| Links a-plenty:
• Carly Fiorina has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I know she was considering a 2010 Senate run against Barbara Boxer. I agree with approximately none of her policy prescriptions for the country, but I wish her the best.
• It's considered a great victory that the members of the California Congressional delegation are sitting down to a meeting together. That's because it's the first one in two years. Maybe they can talk about that proposal to split the state in two, therefore ending the need to have such meetings!
• This is truly incredible. You may remember that Duf Sundheim, a former chair of the Yacht Party, started a group called "California Republicans Aligned for Tomorrow" (CRAFT, a synonym for yacht) designed to recruit moderate candidates and take back California for Christ the Republicans. Calitics had some fun with it when it launched. Well, it turns out that Sundheim took $900,000 in salary and benefits for the gig, without, to my knowledge, recruiting one candidate or doing much of anything. When questioned, Sundheim couldn't name one candidate CRAFT is recruiting, saying that "the group has decided to stay low-profile". Far be it from me to quote Jon Fleischman, but he said, "Most party chairmen do their time, do their service and move on... It would appear from these filings that the sole purpose of CRAFT is to pay Sundheim's salary." Ah, schadenfreude.
• The California DMV has amended its medical marijuana policies to allow physician-approved patients to operate motor vehicles in the same way anyone else on prescription drugs would. There is a slow retrenchment of demonizing and unfair drug policies in the state.
• High speed rail by 2015 in the Central Valley? With Merced to Bakersfield the likely first route?
• Property crime is soaring in Bakersfield, Modesto and Stockton, at rates far higher than New York City or Los Angeles. This is an offshoot of runaway unemployment and foreclosures. |
