Normally, half a loaf is better than none, but under the Capitol dome that kind of logic does not always work. Over the last few days the Democrats have offered a solution to the short-term cash flow crisis but not to the on-going problem of overspending. The Republicans are split, with some advocating the partial solution then returning to the issue of a long-term fix while others argue that the problem is so acute that we do not have the luxury of time to address the problem incrementally. Earlier I was on the side of those suggesting that we agree on what is offered and come back for more debate on the rest of the problem.

However, Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter), who is Majority Leader, brought me up short. During the debate on Friday about the short-term measures, he argued eloquently that preventing the state from issuing IOU warrants was the most important item before the Legislature, and since everyone agreed that the proposed bills would cut spending enough to cover the cash gap, they should be adopted now. Then he shocked me with way too much disclosure of the Democrat strategy by saying that the structural deficit and the imbalance of the current… Read More

As a follow-up to my earlier post below, it looks like Shari Barman had a prior run-in with law enforcement…

May 24,1977 AP Story Rosie Beats Foe to Punch

Tennis star Rosie Casals was arrested on an assualt charge after a minor automobile accident at San Francisco International Airport. San Mateo sherriff Richard Platt said that Casals, 28, and companion Sheri Barman, also 28, were taken into custody after Friday’s incident. Miss Casals was released on her own recognicance. Miss Barman was released after posting $1,000 bail. According to Platt, the two women had parked at the airport parking lot in front of a car driven by Glen Wolff, 30, of San Francisco. Wolff’s car alledgedly brushed the fender of Miss Casals’ car, according to Platt. Miss Casals jumped out of her car, pulled Mr. Wolff out of his car, and began punching him and scratching his face, Platt said. An airport security officer, Bernard Sullivan, tried to break up the altercation and Miss… Read More

The inimitable Mike Spence blogged on RedCounty.com that Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth and former Sen. Ray Haynes as strong primary challengers to Rep.Mary Bon-Mack:

Fellow Red County Contributor has clearly articulated the need for a GOP Primary challenge to Mary Bono-Mack.

His suggestions of former legislators Bonnie Garcia and Jim Battin make sense. Battin definitely would be a great candidate. I submit that Senator Dennis Hollingsworth and former legislator Ray Haynes be approached as well.

This Congressional District 45 is not just a Palm Springs district. It stretches down to Murrieta and Temecula through wonderful place like Hemet and Moreno Valley. Both Hollingsworth and Haynes do live in the Congressional District.

You can read the rest of Mike’s post here.… Read More

Congressman Jim Costa (D), Fresno voted against the Democrats cap and trade bill on the House floor last night but don’t be fooled – he’s no moderate. Although personally likeable and knowledgable about many issues, he’s been AWOL on the water debate here in the Central Valley. I had a journalist from the Fresno Bee tell me a couple of months ago that "Costa had no clout with Pelosi" because he’s a "Blue Dog" moderate without a voice in the capitol, so he couldn’t "get anything done" on the water issue.

I did some research on this and here is what I found. According to the Washington Post, Jim Costa voted with his Party leadership 94% of the time in 2008, and 97.9% in 2009 year to date.

It’s not hard to see the writing on the wall here. I blasted an email out about this to the Westside farmers in Costa’s District last week, and many of them wrote me back stunned and angry that we have another Pelosi Democrat masquerading as a moderate here in the Valley.

Sources in the capitol tell me that once it became apparent that cap and trade was going to pass, Costa got a… Read More

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed what is being referred to as the "Cap and Tax" plan or "National Energy Tax" bill by House Republicans — legislation pushed by President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Waxman and other liberals. No matter how you slice it, this legislation represents a massive expansion of federal government regulation, and the costs associated with the enactment it is are enormous for taxpayers. The Democrats referred to it as a "Cap and Trade" bill.

Only eight Republicans in the House voted for this legislation, and of the eight, only on is a Californian — Mary Bono Mack. Rather than trying to attempt to characterize for the Congresswoman why she voted for this bill, I reached out to her for a statement that I could share directly with FR readers. That statement is below.

I will be writing more on this vote by Congressman Mack next week, but I wanted to get her statement out as soon as possible. Suffice it to say for now that I am deeply troubled by Mack’s support of this legislation for a number of critical reasons.

The fact that the Democrats lost over 40… Read More

This is a FlashReport blog exclusive. The word is that 10News will run a story at 6 pm. If so, I’ll add it to the post, but — thanks to great sources…

Francine Busby 2.0: Loud Music, Resisting Arrest, Pepper Spray, and Battery on a Police Officer Erstwhile and announced future candidate for Congress Francine Busby sure knows how to toss a party.The supposedly "centrist " Democrat and her followers don’t seem to respect authority too much either. Last night’s event to raise funds for a challenge to Rep. Brian Bilbray would have only been more complete with a good old fashioned flag burning.

— BEGIN POLICE REPORT — On 6/27/09, at about 2112 hours, Deputy ***** and *****, Clinician ***** responded to 1366 Rubenstein Avenue, Cardiff, Calif, regarding a Loud Democratic Rally with Loud Speakers. The reporting party’s residence is located on Summit Avenue just west of 1366 Rubenstein Avenue. The reporting party told dispatchers he was willing to sign and wanted deputy contact. It was… Read More

Today I exchanged a few emails with State Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth. He made it clear he isn’t thinking of challenging Congresswoman Mary-Bono-Mack for Congress. Too bad. Sen. Hollingsworth would have been a great Republican alternative to cap and taxer and job costing Obama enabler Congresswoman Mary Bono-Mack.

No word from Ray Haynes, Jim Battin or others. Somebody do it!

Cross posted on RedCounty.… Read More

The liberal Democrats in Sacramento desperately want to do something, anything to push out and delay having to confront the state’s $24 billion budget shortfall in one package. They will give anything to get Republicans to approve any stop-gap measures — three billion, five billion, seven billion — they will put up the cuts with "no strings attached" — to tantalize the member of the minority party, who have rightfully complained about the engorged spending of the California welfare state, to support these cuts.

The key here is that there are "strings" attached — as they say, no one ever gives up something for nothing in this business.

The end game for Sacramento Democrats is fairly simple and straightforward — they want to increase taxes as much as possible to close the budget hole — but they know that there is no political appetite for such increases right now in the State Capitol. With legislative Republicans blocking the 2/3 vote on taxes and the Governor vowing to veto any so-called "majority vote tax increases" — all the Democrats can do is try to buy time.

That is the… Read More