Free Republic

With mail-in voting already underway, Newsom is spending big time in an effort save his governorship. Money is pouring in from billionaire left-wing donor George Soros, who has donated a total of $1 million to help Newsom, while Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings has given a whopping $3 million. Celebrities are helping lead the smear efforts against Elder and the GOP. Actor Ron Perlman posted an profanity-laden video in which he compared Republicans to ISIS and said “**** you, GOP.”

A top Netflix executive funneled millions to a fund aimed at opposing the recall effort of California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to financial disclosures reported to the California Secretary of State Thursday. Reed Hastings, co-CEO of the multi-billion dollar streaming service, sent $3 million to the Newsom fund. The longtime Democrat previously donated $7 million to the California Charter Schools Association’s 2018 initiative to get Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa elected in the gubernatorial primary. The CEO’s contribution is the largest sum donated to stop the recall. There is no limit to how much the governor can raise. Unions...

Netflix subscribers in the United States are about to see a price hike across all subscription tiers. The service’s most popular plan will increase from $11 to $13 per month for HD streaming. Netflix’s most expensive plan, which offers 4K content and up to four simultaneous streams on different devices, will increase from $14 to $16. And the service’s basic plan, which doesn’t offer HD, will raise from $8 to $9. These price hikes will affect all new subscribers immediately, according to AP, with current subscribers set to experience the hike over the next three months. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings...

While Hollywood constantly preaches diversity, some of the entertainment industry’s most powerful and influential executives have given almost exclusively to Democrat candidates and left-wing PACs. According to The Hollywood Reporter, nearly 100 percent of the millions donated from the top executives in Hollywood went to Democrats or PACs working to elect Democrats. Of the more than $4 million in federal donations made by the top Hollywood executives and entertainers, 99.7 percent went to Democrats and Democratic-leaning political action committees or organizations, according to a Hollywood Reporter data review of Federal Election Commission records. Only three members of this year’s THR...

A political action committee backing former state Sen. Michael Johnston of Denver for the Democratic nod for governor has received another $1 million dollars from Michael Bloomberg, bringing the wealthy former New York mayor’s total donations to the committee to $2 million. ... The $1 million contribution was the largest that any campaign committee received in the most recent reporting period from May 31 to June 13, according to the secretary of state’s office’s TRACER campaign finance system. Second on the list: another $750,000 from fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. Jared Polis of Boulder to his gubernatorial campaign, bringing his total...

For the past year, executives at big media companies have watched Netflix with growing resentment — for its success in delivering movies and television shows via the Internet, for its stock price nearly quadrupling, for its chief executive being named businessperson of the year by Fortune magazine. Now many of the companies that make the shows and movies that Netflix delivers to mailboxes, computer screens and televisions — companies whose stocks have not enjoyed the same frothy rise, and whose chief executives have not won the same accolades — are pushing back, arguing that the company is overhyped, and vowing...

If David and Goliath were alive today, they would likely take time out from their battle to cast a ballot against Proposition 88. So, too, would the feuding Hatfields and McCoys. Such is the diversity and unanimity of opposition to this ill-conceived tax increase. Proposition 88 on the November ballot will raise property taxes. This tax would be imposed by the state and would be in addition to any fees, assessments, bonds and the local property tax regulated by Proposition 13 that homeowners already pay. Considering that 10 million property owners would face higher property taxes if Proposition 88 passes,...

The principal financial backer of a statewide parcel tax initiative has apparently stopped funding the drive, leaving supporters without the kind of cash, staff and ads typically needed for a full-fledged campaign. Political consultant Rick Claussen said he has advised Netflix CEO Reed Hastings to "let go" of Proposition 88, which would establish a $50 parcel tax on all property for public school funding. "Because of the anti-tax sentiments right now, we took a look at the measure and felt it was better to let go of this one and regroup and decide where we might go in the future,"...

SACRAMENTO - Every property owner in California, no matter how big or small or valuable the parcel, faces paying a flat $50 tax to fund schools under a measure voters will be asked to approve in November. Although it's still early in the election season, the move already is generating criticism from taxpayer groups and property owners who say it's a regressive tax and adds to the burden on average citizens who are already overtaxed. Proponents of Proposition 88 - authored by EdVoice, a coalition that includes backing from such wealthy philanthropists as Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Silicon Valley investor...

In California politics, Silicon Valley executives used to be considered newbies, nerds or simply multimillionaires with too much time and money on their hands. No longer. Emboldened over the past decade by some success passing ballot propositions, a handful of the valley's most influential power brokers are once again aiming to use the initiative process to put their stamp on public policy in California. Two of the boldest electoral initiatives yet to emerge from valley interests will be on November's ballot: NetFlix founder Reed Hastings and Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist John Doerr are backing Proposition 88, an unprecedented statewide real...

Though more local school bonds are passing, voter support for these measures is in decline. This seeming contradiction can be understood by looking at the impact of Proposition 39 passed by voters in 2000. That year, a small group of multimillionaires and billionaires, most from the Silicon Valley, spent more than $60 million on a campaign to lower the vote threshold for the passage of local school bonds that only property owners are obligated to repay. The two-thirds vote for local bonds was established in the California Constitution of 1879 in recognition of the fact that not everyone who voted...

There are 13 measures on the statewide ballot this fall in California. Those advocating a “yes” vote on any of them have an uphill battle. And if you think it is too early to be talking about the next election, well, that proves the point. We just had the June primary and that was the fifth statewide election since 2002. Part of the issue, of course, is voter fatigue. But there is something deeper going on. Voters are still very distrustful. Polls indicate that Californians still believe that the state is headed in the wrong direction. This is strange because,...

California voters will be asked whether they want to raise property taxes by $50 per parcel under an initiative that qualified Friday for the November ballot. The measure would generate about $500 million a year by taxing commercial and residential property. Elderly and disabled people would be exempt. The money could be used only for specific purposes, such as reducing class sizes, buying textbooks and improving school safety. The measure is being funded by two Silicon Valley executives. Reed Hastings, the Netflix founder who was once a member of the state board of education, has given nearly $7 million to...

They don't make humanitarians like they used to. Ten years ago, if someone were asked for an example of a humanitarian, chances are Mother Teresa, who devoted her life to helping the poor, would come to mind. Fifty years ago, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, who brought modern medicine to a remote area of Africa, was a humanitarian icon. When he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 he used the $33,000 to expand his hospital and build a leper colony. One hundred years ago, Andrew Carnegie was busy giving away a fortune, much of it to public libraries and education....

Groups consider preschool measure REINER TO PROMOTE HIS INITIATIVE IN S.J. Rob Reiner returns to San Jose on Thursday to pitch Proposition 82, his Preschool for All Act, as two key Silicon Valley business groups wrangle over whether to endorse the plan to provide a free voluntary year of preschool to all 4-year-olds in the state. The tech-heavy Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which met with Reiner in mid-December, and the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce have yet to weigh in on the complex initiative, which goes before voters statewide June 6. In recent weeks, a variety of opponents...

Preschool for All Committee Total (last twelve months):$2,169,584 Cash on Hand (as of June 30):$195,431 Expenditures (Note: this includes only late contributions, generally large electronically filed contributions.This is not necessarily the total amount of cash-on-hand for the committee.) << Donor >> << Amount >> << Received Date >> << Report Date >> Carl And Estelle Reiner (Beverly Hills, CA) $500,000 12/07/2005 12/16/2005 Jamel Perkins (San Francisco, CA) $5,000 11/22/2005 12/02/2005 Catholic Healthcare West (Phoenix, AZ) $25,000 11/11/2005 11/18/2005 Brian S. Snyder (New York, NY) $30,000 11/10/2005 11/18/2005 Hispanic Express, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) $20,000 11/09/2005 11/18/2005 Elon R. Musk (Los...

For six months starting in September 2004, Rob Reiner hosted "house parties" every week, sometimes at his Beverly Hills home. The guests did not talk about Hollywood or the actor/director's new movie starring Jennifer Aniston. They talked about politics and public school and the monumental idea of offering each California 4-year-old free preschool for a year. It was an odd group of folks at the table: union officials, business leaders, early childhood experts and sometimes civil rights advocates and attorneys. Instead of spending massive amounts countering criticism during a campaign, Reiner took a novel approach, spending the time to get...

With an opportunity to do the best thing for California education, Democrats on the California Senate Rules Committee took another route. They weaseled. Faced with confirmation of a nominee for a second term to the State Board of Education, who California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said would go down in California history as one of the best members of that board, Democrats voted him down. This was the first big test of leadership for state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. Perata failed. With his "no" vote, he prevented the nomination of Reed Hastings from going to a...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A Senate committee Wednesday rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reappointment of a state Board of Education member who became embroiled in the debate over bilingual education. The Senate Rules Committee deadlocked 2-2 over Schwarzenegger's nomination of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Reed Hastings for another term on the board. He needed at least three votes from the five-member committee. Hastings, a Democratic Party campaign donor, was originally appointed to the board by Gov. Gray Davis in 2000. He was reappointed by Schwarzenegger, a Republican, last year. But Hastings ran into opposition from Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk, and bilingual education groups...