DOES THIS REAL ID THING FEEL CREEPY TO YOU? Weird how there is added enforcement to prove who you are and to allow you to have exercise basic liberties.
GLOBALISM MAKES AMERICA GREAT. Trade is good. It is remarkable to me how so many in America do not understand basic economics. No wonder parents are clamoring for school choice.
POPE TRUMP? His family is similar to the Borgias, right? Lust for power, infidelity, ruthlessness, ambition, political intrigue, and scandal. Check all of those boxes.
URBAN SPRAWL. Ever wonder why Los Angeles doesn’t look like other big cities of the world? Very little high-density neighborhoods. Very low building height. Much less energy on the streets. These characteristics are all integrated. In CA local residents have so much power to block or thwart development. Communities have height limits, density limits, ADU rules, zoning regulations, etc.. Now prices are so high that Los Angeles is exporting Hollywood movie making overseas. NIMBYism is a destructive force.
STUGGLE OF THE WORKING CLASS. I don’t know about you, but my career has been a win for me. Imagine how much life would suck if I wasn’t productive. Work increases quality of life.
SCOTT JENNINGS ON CNN CLAIMS “WE HAVE BEEN INVADED”. It’s really difficult to have a rational discussion when definitions of words is so fluid. We’re not being invaded. There are no military troops and weapons forcibly moving into USA territory. This is just more shiny object hysteria. It’s part of the con.
GET YOUR HANDS OFF OUR SOCIAL SECURITY! That’s the latest message from Elizabeth Warren to Donald Trump and Elon Musk. I agree with her. But I want my own hands on my own Social Security withholdings so I can better invest them for my own retirement. But Warren doesn’t want that. She doesn’t want individuals freely living their own life according to their own values.
COMMERCE SECRETARY THAT DOESN’T UNDERSTAND TRADE. HHS Secretary that doesn’t understand vaccines. DHS Secretary that doesn’t understand inalienable rights. Defense Secretary that can’t defend himself. and Marco Rubio picking up the slack for everyone. Secretary of State that is a utility man filling in and plugging holes for other cabinet members or staff that have failed for any number of reasons. Treasury Secretary that looks like a mark of a con man. Education Secretary whose experience is World Wrestling Entertainment. What could go wrong?
ISRAEL/GAZA SOLUTION? I get how people are outraged by Gaza’s destruction and the Oct 7th attacks on Israel. I get how people have been enraged for decades for any number of things that have happened in Israel/Gaza. Is there any solution to the matter that you think has a realistic chance of being implemented? Seems neither side wants a 2-state solution. Diplomats and world leaders have tried to guide a truce, but nothing sticks. The fundamental problem here is that people prioritize religion over rationality, and tribe over individual. Until those core moral issues are addressed, political and military solutions won’t take root.
NIMBY LACK OF PERSPECTIVE. If the people before you resisted change in your community, then your home never would have built in the first place. NIMBYism is a short-signed POV that stagnates progress and distorts the economy. You can’t hit the pause button in life. People are progressing, population is growing, science is innovating.
ARE YOU ENTITLED TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? First of all, you bought your property, not the whole neighborhood. But if people are entitled to keep what they paid for and not have it destroyed, then your home could never have been built in the first place… because your home’s construction disrupted someone else’s community.
CONFRONTING THE CONTRADICTIONS IS VERY HARD WORK. I have been going through it for decades… learning more, evolving more, gaining greater alignment morally, ethically, philosophically. When you are faced with learning that one of your previous assumptions or values is wrong, it’s very disruptive to your whole world view to accept you are wrong and make a change appropriately. Don’t evade the contradiction, tackle it and adjust appropriately. Too many people choose to avoid that reality because it is too difficult to process. It’s easier to fall back into their previous delusions.
SOMETIMES I WONDER… that one day you guys (RWs and LWs) are going to finally wake up from your delusions and realize that you are being flim-flammed. Maybe for some of you. LOL
BACK WHEN AMERICA WAS GREAT? Secretary of Commerce wants your kids working in the same factory that you do. Like it was back in the good ol’ days! LOL
WHO INVENTED THE FACEBOOK EVERONE TAG? This person should be sent to time-out.
TONY BLAIN RECALL. I’ve seen other recall efforts in Poway sputter or never get much traction. But this Tony Blain recall campaign is well run. The messaging is consistent and on target. The evidence is presented clearly. I have seen the message in direct mail, email, website, YouTube and on Facebook. I am sure the message is on other platforms too. I’d sign the recall, but I don’t live in District 2. I don’t see how Blain can survive this.
TONY BLAIN FOR POWAY MAYOR SIGN SPOTTED ON ESPOLA. I saw one this morning heading down the hill from Poway High to Twin Peaks. You have to applaud Tony for staying on offense. LOL.
SUNSHINE IS THE BEST DISINFECTANT. Transparency in govt is a good thing. That’s why official communications should be done in official channels so the public can see it. Of course, all politicians are going to have private communications, including private official discussion that violates the Brown Act. We should be vigilant in identifying it and calling it out. Seems that is what is happening here with Blain.
GOOD OLD DAYS? Local politics is best when things are calm and quiet. Local leaders of high character focusing on the basics. Poway used to be that way, but lately it has turned into a circus. Two councilmembers are fighting recall efforts and the Mayor has had attempted recalls. What happened in Poway?
INTERVIEW TONY BLAIN? I was offered an opportunity to have Tony on the John Riley Project podcast. I decided to pass. I don’t want to create an appearance of endorsement. I don’t want to give the guy a platform. Plus I want to broaden my content beyond Poway.
DICTATOR VAUS? Some locals are very upset that the City of Poway is suing Tony Blain. They see this as an abuse of taxpayer dollars. Some see this exercise as a Witch Hunt. Seems to me that some people can’t handle the nuance of sticking by your anti-Vaus opinions and a rather obvious problem with Tony Blain. If Steve Vaus was doing what Tony Blain is allegedly doing, you wouldn’t be happy with that, right?
ZONING REGULATION CONSPIRACY THEORY. Some NIMBYs in town have not taken too kindly to some of my comments about the benefits of housing development. Zoning regulations, NIMBYs favorite tool to meddle in what you do with your property, are an impediment to development. These limitations restrict supply creation and cause housing prices to go up when demand is high (Note: demand is always high in Poway). It’s Econ 101. It’s supply vs demand. But to some it’s a conspiracy. NIMBYs insist that their power over your property must be allowed for The Greater Good. News Flash. The City of Austin TX relaxed their zoning regulations. There has been a surge of high-density, high-rise apartments. Guess what happened? Rent went down 16% year over year. That’s extraordinary. Some conspiracy theory.
PARENTS AGAINST DARSH PATEL. I saw a post on Facebook asking why Darsh Patel campaign signs were getting covered up or defaced. Patel is a state assembly representative, but still has enemies from her time at Poway Unified. Some are assuming the perpetrators of these sign attacks are the parent groups that protest against PUSD. It’s a reasonable assumption. But the whole discussion devolved into a conspiracy for these parents to take over public education, fund their religious schools, and put more religion in the educational curriculum. I get that fear. But there’s way more to school choice. There are poor kids trapped in bad schools and bad environments. They can’t access better schools (public, private/secular or private/religious). This is how multi-generational poverty becomes a thing. How long should parents wait for their local public school to be upgraded? They’ve been waiting for years, some waiting decades. Many are trapped in poverty.