• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for July 15th on 13:33

    These are my links for July 15th from 13:33 to 13:51:

    • California Dream Act sent to Governor Jerry Brown – AB 130 and AB 131: California Dream Act of 2011
      Assemblyman Gil Cedillo

      The state senate passed and sent to Gov. Brown the first of two Dream Act bills by Assemblyman Cedillo allowing some undocumented college students to apply for private scholarships at California’s state colleges and universities.

      None of this money comes from the state budget; it’s from private donors who establish scholarships administered through UC, Cal State and community colleges.  To be eligible, students will have to meet the requirements for paying in-state tuition under AB 540, a 2001 law that applies to any student, citizen or not, who attended a California high school for at least three years and graduated or earned a GED.

      The bill passed by a vote of 26 to 11 along party lines, with one exception.  Republican State Senator Anthony Cannella voted with the majority.  In a prepared statement, Cannella said, “Having an educated workforce will be critical to the future strength and health of our economy, and giving eligible high-school graduates the opportunity to apply for private scholarship funds – at no cost to California taxpayers – is consistent with this goal.”

      It may also help that his district, which covers Merced, Monterey and Salinas, is more than 55 percent Latino. It also has more registered Democrats than Republicans.

      Cedillo’s companion bill, AB 131, faces a tougher road.  That one would let AB 540 students apply for state financial aid through the CalGrants program.  AB 131 was placed on the senate appropriations committee suspense file and won’t be considered until late August.

      Status:  On the Governor’s desk.  Gov. Brown hasn’t said whether he’ll sign AB 130, however, his spokesman says the Governor “continues to support the principles behind the Dream Act and will closely consider legislation that reaches his desk.”

      =======

      Open borders mentality is bankrupting California.

    • State GOP chairman assails redistricting panel, threatens referendum – On the day when the Citizens Redistricting Commission had originally planned to put out a second draft of proposed political district maps, the panel Thursday found itself under sharp partisan attack from the state Republican Party, whose chairman asserted its process had been "overtaken by partisanship and incompetence."

      GOP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro said the party will attempt to qualify a referendum for the ballot to overturn the commission's final maps if they "remotely resemble the most recent visualizations."

      Rather than formally release a second set of draft maps, commissioners have been working daily with their line-drawers to revise initial drafts in response to public comments. The modified maps, called "visualizations," are posted on the commission's website and will be the building blocks for the final plan, scheduled to be voted upon on July 28.

      Commissioner Angelo Ancheta of San Francisco, who is serving as chairman this week under the panel's rotating schedule of leadership, rejected Del Beccaro's assertion that partisan considerations are influencing the map-making process.

      ======

      Read it all.

      The reapportionment will end up in the California Supreme Court anyway.

      The California Citizen's Redistricting Commission is a colossal waste of time.

      The law should be changed to allow the California Supreme Court to do it directly.

    • State Senate OKs bill to move California’s presidential primary to June – Californians won't choose their 2012 presidential nominees until June under legislation that's heading to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk.

      Assembly Bill 80, by Democratic Assemblyman Paul Fong, would move the presidential primary from February of next year to June, consolidating it with the statewide primary election. The bill was approved by the state Senate on a vote of 34-3.

      Supporters said consolidating the two statewide elections would save state and local officials roughly $100 million. They also pointed out that national political parties have moved to impose sanctions on states that hold their primaries as early in the cycle as California had planned.

      "This is a bill where we're putting politics to the side. … We have to be fiscally prudent with the taxpayers' dollars," said Sen. Kevin DeLeón, D-Los Angeles, who presented the bill on the floor.

      The move was largely opposed by Republicans who said moving the date so late in the cycle would put Californian voters and issues on the back burner for candidates competing for their party's nomination, though some said they "reluctantly" decided to vote for the measure because of the cost savings involved. They said they would prefer to consolidate the primaries to one March date, a concession Republicans had sought during early budget negotiations.

      =======

      In 2008, it was decided by California anyway. Might as well move it back to June.

  • Amazon Tax,  Internet Sales Taxes

    California’s Amazon Tax Referendum Faces Epic Legal Battle

    Dan Walter’s has the story here of the challenge to the recently enacted California Amazon Internet Sales Tax Legislation.

    But will the referendum run afoul of Proposition 25 – the 2010 initiative ballot measure, which public employee unions sponsored, to reduce the legislative vote margin on the budget and its trailer bills from two-thirds to simple majorities?

    Before any ballot battle, the rivals are poised for a legal showdown.

    The tax measure, Assembly Bill X1 28, appropriates $1,000 to the Board of Equalization for administration.

    Democrats placed token appropriations in trailer bills to qualify for simple majority votes under Proposition 25, and one section of the state constitution says appropriations are not subject to referendum.

    Two Democratic legislators declared Thursday that the referendum is invalid due to Proposition 25. But Amazon cites multiple declarations by Proposition 25’s supporters that it would not dilute voters’ referendum rights, plus an opinion from the Legislature’s counsel to that effect.

    Last August, for instance, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez issued a statement that, if Proposition 25 passed, it “will not allow a majority of the Legislature to use budget trailer bills to enact new ‘referendum-proof’ programs or requirements,” adding, “Any attempt by this or any future Legislature to circumvent this right would be in clear violation of California’s constitution.”

    The Amazon petition is now before Attorney General Kamala Harris. She could conceivably declare it to be invalid under Proposition 25, thereby triggering a legal battle with Amazon’s attorneys attacking Proposition 25’s validity.

    Harris is more likely, however, to clear the referendum for signature-gathering. But if and when Amazon submits the signatures for certification, the California Retailers Association is poised to challenge them under Proposition 25.

    Either way the entire matter will head to the California Supreme Court where the referendum process will be examined under the precepts of Proposition 25. Then, there will either be an election and/or a federal court challenge.

    These taxes will not be collected, nor shall the California treasury be enriched for a long long time.

  • GOP,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 GOP Watch: Majority of Republicans Cannot Name a Presidential Favorite



    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    More than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 58%, do not express a preference when asked in an open-ended format — with no candidates’ names read — whom they are most likely to support for the party’s 2012 presidential nomination. Those who do have a preference most often mention Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann.

    The July 7-10 poll result illustrates the uncertainty surrounding who the Republican challenger to President Barack Obama is likely to be in the 2012 presidential election. The high level of “no opinion” responses suggests that many Republicans are not highly engaged in the campaign to this point, and may be unclear about who is running. It also could indicate that Republicans who are familiar with the GOP field may not yet feel comfortable backing a particular candidate for the nomination.

    So, what does this mean?

    Most folks, unless they are pundits, are NOT focusing on the 2012 Presidential race. The top three candidates are without a doubt Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. As time drifts towards Halloween and the debates start, voters will become more engaged and the GOP field will be set.

    Now, whether the average American voter can name the candidates beside Obama, that may be another story.

    Most people just don’t care.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for July 14th through July 15th

    These are my links for July 14th through July 15th:

    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: July 15, 2011 – The Morning Drill: July 15, 2011
    • Day By Day July 15, 2011 – Real Estate | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day July 15, 2011 – Real Estate #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-07-15 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-07-15 #tcot #catcot
    • CA-36: Newly elected Janice Hahn may find trouble in new congressional maps – latimes.com – The newest member of Congress could be among the most adversely affected by new political maps currently being considered by the state's redistricting commission.

      Democratic Congresswoman-elect Janice Hahn of San Pedro could find herself in a new district that runs along the coast from the South Bay to Malibu, and stretching inland to grab parts of West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. Much of that district is currently represented by Rep. Henry Waxman. The other option for Hahn is a Long Beach district that has none of her South Bay political base and also includes two other Democratic incumbents -– Reps. Linda Sanchez and Laura Richardson.

      Democratic consultant Paul Mitchell, who has been actively monitoring the redistricting process, says Hahn could be “in serious trouble."

      "She’s losing the seat that she just won,” Mitchell said.

      Mitchell says that under new working maps released by the commission this week, the number of Latino seats in Los Angeles is likely to increase, while one of the basin’s three African American congressional seats could disappear.

      Meanwhile, criticism, political challenges and legal threats are mounting against the commission as its members continue to tinker with California’s political maps.

      This week, Republican state party chairman Tom Del Beccarro charged that “the process intended to provide fair redistricting has been overtaken by partisanship and incompetence.”

  • American Economy,  Polling

    Poll Watch: For Many Americans the Economic Recession Persists

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    More Americans continue to struggle to access basic necessities than before the 2008 economic crisis. The U.S. earned a Basic Access Index score of 82.0 in June — about on par with the low point of 81.5 recorded in February and March of 2009 — and down compared with 83.6 measured in June 2008.

    The current score is more than two points lower than the highest measured point of 84.1 in October 2008, revealing that nearly 5 million fewer Americans today have access to the basic necessities of life compared to that time.

    These findings are based on approximately 29,000 interviews conducted each month from January 2008 through June 2011 with American adults as a part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The Basic Access Index is a 13-item measure of Americans’ access to basic necessities, ranging from food and shelter to clean water and healthcare.

    Fewer Americans have health insurance or a personal physician

    Americans’ access to health insurance declined the most among the items included in the Basic Access Index. In June 2011, 82.1% reported having health insurance, continuing a steady decline from 85.4% in June 2008. Fewer Americans also report having a personal doctor and visiting the dentist at least once in the last 12 months. “Enough money to buy food at all times in the last 12 months” is also trending lower compared to 2008 and 2009.

    The chart:

    So, what does this all mean?

    I would not want to be an incumbent politician running in 2012. Voters who cannot meet basic needs will eventually lash out at the ballot box.

    The idea that the 2008 economic recession is over is a fallacy.

    The continued lack of recovery in the Basic Access Index metrics overall in 2011 shows that Americans are still lagging behind prior years in terms of their access to the basic necessities that foster a healthy, productive life. While Gallup has documented the decline in access to health insurance in recent years, important elements of healthcare including Americans’ ability to maintain a personal doctor and visit the dentist have also been casualties of the economic recession. This means millions fewer American adults have those basic needs met now than did before the financial crisis, despite modest improvements found in some areas. These results lend further evidence to the sluggishness of the current economic recovery, and underscore in real terms the health impact of the recession on the lives of American adults.

  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day

    Day By Day July 15, 2011 – Real Estate

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    The whole idea of the President of the United States having to walk out of a debt ceiling meeting leaves everyone suspecting that their judgment of Obama is correct. He is an ego-centric, immature POL who will FLEE when the going gets tough. Remember when the McCain campaign nicknamed Obama “The One.”

    Not a good character trait for someone who is the leader of the “free world.”

    Now, a President who has not lead on deficit reducation and not produced a budget in the last two years, is giving the Congress and Republican Leaders a 36 hour deadline.

    How quaint.

    Obama has been AWOL and now expects immediate action – HIS WAY.

    What will POTUS do next = leave for Europe and declare he won’t be back until the Republicans do THEIR job?

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