It's Hell Week In The Bartlett House

It's that time of the year again. That's right, time to get my hopes up about a UCLA upset of crosstown rival University of Spolied Children in football this Saturday. SC needs a win to secure their spot in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio St. UCLA is just playing for bragging rights and a chance to be in one of the Toilet Bowls. As most know from the name of my blog, I'm a huge UCLA fan through thick & thin(mostly thin lately!) and Lynn is a huge SC fan. Don't ask me why this happened...that is, how she came to love SC, but she does and that's what makes this week hell week in our house. I'll spend my entire week taunting her with my UCLA smack and USC jokes. I should let up a little though because it is also our fifth wedding aniversary Friday for which we are celebrating this weekend. I'm guessing UCLA will be at least a two touchdown underdog. I might just put some cash on the line to see if my gutty little Bruins can at least cover the spread. It will be a moral victory. Nah, who am kidding. I will settle for nothing less than a victory. It's long overdue.

Local Blogger Under Suspicion

So I get into work this morning, fire open my copy of the Register and find this gem of a story about local blogger Chris Prevatt of The Liberal OC. Chris works for the county health agency and is accused of blogging on the taxpayers dime. This is an interesting story on a number of levels. My first impression of reading the piece is that county workers should be doing their jobs we're paying them for and not blogging on the internet unless they have permission from their boss. Somehow I don't think that permission would be granted. Having said this, I don't think Chris should be retaliated against for what he said in any of his posts. Anyone should be free to speak their mind on the net even if he didn't have any nice things to say about his bosses at the BOS.

I'm lucky that I work for myself. I can blog whenever I like about any subject that interests me without anyone looking over my shoulder. I think what should happen in this case is that Mr. Prevatt be issued a warning. No more blogging on company time.

Ron Paul Tribute To Milton Friedman

As most know who read this blog, Rep. Ron Paul(R) of Texas is my favorite Congressman. He fights for what is right all the time. He has penned a tribute to the late Milton Friedman. They disagreed on a few matters of economic policy like the gold standard(Paul is pro GS, MF was anti GS) and the Federal Reserve(Paul is anti FR, MF is pro FR), but Rep Paul agrees that Milton Friedman was probably the most important economist in the 20th Century from a freedom point of view. Here is his column...

Milton Friedman 1912-2006


November 20, 2006

The death of economist Milton Friedman last week at the age of 94 marks a great loss for advocates of freedom everywhere. He was perhaps the most successful free-market economist of the 20th century, in terms of his real-world impact on politics and policy. Many modern politicians, including Ronald Reagan, considered him a major influence in their careers.

Milton Friedman was a strong advocate of economic liberty who opposed government intervention in both the purely economic and broader social spheres of our society. He believed not only in laissez-faire capitalism, but also the larger cause of individual liberty in the political sense.

I was proud to know Dr. Friedman for many decades, and considered him a friend. I can assure you that he was no ivory tower academic, but rather an engaging and active man who worked very hard to demonstrate the applicability of economics to everyday life.

His death only underscores the sad lack of economics knowledge in Washington, however. Many of our elected officials at every level have no understanding of economics whatsoever, yet they wield tremendous power over our economy through taxes, regulations, and countless other costs associated with government. They spend your money with little or no thought given to the economic consequences of their actions. It is indeed a tribute to the American entrepreneurial spirit that we have enjoyed such prosperity over the decades; clearly it is in spite of government policies rather than because of them.

The truth is that many politicians and voters essentially believe in a free lunch. They believe in a free lunch because they don't understand basic economics, and therefore assume government can spend us into prosperity. This is the fallacy that pervades American politics today.

Our schools teach children virtually nothing about economics and personal finance, which leaves them woefully unprepared for the working world. It also creates whole generations of young Americans who are incredibly vulnerable to the worst pandering politicians.

We cannot suspend the laws of economics or the principles of human action any more than we can suspend the laws of physics. Yet this is precisely what Congress attempts to do time and time again, no matter how many times history proves them wrong or economists easily demonstrate the harms caused by a certain policy. The nation would be well-served if Congress spent more time reading the works of Milton Friedman, and less time worrying about petty party spoils.

Yes I'm Still Here

A couple of my loyal readers emailed me and asked about why there were no posts for a week. I thank you for your concern. I was very busy at work last week and I just wanted to take a break from posting. I should be back to regular posting this week.

I spent the weekend house cleaning with Lynn. With no maid and both of us busy during the last week with work and political stuff, house matinence suffered. So since we have company coming over Thursday for Thanksgiving, we figured we should get the house back to normal if possible. There's still a few things that need be taken care of, but we managed to clean most of the things that were pressing.

Locally it looks like Lynn Daucher is going to lose to Lou Correa. While it would have been nice to have an extra GOP vote in the State Senate for bargaining position, it's not a big loss philosphically for me and other conservatives.

Now the race is going to be on for filling Lou's Supervisor seat. There will be lots of jockeying for that race as well as another special election to boot. Thank god our part of OC is not involved. I've had enough special elections to last me for awhile.

Hillary Care 2.0

The ink is not even dry on the Democrats newly won majority in Congress and already Hillary is boasting of bringing back her disastrous health care plan circa the early nineties. Yes that's right cradle to grave universal care is back on Hillary's agenda. Here's the key quote from the article...

"Health care is coming back," Clinton warned, adding, "It may be a bad dream for some."

Not at all Senator Clinton. Republicans welcome this debate. It won't take long to remind the American people how wacky you guys are.

I guess she's not going to run for President. She has to portray herself as a centrist(even though she's a bleeding heart liberal) to have any shot of winning her life's dream of becoming the first female President. I'm sure Bill will put this failed health care idea out of her head. After all, Bubba wants back into the action himself. He's already dreaming of all the portly interns he's sure to bust a move' on if Hillary wins. I say let her bring back Hillary care. All it will do is remind people of how socialistic these people really are.

I'm Drawing A Line In The Sand Right Now

I just saw the headline over at the Drudgereport that Sen. McCain is already starting the machinations to run for President. I'm here to tell you that this can not and will not stand. I will never support someone like McCain who has done so much to undermine our party the last few years. He gives egomaniacs a bad name. Sure let him run and waste his and his supporters money. It will be fun watching him get defeated again. I can't wait to give the middle finger to the drive by media who just adores this guy.

OCC Student Trustees Ban Pledge Of Allegiance

I was surfing the net tonight and came across this local story on Yahoo News. Apparently some hippie socialist student trustees ovet Orange Coast College find the Pledge of Allegiance offensive or something. Ahhhh to be young and stupid. At least one student trustee is having none of the ban...

"America is the one thing I'm passionate about and I can't let them take that away from me," 18-year-old political science major Christine Zoldos told Reuters.

Good for Ms Zoldos. I'm sure once this news starts getting out, it is going to generate a lot of bad publicity for the school whether they like it or not. We don't ask for much to be a citizen of this great country, but swearing allegiance is one of the requirements. If you don't like this country....don't let the door hit you on the way out.

GOP Has Lost Touch With The People

If I get a dollar hearing one more time from friends in the GOP that they didn't see this day coming, I will be a rich man. The election yesterday was a vote against Republicans plain & simple. The Democrats were the beneficiaries of the GOP straying from our core principles. The voters were in a foul mood and they "tossed the bums out" as the saying goes. It wasn't rocket science why we lost. My party became arrogant with power. The War in Iraq quagmire, out of control spending, failure to secure the borders, and corruption were the big main issues that we failed on as I see it. Now we will have a few years to see if we can get back on the right path. The Democrats are sure to overplay their hand. They just happened to be at the right place at the right time and benefited by not having an "R" next to their name.

The first order of business is to fire all the leaders in the party that got us to this point. Since we can't fire the President(he's a lame duck anyways now), we should start by demanding all new leaders in the House & Senate. Mike Pence or John Shadegg would be my choice for minority leader. I'm not sure who I prefer to lead us in the Senate, but thank god Bill Frist decided to retire. He was worthless.

I predicted a 22 seat loss in the House and a four seat loss in the Senate. It looks like I'll be off by 2 in the Senate and off by about 8 in the House.

Link For State and OC Races

California statewide results


Orange County Results

Irvine Turnout Update

I just checked in with my polling place which was The Turtle Rock Community Center and Bonita Canyon Elementary for a turnout update. I'm pleasantly shocked at the requested absentee ballot %. I want to give thanks to all the hard working Republican volunteers in Irvine. It looks like our effort to get as many of our fellow GOP voters to vote absentee is going to pay huge dividends. These precincts have big GOP registration advantages to the tune of about 52% to 30% with the balance as DTS, libertarian, Green, etc.As of about 3:30pm, these are the numbers:

Turtle Rock Community Center.....2254 total registered voters(this is a combined precinct which accounts for the large # of registered voters)

Absentee ballots requested(permanent and non permanent)...46%

Walk up vote.......425 out of 2254 or 18.8%


Bonita Canyon Elementary........786 registered voters

Absentee ballots requested.......49%

Walk up vote......175 out of 786 or 22.2%

The Plan For Today

I have actually taken the day off today and tomorrow from work to do some final electioneering type stuff. Tomorrow is a day for relaxation and recovery. A little later this afternoon I will go vote at my precinct and get an idea of what the election day turnout is looking like. My guess is that absentee voting will be about 45-50% of the total votes cast. It's much more convienent for people to vote this way, but still like to go to the polls to vote. The weather is perfect today. It's the begining of November and we are supposed to have near record high temperatures. This is what California is all about for me.

After voting is complete tonight, Lynn and I will making our way over to the Hyatt Irvine for the OC GOP's election night party. I hope there will lots to be happy about, but there's sure to be some bitter defeats as well. So if you're in the area, stop by the Hyatt tonight and we'll tip a few cold ones.

Art Olivier For Governor

I hate to do this, but this post has been gnawing away at me for awhile and it had to be written. I want to first say that there are some good reasons to vote for Arnold Schwarzeneggar for Governor, but there are a lot more reasons to vote against him and for Art Olivier in my opinion.

First the good reasons:

Arnold has helped energize the GOTV effort with his 48 statewide Victory offices. The campaign operation and execution has been world class. He's going to have coattails for some of the downticket races. He has raised a lot of $$$ for the party and the GOTV operation. He will be a decent goalie for all the liberal/hippie/socialistic bills continuing to flow out of the Legislature. He's not Phil Angelides. All of these are good reasons to vote for him.

Next the bad:

Where to begin here. He renounced support for Prop 187, pro amnesty for illegals, announced opposition to Prop 90, he's in favor of the horrible bond initiatives, excessive spending, not controlling rate of gov. growth, Susan Kennedy, signed the huge global warming job killer bill, increased minimum wage, appointed Democrats to fill judgeships, etc.

The ugly:

This last year was just a wholesale sellout to Republican principles. We might as well have not recalled Gray Davis because we're getting the same thing out of Arnold right now that Gray Davis was doing.

I was prepared to be pragmatic and actually vote for Arnold if the polls looked a little tighter per a deal I have with Arnold Victory 06 staffer Todd Craney. Since however he is going to win in a landslide, I am free to vote my conscience and punch the electronic chad for Art Olivier. So to all my Republican friends who are torn who to vote for and may not want to admit in a public forum who they are voting for.....just remember, it's a SECRET BALLOT! Vote your conscience on this one and show AS how disappointed you are in him as Governor. Maybe if he sees a large enough protest vote like this, he will remember what it means to be a Republican.

My National Predictions For Tomorrow

I want to start with my national predictions for who I think will control Congress next year year. I'm taking my cue from Tradesports. Markets in general tend to be efficient, especially betting markets. A great example is how close the football handicappers get every week on the point spreads. It's scary sometimes how close they come to the outcome. Right now the chances for GOP control of the House is only at a 22 bid right now or 22% of retaining control. The Senate is a lot better at 76% chance of keeping GOP control(liberals still control the Senate though with all the RINOs supporting Dem. principles like amnesty, tax increases, etc). As far as numbers go, again I will take my cue from Tradesports. I will predict a 22 seat pickup for the Dems in the House and a five seat pickup for them in the Senate.

My hope is that our GOTV will limit the Dem gains in the House to around the 218-225 area. There has been rumblings that some current and newly elected conservative Dem House members will not vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. If that happens, look for both caucuses to scamble for party switchers or deals made to solidify the Speakership. It could be very interesting.

Duong, Shea, Mavity Campaign Signs Stolen

In addition to team crony being shown to be a bunch of racists, we can also add to the list of them or their supporters as being thieves as well. It's a perfect metaphor for the team crony campaign. They are stealing Irvine's dream and trying to turn our city into a Los Angeles south. These weren't just ordinary signs, they were bigger and had more visability and took a lot of time to set up. We will be filing a police report.

John Duong Press Release About Racist Krom Mailer

For Immediate Release

November 4, 2006

John Duong for Mayor Campaign
Contact: Charlene Hatakeyama
949-861-8643 or 714-337-9338, or
John Duong - 714-654-6980

Dirty Tricks Cross the Line, Prompting Legal Action

Irvine, Calif. – Beth Krom, Irvine Mayoral candidate, and her political allies have mailed a defamatory “hit piece” that libels opponent John Duong.

The unprecedented personal attack may prompt multiple legal actions against Krom and her supporters, including the publishers of the “Common Sense Voting Guide.” It was printed and mailed by an Irvine business with ties to Krom and Irvine Councilman Larry Agran. “Unfortunately, I must explore a lawsuit since my character has been deliberately and falsely attacked,” said John Duong, candidate for Irvine Mayor.

The flyer purposefully tries to deceive Irvine voters about the occupation of Mr. Duong. The flyer also falsely accuses him of mismanaging business properties in Westminster. In fact, Mr. Duong’s consultation role with his company does not involve any property management. The mailer goes on to accuse Mr. Duong’s company of incurring health and building code violations, which are also not part of Mr. Duong’s oversight. It also impugns the reputation of several small businesses in Westminster. Many of these businesses are family owned and operated. It characterizes these small business owners as “frequent violators of health, safety and building codes.”

Westminster Councilman Kermit Marsh said, “I am offended by this inappropriate attack upon my constituents. One would have thought the Irvine political establishment would have learned its lesson after insulting the Taiwanese American community. Apparently, they consider all Asian Americans to be fair game. We do not tolerate this kind of racism in Westminster, and I am disappointed to learn that it is condoned by the Irvine political establishment.”

Councilman Andy Quach of Westminster said, “This is dirty politics that hits below the belt. John Duong is one of our most trusted and honest business leaders in the City. This brochure shows a complete disregard for ethics, which is consistent with the present Irvine City Council majority. They must be afraid of losing something very dear to their livelihood.”

Assemblyman Van Tran said, “I am disappointed in this tactic by Beth Krom and her political friends. John Duong is a respected businessman whose work in Westminster has helped to make the city a better place.” Assemblyman Tran’s district includes the cities of Westminster and Fountain Valley.

“The Krom/Agran machine will do anything to win,” said Duong. “Krom and her political friends are avoiding the important issues facing voters, like traffic and overdevelopment. Instead, they are engaging in false personal smears.”

John Duong was selected by the President of the United States to be the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Duong, a Vietnamese immigrant who embodies the American Dream, also worked on the staff of former Governor Pete Wilson. For accurate information on Mr. Duong, voters should visit his campaign web site: John Duong For Mayor

I'm guessing we won't be seeing state DOJ agents charging into Beth Krom's campaign office anytime soon over this mailer. Maybe Bruce McPherson can summon the courage to send out a letter from his office like he did in the Tan Nguyen case and warn Irvine voters that laws may have broken by team crony. Who am I kidding. He's only worried about the mythical "hispanic vote", so he won't do anything.

John Duong Viciously Attacked By Beth Krom

Just a few more days my fellow Irvine residents. That's right, just a few more days until the corrupt crony machine of Beth Krom, Sukhee Kang, and Mary Ann Gaido are defeated. The machine is in its death throws right now. That is why they viciously attacked John Duong as wanting to bring Asian gangs into Irvine. I feel really sad for Beth Krom that she resorted to this type of smear, but I guess I'm not surprised. I think its going to backfire big time on them. It's also a stupid boneheaded political move on her part. Asians are the fastest growing demographic in Irvine. Beth is not endearing herself to them by doing this. Any one who wants to view the mailer can do so by clicking this link that our fine Assemblyman Chuck DeVore has posted over at OC Blog.

More Posts Later Today

Between work and campaign stuff, I haven't had much of a chance to post here in the last few days. I'll have some stuff up hopefully later today about my take on the state of the race here in Irvine and around the state.