Tonight Direct TV has a listingfor the Conversation with Carlos Watson Show. The guests include Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger D- California. Maybe they heard his speech Friday night at CRP?

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Study Shows Public Employers Saved Billions from Workers’ Comp Reform Joel Fox, President, Small Business Action Committee

As California’s workers compensation crisis came to a head in the winter of 2003-2004, thousands of stories and complaints echoed throughout the state about the crushing impact workers comp costs had on California businesses. Workers compensation costs tripled for some businesses in just a few years. For others, workers comp premiums totaled more than salaries. In traveling the state promoting the Small Business Action Committee’s workers comp reform initiative, I held up a copy of a state of Idaho advertisement from a California business journal promoting reasonable workers comp rates there and offering to help California businesses move. Some did.

However, little attention was focused on the difficulties workers comp costs… Read More

Acclaimed nationally syndicated columnist and GOP political expert Bob Novak had this to say about Congressional District Four (CA) in his latest e-newsletter, as he now rated the district LEANING DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER

House 2008

California-4: The power vacuum in the House GOP showed itself last week in the announcement by Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) that he will seek re-election while under federal investigation in connection with the Jack Abramoff probe.

Republican leaders had wanted Doolittle, whose home was raided by the FBI and whose staff has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury (apparently connected to his wife’s work with Abramoff), to step down even though he has not been indicted. When asked recently on the record… Read More

This ran today in the Riverside Press Enterprise – – –

No Budget StandoffsLegislators should stop their empty chatter and adopt real fiscal reform

By SEN. JIM BATTIN

This year’s protracted budget negotiations finally concluded with the signing of a $145 billion spending plan on Aug. 24.

The deliberations were marked by unusually personal attacks. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate Pro Tem Don Perata freely branded Republican senators "terrorists" and "vandals" for demanding a balanced budget. The state Democratic Party went so far as to fund a recall effort against Sen. Jeff Denham for refusing to cave to pressure, which included Perata booting Denham from the Governmental Organization Committee.

Despite the name calling that permeated negotiations as they dragged beyond July and into August, virtually every lawmaker in Sacramento agrees that the government’s chronic failure to deliver an on-time budget cannot be laid at the feet of… Read More

From a trusted legislative advocate….

Governor Schwarzenegger, just a few minutes ago, called the Legislature into Special Session, starting tomorrow, to work on State Health Insurance Reform. He also called a Special Session on water projects.

The Governor also announced at his press conference that he would veto AB 8, as expected, the Democrat’s health insurance proposal.

It is anticipated that the Special Session on health care will operate mostly behind the scenes, with the political leaders trying to craft a solution.… Read More

Last weekend, the Republican Party’s State Convention was held out in Indian Wells, where former Assemblyman Russ Bogh and current Assemblyman John Benoit are engaged in what promises to be an entertaining and nasty primary to succeed the termed-out local State Senator Jim Battin.

There is an axium that says, "there is never a good time to vote for a budget."

Slipped under hotel room doors at the conventon was a full glossy campaign piece from the "Riverside Taxpayers Association" fileting John Benoit for an "aye" vote on a state budget some years back – when Gray Davis was still Governor. Kinda proves that axium above to be true!

This primary promises to be exciting, and we’ll try to bring you all of the fun… (The .pdf of this hit piece is attached below.)… Read More

IS PHIL ANGELES CRYING? I’m sure Phil Angelides is crying somewhere right now, depressed that he is not in Sacramento to sign the outrageous shift towards socialized medicine that has been passed by legislative Democrats and placed on the Governor’s desk. Much time has been spent on this page criticizing Governor Schwarzenegger for his own proposal to significantly increase the size of government and state government’s role in health care. That said, today is a good time to take a pause, and appreciate that the extreme agenda of Don Perata and Fabian Nunez is too far to the left, even for the port-side shift of Schwarzenegger. The Governor has vowed to veto AB 8 and he should be applauded for doing so. Perhaps if Mr. Angeles is bored, he can print out a copy of AB 8 on his computer, and sign the bottom of it. That’s about all of the relevance that he will have in this process — thank goodness!

THE LINE IN THE SAND ON REDISTRICTING REFORM Lost in all of the press on this healthcare debate is the… Read More

Here is a somber, two minute reminder of 9/11 from Young Americas Foundation… … Read More