(DCNF)—Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign reportedly seeks to frame her as a law and order candidate, however, the deep-pocketed donors propelling her candidacy have a history of supporting efforts to reduce the power of law enforcement.
Harris’ close advisers have settled on a strategy of highlighting the vice president’s career as a district attorney and attorney general in California, according to CNN. Despite the Harris campaign’s plans, many of the donors backing her have opposed efforts to empower law enforcement and supported organizations that advocate for defunding the police.
“Not only does Kamala need to defend her support of Joe Biden’s failed agenda over the past four years, she also needs to answer for her own terrible weak-on-crime record in California,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “A vote for Kamala is a vote to allow illegal immigrants from all over the world to invade our country, a vote to defund the police, abolish ICE and bail violent criminals out of jail.”
The Soros Connection
George Soros, the self-admitted architect of a plan to overhaul America’s criminal justice system by installing prosecutors with a more lenient view on crime, and his son Alex both endorsed Harris for president shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, The Wall Street Journal reported. In addition to electing so-called reform prosecutors, the Soros philanthropic network has also pumped millions into anti-police groups, including some that have called for reduced spending on law enforcement.
Open Society Foundations, which George Soros founded and Alex Soros took over in 2023, donated tens of millions to anti-police groups in 2021, including Black Lives Matter-aligned organizations that call for defunding the police and the New Venture Fund for the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability, which publishes materials on both defunding and abolishing the police, Fox News Digital reported. Soros also supported campaigns in Minneapolis to abolish its police department following the death of George Floyd.
Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II, political action committees funded and controlled by the Soros family, have spent tens of millions this election cycle to help get Democrats elected and gave millions to Democratic super PACs that worked to get Biden elected in 2020, Federal Election Commission records show.
Many of the prosecutors supported by Soros have come under fire from people living in their jurisdiction for their approaches to criminal justice.
Former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who received support from Soros-aligned groups, was recalled in 2022 after city residents accused him of not prosecuting crimes like burglary, car thefts and murder, as well as for releasing repeat offenders who went on to commit additional crimes. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who Soros spent millions supporting through his California Justice & Public Safety PAC, faces a tough reelection bid amid criticisms of his handling of crime, which included opting not to prosecute crimes like trespassing, resisting arrest, making criminal threats, drug possession or loitering to commit prostitution.
Netflix, Nonprofits And Criminal Justice Reform
Nonprofit head Quinn Delaney and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, major Democratic donors who announced their support for Harris shortly after President Joe Biden ended his reelection effort, joined Soros in working to elect Gascon and Boudin.
Delaney, alongside three other California-based donors, poured millions into electing the two prosecutors in 2020, Politico reported. Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin donated $1.75 million to support Gascon, according to Deadline.
Hastings donated $7 million to a pro-Harris PAC, the largest donation he has ever given a candidate, Business Insider reported. Delaney, meanwhile, pumped $1 million into a pro-Harris super PAC that she ran in 2020 and has been identified as a “key backer” of Harris post-dropout by the New York Times.
Delaney and Hastings have also thrown their wealth behind opposing ballot measures in California that would have empowered law enforcement.
Hastings and his wife in 2020 spent $2 million opposing California Proposition 20, which would have increased penalties for property crimes, as well as $1 million in support of a ballot measure that would have abolished cash bail, according to Forbes. Delaney, on the other hand, in 2024, donated to a committee opposing a California ballot measure that would have increased penalties for retail theft, Politico reported.
Delaney heads the Akonadi Foundation, an Oakland-based nonprofit that focuses on “ending the criminalization of people of color,” according to its website. Akonadi runs a program called “All In For Oakland” which works to remove police officers from schools and close juvenile prisons and donates funds to Black Lives Matter-affiliated organizations.
While Harris’ campaign is reportedly prepared to present her as the law and order candidate, the vice president presented as a reformist during her time in the Senate. Harris told The View in 2020 that the defund the police movement was about “reimagining how we do public safety in America” adding that “we have confused the idea that to achieve safety you put more cops on the street instead of understanding to achieve safe and healthy communities, you put more resources into the public education system of those communities, into affordable housing, into home ownership, into access to capital for small businesses, access to health care regardless of how much money people have,” the Sacramento Bee reported.
Harris, in a 2020 radio interview, praised the defund the police movement, saying that the “whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it reflects the right priorities,” according to CNN. She also praised Los Angeles’ move to cut their police department’s budget by $150 million during an interview a day prior.
Golden State Cash
Karla Jurvetson, another wealthy Californian whom the NYT reported is throwing her support behind Harris, was labeled by a Republican operative as a “major funder of the squad and just about every politician on Capitol Hill who wants to defund the police” due to her political contributions to left-wing members of Congress, according to the New York Post. She is also a donor to Color of Change PAC, a committee that works to defund police departments, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Jurvetson was the twenty-fourth largest individual Democratic donor during the 2020 election cycle, giving a considerable sum to Harris at the time, according to Influence Watch.
Andrea Dew-Steele, yet another Californian Democratic donor, has been hard at work laying the foundation for Harris’ campaign since before Biden even dropped out, the NYT reported. Dew-Steele, who is a personal friend of Harris and served on her national finance committee in 2020, has spent the past few weeks funneling donors to Democrat-aligned groups in preparation for a possible Harris campaign.
“We were trying to make sure that we were ready for this moment,” she told the NYT. “I was just trying to prepare the ground.”
Dew-Steele is the founder of Emerge America, an organization dedicated to electing women to office at all levels of government. The group has backed several liberal prosecutors, including Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton and former Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins, both of whom received backing from Soros’ network, as well as San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, who declined to prosecute many of those who were arrested in her city during the 2020 George Floyd riots, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
“The prosecutor exercises the greatest discretion and power in the system. It is so important,” Dew-Steele told Politico in 2016, speaking about Soros’ strategy of funding left-wing prosecutors. “There’s been a confluence of events in the past couple years and all of the sudden, the progressive community is waking up to this.”
Many of the prosecutors funded by Soros decline to prosecute what they deem to be low-level crimes like drug possession, vandalism or trespassing.
“I applaud Emerge America for working to get more women in law enforcement positions,” then-California Attorney General Harris said in 2015, when the group first launched, according to MSNBC. “Having served for eight years as San Francisco’s District Attorney and now as the Attorney General of California, I can tell you that women’s voices are desperately needed in the criminal justice system.”
Susie Tompkins Buell, another prominent donor whom the NYT reported has come out in support of Harris, and Delaney both serve on Emerge America’s advisory board.
The vice president’s proximity to the defund the police movement persists in her staffing decisions with Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign’s spokesperson, having tweeted “defund the police” on June 3, 2020.
Harris has spent much of her career threading the needle between appeasing leftists and not making an enemy of law enforcement, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2020, for instance, Harris distanced herself from her past as a prosecutor at the urging of her sister, CNN reported.
The Harris campaign did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Jurvetson could not be reached for comment. None of the other donors named above responded to requests for comment.
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Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
Billionaires? I’m curious, how many of them are Jews? ALL OF THEM? I’m just asking for a friend.
“Tough on crime”? Don’t you mean the agenda of the Harris administration would be to go after political enemies?