Daily Archives: August 23, 2008

Uncategorized

Migden’s Meltdown – Staff Edition

1 Comment

Californians are fortunate that Mark Leno won the primary for Senate District Three. None more so than the members of the Senate staff.

The Sacramento Bee reports that:

Sen. Carole Migden's Capitol staff was sent home on Thursday afternoon and told not to report to work on Friday, after the San Francisco Democrat was heard berating them from the hallway.

Migden's conduct was so bad that the director of personnel had to consult with each of Migden's staff members and inform them of their rights. Later, the chief sergeant-of-arms of the Senate returned to excuse Migden's staff from the horror of working in her office. They were sent home and told not to come in to work on Friday.

More on the flip

When Migden was asked about the incident, she said “They weren't sent home,” and then she stormed away. Great response, Carole: an outright and easily confirmed lie.

Carole's meltdown is not really new or surprising. In a 2006 survey conducted by Capitol Weekly, Migden was voted “worst boss.”  The San Francisco Examiner labeled her “Sacramento's scariest boss.”

Carole, if I could be so presumptuous as to offer you some career counseling:  Rather than trying to re-start your political career, perhaps you should consider moving back to New York and managing the Helmesley chain of hotels:

 

Uncategorized

Joe Biden Weekend Open Thread

9 Comments

• It’s official: Senator Joe Biden is the nominee, per BarackObama.com. Biden is a relatively safe pick, he’s solid on foreign policy.  Unfortunately, he was a main instigator of the disastrous 2005 Bankruptcy Bill.  He is a great campaigner, has a quick wit, and would make a good VP overall.

• AmEx is going to cut California off if we don’t get a budget.  I guess the state really feels the pain of its citizens. I just hope we don’t get the capitol foreclosed.

• Some rich folks agree with the Democrats’ plan to increase the highest tax brackets.

• It’s tough to find all of the homeless in LA even if you want to provide them with services.

• An Oregon tribe has approved same-sex marriages.

• There’s a dispute over tour buses in SF’s Castro neighborhood, where I happen to live.  The buses drop off their passengers, who then take pictures of the “homosexuals in their own environment”.

One visitor said they had been prepped by their tour guide for the full Castro experience. “He said we will be able to tell the homosexuals by the way they dress and the way they walk,” said Livia Dekker, a visitor from Holland.

I have been in the area when one of these buses drops off, and it is a bit strange. Look, I’m all for tourism, but I’d rather my neighborhood not be turned into a human zoo. Thanks.

• The family of some murder victims in SF are suing the city for its sanctuary city policy, saying that the suspect had a history of violence that should have indicated deportation.

Uncategorized

Debbie Cook Asks Rohrabacher For Three Town Hall Debates

Huntington Beach, CA – Debbie Cook has formally asked Congressman Dana Rohrabacher to join her in at least three town-hall style debates throughout the 46th distict.

“The voters in our district should have meaningful opportunities to hear our very different goals and visions for the 46th district,” said Cook. “The Congressman has been willing to debate in previous elections, I hope he will agree to join me in a series of forums that will present our positions directly to the voters.”

The Cook campaign has asked for three debates located across the district, two in Orange County and one in Los Angeles County.

“There are two very different media markets in this district, so along with Orange County, it’s important to schedule at least one town hall debate in Los Angeles County, possibly in Long Beach or the Palos Verdes Peninsula.” said Kevin Thurman, Cook’s campaign manager.

Thurman said he is waiting for an official response from the Rohrabacher campaign. Thurman sent a certified letter to Rhonda Rohrabacher, the Congressman’s wife and campaign manager, early this week.

Cook, the Democratic nominee and mayor of Huntington Beach, is challenging incumbent Dana Rohrabacher. She has devoted much of her adult life and her legal career to environmental protection and energy policy.  She considers reducing America’s dependence on fossil fuels an environmental and national security imperative.

The 46th Congressional District covers a two-county area bounded by Costa Mesa on the south and the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the north. For more information about the campaign, please visit www.debbiecookforcongress.com.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Budget

Dan Walters goes off on the Republicans

1 Comment

Well, I don’t know how else to explain Walters’ column today in the Bee:

Republicans posture as bulwarks against spending-crazy Democrats, but the hard facts prove otherwise. As a detailed chart published this week in The Sacramento Bee demonstrates, the two chief contributors to the state’s chronic budget deficit have been spending that Republicans, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, championed.

Of course, you knew that months ago, didn’t you? Given the article they ran on Wednesday I suppose logic reigns supreme over at the Bee these days. Why? Well, our spending isn’t “out of control” save for spending on prisons, and if you can call 46th in the nation “out of control”, K-12 education. Of course, the money used to  used to backfill to municipalities bank accounts because of the cut on the Vehicle License Fees put whallop into the state budget too. And we are spending pretty much exactly the same percentage of personal income in the general fund as we did in 1981 under Republican Governor Deukmejian:

1981-82: $21.7 billion (6.78%) … 2007-08: $103.5 billion (6.82%)

Republicans, feel free to admit that you are wrong and concede to the massive power that is Dan Walters.  We’ll take that budget tomorrow please.

Walters takes Arnold to task on more point, the fact that his plan will blow a hole in the budget as soon as he leaves office in 2010.  Great, we’ll stabilize the budget only to lull people into a false sense of security. Preach on Dan…

It’s very revealing that Schwarzenegger is now proposing a temporary 1-cent sales tax increase and some business tax changes to close the deficit. By happenstance, they would raise some $5 billion a year, close to the $6.1 billion that his car tax cut now costs – but only for a few years, after which revenues would drop sharply. By then, however, Schwarzenegger would be gone and it would be another governor’s headache.

Schwarzenegger is at least semi-willing to face the music with his new tax proposal, even if it’s temporary. But privately and publicly, Republican leaders are demanding that either spending be cut – except the spending they advocate – or money be borrowed from local governments, transportation accounts or other programs to close the gap.

Is that fiscal responsibility? Not by any rational definition.

Um…go Dan Walters?

Uncategorized

Prop. 8: The Hallmark Factor

1 Comment

The very interesting aspect of the gay marriage debate out here in California is how corporate America has made their bet.  Companies like PG&E have donated heavily to the “No on 8” side, and now we see Hallmark, about as conservative (not in their politics, but in their style and outlook) a company as you can find, coming out with same-sex marriage cards (just in time for me to get one for a certain couple in a few weeks!):

Most states don’t recognize gay marriage – but now Hallmark does.

The nation’s largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards – featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. “Two hearts. One promise,” one says […]

The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure.

“It’s our goal to be as relevant as possible to as many people as we can,” Hallmark spokeswoman Sarah Gronberg Kolell said.

Apparently they weren’t relevant enough to the American Family Association, which is commencing a protest of the company.  AFA is one of the many hatemongers trying desperately to inspire their troops over Prop. 8.  But I think Hallmark’s decision is far more instructive.

Corporations have balance sheets and shareholders.  They don’t make these kind of decisions frivolously.  They know that history is bending on the side of justice.  They know that equality is on the way.