California is nation’s “worst judicial hellhole” for 2nd year in a row

Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax FightersUndesignated Leave a Comment

UPDATE: The American Tort Reform Association ranks California the “worst judicial hellhole” in U.S. for 2nd year in a row – extremely anti-business.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks CA higher – “only” the 4th worst state (unfortunately, sliding from 7th worst in 2008). http://www.judicialhellholes.org/2013/12/17/california-ranks-1-in-20132014-judicial-hellholes-report/ and http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/states/california

Does the CA high COL justify public employee excessive pay and pensions? Not hardly.

Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax FightersRichard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters Leave a Comment

A common justification for California’s sky-high state and local public employee pay and pensions is our state’s high cost of living. This is a valid point — sorta.  California DOES have a higher cost of living and higher pay, but it doesn’t come close to justifying most of the dramatic disparity between public and private total compensation. The real comparison …

Find out how much your city or state pays for police and firefighters. Compare.

Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax FightersRichard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters 1 Comment

What’s killing local California governments is the huge cost of overpaying and over-pensioning public employees.  ESPECIALLY our public safety employees (mostly police and firefighters).  Some cities have declared bankruptcy, with many others bankrupt but so far refusing to acknowledging their plight. I here offer two database tools. The first let’s you find out how your California town stacks up against …

DeMaio and SDGOP Sponsor Young Republicans Annual Party

Carl DeMaioCarl DeMaio Leave a Comment

Join me this Saturday evening (7-10pm) in Pacific Beach at the San Diego Young Republicans Annual Holiday Party! Not only will it be a blast, but with your help, we can also make the Christmas of our Armed Servicemembers’ children brighter when you bring an unwrapped toy for the USO. Tickets are $10 for members, and $15 for non-members, and …

A personal thought on Economic Liberty

Guest ColumnGuest Column Leave a Comment

by Aaron Byzak Here’s a basic rundown of my fiscal politics: I came from nothing. Broke as hell. I’ve worked my tail off to realize some professional, educational and personal success. I am reimbursed for my professional endeavors with something called money. This is my property and the foundation of my economic liberty. Yet roughly 50 percent of my economic …

DeMaio Sponsors Petition to Mobilize Support to Save Mt. Soledad Memorial

Carl DeMaioCarl DeMaio 9 Comments

I’m sponsoring a petition to get Congress to intervene to keep the Mt. Soledad Memorial where it is. Can you sign the petition so we can send a strong message in support of keeping the memorial? Here’s the petition link: http://bit.ly/SaveSoledad Congressman Scott Peters supported the removal of the Mt. Soledad Memorial, and since then we have seen millions in …

Kirk Jorgensen Releases Statement on the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013

Thor's AssistantPress Releases / Media Advisories 1 Comment

December 12, 2013 San Diego, CA – Kirk Jorgensen, a Republican candidate to represent California’s 52nd Congressional District, issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the compromise federal budget, known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013: “While I am encouraged to see members of both parties finally working together to create a federal budget, this …

The “Establishment” Republican Party Has Been Served

Brian BradyBrian Brady 16 Comments

From the Facebook page of GOP candidate for US Senator in Maryland, Dan Bongino: An open letter to the establishment GOP. I am serving you with divorce papers. For those who are unaware of what happened, the establishment wing of the Party has openly declared war on the grassroots. For those who say this fight is hurting the Republican “brand” …

DeMaio: The Republican Party Must Change

Carl DeMaioCarl DeMaio 8 Comments

Fresh off the press from The Hill:   California House candidate Carl DeMaio wants to be known as a GOP problem solver, not as one of two openly gay Republicans running for Congress this year. The libertarian-leaning former San Diego City Councilman, who is challenging freshman Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) in a swing district, boasts of the work he did …

San Diego Community College Students Lose Job Opportunities; Southwestern College governing board vote bars non-union students

The Libertarian Lass, Gayle FalkenthalPress Releases / Media Advisories 13 Comments

CONTACT: Scott Crosby, CEO, ABC San Diego / 619-518-3450 (Poway, California) – Hundreds of San Diego Community College students will be prohibited from working on Southwestern College (SWC) Prop R funded construction projects under a proposed Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) to be voted on Wednesday by the SWC Governing Board. The students will be barred from applying for these construction …

Slow crawl to San Diego city hall jobs — average 280 day hiring process

Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax FightersRichard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters Leave a Comment

Will Rogers delivered what is my favorite wry comment about government:  “Thank God we don’t get all the government we pay for.”   Certainly such is the case deep within our 13 story San Diego city hall. The U-T SAN DIEGO reports that the city needs an average of 280 days to fill a vacancy.  That’s just over nine months to …

A Defense of Proposition 13 Property Tax Revenues — UPDATED: Sept 2013

Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax FightersRichard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters Leave a Comment

by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters  Updated 1 September, 2013 Phone: 858-530-3027 Blog: www.RiderRants.BlogSpot.com When it comes to gathering sufficient property taxes, Prop 13 is no problem at all – except for profligate spenders.  Look at the history of my San Diego County – a history which pretty much reflects the history of property taxes in the urban/suburban counties that hold over 85% of California’s …

NRCC: California Families Losing Insurance Thanks To Scott Peters

NRCC CommunicationsNRCC Communications 6 Comments

Radio Buy Features the Story of a San Diego Cancer Victim Who Has Lost Her Insurance Under ObamaCare WASHINGTON – The National Republican Congressional Committee launched a paid radio ad in San Diego today, using Scott Peters’ support of ObamaCare against him. The ad highlights a local San Diego woman who is battling cancer and losing her insurance under ObamaCare. …

Cliff Albert departs KOGO

Thor's AssistantRostra Administrator (Thor's Assistant) 2 Comments

  Longtime KOGO Radio Program Director and local radio legend Cliff Albert piqued some curiosities last night with this post on his Facebook page… There is a great blessing to being between jobs during the holidays: Now I’ll get to spend more time with the kids and the grandkids…which will be my greatest gift this Christmas season.   When a …

Electing Kevin Faulconer: Make a clear distinction on fiscal conservatism

Brian BradyBrian Brady 15 Comments

The San Diego Mayoral campaign is officially a horse race.  Both candidates have locked up their voters with less than 10 percent of the electorate “undecided,” one poll says. Voters have a choice between a moderate Republican and a self-described progressive in the Obama tradition.  While those choices may not appeal to movement conservatives, the next Mayor will have a …

The More The (Stadium) Plans Fail, The More The (Stadium) Planners Plan

Brian BradyBrian Brady Leave a Comment

I’m channeling my inner Reagan in the story’s headline but it bears mentioning that centralized planning bureaus wreak havoc on the prosperity free individuals create.  The U-T Editorial Board’s campaign for a taxpayer-funded football stadium offered commentary from retired banker, former mayoral candidate, former Port of San Diego Chairman,  and long-time supporter of taxpayer subsidized real estate development, Peter Q. …

CalNewsRoom: Block among delegation hosted in Maui by former San Diego legislators

Greg LarkinGreg Larkin 4 Comments

from John Hrabe at CalNewsRoom.com… 2 Democrat State Senators Come Clean about Maui Trip Demonstrating their commitment to openness and transparency, two Democratic state lawmakers came clean on Wednesday and disclosed their participation in an annual trip to Maui that is funded by special interest groups. Senators Marty Block, D-San Diego, and Norma Torres, D-Pomona, told Calnewsroom.com that they participated …

The Chargers Should Build a New Stadium

Brian BradyBrian Brady 24 Comments

It’s rare that I disagree with the new U-T San Diego editorial board, but it is dead wrong on a tax-payer funded football stadium.  This is just a classic example of a wealth transfer and, on moral grounds, I oppose this sort of rent-seeking. The U-T editorial board argues that Qualcomm (former Jack Murphy) stadium is really old.  It argues that …

NRCC: Will Scott Peters Join Obama and Double Down on ObamaCare?

NRCC CommunicationsNRCC Communications 3 Comments

Will Scott Peters Join Obama and Double Down on ObamaCare? Peters’ Support for the Failed Law Has Been Unwavering WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama and National Democrats are launching an ObamaCare apology tour across the country, which will attempt to persuade the millions of Americans suffering under the law to give the rollout and its expensive policies a second chance. …