February 26, 2025 • 33 mins
ICYMI: Hour Three of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – A very special edition of ‘What’s Up’ with regular guest contributor Nick Pagliochini delving into a lively discussion with Mo' regarding this Friday's (2/28/25) planned “Economic Black Out” along with what DEI is and how history is something to be learned from and remembered to continue the conversation and continue to elevate society at large - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Joining me in studio is none other than Nick Polyochini.
What is up, my brother?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
What is up?
Speaker 4 (00:11):
Good sir? It's lovely to see you. Lovely to be
seen as we're wrapping up February last week. Is crazy
to think they were already.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
There already, even though it is a shorter month, right,
it feels even shorter for some reason, maybe because January
lasted seventy five days.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
You are correct, and February seems to have been the
longest on record, even though we're going to be wrapping it.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Up this week.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
So it's been busy, it's been good, and I want
to take us to as always very akin to the
old days with this week of a Nick Poliochanni. This
Friday is something big that's happening, and you and I
briefly talked about it just off air, and we kind
of we sift to save it for the air kind
(00:51):
of concept.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
So the thing I want to talk about is this
Friday is going to be a nationwide economic blackout, and
what that specifically means is that there is a boycott
of all major companies that is being requested, meaning Amazon, Walmart, Target,
Best Buy, McDonald's, Meta which would be Instagram and Facebook,
(01:17):
Ford Motor Company, Chipotle, Coca Cola, which all of these
are major brands that you can barely get around without
doing anything.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
What is the reason for this economic boycott?
Speaker 3 (01:28):
They are trying to specifically make their I guess you
would say people in general.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
So there's a group that has come together that's called
the People's Union USA, and they organized boycotts traditionally before,
but specifically looking at retailers because they're trying to send
a message with everything that's been going on. And the
thing that for me and I have gotten a lot
of feedback from social media from a lot of listeners
(01:56):
that KFI and elsewhere that it's specific it's a twenty
four hour time period where you're being urged to refrain
from spending money unnecessarily both online and in store with
these particular large retailers, and it is trying to make
the and it's a reference specifically to DEI with you know,
(02:17):
with everything that's been going on since January twentieth until now,
and so with that all being said, and it was
funny because I was talking to twelve off air. I
both actively and inactively or you know, passively. I haven't
been a target since the twentieth I haven't been to Walmart.
I have been Costco. But you know, we got you
(02:39):
got to pick and choose your retailers. But this Friday
is going to be the major And there's been small
blackouts throughout from you know, the new presidency through now,
but this is one that is really being pushed, especially
by minority groups.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Let me jump in there. Yeah, and I talk about
protests and effective protest just about every day with every
issue on this show. I'm going to be consistent. So
let me just ask you what word answer, because that's
going to predicate how I'm going to respond.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Sounds great.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Is this going to be done in the hopes of
actually changing something or only creating awareness?
Speaker 3 (03:16):
It is at this point creating awareness.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Specifically, the hope is to have an economic impact, to
be able to have a blip on the radar.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Let me jump in. Go ahead. You are not going
to have any economic impact. And I'll tell you what.
These major corporations measure their revenue in quarters, not a day.
In other words, if they have a down Friday and
everyone starts spending on Saturday. It's not going to make
any different and it's not even going difference, and it's
not even going to register. And I always use the
Montgomery bus boycott of nineteen fifty five as a comparison point,
(03:48):
which lasted three hundred and eighty one days and set
off the modern civil rights movement. That's Rosa Parks. She
refused to sit at the back of the bus, and
the people in Montgomery, Alabama refused to use the bus
lines for three hundred and eighty one days. That had
an economic impact. Now, there was an old chain letter
that would float around the nineteen nineties and early two
thousands called the Big Gas Up because people were mad
(04:10):
about remember gas price, and they said let's not buy
gas for a single day. It did not change a
damn thing. So I say, and I asked, respectfully, are
you trying to create awareness? Are you're trying to create
economic impact? Because one day it's not going to create
any economic impact. What we have seen is people have
really laid into target and not going to target over
(04:30):
an extended period of time. That target is feeling it.
But if you say, for one day, we're not going
to spend that any big box retailer or we're not
going to buy over here, bye over there, But the
next day we can go back to what we were
doing before. It's not going to be felt. It's not
going to make a difference, with exception of you might
get some news coverage.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Right and I think that's it. And again, like you've
just specifically had, I mean, this is why I come here.
The thing that I like being a part of later
with mo Kelly is because I learn as well and
being able to bring in topics like this and talk
about them in it environment with somebody who is well
versed in a lot of background information. It's really helpful
because again it's going to hopefully bring awareness and obviously
(05:09):
not economically affect those people that are there. I want
to play and you said target specifically, and target is
a very big situation.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I guess you would say.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
I was trying to figure out before I came on
the show tonight exactly how to present it because I
know I'm going up against the big guns and it
is always good to bring a little bit of I
don't know background to it. There's a TikToker not to employ,
you know, the social media platform that was shut down
and then brought back by the Illustrious Current was shut down, Yeah,
(05:45):
allegedly six hours something like that anyway.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
But Amber Haley Lord.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Who is a advocate for healthcare and corporate ethic related
issues on TikTok Robin, can you play that piece of
audio for me please?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Why is everyone going after Target so hard?
Speaker 5 (06:00):
A bunch of brands backed away from DEI and we
all decided to boycott Target, Walmart, Amazon, and a slew
of others. Saw this really great question where this person
was asking, why is everyone going so.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Hard about Target?
Speaker 5 (06:11):
I know exactly why, because I've been doing it too.
I think a lot of people are more butt hurt
about Target because Target tricked us for so long talking
about inclusivity, supporting black brands, diversity, equity, LGBTQ, pride, stuff,
all the things. Really were loud and proud about so
many things for so many years, and it was our
(06:31):
happy place. We felt good being there. We felt like,
as far as capitalism goes and big box stores, that
we could safely spend our money there and that they
had a lot of great brands and they were supporting
And then just at the slight sign of an issue.
They just tucked tail and run. They're a big company
with a lot of money and a lot of lawyers.
Without a shadow of a doubt, they did not have
to do this. They were scared, and they were scared
(06:54):
of losing money, and now they're losing money, and I
encourage you guys to keep boycotting them. One big move
that we recently made because we were getting like our
pet food, like doggy diapers and dog treats and cat
treats and all those things there, We now solely get
everything from Chewi and actually we put everything on auto ships.
We don't have to make a trip to the store,
and we're getting it for less money. And Chewy is
(07:15):
a great company.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
So that's solved.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
So I think the thing and that there's a lot
of information that Amber put out there specifically, but I
think that for me this is something and as we scroll,
you know doom scroll, as it's very very popular, you
are able to find things that align depending on what
you like and what you click in social media. But
it was interesting to come across this specifically because for me,
(07:39):
and being so involved heavily with social media sets, it's
on set. It is something that you know, and the
jokes are always there with a meme, you know, the
thirtieth of the month, it's this color and then it
goes to a different color. For me with being a
queer person, it is the rainbow that happens for June
every year because that's that well, because that is LGBTQ
(08:01):
History month. But it is always wild to me because
the thing that for me that I've always pushed on
the show period is supporting small business anyway and really
leaning into that. But it was something that we had
always had the Minnesota nice attitude with Target, and that
was the brand that allegedly really had put themselves out
there to be in support of minority groups and lean
(08:24):
into AAPI and to black history and to LGBTQ. So
the thing that I want to do is, you know,
again add to the awareness of it. But as I
always like to do, I like to bring things to
the show. So how can you make yourself, you know,
a part of it if you so choose, yes, go
(08:44):
for me.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It's real simple. It has to be more than a hashtag.
It has to be more than a day, and it
has to be about more than just awareness. It has
to be about Hey, we're not going to shop at
these businesses, and this is true of any protests to
insert your cause does matter. We're not going to shop
at these locations until correct dot dot and it's open ended.
(09:06):
And then after a quarter of lost revenue, you may
see businesses start changing their tune because ultimately they care
about the American dollar and their bottom line more than
anything in the world. They will sell Girl Scout cookies
if that's what you're all asking for and demanded of them.
But if you think that staying home per se one
day is going to change their stance on any issue,
(09:30):
absolutely not. It would never happen.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Right, So let's look at how we can support other businesses.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
No, I'm saying, if you want to say we shouldn't
shop here or there anymore and only shop small, which
we hear on varying levels each year, correct by all means.
But if you are sharing this with people, with them
thinking that they're going to have an impact or there
might be a change on the other side, I would
(09:58):
not want you to lie to them, because I'm telling
you it's not going to yield anything close to that
type of result. We all know about quote unquote the
fight regarding DBI. We all know that the different retailers
that you mentioned have pulled back and that has left
people feeling some kind of way. The only way that
you're going to get them to change is to feel
(10:19):
the same economic pressure which was placed upon them by
the federal government. And if you can't meet that same
level of pressure, and they've already had the meetings and
they've already gained plan on how long they feel that
people are going to be protesting or mad, and they
feel that they can outlast you. And that's why they've
made this decision at least for now, because they got
(10:41):
to deal with the federal government for the next four years.
Then they only have to deal with people screaming and
shouting for the next four weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
And that's right.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
And I think that's the thing specific to this, because
if you take it even one step further, it's if
we all need these retailers, there's no question about it. Then,
as you said, trying to be able to do a
long game on this, it's real hard not to go
to Walmart and Target. It's real hard not to go
and make because the convenience of our lives, right.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
You're not gonna go to Amazon. You're not gonna go
to Target. But you're not gonna go to Amazon. Correct,
you're not gonna go to Walmart.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Well, and the best part is with Amazon because people
never see it. That's the thing, because that gets delivered
to your home, so you can feel real good about
yourself because it's no one's ever seeing that, as opposed
to I'm not going to walk into a Target or Walmart.
So the idea is beyond what's coming on Friday, and
if you so choose to participate in it, that's great,
(11:35):
But it's how do you spend your money at these retailers?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Is what I'm looking at.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
So I want to look at some small businesses that
are because the point is we have people. You have
people that you care about, as do I who work
at these places that need the job. So this isn't
saying you know, I understand we're all doing that walkout
to make a point or try to feel good about ourselves,
but how can we be smarter about spending those dollars?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
I have some thoughts about that. Sharing when we come back,
please do.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Mo Kelly, Nick polo'chinny. We're live everywhere in the iHeartRadio
app and we have a different sounding conversation tonight is
Nick polo'channey is telling us about this economic boycott in
the name of the DEI anti DEI stances taken on
by Target and other Walmart, other big box retailers, and
(12:28):
there's an economic boycott schedule for this Friday. I've taken
this stance. It's not going to have an economic impact.
And if you're trying to do anything beyond awareness, I
think you're respectfully wasting everyone's time. Everyone's aware of it,
but if they're not going to be pushed to the
point they being the retailers pushed to the point that
(12:48):
they would make a change, I don't know the purpose
of it. And let me add one thing before I
turn it back over to you, Nick. Sure, when you
talk about awareness, part of that has to be an
edge education process of the general public. And in terms
of the DEI discussion, people for the most part, and
I know people listening right now are misinformed as to
(13:11):
what it is. Diversity, equity and inclusion is not affirmative action, correct,
And I hear it again and again, and if you
keep saying it, I'll tell you you're wrong every time
you say it. Think of diversity, equity, inclusion as you
will expand your reach and also where you are looking
for qualified, equally qualified individuals. Let's say that you are pilots,
(13:35):
and this is a real example. Let's say you're recruiting
for pilots for American airlines. You would also have representatives
which will go to the HBCUs, the historically black colleges
and universities and recruit from those stem places and also
invite them to test and become pilots. You're not choosing
(13:56):
people of color, or who are women, or who are
GBTQ on the status of them being checking those boxes
and they're also underqualified or less qualified. That is a lie.
So when I say to you, awareness, there has to
be a component as far as educating people to what
(14:17):
it is not it's just what you want.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Right, And I think for that specific thing to take
it even very close to home here at KFI. Last year,
Steve Gregory, who used to work here myself, and Jacob
Gonzales won an Edward R. More Award for the Regional
and National, one of the most Illustrious Awards within Media.
Congratulations once again, well thanks.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Your thank you.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
But the point is we literally won in the category
of DEI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and it had to
do with everything you've described of how educating people is
and how what it involves outside of this box being checked,
because it affects people at the end of the day,
(15:02):
It affects lives at the end of the day, and
you know, it affects livelihoods at the end of the day.
So that's something that we have even done here specifically
on KFI with a two hour special and a nine
episode podcast series, and we're acknowledged for it.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
But unfortunately it has been distorted, it has been misused,
it has been appropriated, has been used to malign people
as a slur and pejorative. We see it whenever there's
an airline almost incident or an actual incident, including today,
and they say, oh, there's another DEI incident in the
air today, making the assumption that not only the incident
(15:41):
was because of someone other than a white cis male, correct,
but because that someone was either a woman and that
person was responsible for that incident and was lesser qualified
and chosen instead of that white cis male, right.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
And the funnier part of that whole scenario is I
am a white sin it's mail and I'm also queer,
so I hit the DEI box. But there's you and
I walk into a business, you see a white man
and a black man. That's we've encountered it and specifically
not to see my emails, right. And I think that
(16:18):
it's in this moment that we have an opportunity again
to educate and bring awareness to something.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
And I agree with you, and that's why I use
this platform because I want to raise the caliber of
the conversation absolutely, and part of that is disabusing people
of their ignorant notions exactly. And when it comes to DEI,
if you want to change the tenor and direction of
that conversation, that it has to be more to me,
I agree with you. It has to be more than
(16:45):
we need to put pressure on Target and Walmart and
Amazon to say we want this. There has to be
a wider educational component so people understand not only what
you're fighting for, but why you're fighting for it, and
also why you're against it is actually not what you
are against, in other words, what you think you're against
is not even what it is. If I had a
(17:07):
nickel for every time I had to explain the folks
that you don't know what the frick you're talking about.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
And I think that's it, because we're giving gravity and
air to something that doesn't get talked about specifically. And
the challenge is we live in the fifteen second moment anymore.
So wherever the algorithms of your social media take you,
that's the lens within your only thing you're seeing. And
(17:33):
that's what kills me because again, that is where I
have spent a lot of my time, you know, when
I was an iHeart an employee and supporting the brand
here that I was able to really see how that
curation through technology really changes the definition and really changes
the perception of something.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Let me ask you a quick question. Sure, break, we're
going to carry this over to the next segment, but
this I think is going to highlight what I mean
after the economic boycott. In other words, there's Friday the
twenty eighth, what happens on March first.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Yeah, it's again like we joked about it, but I say,
that's my point and I think that's the hardest part.
So again and we'll talk about this after the break,
but it's how do you take your dollars and how
do you better choose what you're doing, choose where you're
spending them.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Oh, I got an answer to that. It's very easy.
That has to be mapped out before you have the economic.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
And you have to have done so much homework and research,
and thankfully there's a good amount of that done.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
But it is because it's easier to just see the
not dismissing or it. It's easy to say, oh, there's
an economic boycott on Friday. Sure I won't buy anything
on Friday. And they don't have to think about it
beyond it, because in their mind they've actually accomplished something.
They've done something. They put up a hashtager that they
shared a post and they didn't spend any money at Amazon,
(18:52):
and then they go home and feel like, see, I've
contributed to the cause, when those mother fathers have not.
They haven't done anything. They're lazy. If they actually studied
civil rights movement, they would know that there's a commitment
not only weeks, months, most likely years as in plural
and then not only does a country change, but capitalism
would change, and you have the desired result. But you
(19:13):
know in this country, when the social media, they move
on after a week or so. And my point to
you is Saturday is going to come and people will
have moved on because they will have thought they would
have done something, and they would have not done anything.
They would not have educated the masses, they will not
have provided any really economic pressure on the entities that
they want to pressure, and then nothing has been gained.
(19:34):
And that's what frustrates me because you may as a
group may be well intentioned, but it's poorly executed and
poorly planned. Right, we'll have more just moment. It's Later
with mo' kelly KFIM six forty were live everywhere the
I Heeartradio app.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty KFI.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Mister mo' kelly and Nick Caliochinni still as we're both
live everywhere the iHeartRadio app. And we've had a very
spirited conversation about the conversation surrounding DEI and how many
businesses and retailers are responding to the pressure and the
executive action of President Trump, and they've responded in different ways.
(20:16):
Some companies like Apple, for example, have pushed back. Some
companies such as Walmart and Target have given in correct,
And you have told us tonight about a proposed economic
boycott across the country. Regarding those retailers who have which
have given in, I push back on the idea that
(20:36):
it's going to create the type of awareness and impact
that you might have hoped for. I thought something would
have something else would have been more impactful and more educational,
and I was using history as a guy.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Does that a fair representation?
Speaker 4 (20:52):
I think it's a perfect You've definitely brought us in,
you know, if you want to reset us right back
to where we were. And I think that's the reason
I bring something like this to later with mo Kelly,
because we can have that spirited conversation and with the
knowledge and background and experience to really take a dive
into it. Because it is one of those scenarios that
I've already talked about. People will participate in it for
(21:13):
the awareness component of it and to feel good about it.
But as you said on Saturday, the very next day,
it'll be two hundred dollars to spend at Target. Yeah,
because it will be right back to it. And I
think the funnier thing. Even to add to it, Target
their shareholders push back on the company itself and said,
we didn't want this. So if you go to Target
(21:35):
dot com or you go to their social media, you're
seeing Black History Month stuff. Now, you saw API Month
stuff back last month. You've got things that are coming
up for a Women's History month, You've got things that
are being already on the website for LGBTQ Pride Month.
So if nothing happened now, granted that is a representation
of okay, we're coming back to it, but also something
(21:58):
is you know, we have that idea of a brand
like Target, who is the Minnesota nice of the big
box retailers who really leaned into it. So the bigger
question that you and I were starting to talk about
and we stopped is give me, in your experience or
your insights kind of what would be a better use
of the time or better approach I guess for it,
(22:21):
because obviously, like you specifically have laid out, it needs time,
it needs education, it needs a lot more than one day. Obviously,
even if we're just talking about the awareness component, removing
the economic impact, which obviously you've already discussed specifically saying
it has quarters involved and that's how businesses look at
all that, and that makes perfect sense. But what is
(22:42):
something that could be done or something that would be
a better approach.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
All movements need to be able to have a person
or a group of people who can effectively communicate on
behalf of those masses coming out of the Montgomery bus boycott.
I use that as an example. That's when doctor King
moved to the front of the civil rights movement and
then became one of the lead mouthpieces, if you will,
(23:08):
to express the fact that this is what's going on
in America, this is what needs to be changed, this
is why we're going about it this way to bring
about the desired change. So people could not only see
what was going on. In other words, he'll be able
to provide context for why people were refusing to use
the Montgomery bus line system. This economic boycott is going
(23:30):
to come and go, and there won't be a cohesive
voice or message around it. I know. I've seen it
far too many times with Occupy Wall Street, with the
pea hats, with the Trump protests in twenty sixteen, with BLM.
It happens every single year. There isn't a centralized messaging
(23:52):
source and people who've been agreed upon to be able
to speak on behalf of the movement and provide context
and edge so people understand, hey, this is what DEI
is not, and this is what DEI is. And also
this is how DEI has either moved the country forward
or added something to it in a way that you
(24:13):
did not know. And I was using an example of
the late astronaut Ronald McNair and how NASA was specifically
looking in communities they had not looked before. Originally, NASA
was a military installation and they're only looking for pilots
and military veterans and what have you. And then in
the early nine late nineteen sixties, early nineteen seventies they
(24:36):
started was basically the forerunner of DEI. And that's when
you saw female astronauts, That's when you saw black astronauts,
and you saw different people representative of different communities and
different disciplines becoming astronauts. There has to be someone who
can articulate the benefits of an inclusive society and not
(24:57):
just in an employment context, historical context, and then you
can have a robust conversation about where it fits and
where it does not fit within our society, and what
is being proposed does none of that when there are
plenty of historical examples of how that's been done and
been done effectively.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Now to piggyback on that specifically, because you've given a
lot of context to history, and that makes and hopefully
we would like to learn from history, and it seems
that doesn't that's not the case. But what does it
look like now? Because I'm we have an individual leading
our country who has been incredibly polarizing to a certain topic,
who has brought in other people that are polarizing to
(25:40):
a topic. What does it look like for us in
the fifteen second attention span now? Because historically you were
able to have that one epic polarizing voice or maybe
two or three, and the way that news traveled and
communication traveled it was one thing. So how how do
we in the modern era approach this? What does that
(26:01):
look like? Here's the uncomfortable truth.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
I'm always going to tell you when anyone else the
trees when I talk about the civil rights movement, it
was not a month or a year. I used this
Montgomery bus boycott as an example of something which was effective,
but it did not bring about the ultimate desired result,
bring about the ending of segregation. The signing of the
Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act the Montgomery
bus boycott was nineteen fifty five. The signing of the
(26:26):
Civil Rights Act was nineteen sixty four, that's nine years later.
The Voting Rights Act in nineteen sixty five, and the
Fairhousing Act of nineteen sixty eight, which and the totality
of those acts change society. But people want it right here,
right now, in this instant, going back to the fifteen
second news cycle and also the social media cycle where
(26:46):
we just move on, where people are not actually committed
to something. The modern day civil rights movement started actually
in the late nineteen fifties during the Eisenhower administration, with
the first Civil Rights Act that most people have forgotten
and you're talking about, you know, the arc of justice
is long, the ar moral arc is long, and it
bends towards justice. Well, that arc is really really long,
(27:10):
and it lasted from like nineteen fifty five to nineteen
sixty nine. If we're going to fundamentally change America, it's
not going to be overnight. It's not going to be
one boycott on Friday. It's not even going to be
a successive boycotts over the course of the year. It's
going to be an ongoing process with a specific legislative end.
Legislative there has to be a legislative in or otherwise
(27:31):
it's going to be willy nilly and people going to
do whatever they want, and then people are going to
fall back into their own silos and then choose to
do whatever is politically or financially expedient to serve their
own personal, financial and political interests.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
I'm marinating over all that.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
No, no, no, no, I don't have any good news, no no, no,
But I say because I think that's the hardest part,
and that's kind of the world that we're in right now,
is it's people. And granted, sadly going back to the
fifteen seconds, people want the quick fix, and that is
not going to happen yep, raising awareness the second that
it happens. If we're just going to remove all the
things the second that we move into it, and once
(28:08):
you start clicking away from it on social media, not
only is the attention span gone, but the algorithm is
now moving it completely to a different world. So how
people are consuming the information and how people are consuming
that context.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Here your more challenge, here's the dirty little secret, and
we won't have to let it go after this. Of course,
those who are in power, those who who maybe the oligarchs,
the Elon Musk of the world, the Mark Zuckerberg's, the
Jeff Bezos, they know that they can outlast you. They
know that they have the power through executive actions, through
(28:43):
corporate structure. They have power. And those who have power
are not going to willingly relinquish it. And they also
know that you will give up after two weeks or on
this case, one fricking one day.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
You're listening to Later with mog Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
And before we go, I do have a final thought
for tonight, and it kind of ties into something we
were talking about a little bit earlier. If you're old
enough to remember the Reagan administration, one of the most
quoted phrases of the administration and the president for that matter,
Ronald Reagan, he'd say trust, but verify, and that was
(29:25):
in regard to nuclear disarmament talks. What some people seem
to forget or maybe don't even know, is that phrase
originally was a Russian proverb yes, a Russian proverb. In fact,
the phrase became internationally known in English after Suzanne Massey,
(29:45):
a scholar of Russian history, taught it to then President
Ronald Reagan. And there's a lot of wisdom in that phrase,
regardless of its origins. I know the irony is thick
given the politics of today, but there's a lot of wisdo.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Them in it?
Speaker 2 (30:01):
In a world with towing scams and short term rental scams,
Nigerian prints, email scams, and just garden variety fraud, it's
understandable to not believe in a lot of things. Believe me,
I get it. We put our trust into a lot
of stuff that we just can't control. Every intersection we
drive through, we trust the stoplights for performing is designed
(30:23):
and not in opposition of one another. We trust when
we get on airplanes that they have had their necessary maintenance,
the pilots are sober with adequate sleep, and the air
traffic controllers are competent, and you know, hopefully not overworked
on that day or understaffed. And most of those things
we cannot verify. But there are some things we actually
(30:47):
can verify. We can verify if there's actual fraud and
waste in our federal government. You know, forensic audits happen
every damn day in this country, in every industry. It's
not new, it ain't special. You don't need computer programmers
to find fraud. You just need maybe some good accountants,
(31:10):
trained accountants. That's sufficient, because every forensic audit actually produces
a report at the end. That's the verification component. And
then subsequent to that you make cuts, you make changes,
you fire people, all that kind of stuff. You don't
make the cuts and not produce a report and not
(31:30):
produce the proof of the fraud. We shouldn't trust with
no verification, right, right, We don't have to take someone's
word for it, right regardless whomever is president, especially not
an unelected private citizen and unconfirmed by the Senate, and
that same person has no oversight. If Joe Biden brought
(31:52):
in George Soros to do what Elon Musk is doing,
you would likely raise holy hell, and rightfully so rightfully so,
I happen to believe that if you're going to fire
thousands of people, no exaggeration, thousands of people, there should
be an actual preceding report and proof of fraud prior
(32:13):
to giving out pink slips before you got entire agencies
and departments, we as the American people, or at the minimum,
at the minimum, the elected Congress or confirmed cabinet should
be able to verify any claim of fraud. I shouldn't
just have to take your word for it. I shouldn't
otherwise you end up firing nuclear workers. You shouldn't have oop,
(32:34):
so sorry, please come back to work. Or you send
out ill advised emails asking people to tell you what
they did this past week and justify their jobs, which
actually is an admission you had absolutely zero idea what
the employees and agencies did in the first place, or
like today you have twenty one of your own employees
(32:55):
quit because there's a lack of cohesion and competence in
this endeavor. Here's the bottom line. There is no legitimate
reason to trust what DOGE is doing, not as long
as we're intentionally being shielded from verifying any of it.
For KF I am six forty. I'm o' kelly.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Untangling the mess until it makes sense. KI and the
KOST HD two
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Los Angeles, Orange County live everywhere on the radio
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Joining me in studio is none other than Nick Polyochini.
What is up, my brother?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
What is up?
Speaker 4 (00:11):
Good sir? It's lovely to see you. Lovely to be
seen as we're wrapping up February last week. Is crazy
to think they were already.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
There already, even though it is a shorter month, right,
it feels even shorter for some reason, maybe because January
lasted seventy five days.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
You are correct, and February seems to have been the
longest on record, even though we're going to be wrapping it.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Up this week.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
So it's been busy, it's been good, and I want
to take us to as always very akin to the
old days with this week of a Nick Poliochanni. This
Friday is something big that's happening, and you and I
briefly talked about it just off air, and we kind
of we sift to save it for the air kind
(00:51):
of concept.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
So the thing I want to talk about is this
Friday is going to be a nationwide economic blackout, and
what that specifically means is that there is a boycott
of all major companies that is being requested, meaning Amazon, Walmart, Target,
Best Buy, McDonald's, Meta which would be Instagram and Facebook,
(01:17):
Ford Motor Company, Chipotle, Coca Cola, which all of these
are major brands that you can barely get around without
doing anything.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
What is the reason for this economic boycott?
Speaker 3 (01:28):
They are trying to specifically make their I guess you
would say people in general.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
So there's a group that has come together that's called
the People's Union USA, and they organized boycotts traditionally before,
but specifically looking at retailers because they're trying to send
a message with everything that's been going on. And the
thing that for me and I have gotten a lot
of feedback from social media from a lot of listeners
(01:56):
that KFI and elsewhere that it's specific it's a twenty
four hour time period where you're being urged to refrain
from spending money unnecessarily both online and in store with
these particular large retailers, and it is trying to make
the and it's a reference specifically to DEI with you know,
(02:17):
with everything that's been going on since January twentieth until now,
and so with that all being said, and it was
funny because I was talking to twelve off air. I
both actively and inactively or you know, passively. I haven't
been a target since the twentieth I haven't been to Walmart.
I have been Costco. But you know, we got you
(02:39):
got to pick and choose your retailers. But this Friday
is going to be the major And there's been small
blackouts throughout from you know, the new presidency through now,
but this is one that is really being pushed, especially
by minority groups.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Let me jump in there. Yeah, and I talk about
protests and effective protest just about every day with every
issue on this show. I'm going to be consistent. So
let me just ask you what word answer, because that's
going to predicate how I'm going to respond.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Sounds great.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Is this going to be done in the hopes of
actually changing something or only creating awareness?
Speaker 3 (03:16):
It is at this point creating awareness.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Specifically, the hope is to have an economic impact, to
be able to have a blip on the radar.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Let me jump in. Go ahead. You are not going
to have any economic impact. And I'll tell you what.
These major corporations measure their revenue in quarters, not a day.
In other words, if they have a down Friday and
everyone starts spending on Saturday. It's not going to make
any different and it's not even going difference, and it's
not even going to register. And I always use the
Montgomery bus boycott of nineteen fifty five as a comparison point,
(03:48):
which lasted three hundred and eighty one days and set
off the modern civil rights movement. That's Rosa Parks. She
refused to sit at the back of the bus, and
the people in Montgomery, Alabama refused to use the bus
lines for three hundred and eighty one days. That had
an economic impact. Now, there was an old chain letter
that would float around the nineteen nineties and early two
thousands called the Big Gas Up because people were mad
(04:10):
about remember gas price, and they said let's not buy
gas for a single day. It did not change a
damn thing. So I say, and I asked, respectfully, are
you trying to create awareness? Are you're trying to create
economic impact? Because one day it's not going to create
any economic impact. What we have seen is people have
really laid into target and not going to target over
(04:30):
an extended period of time. That target is feeling it.
But if you say, for one day, we're not going
to spend that any big box retailer or we're not
going to buy over here, bye over there, But the
next day we can go back to what we were
doing before. It's not going to be felt. It's not
going to make a difference, with exception of you might
get some news coverage.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Right and I think that's it. And again, like you've
just specifically had, I mean, this is why I come here.
The thing that I like being a part of later
with mo Kelly is because I learn as well and
being able to bring in topics like this and talk
about them in it environment with somebody who is well
versed in a lot of background information. It's really helpful
because again it's going to hopefully bring awareness and obviously
(05:09):
not economically affect those people that are there. I want
to play and you said target specifically, and target is
a very big situation.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I guess you would say.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
I was trying to figure out before I came on
the show tonight exactly how to present it because I
know I'm going up against the big guns and it
is always good to bring a little bit of I
don't know background to it. There's a TikToker not to employ,
you know, the social media platform that was shut down
and then brought back by the Illustrious Current was shut down, Yeah,
(05:45):
allegedly six hours something like that anyway.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
But Amber Haley Lord.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Who is a advocate for healthcare and corporate ethic related
issues on TikTok Robin, can you play that piece of
audio for me please?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Why is everyone going after Target so hard?
Speaker 5 (06:00):
A bunch of brands backed away from DEI and we
all decided to boycott Target, Walmart, Amazon, and a slew
of others. Saw this really great question where this person
was asking, why is everyone going so.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Hard about Target?
Speaker 5 (06:11):
I know exactly why, because I've been doing it too.
I think a lot of people are more butt hurt
about Target because Target tricked us for so long talking
about inclusivity, supporting black brands, diversity, equity, LGBTQ, pride, stuff,
all the things. Really were loud and proud about so
many things for so many years, and it was our
(06:31):
happy place. We felt good being there. We felt like,
as far as capitalism goes and big box stores, that
we could safely spend our money there and that they
had a lot of great brands and they were supporting
And then just at the slight sign of an issue.
They just tucked tail and run. They're a big company
with a lot of money and a lot of lawyers.
Without a shadow of a doubt, they did not have
to do this. They were scared, and they were scared
(06:54):
of losing money, and now they're losing money, and I
encourage you guys to keep boycotting them. One big move
that we recently made because we were getting like our
pet food, like doggy diapers and dog treats and cat
treats and all those things there, We now solely get
everything from Chewi and actually we put everything on auto ships.
We don't have to make a trip to the store,
and we're getting it for less money. And Chewy is
(07:15):
a great company.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
So that's solved.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
So I think the thing and that there's a lot
of information that Amber put out there specifically, but I
think that for me this is something and as we scroll,
you know doom scroll, as it's very very popular, you
are able to find things that align depending on what
you like and what you click in social media. But
it was interesting to come across this specifically because for me,
(07:39):
and being so involved heavily with social media sets, it's
on set. It is something that you know, and the
jokes are always there with a meme, you know, the
thirtieth of the month, it's this color and then it
goes to a different color. For me with being a
queer person, it is the rainbow that happens for June
every year because that's that well, because that is LGBTQ
(08:01):
History month. But it is always wild to me because
the thing that for me that I've always pushed on
the show period is supporting small business anyway and really
leaning into that. But it was something that we had
always had the Minnesota nice attitude with Target, and that
was the brand that allegedly really had put themselves out
there to be in support of minority groups and lean
(08:24):
into AAPI and to black history and to LGBTQ. So
the thing that I want to do is, you know,
again add to the awareness of it. But as I
always like to do, I like to bring things to
the show. So how can you make yourself, you know,
a part of it if you so choose, yes, go
(08:44):
for me.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It's real simple. It has to be more than a hashtag.
It has to be more than a day, and it
has to be about more than just awareness. It has
to be about Hey, we're not going to shop at
these businesses, and this is true of any protests to
insert your cause does matter. We're not going to shop
at these locations until correct dot dot and it's open ended.
(09:06):
And then after a quarter of lost revenue, you may
see businesses start changing their tune because ultimately they care
about the American dollar and their bottom line more than
anything in the world. They will sell Girl Scout cookies
if that's what you're all asking for and demanded of them.
But if you think that staying home per se one
day is going to change their stance on any issue,
(09:30):
absolutely not. It would never happen.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Right, So let's look at how we can support other businesses.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
No, I'm saying, if you want to say we shouldn't
shop here or there anymore and only shop small, which
we hear on varying levels each year, correct by all means.
But if you are sharing this with people, with them
thinking that they're going to have an impact or there
might be a change on the other side, I would
(09:58):
not want you to lie to them, because I'm telling
you it's not going to yield anything close to that
type of result. We all know about quote unquote the
fight regarding DBI. We all know that the different retailers
that you mentioned have pulled back and that has left
people feeling some kind of way. The only way that
you're going to get them to change is to feel
(10:19):
the same economic pressure which was placed upon them by
the federal government. And if you can't meet that same
level of pressure, and they've already had the meetings and
they've already gained plan on how long they feel that
people are going to be protesting or mad, and they
feel that they can outlast you. And that's why they've
made this decision at least for now, because they got
(10:41):
to deal with the federal government for the next four years.
Then they only have to deal with people screaming and
shouting for the next four weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
And that's right.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
And I think that's the thing specific to this, because
if you take it even one step further, it's if
we all need these retailers, there's no question about it. Then,
as you said, trying to be able to do a
long game on this, it's real hard not to go
to Walmart and Target. It's real hard not to go
and make because the convenience of our lives, right.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
You're not gonna go to Amazon. You're not gonna go
to Target. But you're not gonna go to Amazon. Correct,
you're not gonna go to Walmart.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Well, and the best part is with Amazon because people
never see it. That's the thing, because that gets delivered
to your home, so you can feel real good about
yourself because it's no one's ever seeing that, as opposed
to I'm not going to walk into a Target or Walmart.
So the idea is beyond what's coming on Friday, and
if you so choose to participate in it, that's great,
(11:35):
But it's how do you spend your money at these retailers?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Is what I'm looking at.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
So I want to look at some small businesses that
are because the point is we have people. You have
people that you care about, as do I who work
at these places that need the job. So this isn't
saying you know, I understand we're all doing that walkout
to make a point or try to feel good about ourselves,
but how can we be smarter about spending those dollars?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
I have some thoughts about that. Sharing when we come back,
please do.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Mo Kelly, Nick polo'chinny. We're live everywhere in the iHeartRadio
app and we have a different sounding conversation tonight is
Nick polo'channey is telling us about this economic boycott in
the name of the DEI anti DEI stances taken on
by Target and other Walmart, other big box retailers, and
(12:28):
there's an economic boycott schedule for this Friday. I've taken
this stance. It's not going to have an economic impact.
And if you're trying to do anything beyond awareness, I
think you're respectfully wasting everyone's time. Everyone's aware of it,
but if they're not going to be pushed to the
point they being the retailers pushed to the point that
(12:48):
they would make a change, I don't know the purpose
of it. And let me add one thing before I
turn it back over to you, Nick. Sure, when you
talk about awareness, part of that has to be an
edge education process of the general public. And in terms
of the DEI discussion, people for the most part, and
I know people listening right now are misinformed as to
(13:11):
what it is. Diversity, equity and inclusion is not affirmative action, correct,
And I hear it again and again, and if you
keep saying it, I'll tell you you're wrong every time
you say it. Think of diversity, equity, inclusion as you
will expand your reach and also where you are looking
for qualified, equally qualified individuals. Let's say that you are pilots,
(13:35):
and this is a real example. Let's say you're recruiting
for pilots for American airlines. You would also have representatives
which will go to the HBCUs, the historically black colleges
and universities and recruit from those stem places and also
invite them to test and become pilots. You're not choosing
(13:56):
people of color, or who are women, or who are
GBTQ on the status of them being checking those boxes
and they're also underqualified or less qualified. That is a lie.
So when I say to you, awareness, there has to
be a component as far as educating people to what
(14:17):
it is not it's just what you want.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Right, And I think for that specific thing to take
it even very close to home here at KFI. Last year,
Steve Gregory, who used to work here myself, and Jacob
Gonzales won an Edward R. More Award for the Regional
and National, one of the most Illustrious Awards within Media.
Congratulations once again, well thanks.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Your thank you.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
But the point is we literally won in the category
of DEI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and it had to
do with everything you've described of how educating people is
and how what it involves outside of this box being checked,
because it affects people at the end of the day,
(15:02):
It affects lives at the end of the day, and
you know, it affects livelihoods at the end of the day.
So that's something that we have even done here specifically
on KFI with a two hour special and a nine
episode podcast series, and we're acknowledged for it.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
But unfortunately it has been distorted, it has been misused,
it has been appropriated, has been used to malign people
as a slur and pejorative. We see it whenever there's
an airline almost incident or an actual incident, including today,
and they say, oh, there's another DEI incident in the
air today, making the assumption that not only the incident
(15:41):
was because of someone other than a white cis male, correct,
but because that someone was either a woman and that
person was responsible for that incident and was lesser qualified
and chosen instead of that white cis male, right.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
And the funnier part of that whole scenario is I
am a white sin it's mail and I'm also queer,
so I hit the DEI box. But there's you and
I walk into a business, you see a white man
and a black man. That's we've encountered it and specifically
not to see my emails, right. And I think that
(16:18):
it's in this moment that we have an opportunity again
to educate and bring awareness to something.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
And I agree with you, and that's why I use
this platform because I want to raise the caliber of
the conversation absolutely, and part of that is disabusing people
of their ignorant notions exactly. And when it comes to DEI,
if you want to change the tenor and direction of
that conversation, that it has to be more to me,
I agree with you. It has to be more than
(16:45):
we need to put pressure on Target and Walmart and
Amazon to say we want this. There has to be
a wider educational component so people understand not only what
you're fighting for, but why you're fighting for it, and
also why you're against it is actually not what you
are against, in other words, what you think you're against
is not even what it is. If I had a
(17:07):
nickel for every time I had to explain the folks
that you don't know what the frick you're talking about.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
And I think that's it, because we're giving gravity and
air to something that doesn't get talked about specifically. And
the challenge is we live in the fifteen second moment anymore.
So wherever the algorithms of your social media take you,
that's the lens within your only thing you're seeing. And
(17:33):
that's what kills me because again, that is where I
have spent a lot of my time, you know, when
I was an iHeart an employee and supporting the brand
here that I was able to really see how that
curation through technology really changes the definition and really changes
the perception of something.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Let me ask you a quick question. Sure, break, we're
going to carry this over to the next segment, but
this I think is going to highlight what I mean
after the economic boycott. In other words, there's Friday the
twenty eighth, what happens on March first.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Yeah, it's again like we joked about it, but I say,
that's my point and I think that's the hardest part.
So again and we'll talk about this after the break,
but it's how do you take your dollars and how
do you better choose what you're doing, choose where you're
spending them.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Oh, I got an answer to that. It's very easy.
That has to be mapped out before you have the economic.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
And you have to have done so much homework and research,
and thankfully there's a good amount of that done.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
But it is because it's easier to just see the
not dismissing or it. It's easy to say, oh, there's
an economic boycott on Friday. Sure I won't buy anything
on Friday. And they don't have to think about it
beyond it, because in their mind they've actually accomplished something.
They've done something. They put up a hashtager that they
shared a post and they didn't spend any money at Amazon,
(18:52):
and then they go home and feel like, see, I've
contributed to the cause, when those mother fathers have not.
They haven't done anything. They're lazy. If they actually studied
civil rights movement, they would know that there's a commitment
not only weeks, months, most likely years as in plural
and then not only does a country change, but capitalism
would change, and you have the desired result. But you
(19:13):
know in this country, when the social media, they move
on after a week or so. And my point to
you is Saturday is going to come and people will
have moved on because they will have thought they would
have done something, and they would have not done anything.
They would not have educated the masses, they will not
have provided any really economic pressure on the entities that
they want to pressure, and then nothing has been gained.
(19:34):
And that's what frustrates me because you may as a
group may be well intentioned, but it's poorly executed and
poorly planned. Right, we'll have more just moment. It's Later
with mo' kelly KFIM six forty were live everywhere the
I Heeartradio app.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty KFI.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Mister mo' kelly and Nick Caliochinni still as we're both
live everywhere the iHeartRadio app. And we've had a very
spirited conversation about the conversation surrounding DEI and how many
businesses and retailers are responding to the pressure and the
executive action of President Trump, and they've responded in different ways.
(20:16):
Some companies like Apple, for example, have pushed back. Some
companies such as Walmart and Target have given in correct,
And you have told us tonight about a proposed economic
boycott across the country. Regarding those retailers who have which
have given in, I push back on the idea that
(20:36):
it's going to create the type of awareness and impact
that you might have hoped for. I thought something would
have something else would have been more impactful and more educational,
and I was using history as a guy.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Does that a fair representation?
Speaker 4 (20:52):
I think it's a perfect You've definitely brought us in,
you know, if you want to reset us right back
to where we were. And I think that's the reason
I bring something like this to later with mo Kelly,
because we can have that spirited conversation and with the
knowledge and background and experience to really take a dive
into it. Because it is one of those scenarios that
I've already talked about. People will participate in it for
(21:13):
the awareness component of it and to feel good about it.
But as you said on Saturday, the very next day,
it'll be two hundred dollars to spend at Target. Yeah,
because it will be right back to it. And I
think the funnier thing. Even to add to it, Target
their shareholders push back on the company itself and said,
we didn't want this. So if you go to Target
(21:35):
dot com or you go to their social media, you're
seeing Black History Month stuff. Now, you saw API Month
stuff back last month. You've got things that are coming
up for a Women's History month, You've got things that
are being already on the website for LGBTQ Pride Month.
So if nothing happened now, granted that is a representation
of okay, we're coming back to it, but also something
(21:58):
is you know, we have that idea of a brand
like Target, who is the Minnesota nice of the big
box retailers who really leaned into it. So the bigger
question that you and I were starting to talk about
and we stopped is give me, in your experience or
your insights kind of what would be a better use
of the time or better approach I guess for it,
(22:21):
because obviously, like you specifically have laid out, it needs time,
it needs education, it needs a lot more than one day. Obviously,
even if we're just talking about the awareness component, removing
the economic impact, which obviously you've already discussed specifically saying
it has quarters involved and that's how businesses look at
all that, and that makes perfect sense. But what is
(22:42):
something that could be done or something that would be
a better approach.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
All movements need to be able to have a person
or a group of people who can effectively communicate on
behalf of those masses coming out of the Montgomery bus boycott.
I use that as an example. That's when doctor King
moved to the front of the civil rights movement and
then became one of the lead mouthpieces, if you will,
(23:08):
to express the fact that this is what's going on
in America, this is what needs to be changed, this
is why we're going about it this way to bring
about the desired change. So people could not only see
what was going on. In other words, he'll be able
to provide context for why people were refusing to use
the Montgomery bus line system. This economic boycott is going
(23:30):
to come and go, and there won't be a cohesive
voice or message around it. I know. I've seen it
far too many times with Occupy Wall Street, with the
pea hats, with the Trump protests in twenty sixteen, with BLM.
It happens every single year. There isn't a centralized messaging
(23:52):
source and people who've been agreed upon to be able
to speak on behalf of the movement and provide context
and edge so people understand, hey, this is what DEI
is not, and this is what DEI is. And also
this is how DEI has either moved the country forward
or added something to it in a way that you
(24:13):
did not know. And I was using an example of
the late astronaut Ronald McNair and how NASA was specifically
looking in communities they had not looked before. Originally, NASA
was a military installation and they're only looking for pilots
and military veterans and what have you. And then in
the early nine late nineteen sixties, early nineteen seventies they
(24:36):
started was basically the forerunner of DEI. And that's when
you saw female astronauts, That's when you saw black astronauts,
and you saw different people representative of different communities and
different disciplines becoming astronauts. There has to be someone who
can articulate the benefits of an inclusive society and not
(24:57):
just in an employment context, historical context, and then you
can have a robust conversation about where it fits and
where it does not fit within our society, and what
is being proposed does none of that when there are
plenty of historical examples of how that's been done and
been done effectively.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Now to piggyback on that specifically, because you've given a
lot of context to history, and that makes and hopefully
we would like to learn from history, and it seems
that doesn't that's not the case. But what does it
look like now? Because I'm we have an individual leading
our country who has been incredibly polarizing to a certain topic,
who has brought in other people that are polarizing to
(25:40):
a topic. What does it look like for us in
the fifteen second attention span now? Because historically you were
able to have that one epic polarizing voice or maybe
two or three, and the way that news traveled and
communication traveled it was one thing. So how how do
we in the modern era approach this? What does that
(26:01):
look like? Here's the uncomfortable truth.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
I'm always going to tell you when anyone else the
trees when I talk about the civil rights movement, it
was not a month or a year. I used this
Montgomery bus boycott as an example of something which was effective,
but it did not bring about the ultimate desired result,
bring about the ending of segregation. The signing of the
Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act the Montgomery
bus boycott was nineteen fifty five. The signing of the
(26:26):
Civil Rights Act was nineteen sixty four, that's nine years later.
The Voting Rights Act in nineteen sixty five, and the
Fairhousing Act of nineteen sixty eight, which and the totality
of those acts change society. But people want it right here,
right now, in this instant, going back to the fifteen
second news cycle and also the social media cycle where
(26:46):
we just move on, where people are not actually committed
to something. The modern day civil rights movement started actually
in the late nineteen fifties during the Eisenhower administration, with
the first Civil Rights Act that most people have forgotten
and you're talking about, you know, the arc of justice
is long, the ar moral arc is long, and it
bends towards justice. Well, that arc is really really long,
(27:10):
and it lasted from like nineteen fifty five to nineteen
sixty nine. If we're going to fundamentally change America, it's
not going to be overnight. It's not going to be
one boycott on Friday. It's not even going to be
a successive boycotts over the course of the year. It's
going to be an ongoing process with a specific legislative end.
Legislative there has to be a legislative in or otherwise
(27:31):
it's going to be willy nilly and people going to
do whatever they want, and then people are going to
fall back into their own silos and then choose to
do whatever is politically or financially expedient to serve their
own personal, financial and political interests.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
I'm marinating over all that.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
No, no, no, no, I don't have any good news, no no, no,
But I say because I think that's the hardest part,
and that's kind of the world that we're in right now,
is it's people. And granted, sadly going back to the
fifteen seconds, people want the quick fix, and that is
not going to happen yep, raising awareness the second that
it happens. If we're just going to remove all the
things the second that we move into it, and once
(28:08):
you start clicking away from it on social media, not
only is the attention span gone, but the algorithm is
now moving it completely to a different world. So how
people are consuming the information and how people are consuming
that context.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Here your more challenge, here's the dirty little secret, and
we won't have to let it go after this. Of course,
those who are in power, those who who maybe the oligarchs,
the Elon Musk of the world, the Mark Zuckerberg's, the
Jeff Bezos, they know that they can outlast you. They
know that they have the power through executive actions, through
(28:43):
corporate structure. They have power. And those who have power
are not going to willingly relinquish it. And they also
know that you will give up after two weeks or on
this case, one fricking one day.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
You're listening to Later with mog Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
And before we go, I do have a final thought
for tonight, and it kind of ties into something we
were talking about a little bit earlier. If you're old
enough to remember the Reagan administration, one of the most
quoted phrases of the administration and the president for that matter,
Ronald Reagan, he'd say trust, but verify, and that was
(29:25):
in regard to nuclear disarmament talks. What some people seem
to forget or maybe don't even know, is that phrase
originally was a Russian proverb yes, a Russian proverb. In fact,
the phrase became internationally known in English after Suzanne Massey,
(29:45):
a scholar of Russian history, taught it to then President
Ronald Reagan. And there's a lot of wisdom in that phrase,
regardless of its origins. I know the irony is thick
given the politics of today, but there's a lot of wisdo.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Them in it?
Speaker 2 (30:01):
In a world with towing scams and short term rental scams,
Nigerian prints, email scams, and just garden variety fraud, it's
understandable to not believe in a lot of things. Believe me,
I get it. We put our trust into a lot
of stuff that we just can't control. Every intersection we
drive through, we trust the stoplights for performing is designed
(30:23):
and not in opposition of one another. We trust when
we get on airplanes that they have had their necessary maintenance,
the pilots are sober with adequate sleep, and the air
traffic controllers are competent, and you know, hopefully not overworked
on that day or understaffed. And most of those things
we cannot verify. But there are some things we actually
(30:47):
can verify. We can verify if there's actual fraud and
waste in our federal government. You know, forensic audits happen
every damn day in this country, in every industry. It's
not new, it ain't special. You don't need computer programmers
to find fraud. You just need maybe some good accountants,
(31:10):
trained accountants. That's sufficient, because every forensic audit actually produces
a report at the end. That's the verification component. And
then subsequent to that you make cuts, you make changes,
you fire people, all that kind of stuff. You don't
make the cuts and not produce a report and not
(31:30):
produce the proof of the fraud. We shouldn't trust with
no verification, right, right, We don't have to take someone's
word for it, right regardless whomever is president, especially not
an unelected private citizen and unconfirmed by the Senate, and
that same person has no oversight. If Joe Biden brought
(31:52):
in George Soros to do what Elon Musk is doing,
you would likely raise holy hell, and rightfully so rightfully so,
I happen to believe that if you're going to fire
thousands of people, no exaggeration, thousands of people, there should
be an actual preceding report and proof of fraud prior
(32:13):
to giving out pink slips before you got entire agencies
and departments, we as the American people, or at the minimum,
at the minimum, the elected Congress or confirmed cabinet should
be able to verify any claim of fraud. I shouldn't
just have to take your word for it. I shouldn't
otherwise you end up firing nuclear workers. You shouldn't have oop,
(32:34):
so sorry, please come back to work. Or you send
out ill advised emails asking people to tell you what
they did this past week and justify their jobs, which
actually is an admission you had absolutely zero idea what
the employees and agencies did in the first place, or
like today you have twenty one of your own employees
(32:55):
quit because there's a lack of cohesion and competence in
this endeavor. Here's the bottom line. There is no legitimate
reason to trust what DOGE is doing, not as long
as we're intentionally being shielded from verifying any of it.
For KF I am six forty. I'm o' kelly.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Untangling the mess until it makes sense. KI and the
KOST HD two
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Los Angeles, Orange County live everywhere on the radio
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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