Free Republic

This week we broke the story of possible criminal wrongdoing in the government takeover of insurance giant AIG. In the last several months, the US government has tried, unsuccessfully, to throw out plaintiff Kevin Murray’s case, alleging that the government’s takeover of AIG puts it in the position of supporting and promoting Islam and Shariah finance. In the discovery process attorneys for Murray, David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise (of the Thomas More Law Center), discovered that the takeover itself may have been illegal, and have attempted to get Treasury Secretary under oath to try and untangle this mess. Again, the...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got off to a fast start in his annual September Veto Parade yesterday by saying he would reject state Sen. Sheila Kuehl's nonsensical, poorly drafted bill mandating that California adopt socialized medicine. It is a sad commentary on the Legislature that Kuehl's bill made it this far. Perhaps the governor next can tackle measures that are, respectively, anti-consumer, anti-common sense and pro-corruption. AB 2592, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would allow car-rental companies to omit the cost of airport fees when advertising rental rates. How does Leno – who sees himself as a classic liberal do-gooder...

California's foreign trade offices--taxpayer-funded enterprises disbanded three years ago amid scandal and budget woes--are staging a comeback despite lingering questions about their usefulness. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and some legislators are once again trumpeting the value of trade promotion for the sixth-largest economy in the world. In recent months, the governor has established an undersecretary for international trade, while lawmakers have proposed resurrecting outposts in Seoul, South Korea, and Johannesburg, South Africa. In coming weeks, the Legislature is expected to take up bills that call for developing a comprehensive trade strategy and moving the state back into the business of operating...

Legislation to restrict public access to financial records in California divorce cases was placed on the Assembly's inactive file Thursday. State Sen. Kevin Murray, a Culver City Democrat who crafted the measure, Senate Bill 1015, shelved the bill after Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez proposed major amendments in response to concerns by various female lawmakers and women's advocacy groups. The bill, as written by Murray, would not limit spouses' access to sensitive financial information but would allow automatic redaction from public files of net worth, annual salary, Social Security numbers, home addresses, and balances of bank or broker accounts upon request...

Despite the honest policy disputes over Kevin Murray's bill to seal financial records in divorce cases, the debate over S.B. 1015 has focused on just about everything but policy. The story of this bill is a story of how lawmakers and advocates make political calculations. It is about how to know when you're beat, and about cutting your losses to limit the political damage that your opposition may inflict on you down the road. To some, it is a tale of political cowardice. To others, it is a tale of the ultimate political pragmatism and democracy in action. It is...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A Democratic lawmaker has introduced a bill to allow a divorcing spouse to keep financial records private, less than a month after a court struck down a similar law that opponents contend was passed to help a wealthy campaign donor. Earlier this month, Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, took over a Senate bill dealing with homeland security that was awaiting action in the Assembly and turned it into a measure dealing with financial records in divorce cases. It would require a court to seal certain financial records at the request of one of the spouses in a...

L.A. Dem denies work for Anschutz's company improper. Sacramento -- One of the nation's largest owners of professional sports and entertainment properties paid $20,000 in consulting fees to a state senator while the lawmaker pushed legislation aimed at providing more public assistance in financing such venues, records show. Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Los Angeles, said the December payment from Anschutz Entertainment Group was for legal services unrelated to his bill. A spokesman for the company, which owns the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Examiner, said that Murray, who is an attorney, helped prepare a bid on a...

LOS ANGELES — Limiting cell phone usage is a common goal of many legislatures, but California’s lawmakers want to up the ante, adding more than that to the list of what motorists can and can’t do behind the wheel. A bill passed by the California state Senate (search) would subject drivers who talk on the phone, put on makeup, drink, eat, smoke, interact with pets or kids, read, write, tune the radio or program hand-held devices like Blackberries to fines of $35 for the first offense and $150 for the second.