Sunday Davis Enterprise Interview

Here's Corey Golden's fine interview regarding myself!

Last Revisions to My Platform

Sailing into Election Day, October 7th, here is my last revision of my platform (which actually hasn't evolved much in two months).
-----------------------------------------------------------------

VARIOUS POSITIONS:

Why Should Democrats Support the Recall?
This election is likely the first of a new trend in American politics, featuring snap elections and larger menus of candidates. More choices and shorter election periods can make the Internet-informed voter and officeholder both more alert and more responsible, virtues Democrats should encourage.

I was asked by a good friend to justify why Gray Davis should be recalled. After all, Davis, at great effort and expense, fairly won the election for Governor last year. Some of the methods Davis employed (e.g., his pre-emptive attacks on Richard Riordan) may not have been the most sporting, but he played the political game as he found it. If the rules of the political game can be altered so readily by a dissatisfied faction (dittohead Republicans this time), or even by a few isolated millionaires able to pay for recall signatures (e.g., Darrell Issa), then what is to prevent another recall in short order?

Let me be the first to state that Gray Davis is certainly a capable politician. By far, he is the best fund raiser the state has ever seen. But ultimately, raising money is not his job. His job is to govern. His timidity in dealing with the power crisis when it first raised its ugly head in December, 2000, followed by his panic the following summer, did not give the electorate much confidence in his governing abilities. The electorate preferred Davis over Simon last year, but the simple magnitude of the budget deficit this year has really shaken their confidence.

I suspect we won’t see more recalls soon, provided each of the two major parties are free to choose their own candidates without undue interference from the other party. Last year's election was illegitimate: this year's election, with a greater participation by the electorate, is the legitimate one. Nevertheless, the Governor must meet a certain minimum level of performance, including being able to evade the machinations of dissatisfied factions, and failure to do so will inevitably bring a recall on.

Proposition 13
The shift away from property taxes to income taxes that Proposition 13 made necessary has introduced instability into state finances, since income is generally more volatile than the value of property. Today, as so clearly illustrated by the $38 billion deficit, following hard on the heels of the 90's boom surplus, we are reaping that whirlwind of volatility.

As part of a concerted effort to correct the state's finances, we need an initiative calling for the repeal of Proposition 13. Unlike Arianna Huffington, I've never thought Prop. 13 could be reformed - it's just too primitive). We need a concerted effort to go on Talk Radio and explain to the true believers why that might be necessary - so the state gets stability again, which the mid-70's legislature foolishly lost by not paying attention then to accelerating property tax rates.

I would make available low or deferred payment home equity loans, underwritten by the state, that would allow taxpayers to pay property taxes no matter what their income levels are. By implementing an improved property tax system, featuring various circuitbreakers that limit rapid increases in property taxes when property values soar, the tax system can be made more stable. Income taxes for the rich can be reduced, with income taxes for corporations increased in compensation.

An example of the weird effect of Proposition 13 on California politics: despite ideological solidarity, it's no longer in the economic interest of young conservatives to favor keeping Proposition 13, just so that older conservatives can benefit. Warren Buffett noticed the problem. Someday (and may that day be - now!), everyone else will too.

State vs. Counties
It's time for Sacramento to start devolving more of its powers, and the money streams that support them, back to various localities. After all, some California counties have populations that exceed that of many states, and it may well be that that is where authority best resides. Chains of authority are currently weak and confused in California State Government - a constitutional convention may be required. It's time to sort them out.

H1B and L1 Visas
Hundreds of thousands of technology service sector workers have been laid off and replaced by imported workers through the H-1B and L1 nonimmigrant visa program and offshore outsourcing. The abuse of the nonimmigrant visa programs continues to accelerate. In the Bay Area, unemployment benefits paid to laid-off IT workers already roughly equals the salaries of the H-1B workers.

The economic damage caused by these destructive practices is passed on to the taxpayer in the form of unemployment benefits, while the replacement laborers are paid below the levels they would otherwise merit.

The American habit of farming jobs overseas, with all those precious skills, causes income tax shortfalls, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and prolongs the recession in California. Whether as taxpayers or workers, we all suffer from the callous actions of the multinationals, aided and abetted by the Congress and the White House. It’s time to fight back!

Education
So many interest groups are meddling in education that the only real solution to education's problems is a radical one: get everybody out of the classroom and restore the authority of teachers to set their own agenda. Starting around 1969, first in big cities like New York, and then nationwide, teachers were brought to heel and forced to respond to "community" concerns. That sounds idealistic enough, but remember that communities are full of individuals who have mutually-exclusive agendas. Whipsawed by clashing priorities (driver's ed, safety concerns, inappropriate censorship, civil rights concerns, lawsuits), demoralized teachers lost their will to resist. Education got dumbed down - in California, particularly in the decade of the 1980's.

Students need to be educated first to be individuals capable of thinking for themselves, so they can join their communities as strong, independent-minded people, not enthralled to hand-me-down thinking. The first role of education, then, is to show students different ways of thinking, beyond the thinking in whatever parochial community they were born into. This is a process that does not 'take a village.' When the 'village' comes calling, wondering why Johnny is reading Huckleberry Finn, the teacher must send the village away. No matter how many good people a community has, their collective impulses are usually bad for education.

Teachers owe their loyalty first to their discipline, then to their students (and their students' parents). Secondary loyalties are owed to their fellow teachers and educational institution, and if they choose to join, their union. Community concerns are tertiary. Getting the hierarchy of loyalties right is important, because teachers are human beings, after all, and can't be expected to be all things to all people. Once the authority of teachers is restored, they will, of their own volition, increase academic standards.

According to teachers I’ve talked to, only standards-based assessment is actually useful: for example, making sure grade levels across the state correspond to each other. Other assessment programs are pointless - it's time to get rid of high school exit exams (even before many have been implemented). There is no need for further statewide testing programs, which only serve, after all, to increase the petty power of remote bureaucrats over a vital, but intensely personal process - learning.

MediCal
Similar to education’s problems, medical aid to the indigent suffers from energy-eroding micro-management. Time to trust the doctors more.

Affirmative Action
I'm skeptical about the importance of affirmative action: it has never played much of a role in my education, for example. Of far greater importance is keeping grants and low-income loans available for educational purposes.

Worker's Compensation and Disability
Reform is urgently required. Costs have doubled in the last three years. A system where the amount reimbursed for each doctor's visit is capped, yet the number of visits is not capped, cannot long survive when health costs continue to accelerate. Some of the reforms under consideration in the legislature would help, but maybe not enough: savings of 20% per year are not adequate when costs are rising at 30% per year.

Most Worker's Disability claims are filed by women office workers, an unlikely population for on-the-job injuries, suggesting that either the office workplace is more hazardous than we generally think, or many dubious claims are being filed. Additional authority for the Worker's Disability bureaucracy to reject dubious claims may be required.

Environment (Air Quality)
For the first time in four years, in 2003, air quality in California has declined. Technological improvements are not keeping up with the real world, where more people drive more miles every year. The state's current air quality bureaucracy has divided its efforts into so many directions that progress is uncertain and halting everywhere. Some decisiveness is required to restore progress. Hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles should be promoted. Improved inspection and maintenance programs and expanded vehicle scrappage programs should do much to improve air quality. Electric vehicles (poor battery performance) and hydrogen power (significant safety issues) should be junked.

I am very skeptical about the power of governments to deal with global warming issues by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Oil is to the economy what vodka is to the alcoholic - efforts to limit consumption by self-denial will be met by violent opposition. Technological improvements in the economy are the only way to moderate consumption, short of using up all the oil in the world.

Environment (The Living World)
The most urgent environmental job in California is habitat protection. Every other environmental concern is secondary. That's why I support the California Coastal Commission, despite its reputation for heavy-handedness - once nature is despoiled, it's very hard to bring it back.

Crime and Prisons
Prison times for small-time drug offenders, particularly those convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana, are too long. Let's bring back the power of the pardon, responsibly used.

In a properly-functioning prison system, the promise of parole and pardons can serve as a powerful deterrent to random and vengeful violence. As far as I can tell, the ONLY reason why Gray Davis hasn't used his pardon powers is because it's politically inconvenient. That is a dereliction of duty, and it should be an impeachable offense. What a weasel!

If elected, I would quickly issue pardons statewide to model prisoners who have been unfairly turned down before for parole. Then I would move to issue blanket pardons for those serving excessive sentences for marijuana possession. A blanket pardon would highlight the draconian sentences society has been laboring under, and the need to allow judges to exercise their discretion, something that federal sentencing guidelines, for example, unfairly limits. And it might even save the state a bit of money, too, which is nice in this time of deficit. I would then begin to go through the prison system to identify inequities in sentencing, and use pardons as needed. The idea is to USE to Governor's powers, rather than sit on them.

People in prison need educational opportunities and work training more than most, and it's important to maintain and enhance funding for such programs.

Death Penalty
The death penalty is OK with me, but I'm sympathetic with the position that the death penalty makes errors in the judicial system MORE, not less, likely (see the 'Thin Blue Line'.)

Abortion and Related Issues
I'm pro-choice. Nevertheless, there are problems in the abortion sphere. For example, Roe vs. Wade was an unnecessary intervention by the (liberal) Supreme Court into state practices that were already moving piecemeal to a pro-choice position in the early 70's. Pro-life groups would have found organizing resistance to liberal abortion laws much more difficult in the 70's if it had been made clearer through the democratic political system that pro-life positions were actually fairly unpopular, which would have happened had not the Supreme Court short-circuited the process. Instead, outrage about constitutional over-reach combined with outrage over abortion to reinvigorate the conservative political movement.

This year, the (conservative) Supreme Court appears to have overreached again in its recent ruling regarding homosexual behavior, this time putting such behavior completely out of the state's control. Normally, that would be fine by me, but there are extreme instances that are not hard to imagine (e.g., an uncontrollable outbreak of a hypothetical new, contagious, sexually-transmitted disease) where the state might have a compelling interest in regulating sexual conduct by everyone, including homosexuals. So, the Supreme Court, whether liberal or conservative, tends to express its power with unwarranted interferences in the political process.

Gun Control
I think gun control should be executed on a local basis, based on local sentiment. If rural areas want guns, fine, and if central cities want to ban them, fine. I do not worship at the shrine of the 2nd Amendment - I do not believe there is an inalienable right to own arms (although my sister, an NRA member, disagrees).

Infrastructure
We aren't doing enough to keep up with the demands that our population places on our highways, canals, etc. We have to do more work, with the same amount of money, or even less.

Casinos
There are two kinds of models for casino expansion: the Las Vegas model, where outsiders are flown in, fleeced, and then sent back home before they become public embarrassments, and the South Carolina model, where video poker is promoted in populations that live near the casinos - people who can't simply be sent away when they crash and burn. Even ten years ago, the few casinos open in California were located in rural areas only, where the influx of money at least raised local living standards - basically, the Las Vegas model. With the latest wave of casino expansion, one example being the new $280 million Thunder Valley casino near Roseville, with its rapidly-growing retirement population sitting like fat sheep just a few miles away, California is abandoning the Las Vegas model and endorsing the South Carolina model. How stupid! And all because only urban and suburban casinos can deliver that crack cocaine of politics, money, fast enough to keep politicians satiated! It's interesting to note that Cruz Bustamante has received campaign contributions (totalling over $1 million over the last decade) from Tribal Casino interests.

Indian Health Care

Casino profits have yet to penetrate to the tribal health care level. It's important to enhance, not cut, Indian health care.

Illegal Immigration
There is no issue on which people are more hypocritical than illegal immigration. Mexican immigrants persuade themselves they're only going to be in the U.S. a few years, when it should be clear even to them they are here for keeps. Employers use middlemen to shield themselves from the knowledge that their employees are illegals. And people like myself just like paying low wages, while nevertheless carping about illegals taking jobs.

Mexico pays a huge price for the supposed virtue of political stability. Mexico and the U.S. have had an understanding for years, by which the U.S. permits illegal immigration in order for Mexico to avoid political instablity. The people who would otherwise be available for making much-needed changes in Mexico instead run off to the United States.

It's time to "get real" and accomodate ourselves to the knowledge that immigration is here to stay, to regulate it more effectively, and just get along with our southern neighbors. I favor drivers licenses for illegals, but only if the licenses clearly indicate the illegal status of the holders of the licenses. In other words, let's start acknowledging reality for a change. We need a general amnesty, or perhaps an updated bracero program, to help regulate the presence of recent (illegal) immigrants in the U.S. - whatever works to get awy from today's stupid system.

Election Day Plans

On October 7th, I plan to spend the morning at or near my polling place in Sacramento, voting and campaigning. In the afternoon, I plan to visit "The Purple Cow", at KMTP Channel 32, at 1504 Bryant Street, San Francisco, between 2 and 5 p.m. (their program will air at 9 p.m.) Then it's off to San Jose for two events: Candidate Jon Zellhoefer's party at A.P. Stumps, and another event (location unknown as yet) put on by 'Yes on the Recall Democrats' and hosted by John Estrada. Don't know when I'll get back to Sacramento - maybe in time to be sworn in!

Concord Labor Day H1B and L1 Visa Protest Pictures

Good pictures on this nice Web Site.

Sacramento Pancake Breakfast and Davis Whistlestop Plans

Sacramento Sunday Morning Pancake Breakfast/Candidate Soap-Box

For Immediate Release - for more information, contact Pamela Van Camp at 916 447-1637

Pancake Breakfast/Candidate Soap-Box

Sacramento, California: October 4, 2003: Pamela Van Camp, President of the Fremont Park Neighborhood Association, invites all of the California gubernatorial candidates to a pancake breakfast in Fremont Park on Sunday, October 5, 2003 at 8 AM. There are choices in this election, thanks to the candidates who took the time to run, says Pamela. I'm bringing a soap box, so they'll have an opportunity to speak.

Why does this meeting matter?

Our best hope as a State meets tomorrow morning over a pancake breakfast. That hope comes in the form of civic, public involvement, to solve the State's ills. Hope is represented by the astonishing 100+ members of the public who stepped forward to run alongside the major parties in this recall.

They send messages such as:

1.) At least 25% of you haven't yet made up your minds. We speak to those of you who don't like your choices being made for you!

2.) No more business as usual. Major party nominees represent 'Business as usual' and 'business as usual isn't working,' Don't give them a mandate.

3.) Don't vote your fears, vote your conscience! You don't have to settle. Look at all your choices and then vote!

Fremont Park is between P, Q, 15th and 16th streets

This press release was prepared by Ned Roscoe, a Libertarian gubernatorial candidate (707 373 0142) and Hana Pederson, campaign manager for Democratic candidate Dan Feinstein (650 843 0712).
-------------------------
Marc Valdez continues:

Pam Van Kamp and myself have most of the big pieces ready for tomorrow's pancake breakfast in Sacramento's Fremont Park (between 15th & 16th Streets, and P and Q Streets), between 8 and 10:30 a.m. - several electric griddles, a tent, tarps, plastic forks, paper plates, a few portable tables and plastic chairs, etc., etc.

I've alerted City of Davis Assistant City Manager Kelly Stacowicz (530) 757-5602 about a proposed whistle stop of the Alternative Candidates' bus in Davis at Central Park, sometime in the late morning or early afternoon of Sunday, October 5th. I've discussed noise concerns with Sgt. Scott Smith with the Davis Police Dept. He says that a UCD fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, is scheduled to use a portion of the park between noon and 6 p.m., to play volleyball (perhaps the candidates are up to a challenge?), and the Police Dept. doesn't want any music prior to 1:30 p.m., in order not to interfere with services at Davis Community Church. So we'd have to be careful about noise as well, particularly prior to 1:30 p.m. In addition, the picnic tables are off-limits to us. But the rest of the park is open for purposes of campaigning, and meeting the voters.

The exact timing of the visit is contingent on the Alternative Candidates' schedule, which hinges on just how much confrontation there is between Arnold's supporters and the Alternative Candidates in Sacramento, around noon.

Central Park is located at 4th and C Streets in downtown Davis. Here is a description of the park.

Here are directions to the park, coming from Sacramento, and not making use of the Richards Blvd. exit (since there is a railroad underpass that way that might be a tight fit for a big bus):

I-80 west, first exit, north on Mace
At first traffic light, turn left, west on 2nd Street frontage road
Follow 2nd: it abruptly turns right and ends at 5th St.
Turn left on 5th Street, turn left at either B or C Streets

Here are directions from the park, heading west to San Francisco, and once again not making use of the Richards Blvd. exit:

5th Street turns into Russell Blvd. at B Street - head west on Russell (5th St.).
Follow signs to catch southbound Highway 113
Follow signs to catch westbound I-80.

The Bus Approaches

Various news stories about the Alternative Candidates' bus, from the New York Times, the LA Times, Newsday, and The Fresno Bee.

More Media

Here's a fun ad from the Clements for Governor campaign.

Just had an interview with Pedro Ribeiro with Publico, from Lisbon, Portugal. My only question is, if these guys can find me, what's so hard about getting attention from Sacramento News and Review, just three blocks away? Was it because I didn't respond when they suggested I should advertise with them?

And the long-awaited SF Gate candidate questionaire.

Here Comes the Bus!

The alternative candidate's bus that is dogging Arnold Schwarzenegger's bus on his 4-day tour of the state is making its way north!

Here are some great news stories featuring the bus tour, from the Sacramento Bee, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Oakland Tribune.
-------------------------------------
Here is the currently-known itinerary of Arnold Schwarzenegger's (and therefore the alternative candidate's) bus:

Friday, October 3rd

Bakersfield - 12:45 p.m.
The Marketplace
9000 Ming Avenue
(at Haggin Oaks Blvd.)

Saturday, October 4th

Fresno (Clovis) - 8:15 a.m.
P-R Farms
2917 East Shepherd
(between N. Willow & N. Minnewawa)

Modesto - 12:45 p.m.
Tenth Street Plaza
(at 10th and K Streets)

Pleasanton - 3:15 p.m.
Alameda County Fairgrounds
4501 Pleasanton Avenue
(off Bernal Avenue)

Sunday, October 5th

Sacramento - 11:15 a.m.
California State Capitol, (South side of the Capitol, corner of 11th and N Street)
---------------------------
From a press release issued by Candidate Ned Roscoe:
Pancake Breakfast/Candidate Soap-Box

Sacramento, California: October 3, 2003: Pamela Van Camp, President of the Fremont Park Neighborhood Association, invites all of the California gubernatorial candidates to a pancake breakfast in Fremont Park on Sunday, October 5, 2003 at 8 AM. There are choices in this election, thanks to the candidates who took the time to run, says Pamela. I'm bringing a soap box, so they'll have an opportunity to speak.

Pamela has contacted the candidates on the California Candidates Bus so they can attend the breakfast.

Cheryl Bly/Chester, one of the 135 candidates on the ballot says that Pamela is a kindred spirit. She's helping us get the word out that there are choices in this election.

Fremont Park is between P, Q, 15th and 16th streets
------------------------------
In addition, I'm working on a whistlestop of the alternative candidates' bus at Central Park, Davis, CA, between 11 a.m. and 12 noon on Sunday. Details forthcoming....................

Dear Voters

The greatest pleasure of this campaign has been the opportunity, through the Candidates' Forum (that has met approximately weekly through the campaign), to become personally acquainted with a significant number of the other 135 candidates for California Governor. Virtually all of the candidates are a great bunch of civic-minded folks, many with significant leadership skills and experience with various aspects of state governance, even if it's just at the receiving end (e.g., doctors dealing with Medical paperwork, restaurateurs with Workman's Compensation, etc.)

One of my hopes has been that the Candidates' Forum might find in itself the selflessness to recommend (if not necessarily endorse) a handful of the candidates for special consideration by the voters as being particularly well qualified to become Governor. Alas, it has not been possible to get such an agreement from the Candidates' Forum, for reasons that are entirely understandable.

Every candidate in the Candidates' Forum has exactly equal formal status, and recommending some candidates over others strikes many as being inappropriate and quite unfair. As one candidate states:

From the get go, our group has been pledged to discuss the issues, come to a consensus as to our views, and to respect each other as candidates. To now suggest that The Forum politicize itself and endorse one candidate or another to block another candidate is anathema to my way of thinking. The devil himself may be elected governor of California. That in no way changes my observations that we have, amongst ourselves, the strongest group for positive political change that this state has seen since the Monterey or Auburn conventions of the 1850s.

No WAY am I going to endorse a candidate in this election.

In addition, in the trial balloting I've conducted within the Candidates' Forum, participation has been low, bringing into question whether balloting results reflected the true opinion of the Candidates' Forum. Also, there has been some inclination within the Candidates' Forum to endorse the major candidates instead of endorsing one of our own.

And yet, to the average voter, the sheer number of candidates creates confusion that Big Media is doing almost nothing to relieve. The media focus needs to be narrowed on just a few candidates, increasing the chance that one or a few might catch media fire, just as the electorate, disillusioned after the big Sept. 24th Sacramento debate, is looking about for fresh alternatives.

An analysis needs to be done by someone close to the Candidates' Forum, preferably by a journalist. I tried to interest a few journalists in this task, but no one has risen to the occasion. There is nobody to do the job. And it's a job that needs doing. So, I'm going to temporarily remove my hat as a candidate, and put on a journalist hat, and try to do the job myself.

I prefer not to call this analysis an endorsement, however, but rather a recommendation, a term that carries much less weight. If the undecided voter can't stomach the Big Media candidates, but is baffled by the sheer number of the others, he or she can't go far wrong if they choose instead from this limited subset of the best-qualified other candidates. My recommendation certainly does not obligate candidates to likewise express support, it's just that I find these people to be admirable, and maybe the voters will too.

As a suggestion for California voters who are put-off by the Big Media gubernatorial candidates, but are baffled by the sheer number of the other candidates, here is a short list of eight candidates that, having come to know and respect over the last two months, I recommend as better-prepared than most to become Governor:

Jon Zellhoefer
Cheryl Bly-Chester
Jonathan Miller
Iris Adam
Badi Badiozamani
Lingel Winters
Jim Vandeventer, Jr.
Dick Lane

I came up with my list basically just off the top of my head - I have no major axe to grind for or against anyone. Jon, Jonathan, and Cheryl have shown lots of leadership within the Candidates' Forum, and since government is a collaborative enterprise, that willingness to advance the group's interests is important. Jon Zellhoefer is quite sensitive to the political value of grabbing the moral high ground of whatever issue is under discussion, and that is a valuable trait. No one in the entire campaign is better spoken than Cheryl Bly-Chester: she's a gung-ho problem solver! And Jonathan Miller's Silicon Valley entrepreneurial experience gives him a hi-tech edge (and Darrin Scheidle isn't bad either!)

Iris Adam appeals to the Natural Law/ Libertarian streak among the candidates (so too does Ned Roscoe who also has worked very closely with the Candidates' Forum) but Iris' law education gives her an edge. Badi Badiozamani has deeper preparation than almost every other gubernatorial candidate - a Ph.D. in public policy, experience as an entrepreneur, and many, many useful Persian-American contacts.

Among the anti-recall candidates, Lingel Winters downplays his anti-recall platform with a vigorously promoted jobs platform, which is why I favor his campaign over the other anti-recall candidates (and also because he is so amiable). Other anti-recall candidates put different weight on the anti-recall stance. Christopher Sproul (who is also very amiable) gives approximately equal weight to his anti-recall and pro-environment platforms, and Diana Foss principally just rails against the recall.

Candidates Jim Vandeventer, Jr. and Lawrence Steven Strauss have also been active in the Candidates' Forum - Jim maybe a bit more so, since Lawrence hit his $1000 FPPC campaign ceiling a couple of weeks ago. Jim Weir and Dick Lane have both advocated higher expenditures to support California community colleges, but Dick's voice seems to be louder than Jim's, giving him an edge.

What other candidates have go-getting, high-energy personalities suitable to set California on a new course? Each in their own special way: Brooke Adams, Lorraine Fontanes, Ronald Friedman, Gerold Gorman, Ken Hamidi, Sara Ann Hanlon, C. Stephen Henderson, Frank Macaluso, Jr., Chuck Pineda, Jr., Jeff Rainforth, Mike Schmier, Richard J. Simmons, A. Lavar Taylor, and C.T. Weber.

I think the prime value of this list is as an attention-getting device - something to orient disgruntled but lost voters. And if they remain disgruntled, they can still look deeper into the candidate field. In my mind, this list doesn't prejudice my own chances, or anyone else, in the slightest: their interest piqued by the list, disgruntled voters who would certainly otherwise have gone to Cruz or Arnold, but are nevertheless not enthused by the recommended eight, might eventually settle with me or others. This list encourages voters to do their research. I hope it's a way of skimming what would otherwise have been pointless votes for Cruz or Arnold.

Faces of the Recall

Got Pam and my picture in Monday's hardcopy LA Times!

Lucianne Privileges

Amy Sheehan at Lucianne maintains Computerworld is a 'special interest' site, and prior permission is required before posting. Sounds like a cop-out to me - there is nothing about 'special interest' sites in their Rules.

What's With Lucianne and IT Offshore Outsourcing?

For some reason, the Lucianne Web Site squelched discussion of this article, Bush Administration Won't Impede Offshore Outsourcing, published in Computerworld, and written by Patrick Thibodeau, regarding IT offshore outsourcing. I sent several E-Mail messages complaining about what appears to be their censorship of content. The article was not in violation of posted Lucianne rules - H1B and L1 visa problems are the talk of the IT industry, making the article highly relevant and newsworthy. I received no explanations! Please write and complain to: 'Editor@LcomHQ.com'.

Faces of the Recall

The Los Angeles Times has a real nice feature on their recall coverage Web Page: "Faces of the Recall", with nice pictures and short audio statements by many of the candidates for California Governor.

Favorable Press

More press (Article 1 and Article 2) about the Leno show yesterday, including this pre-Appeals-Court-announcement article.

In addition, I've been getting some good press lately, even if the articles themselves are not that flattering to us minor candidates. James Vandeventer was annoyed by this article in the LA Times, because us minor candidates are portrayed as being involved in a quixotic crusade (and, more importantly, Mr. Vandeventer is not mentioned, despite his prominence in the group). And then there was this article in the Christian Science Monitor. At least some of us seem to be held in reasonably good esteem, no matter what else happens with this strange election.

Letter to NBC

Dear NBC:

Just to let you know, I thought you all did an excellent job yesterday with all of us Recall Candidates. My worries that NBC might mistreat us in some way were largely answered. The snacks were very welcome - at our pre-show gathering in Johnny Carson Park, we had largely neglected our own human need for sustenance (although Reva Renee Renz's potato chips and sodas came at a critical time, and I thank her for those, and I guess there were some pizzas there as well). If we hadn't all eaten prior to the show, who knows what would have happened: perhaps we would have overwhelmed Mr. Tsangares' 'equal time' chant with our own: 'quick carbs!'

The choice of Blue Man Group was excellent. Their audience-involvement-oriented theater (always a favorite with me since I saw them 2 years ago in Las Vegas) was perfect for our electorate-involvement-oriented campaigns (I now need a chicken ringtone).

Thank you for not wrestling Mr. Tsangares to the floor, or otherwise unnecessarily degrading him. Although I think we all sympathize in one way or another with his message, I still thought his timing was lamentable, although entirely predictable (and judging from all your security, you probably had already come to that conclusion yourself).

Once again, thanks!

Marc Valdez
Candidate for California Governor
http://marcvaldezcalgov.blogspot.com

Taking Weintraub's Challenge

By squarely answering the Sept. 24th Debate Questions:

-----------------------------------------------------
How would you propose enhancing revenue and/or what specific cuts would you propose to achieve a balanced budget?

In the long run, it's important to stabilize California's budget by diversifying its sources of income. Currently, the state relies too heavily on income taxes, not enough on property taxes and is thus prone to income shocks. That means repealing Proposition 13, however. It will be necessary to directly counter fears that pensioners will be forced from their homes by uncontrollable increases in property taxes. Alternative methods to limit property tax increases as real estate valuations rise would be required - simply setting the expected total property tax intake in advance every year, and adjusting rates to suit, might simplify budgeting and make accountability for tax jumps easier to trace. Low-interest home equity loans would enable pensioners to pay property taxes despite decades of low income, plus a final fail-safe mechanism to terminate property taxes if home equity is ever completely consumed - bombproof ways to make sure no one ever gets evicted just for a failure to pay property taxes.

In the short run, dramatic cuts in state expenses will be required. Postponing various CALTRANS projects is one approach, or perhaps with short-term (2 week) unpaid layoffs that rotate through various governmental agencies. Anything to avoid relying on unconstitutional, unsecured bond offerings.

Leaders in the business community are convinced that this state is losing jobs and unable to attract new businesses. If you agree, what are two things you would change to make this a more business-friendly state? If you disagree, what are the misconceptions you would like to correct?

The regulatory ambitions of the state must be curbed. For example, the Air Resources Board has interpreted its mandate to clean the state's air to mean the Board should wean the state from reliance on petroleum products - considerably beyond what they really need to do, or are capable of. Thus low-cost programs that clean the air, such as enhanced vehicle scrappage, are slighted in order to implement expensive programs, like the ZEV mandate, that will never benefit anyone's air. Why not bring the Air Resources Board back to earth? Or perhaps phase out agencies without clear mandates, like CalEPA, or the California Energy Commission, or perhaps give them real missions?

How are you going to insure that all Californians have adequate healthcare?

Basic health care might be achievable - through Medical - but even adequate health care might be beyond the state's reach. Universal health care, as recommended by the Green Party and others, is unachievable. Overly-protective patenting expenses, plus the large advertising budgets of the pharmaceutical companies, are driving up the costs of prescription drugs. Solutions for our health care problems lies mostly at the federal level, and Californians by themselves are unlikely to have much control over our health-care fate, at least in the short-term.

Everybody talks about wanting a colorblind society but what does that actually mean to you? In other words, how do we know when we have succeeded?

We will let our descendants worry about that. The legacy of slavery is still with us, and generations (not Sandra Day O'Connor's 20 years) need to pass before we can stop worrying about prejudice.

What should be the top priority for California right now?

Balancing the state budget and reforming our tax system: those are the top priorities.

If elected Governor, will you support the expansion of charter schools in California?

People need alternatives. We need public schools available for ALL children (illegal immigrants included), but if the schools are deficient in some ways, charter schools, supported in part or whole by taxpayer money, should also be available. Private schools, homeschooling - whatever people want to support. Diversity - real diversity - invigorates education, and we have nothing to fear from it.

What do you expect to accomplish in the time remaining on Gray Davis’ term that he could not?

Reform the tax system, or at least get that process started. A relentless assault on Proposition 13 is required. Outreach to conservatives, particularly young conservatives, who are actively injured by Proposition 13, is a top priority.

What is the single most important piece of legislation either signed or vetoed during this past legislative session?

Unfortunately, extending automobile licenses to illegal aliens. I sympathize with their plight, but in American society, the driver's license has also become the de facto identity card. Extending the privilege has ignited a new round of recriminations regarding immigration - legal and illegal - recriminations that will ultimately benefit no one. I would be willing to support driver's licenses for illegal aliens provided the illegal status is clearly indicated on the license.

SB 2, Worker's Compensation Reform, is a close second in importance (provided Gray Davis signs it). Unfortunately SB 2's reforms may be too little, too late, to save the system from serious damage.

Do you support reducing the Vehicle License Fee (car tax), and if so, where would you find the revenue to replace the loss to the budget?

I support the increased Vehicle License Fee. Objections to the increase are absolutely sound, in every way, but we've already crossed the Rubicon on spending money we don't have, with unsecured bond sales coming soon in this year's budget, and the increased fee is absolutely the lesser of evils - besides, the fee only increased as far as it had already been several years ago, so it's time we just stopped whining like girly men about it.

What services will your Administration expect local governments to provide and what stable source of revenue will you give them to do it?

The state has become unresponsive to local needs, even after appropriating local income streams for its own budget purposes in the early 90's. It's time to start devolving responsibilities and income streams back to the counties. After all, some of these counties have populations larger than many states, and local control is vital. Precisely which reponsibilities should be shed depends on circumstances - health care for the indigent and unemployment compensation, where local savvy is crucial, might be prime candidates.

Under Governors Pat Brown and Ronald Reagan, California spent up to 20% of its General Fund on Infrastructure - such as roads, bridges, colleges,
hospitals and water systems. Now we spend closer to 1%. Proposition 53 on
the ballot raises that figure to 3%. What are your positions on Prop. 53 and what will you do to invest more in California's aging infrastructure?

We will need to increase infrastructure spending in any event, and soon. I'm against Proposition 53, because the 3% target could be interpreted as a ceiling as well as a floor. I'm against setting aside fixed portions of the budget for any purpose - that kind of rigidity only helps diffuse reponsibility for our budget problems, encourages sloth within protected spheres of the government, and deprives policymakers of needed flexibility in setting budget priorities.

As our population continues to age, the demand for government services to seniors will increase dramatically during the next decade. What do you intend to do to proactively manage this demand?

First, try to manage the demand for health care and related services as much as possible within the state bureaucracy - the state has lower overhead expenses than various private contractors, and can usually manage demands more efficiently. The low overhead of the federal Social Security system is an outstanding example of the virtues of trying to keep everything in-house. Privatization of certain services shouldn't be excluded, of course - it's just that we need to pursue the lowest-cost approach, independent of any ideological jihads.

Maybe Another Ballot....

Jon Zellhoefer wants a different type of experimental ballot - got to get that going!

Jon Stewart's 'The Daily Show'

OK folks, here it is! Check under Crazy-fornia at this link for my brief shining moment (although I'm identified as an Environmental Activist rather than as a Gubernatorial Candidate)!

Deadline, 11 p.m.

Collecting experimental ballots from the minor recall candidates to determine who the candidates would prefer among the minor recall candidates as their governor.

Joel Kotkin's TNR Article

Here is my response to Joel Kotkin's rather hand-wringing article regarding progressivism and the California recall in The New Republic:

Editors:

Mr. Kotkin is wrong when he says attention will turn to fundamental changes in California's political system after the recall election is over. This election is the ONLY chance Californians will get. Paralysis lies ahead if either major (non-progressive) candidate wins. There are a few sound progressives on the ballot, but voters will have to summon the courage to vote their beliefs, rather than what the lazy media and comfortable politicians urge.