The "Elephant" is the symbol of the Republican party.

But the term "elephant in the room" does not have a political meaning. The "elephant in the room" has a different meaning, and is defined in Wikipedia as an English idiom for an "obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. It is based on the idea that an elephant in a small room would be impossible to overlook."

The press in Orange County has not focused on the "Elephant" issue that is the subject of this post. The press in Orange County has only reported the "conventional wisdom." But I will here, especially because there is a legal issue associated with it, speak the truth.

73rd Assembly District Assemblymember Mimi Walters has been a darling of the Orange County Republican Party. After losing her first bid for election, she has served well as an appointed member of the Laguna Niguel City Council, later elected, advancing the highly publicized policy of privatization on the council established by her predecessor Pat Bates, passing on creating government jobs to serve the city in favor of private… Read More

Robocalls: You may have signed up for the "Do Not Call list" as I have so you don’t get those annoying random sales calls at home. I was the lead co-sponsor of the California Do Not Call legislation when I was in the State Assembly (a copy of that bill signed by Governor Gray Davis is hanging on the wall in my office in DC). But now, here come those really annoying political "robocalls." These are recorded, automatically dialed calls to your house advocating one political position or candidate or another. They come at odd hours. They have the caller ID blocked so you don’t know who’s calling. They often say terrible things about a candidate without identifying who it is that is saying the terrible thing. I used them years ago when the technology was in its infancy. But now they have become so cheap that lots of abusers have entered the field.

So, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and I have introduced the Robocall Privacy Act to put some restrictions on this practice. This bill would impose significant sanctions on groups or individuals who: make political robocalls between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.; make more… Read More

Former Congressman Ernest Istook gives a great primer on five ways to lower gas prices. And he doesn’t even include the obvious — which is to lower existing state and federal taxes on gasoline… Enjoy… … Read More

Last week, California College Republican leader Leigh Wolfe led a group of CR activists to the San Jose office of Democrat Assemblyman Jim Beall to protest his legislation which would hike the state’s tax on beer by a staggering 1500%!

Wolfe put together a great video of the event, the highlight of which is clearly is when Assemblyman Beall mingles amongst the protesters and gets into a dialogue with Beall.

Check out the video. I’m sure that Assemblyman Beall is excited that going forward, when you search for videos of him on You Tube will turn up this – his assault on beer drinkers, including college students.

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

Yesterday evening conservative commentator and best-selling author Dinesh D’Souza visited the heart of liberalism: UC Berkeley. The Berkeley College Republicans hosted D’Souza’s visit, along with the Young America’s Foundation and Capitol Resource Institute. A crowd of students andothersgathered on campus to hear D’Souza deliver an address on “Christianity, Islam and the War on Terror."

In a fascinating presentation, D’Souza explained his thoughts on the “new atheism” in America and the countervailing rise of radical Islam. Many atheists have proclaimed that religion is the root of so much of international violence. D’Souza posits it is not a result of religion, but the more mundane interest of land-grabbing and power (in the name of religion) that causes this violence.

One of the points that really struck me was how the rest of the world, especially the Islamic culture, perceives America. To illustrate this point, D’Souza explained that he often has to protect his young daughter from all sorts… Read More

Last week, California College Republican leader Leigh Wolfe led a group of CR activists to the San Jose office of Democrat Assemblyman Jim Beall to protest his legislation which would hike the state’s tax on beer by a staggering 1500%!

Wolfe put together a great video of the event, the highlight of which is clearly is when Assemblyman Beall mingles amongst the protesters and gets into a dialogue with Beall.

Check out the video. I’m sure that Assemblyman Beall is excited that going forward, when you search for videos of him on You Tube will turn up this – his assault on beer drinkers, including college students.

As Wolfe, who promoted this protest using Facebook, eloquently puts it… "A 1500% increase in any tax is intolerable. These sleazy politicians think they can get away with it by taxing something other than our paychecks. Well I’ve got news for Beall: for many working-class college students, a big chunk of our paycheck is spent on beer. For them, this is highway robbery.… Read More

The CRA Held its convention over the weekend in Orange County. One of the few orders of business for the over 150 delegates was electing five Vice-Presidents.

CRA had 10 Vice-Presidents, five elected every year to two year terms.

The top vote getter was former Assemblyman and San Luis Obispo County Assessor Tom Bordonaro. Ken Mettler, a Trustee of the Kern High School District, closely followed him. Rounding out the field, the most qualified and competitive in my recent memory was Dr.Alexia Deligianni, an activist, author and YR Board Member from Orange County as well as current Vice-Presidents Pete Weber and Mike Zimmerman.… Read More

From the OC Register’s Total Buzz blogQuote of the day…

“I sleep with a Democrat every night. If I can do it, legislators can too. I’m not telling them to sleep together. That’s not what I’m saying, but…”… Read More