Free Republic

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A Republican has won a hotly contested state Senate contest in the southern San Joaquin Valley, with his top Democratic rival conceding Wednesday that the race will not go to a runoff.</p> <p>The special election victory by Hanford cherry farmer Andy Vidak will have no practical effect on the state Senate, where Democrats retain a supermajority, but serves as a psychological boost for the party after massive GOP losses in recent election cycles.</p>

Some prominent health insurers, including industry giant UnitedHealth Group Inc., are not participating in California's new state-run health insurance market, possibly limiting the number of choices for millions of consumers. UnitedHealth, the nation's largest private insurer, Aetna Inc. and Cigna Corp. are sitting out the first year of Covered California, the state's insurance exchange and a key testing ground nationally for a massive coverage expansion under the federal healthcare law.

Organized Labor: On the surface, the Los Angeles mayor's race looked like a choice between Coke and Pepsi. But Eric Garcetti's lopsided win over Wendy Greuel showed a major difference — in the public's view of unions. City Controller Greuel lost 54%-46% on Tuesday, bested by City Councilman Garcetti, who will become the mayor of America's second-largest city on July 1. It was an interesting result because the candidates are two peas in a pod. Both are left-wing Democrats with ideas so closely aligned they have been political allies; both grew up in the San Fernando Valley; and both hold...

Remember the claim that “if you like your plan, you can keep your plan� under ObamaCare? That was never actually true, as many who had low-cost catastrophic coverage married with HSAs will have to abandon them for more-costly comprehensive plans under the ACA’s coverage mandates. In California, it’s even less true as three insurers with millions of subscribers opt out of the state-run ObamaCare exchange: Some prominent health insurers, including industry giant UnitedHealth Group Inc., are not participating in California’s new state-run health insurance market, possibly limiting the number of choices for millions of consumers. UnitedHealth, the nation’s largest private...

Re: Veto Recommendations regarding "gun" legislation. Dear Governor Brown: As I have said previously, a government that does not protect us and will not let us protect ourselves does not deserve our respect or loyalty. The U-T San Diego newspaper reports a series of "gun" bills is headed to you for consideration. Sadly the State of California is presently violating its primary constitutional duty which is to protect the public from domestic threats such as criminal activity. In the 1980s, the legislature responded to the enormously high crime rate by "right sizing" the state prison system and making some overdue...

An East Palo Alto man turned the tables on two suspects during a home invasion robbery Wednesday afternoon. Two men entered a residence in the 2200 block of Capitol Avenue at about 2:39 p.m. and tried to rob the resident inside, East Palo Alto police Acting Detective Sgt. Angel Sanchez said. "They assaulted the victim with a handgun, pistol whipping him and asking for money and guns," Sanchez said. "At one point the victim was able to retrieve a gun, and they saw that and fled." As the would-be robbers ran away, the victim, who was in his 30s, fired...

President Barack Obama is a nightmare for political comedians. He's too cool, too smart, too ... good at this whole leadership thing. That was the bill of goods comedians sold us five years ago, an excuse which prevented them from mocking Obama as they did every previous Commander in Chief. Jay Leno wasn't buying that pile of horse manure. Leno has consistently tweaked Obama in his Tonight Show monologues since the early days of the president's administration, the same way Leno handled President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton. This week, Leno turned up the heat to scorching levels...

ARMED DHS GUARDS greeted St. Louis Tea Party protesters at the Town and Country IRS office on Tuesday. Around 300 protesters turned out anyway. DHS parked their vehicles right outside the IRS office just in case the Tea Party protesters got crazy and violent. But the DHS intimidation was not isolated to St. Louis. In Los Angeles DHS put a chopper in the air and told Tea Party protesters they could not be on federal property. They had to move away from the building. This report came from a Tea Party protester in California. Many of our 300 tea party...

Protect your children from 'Harvey Milk Gay Day' Why is a predator of teens being honored in schools? Every year, Harvey Milk "celebrations" are held at participating government schools in K-12 classrooms and assemblies -- around May 22. Get informed and protect your child. How "Harvey Milk Gay Day" is indoctrinating children in classrooms and assemblies WATCH: The facts about Harvey Milk (3-min)

The former U.S. Attorney for Arizona could be disbarred, after an investigation found he lied to the Justice Department about his role in trying to discredit the federal whistle-blower who exposed the botched gun-running scheme known as Fast and Furious. An Office of Inspector General report showed that Dennis Burke -- the former chief of staff for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appointed as U.S. Attorney for Arizona by President Obama in September 2009 -- lied when asked if he leaked sensitive documents to the press meant to undermine the credibility of ATF whistle-blower John Dodson. The IG report also...

ALISO VIEJO - A 29-year-old man was behind bars today on suspicion of trying to drag a teenage girl out of a bookstore in Aliso Viejo, a sheriff's spokesman said. Saif Mohamed Moussa was booked on suspicion of kidnapping and child annoyance and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. A 17-year-old girl was shopping in the Barnes & Noble store at 26751 Aliso Creek Road about 2 p.m. Saturday when Moussa wrapped her up in a bear hug and started walking her to the front door, Amormino alleged. "He...

Millions of Californians who contact the state's new health exchange to buy insurance will be given the opportunity to register to vote, too, a move that some Republicans fear could benefit Democrats. Secretary of State Debra Bowen made California the first state to designate its health exchange as a voter registration agency Wednesday, but others are expected to follow suit, said Shannan Velayas, Bowen's spokeswoman. "This is about making sure that all eligible Californians are offered the chance to register to vote," Velayas said Thursday. A 1993 federal law requires states to designate their agencies and offices that provide public...

A California tea party group sued the Internal Revenue Service on Monday, saying it was among the conservative organizations the federal government targeted for special scrutiny because of its political positions. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, seeks the certification of a class action, which could open the floodgates for as many as 300 other right-wing groups to join the legal effort. NorCal Tea Party Patriots, based in Colfax, California, told the court that the IRS discriminated against it because of the beliefs of its members, subjecting it to 'a lengthy and costly delay in recognition of...

LAPD Officer Arrested on Child Molestation Allegations by Kennedy Ryan CASTAIC, Calif. (KTLA)– An LAPD officer was behind bars Monday after being arrested on suspicion of molesting 2 children in Castaic. Officer Miguel Schiappapietra, 28, was arrested Saturday at his home in Castaic and booked on two counts of lewd acts with a child, Sgt. Brian Hudson of the Special Victims Bureau said in a statement.

Forty-six years after being killed in action, the U.S. Navy honored Lt. Dennis Peterson of Huntington Park during an interment ceremony on May 2. Lt. Peterson was 27 when he left to serve in the Vietnam War on March 27, 1967.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Jerry Brown recently stepped in it when a reporter asked him about the Bay Bridge. In March, 32 of 96 key rods in the under-construction eastern span cracked after they were tightened. Dao Guv -- who, as Oakland's mayor, helped delay construction of the new span to win a tony, world-class design -- gave the wrong answer: "(Scatological stuff) happens." The state Senate Transportation and Housing Committee held a hearing Tuesday to find out how such stuff happens. State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, wants to know. As a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in 1998,...

President Barack Obama will star at an “intimate” $32,400 per head June 6 fundraising dinner and discussion in the Portola Valley home of star Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and his wife, Neeru, according to the invite obtained by the Chronicle. The dinner is one of two events in Peninsula private homes on Obama’s upcoming fundraising swing here, which benefits the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In addition to the Khosla home dinner, Obama will also attend an earlier reception in the home of Marci and Mike McCue of Palo Alto. McCue co-founded Flipboard, and serves as its CEO. Senator...

A well-known Southern California lawyer is famous for his menacing legal threats sent on behalf of celebrity clients. But attorney Martin D. "Marty" Singer crossed the line into making an "extortion" attempt in 2011 when he sent a demand letter to a client's business partner, a state-court judge ruled after the recipient sued over the missive. In addition to demanding a forensic accounting and the return of money that allegedly had been embezzled, Singer also threatened in the letter, which attached a copy of a draft civil complaint, to reveal information about the partner's claimed use of company resources for...

On Friday, former acting IRS Commissioner Steve Miller, testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee, said that America’s tax system is “voluntary.” Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) agreed. Miller offered this perspective as he was grilled about his involvement in the IRS scandal wherein the IRS targeted conservative groups, particularly Tea Party organizations. This line has been used before by none other than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Interviewed by Jan Helfeld in 2008, this is how the conversation went: Helfeld: If the government is in the business of forcefully taking money from some people in order to provide welfare...

An off-duty Costa Mesa police detective had been sending text messages after a night of drinking when he crashed into a concrete pillar, an accident that killed the veteran officer, according to authorities. Det. Mike Delgadillo, 57, died after his 2000 Mazda crashed in an underpass beneath the 55 Freeway near Newport Boulevard and Bristol Street on March 5, according to the Orange County coroner's report.

A popular San Francisco restaurant called Bacon Bacon must shut its doors Friday after failed negotiations with neighbors who complained about the smell of bacon. The restaurant serves burgers, grilled cheeses, breakfast sandwiches, and more, all served with bacon. It also runs a food truck, which roams the city providing San Franciscans with bacon. But now that’s over, the San Francisco Examiner reports: But now a popular pork-focused restaurant in the Upper Haight must close its doors Friday following months of failed negotiations with neighbors over neighborhood concerns about porcine aroma and grease disposal. Department of Public Health officials say...

The Homeland Security Department has granted legal status to 99.2 percent of all illegal immigrants who have applied under President Obama’s new non-deportation policy for young adults, according to the latest numbers released Friday. That’s a slight drop from the 99.5 percent approval rate reported last month. The policy, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, grants legal status to most illegal immigrants under the age of 31 who came to the U.S. before age 16 ... DACA is seen as a test-run should Congress pass a broad legalization for the 11 million illegal immigrants estimated to be in the...

A hotly contested gun-control law that was passed in 2007 is finally ready to be implemented, Attorney General Kamala Harris said Friday: a requirement that every new semiautomatic handgun contain "micro-stamping" technology that would allow police to trace a weapon from cartridges found at a crime scene. The law, signed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, made California the first state to require micro-stamping, which engraves the gun's serial number on each cartridge. But the legislation specified that it would take effect only when the technology was available and all private patents had expired. The gun owners' group Calguns Foundation tried to...

Police say a man accidentally dialed 911 while he and a buddy were breaking into a car, unknowingly leading Fresno, Calif., officers right to their location. The two men, Nathan Teklemariam and Carson Rinehart​, both 20, face charges of breaking and entering, possession of stolen property and conspiracy, according to Fox News. KGPE.com explains that the 911 dispatcher could hear people speaking in the background, so he listened to see if anyone was in need of assistance. It didn't take long for the dispatcher to realize that the men weren't so much in danger as they were up to no...

Twice over the last week, racially-derogatory graffiti was found plastered on the walls at the school. ... Then on Wednesday, a so-called “hit list” consisting of five names — all African-American students — appeared spray-painted in a boys restroom ... Authorities were investigating the possibility that the vandalism was actually an inside job orchestrated by a student or students named on the hit list. At least one of those students was upset with the athletic program, a source told KTLA. The student was apparently not being allowed to transfer to another school without penalty from the CIF, the governing body...

It appears microstamping is now the law in CA. (effective immediately) Read at the link. Seems like a typical Friday document dump from the fascists.The purpose of this bulletin is to inform California licensed firearms dealers, California Department of Justice certified laboratories, firearm manufacturers with firearms listed on the Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale in California, and all other interested persons/entities of the Department of Justice’s certification on May 17, 2013 pursuant to Penal Code section 31910, subdivision (b)(7)(A) that the microstamping technology is available to more than one manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions.In 2007, Assembly Bill 1471...

When they needed political money – to make donations urged by Speaker John A. Pérez and to pay for their 2012 campaigns – Democrats in the California Assembly turned to interest groups with a big stake in state government decisions, a Center for Investigative Reporting analysis shows. For last year’s state elections, Assembly Democrats together raised about $43.2 million, according to state records. The lawmakers funneled $5.8 million of that total into key races Pérez had targeted. Assemblyman Chris Holden (L), D-Pasadena, talks to Speaker John A. Pérez. (Max Whittaker/Prime) Pérez, in turn, named the top fundraisers to powerful legislative...

An unexpected glimmer of hope might cast a new light on the Golden State. It’s getting depressingly repetitive to keep writing about California’s problems, which are legion and seemingly intractable. But this time, I’m pleased to report on an unexpected glimmer of hope that might, just might, cast a new light on the Golden State. First, a catalog of our recent woes, which, as ever, revolve around businesses and middle- and upper-income individuals decamping for other states that don’t suffer from California’s high-tax, high-regulation infection. William Ruger and Jason Sorens of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University observe in...

A student group at San Diego State University for its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is reportedly changing its name — but some are questioning whether the move is politically correct. The university’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Student Union (LGBTSU) will become the Queer Student Union beginning in the 2013-14 school year, Fox5SanDiego.com reports.

That’s the revelation made by California Congressman Devin Nunes, who sits on the House Ways And Means Committee on Hugh Hewitt’s Show Wednesday night. Here’s the key part of that transcript: HH: The idea that this might be a Geithner-Axelrod plan, and by that, the sort of intimation, Henry II style, will no one rid me of this turbulent priest, will no one rid me of these turbulent Tea Parties, that might have just been a hint, a shift of an eyebrow, a change in the tone of voice. That’s going to take a long time to get to. I...

In a groundbreaking resolution, the Los Angeles Unified District school board voted Tuesday to ban suspensions for “willful defiance,” making it the first district in the state to do so. This decision will stop suspensions for a variety of misbehaviors—anything from mouthing off to teachers, eating food in the classroom, or violating the school dress code—which critics have maintained are too broad and arbitrarily enforced. Instead, starting next year, principals will install alternative disciplinary measures while students remain in school. The ban in LAUSD, the second largest school district in the country, marks a major shift from a zero-tolerance policy...

As predicted, Wednesday afternoon's testimony by Attorney General Eric Holder focused heavily on revelations that the Department of Justice subpoenaed phone records from the Associated Press following their publishing leaked information about a terror attack. The House Judiciary Committee had the wrong guy at the witness table, though, since Holder, who'd recused himself from the matter couldn't offer much new information. This left the committee members to fill the time by attacking their opponents, and allowed for a dispute that resulted in Holder calling a Congressmember's behavior "unacceptable and shameful." At the start, it seemed as though the focus might...

California congressman Darrell Issa and Attorney General Eric Holder are not friends. Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has pestered Holder about the controversial Fast and Furious gun-walking program for years. His committee even voted to hold Holder in contempt for his refusal to turn over certain documents. During a hearing today, Holder's feelings for Issa burst out into the open when he called the congressman's behavior "unacceptable" and "shameful," and, getting more personal, "too consistent with the way in which you conduct yourself as a member of Congress."

(Reuters) - Wading into the national debate over immigration, California Governor Jerry Brown is pushing for a faster path to citizenship for the millions of people who are in the country illegally. Brown's is the latest in a chorus of voices from the most populous U.S. state calling for swift enactment of reform - but also demanding that a provision that would delay full citizenship for 10 or more years be removed from the immigration overhaul legislation being considered in the U.S. Senate. The delay is of particular concern to policymakers in California, because it means that the state's mostly...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to continue its controversial “Breakfast in the Classroom” program. The program, which serves breakfast to nearly 200,000 students a day at 279 schools district-wide, came under fire recently after Superintendent John Deasy received complaints from teachers. They claimed that serving breakfast in the classroom — rather than before school in the cafeteria — caused messes and sanitation issues and reduced instruction time, KNX 1070′s Jon Baird reports. “It takes 20 extra minutes to get things going and it’s 100 minutes...

Los Angeles, California, is one of the most expensive cities in America. As the housing bust cast more and more people into the rental market, prices have gone up in cities across the country - and L.A. is no exception. The average price of rent in Los Angeles is about $1,600 a month. But you can live in L.A. on the cheap as long as you're willing to put up with certain things - like bunk beds, cats, and marijuana. Earlier this month, a Kentucky man started a blog to highlight some of the more dilapidated properties he sees advertised...

LOS ANGELES, May 12 (UPI)--Four U.S. TV shows with prominent gay story lines during a record-breaking season for openly gay characters will be cut for the next season, officials said. NBC's "The New Normal" and "Smash" and "Go On" and CBS's "Partners," will get the ax, the Hollywood Reporter said Saturday. Heather Morris, who plays a bisexual on Fox's "Glee," will not be returning next season, the Reporter said. A Hollywood Reporter survey in November discovered that gay characters on TV, including couples on "Grey's Anatomy" and "Modern Family," helped voters to support gay marriage at the polls. "This data...

Wealthy Californians would like to thank you for buying them expensive automobiles. Didn’t know you that generous, eh? In fairly recent political history, left-of-center ideologues and other special needs people have advocated “public/private partnerships”. Once opposed to anything corporate, alleged progressives now embrace funneling tax funds to corporations of every ilk that sustain their ideology, regardless of how insane the plot sounds to common folks with common sense. No less of a man than Bill Clinton (and given his serial freelance philandering, there is no lesser of a man) has focused his face into television cameras proclaiming that government funded...

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, ended the Benghazi attack hearing on Wednesday by stating, “This hearing is closed. But this investigation is not over,” indicating more whistle blower Benghazi hearings are likely due in the future. Following the appearance of State Department employees Gregory Hicks, Eric Nordstrom, and Mark Thompson at his hearing, Issa told reporters he is encouraging more whistle blowers who know anything about last September’s deadly Benghazi attack to step forward and talk to his Committee. Issa told Breitbart News on Wednesday that the committee “reserves the right” to subpoena witnesses for...

On MSNBC Saturday morning, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that she, too, wants to find out what happened in Benghazi, but that Republicans are taking political advantage of the investigation to distract from other, more important issues. “The obsession that some of my Republican colleagues have in the House doesn’t look like it’s on the path to really finding a solution, but just to keeping an issue alive,” she said. …“We certainly have to give the full attention Benghazi deserves, but we cannot let it soak up all of the congressional attention,” Pelosi said. “What would be the purpose...

May 12, 2013 Darrell Issa: House Oversight Committee to depose Pickering and Mullen over Benghazi Twitchy Staff Darrell Issa reports that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which he chairs, will depose Ambassador Thomas Pickering and Admiral Mike Mullen over Benghazi....

Shortly after Barack Obama won reelection in November, New Jersey governor Chris Christie pointed out that Republicans’ cloudy political prospects had a bright silver lining. “One of the reasons you have 30 Republican governors in America, and why we’re the only organization to add Republican strength,” Christie said, “is because people see us getting things done.” Christie’s stance countered most of the elite postelection commentary, which gleefully pronounced the Republican Party’s political irrelevance. But the governor was right. Since Obama first took office in 2008, Republicans have picked up a net nine governorships, bringing their total to 30 states,...

Ten California teachers are suing to break one of the strongest iron triangles in American politics, where the taxpayers pay the teachers; the teachers’ union supports candidates and referenda, and that leads eventually to the teachers getting better pay, benefits and working conditions. A civil rights law firm filed a federal law suit April 30 on behalf of 10 California teachers and the Christian Educators Association International challenging the state’s closed shop law that has them contributing to support political activity they opposed. "Individual teachers have a constitutional right to decide for themselves whether to join a union and financially...

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) paid a visit to Morning Joe to discuss this week’s news surrounding Benghazi — which included the hearing and this morning’s story about the edited talking points. Amid the panel discussion, Cummings spoke specifically about one of the witnesses, alleging that Republicans tried to change his story in a way that contradicted his sworn testimony. Asked what’s next, Cummings (who, you may recall, criticized GOP Rep. Darrell Issa for “politicizing” Benghazi during Wednesday’s hearing) said it was “a search for the truth.” Referring to one of the witnesses who testified at this week’s hearing, Cummings said,...

(CNN) -- Detectives on Saturday arrested the 12-year-old brother of Leila Fowler on a homicide charge in connection with his 8-year-old sister's death, Calaveras County, California, Sheriff Gary Kuntz said. The brother -- who Kuntz did not name, but did speak publicly after his sister's death -- was arrested at 5:10 p.m. (8:10 p.m. ET) at a county sheriff's office substation in his hometown of Valley Springs, according to the sheriff. "Citizens of Calaveras County can sleep a little better tonight," Kuntz said. Leila Fowler and her brother were said to be alone on Saturday, April 27, in their...

For all their squabbling over fealty to union bosses and ethical lapses real or perceived, the two candidates who could succeed Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa agree on this: City Hall is in trouble. “Government in Los Angeles is broken. Paralysis rules,” says Wendy Greuel, the city controller who could become the first woman to hold the job. To her rival, Councilman Eric Garcetti, “It’s not just our sidewalks that are broken, it’s the system.” ... Bankrupt Stockton and other California cities are in worse shape but Los Angeles is in “a perilous fiscal state,” warns Austin Beutner, a former...

CBS Anchor: 'We Are Getting Big Stories Wrong, Over and Over Again' "Our house is on fire." Daniel Halper May 11, 2013 12:09 PM CBS anchor Scott Pelley said at a speech at Quinnipiac University that journalists "are getting big stories wrong, over and over again." "Our house is on fire," said Pelley. The video of Pelley's speech is courtesy of nowthisnews.com. "These have been a bad few months for journalism," he added. "We're getting the big stories wrong, over and over again." The CBS newsreader was quick to take at least partial blame. "Let me take the first arrow:...

(05-11) 14:15 PDT Berkeley -- With protesters outside demanding closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Saturday gave an unambiguous endorsement of the civilian court system to try suspected terrorists, telling UC Berkeley Law School graduates that failing to do so "would weaken our ability ... to punish those who target our people." "Let me be clear," Holder told the 2013 class of Boalt Hall graduates at their commencement. "Those who claim that our federal courts are incapable of handling terrorism cases are not registering a dissenting opinion. They are simply wrong." Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-protesters-challenge-attorney-general-4508354.php#ixzz2T1dNEZE5

Rep. Pelosi knocks Republicans' 'obsession' with Benghazi attack By Sam Baker - 05/11/13 11:43 AM ET Congressional Republicans are using their Benghazi investigation as political "subterfuge" to distract from other issues, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Saturday. Pelosi said it's important to find out what happened in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. But the right is taking it too far, she said in an interview with MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry. "The obsession that some of my Republican colleagues have in the House doesn't look like it's on the path to really finding...

Scott and Robin Spivey had a sinking feeling that something was wrong with their home when cracks began snaking across their walls in March. The cracks soon turned into gaping fractures, and within two weeks their 600-square-foot garage broke from the house and the entire property—manicured lawn and all—dropped 10 feet below the street. It wasn’t long before the houses on both sides collapsed as the ground gave way in the Spivey’s neighborhood in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. … Unlike sinkholes of Florida that can gobble homes in an instant, this collapse in hilly volcanic...