Bienvenitos. That's California for welcome to the September 17th edition of National Reviews.

Radio Free California Podcast. I'm Will Swain, president of the California Policy Center.

You can find my colleagues and me at California PolicyCenter.org. You can find my friend and co-host David Bonson right here. He's an economist, the host of the Capitol Record podcast, the author of full-time work in the meaning of life. And of course, he's founder of the eponymous investment from the Bonson group. Hello, David. Hello, Will. Good to be with you, my friend. And with you. Thanks for making it. I know you've got a super

tight travel schedule there. You're in Houston? I'm in Houston. I had a big speaking event on

Monday night, and then I had a big client dinner event last night and a couple of meetings

yesterday with some of our team here and then I am leaving right when we're done to go out to

Nashville and have another speaking event there tomorrow before going back to New York

where I have some meetings before I go to D.C. where I'm speaking for the Philadelphia Society

on Saturday before I fly back to L.A. to go to to D.C. where I'm speaking for the Philadelphia Society on Saturday,

before I fly back to L.A. to go to the USC game at the Coliseum at nighttime.

Yes.

Before I go to a big event I have in Orange County on Sunday before I come back to New York a couple

days later. So this is just giving Radio Free California listeners

a little glimpse into what week I have ahead. I'm sure they care so much about my travel

schedule. I think they do. I find it fascinating. David, I just want to point out that it was

180 years ago yesterday that California celebrated Mexican independence while still under the

Mexican flag.

Of course, about nine months later in 1846, we get the bare flag revolt, followed quickly by

U.S. Navy Commodore John D. Sloat sailing into Monterey Bay and declaring the entire

province of Alta, California, territory of the United States of America.

And you know the rest of the story there, that 1846 Mexican celebration, Mexican Independence Day celebration was a little bit more muted with U.S. troops and all the major cities.

You can imagine that folks were a little quieter.

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