President Barack Obama talked up his universal health care plan again today.
** QUICK HITS. No progress today on California’s chronic-turned-chaotic budget crisis. The state Controller’s office starts printing IOUs tomorrow if there is no resolution in the morning. One wonders if the public employee unions pushing the Democratic legislative leadership aren’t hoping to force a federal bailout to stave off further changes. But that would seriously interfere with the Obama Administration’s national agenda, as one can infer from the level of state governmental bailout in the economic stimulus bill. … Ex-eBay CEO and Republican presidential campaign co-chair Meg Whitman, a gubernatorial hopeful, announced this afternoon that she’s raised $6.5 million since the beginning of the year. No word from fellow GOP hopefuls Steve Poizner or Tom Campbell. … On the Democratic side, no tweets from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who hasn’t returned my call to him on his cell phone. But he has a little over $1 million cash on hand. Jerry Brown did pick up last night, and says he has $7.3 to $7.4 million cash on hand. To catch Brown, Newsom has to seriously out-spend him. Which will be difficult to do with only one-seventh as much money as the two-time Democratic presidential runner-up.
** THE GREAT PALIN FOODFIGHT: KRISTOL VS. SCHMIDT. In the aftermath of the Vanity Fair piece on Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, in which ranking John McCain aides talked about how difficult she was to deal with, Politico has a story prompted by a post-VF piece battle between commentator Bill Kristol and former Schwarzenegger and McCain campaign director Steve Schmidt.
It’s long and complex, but worth checking out. I am thinking about writing more about it. Basically, what’s most interesting is what is not in the piece, Politico being an essentially conservative publication and this particular writer definitely a conservative.
Kristol is upset by two things. One, another blow to the notion of Palin as presidential timber, something he has promoted against all the weight of evidence to the contrary. Two, he hates Schmidt’s diminution of longtime Kristol friend Randy Scheuneman, who was McCain’s chief foreign policy advisor in the campaign and, more importantly a longtime neocon advocate who was also the paid lobbyist for the government of Georgia. His enthusiasm about Georgia may have prompted that country’s president, Mikhail Saakashvili, to foolishly invade the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, thus providing Russia with its pretext to crush the Georgian military and dramatically reassert its dominant role in Russia’s periphery.
Scheuneman became a huge advocate of Palin, who was on foreign policy essentially a neocon tool, having no inherent views or knowledge of her own (“I can see Russia from my house”). He was suspected by Schmidt of leaking to Kristol and others in their circle, to the extent that Schmidt ordered an in-house search of staff e-mail.
It’s fascinating that Kristol, who is still very influential in Republican circles, notwithstanding the fact that he’s virtually always wrong and, while amiable and Harvard-educated, simply not very intelligent, and his allies are so concerned about continuing to promote Palin. After all, Barack Obama’s fondest wish in his re-election campaign, almost certainly, would be to run against her.
** CALIFORNIA BUDGET CRISIS UPDATE. At his late morning Capitol press conference, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a genial mood, said he looks forward to continued talks with the entrenched legislative parties. In the meantime, noting that legislative debates are taking place on other issues, he announced that he will not sign any legislation unrelated to the state’s fiscal straits.
And he has issued an executive order a state of emergency due to the budget impasse, calling a special session of the Legislature to deal with the situation, a largely symbolic move. He also ordered a third furlough day per month all state workers. This means that, due to the budget impasse, state workers now have about a 15% pay cut, which is probably not what public employee union leaders were looking for.
State government offices, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, will be closed around the state the first, second, and third Fridays of every month. State hospitals, prisons, and 24-hour care facilities will maintain normal hours, as will the California Highway Patrol and state firefighters.
Schwarzenegger now says the budget deficit to be dealt with is $26.3 billion, up from $24.3 billion. Finance director Mike Genest had some reason why the $3.3 billion education savings seemingly missed by the refusal to go with the stopgap measure last night actually works out to be a little less, but I was called to other things at that point. The numbers are just preposterous, of course, so what’s a billion here and there, right?
** SCHWARZENEGGER BUDGET CRISIS PRESS CONFERENCE LATE MORNING. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will hold a Capitol press conference to discuss California’s chronic-turned-chaotic budget crisis.
With negotiations into last night proving to be intractable, California is on the verge of issuing IOUs for the first time in nearly two decades.
The event will be webcast live at 11:30 AM at www.gov.ca.gov.
President Barack Obama discussed the pullback of US forces and transfer of security in Iraq’s cities and towns to Iraqi forces.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama continues his health care focus today, as well as prepping for his major summit next week in Moscow.
He has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 10:15 AM Pacific, Obama holds a national discussion on health care through an online town hall at Northern Virginia Community College.
At 1:45 PM Pacific, Obama signs S.614, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots in the Oval Office.
Elsewhere this afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden highlights Recovery Act broadband investments in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Obama is going to have to decide how to pass his universal health care in the Senate, where he now has 60 Democratic votes, enough to block Republican filibuster efforts. But some moderate Democrats, such as California’s Dianne Feinstein and one-time apostate Joe Lieberman, are resistant to the so-called public option, which would allow for the emergence of a real nationalized health care system.
Obama is prepping for his summit in Moscow from July 6th to July 8th. Key issues, which of course will be explained here, involve America’s role in NATO expansion and missile defense seemingly aimed at Russia and potential major Russian assistance to America’s agenda in Afghanistan, Iran, and the Middle East.
With President Barack Obama arriving next week for a summit, Moscow is shutting down its casinos, symbol of the money culture that gripped the city prior to the global recession.
With the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraqi cities, Obama and his advisors are monitoring the security situation there.
Obama, along with other world leaders, has denounced the military coup in Honduras, where President Manuel Zelaya, a champion of the poor who was trying to get his term extended, was deposed. Zelaya is preparing to return to the country.
And Obama is of course monitoring the situation in Iran, where once large protests have, as expected here, fizzled in the face of a massive security presence ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The time in Tehran is eleven-and-a-half hours ahead of California.
Yet another day has passed in Iran with demonstrations effectively tamped down.
Obama is also closely monitoring several other crises: In North Korea, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger engages in private meetings and discussions in and around the Capitol, mostly focusing on California’s chronic-turned-chaotic budget crisis.
He has no scheduled public events.
Yesterday was the deadline set by state Controller John Chiang to have a budget in place in order to avoid having to begin issuing IOUs.
Needless to say, the deadline was blown.
Democratic legislators offered up a stopgap, trying to buy time, and were rejected by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as he said he would do.
Because Republicans would not go along with a stopgap, and because Democrats would not accept a budget that could be enacted, some $3.3 billion in savings from proposed education cuts were lost with the close of the fiscal year.
We’ve been down this road many times.
IOUs are scheduled to be sent out tomorrow. If the Legislature comes up with a budget today, that would be averted.
Don’t hold your breath. The intractable factions that dominate the party caucuses in the Capitol on fiscal matters – anti-government faction over the Republicans, ultra-government faction over the Democrats – each believes it can win a game of chicken.
Neither is correct.
** TRANSFORMATIVE: LE CINEMA DE MICHAEL BAY. I love the films of Michael Bay. In fact, they are so dramatic and compelling that …
Gotcha! I actually do not love the films of Michael Bay. I don’t hate them, either. And there are a couple that I like. But the fact that it is considered preposterous for a writer — a writer who writes about anything, even wallpaper — to not dismiss Bay’s work in the most vehement of terms points up a dramatic disconnect between the critical community and the movie-going audience.
Bay’s new flick, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, just took in an astounding $200.1 million at the domestic box office in its first five days of release. …
** STAR TREK FIRSTS … 43 YEARS ON. Some 43 years after it began, and seven years after the movie franchise seemed completely played out, Star Trek is making firsts again. And so far, it’s the most popular movie of the year in America. …
** OBAMA AND THE AYATOLLAH. Two weeks after his landmark address in Cairo, where he honored traditional Islam and extolled engagement with modern Islam, President Barack Obama finds himself in a conundrum. Determining what to do about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who just told the people of Iran, in an unusual nationally-televised sermon at the end of Friday prayers, to stop acting like they live in a democracy.
It’s a particularly tricky question for Obama, because he has an unusual dual role to play: Inspirational global icon and president of the United States.
As the president of the United States, it’s Obama’s job to figure out the needs of America and go about meeting them. As a global icon, he is expected to inspire. … From my June 19th column.
** OBAMA’S CRISIS MANAGEMENT: NORTH KOREA, AGAIN. President Barack Obama changed the old kabuki in dealing with his second North Korean crisis. The first time around, back in April, dealing with a long-range missile test that failed to place a satellite in orbit, Obama treated the effort as more of the same rather baffling attention-seeking by the Hermit Kingdom. This time, after a string of provocations including an underwhelming underground nuclear detonation, a series of missile launches, and the imprisonment of two California-based journalists, Obama went in another, tougher, direction that may lead to a naval confrontation. … From my June 12th column.
** REMEMBERING AMERICA: OBAMA’S D-DAY SPEECH AND TWO DAYS IN JUNE. There’s no question that timing is, as it were, of the essence in politics. Consider the timing of President Barack Obama’s address to the Muslim world, coming as it did just two days before the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
Most focus simply on the Cairo speech. But that speech exists in a larger context, alongside the speech over the weekend in Normandy which bookended it on Obama’s second big international tour.
On Thursday in Cairo, Obama gave his rhetorical best to reposition a mostly peaceful America in the future of the Muslim world. On Saturday in Normandy, he reminded of America’s glittering, and far more martial, past. … From my June 8th column.
** REPOSITIONING AMERICA: OBAMA’S CAIRO SPEECH AS THE ULTIMATE IN EVENT MARKETING. … From my June 4th column.
** TERMINATING THE DARKNESS: HOPE FLOATS, BUT ANXIETY ABIDES. … From my May 31st column.
** THE AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY OF CALIFORNIA’S PROP 8. … From my May 26th column.
** OBAMA’S NEW CALIFORNIA-BASED CLIMATE POLICY: SIX KEY THINGS TO KNOW. … From my May 20th column.
** 24 AND THE TORTUOUS POLITICS OF TORTURE. … From my May 18th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** SCHWARZENEGGER’S CALIFORNIA. Here is my series of five columns on the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Los Angeles Times in debate last fall, prior to the global economic meltdown, with Pulitzer Prize-winning former Times reporter/editor Bill Boyarsky, whose columns are also included. Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
You can listen to my recent video webchat with Schwarzenegger here.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record last July 11th, crude oil is trading between $71 and $72 per barrel.
This is up about $38 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, due in part to some positive economic signs and in part to geopolitical jitters over North Korea and Iran, though the latter have lessened substantially over the past week.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum.
Read 
| Comments (49) |
Obama’s right, pulling the troops out of the Iraq cities and towns is a big deal.
Too bad those richies in Moscow lose their casinos.
I’m crying real tears.
Another disaster day for California. It’s so crazy. They never change.
It’s good the arrogance to wear off, I think.
Jonas Blane says:
July 1, 2009 at 8:40 am
Too bad those richies in Moscow lose their casinos.
Barack deserves credit for ignoring the terrorist attacks and sticking to the plan.
Jonas Blane says:
July 1, 2009 at 8:38 am
Obama’s right, pulling the troops out of the Iraq cities and towns is a big deal.
Here is another budget gimmick they probably knew would eventually be ruled illegal being ruled illegal. But of course when they did it all that mattered was they would have the money to play games with in the interim, and so what if in the end the taxpayers pay court costs, interest etc. for the sins of the legislature? They have done this is various forms for the past 10-15 years–with each dubious action eventually costing the taxpayers millions in court costs etc. and being ruled illegal.
I wonder if this is about the last gimmick monmey left for budget hocus pocus?
http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/1991269.html
It’s a good start. I won’t be happy till they are elsewhere.
Iraq is what I posted on.
Tell what it is. I don’t want to read the article elsewhere.
Dana says:
July 1, 2009 at 10:14 am
Here is another budget gimmick they probably knew would eventually be ruled illegal being ruled illegal. But of course when they did it all that mattered was they would have the money to play games with in the interim, and so what if in the end the taxpayers pay court costs, interest etc. for the sins of the legislature? They have done this is various forms for the past 10-15 years–with each dubious action eventually costing the taxpayers millions in court costs etc. and being ruled illegal.
I wonder if this is about the last gimmick monmey left for budget hocus pocus?
http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/1991269.html
The Big O’s trip will be real interesting.
Jonas Blane says:
July 1, 2009 at 8:40 am
Too bad those richies in Moscow lose their casinos.
Perhaps Russia will build casinos on its eastern shore to compete for Asian $$ (and yuan and yen and…) with the mega-resorts in Macau and (soon) Singapore.
“a post-literate definition of cool.”
Yet it is Megan Fox and not toasters that most red blooded Amerticans prefer to ogle.
“… each believes it can win a game of chicken.”
Yeah, remember the dimwit Republicans who told Maldonado they wanted the state to go bankrupt? Amazing!
A California appeals court has barred state officials from tapping public transit funds for other programs. Could force repaying several billions to transit agencies plus stop a diversion of $952 million in the new budget. And thus the budget hole just widened even more…
>10.Jack Aubrey says:
July 1, 2009 at 10:17 am
Tell what it is. I don’t want to read the article elsewhere.
>>”..ultra-government faction over the Democrats..” <<
It would be good to know the names of these 'ultra-government' Democrats and just exactly what defines them as 'ultra-government.'
We know the names of the 'anti-government' legislators – pretty much all those with an "R" after their names; the ones who will gladly destroy social services and kill jobs, then find work for themselves as consultants or lobbyists in some private sector company receiving corporate welfare.
But who are the mysterious 'ultra-government' people? Are they the ones proposing that public schools should be funded and teachers paid a good salary? That seniors who can't afford medicine should get a little assistance from their government? That folks who do back-breaking work providing in-home health care services should be paid more than minimum wage? That college should be affordable to everyone, not just a privileged few? Were the Republicans and Democrats who supported Social Security, Medicare, the GI Bill, Interstate Highways, etc. "ultra-government"?
The folks who pushed Gray Davis into signing unsustainable budgets based on dot-com boom revenues. We’ve been over this ground, as you know from the discussion of ex-Assembly Budget chair Jenny Oropeza in 2002.
They probably won’t get that money any more than the upgrade the prison health care advocates will.
You don’t get water out of a stone.
> Dana says:
July 1, 2009 at 10:36 am (Edit)
A California appeals court has barred state officials from tapping public transit funds for other programs. Could force repaying several billions to transit agencies plus stop a diversion of $952 million in the new budget. And thus the budget hole just widened even more…
>10.Jack Aubrey says:
July 1, 2009 at 10:17 am
Tell what it is. I don’t want to read the article elsewhere.
And remember the dimwit Democrats who’ve been conning themselves since 2001 about inevitable-every-year tax hikes.
> Dana says:
July 1, 2009 at 10:33 am (Edit)
“… each believes it can win a game of chicken.”
Yeah, remember the dimwit Republicans who told Maldonado they wanted the state to go bankrupt? Amazing!
I think the CGI alien robots are the bigger appeal in Transformers even over the aptly named Ms. Fox …
> Dana says:
July 1, 2009 at 10:27 am (Edit)
“a post-literate definition of cool.”
Yet it is Megan Fox and not toasters that most red blooded Amerticans prefer to ogle.
They are limiting casinos to four remote areas of Russia.
There has to be a crowd to justify more casinos.
> Clutch J says:
July 1, 2009 at 10:24 am (Edit)
Perhaps Russia will build casinos on its eastern shore to compete for Asian $$ (and yuan and yen and…) with the mega-resorts in Macau and (soon) Singapore.
Extremely.
> Jack Aubrey says:
July 1, 2009 at 10:18 am (Edit)
The Big O’s trip will be real interesting.
Jonas Blane says:
July 1, 2009 at 8:40 am
Too bad those richies in Moscow lose their casinos.
It’s a very static story line.
With the only changes being in volume and vehemence, neither a sign of a winning argument …
> Capitol Boy says:
July 1, 2009 at 9:17 am (Edit)
Another disaster day for California. It’s so crazy. They never change.
Yes, very sad. At least I don’t have to watch any more Russia Today coverage of the latest extraordinary excess …
> Jonas Blane says:
July 1, 2009 at 8:40 am (Edit)
Too bad those richies in Moscow lose their casinos.
Where’s Schwarzeneger?
He sounded reasonable, as usual. I don’t like it but I don’t know why legislative Dems don’t get it. Even if Schwarz went along, they can’t get more taxes.
I’ve been hearing the same thing from much the same people, though frequently with different names, throughout this entire decade about the inevitability of tax hikes to make up for the structural deficit post-dotcom boom, and the car tax cut (of a tax that never really went into effect, so unpopular was it, as Gray Davis knew all too well when I suggested that he raise it). For awhile, I believed them …
It couldn’t happen to nicer guys.
** THE GREAT PALIN FOODFIGHT: KRISTOL VS. SCHMIDT.
Here is the Executive Order on the fiscal emergency ordering a 3rd furlough day:
http://gov.ca.gov/pdf/press/S-13-09_Furlough_Executive_Order_for_three_days_7-1-09__FINAL_.pdf
Here is a list of state offices exempt from the order:
http://www.dpa.ca.gov/personnel-policies/furloughs/list-of-offices-open-on-scheduled-furlough-days.htm
Oh, yeah–them too. Too sad.
>19.Bill Bradley says:
July 1, 2009 at 11:11 am
And remember the dimwit Democrats who’ve been conning themselves since 2001 about inevitable-every-year tax hikes.
But it closes another avenue for fiscal voodoo. The dwindling of which is a subtext of this mess. They have just about run out of smoke and mirrors options.
The fed overseer has been backing off on his demands in re the prisons. I guess belatedly the realization has set in that federal courts have limits to what they can dictate as a practical matter.
>18.Bill Bradley says:
July 1, 2009 at 11:09 am
They probably won’t get that money any more than the upgrade the prison health care advocates will.
You don’t get water out of a stone.
That Vanity Fair piece by the wqay is dynamite.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908
That’s a wild story. I never got why supposedly intellectual Republicans like Bill Kristol were so into Sarah Palin as a candidate. She was awful.
The Russians were really flaunting that oil money. Moscow was the “new city of the billionaires.”
Bill Bradley says:
July 1, 2009 at 11:16 am
Yes, very sad. At least I don’t have to watch any more Russia Today coverage of the latest extraordinary excess …
> Jonas Blane says:
July 1, 2009 at 8:40 am (Edit)
Too bad those richies in Moscow lose their casinos.
So Mike’s saying it wasn’t really 3.3 billion, but only about 2 billion, which was forever squandered by blocking the cut to the new FY’s Prop. 98 base?
Gee, I feel so much better now. State employees whacked with another 5% (now carving muscle in home budgets) which they CLAIM will save 425 million (but such projections are always exaggerated.) But it was OK to tack on another 3.3, excuse me, 2 billion to the mess in order to sustain the terror level in the standoff.
I’ve been trying to remain sanguine through this nonsense but I’m flat out of sanguine.
What’s with this Newsom guy? A total egomaniac?
… On the Democratic side, no tweets from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who hasn’t returned my call to him on his cell phone. But he has a little over $1 million cash on hand. Jerry Brown did pick up last night, and says he has $7.3 to $7.4 million cash on hand. To catch Brown, Newsom has to seriously out-spend him. Which will be difficult to do with only one-seventh as much money as the two-time Democratic presidential runner-up.
Maybe if the state workers unions didn’t keep pushing for more programs that aren’t paid for this would not be happening. Maybe if they hadn’t shot down the initiatives in May this would not be happening. Maybe if they weren’t so stupid this would not be happening.
Ya think?
Wilbur says:
July 1, 2009 at 4:07 pm
So Mike’s saying it wasn’t really 3.3 billion, but only about 2 billion, which was forever squandered by blocking the cut to the new FY’s Prop. 98 base?
Gee, I feel so much better now. State employees whacked with another 5% (now carving muscle in home budgets) which they CLAIM will save 425 million (but such projections are always exaggerated.) But it was OK to tack on another 3.3, excuse me, 2 billion to the mess in order to sustain the terror level in the standoff.
I’ve been trying to remain sanguine through this nonsense but I’m flat out of sanguine.
Ya think?
Jack Aubrey says:
July 1, 2009 at 5:21 pm
What’s with this Newsom guy? A total egomaniac?
… On the Democratic side, no tweets from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who hasn’t returned my call to him on his cell phone. But he has a little over $1 million cash on hand. Jerry Brown did pick up last night, and says he has $7.3 to $7.4 million cash on hand. To catch Brown, Newsom has to seriously out-spend him. Which will be difficult to do with only one-seventh as much money as the two-time Democratic presidential runner-up.
What new video today?
The new Marine offensive in Afghanistan and Arnold on the California budget crisis.
I’m not sure squandered is the word, as the money is being spent on education.
The smaller number is from rejiggering the school fiscal year, or something like that.
Since I’ve been hearing much the same rhetoric from both sides since 2001, there’s not much reason to believe that removing pressure for a full budget will do anything but empower more delay.
> Wilbur says:
July 1, 2009 at 4:07 pm (Edit)
So Mike’s saying it wasn’t really 3.3 billion, but only about 2 billion, which was forever squandered by blocking the cut to the new FY’s Prop. 98 base?
Gee, I feel so much better now. State employees whacked with another 5% (now carving muscle in home budgets) which they CLAIM will save 425 million (but such projections are always exaggerated.) But it was OK to tack on another 3.3, excuse me, 2 billion to the mess in order to sustain the terror level in the standoff.
I’ve been trying to remain sanguine through this nonsense but I’m flat out of sanguine.
It was indeed. I have a close friend who was re-seeking her fortune there.
> marcos leon says:
July 1, 2009 at 4:05 pm (Edit)
The Russians were really flaunting that oil money. Moscow was the “new city of the billionaires.”
Bill Bradley says:
July 1, 2009 at 11:16 am
Yes, very sad. At least I don’t have to watch any more Russia Today coverage of the latest extraordinary excess …
> Jonas Blane says:
July 1, 2009 at 8:40 am (Edit)
Too bad those richies in Moscow lose their casinos.
True, though it’s very familiar material.
> Dana says:
July 1, 2009 at 3:32 pm (Edit)
That Vanity Fair piece by the wqay is dynamite.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908
Judges don’t always have a firm grasp on reality.
> Dana says:
July 1, 2009 at 3:22 pm (Edit)
But it closes another avenue for fiscal voodoo. The dwindling of which is a subtext of this mess. They have just about run out of smoke and mirrors options.
The fed overseer has been backing off on his demands in re the prisons. I guess belatedly the realization has set in that federal courts have limits to what they can dictate as a practical matter.
>18.Bill Bradley says:
July 1, 2009 at 11:09 am
They probably won’t get that money any more than the upgrade the prison health care advocates will.
You don’t get water out of a stone.
Thanks!
> Dana says:
July 1, 2009 at 3:07 pm (Edit)
Here is a list of state offices exempt from the order:
http://www.dpa.ca.gov/personnel-policies/furloughs/list-of-offices-open-on-scheduled-furlough-days.htm
Incidentally, NWN passed 84,000 comments sometime in the past week or so.
O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o.
Obama leads with a left jab to Putin’s nose! Let’s cut out that Cold War stuff, Vladimir!
Any reason why you commented way back here?