Tomorrow (Tuesday), Orange County Supervisors will consider taking positions on the two eminent domain ballot measures that will appear before voters in June.

By most accounts, most observers expect the Board of Supervisors to unanimously endorse Proposition 98, the ballot measure that protects all private property from eminent domain abuse and oppose Prop. 99, the phony alternative measure placed on the ballot by public agency associations representing politicians and developers.

According to sources, this news will be overshadowed by the news that Board of Supervisors may also decide to withhold its dues to the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) until the taxpayer financed organization addresses complaints first reported in the Orange County Register (to read article, click here) that they, along with other such government associations, have funneled more than $4 million from anonymous sources to qualify Prop. 99 and to fight Proposition 98.

While CSAC and the California League of Cities continue to profess innocence, the Orange County… Read More

Damage Control by Eric Dezenhall and John Weber is an excellent book if for no other reason than it tells the whole story of the 1982 Tylenol recall case and why it is not the only way to handle a corporate crisis.

Dezenhall is the CEO of Dezenhall Resources in Washington DC. One of the areas that they specialize in is crisis communications.

This book has many lessons for those that are involved in politics about the way to handle a problem.

The one thing that stood out is something that has always baffled me about the California business community. Why do they continue to give campaign money to the people that attack them? It can’t be because they support what the person stands for.

Dezenhall mentions a client that wondered how this attack group was able to afford to challenge the client. The truth was that the client was trying to buy peace. This is something that rarely works.

This is a great book that is a quick read. Most of the principles involve… Read More

My good friend Edward Chen, a fellow member of California Young Americans for Freedom, and I set out on a day-short cross-country pilgrimage to New York City to pay homage to the consequential life of William F. Buckley, Jr. at the Memorial Mass hosted by the treasured monument of the two hundred year-old Roman Catholic Diocese of New York, The Cathedral of Saint Patrick. This was to be a sojourn, only a brief visit to the island of Manhattan, for nothing more than to bear witness at the public services of a fierce defender of liberty whom we both admired.

Neither Ed nor I had ever directly interacted with Mr. Buckley, and yet we were certainly moved by him. I will presume – since he unhesitatingly volunteered to accompany me to New York – that I speak for both of us when I profess that without Buckley we would not be where we are in politics and it is quite doubtful we would believe what we believe. While perhaps a bit unhealthy, when prompted to reflect on this latter affirmation over the course of Friday, I… Read More

My good friend Edward Chen, a fellow member of California Young Americans for Freedom, and I set out on a day-short cross-country pilgrimage to New York City to pay homage to the consequential life of William F. Buckley, Jr. at the Memorial Mass hosted by the treasured monument of the two hundred year-old Roman Catholic Diocese of New York, The Cathedral of Saint Patrick. This was to be a sojourn, only a brief visit to the island of Manhattan, for nothing more than to bear witness at the public services of a fierce defender of liberty whom we both admired.

Neither Ed nor I had ever directly interacted with Mr. Buckley, and yet we were certainly moved by him. I will presume – since he unhesitatingly volunteered to accompany me to New York – that I speak for both of us when I profess that without Buckley we would not be where we are in politics and it is quite doubtful we would believe what we believe. While perhaps a bit unhealthy, when prompted to reflect on this latter affirmation over the course of Friday, I… Read More

McCain Sings Streisand… A sure bet to start or end your Sunday right. In case anyone forgot this gem — or never saw it before— Sen. John McCain’s appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2002 doing a reverse Barbara Streisand parody is a hilarious classic. Make sure you watch ’til the end so you don’t miss all the McCain political "statements." It was funny in ’02, now it’s even funnier.

POA Yanks Hartley Endorsement… One week you’re the law and order candidate, the next week you don’t have a pot to…well, forget it. If you missed the prior news ofJohn Hartley’s allegedunique precinct walking methods, find it here. The SD Police Officers Association now understandably reneges on its support for the former and wannabe-again member of the city council.… Read More

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the ’50s and ’60s, has died. He was 84.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.

Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer’s disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."

With his large, muscular build, well-boned face and sonorous voice, Heston proved the ideal star during the period when Hollywood was filling movie screens with panoramas depicting the religious and historical past. "I have a face that belongs in another century," he often remarked.

The actor assumed the role of leader offscreen as well. He served as president of the… Read More

It doesn’t take an economics professor to understand Los Angeles’ (LA) monstrous budget deficit.The math is simple: LA is spending more money than it’s taking in.It does get more difficult, however, when it comes to getting the city to curb spending, consolidate, and focus on bringing in revenue.But, a framework provided by LA’s Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) may give us hope.

The LA Daily News reported (March 20th) that “The Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) released a two-part report [that] detail[s] 50 solutions to help balance the City of Los Angeles’ budget.The report provides solutions for revenue generation as well as a comprehensive set of suggestions to address the current fiscal deficit without raising taxes.” VICA’s report begins with the following: “The city of Los Angeles faces a budget deficit of more than $150 million for the remainder of the fiscal year… Read More

Some legislators just don’t learn. Assemblywoman Sally Lieber has reintroduced her bill that will ban parents from spanking their children, AB 2943. You may recall that last session Lieber introduced identical legislation, AB 755. The bill received national media attention and California became the butt of many jokes for being so out-of-touch. Parents nationwide were rightfully outraged by the arrogance of one California lawmaker inserting herself into family discipline.

In fact, Lieber has no children herself and reportedly was inspired to author her bill after a visit to her cat’s veterinarian’s office. Apparently a discussion with the vet about how bad it is to strike a cat or dog led Lieber to the logical conclusion that children should not be struck either. This, despite the fact Lieber has no personal experience raising well-mannered children herself; and in spite of thousands of years of history that prove children need parental reproof in order to become healthy, productive members of society.

Capitol Resource Family Impact has the… Read More