Gov. Brown Signs Bill Unconstitutionally Amending High Speed Rail Bond
Unfortunately, Governor Jerry Brown has let his lust to continue the High Speed Rail project go completely overboard and gave his signature of approval to AB 1889. As I have previously written, this bill erases many of the restrictions, which were included in the voter approved Prop 1A bond measure of 2008. These restrictions were included […]
More Californians Should Retire Like Vin Scully
If only more Californians could retire like Vin. Vin Scully, that is. The Hall of Fame announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers will call his last game this Sunday, October 2, a month shy of his 89th birthday. That retirement has touched off a national celebration of Scully’s announcing mastery, his storytelling methods, and his […]
Is there a future for the GOP?
Whether he loses or, more unlikely, wins, Donald Trump creates an existential crisis for the Republican Party. The New York poseur has effectively undermined the party orthodoxy on defense, trade and economics, policies which have been dominant for the last half century within the party but now are falling rapidly out of fashion among the […]
There’s No Debate: Legislative Analyst’s Fact-Checker Debunks Claims Made by Split-Roll Proponents
It is well known that June 6, 1978 – the day that California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13 – is a key date in the history of tax policy in California. Now we can add another important date to our tax history calendar: September 19, 2016, the day that the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office debunked […]
A Hollywood Action Movie—2016 CA Ballot Propositions
Let me pitch you a movie based on that 224-page official state voter guide that’s coming your way. Like many big Hollywood action-thrillers it’s a tale that contains sex, drugs, guns, big money and death. The title: Bad Day in the Ballot Booth–the California Ballot Propositions. Our protagonist, Politico Joe, is after a big score. He figures […]
Consumers and Grocers Would Benefit Most By Preserving Bag Tradition
Grocery shopping in California isn’t what it used to be. Traditionally, customers carried their items away in paper bags provided by the store through an unspoken, but well-established and always understood, contract between seller and buyer. But then government got involved and turned a simple transaction into an irksome task. Now some shoppers have to […]
Go Ahead, Russia. Hack Away at California’s Elections.
There’s justifiable worry about whether Russian hackers might disrupt American elections, particularly in crucial swing states, and create questions of legitimacy, or even crisis, around the presidency. But in California, there’s no reason to worry. Russia can go ahead and hack our elections. It won’t make any difference. California has made our elections hack-proof—not because […]
Post-debate Wisdom 1.0
Hillary passed the Presidential plausibility test. Donald Trump didn’t—but there are still two more debates. Note to Donald: Review Ronald Reagan’s performance in the 1984 first debate (he sleepwalked) and second (Reagan’s terrific comeback, pledging not to make his opponent’s “youth and inexperience” an issue). Reagan and Barack Obama both had poor first debate performances, […]
First Debate Recap: The Devil Went Down to Hofstra
During the 90 minutes of tonight’s first Presidential debate, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton demonstrated who they are at their respective cores. Trump, despite a fairly strong first 30 minutes, could not or would not moderate his style as the debate went on. Clinton was not particularly inspiring, but she absolutely knew her stuff and […]