In The 'Burgh

I am back from a wonderful wedding and honeymoon. I didn't want the new wife finding me with the laptop furtively typing away while on the honeymoon, leading to me getting a quickie divorce, so I held to my pledge to stay away. I'm sure I missed pretty much everything, so I won't bother recapping. So this is just to day that I'm back and on the ground here in Pittsburgh for Netroots Nation. Just a reminder that, if you're at the conference, you can find me on one panel over the weekend.

California: How Process Creates Crisis

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15TH 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
PANEL, 317
California is the nation's largest state, and is often seen as a bellweather for economic and social change. However, the peculiar dynamic of state government institutions has threatened that role, as the state has slipped into an almost perpetual crisis mode. Despite an overwhelming majority of progressive lawmakers in the state legislature, the two-thirds rule for passing a budget and tax increases, among other issues, handcuffs them and empowers a radical conservative minority. Thirty years of short-term fixes and failed leadership have only exacerbated the problem and put the state—and the nation—in real danger. As Paul Krugman recently said, "Years of neglect, followed by economic disaster—and with all reasonable responses blocked by a fanatical, irrational minority ... This could be America next." In this session, we will look at the reasons for California's budget tangle, the larger implications for the progressive movement at large, and what some organizations are doing to change these outdated rules and take back state government for the people.

And I will be around throughout the weekend, so if you're here, seek me out and say hi.