Blog
Blog
What a Web AG Bonta Weaves
With good reason, we are encouraged to understand history, but for some, perhaps, the temptation to repeat past mistakes is just too great. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato described sophists, paid philosophers often involved in public works, as those who twisted words and truth to win arguments. According to the ...
Agriculture
Read about latest federal overreach
Are checkoffs really taking taxpayer dollars and giving them to agriculture?
The OFF Act suggests federal checkoff programs are simply a means for further consolidation of “industrial agriculture” and federal agricultural lobbying organizations. However, the structure of each checkoff belies that notion. Checkoff programs are federal marketing and research programs funded entirely by the producers of 22 commodities in the United ...
Blog
Read latest about California's green agenda
Everyday Is Halloween For The Scaremongering Climate Alarmists
“Climate anxiety and dissatisfaction with government responses,” says The Lancet, “are widespread in children and young people in countries across the world and impact their daily functioning.” And what does California do about this? It is now the third state to “mandate scaring our kids to death.” Along with Connecticut ...
Blog
Greening the ‘food desert’ by farming vacant urban land
Greening the ‘food desert’ by farming vacant urban land Edward Ring | October 20, 2023 When it comes to food, America’s cities enjoy precarious abundance. We take for granted the remarkable system that allows us close proximity to chilled and gleaming shelves, loaded with apricots from Spain, avocados from Mexico, ...
Blog
Read about legislative union push
Staff Unionization Effort Won’t Help GOP Staff
Much has been written about poor working conditions for State Capitol staff and bad treatment by often ill-tempered and inconsiderate legislators. Having worked at the Capitol for nearly two decades, I know firsthand that working there can be a grind. Staff routinely work long hours, often overnight or on weekends. ...
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS: Autonomous Vehicles Continue to Drive in California Fast Lane Despite Union Opposition
“Devil wagons” and “untamable beasts” that reveal the “carelessness” of their owners. Visible intrusions, nuisances, agents of injury that cause “road battles” and should “be classed with ferocious animals.” Vehicles to be avoided, feared and if possible banned. “To those who occupy or drive them, they are undoubtedly a fascinating ...
Blog
Read part 3 of 3 part series on Norway's prison system
What Can California Learn from Norway’s Prison System? (Part Three)
Critics of the California (and presumably the entire US) correctional system) often point out that Norwegian correctional staff are not armed, and mix freely with inmates. Inmates attend religious services, practice yoga, sports, vocational skills, attend classes, and officers do not use martial terms or ranks. California’s facilities offer many ...
Blog
Will new California laws finally ease the housing shortage?
California’s twin housing and homelessness crises continue to fester. The Legislature in recent years passed some useful bills promoting housing construction by streamlining the local approval process, such as Senate Bills 9 and 10 from 2021. Yet cities remain plagued with homeless encampments. Housing prices, despite soaring interest rates that ...
Blog
‘Nail houses’ Serve as Monuments of Resistance to Planners
‘Nail houses’ serve as monuments of resistance to planners KERRY JACKSON | OCTOBER 13, 2023 Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck famously has said that outside of bombing it, rent control is the best way to destroy a city. Though not nearly as efficient as either of those, both planners and the ...
Blog
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Union-backed bills pose biggest challenges to cities
Cities are creatures of the state, so they have to obey. Residents are likely to suffer more and bigger potholes, further declining school test scores and higher taxes – meaning more people will flee the state or head to the suburbs. Here’s a look at some of the worst urban-related ...
What a Web AG Bonta Weaves
With good reason, we are encouraged to understand history, but for some, perhaps, the temptation to repeat past mistakes is just too great. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato described sophists, paid philosophers often involved in public works, as those who twisted words and truth to win arguments. According to the ...
Read about latest federal overreach
Are checkoffs really taking taxpayer dollars and giving them to agriculture?
The OFF Act suggests federal checkoff programs are simply a means for further consolidation of “industrial agriculture” and federal agricultural lobbying organizations. However, the structure of each checkoff belies that notion. Checkoff programs are federal marketing and research programs funded entirely by the producers of 22 commodities in the United ...
Read latest about California's green agenda
Everyday Is Halloween For The Scaremongering Climate Alarmists
“Climate anxiety and dissatisfaction with government responses,” says The Lancet, “are widespread in children and young people in countries across the world and impact their daily functioning.” And what does California do about this? It is now the third state to “mandate scaring our kids to death.” Along with Connecticut ...
Greening the ‘food desert’ by farming vacant urban land
Greening the ‘food desert’ by farming vacant urban land Edward Ring | October 20, 2023 When it comes to food, America’s cities enjoy precarious abundance. We take for granted the remarkable system that allows us close proximity to chilled and gleaming shelves, loaded with apricots from Spain, avocados from Mexico, ...
Read about legislative union push
Staff Unionization Effort Won’t Help GOP Staff
Much has been written about poor working conditions for State Capitol staff and bad treatment by often ill-tempered and inconsiderate legislators. Having worked at the Capitol for nearly two decades, I know firsthand that working there can be a grind. Staff routinely work long hours, often overnight or on weekends. ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Autonomous Vehicles Continue to Drive in California Fast Lane Despite Union Opposition
“Devil wagons” and “untamable beasts” that reveal the “carelessness” of their owners. Visible intrusions, nuisances, agents of injury that cause “road battles” and should “be classed with ferocious animals.” Vehicles to be avoided, feared and if possible banned. “To those who occupy or drive them, they are undoubtedly a fascinating ...
Read part 3 of 3 part series on Norway's prison system
What Can California Learn from Norway’s Prison System? (Part Three)
Critics of the California (and presumably the entire US) correctional system) often point out that Norwegian correctional staff are not armed, and mix freely with inmates. Inmates attend religious services, practice yoga, sports, vocational skills, attend classes, and officers do not use martial terms or ranks. California’s facilities offer many ...
Will new California laws finally ease the housing shortage?
California’s twin housing and homelessness crises continue to fester. The Legislature in recent years passed some useful bills promoting housing construction by streamlining the local approval process, such as Senate Bills 9 and 10 from 2021. Yet cities remain plagued with homeless encampments. Housing prices, despite soaring interest rates that ...
‘Nail houses’ Serve as Monuments of Resistance to Planners
‘Nail houses’ serve as monuments of resistance to planners KERRY JACKSON | OCTOBER 13, 2023 Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck famously has said that outside of bombing it, rent control is the best way to destroy a city. Though not nearly as efficient as either of those, both planners and the ...
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Union-backed bills pose biggest challenges to cities
Cities are creatures of the state, so they have to obey. Residents are likely to suffer more and bigger potholes, further declining school test scores and higher taxes – meaning more people will flee the state or head to the suburbs. Here’s a look at some of the worst urban-related ...
