Only in California. Sign a shady multimillion-dollar state contract with a politically connected consulting firm to do “voter outreach,” get sued over it and not only will your friends in Sacramento paper over it, but they will also appoint you to the United States Senate. Or at least that is how it worked for Sen. […]
We are almost a year into the pandemic, and Californians continue to struggle. Small businesses, especially restaurants, have suffered steep losses; many have permanently closed. An estimated 1.7 million Californians remain unemployed and over 150,000 Californians remain homeless. Even before the pandemic, roughly one-third of California residents lived at or near the poverty line. Job […]
The office of the attorney general of California is unlike any other elected position. That person serves as California’s top law enforcement official. In addition to the same oath of office that most public officials take to uphold the constitutions of both the United States and California, an attorney general also has fiduciary obligations to […]
Did you ever want to write your own state budget? Maybe not, but some media outlets and progressive organizations have created interactive websites where ordinary citizens can do just that. These are intended, we suppose, for educational purposes and perhaps, more specifically, to demonstrate how difficult and complex it is to create a budget for […]
After some fits and starts, the recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to be gaining traction. Proponents say they have collected over 1 million signatures. Media reports of a half-million dollar donation to the effort plus rumors of even more forthcoming are getting the attention of California’s political establishment. If the required 1.5 million […]
This is neither a column about “Stop the Steal” or “there was no fraud.” At this point, whether there was a sufficient level of fraud to affect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election is a moot point. Nonetheless there were, and continue to be, legitimate concerns about election integrity in the United States. If […]
With 1 million signatures in and several potential challengers, the recall drive against Gov. Gavin Newsom may be causing him to reconsider some of his more progressive policy positions. In his recently unveiled $4.5-billion stimulus program, he offered — get this — tax relief, not tax hikes. The so-called “Equitable Recovery for California Businesses and […]
In this time of New Year’s resolutions, here’s one for California: Stick to the basics. Unfortunately, our elected leadership believe that any problem needs a government solution. This mindset has caused California to lose focus away from important functions that are properly within the purview of government. Here’s a short list of matters that our […]
So why should Californians care about a runoff election for two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia occurring Jan. 5? The answer is simple. The outcome of that election will have major implications for national politics and that includes profound impacts on California. Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in Georgia will not stay in Georgia. It […]
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” is the question posed by the Roman poet Juvenal from his “Satires.” It is literally translated as “Who will guard the guards themselves?” The quote has several variations including, “Who watches the watchers?” and “Who will watch the watchmen?” Our question is “Who fact-checks the fact-checkers?” As the name suggests, “fact-checking” […]
