Free Republic

The desperate demand for dollars expresses itself in many ways. Shane Goldmacher and Evan Halper report for LaTi: Facing a budget deficit of more than $20 billion, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to call for deep reductions in already suffering local mass transit programs, renew his push to expand oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast and appeal to Washington for billions of dollars in federal help, according to state officials and lobbyists familiar with the plan. If Washington does not provide roughly $8 billion in new aid for the state, the governor threatens to severely cut back -- if...

Click photo to enlarge Sherman "Tony" Fontano with his dog, 'Magnum', at his San Jose home Thursday... ( Patrick Tehan ) * « * 1 * » After his brothers watched a newscast about the national movement to carry guns in public, they told Sherman "Tony" Fontano he could do that himself. Two San Jose police officers also said it would be OK. So this week, Fontano, 74, put his unloaded .357 Magnum into his waistband and took a walk with his girlfriend. But he was soon surrounded by police who had their own guns drawn. Unfortunately, nobody had mentioned...

An armed robber was fatally shot after he and two accomplices tried to ambushed their would-be victims. Police say that a Marrero, Louisiana couple was walking from their driveway to their house when a trio of armed robbers approached and brandished a gun. One of the would-be victims reportedly drew his own gun and shot one of the robbers. The robber's two accomplices are said to have fled, leaving the couple unharmed. The robber, whose name was not released pending notification of his relatives, died at a nearby hospital, according to police. As we’ve seen in the USA as well...

ALAMO — In a botched robbery Thursday night, a suspect shot a jewelry store employee who returned fire and shot the male robber, a sheriff's spokesman said. The shooting reportedly occurred at 7:15 p.m. during an attempted robbery at Alamo Jewelry Mart, 3189 Danville Blvd. The victim, a 53-year-old Hercules resident, who was shot in the upper torso, was rushed to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, investigators said, and was in fair condition. Once police arrived, the suspect, who also was shot, holed himself in the store, holding a handgun to his own head, said Contra Costa sheriff's...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Wednesday had the potential to be the coldest day yet as a cold spell held its grip on the Bay Area, a National Weather Service forecaster said. Forecaster Duane Dykema said Wednesday could top Tuesday, when a number of Bay Area cities saw record low temperatures, as the coldest day of the week. A freeze warning was in effect Wednesday night into Thursday morning for the North Bay interior valleys, where low temperatures were expected in the 20s. On Tuesday, San Rafael had a low of 28 degrees, tying the city's previous record for the date...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles elected the first female bishop in its 114-year history Friday but ended voting for the day with one of two openly gay candidates still vying for the second bishop's position.Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce, rector of St. Clement's-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church in San Clemente, was elected Friday at the diocese's annual convention to replace one of two retiring assistant bishops.Bruce, who was elected in the convention's third ballot, is a former bank executive who has spent the past 12 years working as a priest in Orange County.Voting for the second spot did...

Fresno –The U–Save liquor store on Tulare and Maple Avenues in Fresno was open for business the day after a store clerk turned the table on an armed robber. Police say 29–year–old Fernando Valencia and another man tried to rob the clerk at gunpoint Sunday night. Valencia had a semi–automatic gun, and so did the store clerk. "He had pointed the firearm at the business owner, at some point in time the business owner became fearful, when he found an opportunity to shoot the suspect, he did," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer. Valencia died inside the store. Valencia has...

Recently Jim Robinson posted two threads declaring Free Republic’s determination to see Conservatives elected and ousting Rino's from government. Jim and a great many Freepers believe that we need to take back control. But the RNC is not hearing us. Activism is called for NOW. 2010 is nearing and we need Conservative candidates to run. The time is ripe and people are ready for another 1994 type election. But we need to make the RNC hear us loud and clear. This is the Rino Free America Project. Get involved. Make them listen. Write a letter and MAIL it. Republican...

Senators have to find a balance between voting their conscience and voting as their constituents would like. If senators vote their conscience too heavily, constituents tend to get angry. When this happens, constituents may ask for a recall of their U.S. Senator. (The 5 steps are listed in detail) -- The 18 states allowing for recall are as follows: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.

With California facing a potential $21 billion dollar deficit, a near riot broke out at government operated UCLA, over a proposed 32% tuition hike. VIDEO AT SITE UCLA's Daily Bruin reports: A crowd of more than 500 demonstrators rushed Covel Commons on Wednesday to protest a proposed 32 percent student fee increase. They were met by dozens of university police, some of whom were outfitted in riot gear. At one point, protesters broke through police barricades that surrounded the main entrance to Covel. Officers responded to the stampede of students and union workers by extending the metal barricades around the...

In a report highlighting the "open carry" gun movement, KTVU's Lloyd LaCuesta interviewed locals who are hanging out in public, packing heat and exerting their Second Amendment right for all the world to see. Advocates across the country are picnicking together, going to zoos, going to church and picking up trash. Most notably, supporters protested Obama this past summer. In the Bay area, David Julian, 27, and others are hanging out at a Cupertino Starbucks, sipping their Venti coffees with guns holstered to their hips. Supporters, who appear to come from all backgrounds, also say they're toting firearms to educate...

SACRAMENTO — Jerry Brown was sounding downright conservative when he told a group of corporate attorneys last week that the state's businesses are burdened with too many regulations. And, previously, he insisted state government needed more downsizing, dismissing higher taxes as an antidote to California's growing economic problems. (snip) "This state is ungovernable and in a mess, and we need to be hearing from Jerry Brown how he gets us out of this mess," said Robert Cruickshank, the public policy director for the Courage Campaign, a liberal advocacy group. "Cutting regulations is not the answer. It doesn't get teachers back...

Attorney General Jerry Brown, a likely Democratic candidate for governor next year, faces political blowback no matter how he rules on the undercover videotaping by conservative filmmakers at offices of the community group ACORN in Southern California. Brown is investigating the filmmakers, who posed as a prostitute and a pimp, for possible violations of state privacy laws. He is also investigating the group for what is shown in the video: an employee of ACORN apparently advising the filmmakers how to smuggle Mexican girls across the border to work as prostitutes. After the tapes were released, House Republicans used a series...

A play depicting Jesus as a gay man played to an appreciative audience in a packed church sanctuary tonight while a handful of protesters outside called it blasphemous. It was the second showing of "Corpus Christi" in Orange County in about two years. The show sparked protests and bomb threats at its 1998 opening at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York. The play depicts Jesus as a gay man living in 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas, playwright Terrence McNally's hometown. The cast of 13 portray Jesus and the 12 Apostles. The Church of the Foothills in Santa Ana received hate...

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The next time you get your pay check you'll notice a little less money as the state is now holding more of your income. It's not a new tax, but rather more of an interest free loan. Starting Nov. 1, the state increased the amount of money withheld in your paycheck by 10-percent. It was part of the budget package approved back in February, but it collects no additional tax revenue as it just gives the state the money earlier.

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.

David Harmer, the Republican candidate for Congress in California's special election in their 10th congressional election, does have a chance of winning this election today. While running in a district which has not elected a Republican in decades, their last Congresswoman easily claimed victory with near 70% of the vote, and it is rated D+11, does not seem possible. Then again, 2009 has not been a normal election year, as we have two interesting Gubernatorial elections on the eastern seaboard, a special congressional election which has the Nation watching in Upstate New York, and the future of the Conservative movement,...

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with U.S. Bank, NA, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, to assume all of the deposits and essentially all of the assets of nine failed banks. The nine banks were closed this evening by federal and state bank regulators, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. The nine banks involved in today's transaction are: Bank USA, National Association, Phoenix, Arizona; California National Bank, Los Angeles, California; San Diego National Bank, San Diego, California; Pacific National Bank, San Francisco, California; Park National Bank, Chicago, Illinois; Community...

I just this clip from Monday. Click Source above or use this link. http://www.fubho.net/?p=281

In what could prove to be bad news for local oil producers and those seeking employment in the West Kern County oil patch, California Assemblymen Pedro Nava (D - Santa Barbara) has called for a 10 percent oil severance tax on all oil produced in California. "California oil companies are getting a free ride," said Nava. "California is the only major oil producing state that does not charge a severance tax on oil extraction. California has been giving away public assets to Big Oil for far too long." Nava, who is a democrat candidate for California Attorney General next year,...

Why isn't there a independent candidate in California to take on Pelosi? The country would back and send gobs of money to that campaign. Doug Hoffman in NY is doing it despite the rinos. Where are the conservatives in California, or have you all been Arnolded? I believe if a TRUE CONSERVATIVE would emerge, Sarah Palin would endorse that candidate. One of you CA Freepers needs to throw your hat in the ring and make it happen. We really to dasshole pelosi.

With the nomination of Democratic Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher to a high level position in the Obama administration, a special election has been called for the vacant congressional seat in California's tenth congressional district, a traditionally liberal district, however, with a special election looming, anything can happen. Republican David Harmer is seeking to replace Tauscher in the United States Congress, restore Conservatism to the district, and ride on a wave of anti-government feelings which has circulated across the Nation. While Harmer might have more momentum then Republicans have previously had while running in this district, the district is D+11, supported Obama...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bsb2l-C7MM

Carly Fiorina is emerging as a potential GOP challenger for the US Senate seat of Bay Area liberal Barbara Boxer next year, and the prospect has energized the California Republican Party. Not yet an official candidate, Ms. Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett Packard (HP) and was an economic adviser to Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid last year. Like Meg Whitman, who just announced her campaign for governor, Fiorina is a newcomer to politics with very deep pockets. She has registered a campaign committee that reportedly had a strong presence at the state GOP convention this past weekend in...

Belmont, Calif., Sep 24, 2009 / 03:38 am (CNA).- Notre Dame High school in Belmont, California has responded to reports it had been registered to show films and use school materials produced by a homosexual activist group. The school says it has not shown such films, has not used related materials and has also requested it be removed from the group’s website and database.Youth in Motion, a partnership between the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media group Frameline, claimed on its website that over 200 California high schools and middle schools had signed up...

About This Video Title: National Impact Description: How California's crop crisis is affecting America's produce WATCH THE VIDEO!

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7715-Portland-Civil-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d15-ACORN--Exposed-in-San-Bernadino If it is not yet apparent that ACORN is a corrupt organization that encourages a culture of corruption within its ranks, here is further video evidence; this time from San Bernadino California. In this expose, an ACORN employee admits to murder of her husband, threatens another individual also in the video. She also admits to having run an “escort” service, and gave advice on how to educate (or not) the underage girls that “Eden” was going to be housing and using in the brothel she was attempting to get ACORN’s assistance in financing. Between the corporate practice of using...

Assemblyman Michael Duvall (R) Orange County is caught on a hot mic speaking about spanking and more; talks about relationship with woman 19 yrs younger than the married father; runs from reporter than avoids him.

As the fire and homicide investigation continues, officials say several firefighters were exposed to cyanide gas in two separate incidents as they were mopping up hot spots near the small city of Acton on the northern edge of the massive blaze. The poisonous cyanide fumes are suspected in acute breathing problems suffered by Los Angeles firefighters battling the Station Fire in the Aliso Canyon. One firefighters suffered life-threatening respiratory arrest and remains in hospital after she was knocked out by noxious fumes on Sept. 1 near Acton. Two days later, six firefighters suffered severe breathing difficulties in another part of...

And in a big way. A lot of you have seen the great ads produced by a group called Catholics Come Home. The ads, evidently, are working. And spreading. From the Los Angeles Times: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento is home to nearly 1 million Catholics. On a typical Sunday, less than 137,000 can be found in church. Now, using a strategy straight from the secular playbook, its leaders hope to lure back those who have drifted. The diocese and nearly a dozen others across the country are preparing to air several thousand prime-time TV commercials in English and...

SAN FRANCISCO — With the close of this year’s legislative session fast approaching, a bill that would ban gun shows at the Cow Palace in Daly City is expected to go before the state Assembly by Sept. 11. SB 585, authored by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, was approved in a 21-18 vote by the state Senate in June. The local community — the Cow Palace sits on the border of San Mateo County and San Francisco — doesn’t like the gun shows because they encourage illegal gun sales and violence, Leno told The Examiner. The location is near Sunnydale...

Michelle Malkin: Independent TV documentarian Jan Helfeld asks California Democrat Rep. Pete Stark about the national debt and the economy. Stark tells him repeatedly to “shut up,

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Authorities say a man who shot and killed two men and wounded another in a Sacramento apartment early Monday was acting in self-defense. Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran says authorities declined to arrest the 26-year-old man after witnesses reported that the three men confronted the man outside his apartment, then broke in and continued the attack after he had retreated inside. Investigators say during the attack, the man retrieved a handgun and shot all three attackers. Two of the attackers died at the scene. The third, a 23-year-old, was taken to a hospital. He is expected...

California has long been a gun control breeding ground. It has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, and though has a process for obtaining a license to carry a concealed handgun, it is a "may issue" permitting process meaning California sheriffs can issue licenses but only if they want to. Most don't. That may be changing for on sheriff as budget cuts have forced him to realize that some people really are on their own and need to be able to protect themselves. "I think in the interest of doing right by the public and the...

A retired Navy petty officer is encouraging fellow gun owners to bring unloaded weapons to weekly rallies in Escondido next month to strike a blow for the right to bear arms. Gerald Reaster, 69, said the purpose of the rallies, which will begin Tuesday, is to assert Second Amendment rights and the freedom to carry unloaded firearms openly without a license, as allowed by state law, The San Diego Union- Tribune reported. “I am a disabled vet, a member of the American Legion, a good patriot,” Reaster told the newspaper. “The older I am, the more I see the need...

love the Kern River. I've probably driven there a hundred times or more over the past 20 years. But it can be a dangerous place for the young, the inexperienced, the careless, as evidenced by a sign warning of lives lost just before you enter the gorge en route to Lake Isabella from Bakersfield. Which makes this Bakersfield.com report even more sobering: Pools now claiming more victims than Kern River... So far this year there have been seven drownings in pools compared to just four in the river... So far, five local children under the age of 10 have drowned...

Thomas Aquinas College is not your typical modern university. Students read the classics, not textbooks. Girls must wear skirts or dresses to class. There’s a curfew of 11 on school nights. Yet the conservative Catholic college, nestled in the hills of Santa Paula, is attracting national attention for its small classes, generous financial aid and strong academics. U.S. News & World Report this month ranked it among the nation’s top 100 liberal arts colleges.... Above all, Thomas Aquinas is known for its Great Books program. Instead of using textbooks, students learn every subject — from literature to science — by...

Courtesy Chris Bunch for Congress Related Articles * Make politicians prove they support the Second Amendment * 2009 NRA Director candidate questionnaire We have a politician principled enough to give us what most will not: unequivocal answers on his support for the right to keep and bear arms. Meet Chris Bunch, Republican candidate for California's 10th Congressional District, a seat vacated by (F-rated gungrabber) Ellen Tauscher, who has taken a position in the Obama administration, where I guess she figured becoming Undersecretary for State Arms Control gives her the chance to effect even more disarmament. This has necessitated a special...

California Republican Party leaders, in a move that could reshape state primary-election politics, are preparing a move to bar decline-to-state voters - now 20 percent of the electorate - from casting a GOP ballot in statewide and legislative primaries. The proposed bylaw to the state Republican platform, which delegates will decide at the party convention next month in Indian Wells (Riverside County), has riled some business leaders and Republicans. They say it could be disastrous for the party's future and could relegate Republicans in the state to "permanent minority" status by keeping independent voters from supporting Republicans in primary elections....

The California legislature passed AB 400, its transparency legislation today that requires state expenditures over $5,000 to be posted online with contextual information detailing the purpose of the expense, allowing taxpayers to see how their money is being spent by the state. While Gov. Schwarzenegger had signed an executive order that required all contracts over $5,000 to be posted on his website earlier this year, this (once the governor signs the bill) would be the first time transparency has been codified into law in the Golden State – and it’s a long-overdue step for a state that has been plagued...

The quiet streets of this San Diego seaside community were awakened to the Second Amendment rights as 12 Californians walked the sidewalks with their firearms. Six of the 12 open carriers were women and six additional non-carriers handed out informational fliers to anyone who was interested. Most of residents were curious about what was going on, some thought the open carriers were a part of law enforcement and a few were offended, but the morning event ended with educating the public about their right to carry a gun in the state of California. Of course there are a few rules...

LOS ANGELES -- David Gerboth is a captain in the San Diego Fire Department, but he spent most of last summer crisscrossing California putting out wildfires. There were the 16 days battling a fire in Hayfork, 720 miles to the north. Then he spent 21 days fighting other blazes that burned 86,500 acres. As California's wildfires consume more land each year, the state is increasingly relying on firefighters like Mr. Gerboth. Under state mutual-aid agreements, he and thousands of other local firefighters are organized into teams that can be quickly dispatched to fight a fire in a neighboring county --...

Obesity is the elephant in the room of health care reform, a public health catastrophe that kills more than 100,000 Americans a year, cost the nation $147 billion last year and threatens to shorten U.S. life expectancy for the first time since the Civil War.....

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A resident shot and killed an intruder in southwest Bakersfield after the suspect shot the resident twice, a Bakersfield Police official said. At 11:11 p.m. Thursday, police received a report of a shooting at an apartment in the 1800-block of Canter Way, police said. Police said they found an adult man outside the apartment suffering from two gunshot wounds to the torso. The man informed officers that the suspect was still inside the apartment. Officers entered the apartment and found Roosevelt Mitchell III, 21, dead with a gun. The victim told them he was home with his...

“I guess Mother Nature was a drag queen and she’s looking down on us today because it is absolutely beautiful out here,” drag entertainer Symone said. “I think it’s our biggest Pride ever! The floats were amazing and people have been so receptive,” she added. From booby burlesque beauties and leggy can-can dancers to uniformed Mounties and scantly-clad politicians, the parade, boasting 150 entries, was a spectacle of celebration and awareness centered on the theme of education, celebration and liberation. Parade organizers estimate that 530,000 people battled record-breaking heat to attend Vancouver’s 31st annual Pride parade this year — sporting...

July 10, 2009. Competitive Enterprise Institute. I know that everybody likes to poke fun at California – but I can tell you right now that despite all of its problems, California remains one of the best places in the world to build a successful small business. All you have to do is start with a successful large business. Laugh if you will, but let me remind you that when these policies finish wrecking California, there are still 49 other states we can all move to – and yours is one of them. I should also warn you of the strange...

I am a lifetime law-abiding gun owner and avid shooter. In my life I have had many occasions to buy firearms for sporting purposes. I have not had a need to own an AK-47 nor an opportunity to try one. I am told it is the finest assault rifle ever made. If I am in a situation wherein the AK-47 is the best choice, then I need to get one and I believe that I have that right guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Assuming that situation is in defense of my home or country, if an AK-47 makes the difference...

EUREKA CA (Humboldt County) Aug 5th 2009, Old Glory Radio - The Eureka Ca office of Congressman Mike Thompson (D) Ca 1st Cong. Dist, (North Coast of California) confirmed to Old Glory today that the Congressman is not currently planning on staging a single public town hall forum during the August break. While the Democratic Congressman hides under his desk and will only schedule controlled “phone” sessions, hundreds of residends of the 1st Ca. Cong. District are flooding the offices with calls demanding he come out from under his desk and face the people. Cong. Thompson’s local office (707) 269-9595

In a departure from its long-time complacence over illegal signs, the city recently fined a gun show promoter $4,600 for illegally tacking more than 40 posters around town. The move spurred complaints of selective and politically motivated enforcement, but city staff said it was just part of a new, "stepped up" effort. Gilroy's zoning laws bar "any off-site advertising signs" that are not on the same physical site as the business they are advertising. This includes those ubiquitous, rectangular, neon green, orange and red signs stapled to phone poles, fences and facades, often on properties lacking on-site supervision. The small,...