Of all the civilizations of antiquity, I’ve always held a special place for the Romans, both the Republic and the Empire. The sheer time scale of this civilization is almost hard to comprehend. The Republic was founded around 510 BC, started faltering around 130 BC, was replaced in fact if not in name by an Empire in 29 BC. The Empire in one form or another lasted formally until 1453 with the fall of Constantinople . Coming from the perspective of a 200 some-odd year old Republic this was quite a run.

What I respect most about the Romans was that they understood that the world was a constantly changing place, and that to fail to adapt to changing times was to surrender power, and thus to surrender their ability to determine their own future. This came to mind today because I was reading an old history book about the Roman wars with Carthage – in particular the… Read More

One take on the results of the November election is that the Republican Party needs to get to work, first and foremost, on rebuilding the Party in coastal Orange County, especially coastalsouthern Orange County, to re-establish the possibility oflarge margins of Republican votes in statewide elections from this area. That’s because voters in these former bastions of conservatism, and historical homes to Congressional districts of the likes of Chris Cox, Ron Packardand John Schmitz,turned out in droves for Barack Hussein Obama in the Presidential election.The"GOP brand" is hurtinghere,and given the irony of high Republican registration in these areas,GOP leaders needtofind a solution to getting these voters back in the Republican column or risk the creation of a longer-term Democrat trend inan important part of what used to be called America’s most Republican county.

Courtesy of Allen Hoffenblum’s "Target Book," we learn that though Congressman Dana Rohrabacher beat Democrat Debbie Cook handily at 53% to 43%, that John McCain’smargin of victory wasmuch closer in this 46th… Read More

I hope it is a Merry Christmas Dayfor FlashReport readers! Unfortunately, it will not be a totally Merry Christmas for at least one Republican Member of Congress from California wishing for long-term incumbancy.

That is because a couple days ago the Census Bureau issued a new population update that demonstrates by the "long term" and "short term" models, that California will actually lose one of its 53 Congressional seats as a result of the upcoming 2010 Census, to be administered by the Obama Administration Commerce Department under Secretary Bill Richardson. This will be the first time inmodern history that California will actually lose a Congressional seat. Additional states likely to lose one seat include Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and New York. Ohio may lose two seats. Picking up seats will likely be Texas (4 new seats!), Arizona and Florida(2 each) and one each inOregon and South Carolina, withNorth Carolina perhaps picking up a seat. For more details, see the Election Data Services website at www.edssurvey.com.

Under Proposition 11, the California State Assembly will be… Read More

All of society depends on citizens accepting our mutual responsibility to each other to follow the law, or accept the consequences for failing to do so. We live in a democratic republic. We elect leaders to govern within a constitutional framework. We have three branches of government, each serving as a check and balance on the power of the other. Ultimately, though, all power is vested in the People – the collective sovereign “we” – that our leaders are sworn to serve.

As citizens, we don’t get to pick and choose which laws to follow, and which ones we can just ignore. There are a lot of laws on the books that I disagree with. Some are simply annoying – like having to wear an earpiece to use my cell phone in the car. Others are quite offensive – like having to pay an ever escalating tax bill to support a state government whose growth has vastly outpaced population increases. But whether I like it or not, I must follow the law if I wish to remain a part of California society.

The rule of law is taking some major hits, and the perpetrators are the very people who take a solemn oath to uphold the constitution. It is disturbing that so few media voices… Read More

The Jewish calendar, being based on a lunar cycle, and having only 10 months, tends to jump around a bit relative to the traditional Christian calendar upon which the world relies for figuring out the day and year. Because of this, sometimes the eight days of Hanukkah overlap the Christmas holiday, and sometimes they do not. This year they do — today is Christmas, and it is also the 4th day of Hannukah.

On behalf of the FlashReport, we would like to wish our readers a Happy Hanukkah and a Merry Christmas today, and blessings on you and your family!

Thank you for being a part of the FR’s "extended family" and we look forward to great things ahead!… Read More

All of society depends on citizens accepting our mutual responsibility to each other to follow the law, or accept the consequences for failing to do so. We live in a democratic republic. We elect leaders to govern within a constitutional framework. We have three branches of government, each serving as a check and balance on the power of the other. Ultimately, though, all power is vested in the People – the collective sovereign “we” – that our leaders are sworn to serve.

As citizens, we don’t get to pick and choose which laws to follow, and which ones we can just ignore. There are a lot of laws on the books that I disagree with. Some are simply annoying – like having to wear an earpiece to use my cell phone in the car. Others are quite offensive – like having to pay an ever escalating tax bill to support a state government whose growth has vastly outpaced population increases. But whether I like it or not, I must follow the law if I wish to remain a part of California society.

The rule of law is taking some major hits, and the perpetrators are the very people who take a solemn oath to uphold the constitution. It is disturbing that so few media voices… Read More

As if the Wall Street dunderheads, big three automakers and banks weren’t enough, now Santa is asking for a handout from Congress, and judging from the reaction on Capitol Hill, he’ll probably get it. Highlights of the hearings can be found here.

Merry Christmas.… Read More

Merry Christmas to the 6 children of Ramos and Campion wrongfully convicted U.S. Border Guards who are serving 10 years plusin federal prisons. Let’s hope those families have a warm Christmas- – –they are not forgotten.

Bill Clinton besmirched his Presidential legacy by selling his pardon power to the notorious international embezzler Marc Rich, whose wife gave millions to the Clinton Library trust. Sadly, President Bush is racking up the worst 6 months of any Republican President in US History. The great failure of aggressive federal intervention into the economy which seems to have satisfied no one, his unilateral bail out of failed auto companies aggravated by his failure to do the right thing with US Border Guards.

However, Bush… Read More