Hour 2: Infrastructure concerns

The Mike Broomhead Show, KTAR News, 923, and the KTAR News Act. All right, the question about security, and we're going to talk to an expert tomorrow about this. The one area that the United States was behind the curve, and this goes back probably a little more than a decade, probably two decades maybe, but we have done a, we made a concerted effort to try to catch up, and that is in the area of national security as it pertains to being hacked. When it comes to the military, when it comes to hardware, no one competes with the U.S. We have been the world's superpower, air superiority. We know the Chinese have been catching up when it comes to the sea superiority, but the U.S. is still, by most people's accounts, the greatest military on the planet. And that no one really argued that. But where we were weak and where we had kind of let things slip is when it comes to cyber security. And so they've done, we have done a great deal to try to write that ship. People from the JTTF, the Joint Terrorism Task Forces, it is about terrorist attacks, physical attacks. It is somebody that would put a bomb in place or a mass shooting. It is all of those things. But it's also cyber attacks. It is. the ability for someone to go after our infrastructure. So in recent weeks, we know that it happened in Minnesota where they believe it was Iranian hackers were hacking into our water supply, where they were able to try to disrupt infrastructure. There's now a story that's written about what about our power grid. Here in Arizona, I can tell you that the ability to have to be able to generate enough electricity. on the days when it's blazing hot in Arizona and keep power going is something that keeps those operators up at night. Being able to restore power after the severe storms we have because heat is such a life or death issue. There was a story that was, you can see it. I didn't really talk. I didn't want to talk so much. I felt so bad for this guy. There was a guy at an apartment complex somewhere near I-17 and Campbell, and the reports were coming in that he was acting very strangely, erratically. He had broken a window at an apartment complex. And when the police Phoenix PD showed up, this guy was kind of unresponsive. He had a cut probably from breaking the glass. But his body temperature reached 107 degrees. They put him in an ice bag and now that the fire department has, but the guy died. So we understand that the heat here can be deadly. Now imagine our enemies being able to infiltrate our infrastructure and shut things down.

Because they realize militarily, it's going to be very difficult, if not impossible, for them to ever have an attack, a military attack, not a 9-11 style attack, a military attack inside the continental United States. If they're going to do damage, it's going to be infrastructure. And now the questions are out there. Are we safe? Is our infrastructure secure? This week, we're going to talk to an expert about this. But here's another one. This one, I don't know if it's. a national security risk as an intentional or terrorist. But people, you know how many cases there have been in Arizona of cyclospora? I believe the number now is 43 cases here in Arizona. But the CDC in an August 5th update said lettuce-linked cyclospora outbreaks involve 15 states. Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Over 6,300 reported cases of illness. So people are concerned about what food they can eat. The federal government has talked about for a long time to local jurisdictions about being ready for cyber attacks and fighting them. That's where it was a massive amounts of money are being spent. My friend Steve Hooper, who I think we're going to talk to tomorrow, is a professor at Embry-Riddle School of technology, of intelligence.

The security and intelligence, I think, is a school. I mess it up all the time. It makes him angry. You don't tell him tomorrow if he comes on with us. But Embry-Riddle is known as an aeronautic school, pilots and astronauts. But they have a four-year degree in security and intelligence. These are people that are going to be the next generation. of FBI agents and Secret Service agents and CIA agents, but it's also people that are going to go into the world of cybersecurity. And they have a great training program. It was as far as I know, it's the only four-year degree in this. It was at least a couple of years ago. It's an elite program. And it's right here in Prescott, Arizona. So. It is something our nation is taking seriously. A lot of these young people, if they don't go into a government career or a military career, are going to go into the private sector and work for major corporations and municipalities and state agencies working in the field of cybersecurity. And if you see a live, which you can see, a live cyber attack display, it looks like Star Wars. But it is these constant attacks and trying to hack into systems. Some people do it for monetary game. You know, they want to try to get into a business and try to hold them hostage and lock down all that. But other times, there are enemies that realize that getting to us militarily is going to be almost impossible. But where we might be weak, where the playing field might be level, is where they can get into our water or get into our electricity, get into our grid system, where they can disrupt. large segments of the U.S. There was big storms in the Midwest, over 100,000 people without power because of storms today. That will be fixed. But now imagine if something was done with hundreds of thousands of people without power, and it was because our grid was attacked. And this is a real concern for people. And it started when I was looking at this, the stories about cyclospora. And I'm not saying that this is an intentional attack on our food supply. But people begin to worry what's going to happen when it comes to water. If the Colorado River water is really shut down dramatically here in Arizona, what does Arizona do? Do I eat a salad in the wintertime? You know how much of the green leafy vegetables are grown in southern Arizona? I think it's 80% of the country gets its leafy greens from Arizona. So you've got the federal government that's coming up with a plan that may complete and that restrict this. It's not going to, I have a lawn at my house and I am very, very careful about how much I water it because I don't want to waste water. I make sure there's no leaks. I do all of the things I'm supposed to do, but I'm never going to get restricted. It's not restricting me. It's going to restrict rural agriculture here in Arizona. Tribal communities are going to be affected and rural, especially Pineau County.

So when we look at these things, it's more than Republican Democrat politics, that there's a lot here that's going on that's bigger than that. And it is something we all, if you look at some of the people that are working on this, it is both sides of the aisle. One of the people that's worked on this on the other side of the aisle for me has been Congressman Greg Stanton has been someone that's worked on this. It is one of those issues that by virtue of necessity, it crosses over political boundaries. Arizona is not running out of water. Arizona is running out of cheap water. And so what we are going to do to make sure we have what we need. But in the meantime, we have to get some deal done in the Colorado River with the upper basin states. You couple that with fighting cybersecurity issues. And this is what you get. This is what you get. All right, a little while ago, I mentioned that I wanted to talk about the flock camera systems. We're going to do that in a minute. I'm shifting to this segment because I think it's an important topic to keep covering. By the way, we have a guest on Friday to talk about the flock cameras as well. Is this something to be concerned about? Is this an invasion of your privacy? We'll discuss it next. Shop the Sherwin-Williams sale and get 30% off duration, Superdeck, and Woodscapes products August 14th through the 24th. Whether you're refreshing your interior or exterior, we've got the colors to bring your vision to life. And with delivery, getting everything to your door is easier than ever. Shop online to have it delivered or visit your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store. Click the banner to learn more. Retail sales only, some exclusions apply. See Store for Details. Delivery available on qualifying orders.

It's Gatos, and we've got the face-off. Ice has a new weapon, but it sounds like something out of a Star Wars movie. We'll discuss it at 5 o'clock. The Face Off. Join us, and you can watch it on the KTA our YouTube channel. All right, so we've been talking about the flock cameras for a while now. I think a lot of people are a lot of attention being paid to this. Is this technology that's invasive and invading your privacy? So we've had a conversation with Pineau County Sheriff Ross Teeple. Sheriff Teeple said he was not renewing a contract and he made very, very clear, A, this was a decision he made for his agency and for his county. based on the technology and old technology that they were using. He wanted to make sure he was not saying the technology is bad. He was talking about it with the advent of AI and the old technology they were using. He had some concerns. We then also spoke with the public affairs director for the flock camera company who said this is very passive. All it does is take pictures of license plates. It takes pictures of... You know, kind of what would be dense in the car, bumper stickers, just features of a vehicle for identification purposes only. It's not facial recognition. They have no access to the license plate and the owner of that vehicle. The agency is given the pictures and the agency decides what to do with that. And as far as any information about owners. They don't have any. At least that's what they said from the, and you can go and see the interview. I believe it's still up on the KTAR YouTube channel, but certainly at KTAR.com or the podcast. It was a very fascinating interview. He was defending the technology and defending what they do. He said, we've helped law enforcement solve crimes. They have this say in what they share and what they don't share. On Friday, we are going to speak with the Maricopa County Sheriff, Jerry Sheridan, about this very topic. Because I think citizens in every town and citizens in every county have questions about whether there's a balance between safety and privacy. Always has been. And Americans don't want that line crossed. But the other issue with the flock cameras is abuse or misuse. A Goodyear police officer placed on administrative leave after investigators found that he may have improperly used an automated license plate reader or a flock camera system. So the officer was placed on leave and the Goodyear Police Department asked a neighboring agency, the Glendale Police Department, to oversee the investigation into whether or not this officer improperly used this system. Now, if that happened... If it's found to be true, you can't blame the flock company for that. That's misuse. And back when, like, you can, police do this all the time. If you're in traffic, they run license plates to make sure that your registration is valid. They run license plates to make sure that you have insurance because if you don't have insurance, it gets reported to MVD, that you have a valid, the owner of the vehicle has a valid driver's license.

Is the vehicle reported stolen? Is it connected to a crime? And there's nothing illegal about that in the course of their duties to run a license plate. It is illegal if a cop sees a hot girl or a hot guy and decides I'm going to run their information, find out who the owner is, get their information and ask them out. You can't do that. And so if it's misused, that's another thing. But as we talked with the flock executive, he explained to us that the cities set their policy on what data they collect and what data they share. The city of Tempe has halted all flock camera data sharing and is launching a transparency portal. The changes took effect on Monday. They said it also seeks bids from license plate reader vendors with the contract, including penalties for any vendor misuse of data. So here's a quote. While we had previously restricted data sharing to Arizona law enforcement agencies only, the additional step will further safeguard Tempe's data and ensure we maintain appropriate control access. That's according to Chief Ken McCoy from the Tempee Police Department. The department noted it audits flock searches every month and requires officers to input report numbers to access data. Now, there's absolutely, I don't see anything wrong with that. Paul, I've got a question for you. If somebody gets a photo radar ticket, we're talking about this kind of technology now. If somebody is caught on photo radar. and they either don't get the ticket or they say they haven't gotten the ticket. Do you think that that is a bad thing? Should they... I don't think so. I don't think so. That if, you know, by law, being served is being served by a person, not something in the mail. Correct. So I'm not, by the way, I'm not giving legal advice here. But we understand that getting a ticket in the mail, generally speaking, is not service, legal service. No. So if you take the risk and wait to see if a process server serves you, and then you have to pay that service fee. That's on you to wait for that. But once the amount of time is expired for them to serve you that, because there is a limit, then you, the case is dismissed. Mm-hmm. Right? Yeah. You don't see anything wrong with that. I don't. Me either. Me either. Now let me ask you, what if it's an elected official? I mean, it should be upheld the same way, right? I agree. There's a story that was written that the mayor of Scottsdale, Lisa Borowski, by the way, I'm going to be full disclosure. I really like the mayor. We've known each other for a very long time. Apparently, she got a ticket. A photo radar flashed her. She said, no, she said she never got a ticket in the mail.

No one ever contacted her house, and it's the policy of Scottsdale for a first time offender. They don't go to your place of employment. They go to your home. They were never able to contact her. The ticket then was dismissed without prejudice. She said, I have no idea what you're talking about. I never got a ticket. I can't comment on something I don't know anything about. And now this is a three-page story. I understand when you're a public figure that you are held to a higher level of scrutiny. I mean, I'm well aware of the fact that if I ever get arrested, there's going to be a lot of attention paid to that, so I'm very careful on how I behave. But I don't understand why this is a big deal. If you get flashed by a photo radar ticket, we all have the same rights, which is you have to serve me in person. That's it. Should say the same for anybody. Technology works the exact same way for everybody. The laws apply to everyone. Whether you like them, whether you don't, they apply to everyone. In a moment, what we will do, and first let me remind you of our Amazing Arizona's podcast, and I'll tell you what's coming up. The Amazing Arizona's podcast is sponsored by Resolution Copper, and a big thank you to them. But these are just Arizona-based stories, some of the greatest stories, people that have built this state, people that have made it a great place, accomplished amazing things in their lives. A brand new season is coming. It's available at the KTAR YouTube channel on our news app or anywhere you download podcast. Let us know what you think of them. moment the consumer price index inflation numbers are out and things when we've reached our limits of adulting it's easy to long for simpler times like enjoying saturday morning cartoons without a care in the world or savoring every last drop of sugary milk at the bottom of your cereal bowl well kachava's new cinnamon french toast all in one nutrition shake gives you all the nostalgic feels and benefits Made with real cinnamon bark for the richest, deepest, most authentic flavor. Just two scoops provide the complete nutrition your body craves with protein, fiber, greens, and more. It's an easy upgrade to your daily wellness ritual. No fillers, no nonsense. Just the highest quality ingredients that taste delicious. Adalting may not always be fun, but at least you can stock up on treats without asking your parents for permission. So whether you're kickstarting your morning or fueling your afternoon. Treat yourself to a sip of nostalgia. Go to cachava.com and use code fitness for 15% off your first order. That's Kachava, K-A-V-A-V-A.com code fitness. Morning people wake up for peace and quiet. McDonald's breakfast people? We wake up for the sweet rush of getting that warm, delicious breakfast right before it ends. Hotcakes, sausage patty, hash browns, scrambled eggs, biscuit, real butter and syrup. You know how our big breakfast got its name, and you know where your whole family can share one for just $6. McDonald's. Limited time only, price and participation may vary cannot be combined with any other offer or a combo meal.

are better than expected. Not great, but a little better than expected. Are we headed in the right direction? We're going to talk about that coming up here in just one moment. The Mike Broomhead Show, KTAR News, 923, and the KTAR News app. All right, we're going to talk about the economy. Consumer price index, inflation is still elevated, but it's not as elevated as it was, and it certainly isn't as elevated as people thought the July numbers were going to be because of what happened in the Middle East. And then fuel prices, or I should say oil prices, went up again causing fuel prices to stay elevated. As of right now, it's pretty flat. Brent crude oil futures for October trading at about 13 cents less than they did yesterday. And flat WTI West Texas Intermediate is about two cents. up from what it was yesterday. So both indicators are flat. So we'll see if this heads in the right direction. Now, what will the Fed do? This is all a big question. But the other part of it is how do we get Americans to be in a position where they are better equipped financially? When I say we, it's giving people an opportunity. And I think that that's exactly right. It isn't, I heard this described to me by one of my guests for the podcast, and you're going to hear it pretty quick in the future. And it was the difference between, and this is not a blanket statement, it's just a general statement, that liberals in America want to make sure you finish in the same place. Conservatives in America want you to be able to start in the same place. Everybody should get equal opportunity, whereas liberals are looking for equal outcome. What ends up happening with equal outcome is nobody prospers. everybody's poor. I will point you in the direction of Cuba. I will point you in the direction of Venezuela. You can point me into the tiny little places where you say that it works, but if you look in general, it doesn't work that way. And the people that believe that the rich should be punished when they become rich think that they're not rich, that it should affect everybody just above them. One of the... people, this influencer, this DSA guy, his name is Hasan Piker. I don't know if you guys are familiar. Are you familiar with him? Yeah, I've seen him around. Okay. So it's interesting because he is a, he is really tapped into the DSA crowd. He always has. And he's kind of a firebrand, but he is kind of the spokesperson and blogger and social influencer in this world. Hasan Piker is being asked. about his very, very expensive palatial home that he owns, and is this a problem? This answer tells you everything you need to know. I don't think the purchases that you make necessarily, I mean, if you're buying a private jet, it's a little different, but I don't think the purchases that you make as long as you're not using it to engage in capital accumulation. Okay.

So right there he sets the standard. It isn't the purchase you make. Well, I don't know. Maybe if you're buying a private jet. So I'm not at that level of income. I can't afford a private jet because that would be. you know, too much. But a big house, no, that's not a problem. As long as you're not in, what did he say? I'm going to, I'm going to back it up a little bit. What did he say not as long as you're not. Accumulation imply, you know, something less ethical than whatever, whatever purchase you're making in general. I have a house. The reason why it's so expensive is because it's in West Hollywood. Right. Oh, okay. So you want equal outcomes for people, not you. It's okay for you. Bernie Sanders did the same thing, by the way. Bernie Sanders used to say, and I don't have it. I didn't pull it up again, but it's here somewhere in our stack that months ago we played it. Bernie Sanders used to say, and he's asked this question rhetorically, how many homes does a person need? And then he had to admit in another interview, yes, I own four homes now. So he used to go after millionaires. Now he goes after billionaires. Why? Because he's a millionaire. So as long as you only make as much money as Bernie Sanders or Hasan Piker, then you're okay. Anything else is capitalism and it is bad because it's abusive. So this is the part I don't understand. I talked about this earlier. Consumer price index is in. We will be getting the PPI numbers or producer price index coming soon. It used to be, and I can tell this is going to be my old-timer statement of the day, I think. We used to hold up successful people in this country as a good thing, that you could point to someone that has great wealth because of great accomplishment and say, if you work hard, you can accomplish that in America. It's the one criticism I have of wealthy people. I know that they are humble and I know that many wealthy people do what they do because it's the right thing to do, not for any recognition. But if wealthy people don't start defending what they do, there's a reason why. And I would love to hear this, anybody out there that has access to the debate with someone on the other side of this conversation from me. Why is it? that wealthy people fight taxation. And yet it's wealthy people that voluntarily give away their wealth. I mean, if they're truly greedy. And that's what you call them. That's what Hasan Piker says of wealthy people. That's what the DSA co-chair that we played, that she wants to, her words, not mine, tax the heck out of millionaires. Can't say how much that is, but we got to tax the heck out of them. Why is it that those millionaires and billionaires, if they're truly greedy, why are they giving away billions of dollars?

Could it be that when you're taxed, they waste your money? And these are people that built their wealth on efficiency and spending money the right way and doing the right thing and account of financial accountability. And so they don't want to give their money to a tax base where they have no control over where those dollars go or the results that the dollars are used for that it's done the right way? Is it possible that that's the answer? It is, we are teaching our children the wrong lessons. There is not a problem with wealth. Greed is a problem, but there are greedy people of every economic level. Every economic level. Coming up in a moment, we're going to talk about politics. Is it just politics or is it more? I've got a couple of stories we're going to discuss in a moment. I want to remind you that the picks are in. Candidates now that are running for the office of Lieutenant Governor in Arizona this afternoon on the faceoff, which happens Wednesdays at 5 p.m. panel of experts debating this topic. You can watch the face off on the KTR YouTube channel or you can watch on the news app. Check it out online or on air. Coming up, we are going to talk about politics as usual.

President Biden and I think Vice President Harris, the two of them, talking about the topic of abortion. We are not for late-term abortion, period, period, period. Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion. That is not happening. It's insulting to the women of America. The governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, just signed a bill to make sure that late-term abortions stay legal in her state. Governor Healy signed a bill to strengthen later-term abortion protections in Massachusetts. The legislation will essentially make it so that any abortion after the 24-week mark can be performed if a doctor determines it's medically necessary. Right now, abortions after that time are only permitted if they meet specific situations or to save the life of a mother. State officials say the new law will help prioritize. the patients access to care in Massachusetts. We're going to continue to make sure that women and families have access to the health care that they need right here in Massachusetts. The law is a latest change to the abortion landscape since the 22 Supreme Court ruling that rolled back abortion rights to states. So the politics here, you had the former president, the former vice president, making sure that people that are pro-life, people like myself that are pro-life, we're crazy. We are conspiracy theorists. We have tinfoil hats on that we don't want late-term abortions. That's never going to happen. That's not something that's happening. And these people are crazy and they're confusing you. Well, look what just happened in Massachusetts. How about this? I want you to hear President Biden on a different topic. The president used his radio address yesterday and tomorrow in the Rose Garden to talk about a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. You don't think about this. The world's going to Haiti's in a handbasket. We are desperately concerned about the circumstance relating to avian flu. We don't have enough vaccines. We don't have enough police officers. And we're going to debate the next three weeks, I'm told, gay marriage, a flag amendment, and God only knows what else. I can't believe the American people can't see through this. We already have a law. The Defense of Marriage Act, we've all voted, not where I voted, another said, look, marriage is between a man and a woman. All right. How about Hillary? Let's just very quickly. I believe that marriage is not just a bond, but a sacred bond between a man and a woman. All right, how about President Obama when he was running for Senate? I think there are a whole host of things that are civil rights. And then there are other things, such as traditional marriage, that I think express a community's concern and regard for a particular institution.

Now, whether you are for or against gay marriage, I'll be honest with you, I don't think the government has business and the marriage business. None of their business. If you're going to marry any two people, it should be any two people. Whether I think gay marriage is right or wrong, the government endorsing one and not the other, they have no business in the marriage business. Marriage is a right. R-I-T-E, not R-I-G-H-T. But the idea that people on the other side of the argument are crazy for bringing it up shows you they're not crazy. All of these people said it's never going to happen and every, all of it has happened. Coming up, we get an update on the Middle East. We'll do that next. Stick around. Shop the Sherwin-Williams sale and get 30% off duration, Superdeck, and Woodscapes products August 14th through the 24th. Whether you're refreshing your interior or exterior, we've got the colors to bring your vision to life. And with delivery, getting everything to your door is easier than ever. Shop online to have it delivered or visit your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store. Click the banner to learn more. Retail sales only, some exclusions apply. See Store for Details. Delivery available on qualifying orders.