UNEXPECTEDLY: Labor group demands California’s $20 minimum wage for fast food workers extend to all sectors.

A fair wage advocacy group is demanding that California’s new $20 minimum wage law for fast food workers be extended to all sectors to help working-class people who are struggling with the state’s high cost of living.

FOX Business spoke with Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, to discuss what she described as the skyrocketing levels of home insecurity and food insecurity post-pandemic.

Fast food workers winning a $20 minimum wage, she said, “was just the beginning.”

Gooder and harder, California.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Biden Could Have at Least Mentioned WWIII in his SOTU Address. “When the American president is weak, the bad actors around the world see that as a green light. When that president begins abandoning longstanding allies, as Biden has done with Israel, their trigger fingers get really itchy.”

WHY IS HIGHER EDUCATION SUCH A CESSPIT OF BIGOTRY AND KANGAROO COURTS? Expelled male student sues college for faulty rape trial: A male student who received oral sex from a female friend while he was blacked out was expelled from Amherst College two years later when the woman accused him of sexually assaulting her. “A male student accused of sexual assault and subsequently expelled by administrators at Amherst College recently sued the school for denying him due process and ignoring key evidence substantiating his claims of innocence. In February 2012, the male student—identified as “John Doe”—escorted his girlfriend’s roommate, identified as Sandra Jones, back to her residence hall where Jones then performed oral sex on him. Doe alleges that he was blacked out during the encounter. Roughly two years after the incident occurred, the female student accused Doe of sexually assaulting her and the school launched its own investigation. Doe was forced to partake in a school-led rape trial absent of any legal representation and eventually expelled after a panel of students and administrators found him ‘guilty.’”

JOEL KOTKIN: BLUES VS. JEWS. California is the homeland of progressive anti-Semitism: Even Jewish progressives are waking up to the reality of anti-Semitic hate on the Left.

One 19th century Gentile described California as “the Jews’ earthly paradise”. It is paradise no longer. Reports of attacks on Jewish businesses, homes and institutions are becoming ever more commonplace, while university campuses – hardly considered to be bastions of hate – have allowed acts of flagrant anti-Semitism to go unpunished.

Just last week, pro-Hamas students interrupted a graduation party for UC Berkeley law school graduates at the home of the school’s Jewish dean. The ‘protest’ occurred on private property, but that didn’t prevent the leader of ‘Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine’ from smearing the professor who confiscated the microphone from the interrupting student’s hand as an “Islamophobe”, accusing her of “assault”.

It appears that California’s Jews can’t even relax in their own homes without being confronted by zealous radicals. Prior to the event, posters had been shared on social media showing the dean holding a bloody knife and fork, captioned “No dinner with Zionist Chem while Gaza starves.” It’s little wonder that dean Chemerinsky, a well-known progressive, wrote in response that “nothing has prepared me for the anti-Semitism” currently festering on Berkeley campus.

What happens in California says much about the future of the beleaguered Jewish diaspora. California, with 1.2 million Jews, has almost three times as many Jewish people as the three largest foreign diaspora countries – France, England and Canada.

Leftists are trash. Let them run free without consequences and terrible things will happen. So don’t do that.

YOU DIDN’T THINK HE WAS GOING TO DO ANYTHING TO SOLVE THE CRISIS HE DESIGNED, DID YOU? ‘All For Show’: Biden’s Newest Potential Executive Order For Border Crisis Doesn’t Hold Water, Experts Say. “’If Biden confines his executive action to just tweaking the asylum laws, that is meaningless if he continues to wave people in on parole and hand them an indefinite work permit,’ Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), told the DCNF. ‘While it’s fair to say that it would help if Congress were to act… the most impactful actions must come from the president. These include shutting down the catch-and-release policies, imposing consequences for illegal border crossing, ceasing the issuance of work permits, and allowing [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to do their job in the interior.’”

THEY ALWAYS SIDE WITH THE ENEMIES OF CIVILIZATION: Yes, The Left Is Cheering for Iran Now.

LIGHTNING DEAL: 142 Piece Survival Kit and First Aid Kit, Professional Emergency Kits Survival Gear and Equipment. #CommissionEarned

“ANTI-WAR” ACTIVISTS FOR WAR: Jewish Insider: In Chicago on Saturday, 300 anti-war activists were meeting to discuss plans to disrupt the Democratic National Convention in August when an activist took to the stage to announce that Iran had attacked Israel. The crowd burst into cheers at the news, The Free Press reported. The event was co-hosted by several groups, including the Chicago chapter of SJP.

Not “antiwar,” just on the other side.

OH, MAN: Trans Runner Obliterates Competition in Oregon Race to Nobody’s Shock.

ICYMI: ROGER KIMBALL: The Battle Begins: Trump’s Trial Tests American Justice.

I NEED ANOTHER FAVOR:  I know I’ve been a terrible blogger.  Loyal readers know why:  I am all wrapped up with trying to defeat Assembly Constitutional Amendment 7 (“ACA7”)–the newest effort to gut the California Constitution’s prohibition on preferential treatment based on race, sex, or ethnicity (put there by Proposition 209 in 1996).  ACA7 is currently pending in the Senate where my fellow volunteers and I  have a good chance to kill it.  If we fail, it will go on the November ballot and I will have to spend even more time on it.  (Ugh.)

If you’re interested in learning more, here is my essay for City Journal.

There is a dead simple thing you can do to help if you have a Twitter/X account.  Just like and retweet these two twits, tweets, … I mean posts.  I know it sounds absurd to think something like that can make a difference, but you’d be surprised.  The posts are “tagged” to the senators that we believe we have the greatest chance of persuading.  We only need six Democrats, and we already probably have two. I am encouraged that if we make a bit more noise, the Senate will find something some other way to torture their fellow Californians.

Our first such protest. For now, we target only Assembly Members who voted for ACA7. Please save us the trouble of future protests. Bury ACA7.@MHurtadoCA @Senator_Hurtado @SenatorAshby @AngeliqueAshby @SenToniAtkins @ilike_mike @SenMikeMcGuire @Steve_Glazer @BenAllenCA pic.twitter.com/06tFKRaCdm

— No on ACA-7 (@NoACA7) April 12, 2024

Assembly Member Cottie Petrie-Norris betrayed her voters. She voted for ACA7. She wants to give the governor the power to discriminate on the basis of race and ethnicity. We will hold her and those who voted with her accountable. We defeated Prop 16 just four years ago. We… pic.twitter.com/s4r3Gtj6gA

— Gail Heriot (@GailHeriot) April 13, 2024

Think of it this way:  If I fail to stop ACA7 in the Senate and it goes on the ballot, I will have to ask you for real money ($$$) to fight it.  I’m sure you don’t want that.  Let’s try to kill it now on the cheap.

On the other hand, if this gets taken care of before July, I will get back to writing my book full time (with a little time left over to blog).

((By the way, these are not the best photos of our little Orange County protest, but they are the ones tagged to the most Senators, so they are the best ones to like and retweet/repost.))

ROBERT TRACINSKI: What Big Thing Are We Getting Wrong About the Future? The old overpopulation scare is a warning about our cultural blind spots.

DEMOCRATS: WILL NO ONE RID US OF THIS TURBULENT CANDIDATE? RFK, Jr. Prepares to Take Legal Action After 5th Denial of Secret Service Protection.

THEY’RE VERY HAPPY BEING REGIME MOUTHPIECES: NPR CEO: We Ain’t Changin’ JACK.

Related: Matt Taibbi: Orwell Watch: NPR and the Death of Fairness.

FEELING THE SQUEEZE: Bidenflation Soars To 18.8%, Squeezing Americans.

Despite a decrease from the highs of mid-2022, many families continue to face significant inflationary pressures. Prices have increased by 18.8%, while real wages have declined by 2.5%. Average hourly earnings for all employees dropped 2.5% to $11.11 in March 2024 from $11.39 in January 2021 when Biden assumed office. According to Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, the typical U.S. household now requires $1,069 more each month (equivalent to $12,828 annually) compared to three years ago, $784 more per month compared to two years ago, and an additional $227 per month compared to last year. The Allianz Life study found 67% are more concerned about paying bills now than their financial future.

Bidenflation and the Fed’s eleven rate hikes to reduce inflation have made housing unaffordable for many people and caused displacements. According to CBRE data, the average monthly payments on a new home soared to $3,322 in the third quarter of 2023. This marks a sharp 90% increase from late 2020, when it stood at just $1,746 before Biden took office. Rising rent and the end of pandemic-era protections are contributing to the homelessness crisis.

Therefore, it is unsurprising that inflation and food prices emerged as top economic issues among Americans in a recent nationwide TIPP Poll.

“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” should be on repeat from now until Election Day.

BRENDAN O’NEILL: Why the trans lobby is so allergic to debate: The meltdown over the Cass Review confirms how brittle and tyrannical the trans movement has become.

WELL, OF COURSE. THAT’S THE WHOLE PLAN. Trump won’t get a ‘fair jury’ in New York: Former acting US attorney general.

“IRONCLAD”: Joe Biden Approved Iran’s Assault on Israel ‘Within Certain Limits.’

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Harvard Business School Prof. Gino Accused of Plagiarism Following Data Fraud Allegations. “According to Science, Gino “borrowed text” from dozens of academic sources. The plagiarism allegations add to a growing number of academic fraud accusations against Gino, as well as recent scrutiny on the integrity of scholarly work produced by Harvard professors and affiliates.”

Plus: “The new plagiarism allegations join a list of data manipulation claims against Gino. Last June, Data Colada — a data integrity blog run by three business school professors — publicly accused Gino of data manipulation in at least four papers. Gino was subsequently barred from campus, stripped of her endowed faculty title, and notified that her tenure was under review for revocation. Harvard conducted an internal investigation of the allegations, producing a nearly 1,300-page report that determined Gino was responsible for the alleged misconduct and recommended her termination. Gino has fiercely maintained her innocence.”

Ivy League academics are the best and the brightest, we were told. Trust their research, we were told. If you don’t, you’re anti-science, we were told.

ON SUNDAYS I RUN A PROMO POST AND VIGNETTE CHALLENGE TO PROMOTE (MOSTLY) INDIE WRITERS:  Book Promo And Vignettes By Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike.

DOING THE WORK AMERICANS WON’T DO:  UFC star Renato Moicano praises American values, urges fans to read economist’s teachings.

And everyone who said that Ayn Rand put philosophical and economic speeches in the strangest places, you need to admit you were wrong right now. It’s Ayn Rand’s world. We just live in it.

Who is John Galt?

THE WAR ON FREELANCERS WILL HURT EVERY FAMILY IN THIS LAND, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY:   Let’s talk about freelancing for a bit.

And it’s all in the service of the crazy kakistocrats in charge trying to shove everyone into unions.

HE’S WRONG. I DON’T OFTEN SAY THIS ABOUT A FRIEND, BUT HE’S COMPLETELY WRONG:  Education can’t be fixed until this is addressed.

Oh, not about the underperformance of males being a problem. He’s right about that. But he’s dead wrong about this system being deisgned by males, and about there being no conspiracy.  Schools are the main battle front of the war on males and maleness. There are practically no male teachers. And the female teachers are full of feminism and convinced women are oppressed. Flunking a little boy while giving a little girl high grades is part of their strike against the patriarchy. A society that believes every female is oppressed and every male an oppressor cannot be fair. And isn’t. And thereby fails both males and females. Males give up and drop out of the system. Females end up credentialed and maleducated.

This must be fixed. But first we have to admit what’s causing it.

OF COURSE THEY DID:  The Biden Administration Gave Iran Billions in New Sanctions Relief Exactly One Month Ago.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY OCCUPY YOU:  Denver To Defund Police To The Tune Of $8.4 Million In Order To Pay For Illegal Aliens.