May 2, 2025 • 24 mins
(Friday 05/02/25)
Los Angeles is trying to figure out how to close the $1BIL budget gap. Layoffs are coming to the LAPD. 7 million people have Alzheimer’s. The end of the ‘generic’ grocery store brand.
Los Angeles is trying to figure out how to close the $1BIL budget gap. Layoffs are coming to the LAPD. 7 million people have Alzheimer’s. The end of the ‘generic’ grocery store brand.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from kf I
AM six forty KFI AM six forty Bill handle Here
do on a Friday morning. Jobs report just came out
and surprisingly strong in light of even the tariff the
tariffs coming back in. So it's I guess for the
(00:24):
economy right now this moment is doing pretty well more
it's better than a lot of people expect it. Now,
before I get into the overhaul of the LAPD very quickly,
just before the break, we were talking. Last story we
were doing was about Trump being let's say, self aggrandizing
and sort of becoming all all encompassing. The presidency is everything,
(00:50):
and Neil, I wish I had come up with this.
Trump has ordered the National Earthquake Centers to now when
reporting how severe a an earthquake is, we'll be using
the word magnitude. We have a seven point nine magnitude.
(01:12):
The greatest storywake of all time.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, you just earthquake. It was the hugest YEA earthquakes
like that.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
It did damage Neil. It was very funny.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Uh, he is a care please.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh someone's not muting okay, I no idea who that is? Okay,
Now we're good Okay, now moving on and we're going
to talk about the overhaul of the l a p D.
A quick word about what's important and what is not
important when cuts are being made, and obviously cuts have
to be made in the city because there's a billion
dollars shortfall and the budget this year. Things like well
(01:51):
programs to help kids and music programs and things to
help the homeless. Uh, you know it. It's it's important,
but it does affect us. Every day calling the cops
and no one's showing up. That affects us. That affects
us not only physically, but it also affects us in
(02:11):
terms of our morale. So with that, there ain't no money,
and our sheriff Jan McDonald who came in and said,
you know, I'm going to take stock in the department.
Within ninety days, we're going to start overhauling what's needed fixing.
And here we are six months later, not much has changed,
(02:32):
and questions will McDonald actually shake things up, and a
lot of people are saying, man, we have to. The
chief situation is the LAPD is looking at the possibility
of losing more than four hundred civilian workers to layoffs
as the budget deficit kicks into place. Now, these are
jobs that have to be done. I mean there's no
(02:54):
question about it. Cars have to be fixed, people have
to be at the front desk when you call. It's
not good to have a menu, I mean you have
to talk to people. And so civilian jobs that have
to be done are going to be done with a
person that was sworn in peace officers cops because there
(03:15):
ain't no money and the cops are already there. Then
you have the issue of overtime, which we'll talk about
it another time. And so council members are trying to
figure out how to save these positions that are on
the chopping block, and not only not hiring and letting
people go with the layoffs, but reducing overtime funds, slowing
(03:37):
down the hiring of new police recruits. We are understaffed
with the cops. We should have about ten thousand cops.
I mean that is sort of the sweet spot for
this city, even though that's lower in terms of per
pack per capita, fewer than any major city in the
United States.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
What do they have like thirteen thousand or so for
New York.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Oh, no, more than that, way more than that. But
then New York also has ten million people. We don't,
but Houston has more cops. You've got other cities. I
think Atlanta has more cops. I mean, this is not good.
We don't have the money. So there are two organizations.
There are two parts of the city that traditionally get
sort of all the money they want, generally police officers,
(04:25):
fire fire department. No, you can't say no. The firefighters.
They're saving your house and they go in and rescue
babies in homes that are burning, which, by the way,
is their job, and they're all heroes that do that
for some reason. You do your job, you're a hero.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Okay, fine, well you do that kind of job, you're
a hero.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
No, you sign up for that. You're not a hero.
You're signing up. Sign you sign up and you do it.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
You're you roll your dumb ass out of bed with
shorts on and a bad Costco shirt and you sit
behind a mic.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You sign up for that. That is a hero.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
When you sign up for people to shoot at you
or put your life in danger every single day.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yes, I don't buy that. I think you sign up.
You sign up for those jobs and that's just the
cost of doing business. Then don't sign up for those jobs.
By the way, you mentioned the fact that during the summer,
I also go commando as long as my shirt is
showing above the desk, and you're right, I just I
wouldn't sign up, but people do. I don't sign up
(05:26):
for the military. I don't go in and become a
Green Beret. I don't become a ranger. That's what people do.
They're not heroes. They are, but it doesn't matter. I mean,
we can talk heroes now. There are heroic things that
are done, but again it's their job. It's to the
extent their job is okay. Anyway, that's another issue. The
(05:47):
point is is they're shaking it up, and where does
McDonald go And I don't know. He's not gonna have
the money. And so this is a time when normally
are going to get what they want. Police protective legos
in there and cops gender. The benefits are great, a
lot of overtime if you want it now. Unfortunately it's
(06:08):
mandatory over time. The pay is pretty good, but now,
I mean it's come to a screeching halt. Incidentally, firefighters
they don't make as much money here, and cops don't
do as well. What cops do is they get trained
by the academy here, one of the best academies in
the country, the LA Police Academy and the Sheriff's Academy,
and then they go off to these smaller jurisdictions and
(06:32):
get one hundred and twenty hundred and thirty thousand dollars
a year where our cops don't. And so that's the
other thing. In order to be competitive, we have to
raise wages to the point where that's going to break
the city. This is a city that you would argue
is ungovernable. County is doing okay, and I would argue
(06:53):
the county is ungovernable. So we'll see what McDonald has
to say, and call what nine to one incidentally, and
see how long it takes, see how long you're on
hold or how long the phone is ringing. And the
other problem I've been pushing this forever. Frivolous calls to
nine one one should be a felony and no one
(07:15):
gets tagged for it. Someone is having a heart attack,
you call nine to one one and you get an
ambulance and you have the dispatcher talking about someone's corn
bread recipe because they're calling nine to one one.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
No, wait, wait, what kind of corn bread?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
I know, jalapino cornbread which is very strong, that's nice,
or corn bread without with corn kernels in it.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
You know, I was everybody coming down on me because
I was questioning the intensity of reaction to the possibility
of them closing down animal shelters, which I know, of
which we have six of, which I know is a
sad and horrible thing. But where's outrage when we can't
pay for law enforcement or for the civilillion folks.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Well, the only thing, the only thing that is it. Yeah,
the only thing that's more important than cops is animal shelters.
And saving animal is like we.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Are leading with our heart instead of our heads. And well,
yeah that's a given.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Well what a shocker that is? All right? Now, I
have told you and have complained about the cutting of
programs and what the Trump administration is doing, uh, throwing
the baby out with the bathwater, and not just the bathwater,
but the bathtub. Uh and the bathroom and the house
and the neighborhood, going through what programs and funding and
(08:36):
defunding I mean with a tractor. Uh. So here is
one and this is a situation in which uh, this
sort of proves the point too fast, too quick. Fundamentally,
the Donald Trump is right about how unfair the balance
of trade is. It's a lot more complicated than that,
because in some cases we have no choice. In some
(08:57):
cases it makes sense. But the big sick premise is correct.
It is unfair. So what he is doing is changing
America completely, among other things. So, doctor Charles Decarley, this
is a story, who was co director of the U C.
Davis Alzheimer's Research Center, got a call March twenty fourth,
your study has been terminated. Now. Decarly has been conducting
(09:21):
a six year examination funded by the NIH of brain
and vascular conditions that can be risk factors for dementia.
The study involved hundreds of medical staff, fourteen research sites,
seventeen hundred patients, nineteen clinical locations, and was building towards
twenty two hundred and fifty patients. He said, this was
(09:43):
the culmination of my career, the pinnacle of my research
over the last thirty eight years. Fifty three million dollar payments.
That was the study. It cost fifty three million dollars
paid in annual allotments, and it was approved during President
trump first term. Now we have term two, and the
(10:05):
administration has taken a chainsaw to universities and federal jobs
and federal funding. Whether you believe in the premise at all,
but he has done this with a chain saw scientific research.
And there's talk of a brain drain where these high
end scientists are just leaving the country. So the letter
from the NIH informed a caarly that his study has
(10:28):
artificial and non scientific categories, was on the chalk being blocked.
It no longer effectuates agency priorities. By the way, it
was one of fourteen of these kinds of research projects
that were defunded. This one has to do with Alzheimer's.
Seven million of us in the US age sixty five
(10:48):
and older have Alzheimer's. It's the seventh leading cause of death,
expected to roughly double in the next thirty five years.
And this is the funny one. Okay, this is what
he said. I don't know if it's true or not.
He suspects he was targeted because the name of his study,
the clinical significance of incidental white matter lesions on MRI
(11:11):
amongst a diverse population with cognitive complaints. And we know
for a fact that the Drump administation is going three
going through DEI programs just on their names, and they
are that's a fact. And he says, wait a minute, diverse.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Here is a reference to the spectrum of health and age.
It has nothing to do at all with DEI, but
it has the word diverse.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I know, Neil is going crazy. This is what Di
Carlo says that. Okay, I'm telling you, this is what
he believes. Also, his study of a lifetime has been defunded,
and so he is scrambling. And I mean, what does
he do. I mean, does he believe from the f
from the FEDS artificial and non scientific categories, the study
(12:05):
of Alzheimer's on what causes it? I mean, it seemed
to me pretty important, but you're right, the word diverse
is in there. By the way, someone came back and said,
hey man, this happens with this is what the NIH
is doing all day long cutting spending. And someone goes, hey, guys,
this is important stuff. And the NIH did turn around
(12:28):
and refunded it. But it is crazy out there. I mean,
it's beyond comprehension what's going on out there. And by
the way, his clinical partners, each of them had to
be contacted. They had to contact as many as one
(12:50):
hundred patient each because of the termination, and then they
recall back saying you're back on the study. A few
days later. Everybody is spinning on this stuff. No one
has any idea. Now is it true? Which one do
you take? The letter that was given to de Carlos
(13:12):
saying your study no longer is the point of our
scientific research. We think it is now superfluous. Do you
buy that one? Well, Decarly says no. It's the word diverse.
And if you remember it, there is a program out
(13:35):
there or the Trump administration is. He has said we
are going to stop every program that even references diverse
or dei huh okay. Now do you remember nineteen seventies
inflation was insane. No one had any money, so a
(13:55):
few grocery stores had an idea buying food straight from
the man manufacturer, putting it into this no frills packaging,
the blue label. Everything was blue label, and selling it
for less than the name brand stuff. These were called
generics and they were got awful. If you remember, neil
(14:17):
ps were starchy, corn was bland. I mean, it wasn't
good stuff. You remember that, I do?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
I remember the white labels with the blue stripe that
just had Yeah, you had no idea.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, but here is a question I'm going to ask you,
the manufacturer. The stores didn't manufacture their own corn flakes.
They bottom from the big boys, and in many cases
they were from the same line, the food line. It's
just a group of corn corn flakes went off into
a different conveyor belt. We're putting in these ridiculous packages.
(14:55):
Why the reputation of having such crap.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Because not all of them were that way.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I mean, you remember the toastios or whatever, and it
would be like, try to be like tasty loops or
what and you're like, trust me, my mom would buy
those in big bags.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
And we knew the difference immediately.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
You know, you have seven kids and you're trying to
get them cereals that are colorful.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
We could tell they were crap.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Okay, now let's fast forward. Okay, we're in the same
place now, high inflation, people scrambling for money and they
want to go to the store, and do you buy
a product that is not a name brand? And one
store started all of well actually two started all of
(15:46):
the nowadays generic the generic brands and Neil. You don't
know what I'm you know, we have not planned on this.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
No, I haven't read the story you're looking at it.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
You have not, So give me if you had to
guess two stores that are doing generic, well, it's not generic,
non branded, non major branded products.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Who would you come to mind?
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Would eat Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
That's what, okay? Are Costco and Trader Joe's.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Well, it is Costco and Trader Joe's. And you're right,
Whole Foods, which I didn't think of.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
They had the three sixty five which came to mind, right.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
And so here what I want to do. I want
to come back and continue this conversation because why is
today's generic foods in many cases better than the name
brand stuff, better and cheaper? And who actually started all
this in a big, big way was Trader Joe's and
(16:48):
their marketing is genius. And I want to talk about
Costco and then the Whole Foods I don't talk about
because Whole Foods is ridiculous. It's so expensive. An Amazon
bought it and then it became half a Whole Foods.
It used to be Whole Paycheck, remember they used to
call it. I just went into Whole Foods the other
day for something. And I could not believe the cost
of steaks. I couldn't. I mean, I just that's impossible.
(17:11):
They can't cost it.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
To arowon or arowon or however you're pronounce no.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
But then you have Bristol Farms and you have Gelson's.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Arowan will put everybody to shame.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
I have not. I have not, So I'm going to
go there and buy a Hamburger patty enough at pay
what eighteen dollars a pound for hamburger on a good day,
We'll be back.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
You have to finance when you walk in.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
What's going on? Are It's a replay of what happened
in the seventies, and that is inflation was high, economy
was in sort of trouble, and people were worried, and
so we bought Generics at the stores and they were
white labeled with the blue stripes, and we had no
idea who made him, and the stuff was for the
most part kind of terrible. We're doing the same thing
(18:01):
today and it's sort of a it's a pattern that's
been happening where you have Generics, except they're the store's
own brand, and the difference is today. Those generics are
in many cases better than the name brands. All started
with Trader Joe's, and Trader Joe's has the Trader Joe's label.
(18:23):
Of course, it doesn't make its own bread, and it
doesn't make its own enchiladas. And the quality is insanely
good and the prices are fantastic. Kirkland products amazing great quality,
I mean great quality Kirkland because they go direct. There
(18:44):
are no distributors involved, and that saves a pile of money.
And they don't advertise. There's no marketing for these products either.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And you know what their standards are. Their standards are.
It has to.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Compete with has to be equal to or better than
the best of that category. So like the olive oil,
they're Kirklan olive oil for price point and all of
that has to be at least equal to what's out
there already and usually better. So you're not you know,
we have the brand there at Walmart is great value.
(19:23):
Great value is their brand. And Tracy, my wife, just
brought home three sauces, one which is very similar to
the In and Out Burger sauce. There's one that is
damn near identical to the Chick fil A sauce and
which is a great sauce, by the way, And I
(19:44):
was blown away at the quality of these simple condiments.
You know that they're nailing the flavors on and they're
cheap as hell.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, case in point, go to Chick fil A and
buy one of their little bottles of sauces that you
can take, and you spend so much when you're relative
to going to a Walmart, which I don't go to.
I go to Ralph's and Kroger. Brand products are as
good as the name brand products. And I will excuse
(20:13):
me a little froggy there. And the part that I
really enjoy. One things about Trader Joe's probably the best
marketed organization. Their marketing is beyond comprehension. It's so good.
They're the fearless flyer. Their publication that comes out once
a month is so well written. You want to buy
(20:33):
everything that's on that they advertise on that everything and.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
The other's funny, it's playful.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
And the other thing about Generis and what these these
companies are doing, these stores are doing, is they're creating
flavors and products that don't exist even in the name
brand world. And they are absolutely delicious. Different flavor muffins
and different flavors. I mean the enchiladas. I bought some
(21:02):
enchiladas the other day. Also, I go to Trader Joe's
and they have Indian food. The individual packaged Indian food
product is made out of Canada, only place that I
know it exists, and it is dirt cheap. I mean
you have a meal for three dollars and fifty cents
and entree with rice and butter, chicken or vindalou you
(21:26):
know lamb.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
East Indian contingent in Canada.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Oh, they do a great job. So are you a
big fan of these generic products?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Because I love them absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
I have started replaced I mean Kirkland obviously, like Kirkland
vodka and things like that.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
They really have.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
They've got great booze, they have great olive oil. There's
a lot that we now have switched to in the
house that are store brands, like I said, with great
value there at Walmart KERR Glen.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Now, as far as the alcohol is concerned, I have
an expert at home. You know, I don't drink. Lindsey,
on the other hand, is a falling down drunk who
every night she drinks so much. She literally falls off
the chair.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
It explains a lot.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah, she listening, I don't know in the other room.
Yeah she's a lush so uh yeah, she's not listening.
Will she's not listening. She's in she's in the hot tub. Okay,
in any case, she she says that the Kirklan brand
of liquor is not the same. That is not the same.
(22:40):
So I don't know.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
No, its like I some of the their their flavored.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Whiskey is not my favorite.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
But there their vodka I think will go up against
most vodka's big time. And uh, they do have a
good whiskey. Well, they have a good tequila.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Okay, you know, I don't know. Let me ask go
ask lindsay she may yeah, she may be floating, floating
in the hot tubs, face down. I have no idea,
and I'll go check her out. Okay, I'll ask her. Okay,
we're done. Coming up, We're gonna make it a little
different because I'm leaving at the bottom of the hour
at eight thirty, I have a doctor's appointment, So it's
(23:25):
ask handle anything coming up the next two segments, and
then Neil is taking it with Foody Friday at eight thirty.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Hey Bill, wait, hold on one quick thing, because I
know you're grilling a lot now.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Is the signature select at Vaughn's.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Their Butcher's Trio Burger Patty's pre made are excellent.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Oh okay, excellent? All right, Vaughn's fair enough, okay KF
I am sixty you've been listening to The Bill Handle Show.
Catch My Show Monday through Friday, six am to nine am,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from kf I
AM six forty KFI AM six forty Bill handle Here
do on a Friday morning. Jobs report just came out
and surprisingly strong in light of even the tariff the
tariffs coming back in. So it's I guess for the
(00:24):
economy right now this moment is doing pretty well more
it's better than a lot of people expect it. Now,
before I get into the overhaul of the LAPD very quickly,
just before the break, we were talking. Last story we
were doing was about Trump being let's say, self aggrandizing
and sort of becoming all all encompassing. The presidency is everything,
(00:50):
and Neil, I wish I had come up with this.
Trump has ordered the National Earthquake Centers to now when
reporting how severe a an earthquake is, we'll be using
the word magnitude. We have a seven point nine magnitude.
(01:12):
The greatest storywake of all time.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, you just earthquake. It was the hugest YEA earthquakes
like that.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
It did damage Neil. It was very funny.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Uh, he is a care please.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh someone's not muting okay, I no idea who that is? Okay,
Now we're good Okay, now moving on and we're going
to talk about the overhaul of the l a p D.
A quick word about what's important and what is not
important when cuts are being made, and obviously cuts have
to be made in the city because there's a billion
dollars shortfall and the budget this year. Things like well
(01:51):
programs to help kids and music programs and things to
help the homeless. Uh, you know it. It's it's important,
but it does affect us. Every day calling the cops
and no one's showing up. That affects us. That affects
us not only physically, but it also affects us in
(02:11):
terms of our morale. So with that, there ain't no money,
and our sheriff Jan McDonald who came in and said,
you know, I'm going to take stock in the department.
Within ninety days, we're going to start overhauling what's needed fixing.
And here we are six months later, not much has changed,
(02:32):
and questions will McDonald actually shake things up, and a
lot of people are saying, man, we have to. The
chief situation is the LAPD is looking at the possibility
of losing more than four hundred civilian workers to layoffs
as the budget deficit kicks into place. Now, these are
jobs that have to be done. I mean there's no
(02:54):
question about it. Cars have to be fixed, people have
to be at the front desk when you call. It's
not good to have a menu, I mean you have
to talk to people. And so civilian jobs that have
to be done are going to be done with a
person that was sworn in peace officers cops because there
(03:15):
ain't no money and the cops are already there. Then
you have the issue of overtime, which we'll talk about
it another time. And so council members are trying to
figure out how to save these positions that are on
the chopping block, and not only not hiring and letting
people go with the layoffs, but reducing overtime funds, slowing
(03:37):
down the hiring of new police recruits. We are understaffed
with the cops. We should have about ten thousand cops.
I mean that is sort of the sweet spot for
this city, even though that's lower in terms of per
pack per capita, fewer than any major city in the
United States.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
What do they have like thirteen thousand or so for
New York.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Oh, no, more than that, way more than that. But
then New York also has ten million people. We don't,
but Houston has more cops. You've got other cities. I
think Atlanta has more cops. I mean, this is not good.
We don't have the money. So there are two organizations.
There are two parts of the city that traditionally get
sort of all the money they want, generally police officers,
(04:25):
fire fire department. No, you can't say no. The firefighters.
They're saving your house and they go in and rescue
babies in homes that are burning, which, by the way,
is their job, and they're all heroes that do that
for some reason. You do your job, you're a hero.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Okay, fine, well you do that kind of job, you're
a hero.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
No, you sign up for that. You're not a hero.
You're signing up. Sign you sign up and you do it.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
You're you roll your dumb ass out of bed with
shorts on and a bad Costco shirt and you sit
behind a mic.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You sign up for that. That is a hero.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
When you sign up for people to shoot at you
or put your life in danger every single day.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yes, I don't buy that. I think you sign up.
You sign up for those jobs and that's just the
cost of doing business. Then don't sign up for those jobs.
By the way, you mentioned the fact that during the summer,
I also go commando as long as my shirt is
showing above the desk, and you're right, I just I
wouldn't sign up, but people do. I don't sign up
(05:26):
for the military. I don't go in and become a
Green Beret. I don't become a ranger. That's what people do.
They're not heroes. They are, but it doesn't matter. I mean,
we can talk heroes now. There are heroic things that
are done, but again it's their job. It's to the
extent their job is okay. Anyway, that's another issue. The
(05:47):
point is is they're shaking it up, and where does
McDonald go And I don't know. He's not gonna have
the money. And so this is a time when normally
are going to get what they want. Police protective legos
in there and cops gender. The benefits are great, a
lot of overtime if you want it now. Unfortunately it's
(06:08):
mandatory over time. The pay is pretty good, but now,
I mean it's come to a screeching halt. Incidentally, firefighters
they don't make as much money here, and cops don't
do as well. What cops do is they get trained
by the academy here, one of the best academies in
the country, the LA Police Academy and the Sheriff's Academy,
and then they go off to these smaller jurisdictions and
(06:32):
get one hundred and twenty hundred and thirty thousand dollars
a year where our cops don't. And so that's the
other thing. In order to be competitive, we have to
raise wages to the point where that's going to break
the city. This is a city that you would argue
is ungovernable. County is doing okay, and I would argue
(06:53):
the county is ungovernable. So we'll see what McDonald has
to say, and call what nine to one incidentally, and
see how long it takes, see how long you're on
hold or how long the phone is ringing. And the
other problem I've been pushing this forever. Frivolous calls to
nine one one should be a felony and no one
(07:15):
gets tagged for it. Someone is having a heart attack,
you call nine to one one and you get an
ambulance and you have the dispatcher talking about someone's corn
bread recipe because they're calling nine to one one.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
No, wait, wait, what kind of corn bread?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
I know, jalapino cornbread which is very strong, that's nice,
or corn bread without with corn kernels in it.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
You know, I was everybody coming down on me because
I was questioning the intensity of reaction to the possibility
of them closing down animal shelters, which I know, of
which we have six of, which I know is a
sad and horrible thing. But where's outrage when we can't
pay for law enforcement or for the civilillion folks.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Well, the only thing, the only thing that is it. Yeah,
the only thing that's more important than cops is animal shelters.
And saving animal is like we.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Are leading with our heart instead of our heads. And well,
yeah that's a given.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Well what a shocker that is? All right? Now, I
have told you and have complained about the cutting of
programs and what the Trump administration is doing, uh, throwing
the baby out with the bathwater, and not just the bathwater,
but the bathtub. Uh and the bathroom and the house
and the neighborhood, going through what programs and funding and
(08:36):
defunding I mean with a tractor. Uh. So here is
one and this is a situation in which uh, this
sort of proves the point too fast, too quick. Fundamentally,
the Donald Trump is right about how unfair the balance
of trade is. It's a lot more complicated than that,
because in some cases we have no choice. In some
(08:57):
cases it makes sense. But the big sick premise is correct.
It is unfair. So what he is doing is changing
America completely, among other things. So, doctor Charles Decarley, this
is a story, who was co director of the U C.
Davis Alzheimer's Research Center, got a call March twenty fourth,
your study has been terminated. Now. Decarly has been conducting
(09:21):
a six year examination funded by the NIH of brain
and vascular conditions that can be risk factors for dementia.
The study involved hundreds of medical staff, fourteen research sites,
seventeen hundred patients, nineteen clinical locations, and was building towards
twenty two hundred and fifty patients. He said, this was
(09:43):
the culmination of my career, the pinnacle of my research
over the last thirty eight years. Fifty three million dollar payments.
That was the study. It cost fifty three million dollars
paid in annual allotments, and it was approved during President
trump first term. Now we have term two, and the
(10:05):
administration has taken a chainsaw to universities and federal jobs
and federal funding. Whether you believe in the premise at all,
but he has done this with a chain saw scientific research.
And there's talk of a brain drain where these high
end scientists are just leaving the country. So the letter
from the NIH informed a caarly that his study has
(10:28):
artificial and non scientific categories, was on the chalk being blocked.
It no longer effectuates agency priorities. By the way, it
was one of fourteen of these kinds of research projects
that were defunded. This one has to do with Alzheimer's.
Seven million of us in the US age sixty five
(10:48):
and older have Alzheimer's. It's the seventh leading cause of death,
expected to roughly double in the next thirty five years.
And this is the funny one. Okay, this is what
he said. I don't know if it's true or not.
He suspects he was targeted because the name of his study,
the clinical significance of incidental white matter lesions on MRI
(11:11):
amongst a diverse population with cognitive complaints. And we know
for a fact that the Drump administation is going three
going through DEI programs just on their names, and they
are that's a fact. And he says, wait a minute, diverse.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Here is a reference to the spectrum of health and age.
It has nothing to do at all with DEI, but
it has the word diverse.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I know, Neil is going crazy. This is what Di
Carlo says that. Okay, I'm telling you, this is what
he believes. Also, his study of a lifetime has been defunded,
and so he is scrambling. And I mean, what does
he do. I mean, does he believe from the f
from the FEDS artificial and non scientific categories, the study
(12:05):
of Alzheimer's on what causes it? I mean, it seemed
to me pretty important, but you're right, the word diverse
is in there. By the way, someone came back and said,
hey man, this happens with this is what the NIH
is doing all day long cutting spending. And someone goes, hey, guys,
this is important stuff. And the NIH did turn around
(12:28):
and refunded it. But it is crazy out there. I mean,
it's beyond comprehension what's going on out there. And by
the way, his clinical partners, each of them had to
be contacted. They had to contact as many as one
(12:50):
hundred patient each because of the termination, and then they
recall back saying you're back on the study. A few
days later. Everybody is spinning on this stuff. No one
has any idea. Now is it true? Which one do
you take? The letter that was given to de Carlos
(13:12):
saying your study no longer is the point of our
scientific research. We think it is now superfluous. Do you
buy that one? Well, Decarly says no. It's the word diverse.
And if you remember it, there is a program out
(13:35):
there or the Trump administration is. He has said we
are going to stop every program that even references diverse
or dei huh okay. Now do you remember nineteen seventies
inflation was insane. No one had any money, so a
(13:55):
few grocery stores had an idea buying food straight from
the man manufacturer, putting it into this no frills packaging,
the blue label. Everything was blue label, and selling it
for less than the name brand stuff. These were called
generics and they were got awful. If you remember, neil
(14:17):
ps were starchy, corn was bland. I mean, it wasn't
good stuff. You remember that, I do?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
I remember the white labels with the blue stripe that
just had Yeah, you had no idea.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, but here is a question I'm going to ask you,
the manufacturer. The stores didn't manufacture their own corn flakes.
They bottom from the big boys, and in many cases
they were from the same line, the food line. It's
just a group of corn corn flakes went off into
a different conveyor belt. We're putting in these ridiculous packages.
(14:55):
Why the reputation of having such crap.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Because not all of them were that way.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I mean, you remember the toastios or whatever, and it
would be like, try to be like tasty loops or
what and you're like, trust me, my mom would buy
those in big bags.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
And we knew the difference immediately.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
You know, you have seven kids and you're trying to
get them cereals that are colorful.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
We could tell they were crap.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Okay, now let's fast forward. Okay, we're in the same
place now, high inflation, people scrambling for money and they
want to go to the store, and do you buy
a product that is not a name brand? And one
store started all of well actually two started all of
(15:46):
the nowadays generic the generic brands and Neil. You don't
know what I'm you know, we have not planned on this.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
No, I haven't read the story you're looking at it.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
You have not, So give me if you had to
guess two stores that are doing generic, well, it's not generic,
non branded, non major branded products.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Who would you come to mind?
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Would eat Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
That's what, okay? Are Costco and Trader Joe's.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Well, it is Costco and Trader Joe's. And you're right,
Whole Foods, which I didn't think of.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
They had the three sixty five which came to mind, right.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
And so here what I want to do. I want
to come back and continue this conversation because why is
today's generic foods in many cases better than the name
brand stuff, better and cheaper? And who actually started all
this in a big, big way was Trader Joe's and
(16:48):
their marketing is genius. And I want to talk about
Costco and then the Whole Foods I don't talk about
because Whole Foods is ridiculous. It's so expensive. An Amazon
bought it and then it became half a Whole Foods.
It used to be Whole Paycheck, remember they used to
call it. I just went into Whole Foods the other
day for something. And I could not believe the cost
of steaks. I couldn't. I mean, I just that's impossible.
(17:11):
They can't cost it.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
To arowon or arowon or however you're pronounce no.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
But then you have Bristol Farms and you have Gelson's.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Arowan will put everybody to shame.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
I have not. I have not, So I'm going to
go there and buy a Hamburger patty enough at pay
what eighteen dollars a pound for hamburger on a good day,
We'll be back.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
You have to finance when you walk in.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
What's going on? Are It's a replay of what happened
in the seventies, and that is inflation was high, economy
was in sort of trouble, and people were worried, and
so we bought Generics at the stores and they were
white labeled with the blue stripes, and we had no
idea who made him, and the stuff was for the
most part kind of terrible. We're doing the same thing
(18:01):
today and it's sort of a it's a pattern that's
been happening where you have Generics, except they're the store's
own brand, and the difference is today. Those generics are
in many cases better than the name brands. All started
with Trader Joe's, and Trader Joe's has the Trader Joe's label.
(18:23):
Of course, it doesn't make its own bread, and it
doesn't make its own enchiladas. And the quality is insanely
good and the prices are fantastic. Kirkland products amazing great quality,
I mean great quality Kirkland because they go direct. There
(18:44):
are no distributors involved, and that saves a pile of money.
And they don't advertise. There's no marketing for these products either.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And you know what their standards are. Their standards are.
It has to.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Compete with has to be equal to or better than
the best of that category. So like the olive oil,
they're Kirklan olive oil for price point and all of
that has to be at least equal to what's out
there already and usually better. So you're not you know,
we have the brand there at Walmart is great value.
(19:23):
Great value is their brand. And Tracy, my wife, just
brought home three sauces, one which is very similar to
the In and Out Burger sauce. There's one that is
damn near identical to the Chick fil A sauce and
which is a great sauce, by the way, And I
(19:44):
was blown away at the quality of these simple condiments.
You know that they're nailing the flavors on and they're
cheap as hell.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, case in point, go to Chick fil A and
buy one of their little bottles of sauces that you
can take, and you spend so much when you're relative
to going to a Walmart, which I don't go to.
I go to Ralph's and Kroger. Brand products are as
good as the name brand products. And I will excuse
(20:13):
me a little froggy there. And the part that I
really enjoy. One things about Trader Joe's probably the best
marketed organization. Their marketing is beyond comprehension. It's so good.
They're the fearless flyer. Their publication that comes out once
a month is so well written. You want to buy
(20:33):
everything that's on that they advertise on that everything and.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
The other's funny, it's playful.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
And the other thing about Generis and what these these
companies are doing, these stores are doing, is they're creating
flavors and products that don't exist even in the name
brand world. And they are absolutely delicious. Different flavor muffins
and different flavors. I mean the enchiladas. I bought some
(21:02):
enchiladas the other day. Also, I go to Trader Joe's
and they have Indian food. The individual packaged Indian food
product is made out of Canada, only place that I
know it exists, and it is dirt cheap. I mean
you have a meal for three dollars and fifty cents
and entree with rice and butter, chicken or vindalou you
(21:26):
know lamb.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
East Indian contingent in Canada.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Oh, they do a great job. So are you a
big fan of these generic products?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Because I love them absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
I have started replaced I mean Kirkland obviously, like Kirkland
vodka and things like that.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
They really have.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
They've got great booze, they have great olive oil. There's
a lot that we now have switched to in the
house that are store brands, like I said, with great
value there at Walmart KERR Glen.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Now, as far as the alcohol is concerned, I have
an expert at home. You know, I don't drink. Lindsey,
on the other hand, is a falling down drunk who
every night she drinks so much. She literally falls off
the chair.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
It explains a lot.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah, she listening, I don't know in the other room.
Yeah she's a lush so uh yeah, she's not listening.
Will she's not listening. She's in she's in the hot tub. Okay,
in any case, she she says that the Kirklan brand
of liquor is not the same. That is not the same.
(22:40):
So I don't know.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
No, its like I some of the their their flavored.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Whiskey is not my favorite.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
But there their vodka I think will go up against
most vodka's big time. And uh, they do have a
good whiskey. Well, they have a good tequila.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Okay, you know, I don't know. Let me ask go
ask lindsay she may yeah, she may be floating, floating
in the hot tubs, face down. I have no idea,
and I'll go check her out. Okay, I'll ask her. Okay,
we're done. Coming up, We're gonna make it a little
different because I'm leaving at the bottom of the hour
at eight thirty, I have a doctor's appointment, So it's
(23:25):
ask handle anything coming up the next two segments, and
then Neil is taking it with Foody Friday at eight thirty.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Hey Bill, wait, hold on one quick thing, because I
know you're grilling a lot now.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Is the signature select at Vaughn's.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Their Butcher's Trio Burger Patty's pre made are excellent.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Oh okay, excellent? All right, Vaughn's fair enough, okay KF
I am sixty you've been listening to The Bill Handle Show.
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