Use of the emergency power by an executive is always evil. It may be a necessary evil, but its use is evil. That is why the executive must use it with extreme caution and in very rare circumstances.

In most cases, such as a natural disaster, the executive power is used to “cut through” the red tape of government, like, in 1993, after the Northridge Earthquake, Governor Pete Wilson used the emergency powers granted to him to remove the environmental obstacles to rebuilding the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles. We now know that a freeway can be planned and built in 60 days, and not the 23 years it takes if we are forced to follow the maze of regulations imposed by the various government agencies. Or, in the case of the fires, houses can be rebuilt in weeks, and not years, when the emergency powers are used to waive the regulatory requirements for rebuilding a home. In those cases, and many others, where the danger is imminent or the damage unpredictable and devastating, use of the emergency powers, while still very evil, because they avoid legislative and public input into government policy, are absolutely necessary to avoid compounding the damage… Read More

There is a lot of talk about how we don’t have enough civility in our public discourse. Mr. Biden has called for unity and reaching across the aisle. Many people would like to blame President Trump. Though he adds to this situation, this has been going on for years. Previously, I have delineated that Democrats think Republicans are evil. I have also delineated that every Republican President since Eisenhower has been called stupid except Nixon who was called evil. Democrats (not all) think most Republican supporters are just beyond understanding societal concepts.

Recently, I had a discussion with a gay friend. Over dinner he said he did not want to engage in political discourse because it just leads to bad feelings. Even though we have different political beliefs I always want to listen to what others say so I can learn how others are thinking.

At a further time, I told him he was wrong to have that thought. I then told him a story. I had been on the forefront of accepting gays; the Best Man at my wedding in 1986 was and is gay. I could not give a hoot about whether someone is gay.

When gay marriage became a hot topic before any court ruling, I told my… Read More

The Kennedys have for the past 60 years been one of the most idolized families in America. Joseph Kennedy converted his ill-gotten gains from bootlegging into a legal fortune. He then unleashed his sons into the political world. This is when his son John changed America in one way and then his younger brother Teddy in another way. We are still paying the price for both today.

President John Kennedy won his election by slightly more than 100,000 votes nationally. The election was particularly close in Illinois. With the help of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley who delivered for Kennedy with heavy turnout by union membership. That may have been a harbinger for what happened once Kennedy became president.

In 1958, Mayor Robert Wagner made New York City the first significant government to legalize public employee unions. The state of Wisconsin followed in 1959. The real floodgate happened when, on January 17, 1962, JFK signed an executive order allowing for unionization of federal employees. Since that time, 75% of the states have legalized collective bargaining for public employees. In 2009, public employees surpassed the private sector in the number of members they have… Read More

I’ve known Arnold Steinberg for more than twenty years, and he had been involved in political campaigns and causes long before we became acquainted, and developed our longtime friendship.

We decided to ask Arnold Steinberg, who was involved in early 1995 in the early stages of what became Proposition 209 and then became that campaign’s strategist and chief consultant. He reprised that dual role in creating and overseeing the campaign against Proposition 16. Steinberg, whose roots are deep within the conservative and libertarian movement, has been involved for… Read More

On Monday, our Arrogant Lazy Authoritarian in Chief (ALAIC), Gavin Newsom, issued new orders to “fight the spread of COVID-19.”

This, of course, occurred right after he, and his minions in the Legislature, violated those orders by (1) sending his kids to school; (2) participating in a soiree at an expensive restaurant that should have been closed down; and (3) flying off to Hawaii for a legislative seminar. What we don’t know is if the ALAIC wore his mask between bites of food or his drinks, whether he “social distanced” himself from other attendees at the restaurant (I would like to see them talk to each other 6 feet apart), how many “families” attended the functions, and whether the ALAIC’s legislative minions actually tested themselves before heading off to Hawaii.

One publication called it their “Marie Antoinette” “Let them eat cake” moment. I think it was more of a proof that the COVID restrictions are a pretense for the unbridled exercise of government power. Who cares about the Constitution or the legislative process? We have COVID, that trumps everything.

I want to be clear.… Read More

Our family always looks forward to Thanksgiving. This year we are particularly due to the challenges of 2020 and all the things we are thankful for including the Dodgers winning the World Series. Our beloved governor, Gavin Newsom, issued mandatory requirements for a safe Thanksgiving. We as a family have decided to comply with them completely as we always want to follow the guidance of our government for which we are also very thankful.

The first thing we did was sit down and determine who could be included. The rules as outlined on the California Department of Public Health website say clearly that gatherings of more than three households are prohibited. That means we could only have one household from my side of the family and one from the Beautiful Wife’s. Since BW has more households on her side I left it to her to make the final cut.

We had to give the ax to Aunts and Uncles. My Aunt Ethel had to go as well as BW’s Uncle Fred. We actually were thankful for this rule here. Fred and Ethel invariably end up getting in a fight over something that happened in the 1950’s that no one else can remember. They yell at each other from across the table.… Read More

We have now confirmed what it takes for a Democrat to get elected President in this country. There must be either a national crisis or an international pandemic occurring concurrent with the election. In 2008, Barack Obama won because the Republicans’ inept candidate mishandled the reaction to the loan crisis. Without an international pandemic, Joe Biden does not defeat Donald Trump.

For years we have been told that the MSM, educational institutions and the Entertainment community are turning out Left-wing robotons destined to give control of the country to socialist fanatics too stupid to understand their political philosophy is an international failure. The American people once again rejected that thinking. Republicans will hold the U.S. Senate, picked up seats in the House and added a Governorship. The Republicans added control of state legislatures despite over $50 million being spent by Eric Holder’s operation to attempt to win control there. Even if Joe Biden becomes president, he will have a narrow lane from which to operate.

No matter what happens, Donald J. Trump woke up many Americans to the reality that our government seems to not be operating in… Read More

In the midst of this California blue wave debacle, I found some remarkably GOOD news. Mind you, I’m not a “good news” sort of guy.

Let me be clear: California is doomed. I don’t expect that to change for decades, if ever.

I write regularly about which states are best for fiscally sane, limited government, liberty loving Californians to flee to. Almost all are better than California, though some are MUCH better than others.

If I can talk the rest of my family into departing for another state (Tennessee is my favorite), we’ll be out of here. So far, I’m having no luck.

But I digress.

Democrats win the overwhelming majority of the partisan races in the state. And by a wide margin. That’s NOT the good news.

The good news is the voters’ response to the statepropositions. See the chart below.

While the final vote totals will change, the results are generally favorable to REPUBLICAN positions. Even where the GOP position on a prop lost, it was a close contest. This is doubtless a surprise to most of our CA MSM and politicians.

It gets more interesting when… Read More