Kate tries for relevancy

 If Gov. Kate Brown doesn’t have a real emergency to deal with, she can always invent one.  Kate and her Democratic legislature have been using the “emergency” clause in order to enact a number or horrible the last 4 years.  

Claiming a “housing emergency”, the legislature overturned the state’s ban on rent control even though price controls are famous for creating shortages of things that are being controlled, destroyed the American Dream of owning a single family home in a single family residential neighborhood in Oregon, and instead of just supporting families in need of housing with vouchers, have undertaken support of very expensive subsidized housing ventures, and made legal tiny homes against the advice of Oregon fire and building code officials who warned that tiny homes are unsafe for full-time habitation.   

In the name of a “climate emergency” the legislature just passed a bill that will ban all fossil fuels - even though they are necessary, cheap and clean - so that thousands of Oregonians will suffer higher costs for transportation and home energy costs. 

Today the weather forecasters are predicting some amount of snow for parts of Oregon.  I expect to get just a dusting where I live, but I guarantee that where I grew up in the West Hills the snow will be more abundant. Mountain passes will be tricky and drivers should be cautious  and check the DMV website before heading out on trips.  Sounds like a normal winter cold snap - the kind kids dream of and adults who need to drive somewhere hate.  

So why is Kate declaring THIS storm an emergency?  What is so special about this storm that makes it any more dangerous that any other wind, snow or ice storm?  Oregonians lose power a few times every year.  People who live on low ground near rivers and streams suffer flooding problems and watch the river levels closely.  People who live on hillsides (or the bottom of a hillside) should know about landslides when it’s raining and the ground is saturated.  

I understand flood warnings, but a full-blown emergency for a middling snow storm?  Really, Kate?  The Portland area has lived through some whoppers — from 10 - 22” in one day. I remember being in Eugene in 1969 when 3’ of snow fell one night and the entire city came to a halt.  Have Oregonians become more stupid, softer, more dependent, less resilient over the years?  Does Kate think her job makes her the Nanny in Chief, rather than just a Governor who understands we are adults with functioning brains and can think and take care of ourselves? Get a life Kate!  My own dear mother grew up on the plains of Eastern Montana and took weather events in stride  - from summer sweltering heat to frozen winter blizzards.

Top reasons Kate likes emergencies:

1.  By declaring an emergency, the Gov can write all kinds of Emergency Orders that look like laws.  (Power. Control.  Cannot give it up!)

2.  By declaring an emergency, the legislature can enact a law immediately and not have to worry about citizen overrides. (Power. Control.  Cannot give it up!)

3.  By declaring an emergency, politicians can do some serious virtue signaling, even if their policies and solutions make the problems worse.  (It’s not just a snow storm, it’s a climate/weather event and as an emergency, it gives legitimacy to her climate emergency declaration.)

4.   By declaring an emergency, one government entity can leap ahead of or try to keep up with another to show they are more attentive to citizens’ problems.  (Portland and Multnomah Co. had already declared weather emergencies.)

Gov. Kate Brown declares winter weather state of emergency: ‘I urge all Oregonians to make a plan.’

Salem Statesman Journal, by Jach Urness, December 23, 2021 8:01 p.m.

Snow in the Willamette Valley appears possible multiple days after Christmas and mountain travel is expected to be challenging for the next week as snowy weather moves into Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest. 

Anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of snow, up to a foot, are possible from Sunday into Monday in Portland, Salem and Eugene, according to the National Weather Service. But mountain roads should see new snow every day for the coming seven days. 

A winter storm watch for Wednesday into Thursday projects 8 to 24 inches above 4,000 feet, with the heaviest accumulations above 5,000 feet

Nothing about the weather is written in stone, of course, and projecting low-elevation snow in western Oregon is notoriously difficult because of the mixture of warmer ocean precipitation and cold air from the north.

In other words, the forecast is likely to change. But given the high travel volume and potential snow, weather officials are warning travelers well in advance to be prepared. 

The best place to find up-to-date information on weather is the Portland National Weather Services' Facebook and Twitter page, along with the page that shows detailed forecasts at weather.gov/pqr/. 

Check out road conditions in advance and get real-time road reports at tripcheck.com. 

Not just a state of mind.

FREEDOM.  FAIR REPRESENTATION.  END MONARCHY.

Humans seeking freedom need a physical place for their rights to flourish.  Without a free state, humans live in a State of Fear and Subjugation.  Those pushing the progressive, Democrat Party-endorsed regulatory control and loss of individual and Constitutional freedoms haven’t figured out that the end game for this movement is tyranny and that no one will be spared.  When the minions feeding the beast run out of food to keep it satisfied, the beast’s expanding appetite for power will consume them all. 

Parts f Northern California are attempting a

secession from the state much like those who live in Oregon outside the Willamette Valley.  One effort to combine the freedom-loving areas of Oregon and California is the attempt to become part of Idaho - Greater Idaho.  Another group in California is looking to legitimize a 51st state - The State of Jefferson.  The State Jefferson movement has its own history, but in this iteration it does not include any area in Oregon and starts with a fresh structure and defined goals.  

Shall 3/4 of Oregon become the 52nd state, or continue to try to connect to Idaho?   Will future growth threaten efforts to achieve freedom for those who want to govern themselves beyond the reach of overlords who gain their power from urban elites?   If either of these secession movements succeed,  prepare for mass migration to the Free States and perhaps limit pressure to density towns and cities to keep power dispersed.  

Greater Idaho

Signatures should put 'Greater Idaho' issue on May ballot in Klamath County

By Herald and News staff 

Dec 9, 2021

The Greater Idaho movement to make parts of Eastern and Southern Oregon part of Idaho will be on the ballot in Klamath County in May 2022.

On Thursday, advocates for the movement submitted a petition with 2,897 signatures to the Klamath County Clerk to force a ballot initiative next spring. The clerk’s office now has to verify those signatures, which should be done before Christmas.

If the ballot initiative is approved by voters, Greater Idaho advocates said the county would create a committee to evaluate the benefits to the county of moving the state border.

The Oregon Legislature has shown no interest in ceding land to a neighboring state.

The Greater Idaho movement expects three or four counties in eastern and southern Oregon to vote on similar initiatives next May, the movement said in a release Thursday. So far, eight counties have voted for ballot measures submitted by the movement, the release added.

Maybe Clackamas County can join the movement. So far, the county has proven stubbornly conservative, a credit to the Clackistani (Stop Metro Creep) rebellion. of 2012.  :-) 

The (new) State of Jefferson 

Listen to the organizer (video below) explain WHY secession is necessary. 

“People invented government to secure their rights and secure their liberty.”      

“In California we’ve elected a monarchy — don’t be surprised when they start acting like it.”

 — Mark Baird

Kate & Kamala: A Sad Sisterhood

Two of the least-liked politicians agree —. that what their constituents think about their job performance has no bearing on how they should govern.  Most employees who get a bad job review have to change their behavior to please their boss if they want to stay employed.  Politicians just blame someone else and stay in their partisan bubble, hoping the next recall effort doesn’t hit them in the fanny before they are ready to leave office.  

I wonder what the polls will be if Kate goes through with her threat to make a state-wide mask mandate permanent.  Will mass mask disobedience to her draconian policies wake her up or just make her dig into her control and command bunker even deeper?  Someone this out of touch is most likely incapable of retreat. One can almost feel sorry for a person as clueless as Kate, but then it would be easier to conjure up pity if the subjects of her dreadful policies (like me) lived in another state.  Where do Oregonians go for representation, fidelity and care with a politician like Kate at the helm?  

Polling Shows Kate Brown Is Least Popular Governor in America

Brown’s approval rating is at 43%; Vermont Gov. PhilScott, a Republican, is at 79%.

Willamette Week, by Nigel Jaquiss  November 18, 2021

There was a time when a governor’s popularity correlated closely to the economy. For Gov. Kate Brown, those two measurements have completely diverged.

On Nov. 17, state officials announced in the quarterly revenue forecast that Oregon’s economy continued to boom.

On Nov. 18, the Morning Consult published a story collecting governors’ approval ratings for all 50 states. The ranking showed that Brown’s approval rating from Oregonians is just 43%—the lowest of any governor in the nation.

Portland pollster John Horvick of DHM Research, who tweeted about the Morning Consult story, says recent polling by his firm found similar levels of dissatisfaction with Brown.

“Voters are mad about homelessness and really upset about crime,” Horvick says. “There is disorder and decay out there, and I think voters are feeling somebody should be held accountable.”

Brown’s spokesman, Charles Boyle, says the governor is focused on serving her constituents rather than worrying about polls.

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No other state has a majority of its territory clambering to secede - witness the Greater Idaho movement that now includes a majority of Oregon territory plus counties in Northern California.  Kate’s response to her poor ratings?  She will continue with her efforts to satisfy her constituents.  Who are the constituents of  a governor if not ALL the citizens of the state?  Obviously Kate thinks Oregonians not on board with her delusional, Marxist style of governing are inconsequential and their opinions don’t count.  

Earth to Kate: 

Oregon isn’t a solid Blue state. 

Though Oregon is the 9th largest state in America, you were elected by just 4 counties (Multnomah, Washington, Lane and Benton) - a combined area that would rank as the 4th smallest behind Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut.  

You garnered just 50.05% of the votes for Governor in 2018 - hardly a mandate to crush half of the state while catering to your limited constituency. Given your poor ratings, it appears that even that slim electoral majority is shrinking.  

Can you hear us now?  Nope. Guess not.  Hopefully your dumb idea to permanently control us will be deemed unconstitutional.  Mask mandates are a response to an emergency.  BTW, where is your mask? I think I hear your polls tanking some more.  

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Oregon governor caught partying without mask as state pushes permanent mask mandate

Matthew Miller  12/6/2021  The Examiner 

 

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown was photographed a at a Washington, D.C., gala on Saturday while not wearing a mask amid her state's effort to usher in a permanent indoor mask mandate.

The photo was posted Sunday on social media and showed Brown posing for the shot with two other men, one who was the deputy director of operations for Vice President Kamala Harris. All three are not wearing masks in the photo. 

OREGON WORKING TO IMPLEMENT INDOOR MASK MANDATE PERMANENTLY

Guns - A necessity when insanity takes hold

I just read that residents of Beverly Hills, California have been purchasing handguns in record numbers this year.  With criminals making forays into wealthy areas to do their dirty work, and no change in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s misguided view of criminal justice reform - protect the criminal, throw law-abiding citizens to the wolves - even people who never wanted to own a firearm are arming themselves for self-protection. When government loses its way and public safety is no longer its first priority, people need to have a way to defend themselves and their families.  Noble ideals, sympathy and current anti-racist virtues don’t help when the bogey man is at the door.  Reality bites and realists have to do what they to avoid being eaten.  

Beverly Hills residents arming themselves with guns in wake of violence

NYPost. December 9, 2021

“I’ve always been anti-gun,” said Debbie Mizrahie of Beverly Hills. “But I am right now in the process of getting myself shooting lessons because I now understand that there may be a need for me to know how to defend myself and my family. We’re living in fear.”

Mizrahie, a 40-something mother of two teenagers, isn’t alone. Ever since the protests last year descended into riots and lootings, a growing number of Beverly Hills residents have been buying weapons.

According to LA County Sheriff Alejandro Villanueva, the department has received 8,105 concealed carry weapon applications and approved 2,102 of them since he took office in December 2018, compared to his predecessor having issued 194 permits in four years.

“Even hardcore leftist Democrats who said to me in the past, ‘I’ll never own a gun’ are calling me asking about firearms,” said Joel Glucksman, a private security executive. “I’d say there has been an increase of 80 percent in the number of requests I’m getting this year.”

“I don’t ever remember crime being so high,” the entertainment writer said. “We used to leave our doors unlocked. I would leave my keys in the car with the door unlocked. Not anymore. We’re seeing not just burglaries but also robberies. We are seeing emboldened gang members and criminals holding guns to people’s heads.”

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When we purchased our first home in Lake Oswego in 1976, public safety was the top priority for deciding where we wanted to live. We couldn’t afford much, and we had to use sweat equity (painting the home inside and out and lots of dirt and rock hauling) and even left the family room unfinished to make the home affordable.  We were lucky to get a State Veteran’s home loan for 6.99%. The schools (traditional, high quality academics), the natural beauty of the city, Lake Oswego’s small-town governance and family-oriented neighborhoods made the town a great place to live and raise a family. By purchasing a small, basic, ranch home in an upper-middle class area, we had all the advantages of a wealthy community.  But then, so did the residents of Beverly Hills.  There is no guarantee LO or any place will stay nice if the public becomes complacent or it’s leaders fail to comprehend what it takes to create and maintain peace.  

As 2021 winds down, I count the years we have lived in Lake Oswego and it adds up to over 110 years.  When we moved to our current home 10 years ago I expected we would grow very old here, adapting it to our needs as time went on.  Now I find I am continually holding my breath to see what foolish or dangerous path the State Legislature and Lake Oswego City Council might take that continues to degrade our quality of life, our property rights, and our willingness to stay.  We are not alone.  Leaving the state increasingly seems to be a question of when, not if,

Friends, family and acquaintances who have already moved send happy missives of their new neighborhoods and these become the subject of animated  conversations for those of us who remain. Safety is just the tip of the eroding bulwark of freedoms and social structure we depend upon.  How bad does it have to get before we need to leave?  What is the deal breaker that will push us out?  Where should we go?  How can we keep the new place livable when we couldn’t save the last?  Should we just stay and fight?  Fight for what most of us want but few know how to even talk about openly? 

The 2022 election cycle holds hope for a return to sane governance and a more balanced legislature.  Independent fence-sitters are awakening to the fact that a one-party state has no brakes on the power it can grab and how easily crazy, destructive ideas can flourish.  While Marxist politicians keep whittling away at our 2nd Amendment rights, it is encouraging to see that gun ownership in Oregon remains high. In spite of, and perhaps because of current political pressure to limit gun rights, gun ownership will perhaps grow higher if Democrats stay in charge.  Average registered gun ownership for all states is 44%.  Oregon ranks #15 with 50.8% of the population owning guns.  Check out the following website for more statistics on gun ownership in the US.  If crime rates stay as they are in progressive strongholds, expect gun ownership in California and other states to grow.  

Gun Ownership by State 2021

According to the Pew Research Center, the southern United States has the highest amount of gun owners, with about 36% of residents living in this region owning a gun. The Midwest and West each have gun ownership levels that exceed 30%, while the Northeast has the lowest number of gun owners at about 16%. Most guns in the United States are owned by rural households, while more men own guns than women.

It’s important to note that we’re looking at the total percentage of gun ownership based on population. While one state may have more guns, the population may also be higher. For the purpose of this article, we’re focusing on the total percentage of gun ownership in relation to the state’s population.

A fat bear, busy beavers, and baby wolves

 Check out the very big bear (and more) wandering in the Minnesota backwoods compliments of the Voyageurs Wolf Project website’s field cams. 

My favorite videos are the wolf cubs learning to howl, and a very industrious beaver showing off his logging and hauling skills.   

https://m.facebook.com/pg/VoyageursWolfProject/videos/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0

Massive Bear Caught on Trailcam at Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park

Tue, 7 December 2021

A huge bear at Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota became somewhat of an online sensation after trail camera footage was shared to Facebook on December 1.

Footage of the animal was posted by the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which has set up wildlife cameras around the park to study the local wolves.

“We primarily study wolves in our area but remote cameras capture a variety of wildlife. The remote cameras are good enough that it is usually possible to identify individuals such as this bear that have obvious physical features,” project lead Tom Gable told Storyful

“We do capture a lot of different animals on our remote trail cameras including wolves, lynx, bobcats, bears, martens, moose, deer, and others. However, our main purpose of using remote cameras is to get footage of wolves that we are studying,” he said.

Gable said they were not sure how this particular bear got so big.

“There is some suggestion that this bear had spent a lot of time near a wildlife sanctuary about 20 miles away where they feed bears during the summer but we cannot say that for certain,” he said.

He added that it was possible the bear was simply very good at finding natural foods in the area, and was preparing for hibernation.

The video had racked up over 330,000 views at the time of writing. Credit: Voyageurs Wolf Project via Storyful

Fight ignorance however you can

https://sites.google.com/view/k12mathmatters/home

Open Letter on K-12 Mathematics

We write to express our alarm over recent trends in K-12 mathematics education in the United States. All of us have first-hand experience of the role that clear mathematical thinking has played in advancing information technology and American economic competitiveness. We all also share the urgent concern that the benefits of a robust mathematical education, and the career opportunities it opens up, should be shared more widely between students of all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, and economic status. We fully agree that mathematics education “should not be a gatekeeper but a launchpad.”

However, we are deeply concerned about the unintended consequences of recent well-intentioned approaches to reform mathematics education, particularly the California Mathematics Framework (CMF). Such frameworks aim to reduce achievement gaps by limiting the availability of advanced mathematical courses to middle schoolers and beginning high schoolers. While such reforms superficially seem “successful” at reducing disparities at the high school level, they are merely “kicking the can” to college. While it is possible to succeed in STEM at college without taking advanced courses in high school, it is more challenging. College students who need to spend their early years taking introductory math courses may require more time to graduate. They may need to give up other opportunities and are more likely to struggle academically. Such a reform would disadvantage K-12 public school students in the United States compared with their international and private-school peers. It may lead to a de facto privatization of advanced mathematics K-12 education and disproportionately harm students with fewer resources.

Another deeply worrisome trend is devaluing essential mathematical tools such as calculus and algebra in favor of seemingly more modern “data science.” As STEM professionals and educators we should be sympathetic to this approach, and yet, we reject it wholeheartedly. The ability to gather and analyze massive amounts of data is indeed transforming our society. But “data science” - computer science, statistics, and artificial intelligence- is built on the foundations of algebra, calculus, and logical thinking. While these mathematical fields are centuries old and sometimes more, they are arguably even more critical for today’s grand challenges than in the Sputnik era.

We call on national, state, and local governments to involve college-level STEM educators and STEM professionals in the design of K-12 mathematics and science education curriculum, set the following as explicit goals, and allocate resources to help school districts meet these goals:

1. All students, regardless of background, have access to a math curriculum with precision and rigor, and that would enable them to pursue STEM degrees and careers if they so choose.

2. Far from being deliberately held back, all students should have the opportunity to be nurtured and challenged to fulfill their potential. This is not only for their own benefit but also for society and the nation’s economic competitiveness.

3. There cannot be a “one size fits all” approach to K-12 mathematical education. Students should be offered multiple pathways and timelines to explore mathematics. But one of these pathways should be the option to obtain the fundamental preparation for college-level STEM, including algebra, calculus, and logical reasoning. Students should have the opportunity to take those classes at varying grade levels of middle and high school when they are ready, so that they acquire the tools to explore other STEM options and can build their proficiency in a balanced pacing, avoiding irresponsible compression late in high school.

Mathematical education is a challenging enterprise, and we have the utmost respect for our K-12 colleagues who are doing this hard work. In appreciation of the difficulty, we believe that changes to educational standards should be approached with care, using incremental experimentation building on lessons learned from both the US and abroad and using credible measures of success. In contrast, initiatives like the CMF propose drastic changes based on scant and inconclusive evidence. Subjecting the children of our largest state to such an experiment is the height of irresponsibility.

Finally, K-12 math curriculum development cannot be disconnected from one of its most important end goals: Preparing students for success in college-level STEM education and a STEM career. As educators in public and private institutions, and working professionals in the technology industry, we have a first-hand understanding of the skills needed for this goal. While the US K-12 system has much to improve, the current trends will instead take us further back. Reducing access to advanced mathematics and elevating trendy but shallow courses over foundational skills would cause lasting damage to STEM education in the country and exacerbate inequality by diminishing access to the skills needed for social mobility.

Signatories

Total: 597 as of December 5, 2021

Total: 1,562 as of January 1, 2022

Signers are limited to US based STEM professionals (academics, educators, researchers, practitioners

The future of knowledge at stake

 Oregon educators must immediately abandon their unenlightened position on “racist” mathematics.  Anti-intellectual persons making educational decisions for the State’s children should take heed: A high quality education includes high standards for all subjects and the public cannot be fooled into thinking otherwise. Knowledge and intelligence knows no race, and neither does hubris and ignorance.  

As someone who came of age in the Sputnik era, the devaluation of hard sciences and rejection of true critical thinking marks an unfathomable and tragic leap backwards. Any educator or policy-maker who succumbs to racist notions of intellectual excellence  has no business in the profession or in any capacity where they can affect children’s lives.  

Squaring Up to Defend Mathematics

Opinion: WSJ December 5, 2021

America’s top scientists warn about the political erosion of education standards.

The last few years have seen a pro­lif­er­a­tion of “open let­ters” by aca­d­e­mics in pol­i­tics and the hu­man­i­ties in fa­vor of pro­gres­sive causes. The hard sci­ences are dif­fer­ent, and when math­e­mati­cians, physi­cists and en­gi­neers speak up to de­fend the in­tegrity of their fields, Amer­i­cans should pay at­ten­tion.

The lat­est ex­am­ple is a new pub­lic state­ment from hun­dreds of the coun­try’s top quan­ti­ta­tive sci­en­tists warn­ing about the as­sault on math in schools. “We write to ex­press our alarm over re­cent trends in K-12 math­e­mat­ics ed­u­ca­tion in the United States,” the state­ment be­gins. The so­cial-jus­tice wave of 2020 ac­cel­er­ated ef­forts to elim­i­nate stan­dard­ized test­ing and lower stan­dards in math to give the ap­pear­ance that achieve­ment gaps don’t ex­ist.

The sci­en­tists del­i­cately de­scribe the politi­cized ero­sion of stan­dards as “well-in­ten­tioned ap­proaches to re­form math­e­mat­ics ed­u­ca­tion.” They zero in on the Cal­i­for­nia De­part­ment of Ed­u­ca­tion’s pro­posed new math framework, which en­cour­ages math teach­ers to take a “justice-ori­ented per­spec­tive.” The sig­na­to­ries say the course roadmap will re­duce the “avail­abil­ity of advanced math­e­mat­i­cal cour­ses to mid­dle school­ers and be­gin­ning high school­ers” and dis­cour­age stu­dents from tak­ing cal­cu­lus.

This is sup­posed to ad­vance “eq­uity.” But in ad­di­tion to dam­ag­ing Amer­i­ca’s global com­pet­i­tive­ness, the let­ter says, the de­cline of rig­or­ous math in pub­lic schools “may lead to a de facto pri­va­ti­za­tion” of top-tier in­struc­tion and “harm stu­dents with fewer re­sources.”

The grow­ing list of 471 sig­na­to­ries in­cludes four winners of the Fields Medal in math; two win­ners of the Tur­ing Award in com­put­ing; a No­bel lau­re­ate in physics and an­other in chem­istry; 25 mem­bers of the Na­tional Acad­emy of Sci­ences; and fac­ulty at Stan­ford, Berke­ley, Cal­Tech, MIT and every top U.S. uni­ver­sity for hard sci­ence.

No doubt many if not most in this group are po­lit­i­cally left of cen­ter. But they warn against the el­e­va­tion of “trendy but shal­low cour­ses over foun­da­tional skills” like al­ge­bra and cal­cu­lus. Those dis­ci­plines “are centuries old and some­times more,” the let­ter says, but “ar­guably even more crit­i­cal for to­day’s grand challenges than in the Sput­nik era.”

The debate over course content in history and social science has been the center of educational controversy, as progressives aim to rewrite the country’s civic contract. But the erosion of math and science education to accommodate identity politics is even more threatening to America’s prosperity and survival in a competitive world. Credit to the mathematicians for recognizing this threat, and squaring up in defense of their field.    

Signatories

Total: 1611 as of January 12, 2022

Watch out Oregon! As authoritarianism in California worsens, so it will in Oregon

 What do you call people who are in a pit with their heads down and they keep on digging?  Maybe even digging faster? It’s gone beyond silliness and is no longer a laughing matter.  Madness has overtaken Democrats in California and has descended into authoritarianism.  Oregon, always trying to one-up their Southern and Northern neighbors for progressive ideas is vulnerable to the acceleration of tyrannical regulation. If our history of copying and outdoing California is a indication of what we have to look forward to, read this and weep.  

Weep not just for lost ketchup or napkins, but for every aspect of our lives the leadership class wants to control.  I can do without paper napkins - I carry paper towels, wipes and a plastic garbage bag in my car at all times.  It’s been a longtime since I have had children to clean up after, but what works for little ones works for me too.  I’ve also given up gas lawn mowers because electric ones are easier to start and I have a small lawn.  But the landscapers at my apartments would be lost without their riding mowers and gas blowers.  

Parents and grandparents - it is up to you to tell your children of the times before the Democratic takeover of our state (and country) of the individual freedoms we enjoyed and trust we had in one another.  It is up to all of us to fight the forces that want to upend our Constitutional “negative rights” that everyone is born with and supplant them with “positive rights” that only government can grant to the worthy.  

The Unhappy Customers of California

Another day, another government-imposed hassle in La La Land.Wall Street Journal. By James Freeman, Nov. 18, 2021 

Now they’re coming for your condiments, Californians, as new regulations are squirting all over the Golden State. Nathan Solis reports this week for the Los Angeles Times:

Restaurants in Los Angeles are now restricted from freely distributing the disposable items and may offer them only to customers who ask for them.

Under the ordinance, which took effect Monday for restaurants with more than 26 employees, all single-use disposable food-ware dispensers will be removed. Businesses also will stop including plastic utensils and napkins with takeout orders or for dine-in meals unless a customer specifically asks for them. All food and drink businesses will be required to follow the new rules starting April 22.

Backers of such rules are sending a climate virtue signal given the use of fossil fuels in the manufacture of plastic products. They also oppose plastic on the dubious premise that advanced economies like the United States have not yet figured out how to responsibly dispose of trash. Press an environmental activist on why plastic needs to be driven out of the lives of U.S. consumers and you’re likely to hear not about problems in U.S. waste management but about countries overseas where people dump mountains of shopping bags into the ocean.

“Why was making local gov’t the ‘ketchup packet police’ a priority?,” tweetedCalifornia Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk in September.

Don’t forget the toy police and the lawnmower police. Valerie Richardson wrotein October in the Washington Times that unleashing the ketchup cops was just one element of the state’s tough-on-non-crime agenda:

“As many of us predicted, Newsom’s defeat of the recall has only emboldened him to impose more freedom-killing measures,” said Los Angeles radio talk-show host Larry Elder, the leading Republican vote-getter in the Sept. 14 recall. Randy Economy, former senior adviser and spokesperson for the recall campaign, said the “only thing that has changed since the recall election is that Gavin Newsom has doubled down on lunacy.”

This column must admit wondering in 2019 whether California had hit peak liberalism and the answer is a resounding no. Mr. Newsom is still aggressively testing the consumer pain threshold.

A call to engage in “open bravery”

John McWhorter: Antiracism Is Not An Ideology, It’s A Religion

NOVEMBER 18, 2021 By The Federalist Staff

Linguist John McWhorter is the author of the new book, “Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America.” He joins Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky on The Federalist Radio Hour for a discussion on a new kind of leftist who clings to the new religion of race where the original sin is “white privilege,” and why they can’t be negotiated with.

“We are faced with a person that we either have to walk around or have the guts to stand up to because we can’t make them understand the virtue of compromise,” McWhorter said.

McWhorter explains how we need acts of “open bravery” and to normalize calling out “woke racism” for what it is.

“This book is something I wrote in order to ride what I think of as a healthy wave of resistance to these extremes,” he said.

Visit The Federalist website to listen to an interview with James McWhorter as he discusses his latest book on Wokeism and the religion of Antiracism .

Kneel. Repent. Pray for whatever the Woke demands.