Rights and Liberties

SB 1 would brand ‘inefficiency’ as blight

Should government get into the business of judging people on the “efficiency” of their property? SB 1 would grant government that capacity — along with the power to take that property if officials decide it’s being “inefficiently” used. SB

Judiciary Committee kills civil liberties bills

Katy Grimes August 29, 2013

SACRAMENTO — Two Republican members of the California Assembly recently authored resolutions encouraging Congress to halt the eavesdropping on the America people by the National Security Agency. Both resolutions were smacked down Tuesday in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, whose

Corporatist state takes over telecom

John Seiler August 28, 2013

America really doesn’t have a free-market economy. Rather, it has a corporatist economy — that is, the union of state power and big business. The latest example:, from the Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. government has used the merger-approval process

AB 154: Fuzzy numbers used to justify increasing abortion providers

Katy Grimes August 27, 2013

SACRAMENTO — Despite questions about statistics, AB 154 passed both houses of the state Legislature and is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature or veto. In addition to medical doctors, it would allow nurses, midwives and physician assistants

SB 25: A ‘surgical strike’ against CA agriculture

Katy Grimes August 26, 2013

California’s vital farm sector could see costs rise sharply if SB 25 becomes law. Backed by state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, it would allow the United Farm Workers labor union to force an employer into mandatory mediation at

CA teachers sue union over political use of dues

Joseph Perkins August 26, 2013

Monday marks the start of a new school year for Rebecca Friedrichs, a kindergarten teacher at Holder School in Buena Park, a Southern California city of 82,000. The 25-year veteran of the Savannah School District is to be forgiven

Monterey Co. pays $2.6 million in wrongful death by cops

John Seiler August 25, 2013

This is from William Norman Grigg, America’s best reporter on police brutality: After eluding the police for more than a week, Alejandro Gonzalez surrendered in San Jose on January 10, 2011. The 22-year-old was the suspect in a non-fatal

Government’s tyrannical grip tightens

John Seiler August 19, 2013

If it weren’t for the nice cars we drive instead of Trabis, I’d swear we were living in East Germany c. 1985. Here’s the latest outrage from what I call the Stasi SuperSnooper State: Feds Threaten To Arrest Lavabit Founder

Biased zip codes to be integrated by HUD

Katy Grimes August 15, 2013

Apparently I live in a biased, narrow-minded zip code… according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. What’s the definition? First, look at HUD’s mission: HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes

Gov. Brown signs gender bathroom bill

CalWatchdog Staff August 13, 2013

Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 1266, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, which would require a student to be permitted to use the male or female bathrooms and locker rooms in public schools, based on the student’s gender self-identification. With the