Category: California Government

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy asks Health and Human Services…

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price isn’t a month into his new job and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is already asking him to take a weed-whacker to President Barack Obama’s abortion legacy. Specifically, the majority leader wants Price to enforce what’s known as the Weldon Amendment to kill an abortion-related government mandate in California.

Calls grow for Sessions to withdraw from Russia probe

A growing number of Republicans joined Democratic leaders Thursday in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step aside from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election. Top Democrats demanded that Sessions go further and resign as the nation’s top law enforcement officer after the revelation that he had twice talked with Moscow’s U.S. envoy during the campaign.

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In the White House, President Donald J. Trump is like a lion in the zoo, a sort of sad, caged creature. “But if you let him out of the zoo and into his natural habitat, he feels like the guy who actually won the election and is President of the United States,” said Bruce Haynes, a communications expert and founding partner of Purple Strategies, a bipartisan political consulting firm.

California is, like, totally out of control. Just the way we like it.

On Saturday, using his favorite 140-character medium, President Trump insulted the federal jurist who blocked his immigration order aimed at Muslim travelers, dismissing Judge James L. Robart as a “so-called judge.” Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, also on Twitter, responded tartly: “This ‘so-called’ judge was nominated by a ‘so-called’ President & was confirmed by the ‘so-called’ Senate.

House GOP leaders want more security at town halls

House Speaker Paul Ryan and top House GOP leaders are urging rank-and-file members to increase security after several unruly town hall meetings dominated by Obamacare protests, including one that involved a member needing a police escort. Members were cautioned at a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday to be aware of organized efforts to disrupt events at home and told them take steps to ensure their own safety and that of their aides.

GOP leaders advise House members on dealing with protests

House Republicans are discussing how to deal with protesters showing up at their town halls and other events in their home districts after angry confrontations this past weekend. GOP leaders told members at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to be welcoming and polite while arranging for moderators and security.

‘This Land’: The Pro-Immigrant Radicalism of Lady Gaga and Woody Guthrie at the Super Bowl

By beginning with Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” and then switching to Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is your Land,” Lady Gaga engaged in a subtle but very radical critique of the immigration and other policies of Donald J. Trump. Her switch at the end to quoting the pledge of allegiance with the ending phrase “with justice and liberty for all” was a further critique of Trump’s latent white nationalism.

“This Land:” The pro-Immigrant Radicalism of Lady Gaga and Guthrie at Half-Time

By beginning with Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” and then switching to Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is your Land,” Lady Gaga engaged in a subtle but very radical critique of the immigration and other policies of Donald J. Trump. Her switch at the end to quoting the pledge of allegiance with the ending phrase “with justice and liberty for all” was a further critique of Trump’s latent white nationalism.

Far-right hopeful: French election ‘choice of civilization’

Travelers from the seven Muslim countries targeted by President Donald Trump are enjoying tearful reunions with loved ones in the U.S. now that the ban has been swept aside Travelers from the seven Muslim countries targeted by President Donald Trump are enjoying tearful reunions with loved ones in the U.S. now that the ban has been swept aside A south-central Idaho judge has ordered a 19-year-old man not to have sex with anyone except the person he’s married to as part of his sentencing for statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl A south-central Idaho judge has ordered a 19-year-old man not to have sex with anyone except the person he’s married to as part of his sentencing for statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl Police have arrested a man in the strangulation of a New York City woman who had gone out for a run last summer and was found dead in a secluded marsh Police say DNA evidence led … (more)

The Latest: Trump appeal: Aliens lack constitutional rights

A U.S. judge on Friday imposed a nationwide hold on President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries The Justice Department has appealed a judge’s order blocking his travel ban at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, citing the “sovereign prerogative” of a president to admit or exclude aliens The American Humane organization says a third-party investigation prompted by leaked video from the set of “A Dog’s Purpose” found no animal injuries occurred during the scenes The American Humane organization says a third-party investigation prompted by leaked video from the set of “A Dog’s Purpose” found no animal injuries occurred during the scenes Visa holders from seven majority-Muslim countries affected by President Donald Trump’s travel ban are hurrying to board U.S.-bound flights following federal judge’s order temporarily … (more)

California moves to be 1st “sanctuary state” from Trump’s immigration policy

The Public Safety Committee of the U.S. California State Senate approved a bill Tuesday which would make the state a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Introduced by State Senate President pro tempore Kevin de Leon, this bill would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using resources or spending money to enforce federal immigration laws, including to investigate, interrogate, detain or arrest anyone due to their immigration status.

Could California go it alone with Obamacare? How much are you willing to pay?

As President Donald Trump and the Republican majority U.S. Congress work to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, California officials continue to look for ways to keep as much of the law as possible. That’s a question lawmakers might be asking residents in the months to come as President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress scurry to repeal the Affordable Care Act and scramble for a plan to replace it.

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Jerry Brown is coming off a blockbuster year of liberal wins: He secured an extension of landmark climate change legislation, signed off on an increase in California’s minimum wage, expanded family leave laws, toughened gun laws, and persuaded voters to both soften sentencing laws and reject a ballot measure that would have threatened two of his legacy projects. Yet Brown delivers his State of the State address Tuesday facing far more precarious circumstances than a year ago, largely due to circumstances beyond his control.

Trump opponent poised to become California attorney general

In their first official action since Donald Trump became president, California lawmakers are poised Monday to confirm a Democratic nominee for attorney general who has vowed to defend the state’s liberal policies against the new administration and the Republican Congress. Xavier Becerra, who is expected to easily clear this last hurdle in the heavily Democratic Legislature, says he will fight any federal law he believes infringes on the rights of Californians.

Storms delay start of Obama’s post-presidential vacation

Former President Barack Obama’s plane flies over Palm Springs International Airport and is diverted to March Air Reserve Base after bad weather prevented him and his family from landing at Palm Springs International Airport in Palm Springs, Calif., Friday, Jan. 19, 2017. Obama left Washington after attending President Donald Trump’s morning inauguration.

Trump taps former Georgia governor for agriculture secretary

After weeks of speculation , former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue was selected to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary, according to an official knowledgeable of the nomination but not authorized to speak publicly. Some agriculture leaders see Perdue, who grew up on a farm and earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine, as a strong supporter of farmers and ranchers who understands the issues facing rural America.

California hires ex-Attorney General Holder to fight Trump

Democratic leaders in the California Legislature said Wednesday they have hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to advise them on a legal strategy as they gird for a fight against President-elect Donald Trump. The precise role of the high-profile lawyer remained unclear, but his politically connected firm will be paid $25,000 a month plus expenses from the Legislature’s budget to help lawmakers develop strategies “regarding potential actions of the federal government that may be of concern to the state of California,” according to the contract with Holder.

California hires ex-Attorney General Holder to fight Trump

Democratic leaders in the California Legislature said Wednesday they have hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to advise them on a legal strategy as they gird for a fight against President-elect Donald Trump. The precise role of the high-profile lawyer remained unclear, but his politically connected firm will be paid $25,000 a month plus expenses from the Legislature’s budget to help lawmakers develop strategies “regarding potential actions of the federal government that may be of concern to the state of California,” according to the contract with Holder.

Trump objects after House GOP votes to gut ethics office

President-elect Donald Trump criticized House Republicans Tuesday for making one of their first acts a vote to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, arguing that tax reform and health care should be higher priorities. “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority,” Trump asked over Twitter the morning after the surprise and secretive move by the House GOP.

House GOP votes to gut independent ethics office

House Republicans have voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on Tuesday.

How to Get People to Vote

I have proposed a reform of the Electoral College that would return power back to state legislatures, would end the myth of “popular vote” for president, and would end voter fraud in presidential elections in every state chose this reform: place the selection of presidential electors back where it was in the first decades of the republic and have those electors chosen directly by state legislatures. As folks commenting on my article noted, we ought also to repeal the 17th Amendment and have state legislatures again reclaim the power to pick United States senators.

California Licenses 800K Illegal Aliens as Motor Voter Law Looms – Breitbart

Over the last two years, the Golden State has licensed over 800,000 illegal aliens to drive, and as the new motor voter law AB 1461 goes into effect in 2017, anti-Trump lawmakers are vowing to fight the Trump administration on attempts to enforce immigration law. AB 60 went into effect on January 1, 2015, inviting well over a million illegal aliens in California to apply for driver licenses with lawmaker promises that their non-citizen status would not be shared with immigration authorities.

The Year’s Best Drug Scares

Marijuana was on the ballot in six states this year, and prohibitionists hauled out some familiar, even quaint, arguments against legalization. Three of those warnings made my list of the year’s most memorable drug scares, which is rounded out by the panic over adolescent vaping and the DEA’s decision to treat kratom as a public menace.

Critics say a popular vote would take power from the ‘white establishment’ – but it might not

Bill O’Reilly doesn’t want the Electoral College – or the disproportionate power it brings rural, white voters – to disappear. In a two-and-a-half minute introduction to the segment, the conservative Fox News anchor threw his support behind the system, insisting its survival was necessary to ensure that voters in predominantly rural states are not overrun by a growing population of minorities in city centers.

Obama signs bill for Flint water, California drought

President Barack Obama signed a bill Friday authorizing water projects across the country, including $170 million to address lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, and $558 million to provide relief to drought-stricken California. Obama said the bill advances vital projects across the country to restore watersheds, improve flood control and rebuild water infrastructure – including pipes in Flint, where residents have struggled with lead-tainted water for more than two years.