Healthcare May Be Hazardous To Political Health
Many Democrats at the state and national levels are playing with fire as they pursue a complete overhaul of the healthcare system. In California, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom’s gubernatorial bid and State Senator Kevin DeLeon’s US. Senate campaign could founder if they push too hard for a government takeover of health insurance. Healthcare has become […]
2018 Brings Salary History Prohibition: Employers Beware
Starting January 1, 2018, all California employers will be prohibited from asking about a job applicant’s prior salary history. This prohibition applies to both public and private employers, regardless of size. Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 168 (Eggman) on October 12 as Chapter 688. This bill adds Section 432.3 to the Labor Code. The bill has a number […]
The Strange Power of ‘Ecotopia’
In “Could the ‘Ecotopia’ fantasy actually become reality?” columnist Dan Walters recently speculated that California, Washington, and Oregon are collectively implementing the tenets of Ecotopia, the secessionist eco-state depicted in Ernest Callenbach’s 1975 novel of the same name. I get the sense that Dan Walters has not read the book recently. Partly, because to summarize […]
Robert Iger For President?
Few global companies enjoy as much public good will as the Walt Disney Company. The entertainment giant regularly ranks highly on lists of the most admired or trusted companies, including ones from Forbes and Fortune. CEO Robert Iger, who reportedly is being encouraged to run for president in 2020, would be able to use the […]
The Interesting Challenge of a Neighborhood Legislature
John Cox spent over a million dollars to end money influence in politics. The seeming irony exists because Cox believes the only way to reduce special interest money in candidate campaigns is to make districts so small that big money is not needed to win a seat in the Legislature. To make such a major […]
How to Impeach a President
How do you impeach a president? South Korea knows how. I recently visited Seoul to attend a conference put on by the Korea Democracy Foundation. The focus was mostly on direct and participatory democracy — the use of initiatives, referenda and deliberative processes – by citizens to make decisions between elections. But a powerful keynote […]
California, The Rhetoric Of Illegal Immigration, And The Perils Of Ignoring Thucydides’s Warning
Vocabulary changes always reflect the agendas of a political debate. The fight over illegal immigration plays out by altering words and their meanings. Take the traditional rubric “illegal alien.” The English has been clear and exact for nearly a century: illegal alien (cf. Latin alienus) was a descriptive term for any foreigner who crossed the US […]
The California U.S. Senate Race And A Steyer Insurgency
Tom Steyer, the self-styled Democratic activist and billionaire who has made little secret of his desire to be the next Senator from California has spent in excess of $10 million of his estimable fortune, but not to replace long-time incumbent. Diane Feinstein. That may come later. His company, Next Gen Climate, a San Francisco based […]
Mass killings: they’re all copycats
Recently, pundits worried if the mass shootings in a Texas church would inspire copycats to do likewise elsewhere. But what is a copycat shooter if not someone who just finds a soft target and proceeds to mow down people there with gunfire? Aren’t most of our more notorious mass murderers copycats? Isn’t the past history […]