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California 'Central Planning'   If you live in California,  you already know  that the Inmates have taken over the Asylum.    ...If you don't want to end up 'living in a condo by the Railroad Tracks', do yourself a favor and either phone, or fax a letter to, Governor Schwartzenegger TODAY, urging him to oppose, and NOT sign SB 375.   See: http://reason.org/commentaries/staley_20080826.shtml for details... (...and see below for Arnold's fax number/address.) http://www.seadogbytes.com/sbimages/SB375_Steinberg.jpg   Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 445-2841, ext. 0 (and tell them you oppose SB 375) Fax: (916) 558-3160  

California legislators have approved legislation to circumvent the Electoral College. But the measure could face a veto from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill by Senator Carole Migden, a San Francisco Democrat, would ratify an interstate agreement in which states award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. That would avoid a repeat of the 2000 election, when George Bush won the presidency but not the popular vote.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress on Thursday sent a $290 billion farm bill to President Bush for a second time in an effort to fix a printing error that has threatened the delivery of U.S. food aid abroad. To ensure that the aid continues amid a global hunger crisis, Congress and Bush were planning to pass, veto and enact the bill to provide farm subsidies, food stamps and other nutrition programs over the next five years. The Senate passed the bill 77-15, two weeks after the discovery that 34 pages of the legislation extending those aid programs were missing from the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush vetoed the $300 billion farm bill on Wednesday, calling it a tax increase on regular Americans at a time of high food prices in the face of a near-certain override by Congress. It was the 10th veto of Bush's presidency. But since it passed both houses of Congress with veto-proof majorities, his action will likely be overridden. The president believes the legislation is fiscally irresponsible and gives away too much money to wealthy farmers, yet his criticism rang hollow with lawmakers from both parties who voted for increased crop subsidies, food stamps for the poor...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The White House again says President Bush will veto rival House and Senate Iraq funding bills, even after Democrats made spending concessions designed to win the president's signature. White House budget office director Jim Nussle said Thursday that a plan by House Democratic leaders to send Bush a bill without domestic appropriations that would bust his $108 billion request still wouldn't satisfy the president.

Yellow Springs, Ohio (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain said President Bush should veto a measure that would bar the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects. McCain voted against the bill, which would restrict the CIA to using only the 19 interrogation techniques listed in the Army field manual. His vote was controversial because the manual prohibits waterboarding — a simulated drowning technique that McCain also opposes — yet McCain doesn't want the CIA bound by the manual and its prohibitions. McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, is...

Conference committee gives Pelosi, Reid a last opportunity to cut pork in farm bill - The next time House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid talk about ending poverty, stopping giveaways for wealthy corporations and finding bipartisan solutions, remember their work on the 2007 farm bill.Before adjourning for the holidays, the Senate endorsed a $286 billion farm bill that is only slightly less wasteful and indefensible than the porkfest the House passed earlier in the year.Despite a few nods at "reform," the Senate bill continues and expands subsidies for millionaire corporate farmers. It undercuts growers in Africa and...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Confronting the Senate and White House, House Democrats for a second time passed tax relief for 21 million people, going after companies and hedge fund managers that shelter money offshore. The vote Wednesday was a near party-line 226-193. The White House responded with a veto threat and the Senate's top Republican said the House approach to fixing the alternative minimum tax was unacceptable. "The Senate will not pass a short-term fix for some, if it includes a permanent massive tax hike for others," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said it was...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- President Bush on Wednesday was ready to veto legislation that passed with bipartisan support to dramatically expand government-provided health insurance for children. It would be Bush's seventh veto in seven years. Bush vetoed an earlier version of the health insurance program. The bill passed the Democratic-controlled Senate by a veto-proof margin, but the same was not true in the House. Even after the bill was approved, negotiations continued on a compromise version. A major point of contention with the White House was Bush's demand that nearly all poor children eligible for the program be found and enrolled...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defying a threat of a presidential veto, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intends to push ahead with a $21 billion tax package, including repeal of tax breaks for major oil companies, as part of an energy bill, aides to the speaker said Tuesday. Democratic leaders circulated a summary of the legislation that includes the new taxes as well as a requirement for a 40 percent increase in automobile fuel efficiency, a huge increase in the use of ethanol as a motor fuel, and a mandate for utilities to use renewable fuels. Republicans earlier this year blocked Senate attempts...

Saying that California's family leave laws are already too confusing, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed two bills that would have expanded family leave to include care for ill siblings, in-laws and grandparents. "While some expansion of existing law may have merit, these laws in combination are too expansive and also fail to recognize the need for reforms to current law," Schwarzenegger wrote in a veto message shortly before his Oct. 14 deadline to act on bills from the 2007 legislative session. California now requires firms with 50 or more workers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for...

There is a pair of bills on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk that puts him on the spot: They would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, including a hike in the "car tax" that Schwarzenegger vilified in his first campaign for office. ... The measures as passed were not publicly debated. They received little vetting by policy experts. They were not fully written until the clock had almost run out on lawmakers preparing to adjourn and get out of town last month. And key provisions were shaped by a small group of big campaign contributors. The causes were advanced by...

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Three pieces of firearm-related legislation are currently on the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) awaiting his consideration. Assembly Bill 1471 would require that after a certain date, the make, model, and serial number of a firearm be microstamped onto the interior surface or internal working parts of all handguns in such a manner that those identifiers are imprinted onto the cartridge case upon firing. The manufacture, sale, and transfer of handguns that do not imprint their identifying information on a cartridge case would be a crime. Assembly Bill 821 would ban the use of lead...

Democrats Propose Tax Surcharge for War By ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats on Tuesday proposed an income tax surcharge to finance the approximately $150 billion annual cost of operations in Iraq, saying it is unfair to pass the cost of the war onto future generations. The plan, unveiled by Reps. David Obey, D-Wis., John Murtha, D-Pa., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., would require low- and middle-income taxpayers to add 2 percent to their tax bill. Wealthier people would pay an additional 12 to 15 percent, Obey said. The plan's sponsors acknowledged it's unlikely to pass, but Democrats...

The push is on Planned Parenthood mounts campaign to pressure Gov. Schwarzenegger into signing bill that would provide millions more in state funding for family planning Planned Parenthood affiliates across California have geared up their PR machines once again, this time in an effort to persuade Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill that could result in the state spending another $3.2 million a year on “family planning services.” Planned Parenthood, whose California affiliates typically end each fiscal year with budget surpluses in the millions, want the governor to sign SB-94, sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles. The...

Many groups tell their followers to contact Schwarzenegger about a same-sex marriage bill on his desk -- With the regular legislative session complete, the battle over eight gay rights bills, including one allowing same-sex marriage, has moved directly to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office.Religious-based critics have asked volunteers to repeatedly dial the Republican governor to voice their opposition to the measures. In one e-mail, the Campaign for Children and Families asks supporters to call and write Schwarzenegger, with one piece of additional advice: "Don't forget to pray to God."At the same time, Oakland-based Marriage Equality USA organized statewide rallies Tuesday in...

Labor legislation that is a priority for Democrats has become the definition of "veto bait" for the White House. Five of the 24 veto threats President Bush has issued since Democrats took control of Congress target bills with provisions that benefit unions and their members. Measures passed by either the House or Senate making it easier for unions to organize workplaces, stiffening penalties for union busting or establishing more collective bargaining rights for federal employees are among those under veto threats. Often they're tucked into the fine print provisions and not the major subject of the bill itself. "There's really...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Just hours after the White House issued a veto threat Thursday, the House voted to add gender and sexual orientation to the categories covered by federal hate crimes law. The House legislation, passed 237-180, also makes it easier for federal law enforcement to take part in or assist local prosecutions involving bias-motivated attacks. Similar legislation is also moving through the Senate, setting the stage for another veto showdown with President Bush. "This is an important vote of conscience, of a statement of what America is, a society that understands that we accept differences," said House Majority Leader...

California to cut gas emissions Schwarzenegger thinks the federal government will follow suit California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a law which sets targets to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions.Becoming the first US state to impose such limits, California is aiming to reduce its emissions by 25% by 2020. Details on how the state will achieve the cut have not been worked out, but it seems inevitable that businesses will face tougher emissions limits. While good news for the environment, critics argue that firms may relocate. In addition to companies simply moving outside California, opponents of the Global...

Gov. Schwarzenegger has three days left to decide whether to give a landmark tax victory to gay rights activists -- the right to file as married couples -- but stick them with a tax-filing headache. The bill, which is among a stack of bills that will become law unless vetoed by Saturday, would require California's 75,000 registered domestic partners to file their state tax returns as if they were legally married -- even though they'd still have to submit single returns to Uncle Sam. --snip-- ``This is hugely symbolic,'' said Jean Johnston, a tax attorney with Johnston/Childress in San Francisco....