I don’t know exactly what went down in that confrontation between Vincent Williams III and Tu-Ha Ak last year. Neither do you or anyone else. The only ones who know whether or not Ak “pushed, choked and punched” Vincent, as Vincent alleges, are Ak and Vincent.

The Washington Post published an article with a tantalizing headline: “Killings by police brought reforms. Fear of crime is unraveling them.”

My task in writing this daily blog is to debunk the perfidious lie that has become so entrenched in Oakland that some credulous people actually believe it. Like a metastasizing cancer that has sunk into the marrow, blood and sinew of our body politic, this Big Lie is killing us. More people than ever understand this truth, thank God, but there are still others who can’t or won’t. For this reason it’s important to call out the Lie, wherever it turns up, which is usually from “progressive” politicians and a gullible media.

I’m reproducing in its entirety this interview with Seneca Scott. It appeared in the March 5, 2024 issue of City Journal, a well-regarded publication out of New York City, and was conducted by staff writer Rafael Mangual. It’s as cogent a summary of what’s wrong with Oakland as I’ve read. Thanks to Jack Saunders for sending it to me.

London Breed is the mother of her 30 by 30 proposal, but its spiritual father is Jerry Brown. His 10K plan, which he introduced in 1999 when he was mayor of Oakland, sought to reinvigorate downtown by bringing 10,000 new residents and make it more attractive to businesses. Of course, in hindsight, Brown’s plan didn’t work—the dot-com bust, 2008 housing collapse, pandemic and remote work combined to kill it. But Brown’s vision was a grand one.