1. The Limits of Wealth in Politics: Lessons from California’s Primary
by Riley Nork
The recent California primary elections have once again demonstrated that financial might does not always translate into political victory. Due to the state’s complex electoral processes, it took several days to finalize the results, highlighting inefficiencies often likened to those found in less developed nations. However, what stood out most was the underperformance of two affluent, self-funded candidates who failed to secure success despite significant personal investments.
Saikat Chakrabarti, who gained prominence as a tech entrepreneur and later as chief of staff for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, poured an astonishing $10 million into his campaign for a House seat. His efforts, however, did not yield the desired outcome.
Similarly, Tom Steyer, a billionaire who has often labeled himself a “class traitor” due to his progressive stances, invested over $200 million in his gubernatorial bid. Despite such a hefty expenditure, Steyer also finished in third place.
While fun to complain about, rich dudes “BuYiNg ElEcTiOnS” is… not so easy in practice! Keep this in mind the next time Saikat’s thicc former boss says Elon’s political donations are ‘literally the end of democracy’ or whatever.
2. Put the conspiracies to bed (if you can find one)
by Mike Solana
As media pundits continue to assure us that Nithya Raman’s weeklong leapfrog over Spencer Pratt in the LA mayoral race was totally fraud-free and definitely not more suspicious than a homeless man in Venice leaving the Walgreens with a whiskey-bottle-sized bulge in his jacket, it’s important we blindly trust these pundits and not point out inconvenient facts: like the thousands of voters registered to LA homeless shelters that — whoops! — don’t even have beds.
Per The California Post, several thousand voters had their registrations tied to such shelters, even though many currently offer zero accommodations whatsoever.
And would you look at that! One such accommodation-free “shelter” even got a $600,000 grant delivered by COUNCILWOMAN NITHYA RAMAN HERSELF while she chaired a homelessness committee. To be fair, it’s entirely possible this wasn’t a de facto bribe… perhaps the homeless tweakers just loved her policy platform (she lets them camp outside schools, after all).
3. “Oh my mama, they got drones.”
by Max Weiner
In a viral clip that resurfaced this week, San Francisco felon turned rapper Dreamlife Rizzy tells rap tastemaker and pornstar connoisseur Adam22 that “crime in San Francisco is over with,” because Flock Safety’s license plate readers and drones have made his fav pastime, drive-bys in stolen cars, impossible.
Responding Monday, Flock CSO Rahul Sidhu said, “when the risk of getting caught is too high, crime plummets.”
He’s right: In Oakland and Berkeley, auto thefts have dropped 57% since implementing Flock in 2023.
Naturally, activists are furious. Leading the opposition is Will Freeman, a software engineer who founded DeFlock, a website mapping cameras and arming activists with city council talking points.
Will, from the lawless wasteland known as Boulder, Colorado, with a violent crime rate 28 times lower than Oakland, says this technology is dangerous, and doesn’t work, but even if it did, we need more time to study it. Thank you, Will. Now give me your car.