When thousands of angry Californians gather in full froth, as they did in Fullerton last week, you know something is amiss in the Golden State. I wasn’t there, but I’m guessing those folks were genuinely angry; they weren’t voguing for the cameras. "Heads on a stick" is not the sort of mantra they teach you in transcendental meditation classes.

But now that the shouting has died down (for the moment, at least), here’s my question: do California Republicans have a plan to productively channel all this anger, other than picking off a few lawmakers though recalls or primary challenges? Is there any strategy in place — or even the thought of a strategy — other than the game of randomly selecting names out of a hat to dole out punishment?

It’s a fair question to ask given that we’re now in the 2010 election cycle and the media once again are asking: wither the California GOP?

It’s also a fair question to ask if, a few months from now, the California constitutional convention shows signs of moving from concept to reality. I’d hate to see the train leave the station, with the GOP waving goodbye… Read More

Last evening a group of Bay Area Republicans gathered in Oakland to meet and listen to Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. This informal group plans on meeting with the other two gubernatorial candidates in the next two months as well.

Poizner was a good sport for even attending a meeting of Bay Area Republicans (believe it or not, there were more than six of us there). Poizner’s speech was a basic stump speech underscoring his opposition to the latest budget deal and explaining his commitment to low taxes, job growth and innovation. Oh, and his commitment to public schools, via charter schools. (School choice, he said, was politically dead in this state.) He also eloquently addressed the problem the state faces with the expense of retirees’ health care.

The most interesting part of his appearance was his response to a question (mine) about the spending cap voters will be considering in May. He had already stated his opposition to the spending cap because it extends the tax… Read More

There is no doubt that there are a lot of changes happening in the newspaper business – or perhaps I should say in the business of newspapers. For years now, we have been watching newspapers all around the country experience a decline in readership. What is the cause of this? Some, especially readers of this website, would like to say that it is exclusively due to the left-wing dogma of most newspaper editorial pages, along with the left-of-center bias that appears to come from most newspaper news rooms (see the most recent example of that here).

The reality is that while some people have stopped subscribing to newspapers for ideological reasons, the most likely suspect for the precipitous drop in readership is due primary to the way that people choose to get their news (I guess there could also be less people interested in getting the news, but I… Read More

There is no doubt that there are a lot of changes happening in the newspaper business – or perhaps I should say in the business of newspapers. For years now, we have been watching newspapers all around the country experience a decline in readership. What is the cause of this? Some, especially readers of this website, would like to say that it is exclusively due to the left-wing dogma of most newspaper editorial pages, along with the left-of-center bias that appears to come from most newspaper news rooms (see the most recent example of that here).

The reality is that while some people have stopped subscribing to newspapers for ideological reasons, the most likely suspect for the precipitous drop in readership is due primary to the way that people choose to get their news (I guess there could also be less people interested in getting the news, but I… Read More

I noticed on this March 9 late contribution report that the COO of the "Stupid Fan Club" have $5,000 to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s "Dream Team" campaign account.

I’d say that is a perfect match.… Read More

President Obama’s plan to assist struggling home owners is well intentioned, but almost completely worthless for us in Riverside County, or California, or any other states with plunging real estate markets. Under the plan, people who are current on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages for their principal homes could obtain less expensive loans for up to 105% of the property value.

For example: A person whose house was worth $300,000 could get a loan for $315,000.

The problem is that 46% of Riverside County mortgage holders owe more than 105% of their homes’ value. San Diego and San Bernardino have more than 30% over that limit. And in Los Angeles County, 29% will not be eligible. The plan would have to be hiked up to 140 or 150% to be of any real help.

For those ineligible for the first part of his plan, there is a second part. Loan interest rates could be dropped to as low as 2%, loans extended to 40 years, and/or the borrower could skip interest payments on a portion of the principal, or finally, a portion of the debt could be forgiven. Unfortunately, the second part doesn’t exist yet and will be optional for the lenders to… Read More

I know that some of you would like me to talk more about issues other than fiscal/financial ones. And I will do that when bills move or issues come to the floor. However, I am a bean counter (CPA) by trade and I do sit on 3 of the 4 financial committees on which members of the House can sit (The only one I am not on is the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee). Numbers are kind of what I do. And of course, issue number 1, 2, and 3, both in the public’s mind and in DC, is the economy right now.

One of the services I hope to provide the readers of this blog is information about what is happening back here which will hopefully help you navigate the very treacherous economic waters ahead. To that end, all 3 of the committees on which I sit met last week. Here is a brief synopsis of what I learned from those hearings…..and some comments on other stuff you may want to know:

Budget Committee: Last week’s witness in this committee was Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talking about the President’s budget. He vigorously defended the budget, which I would… Read More

Saturday’s FR front page included an OC Register article about Orange County taxpayer dollars funding Planned Parenthood. Thankfully, Supervisor John Moorlach uncovered the county contracts that use tax dollars for “comprehensive reproductive education for teens and preteens.” This “comprehensive” education undoubtedly includes information about abortion availability for the “teens and preteens.”

CRI just sent out an email alert to our supporters encouraging them to call the OC Board of Supervisors before they consider this matter at their meeting tomorrow morning. If you’re a taxpayer in Orange County, you should demand the County Supervisors cancel this contract.

OC taxpayers should not be sending $341,788 to an organization whose annual budget now tops $1 billion. Let individual taxpayers decide which non-profit organizations they do and don’t want to support, especially regarding controversial issues like abortion and sex education for children.

The Board of Supervisors will meet… Read More