We received this commentary from Assemblywoman Audra Strickland…

There seems to be this notion promoted in the media that Republicans are not all on the same team. And, that support for our Republican colleagues in the Senate and their efforts to balance the state budget is a repudiation of the Governor and the Assembly Republicans that voted for the budget. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is because of Governor Schwarzenegger and his commitment against raising taxes that Democrat proposals for new taxes are not a serious part of budget negotiations. During the Davis administration, Democrat politicians seemed to compete to see who could propose the largest and most creative new tax levy. Today we are at the cusp of fiscal responsibility and a state government that lives within its means largely because we have a Republican Governor committed against raising taxes. Assembly Republican Leader Mike… Read More

Earlier this afternoon, the fifteen members of the Senate Republican Caucus went down to Governor Schwarzenegger’s office to discuss the state budget. (Only in the State Capitol would fifteen people go downstairs instead of one man coming upstairs. Then again, he is the Governator. Besides, maybe they smoked cigars, and he does have the only smoking tent in the immediate vicinity…). Apparently the name of the game is still, "Do ANYTHING to get Senate Republicans to vote for the already-passed budget out of the Assembly — we don’t want to crack-open budget negotiations again!" So, we can assume that Governor’s "pitch" to Senate Republicans was made with a big blue pencil in his hand, making the case for how the Governor would trim the state budget over the ears a bit in order to satisfy concerns of GOP Senators. Unfortunately, one has to acknowledge that the blue-pencil (line item veto) approach has its limitations. Yes, the Governor could… Read More

Romney for President “Secure”:30 TV

Mitt Romney (VO): We should secure our border.

We should put in place an employment verification system.

And then when an employer is thinking of hiring someone the federal database immediately tells them whether they’re available to be working or not.

If they’re not you can’t hire them.

People that are here illegally are going to have to get in line with everybody else with no special pathway to becoming citizens

Legal immigration is great, but illegal immigration that we’ve got to end.

Thank you, and Amnesty is not the way to do it.

Mitt Romney (VO): I’m Mitt Romney and I approved this message.

Here’s the video:

[Publisher’s Note: We’re very honored that our own Duane has been tapped as… Read More

This from Christine Hanley of today’s L.A. Times

"Gore is the youngest of Tipper and Al Gore’s four children. He was arrested in 2003 on suspicion of marijuana possession while a student at Harvard University. He completed substance-abuse counseling as part of a program to settle the charge and was not convicted of a crime.

He now lives in Los Angeles, where he is an associate publisher of Good, philanthropy magazine aimed at young people."… Read More

The notorious Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) is now charged with violating federal laws and misleading the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) since December, 2004. In a complaint filed on July 19, 2007 by a coalition of taxi companies LAFLA is accused of aggressively lobbying for and organizing into a union a small number of drivers with taxpayer money in direct violation of the LSC Act.

By using taxpayer money for these efforts, the LSC must either demand an end to these illegal activities or withdraw funding for LAFLA, who derives 55% of their funding from LSC grants. The complaint spells out multiple violations including grassroots lobbying, community organizing, advocacy training and staging demonstrations.

Betty Hung, directing attorney with LAFLA, has been the leader in organizing taxi drivers by forming Los Angeles Taxi Worker’s Alliance (LATWA) in addition to lobbying the Los Angeles City Council and various City Commissions.

“Whether LAFLA used taxpayer money or… Read More

The members of the California legislature pull down a full-time salary, though many months of the year are spent in district "work periods" far from the State Capitol. But you really have to wonder in the absence of a state budget, now well past the Constitution deadline, why all our legislators are not in Sacramento working hard at finding a solution to the budget impasse? Perhaps no member of the State Legislature has demonstrated the arrogance of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. While Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines stands by attentively in Fresno to return to Sacramento (on his favorite three hour drive), the Speaker of the California Assembly is off vacationing in Europe… What? You didn’t know that? Yeah, not much has been written about it all of the newspaper stories covering the budget impasse. Trying to figure out where Nunez is vacationing on the other side of the pond is a bit like trying to play Where’s… Read More

The members of the California legislature pull down a full-time salary, though many months of the year are spent in district "work periods" far from the State Capitol. But you really have to wonder in the absence of a state budget, now well past the Constitution deadline, why all our legislators are not in Sacramento working hard at finding a solution to the budget impasse? Perhaps no member of the State Legislature has demonstrated the arrogance of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. While Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines stands by attentively in Fresno to return to Sacramento (on his favorite three hour drive), the Speaker of the California Assembly is off vacationing in Europe… What? You didn’t know that? Yeah, not much has been written about it all of the newspaper stories covering the budget impasse. Trying to figure out where Nunez is vacationing on the other side of the pond is a bit like trying to play Where’s… Read More

State Senate Republicans are proposing, as a major cost-savings measure to try to bring the California budget out from a deficit situation, reforming the CALWORKS program. Here is what Republican State Senator Jeff Denham has to say about CALWORKS…

Lost in all the rhetoric and false accusations about the Governor’s proposal to reform CALWORKS (the state’s welfare system) are the facts. While the liberal Democrat leadership of the Senate and Assembly try to portray this proposal conforming to federal law as somehow throwing single mothers and kids out into the streets, nothing could be farther from the truth. Let’s look at the facts about the proposal to… Read More