Late yesterday I returned from my three week trip to Great Britain. It was a fun time and it was great to spend so much time in another country, really getting to know the people, the places, and yes, the politics. That said, all FR readers will be happy to know that I have little intention of sharing my personal vacation experiences with you on this website, unless they somehow tie into California politics. That said, it is great to be back in the United States in time to celebrate our nation’s birthday — especially having flown here to ‘the colonies’ as they are still referred to, tongue in cheek, by some Britons. Anyone who needs to understand what our freedoms bring to us here in America need only travel abroad — even to a country as ‘civilized’ as Great Britain, and understand that we truly are privileged to live in the greatest country on the planet! We’ll keep this July 4th commentary short — and the news synopsis on the main page is short as well. As I like to point out, political reporters like to enjoy their holiday weekends just like the rest of us! I would like to… Read More

Here’s the SD Online story. The crux of the story is summed up in a few paragraphs:

Charles LiMandri, a lawyer with the Thomas More Law Center…said Kennedy’s order means the Aug. 1 deadline to remove the cross is off.

"The way I read it, that is a granting of our application," he said. LiMandri said he did not think Kennedy would issue a stay "just to read the papers" and issue another order later.

"That is the only reasonable interpretation of what he did today," he said. "It allows this case to be litigated on the merits in the appeals court." Here also are the just-released comments from Phil Thalheimer, chairmanof San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National War Memorial:

"We are absolutely elated with today’s news. I am glad the courts have finally realized this issue is in no way about religion, and that it is simply about protecting a part of San Diego’s history and honoring those who gallantly… Read More

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of the Flashreport that I spend a lot of time contemplating the slow, steadydecline of the GOP. It is indisputable that we hold power in Washington presently primarily due to the strong economy and decisive approach to the war against terrorists. But these are the kinds of things we are to expect a GOP government to do – so enough patting ourselves on the back for Reaganism 101.

When you combine these two policy achievements against our lack of leadership on other issues of the day – immigration, Medicare, Social Security and general government reform, and mix in a sprinkle of Pelosi, Reid and Dean, it’s not much of a surprise that we continue to eek out a majority every two years.

Tucker Carlson pens a piece for the Cato Institute on the present GOP woes and you might want to take a look this week if you get a chance.

Happy 4th!… Read More

Last week the weather in Sacramento was in the low 100’s. So, of course, I chose last week to take down a lengthy fence, overgrown with various trees and thorny shrubs on both sides, along two sides of my property. My father and I labored mightily – digging out concreted posts, sawing down tree limbs as thick as pythons, moving literally tons of wood, and in the end building a structure that vaguely resembled the wall that kept King Kong on his side of Skull Island in the old black and white movie.

I didn’t build the fence because I hate my neighbor. Admittedly, he is a‘progressive’, as is virtually everyone else in my Curtis Park neighborhood, and I am conservative.We disagree on a number of political and cultural issues that we rarely discuss. I have a Bush sticker on my car. He has a sign in his window opposing the war (strangely, he also has an old poster of Darth Vader displayedin his garage. When I pointed out that Darth Vader was hardly representative of progressive values he gave me a look that could melt butter and said that James Earl Jones – the voice of Mr. Vader – got shafted financially. I let it… Read More

This entry may be a tad too personal for some tastes. Yet, as I have been on vacation this past week, I’ve had some time to think about my decision earlier in the week that I would not run for re-election this year to the La Mesa City Council, where I have served since late 1990. (The story ran in the SDUT on Thursday, even referencing the FlashReport, of all things.)

The response has been a blessing, quite frankly. Most emails have been very supportive, and only a few have questioned why I wouldn’t inform them in advance of the decision (it was clearly only my wife’s and mine to make). Still others have tried to read between the lines of my statement that I want to spend more time with my family, especially now that my daughter is entering kindergarten.

Have we become so jaded about politicians that we automatically assume whatever is said is simply spin? I guess so. But, what I said is what I meant.

Some have… Read More

Last week the weather in Sacramento was in the low 100’s. So, of course, I chose last week to take down a lengthy fence, overgrown with various trees and thorny shrubs on both sides, along two sides of my property. My father and I labored mightily – digging out concreted posts, sawing down tree limbs as thick as pythons, moving literally tons of wood, and in the end building a structure that vaguely resembled the wall that kept King Kong on his side of Skull Island in the old black and white movie.

I didn’t build the fence because I hate my neighbor. Admittedly, he is a‘progressive’, as is virtually everyone else in my Curtis Park neighborhood, and I am conservative.We disagree on a number of political and cultural issues that we rarely discuss. I have a Bush sticker on my car. He has a sign in his window opposing the war (strangely, he also has an old poster of Darth Vader displayedin his garage. When I pointed out that Darth Vader was hardly representative of progressive values he gave me a look that could melt butter and said that James Earl Jones – the voice of Mr. Vader – got shafted financially. I let it… Read More

Team Sports are very important in the USA. Today as you pass parks there are various sport teams playingin almost every one of them. In American high schools even sports that are individual are organized into teams. I know people can tell from my physique I was a four-year Varsity swimmer. As a younger kid, I spent three glorious years in my local little league. My nickname was "The Statue". Why? I didn’t swing my bat the entire first year. I do have a great story about my first hit if you ever want to hear it. I usually spent three innings in right field (of course right field) praying along with my coaches and other players and their parents that no one would pull the ball and hit to me. Get the picture. The only person that thought I was good was my Mom, who still doesn’t know any of the rules about baseball. … Read More

Sometimes, a decision on how to vote on legislation comes easily. For example, it wasn’t hard to vote to cut the death tax, or to complete the mission in Iraq, or to improve enforcement along the border, or to crack down on child Internet predators. But some votes are not so easy. This week, such a vote occurred in the House. Yesterday, the House voted 232-187 to pass the Deep Ocean Energy Resources (DOER) Act of 2006. This bill completely modifies the existing moratorium on offshore drilling for energy off all of the nation’s coasts. I voted no. First, a little background. I am firmly opposed to drilling off the shores of California. If people in Louisiana want to drill off their coast (and they do) that’s fine. But California is different. A pristine, unobstructed ocean is as essential to our economic prosperity as it is to our spirit which is uniquely and quintessentially Californian. We face energy issues and we need more sources of energy in the U.S. But California can provide more renewable energy, hydroelectric and solar energy than other states, while keeping California prosperous and beautiful. Part of the… Read More