The thing that strikes me about the Thao scandal is how tawdry it was. All pay-for-play is tawdry, for it arises from the basest motives of money, deception and power. But there’s something so amateur hour about this case that it leaves me breathless.

That’s what Muslims in the Near East called us Jews. We seemed always to carry with us a curious little volume we called the Torah which contained the laws undergirding Jewish life. We referred to it constantly. Was an action right or wrong? Consult the Torah!

I wasn’t surprised by this morning’s news, according to the Chronicle, that Sheng Thao has been indicted for her role in that nasty pay-for-play scandal. I knew she was guilty the second she declared her innocence on the T.V. I’ve never seen a shiftier face or lying eyes like that.

The Coalition is pleased to announce that our 2025 Person of the Year is Loren Taylor. He’s running for Mayor of Oakland, as you probably know. While the bureaucrats who purport to run this town have anointed Barbara Lee, we stand with Loren as a centrist, moderate citizen who is far more qualified than Lee, who is owned lock, stock and barrel by the unions. I’ll have much more to say about this in the following days and weeks.

I’m keeping an eye on the new City Councilman from District 7, Ken Houston, who just may be the breath of fresh air the Council needs.