Category: Politics

Text of Sac Bee’s embarrassing draft post-election editorial

Here is the full text of the cringe-worthy “internal discussion” version of the Sac Bee’s post-election editorial (which was updated yesterday afternoon, here). Items you may need before you read this: vomit receptacle, punching bag, phone number to cancel your subscription.

Editorial: You did it! Uh, so what now?

Published: Wednesday, May. 20, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 18A
Last Modified: Wednesday, May. 20, 2009 – 9:09 am

Good morning, California voters. Do you feel better, now that you’ve gotten that out of your system?

You wanted to show the state’s politicians just how mad you are at them. And you did. Boy, did you ever.

Continue reading “Text of Sac Bee’s embarrassing draft post-election editorial”

Police cops at my polling place?

CHP officer at polling placeI’m not sure of the relevant legal issues but this just “didn’t feel right.” I believe this was a CHP officer doing a speed trap right in the entrance to my polling place this morning on Broadway near 59th Street.

He was perched about 5 feet away from the big sign that said “VOTE.” I’m sad to say that I’m not “in your face” enough to try to get that shot, but it would have been classic.

Repeal the two-thirds majority component of Prop 13!

Money in the ballot boxIn doing my homework on the slate of state propositions for the May 19 special election, I am starting to feel like repealing Proposition 13‘s two-thirds restriction on the legislature for tax increases would be a good idea. It’s not because I think taxes should be greatly increased to get our state out of its fiscal woes, and I want to remove all impediments to doing that. It would take something stronger than waterboarding to get me to suppress my anti-tax reflex.

The reason I want to allow the legislature to raise our taxes by itself is because when revenue-raising ballot initiatives fail, the politicians blame it on us voters. Darrell Steinberg warns us that deep spending cuts will be needed if the ballot measures don’t pass. Arnold’s talking about legalizing pot so he can tax it, which he doesn’t think is right but he’ll do it anyway, if other people think it would be good. (I get the feeling his brain does not suffer the same condition as his other muscles, that one.)

Continue reading “Repeal the two-thirds majority component of Prop 13!”

Democratic Parties

This weekend, the California Democratic Party is holding their 2009 State Convention. For the next three days, more than 3500 suspected carriers of a new disease will be clustered in Downtown and Midtown. Epidemiologists have observed a localized outbreak among conventioneers of a disease they are dubbing “Obama Fever”. Symptoms include leftward-leaning, habitual recycling and involuntary muscular reactions to seeing another conventioneer, where both will sound a celebratory “whoop” followed by a ritual sign of camaraderie, notably a variation of the high five.

More serious cases of OF are identifiable by the “Flair Count” observed in the patient. A mild case is defined by 5 or less pieces of flair (button, hat, t-shirt, etc), with a moderate case having a Flair Count of 6-15, and a serious case having a 16+ Flair Count. Uninfected parties are not in any serious danger of catching OF as patients need to be exposed to OF vectors for at least two months, and average media exposure has not been shown to be infectious. If you are concerned that you may have OF, even if you are not exhibiting flair, please click on this link for additional medical advice.

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Sacramento’s Assembly Race begins!

Just when we are recovering from Obamafever, our next election is already looming. Today, Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson announced his candidacy to represent California’s Ninth Assembly District, which includes 90% of the City of Sacramento and two-thirds of Florin. This seat will be vacated by Dave Jones, who is termed out and plans to run for State Insurance Commissioner.

Dickinson and City Councilmember Kevin McCarty have both been making the rounds at mixers for young politicos to recruit young talent for the upcoming Democratic primary. McCarty is expected to announce his candidacy soon, while Councilmember Lauren Hammond remains quiet after her announcement in January. The winner of this primary is the clear favorite to retain a solidly Democratic seat. McCarty has the interesting potential to be the third consecutive District 6 Councilmember to win this seat. Jones succeeded Senator Darrell Steinberg in both the Assembly and the City Council.

Public advocates present independent SCUSD budget analysis

At the April 2 SCUSD board meeting, a group of local advocates presented a well-researched and ambitious plan for the SCUSD budget that avoids layoffs and school closures. At least I think that’s what the plan does, there are lots of charts and graphs and financial stuff, and I didn’t have time before the meeting to dig through it. It does look well researched. Could make for an interesting presentation!

(Hat tip: SCUSD Observer blog)

SN&R: Josh Pane backing ballot measure to stop mermaid bar

The News & Review’s Cosmo Garvin reports that former City Councilman Josh Pane is “mounting a campaign stop the mermaid bar on K Street” and several other businesses being funded by a recent city council subsidy.

The $6 million subsidy came from a special fund set aside to support redevelopment projects by local developer David Taylor.

That just doesn’t sound right, does it? But I know that government cheese has always been around, and that there are probably businesses up and running today on the grid who wouldn’t be here if not for government cheese. Likewise I’m sure that my knee-jerk reaction against this particular subsidy would set me up as a hypocrite if the council were to subsidize a midtown Barnes & Noble, or a 65th St. Target. (Send your angry anti-corporate e-mails to: cooldmz-at-sacrag.com)

Also: the over-30 dance club would be called “Frisky Rhythm”? Gag me with a spoon…

25 Random Things…(State Budget Edition)

Those of you who are down with the book of faces will know what this article is about from the Santa Barbara Independent newspaper.

Playing off Facebook’s “25 Things About Me” meme [I’ll save you the trouble: “a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation)”].

A few favorites…

3) The Assembly and Senate both passed 34 separate pieces of legislation to enact the budget.

4) These included five separate ballot measures that require voter approval in a May 19 special election; if any is defeated, the budget deal unravels.

12) Governor Terminator, who drove Gray Davis from office by bashing him for hiking the Vehicle License Fee for car registration, last week doubled the VLF to balance the budget.

20) At least three separate ballot initiatives are in the works to get rid of the two-thirds vote requirement for passing a budget.

Which ones do you find especially noteworthy?

Becoming Detroit(s)

I found some time to catch up on the latest news regarding the California budget crisis. If ever there was a reason to tag a post in the “ugh.” files…

Both legislative houses were pondering 27 hastily drafted bills that cover state budgets for two fiscal years: the current one that ends June 30 and the next one that begins July 1.

Should the words “hastily” and “budget” ever be used the in the same sentence?

In the Senate, the debate included cliff-hanging metaphors and disparaging references to Detroit.

“California is on the edge of a financial cliff, and some would say we’re just about over the cliff, hanging on by our fingernails,” Steinberg said. “We are running out of cash, and the situation is getting worse.”

But state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, said that if the package were approved, Feb. 14, 2009, would be remembered as “the Valentine’s massacre on California taxpayers.”

“If we pass this budget,” he said, “Los Angeles and San Francisco will become the Detroit(s) of the West.”

You sports fans will recall the incident with the Kings and the Pistons from 2005. Damn you, Karma.

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Run them out of town

This is a major scandal. It’s old news by now, but back in 2007 when the city council agreed to transfer $55 million to Thomas Enterprises to help the company buy the rest of the railyard land, it apparently overpaid by several orders of magnitude because it didn’t take the time to get an appraisal done. Most of the money came from the transportation fund and thus couldn’t be used to get us out of the $50 million hole we’re in — though how it was able to be transferred to a real estate developer in that case is beyond me.

This whole mess stunk before, but this is an outrage. The Sac Rag does not do political endorsements, but let’s just say I personally hope the city council’s unemployment rate soon becomes 100%.