Mimi Walters: A Fix To California's Man-Made Drought

Politicians can start prioritizing the people.     This year marks California’s fourth consecutive year of drought. To break it down, nearly 99 percent of California is in “moderate drought,” 71 percent is in “extreme drought,” and approximately 47 percent is in “exceptional drought” – the most severe category. In California alone, over   ... MORE

Nick Sibilla: Asset Forfeiture Laws Treat People Like ATMs

Having lots of cash is not a crime, it's just treated like one.  Imagine a place where the government can seize property from people who have not broken the law. The police, sheriffs and prosecutors can auction their property off and use the proceeds to pay their own salaries. But this isn’t a Third World dictatorship. It’s California.      ... MORE

Cautious Effort To Legalize Marijuana In California In 2016

by Steven Greenhut.   By ballot initiative. Regardless of one's take on the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision on Friday forbidding states from banning same-sex marriage, it's clear the ruling didn't come in a vacuum. Analysts said the court "created" a new civil right, but public attitudes have shifted dramatically in recent years. The court simply gave its blessing  ... MORE

Cheerleaders To Get Minimum Wage Under California Law

by Justin Worland.     Now, maybe the pretty girls will try out. New legislation in California would protect cheerleaders for professional sports teams from receiving low pay that some in the industry say amounts to less than minimum wage. The bill, the first of its kind in the nation, passed the California State Senate Monday and awaits the signature of   ... MORE

'It's All About The Money:' Iraq War Veteran Ends Up Homeless After $25 Traffic Ticket Spirals To $4,000

by Charlene Adams.      California's money-making citation scheme. Critics are calling California's traffic citation system a money-making scam that targets the poor and places inappropriate fees on basic penalties from a citation. Four million California residents -- nearly 20 percent of the state's adult population -- currently have a suspended license   ... MORE

California Property Values Fall As Water Shut-offs Begin

by Mike Adams.  Water shut-offs have now begun in California, where government-ordered restrictions are starting to leave large communities high and dry. As CBS News is now reporting, the Mountain House community of 15,000 residents will run out of water in just a matter of days. "The community's sole source of water, the Byron-Bethany   ... MORE

VIDEO: Meet The People Getting Screwed Over Jerry Brown's Money-Gobbling High Speed Rail Boondoggle

Elise Cooper: How Not To Handle A Water Crisis

A crisis created by government regulations.  Californians have a love affair with water. It’s used for pools, irrigation, green grasses, and washing cars. Yet, because of the drought the grass is turning brown, cars are staying dirty, and pools might be a thing of the past. American Thinker interviewed people who have some knowledge about this crisis.   ... MORE

California Aims to Regulate Your Dirtiest Fantasies

by Josh Gucket. Big Brother is watching you; he says to stop before you go blind. Following five years of procedural hurdles, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has proposed a set of safety standards outlining how adult film performers and others on set can operate in their jobs more safely. Among 21 pages of proposals, it emphasizes    ... MORE

Jerry Brown Wants Amnesty On Traffic Debt For Poor

by Judy Lin.    Maybe food stamps will be accepted as payment. Calling California's traffic court system a "hellhole of desperation" for the poor, Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing an amnesty program for residents who can't afford to pay off spiraling fines and penalties that have resulted in 4.8 million driver's license suspensions since 2006. The push by the   ... MORE

Walter E Williams: California's Water Problems

A water policy that leaves the public thirsty.    Californians are experiencing their third year of drought. Headlines read: "Current California Drought Is Driest In State's History; Scientists Fear 'Megadroughts' On Their Way." "Global Warming Upped Heat Driving California's Drought." Then there are scientific claims such as, "There's a rapidly   ... MORE

Environmentalists Spoil The Planet For Human Beings

by Michael J. Hurd.      From the HuffingtonPost.com 4/6/15: Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina on Monday blamed environmentalists for what she called a “man-made” drought in California, which has led to the state’s first water restrictions. “With different policies over the last 20 years, all of this could be avoided,” Fiorina, a likely 2016     ... MORE

Michael Grable: The California Drought & The Free Market

Free markets free people.  Controlled markets control people. A long story in The Desert Sun (a Palm Springs daily) recently manufactured a lake out of a puddle in California's perennial water problems.  Maybe it's just Governor Moonbeam's gang feeding propaganda to the fourth estate, but it's a good example of how government regulation and media     ... MORE

Californians Can Now Be Fined For Long Showers!

by Leslie Eastman.     Jerry Brown sells out to agricultural interests. I reported that California Governor Jerry Brown unveiled the state’s first water restrictions in response to the “mega-drought”. As I foresaw, the rules have turned out to be more about revenue generation than resource protection. What I did not predict is that my teen son and his    ... MORE

Off-Target: California GOP Embraces Gun-Grab Program

by Steven Greenhut.     With friends like this, who needs enemies? Republican legislators are known for their support of gun rights, yet a letter they sent regarding state Attorney General Kamala Harris last week has a man-bites-dog quality about it. A dozen state GOP senators called for an oversight hearing to examine why Harris has been too    ... MORE

These 8 States Could Be Next For Marijuana Legalization

by Andrew Meola.      The times, they are a-changin' for marijuana, as longtime prohibition laws risk going up in flames. The New York Times advocated for legalization of pot at a national level last year, arguing that the "social costs" of the current prohibition laws are vast -- unreasonable prison sentences, a judicial system skewed against minority    ... MORE

California Gas Prices Almost A Dollar A Gallon More Than National Average Due To Needless Taxes And Regulation

by Gregg Laskoski.    What is "middle-class economics"? We’ll probably be hearing a lot of answers to that question in the coming months as politicians vie for position in the 2016 presidential election. The New York Times took a close look at America’s middle class after President Barack Obama discussed it in aspirational terms during his State of    ... MORE

Are Guns About To Become Off-limits In California?

by Pete D'Amato. Lefty politicians plot to neuter the 2nd Amendment. California's requirement of 'microstamping' technology means that no guns manufactured after 2013 have been sold in the state, known as having some of the strictest gun control laws.  Now gun-rights groups are hoping that a federal judge will overturn the provision that gun    ... MORE

Steve Chapman: Government Debt On The Road To Ruin

Promise today, figure out how to pay tomorrow.  Americans are addicted to living beyond their means, at least when it comes to the functions of government. That's why the federal debt tripled over the past decade and under President Barack Obama's budget plan would keep growing indefinitely. Why not? If you don't have to pay for all   ... MORE

California Legislature Is Back To Work & Full Of Bad Ideas

by Steven Greenhut.         California residents should hold on to their wallets. On Monday, the state legislature headed back to the Capitol for the new session. Legislators' short stint at the Capitol in December offered a preview of what's coming down the pike, and some of it reinforces Judge Gideon Tucker's famous quip: "No man's life,     ... MORE