California Doing California Things

[thebeave]

Fourth largest economy in the world.

So, looks like things are improving... Good to see.

Yes, banning plastic straws and plastic grocery bags is really starting to pay off.

Don't forget the positive impact of name changes like "homeless" to "unhoused". Just think where we would be without that!

 

[TSwizzle]

Now we can focus on the important things



What a creep this specimen is.

 

[Elixir]

What a creep this specimen is.

Agreed. But at least he’s not an insufferable prick, right?

 

[Elixir]

It’s baffling why the people vote for these extremists. Reality tv personality Spencer Pratt is running for LA mayor. The LA Times ran a hit piece on him, raising the question of his eligibility since he is currently residing in Santa Barbara at his parents house. The reason for this is because his house in the Palisades burned down thanks to the utter incompetence of the city of Los Angeles administration, under Karen Basura. (Not a typo).

Spencer is a bad guy extremist because Karen burned his house down.
Typical libtard living in his mom’s basement. Insufferable!

 

[TSwizzle]

Fourth largest economy in the word loses another business.

KB Home, a staple of the Southern California business landscape for decades, announced Tuesday that it will exit its Westwood headquarters next year. The move to Tempe marks a strategic shift for the developer as it seeks to streamline operations and capitalize on Arizona's lower cost of doing business. The company also highlighted the economic benefits of the shift, noting that the Phoenix area provides a "business-friendly operating environment that is expected to further enhance efficiency and support long-term profitability."

News

 

[Politesse]

Fourth largest economy in the word loses another business.

KB Home, a staple of the Southern California business landscape for decades, announced Tuesday that it will exit its Westwood headquarters next year. The move to Tempe marks a strategic shift for the developer as it seeks to streamline operations and capitalize on Arizona's lower cost of doing business. The company also highlighted the economic benefits of the shift, noting that the Phoenix area provides a "business-friendly operating environment that is expected to further enhance efficiency and support long-term profitability."

News

Oh noes! None of the others worked, but I'm sure THIS one will collapse the economy!!!

 

[Politesse]

Now KB owns or controls 60,000 lots, including around 13,000 homes in the 2025 fiscal year, together constituting a total revenue of seven billion dollars that year. A paltry sum obviously, I can see why they feel they can't make any money here anymore. I assume they'll be relinquishing ownership of all those highly lucrative properties, since they hate the state so much?

Or is it just the taxes they are dodging by "moving" to Tempe, as they continue to mine us for extraordinary wealth, the same as always?

 

[Politesse]

Also, is there any business skeevy enough that Republicans won't suck their cock just for existing? Are you forgetting KB Homes played a major role in collapsing the entire national economy in 2007, while they ran off with the bank? In the process, putting a hell of a lot of the "homeless" people you hate so much out on the street to begin with? THESE spineless motherfuckers are your heroes, your compañeros who you want to be neighbors with for all eternity? WHY? What did they ever do for you? They drive up home prices, con new home owners into bad decisions, profiteer from natural disasters, and contribute as little as they can to the state economy. You may think you are their friend, but they are not yours.

 

[TSwizzle]

so an investigative reporter exposes the mass fraud going on in California. The response from Sacramento is not to investigate further. Indeed, insufferable prick Newsom rails against such things by calling Dr Oz a racist and the attorney general's wife creates a bill to stop people investigating fraud.

California lawmakers were confronted at the state Capitol in Sacramento as independent journalist Nick Shirley filmed a video published this week questioning Assembly Bill 2624, a proposal California Republicans have dubbed the "Stop Nick Shirley Act," during interviews with Democratic and Republican legislators about the bill's scope and intent. "If this bill were to get passed, instead of going after the fraudsters, they’re trying to make it criminal to go after the people that are committing this fraud," Shirley said in the video posted to his YouTube page. The video centered on California Assembly Bill 2624, authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, which seeks to restrict the public posting of personal information of individuals connected to immigration support services, including nonprofit organizations, legal clinics and health care providers.

News

California is corrupt af.

 

[Politesse]

so an investigative reporter exposes the mass fraud going on in California. The response from Sacramento is not to investigate further. Indeed, insufferable prick Newsom rails against such things by calling Dr Oz a racist and the attorney general's wife creates a bill to stop people investigating fraud.

California lawmakers were confronted at the state Capitol in Sacramento as independent journalist Nick Shirley filmed a video published this week questioning Assembly Bill 2624, a proposal California Republicans have dubbed the "Stop Nick Shirley Act," during interviews with Democratic and Republican legislators about the bill's scope and intent. "If this bill were to get passed, instead of going after the fraudsters, they’re trying to make it criminal to go after the people that are committing this fraud," Shirley said in the video posted to his YouTube page. The video centered on California Assembly Bill 2624, authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, which seeks to restrict the public posting of personal information of individuals connected to immigration support services, including nonprofit organizations, legal clinics and health care providers.

News

California is corrupt af.

How is your comment related to your link? Nick Shirley did not demonstrate any corruption, and if he had, doxxing the individuals involved would not have helped him do so. Why would you need to publish someone's home address in order to demonstrate that they have done something fraudulent?

 

[TSwizzle]

Gavin Newsom wants to be president so badly that it is painful to watch. His struggles — and his desperation — flow in part from his many failures as California’s governor. But his biggest challenge could be growing revelations of welfare fraud in his state. Bogus hospice operations, stolen unemployment insurance, student aid scams, missing housing funds and a host of other lapses have reportedly cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, bringing federal investigations and embarrassing oversight to the Golden State. Newsom’s administration has responded by ramping up its own policing of the state’s welfare programs. In recent days, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced he was bringing charges against 14 hospice companies that had billed Medi-Cal and Medicaid for $267 million in nonexistent services. But that only happened after podcaster Nick Shirley and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz posted incriminating videos about the blatant fraud in his state. Fraud is not California’s only issue, to be sure. Newsom has overseen one financial disaster after another. Topping the list is the much-touted $126 billion high-speed rail project that is almost 20 years late and nearly 400 percent over-budget.

The Hill

Newsom running for president is going to be hilarious.

 

[Politesse]

The state assembly passed SB-97 today, a resolution denoting April 24 as a day of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide. While this is not a first for the state, globally there are still very few public recognitions of the tragedy, which was the first mass genocide of modern times and set the stage for many of the 20th century's worst horrors. Despite its checquered past in terms of recognition, the mas skilling of Armenian people by the Turkish government was actually the case study that pressed Raphael Lemkin to first define the term "genocide" and lobby for its treatment as a war crime under international law. For Californians, it is an especially poignant anniversary, as many Armenians fled here during and after the war, and did what they could to surpass the trauma and build a thriving community in the Los Angeles, San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. In the "Little Armenia" neighborhood of Glendale CA, construction is currently ongoing for a Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center which is supposed to open later this year. My state assemblyman, Juan Alanis, co-sponsored the bipartisan bill, an infrequent instance of he and I seeing eye to eye on something.

CA - AR97

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

www.billtrack50.com

 

[Politesse]

Here's an interesting fact: although California was frequently described as a "Blue State" following Bush Jr's election, a bit less than half of Californians are registered Democrats. But there are about twice as many registered Democrats as there are Republicans. So it's not so much that we are Blue so much as that we are pointedly not Red. This results in frequent electoral victories for the DNC, especially in presidential elections, but both Parties represent our state extremely poorly as a rule, and our most popular and longstanding state politicians are those willing to oppose the national parties' influence when it matters. I think that California's electoral legislative culture encourages people to be honest about their lack of trust in the partisan system generally. If polling were more honest, most states would, like us, have a vast pool of voters unsworn to any Party.

 

[Politesse]

Also in California news, Betty Yee has dropped out of the governor race. Although she would have been my second choice if credentials and policy were the only issues, her campaign was hopeless, and I'm glad to see the field consolidating. It seems most likely to me that Becerra and Steyer will be the main beneficiaries of "Boring Betty"s surrender, regardless of whom she endorses.

Lagging in polls and fundraising, Betty Yee drops out of California governor’s race

“'It was becoming clear that the donors were not going to be there,' she said. 'Even some of my former supporters just felt like they needed to move on as well.'

She did not immediately endorse another candidate, but said she would do so in the next few days. Six Democrats and two Republicans are leading in polling ahead of the June 2 election."

 

[Politesse]

I'm still hoping Xavier Becerra will rally a bit, perhaps after Wednesday's debate. Though I have many disagreements with the man on specific issues, he's seemingly scandal-proof and generally speaking the only non-clown left in the race, at least of the major candidates.

 

[Politesse]

It would be inconsequential but slightly funny and very California should we end up with Steve Hilton as Governor and Fiona Ma as Lt Governor...

 

[Colonel Sanders]

J.K. Rowling, Dave Chapelle, and Dawkins are examples. Each took hits of varying degrees and were harassed without relent on social media for innocuous and even accurate statements.

What "innocuous and even accurate" statements are you referring to, and in what sense were they "canceled"?

Rowling with her accidental like of a post on Twitter, which she unliked/took down as soon as she realized her mistake. She apologized but has been harassed ever since. The harassment got even worse when she essentially told those people to go F themselves, which I admire her for. She is still reviled among that crowd.

Dawkins pointed out that yes, there are men and women. Crazy stuff I know.

Chapelle took a trans comedian on the road to open for him. In his act he made a joke about how she bombed her first night out, but then got better after time went on. For that, he has been castigated.

Reasonable people don't like that shit. Also, things like that get associated with the Dem party, which the Dem party then tacitly supports these extremists by not publicly rejecting those extremists, so people associate extremist nonsense with the party.

Other terms like "white people problems" and "male toxicity," both of which are usually made in sweeping generalities are other things that exclude millions from the party. Why the DNC doesn't come out and reject those sweeping generalities is beyond me.

These attitudes come from a tiny percentage of the voting population but they have an outsized voice that damages the whole; and the Dems don't do anything to fix it.

That’s a lie about Rowling context. And Dawkins is a fucking shitweasel that can’t get laid unless he has some kind of coercive power dynamic. Fucking pathetic and a huge let down. I loved The Blind Watchmaker and Selfish Gene. Then I find out that he is barely a step above Jordan Peterson.

But beyond that. Extremism undoes the left but is a huge benefit for the GOP? Why the double standard. Why is it extreme to comment on public speech but not to engage in the overbearing government action that the right wing supports?

No, it's not a lie. She holds the same views that most people do about trans issues e.g. it's not possible to change one's biological gender. It's not a matter of debate, it's a matter of fact. God forbid someone not engage in this fantasy. She also took a bunch of shit for saying that only women can menstruate and that's the truth. In order to not belabor the point, he views are supportive of women rather than "oppressing" trans people.

Dawkins distinguished different kinds of sexual assault from one another where his basic point was that different kinds of results can produce different traumas. Oh no, let's not discuss this because we wouldn't want appropriate treatment for differing aspects of abuse. The irony is that the screeching over this analysis is that it lumps all victims into the same group, which does a grave disservice to those victims because depending on circumstances, the trauma manifests itself in different ways and therefore treatment must be tailored to those different manifestations.

I don't know that the double standard has to do with anything. That's not the issue. Neither is free public speech. The issue is whether the DNC should espouse extremist views rather than eschewing them. The perception among millions is that the DNC does espouse those views which in turn loses them important elections, which hurts all of us.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

As for Dave Chapelle. His trans jokes were below his usual standard and punched down. He got called for it. The jokes read like the “humor” that white nationalists use to “other” minorities and make their ideas appeal more broadly. Dave didn’t get censored or even black listed. He got criticized. Boo hoo. He can take it. He is a good person with a big heart and he’s not a dummy like Rob Schneider.

He has learned and grown and adapted and actually has seen how the right wing has added his trans jokes to their repertoire of attacks. It is baffling how it can be labeled as extreme to criticize a comedian in the face of the GOP and Project 2025z

He didn't "punch down," but a tiny minority accused him of it and their outsized voices gave the right easy ammunition. I never said he was blacklisted or censored by anyone. It's those outsized voices that create the perception that Democrats support those willful misinterpretations of what he said is the point I'm making. I've been very clear about that.

Do what you want, be who you are. I don't give a shit; it's none of my business. I have my own life to lead and things to worry about, just like everyone else. However, when extremism severely damages us by aiding the enemy, it becomes a legitimate concern.

Our shitty electoral college and senatorial system should be changed, but that's not going to happen. Therefore we have to find a way to win elections within this dysfunctional system, which in turn means that practicality must be king.

I have a pretty good idea of the responses that will come from the above so I'll just wait those out to address them.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Fourth largest economy in the word loses another business.

KB Home, a staple of the Southern California business landscape for decades, announced Tuesday that it will exit its Westwood headquarters next year. The move to Tempe marks a strategic shift for the developer as it seeks to streamline operations and capitalize on Arizona's lower cost of doing business. The company also highlighted the economic benefits of the shift, noting that the Phoenix area provides a "business-friendly operating environment that is expected to further enhance efficiency and support long-term profitability."

News

I wouldn't put a lot of worry in K&B moving. They still own massive tracts of land in California, so they'll still build there, which means they'll also have to keep the vast majority of their offices open.

As both a contractor when I was younger as well as a sales rep for a material supply business before going back to school, I can tell you that K&B is reviled by both. They're notoriously cheap and hold a 5-10% retainer which they use as leverage to make subcontractors come back and do a lot of work for free/that was never part of the contract. If the subs don't do it, then K&B can tie that retainer up for years and put subs out of business because getting the retainer is where the subs' profit is realized.

Supply houses hate K&B because they can take as long 90 days to pay each sub after completion for each phase, which means that the supply houses have to carry those subs while still having to pay manufacturers in 30 days.

K&B isn't the only major developer that does this (see Centex) but that doesn't make these practices ethical.

 

[Politesse]

She holds the same views that most people do about trans issues e.g. it's not possible to change one's biological gender. It's not a matter of debate, it's a matter of fact. God forbid someone not engage in this fantasy.

Facts aren't actually defined by your feelings, buddy. Or Jo's. If these were facts, ie objectively legible points of data, access to those facts would be the major factor in what people believed about gender, not political, ideological, or cultural commitments. In this case, however, the more educated a person is on the science of sex and gender, the less likely they are to be dogmatically dedicated to the claims of Western Christianity regarding dualistic gender essentialism.