You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from KFI AM six forty and
I would get it if you said to me, Moe, what's happening in
the Middle East is so far away, it's so far removed from my life.
Yeah, maybe my gas will be a little bit more in the coming
weeks, but it's hard for me to understand everything that's happening over there.
I don't know how it's going to impact me here, but I know I
live in an area in which serves high crime, there's high prices. Already
gas was already high. I'm not so sure where our country is going,
much less Israel and Iran. I don't know what's going to happen with Israel
Tamas. If you were to say that to me, I would completely understand.
And to that end, let me just talk about some of the things
which are going on here locally before we get out of here and turn it
over to George Nori and Coast to Coast. Remember last night I was going
on a rant of one of my mini rants regarding Metro, talking about how
a guy, unprovoked with brass knuckles, struck a bus driver, a Metro
bus driver and then proceeded to stab him again unprovoked. What I did not
know is there was a preceding incident, unrelated, different person, in which
someone else was stabbed and was accosted by another person. There were two incidents
ten hours apart, different people, different locations, both tied to Metro.
Good Samaritan Erica Diaz was driving behind the bus when it pulled over at a
stop. Within seconds, she noticed a young man in his thirties shouting for
help just outside her car. He had it so much, a blooded in
his chest, so I knew that he was hurt in his chest. You
know. He was like walking back and forth, asking, streaming for help,
and no one was helping him. No one was helping him. I
just rolled down my window. I screamed to him, get inside my car,
Get inside my car, and I just said, calmed down, it's
going to be okay. You're going to be okay. Diaz rushed the bus
driver to a nearby hospital. A Metro spokesman says the stabbing victim is now
resting at home. Erica Diaz is keeping in touch with the young man and
says his recovery from emotional trauma may take longer than healing from his physical injuries.
This is a young person that almost last his life working and we have
a new statement tonight quote Metro is saddened to hear about this senseless act of
violence against our bus operator, which has apparently been fueled by drug abuse and
untreated mental illness crises that are plaguing our nation. Okay, that's what we
reported on last night, the bus driver who was attacked with brass knuckles and
stabbed, But an La Metro passenger was stabbed on a bus earlier that night,
I should say later intnight turning into mourning. But there's been no update
on that victim's condition. So there were two different stabbings on two different buses.
One had to do with a passenger, one had to do with the
bus operator. So again, how can I, in good conscience recommend Metro
for anyone? How can I say to someone I care about Let's say you're
visiting La for the Olympics, visiting La for the World Cup, visiting LA
and you don't want to pay for an uber. You want to ask about
rapid transit, you know, a Metro transit getting around the city, going
to see the different sites, different landmarks, maybe go to Hollywood and you
say, what is it with Metro? Is it? Is it okay?
Is it a good way to get around town? I can't in good conscience
recommend anyone get on Metro. That's two stabbings in the course of eight hours.
Let's talk about the months preceding it. How many other incidents of violence
have we seen on Metro? There are so many that I can't keep up
with them. Here's what actually happened. I finished my show last night and
I was going out outside the studio and Tuala was working on the podcast,
and there was this news report of a Metro stabbing. I thought, wrongly,
thought that it was talking about the Metro bus operator. No, it
was actually in regard to the Metro passenger stabbing. But since they happened in
close proximity as far as location and also time, I confused it too.
I thought it was the same one. It wasn't until this morning Talla said,
no, there were two different ones. We missed one. There was
one which happened actually before it. And there's nothing funny about this. It's
absurd at this point because we can't talk about what is actually happening right in
front of our eyes. It doesn't matter. I should say nothing else matters
in regard to Metro. If you can't get the safety and security parts straight,
you can't control everything, you can't prevent everything. But you have to
start there in the conversation of what needs to improve and change, because thousands
of people tomorrow have no choice but to ride Metro. In fact, they're
not even going to concern themselves with the issues in the Middle East. They're
just going to concern themselves with getting to work and getting home safely. And
maybe they are not as concerned as they should be about the safety of Metro,
but it's a real thing. People are really getting hurt. Bus operators
are really getting hurt. People on platforms are really getting hurt. I'm not
going to over am not going to be prone to hyperbole and saying it's happening
every single day. But I can say it's happening just about every single week,
some act of violence perpetrated against a Metro employee or a Metro passenger,
be it bus or trained, just about every single week. And I'm not
a gambler. I don't like to play the odds. I rarely play lotto,
with exception of the company Lotto pool. It's not something I actively think
about, but I'm not getting on Metro and it's not a fear thing,
it's a smart thing. How many times do you have to read about people
getting attacked on Metro before you think maybe that's not such a good idea.
I passed my number. I don't know how many times, but I passed
my number. At this point, it's up to you. If you want
to get on Metro, and you have a choice not to get on Metro,
well that's on you, and I don't wish any thing bad to happen
to you. But at this point we kind of know there's a distinct possibility
at something. Well, mathematically, I don't know what that number is.
It could be infiniteestable in nature of excuse me, in the sense of how
many people may ride Metro every single day. But do you really want to
pressure luck Twaula. You were telling me like you wouldn't even recommend your own
family members to ride. No, no, no, My son was going
to catch the bus home this morning after his presentation of learning and because of
the coverage that you provided on Metro last night and then now today, I
said, you know what, I will leave work and come and pick you
up. You are not getting on a bus when there is someone walking around
with someones with knuckle dusters and knives attacking individuals unprovoked. That's a no.
There is no bus riding for you right now. I will come and get
you. I'll make that. It's Later with Mo Kelly KFIM six forty.
We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. But that's that's the bad news,
or at least some facet of the bad news. But there is a bright
side to this. We're going to tell you about seven of California's top ten
safest cities and you know what, they're all in Orange County. That's next.
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from KFI AM six forty.
Of course, we've been talking about the events in the Middle East.
Not much more information has come in. If something definitives should come in,
we'll have that for you. We're still on that story, the KFI twenty
four hour News from this definitely still on that story. But we also want
to let you know about some things which are happening more locally, in in
the sense of where you live and write, where you are. Last segment,
we talked about Metro once again, how another stabbing happened there. Unbeknownst
to us, we thought there was only one one yesterday. There were two
evidently yesterday. So we talked about the second one and got me thinking about,
well, that's the crime aspect. Let's talk about the safety of it
all. Seven of California's top ten safest cities are found right here in Orange
County. And this is according to safe Wise, a home security company,
So you can take it for what it's worth. I'm quite sure they have
their own statistics, but this is the list in which safe Wise compiled.
Seven of California's top ten safest cities are in Orange County. But also this
the top six safest cities in California are all located in Orange County. Number
ten is Irvine, Number nine is Rockland. Number eight is Powway. Again,
this is according to home security company safe Wise. Number seven is Lincoln.
There's Lincoln. I don't know where that is. I have no idea
where that is. Number six is Lake Forest. I know where that is.
Number five, Mission Viejo, number four, Laguna Neguel, number three,
Yorba Linda. Number two Aliso Viejo, and the top city in terms
of safest cities in the state according to safe wise, is Rancho Santa Margarita.
Other Southern California cities in the top twenty include San Clemente and the inland
empires Marietta, Fontana, and Menifee. I don't know what to make of
it. I mean, obviously we know that Orange County has done a much
better job with respect to public safety than Los Angeles County, and I think
there's a discussion to be had why there that is, it's more than just
George Gascone. He's easy to pull the finger at, but the issues of
La County precede him. Now you can say that he's made it worse,
and I'd agree with that, But as far as safety is concerned, it
didn't start the day that George Gascon got in office. I think that's a
misrepresentation of facts. But it has gone in the wrong direction in a severe
way since he's become La County DA. But La is not the place to
be when it comes to being safe. And this is an arbitrary list,
you can say from safe wise, I can't give you any data to support
all this, but also there's something else. Safety for me has always been
a state of mind. You can't necessarily predict all the danger which may be
around you. I talk often about how I try to limit the dangerous situations
I may find myself in. I don't go to gas stations late at night.
That has nothing to do with whether I'm in Los Angeles County or Orange
County. I'm telling you i could go to Rancho Santa Margarita tonight and if
I'm low on gas, I'm not stopping. Why Because I am more susceptible
and vulnerable in a situation like that. So safety is more than just where
you live. It's also how you conduct yourself. There's certain places I don't
go at night, There's certain places I don't go in the daytime. As
a matter of fact, I'm not gonna put myself in certain situations like on
metro. It's really difficult to stab me on a metro bus or train if
I'm on neither. Now I can say I'm blessed to be able to be
in a position where I can be in a car and not have to ride
Metro. But when it comes to making decisions, and Taula was talking about
he made a decision, an active decision to intervene and make sure his son
did not ride metro. That's a part of the whole safety quotion, not
just where you live. It's what you do, It's how you conduct yourself,
it's how you carry yourself. I try to explain that to my sons
all the time. It's like, look, part of being safe is not
doing dumb stuff, and they laugh at me. It's like, what are
you talking about. I'm saying you have to play an active role in your
level of safety. You have to know when you go to this club or
you go to this spot at two am, it's probably diminishing your safety.
And you have to know that the decisions that you make in that moment will
largely impact whether you make it home. The car that you get into,
the decisions you make, what you put in your body at a nightclub or
something, if you get into it with someone verbally, how it may escalate
into something physically. All those have much more impact on whether you're safe as
opposed to just where you live. Those are the lessons that I try to
impart not only to my sons, but also my students in martial arts.
I'm not teaching you how to fight. I'm teaching you how to manage your
emotions. I'm teaching you how to control your anger. I'm teaching you to
be aware of all your surroundings. That applies to whether you're in Santa Margarita,
your Belinda, or Compton. It's the same approach and if you understand
that, then you will be generally more safe. Now, the environment does
make a difference. Yeah, you are more likely to get stabbed in one
location as opposed to another location. But I'm not going to help you out.
I'm not just going to get into a verbal confrontation which may escalate to
a physical confrontation because I don't know how crazy that person are, desperate that
person may be. For example, safety is a relative term as well as
it is considering Orange County and the fact that we just had the home invasion
in Newport, So it's relative, it's relative, but we're going off the
generalities of statistics. Yeah, yeah, and again, like I said before,
safety is a feeling. Yeah, it is how you feel about where
you are. It doesn't magically change when you go from Orange County to Los
Angeles County. As far as the border, it's not some magical line says,
Oh, I'm safe here and then I'm unsafe here when you cross into
La County. It's much more complicated than that. Yeah, most of the
smash and grabs are happening in moren't upscale neighborhoods. It's large, it's changed.
So when I look at this Orange County report, I understand where it's
coming from. I also know that it's relative. Well, not only that
it's a it's a report from a private company. Then it's that, you
know, it's it's not a public policy white paper report with just statistics.
It's a you know, it's a security company. They have a vested interest.
Yeah. You know, if I really want to be cynical, I
can say where the places we're going to spend more on security Orange County.
You know, you can look at it through that lens as well. But
the only thing I would say is safety is a mindset. Safety is relative,
and safety has a lot more to do with our individual decisions than necessarily
where we may happen to be physically. You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly
on Demand from KFI AM six forty. We are continuing to follow the events
in the Middle East and have to say that getting some conflicting reports coming out
of different news agencies. There's a lot that is unknown and unclear. CNN
is reporting that Iranian airspace has reopened and that Iran will not respond to Israel's
attack. I don't I can't describe a reason or motive for either of those
days. But that's what CNN is reporting. It's unclear as to where the
information is coming from, whether it's Iranian State TV or some other source,
but that's what CNN is reporting. ABC has not changed their information as far
as Israel, early Friday morning local time, had launched missiles into Iran,
which was a retaliatory strike, allegedly hitting a military base or a portion of
a military base in Iran Isfaham, quite near the international airport there, which
goes to why the airspace was reopened. There's a question in my mind,
if this was an Israeli missile attack on Iran, why they would reopen the
airspace. That just doesn't make sense on any level. So I know in
situations like this, you're going to get conflicting information, and as you get
more information, hopefully it will be more accurate and precise. In nature,
but we just don't have that right now. We just were not getting that.
We don't know what was hit, We don't know if there were any
casualties whatsoever. We don't know if there's going to be an official statement from
President Biden or President excuse me, Prime Minister Benjamin net Yahoo, or any
Iranian official. We've heard from Iranian state news sources, but we've not heard
from any recognized Iranian official. We've not heard from any Israeli official, for
that matter, or American official. Most of these reports, at least from
ABC News, came from an unnamed senior US official, which means that person
wasn't what's the word I'm looking for, wasn't allowed to speak, wasn't authorized
to speak, so that person spoke on a condition of anonymity. CNN again
is reporting that Iran will not respond to the Israeli strike, which I guess
is good news. That it's not going to be an escalation, which fundamentally
changes how all this may be perceived in the morning our time, whether it's
going to be looked as an act of escalation and aggression which needs another response.
Hopefully it will end with that. As far as the military activities.
Hopefully it ends with that. We don't know. We still have very little
information as to the weapons which were used, the missiles which were launched,
where they hit, specifically at this Iranian military base, whether it actually was
successful targeting the military infrastructure of Iran. Again, we don't know if there
were any casualties whatsoever, and there's been no official statement by any head of
state or official within Iran, so there's not much to report at this point.
We don't know beyond the initial reports that there was an Israeli strike on
a target inside of Iran. And this is a moment I like to ask
someone who's a little bit younger than me, Keana, You've worked tonight as
a producer, but you're also a student of this business and also an American.
You see the news, and not only do you participate the news,
you have to digest the news. You may not remember the issues between Israel
and Iran, or Iran in the United States. Of course, you didn't
remember. You weren't alive in the late nineteen seventies and early nineteen eighties.
You probably don't even remember the Gulf War of nineteen ninety one. When were
you born, Okay, yes, you don't have memory of that. Oh
wow. But when you see this news as it's growing at least what we
thought was an escalation, what do you think about I really just I that's
a hard question because I read it and I take in the information. I
understand it, and I know that it's happening. But for myself, I
don't have any kind of reaction to it. Okay. I remember when I
was in college at Georgetown and the ramp up to Kuwait and that i'll say,
beginning of what we call now the Desert Storm. I remember my concern
because I'm maybe twenty one twenty two at the time, I didn't know where
the world was headed. I didn't know that if and I'm being serious,
I didn't know if they were going to bring back the draft at that point.
We last had the draft in nineteen seventy three. But I grew up
in an age post Vietnam, and I have very little memory of Vietnam.
I didn't know what war felt like as an American citizen to be able to
firsthand digest all the news reports, and there was a lot of uncertainty.
Then That's the way I looked at it, and many in my generation looked
at it because that was a good ten years before nine to eleven, which
again changed the world in which we live, and also what it meant to
be an American and how we perceive what was going on in the Middle East.
But do you, as a person who now works in news and a
person who's having your eyes open to a lot of other things which are going
on in the world, do you have that level of concern that this may
lead to something much more widespread in nature. Yes, but I try not
to think about that because there's issues here on our soil that you know,
need to be addressed more closer to me. Uh huh, I wonder.
Okay, let me just have you speak for everyone your age in the country.
I'm gonna put it on your shoulders. Okay. Do you think they
more care about what's going on in their immediate surroundings or what's going on in
the Middle East. I think that in hindsight, we care about the situations
that are happening to us that's directly affecting us here in the US and here
in California and locally. But also we are passionate about everything that's going on
in the Middle East, like We a lot of friends that I know have
family in the Middle East, both on the in Israel and in Gaza,
and so everybody is, you know, very tense right now with stuff that's
happening here, stuff and family that is happening in the Middle East. So
we're concerned, but it's starting it's starting to take a toll on our well
being and just our mental state and who we are, because it's kind of
becoming our identity that we were stressed out about what's going to happen war wise
over there or what's going to happen here with you know, all of the
politics going on here and just being our age and not being able to afford
groceries, not being able to dream about having a home, struggling day to
day, being paycheck to paycheck, Like it's hard to kind of grasp at
one issue when we're grasping at all of them to try to figure out,
you know, how can we help the future be the future. I'm quite
sure it's cyclical, but I remember that same level of concern at different points
in my life. I remember the Iran hostage crisis, I remember the OPEC
crisis, the gas crisis of the mid to late nineteen seventies. I remember
that. I remember that uncertainty. I remember gas rationing, where you would
get gas on certain days of the week depending on your license plate number.
I remember that, and I remember worrying about what was going to happen with
my limited understanding at that age of in the Middle East. But it was
always a constant. Yes, there was the threat and thought and worry about
nuclear war because I was a Cold War era with the Soviet Union, but
there was also the issue with Iran and the Middle East, which was a
constant as well. And as I got older, it never went away,
and it got to be more real, as they say, with the war
in Kuwait, because my friends were going away to war people I knew people
in my age group, my friend circle who were serving. Some did not
come back, which made it much more real. And it's been kind of
constant ever since then. In the broad sense we talk about America having war
fatigue. Going back to Kuwait, We've been in this constant state of war
and military involvement in the Middle East, and it seems like, or I
should say, it feels like we're moving back to that again. It feels
like whether it gets back to that. I don't know, but for me,
as someone who's lived through everything post Vietnam, this feels like one of
those similar moments prior to nine to eleven. You're listening to Later with Moe
Kelly on demand from KFI AM six forty. Before we get out of here,
I just want to formally check in with you Mark if there were any
new updates regarding Iran and Israel. There's some conflicting information now, there certainly
is, as you've been able to see in the camera. I've been scrambling
all evening and not really been able to chime in like we usually do.
But yeah, we started the evening thinking one thing. Now we don't know.
All we have is A says one thing, B says another, and
so that's what we have to report. And we're waiting for the for the
picture to solidify here and it's been very confusing. Well that's the part of
breaking news that you know, some people may not understand. You're you're flying
along and you're taking in information as it comes and hopefully you try to corroborate,
You try to verify as much as you can, either through trusted news
sources or trusted sources you have separate and distinct from those news sources, and
you go from there and hopefully you'll get more information over the course of the
evening to fill in that picture and to make that picture as accurate as possible.
Yeah, and this is this really goes to reaffirm what we were talking
about earlier about be careful what news sources you choose and make sure that they're
legit new sources, because tonight, among all nights, when we don't really
have a one hundred percent clear picture of what's going on, you want to
go with a legit news source that you can trust, not somebody from your
own echo chamber or whatever side that may be on, but legit news professionals.
And as we know more, that will definitely shape the discussion tomorrow.
We were talking about what has been happening on college campuses. When we get
a better sense of exactly what transpired, what degree of damage there was,
were there any fatalities, if there's going to be any further escalation from around
when we know that, then that will greatly dictate what happens here in America.
As we talk about the connectivity of all this, None of this is
is separate and distinct. None of this is in a vacuum. None of
this happens on its own. There will be a reaction on some level,
be it here in a rhetorical sense, how we discussed it on college campuses,
be it how our president and government may respond, or hopefully we were
watching CNN and CNN had on their ticker that Iran has vowed not to respond.
We don't know what that means because we don't know who is making that
particular statement. No, we don't. And it's such a complex and nuanced
situation, and so much is interconnected. I mean, you've got Israel and
Gaza and Hamas and then Iran and Hesbalah and Libya, and it's enough to
make your brain bleed. Well, we'll find out more tomorrow, so just
keep it right here on KFI. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app,
phone, car radio, smart toaster. We don't care how you listen,
just that you do. KI and the KOST HD two Los Angeles, Lynch
County live everywhere on the radio. He