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Matt Rexroad

Wealth and Democracy intersects The Immigration Solution

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

Barry Jantz

Sunday San Diego: It Depends on the Definition of Sanctuary

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

Matt Rexroad

Some things just continue to be true

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

Jon Fleischman

Weigand’s Cynicism Deserves a Response

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

Jon Fleischman

Today’s Commentary: Weigand’s Cynicism Deserves a Response

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 theRead More

Jon Fleischman

Is the Los Angeles Times trying to hatchet the Governor?

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

Jon Fleischman

Today’s Commentary: Is the Los Angeles Times trying to hatchet the Governor?

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

Jon Fleischman

More GOP Candidates Reject Log Cabin Club Endorsement

Sue Horne is locked in a neck and neck primary with Dan Logue in Assembly District 3 — and was caught completely off guard when, unsolicited, she was endorsed by the state’s Gay Republican organization, the Log Cabin Club of California. Similarly, in Assembly District 71, which straddles the Orange/Riverside County boundary, Neil Blais is in a blowout primary with opponent Jeff Miller. Blais, as well, was the subject of an unsolicited "drive by endorsement" by the Log Cabin Republicans. Neither candidate went after the endorsement of the group, and as it turns out, neither candidate wants it.

Below is the text of a letter sent to the Log Cabin Republicans from Sue Horne…

Log Cabin Republicans of California

Read More