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Say NO! Take Action to Stop Government Electricity - CCA!

8/8/2016

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Picture
Dear Friends:

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) is a bad choice for residents and consumers.
Government can't offer cheaper, more reliable electricity.

Government can't offer cheaper, more reliable electricity because of mandated
renewable energy, solar and wind, must be used in the production of electricity.

Renewable energy is taxpayer subsidized; once the subsidy is gone, electricity rates
will go up.

Community Choice Aggregation is a new program that allows California city
governments to operate “communitywide electricity buyers’ programs.” Commonly
known as community choice aggregators, or CCAs, these are new government
agencies created by Joint Powers Agreement among several cities. Additionally,
individual cities may run their own CCA programs.

Our local utility company, Edison, will still provide transmission, distribution and
customer billing services to the CCA agency for a fee that is passed along to
consumers.

Once our city council decides to join or establish a CCA, all residents are
automatically enrolled in the program. It will be up to individual residents to “opt
out” and continue with their regular service with Edison.
CCAs are vulnerable to changing market conditions. Energy procurement is risky,
complex, costly and long-term. Because withdrawal from CCA membership is costprohibitive,
our city’s decision to join binds future City Councils and future
generations of taxpayers.

CCAs operate without adequate oversight, virtually invisible to the public. Creating
Joint Powers Agencies (JPAs), such as CCAs, costs taxpayers money. JPAs employ
staff, set up offices and, most importantly, make decisions -- such as issue debt --
for which taxpayers are responsible but have no knowledge or say. JPA governing
board members are not directly elected by voters, which contributes to their
relative obscurity and lack of transparency.

Does the nominal increase in renewable energy use promised by CCAs justify their
risks? Unequivocally, no.

Local government doesn’t belong in the electricity business. It is reckless for
government to gamble on risky ventures for which it is ill-prepared and
unqualified. “Green” energy companies, consultants, activists and lobbyists all
stand to gain politically and financially from the proliferation of CCAs. Public
agencies rely on some of these same sources for advice on CCAs -- a clear conflict of
interest.

Today’s cities and counties struggle to provide essential services, including basic
public safety and human services. Throwing precious tax dollars into a CCA money
pit won’t help the environment, but will burden future generations with additional
unwanted debt.

Take Action Now:

The city of Hermosa Beach is scheduled to introduce the government electricity
ordinance exploring options to form a CCA at the August 23 meeting.
Please see this 3 minute video of the previous Hermosa Beach Mayor, whose
professional background is in business finance, explain how the new CCA energy
plan will likely deceive residents into unknowingly sign up for “clean” energy.
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0pPzFVzWO0
You can read the proposed program here and watch the video of the last council
meeting discussion from July 26, 2016 here. (Time stamp 3:46:00).
Submit your comments to the city clerk before noon on Monday, August 15,
2016 to be included in the City Council regularly printed agenda for the meeting on
Tuesday August 23, 2016. Later submissions will be included in the online agenda
up to the afternoon of the 23rd.

Send e-mail comments to cityclerk@hermosabch.org
Group email for the City Council: citycouncil@hermosabch.org
Here are some suggested comments that you can use. Additional letters submitted
to council are here under Attachments. Please feel free to put them into your own
words:

1. Please be aware of the issues that have surfaced since; per the (past)
Mayor of Hermosa Beach:

• Once residents agree to be part of the CCA plan for Electricity, they can not back
out. It is permanent.
• The introductory costs (on their SCE bill) are based on temporary credits, so
the real costs will be later and are permanent increases.
• It is based on the cost of clean energy, which has never been lower than fossil
fuels.
The most significant ramifications are:
• this permanent subsidy to "clean" manufactures eliminates any incentive for
them to make clean efficient

• there is no limit to the amount of increases you would be subjecting your
residents to

• there is a lack of accountability as to whether it is really "clean" and how much;
huge exposure for fraud

As someone who cares passionately about the environment, I think we can do a much
better job through innovation and integrity.

I will share this information with others as well. DM

2. Hermosa Beach City Manager Tom Bakaly said during last week’s city council
meeting discussion on Community Choice Aggregation that we need to hurry up and
push this thing through in order to meet the city’s carbon neutrality goals. What he
didn’t suggest was for our city government to be practical or fiscally responsible. Do we
really want to dive into something that our city government knows little about and the
residents know even less about? Bakaly also said that this Community Choice
Aggregation program gives residents a choice to purchase renewable energy at a lower
rate than they could purchase from Edison. I did my own research on this and found
that in all four of the current California cities listed on the city’s deceptive marketing
piece that purchasing renewable power is more expensive than the standard bundle of
power residents are currently paying with Edison. If this program is implemented, all
residents will be automatically enrolled in the program, unless they make the effort to
opt out. Where is this “choice” Bakaly speaks of? If there is really a choice, then why is
the option not to opt IN instead of opting out? Very few residents have any idea what
this Community “Choice” Aggregation nonsense is. If this program is as financially
disastrous here in Hermosa as it is in Lancaster, we will all be paying for it, even those
who were wise enough to opt out. Tell your Hermosa Beach city council members to
say No to CCA. LA

3. From the postcard I just received, it might as well have said “City Council will
adopt Community Choice Aggregation on July 26…” rather than “consider”. With all
the misleading information on the back of this mailer, it would appear that CCA will be
moving ahead regardless.

I reviewed all the websites for the cherry picked “Current CCA programs in California”
and they all say the same thing: “greener energy at lower rates”. And then they proceed
to show a cost comparison that proves the exact opposite! The bottom line of the bill is
what counts, not just one of five or six lines of charges. Classic double speak.
Conveniently left off the mailer were all the failed CCAs, the startup and ongoing
expenses, and financial risk to the city at a time when we have other more pressing
basic functions to provide, not to mention debt service. How anyone can expect to
reduce costs by adding a board of directors, salaries, pensions and associated costs to a
system is beyond comprehension. This is such a common sense no-go it should not
even be on your agenda for consideration. This is why your meetings go to 1:00am.
You should direct the City Manager to stop padding your agenda with such nonstarters.
I was under the impression that you had adopted priority based budgeting. Either that
is not the case, staff doesn‘t know what that means, or you need a readjustment of
priorities. WB

Tracy Hopkins
Advocates for Hermosa Beach

JOIN By Liking No CCA in HB on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NoCCAinHB/
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South bay Republicans are reaching out to Local Minorities

11/1/2015

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PictureCA GOP National Committeeman Shawn Steel & Arthur Schaper
Posted by Arthur Schaper
11/01/2015 12:30pm

Conservatives lament the Republican Party’s -- and particularly the California Republican Party’s -- lack of outreach into black and Hispanic communities. The previous history of slips and near misses gives us some insight as to why. When Republicans were not engaging in the circular firing squad torpedoing the candidates who don’t quite make it at Election Day, or shooting down one another because they were not winning (today, we are) the echo chamber would take over, and everyone wondered: “Hispanics care about faith and family, and so do African-Americans. Republicans care about all those things, too. Why are minority voters still voting Democrat?”

One Republican candidate in Torrance, CA -- an Armenian! -- pressured a group of like-minded partisans: “Did you ever bother meeting with them and asking for their vote?” One group of active conservatives, including California’s Representative to the National Federation of Republican Assemblies Johnnie Morgan and Torrance native Todd Blair (Go Balanced City!), decided to take on that challenge.

While the California Republican Assembly has endured hits and misses, one unit of “The Conscience of the Republican Party” has reopened in the most unlikely of places: South Los Angeles and Inglewood, now called the South LA, Inglewood Republican Assembly (SLAIRA for short). Their mission? Reaching out to black voters and supporting Republicans in these otherwise deeply Democratic regions to elected office. I first met the current president, Keith McCowen, after a difficult assembly run in the South L.A. region. He related to me that early on, he had been a Republican. “My mother showed me a picture from the 1800s. Two Klansmen were pointing their rifles at a black man in chains, and were telling him: ‘Vote Democrat.’"

Unlike too many African-Americans in our country, Keith – and a growing number of his friends, acquaintances, and political allies – remember and recognize that the Republican Party has been the party of abolition, free enterprise, suffrage, and limited government. This story has too few storytellers today, but that story is changing. SLAIRA has worked with state senate and even local candidates. Wins are not forthcoming yet, but cultural changes with the right group of diligent activists take time and the efforts are slowly paying off.

On October 18, 2015, SLAIRA held their first luncheon at the Baldwin Halls Mall, specifically at the Museum of African-American Art. For the event’s festivities, the leadership identified their growing inroads into otherwise non-Republican areas, which has become all too much of Los Angeles proper. A necessary history lesson emerges. Let’s face the political facts: Los Angeles has been a Democratic stronghold from the Civil War, and even some secessionists staged their headquarters in the City of the Angels to take the Golden State away from the United States. The good news for California and the country began with another Democrat, who started to show his more “Republican side.”

Opposed to slavery and supportive of the union, this Democrat -- Phineas Banning, the father of the Port of Los Angeles – seceded from the secessionist sentiment and helped equip pro-union forces. To this day, San Pedro and Wilmington, CA residents can visit Banning’s home and the Drum Barracks, which highlight Banning’s efforts to maintain our union.

After the Civil War, California Republicans, stressing their pro-freedom agenda, began winning statewide offices, and even claimed the governorship a number of times, along with strong showings in Congressional and local races. Over the last five decades, however, California Republicans had failed to adapt to the demographic changes, and thus lost legislative seats. Today, they are catching up, with stronger grassroots and better outreach.

Which brings us back to SLAIRA and their first Annual Legislator Recognition Lunch Buffet. Out of about 75 people, nearly half were African-Americans. It was a nice change of pace, as a white person, to be the minority Republican for once. Mayor Suzanne Fuentes of El Segundo finally made contact with me (I wrote about her in a previous Townhall column). Republicans of diverse backgrounds throughout the Los Angeles area arrived to celebrate six California Republican legislators. Those six received due recognition for their efforts promoting conservative values in Sacramento, one of the most hostile places in the country toward individual liberty, limited government, and constitutional rule. Two state senators, Mike Morrell of Rancho Cucamonga and Joel Anderson of El Cajon, drove all the way from their respective counties to attend. I was beyond impressed. My assemblyman, David Hadley, also attended, despite massive demands on his time, as well as the dubious honor of “Number One Target” for the Democratic Party in 2016.

California Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel (pictured above with me) arrived on behalf of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Assemblywoman Young King of Fullerton, the first Asian-American to represent that district and one of the first Korean-American Republicans to sit in the state legislature. A staff member for Congressman Ed Royce (also of Fullerton) received awards on his behalf.

For many of my friends, their big celebrities are rock stars and Hollywood types. Sure, they make lots of money, but they don’t make a difference. For me, senators like Mike Morrell and Joel Anderson, who vote to protect our civil rights and property, those are my celebrities. Earning a high CRA conservative rating of 90%, they stood up to the Progressive Democratic Majority in Sacramento and said “No!” to more taxes and fees on hard-working but still struggling California residents. Assemblymembers Hadley and Kim were recognized as the most promising legislators. And well they should be. Hadley, a freshman in the minority party, worked across the aisle to pass school choice for military families, from a state legislature dominated by the anti-choice California Teachers Association, signed by Governor Jerry Brown. Impressive, and SLAIRA, a new unit raising Republican profiles with black communities, reward their work.

With better outreach to minority communities, California conservatives are winning again, working hard, one election and voter at a time, to turn the Golden State from a barren hue of blue back to a roaring sea of red.


Arthur Christopher Schaper is a blogger, writer, and commentator on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance. Follow his blogs at The State of the Union and As He Is, So Are We Ministries. Follow him on Twitter @ArthurCSchaper. Email him at ArthurSchaper@hotmail.com





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California Republican's Long and Rich History with Minorities... Time for Truth

5/3/2015

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PictureRomualdo Pacheco (R) California's first and only Hispanic Governor
Posted by Arthur Schaper
May 3, 2015 at 9:45pm


In his latest column, Washington Post commentator EJ Dionne advises National Republicans to learn from California's mistakes, or face declining voter support in election cycles to come.

His first point of contact on this matter? The current Chairman of the California GOP, Jim Brulte:

“California is the leading edge of the country’s demographic changes,” Brulte said in an interview. “Frankly, Republicans in California did not react quickly enough to them, and we have paid a horrible price.”

That is true. Up to the 1980s and the early1990s, California was a majority white state, Republicans did very well working the entire state. Other critics can rightly point out that the party structures got complacent, with easily redrawn Congressional and state representative districts which made it very difficult to remove an incumbent. Still, the demographic changes took the California Republican Party by surprise, and indeed they are playing catch-up for much of the last 20 years.

The strange turn of Dionne's article, however, highlights the liberal columnists’ infusion of their left-leaning vision onto everything. They would prefer all political parties participate and promote that view. The Republican Party, by platform and legacy, is dedicated to a conservative standard, i.e. limited government, local control, individual liberty, small-scale constitutional form of governance.

In one flagrant example of this liberal bias, Dionne plays the race card to diagnose the California Grand Old Party's middling appeal to minorities:

The principal cause of the GOP’s troubles is its alienation of Latinos, Asian Americans and African Americans in a state whose population is now majority non-white.

This statement is disconcerting and false. Lack of outreach, yes. Offensive, alienating policies? No!

Before anyone claims that GOP stands for "Grandpas and Old People", a little history lesson about the California GOP is well in order. From its early stages as the opposition to the otherwise Democratic machine dominance in San Francisco and Los Angeles (where Confederate sympathizers attempted to secede California from the United States), the Republican Party boasted a diverse array of candidates. The first Latino Governor of California, Romualdo Pacheco, had started out as a Democrat, but left the Democrat party over slavery (Pacheco opposed it!) then became an elected Republican.

In the next century, Progressive (when it really meant “progress”) Republican Governor Hiram Johnson initiated the referendum and recall process. Another famous California Republican Governor, Ronald Reagan, relied on Hispanic outreach to unseat Governor Pat Brown. After eight years of Jerry Brown Part One... Republican leader George Deukmejian, of Armenian descent, restored the Golden State from its wasteful, profligate predecessor. He also divested state funding from apartheid-run South Africa and engaged the black vote, depriving then - Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley of a possible upset during Deukmejian's 1986 reelection.

One of the latest (hopefully not last) Republican US Senators for California, Japanese-American S. I. Hayakawa unseated an absentee incumbent Democratic US Senator John Tunney in 1976. What bolstered the profile of this non-politician? His courage, when he stopped unruly black militant protests during his tenure as President of San Francisco State, despite ethnic cries of prejudice. His bold stance against disrespectful disruption gained the respect of conservative voters. He campaigned on a pro-America, keep Panama platform, and won in a year when Jimmy Carter upset incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford. (Ironically enough, the roots of failed GOP minority outreach began with Ford, who failed to re-charter RNC groups to reach out to Hispanics.)

Refusing to be defined narrowly by race, Hayakawa, a celebrated linguist and writer as well as outsider-politician, questioned paying reparations to interned Japanese-Americans during World War II, and even founded a lobbying group to promote English as the official language.

The California Republican Party already boasts a winning legacy with other ethnic groups.

Predictably, the party's more government-averse views jar with progressive Dionne and the Democrats whom he also interviewed for his column. No wonder they (and the media) counsel Republicans to go liberal: “Be like us, and lose more elections!”

Like many liberals, Dionne beats the CA GOP with the Prop 187 stick, claiming that the popular (passed by 57%) initiative to block public benefits to illegal aliens ended up alienating Hispanics. Despite this misleading information, Dionne still has to explain the growing array of California’s Republican state and federal legislators of Hispanic origin.

Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Torrance/Santa Monica), born in Taiwan, first elected to the Torrance City Council in the late 2000s, who mountaineered his way to federal office, commented that Republican opposition to in-state tuition for illegal aliens has hurt their brand:

“Republicans were saying, ‘Come support us, we like you, but we want to deport your children.’ ”

Another patently offensive remark with no factual basis.

Some California Hispanic voters opposed Governor Jerry Brown Part II's "DREAM" Act, which benefitted three thousand illegal aliens at the expense of the millions of legal students, in-state or not, who still pay high and rising tuition rates.

What really “rankled” Asian-American voters? The Democratic legislature’s attempt to reintroduce discrimination into the college application process. Dionne did mention the CA GOP’s strong and growing outreach to California’s Asian-Pac communities, with an unprecedented number of Asian-Americans in the state legislature, all Republicans, evidently CA GOP leaders are learning from their past mistakes. By the way, there are more women in the GOP caucus then their liberal counterparts. Who is waging a War on Women now?

Before conservatives nationally or in California panic about the Republican Party’s future, a historical and political perspective is essential. For the CA GOP, the issue has been messaging, not massaging the truth, but more importantly punching back at the heated, racist narrative played out by the California Democratic Party for the past two decades (see one example here).

In 2014, Republicans already learned and applied key lessons. With wide-spread technological advances, a broader appeal through recruitment, outreach, and grassroots investment, the Grand Old Party is getting more than its well-deserver make-over. The National GOP needs to follow on those reforms in California, not take up the “advice” of liberal California Congressmen like Lieu, or liberal columnists like E. J. Dionne.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a writer, blogger, and political commentator on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
The State of the Union: aschaper1.blogspot.com
As He Is, So Are We Ministries: asheisministries.blogspot.com





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Upcoming challenges for Torrance Unified School District members

2/7/2015

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Picture
Posted by Arthur Schaper
Feb 7, 2014 at 1:00pm

Torrance Unified School District is one of the most successful, welcoming districts in the state, and certainly in Los Angeles County. In spite of staggering funding cuts, the school board has done more with less. Test scores are rising, and more parents want their kids to go to Torrance Schools, even if they do not live in the city.

One district official informed me that the school district makes money with every permit student, since the district can choose whom to take. Often, they take students who do not have federal demands attached to their education (special education students). Moreover, these students work hard and behave, because they want to stay in the district.

Torrance Unified is a clear example of what school choice can accomplish when parents decided where their kids go, and school districts have more authority to determine who can stay (or rather, when a student has to leave).

Election Year 2013 had its hits and misses. Despite one challenger, John-Paul Tabakian running for one of three open seats, the three incumbents were also seeking election, and they all won. Lessons learned, expectations changed, and this year, local conservatives and anyone interested in the long-term welfare and success of Torrance Unified have the opportunity to cast votes for two of the seats.

Don Lee is running again. He has one more election in him, and wants to oversee the new bond money accorded the district through Measures T and U.

Terry Ragins informed me that she was running again, although rumors suggest that she may not run again after all. She may decide to end her tenure on the Board and spend more time with family and other career pursuits.

Whoever chooses to run for the School Board, whether incumbent or new-comer, the following issues need to be addressed.

1. Proper management of the Measures T and U bond monies. I have been listening to local residents share deep concerns about how the money will be allocated. Two homeowners complained that TUSD School Board sold the bond measures with a loose promise of "Trust us" regarding how the money would be spent. One resident was really upset, complaining that these bonds are always sold on the pretense of "It's for the kids!" but the money gets wasted.

2. Common Core. More parents are worried about this curriculum, including the data mining attached to it. I talked to one South Los Angeles parent who had to push back against course programs which sought personal information from students and their parents. Local parent groups are also complaining to school boards about the introduction of controversial programs relating to Islam, as well as explicit material in sex ed course and English classes. I have spoken with individual parents, who have shared their worries about the federal program cobbled together with input from governors across the country.

3.SCROC. So far, the Governor's proposed 2015-2016 budget contains funding for vocational schools, but nothing specific has been appropriated yet. The two ROC centers will be lobbying really hard for continued funding for SCROC. Board Member Terry Ragins has been working hard on this project, but Member Michael Wermers has broached the subject of either funding another funding stream or restricting the ROC programs entirely.

4. Site maintenance, repair, and upgrades. Torrance schools need ongoing upkeep and maintenance, which was the purported purpose behind the T and U bond measures. Which schools need particular attention? Should the district discuss expanding schools or opening up another school? Are there any abandoned or sequestered sites which could be converted in the event that enrollment rises, requiring another campus?

5. Human Resources. Torrance teachers are underpaid, and Torrance schools are understaffed, particularly in administration. After talking with School Board member Michael Wermers, he explained the importance of having an adequate administrative staff, since requiring ten different departments to report to one person is impractical and unsustainable. I remember when Torrance high schools had three assistant principals and one principal. Now, they struggle with only two assistant principals. Can anything be done to provide better salaries for Torrance teachers and better administrative support?

These issues, along with general fiscal prudence and efficiency, should concern all candidates running for Torrance School Board in 2015.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a writer, blogger, and political commentator on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Follow Arthur on Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
Like him on Facebook    https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
email him     arthurschaper@hotmail.com






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David Hadley took the oath of office Monday as the South Bay's new State Assembly Member for the 66th Assembly District

12/5/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
DECEMBER, 2014

WEBSITE: WWW.ASMRC.ORG/HADLEY | EMAIL: ASSEMBLYMEMBER.HADLEY@ASSEMBLY.CA.GOV
PictureAssemblyman David Hadley, 66th District
David Hadley took the oath of office Monday as the South Bay's new State Assembly Member for the 66th Assembly District.

“I’m honored to be your Assemblyman,” said Hadley. “The South Bay has been my home for more than 18 years. I have raised a family here and built my business here. I look forward to serving our entire district and bringing much needed change to Sacramento.”

Hadley's top priorities in the State Legislature are: to improve our business climate so big companies like Toyota and small businesses can stay and grow in California; to protect and extend local control for our South Bay schools and to ensure that our schools are not financially punished for their success; and to protect taxpayers and Proposition 13.

David was born and raised in Fullerton, and attended Servite High School in Anaheim. He completed his Bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth College and his Master’s degree at the London School of Economics. In 1999 he founded a financial advisory firm in the South Bay.  In the last 15 years David and his co-workers have advised over 100 companies and have helped entrepreneurial and family-owned businesses create thousands of jobs.  David and his wife Suzanne have been married for over 22 years and they are the proud parents of four children. Their 19-year-old son, Jack, is a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Their three daughters are Claire (17), Ellen (15) and Faith (13). Claire and Ellen are students at Mira Costa High School and Faith attends Manhattan Beach Middle School.

The 66th Assembly District includes the South Bay cities of Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, the Los Angeles communities of Harbor City and Harbor Gateway, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills Estates, Torrance, and the unincorporated communities of El Camino Village and West Carson.

If you would like more information or to contact Assembly Member Hadley, please email Assemblymember.Hadley@assembly.ca.gov or contact his office at 310-316-2164

Picture
Assemblyman Hadley with his wife Suzanne, son Jack and daughters Claire, Ellen and Faith.

CAPITOL OFFICE
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 94249
(916) 319-2066
(916) 319-2166 fax

DISTRICT OFFICE
3460 Torrance Blvd., Suite 306
Torrance, CA 90503
(310) 316-2164
(310) 316-2480 fax 

© 2014 CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY | DISCLAIMER

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Brown and Hadley Photo-Op (Reflections)

12/4/2014

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Picture
Governor Jerry Brown with Assemblyman David Hadley
I wonder if Assemblyman David Hadley could have ever imagined himself standing next to California Governor Jerry Brown. The former President of the Beach Cities Republicans, a Manhattan Beach small business owner had until four years ago spent very little time engaged in active politics, is now the state assembly representative for the South Bay.

More importantly, he is the first assembly Republican to represent the fiscally conservative region in Sacramento in twenty-two years. Most importantly of all, South Bay voters have a non-politician representing them who cares about local control, good schools, and economic growth geared toward helping small businesses, individual consumers, and home owners.

I am certain that Governor Brown had to drink something to settle his nerves. With Hadley's win in the 66th Assembly District, the South Bay GOP gave a serious shock to the Sacramento system. Brown has lost his Democratic super-majority in the state assembly as well as the state senate. His prized, vetted, and groomed Democratic candidate, incumbent Al Muratsuchi, along with Brown's union-funded machine lost to a local businessman relying on individual donations within his district. Hadley carried the clear message of helping business and improving schools, to goals which the former Assemblyman could not deliver on his promises for local control and strong funding.

Myopic cynics will posit that Hadley only eked out a victory by 706 votes. Extensive background information is essential to understand that the small margin is actually a big win.

The South Bay GOP has been in disarray, either because of arbitrary gerrymandering or intra-party conflict for thirty-years. A lack of coordination among local leaders, plus state party neglect, allowed Democrats to pick up seats in an otherwise conservative region of the state. With Hadley's win, that is no longer the case.
Picture
Kurt Schroeder
Also, and Assemblyman Hadley affirmed this fact: he did not win this race on his own. Not in the slightest. Active involvement from volunteers in Orange County, Fresno, and even West Los Angeles (Kurt Schroeder) worked tirelessly for eighteen months. Gathering names, volunteers, reaching out to local leaders, making the necessary phone calls, writing post cards directly to non-voting registered Republicans, and registering more voters.

By the way, Schroeder was the guy who told me about all the oil money that Muratsuchi was getting. Talk about Democratic hypocrisy.

So,  South Bay (and Sacramento) Democrats had Big Business, Big Labor, and their Big Government agenda in full force, and yet the Republican candidate, David Hadley, beat down the Machine.

Once again, there is a very clear reason why Governor Brown has the drink in his hand.

At this time, Hadley has joined a fragile yet larger minority in the state assembly. Once again, critics will claim that the new Republican assemblyman will have little influence. No one can doubt that Democratic leaders will pull every stunt to make his two-year tenure difficult. Nevertheless, voters already sent a message to Sacramento, and the momentum is against Democratic special interest pandering and government micromanaging.
 
As for Hadley's future prospects, if time and resources prove difficult for California voters, and the frustration with stagnant economic growth animates otherwise apathetic residents, and the Republican Party brings out a solid Presidential candidate, Hadley will not only have his place secure for another two years, but will find more like-minded colleagues assisting him, the South Bay, and the state of California to recover its finances, restore its former luster, and resurrect a welcoming business climate and educational system. 

######

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.
Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com
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James Spencer Candidate for CA State Senate District 35 - the only Right Choice

11/30/2014

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PictureJames Spencer R-CA St. Sen. 35

Posted by Authur Schaper
November 30, 2014

The residence of California's State Senate District 35 (Inglewood, Hawthorne Lawndale, Torrance), deserve honest representation in Sacramento.   Former State Senator Roderick Wright resigned following his conviction and sentencing on eight felony counts, including voter fraud. He served a grand total of one hour in jail, then was released for time served.
At least he will never serve as an elected official in Sacramento ever again.

This Tuesday December 9th the 35th state senate district is up for grabs, four candidates have certified their interest.

First, there's James Spencer, a Republican from Inglewood, CA. I believe that party leaders should be interested in the outcome of this race. Democrats have been turning on issues dear to African-Americans for years, including gay marriage. This district voted almost two-to-one for Prop 8 in 2008, even though the district has fallen in line for Democratic candidates, statewide and federal, for the last two election cycles.

A Republican is running to replace disgraced Roderick Wright in the state senate, and his position in the legislature would assist local leaders seeking to improve local schools, expand job opportunities, and increase public safety.

His name is James Spencer.

I recently had a chance to speak with candidate Spencer on the phone, and get information on his campaign.

While discussing his campaign, with election Day coming on December 9th, Spencer highlighted the below key issues:

We have a problem with high incarceration because people can't jobs.

His biggest problem with the Republican Party has been messaging:

This is a simple message. If you are going to cut welfare, explain why you're going to cut. Why are you shutting down the government.

He then pointed out how Democrats work with the public:

The Democrats rile people up. "The Republicans are going to cut social security." So people vote to protect their money. You need to explain to people so that they have a better understanding.

One of candidate James Spencer's key interests is education:

I support the voucher system, Think about it. "Its for the children", people say. How much more money are we going to give to the schools before we see a product? We have the lottery for the school districts. We add taxes on property for school. The government has to pay money . Half the budget goes to schools. But why aren't we getting a better product? We are spending $8,000 per kid. I would like to give that money to the parents themselves and let them pay scientists to teach their kids, then save the rest of the  money for college.

The argument about public funding, and the lack of results, cannot be ignored. The number one challenge to vouchers and school choice often reverts back to "We need to give the schools more money." Yet with all the funding, the dysfunctions of public education has only gotten worse. How much longer are parents willing to wait for more money to make education "more better"?
 
If you look at, look at all the money we are wasting, and we not getting anything for it. All of our kids should be in top-notch schools. We are not getting in return. We have a high dropout rate. We need to sit down with the kids and ask them "Why aren't you going to school?"

Mr. Spencer also stressed the importance of reintroducing trade skills into schools.

We had high schools which specialized in trade skills, specialized training. On the other hand, kids go to college, get hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, and they get a job paying only $30,000 a year.

Now, every pundit and political operative has to be realistic about the stats on the ground. This district is overwhelmingly Democratic. Yet over the last two years, the Democratic Party has been practically sticking its eye in black voters, rejecting school choice, the definition of marriage, depriving working people of employment opportunities.

The question remains: What is your ground game, Mr. Spencer?

If we can get the Republican Party up and running,  and we are getting into newspapers. We don't have $300,000 to spend.

Yet candidate Spencer was confident that he would not need the money.

Your cell phone is like your own private office now. We are basically able to do everything we need to through our phone. Social media is the thing now. Half the people don't even know that there is an election now. Isadore Hall has been sending out mail for getting elected to Assembly, then voters are going to ask: Didn't he just run for office?

We both acknowledged that an unusually low turn-out will help Republican chances, since they more often vote, regardless of the year. Did Spencer think he could force a run-off? Commenting on the most likely challenger to his chances, Assemblyman Isadore Hall (D-Compton), Spencer answered:

I know we can make it into the Top Two, if we have the Democrats who are tired of the old network. Isadore Hall] has been on the school board, the city council, the state assembly, and what has changed? Nothing. He is going with the same program. His brochure says the same thing he's going to do when he first got elected. He says "Create good jobs." He has been in these offices, and where are these jobs? Where are the programs so that everyone is working. He is a former school board member. Keeping neighborhoods safe. He was a deputy sheriff. Are any of the communities he represents, are they safe?

He brought up Inglewood Unified School District, which is  now in receivership. Compton Unified also ended up in receivership. And who was in charge when these school districts were failing?

This is all the Democrats. They are supposed to be helping the poor and disenfranchised What's happened. They are more disenfranchised.

He faulted President Obama and his wife Michelle, who for all the pretenses, have actually harmed African-Americas:

Obama cut the DC voucher program. Republicans should have run on that. Michelle wants to run around and tell me how to eat? She wants everyone to get by on two carrots sticks and a slice of apple. The Republicans have to stop letting the Democrats say that they are the rich, and the Democrats are poor.

With a strong  message, an active ground game, and an alert conservative electorate interested in better education and economic opportunity, James Spencer has a chance to win the state senate district and start expanding GOP outreach to communities which have shared Republican values, but have yet to hear Republican operatives tell them: "You are one of us!"

Reminder: The special election for State Senate District 35 takes place on December 9th, 2014. If no one candidate gets a simple majority, the top two candidates will compete in a run-off election to be determined. The Secretary of State has qualified these four candidates to run in the special election, including Harbor Planning Commissioner Hector Serrano, retired classroom teacher Louis Dominguez, along with assemblyman Isadore Hall and businessman James Spencer. Residents in North Torrance, Gardena, West Carson, San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson, Compton, Inglewood, and South Los Angeles (including West Athens) will be able to vote in this election.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com
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Torrance Lost Toyota to Texas:  City Council Candidate Milton Herring Weighs In

6/1/2014

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PictureCandidate Milton Herring
Posted by Dotti Martin
June 1st, 2014

On the morning of Monday April 28, residents of the South Bay woke up to news reports that Toyota Motors had decided to move out of Torrance. Milton Herring, retired Army lieutenant colonel, long-time Torrance resident and candidate for Torrance City Council, like most of us, was surprised and dismayed at the news.

However, Herring was very disappointed to hear Mayor Frank Scotto say that the city staff were surprised. Herring cites Jonathan Kaji, who serves on the California Economic Development Commission, who said in an e-mail to the Daily Breeze, “the city staff was fully aware of ongoing recruitment and outreach efforts,” Kaji stated. “I believe that due to complacency, arrogance, laziness and the belief that Toyota Motor Sales was ‘too big to leave,’ the city staff failed to launch a coordinated effort to retain Toyota.” see the Daily Breeze article here

According to Toyota, approximately 3000 jobs from Sales and Marketing and from Financial Services will relocate to Plano, Texas by 2017, leaving mostly vacant approximately 2 million square feet of office space on the 3000-plus acres of its current campus just off the 405. click here for the Daily Breeze article

While candidate Herring acknowledges state leaders have not been as supportive as they could have been in recent years, in dealing with Toyota, he also sees evidence in the Toyota move that Torrance city leaders were asleep at the wheel as well.

Losing Toyota to Texas is a major blow to the city of Torrance, but now the question is, what will the city do moving forward? Mayor Scotto reported that two other companies had expressed interest in the Toyota site, which could recoup the lost jobs. Daily Breeze article with Mayor Scotto's quote. However, the question remains not only how to prevent these types of decisions for other companies, but also how to reverse the trend and attract new business to the city.

Mr. Herring believes that in order to attract and retain business in Torrance there must be a greater collaboration between Sacramento and city leaders as they look towards future. Milton Herring agrees with County Supervisor Don Knabe's belief that Californians "need to come together, quickly and aggressively, and work across state, county and city borders to improve the business climate.” (Supervisor Knabe's Toyota Statement)

Says candidate Herring, “I think that Toyota is leaving for the same reasons Nissan left in 2006.” He cites statements by Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn when he announced the decision to move the company’s headquarters out of California, "The costs of doing business in Southern California are much higher than the costs of doing business in Tennessee.” Read Carlos Ghosn 2005 quote here

Herring points out that just as Tennessee offered incentives to Nissan for its move in 2006, Texas is offering incentives to Toyota to relocate, in addition to the fact that Texas has no individual income tax, making it a challenge for Torrance to remain competitive as a home to business.

Says Herring, “I am proposing that Torrance, in cooperation with the city’s Office of Economic Development, establish 'Economic Empowerment Zones (EEZs).’ These would serve as tech centers, Silicon Valley-like enterprise zones to attract and retain our tech savvy youth by providing incentives for start-up businesses.” Herring continues, “They [the tech centers] would also establish working relationships with schools like SoCal Regional Occupational Center and El Camino College.”

Herring believes that Torrance’s future job growth will be from the tech and space sectors and therefore “we must make plans for pursuing these kinds of businesses.”

Herring has been endorsed in his candidacy for Torrance City Council by former Torrance police chief James Herren, former Torrance city councilwomen Maureen O’Donnell and Marcia Cribbs, and the Daily Breeze.

On June 3rd, electing a pro-active and visionary leader like retired Lieutenant Colonel Milton Herring to the Torrance City Council could go a long way toward jump-starting that desperately needed job growth in the city.


Dotti Martin is a life long Southbay resident and tirelessly volunteers to help improve our community

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THREE REASONS DAVID HADLEY IS EITHER TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE....

5/21/2014

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PictureDavid Hadley (R)
Posted by John May
May 21, 2014


....OR EXACTLY WHO WE NEED.

If we California voters elect two more Republicans to the State Assembly, the dominant party would no longer have a two-thirds super-majority and would be more likely to consider minority opinions.

David Hadley seems well positioned to win that 27th seat of the 80 seat chamber. Part of the reason is that his district, the 66th, was redistricted in 2011 to include more of the Republican voters in the South Bay, reducing the gap between the two sides to a mere five percentage points or so.  That’s one reason.

Here’s another: He has an intimate relationship with the ebb and flow of commerce, industry and employment in California and the South Bay, and his ambition is to restore the economic fertility we used to enjoy. He sees our electricity prices 70% over the national average, our 71 cents per gallon gasoline tax, our 10% state and county sales tax rate and the top state income tax rate in the nation as repellent to business. That is why Toyota has decided to move its headquarters to Texas after more than 50 years, and why 4 million more people have left California in the past twenty years than have moved into the State.  In ancient times, victorious invaders would sow salt in the fields to prevent the return of fertility. Now the Democrats do it.

The third and best reason: His command of a body of expertise that is truly rare and well suited to the task of restoring prosperity. David has an acute grasp of economics from having studied at the London School of Economics (Masters’) and Dartmouth College, followed by a dozen years with a Wall Street investment banking firm as a specialist in the communications technology industry. He left New York to come to the South Bay 18 years ago, when his son Jack was born. He and his wife Suzanne now have daughters Claire, Ellen and Faith too.  In 1999 he started his firm, Hadley Partners, Incorporated which provides strategic financial guidance on such matters as financing expansions, mergers and acquisitions with people here, in San Francisco and New York.

That sort of thing generally brings good wages, and the firm’s successful transactions have been numerous. So it is no small thing to put his career on hold and focus on what he believes must be the first step: rebuilding the Party. David’s intention is increase the depth of the Republican vote one person at a time.

If he wins the election he will get a salary of about $8,000 a month, and we get him.   Now, that’s a deal!


John May spent the first half of his life in New York and the other half in California. He has worked in the finance industry for over 50 years as an analyst on Wall Street, pension fund manager, investment adviser and speechwriter.

He began writing for fun and performing at open mics in Long Beach, California in 2007. Favorite topics for the poet, known locally as “Jack,” include romance, war, economics, politics, philosophy and comedy.

Jack and wife Peggy have been married for over 50 years; they have two children, Jacqueline and John, who have a total of five more



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Alex See - the right candidate for Torrance City Council

5/7/2014

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PictureAlex See
Posted by Arthur Christopher Schaper
M
ay 7, 2014

At first, I had no idea what to think when I learned about Malaysian-born Torrance resident Alex See.

I knew so little about him, compared to the other candidates whom I was researching, and it seemed to me that he was ill-prepared for his run for Torrance City Council. After all, he was on a business trip earlier this year, while other candidates were already prepping their campaigns with inaugural dinners.

In January, I invited him to come the school board meeting, along with other city council candidates.  Even though he had been overseas at the time, and had just returned home the night before, Alex arrived at the school board meeting, and gave me the opportunity of meeting him. Sharing his concerns about education as well as greater civic engagement from the Asian-American community in Torrance, Alex a small businessman (which he conveniently advertised at the North Torrance Home Owners Association two weeks ago) as well as engineer, Alex See has been a city fixture for many years.

Unlike some of the younger candidates for office, as well as the more seasoned public officials, Alex See promotes a semblance of honor and respect, willing to listen to others, considering the key needs of small businesses and employers in a city where regulations, fees, and taxes can cause more harm than good.  The fact that he took my calls and came to a public forum to speak with me was enough to win my vote.

Here are his answers to seven questions which I posed to him about himself, his campaign, and his plans once he gets elected:

1. Why are you running for city council this year? Did you ever plan on running for office before?

I am running for office because I want to give back to the community and to serve the city that my family and I call home. My family and I love living in Torrance because it is a diverse, well-balanced and safe community with an excellent school district. I have not seriously considered running until I read that that our mayor and most council members are encouraging diversity on the council to represent the city (ref. Daily Breeze’s article). For many years I have volunteered my time and resources to be an integral part of the success of this community. Therefore, I am running for Torrance City Council because I know that my unique background will add a different perspective to examining city issues and solutions.

2. You are a registered Republican. Why?

I am registered as a Republican because I believe in being fiscally responsible, small government, low taxes and family values.

3. Tell us about your prior professional/political experience and how they can help the City of Torrance?

I’ve served the Torrance Community as a Water Commissioner for 8 years. As a water commissioner, I have worked with fellow commissioners to ensure Torrance continues to provide low water rates (2nd lowest in the region), high quality and reliable potable water to its residents and businesses. I’ve also supported our amazing school district as a committee member on the TUSD Bonds Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee, TUSD Facilities and Asset Review Committee and high school Site Council to ensure that our students have the proper means of gaining an education and skills to prepare them to enter the job market.

4. What measures, reforms, and policies would you implement on a city level to bring in more business and increase economic activity in the City of Torrance.

We need to attract and retain businesses to increase revenue for the City. As a small business owner in Torrance I am acutely aware of the necessity to have a Government environment that respects and encourage businesses to come and stay in our city. I strongly endorse any efforts to be a friendly city in an increasingly unfriendly business state. I will always be open to ideas for streamlining the system. Our one-stop permitting center was an effort in that direction and while that adds to the convenience, we must go a step further to cut through the red tape our city produces. We live in the 21st century and online services and permitting should be available for the conveniences of all citizens and businesses. Improvement and revamp of City websites need to ensure residents are well informed and know the facts.

5. What concerns do you have about crime and public safety in Torrance.

I am deeply satisfied with our fantastic public safety services. Living in one of the safest cities in America provides my family and I the security that we do will never take for granted. However, in addition to the rising pensions of public workers, my main concern is the recent release of criminals due to AB 109. Although, I am confident that our police and public safety officials will do all that is necessary to continue to provide the protection that we are accustomed to.

6. There are growing revelations about the city's massive pension liabilities -- $400 million, an online reports confirm that at least 600 city employees out of 200 are earning at least $100,000 a year in total compensation (per 2012 data). What reforms or steps do you support to deal with these massive pension liabilities?

The men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect Torrance residents deserve to know that their hard work will benefit them in the future. It depends on what pension reform should look like. Pension reform is needed to prevent abuse and to make sure the system is sustainable. We need to incentives the best law enforcement candidates possible and Torrance residents deserve the best public safety officials available. If elected, I will work with the rest of the Council and the City Manager to make sure that we have the funds for a first-class police department that will not cut corners on the shoulders of the men and women who protect us.

7. How have residents and prospective voters responded to your campaign?

So far I have received a lot of positive feedback from the voters I have spoken with. Most like what I stand for, the work I have done for the community and share similar values. Like most candidates running for office, I have received the occasional voter who was either unaware of the June 3rd election or tend to have a general dislike of politics. All in all, I am greatly surprised and happy with all the support I have received and it encourages me to continue fighting for what I believe in, helping our city and citizens progress into a better tomorrow.

From private sector investment to public sector involvement, Alex See is worth seeing and voting for.

On June 3rd, please vote for Alex See for Torrance City Council

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com



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Small Torrance nonprofit looking for BIG help

5/6/2014

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Picture
In the city of Torrance there is a place you should know about. Tucked away between Carson and Maple Streets, in the corner of an office building on Crenshaw Boulevard is The Torrance Pregnancy Help Center.

  This is a wonderful place that holds a message of HOPE to all who enter, for the born and unborn alike. For this is a nonprofit agency dedicated to the helping of those, who may find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy and in need of short or long term assistance.

This is an organization dedicated to the service of the most vulnerable among us. Many of the women who enter may be young and totally unprepared to handle the situation they now find themselves in. Scared and not knowing what to do, or where to turn for help, the Center is always there for them. And this is why the Center is so important, for this is a safe caring environment staffed with people who only want the best for all involved.

The mission of the Pregnancy Help Center is, “to provide a safe, caring environment where every woman facing a crisis pregnancy can receive counseling, education, and practical assistance in order to eliminate the crisis and choose life for her baby; and to inspire others to embrace sexual health and integrity.” Other services provided are: pregnancy testing, ultrasound, STD testing along with the counseling.  These services are free for all clients, and are part of the Center’s operating costs.

  So this is where you and I come in, and why we all need to Walk for Life on May 17th. We are not only walking to raise money for the Pregnancy Help Center, but also to raise awareness for the Center; because the life of the unborn is not something to be taken casually, or ignored.  If God counts every sparrow that falls from the sky, how much more will He remember those who are the most vulnerable among us?

So now it’s time to take action and prepare to walk, so take out your day planner, grab your check book, and write down this date, time and place: May 17, 2014, Veteran’s Park in Redondo Beach California, 90277, between the hours of 8:30- 11:00 a.m. That’s when and where the 27th annual Walk for Life is going to take place.

Onsite registration will start at 7:15, with the Walk actually beginning at 8:30 a.m., with all ending promptly at 11:00 a.m.

Online registration is available at http://www.ministrysync.com/event/?e=6079.

Also there will also be a fundraiser for the Center at California Pizza Kitchen in the Manhattan Village, 3280 N. Sepulveda Blvd in Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 all day on May 28th with 20% of your check will go to the Pregnancy Center. To take part in this fundraising event  please bring an event flyer which can either be picked up at the Walk or at the center itself.

For more information on either of these events, to volunteer or donate to the Center, please call the Torrance Pregnancy Help Center: 1311 Crenshaw Blvd. Suite A, Torrance, Ca. 90501, 310-320-8976, www.supportphctorrance.org.

So, I am looking forward to seeing you all at the beach, where we will walk for Life. And please remember EVERY STEP MATTERS!

-Michael


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Pension Envy , or Justified Taxpayer Frustration

4/21/2014

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PictureTorrance City Hall or a Country Club
Posted by Arthur Christopher Schaper
April, 21, 2014


Mayoral candidate Pat Furey, a county employee retiring within days with a public pension, slammed the “pension envy” he hears from workers in the private sector who question the generous wages and benefits paid to police officers. (The Daily Breeze)

Creating a new psychological (or psychoanalytic?) disorder, Torrance Councilmember and mayoral candidate Patrick Furey unleashed his fury on private sector employees who criticize the massive pension payouts of public employee..

For the record, many Torrance residents, and likely voters, are private sector employees and small business owners. Still, why would anyone feel “pension envy”?

A growing number of Torrance public safety officers make more than one hundred thousand dollars a year, then take 90% of their salary upon retirement. One retired officer shared with me that the pension formulas shifted in the 1990s, and while he funded his retirement adequately, so that his disbursements would not undermine the pension fund. Another public worker, in Rhode Island, invested his retirement through a private system, so that he would be neither gouging his constituents nor jeopardizing his future.

Pension funding is a serious issue, nonetheless.

Four California cities have gone bankrupt because of unsustainable pension obligations to retired employees. Statewide stats affirm that eighty percent of public school revenues fund retirement pensions and benefits, as well. Cities should serve residents, and schools are supposed to serve students, providing a safe environment to live and thrive. Yet most cities may not survive the liabilities laid upon them because of generous contracts negotiated between public employee unions and prior city councils. Who will protect us from our protectors, indeed?

Instead of “pension envy”, perhaps the proper term should be pension outrage, or entitled entitlement exasperation. El Segundo has had few fires or deaths, and yet the Police Chief is on track to take home nearly $200,000 a year in pensions. In Lawndale, Centinela Valley Union High School District Superintendent Jose Fernandez negotiated a lucrative contract with a compliant school board, which offered to him a base pay near equal to the LAUSD Superintendent, in spite of the fact that he supervises a district one hundredth the size of LAUSD. The perks and pension “air time” offered to the superintendent vaulted his 2013 salary to $663,000. Hermosa Beach parking enforcers make a minimum of $53,000 a year, yet Hermosa Beach’s sewer system needs to be revamped.

And now to Torrance, CA. The Wall Street Journal featured the largest South Bay city in a list of municipalities with overwhelming pension liabilities -- $392,000,000to be precise. Torrance’s Finance Director Eric Tsao disputed the accounting in a Letter to the Editor, arguing that the city’s current expenditures only total 12% toward pensions. Yet percentages can be misleading, as they hide the real costs of pension liabilities, just as California Governor Jerry Brown could declared “We have balanced the budget!” while ignored the enormous wall of debt from public employee benefits.

True, safety officers risk their lives, and in the past they did not survive five years past retirement. Yet today, more public safety employees do live and thrive for decades after leaving the work force, thus placing massive demand on municipalities and taxpayers to fund their pensions.

Pension reform is a necessity for good fiscal health.

Can Furey of “pension envy” fame bring this reform? He is a public employee, also, but so is fellow challenger Tom Brewer. However, Furey just garnered the Torrance Police Officers Association endorsement, and they have $170,000 in PAC money on hand to promote their candidate. No wonder Fury is in flurry to defend current pension obligations.

Despite their financial leverage, California’s public sector unions have endured more losses than wins lately, starting with San Jose and San Diego, where 70% voting majorities endorsed comprehensive pension reforms in 2011-2012. In 2014, Republican Kevin Faulconer won the special election mayoral race in San Diego, as well, despite ten-to-one outside money from union endorsements.

Despite Councilmember Furey’s fury about pension envy, the frustration about unfunded liabilities is not a disease, but rather a symptom of residential outrage, as voters are fed up with city leaders who accommodate present employees and retirees at the cost of current as well as future residents. Crime is up throughout California, and Governor Brown’s realignment has not helped, but a city which spends more money on retired police rather than clear and present law enforcement needs to shift its priorities.

With the most comprehensive turn-around in city leadership coming to pass in the city’s history, Torrance needs representatives who will not just discuss but enact and enforce comprehensive pension reforms, respecting the needs of current and future retirees, while also ensuring that the bulk of city funding funds city needs, not over-generous pension and benefits guaranteed in lucrative contracts signed by temporal city leaders into place without keen foresight or deep regard for foreseeable economic challenges.

Torrance faces a crumbling infrastructure, including potholes and rising need for parks and recreations restoration. Resident's tax money should go toward renewing and revamping the city’s public works, which serve all residents, rather than exclusively sustaining pension obligations for employees no longer working for the city.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com

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COMMON CORE: GOOD? OR NOT

4/4/2014

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Picture
Posted by John May
April 4, 2014

At first glance, it’s easy to like Common Core.  For one thing, it is sponsored by an American hero, Bill Gates, whose foundation has donated over $400 million to pay academic researchers and social scientists to undertake studies and design programs to enable our schools to turn out graduates with upgraded skills in English, math and science. That seems ok.  And how can you not love Bill Gates? Secondly, the President of the USA is a major booster, having directed hundreds of millions of grant money to induce 90% of the states to join Common Core. So far, six states have declined.

There seems to be a widespread belief that American grade school and high school students compare poorly with an embarrassingly large number of other countries. Student achievement scores can be influenced by population mix and teachers’ labor unions, but a third source might be the education system itself. In response to that challenge, a selection of education experts have devised a program which would unify all of the school systems into one centrally managed structure. We will have, in effect, one board of education for the country instead of one for each of the fifty states.

There are lots of details in the complex program and plenty of substance for debates to come such as how to encourage “critical thinking,” and teachers of 44 states are believed to be preparing for the new regimen. The hierarchy of the national system will be empowered to decree what capabilities students should have, what study materials are acceptable and what test regimens will be applied. One notable feature is the creation of a national database to accumulate evaluation data on each student, each year. Student metadata, if you will. The totality of the program resembles that of Obama Care, in that both are complex structures of imposed rules which can be understood only after having lived with them.  

Growing curiosity about Common Core has begun to create a groundswell of concern regarding our Constitution’s main purpose: containing governmental power by dividing it among three branches and defining the responsibilities of each branch, in hope of reducing the potential for oppression. So how does Common Core threaten freedom?

The primary violation is that the federal government has no mandate or even authority to usurp the most important of state government functions, that being education. Fifty independent state systems make possible a diversified search for good educational results. The tendency of some humans to prefer collectivized, controlled programs and to dislike diversification expresses itself politically in the present confrontation. Two offshoots within the educational diversity we enjoy today are charter schools and home schooling, both of which have been producing good results. But they are anathema to the entrenched interests of the US Department of Education, which provides financial support for those who cooperate, and teacher unions which are threatened with erosion of their captive market and their political influence.     

The movement to collectivize education comes on the heels of the control of medical care and medical insurance. Both are highly complex structures of imposed rules which can be understood only after having lived with them.


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CA GOP Congressman Darrell Issa - Standing up for America !

3/20/2014

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PictureDarrell Issa - (R), CA
Posted Posted By Arthur Christopher Schaper
March 20, 2014

#StandWithIssa

Shameful Display of Democratic Demagoguery
The Democratic minority in the House of Representatives is shaming Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa for shutting down a committee hearing in February 2014, and thus preventing ranking member Elijah Cummings from asking a question, when he really wanted to launch into an indictment against the Republican majority in the House.

During a hearing on the floor of the House, Democratic lawmakers flashed iPads with Issa showing the sign to cut off the microphone for the ranking member.

From Fast and Furious to IRS Abuses, to Benghazi, to the hacking of AP reporters phone records, and now allegations that the CIA was spying on US Senate staffers, Congressman Darrell Issa has stood up to the stone-walling and truth-retreating Obama Administration. Rather than being censured, Issa should be honored for his unceasing fact-finding.

The mainstream media has given into the progressive coven which promotes, excuses, and all-too-often ignores the failings, faults, and fury of Democratic lawmakers, including President Obama, who has discredited minorities with not budgeting properly for health care, when even the well-off are finding their health insurance premiums skyrocketing.

Not Congressman Issa.

Before taking on the Chairmanship of the House Oversight Committee, Issa announced: "It's going to be acrimonious. There's no question. He [President Obama] has been one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times."

He then qualified the remarks:

"When you hand out a trillion dollars of TARP, a trillion dollars of stimulus dollars. . it's like steroids to government waste."

DOJ officials are now dead because of the felony-like gun-running scheme called Operation Fast and furious.

Congressman Issa has rigorously pursued the Department of Justice and the Obama Administration on the incompetent and ultimately fatal ploy to expose drug cartels along the Southern US border.

The best that the Attorney General would offer to the committee? Blank reams of paper covered in black ink, with "For internal use only."

Issa fired on the Assistant Attorney General Robert Welch:

"That's not discovery! You might as well have given us a ream still in its original binder!"

American diplomats were assaulted, tortured, and killed following the terrorist attack on Benghazi, and only after President Obama was reelected did the major media networks revisit the questionable accounts related to the American public about what happened.

Issa never backed down to finding out what really happened. While New Jersey Governor Chris Christie gave two hours to explain political pay-back traffic blocking along the George Washington Bride, President Obama has not given this country two minutes to explain the deterioration of American foreign policy, or respect for American preeminence, throughout the country, and worst of all the horrible deaths of  four diplomats who repeatedly called for extra security from the State Department, yet received none.

While Issa was pursuing the IRS' targeting of conservative political groups, Lois Lerner has refused to answer questions relating to her role or her knowledge of these egregious breaches of federal integrity. Because of her repeated reference to the Fifth Amendment, Issa decided to adjourn the hearing. Ranking member Elijah Cummings threw a fit.

Race-baiting followed, all of which condemned Issa's action as racist. The Chairman apologized, yet the bitter beating has continued, with Democrats desperate to shame the Republican majority to censure the Oversight Chairman or have him removed from the committee.

Where were the Democrats when former-Oversight Chairman Henry Waxman displayed one of the most egregious and offensive displays of partisanship in 2008? Waxman badgered EPA officials during the Bush Administration, including one particular  member, and Waxman refused to honor regular order. After repeated attempts for Waxman to respect committee procedure, Waxman hammered his gavel repeatedly:

"I will have you physically removed if you don't stop!"

Waxman's party lost the majority in 2010, and he has opted to retire this year, in spite of prior announcements that he would run again. He has yet to apologize for his abuse display. If anything, the Democratic Party's double-standard on Waxman's behavior should be enough to silence any meaningful criticism of Chairman Issa.

Let's just declare the obvious - the Democratic Party will not regain the House in 2014, and the ongoing investigations from current Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa all but ensure that Republicans will not just take back the US Senate, but complete the shellacking of 2010. The Democratic Party's naked yet enfeebled attempt to stifle the truth, particular the revelations of abject incompetence and corruption, should embolden all Americans to #StandWithIssa and demand that they stop protecting President Obama's arrogant, unconstitutional power grabs, all of which have diminished the authority of the Constitution, the integrity of the government, and diminished the security of this country.  


Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com



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Democrats Support South Bay Convicted Felon, State Senator - Taxpayers Deserve Better

2/27/2014

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Posted By Arthur Christopher Schaper
Feb. 27th, 2014

Last month, a Los Angeles jury found State Senator Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) guilty of eight counts of felony voter fraud and perjury.

In 2010, LA prosecutors had sought an indictment against Wright because he did not live at the address listed on his voter registration. State law requires that every state legislator live in the district that he/she represents. Because of the false address on his registration, he committed perjury and voted fraudulently in five elections.

Residency requirements are a serious matter in California, specifically Los Angeles politics. An LA City Councilman faced similar charges, and the LA County District Attorney investigated residency accusations against a Hermosa Beach city councilmember.

So, Wright has been found in the wrong, declared guilty of voter fraud by a jury of his peers, and awaits sentencing. Wright's legal team has vowed to file an appeal, yet Wright at this time remains a convicted felon.

To add insult to indictment and conviction, Wright attempted to introduce a bill which would reduce non-violent felonies to misdemeanors, two days after he was convicted of eight felony counts himself! Even though the convicted state senator claimed that he did not introduce the bill to save himself the humiliation of being barred from pursuing elected office in the past, the legislation would have indeed softened the blow of his eight felony counts to misdemeanors. Wright's outrageous move did not escape State Senate President Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), and Wright pulled his bill. "Wrong author, wrong time," shared Steinberg's spokesman.

Of course, Steinberg's disapproval does not mean that the Democratic Supermajority will not consider the bill at a later time. What's more disturbing, Steinberg has done nothing to have convicted felon Roderick Write expelled from the state senate. As of now, only three Republican lawmakers have called on the upper chamber to move for Wright's expulsion, as well as independent candidate for Secretary of State David Schnurr.

While Steinberg has asserted that since an appeal will render a final determination, the state senate will wait before proceeding. The state senate President has even justified leaving Wright on committee assignments.  Is this the proper precedent for handling felonious legislators?

In 1994, state senator Frank Hill (R-Whittier) was convicted of non-violent felonies (soliciting a bribe from an undercover agent). Hill stopped voting on bills and stepped down from his committee assignments after his conviction.  After that, the state senate government committee voted 4-0 to expel him after the guilty verdict. Why is the state senate stalling this time?

The San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Daily News (whose owner includes the Daily Breeze), and the Inland Empire’s Press-Enterprise Editorial Boards have all called for Wright’s resignation or expulsion from the state senate.

And who has not?  State senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), who has recently announced his candidacy for the Congressional seat opened up following Congressman Henry Waxman’s decision to retire from Congress.  Senator Lieu has a remarkable legislative record for protecting bears from hunting dogs, preventing adolescents from using tanning salons, and microchipping pets. He attempted triple the state’s licensing fee, has sided with public sector unions, even voted against the state senate bill which would expedite the termination of teachers guilt of moral turpitude against their students.

And now Lieu has said nothing about his convicted felon colleague Roderick Wright. After contacting his Sacramento office, Lieu’s office has confirmed that he issued no press released. Lieu is wrong to say nothing about Wright, and he should the right the wrong of his silence by joining the editorial boards of statewide newspapers and the Republicans in his caucus to demand that Senator Wright resign from office or move to expel him through committee resolution.

Contact State Senator Lieu’s office, and tell him to stop being silent. Demand that he demand the resignation or expulsion of convicted felon Roderick Wright from the California State Senate.

Capitol Office
State Capitol, Room 4061
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4028
Fax: (916) 651-4928

District Office
2512 Artesia Blvd., #320
Redondo Beach, CA 90278-3279
Phone: (310) 318-6994
Fax: (310) 318-6733


Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com

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Republican P.V.E. Councilman George Bird needs to explain his flighty Muratsuchi support

2/22/2014

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Palos Verdes Estates Councilmember George Bird, a registered Republican, and an elected Republican in a Republican stronghold, opted to endorse a Democrat for the state Assembly in 2012, despite the strong credentials of the Republican candidate, and the unprecedented severity (and deleterious consequences) of the 2012 election.

In the Friday, February 14 edition of the Daily Breeze, Bird's letter was published regarding Assemblyman Muratsuchi's decision to run for reelection instead of seeking higher office this year:

Reward Muratsuchi for not seeking a higher office

Re: “Muratsuchi says he’ll run for re-election” (Feb. 7):

How refreshing to see a member of the Assembly choose to stay and continue to serve those who elected him instead of jumping at the first opportunity to run for the state Senate.

There is nothing refreshing, let alone remarkable or significant, about a politician choosing to run for reelection. How is this refreshing, again? Such rhetoric defies definition, requires explanation.

Al Muratsuchi has placed the citizens of the 66th Assembly District before his self-interest by not running for the next office. Al Muratsuchi has well served the interest of the 66th District during his freshman year. The experience he gained will serve him well during his next term.

How did Assemblyman Muratsuchi serve his constituents by signing onto legislation which would permit illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, a measure which violates the United States' immigration laws, as well as the United States Constitution?

Muratsuchi was not serving the South Bay business community by agreeing to a minimum wage increase, which will only force out entry level workers, including young, minority employees seeking to enter the job market, especially during these difficult economic times.

Local leaders have criticized Muratsuchi's reticence to vote "Yea" or "Nay" on a number of bills. Not much integrity there. He sponsored an aerospace forum, which very few businesses attended. Not much leadership there, either. He waffled on the minimum wage increase by asking for the legislature to remove language tying increases to the rate of inflation. Still, his support for the bill hurt California’s small businesses.

And what leadership has Muratsuchi demonstrated on comprehensive pension reform, or tax reform, or the reduction in regulations?

Muratsuchi also supported AB 1266, which will permit students of decided gender (transgender students) to enter public school bathrooms with other students. This unseemly law motivated prompted initiative for repeal this November.

The constituents of our district recognize that the personal integrity of the candidate and his demonstrated ethics are more important than whether he or she is a Republican or a Democrat. Let’s elect good people, not political opportunists.

With all due respect, Muratsuchi had indeed shown some interest in seeking higher office. Even though the Los Angeles Times and later the Daily Breeze covered for the Democratic lawmaker, there is no hiding the fact that Muratuschi was looking for any opportunity not to run for reelection in a district with a rising Republican resurgence, in which the Democratic brand has been tarnished by a tax-and-spend extreme progressive supermajority in Sacramento.

Bravo to an individual who recognizes that we elected him to do a job and we don’t expect him to always be looking for his next higher political office.

Muratsuchi deserves no bows, Bravos, or applause for warming a seat, paid for by public sector unions.

If we ignore the self-interest of Muratsuchi, we certainly cannot ignore Mr. Bird’s fawning. Is he looking for favors from the Assemblyman?

Now more than ever, Constitutional conservatives, respect for the limited government and fiscal discipline, and most importantly the proper domains of the state regarding the identity of students an their liberty to learn free from social engineering, are values worth fighting for. Muratsuchi does not fight for these values.

Let’s reward the lack of self-interest and the lack of self-promoting by someone who puts us before him, by re-electing Al Muratsuchi to the Assembly.

Once again, there is nothing commendable about a candidate choosing to run for reelection for his current office instead of seeking higher office. This kind of compliment is akin to thanking people for obeying the law, or congratulating people for getting dressed before they leave their homes for work.

— George Bird, Palos Verdes Estates

The voters in Palos Verdes Estates should ask their Councilman why he continues to support a politician whose values clash, rather than complement, the values of the South Bay, particularly registered voters in the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

I emailed Mr. Bird the following:

As a registered Republican in the South Bay, why did you endorse Democrat Muratsuchi for election in 2012, and reelection in 2014?

David Hadley has announced and mounted a sizable campaign to represent the 66th Assembly District.

Your letter gave the impression that you are seeking a higher office with Muratsuchi's help.

Please explain your insistence on supporting a progressive Democrat who had advertised himself as a moderate, especially since you are a registered Republican.

Bird certainly owes his constituents an explanation for his flighty reasons for supporting Assemblyman Muratsuchi's reelection.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

Twitter -- @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com


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THE NATIONAL DEBT THAT NOBODY WANTS TO READ ABOUT

10/29/2013

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Posted by John May
Oct. 29th, 2013

Why, you may ask, would anyone want to read about the national debt?  For one thing, the numbers are too big to understand.  What for example is a trillion? (I’m pretty sure it’s a million million, with twelve zeroes.)  Most articles on the national debt focus on the $17 trillion US Treasury debt and ignore the present value of promised benefits of Social Security, Medicare and Federal employee retirement costs, for a total of $86 trillion.

One way to grasp the heft of that number is to compare it to the entire American economy. The total of every transaction done in America in a year is around $16 trillion, so that the US liability of $86 trillion is five times the size of the economy.  There are about 155 million people employed, which works out to a burden of over a half million dollars for each worker.

The probability is zero that that the repayment money will be taxed away from earners of income and owners of assets.  Taxation will probably be the source of less than half of the debt; the major portion will be dealt with by cheapening the dollar through an acceleration of inflation. This is a predictable pattern of human behavior because it enables spending now in return for a pretense of repayment later, similar to borrowing plums and repaying with prunes.  One familiar observation is that  at the time of the Civil War, you could buy a hand made suit of men’s clothing in New York City once of gold, then $25,  and now, a century later, you still can, with gold at $1300. The price of suits did not change…only the dollar did.

In the table below, see the pattern of receipts as compared with federal spending;

Year    Receipts(Portion of GDP)    Expenditures (Portion of GDP)
1960    18%
                                    18%
1970    18%
                                    20%
1980    19%
                                    22%
1990    19%
                                    23%
2000    21%
                                    19%
2009    16%
                                    26%
2010    17%
                                    27%

Source: justfacts.com

Now, see where YOUR tax dollars have been going.

                                Portion of Total Federal Spending (years)
Category                1960    1970    1980    1990    2000    2010
Social Spending     23%    35%      47%    45%     56%    
61%
National Defense    56%    44%      28%    27%     20%     22%
General Gov't. &
Debt Service
          14%     12%      16%     21%     18%    11%
Economic Affairs

& Infrastructure       7%       9%      8%        5%        6%    4%
Public Order &

Safety                    0%        0%     1%        1%        1%    2%

Source: justfacts.com


John May spent the first half of his life in New York and the other half in California. He has worked in the finance industry for over 50 years as an analyst on Wall Street, pension fund manager, investment adviser and speechwriter.

He began writing for fun and performing at open mics in Long Beach, California in 2007. Favorite topics for the poet, known locally as “Jack,” include romance, war, economics, politics, philosophy and comedy.

Jack and wife Peggy have been married for over 50 years; they have two children, Jacqueline and John, who have a total of five more



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Prayer Vigil for American Pastor Saeed, in Torrance

10/21/2013

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PictureImprisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini
Posted by Dottie Martin & Sandi Avants
Oct. 21, 2013

South Bay residents gathered on the corner of Torrance Boulevard and Madrona Avenue on Thursday evening, September 26th to pray and offer support for the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen held in captivity in Tehran, Iran for more than a year.  Approximately 50 people representing some seven different churches gathered for the 6:00 p.m. prayer vigil organized to publicize the plight of this America pastor who lost his freedom as a result of his Christian beliefs.  Among those in attendance were two South Bay pastors and three candidates for public office: Pastor Milton Herring, candidate for Torrance City Council, John Wood, candidate for Congress in Congressional District 43, and Dr. John Paul Tabakian, candidate for Torrance School Board.
( Click here to watch the video )

Pastor Saeed is a 33 year old man who was born in Iran and converted to the Christian faith in 2000, after his conversion, he began creating Christian churches. He met his wife, Naghmeh, an Iranian born woman who had been raised in the United States since age four, when she herself was in Iran visiting.  The two fell in love and were married in Tehran two years later.  In 2005 the couple moved to the United States. Subsequently, in 2010 at the age of 29, Pastor Saeed became a naturalized citizen of the United States.  From 2009 through 2012, Pastor Saeed made eight trips back to Iran to set up a government-approved orphanage in Rasht.

On his ninth trip in July, for no apparent reason Pastor Saeed was arrested and imprisoned. Since his arrest, His wife, Naghmeh has been working tirelessly for her husband’s release and early on enlisted the help of the American Center for Law and Justice to escalate the case. Secretary of State John Kerry has raised the issue on more than one occasion with the government of Iran, and Naghmeh has presented her husband’s case on the floor of the United Nations.  One day after the one-year mark of Pastor Saeed’s imprisonment, President Obama made mention of Pastor Saeed’s case in a historic phone call to the new president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, the first such phone conversation between an American president and an Iranian president since 1979.  Unfortunately, in the days since that phone call, Pastor Saeed’s beatings have increased and he has been denied needed medical treatment for internal bleeding caused by the maltreatment at the hands of his Iranian captors. At times he has been put in solitary confinement. His case went to a very high Iranian appeals court this year, but in August the conviction was upheld.

Constitutionally, one of the clear responsibilities of our federal government is to protect its citizens, reference “provide for the common Defense” (Article I, Section 8). If the US government ignores its citizens in peril abroad, this is a dereliction of duty and should cause each one of us to feel less secure. It is necessary that Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama himself keep the pressure on the Iranian regime until Pastor Saeed is released.

One of the key ways to influence the Iranian authorities is to raise the level of awareness and outcry from the international public and their leaders, something the Prayer Vigil handily accomplished, as on the day of the Prayer Vigil, with the volume of cars stopping at the stoplights and/or passing by, it is estimated that the demonstration could have been seen by approximately 6000 vehicles in the one-hour period. There was one very large sign and 6 or 7 smaller signs, a dozen or so American flags, large and small, and yellow armbands to remember prisoners, which were visible to passersby. Many enthusiastic passersby in cars honked to show their support and some waved or cheered. A cluster of participants on Torrance Boulevard did a 2-minute chant when cars were within earshot and stopped at the light, chanting “Free Pastor Saeed.”

Besides alerting the public to Pastor Saeed’s unjust imprisonment, the group also prayed in pairs, in groups, or individually, focusing prayer on Pastor Saeed but also praying for other desperate nations of the Middle East and North Africa that have been rocked by violence against Christians in recent months, including Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, and Nigeria. Unfortunately, the mainstream media has largely ignored these events, as was pointed out by Senator Rand Paul on October 11, 2013 in Washington, D.C., in his address to the Values Voter Summit.  This makes it even more imperative for non-traditional media and average citizens to get Pastor Saeed’s message out.

The Prayer Vigil in Torrance brought unity, enthusiasm, bolstered faith, and new connections among participants, and prayer cover for Pastor Saeed and his family and the Persecuted Church in general, and will likely result in increased awareness of Pastor Saeed, not only in the Christian community locally but also in the general public, through the Prayer Vigil itself as well as through the publicity both before and after the event.
 
Sponsored worldwide by the American Center for Law and Justice and the beheardproject.com project and held in some 70 cities across the US including Washington, D.C. on September 26, the Prayer Vigil in Torrance was organized by the Faith Council of the Beach Cities Republicans.




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