Forgive my absence in the coming weeks as I will be out of the office until April 10.

I’m headed for Australia and New Zealand and it’s not a work-related trip!

Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, chairwoman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, sent out a strongly worded press release in response to the comments by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Peter Pace that “homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral.”

Tauscher said she is “disturbed and disgusted” by Pace’s comments.

“I cannot accept that a man who has played a critical role in carrying out a war without a plan, without an exit strategy, and in which our servicemen and women were sent to fight without proper body armor and armored vehicles has any standing to judge what should be considered moral,” Tauscher said.

In continuing, she called it “appalling that while (President George W. Bush) is promoting sending more troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs would attack gay and lesbian members of our armed forces who are second-to-none in their bravery, sacrifice and commitment to serving America,” she said. “General Pace owes an apology to all men and women in uniform; he should tell them that their service is deeply valued by our nation regardless of their sexual orientation.”

Watch for Rep. George Miller of Martinez on ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson.

Don’t expect serious policy talk about the Iraq War, No Child Left Behind, the minimum wage or labor legislation.

This story is about Miller’s house in Washington, D.C., which he shares with three other male Democrats. The teaser on this morning’s news call the place “a dump.”

The house has been the subject of several newspaper stories, including a very funny account in the New York Times.

The idea of Miller living in male squalor at his age is a bit unseemly, perhaps. But hey, we don’t like it when our legislators live high on the hog, either.

Reps. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, and Adam Smith, D-Washington state, today introduced the “Change the Course in Iraq Act,” adding yet another option to a plethora of anti-war bills floating around the Capitol.

“Almost five years ago we authorized the president to use force in Iraq for a myriad of reasons many of which are outdated or have been proven to be patently false,” Tauscher said. “American troops were not sent to Iraq to fight a civil war, they must be brought home sooner and safer.”

President George Bush has said he will veto any bill that interferes with his Iraq War strategy.

It’s an open question as to whether this bill will satisfy anti-war constituents at Moveon.org and CodePink who have demanded that Tauscher sign on as a co-sponsor to one of a half-dozen bills that would end or dramatically curtail the U.S. military presence in Iraq. UPDATE: SEE RESPONSE BELOW FROM A MOVEON.ORG REPRESENTATIVE IN WALNUT CREEK WHO RECENTLY VISITED TAUSCHER’S OFFICE AS PART OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ASKED HER TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST THE WAR.

According to Tauscher’s office, the bill terminates the congressional authority for President George Bush to use force in Iraq on the grounds that the U.S. military mission in Iraq has changed dramatically.

It requires the Bush administration to submit a plan for phased redeployment of U.S. forces and mandates the appointment of a high-level coordinator for Iraq stabilization.

Other terms of the bill, Tauscher’s office said, include:
– Forces the Iraqi government to take on a greater role in stabilizing Iraq.
– Conditions further funding for Iraqi security and reconstruction, beginning in 2008, on the president certifying that the Iraqis have met specific benchmarks recommended by the Iraq Study Group.

UPDATE: RESPONSE FROM MOVEON.ORG REPRESENTATIVE TOM MAHON:

“This looks good to me and very encouraging. I don’t know what’s not being said here, but what is said seems to satisfy our request that she co-sign any one of several bills calling for phased redeployment of troops.

So I think this is a very good step. I realize how diverse her constituency is, from Livermore nearly to Sacto, and for a Centrist this may represent a ‘profile in courage.’ ”

Here are details of the bill as provided by Tauscher’s office:

Section 1 commends the troops on a job well done. Revokes the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (H.J.RES.114). The original authorization signed by the President on October 16, 2002 was based on the Bush administration’s rationale and objectives of the war, which no longer bear any resemblance to current military operations in Iraq. Repealing the authorization would allow a new vote on U.S. military involvement and force the Bush administration to make its case for continued involvement in Iraq.

Section 3 using the benchmarks recommended by the Iraq Study Group, requires the President to submit a certification by December 31, 2007, to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and Armed Services that the government of Iraq has made significant achievements in approving laws regarding Iraqi oil revenue sharing, de-Baathification, and disarming the militia. Additionally, as recommended by the Iraq Study Group, Iraq’s security forces must be in the lead of operations and exercise control in all Iraqi provinces and the Iraqi Constitution must be reviewed and amended if appropriate. If the President fails to certify the Iraq government has met each of these benchmarks by December 31, 2007, no further funds shall be obligated for the Iraq Security Forces Funds or the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund until such certifications are made.

Freshman Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney, a Pleasanton wind energy consultant, successfully marshaled the first bill of his career to passage today.

The House of Representatives passed the Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007 on a vote of 369 to 55. If ratified by the Senate and signed by President Bush, it will authorize $125 million for projects that increase the water supply through water reclamation, reuse and conservation.

Don’t open an expensive bottle of bubbly, though.

This is $125 million nationwide, folks. Sadly, this is not considered a lot of money in a world where one bridge — the new Oakland-San Francisco span — will cost more than $6 billion.

The bill wasn’t McNerney’s idea, either, although the environmentally conscious legislator certainly endorses the concept. The bill originated elsewhere.

Freshmen don’t typically see their bills passed in the third month of office.

But Democratic leaders are bolstering vulnerable comrades elected in 2006 and few have bigger targets on their backs than McNerney. He’s a Democrat in a district where Republicans outnumber members of his party by 5 1/2 percentage points.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has allowed McNerney to deliver one of the party’s weekly radio addresses. She has invited him to speak during Democratic Party caucuses and on the floor of the House. Other California Democrats have advised him and made their staffs available to him.

It’s also politically interesting to see McNerney and Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, pairing up: Tauscher is a co-sponsor on the bill.

McNerney needs to be seen with a moderate and Tauscher, head of the moderate New Democrat Coalition, needs liberal friends.

“I have always been a proponent of sound water policies that protect our current supply and create healthy alternatives for future use,” Tauscher said in a prepared release. “I’m glad to have leaders like Rep. McNerney among our new Democratic majority, a majority that allows us to finally pass common-sense legislation protecting our natural resources.”

Oakley Planning Commissioner Erik Nunn announced today that he will run again for county supervisor, setting up the high likelihood of a rematch with incumbent Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg.

Nunn, a political novice who entered the race late, came up 1,800 votes short in the 2004 race against Glover in a nasty campaign that devolved into mudslinging on both sides.

Nunn probably benefited somewhat from his name. For the most part, voters didn’t know that he is not related to the well-known Nunn family of East Contra Costa County that includes veteran area farmer and developer Robert Nunn and his son, Bob.

The acrimonious campaigning started when revelations surfaced of Glover’s 1990 arrest for driving under the influence and possession of cocaine. All charges were ultimately dismissed.

The supervisor countered with records showing that Nunn was fired from a job as a security officer for county buildings in September 1994. The documents state that Nunn threw water balloons at a co-worker and attached a sign to his car that read, “I’m short with a fuzzy mustache and I’m gay; honk if you think I’m sexy.”

Nunn and the county settled the case the following year. The terms were not disclosed and Nunn declined to talk with a Times reporter about the case at the time.

Nunn, 36, is a chief operations officer for a utilities construction company and a former employee of Contra Costa County.

Other folks contemplating a run for the supervisor seat include Antioch Mayor Don Freitas; Antioch councilmen Jim Davis and Arne Simonsen; and Pittsburg Mayor Ben Johnson.

California lawmakers sent a bill over the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this afternoon that calls for the state to move up its presidential primary from June to February.

The Assembly passed SB 113 on a party line vote of 46 to 28. Republicans opposed the bill on the grounds that it would cost $90 million and the legislation failed to guarantee repayment of the costs to the counties.

The governor has already expressed strong support for the idea and most consider the move a done deal.

A number of politicos believe the shift will force presidential candidates to court rather than cash out in California. The state has typically led the nation in contributions to presidential campaigns but the candidates showed up only for fund-raisers.

“During the 2004 election cycle,” said Democrat Party Chairman Art Torres, “candidates withdrew $182 million in campaign cash from the ‘California ATM,’ but not a penny of it came back to be spent here.”

Torres rightfully points out that White House hopefuls have already started spending more time cultivating California voters.

But a handful of other states have the same idea, which could produce a mega-super Tuesday on Feb. 5, tax the candidates’ bank accounts and dilute California’s influence on the selection of the eventual nominees in each party.

And let’s not forget: The earlier the primaries, the longer the election. That could produce voter fatigue in a state that has already experienced a spate of extra elections from the 2003 recall of former Gray Davis to the failed special election of 2005.

Folks with the Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization are traveling to Washington, D.C., this week where they will attend a national summit on children’s health on Wednesday and Thursday.

Representatives such as the Rev. Donald Jones of Victorious Living Ministries in Richmond also say they will meet with congressional representatives and rally on the Capitol grounds.

Jones and his colleagues want Congress to adopt a federal budget that strengthens and expands the State Children’s Health Insurance Program as part of a national goal to provide health insurance to all children by 2012.

Other people who have joined Jones include Interfaith President Ann Snyder of Pinole; Cecilia Jauregui, outreach worker for Brookside Health Clinic, St. Mark’s, Richmond; Nancy Marquez, whose brother is insured through SCHIP, St. Anthony’s Church, Oakley; Carolyn Krantz, pastoral associate whose parishioners lack health insurance, St. Peter Martyr, Pittsburg; German Medina, Bay Point youth leader; George Harris, Easter Hill United Methodist Church, Richmond; and Richard Boyd, St. Mark’s Catholic Church, Richmond.

Provocative California blogger Bill Bradley posted a very entertaining item this morning about how hyperpartisan netrooters at Moveon.org and Daily Kos want to boot Fox television from hosting the Democratic presidential primary debate in Reno on Aug. 14.

Here’s Bill’s first graph but you’ll definitely want to click on through and read the whole post.

What to make of the campaign by lefty bloggers and online organizers such as MoveOn.org and Daily Kos to force the Nevada Democratic Party to dump Fox News as the cablecaster for the Democratic presidential debate set for August 14th in Reno? I talked with one of the principal organizers of the effort for the California-based MoveOn.org, as well as well-known left-wing Hollywood filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who produced a new video attacking Fox for its presidential campaign coverage as part of MoveOn’s campaign

California voters registered as “decline to state” cannot vote Republican in the proposed February 2008 presidential primary.

The state party’s by-laws restrict participation to registered Republicans in the selection of a presidential nominee, reports conservative blogger and party official Jon Fleischman.

The party does allow decline-to-state voters to pull a Republican ballot in the primaries for congressional and state partisan offices.

Party loyalists say it’s not fair for folks to drop into the Republican primary and skew the results away from the views of true — and probably more conservative — Republicans. Let them register as Republicans if they want to vote Republican.

But party pragmatists point to the rapidly growing numbers of decline-to-state voters at the expense of the parties. Eighteen percent of the state’s voters register as decline-to-state. Does the Republican Party want to exclude the voices of nearly 3 million people? How will that open up the tent door and revive interest in the party, they ask?

The party could change its bylaws but the next state GOP convention won’t take place until September, long after the national party’s deadline to submit election rules.