Free Republic

SANTA ANA – The removal of a Christmas tree from the Orange County Superior courthouse Monday has prompted a petition among court employees to have the tree – connected to a gift drive for poor children – put back. The six-foot artificial tree, which was adorned with tags seeking toy donations to 'Operation Santa Claus,' was removed Monday after a member of the public complained about the tree being in the courthouse, court spokeswoman Gwen Vieau said. "It's a public building and we have to serve the diversity of our community,'' she said. The tree had been put up in...

If you want to know what's wrong with Sacramento, you need look no further than Orange County. That's where Republican Party insiders have cast aside one of the GOP's most principled members in its drive to fill the 72nd Assembly District seat vacated by disgraced Assemblyman Mike Duvall, who resigned after being caught on tape bragging in lurid detail to another assemblyman about his sexual exploits with lobbyists. The first major candidate to announce his intention to replace Duvall was Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby. If the local GOP were serious about the limited-government rhetoric it constantly preaches, Norby would...

In this Friday, Sept. 24, 2009 picture, Albert Peterson with the Two Rivers Authority stands outside an empty jail that Hardin, Mont. built for $27 million. The authority wants a California security company, American Police Force, to take over the facility. Michael Hilton pitched himself to the city as a military veteran turned private sector entrepreneur - a California defense contractor with extensive government contracts who promised to turn the rural city's empty jail into a cash cow. But now a much different picture of Hilton is emerging from public documents and interviews with his associates and legal adversaries. (AP...

TALLAHASSEE -- Two suspicious Seminole County voter registration cards became a flash point Wednesday in the Republican effort to suggest the community group ACORN is committing fraud in its historic Florida get-out-the vote efforts. An ACORN spokesman said the group spotted what appeared to be forged registration cards weeks ago and fired a worker over them. Seminole's election chief, Mike Ertel, said he was still "tremendously concerned," but stopped well short of calling the incident "fraud." The Republican National Committee, though, levelled the accusation and blasted the housing and wage advocacy group in a nationwide conference call with reporters, saying...

Freedom Communications Inc., the owner of the Orange County Register, is expected to declare bankruptcy this week, according to people familiar with the situation, the latest in a string of Chapter 11 filings in the battered newspaper business. The company, majority owned for more than 70 years by the Hoiles family, has reached agreements with its lenders to restructure its debts, according to these people. With annual revenue of about $700 million, Freedom owns the Register and more than 30 other daily papers and eight TV stations. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- a popular measurement for leveraged...

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (KABC) -- Southern California may be known for its sunny skies, but the city of Laguna Niguel's reputation for the past three decades has revolved around the moon. Actually thousands of moons. Each year a crush of people line up along the railroad tracks in the city and bare their backsides to every Amtrak train that passes by. But now the sun may be setting on this mooning tradition. "Hopefully it will be a much smaller event this year," said Mayor Robert Ming, Laguna Niguel. Mayor Ming says last year the crowd numbered 10,000, a problem when...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and many leading California politicians have been warning of dire consequences if the state's voters rejected their five budget-related initiatives on Tuesday's ballot. The combination of so-called reforms and large tax increases wouldn't have come close to fixing the states' problems even if they passed, according to the governor's own budget projections, so voters should shrug off any of the blame politicians are laying at our feet. Legislators and the governor are hired, so to speak, to deal with the government's budget, and they are the ones who continue to fail at their jobs. It is clichéd,...

MISSION VIEJO, CA – Organizers of an April 15 "Tea Party" are planning a follow-up rally on May 18 to oppose the propositions facing California voters the next day. The propositions are required to implement the February state budget deal. The Saddleback Republican Assembly, which is organizing the rally, is targeting tax increases contained in that deal. The group's president, Michael Ferrall, said the rally is also a protest against what he views as excessive state spending. "It's just a matter of philosophical principle, from a conservative perspective," Ferrall said.

Come counterdemonstrate the racist terrorist-lovers of the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine tonight. We will be stoning a woman in a burka to show the hypocrisy of these genocidal maniacs accusing our democratic ally Israel of (all things!) genocide!!!!See details on counterdemonstration below: The Jihadi's featured speaker tonight will be none other than Cynthia McKinney: Here is a timeline for tonights counterdemonstration: 5:30pm-6:00pm - Meet at Parking Structure on Campus Drive near East Peltason St. 6:00pm-6:20pm - Speaker Jesse Petrilla, will address the group on Sharia Law and fundamentalist Islam 6:20pm-6:30pm - Distribute press release and flyers (attached) about...

Screen shot of UC Irvine sign: "Israel: The Politics of Genocide"

MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER O.C. may lose millions for jailing illegal immigrants President would cut program for jailing criminal illegal immigrants. BY CINDY CARCAMO President Barack Obama's plan to redirect federal funds to the southwest border could mean Orange County stands to lose nearly $6.5 million in funds to house illegal immigrants with criminal convictions – while the state could lose $110 million. Local and state officials have joined members of Congress who are up in arms about Obama's announcement last week to kill a program that has provided about half a billion dollars in federal funds to...

Prompted in part by a series of undercover videos exposing legal abuses at Planned Parenthood abortion clinics, California's Orange County Board of Supervisors this week drafted a new policy preventing any of the county's $37 million in tobacco settlement revenue from paying for abortions. WND reported the story of Lila Rose, a college student who, through her Live Action Films ministry, has visited Planned Parenthood facilities around the nation under cover, taking with her a witness and a hidden camera, revealing clinic workers either concealing statutory rape or advising a patient on how to avoid various abortion restrictions. When California...

Former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona was sentenced today to 5 ½ years in federal prison by a judge who said his crime had brought shame to the county and victimized the people he was sworn to serve. U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford also ordered Carona to pay a $125,000 fine within one year. “Lying will not be tolerated in this courtroom,” Guilford told Carona moments before reading his sentence. “Especially by this county’s leading law-enforcement officer.” The sentencing comes more than three months after a jury convicted Carona of witness tampering, for trying to convince one of his former...

Twitter coverage. The judge is listening to arguments before sentencing former OC Sheriff Mike Carona.

This was discussed on the Bud Hedinger show this afternoon. There's a group of people, lead by Ray Srour, Jr. and Sally Baptiste, calling for the recall of Orange County, Florida Mayor Richard Crotty.

Reminder: Saddleback Valley Conservatives & FReepers meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1st, 6:00 PM Location: Rancho Santa Margarita Ford 30031 Santa Margarita Pkwy. 92688 Time: 6:00PM-7:30PM Guest speakers: Keynote: John Williams, Trustee, South Orange County Community College District John will be speaking to us about several current issues in the South OC colleges, and will be taking your questions. Guest: Lyman Stucky Conservative activist Lyman Stucky will be speaking about the following: -Tools and strategies to get corrupt politicians and judges out of office -Tools to fight the teachers unions -Fighting for principles in the GOP Be sure to...

Several major GOP power brokers with ties to convicted former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona are about to lose their concealed weapons permits under an order by the new sheriff. Those who have received notices of revocation from Sheriff Sandra Hutchens include Michael Schroeder, chief political and legal advisor to Carona and a former chairman of the state Republican Party; Adam Probolsky, a GOP pollster; and Stephen Mensinger, a political ally of Carona and business executive for major GOP benefactor and developer George Argyros, public records show.

Obama to come into O.C. via motorcade President's route Wednesday from Long Beach Airport not announced. By SERENA MARIA DANIELS and SALVADOR HERNANDEZ White House officials and local authorities are not releasing details of President Obama's route from Long Beach Airport to a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa Wednesday, but it has been confirmed that the president will travel by motorcade. The Secret Service fell short of saying that the California Highway Patrol will escort Obama, but assured motorists that long-term closures are not planned for the heavily traveled 405 freeway. White House officials did say that a motorcade...

It’s official. President Barack Obama will hold his town hall meeting Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Building 12. And it’s going to be free and open to the public, that is for those people who want to spend St. Patrick’s Day morning waiting on line for tickets. I’m hearing there will be 2,000 total tickets, including probably a couple of hundred already spoken for by public officials and people who worked on the Obama campaign. Here’s the deal: They’ll be distributing tickets starting tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the OC Fair and Event Center, 88...

Undercover videos produced by Live Action Films were used to help strip Planned Parenthood of the $292,000 in taxpayer funds it received from Orange County, CA. The videos, part of the ongoing Mona Lisa Project, clearly show Planned Parenthood employees ignoring the sexual abuse of minors, which mandatory reporting laws require clinicians to report. Mark Bucher, a local resident and board member of the Family Action PAC, saw the videos and decided to find out if Orange County gave taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. Bucher proceeded to uncover an intricate money trail unknown even to the Orange County Board of...

The Orange County Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to rescind a contract with Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties because of the organization’s links to abortion. “I don’t believe the county should be funding abortion, and I don’t believe the county really should be involved in funding an organization who performs about 35 percent of the abortions in the country,” said Supervisor Chris Norby, the Orange County Register reported. The 5-0 vote came on Tuesday, March 10, following a lengthy debate and many comments from the public. Supervisors directed county staff to end funding to Planned Parenthood...

An Orange County supervisor is asking his colleagues on the board to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, saying the county should not be giving money to an organization that provides abortions. In a meeting of the board of supervisors scheduled to begin today at 9:30 a.m., Supervisor John Moorlach will ask the board to end two county contracts with Planned Parenthood approved last year that total $341,788.

SANTA ANA (CBS) ― Click to enlarge A shake and some rattled nerves. What was it? Who knows. The investigation continues. AP 1 of 1 Close numSlides of totalImages As mysteries go, it might not rank up there with "What happened to Amelia Earhart?" or "Did Oswald act alone?" but a strange rattling, shaking, and quaking got people in Orange County all shook up yesterday evening...and we can tell you this much, it wasn't an Elvis sighting either. We are used to earthquakes in the Southland, but this was no quake either! Or a sonic boom. We are used to...

Lawyers dispute it can't be undoneHILLSBOROUGH -- More than 200 taxpayers packed the Central Orange Senior Center, and sheriff's deputies turned away dozens more who came to protest the recent countywide revaluation. Hillsborough lawyer Cynthia Shriner countered County Attorney Geoff Gledhill's claim that the county can't rescind the revaluation because Jan. 1 has come and gone. She said all the commissioners have to do is overturn a decades-old decision to revalue Orange County's properties every four years and take advantage of the state law that requires it only every eight years. At least three other counties scheduled to implement revaluations...

Abortion facility to close following 40 Days for Life campaign   Shawn Carney (right) of the national 40 Days for Life team, with two Orange County, California campaign leaders, standing next to the real estate sign that was placed outside the abortion facility on Day 39 of the fall 40 Days for Life.The abortion center is going to close its doors and shut down. As you look at that picture, think about what it will feel like when the abortion facility or Planned Parenthood nearest to you posts a similar sign — the day when you realize that due to...

Counselor suspended after teens hear Christian music Accused of 'exposing children to unapproved religious activities' A Southern California counselor with nearly two decades of experience with foster children is challenging a decision that she be punished after four teens she took on an approved day-long outing encountered a beach festival – and heard Christian music. The 18-year employee, according to the lawsuit, took four teen girls from the Orangewood Children's Home, which was launched as a private facility but now is owned and run by Orange County. "What happened to this counselor was insane and unjust," said Brad Dacus, president...

SNIPPET: "Ahmadullah Sais Niazi, 34, who was arrested without incident this morning at his Tustin residence by members of the joint terrorism task force, was named in a five-count indictment returned Feb. 11 by a federal grand jury. The indictment, unsealed this morning, alleges Niazi hid associations with "Specially Designated Global Terrorists," groups including Al Qaeda, Hizb-i-Islami and the Taliban, when he completed nationalization papers five years ago. During one visit, the government alleges Niazi visited Dr. Amin al-Haq, the security coordinator for Osama bin Laden."

For the first 26 years of my life I lived under one of Eastern Europe darkest, most deranged and authoritarian communist dictatorships. What you will read on this page happened in America, supposedly the freest country in the world; however from the behavior manifested by the law enforcement officers attending a recent Board of Supervisors meeting you would think their employer is Nicolae Ceausescu not the citizens of Orange County, California. Read on

SVC February meeting All FReepers are invited to attend the next meeting of the Saddleback Valley Conservatives: Guest speaker will be California Republican Party Treasurer, and Rancho Santa Margarita resident, Steve Baric who will talk to us about the future of the GOP and the need for a return to traditional and conservative values. Jesse Petrilla will speak about his recent trip to Europe where he met with numerous European political leaders in an attempt to understand the current situation there with Islamic fundamentalism, social, economic, and other problems brought on by years of liberal policies, and how we...

Televangelism empire in chaos over family split By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer Saturday, January 31, 2009 Once one of the nation's most popular televangelists, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life's work crumble. His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled megachurch is home to the "Hour of Power" broadcast, an evangelism staple that's been on the air for more than three decades. The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County...

Just announced. Verdict to be read at 11:45 AM Pacific Time

Don Callender, credited with turning his mother's modest home-based bakery business into a restaurant and pie dynasty in Southern California, has died.

OC FReepers, please join me and other conservatives on Wednesday evening for our regular grassroots town hall meeting of the Saddleback Valley Conservatives. Guest speaker is Capistrano Unified School Board member Anna Bryson. Come ready with your questions and feel free to bring all your conservative friends. WHEN: Wednesday, Jan 7th, 6:00-7:30PM WHERE: Rancho Santa Margarita Ford dealership, 30031 Santa Margarita Parkway, zip code 92688. Take Alicia Parkway east all the way to RSM, turn right on Santa Margarita Parkway and head down about a mile. RSM ford is on your left. Also I will be discussing various technology related...

Hutchens says she disagrees with supervisors and will let voters decide her fate in 2010.

Register photographers share favorite images from 2008 Anti-illegal immigration protester Deborah Craig speaks her mind while day laborer Victor Orozco, right, stands at the gathering point with other day laborers at the entrance to Modjeska Canyon on March 20. The day laborers volunteered to shore up hillsides in the canyon. Steve K. Zylius, The Orange County Register

Faced with a gaping budget deficit, Orange County officials disclosed plans Tuesday to lay off nearly 60 Probation Department employees and to start releasing some juvenile criminal suspects rather than holding them in juvenile hall. Word of the cutbacks came the same day that 1,000 angry workers stormed the Orange County Hall of Administration to protest previously announced plans to lay off 210 social services employees. * Confrontation Confrontation * Orange County cuts 210 workers * EDITORIAL: Orange County's careless cutbacks The social services cuts stem from a steep reduction in state funding that county officials said left them with...

OC Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh invited me to attend a small get-acquainted lunch on November 20 with Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. As readers know, Poizner is already running hard for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010. This was the first time I had listened at any length to Poizner, and I came away with an overall positive impression. Poizner brings a number of strong qualities to his campaign: he's energetic, articulate, personable and has a sense of humor. And let's face it: his ability to self-fund from his personal fortune is a tremendous asset for a Republican in a...

The columns date back to 2004! :)

Hey FReepers, I am looking for other FReepers in Orange County. We are starting a new action oriented grassroots conservative group to provide support (and opposition) for local issues. It will be very action oriented (rallies, precinct walks, phone banks, etc.) and will hold regular monthly meetings in the Saddleback Valley. If you live in the area please let me know. We are holding our first meeting a week from tonight to discuss forming the club, it will be in Rancho Santa Margarita on Monday Dec 1st at 7:00 PM. Email me if interested in getting involved jesse@joinjesse.com Thanks!

The public spoke out clearly against restrictive concealed- carry rules. Was the sheriff listening? It's a sad day when a county sheriff shows as much disdain for individual liberties as Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has shown in her pursuit of ham-fisted policies regarding concealed-carry permits for firearms. On Tuesday, the board of supervisors voted unanimously to call on the sheriff to loosen up her policies and allow wider latitude in granting permits to residents who say they need the permits. Although Sheriff Hutchens was appointed by the board six months ago, she is under no obligation to follow the new instructions....

A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson near Malibu Creek State Park, a sheriff's deputy said Sunday. Suren Sahakyan was booked on suspicion of arson at the sheriff's Lost Hills Station and held in lieu of $75,000 bail, said Deputy Byron Ward of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. An area resident saw the man on shoulder of Stokes Canyon Road near Mulholland Highway, starting a fire using paper and leaves about 5:20 p.m. Saturday, Ward said. The resident stomped out the fire, and Sahakyan fled but was caught by sheriff's deputies a short distance away.

Extremists are threatening an environmental disaster by sparking a series of catastrophic wild fires. We first posted on this last year. Western intelligence agencies fear that Al Qaeda terrorists are planning a “global fireball” in a new departure in its war on the West. Deliberately lighting forest blazes in Europe, the US and Australia would not only stretch emergency services but leave insurance companies facing multi-billion pound damage bills as the credit crunch bites. The fires would also create a pollution disaster, with billions tons of climate change gases escaping into the atmosphere. The so-called “forest jihad” is being championed...

ORANGE, Calif. — A Southern California county will allow jailed Muslim women to wear headscarves after settling a lawsuit with a woman who claims that deputies violated her religious freedom by making her remove her hijab. The settlement agreement signed by the county last week and released Monday specifies that Muslim women must be provided a private area to remove their headscarves after arrest and must be provided with county-issued headscarves to cover themselves when they are in the presence of men. The county, which did not admit wrongdoing, will also pay $45,000 in damages. Plaintiff Jameelah Medina will get...

Lots of current stories. Wow. What a jerk. Click on the link and read.

Earlier this week we were in Orange County, California with a few additional stop on the west coast. We've been helping to rally the volunteers and workers at some of the regional headquarters as well as participating in book signings and meeting supporters along the way. It has been amazing to meet person after person who supports Dad. From the families and kids who have an interest in my dad's life story, to the tireless workers who make everything happen in the campaign... thank you!

Protest against Palin as she attends a fundraiser in Costa Mesa, CA. Bring rally signs, posters and lots of friends. date: Oct 4, 2008 (Saturday) time: 3:30-6:30 pm location: Segerstrom Concert Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 615 Town Center Dr. Costa Mesa, CA 92626

If you’ve been reading Wylie Aitken’s humorous take on the Republican convention, you know he’s been trying in vain to find somebody from Orange County who has meet GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. That task will become a lot easier on Sept. 25 when the Lincoln Club and Paul Folino co-host a fundraiser featuring Palin. If you’re interested in what will likely be a high-dollar event, you can find contact information for the Lincoln Club at its Web site. As we get more information, we’ll pass it along.

SANTA ANA An American propagandist for Al Qaeda who was raised in Orange County may have been killed along the Afghan-Pakistani border in an air strike by an unmanned U.S. Predator aircraft, according to intelligence experts quoted by a British newspaper. Gadahn has been credited with helping transform Al Qaeda's propaganda wing into a slick operation able to communicate in fluent English and produce professional quality DVDs, including one for Osama bin Laden last year.

Several people have been coming regularly to counter the vigil by Code Pink leftists in Orange County California. Some of them are part of the Patriot Guard organization. The Code Pinks come on Wednesdays at 5:30 PM. The vigil is at the Orange Circle, Chapman and Glassell, in the city of Orange California.

[The Lincoln Club of Orange County is threatening to pull its financial support for Republicans in the House and Senate if they do not replace their leaders.] The grumbling. The head shaking. The anger.Congressional Republican leaders clearly have no idea what we, their fellow GOP members (and financial backers), say to one another when we get together, yet for years one refrain has been constant: our extreme discontent over how the former GOP majority blew it on spending. Budget earmarks, which jumped by 285% between 1994 and 2005 as their cost soared by 60%, stand as the perfect symbol of...