On this quiet Saturday, we are pleased to offer this outstanding column from Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association…

Most high school students, at least in the old days, learned in civics class that there are three branches of government each of which has a discernible and distinct function. That is not to say that the lines of demarcation are always clear. There remains constant tension among these branches at both the federal and state levels and their respective powers ebb and flow with political changes and other events.

In addition to the Separation of Powers doctrine, there are profound issues of federalism that constantly arise with respect to the powers of the individual states relative to our national government. Here, too, the respective powers change; sometimes incrementally and sometimes dramatically, such as the shift in power resulting from the Civil War.… Read More

We sent this out to the thousands of FR readers who subscribe to our Daily E-Mail List (you can sign up on the main page). But since only a fraction of our daily readers are on that list, we wanted to post it up for everyone else’s consideration….

What do you want to see different on the FlashReport? It’s hard to believe that this Fall, the FlashReport will have been operating as a full-service website on California politics for three years. Before that, the FR was an e-newsletter going back in 2001. Anyways, as we approach year three, we here at the FlashReport team are looking for some input from our loyal readers as we evaluate changes and upgrades to the site. I am excited to share with you that we are almost done with a new "Mobile"… Read More

I have made a major part of my Congressional career so far to be one of the leaders [along with Jeff Flake (R-AZ)] in the fight against the wasteful and abusive pork spending known as earmarks. I would love to tell you that we have been successful in getting earmarks eliminated or substantially reformed. But no. Gosh, I wish I could tell you that at least they are all being disclosed or not dropped into bills in the dark of night with no hearing. But that hasn’t happened either. There has been a bipartisan addiction to these things which continues to this day.

But what we have been successful in doing is raising the issue with the press and the public. Just a couple of years ago, the public didn’t even know what was going on with earmarks and the press didn’t cover them. But that has all changed. The press now is all over the issue and polls show that the public overwhelmingly wants the practice to stop. Even in Alaska, in which the famed "bridge to nowhere" was to be built and where the earmarks per capita are by far the highest in the country, a majority of the voting public would now give up the pork to see all earmarks go away. Senator… Read More

Is there something special about the figure $9 billion, other than it is a huge amount of money?

Well, it has been a popular figure this week — and a potentially expensive one for Californians. Earlier in the week, the liberal Democrats who dominate the California legislature held a press conference and announced that in order for California to be a state worth living in (or words to that effect), we all need to embrace $9 billion in new taxes. Seriously. I was proud that the immediate and strong response from legislative Republicans was that this proposal was dead on arrival (fortunately for taxpayers, the State Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of each legislative chamber to raise taxes — how prescient). Actually, I mused to one legislator friend that Republicans should match the call by Democrats for billions in new taxes with a call for an equal amount in tax cuts. Somebody somewhere is going to start saying "let’s compromise" and I say the GOP position should be such that the "middle" represents no additional taxation on Californians. I thought to myself that one… Read More

Is there something special about the figure $9 billion, other than it is a huge amount of money?

Well, it has been a popular figure this week — and a potentially expensive one for Californians. Earlier in the week, the liberal Democrats who dominate the California legislature held a press conference and announced that in order for California to be a state worth living in (or words to that effect), we all need to embrace $9 billion in new taxes. Seriously. I was proud that the immediate and strong response from legislative Republicans was that this proposal was dead on arrival (fortunately for taxpayers, the State Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of each legislative chamber to raise taxes — how prescient). Actually, I mused to one legislator friend that Republicans should match the call by Democrats for billions in new taxes with a call for an equal amount in tax cuts. Somebody somewhere is going to start saying "let’s compromise" and I say the GOP position should be such that the "middle" represents no additional taxation on Californians. I thought to myself that one… Read More

This just in from Navy Commander Larry Wahl, Ret’d. I think it is worth a read on what he has to say about some comments made by Don Perata earlier this week…

Sorry for the bad play on the title of a bad Buddy Ebsen movie. But if you can’t get corny titles here, where can you get them?

From the Chron today.

Follow me on this for a minute:

California’s newest member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Speier (D-Hillsborough) thinks the solution to the our nation’s gas price "problem" is to drop the speed limit. She’s not alone, my own Senator John Warner (R-Virginia) has indicated he leans towards a similar federal mandate, and has requested Energy Secretary Bodman review the matter.

But there’s a catch.

Implementing a new speed limit would entail the following, among other steps: new or re-painted road signs; public information campaigns; and most costly of all–stepped-up enforcement. Cops have to drive more to enforce motor vehicle laws; doing so uses more fuel and costs the state more. If the marked increase in roadway enforcement of the new hands-free law is any indication, law enforcement around the state will mobilize to enforce the new speed law.… Read More

If you are caught stealing from a neighbor, the police would surely arrest you for theft. Well, that’s basically what has been happening in Sacramento, but so far, no arrests have been made. In fact, the City is not even sure where thousands of “missing” water meters have gone. To date, the bill to ratepayers has hit more than a million dollars however, yet not one person has been held accountable. According to the Sacramento Bee, (June 26, 2008), “The city of Sacramento cannot currently find or track nearly 4,500 water meters that the city has purchased in recent years at a cost of $1.3 million. On top of that, the city’s Utilities Department has been operating with such lax oversight that it repeatedly entered into no-bid contracts for meter-reading equipment that should have… Read More