Thomas Buckley, Author at California Globe

Commentary: Non-Existent Coverage of Issues Aided and Abetted Governor’s Recall Campaign Strategy

September 16, 2021 4:12 pmSeptember 26, 2021 5:16 pm

And the beat goes on. With Governor Gavin Newsom handily turning back the recall challenge Tuesday a bit of a post-mortem of the effort seems in order. First, as to the media response (see yesterday’s item), it was eerily as...

What the Media Will Be Saying Wednesday, Whichever Way the Recall Vote Goes

September 14, 2021 1:34 pmSeptember 14, 2021 2:01 pm

Breath is baited, hooks are tentered, the ketchup bottle has just been turned upside down, ex-smokers are looking longingly at the emergency cigarette they have, Carly Simon can be heard singing in the background, frissons are, one assumes, frissoning, and...

Monetizing Data: The EDD, ID.me, and the Unemployed of California

September 14, 2021 2:15 amSeptember 15, 2021 2:00 pm

In the spring of 2020, the pandemic caught many by surprise – no organization, it seems, was caught more by surprise than the California Employment Development Department. When the economy was essentially shut down by edict, both the state and...

What Recall Candidates Say About COVID’s Personal Impacts, and Impacts to the State

September 12, 2021 2:34 amSeptember 12, 2021 10:52 am

It has been the driving force around the world for 18 months. It has killed millions of people, sickened tens of millions more, devastated economies, obliterated education, and sown fear and distrust on a monumental scale throughout the world. It...

California Has One Week to ‘Flatten the Newsom’

September 7, 2021 2:14 amSeptember 7, 2021 9:28 pm

To paraphrase a quaint, though sadly ignored, saying, California has one week to flatten the Newsom. No matter what happens next Tuesday (or Thursday or October 12 or whenever), many wrong lessons will be learned. If Newsom prevails, the deep...

What the Recall Candidates are Saying About Homelessness

September 5, 2021 1:07 pmSeptember 6, 2021 11:53 am

It is heart-wrenching and mind-boggling. It is self-harm and societal-harm. It is exasperating and infuriating. It is depressing and destructive. It is sympathy and dystopia. It is empathy and myopia. It is the homeless problem in California. With an estimated...

What the Recall Candidates are Saying About Infrastructure

August 30, 2021 2:31 amSeptember 1, 2021 11:41 am

There is a saying in California politics (popularized by Willie Brown) that, when it comes to big projects, one should just “start digging a hole and make it so big, there’s no alternative to coming up with the money to...