As far as fundraising goes, the battle over Prop 21 the car tax increase disguised as a "save the parks" initiative has been a classic David vs. Goliath struggle.

In this case, the part of Goliath is being played by the "yes" side, in that as of this writing they have raised over $6.5 million to get out their message. David, being played by the "no" side, has raised a paltry $74,000. But just as in the ancient tale, David has a little something extra besides his sling and a small bag of stones-the support of the already overtaxed citizens of California.

Did I miss a memo? When did "whore" become an insult in California politics?

Without whores, this state would have no system of government.

The logic of prostitution is the central organizing principle of the California budget.

San Francisco had the honor of hosting Bouchercon 2010. Or have I got the "honor" backwards?

First, for the apparently small percentage of people out there who aren’t fans of the mystery genre, Bouchercon is an annual convention named for Anthony Boucher, the late author, editor and critic (after whom the prestigious Anthony Awards are also named).

The new Public Policy Institute poll was released showing Meg Whitman eight points behind Jerry Brown in the race for governor. While this is the largest deficit Whitman has faced against her rival, this race is not over.

Whitman shows weaknesses in a couple of areas that could be corrected over the next two weeks and strengths in a couple of areas that are important to the voters.

The poll shows that one in ten Republicans is supporting Jerry Brown. In addition, there is a 15-point gap with Brown leading among women voters. Whitman needs to and can shrink these numbers.

There is no question there is a Republican wave building throughout most of the country that will probably deliver the House of Representatives to the Republicans. But polling just this week is showing that optimism for huge GOP gains in the U.S. Senate may be fading.

If the GOP fails to win the Senate in this wave year, Tea Party candidates, especially those favored by the California-based Tea Party Express, will be to blame.

If a developer trumpeted his commitment to a "green community," promised to scrupulously abide by environmental processes, and then snuck a provision in the state budget agreement in the dead of night to get an exemption from those laws, then editorialists would thunder, politicians’ would fume, and environmentalists would be hiring lawyers.

But substitute "state government" for "developer," and all is silent.

Opinion of the California Farm Bureau Federation and Nisei Farmers League

Twenty days from the election, Jerry Brown just remembered that water is important to Californians.

For a former governor of our state seeking the job again, it’s mind boggling to us that Jerry Brown has refused to take a position on the water bond and only now puts out a vague statement about his thoughts on water.

That is not leadership. That is political cowardice in the face of crisis.

The political panel analyzing the coming California election at the annual Milken Institute State of the State Conference in Beverly Hills yesterday spent a good amount of time criticizing the Whitman gubernatorial campaign.

Playing off a recent poll that showed Jerry Brown leading Meg Whitman by seven points, Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, Republican consultant Don Sipple, pundit and former Democratic campaign manager Susan Estrich and panel moderator and Fox TV commentator Frank Luntz disparaged the campaign. Only Republican consultant Steve Schmidt argued that the race was not over and that Whitman was in striking distance of Brown.

In a recent opinion piece on this site, the acting director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control Maziar Movassaghi sought to alleviate the significant concerns of a consumer advocate who had written about the state’s troubled approach to implementing the Green Chemistry Initiative.

Those concerns detailed, among other things, how DTSC’s regulations seemed to lack focus and failed to provide a clear mechanism for ensuring the State’s efforts would be towards those chemicals and products with the greatest exposure risk to sensitive populations.