After reading my post of yesterday, questioning just how the challenger to Dennis Hollingsworth in a27%Dem district could possibly live up to his fantasy of raising $1.6 million, Assemblyman George Plescia shot me an email.

George says hefinds itmost funnythat Dennis’ opponent wants to raise $1.6 million, yet accepted the voluntaryspendinglimits that dictate he can only spend $1,003,000.

D’oh!

I guess I’ll simply refer back to the Phil LaVelle-penned SDUT article on this for the quote that says it all. Bruce Cain of UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies said, “When you’ve got a gap like 50 percent to 27 percent, you’re smoking something if you think you’re going to overcome those odds."… Read More

The gay and lesbian community in San Francisco is up in arms, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, because of a comment KGO radio talk show host Pete Wilson (and KGO TV anchor) made yesterday on air. Wilson was discussing the fact that Supervisor Bevan Duffy, an openly gay man, and his roommate, Rebecca Goldfader, a lesbian, are co-parenting a newborn. The baby was born last week. The two, who are not in a romantic relationship with each other, live in separate units in a duplex and share parenting duties. KGO-TV reported the story on Oct. 9th.

On yesterday’s radio show,… Read More

Conservatives for Correa? Rumor is a group of disenchanted Republican “Conservatives” are joining together in order to form an organization called “Conservatives for Correa”. Note to prospective members of this new and wonderful club: you are now entering the realm of what the Communist Party Bosses used to call “Useful Fools”.

But before I start digging let me make the following disclosure: I worked in and around the Assembly for the whole of the time Lynn Daucher served. She is probably the one Republican member I can state without reservation that I have exchanged almost no social time with. I spent a couple of hours with her on 9-11 (which hardly drew the kind of banter where you get to know someone’s cut) and maybe a few words here or there. To me, for the most part, she is literally just votes on a list.

And so is Correa. I couldn’t (and hopefully won’t have to) pick him out of a line-up. Just votes on a list. And watching those votes over the years I’ll argue without hesitation that while I disagree with Assemblywoman Daucher from time to time, and maybe more often than that, there is in my… Read More

Yesterday was a good day for Steve Poizner.

Just before noon, Chris Reed posted on the San Diego Union-Tribune’s blog about their editorial board meeting with Bill Lockyer where the Democrat Attorney General took out a sharp knife and proceeded to insert it between Democrat Insurance Commish candidate Cruz Bustamante’s shoulder blades, refusing to even say he planned on voting for the current Lt. Governor.

Then, at 2, Steve got to debate Cruz before the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board. If you didn’t get a chance to watch it this afternoon, you should take a look. Steve’s drubbing of Cruz was actually quite entertaining.

Just one snippet: One of the Chron’s folks asked Steve why Cruz repeatedly was misquoting how much money Steve had dropped into his campaign coffers. Steve’s dead pan response, “he can’t add right.”

I died laughing.

It’s fun when one of the good guys looks like he’s going to win, and if today was any indication, that’s what now looks to be just a… Read More

This is a huge, muted victory for biomedical ethics, a victory that was won in the free market (an added bonus, though not essential in these cases).

An exerpt:

"Genetic Savings and Clone, a biotechnology company that sold cloned pets, sent letters to its customers last month informing them it will close at the end of the year because of little demand for costly cloned cats. The company had recently reduced the price from $50,000 to $32,000. The company also failed in its attempts to clone pet dogs.

"The letters said the Sausalito company was not accepting new orders for clones because it was ‘unable to develop the technology to the point that cloning pets is commercially viable.’"

This is where I part from a generally libertarian ethos. The inevitabilities of GS&C‘s work were horrifying to contemplate. I’m glad it’s done, for it provides government more time to weigh the issue. And government must weigh this issue. Medical… Read More

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Rev. Amos Brown, a major liberal voice in San Francisco and former SF supervisor, is a huge supporter of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger…today. In 2004, he called Schwarzenegger “dishonest” and “disingenuous” for allowing himself to be part of the “national axis of evil.” Today, after receiving $15,000 in campaign payments plus travel expense reimbursements, Brown is starring in a Schwarzenegger campaign ad in which he calls Schwarzenegger an “exceptional governor.” For their part, the Schwarzenegger campaign says they are proud to have Brown’s “wise counsel and support.”

It’s great that Schwarzenegger, like many Republican gubernatorial candidates before him, is reaching out to the African American community around the state. It’s unfortunate, though, that Brown was put on the payroll. It may be that he would have agreed to be in a Schwarzenegger commercial without the payoff but once money is involved with such a key (and surprising) endorsement, it can’t help to raise questions about the sincerity of the endorsement.… Read More

FR friend Joel Fox, the President of the Small Business Action Committee, guest writes today’s FR Commentary, with a critical eye on Phil Angelides tax ‘cut’ plan…

Let’s accept that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides really wants to cut taxes as he recently pronounced; that the proposal is not a cynical attempt to buy votes after years and years of promoting tax increases. The obvious question: Is the tax cut proposal offered by Angelides a plus for the taxpayers and businesses of California? The answer must be viewed from a wide angle considering not only the tax cut proposals but what other policies Angelides offers and supports that will affect the economy and the state budget.

The Democratic nominee’s new tax plan offers tax credits for some individuals and tax exemptions for smaller businesses. At the same time he continues to call for raising taxes on upper income taxpayers, those making $250,000 or… Read More

FR friend Joel Fox, the President of the Small Business Action Committee, guest writes today’s FR Commentary, with a critical eye on Phil Angelides tax ‘cut’ plan…

Let’s accept that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides really wants to cut taxes as he recently pronounced; that the proposal is not a cynical attempt to buy votes after years and years of promoting tax increases. The obvious question: Is the tax cut proposal offered by Angelides a plus for the taxpayers and businesses of California? The answer must be viewed from a wide angle considering not only the tax cut proposals but what other policies Angelides offers and supports that will affect the economy and the state budget.

The Democratic nominee’s new tax plan offers tax credits for some individuals and tax exemptions for smaller businesses. At the same time he continues to call for raising taxes on upper income taxpayers, those making $250,000 or… Read More