August 30, 2025 • 42 mins
On this podcast we share the 4-1-1 on Prop 50 and California's upcoming special election as the Golden State pushes back on Republicans shady gerrymandering plans in Texas and elsewhere. We are joined by Jasmyne Cannick, an award-winning Gen X journalist, political and culture commentator, producer, strategist and activist.
https://couragecalifornia.org/yes-on-proposition-50/
https://www.instagram.com/hellojasmyne/
https://www.instagram.com/diprimaradio/
https://couragecalifornia.org/yes-on-proposition-50/
https://www.instagram.com/hellojasmyne/
https://www.instagram.com/diprimaradio/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
KBLA Talk fifteen to eighty. Good morning, Happy Friday, God
bless Happy Labor Day weekend. Eve. I'm Dominique de Prima.
This show is called First Things First, and my very
first thing today and every day is giving thanks to God,
Giving thanksgiving praises and asking for blessings from the Most High,
(00:22):
asking for the blessings of the ancestors and the elders.
And let's go. It is Freedman Friday. Well, every Friday
around here is Friedman Friday where we unpack and focus
on reparations. So the way we do things on Friedman
Friday a little bit different than the rest of the week.
Our one we look local. Our two we focus on reparations.
(00:42):
And today we will be talking with a commissioner, Conza Mohammed,
some of you know her as Friday Jones, with an
update on what's happening with reparations here in the city
of Los Angeles, in the state of California, which has
been a leader on the issue. We've got some up
dates on that, so that will be quite compelling. And
(01:03):
then hour three is ten of like a free for all. Okay,
you never know what's going to happen in hour three
unless something pops up between now and then. We're just talking,
which I love so full. Lines are always open eight
hundred and nine to fifteen eighty eight hundred and nine
two fifteen eighty. I know it's big Gemini Energy, and
(01:24):
we build this plane while we're flying it. Isn't it fun?
Don't you like being part of it? Well, I'm excited
to welcome in to the space. Let me say she's
been clutch in stepping up to cover for our Friday contributor.
I'm Sherry Bell, who is a little under the weather,
(01:44):
and she's stepped up in the clutch like she has
many a time before. She's an award winning journalist of
the generation known as X. She's an on air contributor.
She is a political strategist, mostly Democratic and actually a
member of the Central Committee the Democratic Party. She's also
(02:07):
a writer and a fashionista. Jaz Mechanic.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Good morning, Good morning, Gominie, good morning kb LA family.
Got my coffee, Yay.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yay coffee for me. That's the you know, gallon of water,
not a gallon, but like twenty four hours as I
drink as soon as I wake up. That wakes me up.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
But my magic bean juice. It's my magic bean juice.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, I saved my coffee until about noon when I
need a second wind and I'll have coffee or Macha
tea or something like that. But Happy Friday. I am
happy to announce that the very talented jas Mechanic has
agreed to join us as a regular contributor as well.
She'll be joining us the second Monday of every month. Yay.
(03:00):
I was so excited about that. So yes, I'm really
blessed to have smart friends like you who sometimes agree
to come on the radio with me.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I was gonna say, well, thank you, of course, Saki,
but I was gonna say, it's kind of just like
making it more official, because I kind of already come off.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Well, yeah, I and I warned you when we talked
about this. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna be calling
you all the other times. Just we have one official time.
It's the same, you know, with the best of the best.
But yeah, I mean, I guess from that perspective, you've
been a contributor since Street Science.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Right, we go back, we go back. But it's all
good and I love it. I absolutely love it, particularly
in this age of you know, all these other competing,
you know, technologies and stuff that. You know, people still
listen to the radio. People like me, like you, like
the KBLA audience still still turn on our radios. We
(04:01):
like to grab our our coffee, you know, get into
it first thing in the morning. And I love that
and I love being a part of that, and I'm
happy that we are making it official.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, yeah, Well it's funny because people now call them
podcasts even when they're on the radio. That's when you
know you've been subsumed. We were here first. They should
be calling them radio, but no, they are broadcasts. But no,
they started calling us, right, podcast It's okay, I'll take it.
We are streaming on YouTube at KBLA fifteen eighty every
(04:36):
single day. But one of the things that you know
is going on, as you say in this moment, that
I think, even though there's a lot of conversation about it,
folks are still confused, is this whole proposition fifty moment
where California has taken sort of an aggressive stance in
(04:59):
pushing back on what Republicans have really been doing for
a long time, which is this very very very twisted
jerrymandering that they're doing. But usually they do it every
ten years, right when it's the census. Now, at the
request of the president, they have Texas decided to do
(05:21):
it at five years, and that's pretty rare. Right.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Well, look, I mean, I think if we want to
go back just a little bit to the twenty twenty
four election and talk about what we knew that the
mandate was going to be for Trump and Republicans, right,
(05:45):
let me see, still early in the morning. But I
believe it was called projective and this was a part
of that.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
And I you know, I'm not the big fan of
Gavin Newsom's I do struggle a lot with him, but
what I but look, at the same time, I understand
that we have to fight fire with fire. I understand
that the Democratic.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Party, I mean, at this point he is leading the
Democratic Party nationally, not just in the state of California,
just in terms of coming up with a sort of
a CounterPunch to what you know, Trump and you know,
his magaminions are trying to do. I think that it
(06:37):
is going to be a playbook that we're going to
be duplicated in some other states. I don't know how
successful they will be, but I think that some form
of what we're doing here in California.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Will be.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know, adopted and looked at in various other states, because,
as you mentioned, while Texus is sort of leading the
charge for the Republicans, there are many other states lining
up to follow suit, a lot of red states to
do exactly that, right, to rig elections.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
To.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Basically disenfranchise a lot of voters. They're going out of
their way. It is absolutely to me, like as a
person who's worked on politics for nearly the past two decades,
I am so shocked at a lot of what I'm seeing.
It is just absolutely it's like some of the things
(07:41):
that we've watched in movies are actually coming true. And
I did like a real last week comparing and for
folks who know these books are these movies, you'll definitely
get it. But I talked about, you know, v sort
of Vendetta, the Man in the High Castle, and some
(08:01):
of the other sort of dystopia, a political dystopia sort
of films that we've had that have and books that
have been written that have you know, had situations where
the government turned into what is happening right now, and
it's so scary because you know when when when Philip K. Dix,
(08:26):
The Man the High Coustle was turned into an Amazon show,
and that was the one where it was an alternate
world where World War two we did it when and
and the US was split in two and the Japanese
had like one half of the country and the Nazis
had the other half of the country. And it was crazy.
(08:50):
But you when you if you looked at that show
right now, you would say, oh, my god, that's happening
right now. Wow, wow, And so it is very scary,
and it's and it you and if you value your freedom,
if you value your vote, if you value sort of
the principles and ideas which as we know as black people,
(09:12):
have not always been extended to us. Let's you know,
we're gonna we're gonna speak at the surface level right now.
If you value sort of the ideas that this country
was built on them based on, just in terms of
equality for all, and and and the choice to you know,
sort of elect your your the people who represent you
(09:35):
and everyone having a vote. And you should be really
super concerned about what's going on right now in the country,
because what's going on right now in the country is
basically to take all of that away and put it
in the hands of a few. And so what California
is saying, what California is doing and Gavin Newsom, Governor
Newson is leading it is saying, okay, if you if
(09:58):
you're it's sort of like how we act in our
day to day lives, like, oh, okay, you're gonna go there,
Well then we're gonna go here. We're going to do this.
And I respect that. And you know, it took me
a minute. Took me a little bit of a minute
to get on that, on board with that. But you know,
you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
(10:19):
And I realize that we have to do something. The
Democrats have a messaging problem, not only amongst themselves but
even to their constituency and not just.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
But it's more than a messaging problem. Don't you think
some of it is running from the progressive values problem?
I mean the messaging problem.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Yeah, that's just one problem.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Right, right, right, okay, problem right?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
And and somebody, I mean, look, when you know, when
asked all of the time, who is the front runner
for twenty twenty eight, Democrats are hard pressed appointing anyone
right now other than Gavin Newsom if they want other
than Kevin Newsom, really who is actually fighting Trump on
(11:06):
his turf like for a very long time. And I
still believe this is continuing. I know a lot of
folks listening will probably agree with this. Democrats have been bringing,
you know, a nice to a gunfight. They have been
trying to still play respectability politics. They've been seeing Kumbai
Ya and and praying that things will just get better. Meanwhile,
(11:29):
the folks on the other side are hitting below the belt,
are cheating and doing everything else, things that we never
thought could be that that could happen. I mean we
you know, every and then this sounds so simple and
it's like, well, yeah, that's what's going on. But to me,
I've still shocked every time I think about how this
(11:49):
man has rigged the court. This man has done all
of these things to set up him and his minions
have done all of these things to set it up
to a point where they just keep it as in
his worth winning right because at the end of the day,
we always say, well, we'll just take it to court
and fight it in court. And it's like, well, now
(12:10):
the man who's rigged the court. There are very few
judges that stand up to Trump, that stand up to
the Republican Party, and so that in itself is really scary.
So you have to try and you have to think
outside the box. And Democrats have not been really great
at that. It's been very, very disappointing. It's something that
(12:32):
I know quite a few folks in the party continue
to discuss, and we just continue to kind of do
our own thing within the party because the party hasn't
figured out what it's going to do and how it's
going to move forward, because you know, and we're like, look,
twenty twenty six is here, and once twenty twenty six
is here, twenty twenty eight is here. Because in our world,
you don't start an election the months of the election,
(12:56):
a few months before the elections, or even the year
of the election. You start a year to two years
ahead of time. So as soon as twenty twenty four
was over and we picked our jobs up off the ground,
we all realize that we need to start paying attention
and working towards twenty twenty six. Right, you don't wait
until twenty twenty six to work on twenty twenty six,
(13:18):
so that you know, there's just so much going on
and then now, Dominique, she set the top of the
show in the begin in the middle of all of this,
we're gonna have a special election, which sounds great. It
sounds great on paper, it sounds great when it comes
out of our mouths, but the reality is that voters,
and Democratic voters have a hard time making it to
(13:41):
vote on entering regularly scheduled elections.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Right, So so hold that thought, jasmen, because we're gonna go.
We'll get into the special election and all of the
details of what is happening here in California with what
is now known as Proposition fifty. When we come forward
on KBLA Talk fifteen eighty back to me, Dominique de Prema,
We're back to Jazz Mechanic and you you're invited in
at eight hundred and nine two fifteen eighty. So we
(14:05):
got some conversation going on in the YouTube chat that
is in direct response to what we're talking about Props fifty,
the jerry mandering sort of arms race that's been kicked
off by Texas in which California has been leading the way.
In response, and Jerry Anderson says, what whoever ends up winning,
(14:29):
does that determine who controls the state House. That's a
question whoever ends up winning the jerry mandering race. And
I'm not you know, I don't think that's true in California.
But we're talking about is the national control of Congress.
We're talking about the House of Representatives.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, So just the I'm going to answer that,
but just to back it up, so we're all on
the same page, in sixty seven days we have a
special election. Why is it a special election because you
usually in odd years, not usually, but lately in lot
in odd years, we usually don't go to the polls.
There are still a few cities, I believe in the
(15:11):
state that haven't changed their elections to be in even years.
So like some of the smaller cities, for example, will
have like the election for their mayor or city council
or something like that, right in twenty twenty five, but
not a lot of cities have elections in twenty in
odd years, right, So that's what makes that that's part
of what makes it special, particularly for the state because
(15:33):
the state. Usually the state does not have elections in
odd years. So what I was saying before the break
was just that you know, our voter turnout is you know,
when it comes to regularly scheduled elections, and now we're
faced with this special election with a really really tight
sort of calendar, right, so sixty seven days from now
(15:57):
we'll be voting. I can't believe it's going to be
no verse sixty seven days.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I know, this year just evaporated right right right.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
And of course, going back to sort of what that
means it, you know, this is I think they're calling
it the Stop the Election Rigging Act or something like that,
but the point is basically for for us to suspend
our We have an independent redistricting Commission that was first
(16:30):
put into place and two thousand and eight, so really
not that long ago, right, and the then voters went
back in twenty ten and added congressional the drawing of
congressional line. So we voted on it once, whether you
voted or not, it was once in two thousand and eight,
(16:50):
again in two thousand and ten, and and sort of that,
you know, is what we've had, and what what we're
going to be voting on is basically to suspend the
We do that like every ten years, and we're voting
to suspend that at least well until twenty thirty. We're
(17:11):
voting to suspend that until twenty thirty so that the
legislature here in California can we draw the line. The
thinking and the hope with that is that we can
pick up the five seats that are going to be
lost due to Trump and MAGA cheating and changing the
(17:32):
rules in states like Texas. And that's why I said
earlier that we should see this being replicated, probably not
exactly the same, but very similarly in other sort of
blue states and other states where people have common sense
and understand that what Trump is doing is wrong.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Okay, so that's what we're voting for.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
So point of clarification, Jerry says, the question was actually
the opposite. Who wins the jerry mandering war come down
to who currently controls the state houses, and that may
or may not be true.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Right, So what I would say is to look at
it from a different point of view, I would say
that whoever wins, so the reason why we're doing yes.
At the end of the day, whoever wins this war
will more than likely control the shape of the House
(18:36):
of the Senate. We're talking about DC right now. Remember,
California is solidly blue Republicans are basically in Sacramento.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
For show, right, right, But I mean, I think what
Jerry is saying is if Republicans control more state houses,
they're gonna be able to win the jerrymandering war. And
that's what that's what all these papers and such you're sinking. Right, No,
we're not in fear of that here. But when you
talk about it an arms race, what you're talking about
is other states doing what Texas and California are doing,
(19:06):
and when you look at it nationally, the Republicans have
the advantage. I think that's his point. I know that.
But to your point, Jasmine, what's the alternative sit here
and say, oh, well they win, like we have to
do something?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
What you have to deal with it like you would
deal with it in your real life, in your actual
personal life. You wouldn't let someone just continuously cheat and run.
Oh I would hope you wouldn't and just you know,
run over. You would. You would do something to fight back.
And for quite some time, the Democrats as a whole.
(19:40):
When I say as a whole, I mean our leadership
for those who are Democrats was not doing anything. And
so Gavin Newsom stepped in with a team of lawyers
with a bunch of strategists and said, well, hey, let's
try this. And so far it is the only thing
that I have seen that's legal and won't end you
(20:01):
up in prison for the rest of your life or
with the death penalty. That is working, you know, and
so take that as you will. It is the only
thing that I that I see that is working. And
so yes, there, so we have Proposition fifty going back
to because people are very confused about what it does.
(20:23):
I just want to make it clear again, this is
not taking away the independent redistricting Commissions, just suspending it
until twenty thirty and then going into twenty thirty one
things would go back to It's a temporary situation. So
please you know, the day of the vote, you and
I were talking about this, Dominique. You know, we already
had our first piece of anti you know, special election mail,
(20:47):
and they are doing the fear of mongering and all
of that good stuff. If you're gonna vote, just go
vote and be informed. It is not permanent. It is
not getting rid of the of the Independent Redistricting Commission,
is just suspending it so that the lines are going
to be drawn by the folks in Sacramento, and it's
(21:09):
you know, and it's and and let me say this,
and let still it's early in the morning and I'm
drinking my coffee. But hopefully this makes sense. We are
still taking it to the people for a vote. We
meaning the Democrats in California, are still taking it to
the people for a vote. It is a constitutional amendment,
so the people get to give it a vote up
(21:29):
or vote down, which is a far cry more than
what the Republican Party is doing. They don't take anything
to the people. They just sit around in their cave,
come up with their ghoulish fiendus plans and then enact them.
So the people actually in California still get.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
A say, all right, we've got news, traffic, in sports,
and then more. Only right here KBLA Talk fifteen eighty.
Happy birthday, Michael Jackson, We miss you. Happy heavenly birthday.
I should say it's today. That's a sure sign that
is virgo season. And guess who's on the mic with
(22:10):
me this Friday? This Friedman Friday, starting off with our
Left Coast Conversation, which really is leading the national dialogue
right now. Jasminchannick, find your on Instagram at hello Joman.
So I think you're correct to lay things out in
terms of helping people connect the dots, because we've been
(22:31):
hearing a lot of conversation about redistricting, and you know,
there's so many I just like you. I got mailers immediately,
which means Republicans have been worried about this and planning
for this, and so.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
It was a smart move on their part. I mean,
as a strategist, I was like, okay, mad at you,
But as a Democrat, I was like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, So there's a lot of missing disinformation. And I
think one of the key points is what you said
that people feel like all the work that was done
to create an independent redistricting Commission is going out the
window and that that's never coming back. And that's not
the truth, because this thing has a sunset built into it.
The other argument, which Ed Sanders was making a couple
(23:20):
Fridays ago, is that two wrongs don't make a right,
and so now we're going down to their level.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Okay, so let me you know, oh, I love you,
ad you know, we cool, We are tight. You know,
it's okay to disagree, But I'm going to say this
when voters when folks came up with the Independent Redistricting Commission,
When folks came up with that, we were not living
in the times that we are living in now. And
that is part of the problems that the problem that
(23:49):
the Democratic Party has. We cannot live in nineteen ninety five.
We cannot live in two thousand and five. We have
got to live in twenty twenty five. And you have
got to fight fire with fire, you have got to
go toe to toe with folks, and we cannot get
caught up in that. Like at first I kind of
(24:11):
started to think into all of that as well, But
the reality is we weren't living under what we were
living under when we voted in two thousand and eight
or in twenty and ten.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
And so we.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Can't on one hand complain that, oh, Trump is not
fighting there, and Trump is doing this, and the Republicans
are doing that, and then come with these sort of
outdated strategies and these outdated ways of trying to fight
back that we just know simply are not going to
work in today's in today's political climate. And so I
(24:45):
think again, it's a smart play. It's a smart counter
punch to what the MAGA Republicans are trying to do
and right now, it's the only thing that I really
see that's legal, that is, it has a chance of working.
Now will it work one hundred percent? That really depends
(25:08):
on the people listening. That really depends on the folks
who are registered to vote by what is it October
twentieth or so here in the state of California. That
depends on us showing up, because even though it is
on the ballot, it doesn't mean anything if we don't
go and vote. And like I said before, we have
a problem voting and regularly scheduled elections, let alone a
(25:30):
special election. And so voters are going to need to
make sure that even though this may be the only
thing on their ballot, that they you know, get that
ballot mailed back in or they you know, go and
show up to a vote center and they make sure
that they seal the deal. Because it's not a done deal.
Even though we are a majority Democrat state, folks still
(25:54):
have to show up and vote. And if you have
a situation where where the Democrats put this on the
ballot and the Republicans show up and pull but you know,
the ten Republicans that live in the state and only
three of us do well, then it's not done to pass.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Yeah, well yeah, okay, so we got some folks on
the phones. Let's go to Carl calling us from La Carl.
You're on with Jasmin Kanni.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
Good morning, Hey, good morning Dominican to your guests. Hey, yeah,
I guess special elections cost money, but I guess Gavin
Newsom will get it back through smogs and registration feeds
going up. I mean, I'm always saying that he's been
practicing to be a president of the United States. Hey,
(26:40):
but my question to your guest is they got this
thing called the First Five California for ten million dollars
going to immigrants this year, next year, and Gavin Newsom
will still be in there.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
That's actually not what we're talking about. But if she
wants to chime in, the First five California is an
initiative that's meant to help moms with uh raised with
you know, having healthy children in the first five years
of their lives. Immigrants, not just immigrants, all Californians. I
(27:14):
used to be a spokesperson for it at my other
radio station. It's not just for immigrants. But you're saying
that they do help immigrants. So what's your take on that, Jasmin?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Well, he's saying at Hi, Carl, Good morning Carl. You
are saying it if there are if I follow your logic,
which I don't, you are saying it like there are
no black immigrants that could be possibly benefiting from no
black folks that could be possibly been spitting from this.
I mean, I'm not sure how this relates to the
(27:44):
special election, but again, you're saying it as if immigrants
are not black people. And just so you know, in
the state of California, at least one in four, according
to new numbers from Boggie, folks are either the children
of immigrants or immigrants themselves. So when we talk about immigrants,
(28:05):
let's not separate ourselves as black people because we are
in those numbers two, particularly in the state of California.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Yeah, I mean, and I get that there are some
people who don't care if immigrants are black. They just
want their like on America first. I get that, But
the fact about first five California is for parents, all
parents in the state of California, And so yeah, I'm
not sure I haven't seen what you're talking about. The
(28:32):
talking point that you're raising as far as those particular
dollars being allocated. But I know that it is not
just for immigrants. It is for Californians, for new parents
in California, in order to make sure that we get
better outcomes in terms of the survival of our babies.
That's what it is.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Yeah, I mean what I see is that you know,
they approved, you know, a ten million initiatives to sport
children impacted by immigration enforcement and when and I think
that's what Crawl is referring to. And again when you
speak of immigration in the state of California. You know, folks,
(29:14):
this may not mean anything to Carl, but it might
mean something to you. We are also talking about black
immigrant children as well. I do not know why you
think there is a little Ethiopia if there are no
Ethiopian people here in La You know, we have, you know,
the second largest Belizia population in Los Angeles County outside
(29:35):
of Belize, right, the largest population outside of the country
of Belize. We have Jamaica's Nigerians. I mean, I could
go on and on with the number of black immigrants
there are here in the state of California.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Yeah, I see what you're talking about. The ten million here,
and their annual budget is sixty seven million, so that's
I think that's about right. So that's a significant investment.
But I don't know. We can do another show the
other day.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
I just don't our children.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
And that's where I was going with it. It's like, okay,
so so I mean the first five years of life,
you're going to say, well, no, you're an immigrant, so
you can't have that banana. I mean, and that right now,
Right now, we're talking about babies who, in some cases
may their parents may have been deported, right, which is
(30:32):
pretty dire. So and your kids are going to be
going to school with those kids, and those kids are
going to be traumatized and in need of support. I
don't know, I have yeah, right, but okay, but I
just wanted to be clear. First five, California is for
all Californians, all California, that's right, regardless of their status. Okay,
(30:55):
Dwight from Compton, you have the mic. We might have
to get the question and good morning. Do thedn't get
the answer? Yeah, when we come forward, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Good morning, okay, Good morning, Dominique, good morning Jazz. I'm
wishing both of you to have a great weekend, and
thank everyone there at KBLA for all the great things
that your your radio station is doing for our community. Dominique.
I want to say vote yes on Proposition fifty to
to to redistrict our state because these Republicans are so
(31:24):
full of it. They always want to go by the
break the rule and then tell everybody else to go
by the rules. It was illegal for slaves to leave
the plantation for so was it illegal for the underground railroad?
And Herriet Tubman? It was illegal for us to vote
in the south? Or was it illegal for Martin Luther
King and and and UH and all the great others
to march at just voting right and and bringing it
(31:47):
right to rite down to current time. It was illegal
for Trump to attack the US capital because the fourteenth
Amendment said you can never hold any government office if
you attack the uh the government. So all these people
calling in talking about immigrants, immigrants didn't shoot up that
(32:09):
cast at church the other day and in the Minnesota
and killed and wounded little kids. Those weren't immigrants, So
get off of that Republican immigrant stuff. They try to
divert your attention to something else when they're the real enemy,
all right, Dwight.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Well, I guess we'll get Jasminkanic's reaction to Dwight's statements
when we come forward on KBLA Talk fifteen eighty. Yes. Indeed,
Jasmin Kanic is with us right from Compton called, and
he's urging a yes vote on Prop fifty. Your responses
to what Dwight had to say, Jasmin Kinnick.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I don't know that it needs a response. I just
don't know that it didn't need I think he was
very well spoken.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Okay, go Dwight. One of the things that's coming out
of this conversation in our YouTube chat, Jasmine, is that
people are debating Newsom himself. And you started off saying
you're not the biggest fan of him, but you're embracing
his leadership on this issue. And it seems like Paul
and a couple of other folks, and Molly Bell and
a couple of others in the chat are saying that
(33:25):
they don't want Newsom to run for president, that Newsom
probably wouldn't win. Paul says he doesn't even think he'll
make it out of the primary. He'd rather see Wes
Moore or someone else. But because of this jerry mandering fight.
And I think because of what you said that most
Dems can't name another front runner to be the presidential
(33:46):
pick in twenty twenty eight. That's sparring. That's sparring is
happening in the chat, and I wonder what you think
about that.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Look, let's be really really clear about Gavin newsm Gavin
Newsom has been positioning to run for president for quite
some time. It is almost the perfect storm for him
right now. You have a Democratic party that has a
lot of infighting, is confused about their own platform, their
own messaging, what they stand for. He has been able
(34:17):
to galvanize, you know, the folks around him, come up
with a strategy both on social media and using traditional media.
He is using the full power of his position while
he still has it, because we know that, you know,
he will no longer be the governor after twenty twenty six,
(34:39):
and he is using the full position of his power
to make himself a nationally known There are people in
Maine who now know who Gavin Newsom is who didn't
know who he was before. So that train has already,
you know, sort of left the station. I mean, I
(34:59):
think folks are pretty clear he's very evasive whenever asked
about it. We know we've seen this a million times.
I'm just focused on being the governor. I mean, you know,
I got to focus on what I'm doing right now,
and I haven't even thought about the presidency. Get the
blankety blankety blank out of here. We all know that
that's that's where his heart, his heart lies. Okay, So
(35:24):
again going back to what I said, don't want to
perfectly the enemy of the good. Look, I struggle with Gavin.
I'm not cool with a lot of things he's done
as governor. But what I am clear about is that
he is the one stepping up right now to try
to do something about what is coming out of Washington, DC.
And I think that's what folks need to think about.
You could get caught up in all of your dislike
(35:47):
for Gavin, but I don't know how that helps us
as a people right now, and as a people, we
are being attacked. The other thing is democracy.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
The other thing is I don't think that supporting Prop
fifty means that you're supporting Newsom for governor, I mean
for president. Excuse me, that's up to you. You know
that's gonna that's twenty twenty eight. Right now, what we're
talking about is pushing back against Texas, and he because
he's a spokesperson for it or he's the leader on this,
doesn't mean that you that you automatically have to support Newsom. Yes,
(36:25):
it's increasing his popularity, but so is that trolling. I
mean that, you know, he's even has a Patriot shop
now where you can buy a hat that says Gavin
Newsom was right about everything happens to be a red
hat with white writing very Gavin.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Yeah, it's you know what, when when I went and
looked at that shop, I was just like, I would
like what I buy some of this merch. I probably
would if Gavin's face wasn't painted all over it or
his or his or his.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
Yeah, I like that don't poke the bear. But they
didn't have a T shirt.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
One of the few that didn't have. I think that's what,
like what a bumper sticker or a lawn sign?
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Yeah, yeah, it does that what I need a shirt
I would wear that I don't poke the bear sign.
But yeah, you're right, the other one shirt right right?
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Yeah, but not I don't want to wear a shirt
that said Gavin was right, Like I'm just not as
a Californian, I'm not feeling that message. So and in
that way, going back to what they're saying in the chat,
it does feel very much like he's already running for president,
because when you go look at that store, everything is
Gavin Gavin Gavin, not Democrats. It's Gavin.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
It's not even Prop fifty, it's.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Gavin gab it's not even Prop fifty. It's definitely Gavin
Gavin Gavin. But I think what folks need to understand
before we get out of here is that we have
a special election coming up. I do wholly believe that
it will affect what happened in DC and what happens
with the presidency in twenty twenty eighth. That we need
(37:58):
to show up and we need to vote, you know,
and we're about to go through another election cycle. So
get ready for those text messages, which has Lau ready
for that mails that people like me work so hard
to make sure hit the right folgue.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
And the voice messages. Yeah, I mean, popped Up says
trolling Texas is a reaction. Delivering reparations is an action.
Is Trolling Texas is a reaction, And I get that,
But he's not trolling Texas. He's trolling the president. And
Prop fifty is not trolling. It is actually going to
net us five seats to counteract the five seats the
(38:36):
power grab that Trump has done is doing in Texas.
So it's not it actually is an action. It's a reaction,
but it's also an action. And I agree with you.
I'm still mad about Newsom tanking reparations too, but I'm
interested in what policies most benefit my community. Go ahead
to Jasmine, Well.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
What do we think is going to happen with reparations?
If they readraw the lines all across this country and
really mess with the makeup of state legislatures as well
as as the House and the Senate. What what? What's
going to happen to reparations? Then? What hope? What hope for?
(39:17):
I mean, I mean what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
I mean, a near permanent majority in the House of
Representatives is what they're seeking. And Paul made a good
point in the chat. He says it's because it's part
of the twenty twenty five plan, which is where you started,
which is they need to continue to control the House
of Representatives, and they won't if they don't cheat. So
the cheating is on.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
The cheating is on that that's certainly is true.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
The belle says, who knows who'll emerge by twenty twenty eight.
Anything is better than the hot mess we have now. Yeah,
a lot could happen between now and twenty twenty eight,
But all I'm saying is, don't look at Prop fifty
as a vote on Newsome for president. Those are separate issues,
That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
We got to kind of deal with Gavin later and
address what we need to address right now. We're in
a perfect position to do it. Statewide elections are very hard.
This is not just Los Angeles County voting. This is
an entire state of voters, which means from the top
of the state to the bottom of the state. There
needs to be an aggressive messaging and voter outreach campaign
(40:21):
done by Democrats, and as Democrats who are listening, we
have a responsibility to educate those around us about what
the real facts are and making sure that those in
our household and those on our tribe and our crew
are registered by the twentieth of October, and make sure
that they return that ballot, or because we still despite
(40:44):
what's coming out of DC, we still will have ballots
mail to all registered voters here in the state of California.
So if you don't want to show up to a
vote center, you just need to fill it out and
mail it back in. But we you know, just having
fifty doesn't mean we've cross the finish line. We cross
the finish line when the majority of voters in this
state give it the thumbs up. And that's really now
(41:06):
what the ballot is going to be, because it is
a special election and the only thing in our way
is us. If we don't show up, it's not going
to pass well.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
And the thing about it, at least it won't be
too confusing in that it's the only thing on the.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Ballot right exactly.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
You don't have to sort through a bunch of other stuff.
It's just Prop fifty.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
Yes, it should take you no longer than five not
even five minutes, if you make sure that you're educated
about what's on the ballot before you your ballot drops,
and ballots I think are going to drop around October seventh,
I want to say for around October seventh, and vote
centers are going to open up a week or two
after that for folks who want to just go in
(41:53):
person to vote. But we got to get it across
the finish line or else it'll.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
It'll just be a slop.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Indeed, Jasmine Kennick, thank you for ending our week with
us on our one with some clarity around Prop fifty.
I always appreciate having you on.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
Thanks for having me, you have a great holiday weekend,
and yeah, thanks for having me you as well.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
See you September eighth, lol.
Speaker 5 (42:19):
Lol.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
All right, we've got news, traffic, and sports, and then
it's time for Friedman Friday. Commissioner Consul Mohammed aka Friday
Jones joins me next on KBLA Talk fifteen eighty
KBLA Talk fifteen to eighty. Good morning, Happy Friday, God
bless Happy Labor Day weekend. Eve. I'm Dominique de Prima.
This show is called First Things First, and my very
first thing today and every day is giving thanks to God,
Giving thanksgiving praises and asking for blessings from the Most High,
(00:22):
asking for the blessings of the ancestors and the elders.
And let's go. It is Freedman Friday. Well, every Friday
around here is Friedman Friday where we unpack and focus
on reparations. So the way we do things on Friedman
Friday a little bit different than the rest of the week.
Our one we look local. Our two we focus on reparations.
(00:42):
And today we will be talking with a commissioner, Conza Mohammed,
some of you know her as Friday Jones, with an
update on what's happening with reparations here in the city
of Los Angeles, in the state of California, which has
been a leader on the issue. We've got some up
dates on that, so that will be quite compelling. And
(01:03):
then hour three is ten of like a free for all. Okay,
you never know what's going to happen in hour three
unless something pops up between now and then. We're just talking,
which I love so full. Lines are always open eight
hundred and nine to fifteen eighty eight hundred and nine
two fifteen eighty. I know it's big Gemini Energy, and
(01:24):
we build this plane while we're flying it. Isn't it fun?
Don't you like being part of it? Well, I'm excited
to welcome in to the space. Let me say she's
been clutch in stepping up to cover for our Friday contributor.
I'm Sherry Bell, who is a little under the weather,
(01:44):
and she's stepped up in the clutch like she has
many a time before. She's an award winning journalist of
the generation known as X. She's an on air contributor.
She is a political strategist, mostly Democratic and actually a
member of the Central Committee the Democratic Party. She's also
(02:07):
a writer and a fashionista. Jaz Mechanic.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Good morning, Good morning, Gominie, good morning kb LA family.
Got my coffee, Yay.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yay coffee for me. That's the you know, gallon of water,
not a gallon, but like twenty four hours as I
drink as soon as I wake up. That wakes me up.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
But my magic bean juice. It's my magic bean juice.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, I saved my coffee until about noon when I
need a second wind and I'll have coffee or Macha
tea or something like that. But Happy Friday. I am
happy to announce that the very talented jas Mechanic has
agreed to join us as a regular contributor as well.
She'll be joining us the second Monday of every month. Yay.
(03:00):
I was so excited about that. So yes, I'm really
blessed to have smart friends like you who sometimes agree
to come on the radio with me.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I was gonna say, well, thank you, of course, Saki,
but I was gonna say, it's kind of just like
making it more official, because I kind of already come off.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Well, yeah, I and I warned you when we talked
about this. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna be calling
you all the other times. Just we have one official time.
It's the same, you know, with the best of the best.
But yeah, I mean, I guess from that perspective, you've
been a contributor since Street Science.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Right, we go back, we go back. But it's all
good and I love it. I absolutely love it, particularly
in this age of you know, all these other competing,
you know, technologies and stuff that. You know, people still
listen to the radio. People like me, like you, like
the KBLA audience still still turn on our radios. We
(04:01):
like to grab our our coffee, you know, get into
it first thing in the morning. And I love that
and I love being a part of that, and I'm
happy that we are making it official.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, yeah, Well it's funny because people now call them
podcasts even when they're on the radio. That's when you
know you've been subsumed. We were here first. They should
be calling them radio, but no, they are broadcasts. But no,
they started calling us, right, podcast It's okay, I'll take it.
We are streaming on YouTube at KBLA fifteen eighty every
(04:36):
single day. But one of the things that you know
is going on, as you say in this moment, that
I think, even though there's a lot of conversation about it,
folks are still confused, is this whole proposition fifty moment
where California has taken sort of an aggressive stance in
(04:59):
pushing back on what Republicans have really been doing for
a long time, which is this very very very twisted
jerrymandering that they're doing. But usually they do it every
ten years, right when it's the census. Now, at the
request of the president, they have Texas decided to do
(05:21):
it at five years, and that's pretty rare. Right.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Well, look, I mean, I think if we want to
go back just a little bit to the twenty twenty
four election and talk about what we knew that the
mandate was going to be for Trump and Republicans, right,
(05:45):
let me see, still early in the morning. But I
believe it was called projective and this was a part
of that.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
And I you know, I'm not the big fan of
Gavin Newsom's I do struggle a lot with him, but
what I but look, at the same time, I understand
that we have to fight fire with fire. I understand
that the Democratic.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Party, I mean, at this point he is leading the
Democratic Party nationally, not just in the state of California,
just in terms of coming up with a sort of
a CounterPunch to what you know, Trump and you know,
his magaminions are trying to do. I think that it
(06:37):
is going to be a playbook that we're going to
be duplicated in some other states. I don't know how
successful they will be, but I think that some form
of what we're doing here in California.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Will be.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know, adopted and looked at in various other states, because,
as you mentioned, while Texus is sort of leading the
charge for the Republicans, there are many other states lining
up to follow suit, a lot of red states to
do exactly that, right, to rig elections.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
To.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Basically disenfranchise a lot of voters. They're going out of
their way. It is absolutely to me, like as a
person who's worked on politics for nearly the past two decades,
I am so shocked at a lot of what I'm seeing.
It is just absolutely it's like some of the things
(07:41):
that we've watched in movies are actually coming true. And
I did like a real last week comparing and for
folks who know these books are these movies, you'll definitely
get it. But I talked about, you know, v sort
of Vendetta, the Man in the High Castle, and some
(08:01):
of the other sort of dystopia, a political dystopia sort
of films that we've had that have and books that
have been written that have you know, had situations where
the government turned into what is happening right now, and
it's so scary because you know when when when Philip K. Dix,
(08:26):
The Man the High Coustle was turned into an Amazon show,
and that was the one where it was an alternate
world where World War two we did it when and
and the US was split in two and the Japanese
had like one half of the country and the Nazis
had the other half of the country. And it was crazy.
(08:50):
But you when you if you looked at that show
right now, you would say, oh, my god, that's happening
right now. Wow, wow, And so it is very scary,
and it's and it you and if you value your freedom,
if you value your vote, if you value sort of
the principles and ideas which as we know as black people,
(09:12):
have not always been extended to us. Let's you know,
we're gonna we're gonna speak at the surface level right now.
If you value sort of the ideas that this country
was built on them based on, just in terms of
equality for all, and and and the choice to you know,
sort of elect your your the people who represent you
(09:35):
and everyone having a vote. And you should be really
super concerned about what's going on right now in the country,
because what's going on right now in the country is
basically to take all of that away and put it
in the hands of a few. And so what California
is saying, what California is doing and Gavin Newsom, Governor
Newson is leading it is saying, okay, if you if
(09:58):
you're it's sort of like how we act in our
day to day lives, like, oh, okay, you're gonna go there,
Well then we're gonna go here. We're going to do this.
And I respect that. And you know, it took me
a minute. Took me a little bit of a minute
to get on that, on board with that. But you know,
you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
(10:19):
And I realize that we have to do something. The
Democrats have a messaging problem, not only amongst themselves but
even to their constituency and not just.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
But it's more than a messaging problem. Don't you think
some of it is running from the progressive values problem?
I mean the messaging problem.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Yeah, that's just one problem.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Right, right, right, okay, problem right?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
And and somebody, I mean, look, when you know, when
asked all of the time, who is the front runner
for twenty twenty eight, Democrats are hard pressed appointing anyone
right now other than Gavin Newsom if they want other
than Kevin Newsom, really who is actually fighting Trump on
(11:06):
his turf like for a very long time. And I
still believe this is continuing. I know a lot of
folks listening will probably agree with this. Democrats have been bringing,
you know, a nice to a gunfight. They have been
trying to still play respectability politics. They've been seeing Kumbai
Ya and and praying that things will just get better. Meanwhile,
(11:29):
the folks on the other side are hitting below the belt,
are cheating and doing everything else, things that we never
thought could be that that could happen. I mean we
you know, every and then this sounds so simple and
it's like, well, yeah, that's what's going on. But to me,
I've still shocked every time I think about how this
(11:49):
man has rigged the court. This man has done all
of these things to set up him and his minions
have done all of these things to set it up
to a point where they just keep it as in
his worth winning right because at the end of the day,
we always say, well, we'll just take it to court
and fight it in court. And it's like, well, now
(12:10):
the man who's rigged the court. There are very few
judges that stand up to Trump, that stand up to
the Republican Party, and so that in itself is really scary.
So you have to try and you have to think
outside the box. And Democrats have not been really great
at that. It's been very, very disappointing. It's something that
(12:32):
I know quite a few folks in the party continue
to discuss, and we just continue to kind of do
our own thing within the party because the party hasn't
figured out what it's going to do and how it's
going to move forward, because you know, and we're like, look,
twenty twenty six is here, and once twenty twenty six
is here, twenty twenty eight is here. Because in our world,
you don't start an election the months of the election,
(12:56):
a few months before the elections, or even the year
of the election. You start a year to two years
ahead of time. So as soon as twenty twenty four
was over and we picked our jobs up off the ground,
we all realize that we need to start paying attention
and working towards twenty twenty six. Right, you don't wait
until twenty twenty six to work on twenty twenty six,
(13:18):
so that you know, there's just so much going on
and then now, Dominique, she set the top of the
show in the begin in the middle of all of this,
we're gonna have a special election, which sounds great. It
sounds great on paper, it sounds great when it comes
out of our mouths, but the reality is that voters,
and Democratic voters have a hard time making it to
(13:41):
vote on entering regularly scheduled elections.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Right, So so hold that thought, jasmen, because we're gonna go.
We'll get into the special election and all of the
details of what is happening here in California with what
is now known as Proposition fifty. When we come forward
on KBLA Talk fifteen eighty back to me, Dominique de Prema,
We're back to Jazz Mechanic and you you're invited in
at eight hundred and nine two fifteen eighty. So we
(14:05):
got some conversation going on in the YouTube chat that
is in direct response to what we're talking about Props fifty,
the jerry mandering sort of arms race that's been kicked
off by Texas in which California has been leading the way.
In response, and Jerry Anderson says, what whoever ends up winning,
(14:29):
does that determine who controls the state House. That's a
question whoever ends up winning the jerry mandering race. And
I'm not you know, I don't think that's true in California.
But we're talking about is the national control of Congress.
We're talking about the House of Representatives.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, So just the I'm going to answer that,
but just to back it up, so we're all on
the same page, in sixty seven days we have a
special election. Why is it a special election because you
usually in odd years, not usually, but lately in lot
in odd years, we usually don't go to the polls.
There are still a few cities, I believe in the
(15:11):
state that haven't changed their elections to be in even years.
So like some of the smaller cities, for example, will
have like the election for their mayor or city council
or something like that, right in twenty twenty five, but
not a lot of cities have elections in twenty in
odd years, right, So that's what makes that that's part
of what makes it special, particularly for the state because
(15:33):
the state. Usually the state does not have elections in
odd years. So what I was saying before the break
was just that you know, our voter turnout is you know,
when it comes to regularly scheduled elections, and now we're
faced with this special election with a really really tight
sort of calendar, right, so sixty seven days from now
(15:57):
we'll be voting. I can't believe it's going to be
no verse sixty seven days.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I know, this year just evaporated right right right.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
And of course, going back to sort of what that
means it, you know, this is I think they're calling
it the Stop the Election Rigging Act or something like that,
but the point is basically for for us to suspend
our We have an independent redistricting Commission that was first
(16:30):
put into place and two thousand and eight, so really
not that long ago, right, and the then voters went
back in twenty ten and added congressional the drawing of
congressional line. So we voted on it once, whether you
voted or not, it was once in two thousand and eight,
(16:50):
again in two thousand and ten, and and sort of that,
you know, is what we've had, and what what we're
going to be voting on is basically to suspend the
We do that like every ten years, and we're voting
to suspend that at least well until twenty thirty. We're
(17:11):
voting to suspend that until twenty thirty so that the
legislature here in California can we draw the line. The
thinking and the hope with that is that we can
pick up the five seats that are going to be
lost due to Trump and MAGA cheating and changing the
(17:32):
rules in states like Texas. And that's why I said
earlier that we should see this being replicated, probably not
exactly the same, but very similarly in other sort of
blue states and other states where people have common sense
and understand that what Trump is doing is wrong.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Okay, so that's what we're voting for.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
So point of clarification, Jerry says, the question was actually
the opposite. Who wins the jerry mandering war come down
to who currently controls the state houses, and that may
or may not be true.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Right, So what I would say is to look at
it from a different point of view, I would say
that whoever wins, so the reason why we're doing yes.
At the end of the day, whoever wins this war
will more than likely control the shape of the House
(18:36):
of the Senate. We're talking about DC right now. Remember,
California is solidly blue Republicans are basically in Sacramento.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
For show, right, right, But I mean, I think what
Jerry is saying is if Republicans control more state houses,
they're gonna be able to win the jerrymandering war. And
that's what that's what all these papers and such you're sinking. Right, No,
we're not in fear of that here. But when you
talk about it an arms race, what you're talking about
is other states doing what Texas and California are doing,
(19:06):
and when you look at it nationally, the Republicans have
the advantage. I think that's his point. I know that.
But to your point, Jasmine, what's the alternative sit here
and say, oh, well they win, like we have to
do something?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
What you have to deal with it like you would
deal with it in your real life, in your actual
personal life. You wouldn't let someone just continuously cheat and run.
Oh I would hope you wouldn't and just you know,
run over. You would. You would do something to fight back.
And for quite some time, the Democrats as a whole.
(19:40):
When I say as a whole, I mean our leadership
for those who are Democrats was not doing anything. And
so Gavin Newsom stepped in with a team of lawyers
with a bunch of strategists and said, well, hey, let's
try this. And so far it is the only thing
that I have seen that's legal and won't end you
(20:01):
up in prison for the rest of your life or
with the death penalty. That is working, you know, and
so take that as you will. It is the only
thing that I that I see that is working. And
so yes, there, so we have Proposition fifty going back
to because people are very confused about what it does.
(20:23):
I just want to make it clear again, this is
not taking away the independent redistricting Commissions, just suspending it
until twenty thirty and then going into twenty thirty one
things would go back to It's a temporary situation. So
please you know, the day of the vote, you and
I were talking about this, Dominique. You know, we already
had our first piece of anti you know, special election mail,
(20:47):
and they are doing the fear of mongering and all
of that good stuff. If you're gonna vote, just go
vote and be informed. It is not permanent. It is
not getting rid of the of the Independent Redistricting Commission,
is just suspending it so that the lines are going
to be drawn by the folks in Sacramento, and it's
(21:09):
you know, and it's and and let me say this,
and let still it's early in the morning and I'm
drinking my coffee. But hopefully this makes sense. We are
still taking it to the people for a vote. We
meaning the Democrats in California, are still taking it to
the people for a vote. It is a constitutional amendment,
so the people get to give it a vote up
(21:29):
or vote down, which is a far cry more than
what the Republican Party is doing. They don't take anything
to the people. They just sit around in their cave,
come up with their ghoulish fiendus plans and then enact them.
So the people actually in California still get.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
A say, all right, we've got news, traffic, in sports,
and then more. Only right here KBLA Talk fifteen eighty.
Happy birthday, Michael Jackson, We miss you. Happy heavenly birthday.
I should say it's today. That's a sure sign that
is virgo season. And guess who's on the mic with
(22:10):
me this Friday? This Friedman Friday, starting off with our
Left Coast Conversation, which really is leading the national dialogue
right now. Jasminchannick, find your on Instagram at hello Joman.
So I think you're correct to lay things out in
terms of helping people connect the dots, because we've been
(22:31):
hearing a lot of conversation about redistricting, and you know,
there's so many I just like you. I got mailers immediately,
which means Republicans have been worried about this and planning
for this, and so.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
It was a smart move on their part. I mean,
as a strategist, I was like, okay, mad at you,
But as a Democrat, I was like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, So there's a lot of missing disinformation. And I
think one of the key points is what you said
that people feel like all the work that was done
to create an independent redistricting Commission is going out the
window and that that's never coming back. And that's not
the truth, because this thing has a sunset built into it.
The other argument, which Ed Sanders was making a couple
(23:20):
Fridays ago, is that two wrongs don't make a right,
and so now we're going down to their level.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Okay, so let me you know, oh, I love you,
ad you know, we cool, We are tight. You know,
it's okay to disagree, But I'm going to say this
when voters when folks came up with the Independent Redistricting Commission,
When folks came up with that, we were not living
in the times that we are living in now. And
that is part of the problems that the problem that
(23:49):
the Democratic Party has. We cannot live in nineteen ninety five.
We cannot live in two thousand and five. We have
got to live in twenty twenty five. And you have
got to fight fire with fire, you have got to
go toe to toe with folks, and we cannot get
caught up in that. Like at first I kind of
(24:11):
started to think into all of that as well, But
the reality is we weren't living under what we were
living under when we voted in two thousand and eight
or in twenty and ten.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
And so we.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Can't on one hand complain that, oh, Trump is not
fighting there, and Trump is doing this, and the Republicans
are doing that, and then come with these sort of
outdated strategies and these outdated ways of trying to fight
back that we just know simply are not going to
work in today's in today's political climate. And so I
(24:45):
think again, it's a smart play. It's a smart counter
punch to what the MAGA Republicans are trying to do
and right now, it's the only thing that I really
see that's legal, that is, it has a chance of working.
Now will it work one hundred percent? That really depends
(25:08):
on the people listening. That really depends on the folks
who are registered to vote by what is it October
twentieth or so here in the state of California. That
depends on us showing up, because even though it is
on the ballot, it doesn't mean anything if we don't
go and vote. And like I said before, we have
a problem voting and regularly scheduled elections, let alone a
(25:30):
special election. And so voters are going to need to
make sure that even though this may be the only
thing on their ballot, that they you know, get that
ballot mailed back in or they you know, go and
show up to a vote center and they make sure
that they seal the deal. Because it's not a done deal.
Even though we are a majority Democrat state, folks still
(25:54):
have to show up and vote. And if you have
a situation where where the Democrats put this on the
ballot and the Republicans show up and pull but you know,
the ten Republicans that live in the state and only
three of us do well, then it's not done to pass.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Yeah, well yeah, okay, so we got some folks on
the phones. Let's go to Carl calling us from La Carl.
You're on with Jasmin Kanni.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
Good morning, Hey, good morning Dominican to your guests. Hey, yeah,
I guess special elections cost money, but I guess Gavin
Newsom will get it back through smogs and registration feeds
going up. I mean, I'm always saying that he's been
practicing to be a president of the United States. Hey,
(26:40):
but my question to your guest is they got this
thing called the First Five California for ten million dollars
going to immigrants this year, next year, and Gavin Newsom
will still be in there.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
That's actually not what we're talking about. But if she
wants to chime in, the First five California is an
initiative that's meant to help moms with uh raised with
you know, having healthy children in the first five years
of their lives. Immigrants, not just immigrants, all Californians. I
(27:14):
used to be a spokesperson for it at my other
radio station. It's not just for immigrants. But you're saying
that they do help immigrants. So what's your take on that, Jasmin?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Well, he's saying at Hi, Carl, Good morning Carl. You
are saying it if there are if I follow your logic,
which I don't, you are saying it like there are
no black immigrants that could be possibly benefiting from no
black folks that could be possibly been spitting from this.
I mean, I'm not sure how this relates to the
(27:44):
special election, but again, you're saying it as if immigrants
are not black people. And just so you know, in
the state of California, at least one in four, according
to new numbers from Boggie, folks are either the children
of immigrants or immigrants themselves. So when we talk about immigrants,
(28:05):
let's not separate ourselves as black people because we are
in those numbers two, particularly in the state of California.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Yeah, I mean, and I get that there are some
people who don't care if immigrants are black. They just
want their like on America first. I get that, But
the fact about first five California is for parents, all
parents in the state of California, And so yeah, I'm
not sure I haven't seen what you're talking about. The
(28:32):
talking point that you're raising as far as those particular
dollars being allocated. But I know that it is not
just for immigrants. It is for Californians, for new parents
in California, in order to make sure that we get
better outcomes in terms of the survival of our babies.
That's what it is.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Yeah, I mean what I see is that you know,
they approved, you know, a ten million initiatives to sport
children impacted by immigration enforcement and when and I think
that's what Crawl is referring to. And again when you
speak of immigration in the state of California. You know, folks,
(29:14):
this may not mean anything to Carl, but it might
mean something to you. We are also talking about black
immigrant children as well. I do not know why you
think there is a little Ethiopia if there are no
Ethiopian people here in La You know, we have, you know,
the second largest Belizia population in Los Angeles County outside
(29:35):
of Belize, right, the largest population outside of the country
of Belize. We have Jamaica's Nigerians. I mean, I could
go on and on with the number of black immigrants
there are here in the state of California.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Yeah, I see what you're talking about. The ten million here,
and their annual budget is sixty seven million, so that's
I think that's about right. So that's a significant investment.
But I don't know. We can do another show the
other day.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
I just don't our children.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
And that's where I was going with it. It's like, okay,
so so I mean the first five years of life,
you're going to say, well, no, you're an immigrant, so
you can't have that banana. I mean, and that right now,
Right now, we're talking about babies who, in some cases
may their parents may have been deported, right, which is
(30:32):
pretty dire. So and your kids are going to be
going to school with those kids, and those kids are
going to be traumatized and in need of support. I
don't know, I have yeah, right, but okay, but I
just wanted to be clear. First five, California is for
all Californians, all California, that's right, regardless of their status. Okay,
(30:55):
Dwight from Compton, you have the mic. We might have
to get the question and good morning. Do thedn't get
the answer? Yeah, when we come forward, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Good morning, okay, Good morning, Dominique, good morning Jazz. I'm
wishing both of you to have a great weekend, and
thank everyone there at KBLA for all the great things
that your your radio station is doing for our community. Dominique.
I want to say vote yes on Proposition fifty to
to to redistrict our state because these Republicans are so
(31:24):
full of it. They always want to go by the
break the rule and then tell everybody else to go
by the rules. It was illegal for slaves to leave
the plantation for so was it illegal for the underground railroad?
And Herriet Tubman? It was illegal for us to vote
in the south? Or was it illegal for Martin Luther
King and and and UH and all the great others
to march at just voting right and and bringing it
(31:47):
right to rite down to current time. It was illegal
for Trump to attack the US capital because the fourteenth
Amendment said you can never hold any government office if
you attack the uh the government. So all these people
calling in talking about immigrants, immigrants didn't shoot up that
(32:09):
cast at church the other day and in the Minnesota
and killed and wounded little kids. Those weren't immigrants, So
get off of that Republican immigrant stuff. They try to
divert your attention to something else when they're the real enemy,
all right, Dwight.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Well, I guess we'll get Jasminkanic's reaction to Dwight's statements
when we come forward on KBLA Talk fifteen eighty. Yes. Indeed,
Jasmin Kanic is with us right from Compton called, and
he's urging a yes vote on Prop fifty. Your responses
to what Dwight had to say, Jasmin Kinnick.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I don't know that it needs a response. I just
don't know that it didn't need I think he was
very well spoken.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Okay, go Dwight. One of the things that's coming out
of this conversation in our YouTube chat, Jasmine, is that
people are debating Newsom himself. And you started off saying
you're not the biggest fan of him, but you're embracing
his leadership on this issue. And it seems like Paul
and a couple of other folks, and Molly Bell and
a couple of others in the chat are saying that
(33:25):
they don't want Newsom to run for president, that Newsom
probably wouldn't win. Paul says he doesn't even think he'll
make it out of the primary. He'd rather see Wes
Moore or someone else. But because of this jerry mandering fight.
And I think because of what you said that most
Dems can't name another front runner to be the presidential
(33:46):
pick in twenty twenty eight. That's sparring. That's sparring is
happening in the chat, and I wonder what you think
about that.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Look, let's be really really clear about Gavin newsm Gavin
Newsom has been positioning to run for president for quite
some time. It is almost the perfect storm for him
right now. You have a Democratic party that has a
lot of infighting, is confused about their own platform, their
own messaging, what they stand for. He has been able
(34:17):
to galvanize, you know, the folks around him, come up
with a strategy both on social media and using traditional media.
He is using the full power of his position while
he still has it, because we know that, you know,
he will no longer be the governor after twenty twenty six,
(34:39):
and he is using the full position of his power
to make himself a nationally known There are people in
Maine who now know who Gavin Newsom is who didn't
know who he was before. So that train has already,
you know, sort of left the station. I mean, I
(34:59):
think folks are pretty clear he's very evasive whenever asked
about it. We know we've seen this a million times.
I'm just focused on being the governor. I mean, you know,
I got to focus on what I'm doing right now,
and I haven't even thought about the presidency. Get the
blankety blankety blank out of here. We all know that
that's that's where his heart, his heart lies. Okay, So
(35:24):
again going back to what I said, don't want to
perfectly the enemy of the good. Look, I struggle with Gavin.
I'm not cool with a lot of things he's done
as governor. But what I am clear about is that
he is the one stepping up right now to try
to do something about what is coming out of Washington, DC.
And I think that's what folks need to think about.
You could get caught up in all of your dislike
(35:47):
for Gavin, but I don't know how that helps us
as a people right now, and as a people, we
are being attacked. The other thing is democracy.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
The other thing is I don't think that supporting Prop
fifty means that you're supporting Newsom for governor, I mean
for president. Excuse me, that's up to you. You know
that's gonna that's twenty twenty eight. Right now, what we're
talking about is pushing back against Texas, and he because
he's a spokesperson for it or he's the leader on this,
doesn't mean that you that you automatically have to support Newsom. Yes,
(36:25):
it's increasing his popularity, but so is that trolling. I
mean that, you know, he's even has a Patriot shop
now where you can buy a hat that says Gavin
Newsom was right about everything happens to be a red
hat with white writing very Gavin.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Yeah, it's you know what, when when I went and
looked at that shop, I was just like, I would
like what I buy some of this merch. I probably
would if Gavin's face wasn't painted all over it or
his or his or his.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
Yeah, I like that don't poke the bear. But they
didn't have a T shirt.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
One of the few that didn't have. I think that's what,
like what a bumper sticker or a lawn sign?
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Yeah, yeah, it does that what I need a shirt
I would wear that I don't poke the bear sign.
But yeah, you're right, the other one shirt right right?
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Yeah, but not I don't want to wear a shirt
that said Gavin was right, Like I'm just not as
a Californian, I'm not feeling that message. So and in
that way, going back to what they're saying in the chat,
it does feel very much like he's already running for president,
because when you go look at that store, everything is
Gavin Gavin Gavin, not Democrats. It's Gavin.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
It's not even Prop fifty, it's.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Gavin gab it's not even Prop fifty. It's definitely Gavin
Gavin Gavin. But I think what folks need to understand
before we get out of here is that we have
a special election coming up. I do wholly believe that
it will affect what happened in DC and what happens
with the presidency in twenty twenty eighth. That we need
(37:58):
to show up and we need to vote, you know,
and we're about to go through another election cycle. So
get ready for those text messages, which has Lau ready
for that mails that people like me work so hard
to make sure hit the right folgue.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
And the voice messages. Yeah, I mean, popped Up says
trolling Texas is a reaction. Delivering reparations is an action.
Is Trolling Texas is a reaction, And I get that,
But he's not trolling Texas. He's trolling the president. And
Prop fifty is not trolling. It is actually going to
net us five seats to counteract the five seats the
(38:36):
power grab that Trump has done is doing in Texas.
So it's not it actually is an action. It's a reaction,
but it's also an action. And I agree with you.
I'm still mad about Newsom tanking reparations too, but I'm
interested in what policies most benefit my community. Go ahead
to Jasmine, Well.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
What do we think is going to happen with reparations?
If they readraw the lines all across this country and
really mess with the makeup of state legislatures as well
as as the House and the Senate. What what? What's
going to happen to reparations? Then? What hope? What hope for?
(39:17):
I mean, I mean what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
I mean, a near permanent majority in the House of
Representatives is what they're seeking. And Paul made a good
point in the chat. He says it's because it's part
of the twenty twenty five plan, which is where you started,
which is they need to continue to control the House
of Representatives, and they won't if they don't cheat. So
the cheating is on.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
The cheating is on that that's certainly is true.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
The belle says, who knows who'll emerge by twenty twenty eight.
Anything is better than the hot mess we have now. Yeah,
a lot could happen between now and twenty twenty eight,
But all I'm saying is, don't look at Prop fifty
as a vote on Newsome for president. Those are separate issues,
That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
We got to kind of deal with Gavin later and
address what we need to address right now. We're in
a perfect position to do it. Statewide elections are very hard.
This is not just Los Angeles County voting. This is
an entire state of voters, which means from the top
of the state to the bottom of the state. There
needs to be an aggressive messaging and voter outreach campaign
(40:21):
done by Democrats, and as Democrats who are listening, we
have a responsibility to educate those around us about what
the real facts are and making sure that those in
our household and those on our tribe and our crew
are registered by the twentieth of October, and make sure
that they return that ballot, or because we still despite
(40:44):
what's coming out of DC, we still will have ballots
mail to all registered voters here in the state of California.
So if you don't want to show up to a
vote center, you just need to fill it out and
mail it back in. But we you know, just having
fifty doesn't mean we've cross the finish line. We cross
the finish line when the majority of voters in this
state give it the thumbs up. And that's really now
(41:06):
what the ballot is going to be, because it is
a special election and the only thing in our way
is us. If we don't show up, it's not going
to pass well.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
And the thing about it, at least it won't be
too confusing in that it's the only thing on the.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Ballot right exactly.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
You don't have to sort through a bunch of other stuff.
It's just Prop fifty.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
Yes, it should take you no longer than five not
even five minutes, if you make sure that you're educated
about what's on the ballot before you your ballot drops,
and ballots I think are going to drop around October seventh,
I want to say for around October seventh, and vote
centers are going to open up a week or two
after that for folks who want to just go in
(41:53):
person to vote. But we got to get it across
the finish line or else it'll.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
It'll just be a slop.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Indeed, Jasmine Kennick, thank you for ending our week with
us on our one with some clarity around Prop fifty.
I always appreciate having you on.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
Thanks for having me, you have a great holiday weekend,
and yeah, thanks for having me you as well.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
See you September eighth, lol.
Speaker 5 (42:19):
Lol.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
All right, we've got news, traffic, and sports, and then
it's time for Friedman Friday. Commissioner Consul Mohammed aka Friday
Jones joins me next on KBLA Talk fifteen eighty
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