A Facebook post announcing plans by a UC Berkeley Republican group to sell baked goods priced according to race, gender and ethnicity – “White/Caucasian” pastries for $2 and “Black/African American” pastries for 75 cents, for example – has drawn outrage on campus.

You may be surprised by this but, UC Berkeley College Republicans do exist. And, they’re usually great. This time they’re getting attention over an event posting on Facebook for their planned “Increase Diversity Bake Sale” on Tuesday;  bringing attention to SB 185 a bill on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk to allow the CSU system to pick new students by race.

Once known as Affirmative Action Bake-sales, these events have been a hit with lefties and righties on campuses for quite some time. They enrage the left, on campus and in the media, because they’re so clear—and so true.

This from a campus lefty:

“I’m ashamed to know that I go to the same school with people who would say stuff like this,” responded student Skyler Hogan-Van Sickle on Facebook. “I’m really trying to figure out how someone can be this hateful.”

Wahh, waah, waaah. I’d be ashamed to go to a school where administrators care more about my “ethnic background” than my academic ability.

Read the story here: Racially heated posting sparks UC Berkeley Outrage.

Berkeley students call “Emergency” town hall meeting on “racist bake-sale. Cal student senate will meet tonight to discuss SB 185 and the bake-sale.

Full text: Be Not Afraid.

(h/t FlashReport)

The California GOP had a close encounter with cannibalism as the leftist wing of the party attempted to gut the party’s platform Sunday. Fuentes’ warning should guide republicans into the final platform vote next Spring and into the Presidential election next Fall.

Most politicos don’t usually socialize with terror apologists. Generally, they are cautious to a fault. Which is why a political event today in Sacramento raises serious questions of what were they thinking.   The extremist group CAIR ([Council on] American-Islamic Relations) recently issued a press release announcing its 6th Annual Ramadan Iftar inside the Capitol Rotunda (see the release with a full list of legislative co-hosts attached to the bottom of this post).

The Iftar is co-hosted by most of the legislative Democrats including Senate President Darrell Steinberg.  Speaker Karen Bass, plus the Governor. Tragically, Steinberg, Bass and the Governor are clueless about CAIR. The FBI described CAIR front group for Hamas. CAIR was also an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism case in Texas Federal Court last year.

Read “CAIR, HAMAS, ARNOLD AND THE DEMS” at the Flash Report for the full story.

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner jumped into the water wars  today joined by farmers and farm workers in Firebaugh, CA. Poizner unveiled short and long-term plans to solve California’s water crisis and return prosperity and life to the Central Valley.

“We cannot continue to ignore the substantial economic toll that the reduced water supply has taken on the livelihoods of so many Californians,” said Poizner. “Our state must protect its citizens in this emergency.  We cannot allow bureaucrats in Washington D.C. to issue blanket regulations that harm our state both environmentally and economically.”

Poizner’s team is the first gubernatorial campaign (that I know of) to take advantage of Twitter’s “hashtag” function to promote such an important issue. The Poizner team’s viral marketing campaign asks Twitterers to send messages to Speaker @NancyPelosi using the hashtag #WaterNow. The Twitter campaign is associated with a “Water Now” section on the Poizner webstie, and a petition to allow water back into the Central Valley.

Check out Poizner’s plan. Send a Tweet to Pelosi. Sign the petition.

Former HP CEO and McCain economic adviser Carly Fiorina is preparing to enter the race for US Senate against Barbara Boxer, the Los Angeles Times reports. California politicos have been speculating about Fiorina’s run for months, and the talk didn’t stop even after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in February. According to the LA Times Ms. Fiorina has been making calls to key Republican figures, setting up the foundation for a campaign to unseat Boxer next fall.

Before facing Babblin’ Babs Ms. Fiorina will face primary opponent Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, who has been campaigning hard since late last year. Ms. Fiorina will likely jump into the race ahead of Mr. DeVore considering her national name recognition and deep pockets. As a woman, Ms. Fiorina also has a great advantage over Mr. DeVore in that she will be competing for a woman’s seat in a state with a majority female electorate—she would also be the first woman to ever challenge Ms. Boxer.

The CA Senate race will be an important race to watch as we close in on the 2010 elections. California’s economy is in miserable shape, and the dumbest member of the Senate (excuse me, Senator Boxer) has been pushing California-style failed policies on the country since she was first elected in 1993. Ms. Fiorina will be a formidable opponent for Boxer.

Good Riddance Babs. Hello Carly!

UPDATE: Response from Chuck DeVore via Twitter.

Since Poizner’s election in 2006—he was the only Republican elected statewide—he’s used his experience has a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to stream line California’s insurance system, saving Californians billions in misused premium payments and over-bloated bureaucracy.

Today Poizner announced that he is ordering California insurance companies to divest from companies that do business with Iran in the banking, defense, and energy sectors and disclose all such indirect investments. All businesses in California were ordered end all direct investment in Iran in a law passed last year, however indirect investments through European companies may still give California insurance premiums to the Iranian regime. “That might be a major loophole here, where billions might be flowing into Iran,” Poizner said today.

Last night at the California Republican Jewish Coalition’s Summer Bash Steve said that he expects the department’s probe will uncover billions in such direct investments. “The Iranian Regime is a huge threat to their own citizens, to the State of Israel, and to the national security of the United States of America,” Poizner said last night. “I will do whatever it takes to make sure that not one dime of your hard earned premium dollars gets into the hands of the people running the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he continued.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Steve at a few speaking engagements since he announced his candidacy, last night was the best. His energy and drive to connect with voters and tell them how he will lead California has grown immeasurably since the first time I saw him speak early last fall. Poizner conveys his vision for California clearly and passionately, showing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that trough the right choices  the Golden State can regain its sheen.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The California Supreme Court upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday, but it also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed.

Demonstrators outside the court yelled “shame on you!”

The 6-1 decision written by Chief Justice Ron George rejected an argument by gay rights activists that the ban revised the California Constitution’s equal protection clause to such a dramatic degree that it first needed the Legislature’s approval.

The court said the Californians have a right, through the ballot box, to change their constitution…

The state Supreme Court had ruled last May that it was unconstitutional to deny gay couples the right to wed. Many same-sex couples had rushed to get married before the November vote on Proposition 8, fearing it could be passed. When it was, gay rights activists went back to the court arguing that the ban was improperly put to voters and amounted to a revision—which required legislative approval—not an amendment. [Read More]

State Treasurer Bill Lokyer said today that legislators should rely on spending cuts to balance the budget. “My suggestion to you is don’t delay the pain. It’s going to be awful, but just get it done. It’s going to be worse if it doesn’t get done.” Lokeyer said.

Although White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has been criticized for saying “you never want a good crisis too go to waste,” he’s right.

The Democrats are exploiting the economic crisis to expand the size and scope of the federal government. In California, Republicans should exploit the budget crisis to shrink the size and scope of state government.

The two-thirds requirement to pass a state budget gives a united GOP caucus leverage to demand real reforms. Voters Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected the same old tax-borrow-and-spend approach, and they are more likely than they have been in recent years to give Republican ideas a fair hearing.

We should start with the obvious – California’s government is too big, and its economy is too weak – and let our proposals flow from that reality. [Read More]

(h/t Flash Report‘s Golden Pen Award)

California, the sunny incubator of America’s future, has relished its role as a leading indicator of political trends. Tuesday it became what it thinks it should be, the center of attention, but not in the way it wants to be.

Its voters, at last sensible, rejected, by an average of 65 percent, five of six propositions. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the “post-partisan” Republican, and the partisan Democrats who control the legislature, promoted the propositions as efficient for and essential to eliminating the state’s budget deficit, which will now be $21 billion. So California may become the next target for the Obama administration, whose dependency agenda involves seizing every opportunity to break things — banks, insurance and automobile companies, etc. — to the saddle of its supervision. [Read More]

Well, he may have had a grand day in D.C. schmoozing with the Democratic president and exchanging warm words of mutual praise about car exhausts, but Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got a different kind of message tonight from California voters.

Not that many came out to vote in local races and on six statewide propositions, as we reported earlier Tuesday. But the ones who did were resoundingly defeating the governor’s budget proposals, as opinion polls had predicted.

Which is probably why the Budgetnator was far away in Washington during the day, instead of being photographed voting locally and then sitting on a hotel room couch watching results roll in during a Sacramento photo op.

Of the day’s six fiscal propositions — the rainy day fund, education funding, lottery modernization, children’s services funding and temporary reallocation of mental health funding — all went down — and hard. The results were roughly 60-40 against. [Read More]

(h/t Tammy Bruce)

Propositions:1A-1E NO, all by over 2/3, 1F YES

Senate: SD 26: Curren D. Price (D) Wins

US Congress: 36th District: Judy Chu (D) wins Hilda Solis’ seat.

LA CITY

City Attorney: Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich wins. Villar’s puppy, Jack Weiss, is out.

5th Council District: Paul Koretz,  51-49.

Community College: Tina Park wins seat #2, Nancy Pearlman wins seat #6

Prop 1A: Extends Tax Increases for 1-2 years – NO

Prop 1B: Can add billions of dollars to state costs after 2010 – NO

Prop 1C: Allows for borrowing $5 Billion for lottery profits – NO

Prop 1D: Takes money from children’s health programs and gives it to politicians – NO

Prop 1E: Takes money from mental health programs and gives it to politicians – NO

Prop 1F: Prevents pay increases for elected officials when the State has a budget deficit, but does nothing to prevent deficits – NO

For voters in LA City: Vote for Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich for City Attorney, he’s a great candidate. If you need more reason than that, check out the LA Times (Really, the LA Times): “Opponent Jack Weiss is running a progressively negative campaign that underscores his unfitness for the post”

District 5:  David Vahedi over union supported Paul Koretz

Senate District 26: Rabbi Nachum Shiffren, a no-nonsense Republican looking to clean up his district.

Community College Board: #2 Tina Park, #6 Robert Nakahiro.

–There are many more races across the state, I’m focusing on LA because I live here. Please make comments if you want to add a candidate. (I will only put up the comments w/ candidates I would support, so no need to add any Dems or taxn’spenders)

Once, California was known as the “Golden State.” No more. It’s struggling with a fiscal crisis of epic proportions. And voters are so disgusted with the ineptitude and waste of a state legislature dominated by liberal Democrats that they are poised to vote down a $16 billion tax increase and a slew of propositions allegedly intended to beat back fiscal Armageddon.

If residents of the other 49 states haven’t focused on California’s plight yet, they should. In a real sense, California has become liberalism’s “canary in the coal mine.” It is an instructive – and frightening – warning of the toll exacted by the kind of leftism now in vogue in Washington, D.C.. [Read More]

Schwarzenegger is expected to announce the lay offs of 5,000 state employees, and his plans to try and sell expensive state real estate including San Quentin prison.

The Taxinator may also release 38,000 prisoners onto our streets if the May 19 propositions don’t pass.

California has immense fiscal problems. That’s not exactly news, but this is: President Barack Obama could soon make these problems far worse.

The background: In February, as part of overall spending cuts, the Legislature lowered – from $12.10 per hour to $10.10 – the state’s maximum contribution to the pay of 300,000 unionized In Home Supportive Services health workers. This saved $74 million.

Most state employees were also subject to pay cuts. But after an April 15 conference call involving Obama administration officials, aides to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and representatives of the Service Employees International Union, the White House threatened to withhold $6.8 billion in federal stimulus funds unless the Legislature and the governor canceled the home health workers’ pay cut before it begins on July 1.

The ostensible reason is an inventive reading of language restricting how stimulus money can be used. A more plausible reason is the SEIU’s political clout. It gave $33 million to the Obama presidential campaign.

This hardball is even more obnoxious than it first appears. The rationale under which California was allocated the $6.8 billion in stimulus funds was to help the state deal with surging Medicaid costs. But now the White House demands California back off its bid to contain such costs.

Then there is the bombshell April 13 investigation by the Los Angeles Times that found the $5.4 billion In Home Supportive Services program to be riddled by fraud. Attempts to investigate this fraud are severely limited. Why? Almost certainly because of SEIU political pressure during the drafting of bills dealing with in-home care. Whether dealing with the state or federal government, it sure is good to be the Service Employees International Union.

Beyond these specific concerns, there is a much larger issue: the appropriateness of the Obama administration’s use of stimulus funds as a tool of coercion. If it’s happening in California, it’s probably happening elsewhere. We think far fewer members of Congress would have backed the $787 billion stimulus bill in February if they knew this is how the president would use it.

For all these reasons and more, the Obama administration must drop its intervention into California politics. What’s gone on to date isn’t just disappointing and disturbing. It’s scandalous.

Proposition 1A: 52 percent no, 35 percent yes
Proposition 1B: 47 percent no, 40 percent yes
Proposition 1C: 58 percent no, 32 percent yes
Proposition 1D: 45 percent no, 43 percent yes
Proposition 1E: 48 percent no, 41 percent yes
Proposition 1F: 73 percent yes, 24 percent no

[PPIC poll]