Frustrated at the Legislature's annual inability to pass a state budget on time, the California Grange – the state's oldest agricultural fraternal group – is pondering an initiative that would not only block lawmakers from being paid when a budget is late, but fine them for it, too. Steve Wiegand in the Sacramento Bee

Happy chickens equal happy consumers, say proponents of Proposition 2, a November ballot measure that calls for the humane treatment of farm animals. The initiative, proposed by the Humane Society of the United States, would ban farmers from raising egg-producing poultry, veal calves and pregnant pigs in small cages and crates by 2015. Stacy Finz in the San Francisco Chronicle

Termed out Assembly members Lois Wolk, D-Davis, and Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton, are competing for the state Senate in the 5th District, which includes South Sacramento County and parts of Yolo, San Joaquin and Solano counties. Aurelio Rojas in the Sacramento Bee

Ratcheting up a media barrage that will spill into millions of California living rooms, proponents of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage broadcast their first TV ads Monday, charging that permanent legalization could endanger religious freedom or change schools' curriculum, charges whose veracity were challenged by legal experts. Mike Swift in the San Jose Mercury

A Shasta County atheist sued top state corrections officials Monday, claiming that his constitutional rights were violated when he was returned to prison after objecting to participation in a program with religious overtones as a condition of parole. Denny Walsh in the Sacramento Bee

Both the weekly dinner and the prayer are required. The students are participants in a special program offered by All Saints Episcopal Church in Sacramento that gives free housing to college students. In exchange for living in one of the apartments owned by the congregation, the students must meet the church's spiritual requirements. Jennifer Garza in the Sacramento Bee

The rejection of the Wall Street rescue plan may have jolted Sacramento's struggling economy and harmed the fragile recovery in the region's housing market. A small but extreme example: As the House voted down the bailout plan Monday, real estate broker Steven Krohn was called by a client who's trying to sell a home near Fruitridge Road. The instructions: Drop the listing price by one-third, to $129,000. Dale Kasler and Jim Wasserman in the Sacramento Bee

Schwarzenegger plans to sign that bill Tuesday. He has approved a toll lane plan for the 10 and 110 freeways and a bill that could help East L.A. and Rowland Heights attain city hood. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times

I like this one too…New "Country of Origin Labeling" law requires stores to tell you where your food comes from -- Born in the USA? Made in Mexico? Picked in Peru? Cultivated in Canada? Supermarket shoppers, now you know. Starting today, new federal rules take effect requiring all U.S. supermarkets and large food retailers provide labels telling consumers which country a wide variety of food came from. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday signed two bills making it tougher for teachers who commit sex crimes to remain in California's public schools. The new laws close loopholes in California's teacher licensing system that had allowed some teachers accused or even convicted of serious crimes to remain in the classroom. JULIET WILLIAMS AP

But the Republican-dominated Ohio Supreme Court decided on Monday that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner was following the law when she ruled there is a six-day window in which voters can register and vote at the same time. The decision — also backed by two separate federal judges — means election officials are preparing for the rush of early voting Tuesday, the first day absentee ballots are accepted in advance of the Nov. 4 presidential election. Ohio AP

Brown's Web site dedicated to providing resources for active and retired military veterans. McClintock's campaign recently launched www.vetsfortom.com, that lists resources for military personnel, such as Amvets, that Brown's campaign alleges, lists the same organizations, "in the exact same order, as those listed on the veteran's center that Retired Lt. Col. Brown has had online for more than a year. Brown campaign spokesman Todd Stenhouse said the moves explain how little McClintock knows about the military. The Union

Throughout this election season, Sacramento voters have been bombarded with lectures, stories, blog entries, speeches, mailers, press releases, and even bumper stickers touting which mayoral candidate is the true Democrat, as though the title were some sort of regal honor that will determine the outcome of the election. Do voters even care? I sure don’t. I care about issues; not race, not gender, not stance on gay marriage and DEFINITELY *NOT* whether the candidate worships an elephant or a donkey. Joe Sacramento

Inside Publications publishes newspapers such as Inside East Sacramento and Inside Arden [hey when is Inside Natomas coming?]. The basic premise of her support for Kevin Johnson is that eight years of Fargo is enough. Eight years is enough for a president, a governor, and should be for a mayor as well. I could not agree more. Great points all the way around. Joe Sacramento

After the jump you'll find a press release from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, announcing that it has filed complaints against six churches reported to have participated in Pulpit Freedom Sunday with political endorsements. Dallas Morning News

Milk: The film Milk will hit theaters in December. With 30 times the budget of Fireproof, the dramatization of slain gay activist and San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn, is already drawing considerable buzz in California. Milk will certainly draw more press than Fireproof, but if the Kirk Cameron flick catches fire like Bella did among the pro-life community last year, it could have a significant impact at the ballot box in Florida, Arizona and California when Nov. 4 rolls around. Lifesites

An immigration reform activist says there's absolutely no reason that American taxpayers should bail out illegal immigrants who should not have been in country in the first place, but were among those given risky loans that have created the mortgage crisis. In a recent column, Michelle Malkin points out that some of the hardest hit areas by the foreclosure wave -- including Phoenix, Las Vegas, and large swaths of California -- also happen to be some of the nation's largest sanctuary areas. She argues that lending institutions like Bank of America have gone out of their way to woo homebuyers who are in the country illegally. One News Now

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Clinton said voters would think, "I like that little Down syndrome kid. One of them lives down the street. They're wonderful children. They're wonderful people. And I like the idea that this guy does those long-distance races. Stayed in the race for 500 miles with a broken arm. My kind of guy." Seattle Times President Clinton made this comment while being a guest on “The View” yesterday. In our house, my wife’s teaching credentials have always instructed us to say, “Billy, the youngster with Down’s Syndrome”, not “that Down’s Syndrome kid”. Rather insensitive and elitist wouldn’t you say?

Motorists entering the quaint, woodsy town of Olema near the sea in Marin County may notice a subtle change as they enter: it appears the burg's name has been changed to ''Obama.'' Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama supporter and bed and breakfast owner Kelly Emery created a perfect mirror of the green sign people read as they enter the town's limits. And if you refuse to enjoy the name change - try selling your home in Marin County in this housing market. CBS Channel 5 News

In the aftermath of two major terrorist attacks on Western targets, America's counterterrorism community is warning that Al Qaeda may launch more overseas operations to influence the presidential elections in November. Call it Osama bin Laden's "October surprise." In late August, during the weekend between the Democratic and Republican conventions, America's military and intelligence agencies intercepted a series of messages from Al Qaeda's leadership to intermediate members of the organization asking local cells to be prepared for imminent instructions. New York Sun News Even if this threat is hollow in reality, it is still enough to place some fear in the hearts and minds of the citizens of the country. Good for the election, bad for the economy.

On Nov. 5, the presidential election winds up in a electoral-college tie, 269-269, the Democrat-controlled House picks Sen. Barack Obama as president, but the Senate, with former Democrat Joe Lieberman voting with Republicans, deadlocks at 50-50, so Vice President Dick Cheney steps in to break the tie to make Republican Sarah Palin his successor. "Wow," said longtime presidential historian Stephen Hess. "Wow, that would be amazing, wouldn't it?" And, "If this scenario ever happened, it would be like a scene from the movie 'Scream' for Democrats," said Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh. "The only thing worse for the Democrats than losing the White House, again, when it had the best chance to win in a generation, but to do so at the hands of Cheney and Lieberman. That would be cruel." Washington Times Can you imagine the day after an event like this in America?

Six percentage points is the price Barack Obama could pay on election day for being black. That disturbing calculation was found in a groundbreaking new Associated Press-Yahoo News poll conducted with Stanford University which probes the effect of the Democratic presidential candidate's race on his historic campaign for the White House.

"There's a penalty for prejudice, and it's not trivial," Stanford University political scientist Paul Sniderman told the AP. AP Article

Actor Brad Pitt's $100,000 donation last week to the campaign opposing a November ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage in California was the largest thus far by an A-list celebrity. But it accounts for a small percentage of the roughly $30 million collected by supporters and opponents of Proposition 8, in donations ranging from $20 to seven-figure sums. Sacramento Bee The “No on 8” campaign will have double the money for this campaign; How much will religious, evangelical and church organizations raise for the Yes on 8 campaign?

The No on Proposition 8 campaign unveiled the first ad on Monday in the battle over same-sex marriage, featuring an elderly couple who urged voters to not eliminate their gay daughter's right to marry. Prop. 8, on the November ballot, would overturn the state Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Contra Costa Times There will be many, many more in the following days and two months. Over $30-35 million will be spent on Proposition 8 this year.

San Francisco resident Carlos Dimaano, 50, a recent immigrant from the Philippines, speaks English in his job at a community center. But when he goes home to cook dinner for his 88-year-old father, the two lapse into their native Tagalog. San Francisco Chronicle Is this a reason for the growing concern surrounding high school dropouts in California?

Immigration boom slows as country's economy falters. The wave of immigrants entering the United States slowed dramatically last year as the economy faltered and the government stepped up enforcement of immigration laws. The nation added about a half-million immigrants in 2007, down from more than 1.8 million the year before, according to estimates being released today by the Census Bureau. AP Add to this that unemployment is up and many Americans are starting to consider these jobs for income. Also, many American owners are not looking for cheap labor, they are looking for work. So the lines of those taking jobs has declined. Immigration has been taken off of the campaign trail conversation for the 2008 elections.

Rescue plan could hinge on value of bad assets. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion financial rescue plan has grown from a program focused on relieving lenders and investors of their bad mortgages to one in which the government would have the authority to take over any kind of problem loan or other asset, from bad credit card debt to commercial real estate securities. San Francisco Chronicle If the government owns my credit card debt, do I have to pay it back? Consider that the government ‘never pays back its debt’, so why should I have to do the same. Bill me over my lifetime with taxes, just keep the tab running.

Lawmakers raised doubts Monday about what would be the largest government bailout in American history, but a bigger, more terrifying question lurked right under the surface: What if it doesn’t work? Failure, says one insider, is not an option. Politico

State physical fitness rule poses challenges in schools; since her freshman year at Fillmore High School, Alondra Gaytan has made sure to take the right classes to help reach her goal of attending a University of California campus. But the sophomore fears she might be sidetracked by a relatively new state requirement: Students who don't pass at least five of the six parts of a state physical fitness test have to keep taking physical education classes until they pass. Ventura Star

Starting early last Sunday morning, the turmoil in New York's financial markets triggered a spiritual response among Christian leaders reminiscent of the response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Cell phone text messages quickly spread calls to prayer. "Barclay has pulled out of Lehman deal," one announced. Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers was finalizing bankruptcy papers; Merrill Lynch was clinching its deal to sell itself to Bank of America. Monday would be devastating. Many Wall Streeters realized that the crisis could be earthshaking. A. J. Rice, well-respected CEO of the hedge-fund firm Pomeroy Capital, says, "Most people think this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. In 1987 we had a dramatic shock, but the other shoe didn't drop." This year, a whole lot of shoes have dropped. Wall Streeters have lived with a constant sense of foreboding. Christianity Today Many churches held ‘prayer meetings’ on Sunday, for Monday’s return to the market. Should we be praying for Wall Street and our investment problems?

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Post-convention swing state polls are tipping toward Sen. John McCain, the TV pundits are waxing about "The Palin Factor," and Sen. Barack Obama's California supporters are freaking out about a race Democrats were uncommonly confident about only a month ago. SF Chronicle

It's more accurate to say that every thoughtful or liberal or intuitive or open-minded white woman I know worth her vagina monologue and her self-determination and two centuries of nonstop striving for equal rights and sexual freedom and exhaustive patriarchal unshackling is right now openly horrified, appalled at what the addition of shrill PTA hockey-mom Sarah Palin seems to have done for the soggy, comatose McCain campaign - that is, make it not merely remotely interesting and melodramatic, but aggressively hostile to, well, to all intelligent women everywhere. SF Chronicle Editorial

When Charlie Gibson asked Sarah Palin if questions about her ability to balance work and family were sexist, her response electrified female voters in both parties. "I'm part of a generation where that question is kind of irrelevant," she said. By dismissing the topic, Palin demonstrated the conservative values she brings to the McCain ticket, which have galvanized the Republican right. But many were infuriated by her remark, which appeared to slight family-friendly policies at a time when they could be getting significant attention. "I don't understand why liberals are apoplectic about Sarah Palin," said Walsh, who lives in San Francisco and describes herself as a former feminist. "Palin is the definitive role model for young women. She is a successful politician and a successful woman who has it all." SF Chronicle

Voters by the thousands will begin casting ballots for president this week in an early voting process that's expected to set records this year. Residents of Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia are among the first in the nation eligible to vote in person, as well as by mail. During the next few weeks, at least 34 states and the District of Columbia will allow early in-person voting for Nov. 4 elections. USA Today Who would this benefit this year?

To get in the debating mood, Republican John McCain will host a town-hall event and take a short nap. His rival, Democrat Barack Obama, will work out or shoot hoops. And to prepare, Sen. McCain will spar this week in mock debates with Michael Steele. Mr. Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and a prominent black Republican, will play Sen. Obama and use many of his speaking patterns, tactics and body language. Sen. Obama will practice with Greg Craig, a Washington lawyer and former official in the Clinton administration who is one of his few gray-haired advisers. Wall Street Journal

A week after a high-profile send-up of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live," the NBC comedy show returned to making fun of the Alaskan governor in a skit where New York Times reporters sought to probe the possibility Palin's husband, Todd, was having sex with the couple's own daughters. "What about the husband?" asked a Times reporter during a mock assignment meeting for the paper. "You know he's doing those daughters. I mean, come on. It's Alaska." WND There is always a little bit of truth in every joke; is this what some believe on the set?

Davis said the budget should need only a majority requirement to be approved unless it contains tax hikes, which would then continue to need the two-thirds vote. Also, he said, redistricting reform is needed so incumbents would know they face a challenge if constituents are upset with their actions. "In the last election, there were 52 congressmen and 120 legislators up for election, and only one was replaced," Davis said. LA Daily News He sounds like State Senator Tom McClintock, without the opinion on the recall as bad for the state and her people. (Some believe we should remove the ‘super majority’ budget vote and only enforce it when tax increases hit 5% or higher.)

California's new 8th-grade algebra rule gets some poor marks -- The new state policy of requiring algebra in the eighth grade will set up unprepared students for failure while holding back others with solid math skills, a new report has concluded. These predictions, based on national data, come in the wake of an algebra mandate that the state Board of Education, under pressure from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, adopted in July. Los Angeles Times

A church group from El Dorado County and a controversial minister from Los Angeles on Sunday protested outside mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson's church, saying he should be cast out of his congregation for opposing Proposition 8, the initiative to ban gay marriage. Sacramento Bee I don’t agree with this type of protest, it is disrespectful of a Sunday morning and worship. Not the time, nor the place for such a display - and Kevn was not even in town Sunday.

But incoming Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass say this year's budget - now 84 days late - underscores the need to re-visit the issue in 2010, or next year if there's a special election. Sacramento Bee Politics

"Quitting Church: Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do About It" (Baker Books) is the new book by Julia Duin, assistant national editor (religion) at The Washington Times. In this excerpt, she details her personal experience and survey numbers showing the difficulties evangelical churches have with keeping their members. "You're not going to church?" I asked him. It was his birthday, so we had met for dinner at the Olive Garden, one of our favorite Italian restaurants. He shook his head. "Matt," I will call him, was legally blind and unable to drive. That and a few other handicaps had not prevented him from having a decent-paying job with the U.S. government, from amassing a world-class library in his home, and from being the go-to guy with answers to all my questions about Reformed theology. Washington Times Watch the video inside of this article.

I'm a liberal Democrat. And I do not favor same-sex marriage. Do those positions sound contradictory? To me, they fit together. Many seem to believe that marriage is simply a private love relationship between two people. They accept this view, in part, because Americans have increasingly emphasized and come to value the intimate, emotional side of marriage, and in part because almost all opinion leaders today, from journalists to judges, strongly embrace this position. That's certainly the idea that underpinned the California Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage. But I spent a year studying the history and anthropology of marriage, and I've come to a different conclusion. LA Times Opinion

In the wake of Gov. Sarah Palin's selection as the Republican vice presidential nominee, there has been considerable "speculation" about why Evangelicals in general, and Southern Baptists in particular, have responded so favorably to her candidacy. As Sally Quinn reasoned in the Washington Post, if Southern Baptists are opposed to a woman being the pastor of a local church, why would they support a woman as vice president? Aren't they being inconsistent, if not hypocritical? Baptist Press

Over 100 Christian bookstores run by the Southern Baptist Convention have pulled from their shelves this month's issue of Gospel Today Magazine, which features a cover story about female pastors. The front cover of the latest issue of Gospel Today, an urban publication with a circulation of nearly a quarter of a million, features five smiling female pastors and was titled "Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Female Pastors." In the cover story, the five preachers talk about their roles and responsibilities, struggles and successes. The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's second largest Christian denomination, officially opposes females serving as pastors. In 2000, the denomination overwhelmingly adopted a revised statement of faith that said the pastoral role should be restricted to men. "We have removed the September/October issue of Gospel Today from our shelves because the cover story, featuring female pastors, clearly advocates a position contrary to our denomination's statement of faith, the Baptist Faith & Message," Chris Turner, a spokesman for Lifeway Resources, told The Christian Post. Christian Post News

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The fate of California's record budget standoff is up to one man now. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must decide, with a stroke of his pen, whether to sign a budget deal passed early today by the Legislature - and he has threatened a veto. A marathon session of the Legislature ended at 2:30 a.m. with the proposed compromise receiving the necessary two-thirds majority to pass the Assembly, 61-1, and the Senate, 28-12. The Governor has stated he may ’veto’ the budget, but his veto can be overruled with a return two-thirds vote in the legislative body. Sacramento Bee

Last month, Rachel Bird exchanged vows with Gideon Codding in a church wedding in front of family and friends. As far as Bird is concerned, she is a bride. To the state of California, however, she is either "Party A" or "Party B." Sacramento Bee So, you can’t ‘write-in’ “bride” and “groom” onto your own marriage parchment? Give me a break, this is not about equality, this is about intolerance.

In what he calls his past life, the Rev. Geoffrey Horton worked at a Bloomington-Normal insurance company, coached a women’s softball team, owned a home and invested in a 401K. Although life was good, Horton, 43, felt something was missing. In May, he found his calling as a newly ordained Roman Catholic priest. “I became a priest for the only reason anyone should ever become a priest, because I felt that’s what God was asking of me,” said Horton, currently assigned at a church in Peoria. Pantagraph News

A California-based legal defense organization has expressed outrage that one of the nation's largest natural gas and electric utility companies has donated $250,000 to squash the state's voter-led drive to constitutionally define marriage as between one man and one woman, known as Proposition 8. The Pacific Justice Institute, which specializes in the defense of religious freedom and civil liberties, has filed a complaint against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which provides utilities to approximately 15 million Californians. World Net News This is not a boycott, but ‘opting out of the natural gas delivered through PG&E, exchanging the delivery for Tiger Natural Gas. See the article for a website that explains your rights as a California resident.

The Obama campaign is preparing rolling out a new line of “faith merchandise” – the latest move in an ambitious effort to win over religious voters. “Check out the Believers for Barack, Pro-Family Pro-Obama, and Catholics for Obama buttons, bumper stickers and signs….” says Obama Deputy Director of Religious Affairs Paul Monteiro in an e-mail obtained by the Beliefnet Web site. CNN Political Ticker

"Jesus Christ was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor. Democrats incensed at Sarah Palin's Republican National Convention speech in which she poked fun at Barack Obama's career experience as a "community organizer" in Chicago. Democratic presidential campaign manager Donna Brazile was the first major Democratic figure to use it publicly, followed by Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn, in a speech on the House floor last Wednesday. Is there any truth to this phrase? If we believe this to be true, then why do we elect politicians in the first place? Where do we get experience? World Net News

Don’t look to a political leader to deliver needed change in America, but look at yourself as part of the Church to transform society, said an evangelical pastor Saturday at the Values Voter Summit. Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of the 3,000-member Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C area and founder and chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, told the crowd of social conservative voters that he believes America is at a very important moment in its history with both major presidential candidates vowing change if elected. How are we individually bringing “change” to our community and marketplace? Great question and a solid topic for discussion. Christian Post

According to The Adelaide Advertiser, South Australian police are finalizing investigations without making any charges against Michael Guglielmucci, who admitted his colossal deception on a Australian news channel last month. Friends of Guglielmucci had set up a now-defunct Facebook site, "Praying Together for Mike Guglielmucci cancer cause," asking for donations. The police has tracked the money but will stop short of pressing legal action since no one has yet to make formal complaints either to the South Australian police or the police interstate, the Australian paper reported. Christian Post

When Jessica Stollings learned on Facebook that John McCain had named Sarah Palin as his running mate, the 26-year-old from Bristol, Tenn., took the day off and picked up some campaign yard signs. Just like that, she went from "just a voter" to a McCain evangelist. The mood was darker on blogs and social networking sites that connect more center-left young evangelicals. There, McCain's choice has been greeted as a cynical political ploy, a depressing return to the culture wars and damaging to efforts to broaden the evangelical dialogue. Christian Post

Californians are thoroughly fed up with the state of affairs of the Golden State. And that isn't good news for the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yet by an overwhelming margin, voters don't believe Schwarzenegger should be recalled from office. And that isn't good news for the state's powerful prison guards union. Sacramento Bee

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner made official Monday what's been expected for months: He's formally exploring a run for governor in 2010. The state's top-ranked Republican after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Poizner filed paperwork to open an exploratory committee to succeed the actor-turned-politician in 2010. Shane Goldmacher in the Sacramento Bee Mary Anne Ostrom in the San Jose Mercury

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