Late last week, I wrote a column about the BHP Billiton proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility that would be located 14 miles off of the Los Angeles/Ventura County coast (hereafter the proposed facility will be referred to as "Cabrillo Port"). Frankly, the issue caught my eye because of the high-profile enviro-actor-activists opposing the project, the Pierce Brosnan and Martin Sheen crowd. You know, the ones who are worth mega-millions and enjoy residing in lavish coastal estates? The same ones who feverishly work to prevent public access to the beach in front of their estates and ban others from having similar – or even more modest – homes themselves? I call them the “Hollywood Hypocrites”.

Anyway, the Cabrillo Port proposal has been described and debated in the papers and the blogosphere with increasing… Read More

Mostly, I’ve taken to reading theCalifornia Majority Report only from time to time. It’s not the liberal bias (Admissions: I listen to NPR . I subscribe to and read Harpers, the New Yorker, and the Atlantic magazines. I drive a Volvo. Worse, I live in Curtis Park, which may be the most liberal neighborhood in Sacramento). it’s that the group of people who actually publish is fairly small. Go to the site right now if you don’t believe me. No one should have to look at a picture of Steve Maviglio in ski attirethat many times in such a limited space.

Anyway, Mr. Maviglio did publish something interesting this morning on the topic offollow-up polling done by Democracy Corps and Stan Greenberg in thewestern states minus California.

See the link here.… Read More

Senator Harman was the only Republican on the Senate Housing and Transportation Committee to vote with all seven Democrats to ban kids from using mobile phones while driving.

The Harman/Democrat plan makes sure little Johny and little Suzie can’t talk on the phone while driving, even if they use a head set or talk on the speaker phone. As far as I can tell, text messaging while stopped would be illegal too.

Harman’s knack for morphing himself into the role of mother, father, grand mother, grand father and Aunt Nellie all at once by telling the rest of us what to do and what not to do is becoming tiresome.

Apparently Harman does not believe that the role of government should be limited.… Read More

"If somebody calls me and says I want to be a partner, and the next day tries to stick a knife in my back, tell me again why I would want to do business with him?" so says Sam Zell, the Chicago billionaire who outbid Eli Broad for control over the LA Times.

Adding to the excitement was the struggle between the Left wing billionaires who were battling against each other to buy the Times. Billionaire David Geffen, whose favorite writer is Maureen Dowd, was bidding against billionaires Broad and supermarket king Ron Buckle. All are high profile donors to democrats and were key Clinton supporters.

Besides exposing the fact that the big money in California is generally left of center, it was fun towatch the mud wrestling between Zell and Broad. According to Zell, Broad approached him to buy in as a partner, butin less than 24 hours Broad tried to bid aroundZell with his buddy Burkle.… Read More

San Bernardino Republican Party members must be ecstatic over the news that JohnsonClark Associates Political Director Mike Richman will be joining the county’s central committee as its new Executive Director. Richman will serve part time in this position, while also beginning his own consulting firm serving political and public affairs clients.

Many of you know Mike Richman from the outstanding work he did in 2006, when he, in his role with JohnsonClark, managed Michelle Steel’s successful Board of Equalization primary campaign and then served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Steve Poizner’s bid for State Insurance Commissioner, which Poizner ultimately won. He also was heavily involved in the election of Anthony Adams, who is the Assemblyman from the High Desert, and one of this website’s State Capitol bloggers.

The San Bernardino County Republican Party Executive Director position has traditionally served as a… Read More

San Bernardino Republican Party members must be ecstatic over the news that JohnsonClark Associates Political Director Mike Richman will be joining the county’s central committee as its new Executive Director. Richman will serve part time in this position, while also beginning his own consulting firm serving political and public affairs clients.

Many of you know Mike Richman from the outstanding work he did in 2006, when he, in his role with JohnsonClark, managed Michelle Steel’s successful Board of Equalization primary campaign and then served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Steve Poizner’s bid for State Insurance Commissioner, which Poizner ultimately won. He also was heavily involved in the election of Anthony Adams, who is the Assemblyman from the High Desert, and one of this website’s State Capitol bloggers.

The San Bernardino County Republican Party Executive Director position has traditionally served as a… Read More

Sometimes a picture is truly worth a thousand words. Check out this photo of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and then try to guess what he is doing with (or to) that microphone. Hint: Go with your first guess.

Once you are done guessing, why don’t you check out the story on the Drudgereport.… Read More

Retired State Senator Larry Stirling weighs in this morning. From the San Diego Daily Transcript:

The California child-support fiasco In the annals of government screw-ups, the repugnant epic of the federal and California state governments bollixing child-support collections is the worst.

Unpaid child support for 2 million children now totals approximately $19 billion, up from $14.4 billion just six years ago. This whole mess started with a 1988 federal law that requires each state to create a "statewide computer system to track and help collect child-support payments."

The collection of civil child support orders falls under the "police powers" of the states. Federal legislators should read the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which clearly forbids such initiatives.

The state of California should have sued the Feds, pointing out to the court that such legislation is "ultra vires" to federal constitutional authority and therefore void.

States did not sue because the Feds included a hook designed to snare the greedy. That law promised money to the… Read More