Yesterday was tax day! Yay! Wait until you see what they are doing with your money.
Pete Hegseth is on the bad side of a Democratic senator. I’m pretty sure he’s going to ignore her.
And Democrats are already showing what their platform in going to be for the 2026 elections. Will it work?
Have Any of These Guys Read the Constitution?
According to The Hill:
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would establish a commission to examine whether the president is fit to serve in office.
More than 70 Democrats called for President Trump’s removal from office after he issued a series of blistering threats against Iran last week, including a stark warning that a “whole civilization will die” if Tehran didn’t strike a peace deal.
Raskin’s bill would establish a “Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office,” which, if directed by Congress, “shall carry out a medical examination of the President to determine whether the President is mentally or physically unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office.”
The commission is intended to carry out section 4 of the 25th Amendment, which says that the vice president should serve as acting president if he and a majority of the Cabinet or “such other body as Congress may by law provide” submit a written declaration to the Speaker of the House and president pro tempore of the Senate that the president “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
While the bill is unlikely to advance in the GOP-controlled Congress, it underscores Democrats’ efforts to push back against the Trump administration.
EXCLUSIVE: “Jacqueline” is a transgender migrant who lives in a California homeless shelter and told us the state gave him free breast implants.
Now he’s waiting for “bottom surgery,” in which doctor will castrate him and create an artificial vagina—all funded by Gavin Newsom. pic.twitter.com/ADeJbMqLZn
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) April 15, 2026
It’s None of Your Business
According to NBC News:
A prominent Democratic senator on the committee that oversees the Pentagon is requesting additional information from the Defense Department following reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is withholding the promotions of several Black and female senior officers.
She ain’t that “prominent.”
NBC News reported last week that Hegseth had blocked or delayed promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military. Some of those efforts are seen as having been targeted because of their race or gender, or their perceived affiliation with the Biden administration’s policies or officials, according to NBC news reporting that cited nine U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
Gee, I wonder why they were targeted? Could it be that they were given their positions because they were black or female and not not because they were qualified for their positions?
Hegseth’s actions have raised concern inside the White House, the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, according to U.S and congressional officials. Some lawmakers, including both Republicans and Democrats, see the decisions as Hegseth taking too far his efforts to scrub the Pentagon of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to the officials.
Nope, I guarantee you the White House, Senate, and House don’t care. That’s because it’s not their job to make promotion decisions. Definitely not Republicans. And, yes, Hegseth is wiping out DEI. Trump ran on that.
This is just another attention-getter from another wannabe-presidential candidate that will probably lead to wailing about impeachment.
A federal court has stripped a naturalized US citizen of his citizenship after finding he lied about a history of serious criminal activity, including violent extortion, during the naturalization process.
The Justice Department announced that Michael Pizzuti, a native of Italy, had his citizenship revoked by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York after the court determined he illegally obtained it by concealing crimes and providing false testimony under oath.
Pizzuti failed to meet the “good moral character” requirement for citizenship, having committed multiple crimes and then lying about them during his immigration proceedings. The court also found that he engaged in fraudulent concealment and willful misrepresentation of material facts.
Pizzuti’s criminal activity dates back to the late 1990s. From July 1998 through August 2000, he dealt in counterfeit currency, trafficked contraband cigarettes, and participated in a conspiracy involving truck theft and mail fraud. He was arrested and indicted on those charges in December 2001, later pleading guilty and receiving a 15-month prison sentence.
Despite that arrest, Pizzuti moved forward with his naturalization process just months later. On May 2, 2002, less than five months after his indictment, Pizzuti appeared for his citizenship interview and falsely claimed, under oath, that he had never been arrested and had not committed any crimes for which he had not been arrested. Based on those statements, he was granted US citizenship on July 24, 2002.
But his criminal conduct didn’t stop there. Between May and September 2001, Pizzuti carried out a violent extortion scheme against his financial advisor after discovering the advisor had been running a Ponzi scheme using his money. Prosecutors say Pizzuti broke into the man’s home, held him at gunpoint, and forced him to continue the scheme until enough funds were generated to repay his investment. He also destroyed computer records to cover up his actions.
Pizzuti was later convicted in 2005 on charges of violent extortion and obstruction of justice, after he had already been granted citizenship, and was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. “Violent criminals like this have no place in our society, and when they lie about those crimes to obtain US citizenship, this Administration will stop at nothing to correct that travesty,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate.
Negotiations have started and finished over the Iran war. If anyone thought Trump doesn’t know what he’s doing is very odd to me.
The race for governor is heating up in California. You can tell. The backstabbing has begun.
And the Artemis II mission comes to a spectacular end. Folks, we’re going back to the moon.
News
Here is some news:
Along the Iran front
Talks have broken down in Pakistan after just 24 hours.
The United States had six “red lines” that Iran must adhere to:
Open the Straight of Hormuz with no conditions.
Iran must end all uranium enrichment.
Iran must dismantle all nuclear facilities.
Iran must retreive and turn over all enriched unranium.
Accept peace framework initiated by the United States.
Iran must end funding to terror proxies including Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah.
Trump is not surprised. He announced a blockage of the Straight of Hormuz.
He plans to clear all mines.
We will be getting help from some other countries.
There has been nothing said about bombing power plants or taking Kharg Island.
Eric Swalwell, the nominee for governor of California is under investigation for rape in New York.
He has been accused of a multitude of things including:
Paying a prostitute (there’s video of this).
Paying a nanny with campaign funds.
Thge nanny was also accused of being an illegal alien.
Accused of sleeping with interns.
Strange how all this comes out now.
Finally, the Orion spacecraft came back to Earth, safe and sound in one of the most amazing missions in human history.
🚨 BOOM! The Strait of Hormuz was Iran's LAST HOPE, and President Trump is taking it AWAY from them
Shouldn't have stonewalled JD Vance in Pakistan!
"Now they have no leverage left, because they were decimated on the battlefield, and they're looking to the Strait of Hormuz, and… pic.twitter.com/H2wIp7PX0D
The deranged homeless man accused of savagely butchering Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, on a Charlotte light rail train has been found “incapable to proceed” on state murder charges.
According to a motion filed April 7, Decarlos Brown Jr. was evaluated Dec. 29 at Central Regional Hospital, and the subsequent report determined he was not competent to stand trial, according to WBTV. His attorney has asked the court to delay his competency hearing by 180 days.
The results were previously sealed in state court and were only revealed as the motion was filed.
Prosecutors did not object to the requested 180-day delay of Brown’s Rule 24 hearing, which was previously scheduled for April 30, which will determine whether he is fit to proceed with a potential death penalty trial.
Brown is also facing federal charges — and will remain in custody on that case, his lawyer Daniel Roberts said.
A judge must now determine whether to accept the report’s findings, and the case against him will likely be delayed until his capacity is determined to be “restored” by the court, the station reported.
In the motion filed by Brown’s public defender, he claimed the court-required capacity hearing cannot take place with the accused killer in federal custody, and that the court also can’t order to have his capacity restored.
If a judge agrees Brown is incompetent to stand trial, state law mandates the charges be dismissed. However, if the judge issues the ruling without prejudice, state murder charges could be refiled if he ever regains his capacity to be tried.
A similar situation happened in the Tar Heel State in 2020 when murder charges were dismissed without prejudice against Buford James Penley after he was determined to be incompetent by multiple psychologists, including one who worked for the DA’s office.
Under North Carolina law, a defendant is deemed capable to proceed to trial if they can understand the nature and object of the proceedings, comprehend his or her situation in reference to the proceedings, and assist in his or her defense in a rational or reasonable manner.
Brown has been in federal custody in Chicago since a grand jury indicted him on Oct. 22 for violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system causing death. He faces state charges of first-degree murder.
He’s been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation pursuant to his federal case, but court filings viewed by the outlet last month show it hasn’t been completed and that the evaluation period has been extended.
The outlet reports that restoring competency can take a long time in North Carolina because of limited space in state psychiatric facilities, and said it’s not uncommon for defendants to wait a year or more for a bed to open up.
Brown, 35, whose mother told The Post is schizophrenic, was arrested at least 14 times in North Carolina for crimes ranging from assault and firearms possession to felony robbery dating back to 2007.
The best thing that Gavin Newsom can do to save his presidential chances is to divorce his wife. He sure ain’t going to be able to shut her up. And she’s way too arrogant to realize she is actually hurting her husband’s chance of winning a future political office. He should have known he was in trouble when she started going around and calling herself the “first partner” instead of the “first lady.”
Let’s listen to a couple of her greatest hits that have come out over the last couple of weeks.
My Lord, Mrs. Newsom is nuttier than a fruitcake!!
That’s right. She would censor and cancel anything that she didn’t like or was “mean.” She sounds like she is saying women would be tyrants.
What’s worse is she is incredibly woke. This is something her husband has been trying to get away from. She’s just dragging her ass right back into it.
Then this little gem got released.
Jennifer Newsom recounts telling some San Quentin prisoners how she, as a 6-year-old, ran over and killed her 8-year-old sister.
Jennifer says it was an accident, like how with those prisoners “theirs was probably an accident too.”
Donald Trump has had it with Iran’s lack of cooperation. Iran has six hours to figure it out.
California is an absolute mess. We, in California, knew it. Apparently CBS News just figured it out.
And NASA, with four brave astronauts, prove that America is awesome!
News
President Donald Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. ET to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes against its power plants and bridges on Tuesday.
The United Nations has warned that Trump’s threats to target Iran’s power plants and bridges could constitute war crimes if they are carried out.
Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., is mounting a long-shot bid to impeach President Donald Trump as he stares down a primary threat from younger challengers, who seek to thwart his bid for a 15th House term.
Larson, 77, introduced 13 articles of impeachment against Trump on Monday, citing the president’s military intervention in Venezuela, the deployment of National Guard troops to cities across the country and his executive order to curtail birthright citizenship, among other charges.
Larson also charged Trump with “murder, war crimes and piracy” for ordering a naval blockade around Venezuela targeting U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers ahead of the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January and for launching dozens of strikes against alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean.
Researchers found that California’s minimum wage hike for fast-food workers led to “negative outcomes” such as automation and reduced work hours.
The researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz suggested in a report published in March that the policy could produce unintended consequences such as an increase in menu prices, a loss of overtime and benefits, reductions in employee working hours, and an implementation of automation that replaces workers.
Artemis II’s four astronauts zoomed past Apollo 13’s 248,655-mile mark around 1:56 p.m. ET, reaching 248,656 miles as their aircraft hurtled past the moon at nearly 2,000 mph.
Then hours later, shortly after 7 p.m.., the crew set a new record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth, at a staggering 252,756 miles. The astronauts then beginning their long journey back to Earth .
The distance record was set just minutes after the capsule made its closest approach to the moon around 4,067 miles in altitude.
It also came in the thick of Artemis II’s communications blackout, which was expected to last about 40 minutes while the moon blocked any signals between Orion and the Earth.
Communications resumed around 7:25 p.m.
🚨 HISTORY! Artemis II with its four astronauts on board, have now traveled further from earth then any other humans in history. pic.twitter.com/qi2GbRNLU9
PRESIDENT TRUMP asks Artemis II crew to share the "most unforgettable" part of their historic day.
COMMANDER REID WISEMAN: "We saw sights that no human has ever seen before, not even in Apollo, and that was amazing for us." pic.twitter.com/yUmdPQ8YWz
Californians pay $2 more for gas than the rest of the country. The question is now becoming why (yes, it’s been a slow news weekend).
California said it was starting a commission to
NBC News investigation finds the price of gas in California is not because of the war with Iran, it’s because of Gavin Newsom and California Democrats
“We are paying on average $2 a gallon more than the national average for drivers across the nation and an expert on the oil and… pic.twitter.com/qmNvY9j4P4
Using a 6.00 dollar pump price, here’s what each component would roughly be per gallon based on the CBS breakdown.
Dollar breakdown at 6.00 dollars/gal
Component
Percent of price
Approx. cents/gal
Approx. dollars/gal
Component
Percent of price
Approx. cents/gal
Approx. dollars/gal
Crude oil
40%
240¢
2.40
Refining (incl. CA blend premium)
13%
78¢
0.78
Distribution
15%
90¢
0.90
Federal gas tax
5%
30¢
0.30
State excise + storage fee
15%
90¢
0.90
State climate programs (Cap & Trade, LCFS)
10%
60¢
0.60
Sales taxes (state + local)
2%
12¢
0.12
Total
100%
600¢
6.00
Those percentage buckets are approximations the article uses to summarize the detailed line items (61¢ excise tax, 23¢ Cap‑and‑Trade, 14¢ LCFS, etc.), so at different pump prices the cent amounts would change but the shares stay roughly similar.
Do you want a version of this table recalculated for a different typical California price (for example, 5.50 or 6.50 dollars per gallon)?
Believe it or not, California is still thinking of building this high speed rail system. They’ve already blown $34 billion for:
Roughly 0 miles of the California high‑speed rail system are actually in service; what exists today is partially built civil works on the initial Central Valley segment, not an operating line.
What’s physically built so far
Construction is active along a 119‑mile Central Valley “spine” from around Madera through Fresno and Kings/Tulare toward Kern County, but this is mainly earthwork, bridges, viaducts, and graded guideway, not finished track.
As of early 2026, about 70–80 miles of guideway (the prepared railbed/structure) are complete, and roughly 55–60 major structures (bridges, overpasses, viaducts) are finished, with a few dozen more under construction.
No true high‑speed rail track is in service yet; the Authority is only now moving into contracts to lay track and install systems on that 119‑mile spine, with track installation expected to begin in 2026.
BREAKING: California doesn't have enough money to finish building a high speed rail system to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles and now they want $125 BILLION MORE!
"The entire amount of money we need is not there…"
Worker advocates in Oakland are pressing for a $30 minimum wage, mirroring a similar goal from socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from across the country.
A worker’s organization, One Fair Wage, is hoping to put forward a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in the area. The organization believes the wage increase will help workers with the expensive cost of living in the Bay Area, especially with the affordability crisis.
Essentially, the city wants to raise the minimum wage so they can take more money in taxes. Of course, as usual, this assumes everyone working now will be working when the minimum wage goes up, which they surely won’t. It’s basically a big redistribution program.
By the way, this is why they keep raising the minimum wage. It gets a lot of votes and is easy to do. It is economic suicide, but everyone loves it. Except people that do all the signing of paychecks.
“Every time there has been a downturn or a serious challenge to the economy, in the end, we raise wages as a stimulus,” Saru Jayaraman, the president of One Fair Wage, told Center Square.
“It’s basically a stimulus in the hands of working people, who spend a much bigger percentage of their income than higher-income people because they have to. It’s survival,” she added.
One Fair Wage says the proposed ballot initiative would gradually institute the $30 minimum wage within the city and Alameda County until reaching the proposed amount in 2030. Oakland’s current minimum wage is $17.34 an hour, and California’s minimum wage sits at $16.90 an hour.
A $30 minimum wage would be the highest in the country. New York City legislators introduced a bill last month to also introduce a $30 minimum wage.
Police “reforms” in Boston replaced cops with mental health clinicians and social workers, and on Saturday one of those clinicians was attacked by a delusional man wielding a sword. The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, attacked the clinician as well as police officers with the sword. Cops responded by shooting and killing the suspect.
The incident took place near the Northeastern University campus on Saturday morning in Boston. Officers were responding to a 911 call about four people armed with guns and the caller was in the apartment building. After officers arrived at 212 Hemenway Street and located the disturbance they called in a mental health professional with the Boston’s BEST program, according to Mass Daily News.
The program, in which mental health professionals ride along with cops to de-escalate tense situations, has been running since 2011. The EMS clinician deployed to the scene spoke to the man for 45 minutes through the door before the suspect pushed open the door and attacked.
“He immediately opened the door and struck the clinician and an officer who was outside the door. He was armed with some type of sword, stabbing the officer in the arm and knocking the EMS clinician to the ground,” Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said. “One or more officers, which is under investigation at this time, fired a taser and weapon at the individual, bringing the person to a halt.”
The suspect as well as the officers and clinician that were attacked by the suspect were taken to the hospital. The suspect was later pronounced dead. “This was a very chaotic circumstance. The individual was clearly in some sort of mental distress,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
Boston EMS said in a statement that their employee had gotten injured in the altercation.
“Our focus tonight remains on the two members of Boston EMS, including one of our BEST clinicians, who were treated and transported to the hospital after the incident on Hemenway Street in Boston. Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries,” the statement read.
“Today serves as a reminder of the dangers inherent in this work and the sacrifice our members make every day. Members of Boston EMS show up to save lives — not to be assaulted. No one should face violence for simply doing their job. Our thoughts are with our injured members, the Boston Police officers, and everyone affected by today’s incident.”
The concept is simple: Store your silenced cell phone in a “chicken coop” while you enjoy your Chick-fil-A meal in-store and get a free “Icedream” cone as your reward for staying present with your chicken sandwich and your fellow guests. Open to groups and solo acts, the initiative got its start at a Chick-fil-A in the Atlanta area back in 2016. It hasn’t gotten the nationwide rollout treatment, but it pops up around the country every so often at the whim of individual franchisees. This month, the hype went global after Complex posted Chick-fil-A phone challenge signage on X.
Commenters quickly responded with enthusiasm for the stroke of marketing genius behind quality family time and an immersive tech cleansing. But others called out the “sad” state of affairs with someone adding, “Society has hit a low point holy sh*t.” One hater posted, “I’m trying to enjoy my chicken, not talk to my d*mn family.” Another person bet that this particular Maryland-based Chick-fil-A would be giving out zero ice cream cones since no one can stay off their phones these days.
Well, random X user, I brought receipts proving that at least five people have successfully completed the task and cashed in on those cones: my two parents and the three teenagers they paid to participate in the same challenge at another table. Having known my mom and dad my whole life, this all checks out.
My parents FaceTimed me the minute they returned from their mission, sharing boots-on-the-ground perspective on the promo everyone else in America wishes their local Chick-fil-A was running. They were already fans of Chick-fil-A, as well as the Towson Place location’s spacious dining area and flawless customer service. “I love ‘It’s my pleasure,’” my mom said.
I confessed to stopping by Chick-fil-A when I lived in Los Angeles purely because, unlike people in the rest of the city, the chain’s friendly employees seemed to enjoy serving customers. But back to the challenge at hand.
“We were expecting a chicken coop,” my mom said. There are many representations of the “coop” from the Chick-fil-A phone challenge on social media (one claims to be made of wood), but the Towson Place version involves a plain white cardboard box meant to secure your phone. (Apparently, it could have used some fun chicken-related decoration, according to “reviews.”)
Still, my parents persisted, roping in a trio of local teens into the mix, who my mom says “were like … ‘o-kay?’” about the idea. The boys had completed the challenge before and were happy to walk these nice elderly people through the process, accepting $2 each in cash. My parents value the quality time of other people’s grandchildren. And still carry cash.
They placed their order at the counter, sat down at the table with their drinks, and stowed their phones in the “coop” once their food arrived.
“Wait. So do you normally use your phone during dinner?” I asked, having no idea what my parents do in their free time.
“No, but I usually have it at the ready,” my mom said, like most of us. (How else are we gonna pick it up 186 times a day?) But when she admitted, “I checked my purse for my phone 10 times while my phone was still in the ‘coop,’” my eyeballs ejected from my face. Full disclosure, I did ask her to document as much pre- and post-coop action as possible. But I was shocked. The challenge, which is so obviously aimed at kids, even had my mom feeling the benefits from sealing her phone in a cardboard box.
“I’ve watched many families come in with young kids, and they do it,” said Natalie Martz, owner of the Towson Place Chick-fil-A. “I’ve seen adults come in with adult children and do it.”
Maybe the Chick-fil-A challenge is just a wholesome excuse to encourage customers to “eat mor chikin” and make it an occasion by purchasing meals for the whole family. But breaking bread sans phones might lead to small, surprising joys beyond chicken nuggets — no matter your age.
“I haven’t had a cone in years,” my mom recalled. “It was nostalgic. It brought back good memories for me.” Chick-fil-A happens to be celebrating its 80th anniversary this year with a “Newstalgia” marketing blitz that features retro packaging on drinks and sandwiches along with all-new plushie cows.
“The cone was really good,” my dad reported. That comment on the actual cone part of the old-school vanilla soft-serve dessert is notably high praise from a non-foodie. It warmed my heart hearing that they had fun with the assignment.
As one fan summed it up on Instagram, “A free ice cream for being present with your people? That’s a deal worth taking.” Try the challenge for yourself at a participating Chick-fil-A or politely ask your local shop to get in on the action. I’m sure it would be their pleasure.
President Trump does what the Democrats don’t want to do.
And let’s talk about that judgement in California finding social media companies liable for making social media addictive for kids.
Do Parents Hold Any Responsibility?
According to Perplexity:
A Los Angeles jury in a first‑of‑its‑kind California trial found that Instagram (Meta) and YouTube (Google) were negligently designed to be addictive and that this defective design harmed a young user’s mental health, making the companies legally liable for part of her injuries.
Basic facts
The case was tried in Los Angeles County Superior Court and involved a 20‑year‑old woman from Chico, California, identified as Kaley G.M.
Kayley started using social media at the age of six.
She alleged that Instagram and YouTube were intentionally designed to hook young users, which led to compulsive use starting in childhood and contributed to depression, self‑harm, and other emotional distress.
After about seven weeks of testimony and roughly 40 hours of deliberation, the jury found Meta and Google negligent in how they designed their platforms.
What the jury decided
The jury concluded the platforms were defectively designed because features like endless scrolling, algorithmic recommendations, notifications, and other engagement tools created an unreasonable risk of addiction and harm for minors.
They found Meta (Instagram) 70% responsible and Google (YouTube) 30% responsible for Kaley’s harm.
Jurors awarded her about 3 million dollars in compensatory damages, with the possibility of additional punitive damages; some outlets round the total package to “more than 6 million” when including related awards or phases.
Why this case is important
This is the first U.S. “social media addiction” lawsuit to go all the way to a jury and end with a liability finding against major platforms; thousands of similar cases are pending around the country.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers and regulators see it as a test of whether tech companies can be held to product‑liability style standards—arguing the apps are more like dangerous products than neutral speech platforms.
The verdict may influence settlement leverage and legal strategy in other youth‑harm suits, including large coordinated federal cases against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat.
How the companies defended themselves
Meta and Google argued there is no formal medical diagnosis of “social media addiction,” and that many factors—family, school, underlying mental health issues—contributed to Kaley’s struggles, not just app design.
They claimed they invest heavily in safety tools, parental controls, and content moderation, and that they never intended to harm children.
They also point out that the parents should hold some responsibility to what their children are watching. Television isn’t held responsible when a child watches something they shouldn’t.
They claimed that they are protected by section 230 which states they are a platform, not a publication.
The social media content is not created by the company, but by its users. It is up to the user to access social media to pick what they see.
YouTube argued that they are not a social media company.
Meta has said it “respectfully disagrees” with the verdict and is considering its legal options, signaling an appeal.
How this fits into the bigger picture
The verdict came as other juries and courts are starting to confront similar issues, including a New Mexico jury that recently hit Meta with a large verdict over Instagram and child exploitation and a Delaware ruling about whether insurers must cover social‑media‑harm claims.
Lawmakers at both the state and federal level have been pushing age‑verification rules, design‑duty laws, and other regulations targeting youth protections on social media, and this verdict is likely to be cited in those debates.
Some things:
This lawsuit should be thrown out.
This is a slippery slope. This will extend beyond children and apply to adults.
This also extends with the subjective, pseudo-science of psychology. There really is no way to tell who was causing her mental illness.
If someone should be of age, there should be a law making it mandatory that a user must be 18. This is going to open an entire flood of lawsuits. This seems to be a money grab.
I also feel that this is more of a parental problem, like drug abuse. Why aren’t the parents being held responsible?
But I don’t think social media is completely innocent.
Social media does use processes that are addictive.
Social media has been acting like a publisher not a platform. They have banned certain content that is considered “offensive” including conservative political speech, political figures, and information THEY don’t like. They said they have done this.
COVID information.
Abortion information.
They banned conservative commentators such as Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh.
They banned politicians such a President Trump.
Social media did know for a very long time that their content was no good for children. They made half-hearted attempts to limit access to children.
In 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom broke ground on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing (WAWC), a project featuring an overpass for animals atop ten lanes of the 101 Freeway in Southern California.
At the ceremony, Newsom boasted that the state had committed $54 million. He promised to “complete the job within another $10 million,” before seeming to hedge on whether that final sum would do the trick.
Officials projected a 2025 completion date for the overpass, and estimated that the entire project — which includes the bridge and other ancillary developments — would cost $92 million, some of it coming from private philanthropists.
Nearly four years after the ceremony, the bridge is past due and the project some $21 million over budget. What was supposed to be the world’s largest wildlife crossing has become a jobs program for environmentalists, with taxpayers on the hook for what WAWC leader Beth Pratt told us is an overpass “for everything from monarch butterflies to mountain lions.”
That money apparently was not enough. This past January, donning a hard hat and a “#SAVELACOUGARS” jersey, Pratt announced a possible $21 million overage. She effectively blamed President Trump, attributing the multimillion-dollar overrun to “tariffs, inflation, [and] labor problems.”
“There’s no boondoggle,” she said. “Given the times we’re living in,” a potential $21 million overage is “not that bad.”
In response to our request for comment on the cost increases, Pratt argued that they were consistent with those faced by other construction projects.
A group of experts apparently adds to the operation’s expense. A fungi whiz, Pratt says, worked as a WAWC habitat designer, periodically scrutinizing root samples under a microscope. A contracted soil scientist said his process involves assessing local dirt to “rebuild it … as close to nature as possible.”
One reason California supposedly needs this overpass is to ensure the safety and genetic diversity of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, where only about a dozen non-kitten cougars live at any given time.
While bridge proponents claim that the local mountain lion population could otherwise face extinction, researchers suggest the bridge is not the only solution to ensure their survival.
According to a 2016 paper published by the Royal Society, the mountain lion population living in and around the Santa Monica Mountains is “demographically vigorous.” Still, the paper argues, the population could face “rapid extinction” if it becomes less genetically diverse.
While bridge proponents have cited this study, the researchers say adding just one new mountain lion to the population per generation was apparently sufficient to reduce extinction risk. If Newsom and the philanthropists were really interested in protecting these lions, $114 million could likely fund translocations for thousands of years.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Newsom envisioned WAWC as a catalyst for the construction of wildlife crossings across the state. California, he boasted, set aside $105 million “to replicate projects like this all up and down the state.” Pratt reportedly thinks “hundreds more crossings are needed.”
Californians can’t afford it. The Newsom administration projects a $2.9 billion budget deficit for 2026–2027. The state legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal advisor has published steeper estimates, and claimed the deficit could rise to $35 billion in coming years.
If the state wants to fund a nine-figure overpass project for animals, it should turn to the Annenberg Foundation, which holds $1.27 billion in net assets. (The foundation did not respond to our request for comment.)
California taxpayers shouldn’t have to spend another cent. Gavin Newsom, unfortunately, seems committed to bankrolling what for now is a multimillion-dollar bridge to nowhere.
The Oscars are struggling to keep audiences glued to the screen. The 98th Academy Awards drew just 17.9 million viewers on ABC and Hulu. That’s down 9% from last year and marks the lowest audience since 2022.
The spectacle on stage did not translate into action on the remote. Fans seemed more interested in their phones than in the stars.
For perspective, the 1998 Oscars drew 57 million viewers, highlighting just how far live broadcasts have fallen. Even pre-pandemic ceremonies regularly pulled higher numbers.
The California State Legislature has introduced a bill that would designate the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as state-recognized holidays.
“Festival of Breaking the Fast,” marking the end of the month of Ramadan and its daily fasting.
Eid al-Adha is the Islamic “Festival of Sacrifice,” the second and generally larger of the two main Muslim holidays and the one associated with the Hajj pilgrimage.
The bill was officially introduced last month by Assemblyman Matt Haney and formally announced this week. If passed, California would become the second state in the country to recognize these holidays, after Washington.
Eid al-Fitr, or the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” marks the end of Ramadan. Eid al-Adha, the “Festival of Sacrifice,” takes place about two months later and coincides with the end of Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
Under the proposed bill, public schools and community colleges in California could close in observance of the holidays, and they would be added to the list of required excused absences for students. State employees would be permitted to use eight hours of existing leave to observe them. The days would not, however, be designated as judicial holidays, meaning courts would remain open.
In a video announcement, Haney commented on the proposal with Muslim-inspired music playing in the background. The video began with him saying “Ramadan mubarak, everyone,” before arguing that Muslim students and workers in California are being “forced” to miss “one of the most holy days” for them.
“This is how we show, truly, that we are inclusive, that we value diversity, we celebrate diversity, and that our muslim neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, are fully included and able to celebrate without consequence the most holy day for them,” Haney said.
Heaney was joined by Bilal Mahmood, the first Muslim American supervisor in San Francisco. Mahmood said that the proposal “means a lot” to the thousands of Muslims in the city.
“With this Bill AB 2017, we will have Eid as a state holiday so they can see their values and their beliefs and their culture represented in ink,” Mahmood said.
Funny, we have completely banned the celebrations of Christmas and Easter.
We are a Christian country. This country was built on Christianity. Islam had nothing to do with it.
Zohran Mamdani is doing everything to destroy New York. Here he is making a statement that goes completely the opposite of what is happening in the country’s largest city. It also goes against the basics of economics.
🚨 Zohran Mamdani says increasing taxes will stop people from leaving NYC
This is what happens when you elect a failed rapper who never held a job as mayor of the largest city in the country.
He’s got it backwards. Regular workers aren’t leaving because the rich aren’t paying their fair share. Regular workers are leaving because the rich are leaving and taking the jobs with them.
The rich are leaving because raising taxes takes capital away from them to innovate. They go to states that will let them keep more capital to re-invest into their businesses. They aren’t stuffing money into their mattresses.
Well, he has more brilliant ideas. Of course, his ideas are always misdirected.
According to the New York Post:
Left-leaning members of the NYC Council are considering bizarre new legislation that aims to curb retail theft — by penalizing customers and business owners rather than criminals.
NYC supermarkets and pharmacies would be forced to impose a 15-item limit for customers using self-checkout lines, and have at least one employee assigned to every three of those lines, or face daily fines of at least $100.
“We’ve seen the consequences of removing workers from these spaces: increased retail theft, less oversight, fewer protections for both workers and customers, and generally decreased safety,” said Councilwoman Amanda Farias (D-Bronx) while introducing the legislation Tuesday.
“This bill is about protecting good jobs, supporting workers on the front lines and creating a more secure shopping environment for New Yorkers,” added Farias, contending the 15-item limit is to “maintain safety, accountability, and fairness in the checkout process.”
The legislation’s rollout comes on the heels of the Council’s far-left faction trying to drum up support for a separate bill backed by socialist Mayor Mamdani to increase the city’s hourly minimum wage from $17 to a nationwide-high of $30 — a plan business leaders warn would be a costly disaster for employers and likely cause NYC to lose many jobs.
Farias’ bill is already co-sponsored by four other Dems: Manhattan’s Gale Brewer and Harvey Epstein, Tiffany Cabán of Queens, and Shirley Aldebol of The Bronx.
However, critics such as Councilwoman Joann Ariola said those pushing the bill have their priorities wrong.
“This is typical backwards leftist logic,” the Queens Republican said. “Instead of actually trying to punish criminals, my colleagues are pushing to make life even harder for businesses and consumers.”
California loses another billionaire. This is going to be a big problem for regular Californians soon.
Trump does what he should have done a long time ago.
And Joy Reid thinks Iranian women have it better than American women.
News
Here is some news:
Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick says he has traded California for Texas, joining a growing list of billionaires abandoning the state as lefty lawmakers push for a one-off tax on their wealth.
Protesters took to the streets in a violent night of unrest in Cuba as demonstrators chanted “Down with Communism” and attacked Communist party offices — in a rare showing of public defiance against the dictatorial government.
Residents flooded Morón in the Ciego de Ávila region overnight into Saturday — days after protestors chanted similar slogans in Havana — for what started as a peaceful rally pushing back against unpopular Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Cane and continued power outages and food shortages.
The embattled Diaz-Cane had announced Friday that he’d begun talks with the Trump administration to try and deescalate the crippling economic crisis in Cuba after the US cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to the island, The Post reported.
Venezuelan oil is not being sent to Cuba and the economy is crashing.
The Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act to order an oil company to restart shuttered offshore operations in California, saying the move is necessary to address oil supply disruption risks and reduce reliance on foreign crude.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday directed Sable Offshore Corp., an oil and gas company headquartered in Houston, to restore operations at the Santa Ynez Unit and the Santa Ynez Pipeline System off the coast of Santa Barbara, according to a statement from the Department of Energy (DOE).
California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the order Friday, calling the Trump administration’s use of the Defense Production Act “reckless and illegal” and pledging to fight the directive.
The governor also pointed to the pipeline’s history, noting that a 2015 spill near Refugio State Beach released more than 140,000 gallons of crude oil and caused widespread environmental and economic damage along the Santa Barbara coast.
In the Iranian war, The United States has hit the military installations on Kharg island.
Gregory Lee Vogelsang, 57, was convicted of kidnapping and molesting multiple children between the ages of 5 and 11 in the ’90s in the Sacramento area. He was sentenced to 355 years to life in prison.
But in the November hearing, a three-person board granted the pedophile parole, despite his heinous crimes.
In a transcript of the hearing, released by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Vogelsang spoke about his obsession with young boys.
“I got to know what the internal triggers and external triggers and what the risky situations and the warning signs are for pedophilia,” Vogelsang said, according to the transcript reported by Capital Public Radio.
“And, like I said before, when I don’t view a child as a sex object, I don’t want to become aroused, but I know it’s always going to be there.”
He also blamed the abuse he faced as a child for his obsession.
“I think when I was a child, I had normalized child molestation due to my father abusing me from 7 to 11,” Vogelsang said.
“It wasn’t until I had dealt with my own childhood abuse of the pain, the harm, the guilt and the shame that I felt as a child, that today I can sit there and say that I honestly understand the psychological and the emotional damage that I was doing.”
A law signed by Newsom in 2020 cleared the way for Vogelsang’s release, because it allows inmates 50 and older who have served 20 or more years to receive parole consideration.
An armed man with tactical gear and a firearm was able to walk into Zwink Elementary School in Klein, Texas on Tuesday this week. Kyle Najm Chris, also known as Muhi Mohanad Najm, 39, of Klein, has been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, a charge associated with bringing a weapon on school grounds.
Najm was then taken into custody on Wednesday at 6:30 pm, according to KHOU11. According to the criminal complaint against the suspect, he was seen entering the front office of the front office of the school where he was dressed in full military tactical gear and has a gun holstered.
When he was asked how he was able to get past security, Najm said that the front door was not latched. When employees asked him to identify himself, he did not do so, left the school, and then drove away in a dark blue Dodge Charger.
“From the moment the individual left the front office, we were actively working with multiple law enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend this individual,” the school wrote in a message to parents explaining why they were not immediately notified. “Sending a public notification during that window could have jeopardized those efforts, tipped off the suspect, and delayed the arrest.”
The suspect was later identified with security footage and a facial recognition system as well as a license plate database. Najm has no affiliation with the school. No students or staff were harmed during the incident. Authorities said that the man has a private investigator license and has a Texas Concealed Handgun License.
Let’s talk about oil and why the costs are so high. Then let’s look at how California is dealing with the oil crisis.
Finally, I’ll tell you why the oil crisis is not much of a crisis.
Before I Rant
Here is some news:
The new Supreme Leader of Iran missed his own coronation. Apparently, he’s in a coma and is missing a leg thanks to an Israeli missile.
The citizens of Cuba are protesting again , asking for a new government. President Trump is not counting out the thought of helping the Cuban people take over the government. Remember, Marco Rubio is Cuban.
Fifty-three percent of voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted Friday through Sunday, said they oppose the U.S. military action against Iran, which was ordered by President Donald Trump, with 40% supporting the operation.
Yamaha has decided to ditch California and head to Georgia.
Gas prices are going through the roof because of the war. The reason is simple: The Middle East countering are having trouble delivering their of because of the war in Iran. Not because the don’t have oil. In fact, countries like Kuwait have so much oil they’re stopped producing because the do not have anymore storage capacity. This is a very important point and I will get back to that later.
The problem is that gas has jumped $0.30 over the last few days and is expected to continue to go up until the war is over and deliveries can resume.
Democrats, including my brother-in-law, are jumping all over this, whining about how Trump doesn’t care about the working man. I don’t want to hear a damn thing from Democrats about the price of gas. They have gone four years raising the price of gas under the Biden administration and all they did was talk about how great Biden’s policies were and how great the economy.
Let’s go over what the Biden administration inherited from the first Trump administration and what they did.
When Biden took office:
Gas was averaging $2.17 a gallon.
The United States was energy independent.
The oil reserves were at 95% to capacity.
The XL pipeline was being constructed.
Regulations were being wiped off the map.
We left that stupid climate agreement that smothered the oil industry with regulation.
Oil was $10-20 a barrel. At one point, the cost of oil was at a negative. People were paying us to take their oil.
When Biden left office:
Gas prices were $3.30 and maxed out at over $5 a gallon.
Construction of the XL pipeline was cancelled.
They rejoined the Climate Agreement, pouring regulations onto the oil industry.
Biden regulated the transportation of oil across state lines.
Biden cancelled drilling leases on federal lands.
Biden overregulated refineries, forcing the closure of several refineries.
He insulted the OPEC nations. They refused to produce oil.
Californians have torn into Gavin Newsom for plotting new legislation that will likely spike gas prices even further, claiming he is “taxing us to death.”
The backlash centers on draft regulations tied to the state’s Cap-and-Invest program, overseen by the California Air Resources Board, which sets a statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions and requires major polluters to purchase allowances for each ton of carbon they emit.
According to the California Energy Commission, the Cap-and-Invest program currently adds about 24 cents per gallon to the cost of gasoline in the Golden State.
Gas prices averaged around $4.80 per gallon in early March, compared with roughly $3.25 nationwide, according to AAA data.
The system works by limiting emissions from large polluters — covering roughly 80% of the state’s greenhouse gases — and forcing companies to buy allowances for each ton emitted. Each year, fewer allowances are issued, gradually tightening the cap.
Revenue from the program flows into California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which finances climate initiatives such as transit projects and environmental programs.
But critics argue the tightening rules could ripple through the fuel market and land directly on consumers.
Oil companies and energy groups have warned that stricter regulations could threaten the viability of California’s remaining refineries. In a letter to regulators, energy giant Chevron warned that the proposed amendments could “cripple the survivability” of the state’s refining industry, potentially leading to more shutdowns, job losses and higher fuel costs.
The company noted that the oil and gas sector supports more than 530,000 jobs statewide and contributes about $64 billion annually in tax revenue.
Meanwhile, environmental groups are urging regulators to go even further.
In a letter submitted to CARB, advocacy organization Biofuelwatch called on the board to close what it described as a “biogenic CO2 exemption loophole” that allows biofuel producers and distributors to avoid buying carbon allowances for certain emissions.
The group argues that these exemptions reduce demand for carbon credits and suppress carbon prices, costing the state potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Using 2024 emissions data, the organization estimated that more than 23 million tons of emissions linked to biogenic fuels were exempted from the program — representing as much as $593 million to $712 million in potential revenue, depending on allowance prices.
But while policy experts debate the mechanics of the program, many California residents say they’re simply tired of paying more at the pump.
Some also blamed the state’s energy policies for weakening the local industry and increasing reliance on imports.
Other residents also argued the state is moving too aggressively toward electrification without the infrastructure or affordability to support it.
California Republicans are saying Donald Trump could take control of the state’s spiraling oil crisis amid concerns it impacts national security.
Some suggest the president may intervene over fears that if it gets worse it will impact the Golden State’s huge military build up due to its reliance on fuel.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has tried to blame it on the conflict in Iran, but experts have also pointed to crippling taxes in the state that has driven up the cost for years.
State Senator Suzette Valladares told the California Post on Sunday: “California is in a death spiral when it comes to our gas and oil prices. If the President sees our gas crisis as a national crisis he could step in.”
That national crisis she predicts could be the conflict in Iran and keeping America safe.
She continued: “California produces jet fuel for commercial and military use, they could use some sort of war order to at least keep up California production because of what’s happening in the Middle East.”
California refineries supply gasoline and jet fuel to military installations throughout the state, most of which is currently produced by in-state refineries, according to State Senator Tony Strickland.
That includes 11 Air Force bases, along with dozens of Navy, Marine Corps, and Army facilities. They use about 370 million gallons of fuel annually.
Trump could use the Defense Production Act of 1950 to override California laws and regulations that are blocking offshore oil operations in the state.
Boots may be on the ground in Iran, but not American boots.
A horrible story comes out of Miami and there are some big questions we should ask.
And football loses one of its greatest coaches.
News
Here is some news:
Legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz has died at the age of 89, the university announced on Wednesday.
Holtz was considered one of the most influential coaches in college football history, winning 249 games as a collegiate head coach. He began his coaching career at William & Mary in 1969 and spent one season in the NFL before returning to college football.
One hundred of those wins happened at Notre Dame, where he served as head coach from 1986 until 1996.
Holtz was also a close friend and longtime supporter of Donald Trump. The president honored Holtz with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in December of 2020 for his contributions to the nation.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday that federal appeals courts must defer to immigration judges when reviewing asylum decisions.
The court’s ruling, written by Biden-appointed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, stated that immigration laws require federal courts to use a “substantial-evidence standard” when reviewing immigration judges’ decisions regarding whether an asylum seeker would face “persecution” if deported from the country.
Jackson noted that courts must meet a high bar before overturning an immigration judge’s findings. “the agency’s determination whether a given set of undisputed facts rises to the level of persecution under §1101(a)(42)(A) is generally ‘conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary.’”
The Senate voted against a resolution that would have required President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval before taking further military action in Iran.
Boot are on the ground in Iran. The Kurds, a group located in the western portion of Iran and have been contained by the IGRC have joined the fight.
Britain and France may have to join the fight in Iran because of an attack of a British base in Cyprus and attacking French bases.
🚨BREAKING: The father of one of the “teens” —13, 12— accused of r<>ping a 12-year-old girl BRINGS OUT THE RACE CARD AND BLAMES EVERYONE ELSE — Victim’s mother speaks
A Georgia father, Colin Gray, was just convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter over his teenage son’s 2024 high school shooting, and a Michigan father, James Crumbley, was earlier convicted of involuntary manslaughter for his son’s 2021 school shooting.
No. 1 was a two-year, $40 million contract with the Diamondbacks. No. 2, at least on paper, seemed better.
It was a three-year, fully guaranteed deal with the Padres that appeared to have a similar average annual value.
Kelly, though, chose the former — and during a sitdown interview with Foul Territory’s Scott Braun and A.J. Pierzynski this week, he explained the decision was almost entirely due to the Golden State’s tax system.
“I don’t think it’s any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California,” the 37-year-old right-hander said.
There were, of course, other factors that pulled Kelly toward Arizona. He went to high school at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale and played collegiately at Arizona State.
And, the father of two young kids has called the Phoenix area home while logging innings for the Snakes in each of the past seven seasons.
“Coming back here,” he admitted, “it was always the priority.”
But after Pierzynski jokingly told him he was “the first person ever that’s been offered a bunch of money to go live in San Diego and said no,” Kelly made it crystal clear that giving away a significant portion of his income to a state government was ultimately a dealbreaker for him.
“I love San Diego,” Kelly said. “It’s just, like I said, they take too much money out of my pocket, man. The taxes over there are a different level.
The number of properties sold in California over the past three years was 24% lower than the same time period before the Great Recession, sparking fears of a statewide crash.
The Golden State had 954,423 property sales in 2023-25, down from 1.25 million in 2007-2009, according to figures from real estate data provider Attom.
That means homebuying in California was 24% slower over the past three years than it was in the run-up to the apocalyptic housing crash that triggered the Great Recession.
California’s sales pace over the past three years is down 31% compared to the previous 18 years, while the nationwide drop was 6%.
When the subprime mortgage market collapsed, many homeowners couldn’t find a buyer and walked away from their houses after foreclosures, as the Fed lowered interest rates.
As people were forced out of homes they couldn’t afford, the resulting oversupply tanked property values.
But the current Mexican standoff in California stems from the lock-in effect: owners with 3% mortgage rates refuse to sell and move into a new 7% rate, keeping the market frozen.
Sellers reluctant to lose their low rates and buyers unable to afford high ones result in today’s stagnant market, keeping prices high because inventory is scarce.
On top of that, the first-time buyer affordability index shows less than a third of California households could qualify for a starter home in 2023-25.
Only 30% of households in the state qualified, down from 49% in 2007-09, according to figures from the California Association of Realtors.
Earlier this year, 30-year mortgage rates dipped below 6% for the first time since 2022, offering potential relief to would-be homeowners.
But Lansner warned that no rapid price correction is likely.
In the three years after the Great Recession, California housing sales grew by just 8% while home prices recovered by 15% through the end of 2012, according to official figures.
An elementary school in Fresno was forced to file a police report after a child sex offender running for city council held a press conference just steps away.
Rene Campos, 41, a candidate in Fresno City Council‘s District 7 race, spoke Friday on a street outside St. John’s Cathedral to address outrage over his past, the Fresno Bee reported.
He was about 10 feet away from Big Picture Elementary School, a public charter school, which later contacted local cops.
Until 2015, under Jessica’s Law, California prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 2,000ft of any school or park in the state.
It remains unclear whether Campos is subject to any specific court orders, restraining orders or individualized restrictions related to his offense, or whether his limitations fall solely under California’s general sex offender registration requirements.
Campos, who is running to unseat incumbent Nelson Esparza, has not publicly clarified the scope of any conditions that may apply to him. The Post reached out for comment.
Esparza said the council is considering legislation to prevent people like Campos from seeking office. Other city leaders were also furious.
A Nashville elementary school has cleared the record of a first-grade teacher who was disciplined for refusing to read a book about same-sex marriage to his young students, according to a report.
KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary issued a “final warning letter” to teacher Eric Rivera in January after he declined to read an LGBTQ book to his class that was included in the language arts curriculum.
Due to his Christian beliefs, Rivera said he could not in good conscience read the book to his class, according to legal group First Liberty Institute, and he asked a colleague to read the book instead.
The next day, Rivera was summoned to the principal’s office and threatened with termination. He was told he must maintain “fidelity” to the curriculum, and a discipline letter was placed in his personnel file.
First Liberty said Rivera had received no prior warnings and had no discipline history. Afterward, he asked for a religious accommodation but was instead reassigned to a lab and technology position and then to a kindergarten position, according to the legal group.
After facing a warning letter from First Liberty in February, KIPP Antioch agreed to clear the incident from Rivera’s record, according to a press release Monday from the legal group.
The school will now also allow “all teachers to ask another employee to read materials objectionable to their faith.”
The effort to breathe boozy life back into the state’s struggling downtown comes courtesy of a pair of San Francisco lawmakers who want to let cities create special zones where bars and restaurants can serve drinks until 4 a.m., two hours past the legal closing time.
“The nightlife economy is responsible in our state without a doubt for tens of billions of dollars in revenue, hundreds of thousands of jobs,” Matt Haney, a Democratic state assemblyman who introduced the bill, told CBS News.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the number of people visiting businesses in downtowns across the Golden State. California cities are recovering at different rates, but none have reached the levels saw in 2019.
“Getting people back out in the streets is key to the economic recovery of cities across California,” said Wiener, a Democratic state senator who introduced the bill along with Haney.
“By creating Entertainment Zones, we’re giving people a reason to go back to areas where recovery has been slow while creating a vital new revenue stream for bars and restaurants.”
Should the bill pass, bars would need to pay an extra $2,500 each year for a permit to sell alcohol until 4 a.m.
“When the sun goes down, there is so much that is economic and culturally important,” Haney told CBS News.
Following major backlash about the scheduled release of a serial child molester through California’s elderly parole program, the 64-year-old is now facing new charges that could keep him behind bars.
News that David Allen Funston was set to be freed was met by outrage among victims, politicians and others. The former Sacramento County district attorney who prosecuted Funston said she was strongly opposed to his release: “This is one I’m screaming about.”
Funston, granted parole earlier this month, was set to be released on Thursday from state prison — but was rearrested that same day on new charges from a decades-old, untried case. The charges he’s facing are from a 1996 case in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a child in Roseville, according to the Placer County district attorney’s office.
In 1999, he was convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation and had been serving three consecutive sentences of 25 years to life and one sentence of 20 years and eight months at the California Institution for Men in Chino. The sentences followed a string of cases out of Sacramento County in which prosecutors said Funston lured children under the age of 7 with candy and, in at least one case, a Barbie doll to kidnap and sexually assault them, often under the threat of violence.
He was described by a judge at his sentencing hearing as “the monster parents fear the most.”
Prosecutors in Placer County, at the time, decided not to pursue the case against Funston in Roseville given the severity of the sentences he received in Sacramento County.
But given his scheduled release from state prison, prosecutors decided to file new charges against him. Placer County Dist. Atty. Morgan Gire said “changes in state law and recent parole board failures” led to his improper release.
“This individual was previously sentenced to multiple life terms for extremely heinous crimes,” Gire said in a statement. “When changes in the law put our communities at risk, it is our duty to re-evaluate those cases and act accordingly. David Allen Funston committed very real crimes against a Placer County child, and the statute of limitations allows us to hold him accountable for those crimes.”
He is now being held without bail in the Placer County jail, booked on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts against a child, according to prosecutors. Funston’s attorney, Maya Emig, said she had only recently learned about his arrest and hadn’t yet had time to fully review the matter.
But she noted that she believes “in the justice system and the rule of law.”
Emig called the Board of Parole Hearings’ decision to grant Funston elderly parole “lawful and just.”
California’s elderly parole program generally considers the release of prisoners who are older than 50 and have been incarcerated for at least 20 continuous years, considering whether someone poses an unreasonable risk to public safety.
In Funston’s case, commissioners said they did not believe Funston posed a significant danger because of the extensive self-help, therapy work and sex offender treatment classes he completed, as well as his detailed plan to avoid repeating his crimes, the remorse he expressed and his track record of good behavior in prison, according to a transcript from the Sept. 24 hearing.
At the hearing, Funston called himself a “selfish coward” for victimizing young children, and said he was “disgusted and ashamed of my behavior and have great remorse for the harm I caused my victims, their families in the community of Sacramento.”
“I’m truly sorry,” he said.
But victims of his crimes, as well as prosecutors and elected leaders have questioned the parole decision and called for its reversal.
“He’s one sick individual,” a victim of Funston’s violence told The Times. “What if he gets out and and tries to find his old victims and wants to kill us?”
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom said the governor also did not agree with Funston’s release and had asked the board to review the case. However, Newsom has no authority to overturn the parole decision.
Some state lawmakers also cited Funston’s case as evidence that California’s elderly parole program needs reform, recently introducing a bill that would exclude people convicted of sexual crimes from being considered by the process.
THINK back to your first childhood crush. Maybe it was a classmate or a friend next door. Most likely, through school and into adulthood, your affections continued to focus on others in your approximate age group. But imagine if they did not.
By some estimates, 1 percent of the male population continues, long after puberty, to find themselves attracted to prepubescent children. These people are living with pedophilia, a sexual attraction to prepubescents that often constitutes a mental illness. Unfortunately, our laws are failing them and, consequently, ignoring opportunities to prevent child abuse.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines pedophilia as an intense and recurrent sexual interest in prepubescent children, and a disorder if it causes a person “marked distress or interpersonal difficulty” or if the person acts on his interests. Yet our laws ignore pedophilia until after the commission of a sexual offense, emphasizing punishment, not prevention.
Part of this failure stems from the misconception that pedophilia is the same as child molestation. One can live with pedophilia and not act on it. Sites like Virtuous Pedophiles provide support for pedophiles who do not molest children and believe that sex with children is wrong. It is not that these individuals are “inactive” or “nonpracticing” pedophiles, but rather that pedophilia is a status and not an act. In fact, research shows, about half of all child molesters are not sexually attracted to their victims.
A second misconception is that pedophilia is a choice. Recent research, while often limited to sex offenders — because of the stigma of pedophilia — suggests that the disorder may have neurological origins. Pedophilia could result from a failure in the brain to identify which environmental stimuli should provoke a sexual response. M.R.I.s of sex offenders with pedophilia show fewer of the neural pathways known as white matter in their brains. Men with pedophilia are three times more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous, a finding that strongly suggests a neurological cause. Some findings also suggest that disturbances in neurodevelopment in utero or early childhood increase the risk of pedophilia. Studies have also shown that men with pedophilia have, on average, lower scores on tests of visual-spatial ability and verbal memory.
The Virtuous Pedophiles website is full of testimonials of people who vow never to touch a child and yet live in terror. They must hide their disorder from everyone they know — or risk losing educational and job opportunities, and face the prospect of harassment and even violence. Many feel isolated; some contemplate suicide. The psychologist Jesse Bering, author of “Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us,” writes that people with pedophilia “aren’t living their lives in the closet; they’re eternally hunkered down in a panic room.”
While treatment cannot eliminate a pedophile’s sexual interests, a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication can help him to manage urges and avoid committing crimes.
But the reason we don’t know enough about effective treatment is because research has usually been limited to those who have committed crimes.
Our current law is inconsistent and irrational. For example, federal law and 20 states allow courts to issue a civil order committing a sex offender, particularly one with a diagnosis of pedophilia, to a mental health facility immediately after the completion of his sentence — under standards that are much more lax than for ordinary “civil commitment” for people with mental illness. And yet, when it comes to public policies that might help people with pedophilia to come forward and seek treatment before they offend, the law omits pedophilia from protection.
The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibit discrimination against otherwise qualified individuals with mental disabilities, in areas such as employment, education and medical care. Congress, however, explicitly excluded pedophilia from protection under these two crucial laws.
It’s time to revisit these categorical exclusions. Without legal protection, a pedophile cannot risk seeking treatment or disclosing his status to anyone for support. He could lose his job, and future job prospects, if he is seen at a group-therapy session, asks for a reasonable accommodation to take medication or see a psychiatrist, or requests a limit in his interaction with children. Isolating individuals from appropriate employment and treatment only increases their risk of committing a crime.
There’s no question that the extension of civil rights protections to people with pedophilia must be weighed against the health and safety needs of others, especially kids. It stands to reason that a pedophile should not be hired as a grade-school teacher. But both the A.D.A. and the Rehabilitation Act contain exemptions for people who are “not otherwise qualified” for a job or who pose “a direct threat to the health and safety of others” that can’t be eliminated by a reasonable accommodation. (This is why employers don’t have to hire blind bus drivers or mentally unstable security guards.)
The direct-threat analysis rejects the idea that employers can rely on generalizations; they must assess the specific case and rely on evidence, not presuppositions. Those who worry that employers would be compelled to hire dangerous pedophiles should look to H.I.V. case law, where for years courts were highly conservative, erring on the side of finding a direct threat, even into the late 1990s, when medical authorities were in agreement that people with H.I.V. could work safely in, for example, food services.
Removing the pedophilia exclusion would not undermine criminal justice or its role in responding to child abuse. It would not make it easier, for example, for someone accused of child molestation to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
A pedophile should be held responsible for his conduct — but not for the underlying attraction. Arguing for the rights of scorned and misunderstood groups is never popular, particularly when they are associated with real harm. But the fact that pedophilia is so despised is precisely why our responses to it, in criminal justice and mental health, have been so inconsistent and counterproductive. Acknowledging that pedophiles have a mental disorder, and removing the obstacles to their coming forward and seeking help, is not only the right thing to do, but it would also advance efforts to protect children from harm.
Margo Kaplan is an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Law, Camden.
California loses another billionaire after the state threatens to implement a wealth tax.
Joe Biden’s FBI has been proven to have been acting badly. Will anything come of it?
And CNN is about to release a documentary on Christian Nationalism. This raises a couple of questions.
News
Here is some news:
Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg is the latest billionaire to escape California ahead of a hefty proposed wealth tax. The directorrecently purchased a home in the iconic San Remo co-op in New York City overlooking Central Park.
Public Storage announced it is leaving California and moving its corporate headquarters from Glendale to Frisco, Texas.
Public Storage operates thousands of self-storage units across the country.
Blu Zeke Daly, 26, of Manchester, previously known as “Cullen Zeke Daly,” reportedly pulled a vehicle up to a closed gate at the US-Canadian Pittsburgh Port of Entry and fired gunshots at a Border Patrol agent when approached.
The suspect is trans nonbinary.
The FBI under Joe Biden subpoenaed the phone records of now-FBI Director Kash Patel and now-White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in 2022 and 2023, when both were private citizens. The phone records grab was part of the Biden administration’s investigation into Donald Trump.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is proposing to spend $70 million on his plan for a network of government-owned grocery stores, a sum $10 million higher than he pledged on the campaign trail, even as his administration warns of a multibillion-dollar fiscal shortfall and raises the prospect of higher property taxes.
Cuba’s Interior Ministry reported that four men aboard a US-registered speedboat were killed after opening fire on a Cuban coast guard vessel near Cayo Falcones on Wednesday morning. Six additional passengers were wounded and received medical care.
The ministry said the Florida-registered vessel, carrying at least 10 people, was detected in Cuban waters off the country’s northern coast in Villa Clara province. When five members of the Cuban border guard approached the speedboat to verify its identity, the crew allegedly opened fire, injuring the Cuban commander.
The Cuban government later said that the 10 passengers who opened fire on soldiers were Cubans who had been living in the US and were seeking to infiltrate the island nation for the purpose of committing terrorism, the AP reports. The government claimed that the passengers on the boat “have a known history of criminal and violent activity.”
No movement on Iran.
They continue to talk in Geneva.
Iran refuses to give up their “peaceful” nuclear ambitions.
Iran refuses to giver up their ballistic missile program.
Iran refuses to giver up their nuclear materials.
The Trump administration says both Iranian demands are unacceptable.
The United States shipped a bunch of F-22s to Israel.
We should know more over the next 48 to 72 hours.
Just fucking dumb! Here is Rep Jenelle Bynum saying that Trump asking politicians to stand if they believe government should protect American citizens over illegal aliens. You’ll be shocked at what she says:
OMG
Democrat Rep. Janelle Bynum says it was "racist" and “uncomfortable” when Trump asked to stand for American citizens. pic.twitter.com/CWnLepxU5w
Nancy Pelosi complains that Trump’s SOTU speech was too patriotic: “It’s one thing to acknowledge patriotism, but to spend an hour and a half doing it?” pic.twitter.com/KleBOIBLnP
WTF. CNN's Pamela Brown to release an anti-Christian hit-piece that uses the ass*ssination of Charlie Kirk to highlight the rise of "Christian nationalism" in the United States.pic.twitter.com/SnsHmfTg4f
She doesn’t call this “White Christian Nationalism”. They take the racial component out of it.
She says that the country was based on Judeo/Christian principles. It was.
She says that Judeo/Christian principles should influence our laws and culture. It should. We aren’t kicking anyone out of the country because they have a different religion.
Charlie Kirk’s death did create a revitalization of Christianity. So did the assassination attempts of Donald Trump.
Notice, all the violence is coming out of the Left.
They Might As Well As Cancel It Now
According to the Post Millennial:
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy features a gay Klingon cadet. The show features a lesbian relationship between a mixed Klingon and Jem’Hadar and Tig Notaro, who plays a teacher at the Academy, as well as a Klingon man who dates a human.
“I won’t pretend that I wasn’t scared to take on this role. Part of me still is. Not because of the character himself, but because I knew the reaction that could come with it,” actor Karim Diané said of his character, Jay-Den Kraag, per Pink News.
To those who aren’t crazy about the warrior race being displayed as gay, Diané says their concerns are just “rooted in homophobia, racism, bigotry.” In the Star Trek universe, Klingons are a warrior race who are always ready for a fight and go into battle under the mantra “today is a good day to die.”
“But what matters more is this,” said Diané, “over the past few weeks since this show premiered, I’ve received countless messages from LGBTQ+ people around the world… people who feel seen, validated, and inspired by Jay-Den. Those messages outweigh every bit of negativity. Every single time.”
Episode 7, which aired this week, showed the Klingon character heading off to Ibiza to party down with his gay lover Kyle for spring break, or “All Worlds Day,” as it’s called on the show. Jay-Den Kraag didn’t even end up making it on the trip; he got sidetracked by another plot line, but Kyle came back terribly sunburned. Other cadets spent their All Worlds Day holidays with their families.
Of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, Diané said he imagined a future that expanded who gets to be seen, heard, and valued. “A future where diversity isn’t merely tolerated but celebrated. Jay-Den doesn’t exist outside of that tradition. He exists because of it. ‘Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations’ isn’t just a catchy phrase Roddenberry tossed around. I believe he truly meant it,” he said.
Trekkers and Trekkies on X spoke out against the absurdity of taking a Star Trek series and making it about sexual identity, with one user saying “life long star trek fan but have not even started watching starfleet academy, i just can´t. from captain picard fighting the borg which was beyond epic to increasingly woke and insane storylines with every new series of star trek that has made it impossible to watch.”
“And then they wonder why people only watch the old shows, is because they were fun and entertaining not a platform to push an agenda,” said another.
Whoopi Goldberg finally realizes that seeing a name on a list does not equal guilt. It's funny how the standard shifts when it is one of their own. By defending herself, she just accidentally made the most valid argument for Donald Trump that we have heard yet. pic.twitter.com/FNfS2u1hBH
Actor Ted Levine apologized recently for his iconic turn as cross-dressing serial killer Jame Gumb in the 1991 horror classic “The Silence of the Lambs,” saying that it was “f*cking wrong” that the film had “vilified” the apparent gender confusion of his character.
Levine told The Hollywood Reporter that his intent had always been to play Gumb — nicknamed “Buffalo Bill” — as a “f*cked-up heterosexual man” despite the fact that the character dresses in women’s clothing, wears makeup, and skins his female victims in an effort to make himself a suit of female flesh.
“There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,” he said. “We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”
Levine said that when they were making the film — based on the 1988 Thomas Harris novel by the same title — he had not been particularly concerned, but that “over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender — it’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s f*cking wrong. And you can quote me on that.”
“I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f*cked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing,” Levine explained.
