Finally, a true representative of the people!!:

Capitol Weekly reports that newly elected California Congresswoman Laura Richardson walked away from the mortgage on her $535,000 Sacramento home, letting the house slip into foreclosure and disrepair less than two years after she bought it with no money down.

Capitol Weekly, citing tax records at the Sacramento County assessor’s office, reports “… in January 2007, Richardson took out a mortgage for the entire sale price of the house — $535,000. The mortgage amount was equal to the sale price of the home, meaning she was able to buy the house without a down payment, even though the housing market was beginning to turn. A March 19, 2008 notice of trustee’s sale indicates that the unpaid balance of Richardson’s loan, which is held by Washington Mutual, is more than $578,000 –$40,000 more than the original mortgage.”

The weekly also reports Richardson’s residence quickly became an eyesore, angering neighbors. The report says she recused herself on two key house votes on government efforts to address the foreclosure crisis.

State Politicians: just as stupid as you, only way more powerful!

Now that the US Supreme Court has ruled to uphold the use of lethal injections as a form of capital punishment, the state of California is chomping at the bit to off some of its more undesirable residents.

California hasn’t killed anyone since January 2006 when it sent 76-year-old triple murderer Clarence Allen down the River Styx. He was the oldest inmate on death row at the time and had his sentence delayed for health and age reasons. I guess they need to be good and healthy to die. There is, however, another hurdle to clear before the killings can continue.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose had ordered a temporary halt to executions in California after finding the state’s lethal injection procedures were unconstitutional. A decision by Fogel on whether a new execution protocol by the state meets constitutional requirements is pending.

A hearing in the case has been set for June, but [Chief Assistant Attorney General Dane] Gillette said it may be moved up as a result of today’s high court ruling. The state plans to ask Fogel to lift his court order and permit executions to resume.

Even if Fogel rules quickly for the state, another legal challenge pending in a California appellate court will prevent the state from executing inmates immediately. Gillette said the state would press for a quick resolution in that case, which was unaffected by the Supreme Court decision.

Once the executions resume, they’ll be housed in fancy new digs.

State officials last year began building a larger, better illuminated death chamber designed for lethal injection executions. Gillette said construction has been completed.

The old facility, built in 1937 as the state’s gas chamber, was criticized as dimly lit and crowded, relegating executioners outside the death room and making it difficult for them to properly monitor possible problems with the intravenous drug injections.

The new chamber cost $399,000 to build, which meant it didn’t need legislative approval. Gillette said it’s “certainly feasible” for executions to resume by the end of the year, at a clip of one lethal injection per month.

I’ll admit, things in America suck right now, compared to the salad days of the late-nineties. But from the daily headlines regarding the current financial downturn, you’d think Hoovervilles are already springing up outside every major American city. As I’ve pointed out in previous posts, the hyperbole surrounding these events is laughable once you get into the meat of the stories. Like the story a few weeks back about the “ruined lives” of Bear Stearns employees, in which one executive stock options were worth a mere $28 million dollars, and lesser employees were forced to put their “weekend homes” up for sale, or another story about the California housing market in which the shrinking pool of mortgage related credit had forced one homeowner to “cut back on travel” and find other means by which to pay for his “investment properties.” Today, I found yet another golden quote, in a story with the dire headline “Food Costs Rising Fastest in 17 Years,” which definitely sounds scary. Should we expect food riots in the streets of New York? Soviet-style bread lines at bakeries nationwide? OMG WHAT DO WE HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF NOW???! How about $20 key lime pies that now cost $25?

Steve Tarpin can bake a graham cracker crust in his sleep, but explaining why the price for his Key lime pies went from $20 to $25 required mastering a thornier topic: global economics. The owner of Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies in Brooklyn said he didn’t want customers thinking he was “jacking up prices because I have a unique product.”

“I have to justify it,” he said.

I somehow doubt that anyone who could afford a $20 key lime pie is somehow going to starve now that they have to pay $5 more. But then the story got even better:

“I was talking to people who make $9 an hour, talking about how they might save $5 a week,” said Kathleen DiChiara, president and CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. “They really felt they couldn’t. That was before. Now, they have to.”

For some, that means adding an extra cup of water to their soup, watering down their milk, or giving their children soda because it’s cheaper than milk, DiChiara said

Umm…have they ever heard of WATER?? It’s this thing that runs out of the faucet. And guess how much it costs?? $0.0000000!!11 But I guess if you’re poor you’re not really interested in giving your kids something healthy to drink, especially not something totally free.

This is the first time in awhile I’ve been ashamed of being a Democrat.  A lopdick state assemblyman by the name of Jim Beall is proposing in a new bill to increase the tax on a can or bottle of beer from the current $.02 to $.30, making a six pack $1.80 more expensive:

The people who use alcohol should pay for part of the cost to society, just like we’ve accepted that concept with tobacco,” Beall said.

Beall has already successfully convinced the Franchise Tax Board to raise the taxes on so-called “Alco-pops,” the sweet tasting malt beers that teenaged dudes in Willows use to get high school girls drunk enough to let them touch some whiskers by $2 a sixpack, an increase that will take effect later this year.

Big thanks to Sludge Swamp for turning me on to this stuff. I was perusing their archives for some cool stuff to put on a mix CD for an upcoming BBQ, when I stumbled upon the psychedelic doom of Jex Thoth. Formerly known as Totem, the band takes its name from its beguiling frontwoman, who seems to have a bit of Grace Slick coursing through her veins (and God knows what else).

It’s nice to see how diverse the metal scene is getting, especially since that’s all I’ve been listening to lately, and I usually like to mix it up. This stuff is spacey, hypnotic but still has plenty of rock punch, and it doesn’t completely drag ass like a lot of doom you’ll hear. Jex Thoth releases albums on I Hate Records, which is out of Sweden (Jex Thoth hails from California), but unfortunately, their debut LP seems to have been delayed due to a printing error. With any luck, they’ll be able to fix that up soon.

Nestled in the cozy mountain valley of Quincy, CA, the High Sierra Music Festival has served as the pinnacle of Northern California summer music events. The typically “earthy” vibe that made the festival such a hit with jam band aficionados and world music enthusiasts has branched out as of the last few years to include fringe jam groups like My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers and The Mother Hips, all the while mixed in with a healthy brood of other intriguing misfits of rock.

This year’s lineup goes a step further in the indie rock credential lunge by including Built To Spill on the lineup, a booking that should boost attendance to a newer, less B.O.-tinged realm.

I’m looking forward to seeing how many diehard High Sierra junkies actually give the band a listen, seeing as how both My Morning Jacket, Son Volt and Drive-By Truckers were all largely ignored while groups like Leftover Salmon held captive a legion of devotees. And I can’t WAIT to see how Buckethead goes over…

At least this guy will be there…

Lineup thus far:

BOB WEIR & RATDOG, GOV’T MULE, MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD, BUILT TO SPILL,
MIKE GORDON, RAILROAD EARTH, CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO, IVAN NEVILLE’s DUMPSTAPHUNK,
ROBBEN FORD, ABIGAIL WASHBURN & THE SPARROW QUARTET FEAT. BELA FLECK, JAMES HUNTER,
NEW MONSOON, THE SLIP, SURPRISE ME MR. DAVIS, BASSNECTAR,
THE MOTHER HIPS, EMMITT-NERSHI BAND, CRITTERS BUGGIN,
THE LEE BOYS, TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE, SPAM ALLSTARS,
GROOVESECT WITH FRED WESLEY, MARCHFOURTH MARCHING BAND,
BUCKETHEAD,AKRON/FAMILY, SCOTT AMENDOLA BAND,
BLVD AND MC SOULEYE, ROTARY DOWNS,
THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, AND MANY MORE!

4 DAYS, 4 NIGHTS, 5 STAGES, LATE NIGHT SHOWS
KIDZONE, YOGA, PILATES, GREAT FOOD,
MICROBREWS, CRAFT FAIR, DAILY PARADES,
INTIMATE PLAYSHOPS, FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
PLUMAS-SIERRA FAIRGROUNDS, QUINCY, CA
TICKETS NOW ON SALE, HIGHSIERRAMUSIC.COM