One story was splashed across the front page of most papers Monday. It was the news that General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner was asked/forced to resign so that GM would be able to recieve more bailout money.

Now this is a HUGE issue. The U.S. government has taken it biggest step in the regulation age. The government is saying good bye to free market capitalism and beginning to use its long arms to influence companies and how they operate.  More funds for GM were conditioned on Wagoner giving up his post at the top of the company.

And like Glenn Beck has been ranting. Here comes the road to socialism.

This week a lot of media attention has been focused on the drug war going on in Mexico. Some outlets have been saying that Mexico is slowly slipping into anarachy and close to becoming a failed state. I've even read articles comparing Mexico to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Focus has obviously shifted because of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip south. Also this week, President Obama has been discussing sending more national guard troops to the border. The Border Patrol is even planning to spray poison on plants near the border of Ciudad Juarez as a way to kill the plants and make it easier to view bad guys coming across the border.

Back to the topic though, is Mexico a failed state?

An NY Times opinion piece says no. [The Mexican Evolution] The piece cites the established democracy and changes that have happened to the country over the last hundred years. Most notably, the author brings about points that Mexico has come across many challenges and it always comes through, trying to forshadow that Mexico will come through the drug war.

After reading the article, my opinion changes and I no longer believe Mexico is a failed state. These are rough times for our neighbor to the South. It is not the end though. And the key to getting Mexico throug this is doing our fair share. I hate to say it but Mexico's problems are because of us. The United States is the number one consumer of drugs. If we weren't addicts, the drug market would not be there. So the real question is whether America can kick its habit. Unfortunately, I will say no. Drugs, going back to the 70's, have become an established part our our culture. If you disagree, it is time to wake up. To change the culture of the countires (America as the addict, Mexico as the pusher) will be extremely difficult because it has been established for so long.

So what do we do about the Mexico drug war?

On Monday's front page there was an article about $8 billion in stimulus funds that might be allocated to high speed rail. My initial response was "why can't we stop wasting money?" The high speed rail debate has been going on for years, I think if it really was worth it, we would have dont it by now. Yes, building the fancy train set might create some jobs, but what about the long run. Our state is already equipped with airports in every major city. And most minor cities also have small airports. Transport across the state is there.

Furthermore, let us not forget about our current rail system. Besides the Metrolink accident that occurred late last year, the current system works. Trains run daily all over the state and in an efficient manner. This brings me to the old saying, "If its not broken, don't fix it." Lets hope the wiseguys up in Sacramento subscribe to it.

Back to the $8 billion at hand. I am plenty sure it can be used for a better purpose. What about all those teachers who were just laid off or buying books for students. I imagine it would be better to invest the stimulus money into education rather than on infastructure, and especially for infastructure we DO NOT NEED.

Again, the state of California is short $8 billion in its budget. Before we even have the special election to tax ourselves, the latest budget is coming apart by the seams. Estimated figures are turning out to be estimates and bad ones at that.

So just to recap, we had been told the budget was short $42 billion. And now the budget office says there is another $8 billion missing. So in total, the state is short $50 billion. Thats half way to a 100 billion. Which is only ten fold away from a trillion. You should get my point.  When will the madness stop? [California Budget Runs $8 Billion Short, Analyst Say. Bloomber]

Furthermore, if the state is short $50 billion, why was it still hiring new employees. The Sacramento Bee just published a report that while a "hiring freeze" should have been in effect, there was actually a fair amount of people hired.  [California's State Work Force Grew Despite Budget Woes anc Cut Promises. Sacramento Bee] Further proof that large government is inneficient and not the solution.

Wednesday was full of goodies. Two in particular. Both concerning the financial industry.

In the morning, Bernie Madoff "pled guilty to eleven counts, including fraud, perjury and money laundering[Bloomberg]." He is going away for a long time. Reports have stated that he might get 150 years. After the plea, Madoff was sent directly to jail. Just in case you forgot, Madoff is the guy who ran a ponzi scheme in which he duped investors out of $65 billion.

A wee bit later Jim Cramer of Mad Money(financial show on CNBC) went on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It turned out to be a one sided interview in which Jon Stewart railed and lashed on Cramer. Stewarts biggest complaint seemed to be that Cramer did not do his job as a financial analyst. It seems Stewart felt Cramer could have and should have been doing the same thing Stewart did to the Bush administration. But what does Stewart really expect, he was a wall street guy who was given a show. Cramer was definetly not a journalist.

The Chargers have resigned their all-star running back Ladanian Tomlinsom. Since the end of the season, the media had been speculating whether the Chargers would trade LT or just drop him. Much of the hoopla because of the poor season that LT had resulting from his injuries. Luckily though, the Chargers did a smart thing, renegotiated his deal and he was able to stay.

Once LT gets his legs healthy again, I believe we will see the LT that we all know and love. Running, dashing, and scoring. I am a little upset though that the Chargers did not go out and get Terrell Owens as I had recommended.

Last night, there was a mixer at the TOPA Tower Club for the Young Republicans of Ventura County and I was able to attend. It was a great night. The atmosphere was just right with the guest of the night being county supervisor Peter Foy. Everyone at the event was in a cheerful mood and ready to do their own share to help the county's party. This being only the second or third Young Republicans meeting, it had a great turnout with an estimated 50 people in attendance. People from all over the county were there, from Ventura to Simi Valley, and even some out of county people.

Peter Foy gave a great speech about the principals that the Republican party has sometimes strayed from. He really let us know how he has to stand his ground based on principles at his job as supervisor. And when asked whether he will be running for Governor, he said that he would not confirm nor deny the matter.

On Thursday, the day of judgment came for Terrell Owens. The Dallas Cowboys decided to move forward without him and he was released from the team. So who will he play for?

I am hoping Owens will play for the San Diego Chargers. After the season Phillip Rivers had, a big name wide reciever will spice up the team. Of course they have their current line up of recievers and Owens could turn out to be a distraction like on every other team, but he could also be the biggest spark that the Chargers have had lately. With a healthy Ladanian Tomlinson in the back field and Terrell Owens at reciever, the offense would be unstoppable.

Raise your hand if you have a problem with nationalization of banks?

I don't.

The first bank that needs to be taken care of is Citi Group. Earlier this week the Obama administration awarded them another $25 billion. That means the government now owns 36 % of the bank. Might as well own the whole thing since a lot of analysts say that this weeks actions will not be the last. More money down the line is going to be needed to keep propping up Citi Group.

Apparently, the government must continue to support Citi Group because it is so intertwined with all the other banks. So if Citi Group falls, then the rest fall. Compare it to an egg shell thats cracking all over, yet we keep adding tape, glue, cement, whatever we can find to keep it together. Or better yet, your buddy who is getting beat up in a fight, bloodied and bruised, yet you, the friend, keeps picking him up and throwing him back to fight more, time after time. Might as well let Citi Group fall, have the rest follow, and we the people will pick up the mess like we always do. As strong Americans, with the will to survive, we will contiue to grow, and this can just be another historic moment in our lives as a country.

So my recomendation to the Obama administration is to take control of Citi Group, and give it a controlled free fall to the bottom. Then we can let the egg shell crack but contained and with the government support.

South of our border, a drug war rages. It goes on between several cartels all trying to become the top dog. This has resulted in thousands of killings with Ciudad Juarez being a central point. Now Mexico is following after the U.S. and trying a surge of its own. By the end of the week there should be 7,500 troops in Ciudad Juarez to combat the drug gangs and the terror they wreak.

Below are some pictures that show the magnitude of the surge.

A new committee has been created at the Capitol in Sacramento to deal with wasteful spending associated with every government program in the state. It is appropriately named the Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review and it is chaired by Hector De La Torre, with Vice Chairwoman, our very own Audra Strickland.

Today George Skelton of the LA Times wrote about it.

New Assembly Panel Goes On Quiet Hunt For Capitol Waste [LA TIMES]

Will the committee actually find any waste? I'm guessing not. And my prediction is that this panel will only create more waste by creating bigger bureaucracy and in means more waste in spending. This state has been riding the run-a-way train roller coaster on Disneyland for a while now. When will the ride end? No one knows.Trying to not rain on everyones parade, this is a good attempt to actually do something about the problems of waste. Like every other program though, I do not see much happening or coming out of this.

Please do prove me wrong Assemblymembers.  

Earlier this week there were two political correctness stories.

First, the New York Post newspaper printed the following cartoon.

Then the mayor of Los Alamitos sent out an email in a cartoon showing the whitehouse lawn full of watermelons.  The later caused a resignation and the first only an apology. Both obviously aimed at President Barack Obama. 

Was resigning for sending an email too much? I would think so because making assumptions, I'm going to say that the mayor did not create that email and that it was something forwarded to him. He most likely was just forwarding it himself. The naysayers can say that I'm being soft on racists, but its really not bad at all. We all have recieved an email about this or that. Some of you might have even seen the email that caused the resignation.

On the other Hand, the New York Post just gets away with an "Ooops".