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Author: Leslie Eastman

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Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 31, 2014 6 Comments

I have been following the news about California state senator, Leland Yee, who was arraigned in federal court on charges related to alleged roles associated with Chinatown gangsters and brokering arms deals with a Muslim rebel group based in the Philippines. I made the analogy to the recent box-office smash, American Hustle. When...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 29, 2014 12 Comments

I am a fan of American Hustle, the Hollywood take on Abscam, a FBI sting operation that was aided by a convicted con-man in which politicians were videotaped as they were offered bribes by a fictional Middle Eastern sheik in return for various political favors. Now,...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 22, 2014 2 Comments
One of the memes hitting the blogosphere recently has been that the US just "gave up control of the internet". This week on Canto Talk, Legal Insurrection's Mandy Nagy explained why that wasn't the case. (Skip ahead to 14:50 for Mandy's appearance; she also gives us her regular Obamacare update).
Popular Politics Internet Radio with Silvio Canto Jr on BlogTalkRadio
As Mandy explained it, the US has been responsible for coordinating the Internet’s domain names (e.g. "legalinsurrection.com") and with the number-based IP address that computers use to bring order to the different devices and destinations on the Internet. The government has subcontracted this function out for years (probably why it works as well as it does). It essentially has done nothing more than send the work to another subcontractor. A Fox News piece provides further details:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 22, 2014 4 Comments

I have been very grateful for the media experience gained by being a contributor at Legal Insurrection and the Executive Producer for Canto Talk. Professor Jacobson has been a big inspiration behind a project I have been working on and which is now ready to launch: ...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 18, 2014 18 Comments

When I discussed Cover Oregon ads, which were a study in hippie-oriented marketing appropriate in the 1970′s, I thought I had uncovered the worst Obamacare marketing scheme that could have been possibly concocted. I was wrong. Lonely Conservative reviews the new website developed by the Rhode Island...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 16, 2014 21 Comments

As many of you may know, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said, in regards to those pesky Tea Party activists challenging GOP incumbents for Senate seats: “I think we are going to crush them everywhere. I don’t think they are going to have a...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 16, 2014 14 Comments

It looks like the special election earthquake that shook FL-13, sending Republican David Jolly to Washington D.C., may be being felt in other ways in the land of real earthquakes -- California. I recently covered the severe drought that is impacting the Golden State, which is...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 15, 2014 34 Comments

When I first heard about the #BanBossy movement, a movement that is backed by Facebook's  Sheryl Sandberg and The Girl Scouts, I was incredulous. First progressives emasculate America's men; now, they are emasculating its women! Professor Jacobson was right to be concerned about the tendency of "low...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 07, 2014 28 Comments

Professor Jacobson recently noted that we just celebrated the 5th anniversary of the birth of America's Tea Party movement. He noted one of the best aspects about his involvement has been the people that he has met during his "insurrection".  As a citizen activist in California,...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 07, 2014 44 Comments

At College Insurrection, we have been covering the case of Rachel Canning, the New Jersey teen who sued her parents for college tuition. Rush Limbaugh just talked about Canning's supposed Facebook page, "Education for Rachel." The page contains posts such as this one, decrying the greed...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 10, 2014 9 Comments
Last week, we noted that Japan and India were allying to protect themselves against China's regional ambitions. These developments finally seem to have made it to the "Resolute Desk", which has responded with another of its classic "strongly worded messages" in regards to China's intentions to expand its defense zone.
The Obama administration has significantly sharpened its rhetoric about China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea over the last week amid growing pressure from allies in the region for Washington to take a firmer line. In public statements in recent days, senior US officials placed the blame for tensions in the region solely on China and warned that the US could move more forces to the western Pacific if Beijing were to declare a new air defense zone in the South China Sea.
China's reaction was as expected by those who are versed in the Obama Administration's foreign policy approaches.
China has accused the United States of undermining peace and development in the Asia-Pacific after a senior U.S. official said concern was mounting over China's claims in the South China Sea.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 09, 2014 4 Comments
I officially project Councilman Kevin Faulconer as the winner of Tuesday's San Diego mayoral race. Why? Democratic opponent David Alvarez just received the official endorsement of President Obama.
"As a native San Diegan, David Alvarez has been a fierce advocate for his city, and on the Council, has led efforts to build a strong middle class, put neighborhoods first and expand opportunities for kids in and out of school. Today, with the city's economy and neighborhoods poised to make progress there is no question that David is the right choice to be San Diego's next mayor and I am excited to support him," Obama said.
It is well known that such an endorsement has been the kiss-of-death for many campaigns. All joking aside, the race between the two men is extremely close. Both candidates are political wonks -- which is what we got in the last mayor (minus the troubling propensity for assaulting women).

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 02, 2014 15 Comments
Japan and India don't necessarily have the warmest relationship with their neighbor, China. China hasn't exactly lessened tensions by enforcing a no-fly zone over Japanese islands. And its rapidly expanding military efforts haven't brought comfort to India's government, especially with a long history of border tensions. Since it has become apparent that the Obama Administration is unreliable in handling complex international policy dynamics, what can Japan and India do? Go the tradition route: Form a strategic regional alliance. China downplays Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's visit to India
China on Monday downplayed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to India as a bilateral issue, even as the state-media termed the trip as a failure for not succeeding in pinning down Beijing. "The visit you mentioned is an issue between India and Japan," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a media briefing while responding to a question on Abe's just-concluded visit to India. The visit evoked considerable media attention in view of the China-Japan diplomatic stand off over the disputed islands in East China Sea.
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