's vision of who I am. I was made trans. There's no doubt that I'm trans. I'm sorry if it's not what you know, you think is normal in the world or what should be considered normal. It's how I was born and it's how God created me. And the fact that it took me 53 years to finally realize that I could embrace how God created me, you know that's when I finally started living and it truly was.

Speaker 2: 1:27:22

Yes, god doesn't make mistakes. God made me trans, you know, and it's like God doesn't make mistakes, he made a kid with a cleft palate. Ok, that was how that was supposed to be. We don't get to pick and choose how we, how we're created. You know it happens and it's something that we basically have no choice over. So you know to legislate against this for something that you know we basically have no control over, it's it's, it's how we're created. Well, do we know the cause? No, but do we have to know the cause? We know we exist and that's, to me, is more than anything, just evidence of that.

Speaker 1: 1:27:57

it is a part of the normal human condition yeah, and just like if I had beliefs that others wouldn't believe in. I wouldn't want others like the idea that we need to have, especially like christians coming in and saying we need to make this a Christian nation, we need Christian laws, we need this. It's just not what the American experience is. It's supposed to be. Give me your tired, give me your hungry, give me your poor, give me everyone from the world Like the experiment of America is. I mean, the reason why we dominate in the olympics is because of diversity and individualism and allowing people to be themselves.

Speaker 1: 1:28:41

Investments as well and truly cultivating and and building and working as a team and support I. You know they needed AC. They had AC in France. You know, like the way that America, the alleged the lie that we were told, and sometimes see it in some spaces like the Olympics, pop up and give us hope. It's like, where are we going if we're going into this Christian nation of this, that and the other, if we're going into this Christian nation of this, that and the other? Which?

Speaker 2: 1:29:16

sect of Christianity gets to control. Is it the Catholic? Is it the Methodism you can get into all?

Speaker 2: 1:29:23

kinds of fights I mean, that's part of the reason why we have America is there was a fight about Christianity in Europe and certain groups wanted to get away and be able to express their own form of religion and not be forced to have religion. So for me, when you get to the point parishioners are complaining about the woke sermon that their minister just gave and he's talking about the Sermon on the Mount you have to question their, their Christianity beliefs, because I mean it seriously is uh, jesus was woke, okay Jesus honestly, jesus from what?

Speaker 1: 1:30:08

listen, if, if the story of Christianity and I'm going to say this because I said it on my TikTok, but I'll say it in this episode Scientifically, if Jesus was an immaculate birth, there's no Y chromosome, right? So that means Jesus was a trans man. Hate to break it to y'all, but that it's you know, or?

Speaker 1: 1:30:34

intersex but from what the representation? He had the long hair but he had the beard thing. You know what I'm saying. Like it's giving trans guy and a lot of trans men I know have a lot of patience, so I could actually see the whole Jesus trans thing. But just scientifically, there's no Y chromosome in that space. So the idea that you're following somebody who would do all of these things in the name of Jesus Jesus would have totally hung out with trans people. Jesus might have been trans themselves, according to the story that y'all follow is that he came from an immaculate birth. Follow is that he came from an immaculate birth. There's no male DNA there scientifically.

Speaker 2: 1:31:21

I'm just saying we can get on to all of that, but at the end of the day it was a very patriotic experience being at a Democratic convention, more so than I remember any time previously there were a lot of flags. There were a lot of ones in usa.

Speaker 1: 1:31:37

I'm not gonna lie like it did something to me and I hate to say that. Listen, I love going off on tangents too. My apologies if I'm going left and right on you, but like that's just how I go sometimes, just to dance around this but yeah, no, I mean, I think we're having a great conversation, like not since 9-11 have I wanted to put a little remember how everybody put flags on their cars.

Speaker 1: 1:32:01

it's it's giving that moment and not in a way that is as tragic as 9-11. It's somehow, some way I'm feeling some hope, but I feel guilty about it at the same time, just because of all of the other nuances behind it. But I still feel hope and I will say that's a nice feeling to feel as a trans person politically, because it's not just trans people who are feeling that.

Speaker 2: 1:32:28

I see it across a lot of things and and and.

Speaker 1: 1:32:33

Sparkle is back in people's eyes in a way that I have not seen in many years.

Speaker 2: 1:32:38

For me. It was such an empowering experience. I had some great things there. My Thursday was so fantastic. I got to do my broadcast with my local TV station. I got to do a really big thing in the entertainment industry, which hopefully I will be able to talk about soon. Um, and then I got to see stevie wonder I guess that was the night before, but I I got to see pink. I got to see the chicks uh, it was. And I got to see, uh, commonwealth's gift for speech. Now, it's not the first time I've seen her. I saw her speak as attorney general, I saw her speak as ag or as a da of san francisco. So, um, uh, I actually worked with her office, both in the da's office in San Francisco and as AG in Sacramento, and so she's somebody who I'm comfortable with because I've been around her, I've seen her. We in California voted for her multiple times.

Speaker 1: 1:33:48

Yeah, no, we did.

Speaker 2: 1:33:50

We did.

Speaker 1: 1:33:51

You know, it's just, there's those nuances of a lot of the decisions and even just the current administration, because it's hard for me to see Biden just be so silent on a lot of the things that were going on and have been just placed into law, especially for trans folks.

Speaker 2: 1:34:12

Yeah, well, we've only got a few more months that we have to worry about him. Yeah, we're going to get president Harrison and she's going to make some changes. She actually really does comment on it.

Speaker 1: 1:34:20

But you know, even if she doesn't, I have more faith, even now that I've learned more about walls because he does have a. As they said, he's really into transgender stuff or something like that. But you know, he's into that transgender stuff, something hilarious. But I'm happy that walls is into transgender stuff. You know, I hope to maybe even meet walls one day. I think he's a he's a.

Speaker 2: 1:34:47

He is a sweet guy.

Speaker 1: 1:34:48

Yeah, I've got to you know, I want to go like atv with him and like, yes, i'm'm from California, but I still like doing all that like dirty boy kind of like you know stuff. Yes, us woke liberals do all that stuff too, and we're flannel and chop wood.

Speaker 2: 1:35:05

I was in the Nebraska National Guard at the same time he was, so you know he seems like he's a guy to go have a good like.

Speaker 1: 1:35:12

He knows where the fucking. Let me not even curse president, let me give him some respect, but he probably knows where like a good burger joint is and like a good driving uh he knows what, he knows where the guy, he knows where the dive bar is okay you know, like, I feel like, and I feel like if he would karaoke, he knows how to Vogue to Madonna, like he does it.

Speaker 1: 1:35:35

You know what I mean, but not in a way that's like problematic, like he actually truly knows the words and the points and you're just like wow, okay.

Speaker 2: 1:35:47

Okay. Well, we are now coming up on 12, 15, my time, the first podcast I did on day one. It was the only podcast I managed to do on the whole time. I don't think I finished that till like 330 and I was up, I had to be at the breakfast at eight, and so we did it the one day, and that was it was like OK, this is going to be impossible to do this day. And that was it was like okay, this is going to be impossible to do this. Uh.

Speaker 2: 1:36:15

So at some point I do want to, you know, go over some of the clips and videos and things that I saw, people that I got to meet, um, and it's uh, just the sheer pomp and circumstances of it. Like I said, we had great seats, uh, what was it on like night three. Every time somebody would walk off the stage, I was in the background, wow. So I have pictures of Bill Clinton walking off with me sitting there. I ended up dancing crazily to let's Go Crazy on night three and getting on national television in the aisle and my, my pink dress, with my, my pink blazer and my barbie pink belt, and then, uh, and then I accidentally I accidentally photobombed the ohio delegation's uh announcement of their votes uh, you're like, I'm also represented oh, it was funny, I, because as soon as we got done I had to go to the bathroom really bad.

Speaker 2: 1:37:19

So I ran up and then, when I went to come back down to my seat, they said you can't come in this way, it's closed off. You have to go up two levels and then walk down to the floor and come back up. And I'm like, okay, and so I have me, our national committee woman, another one of our delegates. We're walking down and and we start walking down the staircase and we get down near towards the bottom and then they're like no, no, you gotta, you gotta wait, hold on, hold on.

Speaker 2: 1:37:44

And the next thing I know, the lights are coming on and they're going oh, hello, hello to you and I'm just like, I'm like five steps up from one of the chairs who's making the announcement I'm going um, and so I had a friend who who texted me she goes. I just saw you on television. What the hell are you doing with ohio?

Speaker 1: 1:38:11

you're like actually I've been doing some groundwork for trans people there. I've moved to another state, I've just bought another I just bought another.

Speaker 2: 1:38:18

I just switched my delegate status quickly to ohio. You're like I've made an impact here in nebraska, moving on to ohio next.

Speaker 1: 1:38:25

I I was like ohio does need some, some help there with some trans stuff.

Speaker 2: 1:38:29

So yes, yeah, I was like it's okay, my daughter lives in ohio.

Speaker 1: 1:38:33

I'm an honorary ohioan you're like, if someone voting is in that block, I kind of count I I count for at least one vote in ohio, so yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:38:43

But it was so funny because I it was like totally unplanned, I had no idea this crap was going. I was like I had kind of first the deer in the headlight looks like what the hell do I?

Speaker 1: 1:38:52

do Well. On that note, it was really a pleasure to learn all of this about you, the DNC. I'm sure there's so much more that we can look into. If you wanted to take a look at some of Jesse's Instagram and TikTok posts there's some posts actually on the ground and please grab that subscribe button. Whether it's here or here, I don't know which way you're watching it, but it could be over here. It could be over here. It could be here, but hit that like subscribe comment. Let us know what part of the conversation you liked or if there was any more topics you wanted to hear from us both. We're going to be doing more weekly episodes and, jesse, it was actually really a pleasure to interview you tonight and just learn more about you and joining the uh, the transparency podcast family yeah, shelby's been trying to get me to do this for like a couple years and I was like I don't have time to do this.

Speaker 2: 1:39:45

I, I've got all these other things I gotta do. And then and then it was like my office pulled my teleworking ability effective July 1st, so I had scheduled all of my flights until the end of the year. This is election season. I'm a Nebraska Democrat, I had things I had planned to do and be here, and so now I'm having to totally redo all of my scheduling and when I'm here I'm taking vacation time. So it's for me, it's really a personal thing to be here. It's, you know, it's something I truly, truly believe in. I love the trans kids of this state. I've talked to a lot of them. I've talked to their families and you know what they've had to go through is so horrible the stress and the other things, the cost that it takes a parent in Nebraska to be able to provide health care for their kids because none of it is covered by insurance. It is, you know. They've gone through a lot and I want to see, do everything I can to to help them.

Speaker 1: 1:40:58

Excuse me, I get worked up on that I, I just I I you know trans kids are important, because we all used to be trans kids. So we're just, we're seeing ourselves in that space and going well, no one was advocating for us and no one was advocating for us.

Speaker 2: 1:41:14

No one was fighting for me and I'm going to do that for you, because you should not have to go through what, what, what. I had to go through what other trans adults had to go through. We know who we are when we're young. I knew when I was five I mean, it's not like this, you know. Suddenly snuck up on me, it was. I knew it.

Speaker 2: 1:41:36

And this, you know, suddenly snuck up on me. It was, I knew it and and I forced it away as much as I could because that's what, you know, I just told God wanted me to do and that's, you know, the way life was supposed to be. But you know, when you get depressed and you, you, you can't live as yourself because you know it's wrong. It's such a suffering that kids should not have to have to go through. They should be allowed to grow up. I mean, I would love nothing more than to have been a cheerleader and play volleyball in high school. I did not want to play football. I was forced into it because that's who I was, and so I don't want that to be forced on kids and I want kids to be able to play with their peers.

Speaker 2: 1:42:14

You know, there's nothing wrong with, you know, a trans girl playing on a girl's soccer team. You know, especially when you're seven, eight years old, what the hell do they think a competitive advantage a trans kid has over another kid? My sister's daughter was like almost 5'10 at you, at, you know, 12, and she was dominating all the other I mean the other little girls in soccer. When she would come out from the goalie position. They would like she had a competitive advantage. Should she not be allowed to play just because she's bigger than the other kids?

Speaker 1: 1:42:49

michael phelps has a you know a competitive advantage just by having longer arms. It just seems to be that the focus is only on women's sports too. Oh yeah, again, new age way of being misogynistic, because it's like you don't really care about women or women's sports. You're just using this as another way to oppress women, and I wish that some women that also participate in it would actually get the the whole game that's being played on them because, like, like you said, your daughter was 5 10 trans guy. Here I have the average build of a cis dude. You know I'm six feet big guy.

Speaker 1: 1:43:27

Uh, same thing happened to me when I was in sports. I had had a huge genetic advantage. I was at one point even like thinking I was going to go into basketball and stuff like that because I had a good, you know half court shot. But I was also deathly afraid of being a woman in that space, because I was not a woman in that space, I was a man. So I gave up on sports completely because there was no space for me at all. Who knows, I could have been like some amazing athlete in that space, but I would have never even thought of today where we are at the progress, and it would be nice to be able to see trans athletes be able to excel in that space, because that sounds like a subject for a show.

Speaker 2: 1:44:12

No, no, that sounds like a subject for a show?

Speaker 1: 1:44:13

No, no, no. But isn't it the whole purpose of the human existence for us to explore and then find? You know, like?

Speaker 2: 1:44:18

our limits. We're a communal group of folks. We have community. We're built that way to be together.

Speaker 1: 1:44:26

Listen, the times that before I, you know, really was like uncomfortable being in women's spaces was really when puberty hit, but in that like, like that little tween area, for me, the things that I learned about being in sports is what makes me a great adult today. I learned teamwork, I learned how to be a leader, I learned how to take a loss, I learned how to celebrate a win All of those vital skills that we need as functioning adults in society you're basically taking access away from those skills.

Speaker 1: 1:45:02

Because I think back to all of the times that I was on a basketball team and did all of those things and all of the sports that I was in and learned all of the things, all that confidence that I gained from being in sports.

Speaker 2: 1:45:15

Oh yeah, and that's what I testified about when I testified about it here in Nebraska was the benefits that you get from participating in sports and you make lifelong friendships. I'm still friends with some of the people that were on my football and basketball teams. You know, you build a camaraderie, you build a sense of belonging, you learn how to work in a group, you learn how to be a leader, you learn how to take losses, you learn how to win gracefully. There's a lot of things that you learn by doing those sorts of things, even responsibility.

Speaker 1: 1:45:49

You know, you've got to get your grades up. You've got to keep your body in line.

Speaker 1: 1:45:58

You've got to be able to keep your uniform, clean you gotta you've got to learn the plays you gotta learn, you know there's. So those are all skills that we would want all adults to be doing in their adulthood. But if we're taking away that opportunity for them, as kids, to learn those skills in the fun spaces we've created like sports because that's you know sports was it's an educational space. It's not just hey, let's go have a ball and be competitive. There's so many more nuances to sports and especially team competitive sports. You learn a lot about what it means to be a human and how to function in society yep, so it's uh, it's one of the things that's why I'm back here.

Speaker 2: 1:46:36

I want to fight this and uh, I I don't know. I think we're waiting to see what happens, uh, with the the case from arkansas that is before the eighth circuit right now. Because we are in the eighth circuit and, uh, it's already been argued, the the district court found that the Arkansas statute was unconstitutional, and so we're just waiting to see what the Eighth Circuit says. If they hold it as being unconstitutional, then I'm sure that we will immediately file suit here in Nebraska federal district court to get our state law overturned. File suit here in Nebraska federal district court to get our state law overturned. But we're kind of unique as a state because we not only banned gender-affirming health care for youth, we increased the abortion restrictions all in the same bill.

Speaker 1: 1:47:25

You see why being a trans guy feels like I'm getting attacked on both sides right now In Nebraska.

Speaker 2: 1:47:31

You were getting a double whammy. Yeah, Because they all did it in one bill, which has never been done before.

Speaker 1: 1:47:35

I just wish people would platform more trans men too, especially because we are getting it on both angles and it's like, oh, like it. To me it feels like we are trying to be erased as as an existence of trans men like you're going to take access to healthcare in every way, shape or form, and you're also going to put forced pregnancies on us. So it's like, oh cool, yeah, so much for that.

Speaker 2: 1:48:02

You just have to do your manly duty. Well, you know whatever, that is your manly duty to have a baby. I'm sorry.

Speaker 1: 1:48:11

I, you know, sometimes I duty to have a baby. I'm sorry, I you know, sometimes I so I think about it. At the same time I'm like man. My baby would probably like kick some ass in the world, but it probably caused a lot of problems to be such an activist and I've already caused so much a shit storm on this planet.

Speaker 2: 1:48:25

I don't know well, it was so much fun talking with you.

Speaker 1: 1:48:30

We're gonna have to do this again yes, it was a pleasure again to meet you and make sure to like and subscribe, shelby. Did you have any comments to wrap us up for tonight?

Speaker 3: 1:48:40

I'm just listening in and I'm really enjoying the conversation, so I'll leave it for next time Are you turning center.

Speaker 1: 1:48:48

now Are you becoming more center.

Speaker 2: 1:48:54

She's thinking about voting for Donald Harris now.

Speaker 1: 1:48:58

Yeah, say Boat Harris, okay.

Speaker 3: 1:49:03

Thank you, you both, and we will have to do this in person one day. I love that, oh God. Yeah, Very interesting right.

Speaker 2: 1:49:10

I'll be back in La La Land soon.

Speaker 3: 1:49:14

La La Land. Okay, all righty. Hmm, interesting, right. Well, I'll be back in. I'll be back in, uh, in la la land soon. La la, all right the land of dreams so you can stop the recording now, right?

Speaker 1: 1:49:26

uh, okay, and we'll still stay on, so we can at least say goodbye, or do we have to say goodbye on you, gotta do the whole wrap, though, and say have a wonderful night and thank you very much for watching the transparency podcast. Again, make sure to like subscribe comment.

Speaker 1: 1:49:42

Even if it's a hate comment, sometimes I read them and they're really sometimes they're funny I'm not gonna lie like sometimes you do read us and that's like it's a good burn and some of you that are out there supporting us oh my God, you are so sweet. We read those comments. Especially Shelby literally will email me if there's any positive comments. She will literally be like Shane look, they said this and it was nice. So if you want to do some recognition say something nice, and Shelby will send me an email about it.

Speaker 2: 1:50:09

What you get emails.

Speaker 1: 1:50:12

You get emails about good comments. Hang on, does that tell?

Speaker 2: 1:50:15

me. That tells me I've never gotten a good comment.

Speaker 3: 1:50:18

No, no, no, oh my God. No, I don't track the comments because there's too many.

Speaker 1: 1:50:27

I've just been all day 24-7.

Speaker 3: 1:50:29

Yeah, yeah, Thank you again and have a good night everyone.

Speaker 2: 1:50:35

Thank you everybody for joining us here on the Transparency Podcast Show. Like subscribe, follow us, ask questions and let us know what you want us to talk about. And leave the comments. And leave the comments.