The Politics of Genocide

I'm headed to Burbank to see George Clooney and Don Cheadle, two great actors, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Former Secretary of State George Shultz will be there too. The governor is signing legislation at noon requiring the state pension fund and UC system to divest assets from any company that does business with the Sudanese government.

An estimated 400,000 people have been killed in genocide there, and several million displaced.

Phil Angelides could sue Schwarzenegger this afternoon for stealing his issue. No statewide elected official has done more than Angelides to divest California's pension fund from companies doing business in Sudan. In fact, CalPERS is a long way toward accomplishing what Schwarzenegger already is requiring by law today. The UC system as well.

But Schwarzenegger is governor, and he can bring along celebrities when he signs legislation, which brings along cameras, which causes news stories about the genocide in Sudan, and that perhaps is a good thing.