Free Republic

If a major disaster struck and you couldn't live in your home would you have a place to go? Don Kubley claims he has an answer. It's called the InterShelter™ and Kubley said it could provide safe shelter for everyone within two hours. The solar dome's President and inventor spoke before Congress and now FEMA is considering the InterShelter™ as the emergency shelter of choice across the nation. It can withstand winds up to 200 miles per hour and temperatures from 120 degress Fahrenheit down to 70 degrees below. All you need is a screwdriver, a wrench and a step...

Carla Fiorina's been (officially) on the campaign trail for, what, three days and it's like she's already wearing the GOP Senate crown. Boxer, Boxer, Boxer, Boxer, Boxer. That's the only opponent she can talk about. Hey Carly, where's the respect for Chuck D from the OC, aka her GOP primary opponent Orange County Assemblyman Chuck DeVore? At her Pleasanton stop Friday, C-Fi was asked why she keeps talking about Boxer and not Chuck: "She is the opponent," Carly said and laughed. Uh, perhaps -- if you win the GOP primary in June. .. ... Carly's staff must have hid the...

Billionaire gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman gave away just $125,000 of her charitable foundation's $46 million in assets in its first year of operation — and tax records show the bulk of the money went to a surprising place. The Griffith R. Harsh IV and Margaret C. Whitman Charitable Foundation in 2007 contributed $100,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund, which is now at odds with Whitman over water policy. The foundation also invested $3 million in hedge funds based in the Cayman Islands — a Caribbean tax haven that's been the subject of political controversy. ... But it's the $100,000 to...

The charge that State Assemblyman Churck DeVore is making; “don’t be fooled again”. California has its own Dede Scozzafava in the GOP’s newest candidate, Carly Fiorina. On Thursday afternoon I spoke with Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, candidate for US Senate himself. A day after Carly Fiorina’s launch into the primary race, DeVore reiterated his charge that she is a moderate, a centrist, and a pragmatic individual – who has waffled on major issues and decided that voting is something beneath her. DeVore is ready to rumble; he made clear his charges that Carly Fiorina is a close proximity to New York’s...

In a bad economy, we expect poor people will get poorer. But this recession has taught us that one mishap can snip anyone's strings and collapse middle-class financial security like a marionette. We didn't expect that. Consider planned communities. They're appealing as places where everyone is supposed to keep up: No front lawns going to seed; no cars rusting on top of them. However, the poor economy has meant that some of the neighbors can't keep up – and this hits homeowners associations in a unique way. Neighbors are financially yoked together, and problems for one can mean problems for...

Reporting from Nogales, Ariz.-- Alan Bersin is back at the border and on the move. On the third day of a sprint through Texas and Arizona, a law enforcement convoy zooms into Nogales. Riding in a sport utility vehicle, Bersin scans a dusty landscape that he knows well: this desert town of 20,000 with its fast-food joints and discount shops facing the pastel facades and helter-skelter skyline of Nogales, Mexico, a city of 300,000 just south of the fence. Bersin, a compact 63-year-old with the stride of a former star football player at Harvard, arrives at the Nogales station, the...

I decided to run for this seat in CD-7, because the incumbent, George Miller has demonstrated over 38 long years that he is out of touch with the needs of a significant portion of his constituency and many of his neglectful policies are disastrous to traditional families and our communities. As your Congresswoman, I have great plans for rebuilding the inner cities of the 7th Congressional District that have deteriorated under very high crime rates and unsafe conditions due to decades of neglect by the incumbent. I’m a proud, Reagan style conservative with common sense and I am running for...

Dear Congressman Schiff: Elizabeth Vuna in your Pasadena office assured me that a list of nine healthcare questions I submitted by fax would be answered. I have just received a letter from you designated as a reply. It was not a reply to my questions. Perhaps it was a reply to questions you thought I should have asked. You, Congressman Schiff, have neither the intelligence nor the perception to decide what I really mean when I ask you for answers. You work for me, and you will answer the questions I want answered. Nine short questions written in easy-to-understand English...

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 to enact a ban on the declawing of cats. Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Michela Alioto-Pier voted against the legislation. “It is well-documented and well-understood from a medical prospective that [declawing] is torture. It is a form of animal cruelty,” said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who introduced the legislation.

One of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Twitter followers asked Tuesday whether he still has the sword from the movie "Conan the Barbarian." Not only did the governor confirm he has the sword, he provided a picture. "I do still have the Conan sword, and I keep it in my office. Here's a picture," Schwarzenegger tweeted. The question came from a follower with a blog devoted to screen captions ("the VERY BEST and HIGHEST QUALITY," we're assured) of television news anchors. Here's a Tuesday blog post from "shadow:" "Yes... the Conan sword from the original Conan the Barbarian movie! I sent...

(11-03) 15:20 PST OAKLAND -- Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and his wife failed to pay more than $239,000 in taxes over a three-year period and have had a lien slapped on their property by the Internal Revenue Service, public records show. ... Yeah yeah yeah, another Democrat politician didn’t pay all his taxes. But Dellums isn’t your typical “the rich aren’t paying their fair share!” Democrat. He was among the luminaries of the 60’s New Left and was the first traveled in April to Cuba to meet with their hero Fidel Castro. Now that’s its been discovered that Dellums has...

Reporting from Sacramento - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have a plum political post to dole out after Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is sworn into Congress today, vacating the No. 2 slot in California government. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has the power to name the replacement for Garamendi, a Democrat, in a political decision that has been much chattered about in Sacramento. That power, however, doesn't rest with Schwarzenegger alone: The Democratic-dominated Legislature must confirm his pick, setting up a potential showdown. Further complicating matters, four sitting state senators are seeking the post in 2010. The lieutenant governor has few official powers,...

Former eBay executive Meg Whitman has opened up a wide lead in the Republican race for governor, according to the latest Capitol Weekly/Probolsky Research poll. About a third of Republicans and decline-to-state voters who said they intend to vote Republican said they favor Whitman, who has a 3-to-1 edge over rival contender Tom Campbell, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner remains stuck in a distant third, with 5.5 percent of Republican support. The numbers show a significant increase in recent weeks for Whitman that reflects her prodigious spending. Already, seven months before the primary and full year before the general election, Whitman...

Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive officer, announced Wednesday she will run for a U.S. Senate seat from California. The announcement by Mrs. Fiorina, a Republican, ends months of speculation about her plans to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer, the three-term Democratic incumbent. "Get ready," Mrs. Fiorina said during a town-hall-style event in Orange County. "I can take a punch, and I can throw a punch. I'm not a brawler, and I'm not a boxer, [but] I can take on Barbara Boxer." Her campaign so far has played out in quintessential Southern California style. The event was held at...

We are proud to endorse Chuck DeVore for U.S. Senate in California. Chuck DeVore is a proven, tested conservative who is gaining momentum. He’s the kind of leader we can count on to stand up for common sense conservative principles in the United States Senate. The Senate Conservatives Fund recently conducted an online poll of our members to see which candidate in California they supported. With 2,688 total votes cast, Chuck DeVore was the clear winner with 90% of the vote. We’ve examined DeVore’s record and interviewed him in person. We are confident that Chuck DeVore is ready to come...

Two words… “Barbara Boxer,” the mental midget for whom no US surrender is too quick, no tax too high and no government program too big. Sometimes the smart fight is the good fight and a partial victory better than a moral victory. California is not a red state or a purple state where a RHINO is a defeat. It is one of the bluest of the blue. BHO won California by 24% and 3,000,000 votes. BHO won here by more votes than the total votes cast in New Jersey last night! Boxer won her last race by 20%. You may...

California lawmakers on Wednesday passed an $11 billion overhaul of the state's antiquated water system in a bid to supply a soaring population while preserving a fragile environment. After a long night of debate, the state Assembly voted in favor of the comprehensive package of water bills and a bond measure to fund them. The Senate also approved. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was expected to sign the five-bill package. The plan provides funding for new dams, groundwater cleanup, conservation and habitat restoration. It gives Schwarzenegger comprehensive tools to begin restoring the crucial Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and create a stable water supply...

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina says she'll run for the U.S. Senate seat held by California incumbent Barbara Boxer. Fiorina ended months of speculation Wednesday with an announcement in an opinion piece she wrote for the Orange County Register. She's scheduled to make a formal announcement later in the day.

The Indiana law disallows those convicted of sexual offenses, the ability to live beyond a 1000 feet from a school or public park. California's law only allows....

While press and pundits focus almost ad nauseum on what will happen Tuesday in New York's 23rd Congressional District, as well as the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, everyone has forgotten the battle being waged for the California congressional seat vacated by Ellen Tauscher when she resigned to become a member of President Obama's State Department. To be sure, the 10th Congressional District of the Golden State is a Democratic stronghold, especially after some recent gerrymandering. The latest poll shows Democratic candidate and current Lt. Gov. John Garamendi with a commanding 10-point lead over Republican challenger David Harmer,...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A 32-year veteran who helped clean up a corruption-plagued division of the Los Angeles Police Department was unveiled Wednesday as the city's new top cop. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the appointment of deputy chief Charlie Beck as head of the LAPD following the decision of chief William Bratton to resign earlier this year. Villaraigosa said Beck was "the right man to lead the Los Angeles Police Department at the right time." "He's a man of character and integrity. He's a police officer who is tough on crime, and he's a leader with deep respect...

I'm tired of liberals talking about "cleaning up Republican messes."  For progressives, they sure regress a lot... California, Michigan, and now New York have shown us that taxing and spending destroys jobs, kills economic growth, and eventually leads worn out taxpayers to flee the state. The two headed beast of government bureaucracy and liberal social programs ends up destroying its master. It's a Joke, but it's True Politicians who blather on about "cleaning up Republican messes" would do well to recall this oldie but goody: An old bull and his young son stood atop a hillock, looking down upon a...

Texas, increasingly, is the economic and intellectual leader of the U.S. During the last 18 months before the current recession took hold, while the country as a whole was still creating jobs, more than half of those jobs were created in a single state: Texas. Texas has usurped the leadership position that, decades ago, belonged to California. Today California is in decline, likely irreversibly so. William Voegeli draws the sad but instructive comparison in the Los Angeles Times: In America's federal system, some states, such as California, offer residents a "package deal" that bundles numerous and ambitious public benefits with...

Car insurance by the tankful? Not quite, but California moved a step closer last month to pay-as-you-drive policies that could allow motorists to buy insurance like they do gasoline — a little at a time. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner released regulations permitting and authorizing mileage verification for pay-as-you-drive, without dictating what form such plans must take. The goal is to use per-mile pricing to entice Californians not to drive so much, thus easing air pollution, relieving traffic congestion and lowering the number of traffic collisions.

Note: The following text is a quote: West Coast Man Charged with Developing and Distributing Cable Network Hacking Tools BOSTON, MA—Charges were unsealed in federal court against an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging that they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and obtain internet access without paying for it. Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that RYAN HARRIS, age 26, of San Diego,...

I was driving on Riebli Road near Santa Rosa, Calif. on Nov. 1 and noticed this sign by some vines of New Vine Zinfindel(Zin). It is owned by Bastoni Vineyards, according to WineMap. The US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) reported that the 2008 average price for Sonoma County Zin, which is the basis for determining the grape sale contracts of the 2009 harvest, was $2,485.66 per ton. That's about $1.25 per pound. This is less than half that price.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California wage earners will soon notice a little less money in their paychecks. Starting Monday, employers in the cash-strapped state are required to withhold 10 percent more in state income taxes to help ease the budget problems. It's part of a plan to artificially inflate state revenue by $1.7 billion through next June. Brenda Voet, a spokeswoman for the state Franchise Tax Board, says it's technically not a tax increase since workers will get their money back after April 15.

China's "father of space program" mourned across country (Source: Xinhua) 2009-11-02 　 People in deep sorrow come to express condolences in a small mourning hall that was set up at Qian Xuesen's home, Beijing, Nov. 1, 2009. Qian, also known as Tsien Hsue-shen, died of illness in Beijing Saturday morning at the age of 98. He led the country's missile and aviation programs and played a significant role in developing China's first man-made earth satellite. (Xinhua/Gao Xueyu) 　 　　BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The death of China's legendary scientist Qian Xuesen has plunged many Chinese into deep sorrow and people...

William VoegeliThe Big-Spending, High-Taxing, Lousy-Services Paradigm California taxpayers don’t get much bang for their bucks. Autumn 2009 In 1956, the economist Charles Tiebout provided the framework that best explains why people vote with their feet. The “consumer-voter,” as Tiebout called him, challenges government officials to “ascertain his wants for public goods and tax him accordingly.” Each jurisdiction offers its own package of public goods, along with a particular tax burden needed to pay for those goods. As a result, “the consumer-voter moves to that community whose local government best satisfies his set of preferences.” In selecting a jurisdiction, the...

Texas, increasingly, is the economic and intellectual leader of the U.S. During the last 18 months before the current recession took hold, while the country as a whole was still creating jobs, more than half of those jobs were created in a single state: Texas. Texas has usurped the leadership position that, decades ago, belonged to California. Today California is in decline, likely irreversibly so. William Voegeli draws the sad but instructive comparison in the Los Angeles Times: In America's federal system, some states, such as California, offer residents a "package deal" that bundles numerous and ambitious public benefits with...

The TERRY ANDERSON SHOW.. Articulating the Popular Rage! A warrior in the fight against illegal immigration and those who promote it for over a decade! From the streets of Los Angeles to the halls of congress, Terry has been there. No one has the passion and common sense of Terry Anderson...He is A MUST listen! The BEST one hour of radio you'll find anywhere. Sunday Nights- Listen on the radio! 12-1 AM EDT, 11-12 PM CDT, 10-11 PM MDT, 9-10 PM PDT KRLA - 870 AM - Los Angeles -- KDWN - 720 - Las Vegas -- KFNX - 1100...

In a crime that has shocked America up to two dozen passers-by were said to have seen the crime happening and failed to report it as the girl was subjected to an ordeal lasting two-and-a-half hours. Police Lieutenant Mark Gagan said a "mob mentality" had taken over. He said: "This was a barbaric act. I still cannot get my head around the fact that numerous people either watched, walked away or participated in her assault. "These suspects are monsters. I don't understand how this many people capable of such atrocious behaviour could be in one place at one time. Many...

Our lawmakers have a trick for you this Halloween. Starting Sunday 10% more will be withheld from paychecks to cover the states $1.7 billion shortfall in the budget. They say it isn't a tax increase, it's just an interest free loan that we will recover in April when we file our taxes. Gee thanks guys, we all feel much better now. "California to withhold a bigger chunk of paychecks," by Shane Goldmacher and W.J. Hennigan - Los Angeles Times The provision is one of numerous maneuvers state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved in the summer to paper over the...

The Obama administration on Friday touted reports of 640,000 stimulus jobs, the latest economic numbers and the backing of a Republican governor to try to undercut GOP attacks on the effect of its massive $787 billion package. Reports released Friday afternoon showed that stimulus projects, such as highway and other infrastructure work, have directly saved or created 640,329 jobs, Vice President Joe Biden said. White House officials said a total of about 1 million jobs have been created or saved by the stimulus when taking into account the roughly 400,000 jobs that come from the economic effect of tax cuts,...

Mark Endorses David Harmer for Congress Monday, October 26th, 2009 HarmerForCongress.com (CA. 10th Congressional) http://www.harmerforcongress.com/default.htm

AB 17 which was enacted by the California legislature and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger, requires the California Franchise Tax Board to adjust the payroll withholding table with an increase. The payroll withholding tables apply to pensions, as well as wages. AB 17 will increase payroll withholding by 10 percent, effective for wages paid after October 31, 2009. Withholding on supplemental wages increase from 6 percent to 6.6 percent effective for supplemental wages paid after October 31, 2009 and for stock options and bonus payments it will increase from 9.3 percent to 10.2 percent.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on Friday exited the California governor's race, leaving yet-to-announce Democratic candidate Jerry Brown the only figure preparing for a run for his party's nomination.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced this afternoon that he is withdrawing from the California governor's race. More to follow.

LOS ANGELES — DEVELOPING: Los Angeles police have detained a man near the North Hollywood synagogue where two Jewish people were shot in the legs. Officer Rosario Herrera says she was unsure if the arrest was connected with the shooting Thursday at the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue.

Judiciary: The nominee for a California federal district court is an ACLU activist and another advocate for the empathy standard of jurisprudence. He also has a problem with "America the Beautiful." The nomination of Edward Chen is the latest in a series of nominations of people who have no particular fondness for the traditions of law and justice. These nominees see racism everywhere, and believe the courts should be used as instruments of social justice and not to discern the intent of the Founding Fathers who wrote the U.S. Constitution. They believe their "life experience" should be the final arbiter...

For Constitution Day this year at Sacramento City College Associated Student Government (ASG) President and student Steve Macias arranged for a group named Genocide Awareness Project, an anti-abortion group, to participate on campus in the Constitution Day activities. The group was approved for participation by the ASG and set up its booth at the appointed time. And then the world came to an end. Pro-Infanticide groups such as Planned Parenthood set up their own, countering booths the next day and left-wing hatemongers in the student body immediately began to circulate a recall petition to have Mr. Macias removed from the...

An Orange County jury has recommended the death penalty for a white supremacist gangster convicted of murder who requested to get on Death Row because he believed its prison amenities are better. Prosecutors say jurors Thursday recommended death for 46-year-old Billy Joe Johnson in Superior Court in Santa Ana. Johnson was convicted earlier this month in the murder of Scott Miller. Prosecutors say Johnson took Miller to an alley where two other men shot him for divulging gang secrets during a Fox TV interview.

SAN YSIDRO — With the San Ysidro border fence as her backdrop, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman spoke out on immigration policy issues yesterday, saying it is “simply not practical” to deport the estimated 12.5 million illegal immigrants living and working in the United States. The candidate, 53, said the solution is to find a mechanism that allows them to live here legally. “Can we get a fair program where people stand at the back of the line, they pay a fine, they do some things that would ultimately allow a path to legalization?” she asked. Whitman also urged tougher...

At the urging of a prominent San Jose lawyer and campaign contributor, Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr personally intervened on behalf of one of his clients, calling the prosecutor in charge and persuading him to reduce the client's charges. Carr says she was just "responding" to attorney James McManis as she would to anyone who called, even a stranger. "That's what public servants do," she said. At the time, she'd received $2,500 from McManis, his wife and his law firm — the maximum allowable before her 2006 election under campaign finance laws. Since then, McManis et al has...

Time Is on California’s Side . . . but time isn’t. 28 October 2009 /snip Contrarianism is not confined to high finance: newspapers and magazines are desperate to offer perspectives that set them apart from their competitors. Time, for example, has decided to make a contrarian play on California. In recent months, other publications have featured articles with titles like “Who Killed California?,” “Sundown for California,” “End State,” “Death of the California Dream,” and “California: Worst Place in the History of the Universe for Multicelled Organisms.” (Okay, not the last one, but the others are real.) Convinced that every scrap...

RICHMOND, California — Four teens were charged Wednesday in the gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl outside her high school homecoming dance in Northern California, in an attack that has generated widespread outrage. All four — ages 15, 16, 17 and 19 — were charged with rape and enhancements that they acted in concert, which could make them eligible for life in prison.

GOP gubernatorial hopefuls Steve Poizner and Tom Campbell will field questions from the Twitterverse tonight at what's being billed as the nation's first major political debate to integrate questions from the micro-blogging platform. Four of the 12 questions selected for the 75-minute debate, which is co-moderated by Brandman University professor Mike Moodian and Bee columnist Dan Walters, were chosen from a pool of about 100 questions submitted via Twitter. "We were basically looking for general trends," Moodian said, noting that the topic for the debate is California's ongoing fiscal crisis. "We chose some questions that certainly were unique, but we...

SAN FRANCISCO — These are heady times for advocates of legalized marijuana in California — and only in small part because of the newly relaxed approach of the federal government toward medical marijuana. State lawmakers are holding a hearing on Wednesday on the effects of a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate the drug — in what would be the first such law in the United States. Tax officials estimate the legislation could bring the struggling state about $1.4 billion a year, and though the bill’s fate in the Legislature is uncertain, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has indicated...

SAN DIEGO — A man who sneaked a bag of his feces into a San Diego courtroom during his home-invasion robbery trial, smeared it on his lawyer and threw it at jurors has been sentenced to 31 years in prison. -snip- Several days after his request was denied, McGowan pulled out a bag of excrement he had hidden in his clothing, rubbed it on his lawyer and tossed it at the jury, hitting one juror’s computer case.