[Liz]

Another famous Churchill story——a woman political opponent said to him, “If I were married to you, I’d put poison in your coffee.”

Churchill replied:” And if I were married to you, I’d drink it.”

[Liz]

HERE'S WHY THEY'RE ENDORSING JERRY Cali's "money machine" to buy votes for politicians was engineered in the 1970s when California's legislature cleared the way for public-employee unions to organize and bargain. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed the crucial bill in 1978.

REFERENCE California debt may be half a trillion dollars: They knew in 11/29/09..........and earlier.
Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee, 11/29/09
FR Posted by SmithL

Just days before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators finalized a water package, including an $11.1 billion bond issue, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer warned them not to do it. California is already deeply in debt, Lockyer warned, has huge budget deficits and can't afford another big bond issue. "The days of blithely heaping more and more debt burden on the general fund are over – at least they should be," Lockyer said.

The earmark-laden bond issue, the package's single most controversial element, raises an interesting question: Just how deeply in debt are our state and local governments? The answer: No one knows for certain, since debt is scattered through myriad agencies in many forms, but well over a half-trillion dollars is a fair estimate.

Lockyer's warning pertained to the state's "general obligation debt," which currently stands at $59 billion, and there are an additional $50-plus billion in general obligation bonds that have not yet been sold.

The biggest chunks of debt, however, are the unfunded obligations for pensions and health care of retired public employees. (Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...