If you want to learn how to govern a state, look no further than California. Then do everything they don't.
They say California is really a beautiful place. I wouldn't know. I've never been there and have no desire to
visit. But apparently the state richly deserves the derisive nickname of "the land of fruits and nuts." So many
terrible ideas have had their origins in California, and these ill-advised anti-capitalist ideas have a tendency to spread
to the other 49 states.
If you're going to successfully manage a state, you'd be better off using Texas as an example. The state of Texas must
be doing something right, because that's where people are going as they leave California.
Years ago, I started a page about
The California Energy Crunch of 2000, which was
an energy crisis resulting entirely from rabid environmentalism, poor planning, price controls, and
various other effects of leftist politics. Californians oppose the development of every practical
source of energy, but then, when there's not enough electricity to go around, they whimper when the
lights go out.
The subsection about "Sanctuary Cities" has moved to a page of its own,
located here.
Subtopics on this page:
Decades of leftist politics, resulting in a steady stream of bad ideas
Wildfires in Australia share the same set of contributing factors as the fires in California
Wildfires and intentional power outages
Homeless people supported by California taxpayers
High speed rail
Gun control
Mass exodus: Individuals and companies are leaving California
California compared to Texas
The nanny state knows best
Wasted money
Taxes
Radical environmentalism and restrictive environmental laws
Decades of leftist politics
.... resulting in a steady stream of bad ideas.
Overview:
The Sovietization
of American Life. Examine California and ask a series of simple questions. Why does the state that
formerly served as a model to the nation regarding transportation now suffer inferior freeways while its multibillion-dollar
high-speed rail project remains an utter boondoggle and failure? Why was its safe and critically needed last-remaining
nuclear power plant scheduled for shutdown (and only recently reversed) as the state faced summer brownouts? Why did
its forests go up in smoke predictably each summer, as its timber industry and the century-old science of forest management
all but disappeared from the state? Why do the state's criminals so often evade indictment, and if convicted are often
not incarcerated — or are quickly paroled? Why are its schools' test scores dismal, its gasoline the
nation's highest-priced, and the streets of its major cities fetid and dangerous — in a fashion not true 50 years
ago or elsewhere today? In a word, the one-party state is Sovietized. Public policy is no longer empirical but
subservient to green, diversity, equity, and inclusion dogmas — and detached from the reality of daily
middle-class existence.
Newsom
appoints Schiff to Senate to complete Butler term. California Gov. Gavin Newsom
(D) appointed Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to the Senate to complete the rest of appointee
Sen. Laphonza Butler's (D) term. The appointment means Schiff, who has served in the
House since 2001 and won election to the Senate last month, will begin work in the upper chamber
several weeks before the start of the next Congress in early January. Butler replaced the
late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) in October 2023 and said she would not run for a full
term, opening the race up to Schiff and others. Schiff has emerged as one of President-elect
Trump's top critics in the House. He led Trump's first impeachment and has openly said his
rhetoric reflects "dictator talk." Butler announced her resignation effective Sunday, and
Schiff was appointed by the governor.
How
California Stole Trump's Popular Vote Majority. December is here, the election has
been over for a month, Trump has picked out his cabinet and California is still counting the
votes. And will go on counting them until the Dems win. Considering Trump's landslide
victory, California had a difficult task ahead of it, but it has already managed to flip the seats
held by Rep. Mike Garcia, Rep. Michelle Steel and just stole the seat held by
Rep. John Duarte. In Duarte's 13th congressional district, California Dems have taken a
month to count a little over 210,000 votes. That's an impressive achievement considering
that the proverbial Florida Man seems able to count the votes on Election night. Even third
world countries seem to do it. It took Democrats 'counting' a full 3 weeks to get the
Democrat challenger to finally take a lead. Four weeks later, they are declaring victory
after finally having 'found' enough ballots. Garcia, Steel and Duarte were all leading on
Election night until late-arriving mail drop ballots showed up. California Democrats flipping
three seats matches the dubious accomplishment of their New York counterparts who also flipped
three seats.
California
Fast Food Restaurants Shed Thousands of Jobs after $20 Minimum Wage Hike.
California's fast food industry shed more than 6,000 jobs after Democratic lawmakers passed a bill
mandating a $20 minimum wage for most fast food and counter service restaurants in the state,
according to a new analysis of labor data. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that
between September 2023, when California governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1228, and
June 2024, Golden State fast food employment dropped from 570,909 jobs to 564,743. That's
a loss of 6,166 jobs, or 1.1 percent, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Employment
Policies Institute. During that same period a year earlier, California fast food restaurants
added 17,528 jobs, a 3.1 percent increase over those ten months in 2022 and 2023, the data show.
Gov.
Gavin Newsom Wants $25 Million from CA Taxpayers to Engage in Lawfare against
Trump. As the 2024 presidential race fades from memory, potential candidates for 2028
plot their course. California Governor Gavin Newsom is high on the list of potential
candidates now, but he is term-limited out of office in 2026. Therefore, he is acting to ensure his
relevance by being a General in the War Against Trump. And he wants $25 million dollars
from the state's coffers to fund it. California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday
announced he is seeking up to $25 million in additional funding for legal fights with the
incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The announcement came on the
first day of a special session of the California legislature dedicated to preparing the liberal
state for the second term of conservative Trump. If approved by the legislature, the
California Department of Justice and state agencies would get the extra funding for court battles
in areas such as reproductive rights, environmental protection and immigration.
The
Corruption of Democracy, California Style. Wishful thinking aside, California did not
participate in the realignment that, on November 5, 2024, may have transformed American
politics forever. The positive spin on California's dismal failure to liberate itself from
failing Democrat policies rests on what are, in the cold light of day, modest achievements. [...]
To begin with, the fact that voters had to overrule a corrupt legislature and judiciary to compel
law enforcement to once again enforce the law is no reason to celebrate. It's just one first
step, in just one area, against a party that wields layers upon layers of stupefying power in every
area of policy. The State Supreme Court is still packed with Democrat appointees. The
state bureaucracy, consisting of a bewildering and almost innumerable collection of regulatory
agencies and commissions, is under the absolute control of public sector unions. Every higher
state office is occupied by Democrats, including activist Attorney General Rob Bonta, a machine
politician who aims to succeed Newsom as California's next governor.
Gavin
Newsom Convenes California Legislature to Pass $25 Million for Anti-Trump Lawsuits.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) convened the state legislature for a special session on
Monday designed to "Trump-proof" the state, including by passing $25 million for use in
lawsuits against the incoming administration. As Breitbart News noted after the election in
November, Newsom announced the special session — not to deal with pressing problems
facing the state, but rather for the political purpose of leading the so-called "resistance" (i.e.
opposition) to President-elect Donald Trump.
Media
Was Fine With Milk and Egg Prices, Panics Over Guacamole Prices. After years of
telling Americans not to worry about high milk, bread and egg prices, the media is panicking over a
threat to their staple: guacamole. [Tweet] [...] Now maybe I'm a little biased because despite
living for nearly a decade in Southern California, I'm not sure why anyone would even eat the
stuff, but when your problem is being able to afford guacamole, instead of milk, bread and eggs,
you have a coastal elite problem. California used to produce a whole lot of avocadoes, but
since Democrats took over and decided to wipe out the water supply for farmers and destroy dams to
create artificial droughts, the avocados either come from Florida or Mexican cartels.
Where do they think gasoline comes from?
Oil
field owner sues California over law that would end its Los Angeles-area operations.
The owner of an oil field in Los Angeles County is suing the state of California over a law that
will require it to stop production and plug its wells or face costly fines. Inglewood Oil
Field owner Sentinel Peak argues in the lawsuit, filed this week, that the law, which was signed in
September by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is unconstitutional, the Los Angeles Times reported
Thursday. It is was one of several laws aiming to reduce pollution by giving local
governments more authority to restrict oil and gas operations by shutting down so-called idle
wells, which are not in use but have not been properly sealed and closed, and fining companies for
operating low-producing oil wells in the Inglewood field. The 1,000-acre area southwest of
downtown Los Angeles has approximately 820 unplugged wells, including 420 that are actively pumping.
California's
AG Asks Residents to Snitch on Stores That Don't Comply With Gender-Neutral Toy Law.
California has many problems facing its residents, including earthquakes, wildfires, and housing
crises. People are dealing with heightened crime rates in cities like Los Angeles and San
Francisco. Homelessness has become a near-epidemic in the Golden State. So,
Californians should be comforted to know that Attorney General Rob Bonta is focused on making sure
stores that sell children's products are including gender-neutral sections for their
customers. Bonta's office issued a press release on Tuesday aimed at informing residents on
how to avoid shopping scams and other problems they might face as they swarm retail stores for the
Christmas season. However, in one section, the press release urges residents to snitch on
retailers that fail to comply with a new state law requiring them to provide gender-neutral
sections for toys and childcare products in accordance with Assembly Bill 1084.
California
AG Asks Shoppers to Report Stores That Don't Have 'Gender Neutral' Kids Sections.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a list of suggestions Nov. 26 for shoppers to
avoid scams during the holiday season and requested consumers file reports about department stores
that lack gender-neutral children's sections. State law, established by the passage of
Assembly Bill 1084 in 2021, which took effect at the beginning of 2024, requires department stores
with at least 500 employees across California locations to offer children's sections that do not
separate items based on gender. "By requiring large retailers to maintain a gender-neutral
section, AB 1084 makes it more difficult for these retailers to engage in gender-based pricing
discrimination and reduces the imposition of gender stereotypes on children," the attorney
general's office wrote in a statement.
California
coastal enclave near sanctuary city tries to 'Newsom-proof' itself. The mayor of an
affluent California coastal community criticized Democratic state lawmakers and expressed
frustration over sanctuary state policies he alleges have allowed illegal immigration to flow
uninterrupted after 21 migrants were recently taken into custody off the shores near his
city. Eighteen of the migrants who were detained a mile off the waters of Newport Beach
earlier this month by the U.S. Coast Guard were from Mexico, while two were from Uzbekistan and one
was from Russia. They were handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Newport
Beach Mayor Will O'Neill blamed California's Democratic-controlled legislature for passing
sanctuary state laws aimed at shielding illegal immigrants from deportation while overlooking the
potential, unintended financial and public safety implications.
California
Allegedly Threatens Police Officers Over Deportation Compliance. Bill Wells, the
mayor of El Cajon, California, claimed in a Monday post on X that the State of California "is
threatening to take pensions and charge police officers with felonies if they comply with federal
deportation laws. While the Trump administration is working to enforce immigration laws,
California seems intent on blocking these efforts." Wells makes it clear that El Cajon,
a city of approximately 100,000 people located 17 miles east of San Diego, is not a
sanctuary city and that his police officers "are being put in an impossible position." [...] If
these disturbing claims are true, then the battle lines are already drawn for the first major
showdown between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and sanctuary state/city leaders.
Defiance of this magnitude from the government of the largest sanctuary state in the country would
have sweeping implications for President-elect Donald Trump's planned mass deportation agenda.
California
businesses shocked by payroll tax hikes from $55B unemployment fraud. Many California
business owners are shocked by payroll tax increases incurred by the state's $55 billion
COVID-19 pandemic-era unemployment and payroll benefits fraud — which is more than
NASA's annual budget — incurred from automatically approving applications. States
that do not pay off unemployment benefit loans from the federal government, as California and a
handful of other states have done since the pandemic, automatically are subject to rapidly
increasing federal payroll tax increases until the debt is paid off. Chef Andrew Gruel, who
owns and runs Calico Fish House in Huntington Beach, took to X to explain his recent experience
paying his workers in a post that has since garnered over 16 million views. "We just ran
payroll. The payroll taxes were 2K higher than calculated. We called the payroll
company," said Gruel. "They explained (in summary) that California has a budget shortfall, and the
federal government wants money back that it lent California for UI that it 'lost.' They are
making up for it by having business owners pay it."
Newsom
Buys $9.1 Million Bay Area Mansion in Ritzy Enclave with Shady LLC Formed Two Days Before
Purchase. After flooding his state with millions of illegals, Newsom bought a $9.1 [million]
Bay Area mansion in a ritzy enclave so his children can attend an elitist school in Marin County. The
home, which was owned by Daniel Pritzker, cousin of Illinois Democrat governor JB Pritzker, was originally
listed for $10 million, but Newsom got a sweetheart deal. Newsom bought the mansion with MHBD Farms,
LLC, an entity that was formed just two days before the purchase. What's the source of the funds?
RV
Sales To Be Banned Across Six States As California Climate Rules Take Effect. Diesel
motorhome sales are set to be halted in several states at the start of next year due to a new
climate rule from California being enacted, according to RVtravel. Motorhome sales are being
prevented in California, Washington, Oregon, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey if the vehicles
do not meet certain emission requirements based on regulations from the California Air Resources
Board (CARB), according to RVtravel. CARB amended its Advanced Clean Truck regulations on
Oct. 24, which require all vehicles over 8,500 pounds to produce zero emissions.
Motorhome owners in the six states will not be allowed to register a recreational vehicle (RV) that
is not in compliance with the climate regulation, according to RVtravel.
The Editor says...
The apparent purpose of this law is to inconvenience older white conservatives, because they
are the only people driving around in diesel-engine RVs.
Is
California turning red? Tuesday's elections in California will have been difficult for Democrats to
stomach. A staggering 40% of Californians voted for Donald Trump, with Republicans leading in several of the
most competitive house districts. Even in San Francisco, the uber-progressive mayor London Breed has been
voted out. No wonder, then, that Governor Gavin Newsom has already called for a special session in the
legislature to "Trump-proof" certain policies such as abortion and immigration. On the same day, California
voters also endorsed a significant shift toward stricter law-enforcement measures, with 71% approving Proposition 36,
a statewide ballot initiative aimed at imposing harsher penalties for repeat theft and crimes involving fentanyl.
In doing so, they effectively rolled back some of the state's more controversial "soft-on-crime" policies.
Blue
City Blues. In the wake of the George Floyd riots, some cities that appear on the
"America's most dangerous" list have experimented with defunding their police departments to
various degrees. An interesting approach to reducing the crime rate is to stop reporting
crimes to the FBI altogether, or to change felonies to misdemeanors. California has famously
declared that any retail theft under $950 is classed as a misdemeanor. This has resulted in
countless videos of people calmly walking out of stores with armfuls of merchandise. As a
result, that state is seeing vast numbers of retail store closures. Some residential areas
have become "food deserts" such that the locals must travel ever farther distances to purchase
groceries. The rising tide of commercial office closures in downtown San Francisco, combined
with increasing rates of homelessness, open drug use, and crime, is resulting in noticeable neglect
in that area.
What
is wrong with California? Throughout the fabricated Russia hoax, [Adam] Schiff was
part and parcel of that massive lie perpetrated on the American people re: Trump's alleged
conspiracy with Russia. It was all made-up by Hillary Clinton and her cabal of thugs.
Every day throughout the criminally illegal persecution of Trump, Schiff appeared nightly on the
cable news propaganda sites to lie to the public. He said, night after night, that he had
"seen the evidence" that Trump had colluded with Russia. Not only was Schiff not legally
allowed to reveal what he had ostensibly learned in the SCIF during all those secret meetings
impervious to listening by spies, he committed so many breaches of the law, of the Constitution and
of common decency, that his district promoted him to the Senate. That is a travesty. He
was eventually censured by the House for his part in the hoax. This man should be in prison
for both perjury and treason.
Los
Angeles Voters Overwhelmingly Oust Far-Left DA George Gascón. Los Angelenos
tired of increased crime and rampant homelessness overwhelmingly voted out soft-on-crime, far-left
district attorney George Gascón on Tuesday in favor of Nathan Hochman, a prosecutor with a
more moderate approach. Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and a
Republican-turned-independent, won the race with 61.5 percent of the vote to Gascón's
38.5 percent, according to Los Angeles County Registrar vote totals as of Wednesday
morning. The Associated Press called the race for Hochman early Wednesday.
Gascón's defeat is the latest in a string of losses for Golden State Democrats who were swept
into office promising a progressive vision on crime and punishment. In 2022, voters in San
Francisco recalled their far-left prosecutor, Chesa Boudin, and then overwhelmingly passed a pair
of tough-on-crime ballot measures earlier this year. Preliminary results show that fed-up
voters in Oakland and Alameda County also recalled mayor Sheng Thao and far-left district attorney
Pamela Price on Tuesday over their soft-on-crime approach to the disorder in that community.
Kamala
Harris's Democratic Betrayal. There was a moment that occurred a few days before
Election Day that few Americans heard about, but I doubt it would surprise them. Kamala
Harris was asked by a reporter how she would be voting on Proposition 36 in her home state of
California. Proposition 36 involved increasing certain penalties for drug and theft
crimes. Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that retail theft and open-air
drug use have become high-profile issues in the Golden State. Criminal-justice hawks and
doves bitterly debated the issue, seeing it as a referendum on whether California would adopt
tough-on-crime policies or continue to pursue a more reform-minded approach. It was the
perfect issue for Harris, who started her career in politics as San Francisco district attorney
before rising to state attorney general. If there's anything Harris knows, it's the debate
over tradeoffs between punishment and rehabilitation, public safety and human rights. And
yet, rather than launching into a robust defense of the proposition, which would have helped her
push back on Trumpian accusations that she is soft on crime, or attacking it, which would've been
standing on principle against a measure some Californians regarded as draconian and excessive,
Harris did the most Harris thing possible: She dodged the question in an inartful way.
California's
Prop 36 Passes, a Resounding Condemnation of the Soft-on-Crime Policies Destroying the State.
California has resoundingly voted "Yes" on Prop. 36, which reforms Prop. 47, a decades-old law that
was supposed to usher in criminal justice reform but instead encouraged the escalation of crime. Vice
President and Democrat nominee Kamala Harris may have won the presidential race in the state, but by voting
for Prop. 36, the citizens have rejected the policies she codified in place with her endorsement of
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón and her assistance in seeing Prop 47
passed when she served as California's Attorney General.
From DMV to IRS.
California Sen. Alex Padilla, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newson as the replacement for
Kamala Harris, wants the Treasury Department to provide voter registration services for "people
with limited English." The senator nobody voted for is a key figure in enabling those not eligible
to cast ballots. This is hardly a new development. As a State Department investigation
discovered, false-documented illegals have voted in local, state, and federal elections for
decades. In 1996, illegals cast 784 votes against Republican Robert Dornan in a congressional
race that Democrat Loretta Sanchez won by only 984 votes. California Assembly Bill 60 (2013)
authorized driver's licenses for those "who are unable to provide proof of legal presence in the
United States." Through the "motor voter" program, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) registers
the illegals to vote, but Democrats won't say how many actually voted. In 2015, California
Secretary of State Alex Padilla told the Los Angeles Times he expected "millions of new voters on
the rolls" but wouldn't say how many were illegally present in the United States.
Harris
Won't Say Where She Stands on California Ballot Measure to Reverse Soft-on-Crime Policies.
Vice President Kamala Harris will not reveal her position on a California ballot measure that would
reverse soft-on-crime policies the state enacted a decade ago. Harris, a former senator from
California who began her career as a prosecutor, declined to answer when asked on Sunday whether
she voted for Proposition 36, a ballot measure to strengthen punishments for certain drug and
theft offenses. "I'm not going to talk about the vote on that because honestly it's the Sunday
before the election and I don't intend to create an endorsement one way or another around it,"
Harris said.
CA
Gov. Newsom Throws Hollywood a Lifeline in Form of a Massive Tax Credit. Times
are getting desperate in California, especially in Hollywood. [...] Bidenflation and Hollywood
obliviousness have hit hard, and production costs have skyrocketed, making it increasingly
difficult for films to turn a profit. [...] Given the industry's importance to California, both in
terms of revenues and prestige, Gov. Gavin Newsom has unveiled a proposal to more than double
the annual amount of money allocated to California's film and TV tax credit program. [...] I wish
the Democrats in the state would connect the adverse impact of excessive taxes on other industries,
as well ash show other business enterprises the adoration and respect the film industry gets.
California's
Unelected Tyrants. Democrats claim that the MAGA movement constitutes a "threat to
democracy." Once you cut through their incessant rhetoric on race and gender, the threat the
Democrats most fear is that an elected chief executive may actually try to control the executive
branch. And when candidate Trump aligns himself with capable businessmen, including Elon Musk
and Vivek Ramaswamy, government bureaucrats aren't wrong to be afraid for their jobs along with the
repressive policies they've imposed. Voters who still haven't made up their minds which
threat to take seriously — "protecting democracy" vs. "draining the swamp" —
should ponder life in California, where Democrats, run by bureaucrats and billionaires, wield
absolute power. Decriminalized crime. Record homelessness. Punitive, impossible
cost of living. The highest taxes. Failing schools. Fleeing businesses. And
a state bureaucracy that is openly hostile towards unsubsidized home builders, oil and gas producers,
farmers, loggers, ranchers, manufacturers, and any other productive, job-creating citizens.
A
journey through Los Angeles offers a masterclass in urban dysfunction. As you drive
through the streets of the southside, and along Central Avenue, the historic main street of black
LA, now mostly Hispanic, the ambience is increasingly reminiscent of Mexico City or Mumbai: broken
pavements; battered buildings; outdoor swap meets; food stalls serving customers much as one would see
in the developing world. Democrats, particularly in deep blue California and even bluer cities
like Los Angeles, can clearly win elections. But what they can't do is govern effectively.
Virtually every Democratic city in the land is now in decline. Crime, especially of the violent
variety, is rising. That's shadowed by continued out-migration to less dense, more conservative
areas, a trend that's seeing the country's biggest cities lose out economically.
SpaceX
sues California agency, alleging political bias against Musk and regulatory overreach.
SpaceX has filed a lawsuit against a California agency this week after the body rejected a proposal
to increase the company's launches from the state's coastline to 50 per year. The California
Coastal Commission (CCC) made its decision at an October 10 meeting, despite the U.S. Air
Force (USAF) endorsing the plan on the grounds that more launches of Starlink and Starshield, the
defense-focused unit, are critical to national security. In the lawsuit, SpaceX says that the
commission engaged in "naked political discrimination" when some commissioners cited the political
activity of CEO Elon Musk, while also attempting to unlawfully regulate federal agency
activities. The CCC declined to comment for this story.
'Progressive'
California [is] At War With Progress. Much has been made, as it should have been,
about the stark differences with Elon Musk's SpaceX and the once-great NASA's pathetic
woke-DEI-politically correct existence. Musk wins on merit, but in California, that's not
what counts. So Musk has been vilified because he dared to leave the progressive
plantation. SpaceX has been launching rockets from the Vandenberg Air Force base in Santa
Barbara County for more than a decade. It wants to increase the number of annual launches
from six to 36, and maybe even more. The Air Force has no problem with the plans. The
California Coastal Commission does. It voted 6-4 last week to block the increase. As
one would expect, the opposition was based on Musk's political transformation. He also has
the temerity to be successful in a society that has increasingly come to devalue success and deem
failure and the amenability to be offended to be virtues. That will get him nowhere in California.
Harvard
Kennedy School determines there's no negative impacts to California workers after minimum wage
hike — study does not measure small businesses. In a report from the
Harvard Kennedy School on California's minimum wage increase, authors Daniel Schneider, Kristen
Harknett and Kevin Bruey argue that there have been no adverse effects on hours, scheduling, or
benefits from legislation requiring $20 an hour wage for fast-food worker, but those workers are
all from large fast-food chains. The study only looked at large fast-food companies and did
not consider small businesses who would have much more difficulty in meeting the demands of the
minimum wage law. The report does not exhaustively list the fast-food outlets used as the
basis of the report, only noting that "front line workers at some of the nation's largest
firms — from McDonald's to Chipotle — contend with unstable schedules,
limited benefits, and chronically low wages." The authors laud California as being "at the
vanguard of progressive and innovative protections for fast food workers" and insists the state
raising the minimum wage by $4 on Apr. 1, 2024 to $20 was one of these progressive and
innovative protections" and constituted the largest such wage increase in US history.
State
of the Los Angeles DA Race — George Gascón Faces Likely Ouster. After the news
Tuesday, the disastrous George Gascón experiment in Los Angeles is almost certainly coming to
an end on November 5. A shocking poll showing a 30-point lead for challenger Nathan
Hochman came out Tuesday morning, and a debate between the candidates Tuesday evening showed an
incumbent playing defense. Rampant burglaries, repeat offending murderers, reconsidering a
lighter sentence for the Menendez brothers — none of the topics discussed were good for
an elected District Attorney who has presided over a tumultuous period at the largest local
prosecutor agency in the country. Gascón's main defense on the campaign trail is to
parrot garbage-in, garbage-out crime numbers that come from the politicized criminal justice
realm. He also attempts to paint Hochman as a Republican claiming to be an Independent.
In today's debate though, Gascón had to acknowledge that Los Angeles has gotten so bad that
the whole county is either being victimized by crime or "fearful" it is coming.
Gov
Newsom claims Big Oil is to blame for high gas prices, but new report blames climate
policies. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has continuously denied that
the state's policies have anything to do with sky-high gas prices the state's residents pay,
arguing that it's "Big Oil" driving up gasoline prices. But a new study shows policies have
added as much as $1.91 per gallon to what Californians pay at the pump. According to AAA,
Americans on Saturday were paying on average $3.177 a gallon for gasoline. Californians were
paying $4.676 per gallon on average. The gap can vary. A year ago, the average national
price was $3.814 per gallon, while Californians were paying $6.059 per gallon. According to
the Energy Policy Research Foundation analysis by researcher Max Pyziur, California has several
policies impacting gasoline prices that are entirely unique to the state.
Federal
Judge Humiliates Power-Hungry Gavin Newsom, Slaps Injunction on Anti-Parody Law. We
brought you the story of how a hilarious campaign parody video by the social media account "Mr
Reagan" so triggered California Governor Gavin Newsom that he quickly signed a bill banning the
production or dissemination of videos made with the use of artificial intelligence during election
season. Many pundits including myself immediately called it what it was: unconstitutional.
On Wednesday [10/2/2024], a federal court agreed and slapped an injunction on the law.
Seeking
to Cut Food Waste, California Bans 'Sell By' Labeling on Products. Food products sold
in California will no longer have a "sell by" stamp after July 1, 2026, after Gov. Gavin
Newsom approved the nation's first law governing food labeling. When it goes into effect,
Assembly Bill 660 will require the use of two standard terms for food products that choose to use a
date label — "best if used by" to indicate the quality date of food, or "use by" to
indicate the safety of food. Newsom said in a statement he also believed the new law, which
he signed on Sept. 28, would better inform consumers and "significantly reduce food waste."
Gavin
Newsom Signs Bill Barring Local Authorities from Requiring Voter ID. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Sunday that will bar local authorities from requiring photo ID
to vote, which exceeds the state's requirements. California is one of 14 Democrat-run states
that do not require any ID to vote, despite requiring it for many other purposes. Voters at
polling places are checked off against voter rolls without further proof being required; voters who
submit mail-in ballots must include their signatures on the envelopes that are checked by a machine
against the signatures on file in voter registration records. [Advertisement] The City of
Huntington Beach, one of the last conservative bastions in the state, which often opposes
Democratic policies, planned to require photo ID for voting in 2024, after a ballot initiative
passed to that effect in March. [Advertisement] The new law, SB 1174, "would prohibit a
local government from enacting or enforcing any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation
requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot at
any polling place, vote center, or other location where ballots are cast or submitted, as
specified." [Advertisement]
Why
Did Newsom Veto His Own Car Bill? Here's something you don't see every day.
Normally the California legislature and the Governor's office work hand-in-glove like a well-oiled,
liberal machine, cranking out one disastrous policy after another in the name of political
correctness. But that wasn't the case in Sacramento this week. Governor Gavin Newsom
vetoed a new bill dealing (supposedly) with automobile safety measures, despite having previously
supported the legislation. The bill in question would have mandated all new cars in the state
to monitor a driver's speed and issue a "beeping" alarm if the vehicle exceeded the posted speed
limit by a significant margin. Typically, Newsome loves issuing new mandates on auto
manufacturers no matter what the impact on drivers and owners might be. So what's different
now? Could it have something to do with there being an election just around the corner and
his poll numbers appear to be showing some cracks in his formerly solid blue wall?
California
Dems Want State-Owned Oil Refineries. California has some of the highest gas prices
in the country because it has a ton of taxes and because it demands special gasoline blends that
come through one single refinery and are far more expensive. This is not because oil
companies are greedy (or at least a whole lot less greedy than your average politician which isn't
saying much because California pols make piranhas seem discreet, that's why hundreds of them have
been convicted of corruption in recent years) but because the Dems actively want to make gas too
expensive. And yet they insist on pretending that they're not the reason gas prices are
high. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who does shock at the consequences of his own policies better
than any politician in the land, signed a bunch of bills raising energy prices while blasting oil
companies for being greedy.
California,
a Free State, Apologizes for Slavery as Newsom Signs Reparations Bills. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a series of "reparations" bills on Thursday, including a formal
apology for slavery, even though the state entered the Union as a free state in 1850. [...] Newsom
signed several other bills passed by the state legislature and pushed by reparations
activists. As Breitbart News noted, however, the bills did not include actual cash payments
or a reparations fund, provoking protests. The movement for reparations gained traction
during the chaotic summer of 2020, when protests and riots spread across the country in the wake of
the murder of George Floyd by police in Democrat-run Minneapolis, Minnesota. Newsom signed
legislation establishing a committee to study reparations. After it made recommendations that
included massive cash payments and racially separate schools, legislators toned down the
proposals. Newsom only included $12 million toward the reparations issue in his budget
this year, which grappled with a near-$50 billion deficit.
California
Passes Law to Ban All Plastic Bags in Grocery Stores. On Sunday [9/22/2024],
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) signed a bill into law that will ban the use of plastic
bags at grocery stores all across the state. [Advertisement] As reported by Axios, the new
law follows up on a previous law passed ten years prior which forced stores to start selling
"thicker plastic carryout bags that were considered reusable and met certain recyclability
standards," said State Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Calif.), one of the legislators responsible
for the new bill. [Advertisement] "The truth is almost none of those bags are reused or
recycled," Blakespear claimed, without any evidence. "And they end up in landfills or polluting
the environment." Radical environmentalists have repeatedly claimed that plastic bags make for
one of the most commonly-found items in cleanup efforts at public places. Anja Brandon, a
spokeswoman for the nonprofit group Ocean Conservancy, claimed that "volunteers have cleaned up
enough plastic bags to span the length of the Golden Gate Bridge nearly 30 times." She
also asserted that plastic bags "are not only one of the most common plastics polluting our
beaches, but also one of the top five deadliest forms of plastic pollution to marine life."
The Editor says...
Out of all the millions of plastic grocery bags that are used every year, how many end up in
the ocean? Maybe 10 or 20 per million? Would the governor of California prefer the
return of good old paper grocery bags from 1965? (I would.)
California
Bans Election 'Deepfakes,' Celebrates Biological Ones. California Governor Gavin
Newsom (D) on Tuesday signed a law immediately banning the sharing of election-related "deepfake"
videos, images, or audio, enforceable up to 120 days before an election and 60 days after
an election. He also signed two more laws, which take effect in January, requiring
disclaimers on AI-generated political ads and requiring social media companies to remove deepfakes,
or else courts will force them to do so. [...] The term "deepfake" describes electronic media that
has been manipulated, altered, or entirely fabricated, but which is so true to life that it
deceives people into thinking it is real. [...] My purpose here is not to litigate the debate
between these two arguments, nor explore various compromises that could address the concerns of
each. Instead, I write to demonstrate the contrast between California's aggressive pursuit of
one form of technological deepfake (electronic) and their unquestioning embrace of another form of
technological deepfake (biological). For that is what gender transition procedures are: a
biological deepfake.
Arrested
by Kamala: A Black Mother's Story. [Scroll down] In no small part,
Harris ascended to power on the backs of minority women, women like Cheree Peoples, a victim of
Harris's crackdown on truancy. At the time, Harris was not shy about explaining the rationale
for the crackdown. California schools are funded according to average daily attendance, at
the time about $30 per student per day. Harris, whose supporters included teachers' unions,
spoke openly about the need to increase school attendance in order to obtain more money from the
state and federal governments. In addressing this issue, Kamala once declared on camera, "I
want money!" Harris instituted a program in San Francisco beginning in 2007 to threaten
parents with arrest and a year in jail if their children missed school. When she became
California State Attorney General in 2010, Harris took her "arrest the parents" program
statewide. She openly laughed on camera about mailing parents letters that threatened jail
time, and boasted about sending her most vicious prosecutors from gang and homicide units to
intimidate and prosecute parents who had been arrested.
Gavin
Newsom Signs Bill Into Law Allowing The Government To Ban 'Deceptive' Social Media
Posts. CA Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill into law that bans the distribution of
"election communications that contain materially deceptive content." According to his own
statement, content from the Kamala Harris Campaign X account could be banned but most likely
won't. CNN recently released a report detailing all of the "deceptive" content coming from
Kamala HQ. "A social media account run by Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has been
repeatedly deceptive." "[Kamala HQ] has made a habit of misleadingly clipping and inaccurately
captioning video clips to attack former President Donald Trump." In Newsom's own statement,
"deceptive content," as CNN described, is now banned. [Video clip]
The
Los Angeles Times blames Republicans for California's woes. One of the hallmarks of
narcissism is that when things go wrong, it's always someone else's fault. Being a narcissist
means never having to say you're sorry. Nothing more perfectly illustrates this truism than
an essay from yesterday's Los Angeles Times blaming Republicans for California's myriad woes.
While the author is correct that, when Republicans had the chance, they didn't make smart
decisions, the reality is that it's the Democrats who have led California to the desperate place
it's in now. Steve Lopez's essay doesn't make the mistake of blaming Republicans for all the
state's problems. He concedes that Democrats have long controlled the former Golden State,
which is plagued by homelessness, crime, out-of-control housing costs, and poverty. He
contends, however, "that none of that happened overnight, nor did it happen exclusively under
Democratic leadership." Lopez believes that Republican mismanagement during the times that
Republicans controlled the government is as much to blame as Democrat mismanagement. The easy
challenge to that argument is that, since 1970, the legislature has had a Democrat majority, which
became a vetoproof supermajority in 2018.
Positioning
Kamala Harris, the California Candidate. As California native Kamala Harris continues
her word salad presidential campaign, Americans in the other 49 states might wonder how
someone who can't speak without a teleprompter rose to this political level. The key word is
"California," a state so insanely blue that its super-Democrat majority legislature wants to give
reparations to people who were never slaves paid by people who were never slave owners.
California joined the union in 1850 as a free state! Currently, Governor Gavin "Hair Gel"
Newsom has AB1840 sitting on his desk, a law that would help illegal aliens buy homes. "If Governor
Newsom signs AB 1840, someone who has broken the law to illegally enter our country will be
eligible to enter the lottery for a 20% downpayment loan on a home — a loan that legal
California residents will pay for," explains East Valley Republican Women Patriots (EVRWP)
President Joy Miedecke, "This privilege is on top of free healthcare for illegal aliens that the
California Democrats passed last year."
CA
Senate Pro Tem Refuses to Convene Special Session Called By Governor. As he promised,
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation convening a special legislative session on
Saturday after the state Assembly and Senate failed to pass a proposal he submitted on
August 15 that would require the state's refineries to maintain reserves to allegedly prevent
"price gouging" when there are supply shortages. Of course, even analysts within Newsom's
administration agreed that the measure would lead to a further increase in prices instead of
bringing Californians any kind of relief at the pump.
Newsom
Tells CA Lawmakers He'll Force Special Session If They Don't Pass His Bill to Increase Gas
Prices. Grasping for relevance, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in the midst of
a bit of a temper tantrum this week with the legislature — threatening to convene a special session
if they don't pass his proposal to further regulate California's oil and gas industry.
Industry analysts say that the proposal, which would force refineries to "maintain a minimum fuel
reserve to avoid supply shortages," would lead to increased prices for drivers in California,
Arizona, and Nevada.
Interest
free, no down payment home loans for illegals? California Democrat assemblymember
Joaquin Arambula recently introduced Assembly Bill 1840, a piece of legislation that would extend a
first-time homebuyer loan program to illegal aliens. Should the bill become law, illegal
aliens would be eligible for a new program that would offer them a loan worth 20% of the purchase
price of the property[,] with no monthly payments. And no interest would accrue on the
loan. Ever. Instead, the loan would be paid back when the borrower either refinances or
sells the property. Can't happen, you opine? Assembly Bill 1840 was approved by a key
senate committee just this week. Yes, California is now one step closer to giving illegal
aliens interest-free home loans with zero down payment. And preposterously generous
repayment terms.
A
San Francisco program to produce black male teachers instead threw away taxpayer money.
Democrat programs always sound good but, once in operation, they're consistently disastrous, whether
because of inefficiency, graft, or being easy marks for grifters. San Francisco just added another
program to that list, with taxpayers having coughed up over $700,000 to get black men as teachers
in local elementary schools — and ending up with almost nothing to show for that
money. Democrats believe that they, not the taxpayers who do the work and create actual wealth,
know how to spend money virtuously and wisely. There is no indication that this is the case.
The more money that Democrats get, the more they waste.
Climate
madness is creating a nation of building code scofflaws. REACH Codes are building
ordinances that some local California governments have adopted. They go far beyond the
requirements of California's Energy and Green Building standards codes. They are meant to
reach "climate action" goals, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerate "decarbonization" by
mandating all-electric new construction, upgrades to solar with remodeling projects, and electrical
system upgrades to encourage electric appliance upgrades. These plans take a huge chunk of
out Californian's pocketbooks. If you look at a California energy bill, you'll see that our
electric rates are obscenely high. And if you've ever suffered through one of California's
increasingly frequent power outages, you'd be eternally thankful for elderly gas stoves and heaters
that don't require electric switches to trigger them.
State
Regulations Force Bankruptcy of California Solar Company. On the one hand, the state
of California has decided that it shall become an all-electric, all-renewable power state by, well,
for practical purposes, next Thursday. On the other hand, the state gives utilities a massive
break on how much they pay home solar generators for their excess power, leading to the just
announced bankruptcy of California-based solar system installer SunPower. Welcome to
schizophrenic Sacramento.
San
Francisco Hotels Collapsing, Record Vacancy. Hotels in San Francisco are experiencing
massive financial losses as tourism to the city has continued to drop in the years after the
pandemic and as quality of life issues including homelessness and crime continue to grow in the
Golden Gate City. In June, weekend hotel occupancy rates in the San Francisco-San Mateo were
shown as being down by 22% since the same period in 2019, compared to just 4% nationally, data firm
CoStar Group shows, reports The Daily Mail. Many tourists are staying away because of several
factors, including the expensive prices in San Francisco.
California:
Next Stop, Venezuela. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has proposed several
government regulations of the petroleum industry in order to combat future gasoline price
surges. CEC regulators announced proposed government controls of the petroleum industry,
ostensibly to combat future gasoline price surges. CEC's proposed fiasco is unbelievable
since it has a clear vision of the ultimate outcome: Venezuela. The CEC announcement
comes as Chevron, one of the largest oil companies in the U.S., announced that it will relocate its
operations to Houston, Texas, is moving out of San Ramon, California. Its decision to leave
follows years of aggressive environmental policy making from Democrats that hurt the company's
business. The CEC report is laughably called "Transportation Fuels Assessment: Policy
Options for a Reliable Supply of Affordable and Safe Transportation Fuels in California".
It's laughable because the report title includes the word 'Affordable.'
The
Remarkable Transformation of Kamala Harris. When William McKay killed Riverside
Deputy Sheriff Isaiah Cordero during a traffic stop, the three-strike convicted felon was not in
custody because of Harris's reduced bail rule, despite having been convicted of three previous
violent crimes. Reduced (or no) bail policy along with charge reductions (from felonies to
misdemeanors), and no crime at all if theft, viz., shoplifting, less than $950 — these
were all elements of Harris's pro-crime posture when she was District Attorney of San Francisco
(2003-2010). Her policies turned one of the most popular travel destinations into a dangerous,
crime-, garbage-, and needle-infested, homeless dominated "unlivable hellhole." She extended
her pro-crime approach, adding defund the police, to all of California when she became that state's
Attorney General (2010-2017). Illegal immigration into the Golden State soared under her watch.
Between the open border and Harris's pro-crime attitude, gang violence in general, and particularly
murders in Los Angeles, reached new highs.
Kamala
Harris' Oakland Is a Disaster. [Scroll down] Oakland has every imaginable
advantage of climate and geography. The weather is immaculate [...] and the city has a major
port that is practically a tax gold mine. Yet, Oakland always seems to be on the verge of
full-on implosion. With the departure of the Oakland A's, a Major League Baseball team, at
the end of this season, the city will lose its third and last major sports franchise in a
decade. The loss is symbolic of a city that feels like a collapsing settlement at the edge of
the Roman Empire on the eve of the Dark Ages. It's worth noting that without the last-minute
sale of the dilapidated Oakland Coliseum, the city was looking at a budget shortfall of over
$100 million. The sale hardly solves the long-term problem. Oakland
is pondering doling out reparations to black residents, but a reparations panel said it needed
$5 million just to draw up a plan. This is a city that's used to treating taxpayers like
a piggy bank for grifting. Of course, Oakland has been associated with high crime rates for
decades, but following the mayhem of 2020 the challenge became acute. In 2021, the Oakland
City Council in effect voted to defund its already beleaguered police department. Crime exploded.
San
Francisco's downtown Saks Fifth Avenue bans window shoppers from coming inside. San
Francisco has suffered another blow as one of the most luxurious department stores downtown is
banning window shoppers. Saks Fifth Avenue in Union Square has decided to change its customer
experience by moving to 'appointment-only' this summer, according to KRON4. Locals will have
to pre-book appointments at the store located on 384 Post Street from August 28.
California:
Groups Of Thugs Are Raiding Homes And Cars In The Suburbs. Thieves were caught on
camera breaking into at least 8 cars, 5 garages, and several homes. Thieves targeted a
neighborhood in the East Bay,[California] stealing garage openers from cars and breaking into
homes. Surveillance footage shows the group breaking into cars, garages, and homes, driving a
white Honda Accord around 7 a.m. on Sunday. In one instance, the thieves entered a home
with a woman and children inside, but the woman chased them out after they tried to steal her
car. [Video clip]
California's
New Law Lets Schools Keep Secrets from Parents. Child predators follow a common
playbook: target the victim, gain their trust, fill a need, and, crucially, isolate the child from
her parents. For several years, this has also been standard California state protocol with
regard to schoolchildren questioning their gender identities. On Monday, this scheme became
law. The "SAFETY Act," AB 1955, signed by California Democratic governor Gavin Newsom,
legally forbids schools from adopting any policy that would force them to disclose "any information
related to a pupil's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person
without the pupil's consent." Schools may not, as a matter of policy, inform parents of a child's
new gender identity unless the child volunteers her approval. The law also prohibits schools
from punishing any school employee found to have "supported a pupil" hurtling down a path toward
risky and irreversible hormones and surgeries. The law effectively shuts down the local
parents' rights movement in California by eliminating its most important tool: the ability to
organize at the community level to stop schools from deceiving them.
If criminals are everywhere, blame the bystanders.
San
Francisco to fight crime by ordering Tenderloin businesses to close earlier. The San
Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a measure to impose a curfew on businesses in
the city's Tenderloin District over concerns that open businesses are hotspots for crime, drug
dealing and drug use. The legislation also noted how the city's police officers are typically
outnumbered by large groups of "people engaged in illegal activity," suggesting crime in the area's
disarray has grown past law enforcement's ability to control. "Large groups of people engaged
in drug sales and use in the Tenderloin Public Safety Area generally form and congregate in the
vicinity of retail businesses selling food and tobacco products that are open to the public during
those hours," wrote Mayor London Breed in her legislation submitted to the Board of Supervisors.
Kamala's
Legacies. As California's attorney general in 2014, Harris named a proposition that
changed thefts of property valued under $950 from felonies to misdemeanors. Harris called it
the "Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act" but failed to explain how legalizing crime made schools
and neighborhoods safer. She has claimed she took no position on the act, but the ballot
language has exposed that falsehood. Proposition 47 launched a crime wave across the state,
with 31,322 vehicle break-ins in San Francisco alone in 2017, a 24-percent increase from the
previous year. The measure empowered criminals to break into vehicles in broad daylight with
bystanders present. The arrest rate in San Francisco, where Harris previously served as
district attorney, was less than two percent, and under Proposition 47 criminals could expect at
the most a citation. The consequences of the pro-crime measure were obvious to all but the
willfully blind, but the attorney general kept on the quiet side.
Independent
report: As Newsom brags, all California job growth is in government. California
Governor Gavin Newsom touted the state's job growth in his State of the State Address last week,
but a new report from a state agency found the state's private sector employment has been declining
since 2022, with public sector hiring accounting for the entire state net increase in jobs.
California's state-funded, non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office found the private sector lost
154,000 jobs and the public and public-supported sector has gained 361,000 jobs since the peak of
the state's labor market in September 2022. This means on net, the state's 207,000 job
increase in employment since September 2022 has been from growing government-related hiring.
LGBTQ
Activists Freak Out Over California Bill That Makes It A Felony To Purchase A Child For
Sex. LGBTQ activists speak out against SB1414, a California bill that would make it a
felony to purchase children for sex. They claim it will affect LGBTQ people more. When
they tell you who they are, believe them. [Video clip]
WalletHub
ranks San Francisco 'worst run' city in America for the second year in a row. San
Francisco just took home WalletHub's "worst-run" city in America title for the second year in a
row — which is hardly surprising, considering this is the place where you download a
"poop map" before braving the city sidewalks, open-air drug markets and dirty tents fill the
formerly clean Tenderloin district, and a walking tour with a sardonic sales pitch sold out weeks
in advance — participants were promised an intimate experience with the urban decay of
the "progressive" city, and offered the chance to "get close and personal with the Doom and Squalor
of downtown San Francisco."
Adding
Insult to Injury in San Francisco. What happens in San Francisco if your insurance
drops you because crime is out of control and your store is broken into for the fourth time?
You get a notice from the city that you better fix up your store before they come after you.
[Advertisement] [Video clip] Robbed by the criminals and financially raped by the
city. It's a perfect example of how the government prefers to police the law-abiding and
ignore the criminals. After all, criminals are dangerous and will fight back.
Californians
With No Driver's License Or SSN Can Use A Credit Card Or Gym Membership To Vote. In
California, voters with no government ID can still vote so long as they show a gym membership,
credit card, utility bill, or other low-security identification. Individuals wishing to
register to vote in California are prompted on the secretary of state's website to provide their
driver's license identification number and/or the last four digits of their Social Security
number. But both sections give applicants the option to select a box indicating they lack
that form of identification. [Screenshot] If an applicant checks both boxes, he would later
be prompted to provide other identification, the California secretary of state's office told The
Federalist. Upon further inquiry, an office representative said individuals could provide
proof of identity by showing items such as a credit card, a utility bill, or their gym membership.
California
Mandates Trains That Don't Exist. California has long been infamous for its
regulatory regime, imposing harsh restrictions on businesses and individuals. This pattern
has been accelerating since climate change alarmism took hold in the state, with demands for carbon
emission reductions serving as an excuse to restrict or ban everything from charcoal grills to gas
stoves and more. Vehicles of all sorts have been swept up in this craze, with electric cars,
trucks, and buses becoming the mandatory modes of transportation. Now, however, the state has
its eyes on another form of transportation. Under a new proposed rule, the operation of
diesel freight trains older than 23 years will be banned so they must be replaced with
electric trains. That will certainly come as welcome news to climate change alarmists, but
there's one small problem with this proposal. There are currently no fully electric trains in
commercial production and there is no estimated timeline for when such trains might be commercially
available given the current state of the technology. In other words, California is looking to
mandate the use of trains that do not exist.
California
Budget Deal Slashes Spending but Includes $12 Million for Reparations.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and state legislators struck a deal this weekend to close a
$47 billion budget deficit — and agreed to spend $12 million to implement
proposals to provide reparations for slavery. [...] CalMatters.org reported Saturday on the budget
deal, which combines spending cuts and withdrawals from the state's "rainy day" fund to overcome
the shortfall (which CalMatters says is even higher, at $56 billion): [...] The push for
reparations began in 2020, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, at both the state and
local levels, in left-wing cities like San Francisco. Proponents began recommending massive
cash transfers, leading Newsom to back away cautiously from cash payments as a form of
reparations. Democrats continued pushing for reparations, despite the fact that the state's
$100 billion budget surplus in 2022 had crashed to a massive deficit by 2024.
California's
Minimum Wage Continues to Destroy Restaurants. Would you rather have some jobs
available at $12 an hour or no jobs available at $20 an hour? The answer may vary depending
on whether you're a business owner or job seeker — or politician or bureaucrat.
Regardless, the opening question, which is of the kind late economist Walter E. Williams often
asked, should be pondered with news that California's new $20 minimum wage is continually claiming
victims. The latest is a San Francisco McDonald's franchisee who'd been in business for
30 years. This pales in comparison, though, to one of the new minimum wage's first
victims: Rubio's Coastal Grill. That chain is closing 48 Golden State locations —
more than a third of its 134 remaining restaurants across California, Arizona, and Nevada.
Democracy
Just Died a Painful Death in California. Well, it sure looks like California is
beyond saving now. In a stunning anti-democratic move, the California Supreme Court ruled on
Thursday to block an anti-tax initiative from appearing on the ballot. This initiative, known
as the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, was backed by the business community
and sought to make it more difficult to increase taxes in California. Among other things, it
would have required the legislature to obtain voter approval for any new or increased state
taxes. There's nothing groundbreaking about it, as voters in other states have used the
ballot box to approve or deny tax initiatives before. But Gavin Newsom and the
Democrat-controlled legislature were having none of it and filed a lawsuit to block the measure
last fall, claiming that the initiative represented an illegal effort to amend the California
Constitution and would hinder critical government operations. And the California Supreme
Court unanimously sided with Newsom.
California
Jewelry Store Looted In Broad Daylight. At what point do California voters finally
realize that their Democratic Party leaders have abandoned trying to enforce the rule of law and
shout "Enough!"? The latest example of California's decline into a lawless state is a bold
daylight robbery where 20 masked intruders looted a Sunnyvale jewelry store in broad daylight.
California
Applies Broken Windows Theory in Reverse. Thanks go to the erstwhile Golden State for
warning us what we have to look forward to if we do not pry Democrats from power and reject leftism
root and branch: [Tweet with video clip] Shoplifting is effectively legal in
California. Smashing through the front of a store so as to loot it is still against the law
(until such law is found to have a disparate impact on Persons of Preferred Pigmentation), but by
now it hardly matters. By encouraging low-level crime, California has thrown the broken
windows theory into reverse and then into overdrive.
Summer
Surprise: The Looming Biden Replacement. In February, I predicted that it can't
be Joe Biden representing the Democratic Party in November, and that he would be replaced sometime
in the summer before the Democratic National Convention. [...] Who, after all, are the "many
popular Democrats" that Nate Silver imagines Democrats to have on the bench? Gavin
Newsom? California is a failing state at the moment, having gone from a $100 billion
surplus after federal COVID stimulus to a $73 billion deficit in just two years. It is
currently enduring an unprecedented homelessness crisis while also experiencing an exodus of
high-income taxpayers. Meanwhile, it is welcoming illegal aliens and unskilled laborers who
benefit from California's ambitious welfare state.
Be
Prepared for Chaos. I find it impossible to believe that President Biden will be the
Democratic nominee, and if he is, that he can win. What do the Democrats do? They
certainly can't substitute Kamala Harris for Biden; she's tanked in opinion polls even lower and
faster than has Biden. There are no nationally known non-geriatric substitutes in the wings,
save for California governor Gavin Newsom, whose record for screwing up is at least as bad as
Biden's. Youth and a good haircut can only go so far outside Newsom's home state. Even
liberals are now conceding the West Coast has lost its way and become dysfunctional, and who is a
better avatar of West Coast progressives than Newsom?
California's billionaire
utopia may not be as eco-friendly as advertised. Silicon Valley billionaires are
still aggressively moving forward with their attempt to create a utopian, sustainable "city of
yesterday" near San Francisco atop what they describe as "non-prime farmland." However, an
accredited land trust now claims California Forever's East Solano Plan is intentionally misleading
local residents about the "detrimental harm" it will cause ecosystems, as well as its potential to
"destroy some of the most self-reliant farmland and ranchland" in the state.
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom Caught Charging U.S. Taxpayers For Illegal Alien Healthcare.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been caught charging U.S. taxpayers for the healthcare bills
of the state's illegal alien population. According to local media, Newsom filed nearly
$53 million worth of reimbursements that the state now must return to the federal government:
[...] A review conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services inspector general's
office revealed that California employed an "outdated calculation" method for claiming federal
reimbursements between October 2018 and June 2019. This method failed to exclude services
provided to noncitizens, which must be paid for by the state.
Is
California Moving Toward Government-Owned Electricity? The first obvious hurdle to
"public ownership" — socialism — is the Fifth Amendment, which concludes,
"nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Here are the
valuations of the state's two largest private utilities:
• PG&E: $48 billion
• Southern California Edison: $82 billion
• Total: $130 billion
Where is the state of California supposed to get that kind of money? Float a bond?
The state treasurer lists California's current state bond indebtedness at $71.7 billion.
And they've only started issuing the $6.4 billion in new bonds for Proposition 1, which
voters passed on March 5. In sum, a state takeover would effectively nearly triple state
bond indebtedness.
Newsom's
Budget Crisis: Slashing Safety to Fund Climate Goals. California Governor Gavin
Newsom has put forward a budget that includes significant cuts to public safety funding, even as
the state grapples with a massive deficit and pushes for aggressive climate goals focused on
equity. In his proposed budget, released in May, Newsom highlighted the necessity of
"difficult decisions" to address the estimated $27.6 billion deficit expected to persist for
years. The proposal includes a $97 million reduction in trial court operations,
$10 million from the Department of Justice's Division of Law Enforcement, and more than
$80 million from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
First
Defund or Abolish, Now Disarm the Police? Southern California, particularly the San
Diego area, has already been beset with more than its fair share of problems. Illegal aliens
are flooding the region, homelessness is out of control, and crime has been on the rise. The
police in both San Diego and Los Angeles have had their hands full. But if one gun control
group has its way, the cops' hands will be a bit more empty if they don't have any guns. CBS
News just concluded a two-year study into how the police buy their firearms and how they dispose of
them when they reach the end of their service life. They found that some of the old guns the
police sold were later found at crime scenes. Further, they investigated the gun companies
that sell firearms to the police and determined that some of them have been cited for violations
when they improperly sold weapons or ammunition. Now, San Diego is considering a law that
would ban the police from doing business with those companies.
Why
Does California Keep Acting Like Its Own Country? Two California governors have
visited China and signed environmental accords as if they were the heads of state instead of the
heads of a state. Now the madness continues with the EU lobbying California over AI. [...]
States do not get to run their own foreign policy. They don't get to sign accords with
foreign nations. And yet California Democrats keep doing this sort of thing.
California
Dems vote to continue protecting illegal alien pedophiles with 'sanctuary' policies.
California Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R) on Tuesday forced a vote regarding his bill, Assembly Bill
2641, which would end "sanctuary state" protections for illegal aliens convicted of sex crimes
against children. California's sanctuary policies prevent state authorities from turning over
illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The restricted cooperation
forces ICE to expend more of its own resources to locate and detain illegal aliens who have
committed additional crimes. Essayli proposed a motion on Tuesday that forced California
lawmakers to vote on whether to hear his proposed bill. Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Jim Wood
(D) cut off Essayli's microphone while he was announcing the motion. "Thank you,
Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and invoke the California constitution to
withdraw Assembly Bill 2641, which will end sanctuary state protections for convicted illegal
immigrant pedophiles," Essayli stated. The speaker instructed Essayli to stop before turning
off the assemblyman's microphone.
California
ranks last in opportunity due to cost living: U.S. News. According to new state
rankings, California ranks dead last in opportunity due to its high cost of living, says the U.S.
News and World Report. USNWR's report uses cost of living, economic opportunity, and equality
to create its opportunity metric. California's nation-worst cost of living was the main
driver of the opportunity ranking, as its economic opportunity and income inequality were both
better than more than half of American states'. "California was the birthplace for opportunity
where our ancestors came to seek a better life and pursue the California Dream," State Sen. Brian
Dahle, R-Bieber, who was California Governor Newsom's opponent in the 2022 general election, told The
Center Square. "Housing, electricity, and gas continue to rise, and [Democrats'] solution is to
tax, regulate, and mandate no matter the outcome."
The
Democrats' Anti-Business Policies Create The Food Deserts They Decry. A decade ago,
California made shoplifting under $950 a misdemeanor, so shoplifting is de facto legal. That
basically means that you can steal $949 worth of merchandise every single day and likely never go
to jail. So, if you steal that $949 worth of goods every day and sell them for 25 cents
on the dollar, you can generate an income of $86,000 a year tax-free! [...] In the hellhole that
has become San Francisco, city supervisors have proposed a bill that would allow citizens to sue
retailers if they close without giving the city six months' notice. That means, basically,
that after struggling to make a profit, when a store finally decides to bite the bullet and close
its doors, the Democrats running the city will have decreed that the store must remain open for
another six months, regardless of how much money it loses.
California
Looks to Ban 'Clear' Service. Are you a frequent flyer? If so, you really
should get Clear, a service that allows you to shorten your wait time in the TSA security
line. It costs $189 a year, so if you don't fly often, you might want to pay the time tax,
but if you fly more than 2-3 times a year it is well worth it to simplify your airport
experience and reduce aggravation. [Tweet] Aggravation, of course, is exactly what the DEI
crowd wants people to experience, and since more White people are likely to buy Clear, two
California legislators are looking to ban the service. To be clear, Clear is not the same as
the federal government's TSA pre-check, which gets you around even more barriers than Clear
does. Rather, the company uses biometric IDs to ensure the identity of the person preparing
to fly. It is sort of a pre-screening, in which you exchange money and agree to give a
company your fingerprints and a retina scan in exchange for a shorter line experience. Very
dystopian, and yes, I pay for it. I hate lines.
Blaming
Victims: San Francisco's Irrational Grocery Store Proposal. A member of the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors, Dean Preston, recently proposed that grocery stores in the city
that decided to close their doors, perhaps because of continual theft from their shelves and
threats to their staff, should be forced to give six months' notice of their intention to close and
try to find another store willing to take over from them; moreover, they would be liable to claims
for compensation from local residents whose lives are adversely affected by their decision if they
fail to comply. When I read this, I laughed: I thought it must be satire. But no:
the proposal was meant in deadly earnest. These days, satire is policy. [...] I think 99 out
of 100 people would still think that the best way to deal with widespread theft would be to
catch and punish the thieves rather than grant them impunity and license to continue. Mad as
the idea may be to force stores to put up with theft rather than do something to reduce it in the
first place, there is a certain contorted logic to it; namely, that the thieves are not so much
criminals as victims, and that when they purloin goods they are not acting from greed, dishonesty,
or other such disreputable motives, but are seeking compensation for all the wrongs that they have
suffered for the past 400 years. Their theft, in fact, is therapeutic; it is restorative
justice.
California
reparations bill on licensing unconstitutional say critics. A California reparations
bill prioritizing black applicants in state professional licensing is likely unconstitutional and
violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protections clause under the 14th Amendment, says the
Pacific Legal Foundation. AB 2862, authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson, D-Carson, would
"require boards to prioritize African American applicants seeking licenses under these provisions,
especially applicants who are descended from a person enslaved in the United States." The bill
was introduced in February as a broader package of reparations for Black Californians, a package
that did not include direct cash payments.
San
Francisco Bill Would Let People Sue Grocery Stores for Closing Too Quickly. The San
Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a remarkable policy that would allow people to sue
grocery stores that close too quickly. Earlier this week, Supervisors Dean Preston and Aaron
Peskin introduced an ordinance that, if passed, would require grocery stores to provide six months'
written notice to the city before closing down. Supermarket operators would also have to make
"good faith" efforts to ensure the continued availability of groceries at their shuttered location,
either through finding a successor store, helping residents form a grocery co-op, or any other plan
they might work out by meeting with city and neighborhood residents. Lest one thinks this is
some heavy-handed City Hall intervention, the ordinance makes clear that owners still retain the
ultimate power to close their store. It also creates a number of exemptions to the six-month
notice requirement.
Sacramento has a lot in common with Sodom and Gomorrah:
Sacramento
declares itself a sanctuary city for transgender people. The Sacramento City Council
voted unanimously Tuesday night to declare the California capital a "sanctuary city for transgender
people." The resolution, which takes effect immediately, ensures that no city resources will be
used to criminalize trans people seeking transition-related care or to cooperate with jurisdictions
seeking to enforce laws that criminalize the care elsewhere. It comes as conservative
lawmakers across the country have enacted laws to limit both surgical and nonsurgical forms of
gender-affirming care for minors — including puberty blockers and hormone replacement
therapy — within the last handful of years. Twenty-four states limit gender-affirming
care for trans youths, according to LGBTQ think tank Movement Advancement Project.
Newsom
exempts more 'friends' from $20/hour fast-food wage law. Not too long ago, Gavin
Newsom got caught with his hand in the cookie jar of political cronyism. In response to a
draconian law passed raising fast-food worker wages to $20 an hour, known as A.B. 1228, Newsom
carved out a little exemption for his friends at Panera Bread on the laughable grounds that these
establishments bake bread on the premises. In reality, the owner of several Panera establishments
was a high school buddy who was a really good donor to his campaigns. Once caught, Newsom
backed off, but right when he thought no one was looking, he went right back to the cookie
jar again to carve out more little exemptions for his friends who donated well, as if word had gotten
around, signing off on a "cleaned-up" bill known as A.B. 610.
Proposition
103 Backfires, State Farm to Cancel 72,000 California Policies. Cap[p]ing insurance
rates has the same effect as capping rents. The former leads to an exodus of insurers.
The latter lead to an exodus of builders and repairs.
State
Farm Cuts 72,000 California Policies, Citing Wildfire Risk. State Farm General
Insurance Co. will cut about 72,000 policies in California beginning in July, the latest move by
the state's biggest insurer to cope with growing risks from wildfires and other natural
disasters. The move comes just nine months after State Farm announced plans to stop issuing
new coverage in the most populous US state. In the latest announcement on March 20, the
company also cited reinsurance costs and constraints posed by decades-old insurance rules as
reasons why it decided not to renew policies on 30,000 homes and 42,000 commercial apartments.
The cuts account for about 2% of the insurer's policies in the state. State Farm said it
reached its decision following an evaluation of the company's commitment to uphold its claims-paying
capabilities and adhere to financial solvency laws. "This decision was not made lightly and only
after careful analysis of State Farm General's financial health," the company said in a statement.
Recalled
San Francisco DA Says Victims Don't Have Rights Under the Constitution. Crime victims
don't have rights under the Constitution, former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who
was recalled by voters in 2022 amid an escalation of crime, said during a conference here at UC
Berkeley School of Law. Boudin's surprising comment came as part of a larger debate between
the Left and Right on criminal justice issues at the March 8 gathering, called "Justice
Unveiled: Debating Crime and Public Safety Conference." [Video clip] The
ousted San Francisco prosecutor led a discussion with California district attorneys that also included
Cully Stimson, a Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow who is a crime expert and former prosecutor.
Hollywood
Studios Reap $25 Billion from States' Film Tax Credits; Taxpayers See Massive Losses.
Hollywood has reportedly received a whopping $25 billion in state tax incentives to date —
a win for studios like Disney and Netflix but a big "L" for ordinary taxpayers, who are footing the bill
for the giveaways. Frequently championed by Democrats, state tax credits for movie and TV
productions are intended to juice local economies by creating jobs and boosting revenue for small
businesses that provide services like catering and transportation. That, in turn, is supposed
to generate more tax dollars. But despite the $25 billion spent so far, states are
seeing paltry returns on their investment — sometimes less than 20 cents on each
dollar given away, according to studies cited in a New York Times report.
A
week after primaries in California and they still haven't counted all the votes.
"Count all the votes!" as the lefties liked to say loudly. That was their justification for
mass mail-in ballots in California, ballot-harvesting by illegals, and extended voting for weeks
and weeks. Election Day? No, election month. They said it was to expand the
franchise to "marginalized communities" and raise turnout. Curiously, turnout has now hit a
near-record low in a presidential primary year as this Secretary of State supplied data makes
clear. Before these new "innovations" were enacted, mostly in the era of COVID, it was not
unusual to have turnout in such years in the 70% range. Today, they got ... 34%, just
slightly above 2022's 33.2%, which wasn't a presidential primary election year. Now we're
onto the extended counting. [...] They said they'd count all the votes — and as of
today, they haven't counted all the votes. Which is funny stuff, because supposedly
less-developed nations like Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, with much larger populations of voters,
can count all its ballots overnight on 100% turnout in some cases, and still come up with a
result that's fair and normal.
California
city bans non-government flags, angering LGBTQ groups. Voters in California's
conservative Huntington Beach approved a measure that would restrict all non-government flags from
being flown on city property, prompting backlash from LGBTQ advocates. Measure B, authored
by Huntington Beach City Councilman Pat Burns, passed with more than half of the city's vote,
according to the latest tally on the county's registrar website. The measure, for which
voters cast their ballots on Super Tuesday, will prohibit breast cancer awareness, Pride,
Confederate and all other non-U.S flags on city property. Burns told Fox News Digital in an
interview that the measure was not meant to be discriminatory against any group, but to encourage
residents to unite under a common American identity. Most of the backlash Burns said he has
received has been from LGBTQ advocates. I'm against the identity politics, I think it's
divisive," Burns said Friday. "I think it's demeaning to be honest, that flag, that I find is
so insulting to LGBTQ. And I know that they support it, but in my mind, it's demeaning that
they need some kind of special recognition to feel like they're part of our community. People
are equal and those kinds of things are divisive."
California
to help 'undocumented immigrants' purchase homes? California Assemblymember Joaquin
Arambula has introduced Assembly Bill 1840, aimed at expanding home ownership opportunities for
"undocumented immigrants" in the state. The bill would make illegal aliens eligible for first
time homebuyer loans. The bill, as originally introduced earlier this year, was aimed at low-
and middle-income citizens, but Arambula apparently decided that was too exclusive, and
therefore recently proposed his updated version. This is yet another kick in the shorts to
citizens, especially since the formerly Golden State has the highest priced housing —
and by far the most homeless people — in the nation. California is already the
only state to fund comprehensive health care for undocumented immigrants. And it has a
stupefying projected budget deficit of $73 billion with an average personal debt of $84,730
... which "undocumented immigrants" undoubtedly will not have to pay. Illegal migrants
pouring across our Southern border have allegedly been handed credit cards and cell phones.
In some cases, they are being put up in very nice hotels. Moreover, residents and property
owners in places like Boston, Denver and New York City have been asked to take these immigrants
into their own homes.
Newsom
Donor Greg Flynn Agrees to Pay $20 Minimum Wage Amid 'PaneraGate' Scandal. Panera
Bread franchisee and Newsom donor Greg Flynn announced on Wednesday that he would be complying with
the AB 1228 $20 per hour wage law for fast food companies when it begins next month following over
a week of backlash against him and Governor Gavin Newsom over allegations that he had originally
been exempt to the law because of his donor ties with Newsom. When AB 1228 was passed last
year, all fast food companies were covered under the bill, directing them to make the new minimum
wage for their industry only from $16 an hour to $20 an hour. Initially there were only a few
exemptions: certain restaurants in grocery stores, and restaurants with on-site bakeries, with
Panera Bread being the largest one exempted. For months, this went without question, as the
reasoning behind it seemed reasonable. [...] News outlets began looking into who owned these Panera
Bread locations. That's when it was discovered that Flynn, who owns well over a third of the
exempted Panera Bread locations in the state, is a major donor of Governor Newsom, as well as a
high school friend.
It
Looks Like Another Soros DA in California Will Face a Recall Election. It looks like
another Soros DA in California will be facing a recall election. As we've been reporting,
proponents of an effort to recall Alameda County's District Attorney, Pamela Price, have been
gathering signatures for months to place a recall election on the ballot. On Monday those
proponents turned in 123,387 signatures — 50,000 more than the 73,195 required. Alameda
County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupris now has ten days to run validation checks to ensure that the
signatures are from registered Alameda County voters and certify the number of valid signatures
submitted. If his office certifies that at least 73,195 valid signatures were submitted, a
recall election must be held.
Illegal
Aliens to Get Interest-Free Home Loans Under New Democrat-Backed California Bill.
Illegal aliens will get interest-free home mortgage loans under a new California bill.
Democrat assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (Fresno) recently introduced Assembly Bill 1840 to extend
a first-time homebuyer loan program to illegal aliens. If the bill becomes law, illegal
aliens will be eligible for a new program that offers a loan worth 20% of the purchase price of the
residential property. There are no monthly payments and no interest accrues on the loan.
Rather, the loan is paid back when the borrower refinances or sells the property. The borrower
will have to pay back the original loan plus a 20% increase in the value of the property.
Panera
Bread Exempt From $20 Per Hour CA Minimum Wage Law, Because Newsom Protects His Wealthy
Buddies. In September 2023, California passed a $20 an-hour minimum wage
increase, which had an immediate chilling effect over fast food and fast casual chain dining.
Many of these restaurants upped their already increased prices; some fired staff — like
Pizza Hut did with its delivery drivers — and moved to more self-serve and robot
checkout. Some are even closing locations. Unless you're Panera Bread. In
California, Greg Flynn owns multiple Panera Bread chains in the state. Flynn also happens to
be a "friend" of California Governor Gavin Newsom. You do the math. [Tweet]
Coincidentally...
Panera
Bread to launch cheaper sandwiches, abandon dinner in 'largest menu transformation
ever. Panera Bread plans to expand its salad and sandwich options with the "largest
menu transformation ever" — including many items for less than $10 — as it
shifts away from dinner meals, the company announced Thursday. The popular chain —
which recently earned an exemption from California's new $20-an-hour minimum wage law —
will add nine new menu items and enhance the recipes for 12 existing classics in a "new era" at the
company, according to a press release. The rollout at Panera's more than 2,100 locations is
slated to begin April 4.
Longtime
Newsom Donor Owns Panera Bread, Which is Exempt From California Minimum Wage
Increase. California Gov. Gavin Newsom fought to exempt fast-food chains from
the new minimum wage increase if the company baked its own bread and sold it as a standalone
item. The minimum wage will increase to $20. But why? The first and only
restaurant you think of is Panera Bread. [...] [Panera Bread owner Greg] Flynn is a regular donator
to Newsom. He gave $100,000 to fight against the recall. Newsom got another $64,800
during his 2022 reelection campaign. People close to Flynn told Bloomberg News he "has been
known to tout his relationship with Newsom" and bragged "he can reach the governor via text."
New
$20 minimum wage law in California set to take effect, but people notice an 'obscure'
exemption. Talk about fortuitous! In a strange turn of events, one of Gavin
Newsom's biggest donors hits the jackpot, and when the state-mandated $20 minimum wage for certain
fast-food workers takes effect in April, this lucky duck employer won't be subject to complying
with the increase, thanks to an "obscure" exemption in the statute. [...] Greg Flynn is a
billionaire, one of Newsom's (and other Democrats') most loyal and longtime benefactors, and
according to Bloomberg, "the largest restaurant franchisee in the US, if not the world." Flynn's
fast-food portfolio includes establishments like Taco Bell, Wendy's, and Pizza Hut[,] but his
California fast-food portfolio is limited to one brand: Panera Bread. And,
surprise surprise, the new law's "obscure exemption" seems only applicable to... Panera Bread.
Federal
Judge Clobbers California's Silly Ban on Billy Clubs in Devastating Ruling. A federal
court has made a critical ruling related to the Second Amendment and the concept of
self-defense. The decision strikes at the heart of California laws intended to limit one's
ability to protect themselves against violent criminals. Judge Roger Benitez handed down a
ruling in the case of Fouts v. Bonta on Friday, striking down a ban on citizens
possessing or carrying billy clubs and other forms of less lethal weaponry. In his decision,
Benitez questioned the legality of the statute, which criminalized Californians simply for owning a
billy club, a tool that is commonly used by members of law enforcement, but is also used by
civilians for personal defense. "Americans have an individual right to keep and bear arms,
whether firearms or less lethal arms," the judge wrote, also arguing that "The Second Amendment to
the United States Constitution 'guarantee[s] the individual right to possess and carry weapons in
case of confrontation.'"
California:
North Korea of the USA. The Cold War presented the world with one of the largest
controlled experiments in human history, which offered the contrast between East and West Germany,
and North and South Korea. Both historic nations were reduced to rubble in war and then
partitioned, after which they pursued diametrically opposed policies for the next two generations,
with starkly contrasting results. Democratic capitalism rapidly made West Germany and South
Korea into prosperous economic and cultural powerhouses, while East Germany and North Korea
stagnated and remained mired in poverty and tyranny. Today the United States is repeating a
parallel controlled experiment, between "red states" and "blue states." As was the case under
Communism, Americans are voting with their feet, moving in large numbers from high-tax,
high-regulation blue states to low-tax, business-friendly red states. The data show red
states are experiencing faster economic and personal income growth, and better social performance
on a number of key indicators, such as crime, affordable housing, and public education.
San
Francisco Totally Loses Its Mind By Electing A Chinese Woman Who Can't Vote Legally To The
Elections Commission. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors appointed the first
non-citizen to the San Francisco Elections Commission last week. The non-citizen appointee
will now be responsible for helping oversee and develop policies for San Francisco's Department of
Elections despite being currently ineligible to vote herself. According to KQED, Kelly Wong,
who is an outspoken advocate for immigrant rights, was sworn in last Wednesday at San Francisco
City Hall by Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin. Wong is believed to be the city's
first non-citizen to become a member of the San Francisco Elections Commission.
[Video clip]
San
Francisco Admits First Non-citizen to Elections Board. San Francisco has appointed a
non-citizen to its elections commission for the first time, even though she cannot vote. [...] As
Breitbart News has noted, non-citizens are allowed to vote in San Francisco in school board
elections. It is not clear how firm the separation is between those registered to vote for
school board elections and those registered to vote for all other elections. Democrat-run
jurisdictions have attempted to expand voting rights to non-citizens, hoping to capitalize on the
large number of immigrants — legal and illegal — that have entered the
country thanks to loose Democratic Party border policies.
Barbara
Lee Wants Outrageous $50 Minimum Wage. Democratic House Rep Barbara Lee recently
appeared on a debate stage and stated her case for a $50 federal minimum wage. Lee has been a
House Rep in a district mainly covering Oakland since 1998. She was debating other candidates
who were running for US Senate in California. [Tweet]
The
California Energy Scam: Newsom's Actions Of "Leaking" Emissions To Poorer Developing
Countries. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has been vocal about his commitment
to reducing in-state greenhouse gas emissions, but much of his "success" has been accomplished by
"leaking" those emissions to offshore locations with miniscule environmental regulations compared
to California. The state also has the highest poverty rate in the nation, the highest state
income tax in the nation, the highest gas taxes in the nation, and record homelessness.
California is probably the most environmentally regulated location on the planet. The state
also has the highest poverty rate in the nation, the highest state income tax in the nation, the
highest gas taxes in the nation, and record homelessness.
Yes,
It Is Real: Woke Kindergarten Destroying Bay Area School. Woke Kindergarten.
It sounds like a bad joke. But unfortunately, it is very real, and a Bay Area school is
dropping $250,000 to this for-profit company to provide indoctrination to students who are already
doing badly in school. [Tweet] It tells you something — nothing good, of
course — that a school that is doing a horrendous job of giving kids a basic education
is spending money to train teachers to turn children into woke warriors. Given that reasoning
skills are counterproductive when you want children mindlessly mouthing platitudes about indigenous
rights, the elimination of work and rent, and the need to eliminate Israel, it makes perfect sense.
[Tweet]
Newsom
Stands By 'Equitable' Electricity Bills as Opposition Builds. California governor
Gavin Newsom is standing by the state's soon-to-be-implemented "equitable" policy to base
electricity bills on income, rather than usage, even as public and political opposition to the idea
builds in the Democratic coalition. A spokesman for the governor said on Tuesday that Newsom
is looking forward to seeing a final proposal from the state's utilities commission "that is
consistent with" the 2022 law that required the agency to devise an income-based billing system.
"California must combat climate change by rapidly expanding the use of clean electricity in our
vehicles and buildings, while at the same time making it more affordable for low-income
Californians," the spokesman said in a statement. Newsom's commitment to California's
income-based electricity billing plan followed a press conference by a group of Democratic
lawmakers who want to reverse the policy, after they voted in its favor as part of a 2022 budget
bill. Citing public outcry, they condemned the plan as another price hike for Californians'
astronomical energy bills that would punish conservation-minded households while also subjecting
everyone to invasive income checks.
California
toddler killer to walk free unless Gov. Newsom overrules parole board. A
California child killer who reportedly beat his girlfriend's 3-year-old son so badly he suffered
dozens of traumatic injuries, broken bones and "pulverized" organs, is one step closer to walking
free after state officials approved his parole despite a prosecutor's pledge to keep him behind
bars for the rest of his life. The only chance to uphold that vow is now in the hands of
Gov. Gavin Newsom. Patrick Goodman, now 49, killed Elijah Sanderson in early
December 2000. The medical examiner reportedly found that some of the injuries had been caused
by swinging the child by his wrist into a wall repeatedly. A parole hearing took place in
December, where District Attorney Brooke Jenkins' office argued against Goodman's release.
Critics have become more vocal after the San Francisco Public Safety News site published the
transcript Wednesday.
California
Bill Calls for Tech to Make New Cars Unable to Speed. Someday in the not too distant
future, it might no longer be possible to drive a brand-new car faster than 80 mph in
California. That's because state senator Scott Wiener earlier this week proposed a new bill
that aims to prevent certain new vehicles from going more than 10 mph over the speed
limit. In California, the maximum posted speed limit is 70 mph, meaning anything north
of 80 mph would be off limits. The Speeding and Fatality Emergency Reduction on
California Streets — or SAFER California Streets, for short — is a package of
bills that includes SB 961 that was published Tuesday, which essentially calls for speed governors
on new cars and trucks built or sold in California starting with the 2027 model year. These
vehicles would be required to have an "intelligent speed limiter system" that electronically
prevents the driver from speeding above the aforementioned threshold.
The Editor says...
Will a police car have such a limiter? Of course not. What about the governor's car? How about
Nancy Pelosi's car? The new rules, just like the old rules, apply only to us, not to them.
Wait
Until Rep. Eric Swalwell Finds Out Who Is Responsible for the Carjackings He's Terrified
Of. Congressman Eric Swalwell, who we occasionally must remind ourselves tried and
failed miserably to run for President of the United States, has taken to social media to bemoan the
state of crime in California. [...] But it's Swalwell's mention of "soft on violent-crime
prosecutors" that intrigues me. It's definitely a partisan issue. I mean, you aren't
seeing Republican prosecutors giving a slap on the wrist (or less) to misdemeanor offenders, nor
are you seeing them refuse to prosecute some major crimes. But you are seeing this from
Democrat prosecutors, like Diana Becton of Alameda County, California. Becton, if you'll
recall, feels that officers need to consider whether or not looters "needed" the goods they were
stealing. As one might guess, if looters can get away with just stealing whatever goods they
"need," they tend to escalate. Escalation in stealing things usually tends to lead to
stealing cars. Surely Swalwell understands this, right?
Pro-abortion
California state representative introduces bill to ban 'cruel' glue traps for rats and
mice. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), a famously left-wing and pro-abortion member of
Congress with a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, recently introduced a bill to outlaw
glue traps designed to eliminate rodents ... because he considers them to be "cruel" and
"inhumane." The glue traps, that is. Lieu took to social media to lobby for the
criminalization of glue traps, the use of which he deems to be "ruthless:" [Tweet]
California
Crazy: Woman Who Stabbed Date 108 Times, Killing Him, Gets Only 100 Hours of Community
Service. I live in California and frequently write about its crime problems stemming from
disastrous progressive policies like Proposition 47 — which changed a slew of offenses from
felonies to misdemeanors — and woke George Soros-backed district attorneys like LA's George
Gascón. But even my jaw dropped when I heard about this judge's decision in Ventura County.
Bryn Spejcher, now 33, got high on marijuana in 2018, stabbed her boyfriend over a hundred times, knifed
her dog and then herself, and yet received no jail time because defense experts deemed that she experienced
"cannabis-induced psychosis" — a conclusion which the judge amazingly agreed with. To
put it bluntly, this is absolute lunacy.
Police
recruiting: California self-destructs. Americans are used to calling their
local police and receiving a rapid response. Or at least they were — in some
places — some of the time. A case in point is Alameda, California, which like the
rest of California, is self-destructing: [...] It's often said California sets trends for the rest
of America. The current trends, however, would seem to be (1) buying U Haul stock is a very
good idea, and (2) going to work anywhere in California as a police officer is a very, very bad idea.
A
Government that Sows Division and Subsidizes Madness. In the name of "social
justice," San Francisco's Democrat-controlled government has responded to rising violent crime and
general lawlessness in the city by attacking police officers as "white supremacists" (even the
non-white ones) and reducing the penalties for and enforcement against violent crimes. (As the
economists say, when you want more of something, subsidize it.) Because citizens and businesses
have been left defenseless against organized theft (and, in fact, are even told not to resist the
robbers and thieves who assault them), businesses and entrepreneurs have had no choice but to move
away. Now that San Francisco's remaining residents (the ones who keep voting for poop-covered
streets and subsidized crime) are finding it difficult to find (and maybe steal) basic necessities,
they are very upset that grocery and convenience stores refuse to be perpetual victims. Have
Democrats learned a lesson? Of course not.
Adam
Schiff Wants to Save 'Democracy' by Abolishing the Electoral College and Packing the Supreme
Court. Rep. Adam Schiff has a new plan to save 'democracy' by abolishing the
filibuster, getting rid of the Electoral College and packing the U.S. Supreme Court. At this
point, it's pretty clear that when Democrats talk about 'democracy' what they really mean is
anything that the far left likes. Schiff trying to present this as a defense of democracy is
pure hilarity and he is the only one who doesn't get the joke.
We
Are in an Abusive Relationship with Our Government. California is now covering the
costs of genital-mutilating surgeries for illegal aliens. Leftism's slippery slope invariably
leads to depraved absurdity. Consider how Governor (receding) Hairdo and the Pyrite State's
other communist saboteurs have greased the shifting ground under Californians' feet:
[#1] There is no illegal immigration crisis.
[#2] There may be a crisis, but California taxpayers won't be paying for it.
[#3] Taxpayers may have to foot the bill for the illegal immigration crisis,
but California will do nothing to incentivize illegal immigration.
[#4] After further review, these aliens aren't "illegal," but rather "undocumented."
[#5] Health care is a human right.
[#6] California must provide "undocumented" aliens healthcare.
[#7] Mutilating the genitals to make them look like the opposite sex is health care.
[#8] California taxpayers must pay for "undocumented" aliens' genital surgery.
[#9] Californians who object to paying for undocumented aliens' genital surgery
may be guilty of "hate" crimes and will be prosecuted.
California
proposes mere $8.5 billion spending cut against $68 billion deficit.
California governor Gavin Newsom proposed a $292 billion state budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal
year, driving economists to wonder why he plans only $8.5 billion in real spending cuts
against what the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office says is a projected $68 billion
deficit. Newsom hit back against the LAO, claiming the state's deficit is only
$37.8 billion. "Those of you who are writing about a different number I hope are
immediately correcting that number," said Newsom in a press event announcing the budget. "We
have been pretty [expletive] transparent with you by making the point publicly, not just privately,
that that was not the number, but it continues to be reported as gospel."
Judge
Orders California School District To Reinstate Teachers Who Refused To Lie To Parents Under Trans
Policy. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that two California teachers who were placed
on administrative leave for refusing to hide students' gender transitions from parents should be
reinstated. Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West filed a lawsuit against the Escondido Union
School District (EUSD) and the California State Board of Education in April last year over a policy
that required educators to hide a child's preferred pronouns and gender identity if a student asks
to keep parents in the dark. Mirabelli and West were put on administrative leave in May, but
a judge ruled this week that the district must reinstate the teachers.
Blue
State Dems Introduce Law That Could Jail People For Using Gas Powered Lawn Mowers.
Two Democratic Washington state representatives pre-filed a bill on Dec. 5 that would make
operating a gas-powered lawn mower or leaf blower a gross misdemeanor punishable by jail time, a
fine or both. State Reps. Amy Walen and Liz Berry authored a bill to be considered in
their state's upcoming legislative session that would ban "gasoline-powered and diesel-powered
landscaping and other outdoor power equipment," a group that includes common lawn care tools like
lawn mowers, weed whackers, pressure washers and snow blowers, among others. Violating the
new law would be punishable "by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in
the county jail for up to three hundred sixty-four days, or by both for each separate violation."
Making a crime out of something that is not a crime:
Washington
state Democrat bill would jail people for using new gas leaf blowers. Washington
state Democrats are proposing to outlaw new gas-powered lawn equipment, like leaf blowers, with
legislation that could land violators in jail. [...] Under the proposed law, the Washington state
Department of Ecology would have a Jan. 1, 2026, deadline to "adopt rules to prohibit engine
exhaust and evaporative emissions from new outdoor power equipment." The bill carries limited
exemptions for gas-powered equipment used by government agencies and for commercial or residential
use when there is no "suitable zero emissions outdoor power equipment technology" available.
California
Will Soon Fine Stores That Don't Have A 'Gender Neutral' Kids Toy Section. A new
California law slated to go into effect on January 1, 2024, will mandate stores that sell
children's items to have a gender neutral section, according to a state government website.
The law applies to stores that sell "childcare items" or toys and employs a minimum of 500
employees across store locations, and it requires that they offer a section where "a reasonable
selection of the items and toys for children that it sells shall be displayed, regardless of
whether they have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys," according to its
text. Stores that do not comply with the law could face a civil penalty and charged $250
after the first offense or $500 for later offenses.
Gavin
Newsom Frees Gangster 154 Years Early. A former gang member and convicted mass
shooter was released after serving just eight years of his life sentence by Gov. Gavin Newsom
(D) — and given a new job in the California State Capitol. A Los Angeles
Times puff piece aimed at softening the tale of violent offender Jarad Nava attempted to
explain away his crimes by bringing up his rough childhood, and cited Newsom to make the case that
he's a truly reformed member of society. [Tweet]
Santa
Ana, California, May Give Voting Rights to Illegal Aliens. Voters in Santa Ana,
California, a deep-blue city in Orange County, will soon decide whether or not to give local voting
rights to potentially tens of thousands of foreign nationals, including illegal aliens. Next
year, during the November 5 election, voters in Santa Ana will be asked whether or not they want to
approve giving the right to vote in municipal elections to foreign nationals, including illegal
aliens, which would then go into effect by 2028.
Understanding
the 'Always Blue' Mindset. Republicans are invariably frustrated that facts don't
move the dial in elections. No matter how bad Democrats are, nothing changes. [...] [There
is] a commonly expressed philosophy of this voting block: "Always vote blue, no matter
who." In a nutshell, that slogan/explanation provides the answer that has confounded so
many observers over the years. They have puzzled over why California Democrat voters seem
impervious to things like soaring homelessness, poverty, crime, taxes, and cost of living, a
shrinking quality of life and population for the first time on record, the second worst public
school system in the nation, massive unmet infrastructure needs now hovering near $1 [Trillion],
state debt also measured in $Trillions, all topped with the leadership hypocrisy of things like maskless
French Laundry dinners during mandated lockdowns. Not only did Governor Newsom survive the
recall vote, he did so with a whopping 62% of voters supporting him. Many reasonable people
scratch their heads and ask, "How does any logical person vote for more of this?"
What those people don't understand is that logic is not in play.
Records
Show Adam Schiff Financed $1.7 Million Maryland Home As 'Prinicipal Residence'. A
California Republican House hopeful told RedState she uncovered a scheme by Rep. Adam Schiff
(D.-Calif.), who is running for the California Senate seat vacated by the passing of Democratic
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, where the congressman reported his Maryland home as his primary
residence to secure a lower mortgage interest rate — meaning he either lied on a
federally-insured loan document or from 2003 to 2021, he was not a resident of his Burbank
district. "I filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee, and I did get an email receipt,"
said Christine Bish, who has worked as a real estate professional for two decades and who worked as
an in-house investigator at a law firm. "They did receive my submission, and I followed up with
them, and they said, once it's submitted, they cannot give me any updates."
California
Spent Over $4M On Gender-Related Surgeries For Prisoners In Past 6 Years. California
has spent more than $4 million in taxpayer dollars on gender-related surgeries for inmates around
the state, including numerous death row inmates, since 2017. The Washington Free Beacon
released a report where it stated that millions of dollars have been spent on sex changes and other
gender-related operations and procedures for 157 inmates since California became the first state to
agree to pay for these types of operations for prisoners, with four of those criminals on death
row. According to the report, since 2017, California paid for 35 male convicts to surgically
receive artificial vaginas and vulvas at a cost of $2.5 million to taxpayers, and 11 male prisoners
received breast implants at a cost of more than $180,000. The state government also paid more
than $1 million for the removal of 40 female detainees' breasts.
Newsom
signs $25 minimum wage law for all hospital workers, finds out afterward it will cost California $4
billion. Governor Hairspray doesn't pay attention much to California's budget numbers
when he signs off on a bill. [...] So now the state gets to pay the janitors, gardeners, Mexican
cleaning ladies (yes, real ones, and they live in Mexico and commute), gift shop clerks, and anyone
else in the employ of a hospital, $25 an hour, no exceptions, and no matter what the value of their
jobs are in the free market. What a great way to spend the state's revenue at a time of a
$14 billion deficit. Now Newsom gets an $18 billion deficit, but when you have a
billion here, a billion there, who's counting?
California's
Adam Schiff Has Actually Been Living In Maryland For Two Decades, Docs Show.
Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff has reportedly been living in Maryland for two decades,
documents that surfaced Wednesday showed. Mortgage records revealed Schiff claimed his 3,420
square foot property in Maryland as his primary residence, according to CNN. The congressman
also reportedly claimed his 650 square foot condo in Burbank, California, as his primary residence
to reduce his $7,000 tax bill. [Tweet] Schiff did not take an exemption on his Maryland
home, the outlet reported. However, he reportedly signed documents stating both his Maryland
and California properties were primary residences. A spokesperson for Schiff, Marisol
Samayoa, claims the congressman's primary residence is in California.
Adam
Schiff, Who Wants to Replace Laphonza Butler of Maryland as California's Newest Senator, Lives in
Maryland Too! Could Maryland soon have another Senator claiming to be from
California representing them in the near future? Cristina Laila revealed last month that
Gavin Newsom's senate replacement, radical Marxist lesbian Laphonza Butler, actually lives in the
Old Line State rather the Golden State. She was even registered to vote there last
year. Butler replaced the late Dianne Feinstein, who passed away in late September.
Butler announced last month she would not run for a for a full six-year term. She will
instead just serve out the remainder of Feinstein's term which expires in 2024. It turns out
lying pencil-neck Adam Schiff, who wants to replace Butler, has a very similar problem. He
too has claimed his primary residence as Maryland.
Oakland,
California, is falling apart. Last month, at a small church in East Oakland, Calif.,
hundreds of fed-up city residents gathered outside of a community safety meeting held by Mayor
Sheng Thao and District Attorney Pamela Price. The group was as diverse as it was united, and
despite the reduction in their quality of life over the past year, there was a palpable energy of
hope. Seneca Scott, a community leader, hosted the get-together under the banner of his
Neighbors Together Oakland (NTO) organization. A one-time Oakland mayoral candidate, Scott
formed the group in 2021 as a response to the influx of outside money and special interest groups
that have contributed to his city's decline.
Gavin
Newsom Pledges California Will Be Xi Jinping's 'Long-Term, Stable, and Strong Partner'.
Chinese state media continued to gush over visiting California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday,
hailing the Democrat's warm meeting with dictator Xi Jinping as a triumph of "mutual respect, peaceful
coexistence, and win-win cooperation." Newsom said that under his leadership, California is ready
to become "China's long-term, stable, and strong partner." [...] A good deal of Newsom's enthusiasm for
doing business with China revolved around climate change, electric vehicles (EV), and green energy technology.
A
Dubious Legislative Move in California. California lawmakers have really outdone
themselves with another entry in the wacky law hall of fame. You see, it's not their first
rodeo in passing some head-scratching legislation, but this one takes the cake for unintended
consequences. The new California law that's all about decriminalizing loitering has
inadvertently turned into a pop-up open-air market for prostitution that you won't find in the
tourism brochures. And guess what? It's the very folks they claim to be protecting, the
Black community, who might feel the brunt of it. Black men, Black women, housing values,
they're all in the mix, and it's hard not to think, "Is it time for some fresh faces in the legislature?"
Crime-Ridden
Blue City Residents Underreported Crimes By Nearly 50%. Nearly half of crime goes
unreported in San Francisco, a poll published on Wednesday by local political research group GrowSF
found. The survey, which received 458 responses, found that although nearly a quarter of San
Francisco residents have been the victim of a crime, 47% chose not to report the incident to the
police, according to GrowSF. Nearly 80% of respondents listed crime and public safety as a major
concern for the city, while 65% said that they disapproved of how Democratic Mayor London Breed was
responding to major issues in San Francisco.
Newly
appointed California Sen. Laphonza Butler will not seek election to a full term in
2024. Newly appointed California Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler will not seek
election to a full term in 2024. Butler — who was named earlier this month by
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to complete the remaining term of the late Dianne
Feinstein — says in a statement she made the decision after considering "what kind of
life I want to have, what kind of service I want to offer and what kind of voice I want to bring forward."
Due
to Dem-Backed Law, Prostitution Spreads In California. Californians are complaining
about barely-clothed prostitutes roaming the streets in broad daylight, an issue heightened by
Democratic Gov. Newsom signing Senate Bill 357, local officials say. SB 357, which was
authored by Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener and backed by the ACLU, decriminalizes
"loitering with intent to commit prostitution." Critics say the law effectively decriminalizes
prostitution in California. National City Mayor Ron Morrison, an independent, recently
criticized the law, telling Fox News that prostitutes are now "wearing less than what you would
consider a scanty negligee" and "flaunting it in everybody's face."
The Editor says...
There is a very effective way to get scantily-clad whores out of the streets: Stop voting for Socialist Democrats.
California
to institute missing child alert system specifically for black youth. NBC News has
reported that California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 673 into law, thus
making the erstwhile Golden State the first to create a missing child alert system specifically for
black children. According to NBC: ["] [...] The Ebony Alert will be used for missing
Black people aged 12 to 25.["] Fantastic. But what about missing black people
under 12 or over 25? Perhaps there needs to be a separate alert for each of those groups.
Twenty-one to twenty-five-year-olds don't seem like "youth" to me, yet those under 12 certainly are.
What
if Laphonza Butler decides to run for the Senate seat? The pipe dream of some Black
women in California for the last three years has been getting one of their number into the United
States Senate. Black women have been there before, in the persons of Carole Moseley Braun of
Illinois, who served from 1993 to 1999, and California's own Kamala Harris from 2016 until elected
vice president in 2020. But for almost four years after Harris' accession to the nation's nominal
No. 2 political job, there were none. That left a void Gov. Gavin Newsom three years ago
vowed to fill if another vacancy arose in a California Senate seat — and he named
Laphonza Butler quickly after the pioneering Dianne Feinstein's death in late September.
Butler was sworn in less than five days after Feinstein's demise. Newsom thus kept one
promise. But by not requiring that Butler commit to being a mere caretaker, a seat filler, he
broke another prior commitment. Newsom left it to Butler to decide whether or not to seek a
full term next year, breaking his commitment to name a mere interim senator.
CA
Gov Newsom Lowers Consent Age to 12 for 'Gender Counseling' Without Parents 'OK'.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill into law that permits children as
young as 12 to reside in government-funded "residential shelter services" to undergo mental health
treatment or counseling for their gender identity without parental consent or even being informed
by doctors. The bill, known as Assembly Bill 665, allows 12-year-olds to consent to such
treatment if they are considered "mature enough to participate intelligently in the outpatient
services or residential shelter services" and if they are the "alleged victim" of incest or child
abuse who poses a risk to themselves or others — no proof of genuine harm is
required. The bill, signed by Newson over the weekend, further states that medical
professionals must consult with the minor to determine "whether involvement of the minor's parent
or guardian would be inappropriate."
Where
is the red-state Laphonza Butler? The way to change the fundamental imbalance between
the parties is by reforming the way we select nominees. Following the sudden death last week
of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Governor Gavin Newsom needed to pick an interim
replacement. He had a large bench of Democrats from which to choose in the once Golden
State. So what did he do? He went with the biggest leftist imaginable — a
registered voter from Maryland, no less! In Laphonza Butler, Newsom didn't find only a
reliable leftist vote but also a ferocious voice and leader for every cause Democrats hold
dear. By selecting a lesbian activist who is the head of the most prominent pro-abortion
organization in the country, Newsom figured he'd floor the gas pedal in a state where Democrats
cannot lose and elevate an out-of-state resident who has never held office. Why?
Because it serves their interests.
Newsom's
bottomless cynicism reflected in his appointment of a black, lesbian, Maryland voter to fill
remainder of Feinstein's Senate term. It's impossible to be too cynical about Gavin
Newsom, the Brylcreem-topped governor of California who lusts after the Democrats' nomination for
president, even as he publicly mouths support for Biden. This is a man who bedded his best
friend's wife, after all. Caligula looks on in envy at the brazenness of Newsom's designation
of Laphonza Butler to fill the remainder of Dianne Feinstein's Senate term, expiring in January
2025. As a way of mocking the institution, Caligula only joked about appointing his horse
Incitatus as consul, a role reserved for senators, while Newsom has actually appointed a longtime
Maryland resident and registered voter to represent California in the Senate, a body the
Constitution designated to represent that sovereign states in the federal government. Butler
will take a big pay cut to join the Senate, which pays $174,000 for non-leadership solons.
The top-paid executive at Emily's List reportedly earns $950,000, almost five-and-a-half times what
a Senator earns, and more than 30 times the average income in the United States. But don't
expect the usual critics of CEO compensation to utter a peep.
Newsom's
'First Black Lesbian' Senate Appointee Immediately Hit With Scandal, Cover-Up. The
recent death of former Sen. Dianne Feinstein left Gov. Gavin Newsom in a
predicament. Would he keep his promise to fill the seat with a black woman even though two
white people (Adam Schiff and Katie Porter) are leading the 2024 race for the seat? As
RedState reported, the answer is yes. Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler, whose only
qualifications appear to be working on Kamala Harris' failed 2020 presidential campaign while being
a "black lesbian." Naturally, the California governor is touting the latter. [Tweet with
video clip] I'm just really glad we select the most powerful people in the country
based on race and who they sleep with. I mean, what could possibly go wrong with such an
approach? What does merit have to do with governing competently anyway? Let's ask
Newsom, who apparently appointed a Maryland resident to the seat, birthing an immediate scandal.
Gavin
Newsom Picks The Perfect Democrat. Is it really that weird that Laphonza Butler,
California Governor Gavin Newsom's pick to replace Diane Feinstein in the Senate, lives in
Maryland? Now, incidentally, this isn't one of those instances where a politician is spending
an inordinate amount of time in DC (before leaving office and becoming a lobbyist and making it
official). Newsom's spokesperson confirms that Butler resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, and
is registered to vote in that state. We're just skipping the part where we pretend senators
represent states rather than political parties. [...] At this point, any Democrat who
doesn't treat skin color as at least partly determinative of a person's worth is going to be
in trouble. And it's not just moral preening over race. Butler, Newsom notes, will be
the first "lesbian Black woman to join Congress in US history." In most news pieces on the
appointment, we learn who Butler prefers to sleep with before we hear any of her accomplishments.
Newsom's
appointment confirms that abortion is the heart of the Democratic Party. It's normal,
if mildly corrupt, for presidents to appoint their top fundraisers to ambassadorships. It's
remarkable that Democrats have transferred one of their top fundraisers to a U.S. Senate
seat. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has announced he is appointing Laphonza Butler to fill
the Senate seat left vacant by Dianne Feinstein's death. Butler is one of the leaders of the
abortion lobby, and as such she is one of the leading Democratic fundraisers. She is the
president of EMILY's List, which raises money for Democratic women who defend abortion. [Tweet]
"Fundraising juggernaut" is a good description of EMILY's List. In the prior presidential
election, EMILY's List spent $79.6 million. It's one of the top ideological PACs in spending
and fundraising, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Its affiliated super PAC,
called Women Vote!, spent another $47 million in the 2020 cycle. But EMILY's List isn't
merely a fundraising juggernaut. The group is basically a gatekeeper for the Democratic Party.
California,
the Great Destroyer. California is a one-party state. There are no statewide
Republican elected officeholders. Progressive Democrats also enjoy a supermajority in both
houses of the legislature. Only 12 of 52 congressional seats are held by Republicans.
And almost all of California leftwing politicians are funded or influenced by Silicon
Valley — the richest corridor in civilizational history, with $9 trillion in market
capitalization. In sum, a now broke California became a medieval society of Leftwing
ultra-rich and Leftwing ultra-poor. On one end, there was no longer the skill or expertise to
modernize the state. And on the other, an elite became more interested in dreaming of heaven
on earth for itself as it ensured a veritable hell for others.
Newsom
to Appoint Laphonza Butler to Fill Feinstein's Senate Seat — She Lives In
Maryland. California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) will appoint Laphonza Butler to fill
Feinstein's vacant Senate seat. "California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint EMILY's List
President Laphonza Butler to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, elevating the
head of a fundraising juggernaut that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights,
according to a person familiar with the decision." Politico reported. Laphonza Butler lives
in Maryland and registered to vote there last year!
A
COVID Tyrant For President? In addition to driving people from his state with
policies that become more deranged with every passing year, Newsom was a malevolent pandemic
warrior who should have been punished for his offenses. Voters deserve to know just how
vicious he was — and that he remains unrepentant. It would be hard to argue that
any another state mistreated its citizens more than California. Given the opportunity thanks
to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Newsom smoothly tapped into his just-below-the-surface
authoritarianism (the same urge to dictate that afflicts nearly every Democrat in the nation).
When he issued his stay-at-home command in March 2020, which the Los Angeles Times called
"unprecedented" in "modern California history," it was the first stomp of the heavy boot that
Newsom would keep on Californians until February of this year. Only then did he surrender his
self-granted emergency powers — five months after he vetoed a bill that would have
limited the authority governors can wield during a declared crisis.
Berkeley Retail Shutting
Down Just Like San Francisco. Rising crime, looting, and tolerance of drug-addled
transients taking over the streets has led to an exodus of retail establishments from San
Francisco. Now another Democrat-controlled California city is enjoying the same exodus of
retail establishments: Berkeley. Here YouTuber Metal Leo looks at streets near Cal
Berkeley University, where store after store after store are closed, boarded up or for lease.
[Video clip] Banks, pharmacies, cinemas, pizza chains: all closed. The only thing
that seems to be open are Starbucks.
California
quietly passes bill repealing COVID 'medical misinformation' law. California
legislators have subtly passed a bill that would repeal a law targeting doctors who take a stand
against mainstream COVID-19 narratives after previously labeling them as engaging in "medical
misinformation." Assembly Bill 2098, which Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last
year, considers medical doctors and surgeons to be guilty of "unprofessional conduct" if they
"disseminate misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, including false or misleading
information regarding the nature and risks of the virus, its prevention and treatment; and the
development, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines." The legislation also subjected
physicians found to have violated the law to disciplinary action from the Medical Board of
California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, including potential suspension of
medical licenses.
California
launches lawsuit against Big Oil, but only wants cash 'damages' not an end to
production. California is alleging a corrupt conspiracy in which fat cat capitalists
prioritized profits before people and intentionally deceived the public about looming
"catastrophic" climate change consequences they "knew" would manifest as a result of their
product's use, but the state isn't even asking the court to prohibit the defendants from continuing
this alleged criminal behavior? Instead, Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Rob Bonta,
and all the other Machiavellian civil servants will drop the lawfare just as long as the defendants
agree to foot the bill for the recent spate of storm-related damages and finance a fund for future
losses too? This sounds eerily similar to... extortion.
The
Bay Area is still struggling to recover from 'defund the police' (now they're hoping Texas can
help). Three years after "defund the police" became a BLM rallying cry, San Francisco
and other Bay Area cities are still trying to recover from the brief popularity that phrase once
had with mayors and city councils. San Francisco is still down hundreds of police officers
and has come up with a new plan to attract more recruits: Go to Texas. ["]The
San Francisco Police Department is visiting four Texas university campuses through September as
part of new recruiting efforts to find candidates outside of California. For the first time,
police officer candidates will be tested outside of California, with a written test, a physical
ability test and an oral interview.["] [...] You really have to soak in the comedic aspect
of far left San Francisco going to bright red Texas to try to find officers. For six years,
San Francisco had banned business with Texas.
It's
Really Time for Parents to Move Their Families Out of California. If you're a
California resident and a parent, you really ought to leave the state now. On Friday, the
California Assembly passed AB 957, which means that a parent who doesn't "affirm" their child's
"gender identity" could lose custody of that child. AB 957 amends the state Family Code to
include "a parent's affirmation of the child's gender identity or gender expression as part of the
health, safety, and welfare of the child." The bill is now headed for Gov. Gavin
Newsom's desk, where he will most certainly sign it.
Why can't this overlap "Pride Month?"
California
State Assembly Declares August 'Transgender History Month'. The California State Assembly
voted Wednesday to declare August "Transgender History Month," the first of its kind in the nation.
California
Dems Could Remove Visitation Rights for 'Non-Affirming' Parents. California Democrats
are threatening the visitation rights of divorced or separated parents who don't "affirm" their
gender-confused child's identity under a last-minute change to a proposal meant to protect children
from abusers. The Democrats have put forward two bills that would change California family
law to make "gender affirmation" part of a child's health, safety, and welfare, trying to pass them
side-by-side. The first, which was introduced earlier this year, would allow judges to remove
custody from "non-affirming" parents. The second would force custody judges deciding
visitation rights to consider "a parent's affirmation of the child's gender identity or gender
expression," according to language added to the bill last week that will take effect if the first
proposal passes.
Why
wind and solar power are running out of juice. Alternative energy
madness — and that's what it is — has had its biggest impact in
California. But New York and New Jersey have adopted most of that state's mandates.
Sales of new internal combustion vehicles will be banned beginning in 2035 in the states. All
of the electricity sold to retail consumers will have to be "zero-emissions." Homeowners and
building owners will be forced to replace gas- and oil-burning space and water heaters with
electric heat pumps. And, gas stoves will be regulated out of existence. New York also
will soon implement another California import: a carbon "cap-and-invest" program, which will impose
a tax on fossil fuels sold by wholesalers and utilities. The billions of dollars collected
each year will provide a green slush fund, allowing the governor and legislators to hand out money
to their politically favored cronies, as has so often been the case in the past. Washington
State began its "cap-and-invest" program in January of this year. Modeled after California's,
Governor Jay Inslee promised the program would have "minimal impact, if any. We are talking
about pennies." Instead, the program has raised gasoline prices — almost 50 cents
per gallon so far this year.
"Nonviolent
Crime" Is a Myth. Five days after sustaining serious injuries, a San Francisco store
clerk named Yowhannes "John" Tewelde has died. He was beaten with a baseball bat by a man
whom he tried to stop from stealing beer from his store. Tewelde's death marks yet another
homicide in the Bay Area, which, between San Francisco and Oakland, has seen an enormous amount of
crime and mayhem in recent years. The nature of Tewelde's death illustrates an important
reality that progressives working to ease up on supposedly nonviolent crimes don't seem to
appreciate: even "minor" offenses like retail theft, open-air drug use, and smoking on subway
platforms are frequently backed by a threat of violence. Had Tewelde not intervened, allowing
the thief to take what he wished, progressive prosecutors like former San Francisco district
attorneys George Gascón and Chesa Boudin probably would have refused to prosecute him, citing
the nonviolent nature of the offense. All we'd have is a lowly shop owner forced to shoulder
the cost of a few cheap beers. No big deal, right? Wrong. The decision to ignore
the theft would allow an individual who was in truth both willing and able to kill over $10 to
remain on the street. It would be only a matter of time before he did something terrible.
Bay
Area Councilman Has Keys, Wallet Stolen While Speaking to Shopkeepers About Safety. A
councilman in California's Bay Area was speaking to shopkeepers about safety when he had his wallet
and keys stolen, according to a report from CBS Bay Area. Reportedly, Emeryville council
member Kalimah Priforce rode his bike to Bay Street to spend the afternoon "visiting nearly every
store to ask employees about their experience and sense of safety." "A lot of stores that can't
afford private guards, they need panic buttons, a direct line to the police, so they don't actually
have to pick up the phone, call the police dispatch," explained Priforce. While he was at the
mall, Priforce phoned police because he discovered his wallet and keys were stolen from his bike bag.
California
Dem-led committee advances bill to let killers serving life without parole request
re-sentencing. A bill that would allow killers serving a life sentence without parole
to possibly be re-sentenced cleared a major hurdle Friday in California's Democratic-led state
Legislature. The state Assembly Appropriations Committee advanced Senate Bill 94, which now
moves to the next phase of voting. The bill would allow California prison inmates serving a
sentence of life without parole (LWOP) for certain crimes to petition for re-sentencing if the
offense occurred before June 5, 1990, and the completion of at least 25 years of their
sentence. Those convicted of first-degree murder of a police officer would be exempt.
Those who are re-sentenced would have the opportunity to someday go in front of a parole board,
which could deny them release.
Los
Angeles (Just Like California) Is Dying A Slow And Painful Death. Just over a week
ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared war on the recent smash-and-grab robbery trend infecting
the county's retail stores. She announced a new regional task force consisting of 22
investigators to focus entirely on curbing the shoplifting phenomenon sweeping Southern
California. Unfortunately, it seems lawless perpetrators did not get the message. Since
the task force — including officers from police departments across the region, along
with state and federal support — was assembled, at least three more large group
incidents have been reported. On Tuesday of this past week, a video from the Citizen app
showed five masked thieves ransacking a Dior counter inside a Macy's at the Shops of Santa Anita
Mall. They grabbed boxed sets of perfumes, threw them into trash bags, and ran away as
onlookers gasped. In a separate incident, also posted on the Citizen app, a video shows the
aftermath of a flash-mob robbery at a Footlocker store on Melrose Avenue, one of the city's most
popular shopping districts.
L.A.
Mayor Bass: Lack of Consequences for Crime Isn't Causing Retail Theft, 'Things Like This
Happen' if There's Profit. On Friday's broadcast of "The Issue Is," Los Angeles Mayor
Karen Bass stated that the issue of retail theft in the city has "nothing to do" with a lack of
consequences for crime in the city and "things like this happen" when there are profits.
California's
Newsom Hints at Legislative Crackdown on Parental Rights. California governor Gavin
Newsom (D.) signaled Monday that Democratic lawmakers are crafting a last-minute legislative
crackdown on school districts that alert parents if their child expresses a change in gender
identity. "I'll be meeting with the [assembly speaker and senate leader] this evening, we'll be
discussing it," Newsom said during a speech about public school funding where he touted California
as pro-parents' rights. "I know that the LGBT [legislative] caucus has some language they're
working on. I haven't had the privilege of looking at it. It's a work in progress."
Newsom failed to give any further details on the forthcoming proposal. His impromptu
announcement was in response to a reporter who asked him to weigh in on two Southern California
school districts that passed policies to notify parents if their children say they are transgender
or nonbinary. Representatives for Newsom and the state's top Democratic legislators did not
respond to requests for comment.
Power Vacuum.
California Senate bill 233 [...] which has passed the Senate and is now winding its way through the
Assembly — states that all new electric vehicles to be sold in California after 2030 be
"bi-directional". Because the state has decided to essentially go all electric without having
the ability to actually provide enough electricity, the climate warriors have gotten a bit creative
and now see the millions of EVs in the state as tiny batteries to make up for their
incompetence. Currently, not every EV can send power back to the grid (like home solar panels
that ship excess power to their local utility.) The bill — almost certain to pass
because it's stupid and this is California -- would change that. The bill, however, is only
the first step in the process of being able to drain your EV as the actual technology to get the
electricity back onto the grid, well, does not actually exist. As with so many other Golden
State climate-related projects, it is based on being able to do it someday... probably... maybe.
A
Very Bad Week for Civilization in California. A group of "up to 30" teens poured into
a Nordstrom's store in Topanga, Calif., in a "smash and grab" looting that went off with military
precision. [Tweet with video clip] [...] Dear Californians: It ain't rocket
science figuring out what's happening in your beautiful state. This is a direct result of lax
enforcement of the law and a reluctance of prosecutors and district attorneys to uphold the basic
values of civilization.
Gavin
Newsom wants to make America Oakland. The CNN report is just ghastly. One woman
is crying her heart out as she leaves a place she's spent her whole life is. I should say,
"Is forced to leave." But I also wonder who she's been voting for all these years as things
went south. [Tweet with video clip] Gangs are targeting Asian families. We
keep hearing that's a problem — a racist problem — but you never hear who's
doing it, although we've all seen the videos. And then, when perpetrators are caught in these
racially targeted crimes? What happens in Newsom's CA to offenders, when they are arrested
for RACIST crimes against innocent people, usually elderly, who can't defend
themselves? [Tweet]
California
Democrats Play Affirmative Action Games Over Feinstein Senate Seat. Race-based
preferences are taking over the competition for Dianne Feinstein's California Senate seat. On
Thursday, The New York Times revealed Feinstein surrendered power of attorney to her daughter in a
report on the 90-year-old senator's failing health. The longtime legacy lawmaker is unable to
make legal decisions of her own while making major legal decisions for the country. [...] If she
resigns, Gov. Gavin Newsom has already pledged to appoint a black woman to the seat.
Newsom made the commitment in 2021 after upsetting Democrats by appointing then-Secretary of State
Alex Padilla, California's first Latino senator, to replace Kamala Harris after her election to
vice president. It's no coincidence, then, the most vocal supporters of Feinstein's
resignation, such as California Rep. Ro Khanna, have endorsed Rep. Barbara Lee in the
crowded Senate primary. In fact, Khanna, who co-chairs Lee's campaign, was the first member
of Congress to request Feinstein step down, according to The Hill.
California's
new Marxist math. California has approved new radical K-12 math standards that are
openly a vehicle for Marxist ideology. The stated goal is equity in math learning for
non-whites and those from low-income families. The framework notes that "black, latinx,
indigenous, women and poor students" have been underrepresented in the curriculum throughout
history." Equity will be implemented in the curriculum by dumbing down and sugar-coating the
lessons and infusing them with political issues and student organizing.
Orwellian
or Kafkaesque? Kafka's brainchildren are recklessly coughing up tyrannic edicts while
using for an excuse the artificial hysteria being generated over reasonably normal weather.
The Biden administration has recently announced that all military vehicles will run on
batteries as of 2030. Since the purpose of fighting a war is to not lose, vast
quantities of diesel-powered field generators will be needed to keep the caissons rolling
along. Governor Hair Gel of California has followed along by announcing a ban on the sale of
gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. The trick with this is to have enough lead time so the
victims of such nonsense will have forgotten the original announcement — and will be
more surprised than angry when they realize they've been screwed. As of next January,
California's already legislated ban on the sale of gas-powered gardening equipment will take effect.
Salesforce
CEO Warns San Francisco's Downtown [is] "Never Going Back To The Way It Was". San
Francisco is a 'hellhole' that epitomizes everything wrong with how progressives govern
cities. That's because Democrats in City Hall believe that most criminals are
victims — don't arrest them — which allows for open-air drug markets,
homelessness, and violent crime to thrive. Due to failed social justice reform policies, the
business conditions in downtown San Francisco have become challenging. Furthermore, the
ongoing structural decline in demand for office space has thwarted any potential economic recovery
in the area. [Tweet with video clip] Marc Benioff, chief executive officer of
Salesforce, the city's largest employer and anchor tenant in its tallest skyscraper, understands
the metro area is in trouble.
How
does the city bounce back from this? One of the enduring mysteries of life is how
people and societies can see disaster coming and do nothing to avoid it. [...] We are seeing this
principle in real time with the collapse of cities like San Francisco and Portland. They have
been liberal bastions for so long that the idea of bucking the Democrat Party is unthinkable, no
matter how bad things get. And they are getting very very bad in both cities. San
Francisco has produced some of the most powerful politicians in California. Off the top of my
head, I can name the current governor, Gavin Newsom, the current VP, Kamala Harris, and of course
Senator Diane Feinstein. Many of the most powerful people in the legislature hail or hailed
from the city, and the tradition of moving up the ladder from SF to the heights of power is ancient
in political terms. When the Democrat Party took its radical Left turn the city moved with
it — led it, in fact — and the results have been disastrous.
The
Classic Psychology Text That Predicted Today's Urban Decay. It's a question that most
Americans who follow the news ask themselves daily: "How can the residents of so many of the
nation's largest cities keep supporting local officials who tolerate the ongoing destruction of
their communities?" [...] [Why ...] did San Franciscans elect a mayor, London Breed, whose obvious
reluctance to crack down on criminal behavior has since forced the city's largest mall to close,
two of its best hotels to declare bankruptcy, and tens of thousands of high-earning taxpayers to
move away? [...] And why, in 2022, did Los Angelinos pick another progressive Democrat to be their
next mayor, rather than the candidate who promised to finally do something about the city's
exploding homelessness problem?
Another
day, another business closure in San Francisco (you'll never guess why). La Cocina
opened in the Tenderloin in 2021. The concept was a single space with a bunch of different
food options. It was always intended to be a temporary arrangement but not quite this
temporary. [...] As with every other business that has closed this year, there are multiple
reasons. For one thing, the decline of foot traffic thanks to people working from home means
there just isn't the lunch rush there might have been prior to the pandemic. But the city's
other well-known problems also played a role.
California
Bill Would Let Judges 'Rectify Racial Bias' in Sentencing, for 'Reparations'. The
California state legislature is considering a bill that would allow judges to use sentencing in
criminal cases to "rectify racial bias" in the criminal justice system as a whole. The bill,
AB 852, passed the State Assembly in May and is currently going through the committee process in
the State Senate. It notes that existing law already allows defendants to challenge their
sentences as racially biased, but it would add that judges can consider race in sentencing.
A
Covid Postmortem. When the pandemic began, researchers in California were the first
in the United States to analyze the threat accurately and offer sensible advice, urging focused
protection for the elderly, while warning that school closures and lockdowns were futile and
destructive. But instead of heeding their expertise, the progressives dominating the state's
public and private institutions launched campaigns to defame, ostracize, and silence them.
These experts, like so many other fleeing Californians, had to leave the state to find leaders who
embraced scientific analysis and rational policies. No other state infringed upon individual
liberties more zealously. California was the first to lock down and the last to end its state
of emergency (at the end of February of this year). It closed not only schools and businesses
but also playgrounds, parks, and beaches. A police boat in Malibu chased down a solitary
surfer so that he could be arrested and handcuffed; another surfer was fined $1,000 for endangering
precisely no one. Church gatherings were outlawed for nearly a year, until the Supreme Court
finally overturned the ban. Other courts had to intervene to keep public schools in San Diego
and Los Angeles from mandating vaccines for students. California suffered one of the nation's
worst spikes in unemployment during the pandemic, and it was one of the slowest to recover
economically, despite the increased profits flowing to Silicon Valley.
California
Is Set to Pass Laws Allowing for State-Sanctioned Kidnapping and Required 'Affirmation' of
Gender-Confused Kids. My home state of California is Bizzarroland, totally over the
edge. It was bad enough, but now it has crossed the Rubicon and blown up the bridge and
burned the boats. The Golden State is set to take away parental rights and create a police
state where a court and judge must (not may) affirm a child's chosen made-up gender "identity." But
that same California requires permission for a minor to get a tattoo. Make sense of it.
I can't. Soon in California, if the Democrat super-majority gets its way, confused children
can be taken from a parent(s) and chemically castrated and mutilated at the minor's request.
Think that sounds far-fetched? It isn't. Assemblymember named Wendy Carrillo is the
author of AB 665. Eight days ago, during open debate and discussion on her bill, she made the
gallery erupt in spontaneous laughter when she said: ["]We would never move policy that
seeks to separate children from their parents.["] The AP and USA Today are all in for
the left, so, of course, they published articles claiming the arguments against are overblown.
No, they are not. AB 665 will alter the legal landscape and specific language. What does
AB 665 say and ultimately do? It's the state of California amending the Family Law Code
to legally kidnap confused children.
The
Endless Lies Democrats Tell In Defense Of Their Failed Californian Utopia. Democrats
and the corporate media in general have invested an intense amount of energy into a propaganda
campaign that paints California as the central pillar of the US economy and American
governance. According to them, California is a socialist Utopia essentially holding the rest
of the nation up on its shoulders, and without such blue states we would spiral into
oblivion. For the sake of focus, I will only break down California's mismanagement
here. Specifically, I think it's important to debunk many of the false fiscal claims made by
Gavin Newsom; the same claims which are spreading like a cancer into leftist talking points all
over the internet.
California
Residents Fear New Bill Gives Mental Health Professionals Authority To 'Emancipate' 12 Year Olds
From Parents. California residents fear mental health professionals are one step
closer to giving custody of minors 12 and older to the state after lawmakers advanced a bill on
Tuesday that aligns with existing laws for children to receive certain services without parental
consent. On Tuesday, lawmakers in the state's Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Assembly
Bill 665, which gives minors over the targeted age group authority to receive mental health
services from counselors and therapists who could allegedly sign off on children checking into
state-run youth shelters as long they provide evidence of serious physical or mental harm to
themselves or others, or if they're a victim of incest or child abuse. Although the bill's
text does not explicitly contain language that changes the state's child welfare system or removal
processes, some Californians allege the law — authored by Democrats Assembly Member
Wendy Carrillo and State Senator Scott Wiener — indicates "parental separation and
emancipation of minors."
Gavin
Newsom's shadow campaign for president. Democratic governors don't tend to jump at
the chance for a sit-down interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. They also don't tend to do
tours of states they consider hostile to their own, like Florida. But then there's
California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom . He prefers the national stage to dealing with the
rampant dysfunction happening in his own state. And while Newsom claims he isn't running for
president, the evidence suggests he actually is. True, Newsom may not be mounting a primary
campaign against a sitting president of his own party who has announced he is running again.
But Newsom is clearly running a shadow campaign just in case President Joe Biden doesn't fulfill
his pledge to become the Democratic 2024 presidential nominee.
State
Senator Tells Parents to Flee His Own State Amid Law That Would Take Kids Away From Non-'Affirming'
Parents. A California state senator told a gathered crowd of parents at the
California Senate Judicial Committee to flee the state on June 13 during a hearing on a bill which
would put parents who don't affirm their child's "gender transition" in danger of child abuse
charges. Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, is the lone Republican on California's Senate
Judiciary Committee, and he has served in the California Legislature for 11 years. He was
also the lone voice warning against language in AB 957, which a Democratic senator had amended on
June 5 to rewrite the California Family Code to list "gender affirmation" alongside a child's need
for "health, safety, and welfare."
California
Bill Would Charge Any Parent Who Doesn't Affirm Transgenderism With 'Child Abuse'. A
recently amended California bill would add "affirming" the sexual transition of a child to the
state's standard for parental responsibility and child welfare — making any parent who
doesn't affirm transgenderism for their child guilty of abuse under California state law.
AB 957 passed California's State Assembly on May 3, but a co-sponsor amended it after hours in
California's State Senate on June 6. Assembly Member Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, wrote the
bill and introduced it on Feb. 14. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, co-sponsored
it. Wilson's child identifies as transgender. Originally, AB 957 required courts to
consider whether a child's parents were "gender-affirming" in custody cases. Wiener's
amendment completely rewrites California's standard of child care.
New
Commiefornia Bill Would Take Custody Of Children Whose Parents Don't Give Them Sex Change
Operations. A newly revised California bill would treat parents' refusal to "affirm"
their child's gender identity as a violation of health, safety, and welfare in the context of
custody disputes. The bill, which has already passed the State Assembly, would require judges
adjudicating such disputes over transgender-identifying children to favor the parent who "affirms"
the child's preferred identity. [Video clip]
California
to fall far short of energy needed to power EV mandate, report says. California will
fall 20% short of generating the necessary electricity to meet the state's 100 percent electric
vehicle mandates, according to a new report released by the California free-market think tank, the
Pacific Research Institute. "California's green energy mandates will require more energy from
the electricity grid instead of fossil fuels, making it less likely that the grid can generate the
necessary power," Dr. Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson, the study's authors, said in a press
release. "These policies jeopardize California's energy security and, without a miracle leap in
technology, are setting us up for future energy shortages." Governor Gavin Newsom signed an
executive order in 2020 mandating that all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in California
starting in 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles.
Time
for the Elephant to Use Its Tusks. [Scroll down] California's progressive
Governor Brylcreem, silver spoon wedged firmly in cheek above his pencil neck, somehow manages the
political trifecta of being unmistakably fascist, oily, and blow-dried. All of this makes him
a heartthrob for the (D) electorate and a genuine threat to win the presidency, whether in 2024 or
2028. From his "nation state of California" pretensions to his homeless industrial complex;
from his corrupt deals with China to Sacramento's proposed trillions in "reparations" for
non-slaves; from his constant racial scapegoating of white men and fear and loathing of Republicans
to California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) registering illegal aliens to vote; from his
maskless bacchanals bursting the mercury on the hypocrisy meter to his unfortunate gamine of a wife
feeling compelled to testify about an assignation of some sort with a hoary, encrusted Harvey
Weinstein, this ridiculous fop and poseur of a governor and the horrifically degraded state of
California are assuredly a sneak preview into America's near and increasingly [dismal] future if
America doesn't pull back from the cliff's edge right now.
New
California Law Will Base Electricity Bills on Income Level. A new law in California
will force those who make more money to pay more for their electricity. Under the new rules,
higher-income earners will pay seven times more than low-income earners. [...] Customers will see
the new changes starting in 2025.
California
Advances Bill To Help Shoplifters Steal. Shoplifting in California may get a lot
easier, after the state Senate passed a controversial bill on May 31 that would make it illegal for
store employees to confront thieves. SB 553, authored by Democrat Senator David Cortese (San
Jose), requires employers to maintain violent incident logs, provide active shooter and shoplifter
training, and to discard policies requiring workers to confront suspected active
shoplifters, the Epoch Times reports.
Radio
Free America. [Scroll down] Look at what the nation's largest home
insurer, State Farm, just did. They dropped California, no longer writing new property
insurance policies. In our politically correct world, State Farm cited rising construction
costs as a prime factor, but that also would apply to Florida, New York, and many other
places. The real reason can only be their loss history in general, and fraud in
particular. This has affected State Farm's ability to lay off exposure to the huge
reinsurance market that all insurance companies access. Homelessness, lawlessness, and overly
pro-consumer courts are bankrupting not just insurance companies, but businesses large and small.
You
Knew It Was Coming: CA Law Would Make It Child Abuse to Not Affirm Your Kid's 'Gender
Identity'. You knew a bill like this was coming, and you knew it would probably
emanate from the California legislature because while the Golden State state crumbles, its leaders
spend most of their waking hours obsessing over transgenderism and what kind of car you
drive. AB 957, the "Family law: gender identity" bill, passed California's State Assembly on
May 3, but radical state Senator Scott Wiener (D-SF) added an amendment on June 6 that would change
the state's standard of the well-being of a minor to "include a parent's affirmation of the child's
gender identity as part of the health, safety, and welfare of the child." In other words,
you're guilty of child abuse if you refuse to call your son "Jane" and buy him dresses.
Authorities could take your kid away if you don't bend the knee.
California
Bill Would Classify Not Affirming Child's Transgenderism As 'Child Abuse'. A recently
amended California bill would classify not affirming a child's gender identity by one or both
parents as "child abuse." AB 957 was introduced into the California legislature by
Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) and state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). The
bill rewrites much of the state's family law and classifies "a parent's affirmation of the child's
gender identity as part of the health, safety, and welfare of the child." The bill amends
Section 3011 of the Family Code, which deals with child custody disputes, and requires that a court
determining the "best interests" of the child must consider affirmation of transgender
identity. If a parent were to deny the child's "gender identity," it would be a violation of
the child's health, safety, and welfare — equivalent to child abuse. Because the
bill changes the definition of what constitutes the "health, safety, and welfare" of a child, any
organization interacting with children — including schools, churches, and
hospitals — would be required to affirm gender transitions in minors.
California
Bill Would Redefine 'Infertility' To Give Men Access to Pregnancy Treatments.
California lawmakers are advancing a bill that would redefine the inability of men to get pregnant
as "infertility" and entitle them to insurance-covered fertility treatments. The legislation,
which passed in the Senate late last month and is about to be taken up by the Assembly, would
require employer-sponsored insurance plans to cover in vitro fertilization, including implantation
in pregnancy surrogates. Supporters of the legislation have touted it as an overdue step
toward "fertility equality" for LGBT people.
This is the equivalent of legalizing shoplifting.
Bill
to Stop Employees Confronting Shoplifters Passed by California Senate. Lawmakers in
California are hoping to push through controversial legislation that would ban retail staff from
stopping thieves stealing from their stores. Senate Bill 553, which was submitted by State
Senator Dave Cortese, has been passed by the State Senate and will now progress to policy committees
in the State Assembly. Cortese hopes the proposed law will prevent workplace violence and
protect staff from being forced by their employers to step-in during robberies. But some
store bosses are furious about the plans, with the California Retailers Association mocking the
move as an open invitation for thieves "to come in and steal."
California
Senate Approves $300 Weekly Checks for Unemployed Illegals. The California Senate on
Tuesday voted to pay $300 weekly checks to unemployed illegal immigrants even as the state faces a
roughly $31.5 billion deficit and mass illegal immigration. Democratic state senators passed
Senate Bill 227 by Sen. María Elena Durazo (D.) with a 30-7 vote, sending the measure to
the Assembly for approval. The legislation would offer undocumented aliens up to 20 weeks of
unemployment benefits if they meet minimal work requirements. California's unemployment
insurance fund, which was defrauded of some $31 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic, would be in
charge of dispensing the checks. California employers are on the hook for the fund's $20 billion
debt in the form of higher payroll taxes that threaten employee-heavy small businesses and restaurants
already devastated by California Democrats' strict COVID-19 lockdowns.
California
Lawmakers Will Honor Anti-Catholic Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Member. California
lawmakers plan to honor a member of the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" despite backlash over the
Los Angeles Dodgers also honoring the anti-Catholic drag group. The "Sisters of Perpetual
Indulgence" is an organization of men who dress in drag queen versions of Catholic religious habits
and claim to have a "ministry," according to its website. The California State Legislature's
LGBTQ Caucus will honor Michael Williams, a member of the "Sisters" who goes by "Sister Roma" and
uses "she/her" pronouns. "For more than three decades, Sister Roma has been one of the most
outspoken and globally recognized members of San Francisco's Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence," the
caucus said in an announcement about its 2023 "Pride Honorees."
Government
Corruption Has Succeeded In Turning America Into A Banana Republic. Are you the type
of person who works hard, saves money, and invests with the intent of accumulating lasting
wealth? If so, you've likely noticed that things don't quite add up between what you're
regularly told about how the economy and financial markets work and what you actually experience.
[...] To be perfectly frank, prices are corrupted by governments for the purpose of extracting
capital from the economy and rearranging society in strange and unnatural ways. In
California, for instance, Assembly Bill No. 205, which was approved by Governor Newsom in 2022,
requires power companies to charge customers a base fee that escalates by income bracket. A
recent proposal, would forcibly compel high income earners to pay a base fee that's over 400 percent
more than low income earners. This is in addition to the actual use rate. Is it fair and
just to penalize people with high incomes? Does the government know how to spend money better
than the people who earned it? Sacramento thinks so. As does Washington through its
execution of federal income tax policies.
The
Left Has Pushed the Envelope. California is facing a crushing $32 billion
deficit. Yet it flirts with an $800 billion-dollar "reparations" payout to the state's
Black residents. No one has any idea where the money for that would come from.
No one can define who would qualify. No one can explain why a state that never
allowed slavery eight generations ago now owes selected Californians billions of dollars it does
not have. One of the reparations board leaders asserts Blacks might be willing to accept an
"installment" plan of payments.
Gov. Newsom
reportedly floated Oprah as a potential replacement for Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has floated appointing media mogul Oprah Winfrey if
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seat becomes vacant amid deepening health concerns. According to
the Associated Press, Winfrey is among the names that Newsom is considering appointing should
Feinstein willingly leave her seat. The 89-year-old California Senator returned to Washington
on May 10, after a shingles diagnosis and treatment that kept her out of action for
10 weeks. And while the thought of slotting in a celebrity with no political experience
into the high-profile seat may seem random, there may be some planning behind it. In 2021,
Newsom promised to appoint a Black woman to Feinstein's post if her seat became vacant.
Newsom
Melts Down As Target Pulls Some 'Pride' Products Amid Outrage: 'Doesn't Stop Here'.
The governor of the largest state in the country is lashing out on Twitter at the CEO of Target
over its decision to remove some of its "Pride" collection products. On Tuesday night,
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tweeted, "CEO of Target Brian Cornell selling out the LGBTQ+
community to extremists is a real profile in courage." "This isn't just a couple stores in the
South. There is a systematic attack on the gay community happening across the country.
Wake up America," he continued. Finally, the tweet took a bizarre, fearmongering turn as
Newsom claimed, "This doesn't stop here. You're black? You're Asian? You're
Jewish? You're a woman? You're next." [Tweet]
Christian
Broadcasters Join Pushback Against California's "Misinformation" Censorship Law. The
National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) has announced that it has joined a lawsuit against a law in
California, which its proponents say is aimed against online hate speech — but which is
actually simple censorship. The NRB, an association of Christian communicators, in this way
joined other plaintiffs — The Babylon Bee, Tim Pool, and Minds, Inc. — in a
bid to block the implementation of the law, AB 587. Proposed by Democrat Jesse Gabriel and
signed last September by California Governor Gavin Newsom, it mandates that companies behind social
media platforms report what is deemed as hate speech, disinformation, radicalization, extremism,
harassment and foreign political influence to the authorities, in this case, the California
Attorney General. The law envisages fines of up to $15,000 per day for each violation for
those who fail to comply.
The
Absurdities of Our Age. How could a dysfunctional state like California even
contemplate $800 billion in reparations? The state currently faces a $31 billion annual
deficit — and it's climbing. The state's $100 billion high-speed rail project is
inert, a veritable Stonehenge of concrete monoliths without a foot of track laid down.
California's income tax rates are already the highest in the nation. Its sales taxes,
electricity rates, and gas taxes and prices are among the steepest in the country. And for
what? Crime, homelessness, and medieval decay characterize the once great downtowns of San
Francisco and Los Angeles. It is now not safe to walk alone in any major California city
after dark. Shoplifting and smash-and-grab theft are no longer treated as real crimes.
The result is the mass flight of brand stores from our downtowns and inner cities, with all the
accustomed cries of "racism," even as racist public prosecutors pick and choose whether to indict
the arrested on the basis of race. California infrastructure, once the best in the county, is
now among the worst. Decaying and crowded freeways, inadequate water storage, and pot-holed
streets are the new norm. Once robust gas, oil, mining, and timber industries are nearly
inert. The state's public schools are dysfunctional.
Gavin
Newsom Backtracks: Open to Cash Reparations for Slavery, After All. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) now says he is open to the idea of cash reparations for slavery, after
he indicated several days ago he was opposed to the idea, which was recommended by his own task
force on the issue. [...] Fox News Digital reported that Newsom was declining to back the
committee's forthcoming recommendations, saying that confronting the legacy of slavery "is about
much more than cash payments." Now, however, after a predictable media storm and backlash
from the black activists whose hopes he had raised with the reparations task force, Newsom is
moving back in the opposite direction.
The
Counterattack of Reason. The nonsensical notion fanned by California's Governor Gavin
Newsom for votes that a state which never had slavery should compel those who never owned slaves to
pay those who never were slaves, seems to have hit the rocks of reality. The reparations
panel he installed to look into this was endorsing payments as high as $1.2 million for every black
California resident. At this point, looking at a huge budget deficit, not incidentally due to
the Democrat mismanagement of his state, Newsom blinked. It was reported that he denied he
meant "cash reparations" and then, in the face of blowback from disappointed grifters, his
spokesman denied that he meant what had been reported.
CA
Gov. Newsom Manages to Turn a Massive Budget Surplus Into a $32 Billion Deficit —
in Just One Year. [F]ew other states are running at a deficit, and at $306 billion
California has the largest budget of them all. Some critics argue that the fault lies with
the state's progressive tax code which relies on wealthy taxpayers whose income fluctuates with the
performance of the stock market. You could also argue that, like our president, Newsom loves
to spend but doesn't seem to be so good at math. He proposed a variety of financial moves
that he says will solve the problem: [...] Of course, the deficit has grown another $10 billion
since he announced those plans, so their effectiveness is questionable.
California
Gov. Newsom [is] Less Than Enthusiastic About Reparations Checks. Legal
Insurrection recently reported that the California Reparations Task Force formally recommended that
the state offer payments of up to $1.2 million to every qualifying Black resident.
Apparently, the thought of writing checks that exceed the California budget was more than
super-progressive Governor Gavin Newsom could take. He has declined to endorse the
reparations panel's payment plans.
Reparations:
A Slow Motion Riot. The California reparations controversy continues to spin out of
control as we head for either a major confrontation or hyperinflation. It appears that
Governor Gavin Newsom will reject the latest proposal, but expectations have already been stoked to
the point where politicians will have no graceful exit. Less than two months ago it appeared
that the California Reparations Task Force was set to recommend reparations payments in the amount
of 640 billion dollars (despite California's total budget of less than half that amount). That
number has since increased to 800 billion dollars in what is reported as a "cautious"
estimate. Activists have denounced even this amount as insufficient while demanding 200
million dollars per person. It is apparent that the demands will only go higher. The
numbers are staggering. More staggering is the callousness with which those that know better
throw these numbers around with little regard for math, morality, or realism of any kind.
Dems
starting to discover that reparations demands are a political trap. In California,
which likes to see itself as a trend-maker for the rest of the nation, the Democrat-dominated
Legislature passed and Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill, AB-3121, establishing a "Task
Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans," effective October 2, 2020.
Nine members were to be appointed, 5 by the governor and 2 each by the leaders of the state
house and senate. But despite the law's mandate that "Members shall be drawn from diverse
backgrounds to represent the interests of communities of color throughout the state," 8 of the 9
members were African Americans — which means that they also had a personal stake in the
outcome of their deliberations. Otherwise known as a "conflict of interest," as Daniel J.
Flynn points out. Is it any surprise, then, that the task force ended up with a set of
recommendations that would bankrupt the state, costing an estimated $800 billion, two-and-a-half
times the state's annual budget?
Shoplifters
at San Francisco Target strike every 10 minutes. Workers in a San Francisco Target
store say they are being shoplifted every ten minutes, as the city faces an exodus of retail stores
due to theft. Employees say they have watched individuals actively 'shoveling' goods into
bags before making off. Multiple products including shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes and some
foods are now kept behind barriers that require staff to open them.
San
Francisco's Doom Loop: What it's like to live in a city that no longer believes its problems can be
fixed. [Scroll down] On Market, near 6th, a security guard stood in front
of Blick art supply. He'd just ejected a man who had been smoking fentanyl inside the store,
a man his bosses suggested he should refer to as "an unhoused guest." The guard, who described
himself to me as "a cis white male who stands six feet tall," had previously worked security one
block east at the Anthropologie. But that, he said, was just for show. He wasn't even
supposed to try to stop shoplifters who, at other stores on Market Street, filled up bags, or
sometimes even suitcases, with food they needed to feed themselves or their families or merchandise
to sell on the black market on Mission Street. But here, the guard told me, his co-workers'
pay depended on sales. His job was to make it tolerable for customers to shop.
Reparations
Derangement Syndrome. A panel in California, where rotten public policy ideas
metastasize like a fungus growing in dark, slimy conditions, has approved paying reparations to
descendants of slaves. It is impossible to overstate just how insane this is. The
reparations task force, appointed by Boy Gov. Gavin Newsom, voted Saturday to recommend the
state pay out as much as $800 billion to the descendants of enslaved or free black people who were
in the U.S. by the end of the 19th century. That's 2.5 times the size of California's annual
budget. Recipients could rake in as much as $1.2 million each. Or more. Much
more. Because San Francisco's reparations advisory committee has recommended the city's
qualified African American residents be given a $5 million lump sum.
California
Task Force Approves 1.1 Million In Reparations Per Black Person, Black Complain They Want 200
Million Each. California's reparations task force has approved recommendations which
could give black residents $1.2 million each as compensation for slavery and discrimination.
California's reparations task force has approved recommendations which could give black residents
$1.2 million each as compensation for slavery and discrimination. [Video clip]
California
reparations panel approves payments of up to $1.2 million to every Black resident.
The California Reparations Task Force formally recommended that the state offer payments of up to
$1.2 million to every qualifying Black resident. The task force held a public meeting in
Oakland, California, on Saturday and voted on the final set of recommendations to be sent to the
state's legislators. The nine-member panel called on the state to offer its Black residents a
formal apology in addition to the payments. "Reparations are not only morally justifiable, but
they have the potential to address long-standing racial disparities and inequalities,"
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said after attending the meeting.
California
Reparations: "Justice-Involved" Californians O.J. Simpson And Bill Cosby To Finally Get Their Just
Deserts. A California panel approved recommendations on Saturday that could mean
hundreds of billions of dollars in payments to Black residents to address past injustices.
The proposals to state legislators are the nation's most sweeping effort to devise a program of
reparations. The nine-member Reparations Task Force, whose work is being closely monitored by
politicians, historians and economists across the country, produced a detailed plan for how
restitution should be handled to address a myriad of racist harms, including housing
discrimination, mass incarceration and unequal access to health care. Created through a bill
signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the wake of the nationwide racial justice protests
after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the panel has spent more than a year conducting research
and holding listening sessions from the Bay Area to San Diego.
California
reparations task force votes to approve restitution plan. California's reparations
task force voted on Saturday in favor of a reparations program, the first of its kind in the United
States. The committee of nine members voted to give final approval a plan with detailed
explanations for how restitution should be made to victims of systemic racism, housing
discrimination, mass incarceration, and health care inequities. The plan now goes to state
legislature for approval. If passed, it could mean hundreds of billions of dollars in
payments to black residents of the Golden State.
Activists
demand higher payments from California reparations task force: '$200 million' per
person. Activists on Saturday demanded that the state of California pay millions of
dollars to each Black resident in reparations as a way to make amends for slavery and subsequent
discrimination, dismissing the mammoth proposals from California's reparations task force as too
little. The demands were made at a highly explosive official meeting of the task force, which
was created by state legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020. The committee
was hearing comments from the public as it considers final recommendations to submit to the
California Legislature, which will then decide whether to implement the measures and send them to
Newsom's desk to be signed into law. An activist identified as Reverend Tony Pierce was one
of the most outspoken people at the gathering, making reference to the famous "40 acres and a mule"
promise to former slaves when he took the podium.
The
modern corrupt legislative way of doing business: Know nothing, fund everything!
This week the Democrat-controlled legislature of the state of California passed a bill allocating
$150 million dollars from which cash-strapped hospitals could obtain loans to help pay their bills.
[...] Loans will have to be repaid in six years, though it will be possible for the loan to be
forgiven if the hospital meets certain requirements. In another news report describing the
process in which this bill was approved and passed included one particular quote that illustrated
magnificently the modern manner in which almost all American legislatures now function, from small
city councils to Congress in Washington, regardless of party. As stated by one state senator
during preliminary hearings before the bill passed: "We don't know how many hospitals, we don't
know which hospitals. We don't know which areas those hospitals are (in), we don't know
anything. [...]"
California
reparations panel hints at $1.2 million payments to each Black resident. Economists
advising California's task force for reparations have estimated that it will cost $1.2 million
per Black resident, paid over a lifetime. California is one of multiple states debating the
feasibility of economic reparations for Black Americans whose ancestors were victimized by the
Atlantic slave trade and its legacy, despite the fact California was designated as a free state
when it joined the Union. The push for reparations gained major momentum in 2020 after the
death of George Floyd at the hands of police, but it remains an economically and culturally
controversial topic. California, which frequently makes national headlines for experimental
progressive policies, has recently reached an economic estimate.
California's
Public School Exodus. No issue is more pressing in California than education.
In late October, the state released scores for the first post-Covid-shutdown state standardized
test, conducted earlier last year. The results were horrendous. Less than half of all
students who took the Smarter Balanced test — 47.1 percent — met the
state standard in English language arts, down 4 percentage points from 2018-19. One-third of
students met the standard in math, down 6.5 percentage points. Only 16 percent of black
students and 9.7 percent of English learners met standards in math. Not only did test
scores plummet; the state's chronic absenteeism rate has also skyrocketed. The no-show rate
leapt from 14.3 percent in 2020-21 to 30 percent in 2021-22.
Nordstrom
closing 2 San Francisco stores, cites 'dynamics' of downtown area. Nordstrom will
close both of its downtown San Francisco stores in the coming months, citing the "dynamics" of the
downtown market as the region continues to see a rash of retail thefts by brazen thieves. In
a memo to employees, Chief Stores Officer Jamie Nordstrom said the company will not renew its lease
for its San Francisco Centre Nordstrom store and the Market Street Rack store across the street.
[...] The Westfield mall, where the downtown Nordstrom is located, and its owner,
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said the closures "underscores the deteriorating situation in Downtown
San Francisco," the San Francisco Standard reported. "A growing number of retailers and
businesses are leaving the area due to the unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and
employees, coupled with the fact that these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery
of the area," a mall spokesperson said.
The
Real Gavin Newsom. In 2004, Newsom was elected mayor of San Francisco and instantly
made national news by "authorizing city officials to issue same-sex marriage licenses, in defiance
of state law." That was certainly another useful trait: He had no qualms about breaking the
law. In 2009, Newsom took his first shot at running for governor of California. Failing
at that, in 2011, he ran for and won the office of lieutenant governor under Jerry Brown. Yet
another useful trait: Newsom knows all about hanging onto political coattails. Both Brown and
Newsom were re-elected in 2014. Since Brown couldn't run again in 2018, Tikkanen observed,
"Newsom coasted to victory" in the general election and took office in 2019. One of Newsom's first
executive orders as governor was to do away with the death penalty.
West
Hollywood Had the Genius Idea to Replace Cops With Safety Ambassadors and It's Not Working Out Too
Well. Notoriously liberal West Hollywood had the brilliant idea of replacing police
officers with unarmed "safety ambassadors." Let's take a peek at how that's worked out during
an assault in progress. [Video clip]
San
Francisco Ends Boycott of 30 States with Conservative Laws after Limitations Proved Ineffective, Costly. The
San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to end a boycott of 30 states that passed conservatives laws after the
rule proved costly and ineffective. The board voted 7-4 to repeal a 2016 law that prohibited city employees from
traveling to or doing business with companies in states that passed conservative laws. The board of supervisors
first enacted the law in an effort to punish states that had enacted what it viewed as restrictions on LGBT rights after
the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Since
2015, the board had amended the law to include states that, in its view, had limited voting rights and abortion access.
"It's not achieving the goal we want to achieve," said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, the sponsor of the legislation to
repeal the boycott. "It is making our government less efficient."
Another
day, another store closing in San Francisco (actually two). Earlier this month I
wrote about San Francisco's flagship Whole Foods supermarket which announced it was closing after
just one year because of high theft and security issues for employees who worked there.
Today, SFGate reports another store downtown is closing after two decades. [...] Anthropologie
didn't say why it was closing. Is it inflation? Was it the pandemic and the subsequent
urban doom loop? Or did it have to do with retail theft and threats against employees from
deranged street people? The reality is it could be all three at once but don't discount theft
as a big factor. San Francisco leads the nation in property crime.
DA
accused of 'extreme departure from California law' with charges in 5-year-old girl's
murder. A radical California DA is under fire for going easy on three gangbangers
charged with shooting a 5-year-old girl through the heart and killing her earlier this month.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price declined to add gun and gang enhancements to murder
raps against the suspects — a "staggering" move which could significantly lessen their
sentences. "Not filing gun and gang enhancements in a case like this is an extreme departure
from California criminal law practice," veteran Los Angeles County prosecutor Jason Lustig told The
[New York] Post. "It's extreme." The Berkeley Scanner first reported the lack of
enhancements alongside basic murder charges and called it a "break in precedent" and the "first
time anything like it has happened in Alameda County" in such a serious case.
CA
musing on mandating your EV be able to help power the grid. This news is going to go
in the Does California EVER Think Anything Through file, because I have seen no clear-cut
proof that they do. [...] In a twisted way, this makes sense for a state that already can't keep
the lights on — use all those lovely, honkin' yuge batteries in EVs sitting in driveways
to take the load off the grid (vehicle-to-grid/V2G) or help consumers either keep their own
electric bills down or function during an outage by powering their house with the Tesla in the
driveway (vehicle-to-home/V2H). As CA legislators think, "If it works for 5 people, we can
make everyone do it." What doesn't make sense is, again, CA can't keep the lights on.
Vicious circle. For your car battery to be charged enough to run the house or help take the
load off a failing grid, it has to be charged/juiced up to discharge.
California
Goes Full Communist: Utilities to Base What They Charge on How Much You Make. The
state of California is implementing full Marxism before our very eyes under the guise of "equity."
And so now there can be no possible doubt if there ever was for anyone: instituting Communism
has been what "equity" initiatives have been about all along. Now three of its most powerful
utility companies are saying that they're going to charge based not on how much of their product
was used, but on how much money the user makes. In simpler times, if you bought something,
you paid for it. Rich or poor, tall or short, black or white, female or male, wise or
foolish, everyone paid the same amount for a product. But in our more enlightened era, we
know how unjust that really is. It deprives the poor of access to vital goods and services,
and that injustice must be redressed.
California
Electric Bills Will Be Based On How Much You Earn. What's next, a proposal for
supermarkets that can charge you based on your income for bread and eggs? Also, Best Buy
should charge you for a new phone based on your earnings. Airline tickets? There can be
three tiers based on earnings. Not that it matters how much California utilities charge for
power that they can't deliver anyway to people fleeing the state as fast as they can. If you
like your Communism, you can keep your Communism.
CA
Rep. Kiley Introduces Constitutional Amendment Requiring Election of U.S. Senators.
[Senator] Feinstein's term is up in 2024, and she's said she's not seeking re-election (though there was
some confusion around that statement). [...] If Feinstein resigns before her term ends, under California
law Gov. Gavin Newsom would have the power to appoint a replacement to serve until the next general
election. Newsom already promised to appoint a black woman to the seat if Feinstein resigns before
2024. Since Lee (a black woman) has already declared her candidacy and has powerful endorsements,
Newsom would be under massive pressure to appoint her. Newsom already appointed one of the state's
senators, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-because of course), and he likely relishes the idea of being able to
appoint another since he uses them as political patronage jobs and ways to gain DEI brownie points.
California Republicans are getting weary of all of this appointing, which makes the climb toward electoral
relevance in the state even more difficult. Freshman Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) has now introduced
a Constitutional Amendment providing that "U.S. Senators, like Members of the House, must always be elected
rather than appointed."
The Editor says...
If the governor has "already promised to appoint a black woman to the seat," isn't that premeditated racial discrimination?
California
Hits the Gas on Its Way to Failed Commie Statehood. [Gavin] Newsom began his
political career in San Francisco, the city that spawned bottom-feeding haters of liberty like
Dianne Feinstein, Granny Boxwine Pelosi, and the cackling weirdo who is currently one heartbeat
away from the presidency, Kamala Harris. Under normal circumstances, the governor's vibe
wouldn't affect so much of what goes on in the state. The Wuhan Chinese Bat Flu Plague,
however, gave Democrat governors like Newsom a taste of tyrannical power that they have been
reluctant to give up. The Golden State is now very much a reflection of its Soviet-esque
chief executive.
Welcome
to Gavin Newsom's California, Where the Looting Is Easy. California Gov. Gavin
Newsom has eyes on running for president if Joe Biden somehow moves out of the way. It's why
Newsom has been attacking red states, and in particular, Florida, trying to pick a fight with
Gov. Ron DeSantis. He's hoping that will up his national profile. [...] What's funny is
that places like Florida are doing far better than his state. It's why people have fled
California and other states like it by the hundreds of thousands. He's spending a lot of
money to attack other places while he doesn't seem to [care] about the mess that he and other
Democrats have made in the Golden State. Let's take a look at what he leaves behind whenever
he leaves town — a completely out-of-control state, one which residents are fleeing.
California
Quietly Pushes Scary New Law — The State Could Take Kids Away From "Non-Affirming"
Parents. California claims to be at the front of the progressive movement, and
Gov. Gavin Newsom believes his state sets a precedent the entire country should follow.
Newsom has made these remarks numerous times in the past, and we'll likely hear them a lot more
often if he runs for President in 2024. "Turning America into Cali" might be his rallying
cry. But several million parents won't be on board with what they're trying to do in the
Golden State now. Currently, California lawmakers are considering a bill that would actually
allow state officials to take kids away from families — and they wouldn't even have to
tell the parents until afterward.
A
note from inside Gulag California. If it weren't so serious, Gavin Newsom's current
assault on red states would be hilarious. What he is peddling as "democracy" is
totalitarianism in its worst form. What's frightening is that there are millions of voters
throughout America who will lap up what he's selling. Why? Because they are Zombie
Voters; brain-dead people who do zero research and even less thinking before they vote. They
get their news from TikTok and Facebook. They vote based on how they feel about a candidate
instead of what they think about that candidate's positions. It's sad but true.
California is full of them. Most California voters don't know how to think because most were
never taught. [...] Children from California public schools are by and large the people who keep
California deep blue. They show up at the polls and vote for candidates without knowing one
single thing about them or giving one instant's thought to what that person will mean for them or
their future.
How
Low Can Blue Cities Sink? Take San Francisco. Things are so bad there that
Whole Foods, an iconic liberal company, has shut its flagship store in that city after just one
year of operation, due to rampant crime and drug use that, the company said, made it impossible to
assure the safety of its employees. But when it comes to commercial real estate, San
Francisco, while very bad, is not the bottom of the barrel. John Phelan reports on a series
of corporate departures from Minneapolis and St. Paul. The numbers are grim. [...] The
reality is worse than these numbers indicate. Large chunks of downtown Minneapolis (and
St. Paul) are not recorded as vacant because someone is paying rent on them, but in fact
no one is working in those offices. Companies are simply waiting for their leases to
expire. Thus the situation is getting worse, not better.
As
We Predicted, Gavin Newsom's Schtick Isn't Going Over Well With Democrats in Red
States. I've consistently made the observation that California Democrats have a very
tough time getting traction outside of the state because they've never been challenged on their
positions or been held accountable by the media in any way. They don't even need to give
campaign speeches or long-form interviews because at this point they don't need to. So, like
Kamala Harris, once the rest of the country gets to see what they're all about, they're not
fans. Gavin Newsom is the latest California political superstar to suffer this fate, and he
hasn't even declared for POTUS yet. Over the last week or so he's been traveling to red
states, acting like the savior who'll be bringing enlightenment to the rubes stuck there.
Unsurprisingly, for anyone who's ever lived outside a narcissistic bubble, that doesn't go over
well, especially in the South.
The
Nightmare of Reparations. The [California Reparations] Task Force is considering a
payment of $360,000 each to 1.8 million black people in California. The total cost would
be $640 billion. (California's total budget this year is only $286 billion — a
number with which the Task Force is apparently unconcerned.) Undoubtedly, many Republicans will
argue that the proposal is "too high." This argument will dominate the public debate, as it is
the only anti-reparations argument that the national media will allow to break through the usual cloud
of disinformation. The result of such a debate will be a lower number (also unaffordable) that
might be enacted as a compromise. Try to imagine a number that would be affordable —
either for California or the U.S. as a whole since the federal government is the ultimate source of
payment. The U.S. is over 30 trillion dollars in debt. To make this proposal affordable,
the payments would have to be reversed. Instead of receiving money, the 1.8 million black
people contemplated in California would have to pay to the U.S. government $360,000 per person per year
for the next 50 years. That would result in enough money to pay off the current U.S. debt.
Of course, that will not happen and the U.S. debt will never be repaid. But it serves as a reminder
that any amount of reparations would be too much. There is no acceptable compromise.
LA
County's proposal to 'decarcerate' jail population withdrawn after pushback from public, law
enforcement. A controversial proposal by Los Angeles County Board members to
"decarcerate" jails was withdrawn from Tuesday's agenda after opposition from the public and law
enforcement. The agenda item was titled "Los Angeles County to take Actionable Next Steps to
Depopulate and Decarcerate the Los Angeles County Jails." Introduced by Supervisors Lindsey
Horvath and Hilda Solis, the proposal outlined that it would "Declare the state of mental health
services and overcrowding in the Los Angeles County jails a humanitarian crisis, requiring the
County to move with all deliberate speed on meaningful solutions; and prioritize decreasing the
number of individuals entering the Los Angeles County Jails."
Gavin
Newsom is cornered by the reparations clown show he unleashed. California's Governor
Gavin Newsom finds himself in such an awkward position that he is refusing comment on a gathering
storm that will not go away, and which has the possibility of turning his presidential ambitions to
ashes. Newsom is known to many as "Governor Brylcreem" for the large amount of greasy pomade
he favors for his coiffure. He will need all the lubricant he can come up with to slip
through the trap he has constructed for himself. [...] Democrats totally control both houses of the
legislature, and who among them would vote against reparations? Blacks' share of California's
population is well below the national average, but in a state utterly dominated by the left, it
would take courage — and leadership from the governor — to go against the fad
(and left wing obsession) of reparations.
'$5
million is too little:' Activists tell California reparations committee to aim
higher. Activists on Wednesday demanded that the state of California pay millions of
dollars to each Black resident in reparations as a way to make amends for slavery and subsequent
discrimination, dismissing the idea of payments of $5 million per person as "nothing" and "too
little." The demands were made at an in-person meeting of the California Reparations Task
Force, which was created by state legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020. The
committee was hearing comments from the public as it considers final recommendations to submit to
the California Legislature, which will then decide whether to implement the measures and send them
to Newsom's desk to be signed into law. The task force is considering a proposal to give just
under $360,000 per person to approximately 1.8 million Black Californians who had an ancestor
enslaved in the U.S., putting the total cost of the program at about $640 billion.
Dem
Bill Will Allow School Psychologists to 'Kidnap' Kids as Young as 12 - Remove from Homes Without Parental
Consent. A California legislative proposal that its sponsor says will increase mental health
services for children is being attacked by its opponents as "state-sanctioned kidnapping." Democratic
Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo said her bill fixes an issue that denies poor kids on the state's Medi-Cal
insurance plan the same coverage as other children. "[Assembly Bill] 665 is about making sure all
young people, regardless if they have private health insurance or are Medi-Cal recipients, have access to
mental health resources," Carrillo said, according to the Sierra Sun Times.
The Editor says...
This bill isn't about "access" or mental health or poor kids. I suspect it's about transvestites,
sex change operations, and grooming.
Realigning
California Would Realign America. California's role in influencing the future of the
country is unparalleled. In addition to its economic and demographic weight, California
remains the epicenter of America's media and entertainment industry, as well as its high-tech
industry. Even if several American states defy the momentum of California's political class,
laws governing California frequently end up becoming federal policy. The abyss is coming for
us all, and its epicenter is in California. [...] In general, ballot initiatives are a good way to
keep California's progressive elites off balance and drain their treasuries. Qualifying a
ballot initiative in California today will cost proponents between $5 and $10 million. But
if it represents a serious threat to the environmentalist industrial complex, the woke tycoons, or the
government unions, they will spend many times that amount to defeat it.
California
Reparations Board Seeks to Resurrect 1860s Agency That Helped Freed Former Slaves.
First, as we recently reported, San Francisco is poised to hand out $5 million in pretend
"reparations" — taxpayer money — to every black resident of the city.
And California was never a slave-owning state, mind you. Now, the California Reparations Task
Force is recommending reviving a modern version of the Freedmen's Bureau — an
all-encompassing agency created in 1865 to assist previously enslaved black people — to
administer any benefits related to the aforementioned taxpayer handouts. Crazy? We're
talking about the People's Republic of Woke California, what do you think?
Will
the Last One to Leave California Please Turn on the Lights. [T]he latest shoe to drop
is the failure of Silicon Valley Bank last week. But fear not, like major U.S. corporations
and some financial institutions that have been deemed as too big to fail, states like
California now qualify to join that august body of TBTFs. The Feds have now made 'an
exception' and have propped up SVB, guaranteeing that all depositors will now get all
their money back (so much for our banking regulations that only safeguarded up to $250K per
depositor). Why? The Feds say that they fear 'contagion' (read: a run on banks) and
that this action is justified and is not to be considered a 'bailout.' Californians have once again
been spared the pain of facing reality and the equal application of America's laws. They are
still free to continue to live comfortably in the land of eternal darkness and self-delusion.
California
reparations panel RAISES amount it wants to give 1.8 million black people from $220,000 to $360,000
each. Black Californians could be in line for $360,000 each as part of the state's
plan to dish out 'reparations' to descendants of slaves. Secretary of State Shirley Weber
told a meeting today that California must 'admit its sins and change the narrative,' to pave the
way for initiatives similar to ones already being considered in other states. But there has
been no detail about how the $650 billion project will be funded amid concerns over California's
growing deficit which is expected to worsen due to a jobs blood bath in its tax-generating Silicon Valley.
Sequoia
Capital executive admits 'even Democrats like me are fed up with San Francisco'. I
guess all that "culture" (human feces and heroin needles) and "excitement" (rampant crime) of life
in a big city is getting a little old for Michael Moritz, a partner at Sequoia Capital. But,
don't you smug conservatives get any ideas, these blights aren't a byproduct of Democrat
ideas — San Francisco is merely "held hostage" by "political classes." In an essay
published by The New York Times today, Moritz acknowledged the city was indeed "crippled" by
"homeless encampments" and "drug addicts" before he blamed conservatives for rubbing Democrat noses
in the mess. [...] He describes this phenomenon as "tyranny of the minority." Is this a
prelude to reinvigorated efforts to abolish the Electoral College?
America Is Becoming a Corrupt
Country. Shoplifting, flash robberies, and rampant crime have dramatically increased since so many
jurisdictions have dramatically raised the dollar threshold of felony theft (in some places, stealing something worth
$950 is a misdemeanor). Police won't waste time arresting crooks who prosecutors won't prosecute. The result
is that petty theft on a grand scale has become a way of life for tens of thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of
people. Target alone estimates that it lost $600 million last year to theft in the San Francisco Bay
region. Add to this the rises in carjacking, burglary, and mugging. The rise in crime inherently means more
criminals and more acceptance of living on someone else's money.
California's
Predicted Fiscal Firestorm Has Arrived. Democrats' profligate spending, greed, and lack of imagination on
how to run America's most populous state have been disastrous. An investment research group says California's "tax
policy is killing the Golden Goose in the Golden State." And that's not the only problem. Governor Gavin
Newsom sent billions of Joe Biden's specially printed, inflation-causing Covid money to voters for "inflation
relief" before his latest election. He teed up "free" kindergarten for four-year-olds, and gave out "free"
healthcare to illegal aliens. His reckless spending was the fiscal equivalent of putting on a pork chop suit and
heading out to the closest dog park. Now, of course, he'll be blaming this fiscal cliff on someone —
anyone — else. Newsom helped destroy contracting jobs and continued to waste money on the Train
to Nowhere.
We
Deserve Reparations From Stupid People. The City of San Francisco, the bayside burg that gave us Nancy
Pelosi and sidewalk toilets, is now proposing the ultimate in nonsense — a few million bucks of reparations
for everyone whose grandparents came from the right continent at the right time. Actually, it's more generous than
that, because you may also be eligible if you were a victim of the Drug War — that is, if you were a scumbag
drug dealer justly imprisoned for slinging poison before the narcotics were effectively legalized by the same leftists
whose hometown proposes this giveaway. Well, if a bunch of people who were never slaves should get free money from
people who never owned slaves, I propose that the people forking over the dollars be the liberal San Francisco Democrats
who never owned slaves.
Most of us agree that California is leading the nation — in the wrong direction.
California
Secretary of State: We Can 'Lead the Nation' on Reparations. California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N.
Weber said that the Golden State can "lead the nation" by passing reparations for the descendants of black slaves.
California entered the Union as a free state on Sep. 9, 1850. The state has been considering reparations under a law
proposed by Weber, then in the State Assembly, and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in 2020, during the height of
the frenzy around the Black Lives Matter movement. A committee was formed to consider proposals for reparations
and to make recommendations to the legislature. As Breitbart News has reported, reparations could amount to
$230,000 per recipient, though some claim even that will not be enough. The committee is due to report its final
recommendations to the state legislature later this year for consideration. California currently faces a budget
deficit of roughly $22.5 billion.
If
Reparations Are Owed, the Democratic Party Should Pay Them. Let's analyze the issue of reparations from
the standpoint of morality and practicality. Most people believe that compensation for misdeeds should come from
the people who caused the misdeeds. For example, if John Smith and Joe Brown recklessly damage your car, you
expect Smith and Brown (or their insurance companies) to pay for the repairs. Normally, you would not expect the
repairs to be financed by the entire town in which you live: That would make no sense. What if Joe Brown died
shortly after the accident? Would you expect his children or grandchildren to pay you? Probably not.
Instead, your claim for compensation would be focused on the surviving reckless driver, John Smith. We can apply
this logic to the reparations issue. Obviously, no person alive today existed during the slave era or as an adult in
the subsequent Jim Crow or Ku Klux Klan eras. However, there are certain responsible entities that existed then and now:
• The United State government
• Eleven slave states of the Confederacy plus four union slave states
• A handful of corporations with origins dating before the end of slavery
• The Democratic Party
I did not include the Republican Party for a very good reason: It was formed in 1854 by a bunch of abolitionists
for the express purpose of ending slavery, which was accomplished at enormous cost 11 years later.
'Defund
the Police' LA City Council member asks LAPD for extra patrols around his office. A newly-elected Los
Angeles city councillor who campaigned on a pledge to abolish the police has been left red-faced after a staff member
rang the LAPD to request protection for his broken-down car. Hugo Soto-Martinez, a trade union activist and member
of the Democratic Socialist party, was elected in December. Soto-Martinez campaigned against 'armed militias
occupying our neighborhoods,' saying that the existing policing system was 'completely corrupt, immoral, and needs to be
changed drastically.'
Court
Slaps Down California's Attempt To Muzzle Doctors Who Dissent From Covid Groupthink. [Scroll down] In
passing the law, the California legislature made multiple "findings," including facts purveyed by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) that there is a much higher risk of death for unvaccinated individuals from Covid-19 than the vaccinated.
The legislature also found that "the spread of misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines has weakened public
confidence and placed lives at serious risk" and that "major news outlets have reported that some of the most dangerous propagators
of inaccurate information regarding the COVID-19 vaccines are licensed health care professionals." Soon after Newsom signed
AB 2098, a group of doctors and organizations representing doctors filed suit in federal court in California.
California's
plan to power EVs has one glaring shortcoming. You may have already heard about California Governor Gavin
Newsom's announcement last year that his state will ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. Restrictions on
how many non-electric vehicles can be sold will begin in just three years. This is making all of the climate
alarmists very happy, of course, but there is a significantly large fly in the ointment of this plan. In order to
charge up roughly 12.5 million EVs on a daily basis, the state will need to have a lot of electricity available on
the power grid. But nobody seems to have run through all of the numbers with the Governor. Some people who
actually did the math work with the Institute for Energy Research, and they have some bad news for Governor
Newsom. The state's plan is based on "a myriad of assumptions" about its electrical grid, and a lot of those
assumptions are simply unrealistic in a very big way.
California's
fake water crisis. This year, California was hit by not one but nine "atmospheric rivers" that drenched
the state, flooded communities, and filled reservoirs. [...] However, California officials are saying that the massive
storms have not solved the drought problem. Water customers may be asked to continue conservation efforts.
Agricultural users can expect only 30 percent of regular water deliveries. These drought provisions will
continue despite the following:
• Tens of trillions of gallons of freshwater that dropped upon the state from the storms:
• A snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that is double the size of an average year;
• Many reservoirs, especially in the state's northern part, now have over 100 percent capacity;
• Rains so intense that they could have filled a reservoir the size of the massive Hetch Hetchy water system that supplies San Francisco once every 24 hours; and
• Water districts reporting underground storage replenished by billions of gallons of water.
All these factors should point to surpluses. The long drought should be over. Each atmospheric river
provided its share to make California wet again. But there is nothing like a good crisis to keep things liberal,
especially in eco-friendly California. The good news is that the rains dumped tens of trillions of gallons upon
the parched land. The bad news is that most of the water ended up in the Pacific Ocean. California is
in a state of a manufactured crisis.
Judge
blocks California's covid misinformation law. On January 25, the case of Hoeg v. Newsom
prompted a federal judge to pause California's covid misinformation and disinformation law for violating the First and
14th Amendments to the Constitution. Five doctors who are plaintiffs in the case say Assembly Bill 2098 violates
their constitutional rights. These include Drs. Tracy Hoeg, Ram Duriseti, Aaron Kheriaty, Pete Mazolewski,
and Azadeh Khatibi. Gov. Gavin Newsom and other elected officials, including the president and members of the
Medical Board of California, are named as defendants in the case (and there is also a second lawsuit, separate but
related in nature, called Hoang v. Bonta that makes similar allegations). AB 2098 puts a muzzle
on California doctors, preventing them from providing information to their patients that the state deems to be
"misinformation" or "disinformation." Doctors who advise and treat their patients based on science rather than
lies face the potential loss of their medical license under AB 2098.
The
most dangerous legislator in America? California State Senator Scott Wiener could be the most dangerous
legislator in the nation. That's the lesson I took away from a great piece by Abigail Shrier I just read in City
Journal, one of the best magazines in America. It shines a light on Weiner's one-man crusade to empower human
traffickers in the State of California under the guise of protecting LGBTQIA+ rights. [...] And as Shrier describes in
the opening to her piece, Weiner got a law passed that vastly expanded the street prostitution trade, by removing all
penalties for a loitering law that gave police probable cause to arrest street prostitutes. In practical terms
that meant that police couldn't identify minors who were being trafficked and separate them from their abusive
pimps. The result has been drastic — the number of young women escaping sex slavery in California has
dropped to near zero.
Federal
Judge Uses Covid Regime Case To Attack Key Leftist Tactics. A new California law that went into effect on
January 1st is intended to punish doctors who spread "misinformation" about Covid — and especially about
treatment options and the dangerous mRNA injections. That law has been challenged in federal court. In what
follows I'll be drawing from an article in the Sacramento Bee, which was brought to my attention by Thomas Lifson.
Yesterday Judge William Shubb stayed enforcement of the law, while subjecting it to a withering critique. What I
found particularly encouraging is that a federal judge directly attacked a major shibboleth of Leftist ideology as well
as one of the Left's key tactics in attacking the free flow of information to the American public.
California's
COVID-19 Misinformation Law Blocked by Judge. A federal judge in California on Jan. 25 paused the
state's so-called COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation law that has been challenged by doctors in two lawsuits,
claiming it violates their constitutional rights. In Hoeg v. Newsom, five doctors alleged that the state law,
AB 2098, is unconstitutional under the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The doctors, Tracy
Hoeg, Ram Duriseti, Aaron Kheriaty, Pete Mazolewski, and Azadeh Khatibi, filed their lawsuit against Gov. Gavin
Newsom and other officials, including the president and members of the Medical Board of California. A separate
related lawsuit, Hoang v. Bonta, makes similar allegations. The doctors say the law prevents them from
providing information to their patients that may contradict what the law permits or prohibits. They also alleged
the law was used to intimidate and punish physicians who disagreed with prevailing views on COVID-19.
Reckless Reparations
Reckoning. Here are 10 reasons why the nation's — and especially California's —
discussions of reparatory payouts are dangerous in a multiracial state, and why reparations are not viable either in an
insolvent state or a bankrupt nation at large. [...] [#3] California is at the forefront of the reparation lobbying
effort. Yet it was neither a slave nor a Jim-Crow state. On the eve of the Civil War, the federal census
recorded only about 4,000 free black citizens residing in the free state of California, or about 1 percent of the
nearly 400,000 residents in 1860. The relatively new state remained part of the Union, in which no major battles
of the war over slavery were waged. The pathology did not exist anywhere in California and the population was
overwhelmingly loyal to the Union. In other words, reparations based on slavery is not a cohesive argument for the
current-day 40 millions of California, in which over one-quarter of the residents were not even born in the United
States. [...] [#9] There has not been slavery in the United States in some 158 years since the end of the
Civil War. If a generation can be defined as 25 years, there has not been a living American with personal
experience of slavery in generations.
California's
'Misinformation' Law Targets 'Doctor Zero'. A new and unconstitutional, Orwellian gag-order law took
effect on Jan. 1. Titled "Physicians and surgeons: unprofessional conduct," the law permits the Medical Board
of California to discipline doctors who "disseminate" misinformation. It's an obvious and direct attack on the
First Amendment — freedom of speech — as well as the Fifth Amendment, which says an individual
cannot be compelled by the government to provide incriminating information about himself, and the Fourteenth Amendment's
equal protection under the laws. This law attempts to mandate a new and undefined standard known as "contemporary
scientific consensus" and illegally suppress differing professional opinions counter to this consensus on
COVID-19. Differing professional opinions are of course protected from governmental interference and censorship by
the First Amendment. The importance of differing professional opinions is also enshrined in the practice of
medicine by the longstanding right and traditional entitlement of patients to the time-honored "second opinion."
If everyone were forced to adopt the undefinable "contemporary scientific consensus," second opinions could be deemed to
be "misinformation."
California's
new digital license plates made cars trackable by hackers. Reviver says it's mission is to "modernize" the
driving experience, and the way it does that is by developing the world's first digital license plate and connected
vehicle platform. But security researchers looking into how safe that "modernization" is have found a way to poke
significant holes in this design. Some of the vulnerabilities discovered show that malicious outside actors can
track GPS location of digital license plates owners. Reviver rolled out digital license plates last October and is
still the only company that sells them in California. They are being marketed as legal to use across the US, while
it is also becoming legal to buy them in more and more states. Those who own such plates, or plan to do so, will
be interested to hear that researcher Sam Curry shared in a blog post that it is possible for hackers to access the
"super user" admin mode of any user, and from there on effectively remotely take over.
California's
Crazy New Year: Five Radical Laws Go into Effect. [#3] AB 2147: Decriminalizing Jaywalking Because of
Racism — This law, called the "Freedom to Walk Act," presumes that jaywalking is a racist crime because it is
supposedly enforced unevenly — by the nation's most left-wing state — in "communities of color"
where people supposedly cannot afford to pay the fines. The law prevents police from stopping people who are
crossing the street illegally unless they are in danger. [...] [#5] SB 357: Decriminalizing Loitering
for Prostitution — This law, another by State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), decriminalizes
loitering in public for the purpose of committing prostitution (which remains a crime). It also allows those
convicted of such loitering to petition courts for the dismissal and sealing of their cases. The law aims to
remove the social stigma of sex work; it also comes amid a statewide crime wave.
An
Actual Threat to Our Democracy. The ever-crazier California legislature has passed a law that, as the Wall
Street Journal's editors describe it: ["]...creates a state council to dictate wages, working conditions
and benefits, among other things, for fast-food workers who aren't unionized. The law is intended to coerce
fast-food franchises to surrender to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).["] Can that possibly
be constitutional? I don't know, but it any event it is a terrible idea: ["]...the state council
could issue edicts such as raising the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $22 a[n] hour.["]
Year
in Review: California Got Even Crazier in 2022. California Democrats love to say their state's laws lead
the way. But where, exactly, are they leading us? Here are some guideposts. [#2] The Safer
Streets For All Act: California's pimps can now operate in the open after legislators decriminalized streetside
sex solicitation in the name of equity. Supporters of the bill, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D.),
sought this repeal of California's longtime anti-loitering law, claiming police used it to target minorities and
transgender people. Victims of sex trafficking opposed the new legislation, since the anti-loitering policy helped
cops find exploited kids.
Black
actor blasts $223,000 reparations payments suggested by California commission. Actor Faizon Love has
lashed out at the notion that black people in California will be given $223,000 in reparations, saying that the money
will only be used to purchase luxury cars. Love, 54, made the eye-opening response in an interview with YouTube
channel Vlad TV as the debate over reparations for slavery in the Golden State continues. The Meteor Man star
said: '[...] That's another trick man, because that money's gonna go right back to Cadillac and right back to [Mercedes] Benz.'
The Editor says...
How true. If you give someone $223,000 of someone else's money, they're likely to spend it foolishly. Not just
on a Cadillac, but on cigarettes, beer, tattoos, and lottery tickets. The m0ney will be all gone in a few months, and
the cars will be junk in 15 years.
San
Bernardino County Residents Vote to Study Secession from Far-Left California. San Bernardino County
residents voted for officials to study the possibility of seceding from California as more grow increasingly tired of
the state's far-left policies. The county approved the advisory ballot proposal, which was voted upon in November,
earlier this week, the Associated Press (AP) reported. San Bernardino's Board of Supervisors' next step is likely
to form a committee that will study if state and federal public funds were fairly distributed with local governments
within the county.
Universal
Basic Income Hits the Bay Area — If You're Black. At least three guaranteed income initiatives
in the San Francisco Bay Area openly discriminate against white residents, limiting or entirely preventing their
participation in programs that dole out no-strings-attached cash. The programs — all of which are
publicly funded — violate both the United States and the California state constitution, lawyers say, as well
as civil rights laws that ban race discrimination in contracting and by the recipients of government funds. The
initiatives include the Black Economic Equity Movement, which provides $500 a month exclusively to "Black young adults,"
the Abundant Birth Project, which provides $1,000 a month to "Black and Pacific Islander mothers," and the Guaranteed
Income for Transgender People program, which will dole out $1,200 a month and "prioritize enrollment" of transgender
"Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC)." They are financed by the National Institutes of Health, the
California Department of Social Services, and the city of San Francisco, respectively.
Condo
prices in San Francisco plummet as drug abuse and crime soar. Luxury condo prices in the heart of downtown
San Francisco have plummeted as drug abuse and crime have spiraled out control — and as many techies continue
to work remotely. Data analyzed by Compass shows the Golden Gate city — once pegged as the hottest real
estate market globally — has since fallen fast. The median sale price of a two-bedroom condo, for
example, has fallen 16.5% since 2021, while sale prices in surrounding areas have slipped only 7%, according to the
market report.
Civil Disobedience
Starts Here. As COVID-19 cases increase, the Los Angeles County public health director is
threatening — yes, that's the right word — another indoor mask mandate. It's a hob-nailed
boot on the neck. Angelenos need to resist, for themselves and the rest of the country. "As COVID cases and
other viruses continue to rise, the Southland is inching closer to a mask mandate," the Los Angeles CBS affiliate
reported Sunday. Barbara Ferrer, the county director of public health, who is not a physician, not a nurse, not
even a paper shuffler at a doctor's office, but a social welfarist, said last week that "masking" is one of several
"commonsense mitigation strategies" that "remains a very sensible approach." Don't mistake mask mandates as
harmless cases of officials acting in an abundance of caution or just covering their backsides, as government always
does. Mask mandates are open displays of outright meanness, a manifestation of authoritarian urges to control
others. There is no data, no reputable research that tells us mask mandates works. In fact, the data tells
the opposite. Yet officials such as Ferrer and the Sacramento schools chamberlains are insisting that masks must
go back on.
California
voters may block the new fast food minimum wage law. In August, the California legislature narrowly passed
a new law designed to micromanage the fast food industry in that state known as the FAST Act. (Fast Food
Accountability and Standards Recovery Act.) Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law on Labor Day. The food
and beverage industry started raising the alarm immediately, describing all of the negative effects this legislation
could produce. The law would allow the legislature to create an unelected board (the "Fast Food Council") that
would oversee everything from benefits and wages to working hours. But one industry group began collecting
signatures to demand a referendum on the new law. The deadline for submitting signatures was this Monday and it
looks like they met the goal.
California
seeks to punish oil companies with new penalty. California lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation to
penalize oil companies for alleged price gouging, setting up a showdown with an industry that has long wielded political
influence in the Golden State. At the urging of Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Senate Budget Chair Nancy
Skinner, D-Berkeley, proposed a new bill that would levy a penalty on oil companies when their profits exceeded a
legally-established threshold. The money raised by the penalty would then be placed in a fund that would be
directed back to taxpayers in the form of rebates. But the initial bill language is vague, failing to define the
profit threshold that oil companies would be penalized for exceeding and lacking an explanation of who would be eligible
for the rebates. Newsom said those specifics will be sorted out over the course of the special session. The
move comes two months after the Democratic governor first unveiled a plan to levy a windfall profits tax on oil
companies that were running up record earnings while Californians were getting squeezed at the pump.
San
Fran is a hellhole for a reason. Earlier today I wrote about an infant who overdosed on fentanyl while
playing in a park. The child's nanny had taken her to the park for a walk and among the detritus left by druggies
was enough fentanyl to cause a near-fatal overdose. Luckily the EMTs arrived and saved her life. This is
modern San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi's shining city on a hill. The park is a few blocks from Pelosi's scene of the
crime home. I stumbled across this new investigative report an hour after I finished writing that post, and it
helps explain why San Francisco is a [...] mess. [Tweet] As I have said before, public employment in San
Francisco isn't public service; it is nothing but another government grift. Not that most of the taxpayers in San
Francisco don't deserve to lose money to the confidence men; they are idiotic enough to keep voting for this
[stuff]. Still, David Sjostedt of the San Francisco Standard deserves kudos for reporting the story. If San
Franciscans aren't engaged enough to care about the decline of their once-breathtaking city, at least people from
more sane venues can learn from their experience.
California
Releases Thousands of Convicted Pedophiles Within a Year of Conviction. California has released thousands
of convicted pedophiles after spending only a few months in prison. Such pedophiles have been convicted of "a
range of horrific acts, including raping kids under 14," according to the study investigation conducted by the U.K.
Daily Mail. More than 7,000 persons convicted of "lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of
age" have been released in the same year they were convicted. Convicts who committed even more heinous crimes,
such as sodomy and rape of children, also served short sentences.
Keywords: Buying votes, money laundering, slush fund, graft.
Oakland Will
Send Taxpayer Dollars To Residents So They Can Donate To Politicians. Oakland, California, is set to give
adult residents vouchers to donate to candidates for local office every other year, according to The San Francisco
Chronicle. Nearly 74% of the city's voters approved Measure W, mandating that the city biannually send four
$25 dollar vouchers to residents 18 years of age and older for donations to mayoral, City Council or school board
candidates, the outlet reported. The program will be paid for with city general funds and include legal permanent
residents who lack U.S. citizenship.
California
Still Has More Than 250,000 Uncounted Ballots. While Arizona's handling of the midterm election has been
the focus of media outlets and pundits for some time, California still has more than 250,000 uncounted ballots across
the state. It's been more than two weeks since America voted in the 2022 midterms, yet the largest state in the
country is still counting ballots. The vast majority of the uncounted ballots are from people who voted by mail,
with Sacramento County failing to count a whopping 84,000 mail-in ballots. [...] The remaining ballots represent a tiny
fraction of the total votes cast in the Golden State in 2022, but it's prompted some to ask what is taking so
long. The answer is simple: In 2020, during the pandemic, California, along with other states, began mailing
ballots to all registered voters. The practice became permanent in 2021, CNN reported, and ballots postmarked on
or before Election Day must be accepted for up to seven days after the polls close.
Five
Developments That Waited Until After the Midterms. Did you notice that there have been many stories
breaking recently that are inconvenient to the left-wing narrative? I did. And I noticed that they came out
after the midterm elections were over — when they'd have no impact on the vote. Wasn't that nice and
convenient? Here are four of those stories. [#1] Newsom's budget deficit: After back-to-back
years of running surpluses, this week we learned that California is back in the red. Back in May, the Golden State
had a nearly $98 billion surplus, but new projections show that California will have a $25 billion deficit in the
2023-2024 fiscal year. Luckily for Gov. Gavin Newsom, voters reelected him last week before the news broke.
Los
Angeles and L.A. County buy into guaranteed income movement. Following a national trend, Los Angeles and
Los Angeles County have embraced the popular guaranteed income concept to combat poverty by offering low-income
residents no-strings-attached money. The city of Los Angeles offers a guaranteed income program to 3,200
participants chosen at random to receive $1,000 per month for 12 months. Los Angeles County has responded with two
guaranteed programs of its own. The county's pilot guaranteed income program involves 1,000 participants who will
receive $1,000 monthly payments for three years. The budget is $16.3 million, and the county will use federal
COVID-19 relief money to pay for the program, according to Los Angeles County. The program began in August.
CEO
blasts San Francisco as 'city of chaos,' closes store over rampant crime. The CEO of a popular clothing
brand Cotopaxi is closing the company's only San Francisco store due to "organized theft rings" and a lack of safety in
the city, he announced this week. CEO Davis Smith announced the closure in a lengthy post on social media, saying
the location faces regular attacks by thieves with virtually no response from law enforcement. "We are closing the
store due to rampant organized theft and lack of safety for our team. Our store is hit by organized theft rings
several times per week. They brazenly enter the store and grab thousands of dollars of product and walk out,"
Smith wrote. "We started keeping the door locked and opening it only for customers, but even then, they'll have a
woman go to the door, and then hiding individuals rush into the store as soon as the door opens. Our team is
terrified. They feel unsafe. Security guards don't help because these theft rings know that security guards
won't/can't stop them," he added.
How
'woke' policies turned Downtown San Francisco into an urban drug-den. Earlier this month, old-fashioned
Xeroxed copies of a newspaper article appeared across the Mid-Market neighborhood in Downtown San Francisco. The
article, from the San Francisco Chronicle, featured the headline: "S.F. D.A. Brooke Jenkins says she'll consider murder
charges for fentanyl dealers." The article was taped to walls on neighborhood corners regularly frequented by drug
dealers. At least one of those Xerox copies had the headline translated into Spanish — all the better
for the dealers in question, most of whom are Honduran nationals, to get the message. The photocopies were
distributed by Matt Dorsey, Supervisor for the district that includes the Mid-Market area, which is adjacent to the
Tenderloin (in San Francisco, which is both a county and a city, Supervisors are the equivalent of City Council members
in other cities). Dorsey's office had organized a neighborhood clean-up and the Supervisor had handed the article for
volunteers to promote. Dorsey is himself a recovering addict and prior to becoming Supervisor, he was the
Communications Director for the San Francisco Police Department. Ridding the neighborhood of drug dealers is his
number one priority — a goal he shares with new District Attorney Jenkins.
California's
Water Supply Falls Victim to CRT. California's agricultural production is as large as Texas and Iowa
combined. The state's Mediterranean climate and fertile valleys help make it the fifth largest supplier of food
and fiber in the world. It all depends on water. Most of the state's crops rely on irrigation as opposed to
rain. Irrigation is regulated by a system of water rights held by public and private parties. Notice these
are "rights" and not "privileges." The exercise of these rights to bring about beneficial uses of water such as
growing food is a complicated area of law and policy. History proves that giving the government control over the
food supply is usually a recipe for famine. Still, there are many environmental and so-called social justice
organizations that would like to move all the privately held water rights to state control. One way to do so is by
influencing state water rights agencies through Critical Race Theory.
California
makes it illegal for doctors to disagree with politicians. Conformity of thought is now required whether
it is online, on college campuses, or, if you are in California, in a physician-patient relationship. PayPal
recently introduced a $2,500 fine for anyone involved in "the sending, posting, or publication of any messages, content,
or materials" that — in "PayPal's sole discretion" — "promote misinformation." After a
firestorm of criticism, PayPal withdrew the policy, claiming the whole thing was a misunderstanding and was not official
policy — hardly a convincing explanation from a site with a history of banning those it considers politically
incorrect. But California physicians have had no such relief. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed
California Assembly Bill 2098, making it the first state to attempt to censor what physicians can say about COVID-19 to
their patients. This is a dangerous, and likely unconstitutional, effort that other states must resist.
Rubber-stamped
elections, California style. Welcome to the Grand Duchy of California, a place run so poorly that the
streets and the homeless existing on them are both rotting, citizens have no expectation of public safety, our public
schools ranked 38th for quality, and gas costs $6.49 a gallon (regular). We've mandated a move toward electric power as
"clean" energy, no matter the outrageous cost and total inefficiency. We're heavily taxed, with income tax of up
to 13% and about a 10% sales tax (that varies from county to county). Police policy in the cities seems to be to wait
15 minutes before responding to an in-progress report, lest the officer be endangered. Despite this path to
destruction, voters have no real choice for governor this November. You'd think, given these examples (and I could
go on), that we'd have a vibrant contest for governor. People were passionate enough to try a recall last
year. Maybe that failure took the starch out of their sails. This year, we have a Republican candidate
running, but you've probably never heard of him — he's basically invisible. Gavin Newsom, the worst
governor in the history of the state, is running virtually unopposed. He didn't even bother putting a candidate
statement in the official voter information guide. Ask anyone on the street, and he has no idea who Newsom's
opponent is.
California
Decriminalizes Jaywalking Due to Alleged Racial Bias. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a law Friday that
will decriminalize jaywalking across California, ending the familiar practice of police handing out tickets to
pedestrians on the argument that the law is enforced more often against minorities than other people. The new law,
AB 2147, known as the "Freedom to Walk Act," could bring an end to a cultural difference that has marked otherwise
libertine Californians as being uniquely deferential to laws governing pedestrian traffic.
The State of Dreams: Every utopia
is a dystopia. Especially California. It's a cool dark night in California and all the lights are
out. Sloping rooftops dotted with solar panels gleam even more darkly than usual. The air is still and not a
single breeze stirs even the lightest wind turbine. Somewhere out in the darkness Diablo Canyon, the aging nuclear
plant, still running, is keeping what power there is on. [...] The great westward drive that began with Lewis and Clark
has been steadily rolling backward. Southern California is filled with moving trucks headed to Arizona, Texas and
Nevada. Those who can afford it, fly to Florida. The Russians were here once and then the Spanish. The
American presence in California was more comprehensive and lasted longer, but may one day leave sagging Wells Fargo banks
and decrepit mini malls filled with sushi places and nail salons the way the Spanish left their names and their missions
up Highway 101. It's a beautiful country, but so is Afghanistan and any number of otherwise unlivable places.
California
wants to listen in at your next doctor's appointment. There is a new bill making its way through the
California Legislature that could punish doctors for straying from "the contemporary scientific consensus" for COVID-19:
California's AB 2098 would discipline physicians for disseminating or promoting "misinformation" or "disinformation" as
it relates to COVID-19. Aside from the problem that the "consensus" on COVID-19 is constantly changing, the bill's
language is ambiguous and, as some California lawyers say, almost certainly infringes upon physicians' First Amendment
right to freedom of speech.
SF
grocery store shut down due to rat infestation created by the birdseed lady. Who is up for another San
Francisco story? This one starts in a neighborhood called Glen Park where there's a local grocery store called
Canyon Market. It's a nice looking place. Yesterday, Canyon Market was shuttered by the health department
after the city found evidence of a "severe" rodent infestation. [...] The birdseed woman may not be homeless but it
sure sounds as if she has some mental problems. And just like every other person with mental problems wandering
the streets of San Francisco (or Los Angeles), the city's default position is to do nothing until it creates a big
enough crisis to make the local news. Then, finally, the city might stir itself to do something about the actual
problem. In this particular case, it has taken two and a half years just to put out some rat bait.
Real
Estate CEO In Major Democrat City Says He Can't Convince Clients to Buy Due to Unmitigated Crime. San
Francisco was once a crown jewel of California but is now a drug-infested, crime-ridden, tax-plagued example of how not
to run a city. It's a city with its own "poop map," so needed because the homeless in the city defecate in the
wide-open wherever they feel like it. According to Fox Business, the CEO of a real estate company says that he's
at a point where convincing potential clients to move to or buy property in San Francisco is becoming very
difficult. So much so that he wrote a letter to the city after he, himself, was robbed in front of his own home in
broad daylight at gunpoint.
Group
Using West Virginia Model to Create "New California" Serves Gavin Newsome Notice of Constitutional
Default. A massive group of concerned citizens and constitutionalists have had enough of the
unconstitutional insanity taking place in the state of California. This group is using the West Virginia model to
create a new state that will abide by the US Constitution separate from the state of California. The New
California group has been working for months and years to get away from the radical and unconstitutional actions taken
by the current leadership in California. This group has created its own committees in counties throughout the state.
Flashback:
Gavin Newsom Shipped Homeless People Out of San Francisco With 'One-Way Tickets'. Governor Gavin Newsom
sent a letter to Merrick Garland on Thursday requesting the Attorney General look into "kidnapping" charges for those
involved in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' effort to send illegal immigrants to Martha's Vineyard. But if shipping
people out of state to try and give them a better life amounts to "kidnapping," Newsom has some explaining to do.
In July of 2019, SFist published an article critiquing a program called 'Homeward Bound,' an effort initiated by Newsom
as mayor of San Francisco in 2004. The program paid for bus tickets out of town, presumably with the destination
being to friends and family willing to take the homeless individual in. SFist, however, described it as a program
with a nice name which masks the fact that it "gives unsheltered San Franciscans a one-way Greyhound bus ticket out of
town and asks them to please never come back."
Human
Composting Is Now Legal in California, Leading the Way to 'Soylent Green'. It comes to mind, because this
1973 futuristic movie was set in 2022. Let that sink in. It also comes to mind because thanks to Biden's
economic agenda (or lack thereof), much of the dystopian ethos of that world is being baked into our everyday
lives. The World Economic Forum keeps pushing new forms of insect protein on us, and it was only a matter of time
before cannibalism was happily presented as an idea whose time had come. For the sake of the environment, even our
death traditions are being restructured to fit the paradigm of you will own nothing and you will be happy with it.
It's wasteful to plant a headstone to memorialize your loved one, not to mention selfish.
California
Governor Signs 'Most Aggressive' Package of Green Laws. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday
announced a sweeping package of what he called the country's "most aggressive" climate measures to "accelerate the
state's transition" to non-conventional energy sources. The package includes 40 bills that appear to provide
new green rules on laws related to things ranging from large-scale industry to the family home and private and public
transportation. The Democratic governor's office said in a statement the package of climate change-focused
measures aims to cut pollution and target "big polluters." It comes as America's most populous state has struggled
to provide stable electricity for residents amid a heat wave, which saw the state asking residents to use less power and
suggest the best times to use air conditioners or charge electric cars.
If
You're Going to San Francisco... No, stop! Don't even think about going to San Francisco. The
place is a disaster area, possibly as bad as Portland. If you think that is impossible, check out this photo essay
in the Daily Mail. The story is about the city's new "soft touch" approach to drug addiction and homelessness.
"Nobody's going to jail," city officials say. No, they're going straight to the morgue. San Francisco has seen
nearly 1,700 fatal fentanyl overdoses so far in 2022. The text is depressing, but the message is really in the dozens of
photographs that accompany it. Addicts openly shooting up; homeless encampments on the streets; filth everywhere.
Inside
LA's out-of-control juvenile jails where violence rules in the Newsom era. Imagine a jail where inmates
rule over guards who fight for survival daily among killers, carjackers, and vicious gang members. That's life
every day inside Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall. "Our juvenile halls are on the verge of collapse. I really
believe someone is going to get killed at some point," one official told the Washington Examiner. A series
of state and local laws designed to clear California lockups have reached down to juvenile facilities where inmates
learn now that they can get away with anything short of murder, officials said.
California
[is] on [the] Verge of Threatening [the] Licenses of Doctors Who Dissent on Covid-19. California
physicians who dissent from the prevailing view of Covid-19 and its vaccines could have their licenses revoked under a
recently passed law. California Assembly Bill 2098 states: "It shall constitute unprofessional conduct for a
physician ... to disseminate misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, including false or misleading
information regarding the nature and risks of the virus, its prevention and treatment; and the development, safety, and
effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines." A finding of "unprofessional conduct" would force the state bodies that license
and regulate doctors "to take action against" the accused, the bill notes.
It's a mental hospital without walls -- and without treatment.
Viral
video shows homeless fighting in squalid conditions on San Francisco street. A viral video making its
rounds on social media offers a grim new snapshot of San Francisco's surging homelessness crises as two men can be seen
brawling amid squalid conditions on a city sidewalk. The shocking scene was filmed and posted to Twitter by J.
Terrell Allen, who said he stumbled upon the wild fight in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood on an evening walk.
Video, posted to Twitter Thursday, shows two men — one of whom is shirtless — wrestling on the
ground that's littered with debris as the majority of other apparently homeless people look on with little interest.
Democrats
Can't Even Deliver Water and Electricity. Democrats are in complete control of California and can't
deliver enough water and electricity to keep its citizens comfortable. This is outrageous. What's even more
outrageous is the lack of outrage. Too many Americans have been gaslighted into accepting what should be wholly
unacceptable as normal — their own government's ongoing failure to provide them with the basic necessities
that sustain life. Call me an old fuddy-duddy, but there was a time when the least we expected from government was
enough electricity and water. Ask Mr. One-Term President Jimmy Carter about that. The issue that
derailed his presidency (along with the Iran hostage crisis) was gasoline shortages.
California
governor signs bill to keep last reactors running. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom
signed legislation Friday intended to open the way for the state's last operating nuclear power
plant to run an additional five years, a move that he said was needed to ward off possible
blackouts as the state transitions to solar and other renewable sources. His endorsement came
one day after the plan was approved in a lopsided vote in the state Assembly and Senate, and
despite criticism from environmentalists that the plant was dangerous and should be shut down as
scheduled by 2025. Newsom has no direct authority over the twin-domed plant, which sits on a
bluff above the Pacific midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. PG&E must obtain
approval for a longer run from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees plant safety,
as well as a string of state agencies.
Democrats
[are] Making California [a] 'Refuge' Hub for Teen Sex Surgery. California Democrats
in the State Assembly and State Senate have advanced legislation that would make the state a
sanctuary where out-of-state parents can take their children to undergo sex change
procedures. On Monday [8/29/2022], the legislative body passed Senate Bill (SB) 107 along
party lines, with all 19 Republican assemblymembers voting against it and 60 Democrats supporting
it. State Senator Scott Weiner introduced the bill, and a release from his office asserted it
would "provide refuge for trans kids and their families."
The
revolution brewing in San Francisco's Castro district sounds familiar. Olivia Murray
wrote about the fact that business owners in San Francisco's Castro district are fed up that the
city is doing nothing to stop the influx of homeless into the district, complete with bodies
splayed on the sidewalk, litter and, of course, human waste. For those of us who remember the
city in the 1970s, this is a familiar tale — and one rife with possibilities.
Beginning in the 1960s, San Francisco had the biggest and most vibrant gay meccas in the world,
located right on Castro Street, with the hub where Castro intersected with Market. By the
mid-1970s, we high school students often went there for the great old movies at the Castro Theater,
to visit the cool boutiques, to eat at the trendy-but-still-affordable restaurants and, naturally,
take in the street scene. The hedonism was off the charts as mostly gay men and a few lesbian
women, all fresh "out of the closet," reveled in their new freedoms.
Poll:
71% in California Back Proposition 1, Abortion Until Birth. A new poll reveals that
an overwhelming majority of registered voters in California approve Proposition 1, a constitutional
amendment that would guarantee the right to abortion until birth if passed by a referendum in
November. [...] Proposition 1 appears to extend the right to abortion through birth. The new
poll, conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, suggests that 71% of
registered voters approve of Proposition 1, and only 18% oppose it.
Businesses
bite back: Newsom's COVID mandates suffer triple court defeats. California courts
dealt a blow this month against Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 mandates, which forced businesses
to close and cleaned out churches for more than a year. It's been two years since Newsom
locked down America's leading economic powerhouse with a strict disaster declaration that slowed
commerce and prompted a pandemic exodus. A trio of rulings show that businesses are starting
to see justice in the courts for alleged misery they say was unjustly imposed. "It will be a
chilling effect for the tyrants of the future," civil rights attorney Mark Meuser told the
Washington Examiner. "These [court rulings] are needed to rein in the abuse of
emergency powers by tyrant Newsom."
Gascón
Recall Campaign Will Review Rejected Signatures; Possible Legal Action. The campaign to recall Los Angeles
County District Attorney George Gascón will review the signatures that were rejected by county officials, a spokesperson
told Breitbart News, one day after enough signatures were rejected to defeat the recall effort. Gascón, who took
office in December 2020 after being elected with the help of millions of dollars in spending by left-wing billionaire George
Soros, has pursued radical "reform" policies that many voters blame for a surge of violent crime in L.A. He is one of 75
"progressive" prosecutors Soros has installed across the country. In July, the recall campaign handed in 26% more than
the required target of 566,857 signatures. But on Monday, county officials claimed that 27% of the signatures had been
invalid for a variety of reasons, causing the recall effort to fail.
George
Gascon recall effort fails to qualify for ballot in Los Angeles. The effort to recall Los Angeles District
Attorney George Gascon has failed to gain enough support for ballot qualification. A total of only 520,050 of the
715,833 signatures collected in the recall effort were valid, the registrar-recorder's office in Los Angeles County
announced. The recall effort needed 566,857 signatures to qualify. A breakdown of the signatures deemed invalid
found 88,464 signatures belonged to people who were not registered, 43,595 were duplicated, 32,187 were from different
addresses, 9,490 had mismatched signatures, 7,344 were canceled, 5,374 were from out-of-county addresses, and 9,331 were
deemed invalid for other reasons, according to the office.
Huge
California County Approves Measure of Possible Secession for 2022 Midterms. The San Bernardino County Board of
Supervisors this week voted to add a November 2022 ballot measure that would allow the county to secede from
California. The measure, which was voted on 4-0 by the supervisors Wednesday [8/3/2022], would ask San Bernardino
residents: "Do the citizens of San Bernardino County want the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to study all
options to obtain its fair share of state and federal resources, up to and including secession?" [...] Over the years, some
California counties have evaluated the possibility of seceding from the Golden State due to monetary, cultural, and other
differences. In 2016, a failed ballot measure would have split California into six states, while a 2018 proposition
that also failed would have created three new states.
Just
Who Is This Gavin Newsom Guy? California has America's highest state income tax, ranging up to 13.3% for high
earners (and he wants to raise it further), plus a 1% "surcharge" tax for mental health services on those earning over
$1 million. On top of this, we have a 7.25% state sales tax — again, the highest in America —
to which are added local taxes. We also have America's high gas tax, which is meant to fix our crumbling highways and
streets. Yet these same highways and streets are crumbling just as fast as they were before, filled with potholes,
teeming with garbage. Despite the high tax rate and vast expenditures on education, California schools are
failing. California ranks 44th of 50 states on education quality and outcome. Our K-12 curriculum is filled with
Critical Race Theory doctrine. Before I retired, I hired a few public high school graduates and can attest to their
poor basic reading and math skills.
LA
opened a fancy new bridge and locals are doing their best to shut it down every night. Los Angeles recently
opened a half-billion dollar bridge which connects the neighborhood of Boyle Heights to downtown LA. The bridge is know as
the Sixth Street Viaduct or, more commonly, the Sixth Street bridge and it was opened to traffic on July 10 but police have
been forced to close it down four of the last five nights because of problems with some area residents: [...] It really is a
pretty good looking bridge but for whatever reason it has become the hot spot to be seen and make videos. Someone set
up a barber chair and was giving a haircut in the middle of the bridge last week. [Tweet] That stunt went viral and
probably encouraged a lot more people to show up and try to capture their own moment of glory on the bridge. Two days
ago the bridge saw it's [sic] first marriage proposal. [Tweet]
New
Los Angeles bridge opens, then quickly closes amid chaos. The newest bridge in Los Angeles, a $588-million
architectural marvel with views of the downtown skyline, opened to great fanfare on July 10. It has already been closed,
to great dismay, several times since then amid chaos and collisions. The 6th Street Viaduct — which soars over
the concrete-lined Los Angeles River to connect downtown to the historic Eastside — quickly became a hotspot for
street racing, graffiti and illegal takeovers that draw hundreds of spectators to watch drivers perform dangerous stunts in
their vehicles.
The Editor says...
This is exactly the behavior one should expect in a state that's all crime and no punishment.
Taxpayers
on hook as Gascon brings in nation's highest-paid attorney in legal battle with his own prosecutors. Los
Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, whose own deputies sued him for permission to charge repeat offenders to the fullest
extent of the law, has pulled out all the stops in his California Supreme Court appeal against them, retaining one of the
nation's top lawyers. Neal K. Katyal, a former Acting U.S. Solicitor General who represented Al Gore in the 2000
election dispute and has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court dozens of times, is also reportedly one of the country's
highest-paid attorneys. Reuters reported in May that the Georgetown law professor and partner at Hogan Lovells was
charging as much as $2,465 an hour to represent a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in a bankruptcy case. At the time,
that was more than the $2,295 an hour former Attorney General Eric Holder was billing.
Gavin Newsom
takes vacation to Montana — one of 22 states [to which] California bans state-funded travel.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is spending time with his family in Montana — a state on California's list of
banned places to travel to using state funds. The Office of the Governor said Newsom did not use state funds for the
trip. The ban on state-funded trips to Montana, along with 21 other states, is because of the state's anti-LGBTQ
policies. "The travel ban applies to expending state funds," Erin Mellon, the communications director for Newsom, told
Insider. "The Governor's travel is not being paid for by the state. Connecting the two is irresponsible and
falsely implies there is something untoward." Newsom departed for a vacation to the Treasure State Friday but did not
initially announce where he was traveling to. He will return home on Monday, Mellon said. Th
Newsom
faceplant: Vacation in Montana despite Newsom-ordered travel bar on official business. So goes the
Glorious 2024 Hope of Democrats — from the French Laundry frying pan into the LGBTQIA++ fire. Gavin Newsom
just aired an ad in Florida lecturing California's burgeoning ex-pat population in the Sunshine State how much freedom
they're losing, especially in regard to sexual choices and women's rights. After launching that salvo in clear
anticipation of the 2024 election cycle, California's governor left for vacation — but his office stalled on
answering questions as to where he went. And for good reason, as CalMatters reporter Emily Hoeven discovered.
After griping about Florida's lack of liberty on such matters, Newsom went to Montana for his time off — a state
that Newsom had barred California officials from traveling to conduct business on the very same issues Newsom highlighted in
his lecture: [...]
It
Sure Seems Gavin Newsom Broke CA Law by Making His Security Detail Travel to Montana. As RedState's Cameron
Arcand reported Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vacationed in Montana with his family over the 4th of July
holiday — a state that is currently on the list of states to which California has banned state-sponsored travel
because it's deemed to have anti-LGBTQ "discriminatory laws." Well, he's on vacation, right? That's private travel,
ostensibly paid for by the Newsom family, and no big deal? Not exactly. Newsom is afforded a state-funded
security detail through the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and there's no indication that those officers are not with him.
That apparently puts Newsom in violation of California's AB-1887, signed by Newsom's predecessor, Jerry Brown, in 2016.
California
announces it will become the first state to give health insurance to undocumented immigrants. Governor Gavin
Newsom released attack ads on Monday urging Florida residents to move to California in the days after it became the first
state to move to offer all illegal immigrants state-subsidized health insurance. Newsom bought $105,000 worth of ad
spots that started airing on Fox News in Florida, which is sparking speculation that he could mount a presidential run in
2024. The ads urge Sunshine State residents who are fed up with their Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to head
west. DeSantis is rumored to be considering a 2024 run as well[,] despite former President Donald Trump likely to seek
the nomination.
Californians
Are Fleeing In Record Numbers, But Gavin Newsom Has This Solution. The similarities between California Governor
Gavin "Gruesome" Newsom and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are quite remarkable. They both spend far too much
time focusing on their hair and looking in the mirror. They're both entirely self-absorbed and are thoroughly impressed
with themselves. And they're both completely incompetent, far-left clowns with virtually no morals. Newsom and
Trudeau are truly despicable human beings. They also appear to be in a competition to see who's the biggest knucklehead.
California
Lt. Governor Calls for Defiance of Supreme Court Decision. The latest laugh riot comes from California
Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis — yes, she is a Democrat — coming out with this amazing comedy
routine that, even by the network on which it aired standards, namely MSNBC, was a tad over the top. [...] What stands out
even above Kounalakis' open advocation of defying the law, which as a Democrat in California she is well-versed, as anyone
who's taken a gander at the southern border can testify, is her odd dismissal of Supreme Court justice Clarance Thomas.
Is it racist? Not really, but it is interesting.
The Selfish Californian.
We hear plenty of reasons for the perfect storm that imploded California. One-party, progressive government, of
course. Decades of unchecked illegal immigration, without doubt. Years of mass flight out of state of the
productive middle classes, certainly. But perhaps the most important, but overlooked, reason has been the infusion of
trillions of dollars of mostly tech capital into the state. Unimaginable sums of market capital warped politics and led
to a top-down, feudal society, run by progressive elites who are shielded from the ramifications of their own toxic
ideologies. More specifically, the common denominator was the emergence in California of a selfish, monied, left-wing
political class. In concrete terms, it cared little for others but masked that unconcern with abstract leftism,
emulating medieval penance and indulgences to assuage guilt over its enjoyment of sheltered and very good lives.
The
8 Most Insane Proposals in California's 492-Page Reparations Report. Black Californians could enjoy child
support forgiveness, free college, free health care, fewer police, and a long-term "truth and reconciliation commission"
should Golden State lawmakers pass the proposals outlined this week by the state's Reparations Task Force. Following a
2020 law to study the subject, a panel of left-wing academics and policymakers on Wednesday released their findings on how
California can remedy the harm against the state's black residents caused by slavery and discrimination. All black
Californians are eligible for the benefits of the program if they can prove they are "descendants of African Americans
enslaved in the U.S. or of free Black people living in the country before the end of the 19th century." A new state
agency, called the California African American Freedmen Affairs Agency, would provide genealogical tests for residents.
Gabe
and Steve: Look at your city. It's automatic. Every shooting is followed by a Democrat U.S.
senator giving a speech about gun control, or else someone in San Francisco preaching to the rest of us. The latest is
Gabe Kapler, the manager of the San Francisco Giants. Gabe was once a top prospect, played here in Texas with the
Rangers and then went into coaching. This is what Kapler said: [...] I understand that Kapler is angry about what
happened in Uvalde, Texas. Who isn't? Kapler follows Steve Kerr, the other local coach with Warriors, who once
wanted to get police out of Oakland's schools. Memo to Steve and Gabe: How do you drive to work? Have you
checked the state of your city? The decline of civil order? The people on the streets? The crime? The
fact that people are leaving your city and state? The attacks on shops? [...] Uvalde was horrible. San Francisco
is horrible 24/7.
California
law requiring women on corporate boards is unconstitutional, judge says. A Los Angeles judge has ruled that
California's landmark law requiring women on corporate boards is unconstitutional. Superior Court Judge Maureen
Duffy-Lewis said the law that would have required boards to have up to three female directors by this year violated the right
to equal treatment. The ruling was dated Friday [5/13/2022]. The conservative legal group Judicial Watch had
challenged the law, claiming it was illegal to use taxpayer funds to enforce a law that violates the equal protection clause
of the California Constitution by mandating a gender-based quota. The law was on shaky ground from the get-go with a
legislative analysis saying it could be difficult to defend and then-Gov. Jerry Brown saying he was signing it despite
the potential for it to be overturned by a court.
You
can rent a 'bunk bed pod' in the Bay Area with 13 other people for $800 a month. The housing crisis in the San
Francisco Bay Area has gotten so bad that one startup is now offering renters the chance to live in a "bunk bed pod" with 13
other people for just $800 a month. Brownstone Shared Housing posted an ad for anyone looking to live in Palo Alto, the
birthplace of Silicon Valley and the home of Stanford University. Tenants are given the opportunity to shack up in a
house with 13 other people. They sleep in a "bunk bed pod" while sharing two bathrooms. The pods are "fully
equipped" with electrical outlets, shelves for books, a rack from which one can hang clothes and laundry, hooks to hang
plants and other decorations, and black curtains at the end of each pod for privacy. Normally, the three-bedroom home
would house a single family.
New
San Diego Ordinance Changes the Definition of 'Woman'. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday [5/10/2022]
adopted a new definition of "woman" that would reportedly allow biological males identifying as females to be included as
women in jails, homeless shelters, and even domestic violence shelters. Biological men in domestic violence shelters.
That sounds like a recipe for disaster. The ordinance was passed on April 26 and officially ratified Tuesday, both
by party-line, three to two votes.
San
Diego County Passes Ordinance to Change Definition of 'Woman'. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has
adopted a new definition of "woman" that would reportedly allow male-to-female transgender residents to demand inclusion as
women in jails, homeless shelters, and domestic violence shelters. The ordinance, passed by a 3-2 vote on April 26, and
ratified on May 10 by the same margin, adopts the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), an international treaty adopted in 1979. The treaty was signed by then-President Jimmy Carter in 1980, but
it was never brought to the Senate for ratification. But the ordinance goes further, expanding the definition of
"woman" to include those who simply identify as women: [...]
Gavin
Newsom: California Taxpayers to Subsidize Abortion Tourism. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)
announced plans Wednesday to spend an additional $57 million on abortions for uninsured, out-of-state residents who travel to
the state to have abortions because of restrictions on abortion in their own states. The announcement brings Newsom's
proposed spending on out-of-state abortion tourism to $125 million, over and above what he proposed in January. The new
spending comes ahead of an anticipated decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the
controversial 1973 ruling that established a "right" to abortion. A leaked majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito in
the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization would return authority over abortion to the separate states.
The
Ongoing Concern Of The State Of California Is In Question. [In California,] there isn't one Republican
statewide officeholder. Republicans only have 11 of 53 Congressional seats. The rest are Democrats. Both
houses of the state legislature have super majorities (Democrats). The ninth federal appellate court is the most liberal
in the nation. So, they got what they wanted; the left did. [...] Because about four or five to 6 million
voters — we don't know the exact number of the old Ronald Reagan, Pete Wilson, Arnold Schwarzenegger voters (32 years
of Republican governors) — they moved. And they moved because:
• paying the highest electricity, gas, sales, income tax in the nation.
• 47/50 rated schools
• terrible infrastructure, 48th on roads and bridges.
• And California had high crime.
That was a bad deal compared to Texas, or Florida or Wyoming or Nevada. And, then, we had $6 trillion dollars of market
capitalized wealth that came in to Silicon Valley in 30 years, and that created a whole class of coastal millionaires, who were
never subjected to the consequences or the ramifications (of bad public policy).
Why
Gavin Newsom Is Creating A Water & Energy Disaster. California Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday claimed he was
taking major action to address the drought affecting California and the West. More than 90% of California is in severe
drought, up from 65% just one year ago. He said he had created an agreement that was a win-win-win for residents,
farmers, and conservationists. In truth, Newsom is starving California of both water and energy. We are in the
worst energy crisis in 50 years and yet Newsom is planning to shut down the largest single source of energy in California,
Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Meanwhile, he has failed to build a single new large water project, despite the fact that
California voters in 2014 passed a $2.7 billion water bond to pay for them. Can't water conservation save us? It
can't. Newsom declared a drought emergency last year and urged residents to reduce our water use by 15%. We only
did so by 6%. It's true that mandatory restrictions between June 2015 and April 2016 reduced water use by 25%.
But the state was ultimately rescued in 2017 by large atmospheric river storms, not conservation.
Our
third-world country on the West Coast. A few years ago, a friend from Brazil visited Los Angeles and was
appalled at what he saw. He called it a third-world country, an amazing comment since my friend lives in
São Paulo. He said that L.A. is not what he remembered 25 years ago. It was sad, or so he said.
Well, California is in decline, no matter how wonderful the climate is. [...] How does such a failed state survive?
Well, the rich live in well-protected gated communities and attend a climate change seminar often to feel relevant. The
poor, and whatever is left of the middle class, have to survive the crime, high cost of living, and a collapse of law and
order. Normally, such a political class would be thrown out of office by angry voters. Incredibly, the Democrats
have achieved the winning formula: they win elections while refusing to take care of their constituents. I don't
know how they do it, but they do it.
California's
Vanished Dream, by the Numbers. Even today amid a mounting exodus among those who can afford it, and with its
appeal diminished to businesses and newcomers, California, legendary state of American dreams, continues to inspire optimism
among progressive boosters. Laura Tyson, the longtime Democratic economist now at the University of California at
Berkeley, praises the state for creating "the way forward" to a more enlightened "market capitalism." Like-minded analysts
tout Silicon Valley's massive wealth generation as evidence of progressivism's promise. The Los Angeles Times suggested
approvingly that the Biden administration's goal is to "make America California again." And, despite dark prospects in
November's midterm elections, the President and his party still seem intent on proving it. But most Californians,
according to recent surveys, see things differently. They point to rising poverty and inequality, believe the state is
in recession and that it is headed in the wrong direction. Parting with the state's cheerleaders, the New York Times'
Ezra Klein, a reliable progressive and native Californian, says the Golden State's failures are "making liberals squirm."
Green-Lighting
Infanticide in California. The Democrat party of 2022 continues to push the bounds of its radical agenda, with
particular focus on "abortion rights." California Assembly Bill (A.B.) 2223 is the most egregious of the fourteen new
abortion bills this year in California. It is critical that A.B. 2223 not become law. A.B. 2223 offers
protections to people involved in the death of the unborn, as well as of recently born babies, from "the threat of criminal
prosecution of pregnancy outcomes." This bill, as written, would implicitly protect those involved in infanticide from
criminal prosecution.
California
proposes four-day work week for companies with more than 500 employees which would force firms to pay overtime to anyone
working more than 32 hours per week. California's Democratic-led Legislature wants to mandate a three-day
weekend for all workers at large companies in the state. A new bill being discussed in the state assembly would see the
official working week reduced from 40 hours to 32 for companies with 500 employees of more. Any work carried out beyond
the 32-hour limit would run into overtime and be paid at time-and-a-half, while those working more than 12 hours a day or for
more than seven days a week would be paid double their normal wage.
San Francisco
Supervised Drug Use Site Operator Fabricated Data And Then City Officials Lied About It. The operator of San
Francisco's supervised drug use site fabricated the number of people who the site allegedly served, according to a San
Francisco Department of Public Health executive, whose emails were released as part of California's Public Records Act.
"I think Gary is just making up random #s," wrote Dr. Rob Hoffman, Special Project Manager with the San Francisco
Department of Health, in a February 8 email to other city employees including ones with the Department of Emergency
Management and city homeless service agencies. Gina McDonald, co-founder of Mothers Against Drug Deaths, filed the
public records request, and was the first to report that of the 23,367 drug users who have visited the Tenderloin Linkage
Center, just 18 have received drug treatment.
California's
greenie 'food waste' law hits the reality wall. In their never-ending quest to remake and remodel California
into a greenie socialist paradise, the tsentral planners running California have once again blundered like boobs again,
failing to anticipate the unintended consequences of their feel-good 'food waste' law. The law, which went into effect
this year, forbids restaurants and groceries, no matter where [...] they are, from discarding unused food and legally binds
them to donate it to food banks instead. No word from the report on whether the items are old or expired or unfit for
human consumption. We'll just have to take the greenie word for it that it's all a good thing. But as usual,
there are problems they didn't expect from all this virtue-signalling in the name of saving the earth: [...] The report
states that just the cost of driving around and picking up unused food in rural areas is a monster money-eater in the era of
Joe Biden's "I did that" gasoline costs, piled on top of California's huge fuel mandates and taxes that were all in place earlier.
California's
"corporate diversity" law ruled unconstitutional. Between 2018 and 2020, California passed two so-called
"corporate diversity" bills intended to put more women and minorities on the boards of directors for corporations having
headquarters in the state. AB 826 required corporations to have an increasing number of women on their boards, up to
as many as three if the board had six or more members. Then came AB 979, which mandated that boards have at least one
member of an "underrepresented community" by the end of 2021. Companies found to not be in compliance would be fined hundreds
of thousands of dollars. The latter bill ran into a major setback on Friday when Judge Terry Green of the Los Angeles
County Superior Court ruled that Ab 979 was unconstitutional, violating the state constitution's equal protection clause.
The Sheer Madness
of Today's Left. Here in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has gone mad. He reigns over the most
expensive gas and diesel prices in the history of the United States, at over $6 and $7 a gallon respectively in most parts of
the state. Californians suffer under the highest gas taxes in the nation and are shutting down nuclear plants.
They seek reductions in clean burning natural gas generators at a time of drought when hydroelectric production is
constrained. So what does Newsom do? To fuel his state, and keep a shrinking middle class sustainable, does he
tap California's huge gas and oil reserves? They are the seventh largest of the 50 states and might bring down prices
in a state that consumes more fossil fuels than any state but Texas. No, that would be green heresy. So instead
Newsom has proposed spending $11 billion in subsidies to drivers — at $400 per registered vehicle —
so that the state's drivers can buy more smelly, dirty gasoline and diesel fuel that they otherwise would not at the
prohibitive, but secretly desirable, $6-7 a gallon price.
Who Are
the Real Haters? When Governor Gavin Newsom disappeared for a few weeks after receiving a COVID shot, the
public worried: was he alive? His wife did not like this curiosity. You might think citizens have a right to know
where their leaders are. Nope. She viewed the nosy public as haters. Mrs. Newsom posted: "When
someone cancels something, maybe they're just in the office working; maybe in their free time they're at home with their
family, at their kids' sports matches, or dining out with their wife. Please stop hating and get a life."
Hating? Who was hating? Note how this situation works. If you disagree with a liberal, in style or
substance, you are therefore a hater. She reminds me of Hillary. Anybody who doesn't agree with her is a
deplorable — i.e., someone who deserves to be hated.
First
Openly 'Transgender' Judge Appointed to California Bench. California has appointed its first openly
'transgender' judge, announced Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday [3/25/2022]. Judge Andi Mudryk, 58, who "transitioned"
four years ago, is one of eight new appointees to serve on the Sacramento County Superior Court. [...] Social justice
advocates throughout the state lauded the move as a victory for "diversity and equity."
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to give tax breaks and up to $800 debit cards to all Golden State drivers as gas hits $5.88 a
gallon. California drivers shouldering the highest gas prices in the nation could soon get a tax break, free
public transportation and up to $800 debit cards to help pay for fuel — but economics experts warn it'll drive up inflation
even more. The proposal was revealed Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, as gas prices have continued to soar in
recent weeks from pandemic-induced inflation and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 'That direct relief will address the issue
that we are all struggling to address and that is the issue of gas prices,' Newsom said in a video posted on Twitter this week.
Gavin
Newsom Signs Law to Make Abortions Free in California. Lawmakers are staying busy to make sure abortion on
demand is the law of state as the United States Supreme Court revisits Roe v. Wade, including in California where women
will be able to abort their unborn child for free. [California Governor quote omitted for brevity, among other things.]
Senate Bill 245, named the Abortion Accessibility Act, prohibits insurance companies from charging a deductible, co-pay,
or deductible for the procedure, which in California is available until "fetus viability."
California
Democrats Float $400 Checks to Taxpayers After Hiking Gas Taxes. California Democrats, who have raised gas
taxes and vehicle license fees in recent years, are now proposing to send $400 checks to the state's taxpayers to help defray
the high cost of fuel in the latest surge, which is hitting the state's drivers hard. While the entire country is
paying more for gasoline, thanks to surging post-pandemic demand, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Biden
administration's hostility to oil and gas development, California's price is the highest in the nation.
Shoplifter
struts behind [the] counter of [a] San Francisco Walgreens as staff watch helplessly, fills huge bag with stolen
goods. A San Francisco shoplifter was filmed filling a bag with stolen goods behind the counter of a Walgreens
store as staff stood helplessly and watched. The heist took place on Tuesday at a Walgreens in the Richmond area of the
city, and saw the brazen shoplifter hurl bananas and cookies at one man who confronted him. It is the latest in a long
line of shocking shoplifting outrages to hit the famously-liberal Bay Area.
What
if San Francisco Does Not Recover? San Francisco looks worse now than I've ever seen it. Like any major
city, San Francisco had bad areas before 2020 — those rough areas you knew to avoid — but you could go
anywhere else, basically unmolested. Today is something entirely different. The streets are dirty. Homeless
encampments, trash, and excrement can be found all over. Car break-ins are so frequent that it has basically become a
non-government-imposed tax for people who come here. Of course, some areas are much worse than others, but almost all
areas of the city suffer from this decay, and it is appalling. Every year, the city seems to find new ways to dig
deeper and deeper toward ruin. But what happens to San Francisco if it really does not recover? What if the
financial woes, homeless encampments, rising crime, and dwindling police force are the new normal for this once great city?
Doctors
sue California for threatening to punish them for not facilitating assisted suicide. California doctors who
object to assisted suicide are fighting an amended state law that implicates them in their patients' intentional
deaths. They are suing California officials, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, Department of Public Health Director
Tomas Aragon, and Medical Board members to block SB 380, which made it easier for patients to commit suicide under the End of
Life Options Act that took effect in 2016. The original law issued a broad exemption for healthcare providers, granting
them a liability shield for "refusing to inform" patients about their right to physician-assisted suicide and "not referring"
patients to physicians who will assist in their suicides. The amended law removed it, leaving providers vulnerable to
"civil, criminal, administrative, disciplinary, employment, credentialing, professional discipline, contractual liability, or
medical staff action, sanction, or penalty or other liability."
More
word vomit, more racism, more pork. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his new SMARTER plan
yesterday. It purportedly moves our state forward to a COVID policy that acknowledges that the CCP virus is endemic
rather than pandemic. [...] SMARTER stands for Shots, as in making more available; Masks, by promising to procure enough N95s
for all; Awareness, in terms of having more-state infrastructure (my husband pointed out today that infrastructure
replaces pork quite handily); Readiness, which again means throwing lots of money ($1.7 billion) at recruiting,
training, hiring, and advancing "an ethnically and culturally inclusive HHS workforce." Then there's Testing, ramped up even
more (why?); Education, AKA keeping kids in school (and vaccinated and masked), but also noting that $4.5 billion has been
"devoted to improving mental and behavioral health for California's children and youth"; and Rx (treatment), which is again
all about equity (distributing treatment resources and the non-specific "continuing evolution" of treatment).
California
Tyrants Self-Identify: Only The Vaxxed Can Work. It's not law yet, but there is legislation in California
that requires all workers, even independent contractors, to take the coronavirus vaccine. [...] "Long-awaited workplace
coronavirus vaccine mandate legislation drops today," Politico reported Last week. "The sweeping bill from Assembly
member Buffy Wicks would apply to all employees and independent contractors, regardless of how big their employer is, and
threatens penalties to noncompliant businesses." Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland, must have missed the truckers in
Canada whose fuse was lit by a government vaccine mandate, as well as the Biden White House's failure — thanks to
the Supreme Court — to force businesses to require employees to be vaccinated and regularly tested. But
then, she is a lawmaker in California, a one-party state whose "leaders" care little about individual freedom. She is
also a member of the party whose voters "support harsh measures" against the unvaccinated.
Gov.
Newsom announces no change to school masking policy because unions said no. Last Wednesday, Gov. Gavin
Newsom said changes to the state's school mask mandate would be coming soon. The state's indoor mask mandate for the
vaccinated ends Tuesday and the expectation reported at several news sites was that a change to the school policy would be
announced today. But today [2/14/2022] came and instead of announcing a change, Newsome sent California's HHS Secretary
out to issue a two week delay: [...] So why the change? There's really no doubt about that. California's
teacher's unions demanded more time and as always they got what they wanted.
Soros-Funded
DA George Gascón Rationalizes Crime-Wave Epidemic. Like other cities run by Democrats, Los Angeles is
going through an epidemic of violent crime. Its Soros-funded DA George Gascón has a lot of blood on his hands for
increasing the mayhem. When he was sworn in, he said his office would not prosecute a host of misdemeanor crimes, or
seek the death penalty for even the most heinous murders. No surprise that, as Broken Windows policing confirmed nearly
two decades ago, tolerating "non-violent" crimes has increased violent ones. "The data," as City Journal's Soledad
Ursúa, reports on LA, "show staggering surges of homicides, gun violence, and sexual assaults, and one can see with
one's own eyes the open-air drug scenes, rampant homelessness, streets lined with human excrement and needles, prostitution,
filth, and squalor. Last year saw 52 percent more homicides than in 2019; shooting incidents were up 59 percent
over the same period, according to the LAPD." Much of this violence has come at the hands of street-bums and addicts.
Chesa
Boudin accused by San Francisco police chief of concealing evidence to frame a cop. It's one thing for a
leftist district attorney of Chesa Boudin's stripe to fail to do his job prosecuting violent crime and focus only on
prosecuting cops for malfeasance. We know about that part. It's quite another to frame those cops because you
can't find any truly bad ones, in a bid to achieve the grand Sorosian narrative of bad cop, good criminal. That's what
the San Francisco police chief is accusing Boudin of pulling.
California
Train Robberies Recall Wild West Lawlessness. According to Union Pacific Railroad's senior director of public
affairs, Lupe Valdez, from October 2020 to October 2021, train robberies shot up by 356%. Not only that, but the railroad
company is considering diverting its trains around Los Angeles to avoid the rampant theft. "Union Pacific Railroad says
90 containers on average are getting hit each day," The Wall Street Journal reported. "Thieves climb onto the trains
when they stop, use bolt cutters to break into containers and help themselves to the goods, discarding what they don't want
or can't carry." The result is undelivered packages and garbage strewn along the railroad tracks. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 20 visited the site of the wreckage and spoke about how terrible it all looked. He
acknowledged that the mess made California appear to be a "Third World country."
California
State University Prepares To Permanently Drop SAT, ACT From Admissions Process. California State University,
the largest-four year university system in the country, is poised to eliminate SAT and ACT standardized tests from its
undergraduate admissions process, following a trend in higher education over concerns that the exams are unfair to minority
and low-income students. The Board of Trustees for the 23-campus CSU system will vote in March on recommendations to
end the testing requirements, which were presented at a meeting Wednesday and met with widespread enthusiasm.
Schadenfreude
overload on virtue-signaling former mayor of San Luis Obispo who stepped down 'to fight climate change'. Few
things delight me more than watching climate cultists with Big Plans to change the way we live running headlong into reality
and discovering that their ideas just don't work. When those people are elected officials (or former ones) or when they
hold leadership positions in NGOs, the schadenfreude meter redlines. The story of Heidi Harmon, who stepped down from
being mayor of San Luis Obispo, California last August to battle climate change, is one to savor. For those unfamiliar
with it, San Luis Obispo is a lovely coastal community of just under 50,000 people, founded as a Spanish mission town before
the American Revolution, located roughly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is home to California
Polytechnic State University ("Cal Poly"), a well regarded state university campus of about 22,000 students that accepts
roughly one in four applicants.
Can Los
Angeles Be Saved? On Monday, off-duty LAPD officer Fernando Arroyos and his girlfriend were out in South L.A.
looking at houses, in anticipation of getting married and settling down there. Sure, it was after dark, and most
Angelenos do not venture out at night these days, but Fernando was LAPD, highly trained in police work and educated at U.C.
Berkeley, and thought he had it all down. Then four gangbangers from the local crime organization (too highly advanced
to be called a gang), Florencia 13, saw the silver chains around his neck and decided to rob him. Arroyos told his
girlfriend to run. Shots rang out, at least one hit Arroyos, and he died on the way to the hospital. [...] Usually,
when a cop is murdered, the city's mayor and D.A. come out and angrily vow to catch and prosecute the killers to the fullest
extent, and they file charges. After all, they are the apex of the law enforcement pyramid. If they don't care,
the people are in deep trouble. This is the response from D.A. Gascon's office, though: a condolence tweet for the
"death of an off-duty police officer" without even saying his name, without even admitting it was a murder.
Union
Pacific blasts Los Angeles DA for going soft on crime, considers rerouting trains amid rail car looting. Major
rail carrier Union Pacific is considering rerouting its trains after blasting Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon for
going soft on crime amid a spike in rail car looting. UP General Director of Public Affairs Adrian Guerrero wrote a
letter detailing how at least 90 rail car containers are broken into each day, with criminals being caught and released only
to come back and loot again. "These individuals are generally caught and released back onto the streets in less than
twenty-four hours," Guerrero wrote. "Even with all the arrests made, the no-cash bail policy and extended timeframe for
suspects to appear in court is causing re-victimization to UP by these same criminals. In fact, criminals boast to [UP]
officers that charges will be pled down to simple trespassing — which bears no serious consequence."
Soft-on-crime
Los Angeles DA ripped after child molester faces little or no time. Los Angeles' top prosecutor is under fire
for allowing a transgender woman who sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl as a minor to face a no-jail wrist-slap
sentence. Hannah Tubbs, now 26, pleaded guilty to attacking the girl in a women's bathroom at a Denny's restaurant in
2014, two weeks before she turned 18, the Los Angeles Times reported. LA District Attorney George Gascón filed
charges against Tubbs in early 2020, not long after taking office. But the progressive DA has refused to try juveniles
as adults, citing studies that show adolescent brains aren't fully developed until age 25 and claiming that young offenders
can be rehabilitated in juvenile facilities.
California
Extends Indoor Mask Mandate. California's mask mandate for indoor public settings will remain in place until at
least Feb. 15, officials announced. The state's Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly made the
announcement on Jan. 5, citing a rise in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. The statewide mandate was
scheduled to expire on Jan. 15, one month after it was reintroduced. Among the indoor public spaces affected are retail
stores, restaurants, theaters, family entertainment centers, and government offices. Ghaly said residents should
consider wearing higher-grade masks, not simply scarves or loose-fitting cloth face-coverings. He said many masks that
people donned in the early days of the pandemic are "not as helpful today," urging people to consider masks that are
well-fitted on the face without gaps or ventilators.
Here is what confuses me
about San Francisco.. [Thread reader] We have the most liberal, left-wing government & population in the
country. We have a $13B budget. And we have 8,000 people sleeping in the rain this week. [...] Progressives tend to blame
Republicans for almost everything. Yet here we are — not a Republican in sight — and I think we may be
the most deranged city on the planet. Nowhere is there such inequality. I have never seen destitution at this scale.
Today's
deep question: Do all California's education-equity execs live in Texas? Answer: Nope. One
of them lived in Philadelphia, for instance. However, the latest California education executive to be discovered by
Politico living out of state tendered her resignation ... from Dallas: [...] As a newly minted Texan, that irony makes my
day. Gavin Newsom made a big show of launching that ban — which most Texans likely appreciated —
while his patronage regime paid at least one of its executives to live in Texas.
California's
Zero-Bail Policies Have Been A Deadly Failure. In 2020, as an emergency measure during the COVID-19 pandemic,
the California Judicial Council, hoping to prevent COVID's spread, had implemented zero-bail schedules to reduce jail
populations. Senate Bill 262 was later introduced in another of a series of attempts to eliminate most monetary
bail. For reasons having nothing to do with protecting health and safety, Senate Bill 262 would have made the schedules
permanent. In effect, if defendants could not afford bail, they would simply be released. The grim reality of
zero-bail policies became increasingly apparent as late summer turned to fall. Dramatic expansions in crime.
Rampant retail theft. Law enforcement and prosecutors unified in their complaint that the zero-bail schedule was a
problem. A big problem. In fact, the Judicial Council had terminated the zero-bail schedule order even
before its emergency authority expired, presumably because these policies failed.
No
wonder why people and businesses are dumping California. [Scroll down] As to the loss of personal and
economic freedom, consider the following examples. As of the end of 2021, a publicly held company headquartered in
California must have between one and three female board members, depending upon its size, or face a fine of $100,000.
The California Department of Education has proposed an "equitable math" framework. California Political Review says the
framework "promotes the concept that working to figure out a correct answer is an example of racism and white supremacy
invading the classroom." As of January 1, 2022, California's new bacon law is scheduled to take effect.
According to the Associated Press: "Put simply, the law requires that breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves
be given enough space to stand and turn around. For pigs, that means they no longer can be kept in narrow 'gestation crates'
and must have 24 square feet of usable space." Producers predict shortages and more expensive bacon and pork products.
Why
Progressives Defend Drug Dealers. If you asked most progressives if they'd be okay with having a
highly-profitable, multi-billion dollar foreign corporation sell on their sidewalks a highly addictive product, which kills
two people a day, most would say "no," and yet that's what San Francisco progressives are allowing by not shutting down the
open air drug dealing by Honduran fentanyl dealers who work for a global cartel. Why is that? Why do people who
claim to care so much about addicts, human dignity, and city life oppose shutting down the open drug scenes that are
destroying them?
Why
LA Must Show the Gascon the Door. If Los Angeles district attorney George Gascon has his way, the City of
Angels will have sex offenders and violent criminals in their teens roaming free, under the pretext that they are
juveniles. Never mind that they may be repeat offenders. Never mind that such leniency will encourage gangs to
get their work done by those who should be in school or on the playground. Thankfully, there is growing outrage against
Gascon's abominable ideas and a campaign to have him recalled is gathering steam. It must succeed so that Los Angeles
is spared the fate of San Francisco, which Gascon (as DA in 2011-19) left in shambles and, in the words of former San
Francisco deputy DA Nancy Tung, with the reputation of a city "where you can commit a crime and get away with it."
He
Thought He Was Going To Walk Out With Free Stuff, She And Her Firearm Had Another Idea. Google "Shoplifting in
San Francisco" and you will find more than 100,000 hits. And you will find lots of YouTube videos, where you can watch
a single thief, or an entire gang, walk into an SF Walgreens or CVS and empty the shelves. Most walk in, go about their
pilfering, and then walk out, though at least one thief rode their bike into the store and departed the same way, carefully
navigating their two-wheeler down a narrow aisle. We probably shouldn't call it shoplifting anymore, since that term
connotes the idea of a person trying to conceal their crime. In San Francisco, there is no attempt to conceal theft,
and there is almost never any effort by store employees, including security personnel, to confront the thieves. The
most they do is record the thefts with their cell phones. Why is shoplifting so rampant? Because state law holds
that stealing merchandise worth $950 or less is just a misdemeanor, which means that law enforcement probably won't bother to
investigate, and if they do, prosecutors will let it go.
California
education 'equity' official resigns because she lives in Texas. The California Department of Education's equity
project manager has resigned due to the fact she lives in Texas. Pamela Kadakia worked for the California state
department while living in Texas, according to Politico. Additionally, the Lone Star State is on California's
state-funded travel ban list. California law mandates that state employees live there unless they need to live in
another location for their work, such as lobbying in D.C. Kadakia is the second California education equity official to
depart in recent weeks. The Golden State's first superintendent of equity, Daniel Lee, resigned earlier this month.
Politico reported how Lee lived in Philadelphia while collecting a salary of more than $161,000 from the state of California.
California
Education Official, Exposed for Living in Texas, Resigns. A second California education official has resigned
after it was revealed she had been working in the government job while living in the state of Texas. Pamela Kadakia has
stepped down as California Department of Education equity project manager, and her departure has been confirmed by the
department, Politico reported Thursday [12/23/2021]. "We sought to ensure that all our personnel were in line with the
new guidance," a CDE statement read. "In doing so, we accepted Ms. Kadakia's resignation." Not only does the
guidance require CDE officials to earn their government salary while working in the state, but the state also bans its
employees from traveling to Texas and 17 other red states because they have laws the state disagrees with and deems
"discriminatory," according to the report.
The Editor says...
Every state has laws that some of the other states don't. That's the reason this country is a conglomerate of 50 separate
states. California bans travel to certain other states because the other states' laws aren't the same as California's.
Other states' laws are the other states' citizens' concern, not California's.
California
'Deputy Superintendent of Equity' Resigns After Illegal Hiring [is] Revealed. A recent Politico investigation
found that California's first Department of Education deputy superintendent of equity, Dr. Daniel Lee, was hired even
though he "lives in Philadelphia and has a separate job there, more than 2,500 miles away" from the California schools he was
charged with "fixing." Afterward, California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-06) sent a letter to the Government Operations
Agency in Sacramento questioning the lawfulness of Lee's hiring. [...] Remarkably, only a few days later Lee resigned from
the position. However, if you're like me and don't live in woke world, you probably didn't even know there was such a
position as a deputy superintendent of equity; nor is it likely you know what such a creature does. Don't worry, no one
really knows what he does.
Philadelphia
resident who was high-ranking California Dept. of Education official resigns. A high-ranking official in the
California Department of Education has resigned after a report showed he had been collecting more than $160,000 on the
taxpayers' dime while living and mostly working on the East Coast. California's first-ever deputy superintendent of
equity, Dr. Daniel Lee, has resigned, a spokesperson for the Department of Education confirmed Wednesday [12/15/2021].
The resignation comes after Politico first reported Lee is a Philadelphia resident who had been friends with California
Superintendent Tony Thurmond for more than two decades.
Man
Dies Of Heart Attack Because Paramedics Refuses To Enter His Building Due To Commiefornia COVID LAWS.
Paramedics in Southern California refused to enter a post-acute-care facility to treat a man in cardiac arrest last month
because of "some COVID-19 law," according to a Rialto Police Department report. Body camera footage shows an officer
arriving at the Rialto Post Acute Care Center on the evening of Nov. 11 and greeting two paramedics from the Rialto Fire
Department, who were standing outside with their masks on. The first 30 seconds of the footage are muted, which is
standard for many police body cameras, but the officer wrote in his report that the paramedics were there for an unrelated
patient and said the facility was being "problematic." [Video clip]
The Editor says...
If your fear of germs is that intense, you shouldn't be a paramedic.
In
San Francisco, People Now Leave Their Trunks Open So Thieves Won't Smash Their Windows. People in California
are reportedly leaving their vehicles' trunks open to deter thieves from breaking their vehicles' windows. Vehicle
break-ins are reportedly on the rise in San Francisco and Oakland. To keep potential thieves from damaging their
property, some people are emptying out everything of value from their vehicle, unlocking their doors, and leaving the trunk
open while they go about their business. [Video clip]
America's Unamerican Smash-And-Grab.
[Scroll down] Within the first section of Proposition 47 lies the primary driver of "smash and grabs." Shoplifting
is defined as "entering a commercial establishment with the intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during
regular business hours" where the value of the property does not exceed $950." That is, according to the California
penal code, if someone enters the store when employees are present (putting them at risk) and loots $950 worth of items (if
not more, as seen in many of the smash-and-grab cases), they should be allowed to walk free without punishment. This
reclassification only allows criminals to get away with crimes instead of reducing crime itself. For instance, on
November 19th, 20 to 40 people organized a burglary at a San Francisco Louis Vuitton store. It was not an act of
opportunity but a raid organized to some extent through social media and messaging apps. With only five officially
arrested in the above case, criminals are growing bolder, leading to more smash and grab events, such as when 90 people
raided a Nordstrom Rack at the Walnut Creek shopping facility on November 20th. An estimated $100,000 worth of goods
were stolen there.
San
Francisco becomes first city to require sick leave for nannies, cleaners, gardeners. The San Francisco Board of
Supervisors on Tuesday [12/14/2021] unanimously passed groundbreaking legislation to provide paid sick leave for cleaners,
nannies, gardeners and other domestic workers. The measure — the first of its kind in the country —
would affect some 10,000 people in San Francisco who work in private homes to clean, cook, tend children, garden, do personal
organizing, or provide non-medical care for disabled people or seniors. This workforce is typically low-paid with many
women and immigrants, supporters said.
Liberal
California Politicians Promise To Be Tough On Crime As Thefts, Shootings Increase. California Democrats are
toughening their stance on crime amid increasing violence and homicides, with many politicians pledging to invest in law
enforcement. Crime in California has skyrocketed over the past two years, with homicides in San Francisco jumping 15%
in 2021 compared to 2020, and over 50% compared to 2019. Statewide, homicides, property crime, violent crime and larcenies
have all risen since before the pandemic. Retail thefts in particular have plagued the state, most notably in Los
Angeles and San Francisco, where organized gangs of criminals will break into and loot storefronts of their merchandise.
Even
San Fran residents are getting sick of their liberal reforms. To put it mildly, things haven't been going well
in Nancy Pelosi's home stomping grounds of San Francisco. The homelessness plague is out of control and crime has been
on the rise in ways that even the most liberal and forgiving residents can no longer ignore. The problem was compounded
in multiple ways when Chesa Boudin was elected to be the District Attorney after running on a platform of getting rid of the
police and promising to not prosecute "smaller crimes." (Boudin is now facing a recall election.) The filth and the
property crime are driving some people to look for a way out and flee the city. The Associated Press talked to several
such beleaguered residents recently and heard horror stories that are increasingly familiar.
The
California Crime Wave. Many people in the multi-troubled state of California are living in fear. It is
bad enough that for almost two years the Democrats in charge of the state government have used the war on COVID as an excuse
to expand their powers and abuse us with strict lockdowns, school closings and mandates. But seven years ago the
state's so-called progressives brought us Proposition 47, a sentencing "reform" measure that among other things essentially
decriminalized retail theft by making stealing anything with a value of less than $950 a mere misdemeanor. If you
combine that dumb idea — which the Los Angeles Times points out "was co-authored by then-San
Francisco — now Los Angeles — Dist. Atty. George Gascón and strongly supported by
then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom" — with the even dumber idea of defunding the police, you will understand
why California is in the midst of a crime wave.
Brazen
crime, open drug use and trashed streets have some residents of tolerant San Francisco say they've had enough.
San Francisco's brazen crime, open drug use and trashed streets have made even the most progressive of the city's famed
liberal residents demand a return to law and order as they seek to recall the woke district attorney. News of attacks
on Asian American seniors, burglarized restaurants, and boarded-up storefronts in the city's once-vibrant downtown greet the
citizens of the City by the Bay on a near-daily basis. And that was before a series of headline-grabbing crime stories
in which mobs of looters smashed windows and grabbed luxury purses in the downtown Union Square shopping district.
Breaking
the Maritime Shipping Impasse. Two new laws in California have degraded the air quality in the Los Angeles
area. One is Assembly Bill 5 and a new California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulation banning older diesel trucks
from operating in the state. Assembly Bill 5 has basically outlawed independent truckers from hauling freight, thereby
reducing the total number of trucks operating in the state. This, combined with the banning of the older diesel trucks,
has created a supply chain backlog. leaving large container vessels either at anchor or steaming in lazy circles off shore
because the anchorages are too crowded to safely anchor there. While at anchor or underway, these ships must run their
engines to turn generators to power and maintain vital shipboard systems and doing so these ships emit huge quantities of
oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), oxides of Sulfur (SOx), particulate pollution, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). The
offshore sea breezes carry this polluted air into the Los Angeles basin, adding to an already significantly polluted air shed.
Oakland
Unified among Calif. school districts phasing out D, F grades for high school students. Some of California's
largest school districts are trying an unconventional tactic to help students re-engage in school after distance learning and
boost their chances of acceptance into the state's public colleges: by dropping D and F grades. Los Angeles Unified,
Oakland Unified, Sacramento City Unified, San Diego Unified and other districts are phasing out grades below a C for high
school students. If a student fails a test or doesn't complete their homework, they'll be able to retake the test and
get more time to turn in assignments. The idea is to encourage students to learn the course material and not be
derailed by a low grade that could potentially disqualify them from admission to the University of California and California
State University.
The Editor says...
What is so important about guaranteeing university admission for academic deadbeats? What will happen to them at the
university? What will happen to us if a D-level sluggard ends up as an architect or a nurse?
California
plans to be abortion sanctuary if Roe [is] overturned. With more than two dozen states poised to ban abortion if the
U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK next year, California clinics and their allies in the state Legislature on Wednesday
revealed a plan to make the state a "sanctuary" for those seeking reproductive care, including possibly paying for travel,
lodging and procedures for people from other states.
California
Needs To Stop Its Crime Spree Before It Goes National. Californians have only themselves to blame. They
passed Proposition 47 in 2014 by a 60%-40% margin. Among the measure's provisions is a sort of decriminalization of
some thefts. Members of the criminal class are well aware that Prop 47 allows them to steal as much as $950 worth of
goods without being charged for a felony. That's why some have been seen adding up their "takes" on calculators to be
sure they don't exceed the threshold, and will be busted for only a misdemeanor if arrested at all. The bandits have
also been emboldened by prosecutors who are reluctant to prosecute — Chesa Boudin in San Francisco, George Gascon
in Los Angeles — and a statewide no-cash-bail policy for suspects who can't afford the going rate. While in
many cases the policy supports our system's presumed-innocent principle, it also acts as a get-out-of-jail-free card,
allowing repeat offenders to steal again. Inspired by criminals' success in California, thieves have hit stores in
Chicago and Minneapolis. How long before every big city in the country is overwhelmed by similar crimes?
When
intersectionality intersects with reality. When drug dealers complain about the lack of law enforcement
protection, the boomerang has come full circle and hit us in the back of the head. Gangs of smash-and-grab thieves have
targeted cannabis shops in the San Francisco Bay Area while firing 175 shots and stealing about $5 million's worth
of products. Alphonso "Tucky" Blunt, owner of a legal cannabis shop, criticized poor police protection and the
bureaucratic details of business in Oakland: "I was safer, and had more money, [selling] on the street, illegally."
Such is the economic reality of the Bay area. The thieves resell the stolen pot on the streets. City supervisor
Rafael Mandeman said, "Sadly, the illegal market is flourishing by undercutting the prices of legal businesses, which is bad
for our economy as illegal businesses pay no taxes." For politicians, the sad part is the "no taxes" part.
For the owners, it is the loss of their business.
San
Francisco restaurant that ordered cops out is poster child for the local wokester idiocy. [Scroll down]
They actually turned cops, who would have been paying customers, away. Restaurants the world over are famous for
welcoming cops to their establishments. Some give free food or discounts. This is how the cop-and-donut legends
got started. Others do it to ensure that cops will always come if there's a problem. Customers find the presence
of police comforting historically, the same way anyone would if there was a wildfire in the area and the fire truck decided
to park in one's driveway, as happened to my sister during the big Bonsall "Lilac" fire a couple of years ago. When she
saw the gargantuan CalFire truck parked at her residence on the nightly news, even with the sky red and the front-yard palm
tree on fire, she knew it was going to be OK, and it was. It's natural. But not to these guys.
Nothing
is Anybody's Fault. [Scroll down] San Francisco has been the worst-hit of many Democrat-run cities by
organized retail theft rings stealing for profit millions of dollars in merchandise. [...] It's of a piece with Soros-funded
D.A. Chesa Boudin's policy of releasing people from jail unless they threaten public safety. His nonaccountability
policies for crime this week forced the release of a woman who stole $40,000 worth of merchandise. You could also hold
accountable California voters who in 2014 approved Prop 47, a ballot measure that put the threshold for felony theft at
$951 — a figure that's not cumulative. You can rob $950 worth of stuff every day and walk out free as a
bird. Maybe smart merchants will just label everything in the shop $951. Maybe Californians who can't find any
available shops will rethink Prop 47 — along with the folks they elect to carry out the law. Maybe shops in
California cities will shutter and close; commercial property tax revenues will sink; and Californians will drive to Nevada
to buy their necessities and use drone deliveries from fortified warehouses in state.
Why Looting
Turned San Francisco Into A Ghost Town. Usually at this time of year, San Francisco's luxury stores are decked
with holiday garlands. Instead, they're boarded up after widespread "flash mob" looting turned Union Square —
the city's most fashionable shopping district — into an area resembling a blighted neighborhood in Detroit.
"It's a ghost town," said Michelle Tandler, a San Francisco native and high-tech entrepreneur, whose photos of the stores
barricaded in plywood went viral on social media this week. "Every store has a security guard. People are going
to lose their jobs. And these things have a ripple effect." Two weeks ago, San Francisco was the first of several
progressive cities hit by smash-and-grab mobs of thieves, sometimes as many as 80 in a group. Video from the San Francisco
looting of Louis Vuitton shows criminals walking casually out of the store, goods in hand. Other cities hit include Los Angeles,
Chicago and Minneapolis.
14
arrested over L.A. smash-and-grab thefts, but all released as leaders call for end to COVID no-bail policy.
Authorities in Los Angeles on Thursday [12/2/2021] announced more than a dozen arrests in recent smash-and-grab thefts at stores where
nearly $340,000 worth of merchandise was stolen, part of a rash of organized retail crime in California. Fourteen
people were arrested in connection with 11 brazen robberies between November 18 and 28, but all were released from custody,
police Chief Michel Moore said. Most bailed out or met no-bail criteria, and one is a juvenile, he said. At a
joint news conference, both Moore and Mayor Eric Garcetti called for an end to a no-bail policy for some defendants aimed at
reducing overcrowding at Los Angeles County jails during the coronavirus pandemic.
Looters
steal $5 million of products from 15 cannabis shops in the San Francisco Bay Area in a single month: One
business. Cannabis shops across the San Francisco Bay Area have been thrown into dire straits as gangs of
thieves broke into more than 15 shops throughout November during the series of 'smash-and-grab' robberies that are plaguing
California. Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong told reporters that 'hundreds' of vehicles targeted marijuana stores
in Oakland last month, firing 175 shots and stealing about $5 million worth of products. Alphonso 'Tucky' Blunt, owner
of Blunts and Moore, told MJBizDaily that his store lost about $25,000 during a November 22 raid, where more than a dozen
burglars ransacked the store.
California
Faces Statewide Mandatory Water Restrictions as Drought Worsens. California is currently facing mandatory water
restrictions as drought grips the state. "Despite a wet start to the water year, conditions have dried out since that
first storm and we are still planning for a below-average water year," Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of Water
Resources, said in a statement. "That means we need to prepare now for a dry winter and severe drought conditions to
continue through 2022."
L.A.
Arrests 14 for 'Mass Looting,' but Lets All of Them Go. Officials in Los Angeles announced Thursday with great
fanfare that they had made 14 arrests in connection with recent "mass looting" events in the city — but all
fourteen have since been released from jail, either with or without posting bail. [...] "Progressive" policies to reduce or
eliminate bail have come under the spotlight recently, after a number of high-profile crimes allegedly committed by those
released, including a mass murder in a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. California has a particular problem:
not only is cash bail being removed, but the state is governed by Proposition 47 of 2014, which makes retail thefts of up to
$950 misdemeanors instead of felonies, meaning that fewer are ever fully prosecuted. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco
have seen mass looting events in the past several weeks.
Having
attacked truckers, California now has a new target. One of my correspondents is an incredibly acute observer of
the Democrats' non-stop assaults on the State of California, especially in the transportation industry. He recently
sent me an email about the fact that California didn't stop with its attack on trucking. Instead, California Democrats
are also going after the shipping industry.
Why Crime
Is Out Of Control in San Francisco. When Chesa Boudin ran for San Francisco district attorney in 2019, he said
crime was caused by poverty, wealth inequality and inadequate government spending on social programs. He called
prostitution, open drug use and drug dealing "victimless crimes" and promised not to prosecute them. The result has
been an increase in crime so sharp that San Francisco's liberal residents are now paying for private security guards, taking
self-defense classes, and supporting a recall of Mr. Boudin, with a vote set for June 2022. Retailers like Walgreens
and Target are closing stores in the city, citing rampant shoplifting. Last week, a shockingly organized mob of looters
ransacked a downtown Louis Vuitton store. Mr. Boudin and his defenders say crime in San Francisco has actually
declined under his watch. The store closings had little to do with shoplifting, they insist; Walgreens announced in
2019 it would close stores as a cost-saving measure.
University
of California system permanently abandons standardized testing for admissions. Too many of the "wrong" people
are gaining admission to the University of California's nine campuses. The racial bean counters are therefore altering
the process by which applicants are judged. The nation's premier public university system is not going to base its
admissions process on standardized testing of any sort. "Test-free admissions" is to be the rule. [...] Admission will
now rely on grades, student essays, and teacher recommendations. All of these factors seem much more vulnerable to bad
actors and manipulation. The end of testing is brought to you by progressives who are convinced that standardized tests
help maintain white supremacy.
California
Sued Over Law Forcing Appointment of Minorities and LGBT to Corporate Boards. A conservative think tank filed a
federal civil rights lawsuit against California to halt a law that will force quotas on publicly held corporations
headquartered in the state, requiring them to appoint board members based solely on their race and sexual orientation.
The legislation at issue is the fruit of last year's race riots that caused more than $2 billion in property damage and were
organized nationwide by Black Lives Matter and Antifa. The lawsuit, National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR)
v. Weber, was filed on Nov. 22 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Defendant Shirley
Weber, a radical left-wing academic before entering politics, is being sued in her official capacity as California secretary
of state. Until January of this year, the San Diego-area Democrat was a member of the California State Assembly, where
she championed AB 3121, a law creating a task force to develop proposals to pay reparations to blacks to compensate them for
having ancestors a century and a half ago who were enslaved.
California
County Issues Mask Mandate for Private Homes Ahead of Thanksgiving. Santa Cruz County in California issued a
mask mandate for all indoor settings, including private homes, ahead of the holiday season. The mandate went into
effect at 11:59 p.m. on November 21 and requires "all individuals to wear a face covering when indoors regardless
of vaccination status." "Unfortunately, a potential winter surge appears to be a significant threat to the health and
safety of our community," said Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel in the announcement.
The Editor says...
They're telling you what you can do inside your house because of a "potential winter surge" of a disease that's so terrible, many
people don't even know they have it. If you're going to live in fear of a "potential winter surge," you should at least
be afraid of something that is likely to happen, and much more likely to affect us all. Like a winter surge in the
price of gasoline.
San
Francisco's Mayor Has a 'Genius' Idea to Stop Looting Over the Holiday. Some people still don't believe this,
but Prop 47 is a law — deceptively titled 'Safe Schools and Neighborhoods Act' — that reduces many
felonies to misdemeanors and provides for the early release of certain violent offenders and sex offenders. One of the
most unbelievable provisions of Prop 47 is one that makes it just a ticketable offense to steal up to $949 worth of goods
from any given retailer on any given visit. That's right — visit. You can clean out the deodorant
section at Walgreens, go back to your drug den, then come back an hour later and hit the diapers and feminine products if
that's your jam. You've seen the videos. People do this. They take what they want and casually walk
away. They know the law. They know law enforcement has no ability to stop any of it. It's not just San
Francisco that is seeing this nonsense growing; it has pretty much permeated every part of the state by this point.
What's worse — the broken windows theory has most definitely applied to the chaos in California. Criminals
have become emboldened by the tacit permission to loot stores at will. Now they are becoming organized and hitting
larger targets.
Chesa
Boudin gets religion on shoplifting. There's nothing like a smarmy, smug leftist who's realized he's cooked his
own goose. That brings us to the case of Chesa Boudin, the district attorney of San Francisco, who's effectively
legalized shoplifting in the name of "criminal justice reform." He's prompted massive store closures with ugly videos
of broad-daylight robberies on large and small stores. Boudin's refusal to prosecute has turned San Francisco into
another socialist crime pit, Caracas. And now, like his mentor Hugo Chávez, he's facing a voter recall. This
seems to be concentrating his mind, given that he's suddenly changing his tune — and comically enough, fooling no one.
Cultural
Marxism, Are We Supposed to Ignore What All the San Francisco Looters Have in Common? Perhaps there is a rule
book somewhere that says you must not point out that all of the San Francisco looters who hit Nordstrom and Louis Vuitton are
black. There are hundreds of media reports talking about the brazen nature of the ongoing mob and rob situations, but
no one seems to point out what they all have in common. All of the people doing the robbing are black. Here's an
example of CBS outlining a massive mob-n-rob of Nordstroms just outside San Francisco. [Video clip]
Dozens
Of Looters Storm Nordstroms In Commiefornia — Where Else. Dozens of looters swarmed into the Nordstrom store
in downtown Walnut Creek Saturday night [11/20/2021], terrorizing shoppers, ripping off bag loads of merchandise and
ransacking shelves before fleeing in a several vehicles waiting for them on the street. Walnut Creek Lt. Ryan
Hibbs told KPIX 5 that police began receiving calls about the looting at around 9 p.m. He said there were approximately
80 individuals who ran into the store and began looting and smashing shelves. Video shot at the scene shows the masked
looters streaming out of the store, carrying bags and boxes, jumping into the cars. Dozens of police vehicles also
responded to the scene. [Video clip]
Three
California school districts vote to defy state's vaccine mandates for children, risk losing state aid.
Updated: A third California school district has boted to resist the childten's vaccine mandate[.] Two school
districts in a mountainous rural county of California are leading the way in resisting a medical experiment on its
children. Calaveras County is rebelling against the State of California's plan to force children 5 [to] 11
years old to receive the experimental Covid pseudo-vaccines to protect against a virus which is of essentially no risk to
otherwise healthy kids. The county is neither heavily populated (estimated 45,000 souls) nor wealthy and lies at high
altitude in the gold country of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and foothills. It is so rural that there is only one
incorporated town, Angels Camp, in the entire county.
San
Francisco tourists are being warned not to rent cars. People who have opted to go to San Francisco for vacation
are being told not to rent vehicles. Why? Because of the extreme increase in vehicle burglaries in the
city. The reason behind the advice that is being given to tourists is easy — there are too many vehicle
burglaries that are occurring in the city. Criminals are going through town and breaking into different vehicles
looking for quick items they can take off with and later sell or trade.
Gavin
Newsom Extends Emergency Order Yet Again, Until March 2022. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) who two
months ago survived his recall election, extended the COVID state of emergency yet again. It will now extend until
March 31, 2022, which is a full four and a half months from now, and a little over two years since the World Health
Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. As Tom Tapp reported for Deadline, this is the third time that Newsom
has issued such an extension.
California
Fraudsters Get Rich Off Unemployment Benefits. California has shelled out at least $20 billion in fraudulent
unemployment benefits since the beginning of the pandemic, with 11% of all benefits paid in the Golden State. That is
more than the 2021 budgets of Delaware, Maine, and Montana combined. The $20 billion given to criminals who
fraudulently collected benefits comes out of the more than $178 billion in unemployment benefits since the start of the
pandemic, the Los Angeles Times reported. State officials have blamed that on Congress' quick expansion of unemployment
benefits that allowed people to get weekly checks without safeguards to stop people who weren't eligible. California
state officials approved at least $810 million in benefits in the names of people who were in prison, including dozens of
infamous killers on death row, the Los Angeles Times reported, and even $21,000 in benefits were sent to an address in
Roseville under the name and Social Security number of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
The
Left's Bungled Revolution. The supply chain debacle has been portrayed by media as one of those inexplicable
black swans that come out of nowhere and are beyond human comprehension. This is nonsense. The sole cause of this
"crisis" is a demented diktat from Gavin Newsom forbidding trucks more than three years old from loading at California
ports. The logic behind this is unknown, but presumably has something to do with Gaia being angry. The end result
is what we see: ships backed up off LA, containers piling up in the ports (or even dumped in hapless LA neighborhoods), and
shortages as far as the eye can see. Lost amid all the uproar are the nation's truckers, who must be boiling over with
fury. (Try to find a single quote from one in the legacy media.) Florida governor Ron DeSantis has immediately leapt
in to offer his state's ports to all comers, and will presumably be followed by other governors, so long-term, the situation will
right itself, as tends to happen in capitalist economies. But the wounds inflicted will last a long time —
and California slides ever closer to the precipice.
Gavin
Newsom's Double Jab of Covid booster and flu shot made him sick enough to cancel Scotland trip and disappear from public view
for nearly two weeks. California governor Gavin Newsom had an adverse reaction to getting the Covid booster and
a flu shot within days of each other, leaving him with muscle weakness and fatigue, claim sources in the family's inner
circle. The governor was last seen in public on October 27, after receiving a COVID-19 booster shot in Oakland.
He had gotten a flu shot on October 22. Newsom finally appeared in a photo attending Ivy Getty's star-studded wedding
this past weekend after disappearing from the public eye for nearly two weeks.
Why
San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin is unlikely to survive his recall. How's George Soros feeling these days?
Seems his fair-haired boy, San Francisco's radical left-wing district attorney, Chesa Boudin, who's pretty much letting every
thug in the city escape prosecution as San Francisco goes to hell, has drawn enough signatures to ensure his placement on a
recall ballot come June 7, 2022 — and then some.
Where's
Gavin Newsom been? At Getty heiress's wedding. The Twitter-sphere, The Daily Mail, and even The
Sacramento Bee were looking everywhere for Gavin Newsom on Monday after the California governor canceled events and ducked
out of sight for a few days. Did he have COVID or a reaction to his recent booster shot? Nope. Newsom was
at the Ivy Getty wedding on Saturday at City Hall, a guest and two media outlets say. Getty is a billionaire oil
heiress and great-granddaughter of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi officiated the
500-person wedding under the grand rotunda of the closed City Hall.
It
Looks Like Gavin Newsom's Been Located — at an Ostentatious Getty Wedding. As our Jennifer O'Connell
reported earlier today, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-French Laundry) hasn't been seen in public since October 27, the
day he received his COVID-19 vaccine booster. Newsom was scheduled to fly to Glasgow to attend the COP26 climate change
conference two days later, but his trip was abruptly canceled. Initially some speculated that perhaps he realized how
silly it was to fly across the globe to speak at a climate change conference when he could simply participate virtually. Then,
Newsom's office claimed he was attending to "unspecified family issues" and his office wouldn't elaborate when asked by the press.
San
Francisco grocery store closing earlier due to shoplifting. A 24-hour San Francisco grocery store will now be
closing early due to excessive thefts at night, joining other retailers that have been forced to alter their hours due to
rampant stealing. The Safeway grocery in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco has moved from operating 24 hours a
day to closing from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., KPIX reported. The news station reported that customers were surprised
by this decision. [...] This decision by the Castro Safeway comes less than a month after pharmacy retail giant Walgreens
announced it would be closing some locations in San Francisco due to organized retail theft. One San Francisco
Walgreens that was closed last year was reportedly losing $1,000 to theft a day.
Brazen
Thugs Just Walk Out Of Nike Store With Boxes Of Expensive Sneakers In California. This is what happens when an
entire state decides $950 or less is now a misdemeanor instead of a felony. Watch as these thugs just casually walk out
of a Nike store in California with expensive sneakers, knowing the worst that will happen to them is a slap on the wrist.
[Video clip]
Shippers
fear 'catastrophic' fallout from 'crazy' California port fees. The cure is worse than the disease, say critics
of an emergency plan of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach backed by the Biden administration. If you think port
congestion is bad now, just wait for what comes next. On Wednesday [10/27/2021], two days after the ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach announced a surprise emergency fee for containers lingering too long at terminals, the National
Shippers Advisory Council (NSAC) held its inaugural meeting. NSAC, created to advise the Federal Maritime Commission,
is composed of 12 U.S. importers and 12 exporters. Members include heavy hitters like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Office
Depot and Ikea. Council members had a lot to say about the California port fees — none of it good.
Former
Soros Activist Explains How Progressive Policies Ruined San Francisco. There's a crisis in San Francisco.
Homelessness has skyrocketed and drug use is rampant. Michael Shellenberger moved to San Francisco in 1993 to work on
liberal causes, and even spent time working for George Soros' foundation. He advocated the decriminalization of drugs
and promoted drug treatment programs. But, Shellenberger says, he began to worry when he saw the number of drug
overdose deaths in America rise from 17,000 in 2000 to more than 70,000 by 2017. "Clearly, we are in the midst of a
massive drug crisis," Shellenberger says, "and it felt like nobody was offering a particularly clear explanation of it or
offering very good solutions." Out of frustration over the problems he was seeing in San Francisco and other liberal
cities, Shellenberger became determined to diagnose the problems driving the homeless crisis and find solutions. He
presents the result of his research and investigation in his new book "San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities."
As
Expected, Joe Biden Pledge To Speed Up California Ports Amounts to Absolutely Nothing. In a rare act of
journalism, NBC actually followed up on the October 13th grand proclamation of Joe Biden to speed up California ports.
What they found is exactly what everyone suspected, the grand prose from the White House was a political pantomime —
absolutely nothing has changed. [Video clip] As noted, and as previously outlined, the issues with the backlog
of the California ports have absolutely nothing to do with rapid unloading of ships and container vessels. The issue is
the inability of California truckers to move those containers. The problem is a shortage of CA emission compliant internal
transportation trucks to move the containers out of the port and into the U.S. mainland.
The
California Version of The Green New Deal is What's Creating The Container Shipping Backlog. Hundreds of
requests for details on the specifics of the container shipping backlog. So, I spent 3 days calling sources, digging
for details and gathering information on the substantive issue at hand. The epicenter of the problem is not what is
being outlined by financial media, corporate media and politicians who have a specific interest in distracting from the
issues at hand. This has nothing to do with COVID-19. The issues being discussed today relate to events that
happened a long time ago. As a matter of fact, it was so predictable that Amazon, Walmart, UPS, FedEx, Samsung, The
Home Depot and Target all had taken actions years ago — long before COVID — because they knew this day
would come. It was not accidental that those companies showed up at the White House to discuss the issue, because
there's now a full court press to hide it.
California
Drove Truckers Out of Business. Now Store Shelves Are Empty. 2019 was described as a "bloodbath" for the
trucking industry with 640 trucking companies across the country filing for bankruptcy in just the first half of the
year. Thousands of truck drivers were left unemployed. Many went into the expanding last mile delivery business,
some as contractors for Amazon. But California truckers and businesses had their own special woes. Two years ago,
Governor Newsom signed the Democrat supermajority's Assembly Bill 5 into law. While AB5 was billed as a crackdown
on Uber and Lyft, forcing the companies to treat l freelance contractors as employees, the gig economy companies pushed
Proposition 22 so that they were the only ones exempt from the law. (A Democrat judge has since illegally blocked
the approved ballot measure while falsely claiming that it was unconstitutional.) AB5 however was less about Uber than
it was about outlawing freelance employees in order to force them into unions. The union power grab inconvenienced Uber
and Lyft, but crushed freelance workers in a variety of fields including journalism. One of the fields was trucking.
Target's
iconic downtown San Francisco store closing amid shoplifting frenzy. Target is disputing a report that it is
closing its iconic downtown San Francisco store amid claims the store is plagued by shoplifting threats costing the retailer
at least $25,000. The California Globe reported that Target is shuttering its store on Mission Street between Third
and Fourth Streets. But Target says the story isn't true. A Target spokesperson said it is not closing the
Mission Street store, but confirmed the retailer will close a different downtown San Francisco store on Bush Street in
November because of underperforming sales.
Is
Newsom Punishing Those Who Tried To Recall Him? Ralph Waldo Emerson said "when you strike at a king, you must
kill him." Gov. Gavin Newsom is no king, and last month's recall campaign was not intended to harm him physically.
But it's foolish to believe he won't respond as a monarch who narrowly missed losing his crown would. The recall
failure has emboldened the man. He now feels he has a greater mandate than ever before to push through his blue-state
agenda. In the recall results, the governor saw a California where the opposition to progressive policies is so weak,
and so utterly irrelevant to the work of the state's ruling class, that he and the legislature can roll right over those who
see politics and policy differently. They're a group to be punished for daring to challenge his office.
Can
California Be Saved? Part One. California has so many problems, can it be saved? I mean for regular
Californians. The tech billionaires and top government workers obviously have it good. But the rest of us?
It's worth trying, anyway. A timely new book offers a blueprint for advancing solutions to 10 problems. Three are
below. I'll cover the other seven later. This isn't a typical "bash California" book. It's the best
collection of solutions available today. All the authors are experts. I have worked with most of them, or they
have been my sources. "Saving California: Solutions to the state's biggest policy problems" is edited by Steven
Greenhut for the Pacific Research Institute in a nicely designed paperback or Kindle ebook.
The
California Supply Crisis Was Entirely Predictable: Just Ask Hayek. In short, [Friedrich] Hayek and the
"Chicago school" argue no central planning is adequate in anticipating and distributing economic resources in a
society. No individual despot or group of central planners have enough knowledge to act prudently and with
foresight. It will, instead, always result in inefficiencies, supply and demand distortions, and lowered economic
growth. In addition, because central planners, by definition, must take control away from individuals, it reduces the
people to a form of "serfdom." The people in a socialist system are coerced to comply. We do not yet have a
socialist political system in this country, though California may be as close as we've come with its governmental overreach
in economic, employment, educational and social matters.
The
California Version of The Green New Deal is What's Creating The Container Shipping Backlog. Hundreds of
requests for details on the specifics of the container shipping backlog. So, I spent 3 days calling sources, digging
for details and gathering information on the substantive issue at hand. The epicenter of the problem is not what is
being outlined by financial media, corporate media and politicians who have a specific interest in distracting from the
issues at hand. This has nothing to do with COVID-19. The issues being discussed today relate to events that
happened a long time ago. As a matter of fact, it was so predictable that Amazon, Walmart, UPS, FedEx, Samsung, The
Home Depot and Target all had taken actions years ago -long before COVID- because they knew this day would come. It was
not accidental that those companies showed up at the White House to discuss the issue, because there's now a full court press
to hide it. There is one very specific regional issue driving the problem. [...]
How
California seriously messed up its drought problem. At the beginning of the 20th century, both relied on well
water to sustain their populations. And both had ambitious plans to build aqueducts to import snow melt from the fairly
distant Sierra Nevada mountains. It was then that renowned naturalist John Muir formed the Sierra Club to fight the San
Francisco project. He was successful only in delaying the building of the O'Shaughnessy Dam that formed the Hetch
Hetchy reservoir. That delay allowed William Mulholland to be first by completing the Los Angeles-Owens Valley aqueduct
in 1913. When the gate releasing the water opened, Mulholland famously said, "Here it is. Take it." And thus,
Los Angeles eclipsed San Francisco as the primate city of California. In order for the L.A. city fathers to pass the
construction bond for the aqueduct, they had to play up a major drought in the 1880s. The bond was passed, but the
drought was a fiction...that wasn't exposed until the late 1970s by Scot Stine, at that time a graduate student at U.C.
Berkeley. Stine's subsequent work nonetheless shows serious droughts in California's past.
Corrupt
democrat Los Angeles city councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas indicted in federal corruption probe. The New York
Post is reporting that a high-level Los Angeles Democrat has been indicted in a federal corruption probe.
Councilman Mark Ridley Thomas, 66 along with former dean Marilyn Louise Flynn, 83 are expected to be arraigned in the next
few days on charges of conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud and honest services wire fraud. The charges
carry decades in prison if they are convicted, although honestly at their age, the chances of any type of lengthy sentence is
questionable.
Lawn
Companies Issue Blistering Response to Newsom After He Moves To Destroy Their Businesses. Back in the days when
humor writer Dave Barry had a regular newspaper column, he would frequently mention some outlandish thing that was actually
true and follow it with the statement: "I am not making this up." Regarding a new law signed by Democratic
California Gov. Gavin Newsom: I am not making this up. California, the place where reality goes to die, has
outlawed the sale of off-road gasoline engines beginning in 2024, according to The Washington Post.
Theft-plagued
Walgreens shuts down five more stores in San Francisco: At least 17 have already closed due to 'legalized
shoplifting'. Walgreens is shuttering another five of its stores in crime-ridden San Francisco because of
rampant shoplifting by thieves who waltz past security guards and sell the items outside the drugstore chain's doors.
The national chain has closed 17 of its 70 San Francisco locations in the past two years because of the shelf raiders, who
have swiped everything not behind lock and key. Thefts in the chain's 53 remaining stores are five times the average
for their stores elsewhere in the country, according to company officials.
Walgreens
closing 5 more San Francisco stores due to theft. Walgreens said Tuesday that it will be closing another five
San Francisco locations, citing the ongoing rampant theft plaguing the city. "Due to ongoing organized retail crime, we
have made the difficult decision to close five stores across San Francisco," a Walgreens spokesperson told FOX Business in a
statement. "Each store will transfer prescriptions to a nearby Walgreens location within a mile radius and we expect to
place the stores' team members in other nearby locations."
In
just two days, California governor signs [a bunch of stuff] into law. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a
number of 'woke' bills into law over the weekend including a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers to schools requiring students to
be taught 'ethnic studies'. One liberal-pleasing law will see gender-neutral children's sections being required in
large toy stores while female students in schools and colleges will be provided free menstrual supplies in women's
bathrooms. Newsom hastily signed the flurry of new bills into law on Saturday night ahead of his Sunday night deadline
for approving or vetoing new legislation for the year.
People's
Republik Of California: Say Goodbye To Your Gas Mowers And Lawn Implements. You know, this is For Your
Own Good. That seems familiar. The definition of Progressivism is "Nice Fascism". That doesn't mean these
are nice people, it means they'll run your life for you own good. It makes sense when mom and dad do this when you're a
kid. Not when you're an adult. But, hey, a goodly chunk of you moonbats in California keep voting for this stuff[.]
Gavin
Newsom signs woke law forcing stores to have 'gender neutral' sections where traditional blue and pink toys and toothbrushes
are banned. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a woke law on Saturday forcing stores to have 'gender
neutral' sections where traditional blue and pink toys and toothbrushes are banned. Large department stores must now
display products like toys and toothbrushes in gender-neutral ways — a win for LGBT advocates who say the pink and
blue hues of traditional marketing methods pressure children to conform to gender stereotypes. The new law, however,
does not completely outlaw traditional boys and girls sections at department stores. Instead it says large stores must
also have a gender neutral section to display 'a reasonable selection' of items 'regardless of whether they have been
traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys'.
California
law bans small off-road gas engines, including lawnmowers and chainsaws. California took another step toward
its goal of ridding the state of all gas-powered engines thanks to a new bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday
[10/9/2021]. The new law will ban the sale of all off-road, gas-powered engines, including generators, lawn equipment,
pressure washers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and even golf carts. Under the new law, these machines must be
zero-emissions, meaning they will have to be either battery-powered or plug-in, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Nero
Newsom Fiddles With Ridiculous Laws, as California Continues to Implode. Last week, Huntington Beach, CA
suffered an oil spill, caused by an undersea fuel pipeline being pierced by a ship's anchor. As I mentioned here, that
damage could have been caused by one of the thousands of ships clogging the Southern California waters around the Port of Los
Angeles. This is currently under investigation. In the meantime, the ships are waiting to be off loaded, but
cannot because of the inefficiency of dock workers. Thank you, Labor Unions. Governor Gavin Newsom does not care
about the causation, the fact that our supply chain of goods and services has been horrifically disrupted, and that hundreds
of truckers, retailers, and average citizens are losing money by the day. No, Governor Hair Gel is urgently concerned
about a "greener future", and getting rid of fossil fuels by 2035.
New
California law mandates that big retailers maintain gender-neutral kid aisles. Gov. Gavin Newsom on
Saturday [10/9/2021] signed a law that requires large California retailers to maintain gender neutral toy and childcare
sections. The new law, Assembly Bill 1084, requires that retailers with 500 or more employees in the state of
California "maintain a gender neutral section or area, to be labeled at the discretion of the retailer, in which a reasonable
selection of the items and toys for children that it sells shall be displayed, regardless of whether they have been
traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys," according to the legislative counsel's digest.
California
Gov Gavin Newsom signs law to eventually ban gas-powered lawn equipment. California will soon ban the sale of
new gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers after Governor Gavin Newsom signed off on the new law on Saturday [10/9/2021].
The move is aimed at curbing emissions from a category of small engines on pace to produce more pollution each year than
passenger vehicles. The gas-powered equipment to be banned uses small off-road engines, a broad category that includes
generators, lawn equipment, pressure washers, chainsaws, weed trimmers and even golf carts.
California
becomes first state to bring in compulsory ethnic studies for high school students. California became the first
state in the nation to make ethnic studies a required class for high school students after five years of debate. The
requirement would apply to students who graduate in 2030 and was created and approved by the state Board of Education in
March after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar measure last year until it was 'inclusive of all communities.'
During the bill signing on Friday [10/8/2021], Newsom said students 'must understand our nation's full history if we expect
them to one day build a more just society.
If
America's going to split apart, here's what will happen to you. California — it's always California,
isn't it? — recently banned any state-sponsored trips by its employees to Ohio. This is based on a 2016
California law that imposes penalties on states that California officials deem to be discriminating against lesbians,
homosexuals, bisexuals, or transgender residents. At issue is Ohio's new "conscience law," which allows medical
providers to refuse to perform certain procedures, such as gender mutilation surgeries, if they violate a doctor's religious
or moral beliefs. The Land of Gavin Newsom now restricts state-financed travel to 18 other states which have a combined
population of 116 million people. And recently California slapped its travel restriction on states that require
transgender athletes to participate in high school sports based on their sex. This trend is spreading among other
states and even to cities. For ten years, Los Angeles has been restricting travel by city employees to Arizona because
of its immigration policies. City departments have also been told not to do business with Arizona firms. A few
years after that, L.A. added restriction on trips to North Carolina and Mississippi over their transgender bathroom laws.
California
Now Bans State-funded Travel to One-third of America. California's Democrats have now banned state-funded
travel to so many states in protest at their legislation on social issues that the bans now cover one-third of the United
States by population, after a new ban on Ohio was introduced last month.
Gov.
Newsom mandates shots for ALL California students from 7th to 12th grade - but exempts staff. Governor Gavin
Newsom has been condemned for his 'wrong and cowardly' mandate which demands all California students from 7th to 12th grade
get the COVID-19 vaccine but does not require their teachers to get the shot. Social media erupted in outrage Friday
night as people pointed out the alarming difference between the rules for children and staff, with many accusing the governor
of being influenced by the powerful teachers' unions. 'Kids must get vaccine, but teacher don't have to. The
lesson? Kids need a better union,' one person tweeted.
Newsom
signs sweeping reforms, raises age for new cops to 21, can lose badge for 'racial bias'. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a number of sweeping police reform bills that take aim at alleged law enforcement
misconduct and will allow officers to be stripped of their badges for "racial bias" and other deemed offenses. On
Thursday [9/30/2021], surrounded by what Newsom called "moral leadership" and the family members of those killed by law
enforcement officers, he signed into law eight police reform bills claiming that they would increase transparency and
accountability. He was joined by California Attorney General Rob Bonta who proclaimed that there is a "crisis of trust"
between citizens and officers.
Here's a way to guarantee 110 percent voter turnout:
California
to mail every voter a ballot in future elections. Every registered California voter will get a ballot mailed to
them in future elections under a bill signed Monday [9/27/2021] by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The law makes
permanent a change adopted during the pandemic for the 2020 election and the recent recall against Newsom. California,
the nation's most populous state, joins several other Western states in mailing all voters a ballot, including Utah,
Colorado, Washington and Oregon. Republicans who hold a minority in the state Legislature opposed the expansion of
voting by mail.
California
Gov. Newsom Signs Law Making Universal Vote-by-Mail Permanent in State. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a
measure Monday [9/27/2021] that makes vote-by-mail permanent in California, coming after the tactic was used in 2020 and was
left in place during this month's recall election. The Democrat governor issued a statement as he signed Assembly Bill 37,
which now requires the state to send ballots with prepaid return envelopes to all voters in statewide elections and local contests.
"As states across our country continue to enact undemocratic voter suppression laws, California is increasing voter access, expanding
voting options, and bolstering elections integrity and transparency," Newsom said.
We're
coming up on the bad part of the 'cycle of democracy'. The cycle of democracy is attributed to Scottish
economist Alexander Tytler: ["]A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist
until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the
majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy
always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.["] With the restoration of Gavin
Newsom to his California governorship through the failing 2021 recall process, the state cements its trajectory of collapse.
California's
Audit-Proof Scheme to Steal Elections. [Scroll down] As in 2020, ballots for the September 14 recall were
mailed to every registered voter in the state, which includes at least one million illegals the DMV automatically registered
to vote when they got driver's licenses. Alex Padilla handled the "motor voter" program before Newsom tapped him for
the Senate seat of Kamala Harris, when Joe Biden sniffed her out for his running mate. Shirley Weber, San Diego
Democrat, took over as secretary of state, and first tried to keep Larry Elder off the ballot, claiming that he failed to
file the proper forms etc. Elder sued and won, and that gave the black conservative a boost in the polls.
Newsom's handlers didn't like it. "I have my own operation working," crowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the San
Francisco Democrat is also "making calls to defeat the recall of our governor." Newsom was once Pelosi's nephew by
marriage, but the governor's connections are far more extensive. Gavin Newsom's grandfather was a crony of the first
Gov. Brown and his son, Gov. Jerry Brown, appointed Newsom's father to a judgeship. When he announced the
state of emergency in March of 2020, Newsom hailed the leadership of Nancy Pelosi, and ever since he has ruled as virtual
autocrat. Newsom signed a $1 billion deal for masks with a Chinese company and hid the details even from fellow
Democrats. Newsom locked down Californians while cavorting with colleagues sans mask at the upscale French Laundry.
While many public schools remained shuttered, Newsom sent his own children to an upscale private school. And so on.
Newsom
Says Biden Supported His Move to Abolish Suburbs in California. California Governor Gavin Newsom's first move
after he beat the recall effort in California was to sign legislation allowing lots to be subdivided which would effectively
eliminate suburbs. The legislation was obviously frowned upon by suburban voters. As The New York Times reported,
lawmakers were worried about "angering suburban voters, whose preferences for single-family home living have been regarded as
politically sacrosanct." SB 9 "was furiously opposed by homeowners and local government groups who said it 'crushes
single-family zoning' and would be 'the beginning of the end of homeownership in California,'" the Times said.
Watch
out, NIMBYs. Newsom just dumped single-family zoning. In one of his first moves after surviving the
recall, Gov. Gavin Newsom took his boldest steps yet to fix California's housing shortage by signing a package of bills
that will transform the state by getting rid of single-family zoning and making it easier to build the housing the state so
desperately needs. Of the three housing bills Newsom signed Thursday, the most consequential is Senate Bill 9 because
it will allow up to four units of housing on a single-family lot. Another, Senate Bill 10, creates a voluntary program
that makes it easier for cities to upzone any urban or transit-adjacent parcel of land, including a single-family lot, to allow a
building of 10 units or fewer.
Democrats
have little to cheer about in California recall victory. Democrats are crowing about California's
Gov. Gavin Newsom surviving his recall election, and by a 64% to 35% margin. [...] Democrats outnumber Republicans in
voter registrations 40-25, and Democrats who've been elected have made the state a shambles for decades. In other
words, it's not just from Newsom that the state is a mess, and there's no sense of a huge sudden crisis, which probably
worked to Newsom's advantage. Rolling blackouts, high energy prices, wildfires, unchecked crime, and homelessness have
all become a way of life in California. Republican voter registrations have declined because a lot of Republicans have
fled. So not that big a surprise that Newsom won. Democrats shouldn't count on this as a national model.
Newsom in fact ran an ad hominem hate-Elder campaign, painting him solely as "Trump," and unfortunately, Elder could
not fight it. Newsom had cash from his billionaire patrons across the country that Elder could not match, as well as
the support of the entire Democrat political machinery. Newsom also had unions working hard to increase turnout, which
means he's got favors to repay.
California's
Democrat Machine Protects Newsom From Defeat. The Democrat machine in California has been successful in
defending Governor Gavin Newsom from defeat in Tuesday night's recall election. On Monday night, President Joe Biden
campaigned for Newsom in Long Beach and made the election a referendum on President Donald Trump. Ahead of the
election, Newsom's administration sent mail-in ballots to every registered voter in the state and used federal Wuhan
coronavirus relief money to issue checks to voters.
California:
A legit recall result but evidence of fraud remains. Here are some examples of fraud in this go-round that have
been reported from multiple sources: Multiple ballots mailed to residents in the mass mail-in balloting —
these were reported all over, often from duplicate registrations (I know someone in Glendale who got one of these) and
registered residents who had moved away decades ago. Ballot secrecy compromised as voter choices were visible from the
holes in the ballot envelopes as well as through a flashlight. That's incompetent design or more likely, quite
intentional. Actual problems casting ballots, for Republicans only, based on faulty or rigged election machinery.
This happened in the corruption-plagued San Fernando Valley and hasn't been addressed. Evidence of tainteed voter rolls
based on the 449,000 Californians who were dismissed from jury duty for not being citizens. Leftist fact-checkers who
have tried to dismiss this by saying illegals aren't allowed to vote beg the question of whether such people are
registered — it turns out they are, because the Superior Court Judicial Branch of California has explicitly stated
that it selects jury pools based on voter rolls. It also says it gets those names from DMV registrations, which, the
DMV supposedly has separated carefully citizen from noncitizen — which we know they haven't.
California
Governor Newsom Survives Recall Election. California voters overwhelmingly chose to keep Democratic Governor
Gavin Newsom in office in a recall election on Tuesday [9/14/2021]. Newsom was spared after a projection by the
Associated Press showed that a majority of voters opted against recalling him. With 61 percent of the estimated vote
in, early returns showed that 5.3 million voters supported keeping Newsom in office, while 2.5 million Californians voted in
favor of his removal. In remarks Tuesday evening at the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento, Newsom
said it "appears we are enjoying an overwhelmingly 'no' vote here tonight."
One-Party
Rule: When Corruption and Radicalism Collide. New York and California are glaring examples of one-party
rule gone bad, resulting in tyrannies of the hard left. They are also contrasts of how the populace in one state is
impotent to reject corrupt, one-party rule and how the populace of the other has availed itself of a constitutional pressure
valve, the recall petition, for political self-correction. Each state demonstrates the extreme dangers of one-party
rule recognized 250 years ago by America's Founders and addressed by the U.S. Constitution through federalism at the national
level. [...] Californians exercised their constitutional right to recall the unpopular Governor Gavin Newsom. The
September 14 election will determine whether Newsom stays or is replaced by a Republican, most likely talk-show host Larry
Elder. The reasons why Californians are giving Newsom an up or down vote are several: huge encampments of the
homeless, gasoline prices at $5 a gallon, fires raging, water scarce, drug use rampant, and schools among the worst in the
nation. Newsom also grossly mismanaged COVID shutdowns, hurting many small businesses.
[Some]
California Republicans [have been] told they already voted[,] due to something 'wonky' with computers, KTLA
reports. Reports of voting issues are coming out of California in advance of Tuesday's special recall election
when the fate of embattled Governor Gavin Newsom will be decided, leading to confusion and suspicion among some voters.
According to a local news report, residents who went to cast their votes at a Woodland Hills high school were shocked when
they were told that they had already voted according to computers. The problems occurred at an early voting site at El
Camino Real Charter High School where several people were informed by staffers that they wouldn't be able to cast their
ballots and were given provisional ballots instead. Those who were turned away appear to have one thing in
common — they are Republicans.
What
'Big Government' and individual liberty mean to me: Larry Elder. California Gov. Gavin Newsom [...]
who used the coronavirus to abuse his authority, overstepped his role as governor, virtually locking down the entire state
and shuttering businesses, while he enjoyed himself — mask-free and indoors — with friends and
supporters at a world-famous fancy restaurant. We saw the same with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at her hair salon in San
Francisco. Such hypocrisy merely adds insult to injury, however. Nearly a third of California's restaurants have
permanently closed due to COVID. The state's unemployment rate is 7.6% — the second highest in the
nation. Nearly 69,000 Californians filed new jobless claims for the week ending August 14, the highest total in three
months for the state. One group disproportionately hurt by the type of repressive COVID policies are women —
because they are often overrepresented in industries most affected by the shutdowns, such as tourism, cleaning and domestic
services, and entertainment. Ironically, Newsom fervently claims that he cares about women. By contrast, I
believe individuals do not need the government to tell them how to think and what to do. The notion of individual
liberty and personal responsibility is the complete opposite of big government. The liberty to choose to get
vaccinated, or how much to pay someone who agrees to work for me — and the responsibility for any negative
outcome — is what allows a society to be healthy and strong.
Somebody
Paid $3.7 Million Cash for CA Gov Newsom's Estate — But Who? Somebody paid $3.7 million cash,
through an LLC, for a 12,663 square foot, 8-acre estate in December 2018 that was then transferred (or gifted) to California
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife shortly before the First Couple obtained a $2.7 million cashout mortgage loan on the
property. A year after originally breaking that story we still don't know who that somebody is and whether the
transaction was legal or not. Newsom's spokesperson, Nathan Click, has given two diametrically opposed explanations as
to the origin of the cash, and neither hold up to scrutiny.
Recall the California
Ideology: The Golden State is heading for a colossal train wreck. California once was run by alternating
conservatives and mostly centrist Democrats. True, paleo-liberal governors like Pat Brown greatly expanded the welfare
state. But they also believed in pushing integration, building freeways, dams, aqueducts, and power plants, while
preventing forest fires, directing the mentally ill into state hospitals, and ensuring the state enhanced the housing,
timber, oil and gas, nuclear, and agricultural industries. So why and how would anyone deliberately destroy that
heritage? Why allow California to have the highest aggregate basket of income, sales, property, and capital gains taxes
in the nation, the highest gas and power prices in the continental United States, and nearly the worst schools and
infrastructure, the largest populations of homeless, welfare recipients, illegal aliens, and, soon, criminals?
Biden
heads to Cali, accused of working harder to save Gavin Newsom's skin than US hostages. With the recall vote for
California Governor Gavin Newsom now less than a week away, Democrats are frantically working to save his hide and even
President Joe Biden will be pitching in as voters go to the polls to render their verdict on his political career. In
news confirming what many have speculated, Biden will emerge to hit the campaign trail for the embattled governor who faces a
serious threat that could derail the dreams of the ambitious product of the corrupt San Francisco Democrat machine. On
Tuesday [9/7/2021], White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden would travel to the left coast "early next week" where
he will join efforts to energize the party faithful and to prevent a nightmare scenario for Democrats if the recall is successful.
Unpopular
Former CA Senator to Campaign for Unpopular Governor. Speaking as a current Californian, I wouldn't treat the
recall as a done deal. Far from it. Democrats have a huge organizational advantage that they can use to rig
elections (think of the 2020 presidential race as the Californication of national elections) and a pretty big cultural
advantage. Newsom has bet that he can counter his unpopularity in the state by nationalizing the election. It's
why his ads don't tout his accomplishments. Not only because they don't exist, but because the state machine has put
all of its money on turning this into a national race so California voters don't think about what a mess the state is.
Newsom's biggest ad used to feature Elizabeth Warren decrying Texas. A newer ad features Bernie Sanders. Neither
of them are especially pleasant, but they make Newsom seem personable by comparison.
It's a reverse shakedown. It's also unsustainable.
San
Fran to start paying known criminals monthly stipend to stop killing, eligible for bonuses. One of America's
"wokest" cities, San Francisco, intends to start paying high-risk criminals to not shoot each other. Starting in
October, 10 known criminals will receive a $300 stipend every month that they abstain from busting some caps. The
chosen criminals will also be eligible for a $200/month bonus if they meet certain milestones like obtaining a job.
"The idea is to provide the small number of San Franciscans who authorities believe are most at risk of shooting
someone — or being shot — with an incentive to get help and stay out of trouble," according to the San
Francisco Examiner. "The initiative will pair participants with newly hired life coaches from the Street Violence
Intervention Program, known as SVIP, who will help them make the right choices and access services. The theory is that
the up to $500 stipend will serve as an incentive to participate — and stay engaged," the paper notes.
The
official explanation for California's suspicious recall election envelopes. In California, Jacqueline Timmer of
American Voters Alliance reports that, in at least three California counties, the return envelopes for the recall election of
Gov. Gavin Newsom have circular punch-holes in them that allow a person to see whether a voter voted to retain Newsom or
not. In response, through a tweet, and through a later comment to Fox News, the clerk of one the counties (Los
Angeles) said that the punch-holes assisted "accessibility for low vision voters to locate where to sign the envelope[.]"
Apparently, the clerk was saying that such voters could feel on the envelope where to sign. But if a voter needs
punch-holes for that, how was he able to complete the ballot in the first place? [...] Is this really an intentional scheme,
or is it simply a case of innocent error? Even if it were intentional, how would we ever know? All we do know is
that, under mail-in voting, such a question may arise; under direct, in-person voting, it cannot.
California's
Recall Election Has Already Been Stolen. California's gubernatorial recall election is officially September 14,
but "Election Day" has ceased to have any meaning, Mail-in ballots were automatically sent to every registered voter on August 16.
Return postage is "free," pre-paid by California taxpayers. The registration deadline was August 30, but you can still register
to vote "conditionally" and cast your vote immediately, right up to and including on the 14th. Mail ballots do not have to be
received by "Election Day." Ballots received up through September 21, a week after the election, will still count. Which
gives the people in power plenty of time to correct any "mistakes" revealed by the initial vote tallying on September 14. You
will recall that a drug-addled miscreant was recently apprehended in his car with 300 stolen mail-in ballots. The police found these
ballots not due to brilliant detective work but because someone reported a man passed out in his vehicle. "Police are working with
officials to ensure that all voters affected by the thefts get new ballots," reported the Los Angeles Times.
The
Obscenity of Paroling Sirhan Sirhan, Assassin of Robert F. Kennedy. Last week, a California parole board voted
to allow the release of Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian immigrant to shot and killed Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY)
immediately after he won the state's crucial presidential primary in June 1968. The decision to accept the parole
board's recommendation now goes to the governor — who could be Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), or a replacement, if
Newsom loses the Sep. 14 recall election and does not decide on the parole before he leaves.
California
Governor Worries His Recall is a Referendum on Joe Biden and Democrats. The Atlantic Article interviewing the
perpetually inept far-left advocate for all things big government, Gavin Newsom, doesn't specifically say the California
governor is worried about his recall being a wider referendum on Joe Biden, but the gorilla in the room is visible through
the fear the interview conveys.
The Editor says...
Every legitimate voter in California is well aware of the price of gas, which is
enough to defeat the current governor.
Latest
Alleged Election Fraud in California May Have Changed Election Outcome. [Scroll down] According to the
complaint that was filed on Aug. 13, and which the government will ultimately have to prove, four of the defendants
registered to vote at the home of another defendant, Jace Dawson, who was also a candidate for the City Council, even though
they didn't live there, in order to vote in the election. Another defendant registered to vote at Galvan's house
despite also not actually living in Compton. Dawson apparently saw an opportunity for mischief when Compton decided to
have an all-mail election, responding to a text from another defendant giving him that news and saying Dawson should "come
for that seat baby!" Dawson responded "Yeeeees absolutely!!!!" Dawson lost the primary election in April to Galvan
and then apparently conspired with Galvan to help Galvan win the June general election. The texts outlined in the
criminal complaint among the various defendants about their possession of the absentee or mail-in ballots of voters are
disturbing. In one text, Dawson tells Galvan he has "the ballo[t]s but they didn't fill it out or sign it so I have to
track them down to sign the ballot at least." Galvan responded by telling Dawson to bring "them over." In other
words, Dawson apparently had possession of voters' blank absentee ballots, giving him and/or Galvan the opportunity to fill
them out with the votes they wanted. And this was not an isolated incident with one ballot.
White
House Confirms: Joe Biden to Campaign for Gavin Newsom in California Recall. White House press secretary
Jen Psaki confirmed Wednesday that President Joe Biden still intends to campaign for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in the Sep.
14 California recall election, despite the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. "I can confirm, the president does still plan
to go and campaign for Governor Newsom in California ... that is still certainly his plan," Psaki said. Psaki added
that she did not have any particular dates or details about Biden's plans to travel to, and campaign in, California.
Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder (R) leads most opinion polls among potential replacements for Newsom, should he be
recalled. On Tuesday, in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Elder dared Biden to campaign for Newsom: [...]
Larry
Elder Dares Joe Biden to Campaign for Gavin Newsom. Conservative radio host Larry Elder told Breitbart News in
an exclusive interview on Tuesday evening that he would welcome the prospect of President Joe Biden campaigning for incumbent
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in the recall election. Biden issued a message of support for Newsom earlier this month.
[...] Vice President Kamala Harris, a former U.S. Senator from the state, will campaign with Newsom in the San Francisco Bay
Area on Friday [8/27/2021].
Voter
fraud concerns [are] mounting in tight California recall election. Facing the political fight of his life and
sinking polls indicating he could lose in the Sept. 14 recall election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is now plagued by
rising concerns over alleged voter fraud after the Secretary of State's Office sent out mail ballots to 20 million
voters. Earlier in the year, the state legislature passed a measure to send out mail ballots to every registered voter
whether they asked for one or not. Newsom's opponents argue this was done as a way to protect him from losing,
suggesting the only way he could win was through fraud. Two legislators sued Newsom last year over an executive order
he issued changing election procedure. The lawsuit is on appeal and expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court. One
of the plaintiffs, State Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), is running to replace Newsom.
If you're on the fence about the Gavin Newsom recall...
[Thread reader] [H]ere are reasons with references why you should vote YES to recall Gavin Newsom:
[#1] $30 billion in EDD fraud. According to an audit that blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration for "significant missteps and inaction" costing taxpayers $10.4 billion and counting. To put in perspective, that's enough to pay every single public school teacher a 6 figure salary.
[#2] California has the highest poverty rate in the nation. Under Newsom homelessness has increased by almost 7%. There are now homeless camps under freeway overpasses and on vacant land throughout the state.
[#3] Newsom claimed the state conducted fire prevention work on 90,000 acres, but the state's own data shows the real number is actually only 11,399 acres resulting in the worst fire season on record.
[#4] Despite having the highest taxes in the nation & a $75 billion surplus Gavin Newsom looks to continue to increase taxes on Californians.
[#5] When Newsom told CA to shut down resulting in devastating permanent business closures he attended a fancy dinner at the elite French Laundry restaurant. In attendance was one of Sacramento's most powerful lobbyists.
[#6] Newsom has put special interests before kids and kept schools closed. Parents had to sue to force schools to reopen. Meanwhile, Newsom sent his kids to private school.
[#7] Under Newsom's failed leadership, the exodus of jobs and productive citizens from California has accelerated. Major companies have relocated and California lost a Congressional seat for the first time in history.
[#8] CA energy policies have failed: Newsom has acknowledged that blackouts have resulted from California's failure to "predict and plan" but he has still signed legislation that has made the problem worse.
[#9] [...]
[#10] [...]
California
Earthquakes Can't Do As Much Damage As Progressive, Blue State Government. Here's where California is today after two decades of
progressive, Blue State governance:
• Executive magazine has named California the worst state for business for 15 straight years.
• California imposes the heaviest regulatory burden on small businesses in the country.
• The business tax climate is worse only in New Jersey.
• Businesses of all sizes continue to flee the state.
• Property rights are being violated at an alarming pace. Just ask the "Central Valley farmers
who've had their land seized in the name of high-speed rail" and are still waiting to be compensated by the state.
• People are leaving in large numbers, and many who haven't yet are desperate to escape.
• That is if they are able to leave, because many of the roads and highways leading out are so
cracked up they're hard to navigate. Forty-one states have better systems.
• The state's unofficial "road diet" means that motorists have to spend more time on the crumbling
tracks than they should because the state has the worst traffic congestion on Earth.
• Liberty continues to be crowded out by growing government authority. The Cato Institute ranks
California 48th in freedom among the states, a position it has occupied since 2011.
• The state has had the highest poverty level in the country in recent years.
• While California's public education system is failing, the state has gone to war with charter
schools, which are not only popular with parents and students, they raise student achievement.
• The highest average gasoline price is found in California, which not coincidentally also has the
highest gasoline tax in the nation.
• Even though it accounts for only 12% of the U.S. population, 25%-30% of the nation's homeless live in California.
• The runaway public employee pension system threatens to devour the state.
Prop. 22
is ruled unconstitutional, a blow to California gig economy law. California's giant ride-hailing and delivery
companies suffered a setback Friday [8/20/2021] as a state Superior Court judge invalidated a 2020 ballot proposition that
allowed Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and other app-based businesses to classify their workers as independent
contractors. In a lawsuit brought by the Service Employees International Union and several drivers, Alameda County
Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that Proposition 22 is unconstitutional and unenforceable. That's in part
because the law, Roesch wrote, infringes on the power of the Legislature explicitly granted by the state Constitution to
regulate compensation for workers' injuries.
Can
Larry Elder Save California? The answer to the question posed by the title is "No," at least not alone, and I
suspect Larry Elder would agree. But the hack cliché is that every journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step, and dumping Governor Hairstyle in favor of someone who is not a complete buffoon is a necessary first
step. Word on the street is that Larry Elder is the most likely to win if Question 1 ("Should we dump this idiot
Newsom?") and move on to Question 2 ("Now that we're rid of that twit, who do we want to foist this thankless job upon?").
[...] The Democrats thought they were smart, and among their antics (like moving up the recall election to mid-September
thinking it would help them but instead planting it right inside the Delta wave) was not entering any big-name Democrat for
Question 2.
In
California, your recall vote is not secret. As the California recall referendum approaches, we know that the
leftist California gang determined to entrench Gov. Gavin Newsom in power, no matter how unpopular he is with voters and
no matter how much they want him out, has been busy. So here's the latest rig they've cooked up, exposed very well by
an apparently concerned liberal named Jennifer Asper. [Video clip] Seems the envelope to the state's mail-in
ballots, which have already gone out except reportedly to people who signed the recall referendum petition, contains two
holes. Those two holes expose the contents of the one-vote ballot in exactly the right strategic place. Asper's
Instagram and Twitter video, done very well, demonstrate the problem.
Larry
Elder vows to do away with vaccine, mask mandates in Calif. if elected governor. Larry Elder, prominent
conservative talk radio host and a leading candidate in the California gubernatorial recall election, vows to end mask and
vaccine mandates in the Golden State if elected. "When I become governor, assuming there are mandates for masks and
statewide mandates for vaccines, they will be suspended right away," said Elder during a news conference on Zoom, according
to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle. "This is America. We have freedom in America." While Elder
himself has been vaccinated and believes "vaccines work" he said he doesn't believe the government should decide for
people. He thinks that the irreversible health care decision of whether or not to get a vaccine should be up to each
person. Elder indicated that he personally chose to get vaccinated under his doctor's advice due to his age, 69, and an
underlying health condition. Elder, who calls himself the "The Sage from South Central," also took to Twitter to
confirm his position and make clear that any face mask or vaccine mandates in place will be "immediately revoked," not if,
but when he is elected governor.
Elder
Ignores Mainstream Media in First Online Press Conference. Neither the Los Angeles Times nor Politico (both of
whom had multiple reporters) and a host of other mainstream media suspects, including the Associated Press, got to ask a
single question Friday at Larry Elder's first online Zoom press conference for the California gubernatorial recall. The
likes of the Bay Area Yu Channel, the Sing Tao Daily and Lynn Ku of KTSF did. If you enjoy seeing MSM stuffed shirts
being upended, it was quite a hoot. A reporter from the LAT — I won't name him out of a courtesy he didn't
seem to have himself — was throwing a tantrum in the Zoom chat room due to his receiving a lack of
attention. And if you sense a pro-Asian bias in all this, you are obviously correct and it was obviously deliberate on
the part of the Elder campaign. These seemingly small Asian outlets — considering the size of California's
Asian community, they could be quite big in actuality — were given the only opportunities to ask questions.
And their questions were quite substantive. It was rather like the reverse of a White House press conference,
particularly during the Trump era, when question after question from CNN et al was of the "When did you stop beating
your wife?" nature.
The
LA Times begs Californians not to boot Newsom. We're one month out from the California recall election and the
polls have continued to tighten, though most of them predict Newsom surviving by a slim margin. Perhaps it's the
unexpected closeness of the vote that moved the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times to publish a beseeching letter to
Californians, urging them to not be tempted into opting for some new blood in the Governor's mansion. Their concern for
the welfare of the state (or should we simply say "the welfare state?") seems touching, but the editors also don't do a very
good job of hiding their real reason for wanting to keep him. Also, when they get around to attempting to defend
Newsom's performance as governor during his first term, it comes off as more of an apology for him than a defense.
Don't
Call It a Comeback — Biden, Harris to Stump for Newsom. [T]he man who shuttered businesses and dined
at French Laundry of all places amid the wineries he shut down (except, of course, his own), has turned most of his state
into a giant homeless encampment — complete with needles and excrement maps — and raised taxes to a
level normally occupied by the Big Dipper is calling on an administration that has overseen ballooning inflation, a massive
influx of illegal immigrants, and a hike in fuel prices that could eventually rival the '70s to save his backside? And
that isn't even a deep dive into the policies of the White House and Newsom's office. Those are just the greatest hits.
Oakland
Chinatown Leader Demands Gov. Newsom Declare State Of Emergency. Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce
President Carl Chan asked Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday to deploy California Highway Patrol officers to the city's
troubled streets and declare a local state of emergency in an attempt to stem the rapidly rising tide of brazen robberies and
violent assaults. Chan and other officials spoke at a press event late Tuesday morning [8/10/2021] that called for
additional measures in Oakland to curb crime, including the deployment of more law enforcement officers and installation of
more surveillance cameras.
Newsom's
Recall Problem Is with Hispanic Voters. Two new independent polls on California's September 14 recall election
have a startling explanation for why Governor Gavin Newsom is in trouble. His support among minority communities is
crumbling as issues such as crime, COVID restrictions, and a huge unemployment-benefits scandal dominate the race. The
Emerson College poll found that among likely voters, 48 percent favored keeping Newsom in office versus 46 percent
who want him gone — a slim two-point margin. In a new poll by SurveyUSA taken for three media outlets, the
recall leads 51 percent to 40 percent.
California
GOP Won't Endorse A Candidate In Special Election To Recall Democratic Gov. Newsom. On Saturday morning,
California Republican Party delegates opted to withhold an endorsement in the upcoming special recall election set for
September 14 when Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom could be ousted from office. Officials said the decision was made
"with nearly 90 percent support" during a virtual meeting the day after two influential California Republicans reportedly
encouraged members of the state GOP not to endorse a candidate.
Mayor
of major U.S. city to pay nearly $23,000 for ethics violations. San Francisco Mayor London Breed will
personally pay $22,792 in fines imposed by the city's Ethics Commission for violating ethics standards while in office,
according to various reports. London Breed agreed to pay the fines imposed by the Ethics Commission, calling them
"fair," the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The commission said the fines were "significant," as Breed had misused
her mayoral title for her personal benefit. The Ethics Commission fined Breed for several violations, including asking
then-California Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2018 to release her brother Napoleon Brown from prison, where he was serving
a 44-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter and armed robbery, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Breed and
family members sent the letter to Brown in October 2018, asking for the release of her brother for crimes for which she said
he had faced excessive punishment.
In
California, Recalls are not Just for the Governor. Just about everyone in America is aware that California
Governor Gavin Newsom is facing a recall election. But California has a lot more recall news than simply the recall of
its governor. In fact, the state is in the midst of a genuine recallapalooza. The state has recall challenges
underway for not just the governor, but also two district attorneys and over 48 assorted mayors, city councilmen, and school
board members. And that recall count is only as of July. It seems that it's not all love and harmony in the
Golden State.
Poll:
Gavin Newsom [is] Down [by] Double-Digits In [his] Recall Election. Results of a new poll out Thursday show
California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom deep underwater with little more than a month to go until voters cast their
ballots in a statewide referendum. According to a survey of 1,100 Californians conducted Aug. 2-4, more than half were
in favor of Newsom's firing, while only 40 percent were opposed. The poll, conducted by Survey USA with the San Diego
Union Tribune, illustrated bipartisan support for the recall effort that was also showcased in the petitions drawing about a
third of all signatures collected from Democrats and independents. Republicans said they supported Newsom's removal by
an 8:1 margin, while Democrats said the same 3:1. The survey is raising the alarm for team Newsom with 40 days to go
until recall day on Sept. 14, when voters will decide in a yes/no question whether the governor should remain in office or be
removed. Residents will then vote on a replacement. Unless a majority vote for removal, the results of the second
ballot will be meaningless except for a showing of who might be the front-runner in 2022.
54% Of Hispanic
Voters In California Say They Would Vote To Recall Newsom. More than half of Hispanics in California say they
would vote to recall Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to an Inside California Politics/Emerson College poll
published Tuesday [8/3/2021]. The poll of 1,000 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3%, showed
Californians are split on the issue with 46% in favor of recalling Newsom and 48% are against it. Among Hispanics, 54%
said they would vote to recall. A majority of black and Asian respondents support keeping Newsom, while among whites,
support for and opposition to removing the governor is evenly split, according to the poll. Newsom's response to
COVID-19, a rise in crime in his state, and an uptick in unemployment are the major reasons why some people want to recall
him. The special election is scheduled for Sept. 14, and 41 Californians are officially running against Newsom.
Soon,
no one in California will be able to bring home the bacon. In just five months, California may well be the
first state in America that effectively bans any pork products. This is because, back in 2018, voters approved an
animal welfare proposition setting out space requirements standards for those who breed pigs, egg-laying chickens, and veal
calves. While chicken farmers and veal producers across America have mostly met those standards, it seems the hog
farmers have had a harder time. This is an interesting story because it touches upon the laws of unintended
consequences and the effect a state like California has on the rest of America.
The Editor says...
Once again, Democrat voters have failed to look down the road before voting. Once they get tired of the impending bacon shortage,
there will be another vote, and the anti-bacon law will be repealed. The lefties could have saved themselves a lot of trouble
(which they have yet to experience) by thinking ahead.
Chesa
Boudin stands up for shoplifters and drug dealers. San Francisco's broad-daylight retail heists have shocked
the nation in their brazenness. They've triggered the closings of stores, such as Walgreens, and the shortening of
hours from retail giants such as Target. Forty-four percent of city is planning to move out, with 80% citing
out-of-control crime. But the shoplifters have got a defender, too — in San Francisco District Attorney
Chesa Boudin. So do the drug dealers. The only problems out that Chesa sees are the victims. Which tells us
a lot about the state of moral bankruptcy of the wokester movement, and what the New Yorker dismisses as the "backlash."
Bacon
in California May Soon Be More Hard to Find as Pig Rules Take Effect. Thanks to a reworked menu and long hours,
Jeannie Kim managed to keep her San Francisco restaurant alive during the coronavirus pandemic. That makes it all the
more frustrating that she fears her breakfast-focused diner could be ruined within months by new rules that could make one of
her top menu items — bacon — hard to get in California. [...] Animal welfare organizations for years
have been pushing for more humane treatment of farm animals but the California rules could be a rare case of consumers
clearly paying a price for their beliefs.
California's
recall is America's final warning. On September 14, Californians of all political persuasions will answer two
questions on their ballot: 1) Do you want to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom? 2) Whom do you
want to replace him? The fate of our nation will be determined by the outcome of those two questions. How can I
say that? First, you have to know what's really going on, so let's pull back the curtain. Months ago, Ric Grenell
publicly said he had no interest in running for governor because Pelosi's daughter said there wasn't going to be a recall.
If it came down to it, Feinstein would have a sudden reason to retire, and Newsom would appoint himself to fill that Senate
seat. Yet here we are, with a recall election on the calendar. What changed? We the People. The recall
signature effort shocked the world just by forcing the vote to happen. The establishment greatly underestimated how much
Californians loathe this governor. He's toast. Damaged goods. The challenge now is to mitigate his impact
going forward.
The
Dissident California Right Is the Future. The new Left came to power convincing voters to let it run the state
on behalf of multiple imagined victims and social inequities, but it has been so long since their leftist politics delivered
anything of actual use to anyone that no honest person in the state can be ignorant of the actual political system and its
objective anymore. California is now composed of an enormous priestly class of state and municipal workers, together
with myriad quasi-independent contractors and semi-private companies which are essentially dependent upon state government
contracts and largesse for their economic survival, united with extremely profitable nonprofit activists and the already
fantastically wealthy using the sympathetic story of the state's enormous homeless, poor, and immigrant population to ensure
perpetual rule for themselves. It doesn't matter that nothing ever gets better for this last group — that
homelessness increases exponentially, or that the poor are increasingly without decent housing, energy, education, or
healthcare.
SEIU
to Newsom: Stuff your vaccine mandate. The civil war brewing between Democratic executives and the unions
that elect them spread to California yesterday — and at the worst moment for Gavin Newsom. Facing a recall
election prompted by his incompetent handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom rushed to match Joe Biden's actions by
imposing a vaccine-or-mask-and-test mandate on the state's workforce. The union representing the largest number of
those workers publicly blasted Newsom for his unilateral abrogation of the collective bargaining agreement and declared that
they would refuse to cooperate.
California
governor Gavin Newsom compares unvaccinated to drunk drivers. California Governor Gavin Newsom has compared
unvaccinated individuals to drunk drivers. He appeared on CNN to discuss the recent spike in coronavirus cases due to
the Delta variant. As US health authorities are considering re-instating mask guidelines even for vaccinated adults due
to the surge of cases, Mr Newsom claimed that individuals who refused to take the vaccine posed a risk to the public similar
to drunk driving. "It's like drunk drivers, you don't have the right to go out and drink and drive and put everybody else
at risk including your own life," Mr Newsom said.
San
Fran to spend $300,000 on designer garbage cans despite worsening homeless crisis. Thanks to misplaced Democrat
priorities on the local and state level, the entire state of California is slowly turning into a dumpster fire. On the
state level, Democrat-run cities like San Francisco are preparing to spend up to $300,000 for designer trash cans as crime
continues to spike. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city's Board of Supervisors is convinced that the
root of the city's endless crisis is all the trash and litter on the streets. "Our streets and our sidewalks are a mess
and the cans we have out there now are actually part of the problem," one supervisor, Matt Haney, said to the Chronicle.
Plummeting
reservoir levels could soon force Oroville hydropower offline. A major California hydroelectric power plant
could soon stop generating power amid worsening drought conditions. According to state water officials, the Edward
Hyatt Powerplant at Lake Oroville could go offline as soon as August or September — a time frame that would
coincide with a feared power crunch this summer. The plant, which opened in the late 1960s, has never been forced
offline by low lake levels before. "I think it's a bit shocking," said Jordan Kern, a professor at the department of
forestry and environmental resources at North Carolina State University. "The fact that it's projected to go offline
just speaks to how severe the drought is," said Kern, who studies how power grids are impacted by extreme weather.
'Their
Hands Are Tied': San Francisco Locals Demand Change To Stop Brazen Crime. San Francisco local businesses and
employees are calling for change as they describe increasingly brazen shoplifting and car break-ins. Many residents
told Fox News they believe changing California law Proposition 47 is the solution. "The police are actually wonderful,
their hands are tied, that's what's going on out here." Gianni, a local who works in Fisherman's Wharf, told Fox News.
San Francisco Police Department's Public Information Officer, Robert Rueca explained "There's a threshold of 950 dollars that
needs to be met in order for a misdemeanor to turn into a felony when it comes to theft."
Judge
Orders California to Include Larry Elder on Recall Election Ballot. Late Wednesday afternoon, attorney Harmeet K.
Dhillon announced that a California judge has ordered Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber to include Republican Larry
Elder on the final ballot for the September 14 gubernatorial recall election. The ruling applies to two concurrent
suits brought against Weber to remedy the fact that Elder was left off Monday's preliminary list of candidate names.
Dhillon and her colleague attorney Mark Meuser represented California voter Betty Chu while Larry Elder was represented by
attorney Steve Baric: [Tweet]
Newsom
threatens: We might be headed back to lockdowns and school closures if people don't get vaccinated. It's
an indirect threat. He doesn't say anything will definitely happen, rather that Californians won't need to "worry"
about in-class instruction and closing small businesses again if more people get vaccinated. And if they don't,
then...? My memory's starting to fail in old age but I could have sworn that the CDC and the American Academy of
Pediatrics issued guidance within the past two weeks that schools must reopen this fall. No matter how bad the
pandemic gets, depriving kids of any more classroom time is too dangerous to their development. Make 'em mask up,
spread out, open the windows, do whatever you've gotta do. But keep them in class. Evidently Newsom didn't get the memo.
License
to shoplift: Two thieves brazenly stroll out of TJ Maxx with armfuls of clothes. Two men casually walked
out of a Los Angeles area TJ Maxx with their arms full of what appears to be stolen goods as brazen shoplifters continue to
rampage through California retail stores. Viral video posted earlier this week shows two men carrying armfuls of jeans,
jackets and other apparel as they casually saunter out of a TJ Maxx in the Granada Hills section of the San Fernando Valley
north of Los Angeles. 'That looks great,' one man is heard saying in the video as the two men head toward the door with
the stolen loot, making no haste as they leave.
This
Is What's Become Of California Since They Decriminalized Shoplifting. This is what is happening daily in California
these days now that legislators voted in Prop 47, where thefts under $950 will not be prosecuted, so cops will not bother
showing up. The account shared a shocking video Tuesday of what they call an "organized shoplifting crew" hitting a
TJ Maxx store in La Canada Flintridge, an L.A. environ. The video shows two black men casually strolling out of the
store with their arms full of merchandise still on their hangers. One of the men carries a large, oversized duffle bag on
his back, clearly filled with more items.
Pausing
a minute to consider the damage leftism does to America. In California, robberies of items worth less than $950
are misdemeanors, not felonies. Moreover, in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, the prosecutors whom George Soros
placed in office will not prosecute crimes. They exist to protect criminals, not law-abiding citizens. And that
is how you end up with this video: [Video clip]
This
Shocking Video Shows Just How Brazen Crime In California Has Become. California's slide into chaos has not been
an accident. A huge reason for the striking rise in homelessness and both petty and violent crime is Prop 47, a bill
deceptively titled the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. The actual bill couldn't be further from the title. It
reduces the penalties for felony crimes, allows for early release of violent criminals, changes some violent felonies to
misdemeanors, and allows criminals to steal up to $950 dollars per day in property without prosecution. As a result,
police officers are less and less likely to respond to calls reporting petty theft, as there isn't much they can do with a suspect.
California
is releasing 76K inmates early, including violent felons. With little notice, California on Saturday is
increasing early release credits for 76,000 inmates, including violent and repeat felons, as it further trims the population
of what once was the nation's largest state correctional system. More than 63,000 inmates convicted of violent crimes
will be eligible for good behavior credits that shorten their sentences by one-third instead of the one-fifth that had been
in place since 2017. That includes nearly 20,000 inmates who are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole.
LAPD
to stop charging criminals for many offenses. Law enforcement and the incarceration of known criminals is such
a 20th-century concept, right? That seems to be the message once again coming out of Los Angeles now that ultra-liberal
George Gascon is in charge of the county District Attorney's office. The latest announcement coming from the LAPD is
that more suspects who are arrested for a variety of non-violent crimes, including some felonies, will not be taken to court,
prosecuted, or put in jail. Instead, they will be "diverted" to community support programs and social services.
Rather than incarceration, the suspects will be provided with "care and treatment" without facing the stigma of being treated
like a criminal. And just as a reminder, this new policy is being put in place at the same time that the city is facing
a historic surge in crimes of all types.
California
pays Liberty Counsel $1.35 million to settle Harvest Rock lawsuit. One year after Liberty Counsel sued
Gov. Gavin Newsom on behalf of Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry, the state of California paid a
settlement of $1.35 million on July 15. As a result of Liberty Counsel's lawsuit, a federal district court in May
approved the first state-wide permanent injunction in the U.S. against COVID restrictions on churches and places of worship.
Under the statewide permanent injunction, all California churches were allowed to hold worship services without discriminatory
restrictions. The injunction also required the state of California to pay $1.35 million to Liberty Counsel to cover
attorney's fees and other costs. The money will be used to continue litigation on behalf of other churches against COVID
restrictions, including a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, the nonprofit religious freedom organization said in a statement.
Why
Joe Biden Won't Defend Women from Transgenders. The issue of transgender 'rights' is hot right now because more
people are beginning to understand that they are waging a rights war on women and girls. Recently, at the Wi Spa in Los
Angeles, a man escorted by two self-professed lesbian activists paraded his intact male genitalia around in the area of the
spa supposedly reserved for the female clientele (including very young girls). California Civil Code 51(b) is being
interpreted as meaning that male indecent exposure is now legally acceptable. Which means that adult males can parade
around exposed in full view of young girls and claim this is a transgender 'right.'
After
San Francisco shoplifting video goes viral, officials argue thefts aren't rampant. A flurry of shoplifters in
masks and hooded jackets sprinted from a downtown Neiman Marcus last week and into getaway cars with armfuls of designer
handbags — a scene captured on video and raising fears that rings of thieves were hitting retail businesses. The
incident, which remains under investigation, was only the latest to give an impression of lawlessness running rampant in San
Francisco's stores, where people have been caught on recordings openly swiping products seemingly without repercussion.
But city leaders are pushing back at that image after the release Monday [7/12/2021] of a midyear public safety report. Police
data shows overall thefts are down 9 percent in the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2020, when the
city was on lockdown and many businesses closed during the onset of the pandemic.
California
issues school mask mandate and rescinds it within hours. This turned out to be one of the quicker cases of a
governmental about-face in recent memory. Despite the CDC's recent guidance saying that it was safe to go back to
in-person learning at schools and universities without the need for masks, the state of California decided to make up its own
rules yesterday. State health officials not only ignored the CDC guidance but went several steps further. The new
instructions would have forced schools to bar students from campus if they refused to wear a mask. That lasted for
approximately four hours. Then Gavin Newsom and state public health Director Mark Ghaly apparently thought better of
it. They won't be issuing orders for colleges and universities, and the "mandate" for public K-12 schools will leave
the decision up to the schools. So in reality, there is no mandate at all.
San
Francisco Political Leaders Out of Touch as City Descends Into Lawlessness. If you don't like the explosion of
violent crime, you're a racist. That's the message sent by a top aide to the San Francisco district attorney to a
self-described "Democrat" who had said on Twitter that the jump in crime had made people afraid for their lives and dubious
about the city's future. The Democrat tweeted that "every single one of my friends right now is considering leaving"
San Francisco because of the big increase in crime, adding: "My friends are scared for their children, and their
husbands are scared for their wives." Kate Chatfield, a senior director for San Francisco District Attorney Chesa
Boudin, responded from a now-locked Twitter account: "'Husbands are scared for their wives' — your reminder that
the 'crime surge' crowd shares the same ideology as The Birth of a Nation."
The Unlivable
City. People are fleeing California in general, and San Francisco in particular, in droves. As to San
Francisco, the fundamental problem is lawlessness. Which means not just violent crime, which the city has in abundance,
but a breakdown in the fundamental norms of civilization that make urban living possible. The main problem is that San
Francisco's far-left city administration has decided not to prosecute theft. The result, naturally, is an epidemic of
theft. Thus Target, for example, is now closing its San Francisco stores at 6 p.m. [...] How low has San Francisco
sunk? Check out this video of thieves openly stealing handbags and similar products from a Neiman Marcus store:
[Video clip]
What's
happening in San Francisco goes far beyond 'shoplifting'. We're hearing a lot about the overwhelming number of
murders and attempted murders in Chicago and New York. San Francisco, however, has gone in a different direction.
It seems to have become the "shoplifting" capital of America. This honor goes along with its long having been the
capital of America for car break-ins. It's so bad that I know suburbanites who refuse to drive in the City. The
latest "shoplifting" video is an impressive one, showing a whole gang of thieves racing out of San Francisco's Neiman Marcus
store on Union Square, clutching what appears to be thousands of dollars in handbags.
California
taxpayers to pay $1.3 billion to enroll more illegal immigrants in Medicaid. California taxpayers will soon pay
more in taxes to enroll more illegal immigrants in Medicaid, a plan that was part of a recently approved state budget.
Younger illegal immigrants are already enrolled in Medicaid, SNAP and other federally funded programs. The plan
proposed by California Democrats guarantees that low-income illegal immigrants older than age 50 will receive health
insurance. Coverage would take effect in 2022 and cost taxpayers $1.3 billion per year. It follows a
$213 billion taxpayer-funded plan proposed in 2019 to allow low-income illegal immigrants between the ages of 19 and 25 to
enroll in Medicaid. Democrats then estimated that adding 90,000 people to Medicaid would cost taxpayers $98 million
per year.
The
Genesis of Our American Collective Meltdown. [Scroll down] California is the worst run of our
states. But it is also always a helpful bellwether of where we are descending. The state has plenty of oil and
natural gas. There are still remnants of a once thriving nuclear and hydroelectric industry. But power outages
are now commonplace — to the point that, like Third-Worlders, we merely shrug when the lights go out as if it were
a green way of reducing carbon emissions. Forty million people driving on roads and highways intended for 20 million
people [...] Gas can range from $4.00 to over $5.00 a gallon; $100 fill-ups are common. [...] Californians are leaving in
droves, but housing costs are still soaring. [...] High-speed rail is a tragic joke. It is inert and unfinished.
The ostentatious half-built overpasses stand like modern graffiti-stained versions of Stonehenge. [...] Mention San Francisco
to a Californian, and the same, monotonous warnings arise: don't go there! And if you must, don't park
there — since smashing into a car and stealing its contents are viewed as understandable redistribution rather
than criminal acts. [...] In California, logging an acre of timber is insurrectionary; 400,000 acres going up in smoke is
"stuff happens."
Target,
Walgreens make drastic changes due to increase in San Francisco thefts. According to the California Retailer's
Association three cities in our state are among the top 10 in the country when it comes to organized retail crime — Los
Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento. Already we are seeing the negative impact it is having in San Francisco with
stores permanently shutting down or closing early. It has become one of the most pressing issues in our city today.
Target has now acknowledged that San Francisco is the only city in America where they have decided to close some stores early
because of the escalating retail crime.
California
bans state travel to Florida, 4 more over anti-LGBTQ laws. California officials have added Florida and four
other states to a list of places where state-funded travel is banned over laws that purportedly discriminate against LGBTQ
individuals. State Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, announced Monday that Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota and
West Virginia had joined Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South
Dakota, Tennessee and Texas on the no-go list, which was first created in 2016. "When states discriminate against LGBTQ+
Americans, California law requires our office to take action," Bonta said in a statement. "These new additions to the
state-funded travel restrictions list are about exactly that ... Rather than focusing on solving real issues, some
politicians think it's in their best interest to demonize trans youth and block life-saving care.
What
Was California Thinking? Back in 2014, the political leadership of California became alarmed at the rapidly
rising prison population in the state. The state was also under court order to reduce the overcrowding in state
prisons. [...] The first thing they did was pass Proposition 47 — the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.
That sounds like something everyone would want. 58% of Californians voted in favor of the measure. [...] Nothing in Prop 47
was designed to actually reduce crime. It redefined drug use and theft of property valued at under $950 as misdemeanors rather
than felonies. Punishment would no longer be imprisonment, but a fine of $1,000. The objective of prison population
reduction was achieved by not incarcerating criminals, rather than by eliminating criminal behavior. [...] Prop 47 also allows
those imprisoned under previous guidelines to petition for early release. If a convict is in prison for stealing less than
$950, he is now eligible for early release. As many as 10,000 state prisoners have been released.
Amid
Surging Crime Rates And Murders, Oakland City Council Votes To Defund Police. Despite recently receiving $190
million from the Biden Administration, the City Council of Oakland, California voted Thursday to defund their police
department by almost $18 million. The city's crime rates have skyrocketed, seeing a 90 percent increase in murders,
88 percent increase in carjackings, and 70 percent increase in shootings all in the last year. Sixty-five lives have been
lost, and 1,300 robberies have been recorded, yet, the city redirected police funds toward the Department of Violence Prevention, "with
the intention of improving public safety" via alternate means. On Monday [6/28/2021], the Department of Violence Prevention's chief
was interrupted during an on-camera interview by an attempted armed robbery. The department's chief was being interviewed on the
steps of Oakland City Hall, when they were attacked. The suspects remain outstanding.
California
Democrats seek to change rules ahead of Newsom recall. California Democrats hope to pass an election reform
bill that would help Gov. Gavin Newsom stave off a likely recall election later this year. Assembly Bill 152,
first proposed in the California State Assembly in January and currently under consideration by the state Senate, would
"allow the Secretary of State to certify the sufficiency of the signatures before the Joint Legislative Budget Committee has
had 30 days to review and comment on the estimate if the Legislature has appropriated funds it determines are reasonably
necessary to conduct the recall election and has designated funds for that purpose in the Budget Act or another statute."
Under current state law, the Department of Finance issues a cost estimate, and then the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
has 30 days to review and comment on the costs.
Why
Newsom Needs to be Recalled. [Scroll down] A large part of the focus of the recall effort has been
Newsom's response to the pandemic, which has seemed heavy-handed to many residents, with questionable lockdowns and other
restrictions on daily life. And, of course, there's the nausea-inducing spectacle of Newsom flouting his own lockdown
to party it up at one of the most exclusive restaurants in the country, Napa's famous French Laundry. While Newsom
deserves all the scorn rained down on him for that incident, it is a sideshow, really. Its only long-term value may be
to awaken the residents of California to Newsom's shallow approach to governing the state and his reluctance to address
California's chronic problems. Finally, there's the issue of Newsom's dereliction as the head of California's
administrative bureaucracy. There hasn't been a lot of reporting on the billions of dollars in fraud discovered in
California's unemployment insurance program, but it is an outrage and as the chief executive of the state, he bears ultimate
responsibility.
The
Solution To California's Water Crisis Lies Off Its Coast. In California 1 to 1.5 acre-feet will supply a year's
water for the average household. Lake Shasta, the largest reservoir, holds 4,552,000 acre-feet. It would cost about
$1.4 million to add 634,000 acre-feet, enough to support 2 million people yearly, including adding more water to be
added to agriculture. However, the SWCB is environmentally opposed to any height addition to the Shasta dam.
Indeed, across California, deep-rooted environmentalism has made it difficult to put into practice solutions to increase
water storage or produce new water through desalination.
California
set to extend state eviction moratorium beyond June and cover 100% unpaid rent for struggling tenants.
Lawmakers in Sacramento are poised to extend statewide eviction protections beyond the end of June to ensure emergency rental
aid reaches struggling tenants in time to cover potentially all of their unpaid rent during the pandemic, a move strongly
backed by local renter advocates and met with resistance by many landlords. The underlying issue is that state and
county governments have been slow to distribute the $2.6 billion in federal funds to cover back rent. In Sonoma County,
officials have so far disbursed less than 10% of the $32 million set aside for its rental aid program. Renter advocates
fear that if a statewide moratorium on most evictions is not extended, many tenants won't receive assistance in time to stay
in their homes and avoid crushing debt.
San
Francisco cops say viral Walgreens shoplifting incident is par for the course. San Francisco has become a
shoplifter's paradise — with thieves like the one caught on video looting a Walgreens emboldened by relaxed
punishment for the crime as businesses shutter, cops say. The Walgreens heist, which happened right in front of a
security guard, renewed the debate over a controversial city law called Proposition 47. "What happened in that Walgreens
has been going on in that city for quite a while," San Francisco police Lt. Tracy McCray said on Fox News' "America's
Newsroom" Wednesday. "I'm used to it," McCray continued. "I mean, we can have a greatest hits compilation of
people just walking in and cleaning out the store shelves and security guards, the people who work there, just standing by
helplessly because they can't do anything."
Police
investigating attempt to steal SF school board recall petitions. This actually happened about two weeks ago but
it just got covered in the San Francisco Chronicle last Friday [6/11/2021]. The backstory here is that a group of
parents in San Francisco have launched a recall petition aimed at three members of the school board. Fed up with the
board's focus on renaming schools (on the grounds that current names are racist) and ending merit based admissions to Lowell
High School (on the grounds that meritocracy is racist), the group is trying get Board President Gabriela Lopez, former Board
VP Alison Collins and Faauuga Moliga recalled. They have been collecting signatures to get the issue on the ballot.
Gov.
Newsom won't lift virus 'state of emergency'. While California will end most of its coronavirus restrictions on
June 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday he will not lift the statewide "state of emergency" that gives him broad powers
to either suspend or declare new rules and regulations. California has been under a state of emergency since March 4,
2020. Since then, Newsom has authorized billions of dollars in emergency spending and issued at least 47 executive orders to
alter or suspend 200 state laws and regulations because of the virus, according to a resolution authored by Republican state senators.
California
Gov. Newsom Releases His Political Prisoners. June 15 should be celebrated as the Golden State Independence Day.
On this date, more than 15 long months after he issued his first imperial order limiting the movements of an ostensibly free people,
Gov. Gavin Newsom reopened the state. "Never Again" should replace "Eureka" on the Great Seal of California as a reminder of
the misery inflicted by the governor. It's arguable that no other state was more restrictive during the coronavirus pandemic.
WalletHub ranked California 45th in "fewest COVID-19 restrictions." But because California has, at nearly 40 million, more
residents than the five states (and District of Columbia) that were more restrictive, a case can be made that its lockdown rules were
more stringent since they affected a greater number of people. Newsom, sued 55 times by Californians who felt they had been
unfairly bound by his commandments, took a heavy-handed approach to the coronavirus outbreak. Columnist Steven Greenhut observed as early
as May of last year that Newsom was acting as the "King of Sacramento" and Californians had little choice but to serve at his pleasure.
Slammed
by COVID-19 Shutdown, San Luis Obispo Boosts Newsom Recall. Though in-person service came and went at the Paso
Robles winery Paix Sur Terre during the pandemic, alcohol consumption skyrocketed, making for winemaker Ryan Pease's "best
year ever." But despite personal gains, Pease couldn't shake the feeling of guilt when talking to neighbors who
struggled to run restaurants and small businesses throughout San Luis Obispo County. When the opportunity came to back
a recall petition to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom, the lifelong Democrat signed his name. "Our mindset here is, because
we're so isolated from other metropolitan areas, we take care of each other. We create our own economy," said Pease,
37. "Even though I'm a Democrat and blue, we don't like to be told what to do here."
Gavin
Newsom Goes Back on His Word, State of Emergency Will Remain in Place After June 15 Deadline. On Friday,
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) alerted state residents that he was not going to lift he state of emergency on June 15, which
was the proposed date. Newsom made the announcement during a press conference while announcing winners of a vaccine
lottery, "Vax for the Win," where those selected win $50,000 cash prizes. By the way, it's taxable. Welcome to
California, the state with the highest income tax. The casual reveal came during what Eric Ting of SF Gate called a
"testy press conference" in his headline, also indicating in his piece that it was "often tense." The exchange was
between Newsom and AP reporter Adam Beam, who referenced the June 15 date.
California
State Water Board is Manufacturing a Drought by Draining Reservoirs into the Ocean. "In the last 14 days, 90%
of Delta inflow went to sea. It's equal to a year's supply of water for 1 million people. #ManMadeDrought," Central
Valley farmer Kristi Diener said. Diener, a California water expert and farmer, has been warning steadily that water is
unnecessarily being let out to sea as the state faces a normal dry year. "Are we having a dry year? Yes," Diener
says. "That is normal for us. Should we be having water shortages in the start of our second dry year? No.
Our reservoirs were designed to provide a steady five year supply for all users, and were filled to the top in June 2019."
If there's one thing a tyrant loves, it's a "state of emergency."
Gov.
Newsom Won't Lift COVID 'State Of Emergency' When California Reopens. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on
Friday said he will not lift a state of emergency that gives him broad powers to impose or suspend rules involving the
coronavirus when the state fully reopens its economy on June 15. But he still intends to lift most mask and other
restrictions on that date. California has been under a state of emergency since March 4, 2020. Since then,
Newsom has authorized billions of dollars in emergency spending and issued at least 47 executive orders to alter or suspend
200 state laws and regulations because of the virus, according to a resolution authored by Republican state senators.
California
Ordered to Pay $2 Million in Legal Fees to Church that Violated Coronavirus Restrictions. After a lengthy court
battle, the government of the state of California backed down in its efforts to enforce coronavirus restrictions on a church
that continued hosting in-person worship services, and has now agreed in a settlement to pay the church's $2 million worth
of legal fees, Breitbart reports. When the state repeatedly attempted to enforce strict capacity limits, mask
mandates, and other "social distancing" requirements on the San Diego-based Pentecostal church, the church's lawyers filed
suit with the United States Supreme Court, winning all three suits. This ultimately led to lawyers on behalf of the
state of California agreeing to the settlement, which was approved by a federal judge. Responding to the settlement, an
attorney with the Thomas More Society, a legal group that represents churches facing suppression of their First Amendment
rights, pointed out that while businesses such as Costco were limited to 50 percent capacity, while churches were forced to
stay as low as 25 percent, and sometimes even lower.
Chesa
Boudin blames lazy, racist cops for San Francisco's crime surge and his own unpopularity. Apparently, all would
be paradise in crime-pit San Francisco if it weren't for all those lazy, racist cops who are persecuting poor, heroic Chesa
Boudin, the city's leftist do-nothing district attorney. That's the word from young Chesa, stepson of Bill Ayers, son
of a terrorist convicted of killing a black cop, and former Hugo Chávez adviser, who's suddenly found himself unpopular
in the city and facing a voter recall.
Judge
orders Calif gov Newsom to pay $1.35 million for illegally locking down church. I am pretty certain that
California taxpayers will have to cough up the money to pay for Gavin Newsom's misbehavior, even as cop-haters press to make
police officers personally liable for judgments against their actions on the job. Nonetheless, it is a satisfying
development in the disposal of Newsom's unconstitutional shutdown of religious services in the name of COVID. [...] The order
came as part of a settlement agreement between Harvest Rock Church, represented by Liberty Counsel, and the state of
California that also included a permanent injunction against imposing restrictions on churches and other houses of worship.
CA
Gov. Newsom Ordered to Pay $1.35M in Legal Fees for Shutting Down Churches. This week, a California
District Court approved the settlement of Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry's lawsuit against
Gov. Gavin Newsom, establishing the first state-wide permanent injunction in the country against COVID restrictions on
churches and places of worship. The Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit religious rights law firm, represented Harvest Rock in
their legal proceedings against the governor and the state. Under the settlement agreement, discriminatory restrictions
on worship and religious gatherings may no longer be applied to churches and places of worship.
Newsom
Forced to Pay 1.35 Million in Church Lawsuit, Continues to Happily Gaslight. Last week, a California District
Court approved and entered a Settlement Agreement between Harvest Rock Church (HRC), Harvest International Ministries, and
Governor Gavin Newsom. HRC filed a lawsuit back in 2020 opposing the COVID restrictions that shut down in-person
worship throughout the state. The Supreme Court's April decision was the catalyst that allowed the settlement of a
number of cases against Newsom and the State of California.
Facing
Dry Year, CA State Water Board is Draining California Reservoirs. "In the last 14 days, 90% of Delta inflow
went to sea. It's equal to a year's supply of water for 1 million people. #ManMadeDrought," Central Valley farmer
Kristi Diener said. Diener, a California water expert and farmer, has been warning steadily that water is unnecessarily
being let out to sea as the state faces a normal dry year. "Are we having a dry year? Yes," Diener says.
"That is normal for us. Should we be having water shortages in the start of our second dry year? No. Our
reservoirs were designed to provide a steady five year supply for all users, and were filled to the top in June 2019."
California
Democratic lawmakers look to remove penalty for possessing firearm during crime. Reform-minded activists in
California vow to move forward after a bill that would have dramatically reduced, and in some cases eliminated, enhanced
sentences for crimes committed while using a gun failed to advance through the legislature Thursday [5/20/2021]. "AB 1509
was held in the Appropriations committee and will not move forward this year," Greg Fidell, policy manager of Initiate Justice,
wrote on Twitter. "This is very painful — but we will be back stronger next year." The state lawmakers
who backed the Anti-Racism Sentencing Reform Act claim the existing law, which allows prosecutors to seek additional time
behind bars, is racist — 89% of the roughly 40,000 inmates serving gun enhancement sentences in California are
people of color, according to figures from Restore Justice.
Court
Permanently Stops Gavin Newsom From Locking Down Churches. Today, a California District Court entered an order
approving Liberty Counsel's settlement of the lawsuit on behalf of Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry
against California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The full and final settlement was approved today the District Court and thus
is the first state-wide permanent injunction in the country against COVID restrictions on churches and places of
worship. Once entered by the District Court, this full settlement will be the first state-wide permanent injunction in
the country against COVID restrictions on churches and places of worship. Under the agreed state-wide permanent
injunction, all California churches may hold worship without discriminatory restrictions. Under the settlement,
California may no longer impose discriminatory restrictions upon houses of worship. The governor must also pay Liberty
Counsel $1,350,000 to reimburse attorney's fees and costs.
California
Governor Newsom Using Federal COVID Bailout Money to Bail Himself Out of COVID Recall Effort. California
Governor Gavin Newsom is taking the federal COVID bailout money to new levels of manipulated intent by using the funds to
bail himself out of a recall that is based on the COVID dictates he initiated. Thus part of the reason why the highly
political federal agencies lifted the COVID rules surfaces. Politically the blue state shutdowns were backfiring, and
the ramifications were getting more serious by the day. The CDC responded to the political shift against JoeBama and
lifted their mandates. Simultaneously, Governor Newsom goes on a spending spree in California to provide bailout money
to all the favored leftist causes.
Paywatch:
Thanks to the Public Employee Union, Multiple LA Lifeguards Make Nearly $400K a Year. As reported by Forbes,
lifeguards in The Golden State can really clean up. Per OpenTheBooks.com CEO Adam Andrzejewski, his
organization found that, in 2019, 82 LA County guardians of the shore raked in more than $200,000. Seven lifeguards
reeled in more than $300,000. And — look out, Mitch Buchannon — one swim-trunked savior pulled in
$391,971. Here's how Fernando Boiteux's earnings break down: $205,619 in salary, $60,452 in perks, and
$125,900 in benefits.
These incremental changes only go in one direction, and that is the direction of more government control of your life.
Gov.
Newsom proposes kindergarten for 4-year-olds. California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a "total
transformation" of public schools in America's largest state Wednesday by offering pre-kindergarten to all 4-year-olds,
opening up college savings accounts for low-income students and offering universal after-school care in disadvantaged
communities. Newsom announced the measures as part of a broad new education spending package made possible by the
state's surprise budget surplus.
Red
Pills Are Falling Down All Over the Golden State. Californians are realizing how deeply deluded they have been
about the condition of their state. The first signs of enlightenment came when an intrepid band of dissidents tried yet
again to gather enough signatures to force a recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom. With no money, and four failed
attempts already on record, nobody expected the fifth effort to succeed. But a year later, this volunteer army of
several thousand Californians gathered nearly 2.2 million signed petitions. In early May, California's secretary of
state will almost certainly announce certification of the signatures. And later this year, California's feckless governor
will be fighting for his political life. Recalls are contagious. Inspired by the Newsom recall, efforts are now
underway to force recall elections in San Francisco and Los Angeles County, targeting the District Attorneys in those cities.
In the
Name of Equity, California Will Discourage Students Who Are Gifted at Math. California's Department of
Education is working on a new framework for K-12 mathematics that discourages gifted students from enrolling in accelerated
classes that study advanced concepts like calculus. The draft of the framework is hundreds of pages long and covers a
wide range of topics. But its overriding concern is inequity. The department is worried that too many
students are sorted into different math tracks based on their natural abilities, which leads some to take calculus by their
senior year of high school while others don't make it past basic algebra. The department's solution is to prohibit any
sorting until high school, keeping gifted kids in the same classrooms as their less mathematically inclined peers until at
least grade nine.
Keeping
the dangerous criminals out of prison isn't a winning plan. All decent people want our prisons to be safe
places. One could, potentially, make prisons safer by removing the dangerous criminals from the prisons and releasing
them onto the streets. Yes, the logic is there. The sense, the morality, and the justice, on the other hand, are
totally absent. Sadly, California is part of a growing trend of states that believe they are choosing freedom over
punishment. Instead, they are diminishing society's freedom by abandoning justice and safety. Of course, offering
second chances to those who earn them is a good thing. Failing to penalize offenders adequately or deter them in the
first place, though, is an invitation to cultural rot and mayhem.
California
Granting Early Release to 76K Inmates — Including Some Pretty Nasty Dudes. This just in from the
no-longer-Golden State: California is giving 76,000 inmates, including violent and repeat felons, the opportunity to
leave prison earlier as the state aims to further trim the population of what once was the nation's largest state
correctional system. Shocked? Me neither. As reported by AP, more than 63,000 of the 76,000 inmates, who
were convicted of violent crimes, will be eligible for "good behavior credits" that shorten their sentences by one-third
instead of the one-fifth that had been in place since 2017. That includes nearly 20,000 inmates who are serving life
sentences with the possibility of parole.
76,000
California Violent, Repeat Felons Get Earlier Releases. California is giving 76,000 inmates, including violent
and repeat felons, the opportunity to leave prison earlier as the state aims to further trim the population of what once was
the nation's largest state correctional system. More than 63,000 inmates convicted of violent crimes will be eligible
for good behavior credits that shorten their sentences by one-third instead of the one-fifth that had been in place since
2017. That includes nearly 20,000 inmates who are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole. The new rules
take effect Saturday but it will be months or years before any inmates go free earlier. Corrections officials say the
goal is to reward inmates who better themselves while critics said the move will endanger the public.
76,000
California Inmates [are] Now Eligible for Earlier Releases. California is giving 76,000 inmates, including
violent and repeat felons, the opportunity to leave prison earlier as the state aims to further trim the population of what
once was the nation's largest state correctional system. More than 63,000 inmates convicted of violent crimes will be
eligible for good behavior credits that shorten their sentences by one-third instead of the one-fifth that had been in place
since 2017.
Enough
verified signatures submitted to qualify for recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom will likely face a recall election after the campaign to recall the Democrat reached the requisite
number of signatures to qualify for the question to be placed on the ballot this year. More than 1,626,000 verified
signatures were collected, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber reported on Monday, which is more than 100,000 above
what is needed to force a recount. The window for signature collection ended in March, and since then, officials have
conducted a lengthy signature verification process. Voters will now have the opportunity to submit a written request to
their county registrar of voters over the next 30 business days to have their name removed from the petition.
Chesa
Boudin and now the dead baby. It's getting harder and harder to justify San Francisco District Attorney Chesa
Boudin's let-'em-all-out prosecutorial policies. He calls it 'restorative justice.' In reality, it's bad guys go
free. Last December, the radical leftwing D.A. tried to extricate himself from the deaths of two innocent women hit by
a drunken thug in a stolen car who mowed them down in a hit-and-run following a burglary. The thug was a parolee who
was only out on the streets because Chesa let him out of jail. After that travesty, Chesa said that other people did
it, claiming "systemic failure." That excuse didn't work, and shortly afterward, triggered a public effort to recall him.
Public
school enrollment plunges in California — and everywhere else. Have the wokesters finally reached a
tipping point? Leftists of multiple stripes have been making public schools horrible places, and now students are
bolting. [...] In California, it's white students who are bolting most. The AP reports that they constitute 22% of
school enrollment but account for half of the exits. They're moving on to private schools, whose enrollments are up, or
to homeschooling, which is available to anyone with a literate and motivated parent. Or else just moving to a better
state. It suggests that poor black and Latino kids, who form far larger demographic groups within the California
districts, might just be not bolting because economically, they can't.
Kroger
Closing Ralphs And Food 4 Less In Long Beach Saturday Over Hero Pay Law. Kroger is closing two of its stores,
Ralphs and Food 4 Less, on Saturday after the City of Long Beach mandated that the company pay employees $4 extra an hour in
"hero pay" amid the coronavirus pandemic. As customers came by the store on Saturday [4/17/2021], there wasn't much
left to buy and the shelves were visibly empty, but people in the neighborhood said they wanted to shop there one more time.
California
Dems Want the Name, Address of Everyone Who Signs a Recall Petition. California Democrats are doing it
again. Whenever they're afraid that the electorate might have a mind of its own and might be tired of their
shenanigans — so much that a recall against one of them might be successful — they attempt to change
the rules midstream. They did this in 2017 when State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Orange County) was successfully recalled
despite Democrats passing legislation that retroactively changed the number of signatures needed to qualify a recall
petition. [...] Now Newman is back in the State Senate and has sponsored legislation that would allow politicians targeted by
a recall to get a copy of the petition — including the names of everyone who signed it and their contact
information. Why would they need that? Newman believes people who signed a recall petition against him were given
false information about what they were signing and that he should have had an opportunity to correct that.
Supreme
Court Rules Against California's Limits On In-Home Religious Gatherings. The U.S. Supreme Court in a divided
decision late Friday ruled in favor of lifting restrictions on in-home religious gatherings, overturning a lower court ruling
that upheld Gov. Gavin Newsom's limits on people from different homes. The 5-4 unsigned ruling follows other
similar decisions recently regarding churches and the coronavirus pandemic. The decision noted it was the fifth time
the court has rejected the Ninth Circuit's analysis of California coronavirus restrictions. Chief Justice John Roberts
dissented but did not sign the dissenting statement submitted by justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen
Breyer. The ruling stated that before it can limit religious gatherings, the government must prove they pose a greater
danger than secular activities that remain open, such as shopping or attending movies.
Ex-Trump
Official Launches Group Looking to Flip California Red. When it comes to potential Republican challengers for
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a recall, Ric Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence
under then-President Donald Trump, is a name that gets mentioned frequently. Whether or not he runs is still up in the
air, although he's reportedly been laying the groundwork. However, talking to Fox News this week, Grenell detailed a
more ambitious goal: He wants to "Fix California." That's at least the name of his new group, which he's
launching to bring "permanent" change to the Golden State after the Democratic Party there has lurched to the left.
The Editor says...
I see this idea as quixotic at best. California's political system is designed to keep Democrats in office forever,
with very little competition. Even if Republicans take over tomorrow, the mess that has been created by Democrats was
the result of decades of mismanagement, and would take an enormous upheaval to rectify. Homeless bums and drug addicts
would have to be rounded up by the hundreds and locked up somewhere. Illegal aliens would have to be
uprooted and deported en masse. All the state laws that have created a hostile environment for small
business would have to be repealed. None of that is going to happen. California is on the road to ruin,
and the brakes have failed.
California's migrant
mess. California, epicenter of the nation's illegal immigrant population and the first sanctuary state, hasn't
seen its borders overrun due to the nearly complete border wall. The state's economy had already been smothered by
extended COVID-19 lockdowns, businesses fleeing to other states, and children kept home and out of school. But relief
was short-lived. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, and Health and Human Services
Secretary Xavier Becerra, all Democrats, worked out a plan to bring 1,450 minor girls to the San Diego Convention Center as a
way to ease conditions in Texas. More than 500 girls are now on-site, with the rest to arrive shortly. And 70
brought COVID-19 with them.
The California Left's Abuse of
IRS Info. Judicial Watch is fighting to protect the First Amendment rights of non-profit donors across America
from a new California law which "compels the disclosure of certain organization's donors [to its state government]."
"This challenge to California law has now made its way to the Supreme Court," Fitton explained last month. Filing an
amici curiae (friends of the court) brief, Judicial Watch is asking the Supreme Court to consider or take up the
case. "We're obviously asking for this California law to be overturned," Fitton continued.
The
'most terrifying story I have ever had to report': Glenn Beck reveals newly approved CA school curriculum. California's
Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a new, multimillion-dollar Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, which will be offered
statewide with many of the state's largest school districts making it a requirement for graduation. According to National
Review, the curriculum is "probably the most radical, polemical, and ideologically loaded educational document ever offered up
for public consideration in the free world." On the radio program Tuesday [3/30/2021], Glenn Beck reacted to the newly
approved curriculum, calling it "the craziest, most terrifying story I have ever had to report."
Against
California's Ethnic-Studies Curriculum. To graduate from high school in the state of California, students have
to take just three years of English and two years of math. Democrats in the state are now trying to add another subject
to these paltry requirements, which are among the most lax and lenient in the nation. Chemistry, biology, physics,
history, geography, civics, and foreign languages have all been passed over. As it turns out, the subject that
California's political machine wants taught to all children in the state without exception is ethnic studies. Today,
the state's Board of Education will vote on whether or not to approve a model curriculum for this subject to be used in each
and every Californian public school. The state legislature has signaled its intention to make the curriculum mandatory
if the Board of Education gives its approval. If such a bill is signed into law, ethnic studies will be the only
subject in California with the same pedagogical priority in K-12 classrooms as reading, writing, and arithmetic.
California
county funds welfare program that excludes whites and males. Something strange is going on out in Marin County,
California. The elected officials there have instituted a pilot program offering a universal basic income in the form
of a monthly stipend to a limited number of participants. That in and of itself isn't unique, as programs such as this
have been tested in other places, such as Stockton, California. A couple of aspects of this program, however, really
are unique. The most glaring among these is the fact that in order to qualify, participants have to be women. No
males need apply. On top of that, the program is not available to white women, but only to women of color.
Los
Angeles agency votes for $36M police funding boost as crime surges. Officials in Los Angeles voted this week to
re-fund their police amid an upswing in crime. Less than a year after "defund the police" fervor swept across major
cities from coast to coast, Los Angeles County Metro, the region's public transportation agency, voted Thursday [3/25/2021]
to boost police funding by $36 million. The vote passed 12-0, including a "yea" from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a
major advocate of defund the police measures, who chairs the board. The money will go toward the agency's
law-enforcement contracts with the Los Angeles Police Department, Long Beach Police Department and Los Angeles Sherriff's
Department. Los Angeles has been among the nation's leading communities in efforts to defund the police.
The Editor says...
The inevitable "upswing in crime" could have been avoided if the county leadership had any amount of foresight, along with the
backbone necessary to resist the mobs.
Whites need not apply.
Oakland
launches guaranteed pay plan for low-income people of color. The mayor of Oakland, California, on Tuesday
[3/23/2021] announced a privately funded program that will give low-income families of color $500 per month with no rules on
how they can spend it. The program is the latest experiment with a "guaranteed income," an idea that giving poor people
a set amount of money each month helps ease the stresses of poverty that often lead to poor health while hindering their
ability to find full-time work.
Asian-Americans
Worry About Democrat Bill 'Legalizing' Mugging. Here's a snapshot of why these violent assaults keep
happening. And why they're happening so often in California and New York, in areas where crime has essentially been
legalized. The upsurge in store robberies in California was driven by pro-crime measures that essentially legalized
shoplifting. Now the Democrats want to all but legalize robbery. [...] SB82 specifically states that, "This bill would
define the crime of petty theft in the first degree as taking the property from the person of another or from a commercial
establishment by means of force or fear without the use of a deadly weapon or great bodily injury." That means a mugging
is now petty theft as long as the thugs don't use a gun or cause 'great bodily injury[.]'
California
Police Reform Bill May Ban Christians From Law Enforcement. California Assembly Bill 655 would require police
departments to investigate whether not potential cops had "engaged in membership in a hate group, participation in hate group
activities, or public expressions of hate." It would make such activities "grounds for termination." When
Americans think of a "hate group," many minds would conjure up a domestic terrorist group motivated by racial animus like the
Ku Klux Klan. Yet some transgender activists and organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) use the term
"hate group" as an epithet to demonize their political and ideological opposition. The SPLC has become notorious for
branding mainstream conservative and Christian groups as "hate groups" because they advocate against same-sex marriage or
transgender activism.
Congressional
Democrats push a job-killing law even Californians couldn't stand. In the 2020 election, 63% of California
voters backed President Biden. On the same ballot, those voters essentially repealed a job-killing state law that Biden
and Democrats now want to impose on a national level in the form of the PRO Act. That California law, A.B. 5, attempted
to force businesses that use contract and freelance workers into hiring them with employee benefits. Instead, it
predictably caused freelance work to dry up throughout the state. News conglomerates cut loose their California-based
freelancers. A variety of independent contractors, such as truck drivers, professional service providers, and
interpreters, suddenly faced financial ruin. Legislators were forced to carve out multiple exceptions to their
ill-considered law in a last-ditch effort to save it, but even that wasn't enough. In the end, Uber and Lyft, the
iconic ride-share applications that the law had originally targeted, came within a hair's breadth of shutting down all
service in California. A judge stepped in and blocked the law just in time.
CA
Dept of Ed voting on curriculum that would encourage students to chant to Aztec god of sacrifice. The
California Department of Education (CDE) is set to vote on a new ethnic studies curriculum that reportedly calls for the
"decolonization" of society in America and encourages students to chant to the Aztec god of human sacrifice. The
curriculum will focus on "social consciousness" and cultures that have allegedly not gotten enough attention in
textbooks. That would include "African American, Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x, Native American, and Asian American and
Pacific Islander studies," according to the CDE. "By affirming the identities and contributions of marginalized groups
in our society, ethnic studies helps students see themselves and each other as part of the narrative of the United States,"
the overview states.
San
Francisco's Poop-Patrol Boss Made $380K, Didn't Do [His Job], And Has Been Charged With Corruption. In 2019, we
highlighted a tripling in reported human waste in the public way. Citizens filed 10,644 complaints in 2014 and the
number of complaints escalated to 30,996 cases by 2019. [...] Mohammed Nuru, the public works director and self-titled
@MrCleanSF, was in charge of keeping city streets clean and oversaw a $500 million budget. He was indicted by the
Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2020. Nuru was charged with one count of alleged public corruption and is innocent until
proven guilty. "The complaint describes a web of corruption involving bribery, kickbacks, and side deals by one of San
Francisco's highest-ranking city employees," said U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson. "The public is entitled to honest
work from public officials, free from manipulation for the official's own personal benefit and profit."
Soros'
SF DA Chesa Boudin Tried Zero Murders and Only 2 Sex Assaults. There's a pro-crimes arms race among Soros DAs
bent on freeing the most criminals and convicting the fewest. But even within that fishbowl, Chesa Boudin, Weatherman
royalty backed by Soros, is something special. The Marina Times, which California Democrats have been trying to stamp
out, has the numbers and they're something special. [...] Just keep in mind, Chesa Boudin is the DA of San Francisco, not a
small town in Iowa. These are staggeringly insane numbers that paint a picture of a justice system that has essentially
shut down.
Gavin
Newsom, In Recall Hole, Keeps Digging. California Governor Gavin Newsom gave his "State of the State" address
last night [3/9/2021] and decided he wasn't giving his opponents and advocates for his recall enough ammunition. So he
obliged them by choosing to frame his campaign for "equity" as a question of not going back to "normal" when the pandemic
ends because "normal accepts inequity." Telling people that things will not "return to normal" after what they've been
through is not a way to win friends and influence voters. It is, in fact, another reason to sign a recall petition and
vote the incompetent governor out of office.
Gavin
Newsom's State of the State: 'I Have Made Mistakes ... but We Own Them'. California Governor Gavin Newsom
delivered his annual "State of the State" address from an empty Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night [3/9/2021], hoping to rally
support as he faces a likely recall election in the coming months. Newsom struck an optimistic tone, noting that the
state's coronavirus numbers were improving. And he admitted errors: "We have made mistakes," he said. "I
have made mistakes. But we own them. We learn from them. And we never stop trying."
The Editor says...
I suspect the governor is mistaken if he thinks such a lame statement is enough to keep him from being recalled.
Newsom
recall leaders say they have enough signatures to trigger an election. Leaders of the effort to recall
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday [3/7/2021] they've collected 1.95 million signatures a little more than a week
before the deadline, a number they believe will be more than enough to trigger a special recall election. County and
state elections officials still need to verify that nearly 1.5 million are valid signatures from registered California voters
before the recall can qualify for the ballot. But recall supporters said Sunday that they're confident they've
collected enough. The most recent signature verification numbers from the Secretary of State's Office found that about
83% of the signatures counted by early February were valid. There's no guarantee that validity rate will hold for the
remaining signatures, but if it does, proponents would reach the threshold needed to trigger a special recall election.
Newsom
films pro-vaccine PSA inside restaurant that's closed due to pandemic restrictions. Via Breitbart, is it really
so hard for this guy to stay out of restaurants during a pandemic? His night out at one a few months ago might end up
costing him his job. If that's not a reason to dine in until COVID is over, I don't know what is. This PSA was
filmed at Los Amigos restaurant in Fresno. Fresno is in California's "purple tier," per Fox News, which means indoor
dining isn't allowed. Yet there was Newsom with comedian George Lopez, firing off this PSA about vaccinations inside
the building. Fox notes that he was at Los Amigos to discuss a relief grant received by the restaurant's owners to help
them weather the economic storm until restrictions are finally lifted. Okay, but why did they need to meet indoors to
do that?
California
Bill Would Give $1,000 Fines to Retailers With Separate 'Girls' and 'Boys' Toy Sections. Retail stores in most
of California are only allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity. A new bill in the state legislature would ensure that
whatever part of their shop is allowed to be open is as inclusive as possible. Last week, Assembly Members Evan Low
(D-Cupertino) and Cristina Garcia (D-Los Angeles) introduced a bill that would require retailers to offer their toys and
childcare products in a gender-neutral format. Brick-and-mortar shops would have to display the majority of their
products and clothing aimed at children in one undivided, unisex area on the sales floor. They'd also be barred from
putting up signage that would indicate whether a product was intended for a boy or girl.
Vox
vs. Reality: California unemployment fraud. [Scroll down] The problems with the California
system weren't new ones and Vox pointed to California Assembly member David Chiu who it reported was "spearheading the
charge" to improve it. The article contains a link to this piece in the LA Times from last August. It's
headlined, "California lawmakers ask Newsom to act immediately on unemployment claims" and it describes a letter which
Assembly member Chiu and a bipartisan group of lawmakers had sent to the governor. [...] You get the picture. Chiu was
telling the governor to get the money out the door fast and worry about the paperwork later. And Vox was citing this as
the kind of effort needed to fix the problems with the California system. In the same piece we're also informed that
one of the problems with some unemployment systems is an emphasis on detecting fraud.
Meet
George Gascón, the Rogue Prosecutor Whose Policies Are Wreaking Havoc in Los Angeles. If you have followed
our rogue prosecutor series, no doubt you were disturbed by Boston's Rachael Rollins and her list of "15 crimes" you can now
commit there, appalled at the anti-police policies of Philadelphia's Larry Krasner, disgusted by the actions of Baltimore's
Marilyn Mosby, nauseated by the weekly death tolls caused by the apathy of Chicago's Kim Foxx, and disconcerted by the
predictable anti-victim policies of Fairfax's Steve Descano. The goal of each of these Soros-backed rogue prosecutors,
as we wrote in our research paper on the topic, is to "fundamentally reverse engineer" the role of the prosecutor and to
fundamentally transform our criminal justice system. To that end, they have enacted policies that favor defendants,
ignore drug laws, prohibit prosecutors from filing certain misdemeanors, and require prosecutors to cut sweetheart deals with
many offenders.
California Suddenly Pushes
Strict 'Signature Match' for Gavin Newsom Recall Drive. California Governor Gavin Newsom, once considered a
rising superstar in the Democratic Party, is suddenly facing a serious effort to get him removed from power. The
petition "Rescue California" has gathered over 1.5 million signatures, enough to qualify to put his recall up for a vote; but
the State of California is poised to go into overdrive to throw out signatures that do not match exactly. [...] Robert
Barnes, a constitutional attorney, notes that California resident Kanye West was removed from the 2020 election ticket due to
signature-matching. "How did Democrats kick Kanye West off the ballot in his home state?" he tweeted. "By
demanding a strict signature match. Guess what rate of signatures were rejected by the election officials? Over
half. Yet the signatures magically match for the general election?" The Rescue California petition drive is thus
pushing to drive far beyond the 1.4 million minumum for signatures and has set a target of at least 1.9 million,
according to organizer Thomas Del Beccaro.
5.7
million Californians to receive $600 stimulus payments. On Tuesday [2/23/2021], California Gov. Gavin
Newsom signed a $7.6 billion coronavirus relief package providing aid to 5.7 million people. Under the package,
$600 one-time payments will go to qualifying Californians, including many who were left out of receiving federal stimulus
funding. "Regardless of your status, those who have been left behind in the federal stimulus, California is not going
to leave you behind," said Newsom.
The Editor says...
Who was "left out of receiving federal stimulus funding?" Illegal aliens. Nobody else, as far as I know.
California,
land of delusion. The latest verbal gymnastics our local San Francisco Bay Area, 11 o'clock news team tried and
failed to explain was why, when COVID cases are rapidly plummeting, we are not opening the state. There are only five
counties that have "graduated" out of the deadly Purple Tier as of this morning [2/21/2021]. After months of touting
the so-called crisis in ICU capacity, now we get no mention of that issue. Instead, we're treated to ten minutes of
proud stories about massive new vaccination sites. These are immediately followed by stories about the lack of
available vaccine doses. It's almost funny. We are exhorted to do our duty and get vaccinated, for the common
good, if we can find any vaccine. I know people who desperately wanted it and had to drive for hours to locate doses.
Personally, I wouldn't get the vaccine. But that's another story.
Gavin
Newsom's crony capitalism racket. Now that California's Gov. Gavin Newsom has a recall petition apparently
reaching the threshold for ballot qualification, there's some renewed press interest in what he's about and what he really
does. Unlike, say, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose style seems to be bullying, machine politics, and use of
snarling political muscle, Newsom's racket for maintaining power seems to be crony capitalism, or, perhaps more accurately,
crony socialism. This isn't surprising in a state with the highest inequality ratios in the nation — big
billionaires in a couple of urban enclaves and a lot of impoverished and marginalized people pretty much everywhere
else. Reason magazine points out that Newsom has found a way to positively thrive on it and, with COVID restrictions,
positively supercharge himself for it.
Donations
'Requested' by Newsom Exploded as His Emergency Powers Ballooned. In 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's
office reported that individuals or organizations made $226 million in private donations to organizations at Newsom's
request. These "behested payments" were a record-setting haul eclipsing all prior donations on record by nearly
$100 million. While most donations supported COVID-19 relief efforts, a closer look suggests Newsom's fundraising
was supercharged not just by the pandemic, but also by the broad emergency powers the Democratic governor has assumed because
of it. Behested payments are a unique feature of California politics. State law defines a behested payment
as a donation to a government program or charity made "at the request, suggestion, or solicitation of, or made in
cooperation, consultation, coordination or concert" with a public official. While payments of $5,000 or more are
disclosed to the public, they remain an overlooked portion of politicians' finances, even though contributions often come
from businesses with interests in the state government. Last year, Newsom raised a combined $45 million from insurance
giants Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente for Project Homekey, his housing initiative. Newsom had selected
Blue Shield CEO Paul Markovich to co-chair California's task force on COVID-19 testing. In January, the governor again
tapped Blue Shield, with assistance from Kaiser Permanente, to manage vaccine distribution across the state.
California's
Multibillionaires Intend to Conquer the World. As the oldest man ever to be elected U.S. president begins his
administration, his immediate blizzard of executive actions suggests the energy of someone much younger. The reason for
this is obvious. Joe Biden is not running the country. He is a president in name only. The edicts coming
out of the Oval Office, along with the imminent legislative initiatives, are produced by the American equivalent of a Soviet
politburo, with the political and financial power behind this politburo coming from California. The
political actors occupying key roles include Kamala Harris, whose role as the tie-breaker in the U.S. Senate makes her the
most powerful vice president in recent memory, and Nancy Pelosi, who presides over the U.S. House of Representatives —
both San Francisco Democrats. These two politicians are only the most visible Californians in a group that includes cabinet
secretaries, administrative appointees, and what is by far the largest state Democratic congressional caucus. More
significant is the fact that Californians also provide the financial power behind the Biden politburo, as well as
the cultural power that propels the Democratic narrative.
California is collapsing.
The on-the-ground reality — as opposed to that portrayed in the media or popular culture — is more
Dickensian than utopian. Rather than the state where dreams are made, in reality California increasingly presents the
prototype of a new feudalism fused oddly with a supposedly progressive model in which inequality is growing, not
falling. California now suffers the highest cost-adjusted poverty rate in the country, and the widest gap between
middle and upper-middle income earners. It also has one of the nation's highest Gini ratios, which measures the
inequality of wealth distribution from the richest to poorest residents — and the disparity is growing.
Incredibly, California's level of inequality is greater than that of neighbouring Mexico, and closer to Central American
countries like Guatemala and Honduras than developed nations like Canada and Norway.
Rural
Californians are fighting to reclaim their state, even if that means starting their own. Mark Baird is a
third-generation Californian who hopes to one day be a first-generation Jeffersonian. Baird, like many in California's
sprawling, mostly rural north, is disillusioned with his state's Sacramento-based government, which he believes no longer
represents northern interests. That's why Baird and many others in the 23 counties above Sacramento have officially
declared the reclamation of their state, even if it means breaking away and starting anew in the proposed 51st state of
Jefferson, named for the third U.S. president.
Are you
feeling safer yet? A New York Post editorial quotes New York City police commissioner Dermot Shea: "We
have made staggering numbers of gun arrests, taking guns off the streets from felons, but when you look, three days later,
four days later, those individuals are back on the street committing more gun violence." The editorial continues by
saying that years of often ill conceived criminal justice reform has set up a revolving door that frees even repeat offenders
almost instantly. And "[w]orse, because everyone knows the perp will be back in the neighborhood again — and
the no-bail law lets the defense know right away who has talked — witnesses are ever-harder to come by." Well,
that's in one Democrat-run state. What about California? According to Hotair.com: "Through a series of
measures starting back in 2014, the state of California has made it increasingly easy for people to commit property theft and
get away with it[.] ... Even in cases where they do manage to catch somebody stealing, it's too often not worth the trouble
of taking them down to the station because they'll just be released immediately without bail anyway." One result of this
is that California businesses are shutting down for good.
Organizers
Reportedly Hit Number Of Signatures Required To Force Recall Vote For Gavin Newsom. Organizers behind the
effort to recall California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom said late on Wednesday evening that they have reached the number
of signatures required to force a recall election this year. The multi-million dollar movement to oust Newsom from
office comes in response to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. California has had nearly a million more cases
than the state with the second highest number, and just recently passed New York as the state that has had the most deaths
from the pandemic.
'Woke'
warriors at San Francisco school board deny gay white dad with a mixed-race daughter a place on volunteer parent committee
because he is not diverse enough. A gay white father of a mixed-race child has been denied a spot on the San
Francisco Board of Education's volunteer parent committee because his race doesn't bring enough diversity to the group.
The issue of whether to allow Seth Brenzel to volunteer for the 15-person parent advisory council was debated for almost two
hours on Tuesday night during a board meeting. The parent advisory council, who had unanimously supported Brenzel to
join their all-female committee, had submitted his name to be approved by the school board. His candidacy, however,
faced opposition from some board members and members of the public who argued that there wasn't enough diversity on the
council — even though there are five seats currently empty.
DDA
Jonathan Hatami Files a Harassment Lawsuit Against LA County District Attorney George Gascon. Los Angeles
County District Attorney George Gascon has only been in office a little over two months, but he is already a boil on the side
of Lady Justice. Gascon has not only raised the ire of the Deputy District Attorneys in his office, but of District
Attorneys in other counties across the State. Gascon's "Special Directives" are being disregarded by local and regional
law enforcement, and the liberal-leaning District Attorneys Union has filed a restraining order against him. Los
Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold, and Judge James C. Chalfant have recently neutered Gascon's policies of removing
enhancements and special circumstances in criminal cases, and not enforcing three-strike allegations.
Several
of D.A. George Gascón's reforms [have been] blocked by L.A. County judge. Los Angeles County Dist.
Atty. George Gascón was barred from implementing a significant part of his sprawling criminal justice reform
platform Monday, after a judge ruled his plan to end the use of sentencing enhancements in thousands of criminal cases
violates California law. The order stemmed from a lawsuit filed late last year by the union that represents hundreds of
L.A. County prosecutors, alleging some of Gascón's plans exceeded his legal authority and put line prosecutors in an
ethical bind. Sentencing enhancements can add several years to a defendant's time in prison if certain criteria are
met, such as using a gun causing severe injury during the commission of a crime, or being a documented gang member.
Effort to recall
Gavin Newsom moves closer to becoming a reality. An effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom is
nearing the number of signatures needed with over a month to go before the deadline. "It's highly possible we could get
to 1.5 or 1.6 [million signatures] by the end of this week," said Anne Dunsmore, the campaign manager and finance director of
Rescue California, one of the two groups responsible for the recall effort. The groups have collected 1.4 million of
the 1,495,709 required to force a recall election but will likely have to collect more than the minimum as some signatures
will be invalidated upon review. Dunsmore's group is hoping it can collect 2 million total signatures ahead of the
March 17 deadline, something she says she is confident the group can accomplish.
California's
latest move to thwart its own law enforcement efforts. The day may yet come when the California legislature
proposes a new bill that will actually improve the lives of its citizens, my friends, but today is not that day. The
latest bit of madness to come out of the Golden State is known as Senate Bill 271, and it's clearly designed to make people
less safe rather than safer. Currently, anyone wishing to run for Sheriff in any of California's counties must have
either a certification of competence from the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training or recent, equivalent
salaried law enforcement experience. Makes sense, right? If you're going to put someone in charge of a major law
enforcement agency, it might be nice if they actually knew something about law enforcement and the challenges that officers
face out on the streets. But SB-271 would eliminate that requirement entirely. The stated reason is clear.
They want people who are interested in reforming, defunding or abolishing the police to be able to run for the position.
California
politicians demand grocery stores pay workers more; groceries close instead. Every business operates at a risk,
and the risk-reward ratio was obviously closed to the point that it didn't make sense to put effort into a store with
declining profits. Is this so hard to understand? Apparently, it is, because an emotionally driven, fact-bereft
city councilperson going by the name of Mary Zendejas, who sponsored the bill, said that "it really saddens me that they'd
rather take away 200 jobs instead of doing the right thing, which is paying hazard pay for these local grocery store workers
who risk their lives everyday they come in and who are putting their lives on the line every second they're working."
There is so much wrong with this sentiment. In Zendejas's world, there is now a moral obligation of private companies
to pay whatever rate is deemed appropriate by leftists on a given day. Today it's a $4-an-hour boost because everyone
is a hero. Tomorrow it's a national $15-an-hour increase. These are entirely arbitrary numbers, and by Biden's
logic, if there is no evidence that they upset the balance of supply and demand, then why stop there?
Are
TVs Attracting the Pandemic? Now that Joe Biden has been elected president of the United States and
Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom is the target of a recall effort, the science on the "Flumanchu" has
miraculously changed. KTLA informs us, "After a two-month ban, Los Angeles County restaurants are once again
welcoming customers for outdoor dining Friday." The get-out-of-"Wuflu"-jail order includes restaurants, wineries and
breweries. Then the troll takes effect: "But when the eateries reopen, they can't have televisions on, according
to the county's new health officer order." What's the science behind that senseless royal decree? Nowhere
else in the country are restaurants forbidden to operate their TVs. Costco's electronics' departments have multiple TVs
going from open to close, some with a screen as big as a bedsheet. Yet there have been no reports of coronavirus
outbreaks in Costco. Why are televisions only potentially deadly when patrons are chewing?
Pelosi,
Biden and Newsom Show How Grift and Fraud Makes the Democrat World go Round. The big news out of California
this week is that the utterly incompetent jackasses in the Newsom administration paid out no less than $31 billion in
fraudulent unemployment payments since last April. I say "no less than" because some reports peg the number at a cool
$50 billion. And that's just in one state. [...] Yeah, I guess when you're sending unemployment checks to crime
organizations in China and Russia, your security measures could be said to be lacking.
Facebook
Says No More Ads For Movement To Recall Gavin Newsom. Fascbook is doubling down. Since the violence at
the Capitol our dear leader, the almighty Zuck, has sought out to silence dissent against his comrades in the Democrat
party. While of course Fascbook is free to do as they please as a private company, somehow claiming to be a free and
open forum at the same time is a bit disingenuous. Their actions continue to threaten the free exercise of speech by
individuals and by the press, as numerous personal accounts have been suspended for alleged "hate speech" and seemingly
innocuous articles posted by news organizations on only one side of the aisle (guess which side) are now being flagged by
Fascbook's "fact checkers" as false or for other vague violations.
Carlsbad,
CA Says No More to Lockdowns. May It Be a National Model! [Scroll down] A different, more local
revolt began last weekend in Carlsbad, CA, a town just north of San Diego. Its restaurant and bar owners decided
they're weren't going to take it anymore. They're no longer going to allow witless politicians to destroy what they've
worked so long to build. They're going to open their businesses to eager customers. Some will ask what California
legislators right up to Governor Gavin Newsom will say. Ideally the mini-revolt will wake these sick people up to the
extraordinary damage they're doing, but if not it's worth reminding everyone that the very individuals in government who are
presently limiting your right to work, operate your business, and live your life as you desire, used to not be in
government. Some even used to have regular jobs in the private sector. The main thing is that they're not experts
on medical matters, nor are they abnormally smart. They just happen to be good at politics. They're in no
position to tell us how to live, or operate our businesses, or whether or not we should have a job to go to. They're
just people who want power, prestige and money, only they want it the easy way.
Gov.
Newsom plans to cancel California's COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday
[1/25/2021] plans to lift regional stay-at-home orders across the state — allowing restaurants to resume outdoor
dining amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report. Sources briefed on the governor's plans told the Los
Angeles Times that all counties will return to a colored tier system that assigns local risk levels based on the number of
cases and positivity rates. Most counties will go into the "widespread" risk tier, which allows hair salons to provide
limited services indoors but restricts many other nonessential indoor business operations. Some elected officials and
the restaurant industry have fought in and out of court to overturn the highly controversial outdoor dining ban, according to
the newspaper.
Calif
Gov Newsom appears to be retreating on Covid restriction as recall petition signatures surge. [Scroll
down] Newsom is fighting for his political life in the face of a recall petition that already has garnered 80% of the
signatures necessary for a recall election to be conducted by the state. [...] The immediate spark of the surge in signatures
was the release of photographs of Newsom attending a lavish birthday party at the French Laundry in the Napa Valley, one of
the most famous and expensive restaurants in America, with no mask and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with his pals, including
the honoree for the occasion, a lobbyist. This in defiance of the lockdown orders he had imposed on lesser Californians.
SF
DA Boudin Skips Memorial For Women Killed By Drunk Parolee — to Tweet About Inmates Not Receiving Vaccines. On
Friday afternoon [1/22/2021], a grieving mother who'd flown to San Francisco from Japan to collect her daughter's body and
belongings spoke at a memorial for that daughter, which was held on a sidewalk near the intersection where a drunk parolee in
a stolen car mowed her and another woman down on New Year's Eve. After running over Hanaka Abe, 27, and Elizabeth
Platt, 60, the parolee kept going, but was quickly apprehended by law enforcement. The crash has been big news in San
Francisco because the man who committed the horrific crime shouldn't have been on the street. Troy McAllister, 45, was
released from prison and placed on parole in April 2020 after serving five years for robbery. He was arrested in
November and December on felony charges, but instead of actually filing the charges the San Francisco DA's office simply
notified McAllister's parole officer that he'd been arrested [...]
Why
Is Gavin Newsom Hiding Coronavirus Data from the Public? California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is hiding
key coronavirus data from the public while inexplicably allowing several counties in the state to reopen. Following a
surge in November, Newsom unveiled new lockdown orders that divided the state into five regions, with each region locking
down whenever ICU hospital capacity dipped below 15 percent. Before long, about 98 percent of the state's population
fell under the new restrictions. Despite ICU capacity still south of 15 percent, the governor has lifted restrictions
for 13 counties in the Greater Sacramento area, the AP reported. State data updated daily shows the Sacramento region
currently has an ICU capacity of around 7.8 percent at the time of this writing.
Effort
to Recall California Governor Gavin Newsom Attracts More Than 1.2 Million Signatures. The effort to recall
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has attracted more than 1.2 million signatures. Recall organizers have until March
17th to collect 1,495,709 signatures. Californians are fed up with Newsom's authoritarian Covid lockdown orders that
have destroyed thousands of small businesses. Newsom came under fire after he ordered businesses to close while keeping
his own winery, Plumpjack Winery open.
Biden's
HHS Appointee Launches Civil Rights Investigation Of Nation's Largest Sheriff's Dept. On Friday [1/22/2021],
California's Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is also President Joe Biden's choice to head the Department of
Health and Human Services, announced that he is launching a civil rights probe into the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department (LASD). The agency is the largest sheriff's department in the United States and operates America's biggest
jail system. According to a news release from Becerra's office, "the investigation will seek to determine whether LASD
has engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing."
California
state senator trying to legalize hard drugs. Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has made good on his
promise to begin his effort to "decriminalize all drug use" step by step with the introduction of several bills at the start
of the new legislative session. Senate Bill 57 creates "safe injection sites" where drug addicts can use illicit drugs
under medical supervision. Senate Bill 73 lowers the criminal penalties on users and dealers of heroin, opiates or
opium derivatives, salts, cannabis, phencyclidine (PCP), and other dangerous drugs. Still promised, but not yet
introduced, is a bill Wiener says will legalize all psychedelic drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms.
California
Democrat floats $23 minimum wage. California Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., asked his Twitter followers this
week to consider the benefits of raising the minimum wage above $20 per hour. In a since-deleted post captured by
ProPublica, Khanna noted that raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour is expected to lift 1 million people out of
poverty — while envisioning what an even steeper increase would do. "Raising the minimum wage to $15 would
lift 1 million people out of poverty. Imagine how many more lives would be impacted if we matched the rate of
productivity and made it $23/hr," the post read. A spokesperson for Khanna's office did not return FOX Business'
request for comment as to why the post was deleted.
It's
no time for Biden to be California dreamin'. We did a double take at the report this week that Joe Biden, once
inaugurated as president, would treat California as the administration's "de facto think tank," placing it "center stage
again in Washington's policy arena." Surely, only Biden's enemies would spread such a vicious rumor about the new chief
executive. But the sources for the extraordinary story are supporters of Biden and his Californian running mate Kamala
Harris. The wonder is not that Biden would try to imitate California on policy — he's always been ready to
try anything harebrained — but rather that his allies would admit they planned to do something so obviously foolhardy.
California
COVID-19 benefits fraud could reach $9.8 billion. California may have paid out nearly $10 billion in phony
coronavirus unemployment claims — more than double the previous estimate — with some of that money
going to organized crime in Russia, China and other countries, according to a security firm hired to investigate the
fraud. At least 10% of claims submitted to the state Employment Development Department before controls were installed
in October may have been fraudulent, Blake Hall, founder and CEO of ID.me told the Los Angeles Times. The Times on
Friday [1/15/2021] said that would work out to $9.8 billion of the benefits paid from March through September.
A
Successful Recall of California Gov. Newsom Could Portend a Disaster for Democrats in 2022. As has long
been transparently predictable, the eve of the inauguration of Joe Biden has coincided with the determination of state and
local elected Democrat officials that the threat of a COVID-19 pandemic has passed, and economic and social life in
Democrat-controlled cities and states can now begin to return to "normal". [...] Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot suddenly has a
plan for reopening bars and restaurants in Chicago. [...] But one Governor who apparently has not received the message that
the political imperative of knee-capping the economy to get rid of Donald Trump has now passed is California Governor Gavin
Newsom. He is maintaining the restrictions that have been in place for months, continuing to impose regulatory
restrictions in California on a per county basis.
An
L.A. councilman lied to the FBI. Probation officials say he deserves no jail time. It was the first blockbuster
case to surface in the federal corruption probe of Los Angeles City Hall — a multi-count indictment accusing
former Councilman Mitchell Englander of taking envelopes of cash, lying to the FBI about that money and obstructing its
investigation. Englander, while serving in office, made false statements to FBI agents during three separate
interviews, prosecutors said, providing untrue information about his dealings with a businessman who gave him $15,000 in two
casino bathrooms. The case was resolved quickly, with Englander pleading guilty to a single count of scheming to
falsify material facts. But now, prosecutors are voicing objections to the sentence recommended by federal probation
officials: three years' probation, a $9,500 fine and no jail time or community service.
Re-Open
Cal Now, Day 2: Sheriffs John D'Agostini and Scott Jones -- Constitutionality of the Lockdown Orders and the Rule of Law. The necessary element
of a "Police State" is cooperation from law enforcement to do just that: "enforce" the orders given, no matter how burdensome, unreasonable, and more
importantly, unconstitutional. Thankfully, there are Sheriffs in certain California Counties who take seriously their oath to the Constitution, the
rule of law, and their commitment to serve the people over and above a Governor's or unelected bureaucrat's executive orders or restrictions. [...] Then he
laid out simpler questions that even a 6th grader could understand:
• What amount of force is appropriate to enforce health orders?
• If someone is resisting compliance to health orders, what sort of force is appropriate for us to use against that person?
• Are we supposed to cite someone or release them if they are violating health orders or are we supposed to book them in jail?
• What if we see a public official violating health orders? As we've seen on the news, are we supposed to issue a warrant for that public official?
People in the audience actually yelled, "Yes!" to the last question, then everyone dissolved in laughter and applause. Newsom's French Laundry
debacle looms large in our legend.
Docs
reveal Governor Newsom's secret $1B CCP mask deal. A conservative legal watchdog group has announced that it
received hundreds of pages of documents revealing the contract materials and communications related to a $1 billion contract
for face masks between the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the Chinese Communist Party linked BYD.
BYD reportedly has been barred by law from some federal contracts for providing faulty electric vehicles and lithium
batteries to U.S. buyers. The documents, all 848 pages of which can be viewed here, reveal that an OES legal
representative admits that the state deviated from their normal procurement process for this contract. Additionally, in
the contract with the OES, BYD uses a different name, Global Healthcare Product Solutions, LLC., and BYD provides no
liability or warranty for the masks if they are faulty.
Elected
DA's Throughout California Slam LA County DA Gascon's Policies, Refuse to Grant Jurisdiction. Now it's not just
the majority of his 1,000 subordinates who are publicly and vehemently opposed to new Los Angeles County District Attorney
George Gascon's policy directives. Three elected California District Attorneys (all female, interestingly enough) have
slammed Gascon's policies, and two of them sent letters directly to Gascon refusing to allow him to prosecute any cases that
arose in their counties.
New California COVID Orders:
Residents Can Travel No More Than 120 Miles From Their Homes. Despite insanely restrictive lockdowns for 10
months, travel restrictions, quarantine requirements, business closures, mask mandates and school closures, California has
some of the worst COVID numbers in the nation. The state currently has a total of just over 3,800 COVID
fatalities. Of course, in a state of 40 million that is .0095% of the population, but we're really not allowed to put
perspective on COVID-19 numbers these days. That little tidbit was for the curious. In a state like this one,
there is no such thing as policy failure. If a policy isn't working, we just get more of it. On Wednesday, the
California Department of Public Health announced new "guidance" for people in California who have the nerve to want to wander
around their free country. CDPH wants Californians to stay within 120 miles of their residences except for
"essential" travel.
Petition
to Recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom Exceeds 1 Million Signatures. The petition to recall California
Gov. Gavin Newsom exceeded one million signatures this week. "The people are being heard loud and clear, and it is
not a matter of IF we are going to reach our goal necessary that will trigger a recall election of Newsom, it is just when we
cross the finish line," Orrin Heatlie, the lead proponent of the effort to remove the Democrat, in a statement. There
are approximately nine weeks for organizers to gather 500,000 additional signatures, which would put the petition on the
ballot for Californians to vote on. March 17 is the deadline. Heatlie called the recall campaign a "literal
steamroller and Gavin Newsom's failed policies are being runover and flatten [sic] by the People of California who will no
longer be held hostage to his dictatorial failed policies." Newsom's office hasn't responded to requests for comment on
the petition.
Soros Soars, GOP Cowards
Cower. I devoted my Dec. 15 column to newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón and
his benefactor George Soros. Gascón has one goal: to put the people of L.A. at the mercy of criminals.
He's the face of anarcho-tyranny, and George Soros is the wallet. [...] As I wrote in my Dec. 15 column, a key element in
Gascón's victory was the fact that the local GOP didn't lift a finger to oppose him.
The
riskiest American county to live in might surprise you. There are more than 3,000 counties in the United
States. If I were to ask you which one of them was the riskiest place to live, you might be tempted to say it would be
a county encompassing Baltimore or Portland. Perhaps New York City and Chicago would make your list. In some
cases, you might be correct, but not for the reasons you think, at least according to a new study compiled by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency. You see, my initial reaction was to think about places with the highest violent crime
rates, gang violence and street mobs. But what FEMA was looking at was the odds of a natural disaster striking and
wreaking havoc on residents. And coming in at the top spot on the National Risk Index was Los Angeles County.
The reasons have nothing to do with the Crips and the Bloods or their incompetent government, however.
Los
Angeles County Prosecutors Sue Gascon For Not Enforcing The Law. Los Angeles County District Attorney George
Gascon hasn't even been in office for a month yet but he's been making more headlines than the pandemic. Unfortunately
for Gascon (and the citizens of his county), few of those breaking news items have been of the good variety. The wildly
liberal, anti-cop DA has been working overtime to empty the jails and prevent the prosecution of criminals, even as crime
rates have been surging in the City of Angels. The latest news out of his office won't be changing that pattern at
all. His own prosecutors are going to court to ask a judge to block their new boss's orders and prevent them from
having to break the law themselves by carrying out his directives. And it looks like they have a pretty solid case.
San
Francisco will give $5,000 to help your small business, unless you're a white guy. No check for the
privileged. At least that's the plan in San Francisco where they're passing out $5k grants to small businesses, but
making sure only the right kind of people get the relief. They say they are using this as an opportunity to advance the
city's "equity goals." In a press release from the mayor, she says they are prioritizing "minority-owned businesses
including women-owned, immigrant-owned, people of color-owned businesses," with the money. For those unfamiliar with
history, this is a practice formerly known as "discrimination." Maybe after these white male business owners watch
their livelihoods crumble to nothing around them, they can take some time to examine their privilege.
San
Francisco Proves It's In Full Societal Regression by Embracing Pre-Civil Rights Era Methods. San Francisco
apparently forgot that we in America judge people by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin, but the
radical left that has taken over the city has long abandoned the idea that virtues we've learned over the past decades mean
anything. According to a press release by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, money is to be distributed to struggling
businesses across the city. The catch? Priority will be given to businesses according to race and sex.
LA
Orders Everyone to Stay Home; Asks Hollywood to Maybe Pause. If anyone needed any further reminders that not
only are we not all in this together, but a handful of powerful special interests are calling all the shots. The
essential and non-essential categories are gigantic scams. In California, not only is Hollywood considered essential,
but while people are being ordered to stay home, Hollywood is being asked nicely if it wouldn't possibly consider pausing
production. [...] This isn't the treatment that restaurants are getting. It's also not the treatment that so many other
businesses are on the receiving end of. Small businesses that are told to close and don't close, are harassed by
inspectors. [B]ut Hollywood is politely requested to maybe please consider pausing production. Don't expect the
entertainment industry, which pays the bills of California Democrats, to abide by this any more than they abided by the early
proposed curfew for filming, which was almost immediately rescinded. We're not all in this together.
4
California Small Business Owners Share Their Struggles to Survive Under Lockdowns. California small businesses
are crumbling under the weight of a new stay-at-home order and a lack of meaningful financial assistance.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, issued a new region-based lockdown order for California on Dec. 3, forcing more
California businesses to close their doors or severely limit operations. "We are at a tipping point in our fight
against the virus, and we need to take decisive action now to prevent California's hospital system from being overwhelmed in
the coming weeks," Newsom said in a statement announcing the new restrictions.
The Editor says...
Various governors and county kingpins have been saying things like, "We are at a tipping point in our fight against the virus," for almost a year now.
According to them, we're always at a critical moment in history: We must act immediately if we are to forestall disaster! This moment is
critical! Don't ask any questions, just do as we say! It's only for a few (more) weeks! Trust us!
California
Supreme Court Rules Thousands Of Sex Offenders Are Eligible For Early Release. On Monday [12/28/2020], the
California Supreme Court ruled that thousands of inmates convicted of non-forcible sex crimes may be eligible for early
release under a ballot measure that was overwhelmingly approved by voters four years ago. The initiative, called
Proposition 57, was written by then-Governor Jerry Brown (D) and passed by nearly two-thirds of the electorate. It was
crafted to reduce the state's prison population, saying any person found guilty of a "nonviolent felony offense" would be
eligible for early parole. Brown said it was never intended to cover sex offenders. However, the original
language did not exempt them from consideration. Lower appeals courts had ruled that nonviolent sex offenders could not
be excluded, and the high court affirmed those rulings.
California
is clobbering small businesses with a retroactive tax grab. Isabel Rubinas of Glen Ellyn, Ill., operates
Lollipop Seeds, a virtual boutique that sells clothing for young children online. And like many small specialty
businesses, its sales have slumped badly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's also being clobbered by the California
Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the state agency that oversees the collection of sales and use taxes. This
month the CDTFA froze Rubinas' business bank account in Illinois in an effort to collect thousands of dollars in taxes on
sales that Lollipop Seeds made to California shoppers through Amazon.com in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The freeze threatens
to push Lollipop Seeds out of business. And her dilemma is not unique.
California
Gives Criminals Vaccine Before Elderly. Criminals are currently the top victim class among Democrats. And
that means privileging killers, muggers, and rapists above everyone else. California, as usual, leads the way in the
pro-crime dystopia.
The
Sovietization of California. [Scroll down] Yet, here I am, sitting in a state where corruption reigns
(one of the leading Democrats of the last half-century told me years ago that politicians in California are window dressing;
the real power in California is wielded by unions) and where, for nine months, normal life has been shut down, schools have
been closed and small businesses have been destroyed in unprecedented numbers. During these last five days in Florida,
a state governed by the pro-freedom party, I went anywhere I wanted. First and foremost, I could eat both inside and
outside restaurants. At one of them, when I stood up to take photos of people dining, a patron who recognized me walked
over and said, "I assume you're just taking pictures of people eating in a restaurant." That's exactly what I was
doing. I even took my two grandchildren to a bowling alley, which was filled with people enjoying themselves playing
myriad arcade games as well as bowling. None of that is allowed almost anywhere in California. It is becoming a
police state, rooted in deception and irrationality. Restaurants have been shut down (except for takeout orders), even
for outdoor dining, for no scientific reason. After ordering Los Angeles county restaurants closed, the health
authorities of Los Angeles county acknowledged in court that they had no evidence that outdoor dining was dangerous; they
ordered restaurants closed, even to outdoor dining, solely in order to keep people home. The left's claim to "follow
the science" is a lie. The left does not follow science; it follows scientists it agrees with and dismisses all other
scientists as "anti-science."
Recalling
Gavin Newsom. Governor Gavin Newsom is a disaster. Newsom is hypocritical, incompetent, and a
non-thinker. How bad does California have to get before people will consider someone who has an "R" after their
name? Just look at his actions over the past year. American Thinker interviewed many who think that the
governor needs to be recalled. Orrin Heatlie is the lead proponent of the nonpartisan recall effort. He feels
that the governor is acting as a tyrant, taking action over and over against the will of the people. He thinks, with
plnety of evidence, that the governor is out of touch with reality: the bill that put independent contractors out of work,
the bill to reduce penalties for certain sex crimes, the worsening of the homeless problem, mismanaging the gas tax, the
high-speed rail line to nowhere, fumbling fire management, and of course his handling of the pandemic, just to name a few of
his missteps. Under the state law for recalls, a hard copy of the petition must be signed in ink, rather than handling
it online. Heatlie is hoping every Californian will sign the petition. The court has granted an extension until
March 17th because they are halfway there but need about 900,000 more signatures. Tom Del Beccaro is working in synch
with Heatlie in an effort to recall Newsom. Del Beccaro agrees with Heatlie on all the reasons why Newsom should be recalled.
California
Dems Shut Down State Over Lack of ICU Beds, After Adding Only 7% More ICU Beds in 8 Months. Governor Newsom's
latest shutdown order closes down small businesses and warns residents to stay at home if their area's number of available
beds in intensive care units drops below 15%. "By invoking a Stay at Home Order for regions where ICU capacity falls
below 15 percent, we can flatten the curve as we've done before and reduce stress on our health care system," Governor
Newsom, fresh from partying at the French Laundry, declared. Spring had given way to summer and then to autumn and
winter, and California Democrats are still using the pretext of preserving "ICU capacity" and "flattening the curve".
The rationale of shutting down an entire state, not so much for the sake of stopping the virus, but for keeping enough beds
open in intensive care units, never made much sense even back then. It's insane now.
Is
Small Business Aware of California's $21 Billion Surplus? A report from the bipartisan Legislative Analyst's Office
says California's savings account could grow to more than $18 billion by the end of 2021. California had a record
$21.5 billion surplus in the state budget in 2018. Newsom and the Democratic-controlled state Legislature spent more
than half of that money on paying down debts and boosting reserves. About $4 billion of it went to support ongoing
programs while the rest was used for one-time projects. Where did it go exactly and where is it going? Small
business owners deserve to know. As Congress debates more funding, a contentious point was federal dollars bailing out
states[, and] we see now that Pelosi is lying as California does not need a bailout.
Motion
Filed To Depose Gov. Newsom Over Calif. Protest Bans At Capitol. The complaints continue to pile up
for California Governor Gavin Newsom. Not only is Newsom combating a massive recall effort across the state, but some
are calling on him to testify about the ban on protests he made at the Capitol last spring. A motion requesting a
deposition was filed by plaintiffs Ron Givens and Christine Bish. Both are involved in a lawsuit that began in April
when California Highway Patrol refused to issue permits for demonstrators at the Sacramento Capitol. CHP claimed the
decision was made in the interest of public safety amid the pandemic. As it's a civil case, attorneys for the state
argued that Newsom, the former highway patrol commissioner, and the public health director cannot be deposed because all
witnesses currently or previously held public office.
California
Sheriff Rejects Court Order To Reduce Inmate Population, Blasts The ACLU. The sheriff of Orange County,
California, said on Wednesday that he would fight a recent order issued by a local superior court judge to significantly
reduce the number of inmates housed in the county's jail system due to COVID-19 concerns. According to FOX 11 News,
Sheriff Don Barnes "is refusing to release any more" incarcerated people despite the mandate. "These people who remain
in the jail, they may have diabetes, but they're also charged with murder," Barnes told the outlet during an online
interview. "Or they may be over 65, but may be a child molester." Sheriff Barnes posted an open letter to social
media on Wednesday afternoon announcing his intention to appeal last Friday's directive by Judge Peter Wilson to cut the
detainee population in all congregate living areas by 50%. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed in April by the
America Civil Liberties Union seeking to protect medically vulnerable people from coronavirus infection.
California
Sheriff Refuses To Release 1,800 Inmates After Judge's Order. A California sheriff is refusing to comply with a
judge's order to release 1,800 inmates from Orange County jails, including individuals who have been imprisoned for murder,
due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. County Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson on Friday ordered the
release of 50 percent — or 1,858 inmates out of 3,716 — to curb the transmission of COVID-19, the
disease caused by the CCP virus. "I have no intention of releasing any of these individuals from my custody," said
Sheriff Don Barnes, pushing back against the order. "We are going to file an appeal and we're going to fight it and if
the judge has any intent of releasing any one of these individuals, he will have to go through line by line, name by name,
and tell me which ones he is ordering released."
With
his star dimmed, California's Newsom could face recall. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has had a rough
year. The next one might be even tougher as a recall effort appears to be gaining momentum, fueled partly by outrage
over the first-term Democrat dining with friends at an opulent restaurant while telling state residents to spurn social
gatherings and stay home. It's not uncommon in California for residents to seek recalls but they rarely get on the
ballot — and even fewer succeed. Several launched against Newsom faded but another attempt is drawing
greater attention as his fortunes change while he enters a critical stretch in his governorship.
Inside
Soros DA George Gascon's Office: Deputy DA's Threatened, Intimidated to Uphold New Policies. Soros-funded
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, as we've reported, made major waves during his first week in office. On
day one, he issued nine Special Directives instituting "criminals first" policies like failing to prosecute many
misdemeanors, a blanket prohibition on seeking the death penalty or life without parole, and a ban on charging juveniles as
adults. Throughout the week, victims, law enforcement officers, and court personnel were shocked to see the results of
those policies in action in the courtroom (including a failure to charge enhancements or "strikes" against a man accused of
decapitating two of his children).
Judge
to California's 3rd Largest County: On Account of COVID, Release Half Your Convicts. How do you empty a
large county's jail system by half? That's a question currently demanding an answer, as a West Coast judge has ordered
that very thing. As reported by The Daily Wire, on Friday, Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson dictated Sheriff Don
Barnes must liquidate Orange County's jail system by 50%. The decision comes following the American Civil Liberties
Union's April lawsuit demanding the release of disabled and vulnerable inmates in light of the pandemic.
New
DA Gascon to decline prosecution on range of low-level crimes. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's
Office will no longer prosecute a range of misdemeanor crimes, from resisting arrest to drug possession to making criminal
threats, according to a memo issued this week by new DA George Gascon. [...] The memo spells out misdemeanors which should be
declined or dismissed before arraignment, with a number of exceptions at the discretion of the prosecutor. Among
them: Trespassing, disturbing the peace, driving with no license or a suspended license, making criminal threats, drug
possession, drinking in public, loitering to commit prostitution and resisting arrest, among others.
As
The CA Recall Grows and Small Businesses Revolt, Newsom Gaslights and Says he Has "Great Reverence" for Small
Business. Governor Gavin Newsom is feeling the heat of a growing Recall effort that already has over 800,000
signatures, small businesses that are refusing to go through a second lockdown, and County Sheriffs who are refusing to
enforce this latest Stay-At-Home effort and are essentially telling him to go pound sand. [...] When confronted with his
hostile policies toward small business via some regulation he has allowed the legislature to vote in and that he signs, or
another tax, he does a song and dance about his "humble" small business beginnings and how much he "respects" them.
Nobody is buying it anymore.
Tyranny
Reversed: California Judge Slaps Down Newsom Over Religious-Worship Shutdowns. Just how huge a precedent
will the recent Supreme Court decision in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn turn out to be? We can take one
measure from a California court late yesterday [12/10/2020] in Father Trevor Burfitt v Gavin Newsom. In a stinging
rebuke to Gov. Newsom, Judge Gregory Pulskamp imposed an injunction against enforcement of California's planned COVID-19
restrictions. Using Brooklyn as a guide, Pulskamp ripped California's arbitrary decision to shut down houses of
worship while allowing commercial businesses to remain open. Any such limitation on an explicit and textual constitutional
right requires a strict scrutiny standard, Pulskamp ruled and cited Brooklyn for support. But Pulskamp wonders
whether the restrictions even pass a smell test.
White males are no longer considered. Isn't that racial discrimination?
LA
Times editor to Feinstein: Be "selfless" so Newsom doesn't have to choose between a Black or Latino replacement for
Harris. "Selfless," in this case, means "get out of our way so we can indulge our identity-politics wishes."
This plea from LA Times editor Erika Smith coincidentally comes at the same time as today's big New Yorker piece about Dianne
Feinstein's alleged mental-acuity decline. One has to wonder whether this might be motivating the Capitol Hill sources
who talked with Jane Mayer, too. [...] The problem, as Smith sees it, is that Gavin Newsom has to pick someone to fill out
Kamala Harris' remaining Senate term. The opening has created a food fight between the two key ethnic demographics of
the Democratic Party in California. Black party leaders see the Harris seat as theirs, while Latino leaders have grown
tired of waiting for their turn at California's Senate representation.
LA
District Attorney Whistleblower: Gascon's Sentencing Special Directive Is Illegal. New Los Angeles
District Attorney George Gascon has had the most active first week on the job of probably any officeholder ever,
anywhere. On Day One he issued nine Special Directives to his staff, instituting a wet dream of Black Lives Matter and
Antifa justice policies — and decreed that those policies should be implemented in all pending cases and even up
to 20,000 cases in which the criminals were already sentenced. On Day Two he dropped charges against a "protester"
accused of trying to wreck a train (you read that right) during a protest against the LA Sheriff's Department after deputies
shot and killed a known gang member and drug dealer, Dijon Kizzee, who'd pulled a gun on them. We can't wait to see
what the rest of the week will bring.
New
Los Angeles DA Snubs Staff, Meets With BLM, Will Implement Radical Progressive Agenda. The worst fears about
the new district attorney in Los Angeles County, George Gascón, are already materializing. After defeating the
incumbent DA on November 3, Gascón was sworn in on Monday [12/7/2020]. Gascón announced that his office would
immediately end cash bail for many offenses, refuse to pursue the death penalty, and cease trying juveniles as adults for
violent offenses.
California
Court Order Frees 250 Criminal Illegal Aliens into U.S.. Criminal illegal aliens who were released from
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody due to a court order in Adelanto, California, have been re-arrested for
child sex crimes, burglary, drug possession, and drunk driving. By October, ICE released more than 250 illegal aliens
from their Adelanto detention facility after a court order mandated that they free up space. Those released were put in
the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program that places GPS ankle bracelets on each illegal alien as they are freed into the
interior of the United States.
LA
Restaurant Owner Rips Garcetti Hypocrisy: Why Shut Me Down While Allowing A Hollywood Canteen In My Parking
Lot? Earlier this week, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti banned outdoor service at restaurants in response to
the COVID-19 transmission spike. That includes Pineapple Hill Grill and Saloon in Sherman Oaks, whose owner Angela
Marsden sunk $80,000 into social-distanced outdoor dining infrastructure and had planned to reopen today. Marsden went
to the store yesterday to collect a few items for a planned protest, but got a big surprise when she arrived at the parking
lot adjacent to her dining patio. [Video clip]
Bar
Owner Forced To Close Her Business in LA Livid After Movie Studio Gets Approval for Food Tent Next Door. Bar
Owner: "And I walked into my parking lot and obviously Mayor Garcetti has approve this, has approve this being set
up. This is being set up for a movie company." [Video clip]
Supreme
Court sides with church challenging Calif.'s COVID-19 restrictions. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday [12/3/2020] ruled
against a pandemic-related order by California Gov. Gavin Newsom banning some indoor religious services, agreeing with
critics that it is unconstitutional. In a one-page order, the high court granted a petition from lawyers for Harvest
Rock Church in Pasadena, Calif., seeking to set aside a lower court ruling upholding Newsom's ban.
California Secedes
from Black America. [Scroll down] Proposition 16, which would have allowed for favoritism of nonwhites in
public employment, education, and contracting, lost by a wide margin. Yet the backers of Prop. 16 outspent the
opposition $30 million to $2 million. And what a list of backers it was! The California Democrat Party and every
Democrat officeholder in the state championed Prop. 16, as did every major newspaper. Every leftist "social justice"
organization — the ACLU, NAACP, NOW, the ADL, BLM, even the Sierra Club and the PTA — backed Prop. 16.
So did the Chamber of Commerce, Twitter, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, Uber, Dropbox, Reddit, Lyft, Yelp, AirBnB, Instacart,
Gap, Levi's, United Airlines, Wells Fargo, the 49ers, the Giants, and the Oakland A's. Soros backed it. The Chan/Zuckerberg
Initiative backed it. Ava DuVernay backed it. Kaiser, Blue Shield, and PG&E backed it. All those heavy hitters.
All that money, and in a "blue state" no less. And yet... it wasn't even close. The big bucks, the big endorsements, the
push from big business and big tech, came to nothing.
Governor
Preen. If Hollywood were to cast a governor and future president, and if a straight white male were still
politically acceptable, he would look like California's Gavin Newsom. The 53-year-old governor, a former mayor of San
Francisco, Newsom handsomely epitomizes the preening politics of the California elite class that has nurtured and financed
his career from the beginning. Like aristocrats of the past, Newsom seems oblivious to the realities felt by
constituents among the lower orders. In the face of massive wildfires, he postures on climate change, conflating fires
with an angry mother Earth — as opposed to poor land management — and uses the conflagration to justify
a radical policy of switching to all-electric power over the next decade, with the elimination of gas-powered cars by 2035.
In the midst of a near economic free-fall, he favors raising taxes and works to tighten pandemic lockdowns; and, with the
state losing its ability to train workers, he backs an education system where almost three out of five California high
schoolers graduate unprepared for either college or a career.
Who
Paid For the (Alleged) $15,000 Wine Bill Gavin Newsom and Friends Racked Up at French Laundry? [Scroll
down] Newsom can receive up to $500/year in gifts from someone who's not a registered state lobbyist. Could they
get around that restriction by claiming it was Newsom's wife who received the gift, and not the Governor? Nope. A
gift to Jennifer Siebel Newsom is considered a gift to Gavin Newsom for the purposes of FPPC reporting. If someone else
paid for Newsom's dinner, the only possible way that could be done without skirting required financial disclosure rules would
be if his longtime friend, the birthday boy, paid for the dinner, and if none of the lobbyist birthday boy's clients had
business currently before the state. Given that executives from the California Medical Association, clients of lobbyist
birthday boy, were in attendance, and that we're in the middle of a pandemic, claiming that exemption might not work.
But who knows. This is Teflon Gavin we're talking about.
Gov. Newsom's
Regime Is Crumbling. The era of one-man rule in California is over. A California Superior Court has ruled
in favor of me and fellow legislator James Gallagher in our lawsuit challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom's abuse of
power. The judge ruled that Newsom violated the state constitution by unilaterally ordering that all registered voters
be sent mail-in ballots. More importantly, she found good cause for a permanent injunction restraining Newsom from
issuing any further unconstitutional orders that make "new statutory law or legislative policy." The court rejected
Newsom's extraordinary claim that a state of emergency centralizes the state's powers in the hands of the governor, thus
turning California into an autocracy. This is the unlawful basis on which Newsom has collapsed our system of checks and
balances, issuing 58 executive orders and changing over 400 laws unilaterally.
Gavin
Newsom's apology for flouting his mask and social distancing regs make him the most obvious liar since Joe
Isuzu. I am enjoying the squirming of Nancy Pelosi's nephew, California Governor Gavin Newsom, now that he has
been exposed as completely disregarding the COVID guidelines he is trying to force 40 million Californians to follow.
The very same man who told us that when dining out we should put a mask on in-between bites, that we should have no more than
10 people (from no more than 3 households) at our outdoor Thanksgiving celebrations was spotted and photographed
violating all of his strictures on the rest of us. Even worse, the party was held at The French Laundry, one of the fanciest
and most famous restaurants in the world. And it was a 50th birthday party for one of his old friends, who just happens to
be a lobbyist. Also in attendance: The CEO and chief lobbyist of the California Medical Association, who like
Newsom obviously don't believe the mask and social distancing regulations are genuinely important. You've probably seen
the utterly phony "apology" he made to Californians at a press conference. But take a good look at his smiles as he
lies like a Persian rug. He seems to think that the rubes, who are expected to give up their family gatherings at
Thanksgiving, are so dumb that they will buy it.
Gavin
Newsom Manufactures a COVID Crisis to Make California Miserable Again. Fresh on the heels of the Sacramento
Bee's criticism of Gavin Newsom's multi-family extravaganza at the famous French Laundry, a swanky $350-a-person-before-the-wine-is-ordered
restaurant in Yountville, California, and after having his wrist slapped by the state Judiciary for exceeding his constitutional authority
in issuing emergency lockdown orders, he's decided that he really doesn't care what the plebs of his state think or what the law says about
his executive limitations. He's locking the state down again. The reason, as he and the media would have you believe, is that
California is experiencing a surge in positive COVID-19 tests, having just crossed the one million mark in cases. You're supposed
to focus on that big, scary number and not Gavin Newsom's blatant hypocrisy or his unlawful executive overreach, and certainly not the many
questions swirling about the looming prospect of the Trump legal team's potentially exposing massive election fraud, which could have an
enormous impact on the future of our republic.
Rules For Us and Rules For Them.
Of all the quotable lines in George Orwell's Animal Farm, few resonate as much as this one: "All animals are equal, but
some animals are more equal than others." [...] That quotation has been referred to often in recent days after
Gov. Gavin Newsom — fresh off of issuing a new set of edicts admonishing Californians to dine alone at home
and curtail their Thanksgiving celebrations — was caught dining with his wife and 10 other friends at a birthday
party for a prominent lobbyist at the French Laundry in Yountville. It's bad enough for the governor to seemingly violate
his own edicts, but to do so in Napa Valley, at one of the nation's toniest restaurants, certainly gave off the wrong vibe.
Don't
[Bring California's Problems To] The Rest Of America. California's political class is widely regarded as among
the most corrupt, irresponsible, hypocritical, hard left and incompetent of any comparable group of state politicians in the
country, which is saying a lot. The troubles have been on full display this week. A week after imposing sweeping
new restaurant closures across much of the state and telling Californians not to gather in groups for Thanksgiving,
California Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted on Monday that he attended a birthday party for an old friend at an ultra-swank
Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry. Never mind that the party for his buddy, himself a lobbyist, also included
a bunch of medical industry lobbyists. The photos show not only more people in attendance than allowed under state
guidelines, neither the governor nor his wife were wearing masks.
Gavin
Newsom's Thanksgiving hypocrisy: Witness at 3-star Michelin restaurant says governor ate inside and NOT outdoors like
he claims. California governor Gavin Newsom dined indoors when he joined friends for a birthday dinner earlier
this month, a witness has claimed, challenging the governor's account of the celebrations. The witness, a woman who has
not been identified, said she was eating at the French Laundry restaurant on the same night as Newsom — who was dining in a
private room with 11 other people. She said a sliding glass door to the room was initially left open, but was pulled
across because the governor and his party were being 'very loud'.
Newsom
considering statewide curfew as he orders emergency business shutdowns. Nearly three-quarters of California
counties must now operate under the state's most stringent pandemic restrictions, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday,
and health officials are considering a statewide curfew as coronavirus cases surge more dramatically than they did during a
summer spike. Indoor dining, gyms and movie theaters, among other businesses, must either remain closed or shut down in
41 of the state's 58 counties. The governor said he is "sounding the alarm" due to "the fastest increase California has
seen" since the pandemic began. Coronavirus cases have doubled in the last 10 days across the state, which hit the
grim milestone of 1 million coronavirus cases last week.
The
California Elections Pandemic. The once Golden State, renowned for creating and exporting much of what
constitutes American popular culture, now exports a vote-fraud rich, elections-stealing contagion across the nation. [...] A
consequence of Californizing elections will be rampant cynicism. Sullen distrust will take hold. Voters, in
droves, may elect not to vote. Yet nonparticipation may be the best case. In time, the nation may devolve into
warring political factions, who thuggishly vie to control the levers of power. Does that seem surreal?
Investigate Latin America, where countries are colored with rigged elections and associated violence.
California
judge rules Gov. Gavin Newsom overstepped authority with mail ballot order. A California judge has ruled
that Gov. Gavin Newsom overstepped his authority when he issued an executive order requiring vote-by-mail ballots sent
to all registered voters, according to reports. Sutter County Superior Court Judge Sarah Heckman ruled Friday
[11/13/2020] that Newsom did not have the authority to amend or change existing election law — even during a
pandemic. The ruling put a permanent injunction on Newsom, prohibiting him from changing existing law under the
California Emergency Services Act (CESA), according to KCRA. The ruling does not affect the results of the 2020 general election.
One-Party
Democrat Rule Is Killing California, And It's Coming For The Country. [Scroll down] COVID sucked the air
out of the room in the presidential debates, and in the media in general. However, my home state was never debilitated
by the Wuhan virus, which likely hit the West Coast in the early months of this year before spreading through the rest of the
country, and never overwhelmed our hospitals. The real epidemic we are witnessing on our streets daily and with which
so many of us have firsthand experience is the drug epidemic. Corona victims are not falling down dead on our streets,
like they did in videos from China; opiate addicts are. During our never-ending lockdown, drug overdoses in San
Francisco reached two a day. For comparison, San Francisco has seen a total of 149 COVID deaths. While nearly all
coronavirus patients eventually recover, few druggies do, so they stay on our streets until death, blocking off entire
sections of the city and taking over public transportation.
Newsom's
Latest COVID Regs [are] Nuttier Than a Holiday Fruitcake. Not many Californians will be trekking over the river
and through the woods to Grandmother's house for the holidays this year if Gov. Gavin Newsom has his way.
According to guidelines issued by his office, Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations in the Golden State can include members
of no more than three households, including everyone present — hosts as well as guests. Granny will
obviously have to be a little more careful about which set of aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews she invites this year.
And for those who do wrangle an invitation, forget about singing any Christmas carols — or music of any kind, for
that matter. Newsom's edict directs that:
• instrumental music will be allowed, but only if the
musicians maintain at least a six-foot physical distance between themselves (and all musicians must be from one of the three
households; playing of wind instruments is strongly discouraged);
• everyone singing or chanting
should wear a face covering at all times;
• all those singing, shouting, chanting or dancing should
maintain physical distancing beyond six feet; and,
• they are strongly encouraged to do so quietly (at
or below the volume of a normal speaking voice).
Liberal
California Emigrants are Toxic. Since 2012, California has overwhelmingly sent more transplants to Arizona than
any other state. When surveyed, escaping Californians cite high taxes, high crime rates, unaffordable housing,
out-of-control homelessness, and high unemployment rates as their top reasons for fleeing. Who is responsible for
creating such an alarming living environment within the state? California liberals. A November, 2020 report
produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University stated that California has 395,608 regulatory restrictions.
The sheer volume and scope of California regulations creates such a compliance nightmare that they kill entire industries,
send housing prices to unattainable heights, and restrict even commonplace liberties for which conservative leaning states
are known. Piled onto California's endless river of regulations are its nonsensical laws and policies. Twenty
major metropolitan cities or counties in California have established laws, ordinances, regulations, or other practices that
shield illegal immigrants from prosecution after committing a crime.
Judge
rules California Gov. Newsom's vote-by-mail order was improper. A California judge ruled that
Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order requiring mail-in ballots to be sent to every registered voter in the state was
unconstitutional. Sutter County Superior Court Judge Sarah Heckman issued her ruling on Monday [11/2/2020], which also
contained a permanent injunction, instructing the governor not to issue further orders that would be similarly
improper. Tuesday's election will be unaffected by the ruling because a vote-by-mail order was ultimately passed by the
state's Legislature.
Judge
rules California's Newsom overstepped his authority with election order. A California judge on Monday
[11/2/2020] issued a tentative ruling in favor of two Republican state lawmakers who had filed an abuse of power lawsuit
against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Executive Order N-67-20, which Newsom signed in June, required that counties
mail all eligible voters vote-by-mail ballots before Election Day and regulated the number of polling stations.
Assemblymembers James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, and Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, challenged Newsom's order in court, arguing that
Newsom's Emergency Services Act — implemented in March amid the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic —
prevented the governor from issuing more executive orders or creating new laws.
California
governor sends his children to private school as local public schools remain closed. California Gov. Gavin
Newsom is sending his children to attend modified in-person instruction at a private school even as the public schools that
serve his local district remain closed for now. Newsom's children are "phasing back into school," he told media on Friday
[10/30/2020], "and we are phasing out of our very challenging distance learning that we've been doing, so many parents are doing up
and down the state." The governor and his wife Jennifer Newsom have four children. They were in private school
prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CA
Governor Gavin Newsom Ignores Crime Surge yet Claims Preparation for Post-Election Chaos. The headline in the
Hill yesterday, "California governor preparing state for civil unrest following election," is laughable. Governor Gavin
Newsom's idea of any form of preparedness is to stay at home and wear a mask. If anything, his policies of the last
year have guaranteed the civil unrest, rather than any measures to quell it. [...] Of course, King Gavin gave no specifics
about exactly what he planned to do to prepare for any potential election night chaos. Chief Dominick Rivetti of the
Beverly Hills Police Department has already announced that he will close down Rodeo Drive on Election Day and the day after,
and his police department will be on high alert from the Halloween weekend through Tuesday [11/3/2020].
King
Newsom bans indoor gatherings for Thanksgiving and Christmas. California won't allow indoor family gatherings
for the holidays, Christmas and Thanksgiving, and outdoor gatherings are limited to three families for a maximum of two
hours. This is arbitrary and tyrannical. "Gatherings that include more than 3 households are prohibited.
This includes everyone present, including hosts and guests. Remember, the smaller the number of people, the safer,"
reads the "Guidance for Private Gatherings," issued by the California Department of Public Health on October 9.
SF
DA Chesa Boudin surveys crime victims on how to make life easier for their attackers. Chesa Boudin, the radical
left-wing San Francisco District Attorney on whose watch San Francisco has become a crime-infested Caracas-like hellhole, is
starting to draw criticism from crime victims for his unwillingness to prosecute crimes. And adding insult to injury,
he's now using them as fodder for a survey on how to make their attackers' lives better. [...] The aim of course is to use
the responses to advance his political career, smothering out the victims' real concerns in order to advance his let-'em-out
political agenda in a quest for higher office. Always the P.R. man, Chesa is focused on gaslighting the public for his
own self-aggrandisement, claiming he's prosecuting criminals, while he's mainly attempting to get the victims of crimes he
never prosecuted to answer his survey with carefully worded options on what his priorities should be, leaving off the option
of 'prosecuting violent crime' and taking violent thugs off the streets as choices.
L.A.
County Sends Health Department Workers To Fine Church That Sued Newsom. A Catholic church in Los Angeles County
is alleging that the local government dispatched two health department officials to harass them in retaliation for their
priest suing Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state officials. On Oct. 15, two health officials
showed up at Our Lady of the Angels Church in Arcadia, California, a congregation affiliated with the dissident Society of
St. Pius X. The officials watched approximately 11 parishioners leave the building from the sidewalk and then
cited them for holding indoor worship services in violation of COVID-19 restrictions, according to a copy of the citation
forwarded to The Daily Wire. The citation carried with it a $1,000 fine.
California's
Gavin Newsom goes bonkers issuing Thanksgiving COVID orders. For someone whose previous career was in San
Francisco's trendy restaurant industry, California's Gov. Gavin Newsom has some bizarre ideas about why people gather;
what a comfortable dining experience is; and how people, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says, will do what they do.
Nope, he's got some weird stuff up, motivated, he says, by a supposed new wave of COVID: [...] Anyone with a lick of common
sense knows that neither he nor his constituents are going to observe these ridiculous diktats on the country's biggest
family holiday from the comfort of their own homes. The arbitrariness of these regulations is incredible. Two
hours together? Why not one point five hours instead? Thousands of lives could be saved!
The
Grinch Who Stole Thanksgiving. Governor Gavin Newsom's Department of Health has issued an updated "Guidance for
Private Gatherings" in time for Thanksgiving. Basically, fun is illegal in California: ["]Gatherings that
include more than 3 households are prohibited. This includes everyone present, including hosts and guests.["]
So if you have three kids, you can invite two of them. ["]All gatherings must be held outside. Attendees
may go inside to use restrooms as long as the restrooms are frequently sanitized.["] This would not work well in
Minnesota.
California
Just Declared War On Thanksgiving With Kafka-Level Regulations. Gov. Gavin Newsom just gave Californians
more regulations for an early Christmas present — and anyone hoping to celebrate the holidays with family better
hope there's a gift receipt. Just in time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities, when most families gather
with loved ones, California's Democrat governor has issued a new set of regulations that bans gatherings of more than three
households. Additionally, no indoor gatherings are permitted, so don't plan on eating around the dining room table
unless you lug it out into your backyard. Newsom's ban on gatherings of more than three households means that a family
with more than two grown children can only have two visit at the same time. According to the Pew Research Center,
almost two-thirds of mothers in their young forties in 1976 had three or more children. If those mothers are
grandmothers now and their children are grown, that means up to two-thirds of families would be banned from bringing all
their children under one roof for the holidays.
Close
To Half A Million Ballots [have been] Sent To California Voters Who Have Moved Or Died. Why do you suppose
California Republicans are setting up their own ballot drop boxes at churches and gun shops to offer voters a safe way to
ensure their votes make it to election officials for counting? Do you suppose they have some concerns about how well
the mass mail-in voting system will perform when it's put to the full test on November 3rd? Perish the thought.
I'm sure everything will be fine. Well... nearly everything. But we might not be entirely confident about the
eventual fate of roughly 400,000 ballots that went out this month. That's because their voter rolls don't appear to
have been tended very well over the years and that huge slug of ballots went to people who had either moved out of the state
or taken up residence in cemeteries.
Freshman
House Democrat offers the GOP a pickup opportunity amid crumbling campaign. California's 21st Congressional
District was the last district to be called in the 2018 election, with Democrat T.J. Cox defeating incumbent Republican David
Valadao one month after election day. In a year of crazy election news, their rematch has become even more chaotic.
Cox started his 2018 run in California's 10th District, abandoning the crowded primary after the only Democrat running against
Valadao dropped out. Cox's carpetbagging didn't seem to matter too much as he landed the endorsement of the Fresno
Bee, the district's largest paper. Valadao had won his district in 2016 by nearly the same margin as Hillary Clinton
had, but the 2018 Democratic wave proved too much to survive.
California
Democrat Legislature Passed a Stupid "Vote Harvesting" Law and Are Now Paying the Price. To begin with,
California has the most ridiculously lax ballot harvesting law ever imagined. They passed it in late Nov. 2016 after
Donald Trump won the Presidency, and they clearly had in mind making use of it in a variety of nefarious ways in 2018.
They did so to great benefit, flipping several Congressional races in traditionally GOP districts that had become purple over
the course of several election cycles. The basic practice, as employed by Democrats, was to know the home address of
every Democrat who requested an absentee ballot in the 2018 election. One way they did that was by aggressively pushing
registered Democrat voters to ask for absentee ballots and track those who did by their home address given when they sought
the ballot through the party. In the days leading up to the election, an army of volunteers — many of them
union members from all parts of the labor movement in California, started knocking on the doors of those voters. Many
were elderly or otherwise housebound.
How
California Is Turning Into a State Governed by Identity Politics. If you thought racial identity politics were
just a fleeting flirtation of the radical left, California's new laws suggest otherwise. On Sept. 30, California
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into state law a bill setting up a nine-member board to study the amount of reparations that
should be owed to black people for slavery and Jim Crow. [...] But that's hardly the only racially divisive law California
has passed this year, since the Legislature convened in a coronavirus-racked session in June. The same day, Newsom
signed a bill to establish diversity quotas on corporate boards for racial minorities. Corporations with between four
and nine board members will now be required to have at least two racial minorities, while corporations with more than nine
board members will be required to have at least three represented.
Gov.
Newsom Says He Is in 'No Hurry' to Reopen Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood. Don't expect Disneyland,
Universal Studios Hollywood and Knott's Berry Farm to open anytime soon, according to California Gov. Gavin Newsom at a
press conference Wednesday [10/7/2020]. He said there is "no hurry in putting out guidelines," but state officials are
continuing to work with amusement parks in California after the pandemic prompted closures in March. He called the
process "very complex," adding, "We don't anticipate, in the immediate term, any of these larger theme parks opening until we
see more stability in terms of the data."
Ignoring
Current Problems, California Cooks up Illogical Reparations Bill. Apparently, when California's one-party
government cannot find solutions to current existential crises, it turns to divisive issues that have little to do with the
safety and well-being of its 40 million citizens. California has the highest gas taxes in the nation, even as its
ossified state highways remain clogged and dangerous. Why, then, does Sacramento kept pouring billions of dollars into
the now-calcified high-speed rail project? When fires raged, killed dozens, polluted the air for months, consumed
thousands of structures and scorched 4 million acres of forest, in response the governor thundered about global
warming. But Newsom was mostly mute about state and federal green polices that discouraged the removal of millions of
dead and drought-stricken trees, which provided the kindling for the infernos. When gasoline, sales and income taxes
rose, and yet state schools became even worse, infrastructure remained decrepit and deficits grew, California demanded that
federal COVID-19 money bail out its own financial mismanagement.
Masks
Are Turning America Into Northern California. [Scroll down] Palo Alto, like much of Northern California,
was a cesspool of fear and grievance. The work being done was obviously incredible; the coolest and most useful
technology on the planet was all being born up and down the Bay Area. But the culture outside of the cushy campuses and
start-ups was one of persistent paranoia. You couldn't cross a street in Palo Alto without hearing voices warning you
of the dangers that lurk about. No, seriously. They had little recordings in the crosswalks that were on a
24×7 loop warning of general dangers. It was creepy. [...] And with the help of masks, that's how Jake Tapper and
Anthony Fauci (the posterboys for their leftist institutions) want all of America to be. And there are plenty of people
across the country who would gladly move into that kind of reality.
Gavin
Newsom goes 'Bananas': 'Don't forget to keep your mask on in between bites'. So Gavin Newsom of California has
gotten excited about masks again, just as Joe Biden and assorted leftists have made it mask-wearing the most recitable part
of the Democrats' party platform in the wake of President Trump's diagnosis of COVID. Joe Biden is out preaching for
the wearing of masks, but for Newsom, merely wearing them at the grocery store is no longer enough. [...] It's also a day
late and a dollar short, being ordered a time when COVID cases are way down in California and deaths are precipitously
declining. [...] A ridiculous order like this, detrimental to public health, is nothing short of the whims of a dictator
drunk on power. It's like a scene from Woody Allen's 1971 Bananas about a fictional tropical dictator who looks
like Fidel Castro.
Newsom's
office tells Californians to wear masks 'in between bites' of food when dining with members from same household in public.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's office told California residents they should wear masks "in between bites" of food while dining in public spaces
with people from the same household. "Going out to eat with members of your household this weekend? Don't forget to keep your
mask on in between bites," the office of the governor tweeted over the weekend. "Do your part to keep those around you healthy,"
the tweet added.
The Editor says...
Fortunately, a tweet is not a law.
California governor's
office tells diners to wear masks 'in between bites'. The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom has told
residents in the Golden State that if they go out to eat, they should be wearing a mask "in between bites" to protect
themselves from COVID-19. [...] For emphasis, the tweet shows an image of someone at a dining seat wearing a mask, then not
wearing a mask while taking a bite, and then putting the mask on again. However, the image then advises people to
"minimize the number of times you take your mask off." California has allowed limited indoor dining to resume in a number
of counties. San Francisco allowed indoor dining last week at 25% capacity. California has had more than 800,000
cases and more than 16,000 deaths due to the virus.
The Editor says...
That is not true. The total number of deaths from Covid-19 is less than 10,000 nationwide. The number of people
who have died with the virus (not from it) is much higher.
Oops! What an unfortunate error! Better luck in 2024.
L.A.
County: Over 2,000 mail-in ballots sent without the option to vote for president. Nearly 2,100 mail-in
ballots were sent to voters in Los Angeles without the option to vote for the next president of the United States, according
to the Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office declared them "faulty
ballots," the report noted. "While this has impacted a very small number of Los Angeles County voters ... we
nevertheless apologize to those affected by the mistake," said Michael Sanchez, a spokesman for the county clerk's office,
according to the LA Times.
The Editor says...
This tells you one thing about the Los Angeles County election officials: Nobody checks the ballots before they are
sent out. Or worse, they knew there was an omission and thought nobody would notice. Or worse still, they hate President
Trump so much that they were willing to interfere in the election. In any case, I can confidently predict the number of
county officials who will lose their jobs as a result of this: Zero.
Gavin
Newsom Edges Ahead in the Country's Dumbest Governor Competition. COVID-19 has certainly exposed one of two
things. Either some of the dumbest people in the country are leading our states, or they are so hyperpartisan they will
beclown themselves to toe the Democrats' preferred narrative on the virus. The latest ridiculous instructions come from
Gavin Newsom's office: ["]Going out to eat with members of your household this weekend? Don't forget to keep
your mask on in between bites.["] [...] One of the primary reasons that masking is controversial is because people
don't know how to use [them]. Apparently, this lack of knowledge goes straight up to the governor's office in
California. As a former healthcare worker trained on how to don and doff personal protective equipment (PPE) properly,
this is painfully stupid.
A
man wanted to open an ice cream shop, unfortunately he was in San Francisco. It's difficult to open a business
in some parts of the country because of all the red tape involved. One of the places where that's definitely the case
is San Francisco. Last Friday the San Francisco Chronicle published a column outlining Jason Yu's attempt to open an
ice cream shop in the city and the months and months of delays he has faced trying to take his project through various
slow-moving departments. Yu decided he wanted to open a shop selling green tea flavored ice cream back in 2018.
Eventually, he found an empty storefront and in June 2019 he signed a lease which cost him $7,300 per month. He knew it
would take a few months to open but he was prepared for that. He hired an architect to make plans for new electrical
and plumbing but there were no structural changes needed and no changes to the outside of the building. Six months
later, in June 2019, he submitted his plans to the Department of Building Inspection. And that's when his real
nightmare began.
California
Is a Cautionary Tale for America. Anyone with the means to flee Detroit, does so. Likewise, the Golden
State hemorrhages residents, as they build their lives in differently managed states. [...] California bounds from one crisis
to another, with most of them being self-imposed. The latest one involves the raging wildfires that turned our air into
a putrid soup. Obviously, heat waves and high winds were the proximate cause, but poor land management, ill-conceived
liability and insurance laws, and the misuse of existing firefighting budgets are the fundamental problems. The last
crisis involved homelessness. Just because COVID-19 pushed it off of the front pages doesn't mean that it's become any
less severe.
L.A.
Ordered to Pay NRA Six Figures After Losing First Amendment Case. The Washington Free Beacon reports, a
federal court ordered the city of Los Angeles to pay the NRA's lawyer fees of approximately $150,000, just months after he
ruled a city ordinance violated the gun-rights group's First Amendment rights. The City of Los Angeles tried to penalize
any contractor with ties to the NRA. The NRA sued over the ordinance and federal district court judge Stephen Wilson
ruled it was an unconstitutional violation of the NRA's First Amendment rights. The city eventually repealed it and on
Tuesday, the judge ordered city officials to pay the NRA's attorney fees totaling about $150,000.
Bob
Iger quits California economic task force as Disney lays off 28,000 workers. Disney chairman Bob Iger quit
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's coronavirus recovery task force just two days after the Mouse House said it was cutting
28,000 jobs at its US parks business. A Disney rep wouldn't say why or exactly when Iger resigned from the task force,
which was formed in April, according to the Sacramento Bee, which first reported the news late Thursday [10/1/2020].
Disney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The [New York] Post.
California
governor signs corporate boardroom diversity law. Hundreds of California-based corporations must have directors
from racial or sexual minorities on their boards under a first-in-the-nation bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Gavin
Newsom. The diversity legislation is similar to a 2018 measure that required boardrooms to have at least one female
director by 2019. Like that measure, it could face court challenges from conservative groups who view it as a discriminatory
quota. Supporters evoked both the coronavirus pandemic that is disproportionately affecting minorities and weeks of
unrest and calls for inclusion that followed the slaying of George Floyd in May in the custody of Minneapolis police.
EPA
chief to Newsom: You don't have the power to ban gas-powered vehicles. EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler
rebuked California governor Gavin Newsom yesterday [9/28/2020] for his executive order barring sales of gas-powered vehicles
in the state by 2035. California no longer has the authority to impose such regulations, Wheeler reminded Newsom, and
it also lacks the power, literally:
Newsom
OKs sterilizing treatments for teens. Despite the medical evidence and moral outcry, Gov. Gavin Newsom
celebrated the signing of a bill that allows gender clinics to provide transgender drugs and surgery known to sterilize
children and adults. Newsom praised AB 2218 for "strengthening protections for LGBTQ+ Californians" and providing an
"additional step forward" in "our march towards equality," in a weekend press release. "By rejecting the concerns of
doctors and parents, and siding with LGBT activists, Governor Newsom is yet again ignoring the heartbreak his policies will
unleash," said Jonathan Keller, President of California Family Council.
California:
The Golden State in Utter Decay. With increasing homelessness, a soft approach to criminal prosecution, and the
ongoing embracing of illegal immigration, violent crimes are increasing after having seen a reduction the past few years.
According to The Trace, "homicides are sharply up this year" in California as a whole, and cities such as Oakland, with a 26%
increase, have seen a significant increase in the number of murders. With the jump in violent crimes, what steps has
California's government taken to reduce certain crimes? They recently passed the controversial bill S.B. 145, which
will ultimately end up reducing accountability and sentences for adults who sexually assault children as young as 14.
What a brilliant idea. Apparently, California's leadership believes that the pedophile community had been treated unfairly.
Group
Robs A CVS In Broad Daylight As Employees And Manager Just Watch. Ever since California decriminalized what the
state considers 'petty crime', this sort of brazen robberies of stores has become more and more common. Add mask laws
to the mix, which conceals criminals' identities, you can bet on a lot more of these broad daylight heists.
[Video clip]
California
Wants Me to Vote, Even Though I Haven't Lived There for Over 8 Years. States across the country are
experimenting with a mass switch to mail-in elections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But is it wise for states
to make such a big change, especially in light of messy voter rolls around the country? What I was sent earlier this
month by election officials in Alameda County, California, makes me worried that ballots going to the wrong locations will be
a significant concern this year. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters notified me by mail at my parents' address in
Oakland that I would receive a ballot when the state sends them out Oct. 5. This is following Gov. Gavin
Newsom's executive order that all California voters receive a mail-in ballot before the Nov. 3 election.
Pregnant
Black, Pacific Islander women in San Francisco to receive $1,000 monthly supplement. Approximately 150 pregnant
Black and Pacific Islander women in San Francisco will receive a $1,000 monthly supplement during their pregnancies and for
the first six months of their babies' lives, the city's mayor announced. Mayor London Breed's (D) office said on Monday
that the Abundant Birth Project is the first of its kind in the country. The project's goal is to eventually provide a
supplement for as long as two years post-pregnancy. [...] Black infants are nearly twice as likely to be born prematurely
than white infants in San Francisco. Pacific Islander infants have the second-highest preterm birth rate in the city,
according to the mayor's office. Black families also account for half of maternal deaths in the city and 15 percent of
infant deaths, although they represent just 4 percent of all births.
The Editor says...
[#1] There is a lot of discussion about mothers and babies, but no mention of the babies' fathers in the article above.
[#2] What's so special about Pacific Islander women? Which Pacific islands? Are these women U.S. citizens?
[#3] If black babies are so important, why are so many black babies aborted in San Francisco, with the enthusiastic support
of some of the same left-wing do-gooders?
California
imposes racial quotas on corporate boards. California's legislature is mandating racial quotas for corporate
boards. "Experts say" that "runs afoul of constitutional principles," according to the Wall Street Journal. "New
legislation passed over the weekend would mandate that publicly-traded companies headquartered in the state must have at
least one director from a minority community by the close of 2021. There are more than 500 public companies based in
California in the Russell 3000, which accounts for the vast majority of companies."
Poll:
Californians oppose gender mutilation and sterilization bill. Sixty-four percent of California voters do not
want Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill to pay for transgender drugs and surgeries known to sterilize minors and adults,
according to a new poll. The survey, conducted by Spry Strategies in conjunction with the Women's Liberation Front,
shows that conservative Christians and radical feminists, who have joined forces to oppose AB 2218, are more in step with
California voters than state legislators. The controversial bill passed the Assembly 54-10 and the Senate 28-9 late
last month, and now sits on Newsom's desk awaiting his decision.
LA
County's Public Health Director says what we suspected about the lockdown. [Scroll down] Los Angeles
County is America's most populous county, the largest government entity in America that is not a state or the federal
government, and the third-largest metropolitan economy in the world. It's also entirely Democrat-run, as evidenced by
poverty, drugs, and homelessness, as well as its vast wealth inequality. Los Angeles students still cannot go to school
but must, instead, do online learning. We already know that part of the problem is that the teachers' union had some
pretty stringent demands, few related to the students' physical and mental well-being. However, it turns out the
continued school closures are also because of politics. We know this because LA County's Public Health Director,
Barbara Ferrer, admitted as much when speaking to a gathering of school nurses and other school administrators: [...] There
is no scientific connection between the election and the Wuhan virus. There is, however, a cynical connection between
the lockdown and the election. The Democrats know that, and Ferrer finally said it out loud.
Los Angeles
County bans trick-or-treating this Halloween due to coronavirus. Traditional Halloween activities won't be
allowed for residents in Los Angeles County this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to local health
officials. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced a ban on door-to-door trick-or-treating,
carnivals, festivals, live entertainment and haunted houses. "Door to door trick or treating is not allowed because it
can be very difficult to maintain proper social distancing on porches and at front doors especially in neighborhoods that are
popular with trick or treaters," officials said in a news release detailing guidelines for the annual tradition.
Update:
Los Angeles
quickly reverses trick-or-treat ban. Los Angeles pulled a Halloween switcheroo on Wednesday — first
banning, and then quickly unbanning, trick-or-treating. Less than a day after saying the door-to-door candy grab is
banned due to coronavirus concerns, county officials changed course and said the popular children's tradition is now just
"not recommended." The revision came after parents and businesses "went apoplectic with outrage," Deadline reported,
citing a press briefing by LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. Also not recommended — but no
longer outright banned — are LA's popular "trunk-or-treat" events, in which costumed kids go car to car instead of
door to door.
California
to Offer Drive-Thru Voting for November Election in Orange County. Orange County, California, is offering
voters the option to submit a drive-thru ballot this November election season to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The county will use the Honda Center in Anaheim as a staging location, allowing voters to cast their ballots from their cars
or in person inside the arena, the Daily Pilot reported.
California
DA's new policy to consider looters' 'needs' before charging them. A California district attorney is requiring
her prosecutors to consider looters' "needs" when weighing criminal charges against them. The new mandate, set forth by
Contra Costa County District Attorney Diane Becton, makes it tougher to prosecute looting cases in the county, which sits
just outside San Francisco. Investigators must now consider "was this theft offense substantially motivated by the
state of emergency, or simply a theft offense which occurred contemporaneously to the declared state of emergency?,"
according to the policy reported by local outlet East County Today.
California
Legislature Passes Bill Reducing Penalties for Oral, Anal Sex with Willing Children. California lawmakers
passed a bill Monday that would reduce penalties for adults who have oral or anal sex with a willing minor child if the sex
offender is within ten years of the age of the victim. The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
California
legislature passes bill easing sex offender registry requirements for sodomy with minors. California
legislators passed a law Monday easing sex offender registry rules for those who commit sodomy or other sex acts with minors
in order to end "discrimination against LGBTQ young people on the sex offender registry." The bill, which now heads to
Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk, would "exempt from mandatory registration under the act a person convicted of certain offenses
involving minors if the person is not more than 10 years older than the minor and if that offense is the only one requiring
the person to register," according to the bill.
Californiastan
Continues Its War on Christians. [Scroll down] But even if a genuine pandemic rather than COVID-Con
raged, pastors should never close churches. Both liberty and the Lord demand that we defy such dictatorship.
California
bill to form reparations task force advances after 33-3 state Senate vote. State senators in California
overwhelmingly supported setting up a task force to study potential reparations for slavery in a bipartisan vote Saturday
[8/29/2020]. The panel would study the effects slavery had on California and recommend to the legislature no later than
2023 what type of compensation would be appropriate, how it might be dispersed and who could be eligible to receive it.
The task force could also recommend other forms of redress besides money.
Having a party is a crime now?
TikTok
celebrities criminally charged after LA house parties. TikTok celebrities Bryce Hall and Blake Gray are facing
criminal charges after they hosted recent parties in the Hollywood Hills despite the city's ban on large gatherings during
the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said Friday [8/28/2020]. The Los Angeles city attorney's office filed misdemeanor
charges Thursday against Hall and Gray. The internet celebrities with millions of followers on TikTok share a home and
allegedly held two parties less than a week apart.
In California, cops
banned from pro-police speech but pro-BLM speech is mandatory. A California Highway Patrol division in Southern
California prohibited officers this month from displaying Thin Blue Line items, meant to honor law enforcement.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Police Department is decorating its precincts with materials celebrating Black Lives Matter, an
organization calling for the defunding of the police. The CHP memo, a roll call briefing document with the Border
Division dated Aug. 14, directed officers to "remove all Thin Blue Line paraphernalia, including anything resembling it ...
immediately. This includes any paraphernalia hung anywhere in the office, stickers/patches on State or personal
property that may be seen by the public during the course of duties, and email signature blocks." The Thin Blue Line,
depicted as a black and white U.S. flag with a blue stripe, represents the sacrifices that law enforcement make to protect
the public and prevent civil unrest. Civilians display the symbol to show their support for the nation's authorities.
Progressive activists, however, liken the symbol to white supremacy and police misconduct. A California police officer who
reviewed the document said it amounted to an official order because of the use of the word "shall." "It's all political so
I understand why they sent it out," he said.
California Gov.
Newsom failed to take promised pay cut, newspaper finds. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been drawing his
full monthly salary despite asking state workers in May to take a pay cut to alleviate the state's burden in fighting the
coronavirus pandemic. Though elected state officials are exempt from such pay cuts, Newsom pledged that he would
voluntarily slash his salary when he asked state workers to make that same sacrifice. But a Thursday [8/20/2020] report
from the Sacramento Bee revealed that Newsom has continued drawing his full monthly salary of $17,479. A spokesman for
Newsom's office blamed the matter on an "administrative error."
Killing Los
Angeles. Things are so bad in so many American cities that our mainstream media outlets do not have the space
or the time to cover it all. Even if they wanted to cover it all, which they clearly don't want to do. After all,
the decline and fall of America's great cities does not make Donald Trump look bad. And the only news that is fit to
print these days is news that makes Trump look bad. As Democrat run cities collapse before our eyes, the media assure
us that there's nothing worth watching there. New York, Chicago, Portland, Seattle... down the drink, as they
say. And the news media are trying to cover up the story, or, at the least, blame it on white Trump supporters.
Anyway, today's story of decline and fall concerns Los Angeles.
Broke California
wants to fund youth sterilizations and sex changes. The California Senate will consider legislation soon to use
taxpayer funds to pay for hormone blockers and sex change operations for minors. The bill, after passing the Senate
Health Committee by a 7-1 vote last week, now moves to the Senate Appropriation Committee and then to the floor of the Senate
before the end of the month. As noted by numerous health experts, the use of cross-sex hormones and surgeries for
adolescents would permanently destroy their reproductive systems, a fact which AB2218 backers seem inclined to ignore.
With
Kamala Harris as VP pick, Gavin Newsom's White House hopes have stalled. Maybe you've noticed:
Gov. Gavin Newsom no longer looks like a promising future presidential prospect. He has been leaped over and left
behind by a California ally, Sen. Kamala Harris. Since Newsom was elected governor in 2018, the expectation has
been that he would seize the first opportunity after this year to run for president. Newsom, 52, wasn't ready this
year. But if President Trump won reelection, the Oval Office would be open in 2024. And if a Democrat ousted Trump,
there'd be another opportunity in 2028.
Hollywood
Apocalypse. Gold's Gym has become synonymous with the Hollywood Dream. [...] Yet today Gold's sits amid
post-apocalyptic scenes which have consumed much of LA, turning the City of Dreams into an urban nightmare from which people
are fleeing in droves. A makeshift tent city made up of flapping tarpaulins and cardboard boxes surrounds the gym on
all sides. Junkies and the homeless, many of whom are clearly mentally ill, walk the palm-lined streets like
zombies — all just three blocks from multi-million-dollar homes overlooking the Pacific. Stolen bicycles are
piled high on pavements littered with broken syringes. TV bulletins are filled with horror stories from across the
city; of women being attacked during their morning jog or residents returning home to find strangers defecating in their
front gardens.
Los
Angeles: Why politicians' COVID bullying attacks will work. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti has learned
how to govern like a third-world dictator. His threat to shut down the water and power to large house parties that
violate the city's coronavirus guidelines is right out of the totalitarian government handbook. [...] Starting on Friday
[8/7/2020], Mayor Garcetti announced that the city would shut off the power and water to houses, businesses, and other venues
that violated the strict corona virus safety guidelines. This is in response to a large house party that police
attempted to shut down. It turns out these parties are cropping up because the bars and nightclubs are closed as the
city institutes greater restrictions as reported cases increase. [...] And it will work. In the Third World, which is
what many of these cities have come to resemble, practical and authoritarian solutions prevail, especially when there is no
one to enforce the rule of law.
Local
Politicians: America's Achilles Heel. Capping a long, impressive streak of dumb proclamations and
declarations, including suggesting that members of the LAPD put down their batons and "walk hand-in-hand" with the same
rioters who were then torching LAPD vehicles, attacking officers, and looting numerous businesses, Garcetti recently declared
that water and power would be shut off to any residence caught hosting a "large house party." What exactly constitutes a
gathering that is too "large?" Can/should a mayor shut off water and power to privately owned residences during the dog days
of summer, two utilities that the State of California and Garcetti's own Housing Authority have explicitly deemed essential
services necessary for habitation?
Crowd
in California blasts Gov. Newsom for not reopening the state. Hundreds of President Trump supporters
descended onto the streets of Beverly Hills to protest property destruction and the 'villainization' of police while two
similar demonstrations were held in Texas. [...] On Saturday [8/8/2020], a crowd of around 200 Americans carried signs
reading 'Trump 2020' as they marched from West Hollywood to Beverly Hills. Footage showed several protesters waving
American flags, signs reading 'United We Stand,' Thin Blue Line American flags celebrating law enforcement and a plethora of
'Make America Great Again' paraphernalia.
L.A.
County Supervisors Vote to Put Defunding Police on November Ballot. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
approved a proposal on Tuesday to amend the city's charter — which will be presented to voters on November 3 via
ballot — to remove $880 million from law enforcement and "reinvest" the money in "direct community investment"
and "alternatives to incarceration."
The Editor says...
Yes, put it on the ballot in November, and in the absence of massive election fraud,
it will fail. While you're at it, put coronavirus lockdowns on the ballot, too.
San
Fran is crawling with drugs. DA shows more concern for dealers. District attorney Chesa Boudin
acknowledges that the Tenderloin District of the city is plagued by drug sellers from Honduras, but frets that arresting them
isn't really worth it. Boudin, a former public defender who vowed as a candidate to prosecute fewer criminals, is not
inclined to address how the surge in drug sales during Covid lockdowns was affecting city residents, and instead focused on
the plight of the drug dealers themselves. Many were trafficked and their families were at risk at home if they
cooperated with authorities, Boudin said in a webinar last week.
California's Woke Hypocrisy.
No state wears its multicultural veneer more ostentatiously than California. The Golden State's leaders believe that
they lead a progressive paradise, ushering in what theorists Laura Tyson and Lenny Mendonca call "a new progressive era."
Others see California as deserving of nationhood; it reflects, as a New York Times columnist put it, "the shared
values of our increasingly tolerant and pluralistic society." In response to the brutal killing of George Floyd in
Minneapolis, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti announced plans to defund the police — a move applauded by Senator
Kamala Harris, a prospective Democratic vice presidential candidate, despite the city's steep rise in homicides. San
Francisco mayor London Breed wants to do the same in her increasingly crime-ridden, disordered city. This follows state
attorney general Xavier Becerra's numerous immigration-related lawsuits against the Trump administration, even as his state
has become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants — complete with driver's licenses for some 1 million and
free health care.
Gavin
Newsom's $3.7 Million Estate Was Gifted to Him in 2019; 3 Months Later He Got a $2.7 Million Tax Free Cash-Out. One thing
that's become extraordinarily clear to Californians in 2020 is that there's one set of rules for Gov. Gavin Newsom, and there's
another set of rules for the rest of us. He preaches that we're all in this together and that we have to sacrifice to "meet this
moment," yet he's not missing a paycheck. As California businesses struggle, he sends a $1 billion contract for masks to a
Chinese company. When he shut down wineries throughout 80 percent of California, he kept his open. While the dream of
owning a home is increasingly out of reach for California's families, it appears that Newsom received a $3.7 million estate from
an LLC owned by his cousin then, a few months later took out a $2.695 million (tax-free) cash-out mortgage on it — and
didn't report the gift on any of his financial disclosure forms.
Gavin
Newsom Rages at Trump Discounting Illegal Aliens for States' Representation. California Gov. Gavin Newsom
(D) on Tuesday [7/21/2020] decried President Donald Trump's executive order which will exclude Illegal aliens from being
counted for purposes of congressional apportioning. "Counting every person in our country through the Census is a
principle so foundational that it is written into our Constitution," Newsom said in a statement. "This latest action by
the administration to exclude undocumented immigrants when determining representation in Congress, rooted in racism and
xenophobia, is a blatant attack on our institutions and our neighbors."
The Editor says...
Well, governor, they may be your neighbors (very distantly, I suspect), but if they are here illegally they are not entitled
to representation in the Congress. Anyone other than a public school student should be expected to know that.
City
removes 'Black Lives Matter' street mural because of 'MAGA 2020' request. Street graffiti for me, but not for
thee. That's what lawmakers in Redwood City, California basically told a Trump supporter who wanted to paint "MAGA
2020" on the same street where left-wing activists had painted a Black Lives Matter mural. Last week, Redwood City
(which is located on the San Francisco peninsula) washed away the "Black Lives Matter" mural after a local
attorney — a Trump supporter — argued that since the street was now a public forum, she should be
allowed to paint "MAGA 2020" on it.
California
City Chooses No Speech over MAGA Speech. When faced with the choice of giving a Donald Trump supporter the
exact same right to free expression as the left-wing terrorist group Black Lives Matter, Redwood City, California, chose to
outlaw everyone's speech. How revealing. As Breitbart News reported Monday, Redwood City was so eager to allow
one of its residents to paint a Black Lives Matter mural on city property, the city — and therefore the
taxpayers — provided him with some of the materials.
Los
Angeles mayor says city is 'on the brink' of declaring another stay-at-home order. Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti told CNN's Jake Tapper Sunday [7/19/2020] that Los Angeles is "on the brink" of another stay-at-home order.
Los Angeles County has seen a surge of cases recently, with new record high hospitalizations and infections. The city
has more than 150,000 cases. "A lot of things went wrong," Garcetti said. He pointed out that cases haven't
increased as quickly in LA as in some cities, but said there is "no national leadership" in efforts to slow or stop the
pandemic. "It was politicized when it should have been unified."
California
Gov. Newsom Helps Chinese Get $1 Billion in COVID Aid. [...] I've learned my lesson this time: Don't
give Democratic governors the benefit of the doubt. I thought I'd learned it the first time. When New York's
Andrew Cuomo looked like he was showing strong leadership in the opening week or two of the coronavirus crisis, I thought
maybe we could put aside our petty differences and praise a politician from the other side. In fact, I did just
that. And then it all ended in tears. It wasn't the rambling, empurpled news conferences that made the
much-criticized presidential media briefings look like relative models of restraint. No, for me the moment I made a
clean break was when I learned the much-hailed hand sanitizer production program Cuomo was fond of touting consisted of
little more than inmates rebottling an outside product inside the Empire State's prisons in order to make the governor look good.
Berkeley
Bans Police-Conducted Traffic Stops, Will Send in Unarmed Civilians. Berkeley, California has approved a plan
that prohibits police officers from conducting traffics stops. The plan, proposed by the mayor and approved in a
virtual city council meeting early Wednesday morning [7/15/2020], is just one part of a major "defund the police" overhaul
planned by the city, Fox News reported. The move to separate traffic enforcement from police work is believed to be the
first of its kind in the U.S, according to the report. Instead of having trained officers conducting traffic stops, the
new policy will send in unarmed civilian city workers to deal with traffic offenders. Police unions for Los Angeles,
San Jose and San Francisco said in a joint statement that serious violations such as speeding, reckless driving, and driving
under the influence — are dangerous offenses and confronting violators can be dangerous work best handled by sworn officers.
California
to Release 18,000 Prisoners by End of August to 'Slow the Spread of COVID-19'. According to the California
Department of Corrections, the state is set to release up to 18,000 prisoners by the end of August to 'slow the spread of
COVID-19.' Officials in California say releasing prisoners will help protect the "health and safety of the incarcerated
population." "These actions are taken to provide for the health and safety of the incarcerated population and staff,"
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Ralph Diaz said in a news release. "We aim to implement these
decompression measures in a way that aligns both public health and public safety."
Nine politicians can stop
teen sterilizations in California, but will they? The fate of a bill to fund transgender treatments that
permanently destroy the reproductive systems of minors is now in the hands of nine California State Senators.
AB 2218, authored by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D) Los Angeles with principal co-author Senator Scott Wiener (D) San
Francisco, will be heard before the nine members Senate Health Committee when they return to the capitol at the end of the
month. The bill has already made its way through the Democrat-dominated state Assembly with little debate and approved
largely along party lines. It establishes an "LGBT Transgender Wellness Fund," to provide grants to nonprofits,
hospitals, health care clinics (like Planned Parenthood), and other medical providers to pay for puberty blockers, cross-sex
hormones, and mastectomies for minors, as well as cross-sex hormones and "sex-change" operations for adults.
COVID
Madness — Comrade Newsom Shuts Down California Indoor Activities. This is nuts. In an effort
to fundamentally destroy the livelihoods of millions of California small businesses, Comrade Governor Gavin Newsom has
declared that all indoor activities must shut down to top the spread of COVID-19. The overwhelming majority of dictates
around COVID-19 mitigation are not laws. There was no debate; no input from representative government; and no option
for the public to weigh-in on the decisions.
Newsom
shuts bars, indoor dining and most gyms, churches amid rise in virus cases. California Gov. Gavin Newsom
on Monday extended the closure of bars and indoor dining statewide and ordered gyms, churches and hair salons closed in most
places as coronavirus cases keep rising in the nation's most populated state. On July 1, Newsom ordered 19
counties with a surging number of confirmed infections to close bars and indoor operations at restaurants, wineries, zoos and
family entertainment centers like bowling alleys and miniature golf.
Gavin
Newsom gives Californians a glimpse of their future. Once upon a time, California's Governor Gavin Newsom, the
leftist boy wonder of America's largest and most leftist state, was considered to be a top future contender for the White
House. That future is not so clear now that he's made it clear to Californians that every time the Wuhan virus rears
its head, he's again going to shut down their places of work and imprison them in their homes.
California
may release 10% of inmates in pandemic response. California officials will soon release another 2,100 inmates
from state prisons in response to the coronavirus pandemic and in all now plans to release a total of more than 10,000
inmates, or nearly 10 percent of prisoners, as Gov. Gavin Newsom responds to intensifying pressure from advocates,
lawmakers and federal judges.
California
Legislators Violate Our Constitutional Rights. In multiple ways Gov. Newsom has become a
monarch — a benevolent monarch, but a monarch nonetheless. I am amazed at how many aspects of that document
the governor has violated. He would of course argue that his acts are for the public good, but he has tossed the
Constitution out the window. For example, Article 1, Section 8, says that Congress alone has the authority "to regulate
commerce with foreign nations and among the several states." Yet Gov. Newsom has unilaterally shut down varieties of
commerce and restricted travel, even excursions from one's home. Much of this commerce becomes interstate.
State
Lawmakers Urge Newsom to Stop Transferring People in Prison to ICE in Pandemic. Dozens of state lawmakers
called on Gov. Gavin Newsom Monday [7/6/2020] to stop California prison officials from transferring people to federal immigration
detention during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter signed by 44 members of the state Senate and
Assembly — as well as 18 local elected officials, including Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland and Mayor Michael Tubbs
of Stockton — the political leaders said ending the transfers is urgently needed to help reduce the spread of
COVID-19 between detention systems in California.
After
calling for no fireworks for California's 4th of July, Gavin Newsom was in for a surprise. Amid a new outbreak
of the coronavirus, California's Gavin Newsom was adamant that no firework celebrations be done on the Fourth of July,
because the public simply could not be trusted to socially distance. [...] Illegal fireworks were once the province of
illegal immigrants bringing in the lawless ways of Mexico, but now it appears that everyone is doing them, thumbing their
nose at the law same as is done in Mexico and beyond. It goes to show that when the state overreaches, and puts out an
unreasonable demand, widespread disobedience is going to be the result. It happens in Mexico, now it's happening here.
With
the Wuhan virus, Gavin Newsom discovers the perils of crying 'Wolf'. In March, California Governor Gavin Newsom
put California in lockdown to flatten the Wuhan virus curve. Newsom, like Gov. Cuomo, placed virus patients in
nursing homes, which may have contributed to the 2,531 resident and 93 care worker deaths in those homes. The
government also had a hand in the virus's rampage through San Quentin prison, which killed three death row inmates. In
other words, Democrat policies in California managed to produce 42% of the state's 6,263 virus fatalities. With its
lockdown, which initially was to last for two weeks and that instead continued for months, Newsom weakened the California
economy, drove its citizens to despair, prevented people from getting healthcare for other potentially deadly conditions, and
deprived citizens of their constitutional rights.
California's
Governor Forbids Christians From Singing in Church Houses. Golden State Christians have been ordered by
California's governor to stop singing in church. This is a direct assault on the First Amendment, [...] The new
guidance for places of worship was issued on July 1. "Discontinue singing (in rehearsals, services, etc.), chanting,
and other practices and performances where there is increased likelihood for transmission from contaminated exhaled
droplets. Consider practicing these activities through alternative methods (such as internet streaming) that ensure
individual congregation members perform these activities separately in their own homes," the 14-page order reads. The
previous guidelines only encouraged churches to "strongly consider" ending corporate worship, the Sacramento Bee
reported. The governor's office did not indicate how he intends to enforce the law. Can you imagine the optics of
National Guard troops storming into California church houses and arresting choir members for singing, "A Mighty Fortress is
Our God"?
Newsom
Bans Singing In Houses Of Worship After Downplaying Spread Of Coronavirus At Protests. Gov. Gavin Newsom
(D-CA) has issued new restrictions limiting the reopening of the economy in nearly 20 counties across the Golden State.
One of the more controversial measures introduced Thursday will ban singing and chanting at houses of worships, which are
already restricted to allowing 25% of guests or just 100 worshippers (whichever is lower). The Sacramento Bee reported that
in late May, Newsom simply encouraged houses of worship to "strongly consider discontinuing singing, group recitation, and
other practices and performances."
Recall Gavin 2020. Everywhere you look, the
failures of Governor Newsom are obvious and appalling to everyone. For this reason, the Recall Gavin 2020 campaign is
not conservative or liberal, or right or left, or Republican or Democrat. This is a mass uprising. Our Recall
Gavin campaign is building a grassroots organization with over 80,000 California voters already signed up as volunteers to
sign and circulate recall petitions. That number is growing every week. And this is just the beginning. Are
you tired of being locked up, unable to make a living, at the same time as California's prisons are being emptied? Do
you wonder why Gavin Newsom's cronies are building "supportive housing" for the homeless at a cost of over a half-million
dollars per unit, instead of just getting them help in less expensive facilities? Then join the Recall Gavin 2020 movement.
Gov
Newsom orders closing of Calif restaurants, wineries — but HIS remains open. In what is seen as a
major rollback, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered the closures of numerous businesses across 19 counties in
California to counter a surge in coronavirus cases. The order will be enforced for at least three weeks, and includes
restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, cardrooms, and bars,
Fox 26 reported. While a number of Central Valley counties are included, Napa County, where Gov. Newsom owns a
winery and tasting room is not among the counties affected and the business remains open as of the July 1, 2020 order,
according to the Fox affiliate.
San Francisco will
end mug shots release, citing racial bias. San Francisco police will stop making public the mug shots of people
who have been arrested unless they pose a threat to the public, as part of an effort to stop perpetuating racial stereotypes,
the city's police chief announced Wednesday [7/1/2020]. San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the department will
no longer release booking photos of suspects to the media or allow officers to post them online. The policy takes
effect Wednesday.
Los
Angeles school police chief releases powerful resignation statement after board slashes funding. Los Angeles
School Police Chief Todd Chamberlain resigned following a decision by the school board to cut millions in funding and remove
officers from campuses. Chamberlain, who stepped into the job just last year, turned in his resignation on Wednesday
[7/1/2020], according to district spokeswoman Shannon Haber, the Los Angeles Times reported. With over 35 years in law
enforcement, Chamberlain made the decision one day after the school board gave in to what he called a "potentially
life-threatening" choice to cut the school police budget by $25 million.
In
the Name of Tolerance, California Blacklists Idaho. In a bizarre show of authoritarianism — even for
them — California state officials have decided to ban state-funded travel to Idaho because of its transgender
law. In a press release, California's attorney general, Xavier Becerra, said: "Where states legislate
discrimination, California unambiguously speaks out. The state of Idaho has taken drastic steps to undermine the rights
of the transgender community, preventing people from playing sports in school or having documentation that reflects their
identity." In his comments Monday [6/22/2020], Becerra was referring to legislation signed by Idaho Gov. Brad Little
that banned biological males who say they identify as girls or women from participating in female sports at public schools,
colleges, and universities. House Bill 500, the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, passed by a significant margin in
Idaho's House and Senate. It wasn't even controversial among Idaho residents.
A
meaty issue: California tries to override the commerce clause. In late 2018, California voters passed
Proposition 12, banning the in-state sale of any pork or veal (regardless of origin) from an animal that had been "confined
in a cruel manner," defined as that which prevents an animal from lying down or turning around freely. [...] Yet, the issue
here is not just that Proposition 12 is bad policy. It's also likely unconstitutional under the Supreme Court's
commerce clause precedents, including its "extraterritorial doctrine." In Baldwin v. G.A.F Seelig,
Inc., the court ruled that a New York milk distributor could not be forced to pay New York minimum prices for milk
supplied by Vermont farms. "New York has no power to project its legislation into Vermont," the court declared, before
noting that the Founding Fathers gave Congress the power to regulate commerce because of "the mutual jealousies and aggressions
of the States, taking form in customs barriers and other economic retaliation" existing under the Articles of Confederation.
Mailing It In.
Assembly Bill 860, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on June 18, is premised on ensuring safety in the era of the
coronavirus. Yet Wisconsinites voted in person in April, and the predicted spike in coronavirus cases from that public
assembly never materialized. The state's caseload did climb, but no steep increase occurred in the days and weeks after
the primary, just a steady rise that has continued, partly driven by expanded testing. Apparently the same can be said
for the locations where George Floyd marches, encouraged by the media and many public officials, were held. The
pandemic, it appears, was a useful crisis — voting by mail has long been a priority among progressives, and the
coronavirus outbreak provided sufficient cover to institute it.
Oakland
Abolishes School Police Department. The Oakland Unified School District abolished its own police force at a
school board meeting on Wednesday night, bowing to the wishes of radical left-wing activists and the Black Lives Matter
movement. The decision came a day after the Los Angeles Unified School District board could not agree on a similar
proposal. It follows nationwide demands from activists, including many Democrats, to defund or abolish the police.
What Happens
When the Madness Ends? What will California's multimillionaire Governor Gavin Newsom do when his silly press
conferences end, but his 13.3 percent income tax rate and 47-cent gas tax still don't come close to closing his $50 billion
annual deficit? Give more adolescent lectures about how the virus and lockdown are "reimagining a progressive era as it
pertains to capitalism"?
There's
a reason racial tension is rising in America - it's by design. In California, Democrats are moving to repeal
Proposition 209. Proposition 209 explicitly bans racial discrimination in hiring and education. In other words,
Democrats in California are now fighting for discrimination. This is not considered strange in 2020. No one even
mentions it. A couple of weeks ago, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky announced plans to bring universal health
insurance to his state, but not for all citizens, just for people with the right skin color. Everyone else would pay,
but only certain ethnic groups would benefit. Andy Beshear is still in office. No one has tried to impeach him
for suggesting this because ideas like this are everywhere now. They're totally unchallenged. This is the most
divisive possible way to run a country. If you wanted to make certain that your children would hate each other, you
would hold them to different standards, and they certainly would. There is a reason that racial tension is rising in
this country — it's by design.
Mask-wearing is becoming
increasingly politicized. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced Thursday [6/18/2020] that
mask-wearing is compulsory in most public settings, making California the 11th state to mandate that people wear masks.
Public spaces include every workspace, public transit, and any facility in which people receive medical care. President
Trump, meanwhile, has discounted the benefits of wearing a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Panic
In Beverly Hills: Emergency Order Bans Protests In Residential Areas. The rich and famous are all about
protesting and declaring themselves down with the struggle until protesters forget their place and invade residential areas
of Beverly Hills. Then the masks drop. It's the ultimate Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) — the City of Beverly
Hills issued an emergency order Saturday night [6/13/2020] that bans public gatherings of more than 10 people in residential
areas between 9 PM and 8 AM. What brought this on? Well, it seems a group calling themselves "Occupy" disrupted the
beauty sleep of locals in their posh neighborhood on June 12 between the hours of 10 PM until 1 AM. The group used bullhorns
and "amplified music". The residents want their tranquility back. The emergency order remains in effect until further notice.
California
City Officials Admit to Accepting Bribes. A former Calexico City, California councilman along with a former
commissioner on the city's Economic Development and Financial Advisory Commission, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday
to corruption charges, admitting that they accepted cash bribes in exchange for promises of official action by the
city. David Romero and Bruno Suarez Soto entered their pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard G. Skomal, who set
sentencing for Sept. 4, 2020, before U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo. Romero and Soto, who were charged in
federal court in May, were allowed to remain free on $10,000 personal appearance bonds secured by their own signatures.
Judge
Smacks Down Gavin Newsom's Election Executive Order: "Impermissible Use of Legislative Powers".
Throughout the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic and shutdowns the nation's Democrat governors have shown us just how dictatorial
their aspirations are by issuing reams of overreaching executive orders they claim are allowable due to the public health
emergency. California's Gavin Newsom has been one of the worst offenders, but an order issued Friday [6/12/2020] by
Sutter County Superior Court Judge Perry Parker could put a stop to a number of items on Newsom's wish list. Two GOP
members of the California State Assembly, Kevin Kiley and James Gallagher, filed suit Thursday seeking to invalidate Newsom's
Executive Order N-67-20 pertaining to the November general election and requesting "interim declaratory relief and a
temporary restraining order." [...] Friday morning Parker issued a temporary restraining order suspending implementation of
the executive order, saying it was "an impermissible use of legislative powers in violation of the California Constitution
and the laws of the State of California."
Some
in LAPD Slam City Council Over Private Security Details Amid Budget Cut. While LA City Council President Nury
Martinez was filing a motion last week seeking to cut $150 million from the LAPD budget, she had an LAPD unit standing watch
outside her home providing her family with a private security detail since April. [...] "It's kind of ironic. Here she
is demanding $150 million be reallocated from the police budget, but yet she has security at her house by the Los Angeles
Police Department," said Det. Jamie McBride, who serves as director of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the
LAPD's union.
Kamala
Harris, calling for $150 million LAPD defunding, also used LAPD as her private security detail. A Los Angeles
city councilwoman was exposed as a hypocrite for introducing a bill to cut $150 million from the Los Angeles Police
Department budget, while maintaining an LAPD private detail at her home for herself. Security for me, but not for thee,
see, the leftist political elites always gets their takings first. Guess who else is just as hypocritical? Sure
enough, Kamala Harris, Democratic vice presidential frontrunner, who's loudly endorsed these $150 million police defundings,
supporting the idea, along with her political ally, Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was last seen calling the LAPD 'killers.'
Gavin
Newsom to close 200-person veteran's home after budgeting handouts to illegal aliens. Grandstanding
Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom reportedly wants to close a 200-resident veterans nursing home in a budget-cutting
measure while at the same time enthusiastically handing out about $75 million in direct cash benefits to illegal aliens
living in the state. In an extreme example of questionable priorities to say the least, Newsom, a far-left Democrat who
is enabled by a Democrat-controlled legislature, targeted the Veterans Home of California-Barstow for closure to save $2.6
million (or perhaps less) as the formerly Golden State faces a corona-virus-induced budget crisis. For Democrats,
illegal immigrants are among their primary constituencies, particularlyin California where, as noted above, they essentially
run a one-party dictatorship in state that could be the epicenter of voter fraud.
Wealthy
buyers reportedly in 'mad rush' to leave San Francisco. Amid the depths of a global pandemic and financial
downturn, the demand for real estate is unexpectedly rocketing in wealthy regions outside San Francisco, reports
Bloomberg. Agents say that demand is soaring in affluent areas around the Bay Area such as Napa, Marin and further
afield in Carmel, as people who have the means look to get away from the city.
LA
Mayor Garcetti Calls His Cops 'Killers.' The 'Killers' Just Sent a Reply to the 'Unstable' Mayor. Mayors and
governors across the land have run to the cameras and microphones to be among the first to kneel in supplication to the
riotous mobs in the streets. They eagerly do what the Leftists at Black Lives Matter (BLM) and George Soros call for,
such as defunding police departments. They call for rule changes so that cops are defanged in the face of riotous
antifa and BLM mobs. [...] Just two weeks ago, mayors and governors across the land were lauding their first responders for
keeping the peace during COVID. Those days are over. The mob has spoken.
'Abolish
The Police' Is A Slogan For The Destruction Of America. If you thought "abolish the police" — or
it's more moderate iteration, "defund the police" — was just some asinine slogan blue-check journalists, woke
academics, and pandering public officials post on Twitter to show they support the Black Lives Matter movement, then you're
not keeping up with the revolution. This week Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, announced the city would be slashing the
police department's budget by $100 to $150 million and instead "reinvesting in black communities and communities of color."
The cuts to the LA police will make up the bulk of $250 million in funds to be reallocated to "end racism in our city,"
Garcetti said.
LAPD Rips Into Councilwoman Over
Reactionary Department Cuts: "We'll Take Care Of It At The Ballot Box". America is in a free fall and
none of our state and local leaders seem to have a clue how to fix it. Minneapolis got the brilliant idea to completely
eradicate their police department and replace it with some "citizen patrol" weirdness and what could possibly go wrong with
that? Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti made sure the media got lots of pictures of him kneeling just before he announced
the City of Angels would cut $250 million from its policing budget to give to "communities of color." If you think he meant
that he'd be handing out the cash personally to black business and home owners who just had their livelihoods burned to the
ground by looters and rioters, you are wrong. He will be handing that cash directly over to Black Lives Matter.
Where it goes from there is anyone's guess but hey, at least Garcetti will feel like a good person. Understandably LAPD
is not pleased. Not only were they deliberately prevented from stepping in to protect communities from Antifa during
the first days of the riot, they have been maligned and insulted by their own leadership.
As 'defund
LAPD' becomes a rallying cry, Garcetti will seek cuts up to $150 million. When Los Angeles was plunged into a
budget crisis earlier this year, progressive activists demanded that the City Council slash spending at the Police
Department, saying it's wrong to boost funding for officers while cutting other urgently needed services. The debate
over police spending at City Hall has only intensified after several days of protests against police brutality, the LAPD's
response to those demonstrations and the looting that sometimes followed. Activists with Black Lives Matter, Ground
Game LA and other grassroots groups say incidents in recent days where officers have used aggressive tactics including
projectiles and batons only reinforce the need to defund the LAPD.
Eric
Garcetti bows to rioters, vows to cut police budget. Los Angeles is lost. As a resident of Southern
California, I can tell you with a heavy heart that we lost. Los Angeles, arguably the heart of the west coast of
America, has been demolished by leftist policies for years. But in the face of riots over George Floyd's murder, Mayor
Eric Garcetti has done the exact opposite of what he should be doing. Instead of cracking down on crime, he's pulling
money out of law enforcement. On top of that, he's making ludicrous moves like declaring a moratorium on putting people
in the gang data base. As many leftist mayors and governors across the country are doing, Garcetti is making law
enforcement out to be the bad guys, only the Los Angeles Mayor is doing everything he can to be the most "woke" mayor of them all.
America
in the 21st Century: 20 Long Years of Constant Brainwashing. The campaign to brainwash America about the Wuhan
Virus has basically run its course along with the virus itself, and has now been replaced by a brainwashing campaign to
convince us that we should all run out to the nearest riot and take a knee, just like Joe Biden did in that black church on
Sunday. [...] In Los Angeles yesterday [6/3/2020], the National Guard there took a knee before the rioters, which means the
rioters are now in charge of Los Angeles, which is presumably how Mayor Eric Garcetti wanted it anyway.
Garcetti: LAPD budget to be cut by $150M to fund programs
in black communities. Amid nationwide protests ignited by the police-involved killing of George Floyd early
last week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that up to $150 million will be cut from the L.A. Police Department
as part of relocating some $250 million from the city's budget to fund programs in communities of color.
The Editor says...
Programs? What kind of programs? What does that really mean?
California
Tried to Bail Out Illegal Aliens - and It's a Disaster. California's illegal alien population is its shadow
economy and with many of the industries that employ them shut down, the Democrats who depend on ghost districts populated by
illegals decided that something had to be urgently done to keep the illegal aliens from fleeing back across the border.
The Democrats figured that giving them checks would be cheaper than building a wall to keep them in. But who knew that
a $125 million stimulus program for illegal aliens would become such a disaster? Illegal aliens were eligible to apply
for up to $1,000 with $75 million coming from the California taxpayers bailing out illegals who don't pay taxes. And another
$50 million was supposed to be donated by wealthy lefties. But while the taxpayers of the state were forced to put up
their $75 million, the wealthy politically correct elites who have poured fortunes into electing Democrats didn't pay up.
Newsom
Fiat: No California Protest Can Have More Than 100 People. Regressive Supreme Leader Gavin Newsom is
angry. On Saturday more than 2,000 showed up at the Capitol to protest his dictatorship, issuing 40 Executive Orders
and changing close to 200 State laws, without a vote of the Legislature or even telling them in advance. He signed over
400 NO BID contracts — some for firms owned by the Chinese Communist Party. People are angry — so
they protest. Now, in the name of "safety and health", Newsom has issued another illegal edict — no protest
can have more than 100 people. Watch as that edict is violated in every corner of the State. This is no different
than what the Chinese Communist Party is doing to the people of Hong Kong.
Ballot
harvesting bounty: How Dems apparently used election law change to rout California Republicans. A minor
change in California's election laws may have had a major effect on last month's midterm elections that saw Democrats
steamroll their Republican rivals and claim all but seven of the Golden State's 53 House seats. Despite holding
substantial leads on Election Day, many Republican candidates in California saw their advantage shrink, and then disappear,
as late-arriving Democratic votes were counted in the weeks following the election. While no hard evidence is
available, many observers point to the Democrats use of "ballot harvesting" as a key to their success in the elections.
Hundreds
protest in Sacramento against stay-at-home order. Hundreds of protesters rallied outside the state Capitol on
Saturday [5/23/2020] to protest against California's stay-at-home orders even as residents entered the Memorial Day weekend
with newly expanded options for beachgoing, barbecuing and shopping. The rally to demand that Gov. Gavin Newsom
lift his restrictions on business, religious gatherings and other activities took on the atmosphere of a political rally and
festival on a closed-off street.
California
Democrats Want to Bring Racial Preferences Back. Rather than focus on COVID-19 or the economic recovery,
California liberals insist on pushing their pet issues. The "stimulus" bill rammed through the House this month by
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco was a liberal wish list of subsidies and spending. Now other California Democrats
are ramming through an effort to repeal the state's ban on racial preferences. Two things often happen when a single
political party dominates a state the way Democrats dominate California. First, an echo chamber of the dominant party
convinces its leaders they can steamroll over any opposition. Second, that conviction leads to political overreach.
Caucasian Americans are now only 19 percent of UC students, down from 38 percent a quarter century ago —
this change reflects the increasing ethnic diversity of Californians.
Gavin
Newsom responds to Justice Department warning over church closures. After receiving a formal warning from the
United States Justice Department over church closures, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his state is "weeks away" from
allowing in-person religious services to resume. A group of federal attorneys wrote a letter to Newsom warning him that
prolonged church closures likely violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment due to the fact that similar
non-religious businesses are receiving the green light to reopen in Stage 2.
Darrell
Issa, Judicial Watch Sue Gavin Newsom over Vote by Mail. Former Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Judicial Watch sued
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday [5/21/2020] over his May 8 executive order allowing all voters in the state to
vote by mail — whether they had formally requested to do so, or not. Newsom's order cites the threat of
coronavirus: because "it is unknown to what degree COVID-19 will pose a threat to public health in November," mail-in ballots
must be sent to everyone — but in-person voting must also be provided.
California's Budget
Bust-Up. Every state and municipal budget in America will take a big hit because of the coronavirus lockdowns,
but no public purse is in as much trouble as California's. Its Department of Finance recently estimated that the Golden
State could face a $54 billion shortfall in the fiscal year beginning July 1, which surely must be the largest deficit any
state has ever accumulated, surpassing the $40 billion hole that nearly swallowed Sacramento in 2008. Still, though Governor
Gavin Newsome said last weekend that the staggering deficit was "a direct result of Covid-19," that's clearly not true.
Critics have long warned that the state's tax base is volatile, being increasingly reliant on wealthy residents and
vulnerable to sharp contraction in the next recession. Combine that with California's spending spree —
including expenditures to fix problems that the state's own bad policies have worsened — and the swing from
prosperity to penury isn't hard to understand.
Illegal
Aliens Jam Phone Lines as California Offers $500 Each in Coronavirus Relief. The State of California is
offering $500 each to illegal aliens as part of a $75 million coronavirus relief program — even as it asks federal
taxpayers for help paying for its $54 billion deficit. The program, which launched on Monday [5/18/2020], saw phone lines
jammed as "undocumented immigrants," who are ineligible for the federal aid provided thus far, called a state hotline.
Tyranny
as far as the eye can see. California governor Gavin Newsom is now warning of the potential for a third and
fourth wave of the coronavirus, stating that we must remain humble by what we still don't know about it. While there
may be a lot that we don't know about this sickening virus that was thrust upon the world by communist China, we do know that
what is unfolding is unsustainable and unconstitutional. Our society is nearing a state of partial collapse due to
protracted mitigation in blue states as the Constitution is trampled upon and set on fire. Newsom, like Dr. Fauci,
appears to view our lives through the singular lens of this virus. But life is more complex than that (duh), and Newson
is ignoring the larger reality (or at least pretending to) in order to hold onto power. Citing what we still don't know
about the virus leaves the door wide open for him to continue to rule like an evil emperor.
California:
Give Us Money Or We'll Fire Cops and Firefighters. Governor Newsom is behind in the Most Loathsome Governor in
America race, largely because he hasn't managed to kill as many nursing home residents as rivals like Cuomo and Murphy.
But here he is trying to take first responders hostage. [...] Cops and firefighters are the most expendable employees in
California. Not the billion dollar homeless services infrastructure. Not all the social justice and diversity
personnel. Not, for that matter, the vast useless corps of educational administrators. Nope. We're gonna
fire cops and firefighters because we decided to shut down the state and the rest of the country won't send us money.
Judicial
Watch sues to stop Newsom from giving 75 million tax dollars to illegals. Conservative watchdog Judicial Watch is
asking a California Court to appeals to issue a temporary restraining order to stop Governor Newsom from paying out $75 million
tax dollars to people here illegally. The Lower Court found that JW's lawsuit is likely to succeed on the merits since Newsom
has no right to dole out the money, but illegal aliens need the money and that outweighs everything. Today's [5/18/2020] filing
asks the Court of Appeal to command the Superior Court to issue the restraining order against California Governor Gavin Newsom and his
Director of the California Department of Social Services Kim Johnson, enjoining them from making what is now an imminent, May 18,
2020, illegal expenditure of $79.8 million of taxpayers' funds to illegal aliens pending the final determination of the taxpayer
action brought by Judicial Watch in the lower court.
California
is offering $500 cash payments to unauthorized immigrants who don't qualify for stimulus checks or unemployment
benefits. California is rolling out a program on Monday that will give $500 cash payments to unauthorized
immigrants shut out of traditional government aid programs because of their immigration status. The New York Times
reported the $75 million taxpayer-funded program funded will be conducted by phone to reduce in-person contacts. It's
expected to distribute cash to 150,000 people and the maximum amount awarded per household is $1,000. "California is the
most diverse state in the nation. Our diversity makes us stronger and more resilient," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a
statement last month about the program. "Every Californian, including our undocumented neighbors and friends, should
know that California is here to support them during this crisis. We are all in this together."
The Editor says...
[#1] Yes, they're "shut out" because of their "immigration status," to wit, they are not supposed to be here
at all. [#2] "We're all in this together" is the new Big Brother catch phrase designed and intended to
stifle dissent. You may notice Big Brother repeating this catch phrase over and over in every grocery store.
Gavin
Newsom: First responders 'first ones laid off' unless California gets federal COVID-19 funds. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom says first responders will be the "first ones laid" off unless federal bucks arrive in the Golden
State in the near future. The Democrat appeared to be playing a political game of chicken with Republicans in Congress
over the weekend during a discussion about the coronavirus pandemic with CNN's Jake Tapper. Mr. Newsom specifically
had a message for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans when asked about a $3 trillion relief bill
being "dead on arrival."
There's Something
Happening Here. Thousands of flag-waving Californians descended upon the State Capitol Friday [5/15/2020] for a
protest of Gov. Gavin Newsom's statewide stay-at-home lockdown order, which has caused millions of residents to lose
their jobs and businesses," wrote Katy Grimes in the California Globe. Down in Huntington Beach in Orange
County, as Fox News explained, protesters were backing up traffic for a mile on Pacific Coast Highway, while others staged
rallies in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. What could have prompted these Californians to get out in the
streets? Governor Gavin Newsom had declared them "nonessential" and they showed up with signs reading "All jobs are
essential." So, basically they want their lives back. This is not what their governor wants, however. On
Wednesday, Newsom told reporters, "we believe we are weeks, not months, away from making meaningful modifications to that
indicator," a reference to his shelter-in-place order. The San Francisco Democrat didn't say what the modifications
would be or when he would make them, and he didn't want people expressing their opposition in public.
Dems
discovering that with sanctuary cities, what goes around, comes around. Atwater, California, has declared
itself a sanctuary city — sanctuary from tyrannical government draining the lifeblood from the people. If
leftist tyrants can provide safe haven to illegal invaders, why not have sanctuary cities that protect Americans from our
newly anointed dictators? So this rural city of fewer than 30,000 people located in the center of California has
decided to free itself from the suffocating chokehold of the state. At the end of April, the City Council voted
unanimously to open businesses and churches.
California
town declares itself 'sanctuary city' for businesses, opens up in defiance of stay-at-home order. A central
California city has declared itself a "sanctuary city" for businesses and will open up in defiance of the state's
stay-at-home order. The city council in Atwater passed a resolution Friday allowing businesses to open despite
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's order for businesses to remain closed, according to ABC30's Vanessa Vasconcelos.
California
City To Allow Reopenings, Declares Itself A 'Sanctuary City' For Business. The central California city of
Atwater has declared itself a "sanctuary city" for businesses. The Friday [5/15/2020] resolution passed by the Atwater
City Council allows business owners to open, openly defying Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom's coronavirus-related
stay-at-home order. The resolution affirms "the city's commitment" to "fundamental" human rights. Churches and
other nonprofits are included in the resolution, according to ABC30's Vanessa Vasconcelos.
California
governor: Shrink prisons to help cut budget. Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to significantly shrink
the footprint of California's prison system, partly because of massive budget cuts prompted by the pandemic but also because
of philosophy. The revised budget he sent to state lawmakers this week envisions closing two state prisons in the
coming years; cutting nearly one in five of the 43 inmate firefighter camps; and eventually closing all three state-run
juvenile prisons.
California
Democrats say 10-year rent-relief plan 'not a giveaway'. California Democrats on Tuesday proposed giving
tenants struggling during the coronavirus pandemic 10 years to pay their rent. The state would purchase unpaid rents
and allow renters a decade, starting in 2024, to pay it back without interest, under the proposal by Senate President Pro Tem
Toni Atkins, tthe Sacramento Bee reported. Landlords would receive a tax credit dependent on committing to not evict
tenants. "This is not a giveaway," Democratic state Sen. Steven Bradford said, according to The Associated
Press. "Our goal is to keep tenants houses and keep landlords out of foreclosure."
California
Revives Affirmative Action. On May 5, just a day after the California Legislature reconvened, an assembly
hearing was held for the controversial Assembly Constitutional Amendment NO. 5 (ACA-5) in the Committee of Public Employment
and Retirement. With a long session of contested public comments over the phone, ACA-5 was passed with a 6-to-1 vote
under the moralistic appeal of "hope for all." While purporting to increase diversity and representation, ACA-5 fails to
meaningfully address structural issues behind achievement gaps and racial discrepancies for both political and philosophical
reasons. Instead, the bill proposes a statewide reinstitution of government preferences in public employment,
education, and contracting along rigid racial lines. The utopian and myopic scheme, wrapped around feel-good rhetoric
with a steep price tag, will not only fall short of establishing long-lasting diversity, but can further compromise true
equality and the merit-based principle, both of which are bedrocks of American democracy.
California:
Gavin Newsom Orders Vote-by-Mail for November Election. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday signed
an executive order permitting all registered voters in the Golden State to vote by mail in the upcoming presidential
election, citing concerns stemming from the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. "I signed an executive order that will allow
every registered voter in California to receive a mail-in ballot," Newsom said. "That mail-in ballot is important but
it's not an exclusive substitute to physical locations."
The Editor says...
In other words, you're being encouraged to vote in person, in addition to mailing in your ballot, and any other ballots you find in the
trash can at the post office, or in your neighbor's mailbox, or in the dumpster at an apartment complex.
San
Francisco DA Says His Father, Convicted Murderer And Former Member Of Terrorist Group, Should Get Out Of Prison. San
Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin believes his father, convicted murderer and former Weather Underground member David Gilbert,
should be released from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gilbert and Boudin's mother, Kathy Boudin, were convicted of murder
in 1983 for serving as getaway drivers during a bank robbery that left three people dead at the hands of their co-conspirators.
California
Is Ready to Get Rid of Gavin Newsom. Across California on May 1, tens of thousands protested in defiance of
statewide lockdown orders. In Sacramento, the west lawn of the state capitol building was filled with protesters, with
thousands more marching along the sidewalk surrounding the capitol grounds. Additional thousands driving their cars and
honking their horns created three hours of total gridlock on the streets that loop around the capitol. Noteworthy
protests have taken place in San Diego, Encinitas, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Paso Robles, Santa Rosa, and even tiny
Lakeport on the shores of Clear Lake. There is no end in sight. While the media has typecast these growing
protests as populated by right-wing extremists, Trump supporters, and remnants of a geriatric Tea Party movement, the reality
in California is different. In Laguna Beach, the protest was organized by surfers. Overall, these protests
included people who claimed never to have been involved in politics, people who identified themselves as former Democrats,
and young people. Thousands and thousands of youth: children, teenagers, college students, twentysomethings.
A generation is waking up.
Is
California Thinking About Coronavirus Internment Camps? Gavin Newsom, governor of the "nation-state" of
California, is raising what he calls an "army" of 20,000 government employees who will trace the spread of coronavirus across
the state. Those found guilty, or rather, infected, are likely to run into an uncomfortable change in their
lives. In Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, a pilot program was launched this week to trace infections and
exposure, according to County Health Director Dr. Robert Levin. When infected persons are found, he said, they are
"immediately isolated." As more people are tested, Levin continued, "we will find more and more people who have
COVID-19." "We will isolate every one of them, and we will find every one of their contacts, and we will make sure that
they stayed quarantined, and we'll check in with them every day." Seems innocuous, even helpful. But: [...]
Liberal
District Attorney Boasts 'I'm Keeping San Francisco Safer by Emptying the Jail'. San Francisco District
Attorney Chesa Boudin is bragging about his city's jailbreak policies that have been implemented throughout the coronavirus
pandemic, claiming in a Los Angeles Times op/ed that he is "keeping San Francisco safer by emptying the jail."
Uber,
Lyft Sued by California in Major Gig-Economy Crackdown. Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. were sued by
California for allegedly violating a new state law designed to give gig-economy workers the benefits of employees.
While expected, the lawsuit filed Tuesday [5/5/2020] in state court marks a serious threat to the business model of an array of
companies that save on labor costs by classifying workers as independent contractors. If the companies ultimately lose
the suit, they could be forced to pay for overtime, health care and other benefits.
Free O.C. California
governor Gavin Newsom's executive order closing the beaches of Orange County, Calif., is what you get when you govern by
Twitter: A news photo showing a crowded Orange County beach makes the social-media rounds, provoking the predictable
outrage storm; Governor Newsom, rather than investigate, issues an executive order to placate the social-media circus; that
executive order is based on powers that the governor does not enjoy, and the Democratic governor singles out the historically
Republican cities of Orange County. It is not even clear that there was a real problem for Newsom to solve. One
photograph did indeed show an Orange County beach looking like spring break; other photographs showed a much more dispersed
and socially distanced crowd.
Orange
County DA 'outraged' after commissioner releases 7 dangerous sex offenders due to COVID-19 restrictions. Orange
County, Calif. District Attorney Todd Spitzer stated Saturday [5/2/2020] that he is "outraged" after the state ordered
the release of seven high-risk sex offenders from the county's jails over concerns they could contract coronavirus.
Appearing on "Fox & Friends Weekend" with host Jason Chaffetz, Spitzer said that the issue at hand is not just in Orange
County or California, but "is a ruse that has been pulled on the American public, on jails and custodial facilities all over
the nation."
Gov.
Newsom Puts Politics Over Data in California Shutdown. Los Angeles County, which has implemented the most
draconian beach closures in the country, has in excess of 1,000 coronavirus deaths. Orange County, which has
consistently taken a less restrictive approach, has had 45 deaths going into this weekend. Orange County's population
of 3.3 million is larger than 22 states. If it were a state, Orange County's death rate of 0.0014% would be the
49th lowest in the country. The primary hospital in Newport Beach has a 475-beds capacity and has never treated more than
25 people for coronavirus issues at any given time. The leaders of that hospital system believe that the curve has
flattened, and that Orange County needs to responsibly reopen.
Judicial
Watch Sues California to Stop Governor Newsom's Initiative to Provide $75 Million in Cash Benefits to Illegal
Aliens. Judicial Watch announced it filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles
on behalf of two California taxpayers, Robin Crest and Howard Myers, asking the court to stop the state from expending $75 million
of taxpayer funds to provide direct cash assistance to unlawfully present aliens. The lawsuit alleges California Governor Gavin
Newsom overstepped his authority and violated federal law when, without affirmative state legislative approval, he took executive action
to create the "Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants Project" and provide cash benefits to illegal aliens who otherwise are ineligible
for state or federal insurance or other benefits due to their unlawful presence in the United States.
Thousands
of protesters flock to Huntington Beach following state-ordered OC beach closures. Large crowds opposing the
state's coronavirus stay-at-home mandate took to the streets of downtown Huntington Beach on Friday [5/1/2020], a day after
the governor closed Orange County beaches and drew frustration and criticism from some residents and city leaders.
Protesters gathered near the Huntington Beach pier shortly before noon, with the crowd eventually swelling to some
2,500-3,000 people, according to Huntington Beach police Chief Robert Handy. The tightly packed crowd, with most people
not wearing protective masks, repeatedly chanted "U.S.A." as they waited for the demonstration to begin.
California
Cities Vote To Sue Governor For Closing Their Beaches. The cities of Huntington Beach and Dana Point have voted
to take legal action against the state of California after Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said he would close all beaches and
state parks inside of their cities and the rest of Orange County. According to The Los Angeles Times, Huntington Beach
voted 5-2 in a last-minute meeting in favor of seeking an injunction against the governor, who announced in Thursday's
coronavirus press conference that the state would close all beaches in Orange County in response to "alarm bells," including
packed crowds and a lack of reportedly improper physical distancing.
Governor
Grundy puts Orange County, but not San Diego County, on restriction. Just a few hours ago, I got back from La
Jolla, a rich and deep-blue enclave of the city of San Diego that's the home of Mitt Romney. The just-after-sunset
beach traipse was to see the bioluminescence event. Beach waves turn glow-in-the-dark at night as a result of the red
tide, and it's a rare and completely yowza thing to see. Of course it drew a crowd. Street parking was
competitive. The cars just kept coming and coming on Coast Boulevard near Wipeout Beach, and visitors bunched up at
stoplights to use crosswalks — no slipping across the streets real quick to get to the shore view from the
cliffs. Here's a bit of the pre-weekend flavor, and this was far from the most crowded scene I saw. You can see
that the groups have masks, look more like friends than families, and aren't socially distancing.
Gavin
Newsom, beach cop taking on all California. California's Gov. Gavin Newsom is shutting down the beaches,
just as the entire population of California goes stir-crazy and the sunniest weekend of the year beckons. [...] Unless city
officials intend to deploy every police officer to politicing the beaches, it's very unlikely to be the sort of order that's
going to work. Already there are signs the order will never be heeded. The opening of the beaches, about a week
ago, was brought on by public pressure to open the public space, and that's just for starters. The surfer enclaves of
Encinitas and Huntington Beach have already seen fierce protests and calls to end the lockdown.
No
California-wide beach shutdown: Gavin Newsom went for narrow closure. State officials pushed to close all
beaches and state parks in California to try to prevent overcrowding they feared could spread the coronavirus, but
Gov. Gavin Newsom decided Thursday only to temporarily close beaches in Orange County, an administration official
said. Newsom said at a news conference he was ordering a "hard close" in Orange County after beaches in Newport Beach
and Huntington Beach drew tens of thousands of visitors during a heat wave last weekend. He said he was particularly
concerned about the beach activity because Orange County has more coronavirus cases and hospitalizations than many other areas.
The Editor says...
What happened to "the virus knows no borders?"
CA
Gov Newsom [is] Only Closing Beaches in (Conservative) Orange County. In a move that makes him look even more
petty and dictatorial than before, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he's announcing state parks and
beach closures only in Orange County this weekend instead of closing state parks and state beaches throughout the entire
state as he'd planned, and which my colleague Kira Davis reported. The reasoning outlined by Newsom in the press
conference was nonsensical and inconsistent. More likely is that Newsom wants to punish Orange County officials, whom
he sees as uncooperative (despite his public claims), particularly Supervisor and former Assemblymember Don Wagner.
Orange County was one of the Republican Party's last strongholds in the state until the 2018 election, in which Democrats
swept all seven House seats in the county.
Newsom
to close all California beaches, state parks over coronavirus: memo. California Gov. Gavin Newsom will be
closing all beaches and state parks across the state starting Friday to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, according to
a memo sent to California police chiefs on Wednesday [4/29/2020]. The decision comes after Newsom called out the
massive crowds that flocked to Newport Beach in Orange County last weekend during a heat wave. Newsom called the beach
crowds an example of "what not to do" to make progress toward easing restrictions in the statewide stay-at-home order.
CA
Gov Newsom Warns Sun-Loving Newport Beachgoers "Aggressive" Measures Coming. In a livestreamed update on the
Golden State's response to COVID-19 this afternoon [4/27/2020], California Governor Gavin Newsom threw down the gauntlet to
sun-worshippers in his state, who he was disappointed appeared to be enjoying life over the weekend. That's something
that just can't stand, man! Newsom began his speech with a smile, by thanking "the 40 million" Californians who "over
the course of the last number of weeks have not only bent the curve... but stabilized it." But the governor's smile only
lasted about 24 seconds, when he said this: [...]
California
to close all beaches after crowds ignore social distancing rules. California will reportedly close all beaches
and state parks beginning Friday [5/1/2020] after swells of beachgoers fled to the shore last weekend in defiance of social
distancing rules. The state's governor, Gavin Newsom, will formally announce the decision Thursday, according to a memo
outlining the move obtained by FOX 11. "After well-publicized media coverage of overcrowded beaches this past weekend,
in violation of Governor Newson's shelter in place order, the governor will be announcing tomorrow that beaches and all state
parks in California will be closed, effective Friday, May 1," said the notification, which was sent out to all California
police chiefs on Wednesday.
San
Francisco Bay Area Extends Lock-Down Order Throughout May. It is being reported the San Francisco Bay area will
remain in a state of forced lock-down with an extension of the stay-at-home orders throughout May. Considering this is
the home of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, this decision highlights an expectation that the federal government will bail out local and
state governments. We anticipated this type of approach where Blue states & Blue regions will keep their economies
closed as long as possible to inflict maximum political damage. Simply, if San Francisco were not confident they will
gain a federal bailout they would not be keeping their economic system closed for another entire month.
To
Help Out with the Pandemic and Unemployment, California Will Now Pay Seniors to Order From Restaurants. If
you're a restaurant-lovin' California senior citizen and lookin' to make a few extra bucks, you're in luck. Assuming
you fit the profile, the state will now pay you to wine and dine yourself — if you order your grub. On
Friday [4/24/2020], Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new program wherein local, state, and federal money (so if you're
local, will you be triple-taxed for this?) will be paid out to eligible seniors who order food from nearby restaurants.
Newsom
Ordered by CA Supreme Court to Defend $75 Million Giveaway to Illegals. Californians struggling to make ends
meet during extended coronavirus shutdowns were not amused when their governor, Gavin Newsom, announced the creation of a
public-private partnership to give away $125 million ($500/person) in pandemic relief grants to illegal immigrants who are
ineligible to receive unemployment benefits or federal stimulus checks (because they are not here legally, duh). Newsom
further explained that of the $125 million in funding, $75 million would come from taxpayer funds (without explaining any
legislative process appropriating such funds) and that "a group of charities" had promised to chip in $50 million.
Democrats'
Fascism Shines Through. On April 14, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he's planning to give
$125 million in public and private funds to 150,000 adults living in the state illegally. Newsom understands that
illegal immigration is the future of the Democratic party. Californians are ordered to stay at home. Illegal
aliens are welcome to come there any time. Everything that Newsom and his party have done for illegals —
sanctuary cities, free health care, driver's licenses, in-state tuition — will encourage more to come here in
violation of our immigration laws. Fascists don't believe in the rule of law, unless it benefits them directly.
Newsom
won't share details on $1B mask deal with China. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing pushback as state
lawmakers have begun demanding details of his nearly $1 billion deal to receive 200 million masks per month from a Chinese
manufacturer. Just two weeks after announcing the deal, Newsom has remained largely mum on the specifics.
Advisers to the California Democrat have declined requests for comment from the Los Angeles Times about the agreement, which
was inked with Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD — which stands for Build Your Dreams — earlier
this month. BYD was formed in 1995 as a battery manufacturer. In 2008, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
purchased a 24.8% stake in the company.
California's
'Reopening' Economic Task Force Is As Absurd As It Gets. California Governor Gavin Newsom has introduced his
new economic task force to begin plans for reopening the economy. The task force is 80 members and will include:
[#1] Former Governor Gray Davis, who — in a rare event of complete voter unity — was recalled from the
governorship for his utter incompetence. [#2] Former Governor Jerry Brown, who brought us our disastrous pension
liability. [#3] Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gave us the current Democrat super majority by bringing us the
insane notion of "jungle primaries." [#4] Failed presidential candidate and very rich man Tom Steyer, who proudly
supports a New Green Deal and is very vocal about working to end vital business in the energy sector. Let's not forget
that Newsom said recently he views this crisis as a chance to usher in a "new era" of progressive policies.
How
Much Do The Pelosi's Have Invested In China? Pelosi may present herself as the defender of the little
guy. She is anything but. In 2018 her net worth was roughly $160 million. She is married to Paul Pelosi who
runs a top tier investment and real estate firm in San Francisco. Over the course of decades, as Nancy has risen
through the ranks of the Democratic Party, the Pelosi's have gotten fabulously wealthy. There have been any number of
allegations over the decades that Nancy and her husband have profited in ways that are clearly illegal from the access a
senior politician enjoys. Over a span of years, Nancy Pelosi used her influence to steer more than $1 billion to the
expansion of a light rail line into a San Francisco neighborhood where her husband owned commercial property and in which
business associates of his then purchased additional properties. The value of real estate in the area exploded with the
arrival of light rail, and the Pelosi's made a killing. There has also been an almost unending number of allegations
that Paul Pelosi has benefited from what is known as insider trading. That is, he has made sometimes enormous purchases
of stocks based on information allegedly provided to him by Nancy, who was privy to sensitive, non-public information by way
of her position.
Newsom:
California unemployment center hours extended, $125M fund created for undocumented immigrants. California Gov. Gavin
Newsom on Wednesday [4/15/2020] said he has extended the unemployment call center hours to help the record 2.7 million Californians
who have filed claims and created a fund to help undocumented immigrants, who comprise 10% of the state's workforce. The Employment
Development Department's call center will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, rather than closing at noon Monday
through Friday. Newsom extended the hours through an executive order.
Because the state has a HUGE budget surplus...
California
will pay illegal immigrants not included in coronavirus stimulus. California will be the first state to send
money to illegal immigrants who did not qualify for assistance under the $2.2 trillion federal coronavirus stimulus package
passed last month. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced the allocation of $75 million in taxpayer
funds for $500 payments to 150,000 adult immigrants who are reeling from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Editor says...
Wouldn't it be far less expensive to deport them all? But that would require some concern about wasting the taxpayers' money.
Illegal
Immigrants in Los Angeles Can Apply for Pre-Paid Debit Cards. Los Angeles will be doling out pre-paid debit
cards to residents who have faced economic hardship due to the coronavirus lockdown, and living in the country illegally
won't disqualify you from getting the cash. Los Angeles officials have begun accepting applications for a no-fee debit
card that provides cash to residents who were already living under the poverty line before the coronavirus crisis began and
have since had their incomes dramatically reduced because of the outbreak, KTLA5 reported.
Gavin Newsom Declares California a "Nation-State,"
Suggesting It is Independent of Federal Authority. Look, either formally secede — with my
enthusiastic Bon voyage! — or get ready for invocation of the Insurrection Act and civil war by the usual
means. We're not going to have this [nonsense] where every state has to buckle under leftwing federal diktats
but that liberal states are free to secede-in-part whenever the federal government is not leftwing. If America isn't
working for you anymore — Leave. We can work out the details later. I suggest that all border
counties be permitted to vote to leave or stay on a county-by-county basis. We don't need to keep states intact when
we're dividing the country. Then I suggest we mutually agree that any citizen of one America has the right to move to
the other America as a citizen within five years of division. After five years, you're a foreign immigrant like
any other, and the countries can choose to accept or reject your request for citizenship as they like. The five year
period will permit a lot of self-sorting.
California
governor planning coronavirus aid for illegal immigrants. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state
Legislature are working on a coronavirus aid plan for the state's illegal immigrants and others not covered by the federal
government's $2.2 trillion relief package. Newsom, a Democrat, disclosed the plans Tuesday [4/7/2020], according
to The Associated Press. "Californians care deeply about undocumented residents in this state," the governor, a former
mayor of San Francisco, said.
Newsom
is Giving Emergency Grants to Illegal Alien Small Business Owners. On Friday [4/3/2020], a reporter from
Telemundo asked California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom what emergency relief he would be providing for illegal aliens
amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "No state in America does more to help residents regardless of their immigration
status," the governor rightly assured the reporter. Newsom first bragged about the state's healthcare coverage for
illegal aliens before explaining how his administration is now helping illegal alien small business owners obtain grants
while a large part of the American economy remains shut down.
California
to release 3,500 inmates early as coronavirus spreads inside prisons. California is granting early release to
3,500 inmates in an effort to reduce crowding as coronavirus infections begin spreading through the state prison system.
Lawyers for Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday told a panel of federal judges the state is taking "extraordinary and unprecedented
protective measures" to slow the spread of the virus and protect those who live and work within California's 35 prisons.
The accelerated parole policy — affecting inmates due to be released over the next 60 days — comes
in the face of pressure to do much more.
LA
County Sheriff Orders Closure of Gun Stores, Releases 1,700 Inmates. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva
has released 1,700 inmates from county facilities and is ordering gun stores in the county closed. Fox 11 reports the
gun store closures are part of the coronavirus stay-at-home order while the release of the inmates is an attempt to slow the
spread of the virus in county facilities.
Gov.
Gavin Newsom says state won't issue guidance on whether gun stores are essential businesses. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom will not offer official guidance on whether gun stores can be classified as essential businesses and
remain open during the state's shelter-in-place order. Newsom was asked about the issue after Los Angeles County
reversed course on a move to close gun stores amid the spread of coronavirus in the region and the county's shelter-in-place
order. L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva initially ordered the closing of gun stores, but legal counsel for the
county determined gun stores are essential businesses and must remain open. Villanueva then rescinded the order.
LA
Sheriff Suspends Efforts To Close Gun Stores. Confusion swirled as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Tuesday temporarily suspended its efforts to close gun stores during the coronavirus outbreak. The decision was made as
the county counsel's office works to clarify whether gun stores are considered essential businesses under California
Gov. Gavin Newsom's statewide order, a sheriff's spokesperson confirmed to CBS2 Tuesday night [3/24/2020].
California's
Stay-at-Home Order Is a Legal Mess. California Governor Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order may well be necessary
as a matter of public health in the face of the new coronavirus — I will leave that to epidemiologists to
determine. But viewed as a legal declaration, it's a total mess. [...] The order is also drafted so badly that it
creates contradictions with the state's own website explaining it, with the governor's own speech rolling it out, and with
common sense. As written, the order does not say clearly that Californians can leave their homes to buy food or
medicine or other necessities. It doesn't say whether they can go out to help family members or friends who are
themselves vulnerable or otherwise in need. It is silent on going out for exercise. Although context suggests all
these may be permitted, the formal legal implication of the text would be that all are prohibited.
Newsom
executive order allows California to commandeer hotels, motels to house coronavirus patients. Gov. Gavin
Newsom, the California Democrat, released an executive order on Thursday [3/12/2020] that includes the authority for
Sacramento to take over hotels and motels for medical use for coronavirus patients, in a move he said will help the state of
40 million prepare for any widespread outbreak. Some patients in the state have already been moved to hotels. The
Desert Sun reported that a 120-room hotel in San Carlos, which is near San Francisco, has been already tapped to house
passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship. The first-term governor told reporters that besides hotels and motels,
state officials are also scouting for potential lodging in "mothballed" facilities and state parks. The executive
order, according to the report, has been designed to allow the state's Health and Human Services Agency and the Office of
Emergency Services to commandeer private property for coronavirus treatment.
Government
Outlaws Freelance Work. Freelance jobs are "feudalism," says California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez.
She persuaded California's legislature to pass a new law reclassifying freelance workers as employees. That means many
people who hire them must now give them benefits like overtime, unemployment insurance, etc. Politicians said it would
help freelancers a lot. Of course, much of the media agreed. [...] Young reporters just don't understand that stifling
economic freedom always creates nasty side effects.
California
Is a Cruel Medieval State. One way of understanding California is simply to invert traditional morality.
What for centuries would be considered selfish, callous, and greedy is now recalibrated as caring, empathetic, and
generous. The current ethos of evaluating someone by his or her superficial appearance — gender or
race — has returned to the premodern values of 19th-century California when race and gender calibrated
careers. We don't pay medieval priests for indulgences of our past and ongoing sin, but we do tweet out displays of our
goodness as the penance price of acting amoral. A paradox ensues that Californians both have a high, indeed smug, view
of themselves and yet do a lot of damage to their fellow human beings.
California's Gig Law Comes For
the Scooters, Destroys Independent "Juicers". California's "gig economy" law — AB5 —
continues to have disastrous consequences across the state. The list of jobs affected or outright destroyed is huge and
growing every day. The wedding industry is collapsing. Festivals are closing. Theaters and music venues are
closing. A nursing shortage is now upon us because qualified nurses can no longer pick up extra side-jobs in areas like
hospice care. The law has even killed Christmas: mall Santas can no longer contract their services.
Calif.
Bill Would Fine Stores With "Boys" and "Girls" Departments. [Scroll down] But should [Evan] Low's bill
become law, a retailer could actually have some fun with it. I'd comply and combine the sections, for instance, but
then label different displays as "blue" or "pink." Were it questioned by a government bureaucrat, I'd ask how he could be
so closed-minded as to associate a color with a sex. Better still might be to label displays as "Little XY" or
"Little XX." Upon interrogation, I'd expound upon how "experts" maintain that one can be genotypically male but
phenotypically female. "How could you be such a bigot, sir (or is it madam?), as to assume that the girls entering my establishment
don't have an XY chromosome configuration?" As for Low, he justified his bill with the usual lowbrow leftist boilerplate.
New
California Bill Requires Retailers Create 'Gender-Neutral' Aisles For Children. A new bill introduced in the
California Assembly would require retailers to create "gender-neutral" floor-spaces for children's merchandise, with the goal
of banning sex-specific labeling labeling such as "girls aisles" and "boys aisles." The bill proposed by Democratic
Assemblyman Evan Low, requires all retail department stores with 500 employees or more to comply with the newfound gender
standards of the Left.
The Editor says...
In a free country, businesses are allowed to arrange their stores in any manner they choose.
Sorry,
Democrats: Party's Over. It makes me smile to know that fewer people are watching CNN than have fled from
California in the last few years. These days even Jed Clampett wouldn't be convinced that Californy is the place he
ought to be. He would have the sense to take his money to Texas where the taxes are reasonable and you won't be
flash-mobbed by SJWs chanting that you're an eco-criminal for striking it rich in the energy sector. Modest as Jed's
education may have been, I think he would have understood that energy is a good thing and letting junkies poop in the aisle
at Costco is a bad thing. Even cousin Jethro would have winced at the mountain of filth that Pelosi and her party have made.
New
California bill would require gender neutral sections in retail stores. A new California bill would require
some retailers to have gender neutral floor space inside their stores, Politico reports. The bill, called Assembly Bill
2826, was introduced by Assemblymember Evan Low, a Democrat from Campbell. According to Politico, retailers would be
able to sell the same products, as long as they dedicate space where customers can find clothes and toys regardless of
whether the items have been marketed to boys or girls.
Housing crisis:
Berkeley law would put renters first. City officials say the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act would give
tenants more leverage and help them stay housed in one of the country's most expensive real estate markets, which has pushed
rents sky high and contributed to a growing homeless crisis. The median home price in Berkeley was $1.3 million
last year, nearly doubled from $704,000 in 2013, [Berkeley Mayor Jesse] Arreguin said.
Gavin
Newsom Says Doctors Should Write Prescriptions For Housing. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said
that medical doctors should be able to prescribe housing in the same way they prescribe medication to sick people Wednesday
during his 2020 State of the State Address. "Health care and housing can no longer be divorced. After all, what's
more fundamental to a person's well-being than a roof over their head?" Newsom asked during the address. "Doctors should
be able to write prescriptions for housing the same way they do for insulin and antibiotics." The crowd erupted in applause.
AB5 Backfire: California's
poorly designed "gig-work" law is already having unintended consequences. AB5 took effect on January 1, and
it's already causing trouble. A limit on the number of articles that freelance writers could produce for one publication
resulted in layoffs for some California journalists and a First Amendment lawsuit from others. Workers in more than 135
occupations claim that losing contractor status hurts them, while independent theater and arts groups are facing thousands of
dollars in costs they can't afford because they must now treat staff as employees. Lorena Gonzalez, the assemblywoman
who wrote AB5, has introduced another law to remove the article cap for writers and address the status of musicians.
A sign of poor legislation is the need to rewrite it immediately after it takes effect.
A California-style Brexit.
Since AB5 took effect on January 1, hundreds of thousands of Californians are finding their businesses in tatters.
Musicians can't join bands for a one-night gig, chefs can't join forces with caterers, nurses can't work at various hospitals,
and writers must cap their submissions per media outlet to 35 per year. Under the law, these freelancers can no longer
conduct the same business-to-business transactions they have for years or even decades. Clients with whom they fostered
valuable relationships are gone — as are their successful careers and incomes. An overwhelming majority of
professionals in fields affected by AB5 identify as liberals and have generally voted along the blue line. Today,
however, many are so disillusioned with their representatives that they're changing political loyalties.
Congressman
Calls on California to Fire Pension Official Tied to Chinese Spy Program. A Republican lawmaker urged
California to fire a top pension fund official because he participated in a Chinese program that the FBI has called
"non-traditional espionage against the United States." Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.) asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to
investigate Yu Ben Meng, the chief investment officer at California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), for his
"long and cozy relationship" with the Chinese Communist Party. The letter also decried CalPERS's investment in Chinese
companies that built up the regime's military presence in contested waters of the South China Sea and produced surveillance
equipment used for China's brutal crackdown in Xinjiang. "Governor Newsom, if it were up to me, I would fire
Mr. Meng immediately," Banks said in a letter to the governor.
San
Francisco's mayor admits to affair and accepting gifts from the city's disgraced homelessness chief. San
Francisco's mayor has admitted to having a fling with and to accepting thousands of dollars in unreported gifts from the
city's disgraced former homelessness chief who is now at the center of an FBI corruption probe for accepting kickbacks.
Mayor London Breed admitted on Friday to briefly dating Mohammed Nuru, San Francisco's former Director of Public Works,
around 20 years ago, leading to calls for her resignation from the city's top job. Nuru, 58, resigned from his post
earlier this week after he was arrested and charged by the FBI in January for a series of alleged public corruption schemes.
SF
Mayor London Breed says she 'dated' now-indicted poop-patrol chief Mohammed Nuru. Apparently, Kamala Harris
wasn't the only ambitious and comely San Francisco female pol who "dated" a San Francisco political pooh-bah to advance her
career. Harris dated San Francisco mayor Willie Brown. Now San Francisco mayor London Breed says she dated
Mohammed Nuru, San Francisco's entrenched director of public works (famous for its "poop patrols"), taking a $5,600 "gift"
from him and "forgetting" to disclose it. [...] Nuru's now under indictment for kickbacks, pay to play, bribery, wire fraud,
and use of public services for private gain in what's called San Francisco's biggest political scandal in years. [...] The
pair have known each other, apparently intimately, for 20 years. And Nuru is a very powerful, entrenched fixture
on the scene in San Francisco politics.
Maxine
Waters: CA Should Have More Say In Primary Because Of Big Money Raised At Beverly Hills Parties. For
years now, Democrats have been claiming they want big money out of politics. Yet Maxine Waters just claimed on national
television that California should have more sway in the Democrat primary process because of all the big cash generated for
Democrats at fancy parties in Beverly Hills.
San Francisco
car break-ins are so common that the city's district attorney is proposing reimbursing residents whose windows are
smashed. San Francisco's district attorney is proposing creating an auto-burglary-assistance fund that would
reimburse residents for the cost required to repair shattered windows from break-ins. The DA, Chesa Boudin, is
proposing using $1.5 million from the mayor's office to fill the fund. If it passes, it could be the country's
first fund of this kind.
Texas
Sues California Over Economic Sanctions on Religious States. One of the more bizarre elements of our cold
civil war is California's imposition of economic sanctions on any states that provide any element of religious freedom.
California has currently imposed economic sanctions on eleven states. And then it messed with Texas.
Sorry,
you cannot compel Americans to vote. Democratic California Assemblyman Marc Levine has introduced a clearly
unconstitutional bill which mandates that anyone registered to vote must attend a voting booth and file a response.
Levine says his intended law is justified and necessary because "democracy is not a spectator sport — it requires
the active participation of all its citizens ... Those rights come with a responsibility by registered voters to cast their
ballot and make sure that their voice is heard by their government." While registered voters would not have to select a
candidate in order to conform with Levine's desired law, they would have to file a ballot return, even if unmarked. But
as I say, this bill is patently unconstitutional.
Orange
County Has Released Thousands Of Criminal Illegal Aliens Because Of California's Sanctuary Law. The Orange
County Sheriff's Department has been forced to release thousands of criminal illegal aliens in the past two years, with both
the sheriff's department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement blaming California's statewide sanctuary law.
California's SB 54, legislation that largely restricts cooperation between ICE and law enforcement, went into effect in
January 2018. Since that time, Orange County has released over 2,100 illegal aliens back into the community despite ICE
detainers placed on every single one of them, the agency announced in a Wednesday press release. The sheriff's
department released 1,106 inmates without notifying ICE in 2018 and released another 1,015 again in 2019 without notifying
the agency.
California's
primary vote count could take longer than ever. Californians start voting Monday in a high-profile Democratic
presidential primary that has no clear front-runner and could take longer to count than any previous election in a state
already notorious for slow ballot counting.
Coastal States Are in the Fight
of Their Lives. Is the Rest of America Listening? AB5 — otherwise known as the "Gig Economy"
bill is much more dangerous and not just for us, but everyone in the nation. This bill makes independent contracting
illegal. It is absolutely the most communist legislation I have ever seen passed in my lifetime as an American.
It was aimed to get at Uber and Lyft and instead entrapped anyone who contracts their services. And I do mean
anyone. I spoke to a man who had to close his theater production because how can you hire 42 seasonal actors as W-2
employees every few months and then fire them and then rehire and on and on? You can't. Independent theater will
die. Linguists, courtroom reporters, translators, transcribers, truckers, rideshare drivers, musicians, caterers,
bartenders, writers, freelance journalists... anyone who earns money by contracting their services is now out of work or
about to be. It is the most massive and disturbing overreach I have ever seen, and yet hardly anyone else in the
country is paying attention.
How
the Golden State Embraced Corporate Socialism. Gavin Newsom, the lily white, urbane, coiffed scion of San
Francisco's posh royalty, is California's highest-ranking Democrat. He presides over a party that has taken progressive
ideals beyond absurdity to the brink of tyranny, a socialist party that openly disparages whiteness and wealth. One
would think that the party of Gavin Newsom is bent on destroying everything Gavin Newsom represents. So what's going
on? To understand the rise of Newsom, and every other hyper-privileged Democrat who even today remain in firm control
of the progressive movement, it is necessary to define a 21st-century version of corporate socialism. This goes well
beyond the use of the term merely to describe government subsidies for, say, the oil and gas industry, or, for that matter,
the wind and solar industry.
Oklahoma
governor bans state-funded travel to California after being put on Golden State's blacklist. The governor of
Oklahoma has banned all state-funded travel to California after officials there placed a similar ban on travel to his
state. Oklahoma's Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is in his first term, announced the ban in an executive order
on Thursday, barring all non-essential travel by state employees to the Golden State, with exceptions for business recruiting
trips, college sports games and trips by schools to participate in out-of-state programs.
Oakland
Becomes First California City To Ban Background Checks For Prospective Renters. Following a unanimous vote by
the city council Tuesday night, Oakland has now become the first city in California to ban criminal background checks on
potential renters. "Indescribable emotions and feelings," said John Jones III of Oakland, who got out of prison in 2012
and struggled to find a place to live in Oakland despite his well-paying job as an aviation mechanic. Jones said he's
among the many who left prison only to end up on the streets, contributing to Oakland's homeless crisis. That's why
he's been lobbying hard for the Oakland City Council to pass the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, which says landlords will no
longer be allowed to turn down potential renters because of criminal convictions.
California
Now Pushing Free Health Care for Illegal Immigrant Seniors. California has waged a war on the concept of
citizenship by essentially sidestepping the will of the American people and intentionally undermining immigration laws.
Worse, by extending social welfare to those illegal immigrants, the state is signaling that the concept of citizenship itself
is meaningless. It's clear that California's craziness doesn't stop, as [Governor] Newsom and the state's Democrats
have doubled down to extend free health care coverage to even greater numbers of illegal immigrants. Newsom's latest
proposed budget now aims to extend free health care coverage to illegal immigrants 65 years old and older as a part of the
state's Medi-Cal program. This would add $80.5 million to the budget this year and $350 million annually once fully
implemented, according to Politico.
Tents,
Homelessness, and Misery: 9 Things I Saw in San Francisco. Home to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's congressional
district, San Francisco is reliably and overwhelmingly blue in every election (with perhaps a few votes going to the Green
Party). In just the past year, the city's Board of Supervisors declared the National Rifle Association to be a
"domestic terrorist organization," and the school board voted first to paint over, and then to hide, a mural of George
Washington in one of the city's high schools — a mural, incidentally, painted by a leftist who strove to show both
Washington's greatness and flaws. Such actions are just par for the course for San Francisco, a city of more than
884,000 that in the past decade also banned fast-food restaurants from including toys with most children's meals; prohibited
city-funded travel by local employees to 22 pro-life states; raised the minimum wage from $9.79 to $15.59 an hour; and, after
banning plastic bags in 2007, first set a 10-cent fee for each nonreusable bag at stores, and then a 25-cent fee per
bag. Yes, leftist insanity has long been the norm for San Francisco.
First,
the purges: Comrade Chesa Boudin fires prosecutors for ... prosecuting. What would it be like if Hugo
Chávez and Bill Ayers ran the city prosecutor's office? San Franciscans are about to find out, now that Ayers's
stepson, Chesa Boudin, son of Weather Underground terrorists and translator to none other than Hugo himself, has made his
first move as San Francisco district attorney. He's kicked off his term with purges for insufficient revolutionary
fervor, taking a page from Andrei Vyshinsky, Stalin's famous show trial prosecutor who enforced ideological purity. [...]
Bottom line: Chesa has no use for such prosecutors who prosecute, and the only thing he wants prosecuted is "the
system," the idea of there being laws against crimes. It goes to show the depth of ideological conformity being
demanded now in what's clearly going to be a highly politicized D.A.'s office. Professionalism is the enemy of the
people now.
San
Francisco, solid blue city of — empty storefronts and missing young people. San Francisco is getting
to be a hellhole and not just because crooks are having a field day, or a vast homeless army has prompted new tech
'innovations' in poop-map apps. It's actually becoming a city with a hollowed out look, redolent of some place like
Steubenville, Ohio or maybe Utica, New York, during the bad years, empty storefronts and missing young people. So much
for the trope that leftwing cities, with their walkable boulevards full of food trucks, handmade crafts, knitting shops,
bookstores, artisan cheese shops, gourmet restaurants, and cafes are more lively and liveable than rightwing places.
For awhile, that did seem to be the story. But it's coming to an end. Sure, there's vast wealth. But
despite California being in an economic boom, the place is starting to look like Venezuela.
Abortions are okay, but stray dogs must be preserved.
'We
want to be a no-kill state.' Newsom calls for end to animal euthanasia in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom
wants California to stop euthanizing animals, and he's ready to put taxpayer money toward the cause. "We want to be a
no-kill state," Newsom said during a press conference where he presented his 2020-21 budget. Specifically, Newsom's
budget calls for a $50 million one-time general fund allocation to the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program to develop a
grant program for animal shelters, with a goal of helping local communities "achieve the state's policy goal that no
adoptable or treatable dog or cat should be euthanized," according to the budget summary.
Does California Want to
Secede? On Friday [1/10/2020], Governor Gavin Newsom will present the state's budget for the next fiscal
year. In it, he will propose that the state of California sell its own brand of prescription drugs in order to
"increase competition in the generic drug marketplace and lower the cost of medications by having Sacramento contract
drugmakers to manufacture certain prescriptions under a state label." [...] Because California is so large, with such a huge
economy and so many people, the state's dominance generally steers industry and other governments in the direction it
wants. No company that does business with state governments can afford to ignore what California is doing.
Bloomberg
sees California as model for U.S. The Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City mayor likes a
lot of what he sees in the Golden State and thinks its efforts on climate change, gun control and criminal justice reform
sets a benchmark for other states to emulate. "I think that California can serve as a great example for the rest of
this country," Bloomberg told supporters at the opening of his Angeles headquarters.
Workers
Resist California's Newest Bad Law. As of Jan. 2, Uber and Lyft drivers, independent truckers, freelance
writers, photographers, artists and musicians and the companies who hire their services have to abide by AB 5. The
law, which was originally concocted to destroy the business models of Uber and Lyft and has exemptions for 50 professions, is
a cynical and transparent gift to unions from the same Democrats who have been wrecking my one-party state for decades.
AB 5's proud mother, leftwing Democrat Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego, claims it's intended to protect
part-timers and freelancers from being "exploited" by their evil, greedy employers. Her law is supposed to provide
independent contractors with the same benefits and workplace protections that full-time employees get and — most
important to the Democrats — therefore make it possible for them to unionize.
New
California Law Prohibits Showering and Doing Laundry on the Same Day. "So all of the sudden I can smoke
marijuana as much as I want but I can't take a shower?," newsman Mark Kriski said. "Unbelievable. That's where
our state has gone." KTLA news anchors and reporters debated on LIVE TV the stupidity of a new California law
that effectively prohibits showering and doing laundry on the same day.
A tale of two states
in decline. Taxpayers in California and New York shoulder some of the heaviest tax burdens in the nation, and
now new data show the two have something else in common: Their growth rates have slowed. It's probably no
coincidence. According to the California Department of Finance, during the year that ended June 30, more people left
the Golden State than moved in — the first time that's happened since 2010. [...] One obvious reason: As the
Los Angeles Times notes, the Golden State has one of the highest tax burdens in America. Here in New York, meanwhile,
taxpayers also bear some of the nation's highest tax burdens. And guess what: This state has long been watching
its share of the national population shrink. No, taxes alone aren't to blame: Both states, for example, are
famous for their progressive policies, hostility to businesses and onerous mandates.
California Preening.
In truth, the Golden State is becoming a semi-feudal kingdom, with the nation's widest gap between middle and upper incomes —
72 percent, compared with the U.S. average of 57 percent — and its highest poverty rate. Roughly half of America's
homeless live in Los Angeles or San Francisco, which now has the highest property crime rate among major cities. California hasn't
yet become a full-scale dystopia, of course, but it's heading in a troubling direction.
New
California law to provide subsidized healthcare for undocumented immigrants. Under the new law SB 104
California will offer government subsidized health benefits for undocumented immigrants under the age of 26. Previously
only undocumented immigrant children could apply. It's part of new funding for MediCal. Gov. Gavin Newsom
says there will be "An additional $450 a month in subsidies reducing premiums by 25%. No state in America does that."
Sarah Dar from the California Immigrant Policy Center says this will make a healthier community.
Least-Educated
State: 2,471,189 California Residents 25 and Older Never Completed 9th Grade; Highest Percentage in Nation.
California once again ranked No. 1 among the 50 states for the percentage of its residents 25 and older who have never
completed ninth grade and 50th for the percentage who have at least graduated from high school, according to new five-year
estimates (2014-2018) released Thursday by the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. California, as CNSNews.com
reported last year, also ranked No. 1 for the percentage who never completed ninth grade and No. 50 for the percentage who
had graduated from high school in the five-year estimates (2013-2017) the Census Bureau released in December 2018. In
California, according to the new five-year estimate, 2,471,189 residents 25 and older had never completed ninth grade.
The Editor says...
So much for the claim that "immigrants make our communities stronger."
Car
burglaries in some California cities are at crisis levels. Prosecutors say their hands are tied. An
epidemic of car burglaries in San Francisco over the last few years has led one Democratic lawmaker to propose plugging a
loophole in state law that allows some break-ins to go unpunished, but the Legislature has balked at prosecutors' requests to
make obtaining convictions easier. The proposal, which would eliminate a requirement that prosecutors prove a car's
doors were locked at the time of a break-in, has been shelved two years in a row in legislative committees. Lawmakers
struggling with prison crowding and public pressure to enact criminal justice reform have been reluctant to do anything to
put more people behind bars.
Why the Law?
The latest and most high-profile district attorney race victory went to none other than the stinking, crime infested city of
San Francisco. Does the name Chesa Boudin ring a bell? No not to me either, at first. Not until it was
revealed he is the son of 1960s radical leftist, American terrorist bomber Bill Ayers. It matters not that Boudin, a
defense attorney, has never prosecuted a single case. I bet he'll make a great district attorney for victims of crimes
(sarc.). Boudin has already stated he will not prosecute public urination, prostitution and "quality of life crimes"
for the homeless. What about quality of life for the hardworking tax payers and business owners? Supporters of
Boudin claim he wasn't financed by George Soros, but this statement is disingenuous.
Thought San Francisco's
Quality Of Life Couldn't Get Worse? Think Again. San Francisco garnered national headlines with the
election of its new district attorney, a progressive, which means there will be zero progress made in the homelessness
crisis, and little if any made toward reducing crime in the city and county. Chesa Boudin, a one-time deputy public
defender who has never tried a case, was elected in a close race, and will assume office in January. Before he had a
chance to decide if the new drapes in his office were going to be socialist red or blue state blue, Boudin announced that he
would not prosecute quality-of-life crimes such as "public camping, offering or soliciting sex, public urination, blocking a
sidewalk, etc." We assume public defecating on streets and sidewalks, today's San Francisco "treat," will also go unprosecuted.
California
DMV Makes 50 Million Dollars a Year Selling Drivers' Info to Private Companies. A California Department of
Motor Vehicles document revealed that the government agency is generating $50 million a year by selling drivers' personal
information to private companies. According to a report from VICE, which received the document through a public records
request, revenue from selling information — which includes names, physical addresses, and car registration
information — has climbed from $41 million in fiscal year 2013-2014 to $51 million in 2018-2019.
In an email explaining the numbers, the California DMV did not specify which private companies have purchased the data, but
said the list may include insurance companies, vehicle manufacturers, and prospective employers.
Most
city workers pay $0 in healthcare premiums. Garcetti said he'd change that. He hasn't. In a major
policy reversal that critics say will cost the city and taxpayers millions of dollars, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has
abandoned his long-stated goal of getting the city's public employee unions to pay a portion of their healthcare costs.
Under contracts signed this year that were supported by the mayor, many of City Hall's largest unions will continue to
contribute nothing toward their healthcare premiums. Garcetti also backed agreements with several smaller unions,
allowing those employees who had been contributing 10% of their premiums to stop paying in January.
Correcting
Voters' Mistakes. Californians must no longer have recourse to the recall election. If Golden Staters
still have the recall, surely they'd be using it to oust their useless mayors who have allowed their once-beautiful cities to
degenerate into filth and ruin. They'd also be mounting a recall of their new governor, Gavin Newsom. Back in
2003, before the mass exodus to Texas, there were still enough decent Californians remaining to recall and oust Gov. Gray
Davis. Davis's replacement, Arnold Schwarzenegger, might have become a terrific governor had he been paired with a decent
legislature. But the Governator didn't have a decent legislature; it was populated with progressives.
What
Happened to California Republicans? [Scroll down] A cynic might argue that once a federal judge allowed
undocumented immigrants to enjoy the full array of state services and entitlements, there were incentives for millions of
other immigrants to enter the U.S. illegally, and California in particular. Statistics suggests they did just
that — often to the chagrin of Democratic politicians, the United Farm Workers and other liberal groups who
worried about the negative effects of illegal immigration on entry-level wages, unionization and poor citizens' access to
overtaxed social services. [...] The final irony? Those most hurt — and growing the most angry —
are the immigrants who once fled to a different California that now no longer exists.
California's Burning. California's
young and bold new progressive governor Gavin Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, probably figured he'd be thrust into
the national limelight after signing a host of must-do liberal measures ranging from statewide rent control to a new
union-crafted law that seeks to essentially ban companies from using outside contractors. He also signed a ban on the
sale of animal furs, stopped state agencies from leasing public lands for any oil-and-gas-related infrastructure (to stop the
Trump administration from expanding resource "exploitation" on neighboring federal lands) — and even signed a law
forbidding hotels from handing out those little bottles of shampoo and conditioner.
Son
of Two Unrepentant Terrorists Wins DA San Fran Race. "Chesa Boudin has won the election to become San
Francisco's next district attorney," CBS News reported late Saturday. "The people of San Francisco have sent a powerful
and clear message," Boudin said in a statement. "It's time for radical change to how we envision justice. I'm
humbled to be a part of this movement that is unwavering in its demand for transformation." People in the vast
hinterland to the east might wonder who Chesa is, exactly, and what kind of transformation he has in mind. Bernie
Sanders was first to congratulate the victor, and San Francisco voters knew Chesa served as a translator for the regime of
Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Still, a full understanding must start with Chesa's mother, Kathy Boudin, a Weather
Underground terrorist.
Lucky
San Francisco: With Chesa Boudin as DA, good luck getting a cop when you want one. Well, Chesa Boudin has
finally done it: he's gotten himself into the San Francisco D.A.'s seat, after a lifetime of standing up for crooks and
mastering criminal "justice" from Bill Ayers's stepdad berth and Hugo Chávez's knee. Like the way criminal justice
works in Caracas? In San Francisco, Hugo Chávez's trusted adviser is now there to help. He's there to
"transform," as he says. That's his brand, as the Bay Area tech marketing hipsters say. This won't work out too
well if you've got bums vomiting at your doorstep, gang members shooting with muzzle flashes 'round corners, and junkies
setting up camp on your sidewalk. We've already seen the boulder-warfare some of the homeowners are putting up in a
desperate bid to stop it. Such people can probably now look forward to getting arrested.
San
Francisco Voters Elect Radical District Attorney, Son of Cop-killing Terrorists. Progressive candidate Chesa
Boudin wants to free criminals but prosecute police and ICE agents for doing their jobs. It's no surprise Boudin hates
cops so much. His parents did, too. Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert were terrorists in the Weather Underground who
murdered two police officers and a security guard during a 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored security car outside New York
City. There should be a law that children of terrorists who share their parents' worldview are barred from holding
public office, especially the role of the chief law enforcement officer. Boudin's dad is still in prison so he can't
kill any more cops, but his mother is out. Naturally, she is an assistant professor at Columbia University. After
his parents killed the cops, Boudin was sent to live with two other terrorists, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. Dohrn
declared war on the United States and was on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted for skipping funeral of deputy allegedly killed by illegal immigrants. The same
day a federal grand jury indicted two illegal immigrants accused of murdering Deputy Brian Ishmael, El Dorado Sheriff John
D'Agostini took aim at California's drug and sanctuary policies, singling out Gov. Gavin Newsom for skipping his funeral
in favor of a meeting with the state's beleaguered power provider.
Newsom
runs up against US Justice Department rules in pardoning immigrants. Attorney General William Barr is trying to
deport some legal immigrants who were convicted of crimes many years ago. Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to spare
some of the same immigrants from deportation by pardoning them. It's shaping up as another round in the Trump
administration vs. California. The immigrants are legal U.S. residents who, because they have not become
citizens, face potential deportation for past crimes that were punishable by sentences of a year or more. Barr,
overturning long-standing decisions by immigration courts, declared last month that migrants convicted of long-ago crimes
could be deported even when their home states had retroactively reduced or erased their sentences.
San
Francisco Supervisor Chants [in Opposition to] the [Police Officers Association] During DA Candidate's Campaign Rally.
Heading into 2020, it seems we've entered into an age in which anyone, from Twitter troll to elected public official, can say whatever
strikes their fancy no matter how abhorrent, destructive or violent, from any microphone they can manage to find, and with near
impunity. Oh, sorry. I mean, any liberal. Conservatives can't do that. Take, for example, San Francisco
Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, who, after clunking her way up to the stage to stump for left-wing district attorney candidate Chesa
Boudin, used her moment at the podium to rant against the city's 2,000-member police union by leading the audience in the chant, [...]
English
Is the International Language of Success — Except in California. It's been two decades, but I still
remember the excitement of helping to pass California's Proposition 227, which I thought would rescue Spanish-speaking kids
from an education ghetto of frustration and failure. It was an uphill battle. We fought an education bureaucracy
including California's powerful teachers' unions, book publishers who received lucrative government contracts, and even Jerry
Perenchio, the late Republican billionaire CEO of Univision, who donated $1.5 million to the efforts to maintain California's
"bilingual" education system. We won. Sixty-one percent of Californians were ready for a change. Amid
chants of racism and cultural insensitivity, Latino parents would tell me they knew that education and learning English in
their adopted country were key to their kids' futures. Unfortunately, the victory wouldn't last.
Power
and Gas Cutoffs in Blue States Represent a Failure of Governance. California — a state that by
itself constitutes the world's fifth-largest economy, is endowed with vast stores of human and natural resources, and has one
of the planet's most amenable climates for human habitation — is failing. The Golden State is host to one of
the country's worst homelessness epidemics. It's a state in which 19th century diseases such as typhus and tuberculosis
are making a comeback. More people are moving out of the state than into it. Its rates of violent crime are on
the rise. It has more failing schools than any other state in the Union. And now, true to basket-case form,
California is home to massive, rolling power outages. But unlike in the developing world, these blackouts are not a
result of resource deficiency but the voluntary imposition of darkness on the public.
California's
Prop 47 leads to [a] rise in shoplifting, thefts, [and] criminal activity across [the] state. These brazen acts
of petty theft and shoplifting are a dangerous and all-too-common consequence of Proposition 47, a referendum passed five
years ago that critics say effectively gives shoplifters and addicts the green light to commit crimes as long as the merchandise
they steal or the drugs they take are less than $950 in value. The decision to downgrade theft of property valued below
the arbitrary figure from felony to misdemeanor, together with selective enforcement that focuses on more "serious" crimes,
has resulted in thieves knowing they can brazenly shoplift and merchants knowing the police will not respond to their
complaints, say critics.
Is
California Becoming Premodern? California is now a one-party state. Democrats have supermajorities in
both houses of the legislature. Only seven of the state's 53 congressional seats are held by Republicans. The
result is that there is no credible check on a mostly coastal majority. Huge global wealth in high-tech, finance, trade
and academia poured into the coastal corridor, creating a new nobility with unprecedented riches. Unfortunately, the
new aristocracy adopted mindsets antithetical to the general welfare of Californians living outside their coastal
enclaves. The nobodies have struggled to buy high-priced gas, pay exorbitant power bills and deal with shoddy
infrastructure — all of which resulted from the policies of the distant somebodies.
California
to train poll workers how to interact with transgender voters. All poll workers in California will be trained
on how to properly interact with and assist transgender and gender-nonconforming voters when they cast ballots.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) announced the new initiative last week, saying his office is partnering with
the Equality California Institute ahead of next year's presidential primary.
Is
California's governor really this clueless about high gas prices and power outages? California Gov. Gavin
Newsom finally noticed that his state has the highest gas prices in the nation, and he's angry. So angry, in fact, he
ordered his Attorney General to investigate the decades-long mystery. "There is no identifiable evidence to justify
these premium prices," Newsom wrote in a letter to state Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "If oil companies are
engaging in false advertising or price fixing, then legal action should be taken to protect the public." Newsom
correctly identified the symptom but remains clueless about the cause. He at least pretends to be.
Why
California's AB-5 is a threat to the American way of life. I am freelancing this article. Doing so means
that I work from home, set my own schedule and have most days of the week free to write books. While books provide the
bulk of my income, freelancing provides substantial extra money that my family and I have come to expect. Barring any
unforeseen change in circumstances, over the next year I'll freelance dozens of articles at a rate of one or occasionally two
a week. If I did that in California, I'd be opening up my employers to legal penalties. Bill AB-5, authored by
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, has just passed, limiting California freelancers to submitting 35 articles to a publication a
year without being hired by that company. Thirty-five may seem like a lot, but that limit makes a weekly column
impossible, let alone working for online companies where you might submit a short article or two daily and reach that limit
within a month.
How
California's new gig economy law could put freelancers out of business. If I lived in California, I'd be
staring down unemployment. A new law governing freelance work was signed into law late last month. It isn't
scheduled to take effect until January, but if panicking freelancers aren't able to force a change before then, many will be
banned from doing their jobs. It's a classic case of well-intended but functionally destructive regulation: In
the name of protecting workers, Assembly Bill 5 will prohibit some them from working. In the resultant chaos, a lucky
few will secure full-time jobs while the rest are "helped" right out of a stable income stream. A.B. 5's primary target
is gig employers like ridesharing apps Uber and Lyft, whose drivers are classified as contract workers, not employees.
That means they aren't entitled to benefits like health insurance or paid time off even if they're working full-time hours,
which A.B. 5 seeks to change.
California's
legal weed profits going up in smoke. Legal marijuana in California as a business was supposed to be a
no-brainer. How could it not be profitable in a liberal state pushing 40 million residents where some of the best weed
in the world has been grown for decades? But nearly three years after Proposition 64, the law legalizing the adult use
of the drug, was passed, California cannabis producers are not seeing the windfalls predicted. [...] The California law gives
local governments the right to regulate the pot shops so towns can prohibit them. A whopping 80% of the state's towns and
cities have turned legal pot shops down.
Rev.
Franklin Graham Condemns San Francisco Ban on Travel to Pro-Life States. Christian evangelist Rev. Franklin Graham
said progressive leaders in San Francisco who have banned travel for city employees to states that have enacted abortion restrictions
"want everyone to swallow the lie that abortion is a woman's right."
The Editor says...
Let the San Francisco bureaucrats stay in California for the rest of their miserable lives. I can't see how this travel ban has
any negative effects. What can't they accomplish over the phone?
California's
War on Citizenship. California — a one-party state dominated by progressives — has become
the model for where progressivism will go when completely unchecked. Now, even the basic concept of citizenship is
under full-blown assault as the state has moved on from being a "sanctuary state" for illegal immigrants to outright
insisting that noncitizens have the same access to the levers of power as citizens. California Gov. Gavin Newsom
recently signed legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to serve on government boards and commissions. He also
signed another bill that would make it illegal to make immigration-related arrests at courthouses.
San
Francisco bans city employees from business travel to 22 states with pro-life laws. The City of San Francisco
has added 22 states with pro-life laws to a blacklist that prevents city employees from traveling to those states using city
funds or dealing with businesses based in them.
California
says independents can vote in Democrats' 2020 primary, but not Republicans'. California's more than 5.6 million
independent voters will be allowed to vote in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, but not in the Republican contest, Secretary
of State Alex Padilla announced Monday [10/21/2019].
California
governor pardons three convicted immigrants to help block deportations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom
announced Friday [10/18/2019] he's pardoning three immigrants who've been convicted of crimes as part of an effort to protect
them from deportation to their home countries. The three men — originally from El Salvador, Iran and
Cambodia — broke the law as teens or young adults, served their sentences and have taken steps to rehabilitate
themselves, the governor's office said.
California
legalizes eating roadkill. Awash in feces, blackouts, wildfires, opioids, junkyard highways, homelessness,
illegals, measles, typhus, and leprosy, California's one-party blue Legislature and its far-left governor have nevertheless
gotten around to the important things.
California
opens state boards to undocumented immigrants and other non-citizens. Undocumented immigrants and other
non-citizens will be allowed to serve on state boards and commissions after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills
Saturday [10/12/2019] intended to integrate immigrants further into society. SB225 by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo,
D-Los Angeles, expands eligibility for state appointments to any California resident over the age of 18. In a signing
message, Newsom said applicants deserved to be considered on their merits, rather than their immigration status.
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Bill Forcing Public Universities to Dispense Abortion Drugs. California
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill into law that requires public colleges and universities in the state to distribute
abortion drugs, effectively turning the schools into first-trimester abortion clinics. On Friday [10/11/2019], Newsom
signed SB 24, which was championed in the State Senate by Sen. Connie Leyva (D) as a reproductive rights issue.
California adopts
nation's broadest gun seizure laws. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 15 gun-related bills
into law Friday, tightening the state's already-stringent Second Amendment restrictions. One of the bills, which
expands a so-called "red flag" law to allow co-workers, employers and educators to seek gun violence restraining orders
against firearms owners they fear are a danger to themselves and others, was vetoed twice by Newsom's predecessor, Jerry
Brown. Newsom also signed a companion bill allowing the gun violence restraining orders to last one and five years,
although the gun owners could petition to end those restrictions earlier. The bill also allows judges to issue search
warrants at the same time as they grant the orders. The warrants can be used immediately if the gun owners are served
with the relinquishment orders but fail to turn over the firearms or ammunition.
Say Goodbye to Charter Schools.
There's no way to reform public schools, in California or elsewhere, given that they are government monopolies that are dominated by
unions. They will put kids first, as one former teachers' union official reportedly said, after the kids start paying dues.
People who think that such schools can be improved through new reforms and more money probably believed that the Soviet economy could
have been fixed with a better-developed five-year plan. The only way to deal with that reality is to escape. In 1992,
California passed one of the nation's most far-reaching school-reform experiments, by making it easy to create publicly funded
alternative schools where kids could flee. The original law authorized the establishment of 100 charters. The state
now has more than 1,300 of them, and they educate 11 percent of the state's students.
Democrats
[are] turning California into a third-world hellhole. While they try to blame climate change and the
infrastructure, the reality is that neither of those has caused any significant changes in the last ten years —
but now, suddenly, due to Democrat policies, Californians have to start living in the 18th century. The Democrats who
run California also refuse to build more water storage capacity even though the state's population has dramatically
increased, ensuring that water has to be rationed during droughts. Democrats are turning California into a third-world
country economically. The income inequality between the über-rich Silicon Valley workers and the rest of
Californians is huge, just like in third-world countries, while the elites live in luxury and the rest live in squalor.
Federal
Judge Halts California Law Requiring Trump to Release Tax Returns in Order to Appear on 2020 Primary Ballot. US
District Judge Morrison England on Tuesday issued a temporary injunction against a California law which required Trump to
release his tax returns in order to appear on the 2020 primary ballot. Last month, the federal judge temporarily
suspended the law and announced he would be releasing a formal written injunction by October 1st. On Tuesday
[10/1/2019], Judge Morrison, a George W. Bush appointee, released a written opinion and argued the law signed by Governor
Gavin Newsom violated the Presidential Qualifications Clause contained in Article II of the US Constitution and violated
the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause as set forth in the 14th Amendment.
California
Shocked To Find Bill Decriminalizing Retail Theft Resulted In... More Retail Theft. A few years ago, California
passed one in a series of bills aimed at emptying the jails and prisons. Proposition 47 carried the disingenuous name
of "the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act and its stated purpose was to keep non-violent offenders out of jail. To
achieve this goal, the state decriminalized a number of lesser offenses, including retail theft. The law raised the
value of the amount of merchandise someone could steal while still only being charged with a misdemeanor to nearly one
thousand dollars. To the great surprise of the government, people noticed this change and began taking advantage of
it. They have now recorded multiple years of steadily increasing, organized robbery. These plots are known as
"mass grab and dash" thefts and they generally involve large numbers of young people all entering a store at the same time,
grabbing armfuls of merchandise and dashing back out to their vehicles and hitting the highway. Not only are robberies
on the rise, but arrests and prosecutions are down. Who could possibly have predicted this?
Gavin
Newsom calls for impeaching Trump, gets slapped with recall petition from California's locals. California's
far-left governor, Gavin Newsom, is out there with the best of them, loudly calling for the impeachment of President
Trump. It's nothing new for him, given that he ran for governor in 2017 on this platform. [...] From his point of view,
it makes sense, because even though he's been on the job for only about a year, he's shown that he's always been more
interested in sounding woke than actually governing. Just tour the poop-strewn, disease-ridden streets of any
California blue city with a high Newsom vote count for a whiff of it.
Federal Judge
Blocks California Law That Would Force Trump To Disclose Tax Returns. A federal judge temporarily blocked
California's law requiring presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns in order to gain a spot on the primary
ballot Thursday [9/19/2019]. The California law would require any candidate running for president or governor to give
the IRS tax forms for the past five years, after which portions of them would be edited for public viewing, the Los Angeles
Times reported. This could be an issue for President Donald Trump as he runs for president again in 2020 because he has
refused to disclose his tax returns, despite efforts by Democrats to force his hand.
California
judge blocks law requiring Trump to submit tax returns to compete in state's 2020 primary. A federal judge in
California Thursday granted the Trump campaign's request to block a new law that requires presidential and gubernatorial
candidates to release five years of tax returns to run in the state's primary elections. The law signed by
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, in July would have left the sitting president off of the ballot in California's March
2020 primary unless he submitted five years' worth of his tax returns by a Nov. 26 deadline, the Los Angeles Times
reported. Under SB 27, Trump would be included on the general election ballot in November 2020. Oppoenents [sic]
of the law argue depressed GOP voter turnout in the primary could discourage voters from showing up to vote for the president
in the main race.
Federal
Judge: This Tax-Return Requirement For California's Presidential Primaries Smells Unconstitutional.
Indeed it does, and the injunction issued by US district court Judge Morrison England Jr represents a victory for Donald
Trump — if a temporary one. California had passed a law requiring all presidential primary candidates in the
state to publicly release the last five years of their income tax returns to qualify for the ballot. A former fringe
candidate joined Donald Trump in challenging the law for its super-constitutional efforts to add state-level qualifiers to
federal office, and Judge England issued an injunction against its enforcement.
The Editor says...
This is what's known as a bill of attainder.
California
adds Iowa to 'travel ban' over refusal to fund gender transitions. California announced last week that it has
added Iowa to the list of states on its ever-expanding "travel ban" list because of that state's new prohibition against
funding gender-transition surgeries under Medicaid. The announcement by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra means
that as of Oct. 4, California will no longer offer taxpayer-funded trips to Iowa for any public employee or student at
a state-run university. Becerra's authority came from a 2016 California law signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown that
bars state-funded travel to other states that undercut LGBT rights. The blacklist already included Alabama, Kentucky,
North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi.
The Editor says...
California is attempting interfere with the other states entirely for the purpose of endorsing and legitimizing homosexuality.
Gov.
Newsom Commutes Sentences of 21 Violent Criminals Incarcerated in CA Prisons, Including 4 Murderers with Life Sentences.
Far-left California Governor Gavin Newsom commuted sentences of 21 violent criminals including 4 murderers with life sentences
without possibility of parole. One of the murderers was arrested in 1993 for fatally shooting a man during a carjacking and
another was incarcerated in 1991 for killing an armed guard during a robbery. A man who served 31 years of 2 life
sentences for a double murder in 1988 was also given clemency by Newsom.
California
Introduces Bill to Ban ICE Detention Centers, Private Prisons. The state of California is cracking down on
"private for-profit prisons" after introducing a bill to ban the facilities. Moreover, it means shutting down U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's privately run detention centers. The bill AB-42 passed the state assembly
Wednesday [9/11/2019] with 65 votes in favorable votes. According to Newsweek, it would mean shutting down
four detention centers holding "up to 4,500 inmates."
The
Left's determination to destroy us from within. Governor Newsom of California has reached into the gutter for a
new and obscene low. So dishonorable is this man that he signed into law a bill that "struck down a more than
century-old law that required any able-bodied persons 18 years of age or older to assist a police officer who requested help
during an arrest." [...] Newsom, and the rest of the Democrat governors and mayors that destroyed their own states and cities,
have not only ruined the municipalities that they control, but have destroyed countless lives — namely, of
those who barely subsist on the streets of these cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle, Baltimore,
Chicago. They willingly promulgate the drug use of their homeless (they pass out free syringes) and seem to tolerate
the vast homeless encampments and all they entail: discarded needles, public defecation, crime, disease —
in short, the destruction of the cities they've been allowed to take over and ruin.
Gov
Newsom signs bill, now legal for citizens to refuse police officers' request for help. Gov. Gavin Newsom
just made it legal for anyone in the state of California to refuse to help a police officer requesting assistance. The
California Democrat on Tuesday [9/3/2019] signed into law a bill that struck down a more than century-old law which required any
"able-bodied person 18 years of age or older" to assist a police officer who requested help during an arrest, The Sacramento
Bee reported.
California's
Newsom signs bill allowing citizen to refuse to help a police officer. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a
Democrat, on Tuesday [9/3/2019] signed a bill that no longer requires any "able-bodied person 18 years of age or older" in
the state to help an officer who requests assistance during an arrest. The Sacramento Bee reported that the old law,
the California Posse Comitatus Act of 1872, was common in the country's early days, but Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Los
Angeles Democrat who sponsored the bill, called the old law a "vestige of a bygone era." The law was employed to help
catch runaway slaves, the report said. The old law made it a misdemeanor that carried a fine of up to $1,000 for
refusing to help a police officer who requested assistance during an arrest.
The Editor says...
If the only purpose for that law was to have citizens assist the police with the capture of runaway slaves, there might be
some reasonable basis for repealing it. Surely the elected officials of California don't believe such a thing.
Governor Newsom's action reeks of race-based political opportunism, and the unintended consequences are not many days away.
San Francisco Board of
Supervisors Declares NRA a Domestic Terrorist Organization. San Francisco's legislative body has challenged
other American cities and states to follow its lead and formally condemn the National Rifle Association (NRA). The
Californian city's board of supervisors passed a resolution on Tuesday officially labeling the gun rights' group a domestic
terrorist organization. [...] It said the NRA "musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun
ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence."
San
Francisco Declares NRA a 'Domestic Terrorist Organization'. San Francisco, the "sanctuary city" for illegal
aliens — now crowded with homeless people camping and defecating on sidewalks — has just declared the
National Rifle Association a "domestic terrorist organization." The resolution, which the Board of Supervisors passed
unanimously Tuesday, urges the rest of the country to "do the same." The resolution accuses the NRA or mustering "its
considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence."
Crony Capitalism on Steroids.
California lawmakers want to bring back central-planning agencies that squander taxpayer dollars on corporate welfare and
abuse eminent domain — in the name of fixing a housing shortage that these agencies helped create.
California's War on Cars.
Traffic has long been horrific throughout California, especially in the Los Angeles basin and the Bay Area. But like
every bad thing in this state, it just keeps getting worse. The 2018 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard tops the ranking of
most congested cities, with drivers spending an annual average of 104 hours stuck in gridlock. Other California cities
made the ranks of 50 most congested cities across the globe. The obvious solution is to, well, build more roads, even
though decades of neglect — and reams of environmental impediments such as the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) — would make that a daunting task if state officials wanted to do so. But they have no interest
in doing so. Their goal is to coerce us into giving up our cars or at least driving much less. They've caused the
crisis and are not about to let it go to waste.
Armchair quarterbacks:
California
Governor Signs Use-of-Deadly Force Bill Aimed at 'Changing the Culture of Policing'. California Gov. Gavin
Newsom (D) announced on Monday [8/19/2019] that California is now a "model for the rest of the nation" when it comes to the
use of deadly force by police officers. Newsom on Monday signed Assembly Bill No. 392, which says police officers may
"use deadly force only when necessary in defense of human life." According to the text of the bill, the "authority to use
physical force...is a serious responsibility that shall be exercised judiciously and with respect for human rights and dignity
and for the sanctity of every human life."
Cosmic Injustice.
In the last years of Arnold Schwarzenegger's governorship, Arnold more or less gave up on the existential crises of illegal
immigration, sanctuary cities, soaring taxes, water shortages, decrepit roads and bridges, homelessness, plummeting public
school performance, and a huge exodus out of state of middle-class Californians. Instead he began to lecture the state,
the nation, and indeed the world on the need for massive wind and solar projects and assorted green fantasies.
California
prefers 'free range rats' over humans. Proposed poison ban. California is prepared to sacrifice human
lives for the sake of wildlife apparently. The wise Progressives have let fester a growing health risk in allowing
their rat population to explode with no interest in controlling their expanding population. The Democrats want to ban
rat poison. You can't call them lazy. Once a female rat reproduces, she could have 15,000 descendants by the end
of just one year! Note: Your rat mileage may vary.
'Flagrantly
illegal.' Trump sues California over new law targeting his tax returns. President Donald Trump, the California
Republican Party, and the national GOP joined together Tuesday [8/6/2019] to sue California over a new tax-return law Gov. Gavin
Newsom signed last week. The law requires Trump and other presidential candidates to release the last five years of their tax
returns to get their names on the state's 2020 primary ballot.
California's
Gavin Newsom torched as red-hot hypocrite for calling Trump's wall wasteful. California's leftist governor,
Gavin Newsom, got it in the teeth on Twitter after he tried to decry President Trump's border wall as, of all things,
government waste. [...] And it didn't end well for him. He drew about 6,000 replies, virtually all of them negative,
with a large number of them clearly from the locals.
Berkeley
becomes first US city to ban natural gas in new buildings. Berkeley became the first city nationwide to ban the
use of natural gas in new low-rise residential buildings in a unanimous vote Tuesday by the City Council. [...] In June 2018,
the council declared a climate emergency and called for a review of Berkeley's greenhouse emission reduction strategies.
The city determined in a report last year that gas-related emissions have increased due to an 18% population growth since 2000.
The Editor says...
I wonder if the Berkeley politicians understand that they share the atmosphere with 7.7 billion other people, most of whom
would love to have cheap and abundant natural gas available, rather than the firewood, coal, or dung they're currently using.
The city council's action is not just symbolic: It affects the construction of already-unaffordable new houses.
In
California, don't call them 'public servants,' call them 'the government gang'. As a Californian of more than
three decades, I have watched the highways deteriorate, with no new construction of freeways (or reservoirs for that matter)
while the population soared. I have watched the schools go from bad to horrendous. Meanwhile, taxes have soared
to levels that are driving out middle class taxpayers in very large numbers. The rest of us who are not members of the
government gang watch as the gang members get rich.
California
Gives Green Light to Health Care for Illegal Aliens. California is the first state to allow taxpayer-funded
health care benefits to go towards people residing in the U.S. illegally. Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill
into law on Tuesday which would allow low-income adults under the age of 25 to receive state Medicaid benefits through its
Medi-Cal program regardless of immigration status.
Democrats
take their next step to destroy the USA. California has approved a new budget expanding Medi-Cal coverage to
illegal aliens up to the age of 26. This will cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars, even without factoring in
the costs created by the obvious incentive the program will create for illegals to move to California. Moreover, the
formerly Golden State is bringing back the individual mandate, in part to fund the Medi-Cal expansion for non-residents of
California. This means that residents of the state who don't want to — or need to — buy health
insurance, as well as those who can't afford it, will have their money confiscated by the government to provide health care
to illegal aliens.
California
Assembly Approves Resolution That Calls for Church Acceptance of LGBTQ. The California State Assembly voted 9-2
to send to the state senate a resolution calling on "religious leaders to counsel on LGBTQ matters from a place of love,
compassion, and knowledge of the psychological and other harms of conversion therapy." While no one would argue with
the aim of being more loving and more compassionate in our counsel of our fellow man, the people's representatives do not
possess any authority in the arena of religious practice.
California
Democrats Propose Bill to Allow Illegal Immigrants to Hold Party Leadership Positions. Democratic lawmakers in
California have introduced a bill that will allow illegal immigrants to hold leadership positions within the Democrat Party
on the state and local level, Breitbart reports. Current state law limits noncitizen participation in party politics,
but the bill, SB 288, would change that, letting noncitizens, including illegal immigrants like Dreamers, serve as state
convention delegates and county committee leaders within the Democratic Party, which will allow them to be involved with
party platform and other issues.
California
Democrats Push Bill Allowing Illegals Party Roles: 'They're Already Leaders'. A bill proposed last week by California lawmakers could
grant illegal aliens the ability to serve in Democrat Party leadership positions locally and statewide. The new bill, SB 288, would allow
them to be part of shaping the party's platform, including serving as state convention delegates and county committee leaders.
The
Plan to "Make America, American Again". California Dems made sure the people of Mexico and other foreign
countries understood the borders were open, no one would ever be sent back, and Democrats would give them every form of
welfare for free. Then they gave illegals drivers licenses. They registered illegals automatically at DMV. They
made sure there was no Voter ID at the polls. Recognize the plan? Gavin Newsom gave it away. This is now the
national plan for Democrats. Make the whole country into California.
California's
Gov. Gavin Newsom puts out a video for illegals on how to obstruct ICE. I thought it was satire, something
cooked up by his political enemies. You couldn't put out a less attractive video than the one Gavin Newsom did for
illegal aliens on Twitter, advising them himself on how to obstruct ICE from any deportation maneuvers. [...] Leave aside the
fact that he's the governor of a U.S. state, supposedly there to represent the interests of that state's citizens rather than
those of the foreigners who come here without papers, quite illegally, and run up the tab using his state's services.
Hillary's
People's Republic of California Jungle Primary Voter Suppression. In the 2018 midterm general election
California voters had the choice for US Senate on the general election ballot between liberal Democrat Senator Diane
Feinstein or even more liberal Democrat opponent. There were no Republicans on the US Senate General Election ballot in
2018. Two years earlier, in 2016, liberal Democrat Kamala Harris was elected US Senator by defeating Liberal Democrat
opponent Loretta Sanchez in the general election. Again, There were no Republican candidates on the general election
ballot for Senator in 2016.
California's
Progressive Betrayal. The recent California Democratic Party convention in San Francisco exposed the divide
between the state's progressive and working-class voters. Progressives, in their militant certitude, support left-wing
policies that often don't affect them; it's the working class that suffers the consequences of these proposals. But the
Green New Deal, widely embraced by party leaders, pushed too far, triggering a backlash at the convention. The state's
private-sector labor unions, notably the building trades, organized a "Blue Collar Revolution" protest against the Democrats'
climate legislation. The Democrats are calling for the elimination of fossil fuels by 2030, which would result in
California's immiseration, especially for workers in the state's energy-production sector, the nation's fourth-largest.
In 2012, the oil and gas industry employed over 400,000 Californians, but these workers — unionized and
well-paid — can expect pink slips with the green package.
California
Says, 'Go West Young Illegals, Go West'. Doctors and hospitals are in the gunsights of many Democrats who want
Medicare-for-all as a draconian price control scheme by government over all medical care in the US. Hospitals are told they
charge too much and doctors are vilified for earning too much. What a relief that a sugar daddy has appeared, a rich
boyfriend, a benefactor with a fat wallet, ready to bestow his financial largess on financially strapped healthcare
providers. This sugar daddy is named Gavin, tall and handsome with good hair. I speak of California Governor
Gavin Newsom, who finalized a deal with the California legislature, "to provide full health benefits to low-income illegal
immigrants under the age of 26."
Can
California Be Saved, or Is It Too Late? How did this state, once the envy of all others, become the pathetic,
indebted loser state it is today? The answer is simple, single-party Democratic rule. [...] State taxes in California
are the highest in the nation, as are our sales taxes. We fall nearly last in education. We have the most
homeless, the most illegal migrants. The state spends $30 [billion] on illegal immigration per year. Like
all cities run by progressives, our entire state is a disaster of Democratic making.
California
lawmakers weigh budget proposals to cover health care for illegal immigrants. California lawmakers are weighing
proposals this week that would offer government-funded health care to adult illegal immigrants but are at odds over how far
to go. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed $98 million a year to cover low-income illegal immigrants between
the ages of 19 and 25, but the state Assembly's bill would cover all illegal immigrants over the age of 19 living in
California — a proposal that would cost an estimated $3.4 billion.
California
to pay full health benefits for illegal immigrants. Democrats in the [California] state Legislature reached an
agreement Sunday afternoon [6/9/2019] as part of a broader plan to spend $213 billion of state and federal tax money over the
next year. The agreement means low-income adults between the ages of 19 and 25 living in California illegally would be
eligible for California's Medicaid program, the joint state and federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled.
The
dystopian nightmare that is California has been brought to you by... Democrats. Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles
Times reported a week ago on the obscene condition of downtown Los Angeles, "A mountain of rotting, oozing, stinking trash
... stretching a good 20 yards along a skid row alley. Rats popped their heads out of the debris like they were in a
game of Whac-A-Mole, then scampered for cover as a tractor with a scoop lurched toward them. ... The trash problem is not
confined to any one street, but this particular location on the 800 block of Ceres Avenue is surrounded by food distribution
companies that sell to shoppers, vendors, stores and restaurants. I counted seven within a block, so you have to
wonder — given the colonies of football-size rats — about the potential contamination of the food
supply chain and the spread of disease." What does the city say when confronted about the slow, or nonexistent, pace
of cleanup?
Berkeley
loves its sanctuary label, but a housing crisis is testing its liberal values. This eccentric Northern
California enclave was a sanctuary long before the designation became a must-have merit badge for any left-leaning
city. Berkeley politicians proclaimed the place a refuge for Navy sailors resisting deployment to the Vietnam War
nearly a half-century ago. It was the birth of a movement to protect the outcast — and, in some cases, the
outlaw — from rules that this beat-of-its-own-drum city and its followers found immoral, most recently the
deportation of undocumented immigrants. But California's housing crisis is testing whether Berkeley can remain that
kind of place.
SF
supes get 12% pay raise while everyone else at City Hall gets a lot less. San Francisco's supervisors will be
getting a 12% raise this year, more than three times the size of those being given to other elected officials and city
employees. The raise was approved by a 3-1 vote of the Civil Service Commission on Monday [5/20/2019] and represents a
$15,016 pay hike, bringing the board members' salaries to $140,148 this year — plus benefits.
Los
Angeles Prohibits Employees From Traveling to Alabama Because It Banned Abortions. Los Angeles County has
imposed a one-year travel ban to Alabama in response to the state's new abortion law, which is the most restrictive in the
country. Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solia, author of the motion, said the state's law is an "attack not only
confined to the residents of those states, but an act of aggression upon all of us." "We must stand in solidarity and in
opposition against extremist and unconstitutional laws that put the health and wellbeing of families at risk," Solis said.
"The constitutional and human right to a safe and legal abortion is part of the very fabric of the United States."
California
lawmakers weigh budget proposals to cover health care for illegal immigrants. California lawmakers are weighing
proposals this week that would offer government-funded health care to adult illegal immigrants but are at odds over how far
to go. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed $98 million a year to cover low-income illegal immigrants between
the ages of 19 and 25, but the state Assembly's bill would cover all illegal immigrants over the age of 19 living in
California — a proposal that would cost an estimated $3.4 billion.
Sacramento's Biggest Gasbags.
Don't be alarmed by soaring California gasoline prices, which have topped $4 a gallon at most gas stations around the state.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders are on the job, as they sniff out the culprit behind rising prices.
They are pretty sure it has something to do with bad corporate behavior, based on their latest public statements. Stay
tuned — but you might not want to buy that giant gas-sucking SUV just yet. The cause of the high prices is
obvious to those of us familiar with the state's gasoline-related policies. In 2017, then-Gov. Jerry Brown pushed
through his signature increase in gas taxes to fund the road-infrastructure improvements that his administration had neglected
as it ramped up social spending. The law adds 12 cents to each gallon of gasoline and 20 cents to each gallon
of diesel and could add far more to the price in coming decades.
Trump,
Pareto, and the Fall of the Elites. Encouraging mass immigration of illegals who compete for lower-level jobs
does not help the underprivileged, rather it creates a new group of voters that will support the Democrats. It also
helps privileged groups by supplying cheap labor. Take, for example, wealthy Marin County, California. Marin is
largely populated by well-to-do and highly educated professional people. An underclass of often illegal immigrants
provides affordable services such as yard work and babysitting. In the 2012 presidential election, Marin voted 74% for
Obama. In the 2016 election, Marin voted 77% for Hillary and only 16% for Trump. Another wealthy California
county, Santa Clara County, is the heart of Silicon Valley. In the 2016 election, Santa Clara County voted only 21% for
Trump. Fresno County, California, a county that is majority Hispanic with a very high poverty rate, voted 43% for
Trump. California as a whole voted 32% for Trump. The nation as a whole voted 46% for Trump. In the borough
of Manhattan, in New York City, one of the wealthiest places in the country, only 10% of the votes went for Trump. Clearly
the privileged class votes Democratic and strongly opposes Trump. In places inhabited by elites, the Democrats dominate.
California
moves to keep Trump off 2020 primary ballot. The California Legislature is trying again to force presidential
candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns, hoping a new Democratic governor known for his clashes with President
Donald Trump won't block them this time.
California
Politicians Hiked Gas Tax, Now Demand Investigation Into State's $4 Per Gallon Gas Prices. As lieutenant
governor, Gavin Newsom supported a 2017 bill increasing the state's gas taxes. When running for governor in 2018, he
opposed a ballot initiative that would have repealed that same increase. It's 2019, and Newson, now the state's
governor, is demanding an investigation into why the state's gas prices are so high. On Tuesday [4/23/2019], the
governor sent a letter to the California Energy Commission (CEC) asking that the state agency investigate the Golden State's
roughly $4.03 per gallon gas prices, currently the highest in the country (and well above the national average of $2.86 per gallon).
What 'Free Money' Means to Me.
Officials in Stockton, Calif., a hard-pressed agricultural and industrial city 75 miles northeast of San Jose, are enjoying
the glow of media attention from their ongoing, first-in-America program to provide residents with a Universal Basic Income, or UBI. [...]
This is about more than helping a few residents in a mid-size city pay medical bills, buy groceries, repair the car, or spend the
weekend in the Sierra foothills gambling at the Jackson Rancheria Indian casino (there are no limits on how the money is spent,
after all). It's about setting the stage for a national political "discussion" that might eventually involve large, direct
taxpayer payments to lower-income residents. The research and storytelling will be used to soften us up for the hard sell, which
will come in various state or federal proposals, and will sometimes be linked to plans for reparations.
California.Gov.Con.
If Gavin Newsom runs for president, [Eleni] Kounalakis may run for governor, or even higher office. In that quest, Eleni will again deploy
daddy's money and promotional support from Markos, who believes that a woman's proper place is in the White House. Eleni gets all this,
plus California's imported electoral college, from places like El Salvador and Mexico. For Clinton cronies, California offers the best
of all possible worlds.
Government 'Oversight'
Is a Very Bad Joke. [Scroll down] The 67-page audit of [the California] DMV found a "reactive culture
that has adversely impacted the field office customer experience," outdated management structures, a third of customer-service
windows closed even as people waited in lines that went around the DMV field offices — and pretty much
everything else that anyone who has visited a California DMV office would know. The audit suggested changes, but
the agency reacted in normal fashion and requested more money. DMV offices, which I've described as a cross between bus
stations and Soviet bread lines, have been like this since time immemorial (although they're better in some states) and will
always be this way. We must deal with the agency if we want to drive. There are no customers that must be
satisfied because we have no other choice.
Money
in the Toilet — The Billion Dollar Cost of Public Bathrooms. The fastest rising item in the country
isn't gold or bitcoin, it's the cost of a public bathroom. In '08, a San Francisco Weekly article fumed that a park
restroom in Golden Gate Park was costing taxpayers $531,219. Fast forward, a decade later the cost of a park restroom in the
Golden Gate Boathouse had ballooned to $2 million or $4,700 per square foot. The modern bathroom had a third All-Gender
option that the '08 bathroom didn't. But adding a non-gender shouldn't have quadrupled the price. Inflation would
have kept the cost well below a million. Why did a 15-foot by 28-foot bathroom cost millions? Part of the answer
may be that San Fran privileges minority businesses and requires that 15% of work hours be carried out by "disadvantaged" workers.
As
Trump vows to shut the border to illegals, Gavin Newsom makes a suspicious trip to El Salvador. [Scroll
down] One can just picture how this trip looks from the Salvadoran side of things. Here come Big Daddy, the
California governor, the gringo who's already laid out a banquet of goodies for Salvadorans in California, from free health
care to free education, to sanctuary state protections to enable illegals to work, coming there supposedly to find out how he
can offer...even more goodies to Salvador's uneducated lower middle classes. The idea is to get even more of them to
come over. Big Daddy comes down with the Santa sack full of goodies.
California
executes a 'moratorium' on the death penalty. During the past eight years, California voters have twice
reiterated their support for the death penalty by defeating propositions seeking to overturn it. If anyone was confused
about Californians' understanding of the death penalty representing an important part of justice, in 2016 they even passed a
proposition calling for the speeding up of executions by shortening the decades-long appeals process. In other words,
Californians want the death penalty, and they want to it happen faster and more often.
Gavin
Newsom Doesn't Care about Crime Victims. On March 13, California governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive
order granting a reprieve to all 737 convicted murderers awaiting execution in the Golden State. [...] All 737 reprieved
death-row inmates had been found guilty of murder by a jury of their peers, beyond any reasonable doubt. The convicted
murderers had also exhausted all the possibilities of the appeal process, which in the California criminal justice system is
quite extensive. Gavin Newsom is not an attorney and not a judge. The governor did not attend the trials and
produced no new exculpatory evidence in any of the cases. Those awaiting execution include Richard Allen Davis, who
kidnapped and killed twelve-year-old Polly Klaas, and "Tool Box Killer" Lawrence Bittaker, who raped and killed five teen
girls in 1979 after torturing them with pliers and screwdrivers.
Killing the Death Penalty via
Edict. To my conservative friends who like when chief executives push the envelope on "national emergencies"
and executive orders, I offer you California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Last week, he grabbed national headlines for his
decision to grant reprieves to all 737 prisoners on California's death row based on his own personal feelings: [...]
Governors have the power to pardon people and give reprieves. But just as advocates for limited government believe that
presidents should let Congress take the lead on spending matters, they too should prefer that governors stick to the spirit
and not just the letter of the law. Such reprieves are meant for particular cases — not as a means to change
public policy.
California
Drug Legalization Leads to Political Corruption. California is going full narcosocialist and there's a price to
pay for that. The price is deeper corruption and criminality. [...] While part of the LA Times story tilt claims that
this is about "black market" drug dealers, most of these examples appear to involve those that were legal or trying to go legal.
But that takes us to the baffling difference between a black market drug dealer and a legal drug dealer is that the latter is paying
off the government. Now we have drug businesses getting in trouble for paying off government officials in the wrong sort of
way. We want drug dealers to legalize by legally paying off the government.
Gov.
Newsom to order halt to California's death penalty. Gov. Gavin Newsom is suspending the death penalty in California,
calling it discriminatory and immoral, and is granting reprieves to the 737 condemned inmates on the nation's largest Death Row.
"I do not believe that a civilized society can claim to be a leader in the world as long as its government continues to sanction the
premeditated and discriminatory execution of its people," Newsom said in a statement accompanying an executive order, to be issued
Wednesday [3/13/2019], declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in the state. "The death penalty is inconsistent with our
bedrock values and strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Californian."
California's
Rendezvous With Reality. Californians brag that their state is the world's fifth-largest economy. They
talk as reverentially of Silicon Valley companies Apple, Facebook and Google as the ancient Greeks did of their Olympian
gods. Hollywood and universities such as Caltech, Stanford and Berkeley are cited as permanent proof of the
intellectual, aesthetic and technological dominance of West Coast culture. Californians also see their progressive,
one-party state as a neo-socialist model for a nation moving hard to the left.
California's
Gov. Newsom inherits a steaming load of scandal from Jerry Brown. California's Gov. Gavin Newsom has
inherited a steaming load of financial scandals from Jerry Brown regarding high-speed rail and the Oroville Dam. Gavin
Newsom is the first Democrat California governor to follow a sitting Democrat governor in over a century. Newsom
campaigned as an ally of Gov. Jerry Brown by trumpeting how Brown eight years earlier had overcome a crisis projected by
the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office to included a $6.4-billion current budget deficit, a $19-billion deficit for
the following year, and another five years of $20-billion-plus deficits.
North
Carolina vote fraud case shows just why Congress should ban ballot-harvesting nationwide. [Scroll down]
Sure enough, in California, this same ballot-harvesting that was illegally practiced in North Carolina is completely legal
and completely responsible for deep-red Orange County suddenly going blue in the last congressional election. Candidate
after candidate who had been leading in the 2018 midterm count all of a sudden saw those large leads reversed, with all of
them shifting to the Democratic side, with leftists taking all the congressional slots.
Gov.
Gavin Newsom touts proposed $25 million in California aid to asylum seekers. Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials
in San Diego on Thursday [1/31/2019] touted a proposed $25 million in state funding to address a growing humanitarian crisis
involving migrant families seeking asylum in the U.S. and blamed the Trump administration for manufacturing a problem at the border.
With prodding from San Diego lawmakers, Newsom has called for spending $20 million over three years to aid local nonprofits and
community organizations that provide services to asylum-seeking migrant families.
The Editor says...
President Trump did not "manufacture" the problem of uncontrolled illegal immigration across the Mexican border. That problem
has existed for decades, but in recent years has been exacerbated by the Democrats, who offer numerous incentives for immigrants.
See more
under Welfare programs attract illegal aliens and other immigrants.
California's
Gavin Newsom Proposes Tax on Drinking Water in First Budget. California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed his
first budget for the state on Friday [1/11/2019], and it includes a tax on drinking water. The budget, titled
"California for All," declares drinking water a "fundamental right," and adds: "The Budget includes short-term measures
to bring immediate relief to communities without safe drinking water and also proposes an ongoing sustainable funding source
to address this problem into the future."
The Editor says...
Wait a minute. If drinking water is a "fundamental right," why should it be taxed? Indeed, why does your city
government send you a utility bill and charge you for water, if it's a right? No, in reality, food and water and
housing and medicine are not "fundamental rights," regardless of the number of politicians who say they are.
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom seeks to add more illegal immigrants to state health care plan. Newly sworn-in California
Gov. Gavin Newsom, vowing to provide "sanctuary to all who seek it," has proposed extending state health care coverage to more
illegal immigrants living within the Golden State's borders. Hours after assuming office, Mr. Newsom released sweeping
health care proposals to raise the age limit for illegal aliens covered by Medi-Cal from 19 to 26, which would make California "the
first state in the nation to cover young undocumented adults through a state Medicaid program," according to a Monday [1/7/2019]
release from the governor's office.
Cpl.
Singh Was Laid to Rest. Guess Which Politicians Were Conveniently Absent. Just when we thought
politicians in California couldn't get any more horrible, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom proved us wrong. Apparently the
reason he was absent from Cpl. Singh's funeral yesterday was because he was too busy watching the Sacramento Kings
play basketball.
Jerry
Brown "Legacy": Highest Poverty in Nation, Highest Homelessness/Worst Affordable Housing. We are a few days
away from the end of the Brown Administration. His legacy is clear, if you listen to the Democrats. They claim
California has the most poverty in the nation — true. We have a shortage of homes — true.
We have a massive homelessness problem — true. All of this has become his legacy. Add to this the
$200 billion train boondoggle, his cutting off water for farmers and the worst roads and freeways in the
nation — California is a Third world State.
Fighting
Trump and Freedom, California Creates 1,000 New 2018 Laws. That the Land of Fruits and Nuts is legislating from
soup to nuts is significant because, while often forgotten, a law generally is a removal of a freedom. After all, laws
virtually always state that there's something we must or mustn't do. Thus, the more laws we have, the less free we are
from governmental control. And given that governments continually enact more laws but hardly ever rescind any, this
means that every year we're progressively less free. So what liberties were robbed in California this time around?
The
Grapes of Wrath — in Reverse. [I]n the last decade and a half, about 6 million Californians
over the age of 25 left the state; in the last 30 years, perhaps 10 million fled. There are no accurate
statistics on the political ideologies of the departed or even their actual numbers. But most studies suggest that the
reasons for radical outmigration were quality-of-life complaints, soaring home prices and taxes, poor state services, failing
infrastructure and schools, and rising crime. [...] According to one study, at least 13,000 companies fled the state over the
last decade.
Democrats: A plague
on the nation. Governor Brown has effectively destroyed California, now benighted by rampant homelessness and the crime
that accompanies a population of illiterate, drug-addicted, gang-affiliated, criminally inclined persons adrift on our streets.
And now another young officer has been killed by an illegal alien thanks to the left's obsession with protecting the throngs of migrants
crossing the border into the U.S. It should be obvious to every American by now that our progressive left does not have the
best interest of Americans at heart.
California
Spends $100 Million to Maximize Census Cash Jackpot. California is spending over $100 million preparing for the
2020 Census to maintain its top spot to maximize the federal population spending jackpot. The key for California to
keep growing its top spot in state and local government spending that hit $587.9 billion this year is maximizing its number
of legal and illegal residents who currently justify $107.5 billion in direct federal transfers and about $376 billion
of indirect transfers to pay for federal salaries, income support, student financial aid, U.C. grants, corporate subsidies, and
a slew of other items. California has allocated $100.3 million for "outreach" this year to maximize the number of state
residents to be counted in the 2020 U.S. Census. Only 10 other states have allocated any cash for "outreach."
California's funding is over 27 times the $2.3 million by number-two Georgia and 66 times the $1.5 million
funded by number-three Illinois.
San
Francisco mayor trying to get brother, a convicted killer, out of lockup 20 years early. San Francisco Mayor
London Breed sent a letter to departing Gov. Jerry Brown in late October asking him to "consider leniency" and commute
the sentence of her older brother, who has served nearly two decades of a 44-year sentence on a manslaughter conviction,
according to reports. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday that the mayor has joined other members of her
family in requesting an early release from prison for Napoleon Brown, who struggled with drugs from a young age.
Jerry
Brown's 'Twin Tunnels' Project on Hold. The project, officially called the California Waterfix, aims to divert
water from the Sacramento River underneath the California Delta to storage facilities further south, from which water can be
pumped to southern California. The "twin tunnels" were to be Brown's major infrastructure legacy, in addition to the
California High-Speed Rail system, which faces significant financial and engineering hurdles. But it faced intense
local opposition from the communities in the Delta, who faced considerable disruption to their lives. The project was
also opposed by many environmental groups, and farming groups that were meant to benefit — at a price —
showed lukewarm support.
DA
Gascón carried guns on planes, then whistle-blower was fired, suit says. A former senior investigator says
he was fired for blowing the whistle on his boss, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who he alleged carried
a gun while flying — in violation of federal law. Gascón reacted with a "pattern of retaliation and
harassment" that culminated in the termination of senior investigator Henry G. McKenzie on Oct. 30, 2017, according
to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Study:
More than 7-in-10 California Immigrant Households Are on Welfare. More than 7-in-10 households headed by
immigrants in the state of California are on taxpayer-funded welfare, a new study reveals. The latest Census Bureau
data analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) finds that about 72 percent of households headed by noncitizens and
immigrants use one or more forms of taxpayer-funded welfare programs in California — the number one immigrant-receiving
state in the U.S. Meanwhile, only about 35 percent of households headed by native-born Americans use welfare in California.
After
California's ballot harvest: What is to be done? The ballot-harvesting issue, which gave Democrats an
absolute monopoly of power in even Orange County, signals a sort of the bottom dropping out in California. Now that
Democrats have discovered they can flip any race based on selective collections of mail-in ballots by Democratic
door-knockers from voters who didn't ask for them, their one-party state of the past 20 years in California has gotten even
more entrenched in power. One gets the sense that the landscape has changed and what the voters want no longer
matters. Voting is no longer about you, or what you think or the decisions you make, it's now all about that
unasked-for piece of paper on the kitchen table known as a ballot and how Democrats can get their hands on it. You are
incidental. The creepy Democratic machine, with its 1980s PRI-style politics, rigged this state this way, and in so
doing would make Hugo Chávez or Daniel Ortega envious. PRI Mexico was, after all, once called "the perfect
dictatorship." Now the title has moved on to California. It amounts to stolen democracy, which ultimately
cries out for revolution.
The Cloward-Piven strategy: Overload the system to intentionally break it.
California
Democrats plan to extend Medicaid to illegal immigrants. State Assembly member Joaquin Arambula, a Democrat and
a doctor, announced the plans Monday [12/3/2018] as the legislature convened at the state capitol, according to the Los
Angeles Times. Should the bill advance, California would become the first state to extend Medicaid coverage regardless
of immigration status. State projections for last year's bill found that 1.8 million people in California are uninsured
and reside there illegally; roughly 1.2 million would qualify for Medi-Cal, the name of the state's Medicaid program.
Trump: The Last President?
The Governor isn't the Governor of California, especially when he won in a 57% to 43% victory. The Governor is the
Governor of the Left, and will represent the Left, not the electorate in general. The swing vote, which has moderated
elections nationally is absent in California. The swing vote means that the most uninterested people have the levers of
power. That category of people simply does not exist in California. Party leader? Sure. Governor?
Well, in name only. In reality, the recently elected Governor is the Democratic Party leader.
Pelosi
tells audience, 'San Francisco values, that's what we're about'. Has Nancy Pelosi joined the GOP team anxious
to scare voters away from voting for the donkey party? The pejorative use of the expression "San Francisco values," to
indicate a loss of decency, tradition, and sanity, has at least two decades of history, and arguably almost three and a half,
since Jeanne Kirkpatrick denounced "San Francisco Democrats" at the 1984 Republican Convention. Today, San Francisco is
the exemplar of a city that has driven out the middle class and features the worst-looking income gap between rich and
poor. San Francisco's poor languish in its streets in the worst display of the degradation of poverty this side of
Calcutta. San Francisco's homelessness, its open drug use, and the spread of human feces on the sidewalks there have
made being a pedestrian there a health risk.
Gavin
Newsom Helped Mother's Assisted Suicide. A recent article in the New Yorker extolling the (probable)
next Governor of California reveals that Gavin Newsom helped his mother commit assisted suicide. [...] When I first read the
piece, I assumed she didn't die in California because assisted suicide was a felony there in 2002, and Newsom was a member of
the San Francisco Board of Supervisors sworn to uphold the law. Wrong. She died in San Francisco.
California
city council candidate is caught dropping off his wheelchair-bound mom, 86, so she can panhandle. A nonpartisan candidate
for city council in Southern California has been accused of dropping off his elderly, wheelchair-bound mother to panhandle for the last
decade, even though they're not homeless. David Chey has been caught on camera leaving Soon Chey, 86, in her wheelchair in the
downtown district of Laguna Beach with a sign that reads, 'please, help me.' 'They have a brand new car, live in a condo in Irvine,
yet beg for our help,' local business owner Heidi Miller told DailyMail.com.
California
Ranks as Poorest State, One of the Worst for Income Inequality. Despite all the wealth in the state and the
Democrat control of state government, California actually ranks as the poorest state in the country after costs of living are
factored in. A whopping 19 percent of Californians live below the poverty line. While California represents just
12 percent of the nation's population, Californians represent a third of all Americans on welfare. The average monthly
cost of rent in the state is 43 percent higher than the national average. Nearly a third of Californians spend more
than half of their earnings on housing. The situation is made worse by skyrocketing energy costs. "Residents who
can afford rent or a mortgage are on the hook for electricity rates burdened by green initiatives and regulation that grew
500 percent faster than the national average from 2011 to 2017."
San
Francisco to Allow Illegal Aliens to Vote. In July, the Department of Elections issued voter registration forms
to illegal aliens to vote for members of the San Francisco Board of Education in the 2018 election, reported ABC7 News.
Now that the illegals are registered and ready, they will be voting in November.
The
piously politically correct blue state that bankrolls Putin. CalPERS, the $326-billion California state pension
fund for some two million state cops, firefighters, and bureaucrats, has never been shy about its trumpeting its political
correctness. It's positively famous for its pullouts of tobacco investments, Turkey investments, apartheid South Africa
investments, and coal investments, and so famous that you probably would never have heard of the fund were it not for its
pullouts. It's not that they are that awful in themselves — they often try to push back on calls to
divest. But they've always been seen by leftists as a tool to oppose President Trump. So in general, name the
lefty cause, and out they pull. Well, with one little exception: Putin's Russia. On that one, they've
shelled out nearly half a billion dollars to the Russian government (not companies, but the government) through its bond
buys. And hey, they're one of Russia's top foreign investors, top ten among foreigners.
Rich
San Francisco businesses could face homelessness tax. San Francisco has come to be known around the world as a
place for aggressive panhandling, open-air drug use and sprawling tent camps, the dirt and despair all the more remarkable
for the city's immense wealth.
Jerry
Brown's get-out-of-jail-free card in California. Here's a story that's making the news in San Diego as a local
district attorney protests, but it's actually a state problem that goes back to the usual lefty suspects, starting with
Gov. Jerry Brown. Thousands of murder convictions are likely to be vacated due to a change in state law that
effectively says that if you were the guy sitting in the shotgun seat of the car as the other guy pulled the trigger, you get
off scot-free — you're no longer convicted of murder, too. The County of San Diego alone is set to release
about 150 such charmers onto the streets, and the other 57 counties are going to have to do similar. All told, about
800 of them are reportedly going to get let out.
San
Francisco: Land of the Living Dead. Effectively, there's nothing in this news story that you don't know
already. Anyone who has followed the news and who reads this blog knows full well that downtown San Francisco has been
given over to drug addicts and the homeless. In the most liberal blue city in America, Nancy Pelosi's home town, you
cannot walk the streets in many neighborhoods. What's news is the place it appeared: The New York Times.
The paper of record sent a reporter and a photographer out to document the nightmare that is the streets of San
Francisco. They did not pull any punches. They told it like it is.
The
One-Party State. [Scroll down] Dan Walters, a longtime political journalist in Sacramento, will tell you
it was the end of the Cold War that really brought about Democratic dominance. He points to the decline of the defense
and aerospace industries, major employers in Southern California, which prompted an exodus of Republican voters —
middle-class, white, and suburban — to cheaper states. Los Angeles County regularly went for the GOP in
elections. It's simple arithmetic, says Walters. When the GOP lost Los Angeles, it turned California over
completely to the Democrats. Today, the state is a liberal's dream. It's multicultural. It's largely
urbanized. It is socially and environmentally progressive. People here frequently boast, without a trace of
smugness, that if you want to see America in 10 years, look at California.
Weak passwords banned in California from
2020. Default passwords such as "admin" and "password" will be illegal for electronics firms to use in
California from 2020. The state has passed a law that sets higher security standards for net-connected devices
made or sold in the region. It demands that each gadget be given a unique password when it is made.
California's
Socialist Oligarchy: Making the State Unaffordable. Nowhere are the consequences of California's
oligarchical socialism more evident than in the cost of housing. State legislation has made it nearly impossible for
developers to construct new housing outside the so-called "urban growth boundary." Instead, development is redirected into
the footprint of existing urban areas. While there is a natural tendency as population increases to see higher density
redevelopment in urban cores, by restricting outward expansion of urban areas, the value of the limited remaining eligible
land becomes artificially inflated. But established landowners and large development firms benefit from these
restrictions. They are able to withstand years, if not decades, of expensive permitting delays and endless
litigation. They are able to afford millions in permit fees because these costs are offset by their ability to sell
residence units — from high-rise condos to detached single family dwellings — at prices far beyond what
they would cost in a normal market. These billionaire business interests get richer, while ordinary Californians who
want to own or develop land cannot afford to go through the permit process.
The
One-Party State. The state [of California] has the most liberal environmental laws and regulations in the
country, which hamper the development of affordable housing. A San Francisco Chronicle investigation in 2017
showed rising housing costs driving lower-income Californians out of their homes and into the streets. Homelessness has
skyrocketed in both the cities and the rural areas of the state. While 12 percent of the U.S. population is in
California, 25 percent of the country's homeless live there. From Sacramento to San Diego, you can't help but notice
the multitudes of people living on the street. Look at the housing shortage and homelessness, the decline of manufacturing
and other blue-collar jobs, and the growth of a tech economy that rewards disruption over predictability, and you see why some
are suspicious of the California way.
California
will require women on corporate boards under bill signed by Brown. California became the first state in the
country to require that women be included on companies' boards of directors, as Gov. Jerry Brown literally sent a
message to Washington on Sunday [9/30/2018] in signing legislation that corporate associations opposed as unconstitutional.
Brown signed SB826 into law after it passed the Assembly and the Senate last month. The bill mandates that all publicly
traded California companies have at least one woman on their boards by the end of 2019.
The Editor says...
Notice how much of California's official business is transacted on Sundays.
California
Passes Law Allowing 12-Year-Olds To Get Tax-Paid Transgender Treatments. You have to be 16 obtain a driver's
license in California, 18 to buy a rifle, engage in consensual sex, or get married without parental consent, and 21 to buy a
handgun, alcohol, or marijuana. But in the nation's most progressive state, you only need to be 12 years old to
privately seek and consent to treatment for gender transitioning.
America,
don't be like California. Once again, California has the highest poverty rate in America. According to
the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent report, the Golden State's Supplemental Poverty Measure averaged 19 percent between
2015 and 2017. Nationwide, poverty dropped in 2017 from 14.7 percent to 14.1 percent, but California's rate was
proportionately 35 percent higher than the national average. In spite of (or perhaps to divert attention from) its
high poverty rate, California's left-wing political class continues its unrelenting sermonizing to the rest of us.
California
DMV Gives Illegal Voters a Surge. Last week California's Department of Motor Vehicles sent 23,000 "erroneous"
voter registrations to the office of Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who maintains the list of registered voters. The
DMV blamed it technical errors and said none of the erroneous registrations involved undocumented immigrants. Padilla
was "extremely disappointed and deeply frustrated" and the DMV assured him it wouldn't happen again. Legitimate voters
have good reason to believe Padilla was not disappointed but delighted. The odds are strong that illegals make up most
if not all of the newly registered voters. The registrations of illegals will be happening again, in greater numbers,
as the November election approaches. The day after the 23,000 registrations made news, it emerged that from late April
to early August, the DMV registered 182,000 "new voters," with the largest number, 112,000, choosing "no party." Neither
the DMV nor Padilla would explain the numbers but the trend is evident and all by design.
San
Fran Green Lights Illegals To Vote. Our country has twisted itself in knots over the possibility of foreigners
(ie: Russia) having unduly influenced our elections (even though recounts and investigations have confirmed that the
outcome was NOT changed by foreign interference). You'd think that would be reminder enough as to just how precious the
individual value of a lawful voter is, and how it must be safeguarded against anything that would erode the value of that one vote.
California
moves toward corporate gender quotas, ignoring Norway's failure. Supporters of California's move toward the
nation's first-ever corporate gender quotas have insisted the bill will be good for business, but that's not what happened in
Norway. After the Norwegian Parliament required that women make up 40 percent of publicly traded corporate boards in
2006, stock prices plunged and firm values dropped as boards added less experienced female directors, while the numbers of
public firms decreased and private companies increased. "The quota led to younger and less experienced boards,
increases in leverage and acquisitions, and deterioration in operating performance, consistent with less capable boards,"
said the 2012 paper by USC professor Kenneth R. Ahern and University of Michigan professor Amy K. Dittmar.
Trump on the Ground.
For months, I've been driving on different routes through the vast San Joaquin Valley back and forth from the California
coast — and through the usually economically depressed small towns on and near the Highway 99 corridor through the
Central Valley. The poverty rate in many valley counties is higher than in West Virginia. It is a world away from
Hollywood, Silicon Valley, the Stanford or Caltech campus, Malibu, and Pacific Heights. In an overregulated, overtaxed
state of open borders and sanctuary cities, with the nation's near highest electricity and gasoline prices, and facing a
looming state and local pension unfunded liability of well over $300 billion, one might not expect much of an uptick from
the supposed Trump economic revival. California's calcified strategy, after all, is that global lucre pouring into coastal
high-tech and finance will more than balance out the economic damage wrought by state government. Sacramento is a sort
of court jester to Menlo Park.
A
last-ditch effort to pull California back from the brink. I fully understand the hatred and contempt many, if
not most, conservatives feel toward California. A state blessed with so many advantages has surrendered to left-wing
madness and, worst of all, pretends it has something to teach the rest of America. In the thirty-some years I have
lived here, California has gone from Reagan Country to thrusting people on the order of Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom onto
the national stage. Of the two, Gavin Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco (and former husband of Kimberly
Guilfoyle, late of Fox News and currently rumored to be an intimate friend of Donald Trump, Jr.), is in a position to do more
harm in the immediate future, as he is running for governor of California on a platform of state-paid universal health care,
including for illegal aliens who manage to cross the state border, from Mexico or Nevada or Oregon.
California,
Poverty Capital. According to the Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure — which accounts for
the cost of housing, food, utilities, and clothing, and which includes noncash government assistance as a form of
income — nearly one out of four Californians is poor. Given robust job growth in the state and the
prosperity generated by several industries, especially the supercharged tech sector, the question arises as to why California
has so many poor people, especially when the state's per-capita GDP increased roughly twice as much as the U.S. average over
the five years ending in 2016 (12.5 percent, compared with 6.27 percent). It's not as if California policymakers have
neglected to wage war on poverty. Sacramento and local governments have spent massive amounts in the cause, for decades now.
Why
California's Gavin Newsom campaigns for free health care for illegals. Gavin Newsom, leading candidate for
governor of California, and a Democrat, has a new goodie on offer: free health care for the state's three million illegals.
The former mayor of San Francisco said so in this podcast, explaining that there is no reason not to "wait around" to extend
Medi-Cal coverage to anyone who asks, regardless of immigration status.
California
craziness: Congress may have to stop state from giving 'free' health care to illegal immigrants.
California has escalating crime, cities teaming with homeless people, clogged and crumbling roads, massive unpaid bills, some
of America's highest taxes, and some of its worst public school systems. So what's the plan by Gavin Newsom, the
Democratic Party's candidate for governor, to improve the situation? On Tuesday he suggested giving free health care to
illegal immigrants. Speaking on a left-wing podcast, the former mayor of San Francisco said: "I did universal
health care when I was mayor, fully implemented, regardless of pre-existing condition, ability to pay, and regardless of your
immigration status. I'd like to see that extended to the rest of the state. San Francisco is the only universal
health-care plan for all undocumented residents in America."
Gavin
Newsom: I'm Bringing Single Payer To Everyone In California, Regardless Of Immigration Status. Gavin
Newsom is currently running for Governor in California and, barring something dramatic, he is going to win. So when he
says he plans to bring single payer to California as Governor, there's a very good chance he'll get his shot. Today,
Newsom appeared on the Pod Save America podcast where he was asked about his health care plans. Newsom made clear he
wants a single paper system that is for everyone in the state regardless of immigration status. "I'd like to see if we
can control our own destiny," Newsom said. He continued, "I'm not naive about it. I did universal health care
when I was Mayor [of San Francisco], fully implemented regardless of pre-existing conditions, ability to pay, and regardless
of your immigration status.
Dem
Gubernatorial Candidate: Gov't Should Pay for Universal Health Care for Illegal Immigrants. Gavin Newsom,
Democratic candidate for governor of California, said on liberal podcast "Pod Save America" that the state government should
pay for universal health care for illegal immigrants. In the episode, released Tuesday, the candidate and current
lieutenant governor of California touted his involvement in San Francisco having "the only universal health care plan for all
undocumented residents in America." "I did universal health care when I was mayor — fully implemented,
regardless of pre-existing condition, ability to pay, and regardless of your immigration status. San Francisco is the
only universal health care plan for all undocumented residents in America. Very proud of that," Newsom said. "I'd
like to see that extended to the rest of the state."
Just Another Word
for Nothing Left to Lose. [Scroll down] And, of course, there's virtually no area of our lives — outside
our sexual behavior and reproductive "choices" — that should be free from state interference. It should be no surprise,
then, that the libertarian Cato Institute's latest "Freedom in the 50 States" report finds California nearly at the bottom,
in 48th place. New York and Hawaii were worse, but California has been remarkably consistent in its ranking over the
past 16 years. Whenever there's some think tank report comparing the states for some bad thing, I always start at
the bottom to find my home state. Not surprisingly, we have the highest taxes in the country, even with 1978's
Proposition 13 putting the kibosh on uncontrolled property-tax hikes. We have a high level of public debt, [of]
course. As Cato points out, the state actually has one of the lowest percentages of government employees (11.2 percent
of private employment). But the reason is simple: California pays its employees such astoundingly high pay and benefit
packages that it simply can't afford to hire any more of them.
California
Gov. Jerry Brown Sets Record of 1,018 Pardons in 8 Years. California Gov. Jerry Brown used his
executive powers to issue 36 gubernatorial pardons on Friday, to hit a record of 1,018 pardons in eight years in
office. Although 22 of those were for murder and 13 for attempted murder or manslaughter, Brown said each of the
pardons he provided went to individuals that had had "demonstrated exemplary behavior" and lived "productive and law-abiding
lives" following their convictions and time served in prison, according to the Fresno Bee.
California
Initiative Filed to End Proposition 13 Protections for Commercial Properties. Funded by Silicon Valley deep
pockets — including the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, the personal charity of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his
wife Priscilla Chan; a coalition of teachers unions; the League of Women Voters; affordable housing advocates; and other
"social justice warriors" organized as "Schools and Communities First," — the activists submitted the signatures
to the Secretary of State on August 14 to place an initiative on the 2020 ballot to increase California commercial
property tax revenue by $11 billion.
Milk Or Water: California
Bill Aims To Curb Kids' Soda Drinking At Restaurants. A new state bill would give kids two options with their
meals at restaurants — water or milk. Senate Bill 1192 would make water or milk the default drink for kids
meals in a push to reduce obesity and access to sugary drinks for children. The bill passed the Assembly and is on its
way to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk. If he signs it, California would be the first state in the nation to have such a law.
A Tale
of Three Cities. San Francisco is being overrun with the homeless and illegal aliens due to its sanctuary city
status and virtue-signaling leadership. The streets are littered with human feces, hypodermic needles, and syringes,
turning the once beautiful "City by the Bay" into a cesspool. What's the response of San Francisco leaders?
Banning plastic straws.
California
lawmakers grill DMV official over ballooning wait times. The leader of the state Department of Motor Vehicles
apologized on Tuesday for a recent steep increase in hours-long wait times at the agency's locations across California, as
complaints over excessive delays sparked new scrutiny from legislators. "The wait times you are experiencing are not
what we ever want our customers to go through," said DMV Director Jean Shiomoto, who testified at an Assembly hearing
convened to address the issue following months of public frustration.
Secret
DMV office serves lawmakers, Capitol staffers. In California, long lines are a fact of life at Department of
Motor Vehicles offices across the state, but for California lawmakers and their legislative staffers, there's an alternative.
KCRA has learned of a DMV office that is not open to the public. It's located inside the Legislative Office Building on
N Street, adjacent to the state Capitol.
The
Mask Slips In Santa Barbara. A little noticed detail in Santa Barbara's recent drive to criminalize plastic
straws, which culminated in the Santa Barbara city council taking testimony from a nine-year-old about the planetary menace,
has come to light in recent days. During that council session, councilman Jesse Dominguez said the following in
response to citizens who asked "what's next?": "Unfortunately, common sense is just not common. We have to regulate
every aspect of people's lives." Take that one in for a moment, for it expresses the core impulse of liberalism today.
'We
Have to Regulate Every Aspect of People's Lives'. A Santa Barbara city councilman inadvertently let slip the
primary purpose of progressivism in 21st century America. The city recently criminalized the use of plastic straws.
Speaking to that issue, Councilman Jesse Dominguez said, "Unfortunately, common sense is just not common. We have to
regulate every aspect of people's lives." Got that? "We" are smarter than you and know what's best for you better
than you do. Perhaps realizing that his comment revealed a fundamental truth of progressive thought, Dominguez tried
to walk back his gaffe: [...]
California
Wants to Reinvent the Power Grid. So What Could Go Wrong? Two decades ago, when California deregulated
the delivery of electric power, lawmakers, regulators and even some environmentalists hailed the decision as a way to lower
consumers' bills. The strategy proved disastrous. The plan resulted in an energy crisis that sent power bills
soaring, prompted billions in penalties against utilities and banks for manipulating the new electricity market, and led
Congress to enact laws to help prevent it all from happening again. Now the state's leaders have a new proposal for an
energy makeover, this time to create a single authority to manage the electric grid for most or all of the West. This
plan, too, promises to cut costs for consumers — by as much as $1.5 billion a year — while helping
to bolster use of carbon-free power sources.
California's
Tax War On Business Owners — Part 1. In the early 1990s, the U.S. economy was hit by a triple whammy:
1) the Savings & Loan Crisis, 2) high oil prices as the result of the first Gulf War, and 3) a good-sized recession.
Following that recession, the U.S. economy experienced slow growth. So, recognizing that middle market companies are the primary
source of economic growth, Congress amended the Internal Revenue Code to incentivize the creation of new companies — "mainstreet"
companies and lower middle market companies. Subject to certain restrictions, upon sale of the company, founding owners would be able
to exclude up to a certain amount of gain. With California's tax code "conforming" to the Internal Revenue Code, the same
pro-growth incentive would have been available on a business owner's California income tax return. But, given the title of this
article, it couldn't be that simple — and it's not.
San Francisco: The City of Bans.
Who would have guessed that cafeterias would even be a public-policy issue? I've worked at companies with them and
without them. But I would have found it more likely for lefties to require such things rather than prohibit
them. Many workers, even in well-paid industries where such cafeterias are common, struggle financially given the high
cost of living in the Bay Area. Here's a chance for the city to help assure that they get a healthy meal while they
work those long hours doing whatever IT people do. What did I miss? "The supervisors introduced the legislation
because they say tech companies' employees are hurting local restaurants by taking advantage of the perk and eating in-house,
rather than patronizing neighborhood eating establishments," reported Smart Cities Dive.
'Calexit'
supporters revamp campaign with plan to convert half of California into 'autonomous Native American nation'.
Organizers of a long-running initiative to secure California's secession from the United States now say they want to give
away nearly half of the state, including all of its federal land, to form an "autonomous Native American nation."
"Calexit," as the proposal for California's secession is known, was given the green light by the state government earlier
this year to begin collecting signatures to place the measure on the November ballot. Advocates had until mid-October
to gather 365,880 signatures of registered voters to put it up for a statewide vote.
California
Is Not as Big or Blue As You Think. The National Popular Vote plan is an interstate compact in which the
compacting states agree to award their electoral votes to the person who gets the most votes in all 50 states. It is
based on Art. I, Sec. 2 of the Constitution which grants state legislatures the plenary (and exclusive) power to
award electors, and the founders' expectation that states would use that power to maximize their influence in the selection
of the president. The first thing I hear, when the proposal is presented, is that "California is so big, it will run
the country" (mainly because I am from California) if the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact takes effect. My
conservative friends use California as an example of "what not to do" when it comes to public policy, and so, if California
is going to run the country under the state statutes implementing the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, then, they
say, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is dangerous.
California's
'foreclosure capital' to give away $500 a month to residents in experimental welfare program. A California city
is set to become the first in the nation to embark on an experiment of Universal Basic Income, paying 100 residents $500 a
month without any conditions. The program's purpose is to eventually ensure that no one in Stockton, with a population
of 300,000, lives in poverty. The receivers of the cash will be able to spend the money on anything they want without
any strings attached. It will launch by 2019 and the 100 fortunate residents will receive the cash for a full 18 months
as part of its testing phase before deciding whether to roll it out across Stockton.
Cost
of anti-ICE protests prompts California county to forgo $3M federal contract. Citing the cost of managing
anti-ICE protests outside one of its facilities, authorities in a Northern California county this week severed a $3 million
contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allowed the federal agency to detain illegal immigrants in one of
its cities. Contra Costa County, across the bay from San Francisco, thus became the second county in the region this
month to cut ties with ICE, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The county's West County Detention Facility, in
Richmond, which averaged 200 immigrant detainees a day, had drawn protesters for months. At a news conference, Sheriff
David Livingston suggested the demonstrations played a large role in the contract's termination.
Is
California's Democratic Party swinging too far left? By Nov. 7, Democrats will learn if their left turn steered
them to victory or took them off a cliff. The state party's endorsement of Kevin de León, a self-proclaimed socialist's
upset of an establishment Democrat in a New York City congressional primary and talk of abolishing Immigration and Customs
Enforcement and enacting single-payer health care show an embrace of progressive politics that heartens liberal activists
enraged by conservative policies pursued by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
California's Pointless
Net Neutrality Efforts. California is moving ahead with some of the most ambitious — and
pointless — net neutrality laws in the country that will only make the patchwork laws springing up around the U.S
even murkier. California's bill offers stronger language than the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) rules
established under the Obama administration and repealed this spring. The state legislation not only prevents internet
service providers from throttling speeds or blocking websites, but it also bans excessive zero-rating practices of ISPs
exempting its own services from data caps while counting the usage of third-party apps against the limits.
California
governor signs soda tax ban into law. California cities and counties are banned from taxing sodas and other
sugary drinks for the next 12 years under a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown. The deal was
rushed through the legislature and to the governor's desk on Thursday. In exchange for the law, the nonalcoholic
beverage industry is withdrawing a ballot measure that had been slated for November. It would have raised the voter
threshold to approve local sales tax increases on any item, not just soda taxes, from a majority vote to a supermajority
vote. Signatures were gathered for the ballot through a campaign funded by the beverage industry.
San Francisco:
Poster-Child For The Failure Of U.S. Cities' Blue Model. By any standard, San Francisco is one of the most
beautiful cities in the world. So why has it suddenly become an unappealing place to visit and to live? [...] San
Francisco proudly calls itself a "progressive" city. It follows what writer and scholar Walter Russell Mead calls the
progressive "Blue Model" of governance. Yet, the policies it follows — high taxes, inane regulations, petty
nanny-state authoritarianism, tolerance for rising lawlessness and disorder on its streets in the name of "compassion" —
are the very ones that have driven middle-class and working-class citizens out. Only the rich and the so-called homeless,
who have been welcomed into the city and are a growing issue, can afford to live in the city.
California's
Oligarchs and Agitators. If one were to distill the essence of California's Democratic party into a one-page
document, it would be hard to beat a recent mail piece showing the SEIU's candidate endorsements for California's top
jobs. According to its website, the Service Employees International Union Local 1000 (SEIU) "is a united front of
96,000 working people employed by the State of California, making Local 1000 the largest public sector union in California
and one of the largest in the country."
Look
What California Thinks is an Emergency Bill. California is a Socialist nightmare with oppressive government
regulations and high taxes killing the middle class. Housing is so costly that it's greatly adding to the number of
homeless. The open borders and sanctuary cities policies have allowed killers, perverts, and drug dealers to get
protection everywhere in the state. With all the problems they have, they rushed through a bill that could make you
laugh. According to the Washington Examiner, the oh-so-urgent bill that had to be rushed through bans California cities
and counties from taxing sodas and other sugary drinks for 12 years. Are you surprised that a nanny state banned
taxes? Don't be. The reason they did it was to keep high taxes on everything else!
Court
reinstates California law allowing terminally ill people to end their lives. The law allows adults to obtain a
prescription for life-ending drugs if a doctor has determined that they have six months or less to live.
The Editor says...
The writers of this law apparently assume that doctors know everything, which they don't, and that
doctors' diagnoses are always right, which they aren't.
California
school board votes to name elementary school after illegal immigrant activist/journalist. At a divisive time
for U.S. immigration policies, a California school board has decided to name a new elementary school after an award-winning
journalist who disclosed in 2011 that he had been living in the U.S. illegally.
Thefts
rise after California reduces criminal penalties. California voters' decision to reduce penalties for drug and
property crimes in 2014 contributed to a jump in car burglaries, shoplifting and other theft, researchers reported.
Ridiculous
Bay Area housing costs may be reflected in a large drop in births. A harbinger of the absurdly high cost of
housing in the San Francisco Bay Area may be visible in the region's maternity wings. San Francisco is a city of few
children. You're more likely to see a French bulldog roaming Alamo Square Park than packs of kids frolicking among the
Victorians. The lack of youngsters is indicative of a larger issue in the city: the absurdly high cost of
housing. According to a new study, when housing prices go up, the birth rate goes down.
Soros
push to elect progressive DAs in California fails to attract voters. New York billionaire George Soros'
multimillion-dollar effort to reshape California's criminal justice system by propping up progressive district attorney candidates
backfired Tuesday [6/5/2018], with most of his candidates suffering major defeats. Soros, together with other wealthy liberal
donors and groups, spent millions on would-be prosecutors who favor lower incarceration rates, crackdowns on police misconduct and
changes in a bail system that they argue discriminates against the poor. But most of the money went to waste as their
candidates lost to more traditional law-and-order prosecutors who didn't share progressive views or have hostile attitudes
toward police.
America's King of Poverty.
I know it is not a pleasant topic but let's take just a moment and think about poverty in this country. Which state do
you think has the highest poverty rate? Must be Mississippi or Alabama or one of those Southern states. No it
ain't. The state with the highest poverty rate is... wait for it, CALIFORNIA!!! Yep, our progressive, income
redistributing state which accounts for 12% of the country's population is home to about 1 in 3 of all U.S. welfare
recipients. Our poverty rate exceeds 20% when the national average is around 15%. It is not as though California policy
makers have neglected to wage their assault on poverty. Since 1992 California has spent nearly $1 trillion on
benefit programs. Clearly it hasn't worked. Then again paying poor people to be poor never does.
The
lawless, porn-respecting, MS-13-loving, humorless American left. [Nancy] Pelosi says the low unemployment is meaningless, the tax cuts
are "crumbs," and that consumer confidence is low despite it being at an 18-year high. They see, hear, think, and propagate what they want
to be true, not what is true. Even California voters made a tiny dent in the left's socialist grasp on the state. No one
expected Republican John Cox to come in second. All Californians should be horrified by what has become of their once golden state.
Thanks to the polices of Gov. Brown, ex-senator Boxer, Feinstein, Kamala Harris, A.G. Becerra, etc. (it is a one-party Marxist
state), California is a disaster of incalculable proportions, drowning in the homeless, the illegal migrants, traffic, and the highest gas prices
in the country.
California
Desperately Needs A State Electoral College. This November a Republican — businessman John
Cox — will be one of two gubernatorial candidates in the state of California. This is significant because of
the Golden State's unique "jungle primary" system in which the top-two vote-getters proceed to a run-off election regardless
of party. The "jungle primary" was championed by former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. His reasoning
was that eliminating party-identification in a race would give Republican candidates a better chance in a deeply blue
state. Of course, the effect was just the opposite. With so many blue voters, the controversial system virtually
guarantees that the top two candidates are Democrats. The result has been that many voters not aligned with the
Democrat platform have been repeatedly forced to choose between candidates that don't in any way represent them.
California
Attorney General adds Oklahoma to growing travel ban list. I am so old that I remember when California Attorney
General Xavier Becerra was fighting against travel bans. Let's get in the Wayback Machine and turn the dial to March,
2017: ["]California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra issued a statement Monday [6/4/2018] saying President Trump's
decision to rescind a travel ban bogged down in court challenges 'confirms what we all knew: the travel ban was unconstitutional
and un-American.'["] Becerra, a social justice warrior and leading general in the War on Trump, relies on one of the
tried-and-tested tools of progressive activism: The Double Standard. This week, he issued his own travel ban on that
red bastion of traditional values and implemented a travel ban on Oklahoma.
Oklahoma
officials unfazed after landing on California's state-travel blacklist. Oklahomans weren't exactly crying in
their sweet tea after learning that their state has been added to California's blacklist on state-sponsored travel.
"There appears to be more and more Californians sharing our values as we are seeing more Californians move to Oklahoma," said
Michael McNutt, spokesman for Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, in a statement. "With our state's economy being as strong
as it is, we won't miss a few Californians traveling on state business showing up in our state."
Prop
68: A Yes Vote is a Reward for Bad Behavior. This adds about $400 of new debt onto your family's tab, that you'll repay in future
taxes plus interest. It promises to be used to prepare for droughts. Remember the $5 billion that was supposed to be used on
new reservoirs a few years ago? It wasn't. The best way to prepare for droughts is to store water from wet years so that we
have it in dry ones.
With
free health care for illegals, California Democrats hand a big campaign contribution to the GOP's Cox. For
Democrats, succoring illegals and doling out nationalized "free" health care are signature issues. What better way to
enact that agenda than to offer California's abundant illegal aliens free state health care? That's the scheme they've
cooked up, in their relentless push to make California a West Coast imitation of socialist Venezuela. It's so bad that
it's likely to draw California voters toward Republicans.
California
rebukes Trump with health care push for immigrants. California is poised to become the first state in the
nation to offer full health coverage to undocumented adults even as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown by
separating families at the border. The proposal — which would build on Gov. Jerry Brown's 2015 decision
to extend health coverage to all children, regardless of immigration status — is one of the most daring examples
yet of blue-state Democrats thumbing their nose at President Donald Trump as they pursue diametrically opposed policies,
whether on immigration, climate change, legalized marijuana or health care.
California
assisted death law overturned in court. A judge in Riverside County on Tuesday overturned California's
controversial assisted death law nearly two years after it took effect, ruling that the Legislature improperly passed the
measure during a special session on health care funding.
Report finds cases of STDs reach all-time
high in California. The number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in California reached a record high
last year and officials are particularly concerned by a spike in stillbirths due to congenital syphilis, state health
authorities said Monday [5/14/2018].
California
Bill Seeks to Replace Washington or Lincoln's Birthday Holidays with 'May Day'. A Democrat California
assemblyman introduced a bill seeking to make "May Day," or International Workers Day, a state holiday that would replace
President George Washington's or President Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Assemblyman Miguel Santiago's (D-Los Angeles)
legislation calls for consolidating the two presidents' birthdays to be observed on the third Monday in February as a single
"President's Day" holiday, but it also calls for the state to observe May 1 as "International Workers Day."
Leftist
pol in California proposes scrapping Washington's Birthday in favor of Marxist May Day. Leftists are
notoriously touchy whenever anyone questions their patriotism, and the mask seems to be off with a California assemblyman's
proposal to scrap Lincoln's or Washington's birthdays as holidays and replace them with the communist May Day. Surreal
as this sounds, it's true.
California
Bill Wants To Drop Washington/Lincoln's Birthday And Replace It With Communist Holiday. The California Assembly
discussed Thursday [5/10/2018] a bill that would replace Abraham Lincoln or George Washington's birthday with International Socialist
Workers' Day as a paid holiday. California Democrat Assemblyman Miguel Santiago introduced Bill AB-3042, which would allow schools
to replace Washington Day and Lincoln Day with Presidents' Day and install an "International Workers' Day" — conventionally
known as "May Day" — as a second holiday. "I'm aghast that a bill like this would be able to get through committee,"
California Republican Assemblyman Matthew Harper said to the Assembly. "Are we in competition to be the laughing stock of the
United States?"
The Editor says...
Yes, such a competition is apparently underway, and California is far ahead, although New York is catching up.
California
Demands That Christians 'Evolve'. There's a new legislative proposal banning all conversion therapy as a fraudulent business practice — by
not just mental health providers but anyone. Since the "independent fact-checkers" are quick to swarm around conservative "misinformation," FactCheck.org,
PolitiFact and Snopes have all cried "False" at the idea that this bill is a threat to the sale of the Bible. They declared that a threat against Bible
sales is nowhere in the text of California Assembly Bill 2943, offered by gay assembly member Evan Low. That is correct ... on its face.
It doesn't mention the Bible. However, the bill would amend the state Consumer Legal Remedies Act, adding the ability to sue for damages for
"advertising, offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual." Any efforts to change someone's
sexual orientation "in a transaction intended to result or that results in the sale or lease of goods or services to any consumer are unlawful."
That's more than therapy. It's any kind of an argument.
California
Voters Oppose Arming Teachers to Shoot Back if Under Attack. By a wide margin California voters support more
gun control and oppose arming teachers to shoot back if under attack. The opposition to armed teachers was uncovered
via a Berkeley-IGS Poll and reported by the Sacramento Bee. The poll found 61 percent of voters opposed arming
teachers while only 37 percent supported it. When viewed by political affiliation, 83 percent of Democrats opposed
allowing teachers to be armed to protect themselves and their students, while 75 percent of Republicans supported the idea.
Christians'
Munich Moment in California. Scarcely any moment in American history is as important for America's Christians as the developing crises
over religious freedom now happening in California. The legislature of Sacramento not only is underhandedly banning books opposed to the
doctrines of the transgender religion (including the Bible), but also has threatened Christians' rights to free assembly and freedom of speech.
According to its website, Summit Ministries, an organization devoted to advising Christian youths on how to live out a Christian worldview, has
canceled its scheduled appearances at Biola University in Los Angeles "due to concerns that California will forbid some of what it teaches."
Summit's concern is real.
How
Homeschoolers Defeated California's Push to Take Power From Parents. They came by the hundreds, one newspaper
said — "perhaps thousands." Some traveled hours, others waited hours, all for the opportunity to protest one of
the most outrageous homeschooling bills ever introduced: California's AB 2756. Spilling out into crammed hallways
and overflow rooms, families poured into the Statehouse just for the opportunity to spend a few minutes speaking out on a measure
that would give the government more power over parents who educate at home. Initially, the bill tried to mandate fire
inspections of all homeschooling families (which, not surprisingly, firefighters rejected). Then the proposal was
amended — this time to force homeschooling families to give out private information about the names and address
of homeschooling families.
They Keep Telling Us Who
They Are. The California legislature is processing a bill to ban and criminalize all speech, all writing, that
goes against "LGBTQ priorities". Assembly Bill 2943, which has already sailed through two committees, would criminalize
"efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions." It seems to be aimed at practicing psychologists, psychiatrists,
or counselors whose clients ask them to help them get rid of unwanted sexual attractions; but the bill is so vaguely written
that it could be used against virtually anybody — commentators who dissent from the agenda of Organized Sodomy,
parents who teach their children that there are only two "genders," and Biblically orthodox churches where homosexual
acting-out is presented as a sin.
Yes,
California Is on the Verge of Banning Some Christian Books, Here's How. Late last week, I wrote an article that
caused a bit of a furious reaction in social-justice Twitter. Activists claimed I was lying, arguing in bad faith,
and/or exaggerating the effect of California's AB 2943, a bill that purports to declare "sexual orientation change efforts"
to be an "unlawful business practice." I claimed the bill was so broad that it could even ban books. And I'm
right. It can and would.
California
Bill Would Criminalize Speech, Books Opposing LGBT Agenda. In a direct assault on the freedoms of speech and
religion, the California Assembly on Thursday [4/19/2018] overwhelmingly approved a bill that would, in effect, prohibit the
dissemination of traditional Christian teaching on homosexuality and transgenderism. The Assembly voted 50-14 to
criminalize "a transaction intended to result or that results in the sale or lease of goods or services to any consumer" that
consists of "advertising, offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual." The
bill defines "sexual orientation change efforts" as "any practices that seek to change an individual's sexual orientation.
This includes efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or
feelings toward individuals of the same sex."
New California Bill
Would Mean Banning the Bible. The bill in question is California Assembly Bill 2943. It would treat as a criminal
violation of the state's consumer fraud act "the sale or lease of goods or services to any consumer" that consists of "advertising,
offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual." Don't be misled into thinking that
this bill bans only professional counselors from trying to alter same-sex attractions. It goes well beyond that.
California launches
an attack against churches!? A California State Assembly is gearing up to vote on new bill that could ban the
sale of books and punish churches that encourage children to stick to traditional gender norms. Yes, you read that
right — they want to ban books that say things like, "Girls wear dresses" and shutter churches that encourage boys
to wear slacks. Assembly Bill 2943 would make it "unlawful business practice" to engage in "a transaction intended to
result or that results in the sale or lease of good of services to any consumer" that engages in "sexual orientation change
efforts with an individual."
California's
crazy-intrusive politicians can't keep their hands off anything — Next up? Homeschoolers!
[Scroll down] The recently introduced Assembly Bills 2756 and 2926 are cases in point. This first, AB 2756,
requires fire marshals to perform in-home inspections of home-schoolers every year, implying that somehow home-educators are
less fire-safe than other individuals. This is, of course, egregiously discriminatory on its face. But wait.
The second one is even worse! With AB 2926, Assembly Member Susan Eggman proposes forming an appointed committee to
"investigate" homeschooling. The "instruction" committee would subsequently share its findings so that the California
legislature might consider how best to regulate those families. Because there isn't anything a bureaucrat loves
more than a new regulation! And these particular bureaucrats are already doing such a fine job of regulating
our public schools that roughly half of California public school students surveyed reported experiencing bullying.
California
Has Highest Poverty Rate In America. Democrats in California have consistently rejected forcing work
requirements on the able-bodied individuals who receive welfare. Forcing those who can work to look for a job and/or
maintain employment before receiving benefits is a policy unpalatable for the democrats who control the state.
Americans in California are mostly jobless and the ones who can find work are actually having their money taken through the
highest state income tax in the union to support immigrants, the majority of which are on welfare.
Why
do Democrats love tax hikes so much? California is already seeing residents and businesses flee the state
because of its sky-high taxes. Yet unbelievably, two Democratic state assemblymen have proposed to more than double the
state business tax — hiking it from 8.84 percent to 18.84 percent on businesses with annual net incomes of
more than $1 million. This would be the highest state corporate tax rate in America. The rationale for the giant
tax hike? Denying the companies tax savings from the federal income tax cuts recently signed into law by President
Trump. Soak the rich! Billions in new tax revenue for the state! What could possibly be wrong with that?
California's
latest contradictions — Welcoming criminals but warning about 'dangerous' coffee. Imagine a state
that passes a law welcoming, embracing and protecting criminals, directly endangering citizens. Then imagine that same
state passing laws, and judges issuing orders that make no sense except to micromanage people's lives in the name of keeping
them safe. A contradiction indeed, and especially ripe in California. The same week that a number of cities and
counties in California sued their own state over the dangerous law making the state a "sanctuary" for illegal alien
criminals, a judge issued a ruling to save Californians from themselves and their coffee-drinking habit.
Can America Survive
the Latest Plague? The left survives within a self-made mirage that uses well written speeches containing caring and poetic language
and emotional appeals that appear to be on the side of good, protecting the weak and needy in society. But in fact, the left exploits and
manipulates both weak and poor to continue to remain in power. Consider the infected American cities of Detroit, Baltimore, and Chicago,
where the left has total control and can implement whatever programs it wants, and look at the result: perpetual devastation, crime, and
misery. California, a once wealthy and successful state, is now an insolvent laughingstock of the world.
California
Democrat Introduces Bill to Force Websites to Use 'Fact-Checkers'. California State Senator Dr. Richard
Pan (D-Sacramento) has proposed a bill, the "Online False Information Act," that would require anyone who posts news on the
Internet to verify their information through "fact-checkers." The bill, filed quietly in late February as SB 1424,
requires all California-based websites to develop a plan to fight "fake news," to use "fact-checkers," and to warn
readers — including via social media — of "false information."
The Editor says...
Why stop at social media? Why not require the same of broadcasters and newspapers? Is CNN always
100% accurate? Is MSNBC never misleading? Is The New York Times not biased?
The Justice
Department Sues California. On Monday [4/2/2018], the Department of Justice filed suit against the state of California,
challenging a state law that purports to prevent the federal government from selling federal lands without the permission of a state
agency. Passed by the California legislature in October 2017, Senate Bill 50 declares that, with limited exceptions, "conveyances
of federal public lands in California are void" unless the State Lands Commission is provided a "right of first refusal" or "the right
to arrange for the transfer of the federal public land to another entity." The statute also prohibits purchasers of federal land
from recording the deed to the newly acquired property without an accompanying "certificate of compliance" from the state commission
and provides for a $5,000 civil penalty for buyers who violate this provision.
'Remarkably
stupid': Calif Dems push 'first of its kind' legislation restricting when a cop can use his gun. Talk about
handcuffing police, California Democrats are pushing an unprecedented law to limit when a cop can use his/her weapon.
Following the shooting death of an unarmed black man in Sacramento last month by police, state lawmakers have proposed
legislation that raises the threshold for when an officer may open fire, Huffington Post reported.
Trump
is right — California is out of control. When President Trump recently visited California, he came
away with the sense that it "is totally out of control." If he arrived at that conclusion from just a single visit, imagine
how many who live in the state feel. To be fair, California itself isn't out of control. There are many among the
40 million who honorably and honestly go about their daily business. Outside of Antifa riots and some infantile
behavior on college campuses, there are no mobs in the streets; crime is up but not unrestrained; there are multiple efforts
brewing to break up the state, but none are threatening violent insurgencies (though there is a Calexit movement that calls
for the state to leave the union). What is out of control is California's ruling class. Much of its political
agenda is hostile to basic human liberty and mocks the limits on what government should be allowed to do in an ostensibly
free society.
Is
The Golden State Trying To Secede? There may be hope in California yet. Despite the state's political descent into
madness by illegally declaring itself a "sanctuary state," the resistance it growing. California has a political and legal fight
on its hands, one it can't win.
Is
California Governor Jerry Brown Mentally Ill? The entire country is talking about the collapse of California due to decades of
insane liberal policies. And what is Governor Brown's response? He implemented hundreds more destructive liberal rules, regulations,
and giveaways to illegals. An article listing the top ten stupidest new California laws includes "Single-User Restrooms," "Controlling
Cow Flatulence," "Legalizing Child Prostitution," and "Felons Voting." Governor Brown signed a new law making California a sanctuary state,
doubling down on his bizarre quest to undermine American citizens. [...] Numerous California families have suffered devastating losses of family
members killed by illegals with long felony records who have been deported several times and welcomed back with open arms by Brown. One
mom whose son was killed by an illegal with two DUIs and two felonies said Brown should be arrested for treason.
California
Appoints Illegal Alien to State Office. California has its first illegal alien in state office, after Senate
President pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) appointed Lizbeth Mateo to the California Student Opportunity and Access
Program Project Grant Advisory Committee. Mateo, an attorney, was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. illegally at the
age of 14 with her parents, who are also illegal aliens, according to the Sacramento Bee.
San
Francisco Is Suffering From The Excesses Of Its Own Liberalism. I live in a reasonably decent section of San Francisco, and
from what I gathered in speaking to many others, everyone has had his or her version of San Franciscan traumas. San Francisco, one of
the richest cities in the country and home to a booming center of intellectual capital, has suffered from the excesses of its own liberalism.
Bloated and inefficient spending, combined with a gross shortage of housing only worsened by rent-control antics and a fat city bureaucracy, has
left a city in utter disrepair. [...] The relative "coronation" of Democrats each election on the local and state level has led to a general
erosion of performance from the reigning party, which rarely feels the pressure to perform, given the absence of a legitimately competitive
rival party.
Is California becoming
America's Taiwan? Taiwan is an independent nation — in its ambitions, its economy, its democracy.
But many countries refuse to recognize it as a separate country, deferring to mainland China, which claims Taiwan as a
possession and responds with threats when Taiwan goes its own way. California shares aspects of this conundrum.
Our state has the ambitions, economy, and democracy of a leading nation. But it remains very much a part of the United
States, which responds with threats when California goes its own way.
California
Has Become a Disgraceful State. At one time, California was the envy of America, attracting people from around
the nation to move to a state offering opportunity and the chance to pursue ambitious dreams. With scenic beauty, the
Pacific Ocean coastline, the major cities of San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, California recruited entrepreneurs
looking for economic growth. As the home of Hollywood and multitudes of celebrities, California presented an enticing
potential to enjoy "lifestyles of the rich and famous." Today, California has become an economic and cultural
disaster. The state is home to over 114,000 homeless people, one quarter of the total in the nation. In San
Francisco, a health crisis has developed as the homeless have created a mess in the downtown area, littering it with fecal
matter, spent needles and piles of trash.
I
hope Democrats defend sanctuary cities. It's bad policy, and it'll cost them. The Justice Department is
now challenging several laws in California that not only interfere with the nation's immigration policies but also place
American citizens and law enforcement personnel at risk. The idea that laws can be ignored and that state and local
politicians can affirmatively warn lawbreakers of how to escape apprehension is incredible. It is indefensible.
We either have laws, or we don't. And if our elected leaders don't want to uphold the law, they can either change them
or resign. The law is not optional once you have made a pledge to uphold the duties of your office. Open-border
radicals in California and other liberal strongholds must be held accountable. Of course, liberals would have you
believe that they are only interested in protecting the poor, the oppressed and the hardworking who have nowhere else to go.
But in many cases, their actions allow dangerous and sometimes repeat criminals to be shielded from deportation or prison.
Dear California: Call
Me When the Commies Leave. I don't care what the libs do to the likes of New York, Chicago, or the Pacific
Northwest. Let the progressive loons have cities and states that are already cold, wet and miserable. But, as I
often asked audiences, why should we let them have a place as glorious as California? Apparently, no one was
listening. When the Democrats gained a super-majority stranglehold on the California legislature, they didn't waste any
time letting their far-left freak flag fly. As soon as some bills were floated, then passed, people began asking me in
private and in public interviews about the legislative madness issuing forth from Sacramento. I thought most of it was
boilerplate liberal lunacy that wouldn't stand up to any strict legal scrutiny, which made me shrug it off.
How
a list of 23 crimes now dominates California's debate over prison punishment. California has a long history of
mixing crime and punishment with raw politics. But outrage doesn't always translate into coherent policy, and
unintended consequences can spark even more public anger. With that in mind, consider the last two years of debate over
what should, and should not, be a "violent" crime. That debate begins with the index of crimes in section 667.5 of the
California Penal Code. The list was first enacted in 1976, and has been tinkered with so many times it's hard to say
whether it's a fair representation of the most heinous crimes.
California
has worst 'quality of life' in US, study says. Awards season is in full swing in California, and the Golden
State just took home a booby prize of its own. California ranks dead last among U.S. states in quality of life,
according to a study by U.S. News, ranking behind New Jersey (49th) and Indiana (48th). The ignominious honor reflects
California's low marks in the sub-categories of environmental quality and social engagement. The latter category
measures voting participation and community bonds. Californians scored poorly in part because they're simply
insufferable, U.S. News suggested.
U.S.
News Crowns California Worst State for 'Quality of Life'. The U.S. News & World Report has named
California the worst state for "quality of life," largely due to the high cost of living. U.S. News ranks the 50
U.S. states each year on eight major social and economic categories to determine an overall competitive ranking. California
received an overall score of 32 in 2018, based on sub-category rankings for a Health Care (11); Education (26); Economy (4);
Opportunity (46); Infrastructure (38); Crime and Corrections (28); Fiscal Stability (43); and Quality of Life (50).
U.S. News found California's high cost of living to be its biggest detriment, despite its having the largest economy
in the nation. San Jose and San Francisco both ranked in the 20 top places to live in U.S., but two communities
were also in the most expensive for housing.
Pelosi
the 'most right-wing'? Only in San Francisco. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is regarded by most Republicans as a
far-left liberal. But a recent column identifies the San Francisco Democrat as the "most right-wing" candidate running in her
district this year. Emily Cadei, a correspondent for the Sacramento Bee, wrote Monday [2/26/2018] that Pelosi —
who'll turn 78 on March 26 — will be forced to fight off three opponents, all coming at her from the left,
when she seeks re-election later this year.
Dianne
Feinstein No Longer Left-Wing Enough for California. This is a woman who was once mayor of San Francisco, who has
argued for the confiscation of guns from law-abiding gun owners, and whose lifetime ACU rating is under 10%. (Meaning she
has voted conservatively less than 10% of the time.) But Kevin de Leon is an even bigger anti-gun zealot, a man so far
left he introduced environmental regulation so radical (banning all fossil fuels in California) not even the hard-left Democrat
legislature would go for it. (Probably because existing renewable energy bills have already made California's electric
bills look like Michigan's car insurance premiums. Worse, actually.
Democratic
Lunacy on Full Display in California. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has promised everything she can for
the young illegal aliens and her increasingly restive left-leaning caucus. The House members are grousing privately
about how their leader is ruining their brand across the country. As for the illegal aliens and their activist
enablers, they overwhelmed one of her press conferences in San Francisco. They badgered her US Senate colleagues,
including Chuck Schumer by protesting outside of his home in New York State. Two weeks ago, Pelosi stood for 8 hours to
demand that a clean DREAM Act be attached to the latest budget-spending bill. Nothing happened.
Meanwhile, since 2016 the Democratic Party has moved further left than anyone would have anticipated since 2016. They
will embrace every letter in the LGBTQAI etc. list, they want to repeal the Second Amendment, abolish the First, get rid
of the United States Constitution.
San Francisco Prisons
Implement Reforms Giving Transgenders Special Treatments. San Francisco prisons formally announced they are implementing
a policy for transgenders that will respect their gender preferences, house them in the cells of their chosen identity, and offer other
gender identity services. The San Francisco Sheriff's Department announced Wednesday [2/21/2018] that inmates