Say what you want about tax-and-spend liberals. One thing is for sure: They are strong-willed when it comes to pilfering money from taxpayers. Nothing can stop the liberal arm of the California Legislature from proposing $5 billion in tax increases as a means to plugging a huge budget hole. Not even the California voters who overwhelmingly opposed Proposition 1A last year (a ballot measure that would have raised taxes on Californians). This year’s proposed increases include hitting up California car owners – who apparently don’t spend enough on car taxes or at the gas pump – to pay more DMV fees. If only the liberals showed this kind of determination in handling taxpayer money. Read more about the tax hikes here.… Read More

No word on the size of the buy, but it stars some well known actors… … Read More

Given the size of Whitman’s media buys, you may have seen this already… on your TV…

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On Saturday I also got STEVE COOLEY FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL “A Prosecutor, Not A Politician”.… Read More

A Sunday potpourri from around the region… Kudos to SDCTA — and a Must Watch"Save the Chargers" Video… Thursday night’s San Diego County Taxpayers Association Golden Watchdog and Fleece Awards dinner was attended by over 800, who clearly see it as one of the best annual events in the region. SDCTA has an uncanny ability to get otherwise cautiously stodgyelected officials to loosen up on video with gems they normally wouldn’t be caught dead saying or doing anywhere — at leastnot on purpose — all for a good laugh and the spectacle of the evening. The "Chargers Stadium Disaster Relief Telethon" is an absolute classic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH78d2DEQbQ Here’s also a retrospective of past years’ video hi-lights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nNRygKUAMk Lastly, a press release announcing all the winning taxpayer watchdogs and fleecers for the… Read More

I was more than a little upset to see the Orange County Taxpayers Association endorsement in a slate mailer of Webster Guillory, the long term incumbent tax assessor here in Orange County. Reed Royalty, the President of OCTA, and the producers of the guide, have not garnered much credibility for their organization and slate by these actions, and Supervisor John Moorlach, who has had more than one opportunity to support Guillory’s conservative opponent, ranks among them in getting a huge taxpayer black-eye by their failure to support Claude Parrish. Parrish is endorsed by the County Republican party, leading tax groups, and leading Republican elected officials. He served eight years on the Board of Equalization. He is absolutely the right candidate for Republicans in this race, but the "old boy" network of county wheeler-dealers can’t stand it.

But now ace researcher Jim Sills has offered a lot more grist for the mill on this point and during this current "tea party age," Royalty, Moorlach, and the consultants who are doing this awful deed against conservatism need to be called out as less than virtuous conservatives… Read More

Late last week the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which sits in San Francisco and is known as a liberal court, upheld the Arizona "Citizens Clean Election Act" which provides taxpayer dollars "matching funds" to candidates for state office to use for advertising of their campaigns. Since California is flirting with such a law, known as Proposition 15 on the next election ballot, the Court’s action is worth taking note of.

The conservative Goldwater Institute had been successful at the trial court level in knocking out the law on First Amendment grounds. Their solid argument in the trial court, along with a couple friendly PACs and candidates, was that the campaign law actually chilled or reduced speech rights. This is because under the law, if an opposing candidate fails to use only the taxpayer money for his/her campaign, and spends more than the candidate taking the state money, then the state automatically coughs up more taxpayer dollars for the candidate "on the dole." Thus, opposing candidates are discouraged to spend money on advertising, for fear that the government will respond by… Read More

Apparently Los Angeles City Council members and Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa believe their type of governance is a model by which other states should follow – if last week’s vote to ban LA from doing business with Arizona is any indication. What an arrogant move considering the council and mayor’s woeful neglect of LA’s immigration problems. Specifically, LA leaders embrace a sanctuary policy known as “Special Order 40,” which prohibits LA peace officers from questioning suspects about their immigration status. It’s the same policy that slain teenager Jamiel Shaw’s parents tried to have overturned a few years ago. When Shaw, a 17-year-old LA-area high school football star, was murdered by an illegal alien gang member in 2008, questions arose about the city’s sanctuary policy and the opportunities law enforcement had to deport the killer. Sadly, the grieving parents were blocked by the Left Wing contingency that is the LA City Council, and Special Order 40 stands as the law of the land, making life in LA easy for illegal aliens; unfair for legal immigrants and in some cases, dangerous for LA families like the Shaw’s.… Read More