My friends who voted for Kamala/Walz are mostly cultured, highly educated, successful people in a variety of professions I respect. A few work in non-profits I don't respect. Others, though, run their own businesses. Or have non government careers. They are community minded. They are all Boomers or X-ers. I think they just want to live in the sixties forever even if they were born in the seventies and they don't realize the Democratic Party is not at all what they marched for back then. Their brains retired years ago even if they still are out in the world working. When they find out I voted for Trump they have a meltdown and get over it and we never talk politics again or they never talk to me again. It is what it is. God grant me the strength to change California's government and accept what I can't change in Minnesota. That's my Zen wisdom for the day.
Hi Polly, If Kamala/Walz had been elected there would have been business as usual. And there would have been much to complain about. Probably some corruption and the usual graft from the Military/Industrial complex. We would be so much better off than we are today.
Michael, I think that though we disagree about Trump we are probably in agreement about our love for this wonderful little city. I would rather work with you to change our local govt rather than argue about who would be a better president.
Polly, I agree with you. Unfortunately, I am not smart enough to suggest changes to local politics. Fortunately, you don’t have to be smart to criticize National politics or politicians. Although I haven’t been to State Street since they made these changes. I read the complaints in the Currant, and my one thought was, “I’ve lived in Santa Monica and Denver where they have walk-only streets with restaurants and stores an everybody there loved them. Of course they also had convenient parking.”
I remember when they blew up the old SM mall to build a new one with an outdoorsy feel, similar to what they did in Century City and Sherman Oaks. It’s a pity what has happened to the Promenade area. It was so cool.
Good luck to Santa Barbara sure hope you get some better leadership.
Looking at it quickly . . . YES. I am all for this. The cost is not 31mm, it is half of that. So you are asking if I am ok with 15.5mm as an expense for something. If they float a bond at 6% that is 92k a month for 30 years. ASSUMING they treat it like a mortgage and have some P in that payment :) But this is just for quick discussion purposes.
Now, so that this would not impact you one iota, Goleta could raise its TOT 1%, which would put it 1% LOWER than unincorporated, and this is wholly paid for just by the delta in the TOT.
For that, you get a place for the homeless, which is probably costing the city more than the ~92k a month to handle, and then the qualitative issue of addressing the homeless situation.
So 'only' 15M is ok to spend to house 35 homelsss people? Small prefab houses are available - here's one on Amazon for $10k. . . delivered! https://tinyurl.com/5n8v795h
I would argue that the same white, liberal mentality that exists in liberal, blue states like Minnesota, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts are alive and well here in SB. All of which has been taken advantage of, and scammed by non-white hoards of immigrants, whether legally or not.
No ideas of progress have ever come from conservatives. By definition, it can't. If there were no liberals, would we, as a society, be at the level of pre-Tutankhamen? What society would we have?
But how interesting that you wrote, "scammed by non-white hoards of immigrants, whether legally or not."
How @#$^% racist of you. Glad your true colors are written for all to see.
Madoff was white.
Enron was done by some white guys.
Theranos was done by a white girl.
Bernie Ebbers was white.
The S&L crisis was a bunch of old white guys.
I am waiting for the list of fraud of those non-white people, legal or not.
Now, before you go off on the double amputee, gay black Somali woman who defrauded the government of $1200. How many of those would it take to get to Madoff? Hmm. A MATH equation! 65,000,000,000 divided by 1200. Well, wow, that would be more than 1/7 of the US population! That would be over 54 million people.
I think your hatred of people who have a different skin color is the issue, not the fraud.
You’re framing the question as if morality must come from only one of two sources: the Church or isolated, subjective individual conscience. But that is a false dichotomy.
Liberalism doesn’t say “everyone invents their own morality.” It says the state cannot force one particular religious authority to impose its theology on people who do not share it. That is fundamentally different.
Your quote from Sarda assumes the premise that God’s sovereignty requires a specific church to wield state power. But that is, a theological assertion, not a universal truth. Heck it is not even agreed upon by Christians, since Protestants, Orthodox, and Catholics, all reject each other’s claims to exclusive moral authority. So if no single religious institution can speak infallibly for all believers, the state must allow pluralism simply to avoid persecuting Christians who disagree with each other. Liberalism doesn’t replace God with man; it prevents men from claiming to speak for God while wielding legal coercion.
You argue that “the individual conscience cannot define morality.”
Fine—but societies do not rely on solitary consciences. Morality in a free society emerges from: shared values, natural law traditions, philosophical reasoning, community norms, democratic deliberation, and yes, even religious teaching. Conscience exists within a moral ecosystem, not a vacuum. Even the Catholic tradition teaches that conscience must be followed, even when it errs, because God does not coerce belief.
The claim that liberalism “only succeeded militarily” is historically inaccurate. Liberalism emerged because: monarchies abused their power, churches aligned with states enforced conformity violently, ordinary people demanded freedom of worship, speech, and association. Liberalism did not conquer Christianity. Christian disagreements created the need for political liberalism.
You state that “progress” is morally empty and that Christianity uniquely embodies virtue. Christian ethics undeniably shaped Western moral thought. But liberal rights—conscience, dignity, equality, human freedom – all grew out of a Christian-influenced belief in individual worth, not in opposition to it.
The idea that the meek and the poor matter, all souls have equal value, directly influenced later concepts such as universal human rights, abolition of slavery, freedom of conscience, limits on state power, and equality before the law. These are I, but also deeply Christian-influenced. This is not a contradiction. It's a heritage.
Liberalism is not a denial of God. It is a denial of state-enforced theology as the sole moral authority. Christianity shaped the West profoundly, but the West learned, often painfully, that no earthly institution can safely claim divine authority over everyone’s life, conscience, and law. A society can honor Christian morality without giving any one church the power of the sword.
I respect the conversation. When you respond, it brings me back to college and forces me to actually think about what I write. So let me continue in that spirit: direct, thoughtful, and without hostility.
You said liberalism is absolutely a denial of God, but that only follows if one begins by assuming your Church must rule every state. Your argument depends on accepting that Catholicism is the only true faith, that the Catholic Church has rightful jurisdiction over nations, and that any government not enforcing Catholic doctrine is in rebellion against God. Those are theological claims, not universally accepted truths. Even many Catholics today do not accept that the Church must govern nations in that way. Liberalism does not deny God; it denies that any fallible human institution may wield state power on the claim of uniquely representing God. That is a limit on political authority, not a metaphysical denial of the divine.
You also argue that allowing moral disagreement equals moral relativism. But pluralism and relativism are not the same thing. Relativism means there is no truth. Pluralism means the state does not force citizens to conform to one church’s interpretation of truth. The Catholic tradition itself teaches that conscience cannot be coerced, because coerced belief is not true belief. A government that refuses to enforce a particular church’s doctrine is not saying morality is subjective. It is saying morality cannot be transmitted by coercion.
Your view that the Church stands above the state and therefore the state must enforce Church doctrine is a medieval political model that the Church itself no longer universally teaches. Historically, even Catholic monarchies often resisted papal claims of temporal authority. And today the Vatican does not teach that governments must impose Catholicism as the state religion. Pius IX believed that, but the Church has since recognized the failures of confessional states. Vatican II explicitly rejected the idea that civil governments should coerce religious adherence. That does not mean relativism; it means the Church acknowledges that faith must be freely chosen.
When you say Protestants and Orthodox are simply in error, that actually reinforces why pluralistic governance became necessary. If entire nations of sincere Christians reject Rome’s authority, then your model would require those nations to be forced into submission under an institution they do not recognize. Political liberalism emerged to prevent this exact scenario of Christians persecuting other Christians in the name of enforcing moral truth. If a single ecclesial authority were unquestionably accepted, Christendom would never have fractured. The historical reality shows the opposite.
You argued that the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution were driven by self-interest and not by resistance to tyranny. Even if we grant mixed motives, that does not disprove liberalism as a political idea. Human beings act from mixed motives in every system. If self-interest discredits liberalism, then monarchy and even papal governance would also be discredited, since rulers and popes throughout history have acted from self-interest. The existence of flawed people does not invalidate a political structure.
Your point about eugenicists misusing the language of progress does not make progress as a concept inherently empty. If the misuse of an idea proves the idea invalid, then monarchy, religion, liberty, revolution, and every moral or political concept in history would fail the same test. Misuse does not negate meaning. Christianity is not invalidated by the sins of Christians, and liberal principles are not invalidated by the wrongs committed under their banner.
You appeal to older papal condemnations of liberalism as proof that liberalism is anti-Christian. But those condemnations were directed at the particular political ideologies, anticlerical movements, and violent upheavals of the 19th century. They were not categorical rejections of constitutional governance. Leo XIII accepted parliaments, recognized civil liberties in an ordered form, and encouraged Catholic engagement in public life. Vatican II went further in distinguishing authentic human liberty from license. It affirmed that governments must not coerce faith, that conscience has dignity, and that religious freedom is a requirement of that dignity. This was not surrender to liberalism; it was recognition born of historical experience that coerced religion harms both the Church and society.
Your argument about secularism claiming neutrality also conflates jurisdictional limits with metaphysical claims. A secular state saying it will not define doctrine is not saying doctrine is false or irrelevant. It is saying the state is not competent to arbitrate disputes that even Christians cannot resolve among themselves. If the state enforced one theological authority, Protestants would be ruled by Rome, Catholics by Geneva, Jews by Muslims, and so on. Secular governance does not deny God; it prevents civil power from deciding theological arguments through force.
The larger point here is that your argument only works if someone begins by accepting the exclusive authority of your Church. But liberal political order arose precisely because people no longer agreed on which authority was truly God’s representative. Liberalism did not arise to replace God. It arose because the attempt to use government to enforce one vision of God repeatedly resulted in violence, even among Christians. Whenever a single religious authority has fused itself with state power, the result has been persecution, fragmentation, and eventually the weakening of both church and state. Liberalism emerged as a reluctant solution to human disagreement, not as a rebellion against the divine.
I know nothing other than what you write. Your words define you.
I can read the news just like you. It seems I can apply critical thinking to what I read, something you seem to lack.
Again, to come up with the same level of fraud of Madoff, you would have to have more than 1/7th of the US doing it.
But hey, you want to bring up Denmark. You like to parrot whatever the dear leader is spewing in the news. Why would anyone want to leave Denmark and come to the US? What would their gain be? There were ~5k immigrants from Denmark in 2023 per statista. Kinda proves my point. They don't want to come here. It is a downgrade to them.
If I am making a fool of myself in your eyes, that is perfectly fine. That means that I am on the correct side of the issue. I don't fall for red herrings. Sure, a Mexican immigrant raped a woman and then murdered her. But when you look at that crime, that was probably 1 out of 250 of those events. You want to focus on the Mexican while ignoring the other 249 that occurred. That shows that you don't care; you want to blame a person who has a different skin color.
Keep crying some more. Let your racism come into the sunlight. Stand by your convictions. The rest of the world will realize who you are, and society will shun you.
And what is the relevance of them coming from Mexico? NOTHING.
Damn . . . you really do not understand how things work. Racism is racism. It doesn't matter what color your skin is. To assume that someone can not be racist against someone of the same skin color, rofl.
Your words define you. It is all we have. We do not know your actions because of the forum that this is in. So when you write what you have, it shows that you are racist. Nothing less, nothing more.
Agree. But I think the only way we're going to get a better government in CA is by mobilizing voters through appealing to their own best interests. Bonnie's SB City columns get positive comments from commenters who I usually disagree with. So my own wish would be to focus on local and state corruption that directly affects every voter. Brent is a terrific legal writer (and a valued friend), but the posts here about Christianity and national and international stuff are just divisive, IMHO.
Hey Polly, do you ever reread what you write? You insult people you say are your friends. You say some work in nonprofits that you don’t respect, why don’t you just say that you don’t agree with? You’re very judgmental as how some live and think, you say they wanna live in the 60s, so what? You say their brains retired, but they continue to work, what exactly do you mean by that? Sorry, but this is not wisdom, especially not Zen.
Straight to the point. The question is how much of the stolen money will be recovered?
When convicted how much of the bank accounts and real property owned by the thieves will be confiscated, even after it is found the burglars hid much of it in "none profits" that will eventually kick back to them?
It is a sad note when the elected representative has this shoved under her nose daily and she walks away ... (what theft, what graft, etc. etc.)
Must have taken her lessons from Waters in Calif.
Why Waltz? Simple a willing dupe who profited.
Now start looking at the City of SB and the County of SB and ask why where money is being spent as deficits expand.
Did someone mention a unneeded bike path on Cliff Dr.? Chuckle
Scott, you seem to complain a bunch. Is this because your non-profit has had what seems like zero sucess over the decades? Seems like either you want to be right, which often you are/were - or your leadership hasn't been up to snuff.
sounds like an echo from “We Aren’t Going Back”…another failed mind warp psyops strategy by the [D] Party…see also “Equity”, “Joy”, “NoKings”, “Affordability” +++
If Harris and Walz won our country would be over. We'd be in WW3,and our country adding more debt and a continuation of all the policies that the Auto- pen implemented.
I understand Walz was also being blackmailed. So a useful idiot could do anything that the puppet masters could tell them to do for fear of being exposed.
Kamala was controlled opposition as she slept her way to the top and is not the brightest bulb in the factory.
"Why do you think Kamala Harris selected the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her V.P.?"
It's elementary, Watson. She picked Walz because IIhan Omar was in her ear. With the scope of the corruption, we now know...it seems clear who she was listening to.
It's federal dollars therefore my tax dollars being stolen so this is not just a Minnesota problem. I believe Walz was complicit. If you read County Highway there is a long ( ~10,000 word) piece on this in the current year-end issue.
Agreed. What were the feds doing for oversight of their money? Not much, obviously. If Walt is complicit, he should pay for it. And I'm actually more concerned about my $ 20 or $ 40 billion in Federal dollars being blown into the wind in Argentina, with as much oversight as they had in MN.
I don’t see the comparison? In one case there is fraud in the other the president is using his elected authority to extend American influence in our hemisphere. I too am concerned that the money will not achieve the desired goal but it is lawful and precedented.
I'll mark my calendar for a year and get back to you with a prize if Walz is charged as complicit. Or this isn't just one side stirring up news to avoid other topics being in the headlines.
Brent - _excellent_ article - loved it. I hope Trump throws all the foreign trash out of our beautiful America.
Here’s why:
Tucker Carlsen is interviewing Piers Morgan about foreigners in our country on this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okwxab97_-Y - Forget about Tucker Carlsen or Piers Morgan - a guest shows up in a little window at 1:43 with THE best rap on why foreigners need to be kicked out. I’m going to have my video guy copy this video, cut out Carlsen and Morgan, record this guy and post it on a Landing page - it’s that righteous!
Keith Ellison was the first Muslim ever elected to U.S. Congress. Later, as AG in Minnesota, he confiscated a roughly half hour of (somewhat mitigating) police bodycam video of George Floyd's initial contact with LEOs on the day of his death, showing him exhibiting clearly out of control behavior. Video that was imperative for a jury to watch. Refusing to release it, Ellison averred something along the lines of wanting to guarantee a conviction - not mentioning any pursuit of justice. The video was eventually released by a BRITISH media outlet, long after the BLM riots.
Excellent summary, thanks very much. Is the entire state of Minnesota corrupt? F***ing millions billions of dollars kited away from deserving, real Americans in real need of assistance to these ungrateful, thieving people.
The number of Somalis involved in these frauds seems to be around .001 of the total number of Somalis in the state. I wonder how that compares to the fraction of Italians involved in various Mafia families back in the early 20th century. Or the fraction of Irish criminal gangs in Boston and New York in the late 19th century.
You could say that Trump is playing the hatred racist card. Is the hatred racist card worse than the just plain vanilla racist card? I admire your moral posturing and I am in no way as noble but I would like to see a real house cleaning and we could start in Minnesota.
Criminal activity needs to be dealt with, of course. And if it is discovered to include political figures they need to be held to account. But that doesn't excuse vilifying an entire community.
Actually, a friend did "adopt" a Somali refugee some time ago, but in San Francisco. She was a hairdresser and he went to bat to get her a room and studio in one of the buildings he managed. She was quite successful and he got free haircuts. Or are you assuming that because they're garbage, they're not really worthwhile people.
Not true, I was in private industry most of my career and my short forray into a government or even university lab disgusted me for the total lack of work ethic but a healthy sense of entitlement and plenty of Obama bumper stickers.
Good to know that UCSB, CalTech, JPL, and Raytheon /Flir were all private sector that you've brought up. Ha! I guess they aren't. Oh, I guess you think working for the "private sector" for the government is fine. So what private tit were you on? I'm betting my tax dollars went to fix your Ford.
Never worked at UCSB shithole. CalTech JPL 3 months, I quit Amber engineering after Rayrheon acquired it and i quit Indigo systems after Flir acquired it. They offered me principal scientist at Raytheon but I quit after a couple of months because of the do nothing government tit culture. I have to the extent possible avoided the government tit because I want nothing that I have not created enough value to justify. Fun fact: I have only taken one loan in my life and paid it off when Clinton was in office. Thomas, you have an unhealthy obsession.
Ok, but you’re basing that on only people charged and neither of us knows the extent of involvement, which I suspect runs much deeper. Many more may face justice or deportation.
Hopefully some MN politicians will spend time at the Graybar Hotel.
Regardless of political affiliation this smells like the dumpster behind Arby’s.
We've got a war looming with Venezuela, the Epstein files, massive corruption and Trump's disrespectful post about the late Rob Reiner, and you guys write about yesterday's mash potatoes Kamala and Walz?
On top of defending Trump's gross post about the murdered Rob Reiner, you're also a warmonger. At least you're consistent. Thanks for the reminder. Looks like you're the one "moving on long with your [neocon] peers."
So someone has to be a 'saint' for the president of our country to refrain from a post like that? You are truly wicked if you are actually defending what Trump posted.
Read YOUR bible! How dare you tell me to "read my Bible" after you just excused the horrible post Trump made about a man just stabbed to death, likely from his own son! You're also a degenerate liar because I never "praised" Reiner, I said what Trump posted about him and his death was "disrespectful." It was. And you're even worse. I remember you being this way in past comments too. Have the Christmas you deserve.
MY "Satanic ways" for thinking Trump's vile post about Rob Reiner was disrespectful? For opposing wars? Nice attempt at gaslighting. Stop the holy rolling when you are clearly are NOT Christian. I also read your comment below saying you dislike Muslims. Not surprising. I think you need to let go of your Satanic ways.
Why Walz? Easy, A) incompetent, B) corrupt, C) white guilt. It should now be obvious that this was the largest scam in history, perpetrated against the Minnesota taxpayers, 90% of those involved purported to be Somalian refugees. The other 10%? Reports indicate refugees from Kenya!
Walz as the fall guy was an easy mark. Fearful of having the “race card” played on him, he was more than happy to look the other way. The fact that Walz is really not that smart and in fact downright stupid, only added to the scam. To top it off you have a corrupt, incompetent, racist Attorney General in Minnesota, Keith Ellison, which gave further cover and legitimacy to those involved.
Think of this as a BLM style grift, only much larger. There are now reports of a TSA agent at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport which witnessed suitcases stuffed full of cash leaving for destinations in Mogadishu and Nairobi.
What now? Hopefully there will be massive arrests made to include Walz, Frey, Ellison and Omar.
I must agree with the President, why do we need those that would scam our system, drain our social services and then make remittances back to their dirt bag country in order to fund terrorism?
"I must agree with the President, why do we need those that would scam our system, drain our social services and then make remittances to their dirt bag country in order to fund terrorism?"
The comment applies to most immigrants who come to America to take advantage of American generosity rather than to assimilate to American culture and contribute to our economy. It equally applies to many Americans born here, they are called Democrats.
Jeff, so what is the metric for immigrants? I agree that we can't just take in anyone. But we need to figure out some sort of system to implement moving forward. PhDs in the sciences are fine? MS? BS? Where do we draw the line. I'm all for lines - I just wish someone with a big ballroom would have the balls to figure this out and not be working on a new arch, or I guess we're French now and call it an arc?
Legal immigration according to current law and no illegal immigration and deportation of all illegal immigrants. I don't give a shit about their degrees, probably better if they did not go to college. Just must speak English and pass a test in civics, basic US history and have a sponsor who provides employment. Must not be a burden to the welfare state and must pledge allegiance to America. Assimilation is paramount. I would halt all immigration for 5 -10 years to allow time for the hoards already here to assimilate. Also, they should not concentrate in specific areas as this impedes assimilation. That is how it used to be before all this open border BS.
Mr. Zepke, you sure did a deep dive into Minnesota, Walz and the Somali’s. You asked why Walz? Well, I have a better question. Why Vance, Bondi, Blanche, Rubio, Noem, RFK Jr, Holman, McMahon, Patel, Bongino, Miller, Leavitt, etc. Not one of these people are qualified to serve in the positions they’re in, as we have seen proof of day after day. They repeat trumps lies over and over, if trump says it, it must be true according to his press secretary. They are in their positions to carry out trumps corrupt agenda, along with his dirty work, and plotting revenge against political rivals. Spend, spend, spend seems to be a trump administration mantra at the moment. America first is no more.
And hopefully we’ll be able to look back and be rid of the most corrupt, mentally deranged President in our history and never repeat the mistakes (by all past administrations) that got us here
Why Walz? Maybe because he’s a compliant crime boss? Similar ones are employed throughout many of our large cities that have been run by the D’s for decades…these crime bosses allow the flooding of our streets with drugs, criminals run free, large sums of money are skimmed in the transactions between the federal government, state government, and local governments/NGO’s. Vice is their way of life.
PS. Kamala did not select Walz…who was running Biden‘s White House from the basement?
So the democrats import their new underclass, the Somalis, to replace their old Mexican underclass. Because the latino voters started voting for Trump in unacceptable numbers.
The dems need this new underclass to continue their nationwide fraud schemes.
Tim Walz was the perfect dolt to front the operation.
Stupid, mailable, and corrupt.
The three required traits of Democrat operatives.
And note: The IQ of Somalia averages at 68.
A nation of retarded imbreeds, foisted upon America by liberal women, led into the democrat fraud machine under the watchful eyes of Walz and auto pen Biden.
My friends who voted for Kamala/Walz are mostly cultured, highly educated, successful people in a variety of professions I respect. A few work in non-profits I don't respect. Others, though, run their own businesses. Or have non government careers. They are community minded. They are all Boomers or X-ers. I think they just want to live in the sixties forever even if they were born in the seventies and they don't realize the Democratic Party is not at all what they marched for back then. Their brains retired years ago even if they still are out in the world working. When they find out I voted for Trump they have a meltdown and get over it and we never talk politics again or they never talk to me again. It is what it is. God grant me the strength to change California's government and accept what I can't change in Minnesota. That's my Zen wisdom for the day.
Hi Polly, If Kamala/Walz had been elected there would have been business as usual. And there would have been much to complain about. Probably some corruption and the usual graft from the Military/Industrial complex. We would be so much better off than we are today.
Michael, I think that though we disagree about Trump we are probably in agreement about our love for this wonderful little city. I would rather work with you to change our local govt rather than argue about who would be a better president.
Polly, I agree with you. Unfortunately, I am not smart enough to suggest changes to local politics. Fortunately, you don’t have to be smart to criticize National politics or politicians. Although I haven’t been to State Street since they made these changes. I read the complaints in the Currant, and my one thought was, “I’ve lived in Santa Monica and Denver where they have walk-only streets with restaurants and stores an everybody there loved them. Of course they also had convenient parking.”
I remember when they blew up the old SM mall to build a new one with an outdoorsy feel, similar to what they did in Century City and Sherman Oaks. It’s a pity what has happened to the Promenade area. It was so cool.
Good luck to Santa Barbara sure hope you get some better leadership.
Is it the government you want to change or the actions of the government in place?
That, to me, is what is causing a lot of division.
David, I wrote that I am concerned with local politics. Let's take something in the news today https://www.noozhawk.com/31-million-permanent-supportive-housing-complex-coming-to-goleta/. Read this and get back to me. If you're happy with our SB govt spending this money — which you will pay for with your taxes, I'd like to hear why.
Looking at it quickly . . . YES. I am all for this. The cost is not 31mm, it is half of that. So you are asking if I am ok with 15.5mm as an expense for something. If they float a bond at 6% that is 92k a month for 30 years. ASSUMING they treat it like a mortgage and have some P in that payment :) But this is just for quick discussion purposes.
Now, so that this would not impact you one iota, Goleta could raise its TOT 1%, which would put it 1% LOWER than unincorporated, and this is wholly paid for just by the delta in the TOT.
For that, you get a place for the homeless, which is probably costing the city more than the ~92k a month to handle, and then the qualitative issue of addressing the homeless situation.
What about this are you against?
David, the project cost is $31 million. The fact that federal government is paying for half of it doesn't lower the cost.
So 'only' 15M is ok to spend to house 35 homelsss people? Small prefab houses are available - here's one on Amazon for $10k. . . delivered! https://tinyurl.com/5n8v795h
Thank you for your response, I would like to see the budget and how exactly it is going to be paid. I would like to see a neighborhood impact report.
I would argue that the same white, liberal mentality that exists in liberal, blue states like Minnesota, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts are alive and well here in SB. All of which has been taken advantage of, and scammed by non-white hoards of immigrants, whether legally or not.
Sound familiar?
Why is being liberal bad?
Seriously, think hard about that.
No ideas of progress have ever come from conservatives. By definition, it can't. If there were no liberals, would we, as a society, be at the level of pre-Tutankhamen? What society would we have?
But how interesting that you wrote, "scammed by non-white hoards of immigrants, whether legally or not."
How @#$^% racist of you. Glad your true colors are written for all to see.
Madoff was white.
Enron was done by some white guys.
Theranos was done by a white girl.
Bernie Ebbers was white.
The S&L crisis was a bunch of old white guys.
I am waiting for the list of fraud of those non-white people, legal or not.
Now, before you go off on the double amputee, gay black Somali woman who defrauded the government of $1200. How many of those would it take to get to Madoff? Hmm. A MATH equation! 65,000,000,000 divided by 1200. Well, wow, that would be more than 1/7 of the US population! That would be over 54 million people.
I think your hatred of people who have a different skin color is the issue, not the fraud.
When have I ever said liberals were bad, David? Can it with your long winded diatribes.
Polly, I did not respond to you. I responded to LT.
Want to rewrite what you wrote now? :)
Then preface your comments with who they're directed to.
Polly, for two years I've read your comments and I'm quite sure you have posted that "liberals are bad," not in so many words.
And do you understand what those gray lines are under the comments? You see how I'm commenting to your comment, not David's?
Then learn to read the thread. If you want to jump straight to defensive, that is on you.
You’re framing the question as if morality must come from only one of two sources: the Church or isolated, subjective individual conscience. But that is a false dichotomy.
Liberalism doesn’t say “everyone invents their own morality.” It says the state cannot force one particular religious authority to impose its theology on people who do not share it. That is fundamentally different.
Your quote from Sarda assumes the premise that God’s sovereignty requires a specific church to wield state power. But that is, a theological assertion, not a universal truth. Heck it is not even agreed upon by Christians, since Protestants, Orthodox, and Catholics, all reject each other’s claims to exclusive moral authority. So if no single religious institution can speak infallibly for all believers, the state must allow pluralism simply to avoid persecuting Christians who disagree with each other. Liberalism doesn’t replace God with man; it prevents men from claiming to speak for God while wielding legal coercion.
You argue that “the individual conscience cannot define morality.”
Fine—but societies do not rely on solitary consciences. Morality in a free society emerges from: shared values, natural law traditions, philosophical reasoning, community norms, democratic deliberation, and yes, even religious teaching. Conscience exists within a moral ecosystem, not a vacuum. Even the Catholic tradition teaches that conscience must be followed, even when it errs, because God does not coerce belief.
The claim that liberalism “only succeeded militarily” is historically inaccurate. Liberalism emerged because: monarchies abused their power, churches aligned with states enforced conformity violently, ordinary people demanded freedom of worship, speech, and association. Liberalism did not conquer Christianity. Christian disagreements created the need for political liberalism.
You state that “progress” is morally empty and that Christianity uniquely embodies virtue. Christian ethics undeniably shaped Western moral thought. But liberal rights—conscience, dignity, equality, human freedom – all grew out of a Christian-influenced belief in individual worth, not in opposition to it.
The idea that the meek and the poor matter, all souls have equal value, directly influenced later concepts such as universal human rights, abolition of slavery, freedom of conscience, limits on state power, and equality before the law. These are I, but also deeply Christian-influenced. This is not a contradiction. It's a heritage.
Liberalism is not a denial of God. It is a denial of state-enforced theology as the sole moral authority. Christianity shaped the West profoundly, but the West learned, often painfully, that no earthly institution can safely claim divine authority over everyone’s life, conscience, and law. A society can honor Christian morality without giving any one church the power of the sword.
Well, for once I agree with you, David.
Partially agree with you.
I respect the conversation. When you respond, it brings me back to college and forces me to actually think about what I write. So let me continue in that spirit: direct, thoughtful, and without hostility.
You said liberalism is absolutely a denial of God, but that only follows if one begins by assuming your Church must rule every state. Your argument depends on accepting that Catholicism is the only true faith, that the Catholic Church has rightful jurisdiction over nations, and that any government not enforcing Catholic doctrine is in rebellion against God. Those are theological claims, not universally accepted truths. Even many Catholics today do not accept that the Church must govern nations in that way. Liberalism does not deny God; it denies that any fallible human institution may wield state power on the claim of uniquely representing God. That is a limit on political authority, not a metaphysical denial of the divine.
You also argue that allowing moral disagreement equals moral relativism. But pluralism and relativism are not the same thing. Relativism means there is no truth. Pluralism means the state does not force citizens to conform to one church’s interpretation of truth. The Catholic tradition itself teaches that conscience cannot be coerced, because coerced belief is not true belief. A government that refuses to enforce a particular church’s doctrine is not saying morality is subjective. It is saying morality cannot be transmitted by coercion.
Your view that the Church stands above the state and therefore the state must enforce Church doctrine is a medieval political model that the Church itself no longer universally teaches. Historically, even Catholic monarchies often resisted papal claims of temporal authority. And today the Vatican does not teach that governments must impose Catholicism as the state religion. Pius IX believed that, but the Church has since recognized the failures of confessional states. Vatican II explicitly rejected the idea that civil governments should coerce religious adherence. That does not mean relativism; it means the Church acknowledges that faith must be freely chosen.
When you say Protestants and Orthodox are simply in error, that actually reinforces why pluralistic governance became necessary. If entire nations of sincere Christians reject Rome’s authority, then your model would require those nations to be forced into submission under an institution they do not recognize. Political liberalism emerged to prevent this exact scenario of Christians persecuting other Christians in the name of enforcing moral truth. If a single ecclesial authority were unquestionably accepted, Christendom would never have fractured. The historical reality shows the opposite.
You argued that the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution were driven by self-interest and not by resistance to tyranny. Even if we grant mixed motives, that does not disprove liberalism as a political idea. Human beings act from mixed motives in every system. If self-interest discredits liberalism, then monarchy and even papal governance would also be discredited, since rulers and popes throughout history have acted from self-interest. The existence of flawed people does not invalidate a political structure.
Your point about eugenicists misusing the language of progress does not make progress as a concept inherently empty. If the misuse of an idea proves the idea invalid, then monarchy, religion, liberty, revolution, and every moral or political concept in history would fail the same test. Misuse does not negate meaning. Christianity is not invalidated by the sins of Christians, and liberal principles are not invalidated by the wrongs committed under their banner.
You appeal to older papal condemnations of liberalism as proof that liberalism is anti-Christian. But those condemnations were directed at the particular political ideologies, anticlerical movements, and violent upheavals of the 19th century. They were not categorical rejections of constitutional governance. Leo XIII accepted parliaments, recognized civil liberties in an ordered form, and encouraged Catholic engagement in public life. Vatican II went further in distinguishing authentic human liberty from license. It affirmed that governments must not coerce faith, that conscience has dignity, and that religious freedom is a requirement of that dignity. This was not surrender to liberalism; it was recognition born of historical experience that coerced religion harms both the Church and society.
Your argument about secularism claiming neutrality also conflates jurisdictional limits with metaphysical claims. A secular state saying it will not define doctrine is not saying doctrine is false or irrelevant. It is saying the state is not competent to arbitrate disputes that even Christians cannot resolve among themselves. If the state enforced one theological authority, Protestants would be ruled by Rome, Catholics by Geneva, Jews by Muslims, and so on. Secular governance does not deny God; it prevents civil power from deciding theological arguments through force.
The larger point here is that your argument only works if someone begins by accepting the exclusive authority of your Church. But liberal political order arose precisely because people no longer agreed on which authority was truly God’s representative. Liberalism did not arise to replace God. It arose because the attempt to use government to enforce one vision of God repeatedly resulted in violence, even among Christians. Whenever a single religious authority has fused itself with state power, the result has been persecution, fragmentation, and eventually the weakening of both church and state. Liberalism emerged as a reluctant solution to human disagreement, not as a rebellion against the divine.
I know nothing other than what you write. Your words define you.
I can read the news just like you. It seems I can apply critical thinking to what I read, something you seem to lack.
Again, to come up with the same level of fraud of Madoff, you would have to have more than 1/7th of the US doing it.
But hey, you want to bring up Denmark. You like to parrot whatever the dear leader is spewing in the news. Why would anyone want to leave Denmark and come to the US? What would their gain be? There were ~5k immigrants from Denmark in 2023 per statista. Kinda proves my point. They don't want to come here. It is a downgrade to them.
If I am making a fool of myself in your eyes, that is perfectly fine. That means that I am on the correct side of the issue. I don't fall for red herrings. Sure, a Mexican immigrant raped a woman and then murdered her. But when you look at that crime, that was probably 1 out of 250 of those events. You want to focus on the Mexican while ignoring the other 249 that occurred. That shows that you don't care; you want to blame a person who has a different skin color.
Keep crying some more. Let your racism come into the sunlight. Stand by your convictions. The rest of the world will realize who you are, and society will shun you.
Both my paternal grandparents were from Mexico, moron. You are truly an embarrassment, does your parents know you’re playing on the computer?
And what is the relevance of them coming from Mexico? NOTHING.
Damn . . . you really do not understand how things work. Racism is racism. It doesn't matter what color your skin is. To assume that someone can not be racist against someone of the same skin color, rofl.
Your words define you. It is all we have. We do not know your actions because of the forum that this is in. So when you write what you have, it shows that you are racist. Nothing less, nothing more.
The inmates have escaped the asylum again.
Somebody needs a hobby.
Burger boy. Wow.
Agree. But I think the only way we're going to get a better government in CA is by mobilizing voters through appealing to their own best interests. Bonnie's SB City columns get positive comments from commenters who I usually disagree with. So my own wish would be to focus on local and state corruption that directly affects every voter. Brent is a terrific legal writer (and a valued friend), but the posts here about Christianity and national and international stuff are just divisive, IMHO.
Hey Polly, do you ever reread what you write? You insult people you say are your friends. You say some work in nonprofits that you don’t respect, why don’t you just say that you don’t agree with? You’re very judgmental as how some live and think, you say they wanna live in the 60s, so what? You say their brains retired, but they continue to work, what exactly do you mean by that? Sorry, but this is not wisdom, especially not Zen.
Straight to the point. The question is how much of the stolen money will be recovered?
When convicted how much of the bank accounts and real property owned by the thieves will be confiscated, even after it is found the burglars hid much of it in "none profits" that will eventually kick back to them?
It is a sad note when the elected representative has this shoved under her nose daily and she walks away ... (what theft, what graft, etc. etc.)
Must have taken her lessons from Waters in Calif.
Why Waltz? Simple a willing dupe who profited.
Now start looking at the City of SB and the County of SB and ask why where money is being spent as deficits expand.
Did someone mention a unneeded bike path on Cliff Dr.? Chuckle
Scott, you seem to complain a bunch. Is this because your non-profit has had what seems like zero sucess over the decades? Seems like either you want to be right, which often you are/were - or your leadership hasn't been up to snuff.
Chuckle
Why still focused on the past while Rome is burning?
Isn’t there good cause to tamp down fires still raging in MN?
Do you think it’s over?
Think what is over?
sounds like an echo from “We Aren’t Going Back”…another failed mind warp psyops strategy by the [D] Party…see also “Equity”, “Joy”, “NoKings”, “Affordability” +++
Pretty obvious. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".
If Harris and Walz won our country would be over. We'd be in WW3,and our country adding more debt and a continuation of all the policies that the Auto- pen implemented.
I understand Walz was also being blackmailed. So a useful idiot could do anything that the puppet masters could tell them to do for fear of being exposed.
Kamala was controlled opposition as she slept her way to the top and is not the brightest bulb in the factory.
BTW KH is Dominican.
Kamala Harris is Dominican? I thought she was born in CA?
Her parents were born in Jamaica and the Dominican.
They were not naturalized citizens
Her mother was born in India.
If that's the case then she's not black.
?? How does what country you or your parents come from determine if you are or are not 'black'?
I think you answered your own question.
"Why do you think Kamala Harris selected the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her V.P.?"
It's elementary, Watson. She picked Walz because IIhan Omar was in her ear. With the scope of the corruption, we now know...it seems clear who she was listening to.
Why Walz? Why the obsession with Minnesota?
It's federal dollars therefore my tax dollars being stolen so this is not just a Minnesota problem. I believe Walz was complicit. If you read County Highway there is a long ( ~10,000 word) piece on this in the current year-end issue.
Agreed. What were the feds doing for oversight of their money? Not much, obviously. If Walt is complicit, he should pay for it. And I'm actually more concerned about my $ 20 or $ 40 billion in Federal dollars being blown into the wind in Argentina, with as much oversight as they had in MN.
I don’t see the comparison? In one case there is fraud in the other the president is using his elected authority to extend American influence in our hemisphere. I too am concerned that the money will not achieve the desired goal but it is lawful and precedented.
I'll mark my calendar for a year and get back to you with a prize if Walz is charged as complicit. Or this isn't just one side stirring up news to avoid other topics being in the headlines.
Brent - _excellent_ article - loved it. I hope Trump throws all the foreign trash out of our beautiful America.
Here’s why:
Tucker Carlsen is interviewing Piers Morgan about foreigners in our country on this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okwxab97_-Y - Forget about Tucker Carlsen or Piers Morgan - a guest shows up in a little window at 1:43 with THE best rap on why foreigners need to be kicked out. I’m going to have my video guy copy this video, cut out Carlsen and Morgan, record this guy and post it on a Landing page - it’s that righteous!
Keith Ellison was the first Muslim ever elected to U.S. Congress. Later, as AG in Minnesota, he confiscated a roughly half hour of (somewhat mitigating) police bodycam video of George Floyd's initial contact with LEOs on the day of his death, showing him exhibiting clearly out of control behavior. Video that was imperative for a jury to watch. Refusing to release it, Ellison averred something along the lines of wanting to guarantee a conviction - not mentioning any pursuit of justice. The video was eventually released by a BRITISH media outlet, long after the BLM riots.
Maybe Obama was the first Muslim????
Is Obama gay now?
You guessed it.
I guess AI X wimped out?
Excellent summary, thanks very much. Is the entire state of Minnesota corrupt? F***ing millions billions of dollars kited away from deserving, real Americans in real need of assistance to these ungrateful, thieving people.
The number of Somalis involved in these frauds seems to be around .001 of the total number of Somalis in the state. I wonder how that compares to the fraction of Italians involved in various Mafia families back in the early 20th century. Or the fraction of Irish criminal gangs in Boston and New York in the late 19th century.
So we should just ignore it because bad shit has happened before. What percentage of those throwbacks are on public assistance?
No, but we ought not disrespect all Somalis which is what Trump is doing, playing the racist hatred card.
They stole money. They were on a TPS status know revokes. How is that racist?
Calling an entire group of people "garbage" isn't racist. Okay. How do you react when somebody calls all whites "pigs" or something similar.
We are getting way off topic. I'm not continuing with this rhetoric. Have a good day.
You could say that Trump is playing the hatred racist card. Is the hatred racist card worse than the just plain vanilla racist card? I admire your moral posturing and I am in no way as noble but I would like to see a real house cleaning and we could start in Minnesota.
Criminal activity needs to be dealt with, of course. And if it is discovered to include political figures they need to be held to account. But that doesn't excuse vilifying an entire community.
Hang out in their community, take a few in and get back to me
Actually, a friend did "adopt" a Somali refugee some time ago, but in San Francisco. She was a hairdresser and he went to bat to get her a room and studio in one of the buildings he managed. She was quite successful and he got free haircuts. Or are you assuming that because they're garbage, they're not really worthwhile people.
Jeff, you spent most of your entire career on the tit of the government. Is that public assistance?
Not true, I was in private industry most of my career and my short forray into a government or even university lab disgusted me for the total lack of work ethic but a healthy sense of entitlement and plenty of Obama bumper stickers.
Good to know that UCSB, CalTech, JPL, and Raytheon /Flir were all private sector that you've brought up. Ha! I guess they aren't. Oh, I guess you think working for the "private sector" for the government is fine. So what private tit were you on? I'm betting my tax dollars went to fix your Ford.
Never worked at UCSB shithole. CalTech JPL 3 months, I quit Amber engineering after Rayrheon acquired it and i quit Indigo systems after Flir acquired it. They offered me principal scientist at Raytheon but I quit after a couple of months because of the do nothing government tit culture. I have to the extent possible avoided the government tit because I want nothing that I have not created enough value to justify. Fun fact: I have only taken one loan in my life and paid it off when Clinton was in office. Thomas, you have an unhealthy obsession.
Where did you get that statistic?
Checked the news reports of number involved in the scams (about 80) and divided it by the number of Somalis (about 80,000).
Ok, but you’re basing that on only people charged and neither of us knows the extent of involvement, which I suspect runs much deeper. Many more may face justice or deportation.
Hopefully some MN politicians will spend time at the Graybar Hotel.
Regardless of political affiliation this smells like the dumpster behind Arby’s.
So you suspect that all Somalis are involved? What percentage would you estimate?
Look at the percentage of money they used to defraud the American people.
We've got a war looming with Venezuela, the Epstein files, massive corruption and Trump's disrespectful post about the late Rob Reiner, and you guys write about yesterday's mash potatoes Kamala and Walz?
We have no war looming with Venezuela. Maduro does.
We do have looming peace with many countries.
Didn't you hear Harris is back in the spotlight probably eyeing another presidental run.
On top of defending Trump's gross post about the murdered Rob Reiner, you're also a warmonger. At least you're consistent. Thanks for the reminder. Looks like you're the one "moving on long with your [neocon] peers."
Rob Reiner said things about Trump and his supporters. He's not a saint
So someone has to be a 'saint' for the president of our country to refrain from a post like that? You are truly wicked if you are actually defending what Trump posted.
Why wicked. For stating the truth.
I said nothing about Reiner's death which is tragic and Hollywood has lost a legend.
I grew up with All in the Family and " Meathead".
Don't judge others unless you know their hearts.
What do you know about Reiner or are you just moving on long with your peers praising a man even though you know nothing about him.
The only evil one,BTW is Satan. We are all sinners,read your Bible.
Read YOUR bible! How dare you tell me to "read my Bible" after you just excused the horrible post Trump made about a man just stabbed to death, likely from his own son! You're also a degenerate liar because I never "praised" Reiner, I said what Trump posted about him and his death was "disrespectful." It was. And you're even worse. I remember you being this way in past comments too. Have the Christmas you deserve.
Thanks. There's only one perfect human and that's Jesus
How am I a warmonger BTW.
Your post was stating about wars and I was stating peace,so unless you're confusing me with another poster that's not what I said.
Maybe you should take that plank out of your eye before judging others as my comment have never attacked you and have replies in a pleasant manner.
Reread my posts, and you'll see the truth in them.
If you'd like I can also share the posts that Twiner said about Trump that he was mentally unstable to run.
But I'm not going to do that nor did I do that because I didn't want to share that and felt unnecessary.
I think you need to let go of your Satanic ways and pray for healing of your heart and mind.
MY "Satanic ways" for thinking Trump's vile post about Rob Reiner was disrespectful? For opposing wars? Nice attempt at gaslighting. Stop the holy rolling when you are clearly are NOT Christian. I also read your comment below saying you dislike Muslims. Not surprising. I think you need to let go of your Satanic ways.
Why Walz? Easy, A) incompetent, B) corrupt, C) white guilt. It should now be obvious that this was the largest scam in history, perpetrated against the Minnesota taxpayers, 90% of those involved purported to be Somalian refugees. The other 10%? Reports indicate refugees from Kenya!
Walz as the fall guy was an easy mark. Fearful of having the “race card” played on him, he was more than happy to look the other way. The fact that Walz is really not that smart and in fact downright stupid, only added to the scam. To top it off you have a corrupt, incompetent, racist Attorney General in Minnesota, Keith Ellison, which gave further cover and legitimacy to those involved.
Think of this as a BLM style grift, only much larger. There are now reports of a TSA agent at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport which witnessed suitcases stuffed full of cash leaving for destinations in Mogadishu and Nairobi.
What now? Hopefully there will be massive arrests made to include Walz, Frey, Ellison and Omar.
I must agree with the President, why do we need those that would scam our system, drain our social services and then make remittances back to their dirt bag country in order to fund terrorism?
Didn’t Australia just find this out the hard way?
https://alphanews.org/exclusive-former-tsa-agent-recalls-millions-in-cash-flying-out-of-minneapolis-st-paul-international-airport/
Excellent, LT
"I must agree with the President, why do we need those that would scam our system, drain our social services and then make remittances to their dirt bag country in order to fund terrorism?"
Are you talking about the Cuban's that came over?
The comment applies to most immigrants who come to America to take advantage of American generosity rather than to assimilate to American culture and contribute to our economy. It equally applies to many Americans born here, they are called Democrats.
Jeff, so what is the metric for immigrants? I agree that we can't just take in anyone. But we need to figure out some sort of system to implement moving forward. PhDs in the sciences are fine? MS? BS? Where do we draw the line. I'm all for lines - I just wish someone with a big ballroom would have the balls to figure this out and not be working on a new arch, or I guess we're French now and call it an arc?
Legal immigration according to current law and no illegal immigration and deportation of all illegal immigrants. I don't give a shit about their degrees, probably better if they did not go to college. Just must speak English and pass a test in civics, basic US history and have a sponsor who provides employment. Must not be a burden to the welfare state and must pledge allegiance to America. Assimilation is paramount. I would halt all immigration for 5 -10 years to allow time for the hoards already here to assimilate. Also, they should not concentrate in specific areas as this impedes assimilation. That is how it used to be before all this open border BS.
So the Cuban's who turned Florida from Democratic to Republican, you want to get rid of? Those immigrants?
Legal citizens can only vote
Only the Democrats
But they started as Dems. Getting rid of them would have kept Florida Blue, as there would be no party flipping.
Many people are leaving the Dem party. Wonder why???
Take out _all_ the garbage!
Mr. Zepke, you sure did a deep dive into Minnesota, Walz and the Somali’s. You asked why Walz? Well, I have a better question. Why Vance, Bondi, Blanche, Rubio, Noem, RFK Jr, Holman, McMahon, Patel, Bongino, Miller, Leavitt, etc. Not one of these people are qualified to serve in the positions they’re in, as we have seen proof of day after day. They repeat trumps lies over and over, if trump says it, it must be true according to his press secretary. They are in their positions to carry out trumps corrupt agenda, along with his dirty work, and plotting revenge against political rivals. Spend, spend, spend seems to be a trump administration mantra at the moment. America first is no more.
And hopefully we’ll be able to look back and be rid of the most corrupt, mentally deranged President in our history and never repeat the mistakes (by all past administrations) that got us here
Why Walz? Maybe because he’s a compliant crime boss? Similar ones are employed throughout many of our large cities that have been run by the D’s for decades…these crime bosses allow the flooding of our streets with drugs, criminals run free, large sums of money are skimmed in the transactions between the federal government, state government, and local governments/NGO’s. Vice is their way of life.
PS. Kamala did not select Walz…who was running Biden‘s White House from the basement?
So the democrats import their new underclass, the Somalis, to replace their old Mexican underclass. Because the latino voters started voting for Trump in unacceptable numbers.
The dems need this new underclass to continue their nationwide fraud schemes.
Tim Walz was the perfect dolt to front the operation.
Stupid, mailable, and corrupt.
The three required traits of Democrat operatives.
And note: The IQ of Somalia averages at 68.
A nation of retarded imbreeds, foisted upon America by liberal women, led into the democrat fraud machine under the watchful eyes of Walz and auto pen Biden.