I would imagine that Generals fighting wars have to occasionally ‘step back’ from the individual battles they are fighting, to check on the overall progress of the total campaign against the enemy. Of course, for fiscal conservatives, the ‘enemy’ is growth in size and scope of spending of government at every level — or put another way, the goal of the war is to preserve, and in fact ‘win back’ freedom and liberty for the people. When California voters stepped up in 2003 to ceremoniously recall now-disgraced Governor Gray Davis, that effort was led by a strong coalition of people that felt that Davis and his administration were failing the people — the taxpayers. An important part of that effort were fiscal conservatives, such as myself, who were concerned that our State Budget had climbed to a record $78 billion. We were outraged that the annual growth of state spending was at an alarming 7%, and that Californian’s were saddled with a state deficit that was $6.6 billion dollars. As Tom McClintock points out in our "Golden Pen" column today, debt-service costs when Gray Davis was Governor… Read More

I would imagine that Generals fighting wars have to occasionally ‘step back’ from the individual battles they are fighting, to check on the overall progress of the total campaign against the enemy. Of course, for fiscal conservatives, the ‘enemy’ is growth in size and scope of spending of government at every level — or put another way, the goal of the war is to preserve, and in fact ‘win back’ freedom and liberty for the people. When California voters stepped up in 2003 to ceremoniously recall now-disgraced Governor Gray Davis, that effort was led by a strong coalition of people that felt that Davis and his administration were failing the people — the taxpayers. An important part of that effort were fiscal conservatives, such as myself, who were concerned that our State Budget had climbed to a record $78 billion. We were outraged that the annual growth of state spending was at an alarming 7%, and that Californian’s were saddled with a state deficit that was $6.6 billion dollars. As Tom McClintock points out in our "Golden Pen" column today, debt-service costs when Gray Davis was Governor… Read More

“To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed…"

"Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." Too fun to pass up, a pro-Obama video posted on YouTube combines the classic "Nineteen Eighty Four" Apple ad with Big Sister.

See it here on Talking Points Memo. [Publisher’s note: We just added the You Tube video at the bottom of Barry’s post – Flash]

Note: I just got an e-slap from Jon who says the FR bloggers are supposed to at least try to tie our posts to CA politics in some regard. OK, I think if Hillary gets elected, it will impact… Read More

From today’s SF Chronicle:

A majority of Bay Area residents believe government should guarantee health coverage for all citizens, but not through a state-run system, according to a survey scheduled for release today.

Eighty-three percent of 600 area residents polled in the nine-county region supported guaranteed coverage, according to the Bay Area Council, the business-backed policy group that commissioned the survey. The percentage dipped to 79 percent when respondents were asked if such coverage should include people living in California illegally.

When asked how the health system should be reformed, 47 percent said the existing health insurance system should be maintained and additional costs to cover the uninsured should be shared among employers, government and individuals. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a program along those lines.

Thirty-four percent said they… Read More

From www.insidehighered.com:

Ward Connerly, who led the successful ballot measure campaign in November to bar the use of racial preferences in Michigan, offered a few more hints in a speech Friday about which states would be next on his list of targets. In a speech at the Heritage Foundation, Connerly said that his American Civil Rights Initiative would sponsor ballot initiatives in five states on election day in 2008, and that the states would be chosen by April from among a current list of nine: Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nevada, South Dakota, Nebraska,… Read More

With local elections taking place tomorrow throughout LA County, there of course inevitablyhad to be some coverage of campaigntickery taking place.

This though is one of the more juicy campaign stories I’ve seen in a while.… Read More

In a bold move, State Senator Tom Harman has submitted legislation that would, "expand the distribution schedule described above for the additional 5% of amount wagered on satellite races received to each racing association by deleting the reference to harness racing association."

Don’t understand what the bill does? That’s OK, you are not alone…but apparently its urgently needed because Harman is hoping it gets the required 2/3 vote to take affect immediately.

This bill is a classic example of over regulation by state government. It may be the role of government to make sure the time clock is accurate at the track or that minors are not betting and drinking there. But it certainly is not the role of government to decide how the north and south zone racing associations divide their respective winnings.

And why is it important that government legislate: "…not less than eight races on the days when the association of fair is licensed to conduct racing, expect that fewer than eight live races per day may be conducted by mutual agreement of the association of fair and the organization that is responsible for… Read More

Regarding Ray Haynes’ commentary this morning on global warming, perhaps the sky-is-falling folks should read sources other than those generated — and regurgitated — by themselves. Oneexample,a 2004 article proving that science and scientists disagree. The piece even ends with a finger point at human impacts, but also shows the significant scientific unknowns associated with something so beyond the scope of anyone to completely analyze and understand…

Hotter-burning sun warming the planet

By Michael Leidig LONDON SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

The sun is burning hotter than usual, offering a possible explanation for global warming that needs to be weighed when proceeding with expensive efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, Swiss and German scientists say.

"The sun has been at its strongest over the past 60 years and may now be affecting global temperatures," said Sami Solanki, the director of the renowned Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in… Read More