I don’t recall even being in a situation where the closer Election Day gets, the less likely I am to vote for the GOP nominee.

Yet, that is where I find myself vis-a-vis Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I’m one of many conservatives who voted for Arnold in the recall, despite my preference for Tom McClintock. I found the prospect of Cruz Bustamante in the governor’s office horrifying and wasn’t convinced McClintock could win. The stakes so too high I though it prudent to back the Republican with the best chance of winning, and so I cast my vote for Arnold. Like other conservatives, I comforted myself with the rumor we’d heard for years that Arnold was really a libertarian. So, although he was squishy on the social issues, at least he’d be hard core on taxes, spending and freedom issues. After all, he was a Milton Friedman fan!

But ever since the Governor’s nauseating policy of apologizing for the special election of 2005, it’s been steadily more difficult to assembly a conservative Republican rationale for supporting his re-election.

He’s signed a non-aggression pact with the government employee… Read More

I don’t recall evenr being in a situation where the closer Election Day gets, the less likely I am to vote for the GOP nominee.

Yet, that is where I find myself vis-a-vis Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I’m one of many conservatives who voted for Arnold in the recall despite my preference for Tom McClintock. I found the prospect of Cruz Bustamante in the governor’s office horrifying and wasn’t convinced McClintock could win. The stakes so too high I though it prudent to back the Republican with the best chance of winning, and so I cast my vote for Arnold. Like other conservatives, I comforted myself with the rumor we’d heard for years that Arnold was really a libertarian. So, although he was squishy on the social issues, at least he’d be hard core on taxes, spending and freedom issues. After all, he was a Milton Friedman fan!

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

In my continuing series on ballot designations, today I bring you the best one of all time. I will defend this one against anything you can put up against it…

SHAMAN!

Yes Juan Pablo Serrano-Nieblas a perennial candidate for mayor or Orange uses Shaman as his ballot designation.

According to dictionary.com a Shaman is: a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc.

I am solidly in the camp of Carolyn Cavecche (current council member in Orange who is running for mayor) but the good people of Orange might want to hedge their bets a bit and throw a bone to Mr. Serrrano-Nieblas. After all, do you really think he would run if he didn’t already use his magical powers to to fortell the future and see that he was goiong to win?… Read More

This is a tale of two families who’s air conditioner broke during the dead heat of this summer.

One family was mine, my mother and father who live in Aliso Viejo here in Orange County. They are an active couple dad in his late 70s and mom, well lets just say somewhat younger.

The other family, the Frank Mickadeit’s of Codo de Caza the ritzy gated community in south Orange County.

The… Read More

Even if the Governor’s team had seen this, there is no doubt they would have still signed the minimum wage bill. For a lazy weekend read, click here.

Mike… Read More

Sometimes we forget that there really are huge differences between Democrats and Republicans. I was reminded of that a couple weeks ago when I went to an Angels Baseball in the fine city of Anaheim (mentioned only because there is very little else in this entry that relates to CA government or politics) game with a group of friends, mostly Democrats.

Cuba became a topic of discussion. I had explained that I wanted to visit the communist country before Castro dies and things change. However, I expressed that I would have a certain sadness in enjoying the wonders of the tropic island nation while the locals lived without freedom. My Democrat friends were quick to downplay the lack of freedom in Cuba saying. "Freedom is relative." "Do you call waiting in line at the airport for 2 hours freedom?"

As a matter of fact I have come to really dislike the commercial air travel experience, but it does not have anything to do with freedom. And I failed to convince my Democratic friends that freedom is not at all relative but a static experience that is not pliable. Either you have it or you do not.

The very fact that we have an ongoing… Read More

Jerry Brown has had a very frustrating summer. First, his disingenuous efforts to portray Oakland crime as down when it’s actually been exploding on his watch (homicides up 57% from 1999-2005) were overwhelmed by daily headlines of carnage in the city streets. Yesterday, the Oakland Tribune reported the city now has had more murders this year than all of last year. The aggressive campaign of Senator Chuck Poochigian has been relentlessly pounding on Brown’s (typical) neglect of Oakland as he campaigns full-time for AG while the city is in the grips of what can only be called a public safety crisis. Come to think of it, a public safety crisis is exactly what the Poochigian has accurately labeled the ever-worsening situation in Oakland. Now, Wednesday’s LA Times reports that a new book by an experienced investigative reporter is again raising questions about… Read More

In catching up with some reading, I found this recent op- ed in the Wall Street Journal. I note that no rebuttal has been submitted by the Governor’s campaign.

Read the Op Ed here.… Read More