Now that Democrats have conceded that the world is a scary place, and Obama can’t handle it alone, they have named Senator Biden as the VP/Man-Behind-the-Curtain for their ticket. And the Democrats are exactly right…the world is a scary place. Iran continues to be the biggest threat to peace in the Middle East, and while we’ve got them pinned down in an unwinnable two front war scenario with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Russia is taking full advantage of our situation by making a rush to control natural gas pipelines to Europe before winter sets in so they can hold the EU hostage in choice between freezing to death or capitulating to Russia’s geopolitical demands. Come January 2009, the White House is no place for amateurs or understudies.

This is why I’m keeping my fingers crossed that native Californian Condoleezza Rice will be… Read More

Obama picks Sen. Joe Biden for VP — the announcement apparently going out over email to Obama supporters.

The Senator from Delaware was a front runner in the Democrat VP sweepstakes, but you have to wonder how a 65-year old New Englander who spent almost half his life as a DC insider fits with the "change" theme of the freshman Senator from Illinois.

For me, Biden highlights the uncertainty of Obama. It’s kind of like putting a vintage Shelby Cobra shifter on a Mazda Miaita…it only serves as a reminder you’re still driving an under-powered roadster that’s more about flash than substance.

Biden does bring some foreign policy expertise to the ticket — and perhaps some maturity and comfort to older voters, but I see more desperation than inspiration in this selection.

Pundits will have a field day analyzing the impact of the Obama-Biden ticket, but I can’t help but think that this selection more about appeasement rather than a inspired running-mate.… Read More

This week I have the opportunity to do something most Republicans would love (or fear) to do…attend the Democratic National Convention. As a Republican, I won’t have credentials to get into the Pepsi Center, but national convention attendees know that much of the more interesting action takes place outside the convention hall anyway.

I’m here as part of the team promoting documentary film Obsession. This award-winning movie is a startling revelation of the full threat radical Islamic terrorism poses to the West. If you haven’t seen the film already, definitely make it a priority. Our team will be launching a media blitz this week, calling on Senator Obama and his party to truly address radical terrorism—and that doesn’t mean simply talking about hope, change and peace.

With Obama’s choice of Joe Biden to fill his national/international security credibility… Read More

Today we feature a guest commentary from Lew Uhler, President of the National Tax Limitation Committee: REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS ARE CALIFORNIA TAXPAYERS’ FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE By Lewis K. Uhler, President, National Tax Limitation Committee All California taxpayers owe a debt of gratitude to the Republic legislators who are standing resolutely against tax increases. Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines typifies the Republican attitude and commitment in his recent comment: “Consistently we’re listening to the Democrat leadership and, frankly, the governor, talk about raising taxes. And I’m just tired of hearing it. We’re… Read More

From the Wall Street Journal’s Political Diary E-mail — good news!!

Free to Blog

It isn’t every Tuesday that DailyKos and the Heritage Foundation find common cause, but that was the case after a Federal Election Commission ruling this week that exempts political bloggers from rules governing political organizations. The decision, great news for bloggers, also highlights the proliferation of chronic whiners that the campaign finance laws have produced. Politicians and their allies increasingly are resorting to lawsuits and regulatory complaints in an attempt to silence opponents and critics.

In this case, the whining was done by a Hillary Clinton supporter who complained that a pro-Obama blog called "Iowa True Blue" was working hand-in-glove… Read More

About a third of FlashReport daily readers are signed up for our Daily Update E-mail, and while that is thousands of readers, we encourage the rest of you to consider signing up.

The e-mail is sent out once a day, right after the main page is updated with the day’s current news — with a convenient link to take you straight to the site.

Also, in each daily update e-mail, we include a listing of all of the headlines that appear on the main page. We just upgraded the email so that it also indicates which news source the headline is from (as we do on our main page).

We also, on occasion when it is merited, will send out breaking news alerts to the list. But that is quite infrequent.

If you would like to sign up for this free daily e-mail, you can click here.

Oh yes, you have our guarantee that your e-mail address is kept confidential, and this list is NEVER sold, rented or given out to anyone else.… Read More

Ever heard of Californians Sharing In The Solution?

This morning Shane Goldmacher over at the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert has posted up a letter signed by 48 Californians who invite a state tax increase, and point out that they feel they each make enough money that they would be impacted by such an increase (according to Goldmacher, each makes over $164,500 a year — see Goldmacher’s post here, see a .pdf of the letter here).

To these folks, I would say that if they want to "chip in" more money from their disposable income to contribute to the state’s general fund — let’s get contribution envelopes out to these folks.

But it is a bit pretentious, and in fact outrageous for these folks to presume that because they can afford to pay more money to the government (to offset overspending) that it means that others can afford and should be willing to do so as well.

Ahhh, what could be more welcoming to legislature than a letter from people… Read More

FR Blogger Adam Probolsky recently traveled to El Salvador. Typical of Adam, while the rest of us would be lounging about, Adam can be seen in the clip below, in a suit, being interviewed on local El Salvador television. Since I don’t know Spanish, I can’t tell you what Adam is saying as he has been translated into El Salvador’s national language — but clearly he is labeled as being a "Republican Senator" — which is great. Maybe at least in El Salvador, we’ll have someone to offset the liberalism of Feinstein and Boxer. If only we could get Adam a vote in D.C… … Read More