Why Meg Is Right to Lay Low
Several times a week, I read about how terrible, just terrible it is that Meg Whitman is declining interviews from California reporters, skipping debates, and not behaving like a serious candidate for governor.
Steve Poizner’s campaign has made this almost a daily drumbeat; “If Meg Whitman can’t stand up to questions, how can she stand up for California?” read part of a state from Poizner senior advisor Kevin Spillane last week. And over at Calbuzz, Phil Trounstine and Jerry Roberts are “fuming” about Meg’s “ducking serious questions from California political writers for months.”
Expect more of the same today, when her GOP rivals — Poizner and Tom Campbell–are scheduled to debate the measures on tomorrow’s special election ballot.
I have a bit of advice for the Meg bashers: Take a deep breath. And get a life.
Speaker Pelosi Needs a Lifeline
While tomorrow’s California general elections are understandably receiving the vast majority of coverage throughout California, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has garnered more than her fair share of the national spotlight in recent weeks. Any time that the highest ranking Member of Congress – and third in the line to be president of the United States – says that the CIA misled her and others in Congress (Washington-speak for lied)…that’s not only newsworthy but will also inspire the news media to dig deeper.
What is known is that Nancy Pelosi, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee and before she became Speaker, received briefings from CIA professional staff, not Bush Administration appointees, as she would lead us to believe, in the 2002-2005 timeframe. At these briefings, according to CIA notes (some of which are public and others which will likely soon become public), Pelosi was updated on “enhanced interrogation techniques” used against terrorists captured by the United States military.
Proposition 1E – The Silent Killer
The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), or Proposition 63 (also called “the Millionaire’s Tax”) was
overwhelmingly passed, in 2004, by California voters who recognized the urgent need to address decades
of inadequate state funding for mental health services. The initiative generated new revenues to expand the
state’s mental health services and reach the estimated 60% of Californians living with untreated disabling
mental illness under the then-existing system.
Self-proclaimed “champion” of mental health care reform and current Senate Leader Darryl Steinberg coauthored
the MHSA. Senator Steinberg now “champions” California voters to overturn portions of the
MHSA by approving Proposition 1-E. Proposition 1-E allows the state legislature to raid mental health
services funds, diverting $460 Million dollars away from the mentally disabled to help close the budget
deficit, which has ballooned under his tenure. This would essentially prevent any meaningful reforms in
mental health services– improvements this self-proclaimed mental health care reformer once championed
– another classic case of Sacramento politicians robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Helping Homeowners Prepare for the Next Fire
Any student of history will tell you that there’s a recurring theme dating back hundreds, if not thousands of years: The temptations of preparing to win the last battle, instead of succeeding in the next battle.
This is a challenge California faces today, but not in a traditional war. Rather, we must prepare to battle the devastating brushfires and wildfires that can seemingly strike anywhere in our state, and attack regions in Southern California especially hard like Orange and Riverside Counties.
And when it comes to preparing for future fire hazard conditions, I fear California is very much looking backwards. Given the widespread damage caused by wildfires in California every year, the cost of inaction will be devastating.