Public officials should take to the rooftops of the tallest buildings in Washington, make like a chorus, and sing “No-no-no-no-no!” to this new demand from California, before every state in the union starts begging for its own bailout:

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, alarmed by the ongoing national financial crisis, warned Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson on Thursday that the state might need an emergency loan of as much as $7 billion from the federal government within weeks.