Extra taxes on such goods as alcohol and tobacco are sometimes referred to as “sin taxes,” since, as the name suggests, they are seen as vices.  When buying a loaf of bread at the market, you may have noticed that you will not be charged an additional tax, whereas if you go to buy a bottle of wine or a pack of cigarettes, you will incur that charge. Such extra taxes were set up (particularly on cigarettes) as a form of social punishment for those who still choose to exercise their God-given rights as Americans and smoke a cancer stick or twelve each day.

Avatar's pro-environment, anti-war ideology has been thoroughly scrutinized by political pundits on both sides of the aisle.  One aspect of their critical analysis that has been missing, however, is the prospect of an Avatar-type, 3rd party candidate in 2012.  At first glance, such a proposition may seem implausible, even repugnant to the Right, but it may not be as far fetched as some believe.

My recent article promoting Medicare as a solution to the crisis in health insurance costs and availability started a lively discussion about the pros and cons of the 44-year-old program signed into law by Lyndon Baines Johnson.  My personal story about Medicare was anecdotal in nature, and many of the responses were also based on personal experiences.  So I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some hard numbers about Medicare’s effectiveness and popularity.

Earlier this week I was reading AB 347, a bill that is currently circulating in Washington DC. The summary reads as follows:  "Allows an individual or a corporate taxpayer to deduct a charitable contribution made for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Haiti on the taxpayer's 2009 tax return, instead of the 2010 tax return."

Mandates, funded or unfunded, aren’t unique to the federal government -- the state imposes 51 on school districts and community colleges, with one requirement costing as much as $200 million annually.  California’s constitution says schools must be reimbursed for any actions the state commands them to perform –everything from scoliosis screening to truancy notifications – but to save money, the state routinely postpones payment or temporarily suspends school compliance requirements.

Maybe Carly Fiorina should spend less time counting sheep and more time boning up on Government 101.

When asked whether California should turn to bankruptcy to deal with its budget problems, the former Hewlett Packard exec replied, "I think it should always be considered. Whether that is the right approach now, I don't know. I think bankruptcy, as a possibility, at the very least focuses the mind on what has to be done to salvage a situation."

Problem? States can’t seek bankruptcy protection. Oops. Maybe the Devil made her do it.

First, it was GOP victories in the gubernatorial elections of Virginia and New Jersey.  Just last month, it was the senatorial election of Scott Brown who claimed a historic Republican victory in the bluest of blue states, Massachusetts.  Finally, it was Sarah Palin speaking before the Tea Party convention in Tennessee, claiming the time had come for a revolution and that the GOP would be ready to deliver this revolution to the people.  With these electoral victories and Palin’s efforts to consolidate the Tea Party movement behind the GOP, it appears that conservatives h

California's Food and Agriculture Secretary, A.G. Kawamura, is encouraging farmers to attend a three month long boot camp for global marketing. Over six sessions, small to medium sized producers will learn the ins and outs of exporting their specialty crops. In a press release last week, Kawamura claimed “Exports are a vital component of our farm economy.” I think he has that backwards.

The Southern California Public Power Authority is partnering with Ice Energy in a utility-scale distributed energy project to reduce electrical demand for air conditioning. Currently, when temperatures rise, air conditioners are all going at once and electrical demand soars. This puts huge stress on the grid and is more expensive for users, as rates are higher during the day.

For the first time, slightly over 20% of the state's registered voters are officially classified as 'Decline to State'.  Some political analysts also posit that this statistic is underreported, since those voters who check off the American Independent Party, likely consider themselves to be independents.  Democrats comprise nearly 45% of the electorate, while Republicans come in at almost 31%.