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 --> 00:00:12,519 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 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,600 go to thepeteclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet, And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,759 your support. So last hour we started talking about the 10 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:37,200 latest developments in the story of the murder of the 11 00:00:37,359 --> 00:00:41,600 twenty three year old Ukrainian refugee. She was stabbed to 12 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:46,960 death by a repeat, repeat, repeat offender on the Charlotte 13 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,560 Area Transit Systems light rail line through South End on 14 00:00:50,679 --> 00:00:55,359 Friday night at about ten pm. Her name was Irina Zurutska. 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,600 Our friend Andrew Dunn over at Long Leave Politics. He 16 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,400 also is a contributing columnist at the Charlotte Observer, and 17 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:11,159 he wrote about this yesterday in the paper, and he 18 00:01:11,239 --> 00:01:16,640 made some really good points. He says the civic response 19 00:01:16,879 --> 00:01:24,079 so far has felt strangely blase. Right, He's exactly right, 20 00:01:24,719 --> 00:01:30,000 which is why, despite the Texter's complaint That's why I 21 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:34,439 covered it on Monday at great length criticized the city Council. 22 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:36,799 In fact, you'll hear promos of some of the comments 23 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:42,159 that I was making at that on Monday and Tuesday, yesterday, 24 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,599 and now again today, because I think Andrew Dunn's assessment 25 00:01:47,879 --> 00:01:53,879 is correct, strangely blase, and the through line is and 26 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,400 you've probably heard me say this repeatedly if you've been listening, 27 00:01:58,359 --> 00:02:03,000 the Social Compact. It ties into the story out of Britain, 28 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,000 ties into the story out of DC where the grand 29 00:02:07,079 --> 00:02:11,479 jury refuses to indict somebody for assaulting a federal officer, 30 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,479 ties into this story the social compact. You hear me 31 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:22,680 talk about high trust societies, right, you must have societal cohesion. 32 00:02:23,439 --> 00:02:28,560 That cannot occur if you have one party in the 33 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,680 compact that is not upholding its end of the bargain. 34 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:40,280 I trade liberty for security. That's part of why there 35 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,280 is a government. We are all part of this compact. 36 00:02:43,719 --> 00:02:45,680 We are all giving up a little bit of our 37 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,680 liberty and agreeing to live under the rules. And we 38 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,479 set up the rules to say here are the rules, 39 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,479 here's how you change the rules, and here are the 40 00:02:53,479 --> 00:02:57,919 penalties if you do not follow the rules and then 41 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:02,599 by giving over some of that security or a liberty 42 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,280 rather in exchange for the creation of a government to 43 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:12,680 create the security apparatus to enforce those rules. When you 44 00:03:12,719 --> 00:03:16,439 have a government that is now not fulfilling its end 45 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,919 of the bargain, there isn't any reason for that compact 46 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,000 to continue. And the people who are in this government, 47 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,800 whether it's the City of Charlotte, the State of North Carolina, 48 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,759 the US government, when you don't fulfill your end of 49 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,639 the bargain, then, as the Founders talked about in the 50 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:44,680 Declaration of Independence, it's our responsibility to throw off this 51 00:03:44,759 --> 00:03:49,960 tyrannical government because now there's no benefit to me, because 52 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,560 the only thing I was trading the liberty for was 53 00:03:52,599 --> 00:03:56,280 for you to provide an umbrella of security under which 54 00:03:56,319 --> 00:04:00,000 we may all engage in commerce and live our lives. 55 00:04:02,319 --> 00:04:04,159 And as long as we follow the rules and don't 56 00:04:04,199 --> 00:04:06,680 hurt people and break their stuff and take their stuff, 57 00:04:06,719 --> 00:04:10,479 then then we should be allowed to move about freely. 58 00:04:11,199 --> 00:04:13,319 That's the whole point. And if you're not going to 59 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:15,120 hold up your end of the bargain, well then there 60 00:04:15,159 --> 00:04:18,199 is no bargain anymore. There's no compact. And when our 61 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:23,279 local officials, state officials, federal officials lose sight of this 62 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:31,160 fundamental premise, then you've gone tyrannical because now you're not 63 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,959 giving me what I traded for, and now you're just 64 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,160 taxing me, and you're doing all this other stuff. And 65 00:04:36,199 --> 00:04:38,040 you may dress it all up and oh, I'm doing 66 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,519 these nice things for other people and whatever whatever, right, 67 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:44,560 but you're failing on the fundamental reason for your existence 68 00:04:44,639 --> 00:04:47,160 in the first place. You would not be able to 69 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:51,879 give the Carolina Panthers hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers, 70 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,680 right if they did not entrust you with their security. 71 00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:59,959 That's the reason you exist. It is your number one 72 00:05:00,079 --> 00:05:05,560 one job, number one. And so when this woman is 73 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,759 murdered at ten o'clock in the evening going into South 74 00:05:08,879 --> 00:05:15,639 End by some you know, whacked out homeless guy who's 75 00:05:15,639 --> 00:05:18,920 got a rap sheet a mile long and was involuntarily 76 00:05:18,959 --> 00:05:24,000 committed by his family, and the courts even recognized. Yeah, 77 00:05:24,079 --> 00:05:28,600 like his own public defender said, he's he needs to 78 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:38,079 be evaluated. If you can't provide protection from that, then 79 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,839 you need to fix that, because that's part of your responsibility. 80 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:43,920 That's your job, that's what you're supposed to be doing. 81 00:05:45,399 --> 00:05:48,800 But there's there's been this you know, reimagining of policing 82 00:05:49,199 --> 00:05:52,680 and reimagining of justice, of the justice system under the 83 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:59,199 banner of equity and the banner of social justice, yes, 84 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,920 but under this banner of you know, defund the police 85 00:06:03,959 --> 00:06:10,360 systemic racism, institutional injustice. Policing is actually the remnants of 86 00:06:10,399 --> 00:06:14,000 the slave trade and all of this garbage. No, it is. 87 00:06:14,759 --> 00:06:18,319 It is fundamental and core to the reason you exist, Gov. 88 00:06:18,399 --> 00:06:18,439 Speaker 2: Co. 89 00:06:19,439 --> 00:06:21,879 Speaker 1: And if you can't do it, or if you won't 90 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,000 do it as an elected official, get the hell out 91 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,240 and let somebody else in to do it. That's it, 92 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,639 because that because that's it, that's the deal. You will 93 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:37,319 have a continuing erosion of law and order, more chaos, 94 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:42,480 lower trust in the society. It will break down, and 95 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,319 it breaks down like all preference cascades, slowly at first 96 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,800 and then very quickly. And so the strangely blase a 97 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:57,959 comment here that Andrew dunmakes is spot on. And the 98 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:03,439 mayor's comments in that statement she put out, which maybe 99 00:07:03,439 --> 00:07:06,519 somebody didn't hear it, Jimmy, you didn't hear this on 100 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,519 the tax line, but I read the statement, went over 101 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:14,040 it yesterday, dragged the mayor for it. She gave one 102 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,120 sentence about the victim and spent five paragraphs on how 103 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:23,439 we failed the attacker. That's what Dounn is talking about 104 00:07:23,439 --> 00:07:26,800 here too. In his piece. Three days after the stabbing, 105 00:07:26,839 --> 00:07:30,560 the CMPD published a graphic bragging about the quote real 106 00:07:30,639 --> 00:07:33,600 picture of crime in our city, claiming that homicides and 107 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,040 armed robberies are down thirty percent from last year. And 108 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,519 Dunn says that may be true or it may not be, 109 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,199 but Arena Zarutzka's murder makes a mockery of the comfort 110 00:07:43,279 --> 00:07:47,560 we try to take in statistics. It reveals something deeper, 111 00:07:47,879 --> 00:07:52,120 a justice system that tolerates career criminals on the streets 112 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:56,839 and a transit system that shrugs at disorder until it 113 00:07:56,959 --> 00:08:02,920 turns deadly. Right. I mentioned yesterday the man, the veteran 114 00:08:02,959 --> 00:08:09,439 who was beaten by four youths on a bus in Pineville. 115 00:08:09,639 --> 00:08:12,519 Don't know if they've caught those guys, the youths that 116 00:08:13,279 --> 00:08:17,879 went to the hospital. Dunn says, too often Charlotte leaders 117 00:08:17,879 --> 00:08:20,519 have talked about crime as if it's a perception problem. 118 00:08:21,079 --> 00:08:25,639 Uptown business groups launched pr campaigns, new slogans, and billboards 119 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,160 and billboard ads to assure people that it's all safe. 120 00:08:29,399 --> 00:08:33,360 They talk about vibrancy and image, about whether visitors feel comfortable. 121 00:08:33,879 --> 00:08:36,759 But this is not a marketing issue, he says, It's 122 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:41,279 a human one. Right. In a statement, Mayor vy Lyles 123 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,879 said that Charlotte is by and large a safe city 124 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,480 and that cats is by and large a safe transit system, 125 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,320 and that framing is part of the problem. By and 126 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,720 large is cold comfort when it's your daughter who doesn't 127 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:02,000 come home. Safety is not something you addage out. He says, 128 00:09:02,039 --> 00:09:05,879 a city worthy of its people treats every writer's life 129 00:09:05,919 --> 00:09:10,080 as non negotiable, not a rounding error. All right, If 130 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:11,840 you're listening to this show, you know I try to 131 00:09:11,919 --> 00:09:13,720 keep up with all sorts of current events, and I 132 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:15,919 know you do too, And you've probably heard me say 133 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:20,120 get your news from multiple sources. Why Well, because it's 134 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,840 how you detect media bias, which is why I've been 135 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:26,440 so impressed with ground News. It's an app and it's 136 00:09:26,519 --> 00:09:29,399 a website, and it combines news from around the world 137 00:09:29,399 --> 00:09:32,840 in one place, so you can compare coverage and verify information. 138 00:09:33,159 --> 00:09:36,440 You can check it out at check dot ground dot 139 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,600 news slash Pete. I put the link in the podcast 140 00:09:39,639 --> 00:09:42,639 description too. I started using ground News a few months 141 00:09:42,639 --> 00:09:45,240 ago and more recently chose to work with them as 142 00:09:45,279 --> 00:09:48,480 an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories 143 00:09:48,519 --> 00:09:51,759 get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature shows 144 00:09:51,799 --> 00:09:54,639 you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. 145 00:09:54,799 --> 00:09:59,519 See for yourself. Check dot ground, dot news slash Pete. 146 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,279 Subscribe through that link and you'll get fifteen percent off 147 00:10:02,279 --> 00:10:05,559 any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited 148 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,879 access to every feature. Your subscription then not only helps 149 00:10:08,919 --> 00:10:11,720 my podcast, but it also supports ground News as they 150 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,759 make the media landscape more transparent. Let me read some 151 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,799 messages I've got. This is from citizen of NC. It's 152 00:10:19,799 --> 00:10:24,039 a Pete tweet who says Charlotte leaders proclaimed that Charlotte 153 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,559 is a safe city and residents are shocked. Are we are? 154 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,159 We shocked that this could happen. Charlotte is a violent city. 155 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,159 Shootings and stabbings are happening every week. Charlotte hasn't been 156 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,120 safe for a long time. Do not pass more projects 157 00:10:38,159 --> 00:10:43,000 for this train system? Yeah? This is I said this 158 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:48,120 the other day that I try to not be cynical. No, 159 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,200 hear me out, I try. I'm not saying I succeed. 160 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:53,919 I'm just saying I try to not be so cynical 161 00:10:53,919 --> 00:11:00,639 all the time, but part of me wonders if the 162 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:05,559 silence that we are hearing from the local gov Co 163 00:11:05,759 --> 00:11:09,919 officials is because they do not want to draw any 164 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:14,559 attention to any kind of problem with the train system 165 00:11:15,039 --> 00:11:17,840 while they are going to the voters to ask us 166 00:11:17,879 --> 00:11:20,600 to approve a once sent sales tax to fund and 167 00:11:20,759 --> 00:11:25,639 expansion of this system. Why would we expand a system 168 00:11:26,519 --> 00:11:29,799 that cannot be protected, where people who write it cannot 169 00:11:29,799 --> 00:11:36,080 be protected. A couple of years ago, Christy and I 170 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:39,039 went to New York. I'm trying to remember how long 171 00:11:39,039 --> 00:11:45,080 ago this was, but we flew up and we flew 172 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,159 into JFK and then we got onto a train to 173 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:53,159 take it out to Long Island. And it requires some 174 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:58,039 transfers and stuff. But at the time, there was a 175 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:03,720 there was this law, large increase in violence in the subways, 176 00:12:04,799 --> 00:12:08,519 and do you remember what they did. They brought in 177 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:12,279 the National Guard, right they stationed National guardsmen in the 178 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:18,440 subways and I saw them. I was so scared. I 179 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,720 wasn't actually no, I was not scared. But that show 180 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,600 of force, the same thing that Trump is doing in Washington, 181 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:29,080 d C. Right, the police presence acts as a deterrence. 182 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:37,200 And for some reason this idea is lost on the Democrats. 183 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:41,480 Now they'll talk about community policing. They talk about you 184 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,200 know the old you know cop walking the beat, knowing 185 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,600 the neighborhood and knowing the people and all of that. Yeah, 186 00:12:47,639 --> 00:12:50,799 but it's not just about like acting as a as 187 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,799 an ambassador or some social worker or something. Yes, there 188 00:12:54,879 --> 00:12:57,519 is value in walking the beat, obviously, rather than just 189 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:00,440 sitting in a patrol car driving around, not meeting people 190 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:06,320 and you know, learning about the zone you're patrolling. Right, 191 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,440 But there's also something to be said for a lot 192 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,440 of police in an area where there's a lot of 193 00:13:12,639 --> 00:13:17,639 pedestrian activity going on, so they can respond overwhelmingly and 194 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:19,840 catch the bad guys. But then the second part of 195 00:13:19,879 --> 00:13:22,159 that equation is you have to have a court system 196 00:13:22,639 --> 00:13:26,879 that actually follows through with repercussions. And what we have 197 00:13:27,039 --> 00:13:31,879 seen over the last five to ten years with the 198 00:13:31,919 --> 00:13:38,559 explosion of youth violence, youth crime, car thefts, burglaries, right, 199 00:13:38,879 --> 00:13:42,600 all of that is because we can't treat them like adults. 200 00:13:42,879 --> 00:13:45,639 They had a hard life, we can't throw the book 201 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:47,240 at them. We're going to end up, you know, the 202 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,080 school to prison pipeline. In all of this, and meanwhile, 203 00:13:52,399 --> 00:13:55,080 people who are playing by the rules, people who are 204 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:59,759 going about their day, engaging in economic activity and commerce, 205 00:14:00,919 --> 00:14:05,480 you know, engaging in high trust society functions. The people 206 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,919 that you want in your society to be productive members 207 00:14:10,039 --> 00:14:13,080 of it, right, they're the ones that get victimize, and 208 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:16,039 at some point they realize, I don't want to do 209 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,080 this anymore. I don't want to live here, I don't 210 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,080 want to work here. And then they leave and they 211 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:26,000 go someplace else that can provide them with that security. 212 00:14:26,679 --> 00:14:30,720 That's where Charlotte is right now. Some people think it's 213 00:14:30,759 --> 00:14:33,720 already lost, it's too late. In all this, I choose 214 00:14:33,759 --> 00:14:36,879 not to believe that. I choose to believe that we 215 00:14:36,919 --> 00:14:41,639 are at a point where city leaders and the court 216 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:46,120 system and the judges and the magistrates and the attorneys, 217 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,120 you guys, have the ability to turn this around. You 218 00:14:50,159 --> 00:14:54,600 can do it pretty quickly too. You just have to 219 00:14:54,639 --> 00:14:58,519 have the will to do so. But here's a good 220 00:14:58,519 --> 00:15:02,159 point raised by good Why on Twitter. We have a 221 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:06,399 situation where democrats basically believe certain groups of people should 222 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,360 be given a pass for criminal behavior because they or 223 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:13,919 their ancestors have been disadvantaged. Right. This is the problem 224 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,799 with this oppressor oppressed worldview that Marxism and culcates in people, 225 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:23,120 which is that once you're in one group, then that's it, 226 00:15:23,279 --> 00:15:26,200 and then anything you do as an oppressor is bad. 227 00:15:26,279 --> 00:15:29,480 Anything you do as the oppressed is forgivable. You get 228 00:15:29,519 --> 00:15:32,519 a pass for all of that stuff. The innocent woman 229 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,480 killed on the Links train is just an unfortunate casualty, 230 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,960 and she, like all victims, should just accept crimes as 231 00:15:39,039 --> 00:15:42,320 retribution for the past sins the perpetrators have suffered at 232 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,080 the hands of the bigoted majority. This also explains no 233 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:53,639 cash bail, jury nullifications, and soft sentencing for offenders. Yeah, 234 00:15:53,679 --> 00:15:57,039 he's exactly right, or she's exactly right. He and I 235 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,360 don't know, good Wahoo, what your gender is. I don't 236 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,200 want to misgender you. I'm not trying to be offensive there. 237 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:05,440 All right, So you've heard me talk about Creative Video 238 00:16:05,519 --> 00:16:07,720 for almost a year. But did you know they also 239 00:16:07,919 --> 00:16:11,080 offer a game changing app for businesses that reward their 240 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,519 teams with incentive trips. Well, they do. It's called Incentive 241 00:16:14,559 --> 00:16:16,720 Trip Kit. If you want a business or work at 242 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,879 one that offers these incentive trips. This is a mustap. 243 00:16:20,039 --> 00:16:23,600 It maximizes the impact and value of these motivational trips. 244 00:16:23,879 --> 00:16:26,679 It's a super easy to use app built just for 245 00:16:26,759 --> 00:16:30,960 your group, with private messaging, shared photos, important trip documents, 246 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,000 even a find the group locator just in case somebody 247 00:16:34,039 --> 00:16:36,519 gets separated. And when I say it's private, I mean it. 248 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,159 No personal emails, no phone numbers, no ads, no account 249 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,840 sign ups. Everyone uses one shared login, so it's super easy, 250 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,679 no hassles. During the trip, everybody can post their best 251 00:16:46,679 --> 00:16:49,039 photos and short video clips, and folks back at the 252 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,440 office can even follow along. And then after the trip, 253 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:55,320 incentive trip Kit turns those memories into a professional storytelling 254 00:16:55,399 --> 00:16:58,360 video you can use to motivate, inspire, and get people 255 00:16:58,399 --> 00:17:01,519 fired up for next year's trip. More fun, more memories, 256 00:17:01,679 --> 00:17:05,720 more ROI check it out now at incentivetripkit dot com 257 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,359 or call Eric at eight eight eight five three three 258 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:12,319 seventy six thirty seven Extension two O seven for the details. 259 00:17:13,039 --> 00:17:15,359 I promised that I would play you this audio, and 260 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,200 this is from Monday's Charlotte City Council meeting. I'm just 261 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,119 going to play it in its entirety. This woman came 262 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,559 down and spoke to the Charlotte City Council. During the 263 00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:27,960 public forum portion of the meeting, you're going to hear 264 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,880 her comments, and then you're going to hear the response 265 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:39,000 from city council. I think let's say maybe. 266 00:17:39,759 --> 00:17:42,880 Speaker 2: Hello, everybody. My name is Sheila Ordone. Some of you 267 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,000 know me. I'm here to discuss gang violence and Druid 268 00:17:46,079 --> 00:17:49,559 Hills and the policy failures of this city to prevent 269 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:54,279 gang violence and violent crime in residential neighborhoods. Those of 270 00:17:54,319 --> 00:17:57,200 you who know me, no, my daughter's house was shot 271 00:17:57,319 --> 00:18:01,519 with twenty nine bullets over to separate shootings April twenty 272 00:18:01,599 --> 00:18:06,240 ninth and August ninth. At first, I could not understand 273 00:18:06,279 --> 00:18:10,279 how this could happen. CMPD knew within twenty four hours 274 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:16,160 it was mistaken gang retaliation and that the people across 275 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,200 the street were the intended targets. These were renters in 276 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:24,000 a house using housing vouchers. My daughter tried to talk 277 00:18:24,079 --> 00:18:27,079 to the DA and the city council. I tried to 278 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:30,880 talk to the city council. We got nowhere. Here's the 279 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,359 bottom line. It is due to policy failure. If this 280 00:18:34,519 --> 00:18:39,559 street were in Wake County, they do full criminal background 281 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,680 checks for all housing vouchers. Full They go back five 282 00:18:43,799 --> 00:18:48,640 years and any felonies Class A through I are disqualifiers. 283 00:18:49,559 --> 00:18:53,319 If this were a habitat house, habitat for humanity in Charlotte, 284 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:57,640 exact same thing, full criminal background checks, five year look back, 285 00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:59,960 and they take it a step further and they look 286 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:04,160 misdemeanors going two years back, and I quote they do 287 00:19:04,319 --> 00:19:09,880 this to ensure community safety. Finally, I want to discuss 288 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,200 the word. Oh, I do want to discuss CMPD. They 289 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,599 have been amazing throughout this whole thing. They are not 290 00:19:15,759 --> 00:19:19,279 the problem in Charlotte at all. They did a thorough investigation, 291 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,599 they executed a no knock warrant, they confiscated semi automatic 292 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,359 weapons from the house across the street. They made arrest, 293 00:19:27,319 --> 00:19:31,279 but because one of the offenders was a juvenile, he 294 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,680 was out within three hours back in this house, and 295 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,400 within hours he re entered that cycle of gang violence, 296 00:19:37,519 --> 00:19:40,440 was able to acquire more weapons that led to the 297 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:45,880 second shooting on August ninth. Thank you, sorry very much 298 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,000 for that, and extruman, we certainly hear what you're. 299 00:19:49,839 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 3: Saying, Maticus, it was difficult at this time. Just a 300 00:19:54,039 --> 00:19:56,519 quick question for clarification. It seems like a lot of 301 00:19:56,519 --> 00:19:59,279 the things that she addressed, really should be addressed with 302 00:19:59,279 --> 00:20:03,039 the courts, since it's the magistrate and the judges, not SAMPD. 303 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,039 Speaker 1: Oh okay, So first to hear the mayor, Oh thank you, 304 00:20:07,079 --> 00:20:11,759 I'm so difficult. And then here's Lawana slack Mayfield. Not 305 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,319 our job, sounding a lot like our sheriff Gary. Not 306 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,400 my fault. McFadden. You need to be addressing this to 307 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:24,000 the courts, not us. This isn't us. What are you 308 00:20:24,039 --> 00:20:25,160 talking to us for. 309 00:20:25,519 --> 00:20:29,119 Speaker 3: That had the conversation to determine whether or not an individual. 310 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:34,519 So just for clarity, say for your daughter and for you, 311 00:20:35,039 --> 00:20:39,680 just for clarification. Once SAMPD does their job, unfortunately of 312 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,720 having to do and arrest, then it goes to the courts. 313 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: What do you mean unfortunately having to do an arrest. 314 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:51,359 Why is that unfortunate? It's pretty fortunate for all the 315 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,119 people that won't be killed by random gunfire on the street. No, 316 00:20:55,759 --> 00:20:58,759 seems pretty fortunate to people who live around this gang 317 00:20:58,839 --> 00:21:03,640 house that people are in thanks to housing vouchers, which 318 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,839 is what the speaker, Sheila Nordine, that's what she said. 319 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:12,680 She said, the house is being occupied by people using 320 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:15,559 housing vouchers, and if they were up in a different 321 00:21:15,599 --> 00:21:18,519 county like Wake County, they would not be able to 322 00:21:18,559 --> 00:21:22,440 rent that house because they got criminal records and Wake 323 00:21:22,519 --> 00:21:23,559 County screens for that. 324 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:27,799 Speaker 3: So that would be the magistrate or the judge of 325 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,759 which district attorney. Mayorweather has been working closely with CMPD 326 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,799 as well as hoping to get legislation in rally. But 327 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:40,160 that's where I think a little more movement regarding the 328 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,640 individuals once they've been arrested would have more impact versus 329 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,640 the city council because CMPD once they make that arrest, 330 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,599 then that individual didn't goes through the court system, and 331 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,000 our officers have no control with the magis STD and 332 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,200 what a judge does. So I just want to make 333 00:21:56,240 --> 00:22:00,400 sure that there's clarification. Thank you for coming down share 334 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,880 Yet I want to make sure that your daughter, as 335 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,480 the resident of the home, is aware of the steps 336 00:22:08,599 --> 00:22:11,799 to help ensure future protections. 337 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:17,880 Speaker 1: Okay, so she is correct, magistrates, judges, the judicial system, right, 338 00:22:18,759 --> 00:22:23,359 those are all correct points. However, she's ignoring the issue 339 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,519 that the speaker raised, which was the housing vouchers. 340 00:22:28,039 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 3: Thank you, jar their very much. 341 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 4: So now we're going that real quick, manager or attorney, 342 00:22:33,799 --> 00:22:36,640 wouldn't we have authority over housing anything because it relates 343 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:40,240 to that or these county vouchers or these city But 344 00:22:40,319 --> 00:22:42,079 what is her reference to that? 345 00:22:42,319 --> 00:22:44,920 Speaker 5: The vouchers are issued by the housing in Libyan, the 346 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,200 housing authority, right, So the housing authority or Libyan wouldn't 347 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,839 make maybe another avenue for her to see because of 348 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,799 what I heard in her comments were practices that are 349 00:22:54,799 --> 00:22:58,200 being employed by other jurisdictions, and they may want to 350 00:22:58,240 --> 00:22:59,880 consider those practices as well. 351 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,839 Speaker 4: So it duty of the city or the county is 352 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:04,920 in Libyan, which is. 353 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 3: Authority fed its amounta mayor Just just for clarity so 354 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:13,880 that everybody can hear. 355 00:23:13,839 --> 00:23:16,559 Speaker 1: Ye, okay, you don't know what you're talking about. You 356 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:23,440 hear the confusion there. Edwin Peacock asked, she's talking about 357 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,799 housing vouchers, So what are those? Where do they come from? 358 00:23:26,839 --> 00:23:29,720 And the manager there says, I think it was the 359 00:23:29,759 --> 00:23:32,960 manager who says maybe it was the county attorney. That's 360 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,839 in Libyan. Oh so that's not us. Oh that's federal. 361 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,240 Somebody says that's not federal, that's not hot. So I 362 00:23:40,279 --> 00:23:44,960 went to their website. We at in Libyan are proactively 363 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,079 redefining our role in the Charlotte community and despired to 364 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:51,200 be the preferred provider of housing that is affordable for 365 00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:55,440 our growing population by partnering with quality service providers for 366 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,359 supportive services and becoming stronger financially. Our hope is to 367 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:03,880 become a coloraborative leader who can present effective, affordable solutions 368 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,640 to housing issues in Charlotte. We are a nonprofit real 369 00:24:07,759 --> 00:24:12,079 estate holding company with a public purpose. Our purpose is 370 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:17,440 to provide decent, safe housing that is affordable to low 371 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,559 and moderate income families while supporting their efforts to achieve 372 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:27,799 self sufficiently sufficiency. Rather, do you think the Charlotte City 373 00:24:27,799 --> 00:24:33,880 Council might have an ability to influence in Libyan rather 374 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,319 than just telling this citizen, hey, go off and go 375 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,240 try to get them to change their policies. Maybe, just 376 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:45,599 maybe the City of Charlotte, Charlotte City Council, do they 377 00:24:45,599 --> 00:24:49,839 have any contracts within Libyan? Could they pass an ordinance 378 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,920 of some kind that talks about criminal background checks or something? 379 00:24:54,039 --> 00:24:56,000 Or is that like is this sort of like we 380 00:24:56,039 --> 00:24:59,079 can't do that because a formerly incarcerated person is now 381 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:01,799 going to be an ab to afford housing in Charlotte 382 00:25:01,799 --> 00:25:05,240 and all of this, and we have a formerly incarcerated 383 00:25:05,279 --> 00:25:07,799 person on the Charlotte City Council. I'm sure she would 384 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:13,319 be an advocate for that constituency. See, so it's just 385 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,400 this kicking the issue away and somebody else can take 386 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,039 care of that. Let somebody else take care of that, 387 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:23,480 mind you. These city council members gave themselves pay raises, 388 00:25:23,519 --> 00:25:25,119 not all of them, more on council at the time, 389 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:29,359 but what was about four years ago they ballooned up 390 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,920 their own compensation package and Edwin Peacock told me on 391 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,519 Twitter the other day that they're somewhere over the sixty 392 00:25:36,559 --> 00:25:39,000 thousand dollars a year for a quote part time job 393 00:25:39,039 --> 00:25:41,359 that they claimed was a full time job. But that's 394 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,319 why they have such high absentee rates, right, They gave 395 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:48,920 themselves these raises because it's basically full time. We want 396 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:50,960 to attract people who could just do this work and 397 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,839 not have to have another job. Blah blah blah. And 398 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:55,640 then we saw the story we covered it the other 399 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,599 day from the Charlotte Observer that oh, actually they got 400 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:02,480 high rates of absentees and out of like seventy nine meetings, 401 00:26:02,519 --> 00:26:05,640 only three of the meetings have been attended by every 402 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,880 council member and mayor. So we're paying them to go 403 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,440 to go to these offices and they're not doing the work. 404 00:26:12,759 --> 00:26:16,519 Dare I say, yeah, we're getting a little frustrated with 405 00:26:16,559 --> 00:26:19,880 you guys. Here's a great idea. How about making an 406 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,200 escape to a really special and secluded getaway in western 407 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:25,720 North Carolina. Just a quick drive up the mountain and 408 00:26:25,799 --> 00:26:29,839 Cabins of Asheville is your connection. 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It's the perfect balance of seclusion 418 00:26:57,519 --> 00:27:02,039 and proximity to all the local attracts, with hot tubs, fireplaces, 419 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:06,279 air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi Fi, grills, outdoor tables, and 420 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:10,680 your own private covered porch. Choose from thirteen cabins, six cottages, 421 00:27:10,759 --> 00:27:14,720 two villas, and a great lodge with eleven king sized bedrooms. 422 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:18,079 Cabins of Ashville has the ideal spot for you for 423 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,920 any occasion, and they have pet friendly accommodations. Call or 424 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,319 text eight two eight three six seven seventy sixty eight 425 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:27,759 or check out all there is to offer at Cabins 426 00:27:27,799 --> 00:27:31,319 Offashville dot com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. 427 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:36,079 Jerry says, your friend Andrew Dunn is exactly right in 428 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,319 his column, never stop pushing issues such as this. I 429 00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:41,839 lived in Charlotte from seventy one to twenty nineteen. I 430 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,200 raised a child, went through public schools. I would never 431 00:27:44,279 --> 00:27:47,000 do that today for all the reasons you address. It's 432 00:27:47,079 --> 00:27:49,920 very sad how the city has changed, and it's almost 433 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,640 one hundred percent due to the leadership. Sure, we had 434 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,119 wealthy people leading us for years, but while they were 435 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,079 feathering their nests, they helped the rest of us. I 436 00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:01,839 love your cynicism. Keep questioning everything. By the way, just 437 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:07,200 moved over the state line and glad I did. Jerry 438 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,279 does raise this point. There used to be, like we 439 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:12,880 used to joke about it, to the public private partnerships. 440 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:19,440 There were business and civic leaders in Charlotte. There were 441 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:30,799 the three big ones. Hugh McCall, ed Crutchfield, and Bill Lee. 442 00:28:31,079 --> 00:28:34,880 Lee was with Duke Energy seat president's CEO of Duke Right, 443 00:28:35,039 --> 00:28:39,480 Uh crutch Field who was crutch Field with am I 444 00:28:39,559 --> 00:28:43,200 drawing a blank on that one. First Union, Well it 445 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:49,599 wasn't first Union back then. Yeah, and then and Hugh 446 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,119 McCall was Bank of America anyway, And they weren't the 447 00:28:52,119 --> 00:28:54,079 only ones, but they were the big ones. And if 448 00:28:54,079 --> 00:28:56,680 they put their names on some sort of a civic project, 449 00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:00,440 people fell in line. People got behind it. The business 450 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:05,359 of Charlotte has always been business right, and those business 451 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:15,079 leaders recognize the importance of building up the civic pride 452 00:29:15,119 --> 00:29:20,240 and the local society. For whatever else you want to 453 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,279 say about them, and I'm not making any other comments 454 00:29:22,279 --> 00:29:25,200 about any of their businesses or anything else, but there 455 00:29:25,359 --> 00:29:31,880 was this civic ethic among those, not just them either, 456 00:29:32,079 --> 00:29:34,119 but they were sort of like they were the heavy hitters. 457 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,200 So I think that's what Jerry is referencing. This is 458 00:29:39,279 --> 00:29:42,279 from Craig who says the city rarely checks any train 459 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:44,759 riders for tickets. This allows the homeless and all their 460 00:29:44,799 --> 00:29:47,480 problems to move around the city at no cost. At 461 00:29:47,519 --> 00:29:50,079 the same time, ridership is inflated when no one pays 462 00:29:50,119 --> 00:29:54,680 and they tout the ridership numbers. Yeah, like, either make 463 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:58,799 the buses free and stop trying with this, you know, 464 00:29:58,839 --> 00:30:02,799 with this forgery of a fair system, you know, or 465 00:30:04,039 --> 00:30:07,720 or install turnstiles. You guys got a police. You got 466 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:09,720 to secure the borders of the train stations. I mean, 467 00:30:09,759 --> 00:30:11,839 that's what this comes down to. And I know, democrats 468 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,359 and borders, it's like oil and water. I get it, 469 00:30:14,759 --> 00:30:18,200 but there's you're not going to have people that are 470 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:22,000 going to be confident in writing this system when anybody 471 00:30:22,039 --> 00:30:24,960 can jump on there's no security on the trains and 472 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,079 the platforms and everything else. It's just you got to 473 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:31,400 you have to acknowledge here that whatever you were doing 474 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:36,880 did not work, and you need to adopt mechanisms that do. Really. 475 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:47,000 Andrew Dunn talked about the response to buy the city 476 00:30:47,039 --> 00:30:52,200 council members to the murder of this Ukrainian refugee, and 477 00:30:53,759 --> 00:30:56,160 you know, he talked about the mayor and her statement 478 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:58,279 I have as well, which, by the way, like the 479 00:30:58,279 --> 00:31:00,559 way you write that statement is you anchor every single 480 00:31:00,599 --> 00:31:04,359 paragraph in a reference or with a reference to the victim, 481 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,559 don't You don't take one sentence to say thoughts and 482 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,880 prayers and then spend five paragraphs talking about how we 483 00:31:11,039 --> 00:31:15,000 failed the attacker. Right, there are ways to do that. 484 00:31:15,559 --> 00:31:22,480 Confidence only returns after safety is real done, says and 485 00:31:23,519 --> 00:31:26,039 he is exactly right on that. Exactly right, he says. 486 00:31:26,079 --> 00:31:27,759 I don't pretend to have all of the answers, but 487 00:31:27,799 --> 00:31:30,720 if Charlotte doesn't rally to find them, then things are 488 00:31:30,759 --> 00:31:35,680 deeply rotten here. Irena Zarutzka deserved better from us. Her 489 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,039 death is a terrible loss, and if it doesn't joke 490 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,039 Charlotte back to its senses, then we will have failed 491 00:31:41,039 --> 00:31:46,319 her twice. All right, that'll do it for this episode. 492 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:48,480 Thank you so much for listening. I could not do 493 00:31:48,519 --> 00:31:50,680 the show without your support and the support of the 494 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:53,720 businesses that advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, 495 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:55,960 please support them too and tell them you heard it here. 496 00:31:56,119 --> 00:31:58,640 You can also become a patron at my Patreon page 497 00:31:58,759 --> 00:32:01,599 or go to the peak on our show dot com. Again, 498 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,119 thank you so much for listening, and uh, don't break 499 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:05,799 anything while I'm gone.