On Wednesday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his intention to sign several bills in response to the economic challenges faced by the subprime real estate market downturn — bills aimed at strengthing disclosure laws.

We need to contrast these appropriate responses with the apparent desire by President Bush’s Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, to take a page out of the Presidency of Jimmy Carter, and promote welfare-statist approach to dealing with the negative effects of the market downturn on subprime lenders and their customers.

Did Secretary Paulson (pictured) learn anything at those Ivy League schools he attended? Even though some see him as a Godfather figure, you don’t have to be an Ivy Leaguer or Wall Street honcho to understand that rewarding poor behavior… Read More

Presidential candidate Congressman Duncan Hunter has confirmed he will be a speaker at the upcoming Western Conservative Political Action Conference in Newport Beach on October 12-13. Other confirmed speakers include Mike Reagan, who is the General Chairman of the Conference, along with U.S. Senator Sam Brownback; State Senator Tom McClintock, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore; Board of Equalization member Michelle Steel; San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus; radio-talk show hosts Melanie Morgan (KSFO San Francisco) and Mark Larson (1700 AM, San Diego); and Hoover Institute Fellow and Reagan biography author Dinesh D’Souza. Information on registration and hotel accommodations can be obtained at www.westerncpac.com or by calling Tiffany Delepine at Schubert/Flint Public Affairs, 714-774-1741.… Read More

I’ve known Scott Kamena going back to College Republican days of long ago. These days, Scott is an accomplished optometrist in Livermore, in the East Bay Area (that probably has a lot more ‘gravitas’ to it as a reunion than being, say, a website publisher). Anyways, Doctor Kamena has penned a thoughtful and comprehensive commentary centered around the current health care debate taking place in Sacramento, and I am very pleased to present it below. It’s a bit lengthy, but this is a difficult subject, requiring more ‘column inches’ to really approach in a meaningful way. I should probably mention that Scott has decided to throw his hat into the (crowded) ring, to replace GOP Assemblyman Guy Houston (click on his ad on the right to find out more about that).

Health Care Plans Miss The Point by Scott Kamena… Read More

I’ve known Scott Kamena going back to College Republican days of long ago. These days, Scott is an accomplished optometrist in Livermore, in the East Bay Area (that probably has a lot more ‘gravitas’ to it as a reunion than being, say, a website publisher). Anyways, Doctor Kamena has penned a thoughtful and comprehensive commentary centered around the current health care debate taking place in Sacramento, and I am very pleased to present it below. It’s a bit lengthy, but this is a difficult subject, requiring more ‘column inches’ to really approach in a meaningful way. I should probably mention that Scott has decided to throw his hat into the (crowded) ring, to replace GOP Assemblyman Guy Houston (click on his ad on the right to find out more about that).

Health Care Plans Miss The Point by Scott Kamena… Read More

Many times my clients want to talk about debates. They look forward to them. They worry about them, In the end, they mean very little — as long as you show up and don’t get a bad quote or YouTube clip out of it.

The race between Assemblyman John Benoit and former Assemblyman Russ Bogh for SD 37 (Battin) will be one of the most contested primaries in the state next June. These two are already kicking each other and we have months to go.

I’m not advocating a candidate or an outcome in this election. My firm has no dog in this fight. I’m simply pointing out that this is a classic example of what to do and what not to do if you are a candidate or advising a candidate.

Marshall and Stone are hosts in the afternoon on KNEWS radio in Palm Springs. They often have local political figures into the studio to debate issues. They do a great job trying to keep things fair. Despite all of the efforts by the host to even the playing field it was obvious to me that one candidate knew exactly what to do while the other seemed… Read More

Ooh Rah, Devil Dog!!!

Commentary: An Open Letter to Code Pink

By Richard Lund

While the protest that you staged in front of my office on Wednesday, Sept. 26th, was an exercise of your constitutional rights, the messages that you left behind were insulting, untrue, and ultimately misdirected. Additionally, from the comments quoted in the Berkeley Daily Planet article, it is clear that you have no idea what it is that I do here. Given that I was unaware of your planned protest, I was unable to contest your claims in person, so I will therefore address them here.

First, a little bit about who I am: I am a Marine captain with over eight years of service as a commissioned officer. I flew transport helicopters for most of my time in the Marine Corps before requesting orders to come here. Currently, I am the officer selection officer for the northern Bay Area. My job is to recruit, interview, screen, and evaluate college students and college graduates that show an interest in becoming officers in the Marine Corps. Once… Read More

You don’t have to have a doctorate to know that serious waste is occurring in California higher education. In this latest snapshot of wasteful acts, not only are the numbers obscene, but so is the content – state computers, funded by taxpayers, have been used by employees to view pornography.

The Los Angeles Times (September 21, 2007) reported that “an official at Cal Poly Pomona used two different university computers to view Internet sites containing pornographic material, in violation of state law.” These perverted acts were revealed thanks to whistleblowers, who tipped off "state investigators [who subsequently] uncovered a raft of waste and misconduct in recent months….” The investigators got their information “thanks to a hotline on which state employees can report improper use of public resources without fear of retribution.” It’s likely that this official didn’t think that anyone would catch him (since he was sneaky enough to commit his acts on two different… Read More

Wonder which one of the Editorial Board must be on vacation?

UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL Teach EnglishTesting in native language hurts us all

October 3, 2007

We are witnessing a new movement for Latino students in San Diego’s schools, and it comes complete with a translator. On the front lines are English-language learners. These are students like any other except that they speak little or no English and thus terrify our public schools. Teachers and administrators worry these students will test poorly and make schools look bad by bringing down test scores. The consequences go beyond image. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, schools can be penalized for poor performance. So, predictably, schools are trying to hide the football by fighting like mad for the right to test English-language learners in their native language (usually Spanish) as long as they can. They would test these kids in Spanish in perpetuity if they could get away with it. And since the state requires testing in English, that means going to court. And that’s just what three South County school districts have… Read More