L.A. Times - Commentary

How to make fun of Obama

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Tips for those who find it too hard to joke about the Democratic candidate.

Ibelieve comedic change is possible. Since the New Yorker dropped a bum joke on its cover this week, comedians have appeared on every news outlet to whine about how hard it is to make fun of Barack Obama. Really? They have an arsenal of jokes to use against a 71-year-old ex-POW cancer survivor and Obama is too touchy a subject?

The distraction of offshore drilling

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Bush is pushing a false promise. What we need is a long-term energy strategy.

There is no quick fix to $4.50-a-gallon gas, no way to provide instant relief to consumers we know are hurting. Yet President Bush and others continue to push the false promise of offshore oil drilling.

Making same-sex marriages count

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Census Bureau must stop turning a blind eye to gay and lesbian couples.

When same-sex couples wed in California and Massachusetts, they do so believing that their marriage licenses mean that their relationships finally count in the eyes of the state. Unfortunately, they won't count in the eyes of the U.S. Census Bureau.

ADD in D.C.

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

How else can you explain the spotty attention Bush and McCain have paid to Afghanistan?

I want Ritalin!

A rating system for scandals

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

We relish the more salacious kind, but what about the more complicated ones that fall off the radar easily?

And now -- a political scandal everybody can get a handle on.

Where does all that state money go?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

California is spending 40% more than four years ago, but on what, exactly?

California state government spent $145 billion last fiscal year, $41 billion more than four years ago when Gov. Gray Davis got recalled by voters. With all that new spending -- a whopping 40% increase -- we ought to be in a golden age of government with abundant public services for all.

Ain't no cure for the summertime news

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Rounding up the season's top headlines.

From my cable-news viewing to date, I offer this summertime roundup:

Who's cleaning up at UC?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The strike by service workers raises questions about administrators' pay.

Asingle parent living in Riverside County or Orange County needs to earn $24.74 an hour to make ends meet, according to a report released last October by the California Budget Project, a nonpartisan think tank. In a two-parent household, each parent needs to earn at least $17.48 an hour to break even.

If you can't take a joke...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The New Yorker cover of the Obamas is smart political satire.

The ancient Irish believed that a poet's satire had the power to kill the target of his scorn.

What the Fed isn't fixing

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

States must plug the major loopholes of the Federal Reserve's new mortgage regulations.

Two years after the mortgage meltdown started, the Federal Reserve finally released updates to its mortgage regulations on Monday, replacing rules that were so lax and ineffective that the Fed bears significant responsibility for the mortgage debacle and the larger financial fallout. Unfortunately, the Fed still hasn't gotten at many of the root causes of the problem. In the face of the collapse of IndyMac -- the second-largest thrift failure in U.S. history -- and the foundering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, one expected more.