I’ve had an eight page report from General Barry McCaffrey forwarded to me by a colleague and it is up on our Lincoln Club of Fresno County website. It is quick and mandatory reading for all those that would like to debate this issue with a good and balanced perspective.

Suggest you review, download and forward out liberally to your friends. This document needs to be out in cyberspace in a big way.… Read More

During the past couple of weeks, I’ve heard a new name talked about as a en trant into the AD60 GOP primary sweepstakes: Tim Escobar.

Escobar was the 2002 GOP nominee in the 39th Congressional District, when he faced off against now-Rep. Linda Sanchez in her first Congressional election. Sanchez beat him 54.9% to 40.8% (52,256 to 38,925). It should be noted the district registration was a 54% Democratic and 28% Republican, so Escobar ran well ahead of GOP registration while holding Sanchez to Democratic registration, and raised approximately $220,000.

You can read more at my cross-post at Red County/OC Blog.… Read More

Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel has a good piece in this week’s “Asian Week,” talking about the growing trend of Asian-American candidates succeeding as Republicans, and of Republican leaders successfully reaching out to Asian-American voters.

"From Orange County to San Jose, Asian American candidates are registering voters, raising money for voter education, and winning state and local elections — as Republicans."… Read More

Hunter vs. Reid… The FlashReport had the Washington Times article yesterday on Duncan Hunter’s call for Harry Reid’s resignation, but I thought you might be interested in the full text of the Hunter release. I love "your-my-friend-but-your-also-an-idiot" political statements, and Hunter pulls it off with aplomb:

Hunter Calls on Senator Reid to Step Down as Senate Majority Leader

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Armed Services Committee Ranking Republican Duncan Hunter (R-CA) today called for Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) to resign as Majority Leader following his controversial comments stating that the war in Iraq "is lost."

"In commenting on ongoing operations in Iraq, you recently stated that ‘this war is lost.’ This unfortunate statement is both inaccurate and damaging," opened Hunter in a letter to Reid.

"It can have no effect but to demoralize the brave men and women, who are honorably fulfilling their mission in Iraq, and… Read More

I’m still reflecting back on last week’s Prison "Deal" and the fact that it included over six BILLION dollars in additional indebtedness for California taxpayers. Especially heinous about this mega-debt is that it has been completely authorized by Sacramento politicians and apparently requires no vote of the people. Why wouldn’t they bring this amount of prolific spending to the voters? After all, lately, the electorate has been pretty accepting of big borrowing — having approved all of the Governor’s "big bang bonds" package last year. I am not an expert on intricate and arcane state laws when it comes to borrowing, but I can tell you that using "lease revenue bonds" just smells awful. The name implies that the bonds are issued against specific revenue returns from leasing the property that is built. But who leases state prisons? It’s the state, right? So if the state is responsible for paying itself for these bonds, I don’t see how that is any different from general obligation bonds. Clearly politicians will come up with any way to increase government spending,… Read More

My husband and I were getting coffee this morning at our hotel in San Francisco after enjoying a grown-ups only weekend in the city to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary when we saw televisions with pictures reminiscent of the Loma Prieta earthquake when the 880 freeway collapsed. We were amazed to learn that a tanker truck had crashed and caught fire, causing a portion of the 580 freeway above it to collapse. Thank goodness, we said, that we had decided to BART into the city on Saturday—the collapsed, burnt freeway was the freeway we would have needed to take us back home.

But there was no denying the huge impact this disaster would have on the lives of our friends and neighbors in Oakland. My husband commutes everyday to… Read More

I’m still reflecting back on last week’s Prison "Deal" and the fact that it included over six BILLION dollars in additional indebtedness for California taxpayers. Especially heinous about this mega-debt is that it has been completely authorized by Sacramento politicians and apparently requires no vote of the people. Why wouldn’t they bring this amount of prolific spending to the voters? After all, lately, the electorate has been pretty accepting of big borrowing — having approved all of the Governor’s "big bang bonds" package last year. I am not an expert on intricate and arcane state laws when it comes to borrowing, but I can tell you that using "lease revenue bonds" just smells awful. The name implies that the bonds are issued against specific revenue returns from leasing the property that is built. But who leases state prisons? It’s the state, right? So if the state is responsible for paying itself for these bonds, I don’t see how that is any different from general obligation bonds. Clearly politicians will come up with any way to increase government spending,… Read More

The FR would like to point out that Sacramento Democrats are extremely consistent. They are willing to work with the Governor and Republican legislators on any project or program as long as it contains one of the following mandatory requirements: a tax increase, borrowing money, or increasing fees. Oh yes, they will also embrace projects that including increasing regulation or adding mandates to the lives of Californians or their businesses. As everyone trumpets the successful ‘solution’ to the prison overcrowding problem, let’s be real. It was a bitter-sweet victory for GOPers who didn’t want early releases of inmates being ordered by a Judge. Yes, there will be more prisons. But if Republicans had their way, this would have been paid for with general fund dollars. Instead, California taxpayers are going to debtors prison – again. We would like to give a h/t to State Democrats for hosting such a blogger-friendly state convention. From our discussions with lefty bloggers (with whom we disagree on virtually everything), there is clearly an effort being made to reach out and really integrate them into the event, and… Read More