Ethics, even in politics, is based on adherence to moral principles. Honesty, integrity, loyalty, fairness, respect for others, lawfulness, pursuit of excellence and accountability, are principles.

G. K. Chesterton explained why: “Morality is always terribly complicated – to a man who has lost all his principles.”

The fundamental purpose of the American project was and still is individual freedom.

While many American freedoms have been eroded, we still hold the sanctity of the individual sacred in America. Americans believe that man is inherently free, whether a gift from God, or a fact of nature.

However, with freedoms and individual liberties increasingly plundered, many ask what the proper role of government is, as well as the proper role of the politician.

Especially in California, suffering under the cloud of recent scandals in the… Read More

The California Department of Water Resources announced this week that the Central Valley may only get five percent of the water it needs next year.

The Central Valley, the heart of California,is the state’s top agricultural producing region, often called “the nation’s salad bowl” for the great array of fruits and vegetables grown in its rich soil.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, author of theRime of the Ancient Mariner, wasn’t thinking about California’s Central Valley when he wrote:

However, if the water resources department gets its way, the Central Valley may as well get used to this poem.

I talked with… Read More

Voter fraud is real. It always has been. Some political consultants have said that the Democratic Party has perfected it. If the November election is any example, voter fraud appears to be thriving in California.

But voter fraud is something that Republicans have traditionally refused to discuss. “The truth is that voter fraud occurs frequently, and it determines who wins elections infrequently,” election lawyer J. Christian Adams found. “The integrity of the electoral process is perhaps more important than who wins and loses an election. Lawlessness in elections corrodes the entire democratic process.

The sweeping Democratic wins in California have many scratching their heads.

No voter ID, provisional ballots, online registration

No voter identification required to vote in California, the increased use of provisional ballots, and online voter registration generate a trifecta for election fraud.

California Democrats have tirelessly fought all attempts to require voter ID at the ballot box. But… Read More

Immediately after the horrific and tragic school shooting in Connecticut Friday, opportunistic politicians all across the country jumped on the anti-gun bandwagon.

My CalWatchdog colleague John Seiler, thankfully also jumped on the politicians yesterday. “…it didn’t take long for gun-control advocates to take a bead on our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,” Seiler said. “It’s also shameful that politicians use such tragedies to advance their tyrannical agendas.”

Lt. Gov. jumps on bandwagon

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom wasted no time putting forth his next political campaign… Read More

As I drove home from the airport upon returning from a recent trip to Florida, I nearly cracked my wheel in a huge pothole on the freeway. Adding insult to injury, as I exited the freeway, I barely dodged another pothole.

The roads and highways in Florida were smooth, well maintained and safe. Florida obviously uses its transportation funds and taxes for its roads. Who knows where California’s transportation funds go. And for that matter, who knows where most of the taxpayers’ money goes in this new California.

The new California is like New Math — a failed experiment. We’ve become a state of potholes, pervasive unions, professional politicians and police.

Politics

The California Republican Party really started to fall apart after electing Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor in the historic 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis.

Many citizens go into… Read More

The final chapter….sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? I’m just taking my cue from Desperate Housewives and House and such to draw you in. Maybe this will be as big as the last episode of M*A*S*H?!

Except that I’m not going to be satisfied with cable channel reruns like those shows. No, you will continue to hear from me about a variety of matters. But, it is time to wrap up our series on how we can fix our economy.

In the previous VIII Episodes, I have talked about strategies to address the too big to fail problem, repair our deficits, and set housing, energy, health care, education, infrastructure, and manufacturing all on a path to prosperity. Most of these strategies are built upon tenets that could elicit bipartisan support. And, every single problem I’ve addressed can be successfully resolved in the United States regardless of what happens in Europe or China or anywhere else. But, before I sign off from this series, there are 3 more points I would like to make:

Absolutism Will not Work: There are some of my colleagues on the right who believe that tax cuts can cure anything. There are some on the left who believe that… Read More

Camp Carl DeMaio must be doing a jig.

Earlier this week, the councilman signed highly-respected pollster John Nienstedt of Competitive Edge Research & Communication.

So far, the polling for the San Diego mayoral race ain’t been what most of us race watchers would consider legit.

This move signifies a tipping point in the race that will no doubt lead to some substantive research providing supporters, donors and voters alike a clearer view of the field.

The most recent poll, conducted by SurveyUSA from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3 for KGTV, Channel 10, showed DeMaio in the top spot with 25 percent of the vote followed closely by long-time Democrat Congressman Bob Filner with 24 percent.

Trailing behind the pair were Republicans, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis with 14 percent and state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher at 13… Read More