June 26th, 2008 10:27pm
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The U.S. Supreme Court issued two rulings on constitutional
rights on Thursday.
Most of our attention has been focused on its gun control
ruling. The court tossed out a Washington,
D.C. law that effectively bans
handguns. In its first Second Amendment ruling in nearly 70 years, a sharply
divided court said the right to bear arms is a personal right and not directly
related to “a well-regulated militia.”
The vote was 5-4.
Gun laws …
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June 24th, 2008 06:34pm
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Whether it’s Barack Obama or John McCain, one thing we can say for sure is a
lefty will succeed President Bush.
No, I’m not talking politics here.
Obama and McCain are both left-handed, as Russell Berman
points out this week in the New York
Sun.
And, as a lot of us southpaws already knew, it’s become
quite common to find a fellow lefty in the White House. The recent list
includes Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. …
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June 20th, 2008 08:10pm
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On the Sunday editorial page (Page B8), we will be reporting on our latest Press Democrat Editorial Department online survey. But here’s a sneak peak at some of the results:
52 percent of respondents say that high fuel costs and/or the slow economy have caused them to adjust their vacation plans this year.
Of those whose plans have changed, one in three say they plan to stay home …
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June 19th, 2008 08:19pm
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Amid a lawsuit and growing pressure from state lawmakers, California Secretary of Food and Agriculture A.G. Kawamura announced today that the state has halted all plans for aerial pesticide spraying as a way to fight the light brown apple moth in urbanized parts of the state. Instead, state and federal officials will release sterile moths to combat the moth.
Many North Bay residents are cheering the decision. But some in Sonoma …
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June 18th, 2008 01:58pm
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A Santa Rosa minister
describes in today’s New York
Times the conflicts she faces in dealing with same-sex
marriage.
The Rev. Kimberly A. Willis said about 10 percent of her
congregation at Christ Church United Methodist is gay. But she could be
defrocked by her church if she officiates at a same-sex marriage ceremony.
“I can bless a car, and I have,” she said. “I’ve been asked
to bless animals, children, homes, bread, grape juice, but I can’t …
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June 17th, 2008 12:10pm
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There’s some kabuki theater to presidential politics. For
that past 20 years, the rituals have included Republican claims that California would be a
battleground state. It creates a little news during the summer and gives a little hope to the
state GOP, especially candidates in the handful of potentially competitive
legislative and congressional districts. It may even throw a small scare to the
Democrats that money they want to spend in truly competitive states will …
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June 16th, 2008 01:59pm
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I hate it when politics sullies the memory of a favorite
film but I couldn’t help thinking this weekend about Claude Rains in “Casablanca” being
“shocked, shocked to find gambling going on in here” and then leaving
with his winnings.
What’s that have to do with politics? Well, this time
anyway.
Meet Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Christopher Dodd,
D-Conn.
Conrad and Dodd got sweetheart deals from Countrywide Financial
Corp., a central player in the meltdown of the U.S. …
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June 11th, 2008 01:18pm
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It’s hard to find fault with the Santa Rosa City Council’s decision Tuesday night to wait until November to fill the vacancy being created by the resignation of the city’s ailing mayor Bob Blanchard. Considering that the election is less than five months away and given the complications last year in filling Mike Martini’s seat when he stepped down, leaving it up to voters was the wisest choice. But it …
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June 10th, 2008 02:29pm
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Update: The commission voted 4-1 on Tuesday to freeze the salaries for a year after rejecting a pay cut on a 3-2 vote.
The state commission charged with setting salaries for the governor, members of the Legislature and other state elected officials meets today in Sacramento.One of the proposals on the table would impose a 10 percent across-the-board pay cut. Charles Murray, a member of the California Citizens Compensation Commission, …
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June 4th, 2008 12:46pm
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In case you missed this, an initiative barring same-sex marriage qualifiedthis week for the Nov. 4 ballot.Petitions to qualify the proposed amendment to the constitution already hadbeen turned in to voter registrars around the state when the state SupremeCourt invalidated a law that said only marriages between aman and a woman would be recognized in California.On Monday, Secretary of State Debra Bowen said there were enough signaturesto place it on …
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