Daily Archives: August 21, 2007

Uncategorized

Where Is Ellen Tauscher’s Primary Challenger?

What happened? Right after the 2006 election of Jerry McNerney, there was a lot of talk here at Calitics and over at the Big Orange about how there was going to be a primary challenger to Ellen Tauscher because she was too much of a loyal Bushie for her district and her eager servile support for the Bankruptcy Abomination bill.

So what happened?

I, for one, am kinda tired of listening to the Dems (when they are out of power) saying that they want to change things, and then the corporations wave some checks around and … poof! ‘CCA’ or ‘Corporate Cash Amnesia’ sets in.

The question for the blogosphere is:  “Are we going to fall for their crap again?” Just because they are ‘Democrats’, or just because Nancy Pelosi ‘likes them’ now, are we going to support the same old ‘Dem’ centerists who betray us time after time?

Has Nancy Pelosi been a disappointment or what? 

At least the Rethugs are consistently anti-middle class. Doncha just hate it when some hypocrite tells you how they “Support the troops(TM)”, while betraying them, or, they say ‘The Bankruptcy Bill Should Be Changed’ while doing absolutely NOTHING to change it?

Save me from ‘Dem’ Judas Iscariots.

–Lefty!!!

Uncategorized

California Needs Interrogation Reform to Prevent False Confessions

By John F. Terzano of The Justice Project

David Allen Jones spent 12 agonizing years in a California prison for a crime he did not commit.  Then DNA exonerated him.

Mr. Jones was convicted of three murders he falsely confessed to after being interrogated by a team of detectives and taken to each of the crime scenes. During the intense interrogation, Jones was prodded by detectives and corrected when he gave statements that contradicted the evidence.

Jones was a mentally retarded, part-time janitor with an IQ in the low 60’s.  There was no physical evidence or witnesses linking Jones to any of the killings and he was convicted almost entirely as a result of his false confession.

Unfortunately, Mr. Jones story is not unique. False confessions have played a role in wrongful convictions in California, and in approximately 20% of wrongful convictions nationwide.  (Please visit The Justice Project’s website for information on reforms that will help prevent false confessions): http://www.thejustic….  Also the ACLU of Northern California has an effort underway to help end wrongful convictions.)

Confessions are often viewed as the most powerful evidence at trial, and can even overcome other types of evidence that points to the defendant’s innocence.  For this reason, it is essential that reforms be put in place to ensure that confessions are reliable.

Decades of psychological research have demonstrated how some traditional and aggressive interrogation techniques can lead to false confessions. These include the use of false information, lengthy interrogation sessions.  When paired with certain personality characteristics, these techniques can cause a person to falsely confess.

Reforms are needed to help judges and juries accurately assess the circumstances surrounding a confession. To this end, California must mandate the full electronic recording of custodial interrogations – from the Miranda warning until the end of the interview. These reforms will also help protect police officers from false claims of coercion or abuse by providing an objective record of the facts. 

It is especially important to record interrogations involving juvenile suspects and those whom authorities have reason to believe are mentally retarded or mentally ill.  As demonstrated in Mr. Jones’ case, these populations are particularly vulnerable to interrogation tactics and significantly more likely to falsely confess.

The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice has taken a major step in the prevention of wrongful convictions by sponsoring Senate Bill 511, authored by Senator Elaine K. Alquist (D-Santa Clara).  This bill addresses the problem of false confessions by requiring full electronic recording of interrogations in both juvenile and adult cases.

The bill has already passed the State Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committee, and it will soon be heading to the Assembly Floor for a final vote.  Last year, in a major setback in the prevention of wrongful convictions in the state, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed an earlier version of this bill.  If the new interrogation reform bill passes the Assembly, the Governor will have an opportunity to sign into law this important reform that protects suspects and protects police officers.

Along with electronic recording of interrogations, improving eyewitness identification and raising standards for the use of jailhouse informant testimony has been shown to prevent wrongful convictions. Senate Bill 756, sponsored by Senator Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles, Culver City), addresses the development of new guidelines for eyewitness identification procedures and Senate Bill 609, sponsored by Senator Majority Leader Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), would require corroboration for jailhouse informants.

Cases of injustice in California, such as David Allen Jones, illustrate the need for improvements within the criminal justice system. But the mistakes leading to wrongful convictions can be prevented-we hope that Legislators will support these three essential bills, and that the Governor will ultimately sign them into law.

John F. Terzano is the President of The Justice Project, a nonpartisan organization that works to address unfairness and inaccuracy in the criminal justice system, with a focus on the capital punishment system.

Click here to help The Justice Project.

Health Care

Ideology Over Healthy Families

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Really, this Administration is bucking to go down in history as the world’s most callous collection of people.

The Bush administration, continuing its fight to stop states from expanding the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, has adopted new standards that would make it much more difficult for New York, California and others to extend coverage to children in middle-income families.

Administration officials outlined the new standards in a letter sent to state health officials on Friday evening, in the middle of a month-long Congressional recess. In interviews, they said the changes were aimed at returning the Children’s Health Insurance Program to its original focus on low-income children and to make sure the program did not become a substitute for private health coverage.

The S-CHIP program works, states want more of their kids to be covered, and in the long run it’s far more affordable than allowing the uninsured to use the emergency room as their primary care physician.

Doesn’t matter to this President.  Wouldn’t want people to get the idea that they can get decent health care. (over)

California wants to increase its income limit to 300 percent of the poverty level, from 250 percent. Pennsylvania recently raised its limit to 300 percent, from 200 percent. New Jersey has had a limit of 350 percent for more than five years.

Before making such a change, Mr. Smith said, states must demonstrate that they have “enrolled at least 95 percent of children in the state below 200 percent of the federal poverty level” who are eligible for either Medicaid or the child health program.

Deborah S. Bachrach, a deputy commissioner in the New York State Health Department, said, “No state in the nation has a participation rate of 95 percent.”

The President is mandating these participation rates, but offering no budgeting for them.  It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, designed for states to be unable to meet the 95% number and therefore restricting health access for children.

Basically what the President is saying here is that the system is working too well.  They speak about competition but they don’t want S-CHIP to ever compete with private insurance (mainly because it would blow the doors off of it).

To minimize the risk of such substitution, Mr. Smith said in his letter, states should charge co-payments or premiums that approximate the cost of private coverage and should impose “waiting periods,” to make sure higher-income children do not go directly from a private health plan to a public program.

If a state wants to set its income limit above 250 percent of the poverty level ($51,625 for a family of four), Mr. Smith said, “the state must establish a minimum of a one-year period of uninsurance for individuals” before they can receive public coverage.

There’s another provision that says if private insurers start losing customers to S-CHIP then the higher coverage would be slashed.  This despite the fact that insurers have never seen such a drop, and if they did it’d be their own fault for denying coverage to so many based on pre-existing conditions.

This is an important moment for the nation.  At a time when health care is the number one domestic policy, when tens of millions have been added to the ranks of the uninsured, and when this President has done virtually nothing about it in 6 1/2 years, he’s putting up a firewall designed to make sure your kids aren’t covered.

San Diego

CA-51: Bob Filner (D) charged with assault & battery

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(Cross-posted at DailyKos)

Uh-oh.  MSNBC’s First Read

Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) was involved in an altercation last night at Dulles Airport. He was allegedly angered by the amount of time it was taking to get his luggage and tried to push his way through the United Airlines baggage claim office.

….

The individual allegedly attempted to enter an area authorized for airline employees only, pushed aside the employee’s outstretched arm and refused to leave the area when asked by an airline employee. When MWAA officers arrived a few minutes later, the man had left the office and was waiting in the area of a bag carousel. … The airline employee appeared before a Loudoun County Magistrate later that evening and a summons was obtained charging Robert Filner (DOB 09/04/1942) with assault and battery, a class 1 misdemeanor.

ABC has more on his temper in a past incident too.

Filner, an eight-term incumbent who chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee, has displayed flashes of temper in the past.

About a year ago, he hurled obscenities at two Veterans Affairs officials after a briefing about the burglary of a laptop with military personnel information. The VA officials termed the briefing a “publicity stunt,” which angered Filner.

Now, Filner’s office has issued a statement.

**** UPDATE **** NBC’s Ken Strickland has the response from Filner’s press office in a written statement: “Congressman Bob Filner is on his way to Iraq, visiting our troops, and will have a full statement when he returns. Suffice it to say now, that the story that has appeared in the press is factually incorrect – and the charges are ridiculous.”

I’m really hoping they clarify ASAP what is factually incorrect, because as it stands, the story does not look good.

This could potentially hurt the Democrats even more than you think.  Bob Filner has been a champion for progressive causes.  He’s about as good as you can get on the environment (92% LCV rating in 2006), and as the chairman on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, has held key hearings on PTSD and traumatic brain injuries from Iraq.

He also:

* is a co-sponsor of H.R. 333 to begin impeachment proceedings against Dick Cheney.

* voted against the 2002 AUMF that let Bush invade Iraq.

* was one of the first co-sponsors of John Conyers’ H.R. 676 for universal health care.

And UTBriancl has praised Filner for helping brand the Democratic Party at a time when others seem embarrassed to mention that they belong to the party.

Bottom line, Filner is a guy I think the netroots would be proud to support.  If he’s forced out because of this, we lose a champion in the House.  And who would replace him?  Well, it seems there’s been a bitter rivalry between him and Juan Vargas, who keeps challenging Filner in the Democratic primary.  His main reasoning is that the Hispanic majority district should have a Hispanic representing them.  After what we went through with Laura Richardson saying similar things in CA-26, and similar things being said against Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) of Memphis, I don’t think there’s a place for that kind of talk.  I can already sense problems if Filner is replaced by Vargas.

I know, this may be very premature to talk about.  But you have to consider all the possibilities.  I hope he responds sooner than later to clear up what happened here.  Because right now, it doesn’t look good.

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Uncategorized

Why I’m running for state assembly in the 27th District

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(I’ve been meaning to get this up, but it’s been a busy day. Welcome, Mayor Reilly. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

My name is Emily Reilly, mayor of Santa Cruz.  I am running for the Assembly in the 27th district.  As a member of the Assembly I will draw on the progressive values of equality, fairness and opportunity to address the challenges faced by residents of Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties: protecting the environment, improving transportation and fighting for universal health care.

It is important that I communicate directly with the voters in my district – that I participate in a two-way discussion about the issues that are important to all of us.  As a center of netroots activism in our state, Calitics is one avenue I hope to utilize in this discussion.  Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties are home to strong grassroots communities, and the emergence of online political participation is a natural fit in my district. 

Already, I have raised $7,333 for my campaign on Act Blue.  In all, I my campaign raised $63,000 in the in the first half of the year, far outpacing the other two declared candidates in the race in the most recent reporting period.  Nearly 200 people have contributed to my campaign.

 

While money is important gauge of support in any race, I hope to go above and beyond success in fundraising.  It is your belief in my campaign and in the progressive values it represents that will drive my campaign to victory. 

 

During my time as Mayor and on the Santa Cruz City Council I have built a strong record of bringing people together to address critical issues, such as environmental protection, transportation, and affordable housing.  As an Assemblywoman, I intend to bring that same emphasis on progressive issues to Sacramento.

 

I look forward to starting a dialogue with everyone here at Calitics. 

 

As a side note, people often ask me about term limits.  Currently, it is expected that this seat will be open when John Laird is termed out in 2009.  If the term limits initiative passes in February 2008 allowing Assembly member Laird to stay in office, I will not run. 

Budget

Budget Deal At Expense of CEQA Near?

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FDR at the California Progress Report reports that a budget deal seems near, and it may come at the expense of CEQA – or it may not. Depends on who you talk to, I guess:

[Villines] said that he had worked all weekend and that “all” had agreed that some fix needed to be made with respect to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the state’s basic environmental law, which he called an “AB 32 fix”.

And Núñez:

I specifically asked Nunez about changes to AB 32 and CEQA and he said flat out that there would be no AB 32 changes and none were proposed in the outline he had seen. The changes that have been bandied about by the Republicans all along are not squarely within the language of AB 32 but have been to CEQA. The Speaker did indicate that he was about to brief his caucus and that any changes to environmental laws would not be made without checking with the environmental community. He was reluctant to discuss what had been agreed to privately.

I cannot imagine in what world giving in to the GOP demands on CEQA, in any form, would be anything other than a catastrophic disaster, validating the Senate Republicans’ unconscionable hostage tactics.

Now, there could be no cause for such concern, and one hopes that our Democratic leadership understands the bad precedent and effect such a compromise would have. If anyone in Sacramento thinks that by giving the GOP any of what they want, they’ll ensure anything other than an even worse fight next year, they’re nuts.

[UPDATE] The SacBee has details on this “AB 32 fix” which involves protecting transportation bond-funded projects from AB 32/CEQA action. Details over the filp.

To soothe GOP concerns, staff has drafted a compromise proposal that would place a moratorium on greenhouse gas-related actions against transportation bonds, approved by voters under Proposition 1B last fall. It would sunset after the state Air Resources Board adopts new regulations to comply with a state initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020.

We still don’t know if this is the specific key that will allow a budget deal that Dick Ackerman says now exists.

Personally I’m deeply skeptical of such a deal – how the hell are we going to cut greenhouse gases if we exempt freeway construction from it? Assuming that public transportation, from light rail to high speed rail to clean buses, are still facing a $1.3 billion cut, this is a massive step backward for California.

Yes, it depends on a fight at CARB – but as we’ve seen, from Arnold’s manipulations of that body to the new CARB chair’s significant oil company stock holdings, that’s not a place where we can be certain of strong action of auto emissions.