It is being reporter over at the Sacramento Bee (and I am sure other places) that legislative leaders have scuttled any attempts at putting redistricting reform or term-limits loosening on the November ballot. Dan Weintraub of the Bee speaks pretty plainly over on his blog.

Make no bones about it, the redistricting process in California is hopeless broken. The reality is that the majority uses the currently system to artficially inflake and ‘lock in’ legislative districts that had predictable results in the last election with 153 partisan officeholders for State Senate, Assembly and United States Congress all getting re-elected (or in those cases where an incumbent was term-limited out or retiring, their seat was ‘passed’ to the nominee of their same political party 100% of the time).

The red herring in this whole process was this idea of tying redistricting reform to a modification of the term-limits placed on legislators with the passage of Proposition 140… Read More

The Los Angeles City Council is trying to squeeze outa third term for themselves by linking a change in term limits with so-called ethics reforms.

Of course it begs the question. If they are so corrupt they need ethics reforms than why should they get a third term?

Now some of the neighborhood council members are attacking the process. See article here. That is good. The process was horrible as is linking these two different issues, but the debate over term limits shouldn’t be clouded by process.

Is it good or bad. Period.… Read More

In a federal government "taking" that even a conservative can support, President Bush today signed the legislation to save the Mt. Soledad War Memorial and its hilltop cross. This may not be news to most readers, but thought you might want to see the photo, compliments of Congressman Brian Bilbray’s office…..

L to R, William Kellogg, Phil Thalheimer, Brian Bilbray, Darrell Issa, GW, Duncan Hunter, Charles LiMandri. (Attached below is the larger photo….great shot!) Here ismy weekend post on the bill signing, if you missed it.

Below is Pastor Chris Clark’s 2:54 pm email:

Greetings!

Just a few minutes ago, President Bush signed into a law the bill that officially makes the Mount Soledad National War Memorial property of the federal government!

From the efforts nearly two years ago to make Soledad a… Read More

OK – this is worth a minute of your time today. As if Phil Angelides wasn’t already completed bracketed as the big taxer and spender that he is, the Schwarzenegger has prepared a short reminder of how many different taxes he has pledged to raise. Even more alarming (if possible) than his billions in proposed tax increases are that just some of his proposed spending increases that total close to $20 billion. Good grief. Check out the video here.

Below are some facts to chew on after watching it… (Sorry if it goes on awhile. Blame Phil Angelides for being so specific on so many occasions on how much he will tax and spend California’s economy into the gutter.) Phil Angelides Has Already Promised To Raise Taxes $5 Billion…… Read More

It’s been a tough year for U.S. Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto), who lost several skirmishes with fellow DemocratsculminatinginJune primary electiondefeat forhis two sons, Assemblyman Joe Baca Jr. in the 32nd Senate District primary and Jeremy Baca in the 62nd Assembly District.

It’s true that "Working Joe" has never beena favorite son of the Democrat party (he’s not considered liberal or effective enough, believe it or not). It’s also not unusual for a legislator, especially a congressman, to be accused of losing touch with the local political base. But Mr. Baca seems to take it a step further by demonstrating utter cluelessness about the goings on and operations of his own party.

For example, two days after Baca Junior’s Senate Primary defeat at the hands ofAssemblywoman Gloria Negrete-McLeod, Baca Senior told the Press Enterprise that Republicans were secretly backing the liberal Negrete-McLeodbecause she would be easier for the GOP nomineeto defeat in the November general election. Problem there was no Republican was running for the seat.

Another victorious candidate in the June… Read More

PHIL’S BAD PRESS DAY FR friend Steve Maviglio, who had been handling some press duties for Phil Angelides during the legislative break, is back at work for Speaker Nunez these days. But I am sure as he is looking at press coverage of the Gubernatorial race today, he is rolling his eyes. Since he is in Sacramento, he has to read a buzz column that starts out with a story about how basketball legend Magic Johnson was a no-show for an Angelides fundraiser. But that is only the beginning of bad-press Monday for the ersatz Governor Angelides… You have a major story in the Los Angeles Times dumping on Angelides for a lack of charisma, the Contra Costa Times wondering if Angelides will gain any traction, and then Bill Bradley on his New West Notes website throws dirt into the political grave of Angelides, highlighting that the only way he gets press is by talking about whatever the Governor is talking about, in the hopes of getting a down-story quote. And it’s only Monday, Phil! … Read More

PHIL’S BAD PRESS DAY FR friend Steve Maviglio, who had been handling some press duties for Phil Angelides during the legislative break, is back at work for Speaker Nunez these days. But I am sure as he is looking at press coverage of the Gubernatorial race today, he is rolling his eyes. Since he is in Sacramento, he has to read a buzz column that starts out with a story about how basketball legend Magic Johnson was a no-show for an Angelides fundraiser. But that is only the beginning of bad-press Monday for the ersatz Governor Angelides… You have a major story in the Los Angeles Times dumping on Angelides for a lack of charisma, the Contra Costa Times wondering if Angelides will gain any traction, and then Bill Bradley on his New West Notes website throws dirt into the political grave of Angelides, highlighting that the only way he gets press is by talking about whatever the Governor is talking about, in the hopes of getting a down-story quote. And it’s only Monday, Phil!

TERM LIMITS MEASURE WILL SINK REDISTRICTING… Read More

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