We ran a column from Assemblyman Cameron Smyth this morning on some good legislation that he had coming up in Committee. Curious how that went? This just in from Smyth…

This morning, I presented AB 2196 to the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy. Whoever named that committee had an ironic sense of humor. I should clarify that I actually presented the bill to three of the six members of the committee. Those three members – Dan Logue (R-Linda), Bill Berryhill (R-Ceres), and the chair of the committee, V. Manuel Pérez (D-Coachella) – all voted in support of the bill. The other three members of the committee – Jim Beall (D-San… Read More

While a small minority of Americans celebrates the passage of ObamaCare, one pesky – and unanswered –problem is the impending shortage of doctors, which is projected to top 150,000 in 15 years according to the Wall Street Journal.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Just because the government can provide health care insurance, doesn’t mean it can provide enough doctors to serve the insured. In other words, possessing a government-issued health insurance card does not mean adequate medical attention will be provided. That’s why patients in medically socialized countries wait to seedoctors for months – sometimes dying before the “doctor is in.”… Read More

If you weren’t able to make it to the Democrat State Convention last weekend in Los Angeles, here is your chance to see ersatz Governor-again Jerry Brown fumble through appearances at the LGBT Caucus (courting the transgender vote made the candidate so nervous – watch him drop his cell phone!) and then the Labor Caucus. Enjoy…

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Today we publish an interview we conducted yesterday with political strategist Arnold Steinberg. He has served as a campaign strategist and adviser for countless campaigns. He has created hundreds of campaign advertising materials for print, television and radio media and conducted more than 1800 polling and focus group projects. The author of two graduate textbooks on campaign management and media, Steinberg is a court-recognized expert witness who has testified repeatedly on public opinion and attitudinal formation, demographics and voting patterns, media and advertising, and elections and ballot issues, and other aspects of political campaigns. He has been on several foundation boards as well as Federal boards in the Reagan and Bush Administrations. He also served on the California Coastal Commission. He also represented the United States… Read More

Today we publish an interview we conducted yesterday with political strategist Arnold Steinberg. He has served as a campaign strategist and adviser for countless campaigns. He has created hundreds of campaign advertising materials for print, television and radio media and conducted more than 1800 polling and focus group projects. The author of two graduate textbooks on campaign management and media, Steinberg is a court-recognized expert witness who has testified repeatedly on public opinion and attitudinal formation, demographics and voting patterns, media and advertising, and elections and ballot issues, and other aspects of political campaigns. He has been on several foundation boards as well as Federal boards in the Reagan and Bush Administrations. He also served on the California Coastal Commission. He also represented the United States… Read More

Been out out of the office all day, but this piece was in today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail… … Read More

The Los Angeles Daily News posted a disturbing story yesterday about a Cal State Northridge professor who is the publisher of a web site that promotes sex tourism in Thailand. According to the news article, the associate professor, Kenneth Ng, teaches economics at the California school and in his spare time runs the web site BigBabyKenny.com. Apparently CSUN doesn’t have a problem with Professor Ng’s “extracurricular activities” because he doesn’t utilize state or university resources.

After reading the LA Daily News article, I visited Mr. Ng’s web site. A brief look at the front page shows pictures of Thai women, images of Viagra and articles about how to send money to “Your Girl” in Thailand.

With Tax day gone for 2010 many of us can breath easier. But there is a bit of controversy brewingat the largely under the radar California Board of Accountancy.

Brian Joseph at the OC Register has decided to pick on your favorite pencil pushing CPA by suggesting that the board that oversees the profession is operating in a less than transparent way.

Apparently if you go to the California Board of Accountancy web site, they fail to list every detail of everywild accusation facing CPAs in the state. Instead, they list the names of any CPA under investigation and ask that you email or call for a copy of the report. I think this is an entirely appropriate method of operation. And apparently so does the board. But they will soon revisit the policy and perhaps make the accusations public immediately.

That would be a bad move.

Professionals who are recognized and licensed by the state ought to be held to a higher standard, and they are. However, they should not be subject to… Read More