The 1969 oil spill off of Santa Barbara that killed nearly 4,000 birds and ruined some of the state’s finest beaches is about to take one more victim:  the offshore drilling proposal by the Plains Exploration and Production Company (also known as PXP). 

Having faced some of the most agonizing budget decisions a State can make since the fairly mundane 2008 election, this November is the first time that Californians will have the opportunity to confront the wide array of proposed remedies and decide for themselves which of those remedies bears merit. This is a highly interesting moment, but also a highly dangerous one, for with it, as always, comes the potential for radical figures to overhaul key components of the Californian economy in arguably overambitious plans which throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Fed up with the two-party system, independents scored a huge victory for more open primaries in the Kentucky state senate.  Despite strong opposition from Democrats, the Kentucky Senate voted to allow registered independents the opportunity to participate in the primary elections.  The vote moves to the Kentucky House where Democrats comprise a majority, putting passage in jeopardy.

California is in an economic state of emergency.  With a punishing budget deficit, spending cuts and policy reform have become a necessity.  In Governor Schwarzenegger’s amended budget plan, the governor and his administration have proposed drastic fiscal reductions to social welfare programs such as CALWORKs, Medi-Cal, and Child Care Assistance.  These proposed cuts offer immediate relief to an ailing California economy.  However, this temporary relief comes at the expense of thousands of struggling families trying to make it through the worst economic fiasco they’

Governor Schwarzenegger is proposing the implementation of Automated Speed Enforcement, or ASE, systems across the state to offset proposed budget cuts to state trial courts. Not only does the proposed legislation to snag speeders in California lack any fiscal sense, it represents a direct assault on privacy rights as well as a severe conflict of interests for those prosecuting alleged offenders.

Sarah Palin has emerged as the unofficial leader of a national movement that is championing limited government, lower taxes, and less debt.  While Palin espouses a fiscally conservative platform, it would behoove supporters to test her platform against her record as a mayor, governor, vice presidential candidate, and grassroots celebrity.

In 2007, California produced 2.1% of its total electricity from biomass power plants. While this is just a small percentage of total power, it is unique in that the power generated is from what often would be dumped in landfills. In a very real sense, this power is created from our own garbage and leftovers. So, it’s a double win. New energy is created locally and what was an expense - trucking refuse to landfills and paying for the permits - now becomes an income stream, as the garbage gets turned into energy. 

It appears that recent government-proposed solutions to staggering financial circumstances are not working.  At the federal level, the Obama administration must deal with a pessimistic report that TARP funds aren’t lifting the struggling institutions it promised to help (TARP funds intended to assist in relieving the inflated housing bubble and in stimulating small businesses among other designated purposes).

I always thought I was an Evan Bayh Democrat. Today I became certain. In his surprise retirement announcement, Bayh was careful to make it clear that he had wearied of the partisanship on both sides of the aisle.

He identified specific irrational partisan acts by both Republicans and by Democrats.

But, the timing of his departure spoke loudly about his dissatisfaction with the entire Washington establishment.