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2.07.2012

Ninth Circuit Reinstates Same-Sex Marriage in California

The 89-page opinion is written by Justice Steven Reinhardt, one of the court’s most liberal members and one of its most reversed by the Supreme Court.

He summarizes the three-judge panel’s two-to-one ruling as follows:

“Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently.    Read more »

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2.06.2012

The State of California Public Schools

Are California’s 9,903 schools better off financially now than they were five years ago?

As the largest recipient of cuts  — something on the order of $14 billion —  in the efforts to close the state’s annual mutli-billion dollar budget shortfalls it seems likely the Golden State’s 1,042 school districts would be a lot less golden now than in 2007.    Read more »

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2.06.2012

Sound Familiar?

“The time has come for us to decide whether collectively we can afford everything and anything we think of simply because we think of it.  The time has come to run a check to see if all the services government provides were in answer to demands or were just goodies dreamed up for our supposed betterment.     Read more »

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2.06.2012

Happy Birthday Mr. President! (and Governor)

Ronald Reagan, California’s 33rd governor and the 40th President of the United States, was born in Tampico, Illinois 101 years ago on February 6. 

A number of books have been written about the actor-turned-politician. Among the best are those by Reagan biographer Lou Cannon. 

Rather than rehash territory well covered by others, here’s a brief Reagan anecdote from February 1981, upon the occasion of his 70th birthday:

Speaking to a Washington Press Club dinner on February 4, the GOP president noted that the group was founded by six Washington newspaperwomen in 1919.    Read more »

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2.02.2012

Et tu, Aesop?

 “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.”

                                                                ~Aesop

And a related fable:

The Man, the Boy and the Donkey 

 A man and his son were going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along beside the beast, a countryman passed by and said: “You fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon?”    Read more »

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1.31.2012

Healthier Than a Chaw or a Cigarette, Though

“Wood shavings littered the floor of the (legislative) chambers because whittling was a favorite pastime of some legislators. Eventually, small blocks of wood had to be supplied for that purpose so that the desks, chairs and other fixtures would not be carved to slivers,” writes Mary Jo Ignoffo in Gold Rush Politics, California First Legislature.    Read more »

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1.30.2012

Apparently Nothing Is Sacred

Sales of the headstones, memorial plaques funerary urns or markers of veterans would be prohibited without state permission, under legislation passed unanimously by the Assembly January 30.

The bill – AB 1225 by Assemblyman Paul Cook, a Yucaipa Republican – is aimed at deterring thefts of memorial plaques for scrap and the sale of grave markers on the antique market.    Read more »

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1.30.2012

Statement from Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg

WOODLAND HILLS, CA – Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg released the following statement (January 30) regarding the race for California’s new 27thState Senate District.

“After thoughtful consideration, I have decided not to pursue a campaign for the State Senate.

“I believe the extraordinary challenges we face in California can best be met with big ideas and independent voices.    Read more »

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1.27.2012

Bummer About Those Redistricting Maps, Dude

January 27 wasn’t a banner day for appellants at the California Supreme Court.

Most media attention was focused on the state Republican Party failing to convince any members of the court to toss out district maps for the 40-member Senate drawn by the California Redistricting Commission prior to a determination of whether the GOP’s referendum to disqualify the commission’s effotrts would qualify for the ballot.    Read more »

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1.26.2012

Another Try at Restricting Picketing at Funerals

California is taking a second cut at trying to prevent picketers from adding to the grief of families at the funerals of loved ones.

The state Senate sent the Assembly on a unanimous vote, a bill that would require protesters to stay 500 feet away from one hour before until one hour after a funeral service.    Read more »

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