San Jose’s pension funds have lost almost $1 billion dollars since the stock market collapsed, according to the San Jose Mercury News.  Now the City of San Jose has to come up with money to replace those lost dollars, so that employee pensions and health care can be paid.

I wonder how much money the Santa Ana employee pension funds have lost?  Or the County of Orange pension funds?  How deep a hole are the public employee unions digging for us with their insatiable appetites for more benefits and higher pensions? Read more…

The State of California faces a massive $28 billion dollar budget deficit, according to Bloomberg.  “We are heading toward a financial Armageddon,” Schwarzenegger said. “The problem gets worse every day,” he said. He said the deficit estimate for the $100 billion general fund has grown from $11.2 billion to $14.8 billion,” according to the Sacramento Bee.

Could legalized gambling help solve part of this problem?  The State of Nevada legalized gambling during the Great Depression.  At the time they had a large underground gambling economy.  “Today, more than 43 percent of the state general fund is fed by gambling tax revenue and more than 34 percent of the state’s general fund is pumped into public education, according to Reuters.

Today the State of Nevada runs ads here in California that tout their lower taxes and pro-business attitude (see graphic above) as they try to convince California businesses to relocate to Nevada.  Well, perhaps it is time for California to offer gaming so we can enjoy lower taxes too! Read more…

In the tradition of so many other annual awards, the First Annual “Rotten Orange” Awards are finally here!  Now YOU can vote below for your favorite horrible politicians and their enabling hacks.  Categories you can vote on include: Worst local politician, Worst Mayor, Worst School Board Member, and even Worst Political Hack Blogger!  Be sure to click on the “read more” link below to vote in all the categories!

UPDATE: VOTING IS CLOSING ON MONDAY NIGHT!  VOTE NOW - AND BE SURE TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO VOTE…

South Orange County’s worst local politician

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(Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times)

Perhaps the worst kept secret in Washington these days is that President-elect Barack Obama plans to offer the Secretary of State position to his one time rival Senator Hillary Clinton. According to an article in the November 21st edition of the New York Times Mrs. Clinton will accept the position.

As a staunch supporter of Senator Clinton I am thrilled to see her as part of the Obama Administration in such an important role. I was really hoping that change coming to Washington and the nation would bring us President Clinton, but Secretary of State Clinton isn’t bad. I think she will do a terrific job. Read more…

Hi! I’m Bubba J! I voted for Obama cause it was cool!

I’m right there with 94% of people like me who knew Sarah Palin had a pregnant teenage daughter. Found that interesting. Yup. And I was as smart as 97% of folks like me who knew who said “I can see Russia from my house.” I watch Saturday Night Live, see… hyuk hyuk…

Somebody asked me if I knew who it was who had won his first election by getting all his opponents knocked off the ballot. But I was right there with 83% of the rest of my friends who didnt know either! So there!  And who cares who is going to bankrupt the coal industry? 88% of my friends don’t know, so neither do I!

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President Elect Barack Obama has “rolled out change.gov, a Web site that promises to be “your source for the latest news, events and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama administration,” according to CNN. Read more…

Sarah Palin was the very unlikely Vice Presidential candidate chosen by long time Senator and Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain.  Sarah Palin,  so-called “The Babe” Governor of Alaska was outfitted with about $250,000 bucks in Macy’s & Neiman-Marcus Gift Certificates by the McCain campaign…or the Republican party.  Fully dressed to the nines….as it were…utilizing a the services of a $22,000 dollar a month hair stylist…and TV make-up person…….Palin’s smerky and vindictive attacks on the Obama-Biden campaign luckily fell on deaf ears!  Making it to prime time on Saturday Night Live….along with getting a good Hollywood agent seemed to be her goal.   “Mission Accomplished!”

As 84 the year old Senator Ted Stevens faces several years in the slam for improper conduct….much we should say in a similar circumstance…..like that of our dear friend Ohio Congressman James Traficant - there is every chance that Palin may be in the running for Stevens Senate Seat….if Stevens wins that closely contested seat and the Senate refuses to grant him status in the US Senate.  A special election would be required within 90 days and although Palin can’t just appoint herself as the Senator from Alaska….she certainly can run for it.  Palin seems to be following closely in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton.  High priced clothes, Real Estate and taking those oh so obvious “political opportunities” - using govenment money when possible. Read more…

Perry Como was a fantastic talent.  He even had his own TV show in the 1950’s.  He worn his almost patented Alpaca sweater and never ceased to offer up his many songs with their pear shaped tones: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2NnelGxpg8

His classic….”Letters…we get letters…we get stacks and stacks of letters:  Dear Perry….if you’d be so kind to fill a request and sing a song we like best?”  People wrote and he responded!

Today….is indeed a “Magic Moment” in history!  Today we have broken down the walls of racism in the United States.  Win or lose…..the message is one of quality over quantity!  A message that says:  “You can fool us once…..and shame on you….but if you fool us twice…shame on us!”  Barack Obama has collected over $600 million dollars from Americans that have given less than $77 dollars each.  He hasn’t gotten “special interest money”.  He has gone after every man, woman and child in America and said: “Help us win!” Read more…

Just something that popped into my head today, after days of watching Senator McCain’s frequent coughing, brain freezes, and other indications of bad health, and then seeing the gruelling schedule he has planned for himself today and tomorrow.  Just something that popped into the head of the Orange Juice’s resident American history buff, and I’m jotting it down quickly off the top of my head between walking Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley precincts, so if I have any details wrong, feel free to correct me.  But it’s a bona fide original observation, just for you-all, never before made in another blog or news source to my knowledge!

During the long dry Presidential spell between Andrew Jackson and Abe Lincoln - specifically 1840, during the death throes of the Whig Party, when they were having trouble deciding what exactly they still stood for, they chose a popular general for their standard bearer - since the success of Jackson it had been common wisdom that popular military heroes had the best chance of becoming President.  But Harrison’s celebrated success kicking Indian butt in the Battle of Tippecanoe had happened thiry years earlier, and he was now a sickly, albeit good-humored old man.  And for his running mate, the Whigs - wanting to avoid the controversy of brilliant orator-statesmen like Daniel Webster or Henry Clay - went with what they thought was a safe pick with relatively unknown John Tyler. Read more…

This blog has been a fun place to meet and greet a variety of self flaggelating, overbearing nerd cakes!  If you take a look at various viewpoints on the Statewide Propositions…you can finally get a pretty good idea of just how unintouch some of our prime time blog birds are in the grand mix of things!   No on Proposition 1A?  We think not!  NO on Prop. #2?  We certainly think not!

But the real issue of course is not a grand list of soon to be Judicially overturned voted for Propositions.  No, this election is about the Presidency of the United States!  It might also be about throwing out incumbents in every category…that have failed their constituents.  These are noble ideals and whatever occurs on Tuesday…..it will still require our prayers and our constant vigilance to follow through and carefully assist as best we can those that are elected.

The various Sunday pundits…and Sunday Commentators….and Sunday Dream Sheet artists….all have made their various predictions!  In the meantime, the results on Tuesday are going to bring a final reality that will create a lot of egg for plenty of someone’s faces!  They can’t all be right..now can they?  Newsmax, Fox News, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity all seem to think that the McCain-Palin ticket is going to win as they come from behind.  MSNBC, CNBC and CNN all seem to think that Obama-Biden will be the winners!  Fred Thompson likes McCain….and John Kerry - Obama! Read more…