After the 2004 election, in which the states that went for Bush formed a relatively neat geographical unity and in all the states that went for Kerry maps and T-shirts were circulating labeling the Republican states as ‘Jesusland,’ I thought, […]
Howard Ahmanson
‘The End’ of Redevelopment Agencies
The best news of a rather dreary year. Redevelopment has done a few good things, like gaslamps, but they could as easily be done through Business Improvement Districts or the city treasuries, which are more directly accountable to the electorate. […]
‘Donorcracy’ and ‘Patrimonialism’
Newgeography.com, one of my favorite sites, has deviated from its usual agenda to post this post on what I have called the “donorcracy.” The pursuit of money is more important to every person pursuing electoral office than the pursuit of […]
I Couldn’t Resist . . .
Low Carb Fuel Standards? I shall have to check into this. Somebody needs to develop an automobile that will run on lentils, bacon, lean chicken breast, and smoked salmon. What impact that will have on the environment, I have no […]
A Linguistic Test: Blue Kennel’s First
I have been reading a work called From Bible Belt to Sun Belt by Darren Dochuk about how settlement from the western South [Texas and bordering states] in the 1930s and 40s reshaped California evangelicalism and culture. It inspired me to give my […]
Will Riverside, Fresno, and Bakersfield Become Civilized?
Joel Kotkin and William Frey, in an article written before the crash, speculate that as Coastal California prices itself out of the market, Inland California may become a more civilized and upscale region. In fact, the crash and the wave […]
Christmas and Steven Pinker’s Decline of Violence
A few months ago biologist Steven Pinker released a paper (Article 1, Article 2) and a book claiming that despite 9/11, Rwanda, and other such events, violence is actually declining in the world. He rebukes the myth of the ‘noble […]
Suburbs Up, Exurbs Down: California in 2010-11
I had the fortune recently to stumble on the California Department of Finance’s estimates of population change in California during the period July 1, 2010 – July 1- 2011. This is distinct from the Federal census, which tried to establish […]
How to do Deficit Spending or The Trouble with Keynesianism
The prescriptions of John Maynard Keynes have been controversial since his time: the idea of deficit spending for “priming the pump,” the idea of the “paradox of thrift,” and others that seemed to go contrary to traditional financial virtues. Many […]
Devil’s Punchbowl to Salvation Mountain, Part 3
After two nights we left the Abbey, but started out originally in what might appear to be the “wrong” direction, because we were headed up to Devil’s Punchbowl, a bowl of spectacular pink rocks wedged against the very foot of […]