Third traffic fatality in Coto de Caza since the CZ board fired the CHP

Posted by CotoBlogzz

Coto de Caza, CA - a driver was killed today at around 7:40 pm near Vista del Verde and Cherry Hills a Drive, according to  Capt. Steve Concialdi, with the Orange County Fire Authority.  The intersection is one we previously identified as on of the top ten most dangerous in the community

This is now the third traffic fatality in the community in less than ten years, right after the CZ board of directors fired the CHP for pro-active traffic patrol

Apparently the driver's car jumped a wall and collided with a home.

No details are available as to whether others were hurt in the incident

Below is the traffic collisions for 3Q2013, including 3 injuries and 6 property damages.  No DUIs involved in this case.  http://cotobuzz.blogspot.com/2013/11/traffic-accident-report-coto-de-caza.html

After months of decline, the accident rat for Ladera Ranch inched up for the fourth quarter.

3Q2013 Accident Report for Coto de Caza.  Source:  CHP The sharp drop between 4Q2012 and 1Q2013 more than likely is due to the CHP's data collection practices, just like the Orange County Sheriffs Department

Freedom of Speech Picnic in Response to San Juan Capistrano’s newspaper ban.

Posted by CotoBlogzz

 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA- Recently, the City of San Juan Capistrano council majority banned newspapers on public property behind closed doors, no less.  

Dr. Gina Loudon

In response, the Orange County Coalition For  Freedom of Speech is presenting an Orange  County Free Speech Picnic to be held Saturday,  February 8, 2014 from Noon – 3 p.m. at the C.  Russell Cook Park, 28202 Calle Arroyo, San Juan  Capistrano 92675 - On the softball fields at the  corner of La Novia Ave and Calle Arroyo

The keynote speaker is author, anchor, columnist,  show host and Fox News commentator, Dr. Gina Loudon. The event will also feature television  writer/producer turned conservative activist Evan  Sayet, Walter Myers III, one of OC’s leading  Bloggers & political philosophers, John Oetken, a dynamic leader of Oathkeepers, John Webb, businessman, patriot former Tea Party candidate for Congress and Karen Siegemund, founder of Rage Against the Media

Evan Sayet

Councilwoman Pauly

The Mistress of Ceremonies is  Councilwoman  Deborah Pauly, Talk Show Host, Conservative  Activist, Air Force Veteran, wife, mother, and self- described whip-wielding,  servant of the Lord

The event is described as fun-filled,  patriotic community event with music and inspirational speakers.

Free speech is one of the most dearly held of our 1st Amendment rights. Unfortunately, it is

being threatened in many ways across the country, not just in the City of San Juan Capistrano..  Consider the outrage generated by an amendment to  the Free Flow of Information Act by California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein,  whose definition of a journalist would limit those receiving the legal protection.  Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn were joined by Sens. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Mike Lee of Utah and Jeff Flake of Arizona in voting against the bill in the Judiciary Committee.

Cruz took issue with the government having a role at all, saying by allowing the government to define journalists, corporate-owned media organizations would be favored over "citizen bloggers."

Bring your picnic lunch and lawn chairs

Bring your friends and family to enjoy an afternoon with like-minded Patriots!

Mario Rosenberg & Roy Dickson, doctor and attorney convicted in $154 million Medical insurance fraud scheme

Posted By CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA  - Mario Rosenberg & Roy Dickson, a doctor and an attorney, have been convicted for their role in the largest medical fraud prosecution in the nation for recruiting thousands of healthy patients to undergo unnecessary and dangerous surgeries to fraudulently bill medical insurance companies, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) office.

Attorney Roy Chester Dickson, 65, Yorba Linda, pleaded guilty today, Jan. 30, 2014, to one felony count of money laundering and one felony count of grand theft with white collar crime sentencing enhancements. In the same case, Dickson was found guilty by a jury Nov. 26, 2012, of two felony counts of filing a false personal tax return and was sentenced Dec. 20, 2012, to two years and eight months in state prison and $41,629 restitution on the tax conviction. He is scheduled to be sentenced for today's convictions Aug. 8, 2014.

Doctor Mario Rosenberg, 66, pleaded np cpntest Jan. 24, 2014, to two felony counts of insurance fraud and white collar crime sentencing enhancements.

 The duo participated  in the Unity case,  a $154 million medical insurance fraud scheme that recruited 2,841 healthy people from all over the country to receive unnecessary surgeries in exchange for money or low cost cosmetic surgery. Insurance companies paid out more than $20 million over a 9-month period. 

The Orange County Grand Jury examined 1,054 exhibits and heard testimony from 56 witnesses over 28 days, resulting in a 70-page indictment. The indicted defendants include an attorney, accountant, three doctors, and patient recruiters known as "cappers."

Unity was jointly investigated by the California Department of Insurance and Orange County District Attorney's Office with assistance from the California Franchise Tax Board. 

Co-Defendants
Andrew Robert Harnen, 59, Rosemead, Unity's accountant, pleaded guilty to the court Aug. 16, 2013, to two felony counts of conspiracy, eight felony counts of capping or paying for patient referrals, 30 felony counts of grand theft, 30 felony counts of insurance fraud, 30 felony counts of making false and fraudulent claims, one felony count of filing a false tax return, and white collar crime sentencing enhancements for taking over $2.5 million. Harnen was sentenced to five years and four months in prison. The OCDA advocated for a sentence of 41 years and eight months in state prison. The sentence will be served concurrent to the sentence he received Dec. 20, 2012. The defendant was previously sentenced to prison and ordered $904,780 restitution for his Nov. 26, 2012, conviction by a jury of three felony counts of filing a false tax return and six counts of failing to file tax returns. 

Doctor William Wilson Hampton, Jr., 58, Seal Beach, pleaded guilty May 8, 2009, to 47 felony counts including conspiracy, insurance fraud, and capping and was sentenced to 16 years in state prison. 

Doctor Michael Cheeluen Chan, 68, Cerritos, pleaded guilty Aug. 4, 2011, to the court to 40 felony counts including conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, insurance fraud, aiding and abetting capping with white collar crime sentencing enhancements. He faces a sentence ranging from probation up to 28 years in state prison at his sentencing March 28, 2014.

Capper Sue Nanda, 45, Costa Mesa, pleaded guilty Feb. 20, 2009, to 22 felony counts including conspiracy, capping, grand theft, filing false tax returns, failing to file tax returns, and making false and fraudulent statements. Nanda was sentenced to 10 years in state prison and ordered to pay over $500,000 in restitution for personal and corporate back taxes. 

Capper Maria DeJesus Licea Rosales, 46, pleaded guilty Aug. 7, 2009, to 96 felony counts including conspiracy, capping, insurance fraud, grand theft, filing fraudulent tax returns, and sentencing enhancements for white collar crime and loss over $2.5 million. She was sentenced to eight years in state prison. 

Capper Olga Lilia Toscano, 46, pleaded guilty Aug. 11, 2009, to the court to 98 felony counts including conspiracy, capping, insurance fraud, grand theft, tax evasion, and sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime and loss exceeding $2.5 million. She was sentenced to eight years in state prison. 

Capper Ngoc Trang Huynh, 54, pleaded guilty Aug. 19, 2011, to 56 felony counts including conspiracy, capping, insurance fraud, grand theft, tax evasion, filing a false income tax return, and sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime and loss exceeding $2.5 million. He faces a maximum of 45 years and eight months in state prison at his sentencing March 28, 2014.

Capper Pancha Keophimphone, 62, pleaded guilty to a court offer Aug. 19, 2011, to 56 felony counts including conspiracy, capping, insurance fraud, grand theft, tax evasion, and sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime and loss exceeding $2.5 million. Keophimphone was sentenced to 12 years in state prison stayed pending completion of five years formal probation. She was ordered to serve one year in jail.

Capper Thuy Thu Huynh, 55, pleaded guilty Aug. 25, 2011, to 58 felony counts including conspiracy, capping, insurance fraud, grand theft, tax evasion, and sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime and loss exceeding $2.5 million. Huynh is scheduled to be sentenced March 28, 2014

Capper Henry Truong, 46, pleaded guilty April 7, 2006, to 13 felony counts including conspiracy, capping, insurance fraud, grand theft, tax evasion, and sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime and loss exceeding $2.5 million. Truong was sentenced to 12 years in state prison and ordered to pay restitution.

Cappers Amanda Phuc Tran, 54, and Nicholas Vu, 56, pleaded guilty Nov. 21, 2005, to two felony counts each of insurance fraud and making false or fraudulent claims with sentencing enhancements for loss exceeding $2.5 million. Tran and Vu were sentenced to five years in prison stayed pending 10 years formal probation and ordered to pay restitution.
Administrator Tam Vu Pham, 49, pleaded guilty Dec. 27, 2005, to one felony count each of conspiracy and money laundering, eight felony counts of capping or paying for referrals, three felony counts of making false or fraudulent claims, and two felony counts of insurance fraud, with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime, loss exceeding $2.5 million, and laundering over $150,000, Pham was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution.

Administrator Huong Thien Ngo, 47, pleaded guilty Dec. 27, 2005, to one felony count each of conspiracy, making false or fraudulent claims, tax evasion, and money laundering, with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime, loss exceeding $2.5 million, and laundering over $150,000. Ngo was sentenced to seven years in prison suspended pending six years of formal probation and ordered to pay restitution.

Administrator Lan Thi Ngoc Nguyen, 57, pleaded guilty Dec. 27, 2005, to one felony count each of conspiracy, making false or fraudulent claims, and filing a false tax return, with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime and loss exceeding 42.5 million. Nguyen was sentenced to five years in state prison suspended pending six years of formal probation and ordered to pay restitution.

Administrator Dee Francis, 64, pleaded guilty to the court Jan. 11, 2013, to two felony counts of conspiracy, eight felony counts of capping or paying for referrals, 30 felony counts of grand theft, 30 felony counts of insurance fraud, 30 felony counts of making false and fraudulent claims, one felony count of filing a false tax return, and white collar crime sentencing enhancements for taking over $2.5 million. Francis was sentenced to six years in state prison Jan. 11, 2013. The People advocated for a sentence of 55 years in state prison. The sentence will be served concurrent to the sentence he received Dec. 20, 2012, of six years in state prison and $905,507 restitution for a Nov. 26, 2012, conviction by a jury of one felony count of filing a false tax return and six felony counts of failing to file tax returns.

Administrator Rosalinda Rodriguez Landon, 68, pleaded guilty to the court Jan. 11, 2013, to two felony counts of conspiracy, eight felony counts of capping or paying for referrals, 30 felony counts of grand theft, 30 felony counts of insurance fraud, 30 felony counts of making false and fraudulent claims, one felony count of money laundering, and white collar crime sentencing enhancements for taking over $2.5 million. Landon was sentenced to five years and four months in state prison Jan. 11, 2013. The People advocated for a sentence of 55 years in state prison. The sentence will be served concurrent to the sentence she received Dec. 20, 2012, of five years and four months in state prison and $1,104,496 restitution for a Nov. 26, 2012, conviction by a jury of six felony counts of filing false tax returns.

Cappers 
Keophimphone, Ngoc Huynh, Thuy Thu Huynh, Toscano, Nanda, Rosales, Truong, Tran, and Vu, have pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts of capping. 

The Unity cappers targeted employees from businesses in 39 states who were covered by PPO insurance plans, affecting more than 1,000 employers whose employees became involved in this scheme. They arranged transportation for the patients, scheduled the surgeries, and coached the healthy "patients" on what to say. In exchange for undergoing surgery, the patients received a cash payment, usually between $300 and $1,000 per surgery, or credit toward a free or discounted cosmetic surgery. 

Keophimphone personally recruited 118 patients from 17 different states for 297 surgical procedures. These so-called patients, who were mostly coming from other states besides California, resulted in over $8 million in billings to insurance companies for unnecessary surgical procedures. Ngoc Huynh personally recruited 67 so-called patients, most coming from outside California. These so-called patients received 151 unnecessary medical procedures resulting in over $4 million in billings to insurance companies.

Rosales recruited over 90 so-called patients, all of whom were from California. Nanda recruited over 170 so-called patients from 16 different states for unnecessary surgical procedures. They had no medical training, yet recruited patients with PPO insurance, scheduled surgical procedures, and coached patients to correctly describe symptoms for the unnecessary surgical procedures. They assisted patients in filling out surgery center paperwork, including having them sign a false affidavit stating that they had not been offered compensation and had not received any compensation in exchange for using Unity's services. For Unity capping, Nanda was paid directly and through corporations she had set up. 


The three doctors charged in this case participated in medical insurance fraud for performing unnecessary medical procedures on healthy people with the knowledge that the patients were being recruited. Doctors Chan, Hampton, and Rosenberg performed a total of 1,037 procedures, resulting in insurance billings exceeding $30 million for the facilities fees alone. Unity received over $5.1 million in payment as a result of the surgeries performed by these doctors. 

The doctors performed many of the surgeries on Saturdays and Sundays and often performed the same procedures on co-workers or members of the same household on the same day. The doctors ignored basic medical protocols such as: 1) Patients receiving surgeries on consecutive days instead of under one anesthesia; 2) Doctors not meeting the patients prior to operating; 3) Doctors not following up with patients after the procedure was completed; and 4) Doctors not obtaining necessary medical information. 

Chan worked as the Medical Director at Unity and specialized in invasive gynecological procedures. He performed unnecessary surgeries on 161 patients including include laproscopy, tubaligation, colporrhaphy, and hysterectomy procedures. Not a single one of Chan's patients were referred by a doctor or were medically necessary. Every patient Chan operated on was referred by a capper, 88 percent being referred by cappers charged in this case. Of Chan's patients, 60 percent were flown in for the unnecessary surgeries from 18 states outside of California. 

Hampton, a general surgeon, performed 180 procedures on 178 patients. He primarily performed thoracic sympathectomies, also known as sweaty palm surgeries, a highly unusual and dangerous medical procedure that can often be treated with topical creams, medication, and botox. Of the patients that underwent surgery by Hampton, 97 percent were referred by Unity cappers. Hampton was also indicted and convicted by the federal government for his involvement in a scheme similar to the Unity case. 


Attorney Dickson went to Unity after having previously managed and represented another surgery center involved in similar illegal activities. He was sanctioned by the federal bankruptcy court for filing a fraudulent bankruptcy claim for a doctor at that surgery center. Dickson was hired by Unity to collect payments from insurance companies and patients. He helped the surgery scheme by creating fraudulent documents to disguise illegal capping activities. 

Immediately after the OCDA searched Unity in April 2003, Dickson used his attorney client trust account to keep Unity open and operating and furthered the criminal activity by funneling over $1 million in surgery center cash assets into his account to prevent it from being seized. In the three months following the search of Unity, he laundered as much as $3 million into the attorney client trust account using fraudulently billed payments from insurance companies to keep the surgery center operating. 


Accountant Harnen, a Unity bookkeeper and profit shareholder, signed 10 checks to doctors totaling over $50,000 and 157 checks to cappers totaling almost $1 million for their participation in the Unity scheme. He acted as an official representative for several of the corporations used by Unity to hide their illegal scheme from insurance companies, and was one of the bank signatories
Harnen assisted cappers and administrators in hiding their illegal activities by helping them funnel money to corporations that he helped them to create with the intention of hiding income and avoiding detection of their crimes. Harnen helped Unity continue to illegally recruit "patients" and defraud insurance companies using his own corporation to pay cappers and distribute profits to shareholders. Harnen failed to report more than $6 million in income over a 3-year period by failing to file tax returns and filing false tax returns. 


Landon and Francis were clinic administrators and recruited doctors and cappers. They ran the Unity facility, coordinated the fraudulent surgeries, sent all facility billings, received payments from insurance companies on fraudulent billings, and received and paid capper invoices for patient procedures. 

Administrators Pham, Ngo, and Nguyen pleaded guilty to performing the same roles in the scheme.

Senior Deputy District Attorney William Overtoom and Deputy District Attorney George McFetridge of the Major Fraud Unit are prosecuting all of the defendants in this case

Master class presented to Saddleback Violin Students by USC-Violin Professor and Principal Concertmaster of the LA Philharmonic Martin Chalifour

 Violin students will be performing and the public is invited to view the event. Admission is free.

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA- A master class will be  presented by USC-Violin Professor and Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Martin Chalifour on Saturday, February 8^th at 10:30 a.m. in Fine Arts 101. Violin students will be performing under the tutelage of Maestro Chalifour and the public is invited to view such a prestigious event. Admission is free.

Posted By CotoBlogzz

Martin Chalifour began his tenure as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1995. The recipient of various grants and awards in his native Canada, he graduated with honors from the Montreal Conservatory at the age of 18 and then moved to Philadelphia to pursue studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. He received a Certificate of Honor at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and is also a laureate of the Montreal International Competition. Apart from his Los Angeles Philharmonic duties, he maintains an active solo career  playing a diverse repertoire of more than 50 concertos. Chalifour has appeared as soloist with conductors Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Neville Marriner, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Outside the U.S., he has played solos with the Auckland Philharmonia, the Montreal Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Taiwan, and the Malaysian Philharmonic, among others.

Chalifour began his orchestral career with the late Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony, playing as Associate Concertmaster for six years. Subsequently he occupied the same position for five years in the Cleveland Orchestra, where he also served as Acting Concertmaster under Christoph von Dohnányi. While in Cleveland, Chalifour taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music and was a founding member of the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio. He is a frequent guest at several summer music festivals, including the Sarasota Festival, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Mainly Mozart Festival. Maintaining close ties with his native country, he has returned there often to teach and perform as soloist with various Canadian orchestras, most recently with the Vancouver Symphony and Barmwell Tovey. He has recorded solo and chamber music for the Telarc, Northstar and Yarlung labels. His latest album on Yarlung features solo music composed by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Steven Stucky, as well as Mozart and Lutosławski concertos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic recorded live at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The Music Department has established a comprehensive program which is considered to be one of the finest in California:  a complete lower-division curriculum for transferring music majors, numerous performance groups, private and group lessons, a full concert series with faculty and guest artists, and general music courses.  The nationally-recognized faculty is dedicated to performance and to teaching in all areas such as vocal, instrumental, jazz, guitar, piano, music technology and commercial music.  Other music classes include harmony, musicianship, composition, history and appreciation of western art music, music business, rock, jazz and world music.

Saddleback College is located at 28000 Marguerite Parkway 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.

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.  

Anaheim Teacher, Zachary Reader gets ten year sentence for pornography

Posted by CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - according to the Orange County District Attorney's (OCDA) office, an Anaheim high school teacher was convicted and sentenced today to 10 years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration for encouraging sex acts and soliciting and possessing nude photos and videos of over 100 underage boys by posing as a teenage girl on Facebook.

Zachary Joshua Reeder, 31, Orange, pleaded guilty today to four felony counts of distributing pornography to a minor, two felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, two felony counts of contacting a child with the intent to commit a lewd act, one felony count each of using a minor for sex acts, lewd act upon a child, possession and control of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography.

At the time of the crimes, Reeder was a history teacher at Servite High School, an all-boys college preparatory high school in Anaheim. Reeder previously worked as a hijstory teacher and a walk-on assistant baseball coach for four seasons at Arnold O. Beckman High School in Irvine.

Between June 1, 2010, and Jan. 14, 2013, Reeder created and used a Facebook account to pose as a female high school student by using the image of a blonde-haired girl with the intent to befriend underage boys. Reeder established inappropriate online relationships with at least 106 underage boys between the ages of 13 and 17 from Servite, Beckman, Northwood, and Canyon High Schools. He targeted the victims whom he knew through teaching or coaching. Reeder engaged in lewd acts with the victims by using the online account of the fake female high school student he created to convince and direct the victims to send sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves to the defendant.

California Penal Code section 288 states that lewd and lascivious acts upon a child is charged when a defendant willfully, lewdly, and unlawfully interacts with a child with the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying the lust, passions, and sexual desires of the defendant and the child.

The Irvine Police Department investigated this case and arrested Reeder on Feb. 9, 2013.

During today's sentencing, the mother of one of the victims delivered an impact statement before the Court and said in part, "May the consequences of Zachary Reeder's betrayal of trust, and abuse of power for his own selfish gratification be a strong deterrent to others who may be contemplating similar abuses of power and be confirmation to other silent victims that justice can prevail giving them courage to stand against their abusers."

Several victim impact statement letters were submitted to the Court. Another mother of one of the victims wrote in part, "My young son was deceived and no match for the manipulation and intent of the accused. He used his adult influences to attract young, vulnerable boys that respected him for his own sexual enjoyment using social media."

Senior Deputy District Attorney Nicole Nicholson of the Sexual Assault Unit prosecuted this case.

The Presidential Whuss

PRESIDENT WHUSS AND THE STATE OF THE UNION

By Chriss Street

During the morning before the 2014 State of the Union Address, White House Counsel John Podesta fired up the Democrat faithful with visions of a passionate President Obama about to declare rule by executive orders to vanquish his obstructionist Republican adversaries. But instead of triumphant warrior fervently wielding his pen as a sword and his phone as a shield, the President seemed to politely sleep-walk through his prepared speech to the joint-session of Congress. With his poll numbers at the same level as President George W. Bush the year before the Republicans were annihilated in the 2006 mid-term elections, Barack Obama seemed incapable of defiantly rallying his troops for a do or die Constitutional struggle with Congress. Whether they support the President’s policies or not the American people expect their national leader to be resolute. The person that gave the address tonight was a whuss.

President Obama mentioned six times that if Congress does not enact his agenda, he is willing to exercise the executive power of the presidency to accomplish his goals. The Obama Administration must have monitored the ferocious blow-back throughout the day as media talking heads howled at the audacity of a President to threaten to make or change law on his own. As his speech droned on for over an hour, it became clear the President lacks the fire in the belly necessary to go rogue and trample the Constitution.

Candidate Barack Obama extolled the virtues of governing as a pragmatic problem solver during his 2008 presidential campaign. He attacked the President Bush for circumventing Congress with executive orders and advised House Democrats that one of his first actions as President would be ordering his attorney general to scour White House executive orders and expunge any that “trample on liberty.” Obama told reporters he was willing to work with both political parties: “I am looking forward to collaborating with everyone here to win the election, but more importantly to collaborate with everybody here and also some like-minded Republicans to actually govern and to deliver on behalf of the American people.”

As a Harvard University trained attorney, Barack Obama knows that executive authority is derived from the “Take Care Clause” of the United States Constitution:

[The President] shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…. The section is also referred to as the Faithful Execution Clause, because it reads as a duty that qualifies the President’s executive power. By virtue of executive power of his/her office, the President may execute the lawful and control the lawful execution of others. However, the President must exercise his law-execution power to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” [ARTICLE II, SECTION 3]

The ratifying debates at the Constitutional Convention repeatedly evidenced the notion that the President had a duty to execute the laws faithfully. George Washington read the clause as imposing on him a unique duty to ensure the execution of a federal law he personally opposed. In putting down the Whiskey Tax Rebellion, President Washington observed, “it is my duty to see the Laws executed: to permit them to be trampled upon with impunity would be repugnant to that duty.”

But “faithful-execution duty” is not precise and the conservative Heritage Foundation acknowledges presidents are not required to enforce every law to its fullest extent:
“Common sense suggested that the President may enjoy some discretion in order to gauge the costs and benefits of investigation, apprehension, and prosecution. Moreover, the pardon power (see Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) supplies a constitutional reason for concluding that the President need not enforce the law every time he feels there is a violation, for, notwithstanding his faithful-execution duty, the President may pardon an offense even before a trial or conviction. It is also possible that the clause does nothing more than incorporate the English Bill of Rights provisions that forbade the Crown from dispensing or suspending the law. Under this reading of the clause, the President can neither authorize violations of the law (he cannot issue dispensations) nor can he nullify a law (he cannot suspend its operation). He has, nonetheless, very wide discretion in enforcing the criminal law.”

The Take Care Clause should not be read to limit the President to the role of “an aloof overseer of law execution.” There is no historical evidence supporting the notion that Congress can use the faithful-execution duty as a means to strip away any presidential prerogative, let alone the essential task of executing the laws.

But the Supreme Court did limit executive authority in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) by stating the President may not take an action not authorized either by the Constitution or lawful statute. The President must not use extra-constitutional veto or suspension power to refuse to enforce a law, or “cancel” certain appropriations.

Despite his bipartisanship campaign pledges, one of Obama’s first actions as President was to use his executive authority to grant states waivers so they could avoid tough penalties for not meeting goals required by No Child Left Behind law. The President substituted requirements for those specifically written into the law by the 2002 by Congress. The move prompted furious protests from lawmakers wanting to protect their turf, conservatives worried about federal overreach and liberals concerned it would let states off the hook for helping disadvantaged kids.

The history of American politics is a tug of war between the President and the other branches of government. Presidents routinely seek to push the boundaries of their executive authority, while the other two branches try to rein it in. The last twenty Presidents issued an average of 44 executive orders per year. Democrat Harry Truman had the highest at 113 per year and Warren Harding had the lowest at 2 per year. Democrats have averaged 59 per year and Republicans have averaged 34. George W. Bush and Barack Obama both averaged 41 executive orders per year in office.

President Obama’s handlers set high expectations President Obama would declare a “Year of Action” and impotently rule with executive orders. But it was a subdued Barack Obama the whuss that showed up at this year’s State of the Union address.

Chriss Street is an frequent contributor to Breitbart. Follow his blog at http://www.chrissstreetandcompany.com/ and hear his weekday radio show at http://agenda21radio.com/

Impending Democrat Election Disaster

 The Quinnipiac University National Poll released on January 22nd reveals that American voters rate President Barack Obama’s leadership on the economy, jobs, healthcare as very poor; his only positive marks come from fighting terrorism. Barack Obama’s first Presidential campaign narrative argued that President George W. Bush and the Republicans were so interested in fighting a “War on Terror” they had failed America at home. 

At his victory speech on November 5, 2008, President-elect Obama bellowed: “Tonight, because what we did in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.”

According to the Gallup Poll after 1492 days in office for President Obama and President Bush, they have virtually identical public approval ratings of 46%. But Americans are 24% more dissatisfied with their government under Obama than under Bush. The President’s party usually suffers significant congressional election losses in his sixth year of his Administration. But with Obama’s popularity at the same Bush levels that caused Republicans huge losses in 2006 plus voter dissatisfaction with government 50% higher, the Democratic Party appears poised to suffer an epic election disaster in 2014.

The November 2006 United States midterm elections featured contests for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 33 seats in the Senate, 36 state governorships, and many legislatures. The elections resulted in a convincing Democrat Party victory. They captured of 30 seats to take control of the House of Representatives, 6 seats to take control of the Senate, 6 governorships and took control of 4 more legislatures from the Republicans. The election was also the first time in American history in which the losses for one side were so lopsided that the victorious party did not lose a single Incumbent or open seat in Congress or in a governor’s mansion.

Midterm elections tend to act as referendum on the President’s popularity and the state of the nation. The American public views the elections as an opportunity to express their support or opposition for the President concerning whether the country is heading in the right direction; optimism over the state of the economy; whether the country is at peace or at war; and his overall performance. The reason for the Democratic Party’s 2006 takeover included the decline of the public image of George W. Bush, dissatisfaction of the handling of both Hurricane Katrina and the War in Iraq, Bush’s legislative defeat regarding Social Security Reform, and the “culture of corruption” as the result of a series of scandals involving Republican politicians in 2006.

When Quinnipiac Pollsters asked voters in January 2014 what should be the “the top priority for President Obama and Congress in 2014”; 18% listed healthcare, 16% listed jobs or unemployment and 15% said the economy. These “bread and butter” issues have traditionally been the Democrats’ strength. But according to Quinnipiac Polling Institute Assistant Director Tim Mallory, “It’s the economy, Mr. President, say dissatisfied American voters who are not yet willing to give President Barack Obama a thumbs up on his presidency.” The media may blame Republican intransigence and a do-nothing-Congress for fru

The President’s party has always lost seats in the House of Representatives in midterm elections, with the only exceptions since 1900 being 1934 and 1998. Those losses are larger in a President’s second term because voters get increasingly “tired” of the same leader as time goes on. The only recent exception was Bill Clinton, whose party lost its majority in the 1994 Republican landslide gain of 52 seats. The Republicans over-played their popularity with voters when they impeached the President, but failed to get enough Senate votes to throw him out of office.

The midterm losses by the President’s party are usually explained by the “surge and decline” thesis: higher turnout for the President’s party in Presidential elections leads to lower enthusiasm and much lower turnout in the off-years. After six years, the Presidential support fades after having to make political decisions that alienate groups of voters. Since the 1930s, the average loss for the President’s party has been 6 seats in the Senate and 35 seats in the House.
President Bush’s party was pummeled in the 2006 mid-term over faulty intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq and for his poor response to Hurricane Katrina. President Obama and his party’s poll numbers were hammered in 2013 for the disastrous roll-out of Obamacare, revelations about sweeping domestic government surveillance, and his efforts to pass divisive legislation for both gun control and immigration in the same year.

But Obama has set his party up for even more severe voter retaliation in 2014. By limiting the 2013 initial roll-out of Obamacare to just 11 million people, he has doomed 270 million Americans to suffer anxiety about the impacts of the wildly unpopular program during an election year. This may explain why the January 22nd Gallup Poll reveals that an all-time high of 65% of Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S. system of government and its effectiveness works; versus 41% for President Bush in 2006, who the press referred to at the time as a “very unpopular president.”

If the Republicans only achieve the average gain of an opposing party in the 6th year of Presidents’ term, they will pick-up six seats for control the Senate and push their majority in the House of Representatives to 68 seats. But with President Obama’s approval rating at the same level as President Bush plus voter’s dissatisfaction with government 24% higher, Democrats appear to be facing an epic election disaster.

Chriss Street is a frequent contributor to Breitbart. Follow his blog at http://www.chrissstreetandcompany.com/ and hear his weekday radio show at http://agenda21radio.com/

Open enrollment for track season for boys and girls grade 3-8 announced

Posted by CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita. CA -  Saddleback Running Club announced its  on-going open enrollment for its upcoming track season for boys and girls grade 3-8. 

Saddleback Running Club offers endurance/distance running training for runners of all level. The program runs year around and offers 3 training sessions per week plus track meets on the weekend.

For more information go to: www.saddlebackrunningclub.com.    To register and or  to get more information email: saddleback10@gmail.com

France Rediscovers Reagan's Supply-Side Economics

France Adopts Reagan Supply-Side Economics (Again)

By Chriss Street

At an April 2012 campaign rally after a torrential rain storm, Francois Hollande on the eve of being the first Socialist Party member elected President of France in 24 years boldly proclaimed: “We have chased away the clouds, the sky is all ‘rose.” The crowd roared their approval of Hollande’s imagery communism red triumphing in France. 

But on January 14th, 2014 Hollande solemnly acknowledged the failure of his collectivist policies by announcing his Administration would cut $40.8 billion of taxes on companies and the self-employed, plus reduce social security charge paid by employers by 5.4%. More shocking to the Left, Hollande said he would pay for his supply-side-economics by cutting $86 billion in public spending. Two decades later and again facing a collapsing economy, the Socialist Party of France is being forced to adopt the supply-side economics of President Ronald Reagan.

Hollande campaigned on an economic manifesto of reducing the retirement age from 62 to 60, a 75% income tax for high earners, constructing 500,000 units of government housing per year and the creation of 60,000 new public teaching jobs. His policies were a throw-back to the 1981 election of the last French Socialist Party President Francois Mitterrand and his Communist Party allies who nationalized 38 banks and 7 key industries, raised minimum wage, cut work-week hours, increased public sector wages, created 250,000 government jobs, increased social welfare payments and radically expanded the nation’s money supply. But as public debt tripled by 1983, the French inflation rate jumped to 14.5% and unemployment rate rose to over 10%.

With France about to be kicked-out of the European monetary system, the Socialist Party was forced to adopt the supply-side economic policies of cutting taxes and dramatically slashing public spending that President Ronald Reagan was championing in the United States. Two years later, inflation had fallen to 4% and unemployment stopped rising. Although they kept the red rose as its symbol, the Party for twenty years abandoned socialist policies in all but name and adopted free-markets liberalism.

After the 2008 financial crisis, the Socialist Party revived its collectivist agenda. They claimed their manifesto of higher taxes and economic stimulus projects would lead to full employment and eliminate the budget deficit. But the Hollande Administration’s deficit spending has driven France into the same crisis as Mitterrand’s government 30 years earlier. The French government now spends 56% of the nation’s GDP, making it one the highest spending governments in the European Union. Hollande’s vast public sector and punitively high tax rates have driven the rich to take their wealth and leave and for businesses to relocate production off-shore. Franc’s annual deficit has doubled and the nation’s unemployment rate is now at a 15-year high of 11%. Chronic youth unemployment now tops 26% and still rising.

As I reported in “French Rioting to Dump the Euro,” there have been violent demonstrations, such as the 30,000 truckers, farmers, fishermen and food industry workers in November that staged a series of protests against job-killing taxes and European Union regulations by waving “Right to Work” banners and hurling rocks and iron bars at police. The Socialists fear rising “spiral of violence” as living standards fall. Recent polls showed the right-wing National Front political party seemed poised to win upcoming elections French municipal and European Union parliament elections.

Before his speech, Francois Hollande was already the most unpopular President in French history according to a poll showing only 26% of the French people have a positive opinion of his leadership. But after his press conference, members of his Cabinet had to perform rhetorical acrobatics to deny that the President was adopting conservative policies. Members of former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative “Union for a Popular Movement” were baffled on how to respond after the Hollande essentially co-opted their center-right agenda. It is unclear how the speech will help the Socialist Party, but it did unify the far left, which denounced the President as selling-out to pressure from corporations and financial markets. The French business lobby

MEDEF praised the announcements, but asked for more details.

Francois Hollande in his speech sought to show the Socialist Party, like the party of Francois Mitterrand mid-1980s, understands France’s problems and is willing to reverse policies and adopt measures known in France as the “tournant de la rigueur” (austerity turn) to fight inflation and regain competitiveness. Hollande is keenly aware that after the Socialist Party adopted supply-side economics in 1983, the French economy did recover and Mitterrand was re-elected in 1988.

President Ronald Reagan warned, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” “The Gipper” must have been smiling down from heaven as another French President is forced to make another historic capitulation that government mandated high labor costs and strong public spending were destroying the economy of France.

Chriss Street is a frequent contributor to American Thinker & Breitbart Big Government. Follow his blog at http://www.chrissstreetandcompany.com/ and hear his weekday radio show at http://agenda21radio.com/

Free Concert Series at Saddleback College

Posted By CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - —The Music Department at Saddleback College announced it is brining back its  Free Admission  Concert Hour, a variety of individual and ensemble performances on Thursdays from noon to 1:00 p.m. in Fine Arts Room 101 and the McKinney Theatre. 

January 30^th —Violin Recital with Melody Chang

American-Chinese Violinist Melody Chang began studying the violin at the age of 4 with her mother, Diana Chang, and is currently studying with Suli Xue of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

March 6^th—Algonquin Quartet

Join Alex Iles, Scott Whitfield, Joey Sellers and George Thatcher as they redefine chamber music and raise the roof beams.

May 15^th—Saddleback Music Students in Recital.

McKinney Theatre 

Our talented voice, instrumental, piano, and jazz students perform in recital.  Come and show your support for these aspiring musicians!

Saddleback College is located at 28000 Marguerite Pkwy in Mission Viejo, just east of Interstate 5 at the Avery Parkway exit. Free 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.

The Music Department has established a comprehensive program which is considered to be one of the finest in California:  a complete lower-division curriculum for transferring music majors, numerous performance groups, private and group lessons, a full concert series with faculty and guest artists, and general music courses.  The nationally-recognized faculty is dedicated to performance and to teaching in all areas such as vocal, instrumental, jazz, guitar, piano, music technology, and commercial music.  Other music classes include harmony, musicianship, composition, history, and appreciation of western art music, music business, rock, jazz, and world music.

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.  

Bryson goes on record in support of CUSD Board Resolution 1314-29, saving Mission Viejo Taxpayers $42 million

Posted by CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA  – Anna Bryson, candidate for the 73rd Assembly District, has gone on record in support of  CUSD Board Resolution 1314-29 to terminate early the special taxes levied upon residents of Mission Viejo affected by Community Facility District (CFD) No. 87-1. Developers often use CFDs, commonly known as Mello-Roos taxes, to fund infrastructure projects. This change means that taxpayers in Mission Viejo could save up to $42 million.
 

According to Bryson, “This resolution will not only provide welcome relief for taxpayers, they will also help keep our community moving in the right direction.   We’ve proven that higher taxes don’t necessarily mean better schools. In fact, as a CUSD Trustee, I’m proud to say that the recent California District Grade Cards show that Capistrano schools are doing more with less as the top-performing district in the state."
 

Bryson also vowed to take the same approach to Sacramento, “..where I can help protect California families and businesses from getting hit with higher taxes and overzealous regulations.”
 
As a trustee on the Capistrano Unified School District, Anna Bryson has been one of California’s leading education reformers, helping to balance the district’s budget while increasing educational excellence.