Posts tagged Crazifornia
New Crazifornia Endorsements
Apr 9th
As publication of Crazifornia nears, I’m practicing the age-old tradition of soliciting author blubs. You know, the sensational “you gotta read this” quotes authors use on the cover and first pages of a book to entice readers to buy.
Steven Greenhut read the book last weekend and provided the blurb below. Many of you know him from his regular columns in the Orange County Register, or from his book Plunder.
‘Crazifornia’ made me laugh, it made me cry. No, really — one rarely reads such a funny account of such a sad subject. California, my beloved home, has gone from the destination spot in the nation to a pathetic basket case run into the ground by lunatics. Pearce pins the blame where it belongs. You won’t find any solutions in this book, but solutions are pointless because the crazies who still run the state, and the crazies who vote those people, would never accept any solutions. This is a great book to read, tearfully, as you pack the house in Orange County and wait for the moving van to take you to Nevada.
Few people have written more – and more eloquently – than Greenhut on what ails California, so I cherish this blurb. I especially like the last sentence.
Long-time Greenhut colleague John Seiler, who edits and writes for the wonderful CalWatchDog website, edited Crazifornia, for which I’m immensely grateful. After spending a week catching errors major and minor in the manuscript, he had this to say:
Want to know what’s happening in America’s nuttiest state? Read Crazifornia. It’s the most incisive, and funniest, dissection of what happened to the formerly Golden State. It’s all there: punishing taxes, environmental extremism, cultural rot, Gov. Moonbeam and the Schwarzenegger meltdown. And even if you don’t live there, given California’s immense influence, what Laer Pearce details is coming soon to your state.
Finally, Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute and author of The Pipes Plan: The Top Ten Ways to Dismantle and Replace Obamacare, provided this:
Before we can hope to return California to good governance and fiscal health, we need to understand just how dysfunctional the state has become and who is responsible for its deterioration. Crazifornia tells us that story, relaying an entertaining history of progressive ideology, failed liberal experiments and regulatory excesses. Pearce’s exposition helps us understand why California is teetering on the precipice. And more important, it helps us see a path forward.
Soon there will be a book to put these on. I just need to write the conclusion, collect the blurbs, and off it goes to the publisher.
Hugh Hewitt Praises Crazifornia
Jan 9th
I sent a copy of the almost-completed Crazifornia manuscript to radio talk show host, blogger, author and columnist Hugh Hewitt for his review and comment. Gotta say I’m pretty pleased with the result:
Anyone who is concerned about California’s future or who fears that California’s maladies will spread to their state should read Crazifornia. Laer Pearce, who I’ve known as a public affairs pro for as long as I’ve lived in California, has written the most insightful and entertaining book I’ve ever read on the genesis, depth and – surprisingly – deep funniness of California’s perilous condition. Thankfully, this isn’t a boring tome touting the next ultimately futile formula for supposedly fixing all that ails California. Rather, it’s a story book, full of one astonishing tale after another about what really goes on in California, and why, and what it means to you. In the end, you’ll learn a great deal and enjoy it a great deal.
Hugh was the first person I met with when I came up with the Crazifornia concept. He supported me then and I’m glad to see he’s become even more supportive after reading the manuscript. It will be out in a few months – use the sign-up box in the top right to request an update when it’s available.
Crazifornia, Here I Come!
Apr 14th
Even decades after Al Jolson crooned, “Open up those golden gates, California here I come!” California was a dream state, attracting hundreds of thousands of new residents yearly with its promise of great weather, terrific schools, lots of jobs, and a small government in far-away Sacramento that saw its role as supporters and facilitators of the state’s growth.
My, my, my! How nightmarishly things have changed. The Crazifornia Project documents those changes. Or more specifically, how the death-spiral trio of liberal Democrats, no-growth environmentalists and public employee unions have come together in a Progressive campaign to tarnish all that was once golden in the Golden State.
You can help! Via the “Contact Crazifornia” button above, or by email to crazifornia @ laer [dot] com, send me your own story about how Crazifornia’s ridiculous regulations, ludicrous legislation or puerile policies are driving you crazy. If I use your story, you’ll get a mention in the acknowledgments of my upcoming book,Crazifornia – How California Ruined Itself and is Poised to Take the Rest of America with It.
While you wait for the book to be published, enjoy these posts from my old blog, Cheat-Seeking Missiles, that spawned the whole Crazifornia idea.
Crazifornia: Zero Intelligence in Concord Schools
Crazifornia: Regulators Want to Ban Big TVs
Crazifornia: Imperial Imperviousness
And too early to get the “Crazifornia” moniker:
Coastal Commission Attempting to Ban Fourth of July Fireworks
