Since the budget talks are pretty slow, with most of the talks going on in the Joint Budget Conference Committee, plus a little bit of Big4talks, and the rest of us are out of town until the 15th, I just thought I’d pass along a glimpse of the Assembly Appropriations Committee Action from Wednesday.

SB 1301-Financial Aid-to grant more financial aid to students who are offspring of illegal immigrants, was heard in committee-Passed

SB 1322-Communism in Schools-[which could seem redundant] Would relieve schools of requiring a form that essentially says that communism would not be taught or glorified…you know, since the Wall came down it’s no longera worry.[Didn’t seea provision thanking Ronald Reagan.]-Passed

SB 1422-High Cost Rail Authority-turns over a lot of the decision process to the Authority from CalTrans for the High Cost Rail whose bonds haven’t even been approved by voters in November yet.-Passed

SB 441-Vending Machines on State Property-would be required to contain 35% "nutritional products", juices, snacks etc. Regardless of price or market demand or perishability, if a product… Read More

There have has been a lot of buzz going around recently about the lack of message-control and clarity coming from the Presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain. Undoubtedly this situation would have been a factor in the decision by the Senator, according to Politico, to tap Steve Schmidt, who had been serving as a "senior advisor" to be his new Campaign Manager.

Those of us that know Steve well can tell you that it will not take long before he has focused the messaging for McCain — focused targeted communications are Schmidt’s speciality.

Steve has actually been back East at McCain HQ for some time now, even though his home is Sacramento where he and his family reside. As many FR readers know, Schmidt was most recently Campaign Manager for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s double-digit victory over Phil Angelides in 2006.

Good luck to you Steve — remember that there are terrorists worldwide who hope you aren’t up for the challenge — they are NOT… Read More

Right around the stroke of midnight, I got an urgent e-mail from the Governor’s campaign entitled, "Day 1" — referring to the fact that we are now one day into the new fiscal year without a state budget. The e-mail directed me to a call for action on the Governor’s Join Arnold website where I read this message from the Governor’s Team:

The city of Oakland is in a financial mess, facing a $15 million deficit with the mayor calling for a 12-day shutdown of city services. The city also is having problems hiring enough police officers or even getting the ones they have to patrol crime-infested areas. However, this deplorable situation does not seem to worry Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. He is living the high life on taxpayers’ dime. He’s staying in luxury hotels, dining at the finest restaurants and paying outrageously high salaries to his top staffers. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, (June 16, 2008), “Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is talking raising taxes and shutting down non-essential City Hall services for… Read More

Right around the stroke of midnight, I got an urgent e-mail from the Governor’s campaign entitled, "Day 1" — referring to the fact that we are now one day into the new fiscal year without a state budget. The e-mail directed me to a call for action on the Governor’s Join Arnold website where I read this message from the Governor’s Team:

However, the state is facing an extremely tough budget year. California’s economy is the most diverse in the… Read More

July 4 will not only be celebrated in the United States this year, but also in the German capitol of Berlin, and in a big way. California’s George Schultz, the former U.S. Secretary of State, will celebrate it here, as will Dr. Henry Kissinger and alsoformer President George H.W.Bush.

And the reason is very interesting. The United States will open its brand spanking new Embassyhere on our Independance Day, designed in part by Californians and built to include a beautiful "mission" style central courtyard, on the groundsof the former U.S. Embassy. For years the United States has been operating its Embassy at a different location. The reason for that is the old Embassy building and grounds were closed by the U.S. during the Nazi regime (with whom we were at war), and the building was wrecked during the April/May 1945 fighting between the Germans and Soviets, and after the war the property, near the Brandenburg Gate, ended up in the Eastern sector of the City, under Soviet control.To add insult to injury, the East German Communists subsequently completely cleared and paved over the remains of the old U.S. Embassy and used… Read More

This Friday is our nation’s birthday — Independence Day. What a great tradition, a day of the year set aside to remember our nation’s birth, and to thank God for the blessings of freedom and liberty that exist in America due to the sacrifice (many with their lives) of our founding fathers.

It is particularly disturbing that on the very week of America’s birthday, here in California the liberty of our drivers has now been eroded with the latest edict from our ever-growing Nanny State. Yes, politicians in Sacramento, intent to legislate on every aspect of the lives of their constituents have now banned the use of cell-phones by drivers of automobiles (unless we use the hands-free gizmo we always forget to have with us). If this legislation were an award winning movie, it would be entitled, "We think you are too stupid to make decisions for yourself," and the award for best actor would clearly go to liberal Democrat legislator Joe Simitian, who authored this terrible legislation, centered around the idea that there truly must be a law about everything.

Unfortunately,… Read More

This Friday is our nation’s birthday — Independence Day. What a great tradition, a day of the year set aside to remember our nation’s birth, and to thank God for the blessings of freedom and liberty that exist in America due to the sacrifice (many with their lives) of our founding fathers.

It is particularly disturbing that on the very week of America’s birthday, here in California the liberty of our drivers has now been eroded with the latest edict from our ever-growing Nanny State. Yes, politicians in Sacramento, intent to legislate on every aspect of the lives of their constituents have now banned the use of cell-phones by drivers of automobiles (unless we use the hands-free gizmo we always forget to have with us). If this legislation were an award winning movie, it would be entitled, "We think you are too stupid to make decisions for yourself," and the award for best actor would clearly go to liberal Democrat legislator Joe Simitian, who authored this terrible legislation, centered around the idea that there truly must be a law about everything.

Unfortunately,… Read More