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California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger talks with Spc. Ferrell Mapp, a resident of Richmond, Calif., and a member of the California National Guard, 49th Military Police Brigade, during a breakfast event held on Camp Victory, Baghdad, Nov. 17. At right is Brig. Gen. Donald Currier, commander of the 49th, and close aide to the governor in his civilian job. Photo by Sgt. Kenneth Bince, 49the Military Police Brigade. BAGHDAD — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger shared breakfast and conversation with his State’s Soldiers during a visit here to Camp Victory, Nov. 17. Schwarzenegger said he visited the Fairfield, Calif.-based 49th Military Police...

A big chunk of the money that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collected last year to finance a political reform ballot measure came from a man now being accused of running a massive Ponzi-style fraud in Florida. When federal investigators raided the offices of Fort Lauderdale, FL, attorney Scott Rothstein, looking for evidence to bolster civil and potentially criminal charges of running a huge Ponzi-style fraud, they found many pictures of Rothstein with prominent politicians. The Wall Street Journal reported that Rothstein appeared to be particularly close to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist but among other political figures in the photos were former...

November 16, 2009 Arnold Schwarzenegger visits Iraq - and aims to transfer military tactics to California Oliver August in Baghdad The governor of California trots out his most famous one-liner wherever he goes but, at the Victory military base in Baghdad today, he apparently meant it. “I’ll be back,” Arnold Schwarzenegger growled after working out with a group of American soldiers on active duty in Iraq, all with necks and trunks as thick as his. The muscleman who rose to Hollywood fame as The Terminator came to the site of America’s bloodiest war in a generation to cheer up troops,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited troops in Iraq today for the first time as governor at Camp Victory, just outside of Baghdad, according to spokesman Aaron McLear and video from the Multi-National Corps Iraq Public Affairs. Schwarzenegger gave a six-minute speech designed to motivate the troops. He delivered cigars, signed autographs and told them he'd return Tuesday morning to work out with some of them before breakfast. "I just wanted to let you know how much we in the United States appreciate the work you are doing," Schwarzenegger said in his speech. "Now I know you are thinking many times, why...

On Nov. 1, the government of the state of California began withholding from workers' paychecks 10 percent more than what it had been withholding. The Los Angeles Times described this move -- prompted by California's fiscal calamity -- as "a forced, interest-free loan" from taxpayers to the government. The Times explained to its California readers that "You'll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less." The ostensible purpose of withholding is to better ensure that taxpayers actually pay the taxes they...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday defended $11.1 billion in new borrowing as a critical investment in the state's water future while at the same time insisting California must cut its way toward a balanced budget in the short term. In an interview with The Bee's editorial board, the Republican governor also took aim at the state's prison employees and advocated for a constitutional change allowing California to rely more on private workers. After reaching a deal last week with state lawmakers to bolster California's water infrastructure, Schwarzenegger is trying to build popular support for the plan, knowing voters will have...

Reporting from Sacramento and Los Angeles - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger quietly spiked an effort last month to win $1.1 billion in federal high-speed rail stimulus funds for 29 projects to improve the safety, speed and capacity of heavily traveled commuter corridors through Southern California. Instead, he ordered state officials to seek money for only one project -- the proposed bullet train between San Francisco and San Diego. The governor's decision was intended to increase the state's chances of receiving high-speed rail money, officials said. California is competing with more than 40 applicants from 23 other states. But the action has...

In July, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for a "Commission on the 21st Century Economy," it was hoped the group of experts could provide a way to finally resolve California's budget woes. When the commission issued its report at the end of September, however, the recommendations fell to the floor with a resounding thud. Defenders of California's status quo in the state legislature in effect said "no way." Today, California is a by-the-numbers state tragedy. Unemployment is higher than 12.2 percent as of September. Business costs are almost 23 percent higher than other states on average. Migration out of the...

Shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue in Washington, D.C. recently, Maria Shriver and her daughter left all the clothes the daughter tried on -- but didn't purchase -- on the floor of the dressing room. The sales staff was shocked that Shriver allowed her daughter, whose father is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to leave her rejects in a pile during their visit in mid-October. "She left the dressing room in a shambles," according to a sales clerk. "Why doesn't Maria Shriver teach her daughter manners and respect for others?" Shriver writes: "My role model, like most daughters, was my mother. She...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger estimated Monday that California's budget will fall out of balance by $5 billion to $7 billion this fiscal year, on top of a $7.4 billion gap already projected for 2010-11. If true, state leaders would confront at least a $12.4 billion to $14.4 billion problem when Schwarzenegger releases his budget in January. California currently has an $84.6 billion general fund budget. The Republican governor spoke with The Fresno Bee editorial board Monday after signing a bill placing a water bond on the November 2010 ballot. He emphasized deep spending cuts as a budget solution but did not...

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...

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,...

Gov. Schwarzenegger stops by an event honoring Willie Brown and the room erupts in heckling, profanity, and slurs against Arnold...who of course goes out of his way to distance himself from the Republican Party immediately but it does no good as gay activists in the crowd let him have it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WORDNqxl7E

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has complained that he doesn't get to pick his own lieutenant governor, a position he thinks should be more first mate than political detractor – if it must exist at all. He could soon get his wish. If Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi wins a special congressional election Tuesday in the Democrat-leaning 10th Congressional District, Schwarzenegger has the power to appoint Garamendi's replacement. The Republican governor has not tipped his hand. He has the option of choosing a caretaker who will serve out Garamendi's last year. Or he could use the appointment to reward a Republican legislator...

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,...

WASHINGTON ---- It may be highly improbable mathematically, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that the encoded profanity contained in one of his veto messages was "a wild coincidence." Speaking to reporters at the White House, the Republican governor said: "That was a total coincidence. It was one of those wild coincidences." The first letter in seven lines of the message, when read from top to bottom, combine to spell out "F• you."

Schwarzenegger drops F-bomb in veto message to lawmaker By DAVID K. LI Last Updated: 10:50 PM, October 28, 2009 Posted: 12:24 PM, October 28, 2009 Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped a subtle f-bomb on a bitter political rival in a possible payback for the lawmaker’s recent heckling the California governator. The Golden State’s leading man has Sacramento buzzing with his written explanation of vetoing a finance bill sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). Down the left-hand margin of Schwarzenegger’s open correspondence, the first words of successive lines were: "For," "unnecessary," "care," "kicks," "Yet," "overwhelmingly" and "unnecessary." The first letters, of course,...

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano today said he hoped he and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a "clean slate" in the future after the governor vetoed one of Ammiano's bills with a not-so-subtle F*** Y** attached. "I think some people feel it was inappropriate," Ammiano said of the governor's acrostic message to him in vetoing AB 1176. "To me it's part of 'welcome to Sacramento.'"

There is absolutely no way I’ll be able to make this relevant to tech. But I’m posting it anyway. Our Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed a California legislative finance bill – AB 1176. The letter is terse and to the point. And the first letter of each line in paragraphs 2-3 are even terser and more to the point. Schwarzeneggers battles with the state legislature are epic. But this just goes way beyond epic. It’s something for the history books. (click the link to view the message...)

A BUST of Russia's muscle-flexing strongman Vladimir Putin is being created as a gift for ex-Hollywood bodybuilder and California's current governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bust is currently being made in Putin's home city of Saint Petersburg on an order of Russia's Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation and will be delivered to the movie star-turned-politician in March. "Putin is such a complex personality. He's left no one indifferent," Alexander Chernoshchyokov, a Saint Petersburg-based sculptor who has been working on the Putin bust since June... In 1991 the Russian artist made a sculpture of Schwarzenegger and Vladimir Dubinin, the president of the bodybuilding...

First Lady continues her misunderstanding of California's vehicular lawsVigilant paparazzi have been keeping extra close tabs on California's First Lady Maria Shriver ever since she was caught breaking the state's hands-free law. Once again, it appears Shriver has been busted. Shriver allegedly parked her non-emergency vehicle in a red zone, TMZ reported Monday: Arnold's really gonna be seeing red after this because his scofflaw wife once again blatantly disobeyed the rules of the road ... and parked her non-emergency vehicle in a red zone!!!! We're told Maria Shriver left her Escalade in the verboten spot for almost an hour while...

After railing against labor unions, waste and fraud in the past, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday found a new target to blame for California's budget woes: judges who "are going absolutely crazy." As pieces of the July state budget solution begin to unravel, the Republican governor said judges – especially on the federal level – are preventing California from solving its problems. He complained in particular about judicial actions that have struck down some state worker furloughs, required reductions in the prison population, imposed restrictions on water delivery in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and this week blocked cuts to in-home...

The Extreme polarizing of politics by Democrats Congressman Joe Wilson. Just the name strikes up conversations of proper decorum and how one should speak to an elected official. Elected Republicans threw Rep. Wilson under the bus while braying about how wrong is was for the Congressman to shout out “You lie!” while president Barry Hussein Soetoro lied to the American people and to Congress about health care in a rare televised special called bicameral setting. California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano. Nothing? Nothing comes to mind? Oh you didn’t hear about this? We just went over a national civics lesson on decorum...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law marking May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, in honor of the slain gay-rights activist. The law encourages schools and other educational institutions to commemorate the day each year with discussions and other exercises that help students better understand Milk's significance on California politics and the gay-rights movement.

Why We Are Going to Hell – Part 4,025 America’s New Holiday bythelastcrusade.org Public school students throughout California will be celebrating May 22 as a new holiday. On this day, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born. As was Sir Laurence Oliver, arguably the world’s greatest artist. Richard Wagner, the great composer, was born on May 22 but his music will not be played for the students in commemoration of his works. Nor will Tommy Franks, the Yankee pitcher, be honored on this day, let alone St. Rita of Cascia, the patron of desperate causes....

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame. Leno's SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same sex marriage...

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is having trouble selling his latest act to California voters. A Field Poll released Tuesday finds the Republican governor with his lowest approval rating ever. Just 27 percent of voters approve of his performance, while 65 percent disapprove. The governor's esteem has been slipping since December 2007, when he enjoyed an approval rating of 60 percent. His highest ratings came in 2004, his first full year in office. Schwarzenegger's latest mark is the second lowest when matched against the six governors who preceded him. Only Democrat Gray Davis scored lower, registering a 22 percent...

With the signing of more gun control in California last night, the son of a Nazi will now know where the ammunition is.

Dear Gov. Schwarzenegger, While you were Twittering a few minutes ago about the "swift action" coming to Maria, your scofflaw wife was at it again -- jawing away on a handheld cell phone while driving in Brentwood. Maria Shriver: Click to watch But it gets worse ... while Maria was illegally yappin' away (the third time she's been photographed doin' it) she saw our cameraman catching the illegal activity on tape -- and that's when she dropped the phone in an attempt to cover it up! The tape does not lie.... Arnold, the fines are bad enough -- but do...

18:28 PDT SACRAMENTO -- People buying ammunition in California will soon have to be thumbprinted and dealers will have to keep records of sales, under legislation that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law. More News After vetoing similar bills three times since 2004, Schwarzenegger signed AB962 by Assemblyman Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, on Sunday, saying he now believes it will promote public safety. The measure is California's first statewide regulation of ammunition sales. It survived close votes in both the Assembly and state Senate and strong opposition from gun-rights organizations, which succeeded in stripping a provision that would have...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683 Governor Schwarzenegger/California Lawmakers Squander Limited Financial Resources on Firearm Owner Registration Scheme Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Fairfax, Va. - Governor Schwarzenegger has signed a severe yet impotent gun control measure into law. Assembly Bill 962, taking effect on February 1, 2011, mandates individuals purchasing ammunition to be fingerprinted and registered at the time of sale and outlaws mail order ammunition purchases. AB 962 also requires dealers to maintain these records indefinitely and make them available for inspection by the California Department of Justice. As an additional burden, ammunition retailers are also required...

DeVore assails Schwarzenegger, Fiorina Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore said Monday night Republicans would repeat the mistake they made in supporting Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor if they back former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina for the Senate. In a speech to the Republican Party of San Diego County, DeVore, a three-term Assembly member from Irvine who cannot run for re-election because of term limits, denounced Schwarzenegger for signing a gun control bill and one establishing a day of recognition for slain gay-rights leader Harvey Milk. "We were told in 2003 that it was important in this historic one-of-a-kind recall...

LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed an anti-paparazzi bill making it easier to sue media outlets that use photos that invade celebrities' privacy.

California voters have never thought less of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature, according to a Field Poll to be released today. Despite that, a strong majority of poll respondents favor the governor's move to call a special session of the Legislature to deal with California's water crisis and tax reform issues. "It's really a cry of desperation," said Barbara O'Connor, a political science professor at Sacramento State University. "It's ironic. Voters don't like them, they don't trust them, but they want them to come back to Sacramento and solve their problems." Only 27 percent of poll respondents approve...

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Reporting from Sacramento - This had been Sacramento's lost year, a stretch marked by a budget meltdown and hyper-partisan rancor, mass veto threats and mounting public distrust of state government as usual. But as the curtain dropped, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger performed as he has for half a dozen years in office: predictably unpredictable. After threatening a mass veto to spur a big water deal, the governor reversed course, revved up his ballpoint pen and signed a surprising slate of legislation. It included bills he had vetoed in the past and a flurry of measures that steered sharply away from the...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill recognizing gay marriages sanctioned in other states during the nearly five months such unions were legal in California. Schwarzenegger says the action is consistent with a state Supreme Court ruling upholding the marriages of same-sex couples who tied the knot in California before voters approved Proposition 8. Proposition 8 is a constitutional amendment passed in November that limits marriage to a man and a woman. The bill signed by the governor late Sunday also says gay and lesbian couples who were married in other states after Proposition 8's passage have...

California cows are the first in the nation with the legal right to swat flies as nature intended now that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill banning the painful practice of tail docking that he once mocked as being a waste of legislators' time. The governor also signed other farm bills he famously ridiculed this summer as he tried to pressure legislators to focus on balancing the state's beleaguered budget.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Sacramento, CA – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation that will help law enforcement officials track down and apprehend armed criminals and other prohibited persons. AB 962 by Assembly Member Kevin DeLeon (D-Los Angeles) had the support of law enforcement officials from across the state and was modeled after successful city ordinances, including the cities of Sacramento and Los Angeles. AB 962 was the Brady Campaign´s top priority bill in this year´s legislature. The law requires maintenance of purchaser records by handgun ammunition vendors. Local law enforcement can use these records to find illegal guns. "The purchase records will...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states. In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame. Leno's SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers failed to reach final agreement on ways to solve the state's water problems Sunday, but the governor nevertheless released scores of bills after concluding some progress had been made. Schwarzenegger's action reversed a threat last week in which he vowed to kill "a lot" of the 704 bills on his desk unless he and legislators reached an agreement. The governor said progress in closed-door talks was enough so that he is calling a special session on water, and discussions could continue. It was not announced when the session will start. "While we still have a...

I recently read a newsmax.com article (California Becomes Fiscal Basket Case) summarizing California's fiscal woes that included an observation from USC professor Kevin Starr that "California is on the verge of becoming the first failed state in America." Recounting the history of California's current woes, the article notes that "Had California lived within the limitation imposed under the 1979 Gann Amendment, which limited the growth of spending to the rate of economic growth, some analysts say the state would be in a far better fiscal situation today. But former Gov. George Deukmejian allowed exemptions to budget items, such as education,...

Here is video of a California GOP Ad that points out the hypocrisy of Democrats, who talked so much about "decorum" and "civility" when GOP Rep. Joe Wilson shouted "You Lie" at President Obama during a speech before a joint session of Congress. The video shows how Democrats in California have treated GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with anything but "decorum" and "civility." . . . (VIDEO)

President Obama on Saturday urged Congress to "rise above the politics of the moment" and adopt healthcare legislation, saying the effort has gathered momentum in recent days, with Republicans, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Senate Majority leader Bill Frist, endorsing reform. The Congressional Budge Office found the Senate Finance Committee's version of health care would make coverage affordable for millions now without it, "without adding a dime to our deficits," said Obama in his weekly radio address. Read more about bill's price tag. When Schwarzenegger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg earlier in the came out in...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened publicly Thursday what he has hinted privately for days: He will veto many of the 700-plus bills on his desk unless a water deal is struck this week. "I made it very clear to the legislators and to the leaders that if this does not get done, then I will veto a lot of their legislation, a lot of their bills, so that should inspire them to go and get the job done," he said. Schwarzenegger's threat came at the end of remarks to the Association of Community College Trustees' Leadership Congress in San Francisco. Hours...

ormer San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown is lambasting what he calls "highly inappropriate" behavior by San Francisco Democrats Wednesday who greeted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with a hostile reception during a surprise drop-in at a San Francisco Democratic Party fund-raiser. But outspoken State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, who shouted "You lie!" to Schwarzenneger during the event at the Fairmont Hotel -- and didn't deny reports he walked out with a quip of "kiss my gay ass" -- said the GOP governor's "cheap publicity stunt" earned a very appropriate show of political theater, San Francisco-style. Schwarzenegger, in a statement this...

WASHINGTON -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a statement saying he supports President Barack Obama's goals of overhauling the country's health care system to hold down costs and improve quality. The statement doesn't endorse any specific piece of legislation. But Schwarzenegger says he appreciates Obama's partnership with the states and thinks lawmakers from both parties should "move forward and accomplish these vital goals for the American people." Schwarzenegger's comments come as the White House and Senate Democrats are touting other statements of support from Republicans _ though most have been accompanied by various caveats. Former Health and Human Services...

The White House has landed another big Republican voice in support of sweeping health care legislation: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California. With the health care legislation headed for debate on the floors of both chambers of Congress, the Obama administration has stepped up efforts to win support from Republicans away from Capitol Hall, where G.O.P. lawmakers are overwhelmingly opposed to the legislation. In his statement, Mr. Schwarzenegger did not endorse any specific version of the legislation. But he noted his own efforts at improving the health care system in California and urged bipartisan cooperation at the national level. Here’s his...