Casting troubles on the water...

From Washington, D.C., to Wall Street...from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Mexico...the challenges are significant - and growing. Tonight's offering is but just a sample...

Top of the News

Oil Slick Threatens U.S. Gulf Coast / First traces of oil ooze into Gulf's delicate wetlands...


Earlier today - the oil slick approaches the Gulf Coast...

BP's containment problem is unprecedented...


As horrific as the disaster's beginnings were, what might happen over the next weeks or months could prove to be much, much worse...

The rest of the news...


California / the West

You’ve heard of “The Little Train That Could”…how about “The Big, Fat, Expensive, Never-Will-Be-Realized Boondoggle – aka: California High-Speed Rail”…? - Major high-speed bump - State railway plan in trouble after report questions funding of $42B tab, project's lax oversight...

Meg Whitman's lack of public service / Meg Whitman spotted with ... Democrats!

Carly Fiorina: Coming Around Again - Carly Fiorina weathered a very public firing, breast cancer and the loss of a stepdaughter, but can the former boss of Hewlett-Packard win next months California Republican primary? Plus: The long, strange trip of California politics...

California Loses Fight to End Prison Oversight...

California coming up on 39 million people...

Oakland mayor who promised to take 10% pay cut no longer taking pay cut on account of his owing the IRS $252,000...

The Economy / Wall Street

GDP disappointment jolts stocks; Dow off 158...

3.2% GDP growth signals modest, steady recovery - The first-quarter rise is less than the 5.6% increase at the end of 2009, but is a stark improvement over the 6.4% decline in same period last year...

Beware Of The Muni Bond Bubble: States And Cities Can Fail As Well...

U.S. / Politics

Judge Won't Subpoena Obama to Testify...

Obama administration considers challenges to Arizona immigration law...

Immigration law amended - Ariz. guv says changes should lay racial profiling concerns to rest...

Villaraigosa backs boycott of Arizona...

Boehner Says Republicans Could Win 100 Seats - House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said House Republicans could win 100 or more seats in this fall's elections, The Hill reports. "Boehner said he believes there is no seat that the GOP cannot win during this election cycle, judging by Sen. Scott Brown's (R) improbable win in January's special election in Massachusetts." When pressed, Boehner said he believed the GOP could win as many as 100 House seats...

MICKEY KAUS: ” It’s getting highly annoying to hear Obama and Senate Democrats pretend that to have effective border control we have to take a package deal that includes amnesty. They’re worse than the cable company when it comes to package deals.”

CHRIS DODD TALKS TRANSPARENCY, DWELLS IN SECRECY...

China / Asia

China Remains Biggest U.S.-Debt Holder

China says Houston police beat, injured diplomat

Beijing limits home-buyers to one new apartment

International


Putin Calls for Russia-Ukraine Gas Merger...

GOP senators ask Clinton to deny Ahmadinejad entry to U.S. for U.N. event

IRAN TRYING TO STIR UP TERRORISM IN MOROCCO...

United Nations Names Iran to Commission on the Status of Women...

Defense / Terrorism-related

Two Charged With Trying to Aid Al Qaeda...

Gates opposes getting rid of gay ban until Pentagon study done...

UN Gives Prize in the Name of Equatorial Guinean Dictator - Equatorial Guinea's dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, allegedly a cannibal and definitely a tyrant, has given the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) $3m to award a $300,000 grant to scientists in his name...

Health/tech/science/Environment

5 reasons Flash would've rocked the iPhoneHigh winds, tides hamper oil fight - Massive spill oozes into La.'s fragile wetlands - birds, dolphins, turtles, manatees in harm's way...


Hat tip (sources): Los Angeles Times, NY Times, LA Observed, SF Chronicle/SFGate, SF Examiner, The Hill, Legal Insurrection, KCBS, Forbes.com, the Wall Street Journal/Online WSJ, the Drudge Report, Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire, Gawker, Instapundit, Philly.com, BBC, PopSci.com, AP News/MyWay, Boing Boing, Breitbart.com, The Daily Beast, Comcast.net, Korea Times, the Washington Post, Reuters, California Watch, TIME, Rheilworldview.com, Telegraph UK, Big Journalism, Moonbattery.com, NASA

What's news?

A quick rundown of the people and events making news that matters to you:

California / the West

The Los Angeles Times endorses San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom over L.A. City council member Janice Hahn on the Democratic side for lieutenant governor, saying "whoever fills the job must be ready to become governor at a moment's notice. Newsom, for all his cockiness, is a dynamic leader — one who is more suited than Hahn to guide the state." LAT editorial

Meg Whitman is coming off an extraordinary successful quarter – at least when it comes to adding money for her campaign. California Watch. Plus: Her tax return for 2008 shows Carly Fiorina and her husband had income of more than $2.75 million. LAT

Tom Campbell: Arizona immigration law is constitutional

Poizner's tilt right is in keeping with record

Building sell-off slammed - Report says guv's plan to unload buildings would lose state $1.5 billion...

CA gov backs health overhaul...

Franken to raise money with SNL alums at LA event...

Weren’t we supposed to be boycotting California for its homophobia?...

Tourism chief opposes Arizona boycott - SF's Joe D'Alessandro says it could hurt the very people it is trying to support...

Newsom edging toward the boycott bandwagon...

SF's Proposed Arizona Boycott Threatens Job Program...

‘Little decisions’ could have big impact - The bad news we already know: San Francisco has a $483 million budget deficit that must be resolved before June 1.


Gavin - he was against the post of Lt. Gov. before he was for it...

The Economy / Wall Street

Volatile Jobs Data Point To Uneven Recovery...

Goldman's Gift to Democrats - "Lawmakers have been haggling over financial reform for 18 months, but it took Goldman Sachs just one day to get it done," the Washington Post reports. "Of course, the Wall Street giant wasn't intending to get the financial legislation done. Quite the opposite: Like most in the investment world, Goldman would generally prefer that regulators leave it and its billions of dollars of profits alone. But when Goldman executives faced a Senate panel on Tuesday, their performance was so obnoxious, their contempt for lawmakers so palpable, that their appearance had the effect of dissolving the Republican resistance to what Democrats are now calling 'Wall Street reform.'"

U.S. / Politics

Bush Was Right - Obama’s predecessor would have passed immigration reform if not for 9/11. He was correct to shift focus then—and Obama shouldn’t let the Arizona debacle force him to push for a new law during an election year...

Senate Dems will move campaign finance legislation before July 4...

Republicans Eye Three Symbolic Senate Seats - Washington Post: ""Every now and then, there comes a congressional race so fraught with history and symbolism that it becomes as much about sending a message as winning a seat. This year, Republicans are looking to hit the trifecta in the Senate. As things stand now, they are well within striking distance of winning President Obama's old seat in Illinois and Vice President Biden's former perch in Delaware, and of toppling Majority Leader Harry M. Reid in Nevada."

Senate Democrats to unveil immigration plan

Reid Still Trails Badly - A new Rasmussen survey in Nevada finds Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) still struggling against his possible Republican challengers. Sue Lowden (R) is ahead 52% to 39%, Danny Tarkanian (R) leads 51% to 41%, and Sharron Angle (R) is in front 48% to 40%.

Al Gore buys $8.8 million ocean-view villa...

The Most Polarized Congress in Modern History - William Galston: "The current Congress -- the 111th -- is the most ideologically polarized in modern history. In both the House and the Senate, the most conservative Democrat is more liberal than is the most liberal Republican. If one defines the congressional 'center' as the overlap between the two parties, the center has disappeared."

Motor City Madman Backs Palin - Rock star Ted Nugent endorses Sarah Palin: "We who are driven to be assets to our families, communities and our beloved country connect with the principles that Sarah Palin embodies. We know that bureaucrats and, even more, Fedzilla, are not the solution; they are the problem. I'd be proud to share a moose-barbecue campfire with the Palin family anytime, so long as I can shoot the moose."

McCain Holds Double-Digit Lead Over Hayworth - A new Public Policy Polling survey in Arizona finds the Republican U.S. Senate primary much closer than a Rocky Mountain poll released yesterday. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) leads challenger J.D. Hayworth (R), 46% to 35%, though a majority of Republicans think "he's too lenient on immigration" and a plurality feel that "he's too liberal in general." Hayworth actually leads McCain 46% to 38% with conservative voters. But McCain's 60% to 15% advantage with moderates is so overwhelming that it allows him the double digit lead...


Al Gore - feeling the heat over his new digs...

International

Tribal elders refuse to return to former Pakistani Taliban base, jeopardizing military gains...

Saddam's loyalists in Syria blast US...

Gordon Brown's Disastrous Day - The British prime minister’s spectacular gaffe has further imperiled his faltering campaign. Alex Massie on how upstart Nick Clegg is taking advantage—and what he wants...

All hail the success of Hugo Chavez's bolivarian socialism: "What we're seeing in Venezuela is a phenomenon where productivity, private activity and private business is falling"...

Latin America Will Expand In 2010...

AHMADINEJAD TO ATTEND CONFERENCE AT UN NEXT WEEK...

US Navy has encounter with Iranian jet...

US gives $2.5 million more to help pay for Charles Taylor war crimes trial...

Iran's Ahmadinejad - coming soon to a UN near you...

Defense / Terrorism-related

Could drone pilots be tried for war crimes?...

Navy to allow women to serve on subs...

Health/tech/science/Environment

APPLE WANTED A “PUBLIC EXECUTION” in the iPhone case?...

Steve Jobs' scathing bash of Flash - Apple CEO lays out 6 reasons why he won't support the Adobe technology on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch...

Water Ice and Organic Material Found for First Time on Asteroid...

U.S. Escalates Oil Spill Response...

Microsoft Tablet Project Shelved...

Google to Show TV Software in May...

Boss Jobs...

China / Asia

South Korea ship sinking may be perfect crime for North...

The U.S. and China are locked in a kind of mutually assured economic destruction that will force cooperation even as security disputes simmer...

Japan Forces Bureaucrats to Defend Spending...

So, Ready for War With North Korea?...

Thai Political Tussle Intensifies...

The start of something bad?

Hat tip (sources): Los Angeles Times, NY Times, LA Observed, SF Chronicle/SFGate, SF Examiner, The Hill, Legal Insurrection, KCBS, Forbes.com, the Wall Street Journal/Online WSJ, the Drudge Report, Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire, Gawker, Instapundit, Philly.com, BBC, PopSci.com, AP News/MyWay, Boing Boing, Breitbart.com, The Daily Beast, Comcast.net, Korea Times, the Washington Post, Reuters, California Watch, TIME, Rheilworldview.com, Telegraph UK, Big Journalism, Moonbattery.com

Radio - night & day...

Tonight on The John Batchelor Show, beginning at 6 p.m. (Pac Time), John and I will discuss news, politics, California, the economy and more with a number of correspondents from around the world.

You can listen to the show at KSFO-AM 560 San Francisco, WTTK-FM 96.9 Boston, WABC-AM 77 NY, WMAL-AM 630 Washington, D.C., XM/Sirius Satellite Radio and on more than two dozen other stations (check local listings for details). If you’re not in one of the broadcast areas, you can tune-in via any of those outlets’ websites.

…and tomorrow morning (Thursday), I’ll join Brian Sussman and Officer Vic on The Brian Sussman Show on KSFO-AM 560 San Francisco at 7:35 a.m.

And as always…thanks for listening...

Can do?

Usually when you someone has a "can-do" attitude/approach, it's a good thing. Usually...

Can he do it? According to the NY Times, the question – when it comes to Iraq – is will the president be able to stick to his deadline/campaign promise to get out of that “quagmire?”


When won't there be boots on the ground?

Can you believe it? According to the folks who brought you The Big Mess on Wall Street©, ”Investors were not duped.”

You can say that again: Some folks in the media are actually so bold as to suggest “unemployment challenges Obama’s economic narrative.” And if by “narrative” you mean “whopper of a fish tale,” they’re absolutely spot-on…


Tell it to all those people in line...

Can you trust them? According to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), General Motors and the Obama Administration are misleading the public over GM’s much ballyhooed “loan repayment.” I’m shocked I tell you. Shocked…

Can he get away with it (again)? – Ol’ Christopher Dodd (D-Graft) appears to be carving-out something for his cronies in his latest stab at “financial reform.” I find it hard to believe the same guy who’s been mixed-up in mortgage and banking “situations” for years would not that – NOT…


Chris Dodd - on the way out (and not a minute too soon)...

Can it be possible? – Reports have surfaces that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ report on the negative effects of Obamacare® were “ suppressed” by HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius until after the health care vote. (The answer: yes it can/was…)


Trickery we can believe in, too...

The colorful city...

Since April 22 is widely regarded as a day devoted to our planet, The Bliss Index™ is happy to share this latest collection of flora photos. These were shot in various parts of San Francisco...

Enjoy...

(Click on any to enlarge...)

More local color

In keeping with attempts to "throw some culture" into the mix, here are some shots I took on a walkabout recently...

Enjoy...

Airing it out...

Tomorrow night, it will be time for another edition of The John Batchelor Show - live and emanating from a radio (or computer) near you...

Beginning at 6 p.m. (Pac Time), I’ll join John to discuss politics, economy and whatever else is making news...

You can listen to the show at KSFO-AM 560 San Francisco, WTTK-FM 96.9 Boston, WABC-AM 77 NY, WMAL-AM 630 Washington, D.C., XM/Sirius Satellite Radio and on more than two dozen other stations (check local listings for details)...

If you’re not in one of the broadcast areas, you can tune-in via any of those outlets’ websites...

And as always…thanks for listening...

News from all over the place...

This being Friday, it's time for the weekly round-up of news...

Surprise! (Not a surprise.) - California's jobless rate inches higher…

So who’s most concerned about California’s jobless rate at 12.6%? Dems, line forms to the left…


California - here it comes again...

If the Feds are saying “1 in 3 Americans failed to return Census forms,” doesn’t that mean they know how many there people there are, anyway?...

From one of yesterday’s Tea Parties across the U.S.: "NBC Reporter To Black Man At Tea Party: 'Have You Ever Felt Uncomfortable?'" OK, how about now?...

Speaking of Tea Parties: What’s the real truth? Hint – not what you’ve been told.

Did the guy not see “Armageddon?” - Obama's asteroid goal tougher, riskier than moon…


He didn't come back...

Attention bad guys in Arizona: Your “job” just got a whole lot dicier…

Only three to five years? That’s kind of a lot of time, isn’t it? (No.)...

Attention Harry Reid: I hear Caesar’s Palace is looking for a greeter…


Prayer is your only hope...

So Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) “…only sexually assaulted gay staffers.” I guess that clears that up…

If only they had outsourced their space program…


Just wait til they try to get through to the call center...

"The straw that stirs the drink..."

Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be on The Dave Congalton Show (KVEC-AM 920), beginning around 4 p.m. (Pac Time)...

Dave and I will be discussing the latest Sarah Palin “controversy” – the Cal State University Stanislaus Foundation’s decision to invite former Alaska governor/VP hopeful to speak at the school’s 50th anniversary dinner (and the associated fallout)...

If you’re not in the broadcast area, you can tune-in via KVEC’s website. Call-ins, by the way, are welcome!

And as always…thanks for listening...

Are the stars aligned?

California's elections are not far off, but the stars may already be lining up that could spell big changes...

Yesterday, a ballot measure designed to toss California's recently approved Proposition 8 (prohibiting same-sex marriages) died on the vine. For lack of the needed number of petition signatures, the repeal failed to qualify for the November ballot. While the movement isn't dead, it is on ice for at least a couple years. More immediately, this could spell big troubles for U.S. Barbara Boxer (D) and probably Democratic gubernatorial candidate/current state attorney general/former Gov. Jerry Brown (D). While California is a deeply blue state, neither candidate is beloved by party faithful (nor independents). A "progressive" proposition would surely bring more liberal-minded voters to the polls. This turn of events is not good news for Dems...


The battle continues - in 2012? (Photo: LA Times blogs)

While the Dow closed above 11,000, this week, will it last? For the party in power, it had better. But Wall Street ain't Main Street...and Main Street is still hurting. When it comes down to it, voters will always check their wallets - first -before pulling a lever. For the Dems, former Clinton Labor secretary Robert Reich doesn't seem to paint a pretty picture: "The jobs picture still looks Bleak." Which, in a state that still is at or near the top when it comes to joblessness, home foreclosures, commercial real estate problems - and more - voters want to see their personal numbers mirror (if not better) the Dow's.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...er, White House: the president's push for health insurance reform doesn't seem to be helping anyone on either side of the aisle. Support for ObamaCare repeal is at 58% (which, together with a faltering economy, is translating into bad numbers for him - his lowest yet). If the mood persists or worsens, Dem candidates in California - and elsewhere - will need to think about updating their resumes.

Of course, it isn't helping the president's numbers as the personal income of Americans is falling...

Nor is it helping that even the experts are thinking what everyone knows - the recession may not be over...

A bit of advice for California Dems and GOPers, alike: heed the signs.

Good Monday evening, radio land...

Tonight on The John Batchelor Show, beginning at 6 p.m. (Pac Time), I’ll join John and Carla Marinucci (The San Francisco Chronicle) to discuss California’s politics, economy and whatever else is making news in the Golden State.

You can listen to the show at KSFO-AM 560 San Francisco, WTTK-FM 96.9 Boston, WABC-AM 77 NY, WMAL-AM 630 Washington, D.C., XM/Sirius Satellite Radio and on more than two dozen other stations (check local listings for details). If you’re not in one of the broadcast areas, you can tune-in via any of those outlets’ websites.

And as always…thanks for listening.

The fallout...

The signing - "a big deal" - is history, but it's not over...

About that rationing thing…from the NY Times: “So figuring out how we can say no may be the single toughest and most important task facing the people who will be in charge of carrying out reform. “Being able to say no,’ Dr. Alan Garber of Stanford says, “is the heart of the issue.’”



Congressional Budget Office, then: “The health insurance bill? Yeah, no problem – it’s gotta whole revenue neutral thing going for it.” Now: “Um, yeah, um, sorry. Kinda not. In fact, all this debt will be unsustainable. Our bad.”

So much for the Massachusetts model…

Carol Shea-Porter (D-North Massachusetts) tries to explain ObamaCare to a town hall meeting. Result: FAIL.


"I understand this much of it..."

Five lessons learned…after the bill was signed.

Sown…and reaped.


"Have I got a deal for you..."

Saturday night's alright for...radio

Another Saturday night with nothing to do? Then listen in...


Tonight on The John Batchelor Show, beginning at 6:15 p.m. (Pac Time), I’ll join John’s guest host, the redoubtable Simon Constable (a Dow Jones Newswires columnist and host of the News Hub Web Show ), to discuss California politics and Los Angeles’ budget crisis.

You can listen to the show on WTTK-FM 96.9 Boston, WABC-AM 77 NY, WMAL-AM 630 Washington, D.C., XM/Sirius Satellite Radio and on more than two dozen other stations (check local listings for details). If you’re not in one of the broadcast areas, you can tune-in via any of those outlets’ websites.

And as always…thanks for listening.


Simon Constable - taking it to The Street...

The windmills of your mind

There are lots of arguments about the true value of windfarms. From treehuggers to T. Boone Pickens, many view wind as one of the best answers to the ongoing energy crisis.

Nonetheless, the giant windmills these "farms" use are interesting, futuristic-looking devices - usually scattered in windy, rural areas.

Here are several shots I took out at the world's largest windfarm (Altamont Pass, Calif., located in the Diablo Range between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley). Oh, and a little thematic music to go along with the photos...