Monday's Headlines & Surprises: Ass Slapping Fun!

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By R. Scott Moxley, Monday, Sep. 24 2007 @ 6:31AM

Categories: Moxley

Worm Attack in Dana Point? TMZ reports that Orange County police are investigating former Los Angeles Laker/Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman for allegedly committing a “crime” inside the Hennessy's Tavern near PCH in Dana Point. The celebrity website says Rodman was accused of slapping a female customer's ass so hard it left a “major mark.”

No word on what part of his anatomy did the slapping.

Jim Amormino, sheriff's spokesman, said dicks in his department's “sex crimes unit” are on the case. Amormino declined to release the woman's name although she was described as a “bar hopper” in one account and a “reveler” in another.

Maytag Man Visits: Mitt Romney came to Orange County on Sunday and, as Erika Chavez reports in the OC Register, took “a wide-ranging array of questions on everything from Iran to gang violence to constitutional law.” Veteran political reporter and nice guy Martin Wisckol, a Chavez colleague, even got an exclusive interview after the Chapman University event. Question for Wisckol. Are you embarrassed that members of the audience asked tougher questions? We could have checked Romney’s website for the "answers" that you obtained. Via Wisckol, here’s some candid moments from the candidate (pictured): “I value legal immigration. I want to end illegal immigration” and “It's important for us to be able to repel al-Qaida.” Not an impressive day at the office, pal.

Textbook Scams: State Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) has been working with police unions to maintain national security level secrecy for police officers in California, but somehow has found the right side of the issue on school text books. Yep, the fellow who wants to shield cops from public accountability has authored AB 1548, or the College Textbook Transparency Act. Oh, the irony. According to Larry Gordon at the Times, the measure would require that “publishers print on or in new texts a summary of differences between the current and previous editions and provide faculty, upon request, a printed or online list of wholesale prices and edition changes.” College textbook publishers are notoriously slimy, charging outrageous prices to students. Schwarzenegger has until Oct. 12 to act on the bill.

Pet the Rich Kitty: Roll Call recently named the wealthiest members of the U.S. Congress and declared Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) No. 59 with $5.68 million. Dwarfing Sanchez and everyone else in Congress is California Democrat Jane Harman. She’s got $216.11 million in net worth thanks to a $44 million bump in her bank account during the last year. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is ranked seventh with $50.5 million in assets. John Campbell, Irvine's car salesman turned congressman, weighed in with $13.5 million. Rep. Gary Miller has $10.4 million largely from (questionable?) land dealings. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Skipped Vietnam Combat Duty) didn't make the list. He borrows money from lobbyists like convict Jack Abramoff when he needs funds.

Rest Your Voice Boxes & Tune Your Bullhorns: October 11 is supposed to be the big California Coastal Commission hearing regarding the proposed Foothill South Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach. Real estate developers want to build tens of thousands of new McMansions and need a new major thoroughfare to get buyers there. Public relations operatives for the builders are claiming the road is good public policy because it will reduce traffic. Okay, you can stop laughing now. Go to the Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Harbor Hotel at 601 S. Palos Verdes Street in San Pedro. Contact Robin Everett at robin.everett@sierraclub.org if you’d like to catch a free ride.

Let the Icebergs Melt! Larry Mantle, host of AirTalk on 89.3 FM, talks today to entertaining political scientist Bjorn Lomborg about his new book, Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming. Lomborg, a conservative, made Bill Maher’s HBO show and was a hoot. The global warming threat is a bad joke, according to Lomborg.