Finally…Election Day. A Few Notes
Either the USC Dornsife/LA Times poll is going to be hailed as the Nostradamus of all polls or it will be ridiculed after the national election results are in. The USC/Times poll has been an outlier during this election season, as of Monday showing Donald Trump 6-points ahead of Hillary Clinton. Even the Times political […]
Can this Presidential Election Actually Energize Political Reform?
How did it come to this? The two most unpopular candidates in the history of presidential polling — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump — wind up being the two main candidates for President. While early voting numbers crossed 40 million nationally before Tuesday, an overwhelming majority of voters are simply “disgusted” by the state of […]
Presidential Race Shows Fallacy Of California’s Top Two Primary System
If this year’s presidential race has demonstrated anything, it’s that large numbers of voters want a choice other than that offered by the Democratic and Republican parties. In our American democracy, do we deserve such choice? Or is it too ‘dangerous’ to leave choice up to the voters, so that we need to be ‘protected’ […]
Through the Backdoor to Tax Websites & Apps
Let’s face it, websites and apps are nothing like utilities, and it defies logic for California municipalities to tax them that way. But that’s not stopping cities like Alameda and Watsonville from trying to pass deceptive ballot measures on November 8 that would allow them to do just that. Officials in these two cities are […]
The Hard Sell for LA’s Measure M
Sacramento insiders are carefully watching the results of Tuesday’s local elections dealing with transportation issues. Resounding support for local transportation tax increases could embolden state legislators to push even harder for a state transportation fix. Rumors hint at a post-election try to get transportation funding before the new legislature is sworn in. Perhaps a discouraging […]
CA Election Lifts New Media, Dumps Old Media
Younger readers will find this as unbelievable as the plot for the last “Star Wars” flick. But it wasn’t too long ago that voters got their election information from: one local printed newspaper, with AP stories on national contests; just three commercial broadcast TV networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, plus the government’s PBS; a couple […]
What Transparency? Prop 54 Exempts A Huge Part of the Legislative Process
Prop 54 has been backed almost universally by media and good government groups. Only a few dead-end Democrats and brain-dead bloggers provide any opposition. It’s been called motherhood and apple pie. Apply transparency to the legislative process! Don’t let lawmakers make deals and debate without the lights and cameras on. Every bill must be published […]
Local Taxpayers Shouldn’t Foot The Bill For Years of City Hall Mistakes
Facing tough budget situations stemming from over-spending, mismanagement and economic downturns, several Orange County cities are trying to solve their problems through the expedient of higher taxes. While this is standard operating procedure in California’s fiscally irresponsible state government and liberal urban centers like Los Angeles, it’s imperative we stop this trend in its tracks […]
Will Your Vote November 8 Cost Dodgers the 2017 World Series?
The Dodgers had a very good year, especially when you consider that they set a record for placing players on the disabled list, including a number of highly paid starting pitchers. The Bums won the National League West with 91 wins, eliminated the Washington Nationals in a nail biting five game series, and gave the […]
Five Days Out: Can Republicans Survive?
Can California Republicans avoid the disaster that the Donald Trump candidacy and their own collapsing party registration suggest is in store for them next week? The latest statewide polling suggests that maybe they just might, but it is a very uncertain maybe. Since California has very little ticket splitting, GOP candidates must depend on the […]