Showing posts with label Karen bass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karen bass. Show all posts

Sunday, August 30, 2026

August, 2026, Part 2, Political Class Insanity: A California Rail Project May Finally Die, A Teachers' Union That Does Not Care About Teaching, and Food Poisoning On the Menu In LA

 We have spent a  lot of blog time recently on trying  to figure out which state or city government will go bankrupt first and the massive amount of criminal fraud that exists within many government programs. However, that does not  mean that other, regular political class insanity has stopped:


1)We have often written  about the total fiasco known as the California bullet train project. It was supposed to create a high  speed rail line to run from the northern part of the state to the southern  part of the state and deliver fast, efficient train  service. It should have been completed years ago but it is  nowhere close to being  completed despite billions of dollars already being spent.


And it appears that this political class  dream is finally going  to die forever:


  • According to a report from the  state’s office of the  Inspector General, the unfinished project “will  exhaust its current  funding  resources  as  soon as  December 2027 if it does not secure funding.”

  • The  report went on to say the project faces an almost $10 billion funding gap over the next five years and there is no plan right now to find that funding  in the state government  budget

  • Furthermore, there were "significant concerns" regarding the transparency and ever slipping completion date of the project.

  •  Not surprising since the current completion date estimate is 2034 and  there  is nothing in  the history of the project that says this is a hard date.

  • State politician Vince Fong, long an opponent of the project, called it for what it  is:  “California’s High-Speed Rail is the quintessential example of government mismanagement. I’ve called it out since day 1. Californians were promised a completed rail 6 years ago. Today we’ve spent billions and billions, for a total of zero trains. Gavin Newsom owes us an explanation. And an apology. It’s beyond time to shut this down.”


Another failure for the American political  class: lofty goals, massive budget overruns, grossly missed implementation dates, non-transparent disclosures, etc. This one had it all.


2)We have  often discussed the overall failure of the  public education  system in this  country:


  • Our discussion on  how a Baltimore high school  graduating class had  about 70% of its members reading  at only the third grade level or below.

  • How the  U.S. kids rank behind dozens  of  other countries’ kids when  it comes to education  proficiency.

  • How over  90% of Detroit public school  eighth graders were NOT proficient in  math and reading.


Given  the  sorry state of  most of  the public  education  complex in this country ,one  would expect and hope teachers  and  their union to be laser focused on  improving this dismal performance. But that hope  is probably not going to happen,  given  the latest from the teachers’ main union:


  • Randi Weingarten  is  the leader  of the American Federation  of Teachers.

  • One would hope that she  would be the leader  in improving school performance.

  • However, she has other priorities including badgering the Target  department store company for not kowtowing to  her demands  relative to illegal immigrants.

  • She is urging parents not to shop for back to school needs because Target has not condemned ICE actions against illegal immigrants, many of whom are rapists, murderers, drug  traffickers,  sex traffickers, and child abusers.

  • Specifically:  “We gave Target ample time to stand with the communities in which they operate and help their neighbors, but its silence about federal immigration abuses has been deafening, We wrote letters, passed resolutions and reached out to management in good faith but have yet to see any meaningful movement. The issue could not be more pressing. Seven months since the murders of Alex Pretti and RenĂ©e Good, masked ICE agents are still in our streets, our schools and our communities, terrorizing families in the name of Donald Trump’s illegal and immoral assault on immigrants striving for their American Dream. That’s why we’re urging our members to avoid Target and patronize more ethical shopping alternatives this back-to-school season.”


Seriously, your job  is to  educate  kids, and you are doing a very bad job at that,  and yet you are wasting time and energy and priorities to address an issue the union  has no reason to address? ICE is enforcing the law of the land relative to illegal immigrants. Renee  Good and Alex Pretti were illegally and violently  interfering with that obligation  and law enforcement. 


Ms  Weingarten,  stay in your lane and  do  what you have failed to  do: properly educate American  kids.


3)So many times  we have discussed the role that the government should play in our lives  with the utmost primary goal being  to protect the lives and property of the citizens of any government entity it serves. Most of the time we have discussed this basic tenet in the context of police and judicial protections. 


But there are also other  government functions that should be used to protect citizens’  lives. One of those would be public health  functions  that make sure that food, water, and  other common life necessities are safe  for consumption  and use via a board of health  duties


But apparently the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen  Bass, does not  understand that a basic  function of her  administration  is board of health functions and  safety relative to the selling of food and meals  in the city:


  • Most rationally run  cities have a  formal board  of health function that makes sure that restaurants and other food servers  comply with  hygiene and health  code rules and regulations  to ensure the safety of the citizens consuming that food.

  • That requires regular inspections of food processing operations and the  paying for permit  fees by those food providers.

  • Again, a very basic function of government, protecting the safety of its  citizens.

  • But Bass has prioritized illegal  immigrants’  welfare over the food safety of her  own U.S. citizens.

  • According to Breitbart reporting, Bass  ordered the LA Police Department  to  stop issuing criminal citations for  food vendors, many of whom are illegal  immigrants, in the streets of the  city for  not conforming to board of health  regulations and permitting rules.

  • Specifically:  “Street vending is a quintessential part of LA’s world-class food scene and a livelihood for thousands of hardworking Angelenos. Supporting LA’s street vendors is more important than ever given ongoing attacks by ICE.”

  • Thus, the hell with  public health, it  is more important to protect illegal immigrants from Federal law enforcement officers  enforcing the laws of the land, than public food safety.

  • Breitbart further reported that  there are about 50,000 food vendors in the city while the  city government has issued  only 700 active  board of health permits.

  • Those 700 food vendors pay fees, subject themselves to board of health inspections and  possible  fines, and comply with health code  laws and rules while tens of thousands of others get a free ride.

  • Thus, in addition to massive homeless encampments in  the city, there are thousands and  thousands  of illegal and unregulated food vendors  also  setting up  shop  on the  streets with no fear of being  arrested or fines, adding another dimension  to  the  zoo that is  LA.

  • These vendors may not always  comply with food sanitation rules  and common sense food storage and prep rules, endangering any consumers  of food from these unlicensed and uninspected food vendors.

  • Los Angeles County is following Bass’ lead on  dangerous food vending: “The Los Angeles County Health Department, citing immigration enforcement efforts by the Trump administration, last fall suspended all enforcement of thousands of noncompliant street food vendors who have proliferated with the massive influx of illegals under the Biden administration.”

  • Again,  the welfare of illegal immigrants at the county level is more important  than  the  food safety for citizens.

  • As a result  of  this negligence in enforcing  common  sense  board of health rules, the county reported almost 3,000 reported food poisoning  instances in 2025 with the feeling  being that the unreported instances of food poisoning never get reported is far greater  than 3,000.

  • Thus, on  average at least eight LA citizens  in the city and county  are getting  food poisoned every day.

  • One citizen on  social media pointed  out how ridiculous this  is: “You do everything legally, pay rent, employees, taxes, business licenses, and a street food vendor pops up across the street with no overhead, no license, cash only, and undercuts your business. L.A. city officials suck.”


Another example  of where Democratic and liberal politicians care more about  the welfare of illegal immigrants than their  own citizens. They give illegal immigrants free food, free  shelter,  free medical care, and other free services while Americans suffer from homelessness, food insecurity, and other unresolved problems.


And now in LA, illegal immigrant food vendors  are more important than legally run American citizen food establishments and operations, resulting in potentially massive health  harm by the unlicensed  and uncontrolled illegal immigrant  street food vendors.


Enough  insanity for  today: food poisoning  on the menu in LA, a teachers’  union that cares more  about politics than teaching, and a boondoggle project  may finally die.


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Vote Now!!!! Go to to the following link and vote  on which state  or city government you think  will go bankrupt first:


https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61592458935721


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If you agree that we need to deseat every member of Congress for their lack of success and accomplishment, then please consider going to the following petition link to help the cause:


https://www.change.org/p/deseat-congress-reset-freedom



**********************


Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:


Tuesday, July 28, 2026

July, 2026, Political Class Insanity, Part 5 - More Homelessness In Los Angeles, Less Law Enforcement In Los Angeles, Medicaid Disaster in California and More

  We have spent a lot of our recent posts about which state or city will go bankrupt first and the massive fraud that has been going on relative to government programs. But that does not mean that the potential class has not been up to its traditional incompetence, insanity,  and screw ups. 

1)So, let’s catch up with  the shenanigans that continue to plague the country, with a  concentration on  some  crazy insanity in California:


  • Despite spending billions and billions of dollars in failed attempts to fix the homelessness disaster in Los Angeles,  the problem  apparently has gotten   worse.

  • New data shows  that the number of homeless folks in LA and LA county has actually grown in the face of billions of  dollars failing to address the problem.

  • The latest census of homeless folks in the  city shows the number  of  homeless people living outdoors or in their  vehicles went up  7.9% in the past year.


Much like the other  day where we reviewed how New York CIty government spending on their homeless problem tripled  in seven years but the number of homeless  still went up over 70% during the same  period,  looks like the politicians in  Los Angeles are just as inept. Total  incompetence, billions of dollars spent and  the problem gets worse.


2)But the homeless problem in Los Angeles is just one of a number of problems, many of  which interact and  make  the reality  of living in the city even worse:


  • Current Los Angeles Police Chief, Jim  McDonnell, says the city  police department  needs to have 12,500 police officers on the job but currently only has  about 8,600 on duty.

  • Thus,  simple math says the police force needs  to increase 50% to be at the needed  level of law  enforcement.

  • The current police staffing level is the lowest it has been  over the  past twenty years.

  • Relative to other  major cities, the Los Angeles police force  has only about half the number  of police officers per capita  relative to the New York City police force and Chicago police  force.

  • The city’s  budget estimates show that the force will continue to decrease so the current trend is likely to  continue:  more  retirements, smaller recruitment, low morale, and likely more crime.

  • With the Olympics coming to the city in 2028, McDonnell has warned that he needs  3,300 additional officers to handle  the crowds and problems the Olympics will bring to town.


What a  mess. As the LA homeless  problem increases, so does the related crime rate  in the face of a smaller  and smaller police force  which  will only get worse  with the  Olympics coming  to town. No wonder that businesses and residents are fleeing  this  deterioration in the quality of life, making Los Angeles still a prime candidate to win the race to bankruptcy court.


3)And it does not look like the city is going to get any financial help to fix either problem from the state government, given how much money they are losing to corruption, fraud and incompetence via a SINGLE  state government program:


  • A new report asserts that California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, is plagued with wasteful spending and outright fraud.

  • The report from the Pacific Research Institute proclaimed that taxpayers are financing “a program that has  grown beyond the state’s ability to  effectively manage it.”

  • Very powerful assertion and language, a state government that has a program   that it cannot control.

  • And as a result, taxpayer money is  subjected  to criminal fraud, waste, and abuse.

  • Thus, the Federal government has at least temporarily blocked $860 million  in funding to the state government.

  • The president of the institute, Sally Pipes, had some simple  and direct advice for the state’s inept politicians: “If lawmakers could make only one thing happen this year, it should be eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse from Medi-Cal, which now covers 15 million Californians at a cost of $220 billion. The entire state budget for fiscal 2026-27 is $351.7 billion.” 

  • Think  about these  last numbers: the  Medi-Cal; budget is a whopping  63% of the ENTIRE state  government  budget, no wonder it is out of control

  • Back in the 1960s, Medi-Cal was created to solely help low income, senior,  and people with disabilities pay medical bills.

  • But over time the state politicians have added pregnant women, able  bodied adults  under  Obama Care, and  eventually legal and illegal immigrants.

  • Now one in three Californians are enrolled in the program.

  • Ms. Pipes went on: “If fraud and abuse are cut from Medi-Cal, there would be so much more funding available to cover those who are truly vulnerable and eligible for the program. Today, many of the eligible cannot find a doctor because there is too much demand for too few doctors.  As Robert Kennedy Jr., secretary of [health and human services], said: ‘Medicaid exists to serve vulnerable Americans—not to bankroll unsupported claims.’ Accountability must be restored.”


A famous line from the Seinfeld  comedy TV show  goes as follows:  "So you want to be my latex  salesman?”  Current California governor, Gavin Newsom, wants  to be the next President of the country. 


And yet, the state he has ruled over for  the  past eight years is rife with homelessness, high taxes, high crime rates, high utility costs, high gas costs, fleeing businesses and residents, and now a single state government program that is  unbelievably out  of control  and rife with  fraud and waste. Not sure he could even be a good latex salesman.


4)Okay, California is a mess due to  the ineptness  and incompetence  of the state’s political class. Let’s take a break from California:


  • Sylvia Luke is the lieutenant  governor  of Hawaii.

  • Well, at least for now she is  the  lieutenant governor since  a Hawaiian  grand jury  has  approved charges against her for alleged pay to play fraud  schemes that date back to the Covid  era.

  • Apparently, according to Breitbart, she had been the target of state and Federal investigations  relative to  campaign  finance abuse.

  • She is accused of steering taxpayer  Covid funding to testing  sites in exchange for donations  to her election  campaign.

  • The 12 count  indictment includes words  such as  “criminal conspiracy to commit bribery and falsifying candidate committee reports among other charges.”

  • And sadly, she wasn't the only one to get caught by the grand jury since five others  were also indicted  including  politicians  and government  bureaucrats.


As we have mentioned often in our  continuing series of posts, Government Fraud and  Corruption, it is not just criminals that defraud the American  taxpayer.  Quite often, it is government insiders and politicians that defraud the country of taxpayer wealth.


That will do it for today: Los Angeles' woes continue with  a growing homelessness problems despite spending billions of dollars for apparently no progress against that  problem, the city does not have anywhere close to enough  police forces to protect  its  citizens, a basic responsibility  of  any government entity, the California  state government  Medi-Cal  program is so large and unwieldy  it is a travesty of government  waste and criminal fraud, and the second highest politician  in  Hawaii allegedly profited from her  position. 


Political class insanity at its  finest: expensive, inept, ineffective, and fraud infected from all angles.


**********************

If you agree that we need to deseat every member of Congress for their lack of success and accomplishment, then please consider going to the following petition link to help the cause:


https://www.change.org/p/deseat-congress-reset-freedom



**********************


Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at: