Lakoff’s Initiative: Don’t T- You, Don’t T- Me, T- The Man Behind The Tree 
By Peter SchragThe chances that Berkeley linguistics expert George Lakoff will get his California Democracy Act initiative on the November ballot range between slim and slimmer. But in contending that Attorney General Jerry Brown’s title and ballot summary would destroy any chance of its passing even if it qualified, Lakoff starts an argument that goes well beyond semantics. It tells a lot about why California is stuck in the mess that it’s in.
In requiring two-thirds majorities to approve both the annual budget – and all other spending measures – and to raise taxes, California is the only state in the union that gives legislative minorities -- usually meaning Republicans – a veto on both budgeting and taxes. Lakoff, who’s been a guru on language to a lot of politicians, wants to end what is in effect minority rule.
Marcher Irene Gonzalez Revisits Childhood in Atwater & Livingston
By Willie PeloteLos Angeles probation officer and Central Vally émigré Irene Gonzalez, who is participating in a 48-day trek from Bakersfield to Sacramento to highlight the need for quality public services and education in California, revisited parts of her childhood when the March for California’s Future reached Atwater and Livingston this past weekend.
As a child, Gonzalez cycled between various foster homes in the Central Valley before finding a permanent home in the town of Atwater.
Her foster parents also ran a flower shop in Livingston called Rose’s Flowers, which has long since disappeared, another casualty on the long list of small businesses that