by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The front page of today’s San Francisco Chronicle features one of the strangest political stories I’ve seen in some time. "The state chairman of the 'Californians for Obama' campaign has raised thousands of dollars in donations through promotions ranging from celebrity-studded Mexican cruises to CD sales to campaign office 'grand openings' in support of the popular Illinois Democratic senator and presidential candidate. But the official presidential campaign of Barack Obama said Tuesday it was unaware of the activities of the entirely unauthorized Los Angeles-based fundraising efforts of Emmett Cash III..."
 
Critics say Cash’s "his independent efforts to parlay Obama's presidential drive into a fundraising bonanza illustrates an increasingly disturbing trend in political campaigns of the Internet age -- the proliferation of entrepreneurs who use technology to scoop up voter donations without official campaign sanction… while Cash has raised nearly $10,000 this year, not one dollar has gone to the Obama campaign -- or any other political candidate."
 

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

What are you getting for Earth Day this year? If you're California, here's lots of toxic military debris to make your celebration complete. What a holiday! Also, Senate pro Tem Don Perata introduces a batch of environmental bills here, while the Oakland Tribune provides a reminder of what federal environmental protections used to be like when there was an administration that actually cared about the environment. And finally, the Bakersfield Californian offers up 38 helpful tips "to be kind to Mother Earth." Tip #39: put the Orange County Register opinion section on the fic-tion shelf where it belongs. Another good way to celebrate Earth Day would be to visit this link and vote for Charlie Brown. An early endorsement via Democracy for America's All Star poll certainly wouldn't hurt Charlie's fundraising efforts and rumor has it that Mother Nature prefers a Democratic Congress. Them's fighting words. Republican State Senator Sam Aanestad and Democratic State Senator Ron Calderon were none too pleased with this editorial in the Bee critical of their plan to allow psychologists to prescribe medications. Their response: "We would urge The Bee to read the bill and do its own research. We are confident The Bee would change its opinion it formed 10 years ago and regurgitated again in its editorial."