Lock Her Up! Cane Her Bottom In A Public Square!

Captain’s Log: Star date August 31,2020

Fox News obtained security camera footage of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi getting a wash and blow-out (hey, it’s a term for hair styling) in a previously shuttered by law hair salon. (Am I the only one questioning how or why Fox News was able to procure said video footage?). Bad girl Nancy! All hair salons in San Francisco have been closed since March of this year by executive order of California’s governor, Gavin Newsome.

The owner of the salon has contacted Fox News to complain about Madame Pelosi using her establishment after being shut down for many months, pointing out the double standard apparent in such a legal breach. Her beef was not only with The Speaker but the whole Democratic Party who she blamed for the closures and subsequent lack of business. Her tirade included that fact that not only were her type of businesses feeling the economic pinch, but her customers were fleeing the area as well due to lack of income.

“The homeless are everywhere, defecating in the streets.” (there were tales of that even before the Covid Pandemic hit.) Partially to blame for San Francisco’s homeless has been the Tech Industry. Their financial success has driven the cost of living for the Bay and surrounding areas to prohibitive levels of affordable housing for a large segment of the population. The well to do only took notice of said defecation when the dried fecal matter became a health hazard in the wealthier neighborhoods once it became airborne.

Doubtless there are many who feel the outrage of Speaker Pelosi’s flaunting her privilege, but is it an arrest able offense? ( We’re not sure caning is allowable in this country, and pretty sure not many would care to view an eighty year old woman’s naked posterior in public). She wasn’t arrested, but if she had been….

She would have had the right to a bail bond in the amount set by the judicial system. Every crime in the State Of California has a bail amount, it’s usually up to the discretion of the arresting officer or the jailer of the facility where an arrestee is brought to determine exactly which charge(s) is levelled and the corresponding bail set. What is happening in the State Of California is the attempt to eliminate bail and bail bonds as proposed by Prop 25 on the November 2020 ballot.

We’ve mentioned this topic on previous blog posts, Twitter feeds, and our Facebook page. What the proponents of Prop 25 propose is to replace bail and bondsmen with a computer driven algorithm.
In other words, a spin the dial type of justice. In Nancy Pelosi’s case, instead of her having the ability to contact family or friends to post a bail for her, her fate would rest on an impartial computer deciding whether she would be released with no bail, and her promise to show up for court, or having it be decided that she was a risk, and need to stay in jail until her appearance before a judge.

Back in 2018, politicians in Sacramento passed SB10, which did away with the right of persons arrested or accused of a crime to be able to be released through a bail system. Now, the people of California have the opportunity to reverse this denial of civil rights by voting NO on the ballot choice Prop 25.

Bail is protected in the United States Bill Of Rights, but Prop 25 wants to replace it with the aforementioned algorithm which instead of being less discriminatory, is actually more.

According to Alice Huffman, president of California State Conference of the NAACP, Prop 25 would turn out to be more discriminatory against Latinos, African Americans, and other minority groups. The proposed algorithm would be based on a computer generated formula that would use a system of profiling. This is supposed to replace the current method guaranteed by California’s justice system with allows people accused of a crime the right to choose bail. The computer would be deciding who gets to be set free from jail. The NAACP and other civil rights groups oppose Prop 25 because it will be biased against minorities and the poor.

In addition to being bad for minorities, Prop 25 is bad for public safety and tax payers. Is somebody is released from jail with just a promise to show up for court, statistics show that many defendants are back on the streets committing new crimes, sometimes within hours, ending up being arrested that same day. By eliminating cash bail and bail bonds counties that are already facing financial hardship will be forced to create a new bureaucracy that determines who gets released from jail while awaiting trial.

Having a county probation staff to replace bail bondsmen is likely to cost local governments close to $900 million while reducing state tax revenue by $21 million every year. With the state already having a $54 billion deficit due to the Corona Virus, why on earth would we want to place ourselves further in debt?

For these many reasons we are asking you the public to Vote NO on Prop 25.