It’s become the Washington D.C. version of the “perp walk”: shamed and disgraced executives from the country’s biggest financial institutions and banks are paraded in front of a Congressional panel to answer for their bad deeds. Today’s opening testimony in front of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has seemingly little difference from previous grilling of CEO’s but when all is said and done this financial walk of shame might result in real changes. The FCIC is empowered to recommend legislative changes to Congress in the financial regulation structure, and it promises to get to the root causes of the country’s deep recession. Will this commission be another exercise in futile populist outrage or is real change possible?
Leadership at California ACORN has been struggling to continue their mission in the face of serious challenges to the national organization, and has decided to cut the cord. Citing a need for transparency and better legal and financial oversight, the state group has formed a new nonprofit, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, which is intended to continue advocating for higher minimum wages, access to affordable housing and increased voter registration in low-income communities.
The latest courtroom testimony over same sex marriage and proposition 8 hinges on the history of marriage – a scholar of wedlock tells us all about how marriage came to be, and what forms it’s taken over the centuries -- personal and political
Last August a riot broke out at the California Institute for Men at Chino that left the place looking like a scene out of Baghdad. Over 200 inmates were hurt, two housing blocks were demolished and 1,300 inmates were left without bunk space—it was devastation that had been predicted for years and even expected a few days before it broke out. In the months since the riot there are questions about how inmates were handled in the aftermath and what changes in policy were implemented, both at the Chino facility and across California’s sprawling prison system. With extensive overcrowding and under-funding, Chino is a microcosm for the challenges facing the state’s correctional system—what lessons, if any, can be learned from Chino?
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in a case that could have wide ranging implications for every major professional sports league in the U.S. (including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and the ATP) as well as player’s unions, manufacturers and fans. The central question for the court to decide is what defines a league? Is the NFL a single entity or is it made up of 32 separate and unique teams? American Needle argues that the NFL violated antitrust laws and gauged consumers when they negotiated a multimillion dollar exclusive merchandising contract with Reebok. The NFL says they need to act as a single entity because all the teams in the league are economically connected. If the court sides with the NFL, the NFL player’s union fears it could severely limit their ability to negotiate contracts, especially free agent contracts (the NFL player’s union is already predicting a lockout for the 2011 season based on contract negotiations). If the decision goes the NFL’s way, the ruling could pave the way for higher cost of NFL merchandise, parking, and ticket prices.
Patt Morrison is known for its innovative discussions of local politics and culture, as well as its presentation of the effects of national and world news on Southern California.
