There are two stories out of California that define why the state is in a slide and needs to refresh before more residents say Hasta La Vista.

The first story is of an immature Congresswoman who cannot accept responsibility for her own actions; which, in itself, is a sign of immaturity. While she is pointing fingers at everyone but herself, members of the press enable her by ignoring the real reason she resigned.

The Congresswoman said, “I’m leaving, but we have men who have been credibly accused of intentional acts of sexual violence and remain in board rooms, on the Supreme Court, in this very body and — worst of all — in the Oval Office.” And your point is? And the relevance of this statement is? The only thing I can think of is that you are a child and everyone else is responsible except for you.

Let’s start with the obvious. How stupid can you be to have anyone, ANYONE, take nude photos of you? Didn’t we judge Anthony Weiner an idiot for sending pictures of his genitals? We tell our children not to write outrageous things on Facebook as their postings might be seen by college administrators or potential employers. Yet we… Read More

Organized athletics for women have come of age and beyond during my lifetime. When I was in my youth, it seemed the extent of women’s athletics was participating in gym class and maybe some women playing tennis and golf. Participating in athletic competitions was perceived as a non-feminine act. Suffice it to say, things have significantly changed for the better. Are we now allowing this to slip away with women not even putting up a whimper?

The famous Title IX was passed in 1972 when I was just entering college. It had other concerns, but it became the controlling factor in developing women sports at the college level and thus spurred everything we have today. Young girls now participate in soccer leagues from an early age which have created the United States soccer behemoth which once again won the Women’s World Cup.

Every May I spend an extensive amount of time watching college softball. I think it is a great game. The young women have made it their own by acting completely different than the young men who play in the college baseball world series in June. Don’t for a minute think these women aren’t highly skilled while they are doing their… Read More

I have a confession to make. I take inordinate pleasure when progressive policies go badly in the progressive capital of America — San Francisco.

I know it’s wrong of me to feel this way.

Too bad. Deal with it.

The latest welcome disclosure about San Francisco is that it’s ruining its own trendy left wing restaurant industry. I seriously doubt that today there is a single San Francisco “sit down” restaurant employing waiters that is NOT owned, operated and staffed by progressives.

EXCERPT:Restaurant closings outpace openings by 9%, according toYelpdata analyzed by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. In a recent meeting with the Board of Supervisors, one industry veteran said: “We need to do something now, or we will be gone.”

Liberals are suffering as a result. I can handle it. As General George Patton reportedly said about… Read More

Of the series of witnesses that have appeared in front of the House Intelligence Committee hearing that we are not allowed to know about — except for selective leaks by Chairman Adam Schiff that are damaging to President Trump — the testimony of Ambassador William B. Taylor, Jr., is purportedly the most damning and the sure fire thing that will cause Trump to be impeached. We don’t know exactly what he said, but John Cassidy of the New Yorker stated “He has removed the automatic presumption that Trump will survive an impeachment trial.” To the extent we can, let’s look at what Taylor said.

Taylor released a very detailed 15-page opening statement. The question from the Adam Schiff hand-picked lawyers could not have gotten much since they were never going to challenge Taylor. They only have asked “Was it really as bad as you say?” “Oh, it was really, really bad.” The Taylor statement is very detailed and provides a good roadmap for what he believed was very, very bad behavior.

Ambassador Taylor returned to the position after serving in Ukraine for three years under President George W. Bush. Taylor did lay out a long history of his… Read More

It is every American’s right to criticize our leadership. That is what separates our country from others. The Bill of Rights and the First Amendment codify individual rights that make us the beacon for the world. Certain individuals have a higher responsibility to protect the First Amendment and, when using it, not to act like a second-rate politician. That is what Admiral William McRaven did in a New York Times recent column.

Let’s get past the obligatory commentary that we are all thankful for the service and sacrifice of Admiral McRaven on behalf of our country. That does not justify his irresponsible commentary.

The Admiral’s column Our Republic is Under Attack from the President begins with the Admiral wrapping himself in the American flag. If anyone deserves to do this he certainly does. He has earned it.

The transition started with a statement that feelings of despair were widespread throughout the troops with which he interacted. By innuendo he stated they were in despair akin to his feelings without any evidence. The only example he cited was a retired four-star general who apparently told him in confidence, shook him and shouted “I don’t… Read More

For those who are under the illusion that there is salvation for Communist/Socialist governments.

During an otherwise very enjoyable vacation to Southeast Asia, we went to Cambodia. Not that Cambodia isn’t enjoyable — we visited their famous temples including the iconic Angkor Wat (best viewed at sunrise). One could think that coming all this way and not visiting the Killing Fields would be a shallow act. It was actually the first thing I asked about when we decided to visit the birthplace of Khmer Rouge.

One cannot necessarily foresee a mass murder of the kind that happened between 1975 and 1979. Especially when the killing was of a different kind. The Jews were different from the Germans, at least in the Germans’ minds. The Armenians were different from the Turks. This was native Cambodians murdering other Cambodians in unimaginable numbers. There were some minorities murdered, but they were not the focus.

It was an effort to emulate Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Their leader, Pol Pot, wanted purity. We learned that many of the soldiers ranged in age from thirteen to twenty years old, i.e., ripe for indoctrination. They were reminiscent… Read More

While a young man I contemplated politics and decided that I would be a Republican. It was not a perfect fit, but I thought it was a better one for me than being a Democrat. After experiencing being a Republican and seeing how things work in our political system, I have decided when I grow up, I want to be a Democrat.

When you have the appearance of conflict of interest, you will not need to explain it, nor did you contemplate it. You can be the #2 person at the FBI, a position that must maintain unquestionable impartiality, while my wife runs for a partisan political office. Not only is she running, but she has substantial (immense) financial support from one of the closest political allies of someone who is running for the presidency. Or you can have an important and powerful elected position where every country in the world knows you. You can be appointed by the President to be point person to two countries and only two countries. Your son then ends up with lucrative financial arrangements with those two countries. You don’t even consider that a conflict exists nor suggest that there is a hint of impropriety because the appearance of a conflict of interest does not… Read More

I just got my San Diego County property tax bill for this fiscal year (2019-20). It’s instructive — in a bad way.

Many Californians think that property taxes are limited to 1% of assessed value. That “assessed value” is allow to increase annually by the cost of living — or 2%, whichever is less.

But the 1% is just the BASE property tax. Added to that are miscellaneous other taxes. By going online, I got a full list of what items my property tax payment is for. Oh my!

When a school or water bond is passed, that is a tax to pay for a SERIES of bond issues. In our case, we are paying taxes for FORTY-FOUR bonds issued by various school districts. Your bill in the mail gives you a summary of those bonds, but not the details.

Then there are the special districts — street lighting, mosquito control, “MWD water standby charge,” etc., etc. We have six such charges on our bill.

Because of a new voter-approved school bond, my overall property tax bill is 6.9% higher than last year — not “2% or less” as most people think it is. Apparently passing all these school bonds for… Read More