How would you like to open your local newspaper, and have a sealed condom fall out of it and onto your lap? If you are a student over at my alma mater, California State University, Fullerton, this could have been your fate… But for the well timed complaint of a few students, everything was in place to fold thousands of condoms into issues of the Daily Titan. With a h/t to the Orange County Register’s Marla Jo Fischer for the ‘heads up’ on this story, check it out. And this is in conservative Orange County. Lord knows what’s been distributed to students up at U.C. Berkeley via the Daily Californian paper. Seriously, we don’t want to know…

P.S. If you are a Titan, and still want your free condom, they’ll be putting coupons for free ones in the paper…… Read More

There is a war against direct democracy brewing behind the scenes in California, and advocates of the initiative, referendum and recall process (the same process that helped elect our current Governor and oust Gray Davis) need to wake up and take action before the war is lost! To wit:

1. The "Ballot Initiative Strategy Center," a liberal think-tank that is the darling of Legislative leaders, has taken aim atreducing the influence ofdirect-democracy in California (and thereby furtherempowering the Legislature) by issuinga 64-page report criticizing the initiative process and making recommendations for changes. These recommendationswill serve as a pretext forthe Legislature to enact"reforms" that will only expand their power vs. the people’s power. Thereport includes adhominen criticisms of alleged misrepresentations by signature gatherers in trying to persuade voters to sign petitions, and leverages these occasional problems (which can otherwise be dealt with enforcing rules already on the books, and the fail-safe method of the voteractually reading the petition’s short official Title and… Read More

In the real world (that means outside of Washington, DC), productivity is measured by comparing the output received to the effort/cost expending to produce something or perform a task. Or, as the dictionary describes it, "rate of output per unit of input." So far, the House of Representatives this year has taken over 1,000 separate votes, which has surpassed the most recorded votes ever in the history of Congress. We also have been "in session" voting for 146 days so far, which is also headed to a record number of days in Washington, DC. So, that’s the input. But what about the output? So far, only 107 bills have been signed into law. Over half of these were either naming something (like a post office) or extending an existing law that was scheduled to expire. Several more were simple land transfers from government to government. National Review has suggested that there has been only one piece of legislation of any significance that has passed and been signed into law which was the increase in the minimum wage. This Congress is on track to pass the fewest bills since electronic records have been kept. Furthermore, Congress has… Read More

After 52 Americans were taken captive in 1979, nearly anyone who publicly expressed an opinion supported immediately severing diplomatic ties with Iran. Among other actions, this would have meant kicking all Iranian diplomats out of the country, including those who worked at the Iranian Embassy in Washington, D.C. President Carter did not take this action for five whole months. Why the delay? Carter knew something that all the talking heads – conservative or liberal – did not. He knew that the government had the Iranian Embassy bugged and it was a vital source of intelligence. As much criticism that can be placed at Carter’s feet for poor presidential decisions, that incident may not be one of them. The point is that everything is not always as black and white as it… Read More

On this quiet Sunday in early November, it’s a pretty quiet day for political news. Actually, reading some of the details about the massive car smash up in the central valley last night is very somber and sobering — it puts the world in a little bit of context. What news there is for this day is over on our main page. Otherwise check back tomorrow for fresh, new commentary on this page.… Read More

On this quiet Sunday in early November, it’s a pretty quiet day for political news. Actually, reading some of the details about the massive car smash up in the central valley last night is very somber and sobering — it puts the world in a little bit of context. What news there is for this day is over on our main page. Otherwise check back tomorrow for fresh, new commentary on this page.

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

I just watched Fred Thompson on Meet the Press. He did not do particularly well in the interview. Most of his answers did not give any clear indication that he had a complete grasp of the policy issues that are facing this country.

The one issue he did an excellent job discussing was the use of torture by the United States government. Many people seem to be very concerned about the use of torture. In fact, the issue seems to be tying some Presidential candidates in knots.

Torture should be illegal. However, the definition for torture is important and there has to be an exemption for extreme circumstances.

If your definition of torture is any discomfort caused to the detainee you are wrong. My definition is anything that would cause permanent harm to the detainee.

Waterboarding… Read More

One year from tonight we will have elected a new President of the United States, attempted to regain control of Congress, tried to pick up a few seats in the Legislature, and made decisions on several important local offices.

Are we ready? Will we be ready?

If you are not implementing a plan to get to the place you need to be a year from now, you are not ready.… Read More