Free Republic

Mark Alexander From Patriot Post Vol. 09 No. 21; Published 28 May 2009 | Print Email PDF "The consciousness of having discharged that duty which we owe to our country is superior to all other considerations." --George Washington Every week, the greatest challenge I face as publisher of The Patriot Post is determining which subject among all the current news and policy issues concerning liberty and constitutional integrity should be the target of my weekly column. I mention this because deep into this week's treatise and just a few hours ahead of deadline, I received a message from one of...

SACRAMENTO – Most California lawmakers Monday will get a 12 percent pay raise that will bump their annual salaries to $110,880 and assure their place as the best paid state legislators in the country. Of the Legislature's 120 members, 14 have turned down the raise, citing the state's lingering budget problems. "I didn't feel right accepting the raise at a time when there was a state budget deficit," Assemblywoman Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park said yesterday. "I felt I needed to set an example for fiscal prudence." Assembly members Shirley Horton, R-Bonita, George Plescia, R-La Jolla, and Juan Vargas, D-San Diego,...