… Read More

Michael Steele, former Benedictine Monk, county Republican chair, state chair, elected Lt Governor of very blue Maryland has won the overwhelming support of members of the California Republican Party.

The RNC chair’s race takes place this Friday. Only 168 people get to vote. After months of campaigning, with some rough campaigning [See my prior posts on the RNC race… Read More

Today’s Valley Times revealed that Bill Ayers will be part of the St. Mary’s College speakers series this month. Assuming that the theme of the series must be something to do with domestic terrorism, I read on, sure I would see Ted Kaczynski on the line up. Evidently, he was booked.

In actuality the theme of the speakers series is “Against the Grain,” and the other speakers include a woman who is overweight and proud of it – she wrote a book called “Fat! So?”; a man who (sniff, sniff) gave up his life of luxury to live off solar power; the founder of a group of “outlaw bicyclists” that he believes are creating the future today; and a “premiere hip-hop historian and deejay.”

Wow, way to be totally boring and irrelevant to what’s happening in the Bay Area, St. Mary’s! I can’t think of a single reason that anyone would attend such a lame speakers series when unemployment is crushing us, home values are falling off the charts, and to top it all off…the Governor is thinking about taxing golf! We’ve got real problems, and you’re encouraging your students to go “against the grain”?

If you want to serve the needs of your… Read More

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be looking at the various upcoming races for California Republican Party office, in advance of the State GOP’s organizational convention taking place in late February in Sacramento. At this coming convention, approximately 1500 delegates will vote for the offices of Chairman, Vice Chairman, and for Regional Vice Chairmen up and down the state. I am the current Vice Chairman for the Southern Region, and so I am pretty engaged in this process.

We have asked all of the known candidates for party office to submit a column, that we are going to publish here on the FlashReport. If it is a race where I have weighed in with an endorsement, we’ll share that, too. Which is certainly the case with our first profiled race for Vice Chairman, Central Valley Region.

Well, actually, I am not sure I would call it a race. I am pleased to endorse and recommend the re-election of Laura Gadke, who is seeking re-election to a second term (due to term limits, you can only serve two terms). Laura is a strong conservative, and is the kind of leader who is part of the solution, not part of the problem. I have heard… Read More

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be looking at the various upcoming races for California Republican Party office, in advance of the State GOP’s organizational convention taking place in late February in Sacramento. At this coming convention, approximately 1500 delegates will vote for the offices of Chairman, Vice Chairman, and for Regional Vice Chairmen up and down the state. I am the current Vice Chairman for the Southern Region, and so I am pretty engaged in this process.

We have asked all of the known candidates for party office to submit a column, that we are going to publish here on the FlashReport. If it is a race where I have weighed in with an endorsement, we’ll share that, too. Which is certainly the case with our first profiled race for Vice Chairman, Central Valley Region.

Well, actually, I am not sure I would call it a race. I am pleased to endorse and recommend the re-election of Laura Gadke, who is seeking re-election to a second term (due to term limits, you can only serve two terms). Laura is a strong conservative, and is the kind of leader who is part of the solution, not part of the problem. I have heard… Read More

Late last week, four legislative Republicans were quoted in two major newspapers with quotes, indicating in varying degrees that they were open to voting for tax increases as part of a solution to California’s overspending-created fiscal crisis.

Let me make this very clear – there is NO POINT AND NO “DEAL” WHERE IT MAKES ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER TO RAISE TAXES ON CALIFORNIANS. The San Diego Union Tribune has an excellent editorial today driving home this point. It is an objective reality that Californians are amongst the most taxed citizens in the entire country.

State Senator Abel Maldonado, and Assemblymen Mike Duvall, Roger Niello, and Anthony Adams were all quoted thusly:

ASSEMBLYMAN ADAMS (in the Bee): "The reforms have to be there," said Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia.… Read More

Late last week, four legislative Republicans were quoted in two major newspapers with quotes, indicating in varying degrees that they were open to voting for tax increases as part of a solution to California’s overspending-created fiscal crisis.

Let me make this very clear – there is NO POINT AND NO “DEAL” WHERE IT MAKES ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER TO RAISE TAXES ON CALIFORNIANS. The San Diego Union Tribune has an excellent editorial today driving home this point. It is an objective reality that Californians are amongst the most taxed citizens in the entire country.

State Senator Abel Maldonado, and Assemblymen Mike Duvall, Roger Niello, and Anthony Adams were all quoted thusly:

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

Here is an interesting read from Stateline.org, a political website. The story, "Strapped states eye prison savings," is a rather long piece that examines what other states are doing to mitigate prison crowding.

Unfortunately for the people of Kentucky, the governor and legislature decided that saving money was more important than protecting citizens when they passed a law to release 1,800 felons early from prison — some of them rapists, murderers and other violent criminals.

Without giving specifics the article also mentions that lawmakers in some states are using satellite tracking (GPS) to monitor less dangerous offenders like drunken drivers. GPS is a vanguard tool for law enforcement agencies. For local jails, it allows the sheriff to place less dangerous offenders on house arrest while wearing a GPS ankle bracelet, allowing the more dangerous offenders to spend their full sentence behind bars.

The governor signed a bill last year (that I authored with Democrat Senator Gloria Romero) that allows the Los Angeles sheriff to place prisoners on involuntary house… Read More