How does a Republican get a bill passed in California? Get the Dems and the unions on board, as a start (maybe even a finish).

Proving that sometimes even GOP-authored legislation can’t be ignored, the following are in support of Joel Anderson’s AB 221, which would divest CalPERS and CalSTRS of investments in businesses with ties to Iran. Note the list even includes former Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi, who — I’m guessing — is neither a union member nor a Democrat:

17 Bi-Partisan Co-AuthorsMajority Whip Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco)Public Safety Committee Chairman Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim)Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-West … Read More

As reported in the LA Times, State Sen. Maldanado has proposed a "snitch" line for carpool violations. See here.(it was on the FR Front page). This vital piece of legislation should just be a start. California should also have the following snitch lines:

Conservatives may want these:

People that use food stamps to buy Nachos at 7-11 (I’ve seen this)

People that use food stamps for food and then with cash buy Whiskey and a TV Guide. (Seen that too. I hang out in all the right places.)

Liberals may want these:

Parents who give foods with Trans Fat to their children.

People driving while using a cell phone.

People laugh at the Sienfeld episode that uses "Not. that there anything wrong with that." as a punchline.

Personally, I think we need a snitch line for GOP politicians that pretend to be fiscally conservative then vote for budgets that aren’t.

Let all the snitch lines happen, except for a line to reportBloggers that can’t spell. That would be very very… Read More

War Funding Bill: So, the Democrats in the House have passed their “Defeat with Pork” resolution. The Senate is unlikely to support a final version of this critical war funding legislation that has the withdrawal provisions or the pork included in the House version. Even if they do, and it comes out of a conference committee and is passed again by both houses, the President will veto it.

So now what? The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will reportedly be running out of money in mid-April. That means our troops will run out of supplies, replacements, and be placed in a very precarious position. The military commanders will probably do whatever they can to keep things moving forward. They may defer purchase of new ships or planes or whatever to get the money to keep the effort moving forward in the war.

But they will run out eventually. The $95.5 billion for the war that was in the supplemental appropriations bill is roughly 17% of this year’s military budget. So, they are unlikely to be able to work around this.

What we may have is a very consequential game of chicken like the one between President Clinton and Speaker Gingrich in the… Read More

Jon posted the other day about the upcoming prestigious Sushi Rollers face-offsponsored by theCalifornia Rice Commission.[Disclosure: Iam a former director of the Commission and current constituent] That competition was held today here in Sacramento at the Sutter Club. Itmatched our fearless Republican leader, Mike Villinesvs. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. [Last year, yours truly forged a three way tie in the competition with Senator Cedillo, Senator Denham, and I competing]

The winner would win the honor of displaying a beautiful Samurai Sword and sheath, mounted inside a lovely windowed frame. They had me display it on the floor Thursday for the members during the challenge by Mike of the Speaker. We thought maybe it should have a sticker on it, "In Case Of Emergency, Break Glass" forour Samurai Tax Cutters.

The buildup to the competition was tense, both members looking for tips to best roll their own winning California Roll. The… Read More

On Saturday, GOP Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani’s campaign came through Orange County, and provided me with another opportunity to bring the remarks of a Presidential contender to the readers of the FlashReport. Two weeks ago we brought you exclusive footage of Senator John McCain speaking at a fundraiser at the Hyatt Hotel in Irvine, and last week we were on hand to film Governor Mitt Romney as he spoke to supporters at the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point. We also had a chance to interview Romney in advance of the event.

Thanks to FR friend Katie Levinson, formerly the Communications Director for the re-election campaign of Governor Schwarzenegger, and now a Senior Advisor to the Giuliani for President campaign, I was actually able to… Read More

The idea of banning legislators from fund raising during any give period of time for any given reason is so very very stupid.

It has already been suggested that fund raising for favorite non-profits might also be banned but I was thinking about what other stupid ideas the legislation might need to address…

…can checks be written during the ‘black-out period’ but delivered afterwards?

…can checks be received during the ‘black-out period’ but not deposited until afterwards?

…can a fund raising invitation be distributed during the ‘black-out period’ but for an event afterwards?

…what if funds are donated to the campaign, unsolicited during the ‘black-out period’?

…does having a web page with an on-line donation option constitute fund raising?

…would on-line contribution pages need to be ‘taken down’ during this ‘black-out period’?

…can I as an individual not connected with any campaign collect checks on behalf of a legislator during the ‘black-out period’ and deliver it… Read More

On Saturday, GOP Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani’s campaign came through Orange County, and provided me with another opportunity to bring the remarks of a Presidential contender to the readers of the FlashReport. Two weeks ago we brought you exclusive footage of Senator John McCain speaking at a fundraiser at the Hyatt Hotel in Irvine, and last week we were on hand to film Governor Mitt Romney as he spoke to supporters at the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point. We also had a chance to interview Romney in advance of the event.

Thanks to FR friend Katie Levinson, formerly the Communications Director for the re-election campaign of Governor Schwarzenegger, and now a Senior Advisor to the Giuliani for President campaign, I was actually able to… Read More

I said it in February on Election Night and once again now after a recount and an election contest before a judge…It’s good to Nguyen.

Almost two months after the election was held Garden Grove Councilwoman Janet Nguyen has prevailed in a legal challenge of her rightful victory for Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The judge ruled moments ago and she will be sworn in tomorrow.

Once again, congratulations to Gilliard, Blanning Wysocki & Assoc. for running a great campaign (Janet won by three, yes three votes once the judge got done reviewing the ballots). Also deserving of great props is Jimmy Camp who lead the recount team on the inside and attorneys Phil Greer and Andrew Do who argued the case before the judge.

This election is historic for several reasons: Janet Nguyen is now the highest ranking Vietnamese-American elected official in the nation AND this is the first time an election for an office this high-profile has ever been won in a recount. … Read More