Second Helping - Kamala Harris, the French Pole Vaulter & the Coburg Cow

Grace: 00:00:00

Hey, Frogmore Stew listeners.

Grace: 00:00:01

While Katelyn and I were recording Second Helping this week, Kamala Harris announced Tim Waltz as her VP pick.

Grace: 00:00:08

We didn't want to dive too much into it as we haven't done our research on him yet, but rest assured next week, Second Helping, we'll talk all about his candidacy.

Tim Waltz: 00:00:18

In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make.

Tim Waltz: 00:00:26

Even if we wouldn't make the same choice for ourselves, there's a golden rule.

Tim Waltz: 00:00:30

Mind your own damn business.

Grace: 00:00:34

Hi, it's Grace Cowan and this is Katelyn Brewer.

Grace: 00:00:37

And this is a second helping of frog more stew.

Grace: 00:00:39

Hey Katelyn, what's hey, Grace.

Grace: 00:00:41

I've missed you.

Grace: 00:00:42

I same.

Grace: 00:00:43

It's been both a summer that's gone by super fast, but also it feels like we've lived through 57 years.

Grace: 00:00:54

Political turmoil in the last couple of months, every day feels like a week.

Grace: 00:00:59

Seriously, from the shooting and the just thing after thing, Biden's stepping down.

Grace: 00:01:06

Like there was a great meme that I saw that said, we're currently living through someone's AP history exam in the year 2053.

Katelyn: 00:01:16

I can't agree more.

Katelyn: 00:01:17

I can't keep up, truly, and I don't know how they're even going to be able to write the AP history book, because there's so much nuance to what's happening right now, and I suppose this is how history, how history manifests, but honestly, as somebody who loves to keep up with politics, I haven't been able to.

Grace: 00:01:34

I also think as the story gets retold and as people.

Grace: 00:01:38

live through it and then the next generation reads about it.

Grace: 00:01:41

I went back and listened to like an eight part series about Watergate.

Grace: 00:01:46

And I thought I knew a decent amount about Watergate, but there are like all of these really crazy things that actually happened during Watergate that no one ever tells there's this one story.

Grace: 00:01:59

That Nixon wouldn't turn over the tapes.

Grace: 00:02:03

He, there were all these tapes of him recorded in the office.

Grace: 00:02:06

And so at one point he went to, I guess he was negotiating with the Democrats and he went to them and said, okay, listen, if you send the tapes to this Democrat Senator, In, it was Mississippi or Alabama.

Grace: 00:02:23

He can listen by himself to the tapes and then report back on what's on them.

Grace: 00:02:27

And it turns out that this guy was notoriously deaf and can barely hear anything.

Grace: 00:02:34

And the tapes were like from the sixties, so they were all muffled anyway, so you couldn't hear.

Grace: 00:02:40

And the, the opposition party was like, are you kidding me?

Grace: 00:02:44

And so it finally took the Supreme Court saying you have to turn over the tapes so that people that can hear can actually listen to them.

Grace: 00:02:52

But there are so many hilarious things that like, if you read that in the newspaper one day, you'd be like, what is happening?

Grace: 00:02:59

So anyway, there will be things.

Grace: 00:03:02

That get missed for the AP US history exam in 2053,

Katelyn: 00:03:12

hopefully what won't get missed this Olympics.

Katelyn: 00:03:15

I don't know about you, but I'm so obsessed.

Katelyn: 00:03:17

I cannot believe how unifying it has felt.

Katelyn: 00:03:21

And maybe there's something to the effect of Biden stepping down, Kamala stepping in the Olympics happening.

Katelyn: 00:03:26

But I went from despondent a month ago to elated.

Katelyn: 00:03:32

USA.

Katelyn: 00:03:33

And I just find myself.

Katelyn: 00:03:35

It's on in my house nearly 24 hours a day at this point, everything.

Katelyn: 00:03:40

I watched pole vaulting yesterday.

Katelyn: 00:03:41

Poor French guy.

Grace: 00:03:43

I know.

Grace: 00:03:45

To our listeners, if you have not seen what happened to the French pole vaulter.

Grace: 00:03:49

You will want to.

Grace: 00:03:52

It was sad for him at the Olympics, but life will not be sad for that guy.

Grace: 00:03:57

No, it will not.

Grace: 00:03:58

It will not at all.

Grace: 00:03:59

My goodness.

Grace: 00:04:00

He might have a career in a bound chicka, bam, bam.

Grace: 00:04:05

I do feel like though, to your point, it's this like spirit of America, and that even though there's all of this turmoil happening in the U.

Grace: 00:04:14

S.

Grace: 00:04:15

That even on TikTok, there are great videos of people being like, I'm so frustrated with life in the us and then it cuts to them and like full red, white and blue pom homs.

Grace: 00:04:28

It really is something that is bringing the country together.

Grace: 00:04:33

My soul

Katelyn: 00:04:34

needed this.

Katelyn: 00:04:34

It really needed this reminder that we are in this together and we can unify.

Katelyn: 00:04:40

I know it's around sports, which sometimes is easier to unify around, but.

Katelyn: 00:04:44

It is possible for us all to agree on the same thing.

Grace: 00:04:48

Yeah, I agree.

Grace: 00:04:55

There are certain things throughout history that have unified us, and typically it's, it's war, right?

Grace: 00:05:02

After the revolution, after World War II, even after we were attacked on 9 11, there was this sense that we are a unified country and no obstacle is too great.

Grace: 00:05:14

And there, of course, are things that divided us, the Civil War, Vietnam, and right now I think it's Trump, but I do feel like once Kamala Harris came in, I cannot believe what happened.

Grace: 00:05:28

I don't think anyone in the political world could have predicted.

Grace: 00:05:33

What is happening right now.

Grace: 00:05:35

And that is such a testament to just give us anybody else, anybody.

Grace: 00:05:41

And I almost feel like if the Republicans had done that with Nikki Haley, maybe that would have happened in a bigger way for not just even the Republicans, but even for moderates, just the sense of give us someone that isn't full of grievance, that isn't this.

Grace: 00:05:58

repeat this over and over sense of everybody's against me.

Grace: 00:06:03

Just tell us what can be.

Grace: 00:06:05

Give us a new path.

Grace: 00:06:06

And that's what Kamala has done.

Katelyn: 00:06:09

It's remarkable what has happened.

Katelyn: 00:06:12

Talk about unprecedented AP history stuff.

Katelyn: 00:06:15

The fact that she has raised as much money as she has in the first month, we're almost a month into this, 310 million.

Katelyn: 00:06:25

And I know for instance, in the first 24 hours.

Katelyn: 00:06:29

62 percent of those donors were actually new donors to the campaign during this duration.

Katelyn: 00:06:34

Yeah.

Katelyn: 00:06:35

Myself included.

Katelyn: 00:06:35

I had not donated to Biden's campaign.

Katelyn: 00:06:37

I was angry.

Katelyn: 00:06:39

I thought the Democrats were, were blind and I was really frustrated with my party.

Katelyn: 00:06:45

And so hadn't donated.

Katelyn: 00:06:47

I donated instantaneously.

Katelyn: 00:06:49

As soon as he stepped down, I was like, great, wonderful.

Katelyn: 00:06:53

You listen to what we have been telling you since the moment he announced his candidacy.

Katelyn: 00:06:57

And this isn't to say that I don't like Biden as president.

Katelyn: 00:07:01

I do.

Katelyn: 00:07:02

He's gotten incredible legislation done.

Katelyn: 00:07:04

But there is a time to step down.

Katelyn: 00:07:07

As a former CEO, I always said, you have to know when it's your time to go.

Katelyn: 00:07:11

Yeah.

Katelyn: 00:07:12

And it is his time to go.

Katelyn: 00:07:14

And so I was overwhelmed by the excitement and you said you don't know what the feeling was.

Katelyn: 00:07:21

Yeah.

Katelyn: 00:07:22

In most of my group chats, it was relief because for many people in the US at this point, Trump is seen as the end of democracy with the coupling of Project 2025, whether that is reality or what other people believe, there's a large portion of people in the United States who do believe that and with Biden stepping down, it gave people hope that there was an opportunity to not see the end of democracy.

Grace: 00:07:46

I'm probably a little bit more moderate than you are on some issues and maybe some others that I'm not.

Grace: 00:07:52

But for me, what I did not want to happen is even if he had won.

Grace: 00:07:58

And let's say he had died in office and then Kamala took over, that wouldn't have been the legitimacy that she's having right now, because people would have said, look at what her candidacy for president was like in 2020, and she didn't even really get that far.

Grace: 00:08:17

And so now the opposition is saying her legitimacy isn't real because she didn't go through a primary.

Grace: 00:08:25

And if you listen to last week's episode, we really didn't even have primaries and most other democratic countries don't even have primaries.

Grace: 00:08:32

So who cares how she got the nomination?

Grace: 00:08:35

Like we don't have time for that.

Grace: 00:08:36

And I know.

Grace: 00:08:37

There were a lot of Dems that were upset about that too, but like, the reality is, he waited for too long.

Grace: 00:08:42

He should not have announced a second run, but now since we're where we are, it is what it is.

Grace: 00:08:47

And I don't think that anyone can say that this wasn't a good idea.

Grace: 00:08:53

This was the best idea.

Katelyn: 00:08:56

I have been saying that Biden should have never run and yet watching this all unfold, I was like, actually, maybe this is brilliant.

Katelyn: 00:09:06

I mean, it's like maybe, I don't know, maybe this was the concocted plan all along.

Katelyn: 00:09:10

Okay.

Katelyn: 00:09:11

That's probably not true.

Katelyn: 00:09:12

But I, I do think that there is something to be said about the moment we're in.

Katelyn: 00:09:18

If Kamala had been the nominee or the presumptive nominee, I don't think that she would be faring as well.

Katelyn: 00:09:25

Not because she's not using her communication and campaigning tactics, because she is, she's really leaning into a bit more of a combative stance with Trump than Biden does, but two years of that probably would have worn the American people down and we may have been in a very similar place that we were a month ago if we had watched two years of Kamala and Trump fighting each other.

Grace: 00:09:55

So the thing that I have been focused on is, What's the takeaway here?

Grace: 00:10:01

And one of the things that is so frustrating to watch is that the money that she's raised in the hundreds of millions of dollars, plus the money that will be spent in the hundreds of millions of dollars in PACs and support for her, as well as for Trump, is literally just to persuade a small number of people in swing states.

Grace: 00:10:25

I've read a lot about people in Atlanta that weren't going to vote before, and now that she's on the ticket, they're going to vote.

Grace: 00:10:32

So yes, that's great, but they've already made their decision.

Grace: 00:10:35

They are going to vote.

Grace: 00:10:36

It's something like 600, 000 people was the number that I read between the swing states.

Grace: 00:10:41

So I wonder what the cost per person is on 000 people or so, how much are you spending individually?

Grace: 00:10:52

They're all identified.

Grace: 00:10:53

Both campaigns know exactly who they are.

Grace: 00:10:55

They know exactly how to reach them.

Grace: 00:10:58

And so now it's just a matter of what the message is that gets to them.

Grace: 00:11:02

It's probably more than they make in a year.

Grace: 00:11:05

Oh, by, by gobloads.

Grace: 00:11:08

It's way more than they make in a year is my guess.

Grace: 00:11:12

I need to do that math.

Grace: 00:11:13

I need to figure that out because that is, it just, it's so ridiculous.

Grace: 00:11:17

Anyway, that's my frustration with politics right now is that we have absurd amounts of money because frankly, they're not spending any money really in South Carolina.

Grace: 00:11:26

Why would they?

Grace: 00:11:27

We have more Republicans that vote here than Democrats.

Grace: 00:11:30

And so it's a pretty firm Republican state.

Katelyn: 00:11:35

And I still think that there are things that we should be doing in South Carolina because Kamala is now the head of the ticket.

Katelyn: 00:11:42

If you look at the fact that we lost three of our female senators, for instance, in the primaries, there is an opportunity potentially to hold the vote.

Katelyn: 00:11:53

So we don't have a total abortion ban and it stays a six week abortion ban.

Katelyn: 00:11:57

If people go out and vote for the more moderate candidates because they are now voting.

Katelyn: 00:12:03

For Kamala.

Katelyn: 00:12:04

So in South Carolina, even if Kamala doesn't win the state, it could potentially have a nice downstream effect for those on the ballot across the state.

Grace: 00:12:15

I certainly think she will bring out more voters and in South Carolina, typically when more people vote, it's more Republican voters, but.

Grace: 00:12:23

Uh, my point in saying that like we are a red state is that we should all be hyper focused on our state races.

Grace: 00:12:32

We know what's gonna happen, what will likely happen as a state for the presidential race.

Grace: 00:12:38

But all of those things that people are saying, Project 2025, those things are happening in our state already.

Grace: 00:12:45

We have a whole bunch of the things that are on that list that have already passed here in our state.

Grace: 00:12:51

And our law.

Grace: 00:12:52

So what we as a community of moderates and Dems need to be hyper focused on are these individual state races.

Grace: 00:13:03

And even though there aren't a lot, there are some that are winnable.

Grace: 00:13:07

Right now, I know I say this all the time, but 88 to 36 in our state house and 30 to 16 in our state Senate.

Grace: 00:13:15

And that is not democracy.

Grace: 00:13:17

We don't have the ability to get things on the ballot as citizens.

Grace: 00:13:22

We are not living in what I would consider a truly democratic society.

Grace: 00:13:27

Democratic way.

Grace: 00:13:28

So we have a lot of work to do.

Katelyn: 00:13:31

How do you think Republicans are feeling right now?

Grace: 00:13:34

So this is funny, but I was on my family vacation last week with, we call it the BBV, the Big Bolden Vacation.

Grace: 00:13:42

And it is made up of all of my cousins of all ages, of my aunts, my uncles, like everyone.

Grace: 00:13:50

And there are 26 of us that all stay in like a five bedroom house.

Grace: 00:13:56

And everyone knows not to bring up specific politics.

Grace: 00:14:00

But what does come up, and I thought this was super interesting, my cousin Lori and I go to the grocery on the first day that we're there.

Grace: 00:14:08

And we buy food for the entire week for all three meals plus snacks for the entire family because we cannot go out to dinner.

Grace: 00:14:16

And when we came back.

Grace: 00:14:19

Some of the older, very conservative members of our family said, Hoof, how much was the grocery bill this year inflation?

Grace: 00:14:27

And it was actually less this year than it's been the last two years.

Grace: 00:14:33

And that was reality to everyone, like here it is, here's something that you use as a talking point, but here is reality in that our grocery bill was 200 less than it was last year and the year before.

Grace: 00:14:48

And so do that's going to change anyone's mind about how they're voting.

Grace: 00:14:52

It won't, but it's like what you hear on the news isn't always reality.

Katelyn: 00:14:58

Don't spend that 200 all in one place, Grace.

Grace: 00:15:01

Listen, the type of food we make may not be up to everyone's standards, but it's delicious and we all come back with a few extra pounds on from the BBV.

Grace: 00:15:12

Now you're talking like it's a vacation.

Grace: 00:15:15

It's a vacation.

Grace: 00:15:16

It is.

Grace: 00:15:16

It's awesome.

Grace: 00:15:17

It's really fun.

Grace: 00:15:18

And it's like Christmas, but you actually get six days with family.

Grace: 00:15:24

Which means you don't just see them for three hours at Christmas when they're at their best.

Grace: 00:15:28

You see their habits, what they watch on TV, who is sharing four bathrooms with 26 people.

Grace: 00:15:34

That's, it's a challenge and everybody's new, um, girlfriends or boyfriends.

Grace: 00:15:43

They bring them as well.

Grace: 00:15:45

Can you imagine?

Grace: 00:15:46

I always feel bad for them.

Katelyn: 00:15:48

You must really feel some kind of feeling about your partner.

Katelyn: 00:15:50

If you're going to go on vacation with 26 of their family members for a week.

Katelyn: 00:15:55

It is a lot.

Katelyn: 00:15:57

Yeah.

Grace: 00:16:02

And this sort of extends to what we're doing today, which is we're recording during a hurricane, which are sometimes my favorite, as long as it's a mild hurricane.

Grace: 00:16:13

This is some of my most favorite times in Charleston.

Grace: 00:16:17

Because it really truly brings out our sense of community and what your purpose is.

Grace: 00:16:24

In society, in your community, what will happen when this is over is that if there are trees down or someone's yard is more messed up than others, everybody in the neighborhood will come by and say, what can I do?

Grace: 00:16:37

How can I help you?

Grace: 00:16:38

And my husband has a chainsaw and he will get in our golf cart and drive around our neighborhood with his chainsaw.

Grace: 00:16:46

And I'll be like, do you need help?

Grace: 00:16:48

Do you need, I can help.

Grace: 00:16:48

I've got this chainsaw and my machete.

Grace: 00:16:51

I'm happy to jump it.

Grace: 00:16:53

And I can't tell you how many people check in on us.

Grace: 00:16:55

Like it is, it truly is a feeling of we all have a purpose and that is to make sure that each other is okay.

Katelyn: 00:17:04

It's so wonderful that you said that because I feel like that is the vibe that is happening in Kamala's campaign.

Katelyn: 00:17:10

And all of these crazy, well attended Zoom calls that are happening, white dudes for Harris, like, win with black women, white women for Harris, Latinas, doctors.

Katelyn: 00:17:22

People who have birthdays on the July 30th, whatever, Mercury's in retrograde.

Katelyn: 00:17:28

Like everybody feels like they have a part and a say in it.

Katelyn: 00:17:33

And I, yeah, I think that whether it's true or not, it is creating a momentum where everybody feels like they are on the same and they're moving in the same direction.

Katelyn: 00:17:46

And that is ultimately what you need to build a movement to elect a candidate.

Katelyn: 00:17:51

And it's what.

Katelyn: 00:17:53

Trump has been doing on his side for years.

Katelyn: 00:17:57

He has that movement behind him.

Katelyn: 00:17:59

Everyone knows what they are pulling for, and the left has not had that.

Katelyn: 00:18:04

It's been very splintered.

Katelyn: 00:18:06

We were seeing that shift and it's palpable.

Grace: 00:18:11

He's created a team.

Grace: 00:18:12

Oh, you have a Trump hat?

Grace: 00:18:14

I have a Trump hat too.

Grace: 00:18:16

And that gives people a sense of community.

Grace: 00:18:19

I read something last week that was about.

Grace: 00:18:22

Like civic purpose and civic ethos, and what does that mean in times of uncertainty?

Grace: 00:18:27

And the point that they were making is that it feels like we've been in a flailing social order for the last decade or so.

Grace: 00:18:38

And right now feels like an inflection point where there's a demand for some type of new vision of that order.

Grace: 00:18:47

And so now it's what does this new thing look like?

Grace: 00:18:52

That used to be white men ran the country and women had their role, white women had their role, black men had their role, black women.

Grace: 00:19:01

And now we've got a new society.

Grace: 00:19:05

We look very different than we did as a country even 20 years ago.

Grace: 00:19:10

And the other thing that's happening in addition to this sort of new social order is technology advances.

Grace: 00:19:18

There is an example of how the role of women changed because of technology.

Grace: 00:19:24

And it's not the technology you think.

Grace: 00:19:26

The first instance was the washing machine.

Grace: 00:19:30

As opposed to going out to a rock and pounding your laundry and it taking all day to be able to just throw clothes in the washing machine and then dry them.

Grace: 00:19:39

That was a massive change in women's lives.

Grace: 00:19:41

And then the dishwasher, the microwave, so all of those things allowed for women to not be bogged down for hours on end every day doing housework.

Grace: 00:19:53

And what you're seeing right now is with all of the new technology coming out and people can work from home and work from anywhere, there is this sense of almost like individualism.

Grace: 00:20:04

And you can now have time to reflect on who you are as a person and what you want your life to look like.

Grace: 00:20:10

And that is a massive social change for us.

Grace: 00:20:15

There's this grumbling of people that want to hold on to it.

Grace: 00:20:18

That's why you're seeing the rise of the trad wife.

Grace: 00:20:21

And you're hearing people talk about J.

Grace: 00:20:24

D.

Grace: 00:20:24

Vance, for example, the single cat ladies with no kids.

Katelyn: 00:20:29

And I will say this, as a person who doesn't have kids and doesn't live what most people would consider a traditional life, I grew up in that world and I completely respect it and love it.

Katelyn: 00:20:39

I don't think it has to go away.

Katelyn: 00:20:41

And that's the problem with individualism, in my opinion, is We assume that because people don't live the way we do as individuals means that our way of life is gone.

Katelyn: 00:20:53

No, if you live that way, then you live that way.

Katelyn: 00:20:55

That's great.

Katelyn: 00:20:56

Just don't impose your way of life on me and I won't impose my way of life on you.

Grace: 00:21:02

Yeah.

Grace: 00:21:03

And two, this goes with what you grow up with, it's what you're comfortable with.

Grace: 00:21:08

That's why there's this huge attention on schools and you can't talk about all these other things because that normalizes things a small percentage of people don't want normalized.

Grace: 00:21:20

That's why there is this hyper focus on.

Grace: 00:21:23

Kids who are transitioning or on gay marriage or even having babies.

Grace: 00:21:29

Women don't have to have babies, but then that goes into immigration.

Grace: 00:21:33

Like we're not going to have enough people paying taxes to support our generation when we get old.

Grace: 00:21:38

They're all tied in together and focusing on.

Grace: 00:21:43

This old way of doing things that there's only one way to live your life is just a fruitless proposition.

Katelyn: 00:21:51

But America deserves more.

Katelyn: 00:21:53

America deserves the ability to live the life that you want to live.

Katelyn: 00:21:57

Again, that's the American dream, isn't it?

Grace: 00:22:05

I also think a lot of the problems that are being talked about right now are exaggerated.

Grace: 00:22:10

And rather than exaggerating the problem, we should be exaggerating how to fix them or how to make them better or how to look at them differently as opposed to just being hyper focused on what the issues are.

Grace: 00:22:25

Yeah.

Grace: 00:22:26

As we go through the next 89 days into the presidential election, how are you going to keep your head from exploding?

Katelyn: 00:22:36

Ooh, good question.

Katelyn: 00:22:39

Think I'm going to be more active than I thought I was going to be.

Katelyn: 00:22:42

For instance, a, a group of friends and I are talking about going to a swing state to potentially knock doors.

Katelyn: 00:22:49

I know people who are writing postcards and things like that.

Katelyn: 00:22:52

The Democratic Party, regardless of whether they wanted to listen to us, listened.

Grace: 00:22:57

Yeah.

Katelyn: 00:22:57

And so it's my job now to be active.

Katelyn: 00:23:00

That is the responsibility of being a citizen of our country, right?

Katelyn: 00:23:04

Right.

Katelyn: 00:23:04

Thank you.

Katelyn: 00:23:05

You advocate for the things you believe in and then you follow through on them.

Katelyn: 00:23:09

And so for me, keeping my head on straight, no matter what happens in November, I will be able to look at myself and say, I did everything that I could do to support the candidate that I believe in.

Katelyn: 00:23:21

And I hope everyone does that.

Katelyn: 00:23:23

I will say.

Katelyn: 00:23:24

I never watched 24 hour news.

Katelyn: 00:23:25

I haven't in 20 plus years.

Katelyn: 00:23:27

But yeah, I'll keep reading my articles and watching my TikToks and Instagram reels and that's it.

Katelyn: 00:23:34

What about you?

Grace: 00:23:35

I love TikTok for news.

Grace: 00:23:37

It's one of my favorite places.

Grace: 00:23:38

Uh, TikTok.

Grace: 00:23:40

Yes, it is.

Grace: 00:23:42

They're very smart people.

Grace: 00:23:43

There TikTok.

Grace: 00:23:45

Um, I feel like we need to get our own house in order.

Grace: 00:23:50

I am going to be hyper focused on the state.

Grace: 00:23:53

There are some things that have happened in our state that we just aren't paying attention to.

Grace: 00:23:59

There are some really fascinating candidates as we found by doing all of our primary interviews.

Grace: 00:24:06

And so my focus is going to be on constituents.

Grace: 00:24:10

We're going to start talking to people in the districts of the people.

Grace: 00:24:16

That we interviewed during the primary to see if it matches up of what the candidates were saying and what people on the ground are actually feeling.

Grace: 00:24:24

Because I do think a lot of the candidates on both parties.

Grace: 00:24:27

only hear what their bubble says.

Grace: 00:24:29

They don't hear what everybody says.

Grace: 00:24:31

And so we have a really wide variety of views to compare and contrast.

Grace: 00:24:37

And I love just talking to people anyways.

Grace: 00:24:39

I'm excited to do that.

Grace: 00:24:41

We need to get our own house in order.

Grace: 00:24:43

And I also want to be hyper focused on this term that I heard, which is ideology cannot trump facts.

Grace: 00:24:52

I want to start making sure that as we I hear people talking that we can identify when it's ideology over what facts are.

Grace: 00:25:04

And so that to me is a very important thing.

Grace: 00:25:08

I like it.

Katelyn: 00:25:08

When I'm not in the swing state, I'll be here helping you do that.

Grace: 00:25:12

Okay.

Grace: 00:25:12

I am glad that people aren't stuck in this thing of like, let's write postcards.

Grace: 00:25:16

I don't think a postcard from someone in California does anything to a person in Michigan.

Grace: 00:25:23

And frankly, most people don't even pay attention to politics.

Grace: 00:25:26

It's like the last thing on their mind.

Grace: 00:25:30

They're watching the Olympics.

Grace: 00:25:31

They're more interested in their baseball team or their college football coming up.

Grace: 00:25:39

All right.

Grace: 00:25:40

It's time for a whole nother thing.

Grace: 00:25:43

I have one that I'm excited about.

Grace: 00:25:45

What do you got?

Katelyn: 00:25:46

Okay, I'll go first.

Katelyn: 00:25:47

Mine is sportsmanship.

Katelyn: 00:25:49

In watching the Olympics and being absolutely positively obsessed, I have been reminded of the pure beauty in sportsmanship.

Katelyn: 00:25:58

Watching these athletes work for four years to lose to someone else, to congratulate them and not just congratulate them like, yeah, congratulations, like truly.

Katelyn: 00:26:09

Admire and congratulate.

Katelyn: 00:26:11

And to me that culminated with Simone Biles and Jordan Childs bowing and giving props to the Brazilian gymnast.

Katelyn: 00:26:21

And I just thought to myself, look at Simone Biles in particular, the fact that she has done nothing but support fellow gymnasts through this whole week that they've been there so far.

Katelyn: 00:26:34

It's beautiful.

Katelyn: 00:26:35

If I translate that to the conversation we're having today, what does it mean to apply sportsmanship and grace and kudos to people who are fighting for the America that they believe in, you know?

Katelyn: 00:26:47

And so how, speaking of the next 90 days, how do I apply that mentality?

Katelyn: 00:26:52

I'm going to work hard and I'm going to fight for what I believe in, but I'm also going to have grace.

Katelyn: 00:26:56

And love and respect for people who are doing the exact same thing in their hearts.

Katelyn: 00:27:02

So that's my whole nother thing.

Katelyn: 00:27:04

That's awesome.

Grace: 00:27:06

I, I have one whole nother thing, but I also want to give a shout out, like.

Grace: 00:27:11

For so long, for so many years in the state of South Carolina, the messaging and the news, it has all come from pretty far right places.

Grace: 00:27:22

I mean, the Post and Courier is, is what it is.

Grace: 00:27:25

But Um, there haven't been other channels of moderate to left leaning news outlets.

Grace: 00:27:32

And the Bourbon in the Backroom is another podcast that I love.

Grace: 00:27:36

I love those guys.

Grace: 00:27:37

And that's a little bit more on the political side.

Grace: 00:27:40

You have to understand what's going on and who the players are when you're listening to them and they're good about describing it.

Grace: 00:27:46

And then there's this great group that I love.

Grace: 00:27:48

It's called Black, White, and Blue, and they're awesome.

Grace: 00:27:51

I love listening to them.

Grace: 00:27:52

They're awesome.

Grace: 00:27:53

And the newest thing is The Arena.

Grace: 00:27:56

It's both a podcast and I get emails from them almost every day.

Grace: 00:28:00

It's great writing.

Grace: 00:28:02

I just am so happy that there are more alternatives for moderate to left leaning voices.

Grace: 00:28:09

This is the foundation.

Grace: 00:28:11

of how you get the word out.

Grace: 00:28:14

That's not my whole other thing, but I'm proud of our state and I'm proud of the people who are stepping up and doing things, putting out another perspective.

Grace: 00:28:24

So kudos to everyone doing that.

Katelyn: 00:28:25

I just want to jump in and say double kudos.

Katelyn: 00:28:28

I, I couldn't agree more and I'm so grateful and I read the arena all the time and I listened to those podcasts and I just love being, quote unquote, in community with them, talking about moderate to

Grace: 00:28:39

Oh, the other one is called the State House Report.

Grace: 00:28:42

And it's a bunch of writers, I get the email, it comes out like once a week, and it always has really good content as well.

Grace: 00:28:50

Okay, so my whole nother thing, and I'm sorry to be so Charleston centric on this episode, but the amount of rain that's happening right now is insane.

Grace: 00:28:59

So my whole nother thing is the Coburg cow, Katelyn will miss spit out her coffee.

Grace: 00:29:05

On Savannah highway in Charleston, there is this giant cow spins.

Grace: 00:29:12

And it's been there since the fifties.

Grace: 00:29:15

It went up because the Coburg dairy was just down the road from where the cow is.

Grace: 00:29:20

That's where you could go buy your milk.

Grace: 00:29:23

And in the late eighties, it was bought by Borden.

Grace: 00:29:25

And I remember people freaking out that the cow was going to come down.

Grace: 00:29:32

And the owner of Borden was like, no, I promise we're going to leave the Coburg Cow up there even though Vorden's cow is Elsie.

Grace: 00:29:40

We're not going to change out the Coburg Cow.

Grace: 00:29:42

But also I worked at a bar in the early 90s in downtown Charleston and the Citadel cadets, I, I don't know if I'm remembering this wrong, but I'm pretty sure that they got that cow down and brought it to Cafe 99, the bar that I worked in and rode the cow.

Grace: 00:30:01

And you didn't.

Grace: 00:30:02

I'm not kidding.

Grace: 00:30:03

People used to climb up and ride the cow and also she gets dressed up for Christmas and Halloween and Easter.

Grace: 00:30:10

She always has outfits on.

Grace: 00:30:12

And for hurricanes, if it's just a mild hurricane, they put like this awesome yellow rain suit on her.

Grace: 00:30:20

This is how Charlestonians know when to actually evacuate.

Grace: 00:30:24

If the cow comes down, You better get the hell out of Charleston.

Grace: 00:30:28

The city had to pass like an ordinance that she got like a variance so that she could stay up.

Grace: 00:30:33

But anyway, she's been through a lot.

Grace: 00:30:35

And during this hurricane, Debbie Does Charleston, Coburg Cow is still up.

Grace: 00:30:40

So we're all still here.

Grace: 00:30:42

There was no need to evacuate.

Grace: 00:30:43

So that's my whole nother thing.

Grace: 00:30:45

I love the Coburg Cow.

Katelyn: 00:30:47

Best whole nother thing yet.

Katelyn: 00:30:49

Awesome.

Grace: 00:30:51

That's all of us do for today.

Grace: 00:30:53

Talk to you next time.

TJ: 00:30:54

The second helping podcast is written and hosted by Grace Cowan and Kaitlyn Brewer.

TJ: 00:30:59

Editing and IT support provided by Eric Johnson produced and directed by TJ Phillips with the podcast solutions network.

TJ: 00:31:07

Give me more.