#Defunding California

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Kevin Kal Kallaugher :: @kaltoons :: This cartoon from last November said it all.

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A wild week comes to a close.

June 7, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

Jun 06, 2025

[Reminder: I will hold a Substack livestream on Saturday at 9:00 am PT / Noon ET. Open to everyone on the Substack App on your phone or tablet.]

It was a wild week, so I'll do my best to bring some perspective to the chaotic news cycle.

In a single sentence, here it is: Things are going horribly for Trump and the GOP, so Trump is attempting to divert attention from their inability to govern by staging made-for-TV melodramas.

The converse is also true: Democrats stayed the course, attacking the grotesque unfairness of the reconciliation bill and generally behaving like a pro-democracy party with a stake in America’s future.

Much of the Sturm und Drang that dominated the airwaves this week was smoke without fire, buck without bang, and noise without signal. In short, about 80% of the news cycle was “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

With due respect to The Bard, he could not have reasonably anticipated that there would be two idiots simultaneously “full of sound and fury,” so he gets a pass on the otherwise excellent line from Macbeth.

It is important to separate the telenovela aspects of the political news from those aspects that imperil the lives and safety of all Americans.

But let’s start by acknowledging that the US media, as usual, gave only passing coverage to D-Day protests by veterans across the nation. I am opening the Saturday Comment section so that readers who attended rallies and protests on June 6 can share their experiences with others. But the UK-based Guardian did include front page coverage: Veterans protest against Trump cuts at DC rally: ‘Promises made to us have come under attack’.

ICE continues militarized raids

ICE and Homeland Security continued to use military tactics in immigration raids. On Friday, the raids were concentrated in Los Angeles and San Diego. In Los Angeles, crowds surrounded military-style ICE and Homeland Security agents as they swept through a clothing manufacturing plant. Federal agents then used flash-bang grenades to push back the crowds. See KABC 7, Widespread ICE raids: Protesters clash with federal agents in Los Angeles after immigration ops.

If you can, watch the entire video linked above.

Trump is preparing to “defund” California.

News reports suggest that Trump is preparing to “cancel” billions of federal funds to California. See CNN, Trump preparing large-scale cancellation of federal funding for California, sources say.

As reported by CNN, the “cuts” to be announced by Trump relate to 2024 appropriated funds. Trump has no power to “cancel” or “cut” funds appropriated by Congress. As with other attempts to “cancel” funds appropriated by Congress, the courts will issue injunctions preventing Trump from making the cuts. To that extent, Trump's announcement is performative politics with no actual impact.

However, as reported by Lucian Truscott in his Substack newsletter, Trump is turning the U.S. into a private club, and we are not members, the reconciliation bill for the 2025 budget seeks to “zero out” federal funds historically appropriated to California for items like flood control.

To clarify, the reconciliation bill is a proposal that has not yet been passed. If Trump convinces Congress to cut billions in aid from California, we should assume that GOP losses in California alone will be sufficient to give Democrats control of the House. Said differently, one should expect GOP members of California’s congressional delegation to threaten to withhold support for the reconciliation bill.

It is, of course, possible that Trump will steamroll Republican representatives and force them to support the reconciliation bill. At that point, Californians should consider whether it is fair that they provide a net flow of funds to the federal government, which are then used to fund red states that draw funds from the federal government.

Imbalances in payments and receipts from the federal government are unavoidable. What is avoidable is the punitive withholding of funds from California for political reasons. That is a dangerous political path for Trump to follow, but common sense is lost on Trump.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has already suggested that California will begin withholding funds from the federal government if Trump engages in retaliatory cuts against California. See Newsom floats withholding federal taxes as Trump threatens California.

Newsom’s threat is an empty one. “California” does not pay federal taxes to the federal government. Individual taxpayers who live in California do. Newsom’s comments should be interpreted as calling for a federal tax strike. That is a no-win situation for everyone, and we should presume that cooler heads will prevail. California is the world’s fourth-largest economy and 15% of the US economy. Punishing one of the nation’s economic engines is a stupid idea.

The Supreme Court rules that DOGE can have access to Social Security data.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court’s reactionary majority ruled that DOGE could have access to Social Security data on hundreds of millions of Americans. See NYTimes, Justices Grant DOGE Access to Social Security Data and Let the Team Shield Records. (Accessible to all.)

The Supreme Court’s action, effectively granting access to DOGE to search for “fraud, abuse, and waste,” is a betrayal of hundreds of millions of Americans who trusted the Social Security Administration to protect the privacy of their earnings history and medical records.

Unlike other DOGE lawsuits, this challenge did not raise constitutional issues about the ability of Trump and DOGE to withhold funds appropriated by Congress. At root, the issue is one of policy—balancing the privacy rights of Americans who paid into Social Security against the transparently false justification of the administration to find fraud, waste, and abuse.

While the effort to root out fraud and waste is a legitimate goal that the president should be able to pursue, existing laws provide the president with the necessary tools to do so. Instead of using those tools, the administration asked the Supreme Court to allow a group of unsupervised hackers to circumvent IT security protocols to download, copy, and transmit sensitive data to destinations unknown.

Worse, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to do so by granting relief on its so-called “shadow docket,” where the Court grants relief without benefit of a full hearing on the merits in the district court, court of appeals, and Supreme Court.

This decision by the Court and the actions of Trump and DOGE should anger every American who trusted that their information would be private. Even the most extreme MAGA followers should worry about who has access to their private earnings and medical data on Friday evening.

Concluding Thoughts.

Join me on Saturday morning for my livestream at 9 am PT / Noon ET. I will discuss these topics in more detail.

The return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US in response to an arrest warrant issued after indictment has all the hallmarks of bad-faith prosecutorial misconduct. When Judge Xinis asked the DOJ to provide her with evidence of criminal activity by Abrego Garcia, the DOJ gave her nothing. At the very moment the DOJ was denying Judge Xinis evidence of Abrego Garcia’s alleged criminal activity, the DOJ was presenting evidence to a grand jury of alleged criminal activity by Abrego Garcia. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

If there is any good news here, it is that Abrego Garcia will be tried before a jury of his peers, who will be able to judge the evidence presented to them under the same standard that applies to every other criminal defendant in the US justice system: Proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

There does not appear to be a détente between Trump and Musk. As I noted yesterday, that fact makes it more difficult for congressional Republicans to pass the reconciliation bill and will slow the work of DOGE.

Indeed, one wonders whether the DOGE staffers on loan to the federal government from Tesla and SpaceX remain in their federal posts on Friday, or if they have been recalled to Musk’s companies. My guess is that the main drivers of DOGE’s illegal sweep through the federal government have turned in their federal badges and are on their way back to Tesla and SpaceX. Good riddance!

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[quercus-queer]

Let the shit show that is the LA fires be a reminder to everyone that defunding the police, insurance company bullshit, prison abolition (or at the very least rights of prisoners), and climate change are all topics that intersect and the worse each of them gets the worse our collective lives become

[trexalicious]

So it's not even Soros or China funding the current LA riots, it's our own tax dollars! 🤯

[pickleweed2]

California Fetid Adderstongue, Scoliopus bigelovii, flowering in the Redwood understory.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California

[mrkapao]

✊✊✊

[jayjuno]

Fuck Trump & Fuck Billionaires but most of all, FUCK GREED

Fuck Trump.

Fuck the LAPD.

Fuck every national guard member and American soldier who follows the very obviously anticonstitutional and EVIL orders of a genocidal Nazi clown like Trump or Musk (or Putin).

Fuck all these fascist Nazi clowns who're trying to take over America right now! How dare they wear the American flag as they terrorize and torture Americans? It's a goddamn disgrace! It's shameful! The fuck?

Is this what George Washington fought and died for? Is this what Abraham Lincoln died for? Is this the reality that FDR fought and died for? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, too? He also died for nothing, huh? Did they just all waste their time and die for absolutely NOTHING after all? Why did they even bother if it was all just going to get us ultimately to Trump in 2025, a coward who used "bone spurs" as a weak excuse to avoid military duty?

Imagine if George Washington bitched and moaned about his "bone spurs"? Thank goodness Washington wasn't an obese weak pussy like Trump.

George Washington dodged bullets for YEARS, but some Americans believe the weak and pathetic Donald Trump is his equal. HA! What a fucking joke! To think a fat gross pussy like Trump could ever reach half the glory of George Washington? Americans who believe Trump deserves to be in the same sentence as George Washington must be suffering severe brain damage, because only a brain damaged moron would think a dipshit like Trump is remotely comparable to a great BRAVE MAN with HUGE BALLS of STEEL like George FUCKING Washington.

George Washington > Trump

Fuck the police who are loyal to Trump! American cops are sellout class traitors who terrorize and abuse their fellow countrymen in exchange for a tiny amount of power & money from rich dumbfucks like Trump, Elon Musk, and Putin. Look at what the police are doing to protesters in LA! They're shooting peaceful reporters standing by for reporting! They don't want witnesses to their terrorism, and they're willing to shoot ANYONE who resists them in any way no matter how peaceful.

Fuck billionaires! Fuck the rich! FUCK BILLIONAIRES MOST OF ALL, because NONE of the other shitty hateful groups would have ANY power if they weren't being enabled and funded by BILLIONAIRES.

FUCK GREED! Americans need to stand together, and do something about the billionaires. Defund Billionaires, Americans! #DefundBillionaires and #DefundCEOs.

Americans- tell the billionaires to go fuck themselves! Stop working for them! Stop giving them YOUR money! STOP IT! STOP ENABLING THEM! Stand up for yourself if you won't stand with your community!

Americans have got to stop being so goddamn codependent on billionaires! We don't need them or their fucking money. We don't need them! We really don't need the billionaires at all. They need us! We don't need them! They are the ones who need US, so stop giving yourself to them, Americans! Stop volunteering to be slaves for the billionaires!

Demand your freedom NOW!

[thoughtportal]

On Monday the Los Angeles City Controller’s Office released their highly anticipated LAPD helicopter unit audit.

from https://lataco.com/

[callese]

Story

[bruces-midlife-crisis]

Southern California is on fire

In 2024, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass defunded the LA Fire Department by $17.3 million.

The LA Police Department, however, got a $138 million budget increase.

Among the firefighters, 30% of them are inmate firefighters who are risking their lives for $2 an hour. Only for them to not be able to get a job as a firefighter once they're released.

There are now 4 fires burning across Socal. The one getting the most attention is the Palisades fire which has grown to over 11,000 acres. Alongside it is the Altadena fire (over 10,000 acres), Hurst fire (700 acres), and Lidia fire (50 acres).

Due to the unprecedented Santa Ana winds, which have blown to over 100 mph, firefighters have not been able to make a dent on these fires.

A thousand homes have been destroyed. Two people lost their lives from the Altadena fires.

Instead of showing sympathy for the thousands of victims, right wing conspiracy theorists on twitter are blaming the fires on the LA Fire Chief, who is a lesbian, while Trump is blaming CA Governor Gavin Newsom for not removing water from a delta that would have endangered a native species.

Not climate change. Not the Resnicks, a billionaire couple who took control of California's water supply and now use over 150 billion gallons every year for their companies.

If you're in Southern California, please download the Watch Duty app. It brings up to date information on the fires along with evacuation zones. If officials tell you to evacuate, you do it. Make sure you look up shelters and mutual aid organizations in the area where you'll evacuate to. If you have to abandon your car, please move it to the side or leave your keys in the car so firefighters can move it out of the way.

The consequences of this disaster will be catastrophic. It has become increasingly clear that our government officials will not protect us as they would rather fill their own pockets. Stick together. Protect your community as best as you can.

Please keep Southern California in your thoughts. We're going to need them.

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,577

40% of the budget of Oakland, California, goes to policing, while human services programs (such as Head Start, violence prevention programs, and income support programs) receive just 30 cents for every dollar spent on policing - or about 12% of the budget.

[1968bullittmustang]

Trump is degrading the entire country in the closing loveless days of his failure-packed life.

Republicans have no way of criticizing any of his horrible decisions that dismantle our humanity.

Trump might as well be speaking in Russian.

[batboyblog]

Among the other things that seem to pop out of nowhere, I hear that Harris is apparently "very pro-cop" as a reason why we shouldn't vote for her. I would like some clarification about that and also maybe reasons why we should be voting for her, just for the naysayers.

The Kamala cop thing comes from her jobs as San Francisco District Attorney and California Attorney General, and the fact that Kamala and Cop have a kind of ring to them.

the fact that Harris had worked on enforcing the law was used against her in the height of "Defund the Police" but ultimately was pretty unfair, just quickly I found an article from a public defender about Harris progressive record to be short as both DA and AG she fought to scale back incarceration, she refused to seek the death penalty, she wouldn't prosecute marijuana possession cases (back in 2004), as DA along with then Mayor of San Fran Gavin Newsom she took part in the city's short lived gay marriage moment in 2004

here she is in 2004 marrying a nice Lesbian couple, over 10 years before gay marriage would be legal nation wide and 8 years before President Obama announced her supported it.

Harris put a particular stress on prosecuting sex criminals, rapists and human traffickers, and well

"She Prosecuted Sex Predators, He is One"

thats the answer, every time.

[radicalgraff]

"Defund America"

Seen in San Diego, California