Moonbeam barack

Moonbeam's interoperability and compatibility will drive the next wave of application development and user growth Written by Austin Barack.
California Democrats, an historically ineffectual bunch, are finally learning how to wield their majority power.
Read writing from Austin Barack on Medium.

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Another View: Once upon a moonbeam

WASHINGTON – In matters cultural, California has always been America’s petri dish. Whatever happened in California usually infiltrated the rest of the country.

Today there is reason to hope other trends collecting on our far-left coast (geographically speaking) might infect the nation, especially in matters of governance and fiscal responsibility.

Jerry Brown, about to begin a run for his fourth term as governor, has shed the “Governor Moonbeam” moniker that he has worn like an itchy suit for nearly 40 years, compliments of Chicago columnist Mike Royko. Even Royko later regretted the nickname and tried to retract it after hearing Brown speak at the 1980 Democratic National Convention, saying Brown seemed to be the only Democrat who understood the challenges that lay ahead. There is cause today to resurrect this observation.

In his elder years, Brown has traded earlier dreams of a California space program for more down-to-earth policies that reflect a respect for non-ideological pragmatism. At times, he sounds more Republican than Democrat.

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Source: New Republic

Not too long ago, California was in calamitous shape—if the unresolvable budget battles and furloughing of hundreds of thousands of workers weren’t depressing enough, there was also the decrepit condition of the school system. But over the last few years, California has experienced a remarkable turnaround. Unemployment is down, and the state’s bond rating is up. The budget, to everyone’s amazement, is in surplus. Equally surprising is the state’s political transformation.

California Democrats, an historically ineffectual bunch, are finally learning how to wield their majority power. They’ve been so successful that Barack Obama and the other Democrats in Washington who seem bedeviled by an intransigent opposition party should study their moves well.

For years, California’s political experts had insisted that what the state suffered from was party polarization—the Democrats had moved too far left, the Republicans too far right—and what the state needed was a post-partisan politics. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who became governor in 2003, embodied that dream; and

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The Moonbeam is more focused

Jerry Brown for president?

Maybe not, but it’s striking how much more responsible and specific the California governor was in his State of the State address Monday than President Barack Obama was in his State of the Union speech the week before.

The man once known as Governor Moonbeam sounded more like Governor Laser Beam when it came to addressing the state’s fiscal crisis.

Obama waited until minute 35 to mention the nation’s “mountain of debt.” He then proposed almost nothing concrete to dig out from under it — certainly nothing politically risky.

Brown began with the subject of the state’s dire fiscal situation and stuck to it.

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“California faces a crisis that is real and unprecedented,” he said. “Although our state’s economy has started to recover, we will not create the jobs we need unless we get our financial house in order. ...

“Kicking the can down the road ... is simply out of the question. If you are a Democrat who doesn’t want to make budget reductions in programs you fought fo