The last two books I’ve read don’t seem to have much in common at first but upon further thought I think they have everything to do with each other.

Over at the Red County Book Club I came across The Immigration Solution by three authors that write different chapters. Amazon then got me started on Kevin Phillips’ Wealth and Democracy.

First of all, some parts of the The Immigration Solution seem a little sensationalized to me. It has some interesting facts but some that I question. Some of the personal stories that are presented to illustrate a point come up short. It is also not as well sourced as I would like. However, the book does deal with the real problem of illegal immigration.

The best part of the book was the second chapter about the different demographics of the people coming to this country today as opposed to… Read More

Saturday night in Red Bluff, the annual Party dinner event went very well. We had as our keynote speaker our state Republican Party chairman, Ron Nehring. It was a very successful event thanks to the Tehama Central Committee and the Tehama Republican Women. Attendance was pretty good, everyone seemed to have a good time enjoying some great tri-tip, BBQ’d righton sight, and each others company. We were joined during the evening by our Congressman Wally Herger, several local electeds, and all the candidates seeking to replace mewhen I get tossed from the Assembly this November. It went so well, therewere not even any arrests!* Ron has been very dedicated to getting around to our north state counties as state party chairman to articulate the Party’s goals and stress theimportance of all 58 counties being engaged.

We appreciate Ron’s presence up here in all these small town areas, you know the ones with jus little airstripslike what Earl’s crop duster flies off’n, or with just itty bitty 2 lane roads in ’em…come to think of it we do have that new-fangled I-5 freeway runnin through here…it’s got… Read More

The San Diego blogs and echo chamber have been alive in recent days over city attorney candidate Brian Maienschein’s mailer declaring that he “will oppose any effort to make San Diego a Sanctuary City” for those illegally in this country. The only catch is that according to the Feds, the City of San Diego is already on the vaunted sanctuary list, meaning that the locals "will generally promote policies that ensure (illegal) aliens will not be turned over to federal authorities." According to several irate bloggers and commenters on Red County San Diego, Maienschein has done nothing to change that status in his two terms as a councilmember.… Read More

I read arecent post by Sacramento Bee writer Steve Weigand over on the Bee’s Capitol Alert Website (it’s free and FR recommended, but registration is required)… There Steve belittles legislative Republicans for celebrating Tax Freedom Day earlier this week (the day in the year when, for Californians, you have finished earning enough money to pay your combined federal, state and local tax burden for the year if everything earned to now went to pay those taxes and fees). Steve end’s his comments thusly:

Anyway, the Reep lawmakers gathered in the Capitol press conference room to repeat the party mantra: Taxes are bad, Proposition 13 is sacred and Democrats and bureaucrats are to blame for the Golden State not being more golden. "California has the fourth-highest tax burden in the country," huffed Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar.… Read More

I read arecent post by Sacramento Bee writer Steve Weigand over on the Bee’s Capitol Alert Website (it’s free and FR recommended, but registration is required)… There Steve belittles legislative Republicans for celebrating Tax Freedom Day earlier this week (the day in the year when, for Californians, you have finished earning enough money to pay your combined federal, state and local tax burden for the year if everything earned to now went to pay those taxes and fees). Steve end’s his comments thusly:

Anyway, the Reep lawmakers gathered in the Capitol press conference room to repeat the party mantra: Taxes are bad, Proposition 13 is sacred and Democrats and bureaucrats are to blame for the Golden State not being more golden.

"California has the fourth-highest tax burden in the country," huffed Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar. "To put it another way, Californians are working for the government one-third of the… Read More

In my fraternity and in the Marine Corps I noticed that the guys that complained the most about hazing when it was happening to them were the ones that did the most hazing when they were in a command position.

Lately, I have noticed this same process in politics with endorsements and campaign contributions.

We hear people talk about recruiting good candidates to run for state and local offices. We hear all kinds of babble about recruiting female candidates that can win. We hear numerous elected officials at every level talk about encouraging good candidates to run but in the end they do almost nothing because it might cause them some discomfort or risk.… Read More

On the main page today, I link to this article by Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times in which is excerpted here:

Administration officials are soliciting advice from business groups and other special interests on how to propose billions of dollars in tax hikes that could help close a budget shortfall the governor now says is as large as $20 billion.

Schwarzenegger’s staff is exploring a range of options, including sales taxes on lawyer and accountant services, on high-end services such as golf lessons and personal-trainer sessions, and on takeout coffee and other prepared foods that are not taxed now.

The administration’s goal, participants in the discussions say, is to gather support for new taxes from a broad spectrum of the business lobby, giving the Legislature’s Republicans political cover to break their pledges never to vote for them.

Several lobbyists and state officials involved in the meetings agreed to talk about them on… Read More

On the main page today, I link to this article by Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times in which is excerpted here:

Administration officials are soliciting advice from business groups and other special interests on how to propose billions of dollars in tax hikes that could help close a budget shortfall the governor now says is as large as $20 billion.

Schwarzenegger’s staff is exploring a range of options, including sales taxes on lawyer and accountant services, on high-end services such as golf lessons and personal-trainer sessions, and on takeout coffee and other prepared foods that are not taxed now.

The administration’s goal, participants in the discussions say, is to gather support for new taxes from a broad spectrum of the business lobby, giving the Legislature’s Republicans political cover to break their pledges never to vote for them.

**There is more –… Read More