In this engaging discussion, Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs and a fervent advocate for social justice, dives into the rampant corruption plaguing homelessness funding in L.A. He highlights misuse of taxpayer money and calls out complacency in bureaucratic structures. Alongside comedian Kurt Metzger, they also critique the influence of military spending on social issues like hunger. The conversation pushes for grassroots mobilization, emphasizing community-driven solutions to challenge systemic disparities in addressing homelessness.
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Homelessness Industrial Complex Scam
The homeless crisis is perpetuated by a corrupt 'homeless industrial complex' that profits from ongoing dysfunction.
Money intended to help homeless people is funneled into inflated salaries and friend networks, not actual solutions.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Conflicts in Santa Cruz Homeless Aid
Keith McHenry shared how local officials in Santa Cruz have conflicts of interest in homeless aid organizations.
He explained Food Not Bombs feeds homeless daily without media coverage, contrasting with the sanitized homeless industrial complex.
insights INSIGHT
Need for Unified Working-Class Revolt
A true fix for homelessness requires mass political organizing and revolution against entrenched systems.
Divisions among working-class people are deliberately stoked to prevent unified resistance to the oligarchy.
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Ken Keyes Jr.'s "The Hundredth Monkey" is a popular, albeit controversial, book that explores the concept of a critical mass of individuals adopting a new behavior or idea, leading to its rapid and widespread adoption. The story, presented as a blend of fact and fiction, suggests that once a certain number of monkeys learned a new skill, the knowledge spontaneously spread to other monkey populations, even those geographically separated. The book's central theme is the power of collective consciousness and the potential for rapid social change. While the scientific basis of the story has been debated, it remains a powerful metaphor for the potential of collective action and the interconnectedness of human consciousness. The book's enduring popularity stems from its inspirational message and its exploration of the power of belief and collective intention.
The Anarchist Cookbook
William F. Powell
Peter M Bergman
Written by William F. Powell in 1971, 'The Anarchist Cookbook' is a manual that includes detailed instructions on various topics such as explosives, booby traps, weapons, phone phreaking devices, and the home manufacture of illicit drugs. The book was intended to galvanize the general population against what Powell saw as oppressive capitalist, fascist, and communist threats. However, Powell later renounced the book's violent content and attempted to have it removed from circulation. The book has been linked to several notable incidents involving violence and has been the subject of legal and cultural controversy[1][3][4].
Regulating the poor
The Functions of Public Welfare
Frances Fox Piven
This book, first published in 1971 and updated in 1993, examines the functions of public welfare in regulating the poor. Piven and Cloward argue that welfare policies serve to stave off social disorder by providing relief during times of economic instability and contracting during periods of economic stability, thereby enforcing labor market discipline. The authors provide a comprehensive analysis of the U.S. welfare state, comparing it to other advanced industrial nations and discussing its erosion during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. The book combines history, political interpretation, and sociological analysis to explain the role of welfare in maintaining social order and supporting the capitalist mode of production[1][4][5].
L.A.’s top homeless services official Va Lecia Adams Kellum engaged in major misconduct, including hiring unqualified friends into powerful positions, trying to destroy public records and behaving inappropriately at a conference, according to two whistleblower claim letters.
The letters were written by an attorney on behalf of two former L.A. Homeless Services Authority employees who alleged they were wrongfully fired for speaking up against wrongdoing by Adams Kellum.
Jimmy speaks with Food Not Bombs founder Keith McHenry about the persistent problem of homelessness in American cities and how institutionalized graft and self-dealing ensure that no solution will make a dent in the ongoing crisis.
Plus segments on the Biden administration doling out $93 billion to suspicious recipients after Kamala’s loss, CNN’s unhinged freakout over “Free Palestine” and Tim Dillon schooling a CNN host about the comedy climate today.
The Jimmy Dore Show 
