Ken Reich, Long Time LA Times Writer, Reporter Dies at 70

Ken Reich, who had worked as a reporter and writer at the Los Angeles Times for thirty nine years, passed away in his sleep early this morning, the Times reports.

Reich, perhaps best remembered for his aggressive political coverage, including coverage of Los Angeles City Hall, as well as his coverage surrounding the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, retired from the Times in 2004. He was a unique character, in the sense that newsmen of his era often were. He has maintained a blog, Take Back the Times, which was highly critical of the new management of the Times. His last blog entry on his own blog was posted shortly after midnight this morning; he posted on the blog Tell Zell at 2:16 a.m.

According to LA Observed, the following notice was sent to other retired LAT staffers who were members of a group which called itself the "Old Farts Society":

Dear OFS Members:

Sad news. Anton Calleia, a close friend of Ken Reich and a fellow OFS member, sent me an e-mail this morning saying that Ken died in his sleep last night. Ken was a retired staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. In his three-plus decades with the newspaper, Ken covered City Hall, wrote a column and was a lead reporter on the 1984 L.A. Olympics coverage.

Those of you who attended last Wednesday's OFS luncheon noticed that Ken arrived and left in a wheelchair, the result of a defibrillator episode he experienced on the last two days of his recent weeks-long cruise around Africa.

The Los Angeles Times obituary desk has been notified of Ken's passing. Funeral details will be sent to OFS members when they become available.

Reich's bio, as he listed at his blog, is available here. The Times is working on a full obit, which I'll link to when available. In the meantime, if you're interested in learning more about Ken Reich, you could do worse than to follow the LA Observed site.

Addendum:

As promised, here's the link to the L.A. Times obit. The "Daily Mirror" blog at the L.A. Times has provided a link to the July 3 memorial service for Ken Reich, as well as to a 2006 meeting of the Old Farts society at which Reich spoke. "The speakers are moderator Jerry Clark, Ken Reich, former Times National Editor Ed Guthman and Only in L.A. columnist Steve Harvey, discussing former President Nixon's "Enemies List" and former Times political reporter Richard Bergholz, who had recently died." (I had the privilege of driving (and speaking with and listening to) Dick Bergholz, who was acting as the pool reporter during a visit to L.A. by Democratic Presidential candidate Ed Muskie, circa 1971 - 72.)

Atheists for G-d?

The respected Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life has release a new survey of the U.S. religious landscape, (including a summary at that link) based upon a 2007 survey of 35,000 people.


In its article on the new report, Neela Banerjee writes in the New York Times writes that:

"The new report sheds light on the beliefs of the unaffiliated. Like the overwhelming majority of Americans, 70 percent of the unaffiliated said they believed in God, including one of every five people who identified themselves as atheist and more than half of those who identified as agnostic."
(Emphasis added.)
***

"Nearly two-thirds of respondents favored more government help for the poor, even if it meant going deeper into debt. Sixty-one percent of respondents also said “stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost.”

"A majority said the United States should pay more attention to problems at home than those abroad, but in the area of foreign policy, 6 out of 10 respondents said that diplomacy, not military strength, was the best way to ensure peace."



Reuters reports that the number of white evangelicals who identify as Republican has dropped significantly in the past three years, from 62% to 57%, with most of those leaving the Republican ranks moving to the "independent" category. (Fifty percent of evangelicals, without regard to race, identified as Republican or Republican leaning in the most recent survey; 34% identified as Democrats (32% among white evangelicals.))

"In 2004, 62 percent of white evangelical Protestants said they leaned Republican and almost 80 percent of those who voted that year cast their ballots for re-election of President George W. Bush.

"There appears to have been a shift away from the Republican Party even among evangelicals. This trend appears to be concentrated among younger evangelicals," said John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (and) *** a noted expert on religion and politics who also teaches at the University of Akron in Ohio...."

Detailed portraits and comparisons of the beliefs, demographics and social / political views of American members of various religions, statistical breakdowns according to religious affiliation, detailed, interactive state-by-state maps, and a video overview are available at the Pew Forum site, or by following the embedded links in this article.

Interesting and useful information for those involved in public life.

Russert, Dole Exchange "Terrorist Fist Jab"

Yep, here it is -- a photo of Bob Dole and Tim Russert about to trade the official terrorists' greeting (according to Faux News): the "terrorist fist jab."

Tim Russert, 58, Collapses & Dies at Work at NBC News

The New York Times is reporting that Tim Russert, host of "Meet the Press", has collapsed and died while at work at NBC News.

According to Wikipedia, " Russert had diabetes and died of a heart attack at 1:14pm EDT on June 13, 2008. *** Early reports state that Russert died of an apparent heart attack while recording a production track in Washington, D.C. on June 13, 2008, a day after returning from vacation in Italy."

More in-depth reporting, memoria, at MSNBC's site.

Tim Russert will be remembered for many contributions, perhaps most of all, in the short run, his declaration on May 6 of this year that "we now know who the democratic nominee will be." His declaration opened the way for other commentators to declare that Barack Obama would be the Democratic nominee for President.

Before his work in journalism, Tim Russert was a big-time political operative in New York. Adam Nagourney of the New York Times looks back to Russert's time in Albany politics.

GOP Nominee for U.S. Senator from Montana...

favors a parliamentary form of government, and women named Shirley. He wants to tax the sale of the organs and limbs of babies. Really.

Bob Kelleher, now the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, beat out five other candidates to secure the nomination of his party.

Here's a video of Kelleher (the non-blue guy) from 2002, when he was the Green Party nominee for the U.S. Senate. But perhaps Kelleher has matured a bit in the past six years. After all, he's now 85 years old.

I'll go out on a limb and predict that incumbent Democratic Senator Max Baucus will be re-elected to the U.S. Senate.

Cal Supreme Court Won't Stay Gay Marriage Ruling

California counties must start issuing "gender neutral" marriage licenses on June 17.

The California Supreme Court has refused the request by anti marriage-equality forces to stay their ruling outlawing discrimination in the issuance of marriage licenses due to the gender of the couple seeking to marry, clearing the last obstacle to gay and lesbian marriages in California.

The Supreme Court ruling in "In re Marriage Cases",will take effect at 5 p.m. on June 16, 2008; marriage licenses will be available without discrimination when county offices next open after that time. (I suspect that a few will remain open after 5 p.m. just to be the first to issue such licenses.)

According to the Associated Press, California's highest court has refused to stay until after the November election its decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.

Many of the same groups which sought the stay of the Court's ruling are pushing an initiative which would theoretically limit marriages in California to those between a man and a woman;
that initiative has qualified for the November, 2008 ballot. The full text of the initiative reads: "Article I, Section 7.5 is added to the California Constitution, to read: 'Sec. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.'"

At this point the ballot summary also states: "The measure would have no fiscal effect on state or local governments. This is because there would be no change to the manner in which marriages are currently recognized by the state."

Presumably this language will be changed in light of today's ruling refusing to stay the Court's order -- there will now be additional cost to the counties if this initiative passes, due to changes in the manner in which marriages will be recognized after 5 p.m. on June 16.

The marriage equality ruling by the California Supreme Court (with six of it's seven members having been Republican appointees) may have been the "tipping point" on California public opinion on the issue of "gay marriage." While polls had shown a narrowing of opposition to such marriages in recent years, the California Field Poll, perhaps the most respected California polling organization, shows in their most recent (May 28) poll on the issue that a majority of California's registered voters (51% - 42%) now support marriage equality. Only 28% supported such marriage when the question was first asked in 1977. Polls until only a few weeks ago showed continued opposition to such marriages, and the current poll shows ambivalence about the Supreme Court ruling itself. A majority in the Field poll oppose the proposed Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages.

The "must-read" (for those interested in such things) detailed polling information on this issue is available from the folks at the Field Poll, here.

While there are still some wild cards out there (particularly voting on the issue within the black / African American community), I suspect that marriage equality in California is here to stay.