I’ve dropped in on the Freedom Fest conference at Bally’s in Las Vegas. Looks to be about 500 members of the VRWC (vast right wing conspiracy), gathered in a large, dark room. Steve Forbes is on a panel of other libertarians (this is primarily a free minds, free market crowd). You can tell because some other guy on the panel is railing aOf course, the first thought that crossed my mind is that I would prefer a banana daqueri poolside… But since I am here, at what is billed as “The World’s Largest Gathering of Free Minds…”

It’s a positive sign that besides Forbes, I haven’t run into anyone I know. Perhaps that means there are more of us than I thought…

Actually, I came over to catch up with my friend Steve Moore, editorial writer and editorial board member of the Wall Street Journal. There he is…. That’s it for now…… Read More

A few brief items today:

Former Central Valley Democratic Rep. Cal Dooley has left his position as head of the Grocery Manufacturers Association to assume the top spot at the American Chemistry Council, where the departing executive was rumored to have been paid in the nine figures. It’s in the Post here and Roll Call here. Reminder: Roll Call requires a subscription — apologies.

And in the glass houses category: Rene Montagne let slip a nice little media bias during NPR’s "Morning Edition" about 830am Eastern Time today. Describing Sen. Edward Kennedy’s return to the Senate from aggressive cancer treatment in Massachusetts, she noted he was cheered by "Democrats and Republicans" (underscored to highlight emphasis in original). Like Senators wouldn’t cheer any colleague who is battling serious cancer, regardless of party. The best part was when she concluded by noting it was a breech of Senate rules when… Read More

FlashReport readers who haven’t joined the "social netoworking generation" should sign up at Facebook. When you do, join the FlashReport/California Politics group! And, as a bonus, I am willing to be your "friend" — so reach out.

Jon… Read More

Today we are pleased to offer this exclusive Guest Commentary from Republican Assemblyman Roger Niello. Assemblyman Niello is the Vice Chairman of the Assembly’s Budget Committee, and is the lead Republican in the Assembly on Budget issues… Democrat Budget Increases Taxes and Spending! By Assemblyman Roger Niello Democrats showed their true colors this week by passing a budget out of the conference committee that contains nearly $10 billion in tax increases and increases state spending by billions of dollars… Read More

Today we are pleased to offer this exclusive Guest Commentary from Republican Assemblyman Roger Niello. Assemblyman Niello is the Vice Chairman of the Assembly’s Budget Committee, and is the lead Republican in the Assembly on Budget issues…

Democrat Budget Increases Taxes and Spending! By Assemblyman Roger Niello

Democrats showed their true colors this week by passing a budget out of the conference committee that contains nearly $10 billion in tax increases and increases state spending by billions of dollars over last year.

**There is more – click the link**… Read More

At least one California liberalseems pretty sensitive to my use of Barrack Hussein Obama’s full given name in my posts. Dan Chmielewski, the guru of The Liberal OC Blog, recently said, "someone needs to tell Jim Lacy that “Hussein” means “handsome one” or “beautful one”; I’m only suprised that he didn’t call Senator Obama “Barrack Hussein Osama.”

Excuse me, but a birth certificate is a legal document, this is still a free country governed by a Constitution that ensures my right to Free Speech, I am a lawyer, and if the guy’s name is Barrack Hussein Obama, then I can say it, without incident, no matter what implication the liberals fear is drawn from it, "handsome" or otherwise.

But I do think it is a little fun to speculate about how the press corps will be handling Obama’s name should he be elected President. For example, there is afairly long history of the pressusing initials to refer to a president, the first, middle, and last initial, in communications, especially headlines. For example, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was "FDR," John F. Kennedy was… Read More

There is no publication that has devoted more time to the shady deals of lame duck Senate President Pro-Tem Don "The Golden Pig" Perata than the East Bay Express. It’s been a well publicized fact that Perata and his shady deals have been the subject of a major investigation by the Feds.

The Express is running front-web-page story saying that an indictment may be just around the corner for Mr. Perata and his cohorts. Read it here.

(H/T to Steve Frank)… Read More

Obesity is a major problem in America. Here in California, it is an especially big problem in state government. Government spending keeps going up and up, and government income keeps going up and up. Right now we find ourselves in a state government money crunch because while the state’s income continues to climb, the voratious appetite of legislative Democrats to spend (aided by Governors of both parties) seems to have no limits.

Well, it is time for state government to go on a diet. It is time to get on the treadmill and shed billions of dollars in unsustainable spending. Government will have to do less, to provide less.

From an ideological perspective, this kind of reasoning is foreign to the liberals in the majority, who today called for shameful growth in state taxes to the tune of over $9 billion. From a pragmatic side, eventually spending is going to have to be prioritized. There is no magic wand for our overspending problem, we’re simply going to have to make cuts.

Raising taxes to match overspending is not only immoral, it is also impractical as we need our economy to thrive – and nothing will help promote a… Read More