Mayor Fulton is now on vacation. Maybe someone can send him the link to the radio spot when he gets back.
I also liked the part of the city council meeting when I had just walked in, and they had switched the timing of the discussion from last place to somewhere in the middle. Neal Andrews put in a request to let me speak.
I actually was really angry thinking they were going to close the issue. I brought notes with me, and put them on the ground. So when they said that I could speak, I reached down and was gathering my notes. That is when Carl Morehouse said, "You don't have to fill out the speaker's form before you speak. You can just come up and speak." I looked at him and said, "I know that, I was just picking up my notes." ?:)?

Fulton looks just the opposite of the way he looks when he's about to vote on some more onerous planning permit requirements. Or, it could just be the constipation.

Way to go, Carla. You lend a voice to the silent majority out there.

Carla,

You Dismissed 9-11 conspiracy theories but yet you have spread doubt as to where Barack Obama was born. Have you seen the newspaper announcements at the time of his birth?

The Tea Party people just crack me up. They have no concept about anything beyond their own noses.

"It's all about ME."

I really think we should just name them the ME Party.

Not Impressed, I think you have the wrong impression of the Tea Party. Anyone who pays taxes and expects our government to use and manage their money wisely has a stake in this. And that represents just about anyone over the age of 18 in this country. They should all become members because frankly they're the ones getting screwed right now.

If you are satisfied with the way your tax dollars are being spent, then you obviously haven't been paying attention to the news lately. Three words: City of Bell.

The Tea Party also represents those people who are dissatisfied with the social direction this country is headed in right now. The secular progressives, like Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and their media cheerleaders (Rachel Madow, Keith Olberman, and Ed Schultz), are constantly championing Obama's pledge to redistribute the wealth and thereby create a disincentive for people to work hard and try to improve their lives.

The endless pleas for leniency, with regard to our border protection policies, are laughable, especially when you consider the fact that a disproportionate amount of crime (including drug dealing, rape, murder, assault, fatal DUI's, etc.) is directly linked to those who are in this country illegally.

I have a great idea!

Let's get rid of the plastic bags and replace them with PAPER BAGS. They are biodegradable, made from a renewable resource and will create jobs in the wood pulp and paper industry.

That was easy.

Now let's address what causes elected public servants to become so arrogant and elitist.

Love it! So rare to see the media picking up the nuances of the attitudes of our elected officials. They do absolutely behave as if they are part of some intellectual club that we couldn't possibly understand. Many are condescending and treat their employers with complete disdain.
How dare the mayor disrespect a large part of his constituency by using their demo-mantra "tea baggers". But on the other hand, they show their cards. Hopefully the people will see the Mayor and the rest of the people who refuse to listen, and oust them soon!
Besides, he looks like he needs a nap, or either electro-shock therapy...

Great discussion...sort of.

I'm having difficulty connecting the values of the Tea Party (fiscal conservatism) to eliminating plastic bags throughout the city. Seems to me you're biting off more than you can chew. The further you branch out the more of a Republican you become.

Has the Tea Party branched out too far? Two words: Christine O'Donnell.

There's no connection between fiscal conservatism and eliminating plastic bags. The connection to what Ventura is proposing for plastic bags and the Tea Party movement is the government continuing to reach into our lives in every imaginable area. I mean, what's next? You can't wear condoms made from plastic products?

If you don't like plastic bags littering up the landscape, pick up the damn bags when you see them. We don't need the City of Ventura's new Plastic Bag Enforcement Department to infringe on our lives like this. It's too much government and it's government acting as our nanny.

Use some common sense, for God's sake!

I think the ME Party folks really just want to help themselves.

"I want my plastic bags. I don't care if they are made from petroleum products, are non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, litter our ocean and streams, kill our wildlife and clog sewers. Damnit, they are lighter than paper and I just like 'em."

"I want MY tax dollars. I don't have kids in public education. I am not sick, elderly or disabled. I shouldn't have to pay for these kids and people who can't take care of themselves."

"I think the root of all evil is illegal immigration. That's right. It's those darn people who pick my fruit so I can get it cheap in my grocery store and put it in a plastic bag."

"I can't stand government reaching into my life. But those women who want an abortion, well that's another story. They need to keep those babies. But they better not go on Welfare because I don't want MY tax dollars paying for that. NO WAY."

"It's about MEEEEEEEEEEE!"

JOIN THE ME PARTY TODAY!

P.S. Any zealot can call into a wingnut radio show and they do it every day. It's not a special skill.

This lame proposal by Carl Morehouse and Brian Brennan is going nowhere. They just did it to shore up their support from the local enviro-wack jobs.

Now that many of the leaders in the community and the Tea Party folks, who are gaining in popularity in Ventura and elsewhere in the County, have spoken out against it, it will die a quiet death.

I assume the Tea Party and other citizens of the City of Ventura are willing to pay the anticipated TMDL costs in the Ventura River due to the number of trash bags found in the Ventura River on a continual basis.

Per the permit, the potential costs are only $10k/day.

The best way to address this problem is two fold. One is public policy and yes, trying to influence the behavior of our constituents. I know, it's Socialism and you hate Socialism. Get over it. The other means is through the State Water Resource Control Board which implements the requirements of the Clean Water Act, good luck with that.

Continue wearing those blinders...the make for great rhetoric!

yyz, the fact that you think we should blindly accept Socialism as an inevitability speaks volumes. The SWRCB is nothing more than a bureaucratic arm of the State's elected representatives (if that's what you want to call them). Bureaucracies have been dismantled before and the SWRCB is no exception. It just takes some political will on the part of our State Legislature. And the voters of this State are the ones who need to apply the pressure necessary for them to do something.

They can also alter the Clean Water Act to institute some common sense and practicality to this legislation, so that it's not breaking the backs of local government and the business community. Again, this requires a proactive electorate, not one that sits idly by as Obama and the other self-avowed Socialists run rampant over our lives as citizens of this country.

Hey Mike, classic comment. You summed up Bill Fulton's expression perfectly. He's one of the most arrogant elected officials I've ever seen in my life.

In my opinion, we need to replace the voting block of Fulton, Morehouse, Brennan, and Weir on the City Council. This is long overdue. Once we do this, we can get rid of Rick Cole too. He's definitely part of the problem.

Tom, Socialism is an inevitability-you live and thrive within it everyday. Please stop bastardizing the term to be some Tea-Bagging rally point. Did you go to a public school? Have you called 911? Are you benefiting everyday by having the ability to drink relatively clean water from the tap? Don't bash Marx unless you understand Marx's position and the context behind it. That's very important!

Blindly accepting Socialism is not what I contend. My point is the State is powerless, the SWRCB can be eliminated but the federal mandate as dictated in the Clean Water Act is still in affect. Personally, I think this should be worked from both ends-yes plastic bags are not good for the common good, agreed? It's quite easy to bring your own reusable bag to the store, agreed? Give the people a cost incentive to bring a reusable bag to the store-that would work.

Stop calling Obama a Socialist. Although it makes for great rhetoric, you've lost all legitimacy when you make claims like that. Seriously, you guys are so hyper-reactionary. Look at O'Donnell and Paladino back east. Are those candidates you want to support? Really? Is that a true reflection of your movement?

Getting rid of the Ventura City Council will not solve your problems.

Nice discussion.

yyz, if your definition of Socialism is public schools and public safety, then we're definitely on a different wavelength. FYI, I didn't go to public schools, but I think they're necessary in a civilized society. Same goes for public safety (911, et al).

A lot of the other stuff that we pay through the nose for in taxes, however, could definitely go by the wayside. The Plastic Bag Enforcement Police would be the first thing on my list. This is government gone awry and if you can present a compelling argument as to why this is necessary, I'm all ears. I haven't heard it yet from anyone, including the City Council. If you're saying the federal government is the one to blame because the Clean Water Act pushes the responsibility down to the states, then we need to amend the Clean Water Act. Bumping the issue up one level of government doesn't justify the need for the plastic bag police. If anything, it makes for a more convincing argument that government is not the solution, it's the problem (so said Ronald Reagan).

And Obama is, by his own admission, a Socialist. He talked about redistribution of the wealth in his campaign and has been striving to accomplish this since his election. Obama-care is just one glaring example of it.

I'm not proposing that we get rid of the Ventura City Council, only that we change the make-up so that we don't have a bunch of "government can solve all our problems" types on this body. I think "voter" hit the nail on the head when he suggested getting rid of the 4 that typically vote in a block for more government at a time when we should be looking at every possible opportunity to reduce its size and scope instead of further growing the beast.

The Tea Party folks only came out when they found they had a black president.

Where were you when George W. Bush was invading other countries, running up trillions in debt?

"I don't like government interference. But I support MY government charging through other countries and telling them how to behave. I support MY government killing 100,000 Iraqi men, women and children."

"But making ME use plastic bags. Well that's just not right!"

"It's about MEEEEEEEEEEE!"

JOIN THE ME PARTY TODAY!

Oh, puleeze, NI. You need to chill.

George Bush took out a ruthless dictator who killed over 300,000 of his fellow citizens. I say thank God for that. He did something that should have happened when Clinton was President, but he didn't have the balls to do it.

And a little correction for you. The Tea Party came out when we found out we had a Socialist President. It has nothing to do with color, but those of you on the far left who love to play the race card every time someone brings up the issue of Obama's incompetence and Un-American approaches to solving this country's problems will never admit to it.

Anytime critics of the Obama administration make a good point, out comes the race card. It's so predictable it's laughable.

Didn't we try to recall this bastard recently? I hope folks remember his arrogant attitude when his reelection bid comes up. I sure will.

Tom, if you're seriously going to defend the Iraq War then it's obvious you've already jumped the shark.

The redistribution of wealth (progressive income tax) has been a cornerstone of our country tax system. Please read something objective about Socialism before throwing the word around like you understand its meaning.

And as far as the plastic bags go, please read today's Star.

yyz, there is no doubt that serious mistakes were made in the Iraq War, including our faulty assumptions about how the Iraqis and the rest of the Middle East would react after Saddam was ousted, our lack of a fully thought out exit strategy, and the list goes on. However, we did achieve one important objective - removing Saddam from power. The long-term result of this action will be to stabilize the political dynamics in the Middle East. You're certainly not going to argue that Saddam's regime was beneficial to the stability of the region, are you?

Actually, I have read a lot about Socialism, its roots, the varying theories and philosophical slants about it, as presented by such writers as Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx. It's not a new concept. Socialism (and various hybrids of it) have been tried and failed throughout history in many countries, including Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, many countries in Eastern Europe, and many countries in South America. I challenge you to name one country where it has succeeded over time.

I'm not sure where you went to school, but in the United States we practice a democratic form of government, not a Socialistic form of government. Quite a difference, actually. I will be the first to admit that democracy is by no means a perfect system. It has many flaws and is inherently messy, contrarian, and downright difficult in practice. However, it has proven to be the most successful form of government throughout history.

We're a republic Tom, a representative democracy. And it's not an either/or question of socialism vs. democracy, that's far too simplistic.

One irrational dictator down 42 to go. Congratualtions.

There will never be peace in the Middle East.

Europe has some wonderful countries whose economic and political systems have certain basic tenets of socialism embedded in them. You should visit Holland some time.

I am a capitalist myself. I just think the Tea Party is Libertarianism on acid. I applaud the grass roots support but you're bringing out some extreme individuals who are not helping your cause.

I would think that the City Council would be a good place to have a rational discussion on the banning of plastic bags and its implications. As a society we should be moving in that direction. If you want to make it a case of big gov't telling you what to do, go ahead.

I've never visited Holland, but I have been to both France and Britain and I have to say they are the last places on earth I'd want to live for that very reason - the tenets of Socialism are everywhere. No semblance of work ethic exists because the citizens there rely on the government to take care of their every needs. Even the private sector is burdened by the government to provide jobs for life for their employees - civil service on steroids.

The City Council and the Board of Supervisors have no business regulating plastic bags. They are the ones who are constantly complaining about the State and feds pushing regulations down to them and because the State couldn't get a ban through the Legislature, now they're turning around and trying to do the same thing to their citizens? This is insanity! There's no other way to describe it.

I hear Greece is nice this time of year. Just don't mind the Molotov cocktails being thrown around because their socialist country when broke.

Eric:

Bravissima, Commendatora Bonney!

My contribution to the plastic-bag banning cyber debate is as follows.

Brothers Fulton, Brennan and Morehouse on the Ventura City Council, as well as more recently, Brother Bennett and Sister Parks on the Board of Supervisors,would be well advised to reread and more fully internalize the writings of Alexander Hamilton before they go half-cocked and suggest the adoption of ill-conceived and capricious regulatory bans in response to hyperbolic environmental headlines d'jour.

They should think long and hard about Hamilton's sage advice contained in the following quote ".. In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword (or in the instant case, by regulatory bans). Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution.."

And if Alexander Hamilton is too uncomfortably Conservative for all these environmental liberals, perhaps they might be more inclined to follow the homespun advice of Mark Twain, who said, ".. Systems change, but instincts remain."

Government policies facilitating and incentivizing research and development into environmentally sensitive, affordable, and readily available alternatives to plastic bags for millions of California consumers are vastly preferable to totally unenforceable bans which do nothing but anger consumers, foster unnecessary government bureaucracies, and selectively enrich plastic-bag banning trial lawyers.

NostraDemus

Eric,

If it wasn't for TARP we'd be as insolvent as Greece.

So, now you're praising Bush, huh yyz? Your inconsistency is showing.

Stop the Arrogance vote out all incumbants.

Unfortunately, the arrogance on the Ventura City Council involves all of them and City Manager, Rick Cole. But, I agree with your sentiment. We should start by voting Fulton, Morehouse, and Weir out next year.

I am praising Bush. It's not inconsistency, it's non-partisan analysis.

Continue the Ignorance - vote out all incumbents...regardless!

It's can't get any worse...right?

The current mayor was not the one who called tea party members, tea-baggers, it was another mayor who has since apologized.

He has emailed me to deny this, for that I apologize. His terminology was tea-party "activists". Not sure I would be fond of that if I was from the tea party group. I feel like a disenfranchised citizen, one who has many responsibilities, yet our government is heading off into a lot of directions, without wanting much input. If we disagree, then it must be just the tea-party who disagrees... and they seem to believe it is fueled by Beck or Fox news.

I have not joined a tea party yet, but I do believe they are speaking up and standing for what is right, and for that I applaud you all. And although I do try to stay involved and informed, maybe it's time.

MAYOR FULTON SAYS ON HIS BLOG (inferring you who oppose him throw your plastic bags in the river...) To those who say, Give me plastic bags or give me death, I say: At least tie your plastic bags up before you throw them into the river so nobody else chokes to death on them. Because if you don’t want regulation, then you’ve got to take individual responsibility for your actions.

I am anxious to see what staff will come back with in their report to the City Clowncil. Many of us will be watching this very carefully to be sure our elected officials are listening to the people in this community. They have failed miserably in this regard in the past, especially the Ventura City Clowncil.

Carla Bonney has put out a solicitation to people in the community (not just Tea Party activists) for a representation of people who are sick and tired of the government continuing to overreach into our lives to attend every Ventura City Clowncil and County Board of Supervisors meeting and stand up and register their opposition when issues like this come up. The only way we're going to be heard and listened to by these people is by getting active and involved.

It's our community and we should be involved in making the decisions that affect our daily lives and our rights as citizens. If we rely on Carl Morehouse, Brian Brennan, Bill Fulton, and Christy Weir to do that for us, we're in a world of trouble.