Free Republic

A federal district judge sentenced former state Sen. Leland Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, to five years in prison Wednesday for trading political favors for campaign contributions. He was also fined $20,000. Yee admitted in a plea deal that he was part of a racketeering conspiracy that involved exchanging official acts for money, conspiring to traffic in weapons and money laundering. Specifically, Lee promised an undercover FBI agent favors in return for campaign contributions. During the hourlong proceedings, Yee asked the court for leniency in light of his public humiliation, his wife's severe illness, his admissions of wrongdoing and his...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A Republican candidate for California attorney general said Friday that state lawmakers who are found guilty of crimes that endanger the lives of others should face the death penalty. Phil Wyman, who spent 17 years in the state Legislature, said he was motivated by the case of Democratic Sen. Leland Yee. Yee faces federal charges that include an attempt to coordinate an international gun-running scheme from the Philippines. Wyman also criticized Democratic Attorney General Kamala Harris for being “silent as a mouse” on the corruption cases that have marred the state Senate this year. A campaign...

The budget is in the tank and the workers' compensation system is in disarray. California, it appears, is suffering from bad chi. What better time, Assemblyman Leland Yee argues, for a feng shui tuneup? Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, is pushing a legislative resolution that urges the state and municipalities to consider adopting design standards that incorporate the ancient Chinese art of geomancy. Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) principles hold that one's physical surroundings and the flow of chi (pronounced chee), or energy, can be arranged to attract harmony, wealth and good luck.