Free Republic

Plundering California Public-sector unions have brought the state to its knees. 23 November 2009 The economy is struggling, the unemployment rate is high, and many Americans are struggling to pay the bills, but one class of Americans is doing quite well: government workers. Their pay levels are soaring, they enjoy unmatched benefits, and they remain largely immune from layoffs, except for some overly publicized cutbacks around the margins. To make matters worse, government employees—thanks largely to the power of their unions—have carved out special protections that exempt them from many of the rules that other working Americans must live by....

Well after an insightful discussion on The Capitol Hour this afternoon regarding the merits of continuing to use precious resources on the relatively meaningless position of Lieutenant Governor, Governor Schwarzenegger has made his appointment for the most important useless job in the state. The Governor’s choice for California’s next Lieutenant Governor is Former State Senator from Santa Maria Abel Maldonado. Sources say that it came down to Maldonado and Dave Cogdill, and we had Cogdill pinned as favorite here. But for the record Maldonado was my initial favorite months ago when it was first determined that Garamendi would be vacating...

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has appointed one of his few allies in the state legislature to fill the state's vacant lieutenant governor's position. That man is state Sen. Abel Maldonado, who like the governor is a moderate Republican. A 42-year-old lawmaker and broccoli farmer from near Santa Barbara, Mr. Maldonado broke a five-day budget-session impasse in February when he cast the final Republican vote needed to approve a series of spending cuts and tax hikes to close a then-$42 billion budget shortfall. "Senator Maldonado has proven he has the strength and courage it takes to reach across the partisan divide...

When it comes to complying with California traffic laws, the first couple is having a rough fall. ... Well, it appears the governor also needs a reminder about the state's traffic laws. The celebrity gossip hounds over at TMZ have posted several pics of the governor hopping in a Porsche he had left parked in a red zone.

Authorities said today that an assault on a 12-year-old Calabasas boy who was allegedly targeted by his fellow middle school students because of his red hair is not being investigated as a hate crime. The attack on the boy occurred at A.E. Wright Middle School by as many as 14 classmates, police said. The incident may have been motivated by a Facebook message on Friday saying it was "Kick a Ginger Day." However, the incident does not meet the criteria of a hate crime, said Lt. Scott Chew of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "This doesn't apply," he said....

BREAKING: San Diego ACORN Document Dump Scandalby Derrick Roach On October 1st, 2009 California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced that an investigation had been opened into ACORN’s activities in California, resulting from undercover videos showing employees seemingly offering to assist the undercover film makers with human smuggling, child prostitution and even tax advice to boot. Although ACORN has denied any wrongdoing, some of the employees involved were terminated, and ACORN has publicly stated that they would fully cooperate with any investigations that followed. Interestingly, the local head ACORN organizer in California, David Lagstein was caught on tape earlier this month...

California Budget's Going To Be Dreadful Until long-term structural issues are fixed, there is no way legislators can produce an honest spending plan so the state lives within its means. George Skelton Capitol Journal November 23, 2009 The Capitol's budget oracle projects $20.7 billion in new red ink for the next 19 months. Here's my projection: More punting, "kicking the can down the alley" and numbers-rigging. Hope we're both wrong. Hope there's an economic miracle or political heroism, which would require sacrifice to the demagogues. But, based on history and facts, that's too much to hope for. Here's how nonpartisan...

Einstein once said that doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result, is the definition of insanity. But some people think it is the definition of wise policy. These people have been in charge in California for years. Now they are trying to do to the nation what they did to California.

Why does California have a Lt. Governor's office AND a Secretary of State's office? How much money could we (California) save if we removed the giblets this Thanksgiving? Enjoy my latest piece, if you are interested in Constitutional politics this evening... As we move toward a thankful break this Thursday, I want to offer a small dish of giblets. If you spend any amount of time preparing for the holiday feast, you are familiar with the Thanksgiving giblets; in most homes these giblets are unwanted parts that are quickly tossed into the trash or fed to the family dog. The...

In the new movie "2012," whose video trailers were bombarding television airwaves last week, the world as we know it gives way three years hence under a siege of floods, eruptions, undulating continents and earthquakes. In other words, it's not much different from what is happening in California, fiscally speaking, except that the state will be lucky to hang on that long. To recap: the state's chief budget analyst reported last week that California faces a $21-billion deficit through the next fiscal year. For the two budget years after that, deficits will total $44 billion more, the analyst said. Those...

Being only a few years removed from college, I have a unique perspective on the fee hikes that the UC Board of Regents approved earlier this week. A previous article on HOGUE NEWS comprehensively covered the waste that exists in the University of California, but there are still several glaring problems with the UC, some of which can easily be solved. To begin with, all of the members of the Board of Regents are appointed by the governor to serve a 12-year term on the board. Many times the individuals on this board are no more qualified than you or...

When Mac Taylor, the Legislature's chief budget adviser, declared this week that the state budget enacted just four months ago is already billions of dollars upside down, no one in the Capitol should have been surprised. Anyone with half a brain and a hand calculator could figure out that many assumptions on which the budget was based, both spending and revenues, were unrealistic, some of them conjured out of thin air to "balance" an inherently unbalanced budget for political reasons. Taylor told legislators that the current budget is $6.3 billion out of balance and the 2010-11 budget has another $14.4...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) - A 39-year-old Southern California man has been arrested for misdemeanor child annoyance after allegedly paying a teenager $31 to spit in his face. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department says Charles Hersel was arrested Wednesday in a sting operation at a mall in Thousand Oaks. He's free from jail pending a court hearing. A sheriff's statement says Westlake High School students claimed Hersel paid them to yell profanities, spit and slap him in the face. Several also claimed he offered them cash to urinate and defecate on him.

“Delta Smelt, What’s that (Dead) Flower You Have On…” By justinwashingtontheblogger “Could it be a Faded Rose from Days Gone By?” Lyrics (Polluted) by Justin Washington and Tribute to Tanya Tucker As the plaintiff song wafts in the air, so goes California’s golden dream — because of a small, silver fish resembling a minow with small, beady eyes (somewhat similiar in appearance to US Senate Leader Harry Reid). The EPA, as the teeth behind the Endangered Species Act, has turned off the water spigot to the agricultural Central Valley of California which has been likened to the “bread basket of...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Campbell announced today he's passed the $1 million mark in fundraising, nearly doubling what he had raised by the end of June. The former congressman has largely been seen as an experienced but poorly funded challenger to his two GOP opponents, wealthy former Silicon Valley CEOs Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, who are spending much of their own wealth on their candidacies. Whitman has already given $19 million to her own campaign.

SNIPPET: "ONTARIO, Calif. -- State lawmakers are holding a hearing today in Ontario to discuss the rise in the number of criminal gangs using networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Officials say the hearing entitled "Gangs 2.0: The Emerging Threat of Cyberthugs" will explore the use of social networking tools in gang recruitment and gang-related crime. Assembly majority leader Alberto Torrico, and attorney general candidate, says gang members both in and out of prison are making more use of technology."

An appointee of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa voted two years ago to direct millions in public pension dollars to a company that invested in his own private equity fund, according to documents obtained by The Times. Elliott Broidy, chairman of Markstone Capital Partners, served until May on the Fire and Police Pensions board, which provides benefits to the city's retired police officers and firefighters. Real estate company CIM Group invested $500,000 in Markstone's private equity fund in 2004, according to an e-mail to the city's pension agency. Three years later, Broidy voted with his colleagues on the pension board...

Damon Dunn has captured the attention of the California Republican Party, as well as the conservative, independent and youthful voters of the state; many are starting to label him the “future of the Republican Party”. If Dunn is that future, it is best described as energetic, articulate and extremely passionate – and never has voted. Dunn is the 33-year-old Texas ex-patriot, University of Stanford political graduate and very successful California businessman who has now decided to run for Secretary of State as a conservative Republican. The former Cardinal football star, and employee of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, has a story...

Call the constitutional convention Jim Wunderman Sunday, November 15, 2009 California's state government is broken. This dysfunction has left our state unable to deal with the serious issues of our time in a good economy or bad - whether it's the K-12 education system, broken budgeting, our rapidly disintegrating public higher-education system, overflowing prisons, traffic-choked regions, local governments hobbled by unfunded state mandates, or a host of other problems. This hurts our state, it hurts our economy and it hurts you. California's dysfunction has made us a laughingstock, but it's not funny, it's tragic. Californians are frustrated - they should...

When we were young, we learned about the best and brightest minds in the nation coming together to create the foundation of a new country and fundamentally change the role of government in the lives of the people. Now there is a proposal to have a similar Constitutional Convention in California, but without those great minds, how are we to be sure that we get a document that rewrites the Constitution for the better and not make our state’s problems even worse? It is important to note that according to recent article in the Ventura County Star by Timm Herdt,...

November 19, 2009 Brown, Whitman tied in new Rasmussen poll With nearly a year until the general election, a new Rasmussen Reports poll puts GOP gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman and still-undeclared Democratic contender Jerry Brown locked in a tie with 41 percent support a piece. The results show Whitman gaining traction since a September Rasmussen survey, in which Brown outpolled Whitman 44 percent to 35 percent. Whitman's two rivals for the Republican nomination, former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner trailed Brown in the telephone survey of 500 likely voters. Brown came out nine-points ahead of Campbell...

So it might be the cynic in me or call me crazy for not trusting the government, but I cannot believe that there was not more attention paid to the state’s latest accounting gimmick to save the state’s budget. Starting Sunday you may notice a few less dollars in each paycheck, 10 percent less to be specific. While the state says that the money will be returned in April, something does not sit right with me when the government helps itself to even more of my paycheck especially when so many people are already living paycheck to paycheck. Read the...

On a unanimous vote, the California Energy Commission on Wednesday required all new televisions up to 58 inches to be more energy efficient beginning in 2011. The requirement will be tougher in 2013, and only a quarter of all TVs on the market currently meet that standard..... Industry representatives have said the standards would force manufacturers to make televisions that have poorer picture quality and fewer features than those sold elsewhere in the U.S..... Some manufacturers say implementing a power standard will cripple innovation, limit consumer choice and harm California retailers because consumers could simply buy TVs out of state...

A story was just released by 10News.com that really upset me. It concerns "a desolate corner of San Diego County" that is "so dangerous 10News crews had to put on bulletproof vests before entering the area." "The violence in this area is so bad that a 12-year-old was raped to death." This kind of news make me sick. It makes me angry. And makes me wonder what can we do to stop it. News10 reports "They're ruthless; they'll come over here, they'll pick one out that they want, they drag her off onto the rocks, they'll rape her and they...

With most of the state beginning to focus on their favorite candidate for the Primary Election coming next June, nobody is paying any attention to the selection of fourteen regular citizens who will become “Rock Stars” come February 2010. Next year fourteen citizens will be known as the “Citizens Redistricting Commission” for California’s future; regular people who will be selected from thousands of applicants between December 15, 2009 and February 15, 2010 put in charge of coloring the Golden State’s future. Have you read the application and qualification process here? These people will be "rick stars", and politically ignorant. The...

Have you considered...One national news story recently caught my eye and reminded me of the sad state of affairs that is California’s “No Death” Death Penalty. I call it that because most of the 685 inmates on California’s Death Row will die of natural causes. Consider this. One week ago, today, John Allen Muhammad – the Washington DC sniper – was executed in Virginia. He was convicted in 2003 of killing ten people and sentenced to death in March, 2004. That’s five and a half years from conviction through the appeals process to implementation of what is an appropriate and...

A big chunk of the money that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collected last year to finance a political reform ballot measure came from a man now being accused of running a massive Ponzi-style fraud in Florida. When federal investigators raided the offices of Fort Lauderdale, FL, attorney Scott Rothstein, looking for evidence to bolster civil and potentially criminal charges of running a huge Ponzi-style fraud, they found many pictures of Rothstein with prominent politicians. The Wall Street Journal reported that Rothstein appeared to be particularly close to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist but among other political figures in the photos were former...

There is a battle brewing in California, should we count only those who are citizens, or should we count everyone that resides inside of the Glden State. So ponder this. When we take the census in 2010 should we be counting everybody or just U.S. citizens? There are non-citizens and illegal aliens in this country. What have we done in the past and why is it important? First of all just in California if we excluded counting non-citizens we would lose 5 House seats in Congress. Exclude counting illegal immigrants we would lose an additional 2 seats. In 1990 California...

The road north across the Golden Gate leads to some of the prettiest counties in North America. Yet behind the lovely rolling hills, wineries, ranches and picturesque once-rural towns lies a demographic time bomb that neither political party is ready to address. Paradise is having a problem with the evolving economy. A generational conflict is brewing, pitting the interests and predilections of well-heeled boomers against a growing, predominately Latino working class. And neither the emerging "progressive" politics nor laissez-faire conservatism is offering much in the way of a solution. These northern California counties--which include Sonoma, Napa, Solano and Marin--have become...

There is a charge that exaggeration and campaign hyperbole has caused California Republican Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner to lose the centerpiece of his stump speech. Has the commissioner magnified his involvement in cost savings inside of the DOI by amplifying his numbers? A consumer watch group says the answer requires a clear perspective on who was initially responsible for lowering rates and reducing the commissioner’s office expenses. If it is decided that Steve Poizner has exaggerated his numbers and reduction measures, where does he run to next for a firm foundation to prove his tax-cutting, conservative ideals? This much is...

November 16, 2009 Arnold Schwarzenegger visits Iraq - and aims to transfer military tactics to California Oliver August in Baghdad The governor of California trots out his most famous one-liner wherever he goes but, at the Victory military base in Baghdad today, he apparently meant it. “I’ll be back,” Arnold Schwarzenegger growled after working out with a group of American soldiers on active duty in Iraq, all with necks and trunks as thick as his. The muscleman who rose to Hollywood fame as The Terminator came to the site of America’s bloodiest war in a generation to cheer up troops,...

For a chance to unseat a 5-term incumbent, check out Matt Friedman for Congress: Matt Friedman for Congress 302 Washington #942 San Diego, CA 92103. www.friedmanforcongress.org

The TERRY ANDERSON SHOW.. Articulating the Popular Rage! A warrior in the fight against illegal immigration and those who promote it for over a decade! From the streets of Los Angeles to the halls of congress, Terry has been there. No one has the passion and common sense of Terry Anderson...He is A MUST listen! The BEST one hour of radio you'll find anywhere. Sunday Nights- Listen on the radio! 12-1 AM EDT, 11-12 PM CDT, 10-11 PM MDT, 9-10 PM PDT KRLA - 870 AM - Los Angeles -- KDWN - 720 - Las Vegas -- KFNX - 1100...

The “great recession” may be over, but its impact on state governments is still unfurling – and could threaten America’s fragile economic recovery. That message emerged in two assessments of the economy Wednesday. The Pew Center on the States released a report concluding that nine states have joined California in a condition of “fiscal peril.” Their budget troubles could cause a round of job cuts and tax hikes in states from Florida to Illinois and Oregon. In a separate news briefing Wednesday, Iris Lav, a fiscal policy expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, warned that state budget...

Two environmental groups sued the federal government Friday seeking greater habitat protections for two San Francisco Bay-delta fish species, one of them the delta smelt, a small but important creature in California's water wars. One lawsuit asks a federal judge in Sacramento to require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to respond to the groups' March 2006 request to change the delta smelt's status from "threatened" to "endangered." That action would somewhat tighten federal standards for development or water-use permits. A second suit, filed in San Francisco, challenges the federal agency's decision in April to deny protected status to the...

County officials have begun airing public service announcements urging at-risk Latinos, including people who are in the country illegally, to get vaccinated against the swine flu, also known as H1N1. Local health officials said their priority is public safety, not politics. "When it comes to public health, it doesn't matter who you are," said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, San Diego County's deputy public health officer. "We are going to take the same necessary precautions to protect the public's health." Giving illegal immigrants swine flu vaccines has drawn relatively little controversy. Officials from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to...

Sacramento - -- The $11 billion water bond that California voters will be asked to approve next year contains nearly $2 billion in earmarks that lawmakers candidly acknowledge were included in the proposal to win the votes that were needed to pass the plan out of the Legislature. More News * Dems, GOP split on NY trials of alleged terrorists 11.15.09 * Pelosi exhibits leadership, protects colleagues 11.15.09 * Tower of films to recall Alcatraz takeover 11.15.09 * Three Questions For: Mary McCue / Guardian of public space 11.15.09 Hundreds of millions of dollars of those earmarks - which some...

On Nov. 1, the government of the state of California began withholding from workers' paychecks 10 percent more than what it had been withholding. The Los Angeles Times described this move -- prompted by California's fiscal calamity -- as "a forced, interest-free loan" from taxpayers to the government. The Times explained to its California readers that "You'll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less." The ostensible purpose of withholding is to better ensure that taxpayers actually pay the taxes they...

SACRAMENTO — With high unemployment continuing to eat at California's tax revenues, and risky budget gimmicks failing to materialize, the state's deficit next year could hit a staggering $25 billion. If worst-case scenarios hold true, several insiders who track the state's financial picture tell the Mercury News, the deficit through June 2011 would be billions higher than previous estimates. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's best-case estimate earlier this week was half that sum, at $12.4 billion. Assembly Republican leader Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo floated a number as high as $20 billion during water negotiations. "It's not outrageous," one budget expert...

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointment of Stacey Aldrich as state librarian for the California State Library.

The California Milk Advisory Board may have shot itself in the hoof. The board, which promotes the state's dairy farmers and is overseen by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is again preparing to film commercials touting California milk from California cows -- in New Zealand. In January, it plans to shoot part of its new series of 10 California "Happy Cows" TV commercials in Auckland, taking advantage of that country's low production costs. It comes just after California began offering film tax incentives this summer to reverse so-called runaway production that has caused the loss of thousands of...

A Democratic Party-sponsored "national innovation conference" to examine key policy and technology issues at Google's headquarters beginning today has critics charging that the $5,000-and-up ticket prices limit access to the event to Silicon Valley high rollers and raise the specter of "pay to play" politics. Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica likened the event to Republicans holding an energy conference at an oil company headquarters. The consumer rights group urged California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and four other senators to boycott the fundraiser sponsored by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Eric Schultz, communications director for the campaign committee, defended...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday defended $11.1 billion in new borrowing as a critical investment in the state's water future while at the same time insisting California must cut its way toward a balanced budget in the short term. In an interview with The Bee's editorial board, the Republican governor also took aim at the state's prison employees and advocated for a constitutional change allowing California to rely more on private workers. After reaching a deal last week with state lawmakers to bolster California's water infrastructure, Schwarzenegger is trying to build popular support for the plan, knowing voters will have...

In what could be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, federal prosecutors sought to take over four U.S. mosques and a New York City skyscraper owned by a Muslim organization suspected of being controlled by the Iranian government. Prosecutors on Thursday filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets. The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story Manhattan office tower. Confiscating the properties would...

In July, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for a "Commission on the 21st Century Economy," it was hoped the group of experts could provide a way to finally resolve California's budget woes. When the commission issued its report at the end of September, however, the recommendations fell to the floor with a resounding thud. Defenders of California's status quo in the state legislature in effect said "no way." Today, California is a by-the-numbers state tragedy. Unemployment is higher than 12.2 percent as of September. Business costs are almost 23 percent higher than other states on average. Migration out of the...

REDUCES LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND PAY BY AT LEAST 50%. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Reduces the Legislature’s regular session by more than 50% to no more than ninety-five days. Directs the Legislature to convene in January for up to thirty days and again in May for up to sixty days. Allows the Legislature to reconvene for up to five additional days to reconsider bills vetoed by the Governor. Requires that legislators’ salaries be cut by at least 50%, regardless of the amount of work legislators perform. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and...

A new policy dictating the selection of prepared food vendors at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market is drawing fire from Main Street merchants who are concerned that there won't be enough preference given to local restaurants.

Days after lawmakers agreed to ask voters for $11.1 billion in debt for water projects, the state had to pay more than expected to sell its most recent bond issue. Brokers underwriting the sale of $1.9 billion in state general obligation bonds originally thought investors would demand a 3 percent yield. Instead, as the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday, "the state was forced to offer a 4 percent annualized tax-free yield to lure investors." That pushed the state's cost of borrowing at least a third higher than originally projected. That means the state, in order to borrow $1.9 billion, will...

Police arrested 22-year-old Abdul Walid Hamid of Hayward on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 4, after he reportedly tore a crucifix from a person's neck and scared others at Stoneridge Shopping Center. Hamid, an employee at a mall kiosk near Starbucks, has been charged with battery, terrorist threats and grand theft. According to reports, Hamid was yelling "Allah is power" and "Islam is great" while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police. Lt. Mike Elerick of the Pleasanton Police Department said the man was not provoked and didn't threaten violence,...

Family members of a man recently arrested for an alleged robbery and anti-Christian disturbance at Stoneridge Shopping Center say the incident was all a misunderstanding. Abdul Walid Hamid of Hayward appeared before Judge Christine Moruza yesterday for an arraignment on charges of battery, grand theft, terrorist threats and exhibition of a deadly weapon. The arraignment was postponed until 9 a.m. today, however, as he required a translator. Hamid, 22, who works at a kiosk in the mall, was arrested by Pleasanton police Nov. 4 after he reportedly yelled "Allah is power" and "Islam is great," while holding a pen in...