Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This lame.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Six.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
I don't know why we and I mean we as
a country are always in a rush. We didn't get
here overnight in regard to Iran, and the final result
won't be revealed today, this week, or this year. As
of this moment, there is supposedly a ceasefire, only announced
by President Trump and neither confirmed by Israel nor Iran,
(00:34):
and there have been some conflicting reports of even other
missiles fired. So we would have just taken for what
it's worth, and let's say, for the sake of argument,
there is a ceasefire in place. A ceasefire is always
tenuous and delicate. Iran may not break it, but one
of its proxies like Hamas, may not honor it or
has ba Lah. Foreign policy, though by social media, is
(00:56):
not a thing, it really isn't, and negotiations, true negotiations
take time, often months. Last week, our president was demanding
quote unquote, unconditional surrender. Today he literally said, quote God
bless heron close quote that's a wild swing of the pendulum,
meaning all this could change at a moment's notice. For
(01:19):
something that has been baking since nineteen seventy nine, we
keep hearing that date nineteen seventy nine. President Trump has
said that Iran's nuclear capabilities have been quote obliterated. Historically,
that isn't how missile strikes or attacks work.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
But let's say that's true.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
There's nothing left to negotiate, you know, threat neutralize, one
would think. Don't be surprised, though, if we found out
later that Iran actually didn't keep all of its fiscile
material in one place, or that they might have moved it.
It'd be pretty dumb to keep it all in one place, right,
So I wanted to believe that it might have been
moved because everybody knew it was a target, and there's
(01:58):
no need then to rush and declare victory. I always
try to err on the side of caution. There's no
microwave version of baking this cake. Israel as it stands,
wants Iran to forego all nuclear enrichment capabilities going forward.
Do you think this regime will go for that? I
(02:19):
don't think so. To my last point, why would Iran
need to agree to that if it in fact has
been obliterated. I'm just asking questions because Rome wasn't built
in a day, and Iran's hatred for Israel and the
US did not end in a day. But if there's
going to be some modern agreement, Iran has to get something.
If they're going to give up some measure of everything,
(02:43):
whatever that is, they need to get something.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Again.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
This is all assuming the other bad actors in the
region don't interfere. This is assuming Iran wants peace with Israel.
That's a big assumption. And Israel wants peace with Iran.
Another big assumption. Iran doesn't go from wanting to annihilate
Israel on Thursday day to willing to negotiate in good
faith on Monday. I know, I know, call me Debbie Downer,
but I remember the Israel slash Egypt peace Treaty of
(03:09):
nineteen seventy nine. There's that year again. Nineteen seventy nine,
Egypt at Israel signed a treaty to normalize relations, making
Egypt the first Middle Eastern country to recognize Israel, and
according to some historians, gave momentum to the coming Iranian
revolution later that year nineteen seventy nine, the same revolution
(03:31):
which led to the Muslim theocratic state we're dealing with today.
All of that was a form of blowback. All of
this is very complex and It's not something a post
on social media can dictate. The Muslim nations today largely
considered the treaty a stab in the back to them
by allowing more interference from the US and support of Israel.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Sounds like the past is happening again.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Sounds like history is repeating itself well because of that treaty,
dealing with the instability and hostility ever since. After a
Middle East peace treaty, all of this was set into motion.
Al Qaeda rose out of our involvement in Kuwait ninety one.
That didn't come back around until nine to eleven. We
went into Afghanistan in two thousand and one. The Taliban
(04:16):
was in control, then we left in twenty twenty one.
Say it with me, the Taliban is still in control.
There is Afghanistan any better today after the Afghanistan Peace
Agreement of twenty twenty. I can't find a lot of believers.
The point is peace is always a noble goal, but
the unintended consequences are always there. Forced regime change isn't
(04:39):
often the magic pill many think it is, And beyond
getting to the actual agreement, all sides have to actually
honor it. That means not pulling out of it three
years later, like we did with the JCPOA the Iran deal.
That means not tearing up NAFTA, renegotiating it, and then
tearing it up again. America's word has to mean something too,
(05:00):
or the other parties have no reason to negotiate in
good faith or even under the deal after the fact.
So stop being in such a rush to declare victory
when it comes to the Middle East. It may not
be even before the end of the Trump presidency will
we get a real sense of whether this moment means something,
means nothing, or means everything, Because whatever happens between the US, Israel,
(05:24):
and Iran will still have a ripple effect throughout the
Middle East, and that will be beyond the control of
what any president posts on social media. For KF I
am six forty, I'm mo Kelly. There are about eleven
(05:56):
and a half months between now and the next mayoral
election here. And if you just listen to Cafi, you'd
think everyone hates Karen Bass as a politician and as
a person. I'm not exaggerating. If you just listen to Cafi,
you think everyone is of the same mind. But here's
(06:16):
the reality. Despite her public issues she still has a
solid base of support. Rightly or wrongly, sometimes we get
into these echo chamber silos and think that because the media,
we listen to the media, we watch, well, everybody must
think the same way.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
CAFI is real strong at Orange County. I don't need
to tell you that.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You know that it's real strong in the county of
Los Angeles, but it's not necessarily the loudest voice in
the city of Los Angeles. Don't get me wrong, the
station definitely has a sizeable footprint. But if you live
in the city of Los Angeles and talk to Los
Angeles voters, it's.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Different vantage point, different viewpoint.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
There's watching LA on TV like the protests, there's hearing
coverage of LA on the radio like the protests, but
that's not the same as having the presence inside its
borders on a day to day basis, walking the neighborhoods,
driving the neighborhoods, talking to people who live there. And
as I said at the top, they're about eleven and
a half months between now and the next mayoral election
(07:25):
June two, twenty twenty six, and no doubt Mayor Bass
catches hell in a media sense every single day, A
lot of it, deservedly so in my estimation. But if
the two elections of Donald Trump should have taught you
and me anything, don't confuse media coverage and polls with
(07:46):
what people on the ground, actual voters value. And there's this,
She's still as of this moment, and I confirmed it
with Tawala earlier in the show. She's still at this
moment the only real candidate running in the election eleven
and a half months out. You can't replace someone, You
(08:07):
can't kick out the Democrats.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
If there's no alternative.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
You don't get to call the voters for La Mayor,
which most people listening are not.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
You don't get to call the voters for La Mayor
dumb or stupid when there's no alternative.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
And I'm gonna keep banging this drum even still there
is no Republican in the race. You can't hope for
people to vote for a different direction, a different person
and a different party, a Republican when the party is
neither putting forth a candidate nor developing one right now.
You can't just jump in the race and nobody knows
who that person is. If to develop candidates, here's a
(08:47):
comparison point. Rick Caruso got in the race nine months
out back in twenty twenty two, got in in February,
the election was in November. He almost won, so it's
not too late in a calendar sense. We were more
than nine months out. But still he's not a Republican
in terms of party registration or fidelity, and he's still
(09:09):
not in the race. Yes, Rick Caruso used to be
a Republican and runs to the right of Karen Bass politically,
but he'll never be viewed as a true Democrat no more.
Let me use this as a comparison point. No more
than Gavin Newsom would be reviewed as a Republican if
he changed his party affiliation and.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Ran for president.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
No more than former Sheriff Alex Vanueva, who was previously
a Democrat while sheriff, but was not perceived as one
per his politics.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Perception matters.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Van Auela, as a matter of fact, did recently change
his affiliation to Republican, and it probably better suits him
and his perception. But Rick Caruso tried to change his
party affiliation specifically to run for mayor. He did so
probably for a lot of reasons. He did so knowing
that majority of voters in LA are registered Democrats, and
(10:03):
a Democratic candidate would have an easier path than a Republican.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
No one would dispute that.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
But the flip side is that a newly minted dem
doesn't get state party support, and yes, parties play favorites.
Rick Crusoe spent one hundred and four million dollars of
his own money in the hopes of making up for
his late party switch. Still wasn't enough. So just having
the D next to your name is not enough. Sometimes
(10:32):
it's just evident that complaining about La is a lot
more fun than anything. Most people don't live in the city,
don't have any real connection to the city, and aren't
doing anything for the city.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
I know I'm not talking to you, I'm talking about
the other folks.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
But if the Republican Party were serious, and I don't
think they are, but if they were serious, they would
have been developing candidates to run in the race for mayor.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Karen Bass has never been more vulnerable.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
There would be names on the tip of our tongue
right now that would be getting in the race right
about now. Not one, not one Republican is presently even
waiting in the wings. If this holds true Bass. Regardless
of what you may think of her record, whatever, she
will become mayor again. And maybe, just maybe that's what
you want because it makes more fun for you and
me to complain complain about stuff having nothing to do
(11:21):
with you specifically, I'm gonna keep beating this dead horse
until it turns to glue.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Complaining is fun, not productive, but as sure as hell fun.
I like complaining too. I'm not gonna be hypocritical. Sometimes
it's better to just complain and point. But also, I've
lived in the city of Los Angeles for the bulk.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Of my life.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
I'm pretty sure I can say I know the city
from end to end as well as anyone. That's what
fifty five years has earned me. I've come by it, honestly,
from Bradley to reared end, han Via Ragosa, excuse me, Verasa,
to Garcetti and now to Bass. I know the city
top to bottom. But if the goal, if the goal
(12:04):
is better or different leadership, then there has to be competition.
And you're not going to get that from inside the
Democratic Party against an incumbent mayor. You never will if
you don't feel a candidate. Republicans you don't get to
claim your serious. Okay, If I am six forty, I'm
(12:28):
mo y. If you know I love politics, it's my jam.
As they say, I eat it, live it, study it
(12:49):
every single day. And that's different from just talking about it.
That's different from arguing with people on social media as
a hobby. I mean, I really really study, because when
you do, you better understand the why, not discussing things
only in terms of what you like, who you like,
who you want to win elections, not your personal preferences,
but why things happen, history, perspective, all that nerdy stuff.
(13:13):
By now or very soon from now, you'll know the
name of Zorin Mandani. He just won the Democratic open
primary for mayor of New York. He's thirty three. He's
a Muslim, oh my a law. He's a naturalized citizen,
clutch those immigration pearls. And he's a self described democratic socialist.
Perish the thought. He is a woke triple threat. As
(13:34):
I said, he's a democratic socialist, which is not the
same as a communist or the same as a conventional socialist.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
But it's not for me to explain. He can sort
that out for you.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Weirdly, though, a lot of America has gone apoplectic over
this guy, just mad at the.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Idea that he's the new mayor of New York City. No,
he's not. He just won the Democratic primary, nothing more.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Also, weirdly, many of us who aren't Democrats like me,
aren't New Yorkers like me, have so much to say
about a Democratic primary on the other side of the country.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
But let's look at how politics works.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Mamdanni's chief competition in the primary was the former New
York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was last seen resigning in
disgrace after multiple sexual harassment allegations and arguably, arguably, depending
on whom you asked, arguably mismanaging the state COVID pandemic response,
especially in the City of New York. Even predecessor Elliot Spitzer,
(14:33):
who also resigned as governor but for having a hooker fetish,
he had more positive name recognition than Cuomo. Nobody blamed
Elliot Spitzer for possibly killing elderly people in nursing homes
during a pandemic. Then there's that, and then there's this.
Thirty eight percent of New York's residents are immigrants, nineteen
percent of them are registered voters. Mam Donnie put in
(14:57):
the work on the ground, going door to door himself
personally to turn out the vote.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Cuomo did not.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Mom Donnie used social media, especially TikTok, to get out
his message, appealing to a younger voting base.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Cuomo did not.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
If you're shocked that the Muslim naturalized citizen from Uganda
and Democratic Socialists beat the old establishment guy who is
linked to killing old people in nursing homes, you're just
not paying attention to the details. Again, this was just
the primary. In the general election, Get this, he'll be
facing off against former New York City Mayor Eric Adams,
(15:34):
who is now running as an independent. If we didn't know,
Adams left the Democratic Party recently. But that's not what
is going to hurt him, the fact, if not for
a Trump pardon, Eric Adams would be in a federal
prison right now, serving a decade's long sentence.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
That is the problem. He probably doesn't stand a real
good chance either.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
He was grossly unpopular still is even before he was
indicted and arrested.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Cuomo said he might also.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Consider running in the general as an independent, but that
doesn't wipe away the sexual harassment or the dead people
in a nursing home.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
The Republican winner of the.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
New York City primary just a few days ago, Curtis Sliwa, Yes,
the radio host and former Guardian Angels leader. New Yorkers
hate him. They hate him. Here's something else to remember.
New York is seventy percent registered Democrat, seventy percent. And
(16:31):
this conversation is not unlike what I said about here
in Los Angeles, the Republicans are throwing out a massively
unpopular radio host as their best foot forward. Sliwa rant
unopposed in the primary, the grossly unpopular, unqualified radio host.
It's like here in La the Republicans aren't even trying.
(16:54):
So yeah, Zora and Mandane has a good chance to
win if you're actually paying attention to the particulars. But
what I have to take issue with, and here's the
real takeaway before we go, is when you have people
such as Congressmen Andy Ogles, who wrote to the Department
of Justice seeking an investigation into Mondanie's citizenship, alleging that
(17:16):
he concealed his support for terrorism, also calling him quote
unquote little Mohammed, even openly calling for his deportation an
American citizen. Ogles is a Tennessee congressman Tennessee worried about
the Democratic primary in New York City mayoral race. Not
(17:37):
New York's e least defonic, but the Tennessee congressmen.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Now, I don't know about you.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
When you're calling him little Mohammed and calling for him
to be deported as an American citizen, that gives me
the sense that this is not.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
About politics, or at least the complaint.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Isn't that it's not about legal immigration because he's a
naturalized citizen. And I can't quite put my finger on it.
I'm not sure what it is. It's not as politics,
it's not about legal immigration.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
It's something else. I wonder what it is for k
if I am six forty, I'm mokel