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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.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 03, 2017 3 Comments
Ayaan Hirsi Ali was slated to begin her tour of Australia on Monday with an ABC Australia's "Q and A" issues discussion program. The show's tweet indicated that plans had changed abruptly, and it seems the reason is based on security concerns.
Hirsi Ali’s Hero of Heresy tour was due to begin in Brisbane on Thursday, before taking her to Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 02, 2017 11 Comments
One of the industries that has been most impacted by the aftermath of the 2016 election has been the tattoo removal business. At the end of last year, Kemberlee Kaye noted that many millennials were consulting plastic surgeons to remove now unwanted body art. As we head toward President Trump's 100th day in office, and it is apparent he is continuing his policies of having Immigration and Customs Enforcement actually enforce federal law, tattoo removal experts are now seeing a different kind of client: Illegal aliens.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 01, 2017 20 Comments
The election of President Donald Trump continues to have a profound influence on this country in nearly every area of government. The upcoming census of the American people is a good example of a Trump-era change that is going mostly unnoticed. In 2012, Legal Insurrection reported that the Obama administration was proposing sexual orientation/gender identity questions for the 2020 census.  Such questions have never been included in any U. S. Census.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 31, 2017 16 Comments
I had to check the date of this Washington Times article by Ben Wolfgang, just to make sure it wasn't already April 1.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday sent out a press release touting praise for President Trump’s rollback of Obama-era climate-change regulations this week — but the agency accidentally led the email with a blistering quote from a Democratic critic. The press release includes a quote from Sen. Tom Carper, Delaware Democrat and ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, wrongly attributed to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 30, 2017 16 Comments
It probably comes as no surprise that California's politicians are doubling down against President Trump's immigration law enforcement policies.
State and local leaders in California struck a defiant tone Monday, saying they would continue to protect people in the country illegally despite an announcement by U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions that the U.S. Department of Justice would soon cut federal grants from so-called sanctuary cities. ...[I]n Sacramento the swiftest reaction came from state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), who is championing legislation that would effectively make California a sanctuary state by prohibiting state and local police from enforcing federal immigration laws. He called Sessions’ statements “nothing short of blackmail.”

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 28, 2017 17 Comments
The last time we checked in on the Environmental Protection Agency, a long-time staffer and social justice warrior had just tendered his resignation after recognizing the political climate had dramatically changed. Things are about to get a little hotter for this merry band of bureaucrats, as they are being sued by Judicial Watch.
The watchdog group is seeking copies of the EPA's proposals and awards for environmental justice grants delivered in 2014 and 2015, and said it hasn't been provided with any documents yet.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 27, 2017 9 Comments
When Californian's went to the polls this November to approve the legalization of marijuana for personal use, little did they realize it would morph into a battle between unions and business. The state is now slated to begin distributing licenses to marijuana businesses on Jan 1, 2018. Therefore, the Golden State's legislature is attempting to iron out discrepancies between the already existing medical marijuana rules and the approved ballot measure. The crux of the disagreement between the Teamsters union and business groups is deciding who is in charge of pot distribution.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 26, 2017 27 Comments
When I wrote that California's junior U.S. Senator was probably going to be worse than Barbara "Call me Senator" Boxer, little did I realize how quickly I would be proven right. She recently promoted an op-ed she prepared explaining why she wasn't going to vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court with the silliest tweet since Charlie Sheen's #Winning.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 25, 2017 8 Comments
Last year, I noted that once vanquished diseases were emerging across America, in part because of the steady stream of infected immigrants crossing the border. These included the tuberculosis, the historic killer that once once responsive to the antibiotics our medical professionals prepared. However, the influx of refugees with resistant strains of this pathogen is now threatening the quality of our nation's health.
The rise of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) threatens to derail decades of progress in the fight against the disease, experts warn in a new report published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. TB kills more people worldwide every year than any other infectious disease, including HIV/AIDS. In 2015 alone, researchers estimate TB killed 1.8 million people.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 25, 2017 9 Comments
Earth Hour is being touted as the world’s largest grass roots movement for the environment. On Saturday, from 8:30 - 9:30 pm, special snowflakes will turn off the lights in an effort to "make a difference" for the 11th year in a row. More importantly, it is also time for the very successful counter-event: Human Achievement Hour. Independent-minded lovers of innovation, people, and capitalism have organized to take part in the Competitive Enterprise Institute's annual celebration of progress and really making a difference.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 25, 2017 18 Comments
The last time we checked on the Dakota Access Pipeline, recovery crews were digging through mountains of garbage left by protesters and trying to find families for the dogs abandoned at the Standing Rock site by the evicted eco-activists. President Trump put his pen to work, which moved both the Dakota and Keystone pipelines forward. the US State Department is putting the finishing touches on a permit for Keystone's international structure. Meanwhile, South Dakota and Iowa authorities are investigating the vandalism of the almost operational Dakota Access Pipeline.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 25, 2017 13 Comments
While California's Governor Jerry Brown is in Washington, D.C., asking for the Trump administration for funding to help pay for storm damage repair and train construction, the state's legislators have been busy working against the American President. The border wall is the cornerstone of President Trump's campaign platform. This week, Sacramento politicians proposed a bill that that would divest its pension funds from companies engaged in the building of that wall.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 24, 2017 21 Comments
California Governor Jerry Brown has adopted an interesting approach to requesting fiscal assistance from President Donald Trump. Legal Insurrection readers will recall that our governor formally requested emergency funding for the storm damage that occurred in the state, which included deterioration of the Oroville Dam that led to a public evacuation of the surrounding area. Brown is also struggling to find monies for his legacy project, the California high speed train, after the Trump administration halted a grant slated for its construction. Brown traveled to Washington, D.C.to a address these matters directly with various members of the Trump administration. A sensible approach to take in this sitation might have been to politely focus on areas of agreement with the President.
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