Quote of the week # 1: "Do me a favor: Can you say ‘Senator’ instead of ‘ma’am’? It’s just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it. Thank you." – California Senator Barbara Boxer to a US Army Brigadier General who addressed her as "Mam" in a committee hearing June 17, 2009.

Quote of the week # 2: "Reagan was all about America, and he talked about it. Obama is, we are above that now…in a way, Obama is standing above the country, above the world. He is, sort of, god…" – Evan Thomas, Editor of Newsweek Magazine on MSNBC’s Hardball June 5, 2009.

Floor Action: Last Thursday, the House made 53 recorded roll call votes. That is the most ever in one day in history. Most of those were repeat or procedural votes brought forth by the Minority as we protested the Majority’s limitation on amendments and debate for spending bills. The Majority had proposed to limit the time of debate and the number of amendments to spending… Read More

MEMO TO LIBERAL IDEOLOGUES: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS True liberal ideologues in the state legislature, you are agonizing over the needed cuts in state government programs because you believe in a healthy "social contract" between the people and their government. You believe to your core that in America, everyone is entitled to a standard of living that, for some, must be provided in total or in part by the government. You believe that it is right and good for those who have benefited financially from America’s free market system to "bring up" those in this country who really never have or will have the ability to pull themselves up. Victims of society, as you refer to them, need protection and assistance from those who can afford to provide it. I don’t agree with this philosophy, but I "get it" and understand that it is a valid, if flawed, point of view.

If you are one of these ideologues, then you really need to step back and look at the out of control state public employee unions. If… Read More

The news today that Assemblyman Jim Nielsen pulled a Benedict Arnold on the Poizner campaign wasn’t a total surprise. Team Poizner secured support from an overwhelming majority of State Assembly members and Senators early in the campaign, so it’s reasonable to believe that after Meg Whitman entered the campaign they might lose the endorsement of a few of the legislators on the periphery. I’m sure that the Whitman campaign feels as though they scored a point today, but they still have a long way to go when it comes to securing support from the Republican legislators and local elected officials who matter. It would help if Meg had been a Republican for more than a year or two, but that’s a different story all together.

… Read More

On the rare occasion where all parties involved in a situation can come to a common-sense solution, time is of the essence.

Recently an accounting error by the Chino Valley Unified School District has caused quite a stir in our community. The school district has come across an error in its bell schedule, and consequently fourth through sixth graders at two elementary schools were a few minutes short of instructional minutes on several shortened days.

Currently, if no action is taken, the school year will be extended 34 days to make up the time lost due to this mistake. These make up days would be mandatory for all fourth- through sixth-graders at those two elementary schools. Aside from the fact that these school kids are paying for the mistakes of irresponsible adults, it is astounding for me to learn about all the regulatory red-tape we impose on our local school districts. I understand the need for rules and regulations, but it should also be obvious to even the most ignorant of observers that this mistake was not made with malicious intent.

With bi-partisan support, support from the school board, the school district superintendent and the local… Read More

My boss, Senator Benoit, has penned a commentary giving credit to FlashReport bloggers’and the Republican Caucus’ ongoing efforts to root out waste in State government: Blowing The Whistle On State Waste

BySENATOR JOHN J. BENOIT

Over the past few years, the gifted researchers from the State Senate Republican Caucus have captured insightful snapshots of real-life government waste in action.These witty and all too regular installments, called “Waste Watchers,” have brought to light dozens of tales of egregious activity in State and local governments. Since taking Senate office in December, my Chief of Staff has regularly posted these features here on the FlashReport, continuing a great tradition from my predecessor, Senator Jim Battin.All told, these features have exposed nearly $500 million in wasteful spending. … Read More

It’s late on a Friday afternoon, and I just got a press release in from the Poizner for Governor campaign, announcing some new hires. I’ll pull the relevant paragraphs from their release and put them below. Have a great weekend! Deputy Campaign Manager – Audrey Perry Audrey Perry has joined the campaign as Deputy Campaign Manager. Audrey most recently worked as Campaign Finance Counsel for McCain-Palin 2008 and as Deputy General Counsel for the Romney for President campaign. She previously served as legal counsel to the Committee on House Administration of the U.S. House of Representatives, where she advised on campaign finance, lobby disclosure, and election administration issues. She has also worked at the Federal Election Commission, where she was a law clerk to Commissioner Michael E. Toner, and at the Campaign Legal… Read More

MEMO TO LIBERAL IDEOLOGUES: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS True liberal ideologues in the state legislature, you are agonizing over the needed cuts in state government programs because you believe in a healthy "social contract" between the people and their government. You believe to your core that in America, everyone is entitled to a standard of living that, for some, must be provided in total or in part by the government. You believe that it is right and good for those who have benefited financially from America’s free market system to "bring up" those in this country who really never have or will have the ability to pull themselves up. Victims of society, as you refer to them, need protection and assistance from those who can afford to provide it. I don’t agree with this philosophy, but I "get it" and understand that it is a valid, if flawed, point of view.

If you are one of these ideologues, then you really need to step back and look at the out of control state public employee unions. If… Read More

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is deserving of praise this morning, for his quick and public rejection of the billions of dollars in tax increases that are included in the package of changes in the state budget introduced by Democrat legislative leaders yesterday. Key provisions of the Democrats’ plan include a 50% hike in state cigarette taxes as well as the creation of a tax on oil. Governor Schwarzenegger has made it clear that he will veto this package if it is placed on his desk as proposed. Of course, even before the Governor gets legislation to fix the budget deficit, there is the question of whether Democrats will work with legislative Republicans – their track-record for doing so isn’t so good, and it was not a positive sign that Republican legislators pretty much found out about the details of this proposal at the same time as the rest of us. A bi-partisan fix is important because without a 2/3 vote in the Senate and Assembly, it will be several months before any of the changes are enacted. With the supermajority support, changes go into effect immediately.

I am sure that many will scrutinize the details of this latest proposal, which purports to… Read More