Seriously, does he even know who I am (or actually the account is iepoliticscom)?  What the heck does he think we are going to do with his tweets?  For crying out loud, is he doing a Weiner and sending out tweets of his private parts to his guy friends and think we will somehow intercept them?  What does he have to hide?

Granted, I think he is a total hypocrite for the stance Republican leaders have taken against homosexual issues when so many of them are homosexual themselves.  I take issue with how exclusive Republican leaders are towards minorities.  And I think as California chairman, Nehring single handedly ran the party into the ground.  But I don’t believe we have ever really expressed much of that on this blog. So, it really makes you wonder why he would block his tweets from a tiny blog in Southern California who has never had him on our radar.

(APPLE VALLEY, CA) – Angel’s Roadhouse once again hosted Americans for America, a faith-based offshoot of the Tea Party.  Angel’s is a western-themed steakhouse complete with full bar and a dance floor.  The Christian-based group meets in the dance floor area of the establishment, next to the bar where the restaurant’s non-Tea Party patrons get a dose of preaching, prayer, and patriotism whether they think they need it or not.  Most seem to take it in stride and some even join in for the prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, and singing of a patriotic anthem.  Last night it was “God Bless America” that could be heard throughout the dancehall.

Joseph Brady, president of The Bradco Companies, a high desert commercial real estate group, and a member of the Victor Valley College Board of Trustees spoke first.  He discussed the local housing market, economy, and employment.

Not to long ago I learned that Charles Munger gave a large amount of money to the Republican Party in San Bernardino County.  My friends who attend the meetings told me it didn’t seem that big of a deal to their chairman.  I’ve heard and read about some controversy with Munger and I was just curious if you’ve heard anything about Munger trying to pull strings in the local GOP?

I recently started producing a public affairs television show called FOCUS: Inland Empire that airs on public access. We did our first episode on the Citizens’ Redistricting Commission and our latest episode last month was titled Red/Blue County with our guests GOP Chair Robert Rego and Dem Chair Ron Wall.

We aim to be neutral and educate viewers on the current events happening in the Inland Empire, in short, being another outlet for getting information out there.

I’d appreciate it if you can help us with a plug and post to the latest episode link.

Most importantly, if you can provide us some feedback and potential guests that your readers would want to see. If you’re willing, I’d also like to do an episode on iepolitics.com.

Thanks,

Robert Garcia
Host/Producer
FOCUS: Inland Empire

At this point Cain is my choice.  I can’t explain it exactly but he reminds me so much of former President Ronald Reagan in many ways.  Bill has a good story about today’s Florida results on his blog:  Herman Cain

Read more: The Capistrano Dispatch – Capistrano Couple in Legal Battle for Hosting Bible Study in Home

I get really confused as to when these bills are dead forever and when they can come back.  This is the current status:

	CURRENT BILL STATUS

MEASURE	:  S.B. No. 124
AUTHOR(S)	:  De León.
TOPIC	:  Ammunition.
HOUSE LOCATION	:  ASM
+LAST AMENDED DATE  :  04/25/2011

TYPE OF BILL :
                Active
                Non-Urgency
                Non-Appropriations
                Majority Vote Required
                State-Mandated Local Program
                Fiscal
                Non-Tax Levy

LAST HIST. ACT. DATE:  08/25/2011
LAST HIST. ACTION   :  Set, second hearing. Held in committee and under
	submission.
COMM. LOCATION	:  ASM APPROPRIATIONS

TITLE	:  An act to amend Sections 189, 12022.2, 16650, 16660,
	30315, 30320, and 30325 of the Penal Code, relating to
	ammunition.

Maybe someone could enlighten us as to both what the status means and whether this author is being reactionary or has a valid argument.  Anyway, here is the article.

http://hunt.976-tuna.com/news.php?item.663.11

Sat Jul 09 2011, 11:04AM

Bill in California legislature would effectively ban all rifle ammunition

The latest legislation working its way through the California legislature would effectively ban rifle shooting and hunting in California by making the ammunition illegal.

My reading of SB 124, authored by the vehemently anti-gun Kevin De Leon, is that it would ban the sale of most rifle ammunition in California under some clever loopholes written into the bill. The legislation SAYS it’s trying to update and redefine handgun ammunition that can penetrate bulletproof vests worn by law enforcement so bad guys can’t legally possess this ammunition. So it redefines handgun ammunition as any ammunition that may be fired in a handgun or any weapon concealable on a person.

Two points, since there are at least two or three single-shot handguns on the market that are chambered for virtually all ammunition primarily designed for rifles, the redefinition would include virtually all ammunition made “primarily” for rifles. Second, since almost all rifle ammunition is powerful enough to penetrate all body armor, the bill would then ban nearly all rifle ammunition.

While most rifle ammunition was not “designed” to penetrate police vests, it certainly is capable of that task. For example, almost all .308, .30-06, .223, and similar popular ammunition designed for big game and varmint hunting and target shooting can shoot through a supposedly bulletproof vest.

De Leon will say they’ve changed the existing provisions in the old law, which carefully defined body armor-piercing handgun ammunition so it didn’t include rifle ammunition, by deleting the words “capable of penetrating” and inserting “designed to penetrate” in the law. But I can tell you with certainty that judges and attorney generals in this state will say that you can’t buy, sell, or shoot any ammunition which could be used in a handgun that will penetrate body armor.

Yet, this bill has passed the California Senate and is being heard in the assembly.

This, my friends, is the latest back-door attempt to ban hunting and shooting in this state. Ironically, a lot of us thought it would be handguns that would be banned first in California, but this bill would effectively ban the shooting of most rifles because the ammunition would be illegal to possess. You could still have the guns, but the ammunition would be illegal. And most handguns and ammunition would still be legal.

You just can’t make up stupidity like this. It has to come from the California legislature.

Meanwhile, in Arizona….

NEW ARIZONA LAW OPENS UP VAST HUNTING AREAS: California hunters have lost vast areas where they formerly were able to hunt in this state because of regulations and ordinances passed by cities and counties that banning shooting or hunting in areas of their jurisdiction. Frequently those rules are not in concert with state regulations governing hunting and shooting. And even more frequently, they are motivated by anti-gun and anti-hunting sentiment and not by public safety concerns.

The same thing was happening with alarming frequency in Arizona, and that state’s legislature passed a law in the most recent session (Arizona SB 1334) that prohibits municipalities and counties from enacting any ordinance, rule, or regulation limiting the take of wildlife during an open hunting season established by the Arizona Fish and Game Commission.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission is now solely responsible for closing areas or restricting the types of firearms that can be used within municipal and county boundaries. It’s a good rule that stops an anti-gun or anti-hunting town council or county supervisors from closing off vast areas to hunting under the guise of public safety. As in California, local politicians often made closures that far exceeded the state discharge of firearm rules (150 yards from an occupied dwelling and not shooting across a roadway, the same as California). It took San Bernardino County 20 years to publish a new county shooting map book that covered all the various ordinances within the county, and a lot of huge areas with open space that could be open to hunting have been closed over the years. Needlessly. Before the publication of this new shooting map, it was often impossible to determine what areas were legal. Hunters in Arizona were facing the same kinds of problems, and the legislature went for the statewide fix.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission showed it was going to wield this new responsibility wisely when it voted in late June (just after the law went into affect) to keep vast urban areas in the Valley of the Sun (greater Phoenix region) closed to all firearm discharge. But now the rules are uniform and the boundaries are clear and well-defined by the Commission.

The bill also opened up vast rural and open space areas to hunters and the Commission has said it will keep those places open unless cities and counties can demonstrate a real need for the closures.

“This change in the law once again opens up tracts of open, uninhabited and undeveloped public land and State Trust land within the municipalities to hunting,” said Leonard Ordway, the assistant director for the Field Operations Division of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “Hunters will also find the return of hunting opportunities on those highly productive yet un-posted agricultural lands within municipalities.”

There has been some howling from the anti-gun, anti-hunting community that this bill is like putting the inmates in charge of the asylum. The analogy is more accurately described as putting the doctors, the professionals, back in charge of the asylum.

A similar bill is needed in California, but we don’t have the legislature with the intelligence to author and pass such a bill nor a Fish and Game Commission with the spine to implement it correctly.

Sat Jul 09 2011, 11:04AM by TC
Posted in JIM MATTHEWS

Then read the article:  Huffington Post

I guess the dismal economy is finally affecting even the Dems, or should I say they are finally voting with their pocketbooks.  Of course, Obama will take California but much of the rest of the country seems to be wising up.  Politically speaking, next year is going to be a fun year, if we survive this year, that is.

If you have not called, the number is (916) 445-2841.  They have a line set up just for the Dream Act.  You never speak to a real person.  You first press one (1) for English, then two (2) to express your opinion on a bill, then one (1) for Dream Act, and then one (1) if you are in favor of it two (2) if you are against it.

At that point they tell you the governor appreciates your input or some other such nonsense, thanks you, and hangs up.  It takes about 30 seconds to go through the process.

The system is up 24/7.  If you want to talk to a real person, that option is available but you got to call during regular business hours and I seriously doubt they will be happy to talk to you.

From what I gather, Rush Limbaugh calls her “Moochelle Obama.”  In the comments on the article, some refer to her “Let them eat cake” attitude towards American citizens and changed it to “Moochelle Antoinette.” Somehow, that hits it on the head.  She is a combination of tacky, entitlement, and elitist.

There is a list of presidents for whom I have no respect.  Moochelle is the first First Lady.

Nile Gardiner at The Telegraph offered the White House some advice today. If the Obama Administration really wanted to cut spending they could start by reining in on Michelle Obama.
The Telegraph reported:

With the United States facing a national debt of more than $14 trillion, the largest since World War Two, wouldn’t it make sense for the White House itself to start trimming its own spending? A good place to begin cutting would be Michelle Obama’s rather generous vacation programme. Keith Coffler, who edits the influential White House Dossier, notes that Michelle Obama spent no less than 42 days on vacation over the past year – that’s one in every nine days:

Her vacations, the cost of which are mostly borne by taxpayers, include trips to Panama City, Fla., Martha’s Vineyard, Hawaii, South Africa, Latin America, Vail, Colo., and her visit this week to her brother in Corvallis, Ore.

The total does not include a nine day sojourn in Martha’s Vineyard that the Obamas will enjoy this month. Nor does it include a trip she made to Ireland and Great Britain in May, which I’m counting as official travel.

As Coffler points out, there is a significant cost to the public purse:

Taxpayers pick up most of the cost of transporting the first lady and her extensive entourage – including Secret Service and her staff – to her various destinations. While she may in some cases pay some of the tab for her personal expenses and travel, the amount is dwarfed by the overall cost to the public.

It is unclear what the total cost to the taxpayer actually amounts to. According to one estimate provided by the Daily Mail, the First Lady stands accused by sources inside the White House of spending “$10 million of US taxpayers’ money on vacations alone in the past year.” Judging by the amount of vacation time Michelle Obama has taken and the level of security and staffing that she has, this sounds like a plausible figure. It would be in the public interest to have the exact numbers provided by the White House so that Americans know precisely how much of their money is being spent on vacations.

There does appear to be an unhealthy sense of entitlement on the part of the First Lady, which seems in poor taste at a time when 14 million Americans are out of work, the housing market is collapsing, and the United States is facing the strong possibility of a double-dip recession.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Tim and I did an excellent job of ignoring one another (actually I have no clue if he even remembers me as we have only met a few times).  As much as I have had issues with Tim, I can honestly say I was impressed tonight.

Anyway, this Tea Party group seemed to consist of normal people and not all the whack jobs that usually attend high desert tea parties.  Here is a link:  Americans for America Tea Party

VA QUAKE BREAKING NEWS: The USGS has determined that the epicenter of the earthquake was in a cemetery just outside of DC. The cause appears to be our founding fathers rolling over in their graves.

By Rachel Rose Hartman | The Ticket – Wed, Aug 17, 2011

In an op-ed article in the New York Times, Robert D. Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard, and David E. Campbell, a political scientist at Notre Dame, say they have collected data indicating that the tea party is “less popular than much maligned groups like ‘atheists’ and ‘Muslims.’”

But Campbell says the tea party was really an afterthought in their research.

“We didn’t go into this study to look at the tea party,” Campbell said in an interview with The Ticket.

The professors were following up on research they conducted in 2006 and 2007 for their book “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” and decided to add the tea party and atheists to their list of survey queries. By going back to many of the same respondents, the professors gleaned several interesting facts about the tea party.

One of their more surprising findings, Campbell concedes, (and one drawing national attention) is that the tea party drew a lower approval rating than Muslims and atheists. That put the tea party below 23 other entries–including Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Republicans and Democrats–that the professors included on their survey of “a representative sample of 3,000 Americans.”

By examining which respondents became supporters of the tea party, Campbell and Putnam’s survey “casts doubt on the tea party’s ‘origin story,’ ” they write in the Times–though, in fairness, it’s perhaps difficult to generalize on the movement’s origins from a poll sample of 3,000 respondents.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Former First Lady Betty Ford

(Rancho Mirage) – Former First Lady Betty Ford passed away today at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.  Family friend and chairman emeritus of the Ford Foundation, Marty Allen, confirmed her death.  She was 93.  Her cause of death has not yet been announced.

Mrs. Ford was one of the nation’s most outspoken first ladies.  Her candor on such issues as abortion and premarital sex made headlines in 1970s as women were first achieving equality. “Having babies is a blessing, not a duty,” she once stated, taking a stance opposite of the president.

Mrs. Ford was best known for publicly admitting her addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs after family members performed a formal intervention.  After a weeklong detoxification process, she entered the Long Beach Naval Hospital’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.  At the facility she had to room with five other women and work the program like any other patient, including completing daily chores such as cleaning restrooms.

I really like Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone’s idea that part of California succeed from the state.  However, I would split the state up differently.

Instead of “North California” and “South California,” I would propose “East California” and “the People’s Republic of West California.”  West California would consist of all coastal counties from Los Angeles to the northern border.  If there were any congruous counties that wanted to be part of the west they could.  Orange, San Diego, and all inland counties would be part of East California.

Under my plan, West California would be free to pay all the taxes they wanted; give illegals free health care, education, housing, and food; ban circumcision of newborn male babies; outlaw chocolate milk in schools; add sushi to school menus; charge a fee for plastic bags; take away everyone’s personal vehicles and force mass transit ridership; and control their lives in every other way they want.

I would suggest a thick, high wall be placed between the border of the two states.  East California would have a brand new constitution whereby we could include concepts such as pension reform, union reform, a 3/4ths vote of the citizenry for any fee, tax, etc., a sales tax of say 5 percent, and a prohibition of the East California governor every saying to the West California governor, “Mr. Brown, tear down that wall.”

Bill set me an article on Reed’s latest group and I was going to post it.  However, Bill then asked me to post it to his site so I’m linking instead. I think it is interesting, especially in light of the current Tea Party movement.  Here is the story.

Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk has had a dramatic few days, and now a popular gay blogger known for outing politicians claims to have sources confirming that Kirk is a closeted gay man.

Before the February Illinois primary, Kirk, a Republican vying for President Obama’s former senate seat, faced attacks from birther Andy Martin claiming that Kirk was gay. Kirk denied the claims, but now faces an attempted outing from the other side–the gay community.

Activist blogger Mike Rogers tends to target politicians with antigay voting records, and “outed” Sen. Larry Craig and Rep. Mark Foley. He was also featured in the film “Outrage” where he discussed closeted politicians who work against the gay community. In a Tuesday post on Rogers’ BlogActive, he explained why he decided to bring up Kirk’s sexuality now:

Until now, Mark Kirk elected not to play the typical Washington game. Instead of supporting his party’s dismal record on gay rights, Kirk received Human Rights Campaign ratings of 67% in 2002, 88% in 2004, 76% in 2006 and 85% in 2008. That’s more impressive than a lot of Democrats. I even let Kirk slide by when he didn’t co-sponsor earlier legislation relating to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. My thoughts then were that he wasn’t THAT bad on gay stuff and that the bill was going nowhere anyway.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

An Open Letter to President Obama: Do Your Part to Protect California

I’ve been on the Fred Karger for President mailing list for some time now.   He is an openly gay Republican, which is unusual as half the ranking male members of the party are closeted gays, living a double life because of their fear of the extreme right.  Here is a little more information on Karger.

And here is his latest video:

A couple of years ago the Chaffey Club made national news with the “Obama Bucks,” which featured a picture of Obama on a food stamp with fried chicken, Kool-aid and watermelon.  Although highly offensive, I do believe that some of the ladies in that age group had no clue about the racist aspect of the cartoon.  I know my mom would never have figured it out.  So, although I can’t excuse what happened then, I can at least feel it was possibly an honest mistake.

However, the latest Republican fiasco in Orange County is anything but an honest mistake.  This is flat out outrageous.  I heard about it on the radio earlier this evening but the description did not do the picture justice.  I, for one, am sick of the bigoted, racist Tea Party wackos.  I mean we have got the nut jobs handing out anti-Semitic literature at the SBGOP meetings, this crap at the OCGOP, Obama Bucks at RWF, High Desert Tea Partiers who more worried about rats than human dignity in Hesperia, and the same group acting like obnoxious hoodlums at Victorville City Council meetings.  Enough is enough.  Time for them to go away or go form a real party of their own dedicated to the wack jobs of the world.

OC Republican Receiving Death Threats After Obama Chimp Email

Email sent by Orange County Republican Party official Marilyn Davenport (April 17, 2011)

ktla-obama-offensive-email

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KTLA) — An Orange County Republican official who sent out an email containing a doctored photo depicting President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee is reportedly receiving death threats.

Marilyn Davenport, a tea party activist and elected member of the central committee of the Republican Party of Orange County (RPOC), claims the photo was a joke.

The caption accompanying the photo read “Now you know why no birth certificate.”

Someone on the 73-member committee leaked the email to the OC Weekly.

Davenport issued the following statement to the OC Weekly over the weekend:

“I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth,” Davenport wrote. “In no way did I even consider the fact he’s half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people [Scott Baugh, Orange County GOP boss, and this writer] tried to make this about race… I received plenty of emails about George Bush that I didn’t particularly like yet there was no ‘cry’ in the media about them.”

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Republicans on the House Administration Committee want to shore up voter registration rules in the wake of a Colorado study that found as many as 5,000 non-citizens in the state took part in last year’s election.

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), the panel’s chairman, called the study “a disturbing wake-up call” that should cause every state to review its safeguards to prevent illegal voting.

“We simply cannot have an electoral system that allows thousands of non-citizens to violate the law and vote in our elections. We must do more to protect the integrity of our electoral processes,” Harper added.

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, a Republican, told the panel that his department’s study identified nearly 12,000 people who were not citizens but were still registered to vote in Colorado.

Of those non-citizen registered voters, nearly 5,000 took part in the 2010 general election in which Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet narrowly defeated Republican John Buck.

Colorado conducted the study by comparing the state’s voter registration database with driver’s license records.

“We know we have a problem here. We don’t know the size of it,” Gessler said in testimony to Administration’s Elections subcommittee.

He told Harper that Colorado would look to create a registration system that would allow his department to ask that some people provide proof of their citizenship in writing.

If individuals did not respond to the request, their registration as voters would be suspended.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Becky Yeh – OneNewsNow California correspondent – 3/25/2011 4:10:00 AM

The California Republican Party has elected its first openly homosexual board member. One incumbent is hopeful the action will not further enforce a “gay” agenda on citizens of The Golden State.

Greg Gandrud, a longtime political activist and former Carpinteria city council member, was elected to the GOP Board of Directors, making history as the California Republican Party took a dramatic turn. The election of the 50-year-old Republican was kept quiet during the California Republican convention in Sacramento — although incumbents have long stated that the party wishes to draw in new supporters.

Celeste Greig, president of the volunteer California Republican Assembly, says many Republicans did not know of Gandrud’s sexual orientation until recently. But she adds that her conservative group will stand its ground, both fiscally and socially.

“I hope that he doesn’t bring his personal lifestyle within the party,” says Greig. “Of course everyone is welcome to be members, to be productive. If they try to bring up more of their issues and promote more of their lifestyle, I’m sure that’s not going to go well at all with members of the California Republican Assembly and with me.”

To read the rest of the story, click here.

The blog has been amazing that way.  I have met a lot of people because of it—sometimes that has been a real blessing and other times not so much so, like ET.  But overall it has been a great experience, especially when I finally get to meet someone who I have corresponded with for a couple of years and probably talked with on the phone.  That happened the other week with the person responsible for bringing the whole Doreen Boxer situation to light.

Then sometimes I hear about someone who reads the blog and it makes me cringe.  That also happened a couple of days ago.

My old timers know my father was a minister and I was raised Pentecostal.  I have really struggled with my faith for the past few years.  And it has showed in some very dramatic ways on the blog.  So imagine my dismay when a friend told me he was meeting with his pastor, who happens to pastor the largest church in the high desert, and the subject of iePolitics came up.  Seems the pastor reads the blog on occasion.  Oops.  I would like to say I cringed just a little, but in reality, I cringed a whole heck of a lot.

So, I’m thinking to myself I should spend more time listening to my Casting Crowns or Third Day CDs and less time to John and Ken!   I always used to write a Sunday post and took some criticism for it but decided to get back to it just a bit.  So, for this Sunday, I came across this video that could be said to be political and religious at the same time:

I also emailed all of the “defectors” except Emmerson, as I do not have his personal email address.  I doubt I will get responses, but we shall see.

We know history suggests there will be defectors, but I think Cook and Knight know they stand no chance at another elected public office if they do it.  Dutton is said to still want the Second District Supervisor’s spot, and even with as much as Janice is screwing up, it doesn’t compare to the possibility of raising taxes in this economy.

I think the real culprits are more likely to be Connie Conway and Brian Nestande if anyone defects from the Assembly.  Conway has made comments that lead us to believe she may.  Both have refused to answer any questions about this.

Only time will tell.

Interview of the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney in Palm Beach, Fla., conducted by Tasha Kheiriddin on Feb 1, 2011.

Q: From a prime minister’s perspective, how would you describe the importance of the relationship between Canada and the United States?

The Canada-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship that a Canadian Prime Minister has to deal with, by far. First, we have this tremendous trade relationship, we have security matters, and everything from culture and the military in between. Second, other nations around the world look to our relationship because we live cheek by jowl with the Americans. They are interested in what the relationship with the prime minister of Canada is with the president of the United States. I was known as a very good friend of president Reagan, and I was able to leverage that in Canada’s interests around the world.

So it’s very important that the prime minister of Canada maintain an excellent relationship with the president, but also with the leadership of both houses, on both sides of the aisle, and with the media and interest groups in Washington. The Canada-U.S. relationship is not a one trick pony. It’s a very complicated, sensitive matter that requires direction and leadership from the prime minister himself. It’s not something he can farm out to the minister of foreign affairs on a regular basis.

Q: By 1984, the year you were elected, the relationship between Canada and the United States had become frosty, to put it politely. How did you set about to change that?

The first time I met Ronald Reagan was in June 1984, when I was leader of the opposition. I met him for 45 minutes in the Oval Office, and he was very impressive. He had a very good command of the Canadian files that I raised, everything from acid rain to protectionism to steel imports from Ontario, and it looked very promising if I could win the election, which was clearly upcoming.

Q: One of the key events in cementing your relationship was the Shamrock Summit in Quebec City in 1985. Can you describe what that meeting meant for you, and for Canada?

The Shamrock Summit was a great success. It was a scene setter for what happened under president Reagan’s mandate and in the years following under Mr. Bush. The importance of that kind of a meeting, which we then had on a regular basis, is that it energizes the American government in a manner that nothing else can. It allows the president to convey to his subordinates that Canada is important to him personally, and that he wants to see things happen. Particularly if the present president indicates that he enjoys the company of the prime minister of Canada, looks forward to meeting him, and wants to help resolve the problems that are on Canada’s plate.

Q: Whose idea was it to sing?

The organizers invited the Reagans and us to join the cast on stage for a rendition of the closer, which was when Irish Eyes are Smiling. And only the goofy left-wing nationalists saw something wrong in it.

Q: The events at the summit did prompt criticism that you brought Canada too close to America’s influence.

Apart from the demonstrable silliness of such criticisms, I can put it this way. In my nine years as prime minister in dealing with the United States we resolved matters, in terms of big ticket items, free trade agreement, the North American free trade agreement, the Canada-U.S. Acid Rain Treaty and the Arctic sovereignty arrangement. Go back the previous nine years under Mr. Trudeau and then go ahead nine years under Mr. Chretien and look for comparable achievements in the Canada-U.S. file. You will look in vain.

Q: Let’s talk about the acid rain treaty. It has faded from public consciousness over the years, but was a huge issue at the time. Was Reagan on board from the beginning, or did he need convincing?

The acid rain issue was the seminal test of the Canada-U.S. relationship at a time when the environment was coming into its own. The Americans were reluctant to do something about it, because they didn’t believe all of the science we had available to us, showing that emissions from the U.S. Midwest which floated over Canada were killing off our lakes, forests and streams. So I set out to try and persuade them of that. President Reagan agreed to appoint envoys and began the process that led, four and a half years later, to president Bush signing the Canada-U.S. Acid Rain Treaty. There were unrelenting efforts on part of my government to persuade him and his administration to move this file along.

Q: Free trade was a far easier sell. You have said that you went to the man — Reagan — who could make it happen. How crucial was his leadership to getting the FTA?

Without Ronald Reagan, we wouldn’t have even been able to launch it. My recollection is that the vote in the Senate Finance Committee was failing until Reagan called the senator from Hawaii and pointed out the importance of Canadian tourists and whatnot, as result of which the vote was then tied and we could proceed. That’s how close it was. And here were all these characters in Ottawa saying America wanted to rush into a free trade agreement – the truth is they didn’t want it.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Adams hired Matt Schumsky as Executive Director but some on the Executive Board did not want a professional executive director and his position became a bone of contention.  After a couple of months of wrangling between politicos and non-politicos, Robert Rego was elected to the chairmanship  Under his leadership, the county party lost more and more ground to the Democrats and lost the support of the state party.

Last Thursday night Robert Rego was elected to serve a  new two-year term as the Chairman of the San Bernardino Republican Central Committee.   The Central Committee has been the subject of ridicule and controversy for several years now, and based on reports from that meeting, we expect its reputation to continue . . . well except it seems to be getting kookier and scarier.

Among the literature that was passed out at the meeting was that for a seminar hosted by the Freedom Law School where the theme is the supposed unconstitutionality of the federal income tax, as well as a host of other topics. Topics at the forum range from the extreme (“mechanics of the new America as a police state” ) to the very extreme (“Jews are responsible for 9/11″).

Several speakers are slated to deliver speeches capped by the keynote address issued by convicted income tax fraudster former Democratic Congressman James Traficant of Ohio.  Another speaker is an anti-Semitic extremist named  Victor Thorn who calls the tragic events of 9/11 “the crime of the century” and says the acts on that day were perpetuated by Israel. Thorn is a frequent guest on websites managed by white supremacist organizations.

Offered to Republican Party guests was literature that, as well as promoting this event, was  filled with statements declaring:

*”Mossad (Israeli security aparatus) Losing It’s Reputation of Invincibility”

* “The Facts about Martin Luther King and Zionism”

* “Anti-Defamation League linked to Arizona Tragedy”

It needs to be noted that the county party is NOT associated with this outfit nor are participants in the seminar. However, it was appalling that Payman Mottahedeh was allowed time to speak to promote this event featuring dangerous anti-Semitic speakers and table space promoting literature that was clearly anti-Semitic and replete with discredited conspiracy theories about Israeli involvement in 9/11.

Here are a few of the websites for those who would like to look for themselves:

www.adamvstheman.com

www.americanfreepress.com

www.libertyrestorationproject.org

www.freedomabovefortune.com

Ron Nehring

He lost to a DC committee member.  How pathetic!

From Capitol Alert:

CRP Chairman Ron Nehring loses RNC treasurer bid

California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring today lost a bid to become treasurer of the Republican National Committee.

Nehring was defeated by Tony Parker, a Republican National Committeeman for Washington, D.C., in a run-off ballot at the RNC’s winter meeting in Maryland.

Nehring, who has headed the California GOP since 2007, is wrapping up his final months as state party chair.

Reince Priebus, who heads the Wisconsin Republican Party, was elected party chairman. He replaces incumbent Chair Michael Steele, who dropped out of the running after several rounds of balloting.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/01/crp-chairman-ron-nehring-loses.html#ixzz1B4uyiu39

Assemblywoman Connie Conway

Assemblywoman Connie Conway, who represents Northeastern portions of San Bernardino County, including the cities of Barstow and Needles and communities of Lucerne Valley, Baker, Cima, and Mountain Pass, was elected by her colleagues as Assembly Minority Leader last month.  She had lost her leadership position as Caucus Chair when she attempted a coup on Republican Leader Martin Garrick just prior to the November 2, 2010, election.

After Republicans unexpectedly lost an Assembly seat in November election, Conway was voted in as Assembly Minority Leader, ousting Garrick, leader of the Republican conservatives.  Conway is a moderate Republican.

Currently, the Republican Caucus consists of only 28 Republicans out of 80 members.  Conway made her leadership appointments today, signaling a possible change in strategy.  Ten of the 28 members were placed in leadership capacities, with moderates being given several of the top spots.

• Assemblyman Briane Nestande (Moderate) was appointed as Assembly Republican Caucus Chair, the second highest minority position
• Assemblyman Curt Hagman (Conservative) was reappointed as Assistant Republican Floor Leader, a position he held under Garrick.
• Assemblymen Steve Knight (Conservative) and Cameron Smyth  (Moderate) were appointed as Assistant Republican Leaders
• Assemblymen Bill Berryhill and Dan Logue were appointed as Chief Republican Whips
• Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher and Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen were appointed as Republican Whips
• Assemblyman Brian Jones was appointed as Deputy Floor Manager

At this rate of electing moderates, it will be no time before Democrats have a two-thirds super-majority in the California Assembly.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at midnight

The pro-Republican wave in the rest of the nation on Nov. 2 is likely to pay dividends for the party for years to come, with the GOP so strong in the state legislatures, which control post-2010 census redistricting, that gerrymandering alone may yield 20 more House seats for the party in 2012. But in California, Republican prospects could scarcely be grimmer.

Exit polls showed independent voters were overwhelmingly opposed to all but one of the statewide GOP candidates. Independents were key to Republican gains elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the long-expected emergence of Latinos as a dominant voting bloc appears at hand. Exit polls showed they accounted for 22 percent of voters, up 10 percent in four years, and heavily favored Democrats.

Once again, this tilt contradicted outside trends. Nationally, Nov. 2 was a historic day for Latino Republicans, with three big wins in swing states. Marco Rubio was elected senator in Florida and Susana Martinez and Brian Sandoval took the governors’ races in New Mexico and Nevada, respectively.

In those states, the GOP’s pro-entrepreneur, pro-growth message and social conservatism resonated with Latinos. Here, Latinos have made California by far the most Democratic of the most populated states.

To consider just how weak California Republicans have become, paradoxically, one should consider the only state race they have a chance of winning. As hundreds of thousands of late ballots are being tabulated in the attorney general’s race, Republican Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles County district attorney, has been swapping the lead with Democrat Kamala Harris, San Francisco’s district attorney. Cooley is a pragmatic, admired prosecutor with vast law enforcement support and bipartisan backing from newspaper editorial boards and civic groups. Harris’ office has been embroiled in a messy scandal involving its drug lab. She has been trashed by law enforcement leaders and is easily caricatured as a San Francisco liberal because of her opposition to the death penalty for a cop killer. Yet the latest count shows her up by 14,000 votes.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Barbara Cram Riordan

Earlier this year popular KFI 640 radio talk show hosts John and Ken focused a number of shows on the California Air Resources Board (CARB), detailing the facts that show the agency is out of control.  The upcoming implementation of AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, only makes this very powerful agency all the more dangerous to the teetering economy of California.

John and Ken primarily focused their attention on Mary D. Nichols, who is the chairperson for CARB.  Nichols was first appointed to the CARB in 1978 by then-Governor Jerry Brown.   She served under Brown until 1983.  She was reappointed as chairman in 2007 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Mary D. Nichols

In between appointments, Nichols served as the “assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air and Radiation program under the Clinton Administration, Secretary for California’s Resources Agency from 1999 to 2003, and Director of the University of California, Los Angeles Institute of the Environment.”

Nichols was one of California’s first environmental lawyers and was responsible for filing test cases under the Federal Clean Air Act.  According to her biography:

In her return as Chairman, Nichols’ priorities include moving the state’s landmark climate change program ahead, as well as steering the Board through numerous efforts to curb diesel pollution at ports, and continuing to pass regulations aimed at providing cleaner air for Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. She values innovation, partnerships and common-sense approaches to addressing the state’s air issues.

Nichols, however, is not alone in her determined devastation of the California economy.  Our very own Barbara Cram Riordan, former Third District Supervisor on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors,  was appointed to the CARB in 1991 by then-Governor Pete Wilson and served as its chairman for several months in 1998-99.  She was reappointed to CARB in 2004 by Governor Schwarzenegger.

Riordan also previously served as the San Bernardino County representative to the South Coast Air Quality Management District during her tenure on the Board of Supervisors.  She has been a long-time supporter of job-destroying legislation that has harmed California’s  economy.

In addition to her appointment to the CARB, Riordan , who lives in Redlands, currently serves as the lone public member of the  Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD).  The MDAQMD oversees air quality enforcement in the upper desert region of San Bernardino County and lower desert region of Riverside County all the way to the Neveda and Arizona state lines.

Riordan’s position on the MDAQMD is elected by a majority vote of  the entire MDAQMD board membership.  Her appointment is up in December 2010.

The MDAQMD will undergo significant membership changes next month due to at least six of its seventeen board members losing their elections or leaving public service.  New members will include representatives from Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Needles, and Yucca Valley, along with Supervisor-elect Janice Rutherford.

The new board needs to make one additional change.  They need to replace Barbara Cram Riordan with a public member interested in a common-sense approach to environmental enforcement rather than dedicated to the destruction of California’s economy.  Common sense must be a prerequisite and Riordan is lacking that quality.

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