MacArthur Park Redux

Or "You don't have to say everything right away"

Last week, ICE agents performed a raid on MacArthur Park in Los Angeles. In a poorly advised, too-soon response, LA Mayor Karen Bass STRONGLY spoke out against the raid, claiming the area was full of “kids playing.” In response to THAT statement, the public offered up video after video of MacArthur Park being a blight of homelessness and drug dealing.

This story was covered wonderfully (as usual) by Chris Bray, so I don’t want to get TOO deep into the weeds on this, but it does serve as relevant background for today’s main story. Karen Bass JUST made a huge ass of herself for reacting too quickly to news of an ICE raid. Surely Gavin Newsom wouldn’t step onto that same exact rake just days later, right?

Wrong.

The ICE raid in question was performed at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, California. And here’s the too-soon post that landed him in hot water:

“Taken from the fields” is very specific wording

The video Newsom included with his post really sets the stage:

But it turns out Gavin got out over his skis on this one, as the “chaos” was caused by protestors attempting to prevent ICE from carrying out their search warrant. (How did the protestors even know where to protest? That’s a good question I wish I had the answer to.)

We’ve very briefly touched on ICE’s different types of warrants in the past when talking about the agency arresting illegals at the courthouse, but in case you don’t remember — a judicial (criminal) warrant allows ICE to search private residences. This requires a “regular” burden of proof — so the officers weren’t there simply on a hunch.

Indeed, over 300 arrests were made during the raid — and the violence against agents wasn’t the only shocking thing uncovered:

Newsom only wished the hole stopped there, but it turned out the president of the operation, Graham Farrar, actually donated money to California’s current governor:

Newsom attempted to deflect these facts (imagine that) by pointing out the company’s CEO, Kyle Kazan, had donated to Newsom’s recall effort, but the damage had already been done. His inability to keep his mouth shut made him look stupid again. (It’s obvious he’s attempting to build momentum for 2028, but he flops every time he tries.)

The issue predictably made its way to CNN, where Fitness trainer and frequent guest Jillian Michaels ripped into the company employing illegal immigrants and minors, while Abby Phillip drew the short straw to defend the progressive position:

When watching this, my BS detector IMMEDIATELY went off when Phillip conflated regular farm work with marijuana farm work. Right away, I reached out to a source inside the industry to ask him if it was legal for minors to work on weed farms in California.

While waiting for a response, I dove into every regulation I could find, starting with the text of Prop 64. (The “Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act”) In nearly every regulation I could find, the law was crystal clear — only people 21 and above are authorized to handle marijuana. The only POSSIBLE wiggle room I could uncover was for people over 18 who were medical marijuana patients and growing for their own consumption. (Glass House denies employing minors to begin with.)

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Semi-interesting side hole I went down after I heard back from my friend (who confirmed you must be 21 to work at a marijuana farm) — the reason Glass House got so big in the first place (other than the slave labor, of course) is because CEO Kyle Kazan is former law enforcement as was able to secure permits that normal people couldn’t even dream of.

Because I’d fact-check my own mother (sorry, mom), I dove into this aspect of the story with both feet and found my friend was correct. Here’s how Greenhouse Grower worded the accomplishment:

Glass House Farms was the first to run the regulatory gauntlet to become a licensed greenhouse cultivator in Santa Barbara County, an achievement that came after no small amount of patience and persistence from Farrar.

“Run the regulatory gauntlet.”

I wonder how one does that.

But all that “patience and persistence” has sure paid off, with Glass House operating from a mind-boggling 5.5-MILLION-square-foot greenhouse.

It almost doesn’t even look real

How many times do the “leaders” of California have to put their hands on the stove before they learn to let it cool? (Personally, I have “∞”. As evidence, I offer the newest Karen Bass/ICE take:)

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Unfortunately, Gavin Newsom wasn’t the only one committing unforced errors over the weekend:

I’m not exactly sure which is worse — the original video blowing off the question, or writing this AFTER HAVING SEEN THE REACTION TO THE VIDEO BLOWING OFF THE QUESTION.

This issue has reportedly not only fractured Trump voters, but the Trump administration itself. We’ll see if Dan Bongino shows up for work tomorrow morning…….

If you like what you read, buy me a coffee on Ko-fi — no subscription required!

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When I found out my whole timeline was off by a week and only the cat has moved out: