Free Republic

California is a mess, but I love it all the same--especially the Bay Area, where I lived for 15 years. I went to Berkeley in 1962--a refugee from Amherst College, which at that time was dominated by frat boys with high SAT scores. I didn't go to Berkeley to go to school, but to be a bus ride away from North Beach and the Jazz Workshop. In a broader sense, I went to California for the same reason that other émigrés had been going since the 1840s. I was knocking on the Golden Door. Immigrants from Europe had come to...

I’m not sure which is most amusing about Bill Lockyer’s rant to the state legislature this week. Is it his assertion that Democrats have to call out other Democrats when they run off the rails? Perhaps his telling them that two-thirds of what they produce is “just junk”? Insisting that more taxes won’t solve their problems, and that they have to start looking for ways to save money instead? Actually, all of that and more is just simple truth. Watch this first and see if you catch my favorite moment in this clip: CLICK ABOVE LINK TO VIEW THE SHORT...

The Tea Party Express II launches at 11:00 am today from San Diego's Tuna Harbor Park, just across from the USS Midway!! Woo hoo!! We'll be there!! The coast to coast Tea Party Express schedule includes San Diego and Los Angeles today, Bakersfield and Fresno tomorrow, and then it's on to Nevada and beyond to Florida!! Conservative groups have joined forces to make this massive national effort possible. Besides the lead sponsor, the Our Country Deserves Better Committee, the Tea Party Express II enjoys support from Grassfire.org, ResistNet, Free Republic, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, National Tax Limitation Committee, Americans for...

California, you may have heard, is an apocalyptic mess of raging wildfires, soaring unemployment, mass foreclosures and political paralysis. It's dysfunctional. It's ungovernable. Its bond rating is barely above junk. It's so broke, it had to hand out IOUs while its leaders debated how many prisoners to release and parks to close. Nevada aired ads mocking California's business climate to lure its entrepreneurs. The media portray California as a noir fantasyland of overcrowded schools, perpetual droughts, celebrity breakdowns, illegal immigration, hellish congestion and general malaise, captured in headlines like "Meltdown on the Ocean" and "California's Wipeout Economy" and "Will California...

Republican Tom Campbell, a candidate for governor who was the last state finance director to preside over a balanced budget, warned this week that California may be awash in more red ink, with revenue expected to fall short of projections by as much as $3 billion by the end of December. The alarm from Campbell, a former dean of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, came after state officials acknowledged two weeks ago that state revenue for the first quarter of the fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, fell $1.1 billion short of predictions. Still, as national headlines have trumpeted...

ZURICH (Reuters) – Film director Roman Polanski could face two years in prison if extradited to the United States after fleeing sentencing in California on child sex charges in 1978, the Swiss justice ministry said on Friday. "The United States want him to be extradited for sexual intercourse with a minor. This carries a maximum sentence of two years under U.S. law," justice ministry spokesman Folco Galli said on Friday. The United States has now formally asked Switzerland to extradite Roman Polanski, the ministry said, adding it would reach a decision based on a hearing and information provided by Polanski's...

The rhetorical "water witch" of the Pasadena Star News, staff writer Rebecca Kimitch, has an op-ed disguised as a news story on water rates rising in San Gabriel Valley - read here http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/rds_search/ci_13612524 Since Kimitch likes to cast personal attacks and bad omens on Republicans and conservatives in many of her so-called "news" stories, perhaps the rhetorical term "water witch" is fitting (a "water witch" is a person who claims to be able to find underground water with a divining rod; aka a sorceress). Kimitch's news story merely regurgitates what several local water agency public relations types, or rhetorical "witch...

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Texas and around the country what officials say is the largest single strike at a Mexican drug cartel in the U.S WASHINGTON (October 22, 2009)—U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder calls the arrests of more than 300 people in a series of drug raids in Texas and across the country the largest single strike at a Mexican drug cartel operating here. Holder said at a news conference Thursday that the arrests over the past two days were aimed at the U.S. operations of the La Familia cartel. Click here to find out more! Holder...

The ocean off the Palos Verdes Peninsula has become one of the key battlegrounds in the long-running effort to implement a state law designed to create a network of habitats off the California coast to protect depleted fish populations. The contentious debate over the size of the marine habitat in the waters around Rocky Point is emblematic of the disputes and hard-fought battles that have been waged since the Marine Life Protection Act was adopted in 1999. The waters off the promontory are abundant with marine life and have long been favored by sport and commercial fishing crews. But the...

Credibility is power. When you have it, it's like a rock in your fist. But despite its power, it can be as fragile as an eggshell -- handle it with care or it'll shatter into a gooey mess. That's what I believe the California Air Resources Board members have on their hands as they bull forward with the diesel emissions rules they passed last December based on a health report written by CARB researcher Hien Tran. Tran lied about having a Ph.D in statistics from Davis. He was outted to both CARB staffers and at least one board member prior...

This is Loretta Sanchez (D) Santa Ana, who unseated longtime Republican congressman Bob Dornan with help of the ILLEGAL alien vote. Please FReep this poll! Do you agree with Sanchez callers that health reform needs a public option? • Yes. It's not reform without one • No. We don't need government health care. • I'm with those who aren't sure. Poll Here

Want to make a big splash to bolster your chances in a political campaign? A tried and true strategy for some attorneys general has been to champion a populist position by exploiting the legal system for publicity. Just look at the lead up to the launch of former New York AG Eliot Spitzer gubernatorial campaign with his attacks on Wall Street. And that appears to be the playbook California Attorney General Jerry Brown is using in a lawsuit accusing State Street (NYSE:STT) of cheating the state's two largest pension funds, the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the California State...

In case you missed it, here is the "Pot City, USA" television show recently shown on the A&E Network. It's pretty interesting and well worth your time to watch.

Repent, Roman! A Modest Solution to the Polanski Problem by Brad Linaweaver Ever since the American economy was struck down by a hit and run driver on Wall Street late in 2008, the world has been holding its breath. What would happen next? Well, the Republicans lost power and the Democrats gained power, and somehow the War on Terror marches on without stumbling. The Pentagon budget remains untouchable even though we owe China a trillion dollars. “It's Chinatown , Jake.� The immediate struggle is about a shift in the economy over the possibility of National Health Care. Many people are...

California nurses' union has threatened a one-day strike at 34 hospitals, accusing the providers of poor swine flu preparedness. As many as 16,000 registered nurses will strike on Oct. 30 if state and federal swine flu protection recommendations aren't written into their contracts, said California Nurses Association spokesman Chuck Idelson. Nurses have complained about poor access to protective N-95 masks since a 51-year-old Sacramento nurse died in July after contracting swine flu. The gear is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use while treating swine flu patients. The strike threat comes amid negotiations between the union...

If you're looking for work, don't look in California. The world's eighth largest economy is still finding its feet after suffering multiple economic shocks, including a housing slump, mortgage crisis and recession. Employers in California, the most populous U.S. state, are expected to keep cutting staff in 2010 as the wider U.S. jobs market recovers. As industries in other U.S. states prepare to rehire on signs of recovery, firms in California are still waiting for their economy to rebound. The state has 12.2 percent unemployment, above the national U.S. level of 9.8 percent, and at odds with California's image as...

Reporting from El Centro, Calif. - Across the desert flatlands of southeastern California, dozens of companies have flooded federal offices with applications to place solar mirrors on more than a million acres of public land. But just as some of those projects appear headed toward fruition, environmental hurdles threaten to jeopardize efforts to further tap the region's renewable energy potential. The development of solar-power facilities in the desert has been a top priority of the Obama administration as it seeks to ease the nation's dependence on fossil fuels and curb global warming. In addition, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has urged that...

A local academic has emerged as the leading source of dark forecasts in a recession-fueled debate over whether California's war on global warming will hurt or help its economy. Sanjay Varshney, dean of the business school at California State University, Sacramento, predicts dire consequences if the state moves forward with plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions. His figures – dismissed by some economists – have been cited by business groups and politicians calling on the state to delay carrying out AB 32, the state's landmark climate change law. In a July paper paid for by the California Small Business Roundtable,...

MIDI - VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR (musical intro) We were watching football on my brand new big screen A commercial came on that was ever so green It was nothing like we ever had before seen Ooh-a-ooh They want plasma that's too big eliminated It will be behind closed doors that it's debated Every day it seems were getting more frustrated Ooh-a-ooh...the left is crazy...ooh-a-ooh...they're freaking crazy Arnold will kill big plasma TV...Arnold will kill big plasma TV It's a hog for energy...so it must be going With the lefties now in charge, it's how they do it...

Small business owners say they plan give California lawmakers an ear full today about how their livelihoods are being threatened by shakedown lawsuits filed over alleged ADA violations. Mom and pop shops and other small and mid-sized businesses say a cottage industry has sprung up in the Golden State in which trial lawyers are filing lawsuits over alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and state disability access laws.

A top Chinese general will visit the United States this month and tour major U.S. bases as Washington seeks to improve relations and reduce the risk of conlict, offi

Just had a sudden sharp quake here

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-While California lawmakers are traditionally busy in their home districts during autumn, after the state Legislature recesses, this year they will be called into at least three special sessions to address a bevy of complex issues. Not among them is legal reform, which proponents say would help kick-start California's lagging economy and draw new industry to the Golden State, where unemployment has topped 12 percent,

This is the first Zero dollar created that does not have a back image to it. I suggest that you can use any of the Pelosi Zero bills' back side images, or any of the Obama Zero bills' back side images nicely with this front picture. Send one to Pelosi and Barak (White House spelling). Make their day. And if you're a constituent of Pelosi's make sure a nice note goes along with it and that you'll be working harder than ever with time and money to kick her ass off the public payroll and into a public option plan.

Sacramento real estate developer Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis and her husband have contributed $438,880 to federal candidates, committees and leadership PACs since 1989, with 95 percent of the money going to Democratic candidates and committees, according to a new report by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) Last Friday, President Barack Obama announced that Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis is his choice to become the new ambassador to Hungary. She is married to Markos Kounalakis, who is the president of Washington Monthly.

President Obama has gone out of his way to "diversify" the federal bench with his spate of nominations of various minorities chief of which was his successful seating of the "wise Latina,' Sonia Sotomayor, on the Supreme Court. Obama's nominees* for 10 district court openings include four African-Americans, three Asian-Americans, one Latino and four women. One of those nominees, San Francisco U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward Chen, received a favorable vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington today. So what sort of judge is Edward Chen? Well, for one, the left-wing American Bar Association rated Chen a "well qualified" nominee...

A few weeks ago Jon Fleischman of FlashReport.org was fortunate enough to snag an interview with gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. But the results of one segment of the meeting left him admittedly non-plussed, or as he termed it "unnerved." Fleischman was aghast to learn of just how extreme Meg Whitman's views on abortion really are. And after reading Fleischman's interview myself, I have to wonder if her views makes her completely unelectable amongst California's pro-lifers? In the interview, Whitman was completely upfront about the fact that she stands solidly behind public funding of abortion. She was unequivocal about it, really....

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- A nonprofit group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking a decision about whether to grant added protections for the delta smelt. The Council for Endangered Species Act Reliability alleges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to make a timely decision about the tiny silver fish. It filed suit in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. Executive director Craig Manson said the federal agency should classify the threatened smelt as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The swine flu virus is spreading rapidly throughout California, public health officials said today, citing physician reports of higher-than-normal flu illnesses for this time of year. More than 5% of patients coming into doctor's offices are presenting flu-like symptoms, which is much higher than the usual 2%, according to an estimate based on about 50 physicians across California who monitor flu activity for the state. "We are seeing a continued ramp-up of the virus activity," Dr. Mark Horton, California's public health officer, said at a news conference today. "That is very unusual for this time of year." Horton said he...

The Extreme polarizing of politics by Democrats Congressman Joe Wilson. Just the name strikes up conversations of proper decorum and how one should speak to an elected official. Elected Republicans threw Rep. Wilson under the bus while braying about how wrong is was for the Congressman to shout out “You lie!” while president Barry Hussein Soetoro lied to the American people and to Congress about health care in a rare televised special called bicameral setting. California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano. Nothing? Nothing comes to mind? Oh you didn’t hear about this? We just went over a national civics lesson on decorum...

California, the nation's largest producer of fruits, nuts, vegetables, livestock and dairy products, ranks fifth in the world as a supplier of food and agricultural commodities. Cash receipts totaled more than $36.6 billion in 2007. By comparison, Coca Cola's 2008 revenue was $32 billion. The state provides more than half of the nation's fruits, nuts and vegetables using more than 25% of California's landmass for agricultural production. The Central Valley accounts for more than half of that area. A paragon of conservation and modern irrigation technology, California agriculture - comprised of many small and family-owned and operated farms - is...

The influential lobby group Consumer Electronics Assn. is fighting what appears to be a losing battle to dissuade California regulators from passing the nation's first ban on energy-hungry big-screen televisions. On Tuesday, executives and consultants for the Arlington, Va., trade group asked members of the California Energy Commission to instead let consumers use their wallets to decide whether they want to buy the most energy-saving new models of liquid-crystal display and plasma high-definition TVs. "Voluntary efforts are succeeding without regulations," said Doug Johnson, the association's senior director for technology policy. Too much government interference could hamstring industry innovation and prove...

Demure Delaware was the first state to ratify the Con stitution, but since then has not made many waves. It might, however, be part of a political wave a year from now, thanks to a direct descendent of Benjamin Franklin. The great man's great-great-great-great-great grandson, Mike Castle, 70, a nine-term Delaware congressman, will be next year's Republican nominee for the Senate seat Joe Biden held for 36 years. This and other candidate-recruitment successes make it reasonable for Republicans to hope that in January 2011 the Senate will contain fewer than 60 Democrats. Biden's seat is now occupied by a former...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California first lady Maria Shriver says she's sorry for breaking a state law that requires drivers to use hands-free devices while talking on cell phones. The celebrity Web site TMZ.com posted two photographs and a video Tuesday showing Shriver holding a phone to her ear while she was behind the wheel. That prompted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to write about it on Twitter, where he said "there's going to be swift action." On Wednesday, Shriver said she will donate her favorite old cell phone to a program that helps domestic violence. She added: "That's my version of swift...

San Jose already has a far higher rate of retired police and firefighters on disability than other large California city. And in the three years since a Mercury News investigation documented that trend, pension trustees haven't denied one of the dozens of claims that have come before them. But a city physician's effort to demand more medical documentation of career-ending injuries now has officers calling for his ouster. Police say Dr. Rajiv Das is holding up officers' disability retirements — which, unlike regular service pensions, are mostly tax-free. Though Das merely advises the trustees who decide disability retirements, police complain...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge today refused to dismiss a legal challenge to Proposition 8, concluding that the ongoing courtroom battle over California's voter-approved ban on gay marriage must be resolved in a full-blown trial.</p> <p>After two hours of legal sparring, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker largely rejected the arguments of Proposition 8 supporters, who maintained that U.S. Supreme Court precedent and a lack of proof of constitutional violations should sidetrack a lawsuit designed to overturn the ballot measure.</p>

About 30 percent of fourth-graders and 23 percent of eight-graders in California tested proficient math tests from the National Assessment of Education Progress, ranking the state near the bottom nationally. Only students in Mississippi, Alabama and Washington, D.C. had lower scores on the tests, commonly referred to as the "nation's report card." (See an interactive graphic on the scores here.) Nationwide, 38 percent of fourth-graders and 33 percent of eighth-graders performed at proficient levels. Scores for English tests will be released in coming weeks. Fewer than 170,000 students in the country were tested per grade in the exams administered last...

Ooops. A campaign mailer from 10th Congressional District candidate and Democrat Lt. Gov. John Garamendi that hit mailboxes today contained a reference to a quote from the wrong guy. The Garamendi mailer states that his Republican challenger “David Harmer supports off shoring jobs” and cites a story from the Utah’s Deseret News from April 23, 2004. Unfortunately for Garamendi’s opposition research team, the story quotes the David Harmer who was executive director of the Utah State Department of Community and Economic Development. The David Harmer who is running against Garamendi never held that job and wasn’t living in Utah at...

<p>Most everyone supports a clean environment.  But many environmentalists fail to recognize the need for balance.</p> <p>One of the latest examples of environmental extremism is the campaign to punish or even ban the use of plastic bags.   The Philadelphia City Council has turned down a proposal to ban plastic bags, but proponents promise to try again.  A bill pending before the state legislature would outlaw plastic bags statewide.</p>

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law marking May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, in honor of the slain gay-rights activist. The law encourages schools and other educational institutions to commemorate the day each year with discussions and other exercises that help students better understand Milk's significance on California politics and the gay-rights movement.

With the signing of more gun control in California last night, the son of a Nazi will now know where the ammunition is.

18:28 PDT SACRAMENTO -- People buying ammunition in California will soon have to be thumbprinted and dealers will have to keep records of sales, under legislation that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law. More News After vetoing similar bills three times since 2004, Schwarzenegger signed AB962 by Assemblyman Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, on Sunday, saying he now believes it will promote public safety. The measure is California's first statewide regulation of ammunition sales. It survived close votes in both the Assembly and state Senate and strong opposition from gun-rights organizations, which succeeded in stripping a provision that would have...

Why We Are Going to Hell – Part 4,025 America’s New Holiday bythelastcrusade.org Public school students throughout California will be celebrating May 22 as a new holiday. On this day, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born. As was Sir Laurence Oliver, arguably the world’s greatest artist. Richard Wagner, the great composer, was born on May 22 but his music will not be played for the students in commemoration of his works. Nor will Tommy Franks, the Yankee pitcher, be honored on this day, let alone St. Rita of Cascia, the patron of desperate causes....

The National Weather Service has issued flash-flood watches this morning for mountain burn areas from Santa Barbara to San Bernardino as a powerful winter storm moved into Southern California. Rain was beginning to fall this morning, with the strongest portions of the storm expected late today and early Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service issued the flood watches for areas burned by the fires in Santa Barbara as well as the massive Station fire is Los Angeles County and the Sheep fire near Wrightwood. The watch also includes areas burned in last year's large Sayre and Marek fires in the...

Cary Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and probable candidate for U.S. Senate from California, is starting to look like a viable choice for conservative voters in the Golden State, giving the GOP two conservatives from whom to chose. Fiorina's bona fides have been a question to many California Republicans because she is a relative newcomer to politics and many are not familiar with her political philosophy or what her campaign will stand for. But her recent hard hitting editorial in the Fresno Bee helps bring her ideals better into focus for the voters. Firoina's editorial in the Bee focuses on the...

California voters have never thought less of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature, according to a Field Poll to be released today. Despite that, a strong majority of poll respondents favor the governor's move to call a special session of the Legislature to deal with California's water crisis and tax reform issues. "It's really a cry of desperation," said Barbara O'Connor, a political science professor at Sacramento State University. "It's ironic. Voters don't like them, they don't trust them, but they want them to come back to Sacramento and solve their problems." Only 27 percent of poll respondents approve...

Reporting from Sacramento - This had been Sacramento's lost year, a stretch marked by a budget meltdown and hyper-partisan rancor, mass veto threats and mounting public distrust of state government as usual. But as the curtain dropped, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger performed as he has for half a dozen years in office: predictably unpredictable. After threatening a mass veto to spur a big water deal, the governor reversed course, revved up his ballpoint pen and signed a surprising slate of legislation. It included bills he had vetoed in the past and a flurry of measures that steered sharply away from the...

Sacramento, CA – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation that will help law enforcement officials track down and apprehend armed criminals and other prohibited persons. AB 962 by Assembly Member Kevin DeLeon (D-Los Angeles) had the support of law enforcement officials from across the state and was modeled after successful city ordinances, including the cities of Sacramento and Los Angeles. AB 962 was the Brady Campaign´s top priority bill in this year´s legislature. The law requires maintenance of purchaser records by handgun ammunition vendors. Local law enforcement can use these records to find illegal guns. "The purchase records will...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill recognizing gay marriages sanctioned in other states during the nearly five months such unions were legal in California. Schwarzenegger says the action is consistent with a state Supreme Court ruling upholding the marriages of same-sex couples who tied the knot in California before voters approved Proposition 8. Proposition 8 is a constitutional amendment passed in November that limits marriage to a man and a woman. The bill signed by the governor late Sunday also says gay and lesbian couples who were married in other states after Proposition 8's passage have...