OC Blog

Memorial Day in Laguna Beach

This morning I had the distinct honor to be the keynote speaker for a Memorial Day observance in Laguna Beach.  American Legion Post 222 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5868 ran the event.  About 100 people attended the ceremony.  The Marines provided a color guard and a rifle team who gave the traditional 21-gun salute, with seven Marines firing three times over the sunny Pacific.  A strong contingent of at least a dozen Boy Scouts participated as well. 

Here then are my remarks for the occasion.

OC LIBERTY FILM FESTIVAL: Frank Gaffney’s “Islam vs. Islamists” Finally Inks a TV Deal

FROM LIBERTAS (www.libertyfilmfestival.com/libertas):

You saw this film first at OC Liberty Film Festival on May 19th. Now, as reported in The Washington Times, Frank Gaffney’s controversial PBS documentary “Islam vs. Islamists” has finally secured a deal to have it aired on public television. Click on the links above for details.

Congratulations to Frank, Alex Alexiev and Martyn Burke for finally reaching this deal.

Orange Home Improvement Holiday Update

I spoke with Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche yesterday evening at the packed kick-off event for Larry Dick's 60th Assembly District campaign.

She updated me on her home improvement holiday proposal, noting it has been proposed in the City of Orange's next fiscal year budget that commences in July -- which the City Council will vote on in May or June. I'm confident it will be approved -- hopefully 5-0 -- and if so, Mayor Cavecche said the program  could start it the early fall.

Mayor Cavecche Wants Home Improvement Holiday for Orange

Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche is proposing a home improvement holiday for our city.

I hope the other members of the City Council follow her lead and support it.

This program has been tried successfully in other parts of the county. Anaheim under Mayor Curt Pringle's leadership implemented such a program in 2004. During March, April and May of that year the city waived permit fees. At the end of the three months, 3,562 residential building permits were issued to Anaheim residents who invested $28.3 million into their homes.

Court Rules Caltrans Can Contract Out

This just came over the transom from the OC Taxpayers Association:

To: OCTax Members

From: Reed Royalty, President

Date: April 15, 2007

Subject: Proposition 35 Upheld             

OCTax masochists enjoy long-term struggles for justice and good government.

In 1996, OCTax opposed a proposed ballot initiative, by the Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) union, which would have hidden the cost of government by handicapping private contractors in competitive bidding for state engineering work.  PECG missed the deadline for the election, so . . .

California Coastal Commissionski

With the fall of the Iron Curtain, droves of Russian and other Communist apparatchiki found refuge and gainful employment within the bowels of California government, or so it may seem to avid watchers and participants in the Golden States’ politburo.

A prime example is the California Coastal Commission, which has been described by one noted policy analyst as combining "bureaucratic ideology of near- Stalinist zeal with corruption of the worst kind."

Despite repeated attempts to kill the Commission, it continues to operate as a kind of Central Committee, with executive director Peter Douglas as General Secretary – ruling with an iron fist and virtually no accountability to the public as it issues nyet after nyet on development matters – unless of course, the proponent happens to be on the celebrity ‘A’ list. 

Campaign "Reform" & Unintended Effects

Red County/San Diego posts a Logan Jenkins column about San Diego's ominously-titled Election Campaign Control Oridinance -- which vividly illustrates how the unintended consequences of campaign finance reform generally worsen the "problem" the reform aims to "fix."

Come on, Forbes!

In response to my last post about 10 days ago, one comment asked in part, "Who the hell is Frustrated Republican?"

Here's who:

Because their guiding economic philosophy, no matter how they try to disguise it, is socialism and because they rank the state as superior to the individual, Democratic politicians are supposed to get policy wrong.  I'm bothered when Dems propose legislation which infringes my individual liberties, but not at all surprised.

When Republicans get it wrong, however, I lose it.  Unfortunately, today far too many Republican leaders deviate from what are supposed to be our core principles... from now on, they will typically be the ones in the crosshairs of this blogger.

A great current example of such frustration comes not from an elected official, but Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes Magazine, which is supposed to "get" free market economics.  His his recent article, "How Moral is Capitalism?" is the type of thing that causes me to tear my hair out.

He seemingly starts off the article well enough, describing how capitalism "delivers the goods."  But this isn't news; over the last 30 years in particular, the fact that capitalism works has become self-evident. What we need to most effectively argue now is why free markets are right, which is because they are synonymous with individual liberty.

At the very least, I wish these "defenders" of capitalism wouldn't launch into discussions of how much government is the right amount, as Karlgaard does... in doing so, they tacitly endorse the Democrat argument that government has any role at all in certain areas of our economy.  A related real-world example is W's prescription drug plan; in creating it, he established the precedent that government belongs there in the first place; he gave HillaryCare one of the big pillars it couldn't win for itself, advanced our lurch toward European-style welfare economics and virtually assured that government will be permamnetly involved in presciption drugs because such programs never die, only expand.

This from a Republican President and a Republican Congress-- UGH!!

Well, it's not just our politicians... Forbes' Karlgaard proved that all of us on the right have some soul-searching to do, that after our November butt-kicking we're all in need of re-examining our core philosophies.

DeVore on ABC News: Nanny government threatens liberties

Sunday afternoon, just as I was leaving Sacramento with my family after attending the state Republican Party convention, ABC News interviewed me on the trend to legislate every small matter – the Nanny government trend.

An excerpt of the transcript of last night’s airing is below. 

A different story on the same topic is scheduled to appear tonight on KABC 7 News in L.A. 

http://www.news10.net/video/player_news10.aspx?aid=35882&bw=

Nanny Bills or Good Government? New Legislation Triggers Debate

Written for the web by Marcey Brightwell, Reporter   

If you spank your children, eat in restaurants or buy inexpensive incandescent light bulbs for your home, you could be in for some changes. The California State Legislature is considering a string of bills this year that would impact your life.

"I call it a nanny government trend," said Republican Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. "We will lose a lot of liberty and freedom, and we will become a nanny police state. It's rather alarming."

DeVore calls it a disturbing trend, though he admits most of the bills are well intended.

Bills, such as the so-called spanking bill, have already generated controversy.

Legislation targeting light bulbs also has the noble goal of reducing energy consumption. 

Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, has proposed legislation that would require chain restaurants to post nutrition and calorie information about each meal in plan view of customers.

DeVore said he appreciated their motives, but argues that more legislation isn't the solution.

"You might as well pass a blanket law saying the Legislature of the State of California hereby outlaws stupidity," DeVore said. "I think some of these laws would have the same impact."

Sen. Harman Lambastes Socialist OCC Students Who Banned Pledge of Allegiance

This just came over the transom from Senator Tom Harman's office:

HARMAN CRITIZES STUDENTS’ DECISION TO BAN PLEDGE

Huntington Beach – Senator Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) announced today his outrage and disappointment regarding the decision made by Orange Coast students to ban the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Recently, student leaders of Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa said they do not believe in publicly swearing an oath to the American flag and government at their school. They subsequently banned the pledge from their meetings.

“It is disgraceful that the students at Orange Coast publicly denounced the Pledge of Allegiance.”  ,”   remarked Harman. “Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is one way we remember our nation’s founding principles.”

“Americans have made innumerable sacrifices to protect and preserve our great democracy,” Harman commented further. “Their decision chips away at the moral fabric that binds us together and makes this country great. It weakens what so many have fought to protect, and it attempts to undermine a pillar of our foundation.’””