Freshman Congressman Josh Harder’s office cranks out a lot of press releases. I get it. That’s the name of the game as each member seeks to show how much they “really care.”
The latest prsser is titled, “Rep. Harder bill tackles Central Valley homelessness” and featured a photo of him walking with a downtrodden homeless man with a sea of tents in the background. Boy he sure cares.
I don’t question that he does care about people – I believe we all do – but I don’t think Harder really gets it. As a Democrat, his solution is to throw money at every problem. His release stated: “There are thousands of people in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties experiencing homelessness and hundreds left on the street every day.”
“Left on the street”? As in somebody just dropped them off? Lord knows none of them actually made choices that put themselves there. Choices like failing to take school seriously and opting to ignore the ample anti-drug messages.
And since somebody just “left” them to the streets, us taxpayers have to pay for the $750 million in funds to cities and counties in the Fighting Homelessness Through Services and Housing Act. I mean, it’s not like charities and churches can do the same work, right? It pays for emergency housing, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and job training services.
That’s putting a Band-Aid on the problem.
I’m all for helping those who want help but there’s a world of charities doing just that. But Harder thinks we need federal money to take care what is a problem partly caused in California by Democrats. No, Democrats aren’t responsible for mental illness (although they drive me crazy with their insane laws) nor do they force people to drink or shoot or snort. I think everyone person needs to be accountable for their own choices. But their policies such as the CEQA Act have resulted in the shortage of housing today in California and there’s no way in hell they would agree to repeal it. Democrats’ wanton regulations have driven jobs to Texas and Utah and Nevada. Their high taxes have resulted thousands of job losses. And an unintended consequence of jacking up the minimum wage for low-skill work has caused companies to cut positions which struggling college kids could have. Just look at all the stores and eateries with self-service kiosks and self-ordering stations where there once were warm bodies.
But honestly Harder and his party can throw all the money at the problem and they’ll still have people who enjoy living on the street or just unable to function in life with the drug/alcohol addictions and minds toasted on meth.
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It troubles me when people won’t listen to the truth. The Mueller investigation, which cost $25.2 million, is over and the results are that there was no such thing as the Trump-Russia collusion story – which MSNBC and CNN reported with a fevered pitch. But for a former prosecutor like Kamala Harris – who unfortunately makes Barbara Boxer look like a moderate – refuses to accept the report and shows how partisan she is.
They want Trump gone so bad they are willing to continue to expensive witch hunts.
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On a personal note, a high school chum of mine has passed away. Dennis Carlson and I were in the same journalism classes at Oakdale High School and graduated in the class of 1979. Dennis became a DJ and reporter for KBOZ and joined a Montana TV network at News Watch 26, Fox 7 and later an anchor for KTVH in Helena, Montana. He also served as an elections clerk for Gallatin County, was a field representative for U.S. Senator Conrad Burns and Government Affairs Director for the Gallatin Association of Realtors.
Cancer took his life and I’m left really feeling like life is painfully short. That’s a lesson I learn at a young age when I lost a classmate in a murder that occurred outside of Modesto on Dec. 8, 1974. The following year I lost by dear cousin Sandra, 10, to leukemia. My own wife Karen passed away at age 51 to leukemia in 2013.
I saw a sign in the background of a TV show that read: “Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.”
True.
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Did you hear that Sarah Silverman, a foulmouthed standup comedian and ultra leftist, went on a tirade against Band-Aids? Yeah, it appears that she’s upset that the Band-Aids come in only Caucasian shades. She tweeted “I can’t f----g believe there are still ‘nude’ bras & nylons & BAND AIDS- if you are a company still using NUDE to describe an exclusively Caucasian shade in 20motherf******19 you need to CHANGE NOW or go the way of zee dinosaur, Babee.”
If only she was as passionate about the fact that her side supports the killing of unwanted babies after they are born.
I would think a company like Band-Aid would make colored ones if there was a profit. Perhaps Mrs. Silverman wants to start her own company?
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I got a voicemail from Tim Sanders saying he appreciated my story on Andy Anderson, the former Ceres Post Office clerk. But he reported that I had a name wrong (or shall I say Andy got it wrong). The postmaster who suggested Andy go take the Civil Service exam to work for the post office was John M. Gondring, not Al Gondring his brother.
The online version has been corrected.
I confess the Gondrings were a bit before my time so a mistake like that was easy to make.
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I don’t think there’s anyone more out of touch than California Congresswoman Maxine “Impeach 45” Waters who is still harping about impeachment while unable to come up with any charges; all while praising the fact that charges were dropped against actor Jussie Smollett who faked hate crimes to besmirch Trump supporters. Meanwhile the Chicago police chief and mayor are fuming over the decision to drop all 16 felony counts since his department had solid proof that Smollett set up the fake crime. They call the dropped charges as a “whitewash of justice.”
There seems to be two levels of justice in the country. Had Smollett been a Republican they would have crucified him. Crooks like Hillary and Bill Clinton have never been investigated despite ample reason to look into their collusion and financial improprieties with the Clinton Foundation.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., can blame Fox News all she wants for her plunging approval rating but we know it’s because of what comes out of her mouth.
Over the weekend she removed any doubt about her mental delusion when she suggested Republicans in Congress amended the Constitution to kick President Franklin Delano Roosevelt out of office. She was referring to the 22nd Amendment enacted in 1947. That was two years after FDR died.
She should also know that Congress doesn’t amend the Constitution alone. To propose amendments, two-thirds of both houses of Congress can vote to propose an amendment, or two-thirds of the state legislatures can ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments. To ratify amendments, three-fourths of the state legislatures must approve them, or ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states must approve them.
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In just three months, Capitol Democrats have introduced a staggering $6.2 billion in new taxes. These new taxes would be on top of the record $21.4 billion surplus the state currently enjoys.
From a regressive tax on drinking water to attacks on Prop. 13’s taxpayer protections, ordinary Californians will pay the price if Democrats get their way.
This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or Morris Newspaper Corp. of CA. How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com
