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Speaker 1: Broadcasting from the Civic Cypher Studios, welcome to the QR code where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The man you are about to hear from is a man who used to date Miss America, and I know I said that before, but right now I'm looking at our feel-good feature, and I feel like it's relevant, so there you have it again. He is the Q in the QR code. He goes by the name of Q-War.
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Speaker 2: And the man that you just heard, he always be saying stuff to make me sound more raw.
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Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying? Anyway, he is the R in the QR code. He goes by the name Ramses Jha.
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Speaker 1: That is my name. Stay tuned later on for entertainment. Miss Rachel continues to stand with Nolan Wells' family. I didn't know much about Miss Rachel until the past couple of years. I know she's a cultural phenomenon, but the more I learn about her, the more I am just in love with the person that she is. I hope that there's a heaven because people like Miss Rachel deserve to go there. Prior to that, we're going to have some dialogue. What did you feel was a mistake but turned out to be a blessing? I'm sure we got a few of those somewhere in our memory banks. So we'll get to that when we get to that part of the show. Q words clap back. The date was the tell. As you may or may not know, I don't know what Q words clap back is, but these titles are always so intriguing. Looking forward to that. Before we break, better do better. Turning point activists are using fake posts to claim Democrats are backing Republicans. Using AI for all that sort of stuff. So we're going to get into that and why they better do better. We're going to share our opinions. Barack Obama discusses dodging advances from women and some while he was president. I thought that was crazy because, of course, he is head over heels in love with his wife. And I think that's really special. We're going to start off by talking about what's going on in the culture. Ex-cop takes a plea deal after fatally shooting a black man in bed. We covered that story on Civic Cipher. We're going to talk about it more today. But right now, and as always... We like to start off with a feel-good feature, and today's feel-good feature comes from The Root. Reagan Hutzel has just made history after being crowned the 99th Miss America on Sunday, September 6th. Not only is the 25-year-old the only Miss America to win while wearing her natural hair, that's going to be a big one for them, but she is also the first Miss Texas to have snagged the crown in more than 50 years. Here's more about the pageant winners. Dance has been one of Hutzel's passions since she was a child, and her aspiration to become a professional was solidified at age seven, when she entered her first dance competition, according to people. It took her only 11 years to achieve her goal. She was hired as a Radio City Rockette at 18 in 2019. Hutzel might be a dancer and Miss America 2027, but she is also a college student studying to become a physical therapist. According to her interview with Texas Lifestyle Magazine, Hutzel plans to use the $ 33, 000 in scholarships awarded to her by the Miss America organization entirely toward her college degree. In 2025, Hutzel put herself in the running for Miss Houston 2026 and won the award in September of that year, which allowed her entry into the Miss Texas pageant. She won that title in June of this year, and three months later, she was crowned Miss America in September 2026. Um, You know, we talked about this before and we've talked about this going all the way back. Whenever there is a black women that wins a huge pageant like this, it's kind of a big deal because historically the European beauty standard has dominated pageants and commercials and billboards and, you know, shampoo ads and all that sort of stuff, right? And so representation matters, as you well know. This one is particularly special because she got to wear her natural hair and as someone who wears his natural hair, You know, as I mentioned, representation matters. Plus, all the little girls looking up to her have another hero in the books that they can refer to. And we love that around here. What's not to love about that? Alright, if you're just locking in with us here on the QR code, that was Q Ward. That beautiful voice you just heard. My name is Ramses Jha. Let's talk about... It's kind of a sad story. I'm going to read this first just to Paint the picture, and then I'll take you into the moment that Q and I had to cover this story. This is from the BIN, the author's name, Maya Bodie, again. Former Columbus, Ohio, police officer Ricky Anderson pleaded guilty Thursday, September 3rd, to reckless homicide in the 2022 shooting death of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis, a black man who was lying in bed when officers arrived at his apartment, according to the Associated Press. Anderson, who was a Columbus police canine officer at the time, had faced murder and reckless homicide charges in Lewis's death. He entered an Alford plea to the lesser reckless homicide charge, acknowledging prosecutors had enough evidence to support a conviction without admitting guilt. Prosecutors agreed to drop the murder charge as part of the plea deal, according to the AP. Police went to Lewis's apartment around 2 a.m. on August 30, 2022, to serve arrest warrants. Anderson opened the bedroom door and fired, striking Lewis. Body camera footage appears to show Anderson firing within one second of opening the door, an attorney for Lewis's family said. Anderson's attorneys have maintained that evidence would have shown the shooting was justified. Anderson will be sentenced at a later date and could receive probation or up to three years in prison, according to ABC6. For Lewis's family, the plea represents accountability, but not the justice they believe he deserved. I'm going to circle back to that. Quote, I know that we need to look at it as a win. He is guilty. He has pleaded guilty. But it is not a win.
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Speaker 3: Unquote.
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Speaker 1: Lewis's mother, Rebecca Duran, told ABC6. She goes on to say, quote, It's not even near what I feel like should have happened or what Donovan deserved, unquote. The family's attorney, Rex Elliott, also questioned whether the plea amounted to justice, telling the AP, quote, nothing that happens to him will bring Donovan back, end quote. I want to circle back, as I mentioned, for Lewis's family, the plea represents accountability, but not the justice they believed he deserved, okay? So... I'll paint this picture, Q. I remember watching this video. I'm not sure if you watched it as well. We famously don't, we try not to watch the same videos of people dying or getting harmed by the police. Just kind of protects our mental health a bit so we don't have to watch everything, both of us. So we take turns. This was the video where the police were in an apartment They were looking for somebody else, somebody not related to the person that ended up dying. And as the story mentions, the officer opens the door and immediately just starts shooting into the room. I don't know if officers behave that way as frequently when they're not entering a residence looking for Someone black. Maybe they have a little bit more grace. They have a little bit more pause. Maybe they care a little bit more if the person is not black. But this was 2022 when this happened. This was after everybody said, oh, police training and blah, blah, blah. Defund the police sounds crazy and blah, blah, blah. People were saying all that sort of stuff. And we know that. Q and I know that because we started Civic Cipher in 2020 and we had to cover all of this stuff. And we had been covering it for at least two years by that point. So that was a sad story. Imagine being asleep and then all of a sudden someone kicks in the door and boom, you're dead. And it's the police and you didn't do anything wrong to them. And that story is a story we tell quite a bit on this show of people getting shot in the bed, not knowing what is going on, just dead, sleep and then dead. We've told that maybe five, six times, that specific story. The reason this stood out for today's show is because yesterday we talked about a black woman who won't face charges in the shooting death at a Walmart parking lot. And the reason that we spotlighted that story in particular is because stories like that are exceedingly rare. Generally speaking, when the victim or the person that lost their life is white and the shooter is black, then, you know, that black person will hang in some form. Modern form of hanging is imprisonment, you know, at minimum. And so when there's real accountability and there's really a reversal of the roles, it's something worth spotlighting. It's rare. It's very much the exception. And this story kind of reverts back to type. This man kicked in the door, killed this man who was asleep. And it said, worst case, he's going to get three years in prison. Now, imagine, pick any person that you love. Imagine the police kick in the door. It could be the wrong house. They're looking for a different, whatever. But the police kick in your door and shoot the person that you love. And then they die. And then you hear the officer might, get up to three years in prison? Does it not feel like your life matters to that criminal justice system, to that police department, to the world? Does it not feel like the life of your loved one that is now gone matters? Does it feel performative? Maybe three years, right? The truth is, this is quite normal that there's no real accountability. Quite, quite normal. This is very much the rule, not the exception that police do what they want. And if there is any form of accountability, it's the slap on the wrist or the performative stuff to keep people from like rioting or jumping off of buildings or whatever. And it's very disheartening that this is the norm. And the story we covered yesterday is the exception. when everything conceivably should be fair across the board and we deal in data on this show and the data just does not support that um i don't want to talk too much q uh you can take it from.
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Speaker 2: Here if you want so a couple things before i respond to this story modern day hanging is hanging.
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Speaker 1: Oh yeah that's a good point yeah.
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Speaker 3: They're hanging us still yeah good point.
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Speaker 2: So yeah, modern day hanging is hanging. They have not substituted that for anything. Secondly, you brought up the story from yesterday. I bet our collective salaries that they're going to start working on stand your ground legislation to change it. Now that a black person has gotten off for killing someone on stand your ground. They will immediately look to do something with that legislation to change it.
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Speaker 3: I bet... Every money, every dollar I have on that. Wouldn't surprise me.
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Speaker 2: The most interesting thing about this story. Probation or up to three years, that means maximum three years for someone who has already admitted guilt.
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Speaker 3: That is.
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Speaker 2: So this is not just a criminal justice system failing a black person. This is the attorney of that black person failing them as well. This attorney wants a guilty plea. They want to win a case, not find justice for a victim, not provide justice and closure for a family, but secure a guilty plea. Because who would agree to the plea that might get the admitted murderer up to three years? And up to three years for people unfamiliar, I've unfortunately had close family members in the criminal justice system and the carceral system and the for-profit prison system for all of my life. Up to three years sounds like, you know, something to three years that ends in probation earlier than that, right? So they get three years as a sentence. They end up on the street in 18 months. you know, time served, good behavior and their own probation out of jail inside of a year and a half. Imagine that. Yes, I did it. Yes, I killed that person. Yes, I'm guilty. I might go to jail. And if I do, nothing about my appearance will be different when I get out. If I have a child in elementary school, they'll still be in elementary school when I get out.
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Speaker 3: Wow. Only in America, Don King used to say.
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Speaker 2: And here we go again, Rams. Same song, different day, man.
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Speaker 1: These stories are so prevalent. Yeah. And they've been part and parcel to our experience in this country long before there was social media. Social media just allows other people to see it. But this has been quite normal growing up. And again, the data suggests that this is far more common than people might expect. So now you know. You're just tuning in to the QR code. Q Ward is the man on the other mic across the room there. I am Ramses Jha. And we're going to talk about Barack Obama discussing Dodging advances from women.
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Speaker 2: Hmm.
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Speaker 1: Who'd have thunk? All right, I'm going to share from the Atlanta Black Star. For some people, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are the epitome of couple goals. The duo has been married for 34 years and share daughters Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25. But Michelle is hardly the only person who has found herself admiring America's charismatic 44th president. While Barack Obama was never officially named People Magazine's sexiest man alive, he has consistently topped pop culture rankings and style lists highlighting attractive public figures for nearly two decades. With that level of pop culture stature behind him, it comes as little surprise that many women have found themselves enamored with him. A clip from Obama's 2024 appearance on the Pivot podcast recently resurfaced, once again prompting fans to praise the former president for his unwavering commitment to his marriage. Co-host Channing Crowder asked, Do women be hollering at you and stuff? Like because of the fact that you're a good looking dude? but now you're president, good-looking dude. Obama smiled and began fiddling with the hem of his pant leg as he responded. So first of all, I don't know if Michelle's gonna be watching this, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm scared of Michelle, Crowder interrupted. Yeah, you should be, Obama chuckled. Obama noted that receiving such vocal admiration carries very different weight for a seasoned public figure who entered the global stage with an established family compared to a young athlete or entertainer suddenly thrust into early stardom, quote. By the time people really knew who I was, I was 43 years old. You know, I was married, had two kids. You know, I'd gone grocery shopping, washed my car, right? I was a regular guy in that sense. And so that kind of attention, by the time I got it, I wasn't tripping on them, unquote, he said. Nobel Peace Prize winner admitted that he's experienced advances. He recalled, quote, there are times when women have acted in somewhat inappropriate ways. There are pictures on the internet of women like grabbing my butt. And I was president at the time, unquote. When co-host Ryan Clark asked, where was the Secret Service? Obama explained, it's like old ladies and stuff. I mean, they're not going to wrestle them down to the ground, causing the men to laugh. However, the former commander-in-chief's steadfast reverence for Michelle and his family spoke volumes about his character, rooted in a marriage that predated his rise to global fame. That grounding served as a constant anchor throughout his presidency and beyond. Quote, my wife is such an extraordinary woman, such an amazing partner, that you just try to stay focused, stay on the straight and narrow, and also look Kids change your life. The idea of disappointing your kids is, you know, something that I ain't going there, he offered. That's about as far as I'm going with your question, Obama quipped, even joking. He's trying to stir something up. I caught that in reference to Crowder's question. I kind of love this. I know that there was some weird rumors going on for a long time, whatever, about Barack and Michelle Obama. And when this article calls them couple goals, I really do think that that is kind of what they are, right? Once upon a time, things like this not only mattered for just everyday people to look at these, you know, prominent figures and they're like still in love with each other and they're kind of committed to going the distance and they're very, both very celebrated. But once upon a time, that was the standard for the United States of America. Class and poise, and indeed a person that, you know, he had, like, how he looked, I think, was only part of his appeal, right? Because, I mean, there's some people might think Obama's a really attractive guy, and then some people, that might not be the flavor they savor. But everyone, even people that dislike him, admit that he is a charmer and a charismatic person and very witty, right? And funny, has great comedic sensibilities and comedic timing and whatnot. And all of those are attractive qualities, even if aesthetically he doesn't appeal to.
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Speaker 3: A certain person.
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Speaker 1: I would imagine that for many people, he does appeal to them. But this was what we could get. Like he represented America well, I think, on the world stage and at home. We had someone who felt competent, someone who felt like people around him were smiling, people were drawn to him. I guess that's what this article is suggesting. And then I think, I contrast that with Donald Trump. Because there was a facet of people that responded to Barack Obama winning twice with a vote for Donald Trump. I don't even want to say a facet. I would imagine that was a great majority of people that voted for him did so in response to Obama's presidency, right? Donald Trump, in the same situation, with women going after him. First off, I don't know that that's true. I just don't see him appealing aesthetically to many folks. But as I mentioned, people are complicated. It's more than just how they look that might draw a person in. But Donald Trump feels like, almost like a pig. And I don't mean that to sound funny, like I'm making fun of him, but like a literal pig, like how the animal behaves, right? If a woman were to touch him and he found that woman attractive enough, he might try to grope back, right? Or if a woman tried to slap his butt or something like that and he did not find them attractive, he probably would sick the Secret Service on them. That's just what Donald Trump feels like. And whenever I see stories about Barack Obama, certainly stories where he's celebrating his wife and his family like this, it reminds me of what we lost. And sometimes that's okay because Perhaps it means it's what we can have again. We once had it for eight years, solid. But we're right in the middle of a season right now where we have no respect on the global stage. We have no respect. There's really no respect for the man here at home. You know, the people that like him, like the racist part about him, but how his whole total presidency has manifest so much chaos that some people are willing to take those problems with the solution of, Hey, we need somebody that's getting our country back from the dispossession of, you know, white people. And this is just what comes with it. And then, you know, some people are like, Oh my God, we've created a monster. And, you know, those are the Tucker Carlson's and Marjorie Taylor greens. And the rest of us knew this was going to happen the whole time. But anyway, glad that Michelle is so celebrated by Barack Obama. That is just love to see it. Right. And it's crazy that people were making moves on him when he was the president, but. I guess that might be a thing for people like that. Anyway, my thoughts there. Q, yours.
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Speaker 3: We could have had it all.
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Speaker 1: Right.
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Speaker 2: I mean, the climate, the political, socioeconomic, humanity climate of the entire world would be different right now if our.
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Speaker 3: Former vice president was the president.
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Speaker 2: And I'd like to imagine that our former president and his wife would be far more involved in our daily inclinations as well i think they would have returned to the political space even if not in an official capacity i think they'd be more outside they'd be more present they'd be a part of initiatives like the beautiful center that they built in chicago would be receiving more national attention our kids wouldn't be terrified gas wouldn't be a hundred dollars a gallon You mentioned we might be able to get that back. You are a toxic optimist, Ramses Jha.
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Speaker 1: Hey.
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Speaker 2: Toxic optimism, man. I've never seen someone with more unfailing hope. What data makes you think? What information? What is there in front of you that gives you the idea it might even be a possibility? Again, I hate being positioned opposite you as like It's like negative Nancy on some of these things. Just listening to President Obama have a conversation is enough. It's such a stark, drastic contrast to the other guy. A trivial conversation about old ladies grabbing his butt, right? Like, Cause it's not just charm and it's not just class.
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Speaker 3: It's dignity. It's respect.
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Speaker 2: It's, I don't know the right word, but there was a, there was a certain floor for the person who you would allow to run the country. And the prior floor in our lifetimes would have been George HW.
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Speaker 3: I think Bush.
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Speaker 1: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: Um, or George W. Bush.
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Speaker 1: I'm sorry.
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Speaker 3: HW was his dad. George W. Bush was the floor.
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Speaker 2: We found him in some cases incompetent, but we've never found him evil. Yeah. Never found him classless and tacky. Just kind of not up for the job. Sometimes I imagine missing him.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
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Speaker 1: All right. You're just locking in with us. This is the QR code Ramses job. That is my name. Q ward. That is my brother. on the microphone over there and a turning point activists are using fake posts to claim Democrats are backing Republicans. All right, let's get to it. This is from kjzz.org conservative political activists working with turning point action posted fake images on social media, claiming a group of Democrats, including a progressive state lawmaker are supporting Republican Andy Biggs in the state's race for governor.
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Speaker 3: Uh, okay.
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Speaker 1: Over the weekend, Mary Ann Mendoza and Matt Whitmire made posts on the social media platform ex-thanking Representative Lorena Austin for supporting the Biggs campaign. Both posts include images of an individual who bears a resemblance to Austin posting with signs that say, Democratas por Biggs and Democrats for Biggs. I want to let everybody know that this takes place in Arizona. It didn't quite set that stage the way I wanted, but all right. But the individual photo, sorry, the individual in the photos does not look exactly like Austin and features several differing physical characteristics with the lawmaker, including different tattoos. Austin confirmed they never posed for the photos backing Biggs. Quote, I guess my first thought was a little shocked, but not surprised because being deceptive and deceitful is what this group kind of does, unquote, Austin said. For Austin, the deep fakes said a lot about Republican concerns about Biggs, who is trailing Democratic governor Katie Hobbs by wide margins in most recent polling. Quote, so when you don't have a winning message, you know, that reaches everyday Arizonans, I guess you reach for one of the most progressive legislators to help you with your message. Unquote, Austin said. Most of those polls show Hobbs performing better with independent voters and peeling off a small but not insignificant number of Republicans. Evidence suggests the photos are deep fakes or fabricated images generated by artificial intelligence. DeepFake Detector, an AI tool designed to identify AI-generated images, video, and speech, also gave the photo posted by Whitmire a 100% AI score, noting that, quote, visual analysis is highly consistent with AI-generated imagery. The content bears no hallmarks of natural photographic origin, unquote. AI detection tools are still relatively new and not foolproof, though a University of Florida study published earlier this year found out the tools were up to 97% accurate at detecting pictures with DeepFake faces. The photos were also posted the day before Mindy Little, a deputy director with Turning Point Action, posted a similar video. That post did not include the fake Austin, but did feature five other individuals who appeared in Whitmire's post speaking Spanish and backing Biggs. Okay, so again, this is Turning Point, right? Turning Point Action.
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Speaker 3: Okay.
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Speaker 1: And if this is the same turning point that Charlie Kirk is from, I would question whether or not this is the legacy of Charlie Kirk, you know, reaching, lying, manipulating people. Actually, now that I say that out loud, that really does kind of feel consistent with the legacy of Charlie Kirk. So I guess I probably can leave that one right there. But In terms of conservatives, you know, when we point out that there are these underhanded things that take place, Republicans are fighting a war against an enemy, a perceived enemy that's not fighting that war back. It'd be different if Republicans felt like they needed to fight fire with fire and Democrats were lying and, you know, changing maps and whatever, you know. stacking this, you know, whatever, whatever it is that, that they could come up with. But the only thing that has made sense to me is that conservatives, Republicans simply have been convinced that they are losing their country and not that they're losing their country to rich people, which they are not that they're losing their country to, um, uh, overpowered politicians, which they are. Not that they're losing their country to debt, which they are. But indeed, it's always race-based. They're losing their country to immigrants. They're losing their country to... I think that when it comes to Democrats, the big split in terms of conservative minds was indeed Barack Obama, the election of Barack Obama. Because them having to look at that man in that office, meant that they were losing their country to black people on some level. Now, if you can tell me that what I'm saying doesn't make any sense, I'll take it. But I think that everything that I've said has made sense because if indeed they were concerned about the people who are actually taking the country from them, that they were actually losing the country to, it's not the immigrants. They're not infiltrating the voting system. They're not making a huge dent in the economy except to prop the economy up. They do pay taxes, right? Certainly not black people, right? Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, those are outliers. Black people, by and large, are still struggling to make a way in this country, right? But, you know, racism is a comfortable fight for these folks. And they will cheat because they think that this is the way that they save their country. And so this strategy that I see of them using fake photos to win an election feels very consistent with the Republican Party that I've come to know in recent years. And as I say often, Republicans better do better. Stay tuned. We'll be back with more after this.
Speaker 1: Broadcasting from the Civic Cypher Studios, welcome to the QR code where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The man you are about to hear from is a man who used to date Miss America, and I know I said that before, but right now I'm looking at our feel-good feature, and I feel like it's relevant, so there you have it again. He is the Q in the QR code. He goes by the name of Q-War.
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Speaker 2: And the man that you just heard, he always be saying stuff to make me sound more raw.
00:00:29
Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying? Anyway, he is the R in the QR code. He goes by the name Ramses Jha.
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Speaker 1: That is my name. Stay tuned later on for entertainment. Miss Rachel continues to stand with Nolan Wells' family. I didn't know much about Miss Rachel until the past couple of years. I know she's a cultural phenomenon, but the more I learn about her, the more I am just in love with the person that she is. I hope that there's a heaven because people like Miss Rachel deserve to go there. Prior to that, we're going to have some dialogue. What did you feel was a mistake but turned out to be a blessing? I'm sure we got a few of those somewhere in our memory banks. So we'll get to that when we get to that part of the show. Q words clap back. The date was the tell. As you may or may not know, I don't know what Q words clap back is, but these titles are always so intriguing. Looking forward to that. Before we break, better do better. Turning point activists are using fake posts to claim Democrats are backing Republicans. Using AI for all that sort of stuff. So we're going to get into that and why they better do better. We're going to share our opinions. Barack Obama discusses dodging advances from women and some while he was president. I thought that was crazy because, of course, he is head over heels in love with his wife. And I think that's really special. We're going to start off by talking about what's going on in the culture. Ex-cop takes a plea deal after fatally shooting a black man in bed. We covered that story on Civic Cipher. We're going to talk about it more today. But right now, and as always... We like to start off with a feel-good feature, and today's feel-good feature comes from The Root. Reagan Hutzel has just made history after being crowned the 99th Miss America on Sunday, September 6th. Not only is the 25-year-old the only Miss America to win while wearing her natural hair, that's going to be a big one for them, but she is also the first Miss Texas to have snagged the crown in more than 50 years. Here's more about the pageant winners. Dance has been one of Hutzel's passions since she was a child, and her aspiration to become a professional was solidified at age seven, when she entered her first dance competition, according to people. It took her only 11 years to achieve her goal. She was hired as a Radio City Rockette at 18 in 2019. Hutzel might be a dancer and Miss America 2027, but she is also a college student studying to become a physical therapist. According to her interview with Texas Lifestyle Magazine, Hutzel plans to use the $ 33, 000 in scholarships awarded to her by the Miss America organization entirely toward her college degree. In 2025, Hutzel put herself in the running for Miss Houston 2026 and won the award in September of that year, which allowed her entry into the Miss Texas pageant. She won that title in June of this year, and three months later, she was crowned Miss America in September 2026. Um, You know, we talked about this before and we've talked about this going all the way back. Whenever there is a black women that wins a huge pageant like this, it's kind of a big deal because historically the European beauty standard has dominated pageants and commercials and billboards and, you know, shampoo ads and all that sort of stuff, right? And so representation matters, as you well know. This one is particularly special because she got to wear her natural hair and as someone who wears his natural hair, You know, as I mentioned, representation matters. Plus, all the little girls looking up to her have another hero in the books that they can refer to. And we love that around here. What's not to love about that? Alright, if you're just locking in with us here on the QR code, that was Q Ward. That beautiful voice you just heard. My name is Ramses Jha. Let's talk about... It's kind of a sad story. I'm going to read this first just to Paint the picture, and then I'll take you into the moment that Q and I had to cover this story. This is from the BIN, the author's name, Maya Bodie, again. Former Columbus, Ohio, police officer Ricky Anderson pleaded guilty Thursday, September 3rd, to reckless homicide in the 2022 shooting death of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis, a black man who was lying in bed when officers arrived at his apartment, according to the Associated Press. Anderson, who was a Columbus police canine officer at the time, had faced murder and reckless homicide charges in Lewis's death. He entered an Alford plea to the lesser reckless homicide charge, acknowledging prosecutors had enough evidence to support a conviction without admitting guilt. Prosecutors agreed to drop the murder charge as part of the plea deal, according to the AP. Police went to Lewis's apartment around 2 a.m. on August 30, 2022, to serve arrest warrants. Anderson opened the bedroom door and fired, striking Lewis. Body camera footage appears to show Anderson firing within one second of opening the door, an attorney for Lewis's family said. Anderson's attorneys have maintained that evidence would have shown the shooting was justified. Anderson will be sentenced at a later date and could receive probation or up to three years in prison, according to ABC6. For Lewis's family, the plea represents accountability, but not the justice they believe he deserved. I'm going to circle back to that. Quote, I know that we need to look at it as a win. He is guilty. He has pleaded guilty. But it is not a win.
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Speaker 3: Unquote.
00:05:41
Speaker 1: Lewis's mother, Rebecca Duran, told ABC6. She goes on to say, quote, It's not even near what I feel like should have happened or what Donovan deserved, unquote. The family's attorney, Rex Elliott, also questioned whether the plea amounted to justice, telling the AP, quote, nothing that happens to him will bring Donovan back, end quote. I want to circle back, as I mentioned, for Lewis's family, the plea represents accountability, but not the justice they believed he deserved, okay? So... I'll paint this picture, Q. I remember watching this video. I'm not sure if you watched it as well. We famously don't, we try not to watch the same videos of people dying or getting harmed by the police. Just kind of protects our mental health a bit so we don't have to watch everything, both of us. So we take turns. This was the video where the police were in an apartment They were looking for somebody else, somebody not related to the person that ended up dying. And as the story mentions, the officer opens the door and immediately just starts shooting into the room. I don't know if officers behave that way as frequently when they're not entering a residence looking for Someone black. Maybe they have a little bit more grace. They have a little bit more pause. Maybe they care a little bit more if the person is not black. But this was 2022 when this happened. This was after everybody said, oh, police training and blah, blah, blah. Defund the police sounds crazy and blah, blah, blah. People were saying all that sort of stuff. And we know that. Q and I know that because we started Civic Cipher in 2020 and we had to cover all of this stuff. And we had been covering it for at least two years by that point. So that was a sad story. Imagine being asleep and then all of a sudden someone kicks in the door and boom, you're dead. And it's the police and you didn't do anything wrong to them. And that story is a story we tell quite a bit on this show of people getting shot in the bed, not knowing what is going on, just dead, sleep and then dead. We've told that maybe five, six times, that specific story. The reason this stood out for today's show is because yesterday we talked about a black woman who won't face charges in the shooting death at a Walmart parking lot. And the reason that we spotlighted that story in particular is because stories like that are exceedingly rare. Generally speaking, when the victim or the person that lost their life is white and the shooter is black, then, you know, that black person will hang in some form. Modern form of hanging is imprisonment, you know, at minimum. And so when there's real accountability and there's really a reversal of the roles, it's something worth spotlighting. It's rare. It's very much the exception. And this story kind of reverts back to type. This man kicked in the door, killed this man who was asleep. And it said, worst case, he's going to get three years in prison. Now, imagine, pick any person that you love. Imagine the police kick in the door. It could be the wrong house. They're looking for a different, whatever. But the police kick in your door and shoot the person that you love. And then they die. And then you hear the officer might, get up to three years in prison? Does it not feel like your life matters to that criminal justice system, to that police department, to the world? Does it not feel like the life of your loved one that is now gone matters? Does it feel performative? Maybe three years, right? The truth is, this is quite normal that there's no real accountability. Quite, quite normal. This is very much the rule, not the exception that police do what they want. And if there is any form of accountability, it's the slap on the wrist or the performative stuff to keep people from like rioting or jumping off of buildings or whatever. And it's very disheartening that this is the norm. And the story we covered yesterday is the exception. when everything conceivably should be fair across the board and we deal in data on this show and the data just does not support that um i don't want to talk too much q uh you can take it from.
00:10:30
Speaker 2: Here if you want so a couple things before i respond to this story modern day hanging is hanging.
00:10:39
Speaker 1: Oh yeah that's a good point yeah.
00:10:42
Speaker 3: They're hanging us still yeah good point.
00:10:45
Speaker 2: So yeah, modern day hanging is hanging. They have not substituted that for anything. Secondly, you brought up the story from yesterday. I bet our collective salaries that they're going to start working on stand your ground legislation to change it. Now that a black person has gotten off for killing someone on stand your ground. They will immediately look to do something with that legislation to change it.
00:11:14
Speaker 3: I bet... Every money, every dollar I have on that. Wouldn't surprise me.
00:11:21
Speaker 2: The most interesting thing about this story. Probation or up to three years, that means maximum three years for someone who has already admitted guilt.
00:11:35
Speaker 3: That is.
00:11:36
Speaker 2: So this is not just a criminal justice system failing a black person. This is the attorney of that black person failing them as well. This attorney wants a guilty plea. They want to win a case, not find justice for a victim, not provide justice and closure for a family, but secure a guilty plea. Because who would agree to the plea that might get the admitted murderer up to three years? And up to three years for people unfamiliar, I've unfortunately had close family members in the criminal justice system and the carceral system and the for-profit prison system for all of my life. Up to three years sounds like, you know, something to three years that ends in probation earlier than that, right? So they get three years as a sentence. They end up on the street in 18 months. you know, time served, good behavior and their own probation out of jail inside of a year and a half. Imagine that. Yes, I did it. Yes, I killed that person. Yes, I'm guilty. I might go to jail. And if I do, nothing about my appearance will be different when I get out. If I have a child in elementary school, they'll still be in elementary school when I get out.
00:13:15
Speaker 3: Wow. Only in America, Don King used to say.
00:13:19
Speaker 2: And here we go again, Rams. Same song, different day, man.
00:13:35
Speaker 1: These stories are so prevalent. Yeah. And they've been part and parcel to our experience in this country long before there was social media. Social media just allows other people to see it. But this has been quite normal growing up. And again, the data suggests that this is far more common than people might expect. So now you know. You're just tuning in to the QR code. Q Ward is the man on the other mic across the room there. I am Ramses Jha. And we're going to talk about Barack Obama discussing Dodging advances from women.
00:14:12
Speaker 2: Hmm.
00:14:13
Speaker 1: Who'd have thunk? All right, I'm going to share from the Atlanta Black Star. For some people, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are the epitome of couple goals. The duo has been married for 34 years and share daughters Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25. But Michelle is hardly the only person who has found herself admiring America's charismatic 44th president. While Barack Obama was never officially named People Magazine's sexiest man alive, he has consistently topped pop culture rankings and style lists highlighting attractive public figures for nearly two decades. With that level of pop culture stature behind him, it comes as little surprise that many women have found themselves enamored with him. A clip from Obama's 2024 appearance on the Pivot podcast recently resurfaced, once again prompting fans to praise the former president for his unwavering commitment to his marriage. Co-host Channing Crowder asked, Do women be hollering at you and stuff? Like because of the fact that you're a good looking dude? but now you're president, good-looking dude. Obama smiled and began fiddling with the hem of his pant leg as he responded. So first of all, I don't know if Michelle's gonna be watching this, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm scared of Michelle, Crowder interrupted. Yeah, you should be, Obama chuckled. Obama noted that receiving such vocal admiration carries very different weight for a seasoned public figure who entered the global stage with an established family compared to a young athlete or entertainer suddenly thrust into early stardom, quote. By the time people really knew who I was, I was 43 years old. You know, I was married, had two kids. You know, I'd gone grocery shopping, washed my car, right? I was a regular guy in that sense. And so that kind of attention, by the time I got it, I wasn't tripping on them, unquote, he said. Nobel Peace Prize winner admitted that he's experienced advances. He recalled, quote, there are times when women have acted in somewhat inappropriate ways. There are pictures on the internet of women like grabbing my butt. And I was president at the time, unquote. When co-host Ryan Clark asked, where was the Secret Service? Obama explained, it's like old ladies and stuff. I mean, they're not going to wrestle them down to the ground, causing the men to laugh. However, the former commander-in-chief's steadfast reverence for Michelle and his family spoke volumes about his character, rooted in a marriage that predated his rise to global fame. That grounding served as a constant anchor throughout his presidency and beyond. Quote, my wife is such an extraordinary woman, such an amazing partner, that you just try to stay focused, stay on the straight and narrow, and also look Kids change your life. The idea of disappointing your kids is, you know, something that I ain't going there, he offered. That's about as far as I'm going with your question, Obama quipped, even joking. He's trying to stir something up. I caught that in reference to Crowder's question. I kind of love this. I know that there was some weird rumors going on for a long time, whatever, about Barack and Michelle Obama. And when this article calls them couple goals, I really do think that that is kind of what they are, right? Once upon a time, things like this not only mattered for just everyday people to look at these, you know, prominent figures and they're like still in love with each other and they're kind of committed to going the distance and they're very, both very celebrated. But once upon a time, that was the standard for the United States of America. Class and poise, and indeed a person that, you know, he had, like, how he looked, I think, was only part of his appeal, right? Because, I mean, there's some people might think Obama's a really attractive guy, and then some people, that might not be the flavor they savor. But everyone, even people that dislike him, admit that he is a charmer and a charismatic person and very witty, right? And funny, has great comedic sensibilities and comedic timing and whatnot. And all of those are attractive qualities, even if aesthetically he doesn't appeal to.
00:18:14
Speaker 3: A certain person.
00:18:15
Speaker 1: I would imagine that for many people, he does appeal to them. But this was what we could get. Like he represented America well, I think, on the world stage and at home. We had someone who felt competent, someone who felt like people around him were smiling, people were drawn to him. I guess that's what this article is suggesting. And then I think, I contrast that with Donald Trump. Because there was a facet of people that responded to Barack Obama winning twice with a vote for Donald Trump. I don't even want to say a facet. I would imagine that was a great majority of people that voted for him did so in response to Obama's presidency, right? Donald Trump, in the same situation, with women going after him. First off, I don't know that that's true. I just don't see him appealing aesthetically to many folks. But as I mentioned, people are complicated. It's more than just how they look that might draw a person in. But Donald Trump feels like, almost like a pig. And I don't mean that to sound funny, like I'm making fun of him, but like a literal pig, like how the animal behaves, right? If a woman were to touch him and he found that woman attractive enough, he might try to grope back, right? Or if a woman tried to slap his butt or something like that and he did not find them attractive, he probably would sick the Secret Service on them. That's just what Donald Trump feels like. And whenever I see stories about Barack Obama, certainly stories where he's celebrating his wife and his family like this, it reminds me of what we lost. And sometimes that's okay because Perhaps it means it's what we can have again. We once had it for eight years, solid. But we're right in the middle of a season right now where we have no respect on the global stage. We have no respect. There's really no respect for the man here at home. You know, the people that like him, like the racist part about him, but how his whole total presidency has manifest so much chaos that some people are willing to take those problems with the solution of, Hey, we need somebody that's getting our country back from the dispossession of, you know, white people. And this is just what comes with it. And then, you know, some people are like, Oh my God, we've created a monster. And, you know, those are the Tucker Carlson's and Marjorie Taylor greens. And the rest of us knew this was going to happen the whole time. But anyway, glad that Michelle is so celebrated by Barack Obama. That is just love to see it. Right. And it's crazy that people were making moves on him when he was the president, but. I guess that might be a thing for people like that. Anyway, my thoughts there. Q, yours.
00:21:12
Speaker 3: We could have had it all.
00:21:14
Speaker 1: Right.
00:21:14
Speaker 2: I mean, the climate, the political, socioeconomic, humanity climate of the entire world would be different right now if our.
00:21:27
Speaker 3: Former vice president was the president.
00:21:30
Speaker 2: And I'd like to imagine that our former president and his wife would be far more involved in our daily inclinations as well i think they would have returned to the political space even if not in an official capacity i think they'd be more outside they'd be more present they'd be a part of initiatives like the beautiful center that they built in chicago would be receiving more national attention our kids wouldn't be terrified gas wouldn't be a hundred dollars a gallon You mentioned we might be able to get that back. You are a toxic optimist, Ramses Jha.
00:22:11
Speaker 1: Hey.
00:22:13
Speaker 2: Toxic optimism, man. I've never seen someone with more unfailing hope. What data makes you think? What information? What is there in front of you that gives you the idea it might even be a possibility? Again, I hate being positioned opposite you as like It's like negative Nancy on some of these things. Just listening to President Obama have a conversation is enough. It's such a stark, drastic contrast to the other guy. A trivial conversation about old ladies grabbing his butt, right? Like, Cause it's not just charm and it's not just class.
00:23:04
Speaker 3: It's dignity. It's respect.
00:23:05
Speaker 2: It's, I don't know the right word, but there was a, there was a certain floor for the person who you would allow to run the country. And the prior floor in our lifetimes would have been George HW.
00:23:23
Speaker 3: I think Bush.
00:23:25
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:23:27
Speaker 3: Um, or George W. Bush.
00:23:30
Speaker 1: I'm sorry.
00:23:31
Speaker 3: HW was his dad. George W. Bush was the floor.
00:23:36
Speaker 2: We found him in some cases incompetent, but we've never found him evil. Yeah. Never found him classless and tacky. Just kind of not up for the job. Sometimes I imagine missing him.
00:23:50
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:23:52
Speaker 1: All right. You're just locking in with us. This is the QR code Ramses job. That is my name. Q ward. That is my brother. on the microphone over there and a turning point activists are using fake posts to claim Democrats are backing Republicans. All right, let's get to it. This is from kjzz.org conservative political activists working with turning point action posted fake images on social media, claiming a group of Democrats, including a progressive state lawmaker are supporting Republican Andy Biggs in the state's race for governor.
00:24:26
Speaker 3: Uh, okay.
00:24:27
Speaker 1: Over the weekend, Mary Ann Mendoza and Matt Whitmire made posts on the social media platform ex-thanking Representative Lorena Austin for supporting the Biggs campaign. Both posts include images of an individual who bears a resemblance to Austin posting with signs that say, Democratas por Biggs and Democrats for Biggs. I want to let everybody know that this takes place in Arizona. It didn't quite set that stage the way I wanted, but all right. But the individual photo, sorry, the individual in the photos does not look exactly like Austin and features several differing physical characteristics with the lawmaker, including different tattoos. Austin confirmed they never posed for the photos backing Biggs. Quote, I guess my first thought was a little shocked, but not surprised because being deceptive and deceitful is what this group kind of does, unquote, Austin said. For Austin, the deep fakes said a lot about Republican concerns about Biggs, who is trailing Democratic governor Katie Hobbs by wide margins in most recent polling. Quote, so when you don't have a winning message, you know, that reaches everyday Arizonans, I guess you reach for one of the most progressive legislators to help you with your message. Unquote, Austin said. Most of those polls show Hobbs performing better with independent voters and peeling off a small but not insignificant number of Republicans. Evidence suggests the photos are deep fakes or fabricated images generated by artificial intelligence. DeepFake Detector, an AI tool designed to identify AI-generated images, video, and speech, also gave the photo posted by Whitmire a 100% AI score, noting that, quote, visual analysis is highly consistent with AI-generated imagery. The content bears no hallmarks of natural photographic origin, unquote. AI detection tools are still relatively new and not foolproof, though a University of Florida study published earlier this year found out the tools were up to 97% accurate at detecting pictures with DeepFake faces. The photos were also posted the day before Mindy Little, a deputy director with Turning Point Action, posted a similar video. That post did not include the fake Austin, but did feature five other individuals who appeared in Whitmire's post speaking Spanish and backing Biggs. Okay, so again, this is Turning Point, right? Turning Point Action.
00:26:43
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:26:46
Speaker 1: And if this is the same turning point that Charlie Kirk is from, I would question whether or not this is the legacy of Charlie Kirk, you know, reaching, lying, manipulating people. Actually, now that I say that out loud, that really does kind of feel consistent with the legacy of Charlie Kirk. So I guess I probably can leave that one right there. But In terms of conservatives, you know, when we point out that there are these underhanded things that take place, Republicans are fighting a war against an enemy, a perceived enemy that's not fighting that war back. It'd be different if Republicans felt like they needed to fight fire with fire and Democrats were lying and, you know, changing maps and whatever, you know. stacking this, you know, whatever, whatever it is that, that they could come up with. But the only thing that has made sense to me is that conservatives, Republicans simply have been convinced that they are losing their country and not that they're losing their country to rich people, which they are not that they're losing their country to, um, uh, overpowered politicians, which they are. Not that they're losing their country to debt, which they are. But indeed, it's always race-based. They're losing their country to immigrants. They're losing their country to... I think that when it comes to Democrats, the big split in terms of conservative minds was indeed Barack Obama, the election of Barack Obama. Because them having to look at that man in that office, meant that they were losing their country to black people on some level. Now, if you can tell me that what I'm saying doesn't make any sense, I'll take it. But I think that everything that I've said has made sense because if indeed they were concerned about the people who are actually taking the country from them, that they were actually losing the country to, it's not the immigrants. They're not infiltrating the voting system. They're not making a huge dent in the economy except to prop the economy up. They do pay taxes, right? Certainly not black people, right? Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, those are outliers. Black people, by and large, are still struggling to make a way in this country, right? But, you know, racism is a comfortable fight for these folks. And they will cheat because they think that this is the way that they save their country. And so this strategy that I see of them using fake photos to win an election feels very consistent with the Republican Party that I've come to know in recent years. And as I say often, Republicans better do better. Stay tuned. We'll be back with more after this.
