LAT: Blame governator for CA budget deadlock

According to LAT editors today, California's budget deadlock is the fault of Arnold the governator. Forget that Democrats in California's legislature repeatedly submitted budget proposals they knew Republicans would not approve -- they need Republicans because of the two-thirds requirement -- and/or the governator would veto, including an attempt to pass tax increases illegally, that is, without the required two-thirds of the legislature approving them.

LAT: Sotomayor stands up to GOP grilling

That's the headline from today's LAT. Impartial, no?

Obama at the All-Star game

Obama throws the first pitch at the All-Star game. He winds up to do it. Who is he imitating? His pitch barely reaches home plate, though he practiced before the game. What a fraud. Surely he used Air Force One to get to St. Louis from Washington. Surely he took the Secret Service with him. Surely, St. Louis police helped insure the president's safety. It was expensive and it accomplished nothing except it got the president on television again. He could have gotten on television from Washington, though the All-Star game probably drew a larger audience than he could have drawn alone..

Lexington's leaving, thank God

The Economist's Lexington columnist is leaving America after 13 years. Good riddance. In his final column, Lexington passes on his observations about America's pluses and minuses. It appears he has learned a little but fails to understand some aspects of America's culture. See the column.

Meanwhile, a new Lexington takes his place. His first (presumably) column is about Sarah Palin, wouldn't you know. Lexington admits he lives and socializes with "highly educated liberals" who call Palin “moron”, “idiot”, “megalomaniac” or worse. Then he proceeds to offer "expert" testimony about the kinds of people who support Palin. They're uneducated, he says, and the job market has been unkind to them for years. Too often they're white and male, they're under privileged and they object to reverse discrimination. They make up the Republican base and there aren't enough of them to elect a candidate. Republican Party bigwigs don't want Palin as a presidential candidate, Lexington argues. They're too smart for that. They want someone who is less polarizing and more competent.

Which raises the question? How does Lexington know these things. From talking with his liberal friends?

Too much Obama

On July 4th, Obama appeared on television during the Capital Fourth progam on PBS. Apparently he is to appear during the Baseball All-Star game tonight. Wonder why he wasn't at Michael Jackson's Memorial. The guy is a media hog. It takes a huge ego to appear on television as often as he does.

California's budget crisis

Nothing has changed. California's legislative Democrats still refuse to offer a budget that Republican legislators and the governator will approve. The Democrats can't do it without them, though the lower house tried -- passing illegal tax increases just days ago.

How will this end? Only God knows. Ultimately, California's voters are responsible for this mess, having put these immature, idiot legislators into office. (A legislator, who shall remain nameless due to a senior moment, has advertised lately on the radio for a constitutional amendment that would end the citizen initiative process, arguing that only the legislature is qualified to submit issues to voters. Meanwhile, the governator has rightly criticized the legislature for holding hearings on cow tails while the budget crisis remains unsolved.) A court, perhaps a bankruptcy court, may eventually be saddled with solving this crisis. God help that poor court.