Signs like the one in the Featured Image are sporadically appearing on lawns across my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. “Don’t poke the bear” at one time applied to Soviet Russia, which if provoked too aggressively could respond by unleashing nuclear weapons.
There’s an appropriateness to its use to describe Communist California. Governor Gavin Newsom, who has aspirations about being the Democrats’ 2028 Presidential candidate, has gone wild with his response to policies advocated by the Donald Trump White House.
The sign in the companion photo presents another perspective: Negative impact of Newsom’s policies, his state legislature, and their predecessors. California leads the nation for outward migration. The “exodus isn’t just billionaires—it’s regular people renting U-Hauls, too”, Los Angeles Times explains.
Both signs speak to the deeply divided America along political ideologies. As I write this sentence, Trump delivers his State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. before Congress. One side of the room (Republican) stands and cheers constantly. The other side (Democrat) even refused to stand and clap when the President asked the Congress affirm Americans should come before illegal immigrants. That moment defines the gulf between conservatives and liberals in the United States of America. (In fairness, both sides stood in honor of servicemen receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor.)
California is a so-called sanctuary state for immigrants, illegal or otherwise, and immigration is one of the issues pitting Newsom and Trump against one another.
Trump spoke for an hour and forty-seven minutes, which would be the longest on record. Make of that what you will.
Let’s talk photos. I used Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to shoot both. Vitals, first: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/640 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 11:35 a.m. PST, Jan. 25, 2026. Vitals, second: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/3200 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 10:48 a.m., today.