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Opinion: On homelessness, liberal California and the ultraconservative Supreme Court largely agree

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Opinion: On homelessness, liberal California and the ultraconservative Supreme Court largely agree

What does a small, solidly Republican city in Oregon have in common with California’s largest liberal enclaves? All breathed a sigh of relief this year thanks to the far-right U.S. Supreme Court.

The court’s conservative bloc ruled in favor of the city of Grants Pass, Ore., in June, overturning a key lower court ruling on homelessness and clearing the way for local governments to crack down on sleeping in public spaces regardless of the availability of housing or shelter. California’s response to the ruling has become a vivid reminder of not just the intractability of the homelessness epidemic but also the tension between national liberal politics and local policy in Democratic-dominated states and cities.

Some 186,000 people across California lack consistent shelter. Roughly 84% of the state’s voters believe homelessness is a “very serious” problem, a Quinnipiac University poll found, and Democrats and Republicans were in similarly broad agreement on that assessment, at 81% and 85%, respectively. In that light, it’s not surprising that California officials have wasted no time since Grants Pass in implementing their preferred “solution” to the homelessness problem.

From San Diego to San Francisco, state and local workers began disassembling makeshift shelters and camps and displacing the homeless people living in them. Within days, entire blocks were remade across the state. Residents rallied to social media platforms such as Reddit and Nextdoor to exchange strategies for getting homeless encampments removed from their own neighborhoods.

Other California residents have taken the Supreme Court’s ruling and Democratic officials’ exuberant co-sign as further evidence of the nation’s growing disdain for society’s most marginalized. Reports spread of homeless people being ejected from campsites with little or no warning, their pets taken away and medications lost, among other indignities.

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The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups have condemned the Grants Pass ruling. The chief executive of the National Alliance to End Homelessness said it set a “dangerous precedent.” But the precedent set by California Democrats has arguably been far more dangerous.

During the initial waves of the Golden State’s housing crisis, in the late 1970s, Democratic politicians were reluctant to be seen as overtly antagonistic to the state’s homeless people, many of them veterans of the nation’s wars in Vietnam and Korea. But as the homeless population has grown and diversified, officials have faced deepening NIMBY sentiment not just in California’s well-heeled liberal cities but also in Democratic-leaning working-class communities that increasingly experience the highest rates of homelessness and related problems such as loitering and blight. As a result, anti-homeless policies have become more politically appealing despite being painfully at odds with inclusivity and other virtues Democrats signal on the national stage.

Addressing the housing crisis has been a quintessential and enduring social justice cause for Democrats, encompassing themes that tend to unify the party, including health, economic and racial equity. According to one survey, 82% of homeless adults in California reported having experienced a serious mental health condition, and 65% had used illicit drugs at some point. The state’s Black people are disproportionately affected by homelessness: Despite making up only about 5% of California’s total population, they represent roughly 25% of its homeless people. Such statistics helped liberals frame homelessness as a product of Republican policies weakening social services and promoting unchecked capitalism.

But that view has lost support as homelessness has become more dramatic and visible over the last decade. In some of California’s liberal enclaves, homeless encampments have become full-blown tent cities. Scenes of squalor, drug use and petty crime have spawned a subculture of gonzo-style documentary videos racking up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. San Francisco and Los Angeles have the most prominent crises, inviting scrutiny of the latter city’s readiness to host the 2028 Olympics.

Democrats’ conundrum is whether authorities should roust, fine and imprison people residing in public spaces in the interest of answering the broader community’s quality-of-life concerns. Critics have argued that such criminalization is a cruel distraction and that more affordable housing is the only way to meaningfully address the crisis.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom and his predecessor, Jerry Brown, devoted billions of dollars to homelessness prevention and affordable housing even as the homeless population generally continued to grow. Newsom was quick to seize on the conservative Supreme Court’s permission to put punishment ahead of housing, warning cities that if they don’t remove encampments, they risk losing state funding. San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who just lost a reelection bid partly because of concerns about homelessness, likewise promised to be “very aggressive” in removing encampments. Never mind that those displaced by the state’s homeless sweeps often end up occupying another nearby space and returning at a later date.

So how did we get here? California’s ruling Democrats have tried to have it all ways, largely cultivating and tolerating deeply bureaucratic housing development standards while amplifying a booming tech industry populated by employees willing to pay top dollar for homes, dramatically boosting prices. And although Newsom and others have heralded emergency housing and other measures to answer the crisis, the total capacity is far short of the unhoused population. That’s partly because new facilities are often rebuffed by cities such as the L.A. suburb of Norwalk, which recently enacted a moratorium on homeless shelters.

Reducing and preventing homelessness, whatever the underlying motivations, is one of the few civic concerns that bind the political parties together in an age of stark polarization. Beyond the obvious moral merits of the cause, it could provide a road map to arrive at bipartisan solutions for other challenges facing the state and country. Unfortunately, the consensus on homelessness is coalescing around a prescription with little chance of long-term success.

Jerel Ezell is an assistant professor of community health sciences at UC Berkeley.

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Capitol Police arrest suspect after allegedly assaulting Rep Nancy Mace

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Capitol Police arrest suspect after allegedly assaulting Rep Nancy Mace

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she was physically accosted on Capitol grounds Tuesday night, and the suspect has since been arrested.

The U.S. Capitol Police said that just before 6 p.m. the office of a member of Congress, later identified as Mace, reported an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building.

House division officers and agents with the Threat Assessment Section of the police department tracked down the suspect, identified as 33-year-old James McIntyre of Illinois.

NANCY MACE’S EFFORT TO BAN TRANSGENDER DELAWARE DEMOCRAT FROM CAPITOL WOMEN’S RESTROOMS GAINS SUPPORT

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. (AP Photo/John McDonnell/File)

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Police interviewed McIntyre and ultimately arrested him on the grounds of assaulting a government official.

“I was physically accosted tonight on Capitol grounds over my fight to protect women. Capitol police have arrested him,” Mace said in a post on X. “All the violence and threats keep proving our point. Women deserve to be safe. Your threats will not stop my fight for women!”

Mace has been vocal about her opposition to transgender individuals using bathrooms not assigned to their biological gender.

MACE FACES BACKLASH OVER EFFORT TO BAN TRANSGENDER MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOMEN’S BATHROOMS

Trans protesters in Washington

 A transgender rights supporter takes part in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. (Getty Images/File)

She led the charge against allowing Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, to use the women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill. McBride is a biological man who identifies and presents as a woman.

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Mace said last month she was receiving death threats, adding that she was being “unfairly targeted.”

Mace also drafted resolution H.R. 1579, which would prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.

Mace’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

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Trump names Kimberly Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece

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Trump names Kimberly Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece

Kimberly Guilfoyle has been nominated to serve as United States ambassador to Greece, President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday.

Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host now deeply enmeshed in the broader Trump orbit, was married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom when he was mayor of San Francisco. The former prosecutor announced her engagement to Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. in 2022, though questions about the couple’s current relationship status dogged tabloid headlines on Tuesday.

Guilfoyle was a prominent surrogate for Trump during the 2024 campaign.

“For many years, Kimberly has been a close friend and ally,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social website, praising her “extensive experience and leadership in law, media, and politics” and her “sharp intellect.”

The post, which requires Senate confirmation, is currently held by Biden appointee George Tsunis.

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Guilfoyle said Tuesday on X that it “was the democratic values born in Greece that helped shape the founding of America,” adding that she looked forward “to delivering on the Trump agenda, supporting our Greek allies, and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity.”

She also once worked in the San Francisco district attorney’s office with future Vice President Kamala Harris, and the rumored frosty relationship between the ambitious up-and-comers was the topic of San Francisco gossip early in their careers.

Guilfoyle and Newsom — who famously posed together on a rug in a glamorous Harper’s Bazaar profile that declared them “the New Kennedys” — divorced in 2006, the same year she joined Fox News.

The former first lady of San Francisco portrayed the city in dystopian terms during the 2020 Republican National Convention.

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Wisconsin mom mulls lawsuit alleging school district is pushing 'horrifying' race-based policy: 'Problematic'

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Wisconsin mom mulls lawsuit alleging school district is pushing 'horrifying' race-based policy: 'Problematic'

FIRST ON FOX: A Wisconsin parent is mulling legal action over a situation where she alleges her son was passed over being given the extra learning attention he needed due to language on the school’s website that says it prioritizes additional help for students based on race.

Attorneys for the Wisconsin Institute by Law & Liberty to the Green Bay Area Public School District, argue on behalf of their client, Mrs. Colbey Decker, that a “troubling” and “unlawful” policy in the district “explicitly prioritizes reading support resources based on race, thereby violating the U.S. Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” according to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

“Mrs. Decker’s child, who suffers from dyslexia, has received different (and less favorable) services because he is white,” the letter states. “If he was Black, Hispanic, or Native American, Mrs. Decker’s son would have been treated more favorably and received different services.”

Decker told Fox News Digital that her son had been receiving one-on-one reading services in another district and that she assumed he would continue receiving that when he moved into the current district in January 2024 but that he was waitlisted for that additional help. 

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Colbey Decker told Fox News Digital she believes her son was discriminated against by his Wisconsin school district (Fox News Digital)

Decker explained that she learned of the policy while looking at the school’s website.

I asked them point blank, does he receive less services or is he less of a priority because he’s white?” Decker said. “And even asking that question made me extremely uncomfortable because to think that someone isn’t getting the services they deserve because of the color of their skin is just horrifying. So the principal did respond to me, and much to my surprise, he was very excited to explain to me the work they do in these priority groups.”

The letter alleges, citing the school’s website, that the “district’s literacy policy establishes ‘priority groups’ race—namely, Black, Hispanic, and Native American students—and states that the school will conduct intentional work educating our focus students, prioritizing additional resources to First Nations, Black, and Hispanic students.”

“This policy is in effect and has been applied to Mrs. Decker’s son, according to multiple district employees.”

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SCHOOLS ACROSS COUNTRY DISBANDING DEI PROGRAMS IN DROVES; EDUCATION EXPERT EXPLAINS WHY

classroom file

A Wisconsin mom said every parent ‘just wants their child to be treated equally’ (iStock)

The language on the school website also states next to an asterisk at the bottom of the page that, “Priority performance goals are established based on data that shows us we are meeting the needs of some student groups better than others.” 

“Focusing on a priority performance group of students will elevate our skills as educators and ultimately benefit all students.”

The letter to the district asks that the policy, known as the King Elementary School Success Plan, be rescinded in favor of a “colorblind approach” to resource allocation along with “immediate and adequate support” to Decker’s son “who has been unfairly excluded from the opportunity to receive necessary resources.”

“Seeing a policy that explicitly prioritizes resources based on race is really troubling, both morally and legally,” WILL associate counsel Cory Brewer told Fox News Digital. “The law demands that Colbey’s son and any child be treated equally to other children, regardless of their race. There should not be special treatment based on skin color. And the fact that this district is embracing the idea that they need to treat children differently based on race is really problematic.”

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“We are asking the district to rescind its discriminatory policy immediately to implement a colorblind approach to how it allocates resources, focusing on the needs of the individual student. And we’re also asking the district to provide Colby’s son with the resources that he needs,” Brewer continued. “There’s no reason it should be taking this long for him to get that support. If the district does not change its discriminatory policy, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty will pursue all legal avenues to protect the rights of Colbey’s son.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Green Bay Area School District for comment and received the following statement on Tuesday, “The District received the letter from WILL yesterday and we are investigating the allegations. However, we can state unequivocally that the District does not have a policy that includes the language included in the letter.” 

“All District policies must be approved by the Board of Education and no such policy language exists.”

The spokesperson added that the language in the School Success Plan is “developed to outline the school’s goals toward continuous improvement, but would not be considered Board (District) policy” which the spokesperson called an “important distinction.”

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Decker told Fox News Digital that other parents she has spoken to “can’t believe” the situation when told about it and every parent “just wants their child to be treated equally.”

“Any time a parent or a grandparent advocates for a child, I know that their sincere hope is that that child is just treated equally,” Decker said. “And that’s not what’s happening when someone is a priority. If someone is more of a priority than someone else’s child has to be less of a priority. And I don’t think that’s the way most of America wants to move forward with education.”

“I think everybody wants us to just be completely color-blind and look at children as simply being children. My son is in the 17th percentile in the state for reading, and there are children who are performing at a higher level than him that are more of a priority only because of their skin color. And I don’t think most parents want anything like that to ever happen in any educational setting ever.”

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