I am playing catch-up this weekend on stories about two things – a state program and some political shenanigans – that Governor Schwarzenegger needs to wake up and put a halt to.

The first is the restoration of $6 Million in the state budget for the Institute for Labor and Employment at the University of California. The supposed purpose of the organization is to support efforts to educate the public about the history of unions and such. But it has in reality become a publicly funded shrill for big labor, producing biased studies and organizing workers against businesses.

But the big problem with this “Institute” is not that, but its excursions into partisan politics. In 2003, this organization organized efforts against the recall of Gray Davis, including a seminar at a hotel here in Sacramento. Across the street from the hotel, recall supporters gathered to protest this misuse of public funds. Those supporters were then violently assaulted by some of the ILE members (see picture and video at the link).

This is one program that needs to be totally defunded. Tax dollars should not support partisan anti-business activists. Along with the illegal alien healthcare, this should have been a deal-breaker for the Republicans and governor during budget negotiations.

The next thing the Governor needs to use his power to put an end to is the defunding of the State Board of Education in retaliation for their adoption of a program requiring non-English speaking students to learn the language in a classroom setting with regular students, instead of segregated by themselves.

Arnold should have seen that as a Declaration of War by the legislature. He should have immediately moved to cut funds for the legislature until the funding for the board was restored. Instead, the legislature is holding the board hostage with no consequences, while the children of California suffer.

In short, Arnold has been running scared this year after last-year’s special election. He has basically not doing anything overly controversial, trying to get along with everyone.

Of course, I support his re-election, but that doesn’t mean I’m particularly happy with him. Arnold needs to wake up and face his liberal Democratic foes (and yes, they should be his foes) with courage instead of failing to confront them at all.

The Terminator would not be proud.

(Disclosure Note: Russo Marsh & Rogers, who I am an intern for, consulted for the group that orgaized the counter-protest to the Union rally)

This story really irks me. A social services agency is asking for a court order to force a 16 year old cancer patient to undergo chemotherapy for a second time. But after going through it once, he doesn'?t want to do it again, and his family agrees.

It would be a much different story if this were a little kid and the family was reckless in avoiding necessary and uncontroversial treatment. But that is not the case here, as there are definite reasons why the patient would not want to experience that very excruciating process.

This is a penultimate example of one of the biggest battles in this culture war: Who owns kids, their parents or the state?

As if you needed further evidence that one of Planned Parenthood goals is to end the alleged "World Population Crisis" by abortion, may I present to you this press release. While not explicitly saying so, it chastises President Bush for not supporting "reproductive rights" around the world as a step to end the "overpopulation."

Of course, this whole overpopulation thing is a myth. If every person in the world moved to Texas, they could each have a fairly nice 1120 square foot residence - not huge, but satisfactory. And then, every square inch of dry land outside of Texas could be used to sustain that population.

So the real proplem is not overpopulation, but stupid socialist policies that some nations employ. Less people won't help a bit.

I found this very interesting video on the internet. It is about how a pro-life group in Kansas managed to shut down a local abortion clinic through a very interesting method. What they did was to buy the building where the clinc was housed and then evict them. The building now houses the offices of the pro-life group and a memorial to the unborn children.

The video is a press conference with one of the organizers of the feat. The audio is a bit poor, but the really shocking thing is the video between about 1:00 and 2:00 of extremely poor conditions that were found inside the abandoned clinic. Clearly not sanitary.

All and all, a very good and uplifting story. Too bad their isn’t enough money to do this at every clinic.

I have begun a summer unpaid internship at the political consulting firm Russo,
Marsh, and Rogers. This is a great opportunity that should help me get some inside political
experience and frankly do something this summer besides sitting at home.

Now, I know that some of my loyal readers have concerns about Russo Marsh & Rogers, and particularlyone of their main clients, Move America Forward. Here are two posts from my good friend Eric Hogue that outline most of the issues raised. I am not going to address them at least in this post because they have already been discussed in-depth on this blog. But I do respect those concerns and considered them, although eventually decided they did not hold weight. However, you should continue to feel free to comment on MAF whenever I discuss it, including this post.

The main reason that I bring this up is so that you will be aware of my built-in biases when issues that RMR is working on arise. I will also try to alert you when an issue that we are working on comes up.

Once again, thank you for reading this blog.

Democratic candidate for governor Phil Angeledies has endorced a bill to legalize same sex marriage in California.

This issue is really simple. In 2000, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 22, to limit marriage to one man and one woman. Regardless of what you think of that initiative, you have to respect that as the law and will of the voters.

But some Democrats in the legislature have tried to pass gay marriage anyway. And now Phil Angeledies, the man who as governor would be supposed to listen to the people's opinions, has endorced their efforts to circumvent the law.

In essence, Phil Angeledies has just said "FU!" to the citizens of California. Why should be allow someone who doesn't respect the law to be governor?

NARAL has sent out an e-mail to its supporters (and disguised pro-life spies, which is how I got a hold of it. He he..) asking them to give $60 to the organization in honor of President Bush's 60th Birthday for the stated purpose:

If everyone makes a $60 Bush Birthday Bash gift today, we'll be well on our way to putting Senate leadership back into pro-choice hands this November.

Then they list the following races they intend to win to accomplish this "goal:"

Help defeat anti-choice Senators Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, and John Kyl.

Help re-elect pro-choice incumbent Senators Maria Cantwell, Debbie Stabenow, and Robert Menendez;

Elect pro-choice candidate Rep. Bernie Sanders to the open seat in Vermont and support pro-choice candidates in Maryland and Minnesota.

Here is the problem: Even if NARAL wins each and every one of the above races, it will not be enough for the Democrats to win the Senate, which is pretty much what it will take to get a pro-choice leadership. Here is why:

Right now, Republicans have 55 Senate seats. If they win the first three, that number will be down to 52. Now, assume that Bob Casey beats Rick Santorm in Pennsylvania, and it's 51 (this race is probably not included because Casey is pro-life even though a Democrat. But it matters for control of the Senate.)

Winning the last two groups of races will do nothing, as they are already held by Democrats.

So the best NARAL can do is 49 seats, 2 short of what they need in order to take control of the leadership. I'd say they are misleading their members for financial gain.

Cindy Sheehan is at it again in her latest column about her protest and fast at The White House:

Standing apart from our hundreds of supporters were about a dozen Freepers who were holding various signs (which is as much there right, as it is ours) with very "clever" messages on them. A few of the signs had the very pithy "Freedom Isn't Free." Well, I'm sorry, but the very definition of freedom is that it is free. Freedom is a birthright of every American and we have the Bill of Rights to prove it. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say anywhere that our young people have to fight insane wars for greedy swine to earn anyone any kind of freedoms. If freedom wasn't free it would be called "expensivedom."

My gosh, this woman is an idiot. Yes, humans have certain unalienable rights, but that doesn't mean they don't have to be defended from time to time.

She should ask a World War II veteran about this concept. But she probably considers that an "insane war for greedy swine" as well.

Isn't it lovely when people like Planned Parenthood are honest about their beliefs?:

At 25,209, the total of abortions performed in Michigan last year was the lowest since detailed record-keeping began. The abortion rate -- abortions per 1,000 women -- also dropped last year, from 22.0 in 1987 to 11.9 for women ages 15-44.

Diane Killian, spokesperson for the Michigan chapter of Planned Parenthood said she found the trend "dismaying." "Restrictions have created a climate of fear and intimidation," said Killian. "Forcing a teenage girl to obtain parental consent is barbaric. Making doctors comply with 'informed consent' exposes these young women to gruesome details that may scar them for life. The resulting decline in the exercise of a woman's freedom can only be seen as, at best, dismaying."

Killian says she is not optimistic about reversing the trend. "The radical right has got this country by the short hairs," said Killian. "A day may come when there are no more legal abortions. It's frightening."

No commentary nessesary.