In a stunning move, President Bush on Monday signed a budget cuts package that included a stark slash in defense spending, some $300 billion, signaling the end of the war in Iraq and a retreat back into what he called “socially minded” spending. In the Oval Office surrounded by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania and recently appointed Secretary of State Bill Clinton, Bush signed a sweeping reform initiative in public spending, sparked by what he… Read more

President Bush will conclude his two-day trip to the south and southwest today as he continues his efforts to keep immigration law reform on the national agenda. But unlike Social Security reform, this particular issue might have some legs, and as with anything that this president manages to get his hands on, we should all brace for impact. As has been reported again and again, the contentious debate over immigration law in the United States has threatened party bonds within… Read more

I can’t believe it’s almost over. I am less than four weeks away from being a graduate of Cal State Northridge and I am the happiest boy on Earth. And while everything is progressing quite nicely for me at this point, I still wish someone had given me the following pointers on how to survive at CSUN when I started in Fall 2002. These tips are the only way for freshmen to enjoy their 10-year stay at CSUN. 1) If… Read more

The evidence is mounting: It’s as if Californians want people to do jobs that don’t belong to them, all at the expense of 405,000 CSU students. Consider for a moment the recent scheduling changes likely to be rolled out at CSUN in the next year or so. The university is just finishing off its transition to Year-Round Operations, which will turn summer term into its own full semester, essentially turning this school into a tri-semester. On top of that, university… Read more

If CSUN and CSU officials commit themselves to dramatic facilities renovation and construction plans in the next five years, will students and community members respond in a way that makes such a move fiscally responsible? In a state that lets the Department of Finance and the Legislature’s minority members determine the validity of every single purchase – pens, Post-It Notes, new stadiums – this is a complicated issue. It all comes down to one question: If you build it, will… Read more

So that’s the end of that little experiment. Phew. With the results of Tuesday’s special election a resounding “no vote” against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whatever dreams he once had of reforming state government are “terminated” (excuse the pun). As pundit after pundit has already said, the rejection of all eight propositions could mark the end of Schwarzenegger’s political career, as his only selling point – his will being that of the people – is essentially debunked. Woo hoo. The best… Read more

In the same way that we shouldn’t let California prisoners decide whether they want to remain incarcerated or be executed, we should not allow California taxpayers an opportunity to decide something as insanely serious as Proposition 76. Proposition 76, arguably the most far reaching of any of the initiatives on the Nov. 8 California special election ballot, would produce a state spending cap based on average previous years’ revenue growths and “precedent.” The initiative would also change the amount of… Read more

I wish I could take more pleasure in watching George W. Bush squirm amid one of the worst weeks in his presidency, but I can’t. The situation is too serious for partisanship. The indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, “Scooter” Libby, last Friday on five charges centered on his alleged impeding of a grand jury investigating the disclosure of a CIA operative’s name to journalists was truly startling. The charges, though they could have been “much worse,”… Read more

The folks from the National Academy of Sciences must be crazy. That’s the only explanation I can think of. Earlier this month, and I’m sure almost every year since India got its first computer, a committee from the NAS urged the U.S. government, in very specific terms, to wake up to the decline of American scientific education. Without more investment and scholarship opportunities for American students, the NAS warns that we’re on the path to undo whatever science-based world dominance… Read more