Here is our ninth installment of this popular feature on our site. This is yet another “double edition” as we are playing catch up – it should be the “Idiot of the Week and a Half” award…

TheFlashReport Idiot Of The Week Awardis bestowed upon that pubic official (or high profile person engaged in politics or public policy) who does something completely idiotic. With a state as large as Californian, which seems to have a higher-than-average amount of folks who either don’t think about what they do — or even worse, they think about what they do and still act like idiots — we suffer from no shortage of potential award… Read More

On Monday, March 18, the board of the California High-Speed Rail Authority and an obscure entity known as the California High-Speed Passenger Train Finance Committee passed resolutions authorizing California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer to borrow $8.6 billion through bond sales to fund construction of the California High-Speed Rail.

This $8.6 billion adds to $480 million in bond sales authorized in 2009 and another $670 million in bond sales authorized in 2011. Some of this money will be used to build the first segment of the rail from Madera to Fresno.

Why is this happening? The people of California approved it.

In November 2008, 52.7% of voters (including 78% of voters in San Francisco) approved Proposition 1A, the “Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century.” Proposition 1A authorized the state to borrow $9.95 billion for design, environmental review, land acquisition, and construction by selling bonds to investors.

These bonds are “general obligation bonds” like the ones sold for school construction in California. This means the state can repay the bonds from any revenue source. They are not “revenue… Read More

There is no doubt that Americans owe a great deal to ancient Greek civilization that once dominated the Eastern Mediterranean, including the island of Cyprus. It is to them and their experiment with democracy that we can trace the roots of our own democratic institutions.

Of course, a lot can change in 2,500 years and, today, we fear that our leaders may be tempted to follow the modern Greek example of governance and taxation. Greece, itself has become the poster child for overpaying underperforming government workers and for creating an unsustainable entitlement-based society. Sound familiar?

When the government attempted to rein in spending and limit benefits to remain solvent, the result was rioting in the streets. Greece is classified as one of the PIIGS that constitute Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, all mismanaged nations teetering on the brink of economic collapse and threatening to bring down the viability of the European Union.

The Republic of Cyprus has now joined the PIIGS. The government – under pressure from the European Union – has proposed to immediately tax all bank deposits to qualify the nation for a bailout.… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: I am very pleased to publish this column from my longtime friend Dan Schnur. When I launched this website in 2005, Dan was one of our inaugural bloggers, penning his first piece on our third day as website. In his column below, Dan makes a couple of significant announcements. The first I will opine upon in coming days. The second, well, I don’t want to steal his thunder. So let’s just say that my friendship and respect for Dan are as strong as they have ever been. Anyway, please enjoy Dan’s latest… — Flash]

During the almost three decades that I have been involved in politics, first as partisan advocate and in recent years as an analyst and observer, I have seen many unusual things. I watched a Democratic presidential candidate don a military helmet and climb into a tank to prove his national security credentials. I watched a movie star steal the show at a Republican National Convention by carrying on… Read More

Some people want something so badly, they’ll sell their souls to the devil, they’ll ignore facts, reason and important details. A case in point is Sacramento politicians, and the ongoing arena obsession.

Sacramento’s Mayor Kevin Johnson, tweeted Saturday evening he and city officials have reached a $447.7 million arena deal at the Downtown Plaza with a public-private partnership.

There’s only one problem — Sacramento can’t afford it.

Billed as “the largest redevelopment project in city history,” the project will have up to 1.5 million square feet of offices, housing, stores and a high-rise hotel.

The deal would require the city to commit “$258 million in value, or 58 percent of the arena cost,” according to the Sacramento Bee. “Of that, $212 million would come from selling bonds backed by future revenues from city… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: Last weekend, just two weeks after the California Republican Party’s organizational convention, new CRP Chairman Jim Brulte brought together his Board of Directors for a retreat in the Inland Empire. We asked CRP Vice Chairman Harmeet Dhillon if she would share with FR readers some of what took place. Dhillon has penned a two-part column, the first of which appeared on the FlashReport yesterday and can be read here. Part two appears below… Flash]

CRP Board Retreat: PART II By Harmeet Dhillon, Vice Chairman, California Republican Party

Following a pleasant lunch, our sessions resumed with a presentation by the dynamic Ruben Barrales, newly-named CEO of Grow Elect, a PAC dedicated to electing Latino Republicans to Grow Elect. Ruben was introduced by veteran political consultant Duane Dichiara, who helped seed fund and launch Grow Elect. Duane told us about his current initiative, founding a Grow Elect for the Asian Pacific… Read More

After decades of telling women to burn their bras, divorce their husbands, shun motherhood, and pursue careers, feminists have now discovered how wonderful it is to stay at home with the babies.

“A growing number of women are dismissing the career-driven conventions they were raised with, saying no to full-time work; believing instead that every household needs one primary caretaker – the mother,” the Daily Mail UK reported this week.

And they are calling themselves “feminist housewives.” Titles are very important to some people. I pity their husbands.

New York Magazine recently published a story called “The Retro Wife, feminists who say they’re having it all—by choosing to stay home.”

Who are these self-absorbed women who discover something natural and normal, and must proclaim it from the mountain tops as if they’ve found the secret to eternal youth?

Women who have been brainwashed by radical feminists… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: Last weekend, just two weeks after the California Republican Party’s organizational convention, new CRP Chairman Jim Brulte brought together his Board of Directors for a retreat in the Inland Empire. We asked CRP Vice Chairman Harmeet Dhillon if she would share with FR readers some of what took place. Dhillon has penned a two-part column, the first of which appears below. Part two appears here… Flash]

CRP Board Retreat March 15-17 Wrap-Up – PART I By Harmeet Dhillon, Vice Chairman, California Republican Party

I was honored this past weekend in Ontario, California to participate in an intense weekend board retreat of the California Republican Party. Planned and organized by our new Chairman, Jim Brulte, the weekend included presentations by over a dozen leading and thought-provoking political professionals on the challenges ahead for our party.

Jim Brulte set the stage for the weekend retreat at our first board meeting on March 3, immediately… Read More