Tuesday, June 01, 2004
(Re)read This
Frank Rich's great column of the trimph of fiction in California politics: here.
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Frank Rich's great column of the trimph of fiction in California politics: here.
Arianna Fights for You!
...if you're a college student. She, Phil Agelides - the only fully credentialed Dem in statewide office - and a batch of celebrities are on a three campus tour to fight Schwarzie's cuts to UC and CSU. Give 'em heck guys.
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...if you're a college student. She, Phil Agelides - the only fully credentialed Dem in statewide office - and a batch of celebrities are on a three campus tour to fight Schwarzie's cuts to UC and CSU. Give 'em heck guys.
Schwarzenegger Expands Gambling, Gets Kickback
But he looks great!
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Governor, tribes reach casino deal
By David M. Drucker
Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and several Indian tribes have reached a tentative agreement on a deal that could bring the state an extra $250 million annually from casino gambling and provide $1 billion immediately to help ease the budget crunch, the Daily News has learned.
Sources say the tribes that agree to this compact would be granted the right to install an unlimited number of slot machines in their casinos instead of the current 2,000 limit.
Four tribes have come to tentative terms with the governor but an announcement might be delayed in expectation that others can be brought aboard, according to one insider.
Another tribe, the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians, which does not now operate a casino, is in the final stages of negotiations to build one on land in the urban San Francisco Bay Area. This deal could eventually generate up to $75 million annually for the state on top of the $250 million.
The four tribes closest to a deal would borrow $1 billion now against future gaming revenue and provide that money to the state. Schwarzenegger would use it to ease the severity of transportation cuts that have to be made this year.
But he looks great!
You guys are so f---ed
Hoffmania has Enron's dirty details.
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Hoffmania has Enron's dirty details.
But he sounded so convincing...
Check out this candid interview of Governor Feelie by his chief fluffer in the press, Daniel Weintraub.
The interview illuminates Ahnuld's worldview that there is a continuum between Austrian socialism and his idealized vision of a conservative government, and that California was too close to the former. His disdain for Davis drips from the page - although he can't/won't explain why. One wonders why he's so comfortable with a record that's nearly identical to what we could have expected from Gray. He's definitely short on vision. He's using Davis' "one shot at a time" budget crisis strategy, but doesn't offer a vision for government like Davis did with his dedication to k-12.
Governor Tickle's hang-up over traditional Democratic "special interests" (like labor) coupled with his inability to see anything wrong with corporate control of government dovetails with his irrational Davis = socialism paradigm.
And with any Arnie discussion, we have the usual Hollywood-comes-to-government stuff we've come to expect:
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Check out this candid interview of Governor Feelie by his chief fluffer in the press, Daniel Weintraub.
The interview illuminates Ahnuld's worldview that there is a continuum between Austrian socialism and his idealized vision of a conservative government, and that California was too close to the former. His disdain for Davis drips from the page - although he can't/won't explain why. One wonders why he's so comfortable with a record that's nearly identical to what we could have expected from Gray. He's definitely short on vision. He's using Davis' "one shot at a time" budget crisis strategy, but doesn't offer a vision for government like Davis did with his dedication to k-12.
Governor Tickle's hang-up over traditional Democratic "special interests" (like labor) coupled with his inability to see anything wrong with corporate control of government dovetails with his irrational Davis = socialism paradigm.
And with any Arnie discussion, we have the usual Hollywood-comes-to-government stuff we've come to expect:
I included it in my speech, and I said, "Special interests, if they push me around, I will push back," and all those things. But I didn't quite know when I was saying those lines what it really was like....
Friday, May 28, 2004
Schwarzenegger Swaps Glitz for Gold at UC
For getting a college education in California has grown more difficult on Arnold Schwarzenegger's watch. One day before Miranda's graduation, the University of California (UC) regents met and decreed a 14 percent tuition increase for undergraduates (and 20 percent for grad students) -- this on top of tuition increases of roughly 40 percent in 2002 and 2003. A Berkeley education for California residents may still be the greatest single bargain in the United States today. But it's a bargain that children of the increasingly underpaid California working class are growing less able to afford.
The crunch doesn't affect only the poor. Earlier this month UC President Robert C. Dynes cut a deal with Schwarzenegger. In return for a not-very-specific promise of increased funding in future years, Dynes and his counterpart at the California State University (CSU) system agreed to swallow the governor's proposed budget cuts for this year, which will deny UC admission to 7,500 qualified students who otherwise would have gone to Berkeley, UCLA or one of the system's seven other campuses. An even greater number of qualified Cal State students will be turned away, too.
Talk about a false economy! Forty-plus years ago, then-Gov. Pat Brown issued what until this month was the master plan for higher education in California, whereby the top 12 percent of in-state high school graduates could count on admission to UC, the next 33 percent to the CSU system and the balance to the state's two-year junior (now "community") colleges. By common consent California's greatest governor, Brown built a number of new UC and CSU campuses, funded the best primary and secondary education systems in the nation, erected freeways and aqueducts -- and did it all without plunging the state deeply into debt. His secret was high taxes, and it produced a state that worked so well that California was the epicenter of the American dream for decades thereafter.
Check out the rest. Meyerson posits that Schwarzenegger is honor bound by a deal with the rock-rib right: they ignore his, er, sexual libertarianism, he doesn't touch taxes. Every slip of the lips about sex tightens the cinch of the anti-tax saddle he's under.
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For getting a college education in California has grown more difficult on Arnold Schwarzenegger's watch. One day before Miranda's graduation, the University of California (UC) regents met and decreed a 14 percent tuition increase for undergraduates (and 20 percent for grad students) -- this on top of tuition increases of roughly 40 percent in 2002 and 2003. A Berkeley education for California residents may still be the greatest single bargain in the United States today. But it's a bargain that children of the increasingly underpaid California working class are growing less able to afford.
The crunch doesn't affect only the poor. Earlier this month UC President Robert C. Dynes cut a deal with Schwarzenegger. In return for a not-very-specific promise of increased funding in future years, Dynes and his counterpart at the California State University (CSU) system agreed to swallow the governor's proposed budget cuts for this year, which will deny UC admission to 7,500 qualified students who otherwise would have gone to Berkeley, UCLA or one of the system's seven other campuses. An even greater number of qualified Cal State students will be turned away, too.
Talk about a false economy! Forty-plus years ago, then-Gov. Pat Brown issued what until this month was the master plan for higher education in California, whereby the top 12 percent of in-state high school graduates could count on admission to UC, the next 33 percent to the CSU system and the balance to the state's two-year junior (now "community") colleges. By common consent California's greatest governor, Brown built a number of new UC and CSU campuses, funded the best primary and secondary education systems in the nation, erected freeways and aqueducts -- and did it all without plunging the state deeply into debt. His secret was high taxes, and it produced a state that worked so well that California was the epicenter of the American dream for decades thereafter.
Check out the rest. Meyerson posits that Schwarzenegger is honor bound by a deal with the rock-rib right: they ignore his, er, sexual libertarianism, he doesn't touch taxes. Every slip of the lips about sex tightens the cinch of the anti-tax saddle he's under.
Quote of the Day
Democrats say Schwarzenegger is putting off important decisions and payments into the future.
"I think Arnold is more comfortable with it than anyone, because if there is anyplace that understands creative accounting, it's Hollywood."
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Democrats say Schwarzenegger is putting off important decisions and payments into the future.
"I think Arnold is more comfortable with it than anyone, because if there is anyplace that understands creative accounting, it's Hollywood."
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Both Sides Not The Same
In December of 2000, even though I strongly disagreed with the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to order a halt to the counting of legally cast ballots, I saw it as my duty to reaffirm my own strong belief that we are a nation of laws and not only accept the decision, but do what I could to prevent efforts to delegitimize George Bush as he took the oath of office as president.
I did not at that moment imagine that Bush would, in the presidency that ensued, demonstrate utter contempt for the rule of law and work at every turn to frustrate accountability...
- President Gore
May 26, 2004
Never assume both sides have similar moral stature. To treat conservatism with a similar level of respect as liberalism is dishonest, and a disservice to the moral giants whose footsteps we'd like to follow. Skim that link - if you can think of a great moral cause conservatives were on the right side of, I'd like to know. Post it in the comments if you can come up with one.
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In December of 2000, even though I strongly disagreed with the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to order a halt to the counting of legally cast ballots, I saw it as my duty to reaffirm my own strong belief that we are a nation of laws and not only accept the decision, but do what I could to prevent efforts to delegitimize George Bush as he took the oath of office as president.
I did not at that moment imagine that Bush would, in the presidency that ensued, demonstrate utter contempt for the rule of law and work at every turn to frustrate accountability...
- President Gore
May 26, 2004
Never assume both sides have similar moral stature. To treat conservatism with a similar level of respect as liberalism is dishonest, and a disservice to the moral giants whose footsteps we'd like to follow. Skim that link - if you can think of a great moral cause conservatives were on the right side of, I'd like to know. Post it in the comments if you can come up with one.
A Laugh a Minute
Arnie fires, replaces environmentalists on Coastal Commission.
Arnie works the land.
eBay pulls auction for used cough drop.
The governor of the people pads the rich.
Governor Bobbledick shrinks college enrollment.
Oh, and the college cuts are shrinking the teacher training pipeline.
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Arnie fires, replaces environmentalists on Coastal Commission.
Arnie works the land.
eBay pulls auction for used cough drop.
The governor of the people pads the rich.
Governor Bobbledick shrinks college enrollment.
Oh, and the college cuts are shrinking the teacher training pipeline.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
The Biggest Show on Earth!
This year!
"I'm worried about this year. People are talking about the out years. This year! This year is where the action is. This year! Then, after we have solved the problems this year, then we go to the next year and we solve the problems . "
Screw the $6 billion in borrowing this year. Screw the $8 billion permanent, structural deficit. Screw the kids, break out the Visa!
Speaking of kids...
San Diego County officials now are considering laying off or demoting 61 Probation Department employees, including 51 who work on juvenile cases. The department also has proposed eliminating 304 juvenile probation positions that are now vacant.
Supervisors Greg Cox and Ron Roberts said the county has little choice because of the state budget crisis.
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Some of the programs targeted have been the pillars in the transformation of the juvenile justice system over the past decade.
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The results have been impressive. Between 1998 and 2002, felony arrest rates for juveniles fell 23 percent, according to the San Diego Association of Governments. Misdemeanor arrests dropped 21 percent.
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The cuts could go into effect as soon as Monday....
Among the changes that would be caused by the cuts:
Elimination of the CHOICE program, which assigns teams of three college graduates to monitor and meet daily with youths on probation. There are about 700 youths in the program....
Elimination of Breaking Cycles 90, a three-week program for youths in custody at Camp Barrett in Alpine. It provides counseling for drug abuse, mental health issues and other problems....
Youths who test positive for drugs and used to be sent for up to 4 months to a juvenile camp would no longer be placed in custody. In fact, all short-term commitments used for youths who fail drug tests or violate other probation orders will be eliminated....
There will be a reduction of 329 beds for youths held in detention. Juvenile Hall in Kearny Mesa will house a maximum of 30 youths, all facing serious charges and deemed the highest-risk offenders, down from a maximum of 359 beds.
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With the older facility now slated to hold only 30 youths, the county's detention capacity for youths will drop to 410 a 44 percent reduction.
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"It's catastrophic," said Randy Mize, the chief of the juvenile branch of the Public Defender's Office. "It's like nothing we have seen in 20 years in the local juvenile justice system.
"New filings (arrests) will go up dramatically because we aren't supervising kids like before, and recidivism will go up because we won't have the programs like before," he said....
Squeezing each program of our juvenile probation and social services safetynet will end up costing tax payers far more that the quick savings this year. Juvenile offenders will get stranded and end up serving hard time rather than becoming successful graduates of functional programs. Of course more kids on the street will mean an immediate increase the crime rate - a private, rather than state cost.
But the probation system is already under stress from other state cuts. The social services system has now begun to curtail earlier policies that aggressively removed children from abusive and neglectful environments; more kids are being reunified with fucked up families. Adoption Assistance is under stress. Group homes for older unadoptable children are to be shrunk. Where are the children going to end up if are forced to stay in screwed up families, can't get adopted, or get pushed out of competent group homes (into on-the-cheap, poorly trained, commonly short term, community placements)?
Jail.
This year! It's only about this year!
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This year!
"I'm worried about this year. People are talking about the out years. This year! This year is where the action is. This year! Then, after we have solved the problems this year, then we go to the next year and we solve the problems . "
Screw the $6 billion in borrowing this year. Screw the $8 billion permanent, structural deficit. Screw the kids, break out the Visa!
Speaking of kids...
San Diego County officials now are considering laying off or demoting 61 Probation Department employees, including 51 who work on juvenile cases. The department also has proposed eliminating 304 juvenile probation positions that are now vacant.
Supervisors Greg Cox and Ron Roberts said the county has little choice because of the state budget crisis.
...
Some of the programs targeted have been the pillars in the transformation of the juvenile justice system over the past decade.
...
The results have been impressive. Between 1998 and 2002, felony arrest rates for juveniles fell 23 percent, according to the San Diego Association of Governments. Misdemeanor arrests dropped 21 percent.
...
The cuts could go into effect as soon as Monday....
Among the changes that would be caused by the cuts:
Elimination of the CHOICE program, which assigns teams of three college graduates to monitor and meet daily with youths on probation. There are about 700 youths in the program....
Elimination of Breaking Cycles 90, a three-week program for youths in custody at Camp Barrett in Alpine. It provides counseling for drug abuse, mental health issues and other problems....
Youths who test positive for drugs and used to be sent for up to 4 months to a juvenile camp would no longer be placed in custody. In fact, all short-term commitments used for youths who fail drug tests or violate other probation orders will be eliminated....
There will be a reduction of 329 beds for youths held in detention. Juvenile Hall in Kearny Mesa will house a maximum of 30 youths, all facing serious charges and deemed the highest-risk offenders, down from a maximum of 359 beds.
...
With the older facility now slated to hold only 30 youths, the county's detention capacity for youths will drop to 410 a 44 percent reduction.
...
"It's catastrophic," said Randy Mize, the chief of the juvenile branch of the Public Defender's Office. "It's like nothing we have seen in 20 years in the local juvenile justice system.
"New filings (arrests) will go up dramatically because we aren't supervising kids like before, and recidivism will go up because we won't have the programs like before," he said....
Squeezing each program of our juvenile probation and social services safetynet will end up costing tax payers far more that the quick savings this year. Juvenile offenders will get stranded and end up serving hard time rather than becoming successful graduates of functional programs. Of course more kids on the street will mean an immediate increase the crime rate - a private, rather than state cost.
But the probation system is already under stress from other state cuts. The social services system has now begun to curtail earlier policies that aggressively removed children from abusive and neglectful environments; more kids are being reunified with fucked up families. Adoption Assistance is under stress. Group homes for older unadoptable children are to be shrunk. Where are the children going to end up if are forced to stay in screwed up families, can't get adopted, or get pushed out of competent group homes (into on-the-cheap, poorly trained, commonly short term, community placements)?
Jail.
This year! It's only about this year!
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Gropin-Circus
College fees set to rise again
By Lesli A. Maxwell -- Bee Staff Writer
If the governing boards of the University of California and California State University agree as expected, undergraduates at both systems would see fees rise 14 percent this fall. For graduate and professional school students, the increases would range from 20 to 30 percent.
The governor's deal with administrators also screw kids for 8% per year in the two following years.
Democrats put heat on guards to renegotiate
By Alexa H. Bluth -- Bee Capitol Bureau
A majority of Democrats in the state Senate said Tuesday they plan to try to force correctional officers to renegotiate a lucrative contract secured in a controversial deal with former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Seventeen of the state's 25 Democratic senators signed a written pact that they will not vote to finance an 11 percent pay raise the correctional officers are set to receive in July. Correctional officers' pay is projected to increase 37 percent by the end of the five-year contract.
The Dems are pissed about this. The guards have not been the most civically minded group, and their bargaining unit is benefiting at the expense of all other state employees, who are seeing cuts and layoffs. The governor's budget broke-out the guards' pay as an individual line item to be vulnerable to cuts by the legislature. With the Dems threatening cuts, look for Schwarzie to cut another side deal with the power players in the union.
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College fees set to rise again
By Lesli A. Maxwell -- Bee Staff Writer
If the governing boards of the University of California and California State University agree as expected, undergraduates at both systems would see fees rise 14 percent this fall. For graduate and professional school students, the increases would range from 20 to 30 percent.
The governor's deal with administrators also screw kids for 8% per year in the two following years.
Democrats put heat on guards to renegotiate
By Alexa H. Bluth -- Bee Capitol Bureau
A majority of Democrats in the state Senate said Tuesday they plan to try to force correctional officers to renegotiate a lucrative contract secured in a controversial deal with former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Seventeen of the state's 25 Democratic senators signed a written pact that they will not vote to finance an 11 percent pay raise the correctional officers are set to receive in July. Correctional officers' pay is projected to increase 37 percent by the end of the five-year contract.
The Dems are pissed about this. The guards have not been the most civically minded group, and their bargaining unit is benefiting at the expense of all other state employees, who are seeing cuts and layoffs. The governor's budget broke-out the guards' pay as an individual line item to be vulnerable to cuts by the legislature. With the Dems threatening cuts, look for Schwarzie to cut another side deal with the power players in the union.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Fiscal analyst blasts governor's budget revision
Fiscal analyst blasts governor's budget revision - Legislature's expert, Elizabeth Hill, said Schwarzenegger worsened state's deficit woes
By Steve Geissinger, SACRAMENTO BUREAU
SACRAMENTO -- In a scathing report Monday, the Legislature's respected, independent and nonpartisan fiscal expert said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger significantly worsened the state's long-term deficit woes last week when he revised his January budget proposal.
The "missed opportunity" to improve the state's fiscal outlook is due to lost chances to save, coupled with added spending, according to Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill. The assessment comes, ironically, even as the state's economy and underlying revenue situation has improved.
On the positive side, Hill said, Schwarzenegger's proposed $102.8 billion spending plan for the 2004-05 fiscal year would essentially balance the budget until 2006-07, when California would again face huge, ongoing multibillion-dollar deficits.
I mentioned this a couple of posts down and it's great that at least one reporter is calling it like it is. On one hand, it's great that Schwarzie has backed away from every big fight rather than gut healthcare and education. On the other hand, it's more than a little absurd that the budget is all for show, glossy, like fresh paint on a rusty Gremlin.
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Fiscal analyst blasts governor's budget revision - Legislature's expert, Elizabeth Hill, said Schwarzenegger worsened state's deficit woes
By Steve Geissinger, SACRAMENTO BUREAU
SACRAMENTO -- In a scathing report Monday, the Legislature's respected, independent and nonpartisan fiscal expert said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger significantly worsened the state's long-term deficit woes last week when he revised his January budget proposal.
The "missed opportunity" to improve the state's fiscal outlook is due to lost chances to save, coupled with added spending, according to Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill. The assessment comes, ironically, even as the state's economy and underlying revenue situation has improved.
On the positive side, Hill said, Schwarzenegger's proposed $102.8 billion spending plan for the 2004-05 fiscal year would essentially balance the budget until 2006-07, when California would again face huge, ongoing multibillion-dollar deficits.
I mentioned this a couple of posts down and it's great that at least one reporter is calling it like it is. On one hand, it's great that Schwarzie has backed away from every big fight rather than gut healthcare and education. On the other hand, it's more than a little absurd that the budget is all for show, glossy, like fresh paint on a rusty Gremlin.
Jerry Brown Moves to Sac'to?
SACRAMENTO Â Former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, mayor of Oakland and an opponent of the death penalty, now wants to be state attorney general.
"I'd bring creativity and innovation to that office. I have a lot to give," Brown, 66, said Monday in an interview from London, where he stopped en route to a conference in Croatia. Brown last week quietly filed his required statement of intention to run for attorney general in 2006. The filing, a prerequisite to raising campaign funds, was an unusually stealthy move for a career politician who has been California's secretary of state, governor, a three-time presidential contender, a U.S. Senate candidate and mayor of Oakland.
WTF? I'm not a big Jerry fan after his bungling of the property tax revolt and his odd destructive anti-dad policies. (Jerry, Dad built more college campuses than anyone else, and that's a good thing).
At least it will be an interesting primary.
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SACRAMENTO Â Former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, mayor of Oakland and an opponent of the death penalty, now wants to be state attorney general.
"I'd bring creativity and innovation to that office. I have a lot to give," Brown, 66, said Monday in an interview from London, where he stopped en route to a conference in Croatia. Brown last week quietly filed his required statement of intention to run for attorney general in 2006. The filing, a prerequisite to raising campaign funds, was an unusually stealthy move for a career politician who has been California's secretary of state, governor, a three-time presidential contender, a U.S. Senate candidate and mayor of Oakland.
WTF? I'm not a big Jerry fan after his bungling of the property tax revolt and his odd destructive anti-dad policies. (Jerry, Dad built more college campuses than anyone else, and that's a good thing).
At least it will be an interesting primary.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Budget Gibberish
Weitraub notices that there really is a huge permenant structural deficit. Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill directly contradicts Jeb's girl Donna Arduin. Again.
The press notices the obvious: Schwarzenegger's budget plan isn't reform.
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Weitraub notices that there really is a huge permenant structural deficit. Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill directly contradicts Jeb's girl Donna Arduin. Again.
The press notices the obvious: Schwarzenegger's budget plan isn't reform.
