Four years after Obama’s signature promise, Gitmo is still open

John Yoo quoted in The Washington Times, January 20, 2013

John Yoo, who as a top lawyer in the George W. Bush administration helped craft the legal framework for terrorism policies, said the U.S. will have a place to put detainees as long as it is fighting al Qaeda.
“Better to hold them in a highly secure facility, such as Gitmo, than mixing them in with the general population of a prison in the United States,” said Mr. Yoo.

Calif. reaches out to neighbors in push for green power

Ethan Elkind and Steven Weissman quoted in Environment and Energy Publishing, January 18, 2013

Green electricity isn’t available if clouds are out or the wind is not blowing…. “It helps to balance it out if you have a lot of different resources to compensate,” Elkind said. “At some point, the state’s going to have to go in that direction, where we start to bring in renewable resources from all across the Western region.”

“The extent to which you expand the ISO’s control area, you’re also expanding the ability to have a first point of interconnection between renewable energy projects and the ISO’s grid,” Weissman said.

Why is FCC mum on violence in media?

James Tuthill writes for San Francisco Chronicle, January 17, 2013

Our debate about how to reduce gun violence in our country has focused almost entirely on gun control since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. And that’s appropriate. But another critical element almost has been ignored: the harmful effect of violence in the media. Even more surprising is that the federal agency with knowledge of these effects has been mute on the subject.

Jerry Brown carries the day on online classes at UC, CSU

Christopher Edley, Jr. quoted in The Sacramento Bee, January 17, 2013

Christopher Edley, the dean of UC Berkeley’s law school and a central figure in UC’s existing efforts online, suggested UC may not be prepared to fully embrace Brown’s vision. “I’m not sure, governor, that UC—that the University of California system of governance—is up to the challenge of leading on this issue,” Edley said. “Every day we see a couple of news accounts of other institutions that are being bolder and more innovative.”

Is realignment a model for reform?

Barry Krisberg quoted in East Bay Express, January 16, 2013

The Determinate Sentencing Law affixed set prison terms to every crime. So, for example, a burglary conviction results automatically in a sentence of two, four, or six years in prison depending on the circumstances of the crime. “The idea is, do the crime, do the time,” explained Barry Krisberg…. “There’s no role for rehabilitation in it.”

Feds should use inventive method to restructure home debt

Prasad Krishnamurthy writes for The Oakland Tribune, My Word, January 16, 2013

The Obama administration has promised to take bold steps to help distressed homeowners. The administration would do well to modify a play from the private sector playbook. Companies like Ocwen have refinanced underwater mortgages by writing off debt in exchange for a share of the equity if the price of the home rebounds.

U.S. schools fare better in analysis

Richard Rothstein quoted in San Francisco Chronicle, January 16, 2013

When international test scores are released either by PISA or TIMSS, policymakers and public education officials bemoan the results, saying American students are unprepared to compete in a global economy…. “Such conclusions are oversimplified, frequently exaggerated and misleading,” Rothstein said. “They ignore the complexity of test results and may lead policymakers to pursue inappropriate and even harmful reforms.”