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Jon Fleischman

Congress feasts on a diet of pork. Transparency, while a good step, is a side-step to the real issue…

Imagine a place where bank robbery is not a crime. Where people can walk up to teller windows and take money to spend on any outrageous, egregious thing that they want, and no one stops them. That’s the problem that we have with egregious pork barrel spending on Capitol Hill. To make matters worse, the only people that can make this form of robbery a crime, are the same people who are robbing the bank! Well, then imagine that the public, who are the depositors at the bank, are becoming more and more outraged that their savings are being withdrawn "at gunpoint" to be spent on billions of pork-barrel projects. So, these robbers, who happen to be the Board of Directors of the bank, have to do something to try to mollify the concerns of their depositors. So what do they do? You would think that they would simply STOP robbing the people’s bank, and put an end to this terrible self-defeating practice? No. Instead, they have engaged in a sidebar discussion that is not about whether we ban… Read More

Mike Spence

GOP Assembly Members oppose AJR 29

A few weeks ago, I wrote about AJR 29 a joint resolution that asked for passage of a federal "hate" crimes bill that usurped local control and made specially created classes of victims. Only two GOP lawmakers voted no. (Anderson, Hollingsworth). See previous post here. The link has a letter to President Bush signed by all GOP Assembly members except Horton that renounces support for the bill. Mimi Walters collected the signatures. Way to go to correct a mistake. See letter here.Read More

2008 Presidential Campaign Update: Giuliani Sacks His Deputy Campaign Manager

Earlier today the following was reported on Red County/ San Bernardino:

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani’s Deputy Campaign Manager for Fundraising is dun.

Breaking news reported by the New York Daily News confirms that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has sacked the head of his fundraising department, California’s Anne Dunsmore. Dunsmore, who was tapped to lead Giuliani’s finance effort in May 2007, was quoted as a Team Rudy campaign official in publications as recently as yesterday on the progress of Rudy’s presidential campaign.

Today, as news broke that Dunsmore has been unceremoniously fired from her role with Rudy Giuliani, a Giuliani aide stated that the California-based political fundraiser… Read More

Brandon Powers

Teams In Place for AD60 Campaigns

The rosters seem to be set for both sides of the 60th AD Primary for next year, making it – so far as I can tell – the first competitive race with all sides having their teams in place. Within the last couple of weeks, both Curt Hagman and Larry Dick have brought on campaign managers to oversee the ground aspects of their races.

Hagman, a Chino Hills Councilman, snapped up Saulo Londondo to manage his race. Saulo had been working in Van Tran’s District Office. Previously, he ran Trung Nguyen’s OC Supervisor’s race, and before that was Deputy Manager on Lyn Daucher’s Senate race.

This adds another to Hagman’s impressive team, which includes lead consultant Jim Nygren, fundraiser Diane Stone, and Mike Richman lending a hand.

Dick, a Water Board member from OC, had to look a little farther for his ground guy, convincing Barrett Tetlow to move back down from Sacramento, where he had been working in Assemblyman Martin Garrick’s Capitol office. But OC certainly isn’t unfamiliar territory for Barrett. Before going up North, Barrettmanaged OC in it’s entirety asCounty Director for Victory ’06, and prior to that was VanTran’s… Read More

Jill Buck

Diary of an Exasperated Taxpayer…

Dear Diary,

I wish I didn’t care so much about how other people spend my taxpayer dollars, but I do.

Yesterday, I read in the paper that the combination of saving Delta smelt fish and my efforts to conserve water, are going to result in a hike in my water rate.

Today, I read in the paper that $20 million taxpayer dollars have been spent to poison, bomb, and electrocute another kind of fish in California.

Can’t imagine what good could have come from spending the same amount of money on humans vs. killing/saving fish.

And then to top it all off, there is story about Mary Nichols, the Chairman of the Air Resources Board and darling of liberal environmentalist, selling off stocks from big oil and other polluters. The Sierra Club is reeling from the news that their hero will owe tens of thousands of dollars in capital gains taxes from the beaucoup bucks she made from companies on the Sierra Club’s hit list…much the same way the National Organization for Women reeled when their hero, President Clinton, was revealed to be a serial girl grabber. I’m sure they will all find a way to convince themselves that words speak louder than… Read More

Mike Spence

Former Gray Davis Treasurer runs for Culver City School Board

Steven Gourley whoserved as Campaign Treasurer for Gray Davis. He was also fired as DMV Director the day Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn into office Gourley, a former councilman, is famous for using his DMV powers to check on motorists that cut him off in traffic or he didn’t think should be driving. He admitted to a State Senate Committee that he had one guy house put under surveillance to se what he was up to.

IF he wins, I wonder what the grade checks will be like?… Read More

Jon Fleischman

Guest Commentary: U.S. Rep Kevin McCarthy on Earmark Reform

Today we’re pleased to bring you this Guest Commentary from Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield)…

We’re Not Waiting Any Longer to Bring Common Sense Earmark Reform to the House By Congressman Kevin McCarthy Enough is enough. People are fed up with Washington spending their tax dollars to pay for wasteful earmarked spending, like:

$50 million to construct a man-made rainforest in Iowa $2 million for Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) to build a library in New York City to honor his Congressional career; his own “monument to me”

One year before becoming Speaker, Nancy Pelosi promised the American people that under her leadership, the House would “bring transparency… Read More

* New Game! * It’s Time To Play “Who Said It: Iran’s President Ahmadinejad or a Democratic Party-Affiliated Blogger?”

Flashpreport readers, I invite you to be play a new game.

"Who Said It?"

No, it is not quite as challenging as Jeopardy, but, just like Wheel of Fortune, anyone can play along.

The rules are simple. I am going to list 20 statements. Some were spoken by Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his address before an audience at Columbia University. Other quotes are from members of internet website Dailykos.com, the Democratic Party’s most influential electronic organizing tool. Dailykos, which is affiliated with the Democratic Party, is so influential among that party’s activists corps, leading Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards made time to address the website’s annual membership convention just over a month ago.

I think you’ll be amazed at what… Read More