Quote of the week: “I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a great resolve” – Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto after the attack on Pearl Harbor, as attributed from the movie “Tora, Tora, Tora”.

There is no evidence that the real Admiral Yamamoto actually uttered these words his character says in the movie, although he apparently thought the attack was a mistake. But perhaps President Obama or Speaker Pelosi should be saying this about their socialized medicine bill.

I was in Northern Florida over the weekend at a classic car show that draws about 20,000 attendees. Most people were from the Southeast although there were plenty of people from all over the country. Car racing legends Richard Petty, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, and Carroll Shelby were there and held a seminar on their racing experiences and on winning. Most of the discussion was, naturally, about racing. But about one third of the discussion was about politics. The biggest cheer of the day was not about racing but when Garlits made a comment at how bad “that crowd in Washington today” was. The second biggest was when a… Read More

This morning Southern California was awakened by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake. In light of the recent Haitian and Chilean earthquakes, even a minor earth rumble causes jittery nerves. Experts keep warning that it’s only a matter of time before California has another major earthquake. One of the articles I read about this morning’s earthquake mentioned California’s last destructive earthquake, the 1994 Northridge quake, a 6.7 magnitude quake that killed 72 people. The Northridge quake caused $20 billion in damage.

As I read that number, I couldn’t help but think of the current $20 billion budget deficit California is facing. Emergency preparedness is yet another reason it’s so important for the state’s government to balance its books and have emergency funds set aside. We know it’s just a matter of time before another big quake strikes, or we have another devastating fire season. Legislators are violating their fiduciary duty to their constituents by spending and wasting taxpayer money. The state’s deficit isn’t just about wasteful spending—it also means that when we need funds to deal with a disaster, the money won’t be there to help victims and… Read More

At the GOP Convention, Meg Whitman held a "townhall style" program featuring herself and former Massachusetts Governor and 2008 GOP Presidential contender Mitt Romney. The session was moderated by FR friend and radio talk show host Eric Hogue…

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Late this afternoon Steve Poizner and Meg Wihitman will have their first debate, moderated by network news reporter Conan Nolan. A big thank you to event hosts The New Majority for streaming this event and providing us the embedding code so you can watch it below… The event is at 530pm… I will be attending the event in person — should be fun!

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Unlike other events where I typically mix in with attendees, and occasionally look off at whatever sequestered area the media has been forced to squeeze into, this time I am IN that area — covering the first Gubernatorial GOP of the season as a "member of the press corps" — yikes.

With the help of my friend and fellow blogger Matt Cunningham (holding the FlashCam), I filmed this little five minute video… Check it out! Be patient if it isn’t up right away – You Tube takes a few minutes to process.

Check out my "live tweeting" of the debate at www.twitter.com/flashreport. I’m also live blogging on Red County’s live feed here.

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Enjoy…

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For the first time, the two contenders for the Republican nomination for Governor, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, will debate. The event, hosted by the New Majority, will take place at 530pm today in Orange County. We will be featuring live, streaming video of the showdown here on the FlashReport Blog! So tune in to watch it live, or catch the replay!… Read More

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