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.
The Screwed Generation Turns Socialist
In this past election, those over 45 strongly favored Trump, while those younger than that cast their ballots for Clinton. Trump’s improbable victory, and the more significant GOP sweep across the country, demonstrated that the much-ballyhooed millennials simply are not yet sufficiently numerous or united enough to overcome the votes of the older generations.
Yet over time, the millennials—arguably the most progressive generation since the ’30s—could drive our politics not only leftward, but towards an increasingly socialist reality, overturning many of the very things that long have defined American life. This could presage a war of generations over everything from social mores to economics and could well define our politics for the next decade. (more…)
A New Holiday? Privileged Workers?
If Assemblyman Chris Holden’s AB 542 offering another holiday to public employees becomes law it will widen the divide between public and private workers and may even aid pension reformers. AB 542 would add presidential Election Day to a list of holidays public employees and public school employees enjoy that the general private worker does not. Providing a holiday under the law for one set of workers creates an image of a privileged class.
Why should public workers be the only ones who get Election Day off? Don’t private sector workers also have to balance work and children and errands and other activities along with their voting obligations?
Wariness about this proposal feeds off the old suspicion that government officials take care of those who take care of them. A headline created on the Flash Report website linked to an article about the bill suggests AB 542 is intended to boost Democratic turnout at the polls. The logic behind this headline comes from the fact that public employees, through their unions, strongly support the majority Democrats. (more…)
Political Forces That Could Impact Obamacare Reform or Repeal
In spite of the flurry of news last week regarding the future of the nation’s signature healthcare law, the path forward for the Affordable Care Act is not the blitzkrieg President Donald Trump or Republicans envisioned.
On Wednesday, Feb. 15, the Trump Administration proposed regulations intended to “stabilize the individual and small group markets.” A day later House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., issued a policy brief and said legislation would be introduced after the House returns from a 10-day recess on Feb. 27. In response, Obamacare advocates are warning that changes will reduce government aid to needy patients and present more obstacles to medical care. Closer to home, on Friday, California State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens and Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego introduced a bill that aims create a single-payer system replacing private insurance with a government plan. Over the noise and rhetoric, the big questions remain: who will pay for the future healthcare system – and what it will ultimately look like? (more…)
California Legislators Will Face More Bills than Usual in the 2017 Legislative Session
The 2017 California Legislative Session, which began last December 5, is officially “off to the races” now that the bill introduction deadline of February 17 has passed. This year, there was an almost 25% increase in the number of bill introductions compared to last year’s total, although there are historically more bills introduced in the first year than in the second year of the 2-year Legislative Session.
We will have to see if that historical trend holds true in 2018. In the meantime, the following sets forth the number of bill introductions each year for the past five years:
Total 2017 bill introductions as of the deadline: 2,495
Total 2016 bill introductions as of the deadline: 1,993
Total 2015 bill introductions as of the deadline: 2,297
Total 2014 bill introductions as of the deadline: 1,930
Total 2013 bill introductions as of the deadline: 2,256 (more…)
Free Speech Conundrums
Regarding the suspension of an Orange Coast College student for secretly filming a teacher in class making anti-Donald Trump comments as covered in the Orange County Register article.
In this day and age, having a policy that prevents the recording of a community college instructor seems a bit antiquated, especially when so many institutions of higher learning promote the technology in a way to advance learning, like Yale and Stanford. But, a course on human sexuality may find confidential interactions between students and the teacher a little awkward if they are taped. I can understand that. Forget about why one needs a course on this subject in school. But, some privacy requirements may be necessary.
However, what happens when the teacher deviates from the course material that was being paid for through taxpayer funding and student fees for classes? Does an educator have the right to pontificate regularly and at length on current events on a totally different subject matter? (more…)
Is it time to abandon the Bear Flag?
The Bear Flag, which first appeared as the symbol of the short-lived Bear Flag Republic in 1846, was made the official flag of California in 1911. The flag displays a California grizzly bear which, in a bit of irony, is extinct in California with the last sighting taking place in 1922.
Without any disrespect to what was a magnificent animal, perhaps it is time for a new emblem that more accurately reflects the current state of the state. Let’s consider the Oroville Dam as a more appropriate symbol. It’s large, not functioning well, parts are crumbling and it is putting the lives and property of thousands of Californians in jeopardy. To top it off, for over a dozen years, officials have been ignoring warnings that the now eroding emergency spillway was vulnerable to heavy rains.
Since the dam came on line in the late 1960s, and especially beginning with the first terms of Gov. Jerry Brown, California has shifted from a state that prioritized infrastructure improvement to one that focuses on entitlement programs, public employee compensation and environmental policies that stifle economic growth. (more…)