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Can The Left Win In Alabama? · Hold Your Ground

• joe: What's going on everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Hold Your Ground. On tonight's show, we've got a guest who I never really expected to have on this show. We met Alan on TikTok, and if you know me, you know I don't exactly have a glowing opinion of most people I meet on the fucking internet. Plus, I'm especially skeptical of politicians. I'm not really interested in giving somebody a microphone or a platform just because they've got a campaign behind their neck. But after having an actual conversation with Alan about politics, working people, the state of this country, and what it means to genuinely give a shit about the people you're trying to represent, we came to the conclusion that Allen's kinda alright so far. Alan is the Democratic nominee for Alabama, House District fifty. He's running under the Democrats flag, but he comes from a much more left wing perspective than you would typically expect from a Democratic candidate in Alabama. So tonight we're going to talk about both US and Alabama politics, working people, the Democratic Party, the political system, the realities of running as a left-leaning candidate in Alabama, and probably a whole lot of other shit along the way. This is Hold Your Ground, and tonight we're talking to Alan Thomas. But first, I'd like to introduce my co-hosts, Luis and Copy. What's going on, boys? Luis: What's going on friend? I don't know if Alan's pretty cool, but what I do know is he's pretty patient. And I just wanted to say that I feel like I've done this before. I don't know why. Copy: Yeah, it it's a joe: Ha ha. Copy: it's it's a wondrous fucking feeling. But I say hello to everybody. I'm really interested to see what Alan has to say, so I say let's get into it. joe: Words. So Alan, we know ya off of the TikToks and coming up on the fucking lives and having conversations and whatnot. I gave a rough breakdown of who you are, but I don't really know who you are, so how about you tell us? Alan Thomas: Well, so I am indeed the candidate for Alabama State House District 50. I got into this race on a Tuesday as a joke when saw online that one of the people in the Democratic Party, higher echelon, said, Hey, we need people to run. And so late night doom scrolling, I see this and I say, All right, fine, I'll do it. No one else is. And I wake up the next morning. And I've got all sorts of accolades, people cheering me on, yes, you're our guy, you're definitely running. And then by lunchtime on Wednesday I had raised the money to qualify. By Thursday the paperwork was signed and delivered to Montgomery. And now they've got me as their Democratic nominee for House District fifty. joe: Words. So I know Alabama is I've I've I've spent some time in your state and I know that it can really tend to be pretty deep red in parts. But I will say that seeing people just jump and back you and have that money raised is is a pretty cool sign that maybe people are waking up and maybe maybe it's time for a change. Alan Thomas: it's definitely a time for a change. We've been under a supermajority for sixteen, twenty years. And in that amount of time, we've had over twenty hospitals close, birthing centers closed, ambulance services shut down, people are losing health insurance left and right, people are losing losing SNAP benefits all over the place. I think the current number is over eighty thousand people, twenty five percent of which are Myers, their children. So There there's a bunch of sick, hungry people running around the state right now. And all of it's been under a Republican joe: Word. Alan Thomas: supermajority. joe: word. So I know that we totally want to get into your platform and see what you want to change about the future of Alabama. But first I've got a question and it would it has to do with your platform and what you want to do. But say you win. What's the number one thing? First thing on the agenda. Alan Thomas: First thing on the agenda is to repeal a law that was passed this year called SB seventy one. And what SB seventy one is, is a law that ties Alabama's Department of Environmental Management to rulemaking no stricter than what the EPA has. So put this in an ironic perspective for you, one of the Confederate states that swears up and down that the Civil War wasn't about slavery, it was about states' rights. just gave up its states rights. And this law further says that any environmental regulation that we have in a state that has to be peer-reviewed scientifically proven by causal analysis that whatever environmental pollution is happening or whatever environmental regulation that they want to put in actually causes specific harm. So the time that it takes for all of that to process to work through, the studies to be done, the cause to be determined definitively and peer reviewed. There's going to be so many people that die that we don't need to waste that time. So step number one, day one, repeal SB seventy one. Luis: It sounds like they're trying to make Alabama a corporate factory haven with that lot of me. am I wrong? Alan Thomas: It's an invit no, it's an invitation for data centers. Data centers, manufacturers, Luis: And we all know Alan Thomas: military industrial complex. Yep, turn our state into a full super fun site. Luis: Wow. Copy: Yeah, I I I know that I saw on your website that you were talking about reform with the youth, you know, authority when it comes to whether they should go to jail or are you kind of running more towards let's get some mental health help if that's what they need, is if it their home life is absolute trash, you know, or if the parent is absent for, you know, if they have addictions, is that more what you're leaning towards or is it you know, kinda going that other way, Alan Thomas: Yeah. Copy: let's let's lock these kids in cages type of shit. It doesn't sound like it, but I'd just like to clarify. Alan Thomas: No, it's definitely mental health. We've got so many mental health deserts in this state that it's pathetic. so a little bit of background on me is that I did spend five years of my wonderful life working for Children's of Alabama, which is the largest pediatric health care hospital in the state of Alabama. And in that five year time frame, the behavioral health unit, the psychiatric unit, can't call it psychiatric, it's behavioral health. doubled in size. Since I left at COVID, it is doubled yet again. And they're building even more facilities and they still are above capacity. And that's just in the Birmingham area. Throughout the rest of the state there isn't that sort of access to mental health treatment for children. Adults either, but children especially. And you know things like Instagram, TikTok have been shown through study as well as court cases across the country in California, New Mexico, et cetera, that it causes severe and significant harm to the psyche, especially of children that have access to these screens twenty four seven that are is completely unregulated, unmonitored, and it's just the wild west of let's treat everybody like shit and fuck up their heads when they're twelve, thirteen years old. Copy: Now I I know here in Oregon that we have like state regulation, to a degree when it comes to advertising and how they push certain things in an algorithm if it's a known like child account. Is there anything similar to that or kinda like that in Alabama or is it like you said, just a fucking Wild West? Alan Thomas: Not yet. It's it's still the wild west. And when the reports come back from the behavioral health guys at the hospital, one of the biggest things that has come out of that is most likely causes interactions online. violence at schools stems largely from online actions. People think they're much stronger, much bad online when they're talking through a screen than when they are in person and if they know each other in real life, then those arguments from one place will spill over into the next. And that's when we get actual physical violence happening in our schools and in our neighborhoods. joe: So Alan, through conversations that we've had in the past, I've I've heard you say that there's certain terms where you're trying to take the right wing's words and not redefine is not the right word that I'm looking for, but basically take the terms that they use so much. Go ahead. Alan Thomas: Yeah. The term you're looking for is from Friedrich Nietzsche and it is the reevaluation of values. joe: Cool. So thank you. and so I've heard you say, pretty much because this is our second take for all of you listening to this podcast, you know, that you are a pro life candidate and that you are a candidate who supports strong family values, Alan Thomas: One. joe: which can most definitely be construed by some as the quote unquote nuclear family, which we all know what that shit means. But you do have a pretty rad take on that, and those are terms that can really turn off people on the left. So I would like for you to take this opportunity to describe what you mean when you say that you are a pro-life candidate or that you support strong family values. Alan Thomas: So when I say that I'm pro-life, repealing SB seventy one, for instance, is a pro-life position. I am trying to save the lives and prevent harm to our neighbors and fellow residents all across the state from environmental contaminants that are going to cause illness, death, birth defects, et cetera. We've seen it play out before. I we don't need to see it again. We should have already learned our lesson the first damn time. how else am I pro life? Well, we like I said, we've got a significant number of people across the state that are losing their SNAP benefits and going hungry. Well, w especially when twenty percent, twenty five percent of those are children, they're not gonna be able to study well or focus well in school. They're not gonna be they're gonna be malnourished. When they're malnourished, their immune systems are depressed, they're gonna get sicker more often. And if there are no ambulances to take them to a hospital, nor a hospital to actually take them to, guess what? We're gonna have people die. That's not pro-life. To have a pro-life position in that conservative respect is really just pro-birth. And if we're not going to take care of the people that are already here breathing and living with us, then you know that that's just not pro-life. there's another example where a A young girl in my district in House District 50 was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a a bone cancer, and she's on Medicaid. Well, our Medicaid regulations say that if there's no treatment in state, then but there is treatment out of state, then Alabama Medicaid shall approve the treatment and send that person out of state. Well, they initially declined to treat this girl. And it it kind of sparked a Luigi Luis: Yeah. Alan Thomas: Mangioni moment where I'm caught on the phone with these people on a daily basis, getting other senators and other candidates involved, like incumbent senators and candidates involved in this to get them to overturn their decision, which they did. And this young girl, her name is Juliana Barrientos, actually received her surgery just about a week or so ago, and we saved her life. So when I say I'm pro-life, I'm pro fucking life. I'm saving lives over here. family values. When we talk about family values, well, you know, I've got daughters. I don't want my daughters to grow up A without adequate health care. Women's health care is much different than general health care. And Alabama has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation. We have over seven women out of a hundred thousand die every year in the state because of maternal outcome. That's too many. I don't want my kids growing up like that. I don't want my daughters growing up like that. And I don't want anyone's daughters growing up like that. So I have those family values to make sure that we can stay a family further on. the other one was fiscal conservatism. I believe in fiscal conservatism. What does that mean? Well, when you're like every other working class American and you only receive X amount of money, but your expenses every month are X plus Y. Then you got to get real creative on how you budget that. And who better to maintain the tax people's money, to be a good steward of the tax people's money, the citizens' money, than someone that's been broke as hell and knows how to budget creatively? That's being fiscal conservative. We don't need to be wasting money on ridiculous things. Now, does that mean that I want to cut social programs? No, absolutely it doesn't. I think we need to reallocate the funds that we are taking from those social funds away from big businesses, big corporations through tax abatements, et cetera, and give it back to the people that paid into it so that they get a return on their investments. Luis: Hell yeah. So joe: Word. Luis: Alan, forgive me here. I'm thinking it's my turn next. how are the immigrant and refugee members of your community going to feel feel feel safe and what are you going to do for those communities to Because I'm a I'm assuming that like everywhere else, immigrants and refugees are an integral part of your community. And how are you going to keep them safe? How can they put their trust into you? Alan Thomas: Well, just to clarify, my particular district has under five percent immigrant population. It's incredibly Luis: wow. Alan Thomas: small. Ironically, one of the largest municipalities in my district is one of the 50 across the state that is signed onto the DHS's two eighty seven G partnership program. And I'm gonna make yeah, Luis: Disgusting. Alan Thomas: so I'm part of what I'm running on is making sure that. the city of Margaret rescinds its agreement with the with DHS there. Luis: Okay, and it's my understanding from out here on the West that whether it might be I I don't know, it may be your state, it may be Mississippi, but somewhere in that general area, the feds are looking at building huge concentration camps. Alan Thomas: Yeah. Luis: do you know it yeah. So you know about that? what what what what's your take on that? Alan Thomas: Burn it down. Luis: but what about the jobs in your communities that those will bring? What about what about the money that that'll bring? Alan Thomas: We we could build schools instead. We we could build shelters for those without houses. We we have other things that we could do to put people to work. We could build high speed rail, you know, or or a mass transit system in our state. We could do those things, but you know, that might actually benefit we the people. You know it's Luis: God forbid that, right? Alan Thomas: it's a travesty. It that's it's certainly not the white Christian nationalist American way. Luis: Copy. Copy: But you're talking to me. I d I I just was wondering, you know, I don't know how many like let's just be real and call what they are. Fucking fossil ass politicians are in your state Senate. what are your feelings on like setting term limits as far as that's concerned? and really, you know, my personal opinion is should we be allowing s senior citizens that We won't even trust to work anymore, you know, in certain jobs, but nevertheless we're handing them the the keys to the the the pot, so to speak, of we're gonna run everything based on the values and actually try to listen to the constituents. Alan Thomas: Yeah, I'm in a tough spot in Alabama on that one. we've got a lot of state representatives, state senators that have been in office since the 90s. My opponent on the ballot got his start as the mayor of one of the municipalities in my district back in 1992. And the reason why it's kind of tricky for me is because, you know, I'm running under the Democratic Party banner. But our very moderate centrist Democratic gubernatorial candidate is currently seventy-two. And if he ended up winning and getting a second term on top of that, then by his the this fall of his last term, he will be as old as our current drunk of a governor who We call Mimaw and have called Mima for years, Copy: Mm. Alan Thomas: because she's just so damn old and incapable of performing the functions of the of the job. And Copy: Yeah, I d I was oops, sorry. Alan Thomas: Yeah. I I'm not a fan of of the gerontocracy. I I don't think that a lifetime spent in a legislature does anyone any service, especially when when through all that time you don't talk to your constituents, you don't hold town halls, you're not responsive to the people, and and and you're voting in ways that i is really against what the majority of the people are proclaim. They like, Hey, we don't want that and and they just keep doing whatever it is that they want to do regardless. Copy: Right. Yeah, the only reason I was bringing that up is I w I just read an article probably a couple hours before we got on here about Chuck Grassley or what is it? Yeah, Chuck Grassley of Iowa is renewing Alan Thomas: Like Copy: his bid to be a senator and already right now he's ninety fucking two years old. So it it's Alan Thomas: Yeah, ninety two. That is correct. Copy: yeah. Alan Thomas: So if he lived long enough to see the end of that term, he'd be ninety-eight years old. which are Copy: Yeah, I I guess Papa needs to run the fucking state, doesn't he? Alan Thomas: Yeah, no g go go sit on a porch somewhere, Gramps. Whittle a whittle something. by the way, has anybody seen Mitch McConnell? joe: Yeah, totally. He called earlier. Doing great. Alan Thomas: Spend twenty minutes. Copy: That is Luis: Yeah, he told me he told me that his wife was on his back as he was doing one arm Rocky push ups and I was like, Right on, Mitch, go. Copy: Dude dude fucking this motherfucker would put where's Waldo in for a fucking run for his money. joe: You know, I do want to take a moment real quick just to let everybody know if you're just tuning in. This is Hold Your Ground, and we are talking with Alan Thomas, who is running for Alabama House District 50. So this is definitely not our typical show. We got a guy who's running for office and explaining his platform and the terminologies that he uses. So it's a really neat conversation. And yeah, wanna throw that out there. Luis: I guess I'm gonna be the douche here guys, so let me go ahead and ask this. Mr. Allen, sir, you have been on record as saying that you believe that party affiliations have divided us all and that we've that liberty and justice for all means just that, that we are united, inseparable, and here for each other. You go on to say that you believe that those on the left and the right share those same values of family values, fiscal responsibility, and being a father and a husband. Do you really think that leftists and rightists ultimately share the same same values and the same reasons behind those values? Alan Thomas: No, but it short circuits everyone's thinking to force them into figuring out exactly what it is they believe and why they ri don't like the other side. When I when they say w with Luis: Okay. I mean Alan Thomas: liberty and justice for all, yeah, you mean liberty and justice for all. That's for everybody. That's your freedom, my freedom. Luis: Well, I r I I r I I respectfully disagree with that, right? Like so here's the deal. Like just for me, I don't believe that fascists should have rights. And nor do I believe that racists should have rights, right? help me understand where I'm wrong with this. Like in my thinking. And and I'm being completely serious here. I'm not being like, you know, anything I'm all I'm all like I'm I'm really interested in that 'cause that's that is our praxis as militant leftists, right? Alan Thomas: Understood. Not a problem. Luis: No pasta no pastor on you shall not pass. How am I wrong? Alan Thomas: I don't think that you are wrong. Luis: I mean. Alan Thomas: But but okay, so fascists, I mean, always punch a Nazi. Point blank into story. You know, fuck fascism all day, every day, and fuck tyranny in every single one of its forms, no matter what form it takes. Those are original American values. So You can't tell me that you're an American with American family values or American values generally, and then go off and support tyranny. That just makes you a traitor. And if you're a traitor to the American dream, that American cause that was set forth, and you can't say liberty and justice for all, then go somewhere. Go somewhere else. Go back home, wherever your home is. Luis: Well, let me ask you that. What about people in your state, excuse me, that fly the Confederate battle flag, right? A battle flag of a traitorous country that say, This is just part of our American heritage, brother. Like, where do you stand on that? Alan Thomas: I I stand on the fact that if we can't get over that, then we're gonna repeat it and I'm going to do everything I can to prevent that repetition from occurring. You know, the so okay, okay. Luis: Okay, what do you mean what do you mean by get over that? Alan Thomas: So one of the historical moments after Reconstruction was the creation of the daughters of the Confederacy that professed this state's rights Bullshit propaganda that most of the people that fly the Confederate flag down here have bought into. At the same time, when the policies of the Trump administration change and actually support what they believe in, then they say, okay, no, we're going to abandon even those ideals, and now we're going to become tyrant tyrants. And we're right back to tyranny. And the last time I checked, we don't do that here in America. It is Copy: Right. Alan Thomas: liberty first, freedom first. And I stand on that. And part of the First Amendment is freedom of association. So do I believe that those on the very far left and the very far right are really going to get along on a daily basis when it comes to those particular issues? No, come on. Nobody's going to believe that. But at the same time, those on the right and those on the left have the Freedom to associate as they will, and they can go over there and we'll be over here and having just a great old time. They'll be missing out. Copy: That's kind of where I stand with it. It is, you know, you have the rights to say whatever you want. You can be a hateful bigot, you can whatever. It doesn't matter. Party alliance, to me, it doesn't matter. But you know, I believe in that you're you're not free from the consequences from your Alan Thomas: There you go. Copy: mouth. It it's the consequences of your actions. And and in my book, you know, when you're spreading hate hate speech, it doesn't matter who you're spreading it to. It's it's just opening yourself up for consequences. Now, whether people like that or not, I you know, if somebody came running up to me and started getting in my face and was being aggressive about it, I know that I'm gonna handle it myself. So that's a consequence. And and if I have to worry about one of my friends, whether they be gay, black, Latino, Asian, i it it doesn't matter. I don't wanna have to s I would never But yeah, I just I hate watching people sit by and just let that kind of shit happen. as far as also just sideways here, side note, with the the whole Confederacy thing, it it always makes me laugh that it's like, Okay, states rights to do what? And generally I've never really gotten like a tangible answer because their mind just goes, Fuck Alan Thomas: I No That one is actually easy and I'm kind of shocked that you left coast leftists or haven't figured this out. It's a matter of worker exploitation. When it comes down to it, the South in the eighteen fifties was able to become as wealthy as it was because it paid its labor force nothing. And so when we talk about the minimum wage here or the cost of living and worker exploitation or not providing health care or not providing the ability for people to feed themselves, we are talking about the exact same things that the great southern states of way back yonder wanted to enshrine. They wanted to exploit labor, exploit human capital. Their own profits and put profit over people. That's the answer of why that is. Luis: So questi So question I guess it's a two part question for you, Alan. Is there a difference between hate speech and freedom of speech? And should there be legal ramifications in your opinion for hate speech? Alan Thomas: Good question. So The problem Luis: Hold on, wait a s just before you answer that, hold on. Suck it, guys. That was a good question. You heard him right there. Suck it, suck it, suck it. Continue on, Alan. Alan Thomas: So it's an interesting phrasing though, because hate speech could mean different things to different people. And part of the problem that that we are all going to run into when adjudicating that is who's deciding what's hateful? Because certainly the Confederacy is not going to think that racist talk or racist language is hateful. It's just their natural way for it. And that's an extreme difference in perspective, and it's hard to fathom. However, if you can look at it through the lens of does your speech harm anyone, does your speech prevent anyone from freely living their life and self determining their life? Does your speech ideology, etc., ultimately lead to violence or some sort of I don't know. insurrection at the state capitol. Is that hate speech? You know, we can look Luis: Okay, so that that's interesting. So you think that you you do. You're you're of the opinion that January sixth was an insurrection. See, I don't really I weirdly enough, while I think it was fucked up, it was a bunch of chodes doing chode like things. Copy: Ha ha Luis: I don't look at it as an insurrection, right? Because to me, an insurrection is to produce something new rather than maintain the status quo. Yeah, if th if that makes sense. I mean semantics, right? Tomato tomato. Yeah, yeah. Alan Thomas: It's that's a semantic thing. That it that is truly a semantic thing and at the core at the core of it, we don't disagree on that. Because the ultimate goal the Copy: Right. Luis: Yeah, no, I agree. Alan Thomas: the ultimate goal was to stop the certification of the election and they failed to do that. And when they failed to do it, they got told by their boss to sit down and go home. Luis: So question, okay, that leads us into the next question. My next big question, and then I guess I'm out of questions. Like I like I got him out fast, bro, like in three minutes. so here's my next question. And then I've shot Copy: That's what she said. Luis: my and then I've shot my load of questions. Do you think that the election's gonna happen in November? Alan Thomas: I sure hope so. but I've said since before I actually jumped into this race, that if these elections in twenty twenty six don't happen don't happen freely and fairly, then this will be the very last chance for a very long time for free Americans to Determine who is going to lead them for the next four, six, or forty years. We might not get another chance for a long time without some serious violence to have another election if these ones don't go off. Luis: How does it feel? Follow up question. How does it feel to be running for office and have that be your answer? I mean, I would like like to me it's just it's a surreal answer for your position to be like, I hope. Right? Like, like, like you're running, like and you're like, I hope these elections go off, but like for the first time in our lives, yeah, we Alan Thomas: I have concerns. I have true concerns. Luis: can't be sure. It looks like Joe has a question. Copy: Yeah, I mean, I would d I think everybody should have con concerns because our commander in Queef is just an abhorrent fucking shitbag. I anybody that believes anything that comes out of that walking turd's mouth at this point, it it y you really need to go I I don't think at this point if you're above the age of a child and I'm talking like eight and you don't have critical thinking skills at this point in your life, yeah. Yeah and I hate saying this 'cause it's very totalitarianist, but you shouldn't even have the ability to fucking vote if you can't use pragmatic thinking. Alan Thomas: Well, okay, let me spin off of that real quick. If you can't articulate what the three branches of government are, maybe you shouldn't be running for governor of the state of Alabama. Copy: That's that's that's very true. I can't I can't disagree there. Alan Thomas: but Luis, to you you had asked one little part that I didn't get to answer there, and I wanted to I definitely wanted to respond to this part of the your question. How does it feel knowing that I am on the ballot in what may be the last election for a very long time? It feels really fucking heavy and historic, and the knowledge that I might be part of the last class. The last chance to stand for freedom and democracy in this country is not lost on me. And it's legitimately a really heavy burden of being on the right side of history and and what it entails. So I don't I don't take that lightly. I do not take that lightly. Luis: God damn right it is. Yeah, I I I I have so much respect for you. I want I want you to know I give you a lot of shit and everything, but I have so much respect for you. And I it it is so hard, right? It is hard to be a leftist anywhere in the United States right now, but I couldn't imagine being in your position in your state. Right? Yeah. Alan Thomas: So I saw something actually interesting today. I I have not had much time to mess around on social media. It's been a long, busy, busy day. But I did pop on at one point to check messages and whatnot. And the the first little TikTok that came up was someone from Alabama making the point that it's really easy to be a Copy: Yeah. Alan Thomas: leftist in a deep blue state. Because you've got a lot of support. You've got a lot of mutual aid around you. You've got a lot of people that agree like you. But if you're on the left in the south right now, and you're standing up for the working class, the working people, the the colonized, and the oppressed, like it takes a special type of courage to stand up and stand alone and still stand in the face of all of that. Luis: Can I say something to that though, please? Alan Thomas: Go for it. Luis: because you're absolutely right. and there was a time and place where our city of Portland, Oregon was much the same, right? We c we have a huge history of white supremacy here in the Northwest, right? This is was founded as a white supremac state. The clan is very prominent up and down the Willamette Valley, which is the primary valley where a lot of people live. It actually separates me from these two guys right now, right? And we, the three of us, have lots of friends in what is known as the ARA, the anti-racist action, which stood up to white supremacy and and made this city of Portland safe for marginalized communities, right? It We were like everywhere else, but it takes people standing up like yourself in your community for what's right and fighting in the face of like innumerable odds. And it will get done. Go ahead, Joe. joe: You know you know one of the trips too with Oregon in particular that I do wanna point out for everybody, and something to keep in mind when you're when you're doing these things, right? And trying to spread outside of your direct area. 'Cause the thing with Oregon i is that yes, Portland is absolutely like that. As soon as you get outside of Portland, it is absolutely not like that. You know what I mean? It gets real gnarly real quick. So Portland is like its own little safe haven. Even Eugene, while Eugene has a bunch of free-spirited hippie bullshit, they still have a massive problem with fucking white supremacy and you know, just wild ass Christian nationalism and general chudness. and then you get out into the Copy: Yeah, I g I grew up there. joe: yeah, and then Alan Thomas: Well. joe: you get out into the smaller communities in this state, and it's like, holy shit. Copy: Yeah. Alan Thomas: Well, so here in Alabama, we are starting to see DSA chapters crop up in in a lot of the major cities. We had a phenomenal candidate for public service commission in the primary, who is a staunch DSA member, very, very leftist. And in part due to his running, the state of Alabama, the legislature, stacked the Public Service Commission. It was supposed to have three commissioners. They changed it to get seven on there at another primary just so that they could try to prevent that guy from being on the PSC. And so there's definitely a surge in this mentality of not necessarily wanting to force one type of leftist value or democratic socialism or communism on all of the capitalists here, but really trying to just get some sort of modicum of, like I say, family values in place. And I've gone to the city council meetings and I've talked to some of the people in the area there that, you know, at least when it comes to kids getting fed, it suddenly they're colonizer racist History goes away and we are actually on the same page at that moment. You know, they don't necessarily want all of their tax dollars going to Israel. You know, the they don't when you when they find out that the state of Alabama has like twelve billion dollars in Israeli treasuries, for instance, and that state money investment over there is providing free health care, free education, free child care for all these kids. Like suddenly there's a disconnect. It's like, wait a minute, I didn't sign on to that. Why is my freedom over there? And they're finally starting to ask those questions. Luis: But I I I I don't know. I I respectfully disagree. I think that like, yes, they want the best for their children, but that they view marginalized children as lesser than, less deserving than, right? And that's why people want to send themsel the the use these vouchers to to send themselves to private schools, which are increasing their rates, right? taking away from the public schools. Alan Thomas: And this is why I'm a shitty ass politician, Luis: So Alan Thomas: though. not to interrupt you, but I catch your drift. But this is why I'm a shitty ass politician. Because in a moment like this, when it comes to an issue so absolutely serious, where me personally, I 100% agree with you, and I think you're right, to know that on something that big that has been ingrained for generation after generation after generation in this state, to move the needle just a little bit, I'm gonna grab that needle where it is. and pull it further to the left. But as long as it's moving, I can move it further. Luis: Right. And I I guess I guess that my my I love what you're doing in Alabama. Is it kind of pie in the sky to me? I don't know. I think so because because I understand the institutionalized social racism joe: Mm-hmm. Luis: that is within your area that marginalized people are are less than and Coming of an age in Portland where Portland like my contemporaries were fighting for, you know, like Nazi boneheads in the street that were murdering Mulgeta Sarah. I th I I I don't know that everyone has what it takes because at some point the institution is going to try and bully, right? The institution is going to try and punch and and and be violent back. Go ahead, Joe. joe: Yeah, dude, so like your pie in the sky comment there, right? Like I don't disagree with that, right? But one of the things that you and I have talked about numerous times, Luis, and I think very little publicly, but you know, as anti fascists, we have to use every tool in the arsenal to fight against fascism and the regime, right? So For Alan right now, this is his fight. Not everybody's meant to be fucking scrapping it out physically in the streets. And I'm not even saying that directed towards you, Alan. I'm saying in general, right? So like while I don't think that elections are really gonna do anything, and I you know, I not to sound like a dick. But I don't, you know, I I think that you're gonna have a lot more trouble grabbing that needle and pulling it to the left. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't fucking try that, right? And I say that on two fronts. I say that as an anti-fascist who believes that we need to use every single tool possible in the toolbox. And I also say that as somebody who knows violence, right? Because at the end of the day, I would much rather have that work where you're grabbing that needle and pulling it left. Than to subject Copy: Hallelujah. joe: my daughter, my wife, my friends, any of you, with the exception of Coppy, because he's already fucking done it, your families, any of that, to the type of violence that Copy and I have experienced in our lives. You know what I mean? Like, Luis: Amen. joe: this is the shit that fucking has kept me awake at night for fucking what's it been? Now, I got home. 19 years ago, right? Copy: Right. joe: So this is the shit that's kept me awake at night without good sleep for 19 years. I don't want I don't want all of us to know that fucking shit. So like like I said, I know I'm kind of talking in circles here, but just to finish off my thought completely because I'm a dipshit I get what you're saying with it being pie in the sky, but I feel like it's fucking worth a solid try so that we don't have to subject the people Luis: No joe: that we love to absolute fucking wildness in the street. Luis: absolutely. Okay, so let me clarify a little bit, because you're right, we have talked about it. And I think that, you know, I've come out in the last few months and been like, hey, I've come to the conclusion that we have to all vote. Okay? Like, because if we're anti fascists and we don't use every tool in our fucking toolbox to beat this, what the fuck, right? Because like you said, Alan, this is a historic election. This is possibly Super historic, super fucking everything. And better to th have thrown every punch and everything in my disposal. So when my kids look at me and be like, what the fuck? I can be like, We did everything we could. Right? Like we yes, we did vote. Yes, we did punch. but I'm really worried and I want you to know that I hope with all of my heart and all of my soul that you do win. Like I really I hope I hope you I hope you know that. Like like with everything I have. Alan Thomas: Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause Copy: Yeah, I Alan Thomas: 'cause my fear is if we don't flip districts, not just in Alabama, but in every state and in the federal Congress, if we don't flip districts, then we're going to have to go back to real Christian values and start flipping tables. Copy: Mm. Right. Luis: I mean, and here's the thing, I don't want a party in power. I don't know if you caught it, but both of my friends are combat veterans, right? Like fucking Alan Thomas: Yeah. no, I picked that up. Copy: Yeah. Luis: sweet, like like like for those of you that don't know, each of these dudes have lived deep in the shit. Not like fucking unloading planes in a in a war country. Okay. Not doing anything like that, but like really humping Copy: Tommy. Luis: it. in in in the mountains and shit like that. And I don't want a party like look at how these people are treating the sailors on the Lincoln. Copy: Right. Luis: Like Trump's like Trump's like the deployment wasn't long enough. People are fucking jumping overboard. This is how we treat these people that give up, you know? It's disgusting. Alan Thomas: But how many Luis: And I'm not pro military. Alan Thomas: how many of our households population are veterans? How how many what what what is Copy: A lot. I I was one of those joe: A lot. Thirteen percent. Alan Thomas: what what is the instance of mental health issues amongst veterans? What Copy: astronomical. joe: Immensely. Alan Thomas: what right? What is the instance of health care outcome failures at the VA? Copy: Yeah. joe: Immense. Alan Thomas: Right, right. So the laundry list of using you Joe or UCopy as cannon fodder for the wars, you know, it's it's C C R's fortunate son playing in the background. Copy: Yeah. Alan Thomas: 'Cause I'm guessing neither one of you are sons of senators, right? You know Copy: No, no. joe: No. Alan Thomas: so Luis: Joe's dad is very famous though, so he might not be no senator, but he is a front man. Copy: Jesus Christ. No, I I Alan Thomas: No, we treat our veterans like shit. All over the country, everywhere we treat our veterans like shit. We send them to wars Copy: that's Alan Thomas: that we don't need to be sending them to. And and frankly Luis: Let her talk, let her talk, let her talk Let her talk Let her talk, don't silence her. Copy: Letter talk, yeah, fuck yeah. joe: Let her talk, dude. Let her go. Alan Thomas: Okay, all right, all right, come on, come on. Listen, I've got a lot to say about the motherfucking VA. joe: Word? Alan Thomas: Hear shit. But let me tell you, the United States government suckers these people in young, patriotic, suckers them in, gets them fighting for shit that they never even thought they'd be fighting for. And then when they need their country most, they leave them to fucking dry. I have fought with the VA for veterans for their spouses for fucking years. And the VA is fucking bullshit. The government is fucking bullshit for our veterans. And they got fucking whitewashed and fucking sold a bunch of bullshit, fucking lies. And because they were patriots, they fell for it. That's their only downfall. They believed in our fucking constitution and they thought they were fighting for the right shit. And that's their only fucking downfall. These people believe in freedom. And when they found out that it was not that way and then Uncle Sam left them out to dry, they are fucking struggling. So fuck the government, support Luis: That late Alan Thomas: the govern support the veterans. Copy: She needs to be the next VA secretary. She needs to be the next VA secretary. Fucking right. Luis: That lady makes me want to go hit somebody. That lady makes joe: Yeah. Ha ha Alan Thomas: So joe: ha. Alan Thomas: a bunch Luis: me want to go hit somebody. Alan Thomas: of pause right now. Luis: Let's go. Let's go. Yeah. joe: So I I Copy: DAM! joe: I I agree. The only pushback that I have, I because I do have some pushback 'cause I have to I have to, right? The only pushback that I have is that not everybody joined because they were patriots, right? The the military is the government is prime for going and preying on underdeveloped communities, for underprivileged communities. So like Alan Thomas: It I a a lot of get sold communism and socialism. Free health joe: Well Alan Thomas: care, free housing, you know. joe: There's that aspect of it, right? But a l a lot of a lot of them get sold, this is my only fucking way out. I'm looking Alan Thomas: Yeah. joe: at fu a lifetime of fucking prison or death, or I can go do this and try to get my way out for a better life, right? I can Alan Thomas: Yeah that's the poverty yeah. joe: try to pull myself out of poverty in my immediate Alan Thomas: So joe: family. And I do know a bunch of people that I served with that were like that. But there Alan Thomas: Amen. joe: was also that young patriot aspect where people were like, gung ho, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's funny because like it's super wild to me, I will say, to watch veterans, Now and everybody's so gung-ho, my time in the army was the best, or my time in this fucking branch Copy: Bullshit. joe: was the best, and rah-rah rah, American. Because literally every single fucking person that I met on deployment hated being in the fucking army. They hated the fact that they were there. And they had a deep, deep disdain for the government. Because we were fucking sold a lie as to why we were there. Alan Thomas: And Copy: Exactly. Alan Thomas: and and a big reason, a big reason that I hear that from veterans when I'm out speaking with them is that at some point in the process they learn in real time in the field that the reason that they're there is not what they were sold, that they had no business being there. And the United States has a long, long history of for an invasion, foreign intervention for corporate gain and W I mean we haven't been at peace in two hundred and thirty seven years. Like Copy: Yeah. Alan Thomas: two hundred Luis: School of the Americas that's all I'm gonna say is School of the Americas what a fucking shitty institution that has oppressed Latin American communities and countries for decades. Alan Thomas: You know Copy: Well, not to mention the the fucking schools for the indigenous tribes too, you know. The Jesus Christ. Res schools, yeah. joe: Yeah, r residential schools. Alan Thomas: So Luis: Yeah. No, no, no. The Schools of the America though. No, that's you guys. So the Schools of the America was it's called something else now, but it was set up specifically to train Latin American future dictators by American special forces, right? So Alan Thomas: Yeah, right. Copy: awesome. Luis: so so some of the graduates were like Manuel Noriega, remember him? Alan Thomas: Yeah. Luis: Like he was a he was a big Copy: Mm. Luis: gradu he was a big graduate from there. et cetera, et cetera. Yeah. So Alan Thomas: Yep. Yeah. So when I was in graduate school, I had to take a bunch of comparative politics classes. And at at UNC, a lot of the focus and study was on Latin America in the latter part of the twentieth century. And one of the buzzwords, key terms, favored study areas was on writ seeking that came out of the School of Americas and IMF and World Bank interaction in Latin America, right? And so Latin America was colonized by the World Bank and the IMF to create all of these power plants, dams, etc., to provide what they thought was a benefit to the people of Bolivia or Peru or or wherever. But all it did was take people that weren't used to operating that in a society that had to have currency to survive. force them into using a specified currency to pay month in and month out these rents to these corporations, which ultimately backtrack to New York. Those exact same colonizer models, that exact same market mentality and corporate structure is now being used in things like Facebook and Twitter and Netflix, forcing all of us To pay over and over again these ever increasing monthly subscription rates and fees. It is a theft from the working Luis: We sh Alan Thomas: classes. Luis: Absolutely, but I would even p say a little bit more that the model that we see taking place in Latin America with the IMF and everything goes back even further to the coffee companies, to the banana companies, to United Fruit, right? so much Alan Thomas: Yeah. Yep. absolutely. Luis: and it's so d it's so disgusting that a man who was ruling Nicaragua, you know, Danielle Ortega, right, with the whole Contra thing, is now back in power. oppressing the people of Nicaragua and for all intents and purposes he's there for life. Copy: Brain. Luis: Y y you know, i it it's it's ridiculous to me that this government funded civil wars, right? Like okay, so here's the deal, dude. Even MS thirteen, the organization that they are, they are an American gang, right? That does not come from El Salvador that we sent tell El Salvador when we deported these members. They came to the United States and organized to protect their community. Right? That's how like MS these gangs like MS come about, right? And then we deported these members back and so they became problems there. And then they sent people back up here and we called them a Salvadorian gang when the truth is they are an American gang. Sorry about that, that rant. you know, Alan? I hate to say it, but I think we are almost soon at our end. And my question is, I hope that you'll come back. Copy: Yeah. Luis: either before the election sometime or right after. And I hope we can talk to you. He said maybe. That's that's a that's a maybe. Yeah, sure. Alan Thomas: Yeah, sure. I because I didn't say maybe, I said yeah, sure. I said absolutely. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Copy: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Alan Thomas: You know, it's it's I think thank you for the invitation. I appreciate it. No, I I absolutely would love to come back 'cause I think we barely scratched the surface on joe: Yeah. Alan Thomas: a number of things and we could do a Copy: Absolutely. Alan Thomas: lot of deep dives on and really dig into some some some real topics. Luis: I no joe: Where? Luis: a absolutely and I I am so just amazed that we came across you on the talks and I'm quite happy that we met you and it makes my heart feel good to know that there are people like you doing the work in some of the darkest places 'cause like you said earlier, it is easy, even though we earned it, even though we earned our liberal city, right? Like It's so easy right now to be here right now. It's not easy to be where you are with our set of beliefs. Alan Thomas: Fight had to start somewhere. Somebody had to be the first to stand up so that other people could stand up. And when you talk about or think about, you know, first they came for and then they came for, and then who's gonna stand for me? Well, we can't let it get to that point. We we just can't. They they've come for too many already. And Copy: Yeah. Alan Thomas: and when a state looks as red as mine does, or a district looks as red as mine does, and you look at why it's red and it's not because the people live here really are that deep seated in that belief. It's because of the way that they've cracked the districts or or drawn the maps. And when you're when a certain power party is in control and it it controls and selects who its voters are in order to garner a particular outcome. Again, that is not a free and fair election. That's tyranny by another name. And I might lose Copy: Absolutely. Alan Thomas: because of it, but I'm definitely not losing because I'm the lesser of the two qualified candidates. Copy: I love that. Luis: Yeah. joe: Word. Luis: I fucking love that. Alan Thomas: Yeah. So Luis: All right. Well, you guys, we've been talking with Alan, Alan Thomas, running for Alabama House District 50. And if you're in Alabama, fucking House District 50, vote for him. Okay. You know what? If Copy: Go vote for this motherfucker. Luis: if you don't vote for Alan, you're a beta cuck, bro. All right. That's that's what's what, dude. You you Copy: You're not an alpha wolf. You're no alpha. joe: Ha ha ha ha. Alan Thomas: And and Luis: you're no alpha. Alan Thomas: And so clearly I'm on TikTok, so joe: Ha ha ha. Alan Thomas: everybody can follow me on TikTok. You can always go to my website Copy: Outstanding Alan Thomas: at Alan Thomas for HD fifty dot us and click on to follow the campaign, volunteer, or send my campaign money, because it takes money to run these campaigns. Copy: Yeah. Alan Thomas: And you do not have to live in Alabama to contribute to the camp campaign. Copy: Hell yeah. Luis: So Alan, this is the part of the show that we ask you, you got anything going on here in the future? You y you got any big plans, you speaking and w and and where can the people find you? You guys Alan Thomas: Tomorrow, Luis: like how I did that? Alan Thomas: tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, I will be at Roho in Birmingham. Great place. I'll definitely send you guys some photos of one of the murals that they have on the wall for an automatic license Copy: boy. Alan Thomas: plate reader event hosted by the local DSA group. Y'all I your view Luis: Nice. Alan Thomas: Your viewers probably don't haven't seen it, but one of the biggest reasons I'm trying to raise money right now is so that I can buy enough yard signs to mark every single flock and axon license plate reader across the district so that when people are driving by, they might not notice it just because they're focused on on other things. But I want to draw attention to those things. And if they happen to get run over, they happen to get run over. I didn't see anything. goodness. Copy: no. What are you talking about? joe: Who Luis: Absolutely. joe: word. Alan Thomas: You are waiting. joe: Word. I do want to point out too Alan Thomas: I was I'm kidding, my alibi. joe: that for everybody, tomorrow is going to be Thursday, August twentieth, right? So we are recording Alan Thomas: Fair enough. joe: this. It is what is currently it's Wednesday, August nineteenth. Alan Thomas: Fair fair enough. Thursday, August twentieth at six PM. I'll be at Roho and we're gonna be working to get rid of the license plate readers and those privacy violations in the mass surveillance state. On Tuesday, this upcoming Tuesday, the twenty eighth, I believe, we will be in Pell City at the RET Center for the St. Clair County monthly Democrat meeting. Luis: Okay. Okay. All right. we've been talking with Alan Thomas Thomas. Sorry. I can't say white names are hard. we've been speaking with Alan Thomas, candidate for Alabama House District C House District fifty. Alan, thanks for being here with us. Alan Thomas: Thank you