You may ask yourself, Why Measure Y? Measure Y was placed on November’s ballot in Santa Monica by the initiative process. If it passes it will make adult personal use of marijuana the lowest enforcement priority, unless the use occurs on public property or in conjunction with driving under the influence. So, puffing and driving is a no, no. Anyone taking a walk Friday night by the pier already knows that enforcement of pot laws is low. Along with vagrancy, public drinking etc…. Just don’t let your parking meter expire. Here is how one knows that this is a liberal city and not a libertarian city. While this is on ballot and may pass, the City Council voted to ban all tobacco related smoking around ATM’s movie line and mandated a 20 ft smoke free zone around non-governmental buildings. … Read More

I receivedan amusing Google Alert this morning from the Guardian.Ben Whitford, apolitical columnist for the online edition, links to and quotes from Dan Schnur‘s commentary on the "Schwarzenegger Coattail Index" for substance on the California gubernatorial contest. FlashReport is being read across the Pond.

(Unfortunately, a site glitch has my picture next to Schnur’s commentary. Hopefully, visitors will notice the author.)… Read More

What is that sound? It is the sound of implosion.

There is no surer sign of a campaign that is in dire straights than when you start having to cancel your television media buys. With the extremely impacted general election, reserved television space is a much sought after commodity. The fact that the Cruz Bustamante for Insurance Commissioner campaign is now starting to ‘release’ rather than purchase huge chucks of time they had reserved on major stations around the state is terrible news for Bustamante and will only further depress any future ability to raise campaign funds. With just a little bit of ‘elbow grease’ research, the FlashReport can tell you that some of his media spot cancellations look like this: SACRAMENTO MARKET He’s cancelled ALL of his spots on KMAX, KOVR, KTXL, KXTV, and the week of 10/23 on KCRA.

SAN… Read More

Stories about Phil Angelides’ extreme micro-management leak out from time to time, and whenever they do, they really make you want to scratch your head. You want to say to yourself, "Who does that?"

I cannot miss the opportunity to share with you another vintage anecdotal story from the files of ‘Micromanager Phil’ — which was buried in a Los Angeles Times story today:

Yesterday there was an interesting story published in the New York Sun (of all places) about Senator Hillary Clinton (D – NY) recording an automated phone message in opposition to Proposition 85, the statewide parental notification measure on the ballot in November. A quarter of a million people received the "it takes a village" woman’s phone call.

According to the article (I didn’t receive a recorded message so I can’t corroborate), Clinton said, "We are opposed because 85 will put our most vulnerable teens at risk — teens who may already be endangered by negligent or even abusive homes. We can do better. Let’s work together to protect all our children."

But abusive homes have nothing to do with the measure Mrs. Clinton and you know that.

**There is more – click the link**… Read More

Yesterday there was an interesting story published in the New York Sun (of all places) about Senator Hillary Clinton (D – NY) recording an automated phone message in opposition to Proposition 85, the statewide parental notification measure on the ballot in November. A quarter of a million people received the "it takes a village" woman’s phone call.

According to the article (I didn’t receive a recorded message so I can’t corroborate), Clinton said, "We are opposed because 85 will put our most vulnerable teens at risk — teens who may already be endangered by negligent or even abusive homes. We can do better. Let’s work together to protect all our children."

But abusive homes have nothing to do with the measure Mrs. Clinton and you know that.

Notification is notification. Notification isn’t a veto. Common sense dictates that parents should be notified if their daughter is… Read More

MEMBERS OF THE CALFORNIA REPUBLICAN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION FILE SUIT AGAINST BROWN CALLING HIM UNQUALIFIED TO BE CALIFORNIA’S TOP COP (CRLA urges Brown to do the honorable thing and withdraw from AG’s race.) Yesterday members of the California Republican Lawyers Association (CRLA) filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court requesting the court to enforce California Government Code section 12503 and established Supreme Court precedents to declare Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. ineligible to be California Attorney General. “Jerry Brown should do the honorable thing and withdraw from the race for Attorney General,” said Steve Baric CRLA Chairman. Baric added “Government Code section 12503 is clear no person shall be eligible for the office of the Attorney General unless he has been admitted to the California State Bar for the five years immediately prior his election.” All California attorneys must continue to fulfill their obligations to retain their admittance to practice law in California. An… Read More

Two big issues – and bad voter perceptions. First, the Iraq war. Let’s face something head on here. The public doesn’t know anything about what is happening in Iraq. 100% of their information comes from the media. 75% of the stories are negative. Therefore, voters are against the war. By almost every historical objective measurement, this war is going well. Casualties and setbacks are a part of war. Civil War is something we are not used to facing in countries have invaded. There is not much unusual about civil war in a new democracy. We had one, remember?

Second, the economy. Unbelievably, the Bush economy has been in every respect better than the Clinton economy – and still is. The American public don’t have a clue about the national economy, only their own. Most people are doing well. 85% of the stories on the national economy are negative. Therefore, voters don’t sense the economic well being of the country as a whole.

Two big issues. Two issues where voter perceptions are entirely media driven. And two issues working against Republicans in the this election. A country full of… Read More