• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 19th on 09:44

    These are my links for April 19th from 09:44 to 09:54:

    • Rob Stutzman is in final push to delay NBA’a Sacramento Kings’ move – Sacramento political consultant Rob Stutzman is on the verge of tossing a wrench into Joe and Gavin Maloof's efforts to move the Sacramento Kings to Anaheim.

      By early this week, Stutzman expects to have collected roughly 11,000 signatures needed to challenge by referendum Anaheim City Council's $75 million deal to upgrade that arena where the Kings would play, and help the Maloofs with the cost of relocating.

      "What we're doing is very real and matters legally," Stutzman said, adding that he can gather the requisite number of signatures with "one arm tied behind my back."

      He does, however, need a little more money. But assuming he gets it–and there are some wealthy people who have an interest in his success–the referendum would place the Anaheim financing deal on hold until the next election, likely in June 2012, long after the next basketball season is over.

      Stutzman's effort comes as lobbyist Darius Anderson and billionaire Ron Burkle press to try to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

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      With the Clippers and Lakers in LA, I really don't see that much of a market in Orange County anyway.

      But, if the Sacramento Kings owners want to move the team and they are foiled then suppose they can sell.

    • California State leadership PACs loading up – California lawmakers are preparing to bankroll their congressional colleagues, some more aggressively than others.
      In new campaign filings, a special leadership committee established by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, surpasses most of its congressional competitors in amount of money stockpiled.
      Nunes can use the $120,000 he's saved to help his colleagues, and himself. But though he stands out, he's not alone. From conservatives like Nunes and Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, to liberals like Lois Capps, D-San Luis Obispo, incumbents are forming leadership fundraising committees in record numbers.
      "It's something that as part of the team you're expected to do," Nunes said. "It's a way for me to help my colleagues, and possibly my future colleagues."
      More than 400 leadership political action committees are currently registered with the Federal Election Commission. They enable lawmakers to collect contributions in chunks of up to $5,000 each, and then distribute the money to colleagues. They also enable contributors to effectively increase the amount they give to politicians.

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      Read it all.

      With redistricting California Reps. had better stock up and stock up fast since some of their CD's will be competitive.

    • Arnold Schwarzenegger defends Nuñez sentence reduction, slams Whitman | – Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger justified his eleventh-hour sentence reduction for the son of a fellow Sacramento politician, saying “of course you help a friend” and that he felt good about the decision.

      Schwarzenegger came under heavy fire for the move, which took place hours before he left office in January. In May, former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez’s son Esteban accepted a plea deal in the death of Luis Santos, a 22-year-old college student. Schwarzenegger decided to reduce the sentence from 16 years to seven years, which infuriated prosecutors as well as the victim's family, which was not notified beforehand.

      “I understand people’s disappointments. I understand the parents’ anger. I would probably feel the same way,” Schwarzenegger told Newsweek in an article published Sunday. “My office definitely made a mistake in not notifying the parents beforehand … and I’m ultimately responsible.

      “I feel good about the decision …. I happen to know the kid really well. I don’t apologize about it,” said Schwarzenegger, who noted in his commutation order that Esteban Nuñez, 21, did not deliver the fatal wound that led to Santos’ death. “There’s criticism out there. I think it’s just because of our working relationship and all that. It maybe was kind of saying, ‘That’s why he did it.’ Well, hello! I mean, of course you help a friend.”

      ======

      Arnold was the worst California Governor EVER.

      Help a friend?

      What an idiot……

      Next time I see him riding his bicycle in Santa Monica I think I will shout out to him on what a despicable moron he is.

      And, yeah….no more movie tickets with him starring.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 30th on 18:06

    These are my links for March 30th from 18:06 to 18:20:

    • Budget Negotiators Reach Tentative Deal To Avert Government Shutdown – Sources tell me that  budget negotiators on Capitol Hill have tentatively agreed on a deal that would involve at least $33 billion in spending cuts from this year’s budget.  That’s $23 billion dollars more than Democrats have previously agreed to in short-term continuing resolutions, and $28 billion less than Republicans previously passed in the House.

      Members of the House Appropriations Committee will begin discussing how to hit that number with their Senate counterparts as soon as tonight, and Vice President Biden is heading to Capitol Hill for a 6pm meeting with the Senate Democratic leadership.

      The deal could still fall apart over the composition of the cuts, or policy “riders” previously passed by the House. These include issues like de-funding Planned Parenthood and President Obama’s health care legislation.  It’s also not clear that this compromise will fly with rank-and-file House Republicans, which means that the $33 billion goal could still climb by a few billion.  But this is most significant progress since the beginning of negotiations.

      Update: Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the Speaker of the House, tells me "“There is no agreement on a number for the spending cuts. Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.”

      ======

      OK for this year but only with a balance budget amendment.

    • Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as ‘The Governator’ – He’s been a famous body builder. He’s been a killer cyborg from the future. He’s been Governor of California. And now, in this week’s exclusive cover scoop, Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals his plans for the next phase of his extraordinary career: He’s going be a cartoon superhero, known as The Governator. “When I ran for governor back in 2003 and I started hearing people talking about ‘the Governator,’ I thought the word was so cool,” Schwarzenegger, 63, tells EW in his first press interview since leaving office last January. (Watch an EW-exclusive video of Schwarzenegger talking about the project.) “The word Governator combined two worlds: the world of politics and the movie world. And [this cartoon] brings everything together. It combines the governor, the Terminator, the bodybuilding world, the True Lies…” 
      The animated TV show and comic book, being co-developed by no less a superhero authority than Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee (pictured, right), won’t be out until next year,…

      ======

      Hope the cartoon ends up better than his Governorship which was horrible.

    • Barack Obama authorizes secret help for Libya rebels – President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

      Obama signed the order, known as a presidential "finding", within the last two or three weeks, according to government sources familiar with the matter.

      Such findings are a principal form of presidential directive used to authorize secret operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. This is a necessary legal step before such action can take place but does not mean that it will.

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      Read it all.

    • Barack Obama’s jaw-dropping hypocrisy on energy – McConnell gave a speech on the Senate floor this morning that including these zingers:

      Over the past two years, the administration has undertaken what can only be described as a war on American energy. It’s cancelled dozens of drilling leases. It’s declared a moratorium on drilling off the Gulf Coast. It’s increased permit fees. It has prolonged public comment periods. In short, it’s done just about everything it can to keep our own energy sector from growing. As a result, thousands of U.S. workers have lost their jobs, as companies have been forced to look elsewhere for a better business climate.

      Consider this: just three of the areas we could tap in Alaska are thought to hold enough oil to replace our crude imports from the Persian Gulf for nearly 65 years. So the problem isn’t that we need to look elsewhere for our energy. The problem is that Democrats don’t want us to use the energy we have. It’s enough to make you wonder whether anybody in the White House has driven by a gas station lately.

      =======

      Well, at least he made a speech on energy – finally.

      The Democrats will do nothing to end American dependence on foreign oil by domestic exploration and drilling.