In our recent four-part series, “New Federalism in a Post COVID-19 World,” we extensively reviewed the pre-Colonial origins, the subsequent history, and the modern evolution of the Federal government’s relationship with the individual states. That’s what the subject of “Federalism” usually means in a political context, as if the only governmental authorities in the United […]
A Lesson in Loss It’s important to tell those we love how much they mean to us – don’t wait. It was another death along the train tracks in Montecito as we waited anxiously for further details and circumstances. Then we heard it was a local hair stylist. That was upsetting. And then the unfathomable […]
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As I write this article, people are asking for a return to “normal.” Is that what we really want? Is it “normal” that tens of millions of Americans have no access to healthcare? That millions of Americans are homeless? That 11 million children in the U.S. literally do not know where their next meal is […]
You’ve gotta give it up for humans. With the exception of the Dark Ages, we’re always trying to figure out better ways to nest and adapt those nests to what life throws at us. But how we shelter has never had to absorb so much change… or so much stuff… so quickly as now. Our […]
We began by examining the growing power of the Federal government, and particularly the executive Branch (the President). We traced the rise of Federal power, for better or worse, from the Articles of Confederation, through the U.S. Constitution, and through World War I up until today with the respective actions of states and the Federal […]
The last installment in this series covered the rise of U.S. Federalism characterized by a strong federal government from the Great Depression to the 1970s, and the breakdown of that strong centralized role starting with Ronald Reagan and running through to the present day. Why did this happen? How did the Reagan Revolution so successfully […]
The coronavirus and the related deaths of seventy thousand Americans and nearly two hundred thousand more people around the world, would seem to be a shared enemy that could bring people together – even people in a country as divided as ours. Instead, this pandemic has handed us new beliefs over which to divide. Stay […]
I am pleased to share joint authorship today with my good friend, Attorney Jan Larson. Coincidentally, she and her husband, Rock Rockenbach, soon will be moving back to Montecito. Jan and I both represent policy holders against insurance companies. In this article, we discuss how first party property insurance policies should be examined to determine […]
In part one of this four-part series we traced the history of Federalism from the Founding 13 Colonies and the Articles of Confederation through to the Constitution replacing the Articles in 1789. We then saw Federalism evolving through the Civil War up to the present day. This installment looks at Federalism at its best (i.e. […]
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First of a four-part series: Up until January, the main concern being touted by political pundits was a fear of executive overreach from the White House. Resulting from several decades of an expanding role in the Executive Branch, an ever more powerful executive has arisen at the expense of Congress’ appropriate role. These fears have […]
This latest article in my series of legal columns is written to demystify our local Superior Court, which is where our significant Santa Barbara lawsuits will be filed. Judicial Disqualifications Q: Can you disqualify the judge that was assigned to your case for any reason or no reason? A. The surprising answer in California is […]
The Uglification of Montecito Ever since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 – passed “to promote competition and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality services for telecommunications consumers and encourage the rapid deployment of new telecommunications technologies” – effectively usurped the rights of local communities to police the crap someone or […]
Most people think of Medicare as the health insurance nirvana: get to age 65 and there’s a free healthcare plan waiting to take you through retirement. With political debate centering around expanding the program, it’s important to understand what it will provide and what it won’t. First, who qualifies? With more than 50 million people […]
Thank you to Montecito realtor, Cristal Clarke, for sponsoring this week’s MJ home delivery. Bringing the MJ to your doorstep (or at least your driveway) is one way we are working to meet the challenges of this moment. Thanks to Cristal Clarke’s support, we are once again able to deliver. I’d also like to give […]
