Court Closure Fight Really is About Money
In politics, as in most everything else, it’s a pretty good rule of thumb that when someone stands up and says, “This isn’t about the money,’’ it’s about the money.
Take, for example, the demonstration Thursday outside the State Building in San Francisco when a crowd of court employees and lawyers showed up to complain about a proposal to shut down state courts one day a month to save money.
The state Judicial Council, which runs the administrative end of the court system, want to shutter the courts on the third Wednesday of each month and send the 5,000 or so court clerks, reporters, and other workers home without pay.
While it will save the court system millions at a time when the governor is threatening to slash state court funding, much of that cash will be coming out of the paychecks of the state workers, who face the equivalent of a 5 percent pay cut.
Sen. Rod Wright scores one for equal respect for all students’ dreams
Last Thursday, the California State Senate voted in support of Sen. Wright’s SB 381 on an overwhelming and bipartisan vote of 32-2 (2 no’s: Simitian and Wiggins — 5 abstains: Alquist, Cedillo, Oropeza, Romero, Wolk). Over the weekend, the most emailed article out of the New York Times was a piece, written by Matthew Crawford, on how we have devalued working with our hands. The two items together represent a growing shift back to education reality and the fulfillment of all our students’ dreams.
Crawford summed up how, over time, our country has begun to view our children’s success:
"A gifted young person who chooses to become a mechanic rather than to accumulate academic credentials is viewed as eccentric, if not self-destructive. There is a pervasive anxiety among parents that there is only one track to success for their children."
On Ted Olson and Gay Parents
Two things keep going through my mind following the State Supreme Court’s upholding of Prop. 8. First is the good news that Ted Olson has taken a leading role on behalf of same-sex couples. Second is that my gay friends who have kids are more qualified to parent than I am.
Ted Olson, whose conservative credentials are impeccable, must be deleting thousands of nasty emails in his in-box this week from folks who adhere to the religious wing of the GOP. He deserves a medal, though, for being a Republican and a conservative who embraces the true meaning of both.
The media hastily refer to Mr. Olson as the lead attorney in Bush vs. Gore 2000. Rarely, do reporters mention he was also President Bush’s solicitor general and was narrowly overlooked for Supreme Court nominations in favor of John Roberts and Sam Alito. Think how interesting Ted Olson on the Supreme Court would be right now!
You can’t make this stuff up
Upon viewing some foolishness perpetrated by California leaders, some pundits would harangue that “California is run like a third world country.” Turns out that’s an insult to third world countries, if this Wall Street Journal article is any indication:
SANTIAGO, Chile — During the emerging economies’ commodities boom a few years back, Chilean Finance Minister Andrés Velasco was a wet blanket at the fiesta. Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, was reaping a bonanza from the quadrupling in the metal’s price. Mr. Velasco insisted on squirreling away a large chunk in a rainy-day fund.