One of the more amusing pastimes when reading Modesto Bee political endorsements involves spotting the tortured attempts at “objectivity” and the consistent employment of double standards. When both elements combine, the dedicated reader is rewarded with a “twofer.” And every once in a while, the elements combine for a trifecta, which includes an additional laugh bonus. This season’s trifecta came about with the Bee’s endorsement of Bill Zoslocki, candidate for City Council in District […]
Politics
All You Need to Know for Yes on X, Part II
In Part I, we argued that anti-government and anti-tax hysteria promoted by the likes of Grover Norquist have resulted in failures to provide the very services governments were formed to deliver, especially public safety. Ultimately, the Norquist arguments have resulted in the kind of madness that has shut down the federal government and threatens democracy altogether. Here, we address much more serious arguments against Measure X. While these arguments are […]
Jeff Denham Sends Misleading Report to Constituents, by Bruce Frohman
Below is a copy of the text of an email sent by Congressman Jeff Denham on October 3rd, 2013, the 3rd day of the government shut down. It is misleading and dishonest. This writer’s comments are highlighted in capitalized bold text at the end of each paragraph of Denham’s message. DENHAM WRITES: Dear friend, Many constituents have contacted my office or spoke with me during my recent tele-town hall regarding current appropriations negotiations, […]
All You Need to Know for Yes On X, Part I
Arguments against Measure X fall into two categories. The first category consists of those who are against taxes and against government, period. Call them the Grover Norquist crowd. Norquist’s wish to reduce government, “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub,” has come true in many places, especially California cities hard hit by the Great Recession. As government continues to shrink, however, many Norquist supporters have […]
Shame on Jeff Denham, by Bruce Frohman
On the eve of the October 1 government shutdown, San Joaquin Valley Republican Congressman Jeff Denham held a one hour telephone town hall meeting to answer questions about his political positions in the House of Representatives. Mr. Denham opened the meeting by reading a prepared statement. The statement featured the exact same language used within the House of Representatives debate, and provided the rationale for obstruction of the Affordable Health Care […]
Modesto Primed To Outsource Police Services To County Sheriff, by Bruce Frohman
Riverbank and Patterson: A number of years ago, prior to election to the Riverbank City Council of a family member of a locally owned grocery store chain, the city provided police services to its citizens. Riverbank had its own police department. In the grocery business, an expanding population is good for business. Coincident to the grocer’s election, the City of Riverbank experienced a residential housing boom. The housing boom was fed by infrastructure subsidies provided by Riverbank taxpayers. To enable greater subsidies […]
City Of Modesto Needs To Pass Sales Tax Increase, by Bruce Frohman
Citizens of Modesto have expressed plenty of reasons to vote against Measure X in the November election. However, the city very much needs the revenue of a sales tax increase. Over the past decade, the number of city employees and level of city services have declined substantially. With police department staffing at a historic low for officers per capita, the department is no longer able to effectively fight crime. Response times are inadequate to catch […]
Extra! Bee Covers Ridenour Administration! Extra!
It took a while, but the Modesto Bee finally got around to covering the Ridenour administration. Don’t feel bad if the name “Ridenour” doesn’t ring a bell. Jim Ridenour was Mayor of Modesto from 2004 through 2012. Known by many as the “stealth mayor” for the lack of news coverage during his term, only two events ruffled the calm surface of his eight year tenure. One, the SCAP scandal, occurred […]
Anthony Canella May Have to Hide Out
Now that he’s been outed as pro-labor by the Bee’s Judy Sly, Anthony Canella may have to start wearing a disguise and hide out in his own district. Canella is the Republican State Senator from Ceres. He recently co-sponsored Senate Bill 7 (SB7), which puts pressure on cities to pay prevailing wages for locally-funded projects or lose state construction funding. Needless to say, this isn’t the kind of politics that […]
Jeff Denham Denies Man’s Role in Climate Change
At last count, there were 135 climate change deniers in congress. Jeff Denham is one of them. In fact since becoming California’s tenth congressional district representative, Denham has compiled a nearly perfect anti-environment, anti-science record. One of his first acts upon taking office was to try to eliminate Wild and Scenic status for the Merced River. Overall, the League of Conservation Voters gives him an 11% rating on conservation issues. […]