Los Angeles Times

When President George W. Bush announced the appointment of Alberto R. Gonzales as White House legal counsel last December, he emphasized how important it was for him to choose "a person I can trust." Gonzales, whom Bush appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 1998, is considered one of the president's closest and most loyal advisors. He is widely rumored to be among the president's top choices for the U.S. Supreme Court, should a vacancy occur.

The markets didn't think Tuesday's half-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve Board was generous enough and responded with a massive sell-off. Though signals coming from the economy remain mixed, indicating that rates might not need to be lower for things to turn around, much of the demand for the rate cut comes from the stock market's recent abysmal performance.

Finally acknowledging the rising trend of intermarriage, particularly in the West and among the young, last year the Census Bureau allowed Americans to check more than one box when responding to its question on race. Relatively few respondents--2.4%--took advantage of the multiracial option. But those who did have changed forever the way we look at race in America.

Scott McNealy, the chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems, made waves a few years ago when in response to a question about whether one of his products adequately protected consumer privacy, he snapped: "You have zero privacy, anyway. Get over it."

Clearly, America is not over it.

When the Academy Award nominations were announced last Monday, the list included two second-generation representatives of Hollywood royal families: Jeff Bridges, son of actor Lloyd and brother of Beau, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor; and Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn, is a contender for Best Supporting Actress. Hudson and Bridges are but two of many stars who are sons, daughters, and grandchildren of respected pros.

After a decade of turmoil and change, Los Angeles has arrived at a moment of relative stability. Immigration to the region has slowed. The city's middle class has stopped hemorrhaging to the suburbs. The homicide rate, though inching higher, is still lower today than it was in the late 1970s. The economy is moving ahead.

George W. Bush could greatly improve his $1.6-trillion tax-cut proposal by combining it with an issue that has been absent from recent political discourse: tax reform. By taking the lead on reform, Bush could capitalize on dissatisfaction that transcends party lines and alleviate the burdens on the nation's 128 million taxpayers.

DaimlerChrysler's sobering announcement last week that it will fire 26,000 workers caps months of bad news from U.S. auto makers. Driven by what were touted as computer-age productivity improvements, auto manufacturing was supposed to be a "new economy" triumph.

The nomination of rap star Eminem for four Grammy awards is by now a totally unshocking event. The music industry has chosen to consider for its most prestigious award a young man who sings about killing his wife and raping his mother; someone who is pending trial on assault charges; someone whose real-life wife recently slit her wrists because of marital problems and whose mother sued him for slander. This is all, by now, quite normal in America.

If President-elect George W. Bush's Cabinet was selected to compensate for his lack of Washington experience, its unprecedented diversity also makes up for his party's lack of color. While Democratic administrations make diverse appointments to pay back loyal constituencies, Bush has made them to cultivate new ones.