I had planned to write this column about my experiences this week covering the protests in Berkeley. How a mob of self-styled radicals hijacked the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. to incite violence against police. How people claiming to
As the Washington, D.C. media focused on the fiscal maneuverings of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), whose opposition to the omnibus spending bill was thought to set up a 2016 presidential run, some are touting Gov. Jerry Brown as the real
After a fourth consecutive night of protests–this time marred by destruction of city property, including a speed limit sign–organizers in Berkeley were enthusiastic. The crowds remain large; the media remain interested; and the Berkeley City Council has been forced to
As Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and fellow Democrats trumpet the release Tuesday of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s interrogation techniques, the senior California Senator is being called to account for her own encouragement of
Officials say that they believe Monday morning’s massive fire in downtown Los Angeles was set on purpose. The blaze, which engulfed an unfinished apartment building, and burned so hot that it melted nearby highway signs, will be investigated as soon
For the third straight evening, demonstrators took to the streets of Berkeley, California to protest the shooting by police of unarmed black suspects Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and Eric Garner in Staten Island, NY. And for the first time
BERKELEY, California — Organizers of a demonstration against police killings told a crowd of hundreds before their march Monday evening that they should feel free to use violence if they so chose. The leaders of a group called “By Any
BERKELEY, California — Shops in downtown Berkeley boarded up windows and at least one posted an armed guard at the entrance, as the quintessential university town dug in for another night of protests and clashes. For the past several nights,
#BlackLivesMatter
Last month, President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. had reached an historic deal with China on climate change, according to which the U.S. would decrease carbon emissions more rapidly and China would stop growing its emissions 15 years from
In its last significant act, the Democrat leadership of the U.S. Senate plans to release a long-delayed report of the Intelligence Committee detailing the techniques used by the government to interrogate terror detainees in the years following the 9/11 attacks.
Members of Israel’s secular elite–including renowned authors and former diplomats–have signed a letter that encourages European parliaments to recognize a Palestinian state. The letter, which was reportedly sent to the Belgian parliament on Sunday, comes after deadly Palestinian terror attacks,
The implosion of The New Republic, pending its move to New York and re-establishment as a “digital media” company, has consumed much of the political commentariat in recent days. The change is deeply mourned by former editors and writers for
Last week on the Daily Show, host Jon Stewart claimed, incorrectly, that the San Bernadino County police department had shot and killed a black suspect out of racial animus. In response, District Attorney Michael Ramos posted a video on YouTube
Once upon a time, the civil rights movement was deeply concerned about the rights of criminal defendants. Not anymore. Today, those who say they care most about civil rights are calling for grand jury reforms that would make it easier
This week’s statewide rains have made little impact in relieving California’s extreme drought. In fact, according to a new scientific study, this drought is the worst that California has experienced in 1200 years. Researchers studying tree rings concluded that “the
Social media lit up Wednesday evening with complaints about former Hootie & the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker performing “White Christmas” at the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at New York City’s Rockefeller Square. Some activists had threatened to attack
Let us stipulate that the death of 43-year-old Eric Garner was horrific and never should never have happened. Given the shocking video evidence of a confrontation with New York City police in which officer Daniel Pantaleo is seen grabbing Garner from
A local district attorney has taken Comedy Central host Jon Stewart to task for his comments in the wake of the Ferguson controversy, in which Stewart implied that police killed black suspects out of racial motives. San Bernadino County D.A.
Several small demonstrations broke out Wednesday evening in San Francisco and Oakland after a grand jury in New York City decided not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner during an arrest last summer. Hundreds gathered
SANTA MONICA, California — The Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to consider requiring warning labels on all gas pumps to advise motorists of the risks of climate change. Council member Kevin McKeown proposed to “direct staff to explore
In his remarks Wednesday on the non-indictment of the New York police officer who allegedly choked Eric Garner to death during a routine arrest, President Barack Obama claimed that he does not involve himself in such controversies. “My tradition is not
Israeli voters will go to the polls next year to elect a new government after the coalition headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu collapsed this week. The government fell after internal bickering among the various ministers and party leaders became
A new poll has found that a majority of Californians expect their children to be poorer than they are. That result comes despite a generally positive outlook on the state and positive ratings for re-elected Gov. Jerry Brown, according to
In the second incident of its kind, demonstrators ostensibly angry about the Ferguson, Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict former police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown have targeted black police officers for abuse. It
For the past several years, National Public Radio earned a reputation for anti-Israel bias–so much so that even some liberal supporters began mocking it as “National Palestinian Radio.” That sad tradition continued Monday on NPR’s Morning Edition, in a report
The State of Israel is politically adrift. As it reels from a new wave of violence incited by Palestinian leaders, and debates a new bill that would define the country formally as a “Jewish state,” the coalition government of Prime
Marcos Breton, columnist for the Sacramento Bee, has defended Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s absurd comments on the Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict former officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. Breton says that Johnson is
Students who volunteered for political campaigns for course credit at Occidental College are learning a hard lesson in defeat after every single one of them joined a Democratic candidate in 2014–and all of them lost. The sole survivor, Sen. Mary
Dozens of demonstrators opposed to a Ferguson, Missouri’s non-indictment of police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown disrupted public transit in Oakland on Friday, shutting down the West Oakland BART station and slowing traffic to and
New York’s Sen. Chuck Schumer has been one of the Tea Party’s most enthusiastic enemies. No sooner had the new conservative class arrived in D.C. in 2011 than Schumer began spoiling for a fight. He was virtually begging for a
Josef Koudelka, the Czech-born photographer whose smuggled images defined the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet bloc in August 1968, is the focus of a visiting exhibition, Nationality Doubtful, at the Getty Center in Los Angeles through March 22, 2015.
