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.
Stronger Oversight Needed at CA State Bar
The State Bar regulates and licenses the nearly quarter of a million attorneys in California, and is also responsible for punishing those who violate legal and ethical standards – but it is clearly not doing its job effectively.
In June, a state audit found that the State Bar fails to adequately punish attorneys who violate its standards. When the State Bar found itself facing more than 5,000 complaints against attorneys five years ago, the audit found that, rather than hire the necessary staff to handle the complaints, the Bar quickly settled cases and may have been too lenient on attorneys.
At the same time, the audit found that the State Bar’s income has grown so much that it had $32 million on hand. Instead of using those funds to hire the staff necessary to fulfill its duties, though, it purchased and upgraded a building in Los Angeles. (more…)
DMV: Department of Motor…Voting?
The recent news out of Pennsylvania that 289 Adarians are registered to vote has the state’s elections officials red-faced. Unless you’re a sci-fi fan, you can be forgiven for not knowing that Adarians are main characters in a series of books related to the “Star Wars” franchise: a “species of bipedal humanoids from the planet Adari.” Adarians also happen to be a registered political party in Pennsylvania (one of nearly 100 certified political parties in the state) comprised of bipedal human voters. But how many Adarians are there…really?
Turns out, the answer is a lot fewer than 289. A humorous if concerning investigation by the Philadelphia Daily News revealed that dozens of previously registered Democrats and Republicans have been re-registered as Adarians. The culprit appears to be PennDOT – the state’s equivalent of our DMV – which is tasked with implementing Pennsylvania’s “Motor Voter” program. As the News reports, “the mistakes are likely the result of alphabetical happenstance and human error [“Adarian” comes first in the party affiliation list], either on the voter’s part or on that of the PennDOT photo technicians who processed the applications.” (more…)
Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid And Congress – Act II
Butch Cassidy : Alright. I’ll jump first.
Sundance Kid : No.
Butch Cassidy : Then you jump first.
Sundance Kid : No, I said.
Butch Cassidy : What’s the matter with you?
Sundance Kid : I can’t swim.
Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.
So went the dialogue as Paul Newman and Robert Redford jumped over the cliff and escaped to Bolivia. Once again Congress is poised on the fiscal cliff, with the prospect of a free fall in the making. It’s de je vu as another potential government shutdown looms due to bickering in D.C. (more…)
Brown Intends Energy Changes by Executive Order
Several years back, when Jerry Brown was serving as the Attorney General of California, I had the chance to interview him on the radio show. I asked him about a letter he had sent to county authorities in the Inland Empire having to do with their 20-year transportation plan. Mr. Brown’s letter challenged the plan because it relied heavily on future highway and freeway improvements to accommodate future growth and congestion.
Mr. Brown wanted to see more emphasis on alternative transportation. Specifically, he challenged the plan due to its reliance on the use of concrete due to the fact that manufacturing concrete is greenhouse gas intensive. His objections were based on AB32, the anti-global warming legislation that would require California to reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels (a 15 percent reduction) by the year 2020. (more…)
What County Fairs Are Good For
I’m feeling guilty for having failed, as of this writing, to fulfill a central responsibility of California citizenship.
I haven’t been to my county’s fair this year.
The Los Angeles County Fair can be an ordeal. It is an event as sprawling and vast as L.A. itself, and parking is $15. The county insists on holding the fair in September, when the Pomona fairgrounds can feel like the hottest place on earth, and I feel a surge of competing life responsibilities.
But I feel I must go, before the fair closes this Sunday, September 27. We simply have too few opportunities in our extraordinary state to celebrate the accomplishments of ordinary people. And that’s what California fairs are designed to do, in fields as diverse as the floral arts and cheese-making. (more…)
The Theologian and the Politician
A theologian would not think this way but a politician might—if you have two contrasting bills on the subject of life and death perhaps the middle ground would provide a solution. Governor Jerry Brown—part theologian and all politician—is facing that kind of decision when determining whether to sign or veto the bill tabbed “Right to Die” and another labeled “Right to Try.”
The End of Life Option Act, SB 128, would authorize “an adult who meets certain qualifications, and who has been determined by his or her attending physician to be suffering from a terminal disease to make a request for a drug prescribed pursuant to these provisions for the purpose of ending his or her life.” (more…)