California

Young beautiful teacher woman wearing sweater and glasses sitting on desk at kindergarten asking to be quiet with finger on lips. Silence and secret concept.

^{Wesley J. Smith
July 18, 2024
Human Exceptionalism}

New California Law Prohibits Schools from Telling Parents Their Child Is Trans

_{Wesley J. Smith
July 18, 2024
Human Exceptionalism}

Political progressives apparently think that school administrators and teachers should have a greater say than parents in the raising and treatment of children experiencing gender dysphoria. How else to explain Governor Gavin Newsom's signing A.B. 1955, an authoritarian law that forces schools to leave parents in the dark if their child identifies as the opposite sex or presents other issues around sexual identity and orientation. Read More ›

Colorful crayons and a symbol of a transgender

^{Keri D. Ingraham
January 23, 2024
Education}

Let’s Stop Calling It Gender-Affirming Care

_{Keri D. Ingraham
January 23, 2024
Education}

Twenty-two states have passed laws restricting in varying degrees the practice of the grossly inaccurately termed “gender-affirming care” for minors. The majority of those states did so in 2023. Additional bills aimed at protecting children from irreversible physical harm are being put forward this legislative cycle in states with Republican majority legislatures. Read More ›

^{Debra J. Saunders
June 29, 2023
Homelessness}

California, the Dream and the Nightmare

_{Debra J. Saunders
June 29, 2023
Homelessness}

“The homeless are just like you and me.” That’s a politically correct assertion that doesn’t quite recognize the reality on the ground, such as the link between self-destructive behavior — most notably, substance abuse — and living on the street with no place to call home. California is home to 12% of America’s population, but 30% of the number “experiencing Read More ›

^{Debra J. Saunders
April 19, 2023
Homelessness}

A Return to Soft on Crime?

_{Debra J. Saunders
April 19, 2023
Homelessness}

A California Senate committee recently passed Senate Bill 94, which would allow inmates sentenced to death or life without parole to apply for a "second look" at their cases. If it becomes law, the worst offenders could walk free after they've served 20 years or more. Read More ›

Homeless in San Francisco sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic

^{Wesley J. Smith
October 26, 2022
Homelessness}

‘Housing First’ Caused the Homelessness Catastrophe

_{Wesley J. Smith
October 26, 2022
Homelessness}

How did the United States end up in such a filthy state? Blame ideologically driven public policies, most particularly, “Housing First,” a fine-sounding—but ultimately dysfunction-inducing—approach that thwarts ending our homelessness catastrophe. Read More ›

^{Wesley J. Smith
September 27, 2022
Human Exceptionalism}

Composting the Dead Devalues the Importance of the Living

_{Wesley J. Smith
September 27, 2022
Human Exceptionalism}

Starting in 2027, California will allow composting of the dead. Known officially as “natural organic reduction (NOR),” this novel final disposition process transforms the deceased’s body into soil to spread on gardens or in which to plant flowers or a tree. Read More ›

^{Debra J. Saunders
July 28, 2022
Economics}

Like a Dystopia, Only California

_{Debra J. Saunders
July 28, 2022
Economics}

The squalor that haunts the underpasses and back alleys of California should move the state’s progressives to embrace even more law enforcement. Or they can let the state get even more dangerous. Read More ›

^{Robert Marbut
May 25, 2022}

Robert Marbut on America’s Homelessness Crisis, Strategies for Uplifting the Homeless, and Effective Government Policies

_{Robert Marbut
May 25, 2022}

Homelessness has reached crisis proportions. Few issues of human dignity are as heart wrenching as the wretched scenes in our most prosperous cities — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle — where one can drive down main thoroughfares and be confronted with tent encampments lining streets that provide scant shelter for thousands of destitute people. Read More ›

^{Debra J. Saunders
May 19, 2022
Economics}

California’s Epic Homeless Nightmare

_{Debra J. Saunders
May 19, 2022
Economics}

What’s the matter with California? “It’s suffering from San Fransickness,” which is “pathological altruism,” answers Michael Shellenberger, author of the book “San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities.” Read More ›

Close-up of a thief wearing balaclava breaking car window with crowbar. Car thief, car theft concept

^{Debra J. Saunders
December 5, 2021
Citizen Leadership}

Crime Reform Is Here. Do You Feel Safer?

_{Debra J. Saunders
December 5, 2021
Citizen Leadership}

Democrats are keeping their heads down. They spent years assuring the public that their so-called fixes would enhance public safety, that they were simply out to protect nonviolent offenders from overzealous law enforcement. Now I have to ask voters in blue cities and states: Do you feel safer? Read More ›