Tag: california

Reprinted in full, with permission, from Ballot Access News, the newsletter of the highly respected and trustworthy ballot access expert Richard Winger.

Government-printed ballots in the United States were first created in 1888, and almost from the start, opponents of new and minor political parties started manipulating the ballot access laws to keep certain parties off the ballot.  The first such instance was in Nevada, when the 1893 legislature increased the petition requirement for new parties and independent candidates to 10% of the last vote cast, in a vain attempt to keep the Peoples (Populist) Party off the ballot.

But in over a century of struggle to avoid monopolization of the general election ballot to just the two major parties, there has never been a pressure group that worked in favor of restrictive ballot access laws, until very recently.  Leaders of the former New Alliance Party, who have renamed themselves several times, now call themselves IndependentVoting.org.  They hold themselves out as the leaders of independent voters, but they have become a pressure group working to limit choices on the general election ballot to just Democrats and Republicans.

Canadian Christmas Caroling:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…

Air Canada sponsors a local band “Abandon Paris” to sing at the Vancouver Airport on Saturday, while dancers from the Arts Umbrella Dance Company put on red stocking caps and dance in the airport.

Air Canada Flashmob. Abandon Paris sings “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” at the Vancouver Airport

United States Christmas Caroling:

Attempt at singing Christmas carols results in evacuation of Roseville CA, Westfield Galleria Mall when gathering crowd hears creaking sounds and feels floor shift under their feet.  

You remember the Roseville Galleria Mall.  https://www.docudharma.com/diar…    It was the one a single crazy arsonist set fire back to earlier this fall,  on Oct 21, resulting in millions of dollars worth of damage, (partially thanks to the Roseville PD, because the sprinklers were turned off,  and they wouldn’t let the Fire Dept into the building because Crazy Pyro Guy had a …. backpack. So they send in The Bomb Finding Robot, the Fire Dept has to use ladder trucks from the outside, a giant hole burns through the roof of the mall, and days later, under the fallen ashes and debris…  it was still a backpack.   ) and Gov. Schwarzenegger then declaring Placer County under a state of emergency.  Well, they got part of the Galleria Mall open for the Holiday shopping season, the Sacramento Choral Society shows up at the Food Court,  and….

12/20/10 Auburn Journal

Police reported receiving between 40 and 50  “911” calls from shoppers warning of dangerous overcrowding They dispatched 10 police cars, in addition to the five fire engines, one truck and four ambulances.

From a helicopter, officials ordered people to get into their vehicles or leave the promenade, where many of the singers and listeners had gathered. Joyfully defying officers, the choir members rang out with cries of “O Holy Night,” “We wish you a merry Christmas,” and of course, Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.

A fire department spokesman said mall officials knew about the pending concert and described the movement at the food court as what one might see in a minor earthquake. No injuries were reported.

An estimated 5,000 people had to be evacuated, and it made international headlines.  Yay California !

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worl…

Some Chorus people did not immediately try to leave the mall and contribute to the ongoing massive traffic jam at the nearby 65 exit/entrance ramp, but instead attempted to sing outside.    Catch the infamous multimillion dollar Placer County helicopter circling overhead ordering them to leave as they sing “Silent Night”  and the kids taking pictures of it with their cameras.

Look, up in the East.  Is that the Star of Bethlehem ?  No, it’s the searchlight on the Sherif’s Dept Helicopter. Get the ****  Out of the Mall, it might fall down !  

Your Homeland Security Tax Dollars At Work.

Sample comments under AJ story (remember, this is wingnuttia Tea Party Land)

I hope the cops stun gunned everyone of them

where was mall security? why should my tax dollars be wasted on Westfield ….  

the mall should have turned on the sprinkler system….  that’s twice now…  

thanks again for the holiday cheer morons. Merry Christmas and a happy laryngitis infection to you all.

all you are asking for is a potential terrorist attack of some kind…  The Viet Cong were experts at using big groups….  there are a lot of al Queda wannabees out there

After an inspection, the mall was declared safe to re open today, according to the city and mall engineers.  http://www.mercurynews.com/top…

Just don’t sing too loud.  We’re not sure about our structural integrity.  

Another in the category of Things That I Just Can’t Make Up:

“I guess I’m not going to the mall, after all. Good God.”

Friday, October 22, 2010 – Outgoing Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, today proclaimed a state of emergency in Placer County, due to a major fire causing severe damage to the regional shopping mall in the city of Roseville the day before.  

Text of Proclamation from the Governor’s office:

A PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY

WHEREAS on October 21, 2010 a major fire caused severe damage to the regional shopping mall in the City of Roseville in Placer County; and

WHEREAS the fire caused extensive damage to the mall and numerous stores, and it is likely that the mall will be closed for an indefinite period of time; and

WHEREAS the fire and potential criminal activity required the evacuation of hundreds of shoppers and employees; and

WHEREAS the fire required fire agencies and other emergency responders from throughout the region to respond; and

WHEREAS the closure of the mall and the stores will likely cause the immediate loss of many jobs in the area and the need for the unemployed to quickly receive financial assistance; and

WHEREAS the fire created a substantial amount of ash and other debris that will need to be quickly removed in order to reestablish the shopping mall and jobs; and



WHEREAS on October 21, 2010, the City of Roseville declared a local emergency and requested that I declare a state of emergency; and  

WHEREAS the circumstances of this fire and subsequent damage to a regional shopping center, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any single county, city and county, or city and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to combat; and

WHEREAS under the provisions of section 8558(b) of the California Government Code, I find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist due to the fire in Placer County.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with the authority vested in me by the state Constitution and statutes, including the California Emergency Services Act, and in particular, section 8625 of the California Government Code, HEREBY PROCLAIM A STATE OF EMERGENCY to exist within Placer County.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that all agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) and the State Emergency Plan, and that Cal EMA provide local government assistance under the authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED in accordance with the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the State of California, including the Emergency Services Act and in particular Government Code sections 8567 and 8571 to immediately mitigate the effects of the emergency:

1. That the provisions of Unemployment Insurance Code section 1253 imposing a one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance applicants are suspended as to all applicants who are unemployed as a direct result of the fire and damage to the regional shopping center in Placer County, and who apply for unemployment insurance benefits during the time period beginning October 21, 2010 and ending on the close of business on April 21, 2011 and who are otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance benefits in California.

1. That the statutes, rules, regulations and requirements are hereby suspended to the extent they apply to the following activities: (a) removal, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous debris resulting from the disaster; (b) necessary restoration; and (c) related activities. Such statutes, rules, regulations and requirements are suspended only to the extent necessary for expediting the removal and cleanup of debris from the disaster, and for implementing any restoration plan. The Secretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary for the California Resources Agency shall use sound discretion in applying this suspension to ensure that the suspension serves the purpose of accelerating cleanup and recovery, while at the same time protecting public health and the environment. This order shall apply to, but is not necessarily limited to, solid waste facility permits, and waste discharge requirements for storage, disposal, and emergency construction activities, along with waste discharge requirements and/or Water Quality Certification for discharges of fill material or pollutants. To the extent it is within their administrative authority and discretion, the boards, departments and offices within the California Environmental Protection Agency and California Resources Agency shall expedite the granting of other authorizations, waivers or permits necessary for the removal, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous debris resulting from the fire, and for other actions necessary for the protection of public health and the environment.

1. State and local agencies shall, as necessary for the protection of public health and the environment and pursuant to requests from local government, enter into contracts and arrange for the procurement of materials, goods, and services necessary to quickly remove dangerous debris, repair damaged resources, and restore and protect the impacted area. Because strict compliance with the provisions of the Government Code and the Public Contract Code applicable to public agency contracts would prevent, hinder, or delay these efforts, applicable provisions of those statutes, including, but not limited to, advertising and competitive bidding requirements, are suspended to the extent necessary to address the effects of the fire.

I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this proclamation be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given of this proclamation.

In my previous entry, I posted about Green Party candidates who are running for political office in Ohio.  Before proceeding to the topic of this entry, I want to point out that a non-Democrat left-winger is running for U.S. Senate in Ohio.  His name is Dan La Botz, and he is running as a member of the Socialist Party of Ohio.  His web site is here.

http://danlabotz.com

Committee to Elect Dan La Botz

P.O.B. 19136

Cincinnati, OH 45210-9998

Rossl has, in his turn, posted about three Green Party U.S. Senate candidates who stand a real chance of doing well this year and who can certainly use your help to pull off wins or, failing those, enough of a showing to send a clear message where voters want Democrats to go.  I should also point out that John Gray is running for U.S. Senate in Arkansas, and has a chance of winning as well.

http://www.johngrayforussenate…

John L. Gray

Candidate for U.S. Senate

P. O. Box 434

Greenland, AR  72737

You can help California legalize pot (Proposition 19 on the November ballot) and get a groovy T-shirt or other cool stuff in the process.  I told you this was blatant.

California’s “Just Say Now” campaign:

We just launched the new Just Say Now online store – and Facebook already banned it.

One of the best ways to show your support for legalizing marijuana is with our Just Say Now gear. All proceeds from our store go to support our efforts to pass marijuana initiatives in 2010.

You’ll spread the word about our campaign, and support our organizing at the same time. It’s a win-win for legalizing marijuana – even if Facebook won’t let us show you our store.

Pick up your gear now at the Just Say Now store – and stick it to Facebook’s censorship.

…snip…

[To see] what we have in our brand new store, go to firedoglake.

Hey!  This is cool!

Update 9/23/10: Latest poll results on Cal Prop 19 to legalize marijuana:

California is ready to control and tax cannabis rather than prohibit it.

Public Policy Polling (PPP) has Prop 19 up 9 points, 47-38. Survey USA has us up 5 points, 47-42.

Of particular note, voters under the age of 45 are expected to turn out in higher numbers in California than other states. This is likely because of the excitement throughout the state over Prop 19. According to PPP, among these younger voters, we’re up 20 points, 54-34.

Way Cool!