There’s a rumor afoot that the Council is going to try to defund the Oakland Police Department by up to $50 million, which represents about 1/6 of their annual budget.

There’s a big, flashy new poster downtown on lampposts and walls. It says:

The Coalition for a Better Oakland is proud to announce that former Chief of Police LeRonne Armstrong, who was unjustly fired by Sheng Thao, is our person of the year, for his inspirational leadership of OPD during his tenure.

Nikki Fortunato Bas, or, as I call her, Nikki Defundo Bas, “avoids mentioning public safety at all costs,” says East Bay Insiders. That’s because Bas, who’s running for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, has been the Oakland City Council’s most vindictive attack dog on the police department, and these days, hating on cops isn’t a good look for an ambitious politician. This, she remains silent when asked anything about crime.

I have a cousin I grew up with, a Vietnam War vet, who’s mad at me because he thinks I’m a leftwing snowflake who’s insufficiently patriotic. I have a friend of more than 40 years who’s mad at me because she thinks I’m too rightwing. Can I possibly be both of these things at once?