I frequent a mom and pop deli and bakery near my office in D.C. This particular spot sells cookies decorated with the names of candidates for President, and the owner (a Democrat) shared a funny story with me when I inquired about the sales numbers for the Dem and Rep cookies. The store keeps an informal tally of who is "winning" vis a vis cookie sales.

It seems when Democrats choose their cookies, they do so without an intention to buy. For example, a customer might inquire about the sale and then say "put me down for two Obama cookies." But they don’t buy the cookies! While the Obama cookies are selling fast, as would be expected in D.C., the only people who ask for a tally notation without purchasing are Democrats.

Then it seems the Republicans don’t buy much during the week, but tend to buy in bulk on the weekends.

A nice little social analysis amidst the pre-election flurry.… Read More

Not every FlashReport reader will be perusing the official Voter Information Pamphlet sent out by the State of California (access its contents here). If you do, you will see that the official argument against Proposition 3 (online here) was co-authored by me, along with Lew Uhler, President of the National Tax Limitation Committee and Ted Costa, President of the People’s Advocate.

Below I have reprinted our argument against the $980 million Children’s Hospital Bond Act…

ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION 3

At a time when California is already deeply in debt, when its residents’ ability to pay off bonded debt is questionable and its credit rating causes bond interest rates to soar, adding bonded indebtedness for anything but the most essential infrastructure… Read More

If Proposition 8 fails, my school district will teach gay marriage and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell knows it!

Of course, school board members like me, some teachers, and some parents will resist this type of instruction. But like the Borg in the Star Trek Series, the law, education code, judges and pro-gay marriage groups will eventually force their “tolerant” view of gay marriage on all children in public schools.

This is how it will work in California public schools:

Education Code section 51933 makes it clear that schools that teach “comprehensive sex education” have to teach, “respect for marriage and committed relationships”. This is something no school district can get around.

It is the choice of school districts whether or not they teach sex education. This is why the Anti- Proposition 8 campaign and Jack O’Connell say there is no requirement to teach about marriage.

What Jack O’Connell knows but doesn’t say is that 96% of school districts teach comprehensive sex education. Those numbers are from O’Connell’s… Read More

Opponents of Proposition 8 have been fancying themselves to be the proponents of tolerance.

Unless, of course, you happen to disagree with them by supporting Prop. 8.

That’s what marriage supporters have been learning when they put out "Yes on 88" yard signs.

There is an aggressive and almost certainly organized effort to steal or deface Yes on 8 signs. Sign-stealing is an inescapable aspect of political campaigns, but I don’t recall ever seeing it on the scale or brazeness mounted by Proposition 8 opponents.

A blogger for TheLiberalOC.com — and Prop. 8 opponent himself — documented an incident he witnessed first-hand of high school students stealing signs right in front of the Prop. 8 supporters trying to guard them.

last week, five people were arrested in Fullerton for stealing Yes on 8 signs. They told police they were "angry."… Read More

It seems as though the most coveted job in media these days is People Magazine reporting positions. “Political” journalists are trying so hard to find their voice among the gossipy circles bashing Governor Palin’s couture, and in effect rendering themselves more definitively out of touch with Americans every hour they report on this not-even-peripheral subject.

I live in Pleasanton, California where nearly every mom is a soccer mom, and these are the things on our minds as we get ready to vote…

My neighbors across the street have five kids. Last week, they had to sell their home for $100,000 less than they paid for it, and move their family into a smallapartment. Their standard of living is lower, and so is the tax base for my City. With John McCain’s plan to stabilize the mortgage situation, they might have still been in their home for the holidays, and everyone on my street is already missing them terribly.

Another family whose kids attend my kids’ schools lost their income and are in… Read More

There is now direct evidence of voter fraud by the Obama campaign. Yesterday’s New York Post reports "thirteen campaign workers for Barack Obama yesterday yanked their voter registrations and ballots in Ohio after being warned by a prosecutor that temporary residents can’t vote in the battleground state." The article can be found here. It is very interesting and relevant to California that the Ohio authorities treated the false residential voter registrations of the errant migrant Obama workers in a manner that allowed them to withdraw their fraudulent registration applications and even their ballots without further incident. In contrast, poor Mark Jacoby, a scapegoat of grandstanding Democrat California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, was secretly indicted by a Los Angeles County grand jury and arrested by nine police officers, amid a media flourish without a doubt intended to blunt claims against Democrats for voter fraud activities. Jacoby’s crime was that he also provided an… Read More

Incumbent Democrat City Attorney Mike Aguirre is on the ropes in perhaps the highest profile local election contest San Diegans have seen in years. Challenger Jan Goldsmith is receiving support from many diverse interests and groups, including the local GOP, all of them withone common goal: The insanity of Aguirre must end. Here’s the latest from the Lincoln Club of San Diego:

LCSDCounty Launches “Spike Mike” Website & Made-for-TV Video

San Diego, CA – October 21, 2008 The Lincoln Club of San Diego County announced today the launch of a website intended to highlight the host of reasons why voters in San Diego ought to oust incumbent City Attorney Mike Aguirre from office on November 4th.

The website, entitled www.spikemike.com, features a brand new 30-second, made-for-TV video on its homepage that encourages the viewer to “go with your instincts . . . spike Mike” on Election Day.

Also… Read More

As I write this, I'm enjoying a late breakfast at Jeannine's in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, before I head over to to wedding of this site's former Managing Editor, Nick, to the love of his life, Lisa.

As I perused the print edition of the Los Angeles Times, I came across an article explaining how Apple Computer has donated $100,000 to defeat Proposition 8, the Protect Marriage Act. That's unfortunate — I think that Apple's Board of Directors (whom I assume would authorize such a donation) should stay focused on their core mission as a supplier of cool electronics to consumers.

That said, I draw a pretty sharp distinction between Apple's donation, and the even larger contribution against 8 that came from Pacific Gas and Electric, the Bay Area's largest electric utility company.

Apple is a company that sells products in a market with vibrant competition. This means that if you disagree with the political donations of Apple, Inc., you can stop buying their products (or buy more if you “like” their politics). Apple has to weigh potential impact on their sales when they do this kind of thing.… Read More