From today’s SF Chronicle:

A majority of Bay Area residents believe government should guarantee health coverage for all citizens, but not through a state-run system, according to a survey scheduled for release today.

Eighty-three percent of 600 area residents polled in the nine-county region supported guaranteed coverage, according to the Bay Area Council, the business-backed policy group that commissioned the survey. The percentage dipped to 79 percent when respondents were asked if such coverage should include people living in California illegally.

When asked how the health system should be reformed, 47 percent said the existing health insurance system should be maintained and additional costs to cover the uninsured should be shared among employers, government and individuals. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a program along those lines.

Thirty-four percent said they… Read More

From www.insidehighered.com:

Ward Connerly, who led the successful ballot measure campaign in November to bar the use of racial preferences in Michigan, offered a few more hints in a speech Friday about which states would be next on his list of targets. In a speech at the Heritage Foundation, Connerly said that his American Civil Rights Initiative would sponsor ballot initiatives in five states on election day in 2008, and that the states would be chosen by April from among a current list of nine: Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nevada, South Dakota, Nebraska,… Read More

With local elections taking place tomorrow throughout LA County, there of course inevitablyhad to be some coverage of campaigntickery taking place.

This though is one of the more juicy campaign stories I’ve seen in a while.… Read More

In a bold move, State Senator Tom Harman has submitted legislation that would, "expand the distribution schedule described above for the additional 5% of amount wagered on satellite races received to each racing association by deleting the reference to harness racing association."

Don’t understand what the bill does? That’s OK, you are not alone…but apparently its urgently needed because Harman is hoping it gets the required 2/3 vote to take affect immediately.

This bill is a classic example of over regulation by state government. It may be the role of government to make sure the time clock is accurate at the track or that minors are not betting and drinking there. But it certainly is not the role of government to decide how the north and south zone racing associations divide their respective winnings.

And why is it important that government legislate: "…not less than eight races on the days when the association of fair is licensed to conduct racing, expect that fewer than eight live races per day may be conducted by mutual agreement of the association of fair and the organization that is responsible for… Read More

Regarding Ray Haynes’ commentary this morning on global warming, perhaps the sky-is-falling folks should read sources other than those generated — and regurgitated — by themselves. Oneexample,a 2004 article proving that science and scientists disagree. The piece even ends with a finger point at human impacts, but also shows the significant scientific unknowns associated with something so beyond the scope of anyone to completely analyze and understand…

Hotter-burning sun warming the planet

By Michael Leidig LONDON SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

The sun is burning hotter than usual, offering a possible explanation for global warming that needs to be weighed when proceeding with expensive efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, Swiss and German scientists say.

"The sun has been at its strongest over the past 60 years and may now be affecting global temperatures," said Sami Solanki, the director of the renowned Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in… Read More

Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, weighs on in the ill-conceived SB 752:

A quick snapshot of California reveals a state in fiscal peril: a structural budget deficit in the billions, prisons about to be taken over by the federal government, and a pension system morass that is beyond comprehension. With California’s fiscal house collapsing on top of itself, imagine my shock when I heard about the Legislature’s most recent social welfare entitlement program—giving all newborns $500 at a cost to taxpayers of nearly $300 million annually. This proposal left a lot of folks scratching their heads. It is one thing for the tax and spend lobby to be pushing loony ideas, but this actually – for a time – had Republican… Read More

If you are not reading the California Majority Report, you are not fully informed about the insanity of the left. Last week, I commented on Al Gore, and global warming, which generated a respone on the left wing blog, the California Majority Report.You should take a look at the response to my global warming comment on that blog. If you read my comment, you will see that I was making fun of the good former Vice President, and the current debate on global warming. I find it is always easier to make a point with humor than with ranting. Historical accuracy on the details was not my goal.

I will say that I took some literary license to make the points in my article. But my point was simple, science is not a moral imperative, and when politicians try to make science a moral imperative, scientists take their life into their own hands. When Al Gore, the quintessential politician, the… Read More

If you are not reading the California Majority Report, you are not fully informed about the insanity of the left. Last week, I commented on Al Gore, and global warming, which generated a respone on the left wing blog, the California Majority Report.You should take a look at the response to my global warming comment on that blog. If you read my comment, you will see that I was making fun of the good former Vice President, and the current debate on global warming. I find it is always easier to make a point with humor than with ranting. Historical accuracy on the details was not my goal.

I will say that I took some literary license to make the points in my article. But my point was simple, science is not a moral imperative, and when politicians try to make science a moral imperative, scientists take their life into their own hands. When Al Gore, the quintessential politician, the… Read More