As home to 70% of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, California is positioned at the forefront of innovation. With that position comes a responsibility to take the lead on sensible AI regulation. Moving forward, California must continue to lead on AI advancements, but we should also follow the example set by the European Union, which recently passed the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law. On Tuesday, however, President Donald Trump rescinded President Joe Biden’s AI Executive Order, which aimed to reduce risks to consumers, workers and national security posed by AI technology. Now, with a divided Congress, little can be expected of Washington on this front in the foreseeable future. Working cooperatively with the European Union, California must step up to set a model that will guide international technology conglomerates and protect consumers.
California’s Proposition 36 is a compelling story about how Californians respond when feeling unsafe and ignored by their elected representatives. It is also a near-perfect example of how Californians have repeatedly responded to crime via initiative. This started with the strict Three Strikes initiative passed in 1994, was followed by the more lenient Proposition 47 in 2014, and most recently by the more-balanced approach of Proposition 36. As fentanyl poisoning deaths exploded, news footage of smash and grabs became routine, and deodorant was shelved under lock and key – Californians again reacted strongly this November. Proposition 36 was approved in every California county and had the highest percentage of support for all ballot measures. To prove that voters meant what they said, they also unelected several progressive district attorneys. Those of us charged with the duty to keep our constituents safe now have a choice to make. We can assume that nearly 70% of voters were wrong-headed about their support of Proposition 36 or we can look to the mandate and spirit of the measure and answer the call to protect Californians.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Trump administration had requested paperwork to pardon a series of accused or convicted war criminals, possibly during Memorial Day weekend. The reported accused, or convicted war criminals were involved in shooting unarmed civilians or killing prisoners. President Trump already has brought presidential pardon powers into the realms of scandal by using it to the benefit of political supporters and allies. This very notion of pardoning war criminals is so egregious that it dishonors the brave men and women to which we memorialized this holiday weekend.
The corruption scandal in Anaheim and Irvine -- and its connection to the sale of Anaheim Stadium has largely overshadowed the original reason the sale was stopped – Anaheim’s violation of California’s Surplus Lands Act.
107,500 people died last year of drug-related deaths – over 21,000 in California alone. Illegal drugs are now the number one cause of death for those between ages 24-45. To put that into perspective, more people died of drug-related deaths last year than the number of service members lost in the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan COMBINED. This is a level of death and destruction that should frighten every parent, teacher, health professional, cop, and lawmaker.
We hear and see it daily: California’s homelessness crisis has reached astounding levels and numbers. It is the product of numerous factors: a lack of housing, the state’s high cost of living, mental illness, and drug use. Many of those that are struggling with homelessness are medically vulnerable and living on the streets, in their automobiles, or in shelters. There are families and individuals staying in motels across California because they cannot pass a credit check to lease an apartment. As a result, they end up paying more to reside in a small motel. The twin emergencies of the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires in our communities have further exacerbated California’s homelessness crisis. No matter how dire their shelter situation has become, or how they have found a way to get through day-to-day, many are still unfortunately left without a foothold by which to boost themselves up. It takes large, collaborative, societal efforts to combat homelessness.
Republican Senator Joe McCarthy became a household name in the US by falsely accusing US government officials of being communists. His false allegations served to increase his fame at the expense of damaging confidence in our military, State Department, and federal government. It was Republicans who had enough of his demagoguery and its consequential harm to the country that stood up to his destructive self-aggrandizement that salvaged these institutions and our democracy. The tide was turned when the Republican General Counsel of the Army, Joseph Welch, responded to McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy Hearings: “At Long Last, Have You No Sense of Decency?”
Many years ago, while transiting Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, my son Brett asked: “Who was O’Hare and why was the airport named after him?” I told him he was probably a mayor of Chicago or some other political figure. Not to let his question go unanswered, I looked up this fellow named O’Hare. Turns out Edward “Butch” O’Hare was a Naval Academy graduate who in 1942 single-handedly attacked a formation of nine enemy bombers (shooting down five) as they approached his aircraft carrier. For this act of courage Lt.Cmdr. O’Hare -- the Navy’s first ace – was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt. After a year of non-combat assignments in the US, O’Hare requested a return to the Pacific Theater where he earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses but was also killed in action in 1943.
On Friday, October 25, 2019, an incident occurred during a football game between Segerstrom and Marina High Schools in Orange County, in which two student-generated signs with racial undertones were displayed near the entrance of the stadium, aimed at students and families of Segerstrom High School. Commendably, the Santa Ana Unified School District and the Huntington Beach Union High School District (HBUHSD) addressed this incident immediately. HBUHSD and Marina High School accepted responsibility, and immediately apologized to the students, families and staff of Segerstrom High School. This was a necessary and prudent action taken by both administrations, and yet, the incident will reverberate for time to come.