Category Archives: failed state

Place your bets: How long will it take to re-build the burned downed areas of California?

The California citizens affected by the fires are in for a world of hurt.

While fires continue to burn more than a week later after the Palisades fire, residents are trying to return to their residences to find the fate of their homes and possessions.

With more than 12,000 structures destroyed, AccuWeather estimates the cost of rebuilding is expected to be between $250 billion and $275 billion. No doubt rebuilding will take years, if not over a decade, due to cleanup, insurance claims processing, the amount of materials and labor required, and, of course, bureaucracy.

On January 12, Governor Newsom on Sunday issued an executive order aimed at cutting red tape for rebuilding efforts in the wake of the deadly Los Angeles County wildfires.

The order suspends regulations under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to allow people to rebuild their destroyed or damaged properties faster. Newsom’s office said the governor is also directing state agencies to find more ways to suspend permit requirements to help speed up rebuilding efforts.

Three days later, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health issued their own order prohibiting cleanup or removal of fire debris at fire damaged and burned properties located in Critical Fire Areas until a hazardous materials inspection is completed by an approved government agency.

If you thought residents were let down by the criminal mismanagment of their democrat politicians who enabled this inferno, just wait until they attempt to rebuild.

Their “California dream” is gone due to decades of incompetence and deriliction to provide even the most basic services. As residents seek even the first chance to cleanup, they are going to be met with bureaucracy. And that will happen at every step they take to obtain permits and rebuild.

Place your bets as to how long it will take for this area to recover. Or, place your bets as to how many packup and leave this mismanaged state.

DCG

WA State wants to punish gun owners who have firearms stolen

When Seattle was safe…

I grew up in Washington State and moved to a red state over a decade ago.

The most populas county (King, where I grew up) was a decent and safe place growing up. As teens we would go downtown to the Seattle Center and run around by ourselves (go on the rides, monorail, etc.) with no incidents.

Fast forward after decades of democrat control and Washington state (and their most populas counties) are no longer safe.

Last September, a 2023 FBI crime data report showed that for the last five consecutive years when comparing Washington state to the national average, murders are 408% higher, vehicle thefts higher by 144%, and burglaries, robberies, and aggravated assaults are all higher since 2019.

Governor Jay Inslee (first elected in 2013, out of office as of this month) enacted some of the strictest gun control laws during his tenure in Washington state.

But for democrat gun grabbers, it is never enough. Now the demorats in the state legisltature are proposing even stricter gun storage laws and if your firearm is stolen because you didnt store it according to their mandate, one could face very stiff penalties.

From MyNorthwest:

“A new bill aimed at curbing rising gun thefts throughout the state has been drawn up for lawmakers to mull and debate in the Washington Legislature.

House Bill 1152 proposes specific requirements for storing a legally owned firearm for gun owners (they would have to store their firearms in a hard case or lock the trigger in a soft case) and significant penalties if the gun is stolen. The owner of a gun that becomes stolen could face a $1,000 fine, and if the thief who stole the firearm is someone who legally cannot own a gun and commits a violent crime with said gun, the gun owner could be charged with a separate felony.

“For example, in your vehicle, if you have to have the pistol, it has to be stored and unloaded in a container that’s opaque, locked, hard-sided and fixed to the vehicle. It has to be concealed and your vehicle has to be locked. If it’s a rifle or a shotgun, it needs to be stored in a soft-sided case and have a trigger lock,” Andrew Lanier, producer of “The Gee and Ursula Show,” said on the show. “Now, if that gun is stolen, you can be liable for a fine of up to $1,000 if it is not secured. If someone steals that gun, it is a misdemeanor.

“If someone who’s not allowed to own a gun, say, a felon or a minor, steals it and gets possession, it is a gross misdemeanor,” Lanier continued in his explanation of the proposed bill. “If someone not allowed to have a gun gets your gun and commits a crime with it, say, for example, someone holds up to 7-Eleven, now it becomes a felony if your stolen gun that was unsecured was used in a crime that hurts someone else. And I need to point out a Class C felony is up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. I don’t think you would get that much, but it would also mean that you’re a felon and no longer allowed to own a gun.”

Read the whole article here.

Democrats have been doing their best to implement “backdoor” laws that limit gun ownership. They will do everything they can to punish legal gun owners in hopes of eliminating the Second Amendment.

Loved ‘ya growing up, Washington. Sad to say I will never move back to that once beautiful state.

I will stay put in my red state of Oklahoma. Our residents and politicians would never tolerate such an infringement upon our Second Amendment right. Which is just how I like it. Course the only drawback to living in Oklahoma is dealing with this:

DCG

2 days after Golden Globes mocked God came the L.A. inferno

Even if you’re an atheist, why would you stoop to mocking God?

Remember the French philosopher-mathematician-physicist Blaise Pascal’s (1623-1662) “wager” argument for believing in or, at least, behaving like you believe in the existence of God?

Pascal reasoned that individuals should adopt a lifestyle consistent with the belief in the existence of God due to the potential outcomes. A rational person should believe in God because if God exists, the individual stands to gain immeasurably, such as an eternity in Heaven, while avoiding terrible consequences, notably an eternity in Hell. Conversely, if God does not exist, the individual incurs only finite losses of certain pleasures and luxuries.

Not content with mocking God, Golden Globes MC and unfunny comedienne Nikki Glaser then mocked the Pope.

Whatever you may think of the Roman Catholic Church, do you think Glaser would do the same skit mocking Islam? And, isn’t it interesting that mockers of Christianity (such as Glaser, Madonna, and Sinéad O’Connor) always elect to heap their scorn and mockery on the Catholic Church, but not on non-Catholic denominations?

This YouTube commenter says it well:

And here’s what happened to others who openly mocked God:

~E

No empathy: Biden boasts about great-granddaughter while L.A. burns

Senile-in-Chief Joe Biden was in fire-ravaged Southern California on Jan. 8, 2025, to sign a disaster declaration alongside failed Gov. Gavin Newsom, but Biden used the somber occasion to share what he called “good news.”

During the briefing, Biden announced that he is now a great-grandfather. “The good news is, I’m a great-grandfather as of today,” the 82 year old told reporters. “I’ll remember this day for a lot of reasons.”

He then appeared to mix up the gender of the newborn before declining to take questions from the press. Biden was reportedly at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. for the birth in the morning before attending the fire briefing. (Source)

Meanwhile, on Jan. 9, following last week’s $2.5 billion to Ukraine, Biden sends another $500 million to Ukraine while L.A. burns. That’s priority for ya.

~E

Los Angeles inferno from criminal mismanagement by Democrat politicians

This is an excellent video by a foreign (Australian) news source because our MSM or legacy media are corrupt.

Elections have consequences

This was how Los Angeles County voted in the November 2024 election (source):

In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Los Angeles County voted for Gavin Newsom by 80-90% (source). Newsom Cut Roughly $150 Million From Wildfire Prevention Budget In The Past

In 2022, Democrat Karen Bass was voted as mayor of Los Angeles by 54.83% (vs. 45.17% for Democrat Rick Caruso). (Source)

I weep for the pets and wildlife that are killed or injured in this wholly manmade inferno, the destruction of which is so mind-boggling it’s biblical in scale and ferosity.

~E

Decades of democrat leadership on display in Oakland, CA

Outsted Oakland demorat mayor Sheng Thao (left).

Oakland, California has been under demorat rule for decades. As a result, crime, homelessness, and overall decay is on the rise within the city.

Mayor Sheng Thao, who started her term in January 2023, was recalled this past November by nearly 65% of the voters. She leaves behind a mess of a city in which many are now calling a “zombie apocalypse.”

Thanks to feckless leadership, Oakland now has a massive graveyard of abandoned cars and illegal dumping. Check it out:

Abandoned cars along UPRR in Oakland.

From the Daily Mail:

Oakland likened to ‘zombie apocalypse movie’ thanks to horrifying trend

“Oakland has been compared to a ‘zombie apocalypse film’ as the crime-ridden city has seen a recent up-tick in a horrifying trend where abandoned cars are left along the Union Pacific Railroad. 

A massive ‘graveyard’ of ditched vehicles, including GMC and Ford pickup trucks, cargo vans, sedans and Chevrolet Tahoes have consumed the area for years, but recently, the problem has only grown worse

The area has been plagued by illegal dumping, leading officials and angry residents to speak up about the issue, which they say depicts a set from a ‘zombie apocalypse film,’ the San Francisco Chronicle reported. 

Oakland residents are determined to make the illegal dumping ground a high priority for the struggling city. Oakland officials, who have been trying to tackle the surging issue for some time now, told the outlet they don’t have access to enough resources to fight the trend. 

What’s more is there is an issue with the location of the dumped cars, as it is technically owned by multiple parties – Union Pacific, Caltrans and Alameda County.  Union Pacific said it previously cleaned up the area in November, and plans to clear the impacted spot out again next week, the Chronicle reported. Meg Siffring, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, told the outlet the company is currently ‘working on a plan’ with the county and city to clean up the cars. 

Meanwhile, the Oakland Police Department said they have towed stranded vehicles, arrested people and installed barriers to try to fight the rising trend. 

Despite the department’s best efforts, the police union said they can’t fully clear the slew of vehicles because towing abandoned cars in the city is a job for the transportation department.

Although they came in to help, Oakland Police Sgt. Tim Dolan said progress has decreased since the transportation department took over because of training requirements and a heavy workload

‘It’s mind-boggling,’ Dolan said. ‘It’s an ongoing issue. But it’s just gotten out of control over the last few years.’ 

The city previously implemented surveillance cameras in dumping hotspots in 2022 in a bid to catch those abandoning the cars and other items in the junkyards. A total of 457 incidents were caught on camera from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, but only 59 were given citations, the outlet reported. The city was unable to issue more citations because 23 percent of the vehicles did not have license plates on them.”

Read the whole story here.

City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins is the interim mayor until voters choose a new mayor in an April special election.

As of Monday, eleven candidates have filed campaign account paperwork to run for Oakland mayor in April, including former Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D), Johnny Gatlin, Wendy Adams, Tyron Jordan (D), Peter Liu (famous for his anti-semitic comments in a mass email), Mindy Pechenuk (a Trump supporter) Fabian Robinson (his Instagram profile shows him with Gavin Newsom), Derrick Soo, Elizabeth Swaney (an American who competed for Hungary in the 2018 Winter Olympics), Loren Taylor (D), Renia Webb (who has the endorsements of the founders of Moms Demand Action) and Larry Lionel Young Jr.

Choose wisely this time, Oakland:

DCG

California is worst state to raise a family

Surprise!

Not.

To go to the interactive map, click on the Consumer Affairs link below.

From Consumer Affairs, Dec. 10, 2024:

To determine the best states for raising a family in 2025, ConsumerAffairs compared each state on cost, safety, education, health care and quality of life.

The bottom five states for raising a family are all located in the West and South and face significant challenges in education and quality of life.

  • California ranks at the bottom, with poor scores in quality of life, affordability, safety, high child poverty rates, a shortage of libraries and bad air quality.
  • Texas follows closely behind, scoring poorly in health care, safety and quality of life. The state has the lowest pediatric health care score, with the highest percentages of uninsured children and families that can’t afford their children’s health care bills.
  • New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada round out the bottom, with poor public education and lower rankings in quality of life.

Vermont is the best state to raise a family in. It finished first in quality of life, sixth in child health care access and sixth in education. The top five states for raising a family are Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Wyoming.

~E

Insanity: Washington State was the only state to shift “bluer” in 2024

I grew up in Washington State and thankfully was able to flee to a red state over a decade ago.

During my voting years in the Seattle area, absolutely none of my candidates ever won.  The area has been blue for decades. Seattle has had a democrat mayor since 1969 and Washington’s last republican governor was elected in 1981. And during the past presidential election, Washington State got “slightly” bluer.

To understand this phenomenon, get inside the mind of a liberal: A business-owner who was recently robbed and doesn’t want the perps to go to jail. Seriously.

From MyNorthwest:

“Just before 2:30 a.m. last Wednesday, Desirae Aylesworth woke up to the sound of her Ring camera system notifying her of a breach in her café. Her Seattle café was being robbed, becoming the latest victim of Seattle’s crime crisis.

Aylesworth is the co-owner of Wild Mountain Cafe in the Crown Hill neighborhood of Seattle. When she reviewed the surveillance feeds from her restaurant, she saw two young men jumping the back fence of her business, and then breaking in. She immediately called 911.

I spent the following 10 to 15 minutes on the phone trying to get police there in time to catch them, and in the process, just was watching in real time two burglars going through my restaurant and not completely trashing the place, but definitely looking for something specific,” Aylesworth explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “And you know, it was very obvious they were after money and didn’t care too much about product or electronics or anything else, which is, you know, saving grace in the whole matter.

The two thieves stole about $5,000 in cash, which was earmarked for staff tips. And unfortunately, the two suspects escaped before police arrived.

It’s unclear the thieves’ ages, but judging from surveillance footage, they appear to be young. Despite the crime, though, Aylesworth doesn’t want them going to jail. They appear young enough to be course-corrected with intervention. She thinks community service would be more appropriate.

As is too often the case, the suspects are still on the loose.

Read the whole story here.

The business owner felt very violated and helpless. Stealing $5,000 in King County is a first-degree theft Class B felony crime. Jail time should be the punishment for these perps. Believing that community service will deter them is a product of the liberal mindset.

The Seattle Police Department is severely understaffed as they are at their lowest staffing level since 1958. Last year’s crime data showed that Seattle had a drop in overall crime yet a rise in homicides and auto thefts.

Despite spending over nearly $1 billion the past decade to “fix” homelessness, Seattle’s homeless population continues to rise. And their fentanyl crisis continues, when Washington State reported a 41% rise in drug overdose fatalities (between September 2022 and September 2023) — the highest increase in the United States.

But you keep voting blue, liberals of Washington. Y’all keep voting for this so embrace the suck. So glad I left you for a red territory.

DCG

Priorities for NYC democrats: Wigs, prosthetic penises and breasts for “trans” prisoners

New York City is having all kinds of problems due to democrats being in charge and their importing illegal aliens.

The New York Post reported last week that migrants are flooding the city’s justice system and they now make up 75% of arrests in midtown.

Seven months ago it was reported that a NYC neighborhood was turned into a giant toilet as migrants litter a park with poop and leave cups of urine on doorsteps.

Last June I reported on a townhall meeting with New York City Councilmember Crystal Hudson where residents were furious over crime occurring outside of a illegal alien shelter housing 3,000 men. At the time, Hudson blamed the mayor for a lack of support in dealing with the migrant crisis.

Councilmember Hudson prioritizing the mentally ill.

But don’t worry New York, Hudson is on top of the “migrant crisis” now. Her latest bill:

Trans prisoners to get wigs, prosthetic penises and breasts under Democrat bill

From The Daily Mail:

“Trans prisoners in New York City will have access to ‘gender-affirming’ devices such as prosthetic penises and breasts under a new bill proposed by a Democratic lawmaker.

Councilwoman Crystal Hudson’s bill would also give guards at NYC prisons access to items like breast binders, wigs and tucking undergarments, as first reported by the New York Post. Hudson is expected to introduce the bill during Thursdays city council meeting.

The legislation is backed by fellow Democratic councilmembers Farah N. Louis, Chi A. Ossé.

‘This bill would establish a process for people in custody to obtain wigs, hair extensions, chest binders, tucking undergarments or gaffs, prosthetics, or other similar items or medical devices that are used by individuals to affirm their self-determined gender identity,’ according to the NYC Council website.

‘The bill also requires Department of Correction staff to have access to gender-affirming items or medical devices while at work.’ According to the bill, it would be up to the NYC Department of Correction to decide who foots the bill for the gender-affirming care.”

Read the whole story here.

Good job New Yorkers in electing Hudson. You can safely sleep at night knowing that illegal aliens and trans people are being coddled with your tax dollars.

Remember in November:

DCG

Get out of California: Newsom’s budget will defund fighting crime

We all know about the crime in California. Get ready for things to get worse as it’s no doubt going to happen. From the Daily Mail:

California’s Dem. Gov Gavin Newsom unveils new plans to defund the police in crime-ridden state after massive budget deficit

In 2022 Newsom bragged of having a $97.5 billion surplus. Fast forward two years later and the state now faces a $45 billion deficit. Great job, democrats.

From the article:

California governor Gavin Newsom‘s proposed new budget would slash funding for the police as the state struggles with a massive deficit of at least $45 billion.

Last month the Democrat unveiled his budget for the next fiscal year, admitting that ‘difficult decisions’ are needed to address the state’s deficit – including a 1.6 percent reduction in the state’s Department of Justice’s overall funding.

The proposed budget includes a $97 million cut to trial court operations, $10 million to the Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement and over $80 million to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as reported by Fox News. 

Newsom’s plan comes as major national stores and local businesses in California say they continue to face rampant theft. Videos of large-scale thefts, in which groups of individuals brazenly rush into stores and take goods in plain sight, have often gone viral.

Crime data shows the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles saw a steady increase in shoplifting between 2021 and 2022. Across the state, shoplifting rates rose during the same time period but were still lower than the pre-pandemic levels in 2019, while commercial burglaries and robberies have become more prevalent in urban counties.

Meanwhile homelessness jumped 6 percent to more than 180,000 people in California last year, federal data show. And since 2013, the numbers have exploded by 53 percent with the state accounting for a third of America’s entire homeless population.

The state’s criminal justice record which saw the number of violent crimes jump by 27 percent between 2013 and 2022, and pickpocketing more than double.

Read the whole story here.

Voters in California about to learn the hard way:

DCG