Just spent about 10 days in northern California... OMG, the cost of living compared to NOVA is just out of control.

Prepared food (absolutely insane +30%), energy, housing, just living... all crazy expensive. I was so glad to get out of there. Anyone who complains about living here in the DMV doesn't know how good they have it.

Anonymous wrote:So sad the crime that so much crime is happening. It isn't bad enough that you retire at age 68 after working at UC Irvine medical center, go to a public library parking lot that has a sign 24 hour surveillance to charge your Tesla at 9:30 in the morning and get attacked by a vagrant. You end up getting stabbed severing both carotid arteries and both jugular veins but somehow survive.

When the ambulance comes to take you to the hospital, another vagrant steals the ambulance so there is a delay getting you to the hospital and you die.

The 23 year old alleged murderer had been arrested at the same place 24 hours before. He had 28 prior criminal convictions, including brandishing a weapon, attempted burglary and criminal threats.

I'm not sure who gets incarcerated in CA anymore. There are so many violent crimes but because so many crimes are no longer prosecuted they aren't reported as crimes. The city logged about 675 calls for service at this location between January 2022 and December 2025, covering assaults, robberies, sex crimes, arson and narcotics violations. This city used to be middle to upper middle class and still is considered middle class.

guess you have never been to Texas.

I suspect we will be seeing a lot of stories in the coming months about the fraud in CA.
Nick Shirley has uncovered hundreds of millions. CBS did a report uncovering hundreds of millions.
And, they have just scratched the surface.

And, there is this....

This morning, federal and local law enforcement arrested 10 defendants—eight in Los Angeles County and two foreign nationals—charged in a 15-count indictment with stealing the identities of elderly victims, using that information to obtain title reports for residential properties, then soliciting millions of dollars in hard-money loans from private lenders by falsely representing the loans as secured by the victims’ properties.

These arrests are the tip of the iceberg in terms of the fraud permeating California. Under the leadership of
@AGPamBondi
, we will target rampant fraud committed against the government and private citizens alike.

The defendants arrested in L.A. County are scheduled to make their initial appearance and be arraigned this afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Those arrested in Sacramento and Florida will make their initial appearances in federal court there.

The wire fraud and money laundering counts each carry a 20-year statutory maximum federal prison sentence, and the aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory consecutive two-year prison sentence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:California has SO much compassion for perps.

And ZERO, negative, abysmal compassion for victims.

Bring back concern for victims!!

This is kind of how progressives are though (and I say this as an avid anti-MAGA who has voted Dem POTUS in the last 4 election cycles).

They are too kind hearted to the detriment of all else.

On the flipside, MAGA have zero empathy.

These extremes are ruining the country.

Republican here. My observation is that MAGA, as you call them, have a tremendous amount of empathy for victims but very little empathy for criminals. As it should be.

Do you even believe your own words? Please explain how any part of what you just wrote applies to Trump himself who is a convicted criminal?

He holds a special place in your brain.
You folks can make any issue about Trump.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:California has SO much compassion for perps.

And ZERO, negative, abysmal compassion for victims.

Bring back concern for victims!!

This is kind of how progressives are though (and I say this as an avid anti-MAGA who has voted Dem POTUS in the last 4 election cycles).

They are too kind hearted to the detriment of all else.

On the flipside, MAGA have zero empathy.

These extremes are ruining the country.

Republican here. My observation is that MAGA, as you call them, have a tremendous amount of empathy for victims but very little empathy for criminals. As it should be.

Do you even believe your own words? Please explain how any part of what you just wrote applies to Trump himself who is a convicted criminal?

Fire victims who have lost their homes in the devastating Palisades fires have been receiving citations from LA city fire departments - for failing to clear brush on properties that already burned to the ground. No building permits, just constant harassment. Welcome to California government.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:California has SO much compassion for perps.

And ZERO, negative, abysmal compassion for victims.

Bring back concern for victims!!

This is kind of how progressives are though (and I say this as an avid anti-MAGA who has voted Dem POTUS in the last 4 election cycles).

They are too kind hearted to the detriment of all else.

On the flipside, MAGA have zero empathy.

These extremes are ruining the country.

Republican here. My observation is that MAGA, as you call them, have a tremendous amount of empathy for victims but very little empathy for criminals. As it should be.

The problem with conservatives is that they continuously expand who they call a criminal.

Protesters are criminals
Illegal immigrants are criminals
People against the administration are criminals
Black people who commit misdemeanors are criminals

Everyone they hate is a criminal, they hate an awful lot of people, and criminals get no rights or mercy despite what both the constitution and the Bible say on the matter.

“I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” Matthew 25:36

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:California has SO much compassion for perps.

And ZERO, negative, abysmal compassion for victims.

Bring back concern for victims!!

This is kind of how progressives are though (and I say this as an avid anti-MAGA who has voted Dem POTUS in the last 4 election cycles).

They are too kind hearted to the detriment of all else.

On the flipside, MAGA have zero empathy.

These extremes are ruining the country.

Republican here. My observation is that MAGA, as you call them, have a tremendous amount of empathy for victims but very little empathy for criminals. As it should be.

Anonymous wrote:California has SO much compassion for perps.

And ZERO, negative, abysmal compassion for victims.

Bring back concern for victims!!

This is kind of how progressives are though (and I say this as an avid anti-MAGA who has voted Dem POTUS in the last 4 election cycles).

They are too kind hearted to the detriment of all else.

On the flipside, MAGA have zero empathy.

These extremes are ruining the country.

California has SO much compassion for perps.

And ZERO, negative, abysmal compassion for victims.

Bring back concern for victims!!

^ adding to this:
Judges have limited discretion to deny someone Diversion out of concern for public safety. There must be evidence that a defendant will commit a "super strike" (i.e., rape or murder) within the two-year program period in order for a judge to deny diversion due to public safety concerns.

State law now requires judges to automatically presume that nearly any mental illness is related to nearly any crime. Defendants no longer have to prove their crime was linked to their mental illness. As a result, common disorders (including ADHD, anorexia, marijuana dependency, etc.) are now considered eligible "mental illnesses" for people accused of felony crimes (including domestic violence, kidnapping, and attempted murder) to have their charges dismissed.

So instead of being a POST conviction program it is now a PRE-trial program

For example, in Sacramento County if participants with a diagnosed mental illness complete a 12-18 month post-conviction program (outpatient mental health treatment, and make regular court appearances) your charges are dismissed.

So it is as if the crime NEVER occurred. This is great for crime stats -watch as crime rates continue to drop.

Like the man who had a conviction of murder and attempted murder in Nevada. He was arrested after violently attacking his elderly female neighbor over a disagreement about dog waste left in the common areas of their apartment complex. He cracked the woman's orbital socket and was charged with "Battery with Serious Bodily Injury".

But instead of being charged, convicted and sent to prison he entered a diversion program. A short time later while in the diversion program he allegedly shot a man in the head and is facing new murder charges.

Now even fewer crimes are getting classified as actual crimes because CA has implemented a huge mental health diversion program, allowing individuals charged with certain crimes to avoid prosecution or incarceration—often in exchange for completing mental health or treatment programs. In theory this seems like a good idea, but here are some examples of people who were able to enter diversion programs so they will have NO criminal record when they finish the 2 year mental health treatment. This means they are able to volunteer at schools and other organizations where there are children since they will end up with no record of any offense:

In 2024, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office accused former County of Kern Supervisor Scrivner of sexually assaulting one of his children. Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office later charged Scrivner with felony child abuse, but last fall, a judge approved a motion for Scrivner to enter into a mental health diversion program, which grants defendants rehabilitation instead of a prison sentence. The decision by Kern County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Childers has drawn criticism from the start. So have the state’s felony charges against Scrivner, which didn’t include sexual abuse despite the fact that their complaint alleges that he “got into bed with” a minor and sexually penetrated them while under the influence of “mind and/or mood altering drugs.” His ex-wife and son are both upset he got diversion.

Patrick Thompson was charged in 2017 with felony assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and battery, and felony battery with serious bodily injury. A security guard at a homeless shelter witnessed how a man was resting on his bed when Thompson, unprovoked, came up and stabbed him in the chest with a pair of scissors. The security guard said, "“The look on his face was unbelievable … so calm and very violent and he tried to push him out the window....he was halfway out the window". He was sent to a mental health facility after being ruled incompetent. He was sent to a diversion program in 2019. Even though he threatened a female police officer with an axe (3 foot long weighing 6 pounds), told the arresting officer "If it was up to me, I'd kill everything that stands", and was found in possession of a drug pipe that year he was considered to have successfully graduated from the diversion program so the charges were all dismissed. On May 4, 2021, Thompson randomly stabbed two Asian women, ages 63 and an 84, multiple times who were waiting at a bus stop.

A father was taking care of his 1-year-old daughter, and at the same time, he got blackout drunk. He admitted to drinking a pint of vodka and several beers. Under his care, his baby girl suffered a fractured skull, broken ribs and a brain hemorrhage. After he was arrested, the man claimed he was too drunk to remember what he did, and prosecutors couldn’t prove his intent to kill. So, instead of murder, he faced only felony child abuse charges. This made Mark eligible for mental health diversion instead of prison, which he was granted. So he has NO record.

Anonymous wrote:So sad the crime that so much crime is happening. It isn't bad enough that you retire at age 68 after working at UC Irvine medical center, go to a public library parking lot that has a sign 24 hour surveillance to charge your Tesla at 9:30 in the morning and get attacked by a vagrant. You end up getting stabbed severing both carotid arteries and both jugular veins but somehow survive.

When the ambulance comes to take you to the hospital, another vagrant steals the ambulance so there is a delay getting you to the hospital and you die.

The 23 year old alleged murderer had been arrested at the same place 24 hours before. He had 28 prior criminal convictions, including brandishing a weapon, attempted burglary and criminal threats.

I'm not sure who gets incarcerated in CA anymore. There are so many violent crimes but because so many crimes are no longer prosecuted they aren't reported as crimes. The city logged about 675 calls for service at this location between January 2022 and December 2025, covering assaults, robberies, sex crimes, arson and narcotics violations. This city used to be middle to upper middle class and still is considered middle class.

Newsom in ‘28!!!

So sad the crime that so much crime is happening. It isn't bad enough that you retire at age 68 after working at UC Irvine medical center, go to a public library parking lot that has a sign 24 hour surveillance to charge your Tesla at 9:30 in the morning and get attacked by a vagrant. You end up getting stabbed severing both carotid arteries and both jugular veins but somehow survive.

When the ambulance comes to take you to the hospital, another vagrant steals the ambulance so there is a delay getting you to the hospital and you die.

The 23 year old alleged murderer had been arrested at the same place 24 hours before. He had 28 prior criminal convictions, including brandishing a weapon, attempted burglary and criminal threats.

I'm not sure who gets incarcerated in CA anymore. There are so many violent crimes but because so many crimes are no longer prosecuted they aren't reported as crimes. The city logged about 675 calls for service at this location between January 2022 and December 2025, covering assaults, robberies, sex crimes, arson and narcotics violations. This city used to be middle to upper middle class and still is considered middle class.

Yet another business leaving California.