Free Republic

While Hollywood is known as a hotbed of liberalism, a small, but influential group of entertainment industry conservatives exist. The Hollywood Right, as it might be called, has noted that the California Primary is going to matter for the first time in decades. The group of conservative directors, writers, and actors are banding together to stop Donald Trump and make certain that Ted Cruz wins enough delegates in the last in the nation contest to stop the mercurial real estate tycoon from clinching the Republican nomination on the first ballot. The theory is that since delegates become unbound after the...

LOS ANGELES (CN) - A federal judge has ruled a requirement that a Koch brothers' charitable foundation release tax information to the California attorney general that includes donor information is unconstitutional.     In a 12-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Manuel Real said that while the disclosure requirement was not "facially invalid," it is "unconstitutional as applied to Americans for Prosperity Foundation, especially in light of the requirement's burdens on the foundation's First Amendment rights."     The foundation, a conservative advocate of free-market economic policies, sued California Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2014 arguing that it should be allowed to keep donor names secret.     Backed by...

A photograph of a California EMT mowing the front lawn of an 86-year-old man who had fainted while doing yard work went viral Saturday as thousands of people shared the image on social media. The man who fainted was not identified in reports, but his son shared the picture of the EMT mowing the Sacramento lawn on Facebook after noticing that one of the emergency workers “put the gurney away and the other finished mowing the lawn” for his father.

U.S. authorities seized another cross-border tunnel, this time in San Diego, just weeks after a similar tunnel was uncovered in Calexico, Calif., a two-hour drive to the east. The 874-yard-long tunnel was uncovered, on Wednesday, after a months-long investigation, authorities said. The tunnel was equipped with a rail system, lighting, a ventilation system, and even a commercial elevator on the Mexico-side that could fit up to ten people, authorities said. Laura Duffy, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, said the tunnel was “a bit ingenuous” and “completely different” than any of the tunnels her office had seen before....

Jim Berkland, a former US Geological Survey scientist, who once famously predicted the Loma Prieta quake, said mega quakes usually strike at a new moon or full moon because of the gravitation effect on the Earth…and the next full moon is on FRIDAY. The maverick, now retired, scientist spoke out after eight powerful earthquakes struck across south Asia and the pacific in the past 80 hours, claiming hundreds of lives in Japan and Ecuador. Mr Berkland predicted on October 13, 1989, an earthquake of magnitude 3.5 to 6.0 would strike San Francisco within the next week. Four days later on...

Ted Cruz called California "the big enchilada” on Wednesday and said it would be the state that ultimately decides the Republican nomination. But a new poll from Capitol Weekly/Sextant Strategies shows Donald Trump in a dominant position across the state. The results, provided to POLITICO, show Trump leading statewide with 41 percent of the vote and Cruz trailing far behind with 23 percent. John Kasich is in third with 21 percent, and 15 percent of Republicans said they remain undecided. California is worth 172 delegates when it votes on June 7 — with the winner of each of the state’s...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The principal of a Los Angeles high school where a scuffle broke out with adult protesters over a new gender-neutral bathroom praised his students Wednesday as “trailblazers” for campaigning to install the restroom.In a statement, Principal Martin Gomez said he is proud of students at Santee Education Complex for their efforts to establish the first multi-stall, gender-neutral restroom at the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest.He dismissed the protesters as a small group trying to “discredit the brave actions of our students.” Students leaving the school Tuesday tussled with protesters dressed in black and...

Solar energy records are falling left and right in California these days, as the state steams ahead toward its ambitious renewable energy goals. But the success of solar has brought about a hidden downside: on some perfectly sunny days, solar farms are being told to turn off. That’s because in the spring and fall, when Californians aren’t using much air conditioning and demand for electricity is low, the surge of midday solar power is more than the state can use. It’s becoming a growing concern for those running the grid at the California Independent System Operator. At their Folsom headquarters,...

Reply to Slander Being defamed by a UCLA Vice Chancellor for defending the Jews. April 20, 2016 David Horowitz    Today a letter attacking me was sent to all members of the UCLA community – that would be nearly 50,000 people I think – by Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Jerry Kang. The Vice Chancellor’s letter attacked me as a “provocateur” who last year “put up hostile posters accusing two student organizations — the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) — of being murderers and terrorists.” This is a lie. Actually it...

As an undecided democratic Latina who had recently attended a Bernie Sanders rally last month, I couldn’t help but be curious to see what Ted Cruz had to say during his recent visits to Irvine and San Diego last Monday. I really didn’t know much about him, but perhaps he might be able to offer a different perspective on the future of America – something that could benefit me and the rest of my UCI peers to give him some consideration. As a last minute decision to attend the rally, I missed his appearance at the Irvine Hotel and opted...

On April 19, a bill that could literally ban all Federal Firearm License holders (FFLs) from doing business in the state of California goes before the State Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. The bill–Assembly Bill 2459–is sponsored by Assembly Member Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento). If passed, it would shackle FFLs with four new requirements, the totality of which could simply force gun stores to close their doors. The NRA-ILA reported the four proposed requirements: A prohibition on licensee business premises being on a residential property. A clear statement that localities may impose more restrictive requirements on licensees than those...

With nearly half a million registered members, the American Independent Party is bigger than all of California's other minor parties combined. The ultraconservative party's platform opposes abortion rights and same sex marriage, and calls for building a fence along the entire United States border. Based in the Solano County home of one of its leaders, the AIP bills itself as “The Fastest Growing Political Party in California." But a Times investigation has found that a majority of its members have registered with the party in error. Nearly three in four people did not realize they had joined the party, a...

A Donald Trump-Sen. Ted Cruz unity ticket seems less likely now that Cruz told the Good Morning America audience on Monday that he has “zero interest, whatsoever” in being Trump’s pick for vice-president. Bonnie Pointer, who was described as an undecided voter from Vacaville, California, asked Cruz via video, “Would you accept being Donald Trump’s Vice President?” Cruz thanked Bonnie for her question saying, “Let me just answer very simply, I have zero interest, whatsoever, in doing it.”

As they have for 110 years in a row, residents and emergency crew members met early Monday morning at Lotta’s Fountain in San Francisco to mark those who died and suffered during the great quake and fire on 1906. Except this year was different. It was the first time that no original survivors were left. The death of Bill Del Monte earlier this year at age 109, marked the end of the last 1906 survivor — an inevitable page turning in the long tale of the Bay Area’s most famous catastrophe. Still, a sizable crowd gathered at the gold fire...

A religious organization is suing the city San Francisco to remove an open-air urinal it calls unsanitary and indecent from a popular park. The Chinese Christian Union of San Francisco filed a civil complaint last week demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from the iconic Dolores Park. The group says the urinal, which is out in the open and screened only through plants for privacy, “emanates offensive odors,” “has no hand-washing facilities” and “it’s offensive to manners and morals.” …

<p>The move ups the political tension between the city and Uber and Lyft. When faced with class-action lawsuits from drivers seeking status as employees, the companies have vigorously maintained that the drivers are independent contractors. [City Treasurer Jose] Cisneros is in essence turning that argument back on them and saying: If that’s the case, the drivers have to register as independent contractors for a business license.</p>

A survey has found that tens of thousands of voters, including Demi Moore and other celebrities, have mistakenly registered as members of a conservative minor political party in California in a mix-up over its name, a newspaper reported Sunday. The Los Angeles Times said that a telephone survey of 500 members of the American Independent Party found nearly 3 of 4 people did not realize they had enrolled in a political party that opposes abortion rights and same sex marriage and calls for building a fence along the U.S. border. The newspaper said voters were confused by the use of...

Laguna Beach's LSD culture in the 1960s, a cranky widower befriended by his chatty neighbors and a man who's dealing with the fallout from his reality show days are all stories that will be told at the Newport Beach Film Festival this year. At this, the 17th annual festival, there are more than 400 features, short films and documentaries from 50 different countries. It's a chance to see things that likely won't appear elsewhere, especially in the United States. The festival starts this Thursday and runs until the following Thursday. "The largest misconception about any film festival is that these...

The holdouts at Fort Cruz are beginning to understand the grave situation their candidate is in. The Colorado Disaster has taken its toll on Ted Cruz and it is showing in all of the new polls. In New York, Cruz’s numbers show he will be mathematically eliminated from any chance of reaching the 1,237 delegates that would give him the nomination in Cleveland this summer. On top of that, given his very poor showing so far, Cruz is on the brink of finishing 3rd behind John Kasich who has already been mathematically eliminated himself. In Pennsylvania, Cruz is fading and...

... in the same polls, Ted Cruz is viewed as the candidate willing to tell you everything you want to hear so long as it benefits him. That’s the “authenticity” issue. Just as there is a long-term benefit in positive authenticity polling, there is a long-term detriment in negative authenticity polling. Opinions of “authenticity” are almost impossible to change once they embed. The word ‘almost’ is an understatement, because no politician in modern times has ever been able to reverse the authenticity component.