Secretary of State Bruce McPherson last week issued a press release (see attachment) listing out the ballot measures that will appear on the November ballot, along with their order and numbering. The first group, measures 1A – 1E are all part of the Infrastructure Borrowing Package (a.k.a… the ‘even though California takes in well over $100,000,000,000.00 (that’s over a hundred BILLION) a year we are going to borrow even more money rather than (gasp!) spend 5-10% of this massive budget each year on infrastructure needs’ package).

Here they are. Dan Weintraub of the SacBee lists them as well, with a bit more of a discription. Of course there is more detail in the attached release.

Prop. 1A – SCA 7 Transportation Funding Protection. Prop. 1B – SB 1266. Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality,… Read More

In honor of this nation’s founders, including those at Boston Harbor that rose up in defiance of the increasing tax on tea, and especially in honor of those that risked all by signing the Declaration,but also,in defiance of those seeking to tax oil, property, tobacco and businesses to death on this November ballot, a Happy Independence Day to everyone.

"Republicans believe everyday is the 4th of July, but Democrats believe everyday is April 15th."

Ronald Reagan… Read More

I was pleased to see that the Sacramento Bee today printed the text of the Declaration of Independence in its editorial section.

"Unanimous Declaration of the 13 United States of America. Action of Second Continental Congress.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

OAS_AD('Button20'); We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure… Read More

Late yesterday I returned from my three week trip to Great Britain. It was a fun time and it was great to spend so much time in another country, really getting to know the people, the places, and yes, the politics. That said, all FR readers will be happy to know that I have little intention of sharing my personal vacation experiences with you on this website, unless they somehow tie into California politics. That said, it is great to be back in the United States in time to celebrate our nation’s birthday — especially having flown here to ‘the colonies’ as they are still referred to, tongue in cheek, by some Britons. Anyone who needs to understand what our freedoms bring to us here in America need only travel abroad — even to a country as ‘civilized’ as Great Britain, and understand that we truly are privileged to live in the greatest country on the planet! We’ll keep this July 4th commentary short — and the news synopsis on the main page is short as well. As I like to point out, political reporters like to enjoy their holiday weekends just like the rest of us! I would like to… Read More

Late yesterday I returned from my three week trip to Great Britain. It was a fun time and it was great to spend so much time in another country, really getting to know the people, the places, and yes, the politics. That said, all FR readers will be happy to know that I have little intention of sharing my personal vacation experiences with you on this website, unless they somehow tie into California politics. That said, it is great to be back in the United States in time to celebrate our nation’s birthday — especially having flown here to ‘the colonies’ as they are still referred to, tongue in cheek, by some Britons. Anyone who needs to understand what our freedoms bring to us here in America need only travel abroad — even to a country as ‘civilized’ as Great Britain, and understand that we truly are privileged to live in the greatest country on the planet! We’ll keep this July 4th commentary short — and the news synopsis on the main page is short as well. As I like to point out, political reporters like to enjoy their holiday weekends just like the rest of us! I would like to… Read More

Here’s the SD Online story. The crux of the story is summed up in a few paragraphs:

Charles LiMandri, a lawyer with the Thomas More Law Center…said Kennedy’s order means the Aug. 1 deadline to remove the cross is off.

"The way I read it, that is a granting of our application," he said. LiMandri said he did not think Kennedy would issue a stay "just to read the papers" and issue another order later.

"That is the only reasonable interpretation of what he did today," he said. "It allows this case to be litigated on the merits in the appeals court." Here also are the just-released comments from Phil Thalheimer, chairmanof San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National War Memorial:

"We are absolutely elated with today’s news. I am glad the courts have finally realized this issue is in no way about religion, and that it is simply about protecting a part of San Diego’s history and honoring those who gallantly… Read More

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of the Flashreport that I spend a lot of time contemplating the slow, steadydecline of the GOP. It is indisputable that we hold power in Washington presently primarily due to the strong economy and decisive approach to the war against terrorists. But these are the kinds of things we are to expect a GOP government to do – so enough patting ourselves on the back for Reaganism 101.

When you combine these two policy achievements against our lack of leadership on other issues of the day – immigration, Medicare, Social Security and general government reform, and mix in a sprinkle of Pelosi, Reid and Dean, it’s not much of a surprise that we continue to eek out a majority every two years.

Tucker Carlson pens a piece for the Cato Institute on the present GOP woes and you might want to take a look this week if you get a chance.

Happy 4th!… Read More

Last week the weather in Sacramento was in the low 100’s. So, of course, I chose last week to take down a lengthy fence, overgrown with various trees and thorny shrubs on both sides, along two sides of my property. My father and I labored mightily – digging out concreted posts, sawing down tree limbs as thick as pythons, moving literally tons of wood, and in the end building a structure that vaguely resembled the wall that kept King Kong on his side of Skull Island in the old black and white movie.

I didn’t build the fence because I hate my neighbor. Admittedly, he is a‘progressive’, as is virtually everyone else in my Curtis Park neighborhood, and I am conservative.We disagree on a number of political and cultural issues that we rarely discuss. I have a Bush sticker on my car. He has a sign in his window opposing the war (strangely, he also has an old poster of Darth Vader displayedin his garage. When I pointed out that Darth Vader was hardly representative of progressive values he gave me a look that could melt butter and said that James Earl Jones – the voice of Mr. Vader – got shafted financially. I let it… Read More