The World and Everything in It: March 23, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is brought to you by listeners like me. Hi my name is Abby Riffel and I’m a 2022 World Journalism Institute graduate, working as a student journalist here in Branson, Missouri. The deadline to apply to this year’s fully-funded WJI course is March 31st. So if you want to learn the tools of the trade, go to WJI.world and start your application. I hope you enjoy today’s program.

REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! The leaders of Russia and China met this week as the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin. What does this mean for the future of the war in Ukraine as well as China’s role on the world stage?

BROWN, HOST: Also what’s this about “atmospheric rivers?” We have a primer from a meteorologist.

Plus continuing chaos at the southern border. What’ll it take to get it under control?

And those old analog synthesizers are making a comeback.

BROWN: And World commentator Cal Thomas on California as a failed state.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, March 23rd. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

REICHARD: Time for the news with Anna Johansen Brown.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, NEWS ANCHOR: Fed hike » The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, after the collapse of two U-S banks in recent weeks.

Fed Chairman Jay Powell:

JAY POWELL: Our banking system is sound and resilient with strong capital and liquidity.

Analysts have partially blamed the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature banks on higher interest rates.

But Powell said that inflation still needs to come down.

POWELL: My colleagues and I understand the hardship that high inflation is causing and we remain strongly committed to bringing inflation back down to our 2% goal. Price stability is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve. Without price stability the economy does not work for anyone.

The Fed projects one more rate hike is needed to curb inflation, and after that, it can scale back. This is the ninth time the Fed has increased interest rates since March of last year.

Colorado Shooting » Two school administrators were wounded in a shooting at a Denver high school on Wednesday. The student suspect fled after the shooting.

Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said the student had a safety plan that required administrators to pat him down before the start of each school day.

RON THOMAS: They had been searched previously to today and had never had a weapon on them before. However, today during that search, which was took place away from other students, away from other school staff, they did produce that weapon and fired shots.

One of the administrators was in critical condition after the shooting, and the other was in stable condition.

Senate absences » It’s been more than seven months since all 100 U-S senators were present for a vote in the Capitol. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Some senators have been in and out due to passing illnesses, but others spent time in the hospital and have not said when they’ll return.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’s anxious to get back to work after a brief hospital stay.

Two weeks ago, the 81-year-old fell, fracturing a rib and suffering a concussion.

And fellow Senator John Cornyn says he spoke with McConnell who sounds, quote, “very sharp.”

Meanwhile, 53-year-old Senator John Fetterman is in the hospital for clinical depression. He had a stroke last year just before the Pennsylvania primary.

And Senator Dianne Feinstein is recovering from shingles at her home. At 89 years old, Feinstein says she will not seek reelection next year.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Norfolk Southern Hearing » In a Senate hearing Wednesday, lawmakers questioned officials with Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Senators want answers about railway safety after a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio last month. Five of the derailed cars contained highly toxic chemicals.

During the hearing, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said the accident was preventable, but stopped short of accepting responsibility.

ALAN SHAW: In this industry we have to look at every accident as if it were preventable. And in this case we know that the Norfolk Southern Crew did everything they were supposed to.

Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance have introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at improving rail safety, and holding rail carriers financially accountable for accidents.

Shaw says he supports some of the bill’s requirements, including stronger tank car standards.

A similar bill has been introduced in the House.

LA Teachers » Today marks day three of a three-day school worker strike in Los Angeles. The strike has canceled classes for more than half a million students in the second-largest school district in the United States.

The service employees’ union is asking for a 30 percent pay raise, among other benefits. School staffers on average make only about $25,000 per year in the district.

Workers Union Representative Blanca Gallegos:

GALLEGOS: While we continue in the state mediation process with the third party so you know of course if the superintendent comes with the demands that the workers are urging, then we will move forward.

The school district has countered with an offer of a cumulative 23 percent wage increase. That’s at least $150 million less in total spending than what the workers requested. The two sides have not reached an agreement.

Ukraine Roundup » Explosive Russian drones killed at least eight people on Wednesday at a student dormitory near Kyiv. Hours later, Russian missiles struck an apartment building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one man, and hospitalizing 33 others.

The Pentagon recently announced it would speed up its delivery of American Abrams Tanks to the Ukrainian battlefield.

National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby says the U.S. has already provided military aid to Ukraine at unprecedented speed.

JOHN KIRBY: The Russians are very concerned about their tanks staying fully operational. They can just take them across the border back into Russia and take them out of Ukraine. They don’t belong there in the first place.

Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the U.S. overestimated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s capabilities.

RON DESANTIS: This has been a huge blunder for him. Huge cost, and we’ll see what ends up happening with his longevity and power.

DeSantis says Putin is a war criminal who should be held accountable.

Florida Parental Rights Law » Meanwhile, DeSantis is also moving to expand regulations to keep public schools from teaching progressive ideologies about gender and sexual orientation.

The change would expand existing protections for younger grades to all students K through 12.

The proposal would not require the state legislature’s approval. The state Board of Education is set to vote on it next month.

I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Straight ahead: What’s at stake for Russia and China in Moscow this week.

Plus, what goes into building an analog synthesizer.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday, the 23rd of March, 2023.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. First up, holding Russia accountable, or not.

One year ago in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin mobilized an invasion of Ukraine that he apparently believed would be over within weeks. As it dragged on into months, Putin’s military committed inhumane attacks…from bombing civilian areas to mass executions. In other words, Putin’s military now has quite the rap sheet. But one action in particular has drawn international condemnation.

KARIM KHAN: The judges found that we had established reasonable grounds to believe that President Putin and Madame Laveau verbal over the commissioner for Children had committed war crimes regarding the deportation and unlawful transfer of children out of Ukraine and into Russian Federation.

REICHARD: The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Kahn, heard there on CNN yesterday. Last Friday, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, and Vladimir Putin himself.

BROWN: Meanwhile, one of Russia’s allies appears to be coming off the sidelines. On Monday, President Xi Jingping of China arrived in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin, and Xi has indicated that he’ll also meet with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy to work out negotiations for a cease-fire. What does all of this mean for the future of the war and China’s role on the world stage?

REICHARD: Well, joining us now is Jill Nelson. She’s a correspondent for WORLD who covers foreign affairs.

Jill, thanks for joining us.

NELSON: Thanks, Mary. Good to be with you.

REICHARD: Well Jill, what does the arrest warrant actually accomplish? Does the ICC have teeth to enforce its indictment of Putin?

NELSON: While the ICC has no military or police of its own, so it does rely on local governments to arrest suspects and bring them to trial in The Hague. And that doesn't really happen that often. And if it does, it's typically a long process. So short of the collapse of Putin's regime, which is possible, but not likely anytime soon, you know, there's a pretty small chance that he would be hauled off to the Hague. But nonetheless, this is still bad press. I mean, it's essentially an official excommunication from the global community. So going forward, any global leader who's willing to host Putin will be putting their country in the position of an outcast as well.

REICHARD: How does Xi's current posture towards the Russia/Ukraine conflict compare with his stance toward the US?

NELSON: Well, it's, it's dramatically different. I mean, if you even just look at some of the language Xi has called Putin, his dear friend—Biden in the past has called Putin a war criminal since this war started, and he’s labelled the atrocities genocide. And Xi, of course, has not called for a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory, whereas the US has. And then if you look at this 12-point peace plan, it essentially blames the US and NATO for the war, not Russia, and mimics the rhetoric of the Kremlin. It does not condemn the invasion. I mean, it does call for a ceasefire, but that would only give Moscow time to resupply. And then if you look at economically the difference between the two postures, China's created an economic partnership with Russia and has essentially helped the Kremlin get around Western backed sanctions by exporting military goods that Russia needs to kind of resupply troops.

REICHARD: What do China and Russia hope to accomplish with this summit?

NELSON: You know, I think essentially, China wants Russia on its side geopolitically, on issues like Taiwan, on its growing anti-American and anti-Western stance. I mean, Russia in the past has been somewhat non-committal. It's done whatever was advantageous to the country in the moment. For example, Moscow sold weapons to China, but also China's adversary India. And now the tables have turned dramatically, and Putin needs China, and Russia has become significantly weaker economically due to sanctions militarily due to the cost of this war. And it needs the backing of a global power, and Xi, and Xi Jinping has stepped in at exactly the right time, and seems to be attempting to cement this relationship.

REICHARD: If Xi Jinping were to negotiate a cease-fire in Ukraine, what would that do to China's global influence? How would it impact the US's global influence?

NELSON: Well, of course, it's China's aim to present itself as the new regional and global power broker. And if China is successful, that could significantly impact which direction some countries go in the geopolitical landscape. So those countries kind of riding the fence. I mean, I'm thinking of like Erdogan’s Turkey that has welcomed, you know, wealthy oligarchs into its country, Russian oligarchs, but at the same time, has sent weapons to Ukraine, that could be more inclined to drift into China's orbit and away from the United States and the West. But I mean, that is a big IF. I mean, Ukraine has reiterated that any peace plan must start with a Russian exit from its sovereign territory. And you know that the peace plan also has talked about respect for the sovereignty of all nations. So the question is, what is China's definition of sovereignty? I don't know that it has respected the sovereignty of its own neighbors.

REICHARD: What could the US be doing to offset Chinese influence?

NELSON: Well, I mean, it's, again, it’s a question of kind of the geopolitical landscape. And I think, you know, looking at those countries that kind of hang in the balance, like Turkey, beginning to reach out to them, and, you know, create relationships with countries like Turkey would probably be a good start. And I think, you know, continuing to supply Ukraine with what it needs with this military aid so that it can continue to fight this war. I think one thing that we forget is that, you know, this is the largest This is the first time war has hit the European continent since World War Two. So it is definitely in our strategic interest to see to keep in mind the security factor of Europe.

REICHARD: Is there anything else the listener should know about what’s at stake in the outcome of Xi’s meeting with Putin?

NELSON: Well, I think one thing that China, of course, always has in the back of its mind is the conflict with Taiwan. And this has been something that the United States has been keeping an eye on for quite some time, is China's influence in the South China Sea, and its attempt to exert its power over its neighbors. So the outcome of what happens here in Ukraine can significantly impact how China moves forward in relations with Taiwan. And, you know, I think that's something that the United States can needs to continue to send a strong message about. And our support of Ukraine and our ability to continue to send military aid to Ukraine will also be sending a strong message to China.

REICHARD: Jill Nelson is a WORLD Correspondent on the foreign affairs beat. Jill, thanks so much.

NELSON: Thank you, Mary.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: the weather.

For several weeks now, California’s been slammed with a weather phenomenon. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Here’s audio from CBS on Tuesday.

CBS: Tonight, California is being slammed by the 12th atmospheric river of the season. Heavy rain, strong winds and flooding are already causing problems across southern California.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: So what exactly is an atmospheric river? Well, WORLD’s Brian Basham, better known as the Big Bash of World Watch, is a meteorologist, and he’s here now with the weather.

BRIAN BASHAM, REPORTER: The easiest way to think about an atmospheric river is to just think about it as a river in the sky. Instead of flowing water, it’s water vapor, which if you go back to the science classes of your childhood, you know it’s the gaseous state of water.

It may seem strange to think we get that much rain out of small droplets of water floating through our atmosphere. But I want you to picture this river stretching all the way from the tropics or subtropics—like say Hawaii—to the coast of California. That’s a huge distance to travel over the Pacific Ocean, picking up moisture all along the way. It’s possible for an atmospheric river to transport as much as 15 times the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Imagine that.

Now, you have all that water vapor rushing towards the Sierra Nevadas, the enormous mountain ranges stretching down the western United States. Again, going back to science class, we get rain when moisture in the atmosphere is forced high enough into cold air to condense, becoming too heavy to float, and then falling back to the surface.

So, what we get with these weather patterns is massive amounts of water vapor piling up against those mountain ranges. That moisture has to go somewhere. It can’t go through land, so it’s forced upward. That’s called orographic lifting. If you’ve ever lived around a mountain—especially the western side since most weather patterns move from west to east—you’ve probably experienced this. I like to imagine this as taking a sopping wet sponge and smooshing it against a wall. You know how much water is going to pour out of that thing.

Like most weather events, there are both positive and negative effects. For instance, California gets about 30 to 50 percent of their water for the year from atmospheric events. That’s good. It can fill the aquifers, lakes, and rivers. It’s bad when it rains too much at a time or for too long, then we see the dangerous flooding and mudslides. Plus, excessive rain just runs off into the ocean, and not that much gets stored.

California has had drought conditions off and on—more on than off—for the last 100 years, so they can use SOME rain. But let’s pray it comes more frequently and in smaller amounts.

I’m Brian Basham.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Well up next, continuing chaos at the border.

Last week, a group of a thousand migrants rushed the El Paso entry point on the US-Mexico border. Three days later, Republican members of Congress held a field hearing in the city of McAllen, Texas, to investigate the border rush.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Now, for years, reporters have been asking members of the Biden Administration one simple question: is the border secure? Here are some of the answers they’ve gotten…

From Kamala Harris back in September:

KAMALA HARRIS: We have a secure border in that, that is a priority for any nation including ours and our administration.

From White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean Pierre, when asked about Harris’s comments:

KARINE JEAN PIERRE: Look as far as the border, we're taking unprecedented action, we had to fix something that was broken, especially by the last administration, we've secured record levels of funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

And from Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security. Congress brought him in for a hearing following a record-setting number of border crossings in March 2022. Here he is in a heated exchange with Congressman Chip Roy:

ROY: Will you testify under oath right now? Do we have operational control? Yes or no.

MAYORKAS: Yes, we do.

ROY: and we have operational control of the borders.

MAYORKAS: Yes, we do.

BROWN: But at the field hearing last Wednesday, lawmakers got a different answer when they played Mayorkas’s testimony and asked US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz about the situation. Here’s Congressman Mark Green, followed by Ortiz.

GREEN: You heard the secretary, he said we have operational control. That's the definition. (points at a display behind him)

ORTIZ: Based upon the definition you have sir up there, no.

GREEN: We don't have operational control?

ORTIZ: No sir.

GREEN: But is Secretary Mayorkas lying?

ORTIZ: I don't, I didn't see the rest of the testimony there, sir.

GREEN: He was asked if we have operational control and he said, yes, I, I think it's either, it's either ignorance, which is unacceptable, or it's lying.

REICHARD: Republicans have been seeking to impeach Mayorkas since 2021, when Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs filed articles of impeachment that didn’t pass in the Democrat-controlled House. But a recent filing by House Republican Pat Fallon may go further in the Republican-led House, especially as some Democrats consider crossing the aisle. Here’s Democrat Congressman Juan Vargas at a press conference on Saturday.

VARGAS: I have to tell you, Secretary Mayorkas might come up for an impeachment vote because of what the Republicans have heard. I may vote for it. I may vote to impeach him, but not over those other issues, over this issue. I mean, he told us he would help us and he hasn't done it.

BROWN: Regardless of how the House investigation diagnoses the problem, WORLD’s Addie Offereins says that the symptoms of border chaos won’t be easy to treat.

ADDIE OFFEREINS: Last year, when we saw record border crossings, we also saw a record number of immigrant deaths at the border. So either immigrants who drowned in the Rio Grande or were dehydrated and died in the desert, or perhaps were murdered by cartels or were in danger from smugglers drowned off the coast of California. We saw a record number of deaths because immigrants are willing to put themselves in dangerous situations because the law is confusing. They don't know what the United States’ laws are. Because quite frankly, a lot of officials in the United States don't know as these laws keep changing, keep getting tied up in the courts, keep changing at the whim of the administration, versus having a concrete and permanent solution by Congress to make these laws clear and simple for immigrants, for border communities and for the people enforcing our laws at the border.

REICHARD: Until Congress steps up to the challenge of clarifying US border policy, life at the border will likely continue to be chaotic.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Well, as we heard earlier, California keeps getting nailed with atmospheric river events, producing buckets of rain and also a lot of snow in the Sierra Mountains.

Patrick Lacey is ski resort spokesman for Palisades Tahoe. He told ABC7:

PATRICK LACEY: This is just a monumental snowfall. We've had 500 inches of snow this season.

BROWN: Well, since he reported that three weeks ago, some areas have now topped out at more than 600 inches of snow.

One ski patrolman at Bear Valley posted a photo that shows him touching the top of the chair lift while standing on the snow-packed slope. Meaning, about 35 feet of snow are under his skis!

The record snowfall in the area happened more than a decade back: nearly 670 inches. Looks like this season may beat that, and the resort could remain open until July!

MARY REICHARD: Fourth of July on skis? Yes, please!

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, March 23rd.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: analog synthesizers in the digital age.

One of the most notable instruments in the soundtrack of our culture almost went extinct…but now it’s showing up in surprising places. Recent midcareer WJI graduate Lindsay Wolfgang Mast has the story.

LINDSAY WOLFGANG MAST, REPORTER: Moog Music employee Jim Genaro doesn’t need to apologize. You probably couldn’t play the theramin very well either. It’s originally from Russia, some say it’s the first electronic instrument. It’s notorious for being virtually impossible to play.

GREG HAMMAN: Absolutely loved the music. I couldn’t believe what people can get out of these instruments.

Yet people like Greg Hamman drive from all over to come see it.

That and many more electronic instruments are on display here in a century-old brick building in Asheville, North Carolina.

HAMMAN: It’s the music that speaks to you. These are just the instruments, this is just the voice that one would use to get the music to you.

He’s brought his wife along to tour the Moog store and factory. It’s named for its founder, Bob Moog—spelled M-O-O-G. He was a reluctant musician who loved tinkering with electronics way more than taking piano lessons. He built his first theramin from a kit … back in the 1940s when he was just a teenager.

Twenty years later Moog connected with a composer and came up with a new electronic instrument: a synthesizer—this one, an analog.

SOUND: [Modular Synth]

His first synthesizer looks like a cross between a telephone switchboard and the Death Star controller with too many knobs and cords and blinking lights to count. It wasn’t the first synthesizer, but it caught on.

Musicians loved it. It’s all over the Beatles’ Abbey Road album:

AUDIO: [MAXWELL’S SILVER HAMMER]

Problem was… it was expensive. It took a thousand hours to make and cost about as much as a small house. Big artists and studios could afford it, but that was it.

SOUND: [Outside Inside Factory]

Here in the Moog factory, you can see the solution…make it smaller and cheaper. And so the Minimoog was born. It needed to be portable and rugged. The prototype featured keys from a larger keyboard, and a few basic components, built into a sturdy wooden case. The durability test was practical: sliding it off tables right onto the floor.

This smaller, and less expensive synthesizer changed music forever. It was 1970 and everyone, it seemed, got in on the Minimoog, from rock bands…

AUDIO: [RUSH CLOSER TO THE HEART]

to disco artists…

AUDIO: [FUNKYTOWN]

to the King of pop.

AUDIO: [BEAT IT]

Nearly every bass line on Michael Jackson’s Thriller was pounded out on a Minimoog.

But problems were brewing.

JIM DEBARDI: Building a company is not easy and for someone like Bob Moog who’s the engineer and inventor, not the business man, it’s a lot of starts and stops.

Jim Debardi is a product manager for Moog Music. In 1983 Yamaha introduced its digital synthesizer. It was cheaper. Digital technology was hot.

And so within 4 years Moog closed up shop. He moved to North Carolina from New York for a quieter life.

But by the mid-1990s things started to change.

Musicians got tired of digital technology. They wanted the rich Moog sound again.

SOUND: [Factory]

Here in the current Moog factory, guys with beards…wearing beanies and graphic tees use drills and soldering irons to carry on Bob Moog’s vision of making tools for musicians. They’re working on new synthesizers with names like “Matriarch,” “Grandmother,” the “Theramini” and yes, a re-creation of the Minimoog.

In 2002 Moog took four employees and launched a new synthesizer. Today, Moog Music offers nearly 20 others. They’re all handmade…known for meticulous quality control, and just like old times—musicians love them. A Minimoog even showed up on Taylor Swift’s latest album:

AUDIO: [MASTERMIND]

Sadly, Bob Moog never got to see this new success. In 2005, he died of a brain tumor.

But his vision carries on. Today it’s estimated more than 100 people work at Moog Music. It’s employee-owned and sources more than 80 percent of its material from the U-S.

JOE RICHARDSON: On stage he’s got a Moog 1, a Voyager, a matriarch, a grandmother, it’s an incredible setup.

Joe Richardson, the current company president, is an imposingly tall man. He has a long, well-trimmed white beard … and says the focus is the same as when Moog was alive. Standing on the creaky hardwood floors of the factory store, he says it’s not about making strange, sci-fi noises … but about serving people who want to express themselves creatively.

RICHARDSON: What was important to Bob was making tools for musicians. I think he would be overwhelmed with how grand this vision was, to just make tools, really has become central to the culture and the kind of music we support. I think that would mean a lot to him.

AUDIO: [HERE COMES THE SUN]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Lindsay Wolfgang Mast in Asheville, North Carolina.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, March 23rd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, World commentator Cal Thomas on a modern exodus. Why are so many people leaving California?

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: The state of California, once a place where people moved to find beauty, prosperity, and great weather (earthquakes and fires aside), is rapidly becoming a failed state.

People are leaving in droves. Between July 2021 and July 2022, California lost roughly 211,000 people according to data from the state’s Department of Finance. Half of those were from Los Angeles County, the state’s largest county. Around 160,000 Angelenos left in the last 12 months with most moving to other states. Teachers and employees in the nation’s second-largest school district have gone on strike, closing schools. Aren’t students far enough behind after Covid-19 closings?

Meanwhile, the homeless population is growing, reparations are debated in San Francisco, school names are being changed because some of the previously honored may have owned slaves, and gas prices and taxes remain high. Does Gov. Gavin Newsom seriously think he could run for president on such a record of failure should President Biden decide not to run?

In a delicious irony, San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen, a Democrat, has demanded the hiring of more police officers to fight rampant crime in her district. This after joining the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 in its demand to “defund the police.”

Video of the homeless in Los Angeles and San Francisco does not look like California as recently as a decade ago. Like most Democrats, Gov. Newsom thinks throwing more money at the problem will solve it.

If money were the solution, the problem would have been solved by now, but Democrats have more experience with taxing and spending than they do solving problems. California spends billions of dollars annually on the homeless. Legislators want to reform the way the state distributes its money, saying the current system is ineffective and in need of more predictability. Who knew?

Gov. Newsom is presiding over a budget deficit of $22.5 billion and is only now asking for more accountability. The real problem is with California voters – and voters in other states with similar problems. If they keep electing Democrats with the same worldview and policies, they should expect the same results.

Democrats have controlled the state legislature since 1970, except for a brief period in 1995 and 1996. The last Republican governor of California was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who left office in 2011.

Why don’t politicians and voters see the light when it comes to policies that aren’t working? Largely, I think, it’s because we have become a nation fixated on tribalism. We seek information from cable TV networks, certain publications and the internet that support what we already think. Too many Americans are not open to ideas and policies that challenge their own. How does that attitude work in any other area of life? In business, if a sales plan isn’t working, most owners would try another plan.

When you must navigate around homeless tents, trash, needles, human waste and crime you are not living in a safe and free state. California could clean up its act if it wanted to, but that would require adopting some Republican and conservative principles and changing leadership. Unfortunately, it appears California politicians and too many voters are content with letting the “stink” continue.

I’m Cal Thomas.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Tomorrow, John Stonestreet is back for Culture Friday. We’ll talk about the newfound segregationists on college campuses.

And, Collin Garbarino checks in on a galaxy far, far away.

Plus, your listener feedback. That and more tomorrow.  I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says“knowing all that would happen to him, [Jesus] came forward and said to the [the soldiers sent to arrest him], Whom do you seek? They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who had betrayed him, was standing with them. John chapter 18, verses 4 and 5.

Go now in grace and peace.

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