Jay Leno is Wrong

What happens when you're wrong in an accusation of the President on national television?

onegoodmove has footage from last evening's Late Night Show

The raging debate is: Thumb vs. Middle Finger

It is clearly the thumb. He is not flying the bird.

Leno, Your outta here!

Pick To Be Announced

President Bush will announce his pick for the Supreme Court, to replace the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor at 6:00 p.m. PDT tonight.

Many are saying the choice is Edith Brown Clement, a 57 year old judge on the United States Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit. If true, Clement would be the third woman to serve on the Court.

Update: Leading Republicans are saying its not Clement. Possibilities now include Edith Hollan Jones, Cecilia M. Altonaga, Mary Ann Glendon, Karen Williams, Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen.

Mayor Sam is going to go out on a limb and say its Janice Rogers Brown.

Nope...its John G. Roberts, Jr.
Bio here

Girly Man Arnold

Our Governor has disappointed this old, dead Mayor and has once again given into the toe tag, screaming liberals.

It was reported recently that Arnold had a deal with a few fitness and weightlifting magazines and is paid several million dollars over several years for consulting. This is something Arnold has done for years.

The grand dame of Northern California - Assemblywoman Jackie "I can't get any" Speier - howled and protested claming that Arnold's connections to these magazines colored his view on legislation she wrote in an attempt to regulate nutritional supplement use by high school athletes. Arnold vetoed the bill. Why is it liberal are always trying to get into people's personal lives anyway?

Arnold has dropped his ties to the magazines and will no longer receive compensation.

This was hardly a scandal. Its just more liberal haymaking because Arnold is the most effective threat the Republicans have had to date. They fear him, and they are out to take him down.

More so than any damn magazine Arnold gets paid to consult for, lets be more concerned about the impact of millions of dollars that Assemblywoman Speier takes from unions, doctors, insurance companies, auto body shops, Laidlaw Transit (one of the biggest providers of public transit services in California and recipient of millions in government funds), etc. I find this more troubling than Arnold's magazines.

And further troubling is the thousands of dollars in consulting fees that Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez receives from an employee union organization. Why isn't anyone talking about that?

The bottom line is that most liberals are intellectually dishonest and Arnold and the Republicans must fight back.

Otherwise, he might as well just go back home to Santa Monica and forget the game.

Rehnquist hospitalized

Flap the Blogging Denist is reporting that Chief Justice Rehnquist has been hospitalized. For more information, go to Flap's blog here.

Rehnquist to Step Down

Matt Drudge is reporting that reporter Bob Novak declared on CNN that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will announce retirement today after Bush's plane touches down at Andrews AFB tonight. Stay tuned.

Hat tip to Flap.

CA Budget Deal - On to November

Getting the "small stuff" out of the way for the looming election in November which will make or break our dear Ahnold, da Gov and legislative leaders announced a budget deal today.

The deal includes added money for education and transportation while keeping it balanced.

According to the SF Chronicle:

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said Schwarzenegger had brought Republicans and Democrats together, forcing compromises from both sides.

He described the budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year as fiscally responsible yet compassionate, protecting the interests of both parties.

The Gov's press release states:

"Together we have reached the best budget agreement California has seen in years, proving again that when we are a unified team we are unstoppable. This budget does not raise taxes or increase borrowing. It provides $3 billion more for our schools, provides $1.3 billion more for crucial transportation projects and invests in both public health and safety," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "This is a budget to put us on the path toward rebuilding California . Now we must work together to reform and repair our broken budget process and break the cycle of budget deficits so that nothing will stand in the way of creating more prosperity and opportunity in California than ever before."

All I have to say is you're both out of here. You're still 5 days late. You still have to actually vote for it, and knowing the drama queens in Sactown we still are going to have to listen to stories about your underwear and posturing for no apparent reason since you don't have to run in competitive seats for the next 8 years. Bah!

Mayor Clinton?

Jerry Brown hints at it, it was the subject of fan fiction, it causes jeers from his old foes and cheers from at least one fan.

Will Bill Clinton run against Republican incumbent Michael Bloomberg for Mayor of his new hometown, New York City?

The primary is in two months and an army of less than stellar Democrats are seeking their party's bid. Could the former President jump in and stir things up? It would be a pundit's dream!

We've heard some buzzing that it's being looked at - particularly in terms of Clinton's recent health issues and Hilary's potential White House run. What better way to not have to putter around the White House as the first First Gentleman and shed himself as baggage for Hilary?

If this is what the Clintons want - expect them to go for it - and for Bubba to have a very good shot to sit atop the Big Apple.

Together Again!

For a time on KCOP television in Los Angeles, I hosted a television show and had hired an impressive young man to serve as my sidekick. A few years later, he became nearly a household word. You might remember him, his name was Wally George.

As I did, Wally left the material world a few years back, but he's rejoined me here in a new forum, Sam Yorty's America. Expect Wally to begin posting shortly.

We're ready to once again take on the tinhorns of the world! Welcome, Wally!

Ridley-Thomas Claims Huge Lead In California 26th Senate Race

In a poll just completed by The Feldman Group in the 26th Senate District, Assembly Member Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-48) begins his campaign to succeed outgoing State Senator Kevin Murray with a substantial lead over his announced opponent, former state Assembly Member Rod Wright. The poll shows that in a district-wide head-to-head match up, Ridley-Thomas leads Wright by a wide margin:

Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas 44%
Former Assemblyman Rod Wright 13%

Ridley Thomas also maintains an enormous 40% head-to-head lead over Wright in the 48th Assembly District, an area that both candidates have represented(Ridley-Thomas currently holds the seat in the state Assembly that was previously held by Wright) :

Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas 57%
Former Assemblyman Rod Wright 17%

In the 47th Assembly District presently represented by Assembly Majority Whip Karen Bass and previously represented by former State Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, Ridley-Thomas leads Wright by a 49% to 14% margin.

Ridley-Thomas leads his principal challenger among every ethnic group throughout the diverse 26th Senate District. Ridley-Thomas leads Wright among African Americans 59% to 14% and he leads Wright among Latinos by a margin of 45% to 6%.

In the 26th Senate District’s West LA neighborhoods that have not been represented by either Ridley-Thomas or Wright in the past, Ridley-Thomas leads 19% to 4% among likely voters with a substantial number of those polled remaining undecided at this early stage in the race.

The likely-voting voting profile of the 26th State Senate primary electorate is as follows: 9% African-American; 32% Anglo; 11% Latino; 5% Asian Pacific American.

Gonna Fly Now!

Now that Los Angeles has inaugurated a new Mayor, it looks like California's Election 2006 is already underway.

Just yesterday, Los Angeles City Attorney Rockard J. Delgadillo took the oath of office for his second and final term. However, before the last inka-dot was even dry on the votes Rocky got in the city election, he was already planning his next step - running for Attorney General of the State of California. Indeed, he was well underway in his goal of raising $1 million for the statewide race, a goal he achieved just the other day.

Delgadillo is a rising star in the Democratic party and was the first Latino elected to a citywide post in Los Angeles in over 100 years. He grew up in the Highland Park section of northeast Los Angeles, went to Harvard, and even played in the NFL for a while. Many feel that Rocky is part of a new generation of Latino politcians that will achieve even greater power than any of their forebearers.

Before becoming Attorney General however, Rocky has to first get the Democratic nomination and there he faces a controversial but formidable opponent - former California Governor and current Mayor of Oakland, Jerry Brown. Brown for sure has his detractors from his days as "Governor Moonbeam" and fighting Howard Jarvis. But that was a long time ago and Brown has acclompished much as Oakland's Mayor. He still espouses many of his liberal, new age philosophies, but at the same time his experience in Oakland has made him a tough as nails crimefighter.

Others running for the spot include Republians Rod Pacheco and Chuck Poochigian. Most pundits are saying its Brown's race to lose.

Rocky is not known well outside of Los Angeles and the fact that he filed for the office only eight days after winning re-election as City Attorney may not sit well with LA voters. To top it off, looming for Rocky is a potentially embarrassing and messy lawsuit in which a former Assistant City Attorney accuses Delgadillo of allowing top deputies to rig an investigation of a hostile work environment claim within the City Attorney's office.


By the way, even though Rocky already has raised a cool million, we hear the fundraisers continue. The Latino Professionals Network reports that a cocktail reception fundraiser for Rocky, sponsored by various local attorneys, will be held at LA's Jonathan Club on July 13th. Minimum entry is $250 a pop.