Hector And Mike Experience - Common Sense In An Uncommon World

Hector interviews Jim Kinis, a prominent person in the life insurance industry and financial advisor, who gives insight into the importance of financial security in today's world.

Hector and Mike provide their 2023 Republican Presidential post-debate analysis. They were both at the debate at the Reagan Library and have plenty to say. Who fell for the question trap from the hosts? Winner and Losers? Surprises? Who Stood Out? 

Hector and Mike take a look at Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris' actions recently as things heat up for the Democratic Party as the presidential election nears.

Hector and Mike discuss the most recent Presidential Debate and how things are looking for the republican party as the election nears while taking a look at the upcoming debate to be held in California, analyzing what political significance the state has in the U.S. today and how crime in California has been skyrocketing and going unchecked as a result of recent ballot measures and low morale within communities

Welcome to another insightful episode of the Hector and Mike Experience. In today's segment, we're privileged to host Mike Marando, a seasoned media spokesperson and a linchpin in the communications sphere for over three decades. Having served as a marketing and public affairs specialist for not one but five California state departments and agencies, Mike brings a treasure trove of knowledge, experience, and wisdom to our conversation.

Join us as we embark on a journey tracing Mike's path, delving deep into the world of communications. Mike sheds light on everything from the excitement of pursuing a career in this dynamic field to the nitty-gritty of confronting and navigating through challenges.

Every profession has its speed bumps, but how do we face them, learn from them, and drive forward more vigorously? Mike shares the trials and tribulations, as well as the triumphs, of his storied career.

Take a moment, plug in your headphones, and dive into this enlightening conversation with Mike Marrando. You won't be disappointed. Remember to subscribe to Hector and Mike Experience podcast for more enlightening interviews and stories from leaders in their respective fields.

In this interview, Jami Warner Goldstene takes us on a journey that began in Los Angeles, where she grew up in a family steeped in culture and politics. Her professional path winds its way to high places, as she worked with elected officials and ascended to the top of her field as General Manager & Executive Vice President for the Sacramento office of Edelman, the world’s largest independent PR firm. But her story includes other chapters. In addition to running her communications firm, Jami shares how she finally attained her lifelong dream of getting into the restaurant business. She opened Solomon’s, Sacramento’s first authentic Jewish deli, inspired by her Los Angeles upbringing and love of music. Jami’s story is about more than just professional accomplishments; she offers insights into the qualities that contribute to success and what has constituted a rewarding and meaningful life for her. *** Solomon's - No Bagels, No Life 730 K St, Sacramento, CA 95814 https://www.solomons.co

What a major screwup.

In response to a public records request, Los Angeles Police Department released every officer's name, rank, serial number, and photograph, including officers, working undercover operations involving gangs, cartels, and narcotics. LAPD Chief Moore apologized to the officers and admitted that the department mistakenly provided the photos of the officers. 

And Assemblymembers Corey Jackson (D-Perris) and Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) introduced Assembly Bill 742, which would ban"the use of police dogs for arrests, apprehensions, and crowd control," citing racial bias and trauma.

Mike and I discuss several critical issues, including the renter's assistance program, the Walgreens ban, the economic impact of Silicon Valley Bank, and how Mexico is caught in a narco battle. 

Newsom Builds Momentum For 2024: From banning gas-powered vehicles to "punish" oil companies plus the withdrawal of Walgreens from renewed state contracts, California Governor Gavin Newsom is capitalizing on these short-sighted grandstanding policies to build momentum for a potential 2024 presidential run, if incumbent Joe Biden doesn't make a run himself.

Newsom's latest political stunt is directly hurting two communities that rely on Walgreens the most – seniors and those who need close proximity and reliable access to their medications. Yet, as Newsom claims to take the moral high ground with Walgreens, he continues to allow California to do business with countries that are anti-LGBTQ+ or countries that have negative environmental track records, like those that continue to decimate the rain forest.

Silicon Valley Bank Run: What does the Silicon Valley Bank fiasco mean to our economy, the constant increase in the interest rate, and the overall impact on inflation? A few years ago, $100 filled up the shopping cart, and now that same $100 would barely cover the bottom of the basket. Will this be a repeat of the 2008 collapse? 

Renter's Assistance Programs: With the end of the renter's protection programs, what happens to all those who owe rent? How will that impact homelessness? 

Mexico's Cartel Problem Continues: Mexican cartel issues an apology for kidnapping Americans and killing two Americans. The cartel problem in Mexico is difficult for both the people and the government. 

With the cartel so entrenched in Mexico, is it a lost cause for the government? Should Mexico bring in the military and take over the policing operations state by state or leave it alone and hope it doesn’t escalate?

Hector and Mike examine whether California Governor Gavin Newsom will challenge Kamala Harris if Biden decides not to run and the continued verbal fighting with Florida Governor DeSantis.

Governor Newsom shouldn’t defer to anyone. He is the Governor of one of the largest states, progressive, and able to raise a ton of money - he shouldn’t blink to anyone within the Democrat Party, especially the Veep.

Republicans used to be the masters of mail ballots, but then came Donald Trump.

Across the nation, as voting by mail (absentee) expanded, President Trump talked about mail fraud and voting machine manipulation and insisted that Republicans cast their ballots in person, not via absentee.

On November 8, Election Day, Californians experienced severe rain throughout the state. How many voters fell ill that day, had to take their kids to practice, experienced long lines, and just went home? As all of us know, life happens.

For Republicans to be successful, they need to stop with the conspiracy theories and engage in all three types of voting – mail, early, and in-person. Play by the rules of the game and use all your weapons.

TikTok: Voting Conspiracies Continue to Doom Republican Votes

Republicans used to be the masters of mail ballots, then came Donald Trump with talk about mail fraud and voting machine manipulation. The problem with waiting is that life Happens. Play by the rules while you try to change the rules.

Before the election, Hector and Mike wondered if Fetterman in PA would be the unforced error that costs the Democrats the Senate. But when the votes were counted, Fetterman was a Senator-elect, and the Red Wave mania turned out to be a Red-Wave illusion. Will GOP learn from its many mistakes or resort to the circular firing squad?

The political pilgrimage to Georgia begins with every political operative in the country, but the bottom line: it won’t make a difference. Democrats won everything they needed on November 8. We now know Nancy Pelosi will give up her gavel as Republicans take control of the House. With such a small margin, will the GOP equip all its members with heart monitors?

Abortion, civility, protecting democracy, and mini-Trumps seemed to be the issues that overcame the economy, inflation, and crime. The message was clear – time to look ahead and stop looking behind.

Rather than begging foreign nations to increase oil production and lower their price, President Biden should just call up Gavin Newsom and have him sign the 1,200 oil permits that are collecting dust on his desk. There is no need to negotiate with countries who hate us and have purposely decreased oil production to side with Russia which is the Vice Chair of OPEC. We should become energy independent.

US Senate candidate John Fetterman could have stepped down after his stroke and let the Democrats select another candidate. His argument would have made common sense - life-changing event, need to take care of his health and be there for his family, politics can wait. But instead, he let his ego overtake his common sense. Will it cost the Democrats a seat they thought they would win, and will it result in GOP control of the Senate? Hector and Mike talk about the Fetterman Effect on control of Congress. 

Hector and Mike take a close look at Proposition 1 which would put in the state constitution the right to an abortion. But can a ballot measure that is only 37 words actually protect a woman's right to choose, or does it open the legal Pandora's box that puts the decision back in the hands of judges and lawyers?

Hector and Mike look at the various races around the country and the fight for the U.S. Senate, and answer the question will  a Republican Red Wave reach California or crash short of the Golden State?

Hector and Mike talk about a piece of legislation that got out of committee. State Senator Melissa Melendez tweeted this: "Today the Senate Health Committee passed SB 1446, which says everyone has a legal right to housing and gives them the right to sue if they don't get it.”

SB 1446, or as we call it, “The Trail Lawyers Full Employment Act” is exactly the kind of legislation that makes California a laughingstock around the country.

California Democrats love to boast about how California is #1. The problem is when Dems yell “we’re number one,” it usually means a pile of number 2 for California taxpayers.

On Friday, April 19, California Democrats in the Legislature will refuse to hear and fail to report any legislation that would temporarily repeal the gas tax and give taxpayers some much needed relief.

Not only won’t there be gas tax holiday, but a new gas tax increase will be applied on July 1. Pack your bags now.

he election is seven months away, but Gavin Newsom is already playing the Trump card on GOP endorsed Governor candidate State Brian Dahle.

In a zoom meeting with campaign volunteers, Alexei Koseff (CALMatters reporter) wrote on Twitter that Gov. Newsom accused Brian of supporting the January 6 attack and not acknowledging Biden as president: "This guy is Trump through and through.”

This line of attack successfully worked against Larry Elder in the recall campaign, but will it work again? Everyone knows it’s just Gavin trying to talk about anything but the job he has done as Governor of California.

We talked with Brian, and he has more than once denounced the January 6 attack and has publicly acknowledged Biden as president. He also acknowledged that California has the highest gas prices in the nation, the greatest problems of homelessness in the nation, the highest cost of living in the nation, and the great flight of people from any state in the nation. We wonder when Gavin will acknowledge that.

Hector and Mike discuss the latest political attacks. Will they work, and what can Brian continue to do to deflect them?

High gas prices, inflation, and a flip-flop foreign policy agenda are causing more anxiety for millions of Americans as they get ready to vote in a few weeks. The GDP cratered in the first quarter of the 2022 to go along with the highest inflation in the last 40 years.

How bad are President Biden's numbers? Just 26% of Hispanic and 41% of youth voters approve of the job Biden is doing.

And American’s faith in our economy is even worse. A recent Gallup poll shows 42% of Americans believe the economic condition of the country is poor, and another 38% rate it only as fair. A whopping 2% rate the American economy as Excellent (no truth to the rumor that the 2% had last names of Biden and Harris).

Crime is up in California, yet Sacramento politicians still don’t want to increase the penalties on criminals. They continue to support the early release of prisoners. This past week they voted to continue allowing convicted criminals who sell children for sex to get out of custody before their full sentence is complete. They voted to make the human trafficking of minors a non-serious and non-violent felony. 

In this episode, Hector and Mike discuss the slap - Where paper beats Rock. What if Taylor Swift had slapped Kayne West? Would the reaction have been the same?

Hector brings up the funny Don Rickles and Frank Sinatra story.

We look at Joe Biden’s talking points on his latest budget - full of new taxes. What’s the truth of these new taxes helping out Americans?

What good does being the climate leader when more and more people have to live farther away from their jobs because of the price of housing?

Will the Governor’s proposal to give a gas rebate help?

After 28 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer will step down at the end of the current term.

Joe Biden and the rest of the Democrat Party are looking for Breyer's replacement.

One name that has popped up as a potential nominee is California Justice Leondra Kruger. Kruger, appointed to California's Supreme Court by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014, is widely known in Washington legal circles, where she worked for the Bush and Obama administration Justice Departments.

But what about Kamala Harris? What better way to get her out of the White House and find a replacement who can be more helpful to the Administration.

***

The San Jose City Council will require gun owners to buy liability insurance for their firearms and pay fees for "initiatives to reduce gun violence and gun harm." One of the worse PR stunts I've seen in the past 20+ years.

Maybe residents should buy liability insurance for these criminal justice warriors' dumb ideas and soft on crime policies.

***

As Mike continues to mourn Tom Brady's loss, he gives us his weekend NFL predictions, and we talk about some potential NFL retirements.

Joe Biden says that if you support voter id, you are racist, yet I have to show id and my vaccination card to enter a restaurant in LA. Even in Mexico, they have voter id.

Biden has polarized the right and alienated the people in the middle and some Democrats.

This type of intolerance is not what many expected from the Biden/Harris administration - the people who voted for them expected a more moderate tone.

This is part 1 of our 3 part podcast.

A New Year but the same rookie mistakes by VP Kamala Harris. In an interview with Administration-friendly MSNBC VP Harris came across as out of touch, told people to “GO Google,” lacked basic facts of the Administration’s  own program, and somehow ended up giving props to the work of the Trump Administration.

Last night, Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with MSNBC reporter Craig Melvin to discuss the Omicron variant and the Biden/Harris administration response.

Kamala started her interview by praising the work of creating the vaccines, the boosters and acknowledged that when COVID-19 first hit the United States, there was much we didn't know, but that we are in a much better position now. Without saying Trump's name, the vaccines, booster, therapeutics and the operations for those getting them approved and distributed happened under the Trump administration. That had to leave some people in the West Wing shaking their head.

But now, as we are about to enter the 3rd year of COVID, the Biden/Harris administration act like the Three Stooges are running the show.

In the interview with Melvin, Kamala can't remember how many home COVID tests they ordered and when asked about testing sites, she responds with "do google." She goes on to explain when you want to find a new restaurant go goggle it on how to get there. Apparently to her finding a restaurant and finding a place to get a COVID test are equal.

Why doesn't the Health and Human Service department have a site where people can plug in their zip code and the nearest COVID sites appear? Why doesn't Harris know that her administration told the American people that they had ordered 500 million home test kits? And "do google" is her answer?

After that interview is it any wonder the approval ratings of Harris and Biden are so low.

As Mike sits in his home, drinking hot chocolate, Hector is out on the beach for some relaxation.

In this episode, Hector and Mike look at who is getting candy canes or coal - Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom, etc.

We hope you had a wonderful and safe Christmas.

Today, we talked with Lance Christensen about his work with Fix California Education - Education Saving Account Act of 2022.

Californians pay high taxes for an expensive and outdated public education system that fails our children and does not prepare them for the 21st-century economy. Despite record spending on education this year, California public schools continue to rank below the national average in academics.

The Education Savings Account Act of 2022 is a bi-partisan approach that provides the opportunity to have the funds follow the students so parents can decide which school offers the best options and learning experiences for their students. Additionally, extra funds not used before graduating high school can be saved for college or vocational schools. And the best part is that this comes at no additional cost to taxpayers.

Here are some of the items that the Education Saving Account would provide parents:

• Students can opt into a K-12 savings account with $13,000 a year in state education funds.
• Parents can send their kids to an accredited school or homeschool of their choice.
• Funds can be used for tuition and other eligible education expenses.
• Children from low to medium-income families get initial access in the first four years.
• Up to $60,000 of leftover funds can be saved for college.

Get more information on the Education Saving Account Act of 2022:

Website: educationsavingsaccounts.com

Facebook: @FixCaliforniaEdu

Instagram: @FixCaliforniaEdu

Twitter: @FixCA_Edu

In this special Thanksgiving edition of the Hector and Mike Experience, Common Sense in a Turkey World, we look at the positive things to be grateful for this year - family, friends, and life.

We share some ideas on how to stay positive when it seems that everything is falling apart in our state and country.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Biden Harris Administration now wants to pay $450,000 to individual undocumented immigrants who came across American borders. Will the polling numbers go lower as people's ire goes higher? And what about the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill - $550 billion for roads, bridges, and highways, but where did the rest go? The answer will make you wonder what infrastructure means to Congress. 

Did you know there is a provision that requires all new vehicles to have "advanced impaired driving technology" installed? But of course, it doesn't detail what that means.

The President's favorable hovers at 38%. The Vice President's favorables are below 30%. Will the latest payout discussion crater even more?

We discuss that the Biden Harris Administration wants to pay at least $450,000 per person who was separated from their child when they tried to cross the border illegally. Some families can expect to get over a million dollars. 

As this payment plan moves closer to reality, expect social media to light up. Here is how some have already couched the argument: If that doesn't offend your senses, think of this - the families of American military men and women who lose a loved one in service to our country only get $100,000. They can receive $400,000 but only IF THEY PAY for an insurance policy.

This immigration issue is bound to get heated as more details emerge. 

The Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, addressed a small crowd this past week at the groundbreaking ceremony where a 19-story homeless housing project, consisting of 278 units, is scheduled to be built by December 2023.

At a cost of $160 million, the housing project comprises 47 one-bedroom units, 228 studio units, and three units for the managers.

I get that property in Los Angeles is expensive and that lumber and other construction materials are in short supply. But what I don’t understand is the absurd amount of $575,000 per unit—each homeless resident could have been given a condo to own, at a lower cost.

The $160 million price tag doesn’t include maintenance costs or other support services that will be required for the homeless residents. Residences for the homeless should be transitional, safe, and functional. If LA government can’t figure out how to do that for less the $575,000 a unit, they should quit right now.

Virginia gubernatorial candidate, Terry McAuliffe is in some hot water after he was recorded saying that parents should not control what schools teach their kids.

But Terry’s type of thinking isn’t just limited to Virginia, it is found throughout the country - critical race theory, and with the idea that math and test are racist, and if you object, then you get labeled as a racist or white supremist.

Schools are funded with taxpayer money, our money.

Parents are stakeholders in our education system.

Every data point shows the more parents are involved with their kids (whether it’s father, mother, grandparent) the better the chance the kids will grow up right.

As parents we get asked to help fundraise, volunteer, and join the PTA. If our schools are to succeed, they require parent involvement, even if it an inconvenience to the teacher’s union and Terry.

Yes, you read that right. The city of San Francisco, home to the Speaker of the House and the Governor of California and the Vice President of the United States is doing a pilot program where it pays known criminals not to shoot people.

What happened to personal responsibility? Either the population of SF is so bad, or the politicians are so oxygen deprived from the forest fires that they have decided the best way to stop crime is to pay people who commit crime not to do it. Apparently, the thought of arresting people who shoot other people never entered their mind.

If the city already knows the 10 biggest troublemakers, why are they not in jail or under surveillance?

Is this how far we have fallen, where we have to pay bad people to do the right thing, to be good citizens?

In this episode, we look at Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s comments that parents shouldn’t have a say in what schools teach their children. If Terry’s comments are accurate, why do we get asked to join the PTA, help raise money, or volunteer if we, as parents, don’t matter? Now we know who comes first – the union, then the teachers, then everybody else.

We also look at the insane amount of money the city of Los Angeles is spending on homeless apartments: $575,000 per unit.

And in San Francisco there is a new government pilot program that pays 10 individuals not to harm or shoot anyone because they have a reputation for repeated violence.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Why does SF only reward people who act badly? Why does LA spend over half a million dollars a unit per homeless person?

"Don't Let California Become Texas" was the message that Governor Gavin Newsom and other state Democrats used to defeat the recall campaign. It galvanized dispassionate Democrats, rang true with Independents, and even cut into recall support among Republicans, especially women.

For Republicans, the Texas law is like kicking a hornet's nest with national implications. What worked in California will be replayed in Virginia on November 2, 2021, in a dead even Governor's race.

Meanwhile, back here in the Golden State, the only thing golden is Gavin. The rest of California still faces the same problems we have had for years - homelessness, wildfires, crime, droughts, and poverty are still with us and have gotten worse in some areas.

Will the political success of Newsom evolve into policy changes that make our state better? And with less than a year until the June 2022 primary elections, another thing to consider is redistricting, and where political lines will be set for the next ten years.

How long do candidates have to lick their wounds from this bad defeat or celebrate their victory?