California – land of sunshine, fruited plains, gorgeous coastal vistas, soaring Sierras.

God did it all right, you might conclude.

But if you view life in the Golden State by the way it’s governed, it’s a catastrophe. Homelessness is rampant thanks to meth, housing is in woeful short supply, taxes are far too high, traffic is a headache, regulations have driven thousands of jobs out of state and the welcome to illegal aliens has caused our emergency rooms, freeways, doctor offices, social services offices and soup kitchens to be overwhelmed. Not to mention all the crimes that wouldn’t occur if the border were not so porous and California so gladly handing out freebies in exchange for lifelong Democrat support.

Now comes this from the QuoteWizard insurance: Their analysis of cities with the highest rate of U.S. drivers with a DUI shows that seven out of 25 are in California. They are San Diego (7), Sacramento (14), Bay area (16), Riverside (21), Bakersfield (22), L.A. (24), and Fresno (25). Sacramento was recently ranked third worst driving city in America for 2018.

* * * * *

I enjoy Dateline and First 48 Hours TV shows which depict real life murders being solved. It seems most murders are rooted in basic motives: money and greed, and lust. I suppose you can fit the drug-related murders into the category of greed. The life of someone owning money for drugs means nothing to the dealer who values money over life.

While I was attending Thursday’s “Every 15 Minutes” program on Service Road near the ball fields, I couldn’t help but look over to the nearby orchards where the charred body of Lauren Grace London, 25, was found in March 2015.

Another March has passed and the Sheriff’s Department hasn’t arrested anyone for her brutal crime.

Lauren was a beautiful single mom from Hughson who got involved in drugs and subsequently came into contact with undesirable characters. Before her death she was living at the motel dive of the Tiki Lodge on McHenry Avenue.

In 2017 then Sheriff Adam Christiansen told me: “We will solve this case but there’s a whole lot more to the story that we simply cannot talk about. I am confident that we will make an arrest in this case but it’s just going to take more time.” Christiansen has retired and the case appears to be cold.

Somebody knows something. Somebody should talk. What was done to Lauren London should not go unpunished.

* * * * *

The Left preaches tolerance for most everybody. No judgments against people who mutilate their bodies to “change” genders, men who want to use the women’s restroom, women who want to use the men’s restroom, people who’d prefer to let the government hand them money versus work for it, the homeless who of course are only victim of corporate greed and not their own rotten decisions, people who don’t share heterosexual relationships.  But, boy, if you’re a Trump supporter watch out. You have the crosshairs on you.

The internet is replete with videos of leftists throwing depraved fits of rage toward conservatives wearing MAGA (Make America Great Again) caps. The latest was at a Palo Alto Starbucks. Apparently leftist looney Rebecca Mankey went off on this older gentleman for wearing his MAGA hat. Mankey starts calling this 74-year-old Jewish gentleman a “Nazi.”  She took to social media, posting in part, “I yelled at him about how it was not okay to hate brown people. She took to social media with this tirade: “I called him more names and told him to call the police. He wouldn’t call the police so I called him a wimp, yelling at him to get the f--- out of my town. I’m going to publicly shame him in town and try to get him fired.”

Her virtual public rant got her fired from her accounting job at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto.

* * * * *

Speaking of lack of respect for elders, a 14-year-old boy in San Jose was arrested Wednesday after he repeatedly punched 72-year-old Hector Estrada and stole his Nissan Sentra while nloading groceries.

But that’s not all. The low-life punk ran a red light near Story Road and McGuinness Drive and hit a Dodge. He ran like all little cowards do and was chased until he pulled a gun. Such a big man.

Thanks to Democrat lawmakers in Sacramento, they have insured that little jerks like this won’t ever be tried in adult court. They passed SB 1391 last year that struck a previous law that allowed for some 14- and 15-year-olds to be tried as adults for serious crimes.

Horses were a lot like cars back in the day – people needed them to get around and in many cases to make a living. We used to hang horse thieves. Now we don’t hang car thieves but the bleeding hearts under the golden dome won’t even allow them to be treated harshly.

* * * * *

I saw a good meme the other day. It’s in answer to Beto O’Rourke types who want to get rid of the Electoral College.

“For all the people who fell asleep in Civic class…

1). There are 3,141 counties in the United States. Trump won 3,084 of them; Clinton won 57.

2). There are 62 counties in New York. Trump won 46 of them; Clinton won 16.

3). Clinton won the popular vote by approximately 1.5 million voters.

4). In the five counties that encompass NYC (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Richmond and Queens), Clinton received well over two million more votes than Trump. Therefore these five counties alone more than accounted for Clinton winning the popular vote.

5). These five counties comprise 319 square miles. The United States is comprised of 3,797,000 square miles.

6). When you have a country that encompasses almost 4 million square miles of territory, it would be ludicrous to even suggest that the vote of those who inhabit a mere 319 square miles should dictate the outcome of a national election.

Large, densely populated Democrat cities (NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles) don’t and shouldn’t speak for the rest of the country.

This is why you have an Electoral College; it’s a safety net so everyone’s vote counts.

* * * * *

You might know that Georgia – a state where lawmakers still have a conscience and values – is in the process of passing a law banning an abortion of a child after the heart starts beating. Actress Alyssa Milano – who doesn’t live in Georgia – went to the State House and carried a threat to pull millions of dollars’ worth of TV and movie production work out of the state if it does.

No matter, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will sign the bill. Good for him.

Milano got her cue from California Democrats who pulled a similar highly immature stunt by passing AB 1887 to ban the state from doing business with South Carolina.

What was South Carolina’s “sin” to warrant being shunned by California Democrats? The state won’t force private faith-based (read that Christian) child-placing agencies to place children in households which do not might not hold up faith as important or live lifestyles that the agency would find detrimental to the child.

Ooh, big bad California reaching across the continent to punish a state with actual moral convictions, unlike California Democrats who have no moral compass. Oh, and it is your brave state Attorney General Xavier Becerra – how he got elected I’ll never know – who is bullying the southern state.

Becerra will never understand that Christianity stands for something, including moral principles that don’t necessarily jive with the world view that two daddies or two mommies should raise a kid. Where you fall on the issue may differ from my view but I think that in our free country most people would never force a faith based group to make adoption or foster arrangements for which they morally do not agree. Most people; but Sacramento lawmakers live in a different world.

* * * * *

Because they care so much about families (choke, cough, choke), California Democrats are considering AB 372 to allow state worker moms to bring their babies between six weeks and six months of age to work. I’m surprised they “care” about kids given how they want to allow babies to be snuffed out if they survive an abortion.

I love babies but they don’t belong in the workplace where they have to be fed, burped and coddled when they cry and changed when they poop. They belong at home with mom or dad instead of disrupting coworkers.

Did Democrat lawmakers ever stop and think that employees are paid to do a job, not play nurse maid?  And once they allow this for state workers you can bet they’ll soon force every employer to allow offices to become nurseries. But nobody ever said Sacramento was supportive of business folks.

Here’s an idea you’ll never see California Democrats propose: Lower the tax burden on families so that moms can afford to stay home to raise the child rather than drag it to the office. Between its high income and sales tax rates – and Democrats’ unwillingness to reduce regulation so more housing can be built faster and cheaper to combat the current out-of-control rents and mortgages – moms have to work in California to make ends meet.

* * * * *

Want to know what socialism looks like? Another $3.50 to the cost of the dinner I recently bought at Mel’s Diner on Geary Street for employee benefits. I also was subjected a 3 percent SF employee benefits Ordinance surcharge on the meal I bought at Pier 39.

Well guess what? A number of diners admit to lowering their tip to offset the gun-in-the-ribs charge. So guess who it hurts? The ones it’s supposed to help.

That’s the problem with socialism. Somebody gets screwed.

I saw one of those man-on-the-street interviews where virtually all college skulls full of mush thought socialism was great – when it came to rich people forking over what they’ve earned. But when the interviewer asked if they would forfeit some of their GPA to help students who didn’t fare so well, they all balked, saying it was unfair and asking why should they give up something they worked hard to earn and give it to those who hadn’t? Most realized how hypocritical they just proved themselves to be. Maybe they’ll realize how wrong it is to extort money from successful people just to hand it to those who didn’t work for it.

* * * * *

Kim Foxx is under fire. She is the black State’s Attorney for Cook County, Ill. She is the one who let black actor Jussie Smollett off the hook after he faked hate crimes to make Trump supporters look bad. Faking a crime is in itself a crime. Chicago Police leaders are livid and are demanding her resignation for her continual lax treatment of offenders. An official last week said her conduct is causing lots of guilty people going unprosecuted or having charges reduced. Westchester Illinois Police Chief Steve Stelter said Foxx’s policies are hurting officers and citizens.

Surprise, surprise. Kim Foxx is a Democrat who took $375,000 in campaign money from liberal George Soros.

Democrat policies fail – every time.

* * * * *

Speaking of an early abject failure, Gov. Nuisance went on a junket trip to El Salvador to find the root cause of why people there went to flee their country and illegally enter our state.

Is he stupid or something?

Even LA Times’ George Skelton blasted Nuisance for the dumb trip. Skelton wrote: “Maybe he also could read a book and do a little Googling. That should wrap it up without spending nearly a week in dangerous El Salvador surrounded by California bodyguards.”

Anybody on the street can tell you why they want to be in the United States – because it’s a great country but mostly because of all the free social programs offered to border jumpers. Hell, California Democrats even shield illegals from federal ICE agents so they can stay and mooch more off of taxpayers.

How dumb can this governor be?

* * * * *

Gov. Nuisance sent out a presser on Friday bragging how he and Becerra have “filed a motion for preliminary injunction to block the Trump Administration from initiating an unlawful diversion of $1.6 billion in federal taxpayer funds to build an unauthorized border wall.”

And can you believe this ridiculous position? Becerra stated “President Trump’s unconstitutional maneuver to divert funding for his own political benefit violates the Constitution and places Americans and critical services they depend on at risk.”

Imagine that: a president securing the border is a violation of the Constitution? On what planet?

A wall to secure the border to protect the nation for those unauthorized to enter “places Americans and critical services they depend on at risk.” Like which critical services, sir?

Nuisance and Becerra are Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb on political steroids.

Your governor (I didn’t vote for him) said this: “California stands united against President Trump’s money-grab to fund his expensive and ineffective wall, which he promised would be paid for by Mexico. This funding should be spent as it was intended: to support local law enforcement agencies and to fight drug trafficking.”

That’s rich. First of all, no we are not united. What he meant to say California Democrats are united in being against the border being secured. Remember, want to groom a bumper crop of future Democrat voters who need taxpayers to support them. And forget that he wants law enforcement to do its job because most of the drug trafficking is coming across the border.

* * * * *

There is one letter writer out of our area who typically writes inflammatory comments. If you google his name you’re apt to see he ticks off a lot of readers of papers – I saw Arizona and Colorado – who print his views. Ronald Lowe of Nevada City sends out his leftist views to every paper in the country, always slamming Republicans and his Friday letter emailed to me was par for the course.

Ronnie boy slammed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for allowing his Christian beliefs to guide his actions. That upsets Radical Ronnie who suggests that “white evangelicals like Pompeo have taken over the Republican Party.” I’m curious why Pompeo’s Caucasian color was brought up. Even a reader in Glenwood Springs, Colo., sees Lowe’s tactics as nothing more that hateful race baiting.

Lowe called Vice President Mike Pence an “anti-abortion extremist.” Radical leftists often consider the protection of human life as an “extremist” position; except when the victims are shot at a Las Vegas country music concert, then they adopt the “extremist” view that all law-abiding citizens should surrender their guns used to protect themselves.

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