The NRA Is Resetting, Aiming for Higher Targets

The NRA has been through tough times:

·         The 1994 assault weapons ban.

·         The “academic” consensus that gun control would control gun crime.

·         “Conservative” presidents like Ronald Reagan signaling support for gun restrictions.

The latest setback involved Wayne LaPierre, the previous EVP and CEO. He wisely and courageously rebuffed the post-Sandy Hook mass shooting hysteria with “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” Recently, LaPierre was found liable for misappropriating NRA funds. Internal dramas exploded to the forefront, distracting from the core mission: protect the gun rights of Americans and ensure full enforcement of the Second Amendment.

The good news is that the NRA is getting back on track, based on the latest meeting of the South Bay, Los Angeles County NRA chapter in Redondo Beach, CA.

California is about as hostile as it gets for gun rights, and Los Angeles is one of the most hostile sections on top of that. Why would the NRA show any signs of hope, let alone comity, there?

Four reps from the NRA addressed the club: National Manager David Holbrook, Managing Director Lexi Higgins, Grassroots Field Coordinator Darius Diggs, and California state director Clay Kimberling. They gave upbeat updates. The worst of the NRA leadership drama is over. Better executives have taken, and their focus is winning, even in gun-control hellhole California.

State Director Kimberling discussed key bills, good and bad, working their way through the state capitol. In the midst of all the bad news, one good bill passed: AB 1948. Newsom recently signed off on this legislation, which allows CCW permit holders to renew their permits only every three years, instead of every two years. I had to press in on this news, since Newsom is the last guy who would want to look pro-gun.

Kimberling explained that sheriff’s departments throughout the state were complaining about their increased permit renewal backlogs, and they need some relief. Starting June 30^th, 2026, California residents who obtain a CCW can wait three years before having to renew. Of course, we would prefer to carry without having to obtain a permit, but every step towards freedom is better than nothing.

Unfortunately, one of the notorious pieces of legislation in Sacramento, as if the hyperbole seems unfitting or unnecessary, is Senate Bill 948. The radical former mayor of the People’s Republic of Berkeley, CA (and now state senator), Jesse Arreguin has filed this bill.

 

This legislation would require every prospective gun owner in the state to take a 4-hour training class before they could take the firearms safety certificate questionnaire—in order to have permission to buy guns! What’s the real purpose? National Manager Holbrook explained that SB 948 is about enacting a de facto gun ban. How many are prepared to jump through a bunch of hoops, take extra time, and spend $200 at a shooting range looking for a trainer so they can get the 4 hours in, and then take a written test, which they also must pay for? Can you imagine any state imposing a set of certificated requirements for you to publish an opinion? Or to write a blog? 

Can you imagine any state requiring you to take a class and be certificated so that you could assert your 4th amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure? All of this is ridiculous. And yet this is the latest deceptive legislative scam that California gun-control fanatics are pushing. The legislation has already passed the state senate and it's facing a vote before the State Assembly appropriations committee in the next month. There is some good news, however, as even some Democratic lawmakers are uncomfortable with the extra, onerous requirements in SB 948. 

Of course, the NRA and its grassroots networks have found success not just in stopping bad bills, not just in getting good pills to pass, even in California, but have won key court cases with their excellent legal team. From the NYPRA v Bruen in 2022 to today, the United State Supreme Court and lowers courts have rendered more decisions favoring gun rights and upholding the strength of the Second Amendment. 

Aren’t legal victories a good enough remedy for dealing with bad laws coming out of California? It's important to recognize that California Democrats are pushing horrific gun laws precisely so that they can bleed gun owners and gun rights groups dry with vexatious litigation and forced appeals. The whole purpose of the left’s legal onslaught against our constitutional rights is about discouraging citizens from exercising them in the first place! 

The four NRA advocates could not make it clearer: don't stop making the phone calls, don't stop confronting your representatives, don't stop making your voices heard. 

James Ma, the South Bay NRA chapter leader, stressed winning not just at the state level but the local level. Gun control advocates are using every tool, including targeting local planning commissions so that gun stores cannot open in cities. In 2022, Torrance, California, was considering a gun store in the Downtown area. Gun owners and gun rights activists throughout the region were convinced that the mayor and a majority of council members would do the common-sense thing and allow the gun store to open. However, the local school district and local indivisible groups lined up and induced high school students to attend the city council meeting all calling for the gun store to be denied.

And they won.  This loss reminded everyone that the price of Liberty is eternal vigilance, and gun owners need to stay alert. The NRA leaders stressed this principle, too.

One of the most engaging of the four speakers, Darius Diggs, reminded the South Bay audience of how free and open gun culture is next door in Arizona. The residents of the Grand Canyon State don’t even have to obtain a Firearms Safety Certificate to purchase guns. How much are California gun owners willing to tolerate? This is outrageous! Diggs invited the room to join the NRA as FrontLines Activist Leaders. Don’t just make phone calls from home. Network with fellow gun owners and Second Amendment advocates. Come prepared to testify for and against gun-related bills in Sacramento.

The NRA leaders left the South Bay NRA chapter with one final point: the fight for gun rights matters even in the bluest of states. Most gun control plots emanate out of California. If we can stop them here, we keep them from advancing across the country. 

According to Managing Director Higgins, the Trump Administration has been the most gun friendly administration in our nation's history. She identified steady victories from the Trump DOJ, plus their ongoing lawsuits and piecemeal legislative victories, passing good policy and stopping a lot of bad legislation. With these victories, California can be a battleground for long-term victory in the fight to protect our constitutional rights 

The upbeat but serious speeches from the four NRA advocates encouraged everyone with hope and purpose. The large turnout for the chapter meeting showed that the NRA outreach is working. A new spirit is invigorating the NRA, and if gun owners sense hope in California, you know that things are looking good for the rest of the country.

Washington Free Beacon Reports on CNN Defamation Suit

 CNN spent another day in a Panama City courtroom, where it's attempting to defeat a $1 billion defamation suit. Tuesday's proceedings included opening statements and testimony from the plaintiff, Navy veteran Zachary Young, who revealed details sure to embarrass the network, our Jessica Costescu reports from the scene.

 

For starters, Young's attorney, Kyle Roche, recounted internal text messages in which CNN's editors admitted that their reporting on Young—which falsely accused him of operating in an illegal "black market" when he attempted to evacuate Afghan nationals from the country in 2021—was "full of holes like Swiss cheese" and consisted of "80% emotion and 20% obscured fact." 

 

He also disclosed a contract between Young and private military contractor DynCorp that included a clause barring Young from working in a "black market," the very term that landed CNN in hot water. Major American entities like Audible and Bloomberg—not poor and vulnerable Afghans—paid Young for evacuation services, according to court proceedings.

 

Young also noted that star anchor Jake Tapper, whose show aired the accusations in question, has not apologized for the segment. While CNN aired an apology four months after the segment ran, chief investigative correspondent Pamela Brown filled in for Tapper on that day.

 

"It's devastating when you're labeled a criminal, all over the world," Young said during his testimony.

 

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter, sometimes referred to as "Humpty Dumpty," did not tweet about the trial on Tuesday, though he did ding Trump for referring to an interview as a news conference.

 

We'll be back with more trial coverage tomorrow.

Looting in Los Angeles (How Much Longer Will This Last?)

"It's not theft, it's reparations" pic.twitter.com/D9W4y4Ba6G

— Asian Dawn (@AsianDawn4) August 17, 2022

This is the new normal in Los Angeles.

Rampant looting with no regard for the rule of law. Is this what Gascon supporters really wanted?

I want every Gascon voter to explain why they think that this is acceptable.

I want every progressive who defends the rampant raping and pillaging of small businesses to explain why they find this acceptable or even tolerable.

What reforms are really in play to make any of this acceptable?

And then there are the flash mobs which fleece LA stores.

Vote for bad politicians, and get bad results.

Will the voters learn? Or has the spirit of lawlessness become so strong, that there is no hope?

Perhaps there are too many people who vote for a living, and for that reason they have nothing but poverty as their lot.

If you are poor, you have nothing to lose, why not keeping vote Democrat? Why not keep voting for the corrupt machine?

It's a sad thought, but I guess there is no escaping the truth of the matter: urban Democratic areas are doomed. There is no way out of the cycle of poverty and dependence, and there is no escape from the delusions of secular dystopia.

Election 2022: Hypocrisy, Your Name is Pat Furey

Soon to be gone Torrance Mayor Pat Furey is calling Councilman Aurelio Mattucci a hypocrite.

Really.

Check out the post he shared on his Facebook page:

The truth is that Aurelio Mattucci has received a number of donations from small business owners and developers because he wants to make the city of Torrance business friendly. I am surprised that some elected officials find that offensive.

Many people like the fact that Aurelio says what he means, and he does what he says he is going to do.

What is really galling about the attack post above is that the featured development is in LOMITA. It's not in Torrance, and Councilman Mattucci has opposed large developments like the one featured above. In fact, the city of Torrance weighed on this projected development and wanted to stop it, but it was ultimately the city of Lomita's decision.

But let's talk about creepy hypocrite Pat Furey.

Pat Furey accuses Councilman Mattucci of "say one thing, do another"? Really?

He also likes to use the word "rant" when describing comments that Mattucci has made in city council or during debates. The truth is that when Pat Furey hears people speaking the truth, he dismisses those comments as "rants." Furey is the same corrupt fraud who routinely shuts people down in city council meetings, only because he cannot handle watchdogs exposing the truth about the city's finances under his watch.

This same Pat Furey colluded in 2014 with a PAC sponsored by McCormick Ambulance, only then to vote to terminate the city's contract with the Torrance-based ambulance company Gerber in favor of McCormick. And Creepy Pat has the audacity to accuse others of "say one thing, do another"?

This is the same Creepy Pat who ushered in a bunch of ordinances on urban farming, only to refuse to enforce them?

This is the same Creepy Pat who violated campaign finance laws, and whose son violated campaign laws, too?

Hypocrisy, your name is Pat Furey.

Montana MassResistance: Pastor Files for Bankruptcy in Fight Against LGBT Hate

 

Huge LGBT libel case against Montana pastor stalled after his bankruptcy filing this week

Jordan Hall, Baptist pastor and publisher of popular conservative news site, being sued for libel by transgender lobbyist and well-funded LGBT “lawfare” mob

Far-left Judge had scheduled hearing Feb. 16 to determine whether pastor is a “dangerous person,” subject to fines even before his trial

Pastor forced to file for bankruptcy in federal court

February 18, 2022

 Pastor Jordan Hall is principled and fearless. That's why the LGBT movement is out to destroy him.

Pastor Jordan Hall, a conservative pastor who is the publisher of Montana’s largest and most influential conservative news site, has been forced to file for personal bankruptcy as he faces a massive LGBT lawsuit. Even before his trial, the judge was expected to impose fines in a hearing that had been scheduled for Feb. 16. That proceeding was suddenly postponed once Hall filed for bankruptcy.

As we reported earlier this week, Pastor Hall is publisher of the Montana Daily Gazette. He is being sued for libel and $250,000 damages by Adrian Jawort, a “transgender” American Indian activist who is also a registered lobbyist at the Montana State Capitol. Jawort – a man who wears a dress and heavy makeup, and stands 6’3” in women’s heels – claims that Hall libeled him in an article describing a confrontation allegedly involving Jawort and some legislators at the Capitol. As we described, this case has no merit and would be thrown out in any normal court setting.

Not your regular State Capitol lobbyist. From Jawort’s public Facebook page: Christian verses certainly seem to anger this fellow. The Satanic horns, inverted cross on his forehead, and blood dripping from his mouth indicate where he’s coming from.

However, Jawort is represented by a group of well-funded leftist attorneys who have already spent an estimated $150,000 against Hall – and the trial has not even started.

In addition, Jawort’s lawyers were able to get the case moved away from Hall’s home county to a judge, Elizabeth Best, who is arguably the most ruthlessly left-wing in the state. She has already shown her strong bias against Hall. In a recent court filing, she characterized his Gazette article as employing “an offensive and ignorant epithet used by transphobic people, obviously aimed at demeaning Jawort.”

Judge Best had scheduled a special preliminary hearing for this past Wednesday, Feb. 16, to determine if Hall is a “threat” to public order. Jawort’s lawyers claim that Hall’s use of Bible quotes and Christian imagery when speaking about the lawsuit constituted “threats” to the plaintiff, his attorneys, and the judge. According to information we had, Judge Best was very likely to fine Hall up to hundreds of thousands of dollars – before the trial even started.

Pastor Hall forced to file for personal bankruptcy

On Monday, Feb. 14, Pastor Hall filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in federal bankruptcy court. Pastor Hall has not discussed any details about this. But according to a news report, his filing “listed assets of less than $50,000 and that attorneys’ fees were the primary driver of his bankruptcy, and those bills ranged between $100,000 and $500,000.”

Judge Best put a “stay” on the Feb. 16 hearing. The Daily Montanan newspaper explained:

Hall’s bankruptcy filing also puts an immediate stay, or halt, to any legal proceedings, meaning that it instantly stops the sanctions hearing that was scheduled for Wednesday. The stay is in effect for as long as 30 days, and Judge Benjamin P. Hursh [the federal bankruptcy judge] may ultimately decide how the case will proceed.

A seemingly impossible situation for Pastor Hall

Going into personal bankruptcy is certainly a horrible situation. Although Pastor Hall has not discussed this, it’s easy to see the seemingly untenable situation he was put in.

He and his attorney are facing a team of leftist lawyers who have unlimited funding to destroy him. He is up against a far-left judge who has already shown extreme bias against him, including allowing the opposing lawyers to impose an aggressive and invasive “discovery” process that clearly goes beyond any objective necessity for the case. There was a strong feeling that the judge was preparing to declare him a “threat” and impose a huge fine on him.

 Judge Elizabeth Best [Great Falls Tribune photo]

Just how bad is Judge Best? Here’s what Bart Crabtree, President of the Montana Citizens Council on Judicial Accountability, recently wrote about this case:

Eighth judicial district court judge Elizabeth Best is arguably one of the worst judges ever to sit on the bench. There is case after case in Cascade County of her usurping our state statutes, violating judicial canon of ethics, and a character of intemperance. Her appointment to this particular case is by design and of no surprise. She believes she is the master rather than a servant of the people, and is not liked in Cascade County where there is a fervent desire to have her removed. She has already demonstrated undue bias towards Mr. Hall in statements she has apparently made, according to the [Sidney, MT] Herald, which automatically disqualifies her as judge in the case, per MCA 3-1-805.

After the trial is over, the only appeal is to the Montana Supreme Court, which is very left-leaning. It already has ruled against Hall on one issue regarding this case that would have seemed obvious – whether Jawort is a “limited public figure.” So there is no confidence that Hall would get a fair hearing there. (Maybe this must go to the U.S. Supreme Court?)

Final thoughts

Jordan Hall’s real “crime” is being unafraid to publish the truth about the LGBT agenda. The “libel” charge is a red herring concocted to bludgeon him. His Daily Montana Gazette may be the most widely read news site in the state. That’s why the Left wants to destroy it – and him.

It is unfortunate that in a “red state” like Montana – where Republicans have super-majorities in both houses of the Legislature and hold all statewide elected offices, that the judiciary is largely left-wing. According to people we talk to there, this is because the state’s only law school is at the left-leaning University of Montana.

Pastor Jordan Hall is, sadly, paying the price for being principled and fearless. But this fight isn’t over! You can help support him here.

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!

Why I Loathe Alcoholics Anonymous

 

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:11)

For years, I was stepped in this terrible cult called Alcoholics Anonymous.

My mother was a recovering alcoholic, according to her statements, testimony, blah. She worked "the steps" every day of her life, so she claimed. She got sober in 1978, having had a spiritual revelation after drinking a morning mimosa. Something in her spirit told her "You don't have to do this anymore."

And that was the last time she drank alcohol. For the record, I feel compelled to point out that she received a spiritual revelation from God, not help or support from working Twelve Steps. However, the evil genius of Alcoholics Anonymous is to teach people that "It works if you work it" and the Big Book offers this guarantee that people who follow the Twelve Steps rarely fail.

The truth is, my Mom got sober without AA, but she still believed that she had to work the Twelve Steps every day of her life just to get through the day.

On another note, my mother quit smoking when she prayed, when she asked the LORD for help and stopped relying on her own efforts to quit. "I have no faith in me, and I have very little faith in you."

But God can use our little faith to do great things, and my mother was set free from smoking.

Sadly, she was still addicted to AA, and she worked that awful program, until it worked her to death.

Why do I loathe AA? It's not just that that legalistic, self-loathing cult damaged my mother, it's not just that that awful cult turned my mother into an abusive therapy who put her own "recovery" ahead of the needs of her children, her family, and anyone else--even Christ Himself!

I loathe AA because it teaches people to identify with a lie.

At every meeting, every member of the club in the "rewms" will say: "Hi, my name is ... , and I am an alcoholic."

Now, tell me ... how can we really expect anyone to break free of a damaging perversion if we teach people to identify with it? If you are "born" an alcoholic, then you should just drink and drink until you pass out or die.

BUT ... people are NOT born alcoholic. Just as there is no evidence that people are born gay, there is no gene for alcoholic. Granted, patterns of alcoholism do ensue in families, but it has to do with the abuse and trauma which children suffer from their parents, and there is this uncanny tendency for children to replicate the bad behaviors of their parents based on the imprinting and the wrong believing that comes with identifying with one's parents--no matter how bad they may be,

To sum up: no, people are not born "alcoholic." What's more, many people get over alcoholism without taking those ridiculous Twelve Steps.

The AA cult teaches lies to its members. It purports to not be a religious program, and yet members are instructed to turn their will and their life over to a "Higher Power" as they understand Him. Going beyond that, however, this Higher Power is still subject to the Twelve Steps--which have no pattern or value in the Old or New Testaments. In effect, the higher power for everyone in AA is not the Lord God as revealed in the Scriptures.

It's the creepy God of Bill W.'s insidious creation. (For those who don't know, Bill Wilson--or Bill W.--founded Alcoholics Anonymous.) Bill W. is treated with almost divine reverence in the meeting rewms of AA. It's really sickening. Let's state this fact plaintly once more: this "Higher Power" is an invention of Bill W.

It is total idolatry. Christians, Muslims, Jews, anyone who belongs to any faith community should reject AA out of hand. 

But for those who believe in Jesus, who recognize the Bible as God's Word, AA is all the more fully incompatible.

This terrible cult teaches people to identify with a sin, with an addiction, a moral failing.

What does the Bible say about our new identity in Christ?

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We receive a new standing before our Loving Father. God is no more some distant deity, but our Loving Father!

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)

and

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:17)

Yes, AA's Big Book makes one reference that "He is our Father. We are His children," but then goes back to leveling adherents with religious demands. The truth is, the AA program does not reveal anything about the Higher Power, aside from what is in the book. This notion of "God as I understand Him" is absolutely ludicrous. If I could understand God, He would not be God anymore, now, would He?

But I digress.

The biggest fraud about the AA cult is that it teaches people to identify with their sins, with their failures, with their faults.

At the top of this post, I quote Romans 6:11, in which Paul clearly declares to the Christian believers in Roman: "Reckon yourself dead indeed to sin, and alive to God through Jesus Christ."

When you are born again, you are no longer a sinner. You are a saint. You are a child of God. Yes, there is training, there is the process of sanctification, which the Holy Spirit works on and in us as we see more of Jesus in the Word (cf 2 Corinthians 3:18)

You don't need to take steps to be one with your Heavenly Father.

In fact, even in the Old Testament, taking steps to God's altar was expressly forbidden:

"Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon." (Exodus 20:26)

If we try in our own efforts to get right with God, we merely expose our nakedness, our sin, our shame:

"But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

But in Christ, we have the fullness of His work. He declared "It is Finished" (John 19:30)

But you are no longer a sinner, and you are called to no longer identify with sin or any sins in your life.

Alcoholics Anonymous urges people to keep identifying with their sins, to keep rehashing their failures, to keep going to the joyless AA meeting, to keep repeating the empty mantras, to fall in line with the mob mentality, the mob identity.

My mother worked the program all right ... until she ended up taking her own life in 2012. This is the first time I have made this revelation public, but it needs to be said. Anyone who learns that he has to keep looking at his own sins and failures, that he must keep "taking his inventory" to stay one step ahead of an alcohol relapse, is looking at an empty life full of shame, hurt, and loss.

The number of people who have committed suicide while going to the AA "rewms" is pretty staggering, as well. But is anyone really surprised? A relentless program of self-loathing and self-abnegation is not going to produce happiness, joy, or freedom. 

Did I forget to mention that AA members often tout that their program is a "selfish" program, as if that is something to be proud of ...?

At any rate, I hope I have explained fully why I loathe Alcoholics Anonymous. The blood of Jesus cleanses everyone of us from all sins (1 John 1:9), and Jesus rests as the propitiation (full payment) for our sins and the sins of the entire world. If He has paid for all the sins of all the world, then there is no reason for people to rehash their sins or rest in their failures. It's time to stop focusing on ourselves and start focusing on Christ Jesus! Forget the false god of Alcoholics Anonymous and believe in Christ and Him Crucified:

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Ephesians 2:8)

If you find that you are still struggling with certain behaviors or bad habits, you just need to receive more favor, a greater revelation of Christ Jesus, and who you are in Christ:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

and

"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 

5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:" (Colossians 3:1-5)

and

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord," (2 Peter 1:2)

We don't need AA. Let us have grace, which we receive through Christ Jesus!

Demand Firing of Milwaukee County "George Soros" Prosecutor

 

Good morning, The time has come: we all need to step up. We need to stop district attorneys, like Milwaukee County’s John Chisholm, who have used their offices to push for low bail and deferred prosecution policies that have resulted in skyrocketing homicides and violence throughout Wisconsin. At No Better Friend Corp., we have begun running this ad throughout Wisconsin encouraging YOU to call DA Chisholm and demand that he resign immediately.  You can view our new ad running on radio and digital platforms here ⤵️

Hermosa Beach Residents Slams City Council Cover-Ups on Public Records

October 11, 2021

Paula Montalbo

Business Manager

Hermosa Beach City School District

1645 Valley Drive

Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

 

Dear Paula Montalbo,

 

It is illegal for the Hermosa Beach City School District to charge me $893.20 (invoice PR #00001, dated August 31, 2021) for a public records request under the California Public Records Act.  (CPRA Section 6253(b).   It is also illegal for HBCSD to take two months (from July 9, 2021 to August 31, 2021) to provide me with the public records I had requested. (CPRA Section 6253(c)).

 

On June 16, 2021, I had requested copies of invoices and payments made to GKK Works and payments made to former HBCSD Superintendent Pat Escalante from July 1, 2014 through December 31, 2018.  You charged me $169.60 for public records and I had to wait longer than the maximum 14 days period specified in the California Public Records Act (CPRA Section 6253(c)) for my public records request to be fulfilled.   I paid the $169.60 invoice and patiently waited for more than 14 days as a good faith measure with HBCSD to provide me the public records.   I was wrong to have believed that by working in good faith with HBCSD, HBCSD would work in good faith with me to provide public records. 

 

I have requested public records before, and I know of others in our community who have also requested public records under the CPRA from HBCSD.   At no time in the past have I or others been charged for our legal right to obtain those records. 

 

I have also worked with multiple accounting software systems since the late 1980s.  I know that even the most unsophisticated accounting software allows for easy record searches by date, vendor, payment account, and employee.   I have also had to search through archived warrants or documents to respond to clients document requests.  It is ridiculous for you to claim that it took 12.5 hours to research whether the district ever finished paying on more than $16,000.00 of unneeded/unused invoiced charges from GKK Works from 2014 or to provide me with Pat Escalante’s monthly pay information from June 2011 to November 2013 and from December 2018 to December 2020 per my record request.   It seems obvious to me that the school district is trying to hide information from the public.

 

I noticed that your letters to me regarding my records request CC’d the school district’s attorney, Mr. Terry Tao.  I believe that the school district’s attorney has advised you to illegally charge me and purposely delay producing my public records requests as a way of discouraging me from requesting documents.   I doubt that either you or Superintendent Jason Johnson would decide to break the law on your own without being prompted to do so by the school district’s attorney, Terry Tao.   Although Mr. Tao has a proven track record of being unethical and corrupt, I would have hoped, however, that Superintendent Jason Johnson would be familiar enough with the CPRA to know that what you and he are doing by charging me and delaying the production of public records is illegal, unethical, and corrupt.   I am disappointed that Superintendent Johnson (and school board members) seem to be hiding behind the school district’s attorney and colluding with an action that at least Superintendent Johnson should know is illegal.

 

In 2017 I had sent an affidavit and proof of Mr. Tao unethical behavior in collusion with HBCSD Superintendent Pat Escalante to purposely provide the voters of Hermosa Beach misinformation during a public meeting one week before the HBCSD $59 million dollar facilities bond vote to the Los Angeles District Attorney for Public Integrity.   Although it is not illegal for Mr. Tao to have purposely lied throughout his one-hour presentation to the public, shortly after I reported Mr. Tao to the D.A., I believe that Mr. Tao was released from his partner position at the prestigious law firm of AALRR.    After being released from AALRR, Mr. Tao then started his own firm, Tao Firm, and subsequently Tao Rossini, APC.  

 

I had sent detailed information to School Board members with proof of Mr. Tao and Superintendent Pat Escalante’s collusion to provide the public with misinformation prior to the bond vote.   I have attached proof of the misinformation in my email with this letter.  

 

Despite proof that Mr. Tao had provided the voters of Hermosa Beach with one hour worth of misinformation and misleading information regarding the district use of the Community Center and North School for students, HBCSD School Board members choose to keep Mr. Tao as the school district’s attorney at taxpayer expense.   This action proves that HBCSD School Board members actively disregard providing the community with true and impartial information or creating the highest standards of integrity within the district.

 

I plan to pick up the records that I requested this week.  I will not pay $893.20 for the right to request public records.  I will pay your charge of $18.20 for copies of my requested documents.   If my request is not honored, I will go on record at a School Board meeting with my complaint regarding the district’s illegally charging me for my public records request.

Sincerely,

Miyo Prassas

30-year resident of Hermosa Beach

cc: a lot of residents of Hermosa Beach.

Will Initiatives Save California?

Kevin Kiley's latest post shames Newsom for yet another failure in the federal courts, this time dealing with AB 32, which all but shut down ICE detention centers. The supremacy clause pushed back on this abuse of power, according to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Big Victory.

And there's more.

A number of initiatives are going through for people to collect the signatures to place the efforts on the ballot. Do you think they are worth the effort? Even if they pass, will there be political will and willingness to enforce the ballot measures?

Here's the latest blog from State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley:

Another California law has been ruled unconstitutional. With AB 32, Newsom and the Legislature tried to force ICE to close its detention facilities. Today the 9th Circuit held this violates the Supremacy Clause.

Next year, Newsom and the legislators who passed this law will face voters. Perhaps more importantly, several transformative initiatives will be on the ballot. 

The full list of initiatives soon gathering signatures for the 2022 election includes:

• School Choice. Let funding follow the child 
• Water Storage. End the era of shorter showers
• Death Tax Repeal. Restore a protection of Prop. 13
• Election Integrity. Require voter ID
• Taxpayer Protection. Require voter approval for tax increases
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CA Republicans Voted to Eliminate R-1 Zoning, Too (And the Root Failure of Representation)

I have been telling people for the last few weeks that we do not have representative government at all in Sacramento, and not just because Democrats have a raging supermajority.

I submit that even if everyone was a Republican legislators in Sacramento, there would still be lots of bad legislation passed and forced onto the state.

The third-house money that runs Sacramento, the lobbyists and special interests, have an unrelenting chokehold on everything that happens in the state capitol.

Don't believe me?

Consider the sudden passage of SB 9 and SB 10, two pieces of legislation which all but eliminate single-family zoning limitations in local and county governments. As of this week, developers can now buy up single-family lots and put four homes on a lot that was zoned for only one home. This increase in potential housing stock will not bring down prices. In fact, since most of the developments are coming to high demand locations, it will just create more high-cost housing. And don't forget that more residents in high density areas just means more demand for fewer resources.

Republicans as well as Democrats voted for these assaults on local control.

YES.

Check out the final tally in the California State Senate for SB 9

Date

08/30/21

Result

(PASS)

Location

Senate Floor

Ayes Count

28

Noes Count

7

NVR Count

5

Motion

Unfinished Business SB9 Atkins et al. Concurrence

Ayes

Archuleta, Atkins, Becker, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Grove, Hertzberg, Hueso, Hurtado, Laird, Leyva, McGuire, Min, Nielsen, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Umberg, Wieckowski, Wiener

Noes

Bates, Borgeas, Glazer, Jones, Melendez, Ochoa Bogh, Wilk

NVR

Allen, Kamlager, Limón, Newman, Stern

And check out the final vote in the State Assembly:

Date

08/26/21

Result

(PASS)

Location

Assembly Floor

Ayes Count

45

Noes Count

19

NVR Count

15

Motion

SB 9 Atkins Senate Third Reading By Robert Rivas

Ayes

Aguiar-Curry, Arambula, Berman, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chiu, Cooley, Cooper, Megan Dahle, Flora, Fong, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Lorena Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Mullin, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Salas, Stone, Ting, Valladares, Villapudua, Ward, Akilah Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

Noes

Bauer-Kahan, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Daly, Davies, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Irwin, Levine, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Petrie-Norris, Seyarto, Smith, Voepel, Waldron

NVR

Bennett, Bryan, Burke, Chau, Chen, Choi, Cunningham, Kiley, Maienschein, McCarty, Nguyen, Patterson, Luz Rivas, Blanca Rubio, Santiago

The bill passed the state assembly by only 45 votes! If every Republican had stood their ground and voted NO, the bill would have failed!

This is the second time that the Republican caucus in the State Assembly helped screw over voters. Seven Republicans! UNBELIEVABLE!

And what about SB 10?

Date

08/30/21

Result

(PASS)

Location

Senate Floor

Ayes Count

28

Noes Count

6

NVR Count

6

Motion

Unfinished Business SB10 Wiener et al. Concurrence

Ayes

Archuleta, Atkins, Borgeas, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hueso, Hurtado, Jones, Leyva, McGuire, Min, Nielsen, Ochoa Bogh, Pan, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Umberg, Wieckowski, Wiener

Noes

Bates, Hertzberg, Kamlager, Laird, Portantino, Wilk

NVR

Allen, Becker, Limón, Melendez, Newman, Stern

And in the state assembly:

Date

08/23/21

Result

(PASS)

Location

Assembly Floor

Ayes Count

44

Noes Count

12

NVR Count

23

Motion

SB 10 Wiener Senate Third Reading By Chiu

Ayes

Aguiar-Curry, Arambula, Berman, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Chiu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Megan Dahle, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Lorena Gonzalez, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Kalra, Kiley, Lackey, Lee, Levine, Low, Mayes, Medina, Mullin, Patterson, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Ting, Villapudua, Ward, Akilah Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

Noes

Bauer-Kahan, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Frazier, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Petrie-Norris, Salas, Seyarto, Stone, Voepel

NVR

Bennett, Bigelow, Bryan, Burke, Cervantes, Chen, Choi, Daly, Davies, Friedman, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gray, Jones-Sawyer, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, Nguyen, Luz Rivas, Santiago, Smith, Valladares, Waldron

Seven state assembly Republicans voted to strip away local control from cities. Hell, even my corrupt, pro-pedo Democrat assemblyman Al Muratsuchi voted against both of these terrible bills! More libtard Democrat voted to protect local control than Republicans.

What's going on here? Real estate and developer money is flowing freely into Democratic and Republican coffers. Same holds true for unions, both private and public sector. The passage of Jungle Top Two primaries gave these third-party interests more power than the political parties, as well. 

Let's face it: Political parties do not run Sacramento, and neither do voters. It's really sad, but this is where we are now. The special interests, the big time donors, the major corporations, they run this state. California is an aristocracy of special interests, not the public good.

The fact is that a state assembly district has over 400,000 residents. Can anyone really say that they are represented by ANYONE in Sacramento?

Today, a state senate district contains about 1 million residents! That is larger than the representation for a Congressional district! There is no way that any one voter can feel that their voice matters in Sacramento with such overwhelming numbers crowding into each district. No one is really represented in Sacramento anymore. Third-House money and special interests have all the power now. They can amass the money, they can blanket a district for their chosen candidate. and most voters will go along with whatever is fed to them because the advocates for everyday citizens do not have that kind of money to fight back.

This disparity in representation explains everything. There is no way that a common community of citizens can really band together and fight back against bad legislation as this point. The special interests call all the shots. Real estate agents and developers want lots of high density housing so they can make lots of money.

Labor unions want big contracts. The public sector unions run everything in Sacramento, too. It is so bad, and so blatantly, that when I confronted State Senator Ben Allen about making some form of school choice available, he told me plainly "The teachers union has to approve it."

They call the shots. They get to decide what passes and what does not pass in the state legislature. This whole corrupt process reveals fully how bad things have gotten in Sacramento and in the state of California as a whole, and why so many people are now just pulling up stakes and leaving the state entirely.