Prayer has always been a component of American history. You need not be a person of faith to know that prayer has influenced our history and that Presidents have honored and called for prayer during times of national crisis. It is ingrained into our national traditions. It is in that spirit that the National Day of Prayer was created by a joint resolution of Congress and signed by President Truman in 1952 to annually recognize prayer’s importance.

Since then, there have been 57 Presidential Proclamations for a Day of Prayer. Last year, all 50 state governors including Governor Schwarzenegger signed similar proclamations encouraging citizens to pray. The Day of Prayer serves to remind all Americans, of all backgrounds, to reflect on the blessings and challenges that have shaped our nation. It is a wholesome call to pray for the well-being of our communities, country, and those serving in our Armed Forces.

Unfortunately, for a small and vocal minority largely comprised of atheists and agnostics, the safe guards in the First Amendment are not enough. A group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation believes that the National Day of Prayer leaves… Read More

I’ve heard a lot of outrageous Big Government stories in my day, but here’s one that wins the prize. LA Times’ Steve Lopez reports that owners of a mom and pop Chinese restaurant in the San Fernando Valley are under deep (and questionable) scrutiny by California state auditors, specifically the Board of Equalization, for allegedly under-reporting sales taxes.

As a candidate of the BOE (2nd district), I can assure you that I oppose tax evaders and cheats. The under-ground economy has disastrous consequences for society – look no further than Greece. However, I am equally opposed to big government harassing small business owners.

Let’s break down Lopez’ facts: 1.The owners, Sander and “Mama” Ho, are the sole workers at the Tasty China, the restaurant under scrutiny. 2.Lopez’ lunch for two, with tax and drinks, came to just over $12. 3.Many customers buy only a $1 carton of white rice. 4.The restaurant is small and rarely filled to capacity. 5.The Ho’s dwell in a one-bedroom North Hollywood… Read More

Since we’re a website on California politics, I am not going to assume that all of our readers know that life-long Republican Charlie Crist, the Governor of Florida and a candidate for United States Senate, in recent days announced his departure from the GOP, choosing to re-register as an independent to guarantee his presence as a candidate for the Senate this November. Crist, you see, had been the prohibitive front-runner for the GOP nomination – but his strong embrace of President Obama and some of his most liberal policies (most famously the TARP plan) on top of years of embracing his own form of populism that demonstrated a severe lack of defining ideology – made him very unpopular with Florida’s Republican voters. His former primary opponent, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, a strong conservative, had been an underdog against Crist, but then as Rubio’s message spread, and Crist’s embrace of Obama (literally) became well know, Rubio shot way ahead to the point where Crist was sure to lose the GOP nomination – hence his decision to bail on the Republican Party all… Read More

This afternoon GOP legislators will have a start contrast available to them as they decide where to get their late afternoon munchies. You see, after his "inauguration" event this afternoon, Abel Maldonado is having a reception to celebrate his ascending to the state’s top most meaningless post. But at the very same time, the Lt. Governor campaign of conservative State Senator Sam Aanestad is having their own event.

FlashReport’s eyes and ears will be trolling about both events — and we’ll be interested to see who goes to which. Will legislators prioritize making an important statement about their primary choice? Or will they revert to what experts call "grazing" — where you go to all events, just to get as much food as possible.

Of course, if they attend the Maldonado inauguration, they may not have an appetite afterward so the "grazing" argument would be rendered moot.… Read More

Garrick Fights Against Raising Taxes on Working Californians* from CA Assembly GOP on Vimeo.… Read More

Welcome to "Whitman University" — this professionally created video highlighting a campaign appearance by GOP Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman yesterday in Diamond Bar is really an important reminder to everyone about the importance of protecting Proposition 13…

… Read More

Dear Editors of California Newspapers:

Many local and regional newspapers will be endorsing in Republican primary elections in the coming days. This is just a little advice that you can clearly take or leave. In the end it’s your newspaper and you will print what you want.

Republican primaries are closed under current law. This means that conservatives often make up the majority of primary voters. Thus, when you decide to support someone in your editorial — trying to write something that actually works with the Republican primary voter would be helpful.

Take this editorial from the San Luis Obispo Tribune. They endorse this local County Supervisor and then go on to tell their readers the reason is that he is more moderate than his opponents and won’t sign the tax pledge. Way to help a brother out.

Come on. I think if i was a Republican candidate in the primary that had the "honor" of earning this endorsement I would have encouraged them to support someone… Read More

Since we’re a website on California politics, I am not going to assume that all of our readers know that life-long Republican Charlie Crist, the Governor of Florida and a candidate for United States Senate, in recent days announced his departure from the GOP, choosing to re-register as an independent to guarantee his presence as a candidate for the Senate this November. Crist, you see, had been the prohibitive front-runner for the GOP nomination – but his strong embrace of President Obama and some of his most liberal policies (most famously the TARP plan) on top of years of embracing his own form of populism that demonstrated a severe lack of defining ideology – made him very unpopular with Florida’s Republican voters. His former primary opponent, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, a strong conservative, had been an underdog against Crist, but then as Rubio’s message spread, and Crist’s embrace of Obama (literally) became well know, Rubio shot way ahead to the point where Crist was sure to lose the GOP nomination – hence his decision to bail on the Republican Party all… Read More