Politics, Moderate
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Californians Overcome Another Disaster: Their Primary Election
SAN DIEGO -- Here's a political postcard from California, where the scenery is beautiful, but the election choices are grotesque.
It makes for a depressing vibe. ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, whose show broadcasts from Los Angeles, picked up on it.
"Here in California, we have a real toss-up in the races for governor and for mayor of L.A...Read more
Trump's Self-Promotion Is Always Shameless and Sometimes Illegal: The President Tramples the Rule of Law in His Rush to Glorify Himself
President Donald Trump has a long history of naming things after himself, including Trump Tower, the Trump National Golf Club, the Trump Taj Mahal casino, Trump University, Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka and Trump: The Game. But as he discovered last week, such self-promotion can be legally problematic when it requires congressional approval.
On ...Read more
Trump Finally Gets Smart on Iran War -- But Can He Follow Through?
SAN DIEGO -- I honestly didn't think it was possible.
But, as remarkable as it sounds, President Donald Trump managed to say something really smart about the war with Iran.
Before we get to the smart thing, let's look back at some of the dumb things the president has done since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. It was ...Read more
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Tower of Babel?
On May 25, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence." This pastoral letter has been much anticipated by the Catholic Church, and immediate news headlines expressed intrigue that the pope addressed the moral dilemma of AI and compared it to the story ...Read more
Lie at Heart of Trump's Slush Fund
The Orwellian 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' Trump has created -- the legal equivalent of twirling the combination lock on Fort Knox and driving off with gold bars -- purports to be righting a wrong. The bogus (and badly written) "settlement agreement," which is laughable as there was no true lawsuit, claims to be compensating those who were victims ...Read more
DNC's Failed Autopsy Could Prove Fatal to Democrats in Midterms
SAN DIEGO -- Every time I see another example of President Donald Trump weakening America -- by desecrating our Constitution, destroying our traditions, or diminishing our position in the world -- I get furious.
At Democrats.
The way I see it, Trump didn't actually win the 2024 presidential election. Democrats lost it.
Think about it. ...Read more
Even Republicans Are Rebelling at Trump's Blatantly Corrupt 'Anti-Weaponization Fund': Using Taxpayer Money to Reward the President's Allies Has Nothing to Do With His Claims Against the IRS
Last week, Republican senators grilled Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about the $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" created by President Donald Trump's settlement of his lawsuit against the IRS. About 45 senators attended the meeting, and "at least half of them were blasting the attorney general," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reported. "...Read more
Becerra is the Best of the Bunch -- But He's No Bobby Kennedy
SAN DIEGO -- Many Mexican Americans who grew up amid the subtle racism of California probably never thought they'd see the day that one of our own would be elected governor of the nation's most populous state.
Now Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra -- former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, former California Attorney General, ...Read more
Churches Aid Young Adults Battling Mental Health Issues
We are nearing the end of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, and one of the main focuses this year has been urging people to seek help when needed, as more efforts are being made to reduce the stigma around struggling with emotional wellness. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, "(M)ore than one in five U.S. adults live ...Read more
Just How Corrupt Is Trump? Here Are the Numbers
This is the Trump era, which means if you blink, you will miss another shattering example of unabashed corruption. I don't usually write about the same topic twice in a row, but the latest revelations of Trump's wanton, shameless profiteering from the White House cannot go unremarked. The term "drain the swamp" will go down in history as a ...Read more
In the Background of San Diego Mosque Attack, A Familiar White Noise
SAN DIEGO -- If there is one thing that Americans don't need, it's more whine. The latest vintage -- which seems to be popular with young people -- is particularly bitter. It's not fit for public consumption. It needs to be poured down the drain, so it can slither its way back to the sewer from whence it came.
Some things never change. When ...Read more
A State Assault Case Against an ICE Agent Could Illustrate the Limits of Supremacy Clause Immunity: That Defense Applies Only When an Officer 'Reasonably' Believed He Was Acting Within His Federal Authority
The day after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro shot Minneapolis resident Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg, Kristi Noem, then the secretary of Homeland Security, described that use of force as a clearly justified response to "an attempted murder." Sosa-Celis and two other Venezuelans had "ambushed and attacked" Castro...Read more
Republican Steve Hilton Doesn't Understand California -- So He Can't Lead It
SAN DIEGO -- Steve Hilton and I aren't exactly chums. But, it's fair to say that, on those occasions when the former Fox News host and I crossed paths in the media trenches, it was on friendly terms.
The 56-year-old native of Great Britain is quite likable. Now that he's running for governor of California, that's an asset. Several of his ...Read more
Memorial Day stories of sacrifice and courage
As we head into Memorial Day weekend, it’s a great time to read “Chicken Soup for the Veteran’s Soul.”
One powerful story tells about Mike, shot down in 1967 and captured by the Vietnamese. He grew up poor in Alabama — he didn’t wear shoes until he was 13.
Mike made a needle out of a piece of bamboo and gradually sewed scraps of ...Read more
Are you excited for America’s grads?
Tyrades! by Danny Tyree
“It’s been a long road / Gettin’ from there to here…”
Yes, some of us with students in our lives have had “Faith of the Heart,” while others have had “Faith of the Administration Continuing to Force Dubious Students Through the Pipeline”; but it all ends in the same milestone: graduation.
(“Through ...Read more
The Trump Administration Is a Powerful but Unreliable Ally of Second Amendment Advocates: Even as the Justice Department Files Lawsuits Aimed at Vindicating Gun Rights, It Undermines Them in Other Cases
After the Supreme Court clarified the constitutional test for gun control laws in 2022, many longstanding restrictions on the right to arms looked newly vulnerable. Second Amendment groups jumped at the opportunity, filing one lawsuit after another in cases that frequently pitted them against the Biden administration.
Those groups now have a ...Read more
How Tucker Carlson Taught Me to Keep an Open Mind
SAN DIEGO -- Occasionally, I'll find myself standing in front of a group of college journalism students. It's my job to give them tips on writing and storytelling and the proper way to communicate.
I yammer on even though I'm not sure if I'm getting through. I hope I am. But I've learned that the generation gap is a real thing, and -- when I'...Read more
Why more modern parents prefer goofy baby names
The Social Security Administration just released the most popular baby names for 2025, and they reveal an unfortunate trend.
Girls’ names lean toward elegance and tradition — names our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had. Olivia remained No. 1 for the seventh year, followed by Charlotte, Emma, Amelia, Sophia, Mia, Isabella, Evelyn, ...Read more
Show Love -- Reject Bitterness
May 7 marked our nation's 75th annual National Day of Prayer. This milestone year of reverence to the Lord carried the theme "Glorify God Among the Nations -- Seeking Him in All Generations." For many, this theme holds special significance, as we will be celebrating America's 250th anniversary in July. The prayer that was posted on the NDP ...Read more
Trump's Corruption Could Be His Undoing
Did you catch the story about Trump trying to raid the Treasury to the tune of $10 billion? It's the latest in a string of grasping, grubby assaults on public integrity that have marked the Trump regime. This is not just the most corrupt presidency in American history; it is among the most corrupt regimes on earth.
Trigger warning: The thefts ...Read more




















































