'Sup, you beautiful bastards.
Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show.
It is Wednesday, January 27th, 2021.
Hit that like button, otherwise we'll punch you
in the throat and let's just jump into the news of the day,
so you can get back to yours.
The first thing we're gonna talk about today is GameStop,
or as Elon Musk calls it, "Gamestonk!"
What an absolutely insane situation.
For reference back in July, the stock was only $4 a share,
but like we talked about on Monday,
it jumped all the way up to $140 a share,
then plummeting down to $70.
And then it proceeded to rise and rise and rise.
And then Elon Musk tweeted about it.
Gamestonk!
Rise and rise, and as of recording, it is $350 a share.
Meanwhile, it's also not just GameStop anymore.
Shares of AMC opened at $20 this morning,
which is very notable because
for the past month has been trading around $2.
Also, for transparency sake, I currently own some AMC stock.
I am not an advisor.
This is not advice.
I am not making a recommendation.
I literally have no idea how anything works about anything.
Have I made this part clear?
Literally the only thing I could maybe say I know,
there are gonna to be a lot of people
that make a lot of money,
and a lot of people that lose a lot of money.
That's what's happening because trading has been
so volatile today that AMC and GameStop stocks
have had to be temporarily suspended multiple times.
As far as what's driving these two huge upticks,
it's two main things: short selling and short squeezing.
Try to oversimplify: short selling occurs
when an investor borrows shares of a stock
and then immediately sells them.
The way that works is kind of the opposite
of how most people think about stocks, right?
Usually you think you buy a share,
hoping the stock value goes up.
But, with short selling, you're hoping
that the stock price goes down.
For example, let's say you borrow a share that's $10
and then immediately sell at that price,
meaning that you have made $10.
Except, since you borrowed that share,
you at some point will have to pay it back.
So let's say you wait until the share price
drops down to $7.
In that example, you have essentially made $3.
Though, keep in mind, this is just a simplified way
of explaining short selling.
For one, on top of all of this,
short sellers also have to pay fees
until they actually buy their borrowed stock.
But back to the main point here,
short sellers also tend to put in a lot more money
than just $10.
But it also can be really risky to play
with stocks like this because you could get short squeezed.
And short squeeze occurs when specific stocks
begin to gain money, right?
Using that last example, let's say the stock price jumped
to $13 instead of down to seven.
For the sake of this example, let's also say
that it looks like the stock is going to continue rising.
A short seller might decide to just go ahead
and buy that stock at $13.
Notably, that is a loss of $3 per share.
But if the stock continues to climb higher,
it's going to get even worse for them.
So kind of all of that is what's happening right now
with GameStop and AMC.
A bunch of short sellers, including the likes of hedge fund
Melvin Capital, have been betting
that both of these stocks will go down.
And this is for a number of reasons,
including that we are in a pandemic,
movie theaters are closed,
a lot of people buy digital copies of games
instead of physical versions.
However, a group of Redditors from the subreddit,
WallStreetBets, is now driving
this unprecedented short squeeze
by buying more and more stocks.
And that community is also growing at a crazy rate.
And so with all of this happening, you had places reporting
that short sellers have been losing billions of dollars.
Places like Melvin Capital seemingly having to take
an injection in bailout of $2.8 billion.
As far as where this is going, where this ends up,
you know, we're going to have to wait and see.
But as far as what has been driving this,
it's been really interesting to watch.
One, yes, there has been a heavy meme component to this.
Two, a lot of people trying to get rich quick,
that has been fueling it.
But also three, there really does appear,
even if it's just kind of front-facing,
to be this belief and this passion
behind giving a giant middle finger to institutions
and Wall Street, in general.
You see arguments like, the public is doing what
they feel has been done to them by institutions.
This is an echo of what we've seen social media enable
the public to challenge institutions for the last decade.
And it's a perfect storm at a time
when lots of people are hurting, interest rates are so low,
inescapable student loan debts loom,
and every major institution has caught Ls
during a global pandemic over the last year.
But also, of course, all of this has reignited fears
that a bubble is forming in the stock market,
both with this specific situation,
as well as kind of larger.
Because, and I forget which expert specifically said this,
but stocks don't just go up,
contrary to what many people have been tweeting.
Actually, where I'll close this is,
it's a very exciting time and really interesting time,
but I'm also deeply concerned.
It just feels like a situation that is primed
for people that have been looking
for something that could bail them out or some sort of hope,
and they might overextend themselves.
Especially because there are a number
of internet personalities, who seemingly have the stock
and are pushing it and promoting it to their fans.
And everyone's happy and a genius
and a winner when things are going up.
But then, you know, I don't know, I'll leave it there.
I'm not your dad, I just get nervous for people.
Excited, but nervous.
Also, in the comments down below,
if you are any somewhat involved
in what's been happening or you know someone that is,
please share the story, I'm really interested.
There's a lot of people that have
a lot of stories right now.
And then let's talk about that story around Carey Mulligan.
So if you don't know Carrie Mulligan,
she's a fantastic actress.
She also stars in Promising Young Woman,
which if you have not seen it yet,
my quickie review is it's fantastic.
It's definitely worth a watch.
There are some things that have people very divided.
I don't want to go into detail
'cause it kind of ruins the story.
But what I can tell you is Mulligan
plays the lead in the film.
And she plays, at the base level, a character
as she struggles with trauma in her past
and seeks out vengeance on men who take advantage of
and might assault women.
And one of the reviews of the film came from Variety,
where they said that she was skillful and entertaining,
but also saying that Mulligan seems a bit of an odd choice
as this admittedly many-layered apparent femme fatale.
Then, going on to suggest that Margot Robbie,
who's actually the producer of the film,
might've been better suited for it,
because Mulligan, quote,
wears her pickup-bait gear like bad drag,
even her long blonde hair seems a put-on.
That resulted, in December, Mulligan telling
the New York times that she read this review and said,
"It felt like it was basically saying
I wasn't hot enough to pull off this kind of ruse.
It wasn't some sort of ego wounding thing --
Like I fully can see that Margot Robbie is a goddess.
It drove me so crazy.
I was like, 'really?
For this film, you're going to write something
that is so transparent now in 2020?'
I just couldn't believe it.
We don't allow women to look normal anymore,
or like a real person.
Why does every woman who's ever
on screen have to look like a supermodel?"
And that criticism is an especially notable one.
Not only because it came from the main actress,
but because the film very directly deals with expectations
for women, how men look at them, the male gaze.
And, two, overall Mulligan's performance
is getting rave reviews.
Even people saying there's potential for Oscar recognition.
But, the reason we're talking about this today
is Variety ended up actually agreeing
with Mulligan's frustrations and added an apology
on top of their review, writing:
"Variety sincerely apologizes to Carey Mulligan
and regrets the insensitive language
and insinuation in a review of Promising Young Woman
that minimized her daring performance."
And actually with all this, Mulligan just appeared
on Variety's Actors on Actors conversations,
where she talked to Zendaya about this apology.
- It made me concerned that in such a big publication
an actress's appearance could be criticized,
and, you know, that could be accepted
as completely reasonable criticism.
- Right.
- I mean, I think it's important to call out those things.
It's sort of nerve wracking to rock the boat (laughs)
with a big publication.
But at the same time, it feels like, you know,
you've got to stand up for these things.
Otherwise it continues,
and then you're essentially part of it.
- Right.
- So I was really, really sort of surprised
and thrilled and happy to have received an apology.
- So you had that, but main thing that'll end on here
isn't actually about the controversy.
Once again, just to go back to the recommendation,
I highly recommend it.
Also Bo Burnham's in it.
He's fantastic in it.
And while, of course, art is subjective,
I think that you will like it,
unless you're maybe (laughs) how do I say this?
One of those guys that gets very bothered by
and the victim complex hits really hard
when men in a movie aren't the best.
Then, maybe you want to skip this movie.
I'm not saying that's the only reason
why people might not like it,
but just, you know, just to save you some time.
Though, it could be argued that this is then
the kind of perfect movie that you should watch.
I don't know, that's where I'll end this one.
But from that, let's take a second to pay some bills
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Then, let's close out today's show with U.S politics,
starting with President Biden's
executive order spree continuing.
This, because in addition to others,
Biden signed four executive orders yesterday,
as part of his administration's efforts
to focus on racial equity.
And those orders include directing the Department
of Housing and Urban Development to strengthen
anti-discrimination housing policies
that were weakened under Trump,
directing the Justice Department to end contracts
with private prisons,
strengthening the relationships
between the federal government and Native American tribes,
and combating xenophobia against Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders, which has actually risen
since the pandemic started.
And with this we saw many civil rights groups
and other leaders praising the moves
as important first steps,
but argued that more needs to be done.
Specifically, a lot of people arguing
that the order on private prisons,
which reinstated a policy first enacted by Obama
then revoked by Trump, falls short.
First of all, the order doesn't actually
end all government contracts with private prisons.
We've had administration officials confirming
that the order only applies to the DOJ
and not other agencies like ICE,
which notably contracts with private companies
and detains thousands of undocumented immigrants.
Others also noting that the order only impacts
a small percentage of prisons.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons,
around 14,000 federal inmates are held
in private prisons, right?
So that's only about 9% of total federal inmates.
So that's why, with this, you had a lot of people
calling for Biden to do more to fulfill
his campaign promises and put policy
behind his rhetoric about unity and racial justice.
And specifically a number of activists
and leading advocacy groups have said
that their most urgent goals include reforming the police,
broad overhauls of the criminal justice system,
and fighting voter suppression.
Then, in other news, we should talk
about a Trump-appointed federal judge
in Texas blocking President Biden's 100-day deportation ban
in a ruling yesterday.
That ban, which Biden had signed the same day
that he was inaugurated was challenged
by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton,
with Paxton arguing that the move violated federal law,
and an agreement Texas signed
with the Department of Homeland Security
during the Trump administration.
And in his decision Judge Drew Tipton granted a
temporary restraining order to stop the Biden administration
from enforcing the order for 14 days
while he considers what to do next,
arguing here that the Biden administration
had failed to, quote,
"provide any concrete, reasonable justification
for a 100 day pause on deportations."
Though, notably here, according to the Associated Press,
while the rule temporarily stops Biden's moratorium,
it does not require deportations
to resume at their previous pace.
Still, this does have many experts noting
that this defeat shows how Biden's many executive actions
will be subject to a court system stacked
with hundreds of Trump appointees.
Because, as we talked about during the Trump presidency,
what has happened with the Supreme Court and the number
of federal judges, it is game changing for Republicans.
So really, we should expect, you know,
what we're seeing here just to be
the beginning of what is to come.
The last thing that we'll talk about today
is definitely not crazy and/or dangerous person,
U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
She is arguably one of the most controversial new members
of Congress, which is saying a lot.
Greene has made headlines in the past
for becoming the first member of Congress
who openly supported QAnon.
And while she is trying to distance herself from the belief,
she has still continued to promote many other
widely debunked conspiracy theories.
She's been condemned by both Democrats and Republicans
for making disparaging remarks
about Black people, Jews, and Muslims.
She has also supported the conspiracy theories
of the Parkland massacre, Sandy Hook,
the 2017 Las Vegas attack, and other mass shootings
were false flag operations meant to encourage
the public to support more gun control.
And again, now you have Greene in the news
for a different reason, and that's because,
according to reports, people did a review
of hundreds of posts and comments from her Facebook page,
and they found that she had repeatedly indicated support
for executing prominent Democratic politicians
in 2018 and 2019.
According to the report, Greene liked multiple comments
on Facebook posts, calling for Speaker of the House,
Nancy Pelosi, to be killed.
Notably, many of the posts that are being flagged
and linked out in the article are no longer able
to be accessed, either because she has deleted them
or changed her privacy settings.
In one screenshot, Greene liked a comment saying
that a bullet to the head would be quicker
to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
CNN also reporting that around that same time,
she liked a comment that said,
through removal or death, doesn't matter,
as long as she goes.
It's also not just about Pelosi.
Reportedly in one post from April 2018,
a commenter asked Greene,
"Now, do we get to hang them?"
referring to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
To which she allegedly responded, "stage is being set.
Players are being put in place.
We must be patient.
This must be done perfectly
or liberal judges would let them off."
And there's more like Facebook Lives
kind of hitting on that same note,
saying that Pelosi is going to suffer death
or time in prison.
It's also been reported that in a 2018 Facebook post,
Greene endorsed a conspiracy theory known as Frazzledrip.
That theory claiming that Hillary Clinton
and her aide were videotaped mutilating
and murdering a child as part of a satanic ritual,
and that they then ordered a hit
on a police officer to cover it up.
There's also a video now going around
of her following and yelling questions at David Hogg.
- And he's a coward.
- Ultimately, as far as Greene's response to all of this,
she posted a statement on Twitter where she described this
as "a hit piece on me, focused on my time before running
for political office."
And also, notably, she doesn't deny that the post
and her responses to them were real, saying:
"Over the years I've had teams of people manage my pages.
Many posts have been liked, many posts have been shared.
Some did not represent my views,
especially the ones that CNN is about
to spread across the internet.
They're taking old Facebook posts from random users
to try to cancel me and silence my voice."
Then, going on to accuse CNN of coming after her
because she is a threat to their goal of socialism.
That response also sparked criticism,
including from members of Congress,
like Representative Don Beyer,
who responded to her tweet writing,
"So you aren't denying you called
for the deaths of political leaders.
You aren't taking responsibility.
You aren't apologizing.
You aren't even saying it was wrong.
You're just blaming others.
Your conduct does not reflect credibility
on the House and you should resign.
With the spokesperson for House minority leader
and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California
telling Axios that Ms. Greene's newly surfaced
Facebook posts were deeply disturbing
and that they plan to have a conversation
with Ms. Greene about them.
Which, I mean, this is my opinion here,
I think just a lot of words, that don't mean anything.
I greatly doubt that she's going anywhere,
that there will be any sort
of accountability or decency here.
She, if anything, is a fantastic example
of what could be around the corner,
especially for Republicans that are going to get primaried
for not being full-on Trumplicans
Stay engaged, otherwise you will fall victim
to your own complacency and people like Greene's extremism.
There's more where that came from.
And whether it be this story or anything else
I talked about today that stood out to you,
I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below
because this is where today's show ends.
As always, thanks for being a part
of my daily dives into the news.
If you're looking for more to watch,
you've got yesterday's show here,
or maybe you want to watch the brand new podcast
I did with Daniel Sloss.
You can click or tap right there to watch that right now.
First episode of 2021.
But with that said, thank you of course
for being a part of this,
and this has been news that matters for people that care.
I'll see you tomorrow.