Don’t They Have Anything Better to Do?
In this week’s latest examples of “What the heck is the government doing” I found a couple of stories that made me scratch my head and wonder who, exactly, is in charge of our levers of government, at least in Sacramento.
I started last week with news that former US Attorney General Eric Holder, the past head of the US Department of Justice under President Obama just got a very lucrative contract with the State of California to the tune of $25,000 a month - yes, $300,000 per year.
Now, what work does California have that a former US Attorney General would specialize in?
Are we having a major civil crisis in the courts? No, that can’t be it.
Is there riots and unrest in the streets because of some horrible injustice committed but the state? No, not that either.
Could he be coming here to help California with it’s water and environmental policy, prison overcrowding, educational reforms or to help with public sector union problems in the state?
That would be a big, fat no - and yep, it was a trick question!
Holder will be consulting with our lawmakers, and the California Attorney General, to fight the Trump Administration and be the state that challenges the new presidential administration at every legal turn.
See, Texas and Oklahoma fought much of the Obama Administration in court. Their Attorney Generals campaigned on the pledge to fight the Obama administration when it crossed the line with his pen and phone.
Now, I am all for state’s rights - and for Attorney Generals to represent their state’s interests, whether in state or federal court.
That usually doesn’t include hiring the guy that was found in contempt of Congress who most recently completely politicized the Department of Justice, and helped fuel divisive national flames during the Ferguson riots, George Zimmerman case and the Fast and Furious gun walking case (which garnered the contempt charge) - just to name a few.
If our new attorney general can’t handle fighting the evils of a Trump administration, why are we paying him?
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So, I was already annoyed enough last week and then I got an email with the link to a story that really sent me over the edge.
California has set the legal precedent for transgendered inmates that are currently incarcerated to have a sex change operation at taxpayer expense as part of prisoner’s (eighth amendment) rights to “medically necessary treatment for medical and mental health conditions, including gender dysphoria” within the California Correctional System.
At issue was the case of one Shiloh Heavenly Quine. Quine is a murderer and kidnapper serving life, who killed his victim then stole his car and $80. He has been incarcerated since 1980. Ms. Quine has apparently been living as a woman in the midst of the men’s prison where he was sentenced.
Recently his, or her, case was taken up by the Transgender Law Center, and Shiloh got the snip. “She” will now carry out the remainder of “her” sentence at a women’s prison where she was transferred to after surgery was done last week.
And now 64 more prisoners are requesting the surgery, four have already been approved.
Really, I could care less who wants to be what, but why are my tax dollars paying for this $100K surgery?
This man forfeited the right to live his life on his terms when he committed murder.