I’m currently visiting family in Chicago, and just attended a beautiful Catholic Mass that integrated the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The service had all the traditional rituals of the Mass I celebrate at home in Pleasanton, so I could fully participate in a very comfortable and familiar way. And yet, the service integrated new concepts that I had never seen before, celebrating Kwanzaa by weaving it into the age-old traditional Mass. It was beautiful and inspiring. It had the comfort of home, and the wonder of something new. I felt the warmth of familiarity, and the sense of belonging to an organization of millions of people I may never meet who are my spiritual family, woven together by tradition, shared faith, and common rituals. No matter where I travel, a Catholic Mass will be celebrated nearly the same as my church in Pleasanton, yet will have its own regional flare.

I hope I feel as warm and hopeful leaving the February CRP convention, as I did leaving Mass in Chicago today.

I have seen a lot of email traffic between members of the Drafting and Platform committees regarding the new Party Platform that will be adopted in San Francisco in February. Most of… Read More

Now that proponents of the state government forced healthcare plan have started the initiative machine, [which resembles a car crusher for the California business climate] let’s see what it will really take to implement.

-AB 1X still needs to be heard and passed by the Senate. It has to overcome California’s highest ranking ‘budget hawk’, Senate President Pro TemPerata, who said no hearing for 1X until we figure out the $14 billion [and counting] budget black hole first. Should AB 1X actually go through a committee process and, being a health care bill, beheard in the Senate Health Committee, it will have toget thruthe Chair of the Committee, Senator Sheila Kuehl.

We know Sen. Kuehl has not been happy with this bill as it is not her own bill, SB 840 that would install a single payer [you, the taxpayer] health plan. 1X does not go far enough for Sen. Kuehl, [as well as the emails I get against 1X but for SB 840]. Will there be enough votes to get it out of committee…if it’s even given a hearing? Will Sen. Kuehl convince 5 totalDemocrat Senators to stay off, joining the 15 sure… Read More

When Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigned for Governor in the infamous recall election of 2003, and for re-election in 2006, he was emphatic in one solumn pledge — he would never raise taxes.

Well, today, along with liberal Democrat Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, the Governor has officially filed a ballot measure asking the voters to do just that – raise taxes. In this case, $14 billion worth, as he declares that to be the taxpayers’ responsibility in his massive health care government program.

Sounding like the family of New England liberals into which he married, the Governor is using a classic liberal argument to justify his leftward lurch, that somehow by raising these taxes, we actually cut "hidden taxes" — so somehow this isn’t really a tax hike. Make sense? Of course not. If you have ANY DOUBTS that this tax increase is, in fact, a tax increase, take a moment to read this column on the FlashReport, penned by Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, entitled… Read More

Not that I could ever do justice to the level of creative humor that good Senator Battin has provided in the post below, nor would I commonly link to TMZ as a source of anything, but you’ve got to see these….

http://photos.tmz.com/galleries/the_candidates_then_and_now

Here’s just one from the TMZ post to get your attention…. … Read More

I just noticed a great Editorial from last weekin theInvestor’s Business Dailyon Arnold’s "lurch to the left." Great read.

California’s Winter Of Discontent

State Spending: California’s budget is broken, and its economy looks troubled. The Golden State’s governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, could have done something about this. Instead, he’s made it worse.

(more)… Read More

File this one under me having too much time on my hands during the Christmas break…… ;-)

With the legislative session about to start up again, I thought it would be a good idea to show everyone what to expect. So, with a little help from the site JibJab.com — I give you…..

Night of the Living Republicans! (<— click the title)

Starring (see if you can spot them all): Senator Don Perata Senator Sheila Kuehl Senator Dick Ackerman Senator Dave Cogdill Senator George Runner Senator Roy Ashburn — and me!

The funny thing is this video was created to be a spoof on Republicans by JibJab, but being from a Republican Senatorabout the crazy and whacky legislature, I thought it was perfect. (if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?)

I spent a few hours putting this together – so I hope you enjoy! When I get inspired again, I’ll post… Read More

I haven’t posted for awhile and though unusual to comment on international news, I am copying below the Times of London story on the assasination of Benazar Bhutto yesterday.

This is a truly sad development in Pakistan. Bhutto’s recent return to Pakistan and the scheduling of elections in early January were steps in the right direction, towards a more secular politics in that country. Bhutto was educated in Britain and the United States, and was twice Prime Minister. Whatever the pundits and “experts” might say, her success would have been a good thing for the free world. Given her father, a former President of Pakistan, was executed by a subsequent government, and that Islamo-fascists had vowed to kill her if she returned from a self-imposed exile, and now that they have succeeded, her return to politics in Pakistan can only be viewed as courageous and patriotic.

I am copying the Times of London story below because in the early reports in the New York Times I have noted that, while the stories are almost indentical, the New York Times edited out the London Times comment that “Islamic militants had vowed to… Read More

With a h/t to Anthony York over at Capitol Weekly, the big news of this Christmas season is a big personnel change in the Governor’s senior staff. Specifically, Communications Director and Deputy Chief of Staff Adam Mendelsohn will be passing the conch shell of that office to Matt David. FR readers may remember Matt as the Deputy Communications Director for the Governor’s re-election campaign.

You can read more details in the CW story here.

What you will not find in the story, as they are keeping it mum for now, is why Mendelsohn is departing and what he will be doing once he leaves. But that will all come out soon enough!

For those keeping score, Adam and Matt are both Republicans. The position answers to the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Susan Kennedy, a Democrat, who, as of the posting of this blog, has been in the position for 2 years, 26 days, 8 hours, 1 minute and 4 seconds).

Our advice for David, a conservative, is to join with another Administration GOPer, Press Secretary Aaron McLear, and keep… Read More