From today’s Sacto Bee:

"Scott Eckern, artistic director for the California Musical Theatre, resigned Wednesday as a growing number of artists threatened to boycott the organization because of his $1,000 donation to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California."

What is they call it when someone is punished professionally due to their political beliefs — especially in the arts?

I remember now: McCarthyism!

I expect we’ll see prominent liberal defenders of free speech and artistic freedom leaping to Mr. Eckern’s defense any moment now,angrily denouncing the intolerance of those who cannot abide contrary opinions.

And if there is silence, that will speak loudly, too.… Read More

I have penned the following commentary, which appears today in the print and online version of Capitol Weekly newspaper. Its intended reading audience is our State Supreme Court Justices…

When considering Proposition 8, remember Rose Bird Jon Fleischman

On May 15 of this year, four Supreme Court Justices – Chief Justice Ron George and Associate Justices Joyce Kennard, Carlos Moreno, and Kathryn Werdegar– put on their “judicial activist” hats and tossed out Proposition 22, which had been passed by California voters by a healthy majority, placing into California law that marriage shall only be between a man and a woman.

The decision by these four individuals set into motion the… Read More

They are calling it "Obama 2.0." It is an"ambitious effort to transform the president elect’s vast Web operation and database into a modern tool to accomplish his goals in the White House."

Are you listening?

Obama claims 3.1 million contributors and over 10 million supporters, most of whose email addresses are captured on his fundraising list.

"He can do a half-hour YouTube address every Saturday, addressing millions " said Joe Trippi recently, a Democrat consultant knowledgable about the Web.

Should we be surprised that Obama’s largest single sources of financial support from a single company for his presidential campaign was tied between Google and Microsoft? ($727,000 and $729,00 respectively, Los Angeles Times, 11/4/08, p. B6.)

Our work is cut-out for us.

… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: After the defeats suffered by the Republican Party in the General Election, we have reached out to some California leaders to ask them to reflect on this question, "What must the GOP do to once again be the majority party?" We are pleased to bring you this column from one of our own FR correspondents, Dan Schnur – Flash] After last Tuesday’s elections, there are twenty-one Republican governors in the country. Because of constitutional restrictions, only twenty of them are thinking about running for president in 2012. But it’s always better to be a mile outside of hell heading out, and as the GOP looks to rebuild itself, as it did after the 1976 and 1992 elections, the political, policy and intellectual firepower for that effort will come from the states.

The Republican leadership on Capitol Hill seems resigned to fighting a series of rear-guard actions to watch for likely Democratic overreaches. John Boehner is one of the best political minds in the party. Mitch McConnell is one of the ablest legislative tacticians in either… Read More

I have penned the following commentary, which appears today in the print and online version of Capitol Weekly newspaper. Its intended reading audience is our State Supreme Court Justices…

When considering Proposition 8, remember Rose Bird Jon Fleischman

On May 15 of this year, four Supreme Court Justices – Chief Justice Ron George and Associate Justices Joyce Kennard, Carlos Moreno, and Kathryn Werdegar– put on their “judicial activist” hats and tossed out Proposition 22, which had been passed by California voters by a healthy majority, placing into California law that marriage shall only be between… Read More

Early last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average was above 9,200. It has declined over 1,000 points in the last week, after Obama’s election,and settled at a little over 8,200 today with over a 400 point loss. Are we paying attention? Since the LA Times and Time magazine are caught up in selling commemorative editions, I guess not.… Read More

Today at 1pm PST, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore will announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for United States Senate. I have known Chuck for two decades now, and can tell all FR readers that he is a fine conservative — a man of integrity and honor.

You’ll be able to check out DeVore’s announcement speech live right below. So check back to this blog post (or go to www.chuckdevore.com at precisely 1pm to see his live announcement…

Let the 2010 election cycle begin! … Read More

It may not be quite as significant as, say, Chuck DeVore announcing for US Senate, but many GOPers wondered this morning if termed-out 75th AD Assemblyman George Plescia was truly thinking about a run for County Party chairman after receiving an anonymous email touting a recruitment effort. Kurt Bardella then posted the contents of the email at Red County SD.

Rumor is rumor and anonymous emails are just that. It may not be as fun as the alternative, but sometimes it’s best to operate on substance. So, I had a unique thought: Ask him. The resulting response from Plescia:

I am flattered that some might think of me being chairman as a good thing, however I am not running. I am looking forward to seeking paid employment since I believe in taking personal responsibility for my mortgage and other bills, not having "spreading the wealth" take care of it.

Ok, let’s move on to the next rumor.… Read More