Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive
In case you missed it, Elon Musk delivered a stinging rebuke of California “wokeness.”
California used to be the “land of opportunity,” he told humor website Babylon Bee in a televised interview. Now the state has become the “land of over-regulation, over-litigation and scorn.”
Musk saved his most biting comments for Californians who have contracted the “virus” of wokeness and now “want to make comedy illegal.”
Transgender activists tried to get stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle canceled from HBO and even attempted to stop his old high school from naming its new campus theater after him.
“Trying to shut down Chappelle, come on, man, that’s crazy. Do we want a humorless society that is simply rife with condemnation and hate basically? At its heart, wokeness is divisive, exclusionary, and hateful. It basically gives mean people a shield to be mean and cruel, armored in false virtue.”
Whoa! Way to go, Elon. He makes an important point about free speech and I gotta believe that recently passed Marinite and comedic social critic Mort Sahl would be right there with him.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
Funny thing happened to a public hearing put on by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. One-hundred and thirty people participated in the call and audio for all of them was on. The state folks couldn’t find a way to mute callers until they called upon.
The meeting proceeded with a symphony of flushing of toilets, laughter, sneezes, coughing, ringing phone, dogs barking and children chirping in the background. Finally a caller addressed the elephant in the room:
“The fact you guys can’t even run a teleconference call speaks volumes about what you’re doing for public safety.”
Ouch.
FOUR YEARS?
Carolyn Marie Allen, 72, of San Anselmo was out walking her dogs when James Carleton Boswell, 32, of Sleepy Hollow plowed into her with his car and killed her. He was drunker than a skunk. And, when he killed Mrs. Allen, he was out free after a prior DUI conviction.
In an unbelievable move, Marin authorities offered Boswell a plea deal. Instead of facing murder charges, he was given the privilege of pleading guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter, which he happily did.
He’ll be out driving among us in four years.
That ain’t justice, is it?
THE 10 SHRUB RULE
The city of Sonoma is on the state’s naughty list for throwing up some local ordinances designed to thwart Senate Bill 9, which went into effect this year.
SB9, as you may already know, allows any single-family home in the state to build duplexes and in some cases, fourplexes on most single-family parcels across the state. The law is designed to create more low-income housing in the state. It’s a stupid way to do it, as I suspect most people will acknowledge. The state should not be in the business of local zoning.
Anyway, a number of cities are trying to stop the law by creating rules to stop the conversion.
Sonoma’s rule is that any prospective duplex property must have at least three mature trees and 10 shrubs. The new duplex unit or singular house would have a maximum area of 800 square feet, and at least 600 square feet of shared yard space.
Now you know.
THE COVID SLIDE
THE UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies last week asked Californians what worries them now. That would be COVID-19, right?
Nope.
COVID-19 now ranks 13th on a list of 15 subjects. Only 4% of voters, the poll found, consider COVID 19 an important issue.
Topping the list were housing affordability (31%), homelessness (29%), crime (23%) and gasoline prices (21%).
Remember when the Legislature was set to debate draconian laws forcing mandatory vaccinations? Forget about it. That’s all on hold now.
ONE MORE THING
– Not all who wander are lost. Most of us are just looking for coffee.
– New Marin DUI checkpoint question: Was Mickey Mouse a dog or a cat.”
– Want to feel old? Janis Joplin died 51 years ago.
Thanks for reading. Until next week, avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.
(“Properly Subversive” is commentary written by Sherman Frederick for the Novato Advance, San Rafael News-Pointer, Mill Valley Herald, Ross Valley Reporter, Twin City Times and the Sausalito Marin Scope. Frederick is a long-time journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
Great article re ” wokeness” which is a broadside attack on the First Amendment