A couple of weeks ago, I read an article of interest in the Business section of the Los Angeles Times, which caught my eye because of its title: Telecom Companies Reject Stimulus Money.

The headline piqued my interest because, after all, isn’t in en vogue these days to take big handouts from Uncle Sam for your big business? Didn’t Congress pass, at the President’s request, a massive “stimulus” bill to move money into the economy by investing it into, among other things, infrastructure growth?

We’re seen banks take billions, as well as the auto industry – just to point out two obvious recipients of President Obama’s largesse.

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I am not quite sure how to react to the information, given to me by Aaron McLear (the Governor's Press Secretary) that his boss flat out opposes taxing grocery bags — but that he would support a complete ban on plastic shopping bags.

I guess I am half-pleased and half-not. That the Governor is maintaining his anti-tax stance is awesome.

But… Banning plastic bags? That seems to me to be a big over-reach by state government. There is no doubt that limiting the selection of available options to stores for choice of bag options will end up being costly for consumers.… Read More

Yesterday a furor erupted over a pretty extensive blog post by former MSM reporter turned blogger Greg Lucas, on his California’s Capitol site entitled, Schwarzenegger Administration Floats 25-cent Fee on Single-Use Plastic and Paper Bags. Lucas is viewed as being a pretty credible writer on the goings-on of California politics.

Well, if there was a trial balloon being floated, consider it popped. We just got off of the phone with the Gov’s peeps — who confirm that the Governor has not, does not, and will not sign into law a tax on plastic grocery bags.… Read More

Most politicos don’t usually socialize with terror apologists. Generally, theyare cautious to a fault. Which is whya politicalevent today in Sacramento raisesserious questions of what were they thinking. The extremist group CAIR (Committee for American-Islamic Relations)recently issued a press releaseannouncing its6th Annual Ramadan Iftar inside the Capitol Rotunda (see the release with a full list of legislative co-hosts attached to the bottom of this post).… Read More

Most politicos don’t usually socialize with terror apologists. Generally, theyare cautious to a fault. Which is whya politicalevent today in Sacramento raisesserious questions of what were they thinking. The extremist group CAIR (Committee for American-Islamic Relations)recently issued a press releaseannouncing its6th Annual Ramadan Iftar inside the Capitol Rotunda (see the release with a full list of legislative co-hosts attached to the bottom of this post).… Read More

Today I had the pleasure of chatting with Northern California radio jocks Armstrong & Getty. The topic: California’s prison issues – specifically, the early release of 27,000 prisoners.

The conversation went well and we even took calls from listeners. My favorite call was from the wife of an incarcerated 62-year-old man who is serving 22 months for trademark infringement. The caller was not specific about her husband’s crime, but she was livid that he was serving time arguing that he is no threat to society at his age.

Joe Getty pointed out that he was a threat to society a year ago when he was 61 years old and broke the law, so therefore why wouldn’t he be a threat now, or next year?

Here’s another point: He is in prison because he did something bad and deserves to face the consequences. Furthermore, the company, the employees and the investors he violated deserve justice. We have to remember that crimes have consequences. That’s how our justice system works.… Read More

On Friday I joined thousands of Californians in a Tea Party protest on the west steps of the state capitol.

We came together to protest high taxation imposed by Liberal Democrats, and government’s burdensome regulations on water and energy. The bottom line is California taxpayers and business owners are sick to death of government intrusion. It’s ruining their livelihoods and quality of life, and they’re not going to take it anymore.

I spoke at the event, along with Republican Congressmen Tom McClintock, Northern California radio jocks Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty; Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Association and Peter Foy, Ventura County Supervisor and the California chairman of Americans for Prosperity. Sacramento radio host Eric Hogue served as emcee.

Of the thousands of protesters, many were farmers and small business owners who have been particularly hit hard by the devastation of Central Valley farmlands in environmentalists’ effort to protect a 2-inch long minnow. The rally also attracted many… Read More

This morning I wrote about efforts to pass Speaker Karen Bass’ AB 1422, and why Republicans should not support it. The bill seeks to restore some of the welfare cuts that came out of the June budget revision by going after, as some would characterize it, "free money" — referring to grabbing federal tax dollars (hardly "free" to the taxpayers). Through slight of hand, the bills INCREASES STATE TAXES in order to qualify for federal money. Then uses some of that money to "make whole" those stuck with the higher taxes. The remainder is — "free money" courtesy of Uncle Sam, right?

Better yet still, those to be taxed (and reimbursed) WANT this, as they will profit when the "free money" is spent.

So it’s all good, right?

WRONG.

This devilish arrangement is bad in many ways, both on a policy level as well as politically.

I make the policy argument in my commentary, but to reiterate — the so-named Healthy Families program is sick. It doesn’t work well, and is in need of an overhaul of the sort that liberal ideologues are not in a hurry to do.

It is also… Read More