Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Call it rapid response, or simply desperation, but the state RepublicanParty has filled the position of Chief Operating Officer, after itsfirst pick resigned due to problems with immigration law (as in, he wasbreaking it). The new guy, Bill Christiansen, has experience in Arizona and Orange County (above), according to the Sacramento Bee. We'll know he's doing his job if we never read about him in the paper again.

For those who think California coddles illegal immigrants (a fittingtransition), the Assembly couldn't even get a bill on drivers' licensefor non-citizens out of committee yesterday due to the heat surroundingthe issue, the Bee reports. Unfortunately, some tend to choose ideology over common sense,so Sen. Gil Cedillo didn't have the votes to move forward. His bill wasalso tied to to controversial Real ID act, which  rightfully makes manyDemocrats uneasy.

On the subject of staying out of the papers, a former aide to Rep. JohnDoolittle handed over documents to prosecutors this week over theCongressman's supposed ties with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Stay tuned.

The fire that ravaged the Lake Tahoe area yesterday and destroyed over200 homes is being contained due to shifting wind patterns, theAssociated Press reports. By all accounts, the response from the El Dorado Fire Department and U.S. Forest Service was heroic. No persons were reported missing as of press time.

There's more...