Last month the Bloomberg “news service” distributed what purported to be a news story, trashing Prop 13. It was both intellectually dishonest, factually wrong and, well, pathetic. Here’s the response I wrote the reporter and editor (never heard back from them, oddly enough): TO: Bloomberg “Reporter” Christopher Palmeri

Bloomberg “Editor” Mark Tannenbaum

RE:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-17/california-diminished-by-1978-tax-revolt-shows-u-s-in-decline.html

RIDER COMMENT: Remarkable. You publish a 2,000 word anti-Prop 13 “news” story without a single quote from a supporter of Prop 13.Not one! Apparently your reporter called the usual liberal California suspects to… Read More

I originally posted this article I wrote on the local San Diego unofficial GOP blog www.SDRostra.com. Surprisingly, all dozen reader comments were positive.

Or maybe NOT so surprising. It’s an idea whose time has (long since) come.

http://sdrostra.com/?p=22192

BANNING MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOULD BE A DEEMED A CRIMINAL ACT Wednesday, November 16, 2011 posted by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters

I wanted to add my own personal commentary to the Bilbray story about his daughter using medical marijuana. It’s rare that I have an emotional attachment to an issue, as most of my positions are based on hard-nosed facts and sensible logic. However, with the issue of medical marijuana — where I differ from most (not all) of my fellow Republicans — I have both emotional and logical reasons for my position.

To start with, the problems of marijuana prohibition are FAR greater than the harm marijuana causes. It creates a profitable black market for criminals, and it’s crowding our legal and prison systems with non-violent offenders committed what really ARE… Read More

This just in from long FlashReport friend and Constitutional Law expert and scholar John Eastman…

An Honest Ruling on Proposition 8 – Finally! By John C. Eastman

Three cheers for the California Supreme Court. After three years of legal skirmishing in which many of the most basic tenets of law have been thrown overboard in pursuit of the agenda pushed by the proponents of same-sex marriage, California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and her colleagues on the Court have recognized that the official proponents of an initiative have the legal right to defend their initiative in court when the elected officials of the state refuse to do so, in violation of their duty to “defend all causes to which the State . . . is a party.”

The decision was comprehensive and well-reasoned. It was also unanimous, so kudos are also due to recent appointee Goodwin Liu who, by joining the opinion, repudiated the decision of the Governor who appointed him, for refusing to defend Proposition 8 when he was Attorney General.

Contrast this decision, though, with the history of this litigation… Read More

The following “guest blog post” is from Assemblyman Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield)…

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly and I held a 9 hour rally in Bakersfield around a busy business district thorough-fare all day Thursday and into the evening as Kern County voters lined up to sign the referendum on AB 131 – to stop taxpayer –paid tuition for illegal students. Voters used the ‘drive-thru’ lane at our mobile unit, while others walked from dozens of surrounding office buildings. Local conservative talk radio programs aired our interviews and announcements all day about where to go to support this important effort to give voters the opportunity to repeal this new outrageous law.

AB 131 is another piece of insanity by the Legislature that raced from the Assembly and State Senate floors straight to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk with a ‘must sign ’ message stamped on its face. Californians are reeling with unemployment, or reduced wages and salaries, or home values upside down… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: Congressman Tom McClintock gave a floor speech in support of legislation that requires all states to honor the CCW permits issues by other states. You can watch the speech on the video clip below, or under that is the actually text of the Congressman’s remarks… Flash]

On November 16th the House considered HR 822, a long-overdue measure to assure that states recognize the concealed weapons permits issued by other states.

This very simple measure has unleashed a firestorm of protests from the political left. I… Read More

This stunning interview is worth a few minutes of your time…

… Read More

Here is some “must see TV” to start off your Thursday…

… Read More

As columns go, this will be one will be fairly short — and very direct. Until now, the Presidential candidacy of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been more of a sideshow than anything serious. Actually, his performances in the never-ending stream of debates have been downright enjoyable. Now the latest national poll of ever-shifting sentiments of Republican voters on who Republicans want as their Presidential nominee has Gingrich on top with 28% support.

Because Gingrich has catapulted into the fore, let me make it very clear that I cannot and will not support his candidacy for the Republican nomination because there is no way for me to be convinced that Gingrich is of sufficient moral character to hold the highest elective office in the United States. Because of this, there really is no reason to assess his candidacy on any other level. The policies and politics of a candidate do not matter if one cannot trust them.

Let me take the liberty of reprinting two paragraphs from… Read More