Another Example of Limousine Liberal Disconnect

Look at the two pictures below and ask yourself; in which community would I feel at greater risk of contracting a communicable disease? The fact that Democrats in Congress sought immunizations before attending a NASCAR event is one more example of just how thoroughly disconnected they are from middle America. I wonder if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gets immunized before and after visiting her home in San Francisco?

NASCAR Fans

San Francisco

NASCAR cooties
Audrey Hudson, Homeland Security reporter, The Washington Times

House Homeland Security Committee staffers are on a peculiar mission to study "public health issues at events involving mass gatherings," which has personally insulted Rep. Robin Hayes of Concord, North Carolina.

The event: NASCAR.

The rub: the requirement that the Democrat and Republican staffers attending first be immunized against Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and influenza.

"I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and as the representative for Concord, North Carolina, I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown," Mr. Hayes, a Republican, said in a letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat and committee chairman.

"I have been to numerous NASCAR races, and the folks who attend these events certainly do not pose any health hazard to congressional staffers or anyone else," Mr. Hayes said.

A committee staffer says that the Republican staffers have declined the shots but that two Democrat staffers were immunized before attending the race at Talladega last weekend.

A phone call to the committee spokesman was not returned.

That’s Just so Middle Class

Or, it’s All About Me.

The jet-setting “middle class” Speaker of the California Assembly has asked for each of his Assembly Democrat colleagues to donate $50,000 to an initiative that will allow him to serve an additional six years as Speaker. $50,000, that’s just so middle class; everyone knows that anything less than $100,000 is chump change.

The Speaker's press flack, Steve Maviglio says that the Speaker supports the term limits extension because it will make “the Legislature more effective…” It causes one to wonder; more effective at what? Shopping? Perhaps finding a really good deal on Berluti shoes in London?

Núñez's Prop. 93 plea to caucus
Speaker privately asks all Assembly Dems to donate $50,000 each to term limits measure.
By Jim Sanders, Sacramento Bee
10/11/07

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez privately has asked all 47 Assembly Democrats to donate about $50,000 apiece to help pass an initiative that could give all of them extra time in office.

The measure, Proposition 93, would reduce the total number of years that an elected official could serve in the Legislature -- from 14 to 12 -- but provide at least one extra term for incumbents.

Núñez solicited his Democratic caucus at a breakfast meeting Aug. 30 at Chops restaurant near the Capitol, but the session was private and details were unknown until Wednesday.

The issue surfaced after campaign disclosure statements showed identical $50,000 donations, each filed Sept. 8, from Assembly Democrats Karen Bass of Los Angeles and Ted Lieu of Torrance.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma of San Francisco filed documents Tuesday showing her campaign gave a $45,000 contribution to the term limits initiative, which will appear on the Feb. 5 ballot.

"The speaker believes this campaign is about making the Legislature more effective and reducing the amount of time that legislators stay in office," Steve Maviglio, Núñez's spokesman, said of the measure.

But Kevin Spillane, spokesman for the anti-Proposition 93 campaign, blasted Núñez's actions as "an obvious sign that this initiative isn't about strengthening term limits."

"It's written by political insiders, and it benefits political insiders," he said. "It's an incumbent protection initiative -- and the incumbents are ponying up their dues so they can stay in office longer."

…The full story is here.

Political Vanguard on Speaker Nunez

This is funny. A hearty thank you to Tom Del Beccaro at Political Vanguard for this contribution:

Pv's Humorous Take On Politics . . . .

Democrat Assembly Leader Fabian Nunez Has Been Living the High Life Using Campaign Funds for $47,000 on United, Lufthansa and Air France airlines this year, $5,149 for a meeing at Cave L'Avant Garde, a wine cave in the Bordeaux region of France , and over $2,500 at Louis Vuitton in Paris for what he described as office expenses. Beyond that he has spent nearly $13,000 in florist purchases, nearly $3,000 in limousine services, nearly $1,000 in rare collectibles purchases, over $1,100 in personal reading purchases, over $1,250 in high-end cookie purchases, over $1,100 in fine and rare wine purchases, over $13,500 in payments to Janine Schwartz described as everything from "petty cash" to "civic donations," and more than $10,000 in additional travel expenses.

PV wondered why and now we know . . .

PV's Top 10 Fabian Nunez expense explanations

10. I DID fly to France to buy wine. But it was California wine, I swear!

9. $9000 for a hotel in Barcelona? I knew those money changers were ripping me off!

8. You mean to tell that the middle class doesn't eat cavier?

7. $400 for a John Edwards hair cut? Looks pretty good right about now, doesn't it?

6. Come on . . . I really can't use those $699 stamps to mail campaign literature?

5. $5,149 for a meeting in a cave? At least it was cheaper than the hotel.

4. Yeah I flew to Europe and shopped. But those Vuittons were totally knock offs.

3. Trip to Sweden: to study universal preschool. Trip to Spain: to see high speed rail. Trip to Coloseum: to study throwing christians to the lions.

2. Hsu defense fund, Perata defense fund, Jerry brown defense fund, Sandy Berger defense fund, William Jefferson defense fund........

1. $13,000 in Flower purchases: I felt bad for Antonio's girls, so I gave each, a flower.

Special thanks to talk radio host Inga Barks of KERN Radio & KMJ radio and Hector Barajas for their help with this column.

Rare - That's How California Democrats Serve It

Democrat flack site, The California Majority Report, regularly posts a summary of news under the title "Today's Fresh Meat." One can't help but notice, however, how rare it is for the Democrat spin doctors to include meaty issues about their employers. For example, the latest news on the middle-class Assembly Speaker and his high-roller lifestyle. I guess maybe that meat is a little too red for their taste.

Shameless Self Promotion

This is a "re-post" from the past, but worth repeating.

It dawns on me that someone might actually be reading OAF Blog on occasion. If you are, and you like what you read, please feel free to let your friends know. Also, just because I get a little lonely - well, not lonely actually, but because I like a healthy discussion, please feel free to leave comments. My rule on comments is that I will not moderate them unless they are inappropriate (foul - after all, my children read this blog sometimes) or an unfounded personal attack on somebody. I also encourage you to use your blog name or choose a name - a quirky or fun name is better than "anonymous." Finally, if you do leave comments, check back - I usually reply.

OK, enough shameless self promotion (actually, this is all about my self esteem).

They Just Can't Help Themselves

No wonder politicians in Sacramento are trying to fool the voters into granting them an extension of their term limits. While it would be easy to write extensive commentary about this subject, it is not necessary because the mainstream media has actually done a pretty good job of covering the issue.

Politicians living large under fire
By Dan Walters - Sacramento Bee Columnist
10/9/07

When Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez launched their drive to change legislative term limits and thus extend their reigns in the Capitol, they made themselves and their conduct legitimate subjects for media scrutiny. So far they aren't faring very well.

…An intensive analysis of campaign finance records ... shows that California's most powerful Democratic politician has a long history of living large on money raised for his various campaigns," the newspaper said in its article by Robert Gammon, adding that over the previous decade he had spent "more than $1 million on parties and high-end lifestyle expenditures."

Last Friday, Núñez's hometown newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, weighed in with a remarkably similar account of how he, too, has been living large on his campaign funds.

"As leader of the California Assembly, Speaker Fabian Núñez has traveled the world in luxury, paying with campaign funds for visits to some of the finest hotels and restaurants and for purchases at high-end retailers such as Louis Vuitton in Paris," Times reporter Nancy Vogel wrote, adding that "the Los Angeles Democrat refuses to provide details on tens of thousands of dollars in such expenditures."

Read the full article here.

Nuñez middle class? Boy, that's rich
Steve Lopez - Los Angles Times
10/7/07

If he crashes and burns in politics, California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez could have a great future as a travel agent.

As my colleague Nancy Vogel laid out in a jaw-dropping exposé Friday, L.A.'s man of the people has not missed a trick while traveling extensively and luxuriously about the world, throwing campaign funds around like confetti.

Italy. France. Spain.

Our very own rascal in paradise has been there, and he's tasted the world's finest offerings.

A $1,795 meal in Paris. An $8,745 hotel bill in Barcelona. A $5,149 meeting at a Bordeaux wine shop.

"There's not too big a difference," Nuñez told Vogel, "between how I live and how most middle-class people live."

Hands down, it's the quote of the year.

I'm not sure what middle-class people Nuñez is talking about, but I'm worried that he's spending entirely too much time with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Could the speaker be talking about Brentwood's middle-class?

We're talking lifestyles of the rich and famous here, not Applebee's and Ramada. Nuñez may even be trying to compete with Schwarzenegger, who's been using an obscure nonprofit group to finance lavish overseas travel involving private jets and exclusive hotels, as detailed recently by my colleague Paul Pringle.

Read the full article here.

While they can't help themselves, but they do scurry from the light like... well, you know.

Update: Underwriting Perversion

When I posted the commentary Underwriting Perversion, I promised to update OAF readers (all several of you) about any communications I received from Miller Brewing Company in relation to my inquiry about their corporate sponsorship of the Folsom Street Fair.

The following is the text of a message I received this morning in my email box:

Thank you for contacting Miller Brewing Company.

While Miller has supported the Folsom Street Fair for several years, we take exception to the poster the organizing committee developed this year. We understand some individuals may find the imagery offensive and we have asked the organizers to remove our logo from the poster effective immediately.

We regret that our failure to adhere to our own policy led to an inappropriate use of our trademark and apologize to anyone who was offended as a result, particularly members of the Christian community who have contacted us to express their concern.

We are conducting an immediate audit of our procedures for approving local marketing and sales sponsorships to ensure that this does not happen again.

It is important to understand that the Folsom Street Fair does not target the general public in its communications. The fair itself and the organization’s website are only intended for the adult alternative lifestyle community.

Sincerely, Miller Brewing Company Consumer Affairs Department

While I am thankful for to Miller for their reply and their promise to audit / review their procedures for approving local marketing and sales sponsorship, it appears that they are still fixated on their logo being on the offensive poster. My request was that the company not sponsor the event in the future; I will wait to see if Miller is a sponsor next year.

Also, I have to take issue with the assertion that the Folsom Street Fair and its website are only intended for the adult community. With due respect, anyone - anyone - can access the website without any screening for age (even Miller asks people to say they are 21 y.o. before entering their own website). Further, links to sponsors of the fair provide access to graphic nudity without any type of age screening. To imply that this is a "closed" venue is incorrect.

To reiterate, there is no attempt to request government intervention or censorship here; rather, it is merely a request that a responsible company not sponsor, and therefore promote, such filth.

The Art of the Smear

This one is “twofer”

Democrats, who fear democracy like an aulophobic fears a flute, have launched a smear campaign against Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and the Presidential Election Reform Act, a proposed initiative that would alter the allocation of California’s electoral votes.

As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle today, Democrats want the federal government to investigate the electoral college ballot initiative and its supporters (read the article here). The article reports that “Democratic Party activists” have filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission seeking a Department of Justice investigation and alleging that Giulani engaged in “money laundering” to support the ballot initiative.

The purpose of the complaint isn’t to actually ferret out any real criminal activity; according to the Democrat activists the real purpose is “to send a message to any Republicans who might consider reviving the measure.” What message; that Democrat activists will threaten you if you attempt to engage in the democratic process?

Democrats have pulled out all the stops to kill this initiative "in the cradle" and in doing so have also smeared GOP candidate Rudy Giuliani – that is what is commonly referred to as a “twofer”.

Folsom Street Fair

A reminder of what’s wrong in San Francisco

As San Francisco winds down from this year’s “grand daddy of all leather events”, the Folsom Street Fair, it brings to mind an OAF commentary posted in January of 2006 titled, Where Have All the Children Gone? There is no need to reiterate what was written in that previous commentary. Instead, I’ll just remind Mayor Newsom that he does not need an advisory group to determine why families with children are fleeing the city by the bay; he merely needs to attend any number of the city’s “festivals” to understand why responsible adults with children would choose to live elsewhere. The following story from the San Francisco Chronicle is self-explanatory.

Folks in leather, chaps and thongs throng Folsom Street Fair
Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, October 1, 2007

It's not usually polite to stare, but Phil "Tats" Payton doesn't mind being ogled. When you're a 69-year-old man covered in more than 100 tattoos - including all over your bald head - and sporting a leather vest, chaps and a nose ring a few inches in diameter, it comes with the territory.

"I've gotten used to it," he said as he was stopped by strangers asking to take his photograph. "It's my own fault - I can't blame anyone else."

Payton and others bedecked in leather - or in many cases, nothing at all - were the stars of Sunday's 24th annual Folsom Street Fair. The San Francisco rite is a celebration of leather culture and sexual fetishism, and draws not only those who enjoy the lifestyle, but also those who enjoy gawking at them.

"This is like Disneyland - you'll never see anything like this in the world," said Jaeleen Bennis, who in her long skirt and tank top could just as easily have been shopping at Bloomingdale's.

Folsom Street, once a gay hub with bathhouses and sex clubs, is now filled with restaurants, condos and furniture stores. But on the last Sunday of September, it shuts down between Seventh and 12th streets as thousands of people pack the festival, which raises money for charity.

This year was no different, as couples led each other up and down the street with dog collars and leashes, men in thong underwear played Twister, women in stilettos and fishnet stockings spilled out of their corsets, and shoppers browsed stalls selling products such as baseball caps reading "Master" or "Slave" and a book entitled "Dungeon Emergencies and Supplies." (Emphasis added.)

"Very painful - very nice," said a woman as she fingered a "Stingy little pocket paddle" that came in red or black.

In the next stall over, Rodger Rosenberg explained why it's much more enjoyable to be tied up with rope made of 100 percent silk than rope made of nylon or hemp. By noon, he already had sold silk ropes to people from England, Ireland and Spain.

Tom Maiolo came all the way from Tampa, Fla., for his first Folsom Street Fair. Wearing a leather vest and chaps with no pants, he said at noon that he was already having a fabulous time. (Emphasis added.)

"So far, so good," he said. "I love this, and I'm just getting started."

He said he recognized some stars of porn movies he had seen and said they were like celebrities to him. Asked if they would ever hold an event like this in Tampa, he said, "No. Hardly."

People paid money to be flogged in front of crowds of onlookers. One man looked like he was crying, and red lash marks covered his back. (Emphasis added.)

"Lovely start to a Sunday afternoon!" exclaimed a man with a microphone trying to persuade people to get flogged.

Two women who said their screen names are Zoe Zane and Andrea Storm dressed as dirty martinis in teeny silver dresses shaped like martini glasses and bra cups decorated like green olives.

"It's totally fun," Storm said. "I don't get very far because I keep getting photographed. I feel like I'm on the red carpet."

Not everybody was into the scene, though. Jason Reed stood in boots and a thong and posed for pictures outside a stall run by SX Video, which makes gay porn movies.

"I'm just here to work - it's not really my thing," said Reed, who works in the company's marketing department. "They think I look good, so they want me to walk around in a jockstrap."
He got a good view of all the passers-by - sometimes, too good a view.

"Some of them who walk around naked really shouldn't be," he said.

Inside the stall was a wall of dildos and leather hoods. Bob Findle, the company's creative director, said it's fun to see people come from all over the world for a true San Francisco event.

This is what San Francisco's about - being crazy and expressing yourself," he said. "Where else could you do this?" (Emphasis added.)

One parting thouht: despite the exodus of families with children living in San Francisco, it appears there is no end to those who behave like toddlers; that is, those who still have not learned what is appropriate or in appropriate public behavior.