Lobbyists and Lawmakers Are Working
a System That's Corrupt, Los Angeles Times
You'd have to be very naïve not to recognize the nexus between
special interest campaign contributions and legislators' votes. Or a
governor's bill signings, for that matter.
Dan Walters: Unintended results
of policy choices litter the landscape, Sacramento
Bee
The solitary thread of consistency in California's complex, dysfunctional,
ironic -- and often just plain wacky -- politics is that they faithfully
obey the law of unintended consequences.
Opinion: Re-educating the Voters About
Texas' Schools, New York Times
George Bush is more than two years gone from the Texas statehouse, but
his signature can-do issue as a presidential candidate — education
— showed increasing wear and tear as this year's legislative session
ground to a close.
Opinion: How I Learned to Love Quotas,
New York Times Magazine
Not long ago, I had an unexpected opportunity to explain to Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor why I've changed my mind about affirmative action.
Daniel Weintraub: Democrats recall
peace, prosperity and Clintons, Sacramento Bee
If aliens from Mars, or even Arizona, landed in California tomorrow,
they would surely be perplexed by many aspects of our state's society.
Our peculiar state government would have to be high on the list.
Dan Walters: Capitol sees stark conflict
over protecting Californians' privacy, Sacramento
Bee
Civil libertarians have complained, with good reason, about the dissemination
of personal information, particularly health and financial data, by
banks and other private businesses, and supported state legislation
to protect Californians' privacy.
Editorial: Oakland must succeed,
San Francisco Chronicle
Randy Ward is a brave man. The soon-to-be state administrator of the
Oakland schools is voluntarily coming to a district facing an $82 million
budget deficit, plunging morale and lagging student achievement, against
a backdrop of the state's nightmarish fiscal crisis.
Debra J. Saunders: Slip sliding away,
San Francisco Chronicle
"It was one of those under-the-radar bills that just slipped by,"
San Jose's Union School District Superintendent Phil Quon said of a
measure Gov. Gray Davis signed before last year's election. The bill,
SB1419, limited the ability of local school districts to contract out
for noninstructional services, like busing or maintenance.
Opinion: Immigrant students possess
right to learn, Fresno Bee
Unfortunately, many will not have access to higher education because
they cannot afford it or are undocumented and will simply end up dropping
out of school.
Opinion: Exit Exam Puts the Flaws
of Educational Politics to the Test, Los Angeles
Times
That notorious California high school exit exam, the one that students
may soon have to pass to graduate — I took it the other day.
Opinion: Stealing to feed an addiction,
Orange County Register
During the first two years of Gov. Gray Davis' first term, the state
indulged in a spending addiction unparalleled in the state's history
- a two-year splurge which increased state spending by $22 billion
