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Author: Leslie Eastman

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Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered his State of the State in an empty Dodger Stadium instead of the California legislative chamber in Sacramento. It may have been a very apt venue, as the speech was empty of both hope and solid plans for more sensible pandemic policies. The address was, however, dark, full of terrors, and rich in social justice blather.

While the current administration in Washington, D.C. uses National Guard troops as part of ongoing political theater, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is deploying his state troops to address a real security crisis. This weekend, Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) launched Operation Lone Star to combat smuggling people and drugs into Texas.

At the end of January, Legal Insurrection reported that ultra-progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón’s “reforms” were putting the region’s criminal justice system in “free fall.” For example, Gascón forced his prosecutors to read statements in court impugning the state’s “three strikes” law and ending specific penalties.