[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's chickens are coming home to roost on Wednesday, when he'll announce a budget deficit somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 billion caused by his tax-cutting actions of the last few years. Rumors are swirling in the Capitol about what action he'll take. But the bottom line will be whether he chooses to lead or wimp out.

Here are some of his options:

by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Cutting out the gas tax may actually backfire on consumers, warns the San Diego Union-Tribune.The article also has a brief Q&A explanation of the current highgas prices.

The large number of recalled consumer products last year has prompted Bay Area legislators to push for better regulation. Sen. Carole Migden (D-SF) has introduced the "Toxin-free Toddlers andBabies Act," which would ban bisphenol A from toys and child-careproducts. Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) wants to ban agrease-resistant compound found in pizza boxes that can be carcinogenicwhen ingested.

At least someone's happy about the drawn-out Democratic race: Rush Limbaugh, whose calls to Republicans to side with underdog Clinton may have beensuccessful. "Nobody really knows, of course, how influential Limbaughhas actually been, although the promotional publicity for him and hisprogram has been absolutely priceless. Anecdotal evidence suggests manythousands of Republicans did, in fact, cross over to vote for Clinton,which, frankly, is fine with her. She'll take anybody's vote thesedays."

There's more... 

Image courtesy LATimes.com  

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

There they go again.

After needlessly holding up the budget for months last summer with the same failed strategy, Senate Republicans yesterday signaled their intent to try to weaken the state's environmental and labor laws as the price for their support of the state budget again this year. Included in this year's demands are a delay in the state's landmark global warming law, repeal of the eight-hour day labor law signed by Gov. Davis, a plan to aid the health insurance industry, and relaxing compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, put it bluntly, according to a report in the San Diego Union Tribune. "We are putting this on the table for the budget negotiations. You are not going to see these necessarily as bills floating around in the Legislature somewhere -- only to have a 10-minute hearing and be dismissed."

So once again, the Republicans are dragging non-budget issues into the budget fight.

There's more...

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger has announced that he does not support Proposition 98,which would restrict the government’s use of eminent domain, reportsthe San Diego Union-Tribune. The Governor claims that it would have adetrimental effect on improving California’s water infrastructure.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan has filed the papers to begin an independent run for Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat in San Francisco, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. However, she needs upwards of 10,000 signatures first in order to qualify for the ballot.

Congress has finally reached a deal on the five-year farm bill,reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The bill includes increasedfunding for nutritional programs at a time when food prices are rapidlyincreasing.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Attorney General Jerry Brown might be running for governor again,according the San Diego Union-Tribune. Really this time. And lucky forhim, term limits weren’t passed until he was well out of office thefirst time around.

George Skelton at the LA Times thinks that California’s early primary this year paid off,in terms of increased voter participation—and also because it made acrucial difference in Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Without the delegatesshe picked up in California, he argues, Pennsylvania would have been nocontest.

The San Francisco Chronicle warns that if the Democratic presidential candidates don’t watch out, they may be swift boated in the upcoming primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.The North Carolina Republican Party is running a TV ad using ReverendWright to attack Obama, apparently without McCain’s consent.

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

The Associated Press via the San Diego Union-Tribune looks at the Rand Corporation report on the mental health status of veterans of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:

Roughly one in every five U.S. troops who have survived the bombs and other dangers of Iraq and Afghanistan now suffers from major depression or post-traumatic stress, an independent study said Thursday. It estimated the toll at 300,000 or more.

Danny
Communications Director