The press is again (February, 2022) making a big deal about how expensive this recall election was. The final figures show that it cost state and local governments about $200 million. And that IS a lot of taxpayer money. https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/california-recall-election-cost-taxpayers-200-million

Here’s my (edited) response to a liberal critic of mine — with him citing the expensive cost of the failed Newsom recall election:

E.A. Barrera, it’s WONDERFUL to read that you’ve suddenly become concerned about the cost of government. Seldom do we get that complaint from a progressive. Upon reflection, perhaps you shouldn’t have brought it up.

The total state and local taxpayercosts for… Read More

If you have a conversation with Jewish parents of teenagers, typically their overwhelming focus is not just that their children attend college, but they must attend the “right” college. That college may have a history of educating children like theirs, but today it is more interested in two things: Extracting huge sums of money from parents and indoctrinating their children. When the college staff is espousing concepts inherently against you and your heritage, it is time to demand a change or to pull the plug.

A recent study was done of the personnel on college campuses. The study did not involve nebulous poll questions; it relied on the words expressed by the college personnel on twitter. Some will try to argue against the results of the study because it was done by a right-of-center think tank – The Heritage Foundation. That would be a classic case of attacking the messenger instead of disputing the findings.

DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is the issue. Since most Jewish parents are liberals or even further left, their initial thoughts are it is a good thing for colleges to address this subject. When you find out the average university has 45 staff… Read More

The term “Affirmative Action” was first used in 1961 in an executive order by President John F. Kennedy. Since that time, the term — which originally included race, religion or national origin –has been expanded to cover gender and sexual origination. Intended to give equal opportunities to designated minorities by the general population, the term has been hotly debated. We now have positive proof that not only is using this policy ineffective, but it is harmful.

When someone gets a position solely because of their gender or race, it can be harmful to people who earn their positions based on the merit of their skills regardless of their gender or race. It can be particularly harmful to everyone else.

In Hollywood, affirmative action is in full bloom. In a lengthy article in The Hollywood Reporter, a column Hollywood’s New Rules makes clear if you are white and male today do not bother applying for a job. Supporting the thesis of the article, more than a few people have told me they were either aced out of a position to have a designated minority fill the post or they just are not considered for acting positions as someone who is of a favored… Read More

The current en vogue idea (dare I say “woke”) is to attack white people in the United States as if they are the devil incarnate. Our president does it regularly. Other white people have bought into this ridiculous line and humbled themselves unnecessarily. I am here to tell you, I am grateful for the white people that built this country and I believe they have truly little for which to apologize.

If you look at my picture some people mistake me as white. I am not – I am a Jew. Jewish people suffered in this country long after many other groups were assimilated. To this day, there are more heinous acts against Jews than there are against any other minority. Thus, I am speaking as a member of an outside group.

What I found was Jews kept their mouths shut, their heads down and worked and worked and worked. They kept the family as the center point of their existence, and they demanded from their children that they achieve a better life than they had.

The Jews took care of their own, setting up charities that helped other Jews and many non-Jews. The Jews not only became respected, but they also became revered by many groups. I have had black leaders tell… Read More

There are two overriding issues in Los Angeles as there are in most cities – 1) crime and 2) people living on our streets under the misnomer “Homeless.” You may recall I have worked on clearing an encampment in Studio City, CA, as laid out in my column, The Homeless Are More Important Than We AreThe saga continued and unfortunately remains an issue complicated by layers of government.

The county supervisor’s office became aware that when you look up the words “junkyard dog” in dictionary, a picture of me adjoins the definition. I kept driving the issue to rid the area of these dangerous squatters. In the interim, a criminal had jumped my neighbor’s high, spiked fence and started roaming their yard. When the police arrived, I had a wonderful discussion with them where they told me a series of break-ins had occurred and were tied to the squatters that the county government had condoned.

On another visit to the site, county personnel were there. I had a… Read More

A wise man during a recent lunch pointed out to me that Republicans and Conservatives often banter about terms, calling Leftists either Socialists or Communists. Mark Levin has an excellent, well-researched, bestselling book out on the subject called American Marxism. But are they really?

This very thoughtful and insightful person stated that they really are not Marxists, etc. He suggested I write a piece on the topic. Here we are.

Most Leftists have abandoned the name Communists because it became tattered — not because of the failed policies or the millions of people murdered. The reason is because of the collapse of the Soviet Union. With the collapse, Leftists have abandoned the term much like they stopped calling themselves Liberals and have since ruined the word progressive. The preferred term these days is “Socialist.” They have even become more inventive with many calling themselves “Democratic Socialists.” The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has sold itself a bill of goods that they are not totalitarians. They just want all decisions made through the government.

If they are neither Socialists nor Communists, what are they?… Read More

California has by far the costliest system of incarceration in the nation. It’s now $102,796 per state prisoner per year. It’s projected to be about $112,691 in fiscal 2022 – quadruple the average cost of the 18 states with the least-costly rates. Thank the CA prison guards’ labor union for this “gift” that keeps on giving.

We’ve dramatically cut the number of state prisoners, but NOT the number of guards. The “savings” evaporated under union pressures.

One reason our costs are far higher than the other states is that most states have some less expensive PRIVATE state prisons. The CA guards’ union got laws passed that essentially make it illegal to have private state prisons here. Thus, unlike other states, the CA labor union doesn’t have to worry about the guards’ compensation pricing them out of the market. There IS no such market in CA.

BTW, the $112,000 cost… Read More

When growing up, “Polack” jokes were all the rage for a while. People would ask me if I were of Polish descent given my last name. I would answer no — that is for names ending in “ski” and not “sky.” I am Lithuanian. That was a made-up fable. Flash forward 40 years when a cousin located me after listening to the Dennis Prager radio show where I was a guest. We met up and he provided me with a complete family history showing my ancestors had come to America from a small town in Lithuania. My heritage was indeed validated after all. I currently could not be prouder to be from the great country of Lithuania.

That is because little Lithuania (with its three million residents) told China to take a long walk off a short pier. China has decided to try to crush Lithuania economically because it allowed Taiwan a representative office in their capital, Vilnius.

Because of their refusal to kowtow to China, the fascists who run China have blocked all imports from Lithuania. It gets worse. China is trying to crush Lithuania. Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mantas Adomenas, stated, “China has been sending messages to multinationals that if they use parts… Read More