New America in California: Publications, Events and More

Just about any celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15) will highlight the diversity among Hispanics.

They come from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world, have settled in various areas of the United States, have distinctive customs and come in all shapes and colors.

But an often overlooked difference among Hispanics relates to how many generations back they trace their roots in U.S. history.

Lisa Margonelli, author of Oil on the Brain and director of New America's Energy Policy Initiative, takes questions on the current state of the energy and climate debate in this week's New America/Politico Live Chat ...

Where is Osama bin Laden when we need him? Don't get me wrong; in no way do I wish death and destruction on our country. But as I listen to the increasingly vitriolic and even seditious rhetoric coming from the political right, I can't help thinking that we need a threatening external enemy to help us cohere as a nation -- a more looming threat than the almost vanished Al Qaeda leader or even his recently arrested alleged minion from Denver.

... affect public policy for the whole state and how it is governed,” said Gautam Dutta, deputy director for political reform at the New America Foundation. ...

Gautam Dutta of the New America Foundation, an election reform group that has been pushing for the council to consider IRV, refutes these criticisms. ...

California is where "technology met policy," said Terry Tamminen, the former secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and now a senior fellow for climate policy at the New America Foundation. ...

Sacramento, CA -- Diana Li, President of the California Association of Student Councils, along with student leaders from around the state, asked that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sign Assembly Bill 30, a bill to lower the voter registration age to 17, at a Capitol press conference yesterday. Following the press conference, Li and her fellow student leaders met with a legislative deputy to the Governor and presented a petition signed by students seeking support for the legislation. The Governor has until… more

Terry Tamminen, who was Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency under Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, threw down the gauntlet ...

More than 30 US states have followed the California example with climate action plans, and “even more are copying it,” said Terry Tamminen, former secretary ...

It has been a tough year for California. The Golden State, known for decades as an innovator and agent of change, had to issue IOUs to pay its debts. Investment in the future, which used to be California's guiding vision, has taken a back seat to plugging the many holes in the leaky dike of our antiquated institutions.

“As you look at other states, this has been a thoroughly nonpartisan or bipartisan issue,” said Blair Bobier, deputy director of the New America Foundation ...

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that someone's not after you. Over the last few months, a lot of writers have dusted off Richard Hofstadter's classic 1964 essay on the paranoid style in American politics just so they can explain away the loony rumors and conspiracy theories coming from the far right. But no amount of intellectual condescension is going to make those powerful untruths go away.

Gautam Dutta's comments on IRV in Long Beach have been published The Press-Telegram. ... Original Article

Once upon a time, Hollywood cinematographers, disenchanted with black-and-white movies, embraced color film to more faithfully represent what they saw through the lenses of their cameras. Now Hollywood has taken an equally innovative step to represent the preferences of those who make the movies.

Much hope has been invested in Barack Obama's ability to strike a new course for the US following eight years of Bush administration unpopularity. Yet many in the US and abroad are impatient with the pace of progress under the Obama administration. The president made the rounds on five news talk shows on Sunday as he pressed his policies and vision, preparing for what is likely to be a difficult week.

Following up on last year's successful Summit, we will continue to expand our network of subnational collaboration to stimulate economic growth, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, create green jobs, promote clean energy solutions, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

The first rule of Jerry Brown's campaign for governor is that he doesn't talk about his campaign for governor.

Barack Obama had no choice but to disagree with Jimmy Carter. Carter called some of Obama's most hysterical critics racist. But our first nonwhite president once again tried hard not to be sucked into a racial uproar. As much as he and his liberal allies like to declare that Americans need to hash out racial issues publicly, the subject of race can only damage his presidency.

“It comes down to money, that's the sticking point,” said Terry Tamminen, former environmental adviser to California's Republican Governor Arnold ... and more »