In Case There Was Some Reason To Hear Exactly How Bad The Budget Is One More Time — Gov. Brown’s May Revision Announcement    Read more »

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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.    Read more »

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From the Mail Bag in the San Diego Mayor’s Race

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, formerly a Republican now an independent, and Carl DeMaio, a GOP City Councilman, are hoping in June to advance to a November run-off. Here’s some of what they and independent expenditure committees are sending to voters:

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This Just In from Fred Karger’s Presidential Campaign…

On Ron Paul’s withdrawal from the Presidential Race    Read more »

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Symbols for the Symbol-Minded

The second bullet on Page 3 of Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, unveiled May 14, proudly says he plans to eliminate “20 boards, commissions, task forces, offices and departments.”

Reporters were provided with a list of 22 boards, committees and commissions Brown would terminate. The savings from doing so in the Democratic governor’s proposed $132 billion spending plan represents less than what former Department of Finance director Tom Hayes referred to as “budget dust.”    Read more »

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Doesn’t Sound Like So Grim a Revised Budget

For a state budget with a hole that’s now $15.7 billion  — $6.5 billion worse than the problem estimated by Gov. Jerry Brown In January – California is in great shape.

At least that’s the impression from reading the Democratic governor’s portrayal of his revised budget plan, released May 14.

The spending plan protects education and public safety, Brown says in his press release.    Read more »

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Secretly You Wanted to Know…

The translation of London Mayor Boris Johnson’s motto — see previous post —  is:

“Should the round world break and fall about him, its ruins will strike him unafraid.”

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A Festive Politics on Tap with

Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Democratic Asemblyman Richard Pan, a Sacramento MD, and the Redoubtable H. D. Palmer, Bon VIvant and Spokesman for the State Department of Finance    Read more »

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Translation Please, Governor

“Si fractus illabutur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinae.”

— The motto of  London Mayor Boris Johnson in the “Proust Questionnaire” of the June 2012 issue of Vanity Fair 

(Editor’s Note: Apropos of the May Revision)    Read more »

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Promontory Point Utah May 10, 1869

The Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads met on May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah completing the transcontinental railroad.

The connection of the two rail lines was celebrated with the hammering in of a silver and golden spike. 

Former California Gov. Leland Stanford, president of the Central Pacific, said this, acording to the New York Times:

“The Pacific Railroad companies accept with pride and satisfaction these golden and silver tokens of your appreciation of the importance of our enterprise to the material interests of the sections which you represent on this occasion, and to the material interests of our whole country, East and West, North and South.    Read more »

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