While Schwarzenegger's cold shoulder to social causes is readily apparent, his ability to cut spending from appropriation bills using the line item veto may be at risk today. Lawsuits contesting the use of the veto early in his gubernatorial career (St. John's Well Child and Family Center et al. v. Schwarzenegger et al.) were heard in San Francisco by the state's court of appeals this week. The line item veto may seem like an inconsequential issue, but it's important, and should be most importa...

I’ve previously written that Schwarzenegger’s state failures on state parks, recycling, funding public education, opposing teachers, nurses and firefighters (not to mention his failures on abortion rights and early pandering to Big Pharma) indicated that he was a hard line Republican despite his periodic zags to the middle. Now, his defense of climate change against neo-crazy-con darling Sarah Palin has me scratching my head again. In the recent conflagration, Schwarzenegger made comments about...

In a tart response to the Proposition 8 controversy, writer and web manager John Marcotte has made a tongue in cheek effort to encourage Californians in taking all measures to protect marriage, including outlawing divorce in California. He is currently gathering signatures outside of California's Walmarts, hoping that the same logic of protecting marriage will extend to support his initiative. While it is unclear whether Mr. Marcotte’s efforts are serious in nature, Californians have to approve ...

California’s budget crisis has moved from a hemorrhage to a slow implosion, and now desperation is clearly setting in as the state slashes trademark programs. As of November, the state has slashed programs that made the state distinctive; first virtually eliminating the “public” part of its public education system, and now, dealing a blow that may take out one of the state’s most successful l--and cost effective-- recycling programs. If you’re like most Californians, you are familiar with the m...

Californians now, more than ever, may recognize how much of their state’s economy runs on the lifeblood of state spending. In the current economic freefall, as the state struggles for a metaphorical ripcord, the term limits argument is probably going to be superceded by widespread replacement of established politicians next election, coupled with the entrance of a generation of newly elected politicians. While this type of exodus commonly results from widespread dissatisfaction and disaster, it ...

The California bullettrain, a high speed, electric train running a two-hour route betweenSacramento and San Diego, is a grand dream. It is a grand dream broughtcloser to reality by the passage of Prop 1A in November, allowing forbonds to finance part of the project. It got even closer to reality byan $8 billion cut of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed earlierthis year by Congress. The bullet train is a real possibility,accelerating the speed of travel, commerce and communication...

A classmate of mine at Northeastern School of Law, Greg Huff, recently died. At his memorial, a professor read some of his legal work. To paraphrase one of Greg's powerful essays from memory, he explained that he was a strong advocate of gay rights because he "forcefully endorsed an individual's right to choose to define themselves rather than conform to a culturally manufactured  binary choice". Sound familiar, independent voters? Though Greg was referring to a context of sexuality, his theori...

California is as good asout of fresh water. The state is thrown into drought conditions with everyless-than-abundant-rain year, and a series of dry years (like now) decimatereservoirs beyond sustainable thresholds. The fiscal situation is comparablydire; like freshwater, Californiauses more than they've got coming in, a fundamentally unsustainable equation inboth finance and ecology. How convenient and unusual that a silver bulletexists to solve both problems: desalination. Desalination is the...

Open primary advocates posit that an open primary could produce more moderate candidates. But why would we want that? California's value at least partially lies in its ability to innovate, experiment, and grow from its progressive, extreme heritage. Not political extremism or religious extremism, but California's tendency to be at the edge of issues, for better and worse. California's national role is tied to this edgy state-identity, which would all be mournfully lost if an open primary pushed ...