Free Republic

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, on Tuesday signed a bill that no longer requires any "able-bodied person 18 years of age or older" in the state to help an officer who requests assistance during an arrest. The Sacramento Bee reported that the old law, the California Posse Comitatus Act of 1872, was common in the country’s early days, but Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Los Angeles Democrat who sponsored the bill, called the old law a “vestige of a bygone era." The law was employed to help catch runaway slaves, the report said.

Huggy Bear accused of improper and unwanted hugging. A new charge against an important elected official. This one stunned me so deeply I called his office because I have known Huggy Bear for 20 years and I could not imagine him doing anything untoward to a woman. I offered to defend him though he is of the other political persuasion. Huggy Bear is Bob Hertzberg, currently a state senator in California and former speaker of the Assembly. Everyone knows that Bob is a hugger. Bob would hug a parking enforcement person giving him a traffic ticket. One person I know...

If there is indeed currently a three-way race for mayor of Los Angeles, there will be a run-off. Assuming Parks and Alarcon are out of the running, and making the somewhat dubious assumption that Walter Moore is in the running, here are the six possibilities: Villaraigosa - Hertzberg: Villaraigosa might lose Villaraigosa - Hahn: Villaraigosa might lose Villaraigosa - Moore: Villaraigosa would probably win Hertzberg - Hahn: Hertzberg would probably win Hertzberg - Moore: Hertzberg would probably win Hahn - Moore: Hahn would probably win If Parks withdraws and throws his support to Villaraigosa, that would create a major problem....