As the countdown to insolvency continues….

• George Skelton occasionally gets a good column in with all the High Broderism, and in today’s, he recognizes that the Governor is all talk when it comes to “blowing up the boxes” of waste in Sacramento.  Not only that, the ideas he does champion, like eliminating the California Conservation Corps, are really stupid.  And that’s not me with the ad hominem attack, that’s me quoting Cal State Sacramento political science professor Barbara O’Connor.

• At the new site CalPensions, there is talk of former Republican Assemblyman Keith Richman using the Internet to gather signatures for an anti-worker “pension reform” initiative.  OOOH!!! Using the Internet!  Next thing you know Richman will get wise to the Facebook and the Twitter!

Thing is, Internet or no Internet, Californians like workers because by and large they ARE workers.

• There’s another powerful special interest waiting to argue their case in the halls of the legislature: say hello to Big Golf, which doesn’t want increased taxes on golf-related activities, which are currently exempt from sales tax.  Don’t make me change the name of Republicans to the Golf Party!

• Arnold’s spending cuts are incredibly painful on the least of society.  The LAO is offering a more sensible and less punitive alternative.

• The San Diego Chargers are looking to “expand” into the LA Market. You have to wonder if San Diego can compete with LA to hold onto the Chargers, if a competition begins.

• This has got to be the coolest photo of the inauguration ever. You can pan around and find some crazy stuff.   Yo Yo Ma taking an iPhone photo, Dick Cheney looking, well, evil, and what I think is a sleeping Clarence Thomas. Really, really cool.  If you were there, can you find yourself?