[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Democratic Assemblyman Ted Lieu, chair of the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee, blasted President's anticipated announcement of a plan to freeze rates on some subprime loans. Here's his statement issued late Wednesday:

"The mortgage foreclosure crisis is a rapidly accelerating crisis that threatens to put our economy into a recession.  While I welcome President George Bush’s anticipated announcement of a narrow plan to freeze the rates on certain adjustable subprime loans, I believe it falls far short of what is necessary to address the crisis.
 
The media has reported that the Bush plan has been whittled down by industry to a select slice of borrowers: those who are current on subprime hybrid mortgages made between Jan. 1, 2005 and July 31, 2007 which are to due to reset between January 2008 and July 2010.  Furthermore, eligible borrowers would be further weeded out to those who were not more than 60 days delinquent over the past year, have less than 3% equity in their homes, and are unable to afford an upward adjustment in their interest rate. These borrowers would see their rate frozen at the introductory price for five years.  Analysts expect this plan to help 12% or less of borrowers in distress.

There's more...

by SFJen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

I am the VP of Membership for the California Young Democrats

This weekend in Anaheim, CYD President Tim Steed addressed the California Democratic Executive Board delegation in Anaheim and was the strongest voice addressing the general session in support of Proposition 92 - the Community College Initiative (on the February 5th ballot), taking a public stand for young people in California.

Last week at our biennial Lake Tahoe retreat and Executive Board meeting the California Young Democrats overwhelmingly endorsed Proposition 92. This initiative is the most progressive expansion of public education in a generation and the first chance our state has had to roll back the regressive and unjust fee hikes of the last several years.

In his address to the CDP board in Anaheim, President Steed said, "I come from a family where four of us got our start in the community college system. It was our gateway to the American Dream, we must do all we can to ensure millions of other Young Californians have the same access to the American Dream as me and my family had".

( join us on the flip side.....)

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The League of Conservation Voters will be hosting a presidential debate focused on "global warming and America's energy future." Senator Hillary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards have confirmed that they will atend. The League's press release is below:

"Washington, DC – For the first time in history, candidates for President have committed to appear at a forum focused on the issues of global warming and America's energy future.

On November 17, Senators Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are confirmed to attend the forum sponsored by Grist http://www.grist.org. The candidates will present their plans to address global warming and energy issues in a series of interviews with journalists and experts in the field. The Grist forum will be presented in partnership with the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, California League of Conservation Voters Education
Fund, Center for American Progress Action Fund, NRDC Action Fund, and the Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy. All candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties have been invited.

The forum will be held at the Wadsworth Theatre in West Los Angeles on Saturday, November 17. The estimated start time will be 1:30pm PST.

There's more...

by Dante Atkins (hekebolos) [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

David Dayen and I attended the EmpowerChange summit at UCLA today, put on by the American Democracy Institute.  Bill Clinton gave an address, which I transcribed (rather roughly) and am pasting below the fold.

I didn't get the chance to attend any significant portion of any of the workshops that were offered at the summit; I caught the tail-end of the ecology workshop, but that was just about it.

I will say that this was probably the only speech I've attended as media in which the media got the worst seat in the house.  We were shunted all the way to the back corner of Royce Hall for the speech.

Remarks below.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Rosemary Shahan
Board Member
Speak Out California http://speakoutca.org/

Amid all the well-deserved homage being paid to Nobel prize winner and former Vice President Al Gore, is a message unique to Californians.

Washington is too beholden to the gas, oil, and auto industries to seriously address global warming. The Bush administration is hell-bent on denial and delay. Bush, Cheney, and their rapacious cronies in the dinosaur energy biz are preoccupied with devising ways to block California's landmark global warming law, AB 32 (Nunez).

In Congress, the Senate voted to raise fuel economy standards for automobiles, only to have the popular mandate stymied in the House by powerful and profoundly destructive Rep. John Dingell of Detroit, married to a GM executive and notorious for blocking desperately needed progress in automotive technology on everything from seat belts and air bags to stronger bumpers and improved fuel economy.

Until we have a new Presidential administration that is pro-environment, and Rep. Dingell leaves Congress, the only way we will make progress on auto fuel economy- the leading way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions- is for the states to lead. By default, California is on the front lines of the battle to curb the climate-changing gases that are destroying our planet.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Gary A. Patton
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

This week the Senate rejected SB 3XX (Cogdill), the $9 billion water bond with $5 billion for new, environmentally damaging dams. We applaud the Senate, and in particular Senator Perata and Senator Steinberg for their leadership in rejecting that wasteful proposal.

However, late yesterday the Governor's office sent a new proposal to key legislators, offering a "compromise" water package that would provide $3.5 billion for environmentally damaging dams.

While the legislative leadership has held strong in its opposition to dam funding thus far, the Governor's office is applying increased pressure to key legislators to accept his proposal and deliver a dam funding package in the next week.

Directing billions for dams will not address the crisis in the Delta, or provide increased water supply reliability to California. If advanced, this proposal threatens to derail the continued collaboration by all stakeholders in addressing these critical problems.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Panel convenes, plans speedy trial, and admonishes intervenors that "This is a judicial and not a political process" in lengthy hearing

By Frank D. Russo

A panel of three federal judges, convened under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PRLA) to consider ordering the release of prisoners in the overcrowded California penal system because of years of deaths and serious health problems, held its first hearing in what was called by one of the attorneys a "shakeout hearing" to plan for a trial in two class action cases. Before them were 20 attorneys representing the State of California, prisoners, law enforcement, District Attorneys, counties, the legislature's Republicans, and the state's prison guards and an audience of about 75. Three hours later, at the end, Judge Thelton Henderson, thanked the attorneys and said "This has been helpful and exhausting."