This episode is presented by Carolina Readiness Supply – President Joe Biden delivers his state of the union address tonight. What will he mumble about? Plus, San Francisco, Oregon, and Asheville are all trying to reverse soft-on-crime policies.
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[00:00:00] What's going on?
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[00:00:29] Don't know about you,
[00:00:30] but really looking forward to the state of the union.
[00:00:32] I'm just kidding, no, I'm not at all.
[00:00:35] I am kind of curious,
[00:00:36] like I might have it on
[00:00:37] and just kind of watch it in the background
[00:00:39] just to hear how slurry it's gonna be, you know?
[00:00:43] Just how much mumbling, like on a scale of like zero
[00:00:48] to boom hour, like how much or how mumbly do we get, you know?
[00:00:53] In fact, I have a message here.
[00:00:57] I think, yeah, from Dennis, how long do you think the state of the union speech would
[00:01:00] last tonight if the big guy decided to drop all the lies
[00:01:05] i'm gonna write them down just so i don't lose track
[00:01:08] uh...
[00:01:09] i mean i would not
[00:01:11] i would not bother to write down all the lies because that's i mean that's what
[00:01:14] you've got
[00:01:15] uh... politic fact four
[00:01:17] uh...
[00:01:19] i can't even what he
[00:01:20] uses political factors legitimate source anymore
[00:01:23] uh... mccier uh... dl says uh... regarding gary mcfadden uh... that's Nobody uses bullet effect as a legitimate source anymore. Um, let me see here.
[00:01:25] DL says regarding Gary McFadden.
[00:01:28] That's actually two R's in Gary.
[00:01:31] This is one of the reasons I'm registered unaffiliated.
[00:01:34] I can choose which ballot I want in the primary.
[00:01:36] Erwin Carmichael was a conservative Democrat sheriff.
[00:01:39] He enforced 287 G.
[00:01:44] That's not the 457 G seven g it's the two eighty seven g anyway
[00:01:47] i voted for car michael but mcfadden defeated him in the primary there was
[00:01:51] no republican candidate republicans didn't even have a voice
[00:01:55] uh... look
[00:01:56] this was why i voted last year
[00:01:59] in the
[00:02:00] democrat primary
[00:02:02] for the same reason was to vote against McFadden.
[00:02:05] I'm trying to remember her name.
[00:02:08] Do you remember her name? She ran last now. She was a former sheriff's deputy under
[00:02:14] McFadden or under Carmichael. McFadden took over and before he was even sworn in he
[00:02:19] fired her. She ran the jails or the jail.
[00:02:23] She ran the jail. He fires her because he sees her as too close to Carmichael.
[00:02:28] So he fires her and then of course people start dying at the jail and he's like, that's
[00:02:32] someone else's responsibility or whatever.
[00:02:34] And so she goes off and gets hired by, I think she's at Gaston County.
[00:02:39] She's been working over there.
[00:02:41] They're like super happy to have you, you know?
[00:02:44] And so I voted for her and had that
[00:02:47] other guy, the third guy, had he not been in the Democrat primary. I think she probably
[00:02:51] could have won, but it was not to be. But yeah, as long as any time he's on the ballot,
[00:02:58] I'm going to be there to vote against him. I'm just going to make it my mission to be voting in that primary so I can vote against him.
[00:03:09] By the way, did we have anybody or was that was that our jail somebody died again in or
[00:03:12] was that York County?
[00:03:14] I heard somebody died in a jail again.
[00:03:16] I just assumed it was ours. So, yes, tonight is the State of the Union.
[00:03:25] Got a message from Ryan.
[00:03:29] Pete, so as I understand it, the House Sergeant at Arms is the person tasked with announcing
[00:03:36] the president as he enters the room for the State of the Union address.
[00:03:40] However, I have heard rumors that this evening there will be a special guest who will handle
[00:03:44] those honors. Michael Buffer cited or sorry, clad in his usual black tuxedo
[00:03:51] and patent leather shoes on a microphone dangling from the ceiling of the house chamber will
[00:03:55] announce the arrival of President Biden immediately followed by these remarks. He will then utter
[00:04:01] those famous of words, the most famous of words.
[00:04:05] I can't say that.
[00:04:07] I can't say that for I can't say his famous words.
[00:04:10] This is the guy that leads the off the beginning of the boxing matches.
[00:04:15] And he, he implores people to be ready for a fight.
[00:04:21] But you, I can't say it.
[00:04:23] He's got the thing copyrighted.
[00:04:25] It's why we say the big game instead of that other name.
[00:04:29] It's why people say basketball, college hoops, instead of saying the month and the craziness,
[00:04:35] you can't say it.
[00:04:36] If you say it, you got to pay up a bunch of money.
[00:04:39] So nobody says it.
[00:04:40] So nobody uses Michael buffer's famous phrase. you know, we shall proceed to fight.
[00:04:47] You can't like that's it. It's as close as I can probably get to saying it. But no,
[00:04:51] I can disabuse you of that rumor that's not happening, Brian. It's not true.
[00:04:57] Um, David says, I work in the medical industry. Biden is apparently tonight going to say,
[00:05:05] oh, God, man.
[00:05:08] Well, I think he's also going to recommend
[00:05:10] a $2,000 cap on drug spending for private insurance
[00:05:14] to mirror the $2,000 cap that goes into effect
[00:05:17] in 2025 for Medicare Part D plans.
[00:05:20] This is not helpful and frankly stupid.
[00:05:24] Well, I mean, it is Joe Biden.
[00:05:25] So very much on brand there.
[00:05:28] Approximately 10 to 12% of health care spending is on medicine.
[00:05:32] Almost 70% of health care dollars are spent in hospitals.
[00:05:35] The largest slice of the pie, as well as medical offices and facilities.
[00:05:40] Why would you not try to reduce the cost of the two largest items and instead attach a or attack a small part?
[00:05:46] Oh, yeah, probably because of lobbyists
[00:05:51] Yeah, that's probably the case
[00:05:53] um, I
[00:05:55] Got this message. It's kind of lengthy, but it has to do with the state superintendent race
[00:06:03] Um
[00:06:04] Actually, you know what? Hang on a second. This is, all right, so this
[00:06:07] is way longer than I even thought it was. And so that would actually, I'm gonna have to break
[00:06:11] that down into, yeah, I'm gonna have to, I'm gonna have to actually prep that as, that's
[00:06:16] like what a news article, because that's a very long email. And I'm not gonna just straight
[00:06:20] read all of that. because believe it or not
[00:06:25] i do prep
[00:06:26] topics for the program
[00:06:28] unless i get sidetracked talking about reparations
[00:06:30] but i do
[00:06:31] prep the uh... the for you know for the program with lots of articles i read
[00:06:34] the articles i pull up the highlights of we don't go through every single i
[00:06:37] don't read the whole article
[00:06:39] you know that mark levin over here
[00:06:43] i can live in i can know, not Mark Levin over here. I kid love in. I kid. That's right. I said it. Okay.
[00:06:51] Voters in, I do like Mark Levin. I like this show. Voters in the city by the bay. So San
[00:06:58] Francisco apparently swung to the middle. I'm not really believing this, but maybe so. The Washington Times says they may have, at least for some referendum on one primary election ballot.
[00:07:14] Okay? So it's a very limited swing. I don't know if that counts as a swing.
[00:07:19] Maybe it's more like a twitch. It's like a just a little twitch to the middle. Yeah,
[00:07:23] that's all. not like a whole swing
[00:07:25] not a lot of movement there
[00:07:28] uh... they approve to
[00:07:29] public safety measures
[00:07:31] aimed at actually hang on second is it to
[00:07:34] mmm
[00:07:35] yes
[00:07:38] right and they rejected proposition b okay so they had a bunch of propositions
[00:07:42] uh...
[00:07:44] as they call them in the municipal
[00:07:47] election. These are, you know, referenda because California is wacky like that. The wolves
[00:07:51] and lambs vote on dinner there. And so they approved public safety measures aimed at tackling
[00:07:57] the city's well documented social ills by expanding police surveillance and requiring drug screening for public assistance benefits.
[00:08:10] So that tells me MAGA has taken over.
[00:08:13] This is MAGA country, San Francisco, right?
[00:08:17] In addition, the moderate Democrats for change slate.
[00:08:21] So the slate is called Democrats for change.
[00:08:24] And these are, are quote moderate Democrats.
[00:08:28] They ran for seats on the powerful Democratic County Central Committee.
[00:08:33] And they were leading their progressive rivals on the labor and working family slate in 12
[00:08:39] of the 14 matchups.
[00:08:43] Progressivism is out for now declared the San Francisco Chronicle in a banner headline.
[00:08:49] Voters make it clear San Francisco can no longer be called a progressive city.
[00:08:56] Far be it for me to suggest that too many people on the left and the media, but I repeat
[00:09:00] myself, are a bit on the hysterical side.
[00:09:04] They engage in a little
[00:09:05] bit of hyperbole when they catastrophize about the end of everything as we know it, right?
[00:09:11] But I think maybe it's a little overstated. These are still Democrats, right? It's not
[00:09:18] actually Maga country. I was just kidding about that. San Francisco is not, it's not
[00:09:23] descending into a right wing hellscape. Okay, it's already
[00:09:27] descended into the leftist hellscape. I don't know where the right I think the right wing
[00:09:30] hellscape would probably be above that. Two propositions E and F, E picked up 60% of the
[00:09:40] vote. And this would allow police to deploy drones, surveillance cameras, and facial recognition
[00:09:47] technology without prior approval from citizen oversight panels.
[00:09:52] The measure also gives police more latitude in conducting chases and it reduces paperwork
[00:09:57] on use of forced reports.
[00:10:00] So they guess they voted for Big Brother? I don't know why.
[00:10:05] I mean, I don't know why you're calling this public safety measures, but it's kind of
[00:10:12] authoritarian measures were.
[00:10:14] Yeah, I mean, that's what I think it would probably be classified as.
[00:10:18] And then there's proposition F.
[00:10:19] All right.
[00:10:20] So maybe you've heard by now, Draft King Sportsbook is coming to North Carolina, right?
[00:10:24] Less than a week away.
[00:10:26] On March 11th, sportsbooks are legal in the Tar Heel State.
[00:10:29] DraftKings is one of America's top-rated sportsbooks with same-game parlays, money
[00:10:34] lines and props.
[00:10:35] The best features like odds boost and live betting and social betting groups, where
[00:10:40] you can share your bets with friends in real time.
[00:10:42] That's pretty cool.
[00:10:43] DraftKings is safe, it's secure, it's reliable, and best of all, you can deposit and withdraw
[00:10:48] your cash whenever you want. And it all starts on March 11th. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook
[00:10:54] app, do it now, and then you get to place your bets on your favorite sports once it goes live.
[00:10:59] Remember to use my name, Pete, as a promo code. That is P-E-T-E.
[00:11:04] And again, it goes live on March 11th.
[00:11:06] And now to do the disclaimer, gambling problem
[00:11:09] call 877-718-5543, or visit morethanagame.nc.gov,
[00:11:16] 21 plus North Carolina only eligibility restrictions
[00:11:19] apply subject to regulatory licensing requirements.
[00:11:22] See terms at draughtkings.comcom sportsbook slash NC proposition F in San Francisco had 63% of the vote and it
[00:11:34] requires those applying for or receiving public assistance to undergo drug
[00:11:39] screening and enter into drug treatment if they are suspected of using illegal drugs.
[00:11:47] How dare you try to help people?
[00:11:50] Those who refuse would be ineligible for cash payments and could be kicked out of public housing.
[00:11:59] Oh, sorry. I should probably do one of these.
[00:12:11] Sorry, I should probably do one of these at the same time voters did not fully embrace a tough on crime agenda.
[00:12:13] They rejected proposition B, which would have set a minimum staffing level for police that
[00:12:20] would increase each year for five years by 33% to 67%.
[00:12:27] The proposal was supported by some board of supervisor members
[00:12:30] but not the mayor.
[00:12:32] So that one got shot down.
[00:12:35] They also passed Proposition G,
[00:12:38] which encourages public schools, not requires, mind you,
[00:12:42] this is not a requirement.
[00:12:44] This is encouragement.
[00:12:46] It'd be really swell, schools, really swell if you offered algebra in eighth grade instead
[00:12:54] of doing it a year later in ninth grade, which I do find it to be kind of funny, kind of
[00:13:00] comical here, right?
[00:13:01] That San Francisco has to literally go to voters to ask them,
[00:13:07] Hey, can we teach your kids math? Like so distracted, have they become have the leaders
[00:13:15] of this city become that they don't even they can't even make these decisions for themselves
[00:13:21] anymore. Oh, should we increase the police staffing? I don't know.
[00:13:25] Let's just ask the people.
[00:13:27] I'm too afraid.
[00:13:31] Oregon has a bill re-criminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs passed by the Oregon
[00:13:39] legislature last week.
[00:13:41] It's undoing a key part of that state's first in the nation
[00:13:45] drug decriminalization law as governments struggled to respond to the deadliest overdose
[00:13:51] crisis in US history.
[00:13:55] So they decriminalized the drugs.
[00:13:58] They saw a massive spike in the overdoses.
[00:14:01] And so now they're like, okay, okay, put it back.
[00:14:04] The state Senate approved House bill 4,2 in a 21 to 8 vote.
[00:14:08] The House passed at 51 to 7.
[00:14:10] The bill is now at the desk of the governor who said she's open to signing it.
[00:14:16] The measure makes the possession of small amounts of drugs such as heroin or meth, a
[00:14:20] misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail. It enables police to confiscate the drugs and crack down on their use on sidewalks and
[00:14:30] in parks.
[00:14:31] Drug treatment is to be offered as an alternative to criminal penalties.
[00:14:35] Well, that's a good idea, right?
[00:14:37] A diversion program.
[00:14:38] The bill also aims to make it easier to prosecute people who sell the drugs.
[00:14:42] It increases access to addiction medication
[00:14:45] and to obtain and keep housing without facing discrimination for using that medication.
[00:14:51] Researchers have said that it was too soon to determine whether the law contributed to the
[00:14:55] overdose surge and supporters of the decriminalization measure say that the decades-long approach of
[00:15:02] arresting people for possessing and using drugs did not work.
[00:15:06] Some called it a return to the war on drugs that disproportionately impacted and imprisoned
[00:15:11] millions of black men.
[00:15:15] New York is declaring a war on shoplifters.
[00:15:19] Oh, and also they are bringing in National Guardsmen to help secure the peace, which
[00:15:27] I think is what Senator Tom Cotton suggested that Trump do during the mostly peaceful,
[00:15:34] but sometimes fiery summer of love.
[00:15:38] And remember Tom Cotton wrote the op-ed at the New York Times, and then all of the New
[00:15:41] York Times Gen Z's were like, I'm triggered
[00:15:47] and oh my gosh, trauma.
[00:15:49] And then they apologized for running the op-ed and they fired a bunch of people.
[00:15:54] Remember that?
[00:15:55] So now New York State is doing it.
[00:15:58] Tom Cotton wrote an op-ed saying, hey, you should do this and New York State is now doing
[00:16:04] it four years later. All right. Saying, hey, hey, you should do this. And New York State is now doing it.
[00:16:05] Four years later.
[00:16:06] All right.
[00:16:07] All right.
[00:16:07] Do the current world events have you wondering whether we are teetering on the edge of
[00:16:10] catastrophe?
[00:16:11] Are you concerned it's going to reach our shores?
[00:16:14] Okay.
[00:16:15] So what are you doing about your concerns?
[00:16:17] Let me help.
[00:16:18] Carolina Readiness Supply at CarolinaReadiness.com.
[00:16:21] Whether you're looking to expand your emergency preparedness supplies
[00:16:25] or you have no idea where to even begin, Carolina Readiness Supply can help you.
[00:16:29] Food, water purifiers, tools, first aid kits, instructional materials, camping and hiking supplies
[00:16:35] even because being prepared is just smart. Carolina Readiness Supply has 2,000 square feet of supplies
[00:16:41] and educational materials that you'll need for any kind of emergency.
[00:16:45] In Waynesville and always at Carolina Readiness dot com veteran owned Carolina Readiness
[00:16:50] Supply.
[00:16:51] Will you be ready when the lights go out?
[00:16:53] New York Governor Kathy Hockle gave her annual state of the state address last month.
[00:17:01] And she declared in that state of the state address a war on shoplifting, declaring that
[00:17:07] chaos, the chaos must stop.
[00:17:12] She declared war against shoplifting according to the New York Post saying retail thievery
[00:17:15] in New York has spiraled out of control with many products and stores under lock and key.
[00:17:21] Huckle unveiled a multi-pronged plan to tackle the shoplifting scourge,
[00:17:26] including boosting penalties for offenders
[00:17:28] who assault retail workers.
[00:17:32] Weird, wait a minute, hang on a second.
[00:17:34] Are you saying increasing the potential punishments
[00:17:38] have a deterrent effect?
[00:17:40] That's,
[00:17:41] she, guys, she may be onto something here.
[00:17:45] Could you imagine if this is the case?
[00:17:47] We could maybe replicate this in all sorts of other areas.
[00:17:52] The governor's plan would create a new category of crime
[00:17:55] to prosecute those who sell stolen goods online
[00:17:59] and they're want to set up a smash and grab unit
[00:18:03] in New York State Police Department
[00:18:04] to prosecute theft rings. They want to dedicate up a smash and grab unit in New York State Police Department to prosecute
[00:18:05] theft rings.
[00:18:08] They want to dedicate funding for DAs to prosecute retail crime, a joint state, local
[00:18:12] and federal retail theft operation, crime analysis centers to gather data from victimized
[00:18:17] retailers and a tax credit for merchants to cover security costs.
[00:18:22] No new laws will be passed without the consent of the state legislature, which is still controlled
[00:18:27] by progressive Democrats, though.
[00:18:29] jazz Shaw writing at hot air.com says that if the new laws are passed and new task force
[00:18:38] are task forces rather are established, the police can arrest all the people they like,
[00:18:43] but it's not going to make a difference if the DAs won't prosecute the suspects.
[00:18:47] The governor's already addressed the issue of soft on crime DAs in the state once before.
[00:18:52] She has the power to remove a DA who refuses to enforce the law, but she has been reluctant
[00:18:58] to use that power.
[00:19:00] If she runs into the same problems under this new game plan she needs to be ready to step up to the plate and start booting some people out of their offices.
[00:19:12] Also from hot air, peace by John Sexton.
[00:19:16] Even in deep blue California, a place where Republicans have little power to do much
[00:19:20] of anything.
[00:19:21] The state is currently moving in the right direction on property crime. That's because the situation has become bad enough that even Democrat voters
[00:19:28] are sick of it. That discontent has bubbled up to the point that elected officials feel
[00:19:32] compelled to act. Governor Newsom announcing a push for new legislation to crack down on
[00:19:40] property crime. They want these elected officials who in the past have backed lighter sentencing in
[00:19:47] an effort to reduce mass incarceration are now looking for ways to address crime without
[00:19:52] abandoning a year's long movement away from lengthy prison terms.
[00:19:59] Prop 47.
[00:20:00] This was a ballot measure back in 2014 that reduced drug and property crimes down to misdemeanors
[00:20:06] and shocker of shockers.
[00:20:09] They got more of them.
[00:20:12] That's crazy.
[00:20:14] But the Democratic governor is now resisting calls to revisit the initiative instead embracing
[00:20:19] a new mix of penalties and bills that solidify existing law because this is classic Democrat
[00:20:24] right here, right?
[00:20:25] It's not, it's not that you want to repeal a law that may have been bad, especially
[00:20:32] a, you know, a jail reform, criminal justice reform law.
[00:20:36] You can't do that.
[00:20:37] So we're just going to, we're going to pass some more laws.
[00:20:40] Right?
[00:20:41] That's the answer.
[00:20:42] Pass more laws.
[00:20:47] Back to New York.
[00:20:49] This is kind of funny too.
[00:20:51] I mentioned that the governor, Huckle, is, she's bringing in the National Guard.
[00:20:59] She's sending them to the New York City subways.
[00:21:04] And oh, here, this is from Noah Rothman at National Review.
[00:21:09] When sanctuary policies were a cost free stop to fringe progressives, New York Governor
[00:21:15] Kathy Hockell was happy to couch her extremism in poetic language and heap moral appropriate
[00:21:21] on those who objected.
[00:21:23] But the influx of migrants into almost every American municipality is no longer a cost-free
[00:21:29] proposition.
[00:21:30] This is a great line.
[00:21:34] Cost-free proposition.
[00:21:37] Back when it was cost-free for these leaders in various cities and states to say, we're
[00:21:43] sanctuary cities. There was no cost
[00:21:46] associated with it. They could say that all they wanted sanctuary sanctuary. You guys are
[00:21:49] racist xenophobes and all this, but now it's no longer cost free. Right? Now at least
[00:21:56] politically, it's not cost free. So now she's pandering back. Sorry. She's pairing back
[00:22:02] or pandering a migrant crime wave is washing over our city,
[00:22:07] she says. Oh, I'm sorry. That wasn't her. That was the police commissioner Edward
[00:22:11] Cuban. The New York Times took issue with his assertion. The New York Times says, quote,
[00:22:17] quantifying crimes committed by migrants is nearly impossible. You know why? Because the police
[00:22:22] are not allowed to ask about your immigration status. So they shield themselves. They blind themselves to the data. So this way they can't
[00:22:32] report on who's doing the crimes. So Huckle is now trying to pivot away from this. She
[00:22:40] says, we don't have capacity. She told CNN last September, if you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else,
[00:22:46] she says.
[00:22:49] And then she said, get them all and send them back.
[00:22:53] You don't for anybody that assaults their police officers.
[00:22:56] You don't touch our police officers.
[00:22:58] You don't touch anybody.
[00:23:00] She's getting tough on crime.
[00:23:03] Like what's the old?
[00:23:04] Well, I've told this story before.
[00:23:07] It's something to do with a liberalist, someone who hasn't been mugged yet.
[00:23:13] And there was a famous story out of New York back in the 70s and 80s when it was a, when
[00:23:18] it was a cesspool of crime.
[00:23:20] You know, before Giuliani got in and broken windows, uh, you know, policing and
[00:23:25] all that stuff. Um, there was a judge, they called him turn them loose, Bruce, and he
[00:23:30] would let everybody go. And, uh, cause this was the, you know, prevailing sentiment among
[00:23:35] the legal community at the time. And so he was turning everybody loose and then he himself
[00:23:39] got mugged. And so he goes back into court and media is there and they got a packed courthouse and he's like
[00:23:46] I just want to start the proceeding off first by saying that
[00:23:49] If you think that my personal experience is going to change the way that I meet out the justice
[00:23:56] Think again
[00:23:57] Right. I'm not changing the way that I am like so lenient on all of the defendants and
[00:24:03] Somebody piped up from the back bench,
[00:24:07] mug them again.
[00:24:09] Because obviously there is a connection between the way you are administering justice and
[00:24:18] the rising crime rates. Even Asheville, North Carolina, is wrestling with this very same proposition. Even Asheville.
[00:24:33] Headline police roundups downtown, maybe no win. Might be, it's a no win situation, but
[00:24:41] they're going to continue.
[00:24:42] Gosh, there's just no winning here. I guess we're just have to keep on doing it.
[00:24:47] I would promise that I would watch the state of the union speech so you don't have to
[00:24:51] because I am a giver, but I, I, I might not.
[00:24:57] I'm just saying I might not watch it.
[00:24:59] Wait, I might know I might.
[00:25:02] Yeah.
[00:25:03] I don't know.
[00:25:04] It's going to be a game time decision.
[00:25:05] Okay.
[00:25:06] So no promises.
[00:25:07] Anyway, John Boyle writing at avlwatchdog.org, which is Asheville Watchdog.
[00:25:14] He says, if I could wave a wand and house every homeless person in the Asheville area,
[00:25:19] maybe that would solve the problem, but I doubt it.
[00:25:22] We'd still have plenty of folks milling around downtown
[00:25:25] exhibiting aggressive behaviors,
[00:25:26] often fueled by drug use or a mental health crisis.
[00:25:30] A good number are likely experiencing homelessness,
[00:25:32] but others are not.
[00:25:36] As we reported in our 12th part downtown series,
[00:25:39] downtown became the epicenter of unacceptable behaviors
[00:25:42] during and after the pandemic,
[00:25:44] especially in 2022 and the first half of 23.
[00:25:48] Brake-ins, broken windows, and other property damage along with discarded needles and evidence
[00:25:53] of human bodily functions became the downtown's calling card.
[00:25:58] Downtown merchants and workers pleaded for help, many saying how unsafe they felt. The Asheville Police Department responded
[00:26:06] with multiple special operations targeting quality of life issues in the downtown area
[00:26:11] and elsewhere. There was one in October that yielded 49 arrests. Another one in November
[00:26:19] brought in 41 repeat offenders. They got charged with things like a lot of misdemeanors, number of felonies, Asheville
[00:26:26] City Council member Kim Roni, leftist activist, a critic of Asheville Police Department's
[00:26:33] techniques in the past.
[00:26:35] She dislikes these special operations and she initially said that three of the recent
[00:26:41] ones cost taxpayers more than $2 million and resulted in 90 charges
[00:26:47] for nonviolent crimes of panhandling and trespassing.
[00:26:51] Quote,
[00:26:52] These operations displace people from resources, deepen poverty, contribute to staff, burnout,
[00:26:59] and make our entire community more vulnerable to crime as poverty deepens impacting quality
[00:27:06] of life for all of us.
[00:27:10] She later revised her estimate, coming from what was it, $2 million, she said was the
[00:27:16] cost.
[00:27:18] She followed up with an email saying that she confirmed that the accounted cost of the special operations is not two million dollars it is instead seventy nine thousand
[00:27:30] so just
[00:27:31] just a bit outside
[00:27:34] john boy says i hear what rony saying by the way john boy is a liberal
[00:27:39] he was a columnist at the ashwell citizen times for
[00:27:41] decades and then
[00:27:43] quote retired as a lot of old newspaper
[00:27:45] guys tend to do when the buyouts start coming around and he ended up now at Asheville Watchdog,
[00:27:50] which is where a lot of these retired newspaper people have landed.
[00:27:55] He says, I would expect the police to ignore complaints.
[00:27:58] Well, he says, I can't expect the police to ignore complaints and do nothing and let anti-social behaviors run amok downtown, right?
[00:28:07] This is the jam that the cops are in, that you get a complaint about somebody pooping
[00:28:13] on your sidewalk in front of your apartment.
[00:28:15] What are you supposed to do?
[00:28:17] Right?
[00:28:19] The interim police chief, Mike Lamb, said these special operations will continue.
[00:28:26] It's going to depend on what the crime data shows though.
[00:28:30] The, they do not like the term roundups, but that's what John Boyle keeps using in his
[00:28:35] piece.
[00:28:36] They seem to be effective.
[00:28:37] Lamb said noting that data from the county, which operates the jail, shows the average
[00:28:42] length of stay following their operations was five
[00:28:45] days.
[00:28:47] Some remain locked up because they were charged with more serious felonies, but the police
[00:28:51] chief says some get out the very next day.
[00:28:53] Quote, what we are seeing and what we are hearing is that the word is getting around.
[00:29:01] There appears to be a deterrent.
[00:29:03] That is, the word is spreading.
[00:29:09] This is amazing.
[00:29:10] Wait a minute.
[00:29:12] So wait, the people who are milling around all in the downtown area for long periods
[00:29:16] of time getting into fights, pooping on sidewalks, leaving needles everywhere, they talk to each
[00:29:22] other.
[00:29:23] It's interesting.
[00:29:24] They talk to one another,
[00:29:27] which is weird because then being a community and all, they talk to each other and then
[00:29:29] they tell each other, hey, don't do this kind of behavior because you're going to end up
[00:29:33] in jail and you don't want to be there. Interesting. Again, I wonder, could we apply this to other
[00:29:39] jurisdictions?
[00:29:40] All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening.
[00:29:45] I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise
[00:29:49] on the podcast.
[00:29:51] So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here.
[00:29:54] You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepcalinarshow.com.

