Links from around the state:<\/p>\n
\u2022 While in LA for his $30K\/plate dinner, President Obama took some time to be rather insensitive<\/a> on the day after the Prop 8 ruling. (From the comments, see this dKos diary<\/a> that has a video of the incident, telling a different tale than Sullivan<\/i>.) Meanwhile, the LA Gay & Lesbian Center wrote a powerful rebuke<\/a> to the President for failing to live up to his rhetoric on LGBT issues. This is going to fester unless the Administration does something about it.<\/p>\n \u2022 HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius did release $14 million dollars as part of the stimulus package to expand capacity for all 118 community health centers in California. It’s a drop in the bucket, but still appreciated.<\/p>\n \u2022 Apparently Warehouse Workers United shut down an entire warehouse district<\/em> in the Inland Empire today, protesting pitiful working conditions at warehouses that serve some of the largest corporations in America.<\/p>\n \u2022 Rush Limbaugh goes after Arnold<\/a> for “ruining California” by going moderate. Popcorn time!<\/p>\n \u2022 Barbara Boxer and Al Franken have teamed up their fundraising<\/a> in what I consider a brilliant move. Boxer helps out the man who will become the 60th Democrat in the Senate, while showing her commitment to the Democratic agenda and winning national praise. Makes a ton of sense, great idea.<\/p>\n \u2022 The actual ad<\/a> hitting vulnerable House Democrats for their ties to Nancy Pelosi and the CIA controversy is useless and not revelatory. But interestingly enough, one seat is missing from the GOP’s targets – CA-11. They seem to have given up on winning back Jerry McNerney’s district anytime soon. That’s the only news here.<\/p>\n \u2022 More stupid cuts: CalWORKS<\/a>. We lose $3.7 bln in federal dollars to save $1.8 Bln in state dollars. Plus, we lose a $600 Million stimulus kicker. Hooray for short-sightedness! Who needs a safety net anyway? It’s not like people are struggling financially…oh…wait…<\/p>\n \u2022 Simon Johnson’s “Design A Country Rescue Contest”<\/a> made me chuckle.<\/p>\n \u2022 State workers are far from overpaid<\/a>. In fact, they earn far less than their private sector counterparts. Oh, and “California in 2007 had 103 full-time equivalent state employees for every 10,000 residents, second-lowest in the nation behind Illinois’ 97.”<\/p>\n \u2022 Watch out, America: apparently California has a laser fusion machine<\/a>. Give us our bailout or… oh, what, it’s not a weapon? Never mind. But actually, this is a significant development in terms of renewable energy. This would be the first fusion machine to create more energy than it consumes, and could truly become a revolutionary, world-changing machine. We need one of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Links from around the state:<\/p>\n \u2022 While in LA for his $30K\/plate dinner, President Obama took some time to be rather insensitive<\/a> on the day after the Prop 8 ruling. (From the comments, see this dKos diary<\/a> that has a video of the incident, telling a different tale than Sullivan<\/i>.) Meanwhile, the LA Gay & Lesbian Center wrote a powerful rebuke<\/a> to the President for failing to live up to his rhetoric on LGBT issues. This is going to fester unless the Administration does something about it.<\/p>\n \u2022 HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius did release $14 million dollars as part of the stimulus package to expand capacity for all 118 community health centers in California. It’s a drop in the bucket, but still appreciated.<\/p>\n \u2022 Apparently Warehouse Workers United shut down an entire warehouse district<\/em> in the Inland Empire today, protesting pitiful working conditions at warehouses that serve some of the largest corporations in America.<\/p>\n \u2022 Rush Limbaugh goes after Arnold<\/a> for “ruining California” by going moderate. Popcorn time!<\/p>\n \u2022 Barbara Boxer and Al Franken have teamed up their fundraising<\/a> in what I consider a brilliant move. Boxer helps out the man who will become the 60th Democrat in the Senate, while showing her commitment to the Democratic agenda and winning national praise. Makes a ton of sense, great idea.<\/p>\n \u2022 The actual ad<\/a> hitting vulnerable House Democrats for their ties to Nancy Pelosi and the CIA controversy is useless and not revelatory. But interestingly enough, one seat is missing from the GOP’s targets – CA-11. They seem to have given up on winning back Jerry McNerney’s district anytime soon. That’s the only news here.<\/p>\n \u2022 More stupid cuts: CalWORKS<\/a>. We lose $3.7 bln in federal dollars to save $1.8 Bln in state dollars. Plus, we lose a $600 Million stimulus kicker. Hooray for short-sightedness! Who needs a safety net anyway? It’s not like people are struggling financially…oh…wait…<\/p>\n \u2022 Simon Johnson’s “Design A Country Rescue Contest”<\/a> made me chuckle.<\/p>\n