The President’s remarks on the US Attorney scandal were the same kind of out-of-touch obstructionism and intimidation we’ve come to expect (he’s essentially daring Congress to initiate a Constitutional showdown), so no need to replay it here.  But Sen. Feinstein is pulling at another thread of the scandal, one little remarked-upon but potentially significant.  It’s about a legislator essentially bribing a prosecutor to get her off the trail.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday she wants answers about the departure of the former U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, who resigned last October before the Justice Department’s dismissal of eight other U.S. attorneys sparked controversy.

“I have questions about Debra Yang’s departure and I can’t answer those questions right at this time,” Feinstein, D-Calif. and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters in response to a question. “Was she asked to resign, and if so, why? We have to ferret that out.”

Here’s the real scoop: In May 2006, Debra Wong Yang was beginning work on the investigation of Rep. Jerry Lewis, the former chair of the House Appropriations Committee who was being scrutinized over handing out defense earmarks to political friends.  Within a few months, Yang resigned… to work for the law firm representing Lewis.

About five months before Yang’s departure her office had opened an investigation into ties between Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., and a lobbyist. When Yang left her U.S. attorney’s job she went to work for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, the firm where Lewis’ legal team works, but government rules required that she recuse herself from that case or any other she was involved with while a government prosecutor.

The Lewis case is connected to the ongoing corruption investigation in San Diego that began with the 2005 conviction of former GOP Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who is serving jail time for bribery. Former U.S. attorney Carol Lam in San Diego, who was among those dismissed last year, was prosecuting that case. Feinstein contends that Lam’s dismissal had something to do with the her role in the Cunningham investigation, though the Justice Department denies it.

Not only that, Yang got $1.5 million dollars to go to work for Gibson Dunn.  Ted Olson, the former US Solicitor General, works there too.  And the Assistant US Attorney for LA, Douglas Fuchs, joined her.

So here we have the top two federal prosecutors looking into a public corruption case hired away from the government by the law firm representing that same corrupt official.

This is where government cronyism meets corporate cronyism…

(Go see the comments that Claudio is receiving at Orange Juice. They’ll make you laugh, cry, and quite possibly gauge your eyes out. ; ) – promoted by atdleft)

Believe it or not, some in Costa Mesa consider this woman to be dangerous, as she is “aiding and abetting illegal aliens” in the United States. Why, you ask?
CAUTION: MAJOR SNARK AFTER THE FLIP… HEHE ; )

Yesterday, Claudio Gallegos posted this at Orange Juice…
And I just couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it:

So I am in Costa Mesa with my son yesterday for the free train rides at Fairview Park.(He loves to ride the train there when it is open to the public every third weekend of every month.) As we were getting ready to leave there were some people who appeared to be Hispanic in the parking lot playing their music rather loud.

A lady passing by me said to the person with her, “This is why we need to close our borders, all these illegal aliens go around playing their Tijuana style circus music.” I decided to listen more carefully to what the music. To my suprise the music was not by Los Tigres Del Norte or Jenny Rivera, the music was Sweet Escape by OC’s very own Gwen Stefani. I decided I would actually quiz this lady on how she was able to determine they were illegal immigrants(I thought she might have the same mutant power as Allan Bartlett [of Powder Blue Report infamy] to immediately detect illegal immigrants just by looking at them).

I asked her how she came to that determination. She told me to just “Look at them and it was obvious. Only illegals play their music as loud as they can.” I then told her the music was not Spanish, but by American and Orange County singing sensation Gwen Stefani. The lady then said “You see, they are still listening to someone with a Spanish surname and is clearly influenced by Tijuana style music.” Seeing that this woman was as ignorant as can be I told her she truly was ignorant and thanked her for proving that most in the anti-immigrant faction are truly driven by their prejudice of all Latinos regardless of immigration status.

Yep, now we know that things have gone SERIOUSLY WRONG in Costa Mesa! When the majority of the city council allows a Neo-Nazi to control the city’s agenda, and when these local politicians use outright racism to advance their political agenda, we should know that there are serious problems in this town. But when a few nitwits make truly ridiculous claims about “Tijuana style music“, then one must wonder what the heck is happening in that town.

Ah, all those poor people in Costa Mesa… When will their town “return to reason“? When will we know that they’re cool?

Conservative Republican Assemblymember Chuck DeVore stopped by the conservative OC Blog to talk about his legislation with progressive San Francisco Assemblymember Mark Leno. As you can imagine, some of the readers weren’t exactly thrilled to see DeVore working with Leno (just like some here might feel about Leno teaming up with DeVore). But it is good to see two lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle work together to pass common sense legislation that is popular.

And it is very popular:

As California prepares to celebrate the hard-working farmers and ranchers that contribute to the state’s largest industry tomorrow on California Agricultural Day, a poll conducted by Zogby International was released today confirming strong support for reforming state laws that prevent farmers from growing industrial hemp.  Legislation that Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) have re-introduced permitting California farmers to grow industrial hemp for the sale of seed, oil and fiber to manufacturers (AB 684) will be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on March 27th. 

The telephone poll, commissioned by Vote Hemp, a non-profit, grass-roots organization co-sponsoring the Leno-DeVore measure, tracked the opinions of 801 likely California voters between February 22-26, 2007.  A total of 71% support changing State law to allow farmers to grow hemp.  Of those surveyed, 46% strongly support, and 25% somewhat support changing state law.  The poll has a 3.5% margin of error.

“The Zogby poll underscores that Californians of all political persuasions think we should change our senseless policy of importing industrial hemp while prohibiting our own farmers from growing it,” said Assemblyman Leno.  “Passage of AB 684 will mean that California farmers will have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this $270 million industry that’s growing by $26 million each year.”

This is popular, common sense legislation that is good for the state. The legislation passed last year, but was unfortunately vetoed by the Governor. You can help pass it this year by taking a moment to contact your legislators — Democrat or Republican — and voice your support for AB 684.

_

For more pics from the Huntington Beach peace vigil, as well as some thoughts on what happened last night, please follow me after the flip…

We began at the corner of Main Street and Walnut Avenue in Downtown Huntington Beach. I chatted with a few of the protesters for the first few minutes about all the lives that have been lost since Bush began this war four years ago, and about what it would take for this nation to recover from all the damage that has been caused since Bush took us to war. The vigil got off to a slow start… Until one of my friends from DFA arrived, and suggested that we move up one block to Main and PCH, at the base of the pier.

Once we reached the pier, a few more of my DFA friends arrived. At the same time, pedestrians were stopping to tell us about their relatives who were fighting a war that they no longer believe in, and why we need to end this war soon. Also, dozens upon dozens of motorists were honking in support of us and in opposition to any more pointless war as they were speeding up and down PCH. We were all surprised by all the support we were receiving from passers-by.

All in all, I must say that I was quite heartwarmed by what happened last night. I was surprised to see all the people who volunteered their Monday night to join us in Downtown Surf City to protest four years of this maddening war. I was astounded by all the support that we received from everyone around us. And yes, I was quite grateful to join many of my fellow protesters and friends afterwards at Smokin Mo’s to talk about DFA business.

But still, I’d feel much, much better if this war were over…

(Many thanks to my dad for taking all these great photos, and to local blogger Joe Shaw for providing the video.)

(I guess this wasn’t “supposed” to be on the front page…
But whatever, we all should read this. – promoted by atdleft)

Last November, Bill McDannell was living in Lakeside, California.  Today, he’s walking somewhere near Dallas.  In between, he’s walked 1,000 miles, largely unnoticed and unappreciated, in opposition to the actions of this government.  Four years after the invasion of Iraq, Bill McDannell is Walking to End the Wars.

At some spots along the way, the local media interview him, but he has yet to get any national exposure. He would like some, because more publicity would draw attention to the folly of the war, he says.

I don’t know if it’s possible for enough attention to be paid to the war and its effects, nor do I fail to understand that after four years, it’s only natural to work within the context of the war; to move beyond the immediacy of the insanity.  Indeed, that’s the only way change is likely to come.  But we can’t hear enough about the people who take up this cause as their life’s work, because without them, we’d all be lost.

McDannell says it best:

My name is Bill McDannell. I am a father of five and grandfather of four. I am a Vietnam era veteran and a former pastor of the United Methodist Church. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, I still firmly believe that, as a citizen of the United States of America, I have a voice in the activities of our country, and that my voice can be heard and can have an impact.

On Saturday, November 4th, 2006 I began to put that belief to the test. Mindful of my constitutional right to petition my government, on that date I left my home in Lakeside, California to begin a walk that will end in Washington, D.C. I am carrying with me a petition I intend to present to both the executive and legislative branches of our government requesting that we, as a nation, declare an immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Along the way, he’s collected about 1,500 signatures, and by my rough calculations he’s about halfway to Washington, DC.  To get where he is, he sold most of his possessions including his home and quit his job.  Because he still believes this country is worth saving, and he can have a small part in that salvation.  Yesterday many of us attended vigils to mark the anniversary of the war in Iraq.  On this occasion, let’s also remember some of those who are pushing forward every day to bring an end to this bloodshed.

The last time I heard Duf Sundheim, former CRP chair, speak, he talked about their metrics and their dreams of grassroots involvement.  Indeed, when I signed up for their email list (to get Schwarzenegger’s scheduling info), I got several phone calls and emails, all wanting me to get involved.  Apparently, all that work, and all that money ($25million?) wasn’t all that effective after all.  From an unnamed “California Republican” of Arnold’s grass roots network:

But one California Republican said there is little to be gained by Romney seeking the Schwarzenegger endorsement. “They don’t see him as critical,” the adviser said. “There’s no real benefit to the Schwarzenegger endorsement in terms of grass roots. There’s no political organization that you inherit.” (CW 3/19/07)

Indeed, nobody was really excited about Arnold to say, go stand in a park for a couple of hours with 10,000 of your closest friends pushing you.  Nobody really wanted to go door to door for him.  For the Republicans, he was better than Phil Angelides.  For the Democrats who voted for him, he was, well, not a politician.  SOrry, but the people who vote for somebody because they aren’t a politician, don’t tend to be political activists.  So, Arnold spends $100 million or so, and has precious little to show for it on the ground. So all those big corporations that poured money into Team Arnold…congratulations and be happy with that bumper sticker and Arnold coffee mug. Once 2010 hits, you’ll have to start from scratch.

Incidentally, that quote is from a Capitol Weekly article about Mitt “Empty Suit” Romney not caring enough about Arnold’s endorsement to find time to talk to him.  Or vice versa…

OK, so you probably know by now that I wasn’t able to see Mitt Romney on Friday in Dana Point. However, Jon Fleischman did. While I was out in the cold, he was in on all the action… And yes, Fleischman now has his account of the Romney fundraiser up on FlashReport.

Here are some of Romney’s “Greatest Hits” from Friday’s swanky fundraiser. For more videos, go to Jon’s blog.

More after the flip…

Romney on the “War on Terror”

Romney on the “Source of American Strength”
[And no, you commie-loving pinko lib’ruls, it’s not taxes or big guv’munt or ‘dem San Francisco values… hehe ; ) ]

California Romney Chairman Mike “Darth” Schroeder and OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh on why they love Mitt:

And finally, an excerpt from the interview with Mitt Romney. Jon Fleischman talks with Romney about health care:

Jon: Well, what would you say to, because I’ve talked to a lot of conservatives who are concerned about the Governor’s proposal which he, again, says is mirrored after yours, when they pass a law that requires people to have healthcare insurance and kind of the idea that that flies in the face of the notion of individuals taking responsibility for their own action and kind of putting the state involved in putting mandates on people.

Mitt: Well, my proposal in Massachusetts was people either pay for their own healthcare and demonstrate their ability to pay by having a sufficient health savings account or other savings account or they buy insurance, because currently in this country if someone does not have health insurance and they don’t have money of their own, then they go to the hospital and they get free care. And that’s not an option that should be available to people who can afford insurance. So I agree that — and I want to make personal responsibility mean that people either pay for their own healthcare or they buy insurance, one or the other. But no more showing up and expecting other people to pay your way. That’s not personal responsibility. That’s the welfare state. And currently what we have, and I think this is something that people don’t often appreciate, currently what we have in most of America and in California, like Massachusetts, is a sick setting, where people don’t buy insurance, even those who can afford it don’t buy insurance and go get free healthcare. And that’s simply not personal responsibility.

To see the rest of the interview, and to see more videos, go to FlashReport. And thanks to Jon Fleischman for covering the event from the inside. : )