SUNDAY L.A. TIMES WRAP-UP
Here are comments from Sunday's Los Angeles Times. You can use the username "sabertooth1" and the password "sabertooth1," if you haven't already registered for a free password.

SAUDIS SAY THE U.S., NOT IRAQ, THREATENS STABILITY
This Times article doesn't mention why stability in undemocratic Middle East regimes is a good thing. There's a lot of good anti-American quotes in this article.

CALIFORNIA BANS PORNOGRAPHY IN PRISON
Pornography in California prisons was protected as a First Amendment right, but now that prisoners viewing pornography is "creating a hostile work environment" for female prison workers, the pornography has got to go. You really have to be a jackass to make the argument that prisoners have a First Amendment right to pornography. You have to be an even bigger jackass to claim prisoners had a First Amendment right to pornography until women prison workers started feeling uncomfortable.

The whole point of prison is to restrict the liberties of people convicted of crimes and sentenced to prison. So why don't prisoners have a Fourth Amendment right to not have their prison cells shaken down without a search warrant?

L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT AUCTIONS OFF UNNEEDED NEW ITEMS
The best quote from the story comes from a dealer who claims most items sold at the few-times-per-year LAUSD auctions don't need repair, "[The L.A. Times] should write how sad it is that sometimes [LAUSD] bring[s] brand-new stuff here, and they say it is obsolete." And we keep hearing public schools need more funding.

LOS ANGELES BUREAUCRACY DEBATES FATE OF FOUR OAK TREES
Here's the best line from the story: "Concerned that city engineers might not have tried hard enough to save the 14 oaks, Councilwoman Wendy Greuel put a two-week freeze on the project funds Sept. 10. She asked city engineers to detail what alternatives, such as using an adjacent right-of-way to bypass the trees, have been investigated."

PENSION FUNDS GUARANTEED BY CALIFORNIA TAXPAYERS
It doesn't matter that the pension funds of California government employees have fallen in value the past few years because of a weak market, because California taxpayers make up the difference needed to cover pension payouts. What a wonderful thing it is to be a government employee. Not only do government workers do half the work of a private-sector worker, government workers have a risk-free rate of return on their retirement.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR WILL SIGN STEM-CELL RESEARCH BILL
Gov. Gray Davis today will sign legislation that boosts stem-cell research. This bill challenges the Bush administration's efforts to restrict stem-cell research. I'm all for states' rights and federalism, but I don't think these are the reasons behind the bill.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR DEFENDS HIS FUNDRAISING
The Democratic governor had to call off a Friday night fundraiser at the home of one of his political appointees who heads the California High Speed Rail Authority, after newspapers reported that builders and other advocates of a high-speed bullet train had been invited. Davis signed a bill Thursday asking voters to approve a $9.9-billion bond to construct the bullet train.

PUFF PIECE ON WOMEN'S GROUP MAKES NO SENSE
The Times wrote a cheesy piece on the president of the Bakersfield chapter of the League of Women Voters. The article calls the organization a "nonpartisan group," but the group is clearly engaged in left-wing activities in the article.

L.A. TIMES ALLOWS PRO-SIMON OPINION PIECE
The L.A. Times actually published an opinion piece written by the California Republican Party Chairman. Even though it's an opinion piece, there's some pretty good factual information in the piece regarding the California governor's race.