Amidst the steady stream of stories of ineffective bureaucracy, poor tracking, and management mishaps that cost the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) millions, we rarely see a story about the school district failing to pay its own. Just when we thought it could do that part of its job correctly, the LAUSD proves us wrong again.

According to The LA Daily News (August 27, 2007), "Seven months after Los Angeles Unified rolled out a $95 million computerized payroll system, school officials are prepared to pour at least another $37 million into the project to fix thousands of problems as [the district braces] for the start of the school year." We have become anesthetized to absurd figures concerning LAUSD’s waste, the United Teachers Los Angeles President explains, "[However, this situation is] an 8.9 on the Richter scale… It’s very bad[,] and it promises to get worse when [the] traditional school [year] starts." LAUSD’s interim chief operating officer explains that "the… Read More

It isn’t every day you can save $23 billion. But Republicans in the House, in combination with the President, can do it in the next 60 days, if we stay resolved to hold our ground.

The Democrat majority in the House has passed 11 appropriations bills (I voted for one of them) which together spend $23 billion more than the President requested in his budget. The President’s budget request is $22 billion more than last year’s spending amount so it’s not as though he proposed some draconian cut. I led the effort to obtain 146 signatures on a letter assuring President Bush that Republicans in the House would uphold his veto of any appropriations bill that exceeded his budget request. That is the minimum number of signatures needed to sustain a Presidential veto. We obtained 147 signatures on that letter. The president then issued a statement that he would veto the overspending. The Pelosi-led House Democrats, as has been their pattern, ignored the realities of other meaningful opinions and defiantly passed the bills anyway.

But the Senate has passed only 1 of the 11 bills. However, the well- known “cloture” rule requiring 60… Read More

For all you Capitol watchers out there, soon there will be a lot less to watch. Tomorrow could be our last full day legislatin’ plus a half day Tuesday. That’s the best guess floating around "the building." One bit had us coming back for Friday, which is the drop-dead last day for the ’07 portion of this2 year session, but I doubt it.

And then there is the possibility of the Guv calling for a special session to tackle perhaps health care reform [or, a majority couldjust cram an ultimate reformbillthrough during the last 40 hours from now!] or maybe a session tolook at a solution for water storage/Delta problems.

But then the legislature can just show up for the special session call, convene the applicable committee for a few minutes, adjourn, see you in January…we’ll see.

Then in January, in addition to new bill intro’s, all the 2 year bills will be back on the front burner, including stuff you thought was dead, [bills are like Jason-Friday the 13th, they just keep coming back, even after the end of a 2 year session, even when the author is termed out, they rise up and haunt you… Read More

For those curious – the California Republican Party has just taken positions on state ballots measures: the delegates unanimously opposed the Nunez-Perata Term Limits end-run! Delegates also voted unanimously to support the Jarvis-backed CA Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act. They – equally as important – opposed ACA 8, the legislative attempt to stop real eminent romain (both a legislative attemot and a potential initiative attempt). Also they supported an initiative to allow development of Nuclear Power plants, they supported a measure to allocate California’s Presidential Electors on a Congressional District basis, support for negotiated Indian Gaming Compacts (and opposition to a potential referendum to undo them), and support the Citizens Fair Districts Initiative.

Delegates unanimously opposed a measure to change funding for community colleges.… Read More

FR Publisher Jon Fleischman is at the California Republican Party’s Fall Convention, and so there is no commentary for today, Sunday. But look back in this spot for a new commentary Monday morning.

Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?

Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.… Read More

It isn’t everyday that you get to shake hands with a man who put on the uniformof his country, suffered for years under tortuous, vicious enemy soldiers, and emerged grateful to his nation and to God, devoting his life to serving both. I got to do that today. I met John McCain.

Being in his presence for just a moment made me weak in the knees. Speaking with him for a few brief seconds reaffirmed everything that I know this nation and the GOP are capable of offering to the world. Those who know me best know that I do not engage in hero worship and am not star struck by anyone, but today was different. I met a real American hero. And as great as Senator McCain is…he thanked me for my service in the Navy. Unbelievable…honor and humility…what a an incredible comibination.

Before his luncheon speech today, we watched a video about the life of this Maverick. He’s led a life of leadership and in-your-face patriotism. He’s been a spitfire his entire life, and an… Read More

Greetings from the California Republican Party State Convention. As you can see by the timestamp on this commentary that it is very late, indeed, and so this will not be a long one. The State GOP is gathered at the Renaissance Esmerelda Hotel in Indian Wells, out in the Coachella Valley east of Los Angeles. I am not going to spend a lot of time talking about Governor Schwarzenegger’s speech to conventioneers at last night’s dinner banquet. You can pretty much read about what he said in a plethora of articles highlighted on our main page (look for various comments from me in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, and the San Diego Union Tribune). In short, the Governor came before us, declared that the State GOP was in trouble, and in essence prescribed that the ‘cure’ for our party’s ills is to move to the left on major policy issues in order to capture the political center. Frankly, and to be honest, I couldn’t disagree more. First and foremost, the purpose of a political party is to achieve it’s public policy goals. No where in our goal is a massive and costly… Read More

The last time Republicans won a serious majority in California was when Ronald Reagan was President. Yes, Ronald Reagan, the right wing nut; that seriously immoderate fellow. Yet we are now being told we must moderate our positions to win. But how do we moderate? Do we like some taxes but not others? Do some people have the right to life but not others? What principles do we abandon, which constitutional provisions do we ignore, to move to the "center" of the political spectrum? And what is the center? If our socialist legislature proposes Stalinist communism, is the the center to embrace Hitlerian nazism or Mussolini’s fascism? Should we be moderate communists to counterbalance our radical socialists in the Legislature in order to be popular "at the box office?" What do we do, what do we do?

Earlier this week, I talked about systems determining strategies, one of the two rules of politics. The other rule is principles, not popularity, determine policies. Let me explain why.

The first question anyone asks of anyone else who seeks political power is: why do you want power? What are you going to do with that… Read More