Happy Birthday Governor Latham!

Milton Slocum Latham, California’s sixth governor, was born in Columbus, Ohio on May 23, 1827.

He continues to hold the record for shortest term as California’s chief executive:

Five days.

From January 9, 1860 to January 14, 1860.

During his brief tenure, he sent President Buchanan a letter supporting the desire of six southern counties to split from California and form a new, more slavery-friendly territory.    Read more »

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From the June Primary Mail Bag…

The Independent Voter Network, the backer of Proposition 14, the so-called “open primary law,’ which goes into effect on the June 5 primary, has sent this mailer to voters who don’t state a party preference. 

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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.    Read more »

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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, courts ad state employee compensation more deeply.”    Read more »

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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     Read more »

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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.    Read more »

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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.    Read more »

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Rational Behavior

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

                                         –Warren Buffett     Read more »

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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.    Read more »

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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.”)    Read more »

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