by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Congressman Augustus Hawkins,the first African-American from California to serve in Congress, hasdied at the age of 100. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) laudedHawkins as "the author of some of the most significant legislation everpassed in the House ... particularly in the areas of education andlabor. He cared about poor and working people."

Governor Schwarzenegger is taking flack for undermining the state agencyin charge of oil spill response. A 2005 state audit shows that theOffice of Spill Prevention and Response was understaffed despite havinga funding surplus. "The tragedy we're seeing in the San Francisco Bayright now is the price we pay when the governor lets critical jobsstand empty – and lets polluters off the hook," said Senate Presidentpro tem Don Perata (D-Oakland).

A study by congressional Democrats estimates that the total cost for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistanhas totaled $1.5 trillion. The report, titled "The Hidden Costs of theIraq War," includes higher oil prices, care for wounded veterans, andinterest payments on money borrowed in its analysis.

by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

California's first African American congressman died Saturday in Bethesda, MD.  He was 100 years old.  Hawkins was first elected to the California state legislature in 1935 and became the first African American to represent California in the House of Representatives in 1962, serving until 1991.  He was the oldest living former congressman.

While in office, Hawkins was instrumental in legislation like the Civil Rights Act (sponsoring Title VII- the equal employment section), the Job Training Partnership Act, and the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act.  He was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

When he left office, his seat passed to Rep. Maxine Waters who said he was "the author of some of the most significant legislation ever passed in the House . . . particularly in the areas of education and labor. He cared about poor and working people."

"It was Gus Hawkins who gave us the credibility," said Rep. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles. "It was Gus Hawkins who gave us the ideas. . . . He has left a sterling legacy."

It's a good opportunity to remember the good things government can do.

by shayera [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

King-Harbor Medical Center in South Central Los Angeles is back in the news this week.
As you may remember, King-Harbor's, formerly known as King Drew Medical Center, funding was pulled at the end of June, when the hospital failed it's final review.
King-Harbor had been under scrutiny for quite a long time for sub standard care, but it was the reporting of the death of Edith Isabel Rodriguez at the hospital that appeared to be the straw that broke the camel's back with regards to the survival of the Medical center.
The Los Angeles Times documented the travails of King harbor in a Pulitzer winning series of articles.

by dday [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

Today, we can double our impact by working together to get Attorney General Alberto Gonzales impeached and Brave New Films has created a brand new video to help you do it. 

Check out the new video now:

http://www.ImpeachGonzlaes.org  

The first video hit #1 on YouTube with over 200,000 views.  Brave New Films hits hard again with clips featuring Representatives Maxine Waters and Robert Wexler’s tough questioning of Gonzales.  His responses are classic double speak, a stark contrast from the forth coming testimony of his top aide Monica Goodling last week.

In Ms. Goodling’s testimony she admitted breaking the law by profiling potential new hires for partisan loyalty. She exposed that Gonzales had tried to manipulate her testimony.  And she believes Karl Rove was intimately involved in developing the list of attorneys to fire. No confidence votes are a great start, but if the President won’t fire Gonzales, only impeachment can remove him from office and restore integrity to the Justice department.

by Todd Beeton [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]

Have you ever seen a politician come back to the stage for an encore? Well, Maxine Waters did. During a passionate and poetic speech, Waters announced repeatedly:

I am the chair of the Out Of Iraq Caucus and I am committed to ending this war!

But what brought the house down was this refrain:

Not another nickel
Not another dime
Not another soldier
Not this time

After she left the stage the crowd chanted "Maxine! Maxine! Maxine!"

And she literally came back out for an encore to thunderous aplause and repeated the chant. Amazing.