The Kavanuagh Appointment: What Will it Mean?
The U.S. Supreme Court has a new justice—a very conservative one who it is anticipated will tip the balance of power in ways that will profoundly affect every American citizen one way or another for years to come. Some will rejoice. Others will lament what happened. But however each of us feels, that is not […]
The Kavanaugh Hearings: A High Stakes Battle
If there is such a thing as a Super Bowl in politics, it occurred real time before a nation-wide audience riveted to their screens as the high drama taking place in Washington unfolded. As is so often the case, Californians are playing a starring role. In a shocking turnabout to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s tumultuous […]
California Lawmakers About to Make History
California faces many important issues raised in the columns on this website every day—-and good that they are. In fact regardless of our ideological bent it is critical that we engage in vigorous discussion. However with the press and some of our most important institutions such as the FBI, the CIA and the Justice Department under relentless attack from the Oval Office, the future of reasonable discourse – indeed […]
California and Its Water
As Hurricane Florence bore down on the East Coast inundating vast areas of southern states with record storm tides and flooding we are once again reminded of the enormous power of water to create devastation. These natural disasters are likely to continue with tragic consequences as the planet goes through climate changes of rising seas […]
The High Stakes in the Brett Kavanaugh Nomination
There were few surprises in the rancorous hearings to commend Brett Kavanaugh for appointment to the Supreme Court. They have now mercifully come to a close. Were he to fail in getting the simple majority of votes he needs for Senate confirmation it would cause a tsunami shock with reverberations that will rock the political […]
Now He Belongs To The Ages
Sen. John McCain didn’t quite make it to the presidency but he might have worn the title easily had history gone another way. In an extraordinary lifetime of achievements that catapulted him from naval hero and prisoner of war to re-election to the Senate where he was serving his sixth term, McCain demonstrated the highest […]
Political Upheaval and the California Factor
We commonly refer to journalism as the “Fourth Estate—a branch of society that wields enormous influence outside of government itself. It is powered by forces which we generally consider impervious to manipulation by external actors such as enemy governments and rogue enterprises that can threaten democracy. But thanks in part to the invention of the […]
California Politics and the Nation’s
Californians have not seen or heard much from Barack Obama lately. Nor for that matter has anyone else. The former president has been working as hard to stay out of the limelight as his successor is doing to stay in it with hourly tweets. This has not been lost on the political cognoscenti in this […]
Is It Time To More Closely Examine Our Election Procedures?
It may be time to take a closer look on how we conduct elections. So-called Ranked Choice Voting—or RCV for short—is gaining popularity with mixed reviews. It’s kissing cousin—“top-two primary voting” may also deserve further scrutiny. While the jury is still out on how well RCV may work, the number of skeptics is mounting—and Californians […]
Governor Brown’s Likely Legacy and the Aftermath
Next year there is likely to be some jubilation in Republican as well as more than a few Democratic circles when Governor Jerry Brown, a wily tactician who will have held the top position twice for a history-making four terms finally exits the scene. How well his successor will fare whoever it is may not […]