I found a new category where California is once again a winner! In its fashion.

The federal “food stamp” program (now called SNAP) is federally funded but administered by the states. And boy, does California administer!

Looking at the fiscal year 2013 figures, the national average administrative cost per case per month was $25.21. California “led” the nation with a monthly cost of $67.84. California’s admin cost was 23.6% higher than the second highest state (Wyoming). It was 169% higher than the 50 state average (including, of course, California’s bloated cost in the average). https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/snap/2013-state-activity.pdf Table 11

How about compared to hated Texas? California’s cost was a whopping 235% higher — more than TRIPLE the Texas cost. “You get what you pay for”? I think not. Part of the admin cost is to fight fraud. But CA was able to successfully disallow bad claims only 54.6% of the time a hearing was held, vs. the… Read More

RIDER NOTE:I’ve prepared for President Trump the resignation speech I’d love for him to deliver. I’m sure he’ll give it serious consideration.

MY FELLOW AMERICANS

I’ve decided to resign. Not immediately, but sixty days from now. Let me explain.

At heart, I’m a businessman, not a politician. I enjoy life — admittedly I’m a bit of a hedonist. Frankly I’m a crude, impetuous person ill-fitted for the dignified office of President.

Moreover, my wife, children and grandchildren have been mercilessly attacked by the media — even accosted by mentally deranged airline passengers who are then lionized by liberals. I didn’t realize how low the Left would stoop once I was elected President..

My persona has become the defining characteristic of my Presidency. While it was crucial to my winning the race for President, now it detracts from the very real progress and reforms that we have been implementing.

Am I worried about impeachment? Hell no! There are not the slightest grounds for impeachment, but that circus will continue to be touted… Read More

In 2006, on virtually a party-line vote, the Democrat controlled Legislature passed Assembly Bill 32, the pompous sounding “California Global Warming Solutions Act.”

Then-Governor Schwarzenegger, who often commuted daily in a private jet from Los Angeles to Sacramento, signed AB 32, hypocritically stating it was “a bold new era of environmental protection.”

To implement AB 32, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) developed a government-mandated scheme called “Cap and Trade.” CARB would basically set (“cap”) greenhouse gas emissions at unrealistically low levels, then require businesses and industries to pay (“trade”) to receive higher emission… Read More

*Exclusive Breaking News*

Today my friend Bruce Whitaker, Mayor of the city of Fullerton, reached out to me to share some news — he has officially decided to run as a candidate on the replacement ballot in the anticipated recall election of State Senator Josh Newman. Newman, a Democrat, has been targeted by a major effort to recall him after his deciding vote for a massive increase in gas a car taxes.

Whitaker, a constitutional conservative, has been elected three times to the Fullerton City Council. Fullerton is the largest city completely within the boundaries of the 29th State Senate District.

Whitaker told me that, “Residents and taxpayers deserve respect from elected legislators. Senator Newman’s voting record proves that he does not reflect the values of this District.” He added, “Southern California needs strong leadership in Sacramento to protect and secure our rights, such as the right to vote on taxes. My record reflects that I’ve long been a passionate advocate for freedom, property rights, justice and fiscal responsibility.”

I was last with Bruce a few weeks at at a gas station on Harbor Boulevard where a massive… Read More

It sounded so nice. The top performing candidates, regardless of party, would move past the primary to the general election. “The people” would be empowered to choose the candidates they like best, and the power of “party bosses” further diminished.

As we head into the 2018 elections in California, this quaint idea is creating even bigger challenges for Republicans.

To recruit quality candidates, prospective contenders need to believe they have a reasonable shot of at least making it to the November ballot. In the past, November voters were guaranteed the ability to choose among each party’s nominee. Now, there is no assurance at all that at least one candidate from each party can even make it past the primary.

This is due to the combined effects of the top two primary, Republicans being the statewide minority party, and a dose of game theory.

Let’s take a look at statewide offices, where last week San Diego Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who would far and away be the strongest contender for governor, bowed out.

This point is key to understanding the statewide dynamic: For most statewide offices, many voters never get to… Read More

Recently radical activists forced California GOP Rep. Tom McClintock to need police escorts out of district town hall meetings when things turned violent.

Yet in anotherhit pieceon McClintock Wednesday, the Sacramento Bee clearly sided with the same feminist activists who trolled his district town hall meetings, and then claimed the Congressman’s office threatened them when they call in.

The Bee writer, Anita Chabria, whoclaimsto be a “race, immigration and social justice reporter,” interviewed three women for the article who claim to be victims.“They started saying that we were impeding … the functioning of a federal office and that we were in violation of a federal law,” said Alisa Jaffe Holleron. “I felt like it was threatening. I felt like they were telling me I was breaking a law and if you break a law you can get in trouble.”… Read More

Below is a bizarre story from the LA TIMES. Cal-ISO, the government body that oversees our California electrical grid system, put out a bogus warning during this recent hot period, warning residents that rolling blackouts were imminent if people and businesses didn’t turn off their A/C and otherwise conserve electricity. We were running out of electricity!!!

But we never got anywhere CLOSE to having a power problem. At the peak of the usage, we still had 38% excess capacity. We now have so much solar power that A/C peak usage is no longer a problem unless scorching heat is accompanied by cloudy days (yeah, THAT happens a LOT in California!), but nobody told the “analysts” at Cal-ISO.

As a result, during this warning period the wholesale price of electricity in the state jumped FOUR to FIVE times the usual level. Somebody made a killing off this — ultimately at ratepayers’ expense.

This fake alert has the smell of Enron all over it. Did someone bribe “analysts” at Cal-ISO to put out what was an incredibly false warning? Or was this just classic California bureaucratic incompetence, raised… Read More

As we Californians endure our annual summer hot spells, let me give you the most cost-effective strategy for keeping cool (and saving A/C costs). It works especially well if you live within a dozen miles of the coast (as many Californians do!).

Install a “whole house fan” in your ceiling such as the model below (this one from Amazon for $300). It pulls air out of your house and into the attic, coolingbothareas.Don’t forget to open windows before turning on the fan! It needs to be a bit cooler outside the house than inside for it to be effective, though the fresh air alone is often a welcome change.

It’s mostly used to cool down the house at the end of the day, and perhaps (as I do), to KEEP cooling it down with nighttime air, closing it up in the AM just as it starts getting warm outside. At the very least, is delays the need for A/C operating until later in the day. Obviously if it’s still hot outside at night, this doesn’t work well.

When the fan is not working, the fan opening into the… Read More