Fox and Hounds Daily Says Goodbye
With this article, we end publication of Fox and Hounds Daily. It has been a satisfying 12½ year run. When we opened in May 2008, our site was designed to offer an opportunity to those who wished to engage in public debate on many issues, especially in politics and business, but found it difficult to get placed in newspaper op-ed pages.
Co-publishers Tom Ross, Bryan Merica and I have kept F&H going over this time investing our own time, funding, and staff help. Last year at this time we considered closing the site, however with an election on the horizon we decided to keep F&H going through the election year. With the election come and gone, and with no sense of additional resources, we have decided to close the site down.
Fox and Hounds will live on, at least, with my articles collected in the California State Library.
On a personal note, I have spent over 40 years in California policy and politics. There have been some incredible high moments and some difficult low points. It pains me that politics too often is a blood sport, frequently demonizing the motives of opponents and using the legal system as a weapon in public discourse. At Fox & Hounds, we tried to adhere to the practice of giving all a voice in the debate, yet keep the commentaries civil and avoided personal attacks.
F&H offered the opportunity to publish different perspectives (even ones that criticized my writings!). We had success as indicated by the Washington Post twice citing Fox and Hounds Daily one of the best California political websites and many other positive affirmations and comments received over the years.
Tom, Bryan and I want to thank our many readers and writers for being part of our journey. The publishers of Fox and Hounds Daily believe that we added value to California and its people. We hope you agree.
Villaraigosa on Teachers Unions
Former Los Angeles mayor, California Assembly Speaker, and importantly, teacher union organizer, Antonio Villaraigosa had some sharp words for teachers unions in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Reacting to rhetoric at two recent teacher conventions, Villaraigosa asked why the teachers unions were so resistant to change.
“As a former union leader and a life-long Democrat who supports collective bargaining, I am deeply troubled by the rhetoric and strategy we heard at both national conventions. They attacked an administration in Washington that helped protect 400,000 teaching jobs during the recession …” Villaraigosa wrote. “Others are in full-throated denial over the recent California court ruling striking down the state’s public school teacher tenure and seniority laws — despite compelling evidence that it is nearly impossible to remove ineffective teachers from the classroom and that the least effective teachers disproportionately end up in classrooms with low-income children.” (more…)
A Claude Rains Moment On Campaign Spending
(Editor’s Note: The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has filed a lawsuit to remove the measure discussed below from the ballot.
More on the HJTA lawsuit can be found here.)
Worried about turnout in November, Democrats have placed an advisory measure on the fall ballot to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that allows unlimited independent expenditures by corporations and labor unions in political campaigns. In permitting the measure to go to the November ballot, Gov Jerry Brown said Citizens United “was wrongly decided and grossly underestimated the corrupting influence of unchecked money on our democratic institutions.” (more…)
AB 2171: Another Effort by Plaintiff’s Lawyers to Find New Ways to Sue
There are many reasons that California is ranked as the #1 Judicial Hellhole in the United States, including widespread abusive ADA lawsuits,shakedown Proposition 65 lawsuits or food litigation. But if some legislators get their way, things could get even worse. I’m referring to AB 2171, introduced by Assemblyman and Chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee Bob Wieckowski. If passed and signed by the Governor, it will set California’s legal climate even further back and encourage lawsuit abuse.
How? Simply put, AB 2171 provides yet another vehicle for shakedown lawsuits. It requires residential care facilities for the elderly to comply with an enormous list of new requirements using very subjective language. If any facility resident believes the facility hasn’t met these requirements, the bill empowers them to file a lawsuit seeking civil penalties against the facility. Translation: this bill enables any resident unhappy with any aspect of their stay at the facility to file lawsuit against the facility. (more…)
What Is Holding Up California Ethics Reform?
2014 has seen numerous corruption stories in California government. Suspended State Senator Rod Wright awaits sentencing for eight felony counts of perjury and voter fraud. The FBI charged state Senator Ronald Calderon with accepting bribes. And most recently, suspended state Senator Leland Yee was indicted on federal corruption and gun running charges, along with a notorious San Francisco criminal figure memorably known as “Shrimp Boy.” All three senators have been suspended indefinitely.
“If two FBI raids on the Capitol aren’t enough to remind legislators on the importance of government ethics, nothing will be,” said Peter DeMarco, a spokesperson for the Senate Republican Caucus. (more…)
How The Past Can Devour The Future
The stock market has hit record highs and public pension funds are reporting record levels of capital, yet public pension costs keep growing, leaving some observers puzzled. A new book by French economist Thomas Piketty helps clear up the confusion.
In his book, Capital in the 21st Century, Piketty explains that capital is wealth derived from past activities (e.g., your savings represent wealth you accumulated over the past) that combines with labor to produce, and split the benefits from, economic growth. Everything works fine so long as returns promised to capital are lower than economic growth rates. But when returns promised to capital are higher than economic growth rates, Piketty says the past “devours the future.” (more…)
Dude, Growing Marijuana Uses 200 Times More Water Than Fracking!
Intent on ignoring facts and spreading hysteria, ideological opponents of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have seized on the state’s drought as an excuse to demand a moratorium. Never mind that fracking doesn’t even use much water.
Now, scientists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are warning that streams harboring endangered salmon and steelhead could go dry for an entirely different reason – because of the heavy water consumption of marijuana growers. During growing season, marijuana consumes 60 million gallons of water a day. That’s 200 times more water than is used in hydraulic fracturing operations and 50% more than consumed by the entire city of San Francisco.
This all raises an interesting question: Where is the alarmist press release from the folks at the Center for Biological Diversity demanding an immediate moratorium on marijuana? (more…)