In this clip, Tony Yayo reacted to the controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving, and he explained that he was taught in media training to stay away from politics and religion. He added that there’s freedom of speech, but Tony added that you have to be careful not to disrespect people in the public eye. Vlad then explained how New York is unique, and Tony agreed, saying, “Everyone is tough.” Vlad went on to speak about how everyone takes the subway in New York, and they’re forced to be around one another. Tony explained that the best thing about New York is the melting pot of different backgrounds, and he spoke about growing up in Queens around all kinds of people.
On the web, TruthSocial.com now lets you search for “truths” and participate in the online discourse without a phone, even if it’s all quite basic. Other than calling tweets “truths” instead, there’s nothing particularly novel or interesting about the platform.
You can also configure alerts, view your profile, and adjust a few settings. For example, you can change whether GIFs play automatically in your feed and hide sensitive material. The web interface allows you to mute and block other users, or tag them easily when you post. The web version doesn’t appear to offer a way to see direct messages, though.
Overall, it’s clean enough and simple to use, but also not at all innovative. John mentioned this before, but Truth Social looks exactly like something a developer would make if they were asked to build an app that does only the Twitter basics and nothing more.
Let’s be clear about something when it comes to Truth Social: John Brandon is not analyzing it as a political venture alone. It is definitely part of an elaborate re-election campaign. He has issues with that, not in terms of his own political views but due to the sketchy nature of having a dedicated social media platform meant only for one candidate. If it’s a campaign app, then great. If it isn’t, why does it exist?
Apart from using the word “truths” the real issue is that this is a clone, and that means there’s no real reason to switch from Twitter to this app.
Now that it works on the web, it makes it a bit easier to check your feed, but with 500.000 users, it makes me wonder why anyone would bother. With that smaller group of users, it’s less likely your post will catch on and reach a wider audience, unless you are related by blood to Donald Trump or you’re a celebrity.
Curiously, the only reason John discovered to use Truth Social is because you can see posts from The Babylon Bee, a satire site that was banned from Twitter.
At least Trump himself is posting now, typically with the same outrageous flare he used when he was active on Twitter. Many of his posts are about Hillary Clinton for some reason.
Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu has resigned amid an FBI’s corruption probe related to the sale of Angel Stadium.
His resignation takes effect at midnight Tuesday.
The resignation comes as it was revealed last week that the mayor was the subject of a probe by the FBI, which alleged in a search warrant affidavit that he had fed insider information to Angels executives in the stadium deal and arranged to have a helicopter bought registered in Arizona so he could save money on taxes.
The FBI alleges that Sidhu was hoping to get a $1 million-dollar campaign donation from the team. That never happened and the FBI says the Angels were unaware of the scheme, but this has been building for a while now.
“A fair and thorough investigation will prove that Mayor Harry Sidhu did not leak secret information in the hopes of a later political campaign contribution,” Sidhu’s Attorney Paul S. Meyer said in a statement. “His unwavering goal form the start has been to keep the Angels in Anaheim, so that this vibrant social and economic relationship would continue…
“Mayor Harry Sidhu has has always, as his foremost priority, acted in the best interests of the City of Anaheim, and he does so today. In order to continue to act in the best interests of Anaheim and allow this great City to move forward without distraction, Harry Sidhu has resigned from his post as Mayor effective May 24, 2022.”
This comes as last week, three Anaheim City Council members called on Mayor Sidhu to resign amid the FBI corruption probe into his involvement in the proposed sale of Angel Stadium to team owner Arte Moreno.
Within days, a small white tent stood alone near the washed out ashes of Santa Ana’s Chinatown in 1906 with a cautionary sign: “leprosy: keep out.”
An ailing Wong Woh Ye lay inside the tent in quarantine.
The day before the fire, his documented case of the disease, which was later disputed, prompted an emergency meeting of the Santa Ana City Council on the morning of May 25, 1906. Acting on a resolution drafted by the city’s Board of Health, council members unanimously moved to condemn Chinatown’s remaining buildings and directed the fire marshal to burn it all to the ground.
As word spread, more than 1,000 residents gathered in downtown later that night to watch the fiery finale of a years-long campaign against Santa Ana’s Chinese residents in the wake of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The Los Angeles Times deemed the blaze “as picturesque an event as could be imagined.”
But now, more than a century later, it’s seen as a shameful chapter in the city’s history — one that Santa Ana’s current council is moving to officially apologize for.
“We just want to do what’s right and recognize past wrongs,” said Thai Viet Phan, Santa Ana’s first ever Vietnamese American councilwoman. “I felt it was really important to me as someone who is trying to do my best to revitalize our Asian American heritage in the city.”
In a joint effort, Councilman Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, Planning Commissioner Alan Woo, Assistant City Manager Steven Mendoza and Councilwoman Phan worked on the draft apology.
It offers a formal atonement to “all Chinese immigrants and their descendants who came to Santa Ana and were the victims of systemic and institutional racism, xenophobia and discrimination.”
The resolution is also unequivocal in naming the past city officials responsible as well as deeming the burning of Chinatown as an act of “fundamental injustice, terror, cruelty and brutality.”
It served as the culmination of an effort to rid the area of Chinese residents that intensified when the city bought a lot in 1904 that abutted the enclave as the site of a new city hall.
Fred Lau, the late proprietor of Santa Ana Food Market, was one of the first Chinese Americans to return to Santa Ana during the 1940s. He opened his grocery store in 1949.
“The Lau family gave a lot of us our first jobs in Santa Ana when we were teenagers,” Hernandez said. “They had close relationships with my family.”
Santa Ana Food Market, which is still in business today, is where the councilman recalled first learning of the burning down of Chinatown from its owners.
With that history in mind, Hernandez began working with Woo, his Planning Commission appointee, on ways to redress the injustice when Phan had received an email earlier this year from a resident about recent Chinatown arson apologies elsewhere, including San Jose.
Woo felt a Santa Ana apology as timely as ever.
“There’s a wave of anti-Chinese and anti-Asian hate that has been fueled over the last two years,” he said. “It was important to ask for this, not just for me, but on behalf of the Chinese community because often we’re not viewed as citizens. We are treated as foreigners rather than citizens.”
In addition to the apology, there have also been efforts to commemorate the history with an on-site memorial.
During an October 2020 Downtown Inc. board meeting, a consultant briefly mentioned how an architect and urban planner were working with local historian Dylan Almendral and Chinese American groups on such a project.
“It was certainly a step in the right direction,” Hernandez said.
Taking the lead, supportive council members want to allocate funding from the city’s budget for a future memorial.
But the apology is slated to come first.
During the Santa Ana City Council meeting on May 3, council members directed staff to prepare the resolution to come back before a vote — and soon.
Phan insisted that the vote happen in May, which is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month; earlier in the meeting, both she and Hernandez presented a proclamation to the Lau family in recognition of the month.
The councilwoman also suggested that, if passed, there be a ceremonial signing of the resolution at the parking lot on Third and Bush Street, the site where Chinatown once stood.
Councilman David Peñaloza offered support for the apology and a ceremonial signing.
“It’s a sad, sad chapter in this city’s history,” he said. “We need to recognize the mistake that was made by previous leadership here.”
The burning down of Chinatown wasn’t the last time disease provided cover for discrimination in Santa Ana.
Dr. John I. Clark, the city’s health officer, had inspected the enclave and later cautioned residents from buying produce there out of concerns for leprosy; he would also advise the Santa Ana Board of Education to segregate white and Mexican students during the 1918 pandemic.
Less than two weeks after the Chinatown blaze, Ye was found dead inside his quarantine tent.
Before that, Councilman John Cubbon resigned from his post on May 28, 1906. The Times reported that he voted to authorize the burning down of Chinatown only after “considerable wrangling” and though there wasn’t an official explanation given, “reliable sources” placed that decision as the reason for his sudden resignation.
For Woo, the current council’s discussion this week marked a significant step toward making amends long overdue.
“The people’s democracy was used against Chinese Americans,” he said. “That deserves an apology. The lives of over 200 Chinese immigrants were affected by that decision.”
In this clip, DL Hughley explained why he believes known racists should be restricted from holding public office or any job whose duties impact the daily lives of people of color. DL suggested that overt racists should only be allowed to be janitors.
A musician who lost all her unemployment documents when her home burned in a wildfire. An arborist who filed for unemployment assistance a year before the pandemic began. A tattoo artist who can’t prove he was working because he ran a cash operation.
These are just a few Californians caught in a state dragnet to recover money from fraudulent unemployment claims.
Late last year, California’s Employment Development Department launched a clawback program, requiring some 1.4 million people who received federal pandemic unemployment assistance to retroactively prove they were working or seeking work. That program, which ended in September, was aimed at helping people who don’t usually qualify for unemployment benefits because they are freelancers or small-business owners.
As of Jan. 4, one out of five recipients who received the notice has responded. The state says a majority have been deemed eligible and won’t have to repay, but some are unable to provide documentation, leaving them on the hook to repay benefits that could add up to tens of thousands of dollars. If they can’t pay, the state could collect the money in a variety of ways, such as wage garnishments or taking them to court.
“They are going to want money back from me that I don’t have,” said Donna Casey, a musician who could owe EDD more than $30,000 after losing her home in the August Complex fire in 2020. “What are they going to do to me, put me in jail? At least I’ll have a place to live.”
Policy experts had warned against the clawback program, noting it would hurt poor Californians who were already disproportionately sidelined from the job market by the pandemic.
Even former federal prosecutor McGregor Scott, hired by the state to lead a separate investigation into large-scale unemployment fraud, expressed skepticism that the effort would recoup much of some $20 billion lost to fraudulent claims, including millions of dollars of state-approved payments to prison inmates. Advocates suggested letting claimants like Casey keep the money regardless of proof, but the state is holding firm.
That’s left many Californians in a bind.
Some who were contacted by EDD said they are terrified of losing their homes. Many are furious that the responsibility fell on them after they already received the money. And others simply don’t know where to turn for help.
Casey had lost gigs and stopped selling homemade jewelry at festivals when the lockdown began. Then she lost all her documentation when her house in Trinity County burned in a wildfire, just after her daughter died of a lung infection.
Unemployment was a lifesaver as Casey searched for work throughout the pandemic, including applying to an Amazon warehouse. But, at 67-years-old, she couldn’t lift enough to qualify for the job.
Casey, however, never thought she might have to pay back her benefits.
Now living in Berkeley with one of her daughters, Casey has some photos of her old business cards that she’ll send to the agency. She also hopes EDD will speak with the music groups she played with – but she worries that won’t cut it.
Similarly, at the start of the pandemic, Sasha Emery was living in an RV partly paid for by federal emergency funds after her Paradise home burned down. After finally getting into affordable housing during the pandemic, she signed up for unemployment when the few available jobs didn’t pan out.
When the notice arrived asking for proof or repayment, shock turned into tears. All Emery has to offer are records of her dire situation: food stamps, Medi-Cal documentation and potentially the federal assistance she received after the fire.
If a recipient can’t offer the necessary proof, and cannot repay the funds at once or in installments that could include 3% interest, EDD may seek the money in a number of ways. The agency could put a lien on property, take up to 25% of a recipient’s wages, withhold state and federal tax refunds or lottery winnings, deduct benefits from future unemployment or state disability insurance benefits, or file a lawsuit.
On Tuesday, Reddit user u/neilnellyasked people, “What is something subtle people say that is a red flag to you?” People came through with some truly useful examples of things people will say that are usually to trick, manipulate, or deceive you.
Here’s what they shared:
1. “When they never ask a question when you’re telling them something. My husband realized his father never does this, and now I can’t stop listening for this.” —u/foofoofoobears
2. “When they say, ‘But you’re so good at it!’ That’s them saying, ‘I’ll compliment you in the hope that you’ll take this task off my hands.'” —u/amelie_v
3. “When they say, ‘OK, fine. I’m sorry. Happy?’ That’s not an apology.” —u/Celq124
4. “Or, if they say, ‘I’m the worst person ever’ in their apology. Then their ‘apology’ turns into you assuring them and ignoring whatever they did that hurt you.” —u/lissalissa3
5. “When a mom says, ‘I try to be more like my kids’ friend than their mom.’ You need to wait around 20 years to do the best friend thing. My mom made sure I was home on time, went to school, got good grades, didn’t swear, went to university, and all the other great mom stuff that was annoying when I was young. Now, she is my absolute best friend by far.” —u/holyurushiol, u/bugbugladybug
6. “Non-apologies: ‘I’m sorry you got offended by what I said.'” —u/SelfDiagnosedUnicorn
7. “When people say things like, ‘I can say and do whatever I want. It’s a free country. Ever hear of freedom of speech?’ in order to justify shitty things they say or do. Like sure, you have the right to speak your mind, but people also have the right to judge you for what you say.” —u/87319496
8. “When they say, ‘I’m brutally honest’ or some other excuse to be an unbearable person.” —u/mywifemademegetthis
9. “When somebody says something about themselves when it’s not prompted or necessary. Like randomly saying, ‘I’m an honest person,’ or ‘I’m a hard worker.'” —u/jrhawk42
10. “When someone says, ‘It’s just a joke.’ It’s called ‘Shrodinger’s Douchebag’ — deciding on whether what you said was a joke or not depending on people’s reactions.” —u/Drprim83
11. “Someone who frequently, in response to you telling them about a bad or inconvenient thing that happened to you, start with ‘Well what you SHOULD have done…’ or ‘What I would have done…’ These people tend to be very opinionated and stubborn, even in situations they don’t really know anything about.” —u/solaris_eclipse
12. “Anything that exposes poor morals or tricks others. For example, ‘I’ll just say I never got it so they send me another one.’ When people show you who they really are, believe them. Love this quote.” —u/emik7133
13. “When people say shit like, ‘clearly,’ ‘obviously,’ etc. If someone has to reassure you or themselves that something is real, it’s dangerous. Relationships, politics, academia. Never trust someone who thinks their opinion is an absolute.” —u/dirtyhippie62
14. “When they say, ‘Oh, it’s ok. It doesn’t matter” in attempt to calm me down, as in it’s silly that I’m upset by something not too important. It doesn’t matter to whom??? Because obviously it does matter to me.” —u/cherry_tiddy
It’s been 100 years since the Tulsa race massacre, one of the worst acts of racial violence in US history. Commemorations honoring the victims have not only brought more attention to the atrocity; they have also revealed a deep national divide over what justice looks like, and whether reparations should be part of it.
A former Black Lives Matter leader in Minnesota who quit after 18 months says he learned the ‘ugly truth’ about the organization’s stance on family and education after working on the inside.
Rashad Turner, who founded the local BLM chapter in St. Paul in 2015, released a video last week titled ‘The Truth Revealed about BLM’.
In the video, the 35-year-old said he eventually came to the realization that BLM had ‘little concern for rebuilding black families’.
Speaking about becoming the founder of the local BLM chapter, Turner said: ‘I believed the organization stood for exactly what the name implies – black lives do matter.
‘However, after a year on the inside, I learned they had little concern for rebuilding black families and they cared even less about improving the quality of education for students in Minneapolis.’
Turner, who now campaigns heavily for education, said his stance on BLM became clear when the organization called for a freeze on the growth of charter schools and further investment in public schools in 2016.
‘I was an insider in Black Lives Matter and I learned the ugly truth…
‘The moratorium on charter schools does not support rebuilding the black family but it does create barriers to a better education for black children.
‘I resigned from Black Lives Matter after a year and a half but I didn’t quit working to improve black lives and access to a great education.’
His video also highlighted how BLM’s website once stated that it wanted to ‘disrupt the nuclear family structure’.
That phrase was removed from the national website last year.
The video was published online by an organization called TakeCharge Minnesota.
It serves as a promotion for Turner’s new role as with the Minnesota Parent Union, which he says is dedicated to helping black parents find successful schools for their children.
He said that in his new role he was ‘up against forces that don’t want us to succeed’ but didn’t not elaborate further.
Turner, who ran as a Democrat for the state legislature back in 2016, was born and raised in St. Paul.
Turner’s comments about the BLM organization come less than a week after its national co-founder Patrisse Cullors revealed she was stepping down.
Cullors, who has been at the helm of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation for nearly six years, had faced criticism in recent weeks after it emerged she had amassed a $3 million property portfolio despite describing herself as a ‘trained Marxist’.
The 37-year-old activist told The Associated Press that she is leaving to focus on other projects, including the upcoming release of her second book and a multi-year TV development deal with Warner Bros.
‘I’ve created the infrastructure and the support, and the necessary bones and foundation, so that I can leave,’ Cullors stated. ‘It feels like the time is right.’
Cullors faced fierce backlash over revelations about her personal spending – including the recent purchase of a $1.4 million home in a ritzy L.A. neighborhood.
It prompted many to question what percentage of BLM donations were actually going towards social justice programs.
She insisted, however, that her resignation was in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with the personal attacks she has faced.
‘Those were right-wing attacks that tried to discredit my character, and I don’t operate off of what the right thinks about me,’ Cullors told the Associated Press.
Last month, she described the criticism as ‘racist and sexist’ smears deliberately put out by the ‘right-wing media’.
But it wasn’t just conservatives who pressed Cullors over her finances.
The head of New York City’s BLM chapter called for an independent investigation into the organization’s finances after revelations about the property portfolio surfaced.
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