Political Reform Program: Latest Articles

State Sen. Abel Maldonado, a Republican legislator from the Central Coast, had the Democrats over a budget barrel and extracted from them the ultimate insider's deal -- they would put three of his pet ideas on the 2010 ballot (as constitutional amendments) in return for his deciding vote on the budget. You have to admire Maldonado's moxie even as you're appalled at this latest example of how broken the legislative process in Sacramento has become.

With the state government lurching from budget crisis to budget crisis, many frustrated Californians are thinking about what political reforms might make the state Legislature more functional.

Some political observers see the world as divided into two hostile camps, a "clash of civilizations" between Islam and the west. Many Americans tend to view Muslims as a monolith, our views having been burned into our perceptions by 11 September, the Iraq war and ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Yet in countries such as Malaysia - one of the larger Muslim countries in the world - a more hopeful future is discernible.

California, the media like to tell us, faces an unprecedented fiscal crisis. The budget deficit is $40 billion and growing. The state is so short of cash that, within days, it may issue IOUs, rather than checks, to pay its bills. The Legislature, bitterly divided, seems unable to agree on a way out. The governor warns of "financial Armageddon." How should we prepare for apocalypse? Before you hide under your bed, check out a few books by some of California's leading journalistic interpreters of… more

Imagine a place where doctors still do house calls. Or where childcare is affordable, professional and widely available. Or where all new parents are paid to stay home and care for their newborns, and receive a monthly stipend to pay for diapers, food and other daily needs.