Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.

[Q]: If California truly leads the nation, we can elect a black woman to the US Senate. Here in California, it's been a blockbuster week in politics : Barbara Boxer is finally stepping down as perma-Senator after over 20 years ; former San Francisco mayor and current lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom is running for governor ; and attorney general Kamala Harris gunning for Boxer's soon-to-be- vacated seat . Why does it matter? There' s certainly something compelling about Harris' daring bid for US Senate : there are only one in five senators are female in this Congress ; and there are only two black Senators currently (Cory Booker of New Jersey and Tim Scott from South Carolina) . If Harris won , she not only would contribute to the growing number of women in power, but having three actual black senators at one time would make history because, to date, two is the best we've been able to achieve as a nation . In America's entire history, only eight black people have ever been senators and of those, only half were actually elected, rather than appointed . Yet African-Americans make up about 13% of the population, according to the 2013 census . True proportional representation would see black senators in the double digits in Congress . California has outsized importance in the US economy : on its own, it is the world's eighth-largest economy, just behind booming Brazil but ahead of Russia and Italy . California's contributions are one of the chief reasons the US remains the world's biggest economy ... and a black woman is poised to be one of the most nationally influential politicians in the state . California's internal public policy tussles - and its standard more-liberal- than-the-nation solutions - often help lead the rest of the nation and the world forward, be it on pollution standards, minimum wage increases, medical marijuana legalization, organic produce certification, healthcare access for the uninsured, public-private technology innovation such as iHubs and tax breaks that encourage local production of zero-emission Teslas, same sex marriage and wetlands protections such as the CA Coastal Act of 1976 . California's politicians can bring to Washington the ability to combine strong, safe regulatory experience with a booming economy and environmental protections, offering a compelling counter-point to Republicans who argue otherwise . And ,  with the exception of Jerry Brown's first stint as governor from 1975-1983, California internal top politics has been tended to be dominated by southern California figures like Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger - but Harris (and Newsom) are both northern California people through and through . Instead of Hollywood values and priorities holding sway in the state, northern California's tech-powered financial and cultural strength may finally have a chance to drive the state's politics . And while Boxer, her fellow senator Dianne Feinstein and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi all hail from northern California, they spend much of their time in Washington DC  - so Harris's move to DC will provide us with a new generation of representatives steeped in the area's emerging tech-focused culture . While I believe California has much to gain from politicians like Newsom and Harris who see their work as largely cooperative and people-focused- as opposed to the ideological culture warriors who normally represent us in national policy debates - there's a long road ahead for each . Harris, for instance, may have to contend with billionaire Tom Steyer and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a Democratic primary (and Villaraigosa would make history of his own) . But Harris is likely to have a lot of support behind her and  - being young, at 50 - a run now for Senate still leaves the door open to run for governor 10 or 20 years down the road . After all ,  stranger things have happened in CA politics : who would have thought that B-list actor Ronald Reagan would rise from California to become the GOP's iconic president , or that Jerry Brown, now 76-years-old, would become governor again after over 30 years?
[A]: Barbara Boxer is finally stepping down as perma-Senator after over 20 years attorney general Kamala Harris gunning for Boxer's soon-to-be- vacated seat


[Q]: Ho Ho No: School bans Santa from winter concert. A Massachusetts school that advertises itself as an "inclusive community" banned Santa Claus from its annual Christmas concert in the hometown of Harvard University after someone complained . "I am writing to you today to inform you of a change in our concert series this winter," wrote Principal Jennifer Ford in a letter to parents of the Peabody School in Cambridge . "Our first through fourth grade concert as well as our kindergarten concert will not include a visit from Santa Claus this year." The principal did not explain why Santa was banned from the December 12 concert . Could local environmentalists have taken issue with his carbon footprint? Did animal rights activists complain about the welfare of Prancer and Vixen? Did the milk and cookies violate the school's "Let's Move" food rules? It's hard to know for sure -- but I'm going to take a wild guess and say they probably thought Santa was the "Reason for the Season." CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW TODD ON FACEBOOK FOR CONSERVATIVE CONVERSATION . Moms and dads around Cambridge, Mass  say the principal's ban is naughty, not nice and some are ready to jingle somebody's bells . "I come from a city that celebrates diversity and tolerance," parent Robert Thompson told Fox & Friends . "At its base this decision reeks of intolerance." Instead ,  Jolly Old Saint Nick has been relegated to a family sing-along on the day before Christmas Eve . Thompson said as if they are saying Santa is not "good enough for the main show." The school was afraid even that even the presence of Old St  Nick overly sensitive residents . "I am sensitive to the fact that you may not want your child involved in this event," Ford wrote in a letter obtained by the Boston Globe . "If you prefer that your child spend time with me that afternoon , please let me know . I will be in the library, playing games and reading books with the children." How's that for an unadulterated does of liberal lunacy? It's enough to curdle your egg nog . Jeffrey Young is the superintendent of this calamitous mess of public education . He told the Globe he doesn't understand why Santa needs to visit the Peabody School . "There's no anti-Santa sentiment," he told the newspaper . "It's just that there's no pro-Santa sentiment either... Santa's not on the top of my list" . I'd be willing to bet a pound of fruitcake the superintendent is at the top of Santa's list . Mr  Thompson said the school celebrates all sorts of cultures - so why not his? "They are telling me mine is not acceptable," he said . Of course ,  this is the hometown of Harvard University - so it's fair to say they have a disproportionate number of certifiable citizens . This is the same town that in 2007 stopped a Boy Scout troop from collecting care packages for American soldiers . They scouts were accused of making a political statement . And how can we forget about the city's war on carbonation? The mayor wanted to ban any bottled soft drinks larger than 16 ounces . They also wanted to decide how much popcorn citizens could pop and how many milkshakes citizens could slurp . And if you need further proof that Cambridge is to the left of Vladimir Putin , consider this item from the 2006 edition of The Harvard Crimson . A member of the Cambridge Public Schools Committee compared a law mandating the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to a "post 9/11 ultra-patriotism push." School committee member Luc Schuster told the newspaper that "pledging blind allegiance" to the United States stifles the intellectual capacity of children." You just can't argue with that kind of ignorance, folks . Sounds to me like they've been smoking too much mistletoe . As they say back home in Tennessee- the cheese has done slid off the cracker . Ho, ho, ho, America!
[A]: A Massachusetts school that advertises itself as an "inclusive community" banned Santa Claus from its annual Christmas concert in the hometown of Harvard University after someone complained "Our first through fourth grade concert as well as our kindergarten concert will not include a visit from Santa Claus this year."


[Q]: 'What happens on tour stays on tour': how a week on a young Tory campaign bus might look. As news emerges that the Conservative party chairman, Grant Shapps, has jokingly promised young volunteers that the most active among them might get to go on holiday to Ibiza with Samantha and David Cameron , we imagine what a week on the road with the Road Trip 2015 team might look like . "What happens on tour stays on tour," says one young volunteer, handing out the free, blue-coloured contraceptives as the group pass Milton Keynes , "but don't let the guys at the back of the coach near these." At the back are the socially conservative gang . One has taken his"It's not Adam & Steve" commemorative pin badge off and is using it to pierce the condoms . The rest of the coach has just finished playing"identify the Ayn Rand quote" , and near the front of the bus the libertarians are swapping pill bottles . "This is bat country," one of them mutters , while another reads a book on the gold standard . After a day's leafleting in North Warwickshire, the team heads to the nearest Holiday Inn where a curry is being prepared . It has taken two days for "Banter Bus" to emerge as the name of the team vehicle , edging out Winning Wagon and Chat Coach . "How to spot a Labour voter" is the topic of conversation , and it is generally agreed that they are the ones who fly-tip in their own front gardens . Within minutes of the party chairman telling the audience that the most successful campaigners may get to throw shapes with Sam Cam in Ibiza, groups have split off into the corners of the room to form campaign teams . A mixture of Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Taylor Swift is encouraging young attendees to adjust their pocket squares and hit the dance floor . The team encounter a group of Labour supporters who - as Central Office training suggested- broke into tears and fled when shown the standard-issue photograph of Ed Miliband standing in a puddle . Volunteers carry the auto- tuned Nick Clegg apology for similar purposes , but headquarters has yet to devise a Ukip strategy . Later in the afternoon there is a brief tangle with the media as two young men brawl over the correct pronunciation of "Boadicea" . Local press are quick to the scene, and get shots of the men before they've been encouraged to remove their rosettes and tie pins . Insiders whisper that it's really an argument about whose dance card was marked last night . "Oxbridge people get it," says one young man as he leans over the table of a group of women enjoying their fourth curry dinner of the trip . This is the first floor restaurant of a Hilton Doubletree, with all the ambience of a young offenders' institution . The women have taken to dining in a protective circle with their handbags on the backs of their chairs, reminiscent of the Roman Legion's "testudo" or "tortoise" formation . A second man leans in to say,"Really, most people will agree that it's actually 'Doxbridge'." Later that night there are unconfirmed reports that the man who invented the "Doxbridge" portmanteau to include his alma mater of Durham has been shivved with a plastic Liam Fox doll and has left the trip . "We're all in this together," one volunteer cheerfully tells the receptionist as the Banter Bus makes an unexpected stop at a sexual health clinic . The volunteers pile off and spend the morning getting tested, only for a red-faced doctor to explain that their symptoms (flatulence, lethargy) are the result of too much curry, and that since only two of them have been sexually active in the past month, this has been a complete waste of NHS time and money . "We love the NHS," a group leader protests , as the others try very hard to look like they're one of the two . For the rest of the day everything is described as "sound" , and after six hours of delivering leaflets in the rain, the team opt for KFC and vodka shots . The team are cold . Not only was the heating broken in the village hall they slept in last night, but the windows of the bus have all had to be kept open . The driver has pointed to a European directive safeguarding his working conditions , which has forced the team to crack the sunroof . By lunchtime, the cold and the EU directive has unified two groups who previously had not shared three words with each other , as the socially conservative volunteers and the libertarians demand the coach be stopped outside a Ukip field headquarters for them to defect . As one of the libertarians mutters "sound" at the sight of the Ukip flag, a Team 2015 staffer screams," You can't say that, that's our word", and has a cry . In a recount of the votes minus the defectors, the vehicle has reverted to Chat Coach , and the group are arguing whether David Davis or Theresa May would survive longest on a desert island before someone lets slip that they know how to buy Twitter followers . Within a few minutes the group are all upping their social media presence . That evening the Chat Coach stops for the final time , and the revellers enjoy an Ibiza-themed beer and curry night followed by Ibiza-themed laser quest . One volunteer overhears Samantha Cameron's assistant screaming at Shapps over the phone, stating in no uncertain terms that Samantha would rather be trapped in a steam room with the two Eds than go on holiday with Team 2015, and that he could stick his competition . The volunteer tweets excitedly to his 30,000 followers , only to remember that none of them are real . What happens on tour really does stay on tour .
[A]:
we imagine what a week on the road with the Road Trip 2015 team might look like