Anna Eskamani (2:42)

Being held at Alligator Alcatraz.

Mike (2:54)

Maybe they sent the Epstein files to Alligator Alcatraz, Roya. That way we're never going to see those again, I suppose. We have the latest on the concentration camp in the Everglades. Yes, it's a concentration camp. Go to dictionary.com look it up. It's exactly what it is. There's a difference between a concentration camp and a death camp, by the way. It starts out as a concentration camp and it'll eventually turn into a death. We know people are going to die out there. And we hear from Grant Stern with a top five Newsmax sound bites. You know Newsmax, the right wing cable entertainment slash news station? He's their token liberal news. Well, I've used a name. I'm sorry, I'm doing air quotes so hard I'm getting carpal tunnel. But first, the latest on Alligator Alcatraz, AKA Gator Gulag. We really need a better name for it because it's, I think I'm starting to get offended by the Alligator Alcatraz thing. It's so sticky. I get it. They're selling merch and they're fundraising off of misery and pain. Speaking of which, the definition of a concentration camp is a guarded compound for the mass detention without hearings or the imprisonment without trial of civilians as refugees, members of ethnic minorities, political opponents, et cetera. That's the definition. If it's not a concentration camp, why are they trying so hard to make it a concentration camp? Anna Eskimani is a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing right from central Florida, the Orlando area, where she is also now running for mayor of Orlando. Anna, thank you so much for being here. You were one of those lawmakers who went out earlier this month to try to gain access, which they claim you've claimed is actually in the law. The state of Florida allows you as a, an elected lawmaker to arrive unannounced and inspect a facility, but you were not allowed in. So let's start there. What happened?

Anna Eskamani (4:44)

Well, first of all, thanks so much for having me. And you got that right. When I started hearing that detainees were arriving at this everglades Detention Facility. I knew that we had to go down there. There was just no way I could sit in my house in Orlando, allow this to happen without some attempt of oversight and accountability. After seeing all the press clippings with Trump and DeSantis, I was just so disgusted by what is truly a political stunt, but one that hurts the environment and hurts people's lives. And so a group of us, five lawmakers in total, two from central Florida, one from Tampa, one from Duval, and of course, South Florida folks, we all rendezvoused at this location and demanded access, only to be denied going back and forth. And I think one of my biggest takeaways on that first visit, attempted visit, was it was unclear who was actually in charge. And there were multiple state agencies on the ground that are all being expensed by the public. And ultimately it was the Florida Department of Emergency Management that gave us the final denial by saying that the facility was not safe for us to tour.

Mike (5:50)

Oh.

Anna Eskamani (5:50)

Which of course our response was, if it's not safe for us, how's it safe for people to be in there right now?

Mike (5:55)

Sure.

Anna Eskamani (5:57)

It was just wild. It was wild. And as you know, due to the pressure that we built and pressure by members of Congress who are planning to make an unannounced visit following Saturday, the state announced a schedule curated visit in order to prevent what really is a PR disaster for them. Because what started as a, as a, you know, political propaganda catchphrase has now evolved to be a disastrous waste of public money that is hurting people.

Mike (6:27)

So let me ask you about this, because you had mentioned that they were then going to set up this scheduled kind of dog and gator show for you to come back on this tour. But in actuality, is that correct that the law allows you to come unannounced? And of course, there's good reason for that as well, right? To allow unannounced visits?

Anna Eskamani (6:46)

Absolutely. I mean, it's important to remind folks that as state representatives, we are responsible for the public dime. And we already visit detention facilities unannounced any day of the week. Any. Any week of the month. I mean, I visit state prisons across florid and county correctional facilities with no issues. Sometimes there can be a little bit of confusion, the beginning of who I am and why I'm there, because it is an unannounced visit. But once we kind of get through those formalities, it is clear access. I can ask to go anywhere in the facility, and importantly, I can talk to anyone I want to talk to. Now, of course, an inmate or detainee does not have to talk to us. And I'm very sensitive to folks who might be scared to talk. And so I navigate that with caution. But I'm talking to the correctional officers. I'm talking to those who are detained, incarcerated. The only way you really get to hear what the conditions are like and what we as state lawmakers have to do to. To meet basic standards. So I was citing that same statute we were approaching with that same reasonability of, hey, this is a state facility. You've said that in your own words. And so we should be able to access it. And of course, we were denied.

Mike (7:54)

Right. The law gives you the power of the purse. It gives you the ability of oversight. And this is a facility that you need to be able to access unannounced for exactly the reason of being able to see what's actually happening there and not what the people who are in charge, although that was questionable at that time, too. Who the hell was in charge, what they want you to see? But then eventually, you did get a date certain you did come back for the guided tour. So what did you see and how, though, were you limited or hamstrung as you might not otherwise ordinarily be on that tour?

Anna Eskamani (8:24)

Well, it's important to stress at the top of this that the expectation that it would be a curated and very scripted tour, an attempt to sanitize the facility, was what I came in prepared for. But I have to tell you, Billy, there's no way to sanitize people in cages. And when we actually saw those detainees in cages, I mean, it was just so horrifying and reminiscent of America's past and past of other countries as well, who have engaged in this type of targeted behavior. You had 32 men in one cage, 32 bunk beds in one cage, three toilets, small toilets in those cages, three phones next to the toilets in those cages, and then eight cages in one tent. So it's like 200 some men in one tent just stacked on top of each other. And they wouldn't let us talk to anyone. They surrounded us with private security. So this isn't security you'd find at a club or at a mall. I mean, that was another takeaway for me, is that the individuals were receiving these contracts are making millions off the detainment of immigrants. And, of course, there are no bid contracts that are all friends with Governor DeSantis, donors of the Republican Party of Florida, and none of them are trained to manage a facility like this. So nobody has any idea what's going on, right? Like, they, it's, it's shocking the fact that we're paying these folks pretty exorbitant salaries to maintain a facility that is built by tents that is barely off the ground, that can't withstand basic rainy days in Florida, let alone a hurricane that is surrounded by mosquitoes. But when these doors swung open and we were able to basically glimpse inside with security blocking our ability to walk forward, you had all these men start chanting freedom in Spanish. They started pointing at their water cups to say that the water was bad, the water made them sick. They were calling for help. They were sharing us their names and saying, I have a Social Security card. You know, I have status. I mean, it was, it was 60 seconds of just honestly pain because you want to help. And, and yet you're. You're physically being held back by the state. Like, you're physically being held back. And then of course, in the context of the law, you're being held back, which is why we've sued DeSantis to get this type of access. But I mean, it was really frustrating and it was gross, very gross at different levels. Especially at the end of the tour when, because there were Republicans who were on this tour and, you know, for them it was about, you know, spitting out talking points to try to help on the PR disaster. And at the end of the tour, they clapped. I mean, who claps at the end of a tour of a detention facility?

Mike (11:20)

The same people who clap when they.

Roy (11:22)

Get rid of Medicaid.

Anna Eskamani (11:24)

Right. I mean, I'm a big Star wars fan. And so I always think, think back to, you know, the, the Galactic Senate and the line from Padme when she says, this is how democracy dies with like a round of applause. I mean, it was like that. Like I'm just standing there like, why are you clapping?

Mike (11:45)

I don't even like when people clap when a plane lands, but at least I understand it. Cuz they don't necessarily have gravity or, you know, aeronautics, but like, I get it now, so more than ever, that's just as I like to say about Florida, it rarely shocks me, but regularly disappoints me. Roy, you had a question?

Roy (12:04)

Yeah.

Mike (12:04)

You mentioned hurricanes earlier. Is this facility going to be able to withstand a severe storm? And in an emergency situation, are they gonna be able to do anything about it?

Anna Eskamani (12:16)

Oh, absolutely not. I mean, this facility is. It's tents connected to tents, right? I mean, it's a tent that you. If you go to an outdoor event and they have like those giant white tents, like, that's the tent like it is. Tents are not that sophisticated. Right. A tent is a tent. And to the point of hurricanes, we did ask him. So let me back up a little bit. This tour was led by the Florida Department of Emergency Management Director, Kevin Guthrie. And that also feels so shameful to me because this is someone who's committed his entire professional career to hurricane preparedness in response and helping people in hurricanes. And now he's using his logistical expertise to create a detention facility taped together by tents.

Mike (12:58)

Wait, hang on. I'm sorry. We're supposed to clap for this, right?

Anna Eskamani (13:07)

It's really bad.

Mike (13:08)

Yeah, it's terrible.

Anna Eskamani (13:10)

Yeah, no, it's. It's sick. It's so dystopian.

Mike (13:13)

Well, let me ask you, though. You've been to. You've said you've toured prison facilities unannounced. You've seen some of the conditions are just generally inhumane. It's part of the, I guess the experience of being deprived of your. Your liberty under. Presumably as a result of committing a crime and being sentenced. But these conditions worse than you've seen in other state facilities?

Anna Eskamani (13:34)

This is such a great question because last night I spent a few hours talking to individuals who have been previously detained at this facility, but also other facilities, including Chrome down in Miami. The horror stories out of Chrome cannot.

Mike (13:50)

Be ignored for decades.

Anna Eskamani (13:51)

A nightmare for decades. The deaths out of Chrome cannot be ignored. And so I do want to be careful to the point where it's. All the attention goes to the Everglades. I want people to understand, like, when we close the Everglades detention facility, because we will close it, that is 100% my goal in this advocacy. We can't ignore the fact that there are gross violations of human rights in all these essential facilities. And so we. It's not just the fact that in the Everglades that it's an environmentally sensitive area. There's. It's. It just goes. It's. It's deeper than that. So to. To your point of the comparison, I would say that it's a different type of. Of bad. I mean, first of all, at least in correctional institutions, you have seen cos that are trained to be correctional officers, they have educational programs and, you know, obviously they need to be more robust. But we do have education programs, we have rehabilitation programs. You have a library, you have rec. Activity is like there, there is a.

Mike (14:47)

It's a real building. I'm sorry to interrupt, but like that too. Right? It's like there might be issues, there might be AC problems, but it's not a tent in the middle of the swamp for crying.

Anna Eskamani (14:58)

Exactly.

Mike (14:59)

Which is just.

Anna Eskamani (14:59)

And we didn't even mention the mosquitoes. But I'm born and raised Floridian. Like, I am so used to mosquitoes. This is a whole different level.

Mike (15:08)

That was the first thing I talked about on this show. That was the lead. The lead was not the alligators. The lead is the skeeters. They are deadly and gigantic. And one of the first words we got from inmates, we played the audio on this show after I talked about mosquitoes for like 10 minutes. The first thing he said was like, the mosquitoes are like elephants. That was like in Spanish. That was the first thing he said. We got a little bit of time, but I have a bunch more questions I really want to ask because you have been there, you have seen it. Nobody listening right. Right now has seen Alligator Alcatraz. And you have. And so what I want to know is who are these people running this place? Who is getting these no bid, quote unquote, emergency multimillion dollar contracts? We never seem to have enough money in the state for anything. And then all of a sudden, in eight days, there's hundreds of millions of dollars in our taxpayer money going to build this horrific facility with no code, you know, enforcement, no fire measures, none of the procedures that any of the rest of us go into building something out or constructing or opening an office or a building or a business. It is not undergoing any of that life saving scrutiny. And all of a sudden there's just blank checks that the governor can pass out to everyone. And also, this should be public record, but are the records suddenly disappearing now? What the hell is going on with these fiscal conservative small government? You know, transparency is key. What is happening here?

Anna Eskamani (16:32)

I mean, it's literally a. It's a swamp in the swamp. Right?

Mike (16:35)

Swamp in this.

Anna Eskamani (16:37)

To your point, you have no big contracts going to friends of Governor Ron DeSantis and donors of the Republican Party of Florida. The facility itself right now is being managed by a company called Critical Response Strategies. That is super sketch.

Mike (16:50)

It's like OCP, like from RoboCop consumer products.

Anna Eskamani (16:54)

100%. And then you have CDR Health, which is the health care provider. And all these companies, by the way, have scrubbed their leadership pages. They are taking millions of dollars in contracts and then hiding, hiding from the public. And I really want to emphasize this point that you just made that never accept a politician who says we can't afford this because it's not about finances, it's about will. To that prioritization. It's unfortunately about politics. But we could absolutely spend what's going to be upwards of more than half a billion dollars in this facility. We could spend it on affordable housing, on teacher pay, on food insecurity. And yet these are where these dollars are going.

Mike (17:38)

Socialism is what you're saying we can spend it on. That's basically right.

Anna Eskamani (17:42)

I mean it's insane. But, but I do want to emphasize, you know, the contract piece here. So I, so I've been digging up these contracts just by looking at Florida's two public facing databases called Fax and Flare. Yes, I'm a nerd. So we've been tracking these contracts as they get uploaded for weeks now. And I have several that I saved to my drive. I download them, I look at them and I, and I save them.

Mike (18:07)

Yeah, the Internet is not forever as people.

Anna Eskamani (18:09)

Well now with the state of Florida is in charge. And so, and so all of a sudden, right, so, so I see these two contracts that caught my eye, right? One was for the management of this facility, this critical response strategies and it's nearly $80 million of staff costs and excessive wages. And then the other contract that I found spoke to Asphalt, an 11 million dollar road at New asphalt being being paved in the Everglades, which is a road that I physically saw in a parking lot that I physically parked in. So I knew that, that it was, it already happened. But the, the receipts are very helpful. So I of course put these online and all these reporters started asking me for copies of it, which I'm happy to do. And then reporters start telling me, you know, where did you find this? You get this through public records? And I was like, no, I just found it online on the fax website and they can't find it. And I'm like, wait, what? And so turns out, and I have verification of this today because I spoke to the Department of Financial Services, which is who runs the website, that the PDF contracts were taken down. They told me it was not their office, which means it's either the office executive governor or the Florida department emergency management. And so here you have an example of we're going to sell merchandise and hashtag this and act like we're all proud of this. On the flip side, we're going to hide contracts, hide our vendors and avoid any public scrutiny or accountability, which is more motivation for me to keep going, to keep pushing those buttons, to keep asking those questions, to keep showing up unannounced. But my God, it is. They always move the goalposts in Florida and it's so important for us to not be dismayed by that, but to accept that reality that, you know, every time we get somewhere, they're going to move that goalpost and we just, we just can't give up.

Roy (19:58)

I'm still wondering where the money is coming from. And you mentioned asphalt, so that means they're building roads.

Mike (20:02)

So I can only assume that this is earmarked for infrastructure. So, right. This money come from. You guys have the, have the power of the purse, and yet the, the governor is just unilaterally spending nine figures. How's that happening?

Anna Eskamani (20:16)

Well, it is a blank check. Without a doubt. This is coming from a slush fund, a legislature allocated towards Governor DeSantis years ago. It's called the Emergency Responsive and Preparedness Fund. And now as Democrats of the Florida legislature, we tried to get rid of this fund. We've tried to put restrictions on this fund to say it can only be spent on natural disasters. But that is the same source of funding that the governor also weaponized to traffic asylum seekers from the border to Martha's Vineyard several years ago. So this has been an ongoing issue with the legislation, legislature and the governor, hence why there is some tension between our speaker and the governor. I will tell you that this, this fiscal year, that fund, the legislature added more teeth to accountability where they have to report to us what they are spending it on. So my suspicion, and I actually reach out to the Florida House to get clarity on this, is that they're, they're spending money from last fiscal year still from the slush fund last fiscal year. But there's half a billion in this fund. But they're going to exceed it and they're going to have to come to us, the legislature, to ask for more money. And, and so it's bound to happen. An opportunity of tension, legislature, which is why we need to hold our lawmakers accountable on this. We don't hold all local government officials on this. I'm sure that'll get to speak up.

Mike (21:34)

That'Ll get rubber stamped right through the misappropriations committee in no time. We're out of time. I've got so many questions, though, because we've now learned that a majority of these inmates have no prior criminal record. So this is not, as was advertised, the worst of the worst. The violent criminals, the people that we were promised would be prioritized to take off our streets to make our communities and our state safer. That's just a bold face lie. And also, of course, you were talking about the ability of running these facilities, but we're talking about lawyers whose clients have disappeared in there, lawyers who have no access to their clients, lawyers who cannot facilitate the legal process or hearings or even speak privately as is there, as they're entitled to have privilege to do so. None of this is constitutional. None of this is kosher. It is a. As we, we established the definition going in a concentration camp. But before we go, last question. We have unconfirmed reports that there has been a death already, if not deaths in Alligator Alcatraz. Do you have any more information on that?

Anna Eskamani (22:36)

We are, we are trying aggressively to confirm, you know, there was a death that, that the detainees had told us over a week ago at this point, and we are trying to work every angle, but as you can imagine, it's, it's, it's just so opaque right now. But yes, there are, there are very serious rumors of death. Potentially up to three people who have died. And it's important to note that those who are being detained are every age. I mean, you have 80 year olds who are there who are not getting access to their medicine. You get folks who can't get insulin. The healthcare needs are not being met. And as you already noted, the hundreds of folks being detained have no criminal background whatsoever.

Mike (23:16)

This is the scheme, Roy. It has been from the turn of the century with Jeb Bush and destroying our public education system. It's privatize, subsidize, brutalize. And first thing you do is you take these functions that would normally be the purview of the government. You privatize them, subsidize them. So tax dollars are actually going into these private corporations, mostly cronies and donors of the politicians who give away these contracts in the first place, whether it's through a RFP or an emergency no bid situation. And so we're still paying for them as we would the government. The difference is they get to brutalize. What I mean by that is there is no accountability, there's no transparency. They're not subject to Chapter 119 or Sunshine Laws or public record laws because, well, we're private corporations. Like, wait, they're not private corporations when we pay them our tax dollars to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. But suddenly when it comes to records and accountability and access and information and transparency, oh no, they're private corporations. We can't possibly let you in on our trade secrets or our corporate documents or, and this is just bad news all around. And it's, it happened in education, it's happened in prisons, it's now happening in concentration camps. This is a slippery Slope. And you're seeing it now, the weather, weather reporting. And the space program is going to be privatized. And Florida is the laboratory for bad democracy. And we take this Florida and we export it. And the Florida of today is the America of tomorrow. So there's a reason why when you see a Florida man in Washington D.C. that you're seeing, seeing the kind of chicanery that we have been subjected to through a quarter century of one party rule, that's the other thing too. If you're sick and tired of the abuse and you're tired of the corruption and you're tired of the mismanagement and you think we need doge and you think we need. There's a deep state. And you think, well, who the hell has been in charge in Florida since 1999? Let's be real. The Democrats have been in a non entity the entire century so far. That's the bottom line. No power. So if you're upset and concerned about Florida, there's only one group of people to blame here. And I'm a pretty. I'm a fair guy. I'll say, like, I'll call the Democrats out all the time. I just did. But like, this is not a both sides kind of situation. It's just not. Anna Eskimani, thank you so much for being here. It's always a pleasure. It's never under good circumstances. We're like friends who only see each other at funerals at this point, right? It's just like, hey, I text. I was like, hey, something terr. Terrible is happening in Florida. You want to come on and talk about it?

Anna Eskamani (25:45)

You want to talk about it?

Mike (25:46)

Yeah, that would be, that would be great. Yeah, it's so, so depressing. But anyway, happy to do it. Keep up the good work. Fight the good fight. Make good trouble, and good luck to you in the mayor's race.

Anna Eskamani (25:56)

Thank you. I'll appreciate it. Y' all be well. Let's keep fighting.

Mike (26:02)

Hey, everybody, it's Mike down here in South Florida. As the audience well knows, we've been celebrating a proper championship and we've been enjoying every minute of it. And by my side throughout that entire championship celebration has been Miller like. Yeah, I wanted to make my championship time a Miller time because much like most of the fun memories I've had as an adult, Miller Light has been right there by my side, supplementing every experience. And now that I'm about to travel.

Roy (26:30)

During the summer, you can rest assured.

Mike (26:32)

I'm gonna be having plenty of Miller Lite along the way because that's, that's what summer is all about. And since 1975, Miller Lite has been right there. And all those memories for you listening right now, it's the 50th anniversary of Miller Lite. That's 50 years of great taste, great friends, great moments. Miller Lite great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Cheers to 50 years of Miller time. Celebrate with sports responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories at 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Hey guys, it's Chris Cody here. And today's episode of the Dan LeBatard show with Dugatz is brought to you by Square. The smart, streamlined tools that make running your business simple. Seriously, they just get it. Whether you're a full time entrepreneur or just side hustling, Square makes everything feel easy. Every morning I stop at a local coffee shop down the street to get a tea and they use Square. And I'm telling you, checkout is always a breeze. Just tap, beep. Done. No awkward moments, no fumbling cards, just smooth, clean service. Square's tools are made for real people. No tech degree needed. Everything's intuitive. It works right out the box and it grows your business. Whether you're running a cafe, a salon or a food truck, Square has a setup that fits. Square keeps up so you don't have to slow down. Get everything you need to run and grow your business without any long term commitment commitments. And why wait? Right now you can get up to 200 off Square hardware at square.com go/dls that's S, Q, U, A, R E, slash. Go/dls. Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today. Big news out of the Big Easy. UFC 318 is about to go down in New Orleans and this card is absolutely stacked. We got Dustin Poirier versus Max Holloway 3 as the headliner. And it's Dustin Poirier's last walk. Walk to the Octagon, the final chapter.

Roy (28:21)

With his legacy on the line and.

Mike (28:23)

You know, drafting Sportsbook, the official sports betting partner of the UFC is locked in with all the action. Parlays, props, knockout, odds, you name it. And if you're new, listen to Sped. Just five bucks and get 150 bucks in bonus bets instantly. Just like that. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app now and use Code Dan. That's Code Dan for new customers to get 150 bucks in bonus pets. Instantly when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler in New York, call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY at 467-369 in Connecticut, help is available. For problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas, 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.co audio with the Venmo Debit card, you can Venmo everything. Your favorite band's merch. You can ve this or their next show. You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more.

Anna Eskamani (29:21)

The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuant to license.

Mike (29:24)

By MasterCard International Incorporated card may be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted.

Anna Eskamani (29:26)

Venmo purchase restrictions apply.

Mike (29:28)

Good afternoon, Commissioner Pardo. While I appreciate the effort at reform and I do support lifetime term limits in Re 19, you should not unilaterally cancel this year's election and give yourselves an extra year in office. Per FR4. Commissioner Rosado, you're just campaigning, knocking on doors. You probably spoke to hundreds if not thousands of voters, right? How many of them said to you, the very first thing you should do on your very first meeting is to cancel the election and extend your own term a year longer than we're electing for? I'm guessing not one. Nobody thought of it because nobody actually wants it. It's not only a bad look, it is profoundly unethical to gift yourselves this personal and political benefit. For anyone who says this will save money. You guys waste so much money if there's one thing voters want you to spend money on, on its elections, invest in our democracy. So please send this issue, if it's so popular, to voters for a referendum.

Anna Eskamani (30:20)

We've got some breaking news to tell you about now. In a controversial move, the city of Miami has canceled the November election, postponing it until 2026.

Roy (30:29)

Yeah, there's been debate on whether or.

Mike (30:30)

Not this move is even legal, and the controversial vote is with less than five months before Election Day, when voters were set to elect a new mayor and new city commissioners.

Roy (30:40)

All in favor?

Anna Eskamani (30:41)

Aye.

Mike (30:42)

No.

Roy (30:44)

The motion passes. 3.

Anna Eskamani (30:45)

2.

Roy (30:45)

With Commissioner Correll and Commissioner Cabela voting no.

Mike (30:48)

Now, the term of commissioners in the mayor will be extended by one year without voter approval and Florida's attorney general. He's not having any of it. Sending this blistering letter to the mayor and commissioners Wednesday arguing that based on his interpretation of Miami's charter, the county charter and state constitution, moving the date of elections without a public vote on the issue is unconstitutional. If you nevertheless move forward with the proposed ordinance, my office reserves the right to consider taking all available actions to prevent this violations of law from occurring. Not only do I believe that it's illegal, but even if it weren't, it's morally wrong. Commissioner Joe Croyo is against it, despite getting to hold his seat for another year. The voters voted for all of us for four years, not five. If they wanted to make a change, they should have brought it up to the voters.

Roy (31:39)

Could it come to the point where commissioners could get suspended?

Mike (31:43)

The law does provide me that as one of many recourses. I want to put a little context there for you, Roy. What you just heard. There was a video and audio in which I was agreeing with Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Roy (32:10)

I could not believe that with my own eyes.

Mike (32:12)

That's what. Or your own ears for that. I mean, I was watching and looking and listening. That's what just happened. And you heard me speaking at the Miami City Commission meeting last month, and then you heard the commissioners vote 3 to 2 to unilaterally cancel this year's election or at least postpone it it to next November and gift them all an extra year in office, including Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Joe Carollo basically said to the press after I said it that if this is so popular and such an important thing, they should take it to a referendum for the city of Miami voters to vote on instead of just voting for their own personal benefit. And then Ron DeSantis said basically the same. He said that it's illegal. I don't know if that's true. There is a legitimate legal dispute here now between the state, state of Florida, the attorney general, the governor, and the city of Miami, its commission, its mayor and its city attorney. But the governor is now threatening to possibly suspend and remove from office those commissioners who voted for this, and presumably the mayor who signed it into law and did not veto it. I don't know how I feel about that, that the governor should come in and ostensibly hijack a city by taking over its commission. And I don't know, but I need to talk about this with somebody who knows. Miami native, podcaster, activist, executive editor of Occupy Democrats, and token liberal on the right wing cable entertainment network I imagine they're going to have to make that defense at some point against, who knows, Dominion or somebody. Entertainment channel Newsmax. Grant Stern is joining us. Grant, what do you make of this situation? I know it's a lot more complicated than just the headline of Miami canceled an election. And we know why all of that got scary and made international headlines. And what this is one of my most viral videos that I've ever posted on social media because the Miami of today is the America of tomorrow. People are scared that Miami and Florida has always been the beta testing ground for, you know, the evil laboratory of democracy down here. And we export all this Florida and bad laws and crazy shit elsewhere. What do you think people need to know about what it is Miami did here?

Roy (34:21)

So what we're seeing in the city of Miami is a Hail Mary to push through some really important reforms, but not in the best political way to do it. I mean, I showed up and spoke against it and said, look, why not have a snap referendum, put it to the voters quickly and do what you have to do. But this is the result of some reform minded commissioners trying to do the right thing in the wrong way. And I'm not convinced it's gonna pass muster in the courts. I mean, one of the city candidates for mayor is suing to reverse it. But I wouldn't put any stock in what the Florida Attorney general says is legal opinion.

Mike (34:56)

That's what I'm saying. It's a real conflict here.

Roy (34:59)

The fact that you have to agree with Joe Carrello's morality questions, the very nature of why this is actually going to be a bad thing. The most important thing here is that the city of Miami only has like 5 to 10% voter participation in any given election. And this is going to raise the voter participation rate up into the 60s. It's going to create a very different category of elector on these local races that have, have far too long delivered the local dynasties that none of us are big fans.

Mike (35:28)

Okay. Yeah. So to be clear, what actually happened here with the postponement or cancellation, whatever you want to talk about it, of this November's election is they move the election to even year elections. So instead of these odd year elections, which as you said, attract very low voter turnout, they now want to disgustingly low. Yes, barely double digits sometimes, as you.

Roy (35:46)

Said, you know, you have a commissioner on the dais who's a communist coma Mirda. And he spent $2.3 million on 5,000 votes.

Mike (35:55)

Well, good for him.

Roy (35:56)

Crazy.

Mike (35:57)

Yeah, he's the best commissioner money could Buy. But what I'm seeing is that this idea that moving to even your elections will increase voter turnout, that I think is just a fact. Even years are federal elections. There are presidential elections. Every four years, more people will be there. Now, I might argue, but I'll table this argument for a moment, that a higher turnout of low information voters is not necessarily good for democracy. I think last year was evidence of that. But I want to t that argument for a second because we could, we could talk about that all day. But let's talk about what you were saying though. This argument that this somehow breaks the chain, the vicious cycle of Miami not recycling our trash, but reelecting it, right? The kind of generational political crime dynasties, political crime dynasties that we have down here. Here's the problem with that. In my opinion, even your elections, it is going to be far more expensive and competitive to participate. Number one one, you know, in Miami, we do not have a deep bench of campaign talent managers, door knockers, people who know how to run a campaign legally. From a financial perspective.

Roy (37:02)

Actually, I think we have too many of those people who know how to run a campaign.

Mike (37:05)

No, we have political grifters. We have political grifters.

Roy (37:08)

There's a lot of those people here.

Mike (37:10)

Yeah, there's not a lot of talent. I said talent. And so what happens is everybody, you have scarcity. Prices go up, printing costs go up for flyers, prices for ads go up. Nobody can break through the down ballot. Candidates cannot penetrate the conversation or the zeitgeist. What's going to happen is the only candidates that can are those with name recognition who belong to those dynasties, those with a lot of money, or those who sell out to special interest who can raise a lot of money to try to get the name recognition.

Roy (37:37)

Look, let's look at what happened in the past and see what could happen in the future versus let's speculate what could happen in the Future, right? In 2019, we had Ken Russell back on the ballot in District 2, where I live, right? And I helped a friend of mine, Jim Fried, for free because he's my neighbor and my friend and we just needed somebody to change things, honestly. Run against Ken Russell. He finished second out of the four person group, right? And Ken Russell raised a million dollars. A million dollars. He said earlier that raising a million dollars for a commission race is obscene. And then he went full obscene in his second election, right? And Jim Fried did a great job, but he could only win like a couple thousand votes. He couldn't even get Facebook to allow him to do A digital ad in the 12 weeks that his campaign lasted. Right.

Mike (38:28)

I mean, so how is he going to do that? How is he going to do that in an even year election? Damien Pardo, I'm sorry, Damian Pardo, who introduced, who sponsored this item and was one of the three votes in the affirmative for it. And by the way, I'm not necessarily, to be fair, arguing about the even your election. What we're saying is the process sucked. They should have taken it to a.

Roy (38:47)

Process could have been better.

Mike (38:48)

Let the people decide.

Roy (38:50)

Let's talk about this.

Mike (38:50)

But hang on, I want to finish this thought. Damian Pardo, had he run for office in an even year, would not have won his election.

Roy (39:00)

Maybe, maybe not. It was an open seat. It was a short term interim commissioner.

Mike (39:05)

I don't think he was running against an incumbent. Even though she had only been there nine months.

Roy (39:10)

Yeah, well, she had the name recognition.

Mike (39:12)

She raised a ton of money and spent a ton of money of special interest money, if that's what I'm. Dude, that's what I'm saying.

Roy (39:18)

That's the outlier. That's so we've seen one outlier election where it happens. But every single other election, no matter how bad the incumbent is, unless they're actually indicted and removed from office, the voters put them back in.

Mike (39:30)

So let me ask you this. They said, they said they had to gift themselves all an extra year because if they took any time away from their term, which they could have done the opposite direction, there would have been litigation. There's litigation irregardless, as there always is going to be. They got litigation from for giving themselves a year. They would have gotten litigation for taking time away.

Roy (39:47)

I hate to correct your grammar here, but it's irregardless, bro. Irregardless.

Mike (39:51)

Lacey's bro is my sister. Let me hang on here. Regardless, bro, so here's what I'm trying to say is that why not vote for this now, make it effective, let's say in 2028. Because as Joe, I'm quoting Joe Carollyo now and I agree with him. As he said, everyone who's been elected currently has been elected for a four year term or in the case of the new commissioner, to complete the four year term of the late Manolo Reyes, was the mayor elected for a four year term. If we delay it till 2028, voters will go to the ballot box voting for a mayor and or a commissioner, knowing that that commissioner will be voted for a five year term. So at least, so then there will be informed voters Going in.

Roy (40:32)

So then we're having a mayor and multiple commission candidates who are going to run in 2027 and then have a one year term. How does that work, number one? Number two, hold on, hold on.

Mike (40:44)

We gave them an extra year. We can't. Come on.

Roy (40:46)

No, but you're asking someone who's not in office yet to shorten the term of the office they're running to from four years to one. Right? Which is a difficulty. And the second problem, and this I think speaks to the idea of breaking up these dynastic name recognition clans. Right? So let's say that you have the election and the term limits vote in the same day. So now let's just imagine, for example, somebody who should be termed out and will be under the new policy, the new charter amendment, but isn't under the poorly written old charter amendment, is on the same ballot and they get elected. Does the term limit apply to them?

Mike (41:25)

Jesus, this is getting too wonky now. Even I'm talking about it's a perfect mess. And I will say this, you talk about well needed reforms. I believe the city of Miami and its charter is unreformable because you can amend it between now and kingdom come and you will never forget, fix the mess that this city has become.

Roy (41:41)

I have two straightforward ways that this city could become a not mess. You ready? First, you shade, not as complicated. There are plenty of barbershops here. Okay, so the first one is pretty straightforward when I say it, but it has a lot of big implications. Okay, so the first one is going to a council manager form of government.

Mike (42:01)

Oh, Jesus.

Roy (42:02)

Right, There you go. Easy. But what that means is the mayor is sitting on the city council. Right now we have a weak mayor who doesn't sit on the city council. He sits in the court of.

Mike (42:16)

He sits in Dubai. What are you talking about?

Roy (42:17)

No, no, no. The Saudi court. The Saudi royal court. Yes, he sits in the court of the house, Assad, but he doesn't come to our commission.

Mike (42:26)

Mr. Mayor, you're brilliant. You were super smart.

Roy (42:29)

In fact, I saw him walk by and look down on all of us earlier today in Miami. We are definitely not woke. Dude, stop being poor, bro.

Mike (42:44)

So. Jesus Christ, dude. Jesus Christ, the last Jewish carpenter. Roy, what do you have to say?

Roy (42:49)

Yeah, so, so anyways, I mean, council manager, it means that the. The mayor is a member of the commission. The commission, right.

Mike (42:57)

It's city of Miami. That's how city of Miami beach operates.

Roy (43:00)

Right? And what it does is it takes away the mayor's greatest weapon for corruption, which is the fact that they're exempt from the Sunshine Law for meetings, which is insane.

Mike (43:10)

But it also neutralizes what they're voting on this week, which is the lifetime term limits, because it becomes a new. All the positions, basically, especially the mayor, becomes a new position by charter. And then Francis Suarez could run again. He could be mayor again. The not apply.

Roy (43:28)

You need. I think you need a charter handed.

Mike (43:30)

Man child fail son.

Roy (43:32)

I think you need a charter amendment that up that, that carries the term limits over to do it.

Mike (43:37)

Yeah, okay.

Roy (43:38)

I mean, that's just a fact. But this is my point.

Mike (43:41)

But this is my point. There's so many moving parts. The charter is such a mess. It's been exploited and destroyed in so many different ways.

Roy (43:47)

And if you rebuilt, if you blow it up and rebuild it. Same problem you just mentioned, right?

Mike (43:52)

Yes. Okay, so, I mean, what's numero dose then?

Roy (43:56)

Okay, number two, create districts that manage all the physical infrastructure and everything that's happening within them so that all these special districts can do what they're supposed to do. The DDA can hire the ambassadors. The CRAs can build affordable housing. The Bayfront Park Trust can put on concerts instead of having a cash room and having Joe Carollo, his wife, his brother, his cousin, his mother, his sister, his uncle, his gay lover, who knows all of them, you know, running in and stealing money from the place. I mean, you heard the overtures he made at one of our friends at that last meeting. We don't know what's up with Carrier, but if he is, I respect his decision. And I understand that Joe Carrillo may want a man in charge of his finance instead of a woman. He's very traditional.

Mike (44:40)

Jimmy Jimmy Croquetas with the skim in the cash room at the the Bayfront Trust. Grant, as I mentioned earlier, you are the token liberal on right wing cable entertainment network Newsmax, and you have had, at this point, countless through the years, viral clips of your various clapbacks and sound bites. I thought it would be fun to do a top five of Grant Stern's best bites from his appearances on the science fiction cable network Newsmax. And let's do it. Number five.

Anna Eskamani (45:15)

Do you know what's creepy though, Grant? The amount of people connected to P. Diddy. I'm just going to call it.

Mike (45:20)

Like I said, Donald Trump is the most connected. You know how many photos there are.

Roy (45:25)

Of Donald Trump and P. Diddy? There's even photos of Donald Trump, P.

Mike (45:28)

Diddy and Jeffrey Epstein.

Roy (45:30)

What about the Jeffrey Epstein tape that came out?

Anna Eskamani (45:32)

I would love to see I'm sure.

Mike (45:33)

He said that Donald Trump was his.

Roy (45:34)

Best friend for 10 years.

Mike (45:36)

I'm sure we'll find that out when he becomes president.

Anna Eskamani (45:39)

But actually, I want to get your perspective on the closing argument. Since Grant brought it up, I thought it was incredible. And the difference was stark. With Donald Trump speaking with steelworkers everyday American.

Mike (45:52)

Why is that guy wearing a safety vest? Yeah, what is he.

Roy (45:55)

It was election day.

Mike (45:56)

Does he help children across the street at the crosswalk?

Roy (46:00)

Well, I mean, if you remember, Donald Trump was riding around in a dump truck telling his losers to get in. And we're gonna go out losing. Boy, that clip really aged like fine wine. Milk for her. Milk for her.

Mike (46:12)

That was election day 2024, and everybody got a shout out there. Your boy Diddy Roy.

Roy (46:17)

No, no, no, no, no.

Mike (46:19)

Don't. Don't do that to me. Yeah, your boy Jeff. Your. Your boy Jeff. Lolita.

Roy (46:26)

Garbage truck with the tie.

Mike (46:27)

That's unbelievable. With the tie.

Roy (46:29)

And classy.

Mike (46:30)

Jesus Christ, dude. Numero cuatro.

Roy (46:34)

Hakeem Jeffries made sure that Donald Trump owns this one big, beautiful bill of his, the one that's going to kick 13 million Americans off of their health insurance. The one that's going to raid costs for the poorest Americans, people who make under $40,000 a year by $1,600 a year in taxes and insurance premiums. And they're going to raise your premiums, too, because who do you think is going to pay for the $1.1 trillion in health care cuts that Republicans just enacted? You are. Your families are. So Donald Trump did that, and he lied about his no taxes on tips. It's just a little tax break. The first 24,000. So if you're a waiter and you make $50,000, well, your tips are going to be taxed. That's what Democrats think of this. It's a terrible bill, and it should never have been passed. Boys, take it away.

Mike (47:19)

Go ahead, Rich. Yeah, well, I was just gonna ask Grant, if I were like. And they told me that If I made 50 grand and I could take 24 and not pay tax on them, I'd be doing cartwheels. What do you think about that?

Roy (47:31)

I think you probably wouldn't be paying very much tax on those in the first place, because the tax rate on the first $24,000 is the lowest tax rate in the entire program bracket. It's not much of a break. And when your health care is going to be taken away at the same time, especially if you're, say, feeding A large family and you don't have a large income and your children's health care is going to be taken away. Well, that's not much of a tax break at all, is it? It's actually a tax increase.

Mike (47:55)

Why do they keep letting Grant on that channel to spew his socialist propaganda? Number three?

Roy (48:01)

I mean, I'm just thrilled that I bought a Tesla Cybertruck. And I'm so happy, guys. Aren't you guys happy about that?

Anna Eskamani (48:08)

That you bought one?

Roy (48:14)

Was a good one, Grant.

Mike (48:16)

That was a good one.

Roy (48:17)

And in a rare moment, Grant is actually laughing.

Mike (48:21)

That's good.

Roy (48:22)

That's good.

Anna Eskamani (48:22)

Yeah.

Roy (48:23)

But I'm watching that humor safety vest, self explanatory there.

Mike (48:27)

It's a comedy. It's a comedy channel, really is. What is what Newsmax is you. You are. You are their comic relief. Or as Joe Carolo calls for me, the court jester numerados.

Roy (48:39)

Well, this is another example of Donald Trump letting the presidency get away from him. J.D. vance gave the worst performance in a serious meeting since, I think, the Godfather. That's been on television since the Godfather 1 went on TV because Santino spoke out when somebody from outside the family was discussing business. And then what happened, happened to the Godfather. It didn't go so well for the Godfather. J.D. vance has no reason to be so involved in these talks. He's just the vice president. He's not in the chain of command, and he doesn't have a formal portfolio. And he was the one who litigated the issues. He said litigating was disrespectful. He's the one who started the litigation and made a litigation happen on national television.

Mike (49:24)

Very surprised.

Roy (49:25)

Reevaluating. Who's in that room? Room.

Mike (49:27)

I'm very. Oh, boy, oh, boy.

Roy (49:31)

Every J.D. vance clip goes nuts. I mean, people just despise J.D. vance, I think, and they like seeing me slam the hell out of him on Newsmax. Keep going.

Mike (49:38)

He's a great American. I can't wait to see, number one, the Russians.

Roy (49:42)

And we hope that they'll say yes, that they'll say yes to peace.

Mike (49:45)

The ball is now in their court.

Anna Eskamani (49:48)

Grant, I want to give you opportunity to respond to the previous economic question, but also this, because, of course, a cease fire would be an incredible, incredibly important event affecting geopolitics, affecting energy, which is part of the economy. So Rubio has been busy traveling to Canada, and amid the tariff standoffs, he's been doing a lot. But what do you expect to come from these negotiations?

Roy (50:12)

Well, I want to thank you for letting me comment on Marco Rubio because Marco Rubio was tragically born without a spine, and there is nothing you can trust in that man's mouth other than hot air will be expelled. Okay, so Marco Rubio is pretty much like a tool of Donald Trump. He's just there to say whatever is politically expedient for Donald Trump's purposes. The man has no center, no beliefs, and pretty much can't be trusted.

Mike (50:42)

Grant, I didn't know how you were going to top screaming about Jeffrey Epstein and Diddy and their countless photographs with the President and you didn't. But still, still solid. Solid top five. I think my favorite still might be the. The Oli. And unlike Newsmax, we will have you back again. Although we keep trying to cut you. We keep trying to cut you off. Grand.

Roy (51:00)

You cut me off, Norwood. More than Newsmax.

Mike (51:04)

This is what happens with our third world government and fourth world infrastructure here in Miami. I think they're trying real, bro, using.

Roy (51:11)

Dixie cups and strings there.

Mike (51:13)

Ron DeSantis is trying to shut you down, dude. Grant Stern, for real, thank you so much for being here. Come back and visit us again, won't you?

Roy (51:20)

Yeah, absolutely. I'm looking forward to it. And because Miami is one of my favorite shows, can't wait to see the next one.

Mike (51:27)

Hashtag because Miami. You guys ever notice how there's just a fee for everything now? You buy a concert ticket, there's a fee. You rent a place for the weekend, cleaning food, just breathing near an event. How about a processing fee? It's wild. That's why I'm glad I found Chime. You can go to chime.com dan and skip all that nonsense. Chime has got fee free banking. No monthly fees, no overdraft fees, no minimum balance fees. Just clean, simple banking that actually helps you keep your money. And when you're trying to save or build something for yourself, fees can really set you back. Chime makes it easier to get ahead, not harder. Open your account in two minutes@chime.com dan that's chime.com dan Chime feels like progress.

Anna Eskamani (52:22)

Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancor Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members.

Mike (52:26)

Fdic Spot me. Eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply.

Anna Eskamani (52:28)

Timing depends on submission of payment file. Fees apply at out of network ATMs.

Mike (52:31)

Bank ranking and number of ATMs. According to US News and World Report.

Anna Eskamani (52:33)

2023 time checking account required.