US Labor Secretary-Nominee Flees CA Business Climate
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee as Labor Secretary, Andrew Puzder, heads a California company that decided to move headquarters to Tennessee. His reasoning: California’s suffocating regulatory business climate. Labor and union supporters immediately attacked Puzder, head of CKE Restaurants that operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants, when news of the pending appointment became public. Pudzer opposed […]
Remembering John Glenn in California
In 1983 John Glenn decided to explore a run for president. He had been a senator from Ohio for nearly 10 years. Joe Cerrell, the legendary Los Angeles Democratic consultant, had connections to some of Glenn’s aides so Glenn asked Joe to show him around California and test his prospects. I had been with the […]
CA and USA: The Thrill is Gone
Que B.B. King’s “The Thrill is gone.” Face it, California, the rest of America doesn’t love you anymore. There won’t be a Calexit divorce. But America, especially all those Trump voters in Flyover Country, doesn’t listen and doesn’t care. You’re the neglected spouse. You voted 62 percent for Hillary, but she still lost to brutish […]
House Passes Water Bill
(Editor’s Note: The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $10 billion water bill that includes $558 million for drought stricken California. Congressman Kevin McCarthy and Senator Dianne Feinstein teamed up on the bi-partisan measure. Senator Barbara Boxer opposes the measure, which now heads to the Senate. The vote was 360-61, with 222 Republicans and 138 […]
I Got Protested in the Basque Country
The week before Thanksgiving, I served again as co-president of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy. This is a network of journalists, scholars, election administrators, experts in public participation, and activists who work in direct and participatory democracy. We get together about every two years or so to compare notes. Our gathering this November […]