• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

Politics

Kevin McCarthy: Are you Listening?

June 22, 2022 By Eric Caine 12 Comments

American Flag image

“A stake was driven through the heart of American democracy on January 6, 2021, and our democracy today is on a knife’s edge.” MJ Luttig When even Ann Coulter admits that Donald Trump is a grifter, there’s really no sense trying to convince those who still support him of the truth.  Coulter is only the latest and most radical of nominal “conservatives” to dump Trump. Conservative pundits like David Brooks, […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Congressman Kevin McCarthy

Valley Dems Survive Low Turnout: Speed Bumps Ahead

June 13, 2022 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

Adam Gray

More than most anywhere else in the state, Valley Democrats depend on heavy turnouts to survive, especially during primaries, when crowded fields of candidates slice and dice votes so that outcomes often depend on hard-core voters whose loyalties tend deeply conservative and favor hard-right candidates. Even though turnouts for this year’s primaries rivaled all-time lows, outcomes were often surprising. In most races, Valley Democrats exceeded expectations, especially in the contest […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Adam Gray, Adam Gray for Congress, Anna Caballero, Esmeralda Soria for Assembly, Jessica Self for Assembly, Tim Robertson for Senate

Chad Condit, “not credible,” said Judge. We Agree

June 1, 2022 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

Jessica Self 14 April 2022 Modesto

In 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Earl H Carroll ruled that Chad Condit’s testimony during a bankruptcy case was, “not credible.” Today, Condit’s claim to be a Democrat running for State Assembly is also not credible. Condit registered as a Democrat only a few short weeks ago. Shortly thereafter, an AstroTurf organization calling itself “Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy” began a smear campaign against Jessica Self, the only […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Chad Condit, Chad Condit for Assembly, Jess Self, Jessica Self, Jessica Self for Assembly

Homeless: Doubling Down on Double Standards

May 30, 2022 By Eric Caine 13 Comments

Alan Davis downtown Modesto

Tim Byrd’s response to our last essay deserves a more prominent position than in “Comments,” so we’re posting it below, along with our reply. For those who don’t know, Mr. Byrd is Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow’s campaign manager. He is also a resident of Wood Colony and a graduate of Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law. To get a better understanding of the context of our remarks, please read our previous […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Modesto City Councilmember Tony Madrigal, Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow, Terry Withrow for Supervisor, Tony Madrigal for Supervisor

Hypocrisy? Double Standards? The Supervisor has you Covered

May 28, 2022 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Downtown Modesto, 29 May, 2022

Twenty-five years ago, Tony Madrigal made crude remarks to a female police officer during a late-night ride-along. Around the same time, he was cited for driving while texting. At one point, he had enough such traffic violations that his license was suspended. At the time, Madrigal served as a Councilmember for the City of Santa Cruz. Fast forward to today, when Modesto City Councilmember Tony Madrigal is running for Stanislaus […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Modesto City Councilmember Tony Madrigal, Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow, Terry Withrow for Supervisor, Tony Madrigal for Supervisor

Dueling High Schools? A Cow? District 22 has you Covered

May 26, 2022 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Jessica Self campaign flyer May 2022

Among the more amusing campaign tactics in the San Joaquin Valley, few are as enduring as the “outsider” trope, which reached its height of absurdity in 2018, when incumbent Congressman Jeff Denham tried to label Turlock-born Josh Harder with outsider status because he had graduated from Stanford and Harvard and done business in the Bay Area. No matter that Denham was from southern California, his own business was located in […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: California Assembly District 22, Chad Condit, Chad Condit for Assembly, Jess Self, Jess Self Assembly District 22, Jessica Self, Jessica Self for Assembly, Joel Campos

Valley Voters: With Democracy in Peril

May 10, 2022 By Eric Caine 7 Comments

Jessica Self 14 April 2022 Modesto

There are two imperatives this election year. First and foremost is the pressing need to defeat American authoritarianism. That need obliterates almost everything else. It can be addressed by withholding votes from Republicans no matter who or where they are and no matter what they’re running for. Led by Donald Trump, the Republican Party has made clear its opposition to free and fair elections, democratic rule, and commitment to the […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Adam Gray, Adam Gray for Congress, California Congressman Josh Harder, Esmeralda Soria for Assembly, Jessica Self for Assembly, Mani Grewal, Mani Grewal for Supervisor, Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow, Terry Withrow, Tim Robertson for Senate, Tony Madrigal for Supervisor

Josh Harder’s Shadow Looms Over District 13 Race for Congress

April 28, 2022 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Josh Harder 2020

The conventional wisdom says Merced’s Adam Gray is an easy winner in this year’s race for Congress in California’s newly configured District 13 (CA-13). Gray’s years in the State Assembly District in the same region as CA-13 give him what amounts to incumbent status and his careful cultivation of the conservative Democrat “Blue Dog” persona theoretically immunizes him from threats to his right. It’s supposedly impossible for San Joaquin Valley […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Adam Gray for Congress, Assembly Member Adam Gray, California Congressional District 13, California Congressman Josh Harder, Phil Arballo for Congress

Raise Taxes? City Residents are Already Taxed Twice

April 21, 2022 By Bruce Frohman 14 Comments

Tenth Street Place Downtown Modesto

Ever since the Dick Lang administration of the 1990’s, Modesto City Government has been perpetually broke. Subsequent city leaders have had very little discretionary money with which to operate. The present city council is considering whether to ask voters to approve a special sales tax within Modesto to alleviate ongoing budget shortfalls. To decide whether approval of a new sales tax increase is warranted, voters need to understand how Modesto […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Homelessness and Poverty in Stanislaus County, Homelessness in Modesto, Modesto City Budget, Modesto sales tax, Stanislaus County budget, Stanislaus County budget surplus

Esmeralda Soria: Doing More and Doing it Better

April 12, 2022 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Esmeralda Soria and Anna Caballero 7 April 2022 Merced7

When we heard Fresno City Councilwoman Esmeralda Soria was running for Assembly in the Valley’s District 27, we wanted to know more about her. We were even more intrigued when we looked at her impressive list of endorsements, including those from State Controller Betty Yee, State Senate Member Anna Caballero, and former Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. With a population of over 500,000 residents, Fresno is the largest city in the […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Anna Caballero, Esmeralda Soria for Assembly, Esmeralda Soria Fresno City Council

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 31
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

?Monster Fracks? Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
“Monster Fracks” Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
A Times analysis shows that increasingly complex oil and gas wells now require astonishing volumes of water to fracture the bedrock and release fossil fuels, threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
www.nytimes.com
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has 'paralyzed' California cities
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has ‘paralyzed’ California cities
The Democratic governor’s intervention lays down a mark in a legal dispute with potentially profound implications for one of California’s most pressing issues.
www.politico.com
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
www.propublica.org
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How bad is hunger in California? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but now is being reduced.
calmatters.org
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento County had nearly 9,300 homeless people in 2022, based on data from the annual Point in Time count. That was up 67% from 2019. Roughly three-quarters of the county’s homeless population….
www.mercurynews.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
How the fentanyl crisis’ fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
The epidemic’s staggering scale and infiltration of communities is laid bare in a new study.
www.bbc.com
Can licensed tent villages ease California's homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Can licensed tent villages ease California’s homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Taking people off the street and into tents is a new twist on homeless shelter being explored by the San Francisco-based Urban Alchemy in two tent villages operating in Los Angeles and Culver City.
www.latimes.com
Mississippi has problems, but it's handling homelessness better than L.A.
Mississippi has problems, but it’s handling homelessness better than L.A.
The public tends to blame homelessness on poverty, drug use, crime or even warm weather. But other cities don’t have L.A. levels of street homelessness because they have more available housing.
www.latimes.com
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
The demonstrators raised “Heil Hitler” salutes and waved flags with swastikas.
www.thedailybeast.com
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom's CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom’s CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Gov. Gavin Newsom?s experiment to push Californians with mental illness off the streets and into treatment, CARE Court, starts soon.
calmatters.org
Pope says 'backward' U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope says ‘backward’ U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church. He says they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.
apnews.com

Find us on Facebook

pp
The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design