Turning a two-year budget surplus of $12 billion into a deficit of $24 billion, California’s current predicament, is a tough act to follow by any standard. But a debt-relief plan currently making the rounds here may be up to the task, at least in terms of irony, because it makes the state dependent on the very groups it has punished: smokers and the Big Tobacco companies.
The Bush administration is trying to win support at home and abroad for a strike against Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein. Disagreements center on how the administration should define victory in Iraq and how it should “win the peace.” History and economics provide the answers.
The Internet is an ideal medium for small wineries, especially in California, to showcase their wares, particularly rare and premium vintages. The Internet is also ideal for the wine aficionado seeking to purchase those vintages. But in many states, government and the legal system now work in tandem to keep consumers from ordering wine over the Internet and wineries from shipping their product in response.
