Rolling With Grover Cleveland Fans

The second meeting/party of the Grover Cleveland Social Club was held last night in downtown Fullerton. It appeared that a great time was had by all. You can't beat a night of tasty food, adult beverages, and cigars with opinion leaders, local elected officials and friends from all around Orange County & Southern California.

Register columnist Tibor Machan spoke to us about the duty of police officers to protect our individual rights and not to enforce ridiculous laws.

Another highlight was Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche breaking out one of her Grover Cleveland fight songs that she learned as a child. How she remembered this I will never know, but damn it was good and she received a standing ovation. Look out American Idol.

As the night was ending, it was decided by some in attendence that wouldn't it be great if we could get Ron Paul to come out here to OC at this venue we were at last night for a great big fundraiser/party before the big February 5th California Presidential Primary. I'd love to see that happen. I was also told that many other local elected officials would come out of the woodwork to endorse Ron at this event. I can't say who yet, but it is some big names in OC government.

Art Pedroza of The Orange Juice Blog was also there last night. Check out his report here

Quote Of The Day

The most important thing about money is to maintain its stability… You have to choose between trusting the natural stability of gold and the honesty and intelligence of members of the government. With due respect for these gentlemen, I advise you, as long as the capitalist system lasts, to vote for gold…

George Bernard Shaw

I pulled this quote from one of my favorite websites...Lemetropole Cafe. If you really wanna get to know what is happening in the gold market & financial markets and why it's happening, please go take a visit to the site. It's a pay site, but you can sign up for two weeks free I believe.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

This is a short message to all my loyal readers. I thank you all for continuing to click on my blog for all my cogent takes on what's happening in the world arould us. There never seems to be a dull moment covering politics, especially as we get ready to elect a new President next year. So with Christmas upon us, I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

No Carona Resolutions From GOP Anymore

I'm not making this up. The OC GOP resolutions committee not only voted NO yesterday on the merits of bringing a Carona resignation resolution to the floor at the January meeting, they also voted for a ban on any further resolutions at all regarding the Carona fiasco. That's right, they passed a resolution against making any other resolutions. So now that no more further resolutions will be coming from this committee, I say it's time to disband it. What's the point of even having one. It's obvious it's just a big joke. I'm told that certain people on the committee just don't like resolutions dealing with hard issues. Well boo hoo. This Carona business is just to controversial. Let's just sweep it all under the rug and hunker down in the bunker. Maybe it will all just go away, LOL! I gotta hand it to Mike Schroeder. He has totally Jedi mind tricked a majority on this resolutions committee.

Here's Mike McGill's take on what happened...

The debate was very civil, especially during the first meeting last week, which went almost 2 hours in which Don Daucher (Lynn's husband) and I debated the merits of a number of issues to include the public character assassinations of the Duke Lacrosse Team.

I felt we should be able to discern the differences between students who, while they may be partying, fraternity boys, had no past legal issues and were only 18 to 20 year olds. Duke University ran over them, backed up and kept running over them based on one allegation, without letting them have due process.

Sheriff Carona on the other hand, is a little older and is our top law enforcement officer of Orange County and has had one campfire after another over the past 10 years that has placed way too much smoke in our house.

Yesterday, Mike Schroeder argued [at length] that the indictments were much ado about nothing and he shouldn't be held accountable for 3 people in an organization of 4,200 county-wide.

My resolution was not premised on the indictments, although it certainly added to the concerns we all have. My premise was that:

George Jaramillo - selected by Carona to be his Assistant Sheriff - Convicted
Don Haidl - selected by Mike to be his Assistant Sheriff - Convicted
Christine Murray - [Captain] collecting money for Mike's campaign - Pled to a lesser charge
Joe Cavallo - a lawyer and friend of Mike's - Convicted
Mike Carona - paid $15,000 fine this year for campaign finance problems

...that this partial list either represented poor leadership, poor judgement or both and given all the numerous scandals that have plagued [some of which I don't think are appropriate for public display] are reason enough to call for his resignation...especially when you read the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.

The only reason I brought this forward was because, not once but twice, Mike Carona insisted on our County Republican Party's "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval"!

The meeting finished with a motion to not move my "resignation" resolution forward...good minds can agree to disagree...

Then they moved a motion to the full Central Committee to take no action on any resolutions regarding Sheriff Mike Carona until the trial is over...I'm not sure if I'm breathless about that 4 to 2 vote or the duct tape that seems plastered over our Republican Party's mouth...hard to tell with all this Carona smoke in the room...

Border Fence Gutted By...Open Border Republicans

With friends like Texas GOP Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Jorge Bush on illegal immigration, who needs enemies. The double layered border fence that was approved last year before the election, was gutted in the Omnibus spending bill just approved by Congress. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

I called Congressman John Campbell's office to ask about this and was told the Congressman was very unhappy about this as well. Here is his statement he put out...

Update on the Border Fence


December 19, 2007: Regrettably, it appears that Secretary Chertoff will not have the opportunity to complete the planned 700 mile long, double-walled, pedestrian fence in 2008 due to lack of funding. Despite my vote in opposition, on December 17, 2007 the House passed H.R. 2764, an omnibus spending bill that included 11 appropriations measures. This legislation contained funding for Homeland Security and, more specifically, border security. I voted against this legislation for a number of reasons and was particularly frustrated that Democrat leadership completely failed the American people by drastically under funding the border fence and our border patrol. Additionally, House leadership included intentionally vague language in this bill which will both slow down construction of the fence and reduce it from a double layered wall to a single layer. Instead of taking this opportunity to show unanimous support for securing our open, southern border and encouraging the quick completion of the border fence, the Democrats have chosen to bankrupt the task while simultaneously awarding billions of dollars in worthless earmarks to wasteful projects.

After passing the Senate, H.R. 2764 was sent to the President to be signed into law. While this is a sad day for those of us who understand the need for strict immigration law enforcement and a protected border, it is by no means the end of our effort. Although this bill has hampered construction and extended the timeline for completion, some of the fence will still continue to be built. However, we will need to make legislative changes in the 2008 to ensure that it is completed, double-walled, and properly controlled.

Rest assured, I will continue to fight any further legislative efforts to reduce, eliminate or block funding for the border fence in the House. This fence is a critical portion of my overall commitment to “enforcement-first” immigration policy. I will be monitoring construction progress very closely and will be working to restore border security funding in 2008.

Survivor China Finale

Alright I have to post about this. It'll be short I promise. I can't believe that Todd guy won the thing. Nice mullett there dude. Business in the front...party in the back. Same with that woman Denise. Please someone tell these people that mulletts are not appealing to the eyes, although they do make great fodder for blogs and jokes.

I was pulling for Amanda. It's scary how thin these people get while on the show. That Courtney chick I didn't even recognize at the finale after she finally went home and got to eat. It wasn't the best Survivor series, but it kept me DVRing it the whole season.

Ron Paul Tea Party Aftershocks

What a wild day yesterday. Ron Paul is now the six million dollar man...$6.4 million to be official. He has now raised over $18.2 million for the 4th quarter. The commenter who won the one ounce silver liberty dollar is Hasan who guessed 6.5 million. Hasan...send me an email so we can exchange info.

Last night, Lynn and I attended the first annual OC CRA Christmas party at Emerald Bay Restaurant in Santa Ana. The topic dejour all night was Ron Paul's fundraising numbers for the day. I think it's starting to set in for a lot of traditional/establishment Republicans what kind of grassroots force is out there right now for Ron. I was like a little kid in a candy store at the dinner table checking my treo every ten minutes or so for updates on the fundraising numbers.


The highlight of the night was getting to see a bunch of people from the party get dressed up in traditional Vietnamese gear for a mini fashion show. Lynn was described by the narrator as wearing the "yellow color outfit symbolizing the queen". If that ain't art imitating real life, I don't know what is. That's Debra Pauly in the front of the line, Lynn in the yellow, Steve Knoblock behind her, and Neil Blaise in the blue.

Ron Paul Tea Party Money Bomb Set To Go Off Tonight

Watch here for all the up to minute updates on $$$ raised. My prediction is for $8 million dollars. I am having a contest to see who comes the closest on $$$ raised. The winner will receive a full one ounce silver Liberty Dollar.

Jim Cramer Interviews Ron Paul About The Federal Reserve

This was a great interview that Jim Cramer did with Ron Paul today. It's destined to get hundreds of thousands of views at You Tube.

The Fed Is A Joke

These guys are making it up as they go along. One day it's "let's cut the fed funds rate & discount rate". The next day is..."let's get together all the world central banks and add liquidity". Each new policy announcement is getting more desperate. There are so many hybrid CDOs, SIVs, and random derivatives out there that are illiquid right now that no one knows what they have their hands on anymore. Warren Buffett is right. They are financial weapons of mass destruction. Pretty soon one day this stock market is going to be down 20 to 30% in one day. Mark it down. You couldn't pay me to be long the stock market right now. It's a disaster waiting to happen.

Here is a funny column by Mark Gilbert of Bloomberg that sums up what an annual letter to hedge fund clients might look like. an excerpt...

Dear investor, we'd like to update you on this year's performance of our hedge fund, Short-Term Capital Mismanagement LLP.

Actually, we'd prefer not to. We'd rather disappear. We read somewhere that Panama is a really nice place to retire to, but our lawyer says that would be a bad idea. So here goes.

This has been without doubt the most turbulent period we have experienced in our 15 minutes of multistrategy, multiasset- class, Bentley-driving hedge-fund manager fame.

Our Widows & Orphans Enhanced Money-Market Fund is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. It seems our use of the word ``enhanced'' is deemed incompatible with ``real sorry we gambled that dollar you gave us for safekeeping on collateralized-debt obligations and ended up losing a cent or seven. Or 20. We're not entirely sure yet.''

Our Structured Investment Vehicle has burst its tires and looks like it was designed by a teenager on acid after seeing one too many documentaries about Frank Gehry. Our off-balance sheet conduits have maxed out their MasterCards and every time we try to value them, we are reminded that some things in life really are priceless. Our only investment that made money in December was our long position in Led Zeppelin concert tickets.

Nevertheless, we are proud, nay, ecstatic, nay, absolutely flabbergasted to report that our fund is still sashaying on the dance floor, which looks less and less like a ballroom and more like the aftermath of a frat party.

Thoughts On A Possible Jim Gilchrist vs Loretta Sanchez Race

Yes it's true that Jim Gilchrist is thinking seriously about running against Loretta Sanchez. H/T for Jubal of Red County for posting about this first. I first heard about this three weekends ago while I was helping man a Ron Paul booth at the Gun Show over at the OC Fairgrounds. I spoke with Jim personally while he was manning a Minuteman booth at the same show. We hadn't spoke for awhile, so I just wanted to catch up with him to see how he's been. After the 48th CD special election, we went our separate ways.

He dropped the bombshell on me that he was thinking of running against Loretta Sanchez for Congress. My first thought was...disbelief and then I was asking myself of the why. I'm the first person to say we need a new Congressman from the 47th CD, but Jim Gilchrist is not the first person that comes to mind when one is thinking of viable candidates for this district. I was thinking that I had heard that Van Tran was angling for this seat when he is termed out, but that isn't until 2010. In the meantime, the GOP has to field a candidate in 2008 to run against Loretta. I know one thing for sure. You can't win unless you're in the game. So in that respect, I'm all for him running if he's up to it.

I also knew that Quang X Pham has expressed an interest in running for this seat in the past. In fact I spoke with Quang last week and he says he is also seriously thinking about his own bid. Neither of them live in the district. All the sudden it looks like a free for all for the GOP nomination here. At first glance Quang strikes me as a more legitimate contender for this seat should he get the nomination. He obviously fits the district better because of his amazing life story immigrating from Vietnam and then becoming one of the first Vietnamese-Americans helicopter pilots in our Armed Forces. The district is overwhelmingly ethic Vietnamese and Hispanic with a sprinkling of honkies whites like me mixed in.

That's my take so far on this story. There will be more to come.

****************Wednesday Update*********************

I wanted to add some more background on this possible match up. I had mentioned to Jim that he should hire a consultant with local experience here in OC instead of bringing in some over rated hired gun from out state to bleed him dry like what happened in the 48 CD race a few years ago. He agrees. Some local guys he should think about hiring IMO would be guys like Saulo Londono, Barrett Tetlow, et al. These guys know this district because they came up through Van's farm system to coin a sports phrase and they are burgeoning political consultants in their own right. Jim mentioned that he also asked Jim Lacy to be his Treasurer.

I also counseled him that it would be a good idea to get some feedback from Assemblyman Van Tran and his organization. As much as it pains Van's political adversaries, he has built up quite an impressive organization in Central OC that would be crucial if Jim were to have any success running in the 47th. Van called me up yesterday to tell me that he would be the first one to congratulate Jim if he wins. Van said that he doesn't think anyone is "entitled" to a Congressional seat. A lot of people have the perception that the party has cleared the field for him when he may run in 2010. In the meantime though, we still need to compete against Loretta and you can't win by not being on the ballot. We agreed that next year is probably going to be a tough year for Republicans, so Jim has a steep uphill battle ahead of him.

Lastly, as I noted in a comment below, I think Jim's endorsement of Mike Huckabee is disastrous. Huckabee is George Bush 2.0 on immigration. I haven't spoken to him about this, but it's weird because just last week Jim was asking my opinion of who I think he should endorse for President. I told him that IMO, Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter are arguably the strongest on immigration, but they have no chance of winning. I told him he should seriously think about Ron Paul because at least he has a small chance of pulling out a victory and he is the strongest GOP candidate with a chance to win on immigration. I told him that Huckabee and McCain were the worst on immigration and he said he would call his good friend Congressman Steve King of Iowa for his opinion. My only guess is that Steve King may be endorsing Huckabee and Jim went along with him. IMO though, this endorsement is a slap in the face to everyone who has ever supported Jim and this issue.

New Look For Red County/OC Blog

I have to give props to Red County/OC Blog for their new look. The layout looks good. It looks like they also added some new features. This blog thing is catching I tell you. Congrats to Jubal & team Red County.

Mike Carona Must Resign

I'm getting tired of all the foot dragging in the OC GOP party regarding our "on paid leave because I said so" Sheriff Mike Carona. So are some other people. I have a copy of an updated resignation resolution by Mike McGill that he is sending to resolutions chair Marcia Gilchrist. It reads as follows:

Whereas, Orange County Sheriff Carona has had his two Assistant Sheriffs and a Captain convicted of numerous crimes, demonstrating poor leadership and

Whereas, Sheriff Carona has been publicly linked to an attorney and a businessman that have both been convicted of numerous crimes, demonstrating poor judgment and

Whereas, the Sheriff’s own personal conduct, coupled with the serious federal charges against him, the removal of security clearances and the pending trial are unacceptable conditions for the Sheriff to perform his duties and serve Orange County;

Therefore, be it resolved, that the OCGOP calls upon Michael Carona to immediately resign as Sheriff of Orange County.

In addition to this, I think it's time to start turning up the heat on our GOP elected officials. I will be making some calls and sending out emails to our political servants to ascertain where they all stand on this. It will be a simple yes or no question..."Do you think Mike Carona should resign?" I will be making a list and posting it here soon.

Flip Romney's "Religion" Speech

I have read Flip Romney's speech today given at the Bush Library. It was a good speech as far as speech's go, but one that didn't need to be given IMO. I think his advisors hit the panic button after Huckabee's meteoric rise in the polls in Iowa. We'll know how good of a speech it was by seeing if it gives him any kind of poll bump in Iowa. Mitt is only at 12 to 13% in national polls, but he is "all in" on the first couple of primaries. If he doesn't win Iowa & New Hampshire, he might as well fold up his tent and go back to Massachusetts.

BTW, in case you're wondering, Hugh Hewitt thought the speech was great of course. Here is his money quote...

Mitt Romney's "Faith in America" speech was simply magnificent, and anyone who denies it is not to be trusted as an analyst.

LOL Hugh! Anyone who disagrees w/you is just un-American. Too funny. Hugh is a great contrary indicator. If he thinks it was great, there's a good chance real people either didn't like it or just don't care. I have a few clients like this and one in particular. I know when he puts on a trade that I'm almost guarunteed to win if I do the opposite of him.

Less Than Two Weeks Until The Ron Paul Tea Party

There are almost 25,000k people signed up at the moment for the
Huge Ron Paul Tea Party Fundraiser. I'm guessing that about 30,000 or so people will be officially signed up to donate at least $100 apiece. Dr. Paul stands to raise in the neighborhood of seven million dollars on Dec 16th. It is going to be a day of shock and awe(no pun intended) for the political establishment.

Ramos & Compean Appeal Hearing

This is awesome news. Today wrongly convicted Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos & Jose Compean had their appeal hearing in New Orleans before a three judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. After what went on in the courtroom, we can all rest assured that these two men will be free probably by Christmas if not before that. Here's a little flavor of what went on as reported by Nacho's father in law Joe Loya...

Before three federal judges:

Ramos and Compean's attorney was allowed to speak for one half hour, no interruptions

The prosecuting attorney was interrupted "every three minutes" by all three judges. "The attorney could barely complete sentences without the judges firing away at him."

The judges were familiar, in depth, with the case

They grilled the prosecuting attorney relentlessly on the following:

Why did the government allow Davila to lie under oath Why did the government grant this special immunity Why did the government prosecute law enforcement officers use of a gun using a law designed for criminals Why did the government seal information

Apparently, the judges were merciless on the prosecuting attorney

Johnny Sutton DASHED out of the courtroom - avoiding all reporters

Joe Loya said there will be coverage on Lou Dobbs, Fox 11 did interviews, as well as America's Most Wanted

Hugh Hewitt Plays Whack-A-Mole With Mike Huckabee In Iowa

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I just can't help myself with this story. Karma's a bitch. With Mike Huckabee now leading in the polls in Iowa, it was only a matter of time before Hugh Hewitt would come out and play whack-a-mole with Gov. Huckabee. He's been a great hatchet man for Gov Romney. Hugh of course was famous earlier this year for whacking down John McCain and then of course the Fred Thompson boomlet. He said Fred looked weakened from cancer and was an all around bad choice for the GOP.

Don't get me wrong, I think Gov. Huckabee would be a horrible nominee for the GOP, but it kinda warms my heart to see Hugh & the Romney camp hit the panic button over Huck's meteoric rise in Iowa. Romney has got to be one of the phoniest candidates I have ever seen in politics. That's saying a lot, being that most politicians are de facto phony anyways.

Confirm Jim Rogan

*******************12/3/07 UPDATE ******************************

This post from early September is getting bumped back up to the top of my page. Judge Rogan is in the news lately because it is known now that it is Sen Boxer that has placed a hold on this nomination. Here's the post from a few months ago...

9/10/07...... I ran into former Congressman & current Superior Court Judge Jim Rogan yesterday at the Anaheim Convention Center. It gave me a chance to thank him for his service in the California Legislature and Congress. He saw my Ron Paul button I was wearing and proceeded to tell me the famous Ron Paul Mother Theresa vote back in 1997 I believe. Jim came to Congress with Ron in the class of 1996. In Ron's case, he was coming back to Congress after having previously served three terms. There was a vote in Congress to award Mother Theresa a Congressional Gold Medal. The vote was 434 to 1 with Ron being the only representative to vote No. Jim said he saw Ron sitting in the House chamber after the vote and went up to him to ask him why he cast his vote the way he did. Ron said that he had written a check for $500 out of his own pocket to give Mother Theresa a gold medal, but it is not in the Constitution to award gold medals to other people and that is why he voted no. To my knowledge, no other rep. gave money out of their own pocket like Ron did. Judge Rogan said he enjoyed serving with Ron immensely. I asked him about why he is not yet on the District Court bench yet. After all he was nominated back in January of this year by President Bush to serve on the Central District Court. I think Sen. Boxer & Feinstein have holds on his nomination as payback for Judge Rogan's role in the impeachment of Bill Clinton, but no one can be sure since these holds are "secret". I asked Judge Rogan about his opinion of this. He smiled at me and said he knows what's going on but he is apolitical now because he is a judge...wink, wink. I'm with you Judge Rogan. These holds are ridiculous. Memo to Sen. Boxer & Feinstein....release these holds and let the Judge have an up or down vote. Orange County needs him on the federal bench.

Fire Karl Dorrell

This should not be a hard decision for UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. The Bruin football team has under achieved for all five years of Coach Dorrell's tenure. By losing yesterday, Karl sealed his own fate. Heck, even had he won, AD Guerrero had plenty of ammo to cut him loose after the season. The team is 6 and 6 this year. I don't even know if this makes them eligible for some kind of "Toilet Bowl" or not. The fact is, Karl needs to get his resume up to date because he's is so outta Westwood. Who should the Bruins bring in? I want someone with head coaching experience. Here's what they are saying over at Bruin Nation. Pretty much what I just said.

So congrats SC fan on another UCLA notch in your belt. I'm sorry we didn't provide much competition yesterday.

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor Endorses Ron Paul

I've admired Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor the last few years. He's my type of politician. He's been a great independent voice for Costa Mesa. From his crackdown on illegal immigration in the city to his support of Lt. Bill Hunt over corrupt OC Sheriff Mike Carona, Mayor Mansoor has proven himself to be a voice the citizens can count on for important issues. This leads me to the reason for the post. I got a call from the Mayor tonight as Lynn and I were driving to a Christmas party down in Oceanside at some friends' house. Mayor Mansoor said he is endorsing Ron Paul for President. You talk about being pleasantly surprised. I was elated to hear this. Here is the Mayor's official statement that he authorized me to post...

I trust Ron Paul. The other Democrat and "Republican" candidates are all the same business as usual. They all represent more of the same big unresponsive government. We need to get back to the founding principles of limited government.

It's short and sweet. Did I mention how much I like principled politicians. Thank you Mr. Mayor for your outstanding leadership.