I like Alan Zaremberg, the President of the California Chamber of Commerce. He is a thoughtful man in a very difficult position. He knows he should be for small government and free enterprise, but he oversees the Chamber of Commerce in California, home of the Democratic National Socialist Party. One wrong step, and the next thing he knows, union thugs are calling CalPERS and CalPERS then threatens his board members with disinvestment. Think of this, you are on the board of a Fortune 500 company, and the largest institutional investor on the planet (CalPERS) calls you and says if you don’t control that guy at the California Chamber, CalPERS will pull its investment in your company. You have nightmares about the drop in your stock price, so you call Zaremberg and tell him to get with the program. Zaremberg toes the line.

Zaremberg did it again this week. Vote for the tax increase bill, and we’ll support you, says Zaremberg. He doesn’t make it partisan. He says it’s a tough vote for Democrats and Republicans, and we’ll support them all, he says. But the implication is–We’ll… Read More

This just in from former Assemblyman (and former County Supervisor) Todd Spitzer… (Never a dull moment in Orange County politics…) Moments ago, the Orange County Register reported that Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman, Bill Campbell, confirmed that former appointed Public Guardian and current elected Public Administrator John Williams may be submitting his resignation tomorrow morning. Williams clearly wants something in return.

Some believe that Williams, who may be eligible to receive or is now receiving benefits as a former Orange County Marshal, a former trustee of the South Orange County Community College Board and now a former Public Guardian, is trying to coerce Supervisors into believing that he is owed his entire… Read More

Bankruptcy is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But to read some of the advocacy in behalf of allowing states to go bankrupt you might think so. Want to break a labor contract why then go bankrupt. Want to reduce pension benefits why then go bankrupt.

Bankruptcy is used by families and businesses when either their expenses exceed their incomes or more likely when their debts exceed their assets. As big as California’s debt is there are a lot more assets to secure it. Regarding expenses, most all of the California budget can be adjusted downward if there is political willpower to do so. California does not qualify for bankruptcy.

The real problem is political willpower. As long as solutions exist short of bankruptcy whether it is cutting expenses or even raising taxes no bankruptcy judge is going to enter that thicket.

For those who honor the federal Constitution there is a big reason that states do not file for bankruptcy. They are sovereign entities who cannot cede their sovereignty to the Federal government. It is disappointing to hear so many conservatives ignoring the… Read More

The Left Wing unions of the Democrat Party completely control most California democrats.

California suffers more financial corruption and from angry and greedy union leaders, that they insist they will continue the kill the host…i.e. us taxpayers.

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Below, you’ll find a video clip of my questioning of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in today’s Financial Services Committee hearing. The Fed Chairman is always very careful in his choice of language, as markets hang and react on the nuances of every word he says. These are the strongest statements, I believe, that he has yet said publicly about the peril of our national debt. I believe that they must be very worried about this at the Fed and think that the day of reckoning is more imminent, or he would not turn up his rhetoric like this.

I’d say enjoy……but, this is not good news.

At the end, I lose some of my eloquence because I was so surprised that he was as candid as he was with me. My point was that Congress won’t act until they believe the consequences of not acting on this problem are so huge that they outweigh the political risks of the decisions that solve it. We see some such political courage in Wisconsin, Ohio and New Jersey right now. But, not enough yet in Washington or Sacramento. I hope that Mr. Bernanke’s words, as well as those of others, start to scare some of my colleagues into realizing that this is not… Read More

I recently switched over from a PC to a Macintosh computer. In talking recently with fellow FR blogger Meredith Turney, who made the same switch, she inspired me to try some video commentary, recorded right on my new computer. So, understand this is my first time playing around with it. They will get a little better with practice… (Like I will actually hold up my props a little higher — you’ll understand what I mean when you watch…) Enjoy…

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MEMORANDUM To: GOP State Senators, GOP State Assemblymembers From: Jon Fleischman, Publisher, FlashReport.org RE: Heartfelt Input Concerning The State Budget And Jerry Brown’s Proposal To Place A Massive Tax Increase On A June Special Election Ballot

You don’t have to have a conversation with State Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton for too long before you can hear the frustration in his voice. Dutton has served in the legislature for nearly a decade, and he will share with you that as long as he has been in the Capitol, he has seen the Democrats continue to enact more regulations, raise more taxes (often on majority votes, calling them fees), and all of the while continuing to increase state spending (the latter only finally abating when literally the money to spend ran out). He will tell you that the situation in which state government finds itself in today was not only totally predictable, but also was completely avoidable. Of course one only need talk to a host of retired Republican legislators to know that this has been the case going back… Read More

Life is not just about politics and law! Here is a picture from my caricature party at the downtown Los Angeles Palm last Monday night, attended by your publisher and many other good friends in politics and law, celebrating my caricature being placed on a wall over a booth in the bar area. With me are my wife and business partner Janice, and my very good friend State Senator Lori Klein, (R-AZ). … Read More