One has always suspected that this project, if completed, would only be affordable to the wealthy.
So why are taxpayers funding it?
We need real rail service, affordable rail service. There is a lot to be said about being on a slow moving train, such as scenery.
When I was on the Shinkansen, scenery whizzed by me….
“The project is not proceeding according to a robust plan, which results in waste and other inefficiencies,” said Bent Flyvbjerg, a business expert in mega projects at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and IT University of Copenhagen. “Given the political divisions, the cost growth, the schedule delays and the lack of a sound future revenue source, this project is going to the graveyard of famous boondoggles.”
Writing in The Sacramento Bee, Sophia Bollag wrtes that Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College maintains:
“I think we all anticipate that he plans to run for president,” Michelson said. “He’s got that whole second term as governor to build up those credentials, and it’s going to be those things that are recent that are top of voters’ minds… Unless a more progressive candidate is going to challenge him and make hay of this, it’s going to go through the 24-hour news cycle, and we’re all going to forget about it.”
Since taking office, Newsom has done noting about single payer. That has everything to do with the fact that his social class does not have to worry about school closings (they can afford private tutors), health care (they have plenty of money for insurance and treatments) or abortions — rich people have always been able to have them.
Their concern is to maintain their class privilege. To do this, they will avow socially liberal policies while dragging their heel and making lame excuses.
Newsom’s latest decision to put the health of California’s incarcerated population at risk by appealing the prison guard vaccine mandate is yet another example of his tendency to put the agendas of powerful unions ahead of some of the most vulnerable members of society who don’t have paid lobbyists (i.e., kids and incarcerated people).
California farm workers are heading to a winery owned by the company Gov. Gavin Newsom founded as they continue to protest his veto of a bill that would have made it easier to vote in union elections.
The planned stop at PlumpJack Winery vineyard on Saturday follows a United Farm Workers march on Thursday to the pricey French Laundry restaurant in Napa County, where Newsom celebrated a lobbyist’s birthday in November as he was asking other Californians to avoid indoor gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns for The United Farm Workers, said about two dozen marchers participated in the French Laundry demonstration. The union expects more people to join its planned march from the French Laundry to the PlumpJack vineyard.
Strater said organizers felt “a lot of anger and a huge sense of betrayal” after learning the governor vetoed the bill. During a contentious recall election that threatened to oust Newsom from office, the labor union backed the first-term governor.
Newsom, hypocritically, unmasked at the elite French Laundry.
👺 The masterful and superbly executed Patch Guide to the recall is here.
👺 Conservative Kevin Kiley, a strong supporter of those disastrous charter schools, is running for governor, should Newsom be recalled. Here is an interview with him. here are his talking points (short on specifics!).
Disturbing!
To that end, Kiley is sponsoring a 2022 ballot initiative to create a school voucher system, allowing public school students to spend their allotment of state education funding on the school of their choice.
👺 MSN covers the recall with emphasis on Larry Elder, the right wing, Black talk show host and lawyer. Here is a poll from UC Berkeley that the commentary links to.
👺 Former San Francisco Supervisor Tony Hall, known for his conservative policies, has endorsed the recall.
👺 Here is an informative article from the Desert Sun about Newsom’s war chest to fight the recall and who contributed.
“They include California’s largest teachers union and its most vocal charter school advocates; nurses and the hospitals they sometimes clash with; real estate agents, developers, building trades unions and corporate landlords who have differing views on the housing crisis; defense contractors at Lockheed Martin; abortion-rights advocates; new car dealers; and the financier-turned-liberal-megadonor George Soros. All have found common cause in keeping Newsom in his job.”
“A new CalMatters analysis of the donors to the main anti-recall committee found that organized labor threw Newsom the largest financial lifeline — roughly 45% of the total, including $1.8 million from the teachers union and $1.75 million from the prison guards this week.”
👺 SFGATE relates thatJohn Cox had a wild ride at the first debate. Watch the debate here.
Cox opened his evening by raising some eyebrows with remarks on COVID-19 vaccines when asked about what he would do to increase vaccinations in the state.
“There’s a lot of people that have had COVID and have antibodies,” Cox said. “They don’t need the vaccine. They shouldn’t get the vaccine.”
At the debate he was served a subpoena for failing to pay $100,999 to an advertising agency. How can anyone possibly support this individual?
👺 Business Insiderrelates that Kevin Paffrath could become California’s youngest governor to date. Twenty nine years old and filled with his own entitlement, he has challenged Newsom to a debate and volunteered to donate a millon dollars to “charity” if Newsom agrees.
“The YouTuber is a real estate investor out of Ventura, California. His channel has nearly 1.7 million followers and focuses on daily commentary on stocks, housing, and stimulus. The channel has turned Paffrath into a multi-millionaire. In the past year alone, he has earned nearly $10 million on YouTube, according to CNBC.”
The question “Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?”
A list of candidates who could potentially replace the governor if a recall is successful.
“Voters will choose “Yes” or “No” on Question 1. A “Yes” vote means you want Newsom to be recalled. A “No” vote means you would like Newsom to remain governor. If more than 50% choose to recall Newsom, the candidate who wins the most votes will replace him.”
👺 Angelyne has the nihilist vote down pat! Read about her remarkable “journey” here. But this fake won’t be telling you about herself in the article. Because…..
An Ashkenazic Jew (so a woman of color), an entrepreneur and someone who is a totem representing the vulgar taste of the Los Angelenos, there is much for the nihilist version, or someone who chooses to embrace a dystopian government, to like here.
👺 Social Equality Party candidate David Mooreis highlighted in the Merced Sun.
From the interview:
“Everyone deserves safe, clean housing as a basic social right. Instead of criminalizing homelessness and wasting money forcibly moving them around and incarcerating them, we need a housing first approach to restore stability and privacy to their lives. There are roughly five vacant homes in the state for every homeless person, the wealth is there to guarantee everyone decent housing and social services but all those resources are currently being directed to the private profits of giant corporations and the state’s billionaires.
What should California do to build up its middle class?
In order to elevate the state’s working class, we must overhaul the education system. K-12 education varies wildly throughout the state and is preposterously tied to local property taxes. Universal access to a high quality public education is essential to democracy and a basic social right. Fully funding public schools so that class sizes statewide are 18 students or less and all schools have support staff like nurses, librarians, counselors, art and music programs will pave the way for economic prosperity. At the university level we must commit to free higher education at the community college, CSU and UC levels.
Would you propose any new policies to address climate change?
Climate change is fundamentally driven by capitalism and can only be solved as part of an internationally planned economy that puts the well being of humanity above private profit. In order for California to play its part in addressing climate change we must first end the cartel utility system dominated by PG&E and Southern California Edison and integrate the state’s power electrical system into a single public utility that can rationally apportion resources across the state. Second the state must invest heavily in public transit and basic infrastructure projects by, for example, driving out corruption and finishing the delayed and over budget high speed rail project which provide the foundation for large-scale emissions reductions.”
👺 Gavin Newsom’s campaign failed to get him listed as a Democrat on the recall campaign, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“The Secretary of State’s Office has a ministerial duty to accept timely filed documents. Acceptance of filings beyond a deadline requires judicial resolution.”
👺 The Washington Postopines that Gavin Newsom is far from safe from recall.
The anti-Newsom movement includes many small-business owners hurt badly during state-ordered shutdowns. An estimated 3 in 10 restaurants operating before the pandemic have closed permanently, and many who suffered economically are expected to cast ballots. Many of the less motivated people are TBD. “No one is paying attention,” says progressive political consultant Jennifer Rindahl, who expects voters will check in after the mail-in ballot from the Board of Elections arrives in their mailbox. It’s summer after all.”
👺 The Fresno Bee evaluates how Newsom has performed in terms of campaign promises versus reality.
“Despite Newsom’s actions, homelessness is still rampant. Tracking of homelessness has stalled during the pandemic, but the most recent numbers from January 2020 found California’s homeless population grew by about 10,000 people, bringing the total population to more than 161,000.
Newspaper has a bogus list of reasons to recall Gavin Newsom:
“For more information on this were the cars” the La Mesa Courier (otherwise known as Lame sacourier” Laura Crivello writes = Do you not read what you write before you publish?
Gavin Newsom runs PG&E. Who knew? This is a Republican-backed campaign. They distort that fact!
“High speed” rail is a fraud because only wealthy people will be able to afford it, but most of the other reasons are bogus if not purposefully misrepresented!
Conservative San Francisco former Supervisor Tony Hall wrote a scathing indictment of Newsom, which called for a yes vote while not mentioning the lack of competent replacements running.
This writer offers the most amazingly pinhead views. Prisoners were released from overcrowded prisons because imprisonment should not be a death sentence!
Forbes writes: “The economic devastation caused in part by his lockdowns has scarred the state. Between 2019 and 2020, California saw a 6.8% increase in homelessness, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. At the time of the study, more than half of the homeless population of the United States lived in California.”
“Newsom’s policies put people on the street without alleviating the impact of the pandemic. And judging by his own behavior, his precautions were purely performative.”
Between 2019 and 2020, there was no pandemic, and Newsom can not be responsible for this: corporate capitalism is!
The other two points will likely draw strong pushback from community activists and certain city leaders. One calls for requiring homeless individuals to receive addiction or mental health treatment before housing is provided, and the other calls for increased law enforcement crackdowns.
Then there is the implied comparison with the the pile of garbage:
Cox will not be joined by the bear again, but rather an “an 8-foot ball of garbage.”
