Yesterday I had the special treat of taking my wife and law partner, Janice Lacy (a formidable former Deputy Chief Counsel to the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C. under Lee Atwater) to the season opener of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who creamed the San Francisco Giants, 11-1.

It was a great day! It was a day game, and we got to Dodger stadium early and saw the work-outs of the teams and all the introductions. A little girl from the Phillipines lip-sinked the National Anthem sounding like Kathy Lee Gifford. Marines and Naval personnel unveiled a huge American flag on the field. Tommy Lasorta was there. A B-2 Bomber did a fly-over. Vin Scully threw out the opening ball to Joe Torre, pretending to be a catcher again. We had Dodger Dogs and drank some light beer. Fireworks, dovesand confetti! What a time!

While someof the opening day fans looked a little threatening,like gang members,they were very noble to Janice as she mustarded our dogs, and I settled in to have a good time quickly. It was one of those special Los Angeles days that require just a little bit of applied imagination to enjoy.… Read More

Tomorrow is tax day around the country. Here, in California, especially with the tax increases contained in the February big budget/big taxes/open primary deal, we are amongst the most taxed people in America.

Across the nation, frustrated Americans, concerned with the ever-growing portion of their hard earned money that is going to feed government at every level, are joining together in tea bag rallies. Back in the days when the British government ruled the American colonies with an iron fist, colonists protested the Crown’s high tax on tea by dumping a lot of it into Boston Harbor – at the famous Boston Tea Party of 1773.

Here in California there are over sixty separate Tea Parties planned and if you are fed up with your high taxes, I would encourage you to go to the nearest rally.… Read More

Tomorrow is tax day around the country. Here, in California, especially with the tax increases contained in the February big budget/big taxes/open primary deal, we are amongst the most taxed people in America.

Across the nation, frustrated Americans, concerned with the ever-growing portion of their hard earned money that is going to feed government at every level, are joining together in tea bag rallies. Back in the days when the British government ruled the American colonies with an iron fist, colonists protested the Crown’s high tax on tea by dumping a lot of it into Boston Harbor – at the famous Boston Tea Party of 1773.

Here in California there are over sixty separate Tea Parties planned and if you are fed up with your high taxes, I would encourage you to go to the nearest rally.… Read More

A "must read" by Steve Moore, the lead economics writer for the Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Page…

Not So Golden

… Read More

Courtesy of Chuck DeVore for U.S. Senate… (If the video stops working, blame the You Tube police…) … Read More

I wrote the following oped for the Fresno Bee which runs today. You can see it online here (free sign up required). I submitted in response to a column penned by the Bee’s Opinion Page Editor Jim Boren entitled, Cogdill, Villines Did Right Thing. Boren’s praise for the "courage" of former Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines in helping to orchestrate a budget deal that included the largest tax increase in state history warranted a rebuttal… It is imperative that readers understand that the Republican Party opposes tax increases.

Broken Promises of Cogdill, Villines Costly To California Taxpayers By Jon… Read More

I wrote the following oped for the Fresno Bee which runs today. You can see it online here (free sign up required). I submitted in response to a column penned by the Bee’s Opinion Page Editor Jim Boren entitled, Cogdill, Villines Did Right Thing. Boren’s praise for the "courage" of former Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines in helping to orchestrate a budget deal that included the largest tax increase in state history warranted a rebuttal… It is imperative that readers understand that the Republican Party opposes tax increases.

Broken Promises of Cogdill, Villines Costly To California Taxpayers By Jon… Read More

Proposition 1F was placed on the ballot by the Legislature to help a couple of legislators feel better about violating their promises not to raise taxes. This ridiculous waste of ballot space allowed some legislators to pretend that they got something in return for supporting large tax increases.

Proposition 1F does not really change anything. It prohibits constitutional officers and legislators from receiving pay raises in deficit years. The salaries for these elected officials are set by the California Citizens Compensation Commission (not the Legislature), and that Commission has never increased salaries in a deficit year anyway.

Proposition 1F does not even accomplish what it pretends to do. Pay increases, when they are authorized by the Commission, do not take effect until after the next election. So they are not likely to have any influence on any legislator’s vote.

And even if this measure did influence a legislator’s vote on the budget I would be very disappointed. For that would mean that some Republican or Democrat voted against their constituents’ interests and their own conscience because of a potential pay raise.

I… Read More