What You’ll Find Here

First and foremost — fun.

Second, some news. And potentially, on rare occasions when the planets are perfectly aligned, a speck of insight. (Not a word commonly used in conjunction with my alleged writing)

Mainly what you’ll find at California’s Capitol is snippets about what is going on in the White Sepulcher:  Committee hearings, floor sessions, press conferences, super secret caucus stuff. The governor. The administration.

Like newspapering, this blogging deal is supposed to be a collaborative process. Comments are encouraged. The more people involved, the more fun.

Please correct mistakes, suggest stories, whisper tips, spout off at will.  More voices, more better.

If you click on the Features tab at the top of the page you’ll see there is more here than just news. 

The Angry Man is the name my cronies bestowed on me for the invective-laced screeds that I once wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle — until someone in authority actually perused one and muzzled me.

As I get better at this new medium, I’ll try and find some old columns and put them on this page so you can decide whether I’m mellowing or plagiarizing myself or getting ornerier. A new Angry Man every Wednesday.

Capitol Cliches is just what the name says. We use them, we hate them so why not create a list and wean ourselves off them. I offer some initial suggestions. There are plenty more.

Catching Up With… This has  been the most fun part of this new adventure since it involves sitting down for an hour or so and chatting with pals or interesting persons.  Who do you want to catch up with? There’ll be a new profile every Friday. This Friday its Jerry Waldie, majority leader under Jess Unruh and “Mad Butcher of the Swamps.”

Great Moments in Capitol History. There must be some, right? I’m polishing a few modest suggestions.

In Search of Health Insurance. Since we’re still basking in the warm half-life of the Year of Health Insurance we’ll follow the real life travails of two struggling small business ownersas they race against the clock to find affordable health coverage for themselves and their zany almost 16-year-old daughter.   

Overheard. I love quotes. Some are from pals around the Capitol, others from more famous folk. Send in your favorites.  

The Horror, The Horror – The final words of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness — is a Monday morning look at the week ahead — what’s important and to whom. And, again, with proper planetary alignment, possibly the reason why.

Use This Word and Win. Gotta have a contest. Each Monday there will be a new word. A weird word. A Quentin Koppish word. An arcane word. Prove it was used in committee testimony or a bill analysis and win a free lunch. Yes, regrettably with me. Its kind of a yin/yang thing.

You’ve Descended from Mt. Olympus to Bring Fire to Mortals. On the off chance something positive happens in the Capitol, there should be a place to showcase it. 

I’ve hired the best graphic artist in town to spruce up the main page and the various categories so things are gonna get prettier as we go along.

I’m committed to this for at least 2008. So let’s have some fun. xoxox