Propositions are established via citizen petitions or by order of the State Legislature for an assortment of reasons. Some propositions amend the state constitution, requiring a vote of the citizens. Some proposals intend to undo decisions made by the state legislature or to circumvent the legislative process. Some propositions favor special interests. There are twelve propositions on the California ballot for the November election. Voters will need to wade through […]
Politics
Congressman Tom McClintock’s Deadly Denial of Global Warming
Bob Woodward’s new tell-all book, Rage, reveals specific evidence that Donald Trump knew about the severity of Covid-19 (C-19) before it ravaged our nation, killing nearly 200,000 and sinking our economy. Not only did Trump willfully withhold information that he knew would save lives, but he also actively lied about the virus, and continues to invite supporters to mass gatherings against all medical advice. The same is true of Republican political […]
Byrd Still Best for MID Board
Suzy Powell-Roos, a three-time Olympian and perhaps the most globally successful local athlete in recent memory, gives the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) a “B” or “B+” for its performance over the last two years. It’s the same grade assigned by incumbent board member Larry Byrd, whom Powell-Roos is challenging. With an overall good grade for the board, Powell-Roos would ordinarily need a galvanizing issue or issues to unseat an incumbent, […]
Reviewing the Races for Modesto City Council, Districts 1 and 3
We’ll be providing recaps and review on the Modesto Bee local political forums, beginning here with reviews of the taped interviews for Modesto City Council Districts 1 and 3. Though city and county elected offices are theoretically non-partisan, nothing has made the contrary more evident than the Covid pandemic, when wearing or rejecting a facemask has become a political statement. And so it is that recent Modesto Bee candidates’ forums […]
Josh Harder: The Congressman Unmasked
“The Postal Service is enshrined in our Constitution. It’s what brings America together; it’s the connective fabric of America.” We caught Josh Harder without a mask yesterday, but we had to use a zoom lens. Harder has been wearing a face mask and practicing social distancing for months. Monday, he was outside and more than six feet from the nearest person when he took off his mask for a short […]
Local Leaders to Essential Workers: “You are Expendable”
It was only a few months ago that Donald Trump thought he could ride a strong economy into a second term as President of the United States. Having avoided removal from office during an impeachment that Senator Mitch McConnell nullified before it started, Trump was confident he would cruise into the November election buoyed by a booming stock market and rising employment numbers. When news came in January that a […]
A Plan for Reopening Our Schools
Before he retired in 2019, Keith Law taught philosophy at Merced College. He has many decades’ experience in education. The current debate over how to begin the fall 2020 school year is stuck in a false dilemma between two equally bad options. Parents don’t want to send children to school if they risk infection for them and their families, not to mention the risks to teachers and staff. On the […]
Back to School? You First!
The San Joaquin Valley, from Stockton on south to Bakersfield, is a hot spot for the spread of the Coronavirus, the persistent killer that has raged through the nation almost exactly the way public health experts said it would. In what has become typical local reasoning, many of the Valley’s elected leaders have decided the rising infection numbers mean we should reopen our schools. Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow has […]
Stanislaus Supervisors’ Covid Fail: Worst Ever?
The old lesson that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is not in the memories of the Stanislaus County Supervisors. As a result, they’ve made decisions that indirectly resulted in loss of life and illnesses that might have been prevented. On May 7, 2020, the Board of Supervisors deliberately sought to override California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recommendations for controlling the Corona pandemic by applying for a […]
Sue Zwahlen Announces for Mayor of Modesto
Sue Zwahlen, who ran a strong campaign for congress in California Congressional District 10 in 2018, has announced she will run for Mayor of Modesto. Zwahlen enters a crowded contest that includes incumbent Ted Brandvold, Rick Countryman of Big Valley Grace Church, Naramsen Goriel, Modesto City Councilmembers Doug Ridenour and Kristi Ah You, and Bert Lippert, Building Safety Coordinator for the City of Modesto. Zwahlen’s extensive experience as an Emergency […]