Today's Fresh Meat

August 26, 2007 @ 10:00 AM

This year's 52-day late budget adds to the allure of switching to a majority rule, which is the law of the land in all but California, Alaska and Rhode Island, the Sacramento Bee reports. Even conservative Republican Sen. Tom McClintock (left), one of this year's 14 crusaders has suggested that the two-thirds rule does not induce better budgets. Rather, it has allowed wavering GOP legislators to vote "aye" in exchange for district pork.

Lost amidst the partisan gridlock over the budget is the fact that some programs that cost a lot now could save us a lot down the road. The Los Angeles Times reports that rehabilitation programs aimed at the mentally ill homeless took a $55 million hit, a cut Sen. Darrell Steinberg called "unconscionable." Helping people rebuild their lives is expensive, but if we succeed, we've saved a lot for next year and possibly saved lives too.

Reminding readers that the budget is a moral document that in a sense reflects the values of the people, former Assemblymember Hannah Beth Jackson points out in the California Progress Report that the state's yacht owners (which include Senate GOP Leader Dick Ackerman) received a $45 million tax break. Yacht owners favored over the mentally ill homeless. Some values.

The California Restaurant Association, not exactly a bastion of progressivism, indicated this week that its members would be willing to support a tax to pay for increased health care services, but they prefer a sales tax, writes Daniel Weintraub in today's Bee. There are a lot of problems with relying on a sales tax—for one thing, it's one of the most regressive taxes around—but we're heartened that restaurants aren't just saying no and are actually putting something on the table.

Assemblymember Patty Berg discusses her support for increased flexibility for family and medical leave in today's Progress Report. Berg is working with Rep. Lynn Woolsey to support legislation ensuring women can care for a sick child without fear of losing their job. She is is also looking at how post-traumatic stress may effect women soldiers differently than men.

A healthy dose of skepticism is appropriate in assessing Assemblymember Julia Brownley bill to add alternative testing measures to complement the exit exam. The Bee reports that Brownley's measure, supported by Democrats and education groups but opposed by the Governor, would require public hearings on potential alternatives, which could be a worthwhile process.

A Davis High School student writes in today's Bee that teens should break out of their bubble and engage with the world around them. She argues that high school should be about more than getting good grades and getting into a decent college, and she's right.

Debra Saunders has talent for attacking the messenger while essentially conceding the message, as displayed in today's Chronicle. In it, she chastises former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder for saying poll results that show liberals reading more than conservatives demonstrate Karl Rove sound bites like "no new taxes" can't fill a book. Saunders pounces on the statement, but doesn't dispute the core assertion: that Rove has reduced the conservative philosophy to feel-good platitudes.

Those infamous words, "ask your doctor about," have become pervasive and unending, causing concern about whether drug companies are creating an over-medicated America, the Bee editorializes today. The Bee recommends federal language beefing-up FDA enforcement tools to ensure advertising for new drugs is accurate.

George W. Bush has been a disaster of a president, from the U.S. border to the deserts of Iraq, writes Joe Guzzardi of the Lodi News-Sentinel. Guzzardi also takes the tasks those who voted for Bush's re-election because "at least they knew where he stood." So did the rest of us.

Looking to add some gravitas to your presidential campaign? Write a book, according to the LA Times. Every major contender this year—Republican and Democrat—has written a book (or had one written), though with one in four Americans reported as having not read any books last year, you wonder how many of these are actually being noticed.

That's all for today!