Free Republic

SACRAMENTO -- David A.R. Barnitz surveys the lawn on the north side of the State Capitol--the handful of tents, the small circle of activists seated in the shade. This is not "the nirvana I was hoping for," he admits. Still, as roughly 50 people gathered Thursday in the sweltering 97-degree heat for the start of the four-day Occupy National Gathering, he was encouraged by the "unity" and "sense of purpose" among those present. "It's Occupy in its evolutionary stages," he says hopefully. In the fall of 2011, thousands gathered in lower Manhattan for Occupy Wall Street, and thousands more staged...

A short gig doing security for the True Blood television show. A stint driving for a rental car company. A week as a customer service representative at a retail store. This is how Delvontaie Antwine, 34, makes do in California's economic recovery — earning a few scattered paychecks a month from odd temp jobs while living with relatives in Silver Lake. Each week, he goes to a career center, where recently he was looking into positions transporting patients for Kaiser Permanente. "I just need something consistent; otherwise, I'm like a puppy chasing its tail," he said. "I'm at the bottom...

The billionaire is ready to take out Florida’s multi-millionaire governor. In a nationwide push to fight Republicans who deny the existence of man-made climate change, investor-turned-activist Tom Steyer has founded a Florida political committee, seeded it with $750,000 of his own money and says he’ll spend far more to help Democrat Charlie Crist defeat Gov. Rick Scott. Florida Democrats are buzzing about Steyer spending $10 million, which he won’t discuss. Republicans say the California Democrat is a phony environmentalist, but they nevertheless worry his financial commitment could be real in Florida. “It’s hard to look at the map of the...

Normally, the Congressional votes are about as exciting as watching paint dry on growing grass, but when House Representative Tom Marino accused the Democrats of not being brave enough to pass immigration reform when they controlled the Congress, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi jumped up and came at the guy! Marino struck a nerve by pointing out that the Democrats owned the entire Congress and White House for two years and did nothing about illegal immigration. Nancy Pelosi then crept up on Marino and began taunting him. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said it best: “What is she doing?”...

The United States Drought Monitor map is showing that 58% of the state is currently experiencing an “exceptional drought” stage. This represents a 22% increase from just a week ago. Droughts can prove devastating to a community as widespread crop and pasture losses and shortages of water in reservoirs, streams and wells accompany drought conditions. Exceptional drought, the most extreme category, indicates the most extreme conditions of drought and is considered to be a precursor to Lynne Wilson, who serves on the climate change delegation in the United Nations, “Civilizations in the past have had to migrate out of areas...

Full title: California Sand Fire: Desalination Plants May Be State’s Only Solution Despite Environmental, Energy Concerns One of the solutions could be something parts of the Middle East began adopting decades ago: desalination plants, an energy-intensive process of converting seawater into drinking water. Meeting California’s water needs might not help combat the effect of global warming, but an ample supply of water would at least help keep back the dry conditions from around residential communities, and it would help the state’s massive agricultural industry meet its own water needs. Currently California is building the largest desalination plant in the Western...

It's going from worse to worst each week in California. Suffering in its third year of drought, more than 58 percent of the state is currently in "exceptional drought" stage, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map. That marks a huge jump from just seven days ago, when about 36 percent of the state was categorized that way. Exceptional drought, the most extreme category, indicates widespread crop and pasture losses and shortages of water in reservoirs, streams and wells. If the state continues on this path, there may have to be thoughts about moving people out, said Lynn Wilson,...

If you’re a fan of “Nancys” this has been your week! First she told us that the Quataris told her Hamas was a humanitarian organization: "And we have to confer with the Qataris, who have told me over and over again that Hamas is a humanitarian organization," Note: Nan has replaced her old, tired looking mug with one that allows her to be constantly surprised Next, she reminded the press of their responsibilities as Obama mouthpieces:If she didn’t talk with her hands, you wouldn’t even recognize her any more. (click here to watch) When asked at a press briefing on Thursday...

In an unusual breach of decorum, even for the divided Congress, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi chased Rep. Tom Marino across the House floor, taking offense at comments by the Pennsylvania Republican during debate on the border funding bill Friday night.

Tyler Durden 08/01/2014 As we previously commented, when scientists start using phrases such as "the worst drought" and "as bad as you can imagine" to describe what is going on in the western half of the country, you know that things are bad. However, in recent weeks the dreadful situation in California has gone from bad to catastrophic as the U.S. Drought Monitor reported that more than half of the state is now in experiencing 'exceptional' drought, the most severe category available. And most of the state – 81% – currently has one of the two most intense levels of...

The Obama administration has notified Congress of its plans to train and arm the Ukrainian national guard next year, the Pentagon said on Friday, as Washington continues to intensify its response to Moscow's support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. "The Defense Department and State Department have notified Congress of our intent to use $19 million in global security contingency fund authority to train and equip four companies and one tactical headquarters of the Ukrainian national guard as part of their efforts to build their capacity for internal defense," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters. The training, which requires...

A California appeals court has ruled a state authority may issue $8 billion in bonds to help finance a high-speed rail system in the most populous U.S. state, removing a substantial obstacle to the proposed $68 billion plan. In overturning on Thursday a state court's 2013 ruling, the three-judge panel in Sacramento said the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which is overseeing the high-speed rail project, "properly found that issuance of bonds for the project necessary or desirable," court documents show. The panel also vacated a lower court order that the state redo its financial plan for the project. The rail...

The bad news in California: If you liked your plan and/or your doctor, many of you couldn’t keep either if you had an individual-market plan. The worse news in California: If you liked your premiums, you definitely couldn’t keep those. In the first year of ObamaCare, premiums rose in the Golden State anywhere from 22% to 88% from the previous year — even as insurer networks narrowed so much that consumers had a tough time finding a provider at all: The cost of health insurance for individuals skyrocketed this year in California, with some paying almost twice what they...

Good news, in 2013, California's economy grew faster than the nation's - 2 percent vs. 1.8 percent. Many have used this as vindication that California's progressive policies, ranging from the 2012 Proposition 30 tax increases to implementation of AB 32's cap-and-trade scheme, are not hindering growth (some even suggest such policies are aiding the growth). However, focusing on the statewide number masks the bad news; California's growth is vastly inconsistent across its regions. And if we explore those differences - using Bureau of Economic Analysis 2001-to-2012 metropolitan-area statistics adjusted for inflation using the CPI-U-RS - the Golden State looks like...

A California university says it is investigating religious discrimination allegations made by a prominent scientist and former employee who claims he was fired for his creationist beliefs. Mark Armitage, a scientist and evangelical Christian, claims he was fired from his job as a lab technician at California State University at Northridge because he published an academic paper which appeared to support his creationist views, according to a lawsuit filed last week. Armitage, who does not believe in evolution, was lauded by his colleagues and the science community after he discovered in 2012 the largest triceratops horn ever recovered from the...

Obama just released $2.8 billion to these savages. And he has sanctioned their nuclear weapons program. Mankind will always be plagued with evil annihilationists. But America funding them? And sanctioning their nuclear weapons program? That’s a whole new vicious reality for the free world to deal with. That’s new.

LOS ANGELES – Four U.S. teens were charged Tuesday with murder in the fatal beating of a Chinese graduate student with a baseball bat and wrench as he walked to his apartment. Two of the suspects, aged 16 and 17, were juveniles charged as adults in the slaying of Xinran Ji, 24, an engineering student at the University of Southern California who was attacked early Thursday. He was able to make his way to his apartment. A roommate discovered him dead hours later. The defendants — 17-year-old Alberto Ochoa, 16-year-old Alejandra Guerrero, 18-year-old Andrew Garcia and 19-year-old Jonathan Del Carmen...

After the so-called death of the Occupy movement, political activism is making a comeback in Sacramento. In June and July, law enforcement arrested 47 protesters over 12 days at the state Capitol. Those hauled away were members of the newly formed 99Rise movement. They peacefully remained in the building under the rotunda after curfew, in solidarity with their goal of getting big money out of politics. That hasn’t happened yet, of course, but the protesters made headlines by lobbying a few bills—and actually getting two passed. Some of these activists marched nearly 500 miles from Los Angeles to Sacramento, and...

Based on reports that have emerged over the past few weeks, it looks like California is back in the running as a location for Tesla's Gigfactory — a massive facility that will build the advanced lithium-ion batteries needed to get the electric carmaker to the next level. Nevada, Texas, New Mexico — these were the states that appeared to be in a better position to become the Gigafactory's home than California.But there's been some chatter about Elon Musk and his company potentially taking over an old U.S. Navy facility near San Francisco. And now, according to the Los Angeles Times'...

If there is one nightmare common to all U.S. senators, it’s the possibility of an unexpected upset by an underdog challenger come Election Day. Not only do they lose their seat, but the shock of defeat becomes one of the most notable parts of their biography. This November, no one wants to be the Senate’s Eric Cantor. For my money, one of the most jaw-dropping Senate results in modern history occurred exactly 50 years ago. It’s barely remembered even by the political community, but it shouldn’t be forgotten. This old race teaches enduring lessons about politics, and in 2014 we’ll...