- Sup, you beautiful bastards.
Welcome back to kind of the second
Philip DeFranco Show of the day.
If you didn't see, a few hours before this video,
we uploaded a solo video about Roe V. Wade.
Something I felt needed its own solo video,
it was important to talk about,
but we also have this full video as well.
So after today's show, definitely check that out,
it'll be the top link down below.
But buckle up, hit that like button,
and let's just jump into it.
The first thing that we need to talk about today
is this man in Shanghai that literally rose from the dead
on Sunday Jesus style.
When I say literally,
I mean the exact opposite because idiots ruin the word.
Right, because it turns out this man never actually died,
even though the nursing home he was staying at
apparently thought he had.
In fact, they packed him into a body bag,
they load him into a mortuary van.
They take him to the morgue,
and then some of this got caught on video,
you see the workers pulling a yellow body bag
onto a stretcher,
and then the oh shit moment comes
when one of them unzips the bag and takes a peek inside,
realizing this man is still breathing,
visibly jumping back, like, no fucking way.
One of the workers was heard shouting, "Alive!
Did you see that? Alive!"
Another replying, "Don't cover him again!"
So of course this video goes absolutely viral
on Chinese social media with many on Weibo
lampooning the mistake,
pointing out that this man could have been
buried or cremated had one of the workers not noticed
at the last minute.
People online saying things like this
counts as intentional homicide,
people saying the government doesn't care,
what's going on in Shanghai?
But as far as the elderly man,
he's reportedly being treated in a hospital,
with the nursing home apologizing
and the funeral home rewarding its vigilant workers
with the equivalent of around $750.
You also have the Shanghai government saying five officials,
including the director of the care home and a doctor,
have been put under investigation
with another local party official reprimanded.
And all of this is coming, of course,
as the city's been under lockdown for five weeks now.
Though with authorities saying on Saturday
that more than 15 million residents
are able to leave their communities
now that the virus has been mostly contained
in the quarantined facilities.
Yeah, ultimately, that is the story
and I wish there was, like, a good lesson to end on
other than don't be old and a deep sleeper
at the same time.
Also, I'm just left wondering, like,
how do you think a person is dead when they're not?
Is he not hooked up to equipment?
Because you don't need equipment,
like, if you wanna double check if a guy is dead,
just flick him a little in the nuts.
Doesn't even need to be hard.
I got kind of grazed once by a hacky sack
when I was 13 years old
and I still remember that like war flashbacks.
You will know if he is dead.
Yep, that's the lesson we learned.
And then if you didn't see, on Monday,
the European stock market suddenly went into this tailspin
and for a while, nobody knew why.
It was so bad that trading had to come to a temporary halt
in several markets across the continent,
with Nordic stocks hit the hardest,
you had Sweden's OMX 30 share index
taking as much as eight percent.
Though, luckily, we saw stocks quickly rebound.
I mean, Sweden's finished the day down only 1.9%.
Still bad, but not a disaster.
You know, you had people going, what the fuck,
what happened?
And later that day, a Citi group kind of, like,
opens the door, walks out, is like,
so, sorry,
because according to their spokesperson,
this is their statement.
"On Monday, one of our traders made an error
when inputting a transaction.
And that within minutes,
we identified the error and corrected it."
You know, an error, a little oopsie daisy.
Everyone's done that.
Granted, 99.9% of people that did,
didn't accidentally tank the stock market,
but also it turns out this kind of thing
is not as rare as you might think.
In fact, they've got a name for it,
they call it a flash crash
when the price of an asset plummets sharply
and then shoots right back up right after,
often within minutes,
with most of the blame for this
falling on high frequency traders
who can cause a cascading effect among AI trading programs
which react by spiraling out of control.
All right, essentially, like, you set up a program
and you're like, okay, if the price hits here,
we're gonna sell off.
It just so happens that other people are like,
okay, if the price hits here, we're gonna sell off.
And then other people are like,
here, and here, and here.
So you have all of this automatic selling off of assets
to minimize losses prompting more programs
to sell assets and going, and going, and going
until the thing hits the floor.
In fact, I don't know if you saw this,
last year there was a high frequency futurist trader
who was sentenced to a year of home detention
for helping trigger a one trillion dollar flash crash
a decade earlier.
And more specifically, one of his crimes was spoofing,
which is when he placed thousands of buy offers
with the intent of canceling them
right before they finalize,
thereby manipulating the market price
in ways you can personally profit from.
But unlike that, this recent case
does not appear to be intentional.
So yeah, I guess the main point is
Greg, watch where you're fucking clicking, bro.
And then we should talk about how
just a month after the first Amazon warehouse
in US history voted to unionize,
Goliath has dealt a nasty blow to David,
or you could say David hurt David.
That's because a second warehouse in Staten Island
known as LDJ5, which is actually nearby the first one,
voted on Monday against joining the ALU,
or Amazon Labor Union.
And this was not close,
this was an overwhelming loss.
You had 1600 eligible voters
and you only had 380 voting for,
with 618 against,
which has resulted in some asking how strong
is the labor movement's real momentum here?
Because in the wake of the union victory,
progress, to many, seemed unstoppable.
Filings for union elections during the six months
ending in March increasing nearly 60%
compared to the same period a year earlier,
and you had workers organizing in other
high profile companies like Starbucks,
which has seen almost 250 stores around the country
file union election petitions
and over 40 of those succeeding.
As well as efforts at REI, the New York Times,
and other firms in security, transportation,
healthcare, and waste management.
And hell, I mean, just last summer,
there was a Gallup poll that found that
68% of Americans approve of labor unions
which is a number we haven't seen since 1965.
And as far as why all of this has been happening now,
you have a Cornell labor expert telling NPR
that labor organizing is contagious,
especially now that cell phones and social media
make it easier for workers to connect.
Plus you've got a friendly White House,
Democratic NLRB, a tight labor market,
all empowering workers to stand up against their employers.
But at the same time, there's also research
suggesting that a lot of this is being driven
by socially immobile college-educated workers
who feel like their skills are being wasted.
Where if you graduated after the great recession,
the deal your parents got, you know,
go to college, work hard,
come out the other end with a good, stable job,
that just doesn't always hold up anymore.
And generally, they believe that unionizing
is the solution.
But with Monday's loss with the ALU,
some are now having doubts about
whether the organizing wave is going to last,
especially if Republicans take back Congressional seats
in the upcoming election.
Plus even the very existence of the ALU's in jeopardy.
With Amazon challenging
the first warehouse election results,
claiming that they were tainted by organizers
who pressured workers to vote yes,
and on Sunday, the NLRB said that
the company's objections justify a hearing,
so this is gaining traction.
And even if Amazon fails,
it can still refuse to negotiate with the ALU,
potentially triggering lengthy legal battles
as a backdoor way to thwart the union.
Which is why data from 2009 found
fewer than half of unions obtain their first contract
within a year of winning an election
and 30% didn't secure one within three years.
But still, the ALU seems optimistic,
tweeting yesterday that it will continue
to organize workers at the second warehouse and beyond,
as well as Chris Smalls, who cofounded the ALU,
saying that despite the loss,
he's proud of the workers
and they had a tougher challenge there
than he did at the first warehouse.
But for now, we have to wait to see,
is this beginning of what we are going to see more of,
or is this just a bump in the road for them?
But from that, I wanna take a second
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And then, of course, we need to talk about the biggest story
in the states right now.
- [Crowd] Pro-life is a lie!
You don't care if women die!
Abortion is healthcare!
- [Man] Stand with the babies!
- Pro-choice, that's a lie!
- [Crowd] Babies never choose to die!
- All right so, there are a lot of emotions
and reactions to this news,
so let's try and break it down.
So yesterday, Politico publishes what they said
was a majority Supreme Court opinion that
would overturn Roe V. Wade.
All right so, we're talking end of federal abortion rights.
And according to the document,
the draft opinion that was circulated
among the justices in February
and written by Justice Samuel Alito,
and in it, Alito states that the majority
sided with Mississippi in the highly watched case
over the state's 15 week abortion ban,
overruling an appeals court decision that
the law went against Supreme Court precedent
on fetal viability.
But this draft goes beyond just agreeing with Mississippi
which the conservative justices had signaled they would do
during oral arguments back in December.
And when they comments there,
many experts speculated that the court
would just issue a narrow ruling that
chipped away at protections provided under Roe.
But in this draft,
Alito says the majority supports entirely overturning Roe
as well as the subsequent 1992 opinion that upheld it,
Planned Parenthood V. Casey, with him writing,
"We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.
It is time to heed the Constitution
and return the issue of abortion
to the people's elected representatives."
With Alito making many arguments
that we've seen many times before,
with things like abortion rights
are not something mentioned in the Constitution,
and nothing in its text or structure
supports it as a right and as a result,
this is really just a states' rights issue,
with Alito writing, "The Constitution does not prohibit
the citizens of each state from regulating
or prohibiting abortion.
Roe and Casey arrogated that authority.
We now overrule those decisions
and return that authority to the people
and their elected representatives."
And in Alito's efforts to back up those claims,
he stated that Roe, quote,
"was egregiously wrong from the start,"
and adding that the reasoning behind the decision
"was exceptionally weak and had damaging consequences."
Alito also arguing that fetal viability,
which is a core aspect of Roe
and sets the distinction between
when a fetus can live outside the womb,
"makes no sense,"
with him echoing assertions
made by his Conservative colleagues on the court,
like the claim that opinions on pregnancies out of wedlock
have drastically changed since Roe was decided,
and that demand for adoption makes abortion less needed,
at one point even seeming to declare that
women won't be oppressed if abortion is made illegal
in the states that they live in
because they can vote.
Writing, "Women are not without electoral
or political power.
The percentage of women who register to vote
and cast ballots is consistently higher
than the percentage of men who do so."
And of course, there are a lot of other beliefs
that Alito pushes on, I can't hit on 'em all,
I'll link to the document down below.
But there is one last incredibly notable one
that I do wanna flag here.
Right, a lot of this draft is focused on
the essential argument that the long history
of abortion being criminalized in the US
proves that it's not protected in the Constitution,
with his claim here being that rights
that are protected by the Constitution
but not explicitly mentioned in it,
AKA enumerated rights,
need to be firmly rooted in American tradition and history.
But as places like Politico have noted,
that form of analysis seems at odds
with several of the court's recent decisions,
including many of its rulings backing gay rights.
And that analysis is especially concerning
because the Supreme Court has, of course,
recognized many enumerated rights
that don't have so called deep roots in US history,
including most recently decisions that established
the right of same-gender couples to be intimate
and get married in 2003 and 2015 respectively.
And in the draft, Alito directly mentions those decisions,
describing what he called
"appeals to a broader right to autonomy
is a slippery slope,"
claiming that their "high level of generality
could license fundamental rights to illicit drug use,
prostitution, and the like."
Though, at the same time,
he argued that overturning Roe
wouldn't jeopardize other non-abortion rights
which is a pretty fucking wild thing to say
after making all those comments
and presenting arguments that basically
light 50 years of precedent on fire.
And it really cannot be understated
how major this moment is for a number of reasons.
And today, I wanna focus on two overarching ones.
One, the immense consequences this would have
if the court does overturn Roe,
and the two, unprecedented earth-shattering nature
of this leak and the impact that it could have.
Right so, first thing's first,
if Roe V. Wade is overturned,
abortion wouldn't be outlawed everywhere.
States would just be given the authority
to decide whether to ban abortion
or restrict it beyond what was previously allowed
and because this decision has not been finalized yet,
right, this was a leak of a draft,
right now abortion is still legal everywhere.
But if and when Roe is overturned,
13 states would immediately ban abortion
through what are called trigger laws.
And beyond that, experts also say that
about a dozen other states would then likely prohibit
or severely limit the procedure soon after,
with all of the bans mostly concentrated
in the South, Midwest, and Great Plains.
And so as a result,
this is going to disproportionately impact poor people
and people of color who are unable to spend
the time and money needed to travel to other states
to get abortions.
Because understand, this has and always will be
a question of access.
People in blue states, people with enough money,
Senators with daughters and mistresses,
they will always be able to get abortions.
It is literally the people who need these services the most
that will be blocked from accessing care,
force to raise children,
or resort to dangerous alternatives.
And in addition to driving up abortions
in states that won't ban it,
experts say that a repeal of Roe
will have serious impacts on women's health
and as the old saying goes,
there won't be fewer abortions,
there will just be less safe legal abortions.
And again, this decision is not yet in effect
and isn't expected to be finalized
until sometime in the next two months.
But that brings us to the second overarching reason
that this leak is so massive,
which of course is the leak itself.
Politico had initially said that
they received a copy of the draft
from a person familiar with the court's proceedings
in the Mississippi case
along with other details supporting
the authenticity of the document.
And just this morning, the Supreme Court issued a statement
confirming the authenticity of the document
and calling on the marshal of the court
to investigate the leak,
but also adding that, quote,
"It does not represent a decision by the Court
or the final position of any member
on the issues in the case."
And that could be a really key thing here.
This is technically just a draft
and as Politico notes,
"Deliberations on controversial issues
have in the past been fluid."
Multiple drafts of decisions are often circulated
before major decisions like this
and justices can and do change their minds.
And while it's standard procedure for justices
to cast preliminary votes,
a person familiar with the court's deliberations
did tell Politico that four of the five
other Republican appointed justices
had voted with Alito in the conference
held among the justices
after hearing oral arguments in December
and that lineup remains unchanged as of this week,
with that person also saying that
the three Democrat appointed justices
are working on one or more dissents
and it's unclear how Chief Justice John Roberts will vote.
Though technically,
and I don't say this to give you false hope,
even in that lineup,
if it does remain unchanged until right now,
it doesn't mean it won't before the final decision.
Justices could change their votes,
it could also ultimately issue a more narrow decision
that favors Mississippi without entirely overturning Roe.
But regardless, the leak is absolutely massive
not only because it's on such a consequential ruling
and offers incredibly unique insight into the decision,
but also because the leak itself is so damn rare.
Right, this is the first time
that a draft of a Supreme Court case
has been leaked in full while the case was still pending,
with many also pointing out
a really interesting historical parallel here
where another major historical leak
was when the original decision that established Roe V. Wade
got leaked to the press early by a court clerk,
though, notably there,
the decision had already been finalized
and it was just hours before it was set to be announced.
And even then,
the whole incident was kind of based on a fuck-up because
the opinion was supposed to come out earlier.
But this leak is much, much earlier.
So much earlier, in fact,
that the person who leaked it
may hope the move will cause so much public pressure
that the justices will be encouraged to change their minds.
And to that point,
it is also very clearly super intentional,
right, the Supreme Court is one of the most
secretive bodies in the country.
There's only a small circle of people
who even have access to this kind of information
and if they end up getting caught, I mean,
they're gonna kiss their career goodbye.
And so with this,
we saw many people possibly just trying to distract from,
you know, people's rights being taken away,
arguing that the leak should be the focus,
people like Megyn Kelly saying,
"The pathetic spineless leak of a draft SCOTUS opinion
has the feel of something a sad little woke
20-something-year-old would do.
The kind of person who thinks their personal agenda
is 'more important.'
Whoever did it should lose their law license."
Others going even further,
claiming that the leak amounts to terrorism
against the Court and against our nation,
that it's, quote, "far more destructive
than any suicide bomber would be."
Which is a pretty fucking wild thing to say.
But then, you have others essentially being like,
okay, you can care about the leak,
but also shut up because something much bigger has happened,
saying this is an attack on bodily autonomy,
so quit crying about a leak to the press.
Also among the reactions,
we saw Joe Biden responding,
putting out a press release saying
a woman's right to choose is fundamental,
saying that he previously directed
his Gender Policy Council to prepare for
these ongoing attacks against abortion rights
and adding, "We will be ready when any ruling is issued,"
with him also saying that if Roe is overturned,
voters should use that as a reason to mobilize this fall
and elect more pro-choice leaders
so Roe could be enshrined in federal law.
He's not the only one talking about
codifying Roe into law,
you have people like AOC and Bernie Sanders
saying this is something that needs to happen now.
You also have governors across the US
saying they will act to safeguard and expand protections
in their respective states.
You also have complicit assholes
who helped clear the path for all of this,
seeming surprised.
Like Susan Collins is either the fucking dumbest person
and/or, like, just a slimy liar.
And if you remember,
she voted to confirm the likes of Kavanaugh and Gorsuch,
claiming that she believed that
they would respect Roe as the law,
to which everyone paying attention was like,
in what fucking world?
But today, Collins was seemingly the only one surprised,
putting out a statement saying,
"If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision
and this reporting is accurate,
it would be completely inconsistent with what
Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings
and in our meetings in my office."
I don't think Collins can swim with how dense she is.
But of course, there are other major responses
including protests,
Planned Parenthood slamming the draft and vowing to act,
as well as streamers and online personalities speaking out,
people like Hasan Piker saying,
"They're going to 'states' rights' all our rights away,"
also planning a fundraiser for the states
that would be most impacted.
Ethan Klein saying,
"Women are officially second class citizens in America now
with Roe V. Wade overturned.
The very basic right to control your body is lost.
It's a scary time to be a woman in America
and I'll support you with everything I can."
As well as the likes of Ariana Grande
hitting her followers up with a call to action,
saying, "It's never been more necessary
to make sure you and everyone you know and care about
are registered to vote in all elections."
And to that point, many people are wondering,
with the Supreme Court poised to take down Roe V. Wade,
what is this going to do to the midterm elections?
Especially in a year when Democrats are expecting to see
major losses in their base
not really being motivated to turn out.
Plus, I mean, just look at the fact of the timing,
this draft was leaked right before 13 states
head to the polls for primaries this month alone.
So while the leak may not impact
what the court actually does,
it is possible that something happens with this election.
But on the note of pressure,
that's something that Alito himself hit on in the draft.
"We cannot allow our decisions to be affected
by any extraneous influences such as concern
about the public's reaction to our work."
And adding, "We do not pretend to know
how our political system or society will respond
to today's decision overruling Roe and Casey."
Which one, kind of a stupid fucking statement,
but also two, I guess now you do know.
The mystery has been solved.
Yeah, ultimately, I'll end this story
just how I ended it this morning,
that when you see all of this news,
you are not happy,
this is not where you want your country to go.
Yes, you can donate and raise money for causes,
you can go out and protest,
but one of the most meaningful things
is voting and voting every time.
It's easy to get complacent,
it's easy to forget,
it's exhausting existing.
You can be the change you wanna see in this world
and you can vote for the change you wanna see in this world.
I guess the main question that will be answered
on November 8th, 2022
is will people still care?
Will this motivate people?
Does this change what was going to happen?
We'll see.
People have short attention spans in this day and age
but this is a big one.
But ultimately, that is where that story
and today's show ends.
Remember, if you haven't seen it already,
I got you covered right here with some more news coverage.
But with that said, of course, as always,
my name is Philip DeFranco,
you've just been filled in,
I love yo' faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.