http;//www.Californiacontrarian.com

The following certainly seems to be a pattern. First in San Francisco and now in Seattle.
From Hot Air:
“Progressive educators attack tracking and advanced math courses on the grounds that equity demands everyone be in the same classroom. Somehow this was supposed to improve things for the mostly black and Hispanic students who were falling behind without doing any harm to the mostly white and Asian kids who had previously been in the advanced classes.

Eventually, San Francisco figured out that it didn’t work. Apart from making life much harder for the advanced kids, some of whom had to take a year of math in summer school to keep up with their college-bound peers in other cities, getting rid of Middle School algebra did nothing for the students on the other end of the achievement gap. The city eventually reversed course once the failure of de-tracking became undeniable.

In Seattle many parents were not happy when certain classes were cancelled in the guise of DEI.
After some back and forth, the district’s chief of equity, partnerships, and engagement, Keisha Scarlett wrote, ‘I also fundamentally believe that we don’t advance racial equity as a measure toward racial and education justice through a focus on increasing access and inclusion. These are band-aids to camouflage institutional racism.’”

First of all what is a “chief of equity, partnerships, and engagement” other than a poppycock spewer?
Anyone with a frontal lobe could explain to Keisha Scarlett that this would not work. The lower end students would not benefit, and many of the higher end students would transfer to private schools that offered the advanced classes that are necessary to compete for college admissions.

Again from Hot Air:
“All of this was predictable and was in fact predicted by parents who warned the school system in advance that it was a bad idea to tear down the current system without coming up with a solid replacement and putting that in place first. The city didn’t listen (just as it didn’t when it jumped on the “defund the police” bandwagon” in 2020).
Finally, it seems the city is coming around but only after losing a bunch of its best students and taking advanced classes away from many more. This was always a terrible idea. The fact that DEI made it seem not just positive but necessary should be cause for some much needed reflection on the value of DEI in education.”
4/1/25

I’m sure that many of you have already heard my COVID booster story. (I got my first COVID infection fifteen days after my first and only COVID booster). This story is now worth revisiting because of a recent article published in the Journal of Infection titled, “Post-vaccination IgG4 and IgG2 class switch associates with increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections.”
After reading about this study in C&C, I went to the March 18, 2025 study itself. Basically what it said was that after the third COVID shot, there was a higher likelihood of getting COVID. This increased likelihood was due to an increase of Ig2 and Ig4 subclasses of antibodies after the third COVID shot. These types of antibodies are not nearly as efficient at preventing COVID, and it appears that the opposite occurs. Even more concerning was that this effect lasted for a long time. (After my one and only booster, I got COVID fifteen days later. However, in addition I got Covid twice more in the following years, whereas before my booster, I did not have COVID! … serendipity? … or perhaps the booster was a “gift that just kept on giving.”
3/31/25

Those who have grown up in the U.S. have been drinking fluoridated water for quite some time. For as long as I can remember fluoridation of my drinking water has been a fait- accompli. I haven’t thought much about it until just recently when questions concerning the safety of automatic fluoridation of water has come up.
The standard line has been:
“Community water fluoridation is a practical, cost-effective, and equitable way for communities to improve oral health regardless of age, education, or income by preventing cavities. This results in less mouth pain, fewer fillings or teeth pulled, and fewer missed days of work and school,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Now let’s be clear, I am not doubting the effectiveness of water fluoridation as is pointed out in the above CDC statement.

However the issue is not about its effectiveness, but rather about the possible neurotoxic side-effects of such.
Note that this has nothing to do with the opinion of RFKJr.

A landmark ruling in September that directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address the “unreasonable” risk fluoride in drinking water poses to lowering IQ in children has become a tipping point. The decision has motivated large numbers of local and state governments to ban fluoride in their water supplies.

Utah is set to be the first state to ban fluoride in drinking water. At the same time, at least 50 communities nationwide have removed fluoride from water—representing about 4.5 million people—according to the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Florida is considering legislation to prevent local governments from adding it to water supplies, and several states are considering reversals of fluoridation mandates.
On the legal front, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco issued an 80-page ruling in September, which stated “the risk to health at exposure levels in United States drinking water is sufficiently high to trigger a regulatory response by the EPA.”
All of my kids and grandkids have been raised with the ubiquitous fluoridation of their drinking water, and as best I am aware there has been no adverse consequences, and I have passively gone along with the opinion of those who know best … “don’t worry, it’s quite safe.”
My children and my grandchildren are not in the potential adverse target group as the neurotoxic effects of fluoride are more prevalent in formula-fed infants, African Americans, and undernourished people.
At present I am keeping an open mind, at present am not agreeing 100% with “don’t worry, it’s quite safe.”
3/29/25

A while back I wrote about what one needs to vote in Mexico.
First, the background:
In 2016 I was trying to learn Spanish, and was in the process of taking some “learn to speak Spanish” classes. One of these classes was being taught by an Hispanic woman who lived in Tijuana, and commuted to San Diego. Since these 2016 U.S. presidential election was approaching the teacher passed around the card that she needed in order to vote in Mexico. This laminated card had both her picture and her thumb-print on it. She emphasized that the penalty for fraudulent voting in Mexico was quite severe, and thus very very few ever tried to cast an illegal ballot.
This morning while drinking from a coffee cup that says, “You know that I won, Joe” … referring to the 2020 presidential election, I read the latest Trump executive order of 3/25/25, titled,
PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS.
FYI, this executive order is quite long, detailed, and obviously well thought out. One part which caught my attention was what occurs in other countries.
Section 1.  Purpose and Policy:
“ … India and Brazil, for example, are tying voter identification to a biometric database, while the United States largely relies on self-attestation for citizenship.  In tabulating votes, Germany and Canada require use of paper ballots, counted in public by local officials, which substantially reduces the number of disputes as compared to the American patchwork of voting methods that can lead to basic chain-of-custody problems.  Further, countries like Denmark and Sweden sensibly limit mail-in voting to those unable to vote in person and do not count late-arriving votes regardless of the date of postmark.”
All of these above checks on voting seem to be common sense, as is what goes on in Mexico with their laminated voting I.D. cards.
I’m betting that this particular executive order will still be in place until a Democrat is elected to be the president. Therefore, for the 2028 presidential election, it is likely that fraudulent voting will be minimized, and I will not need another “you know I won” coffee cup!
3/28/25

There are some things that we all know are true. One of those things is the existence of unintended consequences.
If person A orders “xyz,” and there are unintended consequences because xyz occurred just as A intended, is A responsible for these unintended consequences?
For example, if the mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, orders that illegals already in jail will not be held so that ICE can take them into custody, is she then responsible for any unintended consequences that subsequently may occur?
If the now released illegal then commits another crime after being allowed back on the street, is Michelle Wu responsible. If a child gets raped or someone gets attacked or killed by that just released illegal, who should have been in the custody of ICE, is Michelle Wu responsible?
If after being released because of Michelle Wu’s dictate, that same illegal wounds or kills an ICE officer who is attempting to capture him/her, is Michelle Wu responsible?
In the two examples my answer is, “undoubtedly, yes!”
However, these two situations are not exactly unforeseen because killers have a proclivity to kill and rapists have a tendency to rape again.
However, I just listened to Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, on a Bill O’Reilly podcast. He talked about the most common unforeseen consequence of allowing these criminals back into society. When they are released they typically go back to their familiar surroundings and congregate with their friends and acquaintances, a lot of whom are also likely to be illegal. When ICE, etc come to get the recently released illegal, these friends and acquaintances are often caught up in the sweep, even though they were not the prime focuses of attention. Since these innocent bystanders are often also illegal, they will also be arrested, taken into custody, and eventually deported. This truly qualifies as an unintended consequence of Michelle Wu’s order to not turnover these illegal jailed criminals to ICE. Although this was not the mayor’s intent, she should be held responsible when these “in the wrong place, at the wrong time” individuals are sent back to wherever they originally came from.
Unintended does not not mean unforeseen!
3/27/25

Before reading the rest of this, keep in mind that I am now attempting to educate my readers on some interesting health issues.
The following two articles are about the mouth and how it could relate to an individual’s overall health.

First from Cardiology Advisor on 2/11/25:
“°Dental flossing is associated with a lower risk for ischemic and cardioembolic stroke and atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a study presented at the annual American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference, held from Feb. 5 to 7 in Los Angeles.
Data were included for 6,278 dentate participants without a prior history of stroke and 6,108 without prior AF who were followed over a 25-year period. The researchers found that 65 percent of the stroke-free cohort reported flossing. Flossers had significantly lower rates of vascular risk factors, periodontal disease, and dental caries. Overall, 434 individuals were identified as having strokes during the follow-up period: 146 thrombotic, 102 cardioembolic, and 95 lacunar subtypes. Dental flossing was associated with a significantly lower risk for ischemic stroke, cardioembolic stroke subtype, and AF, but not thrombotic or lacunar stroke. A significant dose-effect was observed between flossing frequency and the reduction in incident ischemic stroke. The reduced rate of AF mediated a small proportion of the cardioembolic stroke risk reduction.”

The second article from Science Alert on 2/21/25:
“In recent years, a growing number of scientific studies have backed an alarming hypothesis: Alzheimer’s disease isn’t just a disease, it’s an infection.
One such study, published in 2019, suggested what could be one of the most definitive leads yet for a bacterial culprit behind Alzheimer’s, and it comes from a somewhat unexpected quarter: gum disease.
In a paper led by senior author Jan Potempa, a microbiologist from the University of Louisville, researchers reported the discovery of Porphyromonas gingivalis – the pathogen behind chronic periodontitis (aka gum disease) – in the brains of deceased Alzheimer’s patients.
It wasn’t the first time the two factors have been linked, but the researchers went further.
In separate experiments with mice, oral infection with the pathogen led to brain colonization by the bacteria, together with increased production of amyloid beta (Aβ), the sticky proteins commonly associated with Alzheimer’s.”

I find both of these articles very interesting because two of today’s biggest individual health issues are Atrial fibrillation and Alzheimer’s. … could one’s mouth and gums be related to both?
3/26/25

“Quid pro quo” is a Latin phrase meaning “something for something” or “this for that,” signifying an exchange where one thing is given or promised in return for another.
In Illinois there appears to be a good example of “quid pro quo.”
First the “quid:
From BlazeMedia News:
A new bill that will soon be passed along for a full vote in the Illinois state House which takes aim at religious schools and parents who homeschool their children.
On 3/19 lawmakers on the House Education Policy Committee gathered to consider HB 2827, better known as the Homeschool Act.
The bill not only requires all private and religious elementary and secondary schools to register with the state annually, but it also requires these schools to share sensitive information about their students, like names and home addresses. It also requires these private schools to make plain their policies and specifically promise not to restrict hairstyles ‘historically associated with race’ or ‘ethnicity.’
“Furthermore, the bill requires all homeschooling parents and guardians — who must have a high school diploma or the equivalent — to fill out a homeschool declaration form about their homeschooled children and submit the form to the public school or school district the children would otherwise attend. The form must be resubmitted every year that the children are homeschooled, or the child may be considered truant.
“Homeschooling parents and guardians who fail to comply with the measure could face misdemeanor charges, WTTW reported.
The bill was introduced by state Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) and enjoys more than a dozen cosponsors, all of whom are Democrat, many of whom are women, and at least one of whom has blue hair.”
Rep. Terra Costa Howard says, “… children who are being homeschooled are at greater risk of abuse and neglect.”
However, this is not supported by the two peer-reviewed studies that have been produced,” countered Will Estrada, senior counsel at the Home School Legal Defense Association.
“This bill targets homeschool parents and treats us as criminals, guilty until proven innocent,” said Aziza Butler, a former public school teacher who now homeschools her children.
“We believe [this] is religious persecution,” added homeschool parent Latasha Fields. “That’s what we believe. We believe it really is because this bill invades our privacy, is unconstitutional, and it does. It threatens, and it overreach[es], and it interferes with parental rights.”

The “pro quo?”
From BlazeMedia News Media:
Three of the Democrat cosponsors of the Homeschool Act are among the top recipients of political donations from the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT). Since 2010, the campaigns for state Reps. Costa Howard, Katie Stuart, and Janet Yang Rohr have received more than $630,000 in donations total from the IFT, according to watchdog group Illinois Policy.

Hmmm! There you have it. An illustrative example of “quid pro quo” in real life!
3/25/25

Yes, just as he promised, President Trump is eliminating the Department of Education (DofE). Is this what the people want? Granted those who run the teacher’s unions are against the dismantling of the Department of Education, but where were they as the education stats were tanking?

According to the U.S. Government’s own statistics, the U.S. Government’s Annual Report card, 22% of ALL 8th grade students are COMPLETELY illiterate and …
1 in 3 eighth graders are functionally illiterate, according to the Nation’s Report Card. The worst 8th grade literacy rate EVER recorded.
Is this something the DofE should be proud of?

In 2022, only 26% of all 8 grade students scored Proficient or above in math.
Is this something the DofE should be proud of?

Since its establishment in the late 1970s, the Department of Education has spent more than $3 trillion. Yet according to a White House fact sheet, academic performance has stagnated. Despite a 245 percent increase in per-pupil spending, math and reading scores have declined, and U.S. students consistently rank behind peers in other developed nations.
Is this something the DofE should be proud of?

If the DofE were a business it would have been bankrupt a while ago. It’s failing our youth and deserves to be just an unpleasant memory!
3/24/25

On Sundays I talk about individuals who we can all admire and praise. This week this individual is Jhontel Jackson, a 34-year-old content creator from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When he drove through his neighborhood, he noticed a collapsed fence that had clearly been neglected for years. The posts were completely rotten, and the entire fence was in desperate need of replacement.
Basically Jhontel had two choices … do something or do nothing.
From The Bright Story:
“Rather than ignoring it, Jackson decided to take action. ‘I saw that she needed help, and I knew that if she could afford a new fence, she would’ve already had one.’

Jackson didn’t know much about the homeowner—just that she was a single mother taking care of her kids and her own mother. However, as he soon found out, the woman had been through much more than just a broken fence. She had recently been in an accident that completely totaled her car and caused serious neck injuries. Adding to her struggles, the woman had also lost her husband about three years ago.
When Jackson offered to build a new fence for free, the woman was taken aback. ‘She was completely surprised that I was willing to do it for free. She was also overwhelmed because she had previously received quotes for the job that were well over $6,000,’ Jackson recalled.
Without hesitation, Jackson went ahead and built the fence for free.

The total cost for the project was ‘just over $2,000,’ a price Jackson was happy to pay. ‘That’s because everything I use is built to last, so they never have to worry about the fence falling over again,’ Jackson said.

After completing the work, Jackson didn’t stick around to see the mother’s reaction. ‘As soon as I was done, I was off to help the next person. That’s just how it goes for me—I rarely get to interact much with the people I help.’

A double bonus … he did it for free, and he didn’t stick around for any accolades!
3/23/25

What are ‘nationwide injunctions?’
FYI from Fox News:
Nationwide injunctions are court orders that prevent the federal government from implementing a policy or law that has a cascading effect impacting the entire country, not just the parties involved in the court case.
Many of us probably do not recall any nationwide injunctions in years past. That would certainly be understandable as there hadn’t been very many of them.
How many have there been in the recent past?
From 1963 through 2020 there had been only 127 of them and 64 occurred during President Trump’s first term from 2017-2020.
There were 32 injunctions issued against the Bush, Obama and Biden administrations collectively since 2001, meaning the first Trump administration was on the receiving end of double the amount of nationwide injunctions than his two predecessors and successor combined, according to the April 2024 edition of the Harvard Law Review.
Are these nationwide injunctions are political? … Is the pope a catholic?
Of the nationwide injunctions during Trump’s first term, 59 of them came from a judge appointed by a president of an opposing party. Hmmm!
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court somehow felt compelled to comment on this issue even though he and four other Justices recently ducked when they had a chance to address this issue.
From the Epoch Times:
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court declined to take up the administration’s appeal challenging a lower court order requiring the government to disburse $2 billion in foreign assistance.
Justice Samuel Alito said he was stunned by his colleagues’ decision and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch in dissenting from their denial of the administration’s appeal.
“Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?” Alito asked. “The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise.”
Note to Justice Roberts:
“When you have an opportunity to get it hit, you have to at least get in the batter’s box and swing at a pitch. Being critical from the on-deck circle will not suffice!”
3/22/25