“California lawmakers are throwing a lifeline to the troubled legal cannabis industry, approving a cannabis tax cut that the industry says will prevent further business failures. Lawmakers gave final approval to the bill last week, sending the measure to the desk of Newsom, who has previously committed to signing it into law. The measure would drop the state excise tax on cannabis from 19% to 15% on Oct. 1 and maintain that tax rate until June 30, 2028. Amy O’Gorman Jenkins, the executive director for the California Cannabis Operators Association, said in a statement that the organization is ‘deeply grateful’ to the Legislature for passing the law, which she said would strengthen the legal market. ‘This vote saves thousands of jobs and prevents hundreds of small businesses from closing their doors,’ O’Gorman Jenkins said in an email.” [editor’s note: I almost never say this, but this time California leads the way to sanity – SAT] [editor’s note: The implication that a small tax cut is some kind of special favor is sickening, though – TLK] (09/15/25)
Source: In These Times
by Lynne Fox, SBWU President
“Starbucks’ logo, the green siren, is ubiquitous, and its 40,000 stores occupy an estimated 80 million square feet of real estate globally. But that doesn’t make the company too big to fail. The next three months will determine the future of this iconic U.S. company. Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol crossed his first anniversary in the position this week, on September 9. He was chosen to replace the previous CEO based on his reputation as a fixer amid declining sales and brand damage. At the time, he wrote this about union baristas: ’If our partners choose to be represented, I am committed to making sure we engage constructively and in good faith with the union and the partners it represents.’ One year later, Niccol is driving a ’Back to Starbucks’ turnaround strategy, implementing a dizzying number of policy and program changes.” (09/15/25)
“Not only is a disastrous 2019 state law pushing rent-regulated units off the market by the tens of thousands, the city’s efforts to get those ‘zombie’ apartments on the market have stalled — and Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze promises to make the crisis even worse. Six years ago, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the ‘Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act’ into law, making it impossible for landlords ever to recoup the cost of bringing units up to code (as other laws require) when a tenant moves out after decades. Such repairs and upgrades can easily cost $100,000 or more; pre-2019, the building owner could hike the rent to finance the work — but no more, so now thousands of apartments fall off the market every year.” (09/13/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“To be clear I would be just as unmoved if a mainstream Democrat-aligned manipulator like Bill Maher or Joe Scarborough was killed, and I would be just as disdainful of their memory. They are exactly the same to me. I had no strong feelings about Charlie Kirk especially; to me he was just one of the empire’s countless flying monkeys, and his role will be easily filled by the next flying monkey in line. My disdain toward him was of the ordinary blanket variety that I hold toward all the lackeys of the most tyrannical and murderous power structure on our planet, regardless of their political affiliation. … You cannot become a high-level pundit, politician or political operative in either mainstream party without being an evil piece of shit.” [editor’s note: I would still maintain that Kirk’s main agenda was to open up free speech discussion and promote critical thinking in college students – SAT] [additional editor’s note: The former, yes, the latter not so much – TLK] (09/12/25)
“Charlie Kirk became one of the most powerful figures in politics because he did something extraordinary in today’s world. He went to college campuses and conversed with young people. Kirk debated folks who vehemently disagreed with him. The devout Christian publicly had good-humored exchanges with a dude dressed in a satanist costume and a number of trans-identifying young adults. He fearlessly welcomed any and all speakers to the microphone. After all, there’s no Block button in the real world. The 31-year-old aimed to persuade and challenge the lefty status quo on college campuses because he knew that intellectual friction is not only entertaining, but necessary to forge a healthier nation. ‘When people stop talking, really bad stuff starts,’ he said when asked by a student why he bothered.” (09/12/25)
“China launched two probes targeting the U.S. semiconductor sector Saturday ahead of talks between the two nations in Spain this week on trade, national security and the ownership of social media platform TikTok. China’s Ministry of Commerce announced an anti-dumping investigation into certain analog IC chips imported from the U.S. The investigation will target some commodity interface IC chips and gate driver IC chips, which are commonly made by U.S. companies such as Texas Instruments and ON Semiconductor. The ministry separately announced an anti-discrimination probe into U.S. measures against China’s chip sector. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid between Sunday and Wednesday, He’s office said. U.S. measures such as export curbs and tariffs ‘constitute the containment and suppression of China’s development of high-tech industries’ such as advanced computer chips and artificial intelligence, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said.” (09/13/25)
“As a Wendy’s worker, mother of two, and leader with Missouri Workers Center and Stand Up KC in Kansas City, I’ve dedicated my life to fighting for working families. I’ve worked in fast food for over 20 years, and I know what it means to struggle to barely make ends meet while corporations make record profits off our backs. Today, I’m writing as someone who believes deeply in democracy, especially as a group of anti-worker Missouri lawmakers prepare to divide our community so that they can silence our voices, including my own. States usually redraw electoral district boundaries every 10 years following the US Census to account for population shifts and demographic changes. But for political reasons, Texas lawmakers have gone ahead and redrawn their political map. And now several other states, including Missouri, are trying to do the same thing.” (09/13/25)
“The student president-elect of the vaunted Oxford Union debate society will be disciplined for heartlessly celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk, whom he debated just months ago. Oxford student George Abaraonye, who is the president of the historic debate club founded in 1823, callously cheered when he heard Kirk was shot and killed — and is now facing the repercussions. ‘Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f–king go,’ Abaraonye, 20, posted on WhatsApp on Wednesday. In another message on Instagram, he wrote, ‘Charlie Kirk got shot loool.'” (09/13/25)
“After an intensive, multi-day manhunt, law enforcement officials on Friday said they had taken into custody conservative icon Charlie Kirk’s killer. Police assert 22-year-old Tyler Robinson ‘acted alone’ in assassinating the Turning Point USA founder. But did he? Authorities said Robinson’s roommate shared with investigators the alleged cold-blooded killer’s communications on messaging app Discord. In them, the suspect discusses ‘a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel’. … As The Blaze’s Auron Macintyre put it on X, the shooter appears to have been ‘radicalized by a leftist terrorist network, and it seems like he may have also coordinated with them for the attack.'” (09/12/25)
“With the Taliban barring women from college in her native Afghanistan, Bahara Saghari set her sights on pursuing higher education in the United States. Saghari, 21, practiced English up to eight hours per day for several years, eventually winning an offer to study business administration at a private liberal arts college in Illinois. She was hoping to arrive this fall, but her plans were derailed again, this time by President Donald Trump’s travel ban. ‘You think that finally you are going to your dream, and then something came up and like, everything’s just gone,’ Saghari said. Thousands of students are among the people affected by the Trump administration’s travel ban and restrictions on citizens from 19 countries, including many who now feel stranded after investing considerable time and money to come to the U.S.” (09/13/25)
