We got Tickets

Thank heaven for my non-puntual sister. We're going out of town for a few days, and she was supposed to be here an hour or so ago. But she's not, the mailman arrived, my invite for the Schwarzenegger Swearing-In arrived, and I've called to reserve us some seats.

Yahooooo

Who's Running in March?

Just checked the Declaration of Intention list at the Secretary of State. This is where the potential candidates for the California legislature had to inform the public that they might run for office in March. The deadline was November 5th.

I was surprized to see that the list looks kind of boring. The only snappy new name I saw on it was Jeff Gorell. He'll be a candidate in Ventura County for the seat that Tony Strickland currently holds.

There are lots of good incumbents running for re-elect, or moving on up, but I thought we'd see alot of action, people running in districts where the reg numbers weren't that great, etc.

Does anybody know anything good about any other candidates?

Update: Oops, I forgot. If the incumbent does not file for re-election, there is a five day grace period for additional candidates to file. Or something like that.

Another Update: I asked my friends from the Bear Flag League to fill me in on the legislative candidates. I got the following e-mail from the Angry Clam

I know one of the dems running in the primary for my district.

His name is Richard Groper. Yes, Virginia, there really is a Dick Groper.

Here's a blurb on him:

RICHARD GROPER, 36, is white and a full-time professor of political science at CSU Fullerton. He also teaches part-time at UCLA. Groper is Political Action chair and public policy advocate for the California Faculty Association and a delegate to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. He has a bachelor's from UC Santa Barbara and a master's and Ph.D. from USC. He is a life-long resident of the Assembly district, active in his community and local synagogue, Congregation Mogen David. Richard Groper for Assembly (ID# 1253586); Democratic consultant Fred Register is managing the campaign.

However, apparently he sucks as a professor, as evidenced by the sheer number of bad reviews he's received:

My favorite passage from the quotes:

Professor Groper is UCLA's biggest shame. Any positive comments made on this page were probably written by Professor Groper himself in attempt to salvage any sort of reputation as a serious teacher. Professor Groper is an irresponsible fool who has somehow gotten to the position where he can ruin other people's GPAs and academic progress. Lecture: Two hours of Professor Groper somehow working in alcohol and pornography jokes when discussing "research methods" What very very little research concepts he does mention, could be summed up in less than 15 minutes each lecture. Instead you sit and watch him ramble off inappropriate "jokes." This would be fine if he graded accordingly.

TAC

The Luckiest Guy

The LAT (or Dog Trainer) gets a few things right about Kevin McCarthy. He's lucky, he's fun, he's smart. You couldn't ask for a better friend.

We're Winning the Cultural War! How bout that!


The City Journal validates what we all know (or suspect) to be true, The combo of cable TV, the internet and the capitalist impulses of the publishing industry, have opened the doors for new ideas to bloom and grow.

Money Quote:

The Left's near monopoly over the institutions of opinion and information -- which long allowed liberal opinion makers to sweep aside ideas and beliefs they disagreed with, as if they were beneath argument -- is skidding to a startlingly swift halt.

Another indicator of the tide's turn are box office receipts and billboard charts of some of the outspoken liberal celebrities. George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Madonna et al, although still rich, aren't making the kind of money they would like.

Hat Tip to 4 Right Wing Wackos

Orange County Tea Party

I am going to be in OC this weekend for the Irish Tenor cousin's wedding (you should hear him sing - and play the piano) and my sister and I want to host a baby shower for my biological niece at a cute tea house, cafe, garden spot, dessert diner or something similar in Cypress or very close. My sister gave her up for adoption 30 years ago or so, and my niece found my sister about 10 years ago. On the birth certificate, my sister had listed our last name and the fact that she went to Sac State. My niece came to the Sac State library and looked at the yearbooks and tracked my sister down. She's delightful, and grew up with a businessman dad and artist mom in Beverly Hills.

So, not being a southern californian, I really need some good ideas about where I might be able to host a casual event. There will only be 6 - 10 of us and we're going to do this between the wedding at 2pm and dinner at 6pm.

Please come through with some ideas.

Sometimes I Think Like A Man

I followed the Calblog's link to the Gender Genie to get analyzed.

When I posted about Arnold making nice with McC, they were 62% positive I was a woman (Female Score 261/Male Score - 154)

When I posted about Steve Samuelian, the Genie was 100% positive I was a man (Female Score 0 - Male Score 127)

But Big Schock-o ...When I postd the 100 Things You Should Do In California - The Genie things I'm a man. That Genie can't read. Only women could do that many fun things. Men are too serious.

Ted Costa is Brilliant

The Insider reports that Ted has got quite a plan to fix our disastrous reapportionment problem.

New district lines for 2006?

Ted Costa and Peoples Advocate, sponsors of the Davis Recall, today unveiled a proposed ballot measure to change the way political district lines are drawn. Costa's plan would allow legislative leaders to appoint 20 Californians to a pool from which the Judicial Council would select three special masters to make the decision. The masters would choose a plan from among those submitted by lawmakers and citizens groups. The choice would then go back to the Legislature for ratification and, finally, to a vote of the people. Costa hopes to qualify the measure for the November, 2004 ballot. If approved by the voters, the plan would take effect immediately, meaning that new districts would go into effect for the 2006 elections, even as voters had before them the question of whether they approve of those districts.


Posted by dweintraub at 01:42 PM

I think this means that after the voters approve the initiative, the masters select a plan and the legislature votes to ratify the plan. When the campaigns for the legislature and congress start, voters will choose who they're going to support in the primaries, and when they go to the polls they'll vote for their candidate and yes on the district lines. Seems like it will be easy to get a yes vote on the district lines when people have already committed to voting for a candidate running in that district. The hard part will be getting the legislature to ratify. Wonder if there is a back-up plan if they refuse.

A beautiful aspect of this is it will all be accomplished during Arnold's first term. He'll be there to veto any horrific plan and to lobby for the acceptance of a good plan. But just in case he doesn't like being governor and decides he doesn't want a second term, he'll have accomplished the most important thing he can do for the Republican Party.

As you all know, I'm crazy for Arnold and hope that he'll want to run for reelection and stay involved in the party for a long long while. But politics can be very ugly and lots of people don't like it once they see the ugliness.

I Told You So

The Clam and Ben both suggested that Arnold would be sabotaging McC's re-election chances. I argued at the time that putting Beth Rogers on the transition was a sign that Arnold would be trying to assist McC. I was right. It looks like he not only scared the moderate republican out of the race, but has scared the Dem out as well.

Things You Should Do in America

Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, I ask my readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign. If you've already volunteered and donated, then get a friend to join you.

If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesday simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And do e-mail to the Polipundit
so that he can add you to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be a part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs:

You can check out the Wictory Wednesday Blogger's list on the Right side of this page.

I've had so much fun making my list of the 100 Things You Should Do in California (see below) that I've decided to start a list of Things You Should Do In America. Please add a comment with your recommendations --- what do you think tourists to our country should do to enjoy the unique American experience.

And here's another reason to support President George W. Bush, do it for the tourists!

Things You Should Do In America

Sleep with a moose in Glacier National Park, Montana
Do the shag in Myrtle Beach
Have a cafe au lait & beignet at the Cafe Du Mond, New Orleans
Run up the Rocky steps, Philadelphia
Cheer for the Cubbies at Wrigley Field, Chicago
Dig for quahogs (pronounced co-hogs) with your feet in the waters of Rhode Island.
Raft down the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Take a wild ride on America II(America's Cup Contender), Maui
Eat green chile stew in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico
Eat Beans and see a Rodeo with Real Cowboys at the Jersey Lilly in Joe Montana, Montana



What would you recommend?

Personal Responsibility

Gail from The Right Coast blogs about the code of the West and how we can't afford to lose it.


Money Quote:

California wildfires are just like the rest of real life. If you want to make sure that your interests are being attended to, it's best to attend to them yourself.