Posts Tagged ‘ party ’

Tamie Adaya: West Hollywood: A Cultural Gem

December 2, 2011

Nestled between Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and bordered by the Santa Monica Mountains and an honor guard of mega-billboards, West Hollywood, the Creative City, is one of Los Angeles’ finest examples of the culture of the cutting-edge. WeHo is home to 39,000 full-time residents, yet plays host to a weekend influx of 78,000 who come to take advantage of world-class shopping, dining and events the likes of the annual Vanity Fair Oscar Party and largest Halloween Street Party in the world; quite the attractive blend of intimacy and vibrancy. A two-square-mile city, WeHo natives put the “nobody walks in LA” cliche to rest. There are only three Cecconi’s Restaurants in the world, one in London, one in Miami and one, at the Melrose Avenue and Robertson Boulevard intersection, in the heart of WeHo. Cecconi’s is an absolute must for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or unparalleled Italian Tapas. Just down the block on Melrose, you’ll run into one of my favorite hair salons, Galvin & Benjamin, breathtaking boutiques such as Maxfield , Marc Jacobs , Alexander McQueen , Paul Smith , Miu Miu …and if you’re a vintage-maven like me, just a few blocks further east and you’ll find some of LA’s best kept secrets, selling gowns and formal-wear from the 20′s, 30′s and 40′s. The City’s “Art on the Outside” engages visitors and residents with innovative artwork. Currently WeHo is hosting seven colossal abstract sculptures from world-renowned contemporary artists along the grass median of Santa Monica Blvd, historic Route 66. Sprinkled throughout the city and also running through June 2012, you can also find multi-lingual poetic municipal signs by artist Rebecca Lowry. But, the cherry on top of WeHo at the moment, lies within MOCA’s Pacific Design Center Space, where former Dior Homme designer, YSL art & collections director, and International Designer of the Year, Hedi Slimane demonstrates a uniquely experiential & uplifting breed of story-telling with his exhibit “California Song.” On the ground floor Slimane’s ‘California years’ black-and-white photographs are framed in unfinished wooden boxes and separated from one another by mirror’s, offering individualized vantage points to take stock of the series of narratives being whispered in the intimate space. A genuine look at California’s rock and roll heritage is splattered throughout the gallery, from monochrome portraits of Francis Bean and her mother Courtney Love, Beach Boy Brian Wilson and up-and-coming lead-singer Christopher Owens, set next to iconic images of broken down squats, vintage pontiacs against the Pacific Ocean and a blurry look at the American dream. The top floor, produced exclusively for MOCA, showcases an outstanding sonic & motion-picture installation. Photographs are projected onto a cube in the center of the room, surrounded by speakers, inviting you to soak up your own version of Slimane’s slightly morose exploration of youth subculture & beauty culture, and the immersive intersection of fashion as art & photo as literature. “California Song” will be on display at MOCA’s Pacific Design Center space in West Hollywood through Jan-22, 2012. The rest is here: Tamie Adaya: West Hollywood: A Cultural Gem

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Tamie Adaya: West Hollywood: A Cultural Gem

December 2, 2011

Nestled between Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and bordered by the Santa Monica Mountains and an honor guard of mega-billboards, West Hollywood, the Creative City, is one of Los Angeles’ finest examples of the culture of the cutting-edge. WeHo is home to 39,000 full-time residents, yet plays host to a weekend influx of 78,000 who come to take advantage of world-class shopping, dining and events the likes of the annual Vanity Fair Oscar Party and largest Halloween Street Party in the world; quite the attractive blend of intimacy and vibrancy. A two-square-mile city, WeHo natives put the “nobody walks in LA” cliche to rest. There are only three Cecconi’s Restaurants in the world, one in London, one in Miami and one, at the Melrose Avenue and Robertson Boulevard intersection, in the heart of WeHo. Cecconi’s is an absolute must for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or unparalleled Italian Tapas. Just down the block on Melrose, you’ll run into one of my favorite hair salons, Galvin & Benjamin, breathtaking boutiques such as Maxfield , Marc Jacobs , Alexander McQueen , Paul Smith , Miu Miu …and if you’re a vintage-maven like me, just a few blocks further east and you’ll find some of LA’s best kept secrets, selling gowns and formal-wear from the 20′s, 30′s and 40′s. The City’s “Art on the Outside” engages visitors and residents with innovative artwork. Currently WeHo is hosting seven colossal abstract sculptures from world-renowned contemporary artists along the grass median of Santa Monica Blvd, historic Route 66. Sprinkled throughout the city and also running through June 2012, you can also find multi-lingual poetic municipal signs by artist Rebecca Lowry. But, the cherry on top of WeHo at the moment, lies within MOCA’s Pacific Design Center Space, where former Dior Homme designer, YSL art & collections director, and International Designer of the Year, Hedi Slimane demonstrates a uniquely experiential & uplifting breed of story-telling with his exhibit “California Song.” On the ground floor Slimane’s ‘California years’ black-and-white photographs are framed in unfinished wooden boxes and separated from one another by mirror’s, offering individualized vantage points to take stock of the series of narratives being whispered in the intimate space. A genuine look at California’s rock and roll heritage is splattered throughout the gallery, from monochrome portraits of Francis Bean and her mother Courtney Love, Beach Boy Brian Wilson and up-and-coming lead-singer Christopher Owens, set next to iconic images of broken down squats, vintage pontiacs against the Pacific Ocean and a blurry look at the American dream. The top floor, produced exclusively for MOCA, showcases an outstanding sonic & motion-picture installation. Photographs are projected onto a cube in the center of the room, surrounded by speakers, inviting you to soak up your own version of Slimane’s slightly morose exploration of youth subculture & beauty culture, and the immersive intersection of fashion as art & photo as literature. “California Song” will be on display at MOCA’s Pacific Design Center space in West Hollywood through Jan-22, 2012. The rest is here: Tamie Adaya: West Hollywood: A Cultural Gem

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Paul Stanley Playboy Mansion Rock Party

November 11, 2011
Paul Stanley Playboy Mansion Rock Party

Paul Stanley from KISS is headlining a huge rock party at The Playboy Mansion in L.A. this Saturday, November 12th. Lita Ford will join Paul Stanley in welcoming guests to the star-studded Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp event for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund , which supports aging and disabled musicians in Southern California who are having a rough time. An open bar, gourmet food, swimming, exotic wildlife, photo-ops, Playboy Bunnies, celebrities, pro athletes, and kick-ass rock stars are all part of the Playboy Mansion bash for charity. The rock megastar concert will be the highlight of an unbelievable, unforgettable night at Hugh Hefner ‘s world-famous Playboy Mansion. Where else do you get to hang out with rock stars from Maroon 5 , Black Sabbath , Heart , Bad Company , Quiet Riot , Aerosmith , Winger , Guns N’ Roses , AC/DC , Led Zepplin , and cast members from “30 Rock” all in one place? Only at The Playboy Mansion this Saturday night, dudes, but you’ve gotta buy Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp Playboy Mansion tickets for the hottest bash of 2011. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue is a huge supporter of Sweet Relief and the Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp, so he is giving away a Tommy Lee-autographed drum head , which is incredibly cool. This party is the primo rock bash of the year.

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Equality California Endorses Betsy Butler

November 10, 2011

Nonprofit civil rights organization Equality California is endorsing Assemblywoman Betsy Butler  in her run for the state’s  new 50th Assembly District , Butler’s campaign announced Wednesday morning. Butler, D-Marina del Rey, is now entering her sixth year on the board of Equality California. She has been a key advocate for equality and civil rights for more than 20 years and has raised tens of thousands of dollars for multiple causes, events and LGBT candidates, reports the nonprofit in a statement. “Equality California is proud to give our endorsement to Assemblymember Butler,” Suzy Jones, chair of the Equality California Candidate Political Action Committee, said in a statement. “Her 100 percent pro-LGBT voting record clearly demonstrates that she has been, and continues to be, a key ally and partner in our efforts to secure full and lasting equality for LGBT people in California.” Butler has also been endorsed by Assembly Speaker John Pérez, California Democratic Party Vice Chairman Alex Rooker and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. Organizations backing Butler include the Legislative LGBT Caucus and the Legislative Women’s Caucus. “I am proud to have the support of Equality California,” said Butler. “For over 20 years, I have had the privilege of working with leaders of the LGBT community throughout the country and in California on issues of fairness and equality. I look forward to continuing to work in the Legislature to ensure equal rights in California.” Butler’s primary opponents appear to be liberal activist Torie Osborn and Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom . Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on  Twitter  and “Like” us on  Facebook . Original post: Equality California Endorses Betsy Butler

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WeHo Halloween Good for Business

November 1, 2011

Thousands descended upon West Hollywood Monday night to enjoy what some say is largest Halloween street party in the United States. While the party can bring in some big bucks to local businesses, the event… Photo Credit: Julie Brayton Read more here: WeHo Halloween Good for Business

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City of Beverly Hills

October 24, 2011
City of Beverly Hills

Some Info About Beverly Hills: Beverly Hills is an affluent city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California , United States . Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles . The area’s “ Platinum Triangle ” of affluent neighborhoods is formed by Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Bel Air and Holmby Hills . The population was 33,784 as of the 2000 census. Beverly Hills is home to Hollywood celebrities, and many corporate executives and numerous other wealthy individuals and families. Beverly Hills is bordered on the north by Bel-Air and the Santa Monica Mountains , on the east by West Hollywood, the Carthay neighborhood of Los Angeles, and the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, and on the south by the Beverlywood . In 2007, Coldwell Banker lists Beverly Hills as the most expensive housing market (second year in a row) in the United States, with a median home price of over $2.2 million. [3] These homes range from the extravagant and luxurious in size, to the more elegant and modern homes, and then to the many small duplex rental units and detached homes with less than 2,000 sq ft (185 sq meters). Geography Beverly Hills is nearly entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, sharing only a portion of its eastern border, primarily along Doheny Drive, with West Hollywood . The precise limits of Beverly Hills are complex, and therefore hard to describe; however, the city limits can be roughly described as the area surrounded by the Los Angeles Country Club and Century Park Drive to the Southwest, Whitworth Drive to the South, variously Doheny Drive/Robertson Blvd/San Vicente Blvd to the East, and the Hollywood Hills to the North. Major east-west thoroughfares in Beverly Hills include Wilshire Boulevard , Santa Monica Boulevard , and Sunset Boulevard . Shopping is prevalent along Beverly Drive and the world-famous Rodeo Drive . Coldwater Canyon Drive is the main road out of Beverly Hills to the north into the San Fernando Valley . Beverly Drive and Roberston Blvd exit to the south into the city of Los Angeles. In spite of the city’s name, most residents live in the “flats” of Beverly Hills, a relatively flat land that includes all of Beverly Hills south of Sunset Blvd. The homes in the hills north of Sunset Boulevard have a much higher value than average homes in the rest of Beverly Hills, and the most expensive homes in Beverly Hills are all in the hills. Santa Monica Boulevard divides the “flats” into two areas, locally known as “North or South of the tracks,” referring to the train tracks that were once used by the old Pacific Electric streetcar line that traversed Beverly Hills along Santa Monica Blvd. Homes south of Wilshire have more urban square and rectangular lots, generally smaller than those to the north. There are also more apartment buildings south of Wilshire Blvd than anywhere else in Beverly Hills, and the average home value south of Wilshire is the lowest in Beverly Hills. Nearly all businesses and government offices in Beverly Hills are located south of Santa Monica Boulevard, two notable exceptions being the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Beverly Hilton Hotel . Just outside the city limits to the west lies the Los Angeles Country Club . Other locations commonly associated with Beverly Hills include the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the Beverly Center , just outside city limits to the east. Demographics As of the 2000 census , there were 33,784 people. The racial makeup of the city was 85.1% White , 7.10% Asian , 1.80% African American , 1.50% from other races , 0.10% Native American and 4.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. [1] Like the rest of Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills is home to a large Persian / Iranian community. According to a 2006 NPR article, Iranians represent 20% of the city’s population and 40% of the students in its schools. [17] This estimate is not immediately evident in Census Bureau data as the Census Bureau defines the “White” race category as including “people having origins in any of the original peoples of .. the Middle East ..” [18] In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age for the city was 41 years old. [1] There were 15,035 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 3.02. Local government The Beverly Hills City Hall, built in 1932, was featured prominently in the Beverly Hills Cop films Beverly Hills Civic Center Beverly Hills Police being inspected in the late 1930s Of the 21,426 registered voters in Beverly Hills; approximately 50.3% are Democrats and 25.9% are Republicans . The remaining 23.8% are Independents or are registered with one of the many smaller political parties, like the Green Party or the Libertarian Party . The heavy Democratic advantage makes Beverly Hills one of the more liberal cities in Southern California. In 2004, John Kerry won 62% of the vote compared to 37% for George W. Bush . In the 2006 state governor election, Arnold Schwarzenegger got nearly 45% of the vote but won a second term by a state-wide majority, while Democratic opponent Phil Angelides had just over 54%. Beverly Hills is a general law city governed by a five-member City Council including the mayor and vice mayor. City Council hires a city manager to carry out policies and serve as executive officer. Every odd-numbered year either two or three members are elected by the people to serve a four-year term. Each March the City Council meets and chooses one of its members as mayor and one as vice-mayor. Jimmy Delshad is mayor and Barry Brucker is vice mayor. Jeff Kolin is city manager. The other three city council members are Nancy Krasne, Dr. William Brien and John Mirisch. In city council meetings, a few celebrities have shown up to speak on local political issues. The Beverly Hills Police Department and the Beverly Hills Fire Department serve as emergency response for the city. BHFD has the privilege of being distinguished as “Class 1″ in fire protection by an insurance industry rating service. See also: Mayor of Beverly Hills County, state, and federal representation Beverly Hills Post Office The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Beverly Hills. [19] The department operates the Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center in Santa Monica , serving Beverly Hills. [20] In the state legislature Beverly Hills is located in the 23rd Senate District, represented by Democrat Fran Pavley , and in the 42nd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Mike Feuer . Federally, Beverly Hills is located in California’s 30th congressional district , which has a Cook PVI of D +20 [21] and is represented by Democrat Henry Waxman . The United States Postal Service operates the Beverly Hills Post Office at 325 North Maple Drive, [22] the Crescent Post Office at 323 North Crescent Drive, [23] the Beverly Post Office at 312 South Beverly Drive, [24] and the Eastgate Post Office at 8383 Wilshire Boulevard. [25] [26] The Beverly Hills Post Office received listing in the National Register of Historic Places on January 11, 1985. [27] Economy The former Hilton Hotels Corporation headquarters in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is home to one Fortune 500 company, Live Nation Entertainment , as well as the private equity firm Platinum Equity . The Los Angeles-area offices of Aeroflot and El Al are in Beverly Hills. [28] [29] At one point Hilton Hotels Corporation had its corporate headquarters in Beverly Hills. Originally GeoCities (at first Beverly Hills Internet) was headquartered at 9401 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. [30] Underneath the city is the large and still-productive Beverly Hills Oil Field , serviced by four urban drilling islands which drill diagonally into the earth underneath the city. The most notorious of these drilling islands occasioned a 2003 lawsuit representing former attendees of Beverly Hills High School, approximately 280 of which had suffered from cancers allegedly tied to the drilling operations. [31] Top Employers According to the City’s 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, [32] the top employers in the city are: # Employer # of Employees 1 Beverly Hilton Hotel 1,093 2 City of Beverly Hills 1,080 3 Beverly Wilshire Hotel 750 4 Endeavor Talent Agency 750 5 William Morris Agency 711 6 Beverly Hills Unified School District 600 7 Beverly Hills Hotel 520 8 The Peninsula Hotel 460 9 Saks & Co. 340 10 Nelson Shelton & Associates 300 Diplomatic missions Beverly Hills has three consulates ( Brazil , [33] Colombia , [34] and Ecuador .) [26] [35] Education Public schools Beverly Hills High School Gymnasium Beverly Hills is served by Beverly Hills Unified School District ; which includes four K-8 schools (Hawthorne, El Rodeo, Beverly Vista, and Horace Mann), Moreno High School, and the Beverly Hills High School . [ edit ] Private schools Beverly Hills also has several private schools. Good Shepherd School , a PreK-8 school in Beverly Hills, is a part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles . Other Beverly Hills private schools include Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy, Emanuel Academy of Beverly Hills, and Page Private School. Marymount High School in nearby Westwood , across from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), is in close proximity to Beverly Hills. Climate Beverly Hills has a warm and moderate Mediterranean climate , with an average high of 85 degrees in August, and an average high of 64 degrees in January. Beverly Hills also receives on average 18 inches of rain. Summers are marked by warm to hot temperatures with very little wind, while winters are moderate to cool with occasional rain alternating with periods of Santa Ana winds. During Santa Ana events, gusts up to 40 mph are common. [ citation needed ] Snow has been witnessed only in 1882,1922,1932 and 1949. Landmarks Sign marking the Beverly Hills city limits Beverly Gardens Park Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills Hotel Beverly Wilshire Hotel Electric Fountain Greystone Mansion Greystone Park La Cienega Park Pickfair Virginia Robinson Gardens Greenacres Beverly Hills Police Department Roxbury Park Will Rogers Memorial Park Beverly Hills City Hall Walden Drive Rodeo Drive Via Rodeo and Spanish Steps The Peninsula Hotel Beverly Hills Beverly Hills Public Library Derivative nicknames The name Beverly Hills has often been employed as a nickname for a fashionable, affluent area. For example, View Park , an unincorporated area in southwestern Los Angeles County, has been dubbed the “Black Beverly Hills”. [36] Similarly, the city of Scottsdale has been given the nickname “Beverly Hills of Arizona ” for its stately homes, high end shops, the extensive Fashion square mall, Fashion week, resorts and high household income. [ citation needed ] Calabasas , California located in the San Fernando Valley is considered the Beverly Hills of the valley. Beverly Hills, Michigan is known for its large affluent office buildings and nice homes all located in the affluent areas of Metro Detroit . Respectively, Buckhead , the uptown district of Atlanta , has been dubbed “The Beverly Hills of the South” due to the large number (as well as the highest concentration) of upscale shops, elaborate homes, and high average income. [ citation needed ] Beverly Hills in popular culture Beverly Hills has been featured in a number of television shows and movies set in Beverly Hills, including The Jack Benny Program (1950 to 1954) (and on his radio program from 1932–1955), The Beverly Hillbillies (1962 to 1971), the Beverly Hills Cop movies, Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990 to 2000), and 90210 (2008 – ). 90210 90210 is one of five ZIP codes for Beverly Hills, [2] and perhaps its most-famous, gaining popularity with the 1990s television series Beverly Hills, 90210 and its 2008 spin-off 90210 (TV Series) . Other series to feature it in its title are Dr. 90210 , a reality show featuring Beverly Hills plastic surgeons. and High Maintenance 90210 , also a reality show. The other four, less-celebrated ZIP codes for Beverly Hills are: 90209, 90211, 90212 and 90213. [2] Other pop culture Replica Beverly Hills sign in Universal Studios Florida theme park The animated series Totally Spies is set in Beverly Hills. Another animated series “ Beverly Hills Teens ” is about young teens who live in Beverly Hills in the 80′s The opening scene of The Andy Griffith Show showing Sheriff Taylor and Opie carrying fishing poles was shot at the Franklin Canyon Reservoir at the north end of town just west of Coldwater Canyon. In Walt Disney’s movie, Beverly Hills Chihuahua , The main character, Chloe, lives in Beverly Hills, 90210. In the 2009 Simpsons episode, Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D’oh , there exists a spoof version of Beverly Hills, nicknamed “Waverly Hills”. Ted’s of Beverly Hills is a fictional steak restaurant on the Phil Hendrie radio show. The first track on Weezer’s Make Believe album is entitled “Beverly Hills” and is one of their most popular songs. The 1965 Beverly Hills Public Library building facade was featured regularly on the Brady Bunch as Mr. Brady’s office building. The 1995 Film, Clueless (film) is set in Beverly Hills same with its 1996 TV Spin-off Clueless (TV series) The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is currently airing on Bravo.

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GOP Hates Gary Johnson

October 16, 2011
GOP Hates Gary Johnson

The Republican Party hates 2012 presidential candidate Gary Johnson .

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Fernando Espuelas: The Mormon in the Room

October 9, 2011

Why is Mitt Romney so unloved by the Republican base? Even after Rick Perry’s meteoric rise and fall in the polls, the main beneficiary of the Texas governor’s stumbles has been Herman Cain, not Romney. In a series of polls over the last few days, Cain, a man who has never held elective office, a virtually unknown person in the national political scene until his appearance on the multiple debate stages, has surged. In the latest CBS News poll , Cain actually ties with Romney, 17% to 17%, even as Rick Perry falls from 23% to 12% compared to the same poll 2 weeks earlier. So where’s the love for Mitt, the presumptive GOP frontrunner? Shouldn’t the GOP’s vaunted “coronation” process, where the perceived best candidate is pushed forward by the establishment and base of the party towards the nomination, much like George W. Bush was in 2000, be creating a similar momentum for Romney? The conventional answer goes something like this: Romney has changed so many of his core positions after his governorship of Massachusetts, and his subsequent multiple runs for president, that voters are suspicious of what he really believes. Is Romney pro-choice? He was, but not anymore. Did he support the end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military? Yes, that is, until he was against it. Gun laws, same. Immigration reform, he was for it until he discovered that you can’t be nominated in today’s post-Reagan GOP unless you advocate ever harsher anti-immigrant measures that, as in the case of Arizona and Alabama, amount to lightly disguised ethnic cleansing strategies. And Social Security? When Perry first zoomed up the GOP preference polls — and his nonstrategic insistence that the federal program that nearly wiped out poverty among senior citizens over the last 7 decades is nothing more than a gigantic Bernie Madoff-style scam — Romney abandoned his Social Security privatization views for the more Florida-friendly new role as the Social Security champion. While an evolution of your views over time is a sign of a learning brain, incorporating new facts as they are discovered, Romney’s whole-cloth shift in so many fundamental issues of deep ideological import to Republicans is inherently suspect. But this may not be Romney’s biggest problem in creating an emotional bond with the base of the GOP. While the former Massachusetts Governor has morphed into a Southern-strategy friendly Conservative, he can’t fully escape who he is. There are some factors that are beyond the power of focus-group driven repositioning. Romney, of course, is a devout Mormon. His family is steeped in the Mormon tradition. And no one has remotely questioned Romney’s sincerity in this regard. And that is the problem. Romney is the Mormon in the room. His religion crashes directly into Evangelical Christian dogma. As CNN reported , Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, who has endorsed Rick Perry, has called the Mormon church a “cult.” In a recent speech before the conservative Values Voters Summit, Jeffress unloaded on the Mormon faith. Speaking to CNN after his appearance, Jeffress said, “I think Mitt Romney’s a good, moral man, but I think those of us who are born-again followers of Christ should always prefer a competent Christian to a competent non-Christian like Mitt Romney. So that’s why I’m enthusiastic about Rick Perry.” This is the ultimate dog whistle for Evangelicals. Jeffress is clearly making the case that Romney is a “non-Christian” and therefore not fit to be the President of the United States. In the same interview Jeffress asserted that Romney “doesn’t embrace the historical tenets of evangelical Christianity.” And this is not a new problem from Romney. Back in 2007 during Romney’s first run for the GOP nomination, the televangelist Bill Keller penned a missive to Evangelicals that is as clear as can be. It was titled “A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan.” Conservative firebrand and electoral marketing wiz Richard Viguerie published on his site in May an equally devastating claim: 55 percent of conservative activists and Tea Partiers polled by Richard Viguerie’s ConservativeHQ.com responded that they, ‘would vote for a third-party or independent candidate’ if Romney were the nominee. In simple terms, the most conservative Evangelical leaders are casting Romney as the “Other.” Not as bad as a Kenyan Muslim to be sure, but in the same genre of unacceptable candidates. Beyond the theological issues, the political implications of this line of thought are devastating for Romney. No Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan paid homage to the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority in the 1980 election, has made it to the White House without carrying the Evangelical vote by dominant margins. The idea that in 21st century America a person can be disqualified for the presidency based on his religion is outrageous. Religious prejudice against Romney is as repulsive as the Tea Party’s frequent flirtations with anti-Obama racism. Romney by all accounts is a decent man. He should be given the chance to compete for the presidency on the merits of his ideas — his religion is not a legitimate criteria to evaluate his fitness for the presidency. And those who seek to create a theocratic test for presidential candidates should spend some time reading the U.S. Constitution. Article 6 clearly states: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States . From the very beginning of our Republic, the Founders’ worried about the kind of religious intolerance now being directed at Mitt Romney. As President George Washington wrote : If I could conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded, that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution. Robert Jeffress’ anti-Mormon bigotry is exactly the kind of “spiritual tyranny” that George Washington warned us about. It has no place in American politics and GOP primary voters should reject it for what it is: un-American. See the original post here: Fernando Espuelas: The Mormon in the Room

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Watch Dramatic Video of Plane Crash-Landing Into the Pacific

October 9, 2011
Watch Dramatic Video of Plane Crash-Landing Into the Pacific

You know that sinking feeling you get when you notice you’re about to run out of gas? The 65-year-old pilot of a Cessna flying to Hawaii got that feeling times a million somewhere over the Pacific last night. He radioed in his problem to the Coast Guard, and they talked him through a successful crash-landing just 13 miles off the coast of Hawaii last night. more › Read the original post: Watch Dramatic Video of Plane Crash-Landing Into the Pacific

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Californiality Supports Senate Bill 914

October 9, 2011
Californiality Supports Senate Bill 914

Californiality , a statewide California blog, supports Senate Bill 914 , the California Mobile Device Privacy Act . After an overwhelming number of emails were received by Californiality in support of SB 914, this blog’s publisher made Governor Jerry Brown aware of the high level of public support for signing the bill into law. California Senate Bill 914 is the Legislature’s answer to a California Supreme Court ruling that allowed officers to search a suspect’s cellphone as an “incident to an arrest.” The Constitution states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” Cell phones, laptops, tablets and related electronic file storage devices constitute the people’s “papers” and “effects.” Californiality contacted Governor Jerry Brown in support of SB 914 for the following reasons: The bill would not prevent police from ever searching a phone or any electronic device.

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Raw Police Video