Thursday, September 24, 2020

HOMOPHOBIC DICTATOR OF BAHRAIN TALKS ABOUT 'CIVILIZED MESSAGE TO THE WORLD' - SO HAND YOURSELF, FUCKER, THAT WILL BE TRULY CIVIL OF YOU!

 

King of Bahrain at U.N.: Israel Peace Deals ‘Send a Civilized Message’ to the World

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa delivers a speech during a meeting with US secretary of state, ahead of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ministerial meeting in Manama, Bahrain April 7, 2016. US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Bahrain where he is expected to discuss human rights and …
JONATHAN ERNST/AFP via Getty Images
5:20

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain celebrated the normalization of diplomatic relations between his kingdom and Israel — as well as applauding the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for making a similar move shortly before Bahrain did — during remarks Thursday to the U.N. General Assembly.

Bahrain and the UAE joined Jordan and Egypt as the world’s only Arab states to recognize Israel as a sovereign state. President Donald Trump, whose administration helped broker the deals, has promised similar agreements to come in the near future between Israel and others in its geographical neighborhood.

King Hamad used the opportunity of his virtual address to the United Nations to call Abu Dhabi “courageous” for taking the first step in decades of any Arab state in establishing diplomatic ties with Israel, but also insisted that Bahrain had moved similarly while “preserving its firm position on the Palestinian issue.” The king urged the U.N. to support the establishment of a sovereign Palestine and claimed that the peace deal with Israel benefitted Palestinians by limiting Israeli “annexation.”

“From of our keenness to preserve the security and stability of the region, and as an embodiment of our resolute approach to openness and coexistence with all, we have announced the establishment of relations with the State of Israel,” King Hamad said, “sending a civilized message affirming that our hand is extended for a just and comprehensive peace, as it is the best guarantee for the future of all peoples of the region.”

“The courageous step taken by the brotherly United Arab Emirates to revive the hope of peace and stability in the region is a successful and blessed step,” the King continued. “In reaching ‘historic peace agreement’ [sic] with Israel, under the auspices and efforts of the United States of America, in exchange for stopping Israel’s annexation of the Palestinian lands, the UAE has enhanced opportunities for peace, reduced tensions, and given the people of the region a new era of understanding, rapprochement and peaceful coexistence, while preserving its firm position on the Palestinian issue.”

“We further commend the appreciated efforts exerted by the United States of America to accomplish these important strategic steps,” he added.

King Hamad did not specifically urge similar states to consider diplomatic ties with Israel, but more vaguely called “for intensified efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with the two-state solution.”

“We consider this a cornerstone for achieving a just and comprehensive peace leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, in order enter a new stage of work in which we extend bridges of goodneighborly relations to build and develop the common interests of the countries of the region,” King Hamad said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the king applauded the United Nations and World Health Organization (W.H.O.) in the context of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic — which the W.H.O. has faced severe criticism over for its role in spreading false Chinese Communist Party claims that the virus was not contagious in late January.

“This emerging challenge has proven that the international community is in dire need to put aside differences, to strengthen areas of human solidarity, to stand united in the face of these health threats, and to improve our future readiness to prevent such risks and properly fortify our societies,” the King said.

Bahrain announced that it would follow the UAE in normalizing relations with Israel in mid-September, shortly before the General Assembly’s annual general debate. The deal between Israel and Bahrain would allow air travel between the two countries — Bahrain had already agreed to allow Emirati planes to use its airspace to reach Israel before this but itself did not accept Israeli travelers — and result in the exchange of diplomats.

“The sand was loaded up with blood, and now you’re going to see that a lot of that sand is going to be loaded up with peace,” President Donald Trump said in response to the news of Bahrain’s decision to establish ties to Israel in September. “The good news is we have many other countries now in the Middle East that want this, and that means peace.”

Bahrain, UAE, and Israel signed their normalization agreements, dubbed the Abraham Accords, at the White House last week.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and reportedly major figure in making the agreements happen, recently revealed that, while visiting Bahrain this month, he delivered a Torah scroll to the Sunni Muslim king, for use in a Bahraini synagogue.

Bahrain’s royal family is Sunni Muslim, though the nation is majority Shiite, which has sparked some tension between the general population and the island nation’s leadership. Despite being a majority-Muslim Arab state, and unlike neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is home to a small, legal Jewish community.

“This is a historic moment that we never expected to see in our lifetime,” Ebrahim Dahood Nonoo, the head of the Bahraini Jewish community, said in a statement celebrating normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel.

Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.

6 MILLION REASONS WHY HUNTER BIDEN LUVS RED CHINA.... With the Bidens, just follow the bribes!

Senate Report: Hunter Biden’s Law Firm Took Nearly $6M from Chinese Oligarch

JOHN BINDER


Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son’s law firm received nearly six million from a Chinese oligarch who sought power and influence in Washington, D.C.

bombshell report by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Finance Committee details numerous cases in which Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and family members have deep ties to the Chinese communist government, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.

One such case notes Hunter Biden’s law firm, Owasco, seemingly accepting nearly six million in consulting fees and legal representation from Chinese oligarch Ye Jianming.

The report details:

On Aug. 8, 2017, CEFC Infrastructure Investment wired $5 million to the bank account for Hudson West III. These funds may have originated from a loan issued from the account of a company called Northern International Capital Holdings, a Hong Kong-based investment company identified at one time as a “substantial shareholder” in CEFC International Limited along with Ye. It is unclear whether Hunter Biden was half-owner of Hudson West III at that time. However, starting on Aug. 8, the same day the $5 million was received, and continuing through Sept. 25, 2018, Hudson West III sent frequent payments to Owasco, Hunter Biden’s firm. These payments, which were described as consulting fees, reached $4,790,375.25 in just over a year. [Emphasis added]

A million of the nearly six million transferred to Hunter Biden’s law firm was then refunded, claiming that the payment was related to his firm’s representation of Jianming associate Patrick Ho — convicted of international bribery and money laundering in 2019.

Ho’s legal representation in the case, though, did not include Hunter Biden’s law firm. Attorneys with the firms Krieger Kim & Lewin LLP and Dechert LLP represented Ho in the case, court records show.

The report states:

On March 22, 2018, a $1 million payment was sent from Hudson West III to Owasco with a memo line for “Dr Patrick Ho Chi Ping Representation.” In his alternative explanation, Hunter Biden indicated that the misdirected $1 million was related to his representation of Ye’s associate, Patrick Ho. These transactions illustrate the financial connections between Gongwen Dong’s Hudson West III, Ye Jianming’s CEFC, and Hunter Biden’s Owasco. [Emphasis added]

Biden stated that:

Boies Schiller Flexner is co-counsel for Dr. Patrick Ho’s case. Hudson West III LLC has no involvement with Patrick Ho Chi Ping[’]s case and won[’]t expect further transaction related to Dr. Patrick Ho Chi Ping trail [sic] for Hudson West III LLC. Owasco LLC and co- Counsel Boies Schiller Flexner will represent Dr. Patrick Ho Chi Ping [at] trial. [Emphasis added]

The report also reveals that at the same time Hunter Biden’s law firm was taking payments from Jianming, he was transferring money to the Lion Hall Group, a consulting firm run by Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden.

“Between Aug. 14, 2017 and Aug. 3, 2018, Owasco sent 20 wires totaling $1,398,999 to the Lion Hall Group, a consulting firm that lists James Biden and his wife, Sara Biden, on the bank account. This transaction was identified for potential criminal financial activity,” the report states:

These transfers began less than one week after CEFC Infrastructure Investment wired $5 million to Hudson West III and Hudson West III sent its first payment of $400,000 to Owasco. Most of the payments from Owasco to the Lion Hall Group had vague notes in the memo lines, 15 of which simply indicated that they were for further credit to James Biden; however, the memo line for one of the payments read “HW3,” which indicates some of the transferred money could be from Hudson West III. When the bank contacted Sara Biden regarding the overall wire activity, she stated that the Lion Hall Group and Owasco provide international and business consulting and that the Lion Hall Group was assisting Owasco with an international client through a contract that had since terminated. Sara Biden told the bank that she would not provide any supporting documentation, and she also refused to provide additional information to more clearly explain the activity. Consequently, the bank submitted the account for closure. The Committees created the following chart with respect to this transaction. [Emphasis added]

Hudson West III also sent funds directly to the Lion Hall Group. According to records on file with the Committees, James B. Biden is the principal contact for the Lion Hall Group, and between January 2018 and October 2018, Hudson West III sent the Lion Hall Group outgoing wires totaling $76,746.15 with the memo, “office expense and reimbursement.” These transactions illustrate a direct financial link between Hudson West III (which was connected to CEFC, the Chinese government, and Gongwen Dong) and James Biden. [Emphasis added]

Similarly, as Breitbart News reported, Hunter Biden’s private equity firm received about $3.5 million from Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina in 2014 as part of a “consultancy agreement.”

The report states that members of the Biden family used credit cards linked to associates with ties to the Chinese communist government and bought luxury items with the funds.

Hunter Biden, in the report, is accused of making payments to Russian and Eastern European women linked to prostitution and human trafficking.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder

 A huge miasma of corruption encircling Hunter and Joe Biden

Do you remember how Joe Biden gracefully demonstrated a true presidential demeanor by blasting an Iowan voter who asked him about Hunter Biden's role on the board of the corrupt Ukrainian company?

According to Joe, a man was a "damn liar," "fat," and "too old to vote for me."  Guess what.  The man was right, and the question was legitimate, even though Joe Biden doesn't condescend to answer any of those.  People, however, still ask, and it looks as though the questions are mounting with a neck-breaking speed that even a healthy and clear-witted politician would have a hard time handling.

On Sept. 23, Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, released a report titled "Hunter Biden, Burisma and Corruption: the Impact on U.S. Foreign Policy and Related Concerns" that revealed millions of dollars in questionable financial transactions between Hunter Biden and his associates and foreign individuals, including the wife of the former mayor of Moscow and individuals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The investigation was launched in August 2019 as the result of the so-called "Henniges transaction," when Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) raised concerns over the process by which the Obama administration's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved the acquisition of a U.S. automotive technology company, Henniges, with reported military applications.  Henniges was reportedly jointly acquired by Chinese government entities and an investment firm linked to family members of then–vice president Joe Biden and other Obama administration officials.  Mr. Grassley wrote: "[O]ne of the companies involved in the Henniges transaction was a billion dollar private investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST (BHR).  BHR was formed in November of 2013 by a merger between the Chinese-government linked firm, Bohai Capital, and a company named Rosemont Seneca Partners.  Rosemont Seneca was reportedly formed in 2009 by Hunter Biden, the son of then–Vice President Joe Biden, Chris Heinz, the stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry, and others."

As the investigation dug dipper, new and unexpected sums of cash, foreign entities, and transactions appeared in the Biden case.  The Biden family and their associates got involved in shady relations with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh, and Chinese nationals, which raises criminal concerns and extradition threats, as put in the report.

Here are some key findings:

First and foremost: The Obama administration was aware of, but did nothing about, the conflict of interest that was created when Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was appointed to the board of Burisma, a corrupt Ukrainian fossil fuel company.  In early 2015, the former acting deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, George Kent, raised concerns to officials in Vice President Joe Biden's office about the perception of a conflict of interest with respect to Hunter Biden's role on Burisma's board.  His concerns went unanswered.  Later that year, senior State Department official Amos Hochstein raised concerns with Vice President Biden himself, as well as with Hunter Biden, that Hunter's position on Burisma's board enabled Russian disinformation efforts and risked undermining U.S. policy in Ukraine.  In addition to that, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, admitted that she had been briefed about the fact that Hunter Biden was on Burisma's board, but ignored it in 2016.

Hunter Biden and his business partner Devon Archer joined Burisma after the British officials seized $23 million from the London bank accounts of Burisma's owner — it was a known fact that Burisma is not a suitable company for the vice president's son to join — especially when the father is called a "public face of the administration's handling of Ukraine," where anti-corruption efforts were the number-one priority.  Nonetheless, over the course of the several years, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer were paid millions of dollars from a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch for their participation on the board.

Furthermore, in addition to the over $4 million paid by Burisma for Hunter Biden's and Archer's board memberships, Hunter Biden, his family, and Archer received millions of dollars from foreign nationals with questionable backgrounds.  The report names Archer as receiving $142,300 from Kenges Rakishev of Kazakhstan, purportedly for a car, on the same day that Vice President Joe Biden appeared and addressed Ukrainian legislators in Kyiv regarding Russia's actions in Crimea.  Hunter Biden also received a $3.5-million wire transfer from Elena Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of Moscow.  Hunter additionally opened a bank account with China's Gongwen Dong to fund a $100,000 global spending spree with James Biden and Sara Biden.  Hunter Biden had business associations with Ye Jianming, Gongwen Dong, and other Chinese nationals linked to the communist government and the People's Liberation Army.  Those associations resulted in millions of dollars in cash flow.  And last but not the least, it was found that Hunter Biden paid nonresident women who were nationals of Russia or other Eastern European countries and who appear to be linked to an "Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring."  This is the same Hunter Biden who had well-known compulsive relationships with prostitutes and strippers back home. Even though Jill Biden claims that she "knows her son's character," so he couldn't do "anything wrong," paying women for sex and being associated with prostitution rings is something that resonates with Hunter's character just perfectly. Sentiments aside, it is simply hard to argue with stone-cold evidence of money wires.

You certainly may try to imagine one of Trump's children being in Hunter's place. The hell of professional protestors would have stormed the White House by now demanding "justice," because "no one is above the law." The media reaction to the 87 pages of the detailed report of the Biden's sketchy schemes? Don't roll your eyes too hard, you don't want to injure yourself. Trump and Russia are to blame. 

The New York Times and The Washington Post scorned the report as an "inconclusive" partisan smear echoing of Russian propaganda. "Republican Inquiry Finds No ­Evidence of Wrongdoing by Biden," was the Times' headline. "GOP's Hunter Biden report doesn't back up Trump's actual conspiracy theory — or anything close to it," said the Washington Post. "GOP senators' anti-Biden report repackages old claims" was another typical headline dismissing the ­report, this from Politico.

A story of a then-Vice President's son receiving millions of dollars from foreign entities associated closely with their governments and whose interests did not necessarily coincide with America's best interests gets frowned upon with such unseen hypocrisy and blind bias, that one may wonder that if democracy truly dies in darkness, then maybe it is an ultimate leftist plan for this country, after all.  

Mainstream media may deliberately shut their eyes on the facts of the unfolding case of the Biden family getting rich in exchange for American interests. They may even distort the gross and, as it seems, criminal wrongdoings, as in some wild junkie's dream, and present it as a legit business venture. They may put as much lipstick on a pig as they wish. But an demented, enormously corrupt man who reeks of treason cannot be a president of the United States. 

Please follow Veronika Kyrylenko, Ph.D on Twitter or LinkedIn. 

Photo illustration by Monica Showalter with use of images by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0Acaben, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0PxFuel public domainABC News YouTube screen shot, and Voice of America // public domain


Senate Report Exposes Dealings Between Biden’s Son and Businessmen Connected to Chinese Regime

 
September 24, 2020 Updated: September 24, 2020

Robert Hunter Biden, son of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, made millions of dollars worth of “questionable transactions” with Chinese nationals connected to the Chinese regime and military, according to a new congressional report.

Hunter Biden began developing associations with Chinese nationals beginning in at least 2009, the year he co-founded the U.S. investment and advisory firm Rosemont Seneca Partners. According to the report, these financial connections “accelerated while his father was vice president and continued after he left office.”

Joe Biden was vice president during the Obama administration, from 2009 to 2017. He’s currently the Democratic Party candidate for the upcoming presidential election in November.

The other founders of Rosemont Seneca Partners were Chris Heinz, the stepson of former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and Devon Archer, one of Hunter Biden’s business partners.

The report, released on Sept. 23, was authored by two Senate committees: Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Department of Finance.

In response, Joe Biden’s campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said the Senate report was using taxpayer dollars to launch “an attack founded on a long-disproven, hardcore rightwing conspiracy theory.”

Beijing-Friendly Businessmen

Two Chinese nationals became prominent in Hunter Biden’s financial network with China: disgraced Chinese oil tycoon Ye Jianming and Asia-based financier Dong Gongwen. According to the report, Dong was Ye’s business associate and executed transactions for Ye’s companies.

Hunter Biden made millions from his relationship with Ye and received millions from Dong’s companies, the report found.

“Ye and his associates had robust relationships with China’s military units, some of which were involved in matters in direct opposition to U.S. policy in the region,” the Senate report stated.

Ye founded CEFC China Energy, an oil conglomerate that made billions of dollars in Russia, eastern Europe, and parts of Africa.

It became China’s largest privately held oil company before it was caught in Beijing’s crosshairs in 2018. Ye was placed under investigation in February 2018 for “suspected economic crimes” and subsequently detained. His current whereabouts remain unknown. A state-owned enterprise took control of CEFC in March 2018.

In addition to shady business practices, the oil company hired former military cadres and leveraged such connections to advance itself, according to Chinese media exposés.

Ye also served as deputy secretary-general of the China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC) from 2003 to 2005.

The association is a front group for the Chinese military’s former General Political Department (GPD), a political organ within the Central Military Commission—the Chinese Communist Party agency that controls the military, according to a 2018 report published by the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC). The GPD was replaced by a new agency called the Political Work Department in 2016.

According to USCC, CAIFC is responsible for collecting intelligence and conducting propaganda and perception management campaigns.

Transactions With Biden

The new Senate report identified a transaction of “potential criminal financial activity” in August 2017, when CEFC Infrastructure Investment (US) LLC, a subsidiary of CEFC China Energy, sent a payment of $100,000 to Hunter Biden’s Washington-based law firm Owasco. It is unclear what the money was for.

Another incident the Senate identified as “potential financial criminal activity” took place in September 2017, when Hunter Biden and Dong opened a line of credit at a bank under a business named Hudson West III LLC.

The credit was made available to Hunter Biden, James Biden, and James Biden’s wife Sara Biden. James Biden is Joe Biden’s brother.

“The Bidens subsequently used the credit cards they opened to purchase $101,291.46 worth of extravagant items, including airline tickets and multiple items at Apple Inc. stores, pharmacies, hotels, and restaurants,” the Senate report stated.

Millions went from CEFC Infrastructure Investment to Hudson West III and then to Owasco. On Aug. 8, 2017, CEFC Infrastructure Investment wired $5 million to Hudson West III’s bank account. From Aug. 8, 2017, to Sept. 25, 2018, Hudson West III sent more than $4.79 million in the name of consulting fees to Owasco.

Hudson West III was 1 of 8 numbered Hudson West business entities, and the Senate report found that Dong was connected to seven of them. The report didn’t elaborate on the connections, and it’s unclear whether Hunter Biden is connected to the other Hudson West firms.

Patrick Ho, a Hong Kong-based businessman who served as secretary-general of a CEFC subsidiary, China Energy Fund Committee, was also Hunter Biden’s client at Owasco, according to the Senate report.

Ho is also implicated in CEFC’s misdeeds. He was charged by U.S. prosecutors of bribing top officials in Chad and Uganda in exchange for business opportunities for CEFC.

On March 22, 2018, months before Ho was to go on trial, a $1 million payment was sent from Hudson West III to Owasco for Ho’s legal representation, the Senate report found.

Ho was sentenced to three years in prison in March 2019 on several charges including money laundering and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, according to a Department of Justice press release. He was freed in June this year, with the judge shortening his incarceration time after he demonstrated good behavior.

The Senate committees said the financial ties between Hunter Biden, his family, and the Chinese nationals “don’t just raise conflicts of interest concerns, they raise criminal financial, counterintelligence, and extortion concerns.”

The Joe Biden campaign didn’t immediately return a request for comment on the transactions with Chinese individuals.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Sept. 24 sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray asking if the agency will investigate certain findings of the report, including Hunter Biden’s Chinese transactions involving potential criminal activity.

Follow Frank on Twitter: @HwaiDer

MEXIFORNIA - LA RAZA SUPREMACIST GOV GAVIN NEWSOM SAYS NO CARS FOR THE POOR

 California Gov Bans Poor People From Owning Cars

  

"My own belief is that California has a unique place on the planet. It's been a place of dreams. We can pursue a path of benign energy," Governor Brown once said.

Brown is gone, but his idiot Spaceship Earth vision lives on.

 Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for California to ban new gasoline-fueled vehicles within 15 years in a bid to combat climate change and make the state the first in the nation to stop sales of cars with internal combustion engines.

In other words cars. As most people know them and own them.

California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley said in an interview that the "radical step" to ban internal combustion engines "makes no sense" and is a rushed decision, with no guarantee of affordability for many who live in an already-expensive state.

Oh it's easy.

This will gate off car ownership to the sort of people who can afford electric cars. Tesla people and such. Illegal aliens will go on driving wrecks with no insurance, registration, inspection stickers, etc.

So there will be two classes of car owners in California.

1. Wealthy people

2. Criminals

Working class and poor people won't be able to afford cars. And in a state where car ownership is pretty much a prerequisite for getting a job or buying groceries, that's an economic death sentence. 

Predictably, Democrats will discover a right for the welfare class to own electric cars, which the middle class will be taxed to provide. And anyone who isn't in the welfare class will be squeezed further out of a failing state.

“With increasing homelessness, a soft approach to criminal prosecution, and the ongoing embracing of illegal immigration, violent crimes are increasing after having seen a reduction the past few years.” P.F. WHALEN

Undeterred, on September 2, state lawmakers sent a budget to Governor Newsom calling for $600 million in spending increases and a reduction in state revenue with the extension of earned income tax credits for immigrants and illegal aliens.  Balance sheet be damned, California must cater to illegal aliens. P.F. WHALEN 

California: The Golden State in Utter Decay

By P.F. Whalen

California is a mess; no secret there.  But the degree of decline that befalls it, and the quickness with which that decline is moving, seems to be largely ignored, particularly by Californians themselves.  The nation's most populous state, and arguably its most naturally beautiful, is falling apart virtually everywhere we look.  Yet state and local governments not only insist on moving forward with leftist policies, but continually double down by moving even farther left, and the state's voters return them to office with ever-increasing electoral margins.  California's current approach to virtually all aspects of society — the economy, environment, legal system and culture — is unsustainable, and the time for reckoning is rapidly approaching.

The current crisis in California that is getting the most national attention is the plague of wildfires throughout much of the northern part of the state.  Such fires have ravaged the area for millennia, long before the presence of any European settlers, but that has not stopped California leftists and their media from pointing fingers at climate change and President Trump.  Avoiding responsibility for a crisis by blaming anyone and anything with even a remote chance of culpability is the California way — which leads to a failure to develop real solutions.  None of California's leaders, least of all Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, have accepted any responsibility for the government's role in the fires.  Evidence clearly shows that the decision by the state to revive "fire suppression" efforts, a practice that essentially delays the inevitable and results in even larger wildfires (and was mostly discontinued in the 1960s), has been a major contributor to the magnitude of this year's fires.  But has the government of California even paused to reconsider the strategy?  Sadly, no.

Wildfires, unfortunately, are among the least of California's woes.  Homelessness in the state has become a major problem, and one that is having a significant impact on the quality of life for taxpayers.  According to a San Francisco Chronicle article published last December, "[w]hile the latest counts compiled by the federal government show that America's homeless population is growing again after more than a decade of declines, the entire national increase and more can be attributed to California alone."  In other words, homelessness continues to be on the decline in the U.S. if we exclude California.  So how does California plan on addressing the problem?  A bill passed by the state's Legislature earlier this month will empower Governor Newsom to appoint a "Homelessness Czar."  Government actions, including regulations which aggressively target landlords and programs that provide handouts enticing the homeless to settle in the state, have perpetuated the homeless situation, but more taxpayer dollars and government interference is always the solution for California.  Got a problem?  Throw money at it, and let the government make it worse.

With increasing homelessness, a soft approach to criminal prosecution, and the ongoing embracing of illegal immigration, violent crimes are increasing after having seen a reduction the past few years.  According to The Trace, "homicides are sharply up this year" in California as a whole, and cities such as Oakland, with a 26% increase, have seen a significant increase in the number of murders.  With the jump in violent crimes, what steps has California's government taken to reduce certain crimes?  They recently passed the controversial bill S.B. 145, which will ultimately end up reducing accountability and sentences for adults who sexually assault children as young as 14.  What a brilliant idea.  Apparently, California's leadership believes that the pedophile community had been treated unfairly.  

In spite of an abundance of bad news items hitting California on a regular basis, the most ominous challenge is undoubtedly the fiscal time bomb that looms, and whose ticking grows louder by the day.  Already one of the highest taxed states in the U.S., California had a reported government debt of over $1.5 trillion as of 2017 — long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and an amount that has surely increased dramatically since.  Undeterred, on September 2, state lawmakers sent a budget to Governor Newsom calling for $600 million in spending increases and a reduction in state revenue with the extension of earned income tax credits for immigrants and illegal aliens.  Balance sheet be damned, California must cater to illegal aliens.

Increasing spending and decreasing revenue is a lousy recipe for getting one's fiscal house in order — particularly one that is already a disaster.  The state government appears to be counting on an eventual federal bailout from its financial predicament, but that help is not going to happen, nor should it.

California industries have recognized the signals and are taking action.  High-profile companies and leaders have announced their plans to leave the state or have openly proclaimed their considerations for the idea.  Media outlet The Daily Wire, with co-owner Ben Shapiro, recently announced its plan to move to Nashville; podcast giant Joe Rogan is taking his ball and moving to Texas; and Elon Musk is moving Tesla's headquarters out-of-state, and possibly manufacturing operations as well.   Other businesses will surely follow, as the hostility toward industry through taxes and oppressive regulations continues unimpeded.  State lawmakers are not intimidated by the idea of losing millions of dollars in revenue and have recently taken the bold step of adding a layer of government regulations to existing and would-be businesses.  Another bill recently passed by the state legislature will "mandate ethnic, racial or LGBT diversity on corporate boards" — more government intervention in the private sector in the name of virtue and another assault on the philosophy of meritocracy.

California has some of the most appealing weather in the world, but pleasant weather goes only so far.  Residents enjoy the state's natural wonders such as the lovely Napa Valley, Yosemite National Park, and the glorious pacific coast highway, but they have been choosing to leave anyway at an increasing rate in a phenomenon that is being called "The California Exodus."  The state population decreased by almost 200,000 in 2018, and over 28,000 left the San Francisco Bay area alone in a single quarter last year.  Inevitably, the question that Californians have to consider is this: while it may be bad now, is there a chance it is going to get better?

California, the bluest of blue states, has rising crime and homelessness.  California has fearsome wildfires and rolling electrical blackouts due to government mismanagement of its forests and energy systems.  California has an ever-increasing budget deficit with no end in sight.  Yet California's tone-deaf politicians continue to enjoy immense support from their oblivious electorate.  Many residents cherish the song lyric that laments, "Going to California with an aching in my heart."  Unfortunately, the time has come for many to recognize reality, and to leave California with a similar aching.  California is decaying before our eyes, and it is not going to get better.

P.F. Whalen is a conservative blogger at TheBlueStateConservative.com.  His work has appeared in multiple publications, including American Thinker, the Western Journal, and Human Events. Follow him on Twitter at @pf_whalen.

 

HOME TO DIANNE FEINSTEIN, NANCY PELOSI, KAMALA HARRIS AND GAVIN NEWSOM

 

Adios, Sanctuary La Raza Welfare State of California    
A fifth-generation Californian laments his state’s ongoing economic collapse.
By Steve Baldwin
American Spectator
What’s clear is that the producers are leaving the state and the takers are coming in. Many of the takers are illegal aliens, now estimated to number over 2.6 million (BLOG: THE NUMBER IS CLOSER TO 15 MILLION ILLEAGLS). 
The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates that California spends $22 billion (DATED: NOW ABOUT $35 BILLION YEARLY AND THAT IS ON THE STATE LEVEL ONLY. COUNTIES PAY OUT MORE) on government services for illegal aliens, including welfare, education, Medicaid, and criminal justice system costs. 

Liberals claim they more than make that up with taxes paid, but that’s simply not true. It’s not even close. FAIR estimates illegal aliens in California contribute only $1.21 billion in tax revenue, which means they cost California $20.6 billion, or at least $1,800 per household.
Nonetheless, open border advocates, such as Facebook Chairman Mark Zuckerberg, claim illegal aliens are a net benefit to California with little evidence to support such an assertion. As the Center for Immigration Studies has documented, the vast majority of illegals are poor, uneducated, and with few skills. How does accepting millions of illegal aliens and then granting them access to dozens of welfare programs benefit California’s economy? If illegal aliens were contributing to the economy in any meaningful way, California, with its 2.6 million illegal aliens, would be booming.
Furthermore, the complexion of illegal aliens has changed with far more on welfare and committing crimes than those who entered the country in the 1980s. 
Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute has testified before a Congressional committee that in 2004, 95% of all outstanding warrants for murder in Los Angeles were for illegal aliens; in 2000, 23% of all Los Angeles County jail inmates were illegal aliens and that in 1995, 60% of Los Angeles’s largest street gang, the 18th Street gang, were illegal aliens. Granted, those statistics are old, but if you talk to any California law enforcement officer, they will tell you it’s much worse today. The problem is that the Brown administration will not release any statewide data on illegal alien crimes. That would be insensitive. And now that California has declared itself a “sanctuary state,” there is little doubt this sends a message south of the border that will further escalate illegal immigration into the state.

"If the racist "Sensenbrenner Legislation" passes the US Senate, there is no doubt that a massive civil disobedience movement will emerge. Eventually labor union power can merge with the immigrant civil rights and "Immigrant Sanctuary" movements to enable us to either form a new political party or to do heavy duty reforming of the existing Democratic Party. The next and final steps would follow and that is to elect our own governors of all the states within Aztlan." 
Indeed, California goes out of its way to attract illegal aliens. The state has even created government programs that cater exclusively to illegal aliens. For example, the State Department of Motor Vehicles has offices that only process driver licenses for illegal aliens. With over a million illegal aliens now driving in California, the state felt compelled to help them avoid the long lines the rest of us must endure at the DMV. 
And just recently, the state-funded University of California system announced it will spend $27 million on financial aid for illegal aliens. They’ve even taken out radio spots on stations all along the border, just to make sure other potential illegal border crossers hear about this program. I can’t afford college education for all my four sons, but my taxes will pay for illegals to get a college education.