Dear Political Activist:

A special prayer for those men and women passing the torch of freedom to the Iraqi people. More than 300,000 answered the call of freedom, while the Michael Moore's of the world prefer the tyranny of Saddam and other tyrants.

Let us remember each day the cost of freedom and that if we don't make that torch brighter, it is be extinguished.

G-d Bless our troops, our President and Freedom

From the Front Lines:

a. Former Assemblyman Mike Briggs of Fresno, the vote to put the Davis budgets over the top, and a Republican, has a new job. After Republicans defeated him for a congressional seat based on his vote for large deficits and tax increases, he is now getting paid $33,000 to "advise" Democrat Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson on agriculture issues. Honest, that is what the Democrats are saying. Don't look forward to Briggs running for office, as a Republican, any time soon.

b. Virginia Democrat Congressman James Moran is blaming the war on the Jews. Remember, this is the same Democrat who a few years ago hit an afro-American teen for touching his car. Do we see a pattern of bigotry here. Maybe we should ask Senator Bryd of West Virginia if Moran is or was a member of the Ku Klux Klan when he was a leader in the group.

Here are the words of Moran: Moran said that "if it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq we would not be doing this. ... The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going and I think they should."

c. Speaks for itself:
7 Men Arrested in Home Invasions Los Angeles Times, by Richard Winton & Andrew Blankstein 3/14/2003
Seven men who posed as police investigating Al Qaeda terrorists were arrested in a string of violent home invasions that targeted Armenian Americans in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said Thursday. The capture of the men, all undocumented immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala, was announced by Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton

d. Joke of the Week, with no punch line: The United Nations has appointed Libya to investigate hhuman rights violations in the United States. We can now cancel that check to the United Nations.

e. A great new online political vehicle is with us. Tom Del Barcarro, the new chairman of the Contra Costa Central Committee has created www.politicalvanguard.com The site has up to date lengthy articles on current issues, explanations of important economic and day to day concerns and a way to get active. This is a statewide web site. If you want information, and action, go to www.politicalvanguard.com and sign up for the updates. I look at it every day. (no, I did not get paid to say that)

f. LA Sheriff Lee Baca says that 23% of all prisoners in his county are illegal aliens. The LA Times report that Mexico is harboring 60 alleged murders it won't turn over the American courts. The worse case is Armando Garcia who allegedly shot LA County Sheriff Deputy David March in April of 2002. Garcia had three previous deportations and arrests for attempted murder and drug sales. But, the Mexican government won't extradite him. I wonder how many Mexican citizens have been harmed by Garcia?

g. Are you proud! Of the eleven members of Congress who voted against support of our troops in a congressional resolution FIVE came from California. How sad. If we had competitive districts we could change this. The good news is that Republican nation wide will be able to point to the goofy California five and say, vote NO on the Democrat Party. On second thought, the votes agaginst our heroic troops could mean five more Republicans elected to Congress in other states.

h. Subject: It's a crazy world

You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the US of arrogance, and Germany doesn't want to go to war!

1. Davis is saving money and keeping criminals off the street. But, is this the right way?

Juvenile board runs out of cash Davis Burton rift spurs budget crisis by Greg Lucas SF Chronicle march 7, 2003
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/07/BA192681.DTL
Sacramento -- The board that decides whether juvenile wards of the state should be paroled has run out of money and will partially shutter its operations beginning today.

The budget problems for the Youthful Offender Parole Board stem from a yearlong fight between Gov. Gray Davis and Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, over the board's performance.

Burton insists that the board is cavalier and out of touch with California Youth Authority programs and that its duties should be given to local juvenile courts. Davis says that stripping responsibility from the board would burden counties and lead to different parole policies in each locality.

2. This is from the Sacramento Bee. Once again the liberals want students to feel good, not learn. How sad, it is the minority students hurt by the Democrats, as usual.

That's accountability!

Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez, D-Norwalk, has figured out a way to rid California of "low-performing" schools without actually improving pupil achievement or spending more state money (not counting the average $18,600 it costs to process a piece of legislation).

His AB 96 would change all legal references to the schools -- defined as those in the bottom half of the Academic Performance Index ranking -- to "high-priority" schools.

According to an Assembly analysis of the measure, the California State PTA asserts the change will provide students with "an abiding sense of personal worth and purpose" that could ultimately improve academic achievement.

3. The crazies on the 9th District are still opposing the American flag.

Caltrans American Flag Policy Unconstitutional Associated Press, 3/14/2003
SAN FRANCISCO -- A California Transportation Department practice of allowing U.S. flags on freeway overpasses but forbidding banners containing political messages is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stems from a lawsuit brought by two women who had their war protest signs removed from Santa Cruz County overpasses in 2001, after the United States invaded Afghanistan.

4. Davis wants publicity, not responsible government. He screams Bush is short changing California for Homeland Security, yet, doesn't spend the money given him. why? Could he be using this money to make the deficit look smaller?
$30 Million In Federal Grants For State Security Remains Unspent
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/14/MN208185.DTL
Despite Gov. Gray Davis' urgent pleas to the Bush administration for more money for homeland security, California has not used $30 million in federal funds from past years that could pay for anti-terrorism equipment. The money was approved by Congress to pay for equipment, such as biohazard suits and oxygen tanks, to prepare police officers and firefighters for disasters ranging from chemical spills to biological attacks by terrorists. The governor's state Director of Homeland Security, George Vinson, said he is aware of the problem and is trying to get more of the unused money to local police and fire departments.

5. Davis wants to steal half a billion from the poor. Yet, they still vote for Democrats. They vote against themselves, is that why they are poor? Diverting Affordable Housing Funds Fought http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/6270934p-7224921c.html
A proposal to siphon off an estimated $500 million in affordable housing funds to help balance the state budget continues to meet stiff opposition in the Capitol. Gov. Gray Davis' plan to tap the housing funds held by California's nearly 400 redevelopment agencies was rejected Thursday by a bipartisan majority of members of two key Assembly committees dealing with housing and the budget. The committees, which didn't take formal votes, met jointly to discuss ways redevelopment dollars might be used to help patch the state's budget deficit, estimated to be between $26 billion and $35 billion.

6. Vote fraud is the number one problem of getting good government in California. Here is a liberal columnists concerned about fraud in the new paper less, trail less, computer voting systems in several counties.
Voting Without Paper Is Perilous
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/6284966p-7238664c.html
If you could see my desk right now, you would know instantly that I have yet to embrace the paperless office. I love computers and gadgets of all kinds. I am trying to develop an affinity for electronic filing cabinets. But the printer is still my friend. I just feel better, somehow, when I have a paper copy of a document to go along with the flickering image on a screen. That's also why I am deeply skeptical of electronic voting. I voted by touchscreen last November as part of a pilot project in Sacramento County. It was fun and easy, kind of like taking money out of a bank's ATM.

7. Budget deficit in over $34 billion, yet Joe Nation cares about doves, vegans and people smoking in their own houses. No wonder the Democrats won't vote to fix the budget, too busy with real issues.
Joe Nation Nation
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/16/ED20513.DTL
It’s amazing how an area that prides itself on its tolerance and diversity elects so many politicians happy to use their power to ban behavior they don't like. Or to hammer other people to live as they do. As case in point, I present Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-San Rafael. This year, Nation introduced a bill to limit smoking in multifamily dwellings, a bill to outlaw dove hunting and a resolution directing public schools to serve vegetarian and vegan meals.

8. Imagine Willie Brown to have personal control over schools. This bill would give him that right Two School Bills Would Change Charter Rules
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/21/BA44857.DTL

Alarmed that many charter schools squander tax money and fester academically with little oversight, some state lawmakers want to give big-city mayors, universities and nonprofits a shot at supervising what has become a popular educational alternative. A second legislative bill sponsored by educators and business executives would require charters to prove they are doing a better job than other similar schools -- or be shut down. Together, the efforts suggest that state lawmakers and charter lobbyists alike believe the autonomous public schools need help or many will spiral into the same bureaucracy and poor education they were supposed to rescue students from in the first place.

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK
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The New York Times gets it. From the Times on March 14, 2003 in a story about S.3, the bill to get rid of Partial Birth Abortions:
"Seventeen senators, including 11 Democrats, voted both to endorse the Roe v. Wade ruling and to enforce the ban, indicating that even senators who consider themselves supporters of abortion rights judged the procedure to be extreme."

The New York Times gets it. From the Times on March 14, 2003 in a story about S.3, the bill to get rid of Partial Birth Abortions:
Seventeen senators, including 11 Democrats, voted both to endorse the Roe v. Wade ruling and to enforce the ban, indicating that even senators who consider themselves supporters of abortion rights judged the procedure to be extreme. (It should be noted that the Democrat Senate leader, Tom Daschle, also voted to end PBA)

Athletes are overpaid, more proof.

"We also have a war we have to fight, too -- the Washington Wizards are trying to make the playoffs. It's pretty much the same thing."

-- Wizards point guard Tyronn Lue, keeping the trouble with Saddam Hussein in perspective, sort of, during yesterday's practice, according to the Associated Press.

For California status of bills and legislation:
Full legislative text, analyses and votes are available on the State web server at: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset2.htm

If you are interested in calling Congress or the Senate, toll free, here are the numbers:CALL CONGRESS TOLL FREE! (877) 762-8762 or (800) 648-3516

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Steve Frank
805-584-3733--home
805-795-1271 cell
stephen.frank3@verizon.net