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It was Grover Norquist who famously said he wanted to shrink government to a size where he could drown it in a bathtub. Norquist’s Paulist allies in Congress (Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan) show no interest in stopping there, however, and probably would go after the bathtub next – or at least indoor plumbing. Of course, things like indoor plumbing and electricity are some of the creature comforts that were brought to millions of Americans by their federal government decades ago, because private enterprise saw no immediate profit in spreading such “luxury” to everyone. Without New Deal programs such as the Rural Electrification Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority and Farm Security Administration, many of us might still be sitting in the dark, as well as sitting – well, elsewhere, if you get my drift.
It’s become bad manners today, however, for government to remind us of the things it does for Americans – or rather,
» Read more about: "Drowning" Government: Be Careful What You Wish For »
Earlier this week, we reported on changes that are needed in the medical cannabis industry. Well, this Friday (June 22), the L.A. City Council takes up two competing proposals for how to deal with an industry that’s gotten out of control.
On the one hand, L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz and Council President Herb Wesson have made a motion to direct the City Attorney to draft an ordinance that will allow patients limited safe access to responsible operators. The City Attorney would develop an ordinance that establishes strict guidelines for dispensary operations and subject them to city oversight.
This should curb the sorts of abuses we’ve read about, reduce the number of dispensaries, maintain high-road jobs and allow continued access of patients to their medicine.
On the other hand, Councilmen Jose Huizar and Mitchell Englander have proposed a so-called “gentle ban.” But far from being gentle,
» Read more about: Council Dispensary Vote: Compassion or Weed Wacking? »
It’s been seven years since documentary film maker Robert Greenwald‘sWalmart, The High Cost of Low Price exposed the corrosive effects the retail giant has had on America’s economy and on its workers.
Now, in advance of the June 30 March Against Walmart, Greenwald’s Brave New Foundation and Cuéntame have released a minute-long short, Stop the Invasion! No Wal-Martization!, in which local business, faith and labor leaders, along with Congresswoman Judy Chu, spell out why Walmart cannot be allowed to move into Chinatown. Take a look!
Fifty years ago I graduated from high school on the other side of town from where Dolores Huerta had a decade earlier. My high school class will hold its reunion this fall. Also 50 years ago, Huerta and Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers a few miles further south in Delano. The UFW just celebrated its half-century at its annual convention, this year in Bakersfield.
Long before I met Chavez I had heard of the legend. He had learned about organizing under Fred Ross, who was criss-crossing the state building the Community Service Organization (CSO) network among the Spanish-speaking urban barrios. But when Chavez wanted to expand CSO’s mission to organize farm workers in the Central Valley, CSO said no. So he did it on his own, with no money, no budget and only a handful of contacts. He went to Delano and began to work among the vineyards,
» Read more about: Fields of Dreamers: Looking Back at the UFW »
With California’s unemployment rate at 11 percent, elected leaders should do everything they can to keep parents working and able to support their families. Instead, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed cuts that would devastate child care, leaving tens of thousands of children without a place to go, and forcing parents out of their jobs.
Communities across the state are speaking out against the cuts and arguing for a smart, fair state budget that protects child care. In San Diego, Oxnard and Santa Maria, children, parents and child care providers rallied in recent days.
I’m one of them. I stand up and speak out because I’m a child care provider in Oxnard and a leader of Child Care Providers United/AFSCME.
I stood with fellow concerned citizens and activists Saturday at the Parquedel Sol in Oxnard to protest the outrageous cuts that would hurt the most vulnerable in our community.
» Read more about: State Cuts Endanger Kids, Communities and Workers »
In its continuing effort to be as sensationalistic as possible, the Los Angeles Times this Sunday ran what purported to be a big expose on the medical cannabis industry under the heading, “The Green Rush.” Set aside that this sounds like maybe the worst Marvel superhero, or perhaps what happens at an environmentalist frat house. What exactly have they exposed here? That the industry is weakly regulated? That there are too many sketchy players in this industry? That there’s a lot of uncertainty moving forward?
I’m not really sure that the L.A. Times is the first to point this stuff out, but it’s all true and it does deserve to be said again. The article takes an in-depth look at court records and police records to show that a sizeable chunk of the industry appears to be primarily concerned with profiting off of patients – in apparent violation of 1996’s Compassionate Use Act.
» Read more about: Pot Pharms: Responsible Dispensaries or Roach Motels? »
(Editor’s Note: The following executive summary comes from a study partly funded by the Public Welfare Foundation and the Ford Foundation, and is used by permission.)
An independent study released by two prominent scholars found that number of news stories with “job killer” allegations have increased by 1,156 percent between the first three years of the George W. Bush administration and the first three years of the Obama administration.
The study, “Job Killers” in the News: Allegations without Verification, by Professors Peter Dreier of Occidental College and Christopher R. Martin of the University of Northern Iowa, revealed that the “job killer” allegations came most often from Republican and business group sources, and were targeted at policies to safeguard consumers, protect the environment, raise wages, expand health insurance coverage, increase taxes on the wealthy, and make workplaces safer.
» Read more about: Lalo Alcaraz on Walmart's Fakes and Hacks »
While most media attention this week concerning Walmart’s L.A. expansion plans has understandably focused on the cloak-and-dagger shenanigans of self-confessed corporate spy Stephanie Harnett, the mounting local opposition to Walmart has taken on serious political overtones. At the same news conference at which Secret Agent Harnett revealed her identity, Congresswoman Judy Chu vowed to refuse Walmart campaign contributions and encouraged her colleagues to do the same.
“I have never accepted a dollar of Walmart money and I will never take Walmart money,” Chu told a gathering of reporters on Wednesday. “I call on all Los Angeles elected officials not to take Walmart’s money — and to give it back if they’ve accepted those contributions in the past.”
The June 13 event was held across the street from the Chinatown location where Walmart hopes to open a 33,000-square-foot grocery store. Walmart’s dream is the nightmare of local businesses and Chinatown community leaders,
» Read more about: Judy Chu Tells Politicians: Don't Take Walmart's Money »