Hey, look what news the cat dragged in over the weekend, as I was busy between Anaheim Democrats & my concert: our old friend Josh Newman has dropped out of the race for State Senate and dropped into the race to take the place of Termed-out Tony Thurmond as state superintendent of education. First this has to be great news to Avelino Valencia who woulda faced an unpleasant race against Josh, as well as for the DPOC which would have experienced a tough intra-party battle (not “inter-party” as the Register wrote, but I’m sure that’s not the journalist’s mistake but the editor’s – editors always think they’re so smart!)
Only anti-education knuckle-draggers will be voting for extremist Sonja Shaw (terror of the Chino Valley USD) but Josh’s serious challenger (so far) is Torrance Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, chair of the Education Committee and former school board member. Josh on the other hand chaired the Senate Education Committee, so maybe that’s an even match-up.
Still… what Josh told the Register seemed kind of vague – we need to “improve education across the board,” we need to “take a different approach,” we need to look around the country for “best practices.” I’ve got a call into Josh, whom this blog supported from the 2016 beginning when the DPOC was trying to impose a bland obedient carpetbagger into his Senate district. So, you guys have any questions for Josh? I’d like to ask him what he would do differently from Thurmond, and what distinguishes him from Muratsuchi.
And congratulations to the inexorably ascending Avelino – morgen die ganze Welt!
Meanwhile, CHINA. This blog is not in the habit of complimenting any authoritarian, repressive governments, even for little things. But now that we’re living under one ourselves, the moral lines are not so clear. And we can’t help but appreciate that China’s (and the EU’s) retaliatory tariffs on the US are targeted at the products of RED STATES, states that voted for Trump. Smart and fair, that! We didn’t start this shit in California and New York, and the world knows it.
Trump’s justifications for his tariff war against the world are always shifting, and maybe is IS all about enabling insider trading and wringing personal favors out of businesses and governments. But one of the administration’s most common justifications is bringing manufacturing back to the US, the reindustrialization of America. And China finds this concept fucking hilarious, as expressed in these TikToks:
Chinese memes on American re-industrialization rolling in. lol the music. 😂 pic.twitter.com/GZE2jHDgWZ
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) April 7, 2025
The Chinese made another American re-industrialisation meme 😂pic.twitter.com/IJoMZmAxHA
— ADAM (@AdameMedia) April 10, 2025
Another win for the internet! pic.twitter.com/3tqUiyFXrs
— Travis Matthew (@Matthewtravis08) April 10, 2025
As Trump (the choice of half of American voters) destroys America one good thing at a time, we may as well have a little laugh here and there, to cling to our sanity. At last month’s Anaheim budget hearing Norma Kurtz and others mentioned how one cause of our tourist-dependent town’s growing deficit is the fact that tourists from Canada and elsewhere in the world, who used to like to come for a one-or-two-week Disneyland vacation, no longer feel like coming to America at all, due to Trump’s tariffs and other sundry provocations and insults. Norma wondered how Visit Anaheim, our tourist agency, could address this. I humbly suggested:
I think Visit Anaheim should broadcast all over Canada and the rest of the civilized world that nobody in Anaheim voted for Donald Trump, we’re embarrassed by him, we disagree with all his policies, and we’ll neutralize* him as soon as we can. And if anyone in Anaheim disagrees you should probably keep quiet. We depend on tourist bucks here, and the world’s good will.
*politically duh.
One last good thing I found this week on Twitter: MAGAts find this short video of AOC dancing on a rooftop to be disturbing, embarrassing, unprofessional, unserious, disqualifying. The rest of us can’t stop watching.
You MAGA bitches thought this video made AOC look…bad??? pic.twitter.com/dfce7vPXhh
— Brian Baez (@MentallyDivine) April 5, 2025
I’m getting a lot of these videos. They are all satisfyingly funny.
Josh Newman is a pro Azerbaijani turd.
Newman seems addicted to office holding. Always a bad sign.
Reminds me of Joe Dunn. Usually doesn’t end well.
Your view of Newman is colored (I’d say almost entirely, but I can’t see into your head Thank God) by his having co-sponsored some boilerplate resolution that involved kind words of congratulation for your arch-enemy, Azerbaijan. So you just got to say this once this season, but you don’t necessarily get to keep saying it.
He can’t deny it Greg cuz it’s true. He is a pro-Azerbaijani turd. So tone deaf, he was only one of 3 elected California officials to congratulate Azerbaijan on its Independence Day after their 2020 invasion of Artsakh. The other two
being none other than Farrah Khan and the vice mayor of San Diego, I believe. No Greg, he actually spewed pro Azeri propaganda.
https://youtu.be/1kxbjTj8hH0 (Queue to 10:44)
Notice how Schiff doesn’t say anything about Israel’s complicity or the American Jewish Committee’s support of Azerbaijan leading up to the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh in 2024?
https://www.facebook.com/ancagrassroots/videos/despite-the-horrors-the-armenian-people-have-faced-and-continue-to-face-their-fa/630923886521315/
Palestine baaaaad. Russian ally Azerbaijan good.
Thanks for the tip. Some of these are paraphrases: “First secular democracy in the Muslim world.” “Granted women the vote in 1918” — 10 years before the U.S. did. “Strategist partner with the U.S. against terrorism,” “Opening its airspace to the U.S. for it’s fight in Afghanistan.” “Local economic powerhouse with lots of trade to California.” The first two are actual accomplishments to be proud of (and to ask them to live up to); the others are things that allies appreciate. The one that explains the most to me is their support for the U.S. in Afghanistan — which Newman, as an Army veteran who served there — would especially appreciate.
I can recognize those historic accomplishments as great examples without using them as a basis to ignore any crimes committed against Armenians. I can recognize those levels of support for our country’s better policies without saying that they were right to take Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. But, for you, anyone who does not take your position wholly becomes an enemy — which leaves you with a lot of enemies and few actual accomplishments.
As for complaining about Azerbaijan’s asserted alliance with Russia — Armenia has been a Russian ally as well. So let’s first establish that you think that that is a bad thing — and then perhaps we can explore which country is more stained by it.
Nice jab at Schiff, though. You should write him directly.
Lauren Johnson Norris ditched the ocasio and sanders show in downtown la this weekend for Las Vegas. How progressive (slots) of her. Big dem supporter she is. Big. Huge.
https://www.instagram.com/laurenjohnsonnorris/p/DIVIVOFJjrN/
Remedial English class is now assembled! “Ditched” would be appropriate if she had gone to the show and then stormed out in a huff. If she went somewhere else instead, she “skipped” it or forewent it. I forewent the show because I have already seen them both, knew it would be streaming, and was pretty sure that they would have no difficulty filling the venue and then some — and was even more sure that I would end up as being among the “then some.”
The problem is Azerbaijan is not democratic. And voting is a joke in Azerbaijan regardless of gender.
https://freedomhouse.org/country/azerbaijan (as of 2025, Azerbaijan is “not free” )
By comparison Armenia ranks far higher than Azerbaijan in political freedom and civil liberties. There really is no comparison. https://freedomhouse.org/country/armenia
So the first two aren’t accomplishments, they are propaganda along with the rest of it.
In 2023, Azerbaijan only exported 45.5 million in goods to all of the United States. Armenia exported 54 million in goods in 2023.
https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/aze/partner/usa
https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/usa/partner/arm
Notice how no other California politicos congratulated Azerbaijan on its Independence Day in 2021, Greg? Why do you think that is.
When they aren’t historic accomplishments, they are propaganda and turd man allowed himself to be employed as an Azeri propaganda blowhorn.
The turd doesn’t appreciate the math. And now he is running for statewide office in a state with a sizeable Armenian American population with a good memory.
Here is Schiff complementing the American Jewish Committee for all the good work they do like spreading pro Azeri propaganda.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13kR6Cii-G5fI8s6AzI_SCvmu7YIMMGzC/view (Queue to 16:44)
https://www.ajc.org/news/ajc-los-angeles-celebrates-virtual-75th-kaufman-family-annual-meeting
https://youtu.be/an8NLDBcDrM (AJC spreading pro Azeri propaganda)
https://youtu.be/85uXSaNuQMk (AJC meets with Aliyev)
https://youtu.be/Rd8B5njskHw (More AJC spreading pro Azeri propaganda)
Newman refers to its being a democracy at its outset. Listen carefully with your ears and mind open: the compliments regarding democratic governance refer to its initial existence. The compliments about since then regard its cooperation on security issues. Even before Trump II, we did not cooperate solely with other democracies on what we have deemed to be security issues.
Why Josh? As I already noted, he spent a long time in infantry battles in Afghanistan — and maybe he actually does credit them from keeping him and his troops safe. Just a conjecture.
Far be it from me to defend the AJC (especially these days) but they too appreciate Azeri help — especially as related to relationships with their regional ally Turkey.
I take it that you will argue that “Armenian propaganda” would have to be an oxymoron. (If you don’t, then what’s your point?) There’s a fine line, after all, between propaganda and public relations. I was thinking of doing some research on Armenia’s support for Putinist Russia — which you seem to overlook — but frankly I like Armenia (although not *every single* Armenian I encounter) and don’t have the heart for it as present.
“As I already noted, he spent a long time in infantry battles in Afghanistan”
LIE
Josh NEVER saw a single battle. Document this.
He was in the NAVY.
Please explain, defend and document this claim.
I will Out Myself and his ****** who I am close to.
Greg, that is BULLSHIT in the first degree.
Ask Mr. Newman to show his service record. Not his MULTI-MILLIONARE insurance executive wifes resume.
Game on FATSO.
I fished this out of our trash folder not so people could see how bad our trash stinks (because this is in the lower half of offensiveness), but because Tito Watch offers to OUT HIMSELF if he is wrong that Josh Newman served in the Navy rather than the Army.
No, Jay Chen is the OJB favorite in races in North OC districts who served in the Navy. Josh served in the Army. You know that it was not the Navy because Afghanistan is notoriously landlocked! As for never being in a battle — no, that’s JD Vance. Josh will be able to see this comment and decide what he’d like to do in response. Personally, I’d enjoy seeing his service record — it can only help him.
It is not a democracy and it became part of the Soviet Union in Apr of 1920 where it remained until roughly 1991. It has had three leaders since then. Aliyev and his father (former kgb officer) and Democratically elected leader for about 2 years that preceded the Aliyev family before he was overthrown: The current vice president is Aliyev’s wife. You are talking nonsense.
Coca Cola is older than the Azeri nation.
It’s a democracy like carob chips are chocolate.
You are responding to a comment where I explicitly said that I did not classify it as a democracy.
Coca-Cola is inarguably older than the Azeri state. But the age of the nation depends upon when people started to consider themselves specifically Azeri. And you, frankly, are not the source I’d depend upon to answer that question.
Carville calls for a progressives to split from the Democratic Party over pronoun politics. That group is poison. Toxic!!!
https://www.foxnews.com/media/james-carville-suggests-split-left-over-pronoun-politics.amp
Carville is toxic — but you must love him because he’s such a faithful booster of AIPAC. Oh, wait…
The fun AOC dance was part of a recruitment video for Boston University, from which she graduated with honors with a double major in international relations and economics — making her more qualified than the relevant members of Trump’s candidate.
Far from being embarrassing, I expect that it prompted a lot of young people to — [reads notes; rubs eyes and reads notes again] matriculate!
Ding Dong the Chamber’s Dead.
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/04/15/anaheim-chamber-of-commerce-will-close-at-months-end-ceo-has-told-board-and-staff/
Real shame they didn’t lock more of them up.
After all those years of not representing businesses in Anaheim. What a shame. Mrs. Cunningham’s brilliant business acumen couldn’t save it.
Ukrainians considered Armenia a safe haven after the invasion. They fled there. Look it up.
Show me some Armenian propaganda?? The U.S. government is still telling Armenia it needs to work on its democracy. Lol!!
Why don’t you research how many Ukrainians went to Azerbaijan or Armenia after the invasion. And Ukraine doesn’t recognize the Armenian genocide but Ukrainians sure love Armenia.
How are we doing in Afghanistan again ???
And, Newman used to play the Armenians before he played the Azeris.
“Senators on the select committee are Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, Tony Mendoza, Josh Newman and Scott Wilk”
https://ancawr.org/press-release/california-senate-establishes-select-committee-on-california-armenia-and-artsakh-mutual-trade-art-and-cultural-exchange/
https://www.instagram.com/cafa_azerbaijan/p/Bgg7A7aA7Oy/?img_index=1
https://losangeles.mfa.gov.az/en/news/california-azerbaijan-friendship-association-hosts-a-well-attended-novruz-celebration (now Amna Qazi is a colleague of Farrah Khan – this link explains the Instagram post above)
WTF is this?
I think that you’re asking me why Christians would prefer to flee to a predominantly Christian (Eastern Orthodox, even!) state as opposed to a predominantly Muslim state. I expect that you can figure it out given that clue.
We lost the war in Afghanistan; it was in all of the papers. Are you trying to tar American troops in general for that — or just Newman?
Maybe when Newman was on that committee he was not “playing the Armenians” but merely promoting trade with California from pretty much anyone interested in it. (In fact, that’s pretty obviously what he was doing.)
You’re getting more unhinged these days.
Hey, the Chamber was servic — uh, *serving* at least TWO Anaheim businesses right up until the very end!
Yeah, the irony that the Chamber never gave a rat’s ass about Anaheim’s thousand non-Disney, non-Angels businesses was lost on a lot of people.
Wow — alive since 1895 and now it will be dead due to greed and incompetence.
And here I thought that we were only letting greed and incompetence kill off things from 1775!
You know what might be a good idea? If someone started up an organization that would support the interests of SMALL businesses in Anaheim. I’ve heard that such things existed — but for some reason the name escapes me.
I can’t find any articles about Azerbaijan providing refuge to Russians opposed to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/13/russia-emigres-putin-war-ukraine-armenia
https://washdiplomat.com/a-year-into-ukraine-war-armenia-reaps-benefits-of-russian-it-influx/
https://armenia.un.org/en/241551-assessment-among-citizens-russian-federation-ukraine-and-belarus-living-armenia?afd_azwaf_tok=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiJ9.eyJhdWQiOiJhcm1lbmlhLnVuLm9yZyIsImV4cCI6MTc0NDc3MTg2MSwiaWF0IjoxNzQ0NzcxODUxLCJpc3MiOiJ0aWVyMS03NmNjNTY5ZGRjLXY0dHY2Iiwic3ViIjoiMzI2OjgwOjQwOjY4YzozOWY4OmEzMTQ6YWUzMDo4NTYxIiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0eXBlIjoiaXNzdWVkIiwicmVmIjoiMjAyNTA0MTZUMDI1MDUxWi0xNzZjYzU2OWRkY3Y0dHY2aEMxTEFYa2Y3czAwMDAwMDAxcmcwMDAwMDAwMDFuYXQiLCJiIjoiUmhQU1JNT3Vpc2kzcElWOUNOUEswNk1LRS16M2dJbWN0Q3R5Rk9lLUswWSIsImgiOiJVWWRyeHBoaV8tc0tMRERxVHRRaWdmUTVVN3VKZFVBY180bWd3TU9XLXBzIn19.p3OO6wVtFOyWOw5yAW47JMD0brLjByJIDXEJKgvv1CRWjZ9mlLGYS8ADKXMNEroHfxbSO-Dysw-0iipL1hs818KmpX48r7IH10axu0muIpgsctylpE3PwspZBL8PNHLwbEK5P9Kpx2HBGQfxszSeDiLCvBtC3dQ3lNzBZzD_1Qpj-XGuJw2CcQaIQcYjZ7WgmE62B6r1lpjlXz0XkQ0zKGk-7cssHgbKByNQ-1TtgvUV1uqPN2gwVjbNxx6_ciII72tv_0oFQQZt_ZAkPisgl3BtpP-GvIcUHuCsWOXGsbtOhsoctG3-XyWFC3-PPnzsUkUCn7TIW7jOZxQJOuITKw.WF3obl2IDtqgvMFRqVdYkD5s
Nope they chose Armenia over Azerbaijan.
Of interest now that El Salvador and its President, self-annointed “world’s coolest dictator” Nayib Bukele are in the news is Lou Correa’s trip (as one of two Democrats) to Bukele’s second inauguration. Lou’s social media is an endless parade of grip-and-grin photos with everyone who comes through his office door; how long ’til his interns have the presence of mind to scrub this one:
https://correa.house.gov/news/press-releases/readout-correa-travels-to-el-salvador-for-inauguration-of-president-nayib-bukele
Lou is also a member (again, as one of two Democrats) of the Congressional “El Salvador caucus”, founded by former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. The caucus seems mainly to exist in order to whitewash Bukele — for example, petitioning the State Department to lower travel restrictions against El Salvador, claiming it to be “the safest country in the Western Hemisphere”:
https://www.legistorm.com/stormfeed/view_rss/2407382/member/3136/title/congressional-el-salvador-caucus-requests-state-department-to-downgrade-el-salvadors-travel-advisory-to-normal-precautions.html
Lou has an awful lot of strange bedfellows for a dude with a safe seat for life.
The only conclusion to be drawn is that he likes unaccountable cops, Big Pharma, Zionists, AIPAC, and the like.
In other words: Business as Usual Democrat.
Too late. Added the URL to the screenshot too. Thanks for the heads-up!
Bukele has one of the most fascinating Wikipedia pages I’ve ever seen. Son of a Palestinian Christian who converted to Islam, started four mosques in El Salvador and became an Imam. (His mother was Eastern Orthodox, no country specified.) Was an early supporter and member of the Faribundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), who were the left-wing opposition in the “Dirty War” of the late 70s and 80s. Later turned hard-right — and apparently negotiated with (though is opposed to) the criminal gang MS-13 that Trump is often blathering about and to which he has accused the governmentally kidnapped American Kilmar Abrego Garcia of belonging.
I’m wondering if Lou has really shot himself in the (choose body part south of the navel) with this. Could he be vulnerable now?
See if this shows:
It does.
Except Correa has the second largest number constituencies of Salvadorians outside that Country.
In fact, he can often be seen eating the delicious papusas in DTSA.
Are Salvadoran constituents here favorable towards a Salvadoran dictator there? Not a rhetorical question.
Have you seen President Bukake’s approval ratings? Worldwide & in El Salvador?
You mean this?
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-popularity-gangs-rcna201335
He’s popular in El Salvador in part because, frankly, it’s not safe to answer a public opinion poll any other way.
I don’t know about his world popularity. I’d be surprised if most people had an opinion at all, with most of the rest of people’s opinions might be a few microns thick. He is handsome, suave, charming, intelligent, and persuasive — which would make him a great serial killer if he weren’t more interested in doing the killing in bulk.
But I guess that Lou should definitely embrace him as hard as he can! Go for it, Lou! Reach for the middle — where the entrails are!
Just noticed your take on his name. You scamp!
I got that from one of my favorite Twitter accounts, the (satirical) Rep. Jack Kimble.
He blamed it on “auto-correct”… auto-correct correcting to a word he types too often.
And because of that, the rest of us who are also his constituents are just supposed to be cool with this?
Presumably his excuse for being a “Blue Dog” and doing nothing in the face of Trump is that he has to keep his Republican constituents happy, but I’m not pleased with that, either.
There must be a certain circle of Hell reserved for people who didn’t have any reason to do the wrong thing, but did it anyway.