Dan Walters of CALmatters points out in his April 23 column that wealthy Californians can expect to pay $12 billion in additional federal taxes annually as a result of the tax-reform package passed by Congress and signed by President Trump this year. Like many, Walters wonders what impact the added...
Newsom’s Support Drops in PPIC Poll. Should He Be Worried?
Over the next few weeks, we will learn a lot about the power of political televisions ads. Thus far, the race to pick Gov. Jerry Brown's successor is a snoozer. Going forward, all of the serious candidates must focus their resources on stirring voter passion. So expect to see a...
Take 5: Congressman Lieu on Valley Ag, Trump Impeachment
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles) is an outspoken critic of the Trump administration. Take 5 met Lieu during his "Adopt-a-District" town hall Thursday night (April 5) at Clovis West High School in Fresno. Topics Covered in Take 5 Video We asked Lieu his thoughts on: — Valley agriculture, and how President...
Why the Christian Right Opposes Pornography But Still Supports Trump
Many commentators have pointed out the hypocrisy of Christian leaders who claim a moral high ground while supporting President Donald Trump. The latest scandal involving an alleged extramarital affair with pornographic film star Stormy Daniels proves no exception. The Christian right that supports Trump has found ways to justify their...
Sinclair’s Must-Run Tactic is Business Smart. And It’s Not New.
Local television viewers around the United States were recently alerted to a “troubling trend” that’s “extremely dangerous to democracy.” Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of America’s dominant television station owners, commanded its anchors to deliver a scripted commentary, warning audiences about “one-sided news stories plaguing our country” and media outlets that...
What California County Is Big & Beautiful Yet Small & Ugly?
Why does a place as big and beautiful as Orange County behave in ways so small and ugly? In recent weeks, county supervisors first voted to oppose state sanctuary laws, thus aligning themselves with President Trump, who has targeted California in a campaign of lies and mass deportation, and against...
Where Does Janz Stand in His Full-On Prosecution of Nunes?
Last fall, Andrew Janz would come home after a full day as a Fresno County prosecutor and start dialing the phone. Contributions are the lifeblood of any major political campaign and Janz needed them. To get the word out that he was running for Congress. To distance himself from other...
Zakaria: Trust is Loser in Trump Foreign Policy Gambits
President Donald Trump's bombastic foreign policy rhetoric is, to some, a needed departure from the "conventional" approach followed by his predecessors. But as Fareed Zakaria counters in his March 29 article in The Washington Post, the integrity of the United States is being diminished by Trump's shoot-from-the-hip style. "American presidents...
These 4 Charts Show How Trump Tariffs Hurt All. Not Just China.
On March 22, the Trump administration lobbed its second volley in a planned escalation of punitive trade measures against America’s trading partners. The latest salvo targets China, the largest U.S. trading partner, and covers a much wider range of products than the first set of tariffs, which focused on steel...
Good News for Waiters & Dishwashers Is Found in Federal Budget
While federal workers were breathing a sigh of relief that Congress managed to avoid a government shutdown, another group of workers also had reason to cheer. That’s because hidden deep in the $1.3 trillion budget deal that President Donald Trump signed on March 23 was a measure preventing his administration...