Harris highlighted Walz’s background and record as governor of Minnesota, including signing legislation to provide paid family and medical leave for families in the state, protecting the right to abortion after the reversal of Roe v. Wade and enactment of legislation requiring universal background checks for gun purchases.

“As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his.”

“It was my students who encouraged me to run for office,” he said. “They saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them: a commitment of common good, a belief that one person can make a difference.”

https://kamalaharris.com/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kamala-Harris

Project 2025 is the anti-democracy draconian extreme right wing Republican policies for the future based on the  “Mandate for Leadership” created several years ago by the The Heritage Foundation and 100 other conservative groups, which has been highly influential for conservative presidential administrations since the Reagan era.

The 900-page manual, published in 2023, includes detailed policies to apply if there is a Republican victory in November 2024:  https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

The Heritage Foundation HAS ALREADY INFLUENCED THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. IN HIS FOUR YEAR TERM.  Examples of some of the most notable policy recommendations and their adoption or implementation by the former Trump administration include:

• Leaving the Paris Climate Accord: In August 2017, Trump announced the U.S. was ending its funding and membership in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
• Repealing Net Neutrality: In December 2017, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chairman proposed ending the 2015 network neutrality rules.
• Reshaping National Monuments: Heritage’s recommendation to prohibit Land Acquisition (Cap and Reduce the Size of the Federal Estate) was adopted by Trump when he issued two executive orders effectively shrinking the size of national monuments in Utah.
• Reinstating the Mexico City Policy: This executive order prevents taxpayer money from funding international groups involved in abortion and ending funding to the United Nations Population fund. On Jan. 23, 2017, in his first pro-life action, Trump signed an executive order today reinstating the Mexico City Policy.
• Increasing Military Spending: Trump’s budget calls for a $54 billion increase in military spending to improve capacity, capability, and readiness of America’s armed forces.
• Reforming Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF): The Trump administration adopted and is in favor of strengthening existing work requirements in order to receive benefits.
• Allowing Development of Natural Resources: The Trump administration opened off-shore drilling and on federal lands. Executive Order 13783 directed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to commence federal land coal leasing activities.
• Reforming Government Agencies: Trump tasked each of his Cabinet secretaries to prepare detailed plans on how they propose to reduce the scope and size of their respective departments while streamlining services and ensuring each department runs more efficiently and handles tax dollars appropriately.
• Withdrawing from UNESCO: In October 2017, Trump announced he was putting an end to U.S. membership in the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

https://www.snopes.com/news/2024/07/03/project-2025-trump-us-government/

Polling demonstrates that although the American public is largely unfamiliar with Project 2025, the plan is deeply unpopular when people learn about its proposals.

According to an Accountable.US/Upswing poll on Project 2025 conducted in May, only 12 percent of Americans knew a “great deal” or “a lot” about the right-wing set of proposals. After a “straight reading” of what Project 2025 is — describing the plan, without details, as being a “collection of policy proposals that will reshape the executive branch of American government in the next conservative presidency” — favorability for Project 2025 went up.

But support dropped when specifics were discussed, the poll found.

For example, 87 percent opposed cutting Social Security benefits for younger workers, and 86 percent said they opposed eliminating the Head Start program. Seventy-seven percent disapproved of passages that aim to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people, 68 percent opposed criminalizing abortion medication, and 82 percent were against allowing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase abortion surveillance. Seventy-nine percent also opposed the plan to allow presidents to fire employees in the civil service program based on their loyalties to them.

After those policies and more were thoroughly explained, 66 percent of respondents in the poll said they had a negative view of Project 2025, while only 25 percent said they approved.

That poll’s findings appear to have been confirmed by another survey. A Navigator Research poll in June similarly found that 7 in 10 respondents didn’t know enough about Project 2025 to formulate an opinion. When presented with 19 specific policies within the proposal, however, their views drastically changed, with 63 percent saying they opposed Project 2025 and only 24 percent approving.

Your vote counts.  November 5, 2024 is the most important election in our country’s history.  The choice is clear.  Either vote for democracy and the continuation of our Democratic Republic based on the Constitution, or vote for autocracy with one ruler with all the power and authority over We the People.

The history of Independence Day.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Independence-Day-United-States-holiday

Celebrate Juneteenth!  11 am-5 pm, Saturday, June 15, 2024.  Fun for the whole family!  Call 805-588-8998 for more information.

https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/juneteenth-celebration-set-for-june-15-in-old-town-lompoc/article_e4de2b2e-f4a0-5165-9fbd-274ce07db091.html

Please attend one of the ceremonies on the Central Coast.

https://www.welcomehomemilitaryheroes.org/memorial-day-2024/

Register online or at the Elections Office.  Hours are 8:00am – 12:00pm and 1:00pm – 5:00pm, excluding holidays. 511 E. Lakeside Pkwy, Suite 134, Santa Maria, CA 93455-1310)  1-800-722-868       Link to Map

Once you are registered or have updated any status or address changes, scroll down for more voting information.

Register to vote online or check voting status:  https://registertovote.ca.gov/

(Allow at least 48 hours for online registration for the verification process to be completed.)

Requirements to Register to Vote in California:

• A citizen of the United States,
• A resident of California,
• At least 18 years of age at the time of the next election,
• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony (for additional information on the rights of people who have been incarcerated please visit the Secretary of State’s Voting Rights: Persons with a Criminal History page), and;
• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court (for more information, please visit the Secretary of State’s Voting Rights: Persons Subject to Conservatorship page).

Once your registration form is received and processed, the county will send you a Voter Notification Card within 2 to 3 weeks indicating that you are now registered to vote.

If you are under 18, you may pre-register to vote if you meet the following qualifications:

• Be 16 or 17 years old, and;
• Meet all of the other eligibility requirements to vote listed above.

You will automatically be registered to vote on your 18th birthday.

CLICK HERE: Registration and Voting information for Youth.

You must re-register to vote if you:

• change your name
• change your address
• wish to change your political party preference
• change your signature

If you do not have a California Driver’s License or California State Identification card, you can still use the online voter registration form to apply to register to vote. However, you will need to take additional steps to complete your voter registration.

f you are unable to retrieve your registration information, please call (800) SBC-VOTE (800-722-8683).

More details at the Santa Barbara County Elections website:

  https://www.countyofsb.org/1139/Register-to-Vote

Want to know what voting District you are in?  CLICK HERE to look up Districts and Representatives by address

ONCE YOU ARE REGISTERED AND HAVE YOUR BALLOT..GET READY TO VOTE!!

This is a Presidential election year.

Joseph Biden is the Endorsed Incumbent Democratic President.

The CA Democratic Party has endorsed Proposition 1

and these Democratic candidates:

U.S. Congress, Dist. 24, Salud Carbajal, Incumbent

State Senate, Dist 21,  Monique Limon, Incumbent

State Assembly, Dist 37, Gregg Hart, Incumbent

There are two U.S. Senate  terms for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat;

one for the remainder of her term and one full term.  Vote Democrat please.

CONVENIENT!!  Mail completed ballots…no stamp required… or there are several secure ballot  “drop boxes” available 24 hours a day until 8:00 p.m. on election day.   https://www.countyofsb.org/3265/Current-Ballot-Drop-Box-Locations-by-Are

The U.S. State Department is providing up to date resources available:

https://il.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/security-and-travel-information/

Congressman Salud Carbajal can help with State Department issues.   Call any of the offices:   https://carbajal.house.gov/contact/officeinformation.htm     

or send a note:   https://carbajal.house.gov/contact/

BUTLER, Laphonza Romanique, will become the first Black lesbian to openly serve in the Senate. She will serve out the remainder of a Senate term left vacant by the death of Dianne Feinstein, who represented California for three decades.  Born in Magnolia, Miss., May 11, 1979; graduated South Pike High School, Magnolia, Miss., 1997; B.A., political science, Jackson State University, 2001; union organizer and president; political campaign consultant and strategist; political action committee executive; University of California Board of Regents 2018-2021; appointed as a Democrat to the United States Senate on October 1, 2023, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dianne Feinstein; took the oath of office on October 3, 2023.

More information:

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/10/01/governor-gavin-newsom-appoints-laphonza-butler-senate/

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1203173444/calif-gov-newsom-names-laphonza-butler-to-finish-sen-feinstein-s-term

Contact Senator Butler:  https://www.butler.senate.gov/

August 13, 2023:

Indictments filed by the D.A. of State of Georgia.

Trump, for the fourth time being indicted in the last year, and 18 others have been indicted in Georgia for their illegal involvement in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.  Defendants have until August 25th to submit to the court house where they will be booked. Eight of the defendants are attorneys.  The D. A. targets March of 2024 for the trial.

The Indictment document:  https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23909543-23sc188947-criminal-indictment

Who are the defendants?  ://wwwhttps.politico.com/news/2023/08/15/fulton-county-trump-indictment-defendants-00111220

August 3, 2023:

4 felony counts filed by the U.S. Dept. of Justice

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering, for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.  The indictment from the Department of Justice describes six co-conspirators who assisted Trump, including four attorneys, a DOJ official and a political consultant.  They also sought to organize “fraudulent slates of electors in seven targeted states” and use the Justice Department to conduct “sham election crime investigations and to send a letter to the targeted states that falsely claimed that the Justice Department had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the election outcome.”

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-indicted-on-federal-charges-in-jan-6-case-special-counsel-jack-smith-announces

June 8, 2023:

37 felony Indictments filed by the U. S. Dept. of Justice

The twice impeached Trump will be arraigned on federal criminal charges June 13,  2023 in Florida.  Read the entire printable 49 pages of the 37 indictments, which includes espionage, obstruction, and conspiracy charges:  https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/06/trump-indictment.pdf

“Our nation’s commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the rest of the world.  We have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone,”  said Jack Smith,  Special Counsel  of the U. S. Department of Justice,  when he made the detailed charges filed June 8, 2023 available to the public on June 9, 2023.

“Our laws that protect our national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced,” Smith said. “Violation of those laws put our country at risk.”

Smith did not go into the details of the indictment, but instead urged people to read it.

https://news.yahoo.com/prosecutor-overseeing-trump-case-says-194008253.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

Later Smith said that he would seek a speedy trial, but he also seemed to counter some of Trump’s attacks — including that this was a “boxes hoax” — by arguing that the case was about national security.

 Who is co-defendant Walt Nauta?

The only other person named in the indictments was Walt Nauta,  the personal military valet to Trump during his presidency, and later Trump’s aide as a private citizen at Mar-A-Lago.  Nauta is a native of Guam..  Nauta attracted the attention of the government for his appearance on security camera footage from the club, which was subpoenaed by prosecutors, moving boxes in and out of a basement storage room after a grand jury subpoena.  In interviews with government officials, according to the indictment, he gave false testimony about whether he had moved boxes to Trump’s residence earlier in the year. In reality, according to the indictment, Nauta brought several boxes to Trump’s residence from the storage room at a time when National Archives officials were seeking the return of presidential material, but he told investigators he didn’t.

March 30, 2023:

34 felony counts filed by Alvin L. Bragg, New York State, Manhattan District Attorney

Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a series of Trump Organization checks he signed in 2017 to his personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen. The payments were to reimburse Mr. Cohen for a hush money payoff he had made in October 2016 to a porn actress, Stormy Daniels, to cover up a potential sex scandal just before the election. But, according to the indictment, internal documents falsely recorded the checks as payments for legal work Mr. Cohen had purportedly performed in 2017 under a retainer that did not exist.

—————————————————

Comparing the legal cases against Trump (written by the New York Times): https://www.nytimes.com/article/trump-cases-counts-charges-strengths.html

Final Report,   December 21, 2022:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtwItbTPWNE

 Criminal Charges recommended by the Committee on December 21, 2022:     https://santamariademocrats.info/criminal-referrals-made-by-the-january-6-committee/

NEWS COVERAGE: 

CBS News:    https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/january-6-committee-conclusion-trump-ultimately-responsible-for-insurrection/

Newsweek:    https://www.newsweek.com/jan-6-criminal-referral-charges-against-trump-will-stick-kirschner-says-1767978

Review of the hearings and discussions on C-SPAN:   https://www.c-span.org/search/?searchtype=Videos&sort=Newest&seriesid[]=112

Youtube recordings of the Congressional Investigating Committee of the January 6, 2021 Insurrection:

Day 1, June 9, 2022:   https://youtu.be/UiL2inz487U

Day 2, June 13, 2022:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jblC2Ooog2U

Day 3, June 16, 2022:  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-jan-6-committee-hearings-day-3

Day 4, June 21, 2022:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZPBWZcr-vw

Day 5, June 23, 2022:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eNhqobJl_E

Day 6, June 28, 2022:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC3_VFFJlSY

Day 7, July 12, 2022:   https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/january-6-hearing-july-12-live-with-pbs-newshour/

Day 8, July 21, 2022:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48HH4LVn07g

Day 9, October 13, 2022:  https://www.c-span.org/video/?523473-1/january-6-committee-votes-subpoena-president-trump

Final Report,  December 21, 2022   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtwItbTPWNE