The most pressing business for California legislature?
posted at 6:34 pm on July 6, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
The race to win the Most Dysfunctional State Legislature has California and New York running neck and neck. New York has taken the petty partisan approach, with the two political parties attempting to grab control of the Senate, which resulted in Democrats refusing to stand for the Republican-led Pledge of Allegiance last week. California, though, jumped out in front by debating cow tails while the state went bankrupt, and today extend their lead by focusing on an apology to Chinese workers of the 19th century:
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 42 calls for an apology for forcing the Chinese to pay higher taxes on gold than whites; barring them from holding certain jobs, owning property or testifying in trials; and segregating them and forbidding them from marrying whites or bringing family from China.
California politicians, the authors also note, were instrumental in persuading Congress to pass the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred more Chinese immigration.
“It’s a shameful chapter in California legislative history,” said Fong, D-Cupertino, who is of Chinese descent. …
They’ve received some criticism, mostly anonymous Web site postings, for pursuing a symbolic act while the state is mired in a budget crisis.
I don’t think anyone doubts that Chinese migrant workers were badly treated by California in the late 1800s. However, bankruptcy is an equally shameful chapter in California’s history, and one that the current legislature should be addressing. With creditors about to reduce California debt to junk-bond status, making it even more expensive for Californians to meet their obligations, symbolic acts are even less relevant than cow tails. At least that addressed something that happened in the past 40 years, if rarely.
Their constituents should demand an apology for the disastrous leadership its political class has shown over the past year, rather than worry about what happened more than a century ago. Obviously, though, the current set of lawmakers would do anything to avoid dealing with the consequences of their own failures.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: 1 2 Next »
Better worry about this
William Amos on July 6, 2009 at 6:38 PM
Don’t worry, if California still exists a hundred years or so from now, the legislature will issue an apology on the paying with IOU’s business.
myrenovations on July 6, 2009 at 6:38 PM
Oh please, please, please, let them vote on reparations for descendents of victimized Chinese…popcorn worthy.
elduende on July 6, 2009 at 6:38 PM
Nothing like ignoring the elephant in the room, I guess
opiemuyo on July 6, 2009 at 6:38 PM
Not only is this as absurd as it looks on the face of it, Ahnold told the legislature when he called them into special session that he would veto any legislation not dealing with the budget that crossed his desk until the budget was done. So, rather than do anything useful in an attempt to make him look bad, they passed a non-binding resolution. I am so happy to live in NorCal.
sondiehl on July 6, 2009 at 6:41 PM
Yes, I’m sure that all those California businesses, getting IOUs for work already done, are happy that the California Legislature is busy appologizing to people long dead.
Romeo13 on July 6, 2009 at 6:41 PM
There is no way they should be doing this while the possibility of a full blown cow tail crisis looms.
Mark1971 on July 6, 2009 at 6:43 PM
I dream of a day where these idiots will push the constituents to the point of getting rid of them. It’s scary to think what it would take to get to that point.
Cindy Munford on July 6, 2009 at 6:43 PM
Didn’t they do that when they scrapped those laws?
Pablo on July 6, 2009 at 6:45 PM
Sadly, Cindy, the grabbers along the coast wouldn’t vote against a Demonrat if they had guns held to their heads.
sondiehl on July 6, 2009 at 6:45 PM
cut ‘em some slack.. pandering is what the dems do best
gatorboy on July 6, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Well why not just ad the 21th century to, cause those guys wont get paid with any solid currency.
the_nile on July 6, 2009 at 6:48 PM
These folks in the Statehouse have been pretty worthless for years. Im not confident any good will come from any of it. My Democrat pals say: “eh, dont worry more taxes wont drive more people out of California, thats just a myth.”
Yea …ooook…..
seymour on July 6, 2009 at 6:48 PM
These two ‘government’ bodies are really funny in a macabre sort of way. Imagine what a great satirist like Shaw, for example, could do with this.
jeanie on July 6, 2009 at 6:49 PM
Go Fong Go. Spend your time on this foolishness instead of remaining solvent. When the entire state slides into the sea from the weight of the debt you’ve accumulated then maybe the people of California will finally realise the stupidity of voting Democrat. Naw, Never going to happen…
Kuffar on July 6, 2009 at 6:49 PM
With a legislature like this, it’s almost enough to make one pine for a dictatorship. At least they’d get something done and fast.
But with so many safe ‘liberal’ areas of power in my humble state, it’ll get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better
Defector01 on July 6, 2009 at 6:49 PM
Can someone point me back to that cowtail posting?
Thanks,
Jack Ketch on July 6, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Jed Clampett would be heading back to Tennessee at this point…
Shivas Irons on July 6, 2009 at 6:50 PM
I find it highly entertaining and see no reason common sense will prevail any time soon. With Karen Bass as Speaker, I anticipate much more of the same. I only hope she offers more wisdom regarding the terrorism of free speech.
a capella on July 6, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Actually, I’m on the side of the cows keeping their tails. They need them to keep insects away.
jeanie on July 6, 2009 at 6:51 PM
Here is what is happening in CA. Tax paying American Citizens have had enough and are leaving the State in droves. They are rapidly being replaced by illegal aliens that pay no taxes and drain the Treasury using up social services. This is a sure quick way to bankruptcy. This State is broken and lying in ash and should be donated to Mexico as a gift and removed as a State.
49I mean, 56 States is good enough. I move toOregonWashingtonWell crap the Liberal Dem’s run those states too so it wouldn’t be long before they are gone as well. Awe heck with it I am going to Canada.Bulldogger on July 6, 2009 at 6:52 PM
For a second there I thought they were going to apologize for the Rape of Nanking. Not intended to make light of that truly tragic incident.
fourdeucer on July 6, 2009 at 6:52 PM
Glad to see they are focused on closing the $24 billion gap in the budget.
I’m sure that the Chinese of the 19th Century would understand. As an intern of Republican CA Assemblyman, we are pulling out our hair at this kind of nonsense.
darii on July 6, 2009 at 6:54 PM
Before you go offering states to Mexico, how about you let everything south and east of Long Beach break away to form a NORMAL state?
Defector01 on July 6, 2009 at 6:55 PM
I do not agree with giving CA to Mexico. There must be something useful to be done with it. During the primaries, some discussion was put forward suggesting that the place would make an excellent giant theme park whose purpose might be to arrange various vignettes illustrating political mistakes over the years and the consequences. One exhibit might be: Relive the Great Depression: You Are There or some such.
jeanie on July 6, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Why don’t you kick out your illegal aliens that are sucking your teets dry, CA and NY????
This is what happens when stupid people breed.
HornetSting on July 6, 2009 at 6:56 PM
Don’t forget the Central Valley. That’s where your food comes from.
darii on July 6, 2009 at 6:57 PM
They keep electing them. You get what you get now don`t throw a fit.
LSUMama on July 6, 2009 at 6:58 PM
Problem here, besides the fact that most of the idiots in charge want to give more things to the illegals, is that it’s the federal government’s job to kick people out.
darii on July 6, 2009 at 6:58 PM
This is typical of the California Assembly. They will talk about everything else on the agenda until they are forced by law to concentrate only on the budget. They will use this time to get everything else that isn’t budget related done and wait until the last possible moment to actually discuss the budget.
We keep electing morons to our state assembly here in California. And that isn’t surprising since the production of morons seems to be our state’s educational priority.
crosspatch on July 6, 2009 at 6:58 PM
If brains were dynamite the combined brain power of the California and New York state governments would not be sufficient to blow a single nose. This poor sick country is turning into the laughing stock of the world. Russia shouldn’t worry about the number of nukes we have, this Keystone Cops operation probably couldn’t find them let alone fire them.
rplat on July 6, 2009 at 6:59 PM
Wow. Just wow.
RedNewEnglander on July 6, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Perfect! We could send school children there to learn how their food is produced and get hands on experience. Then there’s the wine producing areas: Trample Your Own Grapes–the Illegal Alien Experience. No end of creative ways to use CA to make money and lessen the tax burdens for future generations.
jeanie on July 6, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Part of the problem is that most of the seats aren’t competitive. GOP only won ONE seat from the Dems in the Assembly in 2008. And that was by less than 2000 votes. We need redistricting before this can begin to change.
darii on July 6, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Heh. Mark Levin calls the statist lefties “locusts.” They strip one state or city to the bone, then flee and begin destroying another. California is just about gone. They’re working hard in Washington and Oregon, and beginning to push Virginia into the toilet bowl. Good thing VA has term-limited governors so we’re sure to be rid of Kaine…
fiatboomer on July 6, 2009 at 7:01 PM
Maybe a hundred years from now they will apologize to all the fiscally responsible people for throwing the whole state down the toilet!
bullheadbob on July 6, 2009 at 7:01 PM
The theme park idea is a good one however the visitor would need to like Mariachi music, cock fights, swap meets and Menudo.
Bulldogger on July 6, 2009 at 7:03 PM
They want symbolic, then how about a minus sign to symbolize the State Treasury. Frakkin’ idjits!
mossberg500 on July 6, 2009 at 7:03 PM
287G….check it out. And yes, without the will, the people will suffer under the crime, money grab of criminals.
HornetSting on July 6, 2009 at 7:06 PM
Even with a budget crisis on their hands, our legislature OBVIOUSLY HAS WAY TOO MUCH FREE TIME ON THEIR HANDS.
When are we going to apologize to the plants and animals for eating them.
GarandFan on July 6, 2009 at 7:06 PM
Don’t forget loud music from your vehicle, big trucks, and beer in a brown paper bag…also, don’t forget to put an icehouse on every corner.
HornetSting on July 6, 2009 at 7:07 PM
???
darii on July 6, 2009 at 7:08 PM
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA), effective September 30, 1996, added Section 287(g), performance of immigration officer functions by state officers and employees, to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This authorizes the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, permitting designated officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions, pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), provided that the local law enforcement officers receive appropriate training and function under the supervision of sworn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
State and local patrol officers, detectives, investigators and correctional officers working in conjunction with ICE gain: necessary resources and authority to pursue investigations relating to violent crimes, human smuggling, gang/organized crime activity, sexual-related offenses, narcotics smuggling and money laundering; and support in more remote geographical locations.
HornetSting on July 6, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Ah. Nevermind. I stand corrected.
darii on July 6, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Tomorrow they will discuss a bill allowing IOUs to be used by recipients for any payments to the state. Any bets they refuse their own IOUs?
califdreamnred on July 6, 2009 at 7:10 PM
Bulldogger on July 6, 2009 at 7:03 PM
I’m sure those themes could be used creatively too. How about: How to Organize and Market the Gay Parade or A Look Back at the Liberal Movement in San Francisco–talk about living history! It boggles the mind.
jeanie on July 6, 2009 at 7:10 PM
I have riends in California and I have been begging them to leave before it gets worse. Guess I am too late.
milwife88 on July 6, 2009 at 7:10 PM
Apologizing to dead Chinese for cutting off their tails was long overdue.
guntotinglibertarian on July 6, 2009 at 7:10 PM
L.A. Mayor has REFUSED to help ICE and DHS rid the city of illegal aliens, even criminals.
HornetSting on July 6, 2009 at 7:11 PM
Say WHAT?
darii on July 6, 2009 at 7:11 PM
There’s two words that just can’t stand together.
ericdijon on July 6, 2009 at 7:11 PM
Excuse me, they are ALL criminals, but for those that have committed a crime besides sneaking into our country illegally.
HornetSting on July 6, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Liberals are destroying this country state-by-state and the sheeple (idiots) keep voting for liberals…go figure! Let’s all suffer until the useful idiots finally get their heads out or their arses. We owe it to our kids and grandkids.
orlandocajun on July 6, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Part of the problem is that most of the seats aren’t competitive. GOP only won ONE seat from the Dems in the Assembly in 2008. And that was by less than 2000 votes. We need redistricting before this can begin to change.
darii on July 6, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Good luck with that. If you have Acorn in the area that is one of their main focuses. Helping Canidates redistrict to give them the edge. Has happened in Louisiana.
LSUMama on July 6, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Dry heat people! Dry heat!
/Enjoys his dry heat.
Apologetic California on July 6, 2009 at 7:13 PM
Last week it was cow tails. Next week, reparations to the Russians for stealing their land claims.
Fletch54 on July 6, 2009 at 7:15 PM
All Government can manage anymore are grandiose and pointless gestures. This feels a lot like heading for a brick wall.
ronsfi on July 6, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Possession being nine points of the law, California is ours. We stole it fair and square and we’re not giving it back. Of course, if we did, I could claim minority status on job applications because my mother would be a Mexican. Hmmm.
SKYFOX on July 6, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Except for when they are raising taxes.
ronsfi on July 6, 2009 at 7:17 PM
Part time legislature should be the law of the land. I love Texas!
txhsmom on July 6, 2009 at 7:17 PM
When it comes to the hard tasks of governance like apologizing for racist tail-cutting, Dems man up and get the job done.
guntotinglibertarian on July 6, 2009 at 7:17 PM
You gave your 20 away. Texas. Maybe Austin or San Antonio.
Am I right?
ericdijon on July 6, 2009 at 7:18 PM
Moving in August (albeit for grad school)
darii on July 6, 2009 at 7:19 PM
Numerous study’s put the total cost of illegal alien’s in the State of CA between 11.5 billion – 15 billion. These figures don’t include the impact to hospitals and crime committed by IA’s including loss of property. But hey maybe we should sell off some State Park’s and stuff.
Bulldogger on July 6, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Ed,
The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, didn’t we inherit this problem from Bush too?
shick on July 6, 2009 at 7:20 PM
And as recently as 2 weeks ago, Schwarzenegger said that he wouldn’t support saving $5 billion by denying medical care to illegals, because he thought it was very comforting knowing that if he had a motorcycle accident in a foreign country, they would take care of him, too.
guntotinglibertarian on July 6, 2009 at 7:23 PM
They don’t care. The way this state is gerrymandered their seats are pretty much guaranteed. When we tried to vote for the state to be redistricted so it would actually reflect what a community looked like and we would actually have some competition for better ideas within the party and between the parties, “conservatives” – mostly outsiders advocated against it. Their believe was that we should protect the seats we have. Except, it was not their seats. They don’t live in CA and I wish they had stfu.
Blake on July 6, 2009 at 7:25 PM
Perhaps the Governor should be riding his scooter in and around Tia Juana instead of LA then.
Bulldogger on July 6, 2009 at 7:27 PM
Our only advantage right now is that they need Republican votes to pass the budget. We MUST expand that and it requires redistricting.
darii on July 6, 2009 at 7:28 PM
.
The Horsefly preservationist lobby have a lot of money invested in getting those cow tails bobbed ASAP. Offspring of horsefly larva are right now in piles of cow dung. They await the outcome of the cow tails issue. If tails are now addressed accordingly many future generations of horseflies could perish. That’s when the you know what hits the fan.
Americannodash on July 6, 2009 at 7:31 PM
As a Californian I seriously hope they keep this cr@p up. The longer it takes them to pass a budget the more likely it is that they will all end up Funemployed.
doriangrey on July 6, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Wow, what could anyone say about these misguided idiots. How long before other states that suffered from the Kalifornia invasion of the 80′s and 90′s go under? I know it’s a generalization, there are a lot of normal, good people there and from there. The problem is when the roaches try to make their new home “just like kali.” There’s a brilliant idea! I worked with a guy that bragged about “Kalifornicating” Oregon. Portland is a freak show now, and the only hope for recovery is a Pompeii style eruption from Mount Hood.
I fully expect alot of flak for my comment, and don’t care. It’s my opinion.
Sam_I_Am on July 6, 2009 at 7:57 PM
Pretty sure this must be Bush’s or the Jew’s fault.
jukin on July 6, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Thank you! Too bad the dems have cut the farmer’s water to 10% of their usual allocation to protect a 3 inch bait fish.
Basically Fresno overtook Long Beach as the #5 most populace city and Fresno is conservative. That means Fresno now has political clout in Sacramento- and is conservative. Obama and Pelosi promptly cut the water to the farmers, caused 40% unemployment, $830 million in losses, trying to cause an exodus of people from that pesky city.
That’s why 15,000+ showed up July 1st to the Water Rally.
Interestingly enough, Stalin used the same tactics on the Kulaks (oooh, I know, crazy conspiracy but it’s true).
Then, today, Salazar and Obama appointed a “water czar” to take control of the situation. Links for all of this on my twitter page. (Click my handle)
I’m starting to get a little bit hostile.
NTWR on July 6, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Why does it cost the state anything? I don’t get it.
Libertarian Joseph on July 6, 2009 at 8:09 PM
I am a native Californian who grew up in the San Joaquin Valley in the 50s and 60s. I went to school with lots of Japanese and Chinese kids whose families had been in CA for over a hundred years.
Yes, their ancestors were treated like crap. Yes, that was bad.
But we don’t have FUC*ING time to worry about that now! Jesus, what morons “represent” us.
sdillard on July 6, 2009 at 8:14 PM
Hospital emergency rooms bill Medical. My wife was recently bitten by a rabid bat. She waited 7 hours in the ER, while Mexican after Mexican was rolled in on ambulances, suffering from headaches and meunstral cramps.
guntotinglibertarian on July 6, 2009 at 8:15 PM
You’re right. They should be spending their time passing measures to provide medical benefits for teenage tran-sexuals.
Don’t laugh…nothing is beyond these cretins.
guntotinglibertarian on July 6, 2009 at 8:21 PM
Speaker Bass will tell the governor to be patient & trust them. When will the people realize that it is the dog that wags the tail and not the other way around. The people of California better start barking at the tails in Sacramento.
Americannodash on July 6, 2009 at 8:23 PM
If I had a choice I’d let that coastal strip from LA to SF be its own California and take everything else.
New California and Hippieville
Defector01 on July 6, 2009 at 8:29 PM
sondiehl on July 6, 2009 at 6:45 PM
Not that it makes any difference, but there are large swaths of the coast, including Palos Verdes, Orange County, and San Diego that tilt Republican. And the majority of Californians did vote to deny most health and other benefits to illegals, but after a judge or two found the law to be unconstitutional, and the state has been circling the drain.
LASue on July 6, 2009 at 8:33 PM
Mark my words the filthy corrupt Democrats in California are merely running out the clock until the filthy liar in the White House bails them out because “California is too big to fail” what with the rest of the stimulus already proven to be trillions of squandered dollars.
God as my witness, I do not understand why outraged citizens are not storming the White House gate and throwing this bastard out on the street along with his racist wife and spoiled children. Obama needs to be put on a plane to Kenya along with his entire corrupt mafiosa.
highhopes on July 6, 2009 at 8:35 PM
You are correct, it doesn’t make a difference. The time I spent in LA (not in one of those areas you mention and the way I was totally disenfranchised by the radical left that run virtually all aspects of California government leaves me with the attitude that California is getting just what it deserves. I don’t hate Californians any more than I hate alcoholics or drug addicts but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be an enabler for Californians to continue what is literally generations of misguided liberalism. Time to pay the piper.
highhopes on July 6, 2009 at 8:38 PM
You know I was just thinking about this. Phew! Thank God I don’t have to move, all of the Suckers in the other 49 States will be paying for the Illegal here.
Thanks in advance.
:)
Bulldogger on July 6, 2009 at 8:50 PM
Typo: I meant illegal’s here
Bulldogger on July 6, 2009 at 8:52 PM
So true. Only a few more years and we will be quoting Davy Crockett as we watch this mess of a state recede in our rear view mirror.
LASue on July 6, 2009 at 8:53 PM
The American taxpayers have been paying for California’s generosity for decades. You Californians should be thanking the rest of us for subsidizing your illegals.
highhopes on July 6, 2009 at 8:54 PM
Mr. Fong should understand the actors for which he is requesting that the Legislature apologize [via this current Democrat-written State Department web page]:
Republican President Chester Arthur vetoed the second attempt at a Chinese Exclusion Act, and his veto message is worth reading.
In my extended family (which includes people of Chinese and Japanese ancestry), the older people are, without exception, Republicans. Democrats only begin showing up in the more recent generations. Their elders understood very well which party was for unrestricted immigration, and which party was against. In their case, it was personal — they were separated from their wives and children, they wanted these people to be able to join them in America, and the Republicans offered the best chance for that.
Of course, that’s changed now, and the Democrats have established bona-fides with respect to free immigration, and can validly lay a claim to Lincoln’s legacy in that regard.
unclesmrgol on July 6, 2009 at 8:57 PM
Makes me think of that song; “Send out the clowns.”
Star20 on July 6, 2009 at 9:07 PM
Tempting but if you really think it won’t do any good we must come up with another idea.
Cindy Munford on July 6, 2009 at 9:12 PM
SOunds to me like it’s about time the locals, especially California locals, start burning down ACORN offices and beating the living tar out of every occupant in those offices.
Think maybe they’d get a flavor of how fed up the public is?
Spiritk9 on July 6, 2009 at 9:13 PM
Since Californians of Chinese descent are some of the few left with income to be taxed, this is probably a move to lull them into a false sense of security, so they can be — metaphorically speaking, of course — whacked on the head and robbed of whatever they have left.
J.E. Dyer on July 6, 2009 at 9:16 PM
Good for you!
When I was last living out in LA (about five years ago) nobody seemed happy. Quality of life sucked because of the traffic, cost of living, swarms of illegals, etc. My impression was that people were essentially spending on material possessions not to improve their lives but simply to make those lives suck less than they would otherwise. It was a very superficial existence and a self-perpetuating path to dissatisfaction.
What I cherish about my stints in Southern California (2 times for a total of six years) is that it gave me a reality check about what is important in life. I really mean that. I watched people scratching and doing anything they had to do for the bigger paycheck so that they could afford a bigger house or a more flashier car. Status was far more important than substance. I also saw people completely oblivious to the “LA lifestyle” and living quiet principled existences despite all the superficial craziness around them.
The problem is the latter group is few and far between in Southern California while the superficial gold chasers are rampant.
highhopes on July 6, 2009 at 9:17 PM
I did say Thanks in advance, gee isn’t that enough?
Just give us the 24 billion already and quit your sniveling. :)
Bulldogger on July 6, 2009 at 9:19 PM
Hey, Ed! You’re forgetting the motion in the last week or two to create a state-funded blueberry commission (with $100,000+ salaries, of course.)
Excuse me, but my head has a date with a brick wall.
irishspy on July 6, 2009 at 9:20 PM
Sorry but Mr. Fong is a traitor. A state with a budget larger than some nations is bankrupt. This is not the time to address wrongs that happened over a century ago. You do that kind of stuff in profitable times not when your f**king state is issuing IOUs in lieu of cash.
highhopes on July 6, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Get back with us when you are a whole lot hostile
chemman on July 6, 2009 at 9:23 PM
I believe one of the California legislator’s was about to issue an apology ….. but then the bong passed his way.
There are priorities you know.
Chimp 6 on July 6, 2009 at 9:28 PM
Comment pages: 1 2 Next »