John Seiler, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From John Seiler

John Seiler

John Seiler has been writing about California for 25 years. That includes 22 years as an editorial writer for the Orange County Register and two years for CalWatchDog.com, where he is managing editor. He attended the University of Michigan and graduated from Hillsdale College. He was a Russian linguist in U.S. Army military intelligence from 1978 to 1982. He was an editor and writer for Phillips Publishing Company from 1983 to 1986. He has written for Policy Review, Chronicles, LewRockwell.com, Flash Report and numerous other publications. His email: [email protected]

CA jobless down, but state faces competition

California took pride this week in the staggering news of Apple Inc.’s record quarterly earnings. And the state unemployment rate dropped in December to 7 percent, down from 7.2 percent in November — a vast improvement over the 12 percent of 2010 and 2012.

McClintock pushes water storage, public lands access

John Seiler January 29, 2015

“I think there’s going to be a concerted effort in the next few weeks to move both short-term and long-term water relief bills for California,” Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., told CalWatchdog.com. As this site reported in November, promising bipartisan efforts by

Brown, Newsom ace Napolitano

John Seiler January 29, 2015

This now is Gov. Jerry Brown’s ninth decade in California politics. He was born in 1938 into his father’s ambitions in state politics, culminating in Pat Brown’s governorship from 1959-1966. From his website: Jerry Brown has more experience, and success, than

CA Dem vs. CA Dem on taxes

John Seiler January 27, 2015

One-party systems are inherently unstable. People inevitably choose sides. And budget realities always limit what government can do, bringing conflict. So it’s not surprising Democrats in California, who dominate the minority Republicans despite some GOP gains last November, are fighting

Challenge to CA union dues heads to Supreme Court

John Seiler January 26, 2015

Are union dues mandatory? The U.S. Supreme Court is closeer to taking up that controversy. According to the Center for Individual Rights, which defends individual workers’ rights not to belong to unions and pay dues, specifically to the California Teachers

Cartoon: Freedom of expression

John Seiler January 26, 2015

School Choice Week kicks off today

John Seiler January 25, 2015

Today begins National School Choice Week, designed to heighten awareness for innovations in education. According to SchoolChoiceWeek.com: “Independently planned by a diverse and growing coalition of individuals, schools, and organizations, National School Choice Week features thousands of unique events and

Surf City to repeal bag ban

John Seiler January 24, 2015

It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes governments actually repeal bad laws. That is happening in Huntington Beach, where, reported the Orange County Register: the council took the first step to repeal the ban on single-use plastic bags, saying there’s no

Leg Analyst: School reserves law not working

John Seiler January 23, 2015

Whether finances are personal, business or government, having a reserve makes sense. You never know when an emergency might crop up and you’ll need the funds. Indeed, last November voters approved Proposition 2, which increased the state’s “rainy day” fund

Rose Bird’s ghost will kill CA death penalty

John Seiler January 22, 2015

Given that Gov. Jerry Brown was just elected to an unprecedented fourth term, it’s not surprising an old controversy would come up: the death penalty. As the Los Angeles Times reported, his recent appointments of three liberal justices to the