Nothing new under the California sun

Hey folks, We recorded this episode before ICE murdered VA nurse Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis last weekend, but Max hopped on to lead us in with a note on that horrible escalation by state-sanctioned terrorists. We will certainly be covering this story in the weeks to come, particularly as it affects our undocumented neighbors here in California. Today, however, we're covering a potpourri of California storylines, including: The mysterious, cheeky billboard outside of Vacaville wishing Congressman John Garamendi a happy 81st birthday (and ways you can support young progressives like Mai Vang, who is challenging octogenarian Doris Matsui for her seat in Congress) Governor Gavin Newsom (yes--we, too, are tired of discussing him) trolling President Donald Trump in Davos A rightwing Zionist mewling that a UC Davis professor kept her job after opposing Israel's genocide in Palestine (free link) State senator Scott Wiener stepping down from his post as co-chair of the legislature's Jewish Caucus after publicly acknowledging that Israel has committed genocide (free link) Democratic congresswoman Lateefah Simon voting to hold Bill Clinton in contempt over his refusal to respond to a subpoena to testify over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal (free link) Sacramento's push to ban ICE from city property (free link) Solidarity with the Kaiser nurses' strike (free link) Sacramento making waves in this year's Oscars (free link) Speaking of film, keep an eye out for a premium episode this week in which we're discussing a classic film examining the US's meddling in Uruguayan politics. And stay tuned for another premium episode with one of our more famous film buff friends--coming soon! Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/c/thedrain.  Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at [email protected]. We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa We're also on Bluesky: @thedrain.bsky.social, @palma.ltd, @yeshelloitskempa.bsky.social