(End of the American Dream)—There is no place in the world like California. It possesses such incredible natural beauty, but at the same time it is being run by a bunch of absolute lunatics. If it was an independent nation, it would have the fifth largest economy in the entire world, but it also has the largest homeless population in the U.S. by a very wide margin. In California you can find the world’s tallest tree (the Hyperion Coast Redwood), the world’s largest tree by volume (the General Sherman Giant Sequoia), and the world’s oldest living tree (the Methuselah Bristlecone Pine, which is over 4,850 years old).
Of course it also has the highest top marginal individual income tax rate in the United States at 13.3% (reaching 14.4% when including the state’s payroll tax).
I lived in California for a number of years when I was a kid, and I would still love to go back and visit some of the less populated areas of the state that are simply breathtaking.
But I certainly wouldn’t want to live there, because the control freaks that run the state have ruined it.
Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters, Ro Khanna and Eric Swalwell are all from California.
Sadly, the men and women that have been chosen to represent the state of California are an accurate reflection of the population of the state.
Just about every day, there are more stories in the news about Californians that have gone absolutely nuts.
For example, here is a story about a 37-year-old California man that just flipped out and stabbed his own father to death…
Gerardo Arroyo Almanza, 37, of Simi Valley, had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and three counts of criminal threats against his family members on Aug. 3, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.
On the morning of April 6, 2024, several family members drove to Almanza’s home near East Pinecrest Street and North Justin Avenue to check on his well-being. They parked their cars across the street from his home.
As they were standing near their cars, Almanza ran out of the house while brandishing a knife to confront his family members, threatening to kill them.
He chased his mother and father around a parked car. He eventually caught his father, pinned him to the ground and stabbed him multiple times, prosecutors said. He fled from the scene as neighbors ran over to help.
I wish that I could tell you that this was an isolated incident.
But I can’t.
The streets are filled with violence, but authorities seem to be far more concerned about cracking down on ordinary citizens that are just trying to live their lives.
One man in Southern California has been repeatedly hit with huge fines simply for growing a garden in his front yard…
A Southern California city is waging war against a green-thumbed taxpayer — slapping him with fines for planting a sumptuous, front-yard garden full of fruits and vegetables.
Michael Sherman of Chino was shocked when a $750 fine for “overgrown vegetation” showed up in his mailbox in April — followed by a $500 fine in August.
Now, the landscape contractor says he faces yet another $500 fine this month — if he does not quickly comply with the city’s seemingly-draconian order to remove the alleged eyesore.
How would you feel if that happened to you?
In California, just about everything is upside down.
Even though California public schools are pumping out millions of graduates that do not possess the basic skills required to function in society, the number of students with a 4.0 or better grade point average nearly doubled over the course of a decade…
California has discovered a miracle. High school transcripts glow. Straight-A applicants to the University of California have roughly doubled in a decade. And the kids still cannot do the math.
That is not a punchline. It is the state’s operating system.
According to UC data reviewed by the New York Post, students applying to the University of California with a 4.0 or better jumped from 52,989 in 2015 to 103,138 for the class of 2025. The spike sharpened during the COVID years, when classrooms went online and standards went wherever the administration needed them to go. The vast majority of those applicants are California residents.
It would be wonderful if California was producing lots and lots of young geniuses.
But the truth is that the grades have been rising while the standardized test scores have not…
The report cards say excellence. The placement exams say fifth grade.
State testing does not play along with the fairy tale. On the Smarter Balanced exam for 2024-2025, only 57 percent of California 11th graders met the English standard. Math sat at 30.5 percent. Those numbers ticked up from the 2021-2022 floor of 54.8 percent and 27 percent. They remain worse than before the lockdowns. A diploma and a 4.0 now describe a feeling, not a skill.
Of course the parents aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed either.
One California parent recently busted the glass of a locked school bus and tried to confront the driver…
Police in California arrested a mother accused of breaking through the glass of a school bus door, climbing inside and confronting the bus driver.
According to reports, the incident began when the driver stopped the school bus on a highway in Calaveras County on Aug. 24. KOVR reported that a student inside the bus said the driver stopped it because the bus was getting rowdy.
KCRA said a student then climbed out of the window, prompting the bus driver to tell other students to close the windows and stay seated.
Some of the students called or texted their parents from inside the bus. According to KCRA, one parent showed up and broke the bus’s glass door to get inside and confront the bus driver.
Perhaps Californians just need to play more video games.
I say this in jest, but Elon Musk has pointed out a brand new study that shockingly discovered that playing video games is linked with “better cognitive performance”…
Speaking of video games, a California woman was shocked to learn that she had signed up to be a surrogate for the child of a “reclusive Chinese video-game billionaire”…
A single American mother signed up to be a surrogate after seeing an Instagram ad promising $120,000. The agency told her the intended parent was a single father expanding his family.
The intended father, leaked documents later showed, was Xu Bo, the reclusive Chinese video-game billionaire whose company has already confirmed a staggering surrogacy operation on U.S. soil, CBS reported.
Every baby born here is an American citizen at birth. Those children keep U.S. citizenship for life. They can vote. They can hold federal jobs. At 21 they can sponsor family members. Agencies have marketed the arrangement as cheaper than an EB-5 investor visa.
This sort of thing has been happening way too often in California.
If a rich guy from another country can just get his children to be born on U.S. soil, they will automatically possess U.S. citizenship.
Apparently there is a big market for that.
Another California woman was just “shot dead” by an illegal immigrant that had been released from custody by the Biden administration…
A California woman has been shot dead by a 22-year-old DoorDash worker who had been stalking her for months after he illegally entered the US in 2023.
Shalini Thakur, 38, was gunned down outside a Panera Bread in Sacramento as horrified witnesses watched on during the afternoon of September 8.
The suspect, Rohit Rohit, an illegal migrant from India who was allegedly released by the Biden administration, fled in a vehicle before fatally shooting himself, police said.
This was such a senseless tragedy, and it could have been so easily avoided.
But thanks to Joe Biden, this illegal immigrant had the opportunity to stalk her for months before gunning her down in cold blood…
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Amar Gandhi said the horror unfolded just before 3pm, when Rohit approached Thakur outside her workplace at a shopping mall on Howe Avenue and ‘began to accost her’.
‘As the victim attempted to run away, Rohit chased her down, pulled out a firearm, and shot her multiple times,’ he said. ‘The victim fell to the ground.’
Gandhi added that Rohit then walked over to Thakur’s body as she lay dying on the sidewalk, and ‘shot her in the head at close range.’
Meanwhile, the ground in California continues to shake with alarming regularity.
Just yesterday, I wrote about a swarm of more than 80 earthquakes that rattled Southern California over the weekend, and now Northern California has been hit by yet another sizable quake…
A 3.0-magnitude earthquake rattled the East Bay early Monday morning, marking the third tremor to strike the area in just a few days, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake hit at 6:47 a.m., with its epicenter east of Mount Diablo, about nine miles south of Antioch and 7.4 miles west-southwest of Brentwood. The preliminary temblor was estimated to have originated about 10 miles below the surface.
We keep getting reminders that “the Big One” is eventually coming.
But most Californians don’t seem to care.
They are just going to keep doing what they have been doing until it is too late.
Isn’t that sad?
It has often been said that “as California goes, so goes the nation”.
Let us hope that is not true, because California has gone totally nuts.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
Starting the Day With a Scripture-Inspired Roast Helps Center Your Thoughts on Eternal Truths Amid Temporal Pressures
The world can seem chaotic, especially right after we wake up. Many believers start their mornings reaching for something familiar — a hot cup of coffee — yet end up settling for mediocre brews that do little more than deliver a caffeine jolt. The daily grind of life, with its endless distractions, news cycles, and responsibilities, can leave even the most faithful feeling spiritually parched alongside their physical fatigue. What if your morning ritual could do more than wake you up? What if it could ground you in truth, nourish your body with exceptional quality, and quietly advance a kingdom purpose at the same time?
That’s the promise — and the reality — behind Promised Grounds Coffee. This Christian-founded company doesn’t just roast beans; it approaches every step as an act of worship and discipleship. By selecting only the top 10% of specialty-grade beans, ethically sourced from dedicated farmers in Central and South America, and small-batch roasting them with reverence in Austin, Texas, Promised Grounds delivers what many describe as the best coffee available — never burnt, never bland, but rich with origin stories and layered flavors that honor God’s creation.
From the vibrant Psalm 27 Roast (a light, bright medium option) to the bold yet peaceful 2 Timothy 1:7 Decaf, each bag carries a Scripture verse that turns your daily pour into a gentle reminder of faith. And through their Ounce Per Ounce Promise, every ounce of coffee you enjoy provides an equal ounce of clean water to families in need via partnership with Filter of Hope — literally brewing hope for body and soul, one cup at a time.
The challenge for today’s Christians runs deeper than finding a decent cup. In an age of convenience-driven consumerism, it’s easy to support companies that dilute values or remain silent on matters of faith. Many believers want their everyday choices — from what they drink to how they spend — to reflect discipleship rather than just convenience. Promised Grounds solves this by weaving Christian excellence into the entire process: beans nurtured with prayerful stewardship by farming families, roasted as an offering rather than a commodity, and packaged with Bible verses to encourage a mindset of gratitude and purpose from the first sip. Reviewers consistently praise the smooth, rich profiles — whether enjoyed black in a drip maker, iced on a warm day, or shared in fellowship — noting how the quality stands toe-to-toe with premium secular brands while delivering something far more meaningful.
This integration of faith and flavor addresses a real need in Christian households and ministries. Busy parents, church leaders, and remote workers alike report that starting the day with a Scripture-inspired roast helps center their thoughts on eternal truths amid temporal pressures. The coffee’s exceptional character — bright citrus notes in lighter roasts or deep chocolate undertones in bolder ones — comes from meticulous selection and careful roasting that respects the bean’s natural gifts rather than masking them. It’s the kind of coffee that elevates a simple quiet time, fuels productive workdays, or sparks meaningful conversations when shared at Bible studies or outreach events. And because it’s ethically sourced with integrity, every purchase supports sustainable livelihoods for farmers who treat their crops like family harvests.
For those leading churches or small groups, the impact multiplies. Promised Grounds offers bundles and options perfect for hospitality ministries, turning ordinary coffee service into an opportunity to point people toward the living water of Christ. Imagine greeting visitors with a warm cup whose very bag carries God’s Word — a subtle yet powerful witness that aligns with the Great Commission. The company’s Texas roots and commitment to “brewing hope” resonate especially with believers who value American enterprise paired with global compassion.
Of course, quality alone isn’t enough if the experience feels out of reach. Promised Grounds keeps it accessible with practical perks like free shipping on orders over $40, sample sets for discovering favorites, and thoughtful add-ons such as faith-themed mugs. Whether you prefer whole beans for fresh grinding, grounds for convenience, or even bulk options for larger households and ministries, the result is consistently superior coffee that makes discipleship feel integrated rather than added on.
As you consider how to align even the smallest habits with your walk with God, Promised Grounds Coffee stands out as a refreshing solution. It tackles the dual problems of subpar daily sustenance and disconnected consumption by offering a product that genuinely excels in taste while advancing a mission of clean water, farmer dignity, and scriptural encouragement. Believers who make the switch often describe it as more than a beverage upgrade — it becomes part of their rhythm of gratitude, a daily invitation to remember that every good gift comes from above.
If you’re ready to transform your mornings (and perhaps your church gatherings) with coffee that honors both exceptional craftsmanship and Christian values, I encourage you to explore what Promised Grounds has to offer. One sip at a time, you’ll be nourishing your body, refreshing your spirit, and participating in something far greater — all while enjoying what truly is among the best coffee available.
