Latest / Brian Thomas / The "Smither-vent" - Episode 140 - The mayor and city manager do not have a plan for teen violence

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The "Smither-vent" - Episode 140 - The mayor and city manager do not have a plan for teen violence · Brian Thomas

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Seven oh six, fifty five krs DE talk station Happy
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Tuesday Extra special, Happy Day for Me. Look up and
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  Speaker 1: see the fifty five Cassee morning show Rundown, put together
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  Speaker 1: by Executi producer Joe Strecker and Christopher Smithman's on the Rundown.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: I knew it's going to be a good day. He
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: actually let me know ahead of time he was coming
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  Speaker 1: on the program. Welcome back from our Vice Mayor of
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  Speaker 1: the City of Cincinnati for a better late than never
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: smith event. Christopher Smithman, always a pleasure to have you
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  Speaker 1: on the show, my friend.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you man, and happy belated Memorial Day. We can
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  Speaker 2: into all of our vets out there, all those families
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  Speaker 2: that are sacrificed and half sacrificed, you know, you and
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  Speaker 2: I extend and tip our hat to them and their families.
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  Speaker 2: We wouldn't have the ability to be on this radio
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  Speaker 2: show to express our opinions. We couldn't go to the
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  Speaker 2: chaste Cincinnati on a dry day or a wet day
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  Speaker 2: without those sacrifices, right, and so people have to realize
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  Speaker 2: that when they're out doing whatever they're doing, expressing salves,
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  Speaker 2: they have to realize that they're doing that because you know,
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  Speaker 2: a million people or so have lost their lives, laid
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  Speaker 2: them down so that you and I could have their freedom.
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  Speaker 2: So our love and our and our admiration to all
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  Speaker 2: the vets out there and to those who have paid
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  Speaker 2: the ultimate sacrifice.
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  Speaker 1: Brother, no question about it, man, I'm telling you, and
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  Speaker 1: you got you just have to wonder what goes through. Veteran,
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  Speaker 1: of course, is still alive and someone who lost their
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  Speaker 1: life in service of their country. That's Memorial Day is
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  Speaker 1: all about. But the families of those who lost their
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  Speaker 1: lives in service of our country, and even the veterans
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  Speaker 1: who served and fought off against oppression and in the
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  Speaker 1: name of freedom of speech and the liberties that we have,
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  Speaker 1: how they feel when the freedoms and liberties that they
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  Speaker 1: fought for are being used by the angry, vile people.
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  Speaker 1: Who will be the first person to stand in line
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  Speaker 1: and well tell them that they were wrong in defending
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  Speaker 1: these freedoms and liberties. I just I just don't know
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  Speaker 1: how you can reconcile that. And they look beyond it.
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  Speaker 1: They're good, noble people, the veterans and served our country
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  Speaker 1: that are still around to contemplate something like that. But boy,
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  Speaker 1: that is a true smack in the face when you
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  Speaker 1: think about it hard it is.
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  Speaker 2: And think about, you know, all of the cities across
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  Speaker 2: our country, and I'm gonna I'm talking to urban cities,
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  Speaker 2: urban core, and I'm not talking about the residents. I'm
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  Speaker 2: talking about city halls in Toledo City Hall, in Columbus
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  Speaker 2: City Hall, in Cleveland and Cincinnati. You know, you very
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  Speaker 2: rarely hear them proclaiming Memorial They are proclaiming their support
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  Speaker 2: from the dais right, so they'll they'll they'll put up
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  Speaker 2: whatever flag they want. But when it gets to the
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  Speaker 2: American flag, right where this is a moment to bring
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  Speaker 2: it down half staff or to have some type of
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  Speaker 2: a recognition from the podium, or just to speak, you know,
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  Speaker 2: on a Wednesday, you know, extending your love and support
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  Speaker 2: for those who gave us and give us the ability.
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  Speaker 2: We never see that. That's the thing that just kind
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  Speaker 2: of like baffles my mind. And when I served, and
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  Speaker 2: when John Cranley served, and we got to Memorial Day weekend,
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  Speaker 2: we were always speaking from that dais and giving that
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  Speaker 2: level of respect for those fallen people because it was soldiers.
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  Speaker 1: Because you had that level of respect, it wasn't even
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  Speaker 1: a question mark whether or not you were going to
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  Speaker 1: say something about Memorial Day and those who paid the
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  Speaker 1: ultimate sacrifice to support these freedoms and liberties we enjoyed
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  Speaker 1: after have purvol is not a member of the people
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  Speaker 1: who feel that way. He just joined this ridiculous but
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  Speaker 1: packed for Free Cities, which apparently was performed as a
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  Speaker 1: global network of mayors determined to stand up for progressive
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  Speaker 1: values and fight against nationalistic populism. Oh my god, Christopher,
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  Speaker 1: if you're proud of our country, the freedoms and liberties
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  Speaker 1: that that flag stands for. Here a xenophobe is how
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  Speaker 1: I read that? Nonsense?
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  Speaker 2: I agree, and I'm just saying, watch as we walk
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  Speaker 2: through the year, right, you will hear pronouncements from city
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  Speaker 2: hall about all kinds of progressive issues. And I'm not
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  Speaker 2: poo pooing on them, right, It's just when they get
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  Speaker 2: to the American flag and they get to things like,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, you know
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  Speaker 2: in July, they then go silent and then they go
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  Speaker 2: live again on some issue, progressive issue, and it just
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  Speaker 2: drives me crazy. They do not realize, Brian, that they
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  Speaker 2: don't have those freedoms without that ultimate sacrifice from those veterans,
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  Speaker 2: and that's what drives me crazy. And they don't also
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  Speaker 2: realize that a lot of our firefighters and a lot
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  Speaker 2: of our police officers are either serving or have served.
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  Speaker 2: So it's a great natural way for you to uplift
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  Speaker 2: our police departments and our fire departments and all of
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  Speaker 2: our city workers right who are served, who are serving,
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  Speaker 2: or who have served, because many of them, Brian Thomas
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  Speaker 2: have many of our cops and firefighters are veterans.
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  Speaker 1: Well, of course, But why do you think it is
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  Speaker 1: they can't stand up for America conceptually? Is it because
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  Speaker 1: every time some leftist is presented with a question of
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  Speaker 1: you know, supporting the flag or supporting the freedoms and
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  Speaker 1: liberties that we still have in this country that nobody
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  Speaker 1: else enjoys, that they always have to interject. But you know,
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  Speaker 1: oh yeah, fine, but we've been we were born of
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  Speaker 1: original sin. We cannot celebrate everything we've accomplished in this
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty years we've been around. We can't
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  Speaker 1: look at the changes and the moves in the right direction.
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  Speaker 1: We can't celebrate the accomplishments and the victories and science
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  Speaker 1: and technology and humanity and helping the entire globe financially. No, no, no,
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  Speaker 1: let us focus on something bad America did. They're not
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  Speaker 1: capable of being supportive of the concept of America because
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  Speaker 1: of course, like every country on the entire globe and
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  Speaker 1: every history of every country on the globe, we're not perfect.
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  Speaker 2: Correct reading our country is the great experiment you and
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  Speaker 2: I can say in it's imperfection, it's still the greatest
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  Speaker 2: place on earth, right, And we don't have to focus
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  Speaker 2: on those problems every single day. We can get to
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  Speaker 2: Memorial Day and go, wow, man, my grandfather served, or
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  Speaker 2: my neighbor's grandfather lost his life, right, or there's a
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  Speaker 2: flag outside somebody's house, and I don't go, well, man,
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  Speaker 2: they've got to be racist, or they've got to be
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  Speaker 2: bad people are are they're a nationalist because they're flying
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  Speaker 2: the flag, the American flag. We're talking about where they live.
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  Speaker 2: So I'm just saying it's always interesting. I'm asserting to you,
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  Speaker 2: Brian this morning on this Spleen Bent that the reason
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  Speaker 2: City Hall doesn't do it is because it doesn't play
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  Speaker 2: to their base. That's why they don't do it. They
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  Speaker 2: want to make sure they keep sending the message that
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  Speaker 2: they do not like the United States of America, and
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  Speaker 2: that they have problems with where they live even though
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  Speaker 2: they're being elected in the democratic process, even though the
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  Speaker 2: government is paying their salaries. They want to continue to
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  Speaker 2: tell their base there's something really bad about America and
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  Speaker 2: we can't celebrate Memorial Day and we can't recognize it.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm just letting everybody know it's not just what
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  Speaker 2: politicians say, it's what they don't say.
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  Speaker 1: No question about it. I tell what to taking an
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  Speaker 1: early break because I anyone to talk about violence and
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  Speaker 1: these crazy youth outbreak violence, and I want to give
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: you an opportunity to do that since we have Tom
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  Speaker 1: z awistat seven seventeen. If you have KCD talk station,
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  Speaker 1: Happy Tuesday, Christopher Smitheman on a Tuesday, which is great
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  Speaker 1: any day of the week for Christopher's great. What else
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  Speaker 1: Christopher got that text from you said you wanted to
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  Speaker 1: talk about these crazy gangs of kids breaking out at
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  Speaker 1: moment's notice and taking over city streets and committing acts
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  Speaker 1: of crime. What do you think about this and is
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  Speaker 1: there a solution?
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  Speaker 2: Christopher Smitheman, Well, it's not in Cincinnati. If there's going
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  Speaker 2: to be a team takeover is whin. There's going to
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  Speaker 2: be a team takeover going to happen. You know, students
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  Speaker 2: are you know, in their last week of school. We
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  Speaker 2: know they're going to be out for the summer. I
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  Speaker 2: don't think you Brian Thomas has heard a plan coming
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  Speaker 2: from city Hall to deal with crime this summer. Are
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  Speaker 2: are to deal with juvenile crime this summer. We see
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  Speaker 2: that there's this national trend going on, whether we look
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  Speaker 2: at New Jersey or New York, or Chicago or Detroit.
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  Speaker 2: We've seen the pictures of the Chipotle, the fight there.
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  Speaker 2: We know it's we know it has already happened in Cincinnati.
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  Speaker 2: We know it's coming. What Cincinnati doesn't have as a plan,
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  Speaker 2: Brian Thomas said, I want City Hall to know, and
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  Speaker 2: for all your listeners, I don't blame them for the violence.
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  Speaker 2: That's not what I'm I'm holding the mayor and the
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  Speaker 2: nine members of council accounted for what I'm what I'm
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  Speaker 2: disappointed in each week is they don't have a plan right,
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  Speaker 2: and then they give these huge contracts to consultants like
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  Speaker 2: you know MSUs Rowley, and then you don't hear what
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  Speaker 2: they're doing. Meaning if we're gonna give somebody six hundred
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  Speaker 2: and fifty thousand dollars or some other nonprofit millions of dollars.
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  Speaker 2: We should know that they're out there dealing with violence
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  Speaker 2: and teen violence and what are they doing and what
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  Speaker 2: is our ROI that's my problem with City Hall. And
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  Speaker 2: by the way, we will never stop the team takeovers
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  Speaker 2: until we hold the parents accountable. The buck stops with them.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm serious. I mean, whether they are the guardian
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  Speaker 2: the parent, or they're in some split family situation. You know,
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  Speaker 2: the parent that is where the child is is not
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  Speaker 2: the only parent that gets arrested. In my opinion, we
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  Speaker 2: arrest both parents. We find both of them, and we
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  Speaker 2: hold them accountable. If your twelve year old, thirteen year old,
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  Speaker 2: fourteen year old is in downtown Cincinnati in the Dora
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  Speaker 2: on the banks, this is just an example with a gun,
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  Speaker 2: and our officers approach them this summer tonight tomorrow as
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  Speaker 2: the weather warms up and we get on the other
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  Speaker 2: side of this rain, right, we have the right to
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  Speaker 2: detain that person. We're not gonna they have broken curfew.
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  Speaker 2: There is twelve o'clock, is two o'clock in the morning,
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  Speaker 2: but they do not have a City Hall Brian Thomas,
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  Speaker 2: that will back up that officer and say I'm gonna
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  Speaker 2: hold you accountable, young man for being down here breaking curfew,
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  Speaker 2: whether you have a gun or not, and I have
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  Speaker 2: the right to approach you and do proactive policing. Where
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  Speaker 2: has that gone, Brian Thomas.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's a rhetorical question. We all know where it's gone.
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  Speaker 1: They don't have proactive policing.
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  Speaker 2: And until we get there, brother, right, the solution is
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  Speaker 2: proactive policing. The solution is a plan that holds parents accountable,
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  Speaker 2: a solution that detains the juvenile right. The problem is
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  Speaker 2: there are people like miss Irish Rowlei who doesn't want
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  Speaker 2: that child detained because they'll say, oh, no, it's the babies.
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  Speaker 2: We're worried about the children. It's two o'clock in the
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  Speaker 2: morning and the thirteen year old has a gun. They're
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  Speaker 2: shooting in downtown right by the way. The opening day
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  Speaker 2: situation was a team takeover. What we saw in Price
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  Speaker 2: Hill at Price Hill Chili right where kids were jumping
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  Speaker 2: on top of cars, running all across the street, taking
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  Speaker 2: over all around that beautiful restaurant that's been there forever
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  Speaker 2: in Price Hill. That was a team takeover The reality
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  Speaker 2: of it is the team takeovers are already happening. The
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  Speaker 2: bottom line here is that every time we ask this mayor,
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  Speaker 2: will you accept help from the state, will you accept
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  Speaker 2: help from the governor? They always say they're declining that help. Right,
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  Speaker 2: what is it gonna take? What's it gonna take? Brian Thomas, Well,
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  Speaker 2: is somebody out here like in Northside, which I'm gonna
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  Speaker 2: talk about four people shot overnight at a bus stop.
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  Speaker 2: The reality of it is you and I know that
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  Speaker 2: four people shot. They might have shot thirty times. It
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  Speaker 2: wasn't like boom boom, boom boom. They were down there.
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  Speaker 2: It probably sounded like World War II out there in
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  Speaker 2: the north Side on Hamilton Avenue. The point that I'm
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  Speaker 2: making is crime is out of control, and these little
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  Speaker 2: things continue to just escalate until we get to murder.
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  Speaker 1: Well, not to burst your bubble on a solution, for example,
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  Speaker 1: holding parents accountable. Let's say we had a lot on
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  Speaker 1: the books that allowed us to hold parents accountable. You know,
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: we define sets of parameters and principles. Let's say everything
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  Speaker 1: was fined at all past constitutional must et cetera, et cetera.
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  Speaker 1: First you'd have to have the initiative to put some
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: sort of law statute on the books. Do you think
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  Speaker 1: that's gonna happen from the city council. Second, while the police,
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  Speaker 1: I believe if they were given instruction to act enforce
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: the law, like curfew, for example, they would be more
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: than willing to do it. But what's the follow up?
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  Speaker 1: Will the prosecutor's office also follow up and strictly enforce
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  Speaker 1: the the you know, whatever criminal charges that come along
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  Speaker 1: with that. Will they force the kid in the juvenile hall?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, there's the next question. Then, if even if
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  Speaker 1: the prosecutor's office was willing to do that, will the
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  Speaker 1: judges actually impose fines and sentences that are consistent with
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  Speaker 1: the punishment or they with what the law says is
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  Speaker 1: the punishable offense? I think the answer is no. The
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  Speaker 1: whole system's broken down. So great ideas presented to an
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  Speaker 1: administration that rejects them all out of hand because it's
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  Speaker 1: inconsistent with their anti police, anti enforcement philosophy.
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  Speaker 2: And this is why when I served as the Vice
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  Speaker 2: mayor and the Chair of Law and Public Safety under
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: John Cranley, it wasn't that John Cranley did not show
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: up to these monthly meetings. He showed up, the city
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  Speaker 2: managers showed up, I showed up. We shared a meeting,
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: and we probably had thirty to forty of our partners,
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  Speaker 2: you know, whether it was reentry programs from the Urban League,
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: whether it was the prosecutor's office, whether it was the
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  Speaker 2: FBI ATF, the sheriff's department, our police department, you know,
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: you name it, the agencies and anybody in everybody who
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: was responsible for dealing with crime. They were all in
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  Speaker 2: the same room, around the same table, and we were
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: all working on that plan. And behind us was a
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  Speaker 2: map of fifty two neighborhoods, and they would go, here
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  Speaker 2: are the hotspots, here's where someone got shot. What do
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  Speaker 2: we need to do about this. Let's move our assets
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: into this area. Let's bring our undercover detectives in here.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Let's bring the ATF in here. Let's federally charge them
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  Speaker 2: when they have a gun, so we could really put
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: some time on them if they're out here with the
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  Speaker 2: firear Meaning we had a plan. This mayor, in this council,
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: they do not have a plan. They're not bringing the
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: team together. Chief Fiji has now disclosed to all of
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: us is when she attempted to bring the plan together
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: that city manage her admonished her, what are you doing?
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: Why are you bringing all of these assets together? That's
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: what a police chief is supposed to do. Brian Thomas,
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: what else is she supposed to do? I need help,
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: I need the sheriff. This is everything that we did
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: in order to try to keep the Cincinnati Faith, Cincinnati
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: residence safe in our fifty two neighborhoods. And here's what's
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: so sad about it? And Jill Strecker hit me with
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: this with a text message. They all voted for it, right,
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: overwhelmingly the North Side, whether you're talking about it or clifted.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: They voted for this administration. And elections have consequences.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, almost one hundred percent. Well you get what you
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: vote for, I guess, Christopher Smithman and understanding what this
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: current administration stands for and what it doesn't what is
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: apparently not on its radar in terms of finding solutions, Well,
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: maybe we have another opportunity next election cycle to vote
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: some people in, Christopher, are you going to be a
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: betting man and decide where they're not the residence of
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: the City of Sincinnata going to go a different direction?
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Or will it be status.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: Quo, status quo, status status quo. Because because of the
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: culture within the Democratic Party, the blue Dog Democrats, the
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: Moderate Democrats right are are dead in the in the
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: Democratic Party only, and they are going to have to
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: wake up and rise up and say, listen, we're going
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: to have to start voting common sense. We cannot allow
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: team takeovers, discriminate, indiscriminate violence in our neighborhoods, like what
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: just happened in the North Side. I mean, I mean,
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: we're we're getting so numb to this. Four people shot
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: doesn't even rock this man. That's what's scary about it,
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: Like it doesn't even rock us, Like you wake up,
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: look at the news and allow four people shot on
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: Hamilton Avenue R at a bus stop, ones in critical condition,
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: and we don't even have the shooter. We don't even
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: know where the shooter is. Our cops cannot be mom,
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: dad and uncle and aunts. They cannot do it. Their
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: job is to go out there for reactive policing. And
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: I'm sharing with every listener that is hearing this show
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: right now the reason they're not doing it is City
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: Hall and the nine members of Council and all of
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: their consultants down there have the hands tied of law
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: enforcement in our city, and we're going to have a
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: really tough, hard, hot summer.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: Yes, I have a feeling you are right, Christopher Smithlan
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: and Smithlman. I wish I had a reason to argue
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: with you on that point. Let us just pray to
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: God that it doesn't happen the way we all expect
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: it's going to turn out this summer. Christopher Smithman. We'll
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: join each other's company again next Monday for the regular
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: Monday Morning smith Am at