Just to comment on some non-Prop 8 things (and a couple Prop. 8 things too) happening around the state:
• I’m very excited that Assemblymember Noreen Evans, chair of the Budget Committee, has started a Budget Blog to give her perspective on the process as it moves forward. Evans put together and narrated the video detailing the nature of the crisis and slaying the myths about the budget. She’ll be a welcome addition to the ‘sphere.
• Welcome to California, where migrant workers toil to cover watermelons from the heat without any cover for themselves. Cal-OSHA shut down eight factory farms in a week for disgusting practices like this.
• Rep. Doris Matsui has a guest post up at the Center for American Progress’ The Wonk Room, talking about the importance of planting shade trees – not just for the shade (see above), but to save electricity and clean the air.
• Stories like these, about Meg Whitman accepting over 100 exclusive IPO offers, making her millions, from a firm that she picked to handle eBay’s IPO, reinforce my belief that she will be toast in a high-profile political campaign, no matter how much of her personal fortune she deploys. Can you say Mitt Romney, Part II?
• John Aravosis has an interesting reaction to the Prop. 8 ruling, noting that the upholding of the 18,000 settled same-sex marriages will eventually lead to a forced reckoning on the protection of all gay couples, married or barred from marrying, under the law. And he points to fascinating footnote #48 as well.
• I know you’ll be surprised by a national conservative publication getting the California crisis wrong, but Commentary Magazine provides another example.
Commentary had the most incomprehensible defense of neoconservatism I’ve read. It essentially went like this:
I. Sob story about poor neocons getting forced out of Democratic Party by DFHs
II. 9/11 changes everything
III. Defense of Bush administration, coupled with the insistence that the Bush administration weren’t neocons, and thus anything they did does not reflect on neoconservatism.
IV. Thus, the Iraq War was both executed competently, and had nothing to do with neoconservatism. Usually neocons stick to one argument.
With insults to liberals and gloating interspersed throughout.
Looks like they’re well on their way to becoming the wingnuttiest magazine for economic as well as foreign affairs.