Deregulator: Alive since '85!

He'll be back A two-fer this week: Schwarzenegger launched his last push for the special election on Monday, and then said he'll run for a full term on Friday. Captain Ed at Captain's Quarters suggests how a chief executive with bottom-feeding approval ratings could still prevail: First, the gay-marriage bill shows that Californians do not get the representation they want at the Legislature, regardless of the merits or demerits of the bill itself. They voted against gay marriage five years ago, only to have their representatives try to pass it again and again and finally succeeding this year. Only the Governator's veto kept it from trumping the will of 60% of California's electorate, which has a significant Democratic majority. Arnold made himself the people's representative, restraining an imperial Legislature that has far too easy of a time maintaining a Democratic deathgrip on state politics. (Note: Schwarzenegger hasn't vetoed the bill, just said he wo...

Happy birthday to the King BB King, that is, who turned 80 today. (He shares a birthday with Katie Snell, 7-year-old daughter of our good friends Mike and Lisa ). Riley King may be a beloved cultural icon, but he's also a wonderful musician; Clapton and Stevie Ray both considered him on of the greatest guitarists. By all accounts, he's also a lovely man with a big heart who can still play. Many happy returns. We keep losing BB's contemporaries and colleagues -- pioneers who can never be replaced. Over the past few months, Johnnie Johnson (Chuck Berry's longtime piano collaborator and the first sideman selected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) passed on at 80. Last week, Clarence " Gatemouth " Brown left us at 81. It was fascinating how both these legends transcended categories. Johnson, a jazzman by training, recorded two pretty solid albums with country outlaws The Kentucky Headhunters, and even toured with them. Gatemouth appeared on "Hee Haw" ...

Calling Lyle Lanley It's a tale of juice, boondoggles, the Mormon Mafia: The intrepid Steve Sebelius and George Knapp unravel the mystery of the Las Vegas Monorail in this week's City Life. Alternative weeklies offer what may be the last outlet for this dead-tree-based form of long-form, feature writing on local issues -- and it's a type of storytelling TV cannot match. Check it out here . And for some fun blogging from the left side of the aisle, be sure to read Steve's two blogs, Under a Naked Bulb and Various Things and Stuff . They're both on my blogroll.

Newt the seer Horrific tales of child abuse, much like the one unfolding in Wakeman, Ohio , come to light far too often, with foster parents treating their young wards as a cash crop, or livestock. All of which makes Newt Gingrich look like a humanitarian. Remember 11 years ago, when he suggested that a revival of orphanages might offer a more compassionate means to provide a healthy upbringing for some children who were abandoned or abused by their parents? Gingrich was widely ridiculed by the left at the time, claiming that this was a mean-spirited Republican plan to dump poor children into warehouses. But those warehouses exist now; they're run by adults who have state approval to keep abandoned children, apparently, without having to worry about being watched by the government. To be sure, the vast majority of foster parents are loving, caring people. And we should value their commitment to provide some security to children who can rely on no one else. But the current system al...

Terminated? On Monday, Gov. Schwarzenegger formally launched what’s left of his November campaign to reform California government. It’s a reminder that the real summer blockbuster in the Golden State was Arnold’s unexpected political meltdown. And if Props 75 (paycheck protection) and 77 (redistricting) fail, not only will Schwarzenegger likely become a lame duck; California may well become ungovernable. A year after pulling in unprecedentedly stellar approval ratings, his favorables have plummeted toward the Gray (Davis) Zone. (If it’s any solace to Arnold, at least Californians continue to despise the Legislature.) See the latest Public Policy Institute of California survey here . To be sure, some of Arnold’s wounds are/were self-inflicted, perhaps a sign of political naivete. Letting corporate-bankrolled nonprofits underwrite the costs of his Sacramento offices? Dumb – and a betrayal of his vow to govern transparently, not influenced by special interests. Allowing third parties (Al...

Goat Boy returns I don't mean to diminish the unmitigated evil al-Qaida encapsulates, but did anyone else find the the latest Jihadist bluster -- a 9/11/05 video message purportedly from former Riversider Adam Gadahn -- cartoonish? Gadahn, privately referred to as "goat boy" by some of the locals since he grew up on a goat farm, hardly appeared threatening to me. Looked like he belonged in one of the Die Hard movies.

I'm back ... Though it's not entirely my idea. My previous gig at The Press-Enterprise didn't work out. That's all I'll say for now, but I may choose to share more over a virtual beer if you drop me an e-mail. Meantime, I'm actively seeking steady pay at a new work place. I have several irons in the fire (or maybe it's a few irons in separate fires), and am freelancing to stay sharp. Plus, blogging again. Thanks for tuning in. Speaking of freelancing My first effort, post P-E, was for Las Vegas City Life ; a follow-up with the folks in New London, Conn., to see what indignities the local government would dump on hapless property owners once the Supreme Court refused to defend their rights. (Thanks to City Life's editor, my buddy and former Review-Journal colleague Steve Sebelius, for getting me back on the horse so quickly.)