"The Republican candidate for lieutenant governor said he
no longer will use a fund-raising letter sent on his behalf by Mel Gibson, whose reputation has been severely damaged by an anti-Semitic rant," reports the AP's Juliet Williams.
Apparently, targeted voter lists for misogynists and anti-Semites were unavailable.
"The three-page letter written by Gibson and sent to potential donors from
Tom McClintock's campaign says the conservative state senator from Thousand Oaks could use the lieutenant governor's office as a 'powerful engine for governmental reform.'"
"'Tom saw the news and the situation as it was unfolding with
Mel Gibson and made a conscious decision to direct people not to use the letter any further. He was disillusioned by the situation with Mr. Gibson,' [campaign spokesman
Stan] Devereaux said."
"In the letter, Gibson said he was impressed by McClintock's stances during his bid for governor in the 2003 recall election, eventually won by
Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gibson said he does not usually support political candidates."
"
He stood solidly for principles that might not be politically correct -- but were right and true,' Gibson wrote."
While McClintock's campaign may not be using the letter, another campaign for lite gov just might.
"The campaigns supporting and opposing Proposition 87
have opened the fall initiative advertising season with dueling 30-second spots seeking to distinguish the oil tax proposal from the 12 other measures on the November ballot," reports the Bee's Laura Mecoy.
"[W]ith the oil companies pumping nearly $30 million into the opposition's campaign, "Yes on 87" spokeswoman
Beth Willon said supporters decided to defy "conventional wisdom" by hitting the airwaves.
"'This is a case of David throwing the first stone at Goliath,' said Willon. 'We know we will be outspent by the oil companies. … We are going up earlier than conventional wisdom might dictate to define ourselves, rather than let the oil companies define us.'"
"The 'No on 87' campaign fired back with its own television ad and a 60-second radio spot, both of which began airing Tuesday in the state's major media markets."
"'People are going to have a lot of time to chew the fat on Proposition 87 because nothing else is going to be out there this early with this type of exposure -- except the governor's race,' said 'No on 87' spokesman
Scott Macdonald."
Back in the Capitol, today promises to be another big day as the Assembly Appropriations Committee
hears nearly 200 bills, including
a bill that regulates the storage of human milk and
plastic surgery.
"With more than 1,700 pieces of legislation pending -- many affecting the bottom line of powerful, monied interests --
state lawmakers have crammed their final 19 days of business in 2006 with 75 fundraisers to seek campaign contributions from those same interest groups," reports the Chron's Greg Lucas.
"Of those breakfasts, dinners and cocktail receptions -- there's even a $3,300-a-person fundraiser at the Aug. 20 Raiders-49ers game -- 32 are being hosted by legislative candidates."
"'
It's an opportune time to fleece lobbyists for as much money as possible because the fate of bills is literally being voted on,' said
Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at Cal State Sacramento."
"'From July 1 until the election in November, legislators will have spent only three weeks in Sacramento.
It's simply a function of the calendar,' said
Steve Maviglio, Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez's press secretary."
The Merc News's Steven Harmon reports on the
attempts to jump start a redistricting compromise in the last weeks of session. "Tuesday, a coalition of reform advocates stepped up their efforts, calling for swift passage -- and for the measure to be placed on the November ballot."
"Now's the time, said
Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause, because the current Legislature has less to lose by giving up the power to draw legislative maps, following the 2010 U.S. Census. All members of the Assembly and most members of the Senate will be gone in 2011 by the time the new maps would take effect."
"'So they can vote with their true heart,' Feng said in a teleconference call organized by California's Voices of Reform, a bipartisan coalition supporting redistricting. 'The next class of legislators might be more wavering in doing it, and if we have a bill for 2008, we might face a much greater opposition from the Legislature because they'll feel they're losing a level of control and power.'"
Wouldn't they be losing that same power in 2006?
"Officials from smaller cities met with teachers union leaders Tuesday to
discuss what it would take to win the cities' support for legislation that would give Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa substantial authority over the L.A. school district," reports Howard Blume in the Times.
"The mayor's office did not take part, but it has separately tried to woo these cities to join unions in backing Villaraigosa's efforts. Support from the cities could prove crucial if the vote is close in the Legislature, which will take up the bill next week."
"'United Teachers Los Angeles seemed to be very receptive to our suggestions,' said
Jeffrey Prang, a West Hollywood city councilman who also serves as president of the California Contract Cities Assn. 'They did not discount any of them. I felt somewhat optimistic.'"
Dan Walters looks at the state of tribal gaming after yesterday's new compact between the governor and Agua Caliente. "The dominance of Indian casinos was underscored anew Tuesday when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Agua Caliente Band, which already operates two casinos in Palm Springs,
announced agreement on a new compact that will expand the tribe's authorization from 2,000 slot machines to 5,000 and allow it to open a third gambling site -- pushing the desert city that much closer to becoming a miniature Las Vegas. The new compact is expected to generate $1.8 billion for the state treasury over its life, but many, many billions for the tribe that owns much of Palm Springs and 31,000-plus other acres of land."
"Tribal casinos are sucking up so many gambling dollars that non-Indian venues are feeling a big-time pinch. Card rooms and horse tracks, with limited forms of gambling, can't compete with Indian casinos and their wide offerings, and the slots give the tribes a financial base that no other venue can begin to match."
That's the underlying basis for
a bill, now pending in the Assembly, that would boost the potential wagering limits on games, particularly poker, in the non-Indian card rooms whose only competitive edge now is their locations in urban areas, an advantage that could disappear if the tribal expansionism succeeds."
"A Los Angeles federal judge said Tuesday that he would
allow a discrimination lawsuit filed against the University of California by a small Christian school in Riverside County to proceed," writes Rebecca Trounson for the Times.
"The plaintiffs — Calvary Chapel Christian School of Murrieta, several of its students and a group representing 4,000 Christian schools nationwide — filed suit last summer accusing UC of discriminating against them by setting admissions rules that violate their freedom of speech and religion."
"The plaintiffs allege that UC is biased in its admissions standards against courses taught from a conservative Christian viewpoint, while generally approving those from other religious and political perspectives."
Finally, "A judge
ordered a blood-alcohol test for a defense lawyer who was slurring his words, then declared a mistrial after declaring him too tipsy to argue a kidnapping case. 'I don't think you can tell a straight story because you are intoxicated,' the judge told
Joseph Caramango as she declared a mistrial for his client."
"Caramango, 41, acknowledged in court that he was drinking the previous night, but maintained he was not drunk. If convicted, his client faces life in prison."
"Clark County District Judge
Michelle Leavitt announced Caramango had a blood-alcohol level of 0.075 percent. Nevada's legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers is 0.08 percent."
"I don't believe I've committed any ethical violation,' Caramango said Tuesday, disputing the accuracy of the breath-alcohol test. 'If it proved anything, it proved I was not intoxicated.'"
He then blamed the Jews for all the problems in Vegas, and referred to the judge as "sugar tits."
