It was once said that, “Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave.” During the Memorial holiday, we unite to honor our brave and memorialize for eternity those who sacrificed all for our country. We reflect upon those heroes that served America and pursued democracy with fearless determination. We ponder all that brought our country to this moment in history and dream of what is still to come.

The work I do while away from home in Washington, D.C. on the House Armed Services Committee is intermittently laced with stinging reminders of the prices paid by families, communities, and as a country toward the cost of freedom, liberty, and security.

Our own community – the 25th Congressional District – has lost thirty-seven sons on the battlefield since September the eleventh, most recently Specialist Rudy Acosta, who died in Afghanistan earlier this spring. The courage and heroism, exemplified by all these men, is the very foundation on which this great Republic thrives.

Memorial Day is our time to applaud, remember, and honor those who walked the hero’s… Read More

Bloomberg… Read More

In 2007 the Placer County Republican Central Committee apparently approved that it be managed day-to-day by something called the “Headquarters Partnership”. However, now in 2011, the individuals who “own” the bank account and other records for the “Headquarters Partnership” are under fire from Central Committee members, and some say law enforcement agencies, for failure to disclose financial matters in administration of the Placer GOP office, and even claims of “self-dealing”. The problem is so well-known locally, and is bad enough, that voters became aware of it and threw out many members of the Central Committee in the last election, including the County Chairman, who is somehow involved in the secretative “Headquarters Partnership” deal.

Now Placer’s three elected Republican state legislators have stepped-up in demanding accountability from the “Headquarters Partnership” partners. Transparency is expected in political finance, so good for them. A copy of their letter appears here.… Read More

The Orange County Register has published a number of short pieces from a number of us who knew Alan Bock well. Bock was a long time, amazing editorial writer for the Register, and recently passed away. Below is my submission to the Register. You can read all of the remembrances of Bock here…

Alan Bock: The Young Revolutionary

Alan Bock lived in a small boxy apartment next to the 405 freeway when I first met him in the summer of 1970. Officially, he was a student at UCLA. He certainly was an on-campus troublemaker. He began a lifelong journey, struggling to advance clear ideas of liberty to an otherwise heedless public.

He was surrounded by all the talk of revolution in the 1960s. But Alan liked to talk of real revolution, advancing our… Read More

This Memorial Day weekend provides an opportunity to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedom.

As flags are flown throughout the country to honor the valor and courage of the brave men and women who gave their lives defending our county, let us remember that the liberties we enjoy today came at a great price.

Even this year brave Americans overseas continue to fight and die for our freedom. As these valiant soldiers are put to rest let us offer a prayer this Memorial Day in respect and gratitude for the rights and liberties we are blessed to have.

Often viewed as the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day has deep roots in American History.

Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day became a federally observed holiday in 1967 when the tradition of decorating the graves of fallen soldiers had spread nationwide. Unlike Veterans Day which honors living veterans, Memorial Day commemorates the men and women throughout the history of our country who died in battle paying the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and well being of all Americans.

Since Decoration Day was first observed in the 1860’s, more than one… Read More

The independent commission that is drawing the state’s political boundaries for Congressional, BOE, State Senate and State Assembly Districts is only weeks away from publishing its first pass at new districts. This is part of the decennial process of redistricting, meant to ensure that all of the districts contain roughly the same number of citizens (of course to some interests, it is a time to make sure that districts are still drawn to produce specific political outcomes, such as electing people of a particular ethnicity).

Anyways, at this final stage, various groups are submitting “suggested” maps for the commission to consider — maps containing districts that their authors believe comply with all of the necessary mandates placed on the commission by the voters that created it, and that also are in compliance with the various court orders that pertain to the redistricting process.

One such interest group, the California Institute for Jobs, Economy, and Education (which is “code” for the California big-business community), has submitted their maps. Laboring (for God knows how long) to actually crunch the data and produce… Read More

Here’s an unsettling thought: We have been comparing CA unemployment with the national average. But what we SHOULD be comparing is CA vs. the average of the other 49 states.

This distinction is important. California holds about 12% of the entire nation’s population, and thus materially impacts the national average figure.

Consider the latest employment figures for the month of April, 2011. If you take California’s dismal 11.9% unemployment number out of the national average, the average for the other 49 states is not the 9.0% national average, but rather 8.6%. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

BOTTOM LINE: In actual percentages, the CA unemployment rate is a full 3.3% higher than the average for the other 49 states. In terms of percentage difference, that makes CA unemployment on average 38.4% higher than the other states.… Read More

I have reviewed the Governor’s latest budget proposals related to Enterprise Zones, and they are as bad as the original proposal that would have eliminated the program altogether.

It’s Still a Tax Increase:

First of all, this would still impose a tax increase on thousands of California businesses that would be retroactive. Many of these businesses have survived thanks in large part to the Enterprise Zone program, and have kept their employees working in California during the economic recession.

High-Tech and Bio-Tech Industries Harmed:

The Governor’s limitations on tax credit carryovers would be particularly harmful to startup companies especially in the high-tech and bio-tech sectors that would be unable to utilize the Enterprise Zone tax credits.

Governor’s Enterprise Zone Plan Would Force Job Layoffs:

The small business community has reviewed the Governor’s plan and they are alarmed. A small printing firm in San Diego had this to say about it: “Thanks to Enterprise Zone tax credits, we were able to retain employees that we otherwise would have been forced to lay off… Read More