Looking for alternative L.A.news sources about the convention? Former Assemblyman Bob Pacheco has a blog for the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers.… Read More

You know what I like most about Assemblyman La Malfa, he can say in three words what is takes me a one thousand to say. The wisdom of a farmer over the verbosity of a lawyer.

That being said, I wanted to talk about the budget and two articles that appeared today about the dispute, one from Dan Walters and the other from Dan Weintraub. A short synopsis of the Walters article is that the Republican plan is the one most likely to be adopted, not because it is a perfect plan, but because the Legislative Republicans are sticking together. Walters notes the problems in both the Governor’s plans and the Democrat plan, neither of which will fix the budget problem either. The Weintraub artilcle blasts those same Republicans because they won’t vote for a tax increase to "permanently" fix the budget problem in California.

Now usually neither Walters nor Weintraub get things right, not because they are not experienced, but they don’t think outside the box in politics. They like the tired old cliches that masquerade as solutions among the pseudo-intellectual chattering class in Sacramento. They are willing to criticize doctrinaire Liberals… Read More

I think I may have just witnessed the most defining moment in the history of the women’s liberation movement, and it happened at the RNC Convention!As long as I live, I know I will never forget this night.

Sarah Palin made me so proud. She’s a mom, a wife, a sister, a leader, a friend, and a steadfast advocate for others compelled by a strong moral compass.She was the embodiment of everything a woman can be…a strong political leader, a fearless champion of truth, a tender mother rocking her baby, and a loving wife who adores her husband. Her effortless demonstration of all these qualities tonight brought tears to my eyes as I watched her emerge intonew purpose. And she did so with eyes wide open, clearly cognizant of the intense ire that she would bear in order to fulfill that purpose. That’s bravery and courage.

I remember when I was just a little girl in Girl Scouts, we learned the words to"I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar," at a Girl Scout sleepover one night. How could I… Read More

I’ll have to admit – I miss being at this convention. I haven’t missed one since 1996 and I didn’t pick McCain, so I’m not a delegate. There’s nothing like being on the floor on Wednesday and Thursday night and feeling the electricity. it’s awesome. This year, I’ve found both conventions to be fascinating. Watching tonight’s speeches with myeleven year old son, Grant, was especially fun.He’s interested in all of it, and better yet, he seems to be especially sympathetic to the conservative side.

The Obama campaignreminds of a major league baseball team with a 17 game lead in July that goes into a funk and hits a couple of losing streaks. To stop their slide, they bring in an aging, but known quantity for the stretch run and it just doesn’t help. They slowly losetheir 17 game lead and wind up tied in September and heading for the home stretch without the momentum or inevitability they once had, and now, its anyone’s race. Meanwhile, the team catching up to them is full of old veterans who have stumbled badly– but seem to have one more stretch runin them. And what… Read More

There is overwhelming agreement here in Minneapolis — Alaska Governor Sarah Palin delivered the address of her life, and nailed it. We’ll see a lot of reviews about it tomorrow, but with high expectations, she exceeded them!… Read More

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We’ve had a lot of great speakers tonight here in the ExCel Center. Romney hit it out of the park — and former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele was awesome. Right now I am outside of the main hall, as I exercized my right to walk out on Mike Huckabee, whom FR readers know that I consider to be a fraud. We don’t need “Christian Liberals” as party leaders, who believe in bigger government in the name of social justice. He’ll be done soon and I will head in for Giuliani and the big speech by Alaska Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin!”… Read More

Here are some thoughts for FR readers from our Republican Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner:

“There has been a media frenzy this week in St. Paul over the new darling of the Republican Party Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I’ve done more than a dozen interviews and it’s one of the subjects that always come up.

Let me start off by saying that my heart goes out to the Palin family. As a fellow elected official, I know that the families of candidates often suffer unwarranted media attention on issues that are frankly none of anyone’s business. Her record is fair game, but the actions of her teenage daughter are not.

So let’s talk about the substance of Gov. Palin. When Sen. McCain wisely chose her as his Vice President, I did some research. The more I discovered, the better I liked her.

She’s tough and a reformer. She’s taken on the state party chair and won. She’s taken on the state’s attorney general. She beat a sitting governor en route to the Governor’s mansion. She worked to stop the bridge to nowhere.

She’s rooted out corruption even when it’s in her… Read More