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SF Supervisor Dean Preston claims the city’s homelessness problem is “absolutely” the result of capitalism and that it’s “counterproductive” to arrest people openly doing drugs.
His district includes the Tenderloin. Of course. He proposes cutting $100 mms. from the bloated police department budget. He wants a law that would ban security guards from drawing their weapons for property crimes.
In other news, Elon Musk says Preston “is the person most responsible for the destruction of San Francisco.” and calls for him to be fired.
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The political opinions in my family are all over the map. I have a libertarian younger son, a moderate/left older son, wife was a strong Trump supporter, now doesn’t care much about politics. Last night’s dinner table conversation was about Trump’s potential running mate. We all assumed he’d get the nomination, based upon a collectively unimpressive Republican debate. Younger son wants Ramaswamy. I like Haley. None of us like DeSantis.
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Love Tulsi. Would vote in a heartbeat for a Haley Gabbard ticket. Thought Newsom pulled the plug on the train to nowhere. Did he start it back up?
It’s still on track, no pun intended. They had a board meeting with a status report six days ago. They’ve selected a consultant. Also, they sought $8 billion from the federal government, but were awarded just three billion.
This is a problem in our deficit-ridden state. We received $26 billion less than was projected, so not only do we have a $68 billion deficit, we have a structural, annual $30 billion deficit.
When Newsom became governor in 2019, the state budget was $223 billion. Now, four years later, it’s over $300 billion while the state has lost population. Newsom created a health insurance program for millions of illegal immigrants, but school budget cuts will save $17 billion.
The state has a $24 billion reserve, but Newsom would have to declare an emergency to get at those funds…which would be inconvenient as he touts California’s economic miracle. Incidentally, California has technically entered a recession this year, since there was a 0.5% rise in the three month average unemployment rate compared to the 12 month low.
California’s record deficits are a bad model for other states
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Supposedly Nikki Haley has a 17 point lead over Joe Biden in a straw Wall Street Journal poll:
SHOCK POLL: Nikki Haley Absolutely Wrecks Biden By Whopping 17 POINTS — And Trump Tops Biden By 4
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I thought Tulsi Gabbard was a reasonable Democrat, relatively speaking. But she was shouted down by the Lefties.
BTW, Biden has routed $3.07 billion of federal money to Gavin Newsom’s debacle train going from Nowhere, CA to WhoCares, CA.
Biden admin sends billions to California’s over-budget, behind-schedule ‘train to nowhere’
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I read that more than half of it is deferred. And if it weakens the Dodgers long-term, that’s a good thing. It’s interesting…Ohtani is only going to be a DH next season, because of his surgery on his pitching arm. And you have to wonder (a) will he come back as the same pitcher, now that he’s had multiple surgeries on that arm and (b) even if he does, the Japanese history is one start per week (26 in a season versus 33), which apparently was Ohtani’s demand. He’s never had more than 28 starts in a season, and had that just once…in the other two seasons, he had 23 starts…and just 12 starts combined in 2018 and 2020.
At any rate, time for the Giants to move on. I’d be plenty happy if they can land Bellinger, Lee, Snell and Yamamoto. And I hope they’re very active on the trade markets. I think they need upgrades across the board. They have mediocre players at all levels:
Flores had a good year…but he’s going to be 32. No other player had an OPS over .790. Now they all blamed Kapler (of course), but the fact remains that their position players are either good (Yaz, Wade, Bailey) or mediocre (Davis, Estrada, Conforto, Haniger, Fitzgerald, Sabol) or poor (Meckler, Schmitt, Luciano, Matos, Ramos, Wisely, Bart, Villar). They don’t have a single great position player…not one. Personally, I’d like to see them keep Flores, Yaz, Wade, Bailey, they have to keep Haniger and Conforto. I think Estrada has strong skills. Slater and Yaz make one good platooned corner outfielder. They need half-a-dozen really good to great pro position players. There isn’t a single field position that couldn’t use an upgrade.
Pitching is not much better. I think Webb is the Giants’ sole great player and Cobb is a legit starter. After that…well, they have to keep DeSclafani and Stripling and roll the dice. Kyle Harrison will be another starter. They could use at least two great starters…Yamamoto and Snell, anyone?
I’m still not sold on Doval as a great reliever. I don’t like his body language on the mound. He had 39 saves and finished 60 games. The rest of the relievers are fairly strong. I like both Rogers brothers. I like Beck and Jackson and Winn and Junis and Brebbia. I think Ryan Walker is excellent. I think Scott Alexander, when healthy, is strong.
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Here’s an article that’s focused on the likely economic outcome for the average family if Trump gets elected. Claims that Trump will improve things in the following areas:
- Tax Cuts
- Job Growth
- Trade Policies
- Global Impact (reshoring jobs to U. S. soil)
- Infrastructure
- Job Creation
- Healthcare
- Insurance Costs
I don’t care for the man personally, any more than I would have positive feelings about New Yorkers, real estate investors or billionaires in general. I’d rather not have any of the three running the country, much less all three in one. And if Trump were walking down the street in my direction, I’d cross the street to avoid him.
At the same time…I’m trying to understand why I wouldn’t prefer his policies, particularly in the above eight categories, to those of…frankly…any Democrat. These days, I don’t think there’s any such thing as a moderate Democrat. I think they’re largely unelectable people who want to reface society based upon their internal muse. And I don’t trust them.
At any rate, we’ll find out in 11 months…
What a 2024 Trump Win Would Mean For Your Paycheck
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Cornfed, so then who steps in for both of the Dem candidate roles? Or up in the air as of now?
I can’t envision a circumstance in which Kamala Harris runs for any national office, much less the Presidency. She’s toxic. She’s Hillary Clinton x100 in terms of voter lack-of-appeal and voter irritation.
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Gavin’s California budget deficit is now a record $68 billion as tax revenues have cratered. The originally budgeted shortfall was $14.3 billion.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/07/californias-budget-deficit-balloons-to-68b-00130624
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Hunter Biden is indicted on nine tax charges with gun charges — in California, no less. Three of them are felonies. He had a plea deal, which imploded. He owed $1.4 million in taxes, which have since been paid:
https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-tax-charges-special-counsel-75b2aa05f247535677454ff2dfa7c71f
DoJ charges evasion of assessment, Hunter could face 17 years in prison.
https://www.axios.com/2023/12/08/hunter-biden-doj-president-biden
Judge was appointed by Trump. Filed in LA.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/hunter-biden-charged-rcna128658
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Through 8/31/23, there were 563, which projects to a total of 841 drug fatalities.
San Francisco faces deadliest year for drug overdoses due to rise of fentanyl | San Francisco
Skyrocketed from 563 at the end of August to 692 at the end of September. New projected total is 923. Not sure how many overdose deaths in October or November.
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I’m guessing a pretty big number. I like a geopolitical strategist named Peter Zeihan who refers to himself as “a Green, but a Green who can do math.” My issue with the two Democrat governors with whom I have a sliver of a relationship (fellow Bronco Gavin Newsom and former fellow Dickinson Wright alum Gretchen Whitmer) is that neither can do math. They love to announce large public works investments, and when the details come out they just never, ever add up.
https://zeihan.com/some-inconvenient-truths/
The sum total of the Michigan perfidy is extraordinary…between the grants, subsidies, tax credits and infrastructure investments; Governer Nitwit “invested” $750 mms. more than the taxpayers originally approved. For context, that’s more than Michigan paid out in unemployment benefits to every unemployed person in 2021, more than a year’s worth of state government revenue sharing with municipalities, 4x than the Michigan homeowners collectively deducted in homestead property tax exemptions, etc. In other words, $750 mms. is big for California but in Michigan it is HUGE.
I assume that the politicians and the union heads are too stupid to realize that they’re essentially conducting a big con. But I always wonder if, during these photo shoots, the businesspeople are thinking “I know this is a con, but will this be a con to come back and bite me in the rear end?” I’m guessing they’re hoping to be out of office by the time the idiocy is discovered…
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Interesting. Judge Pittman, like Musk’s counsel, is a member of the Federalist society. He is a Trump appointee (and had prior nominations from Rick Perry and Greg Abbott) and is what I would consider to be an activist judge. SOme people think he overreaches:
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Monday is Biden’s 81st birthday. USA Today just called his presidency a “dumpster fire.”
Earth to Democrats: Biden presidency is a dumpster fire. How many warning signs do you need?
73% of voters say he’s told old for a second term. 20% of Black voters now support Trump. Young voters not enthusiastic about Biden. 10 of 12 national polls show Trump in the lead over Biden.
The Atlantic article claims that 55% of Americans are worse of economically; that inflation is worse than they’re telling us, that housing affordability is at an all-time low, and that most economic benefits are being found in the bottom 10% which is a Democratic stronghold in any event.
Why Americans Hate a Good Economy – The Atlantic
Bad on immigration:
Beware the coming immigration crisis
Bad on Israel:
Morning Report — Biden support slips amid Israel-Hamas war
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Biden’s polls continue to slide
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/25/biden-polls-worse-trump-00128536
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