California

colorful-crayons-and-a-symbol-of-a-transgender-stockpack-adobe-stock
Colorful crayons and a symbol of a transgender
Photo licensed via Adobe Stock

Let’s Stop Calling It Gender-Affirming Care

Twenty-two states have passed laws restricting in varying degrees the practice of the grossly inaccurately termed “gender-affirming care” for minors. The majority of those states did so in 2023. Additional bills aimed at protecting children from irreversible physical harm are being put forward this legislative cycle in states with Republican majority legislatures. Read More ›
max-bohme-Skhc2Bm7J4s-unsplash

California, the Dream and the Nightmare

“The homeless are just like you and me.” That’s a politically correct assertion that doesn’t quite recognize the reality on the ground, such as the link between self-destructive behavior — most notably, substance abuse — and living on the street with no place to call home. California is home to 12% of America’s population, but 30% of the number “experiencing Read More ›

Gavel leaning against a row of law books

A Return to Soft on Crime?

A California Senate committee recently passed Senate Bill 94, which would allow inmates sentenced to death or life without parole to apply for a "second look" at their cases. If it becomes law, the worst offenders could walk free after they've served 20 years or more. Read More ›
homeless-in-san-francisco-sheltering-in-place-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-stockpack-adobe-stock
Homeless in San Francisco sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic
Photo licensed via Adobe Stock

‘Housing First’ Caused the Homelessness Catastrophe

How did the United States end up in such a filthy state? Blame ideologically driven public policies, most particularly, “Housing First,” a fine-sounding—but ultimately dysfunction-inducing—approach that thwarts ending our homelessness catastrophe. Read More ›
kitchen-waste-recycling-in-composter-stockpack-adobe-stock
Kitchen waste recycling in composter
Kitchen waste recycling in composter

Composting the Dead Devalues the Importance of the Living

Starting in 2027, California will allow composting of the dead. Known officially as “natural organic reduction (NOR),” this novel final disposition process transforms the deceased’s body into soil to spread on gardens or in which to plant flowers or a tree. Read More ›
usa-social-shortcomings-stockpack-adobe-stock
USA, social shortcomings
USA, social shortcomings

Like a Dystopia, Only California

The squalor that haunts the underpasses and back alleys of California should move the state’s progressives to embrace even more law enforcement. Or they can let the state get even more dangerous. Read More ›
Robert Marbut Interview

Robert Marbut on America’s Homelessness Crisis, Strategies for Uplifting the Homeless, and Effective Government Policies

Homelessness has reached crisis proportions. Few issues of human dignity are as heart wrenching as the wretched scenes in our most prosperous cities — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle — where one can drive down main thoroughfares and be confronted with tent encampments lining streets that provide scant shelter for thousands of destitute people. Read More ›
joonyeop-baek-1kf69eE7VR4-unsplash

California’s Epic Homeless Nightmare

What’s the matter with California? “It’s suffering from San Fransickness,” which is “pathological altruism,” answers Michael Shellenberger, author of the book “San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities.” Read More ›
Close-up of a thief wearing balaclava breaking car window with c
Close-up of a thief wearing balaclava breaking car window with crowbar. Car thief, car theft concept

Crime Reform Is Here. Do You Feel Safer?

Democrats are keeping their heads down. They spent years assuring the public that their so-called fixes would enhance public safety, that they were simply out to protect nonviolent offenders from overzealous law enforcement. Now I have to ask voters in blue cities and states: Do you feel safer? Read More ›