Mail That Follows Like a Tedious Argument of Insidious Intent

During a three-day absence from October 25 to October 27, more than 50 pieces of political mail were delivered.

The stack of mailers is about half as fat as Pascal’s Pensees, padded as the book is with a lengthy introduction by T.S. Eliot.

The stack is slightly smaller than Allen Ginsberg’s “The Fall of America – Poems of the States 1965 – 1971.”    Read more »

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The Confessions of a Women’s Conference Escort — Part 1

Spending a day and a half with Sandra Day O’Connor, it’s quickly apparent why Ronald Reagan nominated her in 1981 to be the first woman Supreme Court justice in United States history.

O’Connor, 80, describes herself as an “unemployed cowgirl” when receiving an award for her trail-blazing career at California First Lady Maria Shriver’s Women’s Conference, making it easy to understand her appeal to Reagan, an accomplished horseman and believer in the sort of values one expects to find in an Arizona rancher’s daughter.    Read more »

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You Know the Mood Is Ugly Out There When…

On the back of a tanker truck tooling down Interstate 80  is a vintage “Uncle Sam Wants You” poster with the inscription:

“I Want You to Fire Incumbents. If They’re In, Vote Them Out.”    Read more »

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And For Your Viewing Pleasure — The Women’s Conference

Tune into the Women’s Conference the morning of October 26 via its live webcast and hear what First Lady Michelle Obama says to the estimated 30,000 attendees.

At 12:30 pm, there’s a lunchtime conversation between Diane Sawyer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the high court.    Read more »

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Yet Another Daunting Problem for California’s Next Governor

Besides a projected budget shortfall of $21.3 billion in their first year in office, California’s next governor also faces an unemployment insurance fund that will end 2011 at least $13.4 billion in the red, according to the state Employment Development Department.

The insolvency of the fund, which is financed through employer contributions, will have an impact on the state’s cash-starved general fund next September when the state owes the federal government $362 million in interest on loans from Uncle Sam that have allowed the fund to keep issuing checks to out-of-work Californians.    Read more »

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California’s Unemployment Rate Remains at 12.4 Percent

SACRAMENTO – California’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 12.4 percent in September, and nonfarm payroll jobs decreased by 63,600 during the month, according to data released October 21 by the California Employment Development Department from two separate survey.

The U.S. unemployment rate also was unchanged in September at 9.6 percent. In August, the state’s nonfarm payroll jobs were revised upwards 44,200 for a total gain of 10,700 jobs, with the unemployment rate at 12.4 percent.    Read more »

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A Yardstick to Help Measure the State of the State’s Economy

California New Car Sales on a Slow But Steady Recovery

SACRAMENTO – The California New Car Dealers Association  announced that registrations of new cars and trucks in California continued to increase through the third quarter.

“Serious car buyers are returning to the market and fueling the California auto industry’s slow but steady recovery,” said Peter Welch, the association’s president.    Read more »

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They Should Write Checks to Taxpayers, Not Ask for Checks

Shame, it’s been claimed, is a uniquely human characteristic. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Adam and Eve don’t feel ashamed being thread-bare until the old ball-and-chain chomps on the apple of knowledge.

“The only shame is to have none,” says Blaise Pascal, the 17th Century French mathematician, physicist and philosopher.

Apparently, this uniquely human characteristic does not extend to some members of the California Legislature.    Read more »

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Given the Voter Registration, This Is Probably a Good Thing

(Editor’s Note: According to one of the Sacramento lobbyists for the Service Employees International Union, approximately 40 percent of its state employee members are registered Republican,  just as Roger Niello is.

Niello, one of three Republicans vying to fill the 1st Senate seat left vacant by the July death of Dave Cox, might also get a favorable nod from the other 60 percent of the union’s state employee members who are Democrat or decline-to-state — assuming the allegation in the mailer is true and assuming SEIU’s members vote with their pocketbooks.    Read more »

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A Brief Look at the Depth of the Pledges Made By Candidates

Here is a pitch from an Assembly candidate on why voters should elect him:

“I’ll focus on creating jobs and thoughtfully controlling spending and I’ll work to fix education — so all children have an opportunity to realize their dreams.”

Inside  the mailer, voters learn that the candidate will “support small businesses and create jobs, improve our children’s education, protect public health and safety, make the Legislature accountable to us.”    Read more »

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