Free Republic

This week, the California Assembly passed the "Stop Nick Shirley Act," (Assembly Bill 2624). The legislation was written and sponsored by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-district 18) "to counter the reign of terror being waged by amateur reporter Nick Shirley against organizations receiving public funds to carry out desperately needed services for poorer members of our society. Mr. Shirley and others who would eagerly follow his methods of asking to see actual services being provided to beneficiaries are undermining taxpayers' faith and trust in how the state government is handling this money." "My bill bans the taking of any photographs or...

A bill that critics say will stop journalists from reporting on government fraud passed the California Assembly today with votes in favor from Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, and Diane Papan, D-San Mateo. Assembly Bill 2624, dubbed the Stop Nick Shirley Act for the Youtuber who exposed fraudulent government-funded charities in Minnesota, now goes to the Senate. State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, said via text on Tuesday night that he hasn’t read the bill yet because, at that time, it was still over the in Assembly. The bill’s author, Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, who is married to California Attorney General Rob...

They don’t call it censorship anymore. They call it protection. Protection for communities. Protection for organizations. Protection from “threats.” The language is softer now, more strategic, designed to pass scrutiny without triggering it. But behind California’s AB 2624, the intent is harder to ignore: if you document the wrong thing, in the wrong place, involving the wrong people, the state may decide you shouldn’t be allowed to show it at all. And this time, they’re not going after institutions. They’re going after the individuals who don’t need one. In Sacramento, that effort now has a bill number. AB 2624. According...

California attorney general has lashed out at what he says are are “baseless claims” from the Trump administration about widespread fraud in the state. California has been a frequent target of the Trump administration’s fight against fraud. In recent weeks Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz has made claims about hospice care facilities allegedly draining billions in taxpayer dollars. “Trump claims California is wasting money when in reality our programs are helping lower income individuals and lower income families get healthcare, food and housing assistance,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Thursday. “Trump claims, wrongly, California...

While California Gov. Gavin Newsom cosplays being president, promotes his election rigging scheme, and flame-posts on X against President Donald Trump and Republicans, his attorney general Rob Bonta has been busy furthering the state's progressive aims, which include his attempts to torment the Trump administration. Sadly, part of Bonta's marching orders also involves tormenting the law-abiding citizens of the Golden State with frivolous lawsuits. Advertisement El Cajon is one of the few red cities left in San Diego County. As opposed to Chicago's mayor, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells has no problem cooperating with law enforcement in the state and...

On January 28, President Trump issued an executive order declaring that "it is our policy to not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support gender transition for people under 19. As such, we will discontinue federal funding to medical institutions that provide this type of care and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, shall rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures." California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin are...

A federal judge has declined an emergency motion filed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta to stop what they are calling an “unlawful militarization” of Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer also granted the Trump administration’s request for more time to respond to the governor’s filing. A court hearing regarding the matter is scheduled for Thursday. The motion accuses President Donald Trump of using federal troops and commandeering state National Guard personnel to carry out immigration enforcement. The legal filing, part of an ongoing lawsuit against Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Department of Defense,...

California has long been the most insurrectionist of the states. Some states promised sanctuary to illegal aliens. California promises to go after law enforcement if they follow the law and cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Now California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who hopes to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, is threatening hospitals that they must ignore Trump’s executive orders and go on sterilizing kids. California Attorney General Rob Bonta today reminded California hospitals and federally-funded healthcare providers of their ongoing obligation under California anti-discrimination law to provide gender affirming care amid confusion resulting from President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget...

Isn't accepting bribes a crime? I always thought it was.

Why Morality Matters by Steven C. Bonta, Ph.D. It is my conviction that the greatest threat to our free republic is moral decline. It is becoming fashionable nowadays to discount or ignore completely the relationship between morality and political liberty. Perhaps this is because the deteriorating moral culture in the modern United States of America seeks to be its own justification. Freedom, some believe, can flourish independently of moral standards, as long as we allow every man uninhibited license in his so-called “personal lifestyle choices.” This badly flawed notion is going to be the death of our republic, unless...