Lieu Introduces School Safety Bill: How About School Choice?

The Newtown Connecticut mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School was just devastating. Gun enthusiasts in Congress, the NRA, and liberal gun control advocates like Michael Bloomberg have all stepped forward to condemn the violence and offer a plethora of solutions.

Never letting a crisis go to waste, South Bay state senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) has reintroduced legislation which he had sponsored in 2011with State senate Darrell Steinberg. Their legislation would require schools to have a comprehensive emergency response plan in place, specifically in response to an armed intruder or assailant on campus. Schools which failed to comply would risk losing state finances. He is reintroducing this bill in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting, in which deranged mass murderer Adam Lanza killed twenty first graders and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

State Senate President Darrell Steinberg commented:

"The legislature has a responsibility to do what it can to ensure basic safety requirements are enforced in our schools," Steinberg said. "The safety of our children demands 100 percent compliance."

This assertion is laughable in light of the quashing of SB 1530, which would have freed up school districts to dismiss perverted personnel from the classroom. Lieu’s bill died in the state fiscal committee, perhaps in part because the teachers unions played a subtle role in killing this bill, just as they pressured assemblymembers to quash SB 1530.

The notion that our legislature wants to improve public education remains incredible, and voters should remain incredulous, since Sacramento politicians have been holding school funding hostage every year, with the latest “hold-up” revolving around Prop 30. Our schools face growing pressures to boost test scores, protect our children, and furnish tax dollars for the growing number of retirees from our schools, yet who cannot be replaced with a consistent workforce.

At another glance, it is nothing short of a miracle that one of state senator Lieu’s bills did not advance to a final vote or disgrace the governor’s desk for signature. Unlike his other bilious boutique bills, this legislation possessed some merit. Still, to impose a financial penalty on schools which are already overburdened with pension and benefits obligations to administration and attending curricular staff (not just the teachers), along with diminished revenues for the classroom

State Senator Ted Lieu does not seem worried about the efficacy of our schools, nor the well-being of our students in the classroom.

He wants to fine schools that do not have a comprehensive emergency plan in case of disasters, earthquakes, or shooters on campus. If any group of people should be fined for non-compliance, it should be our state legislature, which wants to raise taxes, increase spending, yet refuses to curtail spending with comprehensive budget and pensions reforms. They should be held accountable for sitting by and doing nothing while another “massively armed assailant”, the public sector unions, continue to rob this statement of responsive leadership and fiscal discipline, as they intimidate legislators whose campaigns they pay for (like outgoing Betsy Butler and Ted Lieu)

As far as natural disasters go, our schools have their “duck and cover’ drills in place.

As far as earthquakes go, duck and cover remains the staple of every school.

Instead of fining schools for “failing to plan”, Lieu should rescind the “gun free zone” legislation which prohibits any personnel from bringing a firearm onto the campus. One armed guard would have neutralized Adam Lanza in Connecticut.

Still, Senator Lieu’s upset about school problems and conflicts would suggest that more government intervention and imposition will solve all the problems, as they have for the past decade in California, which now boasts the highest level of unemployment and the worst climate for job creation.

Aside from the physical, natural, or homicidal dangers to our schools, when will Senator Lieu deal with the more latent yet still more dangerous problems afflicting publication education?

Even though the state legislature boasts of a mere “one billion dollar deficit” for this year, the revenue shortfalls are still cascading all over the state. How many teachers are still looking for work, while school districts remain top heavy with administrators, deputy superintendents, and assorted consultants? Manhattan Beach Unified has hired former superintendents as ad hoc consultants to do the jobs which district administration were hired to do in the first place. Los Angeles Unified School District has outlaid math and reading coaches to supervise teachers, when most of the time they micromanage the creativity and authority of the teacher while receiving bloated salaries. How many inspectors-general does a school have to hire before they finally concede: “We have met the enemy, and he is us?”

One simple solution would force schools to provide comprehensive school safety plans, as well as proper disbursement of school funding, including much-needed pension and medical benefits reforms: public school choice with a voucher. If Senator Lieu cares so much about the children, why not let their parents choose where they send their kids to school? Why should students suffer in substandard schools which have no incentive to do anything, since the families have to enroll their students in the school in the nearest zipcode?

Instead of charging schools for not providing emergency plans with more withholding of state funds, state Senator Lieu (along with recently elected Richard Bloom of Santa Monica) should press for school choice for all Californians.

Transparency for Pilfering Bureaucrats

State Senator Ted Lieu wants more transparency for the SuperPACs which broadcast in California.

How about permitting the Bureau of State Audits to publish the names of state officials who waste or steal taxpayer dollars?

Governor Pete Wilson has fallen into some disfavor in California, but he advanced a moral innovation in reconstituting the State Audit board to publish the lost monies which the voters endure with hardly any announcement from the press or redress from Sacramento leadership.

Employment Development officials bilked the state out of one hundred thousand dollars.

Another employee made nearly 5,000 comments on the Internet, obviously during work time, and nothing was done about it. One would think that all of those postings would have constituted "Public Records".

The same Assembly which authorized the State Audit to hide the names is the same chamber that helped kill SB 1530. When will voters start keeping the Assemblymembers in line? The lower chamber is supposed to be reading the pulse of the entire state, and no doubt most  Californians would be sickened and dismayed by the casual waste of time and money.

Union lobbyists pushed the 1993 exception, and they helped kill  SB 1336 State Senator Leland Yee's recent attempt to remove this protecting provision.

Senator Lieu, if you expect SuperPACs to be super honest about where they get their funding, then so shouldthe Bureau of State Audits furnish the same open reporting for us, not that the disclosure will close the waste that is eating away at our state coffers, but one should not scoff at every attempt by our legislators to pay more attention to our tax dollars.

Another Post on Lieu, Super PACs, and Transparency

Senator Ted Lieu (D-South Bay) wants more transparency from in-state political donations for Super PACs. In Senate Bills 2 and 3, Lieu proposes that the state would levy penalties for failure to disclose campaign contributions. The bills would require greater disclosure on mass mailings, too, including those from nonprofits. A chief motivator for this cause, Lieu highlights the “Yes on Prop 32” campaign, in which an out-of-state interest funded the campaign to end the pilfering of employee paychecks for union dues to fund the candidates, causes, and campaigns of their choosing, whether the employees supported them or not.

“It’s absurd to allow unlimited campaign donations to super PACs without requiring the donors to reveal themselves,” one Venice activist claims, supporting Lieu. The statement begs the question: With all due respect, why is it so bad? Does it really matter who sends us all of those mass mailings? Aside from the forestries depleted with such inane, gag-inducing promotions, the only one who should be grumbling is the garbage man because he has to haul so much to the landfill. Then again, if he gets overtime for taking out so much trash, all power to him.

For the record, Citizens United was the right decision, one which opened the flood-gates of political donations to feckless saturation, exposing once and for all the declining power of money in politics, at least when it comes to elections. Shame on President Obama for chiding the Supreme Court during his state of the Union speech, and right before the Justices before their very eyes. This country just witnessed a Presidential election which burned through $2 billion dollars from both sides, and this country and the is more sharply divided than ever. Money is buying less and less in terms of votes.

Instead of transparency at election time, the voters deserve to see more transparency when it comes to who funds our elected officials’ campaigns and how our government spends the taxpayer’s dollars. I would like to see into the minds of our leaders and understand why legislators like Senator Lieu claim progress over a “mere” $1.5 billion budget deficit, covering up Sacramento's ongoing budget short falls with rosy projections despite the declining number of wealthy people leaving California. The state is losing an average of five businesses a week, and the legislature has done nothing to ease the taxation, regulation, or government frustration which drives away commerce.

I would like to see into the heart of the Assemblymembers who killed SB 1530, a bill which would have permitted greater transparency for schools and the districts which supervise them to remove predatory teachers from the classroom. I would like to know what the legislators in Sacramento, and for that matter the mind of our Governor Jerry Brown, for pushing a bullet train which is shooting through funding that this state does not have; and on top of that, the busted Cap and Trade program, which is busting a "cap" on trade, too.

Forget about full disclosure of political donations to SuperPacsor the misappropriation of taxpayer dollars. Why doesn’t Senator Lieu disabuse himself of his own political contributions? According to Maplight.org, Senator Lieu receives 89% of his dollars from interests outside of his district, with more than half from Sacramento. The last time I checked, he was representing the South Bay. The vast majority of his funds come from union interests, with the Service International Employee Union (SEIU) topping off with $34,800, followed by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in a close second.

Those two unions served their own interests at the expense of Southland residents, including Mr. Lieu’s constituents in the South Bay. The SEIU bolstered weak union protests at LAX and in front of Wal-Mart. Of course, there was the “crippling strike” at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Lieu gets campaign money, the unions get a raise (or at least they get to raise hell in the streets), and the rest of us are left picking up the tab or making up for lost time. Has Senator Lieu been receiving donations from Occupy Everywhere, as well?

Money cannot buy the vote of the residents in the South Bay, but is money buying his vote in Sacramento? Lieu's colleague in the Assembly, Betsy Butler of Marina Del Rey, lost her seat by a narrow margin in part because she helped kill SB 1530. The California Teachers Association was pulling her strings, apparently. Lo and behold, the CTA has dropped some money in his warchest, too. Judging by Lieu's record, campaign contributions should give us reason to suspect his allegiance to voters in the South Bay. The senator should prove his own transparency by giving back all that union money.

Show us how transparent you are, Senator Lieu. Do what Independent Congressional candidate Bill Bloomfield did, and refuse any corporate or union donations first, then rely on private donations, and afterwards demand transparency for every other interest. I don't see anything wrong with that. Do you?

Lieu Wants Transparency -- Let's See Through Him

Senator Ted Lieu (D-Marina Del Rey) wants more transparency when it comes to political donations. In Senate Bills 2 and 3, Lieu proposes that the state would levy penalties for failure to disclose campaign contributions. The bills would require greater disclosure on mass mailings, including from nonprofits. A chief motivator for this cause, Lieu spotlights the “Yes on Prop 32”campaign, in which an out-of-state interest funded the campaign to end the pilfering of employee paychecks for union dues.

“It’s absurd to allow unlimited campaign donations to super PACs without required the donors to reveal themselves,” one Venice activist claims, supporting Lieu. The statement begs the question: Why is it so bad? With all due respect, does it really matter who sends us all of those mass mailings? Aside from the forestries depleted with such inane, gag-inducing promotions, the only one who should be grumbling is the garbage man because he has to haul so much more to the landfill. For the record, Citizens United was the right decision, one which opened the flood-gates to saturation,  exposing once and for all the declining power of money in politics, at least when it comes to elections. Shame on President Obama for chiding the Supreme Court during his state of the Union speech, and right before their very eyes. Not less money but more money is needed. This country just witnessed a Presidential election which burned through $2 billion dollars from both sides, and this country and Congress is more sharply divided than ever. Money is buying less and less in terms of votes.

Instead of transparency at election time, the voters deserve to see more transparency when it comes to who funds our elected officials’ campaigns and how our government spends the taxpayer’s dollars.
I would like to see into the minds of our legislators and understand why legislators like Senator Lieu claim progressive that a “mere” $1.5 billion budget deficit remains, covering up the ongoing budget short falls with rosy projections on the dwindling number of wealthy people in the state of California.

I would like to see into the heart of the Assemblymembers who killed SB 1530, a bill which would have permitted greater transparency for schools and the districts which supervise them to remove predatory teachers from the classroom

Forget about full disclosure of political donations to SuperPacs. Why doesn’t Senator Lieu disabuse himself of his own political contributions? According to Maplight.org, Senator Lieu receives 89% of his dollars from interests outside of his district, with more than half from Sacramento. The last time I checked, he was representing the South Bay. The vast majority of his funds come from union interests, with the Service International Employee Union topping off with $34,800, followed by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in a close second.

Those two union interests served their own interests at  he expense of Southland residents, including Mr. Lieu’s constituents in the South Bay, where SEIU bolstered the weak union protests at LAX and in front of Wal-Mart. Of course, there was the “crippling strike” at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Lieu gets campaign money, the unions get a raise (or at least they get to raise hell in the streets), and the rest of us our left picking up the tab or making up for lost time.

Senator Lieu, money cannot buy the vote of the residents in the South Bay, but they seem to be buying yours. Your colleague in the Assembly, Betsy Butler of Marina Del Rey, lost her seat by a narrow margin in part because she helped kill SB 1530. The California Teachers Association was pulling her strings, apparently. Judging by your contribution record, they have given you more reasons to suspect your allegiance to voters in the South Bay.

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" a la State Senator Ted Lieu

State Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) has left the voters in his senate district and the state a number of legislative presents over the course of his tenure in office.
Instead of breaking his own bank, Senator Lieu used our state's time and money and decided to go the "boutique" route, and thus he bestowed on this state a unique coterie of crafted laws.
Here's a song to celebrate his generosity, based on "The Twelve Days of Christmas", since "'tis the Season":
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Senator Lieu gave to me:
12. Twelve Landlords Leaping -- (Since they must be willing to receive rent by check instead of the Internet
11. Eleven car salesmen hopping mad -- (since the interest rate cap will drive them out of business)
10. Ten Frustrated therapists  -- (they can no longer offer gay-aversion therapy to teenagers, who really need academic counseling because of school cuts)
9. Nine Sallow and Pale Ladies dancing -- (since minors can no longer use tanning salons)
8. Eight (and more) Special Interests a-Milking -- (the state dry, since the legislature pushes tax increases instead of spending cuts and budget reform)
7. Seven Microchips for Fido, Sparky and Mittens -- (for our pets, since they may pose a national security threat)
6. Six Pooches from the Pound -- (since we cannot purchase them in parking lots or in any other private venues, either)
5. Five Happy Sharks-- (because no one can have shark-fin soup)
4. Four Labeled Birds -- (since every restaurant must tell us if the food we eat is real or not)
3. Three times the Car Tax (Oh, wait, Lieu changed his mind on that one, for now)
2. Two Happy Bears  -- (since a hunter's micro-chipped bloodhounds can no longer hunt them)
1. And a State on the Brink of Chronic Collapse -- (complete with public sector unions serving their private interests at the expense of the public interest, higher taxes which cripple job growth and scare job creators, no movement toward a voucher program for our inner city youth, coupled with no comprehensive pension reform, and a still very prolix  tax code which provides an unsteady revenue stream for our anemic economy)
This year, when I look under the Sacramento Christmas Tree (or perhaps I should say "festive creature of an arboreal nature" so as not to offend activists in Santa Monica), I will pretend to have a happy face. I do not want a table lamp that looks like a leg, nor I do not want a BB rifle (not because I’m afraid to shoot my eye out, but rather because I fear that Senator Lieu will draft a ban on "assault weapons for kids”). Still, I wish that someone would shed some light on the waste and fraud in Sacramento and take a gun to the fiscal problems facing our state.
In the face of the upcoming 2012 Christmas Blues, I can smile and wait for two more years, when the voters of the 28th Senate District can give ourselves a better present: throwing out Senator Lieu and replacing him with a legislator who will tackle serious issues for our state.

Ted Lieu Loses Focus Anew

State Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) has his sight fixed on more monumental issues which are apparently hurting the people of the South Bay without respite.

His first target: the subtle lack of transparency regarding record medical expenses in our hospitals. Instead of demanding open pricing from the state's medical facilities, Lieu needs to investigate the reason why medical costs are so wildly arbitrary throughout the state of California. Instead of burdening the hospitals with fact-finding missions relating to finance, the South Bay state senator ought to draft legislation which will permit patients to purchase medical insurance across state lines and tailor their policies more individually.

Tort reform will protect hospitals from having to pay crippling and unnecessary punitive damages, which help lawyers but do great damage to patients and health care providers. How about issuing an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court so that they repeal ObamaCare? The national medical insurance mandate while will mangle insurance markets and has already driven up premiums and driven insurance companies out of business.

Why are so many Californians going to the hospital, anyway? It must be the sushi they are eating, because Senator Lieu also wants to crack down on seafood restaurants which are not openly informing patrons of the type of fish that they are consuming. Instead of micromanaging what we eat, our representatives out to stop trying to eat the rich while the unemployed working class and underwhelmed business sector in this state start eating their hats and eating themselves out of profit and prosperity because of high taxes and unnecessary regulations.

One thing is for sure: I may need to make an extended stay in the hospital pretty soon, because I am getting sick and tired of legislators like State Senator Ted Lieu who are losing every opportunity to enact budget reform, fiscal recovery, and limited government in Sacramento, all of which will do far more for the voters in this state than transparency about meandering medical costs and raw fish.

Lieu Loses the Car Tax Idea

http://sandiegofreepress.org/2012/11/ted-lieu-the-vlf-and-the-supermajority/

Even with a supermajority, one can breathe a little easier knowing that state senate Ted Lieu has rescinded the proposal to raise our car registration fee to 2% of the vehicle's value.

Lawmakers, voters, and even the senator's wife apparently stepped in to drive him away from pushing so steep a tax increase so soon.

The San Diego Free Press claims that representative democracy has not improved in California. Granted, anyone would understandably feel cynical about the California political and economic climate now that the tax-and-spend mentality of the Democratic Party has free reign to raise taxes, increase regulations, and expand the reach of government into the private sector to expand the public sector.

Still, the Democrats in Sacramento were not going to pass a tax increase on their own. First, they would test the waters by offering to the voter another proposition, a plebiscite, if you will.

That's good news for those of us who worried that two-thirds of Dems would be bad news for the taxpayers in the state. Even if most of us do not own a home, or have not found another job, we can rest easy in our cars knowing that Senator Lieu would not risk his chances of reelection by pushing an unpopular tax which would hurt more than the monied "1%".

Will Ted Lieu Drive me to work?

The Democrats have achieved their supermajority in Sacramento, and now they are getting comfortable with being in the driver’s seat. They should be careful what they wish for before they get into gear and clutch more of our tax dollars for their spending sprees. I doubt that they will repeal Prop 13, lest they drive every able-bodied and working voter out of the state, but they have failed time and again to drive home any other message but more taxes, spending, and regulatory burdens, putting more workers out on the street.

On another note about driving and voters, Senator Lieu seems driven not only to micromanage our lives with microchipping pets, or protecting shark fins, or keeping teenagers out of tanning salons. Now Senator Lieu wants to triple our car registration fees.

Why doesn't Senator Lieu quadruple or quintuple the tax? With a supermajority driving the state over the fiscal cliff, perhaps it’s all power forward that Lieu raises the car tax and gets more people off the road. Governor Brown just signed into law legislation that would permit self-driving cars on California roads, and that bullet train is still going nowhere fast. Perhaps Senator Lieu is planning on driving me and the rest of his constituents wherever we want to go. More specifically, perhaps he would like to drive the voters in his senate district to work. Then again, with all of these tax hikes and regulatory burdens, driving to work is a moot point for most people, since there are fewer jobs to drive to.

I hope you get what I’m driving at, Senator Lieu. Stop driving California into bankruptcy. Stop driving voters to distraction with legislation that is veering this state off the road of fiscal recovery. No more tax hikes.

"Climate Change Bill" -- SB 1066

Ted Lieu: Standing up for the Climate

State Senator Ted Lieu (D-Marina Del Rey) has gone after shark fin soup, microchips for pets, and tanning salons for teens. Now he has set his sight on taming the atmosphere with Senate Bill 1066, which Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law.

According to our elected officials, “climate change” is having a demonstrable impact on our communities, our culture, and our economy, and therefore the state will invest funds to explore its causes and potential cures. Yet if they already know that climate change is impacting us, why appropriate funds to “study and plan” for global warming?

Only the bravery of the Old Testament Patriarch Joshua, who told the sun and moon to stop, rivals the bravado of our state’s political class, convinced that climate change is man-made and thus requires a man-made solution.

Aside from conserving as well as creating jobs for the California Coastal Conservancy, SB 1066 is another wasteful expansion of government bureaucracy. While Governor Brown wants to direct more of this state’s divested funds to combat climate change, the economic climate remains bleak, black, and blocked with red tape, overregulation, and high taxes.

According to Senator Lieu, the California coast contributes “$40 billion” to the state, yet this wave of trade is diminishing fast. Not the rising ocean levels, but the rising red ink and tax rates from Sacramento are drowning our business communities, forcing an average of five businesses a week out of the state. This is the “inconvenient truth” that Governor Brown, Senator Lieu, and the rest of the Sacramento political class much challenge and change, not our climate, not the wetlands, and certainly not at taxpayers’ expense.

No Trust for Sacramento Legislators

http://townhall.com/news/us/2012/07/05/california_senate_passes_antiarizona_immigration_bill

The Democrat-led state Senate voted 21 to 13 for the California Trust Act, a bill which would protect undocumented immigrants from having to show their papers.

The state of California has the largest population of illegal immigrants in the country. Senator Lieu, do you have any respect for the United States Constitution or its more lengthy California counterpart?

The state legislatures have an obligation to respect and enforce the federal law, including immigration and deportation statutes.

I cannot think of a more crass and politically calculated move to shore up one group of votes at the expense of the entire state.

Illegal immigration in itself does more harm to the voters in the state -- those born and naturalized as well as those visiting from foreign countries. Illegal immigration harms the immigrant, those who seek legal asylum as well as those who chose to enter under the shadow of shame and subterfuge.

The politicians in this state are called to represent the best interests of all Californians. With state senators like these, including Senator Lieu, who needs enemies?

Lieu's Lowe-Down on Lowe's Reaches a New Low

http://www.examiner-enterprise.com/sections/news/business/lowe%E2%80%99s-stands-decision-pull-tv-ads.html

[Revisiting a previous matter regarding Lowe's pulling ads from "All-American Muslim".

Home improvement chain Lowe’s plans to stick by its decision to yank its ads from a reality TV show about American Muslims amid growing debate over the move.

California Sen. Ted Lieu said Sunday that he is considering calling for a boycott of Lowe’s Cos., sparking criticism of the chain from both inside and outside of the Muslim community.

Senator Lieu, we do not need legislators who harass businesses, especially if those companies chose not to advertise on certain stations or around certain television programs.

The California state legislature already fosters one of the most anti-business climates in the country. Do we really need state senators attacking legitimate corporations that are interested in appealing to the greatest number of prospective buyers?

Lowe's indicated that they pulled their ads in response to a Florida-based interest group:

"Lowe’s stopped its commercials after a conservative group known as the Florida Family Association emailed companies to ask them to do so. The group said the program is “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”

If one interest group in a country inflicts enough pressure on a company so as not to endorse a show with its advertisements, then so be it. Whether the Florida Families Association' assertion is true or not is a matter of conjecture, but Lowe's has the First Amendment right to refuse to

That is a a right that belongs to all people, whether to support or to detract from any group, from any program, from any movement.

Senator Lieu, perhaps the voters in the state of California should begin boycotting your reelection in 2012. It is shameful, wasteful, and just plain degrading for a state senator to insinuate hate toward anyone who simply refuses to endorse a television program with its own advertising dollars.

Senator Lieu -- Did You Really?

Senator Lieu, I cannot believe that you passed another budget in Sacramento filled with "borrowing and gimmicks".

Give me a break!

Enough with the "Give Me's", please! The governor wants to enact sweeping cuts to welfare, which would actually improve the welfare of everyone in the state. Why should we burden hard-on-their-luck individuals with long-lines and dehumanizing bureaucracy just so they can get a "hand-out" from the state? All of this money just pushes up inflation, which makes it hard for anyone to buy anything, which makes it harder for businesses to open up, expand, and hire.

There is plenty of work, of money, of opportunity, Senator, but you need to leave well enough alone and stop making it easier for people not to live by the means and the talents which they possess in greater number.

Do you really believe that the majority of voters are going to support a tax increase this November? A Higher sales tax will mean fewer sales. A higher percentage of taxes on the wealthy will scare the wealth out of the state and into tax shelters, with neither the business class of the unemployed seeing any benefit.

The November tax increase will not do any good, even if it does pass. The state will not collect any more revenues. The political class has no more money to play with. They cannot keep passing around air and IOUs, hoping that some fairy will touch down and transform every redwood into easy green for us to spend.

I have to ask you, Senator. . ."What the hell are we paying you for?"

A better question. . .What they hell are we going to pay you with?"

There is no budgeting with thin air. There is no budgeting if the lawmakers are depending on initiatives months from now that may or may not pass. This kind of billing and passing is a bill of goods that simply does not pass the scratch and sniff test.

If you have to cut everything, then so be it. I see no purpose in a legislature that sits around and speculates on how much to spend when the money to speculate with is all gone. All gone.

Lawmakers Pass a "Budget" on Time

Whatever the Sacramento legislators cobbled together and rushed to Governor Brown's desk, that is not a budget, neither reasonable nor respectable.

The Sacramento political class rushes these bills through Congress, as if the State Controller will just look a glance as say, "Pass!" They ram their bills through like lazy students who have partied all month on Mom and Dad's dole, only to buckle down the night before to finish the research paper that would take a reasonable man a week to prepare.

The 2012-2013 budget is full of the same hype and tripe which floats around on easy gimmicks, rosy predictions growing cloudier by the minute, and minimized cuts which will not end the dominance of the state at the expense of the individual or small businesses.

Senate budget committee chairman Mark Leno of San Francisco described the budget passed from the Senate as "a budget which is painful yet hopeful, sobering yet with vision.""

I think these legislators need to sober up and give up the kool-aid "hope" which has drugged them to ignoring the increased pain weighing on the state.

The voters in California demand a responsible budget, not a hodge-podge of failures which tie together less money for the same number of services, like pouring a bathtub of red ink into a thimble and believing that nothing will spill out.

The deluge is upon us. The state is broke, and no one wants to fix it.

The Republicans are on call demanding that Governor Brown veto this sad attempt to prepare for the fiscal year.

"The bill is filled with borrowing and gimmicks," said State Senator Bill Emmerson of Riverside. How many of us are tired of hearing about "borrowing" and "gimmicks"? When will this insanity cease?

Perhaps Michigan Governor Rich Snyder should nominate one of his independent auditors to take over and cut what is bleeding over the rim of fiscal solvency.

No one in the majority will touch anything deep enough to enact the necessary austerity measures. The time has come to put an end to this fussy nonsense. Austerity is the word that we must get used to, or we can be sure that there will be nothing left to cut.

Apology to the Napa and Solano Counties

As an unwilling constituent of Senator Ted Lieu in the South Bay region of Southern California, I want to apologize to all the Napa and Solano country rural residents who enjoy hunting and trapping. I never voted for the state senate who ended up on the state "Legislators to Watch" list. Watching him debate and promote the most inane and inappropriate of causes has created quite a stir.

Unless Senator Lieu has a soft spot for Winnie the Pooh, or he happens to be an avid Yogi Bear fan, I still fail to the see the force and fancy for banning the use of hunting dogs to track down bears.

I for one regret that the decisions of a suburban media hound has decided to hunt and kill the rights of hunters to hunt for game with their own hounds.

State Senator Ted Lieu has been micromanaging the most picky and picayune of issues during his tenure in the California legislature, from microchipping pets to banning the private sale of domestic animals. Instead of speaking up for more pressing and meaningful causes, like the dwindling business sector, the rise of unemployment, and the lack of opportunity for young people seeking and education and seeking work, Senator Lieu has also found time to attack landlords who want electronic rental payment as well as tanning salons and buy-here-pay-here car loans. We all would like to see our politicians care about the here and now as well as the far and away future of this state.

I believe that state legislators like Senator Lieu belong in a zoo, along with all the other odd-ball colleagues and odd pieces of legislation which are eating away at the individual liberties of Californians when our politicians could be implementing Governor Brown's 12-point pension reform, eliminating the waste, fraud, and redundant bureaucracy in our state, and providing a well-financed future based on lower taxes, more stable revenue streams, and greater autonomy for citizens and local office holders.

Once, I express my profound regret that a legislator from my district is causing so much trouble for rural residents who want to see less government, and would like to see government doing much less.

Reinstate Prop 75

In 2005 with Proposition 75, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to put a cap on the easy political contributions that Democratic party operatives were receiving from public sector unions, including teachers. Early polling had suggested that the measure was going to pass, but when the votes were collected, the measure failed by six points, most likely due to last-minute union propagandizing.

Public sector workers collect union dues from their employees by force. Individuals employees have no power to protect where their dues go, and neither can they prevent the local union from taking their dues.

The whole arrangement is corrupt and unjust.

Senator Lieu, instead of protecting the collective bargaining rights of entire employee associations, why not protect the individual employee and permit him to choose whether he joins the union or not, and whether he chooses to offer union dues or not?

I believe that California voters must consider permitting the Golden State to become a "Right to Work" state as well, where the individual work can stand up to union leaders and choose not to join, not to donate, and therefore not to support the liberal cabal of Democratic-Unionist statism.

If Walker Did it, Why Won't You?

Senator Lieu, I believe that one of the largest and most protracted obstacles to budget reform in the state of California is the public sector union lobby. Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, with his determined party caucus, passed budget reform and limits to public sector unions' collective bargaining rights. The state of California must invest in implementing similar measures quickly if the state every hopes to recover from the economic malaise sickening the state.

I am aware that service unions, public works associations, and peace officer unions have quite a strong hold on the levers of power in Sacramento.

I am also well aware that the number one goal of a legislator is to get reelected. The voters in this state are growing tired of legislators who pay attention to interest groups, not the best interests of the state and her citizens.

The taxpayers in the state of California deserve a legislature that responds to the needs of everyone, born and naturalized. The votes, the committees, the money that goes into Sacramento must be diverted to supplying the well-being of everyone.

We have schools in disrepair, we have roads crumbling under the weight of increasing traffic without proper reparation, and we see the business climate improving at an anemic pace, too slow to generate adequate job growth.

The power of the public unions has frozen the freedom of the legislature to enact fiscally responsible decisions which would benefit everyone in the State of California. The time is now for the legislature to begin enacting right to work laws, voluntary dues for union members, and an end to the power to strike during labor disagreements.

The public employees in this state have every right to form associations and discuss the needs of their members. However, the union leadership and the Establishment elements in the Democratic party have betrayed a blatant disregard for the growing issues except sound fiscal policy and limited government.

California was the golden state when miners streamed across the country looking for wealth. She can be a prosperous state again, but not if one section of the public sector is permitted to live without reason or regard off of the rest of the state and her residents. If the leadership in the Dairy State could pull off the necessary limits on state power, then what is preventing you and your progressive minded colleagues in Sacramento from pursuing the same policies?

On Lieu's Support for Crime Victims

Democratic state Sens. Ted Lieu of Redondo Beach and Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills this week introduced a bill aimed at providing support to victimized children who must testify in court.

Current laws allow trial assistance to be provided for youth who testify in homicide, dependent abuse and rape cases. Senate Bill 1091 calls for extending support to minors who are victims of sex crimes, including child pornography, pimping, pandering and sex trafficking.
"It makes no sense for children who are victims of sexually related crimes to not have the same right to confront their perpetrators without fear of retaliation that others have," Lieu said in a written statement.
---Art Marroquin, Daily Breeze, February 17, 2012

I do not know what to make of this bill.

Certainly, the trauma of a young victim to face accusers is a great strain, but how many individuals have been acquitted following false accusations from suggestive interviews which inadvertently prompted children to implicate others who had done nothing wrong?

The high incidence of accusations for sexual perversion are alarming, enough that the court system should enter heedlessly into preventing the testimony of young accusers from a proper cross examination.

If the state is concerned about the welfare of a young person following their testimony in court, then they deserve the most rigorous protections available under a witness protection program. Otherwise, to prevent the accused from facing the accuser would compromise the essential standard of equality under the law as well as frustrate the protections guaranteed in the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Dangers of Reparative Therapy

May 29. 2012, a day that will live in invasive infamy for the residents of the state of California.

SB 1172, the prohibition against "gay aversion" therapy, was sponsored, supported, and sent through on a passing vote in the state Senate.

Senator Ted Lieu referred to dated and outdated data to shoot down conversion therapy for individuals who seek are who are sought to change their sexual preferences.

These matters do not belong in the halls of a state legislature.

The dangers posed by therapies of all sorts stem from greater issues, far beyond anything that politicians or legislators can debate in camera.

I am appalled at the extent to which nanny-state liberalism is creeping up and across the country. We need less government, we need politicians who will do as little as possible, and when they are done ensure that there is less for the government to do beyond protecting our rights and our borders, as well providing a sound fiscal future for the residents of the State of California.

The sexual preferences of individuals is the most inane of policy issues. Most families are too busy trying to pay off mortgages, most youth are too caught up in wondering whether they will be able to enroll in an acceptable college after graduating from high school, and that there will be an adequate job waiting for them when they receive a diploma. The rising cost of student loan debt, coupled with a sluggish economy and a fraying and failing infrastructure is more certainly weighing on people's minds far more than which sex someone wants to sleep with or marry.

The social issues are distracting us from the financial and structural problems which are eroding the best of what is left in the state of California. This "gay aversion" bill is just a stray diversion for Senator Lieu, who should be spending more time protecting taxpayers from paying out the bankrupt state and providing adequate public school reforms so that the youth of today will have an adulthood of tomorrow to look forward to.

Buy Here, Pay Here Car Sales

Lieu bill regulating 'buy here, pay here' car loans passes state Senate State Senate voted 23-12 on Thursday to approve a South Bay lawmaker's bill aimed at regulating car dealers who offer "buy here, pay here" installment loans.

Senate Bill 956, introduced by state Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Redondo Beach, would require dealers to obtain a state lender's license so consumers are better protected when purchasing vehicles.
The bill now goes to the Assembly for consideration.
In some cases, consumers pay thousands of dollars more for a vehicle than it's worth while also paying high interest rates, Lieu said. The move sometimes leads to repossession, while the dealer keeps the down payment and resells the same vehicle.
The measure also would limit used-car installment loans to a maximum of 17.2 percent interest. The bill also calls for providing grace periods before a used car is repossessed.
"These buy-here, pay-here used-car dealers take advantage of our lack of laws to prey on desperate workers, low-income families and members of the military by pushing unregulated loans to sell cars for far beyond market value," Lieu said.
- Art Marroquin, Daily Breeze -- June 1, 2012

Senator Lieu wants to protect consumers from predatory car lenders. We would be better served if government would protect us from government mandates attempting to protect us.

How many of us have forgotten Reagan's nine most dangerous words in the English language: "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."

If consumers are paying far more money at a higher interest rate for a car, then the responsibility for this financial decision lies with the consumer. Every individual purchasing a car must make the necessary effort to shop around and find the best price.

The more that government regulates the sale of automobiles, the fewer options there will be available for individuals when purchasing anything, including cars. Some individuals consumers settle for a higher interest rate because of previous purchase and banking choices. Some people simply have bad credit, and car salesmen should not have to shoulder the risk of selling a vehicle to someone who cannot afford it, or who does not have a record of timely repayment.

This country has already witnessed the massive failure of regulation and subsidy from the government in the housing market. There is no justifiable reason for Sacramento to get involved in the sale of used cars. The market system, left to itself, provides better mechanisms for punishing bad businesses than government ever can provide.

Our legislators need to get out of the way. Senator Lieu, the state of California does not need a lemon law. We need a government that does as little as possible.

Lieu Loses Pay From the Citizens' Compensation Commission

The Citizens' Compensation Commission just issued a 5% pay cut to the political class in Sacramento.

Senator Lieu, I do not object to your collecting a salary for serving as a state senator.

I do object to your using your time so poorly authoring and cosponsoring inane, frivolous, and irrelevant legislation which does not protect the rights of California, secure California's borders, or discharges the immense debt and yearly budget deficits which discourage investment and waste revenue on rising interest rates.

I am saddened that the Compensation Commission attacked so slight an expenditure as lawmakers' salaries. I would prefer a Commission which targeted and eliminated boards, agencies, and state departments which offer redundant, unnecessary,  and overlapping services, all at great cost to taxpayers without providing even the modicum of service.

I believe that a bipartisan commission which identified flippant and frivolous liscensure and permit issuances would serve the state better as well. The Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, had no choice but to institute private ombudsmen to implement necessary yet politically unpopular budget cuts in communities where local leadership refused to undertake the necessary reforms. Perhaps instituting this revival of the Roman Proconsul would permit the political class to instigate necessary budget cuts, but would shield them from the certain political fallout from affected interest groups.

Senator Lieu, when will you take charge for your district and your state and demand major deficit and spending reductions in the state capital? Your leadership on these matters would command a great deal more respect than piecemeal bills that protect pets, wild animals, and sharks.

A Point About Funeral Protests

Funerals are times when family members and friends pay respect and mourn their loved ones in a private and peaceful manner. Unfortunately, there are despicable groups and individuals who attempt to disrupt these services for selfish political gain. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that funeral protesters have the right to express their opinions but also reaffirmed the government’s ability to restrict those protesters. SB 888 protects these sacred events by imposing time and place restriction for funeral protests. From Senator Lieu's Official Website

Senator Lieu has a seat on the Veterans Committee in Sacramento. If the state has any justified role in the well-being of our citizens, this focus is the most appropriate.

We should do everything in our power to make sure that our veterans are treated with the most care and respect.

When the Supreme Court ruled that hecklers and protesters have the right to disrupt funeral proceedings for military personnel, Senator Lieu and growing majority of Americans demanded that the state enact laws protecting the sanctity of the ceremony and the dignity of the soldiers and the families of the fallen.

I respect Senator Lieu's initiative to do something about the matter, but I understand fully why Governor Brown vetoed Lieu's legislation, which would protect military funerals from disruptive protesters.

SB 888– Funeral Protest Restrictions –  would have impeded on First Amendment rights to know end. I believe that the attendees at the funerals for our military can do a much better job of protection the memory and the celebration than the state and her regulations, which too much of the time delve into overreach and inaccuracy. The court system already faces immense backlogs, yet lawsuits from the ACLU over this contentious issue would draw attention away from the pomp and circumstance, which must be focused on commemorating those who fought and died for our country.

On Paying Rent On-Line

Senator Lieu has passed another piece of boutique legislation, one which would prevent landlords from forcing tenants to pay their rent online only. The South Bay legislator is responding to a number of complaints from citizens who did not have easy access to computers in order to pay their rent electronically.

The legislation is certainly a sop to the elderly, many of whom vote in greater number than other cohorts in his district. Once again, Senator Lieu is stepping into a business which he has no knowledge of.

Granted, I would find it both frustrating and difficult if I had to pay my rent every month on-line. I would find it very difficult, indeed. Still, the prerogative of landlords permits them to gather their rents as they see fit. Individuals who find the methods difficult of taxing should consider moving to another complex altogether.

However, the state legislature insists on stepping into a matter best resolved at the local level. The elder have plenty of advocates, if not family members, who can assist them in providing timely payments for their apartments.

Perhaps Senate Lieu would like to consider how to assist individuals who currently cannot pay their rent at all? It would be better if Lieu initiated much-needed deregulation of the housing markets and doing away with rent control in Santa Monica, which has led owners and developers to create housing that is overpriced and unavailable.

The housing crises which afflict every age group in the state of California cannot be solved by making it more difficult for landlords to collect the money that is owed to them. The zoning laws which stifle real estate investment and discourage construction do not assist in easing the burden of individuals looking for a permanent residence.

The state legislature could do so much more for the citizens in this state if they would insist on doing much less.

Why Strike if No Work?

A recent administrative decision undermined a worker’s fundamental rights to strike. This decision found that an employer could be entitled to damages even when no actual strike occurred. SB 857 restores this administrative over-reach and helps ensure that workers have the right to strike for better working conditions and fair pay. -- From Sen. Lieu's Website

Workers have a right to organize. The First Amendment protects the citizens' basic right to assemble peaceably.

However, public sector works are paid with taxpayer money, and they serve everyone. As  President Reagan commented when the federal air-traffic controllers reneged on their agreement and went on strike, government cannot stop the assembly line. Public sector unions must find another way to address serious grievances instead of staging a strike. Every public employee must be well-versed in his responsibility to the state and the citizen, regardless of the merits of his complaints.

Besides, strike protections actually discourage future employment and investment. Businesses want to protect their bottom line. The very notion of "fair pay" exposes the long-standing ignorance of the political class in Sacramento, which seeks a headline rather than a meaningful policies to stimulate economic growth.

Senator Lieu, when will you press for California to become a right-to-work state like Indiana? The Hoosier state is witnessing a significant increase in entrepreneurial investment and employment. Every employee should enjoy the freedom to join or decline membership in a union, and to do so without having a portion of their paycheck automatically deducted.

Bullied by Big Government

"After sad reports that a lost mountain lion was shot near the Santa Monica Promenade this morning to protect public safety, it was welcomed news that the California Senate passed an animal-protection bill that would ban bear and bobcat bullying." From LA List, May 22, 2012

As if bears and bobcats had to worry about being picked on!

So, who has been trying to take Winnie the Pooh's lunch money? Who has been taunting the local mountain lions with felonious -- or rather, felinious -- epithets like "Big Ears", or "Hill-Billy Kitty"?

If there is one bully that needs to be disciplined, it is Big Government, and overwhelming brute of a force which feels justified in telling people what to eat, where to work, and how much businesses must contribute in order to subsidize everyone else, including state employees.

Senator Lieu, when will you stand up to the bully of Big Government? The voters in your district and the state are tired of getting picked on. We are tired of our leaders looking the other  way while massive debt and annual budget deficits erode consumer confidence in the Golden state while downgrading our bond-rating to the point where no one will want to invest in this state.

Cats, dogs, and bears are naturally skilled to defend themselves. You are supposed to be helping us make the most of our freedom in this wonderful state. Stand up to Big Government, draw the line against the overbearing brute that takes, spends, then leaves us to fend for ourselves and deal with the consequences.

Lieu on the Select Committee on Restoring California's Middle Class

If the state senators in the Sacramento legislature want to restore the Golden State's middle class, they could start by eliminating this ridiculous, innocuous, and unfocused ad-hoc committees which furnish fancy titles for political resumes, but contribute absolutely nothing to the welfare or the well-being of the state of California.

The middle class is in danger to the extent that the government wants to "do something" in order to make it better. Because of the dysfunction and gridlock which is blocking meaningful legislation -- like tort reform, deregulation, lower taxes -- Sacramento politician still need to look busy, so they throw together these meaningless committees which have no other purpose than to give the impression that our politicians are "doing something".

I would like to see Senator Lieu spend more time earning his keep, promoting vouchers, welfare-to-work programs, entitlement reform. Governor Jerry Brown has proposed a number of meaningful initiatives, including his 12-point pension reform plan, which only the Republicans have endorsed, thus taking the high ground in a fractious political debate.

Senator Lieu, if you really want to help the middle class in this state, please get government out of the way. Direct funds to protecting our rights, securing our borders, and discharging the massive debt weighing on this state.

Ted Lieu Belongs in a Zoo

Our youth are suffering in substandard schools in crowded classrooms with overwhelmed or incompetent teachers.

Businesses are fleeing the state of California in growing numbers because of excessive regulation, taxation, and government infiltration.

California boasts one of the largest welfare system in the country, with few signs of significant reform to train recipients to get off the dole and find a role to fulfill in society.

Last but not least, the state legislature has not passed a balanced budget in years without resorting to rosy revenue projects, jumbled accounted, or projected tax increases which never materialize.

Sacramento faces a number of compelling problems which deserve immediate attention, yet State Senator Ted Lieu (D-Redondo Beach) is more worried about the plight of bears pursued by hunting dogs.

"It's been likened to shooting a bear at a zoo," Lieu said. "It's simply not fair."

In reality, what is not fair or responsible or even believable is that the South Bay's state Senator is pursuing the well-being of animals instead of the voters who brought him into office.

If he cared about animals so much, Lieu should have run for state dog-catcher, which would have allowed him to pursue the inane policies of microchipping animals and preventing the private sale of domestic animals.

If anyone belongs in a zoo, it's Senator Ted Lieu who, whether out of cruel indifference or crude self-aggrandizement, refuses to take legislative action to deal with the debt, dysfunction, and the doom-day scenario of state default.

Opposition to Gay Therapy Bill

"Senate Bill 1127, which was introduced by State Senator Ted Lieu in February, would ban conversion therapy for anyone under the age of 18 and require adults to sign an informed consent form before entering treatment." -- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2879007/posts

Ted Lieu knows no end to the micromanaging pursuit of the state into our private lives.

If it's not the meat we eat, it's the partners that consenting adults choose to meet.

Who will stop this insanity? I do not need legislators who push boutique bills to buff up their resumes. If there is any sanity left in our state government, why not at least frustrate the passage of these inane and unnecessary bills which are doing nothing but cluttering up our law books while strangling businesses and scaring away investment?

The state is rocked by multi-billion ("B") dollar deficits. We have schools that cannot employ enough teachers, which seem incapable of educating our kids or even keeping them safe. Police and fire are facing unprecedented cuts. The governor has offered a decent twelve-point plan to reform pensions in the state without alienating the current crop of public workers.

The questions that youth are facing right now are nothing compared the deeper problems which will be afflicting them in the near future if the state legislator does not get out of the business of regulating economies, higher education, and tax rates.

Will our youth have job opportunities available to them in the future, should they wish to get married and want to support a family?

There is no point to exchanging vows if the two partners are so poor, that the have nothing but their bated breath and thread-bare clothes to bring to the wedding.
Our youth are confused enough as it is when they read about how government is supposed to work in their civics textbooks, only to discover that the liberal hegemony that produces those textbooks is so far removed from reality.

Ted Lieu on Tanning Salons

Melanoma is a serious condition, a malignant yet subtle invasion of a person's integumentary system, which may then infiltrate the blood stream and spread cancer throughout a person's body. President Ronald Reagan succeeded his daughter Maureen in death because of her failure to detect a growth behind her leg.

Patricia Krenctil of Nutley has been burned across the front page of tabloids and major newspapers along the East Coast. Granted, the allegation that the browned-out mother had her daughter forced under tanning should concern us, the regulation of tanning salons should be the least of our concerns.

Yet the cancer today which Californians, including our legislators, must pay closer attention to is the malignant yet oppressive expansion of government and debt.

Senator Lieu, please shine some light, burn through the deficit spending which is wearing away the golden gleam of the Golden State. You owe it to the voters, to your constituents, to your children.

Students First Files Law Suit Against Tenure

Senator Lieu has been pursuing empty, feckless legislation for the greater part of his career in Sacramento.

While he poses for benign photos with his family and constituents, he is also passing bills which are hurting businesses, adding more unnecessary layers to the regulatory nanny state in California, and still ignore the controversial yet impending problems in our state.

We have a pension problem that is pressuring our financial future with greater probity. Governor Brown has gone out of his way, alienating his own party and constituents to deal with the looming budget issues that entitlements run amok have done to the Golden state.

We have unsecured borders which have not provided adequate protection for taxpayers and are slowly throttling the American Dream that immigrants are searching for when the come to the United States.

We have a school system which is falling in the ranks, not just for the spending which goes everywhere but toward the classroom, but also for the unworkable worker rules that protect bad teachers, punish good teachers, stall any meaningful reforms.

The public school system is in disarray because of too much government, too much oversight which refuses to see the blatant  failure, and too little freedom for districts, schools,  teachers, parents, and students to choose what they teach, learn, or where they go to school.

We must stop this insanity, Senator Lieu. There is simply no further excuse for paying through the nose for a portion of the public sector which is not longer serving the public.

It is a sad day when students have to mount their own lawsuits in court because their local leaders refuse to stand up to the teachers' unions or school boards. We need to see fewer handouts to the public sector, more power to parents and teachers to run schools in the best interests of the student, and an end to the crass cronyism that is holding the next generation in bondage to a bad education.

Letter to the Argonaut -- May 9, 2012

Senator Ted Lieu is not representing his constituents. His latest batch of boutique bills has buffed his legislative resume, yet has not buffered the voters or the state from the ongoing fiscal and cultural shocks still shaking us.

I do not care about the gender identity of youth. That is a matter for the youth and his parents to deal with.

I do not care what is in my fish or in my meat, as long as it is safe, tasty, and good for me to eat.

I want to be on record for this, too: I do not care about shark fins, private pet sales (or microchips under their fur), or tanning salons.

I do care about the failure of our leaders to protect our borders and properly naturalize our citizens .

I do care about the hostile business climate which is scaring away investment from our state

I do care about the failing public schools which are entrapping our students and harming our teachers. I do care about the unjust frustrations which protect bad charter schools while ignoring or shutting down good ones.

I am certain that the residents from the South Bay to Marina Del Rey care about the issues that I care about.

I wish that Senator Lieu cared, too. If he refuses to care, then perhaps we should show enough care for ourselves and carry Lieu out of office!

Lieu Must Oppose Kehoe's Abortive Abortion Bill

Senator Lieu has no right or reason to be pursuing or supporting legislation that would enable individuals to seek abortions or to receive acces too the procedure from non-physicians.

San Diego's state Senator Christine Kehoe has pulled her ill-advised and immorl abortion bill, which would endanger pregnant mothers for health reasons while pressing nurses and other orderlies into legally murky and perhaps criminally liable waters.

It's time that the state of California spent more time aborting bad legislation instead of dreaming up more inane, insane, and in vain laws which serve no one but a dedicated minority of lobbyists or media-hungry politicians seeking higher office.

The state delegation of San Diego could spend more time investigating more avenues for increasing cargo traffic through the Port of San Diego. Competition with road and rail through the San Diego roadways coudl expand much needed yet still lacking business opportunities.

Crafting legislation to slow the flow of illegal immigration, including legislation to beef up border security while eliminating easy access to state services, would do so much to end the waste and fraud and electioneering that unjustly alienates Hispanic voters.

Open Letter to Ted Lieu

For a growing number of our veterans returning home, they have sought broken and imperfect therapy in destructive behaviors to help cope with painful recollections from combat. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a real problem for our troops, one which I fear does not get adequate attention from our leaders in Washington and in the South Bay.

It is a raving shame that some many of our troops suffer as they do, returning from brutal scenes of guerrilla warfare in far-reaching, alien lands. The enemies which this country is striving against have a diminished respect for humanity, not stopping short of exploding young children or putting mothers and other women in harm's way. The toll of taking on so ruthless a threat as Islamo-fascism resists comprehension for anyone who has only heard, and that obliquely, about the trying geographical and cultural conditions which are troops face in Afghanistan, Iraqi, and in other war-torn areas of the world.

 It's time that the United States brought our troops home and provide them the best care we can afford. This country must stop stationing our veterans where victory is undefined and elusive, where the ideal goal of nation-building has been exploded as a vain hoax, and where this country is sinking precious blood and treasure with little return on this nation's safety and respect in the world.

 I implore assemblywoman Betsy Butler, state senator Ted Lieu, and Congresswoman Janice Hahn to appropriate funds away from warfare and towards long-term care for our veterans.

Letter to Senator Lieu

Senator Lieu:

I would like you to consider legislation which would undo the government monopoly of the public school systems in our state.

Indiana just crafted a voucher reform law, which passed with overwhelming support.
I believe that the education of our youth is of prime importance. It is time that we subjected our schools to the same competition as private businesses. Schools should compete for tax dollars by providing a worthwhile education to attract students.

Please also consider enlarging the number of charter schools and vouchers to private schools, as well.
Let us provide every family, every parent, every student with the opportunity to choose which school they enroll in.

Thank you.