I read arecent post by Sacramento Bee writer Steve Weigand over on the Bee’s Capitol Alert Website (it’s free and FR recommended, but registration is required)… There Steve belittles legislative Republicans for celebrating Tax Freedom Day earlier this week (the day in the year when, for Californians, you have finished earning enough money to pay your combined federal, state and local tax burden for the year if everything earned to now went to pay those taxes and fees). Steve end’s his comments thusly:

Anyway, the Reep lawmakers gathered in the Capitol press conference room to repeat the party mantra: Taxes are bad, Proposition 13 is sacred and Democrats and bureaucrats are to blame for the Golden State not being more golden.

"California has the fourth-highest tax burden in the country," huffed Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar. "To put it another way, Californians are working for the government one-third of the… Read More

In my fraternity and in the Marine Corps I noticed that the guys that complained the most about hazing when it was happening to them were the ones that did the most hazing when they were in a command position.

Lately, I have noticed this same process in politics with endorsements and campaign contributions.

We hear people talk about recruiting good candidates to run for state and local offices. We hear all kinds of babble about recruiting female candidates that can win. We hear numerous elected officials at every level talk about encouraging good candidates to run but in the end they do almost nothing because it might cause them some discomfort or risk.… Read More

On the main page today, I link to this article by Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times in which is excerpted here:

Administration officials are soliciting advice from business groups and other special interests on how to propose billions of dollars in tax hikes that could help close a budget shortfall the governor now says is as large as $20 billion.

Schwarzenegger’s staff is exploring a range of options, including sales taxes on lawyer and accountant services, on high-end services such as golf lessons and personal-trainer sessions, and on takeout coffee and other prepared foods that are not taxed now.

The administration’s goal, participants in the discussions say, is to gather support for new taxes from a broad spectrum of the business lobby, giving the Legislature’s Republicans political cover to break their pledges never to vote for them.

Several lobbyists and state officials involved in the meetings agreed to talk about them on… Read More

On the main page today, I link to this article by Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times in which is excerpted here:

Administration officials are soliciting advice from business groups and other special interests on how to propose billions of dollars in tax hikes that could help close a budget shortfall the governor now says is as large as $20 billion.

Schwarzenegger’s staff is exploring a range of options, including sales taxes on lawyer and accountant services, on high-end services such as golf lessons and personal-trainer sessions, and on takeout coffee and other prepared foods that are not taxed now.

The administration’s goal, participants in the discussions say, is to gather support for new taxes from a broad spectrum of the business lobby, giving the Legislature’s Republicans political cover to break their pledges never to vote for them.

**There is more –… Read More

Sue Horne is locked in a neck and neck primary with Dan Logue in Assembly District 3 — and was caught completely off guard when, unsolicited, she was endorsed by the state’s Gay Republican organization, the Log Cabin Club of California. Similarly, in Assembly District 71, which straddles the Orange/Riverside County boundary, Neil Blais is in a blowout primary with opponent Jeff Miller. Blais, as well, was the subject of an unsolicited "drive by endorsement" by the Log Cabin Republicans. Neither candidate went after the endorsement of the group, and as it turns out, neither candidate wants it.

Below is the text of a letter sent to the Log Cabin Republicans from Sue Horne…

Log Cabin Republicans of California

… Read More

As readers might remember, my San Diego office is on the fifth floor on the corner of 5th and Broadway, right in the heart of the downtown. As I was writing mail Thursday I heard a racket below and looked out to find a block long parade moving down the street. At first, I couldn’t figure out what it was all about, but then remembered it was May Day.

The parade took some time to move past my window, so I had some time to observe it directly, and what I saw I didn’t like. Dozens of Mexican flags. Communist flags. Chanting in Spanish. A group of marchers from the terrorist organization MECHA, which advocates the violent overthrow of the United States government in the southwest held up signs calling for "Aztlan". Littering the ground after the parade – copies of the Communist Party of America newspaper. Later I watched the tv coverage where various community college "professors" were quoted attacking our nation’s immigration policy as racially motivated.

"Hair Long" posted video of the event on Red County San Diego that is… Read More

Apparently the Governor’s brother-in-law is working very hard to make his jet-commute to and from Santa Monica quite difficult. Bloomberg has the news.

"If I can’t be on your Parks Commission, then you can’t land your jet at my airport."

Neener, neener.… Read More

This YouTube clip was sent to me by someone who only calls themselves "Prison Guard" and identifies his or her self as a member of the California Correction Peace Officers Association on their YouTube page. The short piece pokes at the Governor and his Chief of Staff, Susan Kennedy. Kennedy, FR readers will recall, is the former Executive Director of the California Democratic Party (hired, ironically, by then CDP Chairman Phil Angelides). It is the feeling of some (including "Prison Guard") that she is the real boss, not Arnold… … Read More