Columnist Jonah Goldberg explains what Yucca Mountain and Guantanamo Bay have in common:

Well, there's the obvious stuff. Both have Spanish names. Neither is a great spot for a family vacation. And each is under the control of the federal government.

Oh, and both are essential tools in wars a lot of people claim they want to win.

Boston University's Andrew J. Bacevich argues that Iraq has illustrated the limits of U.S. power and new Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) wants an independent review of the state's revenue. And freelance writer Mary Kolesnikova says KMN (that's "kill me now") in response to a Pew report finding that teens let Internet chat speak into their homework.

The editorial board notes a new study finding that many Iraq veterans suffer from untreated brain injuries, and supports a state bill that would create CalPERS-managed portable retirement plans for private employees. The board also laments the sad state of the Southern California bookstore and the latest one to fall into financial dire straits, Libreria Martinez:

...Libreria Martinez, Santa Ana's nationally honored Latino-themed bookstore, is now threatened. After all, how many booksellers win a MacArthur Foundation genius grant? (Though Rueben Martinez was forced to use some of that $500,000 to pay his store's bills.) For that matter, how odd is it that the landlord forcing the store to move is a charter school for the arts with a well-regarded creative writing program?

On the letters page, readers react to the notion that Barack Obama's biggest problem is his elitism, not his race. Long Beach's Charles Q. Clay III says, "Hogwash! Obama has exactly half as many Ivy League degrees as our current president, who, you might recall, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and was not raised by a single mother on food stamps."

Newsweek correspondent and author Michael Hastings knows too well that war is more than statistics:

While I was in Iraq covering the war for Newsweek for two years starting in 2005, the woman I planned to marry was murdered in Baghdad by insurgents on Jan. 17, 2007. Her name was Andi Parhamovich; she'd come to Iraq to work for the National Democratic Institute, an NGO....

We -- Andi, me, Jeff, Greg, Scott, Ferris -- all chose to go to Iraq, volunteers for our respective causes. We were under no illusions about the risks, though that's a glib way of putting it. I don't think anyone can fully grasp the risks until whoosh, wham, through the looking glass you crash on the way to the rehab center at Walter Reed or a funeral parlor in Ohio.

Iraq often gets treated by pundits, writers and politicians -- all those thoughtful cheerleaders turned war critics -- as an intellectual exercise. It's not.

Columnist Gregory Rodriguez reports that people will often ignore their self interest if they can get a fair deal. And New Republic assistant editor James Kirchick says South African President Thabo Mbeki shouldn't stand by as Robert Mugabe ruins Zimbabwe.

The editorial board says no on Prop. 98, yes on Prop. 99, and asks why phone customers should have to pay to keep their numbers unlisted.

On the letters page, Long Beach's Iris Ingram says to those who would ask Hillary Clinton to quit the race: "The primary season ends in June. So suck it up and stick it out."

Tomdispatch.com associate editor Nick Turse shows how consumer firms like Apple and Krispy Kreme profit from Iraq, and columnist Joel Stein scores some (prescription) marijuana:

Sometimes I can't believe how Californian California is. Women walk around half-naked, waiters call patrons "dude," and medical marijuana is legal. But I wondered just how legal. Could anyone buy it? Even me, who doesn't have cancer, AIDS, arthritis, glaucoma or even any previous pot-smoking experience?

Medical marijuana isn't really legal -- in 2005, the Supreme Court said federal anti-drug laws trump state laws -- but California and 11 other hippie states have been flipping off Washington for years.

The editorial board criticizes President Bush for failing to hold the Reading First program accountable, and says California's misuse of the recall process may be one reason the state is in such bad shape.

Readers discuss the election, and whether Hillary Clinton should quit. Palm Springs' Eleanor Jackson wonders, "It's difficult to understand how anyone, particularly a Democrat or independent voter, can dislike Clinton (or for that matter, Obama) so much that they would be willing to not vote or vote for John McCain. Do they not realize the consequences of a Republican victory this November?"

The June 3 stealth primary actually starts Monday. That's when voters can pick up (and mark and send in) vote-by-mail ballots. They're often are still called "absentee" ballots, but unlike the old days, you can take care of business early without having to pretend that you won't be around on election day. True "absentee" ballots, for people who can't vote in the regular mail voting because of military or other commitments, began April 4. So hurry up.

Click here to apply for a mail-in ballot if you live in Los Angeles County. Of course, there are other ways to go; you could apply at the registrar-recorder's office in Norwalk, or you could send in one of those applications that you may get in the mail this weekend, courtesy of one of the campaigns with skin in the game.

Campaigns are counting on mailbox voters and will try to reach them with glossy slate cards and brochures starting -- well, it's every campaign's closely-guarded secret, but probably Saturday, with big spurts planned for every weekend in May. Very few people are expected to actually go to the polls next month, so the mailbox is where the action is -- and now is the time the action starts.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. This election was going to be the presidential primary, when a record number of Californians would go to the voting booth to very likely have the final say in whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would be the Democratic nominee. But last year the Legislature decided to strip out the presidential portion of this election and put it on the earlier February 5 ballot -- so our vote would have more impact. Ironic, huh?

The rest of the June ballot goes forward: Proposition 98 to curb eminent domain and phase out rent control, Proposition 99 just on eminent domain, party primaries for state Assembly and Senate, and in Los Angeles county, elections for Superior Court judge, district attorney and county supervisor.

Click here to see the Times endorsements for Superior Court, and here to see our endorsements for district attorney and two of the three supervisorial contests. Endorsements in the other races are coming soon, and of course you shouldn't even dream of voting early until you get the benefit of our guidance. But suit yourself.

And click here for the latest on the June 3 election, the November 4 election, and every election in between.

The November ballot just got bigger. Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified an initiative measure on humane treatment of farm animals. Here's the title and summary from the attorney general's office:

Treatment of Farm Animals. Statute. Requires that an enclosure or tether confining specified farm animals allow the animals for the majority of every day to fully extend their limbs or wings, lie down, stand up, and turn around. Specified animals include calves raised for veal, egg-laying hens, and pregnant pigs. Exceptions made for transportation, rodeos, fairs, 4-H programs, lawful slaughter, research and veterinary purposes. Provides misdemeanor penalties, including a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or imprisonment in jail for up to 180 days. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Probably minor local and state enforcement and prosecution costs, partly offset by increased fine revenue.

For the full text, go to the attorney general's site here. Check out the proponents here.

Unlike the June 3 stealth election ballot, the November 4 election is expected to draw a huge turnout because, of course, it is the presidential election. The conventional wisdom calculates lots of liberal Democrats voting, which could bode well for an animal rights measure.

So far there are two ballot measures in November. The other one is a bond for a high-speed passenger train system.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger explains why he opposes a bill that would have state's pension systems divest from certain private equity funds because of human rights concerns:

[T]his measure is unlike the legislation I signed with respect to Sudan and Iran. Those measures barred investment in entire countries. AB 1967 instead addresses investment into a relatively small class of investment vehicles. It does not send the same powerful signal to the world, would do little to address human rights and would impose a costly burden on California.

What's more, if anyone thinks this bill will inhibit the ability of questionable sovereign wealth funds to invest, they are fooling themselves. Any sovereign wealth funds covered by this legislation would still be able to invest in the multitrillion-dollar public stock and bond markets around the world.

Author Nancy Altman offers some politically palatable fixes for social security. Writer Matthew DeBord forgets "mission creep" for a bit and worries about Gen. David H. Petraeus' "ribbon creep." And columnist Tim Rutten reminds that Olympic protests historically have been futile.

The editorial board debunks some Special Order 40 myths, asks whether it's worth staying in Iraq to fight a proxy war, and says San Francisco is the perfect forum for protests against China as the torch passes through.

Readers discuss Tim Rutten's column on John Yoo's torture memos. L.A.'s Jerome Argesty says, "This is not a matter of academic freedom: it is a matter of neglecting morality and justice in educating young lawyers."

You can still vote for Ricardo Lara or Arturo Chavez on June 3, but it won't do you much good. Both will be on the ballot for legislative seats, as confirmed by the Secretary of State's certified list of candidates.

Once a person certifies his or her candidacy, there's no turning back -- from the ballot. But that doesn't keep the Powers That Be from enticing, or chasing, candidates out of the race. Call it the pre-election, which narrows the voters' choices even before the primary.

You recall, of course, that in the race to succeed speaker and 46th Assemblyman Fabian Nuñez, Lara was vying with labor official John Perez -- who happens to be Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's cousin -- but dropped out about the time Villaraigosa appointed him to the city Planning Commission. Arturo Chavez, an aide to state Sen. Gil Cedillo, also dropped out. Anthony York of Capitol Weekly reported that the moves followed meetings between Nuñez, Villaraigosa, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor leader Maria Elena Durazo.

Jerome Horton dropped out of his state Senate race against Mervyn Dymally and Roderick Wright in time to keep his name off the ballot.

Contributing editor Michael Kinsley asks a question few have dared -- how long does it take Hillary Clinton to do her make-up? He writes:

Every day for almost two years, the candidates campaign. The average day is probably 15 to 20 hours. The average amount of sleep could be four hours. Yet, every day, the male candidates can sleep an extra precious half-hour or more -- or spend the time cramming for the day -- simply because our culture doesn't impose the same rules on them about their appearance.

And these really are rules. Sure, there are women who take no more trouble about their appearance than most men do, and men who take more than the typical woman. But a middle-aged woman who is the first of her sex to make a serious run for the presidency is not going to be a pioneer in indifference to looks. One revolution at a time. She has got to look put together, all day, every day.

Columnist Rosa Brooks warns her fellow mothers against aggressively marketed, often orphaned Disney princesses. The Center for European Policy Analysis' A. Wess Mitchell notes the efforts of NATO's newer members in Afghanistan. And Harold Hall, wrongly convicted and imprisoned for 20 years, says his case shows why the state should reconsider execution.

The editorial board highlights the need for transparency in the LAPD, examines Mexico's raging drug war as it hits a small border town, and argues for habeas rights for two U.S. citizens held in Iraq.

Readers consider California's law against driving while cell-phoning. Valencia's Lisa Stevenson says:

We have always been eating, drinking coffee, reading road maps, changing radio stations, applying makeup, shaving, talking to passengers, disciplining children, groping for dropped gum, staring at sign-twirlers and beating out drum solos on our steering wheels while driving. Yet there are no laws banning these activities.

California may be one of the world's biggest economies, and Los Angeles may be the global city of the future, but compared with the rest of the country this place is second class in political sex scandals. Move over, Gavin Newsom. Sit down, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Back of the line, Antonio Villaraigosa.

Check out Detroit. Now, that's a town that knows how to have a scandal. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former aide, Christine Beatty, are both out on bail after entering not guilty pleas yesterday on perjury, obstruction of justice and other charges. They allegedly lied under oath about having an affair, in a lawsuit brought by police officers who claimed they were being punished for trying to investigate Kilpatrick's misdeeds. Go beyond the confines of the charges to the broader scandal, and you've got everything: sexually explicit text messages (on city equipment, no less), a supposedly "lewd party" at the mayor's mansion, strippers, even a murdered stripper, claims of racial bigotry. But the bottom line: not just sex, but up to 90 years in prison.

In New York, of course, they know what they're doing; Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace not just for an extramarital affair, but for allegedly paying call girls for sex -- in other words, for breaking the law.

How tame we seem in comparison. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's political career supposedly was at an end a year ago when he admitted having an affair with an underling who just happened to be the wife of his good friend and political aide. But no laws were broken, and yesterday hardly anyone batted an eye when Newsom said that, yes, he's interested in running for governor in 2010. The affair rated a low mention in the San Francisco Chronicle story, taking a backseat to Newsom's proclamation honoring a gay porn studio.

And Villaraigosa? Please. So he had an affair and his marriage broke up. Ho hum. Last summer it was common knowledge that his relationship with newscaster Mirthala Salinas meant the end of his political ambitions. That now seems quaint. If Newsom is still a potential candidate for governor, so is Villaraigosa.

And the Los Angeles Times stories on Arnold Schwarzenegger's on-set groping of women seem almost child's play. Not only no crime, but no actual sex.

There are plenty who argue that it's all our fault here at the Times. If we were looking for political sex scandals, we'd find them. Don't forget the whole Bonaventure episode of 2006, for example. Surely there is plenty more of that kind of thing out there. It could be that we just don't have the hunger for dirt, so we don't go after it. Well, Kilpatrick and Spitzer -- and the example set by persistent journalists at the New York Times and in Detroit -- should provide some inspiration. But it's also entirely possible that California's politicians are just not as cutting-edge as we'd like to believe.

Whoops, different  Fabian — not current speaker Fabian Nunez, but Fabian Wesson, wife of former speaker and current Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson, has opened a committee to explore a 2010 run for the 47th Assembly District seat of speaker-elect Karen Bass, when Bass is termed out. Bass took the seat after Herb Wesson was termed out. All are Democrats.

Fabian Wesson is no stranger to Sacramento or Los Angeles politics. She is a consultant to Mervyn Dymally, the assemblyman-turned-senator-turned-lieutenant-governor-turned-congressman who is now back in the Assembly and running to go back to the Senate. Wesson also is a member of the Coliseum Commission and the California Science Center board.

Fabian (pronounce it FAY-bee-an, like the teen idol of the 1950s and '60s, not FAH-bee-an, like the current speaker) Wesson said she's still thinking over whether to pursue the seat, especially since she now has Herb home full-time after his six years of jetting to Sacramento and back.

So where is the 47th Assembly District? Take your pick — it covers Westside communities like Century City and Westwood but stretches east to take in the Miracle Mile and South Carthay and south to Culver City, Ladera Heights, Hyde Park and Crenshaw.

A reader takes exception to my comment in an earlier post that California's constitution lacks the equivalent of a 2nd Amendment "right to keep and bear arms."

But even 2nd Amendment enthusiasts admit (and lament) that California is lacking a guarantee for either a collective or an individual right to keep and bear arms. Commenter Tom points to Article I Section 1 of the state constitution declaring: "All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty..." Tom concludes, "I  seem to have the inalienable right to defend my life."

But Pennsylvania's constitution, which does have a robust (or wacky, depending on your point of view)  right to keep and bear arms also includes boilerplate similar to California's: "All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness." So, if Tom is right, Section 21 of Pennsylvania's Declaration of Rights — "The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned" — is, as Chief Justice Marshall would say, mere surplusage.

Columnist Gregory Rodriguez says Barack Obama's speech on race may have been brilliant, but it was the wrong move:

Throughout the campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton's surrogates repeatedly tried to bait Obama into talking about race; they worked to pigeonhole him (and marginalize him) as the "black candidate." But in the end, it was Obama's own alliances that tripped him up and obliged him to directly address a subject (one that he now says we "cannot afford to ignore") that he had so deftly avoided -- or as the Obamaphiles had it, transcended. For all the kudos the Illinois senator has received for his candor, the very act of delivering Tuesday's address was a defeat. Obama was a much more powerful force for racial progress when he so effortlessly symbolized it, rather than when he called on us to address "old wounds."

Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Garden Grove) argues that SAT subject tests should stay, in part because they give recent immigrants a chance to show their strengths. Loyola Law Schools' Karl Manheim and Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court say health insurance mandates of the Clinton and Obama kind may not pass constitutional muster. And writer Joe Queenan wonders why Garth Brooks gets a spot in his kid's academic calendar.

The editorial board notes new Census numbers showing that California sprawl is slowing down, and looks at why double amputee Oscar Pistorius was barred from the Olympics for being too fast. The board also explores why Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dismissed fellow film icon Clint Eastwood and brother-in-law Bobby Shriver from a state commission.

Readers react to the violence in Tibet. Sherman Oaks' Elke Heitmyer says, "Tibet has been 'another Burma' for a long time already."

On this anniversary of the Iraq war, columnist Rosa Brooks is getting a five-year itch:

But I don't want to dwell on the bad times, because we did have some good times, didn't we? Remember those peaceful days between "Mission Accomplished" -- I think that was May 1, 2003 -- and ... and ... well, July 2003 or so, when we could still stroll around Baghdad at dusk, interrupted only by occasional small-arms fire? Those were the days, before the car bombs and IEDs.

We were happy then, weren't we, War?... But you can't go back again, can you?

Reason's Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch notice that all those voters moving to the center and calling themselves independent have a lot in common with Libertarians. University of Missouri-St. Louis professor Richard Rosenfeld says that when it comes to the uptick in homicides, the buck actually doesn't stop with Police Chief Bratton. And columnist Patt Morrison thinks Councilman Tom LaBonge may be ready for mayorship... of the honorary kind, in Hollywood.

A record 9 million Californians voted in the Feb. 5 presidential primary, according to final numbers certified last week. On a percentage basis, turnout was noteworthy, but not record-setting. 57.71% of registered voters cast ballots. That pales in comparison with the post-Watergate Bicentennial primary of 1976, in which two California governors fired up the Golden State's electorate as they tried, but failed, to derail their parties' frontrunners.

Jerry Brown thought Jimmy Carter was too conservative and beat him in the California primary but couldn't stop him from getting the Democratic nomination. Ronald Reagan thought Gerald Ford was too liberal and beat him in the California primary but couldn't stop him from getting the Republican nomination. In that June 1976 primary, perhaps the last time (before this year) that California truly mattered in a presidential primary, 73% of voters did their duty.

Despite Los Angeles County's bubble ballot problems, a respectable 55.1% of registered voters cast ballots. Not bad, but it's deceptive; only 38.23% of eligible voters, registered and not registered, voted. That indicates that the county has a long way to go to register eligible voters.

In the 2004 California primary, only 37.59% of eligible voters bothered.

At California Progress Report, Frank Russo says the improved but still middling turnout in Los Angeles County -- especially when compared with Bay Area counties -- is a reflection of the registrar-recorder's failure to get the word out about vote-by-mail ballots. Secretary of State Debra Bowen's numbers show that 482,921 L.A. County residents voted by mail, as compared with 1.7 million who went to the precincts. In the tiny mountain counties of Alpine (482 voters) and Sierra (1,526 voters), literally everyone voted by mail.

Bowen and L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/Clerk Dean Logan both have called for the momentum to continue into the June 3 election. That's kind of sweet. They both certainly know, as does everyone involved in that election, that turnout is expected to be abysmally low, since the presidential portion of the ballot was carved out and placed before voters in February. The next Big Event is the November 4 presidential election.

For June 3, when voters will consider two ballot measures on eminent domain, vote in party primaries for the state Legislature and take up various local races, mail is the name of the game. Political consultants are targeting the high-propensity voters, and that means absentee balloting. Expect to see lots of carefully targeted campaign mail when absentee balloting begins May 5.

Find out the latest on the June 3 stealth election, the November 4 presidential race, and the March 2009 Los Angeles city elections at http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/elections/

Top of the Ticket reports that former ambassador Roland Arnall has died at UCLA Medical Center.

Arnall's Ameriquest was a leader in subprime mortgage loans and was variously depicted as a predator on low-to-moderate income home buyers and the deliverer of the American dream to people otherwise priced out of the housing market. In 2006 the company paid millions of dollars to resolve investigations by 49 states, including California.

Arnall was a major donor to Republican candidates and causes, including President Bush and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But he and his wife, Dawn, also gave lavishly to Democrats, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, and City Council members Bernard Parks, Wendy Greuel, Jose Huizar and Jack Weiss.

Villaraigosa borrowed the Ameriquest jet in November 2005 to fly to the Detroit funeral of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. He was heavily criticized for his ride, and ultimately paid $438 to cover the cost of the flight. Critics persisted, saying the cost was much higher than the equivalent price of a round-trip commercial air ticket.

Arnall helped found the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

He became U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands two years ago.

The governing board of CalPERS, the huge state employee retirement system, backed Treasurer Bill Lockyer's plan to get the three big bond-rating agencies to reform the way they rank municipal bonds. That's a big deal; CalPERS's investment portfolio has a value of $244.7 billion.

The Times editorialized last week that Lockyer was on the right track in demanding that the agencies hold municipal bonds to the same standard as corporate bonds. As it stands, municipal bonds generally are rated lower even when they are subject to less risk of default.

At a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee last week, one of the agencies -- Moody's Investors Service -- said it would begin rating municipal bonds on the same scale as corporate bonds if the issuer requests it.

Columnist Joel Stein asks the question on everyone's mind -- what exactly do you get for $1,000 an hour?

I called a high-end escort in Las Vegas who charges $500 an hour -- but gives, according to her website, a discount to educators and political activists. The escort , it turns out, is a huge fan of Spitzer, particularly his prosecution of Wall Street crimes when he was New York's attorney general. "I liked him. And I don't like many politicians. I have nothing but respect for him," she said. "It's a shame politicians can't have sex like everyone else."

The roughly $1,000 an hour that Spitzer paid for time with "Kristen," she told me, was not, as I assumed, to guarantee secrecy.... And the exorbitant rate wasn't a premium for weird or talented sex.

Former soldier and military historian Ed Ruggero notes near the 40th anniversary of the My Lai massacre that war is never simple. And the Center for American Progress' Lawrence J. Korb and Sean E. Duggan argue that if Gen. David H. Petraeus testifies alone, we'll never get the full picture of Iraq.

The editorial board examines new mortgage regulations proposed by the Bush administration, and says that after 136 years, it's really about time for a new mining law. Finally, the board urges the state to do away with another historical relic -- loyalty oaths.

On the letters page, readers react to Max Boot's take on Adm. William Fallon. Escondido's Blaise Jackson cracks, "So armchair-admiral Boot crawls out from under his ideologue rock to toss dirt at the departing Fallon; what a surprise."

You were always called on last in history class because the teacher went in alphabetical order and your last name is Zyx. Not fair. You didn't even think of running for class president because the ballot, too, went in alphabetical order.

Well, no fear: In California, candidates' names are ordered by random alphabet drawing. They take this stuff seriously; see for yourself in Elections Code Sec. 13112. There are slips of paper, and capsules, and witnesses from the public and the media.

Yesterday Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office conducted the drawing for the June 3 election and, if you accept the theory that you've got a better shot if you're listed higher on the ballot, there's good news for any candidate whose name starts with H: You're on top. See for yourself. That works out nicely for Laurette Healey, who is running in the Democratic primary to succeed Lloyd Levine as Assembly member in the 40th district, in the West San Fernando Valley. Dan McCrory gets listed before Bob Blumenfeld. And pity Stuart Waldman, who got stuck near the end of the alphabet his whole life and now gets pushed even further back, with all the other Ws.

As for you, Mr. or Ms. Zyx, you're still at the end: Z was drawn last. Sorry. I'd give you the full ballot order, but that would be taking all the fun for myself.

Keep up to date on the June 3 stealth election -- and the November election besides -- at http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/elections/.

Evolutionary biologist David P. Barash says Eliot Spitzer can blame biology for his urge to stray:

One of the most startling discoveries of the last 15 years has been the extent of sexual infidelity (scientists call it "extra-pair copulations" or EPCs) among animals long thought to be monogamous. It's clear that social monogamy -- physical association and child rearing between a male and a female -- and sexual monogamy are very different things. The former is common; the latter is rare....

Power-as-pheromone is pretty much the default among mammals. Elk, elephant seal, baboon or chimpanzee, in a wide array of species, females eagerly mate with dominant males while disdaining subordinates. And they do so, more or less, in harems.

Contributing editor Max Boot argues that Navy Adm. William "Fox" Fallon's departure as head of CENTCOM is good news. Columnist Tim Rutten tells the City Council to quit its turf war and work to stop gang violence. USC's Sara Catania wants a stop to the springtime rite of "tree topping."

The editorial board asks if there is a constitutional right to home school your kids, and points out that daylight saving time really doesn't save anything....

Author Paul Slansky analyzes the art of the public apology in the wake of the Eliot Spitzer sex scandal:

But how sorry would they be if they hadn't been caught? Remorse, one feels certain, would be the furthest thing from their minds. So the apology extorted by such circumstances is by definition meaningless, a perfunctory bleat of contrition designed to buy some time while the damage is assessed. It is never eloquent and never as memorable as the acts being repented. But for apology aficionados, it is that very combination of trite mea culpas for often lurid deeds that makes it all so satisfying.

University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey R. Stone wants to do away with McCarthy-era loyalty oaths, and columnist Jonah Goldberg chides liberals for not being comfortable saying the p-word (that's patriot, by the way).

The editorial board has its take on Spitzer's sinnin' too:

We don't mean to imply support for prostitution, smoking or excessive drinking. There is, however, something encouraging in seeing even a self-destructive maverick spirit live on despite the best intentions of public scolds.

The board also says taxpayers end up paying more for California's popular high-interest, underrated bonds. And finally the board takes Bush to task for vetoing the torture ban.

On the letters page, readers react to Leslie Bennetts' Op-Ed on toxic anti-Clinton misogyny. See why Los Angeles' Cynthia Carle says, "I find the misogyny directed at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton loathsome. But I didn't vote for her."

Yet another study has just been released showing why California's new ban on driving with handheld cell phones won't work.

It's pretty clear to everybody by now that cell phones can and often do cause auto accidents. But opinions differ as to why: Is it because handheld phones take one of a driver's hands off the wheel, or because there's something about cell-phone conversations that is innately distracting? California's Legislature seems to think it's the former, while most studies, including one just completed by Carnegie Mellon University, show it's the latter.

Starting in July, it will be illegal for Californians 18 and older to drive while talking on a handheld cell phone, while drivers under 18 will be forbidden even from driving with hands-free devices. It's mystifying what this law's backers think it will accomplish. As the Carnegie Mellon study and others at the universities of Utah and Illinois have shown, it's the conversation itself that causes drivers to weave out of their lane or fail to see red taillights ahead of them. Researchers used brain imaging to show that simply listening to someone on the phone reduces the brain activity associated with driving by 37%. Many people find this counterintuitive — why should talking to someone on the phone be more distracting than talking to someone in the passenger seat? One answer is that passengers can sense when there's trouble on the road ahead and stop talking; also, the tendency of cell-phone signals to fade in and out requires extra concentration on the part of listeners.

California's new law will be a boon for cell phone companies and retailers, which will make a mint selling headsets and Bluetooth systems to drivers. But don't expect it to reduce the number of accidents.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Los Angeles County elections officials have been sniping at each other for a year and a half now, mostly over the security of electronic voting systems and Bowen's decision to decertify some equipment. The frosty relations have persisted despite attempts by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who has a good relationship with Bowen, to get the state and county on the same page.

Now Bowen and Acting Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan — and his predecessor, Registrar Conny McCormack — will face off in a special joint legislative committee hearing in Los Angeles to talk about the county's problems with the so-called bubble ballot in the Feb. 5 Democratic presidential primary. The session is set for Friday at 1 p.m. in the Ronald Reagan State Building auditorium at 300 S. Spring St. in downtown.

In addition to the bubble trouble — in which perhaps 200,000 voters very nearly had their votes tossed — voters have been reporting that they arrived at the polls to find that their party registration had mysteriously changed without their knowledge. That is, potentially, an even bigger problem. In a primary election, party registration dictates what ballot a voter gets.

In the bubble mess, thousands of independent Los Angeles County voters who opted to vote in the Democratic primary failed to mark a "bubble" on the ballot card, perhaps because poll workers didn't tell them they had to. Logan reported last week that about 150,000 of those ballots will be counted after all, because his office can deduce what the voters intended to do; another 50,000 remained problematic, although Logan told the board of Supervisors he expected to be able to finally count "the lion's share" of those. He also said the June 3 ballot will be redesigned to eliminate the bubble.

Logan and McCormack have been targeted by critics, from both the right and the left, who claim they are trying to undermine the fairness of elections for the benefit of equipment vendors or political interests. The Times has come in for its share of criticism for its manner of covering the issue. McCormack successfully ran numerous elections in the nation's largest county.

Tuesday is the deadline for certifying the results of the Feb. 5 election.

The hearing will be conducted by Senators Jenny Oropeza and Ron Calderon, and Assemblyman Curren Price. All are Democrats representing parts of Los Angeles County.

Contributing editor Erin Aubry Kaplan says Barack Obama isn't the post-racial panacea that everyone thinks he is:

The core of the resistance to seeing Obama as what he is -- a black man -- even among his supporters (or perhaps especially among his supporters) is an assumption that he is capable and successful because he is "other." Beneath the post-racial talk and the how-black-is-he speculation lies an antebellum belief that blackness is inherently limiting, while whiteness is inherently transcendent. (Blackness is, however, inherently good for style and "soaring" oratory, qualities the media have been quick to attribute to Obama.)

Columnist Joel Stein says female running mates could save men the wrath of women mad about missing the chance for a female president. Author and former prison detainee in Tehran Zarah Ghahramani objects to Americans' radicalized image of Iran.

The editorial board praises newly-appointed Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. It also looks at two cases that will test the Supreme Court's commitment to protecting Americans from searches, and notes that ships can keep polluting California's ports unless lawmakers take action.

Readers react to The Times' poll on the presidency. See why Pasadena's Siddarth Dasgupta says, "The Democrats have not yet chosen their nominee, and you are already lining up to mislead the voting public."

Health care and budget troubles behind him (well, sort of) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to resurrect efforts in the Legislature to craft a multibillion dollar water bond for the November ballot.

It would be interesting to see what details, exactly, are on the table. Even though the governor likes to refer to the bond as a "comprehensive" solution for California's water supply problems, last year's version did not get to the bottom of the biggest problem the state faces: figuring out whether or how to build a peripheral canal to carry water around the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta. Gov. Schwarzenegger euphemistically refers to this as "conveyance." Californians have been deadlocked over a peripheral canal for decades.

And it looks like the biggest bone of contention from 2007 negotiations--massive levels of state funding for three dams in the Central Valley and Northern California--is still in play. The California Chamber of Commerce may begin collecting signatures on its own $11.6 billion bond initiative, which would provide money for the dams, in the coming weeks.

At a forum on water sponsored by the Valley Industry & Commerce Association on Friday one panelist joked that negotiations over this bond reminded him of the movie Groundhog Day, when Bill Murray relives the same day over and over and over again until he breaks the cycle by becoming a better person and falling in love.

Are the parties to this conversation becoming better people, too? Falling in love? Nothing much about the discussion appears new--at least, not yet. Other than that $16 billion budget deficit lurking in the corner.

Oxford University professor Timothy Garton Ash sits back with a bowl of popcorn and enjoys the blockbuster campaign season, while Rosa Brooks rides the national mood swing toward idealism. Election law professor Richard L. Hasen weighs in on the ballot bubble trouble that decline-to-state voters faced, and cartoonist Lisa Benson looks over the one big fish Tsunami Tuesday left behind. If Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa leaves Los Angeles for Hillary Clinton, Patt Morrison nominates Rudy Giuliani for top dog:

What would Rudy bring to L.A.?

He's deliciously mean. Maybe Villaraigosa can deliver the political shiv with the best of them, but even when Giuliani smiles, he scares me. In L.A., where traffic flow is the yardstick of a leader's success, Giuliani will make us behave. If the sign says, "No parking 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.," the Scourge of Squeegee Men, the Avenging Angel of Times Square will tow your illegally parked car and ticket your butt. Not just here and there, not just now and then, but all over town, and every day.

The editorial board settles in for an extended, exciting campaign, and calls out Proposition S proponents on their methods. Finally, the board snarks at Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata for failing to pass term-limits reform:

Voters don't like to be played for fools.... If you hadn't been so blatantly self-serving and hadn't given voters such good reasons to be angry with you, term-limits reform would have passed. The next generation of California lawmakers would have had more clout to say "no" to lobbyists and a long enough view to hammer out fixes for our chronic budget, healthcare, water resources, education and other problems.

Instead, California is left with the same broken system it has had for 18 years. As for you, you're termed out. Bye, now. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Readers share their post election buzz. Mark Donnelly writes, "Looks as if The Times' starry-eyed push for Obama had exactly the effect on California's voters I thought it would: none."

Ouch.

Patt Morrison waggles a finger at mail-in voters who jumped the gun:

Now aren't you sorry?

Two or three weeks ago, maybe even earlier, you zipped through that absentee ballot, check check check, and hustled it off to the mailbox as if you were claiming a lottery prize.

And see what you missed? So much has happened since then that it's barely the same election it was on Jan. 7.

Also on the Op-Ed page, author David Callahan sees a sea change in U.S. businesses' attitudes toward their role in society, and David A. Lehrer and Joe R. Hicks of Community Advocates Inc. urge the state Senate to kill a bill that would require nonprofits to disclose employees' gender, race, ethnicity and orientation. Rosa Brooks proclaims her support for all things Obama, and cartoonist Matt Davies watches the Bush administration navigate the twin specters of war and recession.

The editorial board finds that the front-loaded primary schedule has been a surprisingly good deal for voters, and pokes fun at Huntington Beach for its trademark battle with a a Santa Cruz beachwear shop. On a more serious note, it condemns Sacramento for failing to pass a major healthcare reform bill:

Whatever direction the conversation takes, [Assembly Speaker Fabian] Nuñez and [Gov. Arnold] Schwarzenegger should keep the focus on comprehensive reform and the notion of shared responsibility. Their great achievement was forging a broad coalition for change. Their greatest failure would be letting it disintegrate.

Readers rebuke Melody Petersen's Op-Ed on the pharmaceutical industry. "Petersen does a disservice, through bias, ignorance or her profit motive, to an industry that is heavily regulated," writes Angelo P. Calfo. "If she had her way, healthcare professionals would be spending their weekends digging herbs."

The editorial board says President Bush is right to scrutinize earmarks, but he might be using it as a way to extend executive power:

More scrutiny of earmarks is an undeniably good thing. Lawmakers' pet projects account for a slender slice of the federal budget -- about one-half of 1% -- yet they feed much of the cynicism that the public feels about Congress and its penchant for spending. Bush's stance, however, betrays more concern about executive branch power than about taxpayer dollars poured into questionable projects.

The board examines the crisis in Lebanon spurred by two bombings this month. The board also asks City Hall to be pragmatic with its plans to remake downtown's Broadway.

Columnist Tim Rutten takes a look at another would-be downtown makeover -- this one a developer's dystopian, "Blade Runner"-inspired vision. USC's Harry P. Pachon and Columbia University's Rodolfo O. de la Garza say Hillary Clinton can count on Latinos. Author Michael D'Antonio argues that Explorer may not have beaten Sputnik to space, but it did represent a greater scientific breakthrough. And state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas thinks the now-defeated ABX1 1 was California's best chance at healthcare reform.

Readers react to historian Sean Wilentz's argument that there's no comparing Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln or John Kennedy. See why Los Angeles' Donald Cosentino says, "A scholar ought not to disguise such partisan rants as historical analyses."

Columnist Joel Stein hangs out with the Oscar accountants:

PriceWaterhouse seems to have more safety systems in place than the Air Force department in charge of transporting nuclear missiles. The counting location is kept secret. Counters work in groups but don't know one another's totals. "Winners" envelopes are prepared for every nominee; the losers' are shredded after the ceremony. Rosas and Oltmanns also memorize the winners and take separate cars to the show. So I was shocked to find out that no one checks to make sure [Rick] Rosas and [Brad] Oltmanns didn't just make winners up -- either for fun or under the threat of violence from a Weinstein brother.

Writer Woody Woodburn recalls his Super Bowl highlight -- miraculously surviving a car accident just after the game in 2003. Author Philip Jenkins notes that the religious right has splintered, but tough times could bring it back. 

The editorial board says the U.S. can't afford to lose Canada and NATO's support in Afghanistan. The board also tells California lawmakers not to micromanage lenders, and praises a wage deal for private security guards.

Readers react to the new animosity between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. San Clemente's Denise Gee says, "Right now, there is not one candidate in any party I could visualize taking charge of our country, bringing back dignity and honor to the office, providing real change and restoring America's place in the world."

Green fever seems to have hit the state, the media, or both. Here are some of the verdant shades of California controversies:

Tree-huggers versus sun-lovers: A Sunnyvale couple refuses to cut down their redwoods, even though a neighbor says they're blocking his solar panels. Now that's environmentally awkward.

EPA battle heats up: EPA head Stephen Johnson gets the third degree at a hearing chaired by California's Sen. Barbara Boxer for preventing the Golden State from enacting tougher fuel efficiency standards. Embarrasingly enough, Johnson's mostly on his own, as EPA staff last month issued findings that contradicted his decision.

Off the mean streets, into green sheets: Alameda County is opening an environmentally friendly homeless shelter, equipped with solar panels and water-based heaters.

Green eating hits Sacto: And we're not talking vegetarian.

Thin as plastic: Los Angeles city councilmembers' willpower, that is. The city has given up on following San Francisco's lead and instituting a plastic shopping bag ban. The editorial board said China had a better idea, anyway.

It's not easy smoking green: Even with a doctor's note (and strictly off-hours), a state court rules that using medical marijuana can get you fired. Assemblymember Mark Leno says he'll see about that.

Okay, so maybe that last one wasn't exactly on topic.

Columnist Rosa Brooks says the Clinton two-fer might cost the campaign:

The problem for Hillary Clinton is that, as usual, she wants it both ways. She wants to be judged on her own merits and not be treated as Bill's Mini-Me. But she also wants to reap the benefits of Bill's popularity, and offers voters the reassuring suggestion that if there's a crisis while she's in the White House, there will be someone around who really does have executive branch experience -- namely, Bill -- to lend a hand.

But the Clintons are playing a dangerous game. The more they remind us of what we liked about Act I of the Bill and Hillary Show, the more they also remind us of what we hated.

Board of Equalization member Michelle Steel notes that California owes millions to small-business owners. Arizona State University's Erica Rosenberg argues that environmental groups shouldn't be so eager to collaborate and compromise on deals with Congress. Columnist Patt Morrison sees the light at the end of the George Bush tunnel.

The editorial board supports Proposition S, a city communications tax, and asks the California legislature to pass a pollution-fighting "feebate" on new cars.

Letter writers reflect on the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. Monrovia's Ellen Zunino writes, "if we truly thought life precious and valuable, impregnating a woman outside of the marriage bed would be a felony, and failing to support the woman and her fetus would be a 'special circumstance' crime."

Only in California will the media critique carjack victims for poor fuel economy. Such was the Oakland Tribune's follow-up yesterday on Senate Pro Tem Don Perata's recent run-in with crime:

When armed carjackers last month relieved state Senate Pro Tem Don Perata of his state-owned vehicle, it raised two eyebrows — one for the brash daylight crime on North Oakland streets, the other for the flash of Perata's ride.

While more lawmakers are going hybrid-green, the Capitol's most powerful Democrat was rolling candy-apple red in a $38,600 Dodge Charger with 22-inch rims, yo.

Turns out Perata was far from alone among state lawmakers — and not even in the top 10 — in his taste for gas-slurping automotive luxury at mostly taxpayer expense.

More than half of senators who use state-leased cars opt for traditional gas vehicles that get 20 combined city/highway miles or less per gallon, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of Senate data, using newly revised federal fuel economy ratings.

The Assembly, which offers a lease break for members who go hybrid, fares greener. Nearly two- thirds of the 72 members with state-bought cars now drive hybrids.

The Los Angeles Daily News followed suit today, and included a handy list of California legislators and their rides. And incidentally, from the Reporter:

Those of you who have traveled under government contracts or had an expense account with a private businesses will love this: Legislators now get mileage (didn't before) and a 30 percent increase in their per diem - yes, that's right, both.

In an astounding correlation, Republican tastes tended toward lower fuel efficiency and higher price tags. Why study liberal and conservative brains at all when you've got their miles per gallon?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course, is a prime example of the you-are-what-you-drive philosophy. He never denies his unabashed love of Hummers ("I like to do everything big," he told TIME last June) and yet invested in the Tesla, a $100,000 electric car, which he seems to see as the wave of the future. 

Fun as it is, judging politicians by their vehicles is little more than a frivolous exercise. Because really, given how many different signals a car can send about its driver, how many more ways can we parse this data? By region? Ethnicity? Affluence? Personality? Patriotism? Judgment?

In Perata's case, anyway, it indicates recent experience. Again, from the Tribune:

It wasn't cost or mileage that weighed most heavily when Perata chose a replacement car: A silver 2007 Ford Crown Victoria with 17,500 miles on it. It cost $18,646. It gets 18 mpg.

"A gun was stuck in his face," said spokeswoman Alicia Trost said. "He wanted to drive a car that looked like a cop drove. That's all he was thinking of."

Columnist Jonah Goldberg describes his experience as a guest on "The Daily Show":

It started civilly enough, discussing my new book, "Liberal Fascism." But things got sufficiently testy that we spent nearly 20 minutes swearing and sparring, and only six minutes aired. The result was "choppy as hell," Stewart had to concede.

Largely left on the cutting-room floor were some important points that might have made my book seem a bit more nuanced....

Former Gov. Gray Davis throws his support behind Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget cuts. Dickinson College's Crispin Sartwell examines the twists and turns in presidential candidates' image. Frances Kissling and Kate Michelman remind us that it's not 1973, and pro-choicers have to take back the moral high ground.

The editorial board also marks the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, supports Propositions 94, 95, 96, and 97, and says declining record sales mean time for the industry to rethink its business model.

Readers react to President Bush's proposed stimulus package. L.A.'s Scott Kaye says it could be Bush's "most cynical proposal since his post-9/11 recommendation that we go shopping."

Columnist Gregory Rodriguez writes that Martin Luther King would be proud to see the 2008 presidential race:

Obama's life and work debunk the idea that his racial identity somehow effectively separates him from the majority. In his memoir, he recognizes that part of the work of the smaller community is to help redefine the broader national community. Ignoring narrow or defensive notions of racial pride, he sees no incongruity in being proudly African American and capably representing all Americans.

Nor has he felt the need to paint himself as "post-racial," or less black in any way, as he courts white voters.

But author Marcus Rediker points to something that would unsettle King, arguing that the U.S. has yet to properly atone for the slave trade. Lee "CultureGrrl" Rosenbaum says forget ownership, countries like Greece and Italy that can afford to share art wealth should.

The editorial board endorses in two contests: No on Proposition 91, and yes on Proposition 93. The board analyzes the presidential race and figures out which primaries are make-or-break ones for candidates.

Readers aren't happy with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's endorsement of a toll road through San Onofre State Park. Kurt Page of Laguna Niguel says, "Anyone who doesn't think that opening up pristine wilderness to development will ultimately increase gridlock just stands to make a buck from it."

Digital media attorney Jonathan Handel eyes the talks between the Directors Guild and the studios, and lays out a Hollywood doomsday scenario:

So the stage is set for a disaster. If the directors accept a lowball new-media deal, the Writers Guild and SAG may well reject it as a template, and pattern bargaining would break down. SAG's position would embolden the Writers Guild leadership to maintain the strike, despite pressure from some writers to end the walkout. Come June 30, when the actors deal expires, SAG would go on strike too.

At that point, the industry would be in all-out civil war, with battle lines drawn ...

Also on the Op-Ed page, cartoonist Nick Anderson comments on tensions between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama over race and civil rights. Columnist Tim Rutten berates the federal government for invading civilian scientists' privacy, and former space station exec Jeffrey Manber makes the case for inviting China into outer space. Chuck staff writer Zev Borow provides an off-beat critique of this year's movies: "Most disappointing, though, was 'There will be blood.' Three words: not enough blood."

The editorial board condemns California for sentencing juveniles to life without parole,

Not long ago, scientists thought the human brain was fully developed by early adolescence. But modern technology, allowing more sophisticated brain scans, has shown that isn't true. ... Few go so far as to commit murder, and those who do obviously must face serious penalties, but it is perverse to condemn a minor to prison for life for committing a crime that he or she might find unthinkable on reaching adulthood.

The board also looks to Congress to protect consumers from future Enrons, and turns up the heat on the Interior Department approving oil drilling in a polar bear habitat.

Readers run over Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget proposal. "If California is in a deep financial hole," writes Robert L. Douglass, "raise my taxes. I'm willing to pay." Adds Barry H. Davis,

Like the baby-friendly pit bull that suddenly turns vicious, as I expected, the governor has turned into a Republican.

So as the poor, elderly and disabled get left further behind, yacht owners can sleep calmly and securely in their staterooms. Don't worry, there will be no new taxes.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announces his support for Proposition 93, which would reform term limits:

It takes time to learn how to govern effectively. Under the current system, our elected officials are not given the time they need to reach their full potential as public servants. Just as they get seasoned in one house, they know their time is beginning to run out, and they must start positioning themselves to run for a new office.

Imagine what would happen if we told a big-city police chief or a sheriff he could stay in the job just long enough to start mastering it and then had to move on. Or if we told teachers they had to switch careers just as they started to accumulate enough experience and wisdom to really connect with their students.

Also on the Op-Ed page, columnist Jonah Goldberg argues that in a democracy, Obama's message of unity is overrated, and author Susan Faludi tells pundits to dump the "mommy" model — Hillary Clinton's appeal to female voters extends beyond maternal stereotypes. Cartoonist Bob Rogers provides a sneak peak at a historic Israeli-Palestinian agreement.

The editorial board cheers on the accelerated primaries schedule, and peeks through its fingers at plot developments between the studios and the Directors Guild:

Leaders of the directors union have said they think their talks with the studios can help end the strike ... here's hoping the talks aren't a red herring.

Finally, the board says good bye and good riddance to former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, who stepped down yesterday to continue fighting federal corruption charges.

Readers weigh in on "The Clinton conundrum." Alexandria Levitt notes, "It's a sad fact that men can wear ambition a lot easier than women," while Bob Carlson asks,

Is it a net loss or a net gain when women are forced to exhibit the same characteristics that perpetuate our debased politics in order to wield influence? That's the uncomfortable question Clinton's candidacy forces us to confront.

Columnist Joel Stein says Hollywood has already warmed America up for a black president:

Black presidents, in fact, have been our awesomest presidents ever: Morgan Freeman in "Deep Impact" and Dennis Haysbert in "24." And th