The Southern California wildfires will likely go down as the largest natural disaster in California in more than a decade — more than 500,000 acres burned, nearly 2,000 homes destroyed or damaged, and losses totaling at least $1 billion dollars in San Diego alone.

There is no doubt that disasters of this sort are a tragedy of epic proportions. And my heart goes out to all of the victims of these devastating wildfires.

At times like this, it is certainly the case that some of our elected officials have an opportunity — no, an obligation to step up and make a positive difference, both materially using the powers of their offices to help to deal with the crisis and its aftermath, as well as inspirationally, providing assurances to all of those touched by the terrible situation.

I have been extremely impressed with the job that Governor Schwarzenegger has been doing the last week. As is appropriate for the Governor of any state to be struck thusly, he has dropped everything else and… Read More

The conventional wisdom about Arnold Schwarzenegger is rarely correct, the inevitable result of using the words “conventional” and “Schwarzenegger” in the same sentence. But the Field Poll this morning shows him running slightly ahead of Barbara Boxer in a hypothetical campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2010. And the conventional wisdom that Arnold is not likely to be particularly interested in flying 3000 miles each week in order to be one of 100 Senators listening to Robert Byrd talk about Cicero is about to take a beating. As unlikely as a matchup against Boxer may be, there’s a gossip mill to be fed…

More interesting, though, than a hypothetical campaign for than three years away, is how California Republicans would react if this political improbability did become a reality. Since Pete Wilson was re-elected to the Senate nineteen short years ago, the GOP has run conservatives (Haynes, Mountjoy), moderates (Seymour, Campbell), establishment candidates (Jones, Fong) and outsiders (Herschenson, Huffington). The defenses and explanations from each of these candidates’ supporters for their defeats could fill the Internet, but the… Read More

I have a confession to make. Ann Dunsmore once raised money for me, and no, the Giuliani campaign was not behind my run for state senate. Nor is my state senate campaign responsible for the Electoral College reform initiative. To hear the wacko Democrats and their shills in the press talk about it, however, the mere fact that Dunsmore is raising money for the initiative ties that initiative inextricably to the Giuliani campaign. These, of course, are the same Democrats who believe in the single bullet theory, and who found Area 51 just last month.

I don’t know. Maybe when I wrote, and introduced in the Senate in 2001, the Constitutional Amendment that would have distributed the Electoral College votes by Congressional District, I was a Giuliani operative, secretly plotting to make him President then. Or maybe, back in 1993, when Dunsmore was raising money for me, we were secretly plotting to make Giuliani President in 2008.

Or maybe, the distribution of Electoral College votes by Congressional District is good for California, and those of us who are working to bring the idea to fruition in California are doing the what we are doing because we… Read More

I have a confession to make. Ann Dunsmore once raised money for me, and no, the Giuliani campaign was not behind my run for state senate. Nor is my state senate campaign responsible for the Electoral College reform initiative. To hear the wacko Democrats and their shills in the press talk about it, however, the mere fact that Dunsmore is raising money for the initiative ties that initiative inextricably to the Giuliani campaign. These, of course, are the same Democrats who believe in the single bullet theory, and who found Area 51 just last month.

I don’t know. Maybe when I wrote, and introduced in the Senate in 2001, the Constitutional Amendment that would have distributed the Electoral College votes by Congressional District, I was a Giuliani operative, secretly plotting to make him President then. Or maybe, back in 1993, when Dunsmore was raising money for me, we were secretly plotting to make Giuliani President in 2008.

Or maybe, the distribution of Electoral College votes by Congressional District is good for California, and those of us who are working to bring the idea to fruition in California are doing the what we are doing because we… Read More

The Federal Constitution states at Article II, Section 1 that states shall "appoint, in any manner as the Legislature therof may direct, a Number of Electors" for the purpose of electing the President and Vice-President of the United States.

The California Constitution empowers the people of the state at Article II with "all inherent political power" to act as the legislature through the initiative process to "propose statutes and amendments…" and to "adopt or reject them."

In California, the Legislature is not the exclusive source of legislative power; the constitution also includes the people’s powers of initiative and referendum. Professional Engineers in California Government v. Kempton (2007) 56 Cal.Rptr.3d 814, 40 Cal.4th 1016, 155 P.3d 226. The people’s reserved power of initiative is greater than power of the legislature. Rossi v. Brown (1995) 38 Cal.Rptr.2d 363, 9 Cal.4th 688, 889 P.2d 557. All presumptions favor the validity of initiative measures. California Family Bioethics Council v. California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (App. 1 Dist.… Read More

With the importance of the opportunity presented by qualifying and passing the California Counts ballot measure this coming June, we reached out to CalCounts Campaign Manager Dave Gilliard with one simple question — what can our readers do to help. Here is what Dave had to suggest…

Dear FLASHREPORT Readers, Do you want to help us make California count again in Presidential elections? If your answer is yes, keep reading. The calendar, not the Democrats, is our biggest enemy right now. Our goal is to put the Electoral College Reform Initiative before the voters in June of 2008. To make sure we make the June ballot, we need to turn-in our signatures to the counties before Thanksgiving. … Read More

The "Hypocracy Has A Name" award goes to Fabian Nunez, who has set his attack-flack, Steve Maviglio, on a mission of pummelling the California Nurses Association. Presumably their crime is not being on Fabian’s "team" for his attempts to massively increase the role of government in healthcare (the CNA actually has their own bad plan – the nerve!). Anyways, the hypocracy comes in when you look at Steve’s post here on the California Democrat Report where he accuses the CTA of "Living High on the Hog" — nice, coming from the Deputy Chief to Fabian "Louis Vuitton" Nunez… We often refer to U.S Representative Jerry Lewis as the "King of Pork" because of rather blatant support of earmarks, no matter how egregious. Rolling Stone is a liberal publication, of course, but they have dubbed Lewis the "King of Payoffs" — but that isn’t the reason to … Read More

The "Hypocracy Has A Name" award goes to Fabian Nunez, who has set his attack-flack, Steve Maviglio, on a mission of pummelling the California Nurses Association. Presumably their crime is not being on Fabian’s "team" for his attempts to massively increase the role of government in healthcare (the CNA actually has their own bad plan – the nerve!). Anyways, the hypocracy comes in when you look at Steve’s post here on the California Democrat Report where he accuses the CTA of "Living High on the Hog" — nice, coming from the Deputy Chief to Fabian "Louis Vuitton" Nunez… We often refer to U.S Representative Jerry Lewis as the "King of Pork" because of rather blatant support of earmarks, no matter how egregious. Rolling Stone is a liberal publication, of course, but they have dubbed Lewis the "King of Payoffs" — but that isn’t the reason to … Read More