The state of California is in for a very interesting succession of years. And that is putting it mildly! In the words of it’s governor: “California’s day of reckoning is here … Our wallet is empty. Our bank is closed. Our credit is dried up.” Next year, the state will have a 24 billion dollar [...]
Archives: Politics
Obama Must Either Try or Release Guantanamo Detainees
Foreword by Stan Lerner: Ben is a brilliant, rising star in the downtownster universe, whom in the case of Guantanamo detainees I disagree with vehemently—always the test of an editor. But it is the mission of downtownster to bring its’ readers the best of free speech—and as usual Ben makes a compelling case. By his [...]
Halting the Gay Marriage March: The California Supreme Court and Proposition 8
It has been a rough past few weeks for gays – especially those from California. First, their representative to the Miss USA Beauty Pageant, Miss California Carrie Prejean, disavowed her support of gay marriage on national television (introducing into the lexicon the weird term “opposite” marriage). Immediately following her loss to Miss North Carolina, the [...]
Nancy Pelosi Might Have Lied About Torture – Get Over It!
A friend and I were having lunch the other day when the topic of our most recently discredited politician joined us in conversation. I suggested – and still believe – that President Obama will marginalize the issue of whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew the CIA was using techniques labeled “enhanced interrogation.” Digging through past [...]
San Francisco “Clean-Up” Tax
It seems there is nary an issue Californians will not legislate. And, as it turns out, there are other problems to be faced apart from the abysmal state of the economy. Cigarette butts have been dirtying the streets of San Francisco for years and, smokers be warned, Mayor Gavin Newsom has finally decided to put [...]
THE GOLDEN STATE SHINES AGAIN
Thankfully California voters made their will clear, as if it needed to be made clear, that the state’s government needs to come up with a solution to balancing its’ budget that does not involve borrowing money or raising taxes. Unfortunately, unlike the Governor, many politicians and big labor leaders have failed to embrace this mandate [...]
Obama vs Cheney
Johanna Neuman of the LA Times asks in the May 17th Sunday Edition why former Vice President Dick Cheney doesn’t just go gently into the night— Before delving into the substance of the real issue, which is the Obama Administration’s course of action since taking office and its’ ongoing criticism / blame of the Bush [...]
NO ON 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E!
Foreword by Stan Lerner: this is Ben’s second blog for downtownster and as you may have already guessed we are happy to have him on our team. With respect to the following blog it gives me great hope that Californians are ready to say NO TO PROP’S 1A and 1C. May 19th, Special Election Imagine [...]
Reclaiming the Swat
Foreword by Stan Lerner: This blog was written prior to Pakistan’s decision to reclaim the Swat Valley from the Taliban, which makes it a very interesting read — good perspective on Ben’s part. Pakistan is arguably dealing with the largest problem it has faced in its 62 years history. In February, 2009, the Pakistani government [...]
President Obama Fails To Deliver Abroad
Several people over the last few weeks have asked me to deliver on the downtownster promise to not just write about the City State of Downtown Los Angeles—my world of preference. But to weigh in on larger matters from the downtownster, sophisticated, urban perspective. Downtownster has a political section without a single post; the words [...]
