Fox and Hounds Daily Says Goodbye
With this article, we end publication of Fox and Hounds Daily. It has been a satisfying 12½ year run. When we opened in May 2008, our site was designed to offer an opportunity to those who wished to engage in public debate on many issues, especially in politics and business, but found it difficult to get placed in newspaper op-ed pages.
Co-publishers Tom Ross, Bryan Merica and I have kept F&H going over this time investing our own time, funding, and staff help. Last year at this time we considered closing the site, however with an election on the horizon we decided to keep F&H going through the election year. With the election come and gone, and with no sense of additional resources, we have decided to close the site down.
Fox and Hounds will live on, at least, with my articles collected in the California State Library.
On a personal note, I have spent over 40 years in California policy and politics. There have been some incredible high moments and some difficult low points. It pains me that politics too often is a blood sport, frequently demonizing the motives of opponents and using the legal system as a weapon in public discourse. At Fox & Hounds, we tried to adhere to the practice of giving all a voice in the debate, yet keep the commentaries civil and avoided personal attacks.
F&H offered the opportunity to publish different perspectives (even ones that criticized my writings!). We had success as indicated by the Washington Post twice citing Fox and Hounds Daily one of the best California political websites and many other positive affirmations and comments received over the years.
Tom, Bryan and I want to thank our many readers and writers for being part of our journey. The publishers of Fox and Hounds Daily believe that we added value to California and its people. We hope you agree.
Goal of Online Tobacco Sales Ban: More State Tax Revenue
California may be considered a technology pioneer, but at least one state lawmaker wants to put the brakes on a growing segment of the online retail market.
Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, has introduced a measure to ban online sales of all tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes. Dickinson says the bill, Assembly Bill 1500, would help state regulators combat teen smoking.
“Although great progress has been made to curb teen smoking, the use of e-cigarettes and the internet availability of tobacco products pose a serious risk,” Dickinson said in a press release. “AB1500 will make it impossible for young people to order e-cigarettes or other tobacco products online thereby safeguarding them from the dangers of smoking.”
Long-Term Paycheck Trumps Sacramento Power
In politics, as in much of life, when it comes to a choice between power and a paycheck, cash usually wins.
Just ask Democratic State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, who had to make just that choice last week.
The 61-year-old DeSaulnier was one of the frontrunners to take over the state Senate’s top job when state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who’s termed out in November, gives up the post.
Then Rep. George Miller announced he was giving up the Martinez congressional seat he’s held for nearly 40 years.
Windfall Could Tempt Legislature to Repeat Past Spending Mistakes
We’ve all heard dramatic stories of lottery winners acquiring hundreds of millions of dollars only to declare bankruptcy a few years later. In fact, studies show 70% of all individuals who suddenly receive large amounts of money will lose it in a short period of time.
The cause of this problem is impulse spending by people who incorrectly assume they will never have to worry about money again. They spend as much as they want on whatever they want, making permanent financial decisions with their one time earnings.
The 2014 CALA Legal Reform Wish List
Despite some successful reforms in recent years, California still needs to do a lot more on the legal reform front. For decades, this state has heaped on more and more laws and regulations which create more and more lawsuits. Simply introducing a bill and doing a minor tweak to reduce abuse in isolated areas is not enough.
Just last month, California was given the distinction for the second year in a row of being the nation’s #1 “Judicial Hellhole.” There are many reasons for that and everyone should take notice.
Lost in the Mail: Fire Safety
Last year, fire scientists and fire safety experts sent several letters to Governor urging him not to take a step backward on consumer fire protection by allowing the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation to adopt a new upholstered furniture standard that ignores open flame ignition sources. Unfortunately, the Governor did not intervene and the standard now in effect is devoid of any protection from real-world open-flame ignition sources. This action is not only a lost opportunity, but could well result in more furniture fires and, sadly, more injuries and deaths in the future.
No “I Have a Dream” Speech on MLK Day
This space has annually honored the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. on his designated holiday and we honor his memory today, but in a slightly different way than planned. Our desire was to reprint King’s historic civil rights speech made at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. However, any outlet has to be cautious about taking that step because the King estate controls a copyright protection on the speech.
As a writer with works under copyright, I appreciate the importance of the copyright provision the Founders put in the United States Constitution. Article 1, Section 8 empowers Congress to promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for a time exclusive rights to writings and discoveries.
However, the public benefit of King’s historic speech has been limited by his estate’s dogged protection of the speech. King himself filed for the copyright shortly after the speech was delivered. His estate has assiduously protected the speech and his image in controlling material about the man. Using his most famous speech often requires hefty fees for its reproduction. Lawsuits against CBS and USA Today have enforced the copyright. Portions of the speech may be used in certain circumstances with no fee but reproducing the entire document without permission is protected until the copyright runs out in 2038. (more…)