You know what we haven't had in awhile? Some fercockt plan to reform politics in this state. Well, get ready, cause a new one is headed our way! And, actually, it's not half bad. The idea is to create a "Citizen's Assembly" made up of real live, actual citizens who get together every once in awhile to propose reforms to the political system. The reforms they agree upon would then be put on the ballot and voted on by the rest of us. And by citizens, we mean real citizens. Not bored billionaires looking for something to do and thinking politics just might be a hoot. And not a bunch of role-playing revolutionaries proclaiming their happy hour as the People's Happy Hour. more ›

You know how after the Very Special Election Governor Arnie was saying he got the message loud and clear and was going back to being a centrist and ixnaying the hard-core conservatism? It looks like he's actually doing it. It's all out with the old and in with the new. This week he got rid of his previous Chief of Staff, a Republican, and brought in one of Gray Davis' old aides, Susan Kennedy. The move has gotten conservative's panties all in a bunch. Not necessarily because Kennedy is an old Davis aide, but because she's been actively involved in abortion rights causes. And is lesbian who married her longtime partner. Yep, the Governor just put his administration in the hands of an abortion-loving lesbian and we know how much the Republican Party loves them. more ›

Amazing what a difference two days makes, huh? After the unions triumphed in their combined opposition to Arnold's Very Special Election -- well, would you look at that? Sutter is settling with the healthcare workers and the state's decided not to try and increase nurse-to-patient ratios after all. To the victors go the spoils! (And here's Arnold: "Oh, if I could go back in time like the Terminator, I would have listened to Maria and not had this election in the first place." He has got to cut it out with these lame references to his movies and the Kennedy family.) Emboldened by Nov. 8? Or maybe just sick and tired of being sick and tired? Well, the San Francisco Unified School District has called for a strike vote next. Even that offer from Arlene Ackerman to resign if they'd agree to settle didn't sweeten the pot enough for them? That must be some baaaaad contract they got. more ›

With only a few days left before the Very Special Election, the Governor hit the campaign trail hoping for one of those idyllic campaign weekends where all the crowds are friendly, the energy crackling, and the pictures good. So he hopped on a bus, got a visit from everybody’s favorite Republican, John McCain, and spoke to reporters about how much he was looking forward to getting everyone in the state together to fix the state’s problems. And what did he get for his troubles? On Saturday, at a rally in San Diego, Warren Beatty and his wife, Annette Bening tried to crash one of his rallies, along with a crowd of protestors. They had been trailing the Governor on their own Magical Mystery Bus, the "Truth Squad Bus" and followed the Governor to a rally being held at an airplane hangar in San Diego. When they tried to get in, they were given the "sorry, closed party" by a hastily assembled squad of the Governor's aides who told Beatty that he wasn't allowed into the rally because he wasn't on the list to get in. Just change political rally to Koi and it's just like Paris and Nicole. Which is kind of scary when you think about it because the way things are going, SFist will someday be writing about Lindsey Lohan leading a protest against Governor Wilmer Valderrama. more ›

With less than a week to go before the Very Special Election, it's time to ponder the state's relationship with the Governor. Cause it's looking like the magic has gone from the relationship. As Woody Allen would say, what we got on our hands is a dead shark. Polls out now are saying that Arnie has achieved such a level of popularity that he's actually bringing down his measures. In other words, his unpopular measures are less unpopular than he is and so the more he tries to campaign for them, the worse they'll wind up doing. If Arnie were a musician right now, he'd be Fred Durst. more ›

Schwarzenegger's political poll numbers are still down, there is one poll in which he is doing very well. Turns out, Arnie is Ubersexy! According to Men's Vogue, Arnie is the Fifth Ubersexiest man in the world, making him ubersexier than Ewan McGregor andr Pierce Brosnan, but not as ubersexy as George Clooney, #1 Ubersexiest male Bono, or Donald Trump (blogga, please). Not on the list was Rush Limbaugh, who has been whining about it ever since. As for his propositions' in the Very Special Election, we turn to the Prop. 77, the redistricting initiative because if politics make for strange bedfellows, this one is causing TomKat-like couplings. Besides the support of Mr. Campaign Reform himself, John McCain, the initiative got the support of well-known political reform organization, Common Cause. Well, sort of. Seems there was a bit of a disagreement over supporting it and it's rumored several board members threatened to resign in protest of aligning with a politician whose pro-business stand would earn the plaudits of Montgomery Burns. Also supporting the proposition is consumer rights group, CalPIRG. more ›

When we last saw our favorite Republican bigwigs, Arnie and George, they were having a bit of a problem getting together. Twice, during the President's extended and ill-fated vacation, he visited our fair state and twice he did so without the presence of Herr Governator. The Governor was just too busy to hook up with the President and we totally can sympathize-- it's always hard to try and reconnect with old friends. Especially ones who have lower poll numbers than us. Anyways, both teams said there was nothing to see there and no big deal and nothing going on and that they'd love to toss a few non-alcoholic (or, as the rumors are saying, alcoholic) brewskis together. Then again, maybe not. more ›

In case you've spent the past week doing nothing but contemplating whether John Roberts is either banaly evil or malevolently evil, here's what you might have missed from last week: -The Rules Committee voted to let Robin Williams spend $80,000 to repair a median in his neighborhood and a city sighs with relief. Aftewards, Sandoval claimed that the shunting of the gift to a committee was just to make sure everything was on the up-and-up and not just turning down free money out of spite. In response, residents of Sea Cliff pledged to stop marching in the streets in protest. more ›

You know how we're going to have this Very Special Election this November? And you know how one of the measures we're going to be voting on is a redistricting plan? Guess what? We're not going to be voting on it after all. Yesterday, a judge ruled that the measure has to be taken off the ballot because the measure that was approved by the state attorney general was different than the measure that everyone signed while being accosted at shopping markets. more ›