California's Capitol http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog The chief correspondent of California’s Capitol is Greg Lucas who has been writing about California politics and government since 1986. Lucas levels his bipartisan wit at Republicans and Democrats and, not infrequently deservedly, at himself. Wed, 23 May 2012 03:15:28 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Busy Senate Rules Committee Agenda on May 23 The Senate Rules Committee’s agenda for its May 23 meeting contains a list of 21 measures whose legislative authors wish to have voted on by the upper house outside the normal procedure for debating legislation on the Senate floor.

“Without reference to file,” is the legislative term of art.

All of the bills these 21 lawmakers wish to have taken up “without reference to file” are resolutions originating in either the Senate or the lower house.

Resolutions are essentially glorified letters, which have no force of law, that commemorate some event or action.

For example, Sen. Curren Price, an Inglewood Democrat, wishes [....]

]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/busy-senate-rules-committee-agenda-on-may-23/ Legislative Analyst Recommends Giving Public Schools Less Funding to Reduce Cuts Elsewhere Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget gives public schools $1.7 billion more than he is required under state funding formulas, causing reductions of a like amount in other state programs, according to the Legislative Analyst’s recently released assessment of the Democratic governor’s new spending plan.

The analyst encourages lawmakers, who face a June 15 constitutional deadline to send Brown a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, to “reconsider the governor’s overall May Revision package – a package that spends more on schools and community colleges while simultaneously cutting other areas of the state budget, primarily health, social services, [....]

]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/legislative-analyst-recommends-giving-public-schools-less-funding-to-reduce-cuts-elsewhere/ httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqI-28WuoYQ

Actor Roger Moore Narrates a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Video on the Making of Foie Gras.

A Group of Chefs Opposes California's Impending July 1 Ban on Foie Gras Sales 

]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/10399/ From the “No on Proposition 29″ Campaign Mail Bag… (Proposition 29, on the June ballot, raises taxes on a package of cigarettes by $1. Taxes are currently 87 cents per pack. The additional revenue will be used to pay for cancer research and anti-smoking programs. The last panel notes that major funding for "Californians Against Out-of-Control Taxes and Spending" comes from Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.)

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]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/from-the-no-on-proposition-29-campaign-mail-bag/ Happy Birthday Governor Budd!   May 18 is the birthday of James H. Budd, California’s 19th governor, who served from January 1895 to January 1899. He was the last Democrat to hold the office until Cuthbert Olsen was elected in 1938. 

A Stockton resident and lawyer, the “genial and jovial” Budd ran on an anti-Southern Pacific, trim-the-fat in government platform. A brigadier general in the National Guard, he shunned railroad travel in his campaign, earning the nickname, “Buckboard Jim.” 

As governor, he had a sign in his office that read: “Jim is in.” 

During his four years as governor Budd convinced the Legislature to create the Bureau of [....]

]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/happy-birthday-governor-budd/ Rational Behavior  

"When proper temperament joins with proper intellectual framework, then you get rational behavior."

                                         --Warren Buffett 

]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/rational-behavior/ A Dark Day 94 Years Ago for Free Speech — With a SIlver Lining On May 16, 1918, Congress approved the Sedition Act. The law was an expansion of the previous year’s Espionage Act, which allowed the Postmaster General to remove seditious or treasonable material from the mail and punished anyone convicted of interfering with military recruitment with up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.

The Sedition Act added the same penalty to anyone who publicly criticized the government:

"Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces [....]

]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/a-dark-day-94-years-ago-for-free-speech-with-a-silver-lining/ An Ad from a Recent Issue of Time Magazine

(Editor's Note: Among the 14 bullets of warnings, the one at bottom right says the most common side effects include: "ejaculation problems, trouble getting or keeping an erection (impotence), a decrease in sex drive (libido), decreased amount of semen released during sex, dizziness, enlarged or painful breasts (if you notice breast lumps or nipple discharge, you should talk to your healthcare provider), and runny nose.")

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]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/an-ad-from-a-recent-issue-of-time-magazine/ httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btGEKnWgUmw&feature=player_embedded

In Case There Was Some Reason To Hear Exactly How Bad The Budget Is One More Time -- Gov. Brown's May Revision Announcement

]]> http://www.californiascapitol.com/blog/2012/05/10344/ Happy Birthday to the Royal Historian of Oz May 15 is the birthday of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and more than 55 other novels.

Lyman Frank Baum was born near Syracuse, New York in 1856. At 26, he married Maud Gage. Her mother was close to Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, leaders of the women’s rights movement.

Baum’s books  -- not just the Oz series -- are peopled with strong female characters.

He moved to Aberdeen South Dakota when he was 32, opening a general store called “Baum’s Bazaar.”

Then store failed and the Baums moved to Chicago where he became a [....]

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