Proposition 17 and a Case of Good Timing
One ballot measure expected to get little notice this election season is Proposition 17, granting voting rights to parolees. Yet, because of the increased focus on judicial reform spurred by the protests following George Floyd’s killing, Prop 17 will be wrapped within, and benefit from, the justice reform movement. The California Constitution prohibits felons serving […]
Los Angeles Against the Police
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti who called Police Officers “KILLERS” and City Councilmembers responded to the demands of protestors and rioters and slashed $150 Million Dollars from the 2020-2021 LAPD budget. L.A. Taxpaying residents and business owners were ignored by city officials who continue to permit the city to turn more neighborhoods into homeless camps […]
Riskier bet: Why CalPERS, the country’s largest pension fund, is getting into banking
Retired DMV clerks, former firefighters and aging government bean-counters across California, put on your three piece suits: You might be getting into the banking business. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which manages a nearly $400 billion basket of nest eggs for retired public workers across the state, is wading into the rollicking market for […]
Electoral college, the pandemic, Trump’s psyche: What a mess!
Sherry digs into the labyrinth of the electoral college, explaining its history and the role of slavery in its creation. We debate the future of the institution, with Bill more optimistic than Sherry about chances of eliminating it. We also examine how the pandemic is sweeping through California, concluding this is a disease too new […]
The Orange County Classical Academy Will Transform Education in California
In barely one month, 360 elementary school students will begin attending a new charter school that offers a dramatic departure from the failed public education model in California. The Orange County Classical Academy (OCCA) will open its doors to kindergarten through 5th grade students, and apart from the student demographics, nothing about this school fits […]
UC’s New President has an Opportunity to Create a Level Playing Field for Political Thought
Congratulations to Dr. Michael V. Drake chosen as the new president of the University of California. Dr. Drake has pledged to face issues head-on acknowledging the difficult challenges ahead dealing with the pandemic, climate change, and social justice. Hopefully, he will apply his well-regarded reputation championing diversity and equity to political thought as well. Most […]
Some Scary Propositions
Ever since Gov. Hiram Johnson in 1911 instituted the right to initiative, recall, and referendum, California has embarked on an unparalleled level of direct democracy — something that has turned elections over propositions into more heated affairs than elections over candidates. Although such majoritarianism is the centerpiece of century-old progressive politics, conservatives often have embraced […]
I faced a challenge one out of every three people in America has: depression and anxiety
On Friday, April 10, at 5 p.m., Californians learned I had resigned as Chief Economic and Business Advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and chair of the California High Speed Rail Authority. The press release stated I was leaving “to focus on family and personal business.” In corporate speak, this usually means someone got fired. I […]
Urban Blues
On the surface, progressive “Blue America” has never appeared stronger. President Donald Trump’s leadership failures exposed by the pandemic and the recent disorders, is sinking him in the polls. His rival, Joe Biden, seems likely to concede his traditionally moderate stances to placate the Democrats’ youthful activist and identitarian wings. Radical “transformation” of the United […]
Why Didn’t LA Government Agencies Uncover City Council Corruption?
The fact that federal authorities, rather than local investigators, arrested Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar in a huge racketeering-bribery scheme speaks poorly for the county and city watchdogs who are supposed to keep politics and government clean. Where was the district attorney’s Public Integrity Division, created almost 20 years ago to root out corruption […]