World Politics

California Assembly Passes Immigrant-Friendly TRUST Act; OC's Dem Assemblymembers Join GOP in Not Voting for It

The Trust Act made its way once more through the California Assembly yesterday by a final vote of 44-22. The legislation was vetoed late last year when it reached the desk of Democratic Governor Jerry Brown. Supporters say the bill authored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano will limit deportations fueled b ... More >>

Magical Homicides

Calderon puts magical realism in the shade

Can Mexico Ask for Its Artifacts and Gold Back From Spain?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And why do Mexican men wear such skinny jeans?

Fred Karger Presidential Campaign Set For Saturday Walk in Laguna Beach

A reporter calls a Republican presidential campaign this afternoon hoping to speak to the candidate, but is given an excuse:The candidate is working out at the gym.Yeah, right.Think: Newt Gingrich or Herman Cain.But, bless their sweet souls, the Fred Karger for President campaign, specifically the e ... More >>

Fred Karger Makes Home State's GOP Ballot

​Many California gays (and non-gays) celebrated this week's federal appellate court ruling upholding a district court decision that found Prop. 8 violates the U.S. Constitution.Those waving rainbow-colored flags have another reason to celebrate: a gay man made the presidential ballot in California ... More >>

PETA Loses Whale of a Slave Suit But Still Crows

​A federal judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that argued five orcas should be freed from SeaWorld under the anti-slavery 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Judge Jeffrey Miller of the U.S. District Court in San Diego reasoned in ... More >>

Rick Santorum, Hot Off Victory, Laps Up Praise From Santa Ana Religious Freedom Nonprofit

​Last night, Rick Santorum trumpeted his solid GOP presidential primary defeats of Mitt Romney in Minnesota and Missouri and narrow win over the former Massachusetts governor in Colorado.This morning, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit boasted that the former Pennsylvania senator was the first--and so ... More >>

Silent Protest Against Turkey's Armenian Genocide Denial Campaign to Happen Tomorrow at UC Irvine

​Earlier this week, the French Senate passed a resolution making it a crime in France to deny the Armenian genocide, a historical reality accepted by everyone except the Republic of Turkey and many of its citizens. As a result, many Turkish-American organizations in this country are already blasti ... More >>

Aziz Duwaik, Palestinian Leader Who Secretly Met with UC Irvine Students, Held by Israel

​Speaker of the Palestinian parliament Aziz Duwaik, whose secret meeting with UC Irvine students and faculty visiting Israel in 2009 raised cackles in some corners, was ordered to be held without trial for six months, his lawyer said today. The senior Hamas official, whose name is alternately s ... More >>

Why Won't Mexican Families Acknowledge Their Gay Children and Partners?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And are the narco-wars really a revolution?

[UPDATED with Ex-Veep's "Arrest":] Dick Cheney Greeted by Protesters at Nixon Library

​UPDATE, SEPT. 8, 9:56 A.M.: As Dick Cheney was lauding his profound role in Bush administration wars on terror, the Geneva Convention and the U.S. Constitution before a polite Nixon Library crowd Wednesday evening, he was "arrested."Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans rose from her chair in the East ... More >>

Jerry Brown Criticized For Not Going Latino With California Supreme Court Pick

Goodwin Liu​​​Today, Gov. Jerry Brown nominated UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to the California Supreme Court. Shortly after, Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, whose district includes Buena Park, issued a statement about the pick. In it, he congratulates Liu, yada yada, and then tak ... More >>

[UPDATED with UCI Nixing Meeting:] Dr. Hazem Chehabi Urged to Cut Ties With Syria's Brutal Regime or Step Down From UC Irvine Foundation Board

​UPDATE, JULY 8, 5:25 P.M.: Syrian freedom activists say that when they protested at UC Irvine the morning of June 9, a campus official promised a future meeting with an associate chancellor to discuss what they consider a troubling relationship between Syria's brutal regime and Dr. Hazem Chehabi, ... More >>

Will Gov. Brown Kill Garden Grove's Fantasy Hotel Resort Project?

​For Garden Grove city officials, who've been trying for years to transform their benighted Harbor Blvd. corridor into a world class resort destination, the good news is that Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the state budget last week. If it had passed, the budget would have killed local redevelopment agen ... More >>

[UPDATED with UCI Promising Meeting:] Dr. Hazem Chehabi Urged to Cut Ties With Syria's Brutal Regime or Step Down From UC Irvine Foundation Board

​UPDATE, JUNE 9, 4:31 P.M.: This morning's rally at UC Irvine targeting Dr. Hazem H. Chehabi--the UCI Foundation's president-elect, Syria's honorary consul general in Newport Beach and a prominent Orange County philanthropist and nuclear medicine specialist--went "smooth," according to an organize ... More >>

Why Don't Mexicans Want to Learn English?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And is Mexico a Tea Party paradise?

[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 >>

Fair Games Over the OC Fairgrounds

The huge swath of public land is in play. But is the whole thing rigged?

Can a Gabacho Become President of Mexico?

And Why Do Mexicans Jump So Much?

Steven Greenhut Left The Orange County Register for Sacramento, But His Poison Pen Still Stings Jim Silva

​The Orange County Register's longtime columnist and senior editor Steven Greenhut left the Santa Ana daily in 2009 to open a Sacramento news bureau for the Pacific Research Institute, a free-market, individual liberty think tank based in San Francisco. But it's obvious he misses Orange County, o ... More >>

Long Beach Says Goodbye to Annual Celebrity-Studded Women's Conference

​The annual, superstar-studded women's conference that brought speakers like Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Diane Sawyer, Sandra Day O'Connor, Sarah McLachlan and Suze Orman to Long Beach, along with major tourism dollars, will not be back to the city this year.    It is uncerta ... More >>

Scott Baugh: The Manchurian Party Chairman?

[Moxley Confidential] Are Republican insiders mad enough at Baugh to vote in an outsider to replace him?

WikiLeaks Expose Questionable Details From Dana Rohrabacher's Visit to Honduras

​R. Scott Moxley told you in October about Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) having inserted himself in the violent 2009 coup that toppled the democratically elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. Was Dana Rohrabacher Playing Kingmaker in Central America?To refresh your memory, th ... More >>

Fantasy Voter Fraud

Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was dissed by Russell Pearce over Arizona's Prop. 200 dismissal

Rep. Loretta Sanchez Blasts North Korea and Backs Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act

​Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) has issued a statement condemning North Korea for firing dozens of artillery shells at South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, killing two South Korean soldiers and wounding 15.The freshly reelected congresswoman, who is the ranking female member on the House Armed ... More >>

Meg Whitman, Chuck DeVore's Choice for Governor, is Now a "Self-Funded Dilettante"

​Chuck DeVore, who is leaving his Irvine-based state Assembly seat for private life after losing the U.S. Senate GOP primary to eventual general election loser Carly Fiorina, posted this on his Facebook page Oct. 4:"If we are to win and provide an opportunity to enact our ideas, we need to vote fo ... More >>

$100 Million Orange County Fairgrounds Sale OK'd by State, But Fight is Just Beginning

​The state is moving forward with plans to the sell the Orange County Fairgrounds to Facilities Management West, a Newport Beach-based company formed solely to operate the 150-acre property, for $100 million, officials disclosed today.To say the sale, which is aimed at easing California's budget w ... More >>

The Mexican Migra Blues

[¡Ask a Mexican!] Are you a vendido or a Manchurian Mexican?

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 >>

Has Loretta Sanchez Created a "Big Bugaboo" in Vietnam?

Protected worker?​A highly successful American businessman who lives in Hanoi says that Orange County Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin have "overblown" the need for worker rights in Communist-run Vietnam, according to a July 13 Voice of American (VOA) article."From my ... More >>

Today's Best Quote

Goodbye guv​"He calls himself the green governor and I would agree with that. He's molding."--Irvine insurance broker Ira Forkish in today's Washington Post article, "Arnold Schwarzenegger on the outs in California's Republican Party." Among other points, Sandhya Somashekhar's story notes that Sch ... More >>

Loretta Sanchez to Obama: Slap Vietnam Now!

Sanchez is playing hardball with Vietnam​OC Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez has a personal message today for President Barack Obama: Confront the Vietnamese prime minister over human rights violations in Vietnam.

Tea Bagging With a Marine. This Could Get Ugly

Facebook/ArmedForcesTeaParty​Gary Stein, a 24-year-old active duty Marine Corps sergeant based at Camp Pendeton, created his own Tea Party group, then announced its arrival on the national Tea Party scene in a press release.Two days later, some of his "brothers" are calling for a court martial.

Meg Whitman: Spend It If You've Got It

Photo by Christopher VictorioMeg Whitman campaigns in Buena Park.​Money is not an issue for Meg Whitman as she seeks the governor's office. She has vowed to spend $150 million of her own money, if that is what it takes to win. With seven months until election day, she's well on her way.Chase Davis ... More >>

Rep. Loretta Sanchez Condemns Vietnam Cyberattacks, Assorted Douchebaggery

​Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) is "outraged" that Vietnam used malware to illicitly monitor the Internet activity of human rights and democracy activists.

"Press Conference" Against Iran Government Produces No News, Much Political Support in Irvine

Rep. Laura Richardson (inset), Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Rep. Ed Royce, together at last.If the goal of a press conference is to produce a "big announcement" that makes news and warrants coverage--the usual reason one calls a press conference in the first place--then the Iran Sup ... More >>

New Free Iran Movement to Hold Teach-in at UCI's Aldrich Park

Courtesy of PersianoEvents.comIt begs the question.The Iranian government now says Neda Agha-Soltan--the 26-year-old martyr in the struggle for freedom in that tense country--may have been killed by a gunman who mistook her for the sister of an Iranian "terrorist," the Islamic Republic News Agency r ... More >>

Royce, Sanchez Blast North Korea's Harsh Sentencing of Journos

Two Orange County representatives in the U.S. Congress came out strongly today against North Korea's harsh sentencing of 12 years hard labor for two U.S. journalists charged with "hostile acts." The other four Members of Congress were silent.Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) emailed the Weekly t ... More >>

Royce, Sanchez Blast North Korea's Harsh Sentencing of Journos

Two Orange County representatives in the U.S. Congress came out strongly today against North Korea's harsh sentencing of 12 years hard labor for two U.S. journalists charged with "hostile acts." The other four Members of Congress were silent.Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) emailed the Weekly t ... More >>

Proposition 2 Opponents Use Pete Wilson Card for Their Tricks

Amazingly, both parties have ignored Mexicans in this election. So leave it to the animal-abusing geniuses behind the No on Proposition 2 campaign (y'know, that nefarious measure that would force farmers to treat their animals humanely) to conjure up the spectre of the Reconquista in this ominous ad ... More >>

CA GOP Sure Knows How to Pick OCers

The Republican Party of Orange County's Weekly Squeeze e-letter (guys: drop the cutesy orange metaphor, por favor) tells me today that longtime local GOP activist Kathy Tavoularis is now Executive Director of the California Delegation to the 2008 Republican National Convention. "A well organized del ... More >>

Rohrabacher: Why aren't we causing a revolution in China?

Last night in a C-SPAN televised speech, Dana Rohrabacher called Chinese government officials “gangsters,” slammed both Bush presidential administrations for failing to challenge China’s human rights abuses and complained that the U.S. Government isn’t working to spur a democratic revolution ... More >>

Sixteen Hours With Vietnam’s President

Dozens of media outlets filed reports this weekend about the historic Orange County visit of Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet, but only one American reporter gained exclusive access. Read R. Scott Moxley’s story in Thursday’s edition of the OC Weekly.

Dumping Ackerman

There's tension inside the world's smallest big tent. Following the lead of their fellow Republicans in the Assembly-- who bounced alleged Schwarzenegger-appeaser George Plescia out of his position as leader of the Assembly's GOP, and replaced him with the allegedly unbending Mike Villines-- the rig ... More >>

Weak on both sides...

… and radioactive in the middle. By now you know that North Korea has apparently successfully tested a nuclear weapon. (Experts prefer the term "device", rather than "weapon", but given the fact that this device's sole function is to cause large-scale destruction, I think the word weapon is ... More >>

Cocaine Airways

A former CIA pilot says secret flights to El Toro could explain a Marine officers suicide

Look to the Skies

In a column in yesterday's Los Angeles Times, Ray Lemoine, co-author of Babylon by Bus, recounted his recent brush with the Department of Homeland Security. Lemoine was stopped at JFK airport while returning from Dubai. He'd been red-flagged because of a former job. Lemoine isn't a retired shoe-bomb ... More >>

Too Much Cabo Wabo

Get ready for the delights of the Mexican jail

'Gwen, We Hereby Disown You'