March 20, 2025 • 27 mins
ICYMI: Hour One of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – A look at the latest incident of violence to take place on an LA Metro platform AND Real estate magnate Rick Caruso’s reasons for opposing the recall effort against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass…PLUS – Thoughts on a Garden Grove family’s allegation that the ‘X2’ roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain caused son's death - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
K I am six forty It's later with Mo Kelly.
Good evening. We all live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
I'll be with you all the way until ten o'clock
and then I'm going to dash out of here. I
mean literally dash because I have to be right back
here in the morning Thursday morning to fill in for
Bill Handle, who's away getting married. Congratulations Bill. So I'll
(00:43):
be on the radio tonight from seven to ten pm.
Hopefully I'll get home by eleven pm. Hopefully I'll be
asleep by midnight, and then I'll be up by three
point thirty three forty five to get back in the
car to come back to the studio to do the
Bill Handle show, filling in for Bill. And I wouldn't
have it any other way because this is what I
signed up for. But we have a tremendous show for
(01:07):
you tonight, so much good stuff that we're going to cover.
You know that we have been talking about crime in
recent days and also the crime stats and how we
should feel about the crime stats, and how obviously the
idea of safety plays into that. Well. Next segment we
have to pick up with what has happened most recently
(01:27):
on the metro or at least the metro platform. A
man has been stabbed Universal City Metro platform. It kinda
kind of fits with what we've been talking about regarding
crime and also our perception of safety, and hell, we
haven't had a metro update in quite some time, so
it kind of fits. Then we got to talk about
(01:49):
Rick Caruso, who is unofficially yet officially running for mayor.
He hasn't formally announced, but every indication would seem that
he is actually going to run for mayor again. But
did you hear his latest interview with Alex Michaelson on
Fox eleven. He as said, Rick Caruso is of the
(02:10):
opinion that we should not pursue the Karen Bass recall. Yes,
Rick Caruso, who presumably would be the chief competition to
Karen Bass in the next mayoral race, says we shouldn't
waste the time, we shouldn't waste the money. Well, I'll
let Rick tell you about it, and we'll do that
(02:30):
at the bottom of the hour, talking about this recall
effort against Karen Bass and why Rick Caruso does not
support it and I'm not a fan of roller coasters.
You may not know that I'm just not a fan
because I feel a little bit uncomfortable when I tell
you about the Garden Grove family, which is suing six
Flags over the death of their son on the X
(02:53):
two roller coaster and whether Magic Mountain was liable, maybe
you'll better understand where I'm coming from. Dodger Baseball US.
Here the Dodgers are two and oh sweeping the Cubs
in Tokyo, Japan, and I'll tell you right now, I'm
calling my shot. For my final thought this evening, I'm
going to have a longer, slower, and more deliberate conversation
(03:16):
about Tesla and its connection to Elon Musk. We know
about the protests, We know how the protests have transcended
not only United States, but into Canada and other parts
around the world. We know that Elon Musk is inextricably
linked to Tesla, and the feelings about Elon Musk obviously
(03:38):
are spilling over to Tesla. But who is really responsible
for these protests? Is it just democrats? Can we make
that assumption or is it bigger than that? Can we
have a more nuanced conversation? So tonight I'm going to
close out the show talking about Tesla. Elon Musk and
who really needs to show or the blame, if there
(04:01):
is any blame. We have a huge show tonight. It
seems like this is perfect for mo Kelly. We got Metro,
we got Rick Caruso, Karen Bass, Magic Mountain, and then
I'm gonna run home, as I said, because I need
to hurry up and get to sleep before I have
to be right back here to fill in for Bill Handle,
who's having a whole lot more fun than all of
us in Italy getting married. Congratulations on the nuptials. Bill,
(04:26):
hurry back, because I'm not trying to do your show
all that often. I do not like getting up in
the morning. But all that is coming up next. It
is Later with mo Kelly CAFI AM six forty. We
are gonna come back with the Metro news update, a
man who was stabbed by another passenger on a Metro platform.
That's next.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
And there's an old saying I can show you better
than I can tell you, which basically means when there
is something that we both can see or both can
point to, it makes the point much easier to understand,
as opposed to me just trying to explain it to
you in an abstract sense. A couple of days ago,
we talked about Mayor Bass and the reduction of crime
(05:13):
is at least as far as the stats went, and
I was making the point generally that safety is a feeling.
It is an internal response or belief about your immediate surroundings,
and no numbers, no statistics, will really change that. I
was being flipping and I was making comparisons, saying like, yeah,
(05:34):
I'm gonna walk out outside of my house and say, hey,
crime is down ten percent. I feel ten percent safer. No,
no one really actually feels that way. The numbers don't
really mean anything. The only thing that means anything is
what you feel about your immediate surroundings. And I also
said that crime stats are indicators of the past, they're
(05:55):
not predictors of the future. So now I'm going to
point because I can show you better than I can
tell you. I'm positive that virtually nobody got on the
metro yesterday explicitly thinking that they were inherently safer or
even somewhat safer, just because crime quote unquote was down
(06:19):
in the city of Los Angeles. Let me digress real quick.
And I also made the point that just because crime
is down in the city of Los Angeles, it doesn't
mean that crime everywhere else is also down, or crime
doesn't traverse boundaries. Tell you about this metro stabbing last night,
and it kind of makes the point for me, LAPD.
(06:41):
They're searching for a man who they say stabbed another passenger.
Passenger stabbed another passenger on a Metro platform in Universal
City Tuesday night. From what we know, the stabbing happened
around nine pm. Paramedics took the victim to the hospital
in stable condition. They're still looking or the assailant. There
(07:01):
has been no description which has been published, no detailed description.
I don't know whether they're going to find the person.
And honestly, this is not another rant about the failings
of Metro security or how it's inherently unsafe. I've done
that plenty times. You know where I stand on that.
But this does highlight that just because we receive some
(07:24):
good news about a portion of greater Metro Los Angeles,
it doesn't mean that you or me, or Tuala or
Steph welcome back to Steph or even Mark Ronner would
necessarily feel any better or considerably safer just because some
crime stats were down. It has to do with our
(07:46):
personal experiences. It has to do with our day to
day travels. I am fortunate enough to always be able
to drive to work, and because I do drive to
work and my car is dependable, there is a zero
point zero zero, zero zero one chance of actually getting
(08:08):
stabbed going to or coming from work. But that's not
true of everyone else. There are a lot of people
who have no other form of transportation with the exception
of taking the metro, and because they have to take
the metro, there are some inherent risks that come with
taking the metro. It could be on a platform. It
(08:29):
could be on a train, as we saw here where
it was a passenger to passenger stabbing. We don't know
if one person knew another. We don't know if there
was a precipitating argument or factor which contributed to why
the stabbing took place. It could happen on a platform,
it could happen on a train, It could happen on
a bus. It could happen any number of places, and
there are far too many people who unfortunately don't have
(08:52):
the luxury of being able to drive to and from work,
so they have to take the metro. So their concept
of safety or lack thereof, is fundamentally different than yours
or mine. Because we have a somewhat controlled environment being
in our cars, we don't necessarily have to worry about
(09:15):
the passenger in our car. And I'm not trying to
sound flipping, but I'm saying this is how the concept
of safety is so very different depending on where you live.
We don't have to worry about the person sitting next
to us, or at least I hope we don't have
to worry about the person sitting next to us actually
stabbing us. Now imagine how distant those crime stats may feel.
(09:36):
And even though the crime stats only had to do
with Lacit and this happening in universal city is not
within the purview of Mayor Karen Bass, and it's fair
to highlight those facts. In other words, one has nothing
to do with the other. But my larger point still
stands that just because we have some improving crime statistics
(10:00):
doesn't necessarily change our concept of safety or whether we
are safe in this city. Crime doesn't respect boundaries of
a particular city or county. And also our lives have
not changed just because a report about some crime stats
(10:21):
had come out and we had heard from Metro. Getting
back to Metro specifically, we had heard from Metro that
Metro was somehow fundamentally more safe. They even talked about
this particular station had a drop in crime. I remember
Twall and I had talked about it. In fact, they
were touting it. They sent out this release they gave
to Michael Monks that Michael Monks had even talked about
on the air with us. Was because they keep ducking
(10:43):
me as if Metro was considerably more safe, especially when
it related to this station. Hello, same place, Unfortunately, same result.
But the whole idea of crime has not changed. My
concept of my own safety has not changed. And I
don't even ride the Metro. This going back to Karen Bass,
(11:06):
Mayor Bass is where I think she missed the mark.
And I received some notes from you on Facebook at
mister mo Kelly on Facebook and on Instagram at mister
mo Kelly, and that later with mo Kelly, and you
were somewhat critical of me. You're saying more you're too
hard on the mayor, you're nitpicking, You're looking for things
to be critical of and maybe that's true. Maybe that's true.
(11:28):
I can be hypercritical. I'm not pushing that aside, but
I do think there is a disconnect between what Mayor
Bass is trying to convey and understanding our realities of
our day to day insecurities and our general sense of
lack of safety. When we come back, we got to
talk about Rick Caruso, who I think is all but
(11:50):
announced that he's running for mayor. He has taken a
different tact and I think this is a good way
to pick up with Mayor Bass on the other side
of this conversation, because Rick Caruso has come out and
said that he is against the recall effort. Regarding Mayor
Karen Bass, say what, Yes, he said exactly that, and
we have the audio to prove it.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
You're listening to later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
And I'm real big on strategy. I'm real big on
seeing the bigger picture. I talked about that with Governor
Gavin Newsom and his podcasts. Even though it may not
be popular with Democrats right now, I understand the long
term strategy. Sometimes you do things right now which may
be uncomfortable for your base, but it will pay off
(12:39):
dividends down the road. That was Gavin Newsom in his podcast,
And if you're paying attention right now, you can see
the long term strategy of Rick Caruso, who clearly is
running for mayor again, even though he hasn't officially declared it.
A few weeks ago we talked about how Rick Caruso
had set aside money and contacts in this effort to
(13:00):
help rebuild portions of Los Angeles. That was a genius move.
Not saying it was insincere. I'm saying it was genius
because it keeps his name in the press for something
very positive, and it can be seen in stark contrast
to Karen Bass and her supposed mishandling of the fires
(13:22):
and the relief effort was brilliant. And now I see
what I consider to be another brilliant move. Sometimes you
have to look beyond your own politics to see what
these individuals are doing long term. Rick Caruso has come
out get this against the recall effort. Regarding Karen Bass,
(13:45):
you heard that correctly. He's come out against the recall effort.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
If you're going to do a recall, now, what's going
to happen is the city is going to end up
spending twenty five to thirty million dollars, which it doesn't
have because we've already been told that the city's grow.
And then it's going to take eight to ten months,
and it's going to run up to the gun primary
and people in June are going to have an opportunity
to vote for or against the mayor, And so why
(14:09):
do it now? And I think it's a waste of money,
waste of resources. And one last thing, We've got so
many things the mayor needs to deal with in this
city and deal with it well with a lot of
focus rebuilding in the Palisades. We still have a major
homeless problem. All of these kind of things, the crime,
it's going to be a diversion to her and her team,
(14:31):
and we don't need her attention diverted right now.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
He's right now. You may not like Mayor Karen Bass,
and there are a lot of people who do not
like her or her leadership, but what Rick Carusa was
doing is saying, hey, I am going to be above
the fray, or at least right now, he's presenting himself
as someone who is above the fray. He's looking at
the bigger picture. He's reading the room as they say,
(14:57):
we just went through fires, we just went through mud slides.
LA is in a very precarious place emotionally, and a
recall effort seemingly puts politics above the people. And Rick
Caruso is saying, no, no, no, I'm thinking first and
foremost about the people and not even talking about politics.
(15:21):
And what does that afford him big picture? Long term?
It presents him in a way where people can look
at him beyond the politics of the moment. It looks
like he wants to be seen as someone who is
about the people more than anything and the politics will
come later. And if anything, that for a lot of people,
(15:44):
including me, is a breath of fresh air. Not everything
needs to be about politics. Wait, wait, wait, don't get
me wrong. This is about politics to some degree. Yes,
Rick Caruso is doing this being mindful of a future
mayoral election that he hasn't officially thrown his hat in,
(16:07):
but we all know he's running for mayor. But there's
a way that you can do it which doesn't make
it seem so politically self serving in every way. And
he also knows that since la is a democratic town,
through and through the recall effort, as I've already talked
(16:27):
about on a number of occasions, is likely going to fail,
is likely not going to go anywhere, is definitely going
to be very expensive and unnecessary, given that we know
most likely how it's going to turn out that it's
not going to be successful. So why even waste the money.
(16:49):
That is a pragmatic that is a practical, that is
a sensible approach to where we are right now in
the City of Los Angeles and also Lost Angeles County.
Even though we're talking about the mayoral race, it's still
inclusive of the people like me who live in the
city of Los Angeles, but it's unincorporated, meaning I don't
(17:13):
get to vote for mayor. I don't get to vote
for a city council person. So I am on the periphery,
but I'm still invested in the discussion. What happens in
the city of LA and my address is the city
of LA even though I don't get to vote for
mayor or city council. But what happens within the city
(17:38):
does impact me, does affect me. Whatever happens in city
affects the county. And Rick Caruso is trying to maneuver
and navigate and make his way through that while also
building coalitions, strengthening constituencies. He's doing everything right. It doesn't
(18:01):
mean that you have to like his politics. Doesn't mean
that at all. He is in a very shrewd way,
positioning himself where he can be seen as a breath
of fresh air. Let me put it that way. It's
not politics as usual, or at least what we've seen
for the past few years. It's not taking every opportunity
(18:22):
to score a political point in that moment, to kick
that proverbial political football down the field. He's doing something different.
It's like, hey, hey, hey, you know and I'm pretending
I'm Rick Crusoe. Hey, hey, hey, you know that I'm
not a fan of Karen Bass. I have been very
vocal in my criticism of Mayor Bath and how she
(18:42):
handled the fires. But you know what I'm thinking first
and foremost about Los Angeles, the city and the people
who reside within it. A recall effort. Not only is
it going to be expensive, Let's be honest, it's gonna fail.
Is not better because of that recall effort, we have elections,
(19:06):
and an election and he hasn't said this, but I'm
just trying to get in his head. Right now, we
have elections, and elections are the best way to send
the message that LA needs, wants, or deserves new leadership.
Although you may not like Governor Gavin Newsom, I'm saying
I see the strategy. It's a bull strategy, but I
(19:29):
understand what he's trying to do, and it's a long
term approach. The same, the exact same is happening here
with Rick Caruso. The knee jerk response is to say,
wait a minute, Wait a minute, why is Rick Caruso
against the idea of a recall effort against his would
be competition and reigning incumbent. That's the knee jerk response.
(19:54):
But if you slow down and look at the bigger picture,
like Rick Caruso obviously is, and putting people above politics
and showing that there is a different way to lead
long term, it puts them in a very good position.
I'm not saying that he's going to be then the
next mayor of Los Angeles. I'm saying he has undoubtedly
(20:16):
helped his cause. It's later with mo Kelly kfiam six forty.
We are live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. And I
don't know how often I talk about it, but I
do mention it from time to time that I'm not
really a fan of roller coasters anymore. That time of
my life is well behind me. Maybe I have a
healthy sense of fear when it comes to things moving
(20:37):
very fast outside of my control. And when we tell you,
or remind you of about the Garden Grove family who
has been very upset about the Six Flags roller coaster,
which they say caused their son's death, then you'll probably
know where I'm coming from, because that same family is
now suing six Flags. We'll tell you about it next.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI Am sixty.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And I've said over the years, said I'm not real
big on roller coasters anymore. Love amusement parks, but I'm
saying just riding the roller coasters themselves and leave that
to the young folks. I joke about how I may
go to sleep and then wake up with a sprain ankle.
That's real, And imagine all the g forces on these
roller coasters, flipping and spinning and bumping you around. Yeah,
(21:28):
I don't need that anymore. I've never been a thrill seeker.
The whole idea of having my stomach come up into
my throat hasn't been appealing, So I would say around
the age of forty, I lost most of my desire
to ride any of these roller coasters, especially the new ones.
I mentioned that because a Garden Grove couple, Anne and
William Hawley, have filed a lawsuit against Magic Mountain, claiming
(21:51):
the X two roller coaster caused a fatal brain injury
to their son, Christopher, twenty two year old recent graduate
of San Diego's Date University, back in twenty twenty two
June twenty third of twenty twenty two exactly, according to
the lawsuit, when Christopher was riding the roller coaster with
his brother and cousin, the ride abruptly stopped, causing Christopher
(22:13):
to experience severe head pain and he eventually lost consciousness.
The lawsuit also alleges negligence design defects failure to warn
customers the potential dangers associated with the ride. The family's attorney,
Ari Friedman said, quote, this is not the first time
someone has sustained a serious injury as a result of
(22:36):
writing X two X two has been linked to previous
incidents where people receive whiplash, head and leg injuries and
more from the ride, sudden shuddering and Joe's close quote.
The whiplash part, I could absolutely see, And for me,
someone who's not twenty two years old, it probably would
have more of an adverse effect on me or someone
(22:58):
like me, So I completely get that. As far as
the X two roller coaster is concerned, it has rotating seats,
a two hundred and fifteen foot drop, and speeds up
to seventy six miles an hour, and the ride is
obviously known for its sudden flips and rotations. The Holly's
lawsuit highlights previous incidents. As I said, and this is
how X two is described per Magic Mountain itself. Quote,
(23:22):
go ahead and take in the view on the long
ride up two hundred feet in the air. Enjoy the
ride of your life on this one of a kind coaster.
With the groundbreaking use of fire carefully designed to heighten
your total sensory overload. X two's utterly innovative design will
keep your mind in full thrust the entire time. Your
three hundred and sixty degree seats extend on wings far
(23:44):
off the track. So while you are careening down the
rails at seventy six miles per hour through an unreal
assortment of dives, flips and twists, as well as two
ultra rare raven turns half loops that change their minds
midway and become sheer drops. Your body also will be
flipping around three hundred and sixty degrees over and over again.
(24:05):
Quite simply, you will be spun into another dimension.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Close quote Grade five Dimensions of Fear on the all
new X two now at six Flags Magic Mountains for
a limited time, Pages twenty.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Six, nineteen. I'm not a lawyer, but that's not exactly
supporting Magic Mountain side of it. If anything, it lends
more credence and evidence, if you will, to the Hawley's
lawsuit as far as what they allege and what it
puts a body through regardless of age. Magic Mountain hasn't commented,
of course, on this lawsuit. They're not going to comment
(24:43):
on existing litigation. But I understand how this could have happened,
and it doesn't mean that Magic Mountain is at fault.
I can't speak to whether there was any type of
autopsy which determined or somehow linked the roller coaster to
of the young man's death. We don't know if there
was a pre existing condition or situation which might have
(25:05):
impacted why he passed on this day. But I'm actually
surprised that there aren't more types of physical injuries and incidents.
Maybe there are and they're just not reported or they're
settled out of court. But given the velocity of the ride,
how roller coasters have become increasingly I wouldn't say dangerous,
(25:26):
but increasingly daring. The turns are much more severe, and
the drops are much more steep because they're always out
trying to outdo the last roller coaster. I'm not surprised
that I'm actually more surprised that we don't hear more
about these types of incidents. And look, I know that
(25:47):
nothing is full proof, and I'm not saying that we
need to nerve the world and we need to put
some foam padding around everything to make sure nothing bad
happens to anyone anywhere, under any circumstances. But I do
know I've always had my mental reservations about some of
these roller coasters because the speed is real, the drops
(26:08):
are real, the sudden turns, they are real, The sudden
jolts and stops. They are real, The g forces are real,
and the effects on our bodies are absolutely real. Now,
we may in a general sense, love the thrills of
the ride, we may love the turns and how it
may scare us to a certain degree, but there is
(26:30):
a real conversation to be had about how safe they are,
as we always talk about safety, as we always talk
about the things that we should go into eyes wide open. Now,
there probably will never be any public acknowledgment of any
settlement made. Situations like these never lead to public disclosure,
(26:52):
will never know. It'll probably just quietly go away and
be settled, but it will begin the conversation in earnest
if they're more incidents like these which are covered in
the media, and we find that this is one incident
of possibly many or others which are similar, which could
possibly change the direction of the future of roller coasters
(27:15):
as we know them. It's Later with mo Kelly KFI
AM six forty. We are live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty
K I am six forty It's later with Mo Kelly.
Good evening. We all live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
I'll be with you all the way until ten o'clock
and then I'm going to dash out of here. I
mean literally dash because I have to be right back
here in the morning Thursday morning to fill in for
Bill Handle, who's away getting married. Congratulations Bill. So I'll
(00:43):
be on the radio tonight from seven to ten pm.
Hopefully I'll get home by eleven pm. Hopefully I'll be
asleep by midnight, and then I'll be up by three
point thirty three forty five to get back in the
car to come back to the studio to do the
Bill Handle show, filling in for Bill. And I wouldn't
have it any other way because this is what I
signed up for. But we have a tremendous show for
(01:07):
you tonight, so much good stuff that we're going to cover.
You know that we have been talking about crime in
recent days and also the crime stats and how we
should feel about the crime stats, and how obviously the
idea of safety plays into that. Well. Next segment we
have to pick up with what has happened most recently
(01:27):
on the metro or at least the metro platform. A
man has been stabbed Universal City Metro platform. It kinda
kind of fits with what we've been talking about regarding
crime and also our perception of safety, and hell, we
haven't had a metro update in quite some time, so
it kind of fits. Then we got to talk about
(01:49):
Rick Caruso, who is unofficially yet officially running for mayor.
He hasn't formally announced, but every indication would seem that
he is actually going to run for mayor again. But
did you hear his latest interview with Alex Michaelson on
Fox eleven. He as said, Rick Caruso is of the
(02:10):
opinion that we should not pursue the Karen Bass recall. Yes,
Rick Caruso, who presumably would be the chief competition to
Karen Bass in the next mayoral race, says we shouldn't
waste the time, we shouldn't waste the money. Well, I'll
let Rick tell you about it, and we'll do that
(02:30):
at the bottom of the hour, talking about this recall
effort against Karen Bass and why Rick Caruso does not
support it and I'm not a fan of roller coasters.
You may not know that I'm just not a fan
because I feel a little bit uncomfortable when I tell
you about the Garden Grove family, which is suing six
Flags over the death of their son on the X
(02:53):
two roller coaster and whether Magic Mountain was liable, maybe
you'll better understand where I'm coming from. Dodger Baseball US.
Here the Dodgers are two and oh sweeping the Cubs
in Tokyo, Japan, and I'll tell you right now, I'm
calling my shot. For my final thought this evening, I'm
going to have a longer, slower, and more deliberate conversation
(03:16):
about Tesla and its connection to Elon Musk. We know
about the protests, We know how the protests have transcended
not only United States, but into Canada and other parts
around the world. We know that Elon Musk is inextricably
linked to Tesla, and the feelings about Elon Musk obviously
(03:38):
are spilling over to Tesla. But who is really responsible
for these protests? Is it just democrats? Can we make
that assumption or is it bigger than that? Can we
have a more nuanced conversation? So tonight I'm going to
close out the show talking about Tesla. Elon Musk and
who really needs to show or the blame, if there
(04:01):
is any blame. We have a huge show tonight. It
seems like this is perfect for mo Kelly. We got Metro,
we got Rick Caruso, Karen Bass, Magic Mountain, and then
I'm gonna run home, as I said, because I need
to hurry up and get to sleep before I have
to be right back here to fill in for Bill Handle,
who's having a whole lot more fun than all of
us in Italy getting married. Congratulations on the nuptials. Bill,
(04:26):
hurry back, because I'm not trying to do your show
all that often. I do not like getting up in
the morning. But all that is coming up next. It
is Later with mo Kelly CAFI AM six forty. We
are gonna come back with the Metro news update, a
man who was stabbed by another passenger on a Metro platform.
That's next.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
And there's an old saying I can show you better
than I can tell you, which basically means when there
is something that we both can see or both can
point to, it makes the point much easier to understand,
as opposed to me just trying to explain it to
you in an abstract sense. A couple of days ago,
we talked about Mayor Bass and the reduction of crime
(05:13):
is at least as far as the stats went, and
I was making the point generally that safety is a feeling.
It is an internal response or belief about your immediate surroundings,
and no numbers, no statistics, will really change that. I
was being flipping and I was making comparisons, saying like, yeah,
(05:34):
I'm gonna walk out outside of my house and say, hey,
crime is down ten percent. I feel ten percent safer. No,
no one really actually feels that way. The numbers don't
really mean anything. The only thing that means anything is
what you feel about your immediate surroundings. And I also
said that crime stats are indicators of the past, they're
(05:55):
not predictors of the future. So now I'm going to
point because I can show you better than I can
tell you. I'm positive that virtually nobody got on the
metro yesterday explicitly thinking that they were inherently safer or
even somewhat safer, just because crime quote unquote was down
(06:19):
in the city of Los Angeles. Let me digress real quick.
And I also made the point that just because crime
is down in the city of Los Angeles, it doesn't
mean that crime everywhere else is also down, or crime
doesn't traverse boundaries. Tell you about this metro stabbing last night,
and it kind of makes the point for me, LAPD.
(06:41):
They're searching for a man who they say stabbed another passenger.
Passenger stabbed another passenger on a Metro platform in Universal
City Tuesday night. From what we know, the stabbing happened
around nine pm. Paramedics took the victim to the hospital
in stable condition. They're still looking or the assailant. There
(07:01):
has been no description which has been published, no detailed description.
I don't know whether they're going to find the person.
And honestly, this is not another rant about the failings
of Metro security or how it's inherently unsafe. I've done
that plenty times. You know where I stand on that.
But this does highlight that just because we receive some
(07:24):
good news about a portion of greater Metro Los Angeles,
it doesn't mean that you or me, or Tuala or
Steph welcome back to Steph or even Mark Ronner would
necessarily feel any better or considerably safer just because some
crime stats were down. It has to do with our
(07:46):
personal experiences. It has to do with our day to
day travels. I am fortunate enough to always be able
to drive to work, and because I do drive to
work and my car is dependable, there is a zero
point zero zero, zero zero one chance of actually getting
(08:08):
stabbed going to or coming from work. But that's not
true of everyone else. There are a lot of people
who have no other form of transportation with the exception
of taking the metro, and because they have to take
the metro, there are some inherent risks that come with
taking the metro. It could be on a platform. It
(08:29):
could be on a train, as we saw here where
it was a passenger to passenger stabbing. We don't know
if one person knew another. We don't know if there
was a precipitating argument or factor which contributed to why
the stabbing took place. It could happen on a platform,
it could happen on a train, It could happen on
a bus. It could happen any number of places, and
there are far too many people who unfortunately don't have
(08:52):
the luxury of being able to drive to and from work,
so they have to take the metro. So their concept
of safety or lack thereof, is fundamentally different than yours
or mine. Because we have a somewhat controlled environment being
in our cars, we don't necessarily have to worry about
(09:15):
the passenger in our car. And I'm not trying to
sound flipping, but I'm saying this is how the concept
of safety is so very different depending on where you live.
We don't have to worry about the person sitting next
to us, or at least I hope we don't have
to worry about the person sitting next to us actually
stabbing us. Now imagine how distant those crime stats may feel.
(09:36):
And even though the crime stats only had to do
with Lacit and this happening in universal city is not
within the purview of Mayor Karen Bass, and it's fair
to highlight those facts. In other words, one has nothing
to do with the other. But my larger point still
stands that just because we have some improving crime statistics
(10:00):
doesn't necessarily change our concept of safety or whether we
are safe in this city. Crime doesn't respect boundaries of
a particular city or county. And also our lives have
not changed just because a report about some crime stats
(10:21):
had come out and we had heard from Metro. Getting
back to Metro specifically, we had heard from Metro that
Metro was somehow fundamentally more safe. They even talked about
this particular station had a drop in crime. I remember
Twall and I had talked about it. In fact, they
were touting it. They sent out this release they gave
to Michael Monks that Michael Monks had even talked about
on the air with us. Was because they keep ducking
(10:43):
me as if Metro was considerably more safe, especially when
it related to this station. Hello, same place, Unfortunately, same result.
But the whole idea of crime has not changed. My
concept of my own safety has not changed. And I
don't even ride the Metro. This going back to Karen Bass,
(11:06):
Mayor Bass is where I think she missed the mark.
And I received some notes from you on Facebook at
mister mo Kelly on Facebook and on Instagram at mister
mo Kelly, and that later with mo Kelly, and you
were somewhat critical of me. You're saying more you're too
hard on the mayor, you're nitpicking, You're looking for things
to be critical of and maybe that's true. Maybe that's true.
(11:28):
I can be hypercritical. I'm not pushing that aside, but
I do think there is a disconnect between what Mayor
Bass is trying to convey and understanding our realities of
our day to day insecurities and our general sense of
lack of safety. When we come back, we got to
talk about Rick Caruso, who I think is all but
(11:50):
announced that he's running for mayor. He has taken a
different tact and I think this is a good way
to pick up with Mayor Bass on the other side
of this conversation, because Rick Caruso has come out and
said that he is against the recall effort. Regarding Mayor
Karen Bass, say what, Yes, he said exactly that, and
we have the audio to prove it.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
You're listening to later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
And I'm real big on strategy. I'm real big on
seeing the bigger picture. I talked about that with Governor
Gavin Newsom and his podcasts. Even though it may not
be popular with Democrats right now, I understand the long
term strategy. Sometimes you do things right now which may
be uncomfortable for your base, but it will pay off
(12:39):
dividends down the road. That was Gavin Newsom in his podcast,
And if you're paying attention right now, you can see
the long term strategy of Rick Caruso, who clearly is
running for mayor again, even though he hasn't officially declared it.
A few weeks ago we talked about how Rick Caruso
had set aside money and contacts in this effort to
(13:00):
help rebuild portions of Los Angeles. That was a genius move.
Not saying it was insincere. I'm saying it was genius
because it keeps his name in the press for something
very positive, and it can be seen in stark contrast
to Karen Bass and her supposed mishandling of the fires
(13:22):
and the relief effort was brilliant. And now I see
what I consider to be another brilliant move. Sometimes you
have to look beyond your own politics to see what
these individuals are doing long term. Rick Caruso has come
out get this against the recall effort. Regarding Karen Bass,
(13:45):
you heard that correctly. He's come out against the recall effort.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
If you're going to do a recall, now, what's going
to happen is the city is going to end up
spending twenty five to thirty million dollars, which it doesn't
have because we've already been told that the city's grow.
And then it's going to take eight to ten months,
and it's going to run up to the gun primary
and people in June are going to have an opportunity
to vote for or against the mayor, And so why
(14:09):
do it now? And I think it's a waste of money,
waste of resources. And one last thing, We've got so
many things the mayor needs to deal with in this
city and deal with it well with a lot of
focus rebuilding in the Palisades. We still have a major
homeless problem. All of these kind of things, the crime,
it's going to be a diversion to her and her team,
(14:31):
and we don't need her attention diverted right now.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
He's right now. You may not like Mayor Karen Bass,
and there are a lot of people who do not
like her or her leadership, but what Rick Carusa was
doing is saying, hey, I am going to be above
the fray, or at least right now, he's presenting himself
as someone who is above the fray. He's looking at
the bigger picture. He's reading the room as they say,
(14:57):
we just went through fires, we just went through mud slides.
LA is in a very precarious place emotionally, and a
recall effort seemingly puts politics above the people. And Rick
Caruso is saying, no, no, no, I'm thinking first and
foremost about the people and not even talking about politics.
(15:21):
And what does that afford him big picture? Long term?
It presents him in a way where people can look
at him beyond the politics of the moment. It looks
like he wants to be seen as someone who is
about the people more than anything and the politics will
come later. And if anything, that for a lot of people,
(15:44):
including me, is a breath of fresh air. Not everything
needs to be about politics. Wait, wait, wait, don't get
me wrong. This is about politics to some degree. Yes,
Rick Caruso is doing this being mindful of a future
mayoral election that he hasn't officially thrown his hat in,
(16:07):
but we all know he's running for mayor. But there's
a way that you can do it which doesn't make
it seem so politically self serving in every way. And
he also knows that since la is a democratic town,
through and through the recall effort, as I've already talked
(16:27):
about on a number of occasions, is likely going to fail,
is likely not going to go anywhere, is definitely going
to be very expensive and unnecessary, given that we know
most likely how it's going to turn out that it's
not going to be successful. So why even waste the money.
(16:49):
That is a pragmatic that is a practical, that is
a sensible approach to where we are right now in
the City of Los Angeles and also Lost Angeles County.
Even though we're talking about the mayoral race, it's still
inclusive of the people like me who live in the
city of Los Angeles, but it's unincorporated, meaning I don't
(17:13):
get to vote for mayor. I don't get to vote
for a city council person. So I am on the periphery,
but I'm still invested in the discussion. What happens in
the city of LA and my address is the city
of LA even though I don't get to vote for
mayor or city council. But what happens within the city
(17:38):
does impact me, does affect me. Whatever happens in city
affects the county. And Rick Caruso is trying to maneuver
and navigate and make his way through that while also
building coalitions, strengthening constituencies. He's doing everything right. It doesn't
(18:01):
mean that you have to like his politics. Doesn't mean
that at all. He is in a very shrewd way,
positioning himself where he can be seen as a breath
of fresh air. Let me put it that way. It's
not politics as usual, or at least what we've seen
for the past few years. It's not taking every opportunity
(18:22):
to score a political point in that moment, to kick
that proverbial political football down the field. He's doing something different.
It's like, hey, hey, hey, you know and I'm pretending
I'm Rick Crusoe. Hey, hey, hey, you know that I'm
not a fan of Karen Bass. I have been very
vocal in my criticism of Mayor Bath and how she
(18:42):
handled the fires. But you know what I'm thinking first
and foremost about Los Angeles, the city and the people
who reside within it. A recall effort. Not only is
it going to be expensive, Let's be honest, it's gonna fail.
Is not better because of that recall effort, we have elections,
(19:06):
and an election and he hasn't said this, but I'm
just trying to get in his head. Right now, we
have elections, and elections are the best way to send
the message that LA needs, wants, or deserves new leadership.
Although you may not like Governor Gavin Newsom, I'm saying
I see the strategy. It's a bull strategy, but I
(19:29):
understand what he's trying to do, and it's a long
term approach. The same, the exact same is happening here
with Rick Caruso. The knee jerk response is to say,
wait a minute, Wait a minute, why is Rick Caruso
against the idea of a recall effort against his would
be competition and reigning incumbent. That's the knee jerk response.
(19:54):
But if you slow down and look at the bigger picture,
like Rick Caruso obviously is, and putting people above politics
and showing that there is a different way to lead
long term, it puts them in a very good position.
I'm not saying that he's going to be then the
next mayor of Los Angeles. I'm saying he has undoubtedly
(20:16):
helped his cause. It's later with mo Kelly kfiam six forty.
We are live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. And I
don't know how often I talk about it, but I
do mention it from time to time that I'm not
really a fan of roller coasters anymore. That time of
my life is well behind me. Maybe I have a
healthy sense of fear when it comes to things moving
(20:37):
very fast outside of my control. And when we tell you,
or remind you of about the Garden Grove family who
has been very upset about the Six Flags roller coaster,
which they say caused their son's death, then you'll probably
know where I'm coming from, because that same family is
now suing six Flags. We'll tell you about it next.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI Am sixty.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And I've said over the years, said I'm not real
big on roller coasters anymore. Love amusement parks, but I'm
saying just riding the roller coasters themselves and leave that
to the young folks. I joke about how I may
go to sleep and then wake up with a sprain ankle.
That's real, And imagine all the g forces on these
roller coasters, flipping and spinning and bumping you around. Yeah,
(21:28):
I don't need that anymore. I've never been a thrill seeker.
The whole idea of having my stomach come up into
my throat hasn't been appealing, So I would say around
the age of forty, I lost most of my desire
to ride any of these roller coasters, especially the new ones.
I mentioned that because a Garden Grove couple, Anne and
William Hawley, have filed a lawsuit against Magic Mountain, claiming
(21:51):
the X two roller coaster caused a fatal brain injury
to their son, Christopher, twenty two year old recent graduate
of San Diego's Date University, back in twenty twenty two
June twenty third of twenty twenty two exactly, according to
the lawsuit, when Christopher was riding the roller coaster with
his brother and cousin, the ride abruptly stopped, causing Christopher
(22:13):
to experience severe head pain and he eventually lost consciousness.
The lawsuit also alleges negligence design defects failure to warn
customers the potential dangers associated with the ride. The family's attorney,
Ari Friedman said, quote, this is not the first time
someone has sustained a serious injury as a result of
(22:36):
writing X two X two has been linked to previous
incidents where people receive whiplash, head and leg injuries and
more from the ride, sudden shuddering and Joe's close quote.
The whiplash part, I could absolutely see, And for me,
someone who's not twenty two years old, it probably would
have more of an adverse effect on me or someone
(22:58):
like me, So I completely get that. As far as
the X two roller coaster is concerned, it has rotating seats,
a two hundred and fifteen foot drop, and speeds up
to seventy six miles an hour, and the ride is
obviously known for its sudden flips and rotations. The Holly's
lawsuit highlights previous incidents. As I said, and this is
how X two is described per Magic Mountain itself. Quote,
(23:22):
go ahead and take in the view on the long
ride up two hundred feet in the air. Enjoy the
ride of your life on this one of a kind coaster.
With the groundbreaking use of fire carefully designed to heighten
your total sensory overload. X two's utterly innovative design will
keep your mind in full thrust the entire time. Your
three hundred and sixty degree seats extend on wings far
(23:44):
off the track. So while you are careening down the
rails at seventy six miles per hour through an unreal
assortment of dives, flips and twists, as well as two
ultra rare raven turns half loops that change their minds
midway and become sheer drops. Your body also will be
flipping around three hundred and sixty degrees over and over again.
(24:05):
Quite simply, you will be spun into another dimension.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Close quote Grade five Dimensions of Fear on the all
new X two now at six Flags Magic Mountains for
a limited time, Pages twenty.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Six, nineteen. I'm not a lawyer, but that's not exactly
supporting Magic Mountain side of it. If anything, it lends
more credence and evidence, if you will, to the Hawley's
lawsuit as far as what they allege and what it
puts a body through regardless of age. Magic Mountain hasn't commented,
of course, on this lawsuit. They're not going to comment
(24:43):
on existing litigation. But I understand how this could have happened,
and it doesn't mean that Magic Mountain is at fault.
I can't speak to whether there was any type of
autopsy which determined or somehow linked the roller coaster to
of the young man's death. We don't know if there
was a pre existing condition or situation which might have
(25:05):
impacted why he passed on this day. But I'm actually
surprised that there aren't more types of physical injuries and incidents.
Maybe there are and they're just not reported or they're
settled out of court. But given the velocity of the ride,
how roller coasters have become increasingly I wouldn't say dangerous,
(25:26):
but increasingly daring. The turns are much more severe, and
the drops are much more steep because they're always out
trying to outdo the last roller coaster. I'm not surprised
that I'm actually more surprised that we don't hear more
about these types of incidents. And look, I know that
(25:47):
nothing is full proof, and I'm not saying that we
need to nerve the world and we need to put
some foam padding around everything to make sure nothing bad
happens to anyone anywhere, under any circumstances. But I do
know I've always had my mental reservations about some of
these roller coasters because the speed is real, the drops
(26:08):
are real, the sudden turns, they are real, The sudden
jolts and stops. They are real, The g forces are real,
and the effects on our bodies are absolutely real. Now,
we may in a general sense, love the thrills of
the ride, we may love the turns and how it
may scare us to a certain degree, but there is
(26:30):
a real conversation to be had about how safe they are,
as we always talk about safety, as we always talk
about the things that we should go into eyes wide open. Now,
there probably will never be any public acknowledgment of any
settlement made. Situations like these never lead to public disclosure,
(26:52):
will never know. It'll probably just quietly go away and
be settled, but it will begin the conversation in earnest
if they're more incidents like these which are covered in
the media, and we find that this is one incident
of possibly many or others which are similar, which could
possibly change the direction of the future of roller coasters
(27:15):
as we know them. It's Later with mo Kelly KFI
AM six forty. We are live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.