Okay, so we weren’t on at the same time, or even the same night… Last Wednesday night, Maldonado came onto San Diego’s Rick Amato show where he made his case for why he had to vote for the largest tax increase in the history of any state. He took some shots at yours truly in that interview as well.

On Monday night, I was Amato’s guest for about an hour, and I gave some critiques of Maldobama (h/t to Barry Jantz on the nick-name).

You can get more information on the Rick Amato show here.

The two segments I reference are available here.… Read More

Thank You: First of all, I would like to offer a very heartfelt thank you from the Captivating Mrs. Campbell (Catherine) and me for all the prayers and good wishes (and medical advice) from the many hundreds of readers of this missive who e-mailed, wrote, and called. It was all much appreciated and we could both feel your prayers every day. The surgery went very well (they took out 18" of my colon) and my recovery is on schedule. Statistics at the Mayo Clinic (where the procedure was done) say that 98% of people who go through this surgery never experience diverticulitis again. I hope I am not in the other 2%. Besides, if I were, Obama would raise my taxes more!

I read every one of your emails after the announcement of my surgery and they all provided much encouragement and comfort. I have to say though; my favorite was from one reader who said: "Get well quickly John, so I can disagree with you again."

I’m Baaack: Although I probably won’t be 100% recovered until sometime in April, I am back to work in Washington. About a month ago, the condition of my health was bad. Doctors did a diagnosis,… Read More

The eyes of the nation are on California today as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the cases against Proposition 8. The hearing started promptly at 9am this morning. Right now the justices are questioning the petitioners (anti-Prop 8 lawyers). Thus far, the justices have been asking some great questions of the attorneys, pointing out many of the flaws in their arguments. But Kenneth Starr, arguing for Proposition 8, is still to come. Apparently the Cal Channel is inaccessible to many right now because of the overwhelming demand to watch the hearing. Other web sites are streaming the oral arguments, including L.A.’s Channel 7. … Read More

Congressman Tom McClintock gave an outstanding speech in the well of the House of Representatives earlier this week. You can watch him deliver the remarks here, or you can read them below…

M. Speaker:

The Laffer Curve is a simple but elegant method of demonstrating how increasing taxes reduces economic productivity until a point of equilibrium is reached when further tax hikes actually reduce revenue.

If the tax rate is zero, tax revenues are zero. But if the tax rate is 100 percent, tax revenues also reach zero, because there’s no point in working.

… Read More

The Supreme Court just wrapped up the oral arguments in the cases against Proposition 8. During the 3-hour hearing justices put both sides through rigorous rounds of questioning regarding whether Proposition 8 constitutes a revision, rather than an amendment, to the state constitution. Although we won’t know the outcome of this case for weeks (the court has up to 90 days to rule), Prop 8 supporters may have some reason to be optimistic. Two crucial swing votes, Justice Joyce Kennard and Chief Justice Ronald George, were particularly pointed in their questioning about what constitutes a revision to the constitution and the definition of inalienable rights.

Proposition 8 supporters contend that a revision constitutes a fundamental, structural change to our form of government. Placing into the state constitution the traditional definition does not structurally change our form of government. Opponents to Proposition 8 counter that denying homosexuals the “fundamental right” to marriage (created by the court last year in overturning Proposition 22) does alter our form of government by denying them their equal rights. Unfortunately, the core issue in this whole same-sex… Read More

Okay, we’re well over 400 days out from the primary show downs in the California Governor’s race. That said — all reporters love to write about polls, and two of them are out. There is a Field Poll that is written about extensively in the Sacramento Bee. And Democrat pollster Celinda Lake has done a survey that is referenced by Politico’s Ben Smith and can be reviewed here.

Both surveys reinforce the idea that Dianne Feinstein, should she seek to move from her lofty perch in the United States Senate and over to the California Governor’s Office, would hold a commanding lead.

In the Field Poll, Meg Whitman shows very strong, with Poizner trailing behind her (Tom Campbell does pretty well, but at this stage is running a low-budget campaign…) — but with most GOP voters undecided.

On the Democrat side, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will be touting the Field Poll,… Read More

Most FR readers will remember that as a freshman Republican Assemblyman, longtime FR friend Joel Anderson successfully passed substantive legislation and had it signed into law(that alone is an accomplishment for a GOPer in California) that caused the massive investment portfolios of California’s public pension systems to divestfrom investments inIran, which i a country that is a knownsponsor of terrorist organizations.

Well, in addition to making sure that public funds of Californians are not being used to create a healthy economy for terrorists to prosper at home, Assemblyman Anderson is now looking at pioneering legislation to take away a potential tool that terrorists, international or domestic, may use here at home.

I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and watch this network television interview with Assemblyman Anderson, as he talks… Read More

As I began reading Senator Abel Maldanado’s oped yesterday in support of the proposed "blanket" primary, the great compromise in the budget negotiations, I was stunned by the following lead sentence, "When I was first elected to the state Assembly 10 years ago, I was elected in an open primary system."

Wait! I thought he was trying to make a case FOR the blanket primary? Now that he has refreshed our memories of the circumstances of his election, which we can now tie to a $60 billion haircut for taxpayers over the next five years, why in the hell would any thinking person support this initiative.

We now can quanitiify the cost of our last "blanket primary". $60 billion. Yes, this is the great outcome from the last time! What a persuasive argument to vote no.… Read More