Politics

Hope you enjoyed the party, because you may not be invited back in November. The upshot of the most hotly contested California primary since bell-bottoms were in — the first time — was a hardening of the state’s Democratic tilt and a proportionate drop in Republican support here. Add in the ability of independent voters … Read more

The Supreme Court’s chief justice wrote that even if court decisions are unpopular or mark a defeat for a presidential administration, other branches of government must be willing to enforce them. (Mariam Zuhaib / Associated Press) Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued a defense Tuesday of judicial independence, which he said is under threat … Read more

As Reps. Loretta and Linda Sanchez told 300 graduates of a Catholic college on Saturday to make a difference in the world and find their passion, a group of nearly 50 antiabortion activists quietly protested outside, holding signs that read “The Sanchez Sisters Support Baby Killers.” Linda Sanchez (D-Lakewood) and Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), who … Read more

During the long arc of American history, presidential candidates have been silent on the issue of lockboxes. Until now anyway. As the tightest race in a generation hurtles toward its conclusion, Al Gore and George W. Bush are each trying to sell themselves as the true “lockbox candidate.” Weeks after Al Gore fired the opening … Read more

In the years following 9/11, the FBI paid an informant to infiltrate the Islamic Center of Irvine, above, and spy on Muslim Americans. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a setback Friday to three Muslim men in Orange County who have sued the FBI for spying on their mosques in … Read more

Here is the text of President Bush’s address to Congress on Tuesday night, as released in advance by the White House: Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Congress, distinguished guests, fellow Americans, thank you. We gather tonight, witness to events in the Persian Gulf as significant as they are tragic. In the early morning … Read more

When the LA Weekly wrote a lengthy story last September about how little Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attended to his official duties, it wasn’t plowing fresh soil. The mayor’s exuberant fundraising and his frenetic campaigning on behalf of presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton had already received plenty of attention, in this paper and elsewhere. … Read more

Say a prayer for Texas’ public schools Dozens of public school students spend their lunchtime with a guitar-playing Baptist minister, bowing their heads in prayer under a tree by the playground. English classes read Shakespeare and Steinbeck, avoiding works that might draw them into contemporary controversies. Most parents consent to corporal punishment for misbehaving students, … Read more

The fates, political and otherwise, have not been particularly kind to Assemblywoman Carol Bentley recently in her special state Senate campaign. Several weeks ago, her father died after a long illness. Even as Bentley coped with that personal loss, her political life was thrown into disarray when her opponent, Assemblywoman Lucy Killea, became a national … Read more

For all its toughness in eliminating many public services for illegal immigrants, Proposition 187 says absolutely nothing about taking away their jobs. Yet at workplaces around Southern California, signs were already emerging Wednesday that the code of conduct in a labor market that has long welcomed low-paid undocumented workers is changing–at least in some quarters. … Read more