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For Public Services And Public Spaces To Be Degraded – That Can Be A Doom Loop

A weekend topic starting with the Los Angeles Times. “The recent mayoral election in this sleepy, conservative town nestled in the foothills outside Boise didn’t hinge on which Republican candidate was a fiercer supporter of former President Trump, or who was a stronger opponent of abortion. The key issue? Who was the least Californian. ‘It’s ludicrous’ that they call themselves Republicans, Mayor Jason Pierce said during an interview on election day in early December. ‘You find a lot of Californians who move here don’t realize how much [liberal] baggage they’re bringing with them.'”

“Jorge Grajeda retired from the Long Beach Police Department in September. He was born in Mexico and moved to Southern California with his family when he was 5. He was living the American dream in his early years as a cop, but as his responsibilities grew, he couldn’t help noticing the bite taxes took from his paychecks. And the sense of pride and accomplishment he felt in being a police officer eroded quickly. ‘We used to go places and people would wave to us,’ or pay for our coffee, but in the last 10 years, ‘pretty much all of that went away,’ Grajeda said. Now, he said, ‘it’s all about race.’ Every time you stop somebody, or pull them over in their car, they call you ‘a racist,’ Grajeda said. ‘It shouldn’t be like that. It should be about right and wrong. If you do the wrong thing, there are consequences.'”

The Associated Press. “The Bay Area saw the highest number of reported shoplifting incidents in the state between 2019 and 2022, according to Magnus Lofstrom, policy director and senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California. Commercial burglary also has risen, especially in Bay Area counties and coastal Southern California. However, shoplifting dropped in counties with smaller populations. Beginning with shoplifting, San Mateo had the highest rate in 2022, with 347 reported incidents per 100,000 residents, followed by San Francisco (333). These counties saw increases of 53% and 24% compared to 2019, the largest jumps of all 15 counties, according to research.”

“Three Central Valley counties had the next highest shoplifting rates: San Joaquin at 297, Kern with 278. and Fresno with 272, the researchers found. Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) said lawmakers hear about rising retail theft almost daily. ‘This is impacting our constituents,’ she said.”

The Times Standard. “The California exodus isn’t over yet. For the third consecutive year, the Golden State’s population continued to shrink in 2023, even as 42 other states grew this past year, many reversing population declines during the COVID pandemic, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau released Tuesday. While California’s population shedding is slowing, it remains among few states still losing residents. Others were New York, Louisiana, Hawaii, Illinois, West Virginia, Oregon and Pennsylvania. And California’s population decline since 2020 remains the fourth largest in the U.S., behind New York, Illinois and Louisiana.”

“Of the eight states that lost residents in 2023, all but West Virginia were governed by Democrats, though Louisiana’s termed-out governor will be replaced by a Republican next year. The states that gained population in 2023 the most were South Carolina, Florida, Texas and Idaho, all governed by Republicans. ‘Gavin Newsom and California Democrats can continue to make excuses and gaslight residents into believing the California exodus is a ‘myth,’ but the numbers don’t lie,’ Jessica Millan Patterson, chairwoman of the California Republican Party, said after seeing the Census reports.”

Business Insider. “New York City’s population has plummeted by nearly half a million between 2020 and 2022 — shrinking over 5% — according to a new report by the New York state comptroller published on Monday. Part of this stems from New Yorkers being priced out of the city. In 2022, the median wage of those leaving the city fell to $49,000, an 18% decrease from the previous year, per the report. New York City’s demographic makeup is also changing, with the report finding that ‘the city’s populace is overall older and wealthier, with a rebounding population of international migrants and declining shares of White and Black New Yorkers.'”

“The only demographic group analyzed by the city that saw growth from 2020 to 2022 was seniors, which increased by 3.3%. In contrast, the population of under-18s fell by 7.5% during the same period. The New York City True Cost of Living report, published in April, found that half of the city’s working-age households earn less than the $100,000 necessary to meet their basic needs. That amounts to nearly 3 million people.”

The New York Post. “Migrants staying at the Big Apple’s controversial tent shelter at Floyd Bennett Field have started going door to door in nearby neighborhoods begging residents for cash, food and clothes, furious locals told The Post Friday. David Fitzgerald, 62, said he has noticed an influx of asylum seeker families showing up on his doorstep in Brooklyn’s Marine Park neighborhood in recent weeks asking for spare change — sparking safety fears among some of his neighbors. ‘I am all for charity, 100%. I’ll give you the shirt off my back, the money in my pocket, but not this way. It has got to stop,’ said Paul Sanzone, who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, said migrants now knock on his door on a ‘regular basis.'”

“He said he and his wife had been ‘on edge’ ever since two people who recently came looking for food and money were wearing what appeared to be ankle monitors. ‘It’s alarming,’ he said.”

The Associated Press. “Dozens of migrants were left abandoned at a gas station in Kankakee, Illinois, during the early morning hours Thursday as their bus driver told them they had arrived in Chicago, leaving them stranded and alone more than an hour outside the city, police said. The Kankakee County Sheriff’s office reported they were called to a gas station around 7:30 a.m. in the 3400 south block of Route 45/52 for what was described as a busload of migrants dropped off in a parking lot. Once there, officers discovered multiple groups of migrants, some of whom had started walking down the highway and expressway wrapped in blankets. After speaking with 11 people who were still at the gas station, officers learned the bus had traveled from El Paso, Texas, and dropped the group off around 4:30 a.m., with the bus driver ‘erroneously informing them that they had reached Chicago, their intended destination,’ police said. ‘The passengers, hailing from Venezuela, were left without money, food, adequate clothing, and were under the impression that they had reached their destination,’ the sheriff’s office said in a statement.”

“Kankakee Mayor Christopher W. Curtis told NBC Chicago in an email that the bus dropped off 30 to 40 individuals from Venezuela. He went on to say that the country’s current immigration system is ‘broken.’ …There is a process to come to our Country and the rules and laws must be followed,’ the mayor said, in part. ‘We understand that families have immigrated to our community for many years, but at pace that is substantial. We don’t have the housing, resources, or financial dollars available to handle busloads into community, especially with no announcement or warning. In the end, we have a duty to protect all our residents and visitors in our City and we will, however, our first duty and oath as elected officials is to help and protect our residents first and that is what we will do.'”

“Earlier this week, a plane carrying dozens of asylum-seekers arrived at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, having traveled to the city unannounced from Texas, officials said. In a statement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, his press secretary confirmed Texas is ‘expanding our operation to include flights to Chicago.’ The private aircraft’s arrival came one day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson repeatedly criticized Abbott while fielding questions from reporters about the death of a 5-year-old child who had been living at a migrant shelter in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood.”

“‘Until we get a handle on what has happened internationally, the city of Chicago, the city of Denver, the city of New York and all these other cities in which this raggedy governor of Texas is shipping people across the world, and particularly against the country; until we get a handle on that, we’re going to constantly have to come up with innovative approaches (to address the migrant crisis),’ Johnson told reporters Monday.”

KDVR in Colorado. “Residents who live near a migrant encampment at Zuni and Speer say the number of tents is growing and the trash is becoming a larger issue. On Thursday, nine buses arrived in Denver with 341 migrants inside. On Friday, an additional seven buses arrived. The city said that puts Denver on track to break 100 buses just in December. One of the main spots they’re landing is an encampment at Zuni Street and Speer Boulevard. Beau Blackford is one of those residents with concerns. ‘I just keep seeing more buses show up and more and more and it stresses me out, and if looks like the tents are coming up here, I don’t want to live there. The more that show up, the worse it’s going to get,’ Blackford said.”

Global News in Canada. “The Ontario government is providing over $490,000 over the next three years to help police in central Ontario combat and prevent auto thefts. On Wednesday, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith said $492,609.94 will help support the Peterborough Police Service, Rama First Nations Police Services and the Ontario Provincial Police’s Central Highway Safety Division. The province says from 2014 to 2021, there was a 72 per cent increase in auto thefts across Ontario — with a 14 per cent increase in 2022 alone. Solicitor General Michael Kerzner says in Ontario, a vehicle is stolen every 14 minutes.”

CTV News in Canada. “In Toronto neighbourhoods where car thieves break into homes to get keys – terrifying residents at home at the time – some are taking security into their own hands, with entire neighbourhoods looking to hire dedicated private security. In one case, 57 households banded together to hire a dedicated patrol car and security guards to patrol nightly from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. – a tactic common in gated communities but novel in neighbourhoods with public streets. ‘We went from nightly occurrences to zero occurrences for the last two months,’ said Ranko Vukovic of Blackbird Security, whose company provides the service in one neighbourhood, which asked not to be named.”

“In several terrifying videos obtained by CTV News, thieves can be seen breaking into homes to search for the keys their drivers have with them. In one case this fall, two thieves clad in hoodies and masks kick down a door together in a home in Rosedale. They come face-to-face with the man who lives there, who screams at them to get out. ‘I was lying in bed and heard a crash, and it jolted me, waking me up,’ said the man, Richard, who asked not to use his last name. ‘I walked down the stairs, and two guys were in the house, running around the main floor, clearly looking for my keys. It was scary, man. Super scary,’ he said. The thieves couldn’t find the keys and took off, Richard said. He said he is among a group in Rosedale that is also considering private security.”

“Coun. Dianne Saxe, who represents the ward of University-Rosedale, said she understands that people who feel desperate would turn to private services. ‘There is an enormous increase in auto theft in the last year. It’s higher than it’s been seen in decades. And my constituents are justifiably very frightened and distressed,’ she said. But Saxe said the city services need to do what they are meant to do, called for better coordination among police forces, and to fix structural financial problems facing the city since it was amalgamated. ‘I think it’s extremely harmful to the city for public services and public spaces to be degraded so that people who can withdraw into private services do – that can be a doom loop,’ she said.”

ABC News in Australia. “Thefts from retail stores have risen to their highest levels on record in Victoria, with fresh figures revealing a near 40 per cent jump in shoplifting incidents. In the year ending September 30, 2023, there were 25,607 recorded thefts from shops, up from 18,445 in the previous year. Crime Statistics Agency Victoria chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said the biggest rise in thefts had been around low-cost goods, rather than expensive luxury or electronic goods. ‘These aren’t diamond heists … when we look at the top three items that we’re seeing stolen, they tend to be consumable items,’ Ms Dowsley said. She said ‘liquor, snack food and clothing and soft drinks’ rounded out the top categories.”

“Petrol thefts have also risen in the past 12 months, which Ms Dowsley said was historically seen when there was pressure on people’s ability to pay. In a statement regarding the crime statistics, Victoria Police linked the rise in theft to inflation and cost-of-living pressures. ‘Police intelligence indicates as many as 40 per cent of offenders are first time offenders,’ the statement said. ‘In Melbourne, price rises in fuel, alcohol, cigarettes, groceries, and transport aligned with the items targeted in theft from shop incidents.'”

“ACRS research and engagement director Eloise Zoppos said ‘deviant behaviours’ that were not directly theft were also seen as more justifiable by those surveyed. ‘For example, 37 per cent said that scanning items as cheaper items when using self-check out was justifiable because of what’s happening in their economic situation and in the current climate,’ Dr Zoppos said.”

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This Post Has 96 Comments

  1. ‘The key issue? Who was the least Californian. ‘It’s ludicrous’ that they call themselves Republicans, Mayor Jason Pierce said during an interview on election day in early December. ‘You find a lot of Californians who move here don’t realize how much [liberal] baggage they’re bringing with them’

    This is a funny article. The first thing these K-fa cops start doing is hoarding shacks.

    1. ‘You find a lot of Californians who move here don’t realize how much [liberal] baggage they’re bringing with them.’

      Oh, they know alright; they’re proud like cancer metastasizing.

  2. ‘The private aircraft’s arrival came one day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson repeatedly criticized Abbott while fielding questions from reporters about the death of a 5-year-old child who had been living at a migrant shelter in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood…‘Until we get a handle on what has happened internationally, the city of Chicago, the city of Denver, the city of New York and all these other cities in which this raggedy governor of Texas is shipping people across the world, and particularly against the country; until we get a handle on that, we’re going to constantly have to come up with innovative approaches (to address the migrant crisis)’

    You don’t sound like yer very bright Brandon.

    1. You don’t sound like yer very bright Brandon.

      Probably isn’t. But he’s in charge, and that’s what Leftists want, to be in charge. They care not if the city is collapsing, and drifts from crisis to crisis, with mayhem everywhere. As long as they are in charge, it’s all good.

      1. I find it interesting at how bad he is at basic math. Chicago is only getting a tiny fraction of the daily crossing load. Texas is way behind in their shipments and I’m sure they have a call out to every bus company they can find to get more busses. Texas could easily send 500 busses and still have 500 more scheduled if they had the equipment. Brandon is dumb as a rock. Keep calling him names Brandon, I’m sure that will fix it.

        For perspective for anyone who doesn’t grasp the real issue, 50 people times 500 busses is 25,000 people. Currently 10,000 a day are crossing so that is only 2.5 days worth on 500 busses. Brandon ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Better open some more warehouses, idiot.

          1. For a quick comparison, NYC is claiming 150,000 invaders so far which is 3000 (yes three thousand) buses at 50 replacements per bus. That is still just a fraction of the millions that have crossed. Chicago has no idea what they are signing up for. Idiots.

        2. Currently 10,000 a day are crossing

          I think it’s more than that. As I mentioned in another post, it’s like there’s a Conga line at the border.

          1. It’s currently about 10K per day. Which works out to ~300K in a month…enough people to populate a small city.

            Remember, those are only the people being encountered by the BP at the southern border. Not included are people who sneak in undetected; people who pass through border checkpoints (possibly on fake papers); or people who enter legally but don’t leave when they’re supposed to.

        3. Keep calling him names Brandon, I’m sure that will fix it.

          It’s all Kabuki theater. Mayor Brandon fully understands what is happening. but doesn’t care one bit. Sure, he pretends to care and hence the harsh words towards Gov. Abbot. He and all the other leftist mayors take their orders from DC, and right now they are being told to keep absorbing invaders. There will be time to resettle them into red states and towns after 2024 is stolen.

          1. Realistically, they have already done that. Every town here in TN already has a bunch, I even saw some in Home Depot tonight. All the big construction jobs downtown have been staffed with short brown people for some time now. I realized quite some time ago that all we can do is adapt to these new realities. Trump was the last chance to stop it and we all saw how that turned out, at some point it is all going to burn. I’m hoping Brandon is going to get what he has coming to him from his own constituents, they are starting to get uppity. Sadly, they still have no real grasp of what is coming.

          2. “All the big construction jobs downtown have been staffed with short brown people for some time now.”
            You say that is if it’s a relatively new development. This has been the case in the Southwest for decades.

    3. neighborhood.”

      “‘Until we get a handle on what has happened internationally……..”
      (Does he mean close the border? He doesn’t want that)

      “raggedy governor of Texas is shipping people across ……..”
      (Exactly, shiipping them to blue cities and states where they are wanred, right.)

      “we’re going to constantly have to come up with innovative approaches,,,,,,”
      (What he means is, tax the hell out of anyone with a job or two nickels to rub together, and give it away buying tents and latrines)

  3. ‘He said he and his wife had been ‘on edge’ ever since two people who recently came looking for food and money were wearing what appeared to be ankle monitors’

    Maybe homeland security just wants to keep in touch with these future rocket surgeons Paul.

    1. Migrants staying at the Big Apple’s controversial tent shelter at Floyd Bennett Field have started going door to door in nearby neighborhoods begging residents for cash, food and clothes, furious locals told The Post Friday.

      As predicted. There is going to be a lot more of this and they’re going to get a lot more aggressive. They won’t beg, they’re going to demand you feed and clothe them, because “you’re rich”.

      1. Up until the pandemic, the illegal migrants didn’t seem to have much trouble finding work in construction or landscaping or housekeeping. Illegal, yes, but I guess you could call it honest work. Have all those unskilled jobs been saturated by now, and that’s why the migrants are just sorta hanging around?

        1. They have never before arrived in such huge numbers. It’s like there’s a Conga line at the border.

          Also, the Venezuelans are not Mexicans or Salvadorans. Few in the local Hispanic communities will welcome them nor help them network into the underground economy.

          1. If anything, I would expect the Mexican and Salvadoran communities to circle the wagons to repel the Venezuelans.

    1. I’ll admit to occasionally enjoying the police bodycam YT videos of armed suspects getting shot, and then bleed-out while hand cuffed. Happy Holidays!

    2. Door cams are useless as a deterrent. I see plenty of messages on NextDoor with footage of porch pirates and car break ins. The perps are unconcerned about being caught on video.

    3. Amazing that anyone leaves their door unlocked, opens the door to a strange-looking guy, etc.

  5. “On Thursday, nine buses arrived in Denver with 341 migrants inside. On Friday, an additional seven buses arrived.”

    Taxpayers are paying for ALL of this.

    1. Denver7 — Denver’s migrant shelter capacity, already at its highest ever, sees 300 more migrants arrive in a single day (12/22/2023):

      “The number of Central and South American migrants staying in Denver has reached record levels, with those numbers expected to continue growing over the next several weeks after lawmakers in Washington failed to reach a compromise before the holiday break to address the record number of arrivals from the southern border.

      As of Friday morning, 3,822 migrants were staying in city shelters – a 22% increase from the 3,135 migrants who were staying in city shelters on Oct. 13. Those numbers are expected to continue growing as hundreds more keep arriving each week as they flee widespread violence and economic instability in their home countries.

      The record-breaking pace at which migrants are arriving in Denver led Mayor Mike Johnston earlier this month to request the help of bilingual-speaking Denverites to work for the city to help with staffing shortages at these shelters.

      “We were actually able to hire more than 200 people. They’re coming in strong and we’re very thankful,” said Jon Ewing with the city’s Department of Human Services. “Even still, with the holidays and the sheer number of people coming in every day, staffing remains an issue. What we need is for that community support to continue into the new year because it is not slowing down.”

      https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/denver/denvers-migrant-shelter-capacity-already-at-its-highest-ever-sees-300-more-migrants-arrive-in-a-single-day

      300 a day that adds up to over 100,000 in a year.

      1. 300 a day that adds up to over 100,000 in a year.

        Which is why they will soon be banging on people’s doors, demanding that they feed them.

    2. More local news.

      Westword — Tight Schedule for Homeless Housing Meetings Has Denver Neighbors Feeling “Bulldozed” (12/23/2023):

      “some residents have voiced frustration about getting a meeting with the mayor only a few days after that council vote that will allow shelters in their neighborhood.

      “They didn’t let us know about it until it was already done,” John Milne, a Globeville resident, says about plans to convert the Radisson Hotel at 4849 Bannock Street into a 200-unit shelter. “They do deals, and we don’t know about it until it’s already done.”

      “The deal is done already,” adds Joe Herrera, another Globeville resident. “They do this in such a small, short time. They want to be able to say that they talked to us, but they’re really just blowing smoke up our asses.”

      Herrera and Milne both attended a community information meeting on December 21 to hear the mayor’s plan for the Radisson Hotel, which previously housed migrants. The meeting was “all smoke and mirrors,” Herrera says.

      According to the city’s Homelessness Resolution Operations Center, residents were given 21 days’ notice of the meetings, but it admits that Denver officials were in a rush.”

      https://www.westword.com/news/denver-schedule-for-housing-meetings-leave-residents-feeling-bulldozed-18554358

        1. It already is.

          Depending on how many jobsites I visit on any random weekday, and their locations around Denver, I could see as many as a few hundred homeless / invaders through the course of a day.

          I can’t remember the last time I left the house and drove 5 minutes in any direction without seeing at least one.

          1. What I meant by “complete dystopia” is that life would become so unbearable that a mass exodus out of Dumver would begin. Not quite there yet, but 100,000 more invaders could make it reality.

        2. Most urban cities went to shit during the late 60’s to early 90’s. There was a gentrification during the 90’s-2020 but its all going back to shit again.

      1. Kankakee isn’t Chicago. It’s super ghetto and really far south of Chicago. It’s considered downstate Illinois.

    1. 1,200+ reader comments on the Post article, many of which discussing the Post’s removal of comments deemed too critical of the Great Replacement.

      It’s a Murdoch owned rag, just like the Daily Mail.

    2. “Migrants staying at Floyd Bennett Field have started going door to door in nearby neighborhoods to beg for cash.
      Paul Martinka

      The “Migrants” in this photo begging for cash are wearing nicer winter coats than I ever had and I grew up in Connecticut.

        1. Bill Melugin
          ·
          Dec 22, 2023
          @BillMelugin_
          ·
          Flying out of Tucson airport tonight and the terminal is full of illegal immigrants released into the US with their DHS paperwork. Airport personnel are directing them into a specific “immigration line” at security while all other passengers go thru regular line. I likely saw…

          https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1738362253664252219?s=20

          Bill Melugin
          @BillMelugin_

          Another immigration line in a separate terminal instructing non-US citizens only to enter there.

          https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1738363538819969199?s=20

      2. So how are all these people getting booked on flights two days before Christmas? Are the airlines scheduling special charter flights just for them? Or are Americans getting bumped to make room for them?

      3. The government used to ship these people during the wee hours of the night, hoping no one would notice. Now they do it in the middle of the day. The don’t care anymore if anyone sees it.

        The White House spokes bobblehead just laughs when a journalist asks what is going on. The bottom line is that the regime is doing whatever it wants and they seem utterly unconcerned about optics. Nothing seems to matter anymore. No behavior or action is considered too outrageous.

      4. I stopped giving to the Church 2 years ago. Should have done it sooner but Catholic guilt. I’m over that.

  7. Bet people busting in the cheap Cardboard doors , looking for car keys ,wouldn’t get far in my area ,it works in Canada ,and from wherever they come from,Canada is full of “Peaceful” doorbusters, they deserve it ….

  9. From the first link:

    In 2000, as pensions were rapidly disappearing elsewhere, California Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation giving state employees one of the most sweeping and generous pension plans ever created.

    It granted more than 200,000 civil servants the ability to retire at 55 and, in many cases, collect more than half of their highest salary for the rest of their lives. California Highway Patrol officers did even better: They could retire at 50 and receive as much as 90% of their peak pay as long as they lived.

    County and local governments in California that were not part of the state’s plan quickly adopted similar policies so that their best employees wouldn’t jump to state jobs.

    Supporters of the measure — mostly public employee unions — sold it with the promise that it would impose no new costs on California taxpayers. To finance it, the state employees’ pension fund would make wise investments and the money would grow fast enough to pay the bill in full.

    That’s not what happened. Successive market downturns — including the dot.com bubble burst and the housing collapse of 2008 — made a hash of those rosy predictions and state and local governments have spent years shoveling billions of taxpayer dollars into their plans to make up for the losses and keep them afloat.

    In 2016, Davis admitted signing the measure had been a mistake, but little has changed. That means, every year, thousands of Californians in their 50s walk away from government jobs with plenty of time and money on their hands. Many of them are looking for greener pastures.

    A retired sergeant from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, who asked that his name not be published because of credible threats from an ex-inmate he helped arrest, arrived in 2019 with his $128,000 pension and guaranteed health coverage.

    Does he feel any remorse for leaving California, the source of his retirement income?

    “You get over that real quick,” he said, laughing at the question. “You put 30 years of blood, sweat and tears into the city. You don’t feel guilty at all.”

    He lived in Southern California his whole life and used to love it, he said. But he, too, had grown to view the state as a toxic stew of crime, homelessness and liberal policies that made police work seem thankless.

    He has two grown daughters who live in Southern Idaho now, too. One is a real estate agent, the other is a hairstylist, and while neither could hope to afford a house when they lived in California, he said, they own four between them in Idaho.

    “They’re killing it,” he said, sounding every bit the proud father. “It’s like a dream.”

    His daughter has sold about 20 houses to colleagues from the LASD, he said. Most of them are retired, but some are still working and have arranged their schedules so they can make the commute.

    He lives in a master-planned community called Legacy with enormous gates, wide boulevards and its own three-hole golf course. It’s known locally as “Little Orange County,” and it looks like a slice of Irvine plunked in the middle of rolling prairie.

    As he stood in the sand on the beach in his backyard, casting his fishing line into a man-made lake, he pointed to the other houses around the water, listing off the departments their owners worked for: Santa Monica PD, LAPD, California Highway Patrol. Nine of the 11 houses within sight were occupied by former California cops.

    They’re about 90% Republicans, he said. His own, spotless garage is adorned with enormous, red, white and blue banners reading, “Let’s Go Brandon” and “Trump 2024 Take America Back.”

      1. “Original | UNEDITED – Let’s Go Brandon”

        Ha! I had forgotten about the “Roots” of Let’s Go Brandon. 🙂

    2. If any of those pensioners aren’t paid for any reason, they should have the right to foreclose on the state capitol.

      1. What good will that do if the state is $68 billion in the hole, despite a booming economy? You can’t squeeze blood out of a stone.

        1. Why do you think they’re running Newsome for President? He won’t forget who voted for him in his recall.

        2. We have this convo in IL all the time. Cities will collapse and not provide basic services to ensure pensions get paid. IL has a state law that allows the capital to intercept funds anywhere in the state to pay the pensions. There may be no police but the pensions will be paid. Check out what East St. Louis is going through now. They can’t pay for basic services. State says, too bad, pensions get paid first.

    3. Newsome all broke and angry now while all his CA retired public safety workers bail the state . All the ones I know went to Prescott AZ .

      And what about those reparations ??

  10. Do you get the uneasy feeling that the housing market has been haunted this year by the Ghost of Christmas Past?

    1. Finance ·Housing
      Homebuyers are being haunted like Scrooge this holiday season as Fortune 500 chief economist sees ‘housing market of Christmas past’ settling in for 2024
      BY Sydney Lake
      December 23, 2023 at 3:25 AM PST

      Current market conditions bring to mind nothing like an unwelcome visit of a “housing market of Christmas past.”

      The old adage that history repeats itself can be just as worrisome as it is comforting. But in a time of stress, like a housing crisis, recession or other economic downturn, it’s human nature to string together comparisons to the past as a way to understand the present says Mark Fleming, chief economist with Fortune 500 financial corporation First American.
      …
      https://fortune.com/2023/12/23/homebuyers-are-being-haunted-like-scrooge-this-holiday-season-as-fortune-500-chief-economist-sees-housing-market-of-christmas-past-settling-in-for-2024/

    2. If you had to pull a round number out of your arse, by what percentage would you say US homes are overvalued?

      1. Finance ·Housing
        Fitch Ratings says U.S. homes are ‘overvalued’ by nearly 10%—but homebuyers shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon
        BY Will Daniel
        December 22, 2023 at 9:20 AM PST
        A “For Sale” sign outside of a home in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

        It’s not just the rent that’s too damn high—so are home prices, according to a major ratings agency. But the economic landscape this year means that’s unlikely to change soon.
        …
        https://fortune.com/2023/12/22/fitch-ratings-homes-overvalued-nearly-10-percent-homebuyer-affordability-issues-continue/

    3. Going into 2024, would it be smarter to buy risk-free Treasurys yielding 4%+, or risk assets forecasted to gain around 4%, IF the widely-touted soft landing scenario holds up?

      1. Advertiser Disclosure
        Personal Finance
        Mortgages
        Will home prices drop in 2023 and 2024?
        Written by Molly Grace; edited by Laura Grace Tarpley
        Updated
        Dec 19, 2023, 3:09 PM PST

        Our experts answer readers’ home-buying questions and write unbiased product reviews (here’s how we assess mortgages). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners; however, our opinions are our own.

        – Even as demand has slowed, extremely low supply has kept home prices from falling.

        – Prices have increased significantly in 2023, and they’ll probably go up in 2024, as well.

        – Most major forecasts predict that home prices will end 2024 between 0.7% and 4.1% higher than they are right now.
        …
        https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/home-prices-drop

  11. I read this morning that “A Canadian journalist who pushed for people to get the COVID-19 vaccine and its million boosters suddenly died at age 33.
    …
    He was known for advocating the use of vaccine passports and draconian mandates. He also called for the firing of anyone who refused the jabs.

    Vandaelle argued people who defied the government’s orders should be arrested and taken away to concentration camps.
    …
    In one social media post, Vandaelle stated:

    “I, for one, advocate we bring the carrot and the stick. Incentivize getting the vaccine however, we like – ice cream, lotteries, literally whatever, I don’t care – and require vaccination to do non-essential things. Wanna go to a bar to watch the game? Passport.””

    I’ll give him this, he seems to have practiced what he preached.

    1. I’ll give him this, he seems to have practiced what he preached.

      He was a useful idiot. And I’ll bet that his friends and family are in complete denial about the cause of his untimely passing.

  12. ‘sparking safety fears among some of his neighbors. ‘I am all for charity, 100%. I’ll give you the shirt off my back, the money in my pocket, but not this way. It has got to stop’

    You sound kinda like a communist Paul. That’s making it hard to see where yer line is. You say take all my sh$t, but you want to be safe.

  13. Rumble — They Want to Herd Us All Away From Rural Areas Into Cities Where We Are Controlled (4m37s):

    https://rumble.com/v42ty08-they-want-to-herd-us-all-away-from-rural-areas-into-cities-where-we-are-con.html

    It’s okay to kill communists. Yes, it really is. Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean there should be pause in killing communists. If anything, celebrate the birth of Christ by killing *MORE* communists. As always, aim for the blue helmets…

    2. The woman in the video is Rosa Koire (may she rest in peace) who saw this coming a long time ago. Her videos, articles and predictions of which many have come to pass used to be posted on this blog regularly.

      Behind the Green Mask: U.N. Agenda 21 Paperback –
      Publication date. September 2, 2011

      by Rosa Koire (Author),

      If you’ve been wanting an interesting, clearly written, how-to-manual for identifying and fighting UN Agenda 21, here it is. Agenda 21–All the information you need to understand what is happening in your town, why it’s happening, who is behind it, and what you can do to stop it. BEHIND THE GREEN MASK: U.N. Agenda 21 is 172 pages of truth. Part history, part current events, part hand-to-hand combat, and part blueprint for keeping your freedom, this is one book that you’ll put to work immediately. Boots on the ground and all hands on deck is the order of the day. Awareness is the first step in the Resistance.

      https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Green-Mask-U-N-Agenda/dp/0615494544

    1. If anyone is expecting a road to Damascus conversion, I’d bet against it. As soon as she is fit to reappear in public she will double down on her commitment to immigrants. Why? Because her paycheck depends on her keeping the true faith.

  15. ‘Kerzner says in Ontario, a vehicle is stolen every 14 minutes’

    You got a real mickey mouse operation going there Mike.

  17. The Epoch Times
    @EpochTimes
    Small New York Town Devastated as Gun Plant Shuts Down

    The village of Ilion, New York, faces an uncertain future—and identity—in the wake of the impending closure of the manufacturing plant and the 270 jobs lost.

    https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1738602868717039776?s=20

    By Allan Stein
    |
    Dec 23, 2023
    Updated:
    Dec 23, 2023
    ILION, N.Y.—In the village of Ilion, New York, 80 miles west of the state capital in Albany, residents are mourning the departure of gunmaker Remington Arms Co. after two centuries of continuous operation.

    Without fanfare, the company announced last month that the manufacturing plant would be closing its doors on March 4, 2024.

    “I feel like a family member has died,” Ilion Mayor John Stephens told The Epoch Times. “My dad raised four kids on a paycheck from there for 37 years. He walked to work and carried his lunch every day.”

    Mr. Stephens said no one expected the announcement a week after Thanksgiving that the plant was set to close.

    On Nov. 30, at 3:26 p.m., the company notified village officials of the decision by email. The message noted that “all separations” with the village would be completed by March 18, 2024.

    Likewise, the company notified its 270 employees that they would soon be out of a job.

    “They brought the second and third shifts in and said they were done,” Mr. Stephens said. “They notified the first shift in person. I found out through the media. The owner’s group didn’t even contact me.”

    Mr. Stephens said the company made the announcement just five months into a newly ratified employee union contract.

    “To say we were shocked [by the announcement] is probably an understatement,” the mayor told Ilion’s Village Board of Trustees at a public meeting on Dec. 11.

    The Georgia-based company said it would continue to make firearms at its facility in Huntsville, Alabama, which opened in 2014, a year after New York’s passage of the Safe Act, which created stricter gun laws.

    The anti-gun political climate in Democrat-controlled Massachusetts prompted competitor Smith & Wesson to move from its longtime base in Springfield to Maryville, Tennessee. The company announced the opening of its new headquarters there in October.

    In Ilion, the community reaction to the Remington plant closure has been a sense of loss and bewilderment, Mr. Stephens said.

    Many are wondering what will become of the 10,000-square-foot plant and the village’s Remington identity.

    1. BUSINESS
      San Diego home sales crater as the median price reaches peak again
      A home in Chula Vista on Ortega Street that is listed for $1.1 million.
      A for sale sign hangs outside a single-family home in Chula Vista on Ortega Street that is listed for $1.1 million in late December. The 3,016-square-foot home has seven bedrooms and four bathrooms.
      (Phillip Molnar/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
      San Diego County home sales hit one of its lowest points in history in November as higher interest rates affect listings
      BY PHILLIP MOLNAR
      DEC. 22, 2023 5:30 AM PT
      San Diego County’s home price is back to its all-time peak but it did so without a lot of sales.

      The region’s median home price was $850,000 in November, said CoreLogic data released Friday. That matches the peak reached in July and May 2022. Prices are now up 10.9 percent in a year.

      Competition for a small number of homes has been enough to keep prices up, but likely not enough sales to keep the county’s real estate agents that busy. There were 1,982 home sales, which is the seventh-lowest sales month in San Diego County history, show records going back to 1988.

      Mark Goldman, a real estate analyst with C2 Financial Corp., said lower interest rates are still not enough to motivate most homebuyers to move — locking up homes that would normally be on the market.

      “If I had a 2.5 percent mortgage, why would I downsize into a 6 or 7 percent mortgage?” he said. “Then, I’d have a bigger payment for a smaller house.”

      In the last week of November, the average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 7.2 percent, said Freddie Mac. It had fallen to 6.67 percent by Thursday.

      Even with recent drops, Goldman said it is still unlikely to make a big change in the market next year. As of the end of last year, 91.8 percent of homeowners had mortgage rates below 6 percent, said the National Mortgage Database. Nearly a quarter of buyers, 24 percent, had a rate below 3 percent.
      …
      https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-12-22/san-diego-home-sales-crater-as-the-median-price-reaches-peak-again

    1. Financial Times
      US politics & policy
      Crypto industry steps up political donations as mood in Washington sours
      Bid to ‘depoliticise’ debate on digital assets as spending rises ahead of US election
      Elizabeth Warren
      The agenda in Washington is increasingly being shaped by crypto critics, notably Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator
      Scott Chipolina in London and Alex Rogers in Washington 3 hours ago

      Crypto companies have sharply increased donations to US politicians as sentiment in Washington hardens against the digital assets market.

      Companies including Coinbase, the Nasdaq-listed exchange, stablecoin operator Circle and a16z, the crypto investing arm of venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, are directing more funds towards electing pro-crypto legislators and influencing stalled bills in Congress ahead of the presidential election next year. They have been joined by high-profile venture capital and digital asset investors such as Ron Conway, Fred Wilson and the Winklevoss twins.

      This week Coinbase, Circle and a16z were among the companies to put $78mn into Fairshake, a federal super Pac that can take unlimited money from corporations and individuals to spend on elections, to be directed to “pro-crypto leadership”.

      “We’re going to do whatever it takes to depoliticise crypto,” said Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase. “Our lobbying, our grassroots work and now Fairshake will create room for a public debate on the merits, instead of our industry being used as a political football for demagogues who don’t understand the social benefits of the technology.”
      …

      1. “…who don’t understand the social benefits of the technology.”

        Do such social benefits include funding international crime rings and terrorist organizations?

        2. The role of cryptocurrency in financing terrorist organizations
          Nov 4, 2023 5:35 PM EST
          Ali Rogin and Harry Zahn

          Shortly after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a virtual currency exchange in Gaza that it said had facilitated transactions for Hamas using decentralized digital currencies. Former federal prosecutor Ari Redbord joins Ali Rogin to discuss how terrorist groups are using cryptocurrency to fund their operations and how law enforcement is responding.
          …
          https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-role-of-cryptocurrency-in-financing-terrorist-organizations

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