Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, have a great little racket going out in California. From Adam Andrezejewski at openthebooks.substack.com:
“Legalized” pay-to-play in California – the Newsom’s create problems, “solve” them, and cash checks along the way.
FLOWCHART: Following nonprofit and taxpayer money as Newsom, Inc. trades with itself.
Gavin Newsom convinced the legislature because Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of the governor, convinced him. The biggest advocate for mental health funding within the K-12 California public schools in the Newsom administration was Mrs. Newsom, according to published accounts.
In fact, Gavin Newsom created The Office of First Partner so his wife could promote her policy agenda using taxpayer money. Since 2019, Siebel Newsom’s been armed with nearly $5 million and nine staffers within her subdivision of the governor’s office.
Study after study show that by disarming law abiding citizens, gun control laws make it more dangerous for everyone. From John R. Lott, Jr., at realclearwire.com:
After the three public shootings over the last two weekends in California, Democrats are again clamoring for even more gun control laws. To California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the solution is to ban more places where people can carry permitted concealed handguns. Unfortunately, the proposal has nothing to do with stopping these attacks, and more gun-free zones only encourage these attacks. Other heavily Democratic states such as New York, New Jersey, and Maryland are making similar pushes.
Concealed handgun permit holders didn’t commit those or other mass public shootings. Permit holders are also extremely law-abiding, being convicted of firearms-related violations at 1/12th the rate of police officers.
With the country’s strictest gun control laws, California probably shouldn’t hold itself out as a model for the rest of the country to follow. The periods after 2000, 2010, or 2020 show a consistent pattern: The per capita rate of mass public shootings in California is always greater than the rate for the rest of the country. The rate is also much higher than for Texas, which gun control groups give an “F” grade for its gun control laws. Since 2010, California’s mass public shooting rate per capita is 43% higher than for Texas and 29% higher than for the rest of the U.S. From 2020 on, California’s rate was 276% higher than Texas’ and 100% higher than the rest of the country.
Here’s a hint: it has something to do with green energy. From Jill McLaughlin at The Epoch Times via zerohedge.com:
Californians are expecting skyrocketing natural gas bills this month, but this can’t all be blamed on the weather, according to industry insiders.
Natural gas is transferred into the SoCalGas system after being collected and purified at a Calgren collection facility in Pixley, Calif., on Oct. 2, 2019. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), which serves about 5.9 million households and businesses, warned customers to expect “shockingly high” January bills that could be 128 percent higher compared to December.
Those who typically paid around $65 a month last winter are likely to pay about $160 this year, SoCalGas said in a statement Dec. 29. Those with bills around $130 a month could see charges jump to $315.
Last December, wholesale natural gas prices already cost five times more than that of 2021. The utility also paid unprecedented prices for the supply in January, the company reported.
Natural gas prices rose in 2022 for five reasons, according to a biennial report (pdf) published by California Gas and Electric Utilities, a group of utility providers including SoCalGas, San Diego Gas & Electric, and SoCal Edison.
First, North American inventories fell below the five-year average last year. Second, the national supply was also strained by Europe’s steady demand for American natural gas during the Ukraine conflict.
Third, the Biden administration restricted licensing and drilling in the country for fossil fuels, and investment for such production has lagged behind the rapidly growing demand for natural gas over the past year, according to the report.
Lastly, the growing electric power sectors nationwide also consume natural gas, the company reported.
“From an economic standpoint [reducing reliance on fossil fuels] may be costly and is certainly not expected to be rapid or easy,” the utility reported. “Nonetheless, the push to find ways forward and to provide energy solutions to customers in a clean and affordable way is an imperative.”
Climate Goals Restrict Production, Grow Demand
Besides the recent storms that have crimped national supplies, California’s poor storage planning and aggressive climate action goals played a part in driving the prices skyward, Mike Umbro—an oil and gas developer in Kern County, about 150 miles north of Los Angeles—told The Epoch Times.
$100,000 a year buys you a lower middle class life in Los Angeles and San Francisco. From John Seiler at The Epoch Times via zerohedge.com:
As we head toward the end of another year, I’m remembering several friends who left in 2022 for cheaper states. And I’m thinking about several other friends who are planning on leaving in 2023 or 2024.
The fact is California is difficult, often impossible, to live in if you’re in the middle class. The wealthy can afford to live here, although they often leave too, because that 13.3 percent top income tax rate really digs in, especially when they dream of moving to 0 percent Texas, Florida, or Nevada. The poor suffer, but California has a generous welfare state, so it’s easier in many ways for low-income residents than living in another state.
It’s the middle class, the rock bed of any society, that bears the brunt of California’s brutal living conditions—amidst the sublime weather. There are three areas where the middle class is hammered: taxes, high housing costs, and a broken education system. Let’s look at them as we peer toward 2023: a little winter organizing of our political mentalities.
1. Taxes.
The middle class does not pay that 13.3 percent rate on millionaires, but it does pay what long was the “top” tax: 9.3 percent. California’s income tax rates were indexed for inflation in 1978. But that was only after a decade of inflation pushed the middle class into the then-top rate of 9.3 percent. That is, today the middle class pays at a rate originally intended only for the very rich.
The middle class in no other state pays income taxes that high. Of the states, seven have no income tax at all. And 37 have a top rate below 9.3 percent.
California idiocy is a malady that sooner or later plagues the rest of the nation. From Victor Davis Hanson at amgreatness.com:
Yes, there is a lot of ruin in great nations. But even America is by now running low on it.
“Be assured young friend, that there is a great deal of ruin in a nation.” — Adam SmithAre we sure that there is all that much ruin left in the United States?
We are $31 trillion in collective debt. The new normal is $1.5 trillion budget deficits. The military is politicized and short of recruits. We trade lethal terrorists for woke celebrity athletes as if to confirm our enemies’ cynical stereotypes.
Our FBI is corrupt and discredited, collaborating with Silicon Valley contractors to suppress free speech and warp elections. We practice segregation and racial discrimination and claim we do not because the right and good people support it and, anyway, the victims deserve it. The country has seen defeat before but never abject, deliberate humiliation as in Kabul, when we fled and abandoned to the terrorist Taliban a $1 billion embassy, a huge, remodeled air base, thousands of friends, and tens of billions of dollars in military hardware—and hard-earned deterrence.
We are witnessing the breakdown of basic norms essential for civilized life, from affordable food and fuel to available key antibiotics and baby formula. Old Cairo seems safer than an after-hours subway ride or stroll at dusk in many major American cities. Medieval London’s roadways were likely cleaner than Market Street in San Francisco. Speech was freer in 1920s America than it is now.
TAMPA BAY, FL — Authorities are warning that the destructive power of Hurricane Ian is so severe that it could cause Florida to experience water and power shortage almost as bad as they have in California.
“This deadly storm could cause near California-levels of suffering,” said NOAA Chief Meteorologist Storm McSerge. “This is absolutely devastating.”
Local residents pointed out that they had always wondered what it’s like to live in California, and they look forward to finding out. “We’re preparing the way we always do,” said local Florida man Buggs Crullers. “By stocking up on enough beer, cigarettes, and lotto tickets to last us a couple of weeks! If it gets as bad as a normal day in Cali, we’ll be ready!”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis attempted to quell fears, noting that even if power outages get as bad as they do in Gavin Newsom’s state, at least Florida parents won’t have to worry about their kids getting indoctrinated with CRT and trans ideology behind their parents’ backs. “That’s gotta count for something!” he said.
Sources also confirmed that if essential services and law enforcement resources are strained by the hurricane, it could cause Florida to have almost as much crime as New York City.
It’s so dire in the ‘new green deal’ state of California that they went from Level-2 to Level-3 grid emergency in just a few hours.
There is no irony in California’s recent declared ban on the sale of all new gas cars by 2035. This is all done by design.
The unsustainable and insulting farce that are electric vehicles which generate far greater pollution, require significantly more “dirty” energy and emit far more CO2 (the only good thing) than any ICE car ever could is yet another component of PSYOP-CLIMATE-CHANGE.
Electric cars will be directly tethered to the social credit score and if the AI threshold for good behavior is for whatever depraved reason not sufficiently met, then the ride share trip (remember, in the future you will happily not own a car, home or your very own body) will be rerouted straight to the reeducation camp. But before this grim reality arrives the power grid must be completely overhauled, which by design it will not be.
This is too funny, and nobody deserves to be laughed at more than Californians who have left themselves in this hole. From Ben Zeisloft at dailywire.com:
<img src="data:;base64,” alt=”” aria-hidden=”true” />David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Days ago, officials in California unveiled a plan to phase out new gas-powered cars. Now, officials are asking residents to avoid charging their electric vehicles in the interest of not overwhelming the power grid.
The western United States is facing a likely “prolonged and record heat wave” that could lead to temperatures as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. As a result, the California Independent System Operator is seeking to bring all available resources online to handle higher electricity demand and expects to issue “voluntary energy conservation” notices over the Labor Day weekend.
“The top three conservation actions are to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights,” according to the American Public Power Association. During a “Flex Alert,” residents are encouraged to reduce energy consumption from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm — the hours in which “demand for electricity remains high and there is less solar energy available.”
California also experienced a round of blackouts during last year’s Labor Day weekend. The state issued Flex Alerts because grid operators predicted “an increase in electricity demand, primarily from air conditioning use” related to extreme temperatures.
California used to be a great place to live and practice medicine. Now it’s on the road to totalitarian police state. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:
In January of this year the California state government formed the “Vaccine Work Group” which was tasked to construct a series of draconian bills designed to silence the large percentage of the population that refuses to comply with covid lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Most of these bills have since been attempted and have failed to pass or have been shelved. They included:
A bill that would have required all schoolchildren to get vaccinated against COVID, another that would have made all employees in California show proof of vaccination, and legislation that would have required local law enforcement officials to enforce public health orders.
All of these measures fell apart for obvious reasons, but for the sake of clarity let’s consider these facts:
1) School children are at virtually no risk of facing extreme illness or death from covid and the vaccine does nothing to prevent transmission of the virus. So, there’s no legitimate scientific reason to vaccinate them.
2) Proof of vaccination is what we call a “vax passport.” They are using this system now in China to apply even more oppression to the citizenry, and that type of thing is just not going to fly here in the US, not even in California. Furthermore, if the vaccines actually work, then the vaccinated have nothing to fear from the unvaccinated. If the vaccines don’t work, then there’s no reason to force people to take them in the first place.
3) Finally, they can pass any law they want to pressure law enforcement to bully people with covid mandates, but these would still be unlawful orders according to the constitution. Beyond that, what is the Vaccine Work Group going to do if LEOs still refuse? Fire them? You can’t fire a Sheriff. You can fire a city cop, but who are you going to replace them with if large numbers do not comply? And there are plenty of other LEO jobs in other states waiting for them if they do get fired. The state government has zero leverage; they are scrambling desperately for control that they will never achieve.
California has long been the template for auto and auto emissions rules for the rest of the country. Will that be the case with California’s ban on all cars not electronic after 2035. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:
California has just decided that nothing other than electric cars will be sold in America by 2035 – which is actually much closer to now than 13 years from now, because the car companies have to make plans for the coming model years many years before the calendar year gets here.
The 2023 models are already arriving at showrooms and the ’24s are in the “pre-production” stage, which means they’ve already been designed and the first of them are being built and tested right now, in preparation for less than a year from now. The 2028 modes are the ones being designed right now – and that brings us within spitting distance of 2035 – which as you can now see really isn’t that far from now, in terms of what is called product planning.
What do you suppose the car companies are planning to invest their resources – their money – in given that they know whatever they design that isn’t a “zero emissions” (ha!) electric car will be illegal to sell only a few years after it has been designed, at tremendous cost? Would you build something you knew ahead of time would be effectively worthless not long after you built it?
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