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Duane Dichiara

Mike Wallace Retiring

The good news: Mike Wallace finally retiring from Sunday night’s propaganda laced ’60 Minutes’. The bad news: Helen Thomas is taking his place, and Ed Bradley got official permission from the network (as part of his contract negotiations) to wear a different ostentatious outfit every 20 seconds he is on camera, as opposed to his current 30 second deal.… Read More

Jon Fleischman

Today’s Commentary: The Fringe-Left Ties of Francine Busby

Francine Busby’s 2006 campaign for Congress is a totally different creature than her bid in 2004. Then, she was a longshot liberal running against a popular incumbent. Now, she’s the Democrat poster child for ethics reform and moderation.

But while Busby (pictured to the right) needs to tell voters she’s a moderate in order to win a congressional district that President Bush carried by 11 points in 2004, moderation is hardly a Busby trait. Her public persona is a long record of radical leftism that the mainstream media is loathe to report. Busby has established ties not only to the fringe left of the Democrat party, but to groups and organizations whose positions on moral equivalence between terrorism and war would make even the dedicated liberals in her own party wrap themselves in the flag.

On her 2004 campaign website biography, Busby lists two groups with which she "actively participated," that are mysteriously missing… Read More

Jon Fleischman

The Fringe-Left Ties of Francine Busby

Francine Busby’s 2006 campaign for Congress is a totally different creature than her bid in 2004. Then, she was a longshot liberal running against a popular incumbent. Now, she’s the Democrat poster child for ethics reform and moderation.

But while Busby (pictured to the right) needs to tell voters she’s a moderate in order to win a congressional district that President Bush carried by 11 points in 2004, moderation is hardly a Busby trait. Her public persona is a long record of radical leftism that the mainstream media is loathe to report. Busby has established ties not only to the fringe left of the Democrat party, but to groups and organizations whose positions on moral equivalence between terrorism and war would make even the dedicated liberals in her own party wrap themselves in the flag.

On her 2004 campaign website biography, Busby lists two groups with which she "actively participated," that are mysteriously missing… Read More

Left Unchecked, UC Regents Scandalous History Repeats Itself

The UC Regents met today in San Francisco to discuss yet another in a long list of embarrassing scandals. The current scandal in the UC system involves over $871 million in bloated salaries, granted perks and other actions that violate UC rules.

I’m sure the Regents will weather this storm just fine. After all, they’re no strangers to scandal, accusations of mismanagement or claims of incompetence. A quick review of the past ten years reveals enough to fill a book.

Here’s the short list:

1996 – OC Register reports that UC Irvine was harvesting eggs from women without their consent and transferring them to other women. The fertility scandal cost taxpayers $18 million.

Also in 1996, the LA Times reported a whistle-blower lawsuit by two former UC employees who alleged “that the university’s five medical centers…billed the government for millions of dollars in fraudulent insurance claims.”

1999 – City News Service reports the sale for profit of body parts from the Willed Body Programs at UCI and UCLA.

2003 – U.S. Dept of Energy issues… Read More

Left Unchecked, UC Regents Scandalous History Repeats Itself

The UC Regents met today in San Francisco to discuss yet another in a long list of embarrassing scandals. The current scandal in the UC system involves over $871 million in bloated salaries, granted perks and other actions that violate UC rules.

I’m sure the Regents will weather this storm just fine. After all, they’re no strangers to scandal, accusations of mismanagement or clams of incompetence. A quick review of the past ten years reveals enough to fill a book.

Here’s the short list:

1996 – OC Register reports that UC Irvine was harvesting eggs from women without their consent and transferring them to other women. The fertility scandal cost taxpayers $18 million.

Also in 1996, the LA Times reported a whistle-blower lawsuit by two former UC employees who alleged “that the university’s five medical centers…billed the government for millions of dollars in fraudulent insurance claims.”

1999 – City News Service reports the sale for profit of body parts from the Willed Body Programs at UCI and UCLA.

2003 – U.S. Dept of Energy issues blistering report of UC’s oversight of security and procurement… Read More

Congressman John Campbell

An Insider’s Report on the Immigration Debate

Throughout the day, I have had the opportunity to talk to many of the other supporters of the House version of the immigration bill. Despite the President’s speech and the additional activity on the Senate side, I have yet to run into anyone who is changing their position. If anything most members are becoming more resolved in their support of the House’s enforcement only bill. If the Senate goes in the direction it looks like they are going, there will be a big gulf between the two houses. The House is where the people are.… Read More

Barry Jantz

Saracino in CPR: Spoilers in ADs 59 and 77?

In California Political Review Online, Bill Saracino (an author always worth reading) looks at two hotly contested GOP primaries, posting an outstanding piece, "The Goldwater dictum," and asks the questions that only June 6 will answer….

Saracino reminds us of Senator Barry Goldwater, withdrawing his name from nomination at the 1960 Republican National Convention: “Let’s grow up conservatives. We want to take this Party back, and I think someday we can. Let’s get to work."Saracino continues:

Conservative political acumen will be tested in two Assembly Primaries June 6: those in the 59th and 77th A.D.s. Do conservatives have their act together? Or will they continue to allow internecine warfare to elect liberals in solidly conservative districts? These elections will tell.

I’ll let someone else weigh in on the 59th, if Saracino’s pieceRead More

Mike Spence

LA’s Cynthia McKinney

Rep. McKinney is famous or rather infamous for her recent attack on a Capitol Hill Police Officer. Recently Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn may have been in a scuffle with a security guard trying to keep the lid on unruly labor union protesters. The protesters want to ruin the LAX hotel area by subjugating allhotel wokers to their union bosses whims.

While it doesn’t really rise to the craziness of the McKinney affair, it shows how pandering some council members are to unions no matter the consequences. See article here.Read More