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California animal rights legislation crushed by Cal teachers union

It’s bad news if you’re a frog– or an animal rights activist. Yesterday, under pressure from the California Teachers Association, the legislature killed proposed legislation to ban animal dissection, including the cutting up of frogs– favorite “subjects” in biology classrooms across the state. Per CAL Matters, “The California Teachers Association, which has significant clout in the Legislature, testified against [the bill], arguing that it would deny science teachers a valuable tool.” Animal rights campaigners, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), are pissed. And we tend to agree with them. While in general, animals dissected in classrooms are already dead (though in some places, vivisection does still occur), it still involves inherent cruelty for animals, campaigners say. Per the Sacramento Bee, “Cats used for dissection tend to be euthanized animals acquired from shelters; frogs and other amphibians are often gathered in the wild.” Congratulations: If your cat goes missing,…

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What’s worse than payday loans? Surprise California-sized health care loan payments!

California legislators have since the middle of last month been weighing a proposal from Assemblywoman Monique Limon to cap interest rates on loans between $2,500 and $10,000– colloquially known as “anti-payday loan” legislation. The legislation is attracting mixed reviews from the financial services sector. Not surprisingly, a lot of payday lenders hate it. But the quiet word is that a lot of banks love it, since if passed, it would push consumers towards banks who– some studies allege– charge proportionally much higher costs for bounced checks and unauthorized overdrafts than the effective APR on a high-interest payday loan. The bill may also face skepticism from millennials, who have limited ability to take out conventional loans due to a lack of assets, and who often need to borrow smaller amounts than traditional banks will lend (usually banks want borrowers to take out a minimum of $3,000). In any event, as the…

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YOWZA: Harris raised $12 MILLION in her first quarter as a prez candidate

The numbers are in, and Sen. Kamala Harris raised an eye-popping $12 million in her first quarter as a presidential candidate. Harris’ campaign told the New York Times that “more than $6 million of her fund-raising — about half of her total — came from her digital program, including $1.1 million in the last week.” In addition, Harris took in “218,000 contributions in total and that 98 percent of her contributions were under $100. Her average donation was about $55.” A lot of the money may be coming from teachers. Harris has called for a massive, federally-funded pay rise for teachers. Her campaign says at least 11,000 donations came from “educators,” a term that may include school administrators and teachers not operating within the public school system or teaching K-12.

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The biggest reason the GOP under Trump is screwed in California

The Fresno Bee has an interesting report this morning focusing on the growing strength of California’s Latino voting population. Take a look, and you’ll see exactly why Republicans in California are in such deep, deep trouble– even those in deep red seats. During the 2018 November midterm election, the eligible turnout rate for Latinos (the percentage of adult citizens who voted) was 35.9 percent — an 18.6 percent increase from the 2014 midterm election, according to data released by the University of Southern California’s Civic Engagement Project. Mindy Romero, a research assistant professor and director of the California Civic Engagement Project at USC, said in Fresno County, the total voter turnout was 41.5 percent, and for Latinos eligible to vote, it was 30.3 percent. Statewide, the total voter turnout was 50 percent. […] To put the latest USC statistics into perspective, back in 1994, when California voters approved Proposition 187,…

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