Saturday, May 26, 2018

Californians are willing to repeal the gas tax, but...



A movement began to repeal the tax by referendum and a petition to do so quickly amassed far more than the needed number of signatures. Now, a new poll indicates that support for the repeal measure has reached majority numbers. But there’s more going on here than just the removal of a set of taxes and fees. (LA Times)

...The economy in California works out fabulously for celebrities and the mega-wealthy. But for most rank and file workers, it’s virtually impossible to afford a house anywhere in the state that’s even marginally habitable. Businesses and workers are already fleeing the state in the more expensive areas, yet residents still seem to be fine with the idea of taxing “somebody else” as long as their gas prices don’t go up further....






Friday, May 25, 2018

Julian Assange seeks an audience with Adam Schiff to prove "there is no collusion"

Devin Nunes has more cash on hand than any other Republican House incumbent in California

The Real Constitutional Crisis





Democrats and their media allies are again shouting “constitutional crisis,” this time claiming President Trump has waded too far into the Russia investigation. The howls are a diversion from the actual crisis: the Justice Department’s unprecedented contempt for duly elected representatives, and the lasting harm it is doing to law enforcement and to the department’s relationship with Congress.

The conceit of those claiming Mr. Trump has crossed some line in ordering the Justice Department to comply with oversight is that “investigators” are beyond question. We are meant to take them at their word that they did everything appropriately. Never mind that the revelations of warrants and spies and dirty dossiers and biased text messages already show otherwise.

We are told that Mr. Trump cannot be allowed to have any say over the Justice Department’s actions, since this might make him privy to sensitive details about an investigation into himself. We are also told that Congress—a separate branch of government, a primary duty of which is oversight—cannot be allowed to access Justice Department material. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes can’t be trusted to view classified information—something every intelligence chairman has done—since he might blow a source or method, or tip off the president.

That’s a political judgment, but it holds no authority. The Constitution set up Congress to act as a check on the executive branch—and it’s got more than enough cause to do some checking here. Yet the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation have spent a year disrespecting Congress—flouting subpoenas, ignoring requests, hiding witnesses, blacking out information, and leaking accusations.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has not been allowed to question a single current or former Justice or FBI official involved in this affair. Not one....



Elon Musk teases website tracking journalists' and media outlets' credibility








Thursday, May 24, 2018

Britt K. Slabinski awarded Medal of Honor from President Trump







“Facebook continued to explore and implement ways to track users’ location, to track and read their texts, to access and record their microphones on their phones, to track and monitor their usage of competitive apps on their phones, and to track and monitor their calls”



The claims of what would amount to mass surveillance are part of a lawsuit brought against the company by the former startup Six4Three, listed in legal documents filed at the superior court in San Mateo as part of a court case that has been ongoing for more than two years.

Trump Cancels Summit With North Korea





















Wednesday, May 23, 2018

How do you manufacture a coup attempt by laundering phony information?







#Spygate: Truth comes out






President Trump Participates in Roundtable Discussion on Immigration

One year later, @JillianKayM talks to an Evergreen student who was assaulted by protesters, an alum who advised his sister against attending, and a couple of former faculty who think that maybe, just maybe, the “social justice” agenda will not end well

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

This is #CNN: No denunciations of #Hamas. No criticism of Iran. No questioning of the Palestinian Authority. Just blame for Trump, Netanyahu, and assorted Christians.

For the first time since Roe v. Wade, America has a Pro-Life President, a Pro-Life Vice President, a Pro-Life House of Representatives and 25 Pro-Life Republican State Capitals!

The mess Rod Rosenstein made



Many liberals and critics are under the mistaken belief that President Trump is violating the rule of law and civil liberties by criticizing the Robert Mueller investigation and by ordering the Justice Department’s Inspector General to investigate whether or not the FBI spied on his 2016 presidential campaign. In fact, the president is behaving totally lawfully, and it is Robert Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who are acting unconstitutionally and who are violating Trump’s civil liberties....

The unconstitutionality of Mueller’s appointment renders everything he has done since May 17, 2017, unconstitutional as well. This includes obtaining a log of calls by President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and his referral of Cohen to the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. Both the logging and the referral are examples of what the Supreme Court calls the fruit of a poisonous tree.

When an official uses government power in an unconstitutional way, anything that results from it is subject to the exclusionary rule and is not admissible in court. Since the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York was started due to an arguably unconstitutional call log that violates both the Appointments Clause and attorney-client privilege, the federal courts should hold that any prosecutions that result of Cohen or anyone else that grew out of the Mueller referral are unconstitutional and null and void.....

Bad news for Dems: Trump’s rating is rising where it counts, in California



All that talk of a Democratic blue wave sweeping congressional races in California could be for naught if a new poll is on target: It shows President Trump’s approval rating surging to 50 percent in Orange County, site of four tight races that could determine if Republicans hold the House.

A more popular Trump is bad news for Democrats, who are trying to grab seven GOP-held congressional districts statewide that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, including the four in Orange County. That would give Democrats a big jump on their goal of flipping 23 seats nationally to regain the House.

Lawmakers propose limits on University of California power

MICHAEL REAGAN ENDORSES JUDGE STEVEN BAILEY (RET.) FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

U.S. reclaims title of world's most competitive economy, ahead of Hong Kong and Singapore

Reuters Poll: GOP Surges to 6 Point Lead in 2018 Generic Ballot





For the week ending May 20, Republicans are at 40.7 percent while Democrats have slipped down to 34.5 percent. The survey was of 1,139 respondents and is the first time in the 2018 cycle, dating back to the end of May last year, that Republicans have taken a lead ahead of Democrats in the Reuters tracking poll.







Pompeo is right: You can’t separate a rogue regime from its roguery.

Yet another Calif. city rebels against sanctuary city law. Will this rebellion elect more Republicans in California?



5 Things to Watch in Tuesday’s Primaries: Outside of Texas runoffs, this week’s action is mostly on the Democratic side

Donald Trump: Meeting with Kim Jong-Un ‘May Not Work Out’: We Will ‘Guarantee’ Kim Jong Un’s Safety at Summit Meeting







A century ago, no matter how rich you were, you wouldn't be able to enjoy air conditioning, TV, smart phones, Internet, timely transportation, contact lenses, international food, antibiotics, effective dental care, or a high likelihood of surviving infancy

The world has forgotten the Ladies in White.



Monday, May 21, 2018

Mark Penn, the Former Clinton Aide, Dismisses the Mueller Investigation — and the Clintons Along With It



36 local candidates have been assassinated in Mexico. And the election is still 2 months away.

Obama’s FBI let their Trump campaign spy put his name forward for a job in the administration.





Trump quietly signs resolution ending Obama-era regulation of auto lending



The measure struck down 2013 guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau informing financial firms they would be held liable for fair lending laws if they arrange financing with auto dealers. The Obama administration presented the rule as necessary for counteracting discrimination.

Congress’ use of the Congressional Review Act to cancel the guidance is unprecedented, given that it was informal guidance and not an official agency rule....

Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling commended the decision after attending the closed-door ceremony.

“Gone are the days of a rogue Bureau using its unchecked powers to sidestep due process and harm the very consumers it is charged with protecting,” he said in a statement.

Sacramento's high taxes and extreme regulations are making the state unaffordable for anyone but the very rich.





"We Need to Know What Brennan, Clapper, Comey, Rice, Power and the Rest of Them Did"



...Halper's contracts were funded through four annual awards paid directly out of the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment (ONA). Established as the DoD's "internal think tank" in 1973 by Richard Nixon (whose administration Halper worked for), the ONA was run by foreign policy strategist Andrew Marshall from its inception until his 2015 retirement at the age of 93, after which he was succeeded by current director James H. Baker.... Halper's most recent award was noted recently by Trump supporter Jacob Wohl, which piqued the interest of internet researchers who continued the analysis....

The most recent award to Halper for $411,575 was made in two payments, and had a start date of September 26, 2016 - three days after a September 23 Yahoo! News article by Michael Isikoff about Trump aide Carter Page, which used information fed to Isikoff by "pissgate" dossier creator Christopher Steele. The FBI would use the Yahoo! article along with the unverified "pissgate" dossier as supporting evidence in an FISA warrant application for Page. ...





















Today, Gina Haspel is sworn-in as the first female Director of the CIA director.

"...the tool was “confusing, difficult to use, and frequently produced unacceptable assessments.”

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Trump's prison reform turn: Unlikely allies confer on prison reform at the White House





























Gov. Jerry Brown: Attempts to Repeal the Gas Tax are 'Un-Californian'





Trump demands DOJ investigation of possible campaign infiltration











"With the individual mandate dead, the rest of Obamacare is unconstitutional"



“The bottom line remains: President Obama spied on the Trump campaign using wire taps, moles and spies, and James Comey’s FBI hid the fact from congress for nearly a year.”

Sunday Funnies







Prop 72: CFRW recommends a YES vote

Prop 72: Rainwater Capture Systems Excluded from Property Tax Assessments Amendment

CFRW recommends a YES vote.

Ballot Title: Permits Legislature to Exclude Newly Constructed Rain-Capture Systems From Property-Tax Reassessment Requirement. Legislative Constitutional Amendment.







Ballot Summary:
  • Except in certain circumstances, under the California Constitution, construction on existing property requires reassessment for tax purposes.
  • The California Constitution permits the Legislature to exempt some construction on existing property from property-tax reassessment requirements.
  • Amends the California Constitution to permit the Legislature to exempt the construction or addition of rain-capture systems from the type of construction that would require a property-tax reassessment.
  • Applicable to construction or addition of rain-capture systems completed on or after January 1, 2019

Background

In 2012, the state legislature unanimously passed the Rainwater Capture Act, which allows Californians to build rainwater storage systems on their properties. Not all counties allow rainwater capture and storage, though. According to current property tax law, any “new construction” can be reassessed by your county tax assessor for taxable value. Prop 72 was passed in both houses of the legislature unanimously to protect taxpayers from higher property taxes if they choose to build rainwater capture systems on their property after January 1st, 2019. The only downside to Prop 72 is that it includes a sunset on January 1st, 2029. At that point the legislature would have to vote to extend the property tax exclusion. The voters have historically voted for and approved property tax exclusions, like Prop 72, for specific additions and new construction.

Talking Points

  • Prop 72 is a win-win for Californians. It promotes responsible water conservation while also protecting taxpayers from higher property taxes.
  • Prop 72 was supported by every Republican legislator in both the Senate and the Assembly. Though it was authored by a Democrat, this is the exact type of taxpayer protection legislation that Republicans have tried to get through the legislature for years.
  • Voters deserve the right to vote on protecting their property taxes. Prop 72 would give taxpayers the chance to show the liberal legislature that measures like this should pass with little to no opposition and by a high margin when it comes to protecting taxpayers.
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Official CFRW Positions

  • Prop 68: NO
  • Prop 69: NO
  • Prop 70: NO
  • Prop 71: YES
  • Prop 72: YES
June Ballot Measures

Proposition 68: California Parks, Environment, and Water Bond- would issue a $4 billion general obligation bond, with a 3.5% interest rate over 30 years, bringing the bill to the taxpayers up to $6.4 billion total. The CFRW says vote NO.

Proposition 69: Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox and Appropriations Limit Exemption Amendment- states that Senate Bill 1 revenue from diesel taxes will be placed in a “lockbox” and used only for transportation fund purposes. The CFRW says vote NO.

Proposition 70: Vote Requirement to Use Cap and Trade Funds Amendment- would require a one-time vote in 2024 by a 2/3rds legislative majority to allocate state Cap and Trade program revenue. The CFRW says vote NO.

Proposition 71: Effective Date of Ballot Measures Amendment- changes the date for when voter approved ballot measures take effect from the day after the election to the fifth day after the Secretary of State certifies the election. The CFRW says vote YES.

Proposition 72: Rainwater Capture Systems Excluded from Property Tax Assessment- would exclude any new rainwater capture structures from property value tax reassessment from counting as a new structure. The CFRW says vote YES.

If you would like ALL the talking points for each proposition, please email our Advocate at advocate@cfrw.org.
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CALIFORNIA GOP ENDORSEMENTS FOR JUNE 5 PRIMARY

The electronic voter guide is user-friendly – a voter can enter his or her address and find the endorsed candidates who will be on the ballot. Statewide, congressional and legislative endorsements made by CRP will be listed first, followed by the list of your endorsements in local races. ◼ To view the electronic voter guide, click HERE. Enter the home address where you are registered to vote:

GOVERNOR: No Endorsement
Lieutenant Governor: Cole Harris
Secretary of State: Mark P. Meuser
State Controller: Konstantinos Roditis
State Treasurer: No Endorsement
State Attorney General: Steven C Bailey
State Board of Equalization - District 2: Mark Burns
US Senate: No Endorsement
Congress: US House - District 2: Dale K. Mensing
State Legislature: State Assembly - District 2: Matt Heath
Schools: State Superintendent of Public Instruction: No Endorsement

Statewide Propositions:
Proposition 68: NO
Proposition 69: No Endorsement
Proposition 70: NO
Proposition 71: YES
Proposition 72: YES