Latest / The Orange Report with Kira Davis / Ep.61 Jennifer Newsom's Creepy 'Social Health Council' with Katy Grimes
Transcript
- speaker-0: Welcome back to the show. I hope your labor day was great. I'm Kira Davis, and I am joined today by a new face to the show and my friend Katie Grimes. She's the editor-in-chief of the California Globe. And ⁓ she does a a lot of the great reporting you see coming out of California is coming from or originating from Katie Grimes. Katie, welcome to the show. Thanks for joining us today. speaker-1: Thanks, Kara. It's great to be with you. speaker-0: I'm so excited. I'm a b I'm actually I'm a I'm a big fan. So this feels like a little bit of fangirling right now. ⁓ but why don't you tell a little bit ⁓ tell people a little bit 'cause we have a national audience. Tell people a little bit about what you do ⁓ here in California. speaker-1: So the California Globe, as the name indicates, we cover California politics and I'm located in Sacramento where our state capital is. So spend a lot of time at the Capitol. I cover the legislature, the governor. ⁓ we have a lot of contributors who have lots to say about how our state is run. And ⁓ we've I have to say, ⁓ we're you know very independent, but we've been right on so much stuff. Largely because we will report on what the mainstream media will not. So you're gonna, you know, it might feel like we're breaking a lot of news, but you know, it's ⁓ perhaps we are. ⁓ but yeah, that's that's our specialty is making sure that people have the truth and the rest of the story and the whole story. speaker-0: Yeah, and there's been a lot to break. It's interesting, Katie. There's been a I would say a peak in the interest of California news lately. in the past, ⁓ a lot of the times the stuff you were reporting on, it it You know, I people like me were really interested in it and locals are very interested in it, but it didn't really break like the seal, so to speak. It's almost like people didn't really care what was going on in California because it was just so crazy. It's just like, ⁓ that's California. But you're the perfect example of why it's important to get on the record because eventually the record will become public and you want a trail, you want a paper trail. So have you noticed of like a a surge of interest in California Globe stories in the lab, probably s since twenty four, I guess. speaker-1: Yeah, and and pr you know, primarily I've been doing this so long, you've been reporting for a very long time as well. So we have a lot of historical knowledge and a lot of articles that, you know, are in our archives. ⁓ what we're seeing, and I think particularly with Gavin Newsom's interest or obvious interest in running for president, now we have a lot of outside interest into California from some of the national players. And you know, for that I'm grateful. But this is not a lot of it's not news to us at all. And so, ⁓ you know, while it might feel sometimes like we're rehashing stuff, ⁓ we are reminding people, we've been reporting on this guy since he was mayor of San Francisco. ⁓ so it's important to, you know, keep the truth and keep the keep his history out there. speaker-0: Scott, I'm gonna you know what, Katie? I wonder if we're having a little bit of connection issue. You're coming in and out, and I think it's on your side. I'm wondering if I could get you to go out and come back in. You won't go anywhere. speaker-1: You want me to move? I'm okay, let me let me move and try that. Sorry. speaker-0: Just wanna make sure that every everything you're saying because important. speaker-1: Yeah, I know I was getting like a little delay also, so let me try this. If I'm downstairs. speaker-0: Everybody, I I also have to I have to do this too. Like, where's the best internet? Where are we gonna get the best signal? Modern reporting. speaker-1: Yeah, sorry. I'm gonna go here. All right, let me t how's this? speaker-0: It does feel like it's getting a little smoother. speaker-1: Okay. Sorry about that. Love the live coverage, right? speaker-0: Hey, whatever. It's what this is the great thing about having my own show. I can do whatever I want. Exactly. Perfect. That's much better, much better. Okay. Thank you. All right. Well, I want to talk about there's th I I there's so much I want to talk to you about, Katie. I only have so much time. We are for sure gonna talk about Gavin in South Carolina. He's a crazy person. Everything he does there sounds crazy. I wanna know why, but first we need to get to the the speaker-1: All right. Let's give that a whirl. speaker-0: Crux of today's episode because he wrote an article the other day that really captured my attention. I thought it was so insane, but just add this to the pile of what's going on here in California. Scott, you can pull up number two. That's Katie's article on the first partner. I know from those of you from outside of California, ⁓ think it's so funny to hear us say first partner, but that's what they call her. That's what they call her. First partner to tackle loneliness in newly created social health council after the WHO commission on social connection. And I love Katie's ⁓ a subtitle here. Huh? Loneliness is a public health priority? Is this a joke? Because it's stupid. you go you quote here, I'll just read this quote. The social health you quote the the first partner. She says the social health Council brings together leaders across sectors, including state and local government, academia, tribal faith, tribal faith and community organizations to develop recommendations to strengthen opportunities for California to build meaningful connections and feel a sense of belonging. My goodness, that was a mouthful, Katie, for almost absolutely nothing. Tell us about this social health council. speaker-1: My gosh. yeah, that was kind of worthy of Kamala Harris, definitely. ⁓ but this that that we have the governor's wife who goes by the first partner, which is so annoying to begin with, but that she's now delving into the loneliness problem in California is stunning to me because as I point out in the article, ⁓ what about all of the California school kids who Gavin Newsom walked down for three years? during the COVID years. Schools were closed, kids were ordered home, and there was a lot of mental health problems then that nobody seemed to care much about other than parents. ⁓ the other thing that I point out is what a couple of hypocrites they are, because while the rest of the state was locked down, they were living their best lives, you know, vacationing at a twenty nine thousand dollar per night, DACA in Cabo. We know about his French laundry dinner. They vet traveled to visit her parents, blah, blah, blah. their kids probably weren't suffering loneliness because their kids were also in school at a private school here in Sacramento. So you know, you have to get the hypocrisy out on the table. But I think what's kind of stunned me is whenever Gavin Newsom or the first partner create a new program, I'm always interested in A, the motive and B, what prompted this? Like is there s some sort of study or something behind it? And when it comes to this one, it's the World Health Organization. They actually have their own commission on social connection. ⁓ so Jennifer Newsom's just copying them to create another formal council. I call them a state-run council of eggheads. And to do this, she's actually using state quote leaders, mayors, and people already in government. And lo and behold, I think the one that shocked me the most is that Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass. is on the the board of this and ⁓ yeah getting back to shocked faces. Yeah, getting back to shocked faces. I went, you know, I'm sorry. That that one is gonna help lonely people. She can't even seem to help fire victims in her own city. So ⁓ I mean this is speaker-0: So crazy about this, Katie, is that you know, all of these people. So I read you in your article, you include a list of the people. First of all, this is a huge number of people. This council is ginormous. I thought it was like a council of four or five people, and maybe they have a Zoom meeting a few times ⁓ a year. This is like one, two, three, four, this is like 15 people on this list. They are all almost exclusively. She said they're community leaders. They are exclusively government employees. speaker-1: Yeah, there's some yeah, there's some community leaders I didn't include. I wanted everybody to see all these government people. speaker-0: Yeah. No, it's a t so there's more there's more people on this commission, Katie? speaker-1: Yes, there are. Yeah. A bunch of community organizer ty yeah, it's just ridiculous. And I think it's why I said, you know, forgive me while I run to the vomitorium to wretch. This is such a waste of everybody's time, money. ⁓ and and if anybody has gray cells, ⁓ you're you're gonna lose them when you pay attention to this stuff. speaker-0: Well, isn't it amazing that and this is this is what w sort of the joke about government come to light, which is come to life, which is the government creates a problem and then creates a committee to solve the problem. Why there is a loneliness epidemic for sure. But, you know, we got that loneliness epidemic because we were locked away from our loved ones for multiple years. And then as you pointed out here in California, we watched our leaders you know, be hypocrites and go out and live their best lives while at the same time they were telling us you should can only have two people for Thanksgiving. You can go to church, but you can't sing at church. You know, stuff like that. And now they're saying, ⁓ there's a loneliness epidemic and it's in it's up to us. So the WHO, forget about what California did. We were just a player in the pandemic drama. The WHO can re we can really lay the pandemic response at their feet. So they created this historical ⁓ loneliness epidemic. And now they've released a government program to help solve it. And of course we're like running to be the first on board here in California. speaker-1: Exactly. Yeah, 'cause all the bad ideas in the country start in California, no doubt. Yeah, and I d I just I think that's what bothered me so much is that that they are using the World Health Organization, which has been so discredited throughout the world. It's not just ⁓ the US which is critical of them, that they're using that as the basis for this government funded program. I think the other thing that concerns me also is there is no doubt, having having watched how this works for so many years, that this will be another funding pass-through organization. No doubt to NGOs and nonprofits, filled, you know, money going to new some friends and family or however however that's done. And, you know, this is at a time when we've got lots and lots of journalists and reporters in our state chel trying to help us root out the fraud that already exists here. speaker-0: Yeah, it's really amazing that while that is going on, they're still coming up with ways to defraud the system. I know you did some reporting on Diapergate. Does anyone out there remember Diapergate? Where I mean, I mean it seems like five crises ago, but you know, Newsom is launching he's launching this I wanna be like Trump presidential campaign and he's echoing a lot of what Trump did. And so Diapergate was one of his schemes. Bril You know, he was so proud of that idea. And we're just talking weeks ago, mere weeks ago, mere months ago. And where's that money? What what have we found out about all of these people that Newsom was gonna help with this generous program? speaker-1: Yeah, the whole diaper gate thing was absolutely ridiculous and completely unnecessary. ⁓ what they were doing, and I'm sure that the first partner had her hand in that one too, in that there is a nonprofit called Baby to Baby, which is one of Jennifer Newsom's best friends who also sits on her own company's boards. And this woman created a nonprofit to provide diapers to poor women. Well Any woman in California who's had a baby knows that the hospital sends you home with diapers. But if you are a poor woman or you are on welfare, you qualify for all kinds of free diapers from various state and county organizations. So I question, first of all, why do we even need this nonprofit? Then I find out that it's already a 77 million dollar nonprofit, which gets a lot of funding from the state to begin with. They make their crappy diapers, no pun intended, in Mexico and nobody really wants them. And Gavin Newsom was sending twenty million dollars to it. So if that isn't graft, I don't know what is. speaker-0: Never forget, Katie. I say this a lot on my show. I will never forget ⁓ in 24, ⁓ well, ⁓ ostensibly 25 after the inauguration and the and doge. And ⁓ we're all hot and heavy for Doge for a few months there. And Elon was being interviewed, and the interviewer said, What do you think is gonna be one of the most surprising or shocking things people learn from your work at Doge? And he said, I think people are going to be most shocked to learn that they live in the Truman show. And I have thought about that nonstop since he said it because I've been learning to take our leaders quite literally when they say things these days. Yeah. And I thought, okay, what does this mean? It could mean like every like we live in a simulation, like the black pill version of it. But also there's an aspect of it he wasn't lying, which is nothing we think is real is real. And here we are we're, you know, robbing Peter to pay Paul just to get our taxes paid here in California. And all we're doing is feeding into a system that's basically just money money laundering. We're not sending our money to any of the places we think it's going. ⁓ and that diaper gate's an example of that. speaker-1: Yeah, it is. And and it reminds me, I just did a story last week about Assemblyman Corey Jackson, who has a nonprofit in his district in Moreno Valley, Southern California. And he named his nonprofit nonprofit of the year, and then three weeks later directed six million dollars from the state budget to it. So we have to ask A, is that money to live on in the future? Is that going to ballot harvest? Where does the money go? Because every time California state taxpayer money goes to these nonprofits, it's a black hole. We can't trace it after that. I just, you know, these nonprofits in California have just I think we just need to put them put an end to them. And if we're gonna have any sort of nonprofit in the state, people need to like reapply, start all over with the IRS. speaker-0: Yes, amen to that, because it's absolutely insane. I used to run a nonprofit back in Gary, Indiana, ⁓ where we moved here from. And let me tell you something. Seventy seven million dollars for my after school program, I I could have made a whole lot of difference in that city. I can tell you where I would have put every penny. We would never have needed to ask for money again. This is just seventy seven million dollars in a pot. It's crazy. speaker-1: Yeah, it is. But I think it shows you the level of the fraud in California and it's coming from the top. speaker-0: Yeah, well, a hundred percent. And the top and who the top is sleeping with. Like like it is amazing to me that the Newsoms can r really get away with this. And then, you know, out of one side of his mouth, Newsom will say, ⁓ you know, ⁓ we're we're the the the Trump families, there's a bunch of Nepo babies, and you know, he's always got a lot of criticisms for the Trump kids. Far as I know, they run their own businesses. They, you know, they their money's coming out of their own pocket. Their businesses don't depend on the taxpayer. And yet at the same time, he's putting his wife in the way of hundreds of millions of dollars basically of taxpayer money just to get siphoned off by them. Are the Newsoms the biggest hypocrites in American politics right now? speaker-1: I s I I do believe your statement is accurate. ⁓ boy, just based on all the stuff that I have covered with him, and even if you just limit it to when he was elected governor. So twenty eighteen he's elected, twenty nineteen of January he's sworn in. We have watched one flimflam operation after another. And and again, coming from the top of this state, whether it's the governor, whether it's the attorney general, the secretary of state, I mean. The lawmakers. It seems like everybody's got some sort of grift going on or is involved in graft. speaker-0: Yeah, I loved I saw Steve Hilton out there. He is a Republican candidate for governor here. I saw him out there yesterday talking about eliminating the DMV, which would be wow, that would be amaz I don't know how realistic that is, but that would be amazing. It's $73 registration. Here's the other thing. I saw Newsom, you know, Newsom's in South Carolina. Let's let's look at him for a second. He's in South Carolina, which I don't know if you know this, Katie, is nowhere near California. speaker-1: Yes. speaker-0: I do. yeah, it's nowhere near California where he is the actual governor at this moment. He's in South Carolina and he's been talking about the the minimum wage and how capitalism is a failure. Matter of fact, Scott, why don't we pull this up? Why don't we pull up ⁓ clip number three and we'll play this really quick. This is just ⁓ X clip of him at one of his I don't he's not calling him campaign stops. ⁓ I guess he's I don't know what he's doing, advocating. And he's talking about the failure of capitalism in a place like South Carolina. w let's play this, Scott. speaker-1: And more than not naive. You're also not just fighting to save our democracy. You're also recognizing that in order to save our democracy we have to democratize our economy as well. That this is no longer working. Capitalism, we'll know it, is not working. Not at seven dollars and twenty-five cents minimum wage in South Carolina. It's not. It's not. Ten percent of people own two thirds of all the wealth, 93% of the stock market. Donald Trump thinks that the entire economy is the stock market. That's great for 10% of folks that own ninety three percent of the equity. What about the rest of us? Poor and sicker. And in closing, I speaker-0: I mean the balls of the sky. ⁓ first of all, ⁓ he's complaining about the seven twenty-five minimum wage in South Carolina. I guess he thinks it's supposed to be twenty dollars everywhere like it is here, as it's crashed our economy. And second of all, ⁓ he's talking about the stock markets and how only a few people are invested in the stock markets. A, are you one of those people, ⁓ Governor Newsom? And B, look at you anyways. How dare you wanting to you're the one wanting to tax our stock market gains, our capital gains from the stock. It just hypocrisy everywhere. I don't it's almost too much for me to drill down on one point, Katie. speaker-1: You said it. ⁓ that is very yeah, every day I we feel like we've got twenty different topics coming at us because he speaks out of both sides of his mouth, and I think he has a forked tongue on top of that. ⁓ what's so interesting about this this big lie of his with the the minimum wage is a South Carolina has a a ⁓ much ⁓ lower cost of living, so let's just start with that. But Gavin Newsom cla he he claims California accounted for one in s six new jobs in the nation, but he's completely ignoring the actual data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows that the restaurant industry in California, which employs the majority of minimum wage earners, saw losses every year since 2023 when he gave fast food workers a minimum wage increase to twenty dollars per hour in our state. And it shed, I mean, we started losing tens of thousands of jobs. Food prices went up, ⁓ For people who didn't lose their job, their hours were cut. And then, of course, automation. A lot of a lot of fast food joints, ⁓ and even some, you know, kind of quasi fast food restaurants now have an automated cash register and order kiosk. So those were jobs. Those were humans' jobs before. So again, he's a he's a huge liar. ⁓ makes me wonder what he understands about economics, or if he's really trying to destabilize certain industries in our state. speaker-0: Think Katie that I don't think he's smart enough to dis to destabilize. I really mean that. That he's not smart enough to have a plan for destabilization. I think he's been an empty suit from day one. He is just a conduit for ⁓ that's why he doesn't know how to pivot here. You know, that's why he he's like now he's out there talking about the DSA, endorsing the DSA. ⁓ he d he doesn't know how to politically pivot or politically correct. He's just wherever the wind is blowing. think more likely is that he ha he's the mouthpiece for other people who have raised him up through the system. And also I say this a lot. I said this on Newsmax today. I also think he's kind of the mouth mouthpiece for his Gen Z PR team. That's who's really running the statements that come out of his they like the DSA. They, you know, they hate capitalism. They are pro antifa. Like all of the things that the kids like, I think They take them to Newsome and they go, This is what the kids are looking at on Snapchat right now. Right. And then it comes out of his mouth. That's my theory. speaker-1: Thank you. I think I think you're right. yeah, and when I say, you know, he's trying to destabilize industries or the state or whatever. I mean, we look at what's happened to the oil and gas industry in California. Under his watch, two more refineries closed. We're paying six bucks a gallon for gas in parts of the state. ⁓ you are right. It's whoever he is connected to, it's whoever, you know, I mean, I was super suspicious when Dee Dee Myers, a former Clinton administration operative, came to work for Gavin Newsom. Like, what's that about? So, ⁓ you know, might as well bring Susan Rice in, because ⁓ they're all doing the same thing. And I d it's everything they do harms California more and more and hurts the middle class, the taxpayers, the business owners, the billionaires. I mean, I don't care if somebody's a billionaire. Typically billionaires are employers. ⁓ or they're putting a lot of money into our state. And for Gavin Newsom to lie that he wasn't supporting the b the billionaire tax proposal in our state, but then go out and say he wanted one for the country, you know, go figure that. That is a scary prospect, a very scary process. That's just pure communism. We just have to call it what it is. speaker-0: Okay, I'm glad you said that because I have been asking this question pretty much of every guest I have on this show, and I've been talking about it for a lot for the last year. And I think it's very uncomfortable for people to think about, but I do think we need to start talking about this, which is at what point does Califor can California no longer call itself a free state in the Republic of the United States of America? I believe we really are on the cusp. of having to call ourselves communists. We're ⁓ we're gonna see what happens in November, but after witnessing the primaries in June, what happened to Spencer, what I believed they were gonna pull off with Steve and then pulled back at the last second, it it's we're not totally I know everybody's like Republicans, get out and vote. You you don't vote enough. You need to get out there and vote. But I think we're in a place now where even if we do surge, it Just seems like the other side just finds enough ballots to beat the surge. And that's causing ⁓ depression among the voters. So I'm wondering if we are to a point where we can no longer use the law to change the law, which is what our system is designed to do. Are we a communist state yet, Katie? speaker-1: Well, I just gave that one example of an assemblyman steering six million dollars to his own nonprofit. That's what communists do when they're in power. ⁓ we are we are teetering very much on the edge. Our government is so large that I mean, where do I even go with that? Our government is i is ⁓ outrageously large. I mean, th it's the tail wagging the dog in our state also. While the government doesn't employ half of the employees in the state, it's such a huge chunk and it's got so much power now. It's the only industry in our state that's actually growing other than healthcare, which is terrifying to me that the healthcare industry is is growing. So ⁓ yeah, w we are we are at a dangerous place. The other thing that I'm very concerned about is all of the rights and also say welfare benefits. ⁓ afforded to illegal aliens in the state. ⁓ That is terrifying because A, it dilutes the system. The people who really need the welfare safety net are either not getting it or not getting what they need. ⁓ And then we also have with the, you know, with the I'll just say ballot harvesting, however that looks, we have people essentially voting in their own entitlements now in California. It's what's good for me. ⁓ that guy loves Medical for everyone. I'm gonna vote for that guy. So ⁓ it's ⁓ it's a terrifying place. And on top of that, you have the labor union influences in our state, which are unmistakably large. And frankly, labor unions are rooted in communism. So I mean that's been going on a long time. Now we find ourselves at a at a almost a point of no return. ⁓ I do love some of Steve ⁓ Hilton's ideas. Actually, I love all of his ideas, and some of them to shrink the size of government could make a huge difference. ⁓ and a governor does have the power of appointments, so the governor could get rid of most of the air resources board or the public utilities commissioners, or you know, and we can go on and on. So that's huge as well. But is it enough? speaker-0: We're gonna find yeah, you're right. Is it enough? We're gonna find out. and I I just I say it probably every show at this point, and I'm just gonna say it again, but Californians need to start thinking about, you know, what happens after November if there are no positive results to report. Now I have every I have full confiden I love the golden ticket. There's a lot of great people running on local levels. I have full confidence in all of these people that they will be able to convey their message and they will do everything they can to reach the voters. But there's just this invisible hand behind each election that seems to come up with the exact amount of votes that you need. yeah. And we saw that in in June. We saw that. speaker-1: Yeah. ⁓ the other thing that influences the communism the advancement of communism in our state is China's influence in our state. Again, unmistakable. I mean, we've been writing about it for years, you've been covering it for years, whether it's in our universities, whether it's in our government, ⁓ you know, we've it's everywhere. And it goes back to Gavin Newsom's days as San Francisco mayor. it you know, China's heavily, heavily influenced San Francisco politics for years. ⁓ and but now it's it's infiltrated, it's in our government. And I always wonder, I mean, I kind of semi-jokingly say, ⁓ is that how Gavin Newsom and the first partner bought their nine million dollar home? We're, you know, I mean, we've got a governor who has a nine million dollar home and a three point seven million or now listed for seven point five million dollar home to Two homes he did not buy. Two homes he didn't have to reach in his pocket to buy. So ⁓ it's amazing to yeah, exactly. And a vineyard, which somehow survived COVID and got COVID relief funds while others did not. I mean, there's it's there's so much self dealing taking place in our state with our governors, you know, at the top of the list, but by so many lawmakers, state and local, that ⁓ frankly we're just not calling it communism. speaker-0: Vinar. Yeah. Yeah. That's what we're not calling it communism and it's communism. And I'm wondering what the what our federal government and what we as citizens have at our disposal to combat communism because you can't vote out communism. So what do you do? I'm just ⁓ no one's had a good answer. I don't have any good answers. I'm just saying it's time to start thinking ⁓ a little bit more about this stuff. Do you think, Katie, I wonder if part of what is going on with the first partners social health counsel plus her other NGOs that she's getting taxpayer dollars for. Do you think some of this might be now this is just a theory, this is just an opinion, ⁓ might be sort of campaign funding. Yes, sort of using the taxpayer dollars to fund his presidential campaign. speaker-1: Yes. ⁓ the short answer definitely yes. ⁓ because we've seen that through so many other ⁓ pack funded nonprofits, ⁓ the the philanthropic organizations that send money, say, to you know, Jennifer Seibel Newsom's nonprofits and then we don't know where the money goes after that. I mean, it's it's been proven over and over again. by people that can kind of really get granular down on the ground. But the problem is there's so many of these that it it's hard to track them down. and I feel like when I blow open one nonprofit, it's a mole game. There's 20 more over here that are still covered up. speaker-0: Now add to that the Stop Nick Shirley ⁓ act, which you guys you were at. We had Amy Reichhard on ⁓ last week to talk about ⁓ her experience there and you were there as well. And so now you have the Stop Nick Shirley act, which is I can't even believe that anyone out there is trying to pretend that it's not about Nick Shirley. we have some people even in the reporter class that are doing that. I think is very strange. Yes. But obviously it is about Nick Shirley and Nick Shirley really the whole Nick Shirley ⁓ controversy really is about us. It's about all of us. It's about the people having power, the power of knowledge. So at every not only are they at every turn devising new and sneaky ways to redirect our tax dollars, then they're devising new and sneaky ways to keep us from reporting on what they're doing with our tax dollars. speaker-1: Yes, and they've been doing that for years, ⁓ just not at this new new level. speaker-0: How do How was the rally? How did you ⁓ what was the reception there? ⁓ the mainstream news tried to depict it as not very heavily attended. they mainstream news didn't make any reports on any of ⁓ the confrontations or violence. There was a counter protest there. What was it like in your experience? speaker-1: It it took me back to the Tea Party days when the mainstream media would say, ⁓ there might have been a few hundred people there when the rallies I attended in Sacramento had ten thousand people. So ⁓ this this was a very, very well attended rally. Antifa did show up. ⁓ we have video, we have photos. ⁓ the Sacramento Police Department worked in conjunction with the ⁓ the state the state s highway patrol who they man the Capitol. They did a fabulous job keeping the Antifa away from the rally goers. ⁓ but it was loud and obnoxious and they were clearly trying to incite some violence. ⁓ as for the the rally goers, they were very, very happy to meet Nick Shirley, to hear from him, to hear from the lawmakers that came out to speak in support of independent journalism, the need for sunshine, you know, all of it. ⁓ it was it was not Nothing was radical about what was said or done. Nick Shirley is the face of this as you say because they're just using his ability to frankly to be to be a YouTube sensation by exposing fraud using video to try to shut the rest of us down. speaker-0: Yeah. And N Nick Shirley is just a figurehead. I mean a a great one. I mean, obviously he's doing good work out there. No shade to Nick. But but ultimately it's sort of like what Trump always says, which is like, look at they're not coming for me. They're coming for you. I'm just standing in the way. And that's how it is with Nick Shirley. It's they're not coming for Nick. They're coming for all of us who dare to have our own opinions and dare to do our own investigations. And Nick is standing in the way. And they've been able to operate under cover of darkness for so long here in California. I don't think our politicians, I don't think our political class is prepared for scrutiny. This may be let's switch gears just real quick quick while I have you here, Katie, because I'm working on my latest article over on my sub stack, just gear davis dot com, is I'm working on the great disappearing candidate. Javier Becerra, just nowhere to be found as we roll into, you know, the most important election in the last decade here in California. He seems to be, his strategy seems to be, I'm just gonna fly under the radar and hope that the the na the natural boon of of Democrat politics here in California will be enough. That'll be enough to raise me over the hump and win. And I won't have to do Anything and where's Javier Pacera? speaker-1: Yeah, I know. Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? Just put Javier Becerra's face on her little ⁓ Yeah, he I think he and his campaign team are just trying to count on the sheer numbers alone. In California, yes, there's more registered Democrats than there are Republicans. however, what's fascinating is, and I remember reporting this not long after the last election, ⁓ More registered Republicans were registering in the state in California and fewer Democrats. And it wasn't that you we were getting, say, you know, more of that no party preference, decline to state voter. It was people flipping from Democrat to Republican. ⁓ and so that's a very good sign. I think what we're seeing in terms of ⁓ Steve Hilton's popularity. I think that's a very good sign because nothing he's saying is right wing, you know, as he as they try to they really can't pin that on him at all. He's talking about things that are good for everybody in the state. And frankly, that's what politicians should be discussing in order to get elected. Javier Becerra, when he opens his mouth on occasion to speak, he primarily talks about illegal immigrants. That's who he wants to support in the state, which makes me wonder. Is that his boating base? Is that is this like a dog whistle? speaker-0: Great question. And you I mean, I guess logic would dictate, right? The ⁓ the w you're speaking to the things that come out of your mouth the most, that's what matters the most to you. That's who you're speaking to. So you're I you're absolutely right. I hadn't thought about that way. But everything you know, he did the whole I I I actually wrote an article on his ⁓ the tacos and you know ⁓ we have great tacos tacos. He's always gotta get his affectation. We got great tacos, but you don't get your tacos at a brick and mortar, you get your tacos. on the street. We're we have immense problems with street vendors here in California that are cutting into the business of the taxpayer, businesses who are also under all of the bureaucratic red tape that you have to be and ⁓ but just proudly sort of saying, Yeah, I support the illegal businesses in the state of California. ⁓ that did do you think that that maybe backfired on him? Cause that's probably the last time I really heard from him. speaker-1: I sure hope so. ⁓ and I do think it will when it comes down to it. ⁓ you you'll recall that the chamber, the California Chamber of Commerce came out and endorsed him, which I was floored over, because I have to believe their clientele wasn't real happy about that. Because when it came down to Javier Bacera making that statement about these little illegal businesses, you know, that that we should be supporting over brick and mortar businesses where people Who have really gone out on a limb and probably committed themselves to more than they can afford reasonably. I that it that will backfire. I really think that will backfire. Plus, it did get the attention of the tech, you know, the tech industry, the billionaires, business owners, big business owners too, were livid, livid over that. Because a business owner that commits to a brick and mortar, a building. Employees, payroll, taxes, they're taking the risk. And so anybody in the state who's a risk taker is going to recognize, well, that's the business I want to support. I don't want to support the other one that doesn't isn't taking a risk at all. And so I do think that's going to resonate with business people and work against Javier Bacera. speaker-0: Yeah, it I it's absolutely astounding. I don't know if he'll be able to get away with this or not. Just disappearing. Yeah, it worked for Gavin. It's worked for Gavin in the past. I mean, he didn't even really campaign the last gubernatorial election. if you didn't know that there was a governor's race happening in California at the time, you wouldn't really have had any indication that anything was going on. It wasn't a huge thing. It was like He didn't really campaign. I don't even know if he bought any ads on T V. It just speaker-1: It was it was during COVID also. So while everybody was locked down and out of his way, why run a campaign? speaker-0: Right. And you know, did mission accomplished. He was elected, reelected, handily. And I guess Picera's gonna do the same, but I do feel like the landscape has changed since twenty twenty. Even in just the reporting arena here in California. There are more people to talk about more things. ⁓ and then, you know, let's talk a little bit, Katie, about what the Spencer Pratt campaign did for the discussion because yeah, it was a heartbreaking loss and you know, I have feelings about how it all happened. But the flip side of it is that it it's created a renewed passion for this discussion about how elections work here and how communism works here. Talk about that a little bit. speaker-1: I agree. ⁓ I think Spencer Pratt's campaign was fascinating to watch. And the the energy just by him going out there and, you know, talking about his own story, talking about his neighbors, you know, the the the basics of what is not happening in Los Angeles really is the ⁓ well it it epitomizes the entire state, frankly, one way or another. Granted In Sacramento, California, our homes haven't burned down. ⁓ but we have lots of other problems in common with Los Angeles. So Spencer Pratt really was speaking to a much wider band of people in the state. He really was speaking statewide, I think. I also have my feelings about how that election went down. I think it caught the eye of the DOJ. I do believe that there are people in very, very important justice positions. ⁓ to to be looking into our elections. We've heard from the DOJ's office, you know, that they're looking at a lot of stuff in our state right now, which I think is a good thing. And I I hope I hope it matters this next election. ⁓ But I think I think Spencer Pratt has a much bigger a much bigger audience these days. He's standing on a huge stage and frankly he's he's getting so much national attention for it as well. But it's shining the light, it's sh it's putting that sh sunshine on corrupt California. and his case is is quite compelling. speaker-0: Yeah, and I I do think he changed ⁓ the direction. ⁓ we it might be a little while before we even see the full fruition of that. But I think it was not for nothing. And although the end was the end, I I don't think people should be discouraged. I think there was a shift there with Spencer Pratt that we may see a lot more positive results for in the very near future. We're coming to the end of our time together, but I do wanna loop back to the Social Health Council, Katie. Which the in and of itself is the creepiest name ever. I mean, right? The Social Health Council. Social anything coming from the govern government is creepy. But I wanted to mention you write in your article here, and you can again you can find this on the California Globe. Just go to the californiaglobe.com, look up Katie, and you'll see this article here. ⁓ the social health. speaker-1: Yes. speaker-0: Council will focus on three key goals. Yes. Awareness. Elevate loneliness and social isolation as a public health priority in California. Connection across sectors. Create a recurring forum for academics. A forum. ⁓ boy. A recurring forum for academics, community-based organizations, faith and tribal leaders, mayors and state agencies to align efforts. And the third, a roadmap, develop a roadmap. For California to advance the recommendation, again, this mouthful advance the recommendation of the World Health Organization's Commission on Social Connection and Strengthen the State's solutions for social isolation. You say this is sounding very expensive for taxpayers. Since when does anyone turn to the government to solve a mental health problem? This is sounding very expensive, but also very vague. speaker-1: Yes, exactly. I I totally and it it's what makes me so mad. They develop these councils and then usually within a couple of years, that council is now a commission solidified by, you know, the legislature. I point out in this we have a hundred and ninety thousand, probably more than that, examples of mental health problems living on our streets in California that that we call the homeless or the unsheltered or whatever you want to call them. And it's It's entirely thanks it was grown by Gavin Newsom spending thirty seven billion taxpayer dollars on them, multiplying them, growing them. We could have been treating these people as mental health cases, and instead the governor spent money on tiny homes, little sheds, renovating old creepy motel sixes. ⁓ you know, renovating old SRO hotels downtown ⁓ at great expense that nobody ever lived in. Or that if if we did move some homeless in there, they became tiny crack houses, ⁓ little little shed crack dens, or they were totally trashed, beautiful apartments were totally trashed. And these people are still out there. They are the mental health problems in the state. And frankly, there are lots of examples. of charities and nonprofit organizations that are legitimate that have rules and regulations for getting these people off the street, for triaging them, diagnosing them and then treating them appropriately. And it has nothing to do with housing. speaker-0: $37 billion. I mean, honestly, again, I just want to point out if someone gave you, dear listener out there, viewer, $37 billion. And so here's cash. Go solve the homeless crisis in California. What would you do? Do you think you could solve it with $37 billion? I think I could. So we do need to ask like, where is this money going? Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. And I'm hoping that I'm sorry. speaker-0: No, no, that absolutely I agree with you. I hope there are s some legitimate investigations. I hope there's a lot more that we don't know about. I will say I know the DOJ gets a lot of flack for the speed at which they work at, but if you've been doing this job as long as I have, they're actually working at bright neck speed if you understand how these things work. These they've got three two years, two and a half years to do a job that really should take two and a half decades. And ⁓ they've been moving at great speed. So I hope there's a lot more that the DOJ is doing that we're that we're not seeing. ⁓ and I hope people are willing to hold their local politicians more accountable this fall when you go to the ballot box. ⁓ don't think about it as voting for a Republican or a Democrat Democrat. Think about it as voting for change because we are absolutely under duress here. speaker-1: Well said. Very well said, Kira. Absolutely spot on. speaker-0: Katie, tell people where they can find out more about your reporting and what you're doing online. speaker-1: We are at Californiaglobe.com. There's no paywall, so you can check on us every day. You can sign up to receive a once weekly email with some of the stories you might have missed during the week. You can follow me on X at Katie Sack Citizen and I'm on Facebook and Truth Social as well. And I pretty much just post all of our stories there. speaker-0: California Globe is my go-to for all things California. I mine them for information every single day. And Katie is one of my favorite reporters in the States. So I highly recommend ⁓ checking that out. Katie, we will have you back. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today. Really appreciate it. On whatever your next investigation is, I'm sure I'll be the first person reading it hot off the presses. And we'll definitely have you back. ⁓ we're gonna take off now. ⁓ tomorrow, everybody, I will be doing a live show, but then I'm heading out of town and I will be out of town for these two very sad anniversaries that we have coming up. So tomorrow we're gonna be talking about those. We're gonna be talking about nine eleven, and of course we're gonna be talking about Charlie Kirk and what What I think we can learn in what has happened in the last year since his death. So you'll want to tune into that tomorrow, 2 p.m. ⁓ Pacific. Thanks so much to Katie Grimes. Make sure you go check her out. Until we meet again, everybody, don't forget that sunlight is the best disinfectant. So this week, go out there and shine some light.