September 15, 2023 • 31 mins
This fall Californians will have the chance to vote to lower the popular vote threshold for raising taxes. Political spending tops over $10B. Who says the economy is hurting. This week has been chaos at MGM Resorts properties in Las Vegas and elsewhere due to a cyber-attack. TikTok fined for violating privacy rules.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Caf I Am six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to the John and Ken Show on demand
on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
There will be a ballot measure next year, and that
ballot measure is to ask you to not raise taxes,
but to lower the threshold to raise taxes.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
All right, So how does this work out? All right?
Speaker 3 (00:23):
So it's Assembly Constitutional Amendment one. You'll see this referred
to as ACA one, all right, And the idea behind
ACA one is whether or not we take a good
look at the threshold for raising taxes in California. If
you have a municipality that wants to raise taxes for
(00:44):
helping the homeless, or if they want to raise taxes
to repair a bridge something of that sort, or they
want to raise taxes on hotel stays or something of
that sort, you have to have the voters pass those
those referendums by what is basically a two thirds majority,
(01:06):
sixty five percent of the vote. This is pretty high
threshold when it comes to schools. Fifty five percent is
all it is. So number of people in Sacramento said, well,
that doesn't seem right, so why don't we just lower
that down to fifty five percent? It's still more than
fifty percent, but it's not it's not nearly as daunting
to try to get people to pass it as as
(01:27):
is currently the case. At sixty five percent is what
you have to have. In other words, two out of
three households have to approve the tax for it to
go into effect. And some cities municipalities are calling foul.
The story in the La Times talks about Sounema County.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What did it pass a.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Sales tax to fight wildfires? That vote got sixty five percent,
but it didn't get the two thirds, so it did
not pass. And so they said, well, now, now what
are we gonna do? Joining me right now is Carl
to Mile. You're quite familiar with Carl Mile. I'm quite
familiar with Carl Miil Carl. Good to talk to you again.
They're my friend us.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
When I heard that you were sitting in you're the
only one.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So here's the deal.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
We've got people in Sacramento again saying, well, why don't
we make it easier to raise taxes? And I'm going
to go out on a limb and say you don't
like that.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Well, yeah, this is absurd. California already has the highest
tax burden in the country. Of any state, we have
the highest income tax, the highest sales tax, the highest
gas tax, the highest car attax. Despite Prop thirteen, we
still pay some of the highest property taxes because our
homes are assessed so much higher than the rest of
the country. We have the highest utility taxes. Everything is
(02:43):
highest in California. And these greedy politicians, whether it's City
Hall or Sacramento, they say they don't have enough money.
They want to add burdens to our cost of living
with these higher taxes. And Chris, I gotta say, the
reason why we have a twoth or vote requirement for
special taxes is number one. We know that taxation can
(03:06):
be an unfair system. It's easy for the majority to say, hey,
we've decided we're only going to tax people with the
first name Chris and the last name Meryl. You know,
they narrow it down saying we're going to tax the
rich people here, or the soda consumers or the tobacco users.
We're going to tax all these people, and then we're
(03:27):
going to use their money for the for the for
the benefit of of of of the the earmarked people
that we've decided to benefit from the tax. When you
have a risk that the majority can target and take
wealth away from select groups. We need to make sure
that it's a fair process and that everyone agrees overwhelmingly
(03:49):
that we need to do it. That's why the two
thirds originally existed. But here's another reason why we have
two thirds. The politicians lie to us on our ballot.
They have now gotten to the point where they no
longer even tell you what you're voting on. You're not
told that a measure has a tax increase in it.
Instead it says it's for the children, this is an
initiative for safe streets and better schools, And it doesn't
(04:12):
say that there's a tax increase in there, but there
always is a hidden tax increase. So what we did
is we said we've got a fixed Prop thirteen. We
have to restore it because the Democrats have used loopholes
to undermine it over the years. We wanted to get
a taxpayer protection initiative passed in twenty twenty four, and
we're still dedicated to that. That would basically put Prop
(04:33):
thirteen back to where it was in nineteen seventy eight,
providing a fair vote on taxes. The two thirds vote requirement.
The Democrats don't want that, which is why they have
both these bills moving forward ACA one and ACA thirteen,
which would gut Prop thirteen and ultimately it will absolutely
raise your taxes. There's no doubt in my mind.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
So, girl, mile I gues You've got a measure that's
going to be on the ballot, but these are going
to be on the ballot as well. It's is the
ballot likely to be confusing?
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Is this why? I mean messaging has got to be
viol and it's always up.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
You nailed it. One of the the ultimate thing that
Democrats want to do is they want to defeat the
California Taxpayer Protection Initiative that we got on the ballot
through one point four million signatures. It's on in November
twenty twenty four. And so what they're trying to do
is have basically a both and strategy. They want to
both try to lower the threshold for these tax increases
(05:34):
with ACA one, while at the same time using ACA
thirteen to destroy and defeat our ballot measure. They're trying
to make it so that our ballot measure requires a
super majority vote to pass, which means that we would
have to get a two thirds vote to implement our
provisions that require honest ballot titles be presented to voters.
(05:55):
And so they're literally putting a poison pill on the ballot.
But to your even if they don't succeed in passing
their two measures, they're trying to make it so confusing
for voters that they overlook the wonderful initiative that we've
got to restore Prop thirteen to block tax hikes, and
(06:16):
that the voters just say, oh, throw your hands up
in the air, let's vote, go on everything. So what
they're trying to do right now is not only we
can Prop thirteen, but you know, if they can destroy
our measure in the process, they're they're fine with that.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Carl, Well, you tell me more, tell me this this
uh an honest ballot title thing. And I'm with you
because it's so often we get the title that'll be,
you know, the for the Puppies Act or something like that. Right,
So how do you how do you guarantee an honest
title that that's always been a strategy by everybody, regardless
(06:52):
of political party, is to make the title seem catchy.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
So it's very simple. Our initiative requires that if a
measure contains a tax increase. The words tax increase have
to be in the ballot title. How about simple like that.
I mean, that's all we're asking for, is if you're
going to put a tax increase before the voters. And
Prop thirteen requires a vote on taxes. Howard Jarvis never
in his wildest dream, the guy who wrote Prop thirteen
(07:19):
in nineteen seventy eight, he never imagined that politicians would
basically say, all right, we're going to put a tax
increase on the ballot, but we're not going to tell
people it's a tax increase. We're going to say, hey,
this is an initiative that would improve the condition of children,
would fill potholes, Yes or no, They're not going to
tell you it's a tax increase. And so that was
perhaps the one thing that Jarvis was not prepared for.
(07:40):
That Prop thirteen says it needs to be a public vote,
but it never said and you have to tell the
voters what they're voting on has a tax increase in it.
So our measure simply says that if a measure has
a tax increase in it, the title, not the summary,
not the legal ease, but the title itself must contain
the words tax increase, and that is all we're asking
(08:03):
for in terms of the honest ballot titles. You're still
going to have ads that are deceptive. We can't do
anything about that. That's the first amendment. Politicians can lie.
Special interest can bankroll deceptive ads. What we think that
voters deserve is at least an honest disclosure that what
they're about to vote on could end up costing them
or someone else more money. And they need to take
(08:23):
a closer look.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And on the ballot itself, on the paper is what
you're saying, then.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Yeah, on the ballot itself. And we believe that a
fair fight would be achieved if voters actually were given
the truth. And so look, we are up against David
versus Gliath year. We need help. We're going to need
to warn voters that Prop thirteen is in danger of
being gutted by these two initiatives that the Democrats voted
on last night, while also simultaneously getting a yes vote
(08:52):
on our California Taxpayer Protection initiative. So people can join
the campaign, they can contribute, They can sign up for
more information or to volunteer at Stop California Tax Hikes
dot com that Stop California Tax Hikes dot com. And
if you're sick and tired of these politicians lying to
you on the ballot and raising your taxes, you gotta
(09:15):
get in the fight because the special interests are coming
for your wallet. The only way for us to stop
them is if we work together and unite as grassroots
activists at Stop California tax Hikes dot com.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
All right, Carl DeMaio, chairman of a Reform California and
a longtime friend of mine. Carl, I'm I'm happy to
say it's great to.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Talking to you, Chris. We missed you down here in
San Diego.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
We know, and I miss San Diego too. It's one
of my favorite places in the world, There's no doubt.
All Right, Carl, take care.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Of my friend. We'll catch up with you soon.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
You know, speaking of uh, it's going to cost something.
It's going to cost a lot this year for politicians
to run. Remember when we used to be amazed at
how much politicians were spending That was nothing. Those are
the good old Just get ready for this. That's next,
Chris Merrill And for John kN k if I am
six forty, We're live everywhere on your my Heart radio app.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
You're listening to John and Ken on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Debrad, you heard that way before. What are you a pirate?
Speaker 2 (10:23):
I school?
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I once told Robin and I stick to this. Robin
is the program director. I said, I think Handle on
the Law is the best show on radio. I just
love it. I think it is so good, so good.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
And that's why, Oh my gosh, are you a pirate?
I'm Chris Merrill and for John and Kent today KFI
AM six forty. More stimulating talking one day, hoping to
be ever as is creative as Bill Handle.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
It's just wonderful.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Maybe you recall there was a big story and it's
been a while now, but aavy recallers a big story
back in twenty twelve. It was when Mitten's Romney and
Barack Obama were running for the office of President of
the United States, and political spending that year nationwide among
(11:15):
all candidates.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
All the.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
From dog catcher to president, all spending nationwide topped a
billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
And I remember just saying, this is crazy, this is
a billion dollars. And I said, a billion dollars people
are spending and I looked at it at the time,
it says a billion dollars that we could be putting
toward whatever you want, infrastructure, homeless housing, feeding, lost puppies,
(11:48):
whatever it is. Well, that number has changed, one might imagine,
and with inflation whatnot, you know, it's gone up. The
diction is in twenty twenty four, nationwide, we will see
over ten point two billion dollars spent on candidate ads,
(12:12):
ten point two billion dollars, one point two billion in
California alone.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
So what we had nationwide just what will have been
twelve years ago. The anticipation is we'll be for California alone,
and now we're looking at ten billion dollars nationwide. I
get frustrated when I see these numbers because all of
those things that we complain about, when we say that
(12:37):
you got to follow the money, and the politicians are
bought and sold and all of these different and then
you see political spending at ten point two billion dollars.
I will tell you this, politicians hate it when I
say this. I don't donate to politicians. There's two things
I don't do. I don't endorse a politician and I
(12:59):
don't donate to a politician. One is for professional reasons,
and that's because I once endorsed a guy in the
early two thousands who ended up in prison, and I said, well,
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna endorse anybody again because
I don't know how that's gonna end up.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
So I don't do it.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
And the others I don't make donations because, frankly, I
see these I see these politicians running ads NonStop, and
I just think, where's the money coming from, and is
it coming from people who are complaining about the government
taking our money. Imagine ten billion dollars. Now I know
ten billion dollars in the grand scheme of things is
(13:34):
a drop in the bucket in the nationwide American spending,
YadA YadA, But that is a lot of money just
to say I want things to go my way. So
who is making those donations and why are they willing
to put so much money forward? And it's because it
pays off for them in the end. So whether it's
unions making donations to their politicians so that their politicians
(13:54):
will support their strikes as we're seeing play out in
America today, or it's CEOs make donations so that taxes
will be cutting. It will save them and they will
get their bonuses. As we're seeing playing out today, I
don't like seeing this much spending. It just screams crony
capitalism and corruption at the highest levels. All Right, we'll
(14:15):
shift get away from the politics a little bit, because frankly,
I feel gross. There was a hack, a big hack
in Las Vegas. Alex Stone is our ABC News correspondent.
He's going to join us next and tell us about
whether or not your information may have been breached. That's next.
Chris Merril in for JOHNA. KENKFI AM six forty. We're
live everywhere on your iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
You're listening to John and Ken on demand from KFI
AM sixty.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Cyber attacks affecting some of the biggest casino operators in Vegas.
Alex Stone is our ABC News correspondent, Alex Love.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Talking to you, buddy, miss Stare Merrill, How are you.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
I'm doing great there, my friend so good. Let's dive
into what's happening there at the resorts. It sounds like
this has been a real mess for the resort operators here.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
They try to make sure everybody is secure.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Yeah, he really is. And it was five days now. Yeah,
it's been going on since Sunday and they don't seem
to have a good answer to this whole thing. But
this is MGM, so Bellaggio, the Cosmo Aria New York,
New York, Luxor man Le Bay, ex Caliber. It goes
on and on, and then outside of Vegas as well.
I mean it's a lot of properties that are dealing
(15:30):
with this. Hotel room keys not working, slot machines down,
elevators down. If you want room service, you got to
call down. No ordering on the app or on your
TV in your room. You want to pay out at
the casino, you got to It's done by a human.
The computers that won't pay out right now, the little
slips that come out, the vouchers, it is a royal mess, right,
(15:52):
And this is Randall Jensen. He brought us in and
describe what's like on the casino floor at MGM grant.
If you want to get any money back at all,
then you have to have an employee to it manually.
And the whole thing is crazy because it shows you
just how connected everything is, whether it be the elevators
or the slot machines or ordering food, that it's all
(16:13):
connected and all of that has been taken down. Now,
the thing is that the hackers Chris may not be
probably are not in most of this stuff. But MGM,
you know, they had to pull the fire alarm and
just shut everything down so that money isn't flying out
the door. And you know what if they messed with
the elevators, what if they messed with the slot machines.
They don't know where they are and what they're in,
(16:35):
so anything connected MGM has shut off, and so that
makes it that much worse. And in fact, the hacking
group black Cat, they are criticizing MGM saying that they
overreacted and that they weren't aware of their own system
and where these guys are and where they aren't, and
that they shut everything down. But with that guy Randall
Jensen on the floor saying, check in procedure is kind
(16:56):
of messy, a lot of long lines, gamblings messy. It's
not as fun when you have to wait sell the
lines at like Bellagio and elsewhere to check in because
the computers have been not working, or they've got to
manually like give you and make a key card for
you and check you in on paper and everything else
that it's been a very long winding line to get
checked in. So they haven't figured it out yet. They
(17:20):
figured out some workarounds and they're beginning to bring some
things back online, but five days into it, it's still
a mess.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Well man, check in and check out can can be
kind of a time consuming ordeal anyway, depending on what
time you get there. We've all been there and sometimes
you walk right up to the counter and sometimes there's
there's a line.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
So that's got to be they get rid of the
computers and you know, it's like old school where they
got to like make you a key essentially and say
here's your room number, and you know, you can go
to your room and off you go.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
So, Alex, what's happening now with the with the hackers?
Are they are they making demands? Do they just do
this for fun? What's the Do we know what the
motivation was?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah, so they've been pretty public here in the last
twenty four hours. They are making demand. We don't know
exactly what they are there. I'm not saying what the
dollar figures are. But they've set up like chat rooms
where they want to talk to MGM and they want
to talk to the CEO, and they've got links that
they want MGM to click on, and guessing MGM doesn't
want to click on those links, not knowing where it's
going to bring them. So they're publicly putting out statements
(18:18):
saying that that it's about to get a lot worse.
It sounds like MGM there were some reports they'd paid
a ransom, but sounds like they have not paid the ransom.
So this group is saying, because you're not communicating with us,
because you're not agreeing to negotiate with us, that it's
about to go really bad on you, and that they're
going to start to bring down systems and MGM doesn't
know that they're in This is Alex Stamos, a cybersecurity experty,
(18:41):
puts it this way.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
If they're not paying the ransom, which seems to be
what's happening at this point, then the attackers are highly
motivated to try to increase the pressure of them. They're
doing that already through these public interviews to try to
embarrass them. I wouldn't be shocked to see some data
start to get dumped out that was stolen from MGM,
and then if they get really mad, the attackers, I
start the leading systems or breaking stuff where they still
(19:03):
have access.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
So, Chris, it's a question of what does a company
do you know, we've seen the schools and banks have
to deal with this. Do you pay the insane ransom
to make them go away and to get access to
your computers back, even though you still don't know if
they're really in there, and you know, then you got
to kind of clean out your computers and make sure
they're not in there. But in the meantime, they at
least say that if you pay them that they're going
(19:25):
to stop messing with you. Or do you do you know,
the FBI advisor is don't pay the ransom because that
then creates more of these and that if somebody says,
well I can make thirty million dollars, then they're going
to do it again and again and again. The others
are going to do it, so it just propagates more
of these. So do you not do it and then
elongate it like this one is right now? And will
(19:46):
they eventually end up paying anyway? And Samos he's saying
that no matter what, this is gonna cost MGM a
ton of money. Put it this way down here in
ten to twenty million dollars per day is the cost,
and it will be millions and millions of dollars of
so I would not be shocked if the overall cost
isn't one hundred to three hundred million dollar rank and
that's even if they don't pay the ransom. So ten
(20:07):
to twenty million dollars a day or do you say,
you know what enough, here's thirty million dollars, get out
of our computers and then and then go your way.
And as of right now, doesn't look like they're doing that.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Alex Stone is our ABC News correspondent. Alex Like he said,
remediation is going to be an expensive part. That means
I'm guessing bringing in more cybersecurity experts beyond who they
already I'm assuming paid a boatload of money to to
try to prevent this from happening.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
To find the loop past.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Like a flood, Yeah, like a flood in your house
of where is all that mold and you're bringing water
mediation to rip apart the walls and to look for
the mold that they're going to have to do that
in the computer system of rip apart the walls of
the computer networks and figure out where were the bad guys,
and how did they get in and what damage did
they do? And can they still see anything? And you
(20:55):
know all of that, it's going to be a lot
of money.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Do we We don't have any idea how they got
in there then, And I don't mean I don't need
code or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Well, no, not specifics. The group is claiming it was
easy to do that. They found the profile on LinkedIn
and it seems like posed as that person called somebody
and they said there was a ten minute phone call
to get into the internal workings of the system. So
we don't know. But did they call and say, hey,
you know, this is Joe Franklin from the IT department.
(21:23):
I need you to do this and do that and
do this, And did they claim whatever they did that
it was really easy to get in.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Yeah, that's why I wondered, Alex, if it was if
it was a brute force attack, which is you know,
the geeks will tell you that's when you go in
like they do on CSI and somehow they all get
in within about thirty or forty seconds, or the social
engineering where somebody shares a password, or like you kind
of hinted at, they don't want to click on the Yeah, yeah, yeah,
because why do we want to click on that link?
Speaker 1 (21:50):
You gave us another link to click on where I'm
going to fall for it? Dings.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
You already already broke into our system, and you're telling
me to click on this now. But they say, you know,
assuming that they're telling the truth, and I don't know,
do you trust a hacker group that it was a
phone call and then something they got them to do
when they called MGM and that ten minute phone call
that allowed them in.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Oh what a nightmare? What an absolute nightmare? All right?
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Alex Stone, ABC News correspondent Alex as always appreciate the
time I give my best of the family.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
They're my friend.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
You got it, Thanks, Chris, have a great weekend.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Thanks. Yep you two. Bye. What an absolute hell escape
that is?
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Can you imagine being the hotel manager or somebody who's
near the top that all of a sudden has to
deal with this. Can you imagine that coming down on you? Golee, Hey, hey, listen,
everything is shut down. We're gonna lose ten to twenty
million dollars a day.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
What do you want us to do? Boss? Stop losing
ten to twenty million dollars a day. Heads are rolling,
nobody knows, nobody knows, like he said, who's behind this,
nobody knows how they got in. Meanwhile, suppose that you
are some low level intern who took a phone call
from someone you thought was a higher level member of
(23:08):
the IT department, and you did what you were told,
thinking you were doing right.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
You just kind of sheepishly tuck your tail between your
legs and just hope nobody figures that it was you.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
One hundred percent that would have been me.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
I would die.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
I would be so embarrassed. I mean, look, it happens,
it does. I don't want it to happen to me.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I know, right, Oh, it's always like you know, we
all experience this where it's like, oh, that would be me, right,
whatever it is somebody, Yeah, you're carrying a you're carrying
a giant stack of donuts and uh, and you trip
over the sidewalk and it falls onto a police officer
and they're not happy about it. And then somebody takes
a picture and it goes viral. That's me carrying the donuts, right,
(23:51):
Just that's me.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
And then you're trying to explain yourself and nobody really understand.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
It wasn't a political statement. I was taking donuts, but
it fell on the officer and then no, that was it.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
That was me.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
That would totally be me.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Every single time there is a new viral sensation on
the TikTok, and yet it feels very familiar.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Let me tell you what that is next.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
I'm Chris Marilyn for Johnny Katon k IF I am
six forty. We're live everywhere in your iHeart radio app.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
You're listening to John and Ken on demand from KF
I am sixty.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Gen Z loves the newspaper. Oh man, what's old is
new again? I guess Okay.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
So I'm reading this substack called embedded right, and in
the substack it talks about this new trend and this
this this.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Viral sensation on the TikTok. They say this is a uh.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Kate Lindsay is reporting, and Kate Lindsay says that she
came across twenty three year old Kelsey Russell on TikTok
while she was doing something decidedly on tiktoky, reading the
New York Times out loud, saying there was no dancing,
no suspenseful music, not even much editing, but she was
still drawing audiences of ten thousand and fifty thousand.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Even a million viewers.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
WHOA, she's reading the New York Times and she's having
what they're calling sincere and enthusiastic demeanor and a natural
and entertaining way to break down complicated stories.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Wow, what a great idea. Anybody ever think of doing that?
This is remarkable.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
She's been invited now to tour the New York Times office,
is being wooed by the Washington Post. Before she started
reading in news on TikTok, Kelsey found some success with
videos helping black people find your commune in Boston. She
recommended Salon's NightLive, destinations and more.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Huh.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
So, let me get this straight.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
A new hot sensation that's getting ten fifty, ten thousand,
and fifty thousand, even a million views is someone.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Who is.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Sharing the news and giving recommendations about where to spend
your disposable income.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
I should be doing that. Yeah. I feel like there's
a real opportunity there. It shocks me that.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
The society has gone this long without figuring out how
to capitalize in such a thing. To find the news,
to share the news, to have sincere enthusiastic reactions to
the news, to break down complicated stories in an understandable way,
and then to also share likes, dislikes, and other recommendations
(26:57):
to people. It's groundbreaking, It really is, It really is,
And thank goodness we have TikTok to do such a thing, because,
I mean, how long could civilization have gone without discovering
this life hack that other people might share news, disseminate information,
(27:17):
break it down, make recommendations.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
It's literally talk radio. If you're not catching on, it
is literally what we've been doing for one hundred years.
Oh we're not on TikTok. Wow, it's so crazy, though,
she's so far outside the box.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
WHOA, congratulations, gen Z. You just became everything you thought
you hated old that's it.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Congratulations. It's so revolutionary. And look, we're as guilty as anyone,
are we not, Deborah.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I mean, when we were young, we thought we had
it figured out, and we would stumble across something and
we'd be like, whoa, this is so crazy. How come
nobody ever did this before? Only to find out that, uh,
it's been done before. It's like when my kids, like
I don't watch TV, I watch YouTube and you go, oh,
you do? Why because they have people on there that
(28:12):
make these different like YouTube shows.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
That are really entertaining and good, and you go, they do,
and how do they do that? Well, they've got a studio.
Even they're really good.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
Never heard of that.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
If only someone had come up with this concept of
I don't know, developing a plotline and a story and
putting it into a studio and staging it and then
sharing that with an audience in another manner. If only
someone had thought of that before. We missed out in
our childhoods, didn't we Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
And at some point gen Z is going to be
like us, right, I remember being that lowsed gen Z.
We were gen X, right. It was like gen X
is showed and everybody takes their turn. Everybody takes their turn,
and at one point you are the loathed generation by
everyone else. And then you get to be that age
(29:06):
loathed generation like the boomers are today, right, And so
you go from being everybody hates you because you're young
and stupid and everything you do is dumb and why
do they do it that way? To you get to
be old and then everyone hates you because everything you
do is old and stupid. Why do you do it
that way only to find out it's all basically the
same thing, just different iterations.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
It's like when people marvel over old stories. You know,
I went to school for theater performance. We had to
do a lot of Shakespeare, right, Oh, you gotta know
your Shakespeare class.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
God, it was brutal. Hated it. I didn't hate the stories,
I just hated waiting through it because the stories were
not new.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
They're not new stories. Shakespeare didn't have new ideas. He
wrote old stories.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
In a new way. And now it's brutal for me.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
To read because it's an old way that I want
to hear the new stories.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
It's the same thing. We're not Listen, you didn't invent
the wheel. You just reinvented the wheel.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
So, gen Z, when you get all excited about the
breakthrough that you've got, oh my goodness, I got an idea.
How about skinny ties? No one ever thought of skinny
ties before? At Please you do skinny ties, everybody, Yeah, crazy,
it's been done. Now I have to go take my
(30:23):
heart medication because the doctor told me my blood pressure
is getting out of control. And gen Z, you have
that to look forward to, too, because as soon as
Jen Alpha starts to irritate you, you too may have
a little mini heart attack every time you start talking
about them, only because half the time you're talking about them,
you're also realizing how much of a dope you were
at that age, and then you realize how much of
(30:45):
a dope you're going to look like when you become
the age old generation really is a vicious cycle. Hey,
there's good news. One thing that every generation can agree on.
We love going to see Mickey and Mickey is I
told you it's a fat of America.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
That's next.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Chris Merril in for John KENKFI AM six forty. We're
live everywhere in your iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Hey, you've been listening to the John and Ken Show.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
You can always hear us live on KFI AM six
forty one pm to four pm every Monday through Friday,
and of course anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Caf I Am six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to the John and Ken Show on demand
on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
There will be a ballot measure next year, and that
ballot measure is to ask you to not raise taxes,
but to lower the threshold to raise taxes.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
All right, So how does this work out? All right?
Speaker 3 (00:23):
So it's Assembly Constitutional Amendment one. You'll see this referred
to as ACA one, all right, And the idea behind
ACA one is whether or not we take a good
look at the threshold for raising taxes in California. If
you have a municipality that wants to raise taxes for
(00:44):
helping the homeless, or if they want to raise taxes
to repair a bridge something of that sort, or they
want to raise taxes on hotel stays or something of
that sort, you have to have the voters pass those
those referendums by what is basically a two thirds majority,
(01:06):
sixty five percent of the vote. This is pretty high
threshold when it comes to schools. Fifty five percent is
all it is. So number of people in Sacramento said, well,
that doesn't seem right, so why don't we just lower
that down to fifty five percent? It's still more than
fifty percent, but it's not it's not nearly as daunting
to try to get people to pass it as as
(01:27):
is currently the case. At sixty five percent is what
you have to have. In other words, two out of
three households have to approve the tax for it to
go into effect. And some cities municipalities are calling foul.
The story in the La Times talks about Sounema County.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What did it pass a.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Sales tax to fight wildfires? That vote got sixty five percent,
but it didn't get the two thirds, so it did
not pass. And so they said, well, now, now what
are we gonna do? Joining me right now is Carl
to Mile. You're quite familiar with Carl Mile. I'm quite
familiar with Carl Miil Carl. Good to talk to you again.
They're my friend us.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
When I heard that you were sitting in you're the
only one.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So here's the deal.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
We've got people in Sacramento again saying, well, why don't
we make it easier to raise taxes? And I'm going
to go out on a limb and say you don't
like that.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Well, yeah, this is absurd. California already has the highest
tax burden in the country. Of any state, we have
the highest income tax, the highest sales tax, the highest
gas tax, the highest car attax. Despite Prop thirteen, we
still pay some of the highest property taxes because our
homes are assessed so much higher than the rest of
the country. We have the highest utility taxes. Everything is
(02:43):
highest in California. And these greedy politicians, whether it's City
Hall or Sacramento, they say they don't have enough money.
They want to add burdens to our cost of living
with these higher taxes. And Chris, I gotta say, the
reason why we have a twoth or vote requirement for
special taxes is number one. We know that taxation can
(03:06):
be an unfair system. It's easy for the majority to say, hey,
we've decided we're only going to tax people with the
first name Chris and the last name Meryl. You know,
they narrow it down saying we're going to tax the
rich people here, or the soda consumers or the tobacco users.
We're going to tax all these people, and then we're
(03:27):
going to use their money for the for the for
the benefit of of of of the the earmarked people
that we've decided to benefit from the tax. When you
have a risk that the majority can target and take
wealth away from select groups. We need to make sure
that it's a fair process and that everyone agrees overwhelmingly
(03:49):
that we need to do it. That's why the two
thirds originally existed. But here's another reason why we have
two thirds. The politicians lie to us on our ballot.
They have now gotten to the point where they no
longer even tell you what you're voting on. You're not
told that a measure has a tax increase in it.
Instead it says it's for the children, this is an
initiative for safe streets and better schools, And it doesn't
(04:12):
say that there's a tax increase in there, but there
always is a hidden tax increase. So what we did
is we said we've got a fixed Prop thirteen. We
have to restore it because the Democrats have used loopholes
to undermine it over the years. We wanted to get
a taxpayer protection initiative passed in twenty twenty four, and
we're still dedicated to that. That would basically put Prop
(04:33):
thirteen back to where it was in nineteen seventy eight,
providing a fair vote on taxes. The two thirds vote requirement.
The Democrats don't want that, which is why they have
both these bills moving forward ACA one and ACA thirteen,
which would gut Prop thirteen and ultimately it will absolutely
raise your taxes. There's no doubt in my mind.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
So, girl, mile I gues You've got a measure that's
going to be on the ballot, but these are going
to be on the ballot as well. It's is the
ballot likely to be confusing?
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Is this why? I mean messaging has got to be
viol and it's always up.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
You nailed it. One of the the ultimate thing that
Democrats want to do is they want to defeat the
California Taxpayer Protection Initiative that we got on the ballot
through one point four million signatures. It's on in November
twenty twenty four. And so what they're trying to do
is have basically a both and strategy. They want to
both try to lower the threshold for these tax increases
(05:34):
with ACA one, while at the same time using ACA
thirteen to destroy and defeat our ballot measure. They're trying
to make it so that our ballot measure requires a
super majority vote to pass, which means that we would
have to get a two thirds vote to implement our
provisions that require honest ballot titles be presented to voters.
(05:55):
And so they're literally putting a poison pill on the ballot.
But to your even if they don't succeed in passing
their two measures, they're trying to make it so confusing
for voters that they overlook the wonderful initiative that we've
got to restore Prop thirteen to block tax hikes, and
(06:16):
that the voters just say, oh, throw your hands up
in the air, let's vote, go on everything. So what
they're trying to do right now is not only we
can Prop thirteen, but you know, if they can destroy
our measure in the process, they're they're fine with that.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Carl, Well, you tell me more, tell me this this
uh an honest ballot title thing. And I'm with you
because it's so often we get the title that'll be,
you know, the for the Puppies Act or something like that. Right,
So how do you how do you guarantee an honest
title that that's always been a strategy by everybody, regardless
(06:52):
of political party, is to make the title seem catchy.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
So it's very simple. Our initiative requires that if a
measure contains a tax increase. The words tax increase have
to be in the ballot title. How about simple like that.
I mean, that's all we're asking for, is if you're
going to put a tax increase before the voters. And
Prop thirteen requires a vote on taxes. Howard Jarvis never
in his wildest dream, the guy who wrote Prop thirteen
(07:19):
in nineteen seventy eight, he never imagined that politicians would
basically say, all right, we're going to put a tax
increase on the ballot, but we're not going to tell
people it's a tax increase. We're going to say, hey,
this is an initiative that would improve the condition of children,
would fill potholes, Yes or no, They're not going to
tell you it's a tax increase. And so that was
perhaps the one thing that Jarvis was not prepared for.
(07:40):
That Prop thirteen says it needs to be a public vote,
but it never said and you have to tell the
voters what they're voting on has a tax increase in it.
So our measure simply says that if a measure has
a tax increase in it, the title, not the summary,
not the legal ease, but the title itself must contain
the words tax increase, and that is all we're asking
(08:03):
for in terms of the honest ballot titles. You're still
going to have ads that are deceptive. We can't do
anything about that. That's the first amendment. Politicians can lie.
Special interest can bankroll deceptive ads. What we think that
voters deserve is at least an honest disclosure that what
they're about to vote on could end up costing them
or someone else more money. And they need to take
(08:23):
a closer look.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And on the ballot itself, on the paper is what
you're saying, then.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Yeah, on the ballot itself. And we believe that a
fair fight would be achieved if voters actually were given
the truth. And so look, we are up against David
versus Gliath year. We need help. We're going to need
to warn voters that Prop thirteen is in danger of
being gutted by these two initiatives that the Democrats voted
on last night, while also simultaneously getting a yes vote
(08:52):
on our California Taxpayer Protection initiative. So people can join
the campaign, they can contribute, They can sign up for
more information or to volunteer at Stop California Tax Hikes
dot com that Stop California Tax Hikes dot com. And
if you're sick and tired of these politicians lying to
you on the ballot and raising your taxes, you gotta
(09:15):
get in the fight because the special interests are coming
for your wallet. The only way for us to stop
them is if we work together and unite as grassroots
activists at Stop California tax Hikes dot com.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
All right, Carl DeMaio, chairman of a Reform California and
a longtime friend of mine. Carl, I'm I'm happy to
say it's great to.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Talking to you, Chris. We missed you down here in
San Diego.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
We know, and I miss San Diego too. It's one
of my favorite places in the world, There's no doubt.
All Right, Carl, take care.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Of my friend. We'll catch up with you soon.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
You know, speaking of uh, it's going to cost something.
It's going to cost a lot this year for politicians
to run. Remember when we used to be amazed at
how much politicians were spending That was nothing. Those are
the good old Just get ready for this. That's next,
Chris Merrill And for John kN k if I am
six forty, We're live everywhere on your my Heart radio app.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
You're listening to John and Ken on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Debrad, you heard that way before. What are you a pirate?
Speaker 2 (10:23):
I school?
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I once told Robin and I stick to this. Robin
is the program director. I said, I think Handle on
the Law is the best show on radio. I just
love it. I think it is so good, so good.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
And that's why, Oh my gosh, are you a pirate?
I'm Chris Merrill and for John and Kent today KFI
AM six forty. More stimulating talking one day, hoping to
be ever as is creative as Bill Handle.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
It's just wonderful.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Maybe you recall there was a big story and it's
been a while now, but aavy recallers a big story
back in twenty twelve. It was when Mitten's Romney and
Barack Obama were running for the office of President of
the United States, and political spending that year nationwide among
(11:15):
all candidates.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
All the.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
From dog catcher to president, all spending nationwide topped a
billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
And I remember just saying, this is crazy, this is
a billion dollars. And I said, a billion dollars people
are spending and I looked at it at the time,
it says a billion dollars that we could be putting
toward whatever you want, infrastructure, homeless housing, feeding, lost puppies,
(11:48):
whatever it is. Well, that number has changed, one might imagine,
and with inflation whatnot, you know, it's gone up. The
diction is in twenty twenty four, nationwide, we will see
over ten point two billion dollars spent on candidate ads,
(12:12):
ten point two billion dollars, one point two billion in
California alone.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
So what we had nationwide just what will have been
twelve years ago. The anticipation is we'll be for California alone,
and now we're looking at ten billion dollars nationwide. I
get frustrated when I see these numbers because all of
those things that we complain about, when we say that
(12:37):
you got to follow the money, and the politicians are
bought and sold and all of these different and then
you see political spending at ten point two billion dollars.
I will tell you this, politicians hate it when I
say this. I don't donate to politicians. There's two things
I don't do. I don't endorse a politician and I
(12:59):
don't donate to a politician. One is for professional reasons,
and that's because I once endorsed a guy in the
early two thousands who ended up in prison, and I said, well,
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna endorse anybody again because
I don't know how that's gonna end up.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
So I don't do it.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
And the others I don't make donations because, frankly, I
see these I see these politicians running ads NonStop, and
I just think, where's the money coming from, and is
it coming from people who are complaining about the government
taking our money. Imagine ten billion dollars. Now I know
ten billion dollars in the grand scheme of things is
(13:34):
a drop in the bucket in the nationwide American spending,
YadA YadA, But that is a lot of money just
to say I want things to go my way. So
who is making those donations and why are they willing
to put so much money forward? And it's because it
pays off for them in the end. So whether it's
unions making donations to their politicians so that their politicians
(13:54):
will support their strikes as we're seeing play out in
America today, or it's CEOs make donations so that taxes
will be cutting. It will save them and they will
get their bonuses. As we're seeing playing out today, I
don't like seeing this much spending. It just screams crony
capitalism and corruption at the highest levels. All Right, we'll
(14:15):
shift get away from the politics a little bit, because frankly,
I feel gross. There was a hack, a big hack
in Las Vegas. Alex Stone is our ABC News correspondent.
He's going to join us next and tell us about
whether or not your information may have been breached. That's next.
Chris Merril in for JOHNA. KENKFI AM six forty. We're
live everywhere on your iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
You're listening to John and Ken on demand from KFI
AM sixty.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Cyber attacks affecting some of the biggest casino operators in Vegas.
Alex Stone is our ABC News correspondent, Alex Love.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Talking to you, buddy, miss Stare Merrill, How are you.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
I'm doing great there, my friend so good. Let's dive
into what's happening there at the resorts. It sounds like
this has been a real mess for the resort operators here.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
They try to make sure everybody is secure.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Yeah, he really is. And it was five days now. Yeah,
it's been going on since Sunday and they don't seem
to have a good answer to this whole thing. But
this is MGM, so Bellaggio, the Cosmo Aria New York,
New York, Luxor man Le Bay, ex Caliber. It goes
on and on, and then outside of Vegas as well.
I mean it's a lot of properties that are dealing
(15:30):
with this. Hotel room keys not working, slot machines down,
elevators down. If you want room service, you got to
call down. No ordering on the app or on your
TV in your room. You want to pay out at
the casino, you got to It's done by a human.
The computers that won't pay out right now, the little
slips that come out, the vouchers, it is a royal mess, right,
(15:52):
And this is Randall Jensen. He brought us in and
describe what's like on the casino floor at MGM grant.
If you want to get any money back at all,
then you have to have an employee to it manually.
And the whole thing is crazy because it shows you
just how connected everything is, whether it be the elevators
or the slot machines or ordering food, that it's all
(16:13):
connected and all of that has been taken down. Now,
the thing is that the hackers Chris may not be
probably are not in most of this stuff. But MGM,
you know, they had to pull the fire alarm and
just shut everything down so that money isn't flying out
the door. And you know what if they messed with
the elevators, what if they messed with the slot machines.
They don't know where they are and what they're in,
(16:35):
so anything connected MGM has shut off, and so that
makes it that much worse. And in fact, the hacking
group black Cat, they are criticizing MGM saying that they
overreacted and that they weren't aware of their own system
and where these guys are and where they aren't, and
that they shut everything down. But with that guy Randall
Jensen on the floor saying, check in procedure is kind
(16:56):
of messy, a lot of long lines, gamblings messy. It's
not as fun when you have to wait sell the
lines at like Bellagio and elsewhere to check in because
the computers have been not working, or they've got to
manually like give you and make a key card for
you and check you in on paper and everything else
that it's been a very long winding line to get
checked in. So they haven't figured it out yet. They
(17:20):
figured out some workarounds and they're beginning to bring some
things back online, but five days into it, it's still
a mess.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Well man, check in and check out can can be
kind of a time consuming ordeal anyway, depending on what
time you get there. We've all been there and sometimes
you walk right up to the counter and sometimes there's
there's a line.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
So that's got to be they get rid of the
computers and you know, it's like old school where they
got to like make you a key essentially and say
here's your room number, and you know, you can go
to your room and off you go.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
So, Alex, what's happening now with the with the hackers?
Are they are they making demands? Do they just do
this for fun? What's the Do we know what the
motivation was?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah, so they've been pretty public here in the last
twenty four hours. They are making demand. We don't know
exactly what they are there. I'm not saying what the
dollar figures are. But they've set up like chat rooms
where they want to talk to MGM and they want
to talk to the CEO, and they've got links that
they want MGM to click on, and guessing MGM doesn't
want to click on those links, not knowing where it's
going to bring them. So they're publicly putting out statements
(18:18):
saying that that it's about to get a lot worse.
It sounds like MGM there were some reports they'd paid
a ransom, but sounds like they have not paid the ransom.
So this group is saying, because you're not communicating with us,
because you're not agreeing to negotiate with us, that it's
about to go really bad on you, and that they're
going to start to bring down systems and MGM doesn't
know that they're in This is Alex Stamos, a cybersecurity experty,
(18:41):
puts it this way.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
If they're not paying the ransom, which seems to be
what's happening at this point, then the attackers are highly
motivated to try to increase the pressure of them. They're
doing that already through these public interviews to try to
embarrass them. I wouldn't be shocked to see some data
start to get dumped out that was stolen from MGM,
and then if they get really mad, the attackers, I
start the leading systems or breaking stuff where they still
(19:03):
have access.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
So, Chris, it's a question of what does a company
do you know, we've seen the schools and banks have
to deal with this. Do you pay the insane ransom
to make them go away and to get access to
your computers back, even though you still don't know if
they're really in there, and you know, then you got
to kind of clean out your computers and make sure
they're not in there. But in the meantime, they at
least say that if you pay them that they're going
(19:25):
to stop messing with you. Or do you do you know,
the FBI advisor is don't pay the ransom because that
then creates more of these and that if somebody says,
well I can make thirty million dollars, then they're going
to do it again and again and again. The others
are going to do it, so it just propagates more
of these. So do you not do it and then
elongate it like this one is right now? And will
(19:46):
they eventually end up paying anyway? And Samos he's saying
that no matter what, this is gonna cost MGM a
ton of money. Put it this way down here in
ten to twenty million dollars per day is the cost,
and it will be millions and millions of dollars of
so I would not be shocked if the overall cost
isn't one hundred to three hundred million dollar rank and
that's even if they don't pay the ransom. So ten
(20:07):
to twenty million dollars a day or do you say,
you know what enough, here's thirty million dollars, get out
of our computers and then and then go your way.
And as of right now, doesn't look like they're doing that.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Alex Stone is our ABC News correspondent. Alex Like he said,
remediation is going to be an expensive part. That means
I'm guessing bringing in more cybersecurity experts beyond who they
already I'm assuming paid a boatload of money to to
try to prevent this from happening.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
To find the loop past.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Like a flood, Yeah, like a flood in your house
of where is all that mold and you're bringing water
mediation to rip apart the walls and to look for
the mold that they're going to have to do that
in the computer system of rip apart the walls of
the computer networks and figure out where were the bad guys,
and how did they get in and what damage did
they do? And can they still see anything? And you
(20:55):
know all of that, it's going to be a lot
of money.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Do we We don't have any idea how they got
in there then, And I don't mean I don't need
code or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Well, no, not specifics. The group is claiming it was
easy to do that. They found the profile on LinkedIn
and it seems like posed as that person called somebody
and they said there was a ten minute phone call
to get into the internal workings of the system. So
we don't know. But did they call and say, hey,
you know, this is Joe Franklin from the IT department.
(21:23):
I need you to do this and do that and
do this, And did they claim whatever they did that
it was really easy to get in.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Yeah, that's why I wondered, Alex, if it was if
it was a brute force attack, which is you know,
the geeks will tell you that's when you go in
like they do on CSI and somehow they all get
in within about thirty or forty seconds, or the social
engineering where somebody shares a password, or like you kind
of hinted at, they don't want to click on the Yeah, yeah, yeah,
because why do we want to click on that link?
Speaker 1 (21:50):
You gave us another link to click on where I'm
going to fall for it? Dings.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
You already already broke into our system, and you're telling
me to click on this now. But they say, you know,
assuming that they're telling the truth, and I don't know,
do you trust a hacker group that it was a
phone call and then something they got them to do
when they called MGM and that ten minute phone call
that allowed them in.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Oh what a nightmare? What an absolute nightmare? All right?
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Alex Stone, ABC News correspondent Alex as always appreciate the
time I give my best of the family.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
They're my friend.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
You got it, Thanks, Chris, have a great weekend.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Thanks. Yep you two. Bye. What an absolute hell escape
that is?
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Can you imagine being the hotel manager or somebody who's
near the top that all of a sudden has to
deal with this. Can you imagine that coming down on you? Golee, Hey, hey, listen,
everything is shut down. We're gonna lose ten to twenty
million dollars a day.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
What do you want us to do? Boss? Stop losing
ten to twenty million dollars a day. Heads are rolling,
nobody knows, nobody knows, like he said, who's behind this,
nobody knows how they got in. Meanwhile, suppose that you
are some low level intern who took a phone call
from someone you thought was a higher level member of
(23:08):
the IT department, and you did what you were told,
thinking you were doing right.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
You just kind of sheepishly tuck your tail between your
legs and just hope nobody figures that it was you.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
One hundred percent that would have been me.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
I would die.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
I would be so embarrassed. I mean, look, it happens,
it does. I don't want it to happen to me.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I know, right, Oh, it's always like you know, we
all experience this where it's like, oh, that would be me, right,
whatever it is somebody, Yeah, you're carrying a you're carrying
a giant stack of donuts and uh, and you trip
over the sidewalk and it falls onto a police officer
and they're not happy about it. And then somebody takes
a picture and it goes viral. That's me carrying the donuts, right,
(23:51):
Just that's me.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
And then you're trying to explain yourself and nobody really understand.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
It wasn't a political statement. I was taking donuts, but
it fell on the officer and then no, that was it.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
That was me.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
That would totally be me.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Every single time there is a new viral sensation on
the TikTok, and yet it feels very familiar.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Let me tell you what that is next.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
I'm Chris Marilyn for Johnny Katon k IF I am
six forty. We're live everywhere in your iHeart radio app.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
You're listening to John and Ken on demand from KF
I am sixty.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Gen Z loves the newspaper. Oh man, what's old is
new again? I guess Okay.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
So I'm reading this substack called embedded right, and in
the substack it talks about this new trend and this
this this.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Viral sensation on the TikTok. They say this is a uh.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Kate Lindsay is reporting, and Kate Lindsay says that she
came across twenty three year old Kelsey Russell on TikTok
while she was doing something decidedly on tiktoky, reading the
New York Times out loud, saying there was no dancing,
no suspenseful music, not even much editing, but she was
still drawing audiences of ten thousand and fifty thousand.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Even a million viewers.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
WHOA, she's reading the New York Times and she's having
what they're calling sincere and enthusiastic demeanor and a natural
and entertaining way to break down complicated stories.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Wow, what a great idea. Anybody ever think of doing that?
This is remarkable.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
She's been invited now to tour the New York Times office,
is being wooed by the Washington Post. Before she started
reading in news on TikTok, Kelsey found some success with
videos helping black people find your commune in Boston. She
recommended Salon's NightLive, destinations and more.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Huh.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
So, let me get this straight.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
A new hot sensation that's getting ten fifty, ten thousand,
and fifty thousand, even a million views is someone.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Who is.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Sharing the news and giving recommendations about where to spend
your disposable income.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
I should be doing that. Yeah. I feel like there's
a real opportunity there. It shocks me that.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
The society has gone this long without figuring out how
to capitalize in such a thing. To find the news,
to share the news, to have sincere enthusiastic reactions to
the news, to break down complicated stories in an understandable way,
and then to also share likes, dislikes, and other recommendations
(26:57):
to people. It's groundbreaking, It really is, It really is,
And thank goodness we have TikTok to do such a thing, because,
I mean, how long could civilization have gone without discovering
this life hack that other people might share news, disseminate information,
(27:17):
break it down, make recommendations.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
It's literally talk radio. If you're not catching on, it
is literally what we've been doing for one hundred years.
Oh we're not on TikTok. Wow, it's so crazy, though,
she's so far outside the box.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
WHOA, congratulations, gen Z. You just became everything you thought
you hated old that's it.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Congratulations. It's so revolutionary. And look, we're as guilty as anyone,
are we not, Deborah.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I mean, when we were young, we thought we had
it figured out, and we would stumble across something and
we'd be like, whoa, this is so crazy. How come
nobody ever did this before? Only to find out that, uh,
it's been done before. It's like when my kids, like
I don't watch TV, I watch YouTube and you go, oh,
you do? Why because they have people on there that
(28:12):
make these different like YouTube shows.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
That are really entertaining and good, and you go, they do,
and how do they do that? Well, they've got a studio.
Even they're really good.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
Never heard of that.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
If only someone had come up with this concept of
I don't know, developing a plotline and a story and
putting it into a studio and staging it and then
sharing that with an audience in another manner. If only
someone had thought of that before. We missed out in
our childhoods, didn't we Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
And at some point gen Z is going to be
like us, right, I remember being that lowsed gen Z.
We were gen X, right. It was like gen X
is showed and everybody takes their turn. Everybody takes their turn,
and at one point you are the loathed generation by
everyone else. And then you get to be that age
(29:06):
loathed generation like the boomers are today, right, And so
you go from being everybody hates you because you're young
and stupid and everything you do is dumb and why
do they do it that way? To you get to
be old and then everyone hates you because everything you
do is old and stupid. Why do you do it
that way only to find out it's all basically the
same thing, just different iterations.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
It's like when people marvel over old stories. You know,
I went to school for theater performance. We had to
do a lot of Shakespeare, right, Oh, you gotta know
your Shakespeare class.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
God, it was brutal. Hated it. I didn't hate the stories,
I just hated waiting through it because the stories were
not new.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
They're not new stories. Shakespeare didn't have new ideas. He
wrote old stories.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
In a new way. And now it's brutal for me.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
To read because it's an old way that I want
to hear the new stories.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
It's the same thing. We're not Listen, you didn't invent
the wheel. You just reinvented the wheel.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
So, gen Z, when you get all excited about the
breakthrough that you've got, oh my goodness, I got an idea.
How about skinny ties? No one ever thought of skinny
ties before? At Please you do skinny ties, everybody, Yeah, crazy,
it's been done. Now I have to go take my
(30:23):
heart medication because the doctor told me my blood pressure
is getting out of control. And gen Z, you have
that to look forward to, too, because as soon as
Jen Alpha starts to irritate you, you too may have
a little mini heart attack every time you start talking
about them, only because half the time you're talking about them,
you're also realizing how much of a dope you were
at that age, and then you realize how much of
(30:45):
a dope you're going to look like when you become
the age old generation really is a vicious cycle. Hey,
there's good news. One thing that every generation can agree on.
We love going to see Mickey and Mickey is I
told you it's a fat of America.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
That's next.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Chris Merril in for John KENKFI AM six forty. We're
live everywhere in your iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Hey, you've been listening to the John and Ken Show.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
You can always hear us live on KFI AM six
forty one pm to four pm every Monday through Friday,
and of course anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
The John Kobylt Show News
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John Kobylt
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