I’ve had the great Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs, on in my car recently, and have been inspired by it to a few thoughts. Most people, especially people with children, aspire to a real house and not a condominium or an […]
Howard Ahmanson
The Two Income Trap
We have referred to Ms. Warren and Ms. Tyagi”s book, The Two Income Trap, rather often in these pages. When Obama wanted to appoint her consumer czar, she was attacked. Here is Christopher Caldwell, of the neocon magazine The Weekly […]
How To Talk About Abortion in California: Accentuate The Positive
I think it’s OK to be pro-life in California politics. I am not planning to run for office. The notorious Oscar Wilde is rumored to have said, “The problem with socialism is that it will take up too many evenings;” […]
Learning from Francis Fukuyama
I have finished Francis Fukuyama’s magnum opus, The Origins of Political Order, and as you might expect I like the way he cuts across traditional categories. Of course I have read his notorious The End of History and the Last Man, […]
The Motivation of Conservatives and Liberals
In Gareth Cook’s article the psychologist Jonathan Haidt, following Romans 1, suggests that there are five inborn ‘instinctive’ virtues that humans recognize, though they do not always live up to, of course. These are: i. fairness, ii. not harming others, iii. […]
Unintended Consequences of Arizona’s Clean Elections Act
Conservatives oppose campaign finance reform of any kind, even when, as in Arizona, the Tea Party has been benefiting from it! Related: “Arizona conservatives scramble after campaign finance law’s defeat” by Nicholas Riccardi at LATimes.com
Raise Revenues by Reducing Taxes?
Now, Ramesh Ponnuru, long time of National Review, sees it. And Pawlenty is still convinced we are above the tip of the Laffer Curve, and that there are more revenues to be got by reducing taxes. This is debatable. Related: […]
This President Triangulates the Debt
Obama has been willing, in his desperation, to reform Social Security. Like Clinton and Welfare Reform. Maybe the Republicans forced him to it, but you could say the same of Clinton. And maybe only Obama could have taken on Social […]
Bakersfield Freeway
I think they ought to move Route 58 to Stockdale Highway and not Rosedale. Stockdale comes in where 58 meets 99, and it goes straight to the I-5. Rosedale, the current numbered route, takes a pronounced jog. Related: “Future Freeway […]
And Republicans Were All So Pious About ‘Local Control’ . . .
And Republicans were all so pious about ‘local control.’ They don’t want local government to raise taxes or fees, but it seems to be OK with them – except for the ever-reliable Chris Norby – for local government to declare […]