Trying to write about particularly stupid legislation that is moving forward in the State Legislature is a sport akin to shooting fish in a barrel (see the video). That is to say that the freedom and liberty of Californians are under assault from so many directions that it is literally impossible to follow it all. In the case of hundreds of terrible, terrible bills, the only thing that stands between them and becoming terrible laws will be the veto pen of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Yesterday, our own Matt Cunningham blogged on a bill by Democrat Senator Ellen “free, unregulated people make me nervous” Corbett, SB 1313. In layman’s terms, this bill would seek to ban/severely increase the cost of the use of the “non-stick stuff” that is used… Read More

Whoops. It seems that I rather unfairly tarnished some Republican legislators in my commentary this morning. All is good in the world because apparently Republicans do NOT want to ban Teflon coating! I incorrectly looked up a reconsideration vote on SB 1313, and Assemblyman Bob Huff called me on it (literally). My apologies to all five GOPers on the committee, as it turns out NONE of them voted for the bill. Assemlymembers Emmerson, Gaines, and Huff voted against 4! 1313. Assemblymen Nakanishi and Silva were absent or abstained.… Read More

The San Diego Community College District offers yet another example of how government officials cost taxpayers millions of dollars unnecessarily. In this case, the district costs taxpayers more by simply not acting on decisions to purchase land in a timely manner.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune (May 19, 2008), “The San Diego Community College District routinely paid more than its appraisals for property needed to expand campuses because it didn’t act quickly enough when real estate prices were skyrocketing. Officials spent about $81 million buying 25 properties across the city as part of a voter-approved effort in 2002 and 2006 to upgrade the state’s second-largest community college district.”

Unfortunately for taxpayers, the San Diego Union-Tribune found that purchase… Read More

Shhhh. The nation is in a record fiscal crisis: Gas and other energy prices are high. Illegal immigration still runs rampant. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on. The economy is in doldrums. And, the federal government is in a record fiscal crisis. You probably already knew the first 4 of these 5 major problems facing America today. But you probably did not know the last one. That is because a bipartisan group of spenders, most of whom are in leadership of their respective parties, don’t want you to rain on their spending parade. But here are the facts:

This week we learned that the federal deficit for the first 8 months of this fiscal year has reached $317 billion. If you project that out for the rest of the year, that would lead us to a $476 billion for the full year. Nearly half a trillion dollars! That would make 2008 the largest deficit in the history of the nation easily eclipsing the prior record in 2004. This week, the appropriations committee released their spending plans for the next fiscal year, which begins October 1st. They have proposed to spend $72 billion more than last year for a 7.7% increase in non-entitlement spending. You … Read More

The Los Angeles Times seems to be containing itself in news coverage of the 55 page court challenge filed in San Francisco with the California Supreme Court by the National Council for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)and the ACLU last Friday. Only a small story on the event was published in the Saturday edition. Readers will recall that after the Times published a poll showing the Marriage Amendment was favored in California by 54% to 35% percentage, which also conveniently did not break-out the all important Hispanic swing-vote response, their poll analyzer Ms. Pickus called that a "small majority." The Times probably fears the marriage amendment on the ballot in Novemeber more for its potential to disturb Barrack Hussein Obama’s message in California than for its substance, although we can be sure they care about that too.

I took a look at the complainant NCLR’s website and note their slogan, "The audicity to fightfor justice," rings very sympathetically to the title of BHO’s own book, "The Audicity of Hope." Indeed, there is… Read More

One of the things Calfornia is in the news for each year is the wildfire season. Usually, fire season tends to peak in the fall as that is when the fire fuels are at their driest. Weeds have completely died off, last years dead brush, slash, berry vines, etc. have lost their moisture. Forested areas have dried out completelyof snow, runoff, and any residual moisture in these fuels has been extractedby summer heat and all the dead and dying timber and slashis fully exposed to fire danger.

We see many fires already breaking out aroundthe state now, in mid-June.Here in Butte County, the Humboldt Fire,which is down to the last bits of mop-up duty, was a national news item.A total accounting so far of 84 homes and multiple out buildings were destroyed, along with over 20,000 total acres burnedof forested, grazing or brushy canyon lands.

Conditions are acutely dangerous this year.Because of low overall rain and snowfall, the fuels are extremely dry all over with the moisture content in the less than 10% range, which is usually what is typical for later in the year. Indeed, CalFire chiefsI’ve spoken to call it… Read More

[Cross-posted from Red County/Sacramento]

Red County Sacramento had posted previously on SB 1313, the bill by Sen. Ellen Corbett that elevates frivolous and unnecessary legislation to the level of harmfulness. Now, it seems it will be heard tomorrow in the Assembly Health Committee.

If is passes out of committee, it will be proof that no matter how bad an idea, you sell it if you sell it in the name of "health."

As mentioned in the previous post, SB 1313 seeks to shield Californians health from the pernicious effects of perflourinated compounds.

Sounds like something you’d want to be protected from…until you learn what it is" a substance that is integral to making Teflon, food packaging and anything else that needs to not stick to your food.

Compounding the stupidity of Corbett’s bill is there perflourinated… Read More

Are we seeing a big shift of public opinion in California in support of off-shore oil drilling?… Read More