In July I had the pleasure of attending the National Young Republican Convention in Indianapolis. This past weekend I had equal enjoyment attending the California State Young Republican Convention.
For those who do not know, Young Republicans are not the same organization as the College Republicans. CRs are generally 18-22, while YRs range in age from 18 to 40. My only regret is that I did not know about this group until my recent age of 37. However, when I was 18 they did not exist. This shows how far we have come.
The state convention was put on by the Ventura County Young Republicans. While there was plenty of politics and business, I made friends that will hopefully be friends for life.
Ben Lopez was the outgoing Chair. I found him to be decent and thoughtful. As for the Convention, Danielle White chaired the event, and a fun guy named Jimmy Brooks made sure the trains ran on time. I still maintain that Jimmy Brooks is the guy from Brooks and Dunn, given his cowboy hat and belt buckle at the afterparty. He definitely made the event fun.
The event had some top notch speakers, and many candidates running for various offices.
At the Saturday night dinner banquet, the headliner was Miss California Carrie Prejean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Prejean
I had met her and her parents one week earlier at Sean Hannity’s Freedom Concert, and was happy that they remembered me. Ms. Prejean is one of the nicest people I have ever encountered, and her parents are simply great human beings.
Ms. Prejean was knocked down by a left-wing bully, but she has gotten back up, stronger than ever. Her religious faith has inspired her, and it inspired the room. Her book comes out soon, and I recommend people buy it when it does.
Congressman Dan Lungren spoke warmly about Ronald Reagan.
Given that the convention was taking place in SImi Valley at the Grand Vista Hotel, with a trip to the Reagan Library as part of the weekend, this was highly appropriate. Congressman Lungren is the former Attorney General of California, and he is humorously self-effacing about his gubernatorial run in 2002.
California State Senator Tony Strickland and his wife Audra spoke passionately about the Young Republicans, and working together in government in addition to being parents. Tony Strickland helped found the California Young Republicans in 1993. In addition, he plays professional basketball in the IBL.
http://cssrc.us/web/19/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
http://republican.assembly.ca.gov/member/37/
Craig Deluz, who is running for the 5th Assembly District, offered inspiring words.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Craig-DeLuz/67025332432?v=feed
John Stammerich offered his plan for renewal.
http://www.facebook.com/john.stammreich
Representatives for the gubernatorial campaigns of Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner were on hand.
In addition, the California Republican Assembly was there to lend support.
http://www.californiarepublicanassembly.com
I am especially pleased that the CRA has invited me to speak at their next convention in March of 2010.
Speaking of speaking, I spoke at the YR Convention as well. It was unexpected and off the cuff, and I was grateful that my remarks were well received.
While the days were filled with political maneuverings and machinations, and the evening had an enjoyable dinner, the afterparty both nights at the hotel bar more than helped put the party in Republican Party.
I can say with pride that although I am very new to the YR organization, I look forward to many more great events with them. While I will only be able to do so for another three years, it will be 36 months well spent with great people who really care about America.
eric
This morning, I had my coffee at a local Kroger Supermarket.
Kroger is unionized, and the largest food retailer in the country.
It runs at a profit..is expanding prudently, and is a very efficient
operation (very machinelike). It’s efficient, sort of like Wal-Mart.
Oh those Chinese wholesalers, the real bad guys, who have affected
our trade imbalance, according to the liberals. (Ever hear about Columbia which still hasn’t gained favor with Pelosi).
Typically, employees complain about “being squeezed” by management.
Some even bad mouth their bosses..blaming pressure on the minorities
who run the individual stores ( Kroger does not discriminate).
Complain, complain, complain. Hey guys, you have a job to go to.
Get it, a job!
The LA Times newspaper has an article about union workers
losing jobs in California, who worked for GM and Toyota. They
were highly paid, and salaries were based on tenure, not skills.
(I can understand that union thinking..it insures a steady workforce
w/o useless competition among employees). I am against merit
pay for teachers (a Conservative foolish mindset) which doesn’t take into
consideration some students simply shouldn’t be in k-12/home abuse.
College, as we all know, is the 13th grade kiddy school for most..and
irrelevant in most people’s lives.
Isn’t it interesting folks that in Los Angeles, the mayor is trying to
get private industry to run 50 schools..some of which are closing
thanks to no child left behind, the biggest fiasco since our protecting
Arab vs Arab in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Folks, as I wrote my Congressman, to get the medical industry out
of govt and the govt out of the medical industry. The more govt
the more we (US) lose out.
There is another interesting article about home ownership.
Apparently, even with 2m foreclosures/year, some people
are going back into the market, thinking prices have bottomed.
They bought their homes for 300,000 and sold 8 years later for
1.3m. Wowowoow, talking about the fleecing of America.
I guess it’s whose ox was gored?
Anyway, back to the car industry. Hundreds of thousands of
highly paid folk lost their jobs, thanks to Toyoto, BMW and Honda.
In the South, GM union people tried to unionize Toyota, but were
out spent by he Japs. Soooo, a few years later, we Americans are
on unimployment lines..with US paying for it.
Back at the ranch, Obama is now backing off a gov’t subsidized
and controlled medical plan, to put the insurance companies out of
business.
There is a G-d after all.
The LA Times thinks illegals here are not the problem…legals who
are uninsured are. After all, illegals don’t go to emergency rooms
as much or are fat (obese). There are 11m illegals in this country,
which is one of the selling points of the liberals..emergency room use
or not.
Maybe?
Dan worships a God who thinks insurance profits take precedent over people’s health. That’s great.
JMJ
And liberals worship themselves and a human liar who thinks the sky is falling.
Once you guys get it thru your heads that insurance companies dont go into business to make people healthy you’ll be considered “Wised up”
Anyway, who cares, the public option is sinking. Now the messiah is going to try and re label it as a co-op. Hes an idiot.
You guys have something against a company doing what it can to accel and compete ?
Any plan regardless of whos running it will at times deny procedures or coverage.
Some people use their insurance, some dont, those who use it have the benefit of tapping into those revenues placed by those who’ve never needed to use their policy.
Liberals should like that. They get to spend other peoples money, right ?
The difference that you moonbats dont like is that the private sector can actully do it so much more efficiently than the public sector so that they’re able to turn a profit and grow, subsidisze other venues.
But you just cant stand that thing called profit, can you ? Those profits are turned into more than just PR campaigns etc..
They are also used to study medicines, do research into preventative measures etc…
Co-ops could work fine if there was a need for them and there would be no need at all for any kind of govt. intervention. The only reason the fed wants into the pic is so they can fund it to the point they’ll have some control.
These guys dont give a sh*t about your health, Its about putting you in a position to have to vote for them again.
The “public option” was not the be-all/end-all of the bill. There are still plenty of reforms to be made. Portability, co-ops, pre-exisiting condition protection, privacy, etc. And like all “altruism” there’re usually selfish motives. If we can get better healthcare because some pol wants to get reelected then fine – the system works in that case, Micky.
As for profit – not everything necessary is profitable nor should be. Some things should be and some things shouldn’t. Some things can be and some things can’t. There is no such a thing as pure capitalism. Capitalism can not exist in a vacuum of only itself. For capitalism to function, it muct be balanced with socialism. Otherwise, contracts would be unenforcible, markets would have no trust and therefore no investors or customers, workers would be unskilled and without the ability to purchase what they make. America needs a little more socialism. We don;t have enough these days. That’s why we’ve had these unteneble “boom and bust” cycles every time the laizzez faire cons take power.
Look, I want a single-payor system, but like I always remind you paranoid, unrealistic conservatives, America is not, has never been, and will not any time in the near furture be on the verge of becoming a true Social Democracy. We are a Corporatist Republic and have been for most of our history and will be for the foreseeable future.
JMJ
“The “public option” was not the be-all/end-all of the bill. ”
Yeah it is. Because Obama only wants the public option as subliminal method of imposing power. Without the fed having its funds infused into the institution they cant control the institution. He has to find some way to get fed money into these operations so he can hold it over them as a controlling mechanism.
Of course its about rendering us a socialist country. All other policies tied in with government controlled health care will allow that. Its the perfect storm of policies meant to all work together.
I’ve heard all the liberals BS reasons for wanting a “little more socialism” and its just a whiney a$$ way to get ahold of whats not theirs and sit on their buts reaping the rewards of others labor.
They want to find someway to determine a constitutional method that dictates its allright to take whats not yours in the name of compassion.
Truly sleazy.
“If we can get better healthcare because some pol wants to get reelected then fine – the system works in that case, Micky”
The truth is we cant and never will if we are the ” Corporatist Republic and have been for most of our history and will be for the foreseeable future ” that you say we are.
Wise up, this country wont take it, doesnt want it, no matter what the reason.
And most of all, WHO THE HELL WANTS THIS GUY RE-ELECTED ANYWAY ???
Government so far has ruined any healthcare system its ever instituted.
We tried it here in Hawaii. Everyone dropped their private plan, went public, the private suffered, the public went broke in record time.
10/17/08 | MARK NIESSE HONOLULU – Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched. Gov. Linda Lingle’s administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan. “People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free,”
And this was offered to kids only. Imagine the repurcussions if offered to everyone.
You can give sometging away under the premise/impression that its free.
People become greedy and abusive.
It’ll never work
“Yeah (the “public option”) is (the be-all/end-all of the bill).”
I’m glad you feel that way. I hope all you conservatives think that. There’s an old expression – “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Well, I have my own version of that – “Shoot for the stars. Even if you miss, you’ll land on the moon.” It’s a modern interpretation. By over-reaching in his expressed goals, Obama is poised to dramatically reform the health insurance industry. And that’s a good start.
“Government so far has ruined any healthcare system its ever instituted.”
Really? Can you prove that?
“We tried it here in Hawaii. Everyone dropped their private plan, went public, the private suffered, the public went broke in record time.”
Oh, that’s right. I forgot Hawaii is a state. LOL! Hawaii’s system costs less than most other states, 96.5% of Hawaiians are insured, health indicators for Hawaiians rank near the top of the nation, Medicare and Medicaid expenditures from the Hawaiian state rank near the bottom of the nation, and meanwhile Hawaii is full of immigrants and has among the best healthcare outcomes in the nation.
Either you’re lucky to live there, Micky, or you love socialism.
Again, all you anti-healthcare reform people are just “I got mine so f’ you” people. Selfish.
JMJ
“Shoot for the stars. Even if you miss, you’ll land on the moon.” It’s a modern interpretation.”
Its idiotic if you look at the dynamics.
The stars could be a 180 degree opposite direction which means that your odds of hitting the moon are infinite unless the universe actually has a front/back/top/bottom/left/right.
Nice try, but you already beat your own argument once, quit while you’re ahead.
“Really? Can you prove that?”
Its common knowledge that medicaid and medicare are broke, even you didnt deny it. The V.A and care for our vets is something you didnt praise too highly and my own state is a perfect example what happens on the state level with such a plan.
You can say any BS you want about Hawaii. Thye fact is we are just as metro as any other city with all the same problems you have on the mailand. The girls are not running around topless, I dont live in a hut, and we had ATMs before anyone in the union.
Our entitlements are killing us, as I just proved, so no, I dont love socialism as you so halfa$$edly tried to prove.
I dont know where you dug up that ridiculous number at.
70% of our employment force is employed by the state, the rest mostly visitor industry.
If the numbers are true you’re saying that only 5% of our population ran the program broke ?
Jeez, if thats true imagine what the numbers in the entire country would do to such a plan.
http://www.heritage.org/research/socialsecurity/hl496.cfm
SHPDA is a state bureaucracy which has the sole authority for permit approval and authorization for any private health care facility or equipment. In 1990, the state decided to take care of the remaining so-called gap group, that is to say, those people with incomes too high for Medicaid but below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. This group included seasonal workers, dependents of low-income employ- ees who are not covered by employer plans, sales people on commission, -and self-em- ployed independent contractors and so-called mom and pop shop-owners. These people are covered under the so-called State Health Insurance Plan, or SHIP. We in Hawaii have been living with a Clinton-like health care system since 1975. And so a study of what has happened in Hawaii should be a pretty good indication of what the adoption of the Clinton health care proposals will do for, or to, therest of the nation.
Government/public option/socialized medicine/ will not work in the USA.
Besides, as I mentioned, it wont work and you yourself said why.
JMJ;
“We are a Corporatist Republic and have been for most of our history and will be for the foreseeable future.”
I bust my a$$ to live here. And the only reason I dont leave is because its the best place to raise my boy for a host of reasons.
None having anything to do with the democratic dynasty weve been under for decades.
My boy gets a front seat so he can see just how liberalism and democrats fail a people on a daily basis and are constantly backpeddling and doing “do overs”, cleaning up their messes. Sometimes its all intentional, its called “JOB SECURITY”
The reason its so expensive here is not solely due to freight charges.
Trust me