Since De Anza College ousted Dr. Tabia Lee as DEI Dean in 2023 for questioning radical orthodoxy, she has advocated for a more thoughtful Critical Social Justice framework. Recently on X, Dr. Lee reflects on her American Humanist Association convention presentation earlier this month, which, she says, was interrupted, muted, and “hijacked” by new AHA CEO Fish Stark—simply for sharing an unpopular viewpoint.
Read MoreJust like that, it's fall. Fog-sky lingers past noon, school traffic wakes us in the morning, whiffs of smoke waft from fires somewhere. Peter Coe Verbica checks in with three haikus for the season in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreWhile politicians continue to differ on school choice, First Freedom Foundation's Michael D. Dean, Esq., reminds that a “free market education system” is inevitably riven by a conflict between claims of state and parental sovereignty. Who gets to influence the influencers? And though neither group is truly ideologically "neutral," can we still visualize a system that's critical, wise, and informed by shared values (not someone else's forced, top-down agenda)?
Read MoreIn a world christened “Post-Truth” and drowning in wave after wave of superficial trends, The Critique's founding editor-in-chief Guillaume A.W. Attia looks to an unexpected figure—the philosopher—for journalism's next steps. Below, Attia reflects on two reasons why philosophy should be embraced by news analysis sites such as Opp Now (and we gratefully lend him our ears).
Read MoreIf SB 1047 passes, California could become as unattractive to AI innovators as Europe is, wrote U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) in a letter to State Senator Scott Wiener. Lofgren pointed out that the bill makes companies comply with guidelines that haven’t yet been developed. In a statement on his official website, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-Santa Clara) warned that SB 1047 won’t address legitimate AI concerns, but instead punish entrepreneurs.
Read MoreReducing local prison populations isn't a noble aspiration, says Manhattan Institute's Rafael A. Mangual, but actually counterproductive for anyone wanting safe streets. Mangual discusses the high percentage of U.S. prisoners who 1) were booked for violent crimes, and 2) will re-commit once released. Why, then, do pols like Supe Ellenberg claim decarceration only releases harmless, nonviolent offenders into our neighborhoods?
Read MoreLast Thursday, SF's Human Rights Commission head Sheryl Davis resigned after it was discovered she'd hidden her personal relationship with a nonprofit executive, while pledging $1.5 million in City funding to his organization. Below, the SF Standard reports on this controversial “Dream Keeper Initiative” (led until now by Davis), and its troubled history re: funding nonprofit partners.
Read MoreManhattan Institute's Tim Rosenberger, Jr. (also Opp Now contributor) and Emily Murphy break down why they believe Florida's private-sector “Brightline” has been so successful: it doesn't need to manage CA's cap-and-trade costs, buy American-made materials as the Golden State requires, or bow to political interests to get funding. Their excellent compare-and-contrast follows, from City Journal.
Read MoreSilicon Valley politicians, activists in the Housing Dept, and subsidized housing zealots continue to campaign for more destructive rent control programs, even as international (and U.S.-based) data piles up proving it doesn't work. Andrew Stuttaford reports for National Review on rent control failure in the Netherlands.
Read MoreOn our way to posting today's stories, we ran into some meaning-involved rhetoric that prompted us to have a mindful-moment to help untrigger our coherency-impacted sensibilities. So we retreated, as always, to Orwell's "1984," below.
Read MoreNoted linguist Dr. Alan Perlman notes that euphemisms—the sometimes awkward efforts to rename people and ideas to avoid unwanted connotations—can end up obscuring more than they illuminate. He takes a look at County Supe Ellenberg's latest use of the gauzy "justice-involved" word-choice to describe people slotted for her widely-panned "jail-diversion" site in South San Jose. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreProposition 5 undermines protection against runaway taxes, said Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley, who cast the tie-breaking vote last week at the Gilroy City Council meeting to oppose Prop 5. Blankley said that Prop 5, which aims to reduce voter approval from two-thirds to 55%, would inflict hardship on working families. In a divided vote, the SJ City Council previously endorsed Prop 5, with CMs Doan and Batra voting "no." An Opp Now exclusive.
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