Daily Archives: November 4, 2006

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Blog Roundup

Odds and Ends 11/4

This will be a short one. I know it’s a busy weekend. Go out and rustle up some votes!
Teasers: Field Poll on the infratstructure bonds, Arnold using another corporate slush fund, Prop 90 divisiveness, and more!

  • The Field Poll(PDF) on the Infrastructure Bonds was released.  It seems the media blitz in support, without a corresponding blitz in opposition, is having an effect.  All 5 bonds are favored now. However, while I still stick to my statement that the Field Poll is the best in the state, I’m still not convinced that all of these are going to pass.
    • 1B (Transportation): 56 Yes, 28 No, 16 Undecided
    • 1C (Housing): 51 Yes, 30 No, 19 Undecided
    • 1D (Schools): 56 Yes, 29 No, 15 Undecided
    • 1E (Disaster Preparedness): 53 Yes, 27 No, 20 Undecided
    • 84 (Water/Parks):  51 Yes, 31 No, 18 Undecided
  • Tony Strickland doesn’t pay his taxes on time.  It seems that the GOP candidate for Controller, you know the guy responsible for auditing state government and cutting checks for the state, can’t seem to manage his own bills. Whoops!
  • Schwarzenegger wants an Iraq withdrawal deadline.  Why you wanna cut and run Arnold?
  • Beyond Chron notes that The Bayview Redevelopment Plan is causing some typically progressive votes to shift in favor of Prop 90 and is dividing San Francisco Progressives.  That is a shame, because that is exactly what Howie Rich wants.  The New York libretarian seeks to divide the vote by sneaking in dangerous restrictions on land-use regulation with a prop that is ostensibly about eminent domain.
  • Arnold is planning a trade mission to Mexico.  It’s Paid for by a corporate slush fund.  Great, not only is he assuming his victory, he’s also assuming nobody will care that he’s whoring out for special interests.  $113million says we are right Governator.
  • CalSTRS will stop making investments in companies that give big bucks to statewide candidates.  Seems like a good idea to me.
  • Justice O’Connor says that our Judiciary is under attack.  She’s right, it’s from the Right.  It’s why we need to push from the Left.  No on William McGuiness.
    • Uncategorized

    CQ: Charlie Brown is a Contender

    (Go Charlie! – promoted by SFBrianCL)

    Calitics readers have long been supporting Charlie Brown, so it is refreshing to see more and more of the inside-the-beltway types finally realize that the fourth district is in play. Congressional Quarterly gets on board:

    Calif. Roundup: Brown Works His Way Into Contention in 4th District

    California’s 4th District: Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charlie Brown has faced obstacles in shedding his underdog image as he bids to unseat eight-term Republican Rep. John T. Doolittle in northeastern California’s 4th District — one of the state’s most conservative-leaning and traditionally Republican constituencies.

    But Brown’s dogged effort has combined with the cloud of ethics controversy hanging over Doolittle to turn this into one of the year’s surprise hotly contested races.

    This is the second time this month that CQ has updated the race. Your fifty state strategy at work.

    CQ is not alone. The Rothenberg Political Report has upgraded the race to Toss-up/Tilt Republican.

    Finish the Job: Get-out-the-Vote canvasses and phone banks, call 916-78-BROWN for locations.

    education

    (CA-45) Desert Teachers Vote for Roth

    Our teachers want Democrat David Roth for Congress.  From the  local paper, The Desert Sun:

    “Unlike the current Congresswoman (Rep. Mary Bono) representing the 45th Congressional District, David Roth has a clear understanding of what our public schools need to be successful,” Carole Bailey, a teacher from the Desert Sands Teachers Association, said in a news release.

    …….Supporters say Roth had strong understanding of the impact of the federal “No Child Left Behind Act” on regional school systems.

    ……“Roth is someone educators know they can trust to do what is right and best for the students we teach and for the communities where we live,” Bailey said.

    David Roth for Congress

    Uncategorized

    Oh No Not the Truth

    1 Comment

    (Maybe the truth will set Bruce McPherson free… to spend more time with his family. Debra Bowen is a star — she’s already got my vote, and she should have everyone’s. – promoted by jsw)

    Sen. Debra Bowen is starting to get some attention on her excellent web ad, which demonstrates just how easy it is to break into Diebold voting machines.  The fact of the matter is that even though that particular model is not being used in California the ones that are have their own problems.

    The Sequoia machines that are used in more than a third of CA counties have this nice little button at the back of the machine.  Press it and it restarts the machine and let’s you vote again.  What was McPherson’s and the registrar’s solution?  Tell, poll workers to get suspicious if someone lingers by the machine for more than a minute while they are voting.  Wow…that will work.

    Back to the video and the “outrage”.  Salladay blogs about a packet and a green plastic alien head (yes he really did say that he got an alien in the mail).  It was from TheAlienseAreComing.com, which he believes is a nice bit of voting machine astroturfing.  They seem to take the Bowen video literally, which is pretty damn funny.

    The whois lookup shows the domain was registered Aug 24th to a Henry Shinster in San Diego.  There is an yahoo email and a phone number, but I am not going to post it.  My searching didn’t turn up anything on the guy.  This could be a wingnut, but it would be a damn big story if this was connected to Diebold or ES&S.

    Salladay contacted both Bowen and McPherson for a response.

    Bowen’s office defended the video. “The fact is, Secretary McPherson continues to deny there are any problems with these machines, despite the fact that very reputable studies have been done showing there are vulnerabilities,” said Sandra Lloyd-Jones, spokeswoman for Bowen. “He asking for blind faith in the security and accuracy of these machines with no proof.”

    But Beth Miller Malek, a spokeswoman for McPherson, said the video Bowen promotes lies about electronic voting systems and attempts to scare voters. “It’s pretty outrageous to be a candidate for secretary of state and feature a video where you are hoping to show vulnerabilities in the system. I think it’s shameful.”

    Did she really just say that it is wrong for a SoS candidate to point out voting machines?  Why yes, I think she did.  That is really outrageous.  It is McPherson’s fault that we even have these machines in operation, since he didn’t stop and make sure they were secure before certifying them.