California government is big, and it buys a lot of things. Actually, in government-lingo it is called ‘procurement’ and I wonder if many FR readers know that there is an entire department (the Department of General Services) that is responsible for spending vast amounts of taxpayer dollars on items ranging from batteries to tires, from signs to floor tiles, from fencing to fertilizer. If you think about it, every computer used by a state employee and every car owned by the state had to be purchased. (You can see a big list of the kinds of things purchased by your state government here). To be honest with you, I had never heard of the Department of General Services until I was recently talking to an FR friend who told me about an interesting situation… Just think, for your home you might spend a few hundred dollars for bedding. Now, pretend you are the State of California, where you have to buy bedding for tens of thousands of beds (just thing of all of the inmates in our state prisons). When you start to multiply that out — it is big business, and big bucks.… Read More

Earlier in the week Mike Spence, our faithful LA County FR correspondent, posted some critcism of legislation recently passed in Sacramento (with the support of a good chunk of GOPers) that would ban alcohol on boats in the Sacramento River (whether the cans are open or closed). You can read Mike’s post here.

FR has receieved a ‘response’ to Spence’s post from Sacramento County Sheriff Jon McGinnis, which appears below. It’s a bit lengthy compared to Spence’s — but then, McGinnis is an elected official, and seldom is brevity the watchword of any politican…

For several years the frequency of alcohol-related violence and lawlessness has increased within a specific segment of the American River Parkway during major summer holiday periods. During the holiday periods of the Fourth of July and to a lesser extent, Memorial Day and Labor Day, thousands of young rafters converge on this stretch of the… Read More

[Cross-posted from Red County/OC Blog]

The Janet Nguyen-Trung Nguyen recount court battle was the first I had ever watched a trial in person.

Last Monday I had my second opportunity to see a trial first-hand –and this time from the witness stand.

The back story: Garden Grove Councilman Mark Rosen is representing an employee of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement named Christopher Lotts. The DLSE is a division of the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Mr. Lotts works in the DLSE’s Santa Ana office and beginning in 2003 has anonymously published a blog called "No Labor Standards" which is, in Mr. Lotts’s words, "An unofficial site highlighting inefficient & incompetent service that Californians receive as a result of DLSE decisions, actions, and service. The… Read More

So NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has left the GOP.

So what?

Certainly, he didn’t leave because the Party and its leadership have been too conservative.

In fact, conservatism is nowhere to be found in this Party, which is why it is sinking like a rock all over the country, led by the President and his head scratching commitment to an unworkable amnesty bill.

Bloomberg could and will be a formidable candidate because he is a problem solver and "fixer" – precisely what people want. Voters are less committed to party and ideology than in many years because of corruption and failure by Democrats and Republicans over the last few years. For the Republicans, this represents a breathtaking fall from their previous status as majority Party in Washington.… Read More

By Senator Tom McClintock:

The public policy farce that the “Green Governor” unleashed with AB 32 (the so-called “greenhouse gas” law) continues. Using their newly granted power to slash carbon dioxide emissions, the California Air Resources Board (all Schwarzenegger appointees) has mandated that every gallon of gasoline sold in California must contain at least 10 percent ethanol by 2010.

First, a few basic facts. Californians use about 15 billion gallons of gasoline a year, meaning that the new ten percent CARB edict will require about 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol. Corn is the most common ethanol-producing crop in the country, yielding about 350 gallons of ethanol fuel per acre. That means converting about 4.3 million acres of farmland to ethanol production, just to meet the California requirement. But according to the USDA, California currently has only 11 million acres devoted to growing crops of all kinds. Get the picture?

The entire purpose of this exercise is to reduce… Read More

By Senator Tom McClintock:

The public policy farce that the “Green Governor” unleashed with AB 32 (the so-called “greenhouse gas” law) continues. Using their newly granted power to slash carbon dioxide emissions, the California Air Resources Board (all Schwarzenegger appointees) has mandated that every gallon of gasoline sold in California must contain at least 10 percent ethanol by 2010.

First, a few basic facts. Californians use about 15 billion gallons of gasoline a year, meaning that the new ten percent CARB edict will require about 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol. Corn is the most common ethanol-producing crop in the country, yielding about 350 gallons of ethanol fuel per acre. That means converting about 4.3 million acres of farmland to ethanol production, just to meet the California requirement. But according to the USDA, California currently has only 11 million acres devoted to growing crops of all kinds. Get the picture?

The entire purpose of this exercise is to reduce the… Read More

Mayor Bloomberg has made official what everyone has known for years. He is not a Republican! You can read the story here in Bloomberg News of course. Is that bigger than FR?… Read More

From now until July 4th the California Republican Assembly is accepting your nominations in the “Who’s Your GOP Nanny?” Contest.

Democrats are known for introducing bills to control every aspect of our lives. In the last few weeks I’ve highlighted some of them. See here andhere and here.

They want to tell Californian’s how to live; where to live; what light bulbs we can use; and, what we can eat and drink etc…

Democratic elitists are part of the “Nanny State” – they know better how to live our lives than we do. We know that.

But what are we to do about Republicans that sponsor or vote for these types of bills?

Give them an award!

From now until July 4th the California Republican Assembly is accepting your nominations in the… Read More