What does climate change have to do with the recent fires? Read this article and tell me what you think. I am impressed that Ventura County is featured on Dailykos.com by so many writers.

State Senator Fran Pavley is opening a campaign office. Click on continue reading for details.

She was a major leader of California's global warming legislation.

( Do you remember the debate between Al Gore and Ross Perot over NAFTA? In this first segment Al Gore displays excellent skills and a mastery of the topic. How would of history changed if Ross Perot had been able to make a better case?)

Sarah Palin recently wrote an editorial criticizing the president over his attempts to reduce greenhouse gases. In an interview after the article she was asked if she would be willing to debate Al Gore. She dodged around the question but if one of them issued a challenge it would be difficult for the other to not accept. I think it would be a great event to see these two debate. What do you think?

Locally I would also like to see Rep. Gallegly and Rep. Capps debate Healthcare insurance reform. What do you think? Call their offices and post their responses:

Rep. Lois Capps:

Phone: 805-985-6807

Rep. Elton Gallegly:

(805) 497-2224

Rep. Capps, Rep. McKeon, and Rep. Sherman have all recently held town hall events where people can ask them questions on healthcare insurance reform. Rep. Gallegly might not be interested in holding town hall events but a moderated debate would provide us with a more in depth understanding of their positions. Capps would be forced to defend a massive change to our healthcare system and Gallegly would be forced to prove he isn't an obstructionist. Regardless of your partisan persuasion it would make for an interesting night.

( A quick way to convince people to support doing something to halt human influenced climate change.)

Do you have a bag of e-waste that you are waiting to get rid of like me? My bag currently has a bunch of batteries and a few phone chargers. This Friday the Simi Valley Town Center Mall has an event to help you get rid of them in a more environmentally responsible way than throwing them in your trash.

Do people really hold onto batteries until there is an e-waste event? I have a feeling that most people toss the stuff out. What happens to those batteries other people throw in their recycling can?

The Simi Valley Town Center Mall is holding an Earth Day celebration this Friday. Click on continue reading for details, including a list of sponsors and events.

Are you going to any Earth Day events? Post the information as a comment. You don't need to register to comment.

I stumbled across the ad above while looking at FlashReport.org, a California Republican blog and news summary page.

Have you heard of the California chapter of this group that Peter Foy is promoting?

From what I gather they are a small government, anti-tax, anti-regulation, and human caused global warming denying group. I have seen a few press releases and events where they bring an inflatable ATM ( that stands for Already Taxes to the Max) and argue that the state budget should not be fixed with higher taxes.

Here is a video of Peter Foy at an ATM event:

Click here for their website.

I would think this points to Peter Foy planning to run for a higher office (Rumor is he is thinking of running for Insurance Commissioner in 2010) and advocating for conservative causes could help raise his profile and make more contacts statewide.

Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy has been a long time supporter of conservative candidates and causes. Back in 1996 he supported far right candidate Alan Keyes in the Republican primary. If Peter Foy does run for statewide office I expect his past support for Alan Keyes will be a powerful criticism that could stop his ability to win over moderate voters. Is 1996 too distant to use in a campaign?

Alan Keyes sued to stop President Barack Obama from taking the office because of the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama wasn't born in America.

Alan Keyes said that Hillary Clinton moving to New York to run for the vacant senate seat endangered federalism. A few years later he moved to Illinois to run against Barack Obama to protect federalism.

Alan Keyes wants to eliminate the right to vote directly for senators and restore this function to the state legislatures.

Alan Keyes said that it is selfish hedonism to be gay and when the interviewer asked if the daughter of Vice President Cheney fit that description he said "Of course she is. That goes by definition."

Alan Keyes dropped out of the Republican Party in 2008 after failing to get almost any attention in the primaries ( did you remember he ran?) then tried to get the nomination of the Constitution Party, then after he failed to get their nomination he ran as an independent candidate. The platform of the Constitution Party doesn't appeal to the electorate of California.

I am sure we have all cast a vote here of there for a candidate we would prefer not to have linked to us but the difference is Peter Foy was a leader trying to get Alan Keyes elected. A fair defense I would expect Peter Foy to claim is that most of the wackiest things Alan Keyes has said happened after Peter Foy supported him.

I think Peter Foy has done a decent and effective job representing Simi Valley but his politics don't seem like a match for California. But would that be ignored in a campaign for Insurance Commissioner?

If Peter Foy runs for Insurance Commissioner and Audra Strickland continues to run for Secretary of State Ventura County elected officials might start getting more attention. Anyone remember that last Ventura County politician to get elected statewide? Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell's state senate district included Santa Barbara and Ventura County but he is from Santa Barbara.

So, what do you say? Do you want Supervisor Foy to run for Insurance Commissioner? I would support him if his platform focused on the job of Insurance Commissioner, if I agreed with his ideas for the office, and if he wasn't going to use the position to advocate for far right causes and candidates. The ATM stuff doesn't surprise me but some of the other issues do. Peter, in retrospect does Alan Keyes represent your world view?

What do you think? Is Peter Foy too conservative for a bland, but important, job like Insurance Commissioner?

( Same Smyth? Yes or no?)

Assembly Member Cameron Smyth has had his recent bill limiting the power of HOA's to stop people from installing solar panels from being installed signed by the governor. For a conservative Republican he is quickly building up a name as a legitimate environmentalist.

Do you think he is planning on running for higher office?

Click here for a snippet from the opposition to the bill.

Click on continue reading to see the press release.

I have heard that Peter Foy is serious about not running for reelection to the board of supervisors. In his first election he claimed to be a farmer/business person. It is fun to tease him for that ballot designation but it turned out to be much smarter than the choices candidates for the Democratic nomination in the 24th congressional district made.

Recently, Peter Foy has joined up with a lower tax and smaller government group which doesn't believe government should take steps to fight global warming because it would result in higher taxes or more regulations. It seems the issues he is most interested in are dealt with at higher levels of government. But don't let that make you think he isn't interested in altering local government.

County Supervisor Peter Foy has delivered on a campaign issue to put term limits on the agenda for county supervisors.

According to this Star article it will limit supervisors to three consecutive terms. Someone could then take a term off and then run again.

None of the current supervisors could be forced from office before 2020.

How do you plan to vote on this initiative?

Being that the only competitive elections seem to be when there is an open seat I would think this would create more competitive elections locally. 12 years is a long time to be on a board especially when you consider state legislators get either six years ( state assembly) or 8 years ( state senate). I am at this point inclined to vote in favor of it.

Of course, it is true that long time incumbent supervisor Judy Mikels was defeated but that seems to be the perfect storm of three candidates with access to money and endorsements coming together from across the ideological spectrum to box her into a hard to defend position. Combine that with her unpopular support for local developments and it becomes something I don't expect to see often.

If you support term limits for county supervisor do you also support them for other offices like school boards and city councils?

Have you seen this story? What do you think? Will we lose the polar ice caps this summer?

Place a bet but you must say what you are betting.

I bet the ice cap at the exact North Pole will be gone. I am betting a post extolling the virtues of McCain with no mention of Barack Obama. Not much of a bet being that both of them are great candidates.

What will you bet?

Moorpark city politics just got more interesting with the announced retirement of current Mayor Patrick Hunter. I don't know enough about the issues in Moorpark to give a fair assessment of his leadership but I would like to nominate City Council Member Keith Millhouse as a potential replacement. Keith Millhouse is a Republican, lawyer, and environmentalist. He is also a great friend of this blog. He donated the most to a charity drive that I had recently and he has taken questions from readers. He even backs a dog park in Moorpark, something I strongly support.

Keith, I make a motion to nominate you for mayor. Do I see a second?

A few weeks back someone asked me if there was any Republican that I would vote for over a Democrat locally. There are more but Keith is at the top of my list.

UPDATE: Janice Parvin has announced she is running for mayor.

Click here to read The Star article.

On John McCain's website there is a section of campaign gear you can purchase that have an environmentalist theme to them. Even though some far right critics attacked him for it and said he would not earn green votes for his efforts ( I do know one young environmental activist that is a Republican but the environment is her focus. Being Green keeps people like her from shifting their support to candidates like Barack Obama.) I believe it is a major change in American politics.

It appears as though George W. Bush will be the last anti-environmental president. Republican and Democratic leaders agree that climate change is real and human influenced. They also agree that actions needs to be taken.

( Tony Strickland and Hannah Beth Jackson agree climate change is real and human influenced. Kind of reminds me of this odd couple.)

In our area Tony Strickland is trying to show that he is an environmentally friendly candidate. He has spoken many times about his company, GreenWave Energy Solutions, and their effort and exploring more alternative energy sources.

His critics will attempt to claim the whole thing is a greenwash attempt. That he voted against the policy preferences of all the prominent environmental groups while he was int he state assembly. They also ridicule his company because it doesn't have a product, a profit, or even revenue beyond investment capital.

All of that may or may not be true.

But what is true is more important. The day when environmental protections only came from one party are over. To be an anti-environmentalist isn't going to be effective any longer.

The new debate is over what party has better ideas on the ways in which we provide for our energy security and protect our environment. The battle of ideas has shifted over. Republicans are quickly trying to get green as many of them distance themselves from past policies and statements.

Remember this one from Ronald Regan?

Republicans will not go back to Ronald Reagan's statements that show him at odds with environmentalists, but instead they will argue that their free market solutions will be a better way of protecting the environment.

Democrats will have to make the case that Republicans are not serious in their new found devotion and that their policies will be ineffective. But the middle has shifted and the new debate has been set.

The campaigns locally have already started adapting to this new world. Tony Strickland's campaign sent out a press release touting an award from a political wing apparently of The United Chamber of Commerce to his energy company.

Expect Hannah Beth Jackson's campaign to be critical of his voting record, his plans, and his company. Expect them to be critical of the award. But don't expect the environment to be an issue that only one party attempts to win votes off anymore.

For the Republican Party as a whole it will take more than an election cycle or set of candidates to gain voter trust but they won't be giving up.

Click on continue reading to see the press release about Tony Strickland's Award.

I know Moorpark city council member Keith Millhouse has been a strong advocate of working together to address climate change but has anyone seen a statement that shows where Elton Gallegly stands on the issue?

County Supervisor Peter Foy ( Peter, if you want to clarify and extend your remarks I will post them on the front page) is isolated as a part of the old guard that denies the earth is heating up at all. In the future there will be more Republicans like Arnold Schwarzenegger ( check out the Green theme to his website as he moves beyond the Republican Party), John McCain, Newt Gingrich, and if he is successful Tony Strickland.

Put another point on the scoreboard for Team Strickland.

( Moorpark City Councilmember Keith Millhouse is pushing for solutions, not excuses. Click here for a past entry about him.)

In the last few days there has been two articles published about Rep. Elton Gallegly and his priorities on environmental issues.

Click here to read his editorial in The Star.

Here are some quick thoughts:

1. Elton, the ranking Republican on the House Natural Resources committee is Don Young. Are you aware of all the investigations into his background? It might save a sizable amount of taxpayer money if you stand up more often to his outlandish pork barrel spending. A man that proposed the Bridge to No Where is your leader? It is your duty to confront this man before he boondoggles ( has boondoggle ever been a verb before?) again.

2. Do you really think it would be a great idea of California to eliminate our gas tax in the middle of the budget crisis? I look forward to how you expect the governor to fix our budget if he lowered tax revenue even more? Have you run this idea past any local school boards? How exactly was the 23 widening funded?

The second article was about Elton's choice of taxpayer funded vehicles. Click here to read it.

Here is the most important paragraph:

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Elton Gallegly of Simi Valley likes his taxpayer-funded Ford Expedition. He isn't worried that it's not the most fuel-efficient car. It's reliable, suits his mountainous district and is cheaper to lease than many other vehicles. "It's not a Cadillac. It's not a Lincoln. It's a Ford," the Republican congressman said with exasperation. But like it or not, Gallegly and other lawmakers will have to give up gas-hungry SUVs and luxury sedans for leased vehicles that are more eco-correct, such as Toyota's Prius. And some are in a high-octane fit about it. "A Prius isn't made in the United States," Gallegly complained.

I am going to ignore the laughable line about needing a large SUV to get around this district and instead share good news with Rep. Gallegly about the new Toyota Camry Hybrid that will be made here in America. Will you call Elton's office and ask him to at least test drive one? Also, ask what part of the district requires a large SUV to get through.

I was reading this article about Newt Gingrich's beliefs that climate change is human caused and that we must limit c02 emissions. ( I guess that makes yet another Republican that Supervisor Peter Foy is to the far right of). I have met Newt Gingrich before and I think he is most likely the smartest ( maybe not the wisest) of all the candidates the Republicans have named as potential candidates. I am not saying that because I agree with him on this one issue. I disagree with Newt Gingrich on more issues then we agree with. But I would not want to debate him in a dark alley. Or on CNN.

Okay, maybe I am just too lazy or pressed for time. But I want to know more about the other candidates. So, if you run across their position on climate change please leave a comment and a link back to the source.

And just for fun. Of the Republicans that have been mentioned for President who is your top pick and why?