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.
GOP Should Follow The Obama Playbook on Health Care
President Obama’s recent decision to delay one piece of his ACA -the requirement that some businesses provide health insurance for their employees – provides a reprieve for some employers, a possible setback for the Law’s proponents and a temporary political victory for others. However, the lesson the GOP should learn from this decision is quite simple – stop symbolic votes to repeal the entire Law and take it piece by piece. To paraphrase a baseball term, play small ball. Here is how it could be done:
First, find aspects of the law that voters find most offensive and write serial, succinct, and easy to understand one-issue bills that Congressional members can explain in 10-second sound bytes so that they make the news. This certainly beats being mocked weekly on the Sunday talk shows for spending precious Congressional time on political stunts. Certainly, one or two repeal votes should be enough to make a point. (more…)
Independence Day, Democracy and the Two-Thirds Vote
On Independence Day, George Skeleton’s Los Angeles Times column argued for lowering the vote for local government infrastructure bonds from two-thirds to 55%. He linked such a move to American democracy and majority rule while declaring it a major change to Proposition 13. I disagree on all points.
The two-thirds vote for local general obligation bonds is not a product of Proposition 13. In 1879, a new California constitution was adopted which included the requirement for a two-thirds vote to pass local bonds. (more…)
The Real Change the Prop 8 Cases Could Inspire
The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Prop 8 has inspired bipartisan calls for a push to give initiative proponents a way to defend their initiatives when elected officials refuse to.
As I’ve explained in this space recently, this push is pointless at best (proponents already have standing where it matters) and problematic at worst (in that elected officials’ power to refuse to defend laws that blatantly violate people’s rights is a worthy check on the process).
But that doesn’t mean that the Prop 8 case shouldn’t inspire reform. It should. In fact, the entire experience of Prop 8 is itself very strong evidence that California should change the way it handles ballot initiatives that change the constitution. (more…)
California Prison System Has no Place in Civilized Society
Today my loved one will start starving himself not because he wants to, but because he feels he has to, to stand in unity against injustice. He will refuse bland, colorless, tepid taxpayer-funded food that often includes stale bread, wilted lettuce and overcooked meat filler, served through a tiny slot in a perforated door on a dirty wet plastic tray.
If he continues to refuse state food for nine consecutive meals, he will be officially reported as on hunger strike. He does not live in Iran, China, or Guantanamo Bay, but in the Golden State of California, where Gov. Jerry Brown recently proclaimed that the state’s prison system is being returned to its “former luster.” (more…)
A River Runs Through It: On Helping Those Closest to Us in Job Search
Near the end of A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean’s novella of a family in Montana in the early part of the twentieth century, the author’s father, reflects on his adult son Paul, who has failed to live up to his promise.
“It is those we live with and love and we should know who elude us”, the father, a Scottish Presbyterian minister, says. Paul is an expert fly fisherman and fine writer, but cannot avoid the gambling and drinking that leads to his death. His brother and father want to help him, but do not find a way to do so. (more…)
It’s a New Day for California Labor
When workers for the Bay Area Rapid Transit system went back to work Friday after a four-day strike, Gov. Jerry Brown earned a piece of both the credit and the blame.
First the good news. Brown, working with Marty Morgenstern, his labor secretary, managed to convince both workers and BART management that it would be best for everyone if the picket lines came down and the trains started running again.
The two sides now have 30 more days to iron out their considerable differences, thousands of BART workers can begin collecting paychecks again and the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the system to get to work and around the Bay Area can get out of their cars, unclench their fists and stop grinding their teeth. (more…)