Free Republic

Years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev were sitting in a backyard near Stanford, where Shultz was teaching. The two men discussed what they thought was the turning point in ending the Cold War. Gorbachev said it was two leaders — he and President Ronald Reagan — sitting in a room together, talking. Shultz said it was Reagan’s decision to show military might in 1983 by sending missiles to West Germany. “The strength we put on display was never used,” Shultz said. “Strength works hand in...

James Chanos, the famed short seller who was among the first to foresee the collapse of Enron, recently sounded the alarm on the municipal-bond market -- in the hallowed halls of the New York Historical Society, no less. The "cracking of state and local municipalities is coming," he predicted at a recent meeting attended by Barron's staffer Susan Witty, adding that he wouldn't touch munis. In a subsequent telephone interview with this columnist, Chanos said, "State and local municipal finance are a mess and going to get worse." It's not just the recession, which has reduced tax receipts. Rather, he...

The charge that State Assemblyman Churck DeVore is making; “don’t be fooled again”. California has its own Dede Scozzafava in the GOP’s newest candidate, Carly Fiorina. On Thursday afternoon I spoke with Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, candidate for US Senate himself. A day after Carly Fiorina’s launch into the primary race, DeVore reiterated his charge that she is a moderate, a centrist, and a pragmatic individual – who has waffled on major issues and decided that voting is something beneath her. DeVore is ready to rumble; he made clear his charges that Carly Fiorina is a close proximity to New York’s...

United Commercial Bank, a big San Francisco bank with branches in China, was closed by state regulators on Friday and its banking operations were acquired by East West Bancorp Inc, also active in both nations. East West (EWBC.O) said the transaction made it the second-largest independent bank in California. Based in Pasadena, East West has 137 U.S. branches, including offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston and Seattle, and four in China.

John P. Gaffaney, 56, lobbied for 3 years to return to active duty. John P. Gaffaney already had retired from the Army as a major, already had won his 20-year service award in the San Diego county government as a supervisor in a program that helps elderly people through abuse and mental health crises. But at 56, trained as a psychiatric nurse, he longed to return to active duty in the Army National Guard. For three years, a board kept rejecting him because he had a hearing problem, according to Ellen Schmeding, an administrator in the county agency for which...

The Legislature's top administrators have asked Attorney General Jerry Brown to decide whether pending 18 percent cuts to lawmakers' pay and benefits were legally approved by the California Citizens Compensation Commission. Jon Waldie, chief administrative officer of the Assembly, and Greg Schmidt, chief executive officer of the Senate, suggest that the reductions were beyond the jurisdiction of the seven-member commission, which is appointed by the governor. Citing the state's dire fiscal condition, the panel in May cut the pay for state officials by 18 percent beginning in December 2010 – after the next round of legislative elections. The cut will...

Mayor Gavin Newsom was spotted this morning at City Hall, but there's still no word on his mysterious disappearance. He arrived at his office at about 9:30 a.m., walking past members of the media who were hoping he'd comment on his absence. No such luck. "The mayor is back, and he's busy conducting meetings in his office in City Hall right now," said his spokesman, Nathan Ballard. Newsom is meeting with staff and plans to meet with both sides of the hotel workers' dispute sometime today, Ballard said. He is not planning to make any public appearances. "He's been kept...

Oakland Mayor Ronald V. Dellums owes the residents of this great city an explanation. And if he can't provide one, he owes his resignation. ... He is a hometown hero entrusted with the highest public office Oakland can offer. His $239,000 tax bill is peanuts compared with the weight of his responsibility as Oakland mayor. Anyone can make an honest mistake, and if that's all this is, then no harm, no foul. But Oakland residents deserve to know why the mayor was unable to handle his legal obligation to pay income taxes, .. ... They are deserving of far more...

The voters be damned: That seems to be Speaker Nancy Pelosi's attitude in the wake of big Democratic losses on Tuesday. "House Democratic leaders, undeterred by delays in the Senate or this week's Republican electoral triumphs, plan to call a vote Saturday on the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. health-care policy in four decades," Bloomberg reports: The House will move on the $1.05 trillion legislation that would cover 36 million uninsured people and create a government plan to compete with private insurers even after the election of Republican governors in New Jersey and Virginia. President Barack Obama will go to...

Monterey Bay researchers say dolphins are causing porpoise deaths For the past five years, the growing number of dead harbor porpoises washing up on California shores has been a marine mystery — until now. In September, marine biologists with Okeanis, a nonprofit conservation group based in Moss Landing, captured the only video footage taken in Monterey Bay of bottlenose dolphins attacking and killing a porpoise. Scientists suspected dolphins, which have a relatively docile reputation, have been attacking the smaller porpoises because the porpoises have been washing up on the shore with rake marks and internal bleeding, but they never had...

WATCH VIDEO (1:43)chuckdevore.com - Nobody is really sure what Carly Fiorina really stands for. In the past year she has supported the bailout parts of the stimulus, cap and tax, and other liberal policies proposed by President Obama and Barbara Boxer. Can we really trust Carly on these issues?

Up to one-fourth of the 110,000 jobs reported as saved by federal stimulus money in California probably never were in danger, a Bee review has found. California State University officials reported late last week that they saved more jobs with stimulus money than the number of jobs saved in Texas – and in 44 other states. In a required state report to the federal government, the university system said the $268.5 million it received in stimulus funding through October allowed it to retain 26,156 employees. That total represents more than half of CSU's statewide work force. However, university officials confirmed...

From major conferences at the Moscone Center to small coffee shops in the Mission, San Franciscans are buzzing about Mayor Gavin Newsom and the stunning turn of fortune that in a few short days took him from being a candidate for governor to hiding out in Hawaii. From Newsom's highs, like his law-breaking same-sex marriages in 2004, to his lows, like an admitted affair and alcohol problem in 2007, the telegenic, risk-prone mayor has always given his constituents something to wag their tongues about - and this bizarre chapter is no different. Last Friday, hours after speaking before a bank...

Carly Fiorina (R) on Thursday announced the endorsements of eight Republican senators for her just-launched California Senate campaign. After primary opponent Chuck DeVore annonced the backing of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) this week, Fiorina fought back with Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), John McCain (Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Olympia Snowe (Maine).

I decided to run for this seat in CD-7, because the incumbent, George Miller has demonstrated over 38 long years that he is out of touch with the needs of a significant portion of his constituency and many of his neglectful policies are disastrous to traditional families and our communities. As your Congresswoman, I have great plans for rebuilding the inner cities of the 7th Congressional District that have deteriorated under very high crime rates and unsafe conditions due to decades of neglect by the incumbent. I’m a proud, Reagan style conservative with common sense and I am running for...

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.

SAN JOSE -- Three teenagers and a Milpitas man have been arrested in the Halloween shooting and stabbing of two trick-or-treaters in San Jose whom they mistook for rival gang members, police said. The victims, boys ages 12 and 13, were attacked while trick-or-treating. The younger boy was shot in the head and remains in critical condition. The older boy was stabbed and has been released from a hospital.

Hot Money HIGHLIGHTS New Financing Source Tied to Immigration Providing "Cheap Equity" for Development Projects in LA This program was started by congress in 1990 to allow high net worth foreign individuals to invest in the US and thereby qualify for citizenship. Segregated by industry and geography. “Pilot” program allows for a regional center to pool these investors. Equity wants only 5-8% yield, so is priced like debt. Program Highlights: LA County only; Census tracts with 150% of national average unemployment rate Construction is best; Hotels, manufacturing, retail, medical office/hospital, and ALF/SNF; This zone specifically targets medical and ALF/SNF; Multifamily...

Daytime Diva Giving Up Syndicated Talk Show & Moving To Her Cable Network In 2011 (exerpt) The industry has been betting that the daytime diva would extend The Oprah Winfrey Show for at least another year or two because of the huge cash license fees which stations have long paid her. But people around Oprah are telling me that won't happen. They say that Discovery Communications chief David Zaslav has demanded that Oprah "move it or lose it" -- move her talk show to OWN, or risk losing the Oprah Winfrey Network altogether. I've learned that in coming days Winfrey...

Reporting from Sacramento - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have a plum political post to dole out after Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is sworn into Congress today, vacating the No. 2 slot in California government. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has the power to name the replacement for Garamendi, a Democrat, in a political decision that has been much chattered about in Sacramento. That power, however, doesn't rest with Schwarzenegger alone: The Democratic-dominated Legislature must confirm his pick, setting up a potential showdown. Further complicating matters, four sitting state senators are seeking the post in 2010. The lieutenant governor has few official powers,...

Former eBay executive Meg Whitman has opened up a wide lead in the Republican race for governor, according to the latest Capitol Weekly/Probolsky Research poll. About a third of Republicans and decline-to-state voters who said they intend to vote Republican said they favor Whitman, who has a 3-to-1 edge over rival contender Tom Campbell, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner remains stuck in a distant third, with 5.5 percent of Republican support. The numbers show a significant increase in recent weeks for Whitman that reflects her prodigious spending. Already, seven months before the primary and full year before the general election, Whitman...

Welcome to California government, 80 percent-style. This is the first of 12 weeks in a row that the state will shut down every Friday. Between unpaid furlough days and paid holidays off, most California civil servants won't work a five-day week again until Jan. 29. But how much will the public notice – or care? We've had nine months to adjust to a part-time state government. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger started furloughing workers two days per month in February and upped it to three "Furlough Fridays" in July. Meanwhile, the public's most acute fiscal pain is closer to home. "Cities, counties,...

Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive officer, announced Wednesday she will run for a U.S. Senate seat from California. The announcement by Mrs. Fiorina, a Republican, ends months of speculation about her plans to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer, the three-term Democratic incumbent. "Get ready," Mrs. Fiorina said during a town-hall-style event in Orange County. "I can take a punch, and I can throw a punch. I'm not a brawler, and I'm not a boxer, [but] I can take on Barbara Boxer." Her campaign so far has played out in quintessential Southern California style. The event was held at...

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The city of San Francisco has banned the declawing of cats, calling it a barbaric procedure that leads to stress and chronic pain. The city's Board of Supervisors voted 7-2 Tuesday to outlaw the procedure. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, chief sponsor of the legislation, called declawing cruel, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

We are proud to endorse Chuck DeVore for U.S. Senate in California. Chuck DeVore is a proven, tested conservative who is gaining momentum. He’s the kind of leader we can count on to stand up for common sense conservative principles in the United States Senate. The Senate Conservatives Fund recently conducted an online poll of our members to see which candidate in California they supported. With 2,688 total votes cast, Chuck DeVore was the clear winner with 90% of the vote. We’ve examined DeVore’s record and interviewed him in person. We are confident that Chuck DeVore is ready to come...

The morning after Republicans lost an upstate New York House seat, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned that conservative activists will bring destruction to the Republican Party if they drive out moderate candidates across the country. “To those people who are pursuing purity, you’ll become a club not a party,” Graham told POLITICO in the Capitol Wednesday. “Those people who are trying to embrace conservatism in a thoughtful way that fits the region and the state and the district are going to do well. Conservativism is an asset. Blind ideology is not.” Graham, who has sparred with his party’s right wing...

Here it is!!!!!!!!!

L.A. Doctor Accused of Faking Medical Exams for Immigrants November 4, 2009 A 72-year-old Los Angeles doctor was accused by state and federal authorities of faking medical exams for immigrants applying for U.S. visas, officials said. According to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Levon Tebelekian allegedly charged immigrants $150 to give them medical clearance papers without giving them medical exams. Such exams are required by the federal government to make sure immigrants don't have any diseases. It is unclear whether any of the immigrants involved in the alleged scam had any health problems.

State Review Found Multiple Failures in the Supervision of Phillip Garrido...California parole officers failed to properly supervise the man accused of holding Jaycee Dugard captive for 18 years and missed numerous opportunities to free her, according to a scathing report released today by the Office of the Inspector General. A months-long investigation headed by California Inspector General David R. Shaw turned up more than a dozen failures on the part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which had been assigned to supervise Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender, for the last 10 years. "Our review shows that Garrido...

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) endorsed conservative California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R) Tuesday, once again going against the wishes of his party. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has made no endorsement in the California Senate race, but party leaders favor former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina (R), a wealthy centrist whom many believe could give Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) a strong challenge. Later this month, Fiorina will be the guest of honor at a Washington fundraiser featuring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and three others,...

Nov 4, 2009 Chuck DeVore statement on Carly Fiorina Declaring her Candidacy FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- DeVore for California, the campaign organization for Chuck DeVore's bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in California, today welcomes the entry of Carly Fiorina to the race. Fiorina's arrival means Republican voters have a clear choice in this primary: between an establishment-picked, big-government moderate with lots of cash but little experience in public life -- and a volunteer-supported, proven conservative with a long record of civic engagement in Chuck DeVore. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore said, "I look forward to engaging Carly Fiorina on...

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) on Wednesday promoted a round of Republican victories in last night's elections in a letter to supporters. The 2012 presidential hopeful plugged the triumphs of Republican gubernatorial candidates Bob McDonnell (Va.) and Chris Christie (N.J.), emphasizing that his political action committee's endorsement and campaign work for the two candidates. "It's exhilarating to wake up to headlines of conservative victories in the battleground elections in Virginia and New Jersey," Romney wrote. "The American people have sent a very strong message to the liberals in Washington, DC that big government is not the answer, and that conservatism...

It's understandable that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, having given up on his gubernatorial ambitions, might want to take time to lick wounds, lie low and, as my colleague C.W. Nevius suggests, do some reflecting. Unfortunately, there's important and immediate mayoral business to attend to. When Newsom's press secretary, Nathan Ballard, told The Chronicle that Newsom will be back "soon," one hoped he meant this morning. That's when Newsom was scheduled to speak to 6,000 land-use professionals, architects, planners, real estate developers and other urban experts from all over the world at the opening of the Urban Land Institute conference...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal police on Tuesday arrested 12 supporters of a single-payer health care system who entered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco offices and refused to leave until they talked to the congresswoman. Police arrested them for creating a disturbance on federal property nearly three hours after they entered Pelosi's offices. Pelosi was not in the office and did not talk to them by telephone.The protesters, who are in favor of a system administered by the federal government but delivered by private health care providers, entered the waiting room of Pelosi's offices about 11:45 a.m. and were arrested...

After three days of radio silence following his withdrawal from the governor's race, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom unexpectedly jetted off Tuesday morning to Hawaii to join his wife and baby daughter, who already were vacationing there. The trip, which the mayor apparently booked on his own, caught his staffers off guard. Many did not know he was gone until the city attorney's office sent out a notice informing them that the mayor had left the state and naming Supervisor Carmen Chu acting mayor.Mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard apparently was among those who did not get a heads-up about the trip....

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina says she'll run for the U.S. Senate seat held by California incumbent Barbara Boxer. Fiorina ended months of speculation Wednesday with an announcement in an opinion piece she wrote for the Orange County Register. She's scheduled to make a formal announcement later in the day.

100.00% (264 of 264) precincts partially or fully reporting as of Nov 4, 2009, 12:13 a.m. Candidate Votes Percent David Harmer (Rep) 53,441 42.69% Jeremy Cloward (Grn) 2,314 1.85% Jerome "Jerry" Denham (AI) 1,435 1.15% John Garamendi (Dem) 66,311 52.98% Mary C. McIlroy (P&F) 1,672 1.34% Nov 2008 Ellen Tauscher (Dem) 192,226 65.2% Nicholas Gerber (Rep) 91,877 31.1% Eugene Ruyle (Peace and Freedom) 11,062 3.7% Nov 2006 Ellen Tauscher (Dem) 130,859 66.5% Darcy Linn (Rep) 66,069 33.5% Nov 2004 Ellen Tauscher (Dem) 182,750 65.8% Jeff Ketelson (Rep) 95,349 34.2% Nov 2002 Ellen Tauscher (Dem) 126,390 75.6% Sonia Alonso (Libertarian) 40,807...

There's an old story about a Harvard professor who gets a call from the president (of the United States) and responds that his president is the president of Harvard. Being a professor at Harvard is like that. Academics in Cambridge are a big deal; Harvard is an amazing place; and if you're lucky enough to make it there, you generally never leave. Why would you? I left for the University of Southern California 20 years ago. It was not an obvious move at the time, unless you were a football coach. But I was pregnant with my daughter, and short...

Long lines at public flu clinics -- initially intended to primarily serve the uninsured -- are now commonplace nationwide as doses of the vaccine remain scarce. Many clinics report seeing large numbers of people who have insurance but have been unable to get H1N1 vaccines from private doctors, who say they have either already run out or have yet to get any. The line at the Glendale clinic, the first to be held in that city since Los Angeles County received doses late last month, was the longest yet, county Department of Public Health officials said. And the stakes were...

Underprivileged Mexican immigrants – legal or otherwise – are everywhere in Huntington Beach. At car washes, behind the mowers, in kitchens and in strawberry fields, they toil at jobs we won't do for wages we can't live on. And, yet, many people resent their being here at all. Some of those whom I know are here legally; many are not. And, frankly, I don't care. Those who took horrendous risks to get into our country and who live in constant fear of deportation are here to build a better life for themselves and their children... Unfortunately, it is politically expedient...

Divisions in the majority party in the House and Senate could delay legislation into the new year. Abortion funding in particular shows a chasm between party liberals and moderates. Reporting from Washington - House Democratic leaders, while insisting that the finish line is in sight on their overhaul of the nation's healthcare system, have hit a last-minute snag over the abortion issue. Senate Democratic leaders, meanwhile, are continuing to have problems winning over moderates in their own party -- raising the possibility that the climactic votes on healthcare might be pushed into next year. The delays in both houses reflect...

By seizing gubernatorial seats in Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans on Tuesday dispelled any notion of President Obama's electoral invincibility, giving the GOP a lift and offering warning signs to Democrats ahead of the 2010 midterm elections. With Obama slipping in polls and many voters unhappy with the Democratic-run Congress, "it's been increasingly clear over the last few months that Democrats were likely to have a tough midterm next year," said Charlie Cook, who handicaps races nationwide for his nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "What we've seen tonight doesn't dispute that assumption." Tuesday's gubernatorial results certainly won't help Democrats. Perceptions are...

SANTA ANA – Deputy Coroners, meet "Manny the Mannequin." At about 80 pounds, this balding silicone dummy is the newest addition to the Orange County Sheriff Department's coroner division. With porous skin, varicose feet and human hair, the life-like mannequin was purchased by the sheriff's department with a grant to add a new dimension to their training, authorities said. In their Santa Ana headquarters, the sheriff's coroner division has used dummies in their training before, but none are as life-like as this newest addition. The dummy comes from a Burbank company that has spawned similar creations for recent television shows...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi has won a special election to a Northern California congressional seat, keeping the district in Democratic hands. Garamendi's victory on Tuesday was all but certain after he won the September primary election because Democrats enjoy an 18-point registration edge over Republicans in the 10th Congressional District. He easily defeated Republican David Harmer, a 47-year-old attorney.

A man was found dead attached to a crab pot Tuesday on a boat off Morro Bay, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A person on board a fishing boat named Miss Allison reported finding 47-year-old David Allen Kubiak of Los Osos attached to a crab pot around 11:35 a.m. The crab pot is registered to the fishing vessel Axel, a 39-foot boat home ported in Morro Bay, Coast Guard officials said. Sheriff's spokesman Rob Bryn said it appears Kubiak fell from the vessel sometime overnight. His body was discovered tied to a fishing buoy at 10:40 this morning.

While press and pundits focus almost ad nauseum on what will happen Tuesday in New York's 23rd Congressional District, as well as the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, everyone has forgotten the battle being waged for the California congressional seat vacated by Ellen Tauscher when she resigned to become a member of President Obama's State Department. To be sure, the 10th Congressional District of the Golden State is a Democratic stronghold, especially after some recent gerrymandering. The latest poll shows Democratic candidate and current Lt. Gov. John Garamendi with a commanding 10-point lead over Republican challenger David Harmer,...

DIAMOND BAR, Calif. — A cluster of brush fires erupted along the fringes of suburban neighborhoods in eastern Los Angeles County on Tuesday. Helicopters and SuperScooper airplanes roared low over homes to drop loads of water on the flames in hilly terrain just outside back yards. Lines of widely separated flame moved across rolling grasslands. Weather appeared to be on firefighters' side, with little wind evident. County Fire Inspector Steve Zermeno said reports of five to eight separate fires near State Route 60 came in about 11:45. The area is about 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. About 150...

FORT IRWIN, Calif., Nov. 3, 2009 – As the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade prepares for its fourth deployment to Iraq, its soldiers are getting lessons in the art of leading from behind as they help to set the stage for the eventual drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq. Army Pfc. Adam Britt prepares to leave the mock Iraqi town of Medina Wasl during 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Divison's training rotation at the National Training Center. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jared S. Eastman  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The "Raider Brigade" was part of the initial U.S. invasion...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A 32-year veteran who helped clean up a corruption-plagued division of the Los Angeles Police Department was unveiled Wednesday as the city's new top cop. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the appointment of deputy chief Charlie Beck as head of the LAPD following the decision of chief William Bratton to resign earlier this year. Villaraigosa said Beck was "the right man to lead the Los Angeles Police Department at the right time." "He's a man of character and integrity. He's a police officer who is tough on crime, and he's a leader with deep respect...

Sheriff: Boy Drowned Before Being Stuffed In Dryer Tuesday, November 3, 2009 Mendota, Calif. (AP) -- The Fresno County sheriff says the 4-year-old boy whose body was found stuffed in a dryer had been killed by drowning. Sheriff Margaret Mims released the finding from Monday's autopsy, but declined to say how or where Alex Mercado was drowned. She did say he was killed before volunteers launched a citywide search for him on Saturday. A 14-year-old neighbor boy has been arrested on suspicion of killing Alex. Investigators say the little boy was playing outside when the 14-year-old, whose name has not...