Veteran KNBC sportscaster Fred Roggin contacted me earlier this month and invited me to be a regular commentator on his new program "The Filter," a fast-paced news and opinion program currently airing evenings on KNBC’s Digital Channel 4.2.

Yesterday was my debut on "The Filter." I appeared opposite Charlotte Laws, another regular who is a member of the Greater Valley Glen Council.

Here’s the first half of the segment, in which the topics were how Barbara Boxer’s "ma’am" incident with Grig. Gen. Michael Walsh is impacting the U.S. Senate campaign, and whether employees usage of employer cel phones enjoys privacy protection:

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I was born and raised in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. For the duration of my life, it has been a Republican district – until now. Liberal Mark Schauer defeated Republican incumbent Tim Walberg 49-46% in 2008. Now I like Tim Walberg and I’ve rarely disagreed with him. But his path to Congress and his performance along the way demonstrate why conservatives cannot afford him as the nominee in November if we are going to capitalize on the current advantages the GOP has going into 2010. Nick Smith represented the 7th District from 1992-2004 and comfortably held the seat with nearly 60% of the vote every time. After his retirement in 2004, a crowded primary which featured his son, Brad, Walberg, and a few others (in a race that divided the conservative base), nominated moderate Republican Joe Schwarz. Schwarz went on to win the 7th handily. In 2006, Walberg, recognizing… Read More

Check outthis video that points out the true impact of cap and trade on a California based oil producer – Valero. The costs to them in California alone will be $7 billion annually. Is there any possible way this scenario doesn’t translate into higher gas prices for California consumers? I don’t think so. … Read More

I’ve always wondered why political figures think their legislation solves problems. Usually, legislation doesn’t solve anything. If you look the list of issues today that are very serious, almost all of them have had many legislative "solutions" passed to address them.

Governmen can’t execute – plain and simple.

When I ran for Congress in 1994, California was in the throes of a water crisis. Today, 15 years later, California is in the throes of a water crisis. Legislation has made it worse.

Now, the latest gimmick is a bond – a bond that will be placed on the ballot in 2010 to "solve" the water crisis in the State. On problem – California voters have passed so many bonds in the past 10 years that our debt service to general fund revenues are out of control.

For 10 years, while doing political analysis on KMJ 580, and writing for the Fresno Bee, I’ve warned of this impending debt crisis. It’s here now.

Many of the bonds passed by voters in the past 8 years have not been sold – authorized – but not issued. So the debt service on those hasn’t… Read More

Oops! they did it again: public trusts Britany as much as Legislature on budget. A statewide poll conducted by Wilson Research had an interesting item – it turns out the public is almost equally split between the California Legislature and Britany Spears on who they trust more to manage budgets. Here’s the excerpt from the toplines: Q17: And, who do you think would do a better job handling your family’s budget [ROTATE] California legislators or Brittany Spears? 1. California Legislators 35% 2. Brittany Spears 31% 3. DK/Refused [DNR]… Read More

As the cold, harsh realities of California’s dismal economy continues to settle into many California households, it’s no wonder taxpayer groups (like Californians Against Higher Taxes) are beating the drum: No new taxes! Read more here.… Read More

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must stop dragging its feet and issue a delisting decision in response to petitions from the Riverside County Farm Bureau to remove the Stephens kangaroo rat (pictured) from listing under the Endangered Species Act.

This is the position of attorneys with the Pacific Legal Foundation who today filed a lawsuit in federal court today on behalf of their client, the Riverside County Farm Bureau.

"For 14 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been disobeying the legal deadline for properly responding to the Riverside County Farm Bureau’s petition to delist the SKR," said PLF attorney Damien Schiff. "Today we are asking a federal court to order the agency to get off the dime, obey the… Read More

The Legislature is working on legislation to make California eligible – and hopefully competitive – for federal “Race to the Top” grant funding worth up to $750 million for California. SB5X 1 by Senator Gloria Romero (D- East Los Angeles) is the bill that I, education reformers, and the Governor support, but it is sitting in limbo in the Assembly Education Committee. The California Teachers Association is opposed to it. The Romero bill contains many genuine reform elements that deserve support and applause. It permits pupil education data to be used for teacher and administrator evaluation and employment decisions; removes the statutory cap on the number of charter schools in California; creates the “Open Enrollment Act” permitting pupils in specified low-performing schools to transfer to other schools within or outside their district; requires intervention in the 5% of California schools that are identified as the most persistently low-performing; allows the creation of alternative teacher credential programs for science, technology, engineering, math and career technical educators; allows 50% of the parents of children in specified… Read More