Two recent events have highlighted the fact that California is perfectly capable of being governed, given enough political will.
One is the clearing out of homeless people from San Francisco in advance of the visit of the Chinese premier to APEC. Another is the rapid repair of the 10 freeway in Los Angeles after a fire (likely caused by homeless people in the area, who started or fueled a fire).
The obvious conclusion is that California is capable of clearing the homeless and improving infrastructure in emergencies (note that the visit of a Chinese communist dictator outweighs residents' needs).
The problem is that the Democrats who run our state refuse to allow it to function properly in normal circumstances. Dysfunction is a choice, one that our ruling elites make, collectively, every day.
We're going to talk about the historic attack on Iran's nuclear sites -- and that's not all. There's plenty to come this week, including more work on the "Big, Beautiful Bill," plus more battles with California, and Hollywood implosions.
Special guests:
Bradley Jaye -- Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the BBB
Mark Mitchell -- pollster at Rasmussen Reports, on polls regarding Iran
Lisa Daftari -- Iran analyst, foreigndesknews.com, on post-regime Iran
Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore -- Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, on Gaza food aid
Jamie Paige -- Westside Current journalist, on L.A. and California politics
Jerome Hudson -- Breitbart News entertainment editor, on Hollywood failures
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
