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George SkeltonCapitol Journal |
Recent Columns:
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein says: "The bottom line is the election is in 2010. And I'll make a decision at the beginning of the year."
Seven weeks past their constitutional deadline for passing a state budget, legislators still are stumbling around. Why? Because they haven't yet done the "Dance of Death."
Reading what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had to say at yet another wildfire photo-op assured me that it was safe to go on vacation for two weeks. There'd be no interruption by Capitol politicians agreeing to a budget deal.
One severely broken part of California's state government is the tax code. It's antiquated and unreliable.
An e-mailer had it basically right the other day. He likened the public's mind-set about government to what Marine Col. Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) barked at young Navy prosecutor Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) in the movie "A Few Good Men."
Here's Sacramento's problem: It desperately needs more tax money to provide the services the public wants. But the public doesn't trust Sacramento to spend any new money wisely.
We're skimming across flat water on blue Lake Tahoe, ringed by granite peaks still capped with winter snow. But a mile offshore we can't see squat.
Republicans holler a lot in the Capitol but aren't heard. They should be.
Here's an indication of how rotten Democratic-led gerrymandering is in California:
Motorists are getting gouged at the gas pump. Families are losing their homes. The war is a debacle and embarrassment.