A good friend of the FlashReport, an attorney who does a lot of reporting compliance work, offered the following observation on this flap over the Chief Justice being the victim of a "drive by reporting…"

I could see how an incorrect occupation/employer would end up listed on a campaign report. Our firm prepares dozens of these reports per filing period, and for a committee as large as Hillary’s, the recordkeeping is astronomical. In an attempt to comply with reporting requirements, we often resort to google when we can’t reach a donor to obtain their address (in CA has to be a street address), occupation and employer. If we find a match that appears accurate, we go with it. Especially at the CA level, there is no “best efforts” rule like there is at the federal level – in CA, if you don’t obtain the street address, occupation and employer, the contribution has to be returned. At the federal level, the committee need only show that it made its “best efforts” to obtain the information, and can keep the contribution in the absence of the information being collected – so… Read More

As far as the “jobs, jobs, jobs” mantra, we can spend with borrowed money, which is not popular with voters, or we can look at what is right in front of our noses. To stop the hemorrhaging of jobs, the obvious thing for government to do is lower the cost of labor by cutting back on payroll taxes paid by employers and workers.

I plugged in data for an imaginary California worker making $45,000 a year who is single with no deductions and here is how it breaks out:

Gross pay (per month): $3,750 Federal income tax: $543 FICA (social security): $232.50 Medicare: $54.38

So already out of a gross pay of $3,750, this hypothetical Californian has over $829 taken out by the federal government before he gets a dime. But we need to add California’s payroll taxes.

California has four State payroll taxes which are administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD). They are Unemployment Insurance and Employment Training Tax, which are employer contributions, and State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Personal Income Tax… Read More

The California Supreme Court made the right choice today when it sided with voters and victims by upholding Jessica’s Law 2,000-feet living restriction for sex offenders who were paroled after the date the law was passed

I am pleased with the ruling. The court has upheld the will of the voters and the rights of victims who, let’s not forget, have suffered from the hands of society’s worst criminals.

The court’s ruling is consistent with the intent behind Jessica’s Law, which is to provide better safety for children by preventing paroled sex offenders from living near schools.

According to the Declaration of Independence, our leaders have the right to rule only with ‘the consent of the governed’ and the California Supreme Court proved that today. It’s a good day for Californians and for Democracy.… Read More

(For the purposes of this posting, I am now the Flashreport Middle East Correspondent)

Just before last Christmas my local Rabbi, Isaac Jeret, invited California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring and me to visit Israel, as guest of the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces. Only 4 days on the ground going to places few can visit, we jumped at the chance.

I’ve never been to Israel. Until 9-11, I was agnostic between the struggles of Arab countries and the state of Israel. Never a friend of too-generous “foreign” aid, I had a laissez faire attitude. After the brutal realization, that for over a hundred years brewed a massive resurgence of extremist Islam that threatens western civilization, I reconsidered and now believe Israel is a vital link in our war against Islamic Terror.

We visited the HQ of the Southern Frontier along the Gaza front. We met with the general in charge at the Re’im Base. We witnesses instruction to IDF soldiers how they are taught to minimize civilian injuries. IDF soldiers risk or suffer casualties, by… Read More

The Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District’s governing board this past Monday decided to send a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature requesting the suspension and/or repeal of AB32, the "Global Warming Solutions Act." This action was prompted by imminently conflicting federal and state regulations and the simple bad economic timing of implementing such a law now or in the near future. (Continued below.) AB32 calls for California to cut its "greenhouse gas" emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 – a reduction of 30 percent – followed by an 80-percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050.

The Mojave Desert AQMD, as an agency charged with and committed to improving air quality, raised some eyebrows as a result of the announcement of its soon-to-be-issued request, including those of KFI’s John and Ken, who interviewed me as a member of the district board on Thursday. (You can listen to the interview by clicking here.)

During the… Read More

Warning: the following blog will contain the word “green.”

If the terms “climate change” and “cap and trade” make you cringe…relax, this isn’t about either. It’s about a new policy called CALGREEN that was recently adopted by the Building Standard’s Commission, and it will make the world a better place for your children…yes, it’s really *that* important.

Looking on the calendar, I see it’s less than a year before registered Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger finishes his tenure in office. Normally, a Republican Governor going into his last term with a Democrat-controlled legislature, would have as one area where he can appoint Republicans to positions of lasting influence, is the filling of vacancies Judgeships around California. These appointments, unlike many, do not require confirmation votes.

So it pains me to no end, as an officer of the California Republican Party, and as a common sense conservative who would like to see Republicans appointed as judges, to see Schwarzenegger routinely passing over qualified GOPers for the bench.

Yesterday would be a classic example. The Governor’s office typically announces new Judicial picks by issuing press releases — county by county. Yesterday they started to roll out – five in total. As they came out, I would look… First one, from Republican Madara County — nope, didn’t appoint a… Read More

We hear at the FlashReport would like to offer our hearty congratulations to longtime FR friend Russell Lowery. Yesterday Lowery informed the Senate Republican Caucus that he would be leaving his position as Chief of Staff to except a position with Pacific Gas & Electric’s Sacramento office. Lowery has had a long tenure working for conservatives in the state legislature, and is well regarded for both his commitment to his core values, and an ability to be smart about how to best achieve definable victories for Republicans – a challenge in an institution where Republicans are the minority party.

We caught up with Russell’s boss, Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth, who shared with us a few thoughts, “Russell has been a leader for our caucus staff, and has been good Chief of Staff and counselor to me. He will be missed here, but I know I speak for all Senate Republicans when I extend my congratulations to him in his new career.” Russell’s last day with the Senate will be in early February, but there’s not a whole lot he can really do now anyways. There are all kinds of laws that prohibit someone who has accepted an external job… Read More