Post New Article

California high-speed rail bill designed
to block transparency passes Assembly,
heads to Senate

Original Article

Posted By: 4250Luis, 5/5/2026 4:19:52 PM

bill that aims to keep some California high-speed rail records confidential passed the Assembly on Monday afternoon, adding some fuel to the fire for some lawmakers who are already critical of the $126.2 billion project. Assembly Bill 1608 authorizes the high-speed rail’s inspector general to keep some reports out of the public eye. The bill would also allow the inspector general to keep parts of certain reports secret if the report reveals weaknesses that put the high-speed rail project at risk. The bill passed 45 to 18 and now heads to the Senate.

Post Reply

Reminder: “WE ARE A SALON AND NOT A SALOON”

Your thoughts, comments, and ideas are always welcome here. But we ask you to please be mindful and respectful. Threatening or crude language doesn't persuade anybody and makes the conversation less enjoyable for fellow L.Dotters.


Reply 1 - Posted by: DVC 5/5/2026 4:29:38 PM (No. 2100969)
Truth is FORBIDDEN!!! You cannot, will NOT get facts! We must cover up all the graft and corruption. Any storied about things which are not "happy face" are blocked BY LAW. Dems are a party of criminals.
21 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: bpl40 5/5/2026 5:07:40 PM (No. 2100978)
Won’t weaknesses that affect the project also affect taxpayers money? What am I not getting?
12 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: enemyofthestate 5/5/2026 5:10:10 PM (No. 2100980)
The California Assembly is out of control. It has been out of control for years. It can do anything it wants. Is it any wonder that California residents are moving out?
9 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: Dodge Boy 5/5/2026 5:21:39 PM (No. 2100983)
This is what happens with one-party government. Newsome and the Cal dims must be shown the door. But how?
11 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: mc squared 5/5/2026 5:58:36 PM (No. 2100988)
Blocking transparency will increase participation in the multi billion dollar project. They're not even hiding it anymore.
6 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: DVC 5/5/2026 6:05:07 PM (No. 2100993)
Why even HAVE and Inspector General?
6 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: JimBob 5/5/2026 6:11:28 PM (No. 2100996)
... and the Crookedness becomes ever more Crooked! I've never been there, but I understand that California was a wonderful place until it became Kommiformia. The Leftists ruin everything that they touch.
6 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: Venturer 5/5/2026 6:51:00 PM (No. 2101021)
Have they ever laid the first rail?
2 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: FL_Absentee_Voter 5/5/2026 7:15:39 PM (No. 2101034)
If these are public funds, the books should be open for review by anyone and everyone.
6 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: snowoutlaw 5/5/2026 7:26:30 PM (No. 2101037)
DOJ needs to look into this.
3 people like this.

Reply 11 - Posted by: DVC 5/5/2026 9:59:42 PM (No. 2101081)
Re #8, I don't think any rails have been laid, but a good bit of concrete has been poured to make train stations.
1 person likes this.

Reply 12 - Posted by: JimBob 5/6/2026 2:28:07 AM (No. 2101120)
I have the IMPRESSION that a lot of right-of-ways have been obtained (that's the slowest and most expensive part), and a lot of dirt work and bridge-building has been done. No rails yet, from what I've heard. I think this thing has turned into a complete boondoggle, but I have to say that saying "Not one mile of track has been laid!" is not a fair charge. Getting the property, getting the right-of-ways, THAT is the slowest and most expensive part.....(Gee, those lawyers are Mighty SLOW and Mighty EXPENSIVE). Once the land is in hand, then clearing, dirt-work, and bridges come next. Track, it seems, is almost a 'tail-end' item.
0 people like this.

Reply 13 - Posted by: mifla 5/6/2026 8:30:55 AM (No. 2101215)
Kind of like passing the Stop Nick Shirley Law. "The people of California have ended corruption. Since no one can look for corruption, no corruption will be found, hence ending corruption in our state". The sheeple will love it.
1 person likes this.

Reply 14 - Posted by: tech10171968 5/6/2026 8:32:45 AM (No. 2101217)
Doesn't matter what happens from here, what event happens or anything like that Just the fact that they even agreed on this bill tells you pretty much everything you need to know about California's government. How could you ever possibly trust an administration who wants to preserve their ability to hide stuff from their constituents?
2 people like this.

Reply 15 - Posted by: Rotten in Denmark 5/6/2026 8:55:16 AM (No. 2101238)
It’s there state. It’s their gubbmint officials. They keep sending the same ilk to Sacramento. It’s the same results. It’s their state…..and on and on..
1 person likes this.

Reply 16 - Posted by: Rumblehog 5/6/2026 9:03:08 AM (No. 2101248)
How can Congress pass a law promoting the taxpayers' deception? "Can you spell. 'unconstitutional,' boys and girls?"
1 person likes this.

Reply 17 - Posted by: Kafka2 5/6/2026 11:40:46 AM (No. 2101305)
The fact that the assembly authorized the high speed rail project inspector general to hide reports from the public should be a red flag that this project needs to be cancelled. The reason the cost overruns are seven times the original cost and growing with little to nothing to show for it is the project was sold based on a pack of lies about the economic feasibility of this project to begin with. The assembly is throwing taxpayer’s money into a. Bottomless pit.
2 people like this.

Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "4250Luis"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Most Recent Articles posted by 4250Luis"
Hantavirus-ridden MV Hondius cruise ship
anchors in Canary Islands after deadly
outbreak — as passengers evacuate
13 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/10/2026 8:07:55 AM Post Reply
The hantavirus-stricken HV Hondius anchored in Spain Sunday morning after the outbreak on the ship left three travelers dead and sparked global concern over a possible wider spread of the rodent-borne illness. The plagued Dutch cruise ship reached Tenerife – the Canary Islands’ largest island – around 6:30 a.m local time as more than 140 passengers and crew started to disembark from the vessel. “All the passengers remain asymptomatic,” Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia said during a Sunday morning news conference. “The entire operation is proceeding normally.”
Sean Duffy: Frontier Airplane Hit Trespasser
During Takeoff
13 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/9/2026 8:04:08 PM Post Reply
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the shocking accident Friday night in which one individual was killed and more than a dozen more injured was the result of a deliberate trespass on the part of the dead man. Duffy’s conclusion was to warn people not to trespass at airports, because, of course, they are not prepared for random people to run suddenly across runways. But frankly, I think if someone deliberately managed to penetrate that far into an airport as a breach, and walked right out in front of an airplane in takeoff sequence, the person was either on drugs or suicidal.
Iran Seizes a Tanker and Suffers New Problem
- What's Hilarious Is Who That Cargo Belongs To
10 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/9/2026 8:02:13 PM Post Reply
Iran took an action on Friday that had a lot of people scratching their heads because it didn't make a lot of sense. They announced that they had seized a tanker.Wow, that sounds pretty bold. Except for one thing. It's a tanker, sanctioned by the U.S., carrying Iranian oil. Tehran said the tanker was "exploiting regional conditions." Their state media said the tanker had been turned over to judicial authorities. This may be one of the funniest things the Iranians have done so far. So it appears that either they seized a tanker shipping their own oil in the wake of the U.S. attacks on them on Thursday,
Report: DHS Wins 80,000 ‘Voluntary Departure’ Cases 7 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/9/2026 8:00:28 PM Post Reply
The Washington Post is lamenting the “voluntary departure” of more than 80,000 economic migrants amid stepped-up pressure from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). “Judges issued more than 80,000 voluntary departure orders from January 2025 through March of this year … [to migrants] who request to leave on their own terms while giving up the opportunity to seek a new life in the U.S.,” the newspaper reported on May 8.The numbers were provided by the Vera Institute of Justice, a pro-migration group whose federal funding was cut in 2025. They are also another sign of progress in the administration’s myriad small and large efforts to block migration and speed deportations,
PHOTO: ‘Patient Zero’ Who Died in
Hantavirus Outbreak Had Visited Rat-Infested
Argentine Landfill in ‘the City at the
End of the World’
13 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/9/2026 7:57:30 PM Post Reply
A man from the Netherlands who died during the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship has been identified.Patient Zero” was 70-year-old ornithologist Leo Schilperoord, who was with his wife, 69-year-old Mirjam Schilperoord, on the extended trip to South America where they were bird-watching, the New York Post reported Saturday.The bird-watching couple were in Argentina in late March to visit a landfill a few miles outside the city of Ushuaia where people from all over the world go hoping to catch a glimpse of the rare white-throated caracara.
Iran War: Insubordination Stands To Snatch
Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory
13 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/9/2026 10:00:00 AM Post Reply
The U.S. media has tabled a question that warrants examining two 20th-century historical events. The question asked is whether U.S. credibility in deterring Iran’s mullahs and getting them to toe the line has been weakened by critics such as comedian Jimmy Kimmel and politicians who mock or otherwise criticize President Donald Trump’s actions against Tehran. The first historical event involves a battle of the Cold War, fought against the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980. While this battle resulted in American blood being shed, it was not due to a military conflict but to an athletic one.
Trump announces 3-day ceasefire in Ukraine
for WWII Victory Day
1 reply
Posted by 4250Luis 5/8/2026 6:49:37 PM Post Reply
President Donald Trump on Friday announced that Russia and Ukraine would observe a three-day ceasefire to mark the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Russian President Vladimir Putin had already declared a unilateral ceasefire to mark Russia's victory in the "Great Patriotic War," Russia's name for World War II. The Kremlin further warned Ukraine against attempting to target Moscow during the festivities. "I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine. The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but,
Susie Wiles: ‘We’re Going to Find
Out’ Trump ‘Actually Did Win’ 2020
Swing States
12 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/8/2026 6:48:23 PM Post Reply
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles made a stunning assertion at the Independent Women’s Forum’s Awards Gala in Washington DC, Thursday, declaring that she believes “we’re going to find out” President Trump actually won many of the swing states he supposedly lost to Biden in 2020. Wiles was honored with the IWF’s Barbara K. Olson Woman of Valor Award, which recognizes women who demonstrate “commitment and courage to advance economic liberty, personal responsibility and political freedom.” In March, Wiles announced she had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer while stressing she had been given a strong prognosis. President Trump honored his longtime aide with a surprise video tribute.
“New Report” Claims Republicans on
Track for MASSIVE +11 Seat House Pickup
as Democrats’ Gerrymandering Schemes Collapse
14 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/8/2026 2:39:05 PM Post Reply
The battle for control of the U.S. House is increasingly being fought not just at the ballot box but in the map room. Just days after the Volunteer State’s GOP-led legislature rammed through a new congressional map that ELIMINATES the state’s only Democrat-held and Black-majority seat, turning Tennessee into a solid 9-0 Republican delegation, a bombshell new “Crystal Ball” redistricting report is out, and it’s devastating news for Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and the entire crying, screaming Democrat Party. This comes on the heels of the Supreme Court nuking Louisiana’s illegal racial gerrymander and opening the floodgates for fair maps across the South.
Hochul Dragged on Social Media After Post
Targeting Privately Made Firearms
7 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/8/2026 2:35:56 PM Post Reply
I get that states like New York, and governors like Kathy Hochul aren't fans of gun ownership in general, but especially when they don't get to have some kind of control over who gets a gun and who doesn't. They want to be able to peer into the industry and know everything, which is why anything that removes a gun from that paper trail is a bad thing. For them, 3D printers spell doom, which is why Hochul opted to go after them. But the truth of the matter is that the internet is a strange place,
Administration Mulls AI Regulation Executive
Orders, but Substance in Flux
2 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/7/2026 3:43:02 PM Post Reply
The White House is contemplating executive orders on artificial intelligence regulation, but the specifics of the orders are still the subject of active debate, sources close to the administration told The Daily Signal. The New York Times first reported that the White House is looking into an executive order to create a vetting system for frontier AI models. The White House has worked on several draft executive orders, but the matter of which proposals make it to the president’s desk is still being debated, sources familiar with the matter said. It is likely that one or more AI executive orders will be signed in the next two weeks.
Ending Gerrymandering 5 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/7/2026 3:40:58 PM Post Reply
In the debate over redistricting, one truth is too often buried beneath legal jargon and partisan maneuvering: Gerrymandering is, at its core, about voter dilution. It is the quiet engineering of political outcomes, line by line, until communities that should speak with strength are instead reduced to whispers. For decades, one of the most consequential tactics has been "cracking," splitting cohesive communities, often made up of Black voters, across multiple districts so they become a minority everywhere and a majority nowhere. The impact is profound. A population large enough to influence elections can be deliberately dispersed just enough to ensure it never fully does.
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Duffys fire back after Pete Buttigieg,
husband attack new road trip TV series:
'Radical, miserable left'
21 replies
Posted by ConservativeYankee 5/10/2026 8:11:05 AM Post Reply
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his wife, "Fox & Friends" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy, fired back on Friday after former Sec. Pete Buttigieg and his husband launched a barrage of attacks against the Duffys' upcoming "Great American Road Trip" reality TV series. The feud ignited Friday after the couple announced the new show on "Fox & Friends." Chasten Glezman Buttigieg quickly took to X to bash the project, accusing the Duffys of taking a "multi-month, taxpayer-funded family road trip" while gas and grocery prices soar due to "Trump's war of choice." He went on to call the couple "unfocused, unserious, and out of touch," and aired old grievances about the Duffys' past
North Korea updates constitution to require
automatic nuclear strike if Kim Jong Un
is assassinated: report
19 replies
Posted by ConservativeYankee 5/10/2026 10:52:51 AM Post Reply
North Korea has updated its constitution to require a retaliatory nuclear strike if leader Kim Jong Un is assassinated, according to a report. The Telegraph reported the change comes amid heightened global tensions following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials during a recent conflict. Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran as part of a coordinated U.S.-Israeli military operation earlier this year, Fox News Digital previously reported. The constitutional revision was approved during a session of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, which opened March 22 in Pyongyang, the outlet said. South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) briefed senior government officials this week on the update,
The Party's Over 17 replies
Posted by Hazymac 5/10/2026 6:24:33 AM Post Reply
The Democrat party is facing such a host of seemingly intractable problems -- structural, financial, legal, and ideological -- that it will be close to a miracle if it survives after this year’s midterms. The below deck shuffles -- encouraging illegal alien votes, manipulating the census, making crooked voting almost impossible to check, and stuffing their pockets with illegal contributions through ACT Blue and pay-to-play schemes of USAID and NGOs -- are all suddenly being exposed and blocked. Empty Pockets Jeff Childers has done a thorough job explaining the party’s terminal crisis. Being short of funds is a good start.
Bombshell Evidence About the 2020 Election
Is Coming
16 replies
Posted by Beardo 5/10/2026 8:27:41 PM Post Reply
Something big is on the horizon — and the people saying so aren't fringe voices on a podcast. They're senior Trump administration officials. Monica Crowley, the U.S. government's chief of protocol, dropped a significant claim on Wednesday: hard evidence that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election is coming, and it's coming soon. "He did win in a landslide, and we will soon be able to give evidence about that," Crowley said. Now, she didn't lay out a timeline or spell out exactly what the evidence would look like, but the message was clear.
Massachusetts could pass law that would
force 18, 19, and 20-year-old armed robbers,
drug dealers and sex offenders to be charged
as juveniles instead of adults
14 replies
Posted by ConservativeYankee 5/10/2026 9:10:53 AM Post Reply
BOSTON — A bill quietly moving through the Massachusetts Senate — and one Gov. Maura Healey signature away from law if it clears the House — would mean a 20-year-old who deals fentanyl, sticks up a convenience store at gunpoint, or sexually assaults a child gets juvenile court. Sealed record. Out by his 21st birthday. Department of Youth Services rather than state prison. Out of the system at 21 — for any case that lands in juvenile court. The bill is S.1061, "An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for youths,"
The Spine of Justice Roberts 13 replies
Posted by DW626 5/10/2026 9:29:28 AM Post Reply
I do not like Chief Justice John Roberts. I think his loyalties lie more with defending the entrenched powers of the political Establishment than with defending the Constitution of the United States. I find his jurisprudence squishy. Although his decisions could be described as advancing, more often than not, conservative viewpoints, Roberts does not seem to have a consistent philosophy guiding his opinions.
Hantavirus-ridden MV Hondius cruise ship
anchors in Canary Islands after deadly
outbreak — as passengers evacuate
13 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/10/2026 8:07:55 AM Post Reply
The hantavirus-stricken HV Hondius anchored in Spain Sunday morning after the outbreak on the ship left three travelers dead and sparked global concern over a possible wider spread of the rodent-borne illness. The plagued Dutch cruise ship reached Tenerife – the Canary Islands’ largest island – around 6:30 a.m local time as more than 140 passengers and crew started to disembark from the vessel. “All the passengers remain asymptomatic,” Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia said during a Sunday morning news conference. “The entire operation is proceeding normally.”
Virginia to take redistricting fight to
SCOTUS, misspells 'Virgnia' and 'Sentator'
in brief
13 replies
Posted by ConservativeYankee 5/10/2026 7:26:23 AM Post Reply
Democrats in Virginia, after their map to make the state 10-to-1 in favor of Democrats was struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court, have filed a motion to bring the decision before the Supreme Court of the United States. In the filing, the lawmakers misspelled Virginia as "Virgnia" and Senator as "Sentator." The document, filed on Friday, listed those appealing the decision as "DON SCOTT, in his official capacity as Speaker of the Virgnia House of Delegates, et al," misspelling Virginia in the document. When listing the Appellees, the document stated, "RYAN T. MCDOUGLE, Virginia State Sentator and Legislative Commissioner for the Virginia Redistricting Commission, et al," misspelling Senator
National Democrats Want to Remove and
Replace Entire Virginia Supreme Court
12 replies
Posted by NorthernDog 5/10/2026 4:47:05 PM Post Reply
Democrats, who are openly talking about packing the United States Supreme Court to basically rewrite the Constitution of the United States, are so panicked by their failure to illegally redraw the Congressional map in Virginia that they are, according to The New York Times, contemplating a move to remove the current Supreme Court justices in Virginia with a new, less legally-minded group appointed by Abigail Spanberger. (Snip) This is not some fever dream cooked up by Alex Jones. The New York Times actually reported that Hakeem Jeffries and company held a panicked phone call discussing measures to override the Virginia
Legal group exposes heavy use of Minnesota’s
vouching' system to override voting ID rules
10 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/10/2026 6:30:00 AM Post Reply
America First Legal, a conservative legal group, has obtained records from the Minnesota Secretary of State showing thousands of Minnesotans used the state's “vouching” system to bypass voter ID while registering or updating their information during recent election cycles. The records, which were obtained through a public records request, showed that Minnesota’s Election Day Registration process allows registered voters or certain residential facility employees to verify another voter’s residency in place of standard identification or proof-of-address documents.
Dems scheme to ‘fix’ their Virginia
gerrymander fail is a WORSE outrage
9 replies
Posted by ConservativeYankee 5/10/2026 7:32:29 PM Post Reply
As night follows day, progressives’ response to the Virginia Supreme Court’s tossing of Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s outrageous gerrymander is to demand an instant court-packing move to undo it. To lefties driving today’s Democratic Party, it’s not “democracy” unless it’s hard-wired to let them run roughshod — and when their power-grab schemes run afoul of the rule of law, their only answer is a fresh scheme. Specifically, progs want to ram through a law instantly dropping the retirement age for the Virginia court to 54, which would allow the legislature to replace enough justices to restore the gerrymander. Spanberger’s already caved to the left in pushing an outrage she’d promised to oppose; will she
Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, other Dems
push DNC to release its 2024 postmortem
9 replies
Posted by ConservativeYankee 5/10/2026 6:15:24 PM Post Reply
Pressure is mounting on the Democratic National Committee to disclose its 2024 election postmortem, with even former Vice President Kamala Harris urging the party to do so despite the risk of embarrassment. Shortly after taking over, DNC Chairman Ken Martin ordered an autopsy into his party’s 2024 drubbing, but opted to keep that report secret for months, prompting many Democrats to cry foul. Keeping the report buried was widely seen as a way to aid Harris if she were to throw her hat into the 2028 arena, given that it might be politically mortifying for her. But even the ex-veep has privately told donors she feels it should be public
Post New Article