The SF Chronicle (which seems like a much better newspaper when you read it online) has an interesting article on the many last-minute bills awaiting Gov. Schwarzenegger's signature--or veto pen. Nobody seems to know what to expect. In a sidebar, John M. Hubbell writes:
Here are 10 bills the majority Democratic Party may attempt to send to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk in the final days of the legislative session, many of which are targeted for opposition by the Republican leadership or business groups. The governor's response to them will more firmly establish his developing track record.
Prescription drugs (AB1957 and AB1958, Frommer, D-Glendale and SB149, Ortiz, D-Sacramento) -- Would create a state-run Web site to help consumers buy prescription drugs from Canada and allow CalPERS, the state employees' retirement system, to establish a purchasing pool for prescription medication.
Outsourcing (Nine bills altogether, including AB1829, Liu, D-La Cañada Flintridge and SB1492, Dunn, D-Santa Ana). The Democrats' broadest legislative offensive seeks to rein in California companies that send jobs overseas. Liu's bill prohibits companies contracting with state or local governments from doing so; Dunn's bill, citing privacy concerns, limits medical information that can be processed overseas. The California Chamber of Commerce, which teamed with Schwarzenegger on workers' compensation reforms, is unilaterally opposed to the round of outsourcing bills.
'Big-box' impacts (SB1056, Alarcon, D-Sun Valley) -- Would mandate economic impact studies be performed locally before cities decide whether to allow "big-box" retailers into the area.
Minimum wage (AB2832, Lieber, D-Mountain View) -- Boosts minimum wage by $1 per hour over the next two years, from $6.75 to $7.75.
'Green' businesses (SB1703, Alarcon, D-Sun Valley) -- Allows businesses to be certified by a local agency as environmentally friendly if found to be preventing pollution and minimizing waste.
Foie gras (SB1520, Burton, D-San Francisco) -- Bans sale and production of foie gras, the fattened goose liver savored by some high-end diners but abhorred by animal rights activists because of the force-feeding method commonly used to produce it. Would take effect July 2012.
Immigrant rights (SB1160, Cedillo, D-Los Angeles) -- Would allow illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses, provided various conditions, including a clean background check, are met. The bill has been the subject of protracted negotiations with the administration.
Food stamps (AB1796, Leno, D-San Francisco and AB2013, Steinberg, D- Sacramento) -- Assemblyman Mark Leno's bill, supported by several law enforcement groups but opposed by Republicans, would allow the state to override a federal rule that bans food stamp use by felony drug convicts. Thirty-two other states have exercised their right to do so. Steinberg's bill would stop the state practice of fingerprinting welfare and food stamp recipients as a means to deter fraud.
Car purchases (AB1839, Montañez, D-San Fernando) -- A sweeping consumer protection act giving car buyers new access to a host of financing information and applying caps to loan rates used by banks and dealers. Possible three-day "cooling off" period that would allow buyers to return vehicles for a fee. The bill is being heavily lobbied on both sides; Schwarzenegger has taken political contributions from car dealerships in the past.
Drug possession (AB2274, Dymally, D-Compton and SB131, Sher, D-Palo Alto) Affects the charges applied to various types of drug crimes. The bill aims to equalize the penalty for selling crack cocaine with the penalty for selling powder cocaine. Assemblyman Byron Sher's bill would downgrade possession of less than 28.5 grams of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction.
Stay tuned.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 18, 2004 • Comments
I am not a political reporter. That means I don't have to listen to a candidate give the same stump speeches 50 million times and then desperately find a new angle to write about for tomorrow's paper. It means I don't have to go to crowded nominating conventions that are more usefully watched on television. And it means I don't have to spend my time tracking down sources who might be able to shed light on John Kerry's claims about his adventures in Vietnam and Cambodia.
I don't have to do these things because I don't want to and because they are not my job. But there are a lot of fine journalists who do have the job of political reporting, they are not doing it when it comes to Kerry's past, and they are making our whole profession look bad. Come on, folks. If you can't find out any independent sources on Kerry's own story, at least report the "he says-he says" allegations. And help out your audience with some context: Dig up some more-or-less unbiased (or at least nonpartisan) sources to provide some historical context for the bizarre Cambodia story. Never mind John Kerry specifically, what were U.S. operations during that period? Are any of his various accounts plausible and, if so, which ones? Or give readers some background on the procedures for awarding medals during Vietnam. There was a lot of medal inflation and, presumably, some politics in how medals were awarded. What, if anything, does the broader context tell us about Kerry and his critics?
This story would be a lot easier on news reporters--who, after all, are supposed to write history's first draft, not to figure out what happened long ago and far away--if Douglas Brinkley were a better (I'm tempted to say "real") historian.
UPDATE: An armchair analyst beats the beat reporters to a plausible explanation of the Cambodia story.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 17, 2004 • Comments
It may not be "nanomedicine," but this "tiny corkscrew" for combating damage from strokes is still exciting.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 17, 2004 • Comments
After nearly four years, both the WaPost--in a three-part series, no less--and the NYT, in a more-modest single article have suddenly discovered that the Bush administration has taken a dim view of regulation. Now John Kerry is (suprise) joining the chorus of condemnation, suggesting that the administration's anti-regulatory stance is nothing more or less than corruption--a quid pro quo in exchange for campaign contributions.
The reporters take the attitude that any restriction approved by "activists" and disapproved by "business" must be good--end of debate. They also make heavy weather of the fact that regulatory policy is made largely without public scrutiny. That's true, of course, but it's nothing new. The whole point of regulatory agencies is to take law-making out of the legislative process and put it in the hands of "disinterested" technocrats. And enabling legislation is almost always esoteric and complex, the sort of thing only special interest groups, pro and con, pay attention to or even understand.
This NYT graphic tells the story (click link for full-size version). Note that it shows the incremental costs of new regulations, not the total cost of all regulations. Today's regulatory costs include the costs of complying with old regulations.
Taken as a whole, this latest media campaign offers an answer to an oft-asked question: Why on earth would a libertarian vote for George W. Bush?
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 17, 2004 • Comments
Adam Thierer of the Cato Institute writes to announce the formation of a new group blog, Technology Liberation Front, featuring "a liberty-loving group of fellow technology policy wonks/" Check it out. (I have to disagree with the condemnation of a videogame to teach nutrition. It's amazing how effectively you can teach with videogames.)
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 17, 2004 • Comments
Alan of Command Post writes to announce a new venture in "open source charity," to identify "simple, personal, non-bureaucratic, and...inspiring" causes and use blogs to solicit contributions. Here's the background:
This past May, I made an open call at The Command Post to counter the evil of Nick Berg's murder by strengthening the good of Susan Tom and her kids. It was an easy promise to make--we would donate any funds deposited in our PayPal account over a 48 hour period to the Tom Family Education Trust--and I never really thought we'd meet the $10,000 goal. Indeed, I had been casually planning my "well, we gave it a good show and at least we helped" post literally from the moment I made the initial request. People are, I thought, just too often asked to contribute to charity, from their United Way Drive at work to the CF candy bar drive at their door to their church tithe.
It was an easy promise to make, and I never really thought we'd meet the $10,000 goal. Indeed, I had been casually planning my "well, we gave it a good show and at least we helped" post literally from the moment I made the initial request. People are, I thought, just too often asked to contribute to charity, from their United Way Drive at work to the CF candy bar drive at their door to their church tithe.
But people DID respond, and not only did we meet the $10,000 goal — we did far better, raising $15,000 in less than three days for the education of the Tom children.
From reading the comments and emails I received, it wasn't just the idea of countering evil by helping good that attracted people to Susan Tom and compelled those people to give. For many, it was just reading her story and hearing about something noble and caring in this difficult world. It was about having a break from constant reminders of death and terror and crime. And for many, it was the chance to help in a way that was immediate, simple, and very, very personal. The chance to give to something they could trust ... something with a face where they knew their impact would be felt, even if they only gave $1. The chance to actually make a difference.
I think there are many, many such chances in the world. I also think the sentiment to read about something good and strong, and to have the opportunity to make a difference if one so chooses, runs very deep.
And so, in late May I had an idea, and now I have a proposition.
With The Command Post, people from all walks of life and from all points of the world--over 120 bloggers in all--came together to create something wholly new: decentralized journalism. And while the Post isn't the day-to-day bandwidth hog she was during the run to Baghdad, her power is in her network, and the model still works: when news happens...be it the 2003 Northeast Blackout, the New Hampshire Primary, or Hurricane Charley, our contributors know where to post, and people all over the world log in to get the story from multiple sources in real time.
It's proof not just of the power of the Web. It's proof of the power inherent in the global network of blogs, and in the end, of the power of people within that network to create something greater than the sum through individual but coordinated action.
Now I think it's time to extend that power to something good...to make the leap from decentralized journalism to decentralized charity.
Here's the idea: Create a network of bloggers who raise awareness of "micro charities"--charitable opportunities that are simple, personal, non-bureaucratic, and, like Susan Tom, inspiring. Charitable opportunities where someone can feel great about giving $1, or even just from reading the story of the charity, its sponsors, and its beneficiaries....
So here's the proposition: I'll find them, if you'll link to them.
Last May I registered the domain www.strengthenthegood.com, which now is the home for a blog of the same name. (It's a placeholder design for now while Sekimori works her magic.) Every third Sunday night I'll post about a "Susan Tom-esque? micro-charity. I'll find them, I'll qualify them, and I'll post their story with enough detail that people can qualify them for themselves, and feel good (or even inspired) by what the charity stands for and who it benefits.
I'll be participating in this innovative effort and am interested in hearing about any causes that may fit the bill.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 17, 2004 • Comments
On Thursday, August 27, I will be speaking at a breakfast meeting of the International Interior Design Association, to be held at 7:30 a.m. at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel. They have kindly allowed me to invite some guests from the local area. If you are interested in attending, please email me ASAP and I will give you further details and put your name on the list.
UPDATE: My slots are full. I'll be speaking again in Dallas the evening of September 28. For more info on this and other speeches, go here.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 12, 2004 • Comments
I wouldn't say that John Kerry's adventures when I was in elementary school is entirely irrelevant to his qualifications to be president. (Commanding that boat may have been his only executive experience.) But this currently popular song puts the distance between now and the late '60s into perspective. (It's more entertaining with the music. This radio station site has the downloadable video.)
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 12, 2004 • Comments
If you want commentary on John Kerry's Vietnam experience, this isn't the blog to read. (Try InstaPundit, who's tracking the story in detail.) I'd really rather know what Kerry thinks U.S. policy toward Iran and Iraq today should be.
Still, I do have to wonder: Given how patently odd his claims to have been in Cambodia were, why didn't Douglas Brinkley--who is, after all, a Ph.D. historian with an academic post--think to look into the story for his much praised book? Basic historic research need not be hostile, but trying to nail down the facts behind the legends is something real historians--and real biographers--do.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 12, 2004 • Comments
My new NYT column looks at Timur Kuran's new book Islam and Mammon, which subjects so-called Islamic economic to rare, and much-needed, empirical and analytical scrutiny.
In November 2001, I wrote this column about some of Timur's path-breaking work in Islamic economic history.
I also recommend his more general book Private Truths, Public Lies, some of whose themes also come up in Islam and Mammon.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on August 11, 2004 • Comments