http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/blogscan.html The BlogScan of California political blogs on AroundTheCapitol.com en-us scott@aroundthecapitol.com scott@aroundthecapitol.com.com http://hoguenews.com/?p=1535Are we still Independent?   I grew up in a town of about 4000.  We lived on a dirt road and on a spread of 10 acres surrounded by 17,000 acres of state land.  Grandpa lived next door and had 15 acres, Uncle Bryce lived next to him and had 5 acres, and Aunt Kathleen had 10 [...]http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PoliticalBlotter/~3/rM4TvWGuc4g/Gap Inc. founder Donald Fisher may well be “a major political force who has powerful ties inside (San Francisco) City Hall” as the Chronicle once reported, and he and his family may well have been among the “most reliable – and, if dollar amounts are any indication, enthusiastic” donors to Gavin Newsom’s 2003 mayoral campaign [...]http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics/~3/ezFAVQJil_0/why-today-is-holiday.htmlTry to remember the importance of what happened today. 56 men stood up against the oppression of the British Empire and voted to give us our own country. These men were a little scared and nervous, because they knew the British government would probably try to kill them for this act of rebellion....br/ br/ [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=ezFAVQJil_0:GsaDToxcZ7k:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=ezFAVQJil_0:GsaDToxcZ7k:63t7Ie-LG7Y"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=ezFAVQJil_0:GsaDToxcZ7k:dnMXMwOfBR0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=ezFAVQJil_0:GsaDToxcZ7k:wF9xT3WuBAs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=ezFAVQJil_0:GsaDToxcZ7k:wF9xT3WuBAs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=ezFAVQJil_0:GsaDToxcZ7k:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=ezFAVQJil_0:GsaDToxcZ7k:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=ezFAVQJil_0:GsaDToxcZ7k:l6gmwiTKsz0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"/img/a /divhttp://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2009/07/the_black-white.html Kevin Lynn Call me a cynic, but I am deeply skeptical of the rhetoric I hear coming out of the Obama administration regarding healthcare reform. I am concerned at the pace with which a plan was adopted, the apparent lack of curiosity when it came to evaluating and embedding best... http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/07/manny_talks_walks.php Manny Ramirez rejoined the Dodgers tonight in San Diego, was greeted with a loud mix of boos and cheers when he came up in the first inning, and drew a walk. Before the game, he apologized to fans (via the media) for missing the 50 games but would not address what he did wrong. Asked repeatedly, he said: First I want to say that God is good and good is God. I don't want to get into my medical records right now. I'm happy to be here. I missed the game. I'm ready to play. The Dodgers were significantly less good as a team while Ramirez was out, but still compiled the best record in the league and increased their division lead by two games. Winning percentage with Manny: .724 (21-8) Winning percentage with Manny out: .580 (29-21) Scoring with Manny: 5.55 runs per game Scoring with Manny out: 4.40 runs per game Despite his late-game heroics and nine homers while Manny was gone, Andre Ethier's hitting dipped considerably: 222/.293/.438 with Ramirez out of the lineup. One final time: Video of the last time Manny rejoined the team, in Arizona Also in sports: Phil Jackson said he'll be back as Lakers coach. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics/~3/IMtIQgBV64A/happy-4th-of-july.htmlIf you want to see a 4th of July parade that embodies everything great about small town America, even in a City as large as Los Angeles, make your way up to Sunland-Tujunga on Saturday! This parade draws thousands and is a must see. The parade starts at 10am on Foothill Blvd @ Mt Gleason Ave. Get...br/ br/ [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=IMtIQgBV64A:1JLzuj9K3lo:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=IMtIQgBV64A:1JLzuj9K3lo:63t7Ie-LG7Y"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=IMtIQgBV64A:1JLzuj9K3lo:dnMXMwOfBR0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=IMtIQgBV64A:1JLzuj9K3lo:wF9xT3WuBAs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=IMtIQgBV64A:1JLzuj9K3lo:wF9xT3WuBAs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=IMtIQgBV64A:1JLzuj9K3lo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=IMtIQgBV64A:1JLzuj9K3lo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=IMtIQgBV64A:1JLzuj9K3lo:l6gmwiTKsz0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"/img/a /divhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics/~3/o5xUg2wwEPk/sarah-palin-to-resign-as-governor-of.html"What does the future hold for Sarah ??" A certain "NoHo Valley White Guy" must be gripping the "defib paddles" as this shocker radiates out from Alaska. From the Drudge Report, WASILLA, Alaska (AP) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made a surprise announcement Friday that she is resigning from office at...br/ br/ [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=o5xUg2wwEPk:vHLeAh0V708:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=o5xUg2wwEPk:vHLeAh0V708:63t7Ie-LG7Y"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=o5xUg2wwEPk:vHLeAh0V708:dnMXMwOfBR0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=o5xUg2wwEPk:vHLeAh0V708:wF9xT3WuBAs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=o5xUg2wwEPk:vHLeAh0V708:wF9xT3WuBAs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=o5xUg2wwEPk:vHLeAh0V708:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=o5xUg2wwEPk:vHLeAh0V708:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=o5xUg2wwEPk:vHLeAh0V708:l6gmwiTKsz0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"/img/a /divhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~3/OIyCr0hRAR0/independence-day-the-open-threadThe Home of the Free and the Brave Turns 233 tomorrow! w00t! Let's get to the links: p* The special election to a href="http://www.gov.ca.gov/proclamation/12677/"replace Ellen Tauscher/a (CA-10) will be September 1. That will also be the day to replace former Asm., now Sen., a href="http://bit.ly/WG8AW"Curren Price in AD-51 (PDF)/a. (h/t to SoS Debra Bowen's a href="http://twitter.com/CASOSvote"CASOSVote Twitter feed/a) p* Apparently the Governor's latest bugaboo is his old bugaboo: a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-schwarzenegger3-2009jul03,0,6857410.story?track=rss"waste, fraud and abuse/a. Arnold thinks it is time to bring that up, despite the fact that his own a href="http://cpr.ca.gov/"California Performance Review/a showed that there really isn't that much waste, fraud and abuse. At a time when we need real action, Arnold is dithering around the edges. p* The annual summertime a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-california-debt3-2009jul03,0,2469811.story?track=rss"revenue anticipation notes will be even more complicated/a due to our budget crisis. Further complicating the issue is Arnold's petulance by revoking Controller John Chiang's ability to issue revenue anticipation warrants, which have a longer time horizon. br /* Kamala Harris gets a a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-cause3-2009jul03,0,4437066.story"good story in the LA Times/a, which some might consider a a href="http://www.calitics.com/diary/9186/caag-kamala-harris-gets-dragged-through-the-mud-for-doing-her-job"make-up for this story/a. p* For your consideration this weekend: The a href="http://www.sfmt.org/index.php"SF Mime Troupe/a kicks off their summer show "Too Big to Fail" tomorrow in Dolores Park in SF. I (Brian) saw the sneak preview today, and it was quite enjoyable. br /div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=OIyCr0hRAR0:bkBpygQpbW0:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=OIyCr0hRAR0:bkBpygQpbW0:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?i=OIyCr0hRAR0:bkBpygQpbW0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=OIyCr0hRAR0:bkBpygQpbW0:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~4/OIyCr0hRAR0" height="1" width="1"/http://www.phoblographer.com/2009/07/mccain-i-fear-you-have-awakened.htmlOr someone who thinks she is a giant, anyway. I mean, really. a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/03/national/a125257D32.DTLtsp=1"Really/a? Really.br /br /There's a particular kind of person out there who gets a high or believes such behavior gives them power and mystery to refrain from saying anything. There's winking and "oh, I know what's coming, and it's good." You know what? That's B.S. It's lame and narcissistic.br /br /But the better question is: what's coming? Who dumps this news on July 3 (a Friday) during the still MJ dominated news cycles? br /br /Oh, also narcissisitc: thinking you can serve better or whatever outside of the Governor's office. Never fear! She doesn't need a stupid office to keep working for you. By doing. Stuff. Or whatever. But she had to go! She's not one to be lame:br /blockquote"Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that," she said./blockquote WHAAAAAA? Also, should Alaska shorten its terms? If she's leaving soon, isn't she a lame duck now. There must be something skeletal in a closet, right? Because this first potential reason is just awful and incredibly insulting to Alaskans. Does she think she can win by calling some states - like her HOME STATE - irrelevant? I doubt she'll use this as a talking point.br /blockquote"Alaska is an isolated stage from which to operate if you want to figure in American national politics. I don't know what she has in mind. Some TV show or some national radio show. There are opportunities for her, I'm sure."br /br /But political analyst Larry Sabato, in Charlottesville, Va., said Palin's announcement left many confused.br /br /"It's absolutely bizarre, and I think it eliminates her from serious consideration for the presidency in 2012," he said.br /br /Palin said her family weighed heavily in her decision.br /br /"I polled the most important people in my life, my kids, where the count was unanimous," she said. "Well, in response to asking, 'Hey, you want me to make a positive difference and fight for all our children's future from outside the governor's office?' It was four yeses and one 'Hell, yeah!" And the 'Hell, yeah' sealed it."/blockquote But see, she's just got too much to do to have a full time job:br /blockquoteFred Malek, a Republican strategist who has advised Palin over the past year, said Palin was "really unhappy with the way her life was going."br /br /"She felt that the pressures of the job combined with her family obligations and the demands and desires to help other Republican candidates led her to decide not to run again. Once that decision was made, she realized, why not do it now and let the lieutenant governor take over and get a head start on his election," Malek said./blockquote Back to narcissism: the other Republicans need her too much and it would be selfish for her to limit her winning influence to Alaska. She'd have to stay home to work on Alaska stuff. Awful!br /br /I can imagine the Fox News soundbites on this and I think if I listen to them, my head may explode.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6427145-721661024585026837?l=www.phoblographer.com'//divhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PoliticalBlotter/~3/hoj9Kw2i-2c/Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set Nov. 3 as the special election date to replace former 10th Congressional District representative Ellen Tauscher. The primary election will be held Sept. 1. Per special election rules, the primary is an open ballot, meaning that all candidates will appear on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation. The top vote-getter in [...]http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics/~3/mYjvbGU3ULs/palin-to-resign-as-governor-potus.htmlWith other 2012 hopefuls self-destructing (Governor Jindal's Obama Response, Senator Ensign's love triangle and Governor Sanford's soul mate journey), perhaps the "Caribou Barbie" sees that by resigning now she can make some money, spend more time in the Lower 48 and begin the POTUS politicking in...br/ br/ [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=mYjvbGU3ULs:1jCV_pbJoz4:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=mYjvbGU3ULs:1jCV_pbJoz4:63t7Ie-LG7Y"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=mYjvbGU3ULs:1jCV_pbJoz4:dnMXMwOfBR0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=mYjvbGU3ULs:1jCV_pbJoz4:wF9xT3WuBAs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=mYjvbGU3ULs:1jCV_pbJoz4:wF9xT3WuBAs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=mYjvbGU3ULs:1jCV_pbJoz4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=mYjvbGU3ULs:1jCV_pbJoz4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=mYjvbGU3ULs:1jCV_pbJoz4:l6gmwiTKsz0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"/img/a /divhttp://californiascapitol.com/blog/?p=428Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following proclamation today, declaring November 3, 2009 the date for a special election in California’s 10th Congressional District (located in Contra Costa County including portions of Alameda, Solano and Sacramento counties), to elect a congressional representative to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Congresswoman Ellen O. Tauscher: SPECIAL ELECTION PROCLAMATION BY [...]http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~3/eOPgd1phst4/if-you-dont-make-150k-maybe-you-shouldnt-be-living-hereJohn Cole a href="http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=23563"wondered today/a what goes on in the heads of the Republican wealthy elite. nbsp;It didn't seem possible to him that the people who control the purse strings could be so stupid or short-sighted as to truly believe the crap they spout to their base and to Fox News-watching public. pWell, once in a while a wealthy Republican lays it out in such a way that the depth of their greed and arrogance cannot be hidden. nbsp;When the truth is laid open, it becomes clear that they bare/b just as stupid and short-sighted as their rhetoric makes them out to be. pEvery Friday at 11AM, I am a guest co-host (in my capacity as President of the Ventura County Young Democrats) on a href="http://www.kvta.com/main.php"KVTA 1520/a in Ventura, CA for half an hour along with Brian Leshon, Communications Director for the local Democratic Party. nbsp;Our show is called iReality Check/i, and is sandwiched comfortably in between Fred Thompson and Sean Hannity, thus providing a flicker of light in a sea of AM talk radio darkness. nbsp;We talk about various topics every week usually related to state and local issues, with particular emphasis on economy and taxes. pThis week we talked about the California budget disaster, the a href="http://www.calitics.com/diary/9279/arnold-owes-you"IOUs being distributed now on account of Ahnuld's intransigence/a, and the a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/21/734116/-Results-in-California-Are-NOT-What-Youre-Being-Told"David Binder research results proving that the recent California special election was not an anti-tax revolt/a, a fact that continues to receive far too little play in state and local political media. nbsp;As part of this discussion, I mentioned the fact that Calfiornia's tax system is regressive, including the fact that our high marginal state income tax rate of a href="http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/edit/state/profiles/state_tax_Cal.asp"9.3% is placed on a bracket extending all the way from $45,000 to $999,999/a, making it one of the most insanely regressive state income taxes in the nation. nbsp;I suggested that the rate be reduced on all those from $45K to $99K or so, and tiered upward from there. nbsp;You can a href="http://1400localsonly.podomatic.com/player/web/2009-07-03T12_33_52-07_00"hear the podcast of the whole show here/a. pToward the end of the discussion, an articulate, seemingly intelligent woman called in to defend six-figure income earners, and in the process demonstrated the depth of the arrogance and selfishness that are at the heart of the wealthy Republican ethos. pblockquoteCALLER: "One of the gentlemen said that if you made six figures, you can help out a little more. nbsp;If I were making six figures in Dubuque, I could pretty much agree with him. nbsp;But oh my gosh, if people with combined incomes between their husband and wife, etc., are making six figures in Ventura County, they're just comfortably affording a very modest home." pME: "You know what, let me apologize, let apologize because I was being very shorthanded. nbsp;You are absolutely correct. nbsp;Though I would point out that the taxes aren't on combined income, they're individual, so we're still talking individual here, but you're absolutely correct." pCALLER: "You throw a couple of your kids in there too and it's like, wait a second, a family of four needs to be making $150K just to live comfortably." pME: "I agree 100%. nbsp;And the only tax increases that we're talking about say on the national level were people making $250,000 alone--not combined--alone, $250,000 or more. nbsp;But that said, you know, it's really difficult to say that in Ventura county you need to be making combined income of $150,000 or more just to live comfortably with two kids." pCALLER: "I mean, if you're buying a home." pME: "Absolutely if you want to buy a home, and that's a problem, isn't it? nbsp;Because then you're talking about property values and all those things, but you've got to realize that the vast, vast majority of the people, even in California, are not making anything --banything/b--close to that kind of money. nbsp;You know, I'm not." pCALLER: "bWell, maybe they shouldn't live here then!" nbsp;I mean, if you can't afford a home here and stuff, maybe you should live where it's cheaper."/b"/blockquote pThis is the Republican mentality in a nutshell: the only people that matter are the people in the a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ownership_society"Ownership Society/a. nbsp;If you're not part of that elite Ownership Society club, you not only don't belong influencing public policy, you bdon't really deserve to be breathing the same air./b nbsp;If you happen to occupy the same space as a wealthy Republican elite, you had best stay out of the way and not complain about the lot granted to you. nbsp;You serve at the pleasure of the elite. nbsp;And if that means a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jJ7uUDlO1sEo7K7bEfHpj4G7wuLQD995RIHG1"additional public employee furloughs/a and teacher layoffs in order to protect their precious marginal rate, then so be it. pIt is worth noting that in 2007, prior to the economic crisis, the a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06111.html"median household income in Ventura County was just over $72,000/a. nbsp;Our bofficial/b unemployment rate now stands at a href="http://m.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/jun/19/no-headline---nxxfcjobs20/"9.5%/a. nbsp;Yet people like our educated and prosperous caller have absolutely no shame saying this sort of thing on the air. pNow, this caller was your typical gated community upper-middle-class "pull-the-ladder-up-behind-me" Republican. nbsp;Taken to the national level and the wealthiest elites, the ultimate goal is at best a a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rentier_state"rentier state/a, and a a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatism"corporatist state/a at worst, enforced through military power allied with the state to prevent popular revolt (hence a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/3/735048/-Gee,-wouldnt-a-coup-overthrowing-Obama-be-swell"Rush Limbaugh's adamant desire for an Honduras-style military coup to topple our own elected government/a). pOr, as one wealthy Republican put it at a national business conference I attended a few years ago in Washington, D.C.: pblockquoteThe goal needs to be to put everyone's savings into stocks. nbsp;If everyone owns Halliburton, then we wouldn't have all these problems. nbsp;People would say, "hey, I own that: it's mine!" and they wouldn't cause so much trouble over it./blockquote pIt would be a pleasant fiction to believe that the other side of our two-party system were not quite so venal, quite so short-sighted, and quite so extreme in their views of the ideal society. nbsp;But it's simply not the case. pThe people who hold the purse strings and dictate the policies of the Republican Party cannot be compromised with, because their vision of society does not and will not include anything but the most meager scraps for 95% of the population. nbsp;These are people who see a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Gekko"Gordon Gekko/a as a hero and role model. nbsp;It's no use looking behind the curtain to determine what reality they ireally/i believe in. nbsp;Their worldview really bis/b as scary as it looks. br /div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=eOPgd1phst4:BwSfcxF0jUQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=eOPgd1phst4:BwSfcxF0jUQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?i=eOPgd1phst4:BwSfcxF0jUQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=eOPgd1phst4:BwSfcxF0jUQ:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~4/eOPgd1phst4" height="1" width="1"/http://californiascapitol.com/blog/?p=426“Makes the Max Brothers stateroom scene look like the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.”                                    — Dennis Miller http://californiascapitol.com/blog/?p=427Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg and Senate GOP leader Dennis Hollingsworth had a 20-minute tete-a-tete the evening of July 2 at a table at Gallaghers, an Irish pub near the state Capitol on July 2. What the two men discussed is unknown but the conversation was not lubricated with alcohol so it couldn’t have [...]http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~3/gq6tnLFgdsM/get-yer-souvenir-ious-todayBloomberg a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087sid=aCErTL9hDR2o"reports/a that people are lining up for those souvenir Arnoldbucks. pblockquoteController Chiang said the warrants can be transferred between individuals, setting up the possibility that a secondary market for the IOUs may develop. Already ads are appearing on Web sites such as a href="http://www.craigslist.com/"Craigslist/a offering cash for the IOUs at below face value. pIn such a transaction, the person who gets the IOU would get most of the cash they were due the state, while the person buying the IOU might then hold onto it until maturity and earn the face value plus the 3.75 percent interest. pAt least one person offered to buy an IOU at more than face value as a keepsake. p"I am interested in purchasing a 'State of California IOU' as a souvenir," a href="http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/wan/1250650308.html"the ad reads/a. "I figure it would be an interesting thing to have around when my grandchildren are fighting over my stuff after I'm dead and gone. I will pay two times face value (up to $100, or $50 face value) for a warrant/IOU."/blockquote pOf course, after July 10, the deadline that banks like BofA and Wells have given for exchanging these IOUs for cash, souvenirs may be the only value for these IOUs for a few months. nbsp;Maybe Arnold will go to a baseball card convention and sign them himself! pHere's another a href="http://www.redding.com/news/2009/jul/01/who-will-and-wont-get-ious/"FAQ/a about who receives IOUs and who does not. nbsp;The unemployed, SSI/SSP recipients, state employees and retirees, IHSS and Medi-Cal providers will NOT receive IOUs. nbsp;Welfare recipients, contractors with the state, local governments, and income tax refund recipients WILL get them. nbsp;Felix Salmon a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/07/01/california-the-haves-and-have-nots/"made a handy chart/a that suggest the haves will keep getting paid and the have-nots won't, and that's somewhat true, but some have-nots who have the benefit of their services being partially provided by the Feds will get paid as well. nbsp;In general, where you stand does depend on where you sit, in this crisis. nbsp;This again makes clear that the idea of California debtholders, who get priority of payment in the state constitution over everything but education, getting stiffed by the state is a ridiculous one that pretty much cannot happen, and lowering bond ratings should be rightly seen as Wall Street gouging. pAnd I'll allow Karen Bass to a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-bass/if-governor-schwarzenegge_b_225016.html?view=print"explain exactly who's responsible/a for this particular outcome of IOUs and lowered bond ratings. pblockquoteSmall businesses, students, seniors, and taxpayers will all start receiving IOUS. This shameful day didn't have to arrive. In fact, Governor Schwarzenegger had several opportunities to prevent it. pOn June 12 Governor Schwarzenegger unilaterally blocked the Controller's authority to secure short-term loans to avoid the cash crisis. He said, "let them have a taste of what it is like when the state comes to a shutdown -- grinding halt." pOn June 25 after the governor called Senate Republicans to his office for private meetings, $4 billion in immediate cash solutions that had been passed on an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Assembly were killed in the Senate. pMost recently, the governor vetoed a comprehensive package of budget solutions supported by majorities in both houses of the legislature that would have resolved the $19.5 billion deficit, left a $4.0 billion reserve, avoided the cash crisis and prevented IOUs [...] pWe did offer, as a sign of good faith, to begin work immediately on reforms regarding restructuring Medi-Cal and eliminating fraud in the IHSS program. We also committed to working with the governor on other reform legislation for him to sign. But the governor wouldn't take "yes" for an answer. So California businesses, taxpayers and students will be receiving IOUs simply because Governor Schwarzenegger thought it was more important to immediately force last minute changes such as reducing future employee pensions, fingerprinting elderly and disabled Californians who receive services, and denying kids food stamps if their families can't access a computer to sign them up for the program./blockquote pSee a href="http://californiabudget.blogspot.com/2009/07/stranger-than-fiction.html"Noreen Evans/a for more. pThe budget gap a href="http://www.sacbee.com/politics/story/1997581.html?mi_rss=State%2520Politics"grows by $25 million a day/a and we have wasted billions of taxpayer dollars because the Governor wants to teach everyone a lesson. nbsp;I hope that IOU secondary market is bigger than eBay, because those suffering with the consequences of dysfunction are going to need the help. br /div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=gq6tnLFgdsM:k1OC0OBHQ2A:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=gq6tnLFgdsM:k1OC0OBHQ2A:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?i=gq6tnLFgdsM:k1OC0OBHQ2A:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=gq6tnLFgdsM:k1OC0OBHQ2A:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~4/gq6tnLFgdsM" height="1" width="1"/http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics/~3/WMPT4nbs0ZM/morning-briefs-and-outtakes-on-eve-of.html"Gone to Africa with the book ??" Are Tony and Lu off to Africa ?? At least we know that Mayor Villaraigosa has vacated his third floor confines for some "telepromptive speaking" and "R amp; R", but the mayor's chief spin-master is mum on whether girlfriend Lu Parker is along to provide some...br/ br/ [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=WMPT4nbs0ZM:vU_jrvGyCpM:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=WMPT4nbs0ZM:vU_jrvGyCpM:63t7Ie-LG7Y"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=WMPT4nbs0ZM:vU_jrvGyCpM:dnMXMwOfBR0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=WMPT4nbs0ZM:vU_jrvGyCpM:wF9xT3WuBAs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=WMPT4nbs0ZM:vU_jrvGyCpM:wF9xT3WuBAs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=WMPT4nbs0ZM:vU_jrvGyCpM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?i=WMPT4nbs0ZM:vU_jrvGyCpM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?a=WMPT4nbs0ZM:vU_jrvGyCpM:l6gmwiTKsz0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MayorSamsSisterCity-HomeOfLosAngelesPolitics?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"/img/a /divhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~3/VLQ8-R-PTAs/prop-8-remains-in-force-judge-wants-speedy-trialSaying that he wants the case to proceed beyond his court quickly, Judge Vaughn Walker denied a request for a preliminary injunction against Prop 8. nbsp; pblockquoteWalker on Thursday rejected a request from the Boies/Olson team that he suspend enforcement of the gay marriage ban while the challenge to it proceeds. pHe said he agreed with California Attorney General Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that allowing gay marriages to resume now would create unnecessary confusion for the state and same-sex newlyweds if Proposition 8 is upheld down the road. pBut Walker added that he wants to put the case on an accelerated timetable because it involves serious civil rights issues. He directed lawyers for the two couples and the ballot measure's sponsors to report back to him in writing by Aug. 7 with the issues they agree on up front and those that would need to be resolved at trial. br /*** br /"I am reasonably sure that, given the personalities in this courtroom, this case is only touching down in this court and it will have a life after this court," Walker said. "What happens here is in many ways a prelude to what happens later." (a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hVLXVV6bmG_wjIN5b_AzLQvPaKiwD996SD4G0"AP 7/3/09/a)/blockquote pFor the time being, there are no new marriages. This, of course, did not surprise anybody, as that particular tack seemed a long shot from day one. As for when the trial will be completed, well, when federal judges want a speedy completion to a case, they have ways of making that happen to a limited extent. However, there really is no guess as to when it will emerge from Judge Walker's court as too many variables are at play. pOf course, Olson and Boies have intended this case for an audience of 9, but that is still a couple of years away, even with a speedy trial at the district court level. The courts should be the last refuge from the tyranny of the majority, and the fact that Prop 8 violates several provisions of the Constitution mean that it should be struck down. nbsp;However, we should not rely on the courts in this instance; we are going to have to win a ballot fight at. Whether in 2010 or 2012, or whenever, a victory for marriage equality in California is only a few years away. And as California goes, so goes the nation. br /div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=VLQ8-R-PTAs:TsJsQwg4_9I:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=VLQ8-R-PTAs:TsJsQwg4_9I:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?i=VLQ8-R-PTAs:TsJsQwg4_9I:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?a=VLQ8-R-PTAs:TsJsQwg4_9I:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/CaliticsFeed?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CaliticsFeed/~4/VLQ8-R-PTAs" height="1" width="1"/http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2009/07/fully_fund_our.html by Jack O’Connell Superintendent of Public Instruction Californias voters – both those who voted and especially those who did not – made their voices heard in the May 19 special election on Propositions 1A-1F. But many politicians in Sacramento mistakenly seem convinced that the election results were a clear call... http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2009/07/cuts_would_jeop.html by Ana Acton Executive Director FREED Center for Independent Living June 22, 2009, marked the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark Olmstead decision. In its 1999 ruling, the high court affirmed the right of individuals with disabilities to live in their community of choice, and rejected the state...