Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

CA imposes taxes near highest in the U.S.

If Tax Day 2014 had you feeling down, consider how much less you would have paid in another state. According to a report on state and local tax rates published by WalletHub, California has the second-highest local and state tax

This is an ‘expedited’ review? Nerve-wracking times on bullet-train front

Chris Reed April 15, 2014

Nine weeks ago, the news seemed promising on the bullet-train follies front. Now the picture looks a bit murkier. On Jan. 24, Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris asked the California Supreme Court to conduct an expedited appeals

State Senate postpones hearings for ethics training

John April 11, 2014

In response to ongoing corruption cases, the California State Senate will postpone all committee hearings scheduled for April 23 and in their place host an all-day ethics discussion and training session. In a Wednesday afternoon email (reprinted at the end

CA media: GOP dysfunction bigger topic than mass poverty

Chris Reed April 10, 2014

The Los Angeles Times’ news analysis about how recent controversies are likely to hurt California Republicans with two constituencies they are trying to woo — Latinos and women — isn’t loaded or biased. It’s likely true. Here’s a bit of

No, San Jose not struggling to retain city workers — just police

Chris Reed April 8, 2014

IRS targeted ONLY conservatives, NO progressives

John Seiler April 7, 2014

We’ve had some exchanges on our site over the IRS harassment of conservative groups. Some of our more liberal commentators have insisted that progressive groups, also, were targeted. It turns out that part is not true. Only conservative groups —

CA Senate scrubs websites of 3 Democrats in scandals

John April 7, 2014

The California State Senate has scrubbed its website and deleted the online archives of three Democratic state Senators that face criminal charges ranging from weapons trafficking to public corruption. As of April 5 at 7:00 PM, the websites of Democratic

Coverage of L.A. ‘pothole tax’ never mentions why budget is bare

Chris Reed April 4, 2014

The city of Los Angeles’ finances are in terrible shape. The city’s economy is sluggish and revenue is stagnant. Meanwhile, retirement benefits for retired city workers — especially police and firefighters — eat up ever more of the budget. “As

Not a single Leland Yee gun-control bill was signed into law

John April 4, 2014

Was alleged gun-runner and gun-control advocate Leland Yee all talk? Before you answer, here’s a surprising fact: The San Francisco Democrat, who has been called one of California’s leading gun-control advocates, has never successfully authored a gun-control bill. Not a single

For The Los Angeles Times, a highly revealing juxtaposition

Chris Reed April 3, 2014

If you’re a conservative or libertarian who’s not just mad but astounded by how much the media protect Barack Obama, Wednesday’s front page of The Los Angeles Times was likely to generate either a stroke or a snort of disbelief/amusement.