1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:03,200 Speaker 1: Can't I am six forty. You're listening to the John 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Cobelt podcast on the iHeartRadio app. We are on every 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: day from one to four o'clock and then after four 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: o'clock John Cobelt Show on demand the podcast on the 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: iHeart app. And this is a big news breaking in 6 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: just the last hour or two, the Trump administration is 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: cutting off funding to high speed rail. Four billion dollars 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: in future funding has been withdrawn, shut down, pulled back. 9 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: The state's going to have about thirty days to make 10 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 1: the case that it complied with the terms of the 11 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: four billion dollar grant. The Department of Transportation issued a 12 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:51,480 Speaker 1: actually through their federal Railroad administration that they oversee, has 13 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: said that there's no viable path. That's that's the big 14 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: phrase and oval headlines. No viable path forward to complet 15 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: eight high speed rail. They have massive cost overruns, miss deadlines, 16 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: projected ridership that is total nonsense, no actual track on 17 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: the ground. And this is after seventeen years, over seventeen 18 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: billion dollars. Let's go to Tom McClintock, Northern California Congressman, 19 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: Republican who's been with us on with us frequently. Tom 20 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: I know we're going to go through the formality of 21 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: having the news of administration respond to this, but it 22 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 1: looks like as far as the federal government funding, this 23 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: is dead. This is dead for the rest of Trump's term. 24 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,399 Speaker 2: Well, we knew it was the worst boondoggle in history 25 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 2: twenty five years ago when we argued it in the 26 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 2: state legislature, and it hasn't gotten any better. Their passenger 27 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,559 Speaker 2: estimates have always been grossly inflated. They began predicting eight 28 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 2: times the passengers that were presently flying between all the 29 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 2: airports and Southern California. In San Francisco, eight times the 30 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 2: number of airline passengers were going to jump on this 31 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 2: train to make the same trip, even though it would 32 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 2: take two more hours to get there and the cost 33 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 2: per trip would be about the same as air service. So, 34 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 2: I mean, those are the ridiculous of premises that they 35 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 2: set twenty five years ago when they launched this monstrosity. 36 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 2: I calculated at the time that for the cost that 37 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 2: they were projecting of about twenty billion dollars back then, 38 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 2: we could have added one thousand, seven hundred and thirty 39 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 2: miles of new freeway lanes at century freeway prices. That 40 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 2: would have carried ten times the passenger miles. Now I 41 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,119 Speaker 2: just updated those figures. Looking at the new numbers today, 42 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 2: they're now projecting one hundred and thirty billion dollars to 43 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 2: complete the system. At current construction prices, we could add 44 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 2: two thousand miles of new freeway lanes in the most 45 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 2: densely congested urban areas of the state, or forty thousand 46 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 2: miles of new freeway lanes in rural areas such as 47 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 2: Central Valley. But let's just stick to the two thousand 48 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 2: miles of new freeway lanes at the most expensive construction 49 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 2: prices that we experience. That's the most densely congested areas 50 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 2: of the state. 51 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 3: For what they've. 52 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 2: Already spent, we could have added more than two hundred 53 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 2: miles of new freeway lanes on routes like the one 54 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 2: oh one and the four oh five and the I 55 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 2: five through Los Angeles. That's that's what these morons have 56 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 2: cost us, and it is heartbreaking to realize the impact 57 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 2: two hundred miles of new freeway lanes on the one 58 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 2: oh one, the four oh five, and the I five. 59 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 2: Would that have had a greater positive impact on your 60 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 2: life than the monument to stupidity that's sitting out in 61 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 2: the middle of the Central Valley right now, completely unused 62 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 2: and never will be completed. 63 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: My opinion, this smells like a criminal operation, like a 64 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: criminal con job of the state taxpayers and American taxpayers. 65 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: How could there not be criminality involved here when you 66 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: make seventeen billion dollars disappear and you don't have a 67 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: damn thing to show for it, nothing, no product. 68 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 2: Let me go back twenty five years ago to our 69 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 2: original debates on this issue. It was being spearheaded by 70 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 2: a con artist by the name of Meddi Morshit. I 71 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 2: used to call him Professor Harold Hill. 72 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 3: You remember the. 73 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 2: Music man, the con man, and that what he just 74 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 2: reminded me of, Professor Harold Hill always gonna be the 75 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 2: most wonderful thing in the world. And we started we 76 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,479 Speaker 2: started looking at the numbers, like, you know, how much 77 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 2: in freeway expansion could we get for the same amount, 78 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 2: or for that matter, what does a single train trip 79 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 2: take in terms of electricity? He had no idea what 80 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 2: I posed that question to him in the committee hearing 81 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 2: one day. The answer, by the way, sixteen thousand kilowatt 82 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 2: hours for each single train trip at the time, that 83 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 2: would have meant burning two tons of coal to generate 84 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 2: the electricity in the current power mix on the grid, 85 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 2: and yet they were selling this as clean energy. Now, 86 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 2: we can't guarantee enough electricity to keep your refrigerator running 87 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 2: in the summer. So you tell me where we're going 88 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 2: to get that sixteen thousand kilowatt hours of electricity to 89 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 2: run each train trip on that system once it's built 90 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 2: for the price of two thousand miles of new freeway length. 91 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: The supporters know all this though, right if you know it, 92 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: they know it. 93 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 2: Oh, we made it very clear at the time. 94 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: So what's the benefit here? Who got the money? Who 95 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: benefited from this colossal twenty five year scam. 96 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 2: I imagine a lot of contractors, and by the way, 97 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 2: these were not productive job you know. 98 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 3: They say, well, at. 99 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 2: Least we're creating thousands of jobs, paying people to build 100 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 2: this huge elevated section in the central Valley. And my 101 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 2: response is, well, you could create thousands of jobs. Paying 102 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 2: people to dig holes in the desert. Doesn't mean you're 103 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 2: getting anything of value for your labor, and the cost 104 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 2: of the labors taken from other workers who were paying 105 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 2: taxes for it. 106 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 3: So you don't. 107 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: There's no product seventeen years, there's no visible product. Yeah, 108 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: I met people want to be going to prison for this. 109 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 2: Well, a lot of it was political malpracticed by the 110 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 2: people who voted for this in the state legislature years ago. 111 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 2: And all the people that sold the bonds. No, don't 112 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 2: forget Californians fell for this. They approved a major bond measure. 113 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 2: And as I said, they've spent about fourteen billion dollars 114 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 2: so far on this project. That's two hundred miles of 115 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 2: new freeway lane. 116 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, well they sold it. They sold it as it 117 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 1: was going to be done by twenty twenty only thirty 118 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: three billion, and the trains would go over about two 119 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty miles an hour, and you go to 120 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,479 Speaker 1: San Francisco in two and a half hours. That's what 121 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: the cell was. And people got caught up like all 122 00:06:55,880 --> 00:07:01,480 Speaker 1: the glamour and glitz of a high speed, shiny train nothing, 123 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: we got zero out of it. 124 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 3: Yeah. 125 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 2: Well, maybe we're sadder but wiser now and we'll go 126 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 2: back to building a freeway system that twenty five years 127 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 2: ago was the envy of the nation. 128 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: All right, Tom McClintock, thank you for coming. 129 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 2: On again my pleasure, John, thanks for having. 130 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: Me, Republican Congressman from northern California. This is I mean, 131 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: this is good news today. At least federal tax money 132 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: is not going to be poured in anymore, although like 133 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: I said, that's going to take thirty seven days after 134 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: the response from the criminals at high speed Rail. And 135 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: I don't mean that, I mean that literally, these guys 136 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: are criminals. I don't know who can charge them who, 137 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: I don't know if anybody's investigating them. But this is 138 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: absurd that they were able to blow seventeen billion dollars 139 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: without a product. No way this would go on in 140 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: the private sector. That's impossible. And this just shows you 141 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: how freaking stupid much of the public. I mean, this 142 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: is not a surprise. It's been in front of our eyes. 143 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: Well actually yeah, it's been in front of our eyes. 144 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: That nothing is in front of our eyes, that there 145 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: are no trains, there are no tracks, there is nothing built. Unbelievable. 146 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: When we come back, well, we'll get into the details 147 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: here of what this report was from the Federal Railroad Administration, 148 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: the Department of Transportation. Sean Duffy. We've ended up with 149 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: a big zero here but at least finally, Trump is 150 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: cutting off funding for high speed rail. 151 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 4: You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM 152 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:39,599 Speaker 4: six forty. 153 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: John Cobelt Show. We're on from one to four every day. 154 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: Moistline is Fridays in the three o'clock hour twice. Moistline 155 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: is where you vent your anger and frustration and you 156 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,439 Speaker 1: should be calling about this. Eight seven seven moist steady 157 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 1: six eight seven seven moist eighty six. Federal funding for 158 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: high speed rail has been cut off by the Trump administration. 159 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: That's about four billion dollars on the table. It's no 160 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 1: longer on the table. And this is a great day now. 161 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: That does not stop the jackals in Sacramento. These guys 162 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: are criminals, con artists, and thieves and to prove it 163 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 1: to you, a spokeshole for this criminal California High Speed 164 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: Rail Authority provided this statement after the Trump administration announced 165 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: the cutoff. The governor's budget proposal, which is currently before 166 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: the legislature, extends another at least a billion dollars per 167 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: year in funding for the next twenty years twenty years, 168 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:53,959 Speaker 1: providing the necessary resources to complete the project's initial operating segment. 169 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: So that's what's sitting in the new budget bill twenty 170 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 1: billion dollars a billion for the next twenty years at least. 171 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: So this is what these criminals in Sacramento in the 172 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,679 Speaker 1: Assembly state Saidate Gavin Newsom high speed rail. They want 173 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:14,959 Speaker 1: to take twenty billion dollars more of your tax money 174 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: and blow it on whoever is on the other end 175 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:27,199 Speaker 1: of these contracts. They're trade unions, but I think normally 176 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: when you're in a construction union, you construct things, you 177 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: build things. There's nothing useful built nothing, no rail, no train, 178 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: no train stations, nothing. So those unions are stealing the money. 179 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: And then you have lawires, environmental consultants, business consultants, all 180 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 1: kinds of land use consultants. They all stole the money. 181 00:10:55,600 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: There was several audits. One of the audits said, there's 182 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 1: no invoices. We don't know who received these billions of dollars. 183 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: There are no records are there's literally no records, no paperwork, 184 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 1: no computer files, nothing, no paperwork, no computer files, no 185 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: train stations, no trains, no train track. It was as 186 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: if the money was set on fire. And Gavin Newsom 187 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: and the Assembly in the Senate is promising a billion 188 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:33,199 Speaker 1: a year for the next twenty years. It'll be twenty 189 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: forty five and they'll still be spending tax money on 190 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: high speed Rail. Department of Transportation. In their press release 191 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: where they announced that they're cutting off the funding, they 192 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 1: wrote this helpful little history lesson. In two thousand and eight, 193 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 1: the California High Speed Rail system was represented as a 194 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: two phase visionary system connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco, 195 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: later on north to Sacramento and south to San Diego. 196 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: Since then, the project footprint has been dramatically reduced from 197 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,360 Speaker 1: an eight hundred miles segment to one hundred and seventy 198 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: one miles to the current vision one hundred and nineteen miles, 199 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:30,800 Speaker 1: commonly known as Bakersfield to Mercett, although I'm told actually 200 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: the one train station's in Wasco and the other is 201 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 1: in Madera, so they're actually spent seventeen billions so far 202 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:47,680 Speaker 1: on a dream of connecting Waco with Madera. Despite substantial 203 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: federal funding and support, California High Speed Rail does not 204 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: have the capacity to deliver the full system. It has 205 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,839 Speaker 1: not learned from its mistakes and mismanagement, has failed to 206 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: he had an organization capable of effectively and efficiently managing 207 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: project delivery. There's still numerous delays and cost overruns. At 208 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: this rate, California High Speed Rail Authority will never complete 209 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: the California High Speed Rail system. California High Speed Rail 210 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: Authority has not acted in good faith in making representations 211 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:24,319 Speaker 1: to the Federal Railroad Administration. That's a really polite way 212 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: of saying they constantly lie. I mean, if you heard 213 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 1: Tom McClintock in the last segment, they constantly invented fantastical 214 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: ridership estimates that in no way would ever happen if 215 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 1: we lived one hundred million years. You cannot beat a 216 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: ninety nine dollars flight, a sixty nine dollars flight from 217 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: Los Angeles to San Francisco where it gets you there 218 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 1: in a little over an hour. You cannot beat that, 219 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: not with a train, none of it's high speed. That 220 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: was a total lie. They'll never get the ridership. And 221 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: they weren't supposed to use a dime of tax money. 222 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: That's another thing. I thought that was an ironclad rule, 223 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: no tax money. Well now newsom twenty billion dollars in 224 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: tax money over the next twenty years minimum. It's just 225 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 1: they do it in your face. They do it proudly 226 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: while they occasionally there's this little blip of indignation you 227 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: see at a hearing, but it's phony. They're acting. They 228 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: have to play to the camera, to the poor schlub 229 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: at home who's getting pissed. But do you believe they're spending 230 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: all this money on high speed rail? So you gotta 231 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: go on t and go yeah, yeah, you know, we 232 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: got to do an investigation here. This is getting out 233 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: of hand. I'm telling you, here's how the corruption work works. 234 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: You give the tax money, the high speed rail money, 235 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: to these trade unions, these labor unions. They in turn 236 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: give politicians generous campaign contributions. Same thing with these architects, 237 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: these land use experts, these lawyers, the environmental experts. They 238 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,960 Speaker 1: all give money. It's a kickback scheme. It's a money 239 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: laundering scheme. The whole Democratic and the Democratic Assembly and 240 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: State Senate and the NEWSOB administration is part of this 241 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: massive money laundering scheme and they have collectively profited it 242 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: to seventeen billion dollars. The unions, the lawyers, the architects, 243 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: the engineers, and then they give a cut back to 244 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: the Assembly and State senators who voted for this monster. 245 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: They all knew it would never be built. They don't 246 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 1: care that it's going to ever, that it's not going 247 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: to be built. Part of the stick, part of the act, 248 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: it is to give these pompous, sanctimonious speeches about California 249 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 1: is going to take America into the future. We're going 250 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 1: to be on the cutting edge of high speed rail. 251 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: We're going to do wondrous things to save the planet 252 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: from the greenhouse gas. It's all scripted nonsense to manipulate 253 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: your emotions, all of it, and people fall for it 254 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: over and over and over again. It's fascinating to see 255 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: how dense much of human nature is. They do everything 256 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: but come into your bedroom at night, pull your pants down, 257 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: pull your wallet out, and set fire to your money 258 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: right in front of you and your family. And you'll 259 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: still vote for these guys, the same guys. You'll vote 260 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:12,879 Speaker 1: for the same guys who come over your house and 261 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 1: set your money on fire. Unbelievable. Tony Strickland has a 262 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:19,439 Speaker 1: lot to say on this. He's up next. He's the 263 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:24,919 Speaker 1: state Senator from Huntington Beach, Republican, and he's he was 264 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,399 Speaker 1: just on what was it yesterday or was it yesterday 265 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 1: because see this, this is what they're really about. The 266 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 1: State Senate wants to spend seven hundred thousand dollars on 267 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: a new study to see what the economic impact of 268 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: high speed rail would be between Waco and Madera. Really 269 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,360 Speaker 1: seven hundred thousand dollars, Will you know? The people who 270 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:56,800 Speaker 1: get this study contract are are are going to are 271 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: are going to funnel some of his back to the 272 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 1: politicians who approved the deal. Again, money laundering scam. They're criminals. 273 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: Why don't you treat them as criminals. 274 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,879 Speaker 4: You're listening to John Cobel's on Demand from KFI AM 275 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:17,440 Speaker 4: six forty. 276 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: Welcome. We're on every day from one until four and 277 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,640 Speaker 1: then if you miss anything, and today don't miss anything. 278 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,760 Speaker 1: We're on after four o'clock on the podcast John Cobelt's 279 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,520 Speaker 1: Show on Demand, and that's where you catch up. As 280 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 1: we've been telling you, bombshell from the Trump administration. The 281 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: Department of Transportation notified the high speed rail thieves that 282 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:43,400 Speaker 1: they are cutting off funding. Four billion dollars in federal 283 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: funding is gone, and they have issued a three hundred 284 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,440 Speaker 1: and ten page report, a long long list of problems 285 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: with the project. A lot of missed deadlines, a lot 286 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 1: of budget overruns, a lot of just flat out lies 287 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:02,919 Speaker 1: about project to ridership. And as far as the federal 288 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: government is concerned, the gravy train has just been derailed. 289 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,439 Speaker 1: They're not getting any more money as long as Trump 290 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: is in office. We're going to talk now a California 291 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 1: State Senator Tony Strickland. He's the Republican represents the Huntington 292 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:18,919 Speaker 1: Beach area. Tony, how are you. 293 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 3: I'm fantastic, John, How are you all right? 294 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: Here's the thing that's been bothering me that we've been 295 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:28,920 Speaker 1: talking about the response from high speed Rail is that 296 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: Newsom's current budget says the state will spend a billion 297 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: dollars a year every year for the next twenty years. 298 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 1: Is this true? Is this going to happen? 299 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 3: Well, that's what he has said. I mean, he's put 300 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,200 Speaker 3: the high speed rail on life support. But the support 301 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 3: for this project is doing every single day. And I'm 302 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,640 Speaker 3: encouraging your listeners to call your local legislators and tell 303 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,960 Speaker 3: him to tell them to pull the plug on this project. 304 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 3: I mean, this project is the worst public the public 305 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 3: proposal in the history of our nation. We're spending billions 306 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,399 Speaker 3: of billions of dollars, by the way, billions of dollars 307 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 3: we don't have. And I've often said California doesn't have 308 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 3: a revenue problem, has a wasteful spending problem. We're wasting 309 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,159 Speaker 3: hard earned dollars. They come to Sacramento, we're not funding 310 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,720 Speaker 3: things that Prop thirty six to keep people safe. But 311 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 3: then we're putting billions of dollars in a train that 312 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 3: everybody knows will never be built as proposed. 313 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 1: Is anybody embarrassed by this in Sacramento? Anybody at all. 314 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:35,800 Speaker 3: Know how they're not? Honestly, I don't know how they're not. 315 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 3: And I think we need to hold these elected officials 316 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 3: accountable that keep you. Just the other day, as you know, 317 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 3: they spent seven hundred thousand dollars to do a study 318 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:48,159 Speaker 3: on the train to go on from her Said to 319 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,879 Speaker 3: Bakersfield again as proposed. Everybody knows is train's never going 320 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 3: to be built, and now they want to take it 321 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 3: and do the money just from Californias, and it's money 322 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:00,080 Speaker 3: that we just don't have. 323 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 1: There's nothing to study, there's no train, it's all empty land. 324 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 1: What are they going to study exactly exactly? 325 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,359 Speaker 3: And my guess is if they've originally proposed a train 326 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 3: from merced to Bakersfield. The voters at California would have 327 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,679 Speaker 3: never gone forward with this project, and not alone. The 328 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 3: billions have already spent, They've already spent more than was proposed, 329 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 3: and they were supposed to be done in twenty twenty. 330 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,680 Speaker 3: They're nowhere near close to being done. In fact, they 331 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 3: haven't even laid down tracks yet. 332 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 1: That's what's ridiculous. The best they can offer is Bakersfield 333 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: to Mercede. I mean that's where they top out. 334 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. 335 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:41,120 Speaker 1: No, nobody's even discussing San Francisco to LA and they know. 336 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 3: That's not going to happen. And again, that's what was proposed, 337 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 3: and the people of California were lied to. 338 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: So is this payoff to the unions, the construction unions 339 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,720 Speaker 1: that finance a lot of campaigns. Is this this basic corruption? 340 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 3: No? That's their argument is, oh, you know we're putting 341 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,679 Speaker 3: people to work. No, you know we're wasting billions of dollars. 342 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: Well, yes, they're allegedly putting people to work. There's just 343 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: no outcome here. There's no product. 344 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,159 Speaker 3: It's no work. Yeah, there's no product being done, and 345 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 3: no one could ever do that in the private sector. 346 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,880 Speaker 3: Could you imagine getting private investment and saying, oh, it's 347 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 3: going to be done in twenty twenty for three to 348 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 3: three billion, and then turning around and say, we've already 349 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 3: spent what you originally proposed. Right now, it's the thirty 350 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 3: three billion, it's one hundred and twenty eight billion. 351 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 1: And they've already blown at least seventeen billion. It's well 352 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,719 Speaker 1: over one hundred billion over budget. There's only a small 353 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: fragment that they think they can build at sometime I 354 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: don't know, in twenty years. I mean, the whole thing 355 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: is such a colossal boondoggle. It's the worst project in 356 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 1: the history of the world. Here the worst public project. 357 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: And nobody's going to go to jail over this. There 358 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 1: isn't some kind of investigation. How could this not be fraud? 359 00:22:57,400 --> 00:22:59,879 Speaker 1: How's this not then stealing money? 360 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,200 Speaker 3: There needs to be investigations over this and follow the money, 361 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 3: as old saying, follow the money, but there needs to 362 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,920 Speaker 3: be investigation. I'm glad that the federal government and the 363 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 3: Trumpan administration saw and stop wasting federal tax dollars. Now 364 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 3: we need to keep pushing to make sure we stop 365 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,360 Speaker 3: wasting state tax dollars. 366 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:21,960 Speaker 1: Do you talk? I always wonder what goes on behind 367 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: the scenes the Democrats in the Assembly and in the Senate. 368 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,159 Speaker 1: Do they ever whisper quietly off the record? Wow? This 369 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 1: thing is a disaster. This is I could tell. 370 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,200 Speaker 3: When I've been the leading voice against this project, and 371 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 3: I could tell in their eyes that they know they're 372 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 3: not voting for the right thing. I could just tell 373 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:45,920 Speaker 3: why their mannerism is. But they don't tell me that privately. 374 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 3: But I've been the leading voice against this, and I 375 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 3: was a leading voice against it one of those first 376 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 3: proposed twelve years ago. 377 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,200 Speaker 1: And what can people do? Yeah, I know you said 378 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: they should call up their assemblymen and states senator, but 379 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: they're just seems. I wish them some kind of mechanism 380 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: to get us out of this, because if the whole 381 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 1: legislature is corrupt and this is just stealing as much 382 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 1: money as they can for as long as they can 383 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: and stay ahead of you know, the Feds, the investigators, 384 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: then you know we're just going to keep getting screwed in. Definitely. 385 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 3: Well, I think I'm hopeful that a few of these 386 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:26,199 Speaker 3: members who keep voting for this lose their reelection campaign. 387 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:28,760 Speaker 3: You want people to wake up here in Sacramento. Have 388 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 3: them started losing some of their members that have been 389 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 3: voting for this nonsense, then then and only then they'll 390 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 3: wake up. And in fact, I do believe whoever the 391 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 3: next governor of California is is going to pull the 392 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 3: plug if it isn't already pulled ahead of time. Michael 393 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 3: is to get this high speed real that we pull 394 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 3: the plug before the next election twenty twenty six. But 395 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,360 Speaker 3: if not, I'm confident that whoever the next governor is 396 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:55,480 Speaker 3: is not going to move forward on this project, knowing 397 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 3: how unpopular it is. 398 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: Do you think your party is equipped with it's message 399 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: and money and the right candidates that they could make 400 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 1: a big stink about this and get some SATs. 401 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,320 Speaker 3: I mean, I didn't come back to the Sacramento just 402 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 3: to be a center. I was already a center. I 403 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,479 Speaker 3: didn't need the title. I came back here to hopefully 404 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 3: bring some common sense and make California golden again. Like 405 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 3: it's this is just absurd that we tripled the spending 406 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,439 Speaker 3: in the last ten years and we still have a 407 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 3: creminline infrastructure, we still have homelessness is spiraling out of control, 408 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 3: and we have crime on the rise. We've tripled our 409 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 3: spending and that's why I always say, you know, we 410 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,200 Speaker 3: don't have a revenue problem. We're just wasting people's money. 411 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,399 Speaker 3: And we need to have more oversight. We need to 412 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,080 Speaker 3: do more what we can. We need to fund things 413 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,360 Speaker 3: like the Prop thirty six that helps keep us safe. 414 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:47,520 Speaker 3: That should be the number one role of government is 415 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 3: public safety. And this governor and this legislature out of 416 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:52,480 Speaker 3: touch with everyday citizens. 417 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,639 Speaker 1: All right, Tony Strickland, good talking with you again. 418 00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 3: Always great talking to you, John, Thanks for coming on. 419 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: And Tony Strickland. He's the States or a Republican out 420 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:05,480 Speaker 1: of Honeyton Beach and he's been very vocal about just 421 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: flat out ending this high speed rail disaster. And as 422 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:13,879 Speaker 1: we've been telling you, the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy today 423 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:19,080 Speaker 1: he oversees the Federal Railroad Administration. They did a review. 424 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,399 Speaker 1: The report is over three hundred pages and they have 425 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,440 Speaker 1: a long list of sins committed by the High Speed 426 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 1: Rail or the high speed Rail executives, and money's being 427 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:33,720 Speaker 1: cut off. They were due four billion dollars. They already 428 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,639 Speaker 1: they already blew seven billion in federal dollars over the 429 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:42,119 Speaker 1: last fifteen years, and again there isn't one inch of 430 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:44,959 Speaker 1: high speed rail track. We'll continue. 431 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 4: You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI Am 432 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 4: six forty. 433 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,360 Speaker 1: John Cobelt here, and if you're just joining us, we'll 434 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:59,200 Speaker 1: talk more about it later in the show. The high 435 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: speed rail pride took a big blow today. The Trump 436 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: administration said no more federal money. Four billion dollars on 437 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,720 Speaker 1: the table, and Trump and Sean Duffy, the Transportation Secretary, 438 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,120 Speaker 1: said no. They released three hundred and ten pages covering 439 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 1: nine categories of incompetence and malfeasance on the part of 440 00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:22,480 Speaker 1: high speed rail. Look, I'm going to say this a 441 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,159 Speaker 1: thousand times. It's a criminal operation and I'll be treated 442 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 1: as such. And I'm waiting to see who you know. Obviously, 443 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 1: our Attorney General isn't going to do it, but he 444 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 1: should rob Bonte if he wasn't part of this dishonest conspiracy. 445 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,680 Speaker 1: I mean, they're stealing money in front of us. Here 446 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:43,959 Speaker 1: is what Sean Duffy had to say, the Transportation Secretary. 447 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,879 Speaker 1: He went on Fox News to explain why the money's 448 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 1: getting cut off, cut wood. 449 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:51,880 Speaker 5: Timelines, and the budget for the California High speed rail 450 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 5: is that they can't meet them right, And so we 451 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 5: have four billion dollars that has been authorized to go 452 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,719 Speaker 5: to California to build this project, and we don't want 453 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:04,400 Speaker 5: to invest in Boon Doggles, and so we basically found 454 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,040 Speaker 5: that they're not going to be able to complete the project, 455 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,920 Speaker 5: which I think all of Californians and all of Americans knew. 456 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 5: But we're going to give them thirty days to respond 457 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,360 Speaker 5: to us. If they think we're wrong, we'll hear them out. 458 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 5: But after that, if they don't make a good case, 459 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,160 Speaker 5: we're going to take that money back. 460 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: You know, I want to see high speed rail in America, Danna. 461 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:21,120 Speaker 3: You go to Europe. 462 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 5: They have high speed rail everywhere and it works. Why 463 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 5: it can't be built in America and why it can't 464 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 5: be built within you know? You know, timeframes that work 465 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 5: for the people that invest in these projects makes no 466 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,720 Speaker 5: sense to me. And again, we'll look for good projects 467 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 5: to invest in. This does not appear to be one 468 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 5: of them. Not one high speed track has been laid 469 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 5: and we're sixteen billion dollars in seventeen years into the project. 470 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 5: And again, this has all the marketings of Boon. 471 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: Doggle that's Sean Duffy, head of the Transportation Department. Listen 472 00:28:54,480 --> 00:29:00,280 Speaker 1: to this little worm, that weirdo Scott Wiener, Democrats from 473 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 1: San Francisco. Last I heard, he was against making buying 474 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: teenage kids for sex a felony. He was against that. 475 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 1: He's that guy, Scott Wheenersay it thinks it's okay for 476 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 1: you to buy teenagers or sex. Okay, Well, he's got 477 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: an opinion on this. He says. The Trump administration has 478 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,240 Speaker 1: been laying the groundwork for a month. Yeah, that's true. 479 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 1: They're completely hostile, not just a California high speed rail 480 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: but rail in general. Well, you know something, every public 481 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:36,640 Speaker 1: rail line in this country loses a lot of money. 482 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: Amtrak would be bankrupt if it was a private organization. 483 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: There is no rail that can support itself because there's 484 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: relatively few people who want to take railroad rides across 485 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,959 Speaker 1: the country anywhere. There's some, but not enough to make 486 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: a profit. So we're pouring a lot of tax money 487 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:04,440 Speaker 1: into a system that's largely rejected by the public. And 488 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: it's bad enough. We got the albatross of the old 489 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,720 Speaker 1: railroad lines around our next so we got to pay 490 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 1: for that into infinity. But Why would we add high 491 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 1: speed rail when clearly there's no market for it, and 492 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 1: even worse, they can't build it. Wiener, a staunch proponent 493 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: of the Bullet Train, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, 494 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 1: acknowledged the project's challenges. Listen to this, Wiener says, quote, 495 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: we certainly have to do better in California in terms 496 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:44,760 Speaker 1: of project delivery. You buffoon. It's seventeen years and seventeen 497 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 1: billion dollars and only can say, well, we certainly have 498 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: to do better. You know what a con man does. 499 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:56,120 Speaker 1: A con man when you say, hey, you know I 500 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: already gave you ten thousand dollars. I want my money back. 501 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,040 Speaker 1: I'm not getting a return on my in back. Oh 502 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: you know, let's look to the future. Okay, if you 503 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:08,600 Speaker 1: just give me another ten thousand dollars, then I They 504 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: always change the subject, look to the future, and then 505 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,360 Speaker 1: give you their new pitch to lute you again, which 506 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 1: is what Newsom does. Newsom is a classic shakedown slick 507 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:24,400 Speaker 1: haired con man because he starts battling about California being 508 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: a leader in America for high speed rail and waiter 509 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: the same thing. It's not a reason to start canceling 510 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:40,280 Speaker 1: major transformative public infrastructure projects. But it's seventeen years and 511 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: seventeen billion. If that's not a reason, what is a reason? 512 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 1: How is it transformative? It's a train that goes from 513 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:53,440 Speaker 1: a train that goes from Madera to Wasco. What's that transforming? 514 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 1: He just says nonsense, and nobody challenges on him. That's 515 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 1: what's amazing. Nobody says is Scott, Scott, get your hands 516 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: out of your pants. Scott, look at me. What is 517 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 1: a major transformative project high speed rail Wasco to Madera. Seriously, 518 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:19,240 Speaker 1: seventeen billion, seventeen years, and you need you need billions 519 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: and billions more. What is wrong with you? He says. 520 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 1: We need to find a way to get these projects 521 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 1: done more efficiently and more effectively. We need to find 522 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:34,360 Speaker 1: a way go back to what Tom McClintock said. They 523 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:39,120 Speaker 1: were pitching the legislature on this idea twenty five years ago. 524 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:45,440 Speaker 1: Twenty five years ago, when Great Davis was governor. They 525 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,560 Speaker 1: were pitching them high speed rail. They had consultants and 526 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:53,840 Speaker 1: they had backers and boosters. And now they're saying, well, 527 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:57,640 Speaker 1: maybe we'll make it a public private partnership. Yes, they're 528 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: going to get private money. Have been trying to get 529 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:05,240 Speaker 1: private money from day one. It's been twenty five years 530 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 1: of the entire world saying no, no private money. You 531 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,320 Speaker 1: hear about high speed rail in China and in Japan 532 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:18,920 Speaker 1: and in Spain. You notice none of the companies that 533 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:23,280 Speaker 1: built those projects ever show up at a news conference 534 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:27,040 Speaker 1: with high speed rail officials. They've all been asked, how 535 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:30,800 Speaker 1: many times can you ask somebody twenty five years? Imagine 536 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:32,680 Speaker 1: asking a girl for twenty five years to go out 537 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 1: on a date. I don't know by time you and 538 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: she in your fifties, maybe she's not going out with you. 539 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:43,840 Speaker 1: Nobody wants a piece of this, and the reason was unanimous. 540 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: They thought the California political culture was corrupt. Now most 541 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 1: of the people who were part of the corrupt culture 542 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:57,280 Speaker 1: back in the year two thousand when this nonset started, well, 543 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:01,000 Speaker 1: they're now out of office or dead. So we have 544 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:05,960 Speaker 1: a second generation, maybe a third generation of corrupt buffoons 545 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:18,359 Speaker 1: who are looting you. Kevin Kylie introduced a legislation on 546 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,000 Speaker 1: January sixth to make the project ineligible for further funding. 547 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:24,480 Speaker 1: He's a Congressman from northern California. Do you know what 548 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:29,120 Speaker 1: Gavin Newsom did On that day, he drove a symbolic 549 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:34,360 Speaker 1: spike into the ground to celebrate the rail line's first 550 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:40,319 Speaker 1: twenty two mile segment from the border of Tallarian Kern 551 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:45,239 Speaker 1: Counties to Poplar Avenue in Wasker. There's no rail there. 552 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:50,399 Speaker 1: It was just a ceremonial spike. That's all Newsom did. 553 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:59,799 Speaker 1: That's what a con man does, has some showy public ceremony, 554 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:04,319 Speaker 1: a gimmick, a stunt, a gag, make you laugh, make 555 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:10,560 Speaker 1: you smile, keep voting for him. We come back. We're 556 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:17,080 Speaker 1: gonna have Alex Stone on from ABC News. That whack 557 00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:24,200 Speaker 1: job that firebombed those older Jewish people in Colorado. He 558 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:29,200 Speaker 1: actually wanted to use weapons and have a big mass 559 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 1: murder event, but he couldn't get He couldn't buy the 560 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:37,440 Speaker 1: guns because he's in the country illegally. Alex has that 561 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:39,920 Speaker 1: story coming up next. Debra Mark Live in the KFI 562 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,320 Speaker 1: twenty four our newsroom. Hey, you've been listening to the 563 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,040 Speaker 1: John Cobalt Show podcast. You can always hear the show 564 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,839 Speaker 1: live on KFI AM six forty from one to four 565 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:50,759 Speaker 1: pm every Monday through Friday, and of course anytime on 566 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:52,760 Speaker 1: demand on the iHeartRadio app.