Gavin Newsom has to be the most out-of-touch governor in the state’s history.

He helped promote passage of Proposition 47 in 2014, which was sold to the voters as an effort to go soft on lesser crimes and lower-level drug offenses. Instead of building more prisons to house those who can’t get along in society, Newsom wanted to let more people out of jail, so Prop 47 passed – with Newsom’s help – by a margin of 59.6 percent to 40.4 percent. In hindsight it was an unfortunate snow job which created open season for retail theft and contributed to the closing of some businesses like Walgreens stores in San Francisco. Prop 47 made stealing up to $950 in goods a mere misdemeanor which encouraged the low-lives to go in and steal with little consequence. Shoplifting soared over 28 percent in the past five years thanks to Prop 47.

There is a ballot measure on Nov. 5 that seeks to undo that damage. Prop 36 would create a new category of crime — a “treatment-mandated felony.” People who don’t contest theft charges could complete drug treatment instead of going to prison, but if they don’t finish treatment, they still face up to three years in prison.

Prop 36 also increases penalties for smash-and-grab robberies.

It allows stolen property values from multiples thefts to be combined, countering the tactics used by career thieves who steal smaller amounts at different times to come under the $950 threshold.

It enacts stricter penalties for drug dealers whose sales cause deaths or serious injury, allowing possible murder charges.

Prop 36 would ensure fentanyl is treated like heroin, cocaine, PCP and methamphetamine when offenders possess a firearm.

But Newsom – the man who wants to be president but never ought to be – is against Prop 36. Here’s what he said about polls showing Prop 36 is headed to a significant victory: “I know people are frustrated. [Prop 36] is about bringing us back to a 1980’s mindset where it’s possession of drugs and you end up in state prison. The impact it’s going to have on the black and brown community is next level. The fact that I saw a poll today that says [70 percent] of people want to support it — I was wondering what state I was living in.”

Governor, you are living in a state fed up by the havoc your progressive values have wreaked. If the black and brown community will be impacted, is it not because they are doing the bulk of stealing? So should race be a factor to escape the consequences of prison? “Mass incarceration,” as he calls it, can be avoided by simply not stealing or dealing drugs.

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The next time you hear Newsom continue to blame “Big Oil” on California having gas that is exorbitantly higher in cost than other states, blame “Big Government” instead.

He signed three bills last week which add more regulations to gas and oil plant locations in California.

AB 3233 allows local governments to ban new gas and oil developments in their communities.

AB 2716 prohibits low-production oil and gas wells within the Baldwin Hills Conservancy in Inglewood out of interests of public health of not white people but “impacting black, brown, and Indigenous people in California.”

California has under 40 million residents who shell out $2 more per gallon than say Kansas where it is $2.97 per gallon while we are paying $4.71, the reasons being the highest gas tax in the nation and regulations that have shut down oil refineries. A solution would be to quit electing those who cause high taxes and regulations that drive down production.

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I had to chuckle when I saw a Josh Harder for Congress TV commercial in which he was griping about high gas prices in California. Harder no longer represents Ceres in Congress because of redistricting, but I wonder if he’s fooling the voters with his ridiculous commercials. He calls for gas taxes to be lowered – funny because he’s not running for state office – and because Harder is a Democrat and supporter of Newsom and his party which has caused California to create the high cost of living which is pushing people to leave for states like Florida, Texas, Tennessee and Georgia.

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I obtained my first drivers’ license in 1978 and since that time I’ve driven more miles than I care to count without a serious accident.

I was in a wreck about 30 years ago but it was the other guy’s fault. I was driving on Highway 120 east of Manteca when a VW bug in front of me slowed to pull over into the left turn lane to supposedly turn northbound. As I continued, the driver of the VW decided to abruptly turn back into my lane the moment I was going past him and bang – he crunched the bed of my pickup, pushing me into the oncoming lane. Thankfully, no vehicles were coming otherwise I would have smacked into one head-on.

After my vehicle came to rest, I ran to the disabled VW in the middle of the roadway. Four young high school kids piled out. The teen driver explained that he had just gotten his license the day before and asked me not to report the accident; that his dad would “kill” him. Expecting me to not report the crash was wishful thinking on his part since he had just totaled my truck.

It was a valuable lesson for him that you don’t get in the middle left turn lane and then make an abrupt right turn into a vehicle going the same direction.

We’ve all probably done some stupid things behind the wheel and most of us live to tell about it. We live and learn but some folks don’t live to learn.

Having viewed local social media posts, I can’t say that I recall seeing this many stupid crashes happening nearly every day that can only be explained by distracted driving. Like the driver of the red Kia who nearly went off the embankment of the Service Road overpass last week. The driver’s eyes must have come off the road but nobody ever admits, hey, I was looking down at my phone.

At least one person weighed in on the crash, wrote on Facebook: “People just don’t know how to drive anymore, not sure if it’s vaccines, bioengineered foods, cell towers or illegals with no license or training.”

According to the CDC, over 3,000 die annually because of distracted driving. Nobody knows for sure but that could be a much higher number.

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As time goes on, society seems to be regressing – that goes for clothing standards, language, ability to carry on an intelligent conversation, culture and respect. The amount of lawless young people gathering for these weekend sideshows defies common sense. To them it’s great fun to commandeer intersections, risk life and limb, waste resources and bring their guns and drugs to the party.

Do you suppose these young people can afford to burn rubber off their tires because they’re living at home with mommy – daddy is probably gone – and they don’t have to worry about jobs to pay the rent and buy food and pay for the electricity to charge those cell phones used to organize these sideshows?

At one such recent gathering in Sacramento, shots were fired that took the lives of two while another was shot but survived. Imagine, somebody gets away with murder which only emboldens them to do it again.

Maybe someday technology can help law enforcement identify every one of these clowns, remotely shut off their engines, or disable the parked cars from starting and have them all impounded.

I still think a fitting punishment would be to force the offender to watch his car meeting its demise in a car crusher.

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Do you think young people have far less respect for others than in generations past? Look no farther than an incident that happened in Turlock last week.

The 90-year-old father of former Turlock Police Chief Nino Amirfar was minding his own business when four young punks – described as Latino – came into his yard, drawn to his Trump signs. The four vandals were heard talking about burning the signs but decided to kick them over and harass him. There was a heated exchange between Amirfar and the societal cockroaches who possessed rocks and talked of breaking something at the man’s house. The punks eventually headed across the street to Donnelly Park but the old man, still upset, continued to shout names their direction, so the big brave social degenerates ran back toward the 90-year-old’s house and he retreated inside and called 911.

Somewhere in Turlock there are four young men who deserve, in the strictest way, to learn a lesson that you don’t pick on a frail 90-year-old man. Quite frankly, I hope somewhere along their paths that their disrespect encounters someone who pulls out a can of whoop a--.

It’s like Sabrina Villegas commented: “Horrible kids being raised by crap parents.”

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I know that baby killing is considered an important “right” to the Left but I respect public officials who stand up for the defenseless. Modesto City Councilman Dave Wright reposted a photo of a 20-week fetus in the womb with defined facial features. The original post was from a Gary Cathcart which read: “This is the most beautiful picture on social media right now. This is the face of a 20 week old, unborn child. Not a seed, a glob of cells or a fetus.... but a precious tiny human in all its perfection. A miracle, created by God, made in His image and by His design. God’s Greatest Creation. Vote smartly people.”

But it’s the comment that followed was one that I also very much appreciated. In referencing that innocent face of the fetus, Lonnie Beireis wrote: “That’s what Charles Manson looked like. Still think it was a beautiful creation? Vote smartly by choosing who you sleep with and choose to have babies with. Sadly, many who have kids never should have because many can’t even provide proper food, shelter, love and responsibilities!”

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Anyone who is honest about things knows the Stormy Daniels law-fare case against Trump during an election year was all about election interference.

So it wasn’t a surprise to learn that early last month a secretly recorded video was released in which Nicholas Biase, a public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, said this about DA Alvin Bragg’s efforts: “The whole thing is disgusting. They’re just out to get him (Trump).” Biase charged that Bragg “was stacking charges and rearranging things just to make it fit a case. To be honest with you, I think the case is nonsense.”

But after his unvarnished remarks were made public, Biase felt compelled to retreat, saying: “I regretfully made some statements in a private and social setting that don’t reflect my views about two local and state prosecutions.”

Spare me the spin. He was caught being honest and he didn’t have the integrity to stand by his remarks, certainly so he wouldn’t be fired. What a coward.

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While a lot of right wing pundits say that Kamala Harris is on the dumb side with her word salads, I think she’s fairly intelligent. She’s smart enough to know how gullible many Americans are – especially the young – who are impressed by image and less concerned with substance.

Harris says a lot of words that mean diddly squat: “We have to guard that spirit. Let it always inspire us. Let it always be the source of our optimism – which is that spirit which is so uniquely American. And let that then inspire us by helping us to be inspired to help solve the problems.” Huh?

That she could even get four percent of Americans let alone 48 percent to consider voting for her is astounding when she was overwhelmingly rejected in a field of other Democrats in 2020!

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I was shocked the other day to learn that an estimated 129 million Americans have at least one major chronic disease, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and hypertension. That’s nearly four out of 10!

It’s about what we eat and how much physical activity we get!

RFK Jr. blames the processed foods and, yes, they are a problem but I believe it’s more of an issue of gluttony.

This information came to us last week: 27.7 percent of women in California are obese, a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher. That’s California as a whole but I bet it would be far greater in the Valley.

That places California at sixth out of 50 states where obesity among women is the least concerning. What state ranks as the best? Hawaii (24.6 percent). The worst? Tennessee where 42.7 percent of women are obese.

Think of how our health insurance premiums would plummet if folks just took better care of themselves and didn’t have all these chronic health issues. Think of how much happier and less miserable people would be.

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There are times when government comes up with truly unfair and discriminatory policies. Take Sacramento County, for example, which just rolled out a socialist and racist give-away of taxpayer funds courtesy of your state government.

The Family First Economic Support Pilot Program is giving $725 a month in state grant funds to 200 non-white and non-Latino families for one year. They say the goal is to prevent Child Protective Services from ever having to get involved with families; and since black and indigenous children were 4.5 times and 1.8 times, respectively, as likely to be removed from their families compared to white children, they think a payout will end the problem. Wishful thinking.

The program is for the only the very poor in six zip codes IF and ONLY IF the family is caring for a black and Indian child. Apparently the county is not as concerned about children of lighter skin tones.

Look, it’s just wrong and borders on the same stupidity of paying young women not to get pregnant (yeah, I haven’t forgotten about then state Assemblyman Sal Cannella voting for that one).

Let’s be honest: The reason that there is a greater problem in the black community is because of irresponsible sexual practices and male abandonment of children.

The government needs to get out of the business of robbing from one constituent (who works) and giving it to another. When government pays a person cash for doing absolutely nothing, it only encourages the mindset that government should care for the needs of the supposedly helpless person. It also creates resentment of the one whose hard work created that income which he was deprived of enjoying for himself.

 This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation.  How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com