Mayor Mandani Fits Right into New York City

New York City, the and heart, center and seat of American capitalism, is moving to Florida, Texas and the internet. America should not be shocked by Zohran Mamdani’s win. Let’s look at today’s New York City. The Senate Minority Leader is New Yorker Senator Chuck Schumer, who is steadily, consistently moving to the left of the Democratic Party. He’s scared of a primary challenge by the best-known Representative from New York City, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC was once a capitalist who moved to the Democratic Socialist Party when her marketing idea failed. It’s easier to take money from those who succeed rather than earning It on your own. The House Minority Leader is Representative Hakeen Jeffries of New York City. A great photo was published a week ago at a rally on October 26 in Queens. Three New Yorkers embraced: Mamdani, AOC and Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Senator from Brooklyn. That’s today New York City. We also have the New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney, Alvan Bragg, a George Soros District Attorney. New York Attorney General Letitia James hails from Brooklyn. Her campaign plank was to prosecute Donald Trump. Mandani’s campaign was simple: FREE! FREE! FREE! Schumer and Jeffries believe in SPEND! SPEND! SPEND! That’s appealing to a dispirited populace who no longer believe the American Dream and upward mobility exists in New York City. Many New Yorkers have left the City and the State for warmer climes, such as Florida and Texas. Many more will vote with their feet. Tax and Tax, Spend and Spend, Elect and Elect was the mantra of FDR. It works. New Yorkers today support raising taxes on the rich. The New York City of Rudy Guiliani is no more. It was gone under the 8 years of Major Bill de Blasio, who Mamdani looks up to. New Yorkers have short memories of the 8 years of de Blasio decay. Let’s not read too much into America from New York City. The neighboring Nassau County reelected the Republican Bruce Blakeman as County Executive. The Republican District Attorney was also reelected while in the adjoining Suffolk County the Republican District Attorney was unopposed. The liberal incumbent mayors of Minneapolis and Portland won reelection over Democratic Socialists. Jacob Frey, the ineffectual Mayor of Minneapolis, let the city be looted and burned during the George Floyd riots. Mayor Bruce Harrell is holding onto a lead against a radical in progressive Seattle. Zohran Mandani was elected Mayor of New York when he won the primary by a plurality. The “D” after his name was a guarantee of election in the general election in a city where Republicans are an endangered species. His opponent was the incompetent, sexual harasser, ex-Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo, who was loaded with baggage.

The Key to Fighting Climate Change is Direct Carbon Removal from the Atmosphere

The Time Has Come to Focus on Direct Carbon Removal in Reducing Global Warming Global warming is an intensifying global problem. No individual city, state, or country can unilaterally reduce the rise in global temperatures. Countries have reached agreements to reduce CO2 emissions. However, the international agreements have failed. The Paris Accords, signed by 195 nations on Earth Day 2016, set a goal of limiting global warning to 1.50C above pre-industrial levels by 2050. It contained detailed steps in reducing CO2 emissions. 2024 averaged the highest recorded temperatures in history. The World Meteorological Society said it reached 1.550C in the past year. Dr. Charles Keeling of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography devised an infrared gas analyzer to measure CO2 atmospheric levels. He set it up on the Moana Loa Observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii. The continuous readings form the Keeling Curve. The pre-industrial level was 280. The initial 1958 reading was 313. Earlier this year, it reached 424.81, up 3.53 in one year. The Keeling Curve warns us global warming will continue to rise. The Paris Accords failed, as did the earlier 1992 Rio Convention, 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and 2009 Copenhagen Accords, all with the same internal flaw. None are self-executing. No penalties or sanctions are imposed against violators. None of the 195 signees surrendered their sovereignty. Countries are thus free to violate the accords. China and India are the largest violators. China leads the world in alternative energy, but its insatiable demand for electricity is unsatisfied by alternative energy and EV’s. China and India are increasing their emissions at a greater rate than the United States is decreasing its emissions. For example, the United States’ emissions dropped 12% from 2020 to 5,007 metric tons in 2021 while China’s rose 33% to 11,472 metric tons. India announced it had to postpone the Paris Accords’ 2050 deadline to 2070. The International Court of Justice unanimously held on July 23, 2025 that the urgent and existential treat of climate change exists. All nations have the obligation to limit global warming to the 1.5oC increase of the Paris Accords. The failure to act constitutes intentional wrongdoing. The decision will not reverse global warming, but will unleash a further global flurry of climate change litigation. H.L. Mencken, the great columnist and humorist, wrote in 1920 this pithy comment: “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.” Once CO2 was recognized as the primary cause of global warming, the simple solution was to drastically reduce CO2 emissions on the assumption that cutting CO2 emissions will reverse global warming. Fossil fuels were identified as the primary source of CO2 emissions. Fossil fuels, whether from oil and its derivatives, coal, and natural gas, were to be replaced by alternative fuels. Clean energy became the apparent solution. California jumped aboard the anti-carbon bandwagon. New cars by 2035 would be all electric, gas appliances, hot water heaters and home furnaces eliminated, and diesel locomotives converted to electric. Solar installations are required on new homes while fireplaces are banned in new construction. The forest is a CO2 sink. Wildfires release millions of metric tons of stored CO2 in the trees and other vegetation. For example, California’s CO2 emission cuts are offset by California’s wildfires. A UCLA and University of Chicago 2022 study of the large 2020 California wildfires found California generated 127mmt (million metric tons) in the 2020 wildfires, roughly double California savings of 65mmt between 2003 and 2019. Wildfires are a global problem. Some nations imposed draconian restrictions, which increasingly ignored reality. The world is dependent on fossil fuels for the generation of electricity. Natural gas is the cleanest burning, but coal is plentiful, accessible and economical in much of the world. Underdeveloped countries are turning to coal. The reality is that even if the global community achieved NetZero, global temperatures would continue to rise because of the rising atmospheric CO2 levels. Nature removes about 20-80% of the CO2 emissions through ocean absorption and photosynthesis in 20-200 years. It gives back large amounts of CO2 through wildfires. The remaining CO2 molecules can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. The normal inclination now will be to unsuccessfully double down on failure. The reaction will be increased political resistance and litigation, The United States since 1970 has created a legal and regulatory regime of resistance to infrastructure improvements. Reducing CO2 emissions and capturing emissions at the source and injecting into the ground may reduce CO2 emissions entering the atmosphere, but not the CO2 levels currently in the atmosphere and rising. Clean energy has several environmental attributes, but it is not a panacea for global warming. The subsidies and regulations, the ICJ, green architecture and building codes, compensatory and regulatory litigation and regulation, EV’s, clean energy, alternative fuels, and NetZero will not lower global temperatures. Only refocusing on direct carbon removal can temper the rising climate change. The key to controlling global warming is degasification of the atmosphere, direct carbon removal. The moneys to be spent on research and subsidies on the way to NetZero can better be invested, redirected and focused on degasification. The technology exists, but is not commercially viable today. The Paris Accords failed, as did the earlier 1992 Rio Convention, 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and 2009 Copenhagen Accords, all with the same internal flaw. None are self-executing. No penalties or sanctions are imposed against violators. None of the 195 signees surrendered their sovereignty. Countries are thus free to violate the accords. China and India are the largest violators. China leads the world in alternative energy, but its insatiable demand for electricity is unsatisfied by alternative energy and EV’s. China and India are increasing their emissions at a greater rate than the United States is decreasing its emissions. For example, the United States’ emissions dropped 12% from 2020 to 5,007 metric tons in 2021 while China’s rose 33% to 11,472 metric tons. India announced it had to postpone the Paris Accords’ 2050 deadline to 2070. The International Court of Justice unanimously held on July 23, 2025 that the urgent and existential treat of climate change exists. All nations have the obligation to limit global warming to the 1.5oC increase of the Paris Accords. The failure to act constitutes intentional wrongdoing. The decision will not reverse global warming, but will unleash a further global flurry of climate change litigation. H.L. Mencken, the great columnist and humorist, wrote in 1920 this pithy comment: “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.” Once CO2 was recognized as the primary cause of global warming, the simple solution was to drastically reduce CO2 emissions on the assumption that cutting CO2 emissions will reverse global warming. Fossil fuels were identified as the primary source of CO2 emissions. Fossil fuels, whether from oil and its derivatives, coal, and natural gas, were to be replaced by alternative fuels. Clean energy became the apparent solution. California jumped aboard the anti-carbon bandwagon. New cars by 2035 would be all electric, gas appliances, hot water heaters and home furnaces eliminated, and diesel locomotives converted to electric. Solar installations are required on new homes while fireplaces are banned in new construction. The forest is a CO2 sink. Wildfires release millions of metric tons of stored CO2 in the trees and other vegetation. For example, California’s CO2 emission cuts are offset by California’s wildfires. A UCLA and University of Chicago 2022 study of the large 2020 California wildfires found California generated 127mmt (million metric tons) in the 2020 wildfires, roughly double California savings of 65mmt between 2003 and 2019. Wildfires are a global problem. Some nations imposed draconian restrictions, which increasingly ignored reality. The world is dependent on fossil fuels for the generation of electricity. Natural gas is the cleanest burning, but coal is plentiful, accessible and economical in much of the world. Underdeveloped countries are turning to coal. The reality is that even if the global community achieved NetZero, global temperatures would continue to rise because of the rising atmospheric CO2 levels. Nature removes about 20-80% of the CO2 emissions through ocean absorption and photosynthesis in 20-200 years. It gives back large amounts of CO2 through wildfires. The remaining CO2 molecules can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. The normal inclination now will be to unsuccessfully double down on failure. The reaction will be increased political resistance and litigation, The United States since 1970 has created a legal and regulatory regime of resistance to infrastructure improvements. Reducing CO2 emissions and capturing emissions at the source and injecting into the ground may reduce CO2 emissions entering the atmosphere, but not the CO2 levels currently in the atmosphere and rising. Clean energy has several environmental attributes, but it is not a panacea for global warming. The subsidies and regulations, the ICJ, green architecture and building codes, compensatory and regulatory litigation and regulation, EV’s, clean energy, alternative fuels, and NetZero will not lower global temperatures. Only refocusing on direct carbon removal can temper the rising climate change. The key to controlling global warming is degasification of the atmosphere, direct carbon removal. The moneys to be spent on research and subsidies on the way to NetZero can better be invested, redirected and focused on degasification. The technology exists, but is not commercially viable today.

The California Supreme Court May Save California Solar

The Trump Administration’s ending solar and wind subsidies Is generating criticism. It substantially discourages solar installations by making them less economical without the tax credits. However, the three large California public utilities, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric, through the California Public Utilities Commission two years ago, threw cold water on the California solar industry. California strongly supports solar energy, except when it doesn’t. All new residential buildings up to three stories must include solar. Developers are building four story multi-unit housing. Solar energy generated on the grid is sold and transmitted to the utility. The customer then repurchases electricity from the grid at the designated price at that time. California originally favored solar energy through a favorable credit program. California’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) plan sets the rates the three large public utilities will pay per kwh (kilowatt hour) for solar and the billing rate for energy from the grid. NEM applies to both retail and commercial customers. The first plan, NEM I, was effective in 1996. It allowed a 1:1 tradeoff. A unit of solar could be applied to any KWH drawn from the grid. For example, solar generated at 3:00pm could offset a draw from the grid at the peak time, such as 8:00pm. Consumers with positive balances at the end of the year receive a cash payment for the balance. NEM 2 from 2016-2023 partially changed the payout. The utilities will continue to purchase excess electricity at the going rate, but resell at peak time at the higher peak time rate. The 1:1 tradeoff no longer exists. This is the NEM 2 current rate schedule: Summer Weekdays Weekends Mid Peak: 4-9 PM .60 .48 Off-Peak: 9PM-8 AM .37 .37 Super Off-Peak: 8AM-4PM .37 .37 Winter Weekdays Weekends Mid-Peak: 4-9PM. .53 .53 Off-Peak: 9PM-8AM .40 .40 Super Off-Peak: 8AM-4PM .36 .36 Solar panels applied for after April 14, 2023 are placed in the new NEM 3, the “Net Billing Tariff,” under which new solar owners will no longer receive the retail price for that time, but the utilities’ avoided costs; i.e. what the utilities could pay in the wholesale market for electricity, which could be 75-80% lower than the retail price. The owners then pay the retail price for any electricity they consume during the peak period of 4-9pm offset by the discounted credit. In short, they are selling low and buying high. The result is that newer solar customers will probably owe a balance, perhaps high, to the utility at the end of the year. Consumers understand the basic economics. One goal of the new plan is to encourage solar users to install batteries to store the excess solar generated during the day, but the subsidies for batteries have also ended. Californians currently generate more energy in the warm afternoons than the utilities can store in their increasing battery capacity. Customers in NEM 1 and NEM 2 are grand parented into their existing plans. If they find their existing solar installation is inadequate, their ability to add more panels is limited. If they add 1KW or 10% or over of the original capacity, they will then be moved into NEM 3. The effect of NEM 3.0 is a substantial reduction in solar installations. Solar installations under way reached record levels before the new rates went into effect April 15, 2023. Then they plunged in the first quarter of 2024 to about 8,000/month, the lowest since May 2020. On the other hand, 60% of the new installations also installed batteries. The utilities claim the two earlier NEMs gave an unfair advantage to solar users because the non-solar customers had to pay more to cover maintenance on the grid. The PUC and the utilities ignore the fact that the solar users invested a large sum into the solar panels and set-up. The payback period has substantially increased, making solar less attractive. A spokesperson for the twice bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric Company said PG&E is “a strong advocate for solar energy and the deployment of solar energy that uses the sun in ways that are cost-effective for all of our customers.” Solar installations are limited to 115% of peak capacity. We could only install 10 panels because we now had an empty nest and were electrically frugal. We would like to add a few more panels today, which the new rules effectively preclude. We would move into NEM3. The three utilities want consumers to install storage batteries on their residences, another still high cost to be imposed on solar owners. The Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Working Group, and Protect Our Communities Foundation filed against the NEM 3. The California Court of Appeals tossed the lawsuit, looking to a 1911 statute which barred lawsuits so long as the PUC had “regularly pursued its authority.” It barred any further reviews of the PUC’s action. The California Supreme Court had interpreted the statute to mean the PUC’s “interpretation of the Public Utilities Code should not be disturbed unless it fails to bear a reasonable relation to statutory purposes and language.” The Court of Appeals applied a “uniquely deferential” analysis. The California Supreme Court on August 7, 2025 unanimously reversed the Court of Appeals. The Court looked to more recent enactments that adopted an abuse of discretion standard. It reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded the case. The Court of Appeals will now have to look at the merits, but may still decide for the utilities.

Don't Munich Ukraine

Don’t Turn Ukraine into a Second Munich Adolph Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. The revered President Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934. Hitler assumed total power and became the Fuhrer; the Nazi dictatorship began. Hitler, like many megalomaniacs, had dreams of conquest. He started by uniting the Germanic people. Germany at the end of WWI had to turn the demilitarized Rhineland over to France control. The nascent German Army entered the Rhineland on March 7, 1936. Neither France nor England were willing to fight. The German Army marched into Austria on March 12, 1938. The Anschluss reunited Germany and Austria. Austria at the end of WWI was forced to cede the German populated Sudetenland to Czechoslovakia. Hitler then eyed the Sudetenland, threatening to use force to free the German population. England and France were again unwilling to go to war. The British and French people were also anti-war at that time. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich to meet with Hitler. An agreement was reached on September 30, 1938. Germany would receive the Sudetenland in exchange for a promise by Hitler that “he had no more territorial demands to make in Europe.” Germany invaded Czechoslovakia on March 15,1039. England and France were once again unwilling to fight Germany. Chamberlain flew back to England. He received strong support by the British people. He spoke his famous/infamous remark: “We have achieved peace in our time.” The phrase Minich arose out of Chamberlain’s mouth. Valdimir Putin does not just seek to unite the Russia people. He wants to reunite the old Russian Empire. He sliced off part of Geogia on August 8, 2008. He annexed Crimea in 2014. He sponsored guerilla warfare in the Donbass oblast of Ukraine, seizing much of it. He twice waged war on Chechnya. Prime Minister Putin has clearly stated he wants all of Ukraine. He also eyes Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. History tells us he would also want Poland and Finland. He hasn’t asked for the return of Alaska. Vladimir Putin, like Adolph Hitler, has a unsatiable hunger for seizing land. Security agreements mean nothing to him. They’re barely worth the paper they’re inscribed on. Catherine the Great by 1784 had consolidated all of Ukraine into the Russian Empire. Ukraine had a short, very short, period of independence at the end of World War II. Stalin brutalized Ukraine, killing millions in the Great famine of 1933-34. The Soviet Union Collapsed. Ukraine declared its independence in 1994. The departing Russians left behind about 1700 nuclear warheads, delivery weapons, and maintenance. Ukraine was third largest nuclear country for a few years. A global drive for non-proliferation, fostered by President Clinton, led to Ukraine. Ukraine was persuaded to surrender its nuclear weapons to Russia. Ukraine in return received guarantees of Ukraine’s independence, a security agreement, called the Budapest Manifesto. The United States, United Kingdom, and Russia promised to protect Ukraine’s independence. Russia violated it in 2014 and 2024. How has that security guarantee worked out? Remember, Putin wants all of Ukraine.

Memo to President Xi, President Putin, President Kim Jung Un, Ayatollah Khamenei, Governor Newsom, and Mayor Bass, et al

Memo to President Xi Jinping, President Vladimir Putin, President Kim Jung Un, Ayatollah Khamenei, Governor Gavin Newsom, and Mayor Karen Bass: There’s a New Sheriff in Town and he’s unpredictable. Opponents called President Trump “TACO,” “Trump Always Chickens Out.” A catchy phrase divorced from reality. Others call him Hitler or a king. President Trump is an indefatigable, forceful man of action, which is why he succeeded in the byzantine world of New York construction. He often negotiates with bluster. He engages in hyperbole. Part of President Trump’s strength comes from his unorthodoxy and unpredictability. Foreign leaders cannot be sure of what he will do next. The answer is easy – what’s best for America. It’s not the status quo. He knows what his goal is, the endgame. He has consistently said for the past decade: “Iran cannot have the Bomb.” We can assume that Israel had the schematics for the underground Fordow site, including utilities, back doors, and ventilation openings (like the first Star Wars movie). If it can be taken out by Israel, they will do so. Israel left it to President Trump. The Pentagon also had the schematics. The MOB bomb was designed to take out Fordow. President Trump may be flexible on the means, but not the ultimate goal. Iran will not have the Bomb. If Iran unconditionally surrendered, that would have been great. Iran refused to negotiate. They were warned. President Obama once “drew a red line in the sand” if Libya’s President Bashar al-Assad used poisonous gas on his people). Bashar did on March 19, 2013. President Obama’s response was muted. President Obama would not have taken out Fordow. He probably would have restrained Israel from attacking Iran. The story is during his administration he told Israel the U.S. military would shoot down Israeli attack planes headed for the Iranian nuclear facilities. It’s believable. President Trump gave Iran 60 days. Israel attacked Iran on Day 61. President Biden bugged out of Afghanistan and viewed it a victory. He, actually his staff, would not have bombed Fordow. Neither President Obama nor President Biden would have given 60 days notice. Even if they did, China, Iran, Russia wouldn’t give credence to it. President Biden’s Defense Department and security advisors couldn’t figure out for days what to do with a Chinese spy ballon that hovered over military facilities on the mainland. President Trump would have immediately ordered it shot down. President Xi should think twice about invading Taiwan, at least during the Trump Administration. Chairman Mao once called the United States “a Paper Tiger.” Paper Tiger, TACO, President Trump is not! He doesn’t bluff.

The Seven B-2 Bombers Mark the internment Of President Obama's Disastrous pro-Iran Foreign Policy

President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry took the lead in negotiations with Iran to stop its nuclear program. They announced an agreement, technically The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between the Islamic Republic of Iran, United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, EU and Germany. Iran promised to give up its efforts to build the bomb Iran, they said, would cease its efforts to build the bomb and allow inspectors into its facilities. All Obama did in fact was to kick the can, in this case a nuclear bomb, down the road for ten years. Iran was free under the terms of the agreement to resume work on the bomb in ten years. Iran, of course, continued to work on the bomb during the ten years. Iran, as many sceptics predicted, cheated. The JCPOA was even worse in two ways by what it excluded. No restrictions were placed on Iran developing, manufacturing, and possessing ballistic missiles, which is why Iran is unleashed its ballistic missiles on Israel. Iran possessed somewhere at least 2,000 leading up to 8,000 excellent ballistic missiles when war broke out on. The second omission is the lack of any restrain on funding, aiding and supplying terrorists, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Iran, in exchange for agreeing to the JCPOA, had sanctions lifted, which meant it made billions by selling its oil in open markets. President Obama followed up JCPOA by shipping at midnight $400 million in hard cash to Tehran. He later followed up with an additional $1.3 billion. President Biden outdid President Obama by releasing $4 billion to Iran. Presidents Obama and Biden partially funded Iran’s terrorist activities. The common denominator between President Obama’s actions and President Biden’s was Jake Sullivan. He was involved in the Obama negotiations and became Biden’s National Security Advisor. Susan Rice was also involved both times. Ayatollah Khamenei used the oil receipts and $5.7 billion Obama-Biden moneys to fund terrorism, build up his military, strengthen his security forces, and fund the bomb. What a waste of money; The Iranian people became poorer, being left with tons of scrap metal. The JCPOA was effective January 20, 2016, almost ten years ago. President Obama had a penchant for Iran. Various theories try to explain it. One explanation I read was that he wanted to move Iran back to the United States and the West – truly a naïve conception of religious zealots whose daily chants include Death to Israel and Death to the United States, the Great Satan with Israel the Little Satan. Another theory is that he envisioned Iran becoming the pillar of stability in the Mideast. The Sunni-Shite split would prevent that. Another is that President Obama was anti-Semitic, but was politically savvy enough to mostly muzzle it. His contempt for Benjamin Netanyahu was not a secret. Another possibility is he was imbued for two decades with Liberation Theory from sitting in Reverend’s Jeremiah Wright’s Church, pursuant to which Israel is a colonizer/settler forcing out the indigenous Arabs. He viewed the United States as an imperialist country. Senator Obama five days before his inauguration said his goal was to transform America. He certainly did internationally with Iran. Then maybe he reasoned he could receive the Nobel Peace Prize for disarming Iran’s bomb threat. Great theory, but he already won the Nobel for doing nothing. Then there’s the premise that President Obama would do everything to appease Iran as the price of getting Iran’s agreement His eight years in office consistently favored Iran. Then came the Green Revolution on June 12, 2009. Iran rigs its elections by vetting the candidates. The 2009 Election was totally rigged so that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected. The public courageously rebelled and marched on the streets. President Obama was silent. No actual or moral support was extended to the Iranians. He told the CIA to cut off all contacts with opposition groups. President Trump is digging America out of the Obama-Biden foreign policy morass.

Memo to Governor Newsom: The Berkeley Riots Elected Ronald Reagan Governor

Memo to Governor Newsom: The Berkeley Riots Elected Ronald Reagan Governor Governor Pat Brown was salivating in his 1966 reelection campaign. He wanted to run against Ronald Reagan a “washed-up B Actor.” California voters were fed up with the riots at Berkeley, other campuses, and Watts. Ronald Reagan won in a landslide. He was on his way to the White House. Reagan received 57.5% of the vote with a winning margin of 993,739 votes. Gavin Newsom is term-limited out of office. The Democrats are lining up to succeed him. Only one, the former Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, is running as a moderate. California may not be as progressive as they think. San Francisco recalled the radical District Attorney and the DEI Board of Election, and voted out the progressive Mayor London Brood. Los Angeles and Alameda County voters tossed progressive district attorneys out of office. Every Bay Area County voted for Prop 36, which recriminalizes crimes. Shoplifters and gangs of shoplifters, will no longer get a free pass. Governor Newsom opposed the referendum and refuses to fund the law. The anti-Ice riots may have had less actual violence against the federal officials - not as in previous large-scale L.A. riots, Watts in 1965, Rodney King in 1991, and George Floyd in 2020 were horrific, but the optics of rioters attacking federal facilities, waving Mexican flags, and taking over a major freeway will not help your nascent Presidential campaign. Do you understand that peaceful protests do not include looting an Apple Store and other retailers? Do you understand the federal government has the right to protect federal law enforcement officers and federal facilities? Do you understand the LAPD waited two hours before responding to a call for assistance by the federal ICE agents? Do you remember the 2020 LA riots? the looting and torching as police looked the other way. Do you remember Governor Walz not calling out the Minnesota National Guard as Minneapolis burnt, including a police station. Memo to Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass: President Trump is not popular with many Californians, but neither are you two. The Homeless debacle, the Altadena and Palisades Wildfires, the French Laundry, and now the LA riots, magnify your incompetence. The budget deficit, and soon large gas tax increase, all combined, may elect Republicans to state-wide and legislative elections. The 2026 Democratic primaries may not be a coronation next year. Governor Newsom, Mayor Bass, and Vice President Harris illustrate several principles. First, one party states, rather blue or red, often result in climbing the political ladder to the top. They are often not leaders. The same is true in the academic world and the peacetime military. Second is that they can lose touch with reality. They are so embedded in the political milieu, the echo chamber of their states. Third, they are correct in that these riots would not have occurred without the Trump immigration raids. Yes, they are correct. President Joe Biden never would have arrested and deported rapists, murderers, and pedophiles. Nor would President Biden have called out federal forces to combat riots. Governor Newsom, do you think the American people will accept your claim that the protests were peaceful until President Trump called out the National Guard? This example of George Orwell’s Big Lie is being repeated by several politicians. This riot is directed at the federal government enforcing federal law. No way would President Trump have ignored this direct attack on the federal government. Governor Newsom is daring President Trump to jail him. President Trump is smart enough not to make a martyr out of Governor Newsom. The real threat to our democracy is if San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Portland and perhaps Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and New York City break out with similar, uncontrolled riots. The President would be sorely tempted to call it an insurrection, followed by the suspension of Habeas Corpus. One final question Governor Newsom. Are you stupid? You’re seeking billions of dollars for the Bullet Train, recovery from the Alhambra and Palisades fires, and the current disturbances. Yet, you engage in harangues against President Trump.

Who Says the Catholic Church Doesn't Change?

A reply to a really obvious question was another question: “Is the Pope Catholic?” A similar question could have been: “Is the Pope Italian?” 456 straight years of Italian Popes. Now 47 years of a non-Italian Pope. First in 1978 came John Paul II. The Polish Pope, previously known as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla. Archbishop of Krakow, Poland. Skorupski Brothers was a large service station on Boston Road in Springfield. They posted a mammoth sign: “The Pope is Polish.” pope Jogn Paul II helped Solidarity survive in Poland, resulting in the dermise of the Communist dictatorship. The High Noon Poster was Solidarity's Symbol. The assumption was John Paul II was a one-time break with tradition, a one and done. Pope John Paul II, was seceded by Pope Benedick XVI, who as the young Joseph Alois Ratzinger was drafted into the Luftwaffe and then transferred to the Wehrmacht in World War II. He entered a seminary in 1945 Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, next in line, was a Jesuit Cardinal from Buenos Aires, albeit of Italian heritage. The Jesuits historically had a tempestuous relationship with the Vatican. The irony is that as a Jesuit. Pope Francis would answer to Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, the Superior General of the Jesuit order. Now the Superior General had to answer to his underling. Even more unforeseeable than a Polish, Nazi soldier, or Jesuit as the new Pope is an American Augustinian Pope, Leo XIV, from Chicago, Illinois. He is a Chicago White Sox fan. How does he explain the White Sox to the Curia? He even plays the guitar. He’s a Cardinal from Chicago, but not Chicago’s Cardinal. It’s getting confusing and discombobulating. The Vatican has changed from 80% Italian cardinals to 20%. At least Pope Francis was of Italian heritage. By way of full disclosure I received my Bachelor’s and J.D degrees from the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit university. I had to read a lot of St. Augustine in the mandatory Philosophy courses. I tuned out philosophy. I paid $5 for his book at book fair, but never opened it.

The Trump-Zelensky Conflict is of History, but not why you might think.

Presidents Trump and Zelensky are approaching Russia’s Ukraine aggression from a different historical perspective. President Trump is looking from an American record of failed military involvements since WWI, resulting in large losses of American soldiers, especially Iraq twice, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. These wars have weakened America. President Trump believes Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, whose size, population, and resources will ultimately outlast Russia. President trump is essentially adopting FDR’s 1940 campaign promise: “Now, mothers and fathers, I am talking to you. As I have said and will say again, again, and again, I will not send your sons to fight in a foreign war.” FDR was in fact doing everything he could to support England in the fight against Hitler and plan for war. President Trump also in 2016 said “America First” before adopting MAGA. President Trump also wants a U.S. share of Poland’s minerals, many of which are currently in Russian occupied territory. President Zelensky is willing to sign a minerals deal, but only with security that Poland will not be attacked again. President Trump is unwilling to enter into an agreement that might place American soldiers at risk. President Zelensky has the European reality that President Vladimir Putin is emanating Adolph Hitler. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and soon acquired full power. He began remilitarizing and entered in a series of territorial acquisitions. He first reentered the demilitarized Rhineland in March 1936, which was separated after WWI and placed under French protection. France did nothing. Then Hitler arranged the Anschluss on March 12, 1938 with Austria with the two German speaking countries becoming one. He then demanded the German populated enclave of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain acquiesced at Munich asserting “we have peace for our time.” Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939. The West stood by. President Kennedy wrote a senior thesis at Harvard which became a bestselling book, “While England Slept.” World War II officially started on September 1, 1939 when Hitler in cahoots with Stalin invaded Poland. Putin seized part of Georgia and the Crimea in Ukraine with the goal of recreating the greater Russian/Soviet Empire. He stationed troops, naval power, and air forces in Syria in 2015. Poland is especially wary of Russia. Stalin invaded the eastern half of Poland on September 17, 1939, two weeks after Hitler. Then came the Polish Home Army rebelling against the Nazis on August 1, 1944, when the Red Army reached the banks of the Vistula River. Their expectancy was to unite with the Red Army in liberating Warsaw. Stalin instead ordered his Army to stay out of the conflict. Let the Poles and Germans fight each other. The Poles finally capitulated with many of its leaders executed by Stalin and Beria after the war. I’ve been in the Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw. It not only vilifies Germany, but also Russia. School children visiting the museum are taught the perfidy of Russia. Poland, the Baltic Republics, Finland, eastern and western Europe, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have felt the boot of military oppression by Russia. They fear a victorious Putin if Ukraine falls. Putin has a grandiose ambition. Poland is geographically handicapped by being stuck between Germany and Russia. Germany is currently a peaceful friend. Russia is not. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people remember the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet empire. Ukraine had a large army and roughly 1900 nuclear weapons upon independence in 1991. They were induced by President Clinton to surrender their nuclear weapons pursuant to the non-proliferation campaign. They received security assurances by the United States, United Kingdom and Russia. How did that work out when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014? President Trump’s challenge is not to secure a short-term peace leaving Ukraine open to further Russian aggression, in short, not to go down in history as the second coming of Chamberlain and Munich. President Trump said President Zelensky is courting WWIII by rejecting his proposals. Europe, especially Poland, fears Putin will start WWIII if he succeeds in Ukraine. Presidents Trump and Zelensky are approaching Russia’s Ukraine aggression from a different historical perspective. President Trump is looking from an American record of failed military involvements since WWI, resulting in large losses of American soldiers, especially Iraq twice, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. These wars have weakened America. President Trump believes Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, whose size, population, and resources will ultimately outlast Russia. President trump is essentially adopting FDR’s 1940 campaign promise: “Now, mothers and fathers, I am talking to you. As I have said and will say again, again, and again, I will not send your sons to fight in a foreign war.” FDR was in fact doing everything he could to support England in the fight against Hitler and plan for war. President Trump also in 2016 said “America First” before adopting MAGA. President Trump also wants a U.S. share of Poland’s minerals, many of which are currently in Russian occupied territory. President Zelensky is willing to sign a minerals deal, but only with security that Poland will not be attacked again. President Trump is unwilling to enter into an agreement that might place American soldiers at risk. President Zelensky has the European reality that President Vladimir Putin is emanating Adolph Hitler. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and soon acquired full power. He began remilitarizing and entered in a series of territorial acquisitions. He first reentered the demilitarized Rhineland in March 1936, which was separated after WWI and placed under French protection. France did nothing. Then Hitler arranged the Anschluss on March 12, 1938 with Austria with the two German speaking countries becoming one. He then demanded the German populated enclave of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain acquiesced at Munich asserting “we have peace for our time.” Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939. The West stood by. President Kennedy wrote a senior thesis at Harvard which became a bestselling book, “While England Slept.” World War II officially started on September 1, 1939 when Hitler in cahoots with Stalin invaded Poland. Putin seized part of Georgia and the Crimea in Ukraine with the goal of recreating the greater Russian/Soviet Empire. He stationed troops, naval power, and air forces in Syria in 2015. Poland is especially wary of Russia. Stalin invaded the eastern half of Poland on September 17, 1939,two weeks after Hitler. Then came the Polish Home Army rebelling against the Nazis on August 1, 1944, when the Red Army reached the banks of the Vistula River. Their expectancy was to unite with the Red Army in liberating Warsaw. Stalin instead ordered his Army to stay out of the conflict. Let the Poles and Germans fight each other. The Poles finally capitulated with many of its leaders executed by Stalin and Beria after the war. I’ve been in the Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw. It not only vilifies Germany, but also Russia. School children visiting the museum are taught the perfidy of Russia. Poland, the Baltic Republics, Finland, eastern and western Europe, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have felt the boot of military oppression by Russia. They fear a victorious Putin if Ukraine falls. Putin has a grandiose ambition. Poland is geographically handicapped by being stuck between Germany and Russia. Germany is currently a peaceful friend. Russia is not. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people remember the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet empire. Ukraine had a large army and roughly 1900 nuclear weapons upon independence in 1991. They were induced by President Clinton to surrender their nuclear weapons pursuant to the non-proliferation campaign. They received security assurances by the United States, United Kingdom and Russia. How did that work out when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014? President Trump’s challenge is not to secure a short-term peace leaving Ukraine open to further Russian aggression, in short, not to go down in history as the second coming of Chamberlain and Munich. President Trump said President Zelensky is courting WWIII by rejecting his proposals. Europe, especially Poland, fears Putin will start WWIII if he succeeds in Ukraine.

Mayor Karen Bass Throws LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley Under the Bus, More Precisely under a Broken Fire Engine

Nero fiddled while Rome was burning. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was sipping cocktails at a reception in Ghana while her city was burning on January 7. Instead of really accepting blame she resorted to Plan B, deflect blame on someone else. She apologized for being out of the country, but blamed her absence, and the city’s unpreparedness, on Los Angeles Fire Chief (LAFD) Kristin Crowley, who she claimed had not notified her of the risk of the Santa Ana winds. She did not apologize for her $17 million budget cuts for the LAFD, which crippled its preparedness ability. The Mayor did not mention the warning letter Chief Crowley sent her a few weeks earlier about the extreme risk caused by the budget cuts. She did not mention, explain or apologize for seeking a $70 million cut in the LAFD budget. She did not mention, explain or apologize for gutting the Los Angeles Fire Department and imperiling public safety while giving a $316 million pay raise to unionized public employees in the first year, rising to $1 billion in 2028. Mayor is simply a politician focused on placating her base rather than the public good. Mayor Bass did not mention, explain, or apologize for a $750,000 appointment of Janisse Quinones as Director of the Department of Water and Power (DWP). Director Quinones was focused on bring DWI to DWP rather than fixing a reservoir above the Palisades and the scores of inoperable fire hydrants in the Palisades and neighboring communities. Director Quinones apparently still has her job. Mayor Bass was apparently the only person in the greater Los Angeles area who was unaware a mighty Santa Ana was approaching. The National Weather broadcast days of warnings including an extreme fire risk. It was on the media. She did no mention that over half of LAFD’s fire vehicles are stored fender to fender in a maintenance/storage yard because of a shortage of mechanics and parts. Only five firetrucks were prepositioned in advance of the January 7 Palisades Fire. That’s all that were available thanks to budget cuts and deferred maintenance. Mayor Bass and Possibly Governor Newsom seem to have abandoned climate change as the culprit. Everyone, except perhaps Mayor Bass, is well aware of the ferocity of the Santa Anas. Blaming them on climate change is like blaming climate change for hurricanes in Florida and New Orleans, and tornados in Tornado Alley. Her stoneface response in her return at LAX will an ad against in her future campaigns. She appeared catatonic or in shock. Her perennial smile fell off her face. Many leaders are never tested. They can sail through good times. Leaders can either step up or fail during an existential crisis. Karen Bass failed.

Initial Views on the Palisades and Eaton Los Angeles Wildfire Disaster

By way of background, while I am not well known, I have analyzed, written, published, and presented on disasters and tragedies for decades. We are still in “the fog of war” stage of the disaster, but facts are emerging, which often contradict earlier statements. Every major disaster and tragedy have three stages: 1) Reducing the Risks 2) The Response Effort 3) Recovery Initial thoughts and caveats: Every mass disaster, tragedy, human or natural, has many causes and responsible parties. Natural hazards and poor decision-making resulted in the firestorms blowing past the firefighters in the Palisades and Eaton fires. A worse case natural hazard coupled with a woefully unprepared city resulted in a cataclysmic disaster. Los Angeles is a densely populated area with limited access and egress, especially in the hilly areas. Los Angeles is a city, a county, and a state of mind. Southern California has a historical pattern: heavy precipitation, then mudslides and landslides, and thick vegetation, followed by drought, and then wildfires. California faces catastrophic seismic and wildfire risks. Over-protection against one can amplify the risk against the other. For example, a concrete blockhouse style building will protect against wildfires, but could be deadly in a wildfire. Infrastructure is often under-funded and under-maintained. Only when a disaster, such as the Palisades and Eaton Fires, showcase the inadequacies of existing infrastructure does a belated, expensive response occur. Finally, big fires out of little embers grow. Fire fighters have to contain a fire quickly in a wind-driven event else the fire spread quickly. Risk Reduction Emergencies happen, ranging from catastrophic to minor. The key is to have in place a viable emergency action plan. The Los Angeles Fire Department has contingency plans in place, including for fierce Santa Ana winds. Similar forecasts occurred in 2011. The LAFD pre-positioned equipment and personnel and kept firefighters at work. Not this time. One way to minimize the impact of natural disasters is to limit development, but no livable location in America is risk free from geological or meteorological risks: avalanches, blizzards, earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes, landslides, tornados, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, wildfires and windstorms. Southern California is especially vulnerable to earthquakes and wildfires. 334 million Americans have to live somewhere. They spread out from the cities into the suburbs, exurbs, the hills and the coastline. The interface between the forest and the urban increases both the risks of a wildfire and the difficulties of fighting wildfires. Leadership The response revealed a failure of leadership. Fire fighters and law enforcement on the line responded as best they could under the circumstances. Fire chiefs, police chiefs, sheriffs and local officials addressed the public from their perspectives, but no overall leader emerged. The public needs a strong leader projecting confidence and strength in a crisis. Mayor Karen Bass was on a junket to Ghana for the inauguration of a new President of Ghana. She remained silent. Mayor Bass is a feelgood politician with a warm smile. She was at a cocktail reception while Palisades burned. A leader under pressure, she is not. She was warned about the wildfire risks, but left for Ghana anyway. She told the New York Times four years ago that she would not travel internationally. She’s been to Ghana, Mexico, and Paris three times so far. Just a typical politician. She had also cut the budget of the Los Angeles Fire Department by $17.3 million. Her reelection campaign is up in smoke. The LA Fire Department has about 100 fire engines, trucks, and ambulances out of service because of inadequate maintenance – mechanics and parts. Governor Gavin Newsom’s first response, a la Newsom, was to cast blame. He pointed fingers at others, explaining he was not fully informed by local officials. He also wanted to find out what happened to the water. Governor Newsom, obsessed with delusions of running for President, said he was reaching out to Washington for support. California spends more on the homeless than fire protection. He supported the protection of the delta smelt and other environmental values, reducing water supply to Southern California and farmers. He’s been tagged with “fish over people.” He now cries out against disinformation. He cut the fire prevention budget by $100 million and bragged about removing a dam. His presidential ambitions are up in smoke. His goal two months ago was to Trump Proof California, a Constitutional delusion. The 2021-22 California state budget contained $988 million for wildfire prevention. The current amount is $200 million. On the other hand, California spends between $6 – 9 billion annually on fighting wildfires and cleanup. Fram Filter had a great add decades ago: ‘Pay me now, or pay me later.” He should have Fire Proofed California. He wanted to Trump Proof California with at least $25 million, but upped the ante to $50 million. He is delusional; he has to go to the Trump Administration to bail out Los Angeles. He’s not going to like the conditions. He should have Fire Proofed California. Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass are looking to Washington for an endless source of funds to rebuild LA. Money will come from Washington, but President Trump and the Republican Congress will limit their largess. President Biden and a Democratic Congress would have opened the spigots, pouring money into Southern California and whatever other pet projects they could attach and large amounts for waste, fraud, and a bonanza for planners. Mayor Bass was allocating more money for the homeless than fighting fire. California spends more on building the bullet train than firefighting and protection. Mayor Bass placed her Deputy Mayor Brian Williams on leave in December. His responsibilities include the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Port of Los Angeles Police, airport police, and Emergency Management Department. He was accused of making a bomb threat in September. A vacuum in city leadership. Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom are professional politicians. They are very good at raising taxes and then spending it on favorite causes, which does not include infrastructure. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) and the Los Angeles Fire Department are prime examples of deferred maintenance. President Biden touched down in Los Angeles. He had these comments: 1) He was proud to be a new great grandfather. 2) It appears the residence of his son Hunter had survived, but he wasn’t sure. No doubt should further exist that President Biden is out of touch with reality. Fire Response Disaster planners, including fire chiefs, know wildfires are a constant problem in California, especially when Santa Ana winds strike. California has a long history with both urban and rural wildfires. California has incurred hundreds of horrific urban and rural wildfires, Oakland Hills in 1991, the Camp Fire (Paradise) in 2018, Woolsey Fire (2018), and the 2017 Tubbs Fire (Santa Rosa) are examples. These urban wildfires show how vulnerability of our metropolitan areas. The preventative and response lessons from earlier fires were not followed. Los Angeles was unprepared. Some measures may not protect in a wildfire with flames shooting horizontally and vertically at 100mph, but they could slow or stop the spread. Little embers can lead to large fires. Replace wood roofs. One shake roof, now banned in California, can ignite an entire neighborhood. Build with metal or clay roofs with no roof lines where embers can land. Other measures include covered chimneys and no open vents. Stucco, often used in building exteriors, is flame resistant, but also a poor insulator. Brush clearance is imperative. Defensive space of at least 5 feet, free of trees and brush, should surround a dwelling. LA knew for years of the need to remove dry brush, aka kindling, from the hilly slopes: “Clear the floor.” They did not do so. A herd of goats is a highly efficient, low-cost way to remove brush. Prescribed burns can reduce brush. Use double layered Tempered glass, which keep the glass windows from bursting open, creating a pathway into the dwelling. The Palisades Fire is a worse case scenario. Santa Ana winds may blow 50mph, but this one was on steroids, up to 100mph. it was foreseeable. The National Weather Service provided specific warnings of the Santa Ana winds. The fire fighters knew the risk of a major conflagration was possible. They said they pre-positioned some equipment and personnel. They arranged assistance from other fire departments. They did a modicum of pre-stationing equipment with none in the Palisades. Only five fire engines were staffed. They had detailed plans in how to prepare for an urban wildfire. They were not followed. They were only able to pre-position five fire engines, none in the Palisades. Shifts were changing. They sent 1,000 fire fighters home, instead of keeping them on duty – reducing overtime expenditures. Conversely the LAFD pre-deployed 40 engines in 2011 after similar dire warnings. Patrick Butler, former LAFD Assistant Chief, said “we could not take any chances on this, because the risk was too great.” Not the same attitude of the current senior management of LAFD. Little embers lead to big fires. DWP has a dysfunctional history coupled with deferred maintenance. The current director, Janisse Quinones, says the systems were working. She did not mention the 117 million galloon Santa Ynez Reservoir which has sat empty in Pacific Palisades since February 2024. It might not have stopped the wildfire, but the waters could have saved some homes or slowed the spread. She stated the fire hydrants were working, but many in fact, including some in Pacific Palisades, were inoperable. She said she took the job “with an equity lens and social justice.” A 1961 wildfire in Bel-Air and Brentwood destroyed almost 500 homes. LA responded. The city built 13 fire stations and the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Pacific Palisades “to increase fire protection.” The reservoir was emptied because of a tear in its cover because of fear insects could contaminate the drinking water. DWP, and its director, saw no need for urgency in filling the reservoir. The Los Angeles Fire Chief, Kristin Crowley, has made DEI a priority since 2022. Deputy Chief of Diversity Kristine Larson is recorded on tape responding if female firefighters are “strong enough to do this?” She responded to the question if she could carry a husband out of a fire? “He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.” Public Health and Safety, not DEI and Equity, are the primary responsibilities of the government. They took their eyes off the ball. Chief Crowley’s DEI campaign was accomplished by an exodus of the senior firefighters, which may explain some of the poor decision-making. None were called back before the fires. Their expertise might have resulted in better decision-making. DEI also distracts from the primary mission of protecting public safety. Current personnel look over their shoulders if they think they might be the “next-to-go” to make room for DEI. Some duty officers made a series of catastrophically poor decisions. One major response effort in emergencies is timely evacuation orders. West Alhambra, a historic African-American middle class neighborhood, was devasted in the Eaton Fire. The fire began at 6:18pm and spread through West Alhambra. The first evacuation order was not sent out until 3:25am, nine hours later, when flames were already consuming much of the community. Seventeen died in West Alhambra. Residents in West Alhambra phoned the emergency center when they saw flames approaching towards them. They were told the need to evacuate was not posted; therefore they were OK. Many were able to get out with only minutes to spare. 17 perished in Alhambra, all in west Alhambra. Alhambra is in the jurisdiction of the sheriff’s office – not the LAPD. The Causes of the Palisades and Eaton Fires. Contemporaneous reports claim the Palisades fire reignited on January 7 from a previous January 1 fire that the LAFD had quickly extinguished, or not. The LAFD does not have a practice of revisiting previous burns. The said it reignited on January 7, but the LAFD did not quickly respond. They were too late. Big fires from little embers burn. One theory is that the Eaton Fire of Altadena/Pasadena may have been caused by equipment of Southern California Edison, the utility. The utility says it might have started in a nearby homeless encampment. The causes will be discovered and learnt from. Many public officials (elected or appointment) will lose their jobs.

Does a leopard change its spots? Does the Media change its spots?

Does a leopard change its spots? Does the Media change its spots? Nope! Neither can the mainstream media. We have the tale of the scorpion and frog. The scorpion needed to cross the river. The scorpion asked the frog to carry it across the river. The frog refused, saying you will sting me, and I will die. The scorpion said “No, if I do that then I will also die.” The frog consented. The scorpion stung the frog halfway across the river. The dying frog asked the scorpion why it stung him. The scorpion responded: “Creature of Habit.” So too is the mainstream media. They can’t control themselves. The daily columnist diatribes against President Trump are underway. The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, MSNBC and CNN et al continue to revile President Trump, his appointees, and pronouncements. First it was Matt Gaetz, now it’s Pete Hegseth. Next it will be Tulsi Gabbard, and RFK, Jr. They continue to moralize against Republicans and ignore the transgressions of Democrats. The New York Times ran a large on how the Trump Family will economically benefit from his Presidency. The sounds of silence existed with Hunter Biden’s multi-million dollar “pay-to-play” deals with China, Russia, and ??? Vice President Kamala Harris as a young attorney in the San Francisco City Attorneys Office slept with the married, 60 year old Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, was divorced by his first wife because he impregnated the nanny. He also had the reputation of a misogynist partner of his law firm. Not a peep from the mainstream media as they excoriate the moral failings, actual or alleged, or missteps by Republicans. The columnists are asserting President Trump’s win was not a landslide, similar to the earlier claims that inflation is not a problem. It’s no longer a landslide in their eyes because he polled slightly less than 50%. If you remove California and its ballot harvesting late votes from the vote count, he would have more than 50% of the total votes. They’re worried President Trump will have his hands on the trigger of the nuclear bomb, forgetting he had already been President for four years with his hands on the trigger. They fret that the Justice department will become a department of persecutions, which is what it’s been the past four years. They’re worried he will seek revenge against his political enemies. Did they break the law? Was there a conspiracy between prosecutors in New York State, New York City, Atlanta and the Justice Department to destroy President Trump’s candidacy, such like the earlier Russia conspiracy and Mueller investigation of 8 years ago. They celebrated the demise of Representative Matt Gaetz. That’s like fishing in a barrel with a shotgun. Matt Gaetz’s nomination was DOA, dead on arrival, in the Senate. Representative Gaertz never learnt a fundamental rule of life: Be nice to those you pass on the way up because you might see them again on the way down. He had offended most members of Congress. He led the way in dumping Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. He is known for bloviating and not legislating in the House. The media has little credibility where it needs it the most: President Trump, Republicans, conservatives, and the American people. Their columns, editorials, and op-eds are speaking to each other in an echo chamber. They’re rebuilding the echo chamber as I write. They applaud and bestow awards on each other in the echo chamber. Governor Newsom of California has long suffered from the delusion of becoming President. He called a special session of the California Legislature to solidify California’s values against the Trump administration: “to safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an upcoming Trump Administration.” He wants another $25 million from the state legislature to fund litigation against the Trump Administration. It’s must be great to be the termed out governor of a one-party state. Illinois and New York have echoed Governor’s Newsom’s resistance. The media quotes President Trump’s words out of context. They take his strong words as policy positions, ignoring that President Trump is negotiating. They now cry out against President’s tariff promises, loudly asserting the tariffs will raise the cost of goods to Americans; that they will cause inflation. Where have they been the past four years? They know they screwed up royally in becoming a shill for the Democratic Party. They profess to do better, but they can’t – it’s their character. They have rarely their past mistakes in covering President Trump, much less apologized for them. Russia Gate, the Steele Dossier, the Mueller report, the recent Lawfare, they cheer it all on. They never apologize, or usually acknowledge all their past mistakes. The mainstream media lives in an echo chamber, not understanding their circulation and viewership is sinking, and apparently not caring. They ranks are quickly disappearing. The problem is deep-seated. Conservatives are not welcome in most journalism schools. The journalism students are not taught to be reporters, but as advocates for their beliefs. Los Angeles Times staffers wrote a memo in which they said their duty requires them “to be transparent and act in service of the public.” The owner of a media source has the right to control the policies, coverage, philosophy, and political perspective of the paper, magazine, cable or internet media. Employees, including journalists, who disagree have a choice; they can go along or resign. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is the owner and thus publisher of the Los Angeles Times. He has clearly stated he wants the LA Times to be profitable. Circulation is shrinking as an echo chamber of the left, while advertising dollars have migrated to the internet. Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, is unhappy with last year’s $77 million loss. Both media owners made their fortunes as entrepreneurs in a capitalistic society. The staff of their papers are employees – not owners or publishers. Their echo chamber is fighting a sinking ship, plunging readership and viewership. Creature of Habit.