Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Facepalm: Christmas attack or history attack?

All for media and the variance in opinions it will offer. Albeit, media nowadays is heavily censored around the political middle. But sometimes they go too far, as in they hire people who are good at making noise but aren't so smart about the topics they discuss. THis is a Fox news fail.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Californians on Legalizing Marijuana

As expected California Republicans are not in favour of legalizing marijuana, about an even split half and half. That's slightly higher than Democrats. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/52-californians-legalize-pot-article-1.1468680 Of course, this is all the wrong question to be asking. The 'war on drugs' has all but failed. The issue I have with it? The COST IN DOLLARS. To incarcerate, prosecute, to combat. This is massive amounts of money that would be better spent on consumption, for regular folks who are trying to make ends meet. Heck, use the money to lower taxes, then everybody wins. But as it stands now, the entire strategy and culture around marijuana needs to change. There must be a third way because the mass inefficiencies are pointing to the need for changes.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Who's Next? San Bernardino Faces Bankruptcy

In August 2012, San Bernardin, just an hour away, filed for bankruptcy protection. That comes on the heels of other cities and counties faced with a similar predicament. Rising costs, lower tax revenues, and unsustainable pension funds. Let's take a step back. Gone are the days where you could work your job for 40 years and retire comfortable with the company pension. if you're luck to even get a pension (many pensions are being lost through bankruptcy or worse) it's hardly enough to live on. That raises the need for Americans to be more diligent in saving for their retirement on their own. Nonetheless, if San Bernardino is up then who's next? A judge did grant the city time to figure out how to pay bills, the biggest burdens usually pensions. The city is now in bankruptcy protection as it is now deemed to be insolvent. Some, however, consider it a tactic to deal with cash flow problems.
The city must negotiate with its creditors and produce a final bankruptcy plan on which the judge will ultimately have to rule. Whether pension and other debt payments, including to holders of $50 million in pension obligation bonds, will have to be treated equally or not will remain a key issue - one that could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
San Bernardino stopped paying its $1.2 million bimonthly employer payments to the nation's largest pension fund for a year after declaring bankruptcy, the first California city to halt payments to the fund. It resumed paying Calpers last month but continues to renege on payments to other creditors, including holders of $50 million in pension obligation bonds. Calpers notes the city owes 14 million. They want the money. The judge is rightly asking, if they get paid, who doesn't? That would mean many many many jobs. We're not out of the woods yet, and many counties and cities are still facing the cash flow crunch 5 years after the 2008 debacle. Who's next? With notes from the legal office of San Diego corporate lawyer Cecilia Chen.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Boot the Illegals! Growing Unpopularity with Republican Immigration Rhetoric

let's keep this simple. Current Latino population in California around 37%. Is that # growing or shrinking? it's growing. The next election, and the next one after that, and after that, the number of voting Latinos increases as well. OK, now let's think about current Republican rhetoric surrounding immigration. Very Tea-Party-esque, as in highly controversial and no room for dialogue. The problem with this position is that it will increasingly mean fewer and fewer election wins. Whether this is the party's inability to pay attention, or just the overall sentiment of a powerful few, the fact is no Republican has held statewide office in California since Schwarzenegger. The party is also outnumbered in the state legislature and in the congressional delegation. A group of Republican California legislators with a mixed history on immigration reform sent a letter to Congress on Thursday urging the House to pass reform by the end of the year. Most of the lawmakers have a history of opposing immigrant-friendly legislation like allowing undocumented youths a chance to pay in-state tuition for college and granting driver’s licenses to the undocumented population. They now support reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. THings seem to be shifting, slightly, with Republicans starting to vote, or imploring others to consider voting for immigrant rights in bills. This stands in stark contrast to the nation's ardent immigration opponents, but it seems to be the obvious necessity here in California. Without a shift in thinking, in consistently changing districts, seats will be lost.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Obama the Moderate

Chomsky on Obama as the moderate Republican I found interesting: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/01/noam-chomsky-obama_n_2599622.html The fact is, moderate Republicans today need to re-emerge and assert themselves to take the reigns away from the far-right Tea Party-esque escapade that's crippled the legitimacy of the party. There's a slow voter shift happening and something needs to be done to stem the tide on a national level. They're out there somewhere....

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

At least a conversation on guns?

Last month's horrific shooting should in the very least force people to rationally have a discussion on gun control. What's really necessary? What's actually infringement on our rights, and what's just fancy new assault weapon technology that didn't exist 50 years ago? In California, Republicans, who outnumber Democrats in the House 233-200, would need to jump on board, at least a couple, in order for any changes to take effect. That seems unlikely. But what's really unnerving is the lack of willingness to discuss. One side wants all these changes carte blanche. The other side won't even budge despite extraneous circumstances. Is there a middle ground? At this point probably not, we'll continue with our culture of guns and continue to face the consequences of said culture. No, I don't think it's the guns themselves, but we have to take a hard look at the way we perceive these firearms and whether it's us who have to change, or the legislation. One thing is for sure, nobody NEEDS assault weapons, but the ban on them will unlikely reduce mass shootings. Save lives? Probably, reduce shootings? Doubt it.