Orange Juice! Politics For The Rest Of Us. - 12 new articles

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"Orange Juice! Politics For The Rest Of Us." - 12 new articles

  1. Loretta almost got it right
  2. SEIU leaders ask Congress to support the confirmation of Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor
  3. Should the SAUSD have lower graduation requirements than L.A. Unified?
  4. Should California have a part-time State Legislature?
  5. Matt “Jubal” Cunningham shills again - this time for T-Rack
  6. GOP protesters continues to focus on abortion while the economy implodes
  7. Dude! That was quick - Has it even been a full week?
  8. City of Santa Ana drives Black History Parade out of business, but cultural faire is still on
  9. What Sheriff Hutchens’ assistant found on Janet Nguyen’s Blackberry
  10. Fred Davie: Black, Openly Gay will serve on Obama’s Faith-based policy council.
  11. Carona was corrupt, but Hutchens is inept
  12. The Global Economy just got smaller!
  13. Search Orange Juice! Politics For The Rest Of Us.

Loretta almost got it right

From Rick Reiff’s always pertinent OC Insider column in next week’s Orange County Business Journal:





Eleven House democrats voted against the economic stimulus bill.  It would have been 12, but OC Rep. Loretta Sanchez changed her vote at the last moment.  Sanchez said she’s concerned that too much of the $800 billion-plus won’t find its way down to the community level where it should go.  But after initially voting “no,” she said she picked up a newspaper and read about another round of layoffs, and decided that a flawed bill was better than none.  Sanchez said nobody pressured her: “They no better than that.”. Besides House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “knew they had the votes” for passage.

Kind of kudos to the Congresswoman, although she should have stayed with her original CORRECT vote.

This bill is complete trash, an abomination per Charles Krauthammer’s excellent column last week.



SEIU leaders ask Congress to support the confirmation of Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.





“The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) blasted a web video to 60,000 online activists Friday asking them to support Congresswoman Hilda Solis's confirmation,” according to Hill.com. In the video, SEIU President Andy Stern asks viewers to sign a petition to back the California Democrat for the Labor position.

The head of the SEIU had this to say about the opposition to Solis: "Sadly, conservative Republicans — people who blocked the minimum wage, children's health insurance — are now using the same old Washington tactics trying to stop Secretary Solis from being confirmed.  She has every qualification for someone we need to lead the Secretary's role at the Department of Labor."

I realize that the GOP doesn’t like Solis, but why bother opposing her?  President Obama won.  Game over!  No matter who he appoints to head the Labor Department, they are going to be pro-union.  The Republicans need to get over themselves and let Solis proceed.

Moreover, occupational safety took a back seat for the last eight years under President Bush.  I am sure Solis will pick a capable person to head OSHA, which is under the auspices of the Department of Labor.

Our economy is a mess and thousands of people are out of work.  Rather than drag their heels, the Republicans need to confirm Solis and let her get to work.SEIU



Should the SAUSD have lower graduation requirements than L.A. Unified?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.





Santa Ana’s graduation requirement is currently 240 credits, which is among the state’s highest benchmarks - but the Santa Ana Unified School District’s (SAUSD) School Board wants to water down that standard to 220.  There are reasons to do this, but consider that the new graduation requirement will put the district below even the dreadful L.A. Unified. (See the chart above, which is courtesy of the L.A. Times).

The problem, as I see it, is that this is a slippery slope.  The SAUSD School Board is not done watering down their curriculum and standards.  They are desperate to increase their graduation rates - and they don’t believe in the ability of local children to succeed.  Most of the SAUSD School Board parents either sent their kids to private schools or never had kids in the first place.

I personally don’t understand why they have to drop the graduation requirements below those of L.A. Unified.  Couldn’t they at least match their requirements?  Why drop the bar even lower than the low bar in Los Angeles?



Should California have a part-time State Legislature?

(Picture Courtesy of Reuters)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

We have one of the most dysfunctional State Legislatures in the nation - small wonder then that “a recent poll shows a majority of residents supporting a part-time Legislature,” according to the Fresno Bee.

The Bee summed up the problem in an editorial, excerpted below:

Even a budget resolution won’t be enough to fix the damage that Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill have done to the state.

The Democrats and Republicans leading us in the Legislature are so fiercely partisan that they put party politics ahead of what’s good for Californians. The drawn-out budget mess is evidence of that problem, with most of the squabbling because of the need to cater to the special interests that control the Democrats and Republicans.

The latest Capitol Weekly/Probolsky Research Poll shows that 51% of those surveyed favor a part-time Legislature, with 36% opposed. The poll results aren’t surprising

The current full-time Legislature was instituted in 1966, and the aim was to have a professional lawmakers working on the state’s problems full time. It’s been a miserable failure, with legislators mostly working on political issues instead of devising 21st century solutions to California’s challenges.



Matt “Jubal” Cunningham shills again - this time for T-Rack

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

There he goes again.  Red-faced County blog editor Matt “Jubal” Cunningham has written a truly disgusting post entitled “Justice will be served by exonerating Rackauckas.” Cunningham has always been a shill for the OC GOP machine, but this post really goes too far.

Ever since T-Rack hired Mrs. Mike Schroeder I knew the guy had to be dirty.  We have seen just how dirty he is during his trial.  The jury is now in deliberations. I am crossing my fingers and hoping T-Rack will be found guilty.

Don’t forget that Jubal also had a man-crush on dirty disgraced ex-Sheriff Mike Carona.  And T-Rack, like Carona, resorted to selling badges to supporters in return for cash for his campaign account.

in fact the claimant’s attorney “suggested parallels between Rackauckas and ex-sheriff Mike Carona, who was recently convicted of felony witness tampering. Both men initiated programs to give badges to volunteers in programs that were run by the same businessman, Gabriel Nassar,” according to the O.C. Register.

And now T-Rack is having to answer for his friendship with alleged mob figure Patrick Di Carlo.  Who is Di Carlo?  The L.A. Times published an article that took a comprehensive look at Di Carlo a few years ago.  Here are a few excerpts:

Di Carlo has made false statements on a concealed-weapons permit application and in bank and SEC reports.

He's been sued at least 25 times since 1976 and was ordered to pay damages totaling nearly $3 million in 13 of those cases. He has said that he attended USC, played on the school's football team and worked as an assistant football coach, but later admitted those claims were untrue.

Rackauckas has steadfastly defended Di Carlo, even though the friendship baffles some of the district attorney's supporters.

"I enjoy the guy's company," Rackauckas said in a 2001 interview. "In my view, he's an honest businessman."

By the mid-1980s, federal and state authorities were investigating Di Carlo and a business associate, W. Patrick Moriarty, in a probe into bank fraud. Moriarty admitted bribing a bank official who approved $1.7 million in loans to a firm owned by Di Carlo.  Moriarty was convicted of bank fraud and bribing council members of the city of Commerce. He served 27 months in federal prison.

Di Carlo has been accused in numerous civil lawsuits of dishonesty. For example, in a 1982 civil case, one bank accused him of pledging in loan documents that he had no lawsuits or judgments against him when in fact he did.

Testifying in the bank's lawsuit, Di Carlo acknowledged that he had falsely portrayed himself for many years as a USC graduate, a fabrication he said helped him get a job in Hawaii, according to a transcript of a 1985 deposition. Di Carlo testified that he also falsely reported in SEC filings that he graduated from USC .

In 1997, Di Carlo learned that Rackauckas was running for Orange County district attorney.

He helped organize a fund-raiser for Rackauckas at South Coast Plaza's Ristorante Antonello, a favorite restaurant for Orange County's politicians and deal brokers. He then tapped friends and business associates at places such as the Balboa Bay Club to support the cause.

"Di Carlo said he thought the prior [district attorney's] administration was harassing him and he wanted a new D.A. He asked me to arrange a fund-raiser for Tony, and I did," said Jack Kayajanian, a Costa Mesa attorney.

That event was held at an ocean-view Newport Beach home and it generated more than $10,000 for Rackauckas, Kayajanian said.

During Rackauckas' first year in office, his friendship with Di Carlo continued to blossom, according to interviews and grand jury documents. They took fishing trips on Di Carlo's boat, MJ's Spartan, named after Di Carlo's wife, Mary Jane, an active Republican party supporter. The two men also frequently met for lunch and watched football games at Di Carlo's home.

About six months after taking office, in the summer of 1999, Rackauckas and his wife, Kay, went to his house to warn him that somebody might be tapping his phone, Di Carlo said. A few days later, FBI agents went to his house to assure him that no one was monitoring his telephone calls, he said.

Rackauckas and his wife moved into the Di Carlo home for several days in 2000 after authorities told them they had uncovered a plot by a prison gang to have Kay Rackauckas kidnapped and held for ransom.

Then Di Carlo asked Rackauckas to investigate an investor who made threats to him in a phone call.

Rackauckas called Barry Foye, the supervisor of his organized-crime unit, at home and told him to open an investigation into Di Carlo's complaint, Foye said.

The interview did not go as Di Carlo expected. District attorney investigator Lyle Wilson questioned Di Carlo about his business, his license status with regulatory agencies, even his work experience and education. Di Carlo asked Rackauckas to dismiss Wilson.  A few weeks after removing Wilson, Rackauckas gave Di Carlo a gift for his 63rd birthday: a Glock .40-caliber handgun.

Di Carlo then got a concealed-weapons permit from the Orange County Sheriff's Department, stating in the application that he had not been a party to a lawsuit in the previous five years. Court records show he had been a defendant in two Orange County lawsuits during that time.

Di Carlo also indicated in the application that he never before had been the subject of a restraining order. But a judge in 1977 had issued a temporary restraining order against him in a case involving a business rival who said Di Carlo threatened to have Honolulu longshoremen assault him unless he stopped doing business with a man Di Carlo was suing.

Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer launched his own investigation of the office in 2001, gathering evidence from a district attorney employee who wore a hidden recording device.

Lockyer said he ended the investigation without filing any charges. But he publicly accused Rackauckas of being unethical. "I've never seen a district attorney get so close to the line repeatedly," Lockyer said.

So there you go.  Read those excerpts again and let me know if you think T-Rack’s pal, Di Carlos, is clean.  Carona is done - let’s hope T-Rack joins him on the list of OC GOP politicians who have fallen from grace.



GOP protesters continues to focus on abortion while the economy implodes

I get several of them every day - crazed emails from Talibani Republicans who are mortified by the Barack Obama administration and who can think of nothing better to do than scream about the evils of abortion.  That’s right - our economy is imploding as the Bush Depression wears on, we are at war in more than one country, and California is leading the nation in unemployment, but these folks want to talk about abortion.

As last month drew to a close, “Thousands of abortion opponents filled the boulevard Saturday along San Francisco’s waterfront in the fifth annual Walk for Life. Taking their Bibles and banners, about 1,500 abortion opponents from the Sacramento area boarded buses to join the march. Others jumped into smaller vehicles and carpooled to the Bay Area,” according to the Sacramento Bee.

Good grief!  What a waste of their time!

The fact is, President Obama is pro-choice.  And he is going to appoint liberal judges to the Supreme Court.  That is the way it is.  No amount of protesting is going to dissuade Obama.  So why don’t these people get a life?

The last thing this nation needs to do right now is roll back the clock to a time when women had to resort to illegal and dangerous abortions.  If anything what we need is to focus on the irresponsible men who keep impregnating women out of wedlock.  The problem is not the women - it is the men.  Except for that insane woman who just had what, eight kids?  At once?  After she had six already?  Talk about a poster child for the pro-life movement…



Dude! That was quick - Has it even been a full week?

So  confidential court documents were “erroneously” sent to The Washington Post.  The contents reveal information exposing Michael Steele (new RNC chairman)  who now has allegations of financial fraud and other improprieties against him:   1.  Mike’s 2006 Senate campaign paid his sister’s defunct company for services that were never performed — including $37,000 for “catering/web services” paid to her company 11 months after she filed to have it dissolved.  2.  Mike used money from his state campaign improperly.  3.  Mike paid $75,000 from the state campaign to a law firm for work that was never performed.  4.  Mike or an aide transferred more than $500,000 in campaign cash from one bank to another without authorization.”* More of the story, here.

* “The bank transfer was made against the explicit wishes of other Maryland Republicans, who had hoped to use it to support the campaigns of state legislators,” he added, according to Steele aides and aides to former Maryland governor Robert Ehrlich Jr.

Yesterday, Chairman Steele demanded that the entire RNC staff resign, promising “significant organizational change”.  A fired staffer said of his new unemployment status, “It is starting to feel like the Steele-your-job administration.”

Quite the future leader of the Party!   Nothing qualifies a Republican faster than theft & fraud.   100 newly unemployed ex-staffers is just an extra bonus courtesy of the RNC!  Fellow GOP leader, David Duke predicted that he could steal away 90% of Republican memebership from under Michael Steele.   Get out the popcorn.  It’s going to be an interesting year!



City of Santa Ana drives Black History Parade out of business, but cultural faire is still on

“An annual black history parade (in Santa Ana) that has grown over the past 30 years to include more than 100 entries is being canceled by organizers for the first time because of a lack of funds,” according to the O.C. Register.

Lack of funds? “Organizers recently nixed the procession because they failed to raise the $50,000 to $60,000 needed for police security, cleanup and other overhead costs associated with staging a quality parade, said Helen Shipp, who started the parade with eight entries in 1979.”

So the truth is that the City of Santa Ana drove this parade out of business with exorbitant police fees.

The good news is that the cultural fair that accompanies the parade is still on.  Click on the graphic above for the event details.

None of this comes as any surprise to me.  Last year, during the Santa Ana City Council elections, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and his “team” of Council Members Claudia Alvarez, Vince Sarmiento and Carlos Bustamante got up and walked out early during the O.C. NAACP Candidates Forum.  They clearly don’t give a damn about Orange County’s black residents.

The parade, which has historically been spearheaded by the Orange County Black Historical Commission, was supposed to be held this Saturday and include floats, a school band competition and appearances by elected officials and community group members.



What Sheriff Hutchens’ assistant found on Janet Nguyen’s Blackberry

Joe Shaw has a funny post up at his new blog, O.C. Progressive.  He got a hold of a screenshot of O.C. Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s Blackberry - the very shot that O.C. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens’ assistant took when he aimed his security camera at Nguyen’s phone at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting.

As you can see in the shot above, Nguyen had a lot on her mind…



Fred Davie: Black, Openly Gay will serve on Obama’s Faith-based policy council.

Fred Davie, second from left.

Yesterday, Obama made an important gesture in naming Fred Davie, the openly gay president of Public/Private Ventures, to serve on on the policy council of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Speaking about his hopes for the Office at the National Prayer Breakfast, Obama emphasized the importance of reaching out to "foster a more productive and peaceful dialogue on faith":

I don't expect divisions to disappear overnight, nor do I believe that long-held views and conflicts will suddenly vanish. But I do believe that if we can talk to one another openly and honestly, then perhaps old rifts will start to mend and new partnerships will begin to emerge. In a world that grows smaller by the day, perhaps we can begin to crowd out the destructive forces of zealotry and make room for the healing power of understanding.

Hmmmm, I guess it is possible to be gay AND a good Christian practitioner.  Congrats on your new appointment, Mr. Davie.

And a sporty fist-bump to new President Barack Obama!



Carona was corrupt, but Hutchens is inept

(Picture Courtesy of the O.C. Register)

Has Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens lost her mind?  We have lost sight, during her ridiculous battle against those who have concealed weapons permits, of the fact that she has been a complete failure with regard to the budget problems and jail issues in her department.

“In a letter sent Friday, county CEO Tom Mauk warned Hutchens that her fight with the board is a distraction that she can’t afford. Instead of the gun permit issue or the videotape dispute, Hutchens’ department should be concentrating on serious budget shortfalls, as well as curbing overtime and expanding the jail, Mauk wrote,” according to the O.C. Register.

“And so far, “little progress has been made,” he wrote.”

Make that zero progress.  Hutchens commissioned a study of our jail system that was conducted by a bunch of hackish ex cops.  Their report said we need to hire over 500 more deputies.   The only ones who were pleased about that report were the deputies and their union leaders.

As one might expect, the union hacks at the Liberal OC blog have attacked Hutchens’ critics instead of holding her accountable.  That figures.  Chris Prevatt always writes what he is told to.

Hutchens is worthless.  Carona was corrupt but she is inept.  Will this County ever have a decent Sheriff?



The Global Economy just got smaller!

Jeff Immelt is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of General Electric.  GE is scheduled to make about $160 Billion in the first 10 years of the 21st Century!  Immelt’s recent appearance on C-Span put on by the Wall Street Journal was quite telling.  “GE… brings good things to life!” is the slogan.

Immelt was recently named to the board of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisors.  Immelt stands against the “Buy American” paradigm in lieu of the Global Trading Policy of the Bush and Clinton administrations.  Jeff seems to think it is a generational thing and that the days of the old American mom and pop business are over.  He seems to think that unless you are a total Global Company, your success will be greatly limited in the future.

Immelt then praises former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and FED Chairman Ben Bernanke for what a great job they did on the first Bail Out..under the the conditions they were faced with!  He seems to believe that Corporations are just partners with government.  His eyes seem to glaze over when he thinks of the new Obama Bail Out package and how GE might profit with big projects from public-private partnerships!

When asked about the Financial Services arm of GE, Immelt just says they will have to deleverage (write down or write off) and move on.  He visualizes a much smaller, leaner GE financial operation in 2009 and beyond.   Jeff also believes any caps on Management Salaries and Bonuses are stupid.  He says:  “If you want to pay a CEO $500,000 a year….then that’s the level of expertise you are going to get!”  “You really have to pay whatever it takes….to keep your good people!”

Immelt believes we will need to move to a “Cap & Trade” Tax forum for Energy in 2010.  For those that don’t know….that is the Al Gore deal which allows polluters to:

===============================================

Cap and Trade

Cap and Trade is a market-based policy tool for protecting human health and the environment. A cap and trade program first sets an aggressive cap, or maximum limit, on emissions. Sources covered by the program then receive authorizations to emit in the form of emissions allowances, with the total amount of allowances limited by the cap. Each source can design its own compliance strategy to meet the overall reduction requirement, including sale or purchase of allowances, installation of pollution controls, implementation of efficiency measures, among other options. Individual control requirements are not specified under a cap and trade program, but each emissions source must surrender allowances equal to its actual emissions in order to comply. Sources must also completely and accurately measure and report all emissions in a timely manner to guarantee that the overall cap is achieved.

For those of us that do not believe in Cap & Trade….we simply call it:

Smoke & Mirrors!

All in all, CEO Jeff Immelt opitimizes what is currently wrong with American business.  He wants everyone to change - but him!  He repeatedly said that no matter what happens….he will not be changing the way he runs GE.  Jeff thinks that Healthcare and Energy are going to be the big winners in the next ten years!  Jeff thinks China’s Airline Industry will be bigger than the entire fleets of the rest of world. 

He believes in the new Bail Out cash……because his company deals with State, Federal and local government operations.  So, we suppose it was quite telling of Mr. Immelt to let us know….where the next $985 Billion dollars is going to go!  Let’s hope Mr. Immelt is right….but we are not very hopeful.

The Global economy is currently in meltdown mode.  How long will it last and when can we look forward to a recovery?  No answer for now…….the psychic 8-Ball needs to be turned a few times….so we can look for another answer!




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