ON THIS SHOW WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT HOW WE ARE NOT THE YOUNG
TURKS, YOU ARE.
IT IS TRUE, WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, AND BOY DO I
HAVE A FANTASTIC EXAMPLE OF THAT IN A STORY THAT WE DID ON TYT
POLITICS THAT IT LOOKS LIKE HAS HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT, IT'S JUST
GETTING STARTED, BUT NOW THERE IS MONEY ALLOCATED TO A PROBLEM
THAT WE HELPED TO POINT OUT, YOU HELPED.
LET ME TELL YOU THE
WHOLE STORY.
FOR THOSE OF YOU DIDN'T SEE IT, WE WERE TALKING
ABOUT PROBLEM IN WEST CALUMET, INDIANA.
LET ME BREAK IT DOWN BY
QUOTING THE TIMES OF NORTHWEST INDIANA, WHO HAVE BEEN DOING A
GREAT JOB COVERING THIS STORY IN THE LOCAL PAPER.
THEY EXPLAIN
THAT --
THE LIMIT FOR EMERGENCIES IS SUPPOSED TO BE 1200, IT WAS AT
91,000.
AS YOU WILL SEE, ONE OF YOU GUYS TOOK ACTION.
THAT IS
THE LEAD, I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE ARSENIC AS WELL --
WE'VE GOT A SITUATION, THEY ARE WRITING ABOUT THIS NOW,
THEY'VE WRITTEN ABOUT IT IN THE PAST AS WELL.
A LITTLE OVER 26
PPM IN ARSENIC LEVELS FOR CLEANUP, SOME PARTS IN THE AREA WE
COVERED, 560 PPM FOR ARSENIC.
AND JORDAN CHARITON COVERED THIS
FOR US ON THE YOUNG TURKS, AND WE TALKED ABOUT IT IN THE
CONTEXT OF, THIS APPEARS TO BE ANOTHER FLINT, MICHIGAN AND YET
THERE IS NOT A LOT OF ATTENTION TO IT.
BUT THE PERSON WHO
BROUGHT THE ATTENTION TO IT WAS ONE OF OUR VIEWERS, SARAH BOLDT
PEREZ.
IN THE OLYMPICS WE SAW USAIN BOLT DOING THINGS THAT
DREW ATTENTION, NOW ONE OF OUR GUYS, SARAH BOLDT PEREZ, CONTACTS
JORDAN AND SAYS WE HAVE THIS EMERGENCY IN INDIANA.
JORDAN
STARTS INTERVIEWING PEOPLE ON THE 10TH AND 11TH, AND AT THAT
POINT THERE IS CERTAINLY NO VIDEO AT ALL, NO ONE ELSE HAS
COME TO INTERVIEW THESE FOLKS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.
AGAIN THE
LOCAL PAPER IS WRITING ABOUT IT, BUT NONE OF THE MAJOR NEWSPAPERS
ARE.
AND JORDAN DID THIS TWO-PART SERIES, YOU SHOULD
CHECK OUT THE WHOLE THING ON TYT POLITICS, IT'S FANTASTIC.
WHAT TRIGGERS A CLEANUP IS 400 PPM, AND WHAT WE SEE IS AS HIGH
AS 91,000.
POISONING NOT ONLY US BUT OUR BABIES, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT
ARE BEING AFFECTED, AND I FEEL AWFUL THAT I ALLOW MY
CHILDREN TO BE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT.
THIS NEIGHBORHOOD WAS BUILT 44 YEARS AGO, IT WAS KNOWN TO BE
BUILT ON A LEAD SMELTERING PLANTS.
PEOPLE PUT GREED OVER HEALTH, AND TO HAVE 360 RESIDENCES
DEMOLISHED BY JANUARY 1 IS A HUGE LOSS TO THIS COMMUNITY.
YOUNG TURKS DRAWING ATTENTION TO IT, JORDAN SHOT THE SERIES ON
THE 10TH AND 11TH, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE RAN A STORY ON THE 12TH,
THINK PROGRESS RAN IT ON THE 15TH, WE LAUNCHED THE SERIES ON
THE 15TH, AND THE NEW YORK TIMES PICKS IT UP ON THE 17TH.
EVERYBODY WHO WROTE ABOUT IT, CREDIT TO THEM, THIS IS HOW WE
DO JOURNALISM.
THIS IS HOW WE ALL WORK TOGETHER TO HIGHLIGHT
AN ISSUE THAT HAS TO BE FIXED.
YOU SAW THE LEVELS WE MENTIONED,
THEY HAVE GOT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT, AND IF YOU DO GREAT
JOURNALISM IT BRINGS ATTENTION TO IT, IT BRINGS A SPOTLIGHT ON
IT, HOPEFULLY THE FIX BEGINS.
AND I'M TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE
THE FIX HAS BEGUN.
HERE IS FROM THE TIMES OF NORTHWEST INDIANA --
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS LEFT TO DO, THIS IS JUST THE
BEGINNING, AND THAT'S NOT A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY.
BUT
HERE WE ARE, ABOUT $2 MILLION NOW BEING ALLOCATED TO MAKE SURE
THOSE PEOPLE ARE SAFE AND RELOCATED.
LET ME GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS --
WE TOLD YOU ONLY COVERED THE STORY EARLIER ON THE YOUNG TURKS
HOW MUCH LEAD EFFECTS NOT ONLY EVERY ONE IN GENERAL, BUT
SPECIFICALLY KIDS, THAT IS WHY THEY ARE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY.
AND I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU GUYS FOR DOING THIS SHOW
TOGETHER WITH US, IT IS A NEW WAY OF DOING JOURNALISM IN A
SENSE, AND ALSO USING THE OLD METHODS OF GOING DOWN THERE AND
FINDING THE INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING IT, GREAT JOB BY
REPORTER JORDAN CHARITON, BUT ALSO BY SARAH BOLDT PEREZ AND
ALL OF YOU OUT THERE FOR BEING THE YOUNG TURKS WITH US AND
HELPING TO FIX THINGS ON THE GROUND IN AMERICA, TOGETHER WE
CAN DO IT, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
WE CAN DO A LOT MORE
TOGETHER.