D-Day Remembered

Yesterday was the 69th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion at the beaches in Normandy France.
It also happened to be the day of our month meeting of my local California Republican Assembly chapter. As President, I took the opportunity to remember the soldiers that participated in this assault; especially the 9,000 men that lost their lives that day.

Launching the invasions from bases in England, I can’t help but think that for at least some of these men, the last thing they prayed was the Anglican Prayer In the time of War and Tumults from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

O ALMIGHTY God, King of all kings, and Governor of all things, whose power no creature is able to resist, to whom it belongeth justly to punish sinners, and to be merciful to those who truly repent; Save and deliver us, we humbly beseech thee, from the hands of our enemies; abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their devices; that we, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore from all perils, to glorify thee, who art the only giver of all victory; through the merits of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We then had a moment of silence and began our meeting.

Switching Windows Phone 8 from Hotmail to Outlook

Moving my email from Hotmail.com to Outlook.com has involved some preplanning and a few minor heartaches. Here is what I have done and experienced thus far. I hope this will be helpful to others that plan to do likewise in the future.

I use my Windows Live account—or whatever Microsoft wants to call it these days—on my Windows 8 PC and my Windows 8 Phone. I found an article that claimed that by following their instructions that you can switch to a new Microsoft Account and keep your app purchases. Their method was to transfer everything from one Live account to another via an XBOX 360. I followed the instructions on the article found here
http://www.wpcentral.com/guide-how-get-new-live-id-and-keep-all-your-windows-phone-app-purchases

After following the instructions in the link above, this is what I experienced.
My XBOX points moved from one account to the other but moving the phone purchases was a bust. Only two apps have moved from the old account to the new. One was an old version of angry Birds which says it is no longer available for download and a tower defense game called SwampDefense. I had made a list of all apps on my phone prior to moving accounts so I know what I should have. After doing the Factory Reset as instructed in the link above, I found and installed the free apps that I had previously had on my phone. Many of my paid apps were originally downloaded at times when there was either a free introductory offer or they were on sale in the Store. Some posts I have read said that it can take up to three days for apps to be moved. I don’t think this is going to work, but I’m only halfway thru the three day time period.

*****
Update #1
About three and a half days after the switch, another group of old apps appears on my purchase history. However, there is still a gap from August of 2012 to June of 2013.This of course is the period that I most want to reinstall. Also, note on old entries that while the apps are on the list, the word “Purchase” does not appear in the payment column.

Secondly, when I log into Hotmail—my old phone account—I see all purchases for both the Outlook and Hotmail accounts. Also, the Hotmail log in shows Other Phones as an option on the account. This gives me some hope that the switch is still in progress.

Upon further review however, I found the other device listed was my old HTC Trophy phone. It was not removed from my Hotmail account when I bought the HTC 8X.
*****

Other posts that I read said that you will have the apps available but must go thru the motions to purchase the apps again and once you hit buy, the phone will say you have already purchased the app and can then download it without paying. This has not been my experience. I tried and ended-up buying an app that I had previously purchased.

I will not say that this method never worked but it certainly does not any more…at least as advertised.

Changing the login on the Windows 8 PC seemed easy enough. I changed from a Microsoft account to a local account. Once that process was completed, I then attached the computer login to the new Live account. The first change that I noticed was that my list of recent documents in Microsoft Office was reset and I had to setup my email accounts again. I don’t have any purchased apps in Windows 8 so I don’t know if they followed or not. If the few apps that I have installed still function and update then I think it is safe to assume that they are OK.

I went thru my list of usernames and passwords and updated my email information. In some cases, I could update them using the PC and test the change by logging into the app on my phone. An example of this would be Amazon.com where your email address is part of your login to the site.

The other issue I have with Hotmail is that there is no way to cancel the auto renewal of the account using any Microsoft website. You can either plan ahead by setting up the default credit card with one that will expire before the renewal date or outright cancel the account. There is no way to revert back to a free account without contacting MSFT. I am trying to use an email support feature buried deep in the bowels of the support website to see if they will cancel the automatic renewal but I have yet to hear from them.

*****
Update #2
Surprisingly, within about an hour, I received a reply from Microsoft and with a few more emails was able to cancel the auto renewal of my Hotmail account.
*****

The other Windows Phone question that I had was related to phone updates to the BIOS and Operating System. What happens when you do a complete reset of the phone? Do updates need to be installed again—like I would after using a PC restore disk—or do the master restore files get updated as part of the updating process? Surprisingly, the updates appear to be permanently installed. I never needed to update the BIOS or Operating System following the reset. Manually running the Check for Updates feature for the phone OS, states that the phone is up to date.

About twenty hours after I did the phone reset, I got a batch of updates that were phone specific for audio and other features. This update notification was via the Store.

Transferring my TechNet subscription was the simplest part. I just clicked on a link for this purpose and followed the steps. This was the most painless part of the whole process. My only concern was that after I was done, I could log on with my new account but the box with my name in it still was showing my old email address. Changing the TechNet login however does not change the email address of any Microsoft newsletters to which you may have subscribed.

My Resignation from Boy Scouts

Last night was the night I have been dreading for many days. I finally responded to the Scout vote last week and sent in my resignation to my local Pack.

Before I wrote my resignation email, I sat down with my son and explained why he and daddy needed to leave Scouting. I tried to explain the vote in simple terms without getting into specifics. I told him that the Scouts had adopted policies that were contrary to what Jesus taught us. He was not satisfied with such a vague reason so I tried a different tack.

Then I said that marriage was between one man and one woman. He agreed with this. Then I asked him about the principal at the school where mommy worked. I said he is a man and is married to another man. My son understood that this was wrong. I said the Scouts have changed their policy to permit such behavior and said that this is OK.

At this point he began crying. I asked him why? His response was that he could never be an Eagle Scout and that would make it much harder to be President when he grows up.( He wants to be President so he can undo all the bad stuff that Obama has done to our country.) I told him that instead we would have “daddy scouts”; I would have to take him camping and fishing and do more stuff with him. I told him that some people were trying to organize a Christian replacement for Scouting but I don’t know how far they will get by the time school starts up next fall. He was happier with this explanation. Then I sent him to bed and sat down and wrote my letter to the Pack leader.

I told the Pack leader that I was leaving but offered to allow time for a second signer to be added to the checking account. As Treasurer I support the two signature rule on expenditure of funds. Yes I know I’m showing more grace to the Scouts than they showed to me but I don’t directly blame the local Pack for the turmoil caused by the national organization. In my letter I stated that we would be at the meeting tonight to watch my son advance to the rank of Bear. He earned it. (This advancement was supposed to be last week before the vote but was changed at the last minute.) Following the meeting tonight, I will be done with Scouts.

Today I sent a letter to my son’s private Christian school to ask them to prevent Scouts from using their facilities unless the Pack breaks away from the BSA. This will be interesting to see how the school and its sponsoring church handle this situation. The Pack has been permitted to use the school facilities as long as some members are from the school—many children in the Pack attend local public schools.

Prior to tonight’s meeting, I will see if I can find some information to give to parents about the vote. The national organization kept the local scout council in a virtual news blackout leading up to the vote and no information was circulated to them or to any of the local Packs. The policy change was engineered in secret because it was the only way that advocates could get it passed. This vote also flipped scouts from a grassroots organization to a top-down one. Look for the BSA to consolidate this power in the coming months.

The Last of the Boy Scouts

Sometimes I forget that the only institution that will go on forever is the Church. Other institutions ordained by God like marriage and the United States of America have expiration dates.

Yesterday, another human institution that I valued greatly died. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) committed suicide and barely anyone noticed. The silence of conservative pundits and the media leading up to yesterday’s vote was deafening. The passing of the Scouts from traditional and dare I say “biblical values” to the toxin of tolerance and openness cannot be undone. Moral relativism claimed another victim.

Scouting is dead. The national leadership is celebrating the passing of the old values. The death of Scouting as measured by declining membership will not be seen for several months. The Pack that I am leaving as Den Leader and Treasurer does not renew its membership until January of next year.

With so many other youth options where homosexual lifestyles are not forced on me or my son, I think we will do fine without BSA. I think I will be doing daddy activities with my son to fill the vacuum. I’m calling what I plan to do “daddy scouts”. We will join other youth activities and do some family camping.

The really sad part of all this is that the people that killed Scouting have no interest in making Scouting a better organization. They really hate any organization that holds to the belief that homosexuality is wrong and that children should have an environment where they are safe from being exposed to it.

The corpse of Boy Scouts may be around for several more years but the goodness and life that once animated it are gone. Maybe a representative of BSA can do a walk-on during the next season of “The Walking Dead”. A bullet in the writhing corpse would be a quicker end than the one we will see as this plays out.

Scouts Vote Tomorrow

Today might be the last day that the Boy Scouts of America can claim to be morally straight. Tomorrow, the institution that once exemplified the America of Norman Rockwell is expected to commit suicide in the name of political correctness. Like many, I think only divine intervention can stop this madness; however, God may not withhold His judgment from yet another fallen institution in a nation that has turned its back on Him.

2006 Jeep Liberty Ignition Switch

Over all, I like my Jeep Liberty but I have had a few vehicle problems during my 106,000 miles. Some were manufacturer defects and a few were just wear and tear.

The first problem that I encountered was the tail lights. I used to go thru light bulbs as often as every three days. What I finally figured out is that the plastic inside the tail lights was touching the bulbs. The heat from the bulbs touching the plastic inside the light fixture caused the plastic to melt to the bulbs and they would break the bulbs—probably due to vibration—and the bulb would need replacing. Over a series of months, I used needle-nosed pliers to break out all the loose plastic inside the light fixtures. Once all plastic was removed, the bulbs worked properly.

The braking system was made using cheap parts. I had to replace rotors and pads after a few off-road trips. They go too hot and warped like crazy.

Also, the rear window motor on the driver’s side went out. The dealer charged $400 to replace it.

I have experienced the infamous key getting jammed in the ignition and not being able to remove it. This appears to be a frequent complaint of Jeep owners. I found many complaints on the Internet.

My latest adventure began with turning the ignition key and not being able to start the vehicle. Then the next time I would try, it would start right up. The last time this happened, my Jeep ran fine for two weeks before giving me trouble again. The only thing I noticed was that I had to turn the key as far as it would go and it would then start. The key movement was not right.

Well finally this week-end, it just died on me. I went to the local auto parts store and they advised me that intermittent problems—especially electrical ones—were the worst. The advice I was given was to bear with it until something failed completely and check the Internet for others experiencing similar problems.

Well, yesterday evening, the key mechanism failed completely. There was absolutely no resistance when I turned the key. Whatever happened, the break in the ignition system was no longer intermittent. When this happened, two lights on my dash board and the radio came on. I knew from reading the Internet that I needed to disconnect the battery until the issue was repaired.

I went only the Internet and found this entry. http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/ignition-switch-pin-actuator-repair-1378503/  The problem that I experienced was the actuator pin assembly was broken. The URL above described my problem and it includes a link to a video on how to remove and replace the broken part. The vehicle in the video, however is a PT Cruiser and not a Jeep. I would like to explain the differences between the video and the Jeep Liberty.

Broke Actuator Assembly—Metal Shard at Top—and Key Cylinder

First, the housing around the steering column is attached with two T-20 screws. They are recessed in two square holes on the bottom side of the cover, closest to the steering wheel. The top cover has some wires attached so it must be pushed out of your way.

Next difference from the video, the assembly for turn signals, wipers, etc. that is shown with T-20 screws in the video, just sits on top of two pegs on the steering column.

You need to remove three T-10 security screws to complete the disassembly. One screw is in the starter switch. This is the square box on the left side of the steering wheel with lots of wires running to it. The actuator assembly has two screws holding it in place. I found a small mirror came in handy when looking for the screws. I could remove them without crawling under the steering wheel.

Once I removed the assembly and inspected things, I noticed that the metal portion of the actuator was broken-off where it goes into the ignition switch. I required some needle-nosed pliers to remove a broken piece of metal from the switch. For some reason, I was unable to locate a second piece that was broken off of the actuator.

In total, it took ten minutes to locate the tools and remove the actuator assembly. I am writing this blog while waiting for the part to be delivered from the warehouse to my local auto parts store.

The part arrived from AutoZone an hour earlier than promised. Aligning the key cylinder with the actuator was a pain. It took several attempt to get it aligned. Once both pieces are inserted into the steering column, you do not get all key movements. You get both Off and a large, slushy On zone. After the ignition switch has been installed the movement gets better, but not until the actuator cover is screwed in place will you get all the proper key positions. Please note that the spring that must be installed with the cover must be correctly aligned or the cover will not fit over the actuator properly. Also, the tiny pin in the cover kept falling out and I had to hunt it down at least twice on the carpeting of the vehicle.

I hooked up the battery and the Jeep started just as it should. Then I had to program the radio and clock and now I’m back on the road. Cost of my part was higher than the Internet prices. Including tax, I paid $44.27. Elapse time was less than an hour.

Review: Ice Age Village

Ice Age Village, based on the popular movie franchise, is a fun way to waste hours on your phone or tablet device. It is a game that is fun for the whole family. Best of all, it’s free.

I’m running the game on both my Windows Phone and Kindle tablet. The Android version is a bit slow on my first generation Kindle Fire. The game has a slight lag and catching Scrat is difficult. The experience on the Windows Phone is smooth and the display allows you to see more of the village on your screen at one time.

You purchase or earn various little animated animal families or entertainment venues for the animals in your village to enjoy. Based on your village configuration, you earn revenue from each thing in your village except items that give you bonuses. A family is complete when you have two adults and two children. It is somewhat disconcerting that all animals reproduce from eggs in this game but it does allow for conversations with children when you explain that Pandas and Llamas don’t really lay eggs.

Windows Phone 8 Screen Capture

The Social Network portion of the game is buggy and does not work as it should. Also, if you get your village up to a Five Star rating in all areas, it will reportedly crash the game. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.

Getting acorns in the game is difficult and clicking on items that you can’t afford will take you to a screen offering to sell you acorns for cash. Password the ability to purchase via credit card before turning the gaming device over to your children.

Below are two links with further information and cheat codes to get some quick cash early on in the game.

http://www.wpcentral.com/ice-age-village-guide
http://www.wpcentral.com/ice-age-village-review-windows-phone

Mormons Betray Boy Scouts

The other issue near and dear to me lately has been Boy Scouts. I have been a Den Leader for the last year. I am supposed to be the next pack treasurer. Yet, at the national level, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) are posturing themselves in such a way that I may have to reconsider my commitments to scouting.

In May, BSA will be voting on whether to overturn a one hundred year commitment to traditional family values. BSA leadership is trying to force the acceptance of openly homosexual members. About ten years ago, BSA went all the way to the US Supreme Court to fight for the right not to be forced into accepting homosexuals. Since that time, many top leadership positions have been captured by pro-homosexual people.

On Friday, people wishing to keep scouting rules as they are were dealt a big blow by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons). The LSD church released a lukewarm endorsement of the change in policy to allow homosexuals into scouting. The Mormons are the single largest sponsor of scouting in the United States. The third largest group, the Methodist Church, capitulated on homosexuality decades ago. This leaves the only holdouts as the second largest sponsor, the Southern Baptist Convention.

The LDS sell-out moved the policy from likely to fail to likely to pass.

Strangely enough, I have yet to hear a single conservative talk show host come out in support of scouting. While I don’t listen to talk radio 24/7, I think it would be noteworthy if Limbaugh or someone came out with a full throated endorsement of the current policy. Scouting as a traditional American institution is about to go over the cliff and they all know it, yet remain silent.

I have no desire for my elementary school aged son to hear about Heather having two mommies or daddies. I also have no desire for my son to go on an overnight scouting trip where he could be forced to sleep in the same tent with an older boy wishing to have sex with him.

Currently all leaders in scouting are required to go thru youth protection training every two years. This is so children will be kept safe from pedophiles. Now BSA wants to force our children to be with such people in the name of diversity as long as they are under 18 years old. Are they nuts? And the goodie two shoes LDS church thinks this is wonderful?

I am old enough to remember when the Mormons first allowed black people into their ranks. It was in the midst of Jimmy Carter’s human rights campaign when all of the sudden the LDS President got a revelation that blacks are no longer under divine curse and can be admitted to full membership in the church. It was like a page from Orwell’s 1984 as the church doctrine on this point was radically changed and all the sheep in Salt Lake went along without skipping a beat.

This appears to be the same thing, Salt Lake is out of step with pop culture and magically will conform so they don’t seem to backwards to the unchurched masses that they hope to recruit.

If this policy passes I will pull my son from scouting and resign as treasurer of the pack. My son is in private school so he won’t be exposed to all the perversion found in public schools and about to be forced upon him if he remains in scouts. Either that or the pack breaks away from BSA and goes it alone. I think that too many parents will resist the second option.

CRA Aftermath: A New Hope

Celeste Greig was on display this week-end in all her glory. As the President of a statewide organization, her behavior during the Convention of the California Republican Assembly these last few days has been akin to that of a petulant child and not the leader of “the conscience of the Republican Party.”

Friday during the final Board meeting she presided over before Sunday’s election of officers, she had the boldness to ignore the agenda and deny certain officers the right to give committee reports because she had personal differences with them. She simply skipped the agenda items and declared that the meeting was adjourned.

Also, despite many promises, those thrown off the Board due to missing the illegally noticed March meeting were not reinstated. However, two new people were added to the Board.

Lastly, Celeste tried to clarify her infamous comments on rape. All she really did was double-down on the same comments made at the CRP convention.

Later on Friday, despite the best efforts of Steve Frank and Bill Cardoza, Celeste-who appointed the members of the Credentials Committee-was unable to gain any meaningful advantage from this body. The fate of seven chapters was debated. Three of the chapters never sent any delegates so no action was taken on them. Frank was only able to bring up three chapters for challenge. Fresno, Kings and Ventura RAs were challenged. Frank hoped not to allow their delegates to be seated. Fresno and Kings were settled quickly. Frank was beat back in his vigorous efforts to refuse the newly formed Ventura RA chapter from being seated. The evil club from Santa Clarita was only able to seat one delegate. The list they submitted only had one valid delegate and no alternates. Their bylaws require delegates live within their territory and three of the submitted names were not seated as a result of violating this provision. The net result was that the stage was set for a fair fight on the day of the election. One Sunday, turnout would be the key to the CRA Presidential election.

On Sunday, Celeste started the meeting with the report of the President. During her report, the CRA banner that was hanging on the wall behind and above her head fell off of the wall. It was never re-hung. I took this as a bad omen for her.

Celeste Greig about one minute before banner fell

Shortly thereafter, voting took place followed by several overly long committee reports on Bylaw changes and Resolutions. These reports were placed in this part of the program to allow all ballots to be counted. In the midst of the Bylaw reports, Steve Frank approached Celeste-who was seated at the front of the room next to the podium—and whispered into her ear. A few minutes later, she left and never returned.

After the Resolution Committee reports were completed, the election results were announced. Results were given in the opposite order of the ballot. This allowed the Presidential results to be announced last. There were 164 people eligible to vote; however, two did not. Celeste Greig received 78 votes and challenger John Briscoe received 84 votes.

Typically, at this point in the process, the outgoing President will congratulate the winner, pledge support and offer help during the transition. Greig did none of this. As I found out later, she had checked out of her hotel room and left the convention long before the results were announced. Such behavior is all anyone needs to know about her character. This display of contempt for the CRA and what it stands for is inexcusable.

I subsequently learned that last time Greig lost an election that she dropped out of the CRA for about eight years before re-appearing. This is the behavior one expects from a child not someone that is in their seventies and is a veteran of the political process.

Greig is the first sitting CRA President to loose since the Nixon era.

Most of Grieg’s geriatric supporters also disappeared. I think many will not attend another CRA event. The only exception might be Steve Frank. Frank for the first time in many years is off the Board. He was the lone looser in the race for Vice-President. There ended up being six VP openings and seven candidates.

Briscoe was quick to introduce more transparency in the Board and also more accountability for Board members. Jobs were given to VPs and Senate District Directors. Two clubs were de-chartered and four were referred to the newly established Chapter Review Committee. A new era has begun in CRA. Perhaps the post Alby era has begun.

The Empire Strikes Back: Part 5

Darth Vader exercised his will at CRA Convention

“Up from the grave he arose;
With a mighty triumph o’er his foes;”
Or so the old hymn goes;
Bob Haueter thinks he knows;
Why Park stepped on his toes.

Bob Haueter as you may recall was one of the problem folks named by George Park that was listed as a current member of the evil Santa Clarita CRA chapter. The only problem is that Bob moved to Texas many months ago and thus is ineligible to be a member of CRA. Anyway, Bob has done his best impression as a guest on “The Walking Dead” and fired-off a lengthy tome from beyond the CRA grave yesterday to give his side of the story. His “Tales from the Crypt” is an interesting read but falls short in many places.

In his letter, Bob makes many admissions against interest. He thinks they bolster his case when in fact they prove Park was right. Due to its length, I won’t go thru the whole thing but I will point out the contentions that caught my eye.

Bob opens with this salutation, “Greetings fellow CRA members”. This salutation is part of the problem, BOB thinks he is still a CRA member and so does his club. Since by his own admission, he resides in Texas, Bob cannot be a member of CRA. Sorry Bob but our Bylaws are really clear on that issue.

Bob laments that we are having an internal struggle and then says,

Is it any wonder there aren’t any state wide elected Republicans, or that the State Assembly and State Senate are controlled by Democrat super majorities and the State’s Congressional Delegation has been reduced to just 15 members out of 53?

So what’s the fight about? In reality it will be a battle of distinctions without differences.  The real issue will be who controls, for their own narrow self interest the endorsement of the CRA.

OK; so it is all CRA’s fault that the Democrats have cleaned our clocks and own the State? No, it’s more complicated than that; however Barbara Alby and her followers are complicit in the decline we have experienced. (See my blog article on Gary North v Barbara Alby.) The current fight is the old Alby forces fighting for control v the post Alby membership.

The next paragraph is another admission against interest if you parse it just a little. “The real issue will be who controls, for their own narrow self interest the endorsement of the CRA.” The only contention of controlling endorsements for self interested reasons made thus far in this controversy is that Bob’s former employer, Congressman Buck McKeon and some fellow travelers in CRA leadership (Greig and Frank), have manipulated endorsements. Bob tells us more about what he and his friends have done in the past and how he really views CRA. CRA is to be controlled by the political elites to get endorsements.

Sorry Bob, I joined CRA so I could be the one endorsing the folks that I feel best represent my values not so I can grant legitimacy to candidates and consultants that try to buy CRA endorsements. I thought that is what we fought Karen England about two years ago. We purged many clubs funded by candidates and consultants but not all.

I joined the CRA in 1979.  At the time our party was controlled by a group of go along get alongs. Unfortunately CRA was part of the problem, “The Conscience of the Republican Party” did not reflect the conservative values it was founded on. It took many years but we succeeded in returning the CRA to a Conservative organization that accurately reflected its heritage and one that we could be proud to be a part of.

Bob here displays the romantic view espoused by Alby that CRA was a conservative organization that she and others helped return to its conservative roots. The fact is that during its history, CRA has been on all sides of many issues. It has been liberal and conservative. It was founded as a “progressive” Republican group. It has been for progressive taxes, flat taxes, consumptions taxes, etc. CRA’s history is not one of principles that are the bedrock of its existence. This paradigm was given to CRA by Alby and her allies.

This weekend you’ll continue to fight amongst yourselves but instead of fighting for conservative values against moderate and liberals, you’ll be fighting against those that wish to use the CRA for a purely personal accumulation of power. A fight where the winner is rewarded with the power to decide who gets our assistance and endorsement and then reaps the rewards from that assistance.

Yet another admission against interest. The winner of the CRA Presidential election “is rewarded with power to decide who gets our assistance and endorsement and then reaps the rewards from that assistance.” OK, Bob first it is not “our assistance” because you are not a member. Second you are talking of a top-down organization not a grassroots one. The President does not decide who gets our assistance. We do not work for the CRA President, we work locally for local candidates that we choose to support, and whether the CRA leadership likes them is irrelevant. We are neither their slaves nor employees. Again CRA is a Grassroots group. Grassroots equals decentralized. Most in CRA do not work to “reap the rewards” unless you think more freedom, less government and, lower taxes is a reward.

Bob then thumps his chest to say how hard he has worked for various politicians. Then he laments,

I am saddened to see the depths that CRA has sunk to. Where personal attacks based on innuendo and manipulated emails are used to attack fellow members just so someone can achieve profit off our organization.

George Park is clearly in mind here. This is a false characterization of Park’s information campaign. Had CRA leadership done its job, Park would not have to go to the Internet to deal with these issues. They were not dealt with in 1998 as I have documented elsewhere on this blog and things got progressively worse. Two years ago was a corrective action but it was not a completed action. Everything Park put out publicly was documented and never refuted by Celeste Greig, Steve Frank or anyone else. Park only used a portion of the stuff that was available to him. It is worse than he stated.

That the day before the convention, Steve Frank has to get a former member from Texas to take up his cause is illustrative of how weak his defense really is. The only person that can “profit off our organization” is Steve Frank not George Park. Frank has a financial interest in the 25th Congressional district during the 2014 election cycle. More on this later.

This latest round of attacks against Celeste Greig and Steve Frank have set new limits…or better put…new lows.  My gosh, Celeste and Steve, they are pillars of our organization with reputations beyond reproach.  When people like Celeste and Steve are attacked its time to question the attackers.

Steve Frank threw Celeste under the bus three weeks ago and now Bob does us the favor of joining them at the hip again. If Celeste is so great why is the only press coverage that she gets for CRA related to rape and Todd Akin? Sorry Bob, no one is “beyond reproach”; ever read Romans 3: 23?

Unfortunately, many in politics build a good reputation early on in their careers and coast on that reputation for the rest of their political lives even when they act contrary to their reputation. We all know politicians that say one thing at election time in their districts and then vote the opposite way in Sacramento or Washington. Celeste Greig and Steve Frank acting contrary to their early reputation in CRA and that conduct is not unusual.

Bob then begins to tell his story about the formation of the Republican Assembly of the Greater Santa Clarita Valley (RAGSCV). This portion of his tome is worth an extended look. Here he is talking about how his faction lost control of the other Santa Clarita RA chapter and were later forced to form their own club.

Unfortunately there were some in town who wanted to control the CRA for its ability to endorse in local elections.  Two of the leaders of this group were Wendy Albright and Alice Khosravy.  They literally bought the election with Alice standing in the parking lot handing out cash to folks they had recruited to become members.  This included folks who weren’t even registered Republicans.  They won by 3 or 4 votes.  We were so disgusted afterwards that we almost quit the CRA.

This is a rather pregnant passage as it once again tells us more about Bob than you might see at first glance. Bob makes Alice sound like some crazy ACORN member trying to buy voted from homeless people by passing out cash in the parking lot. He makes it sound like Alice gives people money, and then they charged into some nearby building and paid their dues, and then voted as instructed.

The only problem with this tale of fraud and woe is those stinking Bylaws don’t allow such conduct. Isn’t it funny that every time someone on Celeste’s side of the controversy says or does something the Bylaws keep getting in their way. Their lament reminds me of Democrats complaining about the Constitution being an obstacle to their utopian dreams.

All CRA chapters require that membership dues must be paid at least 30 days prior to a member being allowed to vote in officer elections. Some clubs even require members joining 60 days in advance. Furthermore, local CRA chapters can reject membership applications to their chapter. This action is subject to review by the State Board.

The irony of the charge of members not being registered to vote is that Bob’s righteous CRA chapter is the only one that lists members not registered to vote and membership of folks residing outside of California. The club he is complaining about is ten times the size of his group and has no such known violations. I know that Park has personally verified the membership of both groups looking for such problems.

The only conclusion that a rational person can draw is that Bob is telling a bald-faced lie that he hopes no one will notice.

Bob then recounts his version of getting his new Santa Clarita club chartered. He omits a few relevant facts but I wish to go on further into his letter as he begins has close. He begins with this premise, for Bob to be correct and Celeste to be righteous then George Park must be lying. Bob then asks why?

Again, within this statement you will find admissions against interest.

Well I can’t tell you precisely why but I can speculate.  It’s been rumored that Congressman Buck McKeon, one of the highest regarded members of Congress and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, may retire at the end of this term. I don’t know.  What I do know is if and when Buck does decide to call it quits there’s going to be a mad scramble to fill the seat.  We only have 15 Republican seats left and they don’t open up that often.  So the CRA’s endorsement in the 25th CD will be important.  Look at the units George is going after: Northridge, RAGSCV and Antelope Valley…all within the 25th CD.  Then, add to that, George comes all the way down from Northern California to help Charter a new unit in Simi Valley…yep its in the 25th CD as well.  That leaves just one question; what’s in it for George?  Why the sudden interest in the 25th CD?  What’s he get for making sure a unit that hates Congressman McKeon, the SCVRA, gets the power to control the endorsement in the 25th CD.  Maybe you should ask him, or his new friends Alice and Wendy.

Buck McKeon’s name just keeps coming up in this controversy. Buck paid many of the dues for members in Bob’s beloved CRA chapter from his vast campaign war chest. (Didn’t Karen England get booted from CRA for facilitating such acts?) This is one of Park’s many complaints about McKeon. Not until this Tuesday’s article in the online version of the San Francisco Chronicle did Greig admit to any ties with McKeon when they reported that Buck has endorsed Celeste.

Bob then goes on to point out that Park has been going after RA chapters in northern L.A. County. Park says they are problems because they are not complying with the rules and Bob implies that Park has a financial interest in the 25th Congressional District.

Bob is missing the elephant in the room with his comments. The problem RA clubs that Park is trying to deal with are the ones geographically closest to where CRA President Celeste Greig and her colleague Steve Frank live. One would think that if Celeste is the dynamic Republican leader that she claims to be in her campaign literature then the clubs that she can interact with the most would be the fastest growing most dynamic clubs in CRA. The fact is that the opposite is true. Celeste no longer even has a local CRA chapter to belong to since her’s died of inactivity many years ago. Steve Frank is also a homeless CRA officer.

Bob also neglects to mention that there are other vibrant CRA clubs in the 25th but they are ones that don’t regularly interact with Frank and Greig; an important omission.

The foremost player in this drama with a financial interest in CD 25 is Steve Frank. Steve is pushing Tony Strickland as the natural heir to Buck McKeon at rallies and events throughout the district. Steve is a political consultant working for Strickland. Steve and Celeste need Bob’s bogus RA group and others like it to engineer the endorsement of Tony next year.

So there you have it. The last installment before the Convention begins at 4 p.m. today.

Contrary to recent claims by Aaron Park, my read is that Celeste thinks her re-election is a done deal. Whether she can do it on a straight up or down vote or needs Frank to go nuclear on the Credential Committee we will know soon.