Welcome back from your July 4th holiday! On Monday, I returned from my outstanding three-week journey from Great Britain, just in time to celebrate our country’s 230th anniversary of throwing off the oppressive tyranny of that nasty King George III and the British! Hooray! The day after a holiday is almost as always quiet, politically, as the holiday itself. Reporters like to take time off, too, and while holidays that are closer to elections are typically exceptions to this rule, Independence Day is far from the November elections (well, to normal people who aren’t hip-deep in campaigns). Today we feature a column penned by FR friend Jon Coupal, the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (pictured). Jon has given due credit to the Governor for drawing a firm line in the sand against tax and fee increases. This is an important position of the Governor, and will help to draw a sharp contrast between… Read More

I was pleased to see that the Sacramento Bee today printed the text of the Declaration of Independence in its editorial section.

"Unanimous Declaration of the 13 United States of America. Action of Second Continental Congress.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

OAS_AD('Button20'); We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure… Read More

Late yesterday I returned from my three week trip to Great Britain. It was a fun time and it was great to spend so much time in another country, really getting to know the people, the places, and yes, the politics. That said, all FR readers will be happy to know that I have little intention of sharing my personal vacation experiences with you on this website, unless they somehow tie into California politics. That said, it is great to be back in the United States in time to celebrate our nation’s birthday — especially having flown here to ‘the colonies’ as they are still referred to, tongue in cheek, by some Britons. Anyone who needs to understand what our freedoms bring to us here in America need only travel abroad — even to a country as ‘civilized’ as Great Britain, and understand that we truly are privileged to live in the greatest country on the planet! We’ll keep this July 4th commentary short — and the news synopsis on the main page is short as well. As I like to point out, political reporters like to enjoy their holiday weekends just like the rest of us! I would like to… Read More

In honor of this nation’s founders, including those at Boston Harbor that rose up in defiance of the increasing tax on tea, and especially in honor of those that risked all by signing the Declaration,but also,in defiance of those seeking to tax oil, property, tobacco and businesses to death on this November ballot, a Happy Independence Day to everyone.

"Republicans believe everyday is the 4th of July, but Democrats believe everyday is April 15th."

Ronald Reagan… Read More

Late yesterday I returned from my three week trip to Great Britain. It was a fun time and it was great to spend so much time in another country, really getting to know the people, the places, and yes, the politics. That said, all FR readers will be happy to know that I have little intention of sharing my personal vacation experiences with you on this website, unless they somehow tie into California politics. That said, it is great to be back in the United States in time to celebrate our nation’s birthday — especially having flown here to ‘the colonies’ as they are still referred to, tongue in cheek, by some Britons. Anyone who needs to understand what our freedoms bring to us here in America need only travel abroad — even to a country as ‘civilized’ as Great Britain, and understand that we truly are privileged to live in the greatest country on the planet! We’ll keep this July 4th commentary short — and the news synopsis on the main page is short as well. As I like to point out, political reporters like to enjoy their holiday weekends just like the rest of us! I would like to… Read More

Bill Bradley, the LA Weekly columnist and former political colleague of Tom Hayden, Jane Fonda and Bob Mulholland, offered some friendly advice to FlashReport readers in a comment he posted on FR that you may have missed:

“OK, as a longtime Democratic advisor at every level turned analyst and columnist, here is my take on your situation.

“You do not live in Utah, you live in California.

“Your governor actually has his program together now and knows what he is doing.

“Deal with it.” – Bill Bradley

Bradley has been around California politics a long time (not a reference to his age, just a tip of the hat in respect to his experience in the biz) and is one of the state’s more interesting political writers, due in large part to the personal friendships and contacts he’s cultivated over the years with union leaders, campaign consultants (of both parties) and pseudo-politicos like Warren Beatty and Rob Reiner who always surface just in time to make politics… Read More

Bill Bradley, the LA Weekly columnist and former political colleague of Tom Hayden, Jane Fonda and Bob Mulholland, offered some friendly advice to FlashReport readers in a comment he posted on FR that you may have missed:

“OK, as a longtime Democratic advisor at every level turned analyst and columnist, here is my take on your situation.

“You do not live in Utah, you live in California.

“Your governor actually has his program together now and knows what he is doing.

“Deal with it.” – Bill Bradley

Bradley has been around California politics a long time (not a reference to his age, just a tip of the hat in respect to his experience in the biz) and is one of the state’s more interesting political writers, due in large part to the personal friendships and contacts he’s cultivated over the years with union leaders, campaign consultants (of both parties) and pseudo-politicos like Warren Beatty and Rob Reiner who always surface just in time to make politics… Read More

Here’s the SD Online story. The crux of the story is summed up in a few paragraphs:

Charles LiMandri, a lawyer with the Thomas More Law Center…said Kennedy’s order means the Aug. 1 deadline to remove the cross is off.

"The way I read it, that is a granting of our application," he said. LiMandri said he did not think Kennedy would issue a stay "just to read the papers" and issue another order later.

"That is the only reasonable interpretation of what he did today," he said. "It allows this case to be litigated on the merits in the appeals court." Here also are the just-released comments from Phil Thalheimer, chairmanof San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National War Memorial:

"We are absolutely elated with today’s news. I am glad the courts have finally realized this issue is in no way about religion, and that it is simply about protecting a part of San Diego’s history and honoring those who gallantly… Read More