[courtesy of Blog for America]

I come today with a message many of you will not want to hear, particularly in a time when we are looking forward to ending a war...and in a time where we are already struggling to provide enough money for military funding, the last thing you want to hear from me is that we need to send a couple hundred billion more to the Air Force—and that we need to do it soon.

Nonetheless, we have a problem we need to fix.

Of course, I hate to present a problem without a solution...and today I have two ideas that can help with the problem—and maybe save the taxpayer a mess of money in the process.

Y’all ready?
Then let’s go...

by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

If you tuned into my appearance on Wednesday's "Which Way LA?" show, you heard me discuss a "structural revenue shortfall" - that since 1978 California has simply not generated enough money to pay for its basic services, from public education to transportation to water. I thought I would expand on that concept this morning, and explain in more detail exactly what I mean by it.

Arnold and the Republicans would have us believe that our budget deficit is caused by overspending in the "good times" that leaves us with huge shortfalls when the economy turns sour. But there isn't $16 billion in "overspending" and Arnold knows it, as proved by his $4 billion cut for California public schools. Others claim that the problem is locked in and/or frivolous spending - but here again, that only accounts for a tiny fraction of the massive deficit total.

No, the real problem is that since 1978 this state has cut nearly $12 billion in taxes. This was done during economically prosperous periods, particularly the 1990s. And that lack of revenue has piled up over the years - the state has fallen further and further behind to the point now that our state's governor is seriously proposing ending public education as we know it.

Details over the flip...

by Kevin Shaw [courtesy of Blog for America]

Candidates, Volunteers and Activists: Sign up TODAY!
http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=26536
Saturday May 31h through Sunday June 1st
9am-6pmLaroche College, Babcock Blvd, Pittsburgh

You have the power, now learn the skills! The Democracy for America Training Academy is coming to Pittsburgh, PA for two days of exciting campaign training.

How many votes will it take to win in November? How do you craft the perfect message and deliver it to voters in your district? How will you raise enough money to pay for it all?

The DFA Training Academy will help you answer these questions and more.

(Click Read More for the rest of this post)

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

They are getting closer to having enough money to pay for all of the signature gatherers.  The $600k they announced earlier would not get it done.  They have raised a total of $1.2 million.  They will need at least $2 million to pay for the signatures to be collected.  Politico is the only one with the story thus far, so regretfully I link:

Backers of a California ballot initiative that would drastically increase Republican chances of retaining the White House in 2008 have raised $1.2 million, including $316,000 in eight days this month - and supporters say they're on pace to qualify for the vote in June.

The group, California Counts - Make Your Vote Count!, reported Tuesday it had raked in $855,000, mostly from a handful of huge contributions, according to a filing with the California Secretary of State's office.

That doesn't include $350,000 in contributions which are either below the reporting threshold of $5,000 or which arrived in the past week, campaign manager Dave Gilliard said.

Contributions above $5k have to be reported to the Secretary of State's office within 10 days.

They are expected to turn in the signatures by the 29th.  Then the SoS will do a random test of the signatures to estimate how many are valid.  If they pass that test then it goes to the ballot.  If it fails, then they will do a manual count.

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Aw, who am I kiddin'?

For months, politicians in big states like California, Florida and Michigan have griped about their lack of influence in the 2008 presidential race, pushing up their primaries to try to diminish the sway of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Now, thanks to those efforts, Iowa and New Hampshire appear more important than ever.

It's mainly a process story about how candidates must score an early victory to be able to gather enough money to compete on February 5.  It was all so eminently predictable, and the relative absence of any Presidential candidates or buzz in this state with a little more than 3 months to go until the primary is further proof.  The only way to end the prospect of Iowa and New Hampshire picking the nominee is to... stop having them pick the nominee.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

In the Democratic weekly radio address Assemblywoman Lois Wolk talks about the comprehensive flood protection package Assembly Democrats are sending to Governor Schwarzenegger to insure California’s do not face a similar disaster to the one that ravaged New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina two years ago.

Wolk says “There isn’t enough money in the world to just build our way out of this problem. We have to stop putting people in harm’s way. That’s why my Democratic colleagues and I have created landmark flood protection legislation that provides smart strategies for the 21st century using better planning, higher standards, and clearly-defined responsibilities for both state and local governments.”

Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes delivers remarks in Spanish.

You may listen to this in English or Spanish, or read the transcript below.

Hello, this is Assemblywoman Lois Wolk.

Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

Unfortunately, the same or worse could happen in California’s Central Valley.