"Orange Juice! Politics For The Rest Of Us." - 12 new articles
Its Official: The Most Divisive President In History
So now its officially official. The man who offends with every nuanced catchphrase, who seeks to destroy that which has built this incredible country, who goes abroad and gets NO HELP from our allies for the one war the Democrats are willing to fight, yet proclaims success: B. Hussein Obama now has the GREATEST political approval divide in history. The Pew Research Center, hardly a partisan target for Demoncrats to dismiss, reports that Obama’s approval has slipped below 60%, like Rasmussen which has it at 56%. 39% STRONGLY APPROVE and 38% STRONGLY DISAPPROVE of our new President. Disapproval has risen 15 points among Republicans, those who were left basically, and 13% among Independents.
It is truly going to be a time when the “I agree with class warfare and hatred of the american engine of prosperity, cause thats easy, but don’t call me a Democrat” nabobs are going to have to get off the fence and come back to sanity or be left in the cold with their Liberal buddies. You aren’t going to have any friends left on the fence with B. Hussein in the Oval Office.
And that time is coming soon than you “fence sitters” are going to like. This wasn’t a 1992 “Perot splits the conservatives” election. This wasn’t a groundswell of new voters voting Democrat in huge numbers. They were the same in 2004. This wasn’t even a ”Bill Clinton’s electoral votes” kind of election. This was a couple million people hoping and praying for something different. And getting, as Bill O’Reilly called him, a puppet. The Presidential teleprompter could do as good a job. And you all know it. Now don’t you? No allelujah praise. No cumbayah. Just OH MY GOD. Every rationalization he gives for doing what he does is a false choice. It’s this or do nothing. You’ve heard it. The rhetoric is worn, isn’t it?
Now, I could do a whole article just on this photograph, but I won’t. I, at least, will show a little class. We have a First Lady who goes out and can’t even dress herself properly. This would not be Cindy McCain or Sarah Palin, or god forbid you would hear the catcalls from the Liberal chorus. This woman is an Ivy League elitist who has no business representing the United States of America. There, I said it. Have Santa Ana’s Usual Suspects targeted Sean Mill?
My co-blogger Sean Mill posted a video this week featuring the old cereal character Count Chocula. For those of you not in the know, there is a Democrat toublemaker in town who goes by that nickname. So some of our readers opted to use that post to pile on the fellow in question, who has angered a lot of folks over the years while supporting Republicans, such as Supervisor Janet Nguyen, and bad Democrats, like Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. The O.C. version of Count Chocula is allied with Santa Ana’s Usual Suspects - a motley crew of angry Santa Ana citizens that includes a pile of bitter Republicans, most of whom are very much anti Latino. This is the bunch that got busted by the ACLU for putting up illegal traffic barriers in the French Park neighborhood in order to try to keep the brown folks out. For whatever reason, Pulido and his cabal still take calls from these folks. I cannot imagine that L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa would take calls from people who hate on his own, but Pulido does. And he regularly appoints these screamers to city commissions! Therein lies the rub. The number one goal of this bunch, besides ridding Santa Ana of Mexicans, is to get Sean Mill kicked off the Santa Ana Planning Commission. But this time they went too far. Pulido and company started getting a ton of calls and emails this week from ECCO members who claimed Mill is anti-gay. That is patently untrue and ridiculous, but that is the angle that the Usual Suspects chose to play. They are allied with the Liberal OC editor Chris Prevatt, who does not live in the O.C., and he is a board member of ECCO, a gay rights organization. I imagine that Prevatt got involved as he never misses an opportunity to take whacks at me and Mill. Prevatt in fact told me at a function this year that he is OK with the Usual Suspects. Sure he is. Most of them are pro-gay - Prevatt appears to be OK with the fact that most of them are also anti-Latino. Mill joined me last year in publicly opposing Prop. 8 here on this blog. Ironically Pulido and company took a pass on this - they never did pass a resolution opposing Prop. 8. And one of them, Republican Councilman Carlos Bustamante, most likely voted for Prop. 8, as his backers in the GOP would have mandated that. And of course many of the Usual Suspects are big-time Bustamante cheerleaders. But the ECCO members bought the B.S. coming from the Usuals Suspects. Their leader, Jeff Le Tourneau, was one of the ECCO members who contacted the Pulido machine. I wonder why he didn’t just call me? I would have been happy to tell him that he was lied to by the Usual Suspects - that they in fact used him. Jeff knows me as ECCO endorsed me for the Santa Ana City Council last year. The knock on the O.C. gay community has been that they are not friendly to Latinos. Now this happens. You have to wonder. I am most unhappy about ECCO’s involvement in this lynch mob. The last thing they ought to be doing is uniting with GOP Mexican haters! So Monday night, at the Santa Ana City Council meeting, the Usual Suspects are apparently going to show up en masse to demand that Pulido and company dump Mill from the Planning Commission. Go ahead folks! I hope they do dump Mill. I would love nothing better than to work with Mill to take out Pulido and company. Mill has been a good soldier for Pulido and the Santa Ana City Council, but it they dump him from Planning, watch out! He will be unfettered. And it will be on, big time! No one knows where the bodies are buried the way Mill does. So go ahead Pulido, cater to your bitter Mexican hating Usual Suspects. Dump Mill. You will be most sorry! These folks can strike down Mill, but he will be a very big problem for them after the fact. It will be on like they have never seen before… The Obama World Slam Dunk Tour!
“I am thrilled to be working with this new technology,” stated Cantor. “Soccer is a passion that can’t be described in words and when I scream GOOOOOOAL! I know that the joy I feel at that moment is shared by millions around the world. Now everyone will be able to carry that moment of joy with them everywhere they go.” Ooops…we were supposed to be talking about President Obama here. Andres Cantor however is that famous voice of World Soccer that does the longest celebration possible for an individual score. Having said that, there is little to separate the recent vagabond travels of President Obama and his World acclaim by International leaders. As Conservative Republicans…we are in shock….with the enormity of the numbers of World Leaders met and the commensurate approval and praise by these leaders. Now we are not just talking about Europeans here, we have China, we have the Saudi’s, we have the South Koreans and Japan. Whew, when did people in other countries suddenly discover that they knew how to speak and understand English? “Holy moley Mr. Toad….” this is as shocking as it can possibly get. World acclamation for an American President may not have happened since Teddy Roosevelt! Yet, what has the President really accomplished? Lots! Just setting those meetings with the Russians, China and ten others was impressive enough. The new inclusion of France into NATO, now officially was a nice touch, along with general agreement on an “all inclusive World Stimulus package”. For those that don’t know…that changes the rules to the point that “Inflation will not be a necessary factor in digging us out of the economic doldrums!” Will it all work out? The wait and see factor applies. What still seems totally amazing….is the total world press…..willing to kiss up to President Obama! Is the President “forthcoming”? Unabashedly so! His “real character” is almost overwhelming. His ability to answer very tough questions with a substance and style we haven’t seen since Reagan again is impressive. Say what we will about “Bank Bailouts”….”Higher Taxes”…..”Cap and Trade” or “Shutting down the Bush Tax cuts”. Things are moving with Obama in place. In this day of the Blackberry, Twitter and You Tube…we needed a “Hip and Trendy President”. Sometimes “Too Hip and Too Trendy” for some taste, but all in all…..we can be sure no other world leader may be as aware of commercial electronic devices as President Barack Obama! But what about our First Lady? Michelle, seems to be getting even better reviews than her husband. “Down to earth…honest…and caring!” seems to state the case with impunity! “Out front and liking it!” might be another read. How in the world could the Obama’s even sweep Queen Elizabeth off her feet? She never had a word to say to any other US President….in our memory! So, the President has met on the World Stage and made a very positive impression. We now have financial support and partners from around the world. We now have more Coalition Forces added to Afghanistan. We now have NATO Forces added to the mix. We now have some world banking regulations in the works that will search and destroy……those “Off Shore” Banking havens that aren’t willing to “work with our Department of Justice” or those of other countries! We now scheduled meetings with the World’s Leaders to put agreements together…never thought of…including a gross reduction in Nuclear Weapons with a new START Treaty with Russia. In the words of Andres Cantor……..”GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL” or in the words of the great departed Chick Hearn….”Put this one in the refrigerator! The butter’s hard and eggs are chillin’!” Or Bob Costas: “Slam Dunk!”…or finally Chris Berman….”He could go ….all the way!” Why not cut administrators’ pay and consultants before cutting teachers’ wages?
Shouldn’t we but administrators’ pay before we cut teachers’ wages? “More than 3,000 educators in Orange County were notified last month they could be out of a job in June, and programs ranging from music to sports to counseling have been put on the chopping block as local schools face a combined $287 million budget shortfall,” according to the O.C. Register. In the face of this financial disaster, some are calling for teachers’ wages to be cut. Here are three examples given by the O.C. Register:
But what about the administrators? They make a lot more than the teachers do. In Santa Ana, the Superintendent of the SAUSD makes over $250,000 a year! Why not start by cutting overpaid administrators’ wages? And what about the millions that many school districts spend on overpaid consultants? “With an average base pay of $74,528 annually, Orange County teachers have a higher average salary than the average of any U.S. state, including California, according to an Orange County Register analysis of 2007-08 salary data,” according to the O.C. Register. That may be true, but Orange County has one of the highest costs of living in the entire state of California! Teachers are not getting rich at these salaries and many of them spent thousands on advanced degrees that they are still paying for. The Register had to concede that point, “Average teacher salaries in Orange County – ranked the sixth-most expensive place in the United States – plunge to 20th in the nation, with average buying power at $49,226 annually. California’s average salaries drop to 30th in the nation, with average buying power at $47,163.” Santa Ana to toughen water rules, but Miguel Pulido is the biggest water waster in town!
“With a statewide drought stretching into its third year, the Santa Ana City Council will vote Monday on a series of tougher – but, for now, voluntary – water rules. They’re intended to change the way people use water at home and at hotels and restaurants – and to stave off mandatory water rationing,” according to the O.C. Register. “But the proposed water law also creates three tiers of enforced water-conservation measures that the city could implement quickly in the future if conditions continue to worsen. Those do carry big fines and, if things get really bad, allow the city to restrict the flow of water to water scofflaws.” Of course the biggest water waster in town is our own Mayor, Miguel Pulido. Apparently he has a large orange grove on his estate, in Floral Park. The O.C. Register revealed last year that he was the top water waster in Orange County, with regard to local elected officials. And Pulido is the one who has been pushing for the construction of massive condo towers all over town. He also supported the installation of unnecessary medians in town - which waste God only knows how much water. So has Pulido finally found religion with regard to not wasting water? I doubt that very much. He will find a way to make sure the rules don’t apply to him…but the people, as usual, will bear the brunt of these new rules. Here’s a suggestion - how about we cap development of condo towers and allow residents to plant drought resistant shrubs and ground cover in their front yards instead of turf? And how about paving over those medians, or getting rid of them altogether? And does Pulido really need an orange grove? Really? Shouldn’t California have a master water plan if we are to keep building?
It is not often that we read stories relating to our local water districts. Today’s Flash Report included a link to a San Diego Union Tribune story relating to water conservation along with increased usage rates. That brings back memories. In Nov 2000 I ran for a seat on our local water district Board. On the League of Women Voters web site I added a Position Paper which read “Water–A Quality of Life Issue.” My opening paragraph was a quote which reads: “In a stinging rebuke of state water policy, a Sacramento appeals court has sided with environmentalists who say California is fueling excessive development–particularly in southern California–by promising more water than it can realistically deliver. “ A lawsuit was filed at that time by the Regional Council of Rural Counties against the CalFed’s water plan/accord. RCRC Chairman Tom Bamert stated: “California can’t continue to promise more water than is available for urban growth.” Was he correct? My personal comments in that white paper follow: With a finite supply and growing demand I have been concerned about our future availability of safe drinking water. We need to formulate a strategic Management Plan to guide future policy decisions into the first quarter of the 21st Century. I now believe that the decision to increase water rates is to level the playing field as we shift to using recycled water which is still a costly process. It raises the question of the county approval of adding two million square feet of commercial construction along with up to 14,000 housing units at Rancho Mission Viejo off Ortega Highway in the unincorporated area of Orange County between San Juan Capistrano and Lake Elsinore. Did they ever consider that impact along with Irvine’s Great Park and the Platinum Triangle developments as we shortly will be expected to “use less and pay more” to accommodate the demand of these future neighbors and neighborhoods? While I joined Ed Royce, Sr. VP Metropolitan Water District, on a tour of the $2 billion Diamond Valley Lake reservoir in 2000, we were told that this project serves as an insurance policy against any earthquake or drought that would disrupt our current source. It was designed to hold six months of emergency storage south of the San Andreas Fault. It is not simply another source for everyday usage. Hello folks. Just as we expect our cars to start every time we turn the ignition switch most of us take immediate and an infinite supply of safe drinking water for granted. One of the reasons we overlook water and sewerage is that the pipes are all buried underground and we simply assume that the delivery systems are meeting our demand without interruption. Larry G SD Union Tribune. CALIFORNIA’S WATER: A VANISHING RESOURCE By Mike Lee Note: Edited by Larry G to reduce the text. If you think mandatory water rationing is painful, wait until you see your water bill in several months. The Metropolitan Water District, the main supplier for Southern California, is marching toward rate increases of about 40 percent over two years – the largest spike since the early 1990s. Its higher prices could show up as early as September. But that’s not all. Some local water districts had planned to boost rates to pay for expenses such as maintaining their own pumps and pipes, so they will add their increases to Metropolitan’s. And districts countywide are drafting stiff penalties or fees to encourage water conservation amid California’s drought. "Stunning, isn’t it?" said Mark Watton, general manager of the Otay Water District in Spring Valley. It could feel like a punch in the gut for recession-weary residents, who will have to pay much more for water and use much less. Metropolitan is expected to finalize its rate structure April 14. The agency’s directors are set to adopt a water-rationing plan and set higher prices for Southern California. That will prompt new rates across San Diego County as local water districts pass along the rising costs. The steep rate increases are meant to help Metropolitan cover its fixed costs during times when it sells less water – and thus gets less revenue. In recent days, Metropolitan officials have considered several options that mainly differ on how to split the increase from year to year. One scenario calls for a 33.9 percent rise in wholesale water costs in 2010, followed by a 5.4 percent jump in 2011. Another proposal would impose a 19.7 percent increase in September and a 21.5 percent rise in 2011. "They are both bad," said Jim Barrett, San Diego city’s water chief and a Metropolitan board member. "I don’t think anybody is happy about where we find ourselves." San Diego, by far the county’s largest water agency, has raised rates at least five times since mid-2007 and has approved more increases that will take effect in three months and again in July 2010. After factoring in Metropolitan’s plan, many residents will pay at least 70 percent more per gallon than they did in early 2007. Each water district in San Diego County has its own rate formula, based on factors such as their water sources and construction projects. Some agencies’officials said a 40 percent Metropolitan jump would translate to a 20 percent to 30 percent rate boost for their customers; others said it’s too soon to speculate. In anticipation of Metropolitan’s next move, leaders of the Vallecitos Water District in San Marcos are looking at phasing in average rate increases of 17.5 percent and 9.5 percent over two years. The agency also is contemplating punitive drought rates for water hogs. Officials there and at other water agencies agree that customers shouldn’t expect rate rollbacks when the drought ends. If some costs decrease, they likely will be replaced by the expense of improving California’s water reliability through building new canals, dams, desalination plants or other means. "This water pricing isn’t temporary," said Watton at Otay. California’s water shortages stem from two problems: years of below-average snowfall across the Southwest and restrictions on pumping water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to protect imperiled fish. The crisis is pushing up prices from north to south, said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of State Water Contractors, a nonprofit group that represents major water buyers including Metropolitan. "Right now, you are seeing the first bump of significant rate increases, and you are seeing large portions of the San Joaquin Valley laying off farmworkers," Moon said. "That alone is painful, but it’s not the end." Concern is growing among business leaders, said Patti Krebs, executive director of the Industrial Environmental Association, a group of manufacturing companies in San Diego County. She said water and power are top expenses for her members. At some point, Krebs said, higher water bills "will make their operating costs increase so greatly that they will have to look at moving their lines to other places and not expanding here." "The general trend among U.S. drinking-water suppliers is double-digit increases annually in their rates," said Amy Vickers, a water consultant in Amherst, Mass. She links the trend to higher costs for chemicals used to treat water, electricity and other factors. "People may be frustrated that they are conserving, but the rates are going up," Vickers said. "They really need to think this is a fair warning that if they don’t conserve, they are really going to pay through the nose" for other sources of water such as desalination plants. To read the entire story simply go to the following link:
Is OC GOP Chair Scott Baugh shilling for Sheriff Sandra Hutchens?
“The OC GOP Resolutions Committee, chaired by Central Committee member and Red County blogger Allan Bartlett, meets today at 10:00 a.m. to consider a resolution from Bruce Whitaker (Central Committee member and aide to Sup. Chris Norby) expressing “no confidence” in Sheriff Sandra Hutchens’ restrictive CCW policy,” according to Matt “Jerbal” Cunningham, over at the Red Clownty blog. I spoke to a GOP insider this week who indicated that Bartlett was not going to allow outsiders to attend this meeting, although originally that was supposed to be the case. However, Jerbal also reported that “I’m told the Sheriff hersefl will by there, accompanied by Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson, who is also the OC GOP Central Committee’s Sergeant-at-Arms. A number of 22nd Amendment acitivists will be there as well.” Perhaps one of our readers can let us know if the meeting was restricted to OC GOP Central Committee members? I am told that OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh wanted to restrict the meeting to OC GOP Central Committee Members. The fix, it would appear, is in. And Bartlett apparently did not stand up to Baugh. I hope I am wrong on this, but I guess we will sort this out after the results of the meeting are made public. How Bartlett ended up chairing this committee is a good question. But this is how Baugh gets activists to do his bidding. Bartlett, as a blogger and as a past supporter of Bill Hunt, should know better than to let Baugh tell him what to do. Baugh is likely carrying water for the folks who are backing Hutchens. As we wrote earlier, many of her backers are the same rich scumbags who backed disgraced former Sheriff Mike Carona. Baugh is also a lobbyist. Is it appropriate for him to be mucking around in county affairs when he is a lobbyist? I don’t know if he does county work, but I know he has worked for the OCTA. Should this guy even be leading the OC GOP? Isn’t he a walking conflict of interest? The resolution in question would express no confidence in Hutchens, due to her CCW policy and the videotaping of two of the O.C. Supervisors during a Board meeting. BTW, when will the OC GOP Central Committee come down on GOP consultant John Lewis for backing a Democrat, Tom Daly, over conservative Republican Shawn Nelson, for Supervisor Chris Norby’s seat? CA Democrats gunning for 8 GOP districts in 2010
Is John Campbell’s (R-OC) seat vulnerable in 2010? California GOP voter registration is “dropping like a rock,” a new study shows, declining so fast that Democratic Party officials see an unprecedented opportunity to gain voters and House seats in the 2010 election. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted 35 districts across the country represented by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives - including eight in California - that were won by Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, said Jennifer Crider, the committee spokeswoman. The vulnerable California districts with Republican representatives that were won by Obama are those of Reps. Dan Lungren of Gold River (Sacramento County), Mary Bono-Mack of Palm Springs, David Dreier of San Dimas (Los Angeles County), Elton Gallegly of Thousand Oaks (Ventura County), Brian Bilbray of Solana Beach (San Diego County), John Campbell of Newport Beach (Orange County), Ken Calvert of Riverside and Howard “Buck” McKeon of Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), the committee says. Even Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed surprised this week at the number of Republicans her party’s campaign experts are targeting.
More at The Chronicle Orange Juice Night Out: Geisha House in Santa Ana
My wife Camille and I finally had a chance to visit the new Geisha House restaurant, over at the CityPlace center in north Santa Ana. We invited our friends Rene and Jen to come along and they were not disappointed. We stopped by the bar for a bit, and enjoyed a round of cocktails. Jen ordered something odd that looked like melon liqueur but tasted like fennel. I think it had absinthe in it. I took it off Jen’s hands and bought her a new drink. This time we ordered something called a Geisha’s Kiss for Jen and Camille.The drink involved champagne and had a lychee fruit floating in it. Rene ordered a series of Captain Morgan Rum and Cokes. I ordered a Japanese light beer and nursed it throughout the evening as I was the designated driver.
We started off with the Geisha House version of a Spider Roll. Then we ordered a few more appetizers. Geisha House offers a great variety of cold and hot appetizers. We ordered a cold tuna dish that appeared to have bits of fried onion on it. It was hard to pick up with my chopsticks so I asked for a fork, which made me feel dorky but I didn’t want to miss out on any yummy bits. Jen ordered a Spicy Roof roll, which featured shrimp. Rene ordered the soft crab, which came fried of course and Camille ordered the Rock Shrimp, which turned out to be the hit of the evening. The service was great. I had read over at the OC Weekly that the service was slow, but we didn’t experience that. We met all of the managers, including the fellow who spearheaded this new location, David Jarrett, and managing partner Adam Palmer and General Manager Kevin McVearry. We also found out that the owners of the Geisha House own a whole bunch of different restaurants, including an American bistro called “Ketchup,” and Italian restaurants “Dolce” and “Bella.”
The Geisha House concept is unlike anything else I have seen in Orange County. As you enter the dimly lit restaurant the first thing you see is the huge multi-level chimney, which is bright cherry red. The walls are adorned with mini Japanese tapestries and the windows have been decorated with graphics depicting modern Japanese young ladies. The tables feature red candles and little pitchers of soy sauce, which come in handy when the sushi and rolls come to the table. There are booths and tables both on the bottom floor and upstairs. Music is pumped throughout the restaurant, but it is not overly loud and I liked the mix. I was told that the City of Santa Ana does not allow new businesses to have DJ’s for nine months, which I think is pretty stupid, but typical of Santa Ana.
Once we ate up the appetizers, our server, Danielle, showed up with two hot plates featuring Teriyaki Salmon and Black Cod, which was marinated overnight in a miso sauce. They were both very flavorful, but the Cod had a chewier consistency, although it was fork tender. We were all really impressed by the presentation. The plates came complete with garnish, cups of spicy mustard, and extras that included, in one case, what looked and tasted like a tempura onion ring. We really liked, in particular, the tempura asparagus! We were pretty stuffed but opted to look over the dessert menu and that was fortunate as Camille and Rene ordered the molten chocolate cake, which featured a warm chocolate filling and a side of vanilla ice cream. Jen ordered the fried Won Ton dessert which featured fruit and cream cheese and two dipping sauces. She really liked the vanilla sauce. The place was packed and I ran into my friend Irene Ibarra and her friend Mike. Irene read about the Geisha House here on my blog and decided to check it out for herself.
The prices at the Geisha House aren’t bad. Most of the items range from $5 to $20 and the fancy drinks are about $9 each. Considering the ambiance this is a good deal. The service was top-notch too. I was particularly impressed by the bus boys, who were dressed all in black and were as quick and silent as ninjas. One drink order did take a little long, when we ordered the gals a round of Geisha Cosmos. But one of the managers came by, found out the drinks were lagging and got on it immediately. Everyone was quite friendly and the servers really knew their stuff. Danielle’s recommendations were all spot on! As the OC Weekly mentioned, the Geisha House does offer valet parking, for $5. We didn’t make use of it, but the parking lot was packed as the CityPlace promotes a “First Friday” event on the first Friday of the month, which is like an open house. There were a lot of young people partying in the lofts that were open, and all the businesses appeared to be doing well. The CityPlace is having a heck of a time selling their condos, but tonight their center was bustling and I’m sure the Geisha House owners were pleased to have a full house. When we were in the restaurant we forgot we were in Santa Ana. It felt like we were someplace upscale for a change. As we walked to our cars I could not help but hope that Geisha House and the other businesses around it will survive. If things stay busy as they were tonight, that hope is certainly warranted. Geisha House is located at 2773 N. Main St., in Santa Ana. Click here to make a reservation. Fullerton Friends Around the World
Headman Barney Enjoys FFFF with Family Papuan highlands headman B'rni (Barney) Wewak, former international exchange student at Troy High School in 1974 and well-remembered for his fondness of pop tarts and synthesized jazz, shares an enlightenting FFFF blog post with clan members just prior to the traditional head gathering foray that marks the beginning of the taro harvest and grub hunt. Click here to read more. Santa Ana City Council to stop funding after school program at the Bowers Museum
I just received the note below from my friend Nelida Yanez, who used to serve on the Santa Ana Planning Commission. Apparently the Santa Ana City Council is up to their old tricks again - this time they are saying they will not fund an after-school program at the Bowers Museum that serves kids in our city who don’t have the means to pay for such programs themselves. That figures! I’m sure the Bowers folks were tired of having all those brown kid around. Remember that the Bowers board of directors features exactly one Latino - our immigrant hating Mayor, Miguel Pulido. Here are the details: It has come to my attention that the City of Santa Ana will not extend the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the Bowers After School Program—a program which offers the following services to a largely low-income, immigrant community: · homework tutoring and Art classes, · Storytelling classes for ease in speaking in front of an audience and at job interviews · Choral singing for children’s English- language acquisition · Monthly Empowering Lectures to educate the parents of children attending this program · The lectures and interactive workshops include Parenting, Education, Community Resources, Rights and Responsibility of tenant/landlords, etc. · Parents and children are exposed to multi-cultural events which we believe create respect and appreciation of our diverse community. In today's world, we desperately need to teach our children to understand and appreciate our uniqueness. The CDBG support for this wonderful program needs to continue. This funding is an investment in creating wholesome families—good citizens of this community—families that value education and their culture as well as that of others—this happens when a family as a whole participates in Art shows, Multi-cultural performances and evenings of lectures. We must continue providing this largely immigrant community the opportunity to learn good parenting skills, to learn about the value of education and to become acculturated within our multi-cultural community, which happens when families partake of the Bowers Kidseum After School Program. We can support the Kidseum After School Program and these families by e-mailing a letter of support* to each of the Santa Ana City Council Members and to the Mayor. And if possible, please join Genevieve on Monday, April 6, 2009 at the City Council Meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 22 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana. She is hoping that she will be given an opportunity to appeal her cause. Email addresses are below: mpulido@santa-ana.org mimartinez@santa-ana.org Councilwomanmartinez@gmail.com cbustamante@santa-ana.org dbenavides@santa-ana.org calvarez@santa-ana.org stinajero@santa-ana.org vsarmiento@santa-ana.org Thank you Red County & Jubal for promoting the MacLean RECALL
Jerbal really burned himself this time! How many of us have seen cartoons when a terrorist blows himself up because he didn’t know what he was doing. This story is about a local blogger who failed to “trust, but verify” his information. Not knowing if my comment will appear on Red County I thought I would share Matt Cunningham’s post and my rebuttal on the Orange Juice. The title of his blog story reads “Does MV Councilman John Paul Ledesma Secretly Want To Be Recalled?” Jubal’s Point #4 reads. “A tax increase when you authored and promoted Measure K, which was rejected by Mission Viejo voters.” Juice reader note. This is one of the charges against Mission Viejo councilman Lance MacLean. Jubal adds: “Ledesma voted to put Measure K on the ballot–a strange thing to do if considering it something meriting a recall.” One problem Mr Cunningham. If you took the time to get your hands on the November 2, 2004 O.C. Ballot you would find the opposite to be the truth. You can identify the truth sometimes can’t you? REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE K “Anyone can come up with reasons to spend more and justify why they need to spend more money, in government it just seems that coming up with the justifications is the endemic addiction This fiscal year we, the city council, voted to add police officers in our contract with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Public safety is our No. 1 priority and the duty of local government, and Mission Viejo is consistently one of the safest cities of our size. Our city is not in dire need of more tax revenue-we just need to live within our means. Fellow taxpayers, death and taxes are guaranteed, so let’s make life as enjoyable as possible and do your part to hold the line on tax increases. This is your opportunity to tell the city council to live within its means. Say Yes to fiscal restraint. Just Vote NO! “ John Paul “JP” Ledesma, Mission Viejo City Council Arguing in favor of the tax increase Lance MacLean and Trish Kelley closed their argument to state “we urge you to approve a 10% TOT rate by voting “YES’ Best regards and thanks Matt. |
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