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Mike Spence

“I have the best preparation you could want for going to Congress. I work in a psychiatric hospital.”

That’s the quote from Green Party 37th Congressional DistrictCandidateDaniel Abraham Brezenoff. One part of the debate between the candidates focused on what leading canidates said or didn’t say about each others mother. A fun read here.Read More

Jon Fleischman

Today’s Commentary: The GOP Stopped the Bush/Kennedy Amnesty Plan. And what’s up with the WSJ Ed Board?

As we go into a quiet weekend, with all of America comforted by the fact that Paris Hilton is back behind bars, we’re left to contemplate the aftermath of the so-far unsuccessful attempts by President Bush, Teddy Kennedy and others to push through the federal immigration amnesty package.

A couple of weeks ago, it looked like passage through the Senate, while a rocky road, was a likely one. But over the last couple of weeks, despite a barrage of misleading messaging from the White House and other sources, somehow trying to say that amnesty isn’t amnesty, enough GOP Senators came together (whether through enlightenment, impact from an intense grassroots lobbying effort, or a combination of the two) to prevent the matter from coming to a final vote in the Senate. Second only to the fact that this ill-advised bill was so strongly supported by a Republican President to whom I devoted the 2000 election cycle when I worked as Executive Director of the California Republican Party was the rhetoric coming from the otherwise reliable stable of conservative/libertarian thought over on the Wall Street Journal editorial board.… Read More

Congressman Doug LaMalfa

Crisis Management: Water Runs Short, Delta Pumps To Be Re-started

The 10 day shutdown of the Delta pumps of the State Water Project will end with a phased ramp uprestart of those same pumps. The Delta Smelt fish population being the latest "environmental concern"cited to shut down the pumps and curtail human activity via the Endangered Species Act.

"Urban thirst"is cited [look in today’s SacBee] as the reason to turn on the pumps, pretty much regardless of the fish situation [or a perceived one] East Bay users have drawn down their small reservoirs as far as they dare to replace pumped water, and their underground wells, which they rely upon as a supplyfor drought management, will soon feel the draw down of that aquifer. "Underground storage" is the big panacea to the opponents of above ground storage, i.e. dams.

Enviros also cite conservation, a noble thought although you don’t conserve your way out of drought [ask the East Bay and SoCal]+ 1 million new population growth each 2 years in this state.

Until we build or augment new water storage and water conveyance, most Californians will have their water tap flowing, or not, subject to the whim of enviro… Read More

Mike Spence

Maldonado Votes for Nanny State Smoking Bill, While Four Dems Vote No!

SB7 allows cops to give $100tickets to drivers who are smoking in a car with children under 17. Is this really the proper role of government? We all know that houses are next. While, I’m a non-smoker this is not what government should be doing.

What’s worse is when Republicans go along with the Nanny State while even Democrats are voting no.FOUR Democrats voted against SB 7 (Correa, Ducheny, Machado, Negrete McCleod). Yet Abel Maldonado voted yes.

Maybe when he ran for controller he thought it was a position thatcontrolled every aspect of people’s lives.… Read More

Barry Jantz

Justice is Served….Again

The Hiltons prove they are not as powerful as the Kennedys, after all…..

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Paris Hilton was sent screaming and crying back to jail Friday after a judge ruled that she must serve out her sentence behind bars rather than in the comfort of her Hollywood Hills home. "It’s not right!" shouted Hilton, who violated her probation in a reckless driving case. "Mom!" she cried out to her mother. Read the entire AP story.

Instead of running a photo of the convict, here instead is a link to the MADD victims tribute website.… Read More

Jon Fleischman

Leg. Counsel: Charges In Gov’s Health Plan Are Taxes NOT Fees!

Republican Assemblyman Rick Keene submitted the healthcare proposal from Governor Schwarzenegger to the independent Legislative Counsel for an opinion on whether the charges proposed by the Governor on employers, hospitals and surgeons are a tax increase as defined by the California Constitution. Undoubtedly Keene had to submit this question to the Counsel’s office because the Governor, who campaigned with an iron-clad promise that he would never ever raise taxes, has been characterizing these charges as "fees" — arguing that that there is a ‘hidden tax’ on Californians (the ‘cost’ of covering uninsured Californians) and therefore these charges, because they are part of a plan that purports to reduce this ‘burden’ on all of us, is a fee and not a tax. What are the charges? Increased payroll taxes, and increased income taxes on hospitals and doctors! Well, it comes as no surprise that the Legislative Counsel has made it very clear that, "…the provider contribution that would be imposed pursuant to the proposal would not constitute a fee and, as a result, would be… Read More

Mike Spence

36th AD: Steve Knight signs Taxpayer protection pledge.

Just received this notice that 36th Assembly candidate Steve Knighthas signed the Americans for Tax Reform Pledge. Now he is pledge to oppose ALLtax increases as a California State Assemblyman. This will be an issue in the campaign as Palmdale Mayor and probable candidate likes the car tax. See here.

Pledge is below.… Read More

Jon Fleischman

Fred Thompson: FR’s Managing Editor Emeritus has been there from the outset…

If FR readers don’t already know it, now is a good time for you to ‘officially’ hear that former FlashReport Managing Editor Nicholas Romero (pictured to the right) has occupied a leadership role with the efforts to get former Tennesee Senator and Law & Order actor Fred Thompson into the race for the GOP Presidential nomination. For those that took the opportunity to make their way over to the "Draft Thompson" website (www.fred08.com), you would have seen Nick’s name featured as their contact for the Golden State.

Nick actually joined up as a volunteer with the draft Thompson movement back in early 2007, and he has been steadily working to marshall California Republicans for the Thompson cause. I’m sure that Nick’s efforts have helped generate some of the more than 50,000 online petitions that were filled out on the Draft Thompson site.

As we have all seen lately (here on… Read More