Columnists

Cynicism, as the late Molly Ivins once noted, is the death of good journalism, but reading through the New York Times and the Associated Press’ obituaries of Laotian-Hmong leader General Vang Pao made that sentiment a difficult one to resist. -more-

The frantic final days of the 111^th Congress were an emotional rollercoaster that mirrored Barack Obama’s first two years as President. As he prepares to run for reelection in 2012, he faces grave national problems, a recalcitrant 112^th Congress, and disgruntled Democrats. Obama should reread the classic management tale of the ”three envelopes”. -more-

You’d think identifying a dead bird would not be much of a challenge. It helps if the deceased is intact, though. -more-

Commenting on the $28 billion budget gap, Governor Jerry Brown stated that “everything should be on the table.” Later Governor Brown met with county officials to discuss shifting responsibility for state-run programs to the local level. This, of course, will require providing sufficient revenue to fund these programs. This in turn may mean reexamining Proposition 13, which, among other things, consolidated revenue-gathering responsibility to the state, leaving cities and counties dependent on the state. -more-

“Telling the future by looking at the past assumes that conditions remain constant. This is like driving a car by looking in the rearview mirror.”--Herb Brody -more-

When someone has cancer, their life becomes busier in order to handle the chemotherapy, radiation therapy, checkups, and so on that go with that disease. Today, many people who have that disease get most of their treatment on an outpatient basis. -more-