As with all post-term limited freshmen classes, they came to Sacramento with lofty ambitions to represent their constituents or, in Capitol terminology, "do the people's business." The thirty or so legislators elected in November, 2002 are leaving or moving on to the Senate. So how did they do?

Collectively, they failed.

Around this time of the year, there are several seasons that come to mind, like the holiday season, the football season or even winter vegetables. But thanks to resourceful party planners for our beloved state legislators, we now renew the time-honored tradition of the fundraising season.

With the the chaos within the Republican Party over how to best rebuild themselves, the left leaning Huffinton Post has an intersting article on where they think the Republicans ought to focus their attention:

With all the party and media babble about who is better equipped to take over the Republican party in the wake of the bloodbath of the '08 election, it's impressive how deeply the pundits have been able to repress the memory of the Ron Paul campaign.

Proposition 8 continues to bitterly divide many parts of California, and Hollywood is not immune. The LA Times reports today that Hollywood businesses and public figuresare being targeted for their support of the same-sex marriage ban. From the Times:

Califonia is facing not only a budget crisis, but a one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. Today, the Governor issued the following statement:

"Our economy continues to be difficult,especially for people who have lost their jobs or who have begunlooking for one. As our state unemployment rate rises, myadministration continues to work hard to generate jobs and helpre-train people who have lost jobs in our hard-hit industries.

In order to generate revenue for our severe budget problem, the Governor is looking to tax some things you might not expect. From Market Watch:

In a recent announcement, Governor Schwarzenegger recommended broadening the Sales and Use Tax to include"luxury" items such as veterinary services, which is sure to cause an increase in animal shelter overpopulation. Animal welfare advocates across the state are joining forces and urging all pet owners to take action and contact the governor and state legislature to stop this tax.

As Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for raising taxes to solve our budget mess, a voice in the woods is calling for spending cuts rather than tapping into California's already highly taxed income. From the Sacremento Bee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democrats who dominate the California legislature agree the state needs to raise taxes to help stave off billions in budgetary red ink. But the governor faces a roadblock in his own party, Republican Assemblyman Mike Villines.

A few days ago, we reported that Gov. Schwarzenegger organized a lavish conference with world leaders on environmental concerns. Now, the Sacremento Bee reports that several California lawmakers are attending conferences all over the world. Yet, CAIVP has just received exclusive inside information that California is facing a budget crisis, leaving us pondering: where are our leaders and what are they going to do about our money problem?

Not satisfied with consuming our vigorous national political debate, the storm of “bipartisanship” has now begun striking in the West, aparently with the intention of spreading not just purple mountain majesties, but purple voting as well, all across the fruited plain. No doubt the idea of bipartisanship is attractive, but it assumes a definition of bipartisan which is synonymous with "consensus" and which is, in fact, the opposite of what the word ought to mean.

When Jonn McCain and Barack Obama rushed back to the White House prior to the election to make sure the $700 billion dollar bailout plan succeeded, many Americans where understandably concerned about the implications of such a consolidation of financial power and wealth. Little did most Americans know how quickly bailout spending would spiral out of control.