Thanks Brian... I appreciate the "vote" of confidence!

Thanks Brian... I appreciate the "vote" of confidence!

Hi Brian, **

Yes, both the Democrats and Republicans have booths at the fair again this year. We are now taking turns on the corner and this year the Republicans have it. (We get it for the '08 election) Their booth has taken on a very "corporate" look this year. Its something you would see at a trade show. The Democratic booth is the one we use at all the events; built by hand and lovingly maintained by the Hillbrants. **

The Stonewall Dems staffed the Democratic booth on opening day and registered about 20 Democrats including a Republican convert. We ran out of Hillary buttons within the first hour! Don't worry we have restocked. A gentleman from the other booth came over and said we had better buttons than they did. I told him we have so many great candidates this cycle its hard to choose one and the polls seem to show that their favorite candidate is "none of the above" **

As for the honorable congressman from Reagan country, his booth was left unstaffed all day. He used to give out copies of the US Constitution at his booth, but we hear that Bush has done away with that quaint old document. **

I hope you get up to Ventura and check things out before it closes on the 12th. **

Ron Suckle, President **
Stonewall Democrats of Ventura County

Send in photos.

I should be going to the fair next week and will report in. If I remember, I'll bring the camera.

C'mon, guys. Enough dissing of Elton. He's the best thing that's ever happened to Ventura County. If it wasn't for him, both bases would be shut down by now - think of the lost jobs and the impact on the economy.

Miguel (oh, sorry, I thought I was on O'Leary's thread for a second there), that is, Michael, I think the only thing that Elton has done that I don't agree with is his support of Bush on the Compean & Ramos fiasco. Remember the 2 Border Patrol agents who went to jail for something like 12 years for trying to enforce the border against a drug-smuggling illegal alien who was then given immunity for testifying against them? Huh?

You mean the border patrol agents who shot a man and then cleaned up the crime scene, including picking up the shell casings, failed to report the incident, and then lied about it afterward? If it was a clean shoot then why did thay cover it up, and why does their story keep changing? If there's one thing worse than crooks it's dirty cops. These guys deserve to be in jail.

bubba , your name suits you
get your damn facts straight
illegal drug smuggler, mexico's involment,5millon dollar payoff, if you really truely followed this case you would know they have been framed
this is BS, and your talking smack

Bubba, I have been following the case with Jon and Ken on AM 640. I have never heard the things you said before. Where did you hear about the case at?

Chase Fallon,

I am not disagreeing with your analysis of Elton gallegly's effectiveness in keeping the bases open. But I do have questions about it.

1. Was the military going to close bases that were critical for national defense and carrying out their mission? Why?

2. If they were better options for the military does that mean Elton Gallegly stymied the efforts of the military to do what they thought was best?

Brian,

It's my understanding that the Point Mugu and Port Hueneme CBC bases were both on a list for consideration of consolidation at one time. It's not like the military was definitely proposing to close them down. They were just being looked at for potential consolidation. Elton stepped up and pointed out the value they provided to both the military and the local community and the military took them off the list. And by the way, do you happen to know who was in charge of the military at the time this idea surfaced? Mr. Donald (no WMD's) Rumsfeld.

I got my facts on the border patrol case from several detailed articles on the topic and the testimony of the prosecutor before congress who prosecuted this case. The border patrol agents cleaned up the crime scene and failed to report the shooting to their superiors. These facts are undisputed. But the attorneys for these agents now want to re-try the case in the court of public opinion. Talk radio and cable news have been providing slanted coverage sympathetic to the agents but omitting some glaring facts that explain clearly why these agents were convicted in a court of law. They do not deserve our sympathy, they are dirty cops plain and simple.

Brian,

Here is some additional information about the Border Patrol case. The link below is from an interview with the man who prosecuted the case. As much as I like John & Ken the truth is that they are not presenting a complete picture of this case. The overal media coverage of this case has been slanted and highly political. But if you get to the facts of the case it is clear that these agents committed a crime.

Here are the undisputed facts of this case:

- Two border patrol agents, Compean and Ramos, fired at an unarmed, fleeing man 15 times, hitting him once in the buttocks.
- Instead of reporting the incident and explaining why they decided to use deadly force these agents covered up the incident by picking up the shell casings, then filing a false report.
- There was no claim by the agents that the suspect pointed a gun at them until a full month later, and only after investigators gathered evidence connecting them to the shooting. Only then did they claim any type of self defence, in essence changing their story.

If it was a clean shooting and things happened as these officer now claim then they would have no reason to cover it up and lie about it. Sympathisers like to point out that the illegal alien drug smuggler that was shot was given immunity for his testimony. There is no question that this guy deserved to be prosecuted and sent to jail, but the only reason why he cannot be prosecuted is because of the actions of the border patrol agents who covered up a crime scene and destroyed evidence.

If you want to make the case that the sentence was harsh then you might be able to make a good argument. But there is no question that these agents were guilty.

Bubba, I often agree with you, but here you are dead wrong. These two agents were the subject of an unmitigated witch hunt by an overzealous prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, who I have seen on many talk shows discussing this case. Judging by his responses to some very hard questions posed to him by the likes of Sean Hannity and Wolf Blitzer, I am of the opinion that he is the one involved in a cover-up and not these agents. These two guys were doing nothing more than trying to carry out their sworn duties to protect our border from illegal riff-raff smuggling (in this case) more than $1 million worth of marijuana loaded in a van across the border. When the agents attempted to stop the van, they were almost run over by this scum bag who has absolutely no regard for U.S. law or the peace officers sworn to enforce it.

Quit defending the criminals, Bubba, and get on the right side of this argument. My prediction is that the sentence of these two fine agents will be overturned by a U.S. court and they will be freed (as they undoubtedly should be) from prison within the next 6 months. There is already tremendous pressure being brought to bear on the Bush Administration and Congress to make this happen - for God's sake, let's hope it does!

On a side note, the other horrendous fact in this case is that Agent Ramos was subjected to a severe beating the first week he was imprisoned by a group of scum bag illegal immigrants who obviously targeted him because they knew he was a federal agent. The judge had stipulated that he was to be placed in segregated housing in the federal pen, as is normally the case with law enforcement agents whenever they are placed in custody. Makes sense doesn't it, Bubba? Well, for whatever reason, this rule was ignored and the poor guy was beaten senseless by more scum who broke into our country, adding insult to injury and raising the already high stakes for his immediate release to his family even higher.

If you can tell I'm a bit passionate about this case, it's because I am!!! These guys should be freed immediately. And I am completely confident they will be.

Chase, as passionate as you may be about this case the basic facts are undisputed. These officers shot 15 times at a fleeing, unarmed man, cleaned up a crime scene, filed a false report, lied about it to their superiors, and changed their story once they were implicated.

Had they simply reported the shooting, as required by any law enforcement officer, then everything would have been fine and this scumbag drug dealer would be behind bars. Instead these officers destroyed evidence, making it impossible to prosecute a drug dealer.

Furthermore, Sean Hannity and Wolf Blitzer are, fortunately, not the final word in American Justice. These officers received a fair trial in a court of law and were convicted based on overwhelming evidence. I have yet to see any person dispute the basic facts of this case as presented by the prosecutor, who everyone is now villainizing because he had the nerve to prosecute a pair of dirty cops.

Imagine for an instant if something like this were to happen in Simi Valley. Imagine if two police officers shot a suspect but chose afterward to pick up the shell casings and destroy evidence, file a false report, lie about the incident, and then change their story when caught. Are you actually suggesting that law enforcement officers who break the law while using deadly force, destroying evidence and purjuring themselves should be immune from prosecution? Think carefully about this. Because if these officers can get away with their behavior then any law enforcement officer could shoot you dead for any reason, or no reason at all, and not be required to report the incident and then make up any story later if caught.

Again, the basic facts of the case are undisputed. Please don't tell me that these guys are being railroaded unless you can offer an explanation as to why they destroyed evidence and cleaned up the crime scene. Even if this scumbag tried to run them over as they say, it doesn't explain their subsequent actions and why they would fail to report the shooting. And given their lying and destruction of evidence it certainly brings all of their later claims of acting in self defence into question.

One of the facts that is disputed is whether or not the drug smuggler was armed or did he point some object that looked like a gun at the border agents.

Jimmy M,

He did, in fact, attempt to run over the Border Patrol agents, which is attempted murder in my books. What say you, Bubba Blimp?

Please explain why these officers cleaned up a crime scene, destroyed evidence and lied to their superiors. That doesnt sound like the actions of law enforcement officers who were acting in self defence. If what you say is true then there would be no reason for these officers to avoid reporting the shooting. You keep dancing around this basic issue.

Again, why did they shoot 15 times and then go to all the trouble of picking up the shell casings? Why did they shoot a man and not report it to their superiors, as required by law?

These basic facts are undisputed.

'Cause they felt like it, you illegal immigrant lover!!!

· At the time of the shooting agents Ramos and Compean did not know that that they had hit Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. Thinking that no one had been injured they decided not to report the shooting in order to avoid six to eight hours to complete the required paperwork, an internal investigation, and a concurrent FBI investigation.
· Now answer this question for me. There were several other agents present when the incident occurred. If Ramos and Compean are such dirty cops why didn’t any of the other agents report them when this incident occurred?

Cause they felt like it? What a joke. You cannot offer a rational explanation for your position. Your argument is entirely emotional and ignores the basic facts of the case. And now you resort to a juvenile attack by accusing me of being an "illegal immigrant lover". Grow up.

If Ramos and Compean are such dirty cops why didn’t any of the other agents report them when this incident occurred?

There was only one other eye witness to the event, Border Patrol Agent Juarez. Agent Juarez testified at the trial and, according to his testimony, the suspect surrendered and came out of a ditch with his hands in the air and no weapon in his hand. Agents Compean and Ramos also testified at the trial that the suspect came out with his hand up. Again, this is undisputed.

Agent Compean then approached the suspect and attempted to hit the suspect with the butt of his shotgun, but Compean tripped and the suspect took off running. That is when the two agents subsequently opened fire at the fleeing, unarmed suspect. Agent Compean shot at the suspect 14 times and missed with every shot. Compean even took the time to reload in order to continue firing. Agent Ramos fired one shot, hitting the suspect.

The two agents then covered up the incident, destroyed evidence, and filed a false report. Those are not actions consistent with agents who were firing their weapons in self defense. What is apparent is that the agents knew that their actions in shooting at an unarmed suspect would get them in trouble, so they covered up the incident. But once it became clear that there were implicated in the shooting they changed their story and suddenly claimed, a full month later, that they were acting in self defense.

What we do know for certain is that these agents committed some serious crimes by covering up a crime scene, destroying evidence, and then lying about it. We know that these agents perjured themselves by filing a false report. We know that they have changed their story several times about what happened that night. Which means that we know for certain that these agents are liars who were involved in a conspiracy to cover up a crime.

The testimony from the other agents involved with this case supported the prosecution. These border patrol agents received a fair trial and they were convicted on the evidence, which was overwhelming.

Bubba, why are you so anti-law enforcement? These two agents had every right to shoot at this guy who was attempting to break into our country with a vanload of marijuana. Not only that, but he attempted to run them over in the process. Then the guy (a criminal drug dealer) received full immunity from prosecution to testify against these 2 U.S. federal agents. What is wrong with this picture, I ask you? This is akin to a member of the mafia being given immunity to testify against an FBI agent who was attempting to stop him from carrying out criminal activity. You are definitely in the minority in this argument, Bubba Blimp, and I beseech you to examine the facts more closely before rushing to the defense of this scum bucket who was threatening two of the brave men who protect our borders day in and day out.

Another thing worth noting in this case is Johnny Sutton, the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted these two heroes, admitted on Sean Hannity's show that the main reason he was able to convict these guys was because they didn't complete a bureaucratic report on the shooting in a timely manner. 12 years for this? Again, what's wrong with this picture.

To top it off, this guy is suing the federal government for $5 million for violation of his civil rights. Huh???????????????

I believe that law enforcement officers have to obey the law, just like any other citizen. If a law enforcement officer commits perjury or destroys evidence then they should be held responsible. That belief does not make me anti-law enforcement.

Prosecutors have an obligation to uphold the law, even when a crime is committed by a law enforcement officer. In this country we do not make exceptions that grant police the freedom to commit criminal acts and then be exempt from prosecution.

The fact that these agents shot a drug dealer does not excuse their conduct. It is because of their conduct and tampering with evidence that made it impossible to prosecute this drug dealer. If these agents had done their job the drug dealer would be in prison. They have nobody to blame but themselves.

Furthermore, law enforcement officers are not empowered to act as judge, jury and executioner. They are not authorized to use deadly force without cause. It is troubling that some people, like yourself, are suggesting that cops be allowed to shoot at an unarmed suspect, to perjure themselves, to obstruct justice, to destroy evidence and then be exempt from prosecution. That type of thinking fits better in Nazi Germany than in a democracy where citizens are entitled to due process protections.

Brian,
I was at the fair last night and stopped by both the Republican and Democratic booths since I'm an independent. There were 2 people at the Republican booth and had little to say to me when they found out I was an independent so I strolled over to the Democratic booth where there were at least 6 people maning the booth and a candidate named Jim Dantona meeting and greeting people as they walked by. I found out he ran for supervisor last year and barley lost and will be running for State Senate this coming year. I must tell you I was quite impressed by his knowledge of issues and his very friendly and charming personality.
In a matter of 5 minutes he had about 10 people around him listening and shaking his hand. I live in Camariilo so I didn't follow his first race very closely but apparently I am in the Senate District and will definately be supporting him.
We need more elected officials like him, I personally think more people would become involved. Just wanted to share my thoughts.

Anyone got a pic of Dantona at the fair?

I can tell you that the night I worked at the fair last week, we did a very brisk business in voter registration. I got 20+ myself, and there were two other people working with me who were also busy. I noticed that the Rep booth looked pretty lonely most of the time. I walked over to check out their literature, and while I was there, a rather angry older gentleman marched up to the booth and told the lady working there that he was a Republican (though Bubba will no doubt say tht he was a liberal in disguise) and said that he was "tired of that little SHIT Bush". I laughed and she got a little flustered and said "well, that's ok, we still have a lot of other good Republicans." I felt a little sorry for her. But then again, not really.

They had life sized cutouts of Bush, Arnold and Reagan the first several days of the fair. I heard several days ago they ditched Bush & Arnold, and only kept Reagan, LOL. I bet they'd dig him up and stuff him like Trigger too, if they thought they could get him on the ballot.

I heard Dantona was at the Fair on Friday, shaking hands and talking with voters. Can an announcement be far behind?

Laura, while I would agree that there are some liberals in disguise who troll around in these blogs, I don't know if these folks actually come out of the shadows and make personal appearances at the county fair. Direct sunlight might cause their skin to burn.

Assuming that your tale is actually true, there is little doubt that there are many republicans who are disillusioned with GWB and the party leadership.
But if the truth must be told, GWB burned up his last shred of credibility with large numbers of conservatives with Harriet Miers, Terri Schiavo, and the whole immigration reform mess. But don't misinterpret republican dissatisfaction within the party as an indication of mass defection to the democrat(ic) party. There is little reason to believe that conservatives will suddenly jump ship and cast ballots for Hillary.

BTW, I can't wait for another Dantona campaign. Things have been a little dull around here and that might be just the thing to get everyone's blood pumping again.

I worked at the fair twice.

We registered a bunch of voters both times, the Dem booth is cute and homemade; however, the Republicans have a very professional convention-style, easy set-up ordeal. It depends on your personal taste, I guess.

The Republicans only had information about Gallegly and Rudy for President. They did seem lonely both times I was there except they were giving away candy for a while which attracted a lot.

The Democrats had the usual array of buttons, the free bags, and some literature about the clubs. Good experience, a lot of new registrations.

$50 billion would go a long way toward helping the small businesses in this country, but Obama wants to help the public employee unions who helped elect him. The states need to get rid of more of these people and get private sector jobs in place. The taxpayers are fed up with the salaries, pensions and benefits these public employees are getting at our expense. All you have to do is look at New Jersey. Governor Christie is taking on the teachers union, and more power to him. We need more governors like him.