Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner: Standing Ground in Shut-Down Showdown

While New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced his run for President with bold promises and brash rhetoric, he balanced truth and compromise as though they could coexist as two sides of a marred coin. In troubling budgetary times, when socialist-minded state legislatures refuse to recognize that they have run out of other people’s money, or that middle class makers have elected to leave their home state rather than pander and enable more takers, compromise is not the watchword. Conviction and confrontation must be the mainstay, and Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, the only Republican gubernatorial candidate to unseat a liberal incumbent in 2014, is demonstrating that kind of leadership.

Clear about his convictions, yet respectful of differences, gubernatorial candidate Rauner refused union money during a four-way primary battle, as he clearly understood that Big Labor was creating the big budgetary messages in Springfield and dragging down his state. US Senator Mark Kirk (facing a tough 2016 reelection bid) cited that the Service Employees International Union is the most powerful and corrupting force in Illinois politics.

Candidate Rauner hinted at reducing the minimum wage to the federal level, and even following the media backlash, he quickly reminded the public that forced wage hikes create costly burdens on job creators, i.e businesses. He mentioned that any wage hike must include regulatory reform which would ease commerce and make opening a business easier.

 

 

Not consistently conservative on every issue, Rauner respected the views of all Illinoisans, enough that a crowd of Democrats endorsed him publically after his primary victory. With conservative Republicans, he presented himself, outlined his platform, and explained his views. He answered all questions, even when he knew that his answer would not agree with what his audience wanted to hear. Pro-choice, but not just on abortion, the Republican trumpeted his support for the Second Amendment and expansion of education opportunities, too.

In spite of diverse polling up to Election Day, Rauner beat the Democratic machine and unseated the executive incumbent.

During his State of the State speech, the first Republican Governor in over a decade was real about Illinois’ finances (they are in tatters), and realistic about fixing the state’s problems (cut the spending, now!). Respecting the pensions of peace officers and military personnel, the new governor did not run away from the problems facing the state (even though he has tempered his rhetoric to forge a working relationship with a Democratic legislature in the face of bigger-than-expected pension issues). He even alluded to right-to-work provisions in the labor-dominated state.

Within months of his inauguration, Rauner issued an executive order to protect non-union employees from paying agency fees. One article claimed that Rauner was outdoing Governor Scott Walker on labor reforms. Rauner was simply keeping a campaign promise to get Illinois’ house in order. He talked up tort reforms, too, even though the recalcitrant legislature said “No thanks”, and House Speaker Michael Madigan put on a show of individuals harmed by caps on lawsuits.

A shrewd and savvy businessman willing to do what is right, not necessary popular, Rauner is facing off against a supermajority Democratic legislature (the Democrats held their seats in the 2014 election), which has chosen to embrace a shut-down showdown in Springfield. With no budget, and July first come and gone, Illinois’ state operations have entered a partial stop.

What issues fed this budgetary gridlock?  Rauner has operated in good faith, yet is holding his ground on crucial reforms, among which are: freeze property taxes, expand local control over union negotiations (including repeal of prevailing wage laws), end “venue shopping” lawsuit abuse, worker’s compensation limitations, term limits, and redistricting reforms.

The Democrats, beholden to unions instead of the citizenry, have balked, will not budge, and are waiting for Rauner to blink.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported the hurried glances and harried fears of (liberal) lawmakers over a shut-down:

The sick will suffer. CTA riders could face fare hikes or cuts in services. State employees won’t get paid.

Single tear. Republicans countered that the world will not come to an end if Springfield cannot put forth another imbalanced budget. The state will slouch toward economic collapse if Democratic partisans refuse to ignore their special interest benefactors and put the state’s long-term interests to heart. Nevertheless, the Democratic-controlled legislature tried to pass a one month stop-gap budget, which failed. The governor’s budget director made it clear that half-measures would avail nothing:

Rauner opposed the temporary budget proposed by Madigan and its counterpart that passed the Senate yesterday. Tim Nuding, director of the governor's budget office, told the Tribune:

"This bill marches the taxpayers of Illinois toward an unbalanced budget one month at a time. This proposal, viewed on an annual basis, is little, if any, improvement over the out-of-balance, unconstitutional budget the legislature passed just a few weeks ago."

Unlike Republicans in Washington, where they bungled the shutdown over a lack of coordinated media and political calculation, Rauner is working the communications as well as the legislative backrooms. So far, he has not backed down.

Why should he?

The Economist wondered in its headlines if Illinois had become “America’s Greece”:

Illinois is like Greece in one obvious way: it overpromised and underdelivered on pensions and has little appetite for dealing with the problem, says Hal Weitzman of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Jay Walker of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tied together the momentous referendum in Greece with Illinois’ budget drama:

The Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, like Greece's creditors in their standoff, demands a dramatic reduction in spending. Meanwhile, the state legislature is balking at such belt tightening because, much like the far-left Greek government, it is beholden to unions that ignore fiscal reality.

One correction solidifies this correlation: Rauner is the loving parent disciplining a wayward adult child from his spendthrift ways. This past weekend, the Republican Governor is the adult, saying “No!” and “Enough” to decades of big promises with no returns. Hopefully, Republican governor Bruce Rauner’s stance wins, and the shut-down showdown leads to lasting reforms.

Senator Baldwin Attacks the First Amendment

US Senator Tammy Baldwin

Junior US Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) celebrated the Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, which imposed same-sex marriage by judicial fiat, despite erudite dissenting opinions. She then attacked the First Amendment:

[I]n institutions of faith that there is absolute power to, you know, to observe deeply held religious beliefs. But I don’t think it extends far beyond that. . . I think there are clear limits that have been set in other contexts and we ought to abide by those in this new context across America.

The Bill of Rights outline innate powers bestowed on individuals regardless of government force or collective manipulation. Corporate membership and legal precedent has extended these rights to private corporations. Rights mean nothing if limited to specific places, for the mind is free, as Framer Thomas Jefferson established in The Virginia Statues of Religious Freedom.

Baldwin has already been the subject of heated controversy following the dubious firing of a staffer-turned-whistleblower who identified that the Senator did nothing to rectify reported abuses at a Wisconsin Veterans Administration Hospital. Baldwin also voted with her Democratic colleagues to effectively repeal the First Amendment, when she joined a Senate resolution to overturn the Citizens United decision. Now Baldwin declares that freedom of religion only applies to houses of worship. If individuals cannot act according to their conscience in public, then it is not a freedom.

Based on her record and rhetoric, Baldwin has joined a disconcerting movement to stifle the First Amendment. Wisconsin voters should hold her accountable.

RLn Talks 44th Congressional District

Aunt Janice

 

I commend Random Lengths News for reporting on a new candidate into the 44^th Congressional District for 2016.  There is so much to rant about in Sacramento and state politics in general (too much Big Government, not enough individual liberty. Too much taxing and spending, not enough investment and innovation). For now, let us focus on the Democratic infighting in the Harbor.

 

Cousin Nanette

 

Ever since the current Congresswoman, “Aunt” Janice Hahn, announced her intentions to replace termed-out LA County Supervisor Don Knabe, the constellation of political stars lined up behind her. Within hours of Aunt Janice’s bid, recently-elected State Senator Isadore Hall (who won a special election in December, 2014 to replace convicted felon Roderick Wright) declared his interest in Hahn’s Congressional seat, followed by all the reciprocal endorsements.



Uncle Izzy

 

This political musical chairs is nothing new or unexpected. Local leaders in San Pedro predicted that Aunt Janice would run for LABOS, then Uncle Izzy would hustle from the state senate to Congress. They also knew that “Cousin” Steve Bradford, the wily former Assemblyman who ignored Gardena constituents during city council meetings and fought with ice cream trucks, would seek to replace Uncle Izzy in the state senate.



Warren Furutani

Thankfully, former assemblyman Warren Furutani will challenge Bradford, and Barragan will challenge Uncle Izzy in this un-democratic daisy chain of contests. As RLn outlined, Izzy has financial connections with dubious sources, including tobacco companies. A controversy over spending on strip clubs (and his small accomplishment to require protection in adult films) Yet Cousin Nanette has very little to offer the 44^th, much Barack Obama and the “Hope and Change” which never materialized. Despite growing up in Carson, and setting up office in San Pedro, Cousin Nan cannot shake her Hermosa Beach One Percent elitism. She has one political accomplishment, jumping on the band-wagon to ban oil-drilling in Hermosa Beach. Whoop-Dee-Do.

Cousin Steve

 

Don’t the residents along the Alameda Corridor deserve a real Congressional contest about ideas, vision, and the country’s future? Unfortunately, political party bosses (all purportedly “Democratic”) have attempted to prevent a real fight, which stretches from San Pedro to South Gate.

Louis Dominguez

 The Los Angeles-Harbor Area needs real representation, not the special interest, Big Government status quo. Louis Dominguez or James Spencer of Inglewood should run for the 44^th Congressional District. They balanced budgets and run businesses. Conservatives who represent the best interests of their communities should challenge Cousin Steve, Uncle Izzy, and Aunt Janice.


James Spencer

 

Joe Baca Joins the GOP (Huh?)

Former Congressman Joe Baca (R-Inland Empire)

A reportedly Blue Dog Democrat who had represented the Inland Empire for years, California Congressman Joe Baca, forced out in a Top-Two fight Gloria Negrete-McCleod in 2012 and losing a bid in 2014, has become a Republican.

Yes, you read that right: he switched parties this year, especially at a time when Democrats still hold strong majorities in Sacramento and all statewide political offices. Even though they lost supermajority status in 2014, liberal progressives have wasted no time pushing a Big Green, Big Labor, and Big Government agenda at the expense of working Californians. They have even signed off on Big Amnesty, granting illegal aliens access to taxpayer-subsidized health care.

Granted, this post comes one month after his announcement, but it still requires more attention than Baca's registration switch had received.

First, some comments from the Riverside County Press-Enterprise:

The 68-year-old former Inland congressman switched his party registration from Democrat to Republican earlier this month. “I’ve always been very conservative,” he said Thursday, June 11. “I was a Blue Dog moderate (in Congress) and it falls along my Christian beliefs.”

Really?

His voting record suggests a secular, left-wing tilt.

On abortion, Baca received 100% from pro-abortion NARAL. An open-border advocate who also support tough national security measures following 9-11, Baca comes off as a Big Government social liberal with some moderate leanings.

About Joe Baca, there seems to exists very little make him stand out as a contrarian Democrat who would better fit the GOP mold. If his voting record does not invite skepticism, this photo during th 2008 Prop 8 campaign (the successful amendment to define marriage between one man and one woman) should remove any doubt about Baca's ideological preferences:

To his more conservative credit, Baca has a better record on tax reform, voting to end penalties and fees. Baca also received an "A" grade from the National Rifle Association.  He even endorsed Republican Gary Miller when he ran for election and entered the Top Two in the 31st Congressional District (think "The Miler Effect")

Baca's NRA stance is the most Republican element of his voting record, though, and partly contributed to his downfall against McCleod, who floated on gun-grabbing Michael Bloomberg's PAC  money to win election in the newly-drawn 35th Congressional District. McCleod gave up her Congressional seat after one term to run for San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2014.

She lost to Republican Curt Hagman.

So, why again did Joe Baca switch to the GOP?

The former Congressman, now retired (or retreated?) into private life, may have jumped to the Republican Party out of pure spite with Democratic machine operatives and the California Democratic Establishment.

The Press-Enterprise intimated as much in their take on Baca's new party affiliation:

Baca’s tenure on Capitol Hill was marked by friction with fellow Democrats. As chairman of the California Hispanic Caucus, he survived a no-confidence vote in 2007 when he was accused of using a pejorative term when referring to Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana. Baca denied the allegation.

He also called his replacement McCleod a "bimbo", proof once again that the War on Women finds more adherents in the Democratic Party. If "Working Joe" has given up his women-hating ways, then he would be more than welcome in the GOP.

Or would he? The final comments from the PE piece suggest that Baca's political career is all but finished:

Baca’s party switch likely won’t help him should he decide to run again, said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College.

“Democrats would dislike him because he switched parties,” he said. “Republicans would distrust him because of his years of service to the Democratic Party.”

“One side would see him as Benedict Arnold while the other would see him as Johnny-Come-Lately.”

More likely, this switch is all about sticking one's finger into the political headwinds. After all, Baca was the only Democratic rep in the area for a number of years, and Republicans have made some gains at the level, not just in San Bernardino, but in the Board of Supervisors. Add to these outcomes the near-win of Paul Chabot in the 31t District (despite the slanted Democratic registration advantage) plus Chabot's strong fundraising apparatus, and Democratic numbers plunging across the country, Baca may be jumping ship from a progressive, uber-liberal Democratic Party which has left more moderate-leaning Democrats such as himself.

While California Republicans should not trip over themselves to recruit Baca as a political consultant (he has twice lost Congressional elections as well as the Fontana mayor's race), his switch to the GOP could act as a "canary in the coal-mine" for the dangerous consequences of "Tea Party of the Left" activism swallowing up his former party.

Maryland's Larry Hogan: Conservative Fighting Hard

Maryland, nicknamed the Old Line State, was often the main battlefield of pivotal Civil War conflicts, including the bloodiest day of battle: Antietam. Maryland was the home and developing ground of Republican abolitionist Frederick Douglass, yet seats the dysfunctional, widely loathed federal capital. From Mason-Dixon to Baltimore riots, Maryland would hardly qualify as a merry land today, but for one man and his conservative political team effort to restore his state.

Larry Hogan, the son of former Congressman Lawrence Hogan (who voted to have Richard Nixon impeached following his connections to the Watergate cover-up), coalesced with Marylanders frustrated with tax-and-spend, regulate-frustrate Annapolis. They started Change Maryland, and they have started changing Maryland, with Hogan at the helm.

Three months ago, I contacted the Maryland GOP headquarters for more information, including confirmation about a key tax cut. Happily obliging to trumpet the success of one of their own, I wrote about Hogan’s “Unsung Hero” status.

Today, I write to inform conservatives nation-wide that Hogan’s victory then is building momentum, and then some.

Unlike New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (whom Hogan invited to his 2015 inaugural), Hogan has been a team player from Day One. Catch an extended glimpse of his ease as well as strong character to share his victories with his staff in this clip following his first one hundred days in office.

Media savvy without being servile or selfish, Hogan was blunt about Maryland’s fiscal and governmental dysfunction in his first State of the State address. “Marylanders are among the nation’s most hardest working and most educated people”, Hogan announced to the General Assembly. He then indicted the high taxation, spending, and regulations hurting businesses and pushing residents out of the state.

He stated one litmus test for his new agenda:

“Will this law or action make it easier for families and small businesses to stay in Maryland?”

He intended to balance the state’s budgets and shore up the flagging pension system without raising taxes.  And he did it.

In fact, unlike his two-term Democratic predecessor Martin O’Malley (now a single-digit also-ran running for the 2016 Democratic Party nomination), Hogan is rolling back taxes and fees, seeking to make government work for Marylanders rather than working them over. Indeed, he repealed the universally hated rain tax. Marylanders visiting Torrance, CA told me how much they hated that levy, and were thrilled to learn of its repeal.

About public transportation, Hogan drew a red line on public spending, and killed a proposed Red Line. Regarding another rail line, Purple, Hogan studied hard and bargained harder, ensuring that the two counties which would benefit, would shoulder a greater part of the cost, and include private sector input to trim an already slimmed down budget projection.

He cut all state departments by two percent, but increased funding for K-12 and higher education.

In a smart yet simple business move to curry favor with constituents and invite tourism and commerce, Hogan signed off on lower tolls and fees to come into effect on July 1, for bridges and toll roads throughout the state. This reductions to travel levies throughout the state will help commuters, taxpayers, and tourists enjoy their lives. Local media have conceded that their Republican governor is making all the right decisions.

Now international freight shipping lines are returning to Baltimore ports for the first time in decades.

On education, Hogan and his Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford presented a planned, expansive, freedom-based set of proposals. The legislature watered down most of them, but Hogan signed off on modest progress in the final bill.

Military retirees will get a $10,000 tax credit, a step in the right direction to ensure that Marylanders stay in Maryland.

Even the negative press against Hogan turns out to his favor One letter to the Baltimore Sun even identified Hogan as “Maryland’s Scott Walker”. Despite the letter’s negative tinge, Hogan actually comes out stron:

. . . Gov. Larry Hogan's only purpose in proposing tax breaks on military pensions was an effort to divide a normally cohesive bloc of voters.

On the contrary, honoring those who gave their lives for this country is more than good politics. It’s good statesmanship.

His proposal involves the exemption that allows charter schools to hire non-union teachers who are not state certified. . each local school district would be required to turn over to private institutions 98 percent of what they spend per pupil.

Do teachers really need all the bureaucratic back-and-forth to establish themselves as good educators?

Governor Hogan appears to be just like Govs. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Scott Walker of Wisconsin and former Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania.

Walker and Brownback won reelection in 2014 following severe tax and spending cuts plus necessary reforms in their home states. Corbett didn’t walk the walk, and lost.  First lesson: do right by the taxpayer, then stand your ground. Another difference between Hogan and his counterparts? The Maryland Governor accomplished his achievements despite a stiff, recalcitrant, status quo Democratic legislature.

Larry Hogan: healing and serving Maryland

 

Not only that, but the first-term political neophyte summoned up calm, courage, and resolve during the intense Baltimore riots. Respecting local authority until the last minute, Hogan took charge, announced a state of emergency, and declared “Criminal activity will not be tolerated.” He got national press for his leadership, and justly so.

A rising figure in the Republican Party as well as Maryland, Hogan is reaching out to African-American communities and helping his conservative peers make stronger strides in future elections.

And Hogan’s latest fight? Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

A Serious illness? Yes. Is he serious about fighting it? No question about it.

A day after his diagnosis announcement, Hogan is feeling great. On his Facebook page, sitting with his lovely wife and daughter standing on his side, he declared that he is still working while recuperating and healing.

Get well soon, Governor Hogan. Maryland needs you. This country also needs your bold example that conservatives can fight back in blue states and restore law and order, financial peace and prosperity.

George Takei: Undignified H8 Toward "Blackface" Clarence Thomas

He [Associate Justice Clarence Thomas] is a clown in black face, sitting on the Supreme Court. He gets me that angry. He doesn't belong there.


These words did not come out of the mouth of a white segregationist, or a closet bigot living in San Francisco.

These words were uttered by former Commander Sulu of Star Trek, known to all of us as George Takei.


George Takei (NoH8campaign.com)

What prompted these outrageous, offensive remarks?

Takei explained to Fox News in Phoenix, Arizona how offended he was by Justice Thomas' dissenting opinion in  Obergefell v. Hodges, which imposed same-sex marriage on all fifty states:

And for him [Thomas] to say, "slaves have dignity". I mean, doesn’t he know that slaves were in chains? That they were whipped on the back. If he saw the movie 12 Years a Slave, you know, they were raped. And he says they had dignity as slaves or – My parents lost everything that they worked for, in the middle of their lives, in their 30s [during the Japanese internment during World War II]. His business, my father’s business, our home, our freedom and we’re supposed to call that dignified? Marched out of our homes at gun point. I mean, this man does not belong on the Supreme Court. He is an embarrassment. He is a disgrace to America.

What exactly did Justice Thomas write down in his dissent? Was he justifying slavery, or the internment of 112,000 Japanese-Americans whose only crime was their ethnic identity?

Here are the first remarks:

The Court’s decision today is at odds not only with the Constitution, but with the principles upon which our Nation was built.

A number of conservative and legal minds, whether left or right, have shared these concerns.

Since well before 1787, liberty has been understood as freedom from government action, not entitlement to government benefits.

Liberty is about freedom from coercion of the state. Without a doubt, Thomas understands freedom, liberty, and the rule of law, plus his role on the highest court in the land.

Regarding the matter of dignity, and the Constitution's role:

Yet the majority invokes our Constitution in the name of a "liberty" that the Framers would not have recognized, to the detriment of the liberty they sought to protect. Along the way, it rejects the idea—captured in our Declaration of Independence—that human dignity is innate and suggests instead that it comes from the Government. This distortion of our Constitution not only ignores the text, it inverts the relationship between the individual and the state in our Republic.

Dignity is something that every person has, regardless of the opinions of the state or the activities of men and women in government. Dignity is not something which the government can give or take away. Not at all. Never did Thomas claim that the slaves of the Ante-Bellum South were dignified because of their status of involuntary servitude.

Thomas' dissent follows a historical as well as linguistic analysis of the term "liberty" in the Fourteenth Amendment, including erudite references to Magna Carta and Blackstone's legal analyses:

Even assuming that the "liberty" in those Clauses encompasses something more than freedom from physical restraint, it would not include the types of rights claimed by the majority. In the American legal tradition, liberty has long been understood as individual freedom from governmental action, not as a right to a particular governmental entitlement.

The Associate Justice is no clown, and no fool.

Regarding the "dignity" argument from the petitioners seeking recognition of same-sex marriage, Thomas gave a thorough explanation:

Human dignity has long been understood in this country to be innate. When the Framers proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," they referred to a vision of mankind in which all humans are created in the image of God and therefore of inherent worth. That vision is the foundation upon which this Nation was built.

In no way was Thomas justifying slavery, internment, or involuntary servitude of any kind. Throughout his dissent, Thomas clearly defined "liberty" as freedom from government intrusion, intervention, and imposition.

Then comes the final summation of the Justice's just judgments:

Our Constitution—like the Declaration of Independence before it—was predicated on a simple truth: One’s liberty, not to mention one’s dignity, was something to be shielded from—not provided by—the State.
Takei was not interested in the dissenting opinion. He was only interested in disrespect and dishonor for anyone who would not agree with his views about marriage.

The former Star Trek icon has descended into a racist, bigoted rhetorician, who has no reserve about cursing and swearing, and demeaning anyone who opposes homosexuality and homosexual marriage.

Strange indeed coming from a man who identifies himself on Twitter as "a believer in, and a fighter for, the equality and dignity of all human beings."



Gun Grabber Yee Pleads Guilty to Gun Running

This should have been news noised throughout the country. Once again, another California Democratic lawmaker pleads guilty to corruption and racketeering, and the mainstream media try to drown and hide the information. But a Republicans protects life or gets a parking ticket, and the reading public gets submerged in non-stop anti-conservative press. The Los Angeles Times reported:

Ex-state Sen. Leland Yee pleads guilty to racketeering in corruption case

Former state Sen. Leland Yee pleads guilty to one count in corruption case.

Only one? I wonder how many other corrupt officials Yee rolled over to get that one plea.

Former state Sen. Leland Yee entered a packed federal courtroom here Wednesday looking relaxed. Unable to find a seat, he squeezed in next to reporters who had once covered the child psychologist’s legislative work as an advocate for youth and the mentally ill, and were now here to watch him plead guilty in a sweeping public corruption case.

Yee was allowed to work with children? This legal saga gets sicker and sicker the more that Californians learn about it.

He shook hands and chatted genially. Then, after taking an oath before U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer, the San Francisco Democrat admitted to racketeering, concluding an unruly case, involving public corruption, promises of gun-running and more, that shook Sacramento.

Nothing has been concluded. There is still a culture (or a cult) of corruption in Sacramento.

And the statement from this man proves why:

“Today’s news turns the page on one of the darker chapters of the Senate’s history,” Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement.
 The "dark chapters" are getting turned and revealed in greater number. Carol Liu of the Pasadena area had her office ransacked by the FBI. Richard Pan will be facing a recall over forcing kids to get vaccinations. The corruption of Sacramento knows no bounds.


The pleas entered Wednesday by Yee; his political fundraiser and consultant Keith Jackson; Jackson’s son, Brandon Jackson; and sports promoter Marlon Sullivan bring an end to one of two cases connected to a massive federal probe that initially targeted a Chinatown figure known as “Shrimp Boy,” now accused of organized crime activities.
The case, with 29 defendants lumped into a single indictment (one had since died) and eventually split into two cases, has produced 9 million pages of documents and countless hours of audio recordings, defense attorneys said.

While the California Democratic Party claims that they want to protect the environment, they keep committing all of these crimes, and the legal proceedings clog up the courts. And all of these trees getting cut down to record the criminal hearings. How many trees had to die to record the rampant litany of Yee's wrongdoings?

Prosecutors alleged that Yee can be heard in the recordings speaking bluntly about granting legislative favors in exchange for campaign contributions, first for his failed 2011 bid for San Francisco mayor and later for his aborted run for secretary of state.

The prosecutors "allege", as though Yee is some kind of victim connected with a federal fishing expedition? It is amazing to me the lengths that the liberal press will take to cover up the bad deeds of Democratic politicians.

“We gotta drag it out, man. We gotta juice this thing,” the indictment quoted Yee as telling an undercover agent who claimed to be connected to an NFL team that wanted to “help” Yee in exchange for his vote on a worker’s compensation bill affecting the athletes.

Known as a gun control advocate in the Legislature, Yee, 67, was also accused of offering — in exchange for campaign donations — to broker a major weapons sale between a gun dealer and an undercover agent claiming to be a member of the New Jersey mob.

Now then, anyone who claims that we have nothing to fear from the government about gun control should read then reread the above description of former state senator Leland Yee. He wanted to expand gun control and extend the limitations on legal acquisition of firearms.

Leland Yee at a press conference (Cs California)

Yee was a gun grabber all while working the backrooms as a gun runner for criminal syndicates and terrorist groups. Happiness is a warm gun, or a hot purchase on the black market?

“Do I think we can make some money? I think we can make some money,” the senator said, according to the complaint. “Do I think we can get the goods? I think we can get the goods.”
Yee, who spared himself a trial where those sealed recordings and others would have been publicly shared, received no assurance that his prison sentence, which Breyer is scheduled to hand down on Oct. 21, would fall below the 20-year maximum spelled out in federal guidelines.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Susan Badger told the court that Yee’s sentence could include $250,000 in fines. At least $33,000 in assets will be seized.

At least Yee will serve more time in jail than convicted felon Roderick Wright (who served a little over one hour in jail. That's right -- convicted felon Wright served the length of a Law and Order episode, then walked out.
 By pleading guilty to racketeering, Yee admitted that he “knowingly and intentionally agreed with another person” to take part in an enterprise, commit at least two offenses and affect state commerce.

This was not the first time that Yee was guilty of racketeering, based on this admission. The fact that he was "working" in the State legislature for so many years confirms that he had operated within a criminal enterprise and affect state commerce. Democrats in Sacramento do that all the time.

“Are you pleading guilty of your own free will because you are guilty?” Breyer asked him.
“I am,” Yee answered.

The former state senator pleads guilty of his own free will, even though he had tried to deny California residents by their own free will to own firearms. Shame on him.

Final Reflection

The LA Times article discussed how the case emerged last year, in March, and also reminded readers that senator Yee ended up getting 300,000 votes in last year's primary, despite the indictments against him.

"Low information" does not begin to describe the average voter in the state of California.

"Low regard" better describes the attitude of California Democratic lawmakers like Yee, who approach legislation from the perspective of "Laws for thee, but not for me".

No wonder concealed carry permits are flying out to California residents, too. With criminal records like the former state senators now ousted from office, and likely charges against state senate President Kevin De Leon, California residents will have more reasons to fear the rushed encroachment of the state into their daily lives.

Last of all, how come California readers still get so little information about the judicial process against rogue legislators like Yee? We had to listen for months about "Bridge-Gate" in New Jersey, as well as read about it ad infinitum. After numerous federal and media investigations, Republican Governor Chris Christie was absolved of any wrongdoing.

To this day, we still hear about the political retaliation along the George Washington Bridge, and the probable damage it has done to Christie's presidential ambitions.

Yet nothing about Yee.

This double-standard has to stop. It's time for reporters, activists, and concerned citizens in general to make sure that the general public learn and remember the disturbing crimes committed by elected officials, especially Democratic lawmakers who routinely live above the law and act outside of it, even after getting caught!

Europe's Big Fat Greek Default

One of the founding cultures of Western Society, where the ancients prized learning independent of ethnic status, where rigorous inquiry flourished in spite of (and because of) the tyranny of the state (think Socrates), Greece has become the face and fallout of big government largesse, welfare state redistribution, and the failure of corruption and graft at the expense of a strong work ethic. And may spell the end of the Eurozone.

In the next week (if not at press time), Hellas, alas, will default on their IMF debt, and exit the Eurozone. Even though the current, left-wing government Syriza proposed a referendum, the Greek voters will have little to refer to, since national and corporate creditors are shouting “Arketa!” (Enough!)

Greece is teetering on the brink, and headed toward default, and becoming a failed state. What has happened to the heart of the Aegean, the home of independent city-states where commerce and culture first thrived, giving birth to the Western World?

I am not Greek myself, but I have spoken with Greek expatriates here in the United States. When I told one Greek that I was meeting another, he laughed, then advised: “Shoot him on sight!”

Wow. Feel the agape (love). And I thought they still had a major beef with the Turks! But seriously, what has brought the Greek economy to its knees?

The first thing that some Greeks tell me: Greeks.  Is the culture dearth of a work ethic really the case? One blogger outlines that a small fraction work little, get little; and there are those who work a lot and get great pay. The problem is that there are many in the private sector (or what’s left of it) who get pitiful pay, and then the scores of government workers. . .:

And there are also many people who are paid lots of money to sit on their assess and do nothing – while getting to retire early and enjoy other perks.

By the way, in Greece, Public “servants” retire on very generous pensions. Houpa!

Another rampant boil in the Greek body politick? Corruption. The New York Times reported on the leniency law now giving corrupted public officials the liberty to report on the multi-million dollar bribes they receive for defective equipment. One former government minister took so many bribes, that he lost count of the amount of money he took in:

Greeks are hardened to stories of corruption. But even they have been transfixed by Mr. Kantas’s confessions since he was arrested recently on a litany of charges including money laundering and behavior that was detrimental to the Greek state. Never before has an official opened such a wide window on the eye-popping system of payoffs at work inside a Greek government ministry. At various points, Mr. Kantas, who returned to testify again last week, told prosecutors he had taken so many bribes he could not possibly remember the details.

 

Rioting in Greece (2011)

 

Other reports detail that Greeks pay nearly one thousand euros a year in bribes.  Such brazen government hustling deserves a standing ovation. Someone throw some plates.

Of course, Greece should never have entered the Eurozone in the first place.

The BBC reported why Greece struggled at first, and was rejected the first time:

In 1999, Greece was left out of the Eurozone for failing to meet the EU's economic criteria.  To qualify for euro membership, the Greek Government had to adopt a tough austerity programme, making deep cuts in public spending.

Haven’t we read this Greek tragedy before? Not Sophocles or Euripides, though.

How did Greece meet the “Maastricht” requirements? The Greek government gave an impression of making tough decisions, but also relying on EU leniency, allowing them to enter but work on maintaining their fiscal and monetary policies in place.

BBC reports that that work turned into accounting tricks from cagey accountants:

Take the Greek state railway. It was losing a billion euros a year," Ms Xafa remembers.

"The Greek railway had more employees than passengers. A former minister, Stefanos Manos, had said publicly at the time that it would be cheaper to send everyone by taxi."

The authorities used a neat conjuring trick to make the problem vanish.

"The [railway] company would issue shares that the government would buy. So it was counted not as expenditure, but as a financial transaction."

Of course, other creative accounting from Goldman Sachs later came in handy, too, and all in time for the 2004 Olympics. A spokesman from the Greek government reminded the BBC reporters that other countries had been engaging in the same budgetary sleight of hand. Furthermore, France and Germany (the largest members) had broken the Eurozone rules already, exceeding the percentage of debt in relation to their Gross Domestic Product. No matter which side one falls on, though, for placing blame, Greece is going bust, and the country’s residents and representatives both had a hand in the handling of their country’s weak finances.

Americans shouldn’t worry. Our Constitution never enshrined democracy as the source of good government, individual liberty, and limited rule. Democracy is always “Two wolves and a lamb voting on what’s for dinner”. Besides, Greek democracy has not aged well. In this clip, a Greek Committee Chairman announces majority approval for a slew of amendments, yet no one even voted. The Current Prime Minister has rebuffed creditors, then put the country’s future to a vote. At least they held Truth Committee meetings on the country’s debt.

Because of a culture of graft and corruption, plus “democratic” confiscatory policies, the Eurocrisis is eating the Greeks’ lunch. . .or should one write baklava?

At least the German, French, and private lenders should feel some pride. Finally, someone is saying “Arketa!” to the endless bailouts. Now, Greek banks have closed and are rationing ATM withdrawals.

Will the “Grexit” tank the global economy? Only if other member states follow suit. How fitting and yet ironic that Greece, the womb of Democracy, may in turn become its tomb, as their last bailout is set to expire. Yasou!

Sanders, Warren Swipe at Walker

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the same paper which endorsed Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett for Governor in 2010, then endorsed Conservative Republican Scott Walker in 2012, then got out of the endorsement business altogether at the end of the same year. They reported on Walker’s purported comments on immigration in 2013, then found themselves having to report on Walker’s rising national profile, rolled out an interview with rising Democratic nominee Bernie Sanders, the Independent Socialist US Senator from Vermont who is not only running to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s left, but is also running away with disaffected progressives looking for “Anyone But Hillary”.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

In a phone interview before a Wednesday campaign event, likely to be one of his largest yet, Sanders took swipes at Governor Scott Walker on one key issue:

Jason Stein reports:

Sanders criticized the labor record of Walker, who is expected to announce on July 13 his own bid for the GOP nomination for president.

The writer then reminded readers of Walker’s Act 10 reforms:

In 2011 Walker championed the repeal of most union bargaining for most public employees and this spring he signed legislation known as right to work which prohibits unions and employers from requiring workers to pay labor fees. Sanders said that was standing with wealthy interests over workers.

This argument about promoting “wealthy interests” over America’s working class has received repeated attention throughout Sander’s tenure as Congressman then Senator, and now as Presidential candidate.

"Needless to say I’m strongly opposed to his agenda. I think we need leadership in this country that is ready to stand up for working families. We need to strengthen the trade union movement in this country, not break it," Sanders said.

The underlying argument beneath Sanders’ comments, that labor reforms are anti-worker, did not get addressed, although this argument that anti-union legislation is anti-middle class has gotten more traction, in large part because of former Clinton Administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s whiteboard political ads. While Reich does outline that the decline of unions and the middle class show a distinct correlation, there is no definite causation of one pattern with another.

The Journal-Sentinel report ends with the following comments:

Besides trade policies, Sanders did not bring up any other foreign affairs issues such as national defense in the short conference call.

This last tidbit is particularly intriguing, as the Vermont Socialist-turned-Democrat has battled with constituents on contentious foreign policy issues. In 2014, Senator Sanders berated hecklers who condemned his support for Israel, and his refusal to condemn the Jewish State over its reported abuse of Palestinians. Vermonters in the Burlington, VT town hall treated Sanders with brazen contempt, including shouts, cursing and swear, along with other frequent interruptions.

The Journal-Sentinel mentioned at the outset of the phone interview that Sanders was not sure of what to expect in the Dairy State:

. . .Sanders said that about 9,500 people have rsvp'd saying they would attend his rally at the Alliant Energy Center. If that crowd materializes -- and there is an "if" there -- Sanders said it would the biggest who have turned out so far to hear him talk about addressing the income gap between America's rich and poor, raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour, and bringing more skepticism to international trade deals.

“If” has been a telling word attached not just to his growing popularity with the Democratic Party’s left-wing base, but also to Sanders’ rise in the polls (he is pulling even with presumed front-runner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire).

Elizabeth Warren, an intended left-wing challenger to Hillary Clinton who declined to run, has hedged her endorsement for Clinton, yet hinted at supporting Sanders.

From Mother Jones:

"These are people who care about these issues, and that’s who Bernie’s reaching. . I love what Bernie is talking about. I think all the presidential candidates should be out talking about the big issues.”

She recently took a swipe of her own at Governor Walker during her keynote speech at a Connecticut Democratic Party fundraiser over his call over a constitutional amendment to protect states’ rights to define marriage:

Well, Scott Walker, if you believe the next president's job is to encourage bigotry and to treat some families better than others, then I believe it is our job to make sure you aren't president," Warren said while speaking at a fundraiser for Connecticut's Democratic party.

Warren has also criticized Walker’s collective bargaining reforms, particularly slamming the governor’s claim that his winning stance against government unions burnishes his foreign policy credentials.

Governor Walker has shown some considerable influence in early polling states, too, polling seven points ahead of the wide array of challengers, and before his formal announcement..

Because of these and other recent media developments, political news coverage has focused on Sanders in the Democratic side, while more Republicans throw their hat into the 2016 ring, and Walker’s announcement likely to round out the GOP field.

Could a Walker v. Sanders election emerge in 2016? For an election year which will host a wide open field of candidates, anything is possible, especially since no heir apparent is running for either major party’s nomination.

A Walker v. Sanders general election would certainly give voters, and the world, an American Presidential election based not only on a war of talking points and fundraising machines, but ideological differences and clashing world views over the United States’ domestic, foreign, and fiscal policy.