Will James Clapper Join Club Fed for Lying To Congress?

Will James Clapper Be Imprisoned For Lying To Congress?

By Chriss Street

 When James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, was asked under oath at a Senate Intelligence Committee meeting in March of this year: 

“Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?, he answered “No, sir.” Astonished by the response, Oregon Democrat Senator Ron Wyden sought clarification: “It does not?” Clapper replied: “Not wittingly. There are cases where they could, inadvertently perhaps, collect—but not wittingly.” But documents recently leaked by former NSA analyst and America’s number one fugitive, Edward Snowden, demonstrate Clapper “knowingly and willfully” gave false testimony to Congress. Clapper has since admitted he testified in the ‘least untruthful manner’ he could think of” and he was “too cute by half.” Although James Clapper has confessed to several criminal offences, there is little chance he will be prosecuted.

Snowden’s revelations over the last three weeks, outraged media on both the left and right have demanded that Clapper be immediately fired and prosecuted for perjury. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of 26 Senators, including Senator Wyden wrote a letter asking to James Clapper for “clarification” in his testimony to understand if the Obama Administration is relying on a “secret body of law” to collect massive amounts of data on US citizens. The letter also complained that Administration witnesses made misleading statements and demanded the Director answer a series of specific questions on the scale and legal justification for domestic surveillance. Although the letter screams potential prosecution, Congress seldom punishes liars with criminal indictments.

Last October, Attorney General Eric Holder appeared to knowingly and willfully lie when he told the House of Representative’s Oversight Committee that he did not know exactly when he first learned of the “Fast and Furious” gun-walking program and again when he recently testified to the House Judiciary Committee he never targeted journalists in leak investigations. Former IRS Director, Douglas H. Shulman also appears to have lied to a number of Congressional committees when he testified that there had been no targeting by the IRS against political organizations for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status.

Before anyone can be charged with criminal lying, the Congressional committee involved must formally vote to refer the matter to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for prosecution for perjury; obstruction of justice and false statements. But these charges require the following findings:

(a.) The General Perjury Statute (18 USC 1621) elements of the crime: “A witness testifying under oath or affirmation violates this section if she gives false testimony concerning a material matter with the willful intent to provide false testimony, rather than as a result of confusion, mistake, or faulty memory.” Each of these elements must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, which can be extremely challenging.

(b.) The General Obstruction Statute (18 USC 1505) defined “corruptly” as: “acting with an improper purpose, personally or by influencing another, including making a false or misleading statement, or withholding, concealing, altering, or destroying a document or other information.” Proving a defendant’s state of mind when lying was “intentional and improper,” is legally very difficult.

(c) The General False Statement Statute (18 USC 1001), makes a crime to “knowingly and willfully” (1) falsify, conceal, or cover up by any trick, scheme, or device, a material fact; or (2) make any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or (3) make or use any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry. The challenge is to prove the defendant acted “knowingly and willfully”, plus prove statements false.

Since there have only been 6 people convicted for lying to Congress since the 1940s, very few criminal referrals are ever made by Congress. The most recent case was prosecution of Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens for supposedly lying to Congress about taking performance-enhancing drugs in 2008. Clemens pleaded not guilty to the charges. But prosecutorial misconduct led to a mistrial and he was acquitted in a second trial on all six counts of lying to Congress.

Clapper’s public admission that he lied to Congress reduces the prosecutorial “burden” to prove “falsity and state of mind” and could serves as a confession that he violated all three criminal statutes. But given Edward Snowden’s exposures that Senate leaders also lied about snooping to the American, it is unlikely there will be any criminal referral of Clapper. With his public reputation in tatters, James Clapper will probably retire on a pension paid be taxpayers, and then make big bucks working for a Washington DC “beltway bandit” to sell over-priced consulting to the U.S. military-intelligence-complex.

CHRISS STREET & PAUL PRESTON Present:
“The Agenda 21 Radio Talk Show”
Broadcasting Across the United States and Canada
Monday through Friday 10 AM to Noon
Streaming on: http://www.kcnr1460.com/

Follow Blogs: www.chrissstreetandcompany.com & www.agenda21radio.com

The HOA contribution to the decline in civic virtue

by George K. Staropoli

Jeb Bush and Clint Bolick, VP of Litigation at the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix and nationally recognized constitutional law scholar, expressed their concern for the loss of “basic American values.”  Although presenting their solution to the dysfunctional US immigration policy[i], their concern is well suited to the impact that the defective HOA legal scheme has had on civic virtue.

A good part of the failure to provide for education in civic awareness lies in the rapidly growing residential housing industry that requires a governmental body over developers’ subdivisions that contain common elements.  Some entity, if not the local municipality, must govern these common elements and that has fallen to the homeowners association (HOA) legal scheme. . . . There is no civic virtue or civil servants in HOAs, because the HOA legal structure for governance is a corporation.  The equivalent of civics or civil virtue is HOA virtue, which amounts to two simple attitudes:  pay your assessments on time and follow the rules. (See High Noon in HOA-Land: members who permit lawless boards to function).  

Read the complete paper here . . .

---

[i] Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution, Jeb Bush and Clint Bolick (Threshold Editions Div. of Simon & Schuster 2013).

IRS Official Goes IRS over IBM Fraud Claims

IRS Official Takes the Fifth Over IBM Contract

By Chriss Street

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scandal heated up this week  when Greg Roseman,Washington D.C. Metro Area Contracting Officer and Deputy Director of the IRS, invoked his constitutional Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid answering questions in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to determine if he fraudulently steered $500 million in IRS computer contracts to a $250,000 a year company fronting for IBM.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa released a report today detailing an abusive contracting relationship between the IRS and Strong Castle, Inc.  The report found a personal relationship between the IRS official and Braulio Castillo, owner of Strong Castle/Signet Computers, which facilitated the company capturing 25% of the IRS’s $2 billion in annual information technology spending over a six month period.

The House report also found that Strong Castle gained an advantage over competitors by fraudulent obtaining designation as a “Historically Underutilized Business Zones” (HUBZone) with the Small Business Administration.  HubZones were enacted as part of President Clinton’sSmall Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 to encourage government contracting with economically disadvantaged communities.  HUBZone-certified companies receive a 10% “contract preference,” but their principal office must be within the HubZone and at least 35% of employees must reside in the HUBZone.

The Strong Castle website claims the company is a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and winner of the Veteran Affairs Award at 12th Annual Leesburg, Virginia Business Awards.  Despite claiming to be in an Economically Underutilized Business Zone, Leesburg, Virginia was rated by Fortune Magazine as the number four Best Small Town to Live in America.  In 2011, annual median family income was $128,595, median home price was $279,250 and unemployment was 4.1%.  The City offers “plenty of good jobs in defense contracting, consulting, and technology.”

In January 2012, Braulio Castillo purchased Signet Computers, released all the former employees and renamed the company Strong Castle, Inc.  Over the next six months, the company won IRS contracts worth about $500 million.  Although the $50 million preference as a qualified HubZone gave the company a big competitive advantage, investigators discovered that Contracting Officer Greg Roseman, failed to disclose he and Castillo had 350 text messages that included “grossly inappropriate” remarks and “underscore a problematically close relationship,” according to investigators.

The report states that despite IRS senior staff knowing about these conflicts of interest with Strong Castle/Signet Computers, “the IRS has failed to revoke tainted large contract awards or take disciplinary action against IRS employees who acted inappropriately. Throughout the report, numerous examples from texts, emails, and witness testimony show that the IRS contracting officer played an often hands-on role in tilting the table in Strong Castle’s favor in numerous contract competitions.” 

The report calls the relationship between Roseman and Castillo “cozy,” since Roseman sent a February 2012 email to Castillo in which he said Bobby McCane, Director of the Office of Information Technology Acquisition at the General Services Administration, where Roseman previously worked, could help Castillo get a contract on GSA’s “Schedule 70,” a catalog of government wide contracts for information technology products and services.  In the email, Roseman told Castillo, “I’ve talked to her and she will look into expediting.”  Subsequently,McCane awarded a Personal Computer Equipment and Accessories Blanket Purchase Agreement to Strong Castle and IBM Enterprise Software and Services Opportunity.

Under blistering questioning today, Castillo said that Strong Castle won blanket purchase agreements from the IRS, as a front company and almost all the revenue went to IBM.  Six weeks ago I reported in OBAMACARE FUNDED IRS BIG DATA that the IRS’s Martinsburg Computer Center upgraded its computer mainframes to the IBM zEnterprise™ 196 Systemsthat were designed for military level applications.

The upgrade gave the IRS the capability to troll through millions of individual internet addresses, establish 32,000 metadata categories and designate 1 million unique “attributes.”  This allows the IRS to collect huge volumes of personal information on taxpayers’ digital activities, from eBay auctions to Facebook posts and e-payment transaction records.  Dean Silverman, leader of the IBM zEnterprise™ 196 upgrade bragged: “Private industry would be envious if they knew what our models are.”

Greg Roseman and Lois Lerner have the same right to take the Fifth Amendment when subpoenaed by Congress as mafia bosses.  But if IBM takes the Fifth Amendment, the company will be banned from doing government business and lose $35 billion in annual revenue.  With the IRS scandal now centered on Washington D.C., it is only a matter of time before bureaucrats and crony companies negotiate immunity agreements and then we will learn how far up will this scandal go in our nation’s leadership.

Prop 8 Heading Back to the Supreme Court

Proposition 8 Will Come Back to the Supreme Court

By Chriss Street

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) crowd were celebrating conservatives angry yesterday with the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to over-turn the Congressional Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and remand California’s Proposition 8 back to the lower courts.  But I believe the Court’s decisions were consistent with the Commerce Clause and 10^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  

Pro-traditional marriage supporters may have suffered a short term headache, but I believe that within the next 18 months a more favorable case for Proposition 8 will soon return to the Supreme Court and be constitutionally upheld. The 1996 Republican Party platform endorsed DOMA by referencing section 2 of the act:  “We reject the distortion of laws to cover sexual preference, and we endorse the Defense of Marriage Act to prevent states from being forced to recognize same-sex unions.”

 The Democratic Party platform that year did not mention DOMA or marriage.  The bill moved through Congress and was passed by a vote of 85–14 in the Senate and 342–67 in the House, gaining support from 2/3 of all Democrat Senators and Congressmen.  The only Republican to oppose the bill was the one openly gay Republican Congressman, Rep. Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin.  Facing a tough re-election, President Clinton signed the bill into law to avoid a wedge issue.  Yesterday, President Clinton was the prime cheerleader for the Supreme Court’s decision.

Despite Barack Obama’s gaining 62% of the California Presidential vote in 2008, the state’s voters passed Prop. 8 state constitutional amendment initiative that amended Section 7.5 of the Declaration of Rights to provide that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” by 5%.  The main reason for passage was due to strong support by churches in ethnic communities.  African American voters gave 70% support for Prop. 8, even as they supported Obama by 94 percent.  Hispanic voters backed Prop. 8 by a 53%, while giving 74% support to Obama.

The Obama Administration, previously a defender of DOMA in lower courts, fought to over-turn the law in the Supreme Court under the Constitution’s 10^th Amendment State’s Rights Clause.  This is the type of “Federalist” argument is usually detested by liberals and championed by conservatives.  A prominent group of constitutional strict-constructionist scholars, including Ernest Young of Duke Law School and Randy Barnett of the Georgetown Law Center, submitted a powerful Friend of the Court Brief attacking DOMA for exceeding the proper limits of federal power and trampling on legitimate state authority:

“States derive the power to define marriage from their police powers, but Congress has no such power,” … “Nor can Congress justify DOMA under the Commerce, Spending, or Necessary and Proper Clauses.” In short, “Congress has no legitimate interest in defining marriage because it lacks enumerated power to do so.”

The Supreme Court sent Proposition 8 back to the lower court on “remand” because “appellants” lacked “standing” under the law.  Normally, the California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris, a Democrat who succeeded Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011, would have the “standing” to represent the voters.  But she not only refused to perform her duties, she submitted an “Amicus Brief” arguing that only public officials exercising the executive power of state government have authority to represent the state when laws passed by voters or the Legislature are challenged.  “California law affords an initiative’s proponents no right to defend the validity of a successful initiative measure based only on their role in launching an initiative process.”  The Supreme Court determined that without the initiative having any specific language about else could represent voters if the state attorney general refused, no appeal could be valid.

Decisions of the Supreme Court take 25 days before they are officially published, but these rulings set up the Supreme Court to hear a valid appeal when one of California’s 58 County Clerks, who are usually elected and have the sole Constitutional authority to issue marriage licenses, refuses to issue a marriage license to an LGBT couple.

It is my expectation that a conservative California county clerk will refuse to issue a marriage license to an LGBT couple.  The couple will then have to file a law suit to force the issuance and the case will be expedited by the lower courts back to the Supreme Court over the next 18 months.  With the Supreme Court and Obama Administration both having supported a State’s Rights precedent in DOMA, the County Clerk will have the proper standing for the Supreme Court to rule Proposition 8 a constitutional law.

CHRISS STREET & PAUL PRESTON Present:

“The Agenda 21 Radio Talk Show”
Streaming Live Monday through Friday at 10 to Noon http://www.kcnr1460.com/
Follow Blogs: www.chrissstreetandcompany.com & www.agenda21radio.com

Go Global My Yung’on – International Chamber Music Festival, That is

Posted by CotoBlogzz

Leavenworth, WA – The International Chamber Music Festival will kick off Sunday July 7, 2013 at 8:00 pm with its Opening Gala event amid the breathtaking beauty of the Cascades at the Snowy Owl Theater.

This special kick-off concert will present a world premiere of a piece written especially for the occasion by David Deacon-Joyner, a jazz pianist and composer.   The Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival and Institute artists will share their specially selected musical offerings, including a piece written especially for the opening Gala, along with personal remarks.  Those attending can enjoy a glass of wine, stay late and mingle with the artists after the performance :

Bach, Flute and Keyboard Sonata in E Flat Major, BWV 1013 
David Deacon-Joyner, Timeless Voices of Women Poets for Voice and Piano (world premiere)
Dvorak, Cypresses for String Quartet
Schubert, Introduction and Theme and Variations for Cello and Piano
Bartok, Allegro molto capriccioso (from String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17)
Martinu, Madrigals for Violin and Viola, H. 313
Chopin, Selected works for solo piano

Performers: Ray Futura, flute; Christina Dahl, piano; Avalon String Quartet; Melissa Plagemann, mezzo-soprano; Oksana Ezhokina, piano; Anthony Elliott, cello

On tap there are also three free young artists.

For full schedule and line-up, including artists' bios and info for special guest Emcee appearance by Northwest Public Radio's Robin Rilette, visit icicle.org

            

Millennials Dumping Democrat's over NSA's Snooping

  

Millennials Rejecting Democrats Due To Spying

By Chriss Street

 The revelations by former National Security Agency operative Edward Snowden that the United States government has been spying on all Americans may be causing a permanent political shift by the American “Millennial” generation (youth born between 1980 and the year 2000) away from President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.  

Contrary to the main-stream-media’s claims that “Millennials don’t worry about online privacy,” research demonstrates young people are extremely sensitive about who has access and can engage in mischief with their digital lives.  As Snowden’s spying disclosures continue, the blow-back against Obama and the Democratic Party is alienating this future dominant voting bloc. As Millennials have reached voting age they favored John Kerry by 9% in 2004, Barack Obama by 34% in 2008 and Obama again in 2012 by 23%.

There were 64 million Millennials of voting age in 2012, but by the 2020 all 90 million Millennials will be eligible to vote and will probably determine who wins the Presidential election.

The University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future conducted surveys in April to compare the differences in the opinions of younger and older Americans about their right to digital privacy:

Both American Millennials ages 18-34 by 70% and those over-35 people by 77% that “no one should ever be allowed to have access to my personal data or web behavior.”

Only 25% of Millennials agreed with the statement, “I’m ok with trading some of my personal information in exchange for more relevant advertising.” Among the over-35 group set, it was 19%.

The most dramatic difference found was that 56% of Millennials would share their location with companies in exchange for coupons or deals, compared to 42% of the over-35 population. But that’s still nearly half who did not agree that they would do so.

The poll found that Millennials are more frequent users of social networking sites, by 48% vs. 20% of the over-35 population.  But that should hardly be a surprise since social media was designed by youth and can hardly serve as prima facie evidence of a lack of concern about privacy.

A 2010 study by researchers at UC Berkeley School of Law, found that 83% of Millennials had refused to give information to a business and 82% believed that anyone uploading their photo or video should first be required to get their permission.  Americans 35 years were only marginally more opposed to such information sharing.

As journalist Wendy Grossman suggested regarding the future millennial voters, “teens certainly do value their privacy; it’s just that their threat model is their parents.”  Teens may not be as worried about the government or companies, because many do not have the historical knowledge or perspective to worry about those “threats.”  But they do live under constant surveillance by their increasingly “helicopter-hovering” parents.

Most young people have not been within hierarchical organizations or other structures of power, and they have not learned how various privacy violations can reverberate across time and within professional communities.  But teens are engaged in a process of identity formation that involves not only exploring different concepts of self, but presenting such identities to others.  This is something that teens have always done—but today it’s done electronically.  That is why identity experimentation today has bigger privacy consequences than for past generations.

Social media uses sophisticated techniques to trick Millennials into expecting they are communicating with only a small set of people.  When in reality, social media corporations own and archive all the communications that have ever moved across their platforms and sell the data to the highest bidders.  That is why the revelations by Snowden that the Obama Administration conspired with social media corporations to get unlimited access to users digital lives have become such a betrayal to Millennials.

Thanks to Snowden, every Millennial now knows that Uncle Sam, just like 1984’s Big Brother, is trolling all the servers of America’s largest internet and media corporations.  With disclosures that the U.S. government may be surreptitiously turning on the cameras and microphones to spy on Millennials with their own digital devices, the youth’s monolithic support of Obama and the Democratic Party may be over.

CHRISS STREET & PAUL PRESTON
Present:
“The Agenda 21 Radio Talk Show”
Streaming Live Monday through Friday at 10 to Noon http://www.kcnr1460.com/
Follow Blogs: www.chrissstreetandcompany.com & www.agenda21radio.com

It’s a Small World at Icicle Creek: First Annual Cultural Fusion Event

 Luis Urrea speaking event is free, but limited to the first 230 people who obtain tickets

Posted by CotoBlogzz

Leavenworth, WA -  The Icicle Creek Center for the Arts in partnership with Sleeping Lady Foundation, Faith Lutheran Church, ¡Team Naturaleza!, and A Book For All Seasons are scheduled to launch the premier of the Annual Bicultural Fest (Fiesta Bicultural) on July 5, 2013, 1 -9pm at Snowy Owl Theater and Outdoor Meadow Stage - 7409 Icicle Road, Leavenworth, WA 98826 with free admission.

Icicle Creek is dedicated to celebrating excellence in the lively arts and inspiring generations of students, artists and audiences through exceptional educational experiences, live performances, and special events - all in the breathtaking, natural setting of the mountain meadows. !Team Naturaleza!  Is dedicated to engaging Latino communities in informal natural science education, building a healthier community…with a strong component for healthy lifestyles as a by-product for getting people outdoors.

Award winning author, Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North and The Hummingbird’s Daughter, is the featured speaker along with free family activities, including educational and wildlife booths, the Mariachi Estrella Mexico band, the Village Voices, dancing, food, and hourly bilingual Nature walks led by Team Naturaleza. 

The Leavenworth Naturalization Ceremony begins at 5:00 pm at the Icicle Creek Outdoor Meadow Stage with Urrea’s keynote presentation (sponsored by the Sleeping Lady Foundation) to follow in the Snowy Owl Theater at 7:30pm. 

Bicultural Fest Line-up and Schedule of Events 

1:00 to 5:00 pm - Family oriented bilingual events at the OUTDOOR MEADOW STAGE on Icicle Creek Center for the Arts. Free and open to the public: 

(12) Informational/Educational Booths for nature, culture and arts 

El Centenario Taco Wagon (Authentic Mexican food available for purchase. Healthy snacks offered free of charge) 

1:00 pm - Music "Foodways and Byways"

1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 pm - Bilingual Nature Walks 

2:00 pm - Leonardo Guerrero accordion performance

2:30 pm - Saddle Rockers bluegrass band 

3:10 pm - Ballet Ixtlilton

3:30 pm - Recycled Rhythm 

4:00 pm - Dancing with Birds performance and Leavenworth Distinguished Young Women

4:30 pm - Mariachi Estrella

5:00 - 6:30 pm Naturalization Ceremony at the Meadow Stage 

Free and open to the public. Keynote Speaker is award winning author Luis Urrea. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Icicle Creek Center for the Arts host 50 candidates for United States Citizenship at the Leavenworth Naturalization Ceremony. Entertainment by Leavenworth Village Voices and the Mariachi Estrella Mexico band. 

7:30 - 9:00 pm An Evening with Luis Urrea at Snowy Owl Theater 

Luis Urrea is a prize winning author who has lived with border issues and celebrates the two cultures (Latino and Anglo) which are an integral part of his life. Luis Urrea speaking event is free, but limited to the first 230 people who obtain tickets

Into the Beautiful North tells the story of a courageous young woman, Nayeli, determined to save her small town in Mexico to protect - and repopulate - her home. She and her friends head out for America- the strange and beautiful land of their dreams, and fears. Their destination: a small town in Illinois, where Nayeli hopes to discover her father, her warriors, and - if she's lucky - her destiny. 

Luis Alberto Urrea has written 11 books, which contain his critical acclaimed essays, novels and poems. The Devil's Highway was a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist. 

The Bicultural Fest is underwritten by Sleeping Lady Foundation. A working team of over 50 volunteers and over 30 businesses and organizations partnered to bring this event to the public.

Donations made at the event will go to assisting !Team Naturaleza! (Environment For The Americas), a local non-profit program connecting NCW Latino communities to nature. 

Tickets for the presentation are free and are available at A Book For All Seasons and Avalon Music in Wenatchee. 

For more information, contact Lilia Grundy, Icicle Creek Center for the Arts - (509) 548-6347 x42, lgrundy@icicle.org or Norma Gallegos -  !Team Naturaleza! (509) 860-0323. 

Vicious Dog in Coto de Caza Reported to Animal Control

LETTERS

 

June 23, 2013

On the evening of June 22, 2013 my two teenage children were out walking our three dogs on a leash in front of our house in Coto de Caza Orange County.  At one point out of the blue my neighbor’s  dog viciously attacked one of my dogs and caused him some very severe bites and injuries. This was not the first time this dog has displayed and exhibited erratic and vicious behavior in the neighborhood. My family and I can’t even sit quietly in our back yard without having this dog continually growl and menace us. This has been going on for several years with absolutely no recognition or action on the part of the dog’s owner to stop such menacing behavior. His response to my complaints about the dog’s vicious behavior is that “If I were nicer to the dog he wouldn’t  behave that way”….

Suspected vicious dog

B Injured dog

After two years of this kind of nasty menacing vicious behavior this dog finally bit and injured one of my dogs in front of my house. He was being walked by a “dog sitter” who had no control over this dog whatsoever. He was on a leash but the leash was over 20 feet long so it couldn’t stop this dog from attacking and biting one of my small dogs. 

After the incident my wife had to take my dog to the vet where he had to stitch up the dog’s wounds and give him some sedating medicine. A photograph of those wounds is attached for your review. Also attached are photographs of my small dog and the attacking dog ( black and white in color) who bit him. Note the huge disparity in size of both animals. This is a case of a huge bullying dog attacking a small victimized dog for no reason.

Under Orange county law which I am citing below it requires the following when a person or another dog is viciously attacked and injured by a dog without any provocation or reason. I hope you will follow this law to the letter and order that this dog be removed from the neighborhood where he presents  clear and present danger to the community.

Sincerely,

William Kirkendale

Orange County Dog Bite Laws

Dog Bite Resource Center

Sec. 4-1-95.

Declaration and possession of vicious or potentially dangerous dog.

General Provisions.

If the Director has cause to believe that a dog is a "vicious dog or potentially dangerous dog" within the meaning of section 4-1-23, he or she may tentatively find and declare such dog a "vicious dog or potentially dangerous dog."

Upon tentatively finding and declaring that a dog is a "vicious dog or potentially dangerous dog," the Director shall notify the owner and/or custodian in writing of his or her tentative finding and declaration.

The notice shall inform the owner and/or custodian of such dog that he or she may request a hearing in writing before the Director within five (5) working days of receipt of such notice to contest the tentative finding and declaration. Any such hearing shall be requested and conducted as provided in subsection (d) of this section.

Failure of the owner and/or custodian to request a hearing pursuant to subsection (a)(3) of this section shall result in the declaration becoming final.

The possession or maintenance of a "vicious dog or potentially dangerous dog," or the allowing of any such dog to be in contravention of this division, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. The director is hereby authorized and empowered to impound and/or abate any "vicious dog or potentially dangerous dog" independently of any criminal prosecution or the results thereof by any means reasonably necessary to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the public, including, but not limited to, the destruction of the dog or by the imposition upon the owner and/or custodian of specific reasonable restrictions and conditions for the maintenance of the dog. The restrictions and conditions may include but are not limited to:

Obtaining and maintaining liability insurance in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) against bodily injury or death or damage to property and furnishing a certificate or proof of insurance by which the Director shall be notified at least ten (10) days prior to cancellation or nonrenewal or, at the owner's or custodian's option, the filing with the Director of proof of a bond in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars (100,000.00), to be able to respond in damages.

Requirements as to size, construction and design of the dog's enclosure.

Location of the dog's residence.

Requirements as to type and method of restraints and/or muzzling of the dog.

Photo identification or permanent marking of the dog for purposes of identification.

Requirements as to the posting of a warning notice or notices conspicuous to the public warning persons of the presence of a vicious dog.

Payment of a fee or fees as established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors to recover the costs of enforcing the provisions of [this] article 6, division 1 of title 4 of this Code as applied to the regulation of vicious dogs.

The Director may also order the owner or custodian to post and keep posted upon the premises where such dog is kept under restraint, a warning notice pending such impoundment and/or abatement hearing and decision by the Director. The form, content and display of such notice shall be specified by the Director. Any hearing under this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.

Immediate Impoundment.

When, in the opinion of the Director, immediate impoundment is necessary for the preservation of animal or public health, safety or welfare, or if the dog has been impounded under other provisions of this Code or State law, the pre-impoundment hearing shall not be required; however, the owner or custodian shall be given written notice allowing five (5) working days from receipt of such notice to request in writing an abatement hearing. If requested, a hearing shall be held within five (5) working days of receipt of the request by the Director and the dog shall not be disposed of prior to the decision of the Director following such hearing. A hearing under this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with subsection (d) of this section except as otherwise indicated. If, after five (5) working days following receipt of such notice, no written request for a hearing is received from the owner or custodian, the dog in question shall be disposed of under applicable provisions of law.

Change of Circumstances. In the event of changed circumstances, the Director may amend or rescind any abatement and/or impoundment imposed pursuant to subsection (a)(5) of this section. Any such revision to the abatement and/or impoundment due to changed circumstances shall be subject to the same notice, hearing and other procedural requirements as required for imposing an initial abatement and/or impoundment set forth in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section.

Change of Ownership, Custody and/or Residence. Owners of a vicious dog or potentially dangerous dog who sell or otherwise transfer the ownership, custody or residence of the dog shall at least ten (10) days prior to the sale or transfer, inform the Director in writing of the name, address and telephone number of the new owner, custodian and/or residence and the name and description of the dog. The owner shall, in addition, notify the new owner or custodian in writing of the details of the dog's record, terms and conditions of maintenance and provide the Director with a copy thereof containing an acknowledgment by the new owner or custodian of his or her receipt of the original. The Director shall notify the new owner or custodian in writing of any different or additional restrictions or conditions imposed pursuant to subsection (a)(5) of this section as a result of the change of ownership, custody or residence. The imposition of any such different or additional restrictions or conditions shall be subject to the same notice, hearing and other procedural requirements as required for imposing an initial abatement and/or impoundment set forth in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section.

 It is unlawful to have custody of, own or possess a vicious dog or potentially dangerous dog within the meaning of section 4-1-23 unless it is restrained, confined or muzzled so that it cannot bite, attack or cause injury to any person.

Declared Vicious Dog or Potentially Dangerous Dog.

It shall be unlawful for the owner and/or custodian of a dog declared vicious or potentially dangerous pursuant to subsection (a) to fail to comply with any requirements or conditions imposed pursuant to subsection (a)(5) of this section. If a vicious or potentially dangerous dog escapes, the owner and/or custodian shall immediately notify the Director and make every reasonable effort to recapture it.

The Director shall have the discretion, in any event, to directly petition the court to seek a determination whether or not the dog in question should be declared potentially dangerous or vicious. The Director shall follow the procedures set forth in Food and Agriculture Code Sections 31621 and following for this purpose.

(Ord. No. 2836, § 7, 5-6-75; Ord. No. 2908, § 1, 5-4-76; Ord. No. 3693, § 3, 3-22-88; Ord. No. 98-15, § 33, 12-8-98)

 

We assert that fundamental transformation of America is as easy as eating an elephant.  Starts with one school district at a time. If you wish to restore America, send your letters to the CotoBuzz Journal’s Editor: If you would like to make a comment about a specific news article, editorial or commentary and have it considered for publication in the CotoBuzz Journal as a Letter to the Editor, please send it to cotoblogzz@gmail.com  Letters should be brief, and may be edited for clarity and length.. They become the property of CotoBuzz Journal  and may be republished in any format.  Please include your full name, mailing address and daytime phone number (your number will not be published).

VICIOUS DOG IN COTO DE CAZA

 LETTERS

LETTER TO CZ MASTER RE: VICIOUS DOG IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

June 22, 2013

CZ Master Association

29883 Santa Margarita Pkwy.

Suite 600

Rancho Santa Margarita Ca. 92688

Attention: Robert Curran, President

Dear Mr. Curran

On the evening of June 22, 2013 my little Cain terrier dog was viciously attacked and severely injured by my neighbor’s dog while being walked out front of my house by my children. This dog has a history of severe behavioral problems that have been brought to the owner’s attention time and time again with no action being taken to properly contain and prevent this dog from attacking other people and dogs in the neighborhood. My own daughter was once attacked and threatened by this dog preventing her from entering our house.

Suspected vicious dog

B Injured dog

I am attaching a photograph of the severe injury to my dog. The attacking dog’s owner has been reported to the Orange County Animal Control department for further action to be taken. I am now notifying you of this problem and expect you to take proper action to make sure our neighborhoods are safe and protected against such wild and vicious animals. I will wait to hear from you on the action you will be taking on this matter. My neighbor’s address is 31341 Summerhill Ct. and the dog’s name is Hudson…Below you will find my letter to Animal control together with a summary of the Orange county dog bite laws.

William Kirkendale

We assert that fundamental transformation of America is as easy as eating an elephant.  Starts with one school district at a time. If you wish to restore America, send your letters to the CotoBuzz Journal’s Editor: If you would like to make a comment about a specific news article, editorial or commentary and have it considered for publication in the CotoBuzz Journal as a Letter to the Editor, please send it to cotoblogzz@gmail.com  Letters should be brief, and may be edited for clarity and length.. They become the property of CotoBuzz Journal  and may be republished in any format.  Please include your full name, mailing address and daytime phone number (your number will not be published).

 

Richard Nolan, Buena Park Male Nurse Convicted of sexual assault on male patients.

Posted By CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA  - According to the Orange County District Attorney’s O(OCDA) office, Richard Alan Nolan, a male nurse was convicted today of sexually assaulting two male patients who were medically incapacitated and another male patient under the guise of a medical exam.

Nolan, 48, Buena Park, was found guilty by a jury today, of multiple felonies associate with the assaults.  He faces a maximum sentence of 34 years to life in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration at his sentencing Aug. 16, 2013

Nolan was a licensed vocational nurse at the Western Medical Center in Anaheim for approximately five years before the sexual assaults.

In December 2009, Nolan was attending John Doe #3, who was asleep, and forcibly  assaulted the victim. On June 9, 2009, John Doe #1 was sedated in a hospital bed when Nolan entered the victim's room and forcibly assaulted him. John Doe #3 and John Doe #1 were both restrained in a hospital bed due to a medical condition and were unable to resist the sexual assault.

On July 29, 2010, Nolan was attending John Doe #2. Nolan fraudulently represented himself as the doctor and sexually assaulted the victim under the false pretense of performing an examination with no legitimate medical purpose

Nolan's mandatory lifetime sex offender registration will bar him from entering County recreational areas and City parks which have passed the Sex Offender Ordinance. Visit www.orangecountyda.com to read the prior press releases on the County's Sex Offender Ordinance as well as the 14 other cities that have enacted the Child Safety Zone Ordinance including Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Anaheim, Fountain Valley, La Habra, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Westminster, and Yorba Linda.

Deputy District Attorney Jess Rodriguez of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.

China’s Banking Crisis is Here!

CHINA's BANKING CRISIS ARRIVES

 

by Chriss Street

Last April I warned that China is About to Suffer the Mother of all Banking Crisis, caused by wildly aggressive expansion of bank lending.  Now that vicious inflation has forced the communist authorities to slam the brakes on the economy, short term interest rates in China vaulted to 25% and the People’s Bank of China had to bail out one the nation’s banks.  

Fear that China may be on the verge of a crisis similar to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, caused panic across the globe sending the value of every stock, bond and commodity market on earth plunging.  But after 5 years of risky lending practices, China seems doomed to suffer a grim period of economic payback. From a distance, China’s economy seemed to be the poster child of sustainable growth. Government reports showed the consistent 9% expansion; double digit retail sales growth, $3 trillion in foreign reserves, and inflation less than 5%

But these statistics masked a dark side as the government instructed banks to finance state-owned-enterprises to sell at subsidized producer and consumer prices.  Over the last two years, artificial subsidies restricted increases in retail food prices by 24% and retail gasoline prices by 20%.

The real secret-sauce of the “China Economic Miracle” is that although there are 3,800 banks in China, the country’s four largest state-owned banks (Industrial and Commercial Bank, Agricultural Bank, People’s Bank of China and Construction) control two thirds of all bank deposits and loans.  Since the Chinese government does not provide adequate social welfare programs and restricts its citizen’s investment options to bank accounts, about 40% of Chinese all household income is deposited in these four state-owned-banks each month.  The banks then leverage the deposits by 45 times and lend 75% to state-owned-enterprises and 25% to real estate development at extremely low interest rates.  Although China generated huge exports as the “World’s Largest Manufacturer” and built impressive infrastructure, the growth is one giant Ponzi scheme where companies are highly leveraged and sell their products below their costs.

As Lee Adler at the Wall Street Examiner artfully pointed out this week, China “has been undergoing a massive liquidity crunch in recent days as the central bank there maintains a tight monetary policy that has drained reserves from the system this year”  to try “to cool massive speculative bubbles.”  He points out that the People’s Bank of China injected $240 billion into the banking system in 2012 and then drained only 33 billion so far this year.  But with banking leverage of 45 times, China state-owned banks would need to shrink their lending by $1.5 trillion or 25% of the nation’s annual GDP.

Lee advises that with Chinese companies and banks highly leveraged and desperate for cash, they are selling their foreign stock, bond and commodity assets to raise cash to meet bank margin calls at home.  He warns this selling may send asset prices crashing around the world, triggering more margin calls and sending prices spiraling even lower.

Wednesday, Chairman Ben Bernanke surprised analysts when he indicated that the U.S. Federal Reserve may “taper” its efforts to stimulate the American economy through $85 billion in bond purchases each month.   With U.S. inflation low and unemployment still over 7%, most analysts were surprised that Bernanke would chose to slow credit expansion.  But his real motive is to prevent the U.S. dollar from strengthening if the Chinese currency weakens from an extended liquidity crisis.  A stronger U.S. dollar would devastate American competitiveness and cause significant job losses.

In April, Fitch Ratings for the first time since 1999 downgraded China’s credit rating from AA- to A+ as their debt had ballooned to 200% of GDP.  Two weeks ago, China’s Everbright Bank defaulted on a $940 million inter-bank loan due to tight liquidity conditions.  Charlene Chu, Senior Director at Fitch Ratings commented: “We have not seen increases of credit to GDP of this magnitude in a large country, in a short amount of time, since data has been kept. So usually when we see expansions of this magnitude, it does lead to banking sector problems at some point.”

China achieved spectacular economic growth by exponentially spiking risky bank lending, while shielding their citizens from inflationary price increases through subsidies, paid for with more bank lending.  As government tried to shrink lending, it should not be surprising for stocks to crash, real estate bubbles to burst, banks to default and interest rates to surge.  As the people suffer, the flames of social protest may soon ignite.

Fiddler on the Saddleback College's Roof

Posted by CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita , CA – The Saddleback Civic Light Opera and the Department of Theatre Arts announced the production of Fiddler on the Roof  on  July 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 at 7:30pm and July 14, 21, 28 at 2:30pm.

L-R: Joe Romanini, John Huntingto, Rocheller Clark.  Photo Ken Kinder

John Huntington stars as Tevye, with original New York stage production directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins.  Huntington is not only a Saddleback College vocal professor but also one of California’s premier musical theatre artists. Directed by Myrona DeLaney with choreography by Ellen Prince and musical direction by Gary Busby, this important musical is about parenting as well as themes of societal polarization. In the little village of Anatevka, Tevye, a poor dairyman, tries to instill in his five daughters the traditions of his tight-knit Jewish community in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia.  Rich in historical and ethnic detail, Fiddler on the Roof has touched audiences around the world with its humor, warmth and honesty. The universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality and religion, leaving audiences crying tears of laughter, joy and sadness

Tickets can be purchased by calling (949) 582-4656 (noon-4 Wednesday through Saturday) and online at www.saddleback.edu/arts.  Ticket prices are $24 general; $22 seniors; $18 students; $12 children 12 and under. Group rates are $18 each for groups of 20 or more.

Saddleback College is located at 28000 Marguerite Pkwy in Mission Viejo, just east of Interstate 5 at the Avery Parkway exit.  Parking is available in Lot 12.  Take Avery Parkway to Marguerite Parkway turn left to the third traffic light, which is Saddleback’s Marguerite entrance. Turn right into the campus and take the second left to Theatre Circle, turning right into Lot 12.

Saddleback Civic Light Opera is one of two South Orange County’s professional summer musical theatre companies that teams Equity actors and professional directors with college and college-prep students, bringing affordable, quality, Broadway productions to our community.

Located in Mission Viejo, Saddleback College provides quality higher education and training to the greater south Orange County community.  Having served more than 500,000 students since 1968, Saddleback College offers over 300 degree and certificate programs to help students reach their personal, career, and educational goals.  For more information, please visit www.saddleback.edu and for Fine Arts information, please visit www.saddleback.edu/arts.