Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

No budget, no vacation (see photo). That's Speaker Fabian Nunez's mantra for the coming days(or weeks) as the stalemate continues, the Sacramento Bee reports. Thelegislature was supposed to go into recess this Friday, but Assemblymembers are being asked to remain "on call" and within an hour of thecapitol. Maybe the Republicans can finally explain to us where theextra $2 billion will come from.

As the budget impasse drags on, a number of advocacy groups are concerned that the result will be a drastic cut in funding for education or services for the poor, according to the Bee. Contrary to some GOP myths, there just isn't allthat much left to slice. The Democrats, for their part, have madeconcessions and our bringing a new budget up for a vote Wednesday,which Republican Leader Mike Villines dismissed as a "non-starter."

Democrats should stand firm on their commitment to supporting contractors who reduce the diesel pollution in their equipment, the Bee editorialized today. With billions of dollars in bonds approvedlast November, we're going to be doing a lot of building and burning alot of energy. We can at least make sure it meets a minimum standard.

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Photo courtesy of National Geographic.