Politics and Elections

Coincidence?

Headlines from today’s Drudge Report: Under a picture of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco: I’M NOT GOING! Nearby: REPORT: Nearly Half of America Lives Paycheck-to-Paycheck… STOCKS WORST JANUARY IN FOUR YEARS… Inflation spiral looms…

Will appeals court notice AG’s flip-flop on bullet train?

Chris Reed January 30, 2014

It took the California Supreme Court five days to unanimously reject Gov. Jerry Brown’s request that justices immediately consider a Superior Court ruling that the state’s bullet train project had an illegal business plan and lacked proper environmental reviews to

Proposals would make it easier for youth to vote

Katy Grimes January 29, 2014

Democrats are pushing new legislation to make it easier for young people to vote. Given that young people in California register 2-to-1 for Democrats over Republicans, the bills could make Democrats even more dominant and accelerate Republicans’ waning power. Senate

Will CA GOP emerge as defenders of embattled techies, tech firms?

Chris Reed January 29, 2014

Is the present anti-Google, anti-techie agitation in the Bay Area a reflection of anger over how affluent tech workers have driven up rent and reinflated the housing bubble? Or is it a harbinger of broader anger over how California technology

State Sen. Rod Wright convicted of perjury, voter fraud

John January 29, 2014

State Senator Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, has been found guilty on eight counts of felony voter fraud, perjury and filing a false declaration of candidacy. The jury of nine women and three men, which began deliberating last Friday, sided with prosecutors who had

State of the Union: Obama, the rich, the poor and California

John Seiler January 28, 2014

In his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama is expected to talk about the gap between rich and poor Americans. He has benefited himself. At the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, his credit cards were maxed

CA closes corporate tax ‘loophole,’ but doesn’t get expected bonanza

Chris Reed January 27, 2014

The argument that raising taxes cuts revenue because it deters taxable economic activity leads to a tired fight in which obvious facts are ignored by both sides. This claim is sometimes true and sometimes not true. It depends on what

Obama administration goes after critic

John Seiler January 25, 2014

I knew Dinesh D’Souza back in the 1980s when we both lived in Washington, D.C. Although I haven’t seen him since then, we both have moved to California, in his case to San Diego. An immigrant from India, he’s an

Fresno taxpayers object to misleading petition title and summary

John January 24, 2014

A group of Fresno taxpayers hoping to overturn the city’s recent water rate hike has filed a formal complaint accusing the city attorney of issuing a biased and misleading title and summary for their referendum. It’s the latest development in

Governor’s race: Kashkari launches campaign on jobs and education

John January 22, 2014

Republican Neel Kashkari launched his campaign for governor on Tuesday, promising that, if elected, he’ll focus on two issues: jobs and education. The former assistant U.S. treasury secretary, who is best known for his role in the controversial 2008 Wall Street bailout, criticized