Enough, enough, I say, to those who are chastizing various local GOP bloggers and GOP blog responders over their inadequacies and mealy mouthedness when it comes to calling out the racists and racism swirling around doomed congressional candidate Tan Nguyen. First, you left fielders criticize Republifucks for going all Three Blind Mice to the racism right in front of them every day forever and ever in these United States. Then, when they join you in piling on Tan, you mock their lack of finesse, ability, experience. Isn't it enough that everyone's on the same page for a change? (Well, everyone but the Mexican haters, of course.) When's the last time in this country that both sides could agree on something? Okay, other than Clay Aiken's obvious gayness.

We must say, however, it is refreshing to hear some on the right telling others on the right that if they are against Tan, they are obviously for incumbent Democrat Loretta Sanchez. Nothing could be farther from the truth—just like you can be against that effin' war in Iraq AND for the troops AND against terrorism.

Check out this little ray of sunshine from Bloomberg (the news service, not the mayor):

Candidates Ignore $1.35 Trillion Minimum Tax `Bomb'
By Ryan J. Donmoyer

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Congressional candidates this fall are furiously debating Iraq, Medicare and extending tax cuts. Most are staying quiet about an imminent legislative challenge: how to stop a tax increase that will hit more than 20 million households next year, some with incomes as low as $50,000.

The rest is here.

From this morning's USA Today, a report on your tax dollars in action:

The federal government's "no sex without marriage" message isn't just for kids anymore.

Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007.

The government says the change is a clarification. But critics say it's a clear signal of a more directed policy targeting the sexual behavior of adults.

[…]

For last year's state grants, Congress appropriated $50 million. A similar amount is expected for 2007, but the money has not yet been allocated, according to the Administration for Children and Families.

On the bright side, this means that if you are an 18-29 year old with no prospect of sex on the horizon, you're no longer a loser, you're a model citizen. Well done. Now go hit the (cold) shower.

The good news: Tan Nguyen supporters held a rally at Tan's office yesterday, providing still more ridiculousness to keep our spirits up as we draw closer to the Election Day of Reckoning. Tan supporters are certainly a colorful bunch. Over on the Free Republic website they've posted quite a few pictures, along with the following claims:

• Loretta Sanchez's office provided the faulty translation of the Sergio Ramirez letter


• Loretta's office was notified about the raid on Tan's office, hence the major media presence

Right. Congresswoman Sanchez's office mistranslated a letter to 14,000 Spanish-speaking immigrant voters, illegally telling them it would be illegal for them to vote. Why would she disenfranchise her supporters? Because the inevitable backlash would benefit her? That's about as insane as the idea that Loretta's office would lend Tan a hand, or that there are so few bilingual folk around OC that Tan would need to beg a favor from Loretta.

As for Loretta's office having prior notice: that's true. In fact, most politicians and local media outlets had prior notice to show up, provided by none other than Tan Nguyen. Remember, Tan? You promised us a press conference on the afternoon of Oct. 20 outside your campaign headquarters to explain the letter. So yes, Loretta and the media were warned - by YOU.

None of this is surprising; Tan's an accidental satirist of epic proportions. But what did shock me was the vitriol and bigotry evidenced in the local blogosphere's response to these pictures. Over on OCBlog the commenters referred to Tan's supporters as hookers, Nazis and massage parlor workers. Even the site moderator, Jubal/Matt Cunningham, who likes to take people to task for name-calling, said "Maybe they should re-name it Freek Republic." Wow, we haven't seen this kind of bigotry on OCBlog since they went after Bill (Belal) Dalati.

Even Orange Juice joined in on the racist ranting. OJ's a slightly more bipartisan blog if you bar Art Pedroza's occasional spittle-flecked rantings. On the Juice, Claudio Gallegos lapsed into OCBlogspeak by referring to Tan supporters as "hookers, racists and brainwashed nutcases." Okay, so there was one woman who was dressed a little slutty. I lent a friend a top-hat for a Halloween party that same Saturday night; she may have been similarly party-bound. Hell, either way, more power to her. I wish more girls dressed like that, all the time, every day of the year. Please?

I don't know if people are getting antsy so close to the election and feel like beating up on the most obvious targets in order to feel better about themselves or what, but I suspect that resorting to insults is exactly the sort of behavior that allows us to justify torturing prisoners. After all, they ought to know better than to hate America, right? So who cares if we violate our principles and sink down to what we perceive as their level? It's all a farce.

At the end of the day we should at least pretend to treat our enemies, or those with whose politics we disagree, with respect or at least tolerance. I know that's all that's kept me from going on a blood-soaked rampage during this election cycle. How do you all restrain yourselves?

UPDATE: NOBODY READS THE PAPERS ANYMORE

Just spotted this in the Sunday Register:

Buena Park's the Rev. Wiley Drake showed up to videotape his global prayer-line broadcast, and a club singer in black fishnet stockings repeatedly lip-synced to her recording of the campaign's new country-Western theme song, "Stand by Our Tan."

An explanation for the so-called "hooker", and an appropriate song, considering the original lyrics:

Eddie Rose writes:

"In California this year, we have--with one notable exception--the WORST slate of candidates, including a man who can't pronounce the name of the state he claims to serve! Were it not for the importance of several ballot propositions, it probably wouldn't make much sense to go to the polls at all--unless you believe that we should simply vote for the LESSER OF EVILS. What an option!
Here are my recommendations:

Prop. 1A: Use existing gas taxes for roads and transportation projects. What a novel idea! That's what gas taxes SHOULD be used for! If "our" elected officials weren't so corrupt and incompetent, we wouldn't even need Prop. 1A. But we do! YES

Prop. 83: Residence restrictions and monitoring of sexual predators; increases penalties for violent and habitual sex offenders and child molesters. YES

Prop. 84: Protects drinking water quality and coastal resources. YES

Prop. 85: Parental notification prior to termination of minor's pregnancy. YES

Prop. 86: Tax on cigarettes to fund hospital emergency services. All we need to know is that Phillip Morris and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco companies have spent over $60 million (!) to date to try and defeat this proposition. The tobacco companies are blatant LIARS. A definite YES

Prop. 87: Tax on oil companies to fund alternative energy research and production. If anyone could be more corrupt and vile than the tobacco companies, it's BIG OIL. Chevron, Exxon/Mobil, and Shell Oil have spent over $60 million (!) to date on their propaganda to con voters into voting against this proposition. Like BIG TOBACCO, BIG OIL LIES. A definite YES

Prop. 88: $50 parcel tax. An end-run around Prop. 13. NO

Prop. 89: Public financing of political campaigns. Time to end political corruption by BOTH major political parties. Just see how much money BIG OIL, BIG TOBACCO, drug companies, the insurance industry, HMOs and powerful labor unions pour into the campaign coffers of unscrupulous politicians who do their bidding. A definite YES

Prop. M: Continuation of half-cent sales tax to fund additional transportation projects in Orange County. Measure M was originally approved by Orange County voters in 1996, but it has FAILED MISERABLY to deliver on some of its promises, such as synchronization of traffic signals and more efficient (i.e. rail) mass transit. Measure M bureaucrats DON'T deserve another chance! NO

Governor: In retrospect, Steve Westly would have been a better choice than Phil Angelides, but at least Angelides knows how to pronounce CALIFORNIA--unlike his Republican opponent--and at least Angelides' daddy wasn't a card-carrying Nazi--unlike Schwarzenegger's daddy--and Schwarzenegger has an IQ only about 5 points higher than the average NFL running back. ANGELIDES

Lt. Governor: McClintock lost whatever credibility he had left when he endorsed the evil empress Pat Bates for Orange County Supervisor. As Insurance Commissioner, John Garamendi refused to accept ANY campaign contributions from the insurance industry. That shows integrity, something lacking in most elected officials today. GARAMENDI

Attorney General: What a choice! Poochigian is almost as ANTI-environment as Congressman "Dumbo" Pombo, if that's possible. And then Governor Jerry Brown appointed the unfit and incompetent Rose Bird to the California Supreme Court. This one's easy. NO RECOMMENDATION

State Treasurer: Bill Lockyer did a good job as Attorney General. LOCKYER

U.S. Senator: Dianne Feinstein has done a good job as our U.S. Senator. She deserves re-election. FEINSTEIN

Orange County Board of Supervisors, 5th District: The primary was reminiscent of the movie "The Good {Eddie Rose}, the Bad {Cassie DeYoung}, and the Ugly (Pat Bates}." Unfortunately, the Bad and the Ugly outspent the Good by about 400 to 1. If the election proved anything at all, it was that there are only about 10,000 INTELLIGENT voters in Orange County's 5th Supervisorial District. Bates shares one trait in common with BIG OIL, BIG TOBACCO, George Bush, and Dick Cheney---they are all PATHOLOGICAL LIARS! And DeYoung wants to con the environmental community into thinking she's an "environmentalist." I cannot, in good conscience, support either of these candidates. Write in me, EDDIE ROSE, for OC Supervisor

PS: If you know anyone who lives in Florida or Washington, please remind them to vote for Bill Nelson or Maria Cantwell, respectively, two GREAT U.S. Senators."

[Eddie Rose, a former Republican Laguna Niguel City Councilman, is famous for his political independence, card-playing skills and opinions. Just ask OJ.]

Next week, the pinche hilarious Borat Sagdiyev graces American screens with his Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The Weekly sponsored a screening yesterday at The Block at Orange, and weren't we all surpised when the Virgin Megastore there played a crucial role in the film! Lest we be accused of spoiling films, let's just say it involves Pamela Anderson and a parking lot. Jagshemash!.

Like the unstoppable killer in a horror movie, an unfeeling entity who once menaced OC and was believed to be long gone, is now poised to return. Just in time for Halloween, no less. If nothing else, you have to admire the timing.

A county finance committee voted yesterday to add Merrill Lynch to the list of approved underwriters with which the county may do business. The reason Merrill Lynch hasn't been on the list, despite the fact that it is one of the county's leading brokerage houses, is, of course, because Merrill Lynch played a leading role in driving the county into bankruptcy back in 1994.

The vote was unanimous, and done very quietly, since, perhaps, some members of the public might still be a little cool to a brokerage house whose actions helped land the county $1.6 billion in the hole. But to paraphrase Stalin's famous line about killing: The bankruptcy of one is a tragedy, the bankruptcy of a community of millions is a statistic. The county's actually being doing limited business with Merrill Lynch for the past three years. And seeing how the county's bankruptcy debt is down to a svelte $600 million, it's felt that it's time to let bygones be bygones, and put the outfit that did so much to dig the hole back on the list of the trustworthy with no conditions attached. (Personally, I would have waited until the bankruptcy debt dropped beneath the half-a-billion dollar mark, but maybe I'm overly sensitive.)

So, what guarantee is there that Merrill Lynch will be either more competent or more honest or both this time? According to committee chairman Thomas Hammond (a mortgage banker by day), no one needs to worry because a company like Merrill Lynch is inherently unstable. Hammond explained to the Los Angeles Times that "investment bankers never stay at the same place. They move on after five years." See, instability and the ability of investment bankers to avoid responsibility for the consequences of their actions by moving on before all but the shortest term results are known are the cornerstones of financial reliability.

The final decision is up to the Board of Supervisors, who will take up the matter at its November 14 meeting. Presumably, the board will go along with the committee and welcome Merrill Lynch back into the fold. And then the committee and the board can take the next step in restoring the old status quo: putting psychics back on the list of approved county financial advisors.

Sigh. The LA Times reports today that the Los Angeled Police Department officer who paid for the now-infamous letter to Spanish-speaking immigrants in Orange County is none other than Mark Nguyen. Mark is said to have paid $4,000 for the letter's dissemination under a fake name, and he lives with the officially unnamed Tan Nguyen staffer who allegedly sent out the letter without Tan's knowledge. Mark is also Tan's close friend from back in 1992 when they met as fellow Bruins at UCLA.

Tan Nguyen and Mark Nguyen are not related. Nguyen is one of if not the most common Vietnamese surnames. Just check out Theo Douglas's great article this week on sculptor Tuan Nguyen. When you hear Nguyen, think Johnson. Think Smith. Think Doe. Tan and Mark Nguyen, John and Ken Doe.

I can't wait to see what kind of mix-ups and confusions occur now that we've got two Nguyens in the story, especially considering how confusing it's been so far. Example: The news swept 'round Ireland days ago that Nguyen was Schwarzenegger's opponent (why else would the governor get involved in a congressional election?), though they've finally corrected themselves. In THIS STORY, the headline originally read, "Schwarzenegger urges opponent to step down", and it can still be found in that format on Google News. According to Jill O'Sullivan at the Irish Examiner, "our US news supplier mixed up some facts." And then half the news outlets in the country ran with it until it was corrected half a day later.

Whether you're eager to bring justice to OC, or you've just always wanted to indict a ham sandwich, there's good news: Orange County Superior Court is accepting applications for the 2007-08 grand jury. If you are 18 or older, have been a resident of the county for at least one year, posses "ordinary intelligence" and a decent command of English, and more or less meet these other criteria, you qualify. (There will be a background check, so don't bother trying to fake "ordinary intelligence".)

The grand jury, of course, does make decisions on criminal indictments (both ham sandwich and non-ham sandwich-related), but most of its time is spent on civil investigations.

The civil, or "watchdog" responsibilities of the grand jury include the examination of all aspects of county government, including special districts, to ensure the county is being governed honestly and efficiently and county monies are being handled appropriately. The grand jury is mandated by law to inquire into the conditions and management of public jails.

Investigations may be conducted on public agencies, the administration and affairs of any city within the county, or to examine books and records of redevelopment agencies. It is also appropriate for any private citizen, county official or county employee to present a written complaint to a grand jury for investigation.

During its term, the grand jury may select the government affairs which it wishes to investigate. These investigations are conducted by Grand Jury committees in cooperation with the departments and agencies of the county. Committees may ask for support and advice from Superior Court, District Attorney's office, County Counsel or outside consultants.

In addition to a sense of having done their civic duty, grand jurors receive free parking and "$50.00 per day not to exceed $250.00 per week" (plus mileage to and from meetings). So, if you are of ordinary intelligence, etc., and interested in making the wheels of justice in OC turn, you can watch a recruitment video here and find an application here. Applications can also be obtained by calling (714) 834-6747.

Sergio Ramirez is a double major in environmental studies and political science at Long Beach State. In March, Ramirez and a friend attended a meeting of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform for one of their classes. The two signed in, talked to some folks and took some pamplets back to their professor. They were the only Latinos.

Last week, that Long Beach State professor called Ramirez and asked if he was the Sergio who signed the infamous Tan Nguyen "immigrants can't vote" letter that used fake CCIR letterhead. He wasn't, but Ramirez can't help but to think that the people behind the letter stole/borrowed his name from the CCIR sign-in sheet he signed this March.

"I don't know how many Sergio Ramirezes there are in Orange County, but I don't think it's a coincidence that I went to that meeting and then my name shows up on a letter with CCIR letterhead," Ramirez says. "I really do think that's what happened. When [my professor] called me, she sent me the letter. I was shocked. It makes sense that Nguyen's people would grab my name from a CCIR list of people who signed in to their meeting. They probably picked up the most Latino name and used it. Maybe it's a far-fetched idea, but it's just too crazy a coincidence for it not to be true."

Ramirez's professor, Leah Fraser, confirmed that he did attend a March CCIR meeting for a class project and brought her pamphlets as proof. Ramirez also faxed the Weekly the agenda for CCIR's March meeting.

CCIR chair Barbara Coe has repeatedly denied her group's involvement with the Nguyen letter, but there's a definite connection between the two besides the faked letterhead. Last December, Nguyen was a featured speaker at a CCIR meeting. A press release for the meeting gushed that Nguyen, "believes in America as a 'nation of law', has made a commitment to uphold and defend our Constitutional rights and freedoms, has courageously publicly praised the Minuteman Project and publicly opposed any illegal alien 'guest-worker' program or amnesty." And now the possible Ramirez connection.

And what does Sergio Ramirez think of the Sergio Ramirez-authored letter? "It's ridiculous, it's not good," he says. "It's scaring people. It's nuts."