After earlier suggesting that an agreement ending the Iran War was near, President Donald J. Trump has said that he has told negotiators “not to rush into a deal” as discussions continue. Reporting has indicated that many details in the proposed plan still need to be worked out, and that it will take time for it to go through multiple approvals in the Iranian government. According to a senior Trump administration official, “Our understanding is that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei approved the broad template of the agreement, but whether this will turn into a final agreement is still an open…
Author: Cliff Rudsky
Californian voters and even its political class may have embraced a tougher-on-crime stance in recent years, but the state’s esteemed judiciary is doing its best to make life easier for criminals. A recent California Supreme Court ruling found that bail must be “attainable” for accused criminals, in accordance with their financial situation. Since only people charged with violent crimes can be detained prior to trial if their bail is “unattainable,” the decision bolsters drug dealers, thieves, and other career criminals who fall short of this threshold. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins criticized the court’s move, saying that it would…
Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict President Donald J. Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial, has officially lost the state’s Republican primary, placing third. Congressman Julia Letlow, who Trump supported, finished first with 45% of the vote, and will advance to a runoff against State Treasurer John Fleming for the party’s Senate nomination. Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in the aftermath of January 6th. More recently, Cassidy voted in 2025 to confirm Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., despite their disagreements on vaccines. Unsurprisingly, the move did not…
Since President Donald J. Trump’s 2024 reelection, Democrats have incessantly droned on about “oligarchs” and latched on to reheated Bernie Sanders talking points about the evil of billionaires. In California, though, one group is making an exception for the billionaire Democrat running for Governor. The California Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has officially endorsed Tom Steyer, the former hedge fund manager who has staked out a position as the most left-wing viable candidate in the state’s gubernatorial election. In its endorsement statement, the organization was critical of Steyer’s financial career, claiming that “[…] his wealth was earned through the exploitation…
In the congressional race to replace Nancy Pelosi, one congressional candidate is taking flak from San Francisco politicos after putting frontrunner and state senator Scott Wiener on blast. Marie Hurabiell, the only candidate who has staked out a meaningfully conservative position on gender ideology, sharply criticized Wiener for his 2022 bill SB 357, which in effect made it impossible for police in the state to charge people for loitering with intent to engage in prostitution. According to Wiener, who is the most prominent gay Democrat in both state and San Francisco politics, this was necessary because police previously unfairly profiled…
California Democratic Assemblyman Matt Haney has announced a bill that would recognize two Muslim holy days, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, as state holidays. According to Haney, “No student should have to choose between celebrating one of the holiest days in their faith and showing up to school, and no worker should feel they have to sacrifice their religious observance.” The proposal follows the Hindu holiday of Diwali becoming a California state holiday starting this year. It is unclear why a proliferation of state-recognized holidays from different cultures is necessary, rather than affected students simply requesting days off. Currently, Christmas…
The Left has settled on their all-purpose response to assassination attempts against President Donald J. Trump: he deserves it, but also, we had nothing to do with it. That much is clear from the responses to the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. In the aftermath, leftists on social media were quick to claim that the shooting was staged by the Trump administration. It’s a similar dynamic last seen after Charlie Kirk’s assassination last year, where we simultaneously heard leftists claim that he had supposedly brought it upon himself with his rhetoric, while also lying that his shooter…
California isn’t exactly known for its adherence to federal immigration policies, but one recent move has activists up in arms. The state has agreed to nationally share information about driver’s license holders, including illegal immigrants. The decision has prompted backlash from self-described civil liberties and immigrant advocacy groups, though left unquestioned is the wisdom of allowing illegal immigrants to obtain a driver’s license in the first place. In 2013, then-California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation allowing driver’s licenses to be issued to illegal immigrants, unsurprisingly attempting to frame it as a practical move rather than an ideological one. The recent…
California has continued its efforts to stymie the Trump administration’s policies, successfully blocking a change in homelessness strategy — for the time being. In November 2025, after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandated that jurisdictions use no more than 30% of federal homelessness funds for permanent housing, California Governor Gavin Newsom joined other states in suing to stop the changes. After a federal judge in Rhode Island shot down the policy shift, the Trump administration appealed their decision, but recently dropped their appeal, leaving the original funding in place as litigation continues. Notably, HUD’s new rules included…
California voters will be able to decide whether residents must show ID to vote, after a Republican-spearheaded initiative received sufficient signatures for the November election. Whether the initiative passes, particularly in a year where anti-Trump midterm sentiment will be at a fever pitch, is up in the air. But in a state where the Democratic Party has held a long-term lock on electoral power, statewide popular-vote measures remain one of the few areas where conservatives can still make an impact. A recent California poll showed that 44% of voters were in favor of requiring voter ID, 45% were against it,…