WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:02.960 I want to talk about homelessness and the difference between 2 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:08.919 immediate causes versus long term causes. And there's a Fresno 3 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:15.800 Bee story about homelessness in the valley. Homeless population in 4 00:00:15.800 --> 00:00:19.359 Fresno in Madera up three percent, why that number will 5 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:20.000 likely grow. 6 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:22.320 It's written by Thaddeus Miller. 7 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:32.200 Now the main thrust of the story, so that the 8 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:35.719 title is up three percent. You get into the story, 9 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:38.200 it says the number of people living unsheltered in the 10 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:41.439 region has grown by ten percent over the last count. 11 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.799 The Fresno Madera Continuum of Care said this week the 12 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:50.679 entire homeless population, which includes those in shelters, rose by 13 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:55.719 three percent. Okay, so our unsheltered numbers grow by ten percent. 14 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:59.280 But the entire homeless population, so that includes people who 15 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:02.759 are in fact have some shelter at least for the moment, 16 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:06.439 but they're living in they're living in homeless shelters, rose 17 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:13.519 by three percent from the last count in twenty twenty three. Officially, 18 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:17.319 there were four hundred ninety three homeless people as of 19 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:19.719 January twenty fourth, twenty twenty three, in the last count 20 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:22.200 in the Fresno and Madera tally. A full report on 21 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:24.280 this year's tally will be released after the numbers are 22 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:26.640 reported to the US Department of Housing in Urban Development 23 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:30.599 in June. So, no matter how you slice it, it 24 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:35.599 seems as though the number of homeless people is increasing 25 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:45.359 in Fresno and Madera. And yet the story Now, there's 26 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:47.000 a part of me that's a little skeptical about this. 27 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:51.239 I'm not sure how reliable these stats are, like. 28 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:51.799 That they give. 29 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:56.120 You know, the number they give is four four hundred 30 00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:01.719 and ninety three, not four four hundred and ninety two. 31 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:05.879 We're counting skinny Pete, but we're not counting you know, 32 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:11.759 Bob who's uh, you know, living on his sister's. 33 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:12.599 Couch or something. You know. 34 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:16.639 I I feel like it's really hard to actually survey 35 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:19.319 the area and actually find out exactly how many homeless 36 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:20.120 people there are. 37 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:21.840 It's a moving target. 38 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:25.520 The whole nature of homelessness is that you're a little 39 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:29.240 bit off the grid. You're you're not residing somewhere, you 40 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:33.319 don't have a mailbox to respond to a survey of 41 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:36.680 are you homeless? So it seems like this is a 42 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:40.360 moving target. However, to whatever extent they have metrics, the 43 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:42.560 metrics are not looking good, they're all pointing in the 44 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:46.439 direction of more homelessness. Well, then the story takes a turn. 45 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:52.840 It takes a turn towards criticizing the Trump administration. So 46 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:56.360 the news of a growing homeless population Thttius Miller writes 47 00:02:56.599 --> 00:02:59.159 in Fresno in Madera Counties comes as the Fresno Housing 48 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:03.120 Authority raised concerns about proposed federal cuts that could affect 49 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:08.560 housing security for many families. Then it goes on to 50 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:12.159 sort of have the normal Fresno be complaint about the 51 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:14.840 no camping ordinance. Fresno b hates the no camping ordinance. 52 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:16.400 On top of that, the city of Fresno has taken 53 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.120 a more aggressive stance on dealing with homelessness, including making 54 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:21.159 arrests of the unhouse if they decline. 55 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:22.560 To accept help. Blah blah, blah blah blah. 56 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:26.400 Officials said the growing number is difficult to pin down 57 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:30.400 anyone factor, with the lack of affordable housing, low incomes, 58 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:33.360 mental health challenges, and substance abuse disorders all contributing to 59 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:36.479 the rise of the same old story. All right, So 60 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:42.159 here's the turn. The federal budget proposed earlier this month 61 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:47.280 showed significant cuts to programs related to homelessness. After twenty 62 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:50.240 twenty five, the Fresno Housing Authority will no longer receive 63 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.039 funding to support two hundred and sixty Fresno families with 64 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:57.479 Federal Emergency housing vouchers, a program that started in twenty 65 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:00.599 twenty one. Officials from the Fresno Housing ASTHA already said 66 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:04.520 that said that the program was originally intended to continue 67 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:07.159 through twenty thirty and was funded by the American Rescue 68 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:09.840 Plan Act of twenty twenty one. Slashing those five years 69 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:12.599 would amount to a fifteen million dollar cut, according to 70 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:19.879 the authority. All right, now, this is purely the Fresno 71 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:24.480 Bee relaying what the Fresno Housing Authority is complaining about 72 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:28.800 about the Trump budget. That the Trump budget is cutting this. Now, 73 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:30.639 this would be a little bit of surprise to me. 74 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:34.399 The Trump budget, the Reconciliation Bill, the one big Beautiful Bill, 75 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:37.399 as they call it, is. 76 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:38.560 A spending nightmare. 77 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:46.680 I mean it's it's yet another example of Republicans talking 78 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:50.319 a big game about fiscal responsibility and spending when they 79 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:51.879 are out of power, and then as soon as they 80 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:55.800 get into power, they don't do anything to control spending. However, 81 00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:58.759 so I guess I'm a little surprised that there's going 82 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:05.399 to be these massive cut in homelessness. Now, this is 83 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:13.439 where I get into the differences between immediate problems versus 84 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:20.519 root problems. The Fresno Bee wants to take a little 85 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:26.560 potshot at Donald Trump, the Trump administration, Trump's budget. So 86 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:31.199 they see, oh, this federal program is getting cut. This 87 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:36.319 federal program provides funding for this reresne housing authority. It's 88 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:39.399 going to endanger the ability of the PRESNOE Housing Authority 89 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:42.680 to provide housing to some of these they say, families. 90 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:45.959 Not sure what that means. Does that mean households? 91 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:50.160 Does that meaning seemingly I don't know, does that mean 92 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:53.879 single people at homeless people like you don't see too 93 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:56.639 many homeless families out on the street. 94 00:05:58.920 --> 00:05:59.360 I don't know. 95 00:05:59.399 --> 00:06:03.040 That strikes me as a little odd that that way 96 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:09.399 of expressing it. And therefore it's Trump's fault because we're 97 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:14.639 cutting funding for homelessness. Let's ignore the fact that the 98 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.560 state of California has spent billions and billions of dollars 99 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:29.720 on homelessness to seemingly no effect. In fact, it's a 100 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:36.000 massive scandal that the Newsom administration has spent billions of 101 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:41.560 dollars didn't really track outcomes very well and seemingly has 102 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:45.959 had no improvement on homelessness. Here's a CBS News story 103 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:50.600 from a year ago. Audit finds California spent twenty four 104 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:54.839 billion dollars on homelessness in five years, didn't consistently track outcomes. 105 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.439 California spent twenty four billion dollars to tackle homelessness over 106 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:00.160 the past five years, but didn't consistently track whether the 107 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:03.160 huge outlay of public money actually improved the situation. According 108 00:07:03.160 --> 00:07:05.600 to the state audit released again. This was back in 109 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:10.439 April of twenty twenty four, and estimated one hundred and 110 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:13.319 seventy one thousand people are homeless in California, which amounts 111 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:15.040 to roughly thirty percent of all the homeless people in 112 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:18.240 the US. Despite the roughly billions of dollars spent on 113 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:21.639 more than thirty homeless in housing programs during the twenty 114 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:25.000 eighteen to twenty twenty three fiscal years, California doesn't have 115 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:29.680 reliable data needed to fully understand why the problem didn't 116 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.959 improve in many cities, according to the state auditor's report. 117 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.680 This report concludes that the state must do more to 118 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:38.800 assess the cost effectiveness of its homelessness program, state auditor 119 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:41.920 Grant Parks wrote in a letter to Governor Gavin Newsman lawmakers. 120 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:45.160 The audit analyzed five programs that received a combine thirteen 121 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:48.240 point seven billion dollars in funding. It determined that only 122 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:51.360 two of them are likely cost effective, including one that 123 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:53.959 converts hotel and motel rooms into housing and another that 124 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:58.920 provides housing assistance to prevent families from becoming homeless. Under 125 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:01.199 the three point six billion dollar program to convert hotels 126 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:04.279 and motel rooms, which is a lynchpin in Newsome's almostness planed, 127 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:06.079 the average cost of a room is at least two 128 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:08.279 point five times cheaper than building a new home, the 129 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:12.040 audit found. Blah blah, blah blah. Anyway, the remaining three programs, 130 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:14.759 which received a total of nine point four billion dollars 131 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:17.560 since twenty twenty, couldn't be evaluated due to a lack 132 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:31.000 of data. So this is the problem with California has 133 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:35.120 spent a lot of money on band Aids. I think 134 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:38.159 that's the conclusion we should we can maybe draw here. 135 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.639 California is spending a lot of money on band aids, 136 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:49.960 you know, because even I mean, even this idea of 137 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:56.799 converting hotel rooms into housing. That's not necessarily a long 138 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:01.080 term solution. It's not really addressing the root causes. It's 139 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.080 getting people off the street, which is good, that's great, 140 00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:06.840 But I then wonder. 141 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:10.879 Well, are you really addressing the root causes? And again 142 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:15.360 I have my sort of limited window for dealing with this. 143 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.519 A home was housing into the setup shop right across 144 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:23.720 the street from my office at Blackstone. And you know 145 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:25.720 I'm at Blackstone and Griffith. That's where the Right to 146 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:26.440 Life office is. 147 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:32.120 And it's the old Motel six at Blackstone in Ashland, 148 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:34.639 and the back of its parking lot is right across 149 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:37.840 the street from me. And they turned that back fence 150 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:39.600 of the parking lot for some reason, they turned it 151 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:42.600 into a security checkpoint that allows people to come on 152 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:46.120 and off the campus to walk on Griffith Avenue. And 153 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:49.639 what happened a ton of drug dealers just set up 154 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:57.759 shop on Griffith to sell to anybody and everybody from 155 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:01.559 the homeless shelter. So what I was realizing looking at 156 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:05.639 it was okay, well if this is allowed to continue, 157 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:09.039 And I mean I made such a huge stink on 158 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.480 in the city, calling the cops et cetera, that it 159 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:16.960 seemingly is not continuing. If this is just allowed to continue, 160 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:23.559 these people have a drug problem, which majorly contributes to 161 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:28.519 their homelessness to begin with. They're allowed to maintain their 162 00:10:28.600 --> 00:10:31.000 drug problem the whole time that they're living in this shelter. 163 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:34.559 And this is not a permanent shelter. I think it 164 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:36.679 was like it's like a twenty eight day kind of 165 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:40.320 temporary housing deal. As soon as they leave the shelter, 166 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:45.039 they're still going to have a drug addiction problem. So 167 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:50.240 what is that accomplishing. 168 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:56.080 Nothing? Here? 169 00:10:56.080 --> 00:11:00.720 We are we're spending all this money for this particular 170 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:05.039 housing project. I don't know exactly what it's funded by. 171 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:07.960 I don't know if maybe they're trying to take more 172 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:11.759 measures to cut down on people using drugs. They were 173 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:16.799 responsive to me when I said, hey, you gotta I'm 174 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:18.960 not gonna allow this. I'm not gonna allow your residents 175 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:22.080 just to sit on my stoop and litter and all that. 176 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:29.159 But if that's how a lot of these homeless shelters 177 00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:32.440 are maintained, where like drug dealers just kind of roam 178 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:37.399 around the perimeter of them to sell drugs to residents, 179 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:41.919 I mean, I don't know how much money was spent 180 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:45.120 to convert that motel six into homeless housing. It's got 181 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:46.440 to be a lot. It's got to be a lot 182 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:47.519 to buy it. It's got to be a lot to 183 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.679 retrofit it. It's gotta be a lot of construction costs. 184 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:57.200 I'm I don't know who funded it. I know it's 185 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:00.200 not a city funded thing. I talked with some city 186 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:03.879 council members. Nope, Nope, that's not a city thing. So 187 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:09.399 I presume it's some kind of state grant. Millions of 188 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.759 dollars were probably spent on that shelter. And if that 189 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:16.159 shelter is not able to do anything to deter any 190 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:18.679 of their residents from maintaining a drug problem the whole time, 191 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:21.200 that's just going to be money flushed down the drain. 192 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.840 And that's why I'm a little skeptical of these stories 193 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:29.519 about oh, Trump Administration's cutting a homelessness program and that's 194 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:30.919 going to lead to people being homeless? 195 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:31.919 Is it? 196 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:32.039 Is? 197 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:35.360 It? Really? Is? I sort of wonder. 198 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:40.879 I sort of wonder if we're so focused on the 199 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:44.879 after the fact band aid that we're not getting the 200 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:47.159 root of the problem. We're not really addressing the root 201 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:52.799 of the problem. The root problems. 202 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:57.159 Are drug use. 203 00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:01.360 The root problems are the unaffordability of housing in the 204 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:05.559 first place. And it feels like that this is a constant, 205 00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:12.879 this is a constant California thing. We subsidize the demand 206 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:19.240 rather than increase the supply. We can't afford to build 207 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:20.720 housing for lower income people. 208 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:21.519 So what do we do. 209 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.759 Well, you give a bunch of government subsidies for building 210 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:30.639 low income housing. We don't do anything to address the supply, 211 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:37.120 Like if you had more supply, the cost would go down. No, 212 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:42.639 we don't do any kind of supply side response. Everything 213 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:49.639 is subsidizing the demand. That's the case with housing and 214 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:52.480 with so many other problems housing or lower income people 215 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:54.679 can't afford mortgages. Oh, we have the Rench, We have 216 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:59.200 mortgage assistance programs with more federal subsidies for it, more spending, 217 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:01.720 more spending, more spending, more subsidies, more subsidies, more subsidies. 218 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:09.399 And I think it's nuts. I think it's an after 219 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:12.039 the fact way of addressing problems. It's not getting to 220 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:15.600 the root. So I guess I'm I'm a little leery 221 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:17.759 to say, and especially. 222 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:19.919 Because I don't know all the details and and blah blah. 223 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:21.799 Blah, I'm a little leery to say, oh, yes, the 224 00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:24.440 Trump administration, what a bunch of evil jerks for cutting 225 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:29.799 this homeless this housing program. 226 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:31.840 Maybe it was wise, maybe it wasn't. I don't know, 227 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:33.840 but I'm. 228 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.360 A little loath to say, oh, this cut of money, 229 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:41.320 that's the problem. I don't think money is the problem. 230 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:45.519 We were spending Jack, we were spending zilch on homelessness, 231 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:48.360 you know, thirty years ago, and we had way less 232 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:53.159 homelessness in California. Why because it was more affordable to 233 00:14:53.240 --> 00:15:02.960 live here. So I'm you know, drug proliferation of drugs 234 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.519 wasn't quite as bad. Maybe I don't know. Maybe it 235 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:07.480 was just as bad thirty years ago as far as 236 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:12.440 drug problems, but we weren't spending that much thirty years ago, 237 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:15.080 and we didn't have the same problem with homelessness. Clearly, 238 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:17.960 there is something wrong with our state, and it's with 239 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:22.879 our state, with our state and Oregon and Washington and 240 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.320 New York and Illinois. 241 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:29.559 Hmm. Maybe the problem is purely just. 242 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:33.320 Electing Democrats all the time. That's the one connective thread 243 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:39.559 between everything. So in short, I think this is another 244 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:48.360 kind of classic example of making liberal lawmakers feel better 245 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:52.120 about themselves by saying we spent fifteen billion dollars to 246 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:55.200 address homelessness without actually looking at one, Does that actually 247 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:56.240 fix the problem in two? 248 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:57.799 Is this not really a. 249 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:01.519 Root problems solution. This is just a band aid to 250 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:06.879 cover up what's going on when we return how this 251 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:10.639 is yet another feather in the cap of good old 252 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:15.399 Gavin Newsome. That's next on the John Girardi Show. Homelessness 253 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.720 is one of the many reasons I just don't see 254 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:24.600 Gavin Newsome credibly winning, credibly winning the presidency, credibly even 255 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:31.879 winning the Democratic nomination to be president. The state has 256 00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:38.399 spent under his watch tens of billions of dollars. In 257 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:40.879 twenty twenty four, they had this audit come out and say, hey, 258 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:43.120 you know how we spent like twenty four billion dollars 259 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:46.799 over five years on homelessness, and it seems like we 260 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:47.519 have no. 261 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:49.759 Data to ensure that this was effective at all. 262 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:53.080 We didn't even have metrics for ensuring it was effective. 263 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:55.799 And by the way, it doesn't seem like it was effective. 264 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:04.559 It's it's one of like five or six huge issues 265 00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:09.039 that I don't see how he recovers from. And my 266 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:13.720 mind always goes to the same place the hypothetical CNN 267 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:19.359 or MSNBC Democrat primary debate that presumably will be held 268 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:23.480 in probably the first one will happen in December of 269 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:27.559 twenty twenty seven, November December of twenty twenty seven. And 270 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:33.480 he's gonna be up there with maybe Kamala maybe maybe not, 271 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:38.599 we'll see, but certainly with Pete Boodagig. He'll be up there, 272 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:52.799 maybe JB. Pritzker, Newsom's overweight Illinois twin, maybe Josh Shapiro, 273 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:57.960 maybe John Fetterman. Uh, you know, there'll be a smattering 274 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:02.599 of god knows, maybe even AOC. The AOC wild card 275 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:07.160 is really something to think about, because I think she's 276 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:09.279 got some options right now. There are a lot of 277 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:12.519 people thinking she could challenge Chuck Chuck Schumer for his 278 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:13.799 Senate seat. 279 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:18.359 Or she could run for president. So that's the wild card. 280 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:23.759 Anyway, you'll have all these other ambitious Democrats up there. 281 00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:27.440 AOC is ambitious as hell, Josh Shapiros seemingly he is 282 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:31.200 ambitious as hell. And I don't know how Newsome is 283 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:33.160 able to stand up there and say, oh, I was 284 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:36.799 a governor and someone's like, what are you doing here? 285 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.440 You've been saying you're gonna fight homelessness and address the 286 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:43.200 problem of homelessness. You've only been saying it for the 287 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:49.240 last eight eight seven, so that's twenty three years. You've 288 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:53.160 had twenty three years as a major public official to 289 00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:56.680 combat homelessness, where you had seven years as mayor of 290 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.680 San Francisco, eight years as lieutenant governor, eight years as governor, 291 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:04.640 and by every metric, homelessness got worse. You spent tens 292 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:10.599 of billions of dollars, much of it was spent improvidently 293 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:13.519 because you didn't have metrics for ensuring its success or 294 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:19.079 ensuring that that it was or wasn't effective even and 295 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:23.759 by every metric, homelessness got worse under your watch. And now, 296 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:27.559 you know, six and a half years into his governorship, 297 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:30.680 Newsom's in this sort of bitter spot where he's sort 298 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:33.160 of like now trying to shift the blame to local 299 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:35.640 governments because he knows he spent all these billions of 300 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:38.960 dollars and it didn't do jack. So he's now trying 301 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:43.759 to blame local governments for improvidently administering the money that 302 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:46.680 he had the state sent because a lot of these 303 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:49.519 programs got administered by you know, counties and cities and 304 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:52.240 stuff like that. So he's trying to do all these 305 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:55.759 like tough, getting tough, like I'm not going to increase 306 00:19:55.880 --> 00:20:02.039 public union employee salaries for like county and city governments 307 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:06.039 unless they demonstrate, you know, that they're using state money well, 308 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:10.240 and that's ticking off. That's something that's in his current 309 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:13.359 may revision to the budget, and the boy that's really 310 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:16.039 ticking off the public sector unions right now. 311 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:17.599 They are not happy with that. 312 00:20:19.880 --> 00:20:24.319 So Newsom has to do this like blame shifting game, 313 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:29.960 and there's no way the problem is going to get 314 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.559 better at some point in the next year and a half. 315 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:36.880 So I don't know how he's again do I feel 316 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:38.920 like I do this every show. I don't know how 317 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:43.519 Newsome stands up there during a Democrat primary debate and 318 00:20:43.559 --> 00:20:44.240 looks over at. 319 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:46.440 Josh Shapiro and have Josh Shapiro or. 320 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:49.480 AOC to say to him, you know, you've allegedly been 321 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:53.960 the governor of California for eight years and you said 322 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:57.440 you were going to tackle homelessness and every metric homelessness 323 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:00.480 got worse, and you spent tens of billions of dollars 324 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:04.799 to no effect. How how do you come up here 325 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:06.720 and lecture the rest of us about what it means 326 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:10.319 to be a good leader. How can you dare to 327 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:13.519 say that you should take your track record of governing 328 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:16.279 one state and expand it to the whole country. 329 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:20.599 You are a fraud. I mean, I. 330 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:23.440 Don't And by the way, homelessness is not even the 331 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:27.160 worst of these issues. Homelessness is one of like five 332 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:31.759 issues that are like that for Newsome where I don't 333 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:34.359 know what his response will be other than some kind 334 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:37.559 of slick used car salesman kind of dodge that he's 335 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:40.000 going to try to pull on everybody. But he can't 336 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:42.400 do that that long. Eventually he's gonna get nailed to 337 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:50.359 the wall by somebody. Someone is going to roast him. 338 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:54.160 And that's why I kind of wonder if his I 339 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:56.480 wonder if he knows it. I wonder if he realizes 340 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:01.519 that he's not really in a good position to run for president, 341 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:06.039 but news stories keep coming out that he's interested. When 342 00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:12.079 we return another episode in people flying enormous flags on 343 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:16.759 the side of El Capitan somehow and federal employees pretending 344 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:19.279 to have no idea about it, That is next on 345 00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:23.400 The John Girardi Show. Some of you may remember this 346 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:28.000 story from February. It was San Francisco Chronicle reported on 347 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:30.359 and a bunch of people reported on it that a 348 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:35.079 group of Yosemite National Park staffers hung a big American 349 00:22:35.160 --> 00:22:39.480 flag upside down on the face of El Capitan in 350 00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:46.119 Yosemite as a protest to the Trump administration laying off 351 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:52.640 a bunch of National Park employees. And at the time 352 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:55.720 I remembered feeling that, wow, what a great illustration of 353 00:22:55.759 --> 00:23:02.319 why these people should be fired. And there was like 354 00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:05.200 the story came and went and all these questions were 355 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:05.960 left lingering. 356 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:09.440 So questions such. 357 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:16.119 As did federal employees do that on their work time? Like, 358 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:19.240 we're paying you to be forest rangers and you're up 359 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:21.160 here protesting the Trump administration. 360 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:22.680 Did you do that on work time? 361 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:27.279 You certainly did it on work land, I mean in 362 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:30.799 the National Park where you're supposed to be working. How 363 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.440 did you get a big old flag to the top 364 00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:35.920 of El Capitan? That's another thing I wanted to know. 365 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:43.200 How logistically was that supposed to work? Also, like, did you, 366 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:47.799 as a Yosemite Park employee have special access that allowed 367 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:50.920 you to get to the top of El Capitan to 368 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:56.200 fly an American flag upside down? Not to mention the 369 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:58.519 whole idiocy of remember how the New York Times for 370 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:05.160 because Missus Alito flew a American flag upside down because her 371 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:09.799 neighbors started yelling at her after January sixth, then basically 372 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:11.759 tried to act as though it was Sam Alito's fault 373 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:13.559 that January sixth happened for some reason. 374 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:14.640 And her neighbors were being mean to her. 375 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:17.680 So Missus Alito flew an American flag upside down, and 376 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:20.000 this led to all these problems for Justice Alito. 377 00:24:20.359 --> 00:24:21.799 People saying, oh, the. 378 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:24.279 Upside down flag was a symbol of for the stop 379 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:27.359 the Steel movement. Now all of a sudden, when it's 380 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:29.559 people protesting trumpets, Oh well, it's just kind of a 381 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:31.440 generic American symbol for distress. 382 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:39.920 Anyway, that whole story came and went. 383 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:44.359 I had all these questions that led me to think, well, maybe, yeah, 384 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:47.440 if this is what the staff at the National Park 385 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:52.200 is and does and has time to do apparently, then yeah, 386 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:58.720 maybe they probably should have been fired. Well we've got 387 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:04.279 another one, folks, We've got another large flag being flown 388 00:25:04.359 --> 00:25:08.119 on the side of El Capitan. It's written by Abigail 389 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:11.519 Anthony and National Review find it odd. I didn't see 390 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:18.839 this anywhere in local media. On May twentieth, activists raised 391 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:23.519 a massive transgender pride flag on El Capitan in Yosemite 392 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:28.039 National Park on Tuesday to protest the Trump administration's LGBTQ 393 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:33.640 related policies. I will note it's only the T. The 394 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:37.240 Trump administration seems totally the hunky dory with the L 395 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:40.920 and the G and the B, possibly the Q. 396 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:43.640 They just don't like the T. 397 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:50.400 By the way, the greatest marketing UH coup of all 398 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:58.839 time was how transgender activists whatever managed to stick the 399 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:02.279 T in with the L and the G and the B. Because, look, 400 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:05.400 I think maybe there are some philosophical reasons why it 401 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:07.680