Sal Rodriguez: MAGA seems to always need a scapegoat
If one seriously believes Somalis, Haitians or immigrants in general are the great problem in...
Opinion Columnists
If California is an economic powerhouse, then where are the jobs?
Despite all the gloom, there are reasons for optimism.
William W. Bedsworth: Reflections on the Great Leader’s first year back
My year-in-review barely got to May. There was so much wonderfulness I didn't get to...
Susan Shelley: Trump’s first year back was a victory for America
Trump used every minute of it to list his first-year accomplishments.
Larry Wilson: How could 2026 be any worse than 2025?
Here’s hoping against hope ‘26 can make some of that kind of joy.
Jon Coupal: Blue states have a fraud problem
The difference is not that red states don’t have problems, or even scandals. It’s when...
Huntington Beach gets a new nickname: City of Losers
City councils aren’t playgrounds for activists, but governing bodies that represent every resident.
Douglas Schoen: The districts that could bust Newsom’s redistricting
American politics have become so unpredictable and rapidly shifting that the possibility remains that all...
Thomas Elias: Trump, Newsom aren’t doing enough to guard against AI threats
Rather than caving in to this sort of pressure tactic, Newsom should spend part of...
Adam Summers: The success of Mamdani and the failure of socialism
It certainly bodes ill for New Yorkers in 2026 and the coming years.
New year may entertain political junkies, but California’s sluggish economy deserves the spotlight
History tells us that taking prosperity for granted —think Detroit — is an invitation to...
A New Year’s Resolution for America as it turns 250
This country’s future depends on Americans continuing to embrace, appreciate, and recognize what this country...
Should we listen when wealthy people offer to pay more in taxes?
Such taxation will not stabilize government finances, and it will not restore confidence in the...
The High-Speed Rail Authority wants to hear from you, so let them hear it
Well, if you happen to own a firm that does environmental impact reports, you’ve won...
Doug Schoen: The under the radar issue in California’s gubernatorial race
Elevated crime rates have led California voters to increasingly voice their frustrations and state and...
Susan Shelley: Who pays for California’s war on drivers? You do.
If you’ve hesitated to buy an electric car because it's typically easier to find a...
GOP battles show a party heading deeper into fever swamps
There’s no returning to the past, but perhaps in the post-Trump scuffle some GOP leaders...
California’s very odd election year starts with Republicans possibly leading the governor’s race
Having so much uncertainty this late in the game is very unusual.
Matt Fleming: On Christmas, let’s thank Jesus
The birth, life and death of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago changed the world...
In appreciation of what makes America’s generosity possible
Among the most important gifts we can pass on is a society that is confident...
Jon Coupal: Santa Jarvis’ Annual Naughty and Nice List
The mood is right. The spirit's up.
The California Way on homelessness is a blueprint for what not to do
The Trump administration is trying to reverse failed policies that have left people to die...
In memory of Minnie Jean Cooper, our letters editor
May she rest in peace.
Trump’s new National Security Strategy pushes global realism
President Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy, released Dec. 4, largely charts a needed correction...
Jon Coupal: Courts widen the door to even more local taxes in California
Registered voters in California can sign the petition by going to SaveProp13.com and easily printing...
Thousands of legal immigrants are paying for the crimes of one
This pause puts on hold America’s promise to these legal immigrants who followed every rule...
The quiet engine behind Gen Z and Millennial malaise
Social insurance programs are compatible with a basic safety net, but what we have now...
Donald Trump is not a conservative, let’s stop calling him one
Trump is on the political right, but, love him or hate him, he is not...
Checking boxes, losing viewers: The Academy’s fade into obscurity
How much would you pay to watch the Academy Awards? Or would they have to...
Drug-war chest-pounding will cost lives, erode our liberties
Sensible leadership would try to figure out the reasons for the past year’s drop in...
Heading into 2026, Democrats are on the brink of success – and self-sabotage
If Democrats decide to follow the lead of progressives like Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez, they will...
Trump’s word games can’t conceal the murderous reality of his anti-drug strategy
The debate about the Sept. 2 attack underlines that point.
Jon Coupal: What Sacramento could learn from ALEC
In the meantime, organizations like ALEC take full advantage of our federalist form of government,...
SoCal GOP delegation rejects limits on Trump’s hostilities in Latin America
As long as Calvert, Kim, Issa, Obernolte and the rest of the GOP are going...
Are policymakers ready for the potential impact of AI on the labor market?
The problem of AI-induced mass unemployment is one that government should start working on now...
Newsom relaxed his pro-housing stance for certain Democratic locales
Legislation to give Marin a partial exemption from state housing quotas by altering its status...
Costly incompetence: Audit uncovers more California mismanagement
Watch closely and see if California can turn a bad report card into a full-ride...
Crickets from Southern California Republicans on Trump’s Reiner tirade
What are Republicans for, again?
Some Newsom detractors make up stuff, though there’s fodder for legitimate criticism
Distorted criticism of Newsom is more off-putting than even his own tendency to bend historic...
Rob Reiner’s death exposes what ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ really is
Agree with Reiner’s politics or not, appreciate his works or not, the fact is that...
Adam Summers: Calling 911 over California’s failed IT projects
The failure to upgrade the state’s 911 system is just the latest example of this...
End of enhanced subsidies will protect taxpayers from waste and fraud
Fraud in government programs has plenty of bodyguards.
I just came back from Argentina. Milei’s economy is working.
Milei’s economic approach seems to be working so far, and I’m glad to see my...
Coming for your credit card from left and right
If this is the new bipartisan consensus, the worst thing being capped is common sense.
Life after artificial intelligence takes all of our jobs
These appear to be scary times indeed
No accountability: Why California’s union-run school system can’t stop failing
As enrollment in government schools continue to plummet, as costs rise and as academic preparedness...
Trump’s Somali insults are a disgrace to the American dream
Americans shouldn’t be ashamed that our nation is a beacon to the tired, poor, huddled...
Will Gavin Newsom’s record derail his White House bid?
Polished as he is, Newsom’s record will come back to bite.
The California Way: High taxes and government waste
We could go on endlessly about politicians' lack of concern about how our money is...
Battling food deserts is an invented solution to a more complicated problem
How fun it must be to spend other people’s hard-earned money.
Agree with him or not, Noam Chomsky’s ideas are still worth grappling with
I think his ideas and arguments are still worth grappling with as one tries to...
CPUC traps utilities in high-cost, bird-frying Ivanpah contract
There is some good news. At least we’re not birds or tortoises.
A modest proposal: What’s good for drug boats, even better for freeway chases!
Sure, some innocent people might get killed, but we need bold, manly action like instantaneous...
John Seiler: Celebrating 30 years of Antiwar.com as the war machine rages on
Perhaps in another 30 years America will learn to live in peace with the world...
How rough will 2026 be for Republicans?
Democrats will likely find their way out of the political wilderness and back to power,...
Washington didn’t cross Delaware to create a theocracy
Christian nationalists often argue that America cannot survive as a multicultural, multi-religious nation.
NYT’s bombshell story on $1 billion social services fraud in Minnesota
I really don't like the theft of $1 billion.
How the far-left and New Right unite against free markets
The populist poles of the Left and Right are now linked in what political scientists...
California’s new labor law could have unintended and unwanted consequences
The California Legislature has a bad habit of writing new law in the moment and...
Newsom’s 911 debacle is California’s latest failed tech adoption
The governmental landscape is littered with information technology projects that have failed to deliver the...
Rafael Perez: On Joe Rogan, the guy who just asks questions
If you listen to Joe Rogan, you will be treated to a carousel of pseudointellectuals,...
One year later, was I wrong to downplay the dangers of Trump? Yes.
Republican subservience is slowly beginning to wane.
Racketeering or politics? For Attorney General Rob Bonta, it’s all fine.
In California, it’s politics.
Larry Wilson: RFK Jr. nixes facts, panders to the fringe
And things just got worse
Trump’s senseless response to senseless DC shooting
Unsurprisingly, Trump doesn’t understand what makes America great.
Mamdani and Trump are two peas in the authoritarian pod
So here we are where the so-called “communist lunatic” and the so-called “fascist” find common ground.
The race to succeed Newsom is shaken up…again
With the battle over Proposition 50 in the rearview, there is renewed attention on the...
If you really love America, push it to live up to its promise
Loving this country demands appreciating it for what’s good, denouncing what’s evil, and pushing it...
Voting by phone is a pointless solution to an imaginary problem
Campaign on fixing real problems, not imaginary ones.
Broken promises about taxes and bonds are nothing new
Relying on deception, lies, and the presumed stupidity of citizens is an affront to core...
Irvine’s climate spending is just posturing
The council should take care of residents the best it can, and not push global...
Giving thanks for America’s Constitution and creed
Thanksgiving invites us to pause and consider the gifts we often overlook.
Prop. 50 likely to stay intact no matter the fate of Texas gerrymandering
If something like that couldn’t put Newsom in an early lead in the 2028 Democratic...
Industrial policy isn’t being done poorly. It’s just bad economics
American industry has been getting a lot of hands-on direction from Democrats and Republicans for...
A spate of new studies gives the lowdown on California’s sky-high living costs
A truly staggering number.
Sacramento’s spending addiction continues
For taxpayers, the news isn’t good.
Trump the peace candidate became another war president
I backed President Donald Trump in three elections because I hoped he would end such...
Could Democrats look east for 2028?
There is another governor who could be a formidable challenger atop Democrats’ ticket in 2028:...
Trump and Mamdani: Two statists in the White House
As Trumponomics continues to fail and Mamdani rediscovers that rent control doesn’t work, there will...
Susan Shelley: Steyer’s money can’t buy governorship
He's at 1%, barely ahead of skim milk
Larry Wilson: How the Dems can get back to winning
Find eminently moderate candidates, women, preferably
One cat death is a tragedy. 43,000 human deaths is a statistic
A new California law does hold driverless car companies accountable for traffic incidents.
California Democrats are the threat to democracy they fear
The only existential threat to democracy in California is the Democrats who run the state.
Young Kim and Ken Calvert should stop excusing Trump’s import taxes
I’m glad both Young Kim and Ken Calvert still say they support free trade and...
Despite recent scandals, there is no need to outlaw prop bets or sports gambling
Sports leagues and gambling companies both have a strong interest in preserving the integrity of...
Plants over people? Regulatory gridlock and the Palisades fire
Today, people are secondary to plants.
Dana Williamson’s indictment reveals a hidden world of political operatives
Dana Williamson typifies the species.
The real Trump proposals are as ridiculous as the fake 15-year car loan
So much of this is sham economics.
The California Way: How campaign committees and behested payments skirt the law
You wouldn’t believe what’s legal in California.
Larry Wilson: We must not let AI strip our ability to think for ourselves
One last chance to save our all-too-human souls.
The answer to America’s affordability problem is to unleash supply
The Nov. 4 election results are a reality check for the Trump administration. Democrats didn't...
The federal government’s ‘new’ slogan reveals its vision for immigration policy
Not long ago, quoting the Ku Klux Klan would’ve been a career-ending scandal for any...
JD Vance’s nativist nonsense obscures his point on need for more housing
You know a political project is a bust when it relies on the elimination of...
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s moderate tack shows the MAGA virus is breaking
When the virus breaks for some of these once-outlying characters, then maybe there’s hope for...
John Seiler: Trump’s economy of distraction
If he doesn’t want Democrats to take over Congress, he must shelve the foreign adventures.
Douglas Schoen: Nobody won the shutdown, but Republicans lost
How Republicans navigated the shutdown figures to be a tailwind for Democrats.
Arrests of political aides could blow back on Newsom and Becerra
The arrests leave a lot unknown and much to be learned once the former leading...
Newsom plays climate warrior, compromiser and coy candidate
Gov. Gavin Newsom still insists he hasn’t decided to run for president in 2028.
Rafael Perez: Trump and Hegseth’s deadly contempt for human life
That sort of attitude commits you to barbarism: human life has no value.
Sal Rodriguez: Donald Trump had the solution to the drug war … in 1990
“You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit...