Friday Midday Brief Discussion Items

California Supreme Ruled Bloggers Cannot be Sued

I missed this until last night when I was looking up California law regarding police requests for identification. On November 20, 2006, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday that bloggers and participants in Internet bulletin board groups cannot be sued for posting defamatory statements made by others.

In deciding a case closely watched by free speech groups, the court said a federal law gives immunity from libel suits not only to Internet service providers, like AOL, but also to bloggers and other users of their services.

“Subjecting Internet service providers and users to defamation liability would tend to chill online speech,” today’s unanimous ruling said.

As I read this, I cannot be sued because of something that Rich Rifkin posts on my blog. Thank goodness.

Loose Change

I have been negligent in posting announcements about Community Events, but here is one that might be of interest.

On Monday December 11 at 5:00 p.m. DCTV, or Davis Community Television (channel 15) will show “Loose Change, 2nd edition”. Below is a description.

You can also watch Loose Change for free on line at any time.

http://www.loosechange911.com/

Response to Rexroad: We need better government, not less government

Yesterday’s main blog discussed the issue of pay increases for County Supervisors. It is my view that County Supervisors are underpaid compared to private sector jobs of comparable skills and expertise.

Rexroad blogged about it:

http://www.rexroad.com/Blog/tabid/78/EntryID/1447/Default.aspx

I mentioned Rexroad, but he was peripheral to the main point other than the fact that he decided not to take the pay raise—which of course is his right (even if I do not see that as a necessary gesture).

However, he made one point that is of interest to me:

“We need less government not more.”

In my opinion, we need better government, period. If that means in some cases more government, that is fine. If that means in some cases, less government, I am all for it. Each of us will undoubtedly interest better government according to their ideology and experiences.

However, the idea of better government requires that we have a system that encourages the best quality people to come forward regardless of their financial background and situation. It is very hard for this system to produce people like Lamar Heystek, people from modest to meager financial backgrounds, who can afford to get elected and are willing to sacrifice their free time and financial security in order to serve at very little in the way of compensation.

I want to see us pay our Supervisors commensurate to the time and energy they spend serving the public. I do not think that higher pay equals more government. In fact, if you have higher qualified people it may bring about less government since they may be able to find cheaper and better ways to perform the tasks set forth to them.

That is not to criticize the current members of the board, rather it is to suggest that we adequately compensate those who are serving in hopes that we will encourage high caliber people in the future who will be willing to serve the public.

—Doug Paul Davis reporting

Author

  • David Greenwald

    Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Davis Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend Graduate School at UC Davis in Political Science. He lives in South Davis with his wife Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and three children.

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Open Government

8 comments

  1. One of the primary goals of the cry, “less goverment not more” is to promote deregulation and remove impediments to predatory capitalism, business practices that damage our society and outright business criminality. We all know how deligently Rexroad’s Republican cohorts thwarted these practices during their “watch” while in control of our federal government.. result, the Enron debacle to name only one. I think the country is ready for a little MORE goverment now.

  2. One of the primary goals of the cry, “less goverment not more” is to promote deregulation and remove impediments to predatory capitalism, business practices that damage our society and outright business criminality. We all know how deligently Rexroad’s Republican cohorts thwarted these practices during their “watch” while in control of our federal government.. result, the Enron debacle to name only one. I think the country is ready for a little MORE goverment now.

  3. One of the primary goals of the cry, “less goverment not more” is to promote deregulation and remove impediments to predatory capitalism, business practices that damage our society and outright business criminality. We all know how deligently Rexroad’s Republican cohorts thwarted these practices during their “watch” while in control of our federal government.. result, the Enron debacle to name only one. I think the country is ready for a little MORE goverment now.

  4. One of the primary goals of the cry, “less goverment not more” is to promote deregulation and remove impediments to predatory capitalism, business practices that damage our society and outright business criminality. We all know how deligently Rexroad’s Republican cohorts thwarted these practices during their “watch” while in control of our federal government.. result, the Enron debacle to name only one. I think the country is ready for a little MORE goverment now.

  5. funny how people who claim to be against big government in principle are so determined to run for office and get their hands on the pork flow.

    republicans are fine with big government, as long as it’s military pork barrel spending, corporate subsidies, and spying on the general population; it’s the part about helping regular people that they’re so opposed to, not government in particular.

    republicans have not balanced federal budgets in decades, and CA republican unwillingness to raise taxes and pay for basic services is the reason why california is forever caught in the bond-happy borrow and spend trap. if woodland gets flooded by cache creek this winter, you can bet rexroad won’t be talking about “small government,” he’ll be asking for state aid for his community, same as anyone else.

  6. funny how people who claim to be against big government in principle are so determined to run for office and get their hands on the pork flow.

    republicans are fine with big government, as long as it’s military pork barrel spending, corporate subsidies, and spying on the general population; it’s the part about helping regular people that they’re so opposed to, not government in particular.

    republicans have not balanced federal budgets in decades, and CA republican unwillingness to raise taxes and pay for basic services is the reason why california is forever caught in the bond-happy borrow and spend trap. if woodland gets flooded by cache creek this winter, you can bet rexroad won’t be talking about “small government,” he’ll be asking for state aid for his community, same as anyone else.

  7. funny how people who claim to be against big government in principle are so determined to run for office and get their hands on the pork flow.

    republicans are fine with big government, as long as it’s military pork barrel spending, corporate subsidies, and spying on the general population; it’s the part about helping regular people that they’re so opposed to, not government in particular.

    republicans have not balanced federal budgets in decades, and CA republican unwillingness to raise taxes and pay for basic services is the reason why california is forever caught in the bond-happy borrow and spend trap. if woodland gets flooded by cache creek this winter, you can bet rexroad won’t be talking about “small government,” he’ll be asking for state aid for his community, same as anyone else.

  8. funny how people who claim to be against big government in principle are so determined to run for office and get their hands on the pork flow.

    republicans are fine with big government, as long as it’s military pork barrel spending, corporate subsidies, and spying on the general population; it’s the part about helping regular people that they’re so opposed to, not government in particular.

    republicans have not balanced federal budgets in decades, and CA republican unwillingness to raise taxes and pay for basic services is the reason why california is forever caught in the bond-happy borrow and spend trap. if woodland gets flooded by cache creek this winter, you can bet rexroad won’t be talking about “small government,” he’ll be asking for state aid for his community, same as anyone else.

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