Don's Tuesday Column

THE WAY I SEE IT by Don Polson     Red Bluff Daily News 8/05/2025

    What’s been missed re: Gavin Newsom

As we head to an Oregon state park, where there’s no internet unless Barb can add more to her phone hotspot and we can connect to Newport sources, it behooves this writer to gather the little-covered news items related to Governor Newsom.

We are seeing America’s bird, the Bald Eagle, almost daily, even seeing one fly by our windshield in our campsite and another one getting chased around by a smaller bird. Eagle wings are long on soaring but not so maneuverable as to avoid the nimble, smaller birds. Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets also but to date no river otters poking heads up.

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“Gavin Newsom Threatens to Redraw CA's Congressional Districts Before Midterms; Here's Why He Can't” by Jennifer Van Laar (Redstate.com). Redistricting brew-ha-ha: some Republican states are looking to redraw congressional districts to reduce the number of House Democrats from their states; predictable hysteria emerged from Democrat state leaders.

Honestly,” blue” states have already marginalized the districts that can send Republicans to Congress. Our state votes around 40 percent for Republicans; however, Sacramento Dems have manipulated the supposedly “nonpartisan” redistricting commission to allow only about 17 percent Republican congressmen. Some one-party Democrat states are far worse: Maryland votes 35 percent Republican; 1of 8 seats are Republican. Sorry, but you Democrats have already overwhelmed your delegations; you can’t stand on principle to oppose Republicans turning it back on you.

In Newsom’s and Sacramento’s case (see article), it’s not legal to try to redistrict more Republican seats out of existence.

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In a recent podcast interview, Newsom made a bizarre comment regarding “transgender,” or sex-change, procedures for minor children. Abominable as the concept is—and the irreversible drug and surgical “treatments” for confused young people needing counseling to let a few years pass before making life-changing decisions—it’s intellectually horrendous for adults to pervert the idea of “care” for children to include trying to change their biology with medical butchery.

Newsom rambling: “Yeah. I mean, look, now that I have a nine-year-old—it just became 9—come on, man... I get it, so those are legit, you know. It's interesting, the issue of age…” His child is an “it”? He may be trying to speak “correctly” in the “woke” vernacular but all he is doing is showing that there is no issue or controversy that he will not attempt to hypocritically weave his way through without taking a stand. See: “Did You Catch What Newsom Said About Sex Change Surgeries for Children?” by Madeline Leesman (Townhall.com)

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“Newsom, Eyeing Presidential Run, Repeals Own Law Decriminalizing Loitering, Which Had Led to Sex Trafficking” (Breitbart.com, 7/31). For the record, Newsom as an actual candidate won’t be covered here.

“Newsom signed SB 357 in 2022 after State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) pushed to decriminalize loitering. Street prostitution—including of children—exploded. The new bill, AB 379, restores misdemeanor penalties for loitering. It also toughens penalties for sex solicitation of a minor, if the victim of solicitation is more than 3 years younger than the perpetrator.” So, even with this “tougher” law, which undoes the previous law signed by Newsom and lauded by Dems, a 20-year-old man can “prostitute” his 17-year-old “girlfriend” for sex and only be guilty of a misdemeanor? Sounds pretty sick to me.

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You can’t get more “playing both sides” of an issue than Newsom’s determination to 1) “fight fossil fuels to save the planet” by 2) pushing/allowing refineries to close and 3) advocating for higher gas taxes—but then turning around and “Holy Environy! Newsom Desperately Tries to Sell Refinery He Helped Close” (by Victoria Taft, Pjmedia.com, 7/25).

“Valero Oil has given up fighting Sacramento and plans to close a San Francisco-area refinery in 2026. California had 40 refineries in the 1980s and pump prices compatible with other states; planned closures may leave only seven operating by 2026.” “Holy gas prices, Batman”—Newsom wants Valero to keep running. Aren’t high gas prices just what the enviro-left has been craving to “break our addiction to fossil fuels”?

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This might be embarrassing if people found out: “How Gavin Newsom turned a $100M wildfire benefit concert into a money-laundering operation for his friends & pet nonprofits.” (Twitchy.com/amy-curtis, 7/27)

“The FireAid LA concert raised $100 million for wildfire victims. They told donors the money would go directly to people who needed it. But that was a lie. FireAid later admitted: ‘We don’t give money directly to individuals.’ They handed the cash to 188 nonprofits instead. Many had nothing to do with wildfire relief.” In fact, “One of the listed nonprofits—Cal Volunteers—was created by Gavin Newsom and his wife. No history. No transparency.”

So to recap: “Newsom botches fire prevention; victims suffer; he launches a ‘relief’ concert; funnels cash to his own nonprofit” (x.com/FloppingAces). Nice work if you can get it.

(cont’d next week)