Imagining a post-American world

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• We’re in the dictionary!
• Can California stop tariff-ageddon?
• Researchers say we can have grizzlies back in California – if we want

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MYTHBUSTING SECESSION

Is the #1 barrier to independence in Californians’ own minds?

When it comes to secession, the United States is just a normal country. And in normal countries, secession is legal as long as the national government agrees to it. Which means, if California can get Congress to pass a law creating a process for California to secede, and the President signs it, we can secede, peacefully and legally.

C.C. Marin, Executive Director, Independent California Institute

In many ways, California secession is an idea whose time has come. When we polled Californians in January, 61% of them said California would be better off if peacefully became “an independent country with a friendly relationship with the U.S., like Canada.” (Shoot, does the U.S. have a friendly relationship with Canada? It did when I wrote the question!)

Since that poll ran, Donald Trump has been doing pretty much everything in his power—and many things that exceed it—to show Californians that the United States is a cruel, lawless, broken country that only a fool who is dumb as a rock would still want to be part of. Just, so, very bad.

At this point, the #1 barrier to California leaving the U.S. is not legal, political, or economic. It’s in Californians’ own minds. 62% of Californians believe that peaceful, legal secession from the United States is impossible, according to the same poll I just told you about. How can we organize around something we think is impossible?

Hey, 62% of Californians, I’ve got great news! You’re wrong!

In this article, I’m going to call out the five biggest myths around peaceful secession from the United States and knock them down one by one. They are:

• Secession = Civil War
• There’s no precedent in the U.S. for peaceful secession
• The U.S. Constitution has “no mechanism” for a state to secede
• Texas v. White says secession is impossible
• The U.S. can set territories free but not states

The only California independence group that literally defines “secession”

Merriam-Webster: secession

We’re in the dictionary! Merriam-Webster used us in one of their example sentences for “secession”:

The recent survey was conducted while fires were still active between Jan. 6 and Jan. 14 by the YouGov firm for another secession outfit, the Independent California Institute, based in north San Diego County. — Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2025

CALIFORNIA: THE LITTLE DEMOCRATIC ENGINE THAT COULD

Californians invited to open discussions of issues

An online platform invites Californians to weigh in on big issues—and state government might just listen

Joe Mathews, Zócalo Public Square

In this dark moment of American dictatorship, California has turned on a small democratic light.

It’s called Engaged California, and it’s an online, nonpartisan tool for Californians to deliberate with one another and engage with their government.

At first glance, it might not seem like much. When you sign up with your email, pledge to behave with civility, and answer questions about your ideas and thoughts on issues related to the Los Angeles fires (the first use case for this tool), it might feel like just another online survey, with more open-ended questions.

But it is a big deal. Because the U.S., and California, have done little to encourage deliberative democracy, especially online. Which means that Engaged California could launch a new era in which technology gives people a chance to talk with each other, and to help determine more of the policies of their governments.

The launch of Engaged California in March was a historic event. California is the first state to make such a digital, deliberative tool available. It’s also the largest jurisdiction in the world to do so. (Other digital deliberative democracy tools have been enacted in cities, or smaller provinces or countries.) Engaged California is still a small pilot, but more than 7,000 people have signed up for it, as of this writing.

Get involved in the discussion here.

Californians see undocumented immigrants as essential to economy, poll finds

As President Trump launches a crackdown on unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., a new survey finds that a majority of California voters support providing social services for all low-income residents in the state, regardless of immigration status.

Rebecca Plevin, LA Times

In contrast to the anti-immigrant rhetoric emanating from the White House, the survey of 800 California voters portrays a populace that values the contributions of immigrants, regardless of legal status, and believes their well-being is intertwined with a well-functioning state.

The poll found that more than two-thirds of respondents support allowing all state residents to purchase health insurance through Covered California, regardless of immigration status. Currently, unauthorized immigrants are not eligible to buy a plan through the state’s health insurance marketplace.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents, 64%, support offering food assistance to all eligible low-income families, regardless of the parents’ immigration status. Currently, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for California’s food stamp program, but they can apply for assistance on behalf of their U.S.-born children.

The survey also found that 57% of respondents support continuing to allow all eligible low-income residents to access medical care through Medi-Cal, the state’s public health insurance program for the poor, regardless of their immigration status.

It is difficult to imagine a post-American world. But imagine it we must

The ‘new world order’ of the past 35 years is being demolished before our eyes.

Nesrine Malik, The Guardian

The challenge is technical and psychological. It is difficult to imagine a post-American world because America crafted that world. When the US becomes a volatile actor, the very architecture of the global financial order starts to wobble. We saw this in the crisis of confidence in the dollar in the aftermath of Trump’s “liberation-day” tariffs. The robustness of the rule of law and separation of powers – cornerstones of confidence in an economy – are also now in doubt, as the administration goes to war with its own judiciary and the president himself boasts about how many people in the room with him made a killing out of his stock market crash. Is it insider trading if your source is the president?

Just as formidable is the mental task of divestment from the US. A friend who holds a green card but lives under an illiberal regime in Asia told me that, deep down, he always felt protected from the dangers of his country’s domestic politics by the knowledge that there was a safe haven to which he could retreat in case of persecution. No longer, as legal residents and visitors are hounded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) or turned away at the border. I know others who have cancelled work trips to the US for fear of deportation or blacklisting. With that insecurity comes an awareness that, for some in the global south who always knew that the US was not a benign presence, there was still the belief that there was something within its own borders that curbed its excesses. This was partly true, but also a reflection of US cultural power. The pursuit of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, “give me … your huddled masses”, the Obama hope iconography; all resonant and powerful touchstones. They are now reduced to dust. It is one thing to know that the US was never the sum of these parts, but another to accept it.

Re-imagining California: a call to action and framework for building a human rights economy

To root out the divisive, dead-end politics that increasingly define our times, we must defang that which gives it power

Henry A.J. Ramos, Shimica Gaskins, Dr. Angie Kim, C.M. Samala, Dr. Ganriela Sandoval, Victor G. Sanchez, and Calvin Williams, The New School Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy

The 2024 election cycle vividly revealed the iterative and inseparable relationship between politics, economics, and social-identity. By capitalizing on real and growing economic grievances, Donald Trump and his supporters have once again sewn division between identity groups. But division never has offered—and never will offer—a solid platform for durable public problem solving. To root out the divisive, dead-end politics that increasingly define our times, we must defang that which gives it power: an economy grounded in extraction, despair, risk, insecurity, and a growing chasm between haves and have nots. In California, leaders in racial, gender and economic justice across the state stand at the forefront of resistance to the persistent policy trends that seek to further divide us. The report offers a vision of a more unifying political culture and economy centered around people and the environments in which they live, of an inclusive democracy and economy that is rooted in a shared commitment to human rights and human dignity.

In the report, this leading cadre of California new economy leaders call for sweeping changes in the ways California makes policy and budget decisions. Participating contributors represent organizations including the Center for Cultural Innovation, the Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute, the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, and the Women’s Foundation of California. The group is calling for California to advance a more strategic public and private reinvestment strategy over the coming generation with an eye to expanding racial, gender and economic justice, while challenging current federal initiatives in the opposite direction.

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TARIFFAGEDDON

There’s no coming back from Trump’s tariff disaster

America was the world’s economic anchor. Thanks to the president, it may never have that role again.

Jerusalem Demsas, The Atlantic

America’s economic dominance has long been supported by alliances, faith in U.S. debt, and the independence of the Fed. Those three things “were all built on trust that took decades to build,” the economist Ernie Tedeschi told me. Over the course of the rest of Trump’s new term in office, “they could be decimated, taking decades more to rebuild, assuming our politics even has the energy to do it.”

This will be a painful process. Firms will go out of business, workers will lose their jobs, and the world will be poorer for it. But it can move on without us. As the economist Scott Lincicome pointed out earlier this year, countries have not stalled on signing free-trade agreements. In just the past few days, the European Union and the United Arab Emirates have launched free-trade talks, as have the EU and Australia, the United Kingdom and India; and senior officials from China, Japan, and South Korea have already held their first trade talks in five years.

It was once possible to believe that Trump’s first reign was a fluke, a glitch, a deviation from the slow, unyielding march of liberal democracy. After all, he lost the popular vote in 2016, carried into the presidency on an Electoral College bias that discounted the votes and voices of millions. Moreover, he was deeply unprepared for the actual job of being president, his campaign having been shunned by most of the Republican establishment that had experience running White Houses past.

California sues to stop Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs

The lawsuit argues that President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China or a 10% tariff on all imports is unlawful.

Sophie Austin, Yahoo! News

California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, challenging the president’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs that have set off a global trade war.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, also argues that enacting such tariffs requires approval from Congress.

“No state is poised to lose more than the state of California,” Newsom said Wednesday at a press conference.

California has filed more than a dozen lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies this year. But the tariffs lawsuit marks the first time this year that Newsom, who is already considered a top 2028 presidential prospect, has been a plaintiff. The Democratic governor scaled back his anti-Trump rhetoric after January’s deadly Los Angeles fires as the state sought federal support.

Gavin Newsom wants nations to exempt California goods from tariffs. That’s unlikely, experts say

The governor says California is open for business with trade partners, but his options are limited as Trump sets steep tariffs

Grant Stringer, San Jose Mercury News

As President Donald Trump blasts American allies and adversaries alike for “unfair trade” and sets steep tariffs, California Governor Gavin Newsom has a different message for the nations of the world.

“Donald Trump’s tariffs do not represent all Americans,” the Democrat said in a video posted on social media last week, as the stock market took a nosedive and investors coped with steep losses. “Our state of mind is around supporting stable trading relationships around the globe.”

The governor took a step further last week when he asked nations to exempt California-made products from retaliatory tariffs, which have already been announced by China and Canada, two of the state’s top trading partners.

But as a mere governor, Newsom doesn’t have the power to make trade pacts or set tariffs, which are “the heart of the issue,” Randolph and other experts said. The governor can partner with nations to promote tourism and education and forge closer personal ties with leaders overseas, but trade policy is solely the territory of the federal government.

‘The atmosphere in town is one of anxiety’: Palm Springs is in trouble

A mass Canadian exodus would spell big trouble for Palm Springs. In 2017, Canadian visitors brought in about $236 million and stayed more than twice as long than other visitors, averaging eight days.

Olivia Harden, SFGate

The tourism industry in Palm Springs is growing fidgety as Canadian visitors reconsider returning to California, given the ongoing strain on the relationship between the two North American countries. Hoping to assuage this tension, Palm Springs has launched a full-throated celebration of Canada across its downtown and airport.

Newsom launches tourism campaign to bring Canadians back to California

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a tourism campaign Monday urging Canadians to “come experience our California Love” after seeing a dip in visits from the United State’s northern neighbors who say they’ve been alienated by President Trump’s policies.

Clara Harter, LA Times

Canadian tourism in California was down 12% in February compared with the same month in 2024, the first decline since the pandemic, according to the governor’s office. Many Canadians are citing concerns about Trump’s policies as their reason for nixing trips.

Travelers have also been alarmed by Canadian advisories warning citizens that they should “expect scrutiny” at the U.S. border.

Newsom is trying to ease their fears while emphasizing that California will continue to welcome them with open arms.

“Here in California we have plenty of sunshine and a whole lot of love for our neighbors up north,” Newsom says in the video.

In 2024, about 1.8 million Canadians visited the Golden State and spent roughly $3.72 billion, according to the governor’s office.

NEXT CHAPTER IN SANTA BARBARA OIL PLATFORM SHOWDOWN

Oil company fined record $18 million for defying state orders to stop work on pipeline

The pipeline caused a major oil spill a decade ago, fouling the ocean off Santa Barbara County. The new owners say they don’t need new permits for repairs. The fine is the Coastal Commission’s largest.

Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters

The California Coastal Commission today fined an oil company a record $18 million for repeatedly defying orders to stop work on a corroded pipeline in Santa Barbara County that caused a major oil spill nearly a decade ago.

The vote sets the stage for a potentially high-stakes test of the state’s power to police oil development along the coast. The onshore pipeline in Gaviota gushed more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil onto coastal land and ocean waters, shutting down fisheries, closing beaches and harming marine life and coastal habitats in 2015.

Sable Offshore Corp., a Houston-based company, purchased the pipeline from the previous owners, Exxon Mobil, last year, and is seeking to restart the Santa Ynez offshore oil operation.

The Coastal Commission said Sable has done something no alleged violator has ever done before: ignoring the agency’s multiple cease-and-desist orders and continuing its work.

The company argued it can proceed using the pipeline’s original county permit issued in the 1980s. In February, Sable sued the Coastal Commission saying the state is unlawfully halting the company’s repair and maintenance work.

Sable had been excavating around the former pipelines and placing cement bags on the seafloor below its oil and water pipelines.

The Coastal Commission’s fine levied against Sable is the highest ever levied against a company, according to a commission spokesperson. The commission voted to lower the $18 million fine to potentially just under $15 million if Sable complies with the state’s orders and applies for a coastal development permit.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS?

California stops homeland security agents entering elementary schools

Federal immigration authorities were refused entry to two elementary schools in Los Angeles this week, school officials said.

Bilal Rahman, Newsweek

According to officials, the agents arrived unannounced and attempted to contact five undocumented students.

The incident marks the first reported attempt by federal authorities to enter an L.A. public school amid President Donald Trump‘s hard-line crackdown.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told reporters on Thursday that the agents said they were visiting to check on the students’ well-being.

School officials said the agents tried to deceive staff by saying the families had authorized the contact.

End of federal grants could worsen teacher shortages

At least $148 million in grants go to California teacher preparation programs, have been used to help recruit and train teachers for high-needs schools and for hard-to-fill jobs, such as teaching science, special education and math.

Diana Lambert, EdSource

• $600 million in federal grants for teacher preparation is in limbo while the court decides whether the Trump administration can cancel the funding.
• Some California university and school district leaders are unsure whether programs can continue without help from the federal government.
• The loss of the programs, which sometimes offer stipends and other financial help to teacher candidates, could worsen an already dire shortage of teachers for hard-to-fill jobs.
• The number of teachers on emergency-style waivers and permits has tripled in the last decade. Teachers on emergency-style permits aren’t required to have completed teacher training.

FORGET DIRE WOLVES; WE WANT GRIZZLIES

The California grizzly bear, gone for 100 years, could thrive if brought back

Grizzly bears are extinct in California but still show up everywhere you look. The golden bruins emblazon the state flag and seal, live on in cartoonish effigy as university mascots, and roll off the tip of our tongue in place names like Grizzly Flats and Big Bear Lake.

Lila Seidman, LA Times

• The last grizzly bear seen in California was 101 years ago.
• A new study found that reintroducing the mammal into the state’s mountainous wilderness is feasible.
• California could potentially host over 1,000 grizzlies — but it’s up to residents and policymakers to decide if that’s a good idea.

WHO SAYS DYSTOPIA ISN’T FUNNY?

Hacked crosswalk buttons play spoofed voices of tech billionaires

Several crosswalk buttons in cities, including Redwood City, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park, appear to have been hacked, playing prank audio messages that imitate the voices of tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.