All the talk about a Constitutional Convention reminds me of a con game. Whatever your problem, the Con Con will fix it. You want balanced budgets, come to the convention. You want to repeal Prop. 13, come to the convention. You want to redefine marriage, come to the convention. You want to make chocolate without calories, come to the convention.

For example, the California League of Cities, the California School Boards Association and the California Association of Counties have called a governance summit next month that may very well result in their calling for a Constitutional Convention. On the surface of it, I agree with these local elected officials seeking a discussion of how to restore local control. Addressing that issue would get to the crux of much of what has gone wrong with California in recent decades. I even agree with the statement by the LA Times’ George Skelton about the need to: "reconstruct the tangled, unhealthy relationship between the state and local governments."

The city council members, school board trustees and county supervisors are for rolling back state mandates, which the Governor spoke in favor of in his… Read More

Right now all of the special interests are begging Sacramento not to cut their programs – arguing that their programs are essential. This of course is in the wake of a budget outlook in Sacramento that went from bad to worse after the voters disposed of a slate of propositions that included the largest tax increases in U.S. history.

That outcome should be seen as a mandate for change (to the tune of 65% “No” to 35% “Yes”), but some of the majority Democrats in Sacramento are still attempting to add new, highly expensive and long-term programs that would more than break the state’s already stretched budget.

How to pay for this lack of fundamental reform? Well I’m here in San Bernardino as one of 58 counties being targeted by Sacramento lawmakers looking to withhold, cut and/or “borrow” funds in order to dig out of their budget hole.

I’m talking about local government, counties and cities. We are not an optional program or special interest. We are by definition essential institutions, not luxuries that can be done without. Police, fire protection, streets and roads, jails … these are… Read More

With yesterday’s 65th Annivesary of the "D-Day" invasion of Normandy Beach, and President Obama’s visit two daysago to the site of the infamous concentration camp at Buchenwald, comes an outstanding memorial tribute to a father, as well as some compelling additional details.

Tom Cleary, a senior administrator at a San Diego-area University, provided me the following details and personally-penned article. I simply couldn’t pass it up. I don’t prefer to use the term lightly, but it’s a must read.

"With Obama’s visit Friday to Buchenwald and the stories being told about his great uncle," Cleary said, "I felt compelled to try and get the true story of Ohrdruf’s liberation out to anyone who might care about the facts. My late father was the first American officer to liberate the concentration camp at Ohrdruf, the first camp to be liberated by Americans. He was a first lieutenant with the 89th Division Recon Troop. He and his men found the camp and radioed for re-enforcements,… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: In this post, Barry appropriately recognizes legislators from his region who have been tapped by the new Assembly Republican Leader with new positions. Congrations all. For those who have inquired, we’re prepared a major piece detailing all of Blakeslee’s many appointments — but we’re waiting for these announcements to finish coming out. For some reason, unknown to us here at FR HQ, instead of one release detailing his leadership team, Blakeslee has put out many, many releases. That’s fine if his team wants to do that much work on their end, we just want to write about it once on ours ;) – Jon]

Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee recently made the following appointments: Freshman Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Corona, willoversee caucus political staff and recruit candidates for targeted seats for potential pick ups. This position allows a member to gain some political capital as they choose candidates, consultants, and interface with donors.

Second term Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, will serve as… Read More

Last year I wrote some commentaries about a local politician out in San Bernardino County – Mark Nuaimi. Nuaimi, to whom I have referred to as the “Conflict King” is simultaneously the Assistant City Manager of Colton for his day job, and he is also the elected Mayor of the nearby city of Fontana. Nuaimi’s reputation for being a pretty arrogant guy reaches all of the way up to Sacramento, where one well placed politico in the State Capitol, when I reference him, said, “Oh, you mean Mayor Big Head.”

I penned one commentary that referenced a story in his local newspaper about a controversy of Nuaimi name-calling residents of Colton using his city e-mail, and another talking about how Nuaimi sees his role as Mayor as being at the keyboard for a single-player game of “SimFontana” – which is to say that in a country where the citizens, and not the government (at any level) are supposed to be in charge, Nuaimi has his idea for what he… Read More

Last year I wrote some commentaries about a local politician out in San Bernardino County – Mark Nuaimi. Nuaimi, to whom I have referred to as the “Conflict King” is simultaneously the Assistant City Manager of Colton for his day job, and he is also the elected Mayor of the nearby city of Fontana. Nuaimi’s reputation for being a pretty arrogant guy reaches all of the way up to Sacramento, where one well placed politico in the State Capitol, when I reference him, said, “Oh, you mean Mayor Big Head.”

I penned one commentary that referenced a story in his local newspaper about a controversy of Nuaimi name-calling residents of Colton using his city e-mail, and another talking about how Nuaimi sees his role as Mayor as being at the keyboard for a single-player game of “SimFontana” – which is to say that in a country where the citizens, and not the government (at any level) are supposed to be in charge, Nuaimi has his idea for what he… Read More

The Los Angeles Times did a must-read expose of teachers that should definitely not be in the classroom. These bad teachers have an impossibly-highstandard of proof to meet before ultimately getting tossed. It seems that you need to get a United States Supreme Court decision on each teacher before they’re let go, all the while they receive checks forcompleting crossword puzzles while being "housed."

Waste Watchers- Here is a Shocker: Los Angeles Unified School Pays Teachers… Read More

FR friend Gabriella Holt of Los Angeles County, who is heading up an effort to qualify an initiative to enact a part-time legislature (www.reformcal.com) sent over a note with a startling relevation that clearly demonstrates that the Democrats running the State Legislature are completely tone deaf.

According to Holt, yesterday, the State Assembly passed legislation creating the California Blueberry Commission at a cost of well over a million dollars.

“This is one more example of why we need to return to a part-time, citizen legislature in California,” says Holt — and she is right!

File this under, “You Can't Make This Up…”… Read More