a running commentary by our trusted california contributors...

[For National Issues Blogging at theOneRepublic's Blog tOR Blog]

[4/29/05 Friday]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 12:06 am [link]
Has Arnold Dropped Re-districting?Has Governor Schwarzenegger 'dropped' his 'next year' demand for re-districting? Seems that he has announced that it is NOT imperitive to re-draw the district lines before 2006. How does this impact his 'special election'?

For months, he has insisted that California needs to immediately change its method of electing politicians, calling for independent judges - rather than legislators - to draw district boundaries. In February, he and his aides said there would be no compromise on the issue.But at a choreographed "town hall" meeting Wednesday in a Fontana steel mill, where the governor talked with a friendly audience of about 300 steelworkers, business leaders and politicians, he was much less urgent. He said he hoped that negotiations with Democratic lawmakers would "work all this out, all the dates, should it be 2006, should it be 2008, should it be 2010."

"The key thing is not what is the year that we change the system," Schwarzenegger said, "but that it will be changed."

Does he simply drop the entire initiative, like he did with the pension reform initiative, and start fresh later this summer with a new initiative designed for June of 2006? [Hogue Blog - email: onair@ktkz.com]

[4/28/05 Thursday]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 12:44 am [link]
Homosexuality is a Civil Rights Issue?I'm confused here, I've had Assembly Member Mark Leno and President of the California NAACP, Alice Huffman both tell me over the past two weeks, that "Same Sex Marriage" is a civil rights issue.

According to Leno, our laws have no moral origins, they were (are) created by simple respect for mankind and the popular vote. Speaking of this premise; Huffman told me that 'any issue' can become a civil rights issue, as long as it has the populous supporting it, and stating such.

Here we have Gays discriminating against Blacks. I wonder if there are any 'straight' employees at the bar? Isn't this discrimination too? So now we have 'civil rights' for behavior, is polygamy next?

Here is the article from the  San Diego Tribune yesterday:

A bar owner in the predominantly gay Castro neighborhood violated numerous city civil rights codes by discriminating against black patrons, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission announced has found.

The case has been closely watched by the city's gay community, many of whom said they were incredulous that an establishment in what's considered one of the country's most progressive and socially liberal neighborhoods would actively keep black customers out of the popular nightspot Badlands.

Is it just me, or does this look like 'special rights for a minority few', versus a mater of civil rights for created origin? [Hogue Blog - email: onair@ktkz.com]

[Jon Fleischman proprietor of FLASHREPORT daily political email] 12:29 am [link]
From the FlashReport: The Sacramento Bee ran a story yesterday which is amazing because apparently GOP Assemblyman Keith Richman has managed to position himself to the LEFT of the entire California State Legislature. He co-authored with a Democrat a proposal to require that all Californians carry healthcare. This state mandate on all Californians clearly flies in the face of the Republican principle of individual responsibility. Next he will propose a bill requiring that we all brush our teeth! (would that be a felony, or a misdemeanor, I wonder?). Anyways, this proposal was so far out of whack that it was killed by a Democrat-controlled legislative committee. I can't figure out Richman - his pension system overhaul plan had a lot of merit -- but take this proposed massive government mandate, and his endorsement of a liberal Democrat for Mayor of Los Angeles, and you have to wonder if there is a big magnet screwing up his political compass. Sigh.[email to subscribe to FLASHREPORT]

[4/27/05 Wednesday]

[Nick Winter-Found in the ebag] 12:03 am [link]
Nurse Staff Ratio: [from reader Katie Sahl] In case you missed it, there was an excellent article by S. Greenhut about the fiasco of the nurse staff ratio crises.  Here’s the link.  Someone finally got it right.

[Nick Winter-Found in the ebag] 12:02 am [link]
The Border: [From reader CLP] The governor should have said: close the border, except at official border crossings. Geez, expose all these bozos who actually think its okay for these guys to come in across the desert.

[4/26/05 Tuesday]

[Mike Nevin - law enforcement officer, writer and columnist] 12:25 am [link]
Dark Day in Pittsburgh CA: Police Officer Larry Lasater will soon be taken off life support once his vital organs are donated. The former Marine continues to give even as he approaches his final days. He'll never get a chance to meet his baby boy due to be born in just a few months.

When chasing down a couple of armed robbery suspects, Lasater was shot several times while in hot pursuit. It's something that all cops know might befall them when they kiss their families goodbye and head out the door for that next shift.

I'll be traveling to Sacramento on May 6 to join in the annual ceremony for California police officers who have died in the line of duty. San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza will be one of those honored in the somber event. Espinoza was gunned down a year ago this month while working on Easter Eve.

My heart goes out to Officer Lasater, his family, and all the fine folks in the Pittsburgh Police Department. We are all less safe without him on the beat. His little boy should know that his daddy will not soon be forgotten by his fellow brother and sisters in blue. And he should know that his daddy will surely look down on him and give him strength when he needs it most. [Michael Nevin, Jr. receives e-mail at nevin166@comcast.net]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 12:04 am [link]
Teacher's Union Hates Merit, Combat Pay My friend Daniel Weintraub has offered an argument that I brought up last month during our discussion surrounding 'merit pay' and rewards for those who enter the inner-city schools to teach.

Some are calling it 'combat pay', offering those who decide to work in the inner-city schools more salary for their effort and risk. I like the idea of using the teacher's tenure as a carrot stick reward. Let's move tenure from 2 years, to 5 years, unless you teach in the inner-city (failing) schools for 3 years or more. If you decide to teach the harder schools then your tenure starts at year two.

The teacher's union will NOT allow this to happen, they don't like merit pay, and they don't like combat pay. Weintraub is right to assert that the governor should expose the unions for this ridiculous standard.

Weintraub's  "Insider" Monday:

Gov. Schwarzenegger today again mentioned his support for incentive pay for teachers in schools serving a high number of disadvantaged kids - and again showed how politically tone deaf he is on the education issue. Schwarzenegger has rightly portrayed the teachers unions as part of the problem in the public schools. And for that - and his budget policies - he has been painted as anti-teacher by his opponents. But here is an issue that is pro-teacher and, more importantly, pro kid. Not only pro-kid but pro-poor-kid. And he just can't seem to get himself to connect the dots.

Everyone knows that our poorest kids tend to clump in schools that depend too much on inexperienced teachers, many of whom are still trying to find their way in the profession. We have good, experienced teachers who would teach in these schools if they were rewarded financially for their trouble - just as in every other profession, where the toughest-to-fill jobs normally earn higher pay. So who or what is standing in the way of the students who need better teachers getting those teachers? [Hogue Blog - email: onair@ktkz.com]

[Nick Winter-Found in the ebag] 12:01 am [link]
Los Angeles, Mexico: [an email from Gindy] A reader fowarded this on to me. It is just an article off WND which you may have already seen.

[4/25/05 Monday]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 12:02 am [link]
McClintock: 'Strongly Support Schwarzenegger!' State Senator Tom McClintock spoke before the CRA Convention in Los Angeles over the weekend and confronted the core conservatives of the Republican Party over Governor Schwarzenegger's reform measures.

From the LA Times Sunday:

McClintock disagreed with members of the audience who contended that Schwarzenegger in recent weeks has backed off reforms intended for the ballot in a special as-yet unscheduled election this year, including creating a new state pension system and instituting tighter budget controls. "We have to bear in mind that political battles aren't tidy affairs. What the governor has proposed "moves us dramatically in the right direction."

Not all of the views expressed Saturday were compatible with McClintock's. One attendee, who asked to be identified only as Don, raised a question about the governor's controversial pension proposal, which would have ended death and disability benefits for public-safety workers. Schwarzenegger recently retreated from the proposal, saying it would be rewritten to restore the benefits.

McClintock said it was "absolute nonsense" to allege that the governor would abandon the families of dead and disabled workers. "It's a lie, sir, and you should know it's a lie," he said, launching into a critique of the pension system, the cost of which has gone from $160 million in 2000 to $2.6 billion this year.

"You can't fill a broken bucket by pouring more water into it," McClintock said. "Once we've won on our principles, the other reforms will fall into place."

State Senator Tom McClintock is in FULL campaign mode, for the governor's reforms and for his personal campaign for Lt. Governor in 2006.

Look for Senator McClintock to run un-opposed in the Republican Party, his support of the governor has cleared him a straight path to the general election, and his fourth statewide campaign. This time McClintock will face either state Sens. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont), or state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. [Hogue Blog - email: onair@ktkz.com]

[Ken Masugi - Local Liberty Blog - Claremont Institute] 12:01 am [link]
Greenhut Exposes the Left Coastal Commission "The commission is by definition a tyranny. It can do as it pleases, with nothing much to stand in its way." Steven Greenhut explains how this bureaucratic agency encapsulates the violation of major American constitutional principles, including property rights and the separation of powers. Both principles enable American government to have power but also be restrained. Unfortunately, too many citizens and especially those who have been involved in government of any level take for granted the legitimacy of commissions and government activities that are in fact violations of the Constitution. Greenhut shows how why this is a massive failing. [Pervious post on the Left Coastal Commission] [visit Local Liberty Blog]

[4/22/05 Friday]

[Jon Fleischman proprietor of FLASHREPORT daily political email] 2:25 pm [link]
From the FlashReport: The Los Angeles Times has a lengthy article, that if it is taken as the gospel (which if you are in the habit of taking everything the LAT says as gospel, we suggest you seek psychological counseling quickly) that, basically, Maria Schriver is playing a significantly expanded role in her husband's administration.  It is an interesting read.

There seems to be an air of uncertainly amongst the journalistic elite (ie..political reporters) about whether there will be a special election this November.  There are questions about whether the measures will qualify, whether the remaining measures were too hastily written and may contain flaws, and also whether the Governor will capitulate to the legislature with compromise packages.  All of this will play out in the coming days.  It is clearly a disappointment that sorely-needed pension reform will not appear on this special election ballot (should there be one) - but the remaining issues of education reform, fair legislative districts, and some spending restrictions in place are all VERY IMPORTANT.

I note with glee that one of the two new appointees by the Gov. to the State Education Board is an after-the-fact fan of English Immersion.  I was proud to be part of a small but highly motivated team at the center of Proposition 227 in 1998 (Ron, Gloria, Lorelei, Sheri, Alice and company - you know who you are!) and I know that we are all proud of the very real results of that measure, in helping kids to learn English more effectively, and fluently! [email to subscribe to FLASHREPORT]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 7:55 am [link]
Prison Guard "Word Search" Training I had Republican Assembly Member Chuck DeVore in studio this morning, talking about the prison guards doing 'word searches' for credit hours on training...

California prison guards have earned on-the-job- training credits for completing assignments usually given to schoolchildren: finding hidden words such as "elf," "Frosty" and "Santa Claus" in a jumble of letters.

"I thought it was indefensible," said Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, a member of Bermudez's budget subcommittee. "My 8-year-old could do that (puzzle) in about 15 minutes."

"This is a great example of how out of control the system can be," DeVore said of the Corrections Department, which has been under fire for mismanagement for years.

Here is one of the assignments:

Guards at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, a maximum-security institution for the state's most dangerous convicts, got credit for completing a "Christmas Word Search" assignment that challenged them to identify "Candycane," "Sugarplums" and "Vixen," among other words. The bottom of the page said: "Turn into the In-Service Training by December 31, 2004 to receive 1 hour OJT (On-the-Job Training) credit."

Go to the OC Register (you'll have to register, to get on the register) and pull up the article. When you arrive at the column, look for the "crossword puzzles PDF" in the upper right-hand corner. You can download the PDF and see the actual word search documents these prison guards were 'training' with. What a hoot! [Hogue Blog - email: onair@ktkz.com]

[4/21/05 Thursday]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 7:02 am