This is being reported by the Herald Sun of Australia (!).

From the article:

A MAJOR Californian port has been closed after officials found a written threat, apparently directed at US President George W Bush, in the hold of a cargo ship.

"We got a report that there was a threatening message written on one of the stanchions in the cargo hold of a ship called Mild Lotus," outside California’s Port Hueneme, US Coast Guard spokesman Patrick Sullivan said.

"Apparently a longshoreman who was working on the vessel saw the message," he said.… Read More

(Hat tip to Assemblyman DeVore for the link to the story.)

The Associated Press posted this breaking news not long ago: Calif. gov. plans to address prison reform

Warning that the nation’s largest prison system is dangerously overcrowded, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday summoned lawmakers into a special session to decide whether to build two new prisons and adopt other relief measures.

The special legislative session will start on Tuesday.

In a speech to the California District Attorneys Association,… Read More

Last week, not much work done in the Assembly, both Mondayand Thursday floor sessions canceled.Committees did meet and more needed, quality legislation…cough…was sent onits merry way to its next committee. Budget talks started to de-ice though not enough to make it happen substantively last week.

With the apparent progress onremoving of budget $ going to health care benefits for the childrenof illegal immigrants [another reward for those that break and enter our sovereign nation’s ‘property line’], we can hope for the budget to start to wrap with the constitutional deadline of the 15th long gone,perhaps the ‘fiscal deadline’ of the 30th can be met…as long as Republican principles are met in this process. These werestated very well by Jennifer Nelson in her Budget Priority post previously on the 21st: -Drop this new inappropriate expansion of government of illegal immy health benefits from this budget proposal -Pay down debt with this one-time windfall ‘surplus’ money, [first, in my opinion, preferably to repay $ filched from the voter passed Prop 42 Trans fund…eliminate… Read More

“Founded in 1929 to unite the country after Mexico’s revolution, the PRI ruled by accepting all ideologies. It catered to unions, the rich, the poor — anyone who would support it. Its platform was maintaining power.” – Associated Press, Sunday, June 25, 2006

I’ve been thinking the past few weeks about the conservative movement and the idea of winning versus merely staying ahead —a strategy seemingly employed at the national level to ensure that the Republicans maintain themajority. Notice none of the political pundits are talking about Republicans trying to pick up seats this election cycle. They’re merely trying to stay ahead.

After reading the AP’s reference to the PRI this weekend, I concluded that I should be thinkingnot interms of staying ahead, but in terms of winning versus “maintaining power.”

Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters wrote last week about Governor Schwarzenegger’s strategy of Clinton-style triangulation to win re-election this Fall.

“As he seeks… Read More

Rarely do I have to rack what little brain I have to find a song title to make the analogy for my posts. And it was no different for my post on the Republican Legislative Nominee retreat sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman and Assembly Republican Leader George Plescia.

My good friend Jim Brulte, and his guy Jim Richardson, have been organizing this event for most of a decade and while I have had clients go through the seminars, this was the first time I participated both as an organizer and speaker.

Watching Brulte, seeing him work the room, interact with both novice and experienced candidates alike on both policy and politics was like… Read More

“Founded in 1929 to unite the country after Mexico’s revolution, the PRI ruled by accepting all ideologies. It catered to unions, the rich, the poor — anyone who would support it. Its platform was maintaining power.” – Associated Press, Sunday, June 25, 2006

I’ve been thinking the past few weeks about the conservative movement and the idea of winning versus merely staying ahead —a strategy seemingly employed at the national level to ensure that the Republicans maintain themajority. Notice none of the political pundits are talking about Republicans trying to pick up seats this election cycle. They’re merely trying to stay ahead.

After reading the AP’s reference to the PRI this weekend, I concluded that I should be thinking instead in terms of staying ahead, but in terms of winning versus “maintaining power.”

Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters wrote last week about Governor Schwarzenegger’s strategy of Clinton-style triangulation to win re-election this Fall.

“As he… Read More

I think most observers would agree that the re-election of Governor Schwarzeneggeris important to the Republican Party in California. While I generally think of him more often than not as a populist rather than a straight partisan, and regularly disagree with some of his decisions, more often than not he acts as a bulwark against the anti-business interests which dominate both houses of the California legislature.

While it’s often more exciting and certainly more emotional to discuss Sacramento’s actions on issues like gay marriage, or illegal immigration, or getting rid of Indian names in local sports teams, the truth of the matter is that give or take 98% of the legislation that works its way through the legislature is business related, education related, or purely symbolic or honorary rubbish. Generally, as soon as this Governor was elected, much of the most crazed left-wing anti-business bills stopped being written, or started perishing in committee. This is not to say that some bad bills did not make it through the process, and that he didn’t even sign some of them into law, but the raw flood of anti-business legislation that I experienced in… Read More

I don’t think most observers would disagree that the re-election of Governor Schwarzeneggeris important to the Republican Party in California. While I generally think of him more often than not as a populist rather than a straight partisan, and regularly disagree with some of his decisions, more often than not he acts as a bulwark against the anti-business interests which dominate both houses of the California legislature.

While it’s often more exciting and certainly more emotional to discuss Sacramento’s actions on issues like gay marriage, or illegal immigration, or getting rid of Indian names in local sports teams, the truth of the matter is that give or take 98% of the legislation that works its way through the legislature is business related, education related, or purely symbolic or honorary rubbish. Generally, as soon as this Governor was elected, much of the most crazed left-wing anti-business bills stopped being written, or started perishing in committee. This is not to say that some bad bills did not make it through the process, and that he didn’t even sign some of them into law, but the raw flood of anti-business legislation that I… Read More