Government

I am both amazed and amused at the continuing controversy surrounding the Ronald Reagan statue in Newport Beach. The Reagan statue fits perfectly in this image-conscious, cliché-driven, self-contradicting city. The family values president was divorced, remarried and estranged from his children and grandchildren for extended periods of time. The opponent of big government increased the size of state government while governor of California and the size of the federal government while president.

It is a warm Saturday morning, and I am coming down Placentia Avenue, when, lo and behold, a huge sign probably costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars bellows out something of this sort: "We are using your tax dollars wisely by preserving this park. " Let us start with this observation: I have yet to see a lazy government employee use any tax money wisely. Now let me tell you about the beautiful natural park that existed before the so-called servants who spend our hard-earned money wisely began rolling out their heavy equipment that cost all of us thousands, actually desecrating this park that actually was the reason some bought homes in that area.

When former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger first took office he promised to address the out-of-control worker's compensation system, and he did. Unfortunately, after making progress on about 15% of the difficulties — the ones that were the easiest and least controversial — he basically declared victory, and sailed off to do other good deeds. Recently I read that Gov. Jerry Brown said he would reduce the size and expense of state government by eliminating 37 state panels, advisory boards and agencies.

Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the legality of maintaining displays of the Ten Commandments on government property -- courtrooms, in particular. Among the arguments bandied about in the media for keeping the displays has been the assertion that the Ten Commandments reflect the historical makeup of the country, but not the spiritual -- that they are an artifact and nothing more. Does the display of the Ten Commandments in public settings -- meaning government and school buildings -- necessarily imply an endorsement of Christianity over other religions?

What happens to the fairgrounds could be a deciding factor in the fate of our nation. Do the people own the fairgrounds? Or does a phony entity that calls itself the state own the fairgrounds? America is rushing toward her day of doom. She has played the arrogant dictator, bringing fear to the world instead of mercy and justice. Out of the ashes of her doom, will there rise a new nation with liberty and justice for all? Or will we be worse off than a Third World country? Will apathetic America awaken too late or will what happens here with the fairgrounds be a wake-up call for all?

Regarding ?Keep government out of the marketplace,? It?s a Gray Area, Aug. 16: Dear Jim, You missed the boat with your conclusion that the government should be kept out of the marketplace. I will remind you that our nation is suffering from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression because our government was so blindly inactive in the world of capitalism. Ever since Ronald Reagan took over the reins of executive power, he, with congressional approval, began deregulating the major financial institutions ?

A big question of our day, and one of the largest issues that will affect the peace of the world is can people keep religion and government separated? For the next decade or two, a major part of the issue of whether the world will be at peace or at war will be determined by the answer. Most people in the world hold religious beliefs of some form. That is certainly a positive thing, and for people to derive morals from religious tenets and teachings is natural and appropriate.

To state the obvious, bureaucracies are found at all levels of society, including businesses, churches, law firms, universities, hospitals, charitable organizations and government. And it is virtually always the inclination of bureaucracies to continue to expand in size and power, and for bureaucrats to avoid responsibility for their actions and inactions. Not only are governments not an exception to these natural inclinations, most of the time they are the skilled leaders. Today, it is so unusual for someone in government to recommend government be reduced in size or power that when it happens it results in headlines.

GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain stopped by Orange County last week to raise money and participate in a roundtable discussion with Latino small business leaders. While here he made a policy speech about the mortgage crisis basically spelling out a laissez-faire approach to the problem, arguing he is “committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.

The quickest way between two points is a straight line - unless, of course, you're on the no-fly list. In the case of Irvine resident Stephen Persaud, who believes he's wrongly listed on the U.S. government's anti-terrorism docket, the quickest way home from the Virgin Islands was a boat to Miami and then three train rides. Persaud, a nurse, is one of 16 plaintiffs listed in an amended civil complaint filed in federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union that claims the U.S. government gives little redress or explanation for why some people are on the list that bars them from flying over or to the United States.

Dolores Otting, a former Newport Beach City Council candidate and outspoken government critic, has died. She was 59. Otting succumbed to a long-term illness at Hoag Hospital on Feb. 1, her husband, Tony Otting, said. He declined to publicly disclose the exact cause of death. A persistent advocate for open government and prudent city spending, Otting spoke at council meetings over the past 20 years. She ran for the council four times, and once nearly won the District 7 seat representing Spyglass Hill, Harbor Ridge and parts of Newport Coast.

We all should long for the days of Mark Twain, who was heard to say: "There is good news from Washington today. Congress is deadlocked and cannot act. " Unfortunately, our Congress today is acting a great deal in sponsoring cronyism. That means that there is a large amount of collusion among businesses and special interests, on the one hand, and government, on the other. The resultant government favors, payoffs and bailouts are enriching those who are well-connected, but are literally making the rest of us impoverished.

NEWPORT BEACH - As the city embarks on dredging long-neglected areas of the harbor, required federal funding and approvals may not materialize before a critical deadline. The obstacles threaten the city's first significant harbor dredging in more than 75 years, when the bay's sandbars were originally scooped out. Today, boaters often get stuck on shoals or can't leave their berths on low tide. If harbor officials can't get the $6.9-million project launched before mid-March, they risk losing landfill space at the Port of Long Beach and would have to spend millions more to dump polluted dirt inland.

Europe's Leftist elites championed the introduction of the euro to "increase political cohesion" by building on the "cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe. " But according to Evans-Ambrose Pritchard of the London Telegraph, as a result of that cohesion "almost 97% of the European Union's population is now governed by conservative or Right-leaning coalitions or EU-imposed mandarins: "The whole machinery of the European Union (EU) system is under the control of the Right, with variants of Rhenish corporatism in the Council, and pre-modern Hayekians at the European Central Bank (ECB)

It's been almost a year since the current Costa Mesa City Council took the reins of city government and managed to turn it upside down with bogus claims of financial catastrophe, pension calamity and rumors of municipal bankruptcy. The past 11 months have been peppered with controversy. The new council announced its intention to outsource 18 functions within city government shortly after taking office, then followed up that announcement with the biggest "event," the ill-advised premature issuance of more than 200 layoff notices to the city staff on St. Patrick's Day. Coincident with that announcement, distraught young maintenance worker, Huy Pham, leaped to his death from the City Hall roof.

Two important power shifts are taking place in California. Power is shifting up from the cities and down from Sacramento to county government. The first power shift is evidenced by the impending decision by the Santa Ana City Council to disband its Fire Department and turn firefighting responsibilities over to the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA). This is a turning point in local government. Santa Ana is Orange County's largest city. Its Fire Department is more than 100 years old. Its City Council is composed of all labor-friendly Democrats.

On Nov. 2, Daily Pilot columnist Steve Smith wrote about Dr. Hazem Chehabi ("City Life: Syrian doctor is a man of peace") . I want to support his viewpoint. I have known Hazem for many years and completely understand the position that he is in. He is a dedicated doctor, wonderful parent and serves other people in our community. He is chairman of the UC Irvine Foundation, whose job it is to produce funds for our local university and our future leaders. Sometimes we find ourselves in difficult situations in life.

Syrian-American groups plan to protest at UC Irvine on Saturday. The Syrian Emergency Task Force's Los Angeles office and Syrian Rising Generation Movement claim Hazem H. Chehabi, chairman of the UCI Foundation, in his capacity as the honorary general consul at the Syrian consulate in Newport Beach represents an oppressive Syrian government dictatorship. Chehabi is also the medical director at the Newport Diagnostic Center, where activists have protested his alleged support of the Syrian government, the OC Weekly reported.

I am both amazed and amused at the continuing controversy surrounding the Ronald Reagan statue in Newport Beach. The Reagan statue fits perfectly in this image-conscious, cliché-driven, self-contradicting city. The family values president was divorced, remarried and estranged from his children and grandchildren for extended periods of time. The opponent of big government increased the size of state government while governor of California and the size of the federal government while president.