Steve Burd, the Chairman of the Board of Safeway stores, should be ashamed of himself. Why? Because the Safeway chain of stores was founded and was able to grow into a massive company because of the free market system, and a form of government in this country that is geared towards limiting the role of government. Now Burd has decided that businesses, large and small, all across California, should be burdened with new employer-based mandates on healthcare, and apparently believes that healthcare for Californians will somehow improve by going down the path of countries such as Great Britain and Canada.

Burd is leading a group called the Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform, which is made up of big businesses that have apparently decided to throw in with efforts of Democrats in Sacramento to inject government mandates and rules into a government-directed healthcare ‘solution’, aided by a Governor who has proposed billions of dollars in tax increases, and has taken to using the phrase "shared responsibility" as a moniker for saying that it is the government, not individuals, who are responsible for their health and health care. … Read More

Warning: OK, I’m having to keep my desk clear now of any objects that can be thrown. Otherwise, I would be tossing stuff all over the place. The Democratic majority is just going haywire here with their reverence for illegal immigration, increased taxes, union bosses, and trial lawyers. And giving you all a daily dose of what I am seeing back here in Washington may get under your skin too. So, those of you who prefer lower taxes, legal immigration, free markets, and sensible litigation reform, may want to keep your desks cleared too.

Illegal Alien Security: Many of you are upset that the Republican controlled Congress did not do enough to stop illegal immigration. And you are correct, we didn’t. But at least we made some positive headway. This Democratic controlled Congress is moving in the opposite direction. They are putting together a bill to provide a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 12 million illegal immigrants in our country and then plan to give these illegal aliens Social Security benefits derived from their illegal work. Simply amazing.

And there’s more. Last night, the House passed a funding… Read More

A quick follow-up on the story I wrote yesterday regarding the multi-state agreement California has entered into with four other states to curb carbon emissions via carbon taxes and/or a cap and trade market.

Besides our Governor, the other four states’ governors (AZ, NM, OR, WA) are Democrats.

Two of our neighboring states, poised to welcome businesses that move shop fromCalifornia and it’s carbon reductionpartners (Nevada and Idaho), have Republican governors.

I would love to see headlines demonstrating some intra-party work between our Governor and his fellow Republicans in Nevada and Idaho to either get them to join the carbon club, or strike some sort of deal that will lessen the chance that our businesses move to those states.… Read More

Former Congressman Richard Pombo announced he will not seek election again in the 11th congressional district. Pombo is now a senior partner with public affairs firm PacWest and will serve as honorary Chairman for Partnership for America, which will allow him to continue his fight for conservative environmental and energy solutions with the same type of organization (a 501C4) that was used by his political enemies to defeat him last election.

Pombo’s announcement clears the way for CD 11 contenders Dean Andal and Guy Houston to get the ball rolling on their campaigns to take on first term Congressman McNerney.

Watching Richard Pombo and his dedication to conservative values up close is something I will always consider a special moment in my own political career. Here’s wishing him all the best in these new endeavors. He has been a courageous leader who did great things for the Central Valley and had the courage of his convictions to stand for what was right when many would have taken the path of least resistance. In his new role, it is obvious that he will still remain the premier voice in America for sensible environmental and energy… Read More

Former Congressman Richard Pombo announced he will not seek election again in the 11th congressional district. Pombo is now a senior partner with public affairs firm PacWest and will serve as honorary Chairman for Partnership for America, which will allow him to continue his fight for conservative environmental and energy solutions with the same type of organization (a 501C4) that was used by his political enemies to defeat him last election.

Pombo’s announcement clears the way for CD 11 contenders Dean Andal and Guy Houston to get the ball rolling on their campaigns to take on first term Congressman McNerney.

Watching Richard Pombo and his dedication to conservative values up close is something I will always consider a special moment in my own political career. Here’s wishing him all the best in these new endeavors. He has been a courageous leader who did great things for the Central Valley and had the courage of his convictions to stand for what was right when many would have taken the path of least resistance. In his new role, it is obvious that he will still remain the premier voice in America for sensible environmental and energy… Read More

Warning: This post is not for the weak of heart. Some of you may find the contents of these reports to be very disturbing, particularly if you value liberty and have respect for the dignity and choices of individuals. Be aware that freedom lovers may react to these reports with rapid movements and cries of anguish that could damage nearby breakable objects. In the event this occurs, however, do not immediately call a trial lawyer to begin class action proceedings. That will merely result in the payment of large attorney’s fees, and, as is often the case, the "injured party" (you) will get a nice gift certificate. Instead, vent your frustration in political activism for change.

Thought Crimes: I know it sounds a little like it’s out of George Orwell’s book 1984, but increasingly the federal government is creating new crimes based upon one’s thoughts. The latest is H.R. 1592 which passed the House last week by a vote of 237-180. The idea is to create a new and greater crime if you hurt or kill someone because you hate them…but only if you hate them for a particular reason. In 1994, Congress passed… Read More

A year go, when City Council cnadiate Peter Amundson declared that there should be "No Eminent Domain for Private Gain", other council members scoffed. Yet, he pulled an upset victory. Yesterday,The city of Arcadia approved a city council sponsered measure that bans eminent domain in the redeevolpment area. See the article here. It only got 75% of the vote!… Read More

Lately there are a lot of discussions about the state’s construction of a new death chamber at San Quentin State Prison. Perhaps someone who is more of an expert at the death-penalty process can help me out with this query…

I can understand the need for a death "chamber" if you are putting someone to death using lethal gas. I can also appreciate the need for a chamber if you were going to electricute someone. But given that the method of choice these days is a lethal injection, why do we need a ‘death chamber’ at all?

It seems to me that you would just give an inmate something to knock them out (a pill, a powder, an injection), then, perhaps in an infirmary, you would then administer a lethal dose of whatever quick-acting poison is best suited to put the criminal to death.

Why does this require a ‘chamber’ of any kind?… Read More