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Fracking Debate Dilemma for Democrats
The hydraulic fracturing issue got the most attention at this weekend’s state Democratic convention with protestors haranguing Governor Jerry Brown during his address. The issue presents pitfalls for Democrats when you consider the number one issue for voters is jobs and the economy, and at the same time many Democrats want to spend more on […]
Green Bank Czar Could Oversee New State Bureaucracy
In American political parlance, a “czar” is a government official put in charge of a project. For example, the head of the federal Drug Enforcement, currently Michele M. Leonhart, commonly is dubbed the “drug czar.” Now state Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, is proposing to establish what in our state could be called a Green […]
The Campaign Chests of California Democrats
California Democrats converge on the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend for the party’s annual state convention. Although Democrats face two scandals involving members of the state Senate, the party is well positioned for the 2014 campaign cycle. The party controls every statewide office and both houses of the state Legislature. Overall, the party has […]
Does American Healthcare Really Cost Too Much?
This is the second of a series of articles that will be published over the coming days and weeks. The series of articles will define the problems, at a higher level, that we have in what we call our healthcare system, why they are important and how they have conspired to foil our various attempts […]
Killing Middle Class Jobs
During the 20th Century, the growth of middle class jobs in Los Angeles and Southern California was fueled by oil, manufacturing and construction. Today, all three of these industries are under attack by new regulations and a not-in-my-back-yard mentality, which together are depleting the number of middle class jobs in these sectors. Last Friday, the […]
CPR Blog
Combining Constitutional Distortion and Extortion
If you were allowed to use four steps of your choice, valid or not, in a logical argument, you could reach any conclusion you liked. That is why the recent boom in First Amendment litigation is so unbelievably far from the Establishment Clause. It is certainly hard to find any other explanation for how “Congress […]
Liberties Kept Safe by the Limitation of Power
The recent explosion in the reach of federal government has made limits on federal power once again the central political issue. Unfortunately, ignorance of our founding severely impoverishes that discussion. A good example is Richard Henry Lee, born January 20. Lee made the motion calling for the colonies’ independence. He was a leader in the […]
Resolve to Advance the Only Object Which Benefits All Alike
People often make New Year’s resolutions. But despite facing an almost unbounded range of necessary reforms, politicians virtually never resolve to reform the principles on which they govern. That is a tragedy, given how much insight is easily available to them. A good source is Lord Acton, born January 10. Stephen Tonsor called him “the […]
Publisher’s Corner
Oakland Still a Most Dangerous City
The news reports this week of an Oakland Tribune photographer being robbed of his cameras by two armed gunmen while on assignment in broad daylight in West Oakland inspires me to offer readers some additional insights about that troubled California city. I was born in Oakland and am a Raiders fan, so when I started […]
Cali-Culture
The California Chardonnay Paradox
Is drinking Chardonnay a thing of the past? That is what I used to think. As a red wine drinker, enamored with the best that France has to offer, I rarely drank or even thought about California white wines or white wines in general (other than Burgundy’s Le Montrachet). The idea of opening up a California […]
Trending News
Workers’ Compensation Tinged with Scandal Again
From The Sacramento Bee: When the FBI conducted a years-long undercover investigation of influence-peddling in the state Capitol during the 1980s, agents posed as businessmen seeking special state treatment for a fictional shrimp-processing plant. That sting operation snared the first batch of politicians and staffers, and in time-honored fashion, some who found themselves on the […]
The Battle to Become the Next Darrell Issa
From Politico: It’s an opportunity that has some Republicans salivating: becoming the next Darrell Issa. The California Republican’s perch atop the headline-grabbing House Oversight and Government Reform Committee doesn’t wrap up until the end of this year, but a high-profile group of Republicans is already jockeying to take his gavel. (Read Full Article)
Cities Struggle to Enforce Ban on Gun Magazines
From The Sacramento Bee: Enforcement issues surround two Northern California cities’ bans on high-capacity magazines. The Oakland Tribune reported Saturday that since Sunnyvale’s ban went into effect midnight Thursday, not one of the now-illegal magazines has been turned in.San Francisco police report that they have no system to track whether any magazines have been turned in for destruction […]
DHS Tells Border Guards to Run Away from Illegal Aliens
From The Daily Caller: Top administration officials have directed 21,000 border patrol officers to retreat whenever illegal immigrants throw rocks at them, and to avoid getting in front of foreign drug-smugglers’ vehicles as they head north with their drug shipments. “Agents shall not discharge firearms in response to thrown or hurled projectiles… agents should obtain […]
Steinberg Pushes Jerry Brown on Pre-K Expansion
From The Sacramento Bee: Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Saturday that Senate Democrats will make pre-kindergarten a priority in budget negotiations with Gov. Jerry Brown this spring, calling last year’s school funding overhaul inadequate to address shortcomings in public education. “No funding formula will prevent a 16-year-old from dropping out of high school because she fell behind years earlier,” Steinberg told […]
