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As we close out the year, California politics is already moving fast — and the decisions that were made in 2025 will shape what the 2026 election looks like long before voters ever see a ballot.
This is a final reminder that FlashReport’s So, Does It Matter? is offering a New Year’s annual subscription for readers who want full access to all of our analysis and accountability reporting. The offer ends January 1.
Paid subscribers receive everything SDIM publishes — not just top-line coverage. That matters because the year ahead will be defined by:
The early maneuvering in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom
The accelerating Los Angeles mayor’s race
Newly redrawn congressional seats coming into focus
Major ballot measures moving from ideas to real proposals
Progressive priorities in the next legislative session
Escalating tensions between California government and the Trump administration
Continued scrutiny of Newsom’s record, contradictions, and national ambitions
Much of that coverage — especially the deeper analysis — lives behind the paywall.
Paid subscribers also receive:
All afternoon analysis posts, which are paywalled after a short preview
Expanded morning posts, often with additional analysis, extra cartoons, or video
Breaking news context, in the moment, not just what happened, but what it means
Our Saturday compendium of what to read, watch, and listen to — exclusively for paid readers
Beginning in the new year, two new paid-subscriber features will launch.
First, The Worst Week in California — a paid-only feature highlighting the political figure whose week went the most off the rails.
Second, a new paid video series — longer-form solo analysis where I present a major political or policy issue, and bore down on it in detail, without the constraints of a written post.
As a preview of the video series, I recorded a short monologue that breaks down a developing story and captures how the ruling party and its public employee ruling class have jacked things up pretty bad.
Below, I walk through the UC San Diego admissions scandal and how it intersects with a new state law that automatically admits students to the CSU system. It’s a case study in how ideology, bureaucracy, and political power keep colliding in California policymaking.
This is the kind of deeper, unfiltered analysis paid subscribers will be getting regularly in 2026.
If this is the kind of analysis you value — connecting breaking news to broader policy consequences — full access to FlashReport’s So, Does It Matter? gives you much more of it throughout the year ahead.
Right now, a full-year subscription is available for $52.50, through January 1. You save 25%.
If you’ve been reading SDIM regularly and plan to stay engaged as California heads into a critical political stretch, this is the moment to step into the front row.
The New Year’s offer ends tomorrow at midnight.
— Jon
Reference links from the video:
SDIM: Shocking New Study Reveals Terrible Math Competency at UCSD And The Truth About Grade Inflation In CA Schools [LINK [ [link removed] ]]
CALMATTERS: Even more Cal State campuses will automatically admit eligible students under a new state law [LINK [ [link removed] ]]
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