Earlier this week, San Francisco Federalist Society President David DeGroot penned an Open Letter to Senator Boxer in the Daily Journal urging her to let Jim Rogan’s Judicial Nomination go forward.

FOCUS & FORUM • Jul. 30, 2008 Blocking Judge’s Nomination Puts Boxer’s Reputation at Risk

FORUM COLUMN

By David A. DeGroot This is a direct plea to Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Senator, you have always had guts and have a record of taking controversial stands. I urge you to recognize that same characteristic in Judge James Rogan and allow his nomination to the federal district court in Southern California to proceed to a Senate vote.

To your credit, you and Sen. Dianne Feinstein have had a productive relationship with President Bush on the appointment of district court judges. Since 2001, you and Feinstein have worked with the

I have chosen not to comment on this year’s budget discussions to this point because I was thinking what is the point? Very few people listen, and those that do have already made up their minds. I have grown frustrated, however, at the lack of information presented in the debates on the budget, and since more information is better than less, I figured what the heck? Maybe somebody will get something from this comment.

I joined the Legislature in 1992, in middle of a budget debacle. Total general fund spending in the 1991-92 budget, which was in effect when I took office: $42.1 billion. The problem was that the spending plan called for approximately $46 billion in spending, and supposedly had a tax increase of $7 billion to cover the revenue "shortfall" (as they call it in government, as opposed to referring to it as it really is a "spending splurge"). Net effect of the tax increase, revenues fell in the 1992-93 budget from $42.1 billion to $40.9 billion as spending kept going up. Democrats called for another tax increase to cover this out of control spending. Republicans stood strong to allow the 1991 tax increase to roll off in… Read More

Here we are a full month into the ’08-’09 fiscal year, late again. I’ve been in the Assembly 5 2/3 years and have seen some opportunities come and go, toreform the budget process. My first year was the Davis Recall Budget year, 2003,when the voters said enough and made a change [that word did exist before the 2008 presidential cycle] and removed a governor.

One thing that has not changed, through the highs and lows of the economy since then has been the lack of discipline by the legislature on spending. Some stats say revenue has gone up 40% in the last few years. But at the same time spending has gone up 44%. In the meantime, even with all that new revenue, we are facing a deficit of $17 billion.

It’s not the fault of hardworking Californians not paying enough taxes, it’s the unabated spending. When the top 1% income earners ["the wealthiest Californians" is what the pro-taxers call them just before they seek to fleece them again] already pay about 40% of the entire tax load,then it’s notthat they aren’t paying their "fair share"… Read More

Here we are a full month into the ’08-’09 fiscal year, late again. I’ve been in the Assembly 5 2/3 years and have seen some opportunities come and go, toreform the budget process. My first year was the Davis Recall Budget year, 2003,when the voters said enough and made a change [that word did exist before the 2008 presidential cycle] and removed a governor.

One thing that has not changed, through the highs and lows of the economy since then has been the lack of discipline by the legislature on spending. Some stats say revenue has gone up 40% in the last few years. But at the same time spending has gone up 44%. In the meantime, even with all that new revenue, we are facing a deficit of $17 billion.

It’s not the fault of hardworking Californians not paying enough taxes, it’s the unabated spending. When the top 1% income earners ["the wealthiest Californians" is what the pro-taxers call them just before they seek to fleece them again] already pay about 40% of the entire tax load,then it’s notthat they aren’t paying their "fair share"… Read More

Fraud and abuse is alive and kicking in Los Angeles County. The District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against more than 20 people who defrauded an in-home care agency of $2 million. According to the Los Angeles Times (July 25, 2008),“Charges have been filed against 21 people accused of defrauding more than $2 million in benefits from a state-funded program designed to help the disabled and the elderly receive in-home care, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. announced.” “In one case, a man from Granada Hills claimed he was schizophrenic and…needed constant care, prosecutors said. The government paid his wife through the program to take care of him, giving her [an astronomical] $257,000 in [fraudulent] welfare benefits.” What’s worse is that prosecutors said her husband was rarely… Read More

Congress has passed no meaningful energy legislation to move us towards lower gas prices and more American energy and now has recessed for a 5 week break. Republicans, including yours truly, wanted to speak more about that on the floor of the House this afternoon. The Pelosi majority took the unusual step of calling for immediate adjournment to prevent these speeches from going forward and turned off the cameras and microphones on the House floor.

It’s one thing to not allow a vote on more energy production. It’s another to not even allow people to speak about it. I, and several dozen others are speaking on the House floor right now to a gallery full of cheering people to demand that Speaker Pelosi allow a vote on more American energy production. No TVs. No microphones.

You can turn off the lights, but you cannot silence the will of the American people.… Read More

Yesterday I heard a presentation from the Marin Institute. The entire thing was a justification for raising taxes on alcohol.

During the presentation I made a note to myself to check out this organization when I got some time.

Late last night I got the chance to do that and found something even worse than I expected.

Individual responsibility is something that I truly believe in. In fact, I think it is something millions of Californians believe in. This group considers it a tactic of "Big Alcohol". This is not a tactic. It is a basic foundation of the way people view the world.

After the presentation opened up for questions I asked if this group favored prohibition. The answer was no. I then asked about all the costs associated with bacon and cheeseburgers. The exact same rationale would apply to increasing taxes on these items as well.

Nanny government is everywhere.

If it is a legal activity then we need to let people do… Read More

I had a chance to run over to Las Vegas and see Elton John’s fantastic "Red Piano" show night before last at Caesar’s Palace. I recommend it to all, and he is closing it down in just a couple months, so time is short for tickets….!

Sir Elton isn’t exactly a conservative, but I appreciate just about any true art, regardless of my politics, and Elton is loaded with talent. Say what you want about him, he is a true artist. Stunningly talented. And to his credit he didn’t make one political crack during his one hour, 50 minute show. His biggest joke was to say that Celine Dion (for whom the theater he was performing in was built) looked like a Q-Tip.

I happen to believe that true art is a higher calling than politics, but that is the subject of some future post…..

Though the "Rocket Man" gave a terrific show, there was a little political element to my visit that resonated for discussion here. And that was the proverbial discussion with the taxi driver on the trip to the airport about the election.

I have found that taxi drivers usually get… Read More