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Speaker 1: Can't. I am six forty.

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Speaker 2: You're listening to the John Cobel Podcast on the iHeartRadio

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Speaker 2: app after four o'clock John Cobelt Show on demand on

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Speaker 2: the iHeart app, and that's where you get to listen

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Speaker 2: to whatever you miss. Now, just sit still for a

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Speaker 2: little bit, because we've got to play for you something

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Speaker 2: that will really make your blood boil.

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Speaker 1: It should absolutely make you crazy.

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Speaker 2: And it involves a guy who we have discussed probably

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Speaker 2: for ten years now. He's the California Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara.

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Speaker 2: He is a complete clown, that's right. His nickname is

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Speaker 2: cal Fart Lara. That's what people call him because when

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Speaker 2: he was in the legislature, he passed a bill, wrote

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Speaker 2: a bill that would require all the cows in California

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Speaker 2: to wear this big boxy device on their backs with

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Speaker 2: a two tube that connects to their anus, so when

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Speaker 2: the cal farts, the box would trap the methane from

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Speaker 2: the calfart true story, go look it up. Because he

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Speaker 2: thought that was going to relieve climate change, global warming,

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Speaker 2: because methane is a powerful component. The guys for real,

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Speaker 2: like you go up Interstate five and you see those

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Speaker 2: those hundreds and hundreds of cows, thousands of cows on

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Speaker 2: the side of the earth. He wanted to install a

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Speaker 2: box on all of them. Cal Fartlarra. Then, shockingly, because

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Speaker 2: the voters of California are really among the stupidest people

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Speaker 2: on the planet, they made him insurance commissioner. His claim

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Speaker 2: to fame is he's the first gay insurance commissioner, which

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Speaker 2: is going to be pivotal important in this story. They

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Speaker 2: were going to play for you. Stephanie Sierra and Olivia

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Speaker 2: Gonzalez from ABC seven in San Francisco didn't investigation, and

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Speaker 2: they did a report a few months back detailing that

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Speaker 2: Ricardo Lara has traveled the globe repeatedly. Well, California's insurance

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Speaker 2: situation has just collapsed the fires. What's happened in the Palisades.

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Speaker 2: You had insurance companies canceling coverage in the Palisades just

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Speaker 2: weeks and months before the fire happened. People are just

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Speaker 2: not covered, people are not getting paid. And it's happened

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Speaker 2: in other areas of the state that were affected by

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Speaker 2: the fire. It's a total disaster, and Ricardo Lara is

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Speaker 2: never around. You will hear this report now, it's a

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Speaker 2: nine minute report we've broken it up into like part

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Speaker 2: one and two, but decided that because there's so much

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Speaker 2: information in these reports, we're gonna I'm gonna interject to

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Speaker 2: come when it comes to a particular point, I think

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Speaker 2: we should stop and discuss. I don't know how long

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Speaker 2: it's gonna take to play the whole thing, but you've

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Speaker 2: got to hear this whole thing. Rire Cardillara is a crook,

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Speaker 2: and he hides behind being gay to justify his his corruption,

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Speaker 2: and uh, considering how much people are suffering, I go

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Speaker 2: personally how people are suffering here in Los Angeles, from

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Speaker 2: the Palisades fire out to Dina fire because you know,

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Speaker 2: the the insurance went screwy on him. You're you're you're

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Speaker 2: just you're probably gonna pop a You're gonna pop an

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Speaker 2: artery in your neck. That's what's gonna happen. Not even

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Speaker 2: a vain all right, So here we go, Stephanie Sierra,

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Speaker 2: Olivia Gonzalez. This is ABC seven in San Francis Cisco.

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Speaker 2: Let's start.

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Speaker 3: California's insurance Commissioner is a frequent flyer, jets at a

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Speaker 3: cross country but mostly all over the world. A nice gig, right,

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Speaker 3: especially if taxpayers are picking up the town, upgrading his

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Speaker 3: flights to business and first class, expensing the five star resorts, days,

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Speaker 3: limo service, even a safari.

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Speaker 4: The list goes on.

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Speaker 3: Thousands of records obtained by seven on Your Side investigates

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Speaker 3: show California's Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Latta, racked up the receipts

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Speaker 3: in recent years at least forty eight trips across the

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Speaker 3: globe to virtually every dot you see on this map

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Speaker 3: since he assumed office in twenty nineteen, and that may

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Speaker 3: just be scratching the tarmac, as years of his travel

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Speaker 3: records remain missing from the state.

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Speaker 1: That's the biggest concern.

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Speaker 5: If you were to ask my office the purpose of

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Speaker 5: government travel, we'd be able to identify every stems benefit

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Speaker 5: that came from these trips.

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Speaker 3: The vice chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee, Assembly Member

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Speaker 3: Greg Wallace, is pursuing a state audit into the matter

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Speaker 3: following our investigation, But new documents obtained by seven on

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Speaker 3: Your Side show several of the trips paid for with

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Speaker 3: taxpayer funds were five times more expensive than we previously reported.

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Speaker 6: Is that on the best interest of the state.

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Speaker 3: Ray asbel is, a former HR manager for the state.

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Speaker 3: He explains all departments are required to id identify a

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Speaker 3: clear established need to travel, and for out of country trips,

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Speaker 3: a mission critical purpose is required, But after nine months

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Speaker 3: of questioning, the California Department of Insurance was unable to

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Speaker 3: specify those reasons for a series of trips, including a

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Speaker 3: five star hotel stay in New York City for PrideFest

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Speaker 3: that coused taxpayers more than eleven six hundred dollars. A

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Speaker 3: four day trip listed no insurance related meetings on his calendar,

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Speaker 3: but a vip rooftop event with DJ Kitty Glitter made

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Speaker 3: the cut. Private security was hired to escort him to

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Speaker 3: various events on this trip, costing taxpayers.

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Speaker 4: More than ninety four hundred dollars.

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Speaker 3: The department says it defers to California Highway Patrol for

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Speaker 3: any private security or transport travel expenses, adding CHP not

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Speaker 3: the commissioner makes those decisions.

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Speaker 2: Let's stop here. This is what I was talking about

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Speaker 2: during the intro. So he's openly gay, and he thinks

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Speaker 2: he's bulletproof. He thinks he could be his cur rupt

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Speaker 2: as he wants to be. And if you criticize him,

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Speaker 2: what do you think he's going to start calling you

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Speaker 2: or his allies that's you're homophobic.

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Speaker 1: That's the game.

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Speaker 2: So he thinks he's entitled to go to a Pride

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Speaker 2: Fest event in New York City, five star hotel. Let

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Speaker 2: me just review what Stephanie Sierra said. Five star hotel

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Speaker 2: eleven thousand, six hundred dollars for the trip, four days,

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Speaker 2: No insurance meetings on the schedule, none. This was a

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Speaker 2: holiday in New York to celebrate Pride Month. And if

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Speaker 2: you raise any questions, just like, oh are you homophobic?

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Speaker 2: Pretty good deal, a vip rooftop event with DJ Kitty Glitter.

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Speaker 1: You paid for all this you did. What are you

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Speaker 1: doing today? Working? Huh? Tough day, long commute.

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Speaker 2: Nastiness at the office, sweating out in the sun. Your

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Speaker 2: tax money funds Ricardo Lara and his trip to see

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Speaker 2: DJ Kitty Glitter, five five star hotel.

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Speaker 7: What about that safari? I want to go on a safari?

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Speaker 2: I know you do well. You want to run for

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Speaker 2: insurance commissions. That's not fair because then you could run

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Speaker 2: and I end up paying for it. Yeah yeah, okay.

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Speaker 2: Private security on top of this, private security costing ninety

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Speaker 2: four hundred dollars. That's on top of the eleven thousand

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Speaker 2: he spent on the trip, So now we're up to

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Speaker 2: twenty thousand dollars for four days at PrideFest. I'm afraid

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Speaker 2: to look online to see who DJ Kitty Glitter is,

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Speaker 2: and I don't want to be traumatized.

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Speaker 7: Oh, I thought you wanted to go to a concert.

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Speaker 1: No, I mean, I'm hoping it's not a furry.

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Speaker 7: I actually know nothing of that DJ.

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Speaker 1: Eric's looking at us.

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Speaker 2: I've never heard. I mean, DJs are sometimes famous in

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Speaker 2: their own little realm. But all right, now he's doing this,

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Speaker 2: and again, the state of insurance in California is utterly disastrous.

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Speaker 1: This is a fine vacation.

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Speaker 2: For himself privately, but somehow we had to cover twenty

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Speaker 2: grand by my calculation, right, it's eleven thousand for the

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Speaker 2: trip and then nine thousand for the security security. Who

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Speaker 2: is going to try to assault the insurance commissioner in

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Speaker 2: New York City? How would you know who he is?

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Speaker 2: He's just another I was going to say, another guy

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Speaker 2: in a suit, but he's probably just walking around in

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Speaker 2: casual clothes because this was not a business trip. There

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Speaker 2: was no official government duties. He's just another guy out there.

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Speaker 2: He actually does this. And the thing is some of

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Speaker 2: this was reported on months ago and nothing happened.

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Speaker 1: Nothing.

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Speaker 2: He's an elected official. Probably sixty percent of you voted

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Speaker 2: for this, for this character. All Right, we're gonna take

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Speaker 2: a break, We're gonna play some more. There's a lot

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Speaker 2: more to this and it only gets worse. And we're

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Speaker 2: also gonna give away thousand dollars and Debora Mark, who's

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Speaker 2: never been on a so far, that's.

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Speaker 8: Right because they're very, very expensive. But if somebody wants

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Speaker 8: to start a GoFundMe not.

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Speaker 2: Where the taxpayer pays for it, then they're free. Deborah Mark,

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Speaker 2: this is wasn't there a no fund? Maybe you're going

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Speaker 2: to start the other day. It's like I think every

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Speaker 2: few days now you want to go.

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Speaker 7: Fund rued something for shoes.

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Speaker 9: Yeah, you're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI

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Speaker 9: AM six.

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Speaker 2: Forty Ricardillara is Thelifornia Insurance Commissioner. Insurance in this state,

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Speaker 2: you know, is a disaster. It's extremely expensive. Companies cancel

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Speaker 2: on a whim. A lot of people have no insurance.

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Speaker 2: They get thrown in the fair plan. The fair plan

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Speaker 2: hardly covers anything, at least in the Palisades. The whole

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Speaker 2: system is a total, absolute, mismanaged.

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Speaker 1: Corrupt bust.

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Speaker 2: Ricardo Lara is the Democratic Insurance Commissioner who runs it

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Speaker 2: cal Fort Lara, and he has spent most of his

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Speaker 2: time as commissioner traveling forty eight trips. Most of them

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Speaker 2: seem to have nothing to do with the insurance business,

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Speaker 2: and most of them were charged entirely to you and me,

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Speaker 2: the California tax payer. We're in the middle of playing

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Speaker 2: this story from ABC seven Stephanie Sierra and up up

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Speaker 2: in the Bay Area, and we will continue playing the story.

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Speaker 1: Go ahead, HP not.

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Speaker 3: The commissioner makes those decisions based on things like threat assessments.

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Speaker 10: Government job is government service. It's not supposed to be wealthy.

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Speaker 10: You're not supposed to be in nice buildings in New

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Speaker 10: York having these high priced securities.

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Speaker 3: Former South may assembly Member Evan Lowe, an openly gay

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Speaker 3: politician who worked closely with Latta, says the security costs

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Speaker 3: may be warranted due to rising threats targeting the LGBTQ community.

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Speaker 5: I've been subjected to them too many do. It is

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Speaker 5: not unique to me, but the unfortunate realities that we're

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Speaker 5: dealt with in this political environment.

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Speaker 11: But he also recognizes the right shop a second, there

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Speaker 11: is no way we should be paying ten thousand dollars

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Speaker 11: in security costs because the insurance commissioner is gay.

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Speaker 2: I don't care. We should not have to pay for that.

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Speaker 2: I do not know why it matters that he's gay.

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Speaker 2: Why do they harp on this so much? I don't

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Speaker 2: know which of my I don't know, or agent, my doctor, dentist.

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Speaker 2: I don't know which of them are gay and which aren't.

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Speaker 2: I don't want to know. I don't ask people that

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Speaker 2: I'm doing business with, Hey, who are you sleeping with?

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Speaker 1: Be sleeping with girls? Guys? What is it? What's going on?

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Speaker 2: Maybe if they're a furry, you know, I'd want to know,

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Speaker 2: but that I probably would see it would be obvious.

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Speaker 6: Right.

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Speaker 2: You go to the dentist's office and there's a guy

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Speaker 2: standing there in a rabbit suit. It's like, all right,

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Speaker 2: I know what I'm dealing with here, but sure to that?

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Speaker 2: Why does anybody give a crap? And if so, he's

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Speaker 2: public with it, and he's got this huge ego and

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Speaker 2: he thinks that people in New York City are going

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Speaker 2: to come after him because he's gay, Because you know,

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Speaker 2: it's hardly any gay people in New York City and

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Speaker 2: that they're going to recognize him as an insurance commissioner

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Speaker 2: and they're going to be overcome with some kind of

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Speaker 2: hostility because, oh my god, we have a gay insurance

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Speaker 2: commissioner for California here, and then we got to pay

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Speaker 2: ten thousand dollars worth of security.

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Speaker 1: No, it's got nothing to do with that.

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Speaker 2: It's that he's an arrogant go maniac who thinks that

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Speaker 2: we all serve him, and he likes to walk around

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Speaker 2: a lot of security because it makes him feel like

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Speaker 2: a big important deal. A BFD I think is Joe

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Speaker 2: Biden would put it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, he's a big bleeping deal.

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Speaker 2: Walk around with a bunch of not garage bodyguard, security guards,

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Speaker 2: guys with guns.

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Speaker 1: Why do you have that?

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Speaker 2: Well, you know the political climate, the threat out There

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Speaker 2: is no threat to insurance commissioners in a state that

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Speaker 2: said three thousand miles away. It's like, sit down, shut up,

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Speaker 2: get off it. He's not undergoing any threat going to

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Speaker 2: PrideFest in New York and he doesn't desert. If you're

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Speaker 2: that scared, then stay home and save us to ten

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Speaker 2: thousand dollars in security fees. I mean, enough is enough

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Speaker 2: of this stuff already sees all right, continue, but he.

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Speaker 4: Also recognizes there has to be accountability.

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Speaker 5: Having said that, I think you're also making a ballad

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Speaker 5: making sure that there's great justification on any public dollars

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Speaker 5: that is being spent one penny, two pennies, whatever it

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Speaker 5: might be.

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Speaker 4: But we're not talking about pennies here.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, right, petty show a lotas five day trip to Bogata,

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Speaker 3: Columbia for an LGBTI political leaders conference costed taxpayers more

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Speaker 3: than twenty four thousand dollars.

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Speaker 4: That's five times more than we previously reported.

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Speaker 3: No insurance related meetings listed on his calendar either, but

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Speaker 3: receipts showed more than seven grand was spent on taxi fares.

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Speaker 3: Turns out a private security firm accompanied him at the conference.

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Speaker 2: Stop there, right, stop there. This one's even worse than

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Speaker 2: Pride Fest. This is twenty four thousand dollars, seven thousand.

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Speaker 1: Dollars on taxi fares.

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Speaker 2: Well, what he was taking a taxi to Brazil, but

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Speaker 2: wasn't taxi fares. That was a cover, that was a lie.

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Speaker 2: It was again the private security. Now who's coming after

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Speaker 2: who's going after the insurance commissioner in boga Ta, Colombia,

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Speaker 2: and there were no there was no there's no insurance

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Speaker 2: meetings there. LGBTI, what happened to the q LGBTI Political

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Speaker 2: Leaders Conference? Political leader, you're supposed to regularly run the

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Speaker 2: insurance industry.

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Speaker 1: What's wrong with you?

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Speaker 2: I mean, between the Pride fest and uh, this trip

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Speaker 2: to Colombia, that's forty four thousand dollars, forty four thousand dollars,

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Speaker 2: sixteen thousand dollars just on private security for old cal Fart.

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Speaker 2: Lara play more.

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Speaker 3: Lo is the CEO of the Victory Institute, a LGBTQ

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Speaker 3: advocacy organization, on this trip.

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Speaker 4: What was accomplished on that trip?

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Speaker 5: I don't know the substance of what was discussed during

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Speaker 5: that period of time, but the order organization does convene

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Speaker 5: a number of lgency like officials to talk about their experiences.

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Speaker 1: What is it like serving? How do you deal with

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Speaker 1: being a public official?

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Speaker 6: Well?

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Speaker 1: Stop, stop, stop stopping.

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Speaker 2: He flies to Bogata, Colombia to be part of a

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Speaker 2: conference of lgbt IQ political leaders to answer the question

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Speaker 2: what is it like serving? What does your sexuality matter?

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Speaker 2: When you're sitting in a chair at your desk, trying

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Speaker 2: to hash out some issue with an insurance company. Do

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Speaker 2: people actually talk about their their their sexual interests at

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Speaker 2: at these government meetings? I mean realize insurance is a

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Speaker 2: pretty dry topic. Maybe it would be more entertaining if

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Speaker 2: everybody start poured out, pouring out their fantasies or what

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Speaker 2: they did last night. Seriously, he's got to fly to Bogata,

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Speaker 2: Colombia to say, what is it like serving when when

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Speaker 2: you're a gay and when you're a gay insurance commissioner? Well,

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Speaker 2: what would the answer to that possible be? How would

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Speaker 2: you answer that? What is it like serving? It's a dry,

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Speaker 2: boring industry, a lot of complicated numbers. How do you

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Speaker 2: deal with being a public official? Well, how he deals

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Speaker 2: with being a public official? Is he looks us, he

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Speaker 2: steals from us. He spends tens of thousands of dollars

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Speaker 2: on bogus trips that have nothing to do with insurance.

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Speaker 1: Play some more.

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Speaker 3: This is why critics ask might a zoom call be

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Speaker 3: a cheaper alternative for an educational conference?

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Speaker 5: And I welcome these type of questions to be able

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Speaker 5: to articulate that because.

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Speaker 1: That's Evan Lowe again, Who's what is he? He's the.

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Speaker 2: Former assembly member who's also gay. I welcome these type

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Speaker 2: of questions. I have an answer. Yes, a zoom call

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Speaker 2: is cheaper. It would take about thirty seconds to say,

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Speaker 2: to answer the question, what is it like serving? I

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Speaker 2: don't know how you'd answered that, but I think you

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Speaker 2: could answer in thirty seconds. This is not that interesting

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Speaker 2: a question. How do you deal with being a public official?

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Speaker 2: That's a nonsense question. So I welcome these type of quay.

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Speaker 2: I'm flabbergasted by this. The thing is Channel seven did

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Speaker 2: a shorter version of this report with less detail some

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Speaker 2: months ago, and it had absolutely no effect.

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Speaker 1: On the world.

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Speaker 2: Ricardi Larar just still kept flying around with his security

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Speaker 2: authorage that we were paying for, kept going on these

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Speaker 2: long trips internationally to meetings that had nothing to do

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Speaker 2: with insurance. It changed nothing. You didn see the governor

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Speaker 2: come out and say, bringing noth of this crap.

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Speaker 5: Place more because again, public dollars are that much more important.

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Speaker 3: But the commissioner has not articulated that answer. The security

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Speaker 3: for just two of lata's twenty nineteen trips cost taxpayers

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Speaker 3: more than sixteen grant. Those charges are in addition to

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Speaker 3: a two hundred and sixty thousand dollars contract a lot

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Speaker 3: of had with California High Patrol that year to provide

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Speaker 3: protection services.

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Speaker 1: Stop holy crap.

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Speaker 2: So those two trips cost sixteen thousand, and then Lara

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Speaker 2: has a two hundred and sixty thousand dollars contract with

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Speaker 2: CHP for more protection. Who the hell is after an

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Speaker 2: insurance commissioner? What are the threats? Exactly? There are no threats.

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Speaker 2: This is to make him feel like mister big stuff.

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Speaker 2: Two hundred and sixty thousand dollars of our tax money.

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Speaker 2: So he has a driver all the time. Does somebody

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Speaker 2: tuck him in at night? We got a lot more

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Speaker 2: of this. This is a This is ABC seven. How

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Speaker 2: much shall we have?

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Speaker 1: All right? Play last thirteen seconds of this part.

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Speaker 4: Well, travel is.

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Speaker 3: Not uncommon for California's insurance commissioner, and prior commissioners have

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Speaker 3: also traveled internationally. Political analysts are raising questions about the frequency, cost,

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Speaker 3: and lack of transparency with Lata's trips.

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Speaker 2: Okay, we'll do part two when we come back. Ricardo Lara,

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Speaker 2: the California and Sure Company commissioner, huge failure at his job,

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Speaker 2: and he's costing us tens of thousands of dollars. On

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Speaker 2: nonsense non insurance trips around the globe.

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Speaker 9: You're listening to John Cobels on demand from KFI AM

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Speaker 9: six forty.

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Speaker 2: Run every day from one in till four o'clock and

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Speaker 2: then after for It's John Cobelt's show on demand. That's

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Speaker 2: the podcast version of it. Moistline eight seven seven Moist

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Speaker 2: eighty six. You might have something to say about this

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Speaker 2: thing we're covering Ricardo Lara, the insurance Commissioner eight seven

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Speaker 2: seven Moist eighty six eight seven seven six six four

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Speaker 2: seven eight eight six, or use the talkback feature on

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Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app. We had been playing this lengthy story

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Speaker 2: put together by Channel seven in San Francisco by Stephanie Sierra.

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Speaker 2: She had done a version of this some months ago

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Speaker 2: when they got some of the information about the insurance

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Speaker 2: Commissioner Ricardo Lara's extensive traveling. Much of this have having

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Speaker 2: nothing to do with his job as insurance commissioner. A

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Speaker 2: lot of this is not insurance meetings. This is just

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Speaker 2: tourism and he has has just incredibly expensive trips, staying

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Speaker 2: at expensive hotels, having a having enormous expenses for security

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Speaker 2: detail for a guy.

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Speaker 1: That nobody knows who he is.

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Speaker 2: I mean, outside of political geeks and Sacramento, who the

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Speaker 2: hell knows who Ricardo Larra is. And he's got a

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Speaker 2: security entourage that is as costly as Lady Gagas. I mean,

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Speaker 2: I just don't I don't understand. I mean, he's got

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Speaker 2: a huge he's a huge ego case and we're paying

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Speaker 2: for it. And nobody in Sacramento ever blew the whistle

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Speaker 2: on this, even though it's been known for quite some time. Well,

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Speaker 2: this is a more extensive report. The spending is worse

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Speaker 2: than you could have imagined. We're going to go to

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Speaker 2: part two now and we're going to talk about the

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Speaker 2: last thing we did is all right. We highlighted two

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Speaker 2: of the trips. There's forty eight of them. Two of

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Speaker 2: them cost taxpayers more than sixteen thousand dollars just for security.

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Speaker 1: And then we were.

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Speaker 2: Told that Lara has a two hundred and sixty thousand

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Speaker 2: dollars contract.

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Speaker 1: With the CHP.

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Speaker 2: For secure for protection services two hundred sixty and I

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Speaker 2: think that only is for a year. Now, let's continue

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Speaker 2: this travelog. Oh, for example, pay attention because I think

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Speaker 2: I think you might get more information never about the

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Speaker 2: safari here for.

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Speaker 3: Example, last November, Lada took a trip to Cape Town,

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Speaker 3: South Africa for an international insurance conference, but the conference

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Speaker 3: was only two days, Yet receipt show taxpayers paid for

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Speaker 3: his entire two and a half week's day at a

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Speaker 3: luxury hotel. Records are still missing from this trip, but

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Speaker 3: we can tell you his security detail alone cost taxpayers

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Speaker 3: more than thirty three thousand dollars, and that's not including

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Speaker 3: any of the miscellaneous bills like expensive hiking equipment.

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Speaker 6: I'm having a hard time understanding why hiking poles are

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Speaker 6: part of something that the state needs for insurance and

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Speaker 6: tax Wait.

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Speaker 1: Wait, hiking poles.

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Speaker 2: That was the voice of ray Asbel, and he used

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Speaker 2: to work with California HR, so I understand we got

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Speaker 2: charged for hiking poles and his security on this trip

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Speaker 2: more than thirty three thousand dollars.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, let's play some.

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Speaker 3: More here, and taxpayers paid for a visit to the

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Speaker 3: Big five Safarian spa.

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Speaker 6: It just doesn't make any sense.

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Speaker 12: That's a strong case that that line has been crossed

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Speaker 12: because if we are spending taxpayer money on excursions that

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Speaker 12: seem like it's a vacation, and people are saying the

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Speaker 12: business purpose of the trip to put that right.

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Speaker 1: Stop, stop, what is a spa? You know what a

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Speaker 1: big five?

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Speaker 2: If that jumped down the Big five safari, that's when

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Speaker 2: you see lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, elephants, and African buffalo. Those

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Speaker 2: are the big five animals. And so this is this

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Speaker 2: is the elite safari, two day conference, two and a

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Speaker 2: half week trip, thirty three thousand insecurity so he could

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Speaker 2: see all the big animals.

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Speaker 7: You just have to laugh. It's so ridiculous.

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Speaker 2: This is so blatant. I've never seen anybody this blatant

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Speaker 2: about it. This out in the open.

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Speaker 7: And he's in charge of h's.

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Speaker 2: In people are going bankrupt, they're homeless because of their

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Speaker 2: insurance problems.

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Speaker 7: And he's going on safaris and going in a spa.

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Speaker 4: Now, yes, play some more to put that trip and

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Speaker 4: perspective for you.

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Speaker 3: We requested all the travel records of legislators on both

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Speaker 3: state insurance committees, but received show a significant disparity. Let

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Speaker 3: me show you what I mean, and one example involving

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Speaker 3: Lisa A. Calderon the Assembly Insurance Committee chair. She averaged

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Speaker 3: roughly nineteen thousand dollars annually over the past five years

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Speaker 3: for all her taxpayer funded travel. Now, compare that to

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Speaker 3: Commissioner Lada's HP security detail exceeding thirty three thousand dollars for.

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Speaker 4: Just one trip.

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Speaker 3: Commissioner Ladda and assembly Member Calderon's role is not a

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Speaker 3: direct comparison in scope of representation, but the Department has

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Speaker 3: not provided the travel records from previous commissioners, describing them

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Speaker 3: as incomplete. In fact, Lada's staff provided a list of

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Speaker 3: five international trips former Commissioner Dave Jones took during his tenure.

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Speaker 3: Compare that to at least twenty one international trips Lada took.

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Speaker 6: So I don't think it passed the sniff test whatsoever.

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Speaker 3: Yet somehow this next trip passed the sniff test for

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00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:50,160
Speaker 3: the commissioner. It included a luxurious ten day trip to Dubai,

440
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,440
Speaker 3: staying at a pricing five star resort.

441
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:53,879
Speaker 4: The department stop.

442
00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:01,120
Speaker 2: Dubai, Yeah, a pricey five star resort.

443
00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:09,200
Speaker 1: This is so outrageous, this is so galling play some more.

444
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,119
Speaker 3: The Department says this was to participate in United Nations

445
00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,600
Speaker 3: policy panels and insurance forums, and while his office has

446
00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,320
Speaker 3: been unable to provide the receipts for his own costs.

447
00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:21,360
Speaker 3: Seven on your Side obtained records showing taxpayers paid more

448
00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:24,720
Speaker 3: than twenty four thousand on the flight's pay and luxury

449
00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:29,880
Speaker 3: hotel accommodations just for his CHP security details, which included

450
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,000
Speaker 3: hiring a limousine service and a personal chauffeur.

451
00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,480
Speaker 8: Sorry, stop, is this the President of the United States?

452
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:43,760
Speaker 2: Twenty four thousand dollars a chauffeur a private limousine in Dubai.

453
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:49,600
Speaker 2: The thing is, he did this repeatedly, over and over

454
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,800
Speaker 2: and over again. He's been the insurance commissioner for six

455
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,560
Speaker 2: years now. This is the second term. This is standard

456
00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,119
Speaker 2: way of life, and nobody stopped him. Was publicized, nobody

457
00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:02,080
Speaker 2: stopped him.

458
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:04,399
Speaker 7: Play some more to put that in perspective.

459
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:08,200
Speaker 3: Seven on your Side requested any security related expenses build

460
00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 3: to taxpayers for the insurance commissioners in Illinois, New York, Texas,

461
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,520
Speaker 3: and Florida from twenty eighteen through June this year, yet

462
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,920
Speaker 3: none of them produced any responsive records.

463
00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:21,240
Speaker 12: The people of the state have the right to ask

464
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:22,040
Speaker 12: those questions.

465
00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:25,359
Speaker 3: The department says any personal excursions are paid for by

466
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,960
Speaker 3: the commissioner personally, so we asked if that was the

467
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,159
Speaker 3: case for the fifteen international trips listed in this report

468
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,720
Speaker 3: that are missing his own travel records, and we.

469
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:34,840
Speaker 4: Never got a straight answer.

470
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,439
Speaker 3: To be clear, Commissioner loves total travel cost to taxpayers

471
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,480
Speaker 3: is likely much higher, given the Department has failed to

472
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,399
Speaker 3: provide most, if not all, of his own expenses for

473
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:46,240
Speaker 3: many of these prices stot Stock.

474
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:50,320
Speaker 2: So they're hiding even more trips. Maybe these trips are

475
00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:53,560
Speaker 2: even more expensive. Why are they hiding it? They were

476
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 2: willing to release this. This makes them look good play some.

477
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:02,520
Speaker 3: More aside from just Cape Town, but also Scotland, Chile, Egypt,

478
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:09,240
Speaker 3: Costa Rica, Tokyo, Uruguay, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Guatemala, Ireland, and

479
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,879
Speaker 3: three trips to Bermuda despite our repeated attempts.

480
00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:16,639
Speaker 12: I think this would warrant a committee hearing to review

481
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:20,159
Speaker 12: this type of situation, for the Commissioner to come in

482
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:21,760
Speaker 12: and answer questions, why.

483
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,040
Speaker 10: Do you have the security? Is this security necessary? Is

484
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:25,800
Speaker 10: this price tag necessary?

485
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 3: Commissioner Lada was unavailable for an interview. We repeatedly reached

486
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,560
Speaker 3: out for further comment to these findings. His office did

487
00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,720
Speaker 3: not respond to most of the requested trips, but did

488
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,120
Speaker 3: send us the following statement addressing Lada's trip to Bogatah,

489
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,880
Speaker 3: As the first openly gay person elected to lead a

490
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,280
Speaker 3: statewide office in California history and one of the nation's

491
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:49,080
Speaker 3: most visible gay leaders, Commissioner Lada was invited to speak

492
00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:50,480
Speaker 3: on the fight for human rights.

493
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:54,640
Speaker 1: Stop stop, stop, this is bs. This is garbage.

494
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:59,800
Speaker 2: Again, he's gay, So why look at the insurance that

495
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:02,160
Speaker 2: you he should be in California a disaster. Oh but

496
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,520
Speaker 2: he's gay. Yeah, but you're blowing one hundreds of thousands

497
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,040
Speaker 2: of dollars on travel. Well it's because he's gay. Well

498
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 2: he has to speak out on being gay. Yeah, what

499
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:14,240
Speaker 2: are you talking about? Your job is to regulate the

500
00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:16,600
Speaker 2: insurance industry and your total failure at it.

501
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:18,280
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, but you don't understand he's gay.

502
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,840
Speaker 2: But he's traveling to South Africa to look at big animals,

503
00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:27,760
Speaker 2: Well because he's gay. Well he's in Dubai Bogata, New

504
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,960
Speaker 2: York because well as one of the leading gay events.

505
00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:32,280
Speaker 1: That's got nothing to do with anything.

506
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,000
Speaker 2: I don't Nobody is interested in who he sleeps with

507
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:37,680
Speaker 2: at night or what he does nobody. What they care

508
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,800
Speaker 2: about is their house is not insured. That payments for

509
00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:42,920
Speaker 2: everybody in California.

510
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,000
Speaker 1: Are through the roof. I know this.

511
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:51,840
Speaker 2: Our insurance payments are mind boggling. Everybody's insurance is mind

512
00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,160
Speaker 2: boggling if they can get it. A lot of insurance

513
00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:58,160
Speaker 2: cannot be purchased anymore because he has so completely effed

514
00:29:58,200 --> 00:29:59,800
Speaker 2: up the entire insurance industry.

515
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:04,160
Speaker 1: And he's flying around the world. And I told you this.

516
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:05,880
Speaker 2: I didn't even hear this part of the story when

517
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,480
Speaker 2: I said this half an hour ago. It's like the

518
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:13,720
Speaker 2: excuse is going to be he's gay. I mean, which

519
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,600
Speaker 2: want drive my head through the wall play some more.

520
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:18,880
Speaker 3: On the same time, he was leading the fight for

521
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:23,080
Speaker 3: health insurance equality with other state insurance commissioners, adding last

522
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:27,120
Speaker 3: week for all department funded travel, we comply with FPPC

523
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:29,120
Speaker 3: rules and reporting requirements.

524
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,960
Speaker 12: The public and the voters and the citizens of the

525
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:36,760
Speaker 12: state are tired of seeing elected officials and appointed officials

526
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 12: who believe that the rules do not apply.

527
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:41,560
Speaker 3: To them, Which brings us back to this question, where

528
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:42,800
Speaker 3: is the ethical line?

529
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,920
Speaker 5: Your question about where that line exists. It's something that

530
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,680
Speaker 5: we go through ethics training on. Actually, I'm going to

531
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,200
Speaker 5: talk about so understanding public scrutiny and we need to

532
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:53,560
Speaker 5: be cognizant of that now.

533
00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:56,600
Speaker 3: In just the past hour, the department responded saying Commissioner

534
00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:01,040
Speaker 3: Alta has attended ethical training sessions.

535
00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:01,760
Speaker 4: Of the oversight over this position.

536
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,920
Speaker 3: According to the Governor's office, California's Insurance Commissioner is a

537
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 3: constitutional office that operates independently from the administration, meaning they're

538
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:11,920
Speaker 3: not subject to the same rules, and this house raised

539
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,720
Speaker 3: questions about accountability moving forward here.

540
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,480
Speaker 1: This is not an ethics problem. This is criminal. Okay.

541
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:22,920
Speaker 2: This guy is stealing our tax money and enjoying the

542
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,520
Speaker 2: hell out of life with all his travel, insecurity and

543
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,880
Speaker 2: all this nonsense, and he's hiding behind being gay.

544
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: He's using that as a shield. Got to do the news.

545
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:38,200
Speaker 9: You're listening to John Cobbels on demand from KFI six.

546
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,800
Speaker 2: We are all shaken and in shock over the last

547
00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:47,360
Speaker 2: hour in the Migraine. Yeah, I know, I'm I'm already

548
00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:52,960
Speaker 2: I'm already exhausted. We have been playing X well he played.

549
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,880
Speaker 2: We eventually played the whole story and it was by

550
00:31:56,120 --> 00:32:00,720
Speaker 2: Channel seven in San Francisco, and they had through all

551
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:07,880
Speaker 2: of Ricardo Lara's travel, expensive expense receipts and reports. Stephani

552
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:11,920
Speaker 2: Sierra from ABC seven. It's something that's very rare. This

553
00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:16,440
Speaker 2: was like a nine month investigation Riccardillara is the insurance commissioner.

554
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:22,240
Speaker 2: He's a terrible insurance commissioner, but people elected him twice.

555
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:27,520
Speaker 2: And the insurance industry is obviously the biggest failure of

556
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:31,160
Speaker 2: any insurance industry in the history of the planet. People

557
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,840
Speaker 2: can't get insurance. If they can, it's extremely expensive, it's

558
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,960
Speaker 2: often canceled on them. The insurance companies don't follow through

559
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:44,880
Speaker 2: with the payments they should. The fires have just obliterated

560
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:48,120
Speaker 2: people's lives, not just their homes, but their lives because

561
00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:52,400
Speaker 2: the insurance industry is behaving so badly, and he's done

562
00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:59,360
Speaker 2: nothing to help. He just travels around and enjoys himself

563
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:04,560
Speaker 2: on this. This is pleasure travel. Most of this that

564
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,960
Speaker 2: we went through has nothing to do with his duties

565
00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,600
Speaker 2: and the like. There was one two day conference he

566
00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,880
Speaker 2: went to in South Africa, but it stretched to two

567
00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:14,880
Speaker 2: and a half weeks because he went on a safari

568
00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,720
Speaker 2: to look at all the big animals. He has spent

569
00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:26,120
Speaker 2: tens of thousands of dollars on private security. He's got

570
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:33,000
Speaker 2: I don't understand he's got a mental illness, because anybody

571
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:36,280
Speaker 2: else would be ashamed of this, and he must be

572
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:42,760
Speaker 2: of extreme paranoia or he's got such a bloated, out

573
00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:47,920
Speaker 2: of control ego, he feels he deserves this massive amount

574
00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:51,920
Speaker 2: of security. And then you talk to any of his

575
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,200
Speaker 2: aids and they go, well, you know, because he's the

576
00:33:55,240 --> 00:34:02,600
Speaker 2: most prominent gay politician in California, in the world. Nobody

577
00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:05,560
Speaker 2: knows who he is. There is zero people who care

578
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:09,399
Speaker 2: that he's gay. But I told you it's it's it's

579
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,160
Speaker 2: it's way to use a shield. If any kind of

580
00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,440
Speaker 2: any kind of criticism, you hold up the air shield.

581
00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:16,520
Speaker 1: You're an insurance.

582
00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:23,840
Speaker 2: Commissioner, a corrupt, bad insurance commissioner, disastrous, destructive insurance commissioner.

583
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:28,000
Speaker 2: But your sex life? Why why do I have to know?

584
00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:31,200
Speaker 2: Why do we even have to know what his sex

585
00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:34,600
Speaker 2: life is, what his desires are.

586
00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,279
Speaker 1: I don't have to know that. I don't want to

587
00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:39,279
Speaker 1: know that anybody's.

588
00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:44,080
Speaker 2: I want to know why insurance is so extremely expensive,

589
00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:49,919
Speaker 2: Why insurance companies don't pay off on the claims, Why

590
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:52,719
Speaker 2: is the industry so corrupt? Why were so many policies

591
00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:59,359
Speaker 2: canceled in the Palisades before the fire? What do we

592
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:03,839
Speaker 2: living in there in this state? And nobody knows who

593
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:06,239
Speaker 2: he is? This has been reported on. Like I said

594
00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:10,839
Speaker 2: a few months ago, with far fewer details. They don't

595
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:12,960
Speaker 2: know who he is, and they don't seem to care.

596
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:16,080
Speaker 2: They don't connect all their insurance troubles with this criminal.

597
00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:17,439
Speaker 1: They don't.

598
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:22,080
Speaker 2: But that's what the problem is. And like I said

599
00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:23,800
Speaker 2: at the end of the story, he doesn't even report

600
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:27,040
Speaker 2: to do so he's you know, he's an independent insurance commissioner.

601
00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:30,640
Speaker 2: So he's got his own bizarre fifdom, his own budget,

602
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:33,000
Speaker 2: and he does what he wants. And then they go, well,

603
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:36,319
Speaker 2: you know, he's been to ethics training, the ethics stop it,

604
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,000
Speaker 2: that's a that's a scam, ethics training.

605
00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:43,600
Speaker 8: Why is nobody trying to recall him?

606
00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:46,399
Speaker 1: Up until today, nobody knew that it was this bad.

607
00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:51,279
Speaker 8: Well not even this, but just the whole debacle of

608
00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:52,920
Speaker 8: the whole insurance industry.

609
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:54,080
Speaker 7: Yeah, and what's happening.

610
00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:56,719
Speaker 8: I just I don't understand why people aren't making more

611
00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:57,520
Speaker 8: noise about it.

612
00:35:58,120 --> 00:35:59,560
Speaker 1: I bet you most people don't know there is an

613
00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:00,520
Speaker 1: insurance commissioner.

614
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:02,879
Speaker 7: He was elected in twenty twenty two.

615
00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:05,960
Speaker 2: They don't know. They don't pay attention. I mean most

616
00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:07,480
Speaker 2: of the people in the state. They just look down

617
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,239
Speaker 2: the list and they see Democrat, Democrat, Democrat, democrat, and

618
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:14,200
Speaker 2: the click click click click those boxes. I mean, he

619
00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:16,919
Speaker 2: could be one of the zoo animals that he saw

620
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,520
Speaker 2: in South Africa. You could put five zoo animals to

621
00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:26,640
Speaker 2: run for all these government positions, right Secretary of State

622
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:31,720
Speaker 2: and insurance commissioner and the lieutenant governor. You know, just

623
00:36:31,719 --> 00:36:33,799
Speaker 2: just make up names of zoo animals and put them

624
00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:35,359
Speaker 2: on the ballot. They'd win anyway, as long as they

625
00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,719
Speaker 2: have a Democrat. I do have good news what this

626
00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:40,560
Speaker 2: will be his last term. It's a two term limit,

627
00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:44,040
Speaker 2: so she's gonna get away with it. Yes, yeah, you

628
00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,560
Speaker 2: think there's gonna be an investigation. Hey, you've been listening

629
00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,160
Speaker 2: to the John Cobalt Show podcast. You can always hear

630
00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:51,879
Speaker 2: the show live on KFI AM six forty from one

631
00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:54,439
Speaker 2: to four pm every Monday through Friday, and of course,

632
00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:57,200
Speaker 2: anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app