On this very quiet Sunday, Jon is taking the day off (after setting up the main page for Sunday news-junkies).

I always recommend a glance at the FR Weblog, and at the Featured Columns Library, or the Jon’s Commentary Library.

We were pleased to announce last week the additions of State Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa as our ‘North California’ correspondent, who will be bringing you tidbits from the other side of Sacramento (there is something north of the Sacramento airport), and Congressman John Campbell, who is our new D.C. "Inside the Beltway" correspondent, bringing us the latest out of our nation’s capitol!

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

USA Today Covers La Suer Bill Targeting Convicted Athletes… I’m posting this a little late, perhaps, but what political junkie reads USA today? Glad I came across it now. La Suer’s AB 2165 would ban college students from team sports or collegiate sporting events if the athlete is convicted of a violent felony, until after paying their debt to society. This after last year’s state community college football champs (Grossmont College) apparently fielded some thugs…meaning thugs off the field…thuggery on the field is still ok, it is football.

Even the ACLU couldn’t have a problem with this bill, could they…or should I ask?

See the story here.

Those Damn Water Boards Will Get You Every Time… A press release from the campaign of 77th AD Candidate Joel Anderson referred tohis service as president of the Padre Damn Water Board. A prime example of just why you can’t rely on spell check. Other… Read More

Two of my favorite words. A couple days ago it was revealed that four city council members, the city manager and the attorney from my city of West Covina had an after meeting-eating excursion in Pico Rivera. See the my first review here. They met at a popluar politico steak house in Pico Rivera, the Dal Rae. You can see a story about the place here.

If anyone wished to buy me lunch there, please let me know. I won’t eat that much honest, but I need to send a press release out.… Read More

This post was first attempted yesterday from an airport and didn’t quite work.

As I sit here at LAX reading the news of a new GOP poll showing Brian Bilbray losing to his liberal challenger I can only think one thing – good.

I’ve been warning of a GOP calamity since December, 2004, and its real simple: spending, immigration, lack of leadership on reforming entitlements, and a reactive rather than proactive approach to everything. This is the work product produced by "safe" seats where no one has to compete. Its called CRAP.

If Bilbray loses the only additional thing we need to create wholesale change in the GOP is a few bruising primary challenges to our own members. Then maybe we can dust off the pictures of Reagan, pull out the playbook from 1994 and start winning again on principle

… Read More

On this Saturday, I’ve decided to pen a very short column. I have a lot of thinking to do. As a conservative activist and voter in California, I am struggling to find my enthusiasm. Can you help me find it? As I reflect on where things are right now: I am struggling to show enthusiasm for the President. His embrace and seeming comfort with the growth in domestic spending is unnerving. Add to this my belief that trying to create a democracy in Iraq will end with us never being able to leave that place, else there will be a quick return to a religious hegemony. I will never forgive the President for signing the McCain-Feingold ‘attack on free speech’ campaign law. Thank goodness for those SCOTUS picks, but while that affirms I voted right, it doesn’t instill enthusiasm. I am struggling to show enthusiasm for our Republican Congress. With spending up in record amounts and the ‘conservative’ House Leadership passionately defending the status quo, it’s easy to get disappointed. I keep waiting for up and down votes on real reductions in the size and scope in government, to allow us all to focus… Read More

On this Saturday, I’ve decided to pen a very short column. I have a lot of thinking to do. As a conservative activist and voter in California, I am struggling to find my enthusiasm. Can you help me find it? As I reflect on where things are right now: I am struggling to show enthusiasm for the President. His embrace and seeming comfort with the growth in domestic spending is unnerving. Add to this my belief that trying to create a democracy in Iraq will end with us never being able to leave that place, else there will be a quick return to a religious hegemony. I will never forgive the President for signing the McCain-Feingold ‘attack on free speech’ campaign law. Thank goodness for those SCOTUS picks, but while that affirms I voted right, it doesn’t instill enthusiasm. I am struggling to show enthusiasm for our Republican Congress. With spending up in record amounts and the ‘conservative’ House Leadership passionately defending the status quo, it’s easy to get disappointed. I keep waiting for up and down votes on real reductions in the size and scope in government, to allow us all to focus… Read More

Like me, Karen Hanretty (who appeared on once, not twice not three times, but FOUR times this week on the FOX News Channel – way to go!) read a piece in the Los Angeles Times, Governer says Borders are Vulnerable, and got her hopes up. In the piece, the Governor says, "I think that all of this comes down to one thing: The federal government has failed the people of America in a terrible way, in a disastrous way, when it comes to this immigration situation."

Since the Governor has come out in support of a guest worker (read: amnesty) program to legitimize the residency of those who snuck/smuggled/crept/lied/broke the law to come into America, I am trying to figure out if the Governor thinks that the federal government has failed because all of these foreign nationals are here at all? Or does he mean that they have failed because they all should have been allowed to walk into this country ligitimately?

Where is the outrage and desire to deal with the lawbreakers? How can we be a country of laws if we advocate that we excuse citizens of… Read More

GOP Assemblyman Keith Richman wants to take on Democrat Attorney General Bill Lockyer for State Treasurer. Interesting, then, that on all of the bonds, he cast the same ‘aye’ votes that Lockyer would have cast. I thought I knew a lot of jargon, but Katie Levinson at the Schwarzenegger Campaign office has me beat. Do you know what it means to ‘run traps’? Now I do. Maybe we’ll need to ask her for a ‘jargon of the week’ column. Last week, I stood with Eric Roach outside of the big fancy doors to the now-vacant 50th Congressional District office on Capitol Hill. Eric didn’t walk into it on that trip. But I hope he walks into it in January. Speaking of Washington, D.C., Republican Congressman Richard Pombo gets a big TY for lining up White House Tour tix for my Aunt and Uncle. Their lame Democratic Congressman totally let them down. Pombo has a GOP challenger in June — who supporter Kerry for President. LOL. John Howard, the managing editor over … Read More