Be Kind to Koreans Today

Gov. Jerry Brown met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Los Angeles May 9, issuing a “Korea-California Friendship Day” proclamation to commemorate the event. The press release from the Demoratic governor commemorating the commemorative proclamation is silent as to the South Korean president’s reaction.

The proclamation in full:

WHEREAS, California is home to over 450,000 Korean-Americans, many of whom are among our most prominent and accomplished citizens; and

WHEREAS, among the 50 states California is the Republic of Korea’s foremost trading partner and Korea is California’s fifth largest export market; and

WHEREAS, the Republic of Korea and California exchange billions Read more »

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Brown’s Actions and His Rhetoric

With California sitting on more than $4.5 billion in expected revenue, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation May 1 spending $25.6 million, all but $1.6 million to fix a problem he and Democratic lawmakers created two years ago when they hamstrung the state’s efforts to take away weapons from Californians prohibited from owning them.

The $1.6 million is contained in AB 113 by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, a Woodland Hills Democrat, which is aimed at helping Secretary of State Debra Bowen speed up the  processing of the licenses businesses must file  to operate, which reached a record 85-day turnaround time last November. The wait time was still Read more »

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Lawmakers Back More Money to Confiscate Illegal Weapons from Californians

The state Department of Justice is likely to win legislative approval by the end of April to use $24 million in registration fees paid by gun owners to speed up taking away weapons from Californians prohibited from owning them.

Emergency legislation is awaiting action on the Assembly floor that would earmark the money, already collected by the department, to enforce the findings of its Armed Prohibited Persons System, which has identified 38,563 handguns and 1,647 so-called assault weapons in the hands of 19,770 Californians, such as felons or the mentally ill, who the law says can’t possess them.

The database of Californians who Read more »

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Jerry Brown and Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Feeling begets feelings and great feelings beget great feelings,” said Gov. Jerry Brown in his January State of the State speech, quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes.

The Democratic governor used the line in relation to public education:

“I salute the teachers and the students, the parents and the college presidents, the whole school community. As the great jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes, once said when describing what stirs people to action: “Feeling begets feeling and great feeling begets great feeling.” 

As Brown alludes, the original context of the sentence doesn’t refer to public education and, only in the broadest possible way, to Read more »

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Fitting Jerry Brown Honors Ronald Reagan Since Reagan Aided Brown’s Political Career

For the  third time in as many years, Gov. Jerry Brown declares February 6 to be Ronald Reagan Day in California. To wit:

“From his humble Midwestern origins, through a successful career in Hollywood, and on to the highest offices in his state and country, Ronald Reagan lived the California dream. 

“On this 102nd anniversary of his birth, we remember not only his most celebrated achievements—his successful diplomacy with Mikhail Gorbachev and the economic recovery that occurred under his presidency. We also remember the turbulent years of his governorship, during which he proved his ability to manage the affairs of Read more »

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Jerry Brown Yet to Settle Up His Super Bowl Wager — But Working On It

Gov. Jerry Brown won’t be paying off his losing bet on the Super Bowl for a week or so.

Not that Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is griping about it.

Brown said before the game that if the San Francisco 49ers didn’t prevail he would send O’Malley a copy of “California: The Great Exception,” the insightful 1949 examination of what makes the Golden State unique by Carey McWiliams.

“We have not yet received the book. Still awaiting,” said an unperturbed Takirra Winfield, O’Malley’s press secretary.

In a February 1 tweet, Brown said he chose the book because it Read more »

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Jerry Brown on the Viability of High Speed Rail

“We all know the story of ‘The Little Engine That Could.’

 “The big engines were asked to haul the freight train over the mountain. They said, ‘Can’t do it.’ They asked another, ‘Can’t do it.’ The little train said, ‘I think I can.’

“And so the engine pulled in front of the long line of freight cars and started puffing away.

“ ‘I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I…think…I…can.’

“And over the mountain the little engine went!”

“We’re going to get over the mountain. Have no doubt about it.”

– State of the Read more »