January 23, 2009

 

                               

           - Orange County, California                            - Lavrentiy Beria, The NKVD's

              Sheriff Sandra Hutchens                                Top Cop in the 1940's                           

              Photo by Allen J. Schaben                             (Archive photo)

             of the Los Angeles Times 

 

 

To All,

     Funny, she doesn't look like Beria....

 

Abuse of Power:

     What does it mean to the taxpayers of Orange County when the Sheriff details elite S.W.A.T. team members, among others, to "provide security" at an already secured County Board of Supervisor's meeting full of law-abiding, union-card-carrying citizens?

 

     This and other "blow the budget all to hell" type questions remain unanswered despite a "timely" interview granted to Blogger Jubal at Redcounty.com and Steve Greenhut of the Orange County Register.

 

     Of course, it would seem implausible on it's face that anyone as educated in the political realities of Los Angeles County as Sheriff Hutchens is supposed to be would para-militarize an open public meeting in Orange County where unionized public workers were attempting to address perceived grievances.

 

     Yet it is clear from numerous eye-witness accounts that is exactly what Sheriff Hutchens did at the January 13th Board of Supervisor's Meeting.

 

     It remains to be seen if Sheriff Hutchens had thought completely through the idea of suppressing labor activists and other registered voters with armed law enforcement, given the history of labor relations in the United States. But it is clearly a sign that she is not the kind of "people person" needed for one of the more important law enforcement positions in California. Stay tuned.

 

Links at:

http://totalbuzz.freedomblogging.com/2009/01/21/are-sheriffs-deputies-spying-on-county-supervisors/12476/#comment-35138

 

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/department-sheriff-hutchens-2282329-deputies-county

 

http://www.redcounty.com/orange-county/2009/01/sheriff-hutchens-responds-to-b/

 

 

Those Who Live With Glass Jaws....:

     Jonathan Martin and Carrie Budoff Brown report that, when President Obama went into the White House Press Corps room to "bump fists", and was asked a substantive question about the links between defense giant Raytheon and one of his Deputy Defense Department nominees, he appeared more than a bit miffed. Yet another member of the 4th Estate may find themselves over in the "time out" corner with the folks over at Fox News.

 

    Obviously this begs the question as to if he cannot handle a largely sympathetic media on Day 2 of his Imperial Regnum, what's he going to do when the bandini really hits the Air Force Wind Tunnel later on?

 

    There is an old boxing maxim- Those with glass jaws are better off staying out of the ring during the Main Event. Unfortunately,  Obama is not going to be saved by the bell for quite a while. He had better get a good cut man, cause it's going to get messy.

 

Link at:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17831.html

 

 

The Enemy of My Friend Is Still My Enemy:

      The New York Observer is reporting that New Yorkers Against Gun Violence are actively lobbying against the apparent selection of Representative Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) by New York Governor David Paterson for the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State.

 

      Paterson is alleged to be ready nominate Gillibrand after the campaign to nominate Carolyn Kennedy (she of a Morton Grove gun control essay fame) fell apart over rumors that Kennedy had a "nanny" problem, a tax problem, and a relationship with a Sulzberger problem all at the same time (Talk about juggling chainsaws...).

 

      Gillibrand apparently earned a coveted NRA "A" rating by being prescient enough to sign on to an amicus brief in support of last year's Heller decision that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. Add to that commonsense views on semiautomatic target rifles, and it's clear that Representative Gillibrand would be a superior nomination than that of an Andrew Cuomo or the now "deposed by her own" Kennedy.

 

      Let us hope that Governor Paterson is blessed with the foresight to select Kirsten Gillibrand for the US Senate. Stay tuned.

 

Link at:

http://www.observer.com/2009/late-game-hit-gillibrand

 

 

Thar's GOLD In Them Thar Federal Wiretaps:

     Brett Blackledge and Adam Goldman write in an AP story published at TBO.com that Frederick S. Yang, a "top executive" at Peter D. Hart Research Group Associates, is apparently recorded on Federal wiretaps discussing "compensatory" aspects of a Blagojevich selection in filling the vacant Senate seat vacated by President Obama after his election in November.

 

     Blackledge and Goldman note that Hart Research Group is a polling and consulting organization that has represented "dozens" of Democrats across the political spectrum.

 

     A quick jaunt over to the Hart Research Group website will cause one to find a client list that basically represents a solid core of Donkey pols and interest groups, such as-

 

Robert Byrd (D-WV)

Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Russ Feingold (D-WI)

Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Lois Capps (D-CA)

Mike Honda (D-CA)

David Obey (D-WI)

Baron Hill (D-IN)

Earl Pomery (D-ND)

The DCCC

The DSCC (Another link yet to Chuck U. Schumer)

The DNC

Emily's List

The Indiana Democratic Party

 

Oh, and-

 

The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence

Handgun Control, Inc.

Humane Society of the US

Greenpeace

Gates Foundation

Defenders of Wildlife

Sierra Club

NRDC

 

It will be truly interesting to see if any of the above are generally aware of the "Pay To Play" ways of the politicians they "entice", er, uh..... lobby. Hopefully Patrick Fitzgerald is as thorough in this investigation as he was with Scooter Libby. Stay tuned.

 

Links at:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ILLINOIS_GOVERNOR_ADVISOR_B?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

 

http://www.hartresearch.com/clients/index.html

 

http://www.hartresearch.com/clients/nonprofit.html

 

 

  

Respectfully,

 

 

Anthony Canales

SFVMC-NRA