by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Disclosure: I work with the Yes on Prop 93 Campaign. This is also available in orange.

There's already a Howie Rich exposed website, so the Contra Costa Times will have to just stick with the site they have now.  In today's paper (reg req'd), Steven Harmon goes into a little bit more about the mysterious initiative funder:

Just a few days after Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner's widely heralded takeover of the No on Proposition 93 campaign, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization quietly chipped in $1.5 million to the cause.

The group, U.S. Term Limits, spends considerable effort and money across the country trying to fend off attempts to weaken term limits laws, such as Prop. 93 -- which will appear on the February ballot -- in California. And the group tries to do so while steering clear of the limelight, which is precisely how Howard "Howie" Rich prefers it. (CCTimes 11/19/07))

More over the flip.

by Andrew Short [courtesy of Blog for America]

A pendulum swings to the left and to the right. Finally the Bush Administration and his minions have been exposed for what they are – radical right corporate elite who will do anything to put money into the pockets of their elite friends – even if that means trampling over the United States Constitution.

They don’t care about health care, they don’t care about our civil liberties, and they don’t care about establishing a living wage for hard working Americans.

As we go into 2008, the pendulum has swung to our favor. However, we must keep the wolves out of our chicken coop.

A very hungry and tired man was invited to a feast. As he began walking a few miles to the amazing feast filled with wonderful foods and deserts, a wolf in sheep’s clothing stopped to tempt him. “Why don’t you try some of my delicious soup,” said the wolf. The man stopped… he could smell the soup…he could almost taste the sweet aroma of the juice… his hand could feel the warmth of the pot. He thought to himself… “Gee… I haven’t eaten in days, I know I have a feast being prepared for me right now, but I am so hungry and this soup looks so good...”

NO SOUP FOR YOU!
DFA is committed to getting us to that feast.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

Former Sacramento Sheriff Lou Blanas is under investigation for providing a permit to carry a loaded, concealed weapon in public to a friend and business associate. The previous Sheriff, Glenn Craig, had established a three person Committee to review the rationale provided by applicants – and to establish conditions if a permit was recommended (safety classes, proficiency tests, etc.) Blanas bypassed this procedure and simply awarded his friend a short-term permit.

These series of events put California’s CCW law (“Carry Concealed Weapon”) into relief once again. The law says only that CCW’permits may be granted by Sheriffs or Chiefs of Police “for good cause, to persons of good moral character”.

Come again? “Good Cause”? “Good moral character”?

Back in the early 1980’s a young lawyer friend of then Assemblyman Steve Peace; Irwin Nowick got a job at the Assembly Office of Research. He used the public records act to obtain a list of permit holders from each of California’s 50 Elected Sheriffs. (Police Chiefs, who worked for Cities, typically passed the responsibility on to the Sheriff because City Managers didn’t want to deal with the liability issues).

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Famed actress Carol Channing graced the State Capitol today in an effort to push for greater funding of the arts in our schools. While here, she was given a tour of the Capitol. Here she is at the Speaker's podium in Assembly chambers. The Dr. Carol Channing - Harry Kullijian Foundation for the Arts promotes arts funding in our schools, because "When students, K through University, are exposed to the Arts, they do better academically."