Marty Griffin Show Hour 01 072226

The podcast Campus Files is back with more stories of scandal, crime, and intrigue on college campuses. Campus Files, available now wherever you get your podcasts. I find it reprehensible, unsettling, disturbing, very, very difficult to manage the death toll in Iran. I can't, and I know war is hell, and I know they sign up and they know they could die, but man, man, you see the picture of a seven, I apologize, a 19-year-old grow out of Carrollton, Texas, where I worked and lived. And she's dead, and all her friends are crying, and I'm just angry. And Trump's 24-hour wars turned into endless war. Listen to this so-called alleged Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Listen. You estimated at one point that the cost of the war in Iran was $29 billion. but then added a caveat that there was a replacement of munitions, for example. Do you have a new estimate about what the war has cost us so far in this, the fifth month of the first year of this war in Iran? Senator, the estimate we have as of today is $37.5 billion. And it's the current activity, which we've been told about the exchange of fire back and forth in Iran, an indication that that number is going to go up in the months ahead. Some of that number captures additional O&M, mill pay, and other that would be anticipated through the fiscal year. So some of that anticipates what costs would be going out in the future as well. So the new number you've given me is what? 37.5 billion. And that represents the cost of the war through what period of time? Through now for certain aspects of it, but also mill pay, O&M, other anticipated costs through September 30th, Senator. I was almost too young to get angry, I remember being angry. I started to hate Nixon. I started to hate Johnson. I started to hate anyone, a Ford, anyone that had anything to do with the Vietnam War. And I know we don't have that kind of scale yet. But now we have 19 Americans dead, 100 injured at least in the last month. I'm here with my wife. Christine, and I brought this up to you because we worked and lived in Texas and I saw that 19-year-old girl and it rips your heart out. It just does, honey. Whether you want to be political about this or not, it just hurts. Well, it may, you know, it sometimes feels like this war is so far away. We don't see it. It's in a country. We don't really understand that well. But when you see a young woman like that, it does make it very real that this is a war and that our... people are under threat and being hurt and killed. And then I had a pastor on the show yesterday and members of his congregation are being sent over there right now. And they're wondering if their kids are going to die. And no end in sight, nothing but lies. Now they're saying they need $80 billion for a war they said would end in 24 hours. I know you're going to think he's biased, but I don't give it damn this morning. I'm so angry about this war.

Yeah, and look, you're a commander-chief at war. I mean, there can be no greater responsibility as a president than that. I mean, this is a war he's chosen. He started despite the American people's opposition. I think you've got to get us out of this, and I think his principal focus. should be exactly that. And listen, great. Go support our local businesses. I'd love to see them bring down prices. Go to Dairy Queen. Buy some milk. Milk a cow, man. Marty. I'm just saying, you know, you can tell I'm angry. I see these pictures. And look, war is hell. And of all people, you know it, you served. But we were lied to, sir. Were we not lied to, sir? Oh, absolutely. I think Pete Egg set up to including the president. How many times have they said, this will be quick, this will be over, this has been a stunning victory, a stunning success. I mean, we are in a worse position than before they started this war with the strait of Moose and the impact on oil prices and oil markets. And I've made this point, Marty, with you too, on top of everything else, they also canceled all these other clean energy projects that would have made us less exposed to a Middle Eastern oil shock. China, on the other hand, is going the other direction. They're doubling down on getting off of Middle Eastern oil, of spending money to subsidize and support alternative energy. I mean, it's crazy when you really think about if they were going to start a war where they knew the trade of war moves would be disrupted. The last thing you should have done is taking other energy projects off the table, and we're all paying for that. Congressman, Christa Luzio, look, when you commit, you serve, and that's what you did. But I would suggest that the young women and men that are serving right now were lied to. And they weren't given the proper air defenses, as we've seen in Jim Jordan, sir, for the Americans who have died. If you had kids ready to serve right now, would you tell them, sir? Would you tell them, sir? Would you tell them wait? I think that people who are patriotic are always going to step up to serve. I think it's one of the most honorable things you can do. And what I think we in the Congress and the White House and the government owe those young people is honesty and to never squander that patriotism. Because that is a sacred trust that should never be broken. And it's why you don't send people to fight unless we absolutely have to. And I just, I think this has been a blunder and a mistake. direct and important thing this president can do is to put an end of this and bring our troops home. Well, and the system is supposed to work where Congress approves war, but that didn't happen this time. What do you think can be done to change this going forward? So Congress does have a say, and it's not just up to the president. Well, Christine, I think the most easiest thing is that the Congress should grow some courage here, grow a spine, and vote whether it's on a war powers resolution as we have done or on the funding for this war and say enough. You didn't get approval from the American people to do this in the first place. And look, not everything is partisan. This vote has been mostly partisan, but we've had some Republicans join nearly all the Democrats to say this war should end. But look, I'm very clear.

about differences going into November for the election. And I think one of the things that a Democratic majority in the House, remember, there's a Republican majority now, one of the things that we will do is use the powers under our Constitution to put a stop to this war if it's still going on. And that shouldn't be such a partisan fight. I'm disgusted, man. As you can tell, 500 Americans hurt almost 20 dead. I saw the face of that 19-year-old girl from Texas and honestly started to tear up. And here's my problem with all of it, sir, big picture. No one can dispute this, Congressman. We are worse off today than we were the day before we started bombing Iran. Are we not, sir? I agree. I don't think it's even really up for debate when you look at the cost. for all of us to fill up gas, the cost of shipping anything in this country, of moving goods, and the cost in precious American lives. I want to say one more thing, Marty. I disagree with this war. I think we should put a stop to it. But that does not diminish for a second, the sacrifice of our troops who are doing what they've been ordered and asked to do. Their patriotism is so clearly on display, and it's why we should never. never squander it. When there are men and women today being sent from the area of the 171st refueling to the Strait of Hormuz. Hold on one second, sir, real quick. Okay, go ahead. Quickly. Hello. I wanted to thank Representative Chris Deluzio for his thoughtful, knowledgeable descriptions based on his experience. But I just wanted you to know, Representative, that never diminish your concerns saying, I might be old school. That is principled. Principals never fall out of fashion. That is very important. And please keep that strong. Thank you, Kate. Thank you, Congressman. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, guys. It makes me so angry, you could probably tell.

It's Sophia with enough, Franklin with the Y, and if you're looking for some bubble gum dumb dumb podcast, then you are in the wrong place, baby. Whether I'm reminiscing on the trials and tribulations of working in the corporate world to recapping today's latest reality TV show, you're going to want to pull up a chair and stick around. It's a good time and always 100. unfiltered. Follow and listen to Sophia with an F wherever you get your podcast. I find it reprehensible that we're still in this war. I find it. I find it reprehensible that there's no end in sight. And it risks my heart out. And I have a bunch of friends that are veterans and say that you know when you sign up for this that you could die. Yeah, you do. But he looked us in the eye and he told us this to be 24 hours. And here we are six months in. in $40 billion with an estimate of at least $80 billion. Gas prices are exploding, food prices are exploding, four to 500 Americans hurt, almost 20 dead. I cannot. We're worse off than we were before. We have no control of the Strait of Hormuz. We have no idea what Iran has and what they don't have. And every damn day they change their story. I don't give a damn. If you like Trump or not, I don't like this. I don't care if he's right wing, left wing, middle wing, no wing. It sucks. And, ma'am, I'm talking to this pastor who's got folks from the 171st refueling that are headed to the Straits or Hormuz today and their kids are going and they're thinking, is my son or daughter going to die over a war that was supposed to be over five months ago and they don't know. Go ahead, Douglas. Oh, hello Marty. Can you hear me? I can, sir. Appreciate you hanging. This is my first time ever calling Katie Kha. I am a veteran. Our son is currently serving at a base that's well within striking distance of Iran right now. He's in the Air Force. Wow. But the issue that I have, the issue that I have, Marty, and like I said, this is my first time ever calling you, it's not as simple as Representative Chris Deluzio has stated. We cannot just simply leave there. and leave that whole area open to whatever. Sir, sir, I'm not going to debate this war with you because we could spend weeks on it, but you were there, because I was there, when we were told this would be over in 24 hours. Were you not there, sir? Yes, I was. Because I was. And so is your poor son out there. And now we're six months in and $50 billion in 19 Americans dead and 500 injured. And your son is in the line of sight. And I can't stand that. Can you, sir?

No end in sight, sir. Worse off than we were when it started, sir, with all due respect. The alternative, Marty, is to allow Iran to close that straight and to... It is closed. It is closed. It is, of course, but it was going to be closed regardless. No, no, it was actually open. It was open when the war started, sir. Now it's closed. So we've taken one step up and two steps back. So you got to admit. Come on. I know you love Trump. And that's fine. God bless you. But you got to admit. We've been lied to, sir. Come on, ma'am. I do believe that Trump's heart is with America. But at the same time, I do also understand that he does the most oddball things at times. And it does bother me. And as a, as a, wow, I love the fact that your son is serving. That takes a lot of courage. And I love that kind of commitment. Do you have anxiety about that, that you want this to end because of your sons in the line of sight, sir? Well, he's Diego Garcia. Oh, wow. And... And he's in the Air Force. Yeah, yeah. And we do worry at times about it, but we just trust that, you know, the Lord will keep them safe. Absolutely. But at the same time, Marty, the Iranian people, not the people, but the leadership of Iran, they seem like they're crazy. If they would have gotten a nuclear bomb... And they're no doubt... Hold on, because you're right. And they seem worse than before. So now we have a crazier regime. Well, obviously, still has these anti-the crazy-ass missiles. And we have a president who makes decisions based on what? Specials at Giant Eagle, sir. 300 items marked down at Giant Eagle, sir. I don't know, man. Nobody knew going into this what was going to transpire. Trump said he knew, sir. Trump said it would be over in 24 hours, sir. I took him at his word, did you? Well, I was hoping it, you know, it would not. I love your call. I absolutely love the fact that you are here and that you give a damn and everything you said is spot on. And God bless you and your son.

The Second World War is the largest event in human history. A 20-part series with Tom Hanks. No part of the globe was untouched. No life unchanged. Experience the ultimate account of World War II. Every single person had a story. These are the stories that make us who we are. Listen to World War II with Tom Hanks on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Over the years, I've known a significant number of COs, corrections officers, jail guards. And I've said this from the time I met my first CO. That job, I don't give a damn what you think they're making, is a descent into hell every day. And I mean that. And I've had some COs come to me recently saying, hell's getting hotter. And I've had some CEOs coming to me recently saying that we're so short that we're falling asleep on the job and one of us is going to get killed. And if you think that's an exaggeration, look at the photo I posted on social media. I showed it to my wife, Christine. And honey, when I showed it to you, you really kind of didn't believe what it was. Well, yeah. I mean, you kind of question everything now because it seems outlandish that a officer would be that sound asleep, like reclined in a reclining chair. Yeah, well, that's one picture. I'm talking about the shank where these idiots, we give them tablet computers, sweetheart, to learn. And these idiots, maybe they're smarter than we think, make them into weapons to kill COs or kill each other. Stab them to death. Yeah, the fact that a computer could be turned into a weapon is in a physical weapon is really sad. And then the comeback from Bethany Hallam is, yeah, we're buying new tablets anyway. Oh, okay, that helps. Union leader, Brian Engler, who I love, admire and respect because he's on the job and he gives a damn and he tells the truth. joins me live. Good morning, Brian. How are you? Good morning, Marty. You exhausted? I took a quick nap real quick. If he's anything, he's honest. How many hours did you work yesterday? 16. 16. Wow. Yeah. How many COs, be honest with me, work 18-hour shifts five days in a row. How many? Does that happen? Does that happen? It doesn't happen as often as you would think. The ones that are out longer than 16 hours, they would have to be on a hospital run. On a hospital run, which would lead them to the hospital. A hospital detail. Which would lead them to the hospital, which leads me to the picture of the CO's sleeping dead asleep in the hospital. When you saw that, that irritates the hell out of you, doesn't it? In more ways than one, yeah. Why? Well, kind of, I mean, the first thing that I felt was anger because what I would do. Because I would go wake the person up. Even if I was a nurse, whatever the job I had at the hospital was, I want to see if they're okay. Yeah. The second reason that made me angry is because for the last 18 months, we've tried to get this administration. On day one, the warden said, I'll try anything. That lasted until day two. Wow. So. So hold on. Let's connect the dots here. First of all, let me tell you what happened.

The sheriff's deputy came in that room and your guy, they couldn't wake him up. He had to kick him to wake him up. So your guy was asleep. You're saying what? It's because they work these insane hours, right? Right? Well, in this young man's case, you know, he recently had a baby and the mother is a nurse at that same hospital. So she already works 12-hour shifts. And that's all a nurse can work is 12 hours. There's no cap on how many hours a correction officer can work. Last year, Officer Kokonar held the record for the most hours worked in one single day, 21 hours. No. Oh, my goodness. No. Yes. And the thing is, we're supposed to have eight hours between shifts. So when you have a number of officers that are being stuck out at the hospital over 16 hours, that means they're going to be coming in late for their next shift. Yeah, Marty, you know what's really unbelievable is I challenge anybody, and I know you have a ton of listeners. I challenge anybody to find a public or a private company, whether it's government or not, in Allegheny County that has just one department work 16,271 hours of overtime last month. No. Last month? Brian, Brian. Because I took Patrick's my man. He's a brilliant guy, my producer. And I said that. And Patrick's like, no, that can't. That can't be true, Brian. But it's true, isn't it? It's actually not true. I'm sorry. That was in May. I don't have June's numbers yet, but for May, we worked 18,271 hours of overtime. No. That was 2,274 shifts. No. And there was only 368 officers available to work with at least 50 of them on vacation. Oh, my God. during any one week. So I did my research, Marty. The Ford Kentucky truck plant has 8,900 union employees. In a one month, they average 80 hours of overtime each. So that's a 60-hour work week. You kicked their ass. You should be proud. But that's a ton, right? That's a ton. Come on, Blame. Just any company in Allegheny County or any municipal government that has more than 18,271 hours. I'm not hard to find on the internet. You can email my unit account. Yeah. How much money is that? Money, that's just, but here's the thing. We're not talking about that's like, oh, that's extraordinary. It was one time. It's been since 2016. Oh, my goodness. It's been for the last five years, I've been union president. And the shocking thing is, for all the politicians that want to sit there and, you know, put their two cents in, in my five years that I've been union president, we created a safety committee. Our report goes to the county executives.

to the county manager, to the county council, to the jail oversight board. In five years, not once has any politician asked me, wow, man, I saw the safety committee report. That's pretty, they're making weapons. Hold on. Brian, someone would tell me I was high. If I sat down and told them, you know, you can take this tablet computer we've given inmates so they can learn, you know, you can make it into a weapon. But they're doing that, aren't they, sir? Yes, and the reason why is when we first, when they first started giving them tablets, the officers would pass out the tablets and we would lock up the charging stations. Okay, and then we would collect the tablets at the night at the end of the night and we'd know if there was anything missing. I get hurt last November and I'm off on Joe injury for like eight weeks and they said, oh, you know what? We're going to leave them out on the housing unit. That's a horrible idea. Oh, no. Marty, if you go to bed early and I know that, I'm just going to go take your tablet. Yes. The officer has no idea what the baseline tablet inventory is. They break the tablet. There's two pieces of metal inside. They bend and fold into a knife. Come on. And they wrap a piece of, yeah, yeah. Wow. And I just said it's the last prison board meeting. I said, you just had somebody beaten the death. If somebody gets stabbed at death, the blood is going to be on your hands because you simply will not do something that makes sense. So let me give you an idea of the overtime, Marty. Jesus. One of the biggest jails in the state, I mean, sorry, in the country is Clark County, Nevada. Yeah. From May to June this year, they only had 15,000 hours of overtime. Wow. We have 18,621 hours of overtime in May. They have 3,000 inmates every day and they have 800 officers. That's unbelievable. They are... They're almost double our size. So hold on. Someone's going to get hurt or killed or pass out in the truck on the way home and die. Well, you know, this is probably not a possible thing to say, Marty. But at least in the hospital room, we have two officers. I'd rather an officer doze off in the room than those off or driving home after an 18-hour shift and maybe killing somebody. Right on. Or get his ass stabbed in the back with a shank made from a tablet computer the taxpayers paid for while he was dozing off at work. Well, how could you not doze off after 16 hours? Right. How the hell could you not doze off, Brian? That's crazy. Listen, unfortunately it happens, but, you know, it's not just the, I mean, you know, we're put it this way. We're not the only law enforcement group that falls asleep at the hospital that works for Allegheny County. Hey, can you hang, man? You know what I mean? Can you hang, Brian? This is important. Yeah, sure. It's amazing stuff. It is. And folks, your takeaways here, you have to remember that we're paying for these tablet computers. And they hand them these inmates and then they make them into knives. Hello. And then Bethany Hallam says, well, it doesn't matter. We're going to buy, we're going to buy new computers for them. Oh, are we? Great plan.

You say you don't care about the jail. How about the COs in there that are working 18-hour shifts for five days? How about they're in there with violent inmates? So we pay for their damn computers for these idiot inmates and then they turn them into weapons that they could kill each other with or a CO who's so frigging tired because he's working, wow, 17,000 hours of overtime. And then you have the photograph I posted of the CO corrections officer asleep in the hospital. Now, I'm told, and the union president has been kind enough to join us, Brian Engler, I'm told Brian he was so sound asleep that they had to kick him to wake him up. The concern is that if he's that sound asleep, that felonious inmate who he's supposed to be guard and have to wake up, take his gun, and kill everyone in the room. That is real, isn't it, sir? And dangerous, isn't it? Yes, it's very real and very dangerous. And like I said, I can't condone, you know, passing out. But in this guy's case, I could understand. You know, it's, it's definitely a unique job. And, you know, I'm not going to deny that these things happen sometimes. I can see why. What happens now? I mean, what needs to be done and who needs to do it to remedy this issue of this overtime? And the way you're saying it, Brian, they just blow you off. The county, they don't give a crap whether you guys live or die or whether it costs $40 million a year in overtime. They just don't care. I'm getting it. Well, you know what? I'm glad you said that because we're really at that point where nobody cares. Yeah. And that's kind of a sad thing to think about because If we're going there and we say, hey, listen, let's have some temporary hospital detailed jobs and let's switch the hours so that people aren't getting left out there. I mean, there was, I could tell you, you know, here's another crazy, you know, I'm a numbers guy and I have to kind of defend things. Look, I can't defend this one. The guy's tired. There's no excuse. He shouldn't fell asleep. It happened. But I'm really a numbers guy. And last month, we had. three hundred and eighty seven hospital details whoa which means that we have seven hundred and seventy four officers out at the hospital in the month of june holy cow wow it's like the second jail holy cow and like You know, Bethy and I can disagree on things, but do you think the sheriffs have the capacity to take that over? And if so, I hate to tell you this, it's at a way higher cost. In three years, a sheriff pops out at $125,000. Wow. In five years, we top out at $87,000. It's going to cost a hell of a lot more money. This is what irritates me. So every year they put out this list of the highest paid employees in the county. And like 40 to 50 are CEOs. No kidding. They're working 8,000 hours of overtime. They're getting their asses kicked. And I guess the money's good, Brian. It's not going to help you if you're dead. You know what I'm saying, brother? Well, it's like an ATM that never runs out of money.

It's a good job. The thing I could tell you is that we recently buried a guy that retired at 60, and he died at 63. Oh, wow. Oh, man, it's stressful as hell and dangerous as hell. Our average life expectancy across the country is 59 and a half years old. And we have this advocate, John Kensowitz, who was a master social worker who used to advocate on behalf of the inmates. Now he's... advocating on behalf of us just because of our life expectancy. Well, that's what I was thinking is, you know. I think there are people out there who think, oh, they're in the jail. They did something wrong. We don't care that much. But care about the workers. If you don't care about the inmates, we need to care about the workers. I mean, they're the ones who really need to, you know, who need the help here. Some believe them. Some believe them. Well, you know, if one of us is, is working these kind of hours and we get tired and distracted, then that's also dangerous for the people we supervise. Oh, yeah. So Bethany Hallam says you take advantage of FMLA, Family Medical Leave Act. That's what you guys do. You work the system, half the guys get overtime, and half the guys take eight, ten weeks off. Is that fair for her to say? No, because she refuses to talk to the correction officers. Wow. Wow. So she refuses because she says she's wide open to sit down. Wide open, she says. That's a lie. And in fact, she's on the use of force committee and we've requested meeting several times. I believe Mr. E. Her friend said that he doesn't feel comfortable sitting down with just correction officers. There should probably be inmates too. But the thing is, she went on one of our officers podcasts. where she put on a shock caller and let the officer shockers. You're obviously not afraid of officers. I called her out. That was ignorant. You see what I'm saying? You can't keep saying that you're open to anything when you're actually not. Hey, ma'am, why the hell would we buy inmates' new tablets if they're using the old ones to make weapons? Why would we do that as taxpayers, Brian? Why? I think it's a contractual thing. The contract came up for bid. And so, you know, they're going to say, well, we have the latest, greatest tablets. They have a longer battery life. You know, the county makes a lot of money from these tablets. And what I think the taxpayer really doesn't understand is the revenue that they make on these tablets goes right back into the county budget. Sounds to me like the real issue with the tablet was how they were being used at night, though, or where they were being stored. They was fine before the storage issue. Yeah, for five years it was not a problem. And these guys sit here and look at you and then the administration, the first thing they say as well, the officers aren't doing their job. Oh, come on. Screw that. Before you go, just admit it to me. One of your people's going to get killed. And then what are they going to do? Don't you think? I always hate saying that. I hate hearing that because that's the truth. It's only going to change when one of us gets seriously injured. And this is something that my kids are grown. They're 18, 21, and 25. They worry about this every day. Hell yeah, man. Their daddy goes. And they're adults. And they, they, they see. Your daddy descends into hell every day. It's a damn truth, brother.

Man, I appreciate your honesty, man. We've got to do this more, all right? I appreciate your time. Thank you very much. Oh, man. I'm going to take another nap. I'm an advocate for you guys. Send me that info, okay? I absolutely will. Thanks. Truth to power, man. Wow, that was amazing. Thank you. I'm Dana Carvey. I'm David Spave. Flying the Wall's back for another season now on audio and video every Monday and Thursday. So many incredible guests will be joining us. Follow and listen to Fly on the Wall everywhere you get your podcast. To Good Be True.