Newsom’s Calculated Embrace of Mamdani’s Socialism ; Newsom is California's self-inflicted wound

"California’s governor is recasting himself as a champion of wealth redistribution, betting that the road to the Democratic presidential nomination runs through the party’s activist left."

The American Spectator  

 "As Gavin Newsom’s governorship enters its final chapter, his eyes are no longer fixed on Sacramento. They are fixed on Washington. More specifically, on the White House. Like Sauron’s obsession with the One Ring, Newsom’s political focus has narrowed to one overriding object of desire: the presidency. That is the only way to understand Newsom’s latest economic manifesto, released Friday under the banner of a national billionaires’ tax. Newsom does not want to be seen standing with California billionaires against the left. This was not merely a policy paper. It was positioning. Newsom is pushing for a federal minimum tax targeting billionaires and anyone with a net worth exceeding $100 million. He wants to eliminate what the tax code currently permits: the ultra-wealthy borrowing against their stock portfolios, living off those loans tax-free, and then passing the underlying assets to their heirs with the embedded gains never taxed. He wants to overhaul inheritance law before what economists project will be the single largest generational transfer of wealth in American history — an estimated $124 trillion passing between generations over the next two decades. And he wants Washington to establish a national public equity fund, effectively giving every American a financial stake in the profits generated by artificial intelligence. In plain English, he wants Washington to tax, redistribute, and socialize more of the American economy. Under Newsom’s proposal, Washington would not merely regulate successful industries. It would claim an ownership interest in them. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs would build the companies, investors would risk the capital, and the federal government would arrive later demanding a share of the upside in the name of economic fairness. Bernie Sanders should be thrilled. Elizabeth Warren should be smiling. And Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s newly elected mayor and national face of democratic socialism, should recognize a politician sprinting to ..."

The rest is behind a paywall, but this is sufficient warning...

UPDATE: So much for 'affordability': LA voters raise their own taxes, again 

 "It was the year of “affordability.” Or so we thought.

"Earlier this month, LA County voters chose to pass Measure ER, a 0.5% sales tax increase that ostensibly will last for five years and will apply to almost everything you buy.

"So… congratulations, you’ll now pay more?

"The Board of Supervisors put Measure ER on the ballot and said the money was needed to fund local health care services." . . .

George Soros funneled staggering $103M into midterms so far

 NY Post  

"His native Hungary passed “Stop Soros” laws in 2018, forcing the magnate to move his Open Society Foundation’s European operations elsewhere."

"Billionaire Democratic kingmaker George Soros and his son Alex spent a staggering $102.8 million in the midterm election cycle — making the family chief architects of the party’s seismic shift toward the radical left.

"With the November elections still more than four months away, George Soros could shatter his own spending record of $128 million set during the last midterms four years ago, when he was the biggest single donor.

"Money talks, and Soros money says the most insidious, unconstitutional, costly tax hikes in American history are on the table,” said Douglas Kellogg, state projects director for Americans for Tax Reform.

"Soros is a “wannabe Bond villain,” responsible for the radical takeover of the Democratic Party, he added.

"Only a fraction of this cycle’s contributions — $793,800 — were made in the 95-year-old mega donor’s name, a review of publicly available Federal Election Commission data reveals.

"Almost all of the money — $102 million — was funneled through the Democracy Political Action Committee, the super PAC Soros launched in 2020, which acts as the family’s main political arm, obfuscating efforts to know which radical candidates the clan is propping up.

"Of that, a little over half, $52 million, came from George Soros through the private corporation Geosor under his name and the other half, $50 million, from Fund for Policy Reform, a nonprofit which lists Alex Soros as director in tax filings.

"And that’s without counting the family’s main organization, the Open Society Foundation — which funds efforts to decriminalize drugs, open the border and abolish the police — and its lobbying wing the Open Society Action Fund, which is even more obscure as it doesn’t have to disclose political spending because it’s registered as a nonprofit claiming to do mere advocacy work.

"In previous election cycles, the Open Society Action Fund’s cash flowed to groups backing lefty stars like “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and embattled pal Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), but its tax filings for 2025 aren’t yet available." . . .   More...

Socialism is only a symptom. Republicans can’t risk ignoring the real problem

Fox News  

And any political movement that ignores that reality does so at its own peril.

"The left isn’t embracing socialism. It’s rejecting the status quo.

"The political world woke up after Tuesday’s election asking the same question: Is the Democratic Party lurching toward socialism?

"Maybe.

But that’s not the question that matters.

"The question that matters is this: Why are more voters willing to give socialism a look in the first place?

"Because if Republicans answer that question incorrectly, they risk making precisely the same mistake Democrats made in 2016." . .  .

Mamdani is a Communist and a Jihadist. He Should Not Even Be Allowed in the US.    

. . . "Democratic Socialist’ is akin to ‘National Socialist’ or ‘Democratic Republic of….’ in former Soviet client States. It is a figleaf polite term for grotesquely extremist politics.? . . .

What I find threatening are the voices cheering for Bernie/AOC/Mamdani are the youthful, female choruses that we heard applauding Hamas rapists and child murderers. Included are those who adore killers of family men, leaders of Christian and Jewish support groups, and your ubiquitous useful idiots, being paid to carry pre-printed signs for causes they cannot explain. TD    One such person doing what she does...

When the American Dream Dies, Socialism Rises - Brian C. Joondeph

. . . "If policymakers wish to counter socialism’s growing appeal, lectures about its historical failures will not be enough.

"The more persuasive response would be restoring the conditions that once made the American economic model so compelling: affordable housing, accessible education, rising real wages, and genuine upward mobility.

"When opportunity expands, faith in markets follows.

"But when opportunity fades, socialism begins to sound less like a warning — and more like a solution."  

L.A.’s 4 Seasons: Fires, Riots, Meth and Election Theft

Ann Coulter  

"The U.S. Constitution prescribes a single “day” for elections, but instead of Election Day, California has Election Season, giving activists a month to collect ballots, fill them out and submit them."

"The preposterous spectacle of the recent mayoral runoff election in Los Angeles may be a blessing in disguise—and not just for Republican candidate Spencer Pratt, who can now move his family to Miami. As the entire country saw, Pratt walloped the Indian progressive lady the night of the election, then watched as his lead vanished during a week of ballot “counting.”

"The switcheroo was surprising not only because the progressive lady, City Council member Nithya Raman, supports encampments of homeless drug addicts next to grammar schools (unless her kids are forced to gaze upon them) but also because the late-arriving ballots gave Pratt three new votes while delivering about 100,000 new votes for her.

"Allegedly, Pratt finished “third.” Voters will now have to choose between a communist in Mayor Karen Bass, and an admitted socialist in “second place finisher” Raman (a smug imbecile who makes New York mayor Zohran Mamdani look like Winston Churchill).

"Liberals have gone from saying You can’t prove we cheated to writing ponderous think pieces in The New York Times boasting about the genius of progressive leadership in our cities. Apparently, releasing criminals and decriminalizing crime has been wildly successful on all counts — homicide rates (“declining”), homelessness (“down”) and drug overdoses (“fallen pretty remarkably”). That’s why, the ponderous think piece by David Wallace-Wells continues, cities are not “shifting right, as many expected, but left.”

"Yes, it was simply the power of liberal ideas that won the day.

"Liberals accuse right-wingers of lacking every basic human characteristic, but do they really think we lack a prefrontal cortex?

"Of course the Los Angeles election was stolen, openly, audaciously, without an ounce of shame. Raman could not be identified by 10 out of 10 Los Angelinos. Couldn’t liberals stop insulting our intelligence and stick to Hahaha, we stole the election and there’s nothing you can do about it?" . . . More...

Memo to the Atlantic League, York Revolution Baseball Team Owners

 The American Spectator  

In short? This isn’t rocket science. Baseball-loving Americans go to baseball games to — shocker! — watch a baseball game. Not to get hassled about their politics, whatever those politics may be.

Broc Smith

"Play ball!

"Once upon a time, that call-out from a baseball umpire was the signal for a baseball game to begin. And for that matter, whether that game was being played by major league teams, minor league teams, college baseball games, or Little League teams.

"But now?

"Here’s a headline from Fox News Sports: “Pro baseball team forfeits Pride Night game after players refuse to wear themed jerseys, organization says,” with the subtitle, “The Atlantic League team called the players’ decision ‘completely inconsistent with our vision’ in a scathing statement.”

"The Fox story reports:

"A professional baseball team in Pennsylvania will be forfeiting a game on Thursday that was scheduled to be the team’s Pride Night after players refused to wear LGBTQ-themed jerseys, the team announced.

"The York Revolution of the Atlantic League, the same league where Trevor Bauer currently plays, said the decision “was not reached lightly” in announcing the forfeit to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on Wednesday.

"Then came this kicker in the story. It said: “The team was not afraid to throw its players under the bus in a rather scathing statement, saying it was ‘deeply troubled and profoundly disappointed by the decisions of these few players.’”

"And the “rather scathing statement” from the ball club? It reads in part:" . . .

"But the essence here, which one would have to be blind to miss, is that the team owners of the York Revolution, not to mention those who run the Atlantic League, have decided they are not really about baseball at all but view themselves instead as social activists supporting the latest far-left cause that catches their political fancy."

Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas

Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas

 "This is a book about morons. The morons that we'll meet don't have tobacco juice dripping from their chins, sunburned necks, or any other stereotypical manifestations of dimness. As the title suggests, Intellectual Morons focuses on cognitive elites who embarrass themselves by championing idiotic theories, beliefs, and opinions. It is a quite pedestrian occurrence for stupid people to fall for stupid ideas. More interesting, and of greater harm to society, is the phenomenon of smart people falling for stupid ideas. Ph.D.'s, high IQs, and intellectual honors are not antidotes to thickheadedness." . . .

The new policy that divides California taxpayers   "California voters will face a critical financial decision this November as a controversial new wealth tax officially secures its place on the ballot. The measure, known as the California Billionaire Tax Act, introduces a stark policy dividing Californian taxpayers, forcing a high-stakes debate between progressive wealth redistribution and economic preservation. Sponsored by the coalition Billionaire Tax Now, the initiative aims to leverage the state's ultra-wealthy to shore up public services. However, it has exposed a massive rift within the state's political and financial leadership, pitting public sector unions against top tech entrepreneurs and even the state's own Democratic governor.

California to vote on billionaire wealth tax in November

"The initiative, spearheaded by the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), proposes a one-time 5% tax on individuals residing in California as of January 1, 2026, with a net worth exceeding $1 billion." 

California's failed governor, Gavin Newsom, calls for a 'national' billionaire's tax - American Thinker   ". 

Steven Fiorillo: 

. . . "Let me be clear about what I am defending and what I am not. I am not a billionaire, nor am I carrying water for the billionaire class. I am defending entrepreneurship. I am defending the simple radical idea that any American with a good idea and a relentless work ethic can build something enormous out of nothing. That drive is the engine of our economy and a tax on net worth is a direct penalty for building that engine." ...

The murdered Charlie Kirk speaks about socialism.

DAC, the New AOC, Signals Something Communist This Way Comes |

"A New York congressional primary is emblematic of a broader ideological realignment within the party."

 Daniel Flynn: The American Spectator

"Surely cloaking Jews in the garb of their monstrous exterminators lays bare their anti-Semitism"

Indivisible

. . . "Not just DAC in NY-13, but in NJ-12 Adam Hamawy — a former friend of Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman who testified for the defense during his trial for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center — represents a party that knows no leftward boundary. Its propensity for the application of hyperbolic rhetoric to Donald Trump and just about any issue, from the minimum wage to immigration, necessarily means a Manichean interpretation on events in the Middle East. Criticizing some of Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions as, say, disproportionate and unwise, will not do. They must compare Israel to Nazi Germany and call its military actions “genocide.” They always go for Bacardi 151 or Everclear grain alcohol when the situation calls for a glass of wine or even some near beer.

"Surely cloaking Jews in the garb of their monstrous exterminators lays bare their anti-Semitism. It also reveals the users of such language as extremists who always reach for the harshest label to describe the people with whom they disagree.

"In the 2026 Democratic Party, it is always Year Zero and never Thermidor.   More...

Daniel Flynn: Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas:

Exclusive | Darializa Avila Chevalier's father is a landlord in Miami . . ." and rents his Miami condo for $1,750/month

Socialism is winning our elections because it already won our classrooms; "If we surrender the classroom, the future of our country is at risk."

 Washington Examiner   

"The elections we are watching this summer are not the beginning of anything. They are the harvest of what was planted in our classrooms years ago. If we want a different harvest, we have to be willing to plant something different and to defend it when standing finally costs us something."

"Watch the reaction to the primaries in New York last week and you will hear a word that would have ended a campaign a generation ago: socialism. Candidates now say it with pride. Commentators warn, accurately, that the platform beneath it, abolishing borders, defunding the police, seizing private property, is something far more radical than the politics most of the public grew up with.

"Here is the question almost no one is asking: where did these ideas come from? They did not appear overnight on a ballot. They were taught. For two decades, they were cultivated, rewarded, and treated as obvious in American classrooms, first in our universities and then downstream into nearly everything else. The ballot box is the last stop, not the first. By the time an idea reaches an election, it has already won the lecture hall.

"While that long campaign played out, much of the church and a great deal of faith-based education fell asleep. We told ourselves the classroom was neutral ground. We treated education as a transaction for a credential and forgot that education has always been about formation. It is about the kind of person a student becomes. Where conviction went quiet, ideology moved in. It did not ask permission." . . .More...

Forget Obama and Biden - What Dems Want Now Is Much Worse   "What a mess Democrats have got themselves into!

"A galaxy of events, lousy leadership, election losses, dumb decisions, clumsy conclusions, and changing demographics have combined to put the ancient party of Andrew Jackson in a deep, deep hole. 

"The good news for Republicans is the Dems are still digging.

"The bad news is the extremists in that party are on the ascendancy for the moment. Three socialist candidates in New York City, in effect, were elected to Congress as Democrats last week after being endorsed by New York City’s socialist Muslim mayor." . . .More behind a paywall.

Ghost of Alexis de Tocqueville Returns -- What America Can Learn From Him

 Selena Zito – HotAir

     "What we do know is that it has opened their world to our world, teaching both Europeans and ourselves what makes America truly exceptional: our people."

"LUZERNE COUNTY, Pennsylvania -- Over the Flag Day weekend in Pennsylvania, crowds gathered, and communities were formed in the most unlikely of places, under viaducts, along gravel-filled tracks and at the base of some impressive Appalachian mountains, all just to watch as Union Pacific's Big Boy No. 4014 rolled through northeastern Pennsylvania.

        "The sheer presence of the locomotive drew crowds. Celebrations were formed among strangers for a couple of reasons: The locomotive is a reminder of what American workers, engineers and laborers are capable of building. And continuing to honor that is part of the American ethos of exceptionalism.

        "Also, Americans just love to be part of something bigger than themselves. Yes, we will fiercely defend our individualism. But we are also uniquely aspirational about what we can do together for the greater good. This is pretty much something that we do daily when no one is looking, but social media has placed our intuitive community gathering in the spotlight.

        "The moment was just part of a phenomenon that European soccer fans have been delightfully experiencing as they travel across our country to support their country's team in pursuit of the World Cup.

        "Social media has been filled with fans such as "Freddy from Germany," who unabashedly enjoys his discoveries of everyday American experiences, such as Waffle House, Walmart and Buc-ee's. He found out quite quickly that we love to form associations around everything, including people enjoying our country's simple delights.

       "Freddy's colorful and joyful accounts are a dramatic reversal of the conventional wisdom that Europeans do not view America as an ally. A recent poll conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations shows only 11% of Europeans across 15 countries view the United States as a reliable partner.

        "The same has happened with Scottish football fan Shaun Hamilton. His X account has been actively posting about American hospitality, kindness and the embraces that he and countrymen have received. His posts showing the fans of the Scottish national football team taking over Boston, with thousands of kilt-clad Scots partying in Boston Harbor, attracted attention. So did his posts of the breathtaking scenes at Gillette Stadium or the George Washington statue at Fenway Park getting the classic Scottish treatment by getting crowned with a traffic cone." . . . More...

        Salena Zito is a staff reporter and columnist for the Washington Examiner. She reaches the Everyman and Everywoman through shoe-leather journalism, traveling from Main Street to the beltway and all places in between. 

How Mayor Bass Can Save LA, and Why History Says She Won’t

"Every big city in America where the population is declining, businesses are closing, public safety is failing, and national relevance is diminishing suffers from the same handful of leadership failures."

John Perry - American Thinker   

"Zohran Mamdani, Brandon Johnson, Karen Bass, and others follow the Curley Effect playbook. Their base is defined by race and class identity politics. They play to these constituents’ demands for less policing, more welfare, environmental extremism, supporting the unions, and soaking the rich."

"Every big city in America where the population is declining, businesses are closing, public safety is failing, and national relevance is diminishing suffers from the same handful of leadership failures. Cities don’t become helpless has-beens due to budget shortfalls, racial tension, natural disasters, or any of the other common excuses cities like Los Angeles use to explain or justify their decline. Along with New York, Chicago, Seattle, and other cities currently spiraling down the drain, LA is going from bad to worse because of four mistakes its leaders have perpetuated.

"These failures are both predictable and preventable. But history tells us that as mayor, Karen Bass will have a hard time implementing the simple changes required.   

"Here is why cities wither and die:   

1. Failure to keep citizens safe -- If people don’t feel safe on their own streets, nothing else matters. Productive, law-abiding, taxpaying residents deserve protection from criminals, vagrants, and other undesirables. It’s the responsibility of the police and the judicial system to establish and preserve a safe environment." . . .

2. Failure to provide effective schools – Families with children are the backbone of any thriving community. Responsible parents -- the ones who have steady jobs, volunteer in the community, support local businesses, pay taxes, and obey the law -- will stop at nothing to send their children to the best schools they can"  . . .

3. Failure to keep the cost of living manageable – Los Angeles, like Chicago, Seattle, New York, and other failing cities, is living hopelessly beyond its means. In order to fund vast social programs that attract homeless addicts from around the country,

4. Failure to keep corruption in check - Unchecked corruption robs cities of their resources, energy, and legitimacy. One of the reasons Chicago struggles is there has been no change in leadership to clean house: Democrats have controlled the city since 1930. Like Chicago, Los Angeles desperately needs a new team to sweep those nasty streets from top to bottom.   

. . . "The results are there for all to see: Great for being re-elected. Terrible for the citizens and cities these leaders are supposed to lead."

John Perry is a ghostwriter and collaborator, as well as the author of more than a dozen books including Sgt. York: His Life, Legend, and Legacy (Fidelis, 2021). His latest book is The Detroiting of America: What Happened to the Motor City, Why Other Cities Followed, How Detroit is Coming Back

More...

What it takes to end a reign of terror; more than some Democrat "squish"

 Mark C. Ross - American Thinker   

"Fortunately, more than two years remain before the possibility of a Democrat squish replacing Trump enters the calculation.  Also, both Vance and Rubio are already at least waist-deep in the process of defanging the mullahs."  

"Regardless of how it gets done, putting the crazy-vicious Iranian mullahs back into their box will trigger a sigh of relief all across the planet.  This sigh will be loudest among the millions of innocent Iranian captives of this despotic regime.  Meanwhile, criticism of U.S. efforts to complete this process is both loud and mostly erroneous.  Why?  Because Trump is leading the effort.

"This misinformation campaign is obviously fracturing American support.  For example, I recently received this email:

"Hello Mark. Can any sane person believe that the US MOU with criminal Iran can have any basis for approval? IRGC remains intact, they keep their missile capabilities, they demand we side with them against Israel’s destruction of Hezbollah, we tell them their country will be rebuilt. What happened to our leadership?

"Of particular significance is that my correspondent was, for a tour of duty many years ago, head of the Pentagon’s Middle East desk.  Also, more recent events have further bolstered confidence in the beneficial conclusion of the current conflict.

"A plethora of opinions on this subject is still flooding all forms of media.  Getting the “president” of Iran to agree to unfettered U.N. oversight of their nuclear activities is a serious declaration.  However, the mullahs object.  Gee, I’m shocked!

"Bottom line: Iran is already defeated...it’s just that it doesn’t matter all that much to the ruling theocracy.  Also, unlike the Iranian regime, the U.S. and Israel are modern nations, largely influenced by pragmatism rather than a religious dogma that has long been at war with most of the rest of the world." . . .More...

There’s Nothing Poetic About New York’s Poetica Coffee Shops

 Canada Free Press

"Someone needs to inform the bigoted mayor that he may think that his statement avoided the question, but it didn’t. His avoidance of criticism of the treatment Goldman received spoke volumes about his views on antisemitism."

"New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made his hatred of everything Israel well known. That tone has filtered down through the citizens and has emboldened antisemites to display their own bigotry and hatred.

"Because of their tendency to unify over issues even when they know they are blatantly wrong, I have no love for any Democrat. That said, what Poetica coffee did to Rep. Dan Goldman is outrageous, and what they said when they doubled down on their hatred is even worse.

"Goldman, who is Jewish, stopped at one of the Poetica coffee shops and asked a barista if his seven-year-old daughter could use the bathroom. The barista obliged him, and out of respect, Goldman purchased a coffee.

"Then, in an Instagram post that has since been deleted, which included a surveillance image of the lawmaker standing by the register, the firm informed Goldman that he was not welcome at any of their shops ever again.

“Hey @repdangoldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide guide? See, here at Poetica, we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between. Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund; we don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyway). Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don’t ever come back to Poetica.” . . . More...