I frequently use travel websites like hotwire to keep costs down. Many of these sites rate their hotels on "stars" — a four star being their best. when you book your room, you don’t know what hotel you will stay in but you know how many stars you are going to get and it usually is at a bargain price. After the trip I usually get an email asking if I agreed with the ranking and it is almost always spot on.

I like the service, it works well for me and saves my company and clients money.

So I was irate when I received a class action lawsuit notice today in my email in-box because some guy believes that he was given a lesser star hotel than he was promised when he booked on-line. GIVE ME A BREAK. People like this and the money hungry attorneys that represent them drive up prices for all of us.

For those that join the class, they will likely get a few dollars or a voucher for future travel while it is the attorneys who will make hundreds-of-thousands of dollars arguing the case. Hotwire will now have to build these types of suits into its business plan resulting in increased costs for all… Read More

I am in the Philippines this week, so I am commenting on this matter based on newspaper articles I have read. I have no secret inside information, just the comments of the Governor and newspaper commentators.

I saw two articles, one in which the Governor called the concerns the Republicans have about illegal aliens getting free, taxpayer-paid California health care as "Mickey Mouse" concerns, and one in which Fabian Nunez said he and the Governor want to be on the cover of time magazine. In his comments about Republicans, he compared Republicans to "obese" people, and his comments to those encouraging the obese to exercise for their own health and well-being.

In the spirit of those kind of encouraging remarks, I like to make a few of my own, because, when it comes to governing, intellectual obesity, intellectual laziness, if you will, is far worse than physical obesity. Ideas in politics are not the matter of polls, and they are not the matter of talking points and populist rhetoric, they really do matter. Unfortunately, the Governor doesn’t like to think about policy. He wants to be popular. He wants to be on the cover of… Read More

Looking back at the lengthy summer impasse on passing a state budget, you have to wonder if anyone has thought about the importance of including the ideas of legislative Republicans in the policy discussions taking place on health care. For a moment, after the budget finally passed, I felt like I caught a wind of changing tactical consideration by the Governor’s office — an olive branch of diplomacy, centered around the idea of being more inclusive of Republican legislators in order to avoid this kind of stalemate. Yet, we look at the issue of this health care, and because Republicans have made it clear that they do not support increasing taxes (or taxes called "fees"), all of the other common-sense ideas that they are putting forward to increase consumer choice and market-driven cost reductions for health care, are just being shelved. It would appear that the Governor is not willing to work with those who feel that individual responsibility, not "shared responsibility",… Read More

Former San Joaquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock continues to lock down his base in San Joaquin County with a tremendous two weeks, highlighted by his Lodi fundraiser last evening that was attended by close to 150 people.

With the unanimous endorsement of Lodi’s GOP council members along with winning the endorsement of Senator Dave Cogdill (who represents Lodi), Sieglock is making the solidly Republican bastion of north San Joaquin County very difficult to compete in let alone win. With the strong backing of GOP super heavyweights Alex and Michael Spanos there will be no lack of resources to take the battle to the rest of the district.

Today I have learned that all GOP Stockton council members have endorsed Sieglock which will give added strength in the heavily Republican northern Stockton precincts. By locking down his base this early, Sieglock will be able to press into Sacramento, El Dorado and Amador County and peel votes away from the other candidates in the race who need every vote out of those areas to offset the large GOP margins of a united San Joaquin County.… Read More

The Los Angeles Times reports today that the Diocese of Orange is facing a contempt motion for failing to produce a witness in a sex abuse case. The witness, Msgr. John Urell, the pastor of St. Norbert’s Church in Orange and Bishop Tod Brown’s representative in dealing with and investigating abusing Priests in the Diocese, originally appeared for his deposition last July, butit was halted before it could be completed after Urell had an emotional breakdown during questioning. Urell was being deposed by John Manly of the Newport Beach law firm of Manly, McGuire and Stewart, who represents victims in sex abuse cases. The defendant, former Mater Dei Basketball Coach Jeff Andrade, has already admitted he had sex with the victim.

Urell is already under a contempt order that requires him to complete his deposition. The contempt motion stems from a decision by the Diocese last month to send Urell to a treatment facility in Canada known as the "Southdown Institute" that specializes in treating Priests for a variety of mental and emotional disorders. The decision to send Urell to Canadahas had the effect of… Read More

Looking back at the lengthy summer impasse on passing a state budget, you have to wonder if anyone has thought about the importance of including the ideas of legislative Republicans in the policy discussions taking place on health care. For a moment, after the budget finally passed, I felt like I caught a wind of changing tactical consideration by the Governor’s office — an olive branch of diplomacy, centered around the idea of being more inclusive of Republican legislators in order to avoid this kind of stalemate. Yet, we look at the issue of this health care, and because Republicans have made it clear that they do not support increasing taxes (or taxes called "fees"), all of the other common-sense ideas that they are putting forward to increase consumer choice and market-driven cost reductions for health care, are just being shelved. It would appear that the Governor is not willing to work with those who feel that individual responsibility, not "shared responsibility",… Read More

Hussam Ayloush is suing again. As Executive Director of the Greater Los Angeles Area Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Ayloush is a constant litigant, using American justice to intimidate and bully. He sued me a couple of years ago in Orange County for defamation for an article I wrote about his organization CAIR. Ayloush’s suit was promptly dismissed by the Superior Court. Attorney fees were awarded against him because of his lack of understanding of the 1st Amendment.

Ayloush’s group, CAIR, has… Read More

Wouldn’t it be nice to buy baseball tickets, attend banquets, or join an organization and have someone else foot the bill? Well, that is precisely what is happening at the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Taxpayers may be surprised to hear exactly how their hard-earned money is being spent. According to the San Jose Mercury News (September 4, 2007), “Over the past three years, the board members have billed the public for such items as $415 in bar associations membership fees, $121 in funeral flowers, $84 in parking tickets, and 15 trips by the current board chairman to conferences in San Diego.” It gets better. “When [the board members] talk to the to the Mercury News, they charge the public more than $200 for the effort. The same goes for YWCA luncheons, NAACP banquets, Woman’s Equity Day and American Diabetes Association dinner[s]… One particularly creative director charged the public $817 for attending four ‘softball meetings’ involving district staffers.” Sadly, these board members do… Read More