Blog roundup from over the weekend is over the fold: A couple more week-in-review posts, a couple health care posts, land and water in the Central Valley, Peter Schrag on the recent gutting of Brown, and a couple more items. If I missed something nifty and lefty over the weekend, toss it into comments.

A Couple More California
Weeks-in-Review

• Speak Out California!: Speak Out’s Recap (with commentary)
  on the events of the past week in Sacramento
  http://speakoutca.org/archives/2007/06/while_californi_1.php
• Courage Campaign: An Inspired Week For Conservatives
  http://couragecampaign.org/entries/an-inspired-week-for-conservatives/

Health Care

• RJ Eskow’s Night Light: SiCKO and the Film I Wish Michael
  Moore Had
  Made (a really good discussion of health care financing and management
  from the inside)
  http://nightlight.typepad.com/nightlight/2007/06/memo-to-michael.html
• LAist: what happens when you get hit with a line drive at
  dodger stadium (actually health-care related)
  http://laist.com/2007/06/30/what_happens_wh.php

Environment

• Badlands Journal: New Merced County Planning Commissioner
  playing fast and loose with public processes, public funds
  http://www.badlandsjournal.com/?p=341
• The People’s Vanguard of Davis: City Puts Out Propaganda
  Piece on Water Supply Project
  http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/2007/06/city-puts-out-propaganda-piece-on-water.html
• Creek Running North: Grizzlies ate salmon here, or what
  Chris would do with a time machine
  http://faultline.org/index.php/site/comments/grizzlies_ate_salmon_here/

More California Stuff

• From California Progress Report, another defeat for Howie
  Rich and his band of out-of-state East Coast gummint-hatin’ bullies
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/06/attempt_to_chan.html
• Bear Republic Action Group: An Open Letter to Speaker Nancy
  Pelosi
  http://takeaction.wordpress.com/2007/06/30/an-open-letter-to-speaker-nancy-pelosi-2/
• Peter Schrag at California Progress Report: Supreme Court’s
  Decision on School Desegregation Will Have Less Impact in California
  Because of Prop 209
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/peter_schrag_su.html
• California Progress Report: Mum’s the Word About Governor
  Schwarzenegger’s Speech to California District Attorney Association —
  Why?
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/mums_the_word_a.html

It’s been a while, but there’s a California Blog Roundup on the flip. Lots of health care coverage, some land use, water worries and environmental coverage, and a fair bit about the atmosphere in the legislature.

If I missed a blog post that should have been here (and it’s a liberal or lefty post), feel free to promote in the comments.

Wow, there’s a lot of
health care posts

• Working Californians: Arnold’s Bigger But Worse Plan
  http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/06/28/arnolds_bigger_but_worse_plan
• California Progress Report: Schwarzenegger Plan’s High
  Deductibles Would Wipe Out
  Middle Class Californians 
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/06/high_deductible_1.html
• Daily Kos: 15,000 Nurses Sign up for SiCKO—Even
  O’Reilly Covers
  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/28/143415/714
• Pacific Views: What not to do when fixing the health care
  system
  http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/002813.html
• California Notes: Labor rallies for health care in shadow
  of legislative sell out
  http://bayneofblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/labor-rallies-for-health-care-in-shadow.html
• Working Californians: Its OUR Health Care Rally 
  http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/06/28/its_our_health_care_rally

Land and water

• The People’s Vanguard of Davis: State Senate Bill Would
  Impose Growth on Cities
  http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/2007/06/state-senate-bill-would-impose-growth.html
• Surprise Attack on California’s Environmental Laws–And
  What You Can Do About It – California Progress Report
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/06/surprise_attack.html
• The People’s Vanguard of Davis: Who is left to
  defend Yolo County Farmland?
  http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/2007/06/commentary-who-is-left-to-defend-yolo.html
• California Progress Report: Congressional Hearings on Vice
  President Cheney’s
  Role in Northern
  California Klamath River Water Policy That Caused Largest Salmon Kill
  in U.S. History
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/06/congressional_h.html
• Politics in the Zeros: ‘Perfect drought’ in
  southern California
  http://polizeros.com/2007/06/29/perfect-drought-in-southern-california/
• SoHum Parlance: Barely a trickle in the Eel River
  http://redwoodreality.blogspot.com/2007/06/barely-trickle.html

Federal Representatives
and Elections

• California Progress Report: “Bloomberg” Is Another Reason
  Why California Should Reform
  the Electoral College
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/06/bloomberg_anoth.html
• The California Majority Report // John
  Doolittle’s Reverse-Midas Touch Ends
  Former-Protégé’s Assembly Race
  http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2012
• Seeing the Forest: A Chat With Speaker Pelosi
  http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2007/06/a_chat_with_spe.htm

Other State Issues

• The BRAD BLOG : ES&S Letter Agreeing to
  Send
  Voting System Source Code to CA SoS Begs More Questions Than it Answers
  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4741
• Working Californians: GOP Throwing Sand (it’s pretty much
  an extended Republican temper tantrum)
  http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/06/29/long_time_coming_gop_throwing_sand
• California
  Progress Report: Assembly Approves 5 of 6 Tribal Gaming Compacts After
  Closed Door
  Meetings and Nonbinding Side Agreements Are Passed
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/06/assembly_approv.html
• California Progress Report: California Responsible For 1
  out of 5 New Inmates in the
  U.S. in Prison Last Year 
  http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/06/california_resp.html
• Metroblogging San Francisco: California bullet trains might
  go somewhere, someday
  http://sf.metblogs.com/archives/2007/06/california_bullet_trains_might.phtml

Yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle had a lengthy Ed Epstein piece on Speaker Pelosi marking 20 years in the house following her contentious special election victory over Harry Britt. Over the years, San Francisco politics have proven an effective training ground to allow the people we elect to excel. Feinstein is a powerhouse, Willie Brown was Da Speaker, the Burton brothers were titans in Sacramento and DC, Migden chairs the senate Caucus, Leno chairs Appropriations. If you can make here politically, you really can make it anywhere.

And if you want to see what I’m talking about, read Chris Daly’s op-ed at the Fog City Journal on the current budget battle. Making great use of the medium with literally dozens of links (going back to 1998), the Supervisor shows how San Francisco politics is fought in the trenches. And remember, all of this is over one half of one percent of the SF budget.

It’s over! It’s over! It’s finally over! The Liberal OC has the last word on the crazy rumor about the Nancy Pelosi fundraiser, and the Republican spinners at OC Blog have clearly failed in their attempt to create civil unrest among Orange County Democrats. Horray, the non-scandal has died! ; )

OK, and now for more scandaliciousness… Bill O’Reilly now claims that the liberals have declared war on the white, male Christians! Cheese louise, when will these crazy right-wing folks learn to stop stirring up s**t over non-scandals?!

So what “scandals” are happening in your neck of the woods? What non-issues are the Republicans trying to stir up in your area? And is Bill O’Reilly crazy, or is he just talking nonsense? Go ahead. Make my day. Fire away! : )

OK, so you’ve probably seen this by now. Or perhaps, you’ve seen this. Wherever you saw Matt Cunningham’s post about the cancelled Nancy Pelosi fundraiser in Orange County, don’t believe it.

Yes, the fundraiser was cancelled. But no, Loretta Sanchez didn’t “put the kibosh” on a chance to raise money for the Democratic Party of Orange County. No, Loretta Sanchez isn’t against a stronger, better-funded DPOC. No, the Democratic Party is not weak and incompetent.

Follow me after the flip to get to the truth of this matter…

Here’s what Matt Cunningham said on OC Blog and FlashReport…

… Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s ego got in the way.

Sanchez adopted a proprietary view of the dollars the Pelosi/DPOC event would raise. Rather than seeing a stronger, better-funded DPOC as a benefit to her continued representation of the 47th Congressional District, in Loretta’s view the fund raiser would take money away from her.

And here’s why this is completely wrong. The fundraiser actually was for the DCCC, not the DPOC. The fundraiser was on April 29 in Newport Beach, even though many OC Democrats were still in San Diego for the state Democratic Convention. And even though the individuals that scheduled the dinner promised that Loretta Sanchez was already on board with the fundraiser, they did NOT contact her to make sure that she was actually available for this fundraiser.

Basically, this fundraiser was just a disaster waiting to happen. So you don’t believe me? Believe Wylie Aitken. He knows what he’s talking about when he talks about Loretta. Wylie Aitken has been with her since the beginning as a campaign adviser to Loretta. But of course, he also knows what he’s talking about when he talks about the Democratic Party. He has always been a good friend of the DPOC. Read what he said to Total Buzz about that fundraiser.

The cancellation of the event had little or nothing to do with Loretta Sanchez.

The event would have been primarily for the DCCC. Well-intentioned individuals scheduled the evening without making sure Loretta would be available as well as many others within the Democratic donor community.

Loretta did what she should do — in addition to scheduling problems, to give her honest assessment to the Speaker, as to whether the event was properly planned and would be a success.

So there you have it! OK, so you’re still not believing me? Believe Mike Lawson at The Liberal OC. Here’s what he was told about that fundraiser:

The DPOC (with the help of “local Democratic insider”) solicited Pelosi for this dinner. One of the selling points was that Loretta was already onboard.

After Pelosi accepted the invitation she spoke with Sanchez, who hadn’t heard of the event. Once Loretta looked into the benefit, she noticed that there were some people (like the friend of “local Democratic insider”) that were angling to make some good money off of the event; Sanchez, who was never officially onboard with this benefit, backed out. And so did Pelosi.

Maybe Matt Cunningham was right when he said that “ego” stood in the way of this event, but it wasn’t Loretta’s this time. Perhaps the “local Democratic insider” shouldn’t have guaranteed Loretta’s attendance.

So do you believe us now? Oh yes, and look who’s supporting that fundraiser for Loretta this month. So, there! Loretta still cares about us in Orange County. The Democratic Party here is doing a great job in building the party in Orange County. Everyone is doing great, and we’re all looking forward to that fundraiser at Joe Dunn’s house on the 16th.

So much for that rumor! Cheese louise, the OC Republican insiders at OC Blog can’t even come up with a credible runor against us! I guess if this is the worst they can throw at us, then we’re doing a great job here! : )

We don’t do enough on this site to defend our own Speaker Pelosi from ridiculous media hit jobs.  Sure, blogswarm put this one in the Quick Hits, but it deserves wider attention because it falls into a predictable pattern.  The nutjobs in the House Republican Caucus put out some kind of non-factual press release, a still-unsuspecting-after-all-these-years news organization dutifully types it up, Drudge and the right-wing noise machine links to it, and by the time the charges are completely discredited, the media schoolchildren and Republican outrage-bots have moved on to the next thing.  The entire idea is to “get it out there,” to plant a seed of malfeasance in the mind of the voter despite the complete disregard for the facts.  This has happened at least four times that I can think of, in just the first four months-plus of the Pelosi Speakership.  And I’m sick of it.

over…

In this instance, the right is claiming that Pelosi inserted Port of San Francisco waterfront improvements into a water redevelopment bill passed by the House last month. (Ever wonder why they always catch these things long after they’ve voted on them?  It’s like they don’t care about the legislation, just having an issue.  Hmmm…)  They claim that the improvements would benefit Pelosi’s husband’s rental properties.

Except the properties are a mile away from where the improvements are to be built, and the Port of San Francisco requested the improvements.  This was confirmed within five minutes by Greg Sargent.  But the writers and editors at the AP let that slip by, and just uncritically printed the “controversy” that was made up out of whole cloth without any factual basis.

You can add this to the Speaker requesting a phat jet so her Entourage (including Turtle) can party on the way to DC, her lowering the minimum wage in American Samoa to benefit Starkist Tuna, her going to Syria and undercutting American foreign policy, etc etc.  None of these allegations where even close to being true, and all of them folded under scrutiny.  Of course, that wasn’t the point.  The point was to get Suzanne Malveaux to call Pelosi “the most controversial Speaker yet!”  The point was to make sure the low-information voter has this vague sense from Rush and Fox News headlines that Pelosi is some corrupt politician who’s robbing the federal treasury for perks for her friends and allies.  And this is done so that, when GOP Congressman have their houses raided and some actual tales of corruption come out, the Republicans can stamp their little feet and scream “Pelosi too!!!”

We’re way too forgiving of this tactic.  It’s because we have actual respect for the truth.  But the Republican operatives who keep feeding the AP this obvious bullshit have none.  And what’s more, they count on the fact that once-proud news organizations like the AP are too lazy to know the difference between reality and lies, and they’ll print virtually anything as long as they can put it in the familiar “he said/she said” context, keeping them one step away from reporting the story.  There’s no value placed on objectivity anymore, which isn’t just going to each side for a quote.  There are incontrovertible facts here, and that ought to go into the decision to run with a trumped-up “story,” especially when delivered by political operatives.  I’m fuming at this incident, and while certainly Speaker Pelosi can take care of herself, she needs to know that the progressive movement, at least out here in California, has her back and will not let this stand.

Oh, my! I was quite surprised when I first saw Martin Wisckol’s post at The OC Register’s political blog, Total Buzz:

All these fundraisers coming to town, I would guess, are not for everyone. How about $20,000 to have lunch with Nancy Pelosi on April 29, to benefit the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee? However, if you really want to see the House speaker and can’t spare three times the value of my 1997 Volvo wagon, you can catch her at a fundraiser for the Democratic Party of Orange County from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Balboa Bay Club … for a mere $1,000. Not much more than the cost of a typical repair on my car. Interested?

I’ll probably still be at the Convention in San Diego then, so I may not be able to make this date. (Sorry, Speaker Pelosi.) However if you’d like to meet Nancy Pelosi in Orange County, and you have $1,000 (or $20,000!) to spare, you can call (310) 740-6866 to RSVP. I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time at the oh so luxurious Balboa Bay Club as you meet our fabulous and fantastic Speaker of the House. ; )