Free Republic

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, in an interview Sunday morning, spoke out forcefully against violence, but also called the federal government’s response “unneccessary.” She called the administration’s actions “posturing” and “completely disruptive to a city that has already gone through so much.” She also condemned violence, saying people who engaged in it or vandalism should be “arrested and held accountable to the full extent of the law.” “The protest that happened last night in L.A. was relatively minor,” she added, and “to say that the city is out of control, I don’t know what city they are talking about.” Demonstrations...

Leticia Jimenez expects to graduate from Cal State San Bernardino this spring with a degree in business administration. She came to the country without authorization when she was 2 years old and grew up working the fields of the Coachella Valley with her parents when school was out. She would be excited about the new opportunities her degree might present, but instead feels anxious every time she leaves the house. “I make sure that I say a good ‘goodbye’ to my parents,” she said. “I go out with more fear— anything can happen.” Jimenez, 21, is like millions of undocumented...

This red California county roiled by a far-right-insurgency braces for more trouble as election nears ... As a devoted Republican who runs a cattle ranch and proudly talks about owning a gun, Shasta County Supervisor Mary Rickert is an unlikely progressive icon. But that is exactly what the 72-year-old devout Catholic and grandmother has become to some in this northern California county — which has been convulsed by conspiracy theories about voter fraud and other extremist ideologies over the last three years Rickert is still a staunch conservative. But she has also emerged as an often lonely voice on the...

...It was a stunning turn for Jones, a gun store manager who in his one term in office has emerged as a leading voice in an ultraconservative insurgence that transformed this largely rural Northern California county into a national symbol of hard-right governance and election denialism \

In a fiery exchange last month, CNN anchorwoman Abby Phillip told GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that there was “no evidence” to support his claim that federal agents abetted protesters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Ramaswamy shot back that the FBI conspicuously has never denied that law enforcement agents were on duty in the crowd. He argued that federal officials have repeatedly “lied” to the American people about not only that investigation but one that has gotten much less attention: the alleged failed plot to kidnap and kill Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan in 2020.“It was entrapment,” Ramaswamy...

Kenneth W. Starr, the former U.S. Solicitor General who led the inquiry into President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica L. Lewinsky, will argue the case in favor of upholding a ban on gay marriage before the California Supreme Court. Starr was today named lead counsel for the official proponents of Proposition 8. This afternoon, the group filed court briefs defending the legality of the proposition, which was approved by 52% of California voters last month throwing into question thousands of marriages performed during the five months the practice was legal in the state. The briefs are in response to a...

The California Supreme Court voted 6 to 1 on Wednesday to review legal challenges to Proposition 8, the voter initiative that restored a ban on same-sex marriage, but refused to permit gay weddings to resume pending a final decision. The court may hold a hearing on the lawsuits as early as March, a timetable that scholars said was swift considering the complexity and importance of the legal issues. The court's action, taken during a closed conference, suggested that the court wants to resolve all of the legal issues surrounding Proposition 8, including the fate of existing gay marriages, in a...

Speaking out recently against Proposition 8, the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown made an appeal for the importance of protecting the rights of same-sex couples. And then he urged his audience to vote yes on the proposition. Brown misspoke. He intended to advocate a no vote. But he isn’t alone in confusing which side is which. As election day nears, both supporters and opponents of Proposition 8 worry that voters will be confused by a choice that can seem counterintuitive: Voting no on the initiative means voting yes on gay marriage,...