Sadly, in a 180-degree about-face from its first great President, the Republican Party has become the Party “of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich”. Its 2012 multi-millionaire Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, has nothing but contempt for the middle-class American citizen. Romney even suggests the middle class is to blame for the state of the economy, and that it’s “ungodly” to worry about income disparity. Of course, Romney was born with the proverbial “silver spoon” in his mouth, so he never had to worry about such things.

Little wonder. Romney has millions of dollars of his personal wealth parked in a Cayman Islands tax shelter. And Romney, of course, pays a much lower percentage of taxes than most Americans who earn far less than he does. No wonder the Republican Party today, under the leadership of the likes of Boehner, Cantor, Ryan, et al, wants tax breaks for the richest one percent of Americans at the expense of the rest of us.

Is it any wonder that Romney’s list of largest donors reads like a “Who’s Who” of the Forbes 500 list of the wealthiest Americans? In fact, at least 24 individuals on that list have contributed to “Restore Our (sic) Future”, a super-PAC formed for the purpose of electing Romney President.

In the words of former U.S. Senator Bob Smith, “I didn’t leave the Republican Party; it left me”. Amen! The Party of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt and Barry Goldwater, the Party which once believed in environmental protection, the Party that once stood for the “little guy”, has become the Party of Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, and Big Business in general.

But lest the above be construed as a blanket endorsement of the Democratic Party and President Obama—it isn’t. Obama has pandered to the illegals in order to solidify the Hispanic vote; Obama has kept bank interest rates at practically nothing while allowing the banksters to rake in obscene profits and their CEOs to command seven-figure salaries; and Obama continues to keep American troops thousands of miles from our shores where they don’t belong while refusing to put the necessary troops along the Mexican border where they are needed and where they should be.

Having said that, if California was a so-called “swing state” in 2012, I would probably hold my nose and vote for Obama (ugh). But since California is probably safely in Obama’s column this year, I fully intend to vote for a third-party candidate. After all, when you come right down to it, “the lesser of evils” is still evil.

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel (CA) City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”

The motto of the police department then (as even reflected on their police cars) was “to protect and serve”. Today, unfortunately, under the leadership, or rather the lack thereof, of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief Charlie Beck, the city has turned its back on its law-abiding citizens by proposing to give illegal aliens driver’s licenses!

This idiotic idea defies the imagination. If an individual is in this country illegally, how can they be given a legal doument, such as a driver’s license?

Los Angeles has apparently become a sanctuary city for illegals. And now, instead of arresting these criminals for entering the country illegally and turning them over to federal immigration authorities to begin deportation proceedings, the police department is proposing giving them driver’s licenses! Beck should be fired and Villaraigosa recalled for their incompetence. They are clearly unable to protect and unfit to serve. Sgt. Friday must be turning over in his grave.

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel (CA) City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”

We’ve been on over a dozen cruises over the last decade. One of the first things that is—and should be—conducted is a mandatory lifeboat drill for all passengers and crew. The purpose of this drill is to familiarize everyone aboard ship with the use of the life jackets, the proper evacuation routes, and the location of the lifeboat muster stations. This is a relatively simple exercise, lasting no more than 15-20 minutes, but is a necessary procedure to avoid serious injury or death in the event of an actual emergency.

Unfortunately, the present rules apparently allow a ship 24 hours from departure to perform this drill. As the Costa Concordia tragedy (which occured only a little over two hours after departure) demonstrated, this is unsatisfactory. In most cases, passengers begin the embarkation process shortly after 12 noon. Upon embarkation, passengers should be immediately notified that the mandatory lifeboat drill will take place approximately an hour prior to sailing, and the ship will not sail unless and until everyone has attended.

Of course, even these precautions will not prevent an incompetent and cowardly captain from running the ship aground and/or abandoning ship, not to mention lying to the passengers regarding the severity of the incident and failing to notify everyone to immediately report to their lifeboat muster stations, but that is another matter entirely, and one that should be handled by the appropriate authorities.

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel (CA) City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”

Although an incompetent and sympathetic legal system in Aruba allowed Van Der Sloot to escape justice for his prior murder of Natalee Holloway five years to the day before the Flores killing, this time Van Der Sloot’s luck ran out, fittingly on Friday the 13th!

What a pleasure it was to see that scumbag’s smirk wiped off his face as the Peruvian Court read the details of his horrific crime and handed down the sentence. It’s just too bad Van Der Sloot wasn’t eligible for the death penalty.

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel (CA) City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”

In short, the Obama presidency has been more “hype” than “hope”. Nevertheless, when Obama does something right, he deserves our praise and admiration. Such is the case with his recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Cordray’s nomination had been virtually held hostage by big business, the anti-consumer Chamber of Commerce, and their wealthy Republican allies in the United States Senate. Now, with Cordray’s appointment, the American people can feel confident that our interests will be served instead of only the interests of the Wall Street banksters and unscrupulous financial institutions.

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel (CA) City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”

Nevertheless, the message of the “Occupy” protesters is right on point—namely, that the Wall Street insiders, the big banksters, the mega-corporations, are destroying America with their deceit, their greed, and their lust for power.

But this is still America. We have the constitutional right to peacefully assemble, to air our grievances, and to seek an end to injustice, whenever and wherever it may exist.

So long as the “Occupy” protesters to do not block traffic or necessary ingress and egress to public and private facilities, so long as they don’t interefere with the flow of legal commerce, so long as they do not create a risk to public health and safety—they have every right to protest. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it!

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”

Erin Brockovich
Vincent Bugliosi
Davy Crockett
John Denver
Joe Dimaggio
Walt Disney
Peter Douglas
Barry Goldwater
Paul Harvey
Howard Jarvis
Douglas MacArthur
Jeff MacNelly
Joe McCarthy
Ollie North
Max Rafferty
Teddy Roosevelt
Heath Shuler
Payne Stewart
John Walsh
John Wayne

None of these are “criminal” offenses. The Fullerton police had no right to administer “street justice”, to brutally murder Kelly Thomas. If they felt he had broken some law, they should have taken him into custody and let the courts determine his guilt or innocence.

The mission of the police should be “to protect and serve”. The actions of the six out-of-control Fullerton police officers who took it upon themselves to execute Kelly Thomas have given a black eye to law enforcement.

It is unfortunate that Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas only decided tp pursue criminal charges against two of the six officers involved, Manuel Ramos, accused of second-degree murder, and Jay Cicinelli, accused of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. At the very least, the other four officers should have been charged with conspiracy and/or excessive use of force, if not involuntary manslaughter.

The people of Orange County should be legitimately concerned that Rackauckas will “blow” this case, much the same way Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti “blew” the Rodney King beating case, as well as the OJ Simpson murders, by allowing sympathetic juries to be impaneled. After all, it is clear that the only reasons Rackauckas filed any charges at all was (1) to further his own already tarnished image; and (2) because the FBI was ready to step in if Rackauckas didn’t act.

Epilogue—The three Fullerton City Councilmembers (Richard Jones, Don Bankhead, and Pat McKinley) who tried to sweep this entire matter under the rug should be recalled. Had it not been for some alert citizens who caught this horrific execution on videotape and came forward, these six Fullerton police officers would have gotten away with their crime. Kudos also should go to KFI/640 AM radio’s John Kobyit and Ken Chiampou (John and Ken) for bringing this matter to the public’s attention.

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”

But what have we gotten in the 2 1/2 years since Obama took office? Pandering to the Hispanic voting bloc by refusing to crack down on illegal aliens. Pandering to Muslim extremists by telling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to give back territory that rightfully belongs to Israel. Pandering to BIG OIL by letting them drill in the Arctic and the Gulf of Mexico—this after British Petroleum (BP) created the worst oil spill disaster in history. And now, pandering to corporate polluters by relaxing smog standards, thus endangering public health and safety, under the guise of “getting the economy going”.

We didn’t get “change”. All we got was an unscrupulous President who has shown he will do anything to get re-elected. If nothing else, Obama has proven he is indeed the “Panderer-in-Chief”. Shame, Mr. Obama. You may have fooled us in 2008, but you won’t get my vote in 2012.

And neither will any of the Republican charlatans running for President—Perry, Palin, Bachmann, et al—get my vote. The middle class, the independent voter, has NO representation in government today. Change? What change? It’s still business-as-usual, no matter which corrupt political party is in office.

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel (CA) City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”

Now comes a story out of Oak Park, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit), where city “leaders” have decided to prosecute (or maybe a better term would be “persecute”) a woman for having the audacity to plant vegetables in her front yard!

First the woman was given a written warning by the city’s code “enforcers”. Then came a citation. Next was a misdemeanor charge that could put her in jail for 90 days!

Apparently the city of Oak Park, in its twisted “logic”, thinks only grass, and non-fruit and non-vegetable bearing plants, bushes, and trees are “suitable” for front yards. Sounds like something right out of a Homeowner Association (HOA) manual or a Karl Marx manifesto!

Just think. In the same week when a psychotic young woman who murdered her two-year old daughter in Florida was given a “get-out-of-jail card” by an incompetent jury, another woman could go to jail for growing vegetables in her front yard!

I believe it was Lenin who once opined that if America falls, it will be from within. Lenin certainly would have been proud of the Oak Park city government!

The Honorable Eddie Rose
Former Laguna Niguel (CA) City Councilman
“A Voice—Not an Echo”