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Crooked River Cast Show 58
47 Plays5 days ago
Crookedrivercast.com
Crookedrivercast@gmail.com
- Will anyone go to jail?
- Ohio Gov Candidate has some issues.
- Abolish property tax update.
- Conserve Ohio - Data Center Ban Petition.
- Ohio lawmakers are tired of games on multiple streaming services.
- “Hacks” to lower your streaming bill or just take a walk!
- Greene County Veterans service chair gets triggered.
- Are Parma parents mad at the wrong people?
- Cleveland libraries offer free gun locks and lock boxes.
- Ohio Senate bill to “punish” cities with strict gun laws.
- Who benefits from all these EV charging stations?
- Cuyahoga County prosecutor requests state audit jail construction.
- Akron layoff does not pass.
- Cleveland City Schools approves almost 300 lay-offs.
Good Things:
- Pearl Jam finally wins! Kinda… CLIP
- $30 Blossom tickets.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Ohio Updates
00:00:12
Speaker
This is the Crooked River cast. We are Rob and Tom, two guys trying to keep track of what is going on in the great state of Ohio.
00:00:23
Speaker
This is show 58 for the week of April 27, 2026. Another week has gone by. do
00:00:37
Speaker
it. In the morning. In the morning,
00:00:44
Speaker
I'm on this fine Saturday morning. I am doing very well, sir. I am doing better than last week. Excellent. I have pants on.
00:00:56
Speaker
Oh, yeah, thank you. Definitely better than last week. I apologize for everyone all the complaints we got from the visuals that I gave. do have them on today. That's good news.
00:01:08
Speaker
But we got to get to because I got that the cable guy coming.
00:01:13
Speaker
Technically not the cable guy. Fiber guy. The fiber guy. Yeah. And some new fiber internet, I think. Oh, very cool. AT&T? Yep. ah Okay. Yeah, they came. they are persistent.
00:01:27
Speaker
They must pay these people very well go door to door because they've come so many times. And I keep watching out for the fiber coming because it's its pretty quick and You can always use faster in and internet, especially upload speed. So they've come like four or five times when I haven't been able to answer the door or I haven't been home.
00:01:44
Speaker
Finally I did. I'll give them five minutes. So they went through the whole spiel. I all right what's the bottom line? I'm an AT&T customer already. We have their cell phone stuff. So I said, what's the bottom line?
00:02:01
Speaker
What are we talking about here? So with my bundle and the introductory offer, but Can you guess what my internet would be? One gig up and one gig down. Fiber.
00:02:11
Speaker
Take a guess. You'll never guess. What do you got? You got your phones through there? Yeah, we got a bundle package plus the introductory because they just put fiber in the area. How low do you think they go?
00:02:23
Speaker
i have I have zero clue, man. Take a guess. I don't know. ah With the phones? Yeah. And with the television? No television, just phones.
00:02:34
Speaker
Just phones. Phones and internet. Internet. Okay, let's see. I'm goingnna i'm going to say 75 bucks. No. Wait, this deserves definitely one of these.
00:02:47
Speaker
Oh, nice. no No. $17 a month. What? Really? That's crazy. That's what I said. With the phones? but Well, the internet would be $17. Oh, okay.
00:02:59
Speaker
Just the internet. i said I said, sorry, guys. I was i was counting the phones. Oh, no, no. I meant just the internet. Oh, okay. Oh, my gosh. No, my I got four phone lines, Tom.
00:03:11
Speaker
Well, that's why I'm not on AT&T. What do you mean that's why you're not AT&T? I'm not on, or yeah, that's why I don't use them. I use Visible. It's $25 phone.
00:03:23
Speaker
Yeah. And I've got five phone lines. What, five? One, two, three, four, five. Yeah. Five phone lines. It would be 125 bucks. Yeah.
00:03:34
Speaker
No, it's not 125 bucks. Not for me. How much? I prefer, oh we pay, it's like 40 bucks a line. Yeah. Yeah. I prefer... The real internet, real and ah cell phones. I'm not this, you know, secondary thing that you guys are on. I don't have any issues with it. No, we, most of ours are 30 bucks a line. Oh, that's not bad.
00:03:57
Speaker
But they do slow you down if they just like the invisible. But I've never run into it. I've never been slowed down. So I don't yeah That you know of, but I have. Okay.
00:04:08
Speaker
I've been at ah stadiums and stuff like that where they were like, yeah, sorry. No, so there's no self-service for you. they And i get I get reimbursed anyway, so it's all good. $17 a month. $70 is what they... $80 is a gig up and gig down, but with all the bundles introductory, they want $17 a month. Yeah, that's good. What does it go up to?
00:04:27
Speaker
After, what is it, a year? They said it's for as long as they keep it. For $17 a month? For internet, yep. Right now, I pay $70 with Cox. Yeah, yeah, I pay $100. yeah So I was like, mm-hmm.
00:04:39
Speaker
Like, you want to sign up? And I'm like, well, that sounds really good. Like, yeah. I go, but it sounds too good to be true, guys. So I'm going to get back to you on that. I said, send me an email. Send me a quote. So they did, and I did some checking on. Plus, i i' you know I'm kind of particular about my network, so I got to make sure i don't have to use their router kind of thing because I don't want to use their crap routers.
00:05:00
Speaker
so Yeah. Which I don't, so that's good. So yeah, they should be here sometime today. Cool. Checking it out. So I was like, no way, $17. We'll see. i mean, we'll I'll get my bill. We'll see what it comes out as, but I'm still kind of. $83 in taxes. Yeah, there's taxes and fees.
00:05:19
Speaker
It's got to be taxes and fees. Guaranteed $93. i I'm not going to cancel my cable right now. I'm going to let it sit for a month or so and see how it works. It is new in the area, fiber. so Yeah, it should be good, though. it gets yeah Anyway, that's that's the exciting stuff going on today at the at the household.
00:05:38
Speaker
It's going to geek out on one gigabit up. We'll see how fast I can upload the shows to, you know, instant. But we have had some issues on the show, a little bit of, plus you upload issues, you know, at one point we had to stop the show and it'd reboot everything. So kind of what started this whole.
00:05:55
Speaker
Yeah. Is it, was that the, was that the internet or you think? I don't know. I don't know what it was. Yeah. whoa I never, I never, it's never consistent enough for me to like diagnose it or even call. was like, I know when I call them, I'm like, no, know, your internet is fine.
00:06:14
Speaker
Sometimes it matters on the ping rates and stuff like that. Yeah. For good. Well, I had, you know, my internet was always pretty rock solid, but I always had issues and it was just because of the ping or, you know, just the, the, the, not the, the, yeah, the router. Yeah.
00:06:34
Speaker
just wasn't up to date enough and the ping rates were too slow. I don't know enough of about that stuff, but just because you have a solid connection doesn't mean it's always working. No, good speed's only one one part of it.
00:06:45
Speaker
Yeah. And I think what happens with cable, because I've had this happen with my house and actually your parents' house. You come home one day and they got a note on your door. We've cut your cable. Call us. Because something goes on. So for our example, the line that they had buried from the pole to the house was decaying enough that it was getting line noise to all. And it was shutting down. It was it affecting other people's internet.
00:07:08
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So we do have that. I don't, which I don't think fiber is. So we'll see. We'll but we'll get to compare. See how, I mean, it's sure it's going the show way better. It already has. It already has. Look at that. Five minutes of talking about internet.
00:07:25
Speaker
Anywho, let's get on to the to the stories here
SPLC Controversies and DOJ Indictment
00:07:28
Speaker
today. I think, um I mean, ah as everybody's talking about, you know, most of the news is talking about Iran and the strait and it's open and we're taking boats and then we're shooting ah tankers and then Iran's taking and there's Iran's mining and ahh blah, blah, blah.
00:07:43
Speaker
Too much to to even know what the heck is going on there. But while all that was happening, We had some news come out that kind of, I feel like it slipped under the radar, but maybe not for some people.
00:07:56
Speaker
if If you're on X, this did not slip under the radar. Yes. So I guess the the story is the DOJ came out with an announcement about the SPLC, which is the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama, a group that I've been watching for years since I can remember, s spew nonsense and absolute BS to the American people.
00:08:21
Speaker
they have announced and an indictment. but I figured let's, let's remind people. We've got a couple of clips here. going to spend a little bit on this. I think this is pretty important because when we see a lot these protests, especially no Kings and all this stuff, almost guaranteed Southern Poverty Law Center has something to do with some of them, if not a major donor in this.
00:08:43
Speaker
But what we've also found out is they're spending money. They're sending money to other places. But first, Let's hear from John Stossel. We got a couple of clips here from John Stossel. This is a two or three year old video that he put out about the ah Southern Poverty Law Center. And he kind of goes through what they are.
00:09:02
Speaker
and kind of their background a little bit. So let's see what we can come up with. So listen, John Stossel here, this is BLC. There are dangerous hate groups in America dangerous who will warn us about them.
00:09:14
Speaker
The media tell us. The Southern Poverty Law Center. The Southern Poverty Law Center. The Southern Poverty Law Center, based in that building in Alabama, calls itself the premier group monitoring hate groups and other extremists.
00:09:28
Speaker
Looking at their map of hate groups, you'd think hate groups were everywhere. I once believed what the center said. Well-meaning people still do. Apple gave them a million dollars.
00:09:39
Speaker
But what donors don't know is that today the center smears good people. The presence of radical Islam This Somalian woman speaks out against radical Islam.
00:09:50
Speaker
For that, the center put her on its list. Hater. Join the fight against hate and bigotry. Visit sblcenter.org. I do think that we have a problem with hate in this country. We've put about 10 of these major hate groups out of business. When I first investigated the center, its leaders wouldn't talk to me.
00:10:08
Speaker
So liberal commentator Nomiki Kuntz defended them. They have a history, a long history of fighting against extremists like the KKK. History, yes. But they labeled skeptical Muslims like Ayaan Hirsi Ali as haters.
00:10:22
Speaker
If you have a horrible experience with religion, that's one thing. It's another thing to use as experience as ammunition against others who are practicing their religion peacefully. But they're just speaking, criticizing it course she has the right to free speech, as does the Southern Poverty Law Center has a right to push back. Free speech. We can stand together against hate.
00:10:42
Speaker
Free speech, Tom. It's all about free speech. Freeze the peach. Who is Ayaan Harishi Ali? You ever heard of her?
00:10:52
Speaker
No. I have. I've seen her on clips. taken You know, there's a Somali woman takes down... college student something like that. of those kinds deals. So she'll do speaking gigs and people come up and give questions kind of similar to like the, what's that new Shapiro's company does.
00:11:12
Speaker
And so here is, I did a little, but I put my notes here. Here we go. Who is, she is. So Ayan Harishi Ali, I'm sure I fumbled that. Bless What's that?
00:11:29
Speaker
Nothing. Oh. Is a Somalian-born activist. Okay. Author of and former Dutch politician known for her sharp criticism of Islam. This is according to Google. An advocacy for women's rights.
00:11:44
Speaker
So this woman in this clip says, well, yeah, I mean, when you've had ah a, whole ah you know, not a good experience or she says horrible or a bad experience of religion, yeah, if you have a right to speak out about it.
00:11:55
Speaker
So what's her... Bad experience with the Muslim religion. Well, first, she, after fleeing a forced marriage in the Netherlands in 1992, she became a parliamentarian, ah partnered on the controversial film Submission, and now it works as a fellow in United States Advocacy Against Islamic Extremism. Background. She born in Somalia in 69.
00:12:14
Speaker
She underwent female genital mutilation at age five.
00:12:22
Speaker
little bit more than just a horrible experience. They mutilated her for religious reasons. Yeah, but don't they do that there? Yes, but that's not, she's like, well, when you have a bad experience with, with religion, yes.
00:12:35
Speaker
Yes. A bad experience, like someone, someone maybe, maybe they spanked you a little too hard, but no, they literally mutilated her. She tell you that's what Muslims do. That's the Muslim religion, right? That's the extremist.
00:12:47
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. So I think she, think she has every right to criticize the Muslim religion. I really do. And the, and then, you know, It's just free speech. The Southern Poverty Law Center has every right to call her a hater. All right. Well, let's keep going, I guess. what it's not you know it's just It's just a list, right?
00:13:09
Speaker
I mean, they just they've put this list out and they just tell me, well, we're just making a list. and um And you know that's really all. We just want to let people know that these people are haters.
00:13:21
Speaker
What happens when you get put on this list? but' see a few examples. The center also calls the Family Research Council a hate group. Oh, these best. The definition of a marriage is what it's been for 5,000 years. It's the union of a man and a woman. I often disagree with the council myself, but do they belong on this hate map?
00:13:40
Speaker
When they don't agree with you politically, they're going to list you as a hater. You are haters. You hate gays. No, I don't hate gay people. and But once you become a hate group, you're a target. Developing now word of a shooting at the Family Research Council there in Washington. One man was so enraged by what the Southern Poverty Law Center said about the Family Research Council, he went to their headquarters to kill people. A man shot a security guard in the arm. Fortunately, that guard stopped the man before he could shoot anyone else. He told the judge that he was there to kill as many of us as possible because we were a hate group. The center also smears the Ruth Institute.
00:14:16
Speaker
Okay, so, I mean, that's just a crazy guy, right? I mean, can't really blame Southern Public Law Center for a crazy guy going and shooting up the place or going to kill bunch of people because they're a hate group.
00:14:29
Speaker
I mean, that's I'm sure that's just some crazy guy. too A Christian group that believes gays should not have an equal right to adopt children. They're not haters. I like gay people. have no problem with gay people. That's not the issue. The issue is what are we doing with kids and the definition of who counts as a parent? There could be cases where the best person for a particular child would be their Uncle Harry and his boyfriend. You know, that could be. But we owe it to the children to give them the best we can, which generally is a married mother and father. So you're a hater. You're evil.
00:15:02
Speaker
When the Southern Poverty Law Center put the Ruth Institute on its hate map, the Institute's bank cut them off. We've determined that you're an organization that promotes hate, violence, harassment, and so therefore we're not doing business with you. The Ruth Institute and the Family Research Council are still on the hate list. There's no appeal, and I sure don't know how you get off.
00:15:24
Speaker
So it's not just, it's not just a list. It's not just crazy people. It's, it's a, it's an instruction manual for activist companies and people. Yeah. What, you know, what else they did too, was they were on a panel or on the board of YouTube and they just were deleting channels at the request of Southern Poverty Law Center. Yeah.
00:15:48
Speaker
Yeah. And some other things we might find out soon enough, but we'll get to that in a second. Let's listen to one last thing. what So what about,
00:15:58
Speaker
what are we talking about? Let's follow the money. Show me the money. I mean, can't be that bad, right? I mean, it's just just the SPLC. We'll see what, this last one from John Stossel.
00:16:10
Speaker
I suspect the center keeps its hate list long because that brings in lots of money. Morris Deese's salary is more than my entire annual budget. president So, yeah, whatever they're doing, it pays. it sure does.
00:16:24
Speaker
Years ago, Harper's Magazine reported that the center was the richest civil rights group in America, one that spends most of its time and money trying to make more money. They promised to stop fundraising once their endowment reached $55 million. dollars But when they reached $55 million, they changed that to $100 million. Oh, inflation. Saying that would allow them to cease costly fundraising. But when they reached $100 million, they didn't stop.
00:16:50
Speaker
They collected $200 million, then $400 million. then four hundred million now they've got million. yet they still smear people to raise more money Much of which is in offshore camps, Caymans and places like that. How do you know?
00:17:06
Speaker
Oh, we look at their 990s. And it says Cayman Islands? Yeah. Now the Southern Poverty Law Center calls groups that simply oppose sexually explicit content in schools anti-government extremists.
00:17:19
Speaker
Moms for Liberty and Moms for America are on the hate map because they dare do things like seek school board seats to try to stop districts from disregarding opinions of parents.
00:17:31
Speaker
Give me a break. The center puts them on the hate map, but not Antifa, the hate group that beats up people on the right. Well, yeah. $750 million. dollars I bet you now it's close to a billion.
00:17:49
Speaker
After a few years, this is a couple years old, this report. For sure. So what did the DOJ do? Well, they ah they they some they acquired a grand jury indictment.
00:18:00
Speaker
of the group and now they're under investigation. I think that's how it goes. Let's listen to a little bit from, this is Asmund Gold. And one of the reasons I picked this is it's already cut up for me. So I don't have to go through the 30 minute press conference and cut the good parts out. here He already did it. So here, let's hear what's a little bit from the press conference, a little bit from um this guy and what the DOJ found and what they're going to do.
00:18:28
Speaker
Good afternoon. Today, a few minutes ago, in the Middle District of Alabama, a grand jury returned an 11-count indictment charging the Southern Poverty Law Center with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The SPLC is a nonprofit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups with the goal of dismantling these groups. As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose there it is by paying sources to stoke racial hatred. Isn't it crazy that we found out that the whole trans thing was being pushed by Jeffrey Epstein? And now we're finding out that all of the racial animosity was being pushed by these organizations? want to make sure i understand you're alleging that the Southern Poverty Law Center was paying the leaders of KKK and and other groups to continue their operation. I'm not alleging it. The grand jury returned an indictment. this And so what?
00:19:30
Speaker
It's a grand jury. Oh, my God. Oh, here we go. Which other... Oh, bro. Oh, they are locked in. It's Mark Andreessen, Elon Musk. Which other prominent NGOs are doing this? Exactly. They use their donor network to raise money to purportedly dismantle a violent extremist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center used the money from their donor network to... actually pay the leadership of these very groups.
00:19:54
Speaker
wow I just want to say that again. They use the fraudulently raised money by lying to their donor network, thousands of Americans to go ahead and actually pay the leadership of these supposed violent extremist groups.
00:20:05
Speaker
All right, hold on, pause it for one second. 30 seconds left. So now the the the defense of this by, you know, CNN and MSNOW and mess now in Southern Poverty Law Center is they were just paying informants
00:20:22
Speaker
secretly paying informants. oh But I didn't know, like, like I didn't know you, that's an informant. I didn't know that. I thought like at a law enforcement agency had to call.
00:20:35
Speaker
I didn't know you could literally call them. So they were just paying them. but ha but But why would they? They were kind of, well, this will explain here. they're They were hiding it, paying them. ah How would they do that? That's the money laundering, I think. Here we go. brus Our investigation revealed that funds were used to facilitate the commission of further state and federal offenses. So that's also really important because like the whole idea of the, oh, they're just paying informants. No.
00:20:59
Speaker
They attempted to hide their criminal activity. Why would they do that? If they were just paying informants, why would they hide the activity? They set up shell companies and entities around america who's who does this so that the financial institutions that we rely on as everyday americans were deceived in believing that money was not coming from the southern poverty law center in the perpetration of this scheme and fraud this is a serious and egregious violation of a group that purported to dismantle violent extremist groups but in turn actually only fueled the hatred i will not be thankful until those people are in a jail cell Like not on trial, not arrested. i want them in a jail cell. Oh, here we go. Alex Jones.
00:21:40
Speaker
yeah No. Charlottesville was a false flag run by s SPLC operatives who hired actors to pose as Nazis. How? Who is he who is this guy? How does he know this? This is in so like, what the fuck?
00:21:59
Speaker
Alex Jones is right again. i tip that jar of every $10. Oh, yeah. Tim Poole's got to the Alex Jones is right tip jar.
00:22:10
Speaker
Yeah. I think should be overflowing at this point. Yeah. So last update I heard you last night was the DOJ is asking the Southern Poverty Law Center for all communications with the Biden DOJ.
00:22:26
Speaker
Uh-oh.
00:22:28
Speaker
Now we're going to really see some stuff. And I think like, like he brought up, like Asmund was like, he's looking on Twitter and like, who else? To me, this goes back to USAID.
00:22:43
Speaker
Definitely. It's the same kind of thing, just local. It's just in our country instead of and in the foreign land.
00:22:51
Speaker
But the question still stands. Will anyone go to jail?
00:23:02
Speaker
um I'm skeptical at best. I mean, well I really hope so, but. Like a grand jury says, grand jury isn't really much.
00:23:13
Speaker
I mean, what you don't need a majority. ah You need a majority, but it's not like an overwhelming majority to go ahead with the case, right? Well, yeah, like grand jury is significant because you you have a board of ah five or 10 people. I can't remember what a grand jury is. I imagine it's different, but they've looked at the evidence that the prosecutors have and they've said it's almost like a pre-trial.
00:23:35
Speaker
Well, they said there's enough to go ahead. Right. But it's not an like they don't, they're not saying they're guilty either. So now they now we have a trial. Let's see what they actually have. Right.
00:23:47
Speaker
And, or I, I'd imagine discovery first, right? Yeah. I mean, there's innocent until proven guilty, obviously. i just, I mean, if you're guilty, if you're hiding, if you're, if you've got,
00:24:01
Speaker
well ah you're, you're making up organizations just so you can give them money so they can give it to the KKK or whoever else. I think, yeah, I think you've got issues.
00:24:12
Speaker
If you're just paying informants, you don't need to hide it.
00:24:15
Speaker
Well, if there's no KKK, how can they raise money? Right. Exactly. it's It's the same thing. NAACP, hello. Without racism, the NAACP goes away and whole bunch of people lose their jobs like, don't know, Jesse Jackson.
00:24:32
Speaker
so So many things work like that, right? Yeah. I mean. If there's no homeless, I don't have a job trying to help the homeless. so If there's no drug problem, we don't have a war on drugs. Right. Right.
00:24:47
Speaker
Yeah, I can go on. So there's that. Hopefully this will thisll go. We'll keep looking at it and see what happens. But I'm hoping. I'm hoping this this takes the whole thing down because I can't wait to see the discovery on this.
00:25:02
Speaker
just can't wait to see who they're paying and who is paying them because I'm hearing... i was well I forget what podcast i was listening to. And they they mentioned that they thought in some of these documents that some people on there, well, Tim Pool, they're saying, gave a million dollars.
00:25:18
Speaker
Pardon of me? What was that? Yeah, Tim Pool gave him a million dollars. Gave who? Southern Poverty Law Center. Gave them a million dollars? Who's saying that? This was, um
00:25:30
Speaker
what's the, the Andrew Bette Davis? Okay. Now, I didn't look into it. He just, he was going off of a list and he just, he spewed it out. I Tim Pool gave him a million dollars? What?
00:25:42
Speaker
I want to look into that. But what's starting to come out is, you know, they may be tied in with some of these grifters on the right too. Not saying that's Tim Pool. Well, it's kind of, it's kind of odd if you think about it. Candace Owens,
00:25:58
Speaker
stopped broadcasting and left town. Went to France. I mean, yeah Spain or something. Italy. Oh, that's right. Nick Fuentes also went to Italy. Got to do.
00:26:13
Speaker
And Ian Carroll also. Ian Carroll is... yeah he he he has a pretty... He's a he's like a...
00:26:25
Speaker
I don't know enough about him. He spews really, he's like a supposedly on the right, but hates Trump.
00:26:36
Speaker
But it' but it's like it's definitely like grifting type of stuff. not It's not legit. I don't know how anybody follows the guy. So interesting. I do like it.
00:26:47
Speaker
Again, this is what I voted for. So please continue to do this because this is...
00:26:56
Speaker
this is a bane to our country's existence. They need to be, they need be called out. Hey, you can do whatever group you want, but you you'll know let's be transparent. And I don't know, let's have the government take a look at you.
00:27:08
Speaker
Cause I know when I was on, when I was on, ah when I was doing tea party stuff years ago, while we were, we were, we tried to get a 501 C3. Oh yeah. That was fun. That was fun. don't know.
00:27:18
Speaker
Obama administration. So Joe Biden's entire campaign or his run started on, A lie, yeah you know, the very fine people ip lie, and which the SPLC basically funded, brought them brought the extremists there, right?
00:27:41
Speaker
Supposedly, according to Alex Jones, hired actors. Yeah. And a little bit more evidence to that is the next, the following year, if you if you recall, the following year, like four people showed up at for the anniversary.
00:27:57
Speaker
Which you could take either way, but I'm looking at it like, hey, if i was if I was a Nazi racist KKK member and this just happened, i made wouldn't you think you maybe you'd maybe show up and invent a bigger force the next year or something like that? But could be wrong.
00:28:11
Speaker
Yeah, was but it was a ton of BS there. Yeah. And then, yeah, the following year nobody shows up, it's like, yeah And so, you know, more little more. People still believe that. You know that?
00:28:23
Speaker
Yes, I do. It's crazy. Yeah. Very fine people. It is so easily found out that it's wrong, that it was secretly, it was conveniently edited by the media. Yeah, yeah. That was the media pushing that, right? I'm not talking about the white supremacist. I wish I could do a Trump
00:28:42
Speaker
So that was that. That was the big news coming out of the list that I came up with. I was talking between this and Alien Omar is what I call her now. Alien Omar.
00:28:55
Speaker
She's a all of a sudden not worth as much money as she thought. But maybe we'll talk about that next week. don't know. We'll see. Next on the list is... Well, we didn't talk about this candidate last week because we were talking about Amy and Casey. We talked about her already, though. yeah now Yeah. We talked about her when she first announced.
00:29:14
Speaker
Yeah. This is Heather Hill. Right. She's running for governor in Ohio, and she was former school board member, and she's
Ohio Political Fallout and Campaigns
00:29:26
Speaker
got some issues. Yeah, she's got some issues.
00:29:29
Speaker
So she her and her lieutenant governor, candidate for lieutenant governor, Stuart Motes have ah had a falling out of of some major proportions here and a public one at best, at best or at at ah at that. And so according to Heather Hill, Motes and her Lieutenant Governor candidates on Saturday announced that she would be replacing Motes as her running mate after irreconcilable differences.
00:30:02
Speaker
I think there might be a little bit more than that. So let's go in. Let's get in a little bit more. so So apparently she's alleging this is. Moats used a racial slur to describe Hill.
00:30:16
Speaker
Of course. Moats denied all the allegations. Now, as I searched through this Fox 8 article, guess what I don't see?
00:30:25
Speaker
he did not say what he said. Like what racial slur did he use? Can we be the judge of what she said and how you're taking and all that stuff? Okay. So that's to me like, Hmm, Hmm, maybe not. Maybe, maybe, maybe it's, maybe you're a bit too sensitive.
00:30:41
Speaker
Um, also claiming that Motz is be making people look uncomfortable. Um, and Motz claimed,
00:30:56
Speaker
That, well, no, Hill claimed that he was making female campaign member ah campaign staff uncomfortable. Motz argued that what he was doing, a lot of what he was doing to help fundraise would have been done by a campaign manager.
00:31:16
Speaker
So he was kind of complaining about it. I think that sounds like that's what started Maybe she doesn't have a campaign campaign manager. She's putting a lot of that stuff on the lieutenant governor. Well, yeah, but because they got no money. Yes, that's probably a big part of it. But yeah. And and so I guess they got into a texting fight.
00:31:31
Speaker
And Motes threatened to block her because she's lie she lies.
00:31:38
Speaker
Motes called Hill on social media. Motes called Hill a deranged lunatic narcissist. She is running for governor. I would try most. Most most people it could be. Yeah. Yeah. um Who tried to defame him.
00:31:53
Speaker
Most claim there were two photo shoots and said he would never have pulled her close because she is a she is, quote unquote, physically disgusting. Well, he brought that up because she she said he he was pulling her in too close and made her ah feel uncomfortable. Yeah.
00:32:12
Speaker
Yeah. Said that a couple staff members had told him to stop doing that. And he's like, no, I never did that. Would you crazy? And I kind of thought, well, and I don't know. um She's, you know, she's big lady.
00:32:24
Speaker
She's a big lady. yeah He's voluptuous in every way. Well, I mean, if um you she's around. Motes said Hill has no integrity and claimed all and claimed all of her comments about him were lies.
00:32:37
Speaker
So the problem here is, according to Ohio law, If your lieutenant governor withdraws, dies or withdraws, then you can replace him.
00:32:49
Speaker
But if you kick him out, like if you guys, like in this situation, they're saying there's nothing you can do. Like he's not withdrawing, you're removing him. So there's kind of a influx. Not that I don't think this really matters other than it's something to talk about, yeah.
00:33:07
Speaker
So she's kind of out, basically. She's out. School board member. Let's keep that again. Let's keep that into in in mind for the the following stories we have coming up later. School board member. Talked about school board members, you know, in SBLC kind of thing.
00:33:23
Speaker
Get back to that. But yeah, so she's got problems and basically her campaign is done. see what she I guess they're going to continue with her on the ballot with Motes. And if she wins, she's going to replace them. with
00:33:41
Speaker
I mean, no harm, no foul, because yeah I don't think you were going anywhere anyway. But like like you said with Casey. No, won't even hit a percent. No, like you were saying with Casey, maybe you were on the school board. Okay, now move up to like city council or something like that and start yeah hopping your way up and get some, maybe get some of this crap out of your way, you know, before you get to the limelight.
00:33:59
Speaker
The way I see it, anybody who's running for that type of position is a narcissist. Always. You have to think highly of yourself to be able to go, you know, to do that.
00:34:12
Speaker
um I'm not saying it's ah necessarily a bad thing. I'm just. No, it can be if you go too far with it. But yeah, you kind of you're going to have, you got to have a lot of confidence and think highly of yourself. You have to put yourself out there in front like that. Yeah, totally.
00:34:27
Speaker
But hey, I mean, i guess you got to vet your, vet your lieutenant governor's little bit better. Oh, I'm still not.
00:34:36
Speaker
I don't know who to believe here.
00:34:39
Speaker
um I don't like the fact that she's claiming racial slurs, but yet doesn't want to tell us what he said or give us proof of what he said. you know Yeah. so that's That right now. Calling the black card or calling out, you know, just playing the black card.
00:34:54
Speaker
Yeah, the race card. Totally. That's kind of what disappointed me on this. i was hoping that. ah She seemed different at first, right? As a so-called conservative, she may want to pull the race card.
00:35:05
Speaker
unless it's Unless you can show me like, hey, he called you X, Y, and Z. And then we can go, oh, okay, maybe. But but since you won't well tell us, I guess I'm not going to worry about it.
00:35:18
Speaker
All right, moving on. We've got a an update here from our friends at abolishpropertytaxes.org.
00:35:27
Speaker
Seems as though they come out with an announcement last week. Kind of giving an update on the grassroots campaign to abolish property taxes in Ohio. It's according to ah Channel 5 News, News Channel 5, is gaining momentum, but supporters don't have enough sign signatures yet to put the question before voters in November.
00:35:48
Speaker
So the update is so far, volunteers have collected 305,000 signatures, putting them almost halfway to their goal of 620,000 signatures by the end June. Yeah. They need, what is it like 415,000? Yeah. Just, like just under 415.
00:36:03
Speaker
But you want to have at least a hundred thousand because a lot of those signatures aren't going to count. Yeah. They'll get, done they'll get tossed out for whatever reason. lot, usually a certain percentage that does. So they're looking for 620 or thereabouts. Is that okay?
00:36:17
Speaker
I didn't hear that. I thought, okay, that's a, well, Go sign the goite a petition. I don't know. ah but They've gotten this far with and got $300,000. Are they going to get another $300,000 two months?
00:36:33
Speaker
and Well, they have to gain um momentum. It's not like you're going to get everything real quick. So ah my biggest question is, which I don't know, is if, let's say they don't get enough.
00:36:50
Speaker
Or they can't get it on the ballot? Do these signatures count for 2027 to get it on that ballot? i Good question. If i I remember correctly, don't know if there was a time limit, but maybe there is. I thought they had up until the November election to get it on.
00:37:10
Speaker
But I could be wrong. i don't i don't It doesn't say...
00:37:16
Speaker
uh it's uh oh to get their proposal constitutionally amended on the november ballot the group must submit more than 413 000 ballot signatures to the state election officials by july 1st this is even this is for that so yeah that's uh then uh they'll need to gather hundreds of thousands of extras through since blah blah blah
00:37:40
Speaker
Oh, I see. They might not turn it in. Ah, yep. But and but keep the keep all the signatures, the petitions for 2027. There we go.
00:37:51
Speaker
Okay. So if they turn it in, then they don't count next next year. so Right, you got to start all over again. yep Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yep. Um, so they can still continue to go and can go into the 2027 primary or the, don't know. Do we do we have a primary in 27? I don't know.
00:38:08
Speaker
There's always a primary. ah Usually, ah unfortunately it won't be, be a mid, uh, in between the off year election, which is the greatest.
00:38:21
Speaker
If you're looking for people to show up. and That's true. Probably why they're trying from November ballot. Cause it's a governor's gubernatorial election. We'll get most people out to vote. best chance of winning. so That is true.
00:38:35
Speaker
Get out and sign it. Find out where to sign. I mean, you got just probably people five minutes from your house. You can call them up, get an appointment, run over, take five seconds and on their front porch, sign it and go. And it has to be somebody from your account. It doesn't have to be somebody from a county. You have to make sure you sign the right form that's for your county.
00:38:52
Speaker
That's the thing. like Anybody can sign it anywhere as long as you sign the right form. Each county has its own form, I guess. You have to separate them. but So keep it. Go out and sing sign it.
00:39:04
Speaker
Sign it. They need the help. Keep talking. And I think. Because I'm going to. Okay, you got to look for axohtax.com.
00:39:15
Speaker
t a x dot com So you can go on there and try to find a close location to yourself. We'll put the link yeah on the website. yeah we'll put in the show notes. be on the website.
00:39:29
Speaker
um I think um and think the quote I saw, don't know. Part of sees the, so I watched a little bit of their live announcement of their signatures and an update announcement on YouTube, on their YouTube channel.
00:39:49
Speaker
It's very cringe. It was very cringe. Why? What what was cringe? why they're They're in somebody's house in, and can't remember where in Ohio, who has a replica of the Oval Office. Oh, I'm looking at the picture. Yeah, there's Massey at the desk. There's everybody around him. And the cringe part was, that was a little bit of it.
00:40:07
Speaker
The lighting was horrible. i don't i know if you could... and This is a ground roots. I know. I know. But if you look at the people surrounding him, they they need to get somebody in there that knows how to produce things.
00:40:19
Speaker
And if you go back, if you go on their, on their site, don't look at the, if you you listen to the news channel five article that we have in the show notes, there's a clip in there um that, that they show some of the, of the video, but that's with news channel fives audio.
00:40:34
Speaker
If you look at the, from their actual website, it's it's horrible. It's still like, the it's so overmodulated and distorted. And it's like, I just think, yeah, I'll be honest. I'm disappointed because we contacted them early on to try to get somebody on the show just to yeah say hey promote this and nobody ever got back to us. so I mean, yeah, just let us know what we can do to help and in any way, you know, more promotion and stuff like that or whatever. And I never even got an email back. um I would assume they never saw my email.
00:41:05
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. But, I mean that would... Is anyone watching the email? I don't know. don't So that's kind of... going to their website right now, and it it Safari says can't open the page.
00:41:19
Speaker
X2Tax.org? Dot com. Or is it dot com? Well, that's not good. Yeah. Same with you. X2Tax.com.
00:41:36
Speaker
Well, A-X-E-T-H-E-T-A-X.com. No, A-X-O-H-T-A-X. I should
00:41:47
Speaker
probably listen to it. Can't open Safari. oh Yeah. So that's not cool. Get your ish together.
00:42:00
Speaker
Yep, still can't. Well, we're still going to put the link on the website and see what happens. Final location. Okay. So AX, I go on Google.
00:42:12
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. I go, so i i search for it on Google and the first link is the website and it's not. Right. Prime example of, um, Too many boomers in there. Come on. Get some. I mean, I mean, talking me you get that you get somebody like in their 40s, it'd be fine.
00:42:26
Speaker
50s. 50s. Yeah. yeah Somebody in there that early 50s. I feel like I'm on the edge of like at 55. I'm kind of like half. Most of the people I know my age are pretty much Internet illiterate.
00:42:42
Speaker
Yes. You know, and I work a lot. And well, yeah, but people, know, even five years younger are are way more capable. Seems like it at least.
00:42:54
Speaker
And you know, and a good example of how to do it could be, we'll see, but up till now I can see this, the conserve Ohio movement would be our next story. So this is, we kind of mentioned this a little bit a few weeks ago about the data centers. This is conserveohio.com is the website. We'll have the link in the show notes and you pull up, I think a X,
00:43:16
Speaker
X post from conserve Ohio. Their website is awesome. mean, you go on and it's very plain, big sign. It says conserve Ohio, big, you know, graphic of Ohio, conserve Ohio in it. Our mission proposed amendment in the news, where to locate and stuff like that. So if you click on our mission,
00:43:36
Speaker
It states pretty plainly what they want to do. We're circulating a petition to allow Ohioans to vote directly on the future of large-scale data centers in the state. Learn more about our position below.
00:43:48
Speaker
It goes on. They say they're seeking, this petition seeks to to amend the Ohio Constitution in order to ban the construction of data centers that consume over 25 megawatts of energy per month.
00:44:01
Speaker
25 megawatts is the threshold between a manageable, community-friendly facility and an industrial-scale center that we can use as much power as a small town.
00:44:14
Speaker
Our petition simply says that anything bigger than 25 megawatts should be prohibited. Ohio already has approximately 200 data centers. It does not need anymore.
00:44:27
Speaker
I'll tell you what, mean i'm ah I'm on their website. It's awesome. yeah you can They have somebody who knows. Yeah, I mean, I'm sure it's just a WordPress template type of thing. but Oh, yeah, it doesn't have to be, it just has to be easy to navigate. And I yeah and i did navigate the axetext.com for a while. it it was It wasn't bad, but it was.
00:44:46
Speaker
I'm sorry. It looked like somebody in their 60s designed it. I'm sorry. Yeah. It was very 19 2005-ish. 1999 almost.
00:44:54
Speaker
ninety ninety nine almost Okay, close enough. Good point. It probably was more like 1994. um And they go through a couple of their points, four or five points.
00:45:05
Speaker
environmental kind of The environmental impacts, economical impacts impacts, infrastructure impacts on our energy, privacy. You know, this is just amplifying big tech's ability to collect and control and exploit our data.
00:45:21
Speaker
And I talk about artificial intelligence. I, to me, the only issue I have with this is it's a constitutional amendment.
00:45:31
Speaker
I, I, I, I looked it up real quick before the show. and and I mean, you probably have no idea how many constitutional amendments we have, right? You probably have no clue. You never looked it up. I never have even. Ohio? Yeah.
00:45:41
Speaker
Yeah. I have no. Can you 174. Yeah, that's too many. It's part of the, part of this issue is this is how our constitution designed.
00:45:54
Speaker
The amendment process. Now the state legislature can make an, put an amendment up for vote or through petition like they're doing.
00:46:01
Speaker
ah To me, the, the, the constitutional amendment problem with that is, okay, should you ban 25 megawatts? It's 15 years down the road, 20 years down, whatever it is down the road. And, know, maybe you need, maybe you need a data center that's bigger than 25 megawatts. Now you have to have a constitutional amendment to remove the constitutional amendment.
00:46:18
Speaker
Right. but Which is in some cases good, but because makes it a harder. You're going to say something?
00:46:29
Speaker
Nope. Okay. I don't know. Let's go. I mean, I guess this is something and it's something that people are pretty concerned about. So I can see it getting, getting some popularity.
00:46:42
Speaker
No, it doesn't say when. Obviously, they're not expecting get this done before November or June, june actually. End of June, probably the same stipulations as Axe the Tex, but yeah.
00:47:00
Speaker
You like it? What do you like? it Don't like it. you think?
00:47:05
Speaker
I like it.
00:47:09
Speaker
I don't know. i not i'm very When I hear ban, I always go, ugh, it makes me uncomfortable. and Bands are easy to get. Bands are easier. to There's always a ways. Business will find a way around a band. Maybe something better we can do.
00:47:21
Speaker
Need some barriers. Exactly. I completely agree. that's I agree there needs to be something done. and and But what we learned last week sounds like the Ohio legislature has put kind of a pause on any new data centers for the next year or so. And that was, I think, unanimous, which rarely happens. and Yeah, they're they're waiting for people to stop paying attention.
00:47:38
Speaker
to stop paying attention yeah That's what's going to happen. That's a fair point. Exactly. that's ah It's hot right now. i mean It's in the news. I mean, what what happens in a year?
00:47:50
Speaker
Yeah.
00:47:54
Speaker
Tell you what, they are crazy and it is a huge bubble. I'm just waiting for it to pop. Everybody's to be freaking out. All On to the next one. I mean, this one is just such an important story. we had to cover it.
00:48:10
Speaker
um Apparently, there's some Ohio State legislatures are fed up with streaming services and the fact that they can't get the NBA, they can't get the Cavs playoff games on their TV.
Streaming Services and Sports Access
00:48:21
Speaker
So let's... Well, I pulled this aside just because i i'm not ah I'm not a sports fan. So I don't care.
00:48:31
Speaker
But... I do you wonder how people are dealing with this. This is something you and i talked about years ago at at the table. Yeah. it shouldn't Probably be Thanksgiving or whatever.
00:48:42
Speaker
And I remember saying, man this is going to be cool. You get to pick and choose like, you know, your own stations. And I think your point was, do you remember? No. no It was a great point. So of course you don't remember.
00:48:55
Speaker
Thanks. and It was a good point. You said, and even I was like, ah I don't know. You said, well, yeah, but I think we're going to pay more. Oh, yeah. i've Okay. I wasn't sure where you're going with that. And i I'm not sure if we're there yet because cable is pretty freaking expensive.
00:49:10
Speaker
Well, okay. Cable TV is pretty freaking expensive. I cut the cable. It's been a decade already, at least. But I'm trying to think. We're in 2026. Oh, yeah. More than probably a dozen or years ago, i cut the cable. And it was a lot cheaper at first. But it's I'm still paying less because I think I was at about $170 a month yep for cable, television, and internet.
00:49:39
Speaker
So now with a couple of streaming services and internets, they're charging me $100
00:49:46
Speaker
just for the internet. And with a couple of streaming services, but Oh yeah, it's still cheaper. But if I wanted, if I wanted, let's say Netflix prime.
00:49:59
Speaker
And if I wanted to get Paramount, Paramount and ah let's let's say ah HBO or something like that, ah yeah I'd be right back up to what I was paying before, but that is a dozen years ago.
00:50:14
Speaker
I'm not even calculating the internet costs because I probably have that anyway. Well, that's, yeah, but I mean, it's one way look out at you Yeah. Yeah. mean, I'm just looking at my, my my entire bill. Yeah. Yeah.
00:50:24
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I'm trying to compare what I had versus what I have now. It's not hard to get to 80 bucks a month on streaming services. I'm reading this article and I stop and I, I yell out to my wife. I said, is Netflix really $26 a month? Maybe that's the next, that might be the next story.
00:50:42
Speaker
but let so let's Are you paying that much for Netflix? I have to check. I think I am. So let me let's go with the News Channel 5. Oh, is that extra televisions and everything? I think because ad-free.
00:50:54
Speaker
I don't have... And and extra TVs. Yeah, it's two extra TVs. have an extra... Yeah, probably because you have two or more TVs. I think the base package, you only have one TV. And then the one up from it, you get three.
00:51:05
Speaker
Right. Or something like that. And then I think your mom uses our Netflix. Or maybe maybe we switched her. i don't remember. But yeah, it's $26 a month for the big package. Let's hear from News Channel 5 because, of course, politicians get involved because they've got nothing better to do, it sounds like. Here we go.
00:51:23
Speaker
Okay, so we've heard from viewers having trouble trying to watch the Cavaliers playoff run. Columbus Bureau reporter Morgan Trout tells us lawmakers are trying to get involved to make sure everyone can see the action.
00:51:34
Speaker
You're about to turn on the Cleveland Cavaliers latest playoff game, but you can't find it. After searching where to watch, you realize. And instead of watching the tip off, you are signing up and paying for yet another streaming service. if it put but what it is Sports fans like Bill DeMora are routinely frustrated when trying to watch their favorite team. It's getting ridiculous for the everyday fan nowadays to watch sports because they have to have a dozen different services streaming or otherwise. And many Cavs fans are feeling that right now. While in the playoffs against the Toronto Raptors, the Cavs played their first game on Amazon Prime Video. The second is on NBC's paid service Peacock.
00:52:15
Speaker
And the third will be back on Amazon. But sometimes they're on cable staples like ESPN. Something's going to be done about it. These subscriptions add up, which is why DeMora, a Columbus Democrat, is evaluating how to regulate these broadcast deals. If the Browns are on Amazon Prime on a Thursday night, the contract for the NFL says the local NBC station can show that game on NBC. And if the if the NFL can do it, then all the rest of the leagues can't do it. We reached out to both the Cavs, who said that this was the league's media ah deal, and the NBA, which didn't respond. It likely is free market. Business law expert Eric Chafee said that the and NBA has both the First Amendment and property rights on their side, as contracts have already been signed. These are viewed as property rights on the part of league the leagues.
00:53:01
Speaker
And as a result of that, there would be you know major constitutional hurdles for doing this. DeMora says that because Rocket Arena is publicly owned, he may have jurisdiction for some types of regulation. Chafee said it's possible, but not likely. That's some stretch and would be hard to figure out a way to do this um type of regulation or a way that complies with the law. Still, DeMora said it's worth a shot. Regular people are hurting. It's getting ridiculous. At the Columbus Bureau, I'm Morgan Trout reporting.
00:53:34
Speaker
There was a key one right there. What's that? Regular people are hurting.
00:53:41
Speaker
They're hurting. Hey, I got an idea.
00:53:45
Speaker
If you don't watch, they'll probably change. If you don't pay for the service. yeah Yeah. there's There's an issue, I think. Oh, yeah.
00:53:57
Speaker
i You know what? I remember when I was a young boy. Young lad. A young lad. Young laddie. i yeah I used to love watching baseball. i still love the sport. I just don't pay attention to the...
00:54:15
Speaker
to the teams anymore, but I remember flipping through the cable channels during the day, you know, you're you're home for ah in the summer, you're home, you're off from school.
00:54:27
Speaker
I could probably watch three or four different ball games and, and flip channels between innings and stuff and kind of catch up what, what's going on.
00:54:40
Speaker
You can't really do that anymore, can you? Without like no buying MLB type of no that's subscription? No, that stopped a long time ago. Yeah, I know. its That stopped when um when the Indians bought Sports Channel Ohio and put all the games, virtually all the games were on were on cable.
00:54:58
Speaker
Well, okay. I was watching cable. So you would, you would, maybe ah locally I'd catch the Indians, but ah like at Atlanta Braves were always on, him ah on their channel. And then there was, there was a few others. I forget the names of the stations, but yeah you were always able to catch stuff. And it was, it was, it was good um for, for baseball fans or, or for sports fans.
00:55:22
Speaker
Yeah.
00:55:24
Speaker
Yeah, I'm glad I don't watch anymore because this just would have killed it anyway because I'm not signing up for four, three or four streaming services just to watch. I know guys that struggle to pay their bills, but yet they still pay $400 a month or $400 or $500 a year for the NFL Network.
00:55:40
Speaker
Yeah, that's crazy. That's crazy, man. Like you're worried about making a wise car payment, but you just paid $500 to watch football. to watch football
00:55:50
Speaker
You know, it's funny because what I just came out, speaking don't watch anymore, for some reason on my YouTube algorithm somehow new, just watched the other day, oh, the dynasty that won nothing.
00:56:05
Speaker
It was about the ninety s Indians.
00:56:08
Speaker
Don are, it's Indians. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and and I got to, they did 94 and then this, the strike short in the year and and how that, you know, that they were kind of, um, the Indians were ripped away from a great year and a pennant and all that stuff. And then the following year was a short strike in year, strike shortened year. And then,
00:56:26
Speaker
So they went through the whole season. I'm like, man, that was, oh, I was at the game when Tony Payne, the first playoff game in 40 some years when Tony Payne hits the home run and the bottom of the 13th inning to win it. You know, I'm in the, I'm in the seats going, oh, not another inning. The backup catcher's on. And then he cracks a home run. Right.
00:56:41
Speaker
So I'm like, I remember that. Oh, boy, that was so awesome. And then they they get to the World Series and I'm like, yep, turn it off. They went up against Atlanta Braves. Well, it it was always John Hart trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Mm-hmm.
00:56:55
Speaker
with washed up pitchers. They weren't washed up, but they're at the end of their career. We never had a, never had a legitimate number one. Yeah. They never traded for a prime number one. They had a couple and and his theory was okay to have ah that veteran arm to help the young guys coming up. it's It's a great strategy, but they didn't have that. They didn't have that young, like you're saying that young power arm that was, we needed Pedro Martinez and we could have had him.
00:57:22
Speaker
Dennis Martinez was was a great pitcher. He just wasn't... He was on the verge of being a number three or two starter when he was our number one. He was because his... ah Martinez, what's... and We never had Pedro Martinez. Not Pedro Martinez, but we had...
00:57:38
Speaker
Oh, what's that? There was another guy. There was another Spanish, Hispanic guy that was. Oh, Dennis Martinez. Dennis Martinez. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He was, he was great. So it was great, but he was at the tail of his career. So it was. oh Yeah. oral her schisler Charles Nagy was a great number two. He would have been great. Number two. That guy's sinker was.
00:57:56
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. He was great, but he wasn't a number one. No, he's not. Yeah. ah Yeah, so there's they're they're they're they're thinking about forcing. don't know what they're going to do. This is a politician looking for headlines.
00:58:11
Speaker
But this brought up another one, which is, why i think. Why can't game, like especially playoff games, maybe not season games. Well, why can't they be la carte? Like, let me just buy the game. I'm going to be home.
00:58:24
Speaker
I'm going to be having pizza. Me and my wife are going to sit back and watch the game. Because I'm going to guess, I don't know, but my guess would be
00:58:35
Speaker
the streaming services want subscript subscriptions, subscribers. Yeah. So they're paying the an MLB, let's say. If MLB goes ahead and sells these games outside of the subscription service, why would why would they give MLB so much money?
00:58:50
Speaker
Okay, so let's let's say you have Netflix and enough you can, the playoff game is tonight and Netflix offers that two for $10. You know, it's a playoff game. It's it's a champion championship, ah division championship game, last game.
00:59:09
Speaker
And you want to pay 10 bucks to sit at home and watch And let's say they funnel it through the MLB network. ah Like, why can't they put something like that together?
00:59:22
Speaker
I don't, I'm not going to subscribe to MLB. I don't, I don't, but I, but I maybe, maybe through the playoff season, I would spend 30 bucks just to watch a few games.
00:59:34
Speaker
I'm just going go on a limb and guess because it doesn't maximize profits. Yeah, okay, but they're losing profit. I agree. the the the The leagues aren't. The leagues are getting paid big bucks for these deals. Yeah, yeah. It's what happens in five years. After a couple of these deals get get turned around and re um refreshed, you know, signed up again, we'll see.
00:59:58
Speaker
if these streaming companies are making any money, because if they don't sign these deals and they go back to the cable or whatever, then you, then you'll know that they're not making the money. I don't think it's that hard to make money streaming, being a streaming service, right?
01:00:12
Speaker
You just need a certain amount of subscribers. I don't know. I mean, it's it's a, I, I think it sucks, but I don't care at the same time. I just feel kind of bad for the casual fan, yeah I guess. Yeah.
01:00:29
Speaker
Well, on the light, we'll go into the next story real quick and see what, what about some hacks? Streaming service hacks. Did you watch this video? I didn't watch the video. No. Oh, is it bad?
01:00:42
Speaker
Well, you'll see. I'll, I'll point it out. Don't worry. don't have to, you don't have to watch it now, but, um, but we'll let's listen to the clip. This is new again, new channel five. This is hacks to lower your streaming TV bill as subscription costs continue to rise.
01:00:56
Speaker
And just, Just as a warning, don't get your hopes up because there's not much here. But we could talk about maybe other things to cut your streaming service bill down.
01:01:07
Speaker
let's listen again. Does it feel like you're paying more and more for fewer TV streaming services? You know, for a while, cutting the cable cord was the answer. But now that cost gap has shrunk. So we found ways to stream your favorite shows for a lot less.
01:01:25
Speaker
Kim Ellen Garvey struggles to make ends meet. So you're pretty frugal? Oh, yeah. You have to be. So she refuses to overpay for shows and movies. Using a Roku device, she pays for a few streaming services. We pay for Netflix, Disney Plus. And Peacock.
01:01:44
Speaker
It's time for Wicked for Good. But that's about it. How much you think you spend a month for streaming? I'd say we spend about maybe 50 bucks a month for streaming.
01:01:55
Speaker
right. wanted to pause this to throw this in there.
01:02:02
Speaker
I don't think this woman has left her couch in about 15 years. Really? i So it's not the same person that's on in the picture. well No. Oh, oh no no, no, no, no. That's just a stock photo. No, no, no. This is, um let's put it this way. if If this woman happened to tragically lose both her legs, she would make a great weeble wobble.
01:02:22
Speaker
Okay. She'd never be able to turn her, oak flip her over. which will come up in the next clip and the next part of this clip where she says, you know, what do you do during commercials? um But the other thing is i can't believe she let people, I mean, if go watch the video people, because you'll see what I'm talking about. Her house is a shit hole.
01:02:40
Speaker
There's crap stacked everywhere. And she is not, she is not frugal when it comes to feeding herself. Maybe she's cutting back on streaming service, maybe cut back on the food bill and you can afford more streaming services or maybe do something else. We'll continue.
01:02:55
Speaker
Most of her streaming channels are free, like Pluto and Tubi. I've found a lot of good content on Tubi. The only catch is watching ads, which a lot more customers are willing to do. Gives you time to get a snack or just sit there and relax for a little while in between. the foot of deloit finds tunnels Wait a minute.
01:03:16
Speaker
Get a snack. Okay, that makes sense because you've got like 18 chins and a gut so big it's past it's like it's going to pull you over. She's not going to do a sit-up. Or sit back and relax. Are you sitting there going, oh, streaming on this this show. Oh, the commercials.
01:03:32
Speaker
Relax. What are you supposed to be doing when you watch TV? You're supposed to be relaxing. What do you do? Do you like, oh, tents all up when the when the show comes back on? Well, you know, she might she might ah be very anxious when she watches. Because she's waiting for that commercial to come so she can get a snack.
01:03:50
Speaker
Oh, gosh....offend $69 a month on streaming. About two-thirds now pay for an ad-supported tier. And six in 10 would cancel over a $5 increase. Those cost increases do create price sensitivity for consumers. U.S. entertainment leader Stephanie Dolan says households keep about four services but hop in and out. I call it the content chase game that consumers play in terms of figuring out which service to go to. Mergers are double-edged. There's speculation the Paramount Plus HBO Max merger will push prices up, but mergers also bring in more content.
01:04:26
Speaker
Kim Ellen recommends free trials when there's a show you want to see. So you'll sign up for a service, do the trial, And then you cancel. Yeah. That way. Enjoy the show. You don't waste your money. John Mattery, Scripps News Group.
01:04:41
Speaker
My, uh, my buddy at work, he would, he had two kids and his wife and him, they all have iPhones. So whenever somebody got a new iPhone, they would sign up for the Apple for what, what is it? Three months or something like that. He's like, I never had to pay for Apple talk TV. Yeah. Um, yeah.
01:05:00
Speaker
um yeah, i think, uh, what do we do? So I, I looked, I'm like, we got to cancel some of these things. And I go, okay, well, I get a free HBO max for my telephone bill, my cell phone bill. Um,
01:05:13
Speaker
Apple TV is part of a bundle because we've got iCloud and stuff like that. So I could shrink it down, but it kind of, it doesn't make sense because way Apple ah pricing creates their their packages. Yeah. It's like, well, if you want the all this all this data in the cloud, then you got to have blah, blah, blah. So I kind of, I could do it, but I don't.
01:05:33
Speaker
Amazon, i have Amazon Prime, so it's kind of just a secondary thing. Now I could increase it and pay even more because I do watch ads. Oh, i I increased mine because it's so much better without the ads. Oh my God. It's so horrible. So yeah some of them are okay. I don't mind. And in in one time, were so my my oldest daughter and I, are they have this, Amazon will have like live streaming of shows where you can't go back or forward.
01:05:59
Speaker
And one of them is they have the Top Gear, the British car show that she loved her and I like. And they've got all the old episodes just running like season after season just for like, you can't forward or go back or pause it. And they have ads. And i and she's like, I just looked over and said, hey, this is what we used to do all the time. And this is the way I grew up. I go, back in my day.
01:06:23
Speaker
And then she rolled her eyes and told me to be quiet.
01:06:27
Speaker
commercials never used to bother me before no they didn't they did it was you were just used to it you were just used well i i think there was less of them too but the one where it does bother me because that doesn't bother it bothers me a little bit but it's it does give you a second you know to get a snack but it also ah but where it does bother me so we're watching um the chosen yeah And, you know, it's on Amazon.
01:06:53
Speaker
And then you're like, you're that's such a deep show. You know, it's like, obviously it's about Jesus and all that stuff. You can just go on there. i I just found that out this morning. My wife just told me about it. Because I'm like, let's get it from the library. And I'm like, well, I don't, the problem with ripping them from the library is you don't get the subtitles.
01:07:08
Speaker
So lot of these kind of shows where some you maybe speak a different language or there's a sign in different languages. You'll miss out on it. Anyway. So um you're in the middle of ah like this deep scene and all of a sudden, commercial. you're like, oh my God, it totally pulls you right out of the hole.
01:07:23
Speaker
Yeah, that that's one. See, you know why? you know why? Because they used to make shows. yeah And when they did make the shows, they made them... they uh they scripted them so they would work around commercials yeah and now now it's scripted like a movie and it's like yeah it kind of throws you out of the whole thing yeah it totally and so now that's why i'm like let's just find i'm like i'm like can i i'll just buy them okay like i was thought about i'm like because i think you can get all five or six seasons for like 60 bucks or something yeah but I think you could just download their app. Yeah. um yeah We just looked at the display. don't do that. And then even that, i was like, I'd rather give them the, even if it was paid for on that, or rather give them the money than go through Amazon.
01:08:03
Speaker
But yeah, so that's where we're at with with, there's no real hack. It's, it's, you know what, you know, here's the hack. This is personal. This is a free tip from crooked river cast to you.
01:08:16
Speaker
Here's how you get lower your streaming bill. Go touch grass. yeah Well, they mentioned Tubi. Yeah, there is some. And Pluto TV and Hoopla, which are all free, but they do have commercials. yeah I haven't tried Pluto TV, Hoopla.
01:08:34
Speaker
I have used Tubi, and it's not bad. No, yep, I have to. It's not bad. and But, yep, you know. And especially because they're older shows a lot of times, so they they actually have spots for commercials. Right, right. i don't have We don't have kids, so like we just have two streaming services. it's not But i yeah if you've got a family and you're trying to keep everybody happy, there's take them to the park instead of watching television.
01:09:02
Speaker
I don't know. Throw the ball around. Get a baseball mitt and throw a ball around. Yeah, I deal with that a little bit too. Families, kids. I gotta have Disney.
01:09:13
Speaker
Gotta watch my Star Wars.
01:09:16
Speaker
Kids have really are spoiled. I mean, I thought we were spoiled because we had cable television yeah pretty early on, but nowadays, boy. Just take a car ride. Just thinking about taking a car, they could have their streaming services the whole drive to Florida instead of... Yeah, yeah. We used to have to do coloring books and stuff.
01:09:35
Speaker
Punch buggy and... Yeah, there's that. Anywho, go out and touch grass, people. Speaking of green grass, we've got issues in Green County.
Greene County Veterans' Funds Controversy
01:09:47
Speaker
I did there. So apparently this story started with a video went viral on X or I think X, yeah. And it is the only story I can find.
01:09:58
Speaker
I did a little search, even it local. I couldn't find any local papers. So the only store I can get was from the place, a a a website called Nerd Stash.
01:10:11
Speaker
And it is a, the headline is, I'm not talking to you. Green County Veterans Service Chair Chuck Hurley refuses questions on $2.3 million dollars in unaccounted Ohio funds.
01:10:25
Speaker
so Apparently what's going on is the video starts. He's asking this guy. This sounds like after the ah board meeting or something was up. And he's asking him, hey, you guys were given $3.3 million. dollars You said you spent a million of it. Where's the $2.3 million? It's still left. It's unaccounted for.
01:10:42
Speaker
Let's listen to the exchange. It's quite interesting. There you go have a question for you. have no comment. I'm not talking. Where is the unspent veterans money leave that the Greene County commissioners have been taking?
01:10:57
Speaker
Do you know where the money is? I know that they give you the amount of money that you asked for. I am not being interviewed by you. Do you not know where the money is? You represent the veterans.
01:11:08
Speaker
We want to know where the unspent millions of dollars. I'm not on duty. You're an asshole. in his face. I'm not talking to you. You may post that all you want. appreciate It shows that you should deescalate and probably shouldn't be in the position that you are, Chuck. I am always polite, Chuck. asking a question.
01:11:27
Speaker
Where's the millions of dollars of unspent veterans money? Okay. Real simple. We are not having a meeting at the moment. okay I do not have to talk to you. and i'm not well I'm asking the question. Last year you guys were appropriated approximately $3.3 million. dollars You asked for approximately $1,050,000. What happened the other $2.3 million dollars the commissioners took?
01:11:51
Speaker
Do you know? Apparently not. You should be ashamed of yourself. for afternoon You should be ashamed of yourself. No, you are. No, you are. So am know you are, but what am I? That's what I was trying to say. I know you, everyone am So as you dig this little bit, according to this the NerdStash, $3.3 million dollars comes from a ah decade decade or dick dedicated half-million-dollar property tax intended for the veterans in Greene County has brought in nearly $14 million dollars
01:12:28
Speaker
let me read this right. Hold on According to local critics, a dedicated half million dollar property tax and intended for veterans in Greene County has been, has had nearly $14 million dollars diverted to other uses over the past decade.
01:12:44
Speaker
This video has been seen all over social media and the public is frustrated by the lack of accountability for these funds. So they've got a half, this a half million dollar a year,
01:12:56
Speaker
property tax for the green County veterans association or services. And they've already been diverting a bunch of it from, from the veterans to go somewhere else. And this one, and now they're trying to figure out where these $2.3 million dollars are coming from. Now I'm not saying this guy took it or anything. I'm just saying like, ah he's not a politician, you know? it's Yeah. the greatest way to handle it. i Yeah.
01:13:19
Speaker
He definitely doesn't know how to handle oh somebody like that. i get I get the reaction because I could see myself having a similar one, but eventually when you calm down, you should probably realize that, yeah, I probably should answer these questions because regardless if you think this person needs to know about it or not, the people of the county should know about it if you're not telling them.
01:13:42
Speaker
Right, right. I'm just wondering, like, what was What was going on when this took place? Was it like a meeting? Like a county meeting?
01:13:52
Speaker
It does not say, it even says somewhere in the article that this video doesn't doesn't show the context of you know what happened before or after this this um meeting or this exchange. But it seems to me like they're in a room with chairs and a table. He's packing up his briefcase. It looks like they just finished up a meeting.
01:14:13
Speaker
And he now he's saying the meeting's over. I don't have to talk to you. Right. I don't know. I'll tell you what, this this is also kind of in, it looks like a podunk town, or not town, but county even. It's a small county, yeah. It's it's a in between Cincinnati and Columbus. Yeah, this guy just doesn't know how to handle people asking But at this point. He's the one who would pull out his varmint rifle.
01:14:39
Speaker
um Residents want to know why millions of dollars that they were supposed to go to veterans is ah services are apparently unspent and I'm sure the veterans could use it. So.
01:14:51
Speaker
Absolutely. I, I, I'm surprised he didn't try to, there's no followup on this. That's what, that's the thing. i I saw the thing, I saw the video, I i pulled it aside and then later in the week I started digging through and I, there's no story even at the Sentinel.
01:15:05
Speaker
So it came on, this was originally posted on the Greene County Sentinel Facebook page. But even I go on the Greene County Sentinel website and And they don't have the story on it. They have got other things on there. We've got candidates and judges that they're and endorsing, but there's no story about this. So I'm like, I'm the t chair of veteran services. i don't have to answer your question.
01:15:25
Speaker
ah Actually, you do. i would think. Yeah. but that you live in accounted yeah If you live in the county, you should definitely have to answer. You should should be able to answer that or at least ah at least understand how to divert it and then say, I'll get a hold of me in my office and we'll talk about this or something. Right, right exactly. Now's not the time or or even after this is all said and done and you kind of cool off and somebody's you know you somebody from the ah other people on the board are probably going to be like, hey, we probably should let them know what we did with this money because all you do is you look so guilty. i mean, you're not...
01:15:58
Speaker
$2.3 million dollars of a small town is huge amount of money. Huge Sports Veterans Association. Where is it at?
01:16:06
Speaker
ah People have a right to know. Speaking of people having a right to know, let us know what you right to He probably has tank in his backyard. Oh, well, this guy filming it? No, the the guy who's who can't answer a question. Oh, tank. Well, it's better than having a, those are filled with, filled with, or lined with.
01:16:25
Speaker
quarter inch steel plates. those No, I'm just saying he he spent the money on buying like a world war two type of thing. And, and, and at least, I mean, that, that, that's something, at least it's not, uh, yeah, but it's in his backyard. least it's not hookers and blow.
01:16:41
Speaker
It's not in front of the FTW hall. No, that's j it's in his front yard. like Um, you got shenanigans like that. You see, let us know, send us a link.
01:16:51
Speaker
Crooked river cast at gmail.com. Go check out the website. Um, CrookedRiverCast.com. Every Monday when the show drops, you got the blog there. Our webmaster puts so much work into, so check it out.
01:17:03
Speaker
Got the links of all the stuff. get Go watch the videos that we're watching. Read the articles that we're reading. Subscribe to show. Share it with your friends. Really appreciate it. We'd love to ah love love to hear from you, and we really would love for you to share the show with your friends.
01:17:17
Speaker
Spread the word. Leave a comment on your favorite podcast ever. CrookedRiverCast.com. All right. Next is a ah story that hits a little too close to home.
Valley Forge High School Tragedy and Safety Concerns
01:17:33
Speaker
So as most people probably know, the last Monday, believe it was, Valley Forge High School in Parma had an incident where a high school senior, 18-year-old girl, showed up to school with a gun and decided to commit suicide in the school cafeteria right about the end of the day.
01:18:00
Speaker
It was the anniversary of Columbine, I think. It was the anniversary of the Columbine shooting. And of course, which also had to, I think that's, think they say one of the reasons the Columbine shooters did it was because it was also Hitler's birthday or is that just a coincidence?
01:18:13
Speaker
It was 420. Oh, maybe. Yeah. like it I think it is. I think it was. Yeah. um And to me, the story really isn't, that that's a tragedy. and Thankfully, the only casualty was the shooter.
01:18:28
Speaker
And it didn't go in any further than that. But right now the parents are not happy in Parma. And unfortunately for the Parma school district, a school board, I should say, they already had a planned, regularly planned meeting this week.
01:18:43
Speaker
ah They moved it to a local high school in Normandy and yeah didn't go very well. Let's listen to a little bit from school board meeting in Parma.
01:18:58
Speaker
What was meant to be a meeting for the Parma community to express their concerns turned chaotic with speakers and community members in the crowd getting escorted out by police in an early wrap up to public comment.
01:19:10
Speaker
We are now going to end public comment. It's been a very emotional few days for the community after an 18 year old girl died by suicide in the school cafeteria at Valley Forge High School Monday.
01:19:23
Speaker
The Palmer City School District held its regular scheduled school board meeting Thursday night that ended with high emotion and disappointment in school district leaders. You don't feel safe.
01:19:36
Speaker
You need to resign. Your response has been seriously inadequate. You need to resign. Enough is enough. We need to get together. yeah That's one. School shootings have been prominent since 1966 when the first one did happen. So honestly, I think our lack of security at my school was a huge issue and was only a matter of time before something like this happened, especially with school shootings on the rise. With only three minutes to speak their concerns, metal detectors and mental health were among the most talked about topics. Kids get bullied day in and day out. But what are we going to do? As a board, ask you guys...
01:20:10
Speaker
to make sure safety implemented or effective immediately. I believe mental detectors should be implemented in all farmer's schools. It is 2026 and the reality students face today is completely different from what adults experience what they want.
01:20:25
Speaker
I do not feel safe in school anymore. School is a place of learning, not fear.
01:20:34
Speaker
mean, I...
01:20:37
Speaker
I understand the sentiment because I think I'd be pretty freaking pissed off too. I think most parents are kind of scared and and angry. What? are they and they are they be Are they angry at the right people?
01:20:51
Speaker
No. I think i think just think they're venting and this happens they happen to be the people in front of them that they're vent in front of them to vent to. Yeah. Where are the parents of the shooter?
01:21:03
Speaker
Hey, I got a question. What's the shooter's name?
01:21:09
Speaker
I can't find it. Oh, it's good. That's it should be. 18-year-old, so that's it's not because he's a minor. But and I get that some news organizations won't play or won't say the name. But when did they start doing that? Because every other shooter they say the name of. Why not this one?
01:21:29
Speaker
Yeah, when they shoot, you know, when there's victims, they'll they'll mention the name, right? Yeah. ah If they're white. So it seems, i don't know, at this point, I would imagine some organization somewhere or some news organization would have leaked it. It happens every time there's a shooting.
01:21:45
Speaker
There are plenty of places that won't say the name, but always something to do. Well, it's conveniently. They leak it. This isn't convenient because it wasn't a mass shooting, so they don't care.
01:21:58
Speaker
So this this girl's...
01:22:03
Speaker
Social media account. Did you hear the name? Did you see the name of a social media account? So they' they're blaming the school. Yeah, it was, it was, it was, yeah they're're they're blaming the school for not having safety and now they want metal detectors.
01:22:16
Speaker
um I get that sentiment. I just, I think there's better ways to, to, to secure the school other than metal detectors. I've driven past the Cleveland school during, during, you know, ah the beginning of school. You know what i noticed? The first thing i noticed was a long line of kids standing outside because they had to wait for a fricking security check.
01:22:35
Speaker
Seems a bit, i don't know. It seems, seems like not something I want my kids to go through to get into school. Maybe there's other ways to do it. I get it, but I'm just saying, but, The shooter's social media account, and and so again, they're blaming the school. They're blaming the school board. They want more.
01:22:53
Speaker
um this There's a woman in the video. You'll see her in some of the other clips. they They actually show She's blaming the school for not noticing that the girl was worshiping the Columbine shooters.
01:23:05
Speaker
Her social media account was murderers.ann.acquisitions on Instagram. She had a locket that she wore to school with the Columbine shooters' pictures in hearts.
01:23:19
Speaker
She had ah a shrine in her house or some shrine. She took a picture of him, posted it of the Columbine shooters with a, with a, um, uh, anarchy flag or anarchy star or whatever. Um, where are the parents?
01:23:32
Speaker
think you're pissed at the wrong people. Where are the parents?
Gun Safety and Regulation Debates
01:23:36
Speaker
Yeah.
01:23:40
Speaker
Yeah. They're just venting. yeah i get They had nobody else to yell at. they can they they What are you going to do? Protest in front the parents' house? No, you can't because you don't know who it is.
01:23:51
Speaker
I'm sure some of these do. I'm sure so they do they do know who it is. know Students know who it is. but I think that's why they're not releasing it. Yeah. Okay. i I get it. I'm not saying you should like go and protest these parents. They're they're grieving. they they've They've lost their daughter. I get it. i just I just don't think the school is the one who's responsible for this And on that note, we'll move on to the next story, which is these are all these seems like the hell they come together and and related. to The next story is Cleveland libraries offering free gun safes and locks.
01:24:27
Speaker
Let's listen to do i have one on this? Yeah. No, that's the next one. and So let's talk about this. So they, so the Cleveland library has announced like a day or so after, I don't think it's not correlated. was just coincidence that they announced it, but they are announcing the giveaway of gun lock boxes and gun locks would be chamber, chamber locks, I guess you'd call them at the Cleveland public library.
01:24:56
Speaker
like i Great. Awesome. Two questions. Where'd the money come from? That's tax dollar. If it wasn't donated and you guys are screaming, you ain't got money and you need more property taxes.
01:25:11
Speaker
I don't know. Here's maybe a place you can cut because it's really not the library's responsibility to pass out gun seats because almost every gun that I've ever gotten, unless I bought it used, came with one of these chamber lock cable things.
01:25:23
Speaker
Right.
01:25:26
Speaker
With, with,
01:25:29
Speaker
That's law too. It's a law that the the gun manufacturers have to give one out. I know I got, I got a whole bag of these things. I keep throwing them away. They keep coming back. I don't understand. um I got to stop buying guns maybe, but um I threw mine out when I lost all my guns in the boat. Right. That's why I keep buying more because i keep losing them. And I just got it. I've lost all of them. Now i've got to start buying them again. But
01:25:52
Speaker
if you're spending three or 400, 500, thousand dollars on gun,
01:25:56
Speaker
Is it really price that keeps you from buying a gun lock or a gun safe? Is it really the money?
01:26:04
Speaker
No, it's not. If a parent... yeah Say that again if you're spending how much? If you're spending $200, $300, $400, $1,000 on a yeah gun, does it... No, it's it's up to the parent. This is silly.
01:26:18
Speaker
so and they're They're passing out so guns don't get taken or stolen. They're passing out this little lockbox that can easily be taken. It's, it's kind of, it's one of the, is it, is it just a stock photo you think, or is it, is this the lock box they're passing out? It's probably lock, but I have one luck just like that.
01:26:34
Speaker
Yeah. But that's meant for vehicles. Sure. Yeah. Sure. meant for vehicles or yeah. And then they they have little pitch. Well, that's the next story, but well it doesn't prevent anybody from stealing it.
01:26:45
Speaker
No. Steal it and then go break the lock. And if this kid, this kid, she's 18. She was 18. If she wanted to get a gun with this safe stopper. With the gun, it's not even safe. It's a lockbox. I've got a major, I've got a fire safe, you know, gauge steel, whatever it is. you know, it's not the most expensive one. If they want to get into that, all you need is a cordless chop saw, cut a hole in the side and reach in and grab my guns.
01:27:11
Speaker
it it it It keeps, it'll keep kids away from getting it. But if they really want to get in there, they're going get it. But you also have to put the gun in the lockbox.
01:27:21
Speaker
And if you're not a responsible person, You're not going to put it in the box anyway. So what does it matter? Like I said, these all these guns come with a lock already. No one uses it. Yeah, this this is stupid. I mean, like, if you're a waste of money.
01:27:34
Speaker
If you have kids and you have, ah let's say, a pistol by your bed, so you should just get a a little safe that you can get to quickly.
01:27:46
Speaker
And it keeps the kids out. You know how easy to get in one of those And they're not expensive. No. What is it? 50 bucks for one of those things? um The ones with the, like, the keypad that you could do with your blind leaf, they're probably 100 bucks or so. But the ones in this picture, I've got a couple. like, you can get them on Amazon for, like, 15 bucks. Yeah, yeah. 20 bucks.
01:28:08
Speaker
but I don't consider that a safe. I don't even consider it a lock. That's a thing that you're... Okay, so for those that don't have guns, if you leave your gun in the car, it needs to be locked.
01:28:19
Speaker
So this is like a little little safe about the size of a textbook. You could put your gun in there, lock it, and it's it's wrapped around your... You could wrap it around, let's say, you're so the...
01:28:32
Speaker
your, the, uh, where your seat bolts to. Yep. And it keeps, it keeps a smash and grab type of thing from happening. Right. But this is not a, this is not something for in the home.
01:28:45
Speaker
ah and That's silly. If you ask me, because if somebody breaks into your house and you need to, you want to get to your gun quick, but are you got to be looking for a key. Right. But also, if ah if you if a kid takes it and goes into the backyard or in the woods, you know, with a hammer and a screwdriver. Yeah, yeah.
01:29:01
Speaker
Pop this thing right open in about five minutes. So it doesn't, it wouldn't stop this from happening. But yet, you know, this is what we talk about. And. I think moving on to the next story, we have ah similar Ohio GOP senators pass bill to punish, they say, cities for gun regulations.
01:29:20
Speaker
This is really. It would have been cool if they gave out lockbox with a gun in it. No, that would be sweet. Then I'd be all for it. Where do I sign up? I'd get my library card.
01:29:32
Speaker
i've I've got, i've got i you know what? I'd get four guns. I got four library cards, one for each person in house. go. Dang it. Great idea that was. Taxpayer money, I can agree with spending.
01:29:44
Speaker
ah Ohio senators, apparently, according to Ms. Morgan Trowell, Ohio GP senators are passing a bill to punish cities who regulate guns. And basically what they're talking about is Cincinnati and Columbus for the most part.
01:29:56
Speaker
And let's hear a little bit from the industry. Young kids bringing guns to school. It is alarming, and it's happened at least twice this month right here in Northeast Ohio. Last Thursday, Maple Heights police say a school resource officer took a gun from a child. Days earlier, a Kent mother was arrested after police say her eight-year-old son brought a loaded gun to school. eight Columbus Bureau reporter Morgan Trow has been covering gun regulations at both the state and the local level for years. She spoke with lawmakers from across the state today about children accessing guns. She joins us now. Morgan, good evening. Do the politicians have a plan to try to keep this from happening?
01:30:38
Speaker
Hi, Katie. Yes, some cities say that there should be harsher penalties for kids accessing guns and put forward their own form of legislation. But now the state is trying to punish those efforts.
01:30:51
Speaker
Let us do our jobs what we know we need to do to keep our city safe. After accidental shootings, close calls and tragedy. but Both the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati have been trying to keep guns locked away from children. Each is currently defending their local ordinances in court, ones that require owners to lock up their firearms. And unfortunately, every time we try to it meaningful and reasonable, in my view, gun reform, um the state legislature has preempted us. And once again, Senate Republicans just passed legislation meant to further restrict a city or township's ability to pass local laws. and What this is meant to protect is an individual ah for who is exercising their Second Amendment rights lawfully from having to stand up and go to court to enforce their Second Amendment rights against an overzealous municipality who has passed a law against the United States and the Ohio Constitution. Senate President Rob McCauley said that local governments should not be passing firearm regulations that are stricter than state law.
01:32:00
Speaker
This new bill allows anyone to sue cities that have gun safety laws and allows them to get money. It also lets judges find cities and requires them to pay all legal fees. Offering more avenues for damages allows for a stronger deterrent. So hopefully these municipalities will begin complying with the law.
01:32:18
Speaker
So basically what they want to do or what these cities are doing, I should say, is they're trying to pass laws that if you don't, if you don't lock your gun up in ah in your home, you can get fined or, I don't know, fined or put in jail or citation citation of some sorts.
01:32:37
Speaker
But again, we go back to the last story. It's like, Does that matter? Like how much, I guess it will stop the the little eight-year-old, but if your eight-year-old is going to school with a gun, it's the parent's fault.
01:32:51
Speaker
If you don't know what's in your eight-year-old's bag when they go to school, you need to look in the mirror.
01:32:58
Speaker
mean, so a lot of Columbus and Cincinnati are trying to get these laws passed. They can criminalize you for not locking your gun up in your own home. Yeah, but okay, so let's say your eight-year-old takes it to school and gets busted with it.
01:33:15
Speaker
Doesn't the parent get busted? Yeah, the one did. they The one parent, of the eight-year-old did get arrested. but But okay, so what what what do they want to change?
01:33:28
Speaker
They want to put more teeth on it? I don't know. yeah They want to pass any gun regulation they can. That's the way always look at it. yeah yeah The Democrats, that's what they want to do. Yeah, the person already gets in trouble. So, okay so they think they think making a law that says you have to lock your gun up, it's going to stop it. um It'll save lives, Tim.
01:33:50
Speaker
Yeah, okay, right. I mean, it might, but there's also a And it doesn't stop. They're saying, oh, theyre they want to punish cities. No, no, no, no. You can still put these laws in what the state legislature passed, at least the Senate, I think it is,
01:34:06
Speaker
is that you're not you you can now sue the city that puts these laws into place. And then if you win, they have to pay your lawyer fees. So all they did was put some accountability in there. If you put a law that's that the people don't like, they can sue you.
01:34:19
Speaker
Right. That's it. no No punishment. No, not stopping you from doing it. Go ahead and do it. But there may be consequences. So just keep in mind, you better write your law pretty good because otherwise ah you might get sued.
Infrastructure Spending and Fiscal Responsibility
01:34:31
Speaker
I think you should be able to sue your city if they're passing laws unconstitutional. So I'm not too... Yeah, but can't can't you do that anyways? In a lot of cases, I'm not sure you can or far how far you can go with it. i don't I'd actually have to look into that.
01:34:45
Speaker
don't know. I don't know about that. Apparently, you can't. I mean, that i'm i'm I'm assuming what this passes this law means that you currently cannot sue your community your your county or city if they pass a law like this.
01:34:58
Speaker
That's what this law tells me.
01:35:01
Speaker
Could be wrong. We could you just be passing another law on top of another law because, you know, they never do that. I don't know. That doesn't make any sense to me, but okay. Cause how do you overturn laws? i mean, usually like unconstitutional laws usually ends up going to, you know, the state Supreme court or the the actual Supreme court.
01:35:20
Speaker
Yeah. But they said something about, um, let's see, what was the story? They said something about requiring them pay for your lawyer fees and and restricting cities, restricting a city or township ability to pass local laws.
01:35:35
Speaker
Running and prevention. Yeah. It says something like that. Municipalities that give gun safe laws lets judges find cities and award award money to plaintiffs and require cities to pay all legal fees.
01:35:48
Speaker
So yeah, maybe you can, you can sue the city to change the law, but now they're allowing judges to find the city. Right. And award money to plaintiffs. and I think that's a big difference. Hey, it's going to cost you.
01:36:01
Speaker
So be careful.
01:36:04
Speaker
Okay, on to our next, we'll do a little quick ah quick on these next three or four stories here. We'll see if we can get through them pretty quickly. um First one.
01:36:16
Speaker
So who makes money off of these EV charging stations? They're popping up all over the place. I see them everywhere. I got one in my local um
01:36:26
Speaker
community center. They got one there. They just put one up about six months ago. I'm like, what the hell? What do you mean? They put one... They put a charger. Like how many chargers? Two. Well, one charger, I think there's two ports on it or whatever. but Okay. I see.
01:36:42
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Who's paying for that? Oh, well, apparently who's paying for it is... Well, we are. The yeah United States government pays for it. They apparently...
01:36:59
Speaker
Where am I here? Okay. So from 2022, 2026, the Ohio department of transportation drive Ohio division reportedly reported our state received $140 million from the federal government through the national electric but ah vehicle infrastructure form their program, otherwise known as NEVI.
01:37:25
Speaker
um By the end of 2026, Drive Ohio reportedly reported that 31 NEV stations would be built at a eighty a total a cost of roughly $1 million dollars each.
01:37:41
Speaker
The problem is of these stations are built at
01:37:47
Speaker
like pilots and sheets and these big corporations that have lots of money and they're going to be making money off you charging there.
01:37:56
Speaker
So if these companies don't want to put chargers in their stations because it's not profitable,
01:38:04
Speaker
there's probably a reason because there's not enough people that to use the charger. So now they're now they're taking 800. It says Sheetz takes like $600 to $800 million from this program to put every time they put a charging station.
01:38:19
Speaker
Jeez. Because they're millions of dollars. All the infrastructure, the power you got to put in, all those other this other stuff. So there you go. There's, there's where your funding goes. And as we go down, we're going to talk about a couple other stories where this might come up where, don't know, maybe where we could probably use $140 million dollars somewhere else.
01:38:38
Speaker
Maybe that might come up in a minute. I'm saving the environment. Yes. Saving in the environment. Gas prices the rise, people are known they're not really going towards EVs. I don't think so, right?
01:38:49
Speaker
I mean, maybe a little bit, but once they got rid of the tax thing, there's there's no point. Even before then, people were getting buyer's remorse. I do see ah more on the on the highway, though, yeah than I used to. Mostly Tesla's.
01:39:02
Speaker
Mostly Teslas, and i i you i do see a few Rivians, yeah which i every time i look at the headlights, I go what were you thinking?
01:39:13
Speaker
i mean, only only only to to be topped by the cybertru Yeah. I think that thing's nasty too. Well, the whole thing is, but the Rivian is actually kind of a nice looking yeah vehicle. who Besides those headlights. yeah is Besides the headlights, right?
01:39:30
Speaker
But anyways, i and then I see some high-end stuff. Yeah, BMWs. Yeah, yeah. But the the market started to crash before they pulled the subsidies away. So I'm not blaming them. They're blaming the subsidies. I'm blaming buyer of remorse people. I mean, they they pulled the Ford F-150 Lightning off the market way before way before Trump.
01:39:50
Speaker
Pretty quick, right? Yeah. it was about a year or two and people they weren't selling, so. Nobody was buying them, and they were like $100,000. Yeah, to go 300 miles yeah on a charge, if you're lucky. if it's not Every time I pass one up, I'm like, oh are you worried the battery's going to go out on you? I do that all the time. pass an EV go, oh, you have any range anxiety as you currently drive through the freeway?
01:40:10
Speaker
Oh, I know. I'm doing i'm plowing through going doing 70, and they're like doing 55. Oh, yeah, they're hyper-miling.
01:40:18
Speaker
All right, let's keep going here. Next we have... Cuyahoga County Prosecutor requests state audit the jail construction. ah This is quite an interesting one. and We may want to touch base on again when this gets closer. But basically, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor requests state to audit jail construction as it inches closer.
01:40:42
Speaker
So they've passed an ordinance but specifying how revenue from the 0.25% sales tax can be spent. We have a sales tax of a quarter percent. Supposed to be help pay off things like, I think it's paying off renovations to Rocket Arena and and I think some from the Brown Stadium too.
01:41:02
Speaker
the one they're about to tear down. So I guess they they're trying to use this quarter percent, a part of this quarter percent to pay for the jail, to start paying for the jail. Remember, let's remind our listeners here.
01:41:15
Speaker
One of our first stories we talked about on the show was this, this being approved. They took 40 odd million dollars of money from the county to buy the land before the project was even approved at the county level.
01:41:27
Speaker
Where'd they get the money? How would they get this money if if they weren't approved? Oh, they found they found a stash of COVID money that they used to buy land for a prison or a jail.
01:41:39
Speaker
Okay. And now what, so I think that they bought this land. and Like, ah, we got to do something with it we just bought So might as well put a jail on it. Council members voted eight to three in a special meeting money to limit the use of this funds, the sales tax.
01:41:53
Speaker
And, And that's kind of the issue. they want to They want to look at how they're going to fund it. they want to meet Are they going to use this quarter percent tax? Are they going to issue bonds? Because they're also considering issue $984.5 million dollars in bonds. That's what this jail is going to cost.
01:42:09
Speaker
Almost a billion dollars ah to pay for the construction and to borrow another $73 million dollars to begin to pay for repairs. to begin paying for repairs, meaning it sounds like they've already had the repairs and they haven't paid for them but maybe not, on the current courthouse they have in Cleveland.
01:42:28
Speaker
um So, you know, again, they didn't they don't have a way to pay for this yet, but they're going on and they're literally doing construction work at the site right now.
01:42:43
Speaker
So I think we'll probably get to talk about this again. to make sure i didn't miss anything else.
01:42:51
Speaker
Yeah.
01:42:56
Speaker
Yep. I guess we're good. I think that's about all I have on that. Yeah. I can save them so much money. Yeah. Yeah. Just go get like about 300 acres. No, let's go for 600 acres somewhere.
01:43:12
Speaker
Put a huge fence around it. Tall fence with barbed wire.
01:43:18
Speaker
Give them a spear, a knife, and the prisoners, I mean. Yes. ah A spear, a knife, and some, well, they can, maybe some fire starting equipment, and a sleeping bag, and a tent.
01:43:35
Speaker
And tell them, we'll pick you up when your sentence is over. Huh. Make sure there's some animals in there that they can know cook. I think there's some revenue sources in there, too. You could put some cameras in.
01:43:48
Speaker
Ooh. can have a reality show. Nice. mean, if you do it on the island, it it would just kind of Well, island would be, that would be for the like the incarcerated, you know, prison perfect island. oh But for jail people, I think we can put it, we can do it here in the woods. Yeah. Okay. That's good point.
01:44:08
Speaker
Because I was thinking, I know the perfect island. And there's even a documentary. Australia? No, there's a documentary on it. It's called Escape from New York. Manhattan? Yes, Manhattan. Jake Plissken, my hero.
01:44:21
Speaker
Yeah, I think it would be good. I don't think we need a $1 billion dollar jail. Yeah, just think of overtime when the sheriff's department has to drive 30 minutes ah from the courthouse that to to Garfield Heights where it's going to be great for overtime. Sorry, boss, had a lot of traffic.
01:44:39
Speaker
Yep. Took me three hours to get there and back. anyway So we've keep eye on that. There's going be more there. they I mean, they're going to build it. I think it's just a matter of how bad they're going to screw us on it.
01:44:50
Speaker
Well, they're ready over budget, right? Yep. Oh yeah. ah Well, yeah, they're, well, they said it keeps increasing. keeps increasing. It was 800 million. Now it was 900. Now it's 980 million. It's going to be a billion for they're done. 1.2. I'm guess.
01:45:04
Speaker
You think so? are yeah okay Yeah. Okay. I can see that. there's i I don't know any projects that hit budget.
Education Budget Challenges in Ohio
01:45:13
Speaker
Moving along, moving along. And next one is a couple of related stories here. One of Akron trying to lay off 17 staff members from a public school to alleviate $11 million out of their budget.
01:45:30
Speaker
And they couldn't get it done. So let's listen to a real quick um clip on this from where we got and news channel five. Who else? the treasureasr recall Three separate proposals to cut 17 positions at Akron Public Schools no didn't get enough votes during Monday's regular Board of Education meeting. motion fails Now President Barbara Sykes says members must quickly come together or else she says the district could have face academic warning if a decision is not reached sometime in June. Then from academic warnings, we will go to an academic emergency and finally the state will take over the school district. So are we right now in an academic warning? We are not. We are not.
01:46:11
Speaker
Despite the risk of academic warning, Vice President Renee Molinar says she voted against the proposed budget cuts because she says she has not received enough information to connect the data, options considered and resulting recommendation.
01:46:25
Speaker
I'm not suggesting that no work has been done. Our district has worked hard and is continuing to work hard to communicate what we need to do. um need to cut we all saw the presentation that was given in this room.
01:46:39
Speaker
However, i have not received a report. Even board member Karmaya Kelly says she needs more information. I think we all are aware that this is something that has to be done.
01:46:50
Speaker
I just can't at this moment say that I feel confident making decision. Back in February, I told you about the district's proposed plans to make $11 million dollars worth of staffing cuts, operational changes, and program reductions due to ongoing financial challenges. The financial pressures we face are a direct result of decisions made in Columbus. Of course.
01:47:13
Speaker
Of course.
01:47:15
Speaker
So they know it has to be done. They need to make cuts, but they just don't have the courage to make it. Well, I think maybe the problem might be, oh, it makes so many people happy. I don't know. I think there's a few more guys on this committee. They probably would have made the cuts.
01:47:30
Speaker
I just don't think the women have the ability or the courage to do it. and And I don't normally disagree with my our friend, our comedian, Rob Schneider. He doesn't. We're not that good of friends. But ah this one, I happen to disagree with on my new year. Here's a little bit from...
01:47:46
Speaker
Part of the problem may be in this issue he can solve, but may go a little not far enough. Women have obviously have a higher capacity for empathy yes than men. But that empathy can be ah manipulated into giving empathy for people who don't deserve it. and That's a problem. and And they can be manipulated into doing things that are not in their best interest. And that's why, Greg, I want our audience to consider amending the 19th Amendment. Really? yeah Now, I'm not saying... Wait a minute. I'm not saying I don't want you to vote. I'm just saying...
01:48:16
Speaker
Not for the important stuff. Yeah. No, but let me hear me out. No, no, no. You can still vote. No, no, no. yeah There's plenty of, ladies, there's plenty of things for you to still vote for. um America's Got Talent, Dancing dancing with the Stars, the school board, no Employee of the Month at Whole Foods, there's plenty for you to still get excited about and vote. I'm just saying for the big stuff, leave it to the less suicidal, empathetic humans, men.
01:48:44
Speaker
Sorry, Rob, not far enough. Definitely not the school board either in this case. um And then we'll move on. I mean, so they couldn't do it. And I just think they didn't have to, they have to cut. Well, they could vote for the people that end up on the school board, men.
01:48:59
Speaker
Yes, but yeah, true. And Cleveland Public School has, I guess, a little more, testicular fortitude than the Akron public schools, because here's a little idea stream, quick, quick hit from Cleveland layoffs. they They were managing to do it. Now, first thing is go look at the idea stream story.
01:49:24
Speaker
you ah you You got a pulled up. com
01:49:28
Speaker
See the picture. Yeah. Those two ladies right there extremely happy. In that picture.
01:49:39
Speaker
Yeah. yeah They're very happy. They're teachers probably. they They're very happy they could turn all those kids into activists. Yeah. So there's a picture of the crowd from the board meeting. It looks like a couple teachers or whatever women sitting in the crowd smiling to ear with all these kids holding up signs. Mm-hmm. Poor kids. District FAPE denied.
01:50:02
Speaker
don't know what that's. Cleveland kids deserve teachers, no layoffs. Okay, so let's just wait for the end because they bury this right at the end. But there's a very important key, that a little tidbit of information they put at the end.
01:50:17
Speaker
The Cleveland Board of Ed approved more than 300 layoffs last night over the uproar from hundreds of students, parents, staff, and others who interrupted the meeting in protest. I'm Connor Morris with Ideastream Public Media.
01:50:33
Speaker
The cuts include 278 educators represented by the teachers union and 35 administrators who work at school buildings. who's gonna teach all Teachers like Katie Fulton will be out of the job by the end of the school Sorry, Katie. I don't think that cutting teachers who work with students and cutting paras and cutting nurses and cutting people who are actually helping our kids is the way that we should go about saving money. The layoffs come as Cleveland is set to close 29 school buildings in the fall after years of enrollment loss. Connor Morris, Ideastream Public Media.
01:51:09
Speaker
Did you catch it at the end there? I mean, I did put the bell in there, so hope you did. They're closing 29 schools. I don't think they need as many teachers.
01:51:22
Speaker
come I don't think we should. i I definitely think we should. I'll try to see how I can frame this. She said, we we shouldn't be teaching we shouldn't be cutting teachers that work with kids.
01:51:35
Speaker
but Do we have teachers that don't work with kids? We should definitely get rid of those teachers first. Well, okay. So they're getting rid of 29 schools and 278. So basically they're getting rid of not even 10 teachers per school.
01:51:50
Speaker
it's This is silly. I mean, that doesn't seem like a lot, but there's a lot of these school buildings that have very few students them. No, I understand that. So there could only be four or five teachers in a school is what I'm saying.
01:52:01
Speaker
Oh, no, there has to be more. There's probably more. I'm saying, but they're they're you're not like you're they're not closing schools down and have 1,000 kids in it. Closing schools down and have 130 kids in it. Right, right. I get it. Because they're they have twenty nine buildings they're closing 29 buildings.
01:52:16
Speaker
That's a lot. I don't know. Sell some of these buildings. You might be able to raise some money. Hey, I don't know. Are they going to sell them? No way. No, they haven't. They're going to knock them down and then they're going put a a fence around it.
01:52:31
Speaker
No, they haven't. theyve They've closed down over the years and they haven't sold Most of them haven't been sold. They've changed. They've sold a few of my shit. I know we've covered a couple of stories where I think maybe, where I've read some, where they've taken them and made them into like retirement homes because they have a lot of rooms, lot of hallways, stuff like that. But for the most part, nobody wants to move where these schools are at anyway.
01:52:50
Speaker
Right. Yeah.
01:52:53
Speaker
There's that. I mean, I think your enrollment in the last 10 or 15 years has been cut in half.
01:53:00
Speaker
You don't need as many students. And I'm thinking you're probably, probably, I mean, where can we find, find some like, what if somebody had like $140 million dollars they were just basically wasting?
01:53:13
Speaker
Hmm. What could, what could we find $140 million that I was just wasting on?
01:53:20
Speaker
EV chargers something. Anyway, that's that. That is that. And that wraps up our... These teachers are so happy, but they didn't teach the kids how to make a good sign. No, they're not at all. District lied.
01:53:35
Speaker
FAPE denied. Yeah. What that? I don't know what that's supposed to mean. Our second thought said FAPE denied, but I think he misspelled it. Yeah. Oh, okay. Don't they they're supposed to call this Southern Poverty Law Center and get the signs printed for them?
01:53:51
Speaker
didn't really teach them how to do this stuff. It's not very efficient. Cleve Kids. Something, something. Oh, my goodness. Cleve Kids deserve teachers. No layoffs.
01:54:01
Speaker
That's the one I see.
01:54:09
Speaker
right. Yeah. I mean, that's, to me, that's, that's, that's the gist of it. Your, your school system is shrinking. So the administrative staff, so they're cutting 278 teachers, but there's cutting like 20 or 30 administrators too, or staffing and nurses and stuff like that.
01:54:26
Speaker
So, Yeah, I guess if you've got three schools, you're combining in the one. you need 14 nurses at that school? No, you don't. One or two. So there you go. We're cutting because I have to. Algebra for all, but you fired math teacher.
01:54:43
Speaker
Make it make sense. The only one. It was the only math teacher in the whole school district.
Live Nation Lawsuit and Concert Ticket Pricing
01:54:53
Speaker
Anywho. Move on to, of course, last segment of the day.
01:55:06
Speaker
it's been a long fight. Long fight. But apparently, apparently Pearl Jam finally won. Hell yeah. Live Nation has lost their lawsuit.
01:55:20
Speaker
um Let's hear... Well, yes, let's...
01:55:25
Speaker
The Live Nation was sued by a bunch of states for monopolistic things and blah, blah, blah. So I said, they're still suing them? I go, this hasn't been solved yet? Because I remember when Pearl Jam put up, they kind of canceled a tour because of, because it wasn't Live Nation at the time. was Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster. Kid Rock did the same stuff. Well, a bunch of them did, apparently. Yeah.
01:55:48
Speaker
So here, let's go, let's go way in the Wayback Machine. This goes all the way back to 1994.
01:55:55
Speaker
Pearl Jam in front of Congress. i think This is MTV. Pearl Jam played Capitol Hill on Thursday as guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Amitt were at the House of Representatives to begin three hours of testimony about Ticketmaster, the giant sports and concert ticket agency. a House subcommittee spurred by a complaint Pearl Jam recently filed with the U.S. Justice Department is looking into the way tickets are priced and sold for concerts, sporting events and other shows.
01:56:21
Speaker
Pearl Jam has accused Ticketmaster of being a monopoly and of using its power to scuttle a summer tour the band had planned with tickets to sell for a relatively low $18. $18. Man, miss those days. been years.
01:56:39
Speaker
eighteen dollars remember a t-shirt was fifteen bucks yeah and And at the time, Ticketmaster wanted to charge $30 and and ah Pearl Jam was thrown a fit.
01:56:51
Speaker
um But yeah, you said it was wasn't just Pearl Jam. Here's the um here's ah another clip from it from the same report. Gives you a few more. Actually, comments from bass player.
01:57:05
Speaker
Pearl Jam was supported by representatives of R.E.M. and Aerosmith, whose manager left no doubt that more than one band is unhappy with Ticketmaster. All the members of Pearl Jam remember what it's like to be young and not have a lot of money.
01:57:17
Speaker
Many Pearl Jam fans are teenagers who do not have the money to pay $30 or more that is often charged for tickets today. It is well known in our industry that some portion of the service charges Ticketmaster collects on its sale of tickets is distributed back to the promoters and the venues.
01:57:32
Speaker
It is this incestuous relationship and the lack of any national competition for Ticketmaster that has created the situation we're dealing with today. As a result, our band, which is concerned about keeping the price of its tickets low, will almost always be in conflict with Ticketmaster, which has every incentive to try to find ways to increase the price of the ticket it sells.
01:57:50
Speaker
Have you heard from from other performers on this issue? Are there other bands who are concerned about this? And if so, or or individual performers, could you share that with us? Listen to these. i think um i think mainly Kelly Curtis, our manager, has been...
01:58:07
Speaker
talking to a lot of different people. I know we've gotten a lot of support from Aerosmith and Grateful Dead and Garth Brooks and la um Neil Young. Last week, I was with Aerosmith in Italy, inames where the band is currently on tour. is it going We were talking about Ticketmaster and how it relates to our concert business.
01:58:26
Speaker
Steven Tyler, Aerosmith's lead singer, said to me, Mussolini may have made the trains run on time, but not everyone could get a seat on that train. That's the problem that Aerosmith and i have with Ticketmaster.
01:58:41
Speaker
So, yeah, those are some big names. Those are some big names. I always wondered if you get all if you get five or six of the biggest groups in the country so group to get together. And I would think they could at one point maybe muscle Ticketmaster into changing their policy, but maybe not.
01:58:57
Speaker
I don't know if it was up to the groups as much as the label. Yeah, true. Yeah, true. groups can say stuff but the label is the one who's helping them with the tours back then more so not than now i think and and i think they did go on tour but i think pearl jam did it without ticketmaster and it was it was not a good experience or nothing you know it's hard to do without Yeah, yeah. Kid Rock did a tour like that where he charged $20 for a ticket.
01:59:21
Speaker
Yep. He kept Ticketmaster, Live Nation, I think it was at the time, out of it. But he he says he can't do that. it caught yeah it it He just can't facilitate that, you know?
01:59:32
Speaker
Yeah. You have to get a whole staff together kind of run all that stuff. and that's That's kind of the service. Now, this is a good thing. Ticketmaster is a monopoly because there I don't think there's any other really ticket organization in the country. You get you get bent over hard,
01:59:46
Speaker
But I'm to have pee all over your parade because unfortunately this was a good ruling. But if you look at the details, it says among other things, the jury found ticket master anti-competitive practices led to people in 22 states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket. They are going to get paid back.
02:00:06
Speaker
they they are go going to get paid back
02:00:10
Speaker
So like, you know, the, the process and the check is going to cost more than, than it, than it's worth, but it's going to cost live nation $140 million. dollars I think what Trump did, I think what Trump did, this past year, or was it last year?
02:00:27
Speaker
He signed the, uh,
02:00:31
Speaker
what's it called? ah Executive order? Yeah. That they can't, I think Kid rick kid Rock was a in on this, that they can't, uh, They charge exorbitant amounts or something. Well, they, no, they can't, they can't double dip. They were like, cause people would buy the ticket, you know, let's say you're, you're some type of special member and then they go sell it. Brokers, brokers do this all the time. Yeah. Broker. Yeah. Broker. So, and then live nation would get a cut of that one too. Yeah. Cause they're selling it on their site.
02:01:01
Speaker
And sometimes there would be like three or four layers of this. Yep. And all of a sudden you're paying $500 a ticket that was originally, you bucks.
02:01:13
Speaker
which I think is a, is a bigger deal than maybe this at this point. Cause prices in general are an issue in, in a completely unrelated story, which is our next one in good things.
02:01:27
Speaker
Live nation offering $30 concert tickets. Here's the list. i kind of I kind of pulled this really originally because it's ah it's just, you know, here's a list of kind of the some of the people coming to Blossom in the summer. And then when the Ticketmaster thing came up and as so I globed them together, threw them in here.
02:01:47
Speaker
So yeah, their their their Live Nation is offering $30 concert tickets. Yeah, you're going to get $30 lawn seats. Yeah. yeah plus Which isn't horrible or anything, but it's not like you're're not you're going to get a seat. You're not going to get a $30 ticket at an arena. You're getting in the place. Yeah, you're getting in the place.
02:02:01
Speaker
And so I looked at this list. There's Black Crows, Sammy Hagar and Rick Springfield, Paul Simon, Pussycat Dolls, Tim McGraw. Oh, there's the one I was interested in. Evanescence is coming.
02:02:14
Speaker
My daughter's listening to him a little bit. Cool. So I went online to see how much tickets are. So if I get a pavilion seat in the back section towards the back, a hundred dollars.
02:02:27
Speaker
Right. Now, if you look on the site, you can see there's places that have, ah there's a blue dot where available seats and then a red dot with a line or a circle in it. That's a resale.
02:02:40
Speaker
And that's the thing they're talking about. So brokers buy it and then they post it again on on Ticketmaster's site as a resaler and Ticketmaster gets a cut at both. Yeah, yeah. they're they're they're getting They're breaking in the dough from that stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:02:54
Speaker
But check out the site because there's... Check out this list and in the show notes because there's some cool... Molly Crew, Wu-Tang Clan, if you're in the... Billy Idol. Billy Idol. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. Molly Crew, I wouldn't... I couldn't... I don't think I could. I've seen some videos. Molly... What's it? Vincent Neal can't see anymore. Vincent Him and... Who's the other guy from that you know what? Extreme would be kind of cool. Extreme might be good. I think he...
02:03:19
Speaker
Didn't he try to do something? and he He may still be a decent, halfway decent singer. Yeah. did They don't have Steve Vai there, do they? It's not Steve Vai. I guess it might probably is, huh? Or no, wasn' it wasn't Steve Vai. Who was in the extreme? Nuno. That's right. It was Nuno. I think, right? Yeah, it was Nuno. Oh, yeah, it was. Yeah, because I remember, yeah, he was Nuno.
02:03:37
Speaker
um Yeah, so I guess. and back Oh, there's the Sachin Vai band coming. Now, that's at the Racino. I see. Oh, they got different. Oh, yeah, that's right. rocker Oh, they do have some Rocket Arena ones. a Five Second Summer and then Alex Warren, you're going to $30 tickets.
02:03:54
Speaker
ah I'm wrong. i see Where are you? On the roof or something? Yeah, exactly. you're yeah You're outside on the sidewalk listening to a speaker. Oh, my goodness. There's Great White and White Lion. Ooh.
02:04:06
Speaker
I'll tell you what would be a cool show. I just don't like the place. the Northfield Park, Racino. I don't like it. I've seen two shows there so far. Yeah. And the seats just suck. Yeah. I haven't seen it. I haven't even been. I think i've been there one time. i don't think I've never seen a show there. it's been boy Boy, I would like to see Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs.
02:04:23
Speaker
That's the guitar player from ah Tom Petty Band. Oh, cool. Oh, wow. Jeez. yeah Yeah, so check out the list. Go check them out. I'm go ah i'm thinking about it, but I'm not sure. 12 years old, Evanescence. Not sure if that's 11 years old. That's might be that's great. not be a bad Evanescence is good. At Blossom? At Blossom. It'd be kind of fun. look at fish i You know what? has Has your older daughter ever been to a concert? No? Nope.
02:04:47
Speaker
Oh. No, but it's like... Okay, yeah, i I was at a concert by that time. Yeah, so was I. My first concert was Sha-na-na. Mine was... With my parents. I think I was probably... Pardon of me? Def Leppard, I think was my first.
02:05:02
Speaker
Oh, my first concert on my own with friends was Ozzy Osbourne. Yeah. went with my brother.
02:05:10
Speaker
Was it Def Leppard or was it... That's pretty cool. It might have been Def Leppard it might have been Bryan Adams. Man, that one's not so great. No, Brian, he's all right. It wasn't. Actually, I think it was Def Leppard. But I think it was because um The Storm was opening for Bryan Adams. And The Storm had three members from Journey in it. That's what remember. Oh, okay. I get it. Pretty good band. They didn't have didn't have the singer, but they had drummer, bassist, and keyboardist.
02:05:39
Speaker
and there's there's There's some good shows here, to people. Check this link out. yeah They even have the House of Blues there. I don't see one I would go to, but I'm sure there's something for everyone.
02:05:52
Speaker
Looks that way. So check it out. me and And I'm here i'm hearing in the hear the doorbell, Tom. Oh, the cable guy's here. Cable guy's here just in time. The fiber guy's not a cable. He's a fiber guy.
02:06:04
Speaker
i call ah I don't insult him. call him cable guy. Fiber guy. So he's here and that's time for, it's our cue to go. That's it for the show. i appreciate everybody listening. um Thank you very much. share Share the show with your friends, CrookedRiverCast.com, CrookedRiverCast at gmail.com. Send us an email. Tell us what, any shenanigans in your area and I appreciate you listening.
02:06:26
Speaker
Talk to you next week. Peace.