1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,480 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:18,719 my daily show prep with all of the links, become 6 00:00:18,719 --> 00:00:22,359 a patron, go to vpeaklendershow dot com. Make sure you 7 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:24,920 hit the subscribe button. Get every episode for free right 8 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,320 to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so 9 00:00:27,399 --> 00:00:30,600 much for your support. All righty, so we have some 10 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:37,039 more details in the latest stabbing on Charlotte's light rail train. 11 00:00:38,439 --> 00:00:42,119 And I was thinking about this because the story has 12 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,920 gotten now some national attention, not as much as the 13 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:51,039 Arena Zarutzka murder did, but there has been national attention 14 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,960 once again on Charlotte for another act of violence on 15 00:00:55,000 --> 00:01:00,000 the light rail line. And there really are so much 16 00:01:00,079 --> 00:01:07,040 any different aspects to the story. It's a confluence of 17 00:01:08,879 --> 00:01:16,760 Joe Biden's immigration policies, this radical open borders belief among 18 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:22,239 a lot of the radical left, soft on crime policies 19 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,680 at the local level, but also espoused by the radical left, 20 00:01:26,239 --> 00:01:29,040 and not even the radical left, a lot of just 21 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:34,319 quote unquote moderate or you know, mainstream Democrat politicians, maybe 22 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,560 because they're too afraid to cross that radical left base. 23 00:01:37,599 --> 00:01:41,359 I don't know all of the you know, quote unquote 24 00:01:41,439 --> 00:01:48,760 reforms since the summer of fiery but mostly peaceful riots. 25 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,760 There's the confluence of budget prioritization, right, that's part of 26 00:01:53,799 --> 00:01:59,159 this story. We talked about that yesterday with the you know, 27 00:01:59,239 --> 00:02:02,560 the Mechlenberg Can Sheriff Gary not my fault McFadden crying 28 00:02:02,599 --> 00:02:05,920 about how Arena's law is going to put all sorts 29 00:02:05,959 --> 00:02:07,840 of pressure on the jail because he's going to have 30 00:02:07,879 --> 00:02:11,919 all you know, more people waiting for their court appearances 31 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:13,759 because they're not going to be able to just release 32 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:18,159 them back out in their catch and release turnstile system 33 00:02:18,199 --> 00:02:20,840 of justice that they have been meeting out for about 34 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:26,759 twenty years. Which is another angle, right, single party control. 35 00:02:26,879 --> 00:02:31,199 Oh but one last thing on the budget angle, which 36 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:37,759 is that you know, whatever staffing and capacity issues the 37 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:42,479 jail has, the sheriff has, it's because of budget decisions 38 00:02:42,479 --> 00:02:46,840 and prioritization that county commissioners have made and the sheriff 39 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,919 has made. That's on them. They've been going down this 40 00:02:51,039 --> 00:02:55,719 path for twenty years. They don't want to build new jails, right, 41 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:01,240 they close jail North, they mothballed expansion of the jail. 42 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,840 So these are their priorities. I keep hammering away. They 43 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,080 spend more money out of their budget at the county 44 00:03:10,159 --> 00:03:14,039 level on parks and rec than they do public safety. 45 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,759 That's a budget priority for them. And now they're going 46 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:21,360 to have to be forced to re examine their priorities, 47 00:03:21,759 --> 00:03:25,879 as they should, you know, because when conservatives and Republicans 48 00:03:25,879 --> 00:03:29,479 pointed out that your primary role as a government is 49 00:03:29,479 --> 00:03:39,199 to provide public safety, have an operational and legitimate court system, right, 50 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,360 that's the core service, that's the highest priority. That is, 51 00:03:42,759 --> 00:03:47,560 that is the primary reason for government to exist in 52 00:03:47,639 --> 00:03:53,039 the first place. Everything else is secondary, because otherwise there's 53 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,960 no reason why I would trade all the liberty and 54 00:03:57,039 --> 00:04:01,759 money that I trade. I don't trade that for parks. 55 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:07,400 I don't trade liberty for maintaining government facilities. I don't 56 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,159 trade it for education funding. I don't. Right, all of 57 00:04:11,159 --> 00:04:14,199 those things can be taken care of in the private sector. 58 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,199 And indeed, there are you know, some anarchists out there, 59 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:20,800 And I don't mean like violent Antifah type people. I'm saying, like, 60 00:04:21,759 --> 00:04:23,399 you know people who are like no, no, no, like 61 00:04:23,759 --> 00:04:27,319 radical libertarian anarchists kind of folks who who think we 62 00:04:27,319 --> 00:04:29,160 should just get rid of all of the police force 63 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:34,399 all together and just have private security. That is, and 64 00:04:34,439 --> 00:04:37,319 that is the most radical position. Obviously I don't adhere 65 00:04:37,319 --> 00:04:41,720 to that, but that's the reason why societies order themselves. 66 00:04:42,199 --> 00:04:46,720 It's to provide for the common defense, primarily first and foremost. 67 00:04:46,879 --> 00:04:49,920 And if you can't fulfill your end of this contract, 68 00:04:50,519 --> 00:04:56,839 then the contract is null and your tyranny. So they've 69 00:04:56,879 --> 00:05:01,439 lost sight of that. Another angle, single party control of 70 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,680 a local government. Right. This is also what happens when 71 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,439 you don't have any of the voices expressing what I 72 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,639 just expressed. You have nobody else making that argument. In 73 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:16,399 these rooms, it's a blind spot. They are working off 74 00:05:16,439 --> 00:05:20,879 of certain ideological and partisan assumptions and they're never challenged 75 00:05:20,879 --> 00:05:23,600 on them. And as I always say, unchallenged ideas are 76 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,959 easy to hold. And there's also you know, part of 77 00:05:27,959 --> 00:05:30,600 the problem is the fact that they are democrats, and 78 00:05:30,639 --> 00:05:33,720 their response when it comes to budgets is, you know, 79 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,879 see a penny, spend a penny, But it's also to 80 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:41,920 throw more money at a problem rather than fix the 81 00:05:41,959 --> 00:05:44,439 actual problem. And I'm going to get into this hopefully 82 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:51,040 later in the show. With regard to Obamacare, their answer 83 00:05:51,079 --> 00:05:54,600 is always just more money, even when there's waste, fraud, 84 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:56,480 and abuse. And you would think that the people who 85 00:05:56,639 --> 00:06:00,120 espouse these programs to help the least among us, you 86 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,639 would think they would be the biggest hawks for every 87 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,199 single penny spin because every penny that's diverted to waste 88 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,319 or fraud is a penny that doesn't go to the 89 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,879 least among us, the very people that the Left claims 90 00:06:13,879 --> 00:06:16,120 to care about, but they don't seem to care when 91 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,279 the money gets siphoned off. So that's another angle, is 92 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:24,920 a single party control. And then of course there is 93 00:06:24,959 --> 00:06:32,319 the local efforts at nullification of federal law. And that's 94 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:36,319 what this story is about. Headline in the Charlotte Observer, 95 00:06:37,319 --> 00:06:41,879 Charlotte light rail suspect had knife on platform months earlier. 96 00:06:42,079 --> 00:06:47,000 Records say so. The man who is accused of stabbing 97 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,759 another man on a Charlotte light rail train on Friday 98 00:06:51,079 --> 00:06:57,519 had been previously charged but not jailed, back in October, 99 00:06:59,439 --> 00:07:05,240 so that would be two months after the murder of 100 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:13,639 Arena Zerutzka. He had a large knife on katz property, 101 00:07:13,959 --> 00:07:16,959 according to your records, raising more questions about how the 102 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,639 city is ensuring that its train system is safe. So 103 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:26,240 think about this, right, Zerutska is murdered on the train, 104 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:30,160 and then six weeks later, and by this point, the 105 00:07:30,199 --> 00:07:34,240 story's gone viral, the video is out, International news is 106 00:07:34,279 --> 00:07:38,480 covering this story. Even the mayor is forced to finally 107 00:07:38,519 --> 00:07:41,399 give some sort of a statement that's not you know, 108 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:47,959 how did we fail the attacker? Six weeks after Arena 109 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:53,439 Zerutzka's murder, this guy is on a platform on the 110 00:07:53,519 --> 00:08:01,000 light rail line with a large knife. What would you 111 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:06,319 do in that situation? It wasn't a cop that responded no, no, 112 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:13,319 This was just Katz's private security firm pss Oscar Solarzano, 113 00:08:13,399 --> 00:08:16,000 thirty three years old, was arrested on October eighth at 114 00:08:16,079 --> 00:08:19,839 six oh four pm on light rail property at eighty 115 00:08:19,839 --> 00:08:23,720 three twelve North Trion Street the mccaullis station, charged with 116 00:08:24,079 --> 00:08:27,879 misdemeanor carrying a concealed weapon. That's according to a police 117 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:33,440 report and a citation filed in court. Now I'm unclear 118 00:08:33,519 --> 00:08:36,399 because it says here in the Charlotte Observer story that 119 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:42,559 Solarzano was arrested. There was a police report, there was 120 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:47,440 a citation filed in court. The charge was issued by 121 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:53,799 a security guard, not a Charlotte police officer. So when 122 00:08:53,879 --> 00:08:56,080 you say he was arrested, does that just mean like 123 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,000 a citation technically counts as an arrest, that he was 124 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:03,440 never taken into custody. We heard from the sheriff that 125 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:06,799 they have no record of him ever going through Mecklenburg 126 00:09:06,879 --> 00:09:12,840 County Detention Center, So he was not taken into custody. 127 00:09:12,879 --> 00:09:15,000 That's what it seems like. And it seems like the 128 00:09:15,039 --> 00:09:18,879 citation that he got was technically an arrest, but not 129 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:20,919 an arrest in the way that we all think of 130 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,960 it as in, put the cuffs on them, take them downtown, 131 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:29,600 book them, dan oh kind of a thing. So this 132 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:34,480 is part of the other problem. We don't check immigration 133 00:09:34,639 --> 00:09:39,039 status during these types of interactions. And this has been 134 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:47,679 going on for twenty plus years. Right, local politicians and 135 00:09:47,799 --> 00:09:51,600 police authorities, they all say, we are not here to 136 00:09:51,879 --> 00:09:55,600 enforce immigration law. We're not checking to see if you're 137 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:59,440 an illegal immigrant. If we pull you over, if you 138 00:09:59,519 --> 00:10:02,559 get a tick, you're not being taken in because you 139 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,399 came into the country illegally. We're not checking any of that. 140 00:10:06,919 --> 00:10:09,840 Please keep reporting crime to us. We don't want to 141 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:14,639 cause the illegal alien community not to work with police, 142 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,200 So we're going to look the other way. And that's 143 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:23,000 what this is. This is local officials, local law enforcers. 144 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,720 Whether it's the private security firm or local police or 145 00:10:26,799 --> 00:10:31,919 the sheriff's department, regardless, they all take the same approach, 146 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,440 which is that's not our purview. We're not going to 147 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:40,840 check on immigration status. Don't worry. And that's why this 148 00:10:40,919 --> 00:10:45,159 guy was free to be on the train two months 149 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:50,879 later drunk and stab a guy. I don't even know 150 00:10:50,919 --> 00:10:53,320 if they took the guy's knife from him. Here's a 151 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,200 great idea. How about making an escape to a really 152 00:10:56,279 --> 00:10:59,440 special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina. Just a 153 00:10:59,519 --> 00:11:02,159 quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of Ashville is 154 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:06,120 your connection. Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe 155 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,480 you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get family 156 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,159 and friends together for a big old reunion, Cabins of 157 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,039 Asheville has the ideal spot for you where you can 158 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,279 reconnect with your loved ones and the things that truly matter. 159 00:11:17,519 --> 00:11:20,480 Nestled within the breath, taking fourteen thousand acres of the 160 00:11:20,519 --> 00:11:24,360 Pisga National Forest, their cabins offer a serene escape in 161 00:11:24,399 --> 00:11:27,200 the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, centrally located between 162 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,000 Ashville and the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. 163 00:11:30,279 --> 00:11:34,320 It's the perfect balance of seclusion and proximity to all 164 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:39,080 the local attractions with hot tubs, fireplaces, air conditioning, smart TVs, 165 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:42,840 Wi Fi grills, outdoor tables and your own private covered porch. 166 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:47,159 Choose from thirteen cabins, six cottages, two villas, and a 167 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:51,279 great lodge with eleven king sized bedrooms. Cabins of Ashville 168 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,519 has the ideal spot for you for any occasion, and 169 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:57,960 they have pet friendly accommodations. Call or text eight two 170 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,279 eight three six seven seventy six six eight or check 171 00:12:01,279 --> 00:12:03,840 out all there is to offer at Cabins Ofashville dot 172 00:12:03,879 --> 00:12:07,559 com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. All right, 173 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:12,159 So from the WBT text line, Bubba wants to know 174 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,279 where is the knife from the first encounter. That's the 175 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:19,480 evidence for the court case. I agree, Yeah, did they 176 00:12:19,519 --> 00:12:24,279 take possession of the knife? It's just a citation for 177 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:28,879 carrying a concealed weapon. It's just a citation, that's it. 178 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:33,720 Do you pay a fine or something? And that's what 179 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:39,360 supposedly got him banned from the light rail line from 180 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:42,720 the transit system. I assume it was for the buses. Also, 181 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,240 the charge was issued by a security guard, not a 182 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:52,879 Charlotte mcklenburg police officer. Now at the time, again, this 183 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:59,919 is October eighth. October eighth, Oscar Salarzano is found to 184 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,960 be in possession of a knife at a light rail platform. 185 00:13:04,039 --> 00:13:08,279 He has issued a citation by the security guard that 186 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,759 is contracted with the city with the Charlotte Area Area 187 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:19,720 Transit System. The company is called PSS Professional Security Services 188 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:25,120 and at the time, Salarzano had been convicted of crimes 189 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,039 and had illegally re entered the country after being removed 190 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,759 in twenty eighteen, as well as twenty twenty one. He 191 00:13:32,799 --> 00:13:37,399 had been convicted of numerous crimes in New Jersey and 192 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:44,720 in Florida. But when you don't check a person's immigration status, 193 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:49,600 because that's not our job, that's federal law enforcement, we 194 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:55,840 refuse to assist because we are you know, we're in 195 00:13:55,879 --> 00:13:59,720 the community. We want to build trust, we are inclusive. 196 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:04,879 We have to maintain our criteria checklist to be to 197 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:09,679 be a certified welcoming city, so we don't ask these 198 00:14:09,799 --> 00:14:16,360 questions which means that a twice deported, multiple times convicted 199 00:14:16,639 --> 00:14:21,840 criminal illegal alien was confronted on the light rail line, 200 00:14:22,759 --> 00:14:26,399 found to have a knife and was given a citation 201 00:14:26,559 --> 00:14:28,720 until now don't you come back here, which you know 202 00:14:28,879 --> 00:14:31,919 this guy isn't going to listen to because he didn't 203 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,720 listen to the federal authorities when they deported him twice 204 00:14:35,759 --> 00:14:39,320 and convicted him of illegal re entry, which was what 205 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,720 Sheriff McFadden was saying at his press conference on Monday. 206 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:44,879 You know, maybe you should ask them why they don't, 207 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,639 you know, charge him criminally with re entry. They did, 208 00:14:49,039 --> 00:14:54,840 he was convicted, but your President Joe Biden kept letting 209 00:14:54,879 --> 00:14:58,000 everybody back in, So we don't know when the guy 210 00:14:58,039 --> 00:15:02,360 came back across the border. He crossed illegally, but we 211 00:15:02,399 --> 00:15:05,440 wouldn't know any of this. The security guard wouldn't know 212 00:15:05,519 --> 00:15:10,519 any of this information. The citation was written by a 213 00:15:10,519 --> 00:15:14,399 security guard with Professional Security Services, the private company contracted 214 00:15:14,399 --> 00:15:18,879 by CATS. The security guard citation described the weapon as 215 00:15:18,919 --> 00:15:24,919 a quote large red knife. CMPD has an incident report 216 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,519 about this interaction and the citation, and it describes the 217 00:15:28,559 --> 00:15:32,080 weapon as a knife with a red handle. Don't know 218 00:15:32,639 --> 00:15:35,360 if that's the same weapon used in the attack on Friday. 219 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,720 It was not clear if the security guard seized the 220 00:15:38,799 --> 00:15:42,159 knife on October eighth, or if Solizano was allowed to 221 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:46,200 leave with it along with his written citation. He was 222 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,360 not taken to jail, but ordered to show up in 223 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:54,480 court October thirtieth on the misdemeanor charge. See, this is 224 00:15:54,519 --> 00:15:57,919 what we're talking about when we say it's a catch 225 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:03,200 and release system, and the message you are sending is 226 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,279 that this kind of behavior is totally acceptable. It's not 227 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,879 that bad. See, oh you got a nay if you're 228 00:16:08,919 --> 00:16:12,799 drunk on the platform, what evs? It's just a misdemeanor. 229 00:16:12,799 --> 00:16:15,639 Show up in court, which, oh, by the way, he 230 00:16:15,759 --> 00:16:19,159 did not. He did not show up for court. I 231 00:16:19,159 --> 00:16:21,639 wonder if that's one of the warrants, one of the 232 00:16:21,639 --> 00:16:25,039 bench warrants that McFadden was saying, they got hundreds of 233 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,919 warrants in the repository. I wonder if that was one 234 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,279 of them. All Right, if you're listening to this show, 235 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:32,879 you know I try to keep up with all sorts 236 00:16:32,879 --> 00:16:34,919 of current events, and I know you do too. And 237 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:39,799 you've probably heard me say get your news from multiple sources. Why, well, 238 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,519 because it's how you detect media bias, which is why 239 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,759 I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app, 240 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,200 and it's a website, and it combines news from around 241 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,639 the world in one place, so you can compare coverage 242 00:16:51,879 --> 00:16:54,600 and verify information. You could check it out at check 243 00:16:54,799 --> 00:16:59,039 dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link 244 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:01,960 in the podcast to screw too. I started using ground 245 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,680 News a few months ago and more recently chose to 246 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,640 work with them as an affiliate because it lets me 247 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:10,559 see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The 248 00:17:10,559 --> 00:17:13,599 blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by 249 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:17,480 the left and the right. See for yourself. Check dot ground, 250 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,319 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 251 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,519 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 252 00:17:24,559 --> 00:17:28,039 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 253 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,839 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 254 00:17:30,839 --> 00:17:34,119 ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. 255 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,000 Let me read a couple of the messages that I 256 00:17:38,039 --> 00:17:40,880 have received on the WBT text line driven by Liberty Buick. 257 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:46,839 Gmc stan says, if we've got a problem with people 258 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,960 carrying knives in public, maybe we need to have knife control, 259 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,720 including background checks. And permits for purchasing them. I'm sure 260 00:17:53,759 --> 00:17:57,920 this will solve the problem. Yes, And of course, make 261 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:03,319 the trains a knife zone with signs. Gotta have signs, 262 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,279 make sure everybody is aware that nobody on the train 263 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:13,759 has a knife. Chris says, uh. Last week I got 264 00:18:13,799 --> 00:18:18,359 the impression City council member dimple ash Miro was skeptical 265 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,000 about the council spending money on promoting a safe light 266 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,279 rail for the public, But last night she seems to 267 00:18:23,279 --> 00:18:25,599 be all in on the blatant deception of the issue. 268 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:32,240 Your thoughts, well, I mean, I look, I don't think 269 00:18:32,279 --> 00:18:35,079 you're gonna okay, let me say it this way. Mmm. 270 00:18:37,279 --> 00:18:42,920 At the city council level, it is a staff driven process, 271 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:47,279 has been for decades, okay, because it's a council manager 272 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:50,400 form of government. And so what that means is, despite 273 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,960 the fact that the city council members gave themselves full 274 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:56,079 time pay for a part time job because they said 275 00:18:56,079 --> 00:18:58,319 it was more than a part time job, they have 276 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,200 offloaded and they're not the first council to do so. 277 00:19:01,599 --> 00:19:06,240 They've offloaded a lot of the critical thinking and examination 278 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,160 and the exploration of issues. They've offloaded a lot of 279 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:14,279 that stuff. To the staff. They are reliant on staff, 280 00:19:15,559 --> 00:19:20,200 and staff is always protected by the city manager. And 281 00:19:20,279 --> 00:19:24,440 so what happens and the city manager is hired by 282 00:19:24,599 --> 00:19:28,279 and works at the pleasure of the city council. Okay, 283 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:33,799 so council hires manager. Manager protects staff, but council relies 284 00:19:33,839 --> 00:19:37,079 on staff. So you see what happens here is that 285 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:40,839 then the manager, by being seen as the protector of 286 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:45,519 the staff, they have the allegiance and loyalty of the staff. 287 00:19:46,559 --> 00:19:50,000 And so then the manager can direct staff or help 288 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:57,000 guide them or shade issues in ways that direct the 289 00:19:57,039 --> 00:20:00,000 council to arrive at a particular decision. Not to mention 290 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,799 the fact that the manager is empowered to do certain things. 291 00:20:03,079 --> 00:20:05,319 One of the first things Marcus Jones did when he 292 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:10,160 became manager was to get the council to raise the cap, 293 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,160 for example, on contracts that he can sign off on 294 00:20:14,559 --> 00:20:17,599 that do not require city council approval. I believe they 295 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,720 took that cap up to five hundred thousand dollars. So 296 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:26,839 they've empowered the council, or sorry, the council has empowered 297 00:20:26,839 --> 00:20:30,880 the manager over years and years to be the person 298 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:36,279 that runs the city. This actually ties into another topic 299 00:20:36,319 --> 00:20:38,119 that I've got lined up and now I'm thinking, I mean, 300 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:39,960 I get to but I'm going to try. Is the 301 00:20:40,079 --> 00:20:42,799 oral arguments that were made and heard at the Supreme 302 00:20:42,799 --> 00:20:46,799 Court in the case about whether Trump can fire an 303 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:54,720 FTC commissioner, Because in the progressive philosophy, their worldview, or 304 00:20:54,759 --> 00:20:59,880 i should say, their view of governance, they want technocrats, bureau, 305 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:06,319 they want a professional class of experts to set policy 306 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,440 to run the government. Right. This is a very Wilsonian 307 00:21:09,559 --> 00:21:13,279 from Woodrow Wilson, a Wilsonian view, a progressive view of 308 00:21:13,319 --> 00:21:17,720 the way GOV co operates. And so that's what the 309 00:21:17,759 --> 00:21:24,160 city council manager form of government leans on, is that 310 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:28,799 kind of a worldview. And so with a city council 311 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:33,519 that's completely packed with Democrats who generally share that worldview, 312 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,599 they're happy to offload a lot of that responsibility onto 313 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,799 the manager and staff and then rely on staff to 314 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,319 answer questions if they've got a more some resident comes 315 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,079 to the council member with a complaint. The council member 316 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:50,839 then takes the complaint to staff. And if you don't 317 00:21:50,839 --> 00:21:52,640 have if you're a council member and you don't have 318 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:56,440 a good relationship with staff, you're not going to get 319 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,440 stuff done for your constituents and you're going to lose. 320 00:22:01,279 --> 00:22:05,039 So that's the dynamic going on there. So you do 321 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:09,279 not want to cross the manager very often, and you 322 00:22:09,279 --> 00:22:11,440 don't want to cross city staff, and you don't want 323 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,839 to be seen as antagonistic towards staff or the manager. 324 00:22:16,039 --> 00:22:18,000 And I suspect that's what we're seeing here. And I 325 00:22:18,079 --> 00:22:25,680 mentioned this yesterday, the contract approval for the three million 326 00:22:25,759 --> 00:22:29,519 dollars for a PR firm run by some woke lefty 327 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:36,119 social justice warrior type that firm, that contract that was 328 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,880 put on that agenda before the stabbing. It's just, you know, 329 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,200 it's not great timing for the city council. They are 330 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:48,920 facing mockery for it, of course, but they didn't know 331 00:22:49,039 --> 00:22:52,799 that this maniac would stab somebody on a train on Friday. 332 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:57,119 That that agenda was built prior to Friday, so they 333 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:58,240 were going to get they were going to do the 334 00:22:58,279 --> 00:22:59,319 contract anyway, right. 335 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 2: You know. 336 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,680 Speaker 1: Stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, 337 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,160 to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of 338 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,519 our past while transcending generations. They help us process the 339 00:23:09,559 --> 00:23:13,000 meaning of life. And our stories are told through images 340 00:23:13,039 --> 00:23:16,839 and videos. Preserve your stories with creative Video started in 341 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,759 nineteen ninety seven and Minhill, North Carolina. It was the 342 00:23:19,799 --> 00:23:23,759 first company to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos 343 00:23:23,759 --> 00:23:28,000 and videos into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. 344 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,559 The trusted, talented and dedicated team at Creative Video will 345 00:23:31,559 --> 00:23:33,640 go over all of the details with you to create 346 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:37,519 a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person 347 00:23:37,599 --> 00:23:39,359 or mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. 348 00:23:39,559 --> 00:23:44,759 Memorial videos for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, 349 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:49,079 family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories, all told 350 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,839 through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They 351 00:23:52,839 --> 00:23:55,680 are your life told through the eyes of everyone around 352 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,000 you and all who came before you, and they will 353 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,359 tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video 354 00:24:01,599 --> 00:24:04,839 dot com. Let me jump over to the phone lines 355 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,480 here chat with Michael. Hello Michael, welcome to the show. 356 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:09,279 Speaker 2: Hey, good afternoon. 357 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: Hey, what's up? 358 00:24:10,599 --> 00:24:14,160 Speaker 2: One question, As you said, the agenda was said for 359 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:19,160 them for the million dollars being sent out in Dallas, Texas. 360 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:23,720 Why couldn't they have changed the menu and the the agenda? 361 00:24:23,839 --> 00:24:25,640 Why couldn't they have canceled that part of it. 362 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,880 Speaker 1: Well, they could have, yeah, they could have. It was 363 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,640 put right. It was so on the agenda. There's a 364 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:36,359 portion called the consent agenda where they pack a whole 365 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:41,640 bunch of supposedly non controversial items into one big consent 366 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,599 agenda and then you vote on all of those at 367 00:24:44,599 --> 00:24:47,480 the same time. Just a motion to approve the consent agenda, 368 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:51,079 and then they vote, and then everything gets passed unless 369 00:24:51,559 --> 00:24:54,960 a city council member goes through that consent agenda that's 370 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,599 got you know, thirty forty fifty sixty items in it. 371 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,720 You go through the agen which you're supposed to you're 372 00:25:01,839 --> 00:25:03,759 the city council member. You're supposed to read through that, 373 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:07,000 and they can pull an item out of the consent 374 00:25:07,079 --> 00:25:11,920 agenda for discussion or even a separate vote and going 375 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,480 back and watching the consent agenda approval From Monday night, 376 00:25:16,759 --> 00:25:21,200 there was a council member, the new member jd Arias 377 00:25:21,279 --> 00:25:22,839 I believe is his name, the one who were not 378 00:25:22,839 --> 00:25:24,640 really sure if he got married in order to get 379 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:29,480 his green card, but whatever, he pulled for discussion part 380 00:25:29,519 --> 00:25:33,480 of the cats items. But he did not discuss the 381 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:37,160 three point four million dollar pr contract. He did not 382 00:25:37,559 --> 00:25:39,720 he didn't pull it for that reason, and nobody talked 383 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,519 about it at all. So when they approved the consent agenda, 384 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,799 that's how they approved that contract. There was no debate 385 00:25:45,839 --> 00:25:46,440 that I saw. 386 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:51,119 Speaker 2: So that's in other words, in other words, you know, 387 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:55,359 just like Washington had it somewhere and nobody will notice. 388 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:57,880 Speaker 1: Well, yeah, I mean, that's the thing. These council members 389 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:00,240 are supposed to read through their agenda. They're suppose to 390 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,799 read through all of this stuff. And if they all did, 391 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,759 not a single one of them saw a problem with 392 00:26:07,279 --> 00:26:11,160 hiring a PR firm to convince people that the light 393 00:26:11,279 --> 00:26:16,000 rail line is safe. And maybe they are on board 394 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,240 with that. Maybe they think that that's necessary in the 395 00:26:18,279 --> 00:26:20,599 wake of the Zarutzka murder, and then in the wake 396 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,799 of this stabbing, maybe they thought, hey, you know what, 397 00:26:23,799 --> 00:26:26,039 we should do a PR campaign. But nobody pulled it 398 00:26:26,079 --> 00:26:30,279 for a separate vote or discussion. But they could have. Yeah, Michael, 399 00:26:30,319 --> 00:26:34,480 I appreciate the call, sir, Thank you. One last part 400 00:26:34,519 --> 00:26:42,720 here from the Charlotte Observer story by Jeff chamber Solarzano. 401 00:26:43,079 --> 00:26:47,359 The attacker from Friday had been banned from Cats property. 402 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:52,319 Bret Baldeck, a spokesperson for Cats, declined to answer on 403 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:58,960 Monday why Solarzano was banned. Okay, kats and city leadership 404 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,160 have come on scrutiny about what security measures have been 405 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,759 taken to keep train safe for the public, especially since 406 00:27:04,839 --> 00:27:08,640 Zarutzka's death and violence this year at the Uptown Transit Center, 407 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,319 as well as I would add other attacks that have 408 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:18,680 occurred along the rail trail along the light rail system. 409 00:27:19,519 --> 00:27:22,880 KATZ is currently led by interim CEO Brent Kagel. It 410 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:25,640 has declined and he has declined to comment on security 411 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:29,279 staffing levels and declined to say how many security guards 412 00:27:29,319 --> 00:27:32,960 were working on the day of Friday stabbing or where 413 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,000 they were. And Katz has declined to share any details 414 00:27:37,039 --> 00:27:40,240 about efforts to enforce the requirement that all light rail 415 00:27:40,319 --> 00:27:44,599 passengers purchase a ticket. Right. So when they said we're 416 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,240 rolling out all of these improvements ahead of the referendum, right, 417 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,319 they were asking all of us in early November to 418 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:55,920 approve the sales tax. But people were kind of worried because, man, 419 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:57,960 there's a lot of violence happening on the light rail 420 00:27:58,039 --> 00:28:00,359 line and the bus system, so maybe we should shouldn't 421 00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:03,519 be throwing a whole bunch more money at Cats City 422 00:28:03,599 --> 00:28:08,519 leaders got very worried. Right. The whole ad campaign for 423 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:14,000 the sales tax focused on road improvements, convincing people lying 424 00:28:14,039 --> 00:28:16,079 to them, I would submit that this is going to 425 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:19,519 improve traffic. We're going to build more roads. It gave 426 00:28:19,559 --> 00:28:22,440 this impression that if you vote for the sales tax increase, 427 00:28:22,759 --> 00:28:26,960 it'll make your commute shorter, and that's I believe that's 428 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,359 a lie. Most of the money is going to transit. 429 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,920 That was the whole point of the referendum. So it 430 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:36,759 got them all worried, and so they rolled out the 431 00:28:36,799 --> 00:28:39,720 security plan. We're going to have more personnel, right, and 432 00:28:39,759 --> 00:28:42,319 we're going to do We're going to step up fair enforcement, 433 00:28:43,039 --> 00:28:45,160 make sure people are paying to get on the trains 434 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:50,480 and the buses. Well, what was implemented before Friday? 435 00:28:51,759 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 2: Right? 436 00:28:53,599 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: This guy got popped with a knife on a platform 437 00:28:57,599 --> 00:29:02,319 in early October, a full month before the referendum, while 438 00:29:02,319 --> 00:29:04,880 you were talking about rolling out all of these improvements. 439 00:29:05,839 --> 00:29:11,400 What improvements actually were implemented? How did this guy without 440 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,200 paying the fare? How did he get on the train? 441 00:29:14,039 --> 00:29:20,599 What's been implemented so far? Salizano, by the way, is 442 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,160 currently being held without bond at the Mecklenburg County jail, 443 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:29,319 which is a good thing. Otherwise, you know, Gary, not 444 00:29:29,359 --> 00:29:32,119 my fault. Macfatten may very well release the guy, but 445 00:29:33,319 --> 00:29:40,440 he's he's being held without bond. But once again, there 446 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,799 is a confluence of all of these different issues that 447 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:48,160 are coming together. They come together in this story, specifically 448 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:53,000 because the fact that this guy was a twice deported criminal, 449 00:29:53,039 --> 00:29:57,559 illegal alien with multiple convictions, a rap sheet across two 450 00:29:57,599 --> 00:30:02,160 different states at least, and we don't know did they 451 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,319 take the knife from him when they first encountered him 452 00:30:04,359 --> 00:30:07,079 back in October. They gave him a citation and that 453 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,519 was it. He never showed for court. That was it, right, 454 00:30:12,359 --> 00:30:16,640 A lot of different angles to this story. All right, 455 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:18,960 that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much 456 00:30:19,039 --> 00:30:21,079 for listening. I could not do the show without your 457 00:30:21,119 --> 00:30:23,880 support and the support of the businesses that advertise on 458 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,720 the podcast, so if you'd like, please support them too 459 00:30:26,759 --> 00:30:28,440 and tell them you heard it here. You can also 460 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,079 become a patron at my Patreon page or go to 461 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,920 dpetecallanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, 462 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:41,599 and don't break anything while I'm gone.