Remember Leslie Southwick? Well, in case you forgot, he's the guy who wrote that children should be removed from gay parents. Oh, and W appointed to him to be a federal judge. Yup, that guy. If you recall, DiFi is basically the only reason his nomination got past the judiciary committee. She broke ranks with the other Dems and voted in support of the nominations with her conservative bretheren in the Republican party. Yay DiFi, thanks for tossing the LGBT community under the bus again. You really have a knack for it.

Well, once you recall all of that, the other important news is that the nomination is coming up for a floor vote very soon. And our old pal DiFi is going around telling other Senators that she's getting no negative comments about Leslie Southwick at ALL! Everybody loves Leslie! Except, that's not really the case. Her own staffers, and other senators, seem to be surprised given the news from the real world that she's getting lots of mail about this. 

The good folks at FireDogLake, have some ideas on what to do. Namely, make sure that DiFi hears a loud and clear message that this vote stunk then, and it stinks now.  Oh, and there will be a presser next Tuesday. I'll try to be there. Mailing info blatantly ripped off from FDL over the flip. 

Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954

E-mail form here.

And then cc copies of what you send to the following:

Sen. Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader:
E-mail form here.
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542 / Fax: 202-224-7327

Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Assistant Majority Leader:
E-mail form here.
309 Hart Senate Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2152 – ph
(202) 228-0400 – fx

Sen. Chuck Schumer, Chair of the DSCC
E-mail form here.

313 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-6542
Fax: 202-228-3027

Sen. Pat Leahy, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Comittee
[email protected]
433 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4242

Here are some notes from a few stories I’d been meaning to get to all week.

• Frank Russo had a good recap of the initial hearing from the three-judge panel charged with finding a solution to California’s prison crisis.  This panel may result in the early release of thousands of prisoners to reduce overcrowding.  The panel does not appear to be able to be swayed by political expediency (unlike the Legislature for the past 30 years), saying  “This is a judicial and not a political process.”  It is clear that the torturous conditions in California jails and the inability to deliver even basic medical care violates the Constitution and will be dealt with swiftly.  Even the Correctional Officers union has come around to the point of view that reductions in the prison population are needed.  Only a cowardly, leadership-challenged political class refuses to face reality.

(more on the flip):

• Here’s a fun tale of health care at the Tribune Company, parent of the LA Times and local TV station KTLA:

The Tribune Company has come up with a new tactic to cut costs and annoy the hell out of its employees – again. It seems that everyone on the staff at the L.A. Times (and so I assume KTLA) has to prove that their spouses and children really are theirs, and thus eligible for medical benefits. Though wasteful and mildly insulting it sounds easy enough, but apparently it’s not. They call it a “Mercer Audit” and its demands have some staffers in an uproar.

They’re demanding documentation (a birth certificate or marriage license, I guess) with a deadline of days from actually giving employees notice.  I’m sure in the boardroom this is considered “sound business sense.”

• At our Calitics Quarterly event, I talked with Digby about her contention that the GOP is targeting California as the big blue state where Rudy Giuliani can break through and get the paradigm-shifting win they need.  It’s true that the big hitters in the state have all come out for him – although the Pete Wilson endorsement garnered all of three reporters to the announcement.

• Continuing on this theme, a new SUSA poll shows head-to-head general election matchups for all of the top three candidates on either side, and in California, it shakes out like this: against Romney or Thompson, all the Democrats win by between 15 and 33 points.  Against Giuliani, Clinton beats him by 20, but Obama wins by only for and Edwards by only 2.  Wow.  Of course, Giuliani is still riding the name ID coattails.  However, his clear penchant for wanting to be competitive in California is evidenced by the fact that the mystery fundraiser for the dirty tricks initiative was the chairman of Giuliani’s northeast fundraising operation.

• Rik Hertzberg had an interesting footnote to the possible demise of the dirty tricks initiative:

Why would Schwarzenegger want to shoot down a proposal that has the potential of delivering the White House to his party next year?

My guess is that he isn’t losing any sleep over the probability of a G.O.P. Presidential rout, which would make him the indisputably most important Republican in America. His current port tack, on issues like health care and climate change, suggests that he knows which way the wind is blowing.  Doubtless he would rather be swept along than swept away.

Then there’s this. Anybody remember the first Republican debate, on MSNBC back in May? I’ll bet Arnold does. He was in the front row at the Reagan Library when Chris Matthews asked the ten candidates if they would support changing the Constitution ever so slightly to make naturalized citizens eligible for the presidency. The vote onstage was eight to one against. (The one was Giuliani; McCain said he’d “seriously consider it,” which I count as an abstention.) Eight to one, in other words, in favor of crushing the ultimate and perfectly legitimate dream of the distinguished Governor of California.

If I were Schwarzenegger, I wouldn’t lift a finger to help these bozos.

• Finally, tonight at midnight, the UAW Local 2865 contract runs out.  While the United Auto Workers settled their contract dispute with GM, Local 2865, which covers over 12,000 academic student employees at UC campuses (TAs, for example) has made little headway with UC.  You can read all about it here.  The whole idea of student employee unions gets lost in the shuffle, but they are being royally screwed, and are planning to file lots of unfair labor practices charges, in addition to keeping negotiations going and reserving the right to strike.  We ought to support their efforts.

(Cross posted at Living in the O.)

Wednesday was a difficult day for the medical marijuana movement. In the morning, the DEA raided the longest standing medical cannabis dispensary in Sacramento. I wrote about that raid on the blog of the organization I work for, Americans for Safe Access, so I won’t dwell on it here.

Before noon though, I’d gotten word of another raid. The DEA was apparently raiding a facility operated by Tainted, Inc., a medical cannabis edible producer. I asked a coworker of mine to drive down to the site to confirm. As he was on his way, I got another call telling me that the DEA was raiding three Tainted facilities.

My coworker soon called me to confirm that it was a DEA raid (sometimes raids are misreported and we like to confirm by looking for the very noticeable DEA jackets). I told him about the other raids and asked him to talk to the agents to find out if anybody at any of the locations had been detained or arrested. After nudging the agents for a while, they finally told him that there were a dozen people being detained, but the DEA wouldn’t reveal whether anybody had or would be arrested. They simply told us to keep calling the Oakland courthouse to check if any arraignments were scheduled for the following day.

Let me back up a bit. You might have read the Chronicle’s or the Tribune’s articles about these raids, but surprise, surprise, neither of those stories give the full picture of what happened and what this means. The Trib’s headline refers to “drug-laced candies” while the Chron calles Tainted a “pot candy firm.” Both stories quote DEA agents extensively. Neither quotes a medical cannabis patient or advocate, despite the fact that ASA sent out a press release explaining the medical side of the story.

I know many of the people who were involved in Tainted quite well. They were doing this for all the right reasons and gave back to the community whenever they could. They spearheaded accurate labeling of medical marijuana edibles. All of their edibles are clearly marked with ingredient lists and warnings stating they are for medical use only. There’s also a clear warning on the back of their edibles -“Keep out of reach of children”:

Tens of thousands of Californians who use medical marijuana depend on these edibles. They either cannot or do not want to smoke for health reasons or edibles are more effective. While the healing effects of inhaled cannabis only last for a short time, the effects of ingested cannabis can last for several hours. Tainted was one of the most respected edible producers, and they supplied medical cannabis patients statewide.

Back to last Wednesday… throughout the day, we tried to gather more facts, but there was little more to find out. Tainted’s attorney didn’t even find out about the 10:00 a.m., Thursday arraignment of three alleged managers until the arraignment had already begun. Luckily, all three of them were released pending trial. They all face serious prison sentences if they are convicted.

Throughout the end of the week, I was in contact with Michael Martin, the owner of Tainted. The press stories have painted him as a fugitive, but the truth is that he just happened to be out of town when the raids occurred. He intends to turn himself in next week and fight the charges against him.

What struck me was Martin’s concern with his employees. He kept calling me to see if I had heard more about any arrests. He had his attorney attempt to intervene in the arraignments. He didn’t want to publicize anything until he knew that everyone was safe. He is certainly not what most people think of when they picture a drug manufacturer or drug dealer. And he doesn’t see himself that way either.

Needless to say, the medical cannabis community is pretty pissed off right now. These attacks on safe access need to end. In August, I told the inspiring story of a huge activist response to DEA raids in Los Angeles and asked, how far would Oakland go for medical marijuana? Now it’s time to find out. On Thursday, ASA is hosting a press conference and rally at the Oakland federal building to speak out against the DEA raids in Oakland.

I encourage everyone reading this post to join me on Thursday and to spread the word. We can only end these raids if we fight back.

Here are the details:

What: Press Conference Speaking Out Against Raids in Oakland
When: Thursday, October 4th at 9:00am
Where: Oakland Federal Building at 1301 Clay St.
What to Wear: Business Professional Attire

For more information, contact [email protected]

And if you’re not in the Bay Area, take a minute to send a message to Governor Schwarzenegger, calling on him to end the DEA raids on medical marijuana patients and providers.

( – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Orange County, California is a seat of hypocrisy.  Recently I spent the weekend in Orange County, long-time stronghold of conservatism.  The local newspaper, Orange County Register, features regular condemnations of “socialism” and government generally.  Despite their disdain for government spending,  in actuality the county’s residents are  are dependent on two enormous government projects.  The first is the highway system, and the second is the California State Water Project.

Orange County is doubtlessly a bastion of conservatism.  There are 1.5 times as many registered Republicans as Democrats.  Here are some gems from the blog  of the Orange County Register:  “If I were creating a program designed to keep people poor and dependent on government, this would be it. You provide new, below-market housing to people, then forbid them from selling the property at market rates when they leave….Sorry, but markets still work better than socialism.”  In another entry, a blogger writes about his recommendations for today’s Russia:  “Instead of increasing government, he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] should cancel all income taxes, welfare, etc. — the whole superstructure of socialist tyranny that remains there (and in the US, Europe, etc.) — income taxes, welfare, “Social[ist] Security,” government schooling, etc. Leave people alone to run their own lives and they’ll start having kids again.”

Notwithstanding the rants of the misinformed, Orange County is dependent on the federal highway system.  For example, in Orange County the 405 freeway is 72.5 miles long, and connects Orange County to Los Angeles and San Diego.  According to 1996 figures from the Department of Transportation, a 2 lane freeway in an urban area costs approximately $540,000 per mile.  In many places the 405 is at least 4 lanes wide on each side.  Thus, by a conservative estimate, the 405 freeway costs at least $ 39,150,000 a year.  As if that number was not large enough, Orange County is served by a variety of other Interstates, including 10, 605, 110 and 105.  Each of these freeways was built at the taxpayer’s expense.  Keeping the freeways open requires a host of maintenance tasks, as well as trustworthy inspectors to ensure that the bridges and overpasses are well maintained.  Every day people drive on Interstate 405 without paying a cent in tolls.  It is the most heavily used freeway in the country. 

On the other hand, there is also now a beautiful toll road in Orange County, State Routes  241 and 73 were built with private dollars, and maintained with toll fees.  Skeptics could point out that Orange County could have been created through a system of private toll roads.  This seems doubtful because although the roads were conceived of in the 1970s, construction did not start until the 1990’s, two decades later.  Putting the bonds on the ballot did not happen until the early 1980s.  In comparison, Interstate 405 was approved in 1955, with construction starting two years later in 1957.  In a little more than a decade, in 1969, construction crews finished the build out of Interstate 405.  It seems highly unlikely that the vast network of freeways that connect the cities of Orange County and the rest of Southern California could have been built so rapidly with private backing.  No matter how many miles a person drives on Interstate 405, or the vast majority of the highways that lead into Orange County,  they pay no increased usage fee.  The government is subsidizing every mile driven.  Sounds like socialism and government spending to me. 

While the highway system is important to mobility in Orange County, water is necessary for life.  Orange County draws a full 25 percent of it’s water from the California State Water Project and the Colorado river.  The State Water Project is a network of pipelines and aqueducts that moves water from Northern to Southern California.  The Project has gigantic (and expensive) canals and pumping stations, and cost 1.75 billion dollars to build in 1960.  In today’s dollars, that’s over 11 billion dollars.  Keeping it running is no small task either.  Like the interstate highway system, the CSWP requires inspectors and maintenance personnel for the physical plant.  Orange County residents are also the beneficiaries of the local Orange County  Water District, which manages the wells that provide 75 percent of the county’s drinking water.  The California legislature formed the OCWD in 1933 because groundwater pumping was causing the land to sink.  As people pumped out water, the land sank into the space previously occupied by the water.  There is no free-for-all of private well drilling in Orange County– rather, the OCWD makes sure that the groundwater in Orange County is protected from salt water and recharged from treated , recycled waste-water.

Without the OWCD and government regulation, the groundwater supply in Orange County might not exist in its current high quality state.  Furthermore, the county might be marred with a sinking water table, which damages buildings and roads as the earth compacts.

Orange County is just one more example of a place where government subsidies have created an entire way of life.  What’s ironic about the complaints of the OC Register columnist/bloggers is that because the government subsidies have worked so well, the bloggers are not  aware of them. Clean water comes out of the tap when you turn it on, and the “free” roads that are ”just there.”  It is easy to take something for granted that was built , at great expense, by previous generations.  The rest of the world is not like that– in many countries, a person cannot safely drink tap water, and there is no vast , free network of high speed roads. We must start asking people to own up to what it costs to maintain their lifestyle– if they expect to keep drinking the tap water and driving on freeways, they must start accepting the costs.  Again, the United States chose to spend money on public works during the 1950s and 1960s, and it laid the foundation for the economic boom.

Alternately, they can find a way to build their own roads and make their own clean water without government backing.  Good luck with that.  I hear it’s working out well in Somalia. 

List of Sources

Steve Greenhut, Housing Socialism in Irvine OCREgister.com.
John Seiler, “OCRegister blog:  Orange Punch – post: Socialism = death.”  OCRegister.com
Orange County Registrar of Voters, “Voter Registration by SOS District.”  OCVOTE.com.
Daniel P. Faigin, “California Highways (www.cahighways.org): Routes 371 through 480.”  California Highways
US Dept. of Transportation/US Dept. of Commerce, US Urban Freeway (Motorway) Cost per Person Mile.”  The Public Purpose.
TCA, “The Toll Roads – Background and History.”  The Toll Roads.
Department of Water Resources, “State Water Project – History.”  Department of Water Resources Public Affairs.
Tom R. Halfhill, “Tom’s Inflation Calculator.”  Tom’s Home Page.
Orange County Water District, “OCWD Online – Water Factory 21.”  Orange County Water District.