Tag: california

After Approving Mass Mail-In Balloting, California Loses 10 Million Ballots In November Midterms

The 2022 midterms were the first major elections to occur in California after the Golden State approved all-mail voting in September 2021. Under the new system, all registered voters in the state are automatically mailed a ballot for each election cycle (Californians can still opt to vote in person if they wish). But during California’s first foray into mass mail-in balloting for the 2022 midterms, 226,250 mail ballots were rejected and more than 10 million remain unaccounted for, according to a new report by the Public Interest Legal Foundation.

Per the report, the most common reason for rejection of mail ballots in the 2022 cycle was late arrival (48 percent of rejects). Under California law, mail ballots must be postmarked no later than Election Day and arrive at the tabulation center within seven days. For the state’s 2022 general elections, more than 57,000 ballots arrived after Nov. 15 (the seven-day mark). Largely as a result of the switch to mail-in balloting, more than 57,000 Californians were disenfranchised. Such voter disenfranchisement is sure to continue as long as the state keeps its vote-by-mail system. 

“Mail ballots disenfranchise,” PILF President J. Christian Adams said in a statement. “There are many reasons mail ballots fail ultimately to count. No one casting a ballot at home can correct an error before it’s too late. California’s vote-by-mail demonstration should serve as a warning to state legislators elsewhere.”

Another concerning figure coming from California’s midterm election cycle is that 10 million ballots still remain unaccounted for, after processing all polling place votes and rejected ballots. The assumption by election officials is that the majority of these ballots were ignored or thrown out by recipients. But such an information gap increases the risk of fraud. As the report notes, “The public cannot know how many ballots were disregarded, delivered to wrong mailboxes, or even withheld from the proper recipient by someone at the same address.”

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Residents earning as much as $141,550 eligible for taxpayer-funded rent relief in California city

In a California city where the school district asked for community members to rent rooms to teachers who they said couldn’t afford housing, a person making $141,550 is eligible for a rent and relief program paid by taxpayer dollars.

The city of Milpitas is spending $950,000 from the federal American Rescue Plan on its rent and mortgage relief program “to help low- and moderate-income residents who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.” The program was launched in December.

Households can receive up to $5,000 in rent relief and up to $15,000 in mortgage relief in the program. To qualify, participants must have suffered an economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A household of four people could have an income of up to $202,200 and still qualify.

The Milpitas Unified School District made national news when it asked community members to offer up rooms to rent for its teachers who it claimed could not afford to live in the area. The district didn’t respond to emails asking if any community members had rented rooms to teachers.

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Language Police: USC Removes ‘Field’ from ‘Field Work’ Because It May Be ‘Anti-Black or Anti-Immigrant’

USC’s School of Social Work is removing the word “field” from its curriculum and practice, arguing that it “could be considered anti-black or anti-immigrant” to say someone is “going into the field” or conducting “field work.” The university explains, “our goal is not just to change language but to honor and acknowledge inclusion and reject white supremacy, anti-immigrant and anti-blackness ideologies.”

“We have decided to remove the term ‘field’ from our curriculum and practice and replace it with ‘practicum.’ This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that could be considered anti-black or anti-immigrant in favor of inclusive language,” a letter from the Practicum Education Department read.

The letter was shared by Houman David Hemmati, a board-certified MD Ophthalmologist and Ph.D. research scientist, who said the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work “will no longer use the word ‘field’ (as in ‘conducting field work’) because it’s perceived as racist.”

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Researchers: California’s Digital License Plates Could Allow Hackers to Track Location

Security researchers were able to gain “super administrative access” to Reviver, the sole provider of California’s digital license plates, and track the GPS location of all of vehicles they are associated with.

A team of security researchers successfully obtained “full super administrative access,” which allowed them to perform a slew of tasks involving the company’s user accounts and vehicles, according to a blog post by researcher Sam Curry.

After gaining access, a hacker could track the physical GPS location of all license plates of Reviver customers, as well as change the slogan or personalized message at the bottom of the plates to arbitrary text.

The personalized messages on the license plates involves a feature that allows customers to digitally update the bottom section of their plates to display different messages, such as, “Go Team!” or “looking for a trail.”

Additionally, a hacker could update any vehicle status to “STOLEN,” which would alert authorities.

“An actual attacker could remotely update, track, or delete anyone’s REVIVER plate,” Curry wrote in his blog post, revealing that he and his team had found security vulnerabilities across the automotive industry, not just with Reviver.

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Large Trucks and Buses Made Before 2010 Now Banned From California Roadways

Big rigs and buses made before 2010 are now banned from operating on California roadways.

The law, which went into effect on New Year’s Day, was part of a set of clean air regulations the California Air Resources Board passed nearly 15 years ago.

According to truck lobbying groups, the new law will prohibit about 10 percent of the commercial motor vehicles that are operating in the state.

“The rule applies to diesel vehicles that weigh at least 14,000 pounds. The air resources board said there are an estimated 200,000 vehicles that have yet to comply with the rule just days before the new year, including roughly 70,000 big rig trucks, or about 10% of the commercial motor vehicles operating in the state, according to trucking lobbying groups,” KCRA reports.

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California Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Legalize Magic Mushrooms, Other Psychedelics

A Democratic lawmaker in California introduced a bill Dec. 19 to decriminalize the personal use of plant-based psychedelic drugs—such as magic mushrooms, mescaline, and psilocybin—outside of school grounds for people 21 and up.

“Criminalizing drug use and possession accomplish absolutely nothing other than to fill up our prisons with people who are addicted,” said Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) outside of the state Capitol Dec. 19.

“We need to treat drug use as a health issue instead of a criminal one.”

Wiener, the author of Senate Bill (SB) 58, said that psychedelics—a type of hallucinogenic drug—“have huge promise” when it comes to helping those suffering from mental health issues such as opioid addiction, depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

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California will enact series of woke new laws from January 1 including ban on sale of new fur, and laws which effectively decriminalize jaywalking and loitering for prostitution

California is set to implement a series of new woke laws, including banning the sale of fur, decriminalizing jaywalking and prostitution-based loitering. 

Governor Gavin Newson signed about 1,000 bills into law this year, including some woke controversial laws.

Officials warn the laws, which will be enacted in early 2023, will harm state residents, including a prostitution law that will make it more difficult for law enforcement to identify victims of human trafficking. 

Meanwhile, other laws create new holidays and increase the state’s minimum wage.

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School Board President Resigns After Inviting Teens to an ‘Adult Party’ That Featured a ‘Dirty Santa’

The president of a California school district board has resigned after inviting teenage choir students to perform at a “private adult party” that featured a “dirty Santa” at his home.

Steven Llanusa tendered his resignation from the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education on Saturday, the Claremont Courier reported. Llanusa was recently re-elected to another term as president this past November and ultimately served on the board for a total of 17 years.

The resignation came just a day after a special district meeting in which parents expressed outrage over allegations that he invited high school students to the “adult” party at his home.

“[The students] were encouraged to take part in food and festivities. The students didn’t begin their scheduled performance until over an hour later and were offered alcohol by party guests among inappropriately dressed adult entertainers,” Sabrina Ho, one of the teen’s parents, statedat the meeting.

Another parent, Gabriel Lozano, stated that his daughter and other teens who attended the event were interviewed by law enforcement. “They were offered an open bar and to socialize with half-naked men, the dirty Santa who made disgusting comments to our children,” Lozano told CBS Los Angeles.

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CA pledges $5 million for cash payments to pregnant Black women

The state government of California has pledged $5 million to provide a “pregnancy basic income” to pregnant “mothers and other birthing parents.” However, they must be Black. All other races are being snubbed.

This money will fund the expansion of the Abundant Birth Project [ABP], a program of the San Francisco Department of Public Health [SFDPH]. ABP provides twelve months of cash payments to Black and Pacific Islander women who become pregnant in San Francisco County. Recipients must make less than $100k per year. These payments are referred to as “pregnancy basic income.” A group of self-described “anti-racists,” called Expecting Justice, operates the program.

Using state funds, pregnant Black women in Los Angeles, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Riverside Counties will now be eligible for twelve months of cash payments ranging from $600 to $1,000 per month. They can begin applying for this free cash at the beginning of 2023.

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California Reparations Committee Recommends $223K Each for State’s ‘Black’ or ‘African American’ Residents

A California committee formed to determine how much in reparations black people should receive due to slavery and past discrimination has determined that each of the 2.5 million California residents who identify as “Black” or “African American” should be paid $223,000 each for “housing discrimination.”

The total cost of reparations just for housing — there are four other causes for reparations the committee will consider — would be more than $569 billion. That’s $40 billion more than the entire state budget.

The committee has also recognized mass incarceration, unjust property seizures, devaluation of Black businesses, and healthcare as other causes for reparations.

The committee was created in 2020 after the Democratic legislature authorized its formation. It has until June 2023 to submit its recommendations.

“We are looking at reparations on a scale that is the largest since Reconstruction,” Jovan Scott Lewis, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the task force, told the New York Times.

Californians eligible for reparations, the task force decided in March, would be descendants of enslaved African Americans or of a “free Black person living in the United States prior to the end of the 19th century.” Nearly 6.5 percent of California residents, roughly 2.5 million, identify as Black or African American. The panel is now considering how reparations should be distributed — some favor tuition and housing grants while others want direct cash payments.

That’s the stickiest issue of all. Who is eligible and how do you prove it?  How much “black blood” will you need to claim any of the cash? These issues are impossible to adjudicate fairly, but no one on the commission is concerned about “fairness” It’s a punitive form of “justice” and needs to be stopped in its tracks before it gets started.

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