Government and Politics

Anaheim's Citizens Advisory Committee Angers Curt Pringle By Doing the Right Thing!

Late last week, Anaheim's 11-member citizens advisory committee (CAC) on district elections wrapped up its final meeting, and its draft report of recommendations set to be delivered to the city council by the end of this month will suggest that the issue be put before the vote. When the previous A ... More >>

Connie Boardman and Bob Foster, Mayors of Huntington Beach and Long Beach, Put Ink to Marriage Equality Paper

Huntington Beach Mayor Connie Boardman and her Orange County-adjacent colleague Bob Foster in Long Beach are among 25 California mayors who have signed a Courage Campaign letter supporting gay marriage.All the other OC mayors--it seems as if there are 50 or so--apparently could not find pens with in ... More >>

OC-based Tea Party: Impeach Obama Over Gun Control Executive Orders ... or Benghazi

Before President Barack Obama just announced 23 executive orders he will issue and a $500 million package and changes in law he will seek from Congress in the wake of the mass shooting in Connecticut that killed 20 elementary schoolchildren, the Laguna Woods-based California Tea Party called for hi ... More >>

Happiness is a Warm Book About Guns: Intellectual Self-Defense

I began writing this on Friday, hours after NRA loon-in-chief Wayne LaPierre offered his predictably over-the-top defense of gun nuts, pimps and apologists for the weapons industry. Hard to imagine the cognitive dissonance required of somebody who can stick to his, yes, guns in the face of ... More >>

Tony Rackauckas Is a Robo Cop

[Moxley Confidential] DA's election-eve robocall for Irvine Democrat Larry Agran angers Orange County Republicans

Coyotl Tezcatlipoca Loses But So Does City in Ruling Over Costa Mesa Law Targeting Dissent

The Costa Mesa City Council was legally in the right to twice remove immigrant-rights activist and punk rocker Coyotl Tezcatlipoca (a.k.a. Benito Acosta) from council meetings in 2006 under a municipal ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor for members of the public to engage in "disorderly . . . or ... More >>

Bruce Whitaker, Fullerton City Councilman, Protests Another Police Killing ... in Downey

Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker, a vocal critic of his town's police department in the wake of the Kelly Thomas saga, surely could drum up a place in the crowd of the many protests taking place in that North County municipality.If Whitaker wants to spread beyond city borders to demonstrate ... More >>

[UPDATED with Wilson Fires Back:] Fred Wilson, Huntington Beach City Manager, Dragged Into San Bernardino's Broke-Ass Mess

See update at the end of this post with Fred Wilson's denials.ORIGINAL POST, JULY 12, 4:19 P.M.: Thanks to a little game of Connect the Dots, Huntington Beach's city manager is being dragged into the city of San Bernardino bankruptcy scandal.Fred Wilson came to Surf City from Smog Berdoo, trading th ... More >>

How Long Could a Child Molester Dupe U.S. Immigration Officials?

In theory, U.S. immigration officials only allow foreigners with good morals to become citizens, but in 1989 Mexican Bernard Gari beat the system. In the months leading up to his citizenship, Gari sexually molested two Orange County kids under the age of 14 and kept that ugly fact a secret from ... More >>

Are the Anaheim City Council, School District, and Union High School District Going to Get Sued into the City's Mexican Reality?

​A fascinating article appeared last week in California Watch, the news non-profit with more than a few Orange County Register alumni in it. The story focused on the California Voting Rights Act, a fascinating piece of work that essentially tells public governing entities--city councils, school di ... More >>

Anaheim GardenWalk Tax Breaks Speak of a Tale of Two Cities

​Ahead of yesterday's Anaheim city council meeting, a mailer to city residents from the Orange County Employees Association and numerous news reports on recently approved tax incentives for two future GardenWalk-area hotels made sure for a packed house. Mayor Tom Tait had an idea what would domin ... More >>

'Anonymous' Hack Emails of American Third Position Party, Show Proof of Meetings and Calls Between Neo-Nazi Group and Ron Paul

​The Orange County-based white supremacist American Third Position Party finds itself in the headlines again as Anonymous defaced its website yesterday, with the flag of the Soviet Union serving as backdrop with superimposed images of the seal of the amorphous hackers and a rainbow-maned pony! The ... More >>

Supporters of Ergun Kirlikovali, Idiot Armenian Genocide-Denier, Threaten to Protest Outside Weekly Offices!

​You can write all sorts of damning things against individuals, yet it's the most innocuous words that hurt. I'll never forget last year, when I got a call from none other than Mark Weber, the head of the Holocaust-denying Institute for Historical Review, all upset that I called him a "cockroach" ... More >>

Santa Ana Fire Department Reduced to Fliering to Save Itself

​Pity the SanTana Fire Department, an agency with a 128-year-old history of serving the needs of the county seat. Times are tough around in all municipalities, but especially in SanTana, where the city faces an eight-figure hole due to an inept city council and the bureaucrats it's hired over the ... More >>

[UPDATED with Ban Approved:] Laguna Hills is Latest City to Prohibit Pervs from Parks

​UPDATE, NOV. 23, 8:28 A.M.: The Laguna Hills City Council on Tuesday night approved on first reading an ordinance banning registered sex offenders from city parks and, if homeowner associations request to join in, their private parks as well.The city will join La Habra, Westminster, Yorba Linda, ... More >>

Dana Rohrabacher Lies Again About Aiding Osama Bin Laden's Taliban Pals

Rohrabacher "forgets" he lobbied for Taliban while it protected Osama bin Laden​For Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, the week proved to be yet another political mess.First, the Weekly exposed that Orange County's senior career politician paid his wife 50 percent of the federal campaign contributions ... More >>

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's Wife Took 50% of Congressional Campaign Contributions

Rohrabacher: Campaign contributions land in family bank account​Costa Mesa Congressman Dana Rohrabacher gave his wife more than 50 percent of the campaign contributions he raised mostly from corporate sources during July, August and September, according to recently filed records at the Federal Ele ... More >>

Dana Rohrabacher Lectured By Twitter Crowd on Partisanship

Rohrabacher to unemployed: Screw you until Jan. 20, 2013. ​Congressman Dana Rohrabacher skipped all Vietnam War service but hilariously insists he's "a patriot" and military genius nowadays.In the last year, Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) has also established that he believes Congress shouldn't take a ... More >>

Poll Finds Voters are Biased Against Mormon Candidates But Not Mitt Romney

​A new poll by a Santa Ana firm has good news and bad news for Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.The bad news, according to Lawrence Research, is 7-to-15% of voters are biased against Mormon candidates.The good news: specific Mormon candidates, like the former Massachusetts governor, ... More >>

Backers of Mandatory Helmets for Kids on Ski Slopes Think Gov. Brown Has Rocks in His Head

​Governor Jerry Brown has vetoed legislation that would have required skiers and snowboarders under 18 to wear protective helmets.State Sen. Leland Yee, a San Francisco Democrat and child psychologist, authored SB 105, which had received bi-partisan support in the state legislature.

[UPDATED with No Word from OC Registrar of Voters:] E-Vote System Breaks Down in Front of Blogger Critical of It

BradBlog.com​UPDATE, AUG. 17, 5:08 P.M.: I've swapped a couple emails with Brad Friedman today, and it's clear my original post about the Los Angeles-based blogger's encounter with an Orange County Registrar of Voters electronic voting machine at the OC Fair deserves some clarification.First, whil ... More >>

Ron Thomas Meets With Fullerton Mayor Dick Jones to Discuss His Son's Death-by-Fullerton- Cops

Ed Carrasco/OC WeeklyRon Thomas​Fullerton Mayor F. Richard Jones is "about ready to quit," Ron Thomas, father of police beating death victim Kelly Thomas, said after his two-hour one-on-one meeting.Speaking at Fullerton City Hall this morning, Ron Thomas said that after last night's raucous city c ... More >>

Port of Long Beach Pact Allowing Truckers to Police Clean Trucks Program Draws Judge's Rebuke

​The Long Beach Harbor Commission illegally violated state environmental law when it weakened its truck cleanup program without first performing the required environmental review, a federal judge has ruled. Finding in favor of the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which ... More >>

Garden Grove To Marijuana Clubs: You're Welcome Here

​Bucking the trend of Orange County cities who are doing everything they can to shut down medical marijuana clubs within their borders, Garden Grove is taking the opposite tack. Instead of suing the clubs out of existence, city officials are planning to ask them to register like any other business ... More >>

Monica C. Lozano, La Opinion CEO, Gets Visited Today by UC Students and Costumed Disney Workers

Monica C. Lozano​Dozens of University of California students and Disney Resort workers in costumes plan to protest this morning outside the La Opinion office building in downtown Los Angeles.Perhaps this will make sense with a little more context. Another UC tuition hike has been proposed. The uni ... More >>

[UPDATED with Register Tongue Bath:] Rick Perry, Texas Governor and GOP Presidential Possible, Shakes the Newport Beach Money Tree

​UPDATE, JULY 1, 8:11 P.M.: The Orange County Register Editorial Board loves them some Texas Gov. Rick Perry.After the Republican met in Newport Beach's Pacific Club with big GOP donors and the likes of Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh, Flash Report publisher Jon Fleischman, OC GOP Chairman ... More >>

[UPDATED with Sentence for Deborah Pauly Threats:] Video Captures Protesters, Politicians Berating Muslims at Yorba Linda Charity Function

Paul Dean Andrews​UPDATE, MAY 25, 3:46 P.M.: A San Pedro man was sentenced today to 97 days in jail, three years probation and an order to stay away from Deborah Pauly for threatening violence against the Villa Park city councilwoman via a Facebook message. Paul Dean Andrews, 28, was slapped with ... More >>

Sound Strike Supporters Outernational Reach Kickstarter Goal, Promise New Music

​ It has been more than one year since Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed controversial anti-immigrant legislation SB1070 into law provoking a swift activist response that stretched all the way to the music community in the form of the Sound Strike boycott. Since that time, and in the wake of cert ... More >>

[UPDATED: Will Goat Boy Replace Bin Laden As Top Fugitive?] Adam Gadahn, OC's Terrorist Goat Boy, Silent on Bin Laden

​[UPDATED: MAY 3, 12:21 PM] The Orange County Register is speculating that Adam "Goat Boy" Gadahn may replace Osama bin Laden as America's top fugitive, noting that the FBI has marked former most wanted man bin Laden as "deceased," and that Gadahn is currently ranked as Number 2 on that list. The ... More >>

[UPDATED with Promotion for Liar:] Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick Wins Supreme Court Ruling Against County Taking Her Daughters

​UPDATE, APRIL 26, 11:52 A.M.: You might assume--wrongly, it turns out--that lying to a juvenile court commissioner so a woman's two daughters would be taken away from her for years would cost two County of Orange social workers their jobs. Even if you didn't believe those workers lied after the f ... More >>

[UPDATED with New Anti-Muslim Rally Plans:] Video Captures Protesters, Politicians Berating Muslims at Yorba Linda Charity Function

Muzammil Siddiqi​Here we go again.Organizers of February's controversial and much-blasted anti-Muslim rally in Yorba Linda have issued an ultimatum to the Orange County Human Relations Commission: rescind the Community Leader award it is presenting to Islamic Society of Orange County Imam Muzammil ... More >>

[UPDATED: Jerry Amante Served] Obnoxious Blowhard Mayor To Be Served with Recall Papers

​UPDATED, APRIL 6, 11:30 A.M.: As promised, the Tustin citizens group trying to recall Mayor Jerry Amante served him with official notice at the council meeting last night. TheLiberalOC reports that although there was space for 25 signatures, 30 residents signed the form. That still leaves 6,970 s ... More >>

Welcome to the Ronald Reagan Great Park

EXCLUSIVE! Super-secret plans are afoot to name Orange County's largest public-works project after the Great Communicator

Loretta Sanchez Goes to the Net for the Vietnamese

​Here in the goldarn US of A, we argue about Net neutrality, but over in Vietnam, there are citizens struggling just to get access to the Internet. It's like a mass of people who would looooooove dial-up AOL.Help for them is coming from this side of the world--in Washington, D.C., to be precise--w ... More >>

Obama Signs "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal

​As expected, President Barack Obama signed legislation today that repeals the 17-year-old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law that prevented gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. military. However, it could still take months for military officials to completely lift the old policy.Still, Ob ... More >>

New York Times Data: OC Elections Aren't Really Contests

Ed Royce: Shoo-in elections are fun.​Do we have real congressional election contests in the Orange County/Long Beach area or, despite all the hullabaloo, is the whole affair preordained?Data from The New York Times, based on FiveThirtyEight Forecasts, shows the answer isn't necessarily uplifting. ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Will Maid's "Explosive Allegations" Sink Meg Whitman's Latino Outreach?

​UPDATE: New details throughout . . . Billionaire Meg Whitman exploited a Latina housekeeper the GOP nominee for California governor knew was in the country illegally, alleged celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred this morning, setting off an array of charges and counter-charges.

Racist OC Register Reader Fustercluck of the Day

​Headline: First Mr. Gay Orange County CrownedComment by TAKEITNOMORE: Keep pushing your Gay agenda, All you do is Pi$$ NORMAL people OFF. That's Right I said NORMAL.! No I'm not a "homophobe" I don't FEAR you, I just think your perverted!Comment by DREWSKI: I am assuming they are not Tea Party me ... More >>

White House Dribbles Out Obama's Iraq Speech Tonight, Anti-War ANSWER Coalition Answers

​The Washington Post is reporting that in his speech tonight to announce the end of major combat operations in Iraq, President Barack Obama will say it is time to "turn the page." "Ending this war is not only in Iraq's interest-it is in our own. The United States has paid a huge price to put t ... More >>

The Great Park: Hot Air?

Thanks to Larry Agran, a few people have gotten very rich from the county's proposed $1.2 billion, still-not-built park

Mi Casa Es Mi Casa

How Fullerton resident Alex Bernal's 1943 battle against housing discrimination helped change the course of American civil rights

Tea Party On!

The county's GOP central committee is in hot water with the tea party movement

Costa Mesa Makes State a $96 Million Offer to Buy OC Fairgrounds

​The Costa Mesa City Council has made a formal proposal to have the city purchase the Orange County Fairgrounds from the state for $96 million.

The US and the UN in the 21st Century

Nixon Library

Quote of the Day: San Juan Capistrano Is Not A Hellhole

bredgur / Flickr / Creative CommonsVictorville. Not pictured: meth.​"I mean, I don't want to compare us to Victorville. Please... please... PLEEEEASE."-- San Juan Capistrano City Councilman Tom Hribar from behind the dais at last night's city council meeting, apologizing after wondering aloud whet ... More >>

Three Local Elections Worth Watching. Call It Morbid Fascination

Humberto Caspa's New Book Chronicles the Fear and Loathing of Mexicans in Costa Mesa

!Ask a Mexican!

Is this over-reliance on her family a cultural difference?

The Anti-Immigrant All-Stars

Hangin with the haters at Santa Anas Day Without an Immigrant

Illegal Immigrants vs. College Students

Who lives the better life?