Quote of the week # 1: "Do me a favor: Can you say ‘Senator’ instead of ‘ma’am’? It’s just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it. Thank you." – California Senator Barbara Boxer to a US Army Brigadier General who addressed her as "Mam" in a committee hearing June 17, 2009.

Quote of the week # 2: "Reagan was all about America, and he talked about it. Obama is, we are above that now…in a way, Obama is standing above the country, above the world. He is, sort of, god…" – Evan Thomas, Editor of Newsweek Magazine on MSNBC’s Hardball June 5, 2009.

Floor Action: Last Thursday, the House made 53 recorded roll call votes. That is the most ever in one day in history. Most of those were repeat or procedural votes brought forth by the Minority as we protested the Majority’s limitation on amendments and debate for spending bills. The Majority had proposed to limit the time of debate and the number of amendments to spending… Read More

Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that he is not running for Governor.

Clearly a loss for any out-of-LA female television reporters — since the Mayor, thus far, has only showed a penchant for scoring them in his home market.

Conventional wisdom is that Villaraigosa's exit is a boost for the campaign of Attorney General (and former Governor) Jerry Brown.… Read More

The Politico is reporting that Antonio Villaraigosa will announce on CNN this afternoon whether or not he’s going to run for governor next year. Since politicians announcing that they are running for office tend to do news conferences and rallies with balloons and banners (oh, and supporters), the cable television option suggests that Antonio sees the poll numbers on the wall and is going to sit this one out.

That’s good news for Jerry Brown, as Villaraigosa’s base of labor and Latinos is more likely to head toward Brown than Gavin Newsom. But it opens the door even further for another Democratic candidate (Loretta Sanchez is probably already on the phone to her pollster.

And if Brown is the nominee, here’s hoping that Whitman/Poizner/Campbell realizes that running against Governor Moonbeam, Rose Bird, and the 1970’s is a dated playbook that could use some refreshing. Hint: anyone been to Oakland recently?… Read More

Apparently while on the stump in Fresno late last week=, talking about the state’s fiscal crisis, a frustrated Fresnan lambasted the Governor for the lack of water — and calling for dams and canals to be built.

This unnamed man in the Sacramento Bee story linked above is justified in venting his frustration about the problems of water delivery in the Central Valley — that having been said, his aim is a bit off. If I am a Californian who is frustrated about the water-availability challenges facing the Golden-But-Thirsty state, I would look at these three primary causes, all of which place the blame for our current man-made crisis at the feet of Sacramento Democrats:

1) Federal laws prioritize critters and plant-life over people. The federal government primarily has passed too many laws that deprioritize the needs of people — and rather places a higher priority in the protection of critters and plants. We all understand the need for some balance to ensure that resources are available for this and future generations, but many of these… Read More

I watched the Democrat press conference on the Calcliptv Youtube channel

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and found several… Read More

FlashReport’s official Twitter Feed is here, or you can sign up on Twitter by looking for "FlashReport" — follow us today! (If you are one of the hundreds to have signed up to follow "JonFlash" – my personal Twitter feed — even though I don’t Tweet there, you’ll want to change that.)… Read More

Newport Beach-based bond maestro Bill Gross earned a glowing multi-page profile in the New York Times Sunday edition, a link is here.

Bay Area Congresswoman and soon-to-be diplomat Ellen Tauscher is profiled for her diplomacy as presiding officer of the House, in today’s Roll Call, here.

Roll Call also reports on the May fundraising report filings for the respective party campaign committees, here.

Reagan-Bush (41) alums outline the interesting argument that government health care might face privacy challenges under a constitutional test, in today’s WSJ, here.… Read More

Apparently while on the stump in Fresno late last week, talking about the state’s fiscal crisis, a frustrated Fresnan lambasted the Governor for the lack of water — and calling for dams and canals to be built.

This unnamed man in the Sacramento Bee story linked above is justified in venting his frustration about the problems of water delivery in the Central Valley — that having been said, his aim is a bit off. If I am a Californian who is frustrated about the water-availability challenges facing the Golden-But-Thirsty state, I would look at these three primary causes, all of which place the blame for our current man-made crisis at the feet of Sacramento Democrats:

1) Federal laws prioritize critters and plant-life over people. The federal government primarily has passed too many laws that deprioritize the needs of people — and rather places a higher priority in the protection of critters and plants. We all understand the need for some balance to ensure that resources are available for this and future generations, but many of these laws… Read More