House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who this year became the first woman to hold the top spot in the House of Representatives, is writing a memoir, to be released in the summer of 2008 by the Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
The book, currently untitled, will be written with a collaborator "yet to be determined."
I thought you had to do something before you published your memoir.
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said recently that the United States cannot use its military to solve humanitarian problems and that preventing a potential genocide in Iraq isn't a good enough reason to keep U.S. forces there.
Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, said it's likely there would be increased bloodshed if U.S. forces left Iraq. "There's no doubt there are risks of increased bloodshed in Iraq without a continuing U.S. presence there."
The greater risk is staying in Iraq, Obama said.
"It is my assessment that those risks are even greater if we continue to occupy Iraq and serve as a magnet for not only terrorist activity but also irresponsible behavior by Iraqi factions," he said.
Senator Obama has been known to make conflicting statement throughout his political carreer. He has expressed reservations about capital punishment but does not oppose it, and later went on to say he would support the death penalty for Osama bin Laden.
This weeks Democratic radio address in Spanish was by Santa Ana's very own Jose Solorio.
Just days after hurriedly submitting a state budget that permanently eliminates California’s Teacher’s Tax Credit, Jose has the heuvo's to preach the importance of education.
Jose delivers Spanish radio address on the importance of English education in pre-school
The California Assembly in their rush to go on summer vacation have voted to cut the Teacher’s Tax Credit.
Michelle Steel wrote a great opinion piece in the San Bernardino County Sun (reprinted below)
School’s out for summer, but it’s no reason for San Bernardino County teachers to spend time at the beach. If the state Assembly gets its way, local teachers could arrive at classrooms this fall without the benefit of an important tax credit. In a rush to make their summer recess, the Assembly has approved a state budget that permanently eliminates California’s Teacher’s Tax Credit.
Since its creation, the Teacher’s Tax Credit has provided over half a billion dollars in tax relief for California’s teachers. Qualifying K-12 teachers receive anywhere from $250 to $1,500 in tax relief for their out-of-pocket expenses. In 2003, the last state budget to fund the tax credit, over 200,000 teachers received an average of $748 in tax relief.
The state Senate, which has stalled passage of the Assembly’s version of the budget, should refuse to pass any budget that permanently repeals this vital tax credit. Republican state Senators, all of whom publicly signed Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge, especially, have motivation to oppose this blatant tax increase.
In 2000, the Legislature created the tax credit to combat two common problems plaguing teachers: high out-of-pocket classroom expenses and terrible teacher retention rates. By the time the state’s education dollars trickle down to the classroom, very little money is left over for common classroom supplies. California’s selfless teachers invariably supplement their classroom budgets with personal funds. According to the National School Supply and Equipment Association, teachers nationwide spend an average of $1,752 in out-of-pocket expenses for classroom supplies and instructional materials.
However, the second objective - teacher retention - has drawn criticism from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the state’s nonpartisan budget analyst. Earlier this year, the LAO released a report claiming that the tax credit has had little to no effect on keeping teachers from leaving the education profession. This criticism has fueled the covert move to eliminate this tax credit.
Although the LAO’s criticisms are not without merit, it is difficult to assess the tax credit’s effectiveness when considering the Legislature’s inconsistent application of the tax credit. In four of the past six years, California has repealed the tax credit to help balance the state budget. How can a tax incentive encourage teachers to remain in academia when the Legislature has suspended the tax credit more times than it has granted it?
Admittedly, there are flaws with the current administration of the Teacher’s Tax Credit. For example, new teachers, those with less than four years experience in the profession, are ineligible for the tax credit. New teachers arguably incur more expenses than experienced teachers, who already have previous year’s supplies and instructional materials.
The California Federation of Teachers estimates that half of new teachers do not make it past their fifth year teaching. Consequently, almost half of all teachers never see the tax credit. Such flaws are reasons to amend, not end, the tax credit. The Legislature would be wise to spend its time improving the Teacher’s Tax Credit, instead of cutting the tax credit altogether just to make their summer vacations.
Teachers should be reimbursed for their out-of-pocket classroom expenses, and tax credits give each teacher the greatest flexibility to decide the classroom supplies they need most. The state Legislature has the unenviable task of closing a $2 billion budget gap, but the $165 million Teacher’s Tax Credit is only milk money out of the state’s $140 billion budget.
Michelle Steel represents San Bernardino County on the state Board of Equalization, the country’s only publicly elected tax board.
MoveOn.org , Campaign for America’s Future , DailyKos.com and other liberal blogs are asking supporters to monitor who is advertising on Fox News Network.
Their goal is to build a database of FNC sponsors, then use that list in a campaign to threaten these businesses with financial ruin if they continue advertising with FNC.
Once a database is gathered, an organized phone-calling campaign will begin, said Jim Gilliam, vice president of media strategy for Brave New Films, a company that has made anti-Fox videos.
The goal is simple: to silence opposing points of view through threats, intimidation and financial ruin.
This has the potential to have a chilling effect on media everywhere, regardless of ideology.
This shows these organizations’ true nature. At their core, they are intolerant of opposing points of view. They aren’t satisfied with getting their way most of the time. Their goal is getting their way all of the time.
Bi-partisanship indeed.
“Know that when you keep commitments to yourself, it’s easier to keep commitments to others.”
Comments recently made by Corina Villaraigosa at a downtown Los Angeles fundraiser.
The City of Santa Ana meets this evening to discuss long-range plans to better serve its children and teenagers by giving them more to do.
The Board of Parks and Recreation is scheduled to discuss a "youth master plan" at this evenings meeting on the second floor of the administrative building of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, 888 W. Santa Ana Blvd.
The plan lays out the city's strategy with regards to how it will increase its offerings for young people.
It includes an assessment of the city's existing ball fields and facilities; ideas for new improved and expanded activities; and suggestions for addressing specific problems, such as gangs or obesity.
The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.
Janet Nguyen, the newest member of the Board of Supervisors, won approval yesterday for the first satellite office in a supervisor's district.
Nguyen, who is the first Vietnamese American ever elected to the board, wants the office in Westminster to assist the hundreds of people she said are seeking her help in receiving county services for health care, social services and housing needs.
Nguyen's staff is currently looking for space in Westminster and hope to have the office open within a couple of months.
With the 3-2 vote,(Bates, Campbell and Nguyen), Supervisor Nguyen bested those who argued that the cost for the one-year pilot program was too steep.
Nguyen also wisely rejected an offer by Assemblyman Van Tran to have the county share office space in his recently opened Little Saigon outreach center.
Arguing that it was "highly improper" for the county to pay $5,000 a year to share Tran's office, Nguyen convinced other supervisors that Tran and other elected officials conducted political campaigns, voter registration and other election-related activities there.
Supervisors Chris Norby and John Moorlach voted against the proposal with Norby calling Nguyen's idea "gutsy," but argued that it duplicated offices already in the district and people who needed help didn't have a long drive from Westminster to Santa Ana.
In a just released set of 2008 Gallup general election matchups, Rudy Giuliani has edged in front of Hillary Rodham Clinton among registered voters, 49-46, while Clinton has an equally thin margin over Fred Thompson, 48-45. Giuliani comes in ahead of Barack Obama, 49-45, while Obama leads Thompson 51-40.
Sky Harbor Airport has had a 4.5 hour time frame each night when virtually anything can be brought into the secure side of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. There's no metal detector, no X-ray machine, no TSA agents, nothing.
The X-ray machines were off, the metal detectors were closed, and bags with unknown contents were carried to the secure side of the airport where the planes are.
Everybody knows what's going on, but nobody's doing anything about it."
You would think the director of Sky Harbor, or even a spokesperson from the TSA, would trip over themselves to talk about this issue, but you would be wrong.
All of them have refused on camera interviews to talk about the kind of security they've employed to keep us safe.
Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters have written a letter saying that a “bipartisan group” of 70 legislators have agreed to not vote for any more funding for Iraq unless an announcement of defeat, er, deadlines are included in the bill.
The letter is indeed signed by 70 legislators but I’d hardly call it bipartisan. Here’s the list of signatories:
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (CA); Rep. Barbara Lee (CA); Rep. Maxine Waters (CA); Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA); Rep. Rush Holt (NJ); Rep. Maurice Hinchey (NY); Rep. Diane Watson (CA); Rep. Ed Pastor (AZ); Rep. Barney Frank (MA); Rep. Danny Davis (IL); Rep. John Conyers (MI); Rep. John Hall (NY); Rep. Bob Filner (CA); Rep. Nydia Velazquez (NY); Rep. Bobby Rush (IL); Rep. Charles Rangel (NY); Rep. Ed Towns (NY); Rep. Paul Hodes (NH); Rep. William Lacy Clay (MO); Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR); Rep. Albert Wynn (MD); Rep. Bill Delahunt (MA); Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC); Rep. G. K. Butterfield (NC); Rep. Hilda Solis (CA); Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY); Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY); Rep. Michael Honda (CA); Rep. Steve Cohen (TN); Rep. Phil Hare (IL); Rep. Grace Flores Napolitano (CA); Rep. Alcee Hastings (FL); Rep. James McGovern (MA); Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH); Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL); Rep. Julia Carson (IN); Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA); Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ); Rep. John Olver (MA); Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX); Rep. Jim McDermott (WA); Rep. Ed Markey (MA); Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA); Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ); Rep. Rubin Hinojosa (TX); Rep. Pete Stark (CA); Rep. Bobby Scott (VA); Rep. Jim Moran (VA); Rep. Betty McCollum (MN); Rep. Jim Oberstar (MN); Rep. Diana DeGette (CO); Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA); Rep. Artur Davis (AL); Rep. Hank Johnson (GA); Rep. Donald Payne (NJ); Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (MO); Rep. John Lewis (GA); Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY); Rep. Neil Abercrombie (HI); Rep. Gwen Moore (WI); Rep. Keith Ellison (MN); Rep. Tammy Baldwin (WI); Rep. Donna Christensen (USVI); Rep. David Scott (GA); Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL); Lois Capps (CA); Steve Rothman (NJ); Elijah Cummings (MD); and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).
Call me crazy, but the only Republican I recognize on the list is Ron Paul. That’s hardly what most thinking Americans would consider bipartisanship.
That's right.
65 Million dollars was cut from the state education budget by the California Assembly.
First we were told that the Assembly had no choice BUT to move $551 million of gas tax monies into the general fund,then we are told that the Assembly had agreed to tax credits for businesses at the same time the Assembly was eliminating them for school teachers.
Now we find out that they steal gas tax monies meant to be used for roads, then they go ahead and cut 65 million from education anyway.
Weasels.
Bowers Museum President and Newport Beach resident Peter Keller made several trips to China over a six year period, allegedly in an attempt to secure the rights to Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Terra Cotta Army.
President Peter Keller has visited China 54 times.
One problem.
The museum is funded by more than $ 2 million of Santa Ana taxpayer dollars a year.
So while the majority of city streets in Santa Ana are ranked as poor or worse by the cities very own Public Works Agency due to an alleged lack of funding, the city finds the millions needed to fund Peter Keller's frequent trips to China and his exorbitant salary.
And while the city owns the Bowers museum and the land that it sits on, it will charge residents $ 20 to $ 22 for and adult ticket to see the Warriors.
Why should residents of Santa Ana pay the same price as neighbors of Peter Keller's from Newport Beach, even after Santa Ana handed over $ 2 million dollars better spent on roads, parks or public safety?
The Assembly has passed the budget onto the Senate, who then spent last night locked in Chambers in an attempt to get it done.
Let's see how long it takes the Senate to come to terms.
21 days late and counting.
Will Mirthala Salinas affair with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's spell trouble for her job?
Excerpts of the text of the Los Angeles Times story are below:
Mirthala Salinas was a rising star at one of Los Angeles' premier Spanish-language television stations before she came to be known as the other woman in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's life.
A respected and aggressive journalist, she anchored a newscast that won two local Emmy Awards at KVEA-TV Channel 52 during her 10 years at the Telemundo station. She earned a Golden Mike broadcasting award as well.
"She was very smart and always had her finger on the pulse of the community," said one former Telemundo executive, who recalled the 35-year-old newscaster as poised and articulate.
Now, Salinas' career hangs in the balance as Telemundo executives decide as early as Monday whether to fire her for having a romantic relationship with Villaraigosa while she was covering him as a political reporter.
Salinas' relationship with Villaraigosa had long been an open secret in Telemundo's Burbank newsroom, although it is unclear whether her colleagues were also aware she had previously dated Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) and former City Council President Alex Padilla, now a state senator.
The executives who are reviewing her case want to know whether Salinas, who is on paid leave, fully disclosed the nature of her relationship with Villaraigosa. They are also examining how station managers handled the situation.
In addition, they are investigating the decision that Salinas would deliver the June 8 news of Villaraigosa's separation from his wife, Corina, when station managers were aware that she had been part of the story, according to a person familiar with the probe. They also want to know whether Salinas presented viewers any other news about the mayor after she was taken off the political beat about 11 months ago.
Salinas, a native of Mexico who broke into journalism 17 years ago as a radio reporter in Phoenix, did not return phone calls seeking comment. But in a statement issued when Telemundo placed her on leave July 5, she voiced confidence that the internal review would exonerate her.
Revelations about her relationship with Villaraigosa — and the conflict of interest it raised for her — have damaged what many viewed as a stellar television career that began in 1993 at KTVW-TV Channel 33, a Univision affiliate in Phoenix.
That's where Salinas came to the attention of Carlos Jurado, then the station's newly appointed news director.
Though Salinas was working as a part-time reporter while attending college, Jurado said he saw immense potential in her presence and delivery. She was slender, beautiful, bilingual and, above all, hardworking and hard-charging.
"She just projected really well in front of the camera," Jurado recalled. "She was young, but she didn't look like a rookie."
Jurado said he decided to take a chance on the newcomer and give Salinas a shot as co-anchor of the evening news. Response from viewers was immediate.
"People liked her," he said.
Then League of Women Voters of Capistrano Bay is hosting a panel discussion today regarding immigration.
From 10 a.m. to noon at Mission Hospital, 26726 Crown Valley Parkway, Mission Viejo.
Panelist include Janna Evans of Homeland Security, Julie Puentes of St. Joseph Health Care System, Lisa Ramirez, an immigration lawyer, and Lt. Steve Bernardi, Mission Viejo chief of police.
Welcome to what should be a daily foray in the politics of Orange County California.
Watch as we grow and change right before your very eyes.
Grab yourself a beverage, get your mouse and keyboard ready and prepare for the adventure.
