Inland Empire Progressive

The Press Enterprise has an article about how much was raised in the area. However, I wanted to dig a little deeper into the financial statements of Blue Dog Pete Aguilar since he claimed the above on his Facebook Page. The financial statements of the Pete Aguilar show how much he is beholden to the conservatives of the Inland Empire. The sentence that really had me going was the last one: “…we have a robust grassroots coalition in place.” Pete Aguilar has no grassroots support. Period. Please Do NOT Vote for Mayor Aguilar, June 5th. Thank You He can make all the proclamations he wants, but I have not seen hide nor hair of Mr. Aguilar’s so called grassroots supporters. What I have seen and what Pete Aguilar’s financial statements reflect is an entrenchment of conservative interests that are trying to buy the 31st Congressional District. True grassroots support usually comes from the quantity of small dollar donations, not the quantity of the amount given.

San Bernardino needs  a super majority (60%+) police force that actually live in the city. The current police force, like 70% or more live outside the city. The number 70% is arbitrary because I can only estimate how many live outside our city and the City Attorney Jim Penman won’t tell me. It could be more or it could be less. But you can see when a police force is made up of a bunch of outsiders because they only care about the money. The police make up 42% of the budget, which is the biggest portion of the budget. Second is the Fire Department with 24%.  The majority of our tax dollars go to folks who live outside our city. With a budget deficit of $4 Million dollars, we need to ask all of our city employees to sacrifice so that our city can balance its budget. It is harder to do this when many of San Bernardino city employees live outside the city. In addition, our allocations to police are growing (because they have the majority of the city council now) while San Ber...

Everyone and their momma has a budget out these days. The President, Progressives, Republicans, and Conservatives have a budget for FY13. But what about the so called defenders of fiscal responsibility the Blue Dog Coalition? These folks proclaim to be the common sense/conservative/mainstream voice of the American people. As both candidates, Gloria Negrete Mcleod and Joe Baca,  for the 35th Congressional District are Blue Dogs. I ask where are their budgets? The residents of the 35th Congressional District and the American people deserve to know where these folks stand when it comes to policy. The next series of elections are not going to be like the elections of the past. We demand policy positions and expect results. It might good to say things, but you have to put your money where your mouth is.

  Rep. Joe Baca has tried to extend his empire by pushing his sons and corrupt allies to run for office. The voters have wisely and sometimes soundly rejected the nepotism that Joe Baca has tried to foist upon Inland Empire residents. His commitment to build a grassroots legacy is non existent. The only commitments  he attempts to make to Progressives is during election year. These hollow proclamations to sponsor policies that get Progressives excited have now fallen on deaf ears. Progressives have had enough! It is time to demand results. This Blue Dog has no principles on which to stand and deserves to be challenged in every election that he runs in. One day he will be defeated.  Mr. Baca has won election after election with more than 60% of the vote, why not try to build upon that and expand influence into more challenging areas of the Inland Empire. It is because his corazon is not with the grassroots, it is focus on the elite. All Mr. Baca is concerned about is...

We the Millennials, have been battered, beaten, and torn down by this economic crisis, and this is only the beginning. We will inherit by far the most challenging choices that have ever been faced by our nation. From the economy to the environment, we can easily become discouraged and disillusioned at our current plight. However, we can fight back. We are the most interconnected portion of the population and we can persuade the establishment on both the local and the national level that our interests matter.  If you don’t think so, look at the nation’s that have fallen to interconnected networks of youth. The Progressive commitment to the Millennials could not come at a more opportune time. To unite our sometimes apathetic generation the Progressives must present a bold position on principles and policies that ensure that our youth never again face the prospect of poverty and destitution. We, as Progressives, must present a path of stability and long term growth. These are the ...

Another article in a series revealing the true nature of Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar. Why did Pete Aguilar choose to run as a Democrat? Pete Aguilar has many questionable, unscrupulous, and disreputable relationships with corrupt Republicans that other Progressive Democrats and I find very unsettling. These are just a few of Pete’s Conservative Pals that I have recovered: Jerry Lewis Republican politics in the Inland Empire begins and ends with one man, Jerry Lewis. Mr. Lewis’s corruption is well known, but since he hails from a safe district that brings in the pork (earmarks), he was never seriously challenged. Pete Aguilar knew Jerry Lewis through Larry Sharp the former CEO of Arrowhead Credit Union. During the Lobbyist Copeland Lowery scandal, Redlands Councilman Mr. Aguilar defended the lobbyist by giving the rational that public officials have no relationships with other public officials.  How can they not? They sit on many boards and commissions together.  Mr. Lo...

BLAZE RESPONSIBLY! We, the Millennials, are going to do it for our generation. I can foresee the legalization of Marijuana as a industry within itself. If only the never do wells in Congress will stop being so short sighted! In the Inland Empire, this can be an Agricultural product that can be used to create much needed jobs. All options must be on the table.

What Conservatives don’t understand is a big role that immigration plays in the Mexican community. I have a large family and many cousins (my cousin Jose is pictured above).  As a third generation bi-racial Latino, I could only imagine what my great grandparents went through to get here. My Great Grandmother came here during the ‘50s when she was a little girl illegally and did not get her citizenship until the Reagan Amnesty of ‘86. She lived in East Los Angeles all her all until my Nana had dragged her from her little apartment on Soto St. when she was too old to walk. So when Conservatives attack “illegal” immigrants, I feel like they are attacking my family. In the Mexican community, we all know someone who is undocumented. They all come seeking a better life.

Rep. Joe Baca’s love for golf is a legendary in Inland Empire. However, try as I might, I have never witnessed the Congressman in golf pants or seen a photograph of him in them and probably never will. However, I have seen photographs of him sporting Dodger Blue throwing fastballs across home plate. Also being a member of the Blue Dog Coalition whose stated aim is: Blue Dogs advocate for mainstream American values, a commitment to fiscal responsibility , and a strong national defense. Rep. Joe Baca’s “concern” for the deficit is also advocated in almost every press release that concerns the budget. What do the Golf and Deficits have in common and why do I mention them? Well as the post implies these are the concerns of the wealthy. Incomes above $250,000 are the majority of those who play golf. With a median income of $50,000, cities represented by Rep. Joe Baca simply do not have the leisure time or prosperity to play rounds of golf. Don’t let me get started on the wasted water ...

When I heard that the San Bernardino Fire Dept. wanted to become an elected position, I was very angry. So angry in fact that I went to the website of the SBFD and emailed whomever was at the other end. The SBFD budget makes up around 24% of General Fund revenues and only 8% live in the city. While not as much as the Police Dept., it’s still pretty substantial. Our reputation in San Bernardino is not the greatest in the county or in the nation for that matter. Maintaining local control of our city finances is of utmost concern to me to ensure that everyone at City Hall has a stake in ensuring that our city thrives. Some employee in City Hall make more than $100,000 a year. That is more than the median income of the city. When outsiders are the ones that are in those income positions, not only do City of Bell type incidents occur, the incentives to improve the conditions of the city are not there.   Here is my blurb: Subject: Elected Fire Chief Email Comments: I am con...

  From the City of San Bernardino: Please do not elect Blue Dog Rep. Joe Baca. He does not share your interests. We, the residents of San Bernardino know, because we once thought he did too. However, he has left our city in such poverty in both education and business that it will take generations to fully recover. He has done this while enriching his own kingdom of Rialto: “The home of Joe Baca.” as he calls it. All you have to do is travel the streets of Rialto to see where all the pork barrel money has been spent. Have you seen the projects behind Eisenhower High School? Have you seen the new bridge on Riverside Ave. or the Omnitrans bus stops that line the streets? He had an office in San Bernardino but that was pretty much it. He was never there, but always on the golf course or in Washington D.C. We in San Bernardino never saw him and it’s a guarantee Pomona that you will never see him too. He claims he represents over 65% of the your district, but he only cares about 5...

This is a first in series of conversations to explain why Democrats and Progressives shouldn’t support Redlands Pete Aguilar to represent the 31 st Congressional District. As I have researched this candidate, I have grown increasingly concerned about his position on issues, the shadiness of his dealings, and the associations he has made. Reason: He is a Blue Dog. As anyone who has read my posts, I despise the Blue Dog Coalition (AKA the Blue Curs) for unprincipled stands on important issues. Mr. Aguilar has shown by words and deeds that he will follow this mold by unilaterally caving before the debate has begun. In addition, he has the support of other prominent Blue Curs such as Rep. Joe Baca and Rep. Steny Hoyer, the leader of the pack. This coalition takes advantage of their safe position to enrich themselves, while playing smoke and mirrors with those they represent. Reason: No Principles   As a Redlands city councilman, Mr. Aguilar has had chance after chance to prove hi...

  In the Inland Empire, unemployment is one of the highest in the nation standing at approx. 13%. In the city of San Bernardino, scores of houses sit underwater or in the process of foreclosure. Some remain abandoned with squatters and other vagrants sometimes moving in and becoming “residents”. Personally, I won’t buy a house because Single Family Homes (SFH) do not create wealth, can be abused easily (used as ATMs), and are an antiquated form of property that is a waste of space. I might be in the minority on this one, but living through and seeing the consequences of the housing boom and now the bust has turned me off to SFHs. In addition, big banks, investors, and governmental entities sit on mortgage loans whose value are inflated, inaccurate, and speculative. Because of the way Mortgage Backed Securities, Derivatives, and other financial products were packaged and sold I have severe doubts as to the true value and ownership of any housing mortgages held by MERS or any of t...

I don’t know much about the education policy or the education industry itself. But as I have been looking around the web for some general information about how San Bernardino schools are doing and funded, I found that the education system itself is complex bordering on the byzantine. On the local level, I have had trouble understanding the scope of our city’s school district education budget and where our tax dollars are being applied to. Don’t even get me started on test scores their meaning and relevance. Progressives need to take local education seriously and try to streamline this process. A holistic approach needs to be taken that involves the parents as well as the teacher. Teacher bashing and/or Union blaming are relatively simplistic actions but provide no absolute cure.  One such cure, promoted by some on the left and the right are charter schools. San Bernardino has 12 charter schools. One is run by a former elected official (Esther Estrada) and the another is named ...

On January 18, Gelareh Bagherzadeh was shot at point blank range while on the cell phone with her boyfriend. She was a medical student studying molecular biology. She was an also advocate for Women's Rights in Iran. While this may or may not have been a hit, with the current hostilities between the United States and Iran almost at their pinnacle I would not be surprised if it was.  Please pray for her family and for peace.

This video was edited Starting at 14:15 and Ending at 15:15. Please watch this clip and if you can watch the whole remarks. I believe that 2012 is going to be one in a series of crucial elections that will shape how we govern in the 21st Century. I watched this video in full and have to say that once again I am fired up and ready to go. However, in order for the President to be effective he needs a Progressive Congress. That is why the 31st Congressional District election is vital to ensuring that the Progressive Agenda continues to move forward. We don’t need Blue Dogs or Conservatives standing in the way of a brighter 21st Century. President Obama lays out the case for 21st Century Governance in its infancy. Some parts were a little rough, but as the campaign season continues I know those parts will be smoothed and expanded.

  Since “moving” into the Inland Empire and escaping the rolling hills of Diamond Bar, Rep. Gary Miller has really had an “oh shit” moment. He must be thinking to himself: “Not only am I a carpet bagger who just moved here to get elected. I am also fucking richer than most Tribal Members. I also cater to Wall Street interests because I sit on the Financial Services Committee and will repeal Dodd-Frank faster than a federal government bailout. Finally, I live in a district full of ‘brown people’ y no hablo espanol and don’t want to either (English only baby!). But these illegals make up 49% of the Congressional District. Oh what am I to do? I know! Say nice things like this:” Immigration: “ Congress must continue efforts to strengthen enforcement along the southwest border, remove loopholes in current law that invites manipulation of our laws, and shut down the job magnet that encourages individuals to enter our country illegally .” When I really mean this (you can’t hide from...