WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:06.759 It's finally become socially acceptable for liberals to notice that 2 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:11.599 California is not doing so hot. It's finally socially acceptable 3 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:15.400 for liberals to notice that, hey, California has had fifteen 4 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:22.399 years of unimpeded Democrat rule and yet and yet things 5 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:29.519 aren't so great there. Not everything is hunky dory, And 6 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:32.920 it's sort of leading to questions about the so called 7 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.320 expertise of the experts, of the sort of technocratic class 8 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:41.320 that democrats love and have embraced and embody, and the 9 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:44.840 kinds of the ways in which they have decided to govern. 10 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:49.640 This has impacted a lot of things. Well, let's go 11 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:53.039 from things like housing and all kinds of stuff like that. 12 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:57.240 There are so many areas of classically bad liberal governance 13 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:02.880 California environmental law, the high speed rail system, all kinds 14 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:05.760 of bad things. I want to go to. Community colleges 15 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:14.400 not often the butt end of our jokes and critiques 16 00:01:14.439 --> 00:01:22.480 of California's inept system of governance. And yet this story 17 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:31.560 is so bad it's hilarious. It's about scammers stealing millions 18 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:38.959 of dollars from California's community colleges. This is from a 19 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:43.560 piece in cal Matters calmatters dot org, written by Adam Ecklman. 20 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:50.000 For years, scammers have targeted community colleges across the state, 21 00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:54.239 posing as students in order to steal money from scholarships 22 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:58.560 or government financial aid. Recent state reports suggest that the 23 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:02.680 problem is getting worse, and college leaders say they're worried 24 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.480 that the Trump administration's cuts to the US Department of 25 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:11.080 Education could hamper fraud prevention and investigations. So, of course 26 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.599 the media the article tries to paint this as a 27 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:19.080 Trump administration problem. But let's let us continue, shall we. 28 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:25.479 In twenty twenty one height of COVID, the California Community 29 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:29.520 College's Chancellor's office reported that about twenty percent of college 30 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:38.199 applicants were likely fake, So a fifth of all people 31 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:42.439 applying for the community colleges were not real human beings. 32 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:46.680 In January of twenty twenty four, just a year ago, 33 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:50.199 fifteen months ago, the state said it was about twenty 34 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:57.520 five percent. Now, just a year later, the number is 35 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:04.680 thirty four percent. So fully a third of everybody applying 36 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:11.080 for community college in California is not a real person, 37 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:18.439 is a fraudster, and it's probably more than that. Those 38 00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:23.560 are all the ones that are getting stopped, said John Hetz, 39 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:25.639 the Executive Vice Chancellor for the Data Team at the 40 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:30.960 Chancellor's office. The scammers that aren't stopped have stolen millions 41 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:35.520 in taxpayer dollars. Calmetters reported that these fake students receive 42 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:39.919 more than five million dollars from the federal government and 43 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:43.000 nearly one point five million dollars from the state, according 44 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.800 to anonymized reports that colleges submitted to the state from 45 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:54.840 September twenty twenty one through December twenty twenty three. Faculties 46 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:59.360 say they're exasperated from working as detectives trying to suss 47 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:03.199 out which students surreal. They say scammers are increasingly relying 48 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.599 on artificial intelligence to infiltrate classes, using tools like chat 49 00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:13.280 GPT to pose as students. Students say these fraudsters are 50 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:17.160 taking coveted seats and preventing them from enrolling in classes 51 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:21.360 they need to graduate. In the last twelve months, colleges 52 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:24.959 have reported giving away giving more than ten million dollars 53 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:28.079 in federal dollars to fake students, so just in the 54 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:32.839 last twelve months. In the last year, colleges have reported 55 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:37.319 that they've given ten million dollars to fake students. That's 56 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:39.560 the federal money and three million dollars in state money, 57 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:46.639 so thirteen million dollars just in the last year. Data 58 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:48.720 from the first few months of twenty twenty five show 59 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:51.279 that colleges have already given away more than three million 60 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:53.720 in federal aid and over seven hundred thousand in state dollars. 61 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:59.959 So we're on track for about twelve million dollars, about 62 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:05.040 almost fifteen million dollars for this year. The scope of 63 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:10.879 fraud is relatively small, said Chris Ferguson. I don't know 64 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:14.600 if the amount of fraud is relatively small. I don't know. 65 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:20.480 It's fifteen million more dollars than I have, said Chris Ferguson, 66 00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:23.680 a finance executive at the Chancellor's office, especially when compared 67 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:26.319 to the roughly one point seven billion dollars in federal 68 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:28.600 aid and one point five billion dollars in state aid 69 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:33.160 to California's community college students last year. He also said 70 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:36.360 it's likely that colleges have improved their ability to detect 71 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:41.120 fraud over time, potentially inflating the reporting numbers. Why would 72 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:47.279 that inflate the reporting numbers if they are getting better 73 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:52.879 at detecting fraud, I mean wouldn't just mean that their 74 00:05:52.920 --> 00:06:00.120 numbers before were inadequate anyway. State lawmakers of allocation did 75 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:02.959 roughly one hundred and fifty million dollars towards cybersecurity in 76 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:05.000 twenty twenty two, and the Chancellor's office has brought in 77 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:08.439 numerous tech companies, including id dot me and to n 78 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:11.639 in Lexus Nexus to help authenticate students. Here's a way, 79 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:15.399 Why don't you have the student show up with an 80 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:20.160 ID to talk to a human being at this community call. 81 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:23.879 Oh wait, I forgot. We're still trying to do this. 82 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:29.519 Pretend you know, kobuki theater, silliness of being concerned about 83 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:36.839 in person classes and blah blah blah blah blah. Anyway, 84 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:40.000 we're bringing in all these tech companies to help authenticate students. 85 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:44.319 But Hets said none of these interventions will ever completely 86 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:47.000 eliminate fraud, because each time the state gets better at 87 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:51.680 fighting fraud, the bad actors adapt the tech equivalent to 88 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:55.519 the red queen hypothesis. Not sure what that is. College 89 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.560 leaders also rely on the Federal Education Department to help 90 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:02.560 find scammers. The department is broadly responsible for administering federal 91 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:06.519 financial aid and for preventing and investigating related fraud. The 92 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:09.720 office that administers federal aid has lost about half of 93 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:14.240 its staff through layoffs, voluntary buyouts, and retirements. California Attorney 94 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:17.480 General Rob Bonte recently joined other Democratic Attorneys general ensuing 95 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:21.399 the Trump administration over these cuts, alleging they violate the constitution. 96 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:27.360 Although not technically part of the lawsuit or the layoffs. 97 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:31.240 The Education Department's Office of Inspector General, which is responsible 98 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:33.879 for fraud detection, so the state employees who are supposed 99 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:37.120 to look into fraud, none of them have been touched here. 100 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:41.360 Some of the Federal Department of Education fraud detection people 101 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:49.519 have been laid off or have resigned. Since October first, 102 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.120 the Office of Inspector General has lost more than twenty 103 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:54.759 percent of its staff, said Catherine Grant, a spokesperson for 104 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:59.639 the office, including experienced auditors and investigators. As as for 105 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:02.560 how these staffing changes affect the Office of Inspector General's 106 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.920 ability to investigate student aid fraud in California, we are 107 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.000 committed to fighting student aid fraud wherever. That's not an 108 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:13.000 answer as to how these staffing changes will affect their 109 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:16.879 ability to investigate, And then they don't say how we 110 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:18.839 are limited with what we can do based on our 111 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:26.879 limited resources, so basically, and then it goes on to 112 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:31.959 tell the story about how at Berkeley City College, how 113 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:37.639 students were able to get around get around it, and 114 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:43.279 how professors one professor was saying a librarian, Heather Dodge, 115 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:45.919 who works at Berkeley City College. It writes about her 116 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:48.559 to connect with students and make the classes more engaging. 117 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:51.639 Dodge said she always began the course by asking students 118 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:54.679 to submit a video introducing themselves using their webcam or 119 00:08:54.679 --> 00:08:57.879 an iPhone. It's a very low bar, she said, but 120 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:00.480 quote I started noticing that there would be a handful 121 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:03.080 of students that wouldn't submit that assignment in the first week. 122 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:05.279 First she would send them a message, and then if 123 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:07.480 they still didn't respond, she'd drop them from the class. 124 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:11.080 As long as the teacher drops a student within a 125 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:14.000 certain timeframe, in this case, the first week, their enrollment 126 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:16.639 in that class is void and the student can't seek 127 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.919 financial aid for that course. After the first week, however, 128 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:22.039 it's harder to remove them. This semester, she said, she 129 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:25.360 started with thirty five students within the first week. She 130 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:28.080 kicked out a few students who didn't submit a video 131 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:30.879 before students found a work around sending her a written 132 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:34.559 response instead. The text was generic, she said, like something 133 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:37.559 chat GPT would write, but she wasn't willing to drop 134 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:39.879 them from the course. Are these students who are having 135 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:43.159 technological challenges? Maybe they didn't have a webcam, maybe they 136 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:47.440 didn't understand the assign again, have them show up to 137 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:52.480 the college. Stop doing all this remote crap. COVID's done. 138 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:57.759 Stop pretending otherwise. It was really hard to suss out 139 00:09:57.799 --> 00:09:59.679 what was going on with it. It's not that hard 140 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:02.480 to say, I'm not blaming this one, you know, teacher 141 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:09.720 at Berkeley City College. It's easy to fix this, Dodge said. 142 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:11.919 She's also worried about how it looks to drop so 143 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.720 many students in a class. Well, yeah, and this shouldn't 144 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:19.639 be on her. Community college's funding is largely pegged to enrollment, 145 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:22.960 and the Peralta community college district where Dodge teaches is 146 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:26.240 suffering from enrollment to clients and faces major financial losses 147 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:28.840 if they see I'm running a class it starts with 148 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.559 thirty five students and ends with fifteen. That looks terrible. 149 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:34.159 But yeah, of course it looks tir I feel bad 150 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:37.200 for she shouldn't have to be that the individual community 151 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:40.360 college teachers shouldn't be the ones doing this. The administration 152 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:43.240 should be smart enough to realize, hey, like a third 153 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:48.279 of everyone applying is a scammer. More than that are 154 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:53.480 probably getting through. Have some requirement that someone show up 155 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:57.919 to something like this isn't hard and the idea all 156 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:00.480 we got to blame the Trump administration for not helping 157 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:03.799 detect front. No, you can manage this on your own. 158 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:09.679 There are low tech solutions to this. The bots impersonate 159 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:15.000 homeless students and former foster youth. By statute, California's community 160 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:17.679 colleges are required to accept any legitimate student, and state 161 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:20.080 leaders have spent decades to trying to make it easier 162 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:23.120 for students to enroll. Community college districts must sign an 163 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:26.080 affidavit swearing the veracity of their information, but otherwise many 164 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:30.159 colleges don't independently verify a student's address or identity. Why 165 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:34.200 the heck not? We serve a large proportion of students 166 00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:39.759 who may not have documentation for a variety of reasons. No, okay, 167 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:45.039 if you're talking about genuinely homeless students, all right, but 168 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:50.080 it is not a large proportion of your students who 169 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:53.399 cannot provide you with any kind of documentation of that 170 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:57.559 you live somewhere or that you're a real human being. 171 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.360 Everyone's got a social Security card, everyone's got a driver's license. 172 00:12:08.919 --> 00:12:11.480 We have a large proportion of students who may not 173 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:14.360 have documentation for a variety of reasons, SI heads, such 174 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:17.480 as students who are homeless, those who are undocumented, and 175 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:19.879 those who are leaving the foster care system or don't 176 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:21.240 have a relationship with their parents. 177 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:24.039 But still like, if you're going to community college, presumably 178 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.720 you've got a driver's license, you've got a social Security card, 179 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:32.360 you've got some kind of ID. 180 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:36.879 I guess undocumented immigrants that that's another you know, that's 181 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:38.960 a whole different can of worms where we have to have, 182 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:45.440 you know, political arguments at any rate. It's just yet 183 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:51.559 another example of California is very comfortably ruled by sort 184 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:55.159 of one class of people, and they're all very comfortable 185 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:57.919 in their expertise. They're all very comfortable, and how smart 186 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:00.840 they are, they're all very comfortable, and how professional they are, 187 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:06.080 and how credentialed they are. And when you just scratch 188 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:14.720 this veneer of competence, you pretty quickly find out these 189 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:19.399 are not very competent people. These aren't like the smartest 190 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:24.440 people in the world. They're just as dopey as anybody else, 191 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:28.720 and they're getting But the problem is, I mean, this 192 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:31.639 is far from the biggest scam that has robbed taxpayers 193 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:34.320 in California. I don't know how many of you guys 194 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.279 remember like the number of people who are just absolutely 195 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:44.759 bilking the state, the state through its unemployment agency, and 196 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:48.240 how we were losing like billions of dollars in unemployment 197 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:52.039 benefits that we're just going out to total scammers, including 198 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:55.600 this one rapper who literally did a rap song about 199 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:59.960 scamming the state of California out of the Employment Development Division, 200 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:07.639 the EDD scamming EDD out of money like it's unbelievable. 201 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:13.000 But then sort of the helpless attitude of this article 202 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.679 where we try to be so lenient with homeless students, 203 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:21.240 which I just cannot imagine. There are that many homeless 204 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:26.799 students whose identity you cannot verify through any other means. 205 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:29.360 You can't use a Social Security card, you can't find 206 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:33.279 a birth certificate, you can't on record, you can't find 207 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.720 any other way to verify that someone's a real human being. 208 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:46.440 And beyond that the community colleges they're getting skilled. When 209 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:48.840 we return, we'll talk about ways community colleges are getting 210 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:51.720 scamed left, right and centered. They're getting scammed with wildfire relief, 211 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:54.720 all kinds of stuff. That is next on the Johntsarardy Show, 212 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:59.879 a big story about how fully a third of every 213 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.559 every one applying for community college in California is a scammer, 214 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:07.320 and actually it might be more than that. Many people 215 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:11.440 being admitted to community colleges in California and participating in 216 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:18.960 remote classes is a scammer, and the state is befuddled, bewildered, 217 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:22.600 and woe is me trying to find a way to 218 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:27.000 how can we stop online scammers who are applying for 219 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:29.559 community college and trying to get state in federal financial 220 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:35.039 aid and bilking the state out of millions and the 221 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:44.879 helplessness that is on display. So here, the problem is 222 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.759 you have bots run by scammers applying for community college, 223 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.840 signing up for classes, and if they're in a class 224 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:56.879 for more than like a week, and I guess this 225 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:00.120 must be all remote learning classes. If they're in a 226 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:02.879 class for more than a week and don't get dropped 227 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:06.320 within that week, they get that money and it's really 228 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.080 hard to get them to need to get that money back. 229 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:16.720 The horses out of the barn. And I can think 230 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:22.720 of several solutions, like, hey, stop having stop having so 231 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:26.639 many remote classes number one. Number two. Maybe just requires 232 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:28.720 someone at the start of every semester to just show 233 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.360 up in person to register for something. I don't know, 234 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:38.639 crazy idea. It just seems like there's so many low 235 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:43.000 tech ways, and the community colleges just seem like these 236 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:47.159 helpless waifs, unable to solve the problem. So the State 237 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:51.360 Chancellor's Office for the community colleges throughout the state contracted 238 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:54.720 with id dot me to provide verification through the state's 239 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:59.159 college application portal. But students aren't required to use it. Well, 240 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:03.600 then what the heck's what's the point of it. However, 241 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:07.559 local districts can impose more stringent requirements. Why why did 242 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:10.359 you spend a bunch of money to contract with an 243 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:12.880 ID verification thing and then not require it to be 244 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:18.359 used for a while. Nicole Albo Lopez, the deputy chancellor 245 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.480 for the Los Angeles Community College District, said her district 246 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:24.440 was more lenient with college applicants who appeared to be 247 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:28.039 homeless or former foster youth, but quote the bots figured 248 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:31.000 that out again that they keep trying to use this excuse. 249 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:34.000 Well, we didn't want to have people submit like, you know, 250 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:38.480 address verification, you know, verification materials because they might be homeless, 251 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:41.960 which is like okay, First, how many homeless students are 252 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:42.720 actually applying? 253 00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:48.359 This seems I don't know, it seems like a fishy excuse. Secondly, 254 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:51.240 how many foster youth are applying? And why would foster 255 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:58.519 youth or former foster youth not have like any materials 256 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:01.880 available to verify who they are? Like that really nobody 257 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:10.279 has a social Security number. Last year, the deputy chancellor 258 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:12.519 for the LA Community College District, which I have to 259 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:16.119 imagine is you know, overseeing gazillions of community college students. 260 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:19.880 She said that her district purged roughly a quarter of 261 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.799 all class registrations because of potentially fraudulent activity. So a 262 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.480 quarter of everyone in the Los Angeles Community College District 263 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.759 was a fraud start that they found that they detected 264 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:36.640 and changed its policy requiring almost all students to verify 265 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:40.880 their identity. Again, why not just have the student show 266 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:46.039 up so that you see it's a real person. It 267 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:50.680 also paid so cure an identity verification company just over 268 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:52.680 two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to help with its 269 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:55.680 fraud detection. Again, why not just have a policy of 270 00:18:55.880 --> 00:19:00.720 show up with something that shows you're a human being 271 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:04.799 with a name, like show up with your driver's license. 272 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:07.839 How many people are signed up for classes at an 273 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:12.440 LA community college. You don't have a driver's license, you 274 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.279 don't have a birth certificate, you don't have a driver's license, 275 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:21.119 you don't have a social security like something. But fraud attempting. 276 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:23.880 I mean, if you just required someone to show up 277 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:27.279 one time before this, even if you want to do 278 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:30.440 all remote learning still by the way, it's twenty twenty five. 279 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.880 COVID is done. I don't understand why you have to 280 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.839 have still like classes on zoom. Stop doing it. We 281 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:42.119 have these community college buildings. Just have them show up 282 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:47.599 at least one time, show some identification, say hi, my 283 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:51.400 name is so and so I am here, take their picture, 284 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:54.720 make sure the picture doesn't match someone else in the system, 285 00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:02.119 and on you go. I don't understand why you need 286 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:05.680 two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from an identity verification company. 287 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:09.839 Fraud attempts persisted nonetheless as wildfires. Now this is great 288 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:14.079 as wildfires raged through Los Angeles County in January and 289 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:17.319 community college has raised millions to support students who lost 290 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:22.039 their homes. Scammers swooped in. Enrollment at East Los Angeles 291 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:26.160 College suddenly doubled that month, but many of the students 292 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:29.920 were likely fake, said Albo Lopez. People probably thought there 293 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:33.279 was going to be fire money at the San Diego 294 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:36.079 Community College District, where instances of fraud were also on 295 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:37.279 the right. By the way, this is a story from 296 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:41.200 cal Matters reporting on all this. Student services Dean Victor 297 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:44.400 de Vore said his district has found potentially fraudulent students 298 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:47.839 who passed the id dot me verification process. Now, he said, 299 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:50.720 his district screens all applicants, even those who have verified 300 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:52.960 their identity through id dot me. Well, so why did 301 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:58.240 we pay for id dot me. Dodge said that this 302 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:03.839 teacher from the Berkeley Community College said she asked administrators 303 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:06.200 at the Peralta Community College District to help with all 304 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:09.039 four suspicious students in her class, since she no longer 305 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:11.319 had the authority to drop them from the course. The 306 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:14.079 district ultimately removed both students who had agreed to meet 307 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:16.599 with her over zoom, and but she said that the 308 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:18.799 other two students, the ones who never responded, are still 309 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:29.480 in the course. So there you go. Are incredibly competent, 310 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:37.640 incredibly efficient state government which basically is letting gazillions and 311 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:46.759 gazillions of people just come into community college, get financial 312 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:53.000 aid and just go on their merry way. Scammers and scammers, scammers, 313 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:59.119 scammers with gazillions of bots, siphoning millions of dollars. And again, 314 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:00.960 these are the smart These are the people who were 315 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:03.119 smarter than you. These were the people who knew better 316 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:06.759 than you about everything. These are the people who are 317 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:09.559 in control of California state government and have been in 318 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:11.960 control for fifteen years and are going to continue to 319 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.519 be in control now when we return. I had another 320 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:19.079 piece published in National Review talking about Javier Bisera that 321 00:22:19.240 --> 00:22:24.079 is next on the John Girardi Show. Well, folks, yet again, 322 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:27.880 I had another piece published in National Review. You can 323 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:29.680 check it out at my Twitter account Twitter dot com 324 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:34.799 slash Fresnejohnny at Fresno Johnny on Twitter on x I 325 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:40.319 still can't get over the name change anyway. Check it out. 326 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:45.599 You can also check out on Facebook the John Girardi 327 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:50.839 media page. Look for John Girardi on Facebook and you'll 328 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:54.319 probably find it. So I had this piece published in 329 00:22:54.519 --> 00:23:02.759 National Review, and the the subject of it was Javier Bisera, 330 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:06.640 our beloved Javier Bsara, former Attorney General of California, former 331 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:09.640 HHS secretary, and I talked about this on the show 332 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:16.279 a bit. But last week Bessarah announced that he was 333 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:20.559 going to run for governor and he did this insane, 334 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:28.119 this hilarious interview with the local Fox affiliate news anchor 335 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:33.440 in Los Angeles, in which he was given like opportunity 336 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:36.920 after opportunity. He was asked the question basically, well, you know, 337 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:40.200 we've had all these problems with unaffordability, high cost of 338 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:42.839 living in California, high housing, cost of living in California, 339 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:49.319 and we've had unified Democrat control for control going through 340 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:52.599 puberty on the radio, We've had unified Democrat control for 341 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:58.359 the last fifteen years. What would you do different And 342 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:03.200 but Sarah just proceeded to pay nothing. He talked a 343 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:07.319 lot and didn't actually propose any specific policies he would 344 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:10.440 do differently from his predecessors. The only thing he kept 345 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:14.079 saying he would do is that he would gather together 346 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:19.400 all the experts the best minds, gather together all the experts, 347 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:22.279 have them put all their ideas on the table, scrub 348 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:25.920 it out. He kept using that term, scrub out all 349 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:31.960 the ideas and find what's left, with no sort of 350 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:36.240 indication of like, all right, how are you qualifying someone 351 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:41.039 as an expert? What does scrubbing an idea mean? What 352 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:44.440 is the criteria which you will use to you know, 353 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:48.039 sift through the ideas of the experts and come up 354 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:53.160 with some solution. Anyway, his but basically be Sarah was 355 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:58.240 presented multiple multiple times with the ability, Hey, say what 356 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:00.599 you're going to do different, and he just refuse to 357 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:05.119 take it, like twice multiple times in this interview, is 358 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:06.799 like no, I'm just not gonna say. 359 00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:11.319 And it. 360 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:16.759 Honestly, the interview was so bad. I had been joking 361 00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:19.519 with people before because I mean, the thing that is 362 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:23.559 on everybody's mind is Kamala Harris. Will she or won't 363 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:28.720 she run for governor? Really, Harris, I think has only 364 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:33.519 two mutually exclusive paths that she can take. She can 365 00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:36.839 run for governor or she can run for president. She 366 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:38.480 has to do one or the other. She can run 367 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:40.039 for governor in twenty twenty six. She can run for 368 00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:42.759 president in twenty twenty eight. She can't do both. She's 369 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:45.039 got to pick pretty much just one or the other. 370 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:54.359 And I had been joking with people, sort of joking, 371 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.920 sort of serious texting people after but Sarah announced. I 372 00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:59.960 was saying, oh gosh, but Sarah might be worse than Harrah. 373 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:02.640 I mean, they're both pretty much equally bad policy wise. 374 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:05.680 I mean they're both rabid pro abortion folks. I mean, 375 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:09.160 when you actually look at the laundry list of things 376 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:13.680 Besarah has done with regard to abortion, it's like nightmarish 377 00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:16.160 the things he's voted for it because he was in 378 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:19.480 Congress much longer than Harris was. He was a member 379 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:21.920 of the House for years and years and years before 380 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:25.880 he became the Attorney General of California, and the stuff 381 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:30.599 he has promoted over his time is insane. Voted against 382 00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:39.279 banning partial birth abortion even which is nuts. And I 383 00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:41.920 was joking with people, I'm a little I actually think 384 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:44.039 Besarah might be worse because I think he might be 385 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:50.519 smarter than Harris. Well, after watching that interview, I kind 386 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:55.039 of want to amend my statement. So here's a little 387 00:26:55.079 --> 00:27:00.720 snippet of this interview. This is Lex Michaelson from ATV 388 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:06.359 Fox eleven and he is talking with Sarah. Oh. Sorry, 389 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:08.720 well he's trying to interrupt the radio show. Even Okay, 390 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:14.279 so this is Alex Michaelson from KTTLA in Los Angeles. 391 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:16.519 Expensive to live in California for a lot of people, right, 392 00:27:16.599 --> 00:27:18.920 that housing affordability, It is all the rest of that. 393 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:22.440 But whose fault is that? Because Democrats have had a 394 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:28.440 super majority in Sacramento for decades now run every statewide office, 395 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:29.920 isn't that the Democrat's fault. 396 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:32.079 It's a growing issue we've had. 397 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:35.400 Remember, it's a growing issue. What do you mean it's 398 00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:38.240 a growing issue. He asked you, is it the Democrat's fault? 399 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:42.519 And you said it's a growing issue. A great non response. 400 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:46.240 We've had Republican governors as well, Yeah. 401 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:49.960