You're listening to KFI AM six forty the Bill Handles show on demand on the iHeartRadio app. And this is KFI AM six forty Bill Handle here on a Thursday, kind of drizzly Thursday, September nineteenth. And it was only a few days ago when it was what one hundred and fifteen hundred and eighteen in Whitland Hills. Boy, weather it's changing rather rapidly, isn't it. Hey, how's the weather out there or what?
Any of that?
So a lot of conversation there now right kind of that's one thing about climate change. It really does make the conversation about weather a little more interesting. Okay, let me tell you one of the reasons why Sheriff Villanueva is no longer the sheriff of La County because the current Sheriff, Robert Luna, just announced that there is now a formal policy banning those deputy gangs or clicks of
sheriff's deputies. There was a Loyal Law School report and that was published on January thirteenth, twenty twenty one.
So we're going back three.
Years traces a fifty year history of deputy gangs within La County.
Sheriff's department.
And how do we know those gangs because they have tattoos.
On their arms. It's like.
Their shoulders or their wrists or whatever they hell, now, now the police department is going to be tatted up like crazy. It doesn't matter because the world the tattoos is very different than it was ten twenty years ago.
But here's what viielland Waves said.
These sheriffs who had these tattoos that signified there was a gang, they really weren't gangs. They were like bowling clubs. They were like softball teams. Okay, by the way, were there any softball teams or bowling teams among those deputies?
No?
No, And so new policy within the sheriff's department saying, oh, no, we are going to get rid of that one.
We're banning all of this. Here's a Luna quote.
Our employees are dedicated professionals who maintained the highest standards of integrity and service.
I think so for the most part, the overwhelming.
Number, I recognize the issue of law enforcement gangs has only involved a small fraction of the department. And this is where Vanueva said they didn't exist at all. Well, he was wrong clearly, so, Luna says, I also acknowledge that this long standing issue must be addressed appropriately to maintain the community's trust in US. Couldn't agree with him more because right now the trust in police departments, I
won't say, is that a low ebb. The Black Lives Matter movement came in, and I think the trust for cops was at the lowest ab there.
It has come back. The pendulum is swinging.
And as I I've always been incredibly pro pro police, and you could be pro police and still recognize there are bad apples. You tell me in any field, in any area of society where there aren't rogues. The problem is when you have rogues that are in the police department, a lot of harm is called well caused. Well no, actually, when you have rogues that do brain surgery, that's more harm to the individual. But for the most part, bad
cops are bad cops. There's so few of them. Let's root them out instead of doing this broad brush and certainly when they are found, you can't have a sheriff for a police chief saying oh no, no, they don't exist. And that's for political purposes. I can't imagine other than that. Maybe it's because VI on the web. He was head of a department and you didn't want to admit that there was anything wrong. And the sheriff, Alex fin we
have a outplayed even just said it didn't happen. County leaders the board of supervisors said we have a problem.
Nope, we don't. Critics have alleged for years that the gangs do exist. Nope.
And so there were tattoos indicating that they were part of organizations like the Cavemen, the Executioners, bandidos.
Now you know, what can I tell you?
You know, when you have that, the first thing I think of is maybe there's a gang there. You know, Neil, I know you have a big tattoo of Mickey Mouse smiling.
That doesn't mean you're in a gang. I do not, sir, I do not. I do have a big tattoo of Harry Houdini, you do, and it's a really neat tattoo. It's on his calf.
And occasionally what sometimes you see is sometimes you don't because it disappears and it does a good job of coming in and out it escapes. Yeah.
Yeah, the actual on you surprised me. I'm not you see you being funny.
That's okay, Well, thank you for that, Neil, And NEI only thinks he's gonna be tomorrow.
You're dreaming. Anyway, there were.
Fights, there were bar fights. And the point is is the Robert Luna has as head of the department, done two things. Number one, recognized there was a real problem with Alex feeing the way but not even recognizing it or not saying anything about it or pooh pooing it or sweeping under the rug. And number two, he's done something about it. This policy now says this will stop. You cannot be a member at all disciplinary actions. I mean he's gonna throw them out. I mean they'll be
hearings throwing them out. You can't be a member. And on top of that, you cannot shut up about it if you know someone is a member.
So he has finally come down.
This policy was unveiled yesterday and finally the.
Sheriff's department dealing with this issue.
Here's the interesting part about this, at least I find this interesting, is this has been going.
On for fifty years.
According to the Loyola Law School report that was published three and a half years ago, it's fifty years of this well, at least Luna is coming to the table. When's he up for reelection? By the way, is it November? I don't think so that he is coming. I think it is November.
Isn't it all right? We're done with that now.
Some big news yesterday, the Teamsters announced that they will not endorse either Trump or Harris in the presidential and Donald Trump said that is a win for him, which, by the way, I don't disagree with. I think he's right on why because the Teamsters religiously endorse the Democrat. Last time Democrat was not endorsed, and I'm talking about a Republican being endorsed, but there was no endorsement. Was Bill Clinton when he ran. That's how long ago it was,
I mean like thirty years ago. So this is huge news on this one. So the union said it was left with few commitments. On the top of the Teamsters issues with either former President Trump or Vice President Harris. Found no support, no definitive support among its members for either party's nominee.
Actually that's not true.
It found more support for Donald Trump than it did for Harris. And I'm going to talk about that in a minute, because I'm sitting here just not understanding this. I'm stunned by this.
Then I have an idea of why.
So the Teamsters represent freight drivers and warehouse workers said no, thank you to this at all. Now, unions all over the country have already endorsed Kamala Harris. This is the only major union that is saying no, and not to Trump, but also not to Harris. O'Brien, the president of the Union, Sean O'Brien, who went and spoke in front of the Republican National Convention. By the way, he tried to speak in front of the Democratic National Convention and they said no.
That may be one of the reasons.
I have no idea, but he basically touted Trump, not in terms of his political but he says a mean sob and he thanked the Republican Convention the RNC for allowing him to speak.
So what is going on here?
Well ahead of the announcement yesterday, the Union released an electronic member poll Trump sixty percent support, Harris thirty four percent.
Wow.
And then there was a separate poll conducted by the union fifty eight percent for Trump, thirty one percent for Harris among Union members, And you go, what the hell is going on national polls show that she gets union and support.
What is going on with this? Because Harris comes from.
An administration, and that is the Biden Harris administration, which Joe Biden has said proudly he is the most pro union president we've ever had.
He's right.
No one refutes that she comes from that. She has not refuted it. She has not changed her position. She walked the picket lines in favor of unions, she has worked for.
The union pension plans. I mean, this is a woman.
Who you go, how is that possible that she isn't getting the endorsement? And then I'm thinking, okay, let's think of the reasons why. I can really only think of one reason, and other than just personal like or dislike. But the union members. You don't have the president of the Teamsters or any union saying, you know what, we're endorsing Harris or Trump because we just like them more, that's all.
It's a likability issue. You don't hear that from the unions.
So here I'm trying to figure out what is going on because at first glance, Harris is much more pro union than Trump. But here, especially after Trump with that Elon Musk interview where he congratulated Musk for basically saying union members, you fire them.
I think it's the greatest thing in the world. You show them someone doesn't like the way you're doing your business, you fire them, and you did, and I think that's great.
So why would Trump get that kind of support? And I think it is because he is pushing the tariffs. He is saying, we are going to tariff the hell out of anything made overseas to where we're going. If we want to buy something, it's going to be American workers who manufacture it.
That is powerful stuff.
And if you're looking at which way, if I'm working and I see a potential president who says, I really am protecting you, and here is how I'm protecting you. I'm going to make sure that all that stuff that's made overseas will not be here. We cannot buy it. That's how I'm protecting your jobs. That resonates. I think that resonates. Is that the reason, Well, we're not given
the reason. You know, you'll hear a labor analysts give you tons of reason, But at first glance, that's the That's the only thing I can think of because I don't get it. I don't get how sixty percent of the teamsters are supporting Trump other than that, well, some.
Of them just like the guy.
You know, there are plenty of people that I'll tell you one thing. People who like Trump like Trump a lot more than people who like Harris.
Like Harris.
You know, Trump's supporters are on a level that I've never seen before ever. You know, where I live, across the street they are a couple of Trump supporters and I drive down the street where they have an American flag. Unfortunately, now the American flag equals supporting Trump.
I don't get that either.
But Trump flags, and I mean Trump flags that you would see flying over capitals that big.
I mean, you know they're on there.
You know the flagpole is on the roof and the flag hits the ground and that's twelve feet, that's fourteen feet. Yeah, you don't see that anyplace else. And so I think that's a lot of the reason. And I do think that terrorf issue is a lot of the reason.
So we'll find out. We're gonna see.
We only we have less than a couple of months to go before this thing hits.
Boy, what a run this is going to be. Man, what a presidential we're going to see.
Going back to the year two thousand and By the way, I was absolutely in this population. I bought a minivan because I became a soccer mom. My kids that year were five years old, born in nineteen ninety five, and I wasn't alone. About over a million people one point three million vans were sold last year. That figure is down eighty percent. There used to be a dozen manufactures. Now it's only four Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, and Kia, and they have one each.
So what happened to the minivan, Well, it was always kind of ugly.
It was always kind of boxy, and you sort of had to have it if you had kids, especially if you had two or more kids.
You simply had to have it.
You have the cup holders getting in and out, with the sliding door. It was just the perfect vehicle for moms or families, and I was one of those moms.
It was popular, but I'll tell you what it never was. It was never cool.
The first one came out in nineteen eighty three, and this is when Leiahkoca, who had run Forward, came onto Chrysler and he saved Chrysler. It's one of the few times the government came in loan money to a major corporation and the money was paid back early and the government actually made money. I don't know the last time that happened, but it broke all kinds of new ground. This is Leiacca. They came up with this. He had jump seats, he had the rear storage for easy loading.
There was I mean, before that, you had the big box utility vehicles, the vans, full size vans, or you had the station wagons.
Remember those.
I grew up with those, and it's just not the same. Nope, the minivan was the answer. And the initial two models that Chrysler sold, the Dodge Caravan and the Plymouth Foyaguer.
Well, let me put it this way.
Overall mini minivan sales that year or that decade, by the end of the decade reached seven hundred thousand a year. I mean, that is pretty impressive. But again, it wasn't cool. It was kind of ugly. And then what came around to kill the minivan.
Part of it.
I was one of the population where I just didn't care about my kids anymore. I don't care walk, take a bike, drive a motorcycle. I'm fine with that, But what really killed the minivan.
Was the suv.
The suv came into existence and that effectively wiped out the minivan.
And look at how many sedans.
Do you see versus or versus SUVs out there or crossovers. I mean, and if you buy a car today, a sedan will cost you thousands of dollars less than the SUVs because everybody wants an suv.
I bought my first suv.
I went from a minivan to sedan's because my kids, well, you know, it was my wife.
Who ended up driving the kids all over the place. I really was in the soccer mom.
And my kids never played soccer, and the places that we took our kids I don't even remember. But it was the minivan. You know what I thought the best thing about minivan's cup holders. I thought that was such a great idea. I mean, there aren't enough cup holders in any vehicle. You know, I have an SUV, my EV and BMW and you know Germans and this is made in Germany. I guess they don't drink on the road. There are two cup holders and you have to reach
under and grab them. I don't understand that kind of think it's great car, but they don't drink. And American cars now have a bunch of cup holders that started with the suv.
So the minivan is kind of dead.
They're done, and it's sort of a you know, I kind of look on it nostalgically, you know, because that was a big part of my life for a bunch of years when my little ones were little. Okay, talk
about entertaining. The last presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a hoot, and probably the most memorable part of it was Donald Trump saying in Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, They're eating the cats, they're eating the pets, the people that live there.
Okay, why not? Sure?
Then that is reference to immigration, clearly because Haitians have.
Moved into Springfield in Illinois. So how did that start?
Well, a lady but Erica Lee wrote on Facebook a post put a post up that she had heard that a neighbor's cat had disappeared and that one of their Haitian neighbors might have taken the animal. So she posted this rumor on Facebook, they're eating their cats, They're eating the dogs. And then she decided after posting. She decides to go back to her neighbor and asks for proof. Right, she posts the rumor and then goes to the neighbor
and go, I'd like some proof. Well, it turned out that that cat who had gone missing wasn't the cat of the neighbor's daughter, as she had been told afterwards, if there was a cat like that, it belonged to a friend of a friend of the neighbor's daughter. And lisays, at that point, we're playing the game of telephone. I'm trying to reach her because she had personally no information about any abducted cats.
She just posted this rumor that she had heard. Well, she's deleted it. She's not very happy with it.
And of course that took off like crazy. You talk about something that went viral. Also to the point where the president or former president is saying, as a political statement, the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio are eating the pets, they're eating the dogs, they're eating the cats, and you would sort of shake your head and go, really, no, not really, that's how crazy this presidential has become. Jd Vance pops in and effectively admits number one that it's not true, and two defends it.
If I have to make up.
Stuff that's not true to get America's attention, I will do that.
What does that mean?
Are we going back to the Democrats are eating kids? There are these pedophile groups of Democrat congress people under a pizza parlor that are eating children, sacrificing little ones. Yeah, I guess if that's what it takes. By the way, the local authorities in Springfield have gone nuts. They've debunked it. And here's the problem is that the threats have now come in in Springfield. They've shut down hospitals, shut down the schools.
They're reeling with this. And of course JD.
Van said, Hey, that had nothing to do with it, all of a sudden, the threats that had nothing to do with us. Now, is it true that there are Haitians in Springfield? You bet fifteen to twenty thousand being called illegal.
They're not illegal. They're there legally because of the asylum program.
Now you can argue politically asylum, yes, asylum, no, that's a legitimate argument. But don't tell me they're there illegally when they are there legally. Okay, that is just dumb. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to argue that immigration is a horrible thing, which, by the way, a lot of people do. And I am more in favor of curtailing immigration than I am in allowing large numbers
of people in. I think the whole asylum program is kind of crazy, and even the Biden administration has cut way down on it because.
It's politically it's non palatable.
And I think that I would allow more asylum seekers if he could, because that's just his thinking. But you know, it's a big jump from too many Haitians who are there illegally and they're not that are destroying the city while all the city officials say, no, they get here legally.
The employers love them.
Now are the city services overwhelmed, Yeah, they're straining. But put all of that together and go forward with those Haitian immigrants are eating.
The dogs and cats. I mean, even for those of you that are not.
Particularly Kamala Harris fans, all right, and you are going to go the other way. Really, So one of two things. One, it doesn't matter what's being said. Oh by that, it doesn't matter. Your politics are your politics, and you're voting the way you're voting, and this is just all fluff. This is just part of the ridiculous statements that are made this presidential or even worse, you actually believe they're eating the dogs and cats, and please don't say that,
so please. I can't imagine a large swath of America believing that dogs and cats are being eaten in Springfield, at least I don't.
All right, So what's the bottom? What's the takeaway here?
The woman, the one woman who started that rumor said oops, boy, And it was a friend of a friend who actually she found out started it and she posted it.
And it just exploded. Boy. I'd like to start a rumor.
What if I say I saw a Martian who just came out of a meeting with Kamala Harris, and would that explode saying, oh my god, she has aliens that are now going to be part of her administration if she gets elected.
I don't know the answer of that.
Would that go viral? We should try it and start that rumor, would you?
I'm on it, okay that I want.
You to post that I saw Kamala Harris, or I saw a Martian leave a meeting with her and say I'm going to do everything in my power to get her elected so we're going to post that and we'll see what happens. God, I hope that rumor goes. And then maybe Kamala Harris had a love child with Elvis.
That's another one. There's a lot we can do with all of that.
All right, This is KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
You've been listening to the Bill Handle Show.
Catch my Show Monday through Friday, six am to nine am, and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.