So is Whitman really serious about cutting all those jobs? I'd hope not. As much as the next conservative, I am for small government. In California though, the beauracracies are growing exponentially. It seems the only solution is to slow the growth instead of trying to cut off its head.  

First near and dear to a lot of folks around these neck of the woods, the USC Trojan football team lost, again. It had already been a somewhat lack luster season up until now. Things got much worse after their game against Stanford. The Trojans lost 55-21. It was the most points ever scored on any USC team. At 7-3, this is the worse team Pete Carroll has coached  during his tenure. Not to worry though, Matt Barkley is only a freshman and if he stays through his senior year, the Trojans will no doubt return to glory.

Major event two was the Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto boxing match. I was pretty sure Manny Pacquiao would dominate the fight and that he did. It was a very entertaining fight with both boxers going toe to toe for most of the fight. It finally ended with a technical knock out in the twelth round. Pacquiao left Cotto bloodied and bruised. Pacquiao knocked Cotto down twice, once in the third and again in the fourth. Cotto controlled little of the fight.

With Pacquiao's win, an unbelievable matchup between himself and Floyd Mayweather is due. This would be a matchup of all time. Possibly the greatest fight in history.

They said the recession was over.

They said the economy was bottoming out.

They said it was over.

They lied.

The recession continues.

The job market is in the pits.

Unemployment is up to 10.2% and under-employment is at 17.5%.

Links:

Nicholas Christoff compares healthcare and the war in Afghanistan. 

Lou Dobbs resigns from CNN.

 

 

It was quite a blow to the Obama adminstration who had campaigned heavily in both states for the Dems. And Republican leadership all across the country see it as a positive sign for next year's elections. As usual, the majority party loses seats in Congress the following election year. Yesterday's elections were seen as a litmus test.

What does this mean for the Obama administration? It means that the party is over. No more smooth sailing as the United States' first African American President. Its time to act like all the rest and fight for what you believe in. People are no longer going to lay down now that the hoop-la is over.

What does this mean for Republicans? As I said in earlier posts, the Republican party will rise from the dead next year. But what party? The party that stood for lower taxes and smaller government (i.e. Ronald Reagan's Republicans) or the party that former President George W. Bush led astray with larger government(i.e creation of Homeland Security) and out of control spending (i.e. two wars).

Either way, the chickens are coming home to roost.

Since the new administration has taken office, many changes have taken place. The raids on the marijuana dispensaries have stopped and medical marijuana prosecutions are being halted. So what is the next step?

Obviously, it would be the legalization of marijuana.

Already in the state, petitions for the 2010 elections are being circulated that would legalize marijuana. Even if marijuana was legalized in the state of California, it would still be illegal federally. So in the long run, it would be illegal overall. If we follow the current trends though, once the state legalizes marijuana, the feds will follow.

Many have been arguing that a constitutional convention should be had to make certain needed changes. Two changes that are seriously being looked at include changing the two-thirds majority requirement for raising taxes and the intiative process.

Democrats seriously want the supermajority vote reduced to a simple majority. Dems need two thirds to pass taxes and approve the budget. A simple majority only requires fifty percent plus one, which the Dems already have. Republicans would be brushed aside and the sliver of bipartisanship that is still alive in Sacramento, will be gone.

The initiative process also wants to be tackled because of the fact that anyone or any group with a million dollars laying around can put a vote to the public. The initiative was originally created by the Progressives as a way to pass legislation during a time when special interests ruled the legislature. Unfortunately, those same special interests took the intiative process and ran with it. The most notable and recent intiative was Prop 8; the intiative that defined marriage as that between a man and woman, there by banning same sex marriage. Other famous intiatives include Prop 13, the limit on property taxes, and Prop 187 which banned undocumented immigrants from schools and was later found unconstitutional.

In conclusion, the state does need a constitutional convention. Besides the two changes listed above, the state is in a futile mess. Serious changes need to happen in Sacramento. I say change the two thirds majority to a simple majority. Then when Californians are up to the eyeballs in taxes, worse than they are now, we will vote those Dems out of office. The second Republicans rising is coming. And on the intiative process, lets just scrap the whole thing. Throw it in the trash. Lets let the legislature legislate. Just like teachers need to start teaching better, the government needs to start governing more efficiently. Let's wake Sacramento up.  

The Frontline episode examined many interesting aspects of the war: widespread government corruption in Afghanistan, lack of support on behalf of Pakistan, and the inability to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

So back to the most basic question that we faced in Iraq: why don't we just cut and run?

And back to the most basic answer, because we can't.

By leaving the country while it is in such a weak state, we would allow the Taliban to easily regain control of part if not all of the country. When the Taliban were in power, they ruled with an iron fist and allowed no freedom. If we pull out and the Taliban regain control, the last eight years were a waste. There has been too much human sacrifice to just pack up and go home.

When can we say when though? The Soviets gave in after nine years.

As for further troop increase, I would advise the President against it. General McChrystal wants about 45,000 more troops to add onto the already 60,000 plus already there. That would be over 100,000 American troops to fight the Taliban. It could be seen as one last ditch effort before year nine. Such an increase would only draw more anti-American sentiment though. It seems that Bush's quagmire in Iraq has become Obama's quagmire in Afghanistan.

On the Republican side we have three candidates. There is Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner, and Tom Campbell(pictured below). Meg Whitman is the ex-ceo of Ebay, Steve Poizner is our current state insurance commissioner, and Tom Campbell is a former Congressman.

Democrats currently have Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown heading for a showdown. Gavin Newsom is current mayor of San Francisco and had an affair with his campaign manager's wife(ouch!). Jerry Brown has also been around the block. He was Secretary of State, Governor, Mayor of Oakland, and currently holds the office of Attorney General. 

If you're not sure who to vote for, don't worry you still have plenty of time. I'm not sure myself who I am going for. George Skelton had a nice write up of Tom Campbell and his centrist views. A lot of local republicans are lining up behind Meg Whitman. But how you can not vote for someone who has been putting up with the insurance companies. 

So whats a young Republican to do?

This year's most important issues have been jobs and healthcare. Democrats in Washington and Sacramento could not deliver on either one.

First, the stimulus passed which was going to save the economy from collapsing. And even though Ben Bernanke declared that the recession was over last month, the truth is it is far from over. The recession won't be over until people start going back to work. Early predictions are hoping the job market comes back by 2011. Currently unemployment is at 9.8%. That's 1 in every 10 people that do not have a job across America. California is even worse at 12%.

Second, the idea of healthcare reform has been floating around all summer. I still don't have insurance. We had the townhalls which got out of control, Congressmen and Senators were shouted down, people had guns at presidential events, and the nation was put on edge. Here in the county alone, we had two incidents. There was a fight at the Conejo Valley Democrats meeting and a finger was bitten off at a Thousand Oaks rally. If healthcare reform finally passes, it will be a watered down version of anything we really need.

Both issues are affecting every single American. President Barack Obama and his party have failed to deliver. American's want to see action, not just hear empty talk. Next year the voters will show Democrats the door and I forsee a revival of the Republican party.

Another man that should be brought to justice is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmandinejad. Ahmandinejad's outright denial of the Holocaust should be considered a crime against humanity. His threats to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth are unreasonable.

I'd say sit them down in a cell together but then they might turn into Oliver Stone and Hugo Chavez.

I am one that will not be raising my hand. The thought of beaches along the Ventura County coastline being layered with a slick substance from an oil spill. Our beautiful beaches closed because they are so polluted it is not safe nore attactive to enter the water. Just imagine the strip of beach from Ventura to Malibu closed and polluted. Think about the numerous animals that will die from the spill.

Think it can't happen. Well it did. On August 21, over a month ago, an off shore rig in Austalia began to spill oil from a broken underwater pipe. Reports say that it could still take "at least three weeks to plug the spill." It has been estimated that between 400 and 3000 barrels of oil are being spilled into the ocean each day.

With the spill taking so long to contain, it is forseeable that if a rig off the Santa Barbara coast had a spill, the oil could seep clear down to Los Angeles and maybe San Diego. That's a lot of soiled beaches.