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[8/31/05 Wednesday]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 12:01 am [permalink]
MAF a Detriment to Serious Debate? As the argument grows, more people are beginning to understand my concern...

Eric,

Your approach to "emotional adverse PR" is the same as my 'in house expert', do not give it validity by launching an adverse "Jihad". Let it die. Bush himself did not try to confront Sheehan. He took it to Idaho. I also share your implied concern that such demonstrations as those created by Move America are more about the economic viability of the organizers than the cause. There is only so much right of center money to go around and wasting it on emotional displays that actually create press attention for the opposition is counter productive. Indeed it appears Move On Dot Org and Move America Forward in fact help each other in fund raising to the detriment of serious debate on both sides.

[8/30/05 Tuesday]

[Ken Masugi - Local Liberty Blog - Claremont Institute] 12:01am [permalink]
The Sacramento Abstain Game Sacramento legislators are learning to abstain from votes, in order to get their colleagues to offer them special compromises to join them in creating a majority (or supermajority) (Nancy Vogel, LAT). "When you vote yes or no," says an Inglewood Democrat, "it takes you out of the negotiations, and I don't ever want to be out of the game."

California's legislative rules, unlike those in a few other states, require bills to be passed by a majority of lawmakers — not a majority of those who happen to be present and voting.

In the only recent study of non-voting by California lawmakers, researchers found that Democrats decline to vote more often than Republicans — 32% of the time, on average on bills that fail....

Republicans, who make up 32 of the Assembly's 80 members, abstain far less often, and many times they do so en masse to make a point....

One group of 14 Assembly Democrats with more moderate, pro-business views than those of their liberal colleagues makes regular use of abstentions as a way to get bills changed.

[8/29/05 Monday]

[Ken Masugi - Local Liberty Blog - Claremont Institute] 9:41am [permalink]
Schwarzenegger's Supreme Court Nominee The Governor put forth three possible nominees, with more possibly to come (Gary Delsohn, Sacbee). He said the matter would be dealt with after the November special election (looks like the Supreme Court seat will be used as a chip in that game):

The choice must ultimately be confirmed by the state Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of state Chief Justice Ronald George, Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Joan Dempsey Klein of Los Angeles, the state's senior presiding appeals court justice.

Is this bureaucracy (whereby it is possible for the Chief Justice to reject a future colleague) found in any other State?

Hugh Hewitt probed Schwarzenegger on any conservative appointment possibilities, with no positive results. Two of the three judges proposed are black, one of whom defended Justice Brown (now on the U.S. DC Circuit Court of Appeals) from her critics. Reporter Delsohn describes Brown as "ultra-conservative."

[8/26/05 Friday]

[Tom McClintock] 12:01 am [permalink]
The Propositions: I've been getting calls about the various ballot propositions for the Special Election. Here's how I see them:

• Proposition 73: Parental Notification for Abortion. If parental consent is required for a child to use a tanning booth or get her ears pierced, shouldn‚t parents at least be notified if she‚s getting an abortion? YES. Whether you‚re pro-life or pro-choice, this should be the all-time no-brainer.
• Proposition 74: Teacher Tenure. Do parents have a right to expect a higher level of competence before a teacher is granted life-time tenure? YES. This modest measure simply increases the teacher probation period from two years to five years.
• Proposition 75: Public Employee Union Dues. Shold public employees decide for themselves which candidates they will support with their own money? YES. This measure requires that before a public employee union can take money from that employee for political donations, it has to get the employee‚s permission.
• Proposition 76: State Spending. Should government live within its means? YES. This measure restores the authority that the governor of California had between 1939 and 1983 to make mid-year spending cuts whenever spending outpaces revenue without having to return to the legislature.
• Proposition 77: Re-districting. Should voters choose their representatives in legislative districts that are drawn without regard to partisan advantage? YES. The most obvious conflict of interest in government is when politicians choose which voters will get to vote for them by drawing their own legislative district lines. This measure puts a stop to it.
• Propositions 78 and 79: Prescription drug discounts. Do you want the same people who run the DMV to run your pharmacy? NO. These are rival measures, one supported by drug companies and the other by liberal activists ˆ both of which purport to lower drug prices. What they really do is assure that one group of patients gets to pay higher prices to provide subsidized prices for others. There‚s no such thing as a free Levitra.
• Proposition 80: Electricity Regulation. Do you want the same people who run the DMV to run your electricity company? NO. This measure locks in monopoly control of your electricity by the bureaucratized utilities and forbids you from ever being able to shop around for the lowest-priced electricity available. [McClintock Blog]

[8/25/05 Thursday]

[Nick Winter-administrative editor - found in the ebag] 12:02 am [permalink]
Re: Daniel Pipes An Islamic School for Lodi, California? - a letter from reader A. Shepard:

You’re right; these schools do not encourage assimilation into our society. They also have been known to indoctrinate the students with hatred for “the others” meaning non-Muslims.

If the County Supervisors allow the school to be built, they should allow it only under a conditional use permit with the specific condition that the use will be disallowed if the school is found to be indoctrinating the children with ethnic and religious hatred through either the teachings there or in the text books used on the property.

I’m sure the ACLU would go wild over this, but it’s crazy to turn a blind eye to what is taught in some of these schools.

[8/24/05 Wednesday]

[Daniel Pipes - author, activist, CRO contributor] 12:01 am [permalink]
An Islamic School for Lodi, California?Lodi, an agricultural town of 65,000 in northern California, found itself in the spotlight in early June 2005 due to the arrest of four Muslims, plus accusations that they were connected to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and many unanswered questions.

Then, on July 22, remote from the national spotlight, the San Joaquin County Planning Commission voted 3-1 to grant permission for the Farooqia Islamic Center, a private Islamic school, to be built off Lower Sacramento Road. Some Lodi residents have appealed that decision and, the Lodi newspaper reports today, the County Board of Supervisors will meet on Sept. 27, at 1:30 p.m., to consider their request.

It's strictly a land-use decision so the issue is framed in terms of noise and traffic. One family building a house next to the Farooqia property, for example, argues that the school would encroach on their privacy. The Muslim response brushes aside these concerns and asserts that townspeople just don't want a parochial Muslim school. The debate replicates many others throughout the West, except for the added twist of the terrorism charges and the fact that some of those involved with this Farooqia Islamic Center were also connected to an identically named madrassah in Pakistan, one known to have graduated terrorists.

But there is another angle to be taken into account, apart from land use and the Pakistan connection: the unpleasant fact that Islamic schools in Western countries often offer an Islamist curriculum that prepares students for alienation from their society, if not terrorism. I point out this pattern in "What Are Islamic Schools Teaching?" and focus on one specific school in "A Madrassah in Bridgeview, Illinois." In a third article, I show how the Islamic Saudi Academy helped shaped the views of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who presently sits in a Virginia jail accused of trying to assassinate the president of the United States.

Therefore, when assessing the request to build any Islamic institution ­ school, mosque, or otherwise ­ the authorities need to pay close attention to the outlook of the founders. That is not a guarantee that things will go right ever after, but at least it improves the odds.

[8/23/05 Tuesday]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 12:01 am [permalink]
Lockyer's Art Removal Explanation KTKZ talked to the Attorney General's spokesperson, Nathan Barankin, regarding the apparent removal of Sacramento Activist artist Steven Pearcy's "T'anks to Mr Bush" artwork this past weekend from the AG's office in downtown Sacramento.

Mr. Barankin has confirmed that the art in question, and two additional pieces, have been moved out the cafeteria as part of a long-standing policy of rotating exhibitions throughout the building.

The "Attorney General Building's Art Task Force" oversees the public art within the building on I street. It was through this group that the move was requested and carried out, with the prior knowledge and approval of Bill Lockyer. Mr. Lockyer's office has a seat on the task force and has great influence into it's recommendations.

Earlier reports stated the artworks were relocated due to concerns over current events in the middle east. A notion that the Barankin confirmed.

Artwork depicting a Palestinian male, clinging to barbed-wire fence before him (pictured), and - quote - "a picture of a church with a Bush head" on it were also taken out of the cafeteria. Barankin denies the action was the result of public pressure to remove the "offensive and Anti-bush" art from the state-owned building. He says the rotation was planned as many as a couple weeks prior, but Mr. Barankin said the AG did not want to appear to be succumbing to the public's request, so the move was put off until late last week. [Hogue Blog - email: onair@ktkz.com]

[8/22/05 Monday]

[Ken Masugi - Local Liberty Blog - Claremont Institute] 12:01am [permalink]
You Won't Believe This One "2 Illegal Immigrants Win Arizona Ranch in Court Fight"-- NY Times (Andrew Pollack). It turns out that the owner of the ranch had a criminal record and is now serving 5 years in a Texas prison. He was acquitted of charges of pistol-whipping the detained illegals (referred to as "immigrants" in the NYT story) but convicted of possession of a firearm, "which is illegal for a felon").

Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center claims this is "poetic justice." It's lousy poetry and contains even less justice. Dees has done laudable work against the Klan and other terrorist groups. This assault against a man who wanted simply to defend his property tarnishes his previous good work. The award of the ranch given the two illegals as compensation for their extra-legal detention bears no relation to the temporary suffering they encountered, when they crossed private property and were detained briefly (and later given material aid) by armed locals.

Our own first-hand account of life on the Arizona border appears in the Summer issue of Local Liberty newsletter, available now. [visit Local Liberty Blog]

[8/19/05 Friday]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 12:01 am [permalink]
Doolittle Campaigns Against Prop 77 and Governor I thought it would come to something like this...

Let's just call this what it is, "Kingdom Insurance". Republicans should NOT be supporting gerrymandered districts, nor should they be working against the governor's reform initiatives.

The Federal Election Commission voted Thursday to let members of Congress raise unlimited "soft money" donations to fight Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's redistricting initiative.  

The 6-0 decision by the commission came in response to a request from U.S. Reps. Howard Berman, D-North Hollywood, and John Doolittle, R-Rocklin, both of whom oppose the redistricting plan.  

The decision will allow federal officeholders to raise unlimited sums from unions, corporations and other donors to support or oppose any measure on the Nov. 8 special election ballot.  

In general, federal campaign finance law limits federal officeholders to raising $5,000 each from donors for nonfederal elections. Commissioners decided those limits should not apply in the case of the special election, in part because there are no federal officials on the ballot. [Hogue Blog - email: onair@ktkz.com]

[8/17/05 Wednesday]

[Ken Masugi - Local Liberty Blog - Claremont Institute] 6:05am [permalink]
A Dissent on LA Police Chief Bratton On NRO "Jack Dunphy," an LA cop, questions the retention of William Bratton as LA's Chief of Police. He thinks Bratton, whom he praises for his earlier work, has now lost his spine.

As was the case during [the "tyrant"] Bernard Parks's tenure, when many cops adopted a "drive-and-wave" attitude out of fear of drawing citizen complaints, officers again see the peril to their careers that accompanies proactive police work.

The risk to life and limb is seen as part of the job, but no one wants to be the next cop on the hot seat and find himself, like John Hatfield [the flashlight-wielding cop], out of a job. South L.A.'s gang members, perhaps emboldened by what they may perceive as a police retreat, seem to be taking advantage of the situation....

Only a motivated police force can bring these numbers down, and as things now stand William Bratton isn't supplying the motivation. [visit Local Liberty Blog]

[8/16/05 Tuesday]

[Ken Masugi - Local Liberty Blog - Claremont Institute] 12:01am [permalink]
Lew Uhler Profile UPDATED Andy Furillo of the Sacbee has this informative profile of the long-time conservative activist, who has labored in both DC and Sacramento. Uhler's focus is now Proposition 75, the paycheck protection initiative. UPDATE: Dan Walters notes how the initiative campaign has altered Sacramento politics, moderating, for now, the unions' demands among others (e.g., drivers' licenses for illegals). [visit Local Liberty Blog]

[8/15/05 Monday]

[Ken Masugi - Local Liberty Blog - Claremont Institute] 12:01am [permalink]
Latinos Who Oppose Illegals This profile focuses on Lupe Moreno--see her website--a Latino who outspokenly opposes illegal immigration (Jennifer Delson, LAT). She comes off as an impressive American, whose patriotism and good judgment have triumphed over any pro-illegal ethnic sentiments.

Incidentally, the article refers to "white," in opposition to Latino. As Latino physical characteristics vary widely, it hardly seems appropriate to counterpoise that broad category of the white race to Latinos. What is the LAT's rationale? If Latinos are among the group of officers who beat Rodney King, should the story be about white cops beating a black man? If Latinos serve on a jury trying King, do they count as white or non-white? In selective university admissions, Asians (most ethnic groups) are treated as white. [visit Local Liberty Blog]

[8/12/05 Friday]

[Eric Hogue - radio talk show host KTKZ - Sacramento] 12:15 am [permalink]
Senator Speier's Attack on Capitalism Liberal Democrat State Senator Jackie Speier, has offered a new piece of junk legislation for the "Belly of the Beast". Today, she asks that the 'top elected officials', or the Constitutional Offices of the State, be banned from holding a second job while in office.

Here is the announcement from News 10 tonight:

Saying the public believes state officials are 100 percent committed to their jobs, state Senator Jackie Speier announced she will introduce a bill to bar top state officeholders from having a second job.

Speier said she would introduce the bill on Monday as well as a constitutional amendment that would bar the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, insurance commissioner, secretary of state, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction and state controller from taking second jobs.

Speier is responding to the controversy surrounding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's multi-million-dollar deal with two fitness magazines. Schwarzenegger says he has abandoned the job and claims he took it because of