Free Republic

The percentage of Californians who smoke has dropped to an all-time low of 11.9 percent, the second-lowest in the nation behind Utah's 9.1 percent. That's good news for the health of Californians, but bad news for the state's budget and First 5 program, which funds local services for children up to age 5. The decline in smoking was anticipated, but it has descended at a much sharper rate than predicted. As a result, California will face difficulty in funding $16 billion in bonds the state has issued since 2001. The bonds are supposed to be financed by payments from the...

click here to see his new nickname Was Archie a Political Prophet of some sort?Archie Bunker gives what's his name a new nick name. I will only refer to what's his name by his new nickname from now on!

Norman Lear Attacks Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Karl Rove and GOP Presidential Candidates By Noel Sheppard Created 12/13/2011 - 6:51pm Television's Norman Lear, in a speech celebrating the 30th anniversary of his far-left organization People for the American Way, called James Dobson, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Karl Rove hate-mongers. In his December 5 address published at the Huffington Post Tuesday, he also accused the Republican candidates for president of having a "holier-than-thou sanctity" (video follows with transcript and commentary): NORMAN LEAR: I want to suggest we lefties start laying claim to what we see as "sacred" -- and serve...

Actor and director Rob Reiner, a champion of the state's First 5 childhood development programs, said Wednesday he is "pleased" that lawmakers have backed off Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal to take half of future First 5 revenues for the state budget. Brown and lawmakers have abandoned the governor's original First 5 idea in large part because it required them to get voter approval.

Americans go to the polls Tuesday. Who would question that this is not just another election? We’re fighting for our nation’s soul. For what we believe freedom is about. Or if we really care to be free. In most elections, we’re all pretty much on the same page about who we are as a nation. The debate is about details concerning how it’s going to be managed. This year the debate is about what page we’re on. New data from Gallup shows how polarized we’ve become. In 1994, 40% identified as conservative, 48% as moderate, and 12% as liberal. Now,...

The actor formerly known as Meathead blasted the "tea party" movement Friday night on HBO, comparing its followers to the Nazis. "My fear is that the tea party gets a charismatic leader," actor/director Rob Reiner said to applause in front of a live audience on Bill Maher's "Real Time." "Because all they're selling is fear and anger. And that's all Hitler sold. 'I'm angry and I'm frightened and you should hate that guy over there.' And that's what they're doing." Ranting between the senior advisor for the 2008 McCain/Palin campaign, Nicolle Wallace, and ABC's Jake Tapper, Reiner began his assault...

A friend and I were away for the weekend and we left to come home on Sunday. Traffic was moving slow & a car in front of us had an Obama bumper sticker on it. It read: "Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8". His bible was lying on the dash board & he got it & opened it up to the scripture & read it. He started laughing & laughing. Then he read it to me. I couldn't believe what it said. I had a good laugh, too. Psalm 109:8 "Let his days be few; and let another take his office....

Hollywood director Rob Reiner stars in the only broadcast ad specifically opposing Propositions 1D and 1E.The two items on Tuesday's special election ballot would temporarily shift funds to the state from local children's and mental-health programs, which voters approved in past years.Reiner is involved in the campaign because in 1998 he spearheaded Proposition 10, which created the children's programs and the tobacco tax to finance them. Proposition 10 proponents have merged efforts with those seeking to protect Proposition 63, the 2004 measure that imposed a "millionaire's tax" to fund mental health programs.Following is the text of the radio ad and...

Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says it's possible he could endorse a Democrat to succeed him. According to The New York Times, Schwarzenegger was asked Friday in Los Angeles if he could envision supporting a Democratic successor, and he replied: “It could happen, yes.” Schwarzenegger, however, declined to name any Democrats he might support. The governor offered no specifics on any particular candidate he might support, but he did rule out following in Sen. Arlen Specter's footsteps and switching parties. “I’m not going to become a Democrat,” he said. “I think the Kennedy family has enough Democrats.” Democrats likely to...

SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- Director Rob Reiner is back on the campaign trail — and he's not happy about it. Reiner told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has joined forces with children's advocates to defeat a measure on next month's special election ballot. Proposition 1D would steer money away from a childhood development program Reiner championed a decade ago. The "When Harry Met Sally" filmmaker criticized Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California lawmakers for their management of state finances. "They failed miserably," he said. "So now what are they going to do? The thing that they always do. They try...

Among the special election propositions that Californians will consider as part of the 2009-10 budget plan is a measure that puts at odds the needs and interests of two groups responsible for providing much of the preschool education offered in San Joaquin County. Voters in 1998 approved the 50-cent-per-pack tobacco tax that sends millions of dollars to First 5 commissions throughout the state to pay for health and education programs focused on children 5 and younger. Proposition 1D, which will appear on the May 19 ballot, seeks to help fill California's gaping budget hole by sending much of that tobacco-tax...

Enjoy.

Golf course owners and some of their customers are teed off at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. So are veterinarians, auto mechanics and amusement park operators. Their anger is directed at the Republican governor's proposal to extend the state sales tax to cover more services, an idea that has surfaced in other states as they race to plug crippling budget deficits. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research clearinghouse, predicts such deficits nationwide could reach $350 billion by 2011. In California, Schwarzenegger wants to help close a nearly $42 billion budget deficit by taxing rounds of golf, auto repairs, veterinary...

Sex, Lies and Watergate Tapes by: Malcolm A. Kline, December 04, 2007 Only an academic would comb the Watergate tapes looking for Richard Nixon’s views on homosexuality. As it turns out, the 37th president’s observations on the subject were extensive and fairly well-defined. “On May 13, 1971, the president, responding to the television sitcom All in the Family, whose Meathead character (Archie Bunker’s son-in-law) Nixon decided ‘apparently goes both ways,’ sputtered in a secretly recorded conversation about homosexuality to his nearly mute aides,” Northwestern University professor Michael S. Sherry writes in the September 7, 2007 issue of the Chronicle of...

Dear Friend, When I received Hillary's email asking for volunteers, I did what any other Hollywood director would do. Made a movie. Starring myself and a great supporting cast of Hillary volunteers from all over town. You can see it right here: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/teamhillary Hey, I wasn't the only one who answered Hillary's call. We've received an overwhelming response, with supporters from across the country pledging over 300,000 volunteer hours. And that was just three hours after Hillary's email went out! We hit 500,000 volunteer hours later that day. So now there's a new goal. Ready? One million volunteer hours. So...

Film director Reiner endorses Clinton The Associated Press Article Launched: 09/27/2007 04:48:19 AM PDT LOS ANGELES—Director Rob Reiner has endorsed New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. "Every one of the Democratic candidates is strong, but Hillary is head and shoulders above the rest," Reiner said Wednesday

Paul the apostate Jul 19th 2007 | LAKE JACKSON, TEXASFrom The Economist print editionIs this would-be president brave or crazy? RON PAUL, a libertarian Republican congressman from Texas, likes to say what he thinks. And among the things he thinks is that the census is a violation of privacy. He has opted out of the congressional pension programme. He claims never to have voted for a tax increase, or for an unbalanced budget, or for a congressional pay rise and never to have gone on a congressional junket. He wants to return to the gold standard. Most notably, he strongly...

November, 7th, 2006 5 Good Reasons to Vote Today 1. IT'S A NATIONAL REFERENDUM. Although candidates' names will be on the ballot today, this election is NOT about this candidate or that candidate. Make no mistake about it: This election is nothing less than a National Referendum on George W. Bush and his War. Don't waste your time trying to learn about who the schlump is that's running for office. You know they're all pretty much the same, a few are better than others, but... please. They is who they is. THIS election is not about them. It's a simple...

SACRAMENTO - State mishandling of voter-approved, tax-increase funds for a children's program has pumped powerful, 11th-hour ammunition into close, expensive battles over two similar cigarette and oil-tax boosting measures on Tuesday's ballot. After an audit revealed multimillion-dollar improprieties in the use of Proposition 10 preschool funding, foes of Props. 86 and 87 attacked the two new tax measures Wednesday as creating the same type of bureaucracies -- except with loopholes ripe for exploitation. "The audit confirms what many have been saying all along about tax initiatives creating reckless, out-of-control spending of tax dollars through unaccountable government agencies," said Larry McCarthy,...

A taxpayer-funded commission headed by Hollywood producer Rob Reiner awarded media contracts totaling more than $77 million without sufficiently reviewing their costs and was lax in overseeing its deals, California's state auditor reported Tuesday. Poor oversight of its bills also led the California Children and Families Commission, or First 5, to pay $673,000 in fees and expenses that were prohibited under its own contract and make "questionable payments to contractors for items such as laptop computers valued at $10,000, food catering costs, and monthly parking fees," the report found. But the auditor concluded the commission did not violate state law...