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Leadership: Alaska's ex-governor asks a question we'd like answered: Why is California's current governor pushing the same policies in Copenhagen that helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment? The movie series that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name involved cyborgs traveling through time to alternately try to destroy or save one John Connor, who would grow up to be the leader of the resistance against a race of machines that ruled the planet. Prominent in the series was his tough cookie of a mom, Sarah Connor. Another Sarah has taken the lead in another resistance against another group...

Shedding jobs that once reliably attracted new residents, California grew at a slower pace this year than all but two other years since 1900, according to state Department of Finance figures released Thursday. The number of new births dropped. The number of new immigrants dropped. And more residents left California for other states than came here. The end result: Statewide growth from July 2008 to July 2009 was 350,000 people, or less than 1 percent. During the rest of the decade, California averaged 525,000 new residents each year. The four-county Sacramento region posted even more striking numbers, adding just 21,000...

As if she didn't have enough adversaries, Sarah Palin has decided to mix it up with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ostensibly, the issue was global warming. Actually, it's about the future face of the Republican Party -- whose it will be, and the ideology that person brings to the table. The exchange of criticisms between the ex-governor of Alaska and the current California governor was provoked by comments Schwarzenegger made about Palin at the international summit on climate change in Copenhagen – a conference Palin not only avoided, but called on President Obama to boycott. With that, the gauntlet was thrown for...

Video: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger bashes Sarah Palin for picking the economy over the environment. "The biggest jog creation is in green technology...people don't believe in fixing the envoronment or in global wrming...they are living in the stone age". He's talking about yesterday's USA poll which says that 7 out of 10 Americans believe that fixing the economy should be a higher priority than fixing the environment. Pesky humans may be able to "fix" the economy (except for California) but "fixing" the environment is an entirely different matter! How does one fix that which God created?

<p>"Why is Governor Schwarzenegger pushing for the same sorts of policies in Copenhagen that have helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment?" Palin wrote on her Facebook page. "Perhaps he will recall that I live in our nation's only Arctic state and that I was among the first governors to create a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with climate change."</p>

Why is Governor Schwarzenegger pushing for the same sorts of policies in Copenhagen that have helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment? Perhaps he will recall that I live in our nation’s only Arctic state and that I was among the first governors to create a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with climate change. While I and all Alaskans witness the impacts of changes in weather patterns firsthand, I have repeatedly said that we can’t primarily blame man’s activities for those changes. And while I did look for practical responses to those changes, what I didn’t do was hamstring...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took the stage in Copenhagen today to deliver his speech on combating climate change, but he also created buzz with a series of shots at 2008 GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin's global warming skepticism. "You have to ask: what was she trying to accomplish?" he told the Financial Times. "Is she really interested in this subject or is she interested in her career and in winning the [Republican] nomination [for president]? You have to take all these things with a grain of salt."

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Schwarzenegger slams Palin « - Blogs from CNN.com

COPENHAGEN (CBS 5 / AP) ― California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says world policymakers do not have to choose between a clean environment and economic growth. .. "we've proved that over and over again in California." .. he thinks world leaders may be risking setback by pushing so aggressively for an accommodation on curbs to heat-trapping emissions. .. people worried about climate change should pay more attention to companies, universities and "ordinary folks" and not put so much emphasis on a multinational consensus. He said that type of thinking is "setting yourself up for failure." .. poor nations have a right...

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is delivering his big speech in Copenhagen right now -- but before he took the stage he offered an opening salvo -- a whack at fellow Republican Sarah Palin who has expressed skepticism about global warming. The FT, which is on quite a roll: The California governor has become an environmental standard bearer for the Republican party, which is split on the merits of curbing emissions. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 presidential election, has attacked cap and trade and questioned any link between man-made emissions and global warming. “You have to ask:...

This week, leaders from around the world gather here, in a quest for a global pact to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and tackle the single greatest challenge of our time. I am joining them to discuss the urgency of their efforts, the economic opportunities we can seize, and the tremendous role of subnational governments in climate-change mitigation.

California: While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger worries about rising seas, his state sinks below the waves. Don't mess with Texas, they say. But California and the nation could follow its lead. Last Wednesday, Gov. Schwarzenegger released a new report based on research compiled by the California Energy Commission claiming that by 2100 San Francisco Bay would be more bay than San Francisco, with Fisherman's Wharf and Treasure Island under the rising waters of climate change. His show-and-tell, which included a new Google Earth application the commission spent $150,000 to help develop, goes a long way toward explaining the once-Golden State's slide...

Ah...nold Schwarzenegger takes us on a computer generated tour designed to promote awareness of the challenges Ah...nold faces from climate change in California. You know, seasons like spring, summer, winter and fall! And......he does it with a straight face! Deception knows no socia-economic-racial boundries!

A map of how California will be affected by climate change in the future was unveiled yesterday by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by 150cm (60in). The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels. The map, named CalAdapt, which was revealed at a press conference on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay by Mr Schwarzenegger and Google CEO...

A map of how California will be affected by climate change in the future was unveiled yesterday by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by 150cm (60in).

The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by ...60in. The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels. The map, named CalAdapt, which was revealed at a press conference on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay by Mr Schwarzenegger and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, was created as part of a plan for the state to adapt to global warming. 'Within a century, Treasure Island, this...

With state unemployment at 12.5 percent, its highest rate in 60-plus years, you’d think the last thing the California Air Resources Board and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would be doing is crowing about new regulations that are certain to kill jobs. But that’s just what happened this week when the air board issued the parameters for its “cap and trade” system under which companies would buy and sell allowances for the emissions that contribute to global warming.

A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said today that an Internal Revenue Service lien against the governor for $79,064 in unpaid taxes was "a minor paperwork tracking discrepancy that is now being resolved." Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's press secretary, said in an e-mail that the governor was not aware until today that the IRS had filed a lien in Los Angeles County last May for taxes from 2004 and 2005.

Apparently, Arnold Schwarzenegger owes the IRS a total of over $79K from 2004 and 2005.

According to documents filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Arnold Schwarzenegger owes the IRS $39,047 from 2004 and $40,016 from 2005. In total the Guv owes $79,064.00 ... and as we all know, he's definitely not saving the money for rainy day traffic violations. http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/1125_schwarzeneggar.pdf

Today Americans for Tax Reform, a non-profit taxpayer advocacy group, gave the first ever “Richard Rich Backstabber Award,” to current California State Senator and newly appointed Lt. Governor, Abel Maldonado. For those unfamiliar with Rich and why Abel Maldonado should be bestowed with an award in his name, Rich was Lord Chancellor during the reign of Henry the VI of England and Solicitor General under Henry the VIII. Rich is best known for perjuring himself in order to secure a death sentence for Saint Thomas More (who happens to be the patron saint of those who work in politics and...

Now the infighting begins. Democrats fired back only minutes after Republican state Sen. Abel Maldonado was appointed Tuesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to fill the vacant office of lieutenant governor. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg questioned the cost: Wouldn't California be better served spending $2 million to defray college tuition rather than for a special election to fill Maldonado's Senate seat should lawmakers confirm him? "It may be both fiscally and politically prudent to permit the people to make their own selection for this statewide office next year and avoid the expense of a costly special election," Steinberg said...

Even as Sen. Abel Maldonado was being nominated Tuesday to serve as lieutenant governor, Democratic leaders expressed doubts about confirming him. "It may be both fiscally and politically prudent to permit the people to make their own selection for this state office next year to avoid the expense of a costly special election," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said in a written statement. Steinberg's reaction signals that the appointment of Maldonado, who angered members of his own party this year by voting to raise taxes, is no slam-dunk to be confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who...

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...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spilled the beans to late-night host Jay Leno that he's nominating Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado to fill the vacant lieutenant governor seat. Here's how Schwarzenegger described his pick, according to the show's transcript: "He's a terrific, loyal man that has worked very hard in public service. But he's also into bipartisanship and postpartisanship, so he can cross the aisle. He makes decisions based on what's best for the people rather than what's best for the party. He has helped us, many times, pass a budget, which was very important. And he comes from an immigrant family. They...

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named Senator Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County) as his pick for lieutenant governor Monday, making the announcement on a late night show. Maldonado, a Latino and moderate Republican, gave the governor a crucial vote on the budget this year - which included tax hikes- angering the party's base. It's not the first time he's stuck his neck out for the governor.

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.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger talks with Spc. Ferrell Mapp, a resident of Richmond, Calif., and a member of the California National Guard, 49th Military Police Brigade, during a breakfast event held on Camp Victory, Baghdad, Nov. 17. At right is Brig. Gen. Donald Currier, commander of the 49th, and close aide to the governor in his civilian job. Photo by Sgt. Kenneth Bince, 49the Military Police Brigade. BAGHDAD — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger shared breakfast and conversation with his State’s Soldiers during a visit here to Camp Victory, Nov. 17. Schwarzenegger said he visited the Fairfield, Calif.-based 49th Military Police...

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...

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,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited troops in Iraq today for the first time as governor at Camp Victory, just outside of Baghdad, according to spokesman Aaron McLear and video from the Multi-National Corps Iraq Public Affairs. Schwarzenegger gave a six-minute speech designed to motivate the troops. He delivered cigars, signed autographs and told them he'd return Tuesday morning to work out with some of them before breakfast. "I just wanted to let you know how much we in the United States appreciate the work you are doing," Schwarzenegger said in his speech. "Now I know you are thinking many times, why...

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...

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...

Reporting from Sacramento and Los Angeles - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger quietly spiked an effort last month to win $1.1 billion in federal high-speed rail stimulus funds for 29 projects to improve the safety, speed and capacity of heavily traveled commuter corridors through Southern California. Instead, he ordered state officials to seek money for only one project -- the proposed bullet train between San Francisco and San Diego. The governor's decision was intended to increase the state's chances of receiving high-speed rail money, officials said. California is competing with more than 40 applicants from 23 other states. But the action has...

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...

Shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue in Washington, D.C. recently, Maria Shriver and her daughter left all the clothes the daughter tried on -- but didn't purchase -- on the floor of the dressing room. The sales staff was shocked that Shriver allowed her daughter, whose father is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to leave her rejects in a pile during their visit in mid-October. "She left the dressing room in a shambles," according to a sales clerk. "Why doesn't Maria Shriver teach her daughter manners and respect for others?" Shriver writes: "My role model, like most daughters, was my mother. She...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger estimated Monday that California's budget will fall out of balance by $5 billion to $7 billion this fiscal year, on top of a $7.4 billion gap already projected for 2010-11. If true, state leaders would confront at least a $12.4 billion to $14.4 billion problem when Schwarzenegger releases his budget in January. California currently has an $84.6 billion general fund budget. The Republican governor spoke with The Fresno Bee editorial board Monday after signing a bill placing a water bond on the November 2010 ballot. He emphasized deep spending cuts as a budget solution but did not...

One of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Twitter followers asked Tuesday whether he still has the sword from the movie "Conan the Barbarian." Not only did the governor confirm he has the sword, he provided a picture. "I do still have the Conan sword, and I keep it in my office. Here's a picture," Schwarzenegger tweeted. The question came from a follower with a blog devoted to screen captions ("the VERY BEST and HIGHEST QUALITY," we're assured) of television news anchors. Here's a Tuesday blog post from "shadow:" "Yes... the Conan sword from the original Conan the Barbarian movie! I sent...

Reporting from Sacramento - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have a plum political post to dole out after Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is sworn into Congress today, vacating the No. 2 slot in California government. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has the power to name the replacement for Garamendi, a Democrat, in a political decision that has been much chattered about in Sacramento. That power, however, doesn't rest with Schwarzenegger alone: The Democratic-dominated Legislature must confirm his pick, setting up a potential showdown. Further complicating matters, four sitting state senators are seeking the post in 2010. The lieutenant governor has few official powers,...

Gov. Schwarzenegger stops by an event honoring Willie Brown and the room erupts in heckling, profanity, and slurs against Arnold...who of course goes out of his way to distance himself from the Republican Party immediately but it does no good as gay activists in the crowd let him have it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WORDNqxl7E

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has complained that he doesn't get to pick his own lieutenant governor, a position he thinks should be more first mate than political detractor – if it must exist at all. He could soon get his wish. If Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi wins a special congressional election Tuesday in the Democrat-leaning 10th Congressional District, Schwarzenegger has the power to appoint Garamendi's replacement. The Republican governor has not tipped his hand. He has the option of choosing a caretaker who will serve out Garamendi's last year. Or he could use the appointment to reward a Republican legislator...

The Obama administration on Friday touted reports of 640,000 stimulus jobs, the latest economic numbers and the backing of a Republican governor to try to undercut GOP attacks on the effect of its massive $787 billion package. Reports released Friday afternoon showed that stimulus projects, such as highway and other infrastructure work, have directly saved or created 640,329 jobs, Vice President Joe Biden said. White House officials said a total of about 1 million jobs have been created or saved by the stimulus when taking into account the roughly 400,000 jobs that come from the economic effect of tax cuts,...

WASHINGTON ---- It may be highly improbable mathematically, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that the encoded profanity contained in one of his veto messages was "a wild coincidence." Speaking to reporters at the White House, the Republican governor said: "That was a total coincidence. It was one of those wild coincidences." The first letter in seven lines of the message, when read from top to bottom, combine to spell out "F• you."

Schwarzenegger drops F-bomb in veto message to lawmaker By DAVID K. LI Last Updated: 10:50 PM, October 28, 2009 Posted: 12:24 PM, October 28, 2009 Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped a subtle f-bomb on a bitter political rival in a possible payback for the lawmaker’s recent heckling the California governator. The Golden State’s leading man has Sacramento buzzing with his written explanation of vetoing a finance bill sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). Down the left-hand margin of Schwarzenegger’s open correspondence, the first words of successive lines were: "For," "unnecessary," "care," "kicks," "Yet," "overwhelmingly" and "unnecessary." The first letters, of course,...

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano today said he hoped he and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a "clean slate" in the future after the governor vetoed one of Ammiano's bills with a not-so-subtle F*** Y** attached. "I think some people feel it was inappropriate," Ammiano said of the governor's acrostic message to him in vetoing AB 1176. "To me it's part of 'welcome to Sacramento.'"

There is absolutely no way I’ll be able to make this relevant to tech. But I’m posting it anyway. Our Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed a California legislative finance bill – AB 1176. The letter is terse and to the point. And the first letter of each line in paragraphs 2-3 are even terser and more to the point. Schwarzeneggers battles with the state legislature are epic. But this just goes way beyond epic. It’s something for the history books. (click the link to view the message...)

A BUST of Russia's muscle-flexing strongman Vladimir Putin is being created as a gift for ex-Hollywood bodybuilder and California's current governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bust is currently being made in Putin's home city of Saint Petersburg on an order of Russia's Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation and will be delivered to the movie star-turned-politician in March. "Putin is such a complex personality. He's left no one indifferent," Alexander Chernoshchyokov, a Saint Petersburg-based sculptor who has been working on the Putin bust since June... In 1991 the Russian artist made a sculpture of Schwarzenegger and Vladimir Dubinin, the president of the bodybuilding...

First Lady continues her misunderstanding of California's vehicular lawsVigilant paparazzi have been keeping extra close tabs on California's First Lady Maria Shriver ever since she was caught breaking the state's hands-free law. Once again, it appears Shriver has been busted. Shriver allegedly parked her non-emergency vehicle in a red zone, TMZ reported Monday: Arnold's really gonna be seeing red after this because his scofflaw wife once again blatantly disobeyed the rules of the road ... and parked her non-emergency vehicle in a red zone!!!! We're told Maria Shriver left her Escalade in the verboten spot for almost an hour while...

After railing against labor unions, waste and fraud in the past, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday found a new target to blame for California's budget woes: judges who "are going absolutely crazy." As pieces of the July state budget solution begin to unravel, the Republican governor said judges – especially on the federal level – are preventing California from solving its problems. He complained in particular about judicial actions that have struck down some state worker furloughs, required reductions in the prison population, imposed restrictions on water delivery in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and this week blocked cuts to in-home...

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...