Let me state from the outset that foreign policy is not my strong suit — it is not a topic about which I have an extreme passion. I’m much more focused on state and local politics more so than so the politics of the nation. It is not a coincidence that I started a website on the politics and policy of (a rather large) state. I throw this out there for two reasons. The first is to highlight that it is a rare occasion indeed when I take the time to opine on a matter of international affairs. The second is that the way that I present my thoughts in this column will probably sound less sophisticated and articulate than a similar column written by someone who is totally plugged into worldly matters. But I’m okay with that!

The fact that America is now embroiled into a real-life discussion about whether or not to engage our military capabilities in a civil war in Syria is mind boggling.

What a remarkably dumb idea.

Rewind to the administration of the last President — George W. Bush (I could go back further, but this will suffice). America plunged into a full scale war with Iraq, to go after Saddam Hussein on the basis that this scumbag and… Read More

An initiative that will permit public employees to not only opt-out of paying full membership fees, but actually allow them to opt-out of paying anything whatsoever to unions has been filed in Oregon. While public sector union membership is supposedly voluntary in most states that permit unionization of their public servants, the unions nearly always are able to still collect the lion’s share of the dues via the so-called “agency fee,” or “fair share” fee. Typically equal to about 75% of normal dues, this is the portion of dues the unions claim is necessary to fund collective bargaining. If a worker benefits from collective bargaining, so the argument goes, they have to pay the costs for bargaining, even if they aren’t members.

Here is the text of “Initiative Petition 9,” and here is the pendingtitle and summary. The initiative is currently before the Oregon Supreme Court, facing a challenge by the unions to language used by their attorney general in the title and summary. Once released, proponents will have until July 2014 to gather the… Read More

In 1996, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association ran a successful statewide campaign winning passage of Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act. Prop 218 gave California homeowners the right to approve or reject a host of property related fees and taxes.

Not wanting to cede political power to the unwashed masses, local government officials and their political allies fought hard against Prop 218. But one tactic caught us by surprise – the use of seemingly public funds by municipal “associations” such as the League of California Cities (League).

In the weeks before the 1996 election, we noticed in the official Secretary of State campaign finance reports that the League had contributed $50,000 to oppose Prop 218. This was odd as government entities are strictly prohibited from using public… Read More

I was reminded this morning of an unsettling (to put it mildly!) unemployment figure that crossed my desk early last month from a reputable source. This report slipped between the digital cracks in my computer, but now I’m getting it out there.

Here’s a salient excerpt summarizing this news, from a Forbes article:

“Over the last six months, of the net job creation,97 percentof that is part-time work,”said Keith Hall, a senior researcher at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and one-time Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the most recent Bush Administration. “That is really remarkable.” ***

As the Forbes article below reports, other studies claim that it’s “only” 77%. Even with that lower figure, this largely explains why the nation’s unemployment numbers are improving while the economy — not so much. Remember, if you work only ONE hour a week, you are no longer designated “unemployed.”… Read More

I added this new item to my always-upbeat “CA vs. the Other States” fact sheet. www.TinyURL.com/CA-vs-other-states “California has the 2nd highest total annual cost of owning a car — $3,966. That’s $765 higher than national average.” http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/car-ownership-costs-by-state.aspx … Read More

I reported on the impending demolition of the only dairy cow carcass rendering plant in Kings County in my June 4, 2013 www.FlashReport.org article Two Gifts for the Planet: Build California High-Speed Rail and Choose a Path that Crushes the Dairy Industry.

Someone at the California High-Speed Rail Authority should be given the nickname Annie Oakley, because the planned eastern route through Kings County for the “Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train for the 21st Century” shoots with pinpoint accuracy through the middle of a pivotal agricultural facility. It just so happens that the business of this facility offends certain 21st Century enlightened sensibilities. (It’s where dead cows go in the process of becoming consumer products.)

But small business owners in industrial areas of the City of Fresno are getting the boot first. Not surprisingly, some of these businesses also engage in activities offensive to certain 21st Century enlightened… Read More

The Great San Diego Fast Food Strike is now done. Check the results of this much-ballyhooed event, as breathlessly reported by the U-T. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/aug/29/fastfood-mcdonalds-wendys-burgers-cheese-jobs/

In a city of 1.3+ million people, there was ONE well-orchestrated “picketing” protest. But few fast food workers were present in the truly pathetic 100 person San Diego turnout. Indeed, a “pull back” shot would have revealed that there was almost as many media folks there as there were protesters.

The picketers were the usual cabal of aging hippies, young college economic illiterates (“People Over Profits” — when the increased cost would be passed through to the CUSTOMERS), SEIU labor union members (NOT in the fast food business), union-controlled politicians and a handful of OFF-DUTY fast food workers (three claimed to actually be on strike, but likely were not — one who works there only 4 hours a week).

Consider the ill-considered U-T headline of this article —… Read More

When Dan Schnur was Chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, he did something really good by way of public disclosure. He had the staff add up all the political spending for candidate, measure and party contributions and lobbying attributable to organizations, and he came up with a “top ten” list in a brochure entitled “Big Money Talks.” The period covered January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2009. Eyebrows were raised when the figures were revealed and it was learned that the California Teachers Association was the biggest lobby in the state during the period, spending $211,849,298 on politics.

I’ve just updated the figures with the able assistance of my associate Alex Tomescu, based on the same methodology, for use in a book I am writing, and I can report here that CTA’s lead as the biggest special interest in California has only grown larger in the last two and 1/2 years. In fact, since 2000, CTA has spent almost six times more than the California Chamber of Commerce on state politics; more than three times big tobacco or Chevron Oil Corporation, and more than twice the second biggest special interest in… Read More