Ditch Crazy Dana!

Closing the deal

2008-10-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

These are the last days of the campaign to send Crazy Dana back to the funny farm. However, we must not lose site of the fact that the California ~~Fascist~~ Republican Party has been very good at getting out the vote before any October Surprises can change the course of the election.

Be that as it may, we really need to make sure that voters in the 46th have a chance to hear Wendy Dormal. This principled activist for human rights has had a long history of dealing with Crazy Dana. She reminds us now of just what she thinks of this 5 Star General in Abramoff's Army.

I have had a personal battle with this congressman, at times one-on-one. However, my distain for the congressman is a result of his actions in suppressing justice for the foreign contract workers of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). In 1995 I naively believed that human rights was a bipartisan issue that could not refuted. Jack Abramoff, Congressman Rohrabacher, and their fellow conspirators proved that, in fact, they could make human rights a partisan issue and hurt a great many innocent people in the process.

If anyone that you know is sitting on the fence, just get them to read this. If they don't have a computer, use the one at the public library to show them, and then leave it on that page when you walk away. Someone else will see it too.

Compare the lack of integrity shown here with the calm, intelligent and principles statement of Debbie Cook as she closed her case in their only debate.

Rohrabacher in Emergency Mode

2008-10-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it must be an emergency when they have to bring in Jon Voight to headline a fundraiser. Now we know that Voight is one of those spreading the word that Obama will usher in a new Socialist regime. Now, when Dana needs Deliverance from Voight, he has to know that he is in the middle of something new... a contested race.

I found out about this when I noted it being hyped around Republican circles by Ron Nehring. Now Nehring and Dana have a lot in common, especially their friendships with Jack Abramonff.

Now, if Obama is expected to answer question about William Ayers who was politically active when Obama was 8 years old, why aren't Nehring and Rohrabacher being asked to explain just how much they have changed since playing footsie with Jack. Fair is Fair.

Dana's sense of strategy seems to be getting tone deaf.

2008-10-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

Total Buzz at the OC Register had an entry about Dana and Sarah Palin. I find it worth quoting.

“We remember all the negative things they said about somebody else,” Rohrabacher said to the crowd at the Palin rally in Carson. “His name was Ronald Reagan. I can guarantee that the same way Ronald Reagan saved America in 1982, Sarah Palin and John McCain will save America when they get to the White House.”

I think that it is time for Dana to go have his hearing checked. Sarah Palin is to Ronald Reagan as high school garage band is to the Rolling Stones.

In fact, if Dana is lining up to join in this game of trivial pursuit, then he is compounding his problem. While Reagan may be a hero, every single person who watched the interview with Gibson or Couric and saw her performance in the debate with Biden must know by now just what she lacks. Here is a link to what serious media in the UK said about her. The piece is headlined "Flirting Her Way to Victory".

Sarah Palin's farcical debate performance lowered the standards for both female candidates and US political discourse.

That was the kind part...

Evidently, Palin's pre-debate handlers judged her incapable of speaking on a fairly wide range of subjects, and so instructed to her to simply disregard questions that did not invite memorised talking points or cutesy filibustering. They probably told her to play up her spunky average-ness, which she did to the point of shtick - and dishonesty.

Dana, you have to show us better judgment than this. Or, if your ear is really that tone deaf, then I would guess the the Libertarian Troubadour sang off key as well.

Maybe Palin can win over all the Joe Sixpacks who will tell their wives to stay at home, keep their mouths shut and let him do the voting for the family. That is not the way to run a campaign when your opponent is an articulate woman with more experience in field of energy than Palin. You know, I have another idea. Why don't you have Palin come down and debated Debbie Cook on Energy Policy. That should be good for a few laughs.

Up to his old tricks

2008-10-02T16:03:00.001-07:00

One of Dana Rohrbacher's favorite tricks is to say or do something so outrageous that totally undercuts any rational discussion of issues in this election. In fact, some of them seem to be designed to prevent Debbie Cook from getting any press mention at all.

I noted this before when everyone was talking about the rising prices of oil, Dana makes a big stink about a science fiction scenario of the world being hit by an asteroid. I keep wondering if he got a campaign contribution from Bruce Willis for this.

The most recent is his dragging up Sirhan Sirhan again. This was best reported by the Pasadena Weekly. but liberal bloggers have had a field day with it.

How dumb to you think we all are, Dana?

The OC Register ran a story on the assignation of Robert F. Kennedy and never mentioned your name. You probably never go over that, did you.

Now, you say you want to get Sirhan Sirhan to explain himself to help bring closure to the Kennedy's. That is another exceedingly callous way of trying to get Democrats to vote for you. I have news for you, Dana. They are not that dumb or they would be Republicans.

As Cook appears to be doing better and better, what additional attention getting trick do you have up your sleeve?

How can you tell when Dana is lying?

2008-06-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

His lips are moving.

I can think of no better example than the speech that he gave recently on the floor of the House, the one that gathered national attention to him since he once again brought up dinosaur flatulence. If you want to read it, he is so proud that he has posted it on his House of Representative Web Site.

What you find there is a mixture of a small amount of fact, a lot of conjecture and a huge pile of horse manure. Let's take a good look at his technique. Consider this paragraph.

In a September, 2005, article from Discovery Magazine, Dr. William Gray, now an emeritus professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University and a former president of the American Meteorological Association, was asked if funding problems that he was experiencing and has been experiencing could be traced to his skepticism of man-made global warming. His response: ``I had NOAA money for 30 years, and then when the Clinton administration came in and Gore started directing some of the environmental stuff, I was cut off. I couldn't get any money from NOAA. They turned down 13 straight proposals from me.'' This man is one of the most prominent hurricane experts in the world, cut off during the Clinton-Gore administration because he had been skeptical of global warming.

First, he references an article in DiscoverY Magazine. Now, if you check things out, Discovery Magazine is for Kids. We all know that the triplets are far ahead of their dad, so maybe he was reading one of their subscriptions.

Well, actually, it was Discover Magazine, but the error is so prevalent on the internet that we know no one actually fact checked his speech. If they can't get the little stuff right, how can they be trusted with big ideas.

The circumstances behind this article are well documented by Chris Mooney in his book Storm World. Gray is a skeptic about man made causes of global warming, but not about the fact that it is occurring, nor about the fact that it will make fundamental changes in life until it starts to cool again.

I’m not disputing that there has been global warming. There was a lot of global warming in the 1930s and ’40s, and then there was a slight global cooling from the middle ’40s to the early ’70s. And there has been warming since the middle ’70s, especially in the last 10 years.

Here is more of the non-story.

On April 26, 2006, RealClimate.org, which describes itself as "a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists," responded to a paper written by Gray by detailing "the fundamental misconceptions on the physics of climate that underlie most of Gray's pronouncements on climate change and its causes" and "the gaping flaws" in his "scientific argument." A June 11, 2006, article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Judith A. Curry, chair of Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, said that "Gray's message that global warming is a hoax is being heard because of his media connections, but she [Curry] points out he has not published any research to back it up."

If you want more, then here it is...

Additionally, a May 28, 2006, Washington Post Magazine article by Joel Achenbach reported that Gray "concede[d] that he hasn't published the idea [his theory about recent warming trends] in any peer-reviewed journal." Achenbach also noted that Gray's rejection of climate models puts him "increasingly on the fringe" in the field of meteorology. When Achenbach "ask[ed] Gray who his intellectual soul mates are regarding global warming," Gray responded, "I have nobody really to talk to about this stuff.'"

(Source: Media Matters).

What Dana did is to take a string a "facts" and to imply a causality that does not exist. Gray makes the same argument that just because atmospheric CO2 and global temperatures move up and down together does not mean that one caused the other. The work cited above points out the errors in Gray's understanding and methodology when it comes to climate. He is nothing more than a damned good weather man, but the basic scientific understanding has gone far beyond what he knew or is willing to learn. He is left like the Pope arguing that the sun revolves around the earth, unwilling to change.

But, this is Dana's champion. I could go through the rest of Dana's talk. You can take it all apart and be left with not much but the enjoyment of discovering another charlatan. With his talent, Dana should put on a rubber nose and join Barnum & Bailey.

As long as Charles Krotch is paying for Dana to blather away, telling us to go use all the energy that Charlie can provide, then I guess that we will have to put up with Dana's blathering. Unfortunately, some people believe this sh**.

Figuring out Dana

2008-04-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

I have long had a problem with trying to understand how Congressman Rohrabacher, ostensibly an intelligent man, could go in for such stunts as his frequently ridiculed dinosaur fart comments about global warming. I think that I finally got it.

We have all know that much of Dana's historic campaign funding has come from Libertarian leaning Energy Executive, Charles Koch. What most do not connect is the fact that the Koch family, owners of the largest privately held Corporation in America, Koch Industries. Charles Koch and his brother David are both listed (19) among the top 20 Richest Americans by Forbes Magazine. That spread their wealth around and are the source of funds for a few of the think tanks that have grown up around Washington. They contributed heavily to the start of the Cato Institute.

One of Charles Koch's more recent activities involves a new organization called Americans for Prosperity, a group that professes to be a grassroots organization but is heavily funded by Koch. Guess what, they are playing the same type of games over global warming with the latest stunt being the use of a hot air balloon to signify that global warming is just a bunch of "hot air".

Now, in case you have not heard of Koch Industries, they are a really big deal in energy production.

So, what we really have from Dana Rohrabacher is the vocalization of a puppet, with Koch pulling the strings to make sure that the word gets out. The vaunted independent streak of Crazy Dana is a sham. He is more dependent than independent, dependent on Koch for support.

When we look at the way most people have to struggle to get by, at the way that our government is pushing us into selling America to pay for an ill-advised war while we wonder how we can pay the mortgage, it is hard to see Crazy Dana as one of the common folks like us, not when he has Koch's $ Billions behind him. The only American Prosperity that Rohrabacher wants is for his buddy Charles and the hope that soem trickles down to himself.

Dana Rohrabacher vs. Shell Oil

2008-03-28T09:38:00.001-07:00

We all know where Crazy Dana stands on the question of Global Warming. One can only ask "why?"

In an interview with Charlie Rose this week, James Hofmeister, President of Shell Oil Company, made the point that "the debate is over." If even the president of one of our largest petroleum companies can make that statement, you wonder why the likes of Sen. Inhofe(R - OK) and Dana continue to chant the mantra of denial.
What to they have to gain?

While I don't agree with all of what Hofmeister said, especially about where we need to go in the future, there are two points that become clear... especially if you listen to the entire interview. The first is that Hofmeister is not talking from his personal viewpoint. Under questioning from Charlie, he made it clear that his statements are completely in line with the positions of the Board of Royal Dutch Shell (the parent company) and it's CEO, Jeroen van der Veer.

Hofmeister went on to explain that the only thing accomplished by such denial is to delay arriving at the solutions we will ultimately be forced to accept. We will all have to pay the costs of such delay, both in terms of the implementation of new solutions and in terms of the mitigation of the effects of global warming that could, possibly, have been prevented by prompt action now.

The only thing that I can see is that Dana thinks he benefits at the polls by continuing this charade, that the voters have been sold this crap for so long that they think it smells sweet, that they are the ones who know better in the face of this "vast left wind conspiracy".

What they will find is that those like Dana and Senator Inhofe have been selling snake oil and the sickness is getting worse. Of course, when we could have stayed at home and taken an over-the-counter remedy, now, because of people like Dana who have abused their access to the media, we may need major, expensive surgery.

Waxman expands Blackwater Investigation

2008-03-11T07:15:00.001-07:00

Rep. Henry Waxman is making a name for himself as the guy in Washington who keeps asking questions about ethical behavior, especially in the executive branch of government. One of his more recent targets seems to be Blackwater, a company that is either a loose committee of super patriots of a bunch on down on their luck Rambo's looking for a thrill while getting paid for it.

I am not sure how this will affect Dana, but we do know that he has been a big supporter of Eric Prince, Blackwater CEO. In fact, Prince once worked as a aide to Dana in Washington and I am sure that the connection is just too lucrative for it to have gone away.

The question here is whether the "contractors" who work for Blackwater are really that, independent contractors working for themselves, or whether they are employees. It would seem that Blackwater wants to have it both ways. They are contractors when it comes to the point that Blackwater may have to pay the same employment taxes that every other company has to pay. This is the question the Waxman is trying to answer. If they were to be considered employees, then Blackwater owes a bundle of money plus penalties for the Social Security taxes that they did not pay. If they are determined to NOT be employees, then I wonder how many of these well armed, happy go lucky chaps have been paying their self-employment taxes. It might be that a number of them have run afoul of the law.

Oh yeah, it was tax evasion that send Al Capone to Alcatraz, wasn't it.

An Associated Press story questioned the quality of people that Blackwater has been hiring anyway.

Private security contractor Blackwater USA has had to fire 122 people over the past three years for problems ranging from misusing weapons, alcohol and drug violations, inappropriate conduct and violent behavior, according to a report released Monday by a congressional committee.

That total is roughly one-seventh of the work force that Blackwater has in Iraq, a ratio that raises questions about the quality of the people working for the company.

But, they are employees when it comes time to discuss the protection of their behavior in Iraq by the State Department.

So, Dana, just how close are you to your one time aide. Did he learn all the secrets of maneuvering through government contracts from his one time boss?

Is Rohrabacher in favor of imeachment?

2008-03-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

I doubt it.. but still you can't tell from some of the speeches he has been giving lately. For example, from his February 26, 2008 speech as reported in the Congressional Record.

In my tenure as a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, both as chairman and ranking member of an investigative subcommittee, I have witnessed firsthand behavior by the Bush administration which I find deeply troubling.
The disdain and uncooperative nature that this administration has shown toward Congress, including Republican Members, is so egregious that I can no longer assume that it is simply bureaucratic incompetence or isolated mistakes. Rather, I have come to the sad conclusion that this administration has intentionally obstructed Congress' rightful and constitutional duties.

Now, I am beginning to see a bit of Dana's re-election strategy. He is trying to distance himself from Bush about as far as he can go. Still if the truth were known about just what he thinks of this administration, he might even come up with a couple of Republican Challengers. There must be a few who still trust Dick Cheney with a loaded shotgun.

Just when you thought it was safe...

2008-02-26T07:42:00.001-08:00

That must be what Dana is thinking, as he contemplates his next run for Congress. It has been a very long time since he faced criticism from inside the Republican Party, as the comments from Mississippi blogger Conservative Belle laid out.

Her criticism was a mild one. It was an effort to point out just how much earmarks and their use as a campaign tool give a lie to the conservative rhetoric about controlling spending and lowering taxes. If you can not control the amount of pork that is shipped to your own district, what gives you the right to talk about controlling big government. Maybe this should have been levied at Alaska's Senator Stevens or Representative Don Young. Both abuse the system much more that Dana. But Dana is the one that opened his mouth and gave her a good target for her scorn.

Now Dana has more than an irate Mississippi Belle to worry about, he has opposition in the Republican Primary in his own district. According to the Daily Pilot, Ronald R. St.John has actually decided to challenge Rohrabacher for the Republican nomination. You can check the status of all party candidates here.

Now, I don't know much about St. John. Neither, apparently, do the folks at Red County blog where he is only a side comment in a post about Debbie Cook.

Am I beginning to see parallels between what happened to Richard Pombo in 2006 and what is happening to Rohrabacher now? Like Dana, Pombo had a safe district. Like Dana, Pombo had surprising opposition in the Republican Primary. Like Dana, Pombo had an opponent with a reasonable base. Will Dana have to actually dig into his bank account and do some real campaigning this time? It is too early to tell, but Red County bloggers found that the speed with which Debbie Cook gathered signatures on her nomination papers to be "impressive."

Here are some things to watch.

In CA-11, Jerry McNerney was able to pull in grassroot contributions from all over the country. The average contribution to his campaign was small, but he had a lot of them.
What will the environmental community do? McNerney had strong backing from national environmental organizations, so does Cook locally. I have not heard that any of the bid spenders (Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife) are willing yet to pour money into this campaign. It will probably take several positive polling results to make that happen.
Will Dana face more opposition from veterans? The war issue is a Republican strength but also a weakness. Treatment of veterans will make a difference. A Tom Lash issue now.
Will Dana run a smart campaign? Pombo ran a campaign from a position of over-confidence, doing all of the same old things he always did. But, the times had changed and many actions backfired. The times have changed even more now and that can not be good for doing the same old things in the same old way.

This race is beginning to have the feel that the Pombo race had in early 2006. All it needs is for Rohrabacher's opponents to start believing that they can win.

What does a conservative belle think of Dana?

2008-02-24T20:34:00.000-08:00

Well, one Conservative Belle is not too happy with him. I quote from her post today.

They frantically scramble for pork projects like they are starving and looking for bread crumbs to lap up. Greedy and desperate. But they have all the justification in the world when they need to defend their own projects, while hypocritically pointing fingers at other.
"I think the whole earmark debate has to be looked at with a skeptical eye on the part of the public," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, whose district covers parts of Long Beach.

Rohrabacher, who helped secure $16.9 million in earmarks, said he favors cutting spending and stronger disclosure rules.

But, he said, he does not want the administration to make the final decision about the flow of all federal dollars.

"If all we're doing is shifting the power to spread a certain amount of money from elected officials to un-elected officials ... that's no great benefit to the taxpayers," he said.
[...]
Waxman said he already has begun informing Los Angeles municipalities, hospitals, nonprofits and other groups that he will not be seeking money for them this year.

The 15-term lawmaker said he doesn't believe the decision will hurt his re-election efforts.

But some other local lawmakers said they don't intend to follow Waxman's lead and give up pet projects.

Rohrabacher, for one, called Waxman's decision "meaningless" unless Congress decreases the overall level of government spending. Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram
Right. By all means, do not lead by example, Mr. Rohrabacher. This 'do as I say, not as I do' rhetoric and behavior have nothing to do with the pitifully low ratings of Congress, of course. Americans have to be angry about something else, like how many steroids are being injected into sports players. Meaningless things like that provoke our ire.

And, as her final jab, our Conservative Belle lays it on the line like Scarlett O'Hara.

Hasn't Rep. Rohrabacher recognized that taxpayers are disgusted with their behavior? For crying out loud, even Henry Waxman gets it. Sheesh.

I guess Conservative Belle is not used to California ways and Ronnie's 11th Commandment. That is Reagan, not Nehring. The latter has not learned to count to 11 as his finances seem to indicate.

Ho-dad

2008-02-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

I just found what purports to be the official Rohrabacher Website... or at least one that says it was paid for by the Committee to ReElect Congressman Rohrabacher. So, here is if folks: http://www.surfdana.org/ Even got a picture of someone on a surfboard. However based on his current official House of Representative web site photo, this must have been taken a while back.

Now, I talked about Dana with a surfer called "Birdlegs". Some of you from the Surfrider Foundation may know him. He called called Dana a "ho-dad". Must be something pretty bad.

Another thing I noticed is that the Surf Dana site looks pretty cheap. All three of the challenger sites look better. But, there have been rumors that the California Republican Party is having financial problems under the leadership of Ron Nehring. Could it be that Dana is having similar problems and has to rely on some middle school student volunteer to keep the site going?

Well that is about right. Ho-dad instead of surfer. Amateur web site instead of professional. Wonder how he is at being a congressman.

Debbie Cook Joins the Race

2008-02-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

According to the Daily Pilot, Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook wants to get Dana talking. That should be easy. The problem may be to get him to shut up. He seems, with surprising frequency, to have foot in the mouth disease.

Unfortunately, that is also what makes him such a dangerous opponent for Cook, who can be a bit of a policy wonk at times... and the global warming / energy nexus is where she is far ahead of Crazy Dana. Dana, however, has managed to come off as being charmingly quirky rather than just _________: dumb? ideologically inflexible? in the pay of the bad guys... fill in the blanks yourself.

Now, we need to see just what kind of campaign Cook can wage. Maybe she should call Jerry McNerney for advice. Yeah, I know that the linked blog has not been active for a long, long time, but it is still around and show everyone that astounding things can happen when people get together to take back control of government.

Lincoln acted so that "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth." Crazy Dana claims to be from the party of Lincoln. You couldn't tell by what he is willing to do to the earth. I would think that Lincoln might given him to the Know Nothings. With Dana's anti-immigrant rhetoric, he would have been right at home.

Soldiers of MisFortune

2008-01-11T15:07:00.000-08:00

The NY Times ran this story. I wonder is the OC Register will touch it.

January 10, 2008

2005 Use of Gas by Blackwater Leaves Questions
By JAMES RISEN

WASHINGTON — The helicopter was hovering over a Baghdad checkpoint into the Green Zone, one typically crowded with cars, Iraqi civilians and United States military personnel.

Suddenly, on that May day in 2005, the copter dropped CS gas, a riot-control substance the American military in Iraq can use only under the strictest conditions and with the approval of top military commanders. An armored vehicle on the ground also released the gas, temporarily blinding drivers, passers-by and at least 10 American soldiers operating the checkpoint.

You can read the rest of it at the Times. Not only did this group of renegade Rombo wannabes get upset at Iraqi's for clogging up an intersection and casually killed 17, now they start on our own troops. We hear all about supporting the troops. Does this me to gas them?

I would guess that the OC Register owes too much to Dana Rohrabacher to even mention the story. Just because Blackwater's CEO Erik Prince used to be an aide to Rohrabacher should not make these gun happy goons immune.

It is time to shut them down and to retire those who support them. Otherwise, we might begin to think that the OC Register is a bunch of hypocrites, talking about supporting out troops and then dropping the ball when our hired hands screw up. That is OK. Keep your public in the dark. We will continue to shine the light of truth on this until the Dept. of Defense decides to fire Blackwater. Then we will fire Rohrabacher.

Blackwater Bogged Down

2007-12-12T08:33:00.001-08:00

Even with support from Crazy Dana, it seems that Blackwater could not convince the good people of Potrero, CA from slapping them down a peg or two.

EAST COUNTY – Five members of the Potrero planning group were voted off the panel Tuesday night in a recall election that served as a symbolic referendum on a controversial training camp proposed by Blackwater Worldwide.

The five incumbents all supported the proposed facility.

As the five were ousted, five candidates on an anti-Blackwater slate were voted in to replace the incumbents on the rural town's planning group.

I wonder what group of "outsiders" Rohrabacher will blame for not supporting his friends.

OOOPS. I forgot, Rohrabacher is an outsider.

California Energy Commission vs Dana Rohrabacher.

2007-12-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

I would love to see that in court, or even in a good debate. But then, it would hardly be fair. To paraphrase Rush, the Commission could win that debates "Half theit brain tied behind their back just to make it fair."

We all know that Dana is so certain that Global Warming comes from dinasaur flatulence. However, the Energy Commission, all but one of which were appointed by Schwarzenegger, just took the most important action against Global Warming that could be taken. In a unanimous decision, they approved a new 2007 Integrated Energy Policy Report (PDF - 301 pages).

One key element in this is that it opens the door for communities to change their current permitting and planning processes for new buildings and major renovation. In fact, the targets that the Energy Commission set are the most stringent in the nation.

I am just waiting to hear Dana and the various Chambers of Commerce cry about their being too stringent and that it will hurt growth in California. Well with our water problems now, that might not be all bad.

Now, I wonder when the Republicans down here recognize that the real dinosaur is name Dana. Dana the Dinosaur. It is just like the Republicans in Richard Pombo's district who didn't like him, thought he was out of touch, but would not take a stand against him because the didn't want to lose that district. So, they kept Pombo and the lost the district because of it.

The time will come when that is true of Rohrabacher also. Maybe this year?

Take This Last Chance for DFA Training!

2007-07-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

What are you looking to do over the next year or so? Want to organize for universal health care? Want to campaign for your favorite Democratic Presidential Candidate? Want to manage your best friend's campaign for Congress? Want to just know what all your friends at DFA are talking about whenever election time approaches? Whatever you plan to do in politics, you need to learn how to be better at it by joining us at DFA Training Academy on July 21-22 in Irvine!

Oh yes, and I should say this. If you haven't registered yet, this is your last chance to sign up to attend! We're nearing our maximum attendance limit of 150, and the actual training is barely more than a week away. If you're in Southern California and you haven't yet signed up, take this last opportunity to learn how progressives can win, and how YOU can be a part of it!

Follow me down below to find out why you shouldn't pass up on this last chance to learn how to be a force for change in your community...

(Cross-posted at Obama OC and Trash Dirty Gary)

So what will we be learning about at DFA Training Academy? Take a look at the curriculum! Learn how to fund raise! Learn how to target voters! Learn how to use the media to your advantage! Find out all the new organizing tools available that are easier than ever to use! And find it all at the training academy!

OK, so there's plenty of serious stuff to learn. How much fun can one have here? Well, plenty! We have a very special social night ready for you on Saturday, the 21st. What do we have planned? Well, sign up for the training and get ready for a pleasant surprise! And oh yes, don't forget how much fun you'll have in meeting new progressive pals from all over Southern California! Who knows? Maybe you'll meet some neighbors who you never thought were also Democrats. ; )

So we have a great curriculum and a great chance to meet fellow local activists. Where the heck can one stay for the night? And what about food? Don't worry. If you're coming in from some far away location like Santa Barbara or San Bernardino or San Diego, there's a hotel room reserved just for you. And lunch is provided for Saturday AND Sunday. But again, this is only available for a limited time!

So what more can you ask for? You have a hotel room (if you need one). You have lunch plans. You have trainers ready to help you become a campaign rock star. And you have a whole lot of progressive activists who want to meet you. What more can you ask for? Take this last chance to sign up for DFA Training!

Trust me, you won't regret it. ; )

Another Groovy Surf City Independence Day!

2007-07-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted at Obama OC and Calitics)

History was made again yesterday. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Huntington Beach once again for the Fourth of July Parade. And once again, the OC Democrats had a fantastic time being a part of the largest Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi River. And the party didn't stop when the parade ended, as local activists pitched up tent by the pier to wake up the neighbors, and let them know about the importance of next year's election. All in all, we all had a great time!

Follow me down below as I take you on a tour of the biggest and best party one could be at on the Fourth of July!

For twenty-five years, the Democratic Party of Orange County has been a part of the parade. And every year, we continue to delight the crowds with our rockin' music and jubilant marchers. This year's theme of our float was "Opportunity, Diversity, & Freedom", and boy could everyone see all that and more yesterday! We had young Democrats and long-time Democrats who are still young at heart. We had gay Democrats and straight Democrats. We had black Democrats, brown Democrats, and white Democrats. We had Democrats supporting Barack Obama, Democrats supporting John Edwards, Democrats supporting Hillary Clinton, and Democrats supporting other Democratic Candidates for President. And what brought all us Democrats together yesterday was that we're all part of the Democratic Party of Orange County, and that we all stand for the right of working families in Orange County to have that opportunity to succeed.

So who was there yesterday? Here I am (left to right) with our newest OC Democrat Mitch Star, the one & only Mike Lawson of The Liberal OC, and Elizabeth and Jason of Orange County Young Democrats (OCYD).

Here I am with (left to right) Garden Grove City Council Candidate Paul Lucas, Mitch, and Mike.

Here's Former State Senator & Current California Medical Association CEO Joe Dunn with some young Democrats as they prepare for the moment of truth.

Here I am with the great Vern Nelson, the fearless Orange County organizer for Healthcare for All California.

And here's the float in action!

Now all these great Democrats were a part of the parade, but they weren't the only Democrats busy in Surf City! Obama OC laid out some blankets on the beach by the pier, put up a canopy, and got to work registering new voters and letting others in the 'hood know about Barack Obama and the 2008 Election. We had over 30 new registrations yesterday, including a Republican and a Green who switched to Democrat because they've been inspired by Obama. And of course, we had dozens more come on over to our beach party, just to talk to us about the election and show their appreciation of us being out in the community.

OK, so a few of us Obama Girls did manage to get in the parade! ; )

And here's our great booth!

Oh yeah, and could we have possibly held a beach party at a better location than this? : )

Yep, I'd say that yesterday was a huge success for OC Democrats! At the parade, we let the community know that we're 454,000 voters strong and we're making a difference for working families in this county. At the beach party, Obama OC showed the folks by the pier that there are progressives who care enough about changing the same old politics of despair and destruction that we get out in the community and let them know that hope is still here. Now what could be more American than this?

Perhaps a terrific fireworks show? What the heck, why not! ; )

Wake Up & Smell the Inferno

2007-07-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted from Calitics... This isn't exactly Dana specific, but it is an imporant issue that we need to press Dana on.)

Have you seen the weather report lately? I guess I shouldn't be surprised when I see this in the OC Register, but I am. Wow, it gets hot down here... But rarely THIS HOT!

People everywhere were beginning to seek relief Monday from a heat wave that will intensify over the next three days, with temperatures forecast to hit 105 degrees in some inland areas.

The worst heat will come Wednesday – the Fourth of July – says the National Weather Service. But by mid-afternoon Monday, the temperature had hit 99 in Mission Viejo and 96 in Placentia. In Palm Springs, it was 114.

The heat wave will be so oppressive the weather service has issued an "excessive heat" advisory for Wednesday and Thursday, meaning that temperatures will be high enough to cause heatstroke and dehydration.

Whoa! That's hot! But wait, why are we having more of these extreme heatwaves? We've had plenty of hot weather in Southern California before, but rarely this much reoccurring throughout the year. Wait, could this have something to do with it?

OK, OK, so we've heard all the rhetoric about climate change (aka global warming) causing more severe weather. We've heard all the warnings about future killer hurricanes, massive flooding, lethal heatwaves, and just all around more erratic weather. But wait, what if all of this severe weather isn't waiting for the future? What if we're experiencing the consequences of ignoring climate change now?

Remember seeing this in The Washington Post last August? Well, you should. Oh yes, and would you like some ice water to drink while reading this?

Heat waves like those that have scorched Europe and the United States in recent weeks are becoming more frequent because of global warming, say scientists who have studied decades of weather records and computer models of past, present and future climate.

While it is impossible to attribute any one weather event to climate change, several recent studies suggest that human-generated emissions of heat-trapping gases have produced both higher overall temperatures and greater weather variability, which raise the odds of longer, more intense heat waves. [...]

And researchers at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., reported this week that nighttime summer temperatures across the country have been unusually high for the past eight years, a record streak.

"It's just incredible, when you look at this thing," said Richard Heim, a research meteorologist at the center. He added that only the Dust Bowl period of the mid-1930s rivaled recent summers for sustained heat levels.

And my goodness, we're feeling the effects of this here in California! Look at all the wildfires burning around us. Check out the record-breaking heat in the Inland Empire. Even parts of the Bay Area may hit triple digits this week. We've had plenty of heat before in California, but never like this before.

OK, so it's extra hot this week. So what? It's perfect beach weather! Well, that or shopping in a nice, big air-conditioned mall. Well, that may be true. However, heat like this can also be deadly. Remember all the people who died in last year's heatwave?

Just take a look at some of the nasty health effects of this extreme heat. Bodies get stressed from the extra pressure on the circulatory system. And for people with circulatory problems, this extra pressure can be lethal. Heart-related illnesses escalate, leaving anyone with heart conditions extra vulnerable. And of course, anyone can be susceptible to suffering heat stroke. And if not caught in time, heat stroke can leave one dead.

So why again are we suffering from this extreme heat? The OC Register actually had a good article a couple of weeks ago that gave a good answer. Basically, it's the climate crisis finally crashing down upon us.

While experts debate the exact health effects of climate change, many scientists agree that a growth in heat waves is among the most inevitable. In many areas of the United States, Earth's rising temperature will increase the intensity, number and duration of heat waves in the summer and bring more winter precipitation as rain, said Paul Epstein, associate director for the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School in Boston. [...]

Between 1970 and 2004, greenhouse gas emissions believed to contribute to rising temperatures increased 70 percent, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Scientists have been examining the effects of climate change since the early 1990s, Epstein said. "Finally we're seeing strong signs of it and some of them are way ahead of schedule."

So what can we do now? Aren't we doing plenty already to stop the climate crisis? What about that "Global Warming Solutions Act" that was signed into law last year? Well, the Governator has already been working on ways to weaken the implementation of that and other laws to please his corporate sugar daddies. Meanwhile in Washington, Congress is just now beginning to take some real action on finding solutions to the climate crisis. But of course, anything that Congress passes would have to get through George W. Bush, who still doesn't seem interested in finding any real solutions.

So what can we do? What can we do right now? Well, we can join Environment California in sending personal messages to our Representatives' iPods, urging them to take action on federal legislation to take on climate change. Send an email to Governor Arnold, and let him know that you don't appreciate him weakening the implementation of the climate change law that he had claimed as "his achievement" last year. Oh yes, and if you're healthy and able-bodied, do your best to only use the energy that you need. By all of us being more efficient with our energy usage, we're reducing our carbon footprint AND allowing people who really need that air conditioning to use it.

So go ahead, go to the beach! Just think about riding the bus there, or carpooling with friends. Jump in the pool! Just remember to keep the AC to a minimum when you're not in the house. And please, have a great Fourth of July holiday! Just remember that there are plenty of things we can do to prevent future Fourth of July holidays from becoming blazing infernos that none of us could ever enjoy. : )

March with the Democrats at the Surf City Fourth of July Parade!

2007-06-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

What do you think of when you think "Fourth of July"? The American flag, perhaps? Fireworks? Independence? Apple pie? Ice cream? The beach? A parade? Well, what if I told you that you can experience all of that AND MORE on Wednesday?!

Yes, my friends, this Wednesday is July 4th. And yes, this means it's time for the Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade, THE LARGEST INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER! And guess what? The Democratic Party of Orange County will once again have a fantastic float in the parade! Oh yes, and our fabulous Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez will be marching with us! Oh yes, and we need more people to march with us in the parade. Come on now, don't YOU want to be a part of the parade?

So would YOU like to be a part of this world-famous All-American celebration? Follow me after the flip for more...

(Cross-posted at Trash Dirty Gary and Obama OC)

For the past 28 years, OC Democrats have been a part of this VERY OC tradition. We've had local elected officials like Former State Senator Joe Dunn and current State Senator Lou Correa join us in the parade. We always have the Young Democrats dancing on the float. Oh yes, and how about that float? Live music. Festive decorations. The American Spirit. What more could you possibly want?

So why NOT go? Join in on the fun. Just remember to COME EARLY TO FIND PARKING. Here are some details on what will be happening, courtesy of The Liberal OC:

The parade begins at 10:00 A.M. and ends at 12:30 P.M. Democrats begin gathering at 7:30 A.M. to march. We will have shuttle cars to take you to the staging area or to the handicap cheering section.

Shuttle Starts: 7:00 A.M.
Last Shuttle: 9:00 A.M.

Please come early, the traffic gets very busy and we cannot transport everyone at the last minute.

For parking and shuttling, drive to Seacliff Village, located at Goldenwest and Yorktown. Look for the Del Taco fast food restaurant. Then look for the signs saying “Democratic Parking.”

Oh yes, and before I forget, we should all remember that all marchers with the Democratic Party of Orange County entry must wear red T-shirts or polo shirts and blue jean or dark/navy blue shorts or pants. Get it? Got it? Good.

Well, I'm picking out my red shirt and blue jean shorts. How about you? The Fourth of July Parade may only be once a year, but it's something that give us great memories to last us all year long. Why not be a part of these great memories?

To participate, simply show up!

If you have any questions, please contact Caren Bolinger at 310-293-8320 or email her at carenbolinger@yahoo.com

: )

They demand a role call. We demand a recall.

2007-06-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

It is easy to tell when someone in Congress wants to make a political statement regarding a particular piece of legislation, or the procedures to enact that legislation. They demand a role call vote so that they can point to their vote in pride and opposing votes in derision.

Such is the point of Rep. Flake's demand for a recorded vote yesterday on his amendment to HR 2771 - a $3.1 billion appropriations bill that funds the legislative branch of government. Congressman Crazy voted "yes" on this amendment, which reduces the amount used to fund the printing of copies of the Congressional Record by $3.2 million. Score one for Republican fiscal responsibility. Score another one for Republican hypocrisy.

According to comments reported in the Congressional Record (H6994) this is or is not about what it purports to concern.

Mr. Flake. Let me point out, just as with any program that is not an entitlement, everything is subject to appropriation. The Government Printing Office is not bound, no pun intended, to print as many copies as they think they need. They can print as many as they have money for. We were very careful in taking $3.2 million, to take only the printing costs for half of the number that are printed already. I think that is reasonable.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Chair, I really believe that we should approach this in the appropriate way. If we want to change the statute and go to electronic production of the Congressional Record, that is what we should do. We should not simply hamstring the GPO by requiring them to print a Congressional Record and not ensuring they have adequate funds to do that, when they are already in a deficit situation.
I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.

What a waste of time over a trivial matter. That $3.2 million pales in comparison the to amounts that the Republicans saved by not adequately funding trauma care for Iraq vets. Yes, Rohrabacher voted to save money there also.

Make that score 2 for hypocrisy.

Republicans war on aliens takes a direct hit.

2007-06-25T09:28:00.001-07:00

What is Congressman Crazy going to do with all of his Republican supporters? I suggest that they should start vetting their party leadership with Homeland Security.

While Rohrabacher is whipping up a frenzy about the two Border Agents who shoot people in the back, we find that the California Republican Party leadership likes to hire Aliens, those who come to the US to take jobs that no one else would do.

This entire debacle starts with the revelation that California Republican Party could not find a reliable political consultant in the entire State and had to hire a Canadian names Chris Matthews. No, it is not the Hardball guy.

Of course, this was reported by the "biased" liberal San Francisco Chronicle. That is opposed to the "not biased" Orange County Register, whose lack of bias decided that there is no story here. But, wait a minute, the California Republican Party hit back. According to the political blog at the Chronicle the response came quickly.

"The press is trying to portray Republicans as racist (see the "brown menace" quote in the story) when we discuss illegal immigration," Michael Kamburowski, the party's recently hired chief operating officer, said in a letter to the state party's executive board, "yet when we promote individuals who have displayed great skills but who just happen to hail from another country, we are pegged as hypocrites."

That was a big mistake, because Kamburowski is himself, not from the good ol' U S of A. He is in fact, an Australian. He is, in fact, here illegally, having been ordered deported in 2001. He is, in fact another hypocrite. Even Michelle Malkin leads her story with "What a feaking mess." That seems to sum up the California Republican Party right now.

So, what does Congressman Crazy do? He continues his crusade to free Border Agents Ramos and Compean. Lets all ask the Daily Pilot why one is a story and the other is not. Let's ask the OC Register why they don't consider the resignation of the Chief Operating Officer for the California Republican Party to be a story worth covering.

Malkin was right. What a freaking mess.

A new member of the Crazy Dana Fan Club

2007-06-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

It is not often that I post an entire segment from somewhere else. There are copyright issues and all of that, but I think that all of our readers would love these admittedly editorial observations from the Long Beach District Weekly. So, here's the full story regarding our favorite congressman and I hope I got all the bold type in the right place.

Sat | Jun 16 I’ve heard that one of the indicators of a serial killer is that they torture small animals as a child. I’ve also heard that you can tell someone is crazy when they become delusional. Torture? Delusions? This must be about Dana Rohrabacher. And yes, this is about Congressman Crazy, who today leads a rally of outraged citizens in Huntington Beach protesting the jail sentence of two immigration officers who shot a guy in the back, then tried to cover it up, and then claimed they did it because he was an illegal alien, which they didn’t know when they shot him. Okay, “rally” is a little bit of a stretch. Basically, it was a sad collection of elderly people who get pissed off listening to talk radio hunched over and holding some homemade signs that made this look like the worst church car wash ever. As for delusions, Rohrabacher says at the rally, “the President of the United States, if they want to be President of the United States, is going to . . . have to get my support,” adding that he would journey far to the land of the paisley, where he would do battle against the forces of the pale wizard and his army of rainbow-flavored minions.

Ok, tell us how you really feel. What do you expect from a guy who thinks that it is OK for the US to kidnap and torture just anyone with the same name as a possible terrorist just so that we make sure that we get the bad guy. It is like the do not fly list has a block for anyone named Robert Johnson. Hope Crazy Dana doesn't want to question all the Robert Johnson's in the world to get to the real one.

Is Crazy Dana Pro-Criminal?

2007-06-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Did you hear? Crazy Dana won't endorse ANY Presidential Candidate who doesn't pardon convicted Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.
He feels that an injustice has been committed.

Now maybe there actually was an injustice. After all, they did shoot a guy who was entering the nation illegally. And yes, this guy was smuggling marijuana across the border.

But still, this guy was unarmed. This was a clear violation of Border Patrol policy, as well as federal law. Maybe Dan's right at The Liberal OC.

OK, so we have a tough situation here all around. But the United States is a nation of laws and the Bill of Rights applies to everyone in this country even if you are here illegally. The border agents violated department policy and the law. They committed a crime against a person who also committed a crime by entering the country illegally. But as my mom always said, two wrongs don’t make a right.

So why is Rep. Rohrabacher so pro-criminal? [...] Is Dana’s endorsement that critical?

Good question.

Earmarks again?

2007-06-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

We have to give Dana high marks for perseverance and loyalty to friends like Duncan Hunter. Sadly, we once again have to give him low marks for his understanding of science or even for his adherence to the great Republican Virtue of controlling government spending.

The case in point is a sci-fi aircraft from Dupont Aerospace. In the last 19+ years the DP-2, a VTOL jet rumored to be able to fly a squad of soldiers and a humvee some 5000 miles at 700 miles per hours. So far, after burning through some $63 million in earmarked spending for friends of Hunter and Rohrabacher, the plane has yet to be able to get more than a couple of feet off the ground before coming back down "hard".

John Eney is an aerospace engineer who headed up the aircraft conceptual design group at the Naval Air Development Center Naval Air Systems Command. He led an onsite review of the DP-2 program in 1999.

"It's a pipe dream," he said.

In order to have the promised VTOL capabilities, the aircraft directs jet exhaust toward the ground. Eney says this would incinerate troops rappelling out of the aircraft.

Hunter "failed to understand the basic physics of this situation," he said.

So, where is the 46th free thinking Congressman in all of this?

California Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican member of the House Science and Technology Committee, hailed duPont president Tony duPont as "a respected engineer" and "a maverick."

"When we come to the point where we don't (give) mavericks and free thinkers the chance to prove their theories, we're putting a great limitation on what our potential is for the future," said Rohrabacher.

Well, I guess Dana doesn't need to understand physics to be a Congressman. But, he should surely be smart enough to hire some staff who can research a problem and get him the facts. Mission Failed. This is about as bright as his dinosaur flatulence remarks regarding global warming.

If Dana wants to be known as a real free thinking radical standing up for what is right, maybe he should start by insisting the any project he supports has some basis in sound science before spending another $63 Million on a project that the military doesn't even want.

Is this being a good Republican? Is this being a good, don't like government waste Libertarian? Sorry, I forgot. Dana quit being a Libertarian when he got a real job as a speech writer. In any case, it isn't like he is doing what even the Republicans in his district say they want.

The best thing that the Republicans could do to keep this district is to find someone else to run, someone who practices what Republicans preach. Let Dana stay at home and play with the triplets. He can't do as much harm there.

Dana has strange friends

2007-06-11T12:48:00.001-07:00

One of the games played in Washington is that of taking every advantage of doing things that get your name mentioned in public. Dana has made an interesting decision in that regard.

Tomorrow, June 12, Dana will be speaking at the unveiling of a new monument in Washington. This one, the Memorial to the Victims of Communism, appears to be motivated by some flash of patriotic fervor. I wonder, though, what political advantages got Dana and Tom Lantos to share the speaking duty.

We all know Lantos. He is the Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Normally, Lantos often keeps his mouth shut unless it is about Israel, where some have considered him the Congressional voice of Mossad.

That must play well with Dana and his Taliban friends.

The second unusual thing is that the only organization that thought this event was newsworthy seemed to be World Net Daily. You may not be familiar with World Net Daily, but it's editor is Joseph Farah, once known as the ghost writer of Richard Pombo's only book and the man who filed the 1990's trumped up ethics charges against John Garamendi.

Actually, knowing Farah's past, I might ask what Lantos is doing in the story. I know that answer to that. He has been called the "best friend that Israel ever had."

Why then, did Dana jump in with the enemies of his friends. Well, it is all about China. Dana is a big supporter of Taiwan and this is a chance to embarrass the Communist China. And Communist China is another frequent target of Farah and his World Net Daily. Dana is also a long time supporter of helping to arm Hmong rebels to topple the Communist regime in Laos.

Oh, yes, it is all about politics and any news event is a good thing for a politician. That is especially true when you can be against something rather than having to be for anything. Maybe, if Dana and Tom can get on first name basis, they might convince Ohlmert and Abbas to try the same thing. However, I doubt that the subject will come up. Both Congressmen are to politically sophisticated to allow doing something to get in the way of a photo op.

If there is one thing you can count on tomorrow, it will be Rohrabacher's propensity to open his mouth and insert his foot. There is enough going on at this event that he will be sure to push someone's hot button. Farah said that Bush had been invited to the event. Even he isn't dumb enough to show up on that stage.

Crazy Dana's Wrong, Even When He's Right

2007-06-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

There's something wrong with the immigration bill in the US Senate. We already know that. But what's the problem? Is it this? (From Daily Pilot)

"The president insists on defining amnesty in a way that is contrary to the way everybody else defines that word," he said. "Every time he does, he loses credibility."

Calling himself a strong supporter of Bush throughout his administration, Rohrabacher said that this time he was personally offended by Bush's suggestions that the bill was good for America. He repeatedly referred to it as the "Bush-Kennedy" bill, linking Bush to Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy, and he blamed the bill on an "unholy coalition between the big-business element of the Republican Party and the liberal left."

Amnesty? "Bush-Kennedy"? Huh? Maybe Dana Rohrabacher is taking the right position on this bill, but he's doing it for the completely wrong reason. So why is Dana wrong, even when he's right? Follow me down below for more...

(Cross-posted at Calitics)

So why again does Dana Rohrabacher oppose this bill? Oh yes, that's right...

The bill has no teeth in its enforcement provisions and would only embolden people to sneak across borders to get government benefits, Rohrabacher said.

"Wake up America," he said. "Our country is being stolen from us. Our country is being invaded. The Senate legislation will only accelerate this invasion."

Dana then went on to denounce the "Z-visa" provision in this bill, which would charge the undocumented immigrants already here $1,000 for some legal status. He called that "amnesty that would give millions of lawbreakers access to government programs like Social Security", and he just had to condemn the "illegal immigrants cutting the line in front of legal immigrants". And of course, he attacked a proposed guest worker program and a points system as this would give these workers a chance to come here legally.

And you know what? Crazy Dana's actually doing the right thing in opposing this legislation. He's just doing it for the wrong reason.

Dana doesn't want to give these "lawbreakers" access to programs like Social Security, even once they become legal. But doesn't this undermine the whole goal of comprehensive immigration reform? This would take away an incentive for people to come out of the shadows, and get back in line to come here legally. And wait, don't they already pay into Social Security? Why can't they receive the Social Security that they've already paid into, especially once they receive legal status?

And amnesty? How does this bill provide "amnesty"? Where is the "amnesty" in this bill? These immigrant workers would have to pay fines. They would have to be split from their families in many instances. They would have to leave after eight years to their nation of origin, and go through a long and complicated process to try to return. Now I understand that these people should have to go to back into line and pay some fine in order to earn legal status. However, do they really need to be kicked out after eight years? And how the heck is that even enforceable? And do they need to be split from their families, and from their communities? Is this really "amnesty"?

Now Dana's right about the guest worker program being a raw deal. Remember what I said yesterday?

This bill would also create a new underclass of immigrant workers. Under the new guest worker program, immigrant workers can only stay here temporarily, and then just return home. Meanwhile under this new "merit based" system of immigration, people would be admitted into this nation based on how "economically valuable" they would be. This really only serves the American corporations that want continued cheap labor. Under the new law, they can get their "disposable labor force" that can be discarded and replaced every few years.

Now maybe a guest worker program would work. However, the NILC has it right when they say "that temporary workers who establish ties here must have a realistic path to permanent residence and true job portability that allows them to change employers freely if they are mistreated". This proposed guest worker program in the bill does not have this, but only provides for a temporary labor force that American corporations can dispose of and replace at their will. Barbara Boxer was right when she said this would hurt American workers. But you know what? It would hurt these immigrant workers, too.

But anyways, back to Crazy Dana. He's doing the right thing, but it's really for the wrong reason. He's opposing this sham that's supposedly "comprehensive immigration reform", but he's opposing it because he wants a more cumbersome, punitive, and downright impractical like that disastrous HR 4437 that the US House passed in 2005. We don't need that. We need comprehensive immigration reform. We just need comprehensive immigration reform that actually works for these immigrants, and works for American workers. It's just too bad that Dana Rohrabacher isn't interested in real reform that's actually practical.

Once in a while, Dana gets it right.

2007-05-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

In the interest of being fair, I should remind everyone that even Rohrabacher is right on occasion. This time, he directed his stings at General Alberto Gonzales. According to a March 16 story from Attorney The Hill...

There’s been a pattern of arrogance in this Administration,” Rohrabacher said. “They’ve demonstrated contempt for Congressional oversight and now we see a misuse of FBI authority, heavy-handed firings of U.S. Attorneys along with the ruthless prosecution of Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean.

Now that Congress is exercising that oversight, calling not only Gonzales to testify but also most of his immediate staff, even offering immunity to Monica Goodling, I wonder if Rohrabacher is willing to join the Republican chorus calling for Gonzales to resign, as he seemed to be hinting. It's time to find out if he is the independent free spirit he says he is.

Why Care About Corruption?

2007-05-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted at Calitics)

OK, so perhaps people in Southern California are finally starting to notice the immense corruption of members of Congress like Gary Miller, Ken Calvert, and Dana Rohrabacher. However, these everyday citizens and typical voters wonder how all this corruption applies to their typical everyday lives.

Why should they care about whatever Gary Miller did with some Lewis Group company in Upland? Why should they care about some land that Ken Calvert owned near March Air Force Base that just happened to benefit from Ken Calvert's earmarks? Why should they care about Dana Rohrabacher's Hollywood deals? How does any of this matter to people's everyday lives?

When all else fails, voters often choose the party of their choice by default. And though the Republican Party is becoming less attractive nationwide, a good plurality of voters in this area still identify themselves as Republican. They still think the GOP is the party of low taxes and fiscal responsibility. They pretty much set their political compass to autopilot, and they just don't have time to think too much about some silly politics in Washington.

And after all, who has the time to pay attention to these crazy political scandals? Who has time to drop everything in between the PTA meeting and the kids' soccer game, after a hard day of work and before that fancy dinner that's supposed to impress the new client, just to learn more about politics? Why does any of this matter?

That's the challenge here. In order for us to defeat these corrupt Republicans, we have to get our family, friends, and neighbors to realize how all of this corruption is personally affecting them. We have to let them know that all these earmarks that go to these pet projects that just happen to be near their real estate holdings mean money that's NOT being spent on real efforts to relieve traffic, such as improving local freeways and federal aid for commuter rail. We have to let them know that when these members of Congress try to weaken environmental laws, they are just taking away the parks and open space that we all love to hike through, bike through, and camp at, just so that they can make a little more money on their development projects. We have to make that personal connection, and make these folks realize that all that corruption in Washington really is making life more difficult for them at home in Fountain Valley and Mission Viejo and San Clemente.

That's the key here. We have to show to them that all this federal money being spent on these shady earmarks is money that's NOT being spent on the things that we care about. That money should go to our schools. That money should go to our parks. That money should go to our roads. Basically, that money should actually be spent toward helping our communities. These members of Congress should NOT spend that money, OUR MONEY, on projects solely meant to enrich themselves. They're wasting our time, and they're wasting our money. That's why we need to kick them out of Congress!

If we want to defeat Dirty Gary and Crazy Dana and Creepy Ken next year, we need to get these voters in these districts out of their comfort zone of apathy, and force them to see the futility of sending these scumbags back to Congress. We need to get these voters to start caring again. After all, what we don't like about politics will never go away if we never do anything to change it.

Rohrabacher should explain his vote

2007-05-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Dana Rohrabacher was one of only 34 Representatives to vote against HR 1700, the COPS Improvement Act of 2007. This act would enhance the funding for COPS on the BEAT programs across the nation and remove the restriction that it only apply to Cities with population over 150,000. This latter change would allow cities like Costa Mesa or Fountain Valley to apply for funding.

I am not sure what motivations Rohrabacher had, but as someone who spends so much time talking about the police problems associated with illegal aliens, this vote does not make a lot of sense. Then again, many things he does do not make a lot of sense to anyone other than Jim Gilchrist.

According to Hank Shaw, writing in the Stockton Record, the COPS program has been found to be "effective".

Critics of COPS say its effectiveness is overrated, although the federal Government Account-ability Office says otherwise. The GAO report found that from 1998 to 2000, new officers hired were responsible for stopping between 200,000 and 225,000 crimes, one third of which were violent crimes such as homicide, rape and robbery.

When Green is in...

2007-05-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

As someone who has tried to educate myself on the environment and on environmental issues since I was in school back in the 1950's, I find it amazing that members of Congress like Senenator James Inhofe (R. OK) and Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R. CA-46) continue to allow the words come out of their mouths that they do. Let me cite the latest quotation from Rohrabacher.

You know that there are hundreds of scientists who object to this. For example, Dr. Timothy Ball, a very respected man, "Believe it or not global warming is not due to human contribution of carbon dioxide. This is the greatest deception in science." The earth is getting a little warmer. Since 1850 there's been a 1 1/2 degree temperature rise. They don't mention that 1850 happened to be at the tail end of a 500 year decline in temperatures. Not something we should be concerned about. When Greenland was green, it was in fact a very wonderful time for the Earth, crops flourished, population expanded. In and of itself, temperature rise is not a problem. Just like the warming on Mars and other planets. Probably due to sunspots. That said, we need to do things aimed at energy and cleaning the air. We are now vulnerable to foreign potentates and terrorists who want to do us harm. Not because the air is any warmer than it was 300 years ago. Is there not a parallel direction here, for those of us interested in human health that draws us together, and that the global warming thing, we may not have to be in agreement here?

Such a statement could have been predicted with even more accuracy that we can predict tomorrow's weather.

What Rohrabacher does not tell us is that Dr. Timothy Ball is dependent on funding from Exxon-Mobil. I find that the full extent of this dependency has been documented pretty well by another blogger.

Closer to home, one of the 19 Canadian signatories to the skeptics letter is Tim Ball, a retired professor of climatology from the University of Winnipeg, now living in Victoria. As a global-warming sceptic, he is in high demand by the front groups sponsored by the fossil fuel industry.

Ball's particular niche is the argument that since 1940, the world's climate has actually been cooling. The conclusion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, reached by over 2,000 climate scientists, that the world is heating up is wrong, he says, because it used "distorted records."

Undistorted records in hand, Ball is promoted by the National Center for Public Policy Research ($225,000 from Exxon Mobil), and Tech Central Station (which also receives support from General Motors). He's a hot topic on the Coalblog web site, sponsored by the coal companies. In the past year, he's given policy briefings to the Fraser Institute and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy in Winnipeg.

You could have found him and Baliunas at a conference in Ottawa in November 2002, just days before parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol. That conference, urging the government not to proceed with ratification, was paid for by Imperial Oil (Exxon Mobil's Canadian subsidiary) and Talisman Energy and put together by public relations firm APCO Worldwide.

OK, if Dr. Ball is dependent on Exxon-Mobil, then maybe we should ask what we know about the company who makes huge profits out of our gas guzzling ways. To begin with, we have known for years that Exxon-Mobil has funded pseudo-science to protect their interests. Chris Mooney, a journalist reporting on Science, detailed this for Mother Jones.

Forty public policy groups have this in common: They seek to undermine the scientific consensus that humans are causing the earth to overheat. And they all get money from ExxonMobil.

Not one to drop the issue, Mooney has now authored a new book, Storm World, in which he documents the current understanding of the relationship between climate change and the rate, intensity and time of year appearance of tropical storms. Even today, he comments at Science Blogs about the out of season appearances of tropical storms Andrea (Atlantic) and Akash (N. Indian Ocean). The point is that Mooney is not just an average reporter doing an average job.

It would seem that Crazy Dana continues to mouth the old platitudes from the Exxon-Mobil playbook while everyone else has moved beyond that. If Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns Fox News, understands climate change and is willing to spend money on being "green" you might wonder what Rohrabacher's constituency will now be hearing from their favorite news source. Even Exxon-Mobil is changing it's stance. Will Crazy Dana now be out of step with the rest of his constituency or will he continue to try and play with our minds?

In case you missed the point.

2007-05-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: I posted this today. Just before I posted, I double checked the Daily Pilot and still could not seem my comments there. Now, they are present and what I implied about media bias below my not be true. It may be that they just check this stuff once a day. Or, it may be that they found my post. I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

When I posted my comments on Frank Barbaro's Open Letter to Dana Rohrabacher last night, I also went over to the Daily Pilot and posted a comment there, to the effect that Barbaro was right to ask the voters to of the 46th CD to check his record. I gave the example of Rohrabacher's votes against our disabled veterans.

The Daily Pilot chose NOT to publish my comments, even though I received the response from their site that the comment has been accepted.

The Daily Pilot rightfully sets some rules for feedback.

Reader comments must be free of obscenity, profanity or content of a questionable nature. The Daily Pilot reserves the right to edit or delete reader comments that do not meet its publishing standards.

My comments were definitely free from profanity. They were also free of obscenity, unless the word Rohrabacher now falls under that definition. That means that my comments must be considered "of a questionable nature."

To begin with, there is not a single thing that I said in the comments which was untrue. I did make reference to the votes against our veterans which you can see from the link above. So, that can not be it. It might be just because I don't live in the district. However, I did make the point that when a Congressman makes the kind of statements that Mr. Barbaro was referring to, statements that underscore the arrogant attitude of some Americans that is losing us friends around the world, we all live in Rohrabacher's district.

I don't think that they suppressed the post for those reasons. I think that they suppressed the post because I agreed with Mr. Barbaro. Note: Every other comment that they allowed was in support of Rohrabacher. With this kind of even handed media support, I guess the Rohrabacher does not even need to campaign. I mean, why even waste taxpayers money to hold the election, just anoint him Congressman for Life.

If you think this was media bias, why don't you post to the Daily Pilot yourself.

Who is this Democrat?

2007-05-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

At last, OC Democratic Party Chairman, Frank Barbaro, had managed to get an Open Letter to Dana Rohrabacher into the Daily Pilot.

For someone who purports to be a champion of patriotism, nothing is so un-American as an inability to listen to different points of view. A similar stubbornness has not served President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney well over the last six years.

It is only a matter of time before the residents of your district look beyond your status as an incumbent and consider your record and leadership qualities.

It is about time, I was beginning to wonder if any Democrat was willing to speak up about Dana's Craziness. Now, all Barbaro has to do is to find a candidate who is willing to take up the challenge. We started this blog because we agree 100% with Barbaro's final statement. It is about time that someone looked past his reputation as a "libertarian troubadour" or Reagan speech writer and went through his votes, item by item, issues by issue and tried to make sense of what you find. To begin with, I have found that he talks one way and votes another, especially on the issue of supporting our servicemen who have fought Bush's silly war n Iraq. Read my earlier post on his lack of support for veterans or those who are injured in combat.

You are right on, Mr. Barbaro. Now, in you are really serious, get a real candidate going.

Crazy Dana & the Taliban

2007-05-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

(Photo courtesy of OC Weekly)

Yes, you heard me right: Dana Rohrabacher has had a VERY LONG HISTORY of being a little too close to Islamist extremists in the Middle East. Now why should this worry us? Perhaps because Dana Rohrabacher can't really determine who are our real friends and who are our enemies? Perhaps because Dana Rohrabacher shouldn't be making important foreign policy decisions on our behalf in Washington if he can't even tell right from wrong?

Don't believe me?

Here's an oldie-but-goodie from the November/December 1996 issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs:

The potential rise to power of the Taliban does not alarm Rohrabacher, because the Taliban could provide stability in an area where chaos was creating a real threat to the U.S. Rohrabacher says that under the previous situation Afghanistan was becoming a major source of drugs and a haven for terrorists “an anarchistic state of narco-terrorism.” In contrast, the Taliban leaders have already shown that they intend to establish a disciplined, moral society.

Rohrabacher calls the sensational media reporting of the “harsh” imposition of strict Islamic behavior, with the underlying implication that this somehow threatens the West, “nonsense.” He says the Taliban are devout traditionalists, not terrorists or revolutionaries, and, in contrast to the Iranians, they do not seem intent on exporting their beliefs. Rohrabacher would have preferred to see a negotiated compromise among the various factions (but with no role for Gulbuddin Hekmatyar) rather than a bloody confrontation. But in the absence of such a compromise, he believes a Taliban takeover would be a positive development.

Still don't believe me? Crazy Dana probably violated the law to meet with Taliban officials in Qatar in 2001. Here's an oldie-but-REALLY-goodie from Talking Points Memo from August 2002:

[...] In April 2001, Rohrabacher travelled to Doha, Qatar to attend a conference on "Free Markets and Democracy." While there, he met with a Taliban delegation led by Muttawakil. Al Jazeera reported that the two discussed Osama bin Laden, the situation of women and civil liberties. Rohrabacher told Agence France Presse that the conversation was "frank and open." And he told the Associated Press that Muttawakil's response to his plan was "thoughtful and inquisitive."

Now the Logan Act prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. But that's a rather technical matter. So let's pass over that for the moment.

It turns out there's more. The Muttawakil meeting was attended by several members of the United States Congress, according to AP and AFP reports. Who those other members of Congress were is not clear. They don't seem to be jumping forward. Who are they? I'd like to know.

Still more interesting are the two groups who sponsored Rohrabacher's trip: the Egypt International Forum and the Islamic Institute. Those who follow Republican politics will recognize the Islamic Institute as the group Republican power broker Grover Norquist established to help corral American Muslims into the Republican party. Norquist has been a close friend and political ally of Karl Rove for a couple decades and he is now a close advisor to President Bush.

OK, so you still don't believe me? Check out this scary story from OC Weekly. And what makes this so scary is that it's all true.

As a speechwriter and special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, Rohrabacher played a key role in the late 1980s getting money and arms, including U.S.-made Stinger missiles, to Afghan holy warriors, then at war with the Soviet Union. He once bragged of being "certainly a major player" in a coalition inside the White House that supported anyone "opposing Communist domination around the world." In November 1988, he even visited the Afghan front lines during a five-day hike with an armed mujahideen patrol in eastern Afghanistan. Among those fighters he encountered, he later recalled, were "Saudi Arabians under a crazy commander named bin Laden." [...]

A veteran U.S. foreign-policy expert told the Weekly, "If Dana's right-wing fans knew the truth about his actual, working relationship with the Taliban and its representatives in the Middle East and in the United States, they wouldn't be so happy." [...]

Evidence of Rohrabacher's attempts to conduct his own foreign policy became public on April 10, 2001, not in the U.S., but in the Middle East. On that day, ignoring his own lack of official authority, Rohrabacher opened negotiations with the Taliban at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, Qatar, ostensibly for a "Free Markets and Democracy" conference. There, Rohrabacher secretly met with Taliban Foreign Minister Mullah Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, an advisor to Mullah Omar. Diplomatic sources claim Muttawakil sought the congressman's assistance in increasing U.S. aid—already more than $100 million annually—to Afghanistan and indicated that the Taliban would not hand over bin Laden, wanted by the Clinton administration for the fatal bombings of two American embassies in Africa and the USS Cole. For his part, Rohrabacher handed Muttawakil his unsolicited plans for war-torn Afghanistan. "We examined a peace plan," he laconically told reporters in Qatar.

To this day, the congressman has refused to divulge the contents of his plan. However, several diplomatic sources say it's likely he asked the extremists to let former Afghan King Zahir Shah return as the figurehead of a new coalition government. In numerous speeches before and after Sept. 11, Rohrabacher has claimed the move would help stabilize Afghanistan for an important purpose: the construction of an oil pipeline there. In return, the plan would reportedly have allowed the Taliban to maintain power until "free" elections could be called.

The idea was outlandish and even provocative. Though he is a member of the same ethnic tribe as the Taliban leadership, the 87-year-old exiled former king—who lost his throne in 1973—is known not for his appreciation of democracy, but for his coziness to Western corporate interests. With good reason, he was considered a U.S. puppet by the Taliban.

Actually, why should ANY OF US be happy with the fact that our member of Congress has had such a close working relationship with CRAZED TERRORISTS?! Why should any of us be happy with the fact that Crazy Dana Rohrabacher would agree to give more aid to a government harboring known terrorists? Why should any of us be happy with the fact that Crazy Dana was once comfortable with the Taliban continuing to hide Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan? Why should we be happy with the fact that Crazy Dana had once felt all that sympathy for the Taliban for so long, yet he now simply tries to deny that any of this ever happened?

This should trouble all of us. Dana Rohrabacher tried to unilaterally alter US foreign policy in order to make a deal with a government known to harbor terrorists. Dana Rohrabacher just could not give up his own old sympathies for his old mujahideen buddies, even after everyone else had realized that they were never really the "freedom fighters" that they had claimed to be. And if Dana Rohrabacher still can't deal with this mistake now, then how can we expect him to learn from other grave mistakes?

Shouldn't we be at least a little concerned about Crazy Dana and his very scary friends?

Where to start?

2007-05-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

One of the problems that I have with writing this blog is finding a starting point. To understand what Dana Rohrabacher is really doing, to establish whether or not he is part of the malignancy that grew around the Republican Power structure in Washington or just a good ol' boy along for the ride, you need to write the narrative of his involvement (or non-involvement) in each element.

There are many starting points to this narrative, but if you are just beginning to read the narrative of Dana Rohrabacher, then I suggest that you start with the diary that dengre posted on dailKos today. I warn you, this is not easy reading. If you can read that diary without a sense of outrage welling up inside you, you are a very cold person indeed.

What I want to do is to connect Dana Rohrabacher to the events that dengre has so painstakingly laid out in his series of posts on Jack Abramoff and the destruction of human dignity that took place in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Let me lay out the CNMI narrative for you in Readers Digest short version.

Hong Kong businessman, Willie Tan, recognized that there was an opportunity for self enrichment when the US government established that goods manufactured in the CNMI could be sold with the Made in the USA label. This was clearly described in the New Republic.

The textbook example involved the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (cnmi). An archipelago of Pacific islands captured by the United States in World War II, the cnmi acquired a unique status in the U.S. economy. Even though U.S. labor and minimum wage laws didn't apply in the cnmi, manufacturers had permission to stamp cnmi products with made in the usa labels and to evade trade quotas. Taking advantage of this loophole, Chinese entrepreneurs flocked to the island, bringing with them 32,000 workers, many of them indentured and forced to live in horrifying camps. According to a 1997 federal report, "Violations of labor standards and other abuses appear common.... Chinese contract workers allegedly work under 'shadow' contracts signed in their home country that subvert their rights under the U.S. Constitution.... Foreign contract workers report being victims of such crimes as rape, assault, and forced prostitution by those who have recruited them to work in the cnmi." To protect the $1 billion per year garment industry and stave off legislation that might correct some of these conditions, the cnmi and its business interests hired Abramoff

He established dual citizenship (Hong Kong and CNMI) and proceeded to build a sweatshop empire based on importing labor from other Asian countries, keeping them in near slave conditions for the fortunate. Others were forced into prostitution, even forced to have abortions if they were unfortunate enough to get pregnant. All of this is clearly documented, but our government has done little or nothing to protect the workers in the CNMI. Even when California Congressman George Miller tried to have US labor laws extended to the CNMI, the legislation was bottled up by Tom DeLay.

In fact, there is a video recording shown on 20/20 of Willie Tan referring to the fact that DeLay would not allow this to happen. Why could Wilie Tan get away with this? Consider that the CNMI Governor through a good portion of this time was Ben Fitial, once a Vice President of Tan Holdings.

As long as the Republicans were in charge of Congress, nothing happened that would affect the CNMI and Willie Tan. In fact, that is still true. Consider that from the 2006 effort to raise the minimum wage, the clauses that would have raised the minimum wage in the CNMI were stripped out of the bill in between the time it was approved in committee and when it was voted on the floor of the House. Tan's reach is still powerful even though Abramoff and DeLay are gone.

Where was Dana in all of this?

Well, we know that the CNMI was loudly proclaimed as a triumph of Free Enterprise. The Libertarian Free State Project considered re-focusing as a Free Territory Project and considered the CNMI to be a good "target". I would like to ask Dana whether he chose to see the CNMI though some sort of funny colored glasses. How could he have made fact finding trips to the CNMI in 1996/7:

The trip was from 12-27-1996 through 1-4-1997. Joining Jack Abramoff and Brian Bilbray on the New Year's Eve Holiday Congressional trip to CNMI were Bilbray's wife, Patrick Pizzella, Cong. Rohrabacher, Dana's fiancé Rhonda Carmondy, and Cong. Duncan (R-TN) and his wife.

and again in 1999:

and not to have been aware of what was going on?

Maybe it was Dana's friendship with Abramoff. After all, Abramoff used Rohrabacher as a reference to secure the loan for buying SunCruz, the fraudulent deal which ultimately landed Abramoff in jail. If Dana was on first name relations with Jack, then we have to ask if he was swallowing the swill that Abramoff was handing out regarding the CNMI.

There is no one so blind as the man who chooses not to see.

How deep is the Balckwater?

2007-05-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a tip from an OC friend, I started to look at the connection between Dana Rohrabacher and Blackwater, the mercenary soldier of fortune organization that was founded by Erik Prince, himself once a Navy Seal. I did not have to look very long.

I have not thought very much about civilian armies. I know that the militia stories that circulated all over after Oklahoma City bombing were scary. Maybe we have all been anesthetized by the military entertainment complex churning out Rambos or Delta Force or television's 24 Hours or The Unit. But I grew up on a higher class of movie. More like The Manchurian Candidate or Dr. Srangelove.

The result of all of that is I don't always trust the government and I surely don't trust the creation of an army created precisely because they don't have to play by the rules of engagement. We have seen the results when America's forces step over the line: Abu Graib for example. Even when it was not intentional, like today's US Air Strike that hit an Iraqi school, it turns the non-committed into committed enemies. So, Blackwater's army lets us do the dirty work without taking the blame... except that everyone knows who these "contractors" are.

How difficult would it be to take that same Blackwater force and to start it operating within the US? That is where the television series would take us. We should not be hiring thugs to do what we don't want to have blamed on us. We should be wary of government officials who have anything to do with them.

It was easy to find direct connections between Blackwater and Rohrabacher. According to a story posted recently at Democracy Now, Prince once interned with Rohrabacher. There is no clear definition of exactly what he did for Dana, but there are plenty of examples of an ongoing relationship.

This is from the Democracy Now source:

But also, Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater worked as an intern for Representative Dana Rohrabacher, another California Republican. In fact, when Blackwater was founded, both Dana Rohrabacher and Representative John Doolittle were brought out, at the company's expense, to be at Blackwater's grand opening. So these are deep Republican ties in California that Blackwater has.

Those deep Republican ties also includes Duncan Hunter.

This is going to be an long story. Rohrabacher has left a trail behind him that should be easy to follow. For example, did he actually account for that trip to the big show by his one-time intern? The FEC filings do not show it and the other online source of records of Congressional travel American Radio Networks, does not go back before the year 2000. There is probably another story for someone who wants to go through all of those trips. I would bet you could like a few to the Taliban photo I have heard about.

Data to back up Andrew's Comments

2007-05-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Andrew made an appeal to all good Democrats to come to the aid of their party, even in districts where there is not an immediate, obvious payback. I thought that I would add some data to show what is really happening in the 46th CD.

The Secretary of State's office published voter registration numbers for the state on several regular schedules. In February of odd numbered years, they publish what is called an Odd Year Report. These generally represent bed rock voters in the district as the number of registered voters will increase as we get closer to major elections, especially presidential elections like we will have in 2008.

So, let's compare voter registration number in the 46th CD in 2005 and 2007. I added 3 of the smaller parties as they really complete the profile of the district. The table below show that there was a 2% drop in both Republican and Democratic Registration and a 4% rise in the numbers who Declined to State their party connection. The only one of the smaller parties that gained in registration was the American Independent Party (AIP), an illustration of the role that the immigration issue plays in this district. The AIP is essentially a single issue party.

My conclusion is that the profile of the district is changing and that, while the Republicans are losing registration, no other party has been able to capture the voters that left. That would argue for a very low turnout in 2006, which is exactly what we had in the Congressional election. Give the voters an alternative to the same old Dana, someone with fresh ideas and enthusiasm, someone with a compelling narrative as to why they challenging to status quo, and this district will respond.

2005

Democratic	121.254
Republican	186,271
DTS	69,191
Green	2,941
Libertarian	3,040
Am. Ind. Pty	7,670

2007

Democratic	119,015
Republican	181,880
DTS	72,280
Green	2,732
Libertarian	3,043
Am. Ind. Pty	7,801

How to Turn This "Red District" Blue

2007-05-06T11:27:00.001-07:00

Why should we be going after Gary Miller? Why should we bother with Dana Rohrabacher? Why should we be investing in building Democratic infrastructure in such "hopelessly red places" like South Orange County? Why should we be growing the progressive grassroots in such "strongly Republican towns" as Yorba Linda and Huntington Beach? Why should we even be talking about organizing in such "red counties" as Orange County?

Perhaps we should be organizing in these "red counties" because they are not actually as "hopelessly Republican" as we think they are. Perhaps we should take a second look at these red areas because they are fast turning purple, and have the potential to turn blue. Perhaps we should look at these areas because their populations are growing as the populations of such "safe blue areas" as San Francisco and Los Angeles are stagnating. Perhaps we should do something in these "red areas" because these regions are the key to keeping California blue.

So what can we do?

How about conversing with voters about environmental protection instead of talking down to them about it? Perhaps instead of simply lecturing voters in these regions on why we must protect our environment, talk with them about how environmental protection enhances our quality of life. Talk about preserving all those lovely ocean views, and about how a balanced climate is ultimately good for business. Believe me, people will listen. Huntington Beach has signed onto the US Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. Brea has embraced the principles of "smart growth". And of course, Laguna Beach has always been a leader on environmental preservation. People here do value their quality of life. They appreciate clean beaches, clean water, pretty parks, and plenty of open space... And so do Democrats. We can make a connection here.

How about talking with voters about government's duty to protect the public good, and NOT to meddle in people's private lives? Many so-called "conservatives" in places like Orange County are really libertarian-minded people who just don't want government making decisions regarding their personal lives. Look at all the places in Orange County where Prop 85 lost. Many people here really are pro-choice, and they don't appreciate government involving itself in women's private medical decisions. People here really don't mind the gay and lesbian couples living in the neighborhood. However, they DO MIND government snooping in people's sex lives. People here appreciate safe neighborhoods, but they don't appreciate government searching their homes and businesses without any court warrant. People here want government to focus on such basic matters as keeping the neighborhoods safe, paving the roads, and beautifying the parks. They don't want government to intrude upon private personal matters. People in these "red counties" value freedom and civil liberties, and so do Democrats. We can make a connection here.

How about talking to voters about how tough it is for small businesses to make it these days? There are many small business owners in "red counties" like Orange County, and there are many things on their minds. These folks are concerned about providing health care for their workers, and they are concerned about their own health care. These folks are concerned about big-box stores like Wal-Mart moving into the community, and they don't know if they can compete with these big box stores and all their government subsidies. They are wondering how to stay competitive in such a tough business environment. These small business owners are concerned, and so are Democrats.

So why can't we connect better? Well, we haven't really tried before. Our state and national parties have never really bothered before to take another look at the "red counties", and see the purple inside. All too often, many Democratic leaders would rather just ignore places like Orange County while they continue to chase after a narrower and narrower set of "swing voters" in "swing regions". Well, how about expnading our base for once? How about investing in new areas, like Orange County, the Inland Empire, and San Diego County, where there are new opportunities for Democrats. Times are changing, and so are these communities. Let's start working here, and perhaps we change these corners of the map from red to blue. : )

A House Cleaning is in Order

2007-05-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

I never seem to get around to reading the NY Times. Maybe I should. When a friend of mine sent me this link to an Adam Cohen editorial today, it made me stop and think a bit.

The House of Representatives has long been a place where the perks of a little bit of power seem to play to the worst impulses of greed people. The players change, even the parties involved change, but the story never does.

The overall cleanup of the House promised by Newt Gingrich never happened. The scandals that brought down Dan Rostenkowski and the House Democrats in the early 1990's are now the scandals that are playing havoc with the Republicans who stayed hanging around long after their idealist slogans were tarnished, turned green with money.

No where has that been more the case more than with the California House Republicans. For every person of principle there have been two made in the image of Duke Cunningham. For some reason, Southern California seems to be the spawning ground for this sort of graft and corruption. The first to fall was "Duke" Cunningham. Then, up in No Cal, the supposedly powerful Richard Pombo lost the CA 11 seat to a guy whom even the Bay Area House Democrats said "can't win."

The Republican Party needs to start asking itself just how far they will let the likes of Cunningham pull them down, as the winds of shame are swirling around Jerry Lewis, Gary Miller and Dana Rohrabacher, the self-styled Libertarian Troubadour and (later) Reagan speech-writer.

I ran across the following description of Rohrabacher's early career, laid out in a discussion of Totaliarianism Today.

The final step was provided by an anti-communist free-market anarchist named Dana Rohrabacher at the St. Louis YAF Convention. He was a charismatic campus activist, radicalized by Robert LeFevre who provided him with small funding to travel the country with his instrument and folk songs from campus to campus, converting YAF chapters into Libertarian Alliances and SIL chapters. Alas, later he fell into politics, but not the LP. The Libertarian billionaire Charles Koch supported him in two failed Republicans primary campaigns, and after Rohrabacher put in time as Ronald Reagan's speechwriter, he got his reward of a safe seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Orange County. He is still in office today, with growing seniority. There are few issues on which he is still Libertarian, certainly fewer than, say, Ron Paul holds.

It looks more like the attraction of money eventually ate away at those Libertarian Values that he once held dear.

I wonder how many more reference to the old Rohrabacher, the one who lived his value (on other people's money) I can find and whether they will prove embarrassing to the new Rohrabacher. Or maybe the one we see is the one that was there all along and all that Libertarian stuff was just an act, a young man, a guitar and an act to take on the road. He surely seems to have come a long ways from the ideas of Robert LeFevre or the late Samuel Edward Konkin III.

I would guess that we should give Rohrabacher the benefit of the doubt. That at one time he really believe in what he was doing. But then, we have a good measure of just how long it take the power and money flowing through Washington to reach someone, to change the way that they look at the morality of the things they do. Only the very strong seem immune and I don't see that Rohrabacher is all that strong. Those two failed races for office as Libertarian spouting Republican must have taught him that to gain and keep, that power, you have to go along. So he went along to the Marianas Islands with Tom Delay.

Where else did he go along? We will keep the travelogue running.

Crazy Dana = Anti-Choice

2007-05-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Let's face it: Crazy Dana Rohrabacher is completely out of touch with us when it comes to women's reproductive rights. He simply doesn't accept a woman's right to choose.

Let's look at how Planned Parenthood rates Dana. They see him as 100% anti-choice. He opposes insurance coverage for contraceptives. He opposes confidential family planning services for minors. Actually, he opposes ANY access for family planning services.

So why should we care? We should care about this because Crazy Dana is more interested in scoring cheap political points than he is in ensuring that women's private medical decisions remain private, between a woman and her doctor. We should care because Dana would rather have Washington politicians meddle in women's health decisions than to allow a woman to choose what's best for her own health.

Crazy Dana talks the talk on fighting for individual rights, but he certainly doesn't walk the walk. He has consistently acted to prevent women from making their own decisions about their own bodies. I guess he just doesn't think that women know what's best for themselves. And no, I wouldn't call taking away a woman's right to choose "fighting for individual rights". I just call BS.

Getting it on the Record

2007-04-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

I have to hand it to the OC Register. They actually provided a blog entry regarding the comments made by Congressman Rohrabacher to the EU Parliamentarians. In fact, they have a link to the entire sequence of the discussion on YouTube. Thanks to Martin Wisckol we can watch our congressman embarass us all.

As I posted earlier this week, actions like this are one of the reasons there are so many who don't like our government.

Get yourself into a calm state and watch this video. It is about 9 minutes long. I don't think I could have stood it much longer.

Honoring our Veterans

2007-04-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

The current Republican Administration has been stalwart in standing up to their perceived threat to the American way of life and invisible when it comes to providing for those who have given a part of themselves in service to our country. Since the 911, the preparation for and prosecution of armed combat has been the singular focus of the Bushies and our sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters have paid the price. Maybe the children of those who were killed or injured in service to their country have paid the greatest price as they struggle with the question: why?

The Disabled American Veterans keeps a running scorecard on key votes by all members of Congress on legislation that is important to those who left a part of themselves in some other country. There have been 12 such votes since 9/11/2001. Congressman Rohrabacher has voted for our veterans only 3 time. That is a sorry record.
I will add to the table of votes below by explaining just what our veterans lost by his votes. Pay special attention to the 5th item dated 01/26/2005. This is labeled as voting down an amendment to HR 2528 by Melancon (D. LA) that would have added $53 Million to the Veterans Administration funding. This amendment would have provided:

an additional $8 Million for combat related trauma care;
an additional $9 Million for research on improved prosthetics for those who left a limb in Iraq;
an additional $6 Million for telemedicine;
and additional $23 Million for ongoing support of war orphans.

Representative Melancon's amendment failed by a vote of 213 to 214. You could consider that Dana Rohrabacher cast the deciding vote. He has the gall to spend $ Billions on the war and can't find the $23 Million to take care of the wounded who make it back or the families of those who do not.

For those who love their country, this is not the way that a person with a clean conscience treats those who are willing to die for their country. Whether you support the war in Iraq or find it disgusting, you have to agree that Rohrabacher and the rest of the Republican Congress, marching along chanting "no new taxes" just do not understand how much we can figure out and how much we deplore what he has done.

Passed	Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program Extension 11/14/2006	Y
Passed	Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2006 06/28/2006	Y
Passed	Veterans Benefits Improvement Act 05/22/2006	Y
Failed	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 On Motion to Recommit with Instructions 05/11/2006	N
Failed	Melancon of Louisiana Amendment; Military Quality of Life and VA Appropriations, FY2006 05/26/2005	N
Passed	Congressional Budget for FY 2006 03/17/2005	Y
Failed	Spratt of South Carolina Substitute Amendment; Congressional Budget for FY 2006 03/17/2005	N
Failed	Obey of Wisconsin Amendment; Congressional Budget for FY 2006 03/17/2005	N
Passed	Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes 03/15/2005	Y
Passed	Congressional Budget for the U.S. Government for FY 2005 03/25/2004	Y
Passed	VA/HUD Appropriations 07/25/2003	Y
Passed	Providing for the Consideration of H.R. 2861, Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Indepenent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 07/25/2003	Y
Failed	Motion to Recommit the Joint Resolution to the House Appropriations Committee 11/13/2002	N

The Abramoff shoes keep dropping

2007-04-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

One of the impacts of last falls elections was the fact that the Abramoff scandal contributed to the defeat of a number of Republican Congressmen, most notably Richard Pombo (CA-11) and almost resulted in the defeat of John Doolittle (CA-4). Another effect was the fact that the investigation into the affairs of Jack Abramoff became old news and is no longer being covered on the 11:00 news. There must be more than a few sighs of relief, even in Huntington Beach.

The investigation is still unfolding and for those paying attention it is like listening to a centipede undress. You keep waiting for another shoe to drop, which it does on an almost daily basis.

Recent developments in the Abramoff scandal This week, one time Congressional staffer, Mark Zachares made a guilty plea and agreed to assist prosecutors in peeling yet another layer off this rotten onion. According to a Bloomberg New story...

Court documents said Zachares used his post as staff director of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Coast Guard and Maritime subcommittee to help Abramoff land clients and obtain favorable congressional action. Zachares agreed to use his committee position to retaliate against companies that hired other lobbyists, the document said.

TPM has made the court filing available to all. From that we know that Zachares served as staff to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chaired by Alaska Congressman Donald Young. Zachares was identified by Abramoff while employed by the Attorney General's office in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI).

The long sordid history of Abramoff and the Marianas has been very well documented by dengre on DailyKos. I don't intend to duplicate what he has done to connect the dots, most recently to Young. I do want to point out that Dana Rohrabacher is surely one of those who is listening carefully for each shoe drop.

We know that Rohrabacher visited the CNMI and met with officials there. He went along with Young, John Dootlittle.and others on a Abramoff sponsored trip to the CNMI in 1999. I am sure that Rohrabacher's memory of this trip will be about as good as Alberto Gonzales's memory of the more recent firing of Carol Lam (investigated and convicted Randy Cunningham and beginning an investigation of other Southern California Congressmen) or Arizona USDA John Charlton (beginning an investigation of Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi.)

There is an open question about Congressman Rohrabacher and whether he was just along for the ride going to a Pacific paradise and Libertarian Free Market success story, or that is what they wanted you to want to believe. That “free market success” was built on the exploitation of guest workers, women forced into prostitution and a system of sweatshops which benefited not the citizens of the CNMI, but Abramoff's Hong Kong based employers who had taken over the CNMI government.

How much did Rohrabacher know about what was really going on? Did he so want to believe that “free market success” that he turned a blind eye to corruption on which it was built? If that is so, then he is merely incompetent, because everyone else could see it. Or is there something deeper than that?

At that time, the Department of Justice was fully aware of the extent of corruption in the CNMI. The Associate Deputy Attorney General at the time (09/1999), Nicholas Gess testified as such to the House Committee on Resources.

Every day as we work to investigate and prosecute these cases, more criminals arrive on the CNMI. As we investigate to determine whether a recruiter who promised jobs to workers to get them to come to the CNMI committed fraud or is just a bad businessman, another group of cheated workers lands at the airport. As we seize a load of drugs brought in by members of the Japanese Yakuza or Chinese triad gangs, others are already on their way, ensured of easy access to the islands. As we put one gang member in jail, others arrive. In short, we are winning individual battles, but we may be losing the war.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the famed libertarian troubadour is singing a different tune. It is time that we give his vocal cords a rest.

As soon as the mechanisms are in place, we will be telling you how you can contribute to the defeat of Crazy Dana. In the meantime, there is a good chance to help retire Doolittle from California's congressional delegation. Charlie Brown is building a campaign fund to go after Doolittle one more time. Without the strong backing of the DCCC, he almost pulled it off last time, thanks greatly to way that the netroots got behind his candidacy. We can continue that by going to the Democracy For America site and voting for Charlie Brown as their "all star". That contest ends at midnight tonight. so don't put it off.

Then, we need to identify a new allstar to take on Crazy Dana.

Dana's been around a long time.

2007-04-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

I just did not know how long until I ran across the following quote today.

“Why can't you see?
We just want to be free
To have our homes and families
And live our lives as we please.”

Dana Rohrabacher - West Coast Libertarian Troubadour (1973)

Nice sentiment, Dana. It has a lot of appeal to honest, hard working people who would like big government to leave them alone. It is also the appeal of those with other things to hide from view. Take Randy Cunningham, for example. I can just hear him telling Carol Lam the same words.

The real problem that I sense is that there are a lot of people who are just plain fed up with the fact that they are working the ass off, spending too much time on the freeways, too little time with their families and know that they are getting the shaft.

When the so called party of small government loads up its budgets with pork for every pet district project, bridges to nowhere, and blows away the balanced budgets that we had in 2000, then we know where to turn. This "leave me alone and let me do my own thing" may make a good sentiment for Kenny Chesney, but it doesn't make good policy in Washington.

Maybe, back then, he was just inhaling.

Crazy Dana: Who Needs Any More of His Insanity?

2007-04-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

I've had it. I'm sick of it. And I won't take it anymore. Dana Rohrabacher simply has to go. NOW!

Crazy Dana loved the Taliban. Crazy Dana still loves disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Crazy Dana dismisses the seriously distubing reality of global climate change as just "dinosaur flatulence". Crazy Dana is vehemently anti-choice, even though he represents a pro-choice district. And now, Crazy Dana wishes death by terrorist attack upon the family members of ANYONE who has the nerve to call him out on his sheer insanity.

Simply put, Crazy Dana is batshit insane. In fact, TOO BATSHIT INSANE to even be allowed inside our nation's Capitol, let alone serving another term in Congress. He doesn't represent our values, and he can't get our logic. This is the final straw, and now it's time for us to plan how to restore sanity to our Congressional office.

So what can we do to restore insanity to our Congressional office? Well, we need to let our neighbors know just how insane our member of Congress truly is. We are a coastal community that cares about our natural resources. We are a socially tolerant community that values women's reproductive rights. We are a reasonable community that values pragmatic, common-sense solutions. And simply put, Crazy Dana doesn't represent us on any of these issues.

Crazy Dana refuses to acknowledge the serious threat of global climate change. Crazy Dana wants to completely take away a woman's right to choose. Crazy Dana wants natural gas drilling off our precious coast. And now, Crazy Dana wishes acts of terror upon family members of anyone who disagrees with his insane point of view. This is NOT someone who should represent us in Congress.

We need to let our neighbors know of Dana's insanity. We need to let them know that Dana does not represent our values in Washington. We need to let them know that Dana is no "cool maverick", but rather a far right extremist. We need to let them know that there are leaders in our community who are better fit to serve us in Congress. Basically, it's time for us to begin organizing in the 46th. We cannot afford any more of Crazy Dana. We need to return to reason in this district. NOW!

Rohrabacher to European Union Delegation

2007-04-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

There are many Americans who question what we are so much hated around the world. Maybe, it is because people all over the world have met the likes of Dana Rohrabacher, Congressman with the big mouth. The latest flap that came from his flapping lips is this quote: "I HOPE IT'S YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS THAT DIE" The recipients of his diatribe? Members of the European Union Parliament. The embarrassment? Every American's.

The subject was that of extraordinary rendition. That is the practice where the US government has it's agents go to other countries, kidnap citizens off the street and take them to secret prisons in countries that have no laws against torture.

This time, there was someone around to note what he said and the story has been written up so very well by US Army Reserves Colonel (Retired) Ann Wright. She gives a very illuminating picture of what happened.

At that point, I had had enough of Rohrabacher. I stood up and said "I did not serve 29 years in the US military and 16 years in the US diplomatic corps to see demise of the rule of law and violation of our own laws. Rohrback’s statements are outrageous. No wonder the world hates us!"

Chairman Delahunt gaveled for me to stop speaking and I was escorted by the police out of the committee room. I was not arrested.

Remarkably, I do agree with one thing Rohrabacker said. "They hate us."

Rohrabacker finished his sentence with "They hate us because they hate our way of life." Unfortunately, many people do hate us, but it’s not for our way of life.

Its for exactly the talk and actions that Rohrabacker and the Bush administration represent: illegal and unlawful actions, an arrogant attitude that America is always right and everyone else is wrong, that the world’s resources are for the exclusive use of the United States and we have the right to invade and occupy any country.”

Ann Wright is no starry-eyed young college student, filled with the dreams of youth. She is a veteran and you don't rise to the rank of Colonel without understand what violence begets.

If there were ever a single incident that tells us we need to reject Rohrabacher and his crazy ideas, this is it. I would have stood up with Col. Wright. I spent my time in the service. (Did Dana?) My brother was in Korea and Vietnam and eventually died in a VA Hospital, Springfield, MO. Lt. Colonel Rolley would have stood up and saluted Col. Wright, and he was a Rush Limbaugh fan.

ACTION ALERT: Fight Back the Supreme Court's Strike Against Women's Reproductive Rights

2007-04-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

ALERT! The US Supreme Court has just delivered another blow to women's reproductive rights. Earlier today, the court upheld the federal abortion ban that will prevent seriously ill women from terminating pregancies that threaten their health. This is a VERY FRIGHTENING DEVELOPMENT which throws women's rights into complete limbo.
However, our local friends at Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties are NOT taking this lying down. They're planning their next actions... AND THEY NEED OUR HELP! If you're a progressive activist in Southern California, and if you care about women's reproductive rights, then you need to follow me after the flip to find out how you can take action.

Here's the email that I just got from my friend Serena at OC Planned Parenthood:

Dear Activists & Volunteers,

This morning the Supreme Court upheld the Federal Abortion Ban and let women's health take a back seat to right-wing politics. At Planned Parenthood, we're working hard to ensure that we can keep providing our patients with the best and safest health care possible under this dangerous law.

But we need your help...

Tomorrow, April 19th, from 10am 1pm, we'll be assembling a HUGE mailing to alert our supports of this legal set-back and how we're planning to respond. Please join us at our Administrative Offices in Orange for as long as you are able. In addition to assembling this mailing, I'll give you an update on what this decision means, how it will affect our patients, and what we plan to do about it. We'll also order lunch for those of you that are able to join us.

Please reply to this email ASAP to let me know if you'll be available.
Thanks for all your support--and the website will be updated soon, so check www.pposbc.org for more info throughout the week.

To RSVP to join this emergency improptu action, please reply to Serena at sjosel@pposbc.org. We'll need as many people as possible. If you can join me and other pro-choice activists tomorrow, I'm sure our friends at OC Planned Parenthood will definitely appreciate it.

Doolittle's in Deep Doo-Doo... So When Will Dana's Time Come?

2007-04-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

This just in from Roll Call:

The FBI has raided the Northern Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), according to Congressional sources. No details are publicly available yet about the circumstances of the raid, but Doolittle and his wife, Julie, have been under federal investigation for their ties to the scandal surrounding imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

So John Doolittle (R-Roseville) might finally be held accountable for all his dirty work...
Now when can we expect the same of Crazy Dana? Lordy knows his day in court is past due!

Mavericks and myths

2007-04-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

The image of the maverick runs through the American consciousness. Originally a calf that had been separated from the herd, from its mother, and which, if they made it to adulthood were wild and unpredictable, being branded a maverick has become almost an endorsement for a politician. I use that turn of language, being branded a maverick, with full knowledge that a true maverick was not branded, ran free, belonged to no one.

The lore of the West is filled with tales of the lone trapper, explorer, miner who got uncomfortable when civilization got too close and moved on, preferring a lonely freedom to controlled comradery.

You can learn a lot be examining three politicians who were either labeled as mavericks by others or who have consciously sought to position themselves as such.

At the top of any list of political mavericks, you would surely find Paul N. "Pete" McCloskey. It would almost seem that the term was invented to describe him. He is now most well known for three things: helping to draft the Endangered Species Act, being one of the co-chairs of the first Earth Day and being the first member of Congress to call for Nixon to step down as Watergate unfolded around him.

Still, the manner in which he did these things indicates that his acts were those which arose out of an innate sense of what was truly the right thing to do. His decisions often followed long periods of worrying a subject but often came very quickly and once the rationale clicked into place, were followed by almost immediate action in which he did not falter. Anyone writing about him now should take care to read Lou Cannon's The McCloskey Challenge if you can find a copy. It is amazing how a book that dealt with Pete's challenge to Nixon comes so close to defining the manner in which he took on Richard Pombo and, most recently, left the Republican Party after his family had been California Republicans since James Buchanan was president.

Then, there is John McCain. Like McCloskey, he is a veteran having had to learn to survive in unthinkable circumstances. McCain has taken care to brand himself as a maverick, from the first days of the straight talk express. He always seems to talk straight from the heart and seems to love taking on the power structure.

But, you get the sense that this is truly branding at work. There are just too many times when that talk that makes up his image and the things that he actually does just do not match. In particular, I was astounded to that McCain would spend such an effort to support Pombo, even though they agreed on almost nothing. When it is for the good of the party, when it is for McCain taking the next step up, principles do not matter as much and the self anointed maverick, McCain goes back to the herd.

Even McCain's old "Straight Talk America" web site in now just johnmccain.com.

The other example of the maverick is Dana Rohrabacher. Except, while consciously grooming the image of the maverick he has only succeed in making himself colorful, and a pale reflection of even McCain at that. The idea that the Congressman for Huntington Beach who actually surfs is about as colorful as it gets. Unfortunately that is about as colorful as Rohrabacher get also.

When this country needs serious discussion about our direction, we get feeble jokes. When we need to understand what our government is doing for us... or to us... we get a Congressman whose staff can't even keep his own web site up to date, or he hasn't made a vote since the summer of '05.

If we in the West love our mavericks, you just know that McCloskey is the real thing, that McCain is trying to be and that Rohrabacher is for the dude ranch.

Security Threats

2007-04-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

It seems that people make the biggest fuss over the things that they are the most afraid of. We know that Dana Rohrbacher is afraid of so called " illegals", because he surely makes a great deal of fuss over that. We know that he is afraid of al Quaeda, because he surely makes a great deal of fuss over that.

But, according to the April 15 NY Times, Global Warming is a bigger threat to our national security than either of those two scary facts.

The report recommends that climate change be integrated into the nation’s security strategies and says the United States “should commit to a stronger national and international role to help stabilize climate changes at levels that will avoid significant disruption to global security and stability.”

When will California's Republican Congressional delegation wake up to the fact that it is not nice to fool Mother Nature. They, at least, should understand the national security implications. They should understand the implication of having a 100 million displaced people asking why the richest country in the world did nothing and just allowed this all to happen.

Almost without exception, these California Republicans tell us to stay the course in a failed Iraq war and fail to consider the costs of non-action on Global Warming. Most of these corporate legislators do not even mention global warming as an issue on their web site. Rohrbacher, at least, acknowledges that it may exist, if only to use it as the point of his crude humor.

Maybe, we should consider that the cost to the US economy of taking strong action regarding global warming is about what the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars are costing us, but the implications of losing this battle are far worse than the implications of losing face in Iraq.

It is time to get someone in congress who understands what the real threats are to our national security rather than some imagined Weapons of Mass Destruction. It is time that we had someone as our representative who could provide leadership rather than jokes. (Memo to Jay Leno... "Don't worry, his timing is not that great.")

Yes, Dana, We Do Care About the Changing Climate

2007-04-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Dana Rohrabacher may not believe that climate change is for real, but his constituents certainly do. Dozens upon dozens of people took time out of their busy weekend to show up at the Huntington Beach Pier yesterday to make a statement. They wanted to make the statement that Orange County does care about the climate, and both individuals and local governments need to take action to stop the coming climate catastrophe.

So how well did the message get out yesterday? Let me tell you all about it down below...

Yesterday, local activists from the Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment and Democracy for America-Orange County headed down to the HB Pier to get everyone at the beach to pay attention to what's happening with our climate. And they wanted to get Congress to pay attention to all this local demand for action, and to actually take action and agree to an eighty percent cut in carbon emissions by 2050. And they wanted local elected officials to pay attention, and to begin taking action in local government to reduce Orange County's carbon footprint. And yes, they wanted to get everyone else in the community to pay attention, and to begin taking action at home and at work to reduce every one's individual carbon footprint. So who was paying attention, other than me and all the other eco-conscious citizens who gathered at the pier?

Well, Gil Coerper was certainly paying attention yesterday. But then again, why wouldn't he? The conveners presented the HB Mayor with an award for him and his fellow city councilmembers for their recent decision to sign on to the US Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. "Surf City" is now the fifth OC city to do so, joining Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Irvine, and Santa Ana on that distinguished list of cities taking action to stop the coming climate catastrophe.

So why isn't more action being taken? That's what we all had to ask. There are twenty-nine other cities in Orange County that haven't yet signed onto the Climate Protection Agreement. There are members of Congress here who still refuse to recognize that there's even a problem with our changing climate, including one from Huntington Beach who dismisses all of this as "dinosaur flatulence". And yes, there are still many thousands of people in OC who still don't understand just how serious this climate catastrophe is. That's what motivated so many people to come to Downtown HB yesterday to get more people to be aware of what's happening, and to begin taking real action.

Let's hope that all of us in OC get the message soon. : )

Recent Votes

2007-04-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

The more I study this Congressman, the more I am getting confused. I thought that I could learn a lot about what Crazy Dana has been doing by looking at his Congressional web site. Right there at the top, I see a menu and it links to his recent votes. Except the most recent vote listed there was on July 28, 2005.

Now, I ask you, what has Crazy Dana been doing for all of that time since then? I don't think that he has been surfing in the Potomac, though he probably thought about it.

We know that Crazy Dana goes to capital hill. I mean even Dena Bunis in the OC Register gives a good account of his talking to an empty House Chamber as if that meant something. Isn't talking to your self a sign of a mental problem?

So, where are the votes? I guess he isn't proud enough of them to tell us what he is really doing.

Understanding Science

2007-04-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have been paying a lot of attention to the comments of journalist Chris Mooney at his blog: intersection (of science and journalism). Mooney and Matthew Nisbet had an article in the Public Forum section of Science Magazine (April 6) in which they challenged scientists to do a better job of "framing" their discourse.

Framing is a serious matter of explaining the facts of science in such a manner as to make them relevant to the audience, be that other scientists, informed journalists or just you and I. They argue that scientists need to do more than repeat Jack Webb's "just the facts,Ma'am." Their article ends with...

Some readers may consider our proposals too Orwellian, preferring the traditional model of safely sticking to the facts. Yet scientists must realize that these facts will be repeatedly misapplied and twisted in direct proportion to their relevance to the political debate and decision-making. In short, as unnatural as it might feel, in many cases, scientists should strategically avoid emphasizing the technical details of science when trying to defend it.

The result was rather blog overload for Mooney and elicited some very fine commentary from other bloggers.

Now, what does this have to do with Dana Rohrabacher? Maybe, it is the fact that he has chosen to frame his opinion of science as a joke, humor for the 5:00 news, or at least for other bloggers share his entertaining video.

The problem is that global warming is not a joke. There are going to be very real consequences for our ignoring this fact. I can think of no area where those consequences are going to be be felt more keenly than in Orange County. With local governments being funded by developer mitigation fees one should pay close attention to where the water is going to come from to support that growth. The forecasts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability are for ever increasing drought in the American Southwest. That translates directly into less water for the Metropolitan Water District.

Warming in western mountains is projected to cause decreased snowpack, more winter flooding, and reduced summer flows, exacerbating competition for over-allocated water resources.(IPPC Summary p. 12)

If snow does not fall in the Rockies, there will not be water in the Colorado River. If snow does not fall in the Sierra Nevada, there will not be water flowing into the Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta and South to the LA Metropolitan Area. If it falls as rain, the delta will flood.

We have a choice. We can act now to mitigate the effects of the future we know is coming or we can make jokes about dinosaurs. We know what Crazy Dana has done. What will you do when the flow of water becomes a trickle? Will you still be laughing at Rohrabacher's jokes?

One way we can start to mitigate the effects of climate change is to elect a Congressman who takes the problem seriously.

Kinky Dana and the Porn King

2007-04-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

Philip D. Harvey of Chapel Hill, North Carolina is a likeable, straight-forward fellow who isn’t embarrassed that the source of his reportedly large personal fortune is uninhibited sex—heterosexual, gay, lesbian, kink, solo and with (hopefully pliable) inanimate objects. As owner of Adam & Eve, Harvey makes porn films and sells sex toys, including a large variety of masturbation devices. In 2001, he wrote The Government vs. Erotica: The Siege of Adam & Eve, which details his battles against law enforcement over the right to sell porn. As president of DKT International, he supplies government-subsidized condoms and lube to individuals and sex workers in developing countries such as Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia and India.

So how is this guy connected to Dana Rohrabacher? OC Weekly gives us all the dirty details:

Harvey is no mystery to the Huntington Beach/Long Beach representative. Rohrabacher sat on a powerful House committee that approved hundreds of millions of dollars in HIV/AIDS funding tied to Harvey-related operations. In the months before he took $500 from Harvey last October, Rohrabacher had been given a congressional dossier by Republican staff. A copy of that 10-page report, which was obtained by the Weekly, described Harvey as a “porn powerhouse” who is subsidized by U.S. taxpayers.

In 2005, Harvey caused a huge stink in the nation’s capital when he refused a Bush administration string on federal HIV/AIDS funds: the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) now requires recipients to declare opposition to prostitution and sex trafficking. Harvey refused, claiming his free-speech rights had been infringed. He won in a lower court, but in late February, a federal appellate panel reversed that ruling and sided with the government. Harvey says he is contemplating an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

OK, so that's how the "porn king" got connected with Mr. Moral Values. Well, I guess this is not the first time that Kinky Crazy Dana sold out his "moral values" for personal gain. Dana Rohrabacher may claim to have "values", but he'll dump them fast if they get in the way of "defending his good freinds".

Now I'm not exactly angry that Crazy Dana buddies up with porn kings. What I am angry about, however, is his hypocrisy on this issue. I just hope that I never have to hear from him preaching to us ever again about his supposed "moral values".

We deserve better.

2007-04-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

The 46th Congressional District is interesting. You have a mix of Long Beach and the more generally affluent Cities of Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa. However, for the last ten years, one unifying factor in the district has been the fact that it is represented in Washington by Dana Rohrabacher, a local character who has made a career out of being willing to open his mouth and say whatever he happens to be thinking at the moment and having no shame when he puts his foot in his mouth... again.

The people of this district deserve better.
Some might consider Rohrabacher colorful. We consider him dangerous. At a time when we need our government to solve problems, Rohrabacher would rather score points.

One has only to look at his Congressional Web Site, where he is using our taxpayer money to continue spinning the corporate line about Global Warming. In the face of the last two reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, both of which are very clear as to the consensus that the current rate of change in unprecedented and caused by human activity, Crazy Dana continues to spread the message of scientific doubt. The most recent report, Impacts, Adaptations and Vulnerabilty, makes it abundantly clear that Climate Change is not a future event. It is happening now and it is folly to blissfully ignore the consequences, as does Crazy Dana.

The people of this district deserve better.

We are going to use this site to point out where Congressman Rohrabacher ceases to be merely colorful and become just plain doofus.

We will enthusiastically search for a credible candidate to take on Crazy Dana and give this district the representation that it deserves.

We will consistently tell you the truth.