Some random thoughts on the passing political scene…

— Anyone who thinks millions upon millions of American losing their existing health care insurance coverage isn’t on purpose is in need of their own medical care. This article in the Los Angeles Times tells you everything you need to know. In order for Obamacare to actually work, they have to force you out of your plan and into the exchange.

— Today is election day in the San Diego Mayor’s race. Publicly released polling has made two things clear — no single candidate will achieve a majority of total votes cast and be elected today, and Republican Kevin Faulconer will definitely be in the run-off election. The only question that remains is whether progressive Democrat Councilman David Alvarez or Republican turned Independent turned Democrat Nathan Fletcher will grab the number two spot.

— Of course virtually no one who currently has healthcare wants to be in an Obamacare exchange health care plan. Did you know that the list of medical… Read More

At last week’s City Council meeting in Orange the Mayor, Tita Smith, took a former Planning Commissioner’s service in the military as an opportunity to deny him his spot back on the Commission. Mike Merino, a Republican and former candidate for City Council, vacated his post on the Planning Commission while serving our nation in the Navy at the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. Upon Captain Merino’s return home was greeted by the news that he was no longer welcome to serve on the city’s Planning Commission. Mayor Tita Smith, a Democrat, blocked his appointment and offered little reasoning beyond saying she thinks he’s served on the Commission long enough. It’s absurd that the Mayor would suggest that it’s okay for Mr. Merino to serve his country on a military base that borders a Communist adversary and houses some of the world’s most violent terrorists, yet she doesn’t grant him the courtesy to return to a post he vacated to defend her way of life.

This is not the first time this issue has come up in Orange County, the Rancho Santa Margarita City Council sought to replace Councilman Jesse Petrilla, albeit… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to offer this original column submitted to the FlashReport by Young Kim, a candidate for the State Assembly in California’s 65th District – Flash]

Last weekend I traveled to San Diego to participate in an unparalleled opportunity, learning practical campaign experience from top state and national Republican leaders and political strategists. With strong Democratic majorities in… Read More

Suppose you have been scrimping for years so that you and your family could finally enjoy a Hawaiian vacation. Winging your way high over the Pacific, visions of palm trees, white sandy beaches, crystal clear water and maybe even hula dancers pass through your head.

Disembarking at Honolulu International Airport what do you see? Politicians. Lots of politicians. Lots of California politicians.

The California politicians are making their annual pilgrimage to paradise. And while you are paying for your own accommodations, the California lawmakers scheduled to attend the Independent Voter Project (IVP) conference scheduled to begin November 17, will have most of the bill for their suites at the 5-star Fairmont Kea Lani picked up by others. Among the dozens of interests providing hospitality to legislators are a host of corporations and even one of the most powerful public employee unions in California.

However, not to worry. No lobbying will take place according to Dan Howle, a Lilly USA executive who helped organize the event. “It gives the sponsoring companies an opportunity to talk about what their business is like in California,” Howle told the Los… Read More

Last week gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly was warned he was about to receive a cease and desist notice from Assembly administrator Jon Waldie, telling him he was not allowed to use Assembly video footage in his political campaign.

Yet the video footage in question,of Assembly floor sessions, is available to the public on theCalifornia Channelonline, and on Comcast cable television. It is in fact, paid for by the public.

Donnelly’s campaign has a video posted on YouTube.
”Patriot, Not Politician,”features many clips of the Assemblyman Donnelly speaking on the Assembly floor, which Waldie says isnot allowed “for any political or commercial purpose.”

However, Assembly… Read More

[Updated at 2:30 pm, at bottom…]

Exactly one week ago today, literally out of the blue, moderate Republican State Senator Bill Emmerson announced that he had tendered his resignation from office, effective December 1st of this year.

In his short public statement, Emmerson declared, “I have always felt that one had to be passionate about their work. In these past few months, my passion has waned and my constituents deserve a Senator with the level of commitment that I once had.”

The Senator made it clear he was in good health.

Politics being what it is, all eyes have now focused on the 23rd State Senate District, with everyone wondering who will succeed Emmerson.

While a special election will not formally be called until Emmerson is actually out of office, peeking at the calendar one can assume that it is likely that a special election will be held in April of next year, and that a probable runoff election would then be consolidated with the June statewide… Read More

I received my notice of cancellation from Anthem Blue Cross October 14, stating my company’s health insurance plan will no longer be available Jan. 1, 2014. But as a 20-year former Human Resource professional, panic did not set in.

Instead, I was angry.

I have a really good PPO plan. My annual out-of-pocket is high, but my coverage is good. It makes doctors smile when they see I have a PPO. Cha-ching $$.

I like my insurance plan. I like my family doctor — we have a 23 year relationship. Skin cancer and San Joaquin Valley allergies have plagued me for years, so my two favorite docs are my dermatologist of 25 years, and my ear, nose, throat doctor of nearly 28 years.

The cancellation of my plan means Anthem Blue Cross agreed to what Covered California forced on them, to cancel all employer plans by December 31, 2013.

Tuesday, Anthem Blue Cross of California announced it has agreed to a two-month extension of more than 100,000 individual policies. This was supposedly after they failed to give the required 90-day cancellation notice, state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced this week.

The policies had been set to expire on Dec.… Read More

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[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to share this original commentary from Doug Lasken on the Tea Party.]

Unlike the journey in the Jules Verne fantasy, where explorers find specific forms at the center of the earth (e.g. a twelve foot tall prehistoric human shepherding mastodons), my experience traveling into the Tea Party center has been more like that of a particle physicist, where the clear forms of the larger world become increasingly blurred and elusive the closer one looks.

In the first foray of my quest to get a close look at the Tea Party, I discovered, at a rally of the Tea Party California Caucus (TPCC) at the state GOP convention on Oct. 4, that there is no clear identification among Tea Party members with the Republican Party. In fact, keynote speakers told the story of TPCC attendance at the convention as if it were the tale of a clandestine invasion of the Party, and a number of speakers proudly told that they had quit the GOP when it “lost its way.”

I had been invited to attend the TPCC rally because of my… Read More