Section 25 of Article I of the California Constitution, believe it or not, guarantees to the people of this state the right to fish. Seriously, I am NOT making it up. In fact, here is the exact language straight from the source:

Section 25. The people shall have the right to fish upon and from the public lands of the State and in the waters thereof, excepting upon lands set aside for fish hatcheries, and no land owned by the State shall ever be sold or transferred without reserving in the people the absolute right to fish thereupon; and no law shall ever be passed making it a crime for the people to enter upon the public lands within this State for the purpose of fishing in any water containing fish that have been planted therein by the State; provided, that the legislature may by statute, provide for the season when and the conditions under which the different species of fish may be taken.

The reason that I point this out is that the ongoing efforts of extremists to infringe upon the liberty of Californians, under the… Read More

Section 25 of Article I of the California Constitution, believe it or not, guarantees to the people of this state the right to fish. Seriously, I am NOT making it up. In fact, here is the exact language straight from the source:

Section 25. The people shall have the right to fish upon and from the public lands of the State and in the waters thereof, excepting upon lands set aside for fish hatcheries, and no land owned by the State shall ever be sold or transferred without reserving in the people the absolute right to fish thereupon; and no law shall ever be passed making it a crime for the people to enter upon the public lands within this State for the purpose of fishing in any water containing fish that have been planted therein by the State; provided, that the legislature may by statute, provide for the season when and the conditions under which the different species of fish may be taken.

The reason that I point this out is that the ongoing efforts of extremists to infringe upon the liberty of Californians, under the… Read More

As unbelievable as it may read at first glance, longtime California Democratic Party strategist and communications aide Bob Mulholland is acting like, well, Bob Mulholland. However, this time he may have crossed the line with his comments personally attacking US Senator John McCain. On the left-wing political weblog California Progress Report, of which Mulholland is a contributing author, Mulholland wrote “Maybe McCain is in early stages of Dementia or Alzheimer’s."

Democratic Party Strategist Bob Mulholland’s stunning statement was in reference to John McCain’s policy on Iraq, which Mulholland opposes. Despite the apparent “diagnosis,” Bob Mulholland, who is also California’s representative to the Democratic National Committee, is neither a brain surgeon nor any other classification of a health care provider.

Here are California Democratic Party spokesperson Bob Mulholland’s eye-popping words in full context: “And McCain is so confused about all the lies (like Saddam Hussein was involved with 9/11) he and Bush… Read More

A few weeks ago I was at a conference where NRA president Wayne LaPierre spoke about the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision regarding the Washington, DC, gun ban. During the speech LaPierre showed a video of what had taken place in New Orleans during the Katrina aftermath. Law-abiding citizens’ only means of protection was taken away when Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the confiscation of every privately-owned gun in the city.

The video is chilling—it’s something you’d expect in a dictatorial regime, not in the United States of America. LaPierre used the unconstitutional events in New Orleans to explain how important it is that the Supreme Court uphold the individual right to bear arms, just as the Founding Fathers intended in the Second Amendment.

Viewing the frightening New Orleans video brought to mind a bill passed in our own legislature last session. Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa (a fellow FR blogger and champion of our individual freedoms) authored… Read More

Three greatest words in a congressional staffer’s life: district work period. Ergo, it’s sleepy in town because of all the "Spring District Work" being conducted. The last few days, protesters have shut down downtown and the Hill, they didn’t seem to mind most of Congress is back home.

Politico profiles the dapper, dandy and nattily attired on the Hill, here.

I may be the last to know, but chalk it up to going to bed early and to little kids. Former California resident (doing time with NCG-Porter Novelli) and current White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was on the Daily Show recently, noted here and here.

We’ve all been there: a campaign ended too early or not in your favor. Wonkette links to the pleas of a former Thompson staffer.

Dance like a… Read More

Veteran Capitol columnist Dan Walters was pretty accurate yesterday in the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert Blog (free registration required and encouraged) when he referred to the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) as, "…a Naderite, Santa Monica-based thorn in the side of California business for the past two decades…"

Apparently the group has decided to change its name to "Consumer Watchdog" — what a farce.

The only thing that this group cares about is creating more and more ways and opportunities to file more and more lawsuits. The FTCR is a vibrant and active front-group for the trial lawyer community.

While they wave a rhetorical banner of trying to "help consumers" — it’s just not true. It hardly helps consumers to see all… Read More

As we keep reminded everyone that will listen, what we have had in California State government is a massive over-spending problem. Here is a staggering figure for you — since 2003, spending in the state budget has increased over TWENTY FIVE BILLION DOLLARS.

The team over at the Senate Republican Caucus, under leadership of Senator Dick Ackerman, has put together a great source document to help you to understand the size of this increase, and also make you wonder whether this massive increase in spending was effective. There are lots of charts and graphs to help you to digest what is really some complex financial data.

Check it out here.… Read More

Veteran Capitol columnist Dan Walters was pretty accurate yesterday in the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert Blog (free registration required and encouraged) when he referred to the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) as, "…a Naderite, Santa Monica-based thorn in the side of California business for the past two decades…"

Apparently the group has decided to change its name to "Consumer Watchdog" — what a farce.

The only thing that this group cares about is creating more and more ways and opportunities to file more and more lawsuits. The FTCR is a vibrant and active front-group for the trial lawyer community.

While they wave a rhetorical banner of trying to "help consumers" — it’s just not true. It hardly helps consumers to see all… Read More