Archive By Section - Editorial
General Electric and the death of American outrage
If there was a funeral notice, I missed it. No obituary appeared in any of my daily papers. But make no mistake about it: In the spring of 2011 in the United States of America, our collective sense of moral outrage must now be officially dead.
Poisson d’avril
Hopefully, everyone reading this column successfully made it through another April Fool's Day. It is difficult for me to have any serious conversation on the first day of April because I'm always worried that I will be made a fool in the end.
America's energy future
Across the country, American families and businesses are feeling the impact of higher gasoline prices. But while some politicians may claim they have a quick fix, the truth is that in the years to come, prices will continue to go up more than they go down. There are only long-term solutions.
Let the buyer beware
Those of us who have been around the block a few times will remember the last time gasoline hit $4 per gallon a new industry sprang up. Drivers could buy magnets to attach to fuel lines to allegedly boost a car's gas mileage by 20 or even 30 percent.
Gadhafi — the mad dog who trumped the world
Every American should look at Libya through the prism of the 1988 Pan Am 103 terrorist bombing that left 270 people dead. Moammar Gadhafi - the man whom Ronald Reagan called the mad dog of the Middle East - ordered an attack that killed mostly American civilians in a bombing over British soil. Yet rather than be beaten by more powerful nations, he lived to crow about it.
Putting work in perspective
The tragic death of Costa Mesa city worker Huy Pham after jumping from atop the City Hall building last week - hours after receiving a layoff notice - should serve as a wakeup call. In these depressing economic times, everyone needs to remember that our jobs are not who we are. That might seem like a simple concept, but it isn't. Our culture is centered on ambition and "The ...
Joining Uncle Sam’s team
Three plus years ago when I left the Navy, I remember thinking "I will never tell anyone to join the military." I thought the only thing I learned from my five years in the Navy was that I could accomplish a lot without having to deal with the rigors of military life.
Nuclear power is the only realistic future energy source
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami which ravaged Japan last week were unqualified tragedies.
How fragile the solid earth is beneath our feet
Geology has surely been in the news lately, with the price of petroleum moving relentlessly upward, a threat to global economic recovery because oil is so central to industrial society the world around.
It’s not my fault
The hearings that will determine whether eight current and former Bell city leaders will stand trial for misappropriating more than $5 million is a prime example of the "not my fault" mentality that has become commonplace in America today.
Let the market dictate smoking policy
I have a confession to make: I used to be a smoker.
The fight to teach freedom
Of all the jobs that American citizens might do, and of all the careers for which they may train, only one profession is constitutionally protected. The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of speech and of the press; and by "the press", they meant journalism.
Hello and goodbye, governors
Dear governors, welcome to Washington! We are delighted you are visiting us for the National Governors Association Winter Meeting this weekend.
New low for scammers
On Saturday morning, I received an e-mail from my cousin, informing me that he – while on a family trip to London – had been mugged and effectively left for dead.
Putting the children first
Every couple believes in "happily ever after" when they're in love. As they plan their future together, the thought of separation never enters their minds. But all too often, one or both partners will one day decide the best course of action is to go their separate ways.
Articles by Section - Editorial
The missing piece of the Turlock arts scene
There really is no excuse for Turlockers sitting at home on Friday nights. Despite what a few Bay Area transplants may think, Turlock has a lot to offer those seeking cultural stimulation.
Doing more with less on the road
Between the debt-ceiling kerfuffle and Hurricane Irene, you may have missed two bits of summertime news that will be important for what we drive in the coming years. First, President Barack Obama announced that the administration and automakers had reached a deal to double the fuel economy of our national fleet of cars starting in model year 2017 and reaching the goal by 2025. Right now, cars and light trucks – light trucks ...
Power of the pedal
Lately, I've been encouraged to see more bicyclists pedaling their way around town. With the Valley's air quality issues, the increasing childhood obesity rates, and a country-wide emphasis on "greener" power, bicycling is a beneficial activity. Around the U.S. new bike lanes and paths are all the rage, helping cash-strapped cities simultaneously green operations and trim budgets-adding bike lanes is far less costly (to taxpayers and the environment) than building new roads. Also, ...
Sign of the times: To twirl or not to twirl
It is a sign of the times. The Great Depression had men walking around in A-frame signs. The Great Recession has young people twirling signs. Employing them are businesses vying for a commodity that seems as scarce at times as common sense in Sacramento - consumer dollars. I haven't come across anyone who said they were prompted to visit a particular business because of someone head banging to i-Pod music ...
Occupy Wall Street: All bite, no apple
As Occupy Wall Street activists clogged New York's Zuccotti Park protesting "corporate greed" and Occupy SF hit San Francisco's Financial District on Wednesday protesting "corporate greed," the world learned that Steve Jobs, perhaps America's most beloved modern capitalist, had died at age 56. The protesters claim to represent the working people, the 99 percent of Americans who, according to their blog, are getting kicked out of their homes, must choose between groceries and ...
A big, blue, acid ocean
Our deep blue has always been engulfed in a rich and remarkable legacy. After all, its Portuguese name "pacifico" was chosen by explorer Ferdinand Magellan to mean peaceful, steady, pacific. But such times are quickly changing. The Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, as a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has affirmed that the oceans are truly the prisoners of our pollution– adapting to increasing carbon-dioxide emissions by swallowing one-fourth of ...
The other side of death
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking ...
High speed rail means quicker trip to poor house
The Central Valley Water Project implemented during the Great Recession helped lift the lot of the poor in the San Joaquin Valley by providing the means to turn fields into fertile farmland. There are those who believe launching the California High Speed Rail will do the same thing for the San Joaquin Valley and help it shake poverty that is rooted deep especially in the valley's southern part. Unlike the CVP that brought construction ...
Nothing heroic about same old, same old
If your business was failing, would you keep doing the same thing, or would you try something new? Or would you even know what doing something new would look like, having spent so long mired in an unworkable business model? Just recently, DC Comics was forced to answer those questions, opting to fight falling sales with a "new" tactic which, sadly, ends up being more of the same old thing. For ...
Not too long ago …
One hundred years seems like a long time in most situations. When someone turns 100 years old, I can't help but marvel at all the technological changes that one person has seen just in his or her lifetime. In 1911, automobiles were a novelty and many people still traveled by horse and carriage. Radios were only in the homes of the rich, but entertainment was something that many families didn't have much time ...
Real VIPs
Today I had the honor of meeting some impressive VIPs and I don't think I will ever forget the time we spent together. They were patients at Emanuel Cancer Center. As I tell you about some of them, I'm going to use fake names because of patient privacy, but they were anything but phony. These were real men and women involved in a major battle for life. First I met "Sally." She was ...
Season of new beginnings
According to my desk calendar, Friday was the start of autumn. I usually don't like to argue with inanimate objects, but I made an exception when temperatures reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit on what was supposed to be the start of a cooler season. I'm not sure if my calendar was trying to make up for the sizzling hot end of last week with two days of mild weather conditions on Sunday and Monday, ...
Worried about America? Visit a Boys & Girls Club
The political world is so toxic that I needed some relief, so I tuned into a reality show more real than anything on television. I wasn't disappointed. The stories I heard were at once harrowing and inspirational. And they were deeply connected to the future of the country. This week, I served as one of five judges in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth of the Year competition. This is ...
MacGyver to the rescue — most of the time
For those of you too young to remember the television show "MacGyver," allow me to share about the 1980s American action-adventure series. The show was about a secret agent, Angus MacGyver, who employed his resourcefulness and knowledge of chemistry, physics, and technology, and often a little duct tape and a Swiss Army knife, to resolve what were often life or death situations. I'm married to a MacGyver kind of guy. I've nicknamed my ...
Want a job? Stay in college as long as you can
With the unemployment rate hovering above 9 percent, today's job market is bad for everyone. One group does seem to fare better than the rest, however: The jobless rate for workers with a bachelor's degree or better is just 4.3 percent, compared with 14.3 percent for high school dropouts. But among college grads, the outlook is gloomier for one critical segment: recent graduates. A study this year put their unemployment rate at 10 ...
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