Goin' to California with an achin' in my heart

LATimes today:

Both Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature recorded dismal approval ratings in the latest Field Poll.

The poll found that 27% of respondents approved of the governor's performance, marking a new low for him. Schwarzenegger's disapproval rating reached a new high, 65%, according to the poll.

People of Kahlifornia, I have a question:

What the fuck did you think would happen when you stupidly elected a steroid-addled Republican narcissist, a political dilettante with delusions of grandeur, with no agenda other than enriching his Republican club buddies at the people's expense?

He's not The Terminator, he's an actor just like Ronald Reagan, and please, let's all remember how that helped California when that bag of wind was elected Governor.

If I wasn't a lifelong resident of CA, I would have no sympathy for the state. But I'm as screwed as much as everyone else. At least I was smart enough not to vote for the bastard.

Following Dick Cheney's lead

The EPA declares executive privilege and refuses to explain why it said no for the first time in 32 years to California's greenhouse gas regulations:

Invoking executive privilege, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency refused to provide lawmakers Friday with a full explanation of why it rejected California's greenhouse gas regulations.

The EPA informed Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., that many of the documents she had requested contained internal deliberations or attorney-client communications that would not be shared with Congress.

"EPA is concerned about the chilling effect that would occur if agency employees believed their frank and honest opinions and analysis expressed as part of assessing California's waiver request were to be disclosed in a broad setting," EPA Associate Administrator Christopher Bliley wrote.

More than a week after a deadline set by Boxer, the agency gave the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which she chairs, a box of papers with large portions of the relevant documents deleted, Boxer said. The documents omitted key details, including a presentation that, according to Senate aides, predicted EPA would lose a lawsuit if it was taken to court for denying California's waiver.

The refusal to provide a full explanation is the latest twist in a congressional investigation into why the EPA denied California permission to impose what would have been the country's toughest greenhouse gas standards on cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Via Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars, Think Progress points out that Vice President Dick Cheney met with automakers before the EPA denied California's waver. Gee... doesn't this sound familiar?

Anything to keep us guzzling that 100 dollar a barrel crude, huh, Dick?
(crossposted at Rants from the Rookery)