Posted by Thomas Gordon on May 24, 2013
Earlier this week President Barack Obama reaffirmed his intention to continue the use of Predator drones to seek and kill enemy combatants who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the USA.
But what about the 4 American citizens killed by drones without due process?
Should the USA kill American citizens abroad or even spy on American citizens here without first giving them a day in court?
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Drone strikes, due process, terrorism | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Dominus on May 23, 2013
Today the Michelle Steel for Supervisor campaign sent out this press release:
ORANGE COUNTY GOP CONGRESSMAN ENDORSE MICHELLE STEEL FOR SUPERVISOR
Huntington Beach, CA – Michelle Steel’s campaign for County Supervisor continued to gather momentum today, with the announcement that she has been endorsed by Republican Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce.
Michelle Steel is the Vice Chair of the California State Board of Equalization, where she has represented Orange County for the past six years. She is running for Supervisor in the 2nd district.
“I have known Michelle all my life,” said Rep. Rohrabacher. “She is honest, a hard worker and a patriot.”
“Michelle Steel is a champion for Orange County taxpayers on the BOE and I am confident she will continue her strong advocacy for taxpayers and small business owners as a County Supervisor,” said Rep. Royce.
Both Congressmen made a guest appearance at Michelle Steel’s fundraiser, hosted by OC Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh, which brought her campaign for Supervisor to over $460,000 in the bank with another $40,000 in pledges.
“It is an honor to have the support of Representatives Rohrabacher and Royce and to know that they have faith in my ability to represent the taxpayers of the 2nd district,” said Steel.
While we will have to wait and see if Michelle Steel can raise a total of $500,000 by June 30, her current cash on hand is an impressive number in itself. It is hard to get donors to write big checks these days when the economy is still sputtering.
Posted in 2nd Supervisorial District | Tagged: Michelle Steel | 1 Comment »
Posted by Thomas Gordon on May 23, 2013
The County of Orange has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by former Sheriff candidate Lt Bill Hunt for almost $ 2 Million according to the OC Register.
Bill Hunt was demoted to patrol duty after he waged an unsuccessful campaign for Sheriff against Mike Corona who is currently serving a 66 month sentence in a Colorado Federal prison for witness tampering and conspiracy.
Bill Hunt announced during his runs for Sheriff that he would make Orange County California’s first “Shall Issue” county.
Mr Hunt currently owns and operates his own private investigation company .
Posted in Orange County | Tagged: Bill Hunt, Mike Carona, Orange County Sheriff | 1 Comment »
Posted by Thomas Gordon on May 22, 2013
After 8 long years, Los Angeles long nightmare is almost over.
Last night Eric Garcetti was elected Mayor of Los Angeles by 182,000 voters out of 3.8 million residents. He faces almost insurmountable challenges such as streets that look worse than war zones, huge budget deficits, and huge blighted swaths of cityscape.
Los Angeles residents were pelted with almost 33 million dollars worth of mail, billboards and radio & TV advertising.
Can Eric Garcetti rise to the challenge and restore Los Angeles to its former greatness or is it too late for LA and California?
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Eric Garcetti, Kevin James, Los Angeles Mayor | 3 Comments »
Posted by Allen Wilson on May 16, 2013
Assemblyman Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills, District 55) offers his two cents regarding the proposed fire pits ban at Los Angeles and Orange County beaches by the AQMD:
Beach bonfires have long been part of the California way of life. Roasting marshmallows, making smores, and spending quality time with family and friends next to an open fire have created countless memories for generations of Californians. But if a government agency gets its way, such experiences will be a thing of the past and the beaches will be deserted after 5 PM.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) recently unveiled a proposal to ban all beach fire pits/rings within Orange and Los Angeles counties. Such fire pits would cease to exist along our coastline. Ironically, I find it amusing that the agency that oversees development of California beaches, the Coastal Commission, sees the fire pits as a form of recreation and wants the rings to stay.
The AQMD says fire pits contribute to Southern California’s pollution and harm public health. The chairman of the District even went so far to compare the smoke from the bonfires to “carpet bombing” during the Vietnam War. To compare beach bonfires to the horrors of war is simply ludicrous. Such a comparison is offensive and it is no wonder that thousands of people have risen up to oppose the fire pit ban. Most reasonable people would know that the environmental impact of beach bonfires is miniscule compared to other sources of smoke.
To be fair, fire pits do raise some legitimate public safety and health issues. For example, some Newport Beach residents who live next to the beach have complained about exposure to wood smoke and floating embers that have drifted to their homes. But they knowingly bought a house next to a beach with fire rings already present. The heart of the matter is local control. Let the Newport Beach city council and residents make the choice. Let the cities and counties decide on the beach fire pits as it concerns their economy, their neighborhoods, and their quality-of-life. If the top concern of Newport Beach’s residents is soot, then it can ban its fire pits if they so desire.
Meanwhile Huntington Beach, which generates $1 million in revenue from beach parking and the purchase of bonfire supplies, can decide to keep its pits in place to maintain tourism. Plus add in the indirect value of the public spending money in beach towns because of family events around the fire pits. To impose a sweeping ban that the AQMD proposes is an unwieldy and unfair one-size-fits-all solution.
Many residents, including my Assembly colleagues who represent the area, support local control that would allow beach fire pits to continue to exist. I believe it is a sensible solution that can satisfy everyone. Equally important, local control helps keep government closest to the people.
The AQMD is a powerful agency with little public oversight. The regulations that the non-elected board members propose can have far-reaching impacts on our economy that are often little-noticed by the public – unless they touch something as popular as beach fire pits. Making the District more transparent is a topic for another day.
The Board of Directors of AQMD will vote on the fire pits ban in June. I hope the board heeds the voices of people who support local control. Until then, we must continue to make our voices heard by letting AQMD know how we feel. We cannot let a small minority of extreme environmentalists and NIMBY activists take away a special part of California’s culture.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: AQMD, Assemblyman Curt Hagman, Fire Pits | 1 Comment »
Posted by Dave Everett on May 16, 2013
Two Democrats And One Republican Trustee Team Up In A Bipartisan Effort To Save College Students Over $100 Million Dollars In Waste On Measure M Bond Funds.
(COSTA MESA, CA) – The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) are proud to announce the defeat of plans for union discrimination on the largest California community college bond passed by voters in 2012. Two Democrat Trustees and one Republican Trustee joined together in a bipartisan effort to save college students over $100 million dollars in waste on the $698 million dollar Measure M bond passed in November 2012 at Coast Community College District (CCCD.) 
After months of controversy regarding the virtual union monopoly, called a Project Labor Agreement, the CCCD made its final vote on the issue at the May 15, 2013 meeting. They wisely decided that a PLA will not be used for construction projects on Measure M projects. “I want to commend Trustees Prinsky, Grant and Hornbuckle for this brave show of bipartisanship that will save students and teachers over $100 million dollars,” said Susan McNiel, President of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern California. “A wasteful PLA on the Coast Community College District’s Measure M bond funds would have discriminated against 8 out of 10 construction workers. It would be tough to get local workers on the project if we eliminated over 80% of the market from consideration.” 
The PLA was discovered by Labor Issues Solutions’ Kevin Dayton buried in an online agenda for a special meeting and disguised as a “Continuity of Work Agreement.” The Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern California (ABC So-Cal) and its coalition partners immediately jumped into action to inform the public about the wasteful and discriminatory nature of these project labor agreements. As reported in the Daily Pilot and the Huntington Beach Independent, at the Trustees’ March 6 Board meeting, CCCD Trustees were given a quick lesson in PLA politics during testimony from the Coalition For Fair Employment (CFEC), the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of California, Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern California and Huntington Beach Mayor Pro-Tem Matt Harper. A letter was read into the record from Alfred Dennison from Dennison Electric, Inc. who has done quality skilled work on past school projects and saved the district thousands of dollars. Mike Holton with Gould Electric was also in attendance opposing the PLA at CCCD. The coalition against the PLA also included the OC Taxpayers Association, who were told in writing that there would not be a PLA on the bond; the Costa Mesa Taxpayers Association; and the Orange County Business Council. 
Since public awareness of the special interest deal known as a PLA was so low, ABC So-Cal worked with local college students to drop literature about the PLA on campus and sent out over 30,000 robo-calls to taxpayers in the district from our local taxpayers association, State Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Matt Harper. Working with local reporters, ABC So-Cal was also able to get an editorial against the PLA, the day of the April 3, 2013 vote on the CCCD PLA, in Orange County’s major newspaper The Orange County Register on the front page of the local section. ABC member, Alfred Dennison from Dennison Electric was highlighted. “Jim Moreno and Jerry Patterson tried to deceive the voters and give a special interest deal to their political donors by pushing this virtual union monopoly. OC Tax and OC Business Council gave their endorsements with the understanding that no PLA would be used. The bond was passed using those endorsements in the campaign mail to voters – and it won by 57% when the bond required 55% for passage. You could easily say that without those endorsements, the bond would not have passed,” said ABC Government Affairs Director, Dave Everett. “Prinsky, Grant and Hornbuckle deserve all the credit for ensuring that promises made were promises kept.” The two Democrats that were pushing this virtual union monopoly are Jerry Patterson and Jim Moreno. A quick look at past campaign finance documents reveals Jerry Patterson’s long career funded by the very same unions he looks to give preference to – both as a Trustee and Congressman. The other, Jim Moreno, apparently wants the unions to fund his campaign to take John Moorlach’s Orange County Supervisor seat in 2014.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: 2nd Supervisorial District, Allan Mansoor, Associated Builders and Contractors, Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern California, Associated General Contractors (AGC) of California, Coalition For Fair Employment (CFEC), Coast Community College District, Continuity of Work Agreement, costa mesa, Costa Mesa Taxpayers Association, Dave Everett, David Grant, Huntington Beach, Jerry Patterson, Jim Moreno, John Moorlach, Kevin Dayton, Labor Issues Solutions, Lorraine Prinsky, Mary L. Hornbuckle, Matt Harper, Measure M, Orange County Business Council, Orange County Supervisor, Orange County Taxpayers Association, Project Labor Agreement, Susan McNiel | 2 Comments »
Posted by Erich Breitenbucher on May 14, 2013
When I requested blog privileges, I really thought I was going to focus on education and waste in California state government. But these Benghazi hearings have got me so upset I just felt like I needed to start with the hot topic of the day. Especially because it’s not being treated like the hot topic of the day. Let’s face it. It is really the most important issue we’ve had in decades. And here is why, Hillary. It matters because if people were incompetent and Navy SEALs ambassadors died – we need those mistakes corrected. If security was ignored to achieve political goals and lies were told to cover up the mistakes – those people need to be thrown out of government for good.
And here in Orange County we have several members of Congress who are in a unique position to get answers on many of these questions.
Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa
San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Coto de Caza and Ladera Ranch Congressman Darrell Issa is, of course, the central Republican figure in the investigation as the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Previously, Issa served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Foreign Affairs Committee. Issa knows his stuff.
Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, Democrat Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is always happy to tell you how she’s the highest ranking female of the Armed Services Committee. Loretta Sanchez is not only on the House Armed Services Committee, she is the Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee and she is on the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. Loretta Sanchez is also on the Committee on Homeland Security and on the Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. Rep. Sanchez brags that she founded and chairs the Congressional Caucus on Women in the Military and serves on the Congressional Military Families Caucus. She couldn’t be in a better position to get real answers on who is responsible for the Benghazi cover-up.
House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade member, Democrat Congressman Alan Lowenthal
Congressman Alan Lowenthal is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he sits on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats. He also is a member of the Veterans Jobs Caucus. Every veteran that shows up for an Alan Lowenthal job fair should demand answers for their fellow Americans killed and put in harms way at the Benghazi consulate on September 11, 2012.
Senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
Congressman Rohrabacher is a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats and as a member of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment.
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Republican Congressman Ed Royce
Representative Ed Royce became the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 2013. He is serving his 11th term in Congress, representing Southern California’s 39th district. As a longtime active member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Royce is known for his knowledge of many different regions of the world and analytical foresight into key U.S. foreign policy issues. Immediately prior to becoming Chairman of the Committee, Royce served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and a member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
OC Congressman John Campbell is known more for his expertise on finance than National Security, but if any funding is blocked for departments that are stonewalling on Benghazi answers (hypothetically of course,) I’m sure Campbell wouldn’t hesitate to participate as a Republican member of the House Committee on the Budget.
And lastly for Orange County, is Loretta Sanchez’s sister, Linda. No one trusts Democrat Congresswoman Linda Sanchez near anything important, but she could show an interest as a member of the Congressional Victim’s Rights Caucus.
And as we look to our neighbors in Riverside County, I’m sure we can count on diligent support of our military from Congressman Ken Calvert. But how will freshman Democrat Congressmen Mark Takano and Raul Ruiz react? Will they help deflect attention from the real questions or will they demand an open and honest government that lives up to its hype as the “most transparent?” Let’s look at the Riverside County Congressional representatives’ committee memberships.
Riverside County Republican Congressman Ken Calvert
Rep. Calvert serves on the House Committee on Appropriations and is a member of the Subcommittees on Defense; Interior and the Environment; and Energy and Water. Rep. Calvert also serves on the House Committee on the Budget.
Riverside County Democrat Congressman Mark Takano
Not even one year into his first year in Congress, Mark Takano serves on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and his website says that “Securing our nation from foreign threats, including terrorism, must be a priority of Congress. It is critical that our military personnel have the equipment, resources, and support they need to protect this country.” Does 20 hours for jet fuel to send in a rescue team sound to you like we “have the equipment, resources, and support they need to protect this country” ? Me neither.
and lastly…
Riverside County Freshman Democrat Raul Ruiz
Dr. Ruiz currently serves on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Maybe as a doctor himself, Ruiz can find an interest in answering if local Democrat Congressmen even care that our Ambassador died in a Benghazi hospital controlled by Al Queda? (And that they used him as bait to try and kill more Americans?)
Even though the Los Angeles/Orange County local television coverage of the Benghazi hearings has been as lacking and nonexistent as the national coverage of the Benghazi hearing, these lies are eventually going to exposed to the public – as long as we keep asking questions. The questions are too big and the consequences have been too horrible to ignore forever. We will really see which of the Democrats are liberals which of the Democrats are just partisan liars. I hope to track on this blog the lies told by the Orange County Democrat Members of Congress to cover-up Benghazi. I also hope to track on this blog which Democrats are willing to be honest about mistakes made and inconvenient truths that need to be told.
How long does it take to get jet fuel in southern Europe or North Africa? And what efforts were made to ask other counties for assistance? Did Hillary change the security level at the Benghazi consulate? If the CIA talking points on the day of the attack, had only an attack and Al Queda mentioned, but no protest in Benghazi or video, why did both President Obama and Hillary tell Pat Smith (the mother of Sean Smith, killed in Benghazi) 3 days later that the reason for the attack was the video?
Pat Smith told FoxNews on May 13 that Obama, Hillary, Panetta and Susan Rice all hugged her and told her “Face to face, nose to nose” that the video was to blame for he son’s death. We now know, that the President, Hillary, Panetta and Rice all knew that this was not true – and they lied to the face of a mother who had lost her son. Every political activist that wants to honor the memory of Sean Smith in the appropriate way that the President, Hillary, Panetta and Rice will not, by finding out the truth, need to pull out your iPhone at the next community coffee or town hall and ask one of these tough questions. Post the answers on YouTube. Eventually Democrats will have to admit so many facts that are damaging to the above mentioned 4 officials that they will start to denounce the actions and call for their removal. Or the local Democrats will lie and cover up and the mountain of evidence on YouTube and social media will force them to go down with the Obama/Hillary ship on this series of poor security decisions and lies.
But if Jay Carney thinks we will forget about this story as just old news, I can assure you that we will NEVER FORGET. Let’s roll. We have some tracking to do…
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Alan Lowenthal, Barack Obama, Dana Rohrabacher, Darrell Issa, Ed Royce, Hillary Clinton, John Campbell, Ken Calvert, Leon Panetta, Linda Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez, Mark Takano, Pat Smith, Raul Ruiz, Sean Smith, Susan Rice | 2 Comments »
Posted by Dominus on May 11, 2013
Last week Huntington Beach Councilman Joe Carchio sent out an email to his “friends & supporters” requesting inputs on a potential run for Orange County Supervisor, 2nd District. This email came on the heel of similar email that was sent out by Assemblyman Allan Mansoor. Here is a portion of that email:
Like some of you, I sat on the sidelines for year while others did the work. I’ve voted in all the elections that I was able, sent along my contributions to candidates I cared about, stuffed envelopes, walked precincts, etc.
I’ve been told I have some good ideas that would work well for Orange County. However, what I think of my accomplishments so far is not as important as what you think of the role I have played in our local political leadership lives and what perhaps I could do for all of us at the County. I have no political further careers goals and would dedicate myself to serving the people of Orange County as 2nd District Supervisor.
Joe Carchio is currently a part-time Field Representative for Assemblyman Travis Allen. He is will be forced out of the Huntington Beach City Council at the end of 2014 because of term limits. In 2011, he publicly stated that he will run for the newly created 72nd Assembly District only to later discovered that he lives in the wrong part of Huntington Beach.
Posted in 2nd Supervisorial District | Tagged: Joe Carchio | 2 Comments »
Posted by Dominus on May 10, 2013
With the news of Assemblyman Allan Mansoor possibly giving up his seat to run for Supervisor against BOE Member Michelle Steel, an ambitious and eager politician by the name is Matthew Harper is already busy working behind the scene to secure support for a potential campaign.
Matt Harper was elected to the Huntington Beach City Council in 2010. He is slated to become mayor next year if his Democratic colleagues will honor the rotation system.
Harper briefly ran for assembly in 2012 before dropping out and eventually backing Troy Edgar. That last race demonstrated Harper’s inability to raise serious campaign cash needed for an assembly campaign. Here is the text from an OC Register article that reported Harper’s last assembly race back in 2012
WHO HAS THE MONEY IN THE NEW 72ND ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Five candidates have tossed their hats in the ring for the 72nd Assembly race, but only three are financially committed to running for a seat.
Huntington Beach City Councilman Matthew Harper, Westminster Councilman Tyler Diep and Little Saigon businessman Long Pham are vying for the newly drawn district that would represent parts of Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Garden Grove and Santa Ana.
Harper has $22,853 in funds for the race, according to his campaign statement covering Jan. 1- Dec. 30.
His biggest donors include Rainbow Disposal, and he has also taken out a loan for $7,500.
Diep’s campaign filings show he has not taken out any loans and has collected $137,049 since January 2011.
Pham, who is making his fourth attempt to claim a seat, has not collected any contributions but instead has taken out a $100,000 loan to fund his campaign.
I would think Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle and former CRP treasurer Keith Carlson are the more formidable candidates should they decide to run.
Posted in 74th Assembly District | Tagged: Matthew Harper | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Matt Cunningham on May 6, 2013
Anaheim Councilwoman Lucille Kring took the time to speak to next-to-last meeting of the Anaheim Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) on April 18. She gave the CAC members a brief and to-the-point tutorial on why she is opposed to single-member council districts.
Kring’s appeal to common sense employed reality to illuminate the down-side of single-member council districts and illustrate why they are not the solution that proponents contend they are:
Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: Lucille Kring | 8 Comments »
OC Political 