WHEN POLITICIANS GO BAD
Years ago, the Improvers helped elect someone to the City Council who almost no one thought could be elected. However, with the support of the Improvers, this candidate not only won election but did so with more votes than anyone else running that year.
Unfortunately, once this new Councilmember got on the dais and was being romanced by lefties, who had previously called him names, his ego took over and he started to think his victory was a result of people suddenly realizing what a wonderful person and astute politician he was.
Then, he started voting against the people who had helped him win. But for them, he never would have won. His typical M.O. was to talk one way and vote the other. Apparently, he thought no one would notice. He was wrong.
When he started going against them, the Improvers quickly abandoned him and started to work as hard to defeat him as they had previously worked to elect him.
That was the end of his political career and friendships. Once out of office, his new lefty "friends" wanted nothing to do with him anymore, and the Improvers wanted nothing to do with him because he had gone against the Improvement they were trying to bring to Costa Mesa.
Are we facing another situation like that now?
# # #
CONFUSED ABOUT THE UNION CONTRACTS?
Here's a well written article in the OC Register that should get you up to speed. LINK
SUMMARY: There are two basic sides on this issue:
1. The Unions and their lefty suppoters want to jam through a new contract before the election.
2.
Fiscal conservatives want the Council to either reject the contract before them tomorrow night, or put off a decision until the new council is seated. The election is only 8 days away, so why hurry?
# # #
WENDY LEECE CONTACTS THE DAILY PILOT ABOUT GOP PRESSURE (?)
Link
We're not sure why this is even a news story. Of course there's pressure. Any time you belong to any organization, from a church to the scouts to a political party, there are certain norms you are expected to uphold. If you don't agree with those norms, then you shouldn't be in that organization.
In the present case, the
out of town unions are trying to jam a contract down the throats of the city councilmembers about 8 days before an election in which we will see at least one new council member and maybe two.
But according to the PILOT article about
Wendy contacting them, it seems that
Wendy is more concerned about some
out of town Republicans contacting her than she is worried about the
out of town unions. We find this odd.
We don't know what the GOP Bigs said to
Wendy, but our guess is that maybe some of them are thinking about this as we at the CM PRESS do:
DON'T APPROVE A CONTRACT THAT THE NEXT COUNCIL AND THE CITIZENS WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH WHEN WE'RE THIS CLOSE TO AN ELECTION. JUST PUT THIS VOTE OFF UNTIL A NEW COUNCIL IS SEATED.
Chances are, the new member or members of the City Council may have some of their own ideas about such contracts. Let's let them have a voice and not handcuff them. Let's have respect for the voters and for the new city councilmember(s).
As we've written before, we like Wendy. However, we do get troubled by the fact that she doesn't seem to see the big picture on some things. It's almost as though
Wendy sees every issue coming before her as though it exists in a vacuum and is to be considered only within the four corners of that issue.
This, we believe, is an error in thinking that can be called
misplaced atomization, i.e. it's the breaking apart of issues and larger policies into smaller parts that are all treated as though they are not part of the whole.
The problem with misplaced atomization is that the whole is often more than the sum of its parts because it bumps up against other wholes within the universe of our local political scene. In other words, it's all connected. There is no vacuum. There is no lone issue.
Sorry, that may be a little abstract.
Maybe this will be clearer if we think of it in a different context: It's a given that Improvers are trying to improve the Westside. Now, to accomplish this there are many pieces that must fall in place, not just one or two.
Those pieces are voted on by the city council and come to the council often as seemingly unrelated items, sometimes months or years apart.
So, for example, a request may come to the council to fund a charity. On the surface, the charity sounds fine. It's going to help the kids. However, when you scratch the surface you may find that it's going to be in an area with many other charities such that the area is turning into a skid row.
So, do you vote in favor of funding that charity because it promises good things (this would be the misplaced atomization view) or do you look at the whole and vote against funding the charity because it will have a negative result on the area, given the cumulative effect of many other similar charities clustered in that area?
Improvers would say that you
vote against funding that charity. By contrast, those who don't think about the big picture might take the misplaced atomization view and vote to fund it.
In summation, we must be clear that this contract business is a big deal. It is not something to be taken lightly. It should not be rushed into. The council should not be bullied into voting for it. Punt, and let the new councilmember(s) be seated.
# # #
A VERY FAIR ARTICLE ON THE FUNDAMENTALIST MORMONS
Link
They just mind their own business and practice their religion, yet they've been persecuted for decades in this country where we're supposed to have religious freedom.
# # #
THE CM PRESS VOTING GUIDE--NOVEMBER 2, 2010
Proposition 19 - VOTE NO
Legalizes Marijuana Under California but Not Federal Law. Permits Local Governments to Regulate and Tax Commercial Production, Distribution, and Sale of Marijuana. Initiative Statute.
We've acted in plays where we would deliver our cue line and a stoned actor opposite us would have slow reaction times. A couple of seconds delay and it felt like a month while on stage. We're afraid the same thing happens with those driving cars. Notwithstanding this, however, we do believe that medical marijuana, with more research, and rules to keep people from driving or engaging in activies that require quick reaction times, should be made legal. Yes, we could go both ways on this one. Yes, booze is worse. We believe in the libertarian view that your right to swing your arm stops where our nose begins [read, you driving drunk or stoned may harm us]. While we oppose having the government dictate too much to people, we really don't want more DUI people driving and we're afraid this might lead to that.
Proposition 20 - VOTE YES
Redistricting of Congressional Districts. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Lets the citizens of the state draw congressional district maps.
Proposition 21 - VOTE NO
Establishes $18 Annual Vehicle License Surcharge to Help Fund State Parks and Wildlife Programs. Grants Surcharged Vehicles Free Admission to All State Parks. Initiative Statute.
You already pay for parks with your taxes. This is a money grab by government.
Proposition 22 - VOTE YES
Prohibits the State from Borrowing or Taking Funds Used for Transportation, Redevelopment, or Local Government Projects and Services. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Big government money grab from local governments.
Proposition 23 - VOTE YES
Suspends Implementation of Air Pollution Control Law (AB 32) Requiring Major Sources of Emissions to Report and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions That Cause Global Warming, Until Unemployment Drops to 5.5 Percent or Less for Full Year. Initiative Statute.
Save jobs for humans.
Proposition 24 - VOTE NO
Repeals Recent Legislation That Would Allow Businesses to Lower Their Tax Liability. Initiative Statute.
Another big government money grab--this one from small businesses. How many more businesses do we need to chase out of California before the numbnut politicians wise up?
Proposition 25 - VOTE NO
Changes Legislative Vote Requirement to Pass Budget and Budget-Related Legislation from Two-Thirds to a Simple Majority. Retains Two-Thirds Vote Requirement for Taxes. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Shuck and jive attempt to have you let the politicians easily raise your taxes. Keep the 2/3rds.
Proposition 26 - VOTE YES
Requires That Certain State and Local Fees Be Approved by Two-Thirds Vote. Fees Include Those That Address Adverse Impacts on Society or the Environment Caused by the Fee-Payer's Business. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Vote "YES" to stop a tax increase. This 2/3rds is important here, as well.
Proposition 27 - VOTE NO
Eliminates State Commission on Redistricting. Consolidates Authority for Redistricting with Elected Representatives. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.
Stop the politicians by voting no on this. The people should draw the political districts.
Governor: Meg Whitman
Not perfect but better than Governor Moonbeam
Lieutenant Governor: Jim King
Secretary of State: Merton D.Short
Controller: Tony Strickland
Treasurer: Mimi Walters
Attorney General: Steve Cooley
Insurance Commissioner: Clay Pedersen
Member, State Board of Equilization, 3rd District: Michelle Steel
United States Senator: Carly Fiorina
United States Representative: Dana Rohrabacher
Member of the State Assembly, 68th District: Allan R. Mansoor
Judicial Votes: No on all 9 of them.
Superintenent of Public Instruction: Tom Torlakson
Coast Comm. College District, Area 1: Jim Moreno
Coast Comm. College District, Area 5: Bob Mosley
NMUSD, Area 2: Michael B. Collier
NMUSD, Area 5: Judy Franco
Treasurer-Tax Collector: Keith Rodenhuis
CITY OF COSTA MESA--Member City Council: JIM RIGHEIMER
Improvers say just cast one vote and this should result in both Jim Righeimer and Wendy Leece winning.
L-Costa Mesa, Transient Occupancy Rate Increase - VOTE NO
This supposedly "harmless" increase will just help keep Costa Mesa's bloated local government from right-sizing itself. The city employee unions and lefties are urging a Yes vote because this money will allow them to keep asking for more tax money and more benefits.
# # #
WE IMAGINE A FATHER-DAUGHTER CONVERSATION AT THE RIGHEIMER HOUSE
Daughter: Daddy, I thought you always said that police officers were good people. I don't think they are.
Jim Righeimer: Most are good people. What makes you think they're not?
Daughter: Because they seem to be very mean and they're saying bad things about you, and the other kids teased me.
Jim Righeimer: Well, most police are good people. Remember, your uncle is a police officer. Isn't he a good person?
Daughter: Yes, he's good. But, I think these police officers are different. I think they are very bad people. I don't trust them.
Jim Righeimer: Now, don't think all police officers are bad just because a few are bad. You have to know people by their actions. The bad ones act bad and the good ones act good.
Didn't they teach you in Sunday school class that bad people eventually get punished? Remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We try to be good and we try to live that way, don't we? Eventually, the good will triumph.
# # #
Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.