Free Republic

There are two distinct – although obviously connected – aspects to the agreement that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders forged on closing the state's whopping budget deficit. There is the deal itself, a complex mélange of new taxes, borrowed money, spending reductions and bookkeeping maneuvers that's still being drafted. We know generally what's in the deal, but we still don't know all the details, including the side deals. It's still very uncertain whether the Legislature will muster the requisite votes to pass it. Even if lawmakers act, many of the deal's provisions would hinge on voters' approving a series...

The so-called "Big 5" process has often been used to forge a final state budget deal – the governor and four legislative leaders privately ironing out details that will secure enough votes in the Legislature. The current crisis, a deficit estimated at $40 billion over the next 17 months – and growing – has spawned a unique expansion of those secret negotiations into an effort to deal with the whole enchilada, completely bypassing legislative hearings and other ordinary trappings of fiscal politics. The quintet appears to have reached the climactic point, the one in which political positioning and face-saving overshadow...

In the media dungeon By Molly Ivins Creators Syndicate This is a gross scandal. The Center for Public Integrity has a stunning study out on the concentration of ownership in telecommunications. The even more stunning news is that the Federal Communications Commission, which theoretically represents you and me, is about to make all of it even worse. And behind this betrayal of the public trust is nothing but rotten, old-fashioned corruption. It's the old free-trip-to-Vegas ploy, on a grand scale. The Public Integrity people examined the travel records of FCC employees and found that they have accepted 2,500 trips, costing...