Author: Papa Giorgio

So, You Think You’re Tolerant? (UPDATED)

Published by Papa Giorgio

What does it mean to be tolerant? The dictionary defines tolerance as respect for opinions, beliefs, and practices that differ from your own. But in our polarized cultural climate, it has come to mean something else entirely. Greg Koukl, president of Stand to Reason and author of Tactics, sorts it all out.

Are you tolerant? You probably think so. But who is tolerant in America today? Is it those on the left, or those on the right? In this video, Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report analyzes this question and shares his experience.

BONUS MATERIAL

(HOTAIR) “….’Liberals think they are tolerant but often they aren’t,’ Zakaria said. He then cited a 2016 PEW survey which found 70% of Democrats said Republicans were close-minded as compared to 52% of Republicans who said the same of Democrats. ‘But each side scores about the same in terms of close-mindedness and hostility to hearing contrarian views,’ Zakaria said….” (More at NEWSBUSTERS)

One of the few times I agree with him. But as HOTAIR notes, he bungles his commencement speech a bit.

The above is an example of relativism run-amock with young people in downtown Durham after the Pride Festival at Duke University Sept 28th 2013. Another interview HERE.

(This post is updated, as the video from the “Thrive Apologetics Conference” was deleted. New information was substituted in its place.) Posted below are three presentations. The first presentation (audio) is Dr. Beckwith’s classic presentation where high school and college kids get a 2-week crash course in the Christian worldview.

The following two presentations are by Gregory Koukle. The first is a UCLA presentation, the second is an excellent presentation ay Biola University entitled “The Intolerance of Tolerance.” Enjoy this updated post.

Here is — firstly — a classic presentation by Greg Koukl of STAND TO REASON.

Moral Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Midair from Veritas [3] on Vimeo.

Below this will be another presentation that is one of Koukl’s best yet, and really is a video update to the excellent book, Relativism: Feet Planted Firmly in Mid-Air… a phrase common to Francis Schaeffer, “feet planted firmly in mid-air.”

To wit, HUMANISM:

Since present day Humanism vilifies Judeo-Christianity as backward, its goal to assure progress through education necessitates an effort to keep all mention of theism out of the classroom. Here we have the irony of twentieth century Humanism, a belief system recognized by the Supreme Court as a non-theistic religion, foisting upon society the unconstitutional prospect of establishment of a state-sanctioned non-theistic religion which legislates against the expression of a theistic one by arguing separation of church & state. To dwell here in more detail is beyond the scope of this article, but to close, here are some other considerations:

“We should note this curious mark of our own age: the only absolute allowed is the absolute insistence that there is no absolute” (Schaeffer)

In the earlier spirit of cooperation with the Christian church the ethics or values of the faith were “borrowed” by the humanists. In their secular framework, however, denying the transcendent, they negated the theocentric foundation of those values, (the character of God), while attempting to retain the ethics. So it can be said that the Humanist, then, lives on “borrowed capital”. In describing this situation, Francis Schaeffer observed that: “…the Humanist has both feet firmly planted in mid-air.” His meaning here is that while the Humanist may have noble ideals, there is no rational foundation for them. An anthropocentric view says that mankind is a “cosmic accident”; he comes from nothing, he goes to nothing, but in between he’s a being of supreme dignity. What the Humanist fails to face is that with no ultimate basis, his ideals, virtues and values are mere preferences, not principles. Judging by this standard of “no ultimate standard”, who is to say whose preferences are to be “dignified”, ultimately?

See more quotes HERE

Wuhan Virus Hysteria

Published by Papa Giorgio

I was asked the following question on Facebook by a friend of the family (my oldest son’s friend to be exact,). She asked:

  • Alright Sean, what do you think of this whole virus deal? I’m personally not really worried about it, pretty sure I already had the dang thing, just curious!

The short answer is “I am not worried.” Democrats are twice as likely to freak-out about this than are Republicans. (I assume #NeverTrumpers are in the same “Democrat boat.”) HOWEVER, I will say this is the best argument for what the nation is doing writ large (even if I still disagree with it somewhat) — from my Facebook:

Okay. So the best argument I’ve heard so far came from Ben Shapiro for the course of action that we are taking as a country towards the Coronavirus (the Wuhan Virus). And it’s simple, unlike past flues you could have this for a few days and not realize you have it before the symptoms kick in. During this time you are highly contagious. Brand new studies show that it can be in the air from you breathing for up to 3 hours in a confined space (say, a room or elevator etc); and it can stay on surfaces for up to 3 days. Now, Italy has more beds per thousand people in hospitals and healthcare systems than does America. Since our Baby Boomer population can be more prone for serious complications in reaction to this, we stand a chance at burdening our emergency rooms/hospitals to well past it’s limits (Italy is at 200% plus capacity and are sending people home essentially to die). So all these precautions are not to “stop” Coronavirus, but to “slow” it’s spread to help alleviate the impact on our health care network. And by slowing it we are allowing a chance for a vaccine to hit the shelves in time to mitigate this flu as it gets worse.

I will answer with the following links (many to my own posts) and updates — I will try and keep it brief, but you know me. First, I am a fan of MICHAEL FUMENTO. I read his book, “The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS: How a Tragedy Has Been Distorted by the Media and Partisan Politics.” And ever since he has been the harbinger to media miscalculations and hysteria. AMERICAN THINKER noted Fumento from an earlier article, quoting:

It’s called “drama,” which is badly needed, because there appears to be nothing very special about this outbreak of the 2019-nCoV or Wuhan ­virus. It should actually be called the DvV, or Déjà vu Virus, because we have been through these hysterias before. Over and over. Heterosexual AIDS, Ebola repeatedly, the H1N1 swine flu that was actually vastly milder than the regular flu and, especially, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003.

[snip]

Wuhan is repeatedly labeled “deadly” — but so is every other ­virus most people know about.

Mr. Fumento’s most recent article deals with the virus in an updated fashion: “Coronavirus Going To Hit Its Peak And Start Falling Sooner Than You Think” — In it he notes the following “Law”

(UPDATE… this article was published the 8th of March, and probably uses information from March 4th)

…China is the origin of the virus and still accounts for over 80 percent of cases and deaths. But its cases peaked and began ­declining more than a month ago, according to data presented by the Canadian epidemiologist who spearheaded the World Health Organization’s coronavirus mission to China. Fewer than 200 new cases are reported daily, down from a peak of 4,000.

Subsequent countries will follow this same pattern, in what’s called Farr’s Law. First formulated in 1840 and ignored in ­every epidemic hysteria since, the law states that epidemics tend to rise and fall in a roughly symmetrical pattern or bell-shaped curve. AIDS, SARS, Ebola — they all followed that pattern. So does seasonal flu each year.

Clearly, flu is vastly more contagious than the new coronavirus, as the WHO has noted. Consider that the first known coronavirus cases date back to early December, and since then, the virus has ­afflicted fewer people in total than flu does in a few days. Oh, and why are there no flu quarantines? Because it’s so contagious, it would be impossible.

As for death rates, as I first noted in these pages on Jan. 24, you can’t employ simple math — as everyone is doing — and look at deaths versus cases because those are ­reported cases. With both flu and assuredly with coronavirus, the great majority of those infected have symptoms so mild — if any — that they don’t seek medical attention and don’t get counted in the caseload.

Furthermore, those calculating rates ­ignore the importance of good health care. Given that the vast majority of cases have occurred in a country with poor health care, that’s going to dramatically exaggerate the death rate….

(His articles for the NYP can be found HERE)

BEFORE posting audio of Michael Medved and Dennis Prager discussing the above article with Michael Fumento… I wish to post the latest audio by Dr. Drew Pinsky discussing the issue. (See two previous posted videos from Doc Drew, HERE.) . And he says listen to Dr. Anthony Fauci, whereas Michael Fumento notes in the Medved audio that Fauci has been wrong on every case since the heterosexual AIDS scare. Even with this note, Doc Drew is waay better in his reporting than the Washington Post or CNN:

Celebrity doctor Dr. Drew slams the media for “reprehensible” coverage of the coronavirus spread in the US and tells Americans to “stop listening to journalists” and instead focus only on information provided by the CDC and other health entities.

Okay, here are the two partial audio interviews with Michael Fumento:

  • Michael Medved interviews Michael Fumento (March 12th) regarding his NEW YORK POST article entitled, “Coronavirus going to hit its peak and start falling sooner than you think“. I include this article because Medved adeptly notes Dr. Anthony Fauci’s assessment to get Fumento’s reaction. And these two have been “locking horns” since the “heterosexual AIDS” scare… Fumento being the hands down winner since the 80’s.

I think much of this is hysteria. I think also Trump knowing the media well and how Democrats would weaponize this issue, got a jump on this disease/flu season, and against his cabinet’s advice — withing three weeks after this strain was identified… put into action the most aggressive controls yet. (See my post on this HERE.) All while the media and Democrats called him racist for his actions:

Could you imagine the reaction if Trump had just blown this off? HoooBoy!

BONUS! Media Standards

BONUS! Science Time

Despite the real threat of coronavirus, Ebola, and influenza, Dr C explains why most viruses are good for you, and good for the environment.

Wuhan Virus: Deaths and Polls

Published by Papa Giorgio
  • Attkisson shares that, “Almost all of the reported coronavirus deaths in the U.S. happened in long-term care facilities in Washington State. And almost all of those occurred at the same facility.” (GATEWAY PUNDIT)

ALSO:

RED STATE has an excellent short article of which I clip most from:

…Journalist Sheryl Atkinson has put together information about the ages and underlying health conditions of the victims and the locations of their deaths.

The most noteworthy fact is that 37 of these deaths occurred in the state of Washington and “25 of the Washington deaths occurred at the Life Care Center nursing facility in Kirkland, where a serious outbreak occurred.” The ages of those who died is not available, but generally, healthy people don’t wind up in nursing homes.

The ages of the other victims in Washington state and the conditions of their health are known and are included in the conclusions below.

Of the remaining eleven, there were four in California, two in Florida and one each in New Jersey, South Dakota, Georgia, Kansas and Colorado.

  1. The youngest victim was in his 40s and had underlying health issues.
  2. Four were in their 60s, and all had underlying medical conditions.
  3. Seven were in their 70s. Five either had underlying health issues or were in assisted living facilities. The other two were a couple who had just returned from overseas.
  4. Six were in their 80s and either had medical conditions or were in assisted living facilities.
  5. Three were in their 90s and were in assisted living facilities.
  6. One was listed only as “elderly” and in an assisted living facility.
  7. The only people on this list where an underlying condition is not specified had been traveling overseas where they likely contracted the virus.
  8. Everyone else had health problem to begin with or was in a nursing home or other type of assisted living facility.

Atkinson’s full article can be viewed HERE.

Before posting, New York just announced the state’s first coronavirus death. A woman, 82, with emphysema had been admitted to a Brooklyn hospital on March 3 and officials say she contracted the virus inside the facility.

I’m not sure if this woman had been a smoker, but it is said that the high rate of smoking in China may have increased the number of deaths. According to Fortune Magazine, “the country’s sky-high smoking rate among men” may add to the “severity of symptoms and the number of coronavirus deaths in China.”…

They Are Coming For Our AR-14s and AR-16s (WTF?)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Trump Wins Against Media and Democrats

Published by Papa Giorgio

Larry Elder has great openers, here is one on the Covid-19 hype via the press and Democrats, and Trump “Winning!”

Larry Elder deftly goes thru the differences between the 1918 breakout and the 2020 flu. No comparison at all.

Doc Drew vs Media Hype!

Published by Papa Giorgio

Dr. Drew’s beyond fed up with the media coverage of the coronavirus, because he believes it’s majorly overblown and causing hysteria … while another major threat’s being ignored.

Dr. Drew talks with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith about coronavirus, the media’s response to it, and why we shouldn’t be freaking out about it.

Be A Man They Said (Blue Collar Logic)

Published by Papa Giorgio

If you saw the video titled ‘Be A Lady They said,’ you need to watch this. If you haven’t, you still need to watch this. Here’s the Simple Truth.

Coronavirus Lies Via Democrats/Media (UPDATED w/CONVO)

Published by Papa Giorgio

(Jump to UPDATE — a quick convo on Facebook)

He takes forever to get to the points… but they are good points. President Trump’s critics are using the natural fear of the coronavirus as a political weapon.

CONSERVATIVE TREE-HOUSE was on it! (Feb 2nd):

In response to an escalating spread of the Coronavirus President Trump initiated a suspension of entry visa’s for persons traveling from China:  “The entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the People’s Republic of China, excluding the Special Autonomous Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States is hereby suspended and limited” [link].

The travel restrictions went into effect at 5:00pm today.  Essentially President Trump is putting the health of Americans first. However, in an effort to politicize the Coronavirus, presidential candidate Joe Biden says travel entry restrictions are “hysteria, xenophobia and fearmongering”:

[…] “We have, right now, a crisis with the coronavirus,” Biden said in Iowa Friday. “This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia – hysterical xenophobia – and fearmongering to lead the way instead of science.”  (more)

…And just like that Democrats become the party of pro-virus….

TREE-HOUSE points out with a link to the January 31st proclamation, that on this date (again, January 31st), the February ban was put into motion.

The NEW YORK POST has a good piece showing all the maligning when Trump got a jump on the virus… and now they are saying he waited too long — WHICH IS IT?

…It’s a unique set of characteristics showing that President Trump understood early the need for decisive measures such as travel restrictions on China, which he imposed in January.

Yet for that sensible decision — in defiance of the World Health Organization — he was criticized by Democrats such as Joe Biden as xenophobic, and by China as racist.

“This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia — hysterical xenophobia — and fearmongering,” said Biden the day after the travel restrictions were imposed.

CNN ran a story warning that “the US coronavirus travel ban could backfire” and have the effect of “stigmatizing countries and ethnicities.”

The Chinese Communist Party’s official mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, called the ban “racist.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned it would increase “fear and stigma, with little public health benefit.”

[….]

At the press conference with Trump on Saturday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the highly respected head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, praised the “original decision that was made by the president … [that] prevented travel from China to the United States.

“If we had not done that, we would have had many, many more cases right here that we would have to be dealing with.”

Trump’s travel restrictions began on Jan. 31. Australia and Singapore instituted their own travel limits the next day. Trump’s move bought valuable time to slow the spread of the virus and ease pressure on the nation’s health system before a vaccine is developed — which experts believe is at least 18 months away.

But that hasn’t stopped the barrage of fake criticisms, including that Trump had left the nation dangerously unprepared to cope with a pandemic by cutting funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Not true. The CDC’s programming budget increased from $7.2 billion in 2019 to nearly $7.7 billion this year, the Associated Press fact-checking unit reported. Trump had proposed a cut, but Congress rejected it.

It’s reprehensible for the Democrats to make political hay by blaming Trump for the coronavirus or, as a New York Times op-ed piece called it, “Trumpvirus.”

In an editorial Saturday, the Gray Lady also reiterated its debunked claim that Trump has “muzzled” Fauci.

Yet at Saturday’s 2 p.m. press conference — hours before the Times’ deadline — Fauci emphatically denied the claim.

“I have never been muzzled, ever, and I’ve been doing this since the administration of Ronald Reagan,” Fauci said. “I’m not being muzzled by this administration. That was a real misrepresentation of what happened.”

What shoddy journalism to publish such an incendiary, anonymously sourced claim, without at least including Fauci’s denial.

The anti-Trump narrative rolled on, with increasingly silly attacks. The Washington Post speculated that the coronavirus could be “Trump’s Katrina,” referring to Hurricane Katrina, the response to which had been bungled by President George W. Bush.

When Trump announced a coronavirus task force with the most eminent experts in the nation, CNN blasted him for a “lack of diversity.”….

The media and Democrats push false Trump coronavirus narrative.

AMERICAN THINKER runs some good Tweets by Steve Guest (You can find the entire Twitter thread HERE):

MUZZLED?! CUT FUNDING?!

When the AP fact-checks Democrats… you know its bad. More from an earlier AMERICAN THINKER article:

…To set the stage, here are a few indisputable facts:

On January 31, 2020, as China confirmed that 259 people had died and there were about 100 cases reported outside of China, President Trump ordered that the U.S. would prevent foreign nationals who had recently visited China from entering the country. He also ordered quarantined American travelers who posed a high risk.  

Democrats called Trump a racist.

Democrats were worried that Trump’s germ phobia would make him issue even more and worse racist orders.

President Trump held a press conference during which (1) he was surrounded by government scientists who explained what was going on (2) he appointed Vice President Pence, a competent, experienced administrator, to be the White House point person on coronavirus efforts.

Democrats called Pence a killer.

Democrats also announced that henceforth they would call coronavirus “TrumpVirus” because Trump had appointed Pence to oversee the administrative end of dealing with coronavirus and because Trump said there was no need for panic.

Nancy Pelosi complained that Trump had waited too long to act, even though when she spoke not a single American had died.

Elizabeth Warren said that she would end the “racist” border wall by taking all wall funds and putting them into coronavirus research (never mind that, since time immemorial, sealing borders has been one of the prime ways in which governments have been able to protect their citizens from epidemic disease).

Trump stated during the rally in South Carolina that the Democrats’ unceasing and dishonest attacks against him for his handling of the coronavirus risk were their latest hoax.

The media reported that Trump had declared that coronavirus itself was a hoax, one of the most blatantly dishonest bits of reporting ever to come from the media.

Leftists are actively hoping that coronavirus causes so much economic disruption that it will hurt Trump politically – never mind that it will also hurt ordinary Americans….

Facebook Back-N-Forth

A “Never Trumper” friend responded to the following post by me:

(hat-tip to JONATHAN SARFATI) President Trump’s TV press conference:

  • State of emergency declared in the US. $50 billion in aid available and states urged to set up emergency centers.
  • Laws waived to allow greater availability of hospitals and clear beds for urgent cases—i.e. hospitals can move elderly patients from hospitals to nursing homes more quickly.
  • Partnership with private sector to test for coronavirus more quickly (results within 24–36 hours). But he says only people should only take tests if they actually have cause to think they have it.
  • In discussion with pharmacies to make drive-through tests available. Google is developing a website to help people determine whether testing is warranted and direct people to the nearest testing location.
  • Large retailers are partnering with the administration to fight coronavirus by keeping the supply chain as intact as possible.
  • One said, “We are normally competitors, but today we are all working together to fight this virus.”
  • Student loan interest is waived indefinitely.
  • Secretary of Energy instructed to buy strategic reserve of crude oil as the price is very low.
  • Unified decisive action to combat coronavirus is imperative.
  • Coronavirus is now in 46 out of 50 states. Important to look after senior citizens and those with pre-existing chronic conditions.
  • Nursing homes restricting all visits except for essential staff and end of life situations.

His response was thus:

To which I responded thus:

Since I cannot view behind a pay wall. What is the date of that article JIM G? Important information for me to confirm Fact Check rating it half-true. Out of curiosity… what would have been done different with this “official” was there?? (I THEN LINKED TO THIS POST) Three weeks after it was identified Trump slowed the inflow of it drastically? (<< Against the advice of his Cabinet)

This would have been different?

That is the problem with government… once something is put in place, it never is tore down after it (a) fails, or (b) succeeds in its proposed goal. The Trump Admin is different

JIM G. >>>

…In reality, the pandemic expert — Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer — left the National Security Council (NSC) voluntarily after then-National Security Advisor John Bolton was appointed.

Bolton disbanded the unit that Ziemer was supervising as part of an effort to downsize the bloated NSC staff. The purpose of the unit, which had overseen the global fight against Ebola, had largely been fulfilled.

It is true that Ziemer and his unit have not yet been replaced….

(BREITBART)

It still should not be put in place, and more of the NSC should be disbanded. And?

A Couple Text Responses

This was in response to someone basically saying Trump got in the way of experts, and that he should just keep his mouth shut:

Dr. Fauci was interviewed at 3am the other morning [March 24th] (10 minutes of you time:DR. FAUCI INTERVIEWED BY WMAL) and the MSM hasn’t referenced his statements once. Also… the quote you are probably referring to is this one: when he was asked if he was worried about this becoming a pandemic:

  • “No, not at all. We have it totally under control,” Trump said. “It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” (Jan. 22)

This was essentially three weeks after the first Chinese case was announced, and only 10-days after China shared the genetic information of the virus. (The first American known to have it was January 21st.) So I think you may be wanting something from the President that you wouldn’t expect from another. (In contrast to the below excerpted timeline) Trump ordered all flights from China halted January 31st.

By the time he declared a state of emergency (March 13), we had had 49 deaths by that time. It took the previous administration till there were a thousand Americans dead to declare an emergency. I think this is an “orange man bad” scenario. You should listen to Dr. Fauci’s wise words. 

And in another text stream I responded to the idea that South Korea did more tests with a note from a friend via Facebook:

Trump said the US did more testing in 8 days than South Korea did in 8 weeks. Because this is literally true (we did 360,000 in 8 days to their 350,000 in 8 weeks), Politifact decided that “more testing” meant per capita so they could claim it was false.

 

Bidenism (Part 1)

Published by Papa Giorgio

A quick note before the two montages:

What’s funny is that the Democrats have done or are doing exactly what they claim the Republicans and Trump did. They said that Trump was working with Russians to throw the race… This in fact was done by the Hillary campaign and the DNC with money paid through a law group to people in Russia.

They said that Trump committed quid pro quo and bribery, there’s video of Joe Biden doing this.

NOW, after talking about using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump because he’s unfit mentally to be president, You have them putting up a candidate who shows deep signs of Alzheimer’s…

It’s laughable if it wasn’t so sad.

  • All his life Joe Biden has dreamed about being the Democratic nominee for president. Too bad he’s not here to enjoy it. — Tucker Carlson

Remember, in this first compilation by Hugh Hewitt and his producer — the video and audio do not match — it is just window dressing. You are meant to LISTEN to this and not watch. Hugh and Generalisimos do, “Joelero”

BONUS

…via RPT on Facebook:

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/161315957274447/videos/853307561818226/” width=”690″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”0″]

Prop 47 Destroying Inner Cities (Theft Rings)

Published by Papa Giorgio

CBSN has info before we get to the real newsworthy comments/news sources:

ROCKLIN (CBS/AP) — Perry Lutz says his struggle to survive as a small businessman became a lot harder after California voters reduced theft penalties 1 1/2 years ago.

About a half-dozen times this year, shoplifters have stolen expensive drones or another of the remote-controlled toys he sells in HobbyTown USA, a small shop in Rocklin, northeast of Sacramento. “It’s just pretty much open season,” Lutz said. “They’ll pick the $800 unit and just grab it and run out the door.”

Anything below $950 keeps the crime a misdemeanor — and likely means the thieves face no pursuit and no punishment, say retailers and law enforcement officials. Large retailers including Safeway, Target, Rite Aid and CVS pharmacies say shoplifting increased at least 15 percent, and in some cases, doubled since voters approved Proposition 47 and ended the possibility of charging shoplifting as a felony with the potential for a prison sentence….


The video was found because of TEXAGS, so a shout-out to that site. NATIONAL REVIEW has a good comment on this:

…The underlying premise of Proposition 47 was to free up funds so the state could focus on violent and serious offenders. Savings would be diverted to school-based prevention and support programs, victim services, and mental-health and drug treatment. Therefore petty thieves, who might be drug addicts, would avoid costly and ultimately detrimental incarceration. The referendum had the support of California Democratic party and the American Civil Liberties Union, and the state’s voters passed it into law in 2014.

What could possibly go wrong?

That question is best asked of the people in California who are robbed and call the police for help. Overall, they’re blindsided by the slow (or non-) response. The surprise and anger they feel is tremendous. Nearly a thousand dollars in stolen property is hardly minor, especially to those who have little to lose. It’s not just the loss of personal possessions they’ll probably never see again that is so distressing, but the ruined trust in the system that they assumed was designed to protect the innocent.

For law enforcement, however, there is little incentive to chase down low-level criminals. Even if the person is escorted to the station, odds are great he’ll be back on the street in an hour or so.

Outrage in these circumstances is apolitical. A liberal Berkeley student studying in a café whose laptop is swiped from a table feels just as violated as the right-leaning visitor to Los Angeles whose luggage is stolen. A struggling small-business owner wonders how long he can withstand the damage done by constant pilfering.

“Every bicycle in our building has been stolen,” says Karen Burns, president of a San Francisco condo association. “I’ve caught so many people stealing packages. They don’t care. They know nothing will happen to them. It’s crazy. It’s horrible. I feel like these people need to go to jail.”

Proposition 47 didn’t stop with theft. The personal use of illegal drugs was also reclassified to a misdemeanor. Although the intent may have been kind (it’s cruel to punish people for having an addiction) and practical (they’ll emerge from prison hardened, and a felony on their record makes it more difficult to reintegrate into society), the downstream impact on the community at large has been disastrous. In San Fransisco, for example, shooting up in public is commonplace, whether it’s on the steps of City Hall, in front of a supermarket, or at the entrance to a children’s playground.

Residents who are experiencing an uptick in so-called low-level crimes in their neighborhoods are baffled by studies indicating otherwise. For example, a December 2017 Center on Criminal and Juvenile Justice report shows property crimes down by an average of 18.1 percent across the state. Those numbers are false, says Michael Rushford, president of the Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a nonprofit public-interest law organization: “More, not fewer, of these crimes are being committed, but people aren’t reporting them. In most cases they have to do it online, and they end up not doing it. They don’t believe anything will happen, so don’t see the point. And they’re right.”

In fact, Magnus Lofstrom, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California, pointed to a 12 percent jump in larceny-theft (essentially, unlawfully taking someone’s property) in the state immediately after Proposition 47 took effect. “Crime rates always fluctuate, and the data isn’t always accurate,” says Lofstrom.

CertainlySan Franciscans aren’t debating whether or not crime is up. They know it is. In January, Police Chief William Scott acknowledged a 24 percent jump in property crimes from 2016 to 2017. Auto break-ins have soared in every district, and the arrest rate for them is an astonishing 1.6 percent….

(FLASHBACK to Feb, 2017) John and Ken interview Michael Rushford of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a nonprofit, public interest law organization dedicated to improving the administration of criminal justice. Through the failures of California AB 109, prop 47 and prop 57 we all knew would happen but Jerry “MOONBEAM” Brown did not, quite a few violent crimes and the killing of our first defense has happened. (A previous similar upload). But hey, let’s spend billions on a train… effe the police and women.

RPT’s 2020 Primary Voter Guide (District 38) STICKY POST

Published by Papa Giorgio

FIRST AND FOREMOST, shout-outs to the following resources:

A voter can go here to view and download their sample ballot for their area/district, find your voting location, etc. at FIND MY ELECTION INFORMATION (L.A. County). The The California Republican Party site as well. I wish to thank the 38TH GOP HEADQUARTERS — the SCV GOP’s FACEBOOK page (38th District to be clear) was also helpful (this FB post as well). Shout out to CONSERVATIVE ACTION GROUP as well. But what I used more specifically are the following:

For those wishing to spend the time… you can watch a debate between the candidates for United States Representative, 25th District and some commentary at RED STATE. But this is a short video that shows Mike Garcia may be the better choice for California: 

  • Steve Knight has never supported our President, however he is currently running for Congress for the 25th District. How can that be? (YOUTUBE)

UPDATED resource… our local paper just published their endorsements… for both parties: Our View | Primary Endorsements: Choices for Both Parties:

  • Up first: The 25th Congressional District, in which Republican Mike Garcia is our top choice in both the special election to fill the remainder of former Rep. Katie Hill’s term and the primary election leading to the November general election.

VOTER GUIDE (PDF):

STATE SENATOR, 21st DISTRICT

  • Scott Wilk

MEMBERS OF THE STATE ASSEMBLU, 38th DISCTRICT

  • Suzette Martinez Valladares

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 25th DISTRICT

  • Mike Garcia

…(Unexpired Term Ending January 3, 2021)

  • Mike Garcia

FIRE PROTECTION SPECIAL TAX MEASURE FD

  • No

SUPERVISOR 5th DISTRICT

  • Kathryn Barger

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

  • (Everyone is bad… John and Ken just say DON’T vote for George Gascon)
  • (“L.A. District Attorney……….. best option here is none of the above. we go from bad (Lacey) to worse (Rossi) to insanely terrible (Gascon). Jackie Lacey seems the better of 3 evils.” ~ HAT-TIP to CONSERVATIVE ACTION GROUP)
  • (The SIGNAL also says: Jackie Lacey)

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT

Office 17

  • Shannon Kathleen Cooley [uncontested]

Office 42

  • Robert Villa

Office 72

  • Steve Morgan

Office 76

  • Emily Cole

Office 80

  • Nick C. Rini

Office 97

  • Timothy D. Reuben

Office 129

  • Mark MacCarley

Office 131

  • Michelle Kelley [uncontested]

Office 141

  • Lana Kim [uncontested]

Office 145

  • Troy Slaten (only perfect score I have seen)

Office 150

  • Manuel Alejandro Almada

Office 162

  • David D. Diamond

MEMBER, COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE, 38th ASSEMBLY DISCTRICT

  • J. Atkins
  • Carlo Basail
  • Sharlane R. Duzick
  • Matthew John Funicello
  • David Goss
  • Barbara Walker
  • Jonathan Waymire

COUNTY MEASURE R

  • No

STATE MEASURE 13

  • No

PRESEDENTIAL PREFERENCE

  • TRUMP