I didn’t realize Ceres had become so blue with its voters – at least that’s the takeaway when you look to see how voters in Stanislaus County voted on Prop 50. Generally speaking, if you voted against 50 you’re a conservative who doesn’t want politicians gerrymandering district boundaries for their benefit; but if you voted for 50 you believed the “get back at Trump” TV commercials run by puppet master Newsom. And we all paid $250 million to decide that on the ballot!
Stanislaus County voters narrowly rejected Prop 50 by a margin of 70,008 “no” votes to 68,076 “yes” votes. But a breakdown shows that a number of cities have a high concentration of red voters, among them being those living in the country (72 percent “no”); Oakdale which voted 83 percent “no”; Waterford which voted 76 percent “no”; and Hughson which is solidly red with 73 percent “no” and Turlock which voted 56 percent “no.”
So then you come over to Ceres where things got blue. Ceres voters were 71 percent “yes” on 50. Other communities in the blue camp were: Patterson, 85 percent “yes”; Newman, 60 percent “yes”; Riverbank, 52 percent “yes”; and Modesto, 58 percent “yes.”
You’ll notice that Patterson and Newman on the west side of the county were blue, no doubt due to the numbers of Bay Area liberal refugees who brought their politics when they settled in our county for economic reasons only and commute to their high paying jobs.
So why is Ceres is bluer than Modesto and Turlock? Maybe it’s because Ceres is of a lower socioeconomic level than Turlock and definitely lower than Hughson.
As of 2023, Ceres has a poverty rate of 14.4 percent and household median income of $76,862 and a median age of 32.7. We know that younger voters and poorer folks who rely on government assistance tend to vote more liberal.
Turlock has a poverty rate of 10.8 percent as of 2023 and household median income of $79,807 and median age of 34.6.
While Hughson’s poverty rate is 12.2 percent, its household median income is $92,303 – far greater than Ceres or Hughson. And the median age in Hughson is 40.2. Hughson is older and wealthier and their self-reliance makes them distrust government.
If you have your ideas why Ceres has become so progressive, let me know.
* * * * *
The lack of morals in some young people is shocking to those who have never stolen.
Surveillance video was posted online last week by APS Market on Central Avenue of a large number of hoodie wearing hoodlums – they rode to the store on bikes – and proceed to shoplift merchandise from the cooler section. They appeared to be kids in junior high of lower grades of high school, seen stuffing cans of beverages like beer and energy drinks into their waistbands and under their sweaters. They then walked out. It looked to be an organized.
This is what happens when there are no consequences for law breakers. I’d be curious to know if any of them had dads.
I’d suggest that the owner limit how many of these punks come into his store, or at least make sure their hoodies are off so they can be identified and receive the social flogging they deserve.
* * * * *
Newly sworn-in Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva told some huge whoppers about her encounter with ICE agents in Tucson, Arizona on Dec. 5.
ICE agents were working with IRS agents to carry out as many as 16 warrants in southern Arizona in a years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations. But the protestors, like the privileged and spoiled generation they come from, interfered and got in the way. Two ICE agents were injured during assaults, which included throwing objects and kicking vehicles. Pepper spray was fired at the ground to gain control over the unruly mob.
Grijalva said she was on her way to lunch at the nearby Mexican seafood and grill restaurant Taco Giro when she just happened to come across “a community protecting their people.” Later she admitted showing up to “protect the people in this community.” So it was a lie; she wasn’t just going to lunch. She planned to go down and make a scene by interfering with law enforcement, which is a crime. She suggested her people were protesting what she called a lack of due process but obtaining search warrants is part of due process, which is then followed by arrest and arraignment and trial. If she only knew a little bit about civics.
Grijalva claimed she was pepper sprayed in the face. Video proves she was lying. A pepper spray ball hit behind her feet and she had no ill effects from it.
Rep. Grijalva said ICE agents were aggressive yet she appeared to be the aggressive one, getting in the face of agents and yelling obscenities at them.
The arrogant new Congress person thinks her position allows her to ask questions of agents during an operation and while they are in the process of gaining control over a ruly mob. It must have hurt her feelings when an agent told her: “I don’t care who you are. You need to get out of the way.”
What a privileged individual she must think she is. And apparently she doesn’t believe that her “community” doesn’t have to abide by law.
Her lies grew for the MC NOW audience when she told Jenn Psaki that she was shot at. Psaki didn’t even question her claim.
Grijalva is like all these other progressive creeps who bend the truth or, in her case, lie to get TV time to fight Trump.
* * * * *
If I were Satan, I would try to distract everyone from the most significant holiday of the year to morph into nothing but a worldwide go-into-debt shopping spree.
I’d even make Easter about eggs and a mythical bunny – any tactic to divert our attention from the Savior of the world.
I see the whole world making this Christmas holiday about a commercial enterprise, which has nothing to do with God’s gift to humanity, a life preserver he threw to sinners in a sea of sin 2000 years ago. God saw how corrupt the human heart became on the first day that sin was committed in the Garden of Eden and because He loved his creation so much He decided to send a sacrifice to earth in the form of God in the flesh through a human embryo. His name was Jesus and so many people have either forgotten or dismissed him to a myth like the tooth fairy – which is the ultimate put-down.
To some folks the only reason to celebrate Christmas today is to buy gifts and get back more. Gift giving is all fine and fun, but how many children grow up today with no idea what this holiday is actually about?
Man was unable to find his way out of his predicament of losing his soul. In setting up his creation God required perfection of man simply for the fact that He is a perfect God. When mankind messed all that up, sin and death entered the world and communion with the creator was severed. Ever since the world has been subjected to untold amounts of suffering and pain. But God didn’t leave things there; He sought to remedy the situation by becoming God in the flesh, and sacrificing himself on the cross.
* * * * *
Swill-well sure is cranking out the press releases to the newspapers such as the Courier. At least they are acknowledging us because Newsom doesn’t notify the smaller newspapers. Why should he? He only cares about big media because he’s only concerned with his White House obsession.
The press release sent on Dec. 6 announced that Congressman Jimmy Panetta (a Democrat of course) wants Swill-well to be governor, saying: “Eric seeks just solutions for California’s working families by increasing affordable housing, protecting immigrant families, preserving our environment, preventing wildfires, promoting our agriculture, technological innovation, and small businesses, and more.”
Let’s unpack Panetta’s statement. Swill-well wants to increase affordable housing? You can’t be an arsonist and a firefighter at the same time. No Democrat ever says they want to reduce regulation and taxes and means it. No Democrat has supported bucking environmental groups or amending CEQA which makes it tough to build. No, that would result in a loss of campaign dollars from those leftist groups.
Protecting immigrant families? From what? If you’re a legal immigrant you already have the protections the rest of us citizens enjoy. But, if you talking about protecting illegal immigrants, that’s a different story. There is no God given right to enter the United States. In fact, it would be prudent if we cut off all immigration for a time since Biden let about 9 million un-vetted immigrants in and we can’t handle them. There isn’t enough housing in California or enough tax dollars to go around.
Promoting our agriculture? Meaning that a Gov. Swill-well will build the long overdue dams we need for water storage for farmers? Currently they aren’t allowed to have enough water for the damned smelt held in such high regard. But I suspect Swill-well has no plans to see any dams built because of the part about “preserving our environment.”
Promoting small business? His party has never supported reducing taxes and regulations on small business. In fact, King Newsom just signed a bill which increases payroll taxes, which is another economic punch in the gut.
Politicians will say anything to get elected and change colors like a chameleon once elected. Remember how Newsom lied to us all and said he supported the Death Penalty but then enacted a moratorium the year he took office?
* * * * *
It’s embarrassing to see elected officials acting like childish partisan hacks. Newsom was boasting that he had a “trans godson” and that “there’s no governor that’s done more pro trans legislation than I have.” The boast was made in a video clip with New York Times columnist Ezra Klein. America PAC, a political action committee founded by Musk, posted the clip on X, formerly Twitter. Newsom, like the petulant child that he is, posted: “Correct. We’re sorry your daughter hates you, Elon.”
Musk was pointing out how proud Newsom is about being pro trans for kids yet if he was so proud of his stance there would be no need respond, right? Instead, he comes back with a hurtful zinger about his trans son being estranged from Musk.
Musk responded by saying, “I assume you’re referring to my son, Xavier, who has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push on vulnerable children. I love Xavier very much and hope he recovers. My daughters are Azure, Exa (she goes by Y) and Arcadia, and they do indeed love me very much.”
Newsom’s press office has signaled it will continue its Trump-style strategy on social media — rapid, aggressive and often meme-driven.
What kind of man is Newsom to reduce himself to mimicking the very characteristics which people – and he – hate about Trump? Does he believe that acting like Trump is his pathway to success? Newsom is no Donald Trump nor should he fake it.
* * * * *
At the Ceres Christmas Parade, I heard a bunch of kids calling out the “6-7” numbers to one of the floats and they thought it was just hilarious.
I don’t get it and I don’t believe any mature person does get it.
My first thought was that it represented something dirty but in time I learned it has no meaning. Kids just say it, I think, to freak out the adults and befuddle them.
An AI explanation was this: Its deliberate absurdity is part of its appeal, acting as an inside joke for young people to signal shared understanding and distinguish themselves from older generations.
It’s such a stupid thing that spread on social media where all kinds of unimportant things generate.
My own grandsons were caught up in the recent “6-7” trend.
A dad named Chaz Wolfe shared on social media that his kids are not allowed to say it for multiple reasons I’ll share. I wish more dads were like him.
He asked what it meant and his kids shrugged their shoulders. They didn’t know.
Wolfe said this to his kids: “If you don’t know the meaning of the words you speak, you shouldn’t speak them.”
He’s bothered, as am I, that parents let their kids mindlessly repeat things they don’t understand because it’s trending on TikTok.
The trend is reflective of what he sees in society:
• Everyone copying.
• No one questioning.
• No one understanding.
• Parents following their kids instead of leading them.
I love what he added: “If I can teach my kids to think before they speak, to seek meaning, to ask questions, to reject blind repetition, then they’ll grow into adults who don’t just follow whatever culture hands them next. That’s the real trend I’m building in my house. If that ruffles feathers… good. Maybe it means we’ve stopped questioning the things we should question.”
This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation. How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com
