It’s Christmas Eve in Southern California! Isn’t it beautiful? Don’t you wish you were going to have an azure Christmas?

But wait. This picture was taken last month, and the weather report says it’s going to rain tomorrow. What about that, Mr. Puffy Clouds and Long Exposure Ocean?

Meh. Salesmanship has been part of California’s heritage ever since the Southern Pacific laid down tracks to Los Angeles. We’ve been boasting about our weather ever since and promoting pictures all over the country that exaggerate our already impressive natural beauty. Why stop now?

November 29, 2019 — Laguna Beach, California

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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