The John Phillips Show

Live at Gladstones in Long Beach with Mike Netter

35 min
Feb 9, 20264 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

The John Phillips Show broadcasts live from Gladstone's in Long Beach, featuring Mike Netter announcing his California State Senate campaign and discussing efforts to save Prop 13. The episode covers California tax policy, the 91 freeway HOV lane enforcement, illegal gambling operations, and fire victim relief fund mismanagement.

Insights
  • California's one-party Democratic dominance (75% legislature representation with 43% electorate support) creates accountability gaps where state legislators fail to investigate fraud or mismanagement within their own party
  • Prop 13 protection is critical for retaining long-term residents and preventing forced displacement through reassessment-driven tax increases, particularly affecting retirees and fire victims
  • Government spending addiction and revenue desperation are driving increasingly aggressive tax collection methods and legal challenges to voter-approved initiatives
  • Fire relief fund mismanagement ($100M raised but not reaching victims) reflects systemic governance failures with no legislative oversight or accountability mechanisms
  • Citizens initiatives and direct democracy are being undermined through court challenges and bureaucratic obstruction when they conflict with Democratic policy priorities
Trends
Increased enforcement of HOV lane violations using AI-powered occupancy detection systems, generating significant toll revenue ($1M+ monthly)Proliferation of illegal gambling operations in residential neighborhoods, with 4 raids in 6 months in single San Diego area, linked to ancillary crimesGrowing political activism around tax protection initiatives as response to perceived government overreach and spending mismanagementFire victim displacement concerns as government policies and tax reassessment threaten long-term residents' ability to rebuild and remain in CaliforniaThird-party candidate emergence challenging one-party legislative dominance in traditionally Democratic districtsAmazon delivery fraud and photo spoofing becoming systemic issue affecting high-value purchases with minimal company accountabilityState-level obstruction of voter-approved initiatives (Prop 36, death penalty) through non-implementation and legal challenges
Topics
Prop 13 tax protection and reform effortsCalifornia State Senate District 22 campaignGavin Newsom recall campaign legacyHOV lane enforcement and occupancy detection technologyIllegal gambling operations and enforcementFire victim relief fund mismanagementCalifornia one-party Democratic dominanceVoter-approved initiative implementation gapsProperty tax reassessment and displacement riskAmazon delivery fraud and accountabilityKaren Bass fire response documentationCitizens initiative legal challengesCalifornia government spending and revenueEast San Gabriel Valley politicsFire victim rebuilding obstacles
Companies
Amazon
Customer ordered $2,000 portable bathroom; Amazon claimed delivery with fake photo, refused refund despite extensive ...
Carnival Cruise Line
Operates cruise ships out of Long Beach port; mentioned in context of onboard alcohol service and passenger incidents
Royal Caribbean
Cruise operator mentioned as using Port of Los Angeles rather than Long Beach for departures
Caesars Entertainment
Referenced as legitimate casino alternative to illegal gambling operations
Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association
Organizing Prop 13 petition signature collection campaign at the event
Riverside County Transportation Commission
Operates 91 freeway express lanes with new occupancy detection camera system catching HOV violators
People
Mike Netter
Announcing candidacy for California State Senate District 22; founded Gavin Newsom recall campaign
John Phillips
Host of the show broadcasting live from Gladstone's in Long Beach
Susan Shelley
Collecting signatures for Prop 13 protection initiative at the event
Gavin Newsom
Subject of recall campaign; criticized for not funding voter-approved Prop 36 and challenging tax initiatives
Karen Bass
Criticized for doctoring fire after-action report and slow Palisades fire victim rebuilding response
Randy
Co-host providing news updates and commentary throughout the broadcast
John Sangmeister
Owner of Gladstone's restaurant in Long Beach hosting the live broadcast event
Quotes
"I've been doing this for five years now and I'm getting incredibly tired of the soul of California being crushed. When you think about it, as much as we talk about being a blue state, the left or the Democrats have 43% only of the electorate, but they have a 75% representation in the state legislature."
Mike NetterCampaign announcement segment
"If Prop 13 were to go, if you think people have fled the state now, guess what's going to happen in the future and it doesn't seem like that registers right now."
John PhillipsProp 13 discussion
"What you have to do is keep fighting to rebuild and stand where your roots are. Look, you can't legislate nature. What the government should be doing in the future is looking at preventing these disasters in the future."
Mike NetterFire victim advice segment
"Where are the state legislatures representing these people? Why aren't they screaming? It's very funny that the only people screaming about where the money, $100 million went from fire aid, happened to be Gavin."
Mike NetterFire relief fund discussion
"They have to quit, they're coming for our homes, they're coming for our sales tax. They're coming for your tuna."
Mike NetterTax policy discussion
Full Transcript
And a very happy Friday to you at 1207 in the West. It's the giant film show live from Long Beach. We're broadcasting live from one of our favorite haunts, Gladstones in Long Beach. And we've already got quite a packed house, but there's room for you. We'll be here till three o'clock. The food here is incredible. I won't be partaking in any drinks till after three o'clock, but the Mai Tai's are great. We're gonna have a lovely afternoon by the water and we'll be here with a whole bunch of special guests, including our friend Susan Shelley, who is collecting signatures to Save Prop 13. You can drop them off here. You can fill them out here. We need every single person in this listening audience to fill out that petition. If you can't make the live event today, go to the website, saveprop13.com. That's saveprop13.com, so we can make it a heck of a lot harder for the state to continue to raise our taxes. We'll be here till three o'clock. It's Gladstones in Long Beach. And let me tell you, you can't come up with a better view than this because you look out through the window over here and you see nothing but boats right here in Long Beach Harbor. You can see the Queen Mary. You can. Now I will say this, they have more open spots over here where the boats used to be than they used to. Did you notice that? Oh really, how's that? Well, I think something must have happened to all those Venezuelan drug boats. I don't know what happened to them, but they're just not here anymore. And then usually they have the cruise ships out there too. The Carnival cruise ships, because Royal Caribbean, they go out of the Port of Los Angeles, but Carnival, they go out of Long Beach here. Oh boy, I wonder what those in states and markings are like. Well, that always makes me wonder, how many people on those ships, what is it, 12 o'clock, nine in the afternoon? How many people have already been served 33 drinks? And what I wanna know is, that guy that had the 33 drinks on Navigator of the Seas who unfortunately passed away, how is it that after 33 drinks, he had the stamina to kick in at door and throw Gilegan into the Pacific Ocean, yet you take one sip from a cappuccino that Bill Cosby makes and you can't remember what state you're in. We're starting blue today, aren't we? Well, why not, it's Friday. And we got a lot to talk about today. We have many guests who are gonna be here, including Mike Netter, who is the band responsible for the recall of Gavin Newsom, what we voted on during COVID-19. That's Mike Netter right there, say hi, Mike. Gavin still pissed about that. Oh, he is. He brings it up constantly. Very thin skin, that one. We also have Sean Steele, who is gonna be here. He's not here yet. Sean Segmeister, the owner of this fine establishment, who is providing all of this wonderful food for all of us, and Susan Shelley, who is here collecting signatures to save Prop 13. She's gonna be with us after the news at two. But Randy, you've been keeping an eye on something right now that's going on on the 91 Freeway, which was the freeway I took to get here today. So the 91 Freeway has these express lanes and they cost money to use unless you've got at least three people in the car, then you get a nice little discount. Well, if you have been trying to cheat the system with a hat on top of a seat or a mannequin, there are cameras now and they're catching people. For more, here's a report from CBS LA. Drivers on the 91 Freeway express lanes are getting busted for cruising in the HOV lanes without enough passengers. CBS LA is a Michelle. It's gotta be quite a thrill every time you do it. CBS LA's Michelle Julie shows us the special cameras catching violators by actually looking inside their cars. They need to pay up. I think they really do. Okay. Drivers in the 91 express lanes in Riverside County be warned. A new camera system is catching cheaters by the thousands who are dashing into the HOV three plus carpool lanes and don't have enough passengers to make it legal. We've seen cheaters use hats on headrest. Now, wait a minute. I can come up with certain ways where I guess you could say it would be a tic-a-tac violation. Like let's say you're a pregnant woman. Couldn't you make an argument that you belong on the diamond lane? Sure. Or how about if you're morbidly obese and you pay for two tickets on the airplane? I'm riding for two. Sure, you can make that argument. We've seen cheaters use hats on headrest, putting items in baby car seats. Oh, there's a good one. You have a car seat, but you have no children. Lots of people put their dogs in the strollers. Yeah. I am a dog lover, but that is one step too far for me. Once you go dog in the stroller, there's no coming back from that. And even using mannequins to try to get the HOV plus. That is some dedication. If you, I'm gonna assume you didn't steal the mannequin, so you purchased one on Amazon, or you asked the store manager at Macy's if you could buy one so you could put it in the passenger seat just so you could cheat the system to save five minutes on your commute? What do you think your mailman thinks about you if you're buying mannequins off of Amazon? I'll tell you what they think. They think you have about 45 stamps from Thailand on your passport. Discount, the system has been able to catch those folks. The Riverside County Transportation Commission says 25,000 people a month on average use the three plus lanes to get a free ride when they shouldn't. 25,000 people a month are gaming the system. Now, wait a minute. Why is it that some of these diamond lanes require three people in and some of them require two? If you have more than one person, you're sharing your ride with someone else. Shouldn't that qualify? Well, if you want to not have to pay to use those express lanes, they want three people in the car. That's how we're gonna save the planet. Since last August, when a new occupancy detection system was installed in the center median of the 91 freeway, more than a million dollars in tolls and fees have been recovered. Carlos Nuno admits he's merged into the lanes when he shouldn't have. It has happened to me before, you know. I wonder what it is, you know, you're sitting there. All the regular lanes are not moving because we put in the express lanes. You are about to rip your hair out of your head. We're like, screw it, I'm going for it. Well, no one wants to sit in traffic. Being around big crowds is a huge pain. I hate being around big crowds. That's why I'm an angel fan. It has happened to me before, you know. I've just traffic and drivers just don't let you merge into lanes and I mean, what are you gonna do? You're not gonna force yourself, you're not gonna cause an accident. The cameras. That was it. They forced me, they wouldn't let me merge into the regular lane. It's all their fault. Okay, that's what that guy's saying on the news. You know he illegally drove home in that lane right after filming this. Cameras capture several photos of the front and back seats through a car's windshield. The system's software flags violators. What if he got tinted windows, are you good? Using the photos, a Transportation Commission employee verifies that the driver doesn't qualify for the carpool discount and bills the account. You know what they really need to do? If they really want to, you know, spread the word and generate revenue, that employee needs to create an Instagram where it's just all the pictures of people making up fake people in the car. Well, yeah, I wonder what the most outrageous lie is that's ever been told to a CHP officer who pulled someone over for not having a second person in the car in the diamond lane. Oh, no, no, no, no, officer, I'm not in here by myself. I have Savannah Guthrie's mother in the trunk. Oh boy. Us, a $5 fee. I think it's fair. Yeah, I think it's unfair. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. All of this, the camera, they're catching people and what happens to you if you're caught? Will discount and bills the account plus a $5 fee. You have to pay the regular toll plus $5. That's your punishment for cheating in the carpool lane. Well, it's like the illegal dumping. If you make the cost to dispose of the items more expensive than the fine that you get if you illegally dump it, you're incentivizing people to leave their garbage on the street. And that is why the city of Los Angeles looks the way that it does. But if it's only a $5 fine plus the regular toll, just the thrill of seeing if you can get away with it, there's a lot of people that are gonna hear this story and even more of them are gonna try to go in that express lane. People love the thrill. I think it's fair. Yeah, I think it's unfair for the commuter, you know, to be driving and other people are using it. It's very unfair. The people who are losing out are the people who are actually paying the full toll and also. Yes, how dare you suckers actually pay the full fee when you don't have to. You can pretend that you have an American girl doll in the back. It makes it harder to ensure that there's free flowing traffic on the express lanes. There have been some calls to the Riverside County Transportation Commission from HOV lane cheaters. They wanna know how they got caught. I'm told when they hear about the new cameras, most don't challenge the charges. And your Melinda Michelle Geely, CBS LA. I don't know, it might be like the red light cameras where if you challenge it, they're not who's gonna show up in court to fight it. You might as well find it. See what happens. Yeah, you just hire one of those attorneys that advertises on good day LA. You never have to follow a traffic regulation again. So there you go. Just a little warning if you're driving back to Riverside County, you're getting on the 91 freeway. If you're trying to cheat the carpool lane, they've got cameras. All right, Randy. I think we have time to open up the California crime blotter. Oh, we do. But first I have to apologize to you. You thought that you were going to get away with not having your birthday celebrated by going on a cruise. Uh-oh. And what do you know? It's time to extend January into February. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. I just want to say this was not my idea. This was all Louis. Yeah. John Sangmeister has just pulled out a massive sheet cake that has the John Phillips show logo on it. Okay, should I blow it out or should I be like Karen Bass and just let it burn? I think you should blow it out. All right, well, thank you very much, John. Thank you to everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes. And look, my picture is on the cake too. How wonderful is that you can eat your own face. All right. We're live at Long Beach and we're going to be here until three o'clock in the afternoon. We've got room for you. Gladstone's in Long Beach. If you've never been here, it is an incredible experience. The food, the drinks. We've got cake for everybody apparently. We do. So make sure you come by, say hi, grab a picture. And most importantly, we need you to sign that petition to save Prop 13. Susan Shelley is collecting signatures out front. Everyone in here has already done it, right? We've all signed that petition. I love it. If you're listening at home and you've already filled out the petition, you've got to get a friend to do it, a family member to do it. If we can all get five to 10 people to do it, this thing's getting on the ballot and it is going to be a massive rebuke to local politicians and state politicians who are constantly trying to raise our taxes through the citizens initiatives, a loophole where they don't need the two thirds majority. That's what we want to do and fix and save Prop 13. So go to the website, saveprop13.com, saveprop13.com. But come down here, we got room for you. It's Gladstone's in Long Beach. Just do a Google, you'll find it. And if you're diabetic, you don't get any cake until you sign that petition. All right, we're here until three o'clock in the afternoon. It's the John Phillips Show. It's the John Phillips Show live from Long Beach. We're here until three o'clock, Gladstone's in Long Beach. There's food coming around, there's drinks, there's great people, good vibes. Come down and see us and make sure you sign that petition to saveprop13 by going to saveprop13.com or come here in person. Susan's at the table right now. All right, and right now it's time to open up the California Crime Blotter. It's happened yet again. Ooh! I know. I see. Time for the California Crime Blotter. And Randy, this one involves an illegal gambling operation. You know, there are so many casinos, legitimate casinos in card houses throughout the state of California, especially in places like San Diego. But what's going on? An illegal gambling operation busted up in San Diego. For more, here's NBC7 in America's finest city. We're going to begin tonight in City Heights. We're growing concerns from neighbors led San Diego police to illegal gambling machines, cash, and a loaded handgun. NBC7. Oh boy. See, that, you know what the gun is for? If you win the jackpot. Yeah. Let's just say you win the jackpot on the slot machine. Do you really believe a guy with an ankle monitor on is going to come give you the hand pay? ABC7's Sean Delmanese has more from neighbors and also police who say this is happening more often. San Diego police say this. How much of a monkey on your back do you have? If you are going to one of these illegal gambling halls, you can gamble all day on everything on these prediction apps. You can gamble on sports. You can do the fantasy things. How bad is it if you've got to go to an underground slot machine place? Well, I can tell you this. When I found out we were doing the show here today and I knew we would be this close to the cruise ships, all I could think about is 10 hand, ultimate X video poker. Don't you have to get out into international waters first? San Diego police say this is the fourth raid in the past six months in the city heights area and they're really not sure why so many are starting to pop up. Well, I was upstairs when I was seeing things and hearing things. Elaine May lives next door to the raided home and she's noticed this alley's been more busy the past month. What do you kind of noises do you think she's hearing next door? Well, maybe that casino has a Cirque show going on in the backyard. A lot of really weird dressed people would come. I mean, like they were like wearing evening clothes in the middle of the day. They'd come around maybe, you know, three or four in the afternoon. What, does this place have a dress code? Maybe they do. Maybe it's like in Vodico. And just ring the doorbell and disappear. Police confirmed Thursday that they found nine illegal gambling machines, about $600, a loaded handgun and arrested four people. By the way, if the illegally operating casino only has $600 on hand, that should tell you how bad the ads, how bad the odds are. What do you think the Players Club is like? And arrested four people, but didn't release their names or charges. It's not necessarily the illegal gambling that we're worried about. It's all the ancillary crimes that come with it. Prostitution, fights, thefts. That's why you go to one of these places. Yeah, they can't offer you that at Caesars anymore. A lot of quality of life issues to the people that live in these communities. Communities with kids. We walk down the street to go to the library. A mom named Christine lives further down the block from the rated home. She says she's so desensitized to police activity she didn't even flinch when she saw them Wednesday morning. It's so... Oh boy. Little slice of life down there. All right. We're here in Long Beach at Gladstone's until three o'clock in the afternoon. We've got a large lively crowd here. You can join us if you'd like. Mike Netter joins us next. He is the man responsible for putting the Gavin Newsome recall on the ballot and he has a lot to say. This is the John Phillips Show. It's the John Phillips Show live from Long Beach. We are broadcasting live from one of our favorite places in Southern California, Gladstone's in Long Beach. We're here until three o'clock. We've got room for you. Come have lunch with us. We just got served a giant plate of poke nachos and they are excellent. I can't wait to dive into those. We're here for a very special reason. Susan Shelley from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association is sitting outside collecting signatures right now to save Prop 13. The courts made it easier to raise your taxes with these loop polls called Citizens Initiatives. That's how Measure ULA got passed. That's how Measure A got passed where they have a simple majority threshold instead of the two thirds that was implemented by Prop 13. So we need to strengthen that. We need to save that and you can help out by coming by and signing the petition or if you can't make it in person, you're in the Bay Area, go to the website saveprop13.com. All the instructions are right there. There is so much tuna on this plate. I don't think there's any left in the ocean. The poke nachos are excellent here and I can't wait to dive in, which is perfect timing because you're about to do an interview. That's right. It is our pleasure to welcome our next guest to the program. He is the founding member of the Recall, Gavin Newsom campaign of 2020. You can get him online at rebuildcalifornia.com and follow him on X at Neter Mike. Mike Neter, welcome. It's great to be here today. I just hope the Democrats aren't listening to the show because they're gonna come up with a tuna tax. I would pay that tax. Now, Mike, you are the man who put the Recall Initiative of Gavin Newsom on the ballot. You have been following California politics in the excesses of California government very closely in any number of capacities for quite some time. Prop 13 and saving prop 13 is something that you've also been working on. You now have decided to take that advocacy to the next level. Yes, I have. You might call it a breakout day. Look, I've been doing this for five years now and I'm getting incredibly tired of the soul of California being crushed. When you think about it, as much as we talk about being a blue state, the left or the Democrats have 43% only of the electorate, but they have a 75% representation in the state legislature. And it's time we broke that log jam. I got the voice of the people out and I'm ready to do it. I am announcing on my show today that I, Mike Netter, Netter for a Better California, I'm going to be running for state senate district number 22. And that is the West Covina part of Southern California. Well, we call ourselves the East San Gabriel Valley and that's a good way to put it. It's about 980,000 people. It's Covina, West Covina. It's part of, it's a lot of people in the East. It's a big mix of Eastern Los Angeles is the best way to put it, Eastern Los Angeles County and a sliver of San Bernardino County. I want to say this right now, people ask who you're running against. I'm not really, I'm running against somebody, but I'm not going to say your name. You can. I'd rather say Beetlejuice three times. Let's put that down for one second. I'm really running for the people of East San Gabriel Valley. Look, we're here today because of the Howard Jarvis. My theme's pretty simple. Do you like lower taxes? Would you like less crime? Would you like a better business environment? It's pretty simple and it seems the Democrats that are in this legislature really aren't for them. John, you know what got me started on this journey against Gavin Newsom about five years ago? COVID, the lockdowns. No, actually before COVID and the lockdowns. We, the people of California had voted affirmative we wanted the death penalty. And his Gavinist came in and said, well, I'm against it. Over and over again, we seem to vote in things like with direct democracy like Prop 36 overwhelmingly, which Gavin Newsom refuses to fund and the state legislature doesn't say a thing about it. No matter what we seem to vote in in terms of initiatives, look, they took us to court a year ago. We had enough signatures to put an anti-tax initiative on the ballot. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats took us to court and said, you're not allowed to do it. I don't see Gavin Newsom taking the billionaire tax to court, even though he's against it. Let's talk about Prop 13 here for a second because Prop 13 is under fire. And you talk to people, particularly retirees who have lived here their whole life. They want to stay in California. They do not want to move to another state. And Prop 13 is one of the things that allows them to stay in a state where the cost of living is very high. If you eliminate Prop 13 protections and suddenly Sacramento can go to you and say, okay, that house that you bought for $75,000 up 10 years ago, we're now going to reassess it and tax it at the current value, which could be over a million dollars, you're going to force a lot of these people out of the state. And I don't think that they understand what will happen if something like that were to take place. If Prop 13 were to go, if you think people have fled the state now, guess what's going to happen in the future and it doesn't seem like that registers right now. No, we have a government which has addicted this spending and they're running out of places to take our money. Well, legally, it seemed to be taking a lot of our money illegally, but that's a story for another day. Prop 13, which protects our homes, is actually just one portion of Prop 13. They're spending too much. What this initiative is about even, is they're actually have the ability to want, raise taxes on us at any time they want without the two thirds vote. That's a powerful portion of Prop 13, which does get advertised a lot. They have to quit, they're coming for our homes, they're coming for our sales tax. Randy, they're coming for your tuna. No! Well, I mean, you talk to people who lost their homes in the fires, whether it be Altadena or Ian Pacific Palisades. And one of the criticisms that you get from the homeowners is they all are of the belief that the government doesn't want them here. The government wants them gone. They don't like the fact that they have Prop 13 protection. They don't like the fact that they have a single family home. They don't like the fact that they drive a car and they don't use public transit. They want them gone and they want them replaced with people who live in high density housing and ride the bus. If Prop 13 were to go, you could almost do that on a grander scale, where you say, okay, all of these people who live here who have made the state run for decade, after decade, after decade, we're done with you. We're gonna find ways to make it so expensive you can't live here. We're gonna push you out and we're gonna replace you with housing that we like better, with public transit that we like better, and we're just gonna go all the way. We have a government right now in Sacramento that seems to care more about how they're gonna take our money to fund their next job than about where we live today. Absolutely. They don't care about the residents that have been here 30, 40, 50 years. They don't care. Let me ask a question. They seem really willing to impose upon a lot of smaller cities, high density housing, and they're suing them for it. Can I ask you a question, John Phillips? Why isn't the legislature suing Karen Bass for not rebuilding the Palisades quickly? That's a very good question. And Karen Bass, of course, just got in trouble. The LA Times has a peace out saying that she doctored up the after action report on the fires to make herself look better and to make it seem like she was on top of it. And this is the challenge we have when we have one party rule, one of the reasons I'm running. Nobody, again, you would think the state legislature would be screaming that this report was doctored. You think they would be screaming at the fraud in Los Angeles. You think they would be screaming at Karen Bass. But it just seems like the Democrats, sorry, are about just protecting the Democrats in office. They're not willing. Why isn't this being investigated by the state? Why does it take the federal government coming in to fix things when we can't seem to run our own state? What advice would you give a fire victim if they were to come to you? As someone who understands California government, LA County, LA City, and they were to say, I feel like I'm banging my head up against the wall trying to rebuild. Would you tell them to go ahead and follow through with rebuilding? Or would you say, look, this nightmare is never going to end. You may want to cut bait and sell your property and move somewhere else so you can have a little peace in your life. I speak at this from a very special perspective. I may be the only guest you've had, or one of the few whose house actually burned 2007 in Escondido. And for everyone out there whose home is burned, I understand what you're going through. I really do. A lot of people say that. But what you have to do is keep fighting to rebuild and stand where your roots are. Look, you can't legislate nature. What the government should be doing in the future, I'm going to flip this around a little bit, is looking at preventing these disasters in the future. For all of you out there who did the disaster happen to, you can't change it. What you can change is your attitude for it and make sure that you don't give up. Do not let the government pressure you into giving up because you shouldn't. And that would be my advice for them. Make sure you maximize your insurance, get a good understanding of it, get a good adjuster, and make sure that if you have to, like I did, sue the government. What about fire aid? Because $100 million was raised, and the money was supposed to go to the fire victims. And now we know that that money is not going to the fire victims. That money is going to organizations that have nothing to do with anything related to the fire. Fire victims who were profiled in the telecast say they can't get calls returned from this organization. They're in desperate need of money to, I guess, hire attorneys so they can sue their insurance companies. Many of them had the lodging cut off after one year. So they need a place to stay. They have very specific needs, and none of the money is going to that. And Gavin Newsom says, well, the state of California is not in charge of that fund, so don't ask me. No one seems to have any interest at all in making sure that that money goes to where it was supposed to go. This is exactly one of the reasons I'm running. Where are the state legislatures representing these people? Why aren't they screaming? It's very funny that the only people screaming about, wonder where the money, $100 million went from fire aid, happened to be Gavin. If you can't see this in radio, I'm putting my hands up shrugging. The legislature, you would think, would be more livid about that than worrying about if ICE can rent cars or not, and be speaking about, there's $100 million for everyone out there. That's a lot of money. That's missing. That was taken in within the state of California by people allegedly representing the state of California. That should go to victims of a disaster. Where is the screaming in Sacramento about it? Mike Netter, the founding member of the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign of 2020, and current candidate for the California State Senate in eastern Los Angeles County. You can get him online and rebuild california.com and follow him on X at Netter. Mike Netter, thanks so much for stopping by. John Phillips, thank you. Thank you. Thanks to John Phillips show and Randy, we're live in Long Beach. We're here until three o'clock at Gladstone's in Long Beach. I just devoured half of a plate of poke nachos, and I'm so happy. But we're here not just to celebrate, not just because it's Jimmy Buffett Friday and the food is so good. Not only do I have the poke nachos, I'm downwinded from fish and chips, and it smells divine. But we're here for an important cause. Susan Shelley is out front with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, and she is collecting signatures to save Prop 13. Go to the website if you can't make it here in person and help out. Save prop13.com, get your friends, get your family to do it, get your neighbors to do it. It's an excuse to talk to them. Save prop13.com. It's the John Phillips show live in Long Beach. I drove all the way over from the Greener Hill. Oh, thank you. Hell yeah. I'm excited for this. It's the John Phillips show live from Long Beach. We are broadcasting live from Gladstone's in Long Beach. If you're curious, I am now a little more than halfway done with my poke nachos, and they are so perfect. The mango, the jalapeno, the poke, come on. We're here until three o'clock at Gladstone's in Long Beach. Have lunch with us. It is a great spot. It is a gorgeous day. The rest of the country has gotta be so jealous of how nice the weather has been in Southern California this winter. It is a great time to be down here, but we're not just here to hang out. We're here for a big deal, and that is because Susan Shelley from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association is here collecting signatures to save prop 13. The website is saveprop13.com. And Randy, you have an update for us on shopping nightmares at Amazon. This happened in Sacramento. Somebody ordered something from Amazon. It was quite expensive. And they took a picture and said, it's on your porch. It was not on your porch. What was the thing he bought? A $2,000 portable bathroom. For more, here's ABC 10 in Sacramento. In 10 on your side, a Sacramento viewer says a recent purchase from Amazon proved to be a major headache and left him out thousands of dollars. Now, I think we all understand that it's a crapshoot when you buy things on Amazon. If they're really the real product that you think you're buying or if you're getting something counterfeit, I've gotten counterfeit tinfoil before. Who's buying a bathroom on Amazon? That's such an odd purchase. And tonight, the company is apologizing. Model number. And this is the setup you did for that outdoor restroom. Correct. Danny Portman ordered this $2,000 outdoor bathroom from Amazon back in November. The site claims they delivered the product, even producing a tracking number and an alleged photo of the delivery. But Danny says that photo they sent was a much smaller item on someone else's porch, not his. No bathroom. Put on your front porch. I'm like, wait a minute, this thing weighs almost 500 pounds, 10 feet tall, seven feet by five feet. That's not gonna fit on it. This is a weird thing to be buying online. Why do you need a toilet for your backyard? So I- Probably so your pool guests don't get water in your house. Maybe. So I called up Amazon. Danny showed me the extensive work he'd done in preparation for the portable bathroom. This is sewer, electrical. I've got everything up prep, which cost me thousands and thousands of dollars. Okay, you spent thousands and thousands of dollars digging up your backyard, putting in the sewer, putting in the power, but then you cheap out by getting the actual bathroom on Amazon? Well, here's what's wild. If they didn't send it to him, then they sent the portable bathroom to someone else by mistake. Imagine if you came home from work and you saw a box in your front yard and you open it up and it's a bathroom. You know what they probably sent it to? You remember that lady in San Jose who kept getting the deliveries of Chinese made car seats over and over and over again? Probably went there. Made multiple calls to Amazon demanding they send what he purchased. And I got nowhere with them. I talked to some managers. I even had one manager that hung up on me. You imagine sitting on res? Where's my bathroom? Not my problem. All right, we've got two more hours coming up from Long Beach. We're live at Gladstone. We're here until three o'clock. Come by and say hi. If you've never been to Gladstone's in Long Beach, you need to. It's a great place to hang out for lunch, for dinner, for brunch. It is a gorgeous place to come out to on the weekend. John Sangmeister runs an incredible place here. So join us. We're here until three and sign that petition. Save prop 13.com. Steve Hilton joins us next. Don't you go anywhere. It's the John Phillips show.