Wish You Were Here

Today I'm proud to be a Californian because I live in a state that has ruled that each of us has the constitutional right "to establish a legally recognized family with a person of one's choice."

The first time I saw him I knew we'd be friends. I was at my first Texas high school football game. Though September, the summer heat lingered, making it at least 90 degrees in the stands. The spectacle of the entire population of Alice, Texas, both Anglo and Mexican, joined in one loud roar of support for their team was something I had never experienced in my "regular" life on Naval Air Stations.

The cheerleaders were yelling their cheers in heavily south-Texas accented dialect. I thought it was hilarious, but I joined in, thrilled at hearing myself participate in such a conventional thing.

Then I saw him.

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Snobs-R-Us

Have you heard the story about the Prius-driving, latté-sipping Democrat?

It goes something like this: an elitist, upper-middle class, pseudo-intellectual snob goes into a group of his or her peers and begins spouting advice on how to fix their inbred, uninformed, and sad little lives. Not funny? No, it really isn't too funny. But for many non-Democrats (such as, Libertarians, Republicans, neo-cons, the apathetic masses, the creators of South Park, etc...) this is the vision of a liberal.

So, is there any truth to the stereotype? Does John Edwards' $400 haircut amidst New Orleans' ravaged Lower Ninth Ward signal what's wrong with liberalism? Or does the unseemly image of a bleeding heart Democrat preaching to the poor masses fog up the lens of perception?

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Can You Pass The Test?

Illustration by Calvin Boice.

If you have a teenager or college student in your house then you probably already know about Facebook. It’s like MySpace but without all of the porn and spam. It’s a fun way to connect with your friends, and if you’re a parent, eavesdrop on your kids and their friends. I love it. One of my friends just sent me a challenge that has been circulating a lot lately on Facebook and a link where you can take a 20 question test entitled “Could You Pass The U.S. Citizenship Test?” The same test has even shown up on MSNBC where you can get your score. 

These are sample questions from the civics test that immigrants take as part of their naturalization interview. This test gives you multiple choices, but immigrants who take the real test are not, as their test is conducted orally.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to revise its list of questions this year. Do you think you could pass the test? Could our presidential candidates?

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Defining Winning

As I write this I don't yet know who won the Democratic Party's primary in Pennsylvania.  Part of that is because the voting is still going on, part of that is because 'winning' seems to be very loosely defined, and part of it is because these primaries have dragged on too long.

Now that basic mathematics has ruled out conventional definitions of winning, winning is being redefined.  According to some, winning is no longer simply receiving the most votes cast.

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Greenhouse Gas vs. Green Backs

Have you ever felt you have to defend your "green" IQ? Maybe because I belong to Al Gore's party, I wonder whether the pressure to go all out in an environmentally friendly flurry applies across party lines.

I found myself at the taping of the Envision San Diego special "Global Warming: San Diego's Carbon Footprint", which aired on KPBS-TV on April 17, feeling a little guilty. The hosts were wearing colorful outfits made of soy fiber and bamboo. All I could ask myself was "how much did that soft, flowing ensemble cost?  Sure looks pricey."  I was afraid the hot studio spotlight would soon scan over the audience asking the basic GQ (green quotient) questions:

Are you green enough, Citizen Sove? Do you recycle? Make your own laundry detergent for pennies on the dollar? Do you drive a Prius? Bike to work twice a week? Compost? Buy local produce at the Farmer's Market? Which Farmer's Market do you go to -- the one closest to your home, right? Right?

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A Blogger’s Opinion of the Upcoming Mayoral Race

So, it seems we've all neglected the mayoral race here in San Diego as of late. So, as a service to the community at large, let us look at all of those running in this election! Yes, it is time for my take on the San Diego mayoral election of 2008!  Let's begin!

First off, we have Republican Gerald Robert "Jerry" Sanders, the current mayor of San Diego. He has fought an uphill battle, and has had to deal with a bankrupt city, trying to save San Diego's football team, and opposition on all sides.

Contrary to party lines, though, he did publicly support same-sex marriages in San Diego. For this simple fact, I commend the candidate highly. All in all, given the state the city was in when he began his emergency run of office, he's not done that bad a job.

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Education of a Graduate

Graduation nears. Although I finish law school in August, many of my friends will finish next month. The horizon looks both promising and treacherous. In a few weeks, my fellow graduates will dress the role of degree laden adults, ready to commemorate their achievements.

Then, after expensive dinners and dozens of congratulatory toasts, graduates will go on to search for jobs where they can use nascent research skills and freshly polished legal rhetoric—after passing the State Bar, naturally.

The one community I spend more time with in person than online is my law school community. Here, busy would-be professionals try to stay organized and ahead of the grading curve, just long enough to prepare for the rigors of practicing law.

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Fly the Friendly Skies?

I just flew in from out of town, and boy, are my arms tired. I’m exhausted, but finally home, after spending hours in airports and traveling in what used to be the friendly skies. After 9/11 we felt violated and shocked when we had to take our shoes off as part of the routine security check in airports.

After a few years of that we’ve grown accustomed to being considered terrorists by our own Transportation Security Administration as we strip belts and necklaces off our bodies and pull loose change from our pockets to pass through the gate. A small price to pay for security?

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Which Comes First?  The Green Chicken or The Green Egg

With apologies to Dr. Seuss, does the green chicken come first or does the green egg? More specifically, as the politically trendy go green, do we build the infrastructure and wait for the alternative fuel vehicles to come? Or does San Diego wait for the demand to arrive, and then expand the infrastructure accordingly?

As part of KPBS Citizen Voices Alma Sove and I recently attended the taping of an upcoming Envision San Diego episode on Global Warming. One of the guests was the representative of an electric car advocacy group and I was looking forward to hearing what he had to say.

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Confused? Not My Fault

Interesting to see in the news Tuesday that the Secretary of State is investigating complaints that some voters are making regarding party affiliations. According to the Associated Press report, some voters have complained that their party affiliations were changed when they filed address changes with the DMV.

Having worked at a poll during California's February primary, I can say there was certainly more confusion over party registration than I expected to see.

Not just independents concerned about being unable to vote in the Republican Party's closed primary, but self-professed independents finding themselves registered with the American Independent Party and vice versa. There were probably some confused Democrats, or wannabe Democrats, as well, but they didn't make as much of an impact on me as the others did.

Given that voter confusion in Florida arguably determined the outcome of the 2000 presidential election, I guess it's only natural that election officials are going to have a heightened sensitivity to it during this election cycle. But from where I was sitting, it seemed like a certain percentage of the electorate was going to be confused no matter what precautions were taken.

-Citizen Voices blogger Chuck Hartley is an attorney who lives in Escondido.