Amid anguished cries, lawmakers make some tough choices while ducking others - California's Legislature has done such a fine job of creating diminished expectations that the emergency budget cuts it approved Friday actually resembled responsible governance.Lawmakers had to act. If they hadn't, the state was in danger of running out of money in this fiscal year. Thus the Assembly and Senate approved $1 billion in spending cuts and payment deferrals to ensure the state remained solvent through July.There was great gnashing of teeth in the Senate Friday as lawmakers mulled the options. Some Republicans sounded like Democrats, decrying cuts to...