Immigrants respond to the attack on the Capitol with warnings of false prophets, Rep. Kevin McCarthy takes heat for his support of President Trump and CSUB gets a sweet over Cal Poly in men's basketball

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... THE LONG TAIL OF THE CAPITOL ASSAULT: Some of the more visceral reactions to the assault on the U.S. Capitol have come from immigrants and their children, many of them people who left unstable governments for the promise of an America that offered stability and predictability. But the Capitol assault has left many of them questioning whether their adopted country has changed, and some are left wondering if America is

on the road to becoming just another nation perpetually at war with itself. Raji Brar, whose parents immigrated from India only to build an impressive business of Countryside markets and other businesses in the Bakersfield area, said the January 6 assault made her rethink the idea of an America that would always offer "safety and security." Dr. Brij Bhambi, a cardiologist and co-owner of Bakersfield Heart Hospital, wrote and essay warning of the dangers of false prophets who trade in lies, conspiracies an myths. 

 * ... KMAC: In the aftermath of the assault on the U.S. Capitol last week, Rep. Kevin McCarthy has come under enormous heat for failing to denounce President Trump's role in the events that led to five deaths and dozens of arrests. While strongly denouncing the violence as un-American, McCarthy is among a handful of Trump loyalists who are sticking with Trump while many of his GOP colleagues (Senators Ben Sasse and Lindsay Graham among them) have turned on the president. In a piece in the National Journal, writer Josh Kraushaar wrote this: "Time will tell whether McCarthy pays a political price for his political cowardice. He was coming off a successful election, with House Republicans benefiting from a Trump-fueled turnout surge while maintaining enough support from more traditional Republican voters to wildly beat expectations. His party is within striking distance of the majority in two years. But the GOP is also splitting apart, with a growing number of republican officials backing a complete break from Trump after this week's events. that split is forcing Republicans to choose between democracy and Trump. If the institutionalizes prevail in the looming GOP battle for the soul of their party, McCarthy will rue the day he chose to stay on the Trump ship until the bitter end."

 * ... PARLER: Die-hard supporters of President Trump have been moving their online social media accounts off sites like Facebook and Instagram to more conservative-leaning new websites like Parler, and now Big Tech has turned on Parler saying it has become a home for threats of violence. The above mentioned Rep. McCarthy established a Parler account along with Sen. Ted Cruz and Congressman Devin Nunes as well as President Donald Trump’s family members and surrogates. But now, both Amazon and Apple have kicked Parler off their web hosting services, meaning that Parler will have to find a new home for Trump'sfollowers. Below is an example of some of the chatter being seen on Parler.

 * ... CSUB ROADRUNNERS: The CSUB Roadrunners swept Cal Poly this weekend to improve to an overall record of 6-4 (2-1 in the Big West Conference). The great tragedy this year is that no fans can enjoy CSUB's entry into the Big West Conference, where CSUB will play more regional rivals like Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: Some fun from Facebook.

 * ... RIP TOMMY: There have been lots of tributes to the late Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, but few as sweet as this picture of the late Nick Uricchio posing the the legendary great. Thanks to his grandson, Bryan Porter, for sharing this.

 * ... MEMORIES: Some classic old pictures from the Highway 99 Facebook page of life on the road back in the day.

The Valadao-Cox race goes down to the wire, Father Craig Harrison wins a court case against an accuser and are you leaving Facebook for more conservative social media sites?

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... VALADAO-COX: Is history about to repeat itself in the race between Democrat Congressman T.J. Cox and Republican challenger David Valadao. Two years ago Valadao was the incumbent and on election night went to sleep thinking he had won. But after absentee and late reporting precinct ballots were counted, Cox

narrowly edged Valadao and won. As things stand now, Valadao leads Cox by 4,000 votes, yet once again Cox is slowly catching up thanks to late reporting precincts from Cox strongholds and mail-in ballots. There are some 34,000 votes yet to be counted in the four counties that comprise the 21st Congressional District, and 31,000 of them are in Kern County. And that is bad news for Valadao since the Kern ballots come from deeply Democratic pockets of Kern County. Hold tight because this will be another tight one.

 * ... FATHER CRAIG: A judge has ruled that Monsignor Craig Harrison can move forward with a defamation lawsuit against a former friend who said Harrison hit on him sexually and had a pattern of acting inappropriately with other young men. Judge Kennth G. Pritchard denied an anti-SLAPP motion filed by the attorney for Ryan Dixon, who at one time considered Harrison a close personal friend, mentor and spiritual guide. Dixon, who later studied to become a Benedictine monk, turned on Harrison after he claimed Harrison was guilty of "inappropriate touching, lies, manipulation and abuse of power." Perhaps equally damning, Dixon claims Harrison had a pattern of touching and being alone with children, subjecting them to grooming behavior including lavishing then with money and other gifts. Harrison has denied the allegations by Dixon, as he has the other now middle aged men who have accused Harrison of similar incidents of sexual touching and impropriety. Harrison was suspended by the Diocese of Fresno in April of 2019 after multiple allegations of abuse arouse involving Harrison over several decades at different parishes in the Central Valley. Since his suspension he has filed a lawsuit against the Diocese as well as against Dixon and other critics. Harrison can no long perform priestly duties for the church and has been waiting for the church to rule on his fate. The statute of limitations has expired on any possible criminal offenses but Harrison could face civil action by any of the men who have come forward to accuse him of sexual abuse. (file photo of Harrison and Dixon)

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I’ve blocked several family members on social media this year. Now how can I block them for the holidays?" 

* ... FACEBOOK EXODUS: Are you part of the migration of conservative voters away from Facebook and Fox News? A large number of viewers, most of them Trump loyalists, are angry at Fox News for allegedly showing bias toward liberals and they are also fed up with Facebook and Twitter because of its censorship policies. Those leaving Facebook are opting for more conservative social media platform options like Parler, MeWe, Rumble or Newsmax.

 * ... MEMORIES: Thanks to the Kern County History Fans for sharing this great old picture from Delano, back in the day.