Bill Hunt For Sheriff

This endorsement is really a no brainer for me. Today I am endorsing Lt. Bill Hunt for the office of Orange County Sheriff. There are a lot of reasons to vote against the current "little sheriff" of the office(that would be Mike Carona), but I still needed a reason to vote for someone else. Luckily Lt. Hunt stood up and decided to run for Sheriff to bring integrity back to the office. I really never paid much attention to local races in the past. Usually if the incumbent was running and wasn't tainted by a scandal, I would blindly vote for the person because he is the incumbent. We don't have that luxury right now in the race for Sheriff. I also want to thank Commander Ralph Martin for a spirited run. It basically came down to a choice between the two of these fine public servants for me. In the end I think it was Bill's local experience as deputy that made the difference for me. I'm not expecting any miracles to turn the department around, but I do expect the Sheriff to act with a little more discretion and decorum while in the public eye. I can't say that about the current Sheriff. Mr. Carona at times the last few years has been a walking hard on to use a blunt term, but enough about that. I don't want to talk about about mob donations, illicit affairs, guns & badges for campaign contributions, poor judgment calls, missed leadership opportunities, a term limit pledge, and sexual harassment allegations anymore. I want to focus on the future. A vote for Bill Hunt is a vote for fresh change for Sheriff.

Dumb & Dumber

That is the theme of the race for the democratic nomination for governor right now in my opinion. Westly would be the Dumb in the title and Angiledes the Dumber. I don't watch much TV, but the shows I have watched are turning into a big pissing contest between Steve Westly and Phil Angiledes when it comes to ads. These guys are arguing about who is going to better at raising taxes. It's hilarious. I'm not much of an Arnold fan at all, but his advisors must be giddy right now. They couldn't have scripted this race much better. I'm still not voting for Arnold in the primary, but I must say that his chances of re-election are looking better every day. He'd really pull way ahead if actually gave us conservatives something to vote for. Oh well, it's fun watching the dems run a scorched earth campaign right now.

Memorial Weekend Observations

I headed out to Borrego Springs for some R&R this weekend. Once I got out there it was great, but getting out there was the kicker. I have one word about the traffic heading south out of the OC midday Saturday...friggin ridiculous! Okay that's two words, I lied. Here's a hot investment tip...go long gasoline & crude oil futures for the next few months. All those people on the road need to fill up the tanks on all those SUVs/cars. Demand should soaring right about now. Anyway traffic is just an absolute nightmare. It took 45 minutes to get from the Jeffrey Rd onramp on the 405 to the Ortega Highway exit down in San Juan Capistano Saturday midday. It was a total joke. There weren't even any accidents that I saw or heard about on the radio. Times like these make me seriously consider just getting out of Dodge and going somewhere else to live for a little while, but then I look at my options and I keep coming back to socal. One of these days though I will probably get so fed up with he rat race that I might just up and leave, but for now I will remain in the OC. Memo to ambitious local and state politicians: if you could find a way to build and widen the streets and freeways so that it could severely lessen the traffic strain the OC is under right now, you should have a bright future ahead for yourself. Just my two cents.

Enron Verdict Is Reached

A verdict has been reached in the Enron trial this morning. It will be announced at 9am. I predict guilty verdicts across the board. Hopefully this verdict will send a huge message to corporate America.

Kudos To Chuck DeVore And Tom McClintock

So tonight the Presidente of Mexico will pollute the well of the Assembly chamber up in Sacramento. I received an email from my Assemblyman Chuck DeVore that he will not be attending the speech. Yahoo! I heard also yesterday on John & Ken that State Sen. Tom McClintock will boycott the speech as well. I just want to heap praise on these two lawmakers for standing up to the bully from Mexico. What is the rest of the GOP caucus planning on doing? I don't want Republicans seen doing a lot of high fiving with El Presidente when he has almost singlehandedly bankrupted this state with his countries horrendous open border policies.

Quote From The Great One Today(Rush Limbaugh)

Open border Republicans are going to lose their seats in November....mark my words

Rush Limbaugh

It doesn't have to be that way, but maybe they need to lose to understand the significance of this issue. I was listening to Robert Rector from the Heritage Foundation yesterday on John & Ken. Even I was shocked at the magnitude of the coming immigration wave in the next 20 years. The estimate is up to 100 million new low skill immigrants coming here if the current law is not changed. That is just plain unacceptable.

18 GOP Benedict Arnold Senators

This is a list of the 18 Republican Senators that voted yesterday against enforcing the immigration laws first before any amnesty/guest worker status is granted. The vote was 55-40 against the amendment from Johnny Isakson of Georgia. They are all traitors to this country. Read em and weep. There were also seven patriotic Democrats that voted for the amendment. Kudos to them.

Bennett (R-UT)
Brownback (R-KS)
Chafee (R-RI)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Craig (R-ID)
DeWine (R-OH)
Graham (R-SC)
Hagel (R-NE)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

Hunt vs. Carona(Whitacre vs. OC Central Committee)

I just got word that the judge in the case of Whitacre vs. OC Central Committee denied Tim's motion for temporary restraining order against the Carona campaign from using the County GOP's endorsement and that the case will not be heard until after the primary. This is a big loss for Hunt & Whitacre, but the case was a longshot. I still think Hunt has a good shot to make the runoff in November. I applaud Tim's effort to hold the Central Committee to its own bylaws, but the court was the wrong venue IMO.

United 93 Movie Review

Lynn and I went and saw United 93 last night. I can't believe it has taken Hollywood this long to put out a movie about 9/11. I'm glad it has finally happened. It brought back a flood of memories for me from that day. I was driving out to Ontario Airport that morning for a flight over to Phoenix to meet with some clients when I started hearing the first reports of a "small plane" hitting the World Trade Center. I didn't think anything of it when I first heard the news of it on the radio as I was getting of the Archibald offramp on the 10 freeway at 5 o'dark something in the morning. I parked my car and headed into the terminal. As I finished my breakfast and started walking over to my Southwest Airlines gate, I noticed a lot of people gathered around a TV in the terminal oo'ing and awe'ing. I then started to realize that we were under attack. I got in line to try to get my boarding pass and right as I got to the front of the line the gal at the Southwest ticket counter said all flights have been grounded until further notice. I called the office and spoke to a co worker about what was happening and he said to get my ass back to the office ASAP. I was glued to the radio on my drive back into work. It wasn't until I got back into the office to view all the images of the morning that the gravity of the situation dawned on me. People were jumping out of the towers, 100 story buildings collapsing, the Pentagon getting hit, etc. It was a tragic day that will live in infamy.

Fast forward to last night. I was surprised that I didn't get very emotional as the movie progressed, but I did have a huge rush of adrenalin and a big knot in my stomach during the entire movie. I'm glad there weren't any well known actors/actresses in the movie as well. I couldn't imagine seeing Tim Robbins or Sean Penn playing one of the male passengers. That just wouldn't be right. I highly recommend this movie. I would also like people to leave a comment below on where they were when they heard the news and tell a little bit about that day from your perspective.

Top Ten Predictions El Presidente Bush Will Say Monday Night

1. I whole heartily endorse the "Leave No Illegal Alien Behind" Act.
2. A virtual fence is neat
3. A real border fence might keep out people we need to fill jobs Americans won't do.
4. I meant it when I said the Minutemen were vigilantes.
5. Amnesty is in the eye of the beholder and this beholder wants to give it out.
6. I might hurt my very good friend's Vincente Fox's feelings if I don't give out amnesty.
7. Illegal smegal....a spoonful of enforcement will help the amnesty go down.
8. In the interest of expediency, I am hereby announcing an executive order that says that all the citizens of Central America are now honorary citizens of the United States. Welcome
9. Can't we all just get along?
10. Borders....we don't need no stinkin borders.

I am turning this post into another contest. Whoever comes up with the best/funniest speech Bush will give on Monday night will win a half ounce $10 Silver Liberty Dollar.

Bush Is In The Roaring 20's.....

.......and I don't mean the flapper era circa the 1920s. The new Harris Interactive Poll has the President at a whopping 29%! I hope your fiscal recklessness and talking about amnesty for illegals every day was worth it Mr. President. He is now officially in the Richard Nixon pre resignation area of approval ratings, ouch. I wonder how much lower he has to sink before he realizes that giving amnesty to illegal aliens is a huge loser politically. He is absolutely dead in the water right now, road kill if you will. So what is he doing to try to stem this tide? He's giving a speech in primetime this Monday night to talk about giving amnesty away to illegals. I give up. You're on your own Mr. President.

Stop The Presses!!!

The Republicans in DC have actually come to an agreement to make some more tax cuts permanent. What are they thinking? Do they actually want to keep power or something next term? I can't believe it. Now if they can just get the President and liberal Senate GOPers to get off the amnesty bandwagon and pass some real spending cuts, the voters might just give them another shot at governing. I'm going to hold my breath on that one though. This was a good first step at stopping the hemorrhaging poll numbers that the party is mired in.

Minutemen Under Surveilence

I saw this headline on Drudge this morning that our government is telling the Mexican government where the Minutemen are watching the border and I about lost my lunch. Does our incompetent government not know that this vital info goes straight to the drug cartel bosses? This is just more proof that the Bush administration doesn't care about border security. Why don't they give the Mexicans a full rundown of all of border weak spots. That way there can be a nice orderly invasion. You know, give em' maps where we don't have any barriers and let em know shift times and patrol areas of the border patrol. Let's just try to help em in any way we can. There aren't enough of them coming over the border right now breaking our laws. Let's be as nice as possible to Mr. Fox & Co. Let's just pretend there is no problem except for those pesky Minutemen. It's absolutely amazing isn't it.

Weekend Recap

The past two weekends I have gone down to Baja with some buddies to do some four wheeling and hiking. I have been going down there since I was a kid. The first thing you notice when you cross into Mexico is the stench of the country. Maybe Gustavo can answer this for me....why do Mexicans burn their trash in their backyards and by the side of the roads down there? Anyway, the next thing you notice on the drive south to Ensenada are all the high rise condos going up at a breakneck pace in Rosarito. It's amazing. There is a real estate boom happening in Baja and my guess is that the majority of the new homeowners are Americans. The country has so many natural resources down there that you would think it would help their economy out, but everywhere you go you see mostly just shanty towns. We got into Ensenada and the first thing I do is always visit my favorite fish taco stand on Castillo street for the best fish tacos in the world...one of the few things Mexico does well BTW!

Some people are afraid to go down there because of news stories they may have heard, but you just have to use common sense down there. I actually feel safer driving down there than I do driving through parts of Los Angeles. If you do get pulled over by a corrupt local cop or the Federales, you just have to bribe them with a little cash...a small price to pay to enjoy their country I guess. I have only had to do this one time in all the times I have been down there. It was way down south in a city by Cabo called Todos Santos. Once you get out of the cities and into the mountains or down the coast further south it is beautiful. Oh and lastly, you just have to make sure you follow all of their laws, unlike their citizens over here that ignore/break ours.

Another Kennedy Drunk Driving Incident

This story is rich. This apple has not fallen far from the tree. Apparently, Rep Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, son of Sen. Ted Kennedy, was intoxicated and drove his car into a barrier near Capital Hill last night. Just like his father at Chappaquidick, the police gave him preferential treatment it looks like. There was no field sobriety test even though the Congressman was stumbling badly as he got out of the car. Drudge has the full story here. I'm just happy he didn't have to negotiate a narrow bridge crosing with a sexy staffer or else there might have been a very different ending.

Jim Rome Annual Smack Off Tomorrow

Tomorrow, the best of the best callers to the Jim Rome Show are participating in the annual "smack off" as Romie calls it. I myself don't get much of a chance to listen to the show as much as I'd like, but I always make sure I listen to the smack off. It will have you rolling on the floor laughing with some of the sport & life takes. Some of the names on the invite list are : "Irie" Craig from Long Beach, Mike & Jeff DiTolla, Jeff in Richmond, Silk bra in Huntington Beach, Otis in Austin, Gino in San Antonio, Terrence from Sierra Madre(my sentimental favorite), J.T the Brick, Joe in The OC, Sean the Cablinasian, Trapper in Dana Point, Stevie Carbone, Iafrate, Kerwin in Riverside, Greg in Vegas(with his references to people with no limbs!), Jeff bumping around Phoenix on a car phone, Jim in Fall River, and many more. Don't miss it.

The Electoral Backlash Has Begun On Illegal Immigration

This story warms my heart. The city of Herndon Virginia has been in the news a lot lately because of their battle with the day labor center that the city council okayed a while back. The pro illegal immigration majority was wiped clean yesterday by the silent majority of citizens who are sick and tired of seeing illegal aliens march for non-existent rights.

Here's Michelle Malkin's take.

Meanwhile, Hugh Hewitt is still on the amnesty bandwagon err I mean he calls it "regularization". For a guy who just wrote a book on how the GOP needs to stay in power, giving illegal aliens amnesty is not a very good strategy to accomplish that goal.

Elie Tahari Blouse $110 (on sale), Chanel Lip Gloss $24, Defying the Boycott . . . Priceless

I find it very ironic & funny that my first blog post is devoted to shopping, but I live for days like this! Anyone who knows me knows I love to shop. Today I had the opportunity to do what I do best as a patriotic duty. The best part was that Allan actually encouraged me to go out an spend money today - I was stunned and had to oblige!

But seriously, this is not just about my fun little excursion to Saks Fifth Avenue. The goal for this boycott was to shut down the American economy by not working, not going to school, and not buying anything. It is sad that illegal immigrants feel emboldened enough to demand citizenship rights that they have not earned. It is even sadder that so many politicians in this State stood in solidarity with the protesters. I felt it necessary to do my small part in opposition to this destructive boycott.

Lynn

A New Team Member On Powder Blue Report

After giving it some serious thought, I have decided to add to the Powder Blue Report blogroll with none other than my better half, Lynn Bartlett. She has been wanting to get more involved in letting her opinions come out and now she is going to get her chance. We are both obviously very Republican and we met back in 1996 at the Westin Hotel the night Bob Dole lost to Bill Clinton. So it was a bad night for the country, but it was a great night for the both of us because we met each other by pure chance there. Lynn will posting as Budgie Bird. She got her nickname from her love of parakeets. I think she is going to be a great addition to this blog. We don't always agree on everything so there will be some good debate between the two of us. She just got back from the mall to make her statement today. So without further ado.....here she is with her first post.

Thank You Maria Bartiromo

This is a funny story. I was trading the E-Mini S&P 500 today like I do everyday. I had shorted a couple of contracts earlier in the day because the market rallied up a little on the open, but then started selling off a little into mid morning. Well the market then was just kinda stuck going nowhere until the CNBC info babe, Maria Bartiromo told all the viewers of a conversation that she had over the weekend at the White House Correspondent's Dinner with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. She told people that the Fed Chairman thought their comments were misinterpreted last week and that they will still raise interest rates if they need to. That was all it took for the stock market to start plummeting immediately. So I just want to send my thanks to Maria and her big mouth. Memo to Ben Bernanke: you might want to make sure you don't say inflammatory things like that in the future lest you value your job. I guess I'll just chalk it up to a rookie mistake. It certainly made for a profitable trade for my clients today though.

My Spending Spree Today

I went to Ralphs after work and loaded up on groceries for a total of $62.71. I emailed my receipt over to John & Ken who are reimbursing people up to $640 of their purchase today. Later today I think I'm heading over to Nordstoms to do some clothes shopping(ouch...I hate shopping for clothes, but it's for a good cause). I also want to comment on the traffic on the way home from work. There was none going both ways! My drive home south from Huntington Beach is usually good, but the other side going north is a always a big cluster f***. There were noticebly less cars on the freeways today. I wish they would protest every day. This was great. BTW, I loved the classic showcase music from "The Price Is Right" being played in the background as one of the boys was in the glass enclosure pulling out another winner. Click here for the cool music

Illegal Alien Appreciation Day

So today is the so called May Day for illegal aliens. Whatever. As I was driving into work to Huntington Beach from Irvine on the 405 this morning, there were Mexican flags unfurled from each overpass as I got to Costa Mesa and exited Beach Blvd. It was a sickening sight. It's a big middle finger to all the immigrants here legally and the American people. I think it is all going to backfire miserably. I can't wait for pictures of all the riots today.