[Cross-posted from Red County/OC Blog]

The Janet Nguyen-Trung Nguyen recount court battle was the first I had ever watched a trial in person.

Last Monday I had my second opportunity to see a trial first-hand –and this time from the witness stand.

The back story: Garden Grove Councilman Mark Rosen is representing an employee of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement named Christopher Lotts. The DLSE is a division of the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Mr. Lotts works in the DLSE’s Santa Ana office and beginning in 2003 has anonymously published a blog called "No Labor Standards" which is, in Mr. Lotts’s words, "An unofficial site highlighting inefficient & incompetent service that Californians receive as a result of DLSE decisions, actions, and service. The… Read More

By Senator Tom McClintock:

The public policy farce that the “Green Governor” unleashed with AB 32 (the so-called “greenhouse gas” law) continues. Using their newly granted power to slash carbon dioxide emissions, the California Air Resources Board (all Schwarzenegger appointees) has mandated that every gallon of gasoline sold in California must contain at least 10 percent ethanol by 2010.

First, a few basic facts. Californians use about 15 billion gallons of gasoline a year, meaning that the new ten percent CARB edict will require about 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol. Corn is the most common ethanol-producing crop in the country, yielding about 350 gallons of ethanol fuel per acre. That means converting about 4.3 million acres of farmland to ethanol production, just to meet the California requirement. But according to the USDA, California currently has only 11 million acres devoted to growing crops of all kinds. Get the picture?

The entire purpose of this exercise is to reduce the… Read More

By Senator Tom McClintock:

The public policy farce that the “Green Governor” unleashed with AB 32 (the so-called “greenhouse gas” law) continues. Using their newly granted power to slash carbon dioxide emissions, the California Air Resources Board (all Schwarzenegger appointees) has mandated that every gallon of gasoline sold in California must contain at least 10 percent ethanol by 2010.

First, a few basic facts. Californians use about 15 billion gallons of gasoline a year, meaning that the new ten percent CARB edict will require about 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol. Corn is the most common ethanol-producing crop in the country, yielding about 350 gallons of ethanol fuel per acre. That means converting about 4.3 million acres of farmland to ethanol production, just to meet the California requirement. But according to the USDA, California currently has only 11 million acres devoted to growing crops of all kinds. Get the picture?

The entire purpose of this exercise is to reduce… Read More

So NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has left the GOP.

So what?

Certainly, he didn’t leave because the Party and its leadership have been too conservative.

In fact, conservatism is nowhere to be found in this Party, which is why it is sinking like a rock all over the country, led by the President and his head scratching commitment to an unworkable amnesty bill.

Bloomberg could and will be a formidable candidate because he is a problem solver and "fixer" – precisely what people want. Voters are less committed to party and ideology than in many years because of corruption and failure by Democrats and Republicans over the last few years. For the Republicans, this represents a breathtaking fall from their previous status as majority Party in Washington.… Read More

3:40pm: Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi has turned down the raise.

2:00pm: Senator Abel Maldonado has turned down the raise. __

Yesterday the ‘independent commission’ that does such things approved a modest pay raise for State Constitutional Officers and Legislators.

I saw that Orange County Democrat Senator Lou Correa is turning down his raise.

Which makes me wonder how many REPUBLICANS are saying no to the pay increase. So if you are reading this, and you are Governor Schwarzenegger, Insurance Commissioner Poizner, BOE Members Michelle Steel or Bill Leonard, a Republican Senator or Assemblymember, or a member of the staff of any of the above, and you want to share with us whether you (or your boss, as applicable) are taking the raise or not, we’ll start to publish the results on this page!

You can post a comment,… Read More

AB 951 is Big Government. TheGovernor should veto it and shameon theGOP Lawmakers that voted for it. Yesterday, The Senate passed AB 951. This bill rushed through both houses with an emergency clause will ban all alcohol in open OR closed containers on boats on the state controlled portions of the American River during long holiday weekends. Now what outrages me about this bill are thequestions never asked by the Republicans. Many of which foolishly voted for the bill. If you can believe this, the legislature is saying that if you have a party on a boat or raft the Thursday before a big holiday and leave a couple cans of beer that no one drank on it, the next day you are breaking the law! … Read More

From now until July 4th the California Republican Assembly is accepting your nominations in the “Who’s Your GOP Nanny?” Contest.

Democrats are known for introducing bills to control every aspect of our lives. In the last few weeks I’ve highlighted some of them. See here andhere and here.

They want to tell Californian’s how to live; where to live; what light bulbs we can use; and, what we can eat and drink etc…

Democratic elitists are part of the “Nanny State” – they know better how to live our lives than we do. We know that.

But what are we to do about Republicans that sponsor or vote for these types of bills?

Give them an award!

From now until July 4th the California Republican Assembly is accepting your nominations in the… Read More

Link to UPDATE above.

The California GOP’s hiring of Canadian Christopher Matthews as deputy political director has a few folks in a tizzy.Especially considering Matthews’ special work visa application purportedly requires the employer to signify that no U.S. citizen is qualified to do the job, the concern is understandable.

Further, the hiring is in addiiton to the State GOP’s earlier engagement of Michael Kamburowski, an Australian citizen, as chief operations officer.

These guys are in the country legally, working legally. So, what’s the big deal? Well, some suggest that the positions, given their nature, should at least be filled with folks that can vote.

Instead of sweeping these kinds of debates under a rug — which, by the way, surprisingly leads people to say they are being swept under a rug — let’s get the discussion in the open. I won’t weigh in on the matter, as much as… Read More