Monday, January 31, 2011

2013 Mayoral Race - Updates




I have already written extensively about this subject, and to be quite honest, if you go back and check my previous blog post from over a year ago you will see that a lot of the analysis is still valid.

However, I wanted to make some updates.
Some players are gaining momentum, some are staying neutral, and some are losing steam.

GAINING MOMENTUM

Councilman Eric Garcetti recently announced that he is "looking at " a Mayoral run in 2013.
Translation: He's already in, barring unforseen circumstances.
Garcetti is still one of the top favorites, even though he was part of a City Council that put Los Angeles in jeopardy of bankruptcy. Garcetti is a skilled politician, exceedingly polite and good with people. While other Council Districts are often breaking down into near-riot situations, Garcettis District is usually calm and peaceful and supportive of their Council Member.

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky seems increasingly likely to seek the Mayors Office, and as a career politician here in Los Angeles, he has a long list of friends and supporters.

City Controller Wendy Greuel has some very strong political survival skills. She also has a unique style of dropping deadly information during campaign times and making others look incredibly bad or irresponsible. I have underestimated her. She is a growing threat to others for 2013.

STAYING NEUTRAL

Developer Rick Caruso made some noise before the 2009 Mayoral election and probably regrets not jumping in to that race. The 2013 race will be much more crowded and competitive. Caruso has made no announcements concerning 2013, and to be quite honest, I think he isn't too fond of the idea of undressing financially for the Ethics Department. I actually don't think he will run.

Former Inspector General Laura Chick. I initially didn't have Laura Chick in my rankings because she was busy being Inspector General, but new Governor Jerry Brown just threw her out of a job. She's tanned, rested, and ready. Why not give it a shot? She is well liked and well respected here in town.

Former NBA Star Magic Johnson. Magic has made some mention of running, and I think he would be competitive, but I really don't see him jumping into the race.

City Attorney Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich. I admit to being biased towards Nuch. I think he's one of the true fighters in this City. But he has shown more interest in being District Attorney than in being Mayor. That is unfortunate, because I think he would be a great candidate in 2013.

LOSING STEAM

2009 Mayoral Runner-up Walter Moore seems to have shown no interest in another shot at the office. As such, I am moving him down in the rankings.

LAUSD School Board Member Tamar Galatzan. I think Tamar is a very talented lady, but she is getting taken down in the rankings. She faces a bitter battle with Louis Pugliese for her LAUSD seat, and seems to be eyeing the Council District 2 seat whenever Paul Krekorian decides to vacate the spot and make his next backstabbing, self-aggrandizing career move.

Councilman Bernard Parks has recently had some of the political machinery in this town turn on him. Unions are supporting his opponent in March. Soulvine columnist Betty Pleasant will be happy to know that Parks is finished, politically, in this City.

Councilman Richard Alarcon. My happiest update ever.
"Not Applicable". Currently under indictment.

Odds (updated Jan 2011)

Garcetti 3-1
Yaroslavsky 6-1
Caruso 8-1
Chick 8-1
Johnson 10-1
Greuel 10-1
Trutanich 12-1
Hertzberg 15-1
Moore 20-1
La Bonge 25-1
Krekorian 30-1
Padilla 40-1
Perry 70-1
Galatzan 80-1
Parks 300-1
Alarcon N/A (in custody in 2013)

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Michele Bachmann is awesome!



There had been a big stink made in the Mainstream Media about Congresswoman Michele Bachmanns response to President Obamas State of The Union Address.

The CNN cameraman set his camera up off center from Bachmann, who had been playing to the Tea Party camera. This video is from the Tea Party camera.

Bachmann is one of the few people in our government who actually knows what she is doing. The Mainstream Media are trying to ridicule her in an attempt to destroy her.

I think she is awesome. Watch this clip.
She nails Obama for making things worse in America.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Armed with nothing but a keyboard




I was going to call this blog post "Armed with nothing but a pen" , but if you think about it, most ideas now get communicated electronically. Sure, people used to write letters and read the newspapers, but the post office and the L.A. Times are both going bust. Most people have now skipped the process of putting pen to paper. Somewhere along the line we reached a tipping point. Once you get to the point where you can pay your bills by tapping a few keys on your cell phone, you find that the world has almost certainly taken a new direction.

I'd like to take some time today to congratulate some of the other bloggers and local political activists who are doing a good job keeping up the battle with the corrupt political situation we have here in Los Angeles.

Joseph Mailander, over at his Street Hassle blog has been doing a good job of keeping up on current city events. If you can get past his leftist slant and his irrational hatred of Carmen Trutanich, he actually does some really good writing. And besides, anyone who calls Joe Barrett an "aging punk activist" surely gets a few extra credit points in my book.

Mailander was one of the few writers who interviewed all the candidates in the Mayors Race in 2009.
Unfortunately, I agree with Mailander that there is yet another "cone of silence" descending over this upcoming City election. Mainstream media sources consider you to be a gadfly candidate unless you have raised massive funds, so they won't bother to cover this race to talk about anyone except Rudy Martinez, who has pulled over $150,000 out of his own pockets to self-fund his deepening blood-feud with Jose Huizar in District 14.

Other than that race, the other contests are getting no ink. But Mailander has done a nice job covering the CD 4 race also... even though I think he's showing some favoritism towards fellow lefty tree hugger Tomas O'Grady.

Former Daily News Editor Ron Kaye has quite the career going for himself as a civic activist.
He has helped establish a "Clean Sweep" organization that is trying to help get incumbents out of office.
He speaks at City Council about crucial issues facing the city leaders.
Ron Kaye also has a terrific blog that cuts to the core of why this city faces continual crisis situations.

Unfortunately for Ron, and also for the city in general, most of the challengers in this March election have not raised enough money to win. As Zuma Dogg put it... "There is going to be a clean sweep. By the incumbents!"

Speaking of Zuma Dogg, the Prophet of Venice has been, as usual, spot on in his attacks on the City leaders.
Although his blog sometimes takes a very personal tone with certain city leaders, he was the one who was warning about the pension losses, the CRA, and various corrupt acts long, long before they became headline news. He is currently in the zone with his blogging/investigating -- and crushing careers as we speak.

Jon Regardie at the LA Downtown News recently had a great write up about how the newspapers are going belly up because people can get their news online for free now. He also has a fairly decent description of how the Martinez and Huizar campaigns are push-polling like crazy, trying to drive CD 14 voters to vote against their opponent in the March election.

Speaking of Jose Huizar, the untalented Councilman from the 14th District really got caught with his pants down in the recent "List-Gate" scandal, which erupted when news leaked out that Huizar had been keeping a Nixon-style "enemies list". Most politicians keep these lists in their head, and it was foolish for Huizar to have written information on this. The blow-up does not help his campaign. Especially not with offended community members who were rated dismissively by Huizar.

Scott Johnson, a.k.a. "Red Spot" over at the Mayor Sam blog has shown a determination that few activists have. He has done more, singlehandedly, to destroy Jose Huizars campaign than anyone employed on the Rudy Martinez campaign staff. Most bloggers and activists can get worn out covering a single subject, but Johnson has shown that 30 straight anti-Huizar posts at Mayor Sam are "no problem" for him.
I don't know if Martinez will be able to knock off Huizar, but if he does, he surely owes Johnson a debt of gratitude.

You know who is probably the most happy about the Martinez-Huizar war on the internet?
Probably Mike Gatto, the thin-skinned representative from the 43rd Assembly District.
If there are no Gatto posts at Mayor Sam, he saves money on lawyers fees involved in telling Mike Higby to shut up.

Former Mayoral Candidate Walter Moore seems to be content with attacking from the sidelines nowadays. Although Moore has not indicated any plans to run for office again, he has done a very good job of forensic bookkeeping. He pores over City data and usually blasts the city leaders on his blog for financial incompetence or outright criminal behavior. I have to say, I admire Moore's frequent use of the word "bullshit" when describing city activities.

Paul Hatfield is one of the more talented local voices, and he does an excellent job covering the Galatzan/Pugliese battle for the LAUSD position in the March election. It is a bit of a narrow subject area , but I am glad he covered it.

I appreciate the work done by all these activists. And any I failed to mention.
When you are fighting city corruption...and continually losing, it can get to be a bit dispiriting.
I'm glad to see all these people are still out there fighting.
And hoping that one day things will make a turn for the better.

Friday, January 28, 2011

More terrible ads from Stephen Box





You know, I really don't understand this. We are 39 days from the election and Stephen Box is still putting out this nonsensical fluff as campaign material!

Stephen Box and Tomas O'Grady are running against an incumbent -- Tom LaBonge -- who has held the job for 10 years! Not only that, he was the right-hand man for previous Council Member John Ferraro for a decade before that. In order to beat him, you need to focus on all the things that La Bonge has done wrong in his tenure as Council Member. Dumb votes, overspending, sky high pensions....etc.

Portraying yourself as a "nice guy" or "friendly" is not going to get the job done.

No issues, no solutions, no pointing out the errors that La Bonge has made.

No victory on March 8th for Stephen Box.

He might as well have kept the goatee and hipster clothing -- if he's going to run this weak of a campaign.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

A Crushing Blow for Conservatives


Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, a popular Conservative leader, apparently will not be running for President of the United States in 2012. Sources are leaking info ahead of his scheduled announcement this evening.
It is believed that Pence will instead run for Governor of Indiana, which will be an open seat in 2012.

This is a crushing blow to many Conservatives (myself included) who believed that Pence was one of our best chances to win the White House in 2012.

The other leading candidates; Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, etc...etc.. inspire no confidence.
They couldn't beat John McCain in 2008. How can they expect to beat Obama in 2012?

A very dark day, if this information proves to be factual.


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Karen Bass : Fan Girl!!


The most disturbing thing last night from the Presidents State of the Union Address, (besides the usual Socialist jibber-jabber) was the disturbing Fan Girl behavior of Congresswoman Karen Bass.

After the speech, Bass was seen elbowing others aside to get a hug with the President as soon as possible.

Later, she circled around for yet another shot and asked for an autograph.

Really?

This is who the 33rd District sends to Congress instead of me?

I'm embarrassed and ashamed of the voters in the 33rd for sending this nincompoop to Washington.

Not much of a leader, if you ask me.

But she is a great Fan Girl.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Rahm Emanuel for Mayor!!


You might be wondering... why would a Conservative like Phil Jennerjahn support an ultra-liberal like Rahm Emanuel?

The answer? I don't!

I think Emanuel is awful. He's Obama's right hand man and a hachet-job politician. Emanuel once declared at a meeting, in a very Animal House style of speaking, that he wanted his political opponents "Dead!".

Next to Obama, he is one of the absolute worst.

So, why do I say "Rahm Emanuel for Mayor?"

Because I believe that it goes against very American ideas of fairness to not allow him to run for that position.

Emanuel served as a Congressman from a Chicago suburb. That alone shows his intent to serve the voters of the Chicago area. He's no carpetbagger.

But he did leave for two years to serve President Obama. This usually falls under the exemptions to the election code of "military or Federal service" which temporarily takes someone out of their district.

I say let him run.

I also don't believe in residency or age restrictions. What if some brilliant kid in Idaho is actually the best choice of their voters for Congress, but happens to be 24 years old...missing the age mark by one year?

A healthy Democracy needs more candidates not fewer.

Rahm Emanuel for Mayor. Let him run.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Super Bowl XLV (45)


I'm afraid I won't be of much help to anyone politically for the next few days.

My hometown team, the Green Bay Packers, have made it to the Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas on February 6th.

It's going to take me a little time to focus on anything else.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Game Day!!


In a few hours, Aaron Rodgers will lead the Packers into battle with the hated Chicago Bears.
Nothing else is important to me today.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Barack Obama and the fake birth certificates



I have written about this subject before in a previous blog post. I said that the "birthers" need to forget about it and move on. The subject matter is silly and will never go anywhere, so it is a huge waste of time and energy to pursue this. However, my post was brief and didn't give a lot of detail.

Allow me to clarify.

If you look at the photos posted above, you will see two fake birth certificates for President Obama.
The top one, in green, is from the State of Hawaii.
If you look closely at the lower left hand corner, you will see this document was laser printed.
Newsflash! There were no laser printers in 1961 when Obama was born!
So this document can be tossed and dismissed outright when discussing validity.
Documents at that time were generally pre-printed forms that were rolled into a manual typewriter to be completed. They looked different.
The green "safety paper" it is printed on also did not exist in 1961.

Using this document for validation is about the same as having the State of Illinois present a copy of his drivers license and say "See!... I told you he was a citizen!".

The second fake birth certificate is clearly from someone who wishes to discredit President Obama.
The person did some research into the historical name of Kenya, and has the typewritten typeface mostly correct, but there are flaws here also. The poor formatting and the missing information signifies that this is a fake. Obamas father didn't know his own birthdate? Highly unlikely.

Also, the dates are wrong. If Kenya followed British customs, they would write their dates with day and month reversed from the way Americans do it. For example, today for Europeans is 22 January 2011.
Don't ask me why they do it that way, but it is a fairly standard practice across Europe and in all the countries they colonized, including Kenya. They would not write down their dates American-style on an official document. But the American forger who created this document was not aware of that fact.

So again, this document is junk. "Pure rubbish", as the British might say.
It can be disregarded.

Here are the facts:

1) Barack Obamas mother and father, both aspiring Communists, met while students in a Russian language course at the University of Hawaii in 1961.

2) Being students and not working for a living, they were both probably poor, as most students are.

3) Being able to cover the high cost of air travel to Kenya and back for two unemployed students in 1961 would be highly unlikely.

4) Census data indicates that most people are born in the same City that their parents were living in at the time. Just a matter of fact. Some couples do move while a woman is pregnant, but that is the exception. Over 90% of the time they don't move to another city mid-pregnancy.

5) There is some biographical information that indicates Obamas grandparents helped raise him during part of his early years.

6) The only information the "birthers" have is a comment from an elderly aunt of Obamas who said he was born in Kenya. The woman was older and had 15 or 20 other nephews and nieces and may have mis-spoke. She offered no proof or documentation.

The facts, evidence, and clues indicate Barack Obama was most likely born in Hawaii and is an American citizen. He is eligible to be President, even though some people might not like that fact.

Those on the right don't want him in power because of his Socialist, wealth-redistributing ideas and schemes that have killed every country that ever tried to implement them.

The birth certificate thing is just a weak excuse to get him out of office.

The best way to get rid of Obama is to run a good, solid candidate against him in 2012.

Friday, January 21, 2011

I'm going back to CPAC



Good news for me. I have my flight arranged to Washington D.C.
I'm going back to D.C. to attend CPAC -- the largest political gathering of Conservatives in the country.
All the biggest names will be there... except maybe Sarah Palin, who skipped the last two years.
Multiple Conservative action groups will be there, all promoting their own causes.

I'm excited about getting to hear from Rick Perry and Mike Pence, two men that I consider to be our best chances to defeat Barack Obama in 2012.

The photos above are from CPAC 2010, where I got to listen to Michele Bachmann and meet Colonel Allen West, who recently was elected to Congress from the State of Florida.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Dark Lord: Total Control



Boy, do I hate writing this blog post!

I went to a forum last night in Valley Village to see my friend Augusto Bisani battle The Dark Lord (City Councilman Paul Krekorian) for the right to be elected to the City Council for the 2011-2015 term.

I wasn't happy with what I saw.

In my opinion, it was a rout. Krekorian wiped him out.

Augusto Bisani is a wonderful man. Big heart. A lot of character.
But he just isn't ready to fight a career politician like Krekorian.
Several times during the evening, Bisani apologized for not being well-versed in a certain subject area.
Krekorian gave smooth, practiced answers that were rich in detail and conveniently managed to excuse himself for his own inept actions while on City Council.

As much as I can't stand Krekorian, I had to admit that he dominated last night.
Augusto Bisani gave no convincing reason as to why the voters should replace Krekorian.
On a few of his stumbles, Bisani made it seem like he might not be ready to do the job.
That doesn't win you an election.

Bisani admitted last night that he was "not as polished" as Krekorian.
That is true. Bisani can't out-duel a skilled orator like Krekorian.

The good news for Bisani was that turnout was very light. Only about 50 people showed up -- most of them seasoned political watchers who had their minds made up beforehand.
Impact was almost non-existent.

About 12,000 people will probably cast a ballot in this City Council District race.
Bisani can reach those voters through direct mail pieces and phone calls.
Bisani needs to hit Krekorian hard on his big-spending Socialist ways while with the State Legislature.
Krekorian helped bankrupt California... voters don't like hearing about things like that.

Bisani needs to start hitting Krekorian hard with mailers and phone calls.

Because right now, The Dark Lord is in total control of this race.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Krekorian & Barrett in epic fail



This news story gave me a good laugh today.

It seems that tree-hugging liberals Paul Krekorian (The Dark Lord) and Joe Barrett have achieved an epic failure.

A grove of over 250 trees was cut down by the Department of Public Works -- all in the name of progress.
The area will now become a dump for waste sludge from fire runoff.

There were some protesting hippies who tried to stop it, but DPW workers simply cut down all the trees that the protesters weren't sitting in. Krekorian and Barrett were strangely absent.

Event though liberals worldwide feel that it is only they who can make the decisions that will change the world, reality sometimes has a way of teaching them a lesson.

There are people in China, India, Russia, and Brazil who are bulldozing and destroying 10,000 trees a day.
No hippie dreams can stop that reality. But trees can be replaced.
So it makes no sense to obsess over this.

Krekorian, Barrett and the other tree-huggers were probably weeping over this news.

Me? I just kind of chuckled. There are plenty of trees left.

We are not running out of them.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

George W. Bush : Decision Points


I have been reading a copy of the new George W. Bush book "Decision Points".

I received it as a birthday gift and I have been enjoying it for the past few weeks.

I don't think the former Presidents writing style is all that interesting, and he skips over large sections of his life, but there are many interesting revelations.

I had always thought Dick Cheney was gunning for the job of Vice-President. Turns out that he really didn't want the job! He encouraged George W. to look at other men for the job. Bush seriously considered Senator Jack Danforth of Missouri, but eventually realized he admired Cheneys intellect and skills too much to not offer him the position. Cheney was worried about his daughter being gay being a distraction to the election. Bush told him not to worry about it -- that he didn't care.

As a former political candidate myself, I enjoyed hearing the former Presidents perspective on how his life had run an unusual course. Sure, he was the son of a President, but that didn't guarantee him any success.

I really liked the former Presidents comparison of different parts of his life.
His amazement at his own personal turnaround was very revealing.

He said in the book that on his 40th birthday, he had woken up drunk.
A huge failure in business and in life.
On his 50th birthday, he was celebrating being re-elected as Governor of Texas and was being mentioned as a possible candidate for President of the United States.


Monday, January 17, 2011

Riordan: Los Angeles is doomed



Former Mayor Richard Riordan is interviewed in this clip above and he doesn't predict good things for Los Angeles. In fact, he predicts many cites will fall into bankruptcy within the next five years.

I agree with him. Liberals in charge of multiple cities and States in America have over-promised with taxpayer dollars that they are not going to be able to come up with. As I mentioned before, The State of Illinois -- leaders of the pack when it comes to idiotic political maneuvers -- is on the hook for over $1 billion dollars to just the top 100 pensioners in their books. That's before anything legitimate comes up for budgetary discussions. In fact, Illinois has 3,597 retired government employees who are earning over $100,000 a year in pension. These "pension millionaires" are going to destroy everything in America as they take down City after City and State after State in a massive financial collapse. The math does not work.

Now you can see why I hate Teachers Unions. In the Illinois example, they think it is perfectly OK to remove $1 billion dollars from the educational system so that 100 former teachers can sit around on their asses and do nothing at taxpayer expense. "It's for the kids..." , they always whine. Oh, really?

I don't know the exact numbers in California, but the viral strain of California liberalism displays the same symptoms as the Illinois infection. Massive shortfalls. Incompetent leaders. Powerful union strangleholds on political office.

There was some jibber-jabber over at Ron Kayes blog about an endorsement of Bernard Parks to remain on City Council in District 8. Let me say this....
Parks is controlled by unions and he is a hypocrite. He's concerned about budgetary issues?
Baloney!

Parks is one of the highest paid public employees in America.
When you add his Police pension to his City Council paycheck...

Bernard Parks gets paid more than Barack Obama!

Let that sink in for a minute.

A useless political hack on the LA City Council makes more in government pay than the President of the United States.

If the voters can't get their heads on straight and elect some Conservatives real quick, then this City is doomed.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Forget politics for this weekend, Packers in NFC Championship!



Yesterday was a shocking surprise to me as my Green Bay Packers (yes, I'm from the small town of Green Bay, Wisconsin) delivered an absolute whipping of the #1 seeded Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

The Packers now go on to face the winner of the Chicago Bears/ Seattle Seahawks game to be played today.
The winner of that game goes to Super Bowl 45 (XVL) in Dallas, Texas. I felt the Packers had a good, solid team this year , but also thought they would fall short of the Super Bowl. However, they just beat the Bears a few weeks ago and the Seahawks actually had a losing record this season, so the possibility is very exciting.

I've never been to a Super Bowl, but I would love to go. I went to New Orleans for Super Bowl 31 and to San Diego for Super Bowl 32, but was not able to obtain a ticket to either game. I attended the NFC Championship Game in 1997 in Candlestick Park where the Packers defeated the 49ers to go on to Super Bowl 32.

I'm hoping for a Seahawks win today. The last Packers-Seahawks playoff game I went to ended well for Green Bay. Seattle quarterback Matt Hasslebeck threw an interception in overtime that was run back for a touchdown and an instant Packers victory.

Here's a few photos of that game. January 4, 2004. It was about 10 degrees outside.
But everyone stayed for the whole game. We're Sconnie tough, you know?


Friday, January 14, 2011

Walter Moore : Still pissed




..... and who can blame him? He makes valid points in this video, that Republicans -- if they got organized and got voters out to vote -- could take control of a few City Council seats and take control of the future of this City. But instead we get the unions and public employees deciding every election.

I think Walter is still pissed off about losing to Antonio Villaraigosa.

I know how he feels.


Thursday, January 13, 2011

Gov. Chris Christie: "I'll fight when it matters"



Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey says he isn't running for President.

I say that is nonsense. He is one of the best Republican leaders in this country.

He would automatically be one of the Top 5 favorites if he were to run. And he would have the advantage of still keeping his job as Governor even if he lost.

Some of the top leaders in the GOP need to have a chat with the Governor.

We need a powerful, honest man to defeat Obama in 2012.
Christie fits the description.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Sarah Palin gets it. MSM? Not so much....

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

Here's a video response to those in the Mainstream Media who have been pointing fingers at Sarah Palin over the shootings in Arizona this week.

Palin had to respond, as her name was getting mentioned with this story at almost every opportunity.

Sarahs response was noble and did not point fingers at those who blame her.

The video was very "Presidential" and is an attempt to restore some sanity to this storyline.

More than anyone else so far, this video looks like something a leading candidate for the GOP nomination would put out.


Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Call 911. Stephen Box is killing his chances for victory in CD4.



Well, when you have been involved in politics for a long time, you tend to think you have seen it all. But someway, somehow, someone always finds a way to surprise you.

Here we are, 56 days before the Los Angeles City election. You would think that all the campaigns would be rolling out their heaviest firepower. B-52 air strikes on their opponents.

Or maybe not.

Somebody, call 911 -- because Stephen Box is killing any chances he has of ever getting elected in CD4.

He rolls out this short ad (above). A total piece of fluff!
It says nothing, and accomplishes nothing.

The ad does not explain his issues or tell voters why he is better than Tom La Bonge.
In fact, the ad does almost nothing. Wait, I take that back.
It makes you stare in disbelief and make you wonder what he was thinking.

Why doesn't he just hold up a sign that says "Stephen Box loves puppies, rainbows, and lollipops!"
It would be just about as effective.
Oh, there's a second ad, too. But it makes the first look Oscar-worthy by comparison.

I'm really starting to wonder if Stephen Box has what it takes to win.
If he's going to continue with more of this touchy-feely nonsense, then he might as well just put this video on his website and be done with it.

In comparison, I checked out the web presence of his rival, Tomas O'Grady.
O'Gradys website is phenomenal. With a huge video in the middle of the page where he addresses voters directly and portrays himself in a very honest and disarming manner. There are also high levels of interconnectivity with Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube. And his blog on his website makes intelligent and logical arguments.

Hell, three months ago I was trying to destroy this guy, but now the Irishman is almost starting to make me like him. Almost.

But Tom La Bonge has home field advantage, so he's a full touchdown ahead of O'Grady and Box.
But O'Gradys web presence and Griffith Park Neighborhood Council connections are worth a field goal.

Score: La Bonge 7, O'Grady 3, Box 0.


Monday, January 10, 2011

The Prophet speaks


A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about local community political activist Zuma Dogg (a.k.a. David Saltsburg)

I mentioned how the snarky political-attack blog Mayor Sam calls him "The Prophet of Venice" in an attempt to demean and insult him. But I pointed out that Zuma Dogg is correct more often that not and even has an eerily prescient ability to sense coming dangers in City politics. (Zuma Dogg was talking about the City going into bankruptcy several years ago....)


While other blogs like Mayor Sam and Street Hassle are running around in a fear-induced panic, demanding the elimination of gun rights due to the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords, Big ZD from the 213 is the only one who is keeping his eye on the ball.

This week, he's the only one worth listening to.

Zuma Dogg points out that while everyone else obsesses over something they cannot possibly control, that we City activists are losing crucial time in the City Council races.

He's right.

The City elections pose a desperate dilemma for City activists. Most of the challengers to the entrenched city power structure are underfunded -- and in some cases, practically unknown.

Most of them will not win. The best we can do is try to pick a horse and go with it.
Volunteer our time and services. Go door-to-door. Make phone calls. Donate, if you can afford to.

Zuma Dogg mocks Ron Kaye's Clean Sweep organization by pointing out that they haven't updated their website for months, and they are still conducting candidate interviews. Indeed, their last "tweet' was nearly a month ago. We are 57 days from the election... and it doesn't look like Clean Sweep has made any endorsements or written a single check. It looks like you can't depend on them to accomplish much this election cycle. It is too late in the game.

If you plan to win a City Council seat, you need money for mailers to get your name out to the voting public. Voters usually won't vote for someone when they have absolutely no idea who that person is.

You also need a team of committed volunteers to go around and hand deliver campaign material to high propensity voters. You need a phone bank to call voters.

I have personally decided to concentrate my efforts on David Barron in CD 6 and Austin Dragon in CD 10. That is just my personal preference based on political ideology and identification. I will be happy to help out all the challengers to the established, corrupt, City political machinery. I even have an interview out to a candidate that I don't especially support, but I am willing to give more exposure to as part of the bigger overall picture.

We need to do all we can to try and flip the power structure in this highly corrupt city.

The Prophet of Venice has spoken. I think we should listen to him.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Caesar, JFK, and Gabby Giffords


"Those who make peaceful protest impossible, make violent protest inevitable" -- John F. Kennedy

President Kennedy said these words back in 1962, and today they sprung up from the memories of the collective public who remember him. Even though he died before I was born, John F. Kennedy is one of my favorite Presidents, and I thought of his words immediately when I heard the news today. And I immediately blamed the administration of Barack Obama.

The facts of the matter are as follows: A deranged gunman killed several people in Arizona today while attempting to assassinate Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Most of the commentaries of the TV news anchors were filled with dread and concern, and there was heavy mention of prayers being said for those who had survived the shooting. But none of them addressed the root problem. Why did this happen? Why did Gabby Giffords almost end up getting killed? (No Congressional member had been killed since Leo Ryan in the Jonestown massacre in 1979)

My answer? It all goes back to the Kennedy quote. The administration of Barack Obama has made peaceful protest impossible, and they are ushering in an era where violent protest will be inevitable.

Sure, we still have elections, but those only happen every two years. And with the Obama Administration, there has been a new item of horror on a weekly basis. Meetings held in secret. A lack of transparency. Zero input or consultations with the opposition. Votes cast at midnight and on holidays. Ruling by fiat. The appointment of unapproved and unconstitutional "czars" to run large swaths of our economy. Congressman Alcee Hastings displaying his contempt for our Constitution by stating that "There ain't no rules here... we make them up as we go along". Indeed, we are living in dangerous times when an elected official says things like that.

The seizure of auto industries. The hijacking of 1/6 of the economy with the Health Care bill.... a 2,000 page document that Nancy Pelosi asked people to vote on when none of them had actually read it. Where was the opportunity and freedom to protest this vile act of government? The Government dictating that you no longer had the freedom to choose as to whether or not to buy health insurance.

No ... todays actions were no surprise to me. I had predicted this to friends long ago - when the Obama Administration revealed themselves to be nothing but a "gangster government". When the government seized Chrysler and GM and started randomly shutting down successful car dealerships... businesses that people had worked their whole lives to build... I knew they had crossed a line. How are we still a free people when the government arbitrarily decides on a whim which businesses will succeed and which will fail?

I fully expected that someone would try to kill their Senator or Congressman.... or maybe even Obama himself.
The power that political leaders exert over others creates animosity. Especially when you threaten to take away a persons means of earning a living. That never ends well. History has shown us that -- repeatedly.

"Sic semper tyrannis" was the cry of Marcus Junius Brutus. It's Latin for "Thus always to tyrants".
In the year 44 BC, Julius Caesar was the most powerful man in the world, yet Brutus and others stabbed him to death in the Roman Senate chambers.

In 1793, an angry mob of discontented citizens dragged the King of France down to a public square in Paris and lopped his head off with a guillotine.

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were killed in public by people who held political grudges.

Gabby Giffords? I don't know much about her, but she seemed like a nice lady. She certainly didn't deserve what happened to her today. She was a "Blue Dog" Democrat that held some Conservative views. I don't know what her attempted killer had against her, but sometimes people who get assassinated aren't personally hated by their assassins. They are viewed as political figureheads. A symbol of things gone wrong.
She may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. An unfortunate turn of events.
A real tragedy for all of those wounded and killed. But not unexpected.

Violence and politics have always gone hand in hand.

I took some heat today from the knuckleheads at the Mayor Sam blog for saying so, but I don't back down from my statement. I believe the Obama Administration is creating an atmosphere of distrust and contempt that will only lead to more violence.

You know what Thomas Jefferson said.....

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants"

Jefferson understood that an over-reaching government would eventually meet with armed conflict from its citizens. He not only understood this concept, he quietly accepted it as a natural part of life.

If the Obama Administration wants to head off more violence from discontented citizens, then they need to start governing in a manner that is legal, transparent, and shows respect for all citizens... not just the ones who elected them. The current administration is not doing this.

Current residents of Capitol Hill might want to brush up on their world history and adjust their behavior accordingly. When a frustrated population of citizens turns on their leaders, things can get very ugly.

In 1945, the citizens of Italy killed their leader, dictator Benito Mussolini. As a warning to future leaders, they hung his body upside down outside of a gas station in Milan. People came by to gawk at it for several days.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Villaraigosa: More destructive than Godzilla




I was thinking about this the other day as I walked down La Brea.... past block after block of shuttered stores and closed businesses. There had been many successful businesses here in the past. Why were they all gone now?

The answer?

People like Antonio Villaraigosa and the pack of incompetent clowns we have on our City Council.

It's like the funny motivational poster below:



Government: If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.

Kind of says it all, doesn't it?

Part of the problem in this City is leadership that thinks it is solving problems while actually creating new ones.

Villaraigosa felt that traffic flow was a crucial issue. His solution?

The Tiger Team!!

An aggressive persecution of drivers who make the mistake of being parked on major streets during rush hour.

Nope. No $45 parking ticket for these evil people!
It's a tow and an outrageous charge for a minor offense.
The total usually ends up being over $300.

Of course, did this solve the problem of heavy traffic in a populated city?
Of course not. And it never will.
There will always be bad traffic here. It is unavoidable.
Any careless driver on the 405 or 101 can make a bad maneuver in traffic, cause a crash, and make 10,000 people late for work. But of course, in Villaraigosas twisted logic, it's that one parked car that is ruining our way of life here in Los Angeles.

Here are the unintended effects of this idiotic policy.

1. People who get ticketed and towed get really pissed off about it.

2. The bad experience makes them never return to those street-front businesses that don't have a parking lot.

3. Lack of income causes these businesses to fail, in turn reducing the City tax base.

As I walked down the street past all these shuttered business, I thought about all the lost jobs... and I wondered.... which is worse... Villaraigosa -- or Godzilla?

I eventually decided that Godzilla was much less destructive.

Godzilla trashes a City, but the citizens can rebuild it.

The way that Villaraigosa destroys a city.... well... those jobs and businesses aren't coming back. His type of government-based destruction is more permanent.


Thursday, January 6, 2011

Desperate Huizar campaign provides unintentional comedy


For those of you who are seriously politically active here in Los Angeles, you somehow find yourself on multiple email lists from political figures you might not like and maybe don't even support.

There is an email making its rounds in Los Angeles, coming specifically from the Jose Huizar re-election campaign. It provides hilarious and unintentional comedy for the readers. The email is a result of a "push poll" and claims that Huizar is winning his re-election campaign by over +40% !!

The Problem? The push poll was authorized and paid for by the Huizar campaign. Consultants who want to make Huizar happy cranked out crazy questions to get crazy answers...

For example:

Push Poller: (to voter on phone) If you were aware that Jose Huizar had invented a cure for cancer, and is very close to being able to stop Global Warming, would that make you more likely to vote for him?

Voter (on phone) : Yes!

Push Poller: If you were aware that Rudy Martinez had a hidden criminal record, and that he hates the Los Angeles Lakers, would you still be willing to vote for him?

Voter: No!

Push Poller: Thank you for participating in our survey!

Now, the above conversation is fictional, but you get the idea.

Push polls are created to smear the opposition.

Then there was also this little hit piece against Martinez. A bit of psycho-babble about a police badge from years ago. A nonsensical story where there was no crime and nothing happened. If that is the best they can do, Huizar might want to start scanning the want ads for future employment.

Huizar is obviously living in fear of Rudy Martinez. The reason is that Martinez is willing to spend over $100,000 in his attempt to win this Council seat from Huizar.

Most incumbents in LA are supported by the "political machine" -- the unions, public employees and other agencies that receive graft from the politicians. We have one of the most corrupt cities in America. So corrupt that in the 2007 City election, five of the Council Members didn't have an opponent. Unseating an incumbent is almost impossible. But Martinez has a shot.

Huizar is still ahead.... probably 58-42. Incumbency is powerful.

But not that powerful.

Even Paul Krekorian isn't winning by +40%. And he uses the dark arts.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Speaker John Boehner


I'm not his biggest fan (he voted for the bailout) but I wish him well.
He is already a massive improvement over the budget-destroying Socialist Pelosi.

Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead!!


Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead. She's gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know
The Wicked Witch is dead!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Pay attention to Judge Napolitano

This is a rather lengthy video... in fact it goes almost an hour, but there is a really incredible job done here by Judge Andrew Napolitano describing our Constitutional freedoms and how they are constantly being placed in jeopardy.



Monday, January 3, 2011

A rough start to the New Year


Well...here is my breakdown of my day on January 1st.

I had great tickets for the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

I enjoyed the parade, but felt I got a little screwed because my tickets were about 75 yards away from where they were supposed to be. I was in the shadows, not sunlight, and was about 50 yards too far out of range to be on the television broadcast. And to top it off, a swinging boom arm camera kept getting in the way of all my photos! But, overall, it was still a great experience. I had been to the Parade many times, but had never been close to the TV cameras across from the Norton Simon Museum.

After the Parade, I hiked on foot over to the game and partied at the Badger Blast/Huddle.
Huge crowds of Wisconsin fans were there as Wisconsin had not been back to the Rose Bowl in 10 years.
I bought a ticket outside the game and ended up sitting next to a really great guy who played football for USC back in the 60's. He's now a dentist up in Washington state.

The game was exciting, but the result deflating.
Wisconsin played poorly and lost to TCU, 21-19.
The game was frustrating because Wisconsin should have concentrated more on their dominant running game.
John Clay should have been handed the ball 35 times.

One thing I also really want to address is the poor behavior of the Wisconsin students. They had created a childish taunting chant using obscenities. They thought it was funny. I thought it was childish and I think it makes the school look bad. I hope they will stop doing that in the future.

My new friend the dentist mentioned that when he had played in the USC at Notre Dame games, if anyone was caught doing something like that, "Notre Dame would eject those people from the stadium and they would be banned from coming back". Sadly, I agreed with him.

I was in misery walking out of the Rose Bowl.

The only joy I have right now is that the horrible and evil RINO Schwarzenegger is out of a job now.
So is that dingbat Nancy Pelosi. I predict she will never be back in power.