Category Archives: politics

Welcome to your US Senate Candidates

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California voters are facing complex choices in who should be the number 2 choice for US Senate in the Top 2 primary this June. Voters from all partisan affiliations are going to be able to choose from all the candidates like the California recall of 2003 and vote for their favorite choice to go on to the November election. The top 2 of the 24 filed will be chosen for the November election.

Since there is little name ID for most of the 23 candidates running against incumbent US Senator Dianne Feinstein and the lack of a good farm team for the Republican Party, it is basically anyone’s game this election.

First we will begin with the Democratic Party candidates, Colleen Shea Fernald, she is a peace activist and friend to the occupy movement. Colleen supports sustainable living and environmental health. If you like Dennis Kucinich, you should look into her campaign.

David Levitt, is a computer programmer who wants to establish a campaign that is more progressive than corporate friendly incumbent Dianne Feinstein. David believes in the platform Contract for the American Dream to support the core values of the progressive movement to make America a better place. If you want to end our war in Afghanistan, end the DEA raids and prohibition on marijuana providers and expand Medicare to all Americans David is your man. David believes that since most of the Republican candidates failed to inspire voters, he believes he could overtake the majority of them in this primary.

Nak Shah is a populist candidate who believes we should stop taking on loans from foreign nations that get us indebted to such as China and stop spending money on wars and spend the money on infrastructure and social programs.

Dianne Stewart is running to focus on the issues of promoting small business and improving our education system. Our spending cuts have made our education system drop down from number 7 to number 46, and our cuts in the safety net with Medicare to boot 65 and 66 year olds from the system will end up adding more cost for healthcare to younger people and the businesses who struggle to help provide health care for their employees. Basic medical needs are more expensive to pay for than a generation ago, and that needs to change.

Mike Strimling wants to tax the rich. The gap between the rich of the poor is expanding and he wants to redistribute the money to reduce the wealth gap. Mike believes America was strong when we had higher tax rates and basically when there is less public services its basically a tax on the poor. Mike has an argument on how higher taxes on the affluent will help bring prosperity to our nation.

Read on if you want to know about the Republican candidates running.

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District 35: Pomona Valley Deserves Fresh Views

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As part of my campaign series, I am here to present my second article about candidates running for office. I am hoping to do a story about Assembly District 52 next.

Next month voters in the 35th Congressional District from Pomona to Fontana will be given the opportunity to vote for who will be their new congressional representative. Since we have the Top 2 system there will be an open primary for voters to decide who will be the frontrunners to advance in the November election. Since there is two leading Democratic Party candidates with Congressman Joe Baca and State Senator Gloria Negrette Mcleod, Republicans were reluctant to pay for the filing fee in fear that their candidate would not make the top two.

Voters will be given the opportunity to vote for Green Party challenger Anthony Vieyra from Pomona who was previously in the mutual funds industry and now is running for congress. Since Joe Baca and Gloria Negrette Mcleod are mainly identical on many issues it was very difficult to find out what they differ on the issues after attempts in trying to contact Gloria Negrette Mcleod’s campaign manager via postal mail and Facebook contact with Derek Humphrey, I just gave up in trying to make an effort in wanting to support her in June since I wanted to see if there was any difference of viewpoint.  However it was perceived that if Gloria exposed her views now, then Joe would have a head start if any of the views were contrarian to sentiments in the district.

The fear that many voters will have in this election thanks to the flawed Top 2 is that people will have to vote over the superficial such as do you want a male or a female congress member, do you want someone older or someone younger since Senator Mcleod is not willing to expose her views on federal issues such as NDAA and SOPA which might be different from Congressman Baca’s positions which does a huge disservice for the voters to find out who would be the best congressional candidate to meet their needs. Gloria is likely expecting to do the real election in November and focusing her energy on her State Senate duties instead and pretending than Anthony does not exist or even actively entertaining help from allies in other political parties.

I recently sat down with the Green Party candidate since I was looking to make a holistic choice on who would earn my vote in the June primary, I asked him around nine questions on issues that would have some cross-party support. I tried to give the same questions to Senator McCleod, but her campaign gave me the gone fishing sentiment, so at least we will know more about Anthony’s views in his first major campaign for office..

Anthony was led to join the Green Party after feeling disappointed in the lack of support Al Gore received from the party after his 2000 race. Anthony realized that the Democratic Party did not want to stand for ideas, but just for political power only. Anthony realized that the Green party believed in ideas more than money. Continue reading →

Make an Opportunity to throw a Diamond into the Huff

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Personally I have not been a major fan of Republican Senate Leader Robert Huff. I think Senator Huff is a prime example why you should not vote for Republicans for office in California. I have written a column earlier this month about how Republicans in California are just as complicit in destroying California’s economy as how the Democratic Party has regulated our jobs to Texas.

California’s 29th State Senate district is mostly the same as the district Senator Huff has served in the past. It has mostly Orange County suburbs, the Asian dominated portions of Los Angeles County and Chino Hills instead of both Chino and Chino Hills. Bob Huff does claim to be a moderate, but unfortunately I thought he would be moderate compared to his 2008 opponent former assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy. However Bob Huff is no moderate, he is basically Dennis Mountjoy in a slimmer package.

Bob Huff may be correct that we need to bring jobs to our state in his countless speeches on the floor of the state senate, but family values advocacy groups only have so many jobs these days. Unless the Traditional Values Collation is hiring en masse job creation is not likely going to happen. Senator Huff should focus on the boogeyman of regulation on how it cripples job creation instead of using the boogeyman of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community to rally his voters.

There is an alternative for the 29th district that you can vote for.

Campaign announcement video.

 

 

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Buck McKeon is a Traitor to Civil Liberties

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By: Brian Ryman

Having been saddled by our representatives, with a failing economy, runaway regulation and dwindling rights it is no wonder that satisfaction with Congress is at a historical low. US citizens are tired of Congress riding rough shod over our liberties and saddling us with an exorbitant bill to pay for the privilege.
The majority of patriotic Americans… from the Left, or Right… conservative, liberal, or libertarian… desire change. Howard Philip “Buck” McKeon embodies all that must be changed.
“Buck” McKeon has voted with the majority in congress more than 95% of the time. Among his legislative “gifts” is the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 which he sponsored in the House. The NDAA has been called by some constitutionalists, “the most onerous piece of legislation since the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 or the Espionage Act of 1917.”
While our representative, Buck McKeon has claimed that with passage of NDAA 2012 “we have ensured that as we fight terrorists around the world, we also protect the civil liberties of Americans at home”, his understanding of what constitutes “civil liberties” is questionable.
Lindsey Graham conceded when he said on the Senate floor that “the statement of authority to detain [included in NDAA 2012], does apply to American citizens and it designates the world as the battlefield, including the homeland.” This is further clarified in an exchange between Senators Rand Paul and John McCain:
Sen. Paul: “My question would be under the provisions would it be possible that an American citizen then could be declared an enemy combatant and sent to Guantanamo Bay and detained indefinitely.”
Sen. McCain: “I think that as long as that individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue that threat.”

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None of The Above for California

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Californians should be able to express their displeasure for Top 2. We should be able to vote for a non-binding None of the Above as our choice in November. If you are in Duncan Hunter Jr.’s district in rural San Diego, or if you live in my congressional district in Pomona we should be able to vote for None of the Above. When your two candidates who win the top 2 are basically virtually the same, why vote?

Since we are not allowed for a write-in vote in November, this would be the best compromise. This would be a non-binding NOTA process, where this would not lead to a re-vote or a new election process. If Joe Baca got 25,360 votes, Gloria Negrette Mcleod got 39,550 votes and NOTA got 16,350 votes Gloria would still win the election.

In Nevada you must give up your vote for a candidate in order to vote for None of the Above and I would expect the same process to happen if we did it in California.

Inclusion Is The Only Way to Rebuild California’s Economy

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I am reading endless stories about how California has the worst climate to do business in for the eighth year in a row. and many of our businesses are fleeing California such as Claim Jumper moving to Texas and personalization business Café Press fleeing to Kentucky for brighter economic prospects.

We are scaring off the people who pay the taxes that make California work. Fairy dust is not going to fund our state government.  Over 100 major  businesses left California or declined to expand in our state due to our regulatory climate. We need to stem the bleeding of business looking to leave for Texas. Onerous regulations drive job creators and tax revenue generators away. We charge a 800 dollar fee a year to start up a corporation in our state, for a small business that is a killer. We have one of the highest income taxes in the nation, perhaps we should have the payroll of employees as a tax deduction. If you help employ people you would get a tax deduction. Business owners complain that the income taxes they pay could have been use to employ another person, perhaps we should have an allowance for small business owners to help create opportunities. Perhaps if we simplified the regulatory climate  we would finally get our unemployment rate below ten percent.

California Democrats are worried that our public services are not being funded, but maybe if they ended up thinking about the consequences of regulation the tax base and jobs would return to our state. California Republicans such as Senator Bob Huff and Assemblyman Tim Donnelly may have the ideas to bring back job creation, but they have something inherent in them that scares off voters from supporting Republicans. Wedge issues such as fighting against Latinos even though we are fighting the issue of illegal immigration drives many of the legal Latino Californians away from the party. Issues such as fighting against anything beneficial against lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and gay male Californians does not drive young people and independents to vote for the Republican Party either. Perhaps if Andrew Pugno, the author of Proposition 8 was not the Republican nominee for State Assembly we would not have statist Richard Pan elected instead.

I hear the anecdotes of California regularly voted Republican from 1968-1988, why not now?  It is the demographics that changed the political dynamics. Republicans in California campaign like they are from Utah or Oklahoma and fail to realize they are in California. I know California can not be painted in one broad brush, California has its segments that lean just as conservative as the heartland of America, but even in our liberal parts of the state they do not stand up against the conservative establishment that many voters in our state run away from.

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Just Because The Idea Sounds Good, Does Not Mean It Should Be a Law.

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Recently State Assemblywoman Norma Torres of Pomona introduced a bill AB 2552 that inflamed many people in her district, the state and the nation as a whole. Norma thought it would be a good idea to give people who have ingested marijuana in their system even if they are sober a DUI because she thought that it would make our streets safer. Due to outcry she tabled her bill to refine it.

Then, Assemblyman Richard Pan of Citrus Heights introduced a bill AB 2109 that would require parents to be aware of the benefits of vaccinations before getting a waiver. However parents are worried that doctors will refuse to sign the waiver, thus denying the parental rights and doctors would likely fire their patients if they wanted the waiver. Parents who want these waivers recognize that there are some inherent risks of being vaccinated and some of the vaccines actually are prescribed too early or not tested well such as hepatitis b vaccine for newborns and  the complications of Gardasil for teenagers.

Pan’s legislation sounds like a good idea, but opponents do say that it is going to add a costly mandate for parents. I would recommend that nurse practitioners should also be allowed to provide the guidance at a slightly lower cost. I would also suggest that doctors and medical aides should be required to provide these waivers and they should be waived from ALL lawsuits for allowing their children not to be vaccinated. If doctors fire their patient after providing the waiver, then the office fee would be refunded immediately. AB 2109 passed the appropriations committee, but it does need to be amended or pulled.

Personally I even thought of playing SIM Statist where I thought it would be a good idea to seize the homes and vehicles of hoarders of animals to help cover the costs of impounding the animals and giving them the health care they needed. However we should ask, “How much government is enough government?”.

I know we all would like to solve the world’s problems, but we should think about the implications of our ideas.

Tired of Endless Health Insurance Rate Increases?

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Tired of the endless rate increases that insurance companies force on Californian consumers? They complain that they want more people in the pot to get in the insurance pool, but when rates become unaffordable we will get more uninsured. It feels just as bad as the tax increases in California. The more they raise taxes, the more people drop out from the job creation in our state.

 

 

Watch the video, find out more and turn in your petition today!

Win Three Votes In Congressional District 35 AND More! [updated]

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There is an opportunity for the two leading candidates for the office of Congress member of California’s 35th District to win the votes of my family and perhaps my readers of my blog in November. I earlier mentioned that Anthony Vieyra is running and is going to be my vote for June since Gloria Mcleod’s campaign manager failing to return my emails and postal letters.

Due to Proposition 14, we are not having partisan nominations for the primary and the top 2 get selected for the November election. Problem is both Democratic Party candidates are virtually identical.

I am not expecting these politicians to behave like Republicans, but I expect a reasonable standard in a Democratic Party leading district. Will these legislators advocate for civil rights including the rights of LGBT people, will these legislators stand up for civil liberties such as reforming the Transportation Safety Administration?

Republicans and Libertarians should fight hard to make sure we elect the best candidate. We can determine the fate of a political career of two Democratic Party Latino stalwarts.

What issues would Republican voters want to see from Gloria Mcleod and Joe Baca realistically address that would be sensible yet progressive like retiring congressman Dennis Kucinich.

1. What would your position be on prohibition on marijuana? Would you agree to reschedule Marijuana to Schedule III?

2. How would you protect travelers while respecting the civil liberties of the traveling public due to the overreach of the Transportation Safety Administration?

3. Would you support bills such as SOPA, which places restrictions on the Internet to protect content owners or would your support bills such as OPEN which tries to protect innovation on the Internet while trying to protect intellectual property creators?

4. Would you support the bill to call for  auditing of the Federal Reserve? Which is currently HR 459 and this bill has received around 100 sponsors from the Democratic Party.

5. Would you support a compromise on the DREAM ACT to allow for young people who have been assimilated into our society to get a green card, but not instant citizenship in order to get bipartisan support?

6. The NDAA did receive negative attention due to the provisions for indefinite detention, would you support a bill to modify these provisions either to have a minimum period one could be held by the government or total repeal of the said provisions?

If anyone has any other questions, I will have them ready to send to their campaign addresses.I would like to see a maximum of ten questions overall for them to be answered.

Romney Could Care Less About LGBT People

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I thought it was a great sign for former Governor Romney to invite someone of LGBT status to be a spokesman and advisor on foreign policy, but after a firestorm from the far left and far right Richard Grenell decided that it was not worth taking the opportunity.

Richard Grenell does have ties to the local area, he severed as spokesman for one of the developers from the Colonies Partners during the investigation and likely trial of the 102 million dollar settlement that was reached thru questionable means. Grenell did work for the state department in the Bush administration, but right now he was working for a communications firm in Los Angeles.

Richard had tweeted snarky comments about Democratic Party figures that caused him to be in the news recently, but Romney and his campaign leadership did not mind. However it shows that the main cause of him being let go is due to the rancor of the Paleo-Conservative sect from people of the American Family Association. Because they were telling Romney if you hire Grenell it’s the endorsement of the homo agenda because he personally does not feel comfortable with President Obama’s reluctance to support marriage equality and he attacked the Bush administration’s position where they were against the resolution speaking up on the issue of human rights abuses of LGBT people. Groups such as the American Family Association and the Family Research Council believe that religious liberty means we should discriminate against people based on their content on their character and behavior, but should we just beat up people and treat them as pariahs for who they are?

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