From around 1947 to 1958, a simple, direct and invasive question was a reliable elevator of blood pressure: “Are you now or have ever been a Communist?”
The New Meaning of “Are You Now or Have Ever Been?”
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THE GOLDMAN STATE
Politics
Will There Be a Subtotal Recall on September 14?
The old expression, “Suppose they gave a party and nobody came?” is starting to sound like it applies to another party: Democrats.
AB 5 Strikes Back!
“Just when I think I’m out they pull me back in!”
High-Speed Rail Is Once Again Side-Tracked
Out of the $4 billion requested by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, this is how much money has been designated for it in the state’s $262.6 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2021-22, which began this month: $0.00.
Heard Immunity? We Take a Listening Tour
Do you remember when Hillary Clinton, running for President in 2016, embarked on what she called her “listening tour”? It was intended to portray her as having a connection with the country’s working class
I Have Seen the Future of Commercial Construction—and It Won’t Be a Gas
“All new buildings that are constructed in the city of Sacramento will have to be all-electric by 2026, per a new ordinance passed by the Sacramento City Council,” according to a story early this month in the Sacramento Business Journal by award-winning reporter Felicia Alvarez.
What Is Cancel Culture?—An Irrational Discussion
I’ll admit that when I first heard the term “cancel culture,” I thought it was a government edict for me to cancel my membership in the Yogurt of the Month Club.
Ex-Veep’s Memoir Debuts in 2023. The (sus)Pence Is Killing Me!
A few thousand writers and editors affiliated with Simon & Schuster are doing their damnedest to ensure that a memoir by former Vice President Mike Pence will become a best-seller when it comes out in 2023.
Drought Measures Presented in a Dry Manner
Memorial Day is the unofficial kickoff of summer and we’re now officially in a drought here in California. Until Governor Gavin Newsom declared it, we were evidently in an ex officio drought, which was a little like having a learner’s permit but not being allowed to climb into the full disaster to buckle up and go for a spin. Or having a designer need to have a licensed architect sign off on an architectural drawing in order to make it an architectural design.
Odds & Trends: Brylcream, Gavin and the Amazing City Council Pay Raise
I’ve lived in California since I was not-quite eight years old and it’s often felt like being in a TV show I joined “in progress” because its opening was pre-empted by a hockey game in overtime. (“Folks, the players have just six minutes left to beat each other senseless with their sticks and fists in the name of good sport and icy fun, so please stay with us.”)
