Steve Rustad: Political Cartoons

• Sam and Ella Visit Petaluma http://steve-rustad.blogs.petaluma360.com/10763/sam-and-ella-visit-petaluma/ http://steve-rustad.blogs.petaluma360.com/files/2010/09/2010-09-02-Salmonella.jpg Salmonella is another good reason to buy local food. At least if you get sick you can go throw up on their doorstep. Seriously, I believe that the closer one is to the source of the food, the healthier the food is likely to be. Or at least, the least adulterated, mishandled or misrepresented. I only wish that farmer's markets were more frequent, and that local farmers were better compensated for their investment in sweat and cash. You can thank our nanny-state progressives for the restrictive laws and regulations that have made local small (e.g., non-agribusiness) farming increasingly a rich man's hobby. Sam and Ella Visit Petaluma
• http://steve-rustad.blogs.petaluma360.com/10761/10761/ http://steve-rustad.blogs.petaluma360.com/files/2010/08/Mr.-Carter-Goes-to-North-Korea.jpg Given the swath of disaster that follows Jimmy Carter's globetrotting diplomacy, it's amazing to me that he still gets tapped for missions. I guess he gets credit of bringing a lasting peace to the Middle East with the Camp David Accords. No, wait. That didn't work any better than his efforts in Haiti. Perhaps he needs the frequent-flyer miles.
• Deja Vu http://steve-rustad.blogs.petaluma360.com/10757/deja-vu/ http://steve-rustad.blogs.petaluma360.com/files/2010/08/Irans-V-1-Rocket.jpg The peace-loving government of Iran has acquired a new toy with which they can forcefully advance their love of peace. Anyone who doubts that this rocket is designed to send a nuclear bomb (that they say they are not building) over to Israel is probably sending money to a Nigerian diplomat that he met online, believes their was second shooter in Dallas and that the current administration in Washington is doing all they can to support America's small businesses. Deja Vu

Blog: California Commons

• Tim Smith on Legal & Political Issues in Sonoma County

• Flaring or Caring http://californiacommons.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10859/flaring-or-caring/ Reducing greenhouse gases while providing needed energy would seem to make the installation of energy recovery equipment the environmentally preferred option. Flaring or Caring
• Two Wrongs http://californiacommons.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10856/two-wrongs/ An adage worth remembering is that two wrongs do not make a right. Two Wrongs
• No Escaping Reality http://californiacommons.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10836/no-escaping-reality/ Attempting to suspend financial realities simply creates a larger long-term problem which is detrimental for us all. No Escaping Reality
• Political Maturity http://californiacommons.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10830/political-maturity/ As to maturity, political and otherwise, it's amazing how some people have it when young, while others never seem to get it at all. Political Maturity

Blog: Inside Opinion

• More blogs
• Discussions

• A vote for mufflers http://insider.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10814/a-vote-for-mufflers/ California legislators deserve practically all of the criticism that gets heaped on them, but one vote today counts as music to my ears.On Monday, as it headed toward adjournment of the regular two-year session, the state Senate approved legislation to crack down on noisy motorcycles. If it's signed by the governor, and that's no guarantee, [...] A vote for mufflers
• Candidates on the prowl http://insider.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10812/candidates-on-the-prowl/ A political consultant named Bob Shrum quipped that a political rally in California is three people sitting around a TV set.He wasn't far from the truth. Iowa- or New Hampshire-style retail politics is long gone in California. It's largely gone in Iowa and New Hampshire, too, just played out for the cameras. In Santa Rosa [...] Candidates on the prowl
• In defense of the Boy Scouts http://insider.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10807/in-defense-of-the-boy-scouts/ When a young man comes of age on the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, he's required to climb a crude wooden tower about 100 feet high and leap head-first toward Earth, tethered at the ankle by vines. The goal is to land close enough to the ground that the lad's shoulders graze the soil. Anything [...] In defense of the Boy Scouts
• Spare change? http://insider.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10805/spare-change/ North Coast politicians are doing their part to stimulate the economy.Among them, Noreen Evans, Michael Allen, Wesley Chesbro and Jared Huffman have spent more than $1.2 million on their campaigns in the 2009-10 election cycle.No, it isn't Meg Whitman money. It might not even match the change under the cushions of the Whitman campaign [...] Spare change?

Blog: Pete Golis

• Traveling with an iPad http://golis.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10397/traveling-with-an-ipad/ I'm typing this into my iPad, using a wireless keyboard that qualifies as a full-sized keyboard in most respects. Yet it's only nine inches wide, and it weighs just eight ounces.Once upon a time, a five- or six-pound laptop may have seemed a miraculous device, but after lugging it around for a few trips, it [...] Traveling with an iPad
• JFK and LBJ: A tale of two libraries http://golis.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10394/jfk-and-lbj-a-tale-of-two-libraries/ Today's column riffs off our recent visit to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston – and recalls a visit two years ago to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum at the University of Texas, Austin. We were in Austin to write about the 2008 presidential primaries.At the time, here's what I [...] JFK and LBJ: A tale of two libraries
• Low marks for The Terminator http://golis.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10392/low-marks-for-the-terminator/ Since he leaves office in January, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't have to worry about being recalled.Lucky for him. The Sacramento Bee today reports that Schwarzenegger now has the same approval rating as former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.You member Davis. He's the guy who was recalled when Schwarzenegger, the action movie star, was swept into [...] Low marks for The Terminator
• The constitutional convention that didn't happen http://golis.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10387/the-constitutional-convention-that-didnt-happen/ For a time last year, political optimists held out hope that a proposed constitutional convention could put state government back together again.It didn't happen because reformers couldn't raise the money necessary to press the campaign for a ballot measure. For obvious reasons, the special interests that bankroll most political initiatives in California like the system [...] The constitutional convention that didn't happen
• For McGuire, hard work pays off http://golis.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10384/for-mcguire-hard-work-pays-off/ If you followed supervisorial candidate Mike McGuire's regular reports on Twitter and Facebook, you know this much: The guy is tireless. For the last several months, he has been everywhere in the Fourth District. The returns tonight show that hard work paid off.Political people like to come up with fancy explanations for the outcomes of [...] For McGuire, hard work pays off