COLUMNS
Home
The Sky is Falling
Code Pink
Homeland Insecurity
Fire & Brimstone
Occupied Kalifornia
Parallel Universe
Sci Tech
Human Zoo

Worksafe Color Codes

SPONSORS

Email Us

Living Large with Don Perata

State Senate boss Don Perata throws impressive parties, and this one was a doozy. The guests, some of Perata's best donors among them, feasted on buttery Dungeness crab and sipped California Chardonnay. Then they settled into their plush luxury box seats to watch the Oakland Raiders play the New York Jets in a game with playoff implications.

It was mid-December 2000, and the state senator had just dropped $43,600 on an oversize luxury suite at the Oakland Coliseum for a single afternoon of festivities. At the time he said he was trying to convince East Bay business leaders to buy suites of their own. But like his other ideas involving the Raiders, this one misfired. Team officials later said the bash produced zero luxury box sales.

Perata paid for the box, and the bash, from the treasury of one of his political campaigns. Since the state senator often transfers cash from one campaign to another, it is difficult to determine its exact origin, but public records suggest that most of it came from the Three Rs, a fund-raising committee Perata formed with then-Mayor Jerry Brown a year earlier to improve Oakland schools. The same month as the Raiders party, Perata transferred the remaining $32,668 from the Three Rs into his main Senate account and paid for the luxury box. In other words, money raised to help Oakland schoolchildren likely was spent on crab, wine, and football for a bunch of rich people. More

State senator rear-ends car while talking on cellphone

In a clear case of "do what I say, not what I do", State Sen. Carole Migden has rear-ended a car and injured a Vallejo woman. Migden was talking on a cell phone while driving through Solano County.

Migden last year voted for a new law that takes effect in July 2008 that will impose a minimum fine of $20 for anyone caught using a cell phone while driving without a headset, ear bud or other technology that frees both hands.

Migden, D-San Francisco, was driving her new state-issued 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV at 10:40 a.m. on eastbound Highway 12 at Beck Avenue when she rear-ended Ellen Butawan, 31, of Vallejo, California Highway Patrol Officer Marvin Williford said.

Migden, 58, accepted blame Friday for the accident. More

Cali Teachers dropping out of school

Stephan Goyne entered teaching as a "fight the good fight" kind of guy, taking a job in East Oakland right out of college.

"I come from a family of teachers. It wasn't even a question of whether to do that," Goyne said. "The question was whether to do elementary, middle or high school."

But after six years in the trenches -- bumped from campus to campus, forbidden from organizing field trips and ordered to teach math only after lunch -- Goyne left teaching.

Teachers stifled by bureaucracy, faced with poor conditions and blocked from making decisions in their own classrooms are leaving the profession in droves, according to a new study released Thursday by Cal State University's Teacher Quality Institute. More

"Light Bulb Lloyd" wants to ban incandescent bulbs

A state legislator thinks it's time for California to retire the more-than-a-century-old incandescent light bulb technology and replace it with its cooler, energy-sipping, squiggly compact and toxic fluorescent counterpart.

A bill by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys (Los Angeles County), would make the Golden State the first to make it illegal to sell incandescent light bulbs. Specifically, the legislation, which is set to be formally submitted in the Assembly in the next few days, would ban the old-fashioned bulbs between 25 watts and 150 watts by 2012.

But forcing such a change by 2012 is not only unfair, but technically difficult, a representative of one of the largest light bulb manufacturers said.

"It may not be rocket science, but it actually comes pretty close when it comes to making lighting products that are acceptable and safe," said Earl Jones, a senior counsel for GE's consumer and industrial division. "There are technology challenges to get them done by 2012." More

Schwarzenegger Plans to Insure Most Californians

Los Angeles , CA - A sweeping plan by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to guarantee health insurance for all Californians - including children of illegal immigrants - is being characterized both as a bold model for improving healthcare access and as a costly government intrusion that will hurt the state's economy.

Arguments for and against near-universal healthcare have already been fought out in the few other states that have moved ahead with health-insurance reforms, namely Massachusetts and Vermont. But the sheer numbers involved in Governor Schwarzenegger's proposal - a $12 billion price tag and coverage for 6.5 million people who currently don't have health insurance - are guaranteed to raise the stakes as the California legislature considers whether to approve it.

Among the ranks of the uninsured are about 763,000 children. Of the plan's overall cost, about $400 million would be spent on those minors, no matter what their immigration status is.

It should be noted that one Austrian embarked on an ambitious program of social services for the people of his nation-state over 70 years ago, and it ended with Jews being thrown into ovens. More

Farming, California Style

Pot farmers worked undetected for two to three years in the shadow of homes and hikers, nurturing plants that drooped under the weight of pungent marijuana buds, authorities who cleared out a record haul in Mission Viejo said Thursday.

Whoever was tending to the thriving pot farm at O'Neill Regional Park – likely underlings for a group or criminal cartel, authorities say – had showered their crops with love.

Because some plants had grown to 15 feet and were poking through a canopy of oak trees, sheriff's deputies on routine helicopter patrol late Tuesday could spot them – and then follow a mile-long, serpentine irrigation system that led to seven separate farms and three camps. More

The Wannabe Governor

Democrats and Republicans play this game in which they concede a position to the other party and run a non campaign against the candidate they conceded to.

A memorable example of this was in 1996 and the Republicans decided to concede the White House to Bill Clinton, so they put up Bob Dole to schlepp around the country and do everything but campaign for office.

This year the Democrats decided to concede the California Governor's race to Arnold Schwarzenegger, so they put up a non candidate named Phil Angelides. Mr. Angelides major claim to fame is that he bears a close resemblence to actor Herbert Anderson, who portrayed the father of the TV character Dennis the Menace.

So far Angelides has run an uninspiring campaign, offering no tangible plan or program with which to govern this populous state. It is unlikely that even a well orchestrated smear campaign by "Baghdad Bob" Mulholland will do anything to nudge Angelides into the governor's mansion.

"Baghdad Bob" Mulholland unleashed

There is a foul stench in California politics. It is likely from a Democratic Party operative known as Bob "Baghdad Bob" Mulholland.

If there is a rumor being pumped into circulation about Democratic Party enemies, then the more odious it is, the more likely that Baghdad Bob is skulking around in the background spewing forth the stench.

Mulholland started to show up on the media radar in 1992 after exposing how Republican Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn visted a strip joint in Hollywood.

But his sleaze turned to menace in the campaign to smear Arnold Schwarzenegger during his run for governor. Mulholland warned Schwarzenegger that "real bullets" will be coming his way during his campaign to be governor.

"Schwarzenegger is going to find out, that unlike a Hollywood movie set, the bullets coming at him in this campaign are going to be real bullets and he is going to have to respond to them," warned Mulholland in an interview with a camera crew from ABC News.

Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver was very concerned about Arnold's safety after this comment by Baghdad Bob, as her family has a history with assassination.

As the 2006 campaign ramps up, if some odious "puke bomb" is thrown at the last minute to try to knock a few points off of Democratic Party opponents, then take a very close look at the source. Baghdad Bob will surely be lurking nearby.

Gray Davis, John Mark Karr not related

Los Angeles, CA - A spokeswoman for former California governor Gray Davis has issued a statement in which she says he is not related to Jonbenet Ramsey killer John Mark Karr.

"I know that there is a strong resemblence, and they are both very unusually looking men, but there is no familial relationship between the two", said spokeswoman Sandy Allenbricker.

"Mr. Davis wanted to be proactive and quiet the whispering campaign linking him with the accused killer, so I reiterate, there is no familial relationship between Gray Davis and John Mark Karr."

Davis was the first governor in California history to be recalled. Since leaving public office, Davis has been working with the law firm of Loeb & Loeb.

'Meathead Tax' goes down in election

The controversial Proposition 82 "Meathead Tax" was turned down by voters in the Tuesday primary elections.

Named after its proponent, Rob Reiner, who was a character in the 1970s sitcom All in the Family, the tax was to have funded state run preschools.

The measure was voted down with 61% of voters deciding against it.

The proposition has been plagued by scandal, with Reiner coming under scrutiny for his keeping his job with the state First Five Commission while at the same time campaigning for a proposition which would fund state-run preschools.

The attention caused Reiner to resign from his position with the First Five Commission on March 29, 2006. An audit of the commission's funds will be conducted in the face of accusations of misuse of state money for the political campaign for his proposition. Other election results

California students: Stupid or poorly educated?

A few decades ago schools in California provided a world class education.

That is different now, with many students passing through grades K-12 and not even attaining a ninth grade education.

This sad truth has been uncovered with the implementation of exit exams which need to be passed in order to graduate from high school. Several parents filed a lawsuit to eliminate the exit exam, claiming it was so hard that their children were not able to pass.

But how hard was it? Students have multiple guess questions with four possible answers. 60 percent correct answers will pass the English portion, while 55 percent correct will pass the math. So what amounts to a 'D' grade in math and English at the ninth grade level is required to pass the 12th grade and graduate. But this it still to hard for ten percent of students. More

Mark Leno - back with more fun and games

Taking a break from making California a cozy place for child molesters, Mark Leno, representing the 13th Assembly district of California, has decided that unlicensed drivers who kill or maim people deserve a break.

For four years, Russell and Judy Hawthorne worked tirelessly for legislation in the hope that something positive would result from their son's death. But the state Assembly's Public Safety Committee recently voted down AB2808. .

AB2808 proposed lengthening jail times for people who kill or injure someone while driving without a license. Currently, driving without a license is only a misdemeanor offense. The esteemed Mr. Leno is one of the bill's opponents. More

Welcome to Mexifornia

This image of a Mexican national flag flown above an upside-down U.S. flag was taken on 27 March 2006 at Montebello High School (MHS) in California during a student protest over immigration reform.

According to news reports, the flag incident was prompted and implemented not by MHS students, but by a large group of students from neighboring schools:

The incident took place about noon Monday, when a group of about 1,000 students from the El Rancho and Whittier Union High school districts marched through Pico Rivera to Montebello High, where students had walked out of classes in the previous week to protest proposed immigration reform legislation.

By the time they reached Montebello High, the campus was on lockdown, district officials said.

That's when the protesters took to the flagpole, added the Mexican flag and turned the U.S. flag upside down. The school's California flag was stolen in the process, [Assistant Superintendent Robert] Henke said. More

Oceanside school district bans patriotic clothes, flags

Oceanside, California - In the wake of last week's immigration-reform protests, one school district is taking drastic measures, banning all symbols of patriotism, both U.S. and Mexican.

Beginning Monday, the Oceanside Unified School District is banning all flags and patriotic clothing. According to school officials, some students are using the garments and flags to taunt classmates.

School officials in Oceanside now say that flags -- whether they are U.S. or Mexican or any other country's -- have now become a divider on campuses, saying that some students are using them to taunt other students. More

Police fire pepper spray at California high school students

A mob scene unfolded at Oceanside High School on Mission Avenue Wednesday morning when about 200 students tried to leave campus, only to be blocked by police officers toting pepper-spray pellet guns and wearing riot gear.

The scene at the campus subsided as school let out this afternoon and protesting students headed for the Oceanside Bandshell at the beach. Three boys have been arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly throwing chunks of concrete at officers during the incident at the school.

Tensions arose at the school just before noon, when several hundred students tried to leave campus in protest of proposed immigration policies.

Officers shot pepper-spray-filled pellets at the ground as students shook a locked fence surrounding the school. The students were chanting, "One people united will never be divided."

After about an hour of tense standoffs, about 100 students were allowed to walk to the Oceanside Pier in protest while others were locked down in classrooms. More

Still a Meathead

Rob Reiner has come full circle. He first came to fame as a comedic actor with a role as "Meathead" Michael Stivic in the sitcom All In The Family.

Later on he directed several so called romantic comedies (essentially chick porn) which attracted a decent number of viewers.

Now he has gotten involved in politics, trying to do something "for the children" and has shown that he is once again a real meathead.

Reiner has served in recent years as the head of the First 5 California Children and Families Commission, a state group that provides services to young children. It is allocated about $114 million a year from a 1998 voter proposition authorizing a 50-cent tax on cigarettes that he promoted and has raised $4 billion for early childhood development and health care.

The First 5 panel was created by the ballot measure to administer 20% of the tobacco tax money. County commissions oversee the rest. Reiner has headed the First 5 commission since it was formed in 1999.

Reiner's First 5 Children and Families Commission spent $23 million from November to January on TV and radio ads touting the benefits of preschool. At the time, Reiner also was leading a drive to collect signatures for a ballot measure that would tax the wealthy to provide free preschool for 4-year-olds. The proposal qualified for the June 6 statewide ballot as Proposition 82.

So what you are looking at, is Reiner has had control of nearly a billion dollars of taxpayer money, and had used $23 million of it as seed money to get an initiative on the ballot to get even more funds, instead of providing services that the original initiative was sold to do. More

California "Pervert Caucus" give sex offenders a break

While many states are passing tougher laws to deal with sex offenders, particularly offenses against children, California has legislators who wants to let them get off easy.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, Jackie Goldberg and Lloyd Levine, both Los Angeles area Democrats, have opposed attempts to impose longer sentences on sex offenders, instead preferring to release them in the communities of the state to see what happens.

Now, in an election year, Leno and many Democrats tout his Assembly Bill 50 as the best way to increase penalties on molesters. Republicans, angry about Sacramento foot-dragging, are touting a much tougher November ballot measure, Jessica's Law.

Early on, AB50 was filled with loopholes that would make your skin crawl. For instance, Leno provided an "exemption" from felony charges if a suspect was caught with less than 100 pieces of child pornography. In a creepy all-time low, Assembly Democrats voted for Leno's plan to go soft on child porn. More

Governor Arnold performs bad motorcycle stunt

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took a day off from promoting his massive state spending spree to go on a motorcycle ride with his son, and it went very wrong after he was involved in a motorcycle crash near his home in Brentwood on Sunday afternoon.

The movie star-turned-California Governor was out riding on his Harley Davidson bike with his 12-year-old son Patrick in the sidecar when he collided with a car reversing from a driveway.

Schwarzenegger was taken to St John's Hospital in Santa Monica where he received 15 stitches in his lower lip. Patrick was also treated for cuts and bruises. More

Warren Beatty: political hopeful?

During Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's tour to promote his failed ballot propositions, he was shadowed at times by Warren Beatty and Beatty's wife, Annette Bening. Some pundits think Beatty has a crossover political future. Beatty's onscreen political story was done in 1998 with his Bulworth, a political satire about a liberal California senator forced to resort to the right-wing politics of the day to retain his seat. Whether he can become articulate enough to string unscripted senetences together remains to be seen. This hilarious clip, a bit edited, has him rambling on while being interviewed by a radio station reporter. He comes across as sometimes condescending, and a bit of a smartass. Listen

California colleges stick it to Americans from other states,
subsidize illegal immigrants

If you come to California to attend state college, even from just over the state line, you will pay about three times the tuition that someone from in state will pay. But if you come to California from outside the USA, and do so illegally, you get your schooling at the lower rate with the taxpayer picking up the rest of the tab. If you can benefit from this, you owe a dept of gratitude to former governor Gray Davis, who ran a full time operation whoring out the state treasury to anyone who would come into his office bringing financial tribute.

Now this policy is under attack from lawsuits filed recently, alleging it is a violation of federal law. More

Arnold sells out to Agribusiness, compromises on child nutrition

What started as a bill which appropriated $18.2 million for a fresh-fruit breakfast program for low-income students, has morphed into something very different. The bill, unceremoniously re-referred to the Agriculture Committee, had reached the floor with its 12 references to “fresh” fruit and vegetables eliminated and replaced by a dozen references to “nutritious” fruit and vegetables. Lobbyists for the canning industry and the governor’s people, working discreetly behind the scenes, insisted on including canned fruit, which is often heavily adulterated with sugar, under the scope of the bill. More

Dude, Where's my Car?

30,000 state cars have gone missing in California, including half of the CHP units.

Cars and trucks, including fire rigs, prison vehicles and others in the state fleet have been lost by sloppy accounting techniques and mismanagement, as uncovered in a recent audit. More

Smog check program has rampant fraud, 2/3 failure rate at meeting clean air goals

The smog check program was designed in 1982 to identify cars that were running poorly and adding greatly to smog production. In 1995 the program was revamped, the so-called Smog II, and was supposed to more accurately identify pollutor. It failed miserably, and made a typical smog check cost hundreds and require two or more visits. Despite this, no state official has been fired. More

Give me your tired, especially your poor...

Despite false reassurances that they are only taking jobs that Americans rufuse to do, new INS guidelines permit immigrants and their children to use certain non-cash benefits and special purpose cash benefits without affecting their immigration status. More

Illegal Alien Lobby pushes for 'Illegal Alien Driver's Licenses' Bill

Faced with overwhelming public opposition and the passage of the federal REAL ID Act, State Senator Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) has resorted to a watered down version of his perennial legislation to grant official state identity documents to illegal aliens. More

If 'Illegal Alien Driver's Licenses' bill fails, then buy a license

Even if State Senator Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) fails to get his bill to grant official state identity documents to illegal aliens, they still have an option. Buy a licence from the friendly neighborhood DMV. More

Minutemen to reverse Illegal alien tide

The Minutemen, who last month stirred up the illegal immigration issue by exposing the porous nature of our U.S.-Mexican border, are now taking their fight against illegal immigration one step further. This month they will begin working at several area farms and picking their crops of lemons, strawberries and avocados to steal back the jobs that illegal immigrants have stolen from Americans. Radio talk show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, "John and Ken" have endorsed this project and plan to do a live broadcast from a strawberry field in Campo, California.

GO TO TOP OF PAGE