July 3, 2025 • 33 mins
ICYMI: Hour One of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – An in-depth look at the mixed verdict and implications of Music Industry Mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs being found guilty on 2 of 5 counts yet acquitted of most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering…PLUS – Thoughts on the new policy that allows college athletes in California to accept pay directly from Universities AND what the drastic drop in the homeless populations in Hollywood and Venice actually means big picture - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app & YouTube @MrMoKelly
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:22):
KF I am six forty YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, iHeartRadio app.
It's later with Mo Kelly and we're counting down to
Chateau le Mo this Friday, Independence Day, America's birthday, the
day in which Mark Runner refuses to show up and
do the show with us live in person.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, it's because I'm so dedicated to work. But we
would be working as well. You can do the news
from Chateau le Mo. Logistics are problematic, Mo.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Can't you like just write your news out in advance
take it off? Can't you do rcs from we?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Perhaps this isn't i'd am best discussed off air. I
would love to go. It sounds like fun, and I,
despite what you may think, I'm starved for human contact.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well, I'm just letting you know. The invitation is still
out there. It's extended to you. Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Let me just say that for the last five years
with COVID, I felt like I'm under house arrest with
work release.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
I'd love to go to a party. Okay, just letting
you know. Okay, But most importantly, today is Stephan's birthday.
He is a whole twenty four today that it is
twenty four. Oh, that's a hard twenty four, A rough one.
Happy birthday, Phosh, thank you. I know that you've been
celebrating all day long and people have been reminding you
(01:48):
of your birthday all day long, But how has your
birthday been thus far? It's been pretty good.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
You know, it started out pretty normal. I just you know,
got up, did my thing at home, you know, getting
ready for different shows, and then I come here and
then I had some pizza, which I know MO was
able to partake in luckily one slice.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
I had one slice.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I like that he was so specific because I was like,
I don't want to leave left out. I had won
just one. And then yeah, we had some fun that
so that was good. Do you have expectations going in?
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Some people put a lot on their birthdays, like they
have to have a great birthday, they have to do
something special, they have to have some sort of a
gift after. Do you have any type of expectations for
your birthday?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
No, because I got kind of lucky that it's so
close to the fourth. So we would usually celebrate my
like we would do like a really small gathering on
my actual birthday, and then as a kid, and then
we would kind of celebrate my birthday like as a
kind of a party on the fourth.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Okay with my family, so that was cool. Yeah, mine
is close to Thanksgiving, so it doesn't have that same
the same feel. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's fine getting family together,
but still I need focus to be on me, or
at least when I was a child, that's what I
wanted exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
None of that is as bad a rip off as
having your birthday on or around Christmas.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
You guys got off easy. I don't know about that.
Growing up, there were a lot of times where relatives
just gave us one gift for both. Oh, I wouldn't
tolerate that. I was in that window. I'm within a
month of Christmas, so people just said, here you go.
Oh that will not stand. Look, I know I went
through it. But what are you gonna say when you're
(03:21):
like twelve, that's messed up?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah with swear words? Yeah, well yeah, yeah, didn't get
my ass kicked. Well, you're the victim, don't be gas lit.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
No. I remember what I was, maybe six or seven,
and my mother had gone on a church trip to Vegas.
I know, strange, but she did. She was gone for
the weekend. I was staying at my babysitter house for
the weekend, and for some reason, I started cussing off
a storm, thinking like, no one's gonna hear me, no
one's gonna tell me. And I remember when they got
(03:53):
back in town. I was staying there. My father went
somewhere else, but they both came to pick me up
on like they returned to Sunday night, and my father
came on to me. I said, I heard you were
cussing up a storm while I was gone. I know
it was a very hushed, quiet tone, and he said,
(04:14):
I'll see you when we get home. Oh, and then
he tore my ass up when I got home. Okay,
So to this day, I don't say another mother father
cussword ever. Of course, not them all.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
When I was a child, I had my mouth literally
washed out with soap for swearing.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Oh, and they did that back then. That was not uncommon.
It's just it never happened to me. My parents' choice
of weapon was the belt with the belt buckle.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Neither really recommended. Honestly, it seems like they are better
ways to deal with that.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. You
might have experienced some child abuse straight up child abuse,
which is different. You could be on the market. Yes,
it's a little bit different. Yeah, but we have a
huge show tonight. Yes, we're going to get into the
di Verdict in just a moment. Yes, we're going to
be watching and letting you know what is happening in
(05:04):
the Dodger game. As Clayton Kershaw goes for his three
thousandth strikeout. He's already a first ballot Hall of Famer,
he's already immortalized in Dodger's history, but he's trying to
pass to three thousand strikeout plateau. Tonight. The game just
started just underway. We're watching it in the studio, so
we will let you know if and when it does happen.
(05:25):
Maybe we'll try to get some audio from that. And
also we have to talk about how California colleges can
now pay athletes directly and how you and me as
taxpayers might be footing some of the bill. In other news,
homeless populations have been dropping dramatically in both Hollywood and Venice.
(05:46):
We've heard how those have been almost traps for homelessness
where people just move there, and that may not be
the case anymore. We have so much to discuss, but
before we go to break. Yes, I'm sure you've all
seen the news of Diddy with that mixed verdict, that
mixed bag, a little bit of good news, but not
(06:06):
a lot of good news. But most notably, he was
not convicted on the most serious charges, specifically found not
guilty on one count of racketeering conspiracy, not guilty on
two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or corrosion,
but guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
(06:28):
You've heard the KFI twenty four news from detail this
information and also how he was remanded back to prison.
He was not granted bail in large part because of
the charges that he was found guilty on, he was
ineligible to be granted bail. So from what I heard
that he was expecting to go home until sentencing, that
(06:48):
is not going to be the place'd be the case.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I have.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Some real concerns about what this means big picture. Last night,
for my final thought, I was saying that this was
going to be a marker in the sense of where
we are in this post me to moment, and I
can point to mistakes that I believe in my humble
estimation that the prosecution made. In fact, I was not
(07:14):
sup surprised that the defense made no effort to call
any witnesses. They were basically daring the jurors to find
Sean Ditty Colmes guilty, thinking that the prosecution had met
their burden of proof, and for the most part, they
were right. And I'm not so sure I'm happy about
how this turned out. It's almost like, and Mark, you
(07:36):
would appreciate this. I just want to throw this word
in there. It's almost like a pyrrhic victory. Sure, all
this effort, all this fight to get Ditty in prison,
not saying that you just want to throw an innocent
man in prison, but there was a lot of effort.
We're talking about the full weight of the federal government
which came down on the head of Ditty, and they
(07:58):
got two convictions. And he most definitely is not going
to spend the most the rest of his life in prison.
He may possibly see some real time, but that's not
even guaranteed. And I wonder if it was much ado
about nothing really well put its way. I think about
what Cassie may be thinking, whether it was worth it,
(08:20):
whether all telling her story again and again on the
stand having to be cross examined. And I would say
that the prosecution kind of wasted that forward momentum and
did not build out the case thoroughly enough to demonstrate
racketeering and the more serious charges. If I were Cassie,
(08:42):
I would wonder. I don't know if she is thinking
that or has thought it, but I would wonder whether
it was all worth it because he's going to get out.
Let's say that give them ten years he's out, and
seven he's already served time service, like maybe a year
or so. I don't know if that it's going to
be enough for what they had to put up with.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I see your point, but it makes me think first
and foremost about the you know, Builden saying that there
are different justice systems for people with money and people without.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
And that's more evident right now than ever before. And
I wonder if if you happen to be a woman
who did not come forward connected to the Diddy history,
whether you said, WHOA thank goodness I didn't, or if
you're a woman who was sexually assaulted allegedly by another
powerful man, whether this gives you pause. It's later with
(09:35):
mo Kelly, we'll have more on Didty in just a moment.
KFI AM six forty live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app, Facebook,
Instagram and YouTube.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
KFI AM six forty is Later with mo Kelly. We're
live on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and the iHeartRadio app. And
i'd just gotten into my thoughts about the Diddy verdict,
which was a mixed bag. That's my terminology, was a
mixed verdict. And you can say, yeah, you're happy air
quotes that justice was done, but the way it played out,
(10:09):
it's very, very messy. He was convicted on the lesser charges,
he was acquitted on the more serious charges. It was
a seven week trial, had exhaustive, exhaustive media coverage, and
I would understand if you feel a bit empty or
it feels a bit incomplete. I mean, yes, they're still sentencing,
(10:31):
but the most that Diddy can get as a first
first time offender, mind you, is twenty years. So he's
not going to get twenty years. He was eligible for
ten years on these charge. I don't think he's going
to and the prosecutor is going to ask for that maximum.
They're not going to get that maximum, so we're talking
percentages of that, we're talking a fraction of that. I
(10:53):
expect him. I think he's going to get ten years
or fewer. He'll get credit for maybe a year served.
He'll be out in five or six, and then people
will move on with their lives. But the people who testify,
like Cassie Ventura and others, probably are very concerned. In fact,
Cassie's lawyer today released a statement talking about how dangerous
(11:16):
Didty is even now, and that was part of the
reason why some people refuse to come forward. Some people
refuse to testify because they were afraid for themselves and
their families. And I don't know if Ditty is dumb
enough my phrase, dumb enough to do something in revenge,
(11:36):
do something to those who might have spoken out against him.
But from what we know of him, there's reason to
be concerned. There's definitely reason to be concerned in the
way that Tawala and I were talking about how back
when this was happening in real time, there were real consequences.
There was a real fear for one's safety, for not
(11:58):
only themselves, and the whole thing about kid cutting his
car being blown up. That's an old story. I mean,
that's something that I know, Twalla and I have known
about for many, many years. But there are also some
other stories out there where there's a reason why it
was an open secret, open in the respect that, yeah,
we knew some of the things. There were more urban
(12:18):
legends and myths, but we weren't surprised when we got
the specifics when the video came out about Cassie in
the hotel that I don't think that really surprised anyone,
with the exception of those who have no understanding of
who did He purportedly.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Was so far from everything I've seen on social media.
I'm actually pleasantly surprised with the social media response to
the guilty verdicts. I expected there to be a whole
lot more cries of him and justice. I felt most
every person that I've looked at, every thread that I follow,
(12:56):
where I've read down in the comments west, everyone sees
it as quite possibly, for the first time in this America,
a known black figure not being lynched by the legal
system and given a just sentencing. Everyone thought that this
was going to go out of control and they were
(13:17):
going to go for you know, convictions on all charges
and it be out of control.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And I was like, no, he got.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Charged and was found guilty for the things that for
all of everyone that knows this, this is what he's
in there for. I think they overcharged him, overcharged absolutely,
And if he would have been charged for you know,
the racketeer and all that, then it would have been like, okay,
all right, come on, will he will he do time?
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Absolutely? Ten years? You got it, You said it right on.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
The only issue that that we have in the community
and a lot of people who are wondering still why
there wasn't more brought to the table against him is
because even though and remember a lot of people forget
day won to trial, there was a witness that was
supposed to come forward and did not. Day one disappeared,
(14:06):
disappeared from there are all types of reports of even
former security guards who are threatened who he was calling.
Member we talked about he was allegedly calling individuals from
the prison and he had a conversation with one of
a sudden saying, hey, you know speaking of judge, yes,
speaking the language of put a green light on that individual,
(14:29):
so forth and so on, which we understood what that
means in the streets, he was letting it be known
that this is someone who I know is out there
talking about me.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Take care of them. This is not done. The concern
is real, though it is. It's real for everyone who knows.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Even once he gets in prison and once he gets
access to a phone, access to communication, there's a lot
of people who are still nervous he is. There are
still angles that he can work to potentially make stuff
go away.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
When you're super rich. And yes, this trial was incredibly
expensive for Ditty. People don't think understand what that really
means as far as the resources which are still available
to Ditty. Yes, did he spend a lot of money
on this trial in his defense. Yes, But he's not broke.
You know, he still has all the rights all his
(15:19):
music publishing and all the songs that you hear on
the radio. He's still getting paid for. He's not going
to be destitute. He has access to things and people
who can harm others. And that is something that Cassie
and the people who didn't come forward, the people did
come forward to people who thought about coming forward, are
very concerned with. Now to you, when you were taking
(15:40):
your sample of social media, I'd noticed something else. I
noticed the idiots who were bathing themselves in baby oil
outside the courtroom. Excuse me, outside the court you know,
in celebration of Ditty being found not guilty on the
more serious charges. Look, my.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Block and delete finger was active today, and that's that's
one thing. One of the reasons why I was on
social media. Firstly, not necessarily to see what people were saying.
I was going on to see who I needed to block,
who is going to be talking bad about Cassie who?
You know, There's one individual who was like, when are
we gonna have the Cassie trials that up next? Block delete,
(16:24):
you know, stink things like that. I'm like, block deleite, oh, yes,
block the leade that. That was a lot of time
because I'm like, I love how people reveal themselves and
I'm like, oh, I believe that this is how you are. Okay,
cool cool.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Yeah. I always judge people, and yes, I do judge
because I'm clear on what the Bible says judging has
to do with eternal damnation, not being wary of our
associations and how people carry themselves. I usually judge people
by when by how they defend the indefensible, yes, or
when they want to step up to the plate to
(16:57):
defend the the incorrigible, the irredeemable, then I know exactly
who you are and who you value what you value.
This is not a question of well, there was a
question of whether Diddy was guilty or not guilty relative
to the charges, but it wasn't a question of whether
(17:18):
Diddy was a decent individual. And he doesn't have to
be found guilty on everything for you to realize that
he is a garbage individual. And he was not appropriately
charged with the right crimes for the court of law
to put him away for any extended period of time.
And we didn't have the requisite witnesses to come forward
(17:40):
to get it done. I don't blame completely blame the
prosecution team because they were hamstrung, which you highlighted how
at least one witness dropped out of sight. It was
a day one witness. I remember, that's the first day
of court. We don't know how many other witnesses they
planned a call and just not or could not depend
(18:01):
on because they were shaky, flaky, what have you. But
I don't believe that this is the end of it,
regardless of the sentencing. There's going to be some blowback
because I just know how the industry works. You know.
You look at I use Shug Night as an example.
He's been going back and forth with the people who
he felt did him wrong for the past twenty years.
(18:21):
He's hell, he's still talking about Tupac. Yes, still, these
grudges will go on for people's lives, and it's not
the desired result that we all may have wanted for Diddy,
but it does highlight how even still we can't get
it right as far as both believing women and protecting them.
(18:41):
It's Later with mo Kelly, caf I AM six forty
Live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app. When we come back,
we when we talk about how California colleges can now
pay athletes directly. We're not talking about name, image and
likeness in a third party corporation, pay them directly, which
means you and I may pay for that.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
JFI AM six forties Later with mo Kelly, We're live
everywhere on social media and the iHeartRadio app. Did you
know this? Starting today today, California universities can pay their
athletes directly. Here tofore, you'd have a middleman and name,
image and likenesses. You'd have let's say companies like Joe's
(19:30):
car Wash, and they would sponsor athletes. They would get
a fund together to help pay for athletes or entice
athletes to come to the university. So you had a
middle person. It wasn't the university directly paying. You could
have like a coalition or consortium of businesses and they'll
(19:52):
pool money together in the hopes of having top athletes
transfer from another university or truit athletes out of high school.
That's how it's been for the past few years. Now
it's changed where there's no pretense. You can just go
ahead and basically put these athletes on a pay roll
(20:12):
and pay them directly. I don't know if you know this,
but there's an estimate which suggests that some student athletes
that you see Berkeley Cal. Okay, Cal's not a huge
sports institution. Okay, they have football team, Yeah, they have
the basketball team, but neither's on the verge of winning
a national championship. Never have, never will. You know, they're
(20:33):
not a sports of a program. You see program like
that we're not talking about UCLA or anything like that.
Some student athletes that you see Berkeley make roughly two
hundred grand a year two hundred grand a year, and
all the money will usually pretty much go to football
(20:54):
and basketball players, the revenue generating sports. Those are the ones,
because the revenue generating sports are the ones that are
most in need of those high profile athletes. You have
a good football team, good basketball team, You go to
the NAMENT tournament, NC to a tournament if you're a
basketball team, or you go to a bowl game that
produces revenue for the institution. That's why it's really important
(21:18):
to get top talent. Now, if you're the water polo
team or you're the lacrosse team, it's nice that you
went to the NC two a's, but you're not bringing
in the type of money that the big sports are. Yeah,
you fit, you play field hockey, that's nice. You're on
the swimming team, oh believe for you. You're not generating
revenue for the university. That's why you have these name
(21:40):
and image and likenesses deals with all of these players,
and you want to make sure that you keep them happy.
Because it's wild, wild West out there. You can now
transfer from school to school. Well, let me back up.
It used to be if you transferred, let's say you
transferred from USC to UCLA, you'd have to sit out
a year. You couldn't transfer in twenty twenty five and
(22:01):
then play in twenty twenty six. That's how it used
to be. Now Ever since COVID and also these lawsuits
against the NC two A, they changed it where it's
free agency. You can go to a school one year,
you can go to a school next year. You can
go to another school the third year and not have
to set out. So there is really no deterrent. Without
(22:22):
getting into all the specifics, there's no real deterrent for
an athlete not to transfer, or there's no real deterrent
for an athlete to hold out and expect a bigger
bag of money. And if that bigger bag of money
doesn't come from the institution where he's presently playing, then
he'll play somewhere else. Now the universities can go tap
(22:45):
their own pockets and pay directly. Now this is not
exclusive of the coalition of businesses or consortium of businesses
which raise money to also help buy these players. Let's
call it what it is. They're buying these players. The
difference is you don't have to do the funny accounting.
You can pay directly. But when you talk about a
(23:06):
school like UCLA, or you talk about a school like
UC Berkeley, we're talking about the UC system, talking about
these public schools which are being funded by the state,
in part by our taxes. So when you see those
UCLA athletes, sorry to call you out, let's just say
you see San Diego, Let's just say you see Santa Cruz,
(23:28):
you see Santa Barbara. When you ever see those athletes,
know then that some of our taxes are going to
pay them that superstar quarterback for UCE school, for example,
our tax dollars. And some people may not be comfortable
with that. I get it, you think, wait a minute,
(23:50):
I didn't ask for that. I'm not asking for a
UCLA to have a great football team. I'm not asking
for UC Irvine to have a great baseball team. Why
are my taxes going to that. Well, you don't have
a say in that. You just have your money which
is going to go to these UC institutions and then
they can spend it however they see fit. So just
(24:10):
know that when you watch TV and you're watching maybe
Ucla play Michigan in the Big Ten. There's millions of
dollars on that field in the form of payments directly
to the players. The whole idea of amateurism exists no longer.
It's Later with mo Kelly KFIM six forty Live everywhere
(24:30):
in the iHeartRadio app And now we're going to go
to the other end of the spectrum and talk about
some of the homeless populations in southern California, which evidently
have been dramatically dropping in both Hollywood and Venice. We'll
see why in just a moment.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
kfi AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
It's Later with mo Kelly. Let's talk about the homeless situation.
There might be just a glint of good news. According
to the Santa Monica based Rand Corporation, the number of
unsheltered people in Hollywood, skid Row and Venice decrease fifteen
percent in twenty twenty four in comparison to the prior year.
(25:18):
But according to the study, it was likely driven by
interim increased interim and permanent housing programs. So you can
at least point to some data and suggest that some
programs that Mayor Bass has sponsored and created is having
some sort of positive impact, but it's it's with the caveat.
(25:40):
The study found nearly seven hundred percent decrease in the
combined unsheltered populations of Hollywood a forty nine percent decline
and Venice a twenty two percent decline. But here's the caveat.
That was offset in part by one hundred and seventy
percent increase in skid Row, a nine percent increase. And
(26:00):
so although we are able to decrease the number of unsheltered,
unhoused homeless people in certain areas, invariably there are new
people who are either moving from one homeless location to
another or they are newly homeless and joining those populations.
(26:21):
And as I've said before, and this kind of confirms it,
these populations are not static. It's not like you start
off with three hundred homeless people in Hollywood and then
you have to decrease it from there. No, you may
find temporary housing for twenty or thirty people, and then
you may have five or six new homeless. And that's
something that you're always fighting against, is not just finding
(26:44):
a place for the presently homeless, but also addressing the
root causes and issues which lead to someone becoming homeless.
Because someone is homeless today who was not homeless yesterday.
Someone was homeless in Hollywood and now they're homeless in
some other location. It's almost like rearranging deck chairs on
(27:07):
the Titanic. If you're not actually dealing with the iceberg
or the hole in the ship, then you're not actually
improving the problem. And the question is are we moving
the homeless from one area to another or are we
actually decreasing it overall and also lessening the likelihood that
people who are living on the edge will end up homeless?
(27:30):
Are we decreasing that likelihood? And that's the thing which
is i'll say less clear for me that I'm less
sure about. And although we can say big picture total numbers,
they're fewer homeless people. But are we just talking about
La City, as this study would tell you. But what
does that mean if we're talking about La County, Because
(27:52):
there are a lot of people who may become homeless
in La City and they move one street over if
you know the geographical layout of La and then you're
in La County and maybe you've decreased the number of
homeless people in La City, but you've increased a number
of homeless people in La County. And you know how
they talk about statistics. They can tell you whatever you
(28:14):
want them to tell you if you cut them up right,
And this may be that. But at the same time,
we're not seeing, or at least I'm not seeing in
this study, any real focus on the causes of why
people are becoming homeless. And if you can stop the
flow of people who are becoming homeless, then you can
have a real discussion about whether these policies are actually
(28:38):
working and also making that transition from homeless unsheltered to
temporary housing to permanent housing. And I know the homeless
situation is like trying to end world hunger. You're not
going to eradicate it, but you can mitigate it, you
could lessen it. But always there's this problem of the
(29:00):
people who just don't want to see homeless people as
opposed to dealing with the actual problem. And there is
the eyeball test. When I walk outside in my neighborhood
and I can't speak for Stefan, but we live close
enough where we have view of the same general neighborhoods.
You can tell me that are I'm just making up
a number. Four hundred fewer people in La County. Few
(29:25):
were homeless people in La County. But when I walk
outside my door, it looks about the same. I see
the same people doing the same things in the same area.
And that's not including the people who are living in
RVs right around the corner. That's not including the transient
(29:46):
homeless population who I can see. They don't have a
place that they've set up, but they're just kind of
moving through the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Even the drive into work, because we have the same TI,
but I drive through downtown once they hit usc YEP
and looks pretty much the same to me. Every time
I drive it looks the same. Now, statistically it may
be better.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
It may be, but the amount of trash and blight
and graffiti and the bodies walking aimlessly. When I get
on the one ten freeway, I see the same group
of people urinating and defecating in broad daylight. You can
tell me all the stats you want, but it doesn't
(30:34):
pass the eyeball test, and for me, I needed to
pass the eyeball test. I need to be able to say, wow,
I mean, I haven't seen any homeless people today. And
maybe that's being unrealistic. Maybe we'll never get to that point.
It's almost like saying, wow, I haven't seen any graffiti today.
That stuff is never going to happen. Yeah, okay, it's
just not going to happen. I wish I lived in
(30:54):
a world in which there was no graffiti. That's just
one of my personal pet peeves. It goes back to
your point about the Metro. It's fifty percent safer. And
then the next day you hear about a statutting right,
or someone dying or someone getting shot, and it's like, okay,
well then what happened there?
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Right?
Speaker 1 (31:12):
What do the stats mean if it hasn't fundamentally changed,
And a part of fundamental change it has to be
sustained over a period of time, and part of the
eyeball test is being able to see a market improvement
over a period of time. I have not experienced that
(31:33):
in my neighborhood. Of course, I don't live in Hollywood,
I don't live in Venice, so this study doesn't really
I don't live on skid Row, so this doesn't apply
to me directly. And I don't know if we can
get our arms around this homelessness problem. And population. I
don't know if we have the tools. I don't know
(31:54):
if we even have the temerity. I don't know if
we're really are committed to doing something about it. And
there are some factors which are just unchangeable. The cost
of living in LA is going to be ridiculous forever.
It's not like all of a sudden rents are going
to be cut in half. It's not like they're going
(32:14):
to be plentiful jobs tomorrow. Like there's not going to
be AI, there's not going to be automation. There's not
going to be an increase in technology which is going
to be working against the natural evolution of jobs. Those
things we can't change, So we may be just fighting
against reality as far as homelessness is concerned. But I
do know because I've traveled enough to see other countries
(32:37):
it's possible to do it. But those countries that I've
been to have been far more dedicated to helping people
and making sure that the things which are most important
are the people, not capitalism. And I don't mean it
like in South Korea. They have capitalism, but they care
(32:58):
about people more than anything. That's why they lead in education,
That's why they lead in healthcare. That's that's about caring
about people. It's not about having, you know, making sure
you're making seventeen dollars an hour. It's about making sure
that there is some degree of safety debt where you
don't have people living on the street. If you don't
have people living on the street, quality never mind. It's
(33:20):
late with Mo Kelly kf I AM six forty welived Everywhere,
the iHeartRadio
Speaker 3 (33:23):
App KSPI and kost HD two Los Angeles, Orange County
more stimulating talk
KF I am six forty YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, iHeartRadio app.
It's later with Mo Kelly and we're counting down to
Chateau le Mo this Friday, Independence Day, America's birthday, the
day in which Mark Runner refuses to show up and
do the show with us live in person.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, it's because I'm so dedicated to work. But we
would be working as well. You can do the news
from Chateau le Mo. Logistics are problematic, Mo.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Can't you like just write your news out in advance
take it off? Can't you do rcs from we?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Perhaps this isn't i'd am best discussed off air. I
would love to go. It sounds like fun, and I,
despite what you may think, I'm starved for human contact.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well, I'm just letting you know. The invitation is still
out there. It's extended to you. Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Let me just say that for the last five years
with COVID, I felt like I'm under house arrest with
work release.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
I'd love to go to a party. Okay, just letting
you know. Okay, But most importantly, today is Stephan's birthday.
He is a whole twenty four today that it is
twenty four. Oh, that's a hard twenty four, A rough one.
Happy birthday, Phosh, thank you. I know that you've been
celebrating all day long and people have been reminding you
(01:48):
of your birthday all day long, But how has your
birthday been thus far? It's been pretty good.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
You know, it started out pretty normal. I just you know,
got up, did my thing at home, you know, getting
ready for different shows, and then I come here and
then I had some pizza, which I know MO was
able to partake in luckily one slice.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
I had one slice.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I like that he was so specific because I was like,
I don't want to leave left out. I had won
just one. And then yeah, we had some fun that
so that was good. Do you have expectations going in?
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Some people put a lot on their birthdays, like they
have to have a great birthday, they have to do
something special, they have to have some sort of a
gift after. Do you have any type of expectations for
your birthday?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
No, because I got kind of lucky that it's so
close to the fourth. So we would usually celebrate my
like we would do like a really small gathering on
my actual birthday, and then as a kid, and then
we would kind of celebrate my birthday like as a
kind of a party on the fourth.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Okay with my family, so that was cool. Yeah, mine
is close to Thanksgiving, so it doesn't have that same
the same feel. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's fine getting family together,
but still I need focus to be on me, or
at least when I was a child, that's what I
wanted exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
None of that is as bad a rip off as
having your birthday on or around Christmas.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
You guys got off easy. I don't know about that.
Growing up, there were a lot of times where relatives
just gave us one gift for both. Oh, I wouldn't
tolerate that. I was in that window. I'm within a
month of Christmas, so people just said, here you go.
Oh that will not stand. Look, I know I went
through it. But what are you gonna say when you're
(03:21):
like twelve, that's messed up?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah with swear words? Yeah, well yeah, yeah, didn't get
my ass kicked. Well, you're the victim, don't be gas lit.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
No. I remember what I was, maybe six or seven,
and my mother had gone on a church trip to Vegas.
I know, strange, but she did. She was gone for
the weekend. I was staying at my babysitter house for
the weekend, and for some reason, I started cussing off
a storm, thinking like, no one's gonna hear me, no
one's gonna tell me. And I remember when they got
(03:53):
back in town. I was staying there. My father went
somewhere else, but they both came to pick me up
on like they returned to Sunday night, and my father
came on to me. I said, I heard you were
cussing up a storm while I was gone. I know
it was a very hushed, quiet tone, and he said,
(04:14):
I'll see you when we get home. Oh, and then
he tore my ass up when I got home. Okay,
So to this day, I don't say another mother father
cussword ever. Of course, not them all.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
When I was a child, I had my mouth literally
washed out with soap for swearing.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Oh, and they did that back then. That was not uncommon.
It's just it never happened to me. My parents' choice
of weapon was the belt with the belt buckle.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Neither really recommended. Honestly, it seems like they are better
ways to deal with that.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. You
might have experienced some child abuse straight up child abuse,
which is different. You could be on the market. Yes,
it's a little bit different. Yeah, but we have a
huge show tonight. Yes, we're going to get into the
di Verdict in just a moment. Yes, we're going to
be watching and letting you know what is happening in
(05:04):
the Dodger game. As Clayton Kershaw goes for his three
thousandth strikeout. He's already a first ballot Hall of Famer,
he's already immortalized in Dodger's history, but he's trying to
pass to three thousand strikeout plateau. Tonight. The game just
started just underway. We're watching it in the studio, so
we will let you know if and when it does happen.
(05:25):
Maybe we'll try to get some audio from that. And
also we have to talk about how California colleges can
now pay athletes directly and how you and me as
taxpayers might be footing some of the bill. In other news,
homeless populations have been dropping dramatically in both Hollywood and Venice.
(05:46):
We've heard how those have been almost traps for homelessness
where people just move there, and that may not be
the case anymore. We have so much to discuss, but
before we go to break. Yes, I'm sure you've all
seen the news of Diddy with that mixed verdict, that
mixed bag, a little bit of good news, but not
(06:06):
a lot of good news. But most notably, he was
not convicted on the most serious charges, specifically found not
guilty on one count of racketeering conspiracy, not guilty on
two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or corrosion,
but guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
(06:28):
You've heard the KFI twenty four news from detail this
information and also how he was remanded back to prison.
He was not granted bail in large part because of
the charges that he was found guilty on, he was
ineligible to be granted bail. So from what I heard
that he was expecting to go home until sentencing, that
(06:48):
is not going to be the place'd be the case.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I have.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Some real concerns about what this means big picture. Last night,
for my final thought, I was saying that this was
going to be a marker in the sense of where
we are in this post me to moment, and I
can point to mistakes that I believe in my humble
estimation that the prosecution made. In fact, I was not
(07:14):
sup surprised that the defense made no effort to call
any witnesses. They were basically daring the jurors to find
Sean Ditty Colmes guilty, thinking that the prosecution had met
their burden of proof, and for the most part, they
were right. And I'm not so sure I'm happy about
how this turned out. It's almost like, and Mark, you
(07:36):
would appreciate this. I just want to throw this word
in there. It's almost like a pyrrhic victory. Sure, all
this effort, all this fight to get Ditty in prison,
not saying that you just want to throw an innocent
man in prison, but there was a lot of effort.
We're talking about the full weight of the federal government
which came down on the head of Ditty, and they
(07:58):
got two convictions. And he most definitely is not going
to spend the most the rest of his life in prison.
He may possibly see some real time, but that's not
even guaranteed. And I wonder if it was much ado
about nothing really well put its way. I think about
what Cassie may be thinking, whether it was worth it,
(08:20):
whether all telling her story again and again on the
stand having to be cross examined. And I would say
that the prosecution kind of wasted that forward momentum and
did not build out the case thoroughly enough to demonstrate
racketeering and the more serious charges. If I were Cassie,
(08:42):
I would wonder. I don't know if she is thinking
that or has thought it, but I would wonder whether
it was all worth it because he's going to get out.
Let's say that give them ten years he's out, and
seven he's already served time service, like maybe a year
or so. I don't know if that it's going to
be enough for what they had to put up with.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I see your point, but it makes me think first
and foremost about the you know, Builden saying that there
are different justice systems for people with money and people without.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
And that's more evident right now than ever before. And
I wonder if if you happen to be a woman
who did not come forward connected to the Diddy history,
whether you said, WHOA thank goodness I didn't, or if
you're a woman who was sexually assaulted allegedly by another
powerful man, whether this gives you pause. It's later with
(09:35):
mo Kelly, we'll have more on Didty in just a moment.
KFI AM six forty live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app, Facebook,
Instagram and YouTube.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
KFI AM six forty is Later with mo Kelly. We're
live on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and the iHeartRadio app. And
i'd just gotten into my thoughts about the Diddy verdict,
which was a mixed bag. That's my terminology, was a
mixed verdict. And you can say, yeah, you're happy air
quotes that justice was done, but the way it played out,
(10:09):
it's very, very messy. He was convicted on the lesser charges,
he was acquitted on the more serious charges. It was
a seven week trial, had exhaustive, exhaustive media coverage, and
I would understand if you feel a bit empty or
it feels a bit incomplete. I mean, yes, they're still sentencing,
(10:31):
but the most that Diddy can get as a first
first time offender, mind you, is twenty years. So he's
not going to get twenty years. He was eligible for
ten years on these charge. I don't think he's going
to and the prosecutor is going to ask for that maximum.
They're not going to get that maximum, so we're talking
percentages of that, we're talking a fraction of that. I
(10:53):
expect him. I think he's going to get ten years
or fewer. He'll get credit for maybe a year served.
He'll be out in five or six, and then people
will move on with their lives. But the people who testify,
like Cassie Ventura and others, probably are very concerned. In fact,
Cassie's lawyer today released a statement talking about how dangerous
(11:16):
Didty is even now, and that was part of the
reason why some people refuse to come forward. Some people
refuse to testify because they were afraid for themselves and
their families. And I don't know if Ditty is dumb
enough my phrase, dumb enough to do something in revenge,
(11:36):
do something to those who might have spoken out against him.
But from what we know of him, there's reason to
be concerned. There's definitely reason to be concerned in the
way that Tawala and I were talking about how back
when this was happening in real time, there were real consequences.
There was a real fear for one's safety, for not
(11:58):
only themselves, and the whole thing about kid cutting his
car being blown up. That's an old story. I mean,
that's something that I know, Twalla and I have known
about for many, many years. But there are also some
other stories out there where there's a reason why it
was an open secret, open in the respect that, yeah,
we knew some of the things. There were more urban
(12:18):
legends and myths, but we weren't surprised when we got
the specifics when the video came out about Cassie in
the hotel that I don't think that really surprised anyone,
with the exception of those who have no understanding of
who did He purportedly.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Was so far from everything I've seen on social media.
I'm actually pleasantly surprised with the social media response to
the guilty verdicts. I expected there to be a whole
lot more cries of him and justice. I felt most
every person that I've looked at, every thread that I follow,
(12:56):
where I've read down in the comments west, everyone sees
it as quite possibly, for the first time in this America,
a known black figure not being lynched by the legal
system and given a just sentencing. Everyone thought that this
was going to go out of control and they were
(13:17):
going to go for you know, convictions on all charges
and it be out of control.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And I was like, no, he got.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Charged and was found guilty for the things that for
all of everyone that knows this, this is what he's
in there for. I think they overcharged him, overcharged absolutely,
And if he would have been charged for you know,
the racketeer and all that, then it would have been like, okay,
all right, come on, will he will he do time?
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Absolutely? Ten years? You got it, You said it right on.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
The only issue that that we have in the community
and a lot of people who are wondering still why
there wasn't more brought to the table against him is
because even though and remember a lot of people forget
day won to trial, there was a witness that was
supposed to come forward and did not. Day one disappeared,
(14:06):
disappeared from there are all types of reports of even
former security guards who are threatened who he was calling.
Member we talked about he was allegedly calling individuals from
the prison and he had a conversation with one of
a sudden saying, hey, you know speaking of judge, yes,
speaking the language of put a green light on that individual,
(14:29):
so forth and so on, which we understood what that
means in the streets, he was letting it be known
that this is someone who I know is out there
talking about me.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Take care of them. This is not done. The concern
is real, though it is. It's real for everyone who knows.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Even once he gets in prison and once he gets
access to a phone, access to communication, there's a lot
of people who are still nervous he is. There are
still angles that he can work to potentially make stuff
go away.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
When you're super rich. And yes, this trial was incredibly
expensive for Ditty. People don't think understand what that really
means as far as the resources which are still available
to Ditty. Yes, did he spend a lot of money
on this trial in his defense. Yes, But he's not broke.
You know, he still has all the rights all his
(15:19):
music publishing and all the songs that you hear on
the radio. He's still getting paid for. He's not going
to be destitute. He has access to things and people
who can harm others. And that is something that Cassie
and the people who didn't come forward, the people did
come forward to people who thought about coming forward, are
very concerned with. Now to you, when you were taking
(15:40):
your sample of social media, I'd noticed something else. I
noticed the idiots who were bathing themselves in baby oil
outside the courtroom. Excuse me, outside the court you know,
in celebration of Ditty being found not guilty on the
more serious charges. Look, my.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Block and delete finger was active today, and that's that's
one thing. One of the reasons why I was on
social media. Firstly, not necessarily to see what people were saying.
I was going on to see who I needed to block,
who is going to be talking bad about Cassie who?
You know, There's one individual who was like, when are
we gonna have the Cassie trials that up next? Block delete,
(16:24):
you know, stink things like that. I'm like, block deleite, oh, yes,
block the leade that. That was a lot of time
because I'm like, I love how people reveal themselves and
I'm like, oh, I believe that this is how you are. Okay,
cool cool.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Yeah. I always judge people, and yes, I do judge
because I'm clear on what the Bible says judging has
to do with eternal damnation, not being wary of our
associations and how people carry themselves. I usually judge people
by when by how they defend the indefensible, yes, or
when they want to step up to the plate to
(16:57):
defend the the incorrigible, the irredeemable, then I know exactly
who you are and who you value what you value.
This is not a question of well, there was a
question of whether Diddy was guilty or not guilty relative
to the charges, but it wasn't a question of whether
(17:18):
Diddy was a decent individual. And he doesn't have to
be found guilty on everything for you to realize that
he is a garbage individual. And he was not appropriately
charged with the right crimes for the court of law
to put him away for any extended period of time.
And we didn't have the requisite witnesses to come forward
(17:40):
to get it done. I don't blame completely blame the
prosecution team because they were hamstrung, which you highlighted how
at least one witness dropped out of sight. It was
a day one witness. I remember, that's the first day
of court. We don't know how many other witnesses they
planned a call and just not or could not depend
(18:01):
on because they were shaky, flaky, what have you. But
I don't believe that this is the end of it,
regardless of the sentencing. There's going to be some blowback
because I just know how the industry works. You know.
You look at I use Shug Night as an example.
He's been going back and forth with the people who
he felt did him wrong for the past twenty years.
(18:21):
He's hell, he's still talking about Tupac. Yes, still, these
grudges will go on for people's lives, and it's not
the desired result that we all may have wanted for Diddy,
but it does highlight how even still we can't get
it right as far as both believing women and protecting them.
(18:41):
It's Later with mo Kelly, caf I AM six forty
Live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app. When we come back,
we when we talk about how California colleges can now
pay athletes directly. We're not talking about name, image and
likeness in a third party corporation, pay them directly, which
means you and I may pay for that.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
JFI AM six forties Later with mo Kelly, We're live
everywhere on social media and the iHeartRadio app. Did you
know this? Starting today today, California universities can pay their
athletes directly. Here tofore, you'd have a middleman and name,
image and likenesses. You'd have let's say companies like Joe's
(19:30):
car Wash, and they would sponsor athletes. They would get
a fund together to help pay for athletes or entice
athletes to come to the university. So you had a
middle person. It wasn't the university directly paying. You could
have like a coalition or consortium of businesses and they'll
(19:52):
pool money together in the hopes of having top athletes
transfer from another university or truit athletes out of high school.
That's how it's been for the past few years. Now
it's changed where there's no pretense. You can just go
ahead and basically put these athletes on a pay roll
(20:12):
and pay them directly. I don't know if you know this,
but there's an estimate which suggests that some student athletes
that you see Berkeley Cal. Okay, Cal's not a huge
sports institution. Okay, they have football team, Yeah, they have
the basketball team, but neither's on the verge of winning
a national championship. Never have, never will. You know, they're
(20:33):
not a sports of a program. You see program like
that we're not talking about UCLA or anything like that.
Some student athletes that you see Berkeley make roughly two
hundred grand a year two hundred grand a year, and
all the money will usually pretty much go to football
(20:54):
and basketball players, the revenue generating sports. Those are the ones,
because the revenue generating sports are the ones that are
most in need of those high profile athletes. You have
a good football team, good basketball team, You go to
the NAMENT tournament, NC to a tournament if you're a
basketball team, or you go to a bowl game that
produces revenue for the institution. That's why it's really important
(21:18):
to get top talent. Now, if you're the water polo
team or you're the lacrosse team, it's nice that you
went to the NC two a's, but you're not bringing
in the type of money that the big sports are. Yeah,
you fit, you play field hockey, that's nice. You're on
the swimming team, oh believe for you. You're not generating
revenue for the university. That's why you have these name
(21:40):
and image and likenesses deals with all of these players,
and you want to make sure that you keep them happy.
Because it's wild, wild West out there. You can now
transfer from school to school. Well, let me back up.
It used to be if you transferred, let's say you
transferred from USC to UCLA, you'd have to sit out
a year. You couldn't transfer in twenty twenty five and
(22:01):
then play in twenty twenty six. That's how it used
to be. Now Ever since COVID and also these lawsuits
against the NC two A, they changed it where it's
free agency. You can go to a school one year,
you can go to a school next year. You can
go to another school the third year and not have
to set out. So there is really no deterrent. Without
(22:22):
getting into all the specifics, there's no real deterrent for
an athlete not to transfer, or there's no real deterrent
for an athlete to hold out and expect a bigger
bag of money. And if that bigger bag of money
doesn't come from the institution where he's presently playing, then
he'll play somewhere else. Now the universities can go tap
(22:45):
their own pockets and pay directly. Now this is not
exclusive of the coalition of businesses or consortium of businesses
which raise money to also help buy these players. Let's
call it what it is. They're buying these players. The
difference is you don't have to do the funny accounting.
You can pay directly. But when you talk about a
(23:06):
school like UCLA, or you talk about a school like
UC Berkeley, we're talking about the UC system, talking about
these public schools which are being funded by the state,
in part by our taxes. So when you see those
UCLA athletes, sorry to call you out, let's just say
you see San Diego, Let's just say you see Santa Cruz,
(23:28):
you see Santa Barbara. When you ever see those athletes,
know then that some of our taxes are going to
pay them that superstar quarterback for UCE school, for example,
our tax dollars. And some people may not be comfortable
with that. I get it, you think, wait a minute,
(23:50):
I didn't ask for that. I'm not asking for a
UCLA to have a great football team. I'm not asking
for UC Irvine to have a great baseball team. Why
are my taxes going to that. Well, you don't have
a say in that. You just have your money which
is going to go to these UC institutions and then
they can spend it however they see fit. So just
(24:10):
know that when you watch TV and you're watching maybe
Ucla play Michigan in the Big Ten. There's millions of
dollars on that field in the form of payments directly
to the players. The whole idea of amateurism exists no longer.
It's Later with mo Kelly KFIM six forty Live everywhere
(24:30):
in the iHeartRadio app And now we're going to go
to the other end of the spectrum and talk about
some of the homeless populations in southern California, which evidently
have been dramatically dropping in both Hollywood and Venice. We'll
see why in just a moment.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
kfi AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
It's Later with mo Kelly. Let's talk about the homeless situation.
There might be just a glint of good news. According
to the Santa Monica based Rand Corporation, the number of
unsheltered people in Hollywood, skid Row and Venice decrease fifteen
percent in twenty twenty four in comparison to the prior year.
(25:18):
But according to the study, it was likely driven by
interim increased interim and permanent housing programs. So you can
at least point to some data and suggest that some
programs that Mayor Bass has sponsored and created is having
some sort of positive impact, but it's it's with the caveat.
(25:40):
The study found nearly seven hundred percent decrease in the
combined unsheltered populations of Hollywood a forty nine percent decline
and Venice a twenty two percent decline. But here's the caveat.
That was offset in part by one hundred and seventy
percent increase in skid Row, a nine percent increase. And
(26:00):
so although we are able to decrease the number of unsheltered,
unhoused homeless people in certain areas, invariably there are new
people who are either moving from one homeless location to
another or they are newly homeless and joining those populations.
(26:21):
And as I've said before, and this kind of confirms it,
these populations are not static. It's not like you start
off with three hundred homeless people in Hollywood and then
you have to decrease it from there. No, you may
find temporary housing for twenty or thirty people, and then
you may have five or six new homeless. And that's
something that you're always fighting against, is not just finding
(26:44):
a place for the presently homeless, but also addressing the
root causes and issues which lead to someone becoming homeless.
Because someone is homeless today who was not homeless yesterday.
Someone was homeless in Hollywood and now they're homeless in
some other location. It's almost like rearranging deck chairs on
(27:07):
the Titanic. If you're not actually dealing with the iceberg
or the hole in the ship, then you're not actually
improving the problem. And the question is are we moving
the homeless from one area to another or are we
actually decreasing it overall and also lessening the likelihood that
people who are living on the edge will end up homeless?
(27:30):
Are we decreasing that likelihood? And that's the thing which
is i'll say less clear for me that I'm less
sure about. And although we can say big picture total numbers,
they're fewer homeless people. But are we just talking about
La City, as this study would tell you. But what
does that mean if we're talking about La County, Because
(27:52):
there are a lot of people who may become homeless
in La City and they move one street over if
you know the geographical layout of La and then you're
in La County and maybe you've decreased the number of
homeless people in La City, but you've increased a number
of homeless people in La County. And you know how
they talk about statistics. They can tell you whatever you
(28:14):
want them to tell you if you cut them up right,
And this may be that. But at the same time,
we're not seeing, or at least I'm not seeing in
this study, any real focus on the causes of why
people are becoming homeless. And if you can stop the
flow of people who are becoming homeless, then you can
have a real discussion about whether these policies are actually
(28:38):
working and also making that transition from homeless unsheltered to
temporary housing to permanent housing. And I know the homeless
situation is like trying to end world hunger. You're not
going to eradicate it, but you can mitigate it, you
could lessen it. But always there's this problem of the
(29:00):
people who just don't want to see homeless people as
opposed to dealing with the actual problem. And there is
the eyeball test. When I walk outside in my neighborhood
and I can't speak for Stefan, but we live close
enough where we have view of the same general neighborhoods.
You can tell me that are I'm just making up
a number. Four hundred fewer people in La County. Few
(29:25):
were homeless people in La County. But when I walk
outside my door, it looks about the same. I see
the same people doing the same things in the same area.
And that's not including the people who are living in
RVs right around the corner. That's not including the transient
(29:46):
homeless population who I can see. They don't have a
place that they've set up, but they're just kind of
moving through the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Even the drive into work, because we have the same TI,
but I drive through downtown once they hit usc YEP
and looks pretty much the same to me. Every time
I drive it looks the same. Now, statistically it may
be better.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
It may be, but the amount of trash and blight
and graffiti and the bodies walking aimlessly. When I get
on the one ten freeway, I see the same group
of people urinating and defecating in broad daylight. You can
tell me all the stats you want, but it doesn't
(30:34):
pass the eyeball test, and for me, I needed to
pass the eyeball test. I need to be able to say, wow,
I mean, I haven't seen any homeless people today. And
maybe that's being unrealistic. Maybe we'll never get to that point.
It's almost like saying, wow, I haven't seen any graffiti today.
That stuff is never going to happen. Yeah, okay, it's
just not going to happen. I wish I lived in
(30:54):
a world in which there was no graffiti. That's just
one of my personal pet peeves. It goes back to
your point about the Metro. It's fifty percent safer. And
then the next day you hear about a statutting right,
or someone dying or someone getting shot, and it's like, okay,
well then what happened there?
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Right?
Speaker 1 (31:12):
What do the stats mean if it hasn't fundamentally changed,
And a part of fundamental change it has to be
sustained over a period of time, and part of the
eyeball test is being able to see a market improvement
over a period of time. I have not experienced that
(31:33):
in my neighborhood. Of course, I don't live in Hollywood,
I don't live in Venice, so this study doesn't really
I don't live on skid Row, so this doesn't apply
to me directly. And I don't know if we can
get our arms around this homelessness problem. And population. I
don't know if we have the tools. I don't know
(31:54):
if we even have the temerity. I don't know if
we're really are committed to doing something about it. And
there are some factors which are just unchangeable. The cost
of living in LA is going to be ridiculous forever.
It's not like all of a sudden rents are going
to be cut in half. It's not like they're going
(32:14):
to be plentiful jobs tomorrow. Like there's not going to
be AI, there's not going to be automation. There's not
going to be an increase in technology which is going
to be working against the natural evolution of jobs. Those
things we can't change, So we may be just fighting
against reality as far as homelessness is concerned. But I
do know because I've traveled enough to see other countries
(32:37):
it's possible to do it. But those countries that I've
been to have been far more dedicated to helping people
and making sure that the things which are most important
are the people, not capitalism. And I don't mean it
like in South Korea. They have capitalism, but they care
(32:58):
about people more than anything. That's why they lead in education,
That's why they lead in healthcare. That's that's about caring
about people. It's not about having, you know, making sure
you're making seventeen dollars an hour. It's about making sure
that there is some degree of safety debt where you
don't have people living on the street. If you don't
have people living on the street, quality never mind. It's
(33:20):
late with Mo Kelly kf I AM six forty welived Everywhere,
the iHeartRadio
Speaker 3 (33:23):
App KSPI and kost HD two Los Angeles, Orange County
more stimulating talk
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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