Daily Archives: November 15, 2006

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Blog Roundup

Odds and Ends 11/15

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Well, hump day for the week and month I suppose. Teasers: Elections are just one more bizarre process in OC governance, we got no money, we got no voters, and we got no media.  Well, that’s a bummer.

Over the flip we go.

  • There is a very real chance that we may come up short on cash, as we may be about to fall off a cliff on incoming revenue.  Arnold, you have a plan?  Oh of course not.  $5 billion might be on the low end and we might be in for some Gray Davis type financial struggles.
  • Voting, who needs it? Apparently not a majority of Californians.  We set a record low for turnout., at less than 50% of registered voters.  Seriously folks, what are you doing?  Go out there and vote.  Some people think that the low turnout goes hand in hand with the increasing partisanship in elected officials and decreasing partisan registration.  Probably true…DTSers have less at stake I suppose? C’mon folks, you have just as much as stake as me.  Take a few minutes and figure out who you are voting for and why.  It’s really not that hard.  But, I suppose I’m preaching to the choir here. Ahh…well, tell your friends the same thing.
  • Dan Walters said that Arnold’s victory is a victory for what I like to call radical moderatism.  This of course from the man that doesn’t believe in global warming, but I digress.  Arnold won on what is really a moderately liberal platform.  And oh yeah…$113 million. But, Walters does have a point, that it’s nice to play moderate on TV and in the campaign, but how are you really going to address the issues?  A quick quote: “It’s one thing to enact some sort of symbolic, feel-good, save-the-world measure, but when its provisions involve real money and bottom lines, other forces come into play.”
  • Man is there some craziness going on in the OC.  Check out The Liberal OC for all the details.  As of last count, Correa trails Daucher by 300 votes.  The final tally should be announced today by 5PM…maybe.
  • Prop 209 passed again , this time in Michigan.  It’s as if Michigan is totally blind to all the negative ramifications that we have felt here.  Doesn’t Ward Connerly have anything better to do with his life?
  • KGO and CBS5 local news programs in the Bay Area have been using corporate fluff pieces in their newscasts.  Not cool folks, I don’t need Allstate and Pfizer giving me my news.
    • Uncategorized

    Santa Rosa Island pried out of Duncan Hunter’s Pocket

    DiFi, who will become Chair of the Senate Rules Cmte, and Barbara Boxer, who will become Chair of the Environment Cmte. overturned Rep. Duncan Hunter’s provision to keep non-native deer and elk hunting on Santa Rosa Island.  The new agreement will allow access to the island for recreational purposes.  Hunter had wanted the island closed off for private hunting for several groups over the years.  Hopefully with his quixotic run for the presidency in 2008 and the Dem majority, this will be the last we hear of this stupid hunting on Santa Rosa Island B.S.

    Full press release over the flip.

      http://feinstein.sen…

    Feinstein-Boxer Amendment to MilCon/VA Appropriations Bill

    Would Ensure Santa Rosa Island Remains Open to Public

    Washington, DC ? U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer (both D-Calif.) today announced that the Senate has approved their amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill repealing a provision in the FY2007 Defense Authorization bill that sought to restrict public access to Santa Rosa Island.

    Senator Feinstein is the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Sub-Committee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

    ?Today, we cleared a major hurdle in the effort to repeal Representative Hunter?s provision that would have allowed private hunting to limit the use of Santa Rosa Island by the general public,? Senator Feinstein said.  ?With this amendment we can ensure this beautiful part of the Channel Islands National Park remains open and its wildlife will be enjoyed by all for years to come.?

    ?This amendment corrects a terrible mistake that should never have been made in the first place.  With today?s victory in the Senate, we are one step closer to protecting Santa Rosa Island and keeping this natural treasure open for Californians and all Americans,? Senator Boxer said.

    ?I want to thank Senators Feinstein and Boxer for continuing to work with me to protect public access to Santa Rosa Island,? said Representative Lois Capps (D-Calif), who represents the coastal area where the islands are located.  ?Their amendment to repeal Chairman Hunter’s proposal to continue hunting on Santa Rosa Island indefinitely will ensure that the public will be able to enjoy full access to its National Park.?

    Senators Feinstein and Boxer?s amendment repeals a provision, sponsored by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), which effectively limited public access to the island by extending the practice of allowing privately organized deer and elk hunting expeditions.  These hunts require the closure of about 90 percent of the island to the general public for about four to five months each year.

    Representative Hunter?s measure also prevented the National Park Service from carrying out a court-approved settlement to remove non-native deer and elk from Santa Rosa Island by 2011.  According to the National Park Service, the deer and elk herds pose a threat to the island?s 11 endangered species, including the bald eagle, rare plants, and native birds and fox.