We've run out of boxes?

We need the money, lord knows, but apparently, the advantage of the currently favorable balance of trade (dollar sucks, meaning people want to buy our stuff so exports are booming) is passing us by because there aren't enough containers making the return trip to pick up more of our cheap goods.

Who'd have thought.

When exports were lower, the problem was reversed, with not enough longshore workers to unload all the boxes coming IN. Of course, that sounds like a bonus for labor, so maybe both ways work for at least part of the economy.

Experience or Race?

If Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee, and he loses, will it be because of his race or because of his inexperience, liberalism, and age? And if it is any of latter, will we cling to race instead because we want to make a point of it? Or if it's the former, will we acknowledge it and deal with it, or take comfort in the alternative theories?

Which is better?

So long and thanks for all the leadership

Fabian Nunez ends his time as Speaker having, as the Times article teases "put his name on major laws but hurt his image with self-indulgent spending of donations."

Dudes, so long as he was spending donations and not tax revenue then what in the hell is all the freaking out about.

Nunez has been the most effective Speaker since Brown and he did it in a post-term-limits era when the conventional wisdom was that we'd never, ever see actual Legislative leadership again. He helped prove that there's no longer a functional difference between the Assembly and Senate and single-handedly demonstrated the Assembly's dominance over the Senate.

I say, well done sir. If the worst they got you on is raising money and spending it - without screwing us out of ours or spending what we pay poorly, then you're historic-in-a-good-way in my book.

Calling his bluff?

The Roundup collects several articles today that indicate perhaps the Governor's scary $20 billion figure is a bit of an overstatement: like $11 billion above Leg Analyst Liz Hill's estimates.

Hmmm. Weird, isn't it?

And does a scary number help motivate people to do better?

I don't know . . .

He's not gonna take it, No! He's not gonna take it

He's not gonna take it, anymore: Obama denounces Rev. Wright;ss latest comments. And it only took him at least one major primary loss to do so.

Calling Wright's most recent comments "a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in truth," a visibly angered Obama accused his former pastor of enjoying his recent three-day media blitz -- topped by Monday's appearance at the National Press Club -- at the expense of the campaign and the issues that confront voters . . . .

Today, remarking that "I did not vet my pastor before I decided to run for the presidency," Obama said Wright's latest comments "offend me, rightly offend all Americans, and they should be denounced. That's what I'm doing very clearly and unequivocably today."

But is it too little, too late? Better question: tell me right now what Wright said. Did you think Obama though the same? Really? Did you know or care if he did/did not wear a flag pin?

Didn't think so.

Clinton fatigue?

Has Bill done more harm than good, both to his wife's campaign and to himself?

I would disagree that he has. Those that hate the Clintons can find more fodder out of this election, but those that love him still love him. The status quo will prevail.

Fruit flies off the branches

Did you know fruit hanging and dropping on public areas is free for the taking? Me either. But you can go collect some with this group, if you need some salad fixings.

Voter ID law upheld

In a blow to Democratic opponents of state's efforts to enact voter ID laws, the Supreme Court upheld a voter ID law out of Indiana. Probably because of a glaring legal problem:

But the Democrats who sued to block Indiana's law in 2005 did not name a single plaintiff who had been barred from voting because of the law. And that failure doomed the legal challenge.

I'm no lawyer, but from how I understand lawsuits to work, someone has to have something to complain about that's actually happened, right?

It is a bit confusing, though, that at least one Justice seems to have no problem excusing the partisan roots of the law:

Stevens acknowledged the Indiana law may well have been "motivated by partisan concerns," but that alone is not enough to make it unconstitutional, he said. The challengers failed to show the voter ID requirement would pose a "severe burden" on many voters, he said.

That alone? Well, if you can point to it as a motivation, shouldn't that lead you to potential harm? How confusing.

Plot

It wasn't suicide that drove a man to drive his SUV on the Metrolink tracks, it was anger - and a plot to get back at, or just get back, his wife.

It's all too crazy and too tragic.

They claim the defendant had a history of suicide attempts beginning when he was 8 and tried to hang himself. They said he changed his mind about suicide only minutes before the train approached. After he saw the devastation he ran to a friend's house, got scissors and stabbed himself, they said, and was hospitalized for his wounds.

There doesn't seem to be too strong an argument in the article that this incident was caused by the defendant's mental illness. But that seems likely, no?

Afraid to fly, and it shows

So they can now check the content of our laptops at the airport without batting an eye. The courts say probably cause isn't required because its a matter of border security. Really? So, can they check it only at the Bradley International Terminal, or anywhere in the airport? I can't believe what we're allowing these days.

I don't want someone peeking at my laptop and I don't even have any of the stuff they're worried about - like kiddie porn. Don't look at my photos or read my email. Don't laugh at my bad poetry.

So do we just stay home now?

Drinking with Clinton

Over at MayorSam, they suggested a drinking game for Clinton-Obama interactions.

Take a shot or beer for every reference of "out of touch," "elitist," "bitter," "win-at-all-costs," "kitchen sink strategy," "Bush Republican," "beer and guns," "chose my words badly," "Bosnian sniper fire," and "small town America."

A bit like Clinton's whole bonding with the average guy through drink thing:

The Republican Farm Team

The Republican Party is forming a group to groom future Republican superstars.

You know, because they weren't creepy and self-congratulatory enough.

Don't worry, though.

We are seeking winners, and winners come in different shapes. There is not a total template that they have to fit," Wilson said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

Given the option, would they fight?

The reaction shots during this debate are priceless. You can almost hear the cameraman and directors licking their chops whenever one candidate swipes at the other as they quickly go for the B-roll shot of the attacked candidate's reaction.

I get the feeling that, given the chance, they'd just start slapping away at each other. Literally.

Maybe it would help voters decide between the two, who knows.

It doesn't look like these two are going to be exchanging Christmas cards in the future.

Don't lower taxes if it makes you have to borrow money?

Novel!

Obama just gave a great response about structuring taxes and saying - realistically - that John McCain's plan to effectively take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children and grandchildren while giving irresponsible tax breaks is bad business. Amen!

A little bit of fiscal realism would be amazing. I love that it comes from our party and never from the supposedly fiscally responsible GOP.

Blogger hits MSM paydirt!

This is why we blog: the undying hope that someday, we'll blog something that will make the real media pay attention. Yeah, I said real media, what of it.

A blogger snuck a mic into an SF Obama fundraiser and caught him saying, truthfully, that a lot of working class people are scared and pissed about the current economic climate and they'll blame most anything and cling to most anything. But oooh, let's beat him up!

Another non-story story, good for filling time, bad for solving anything important to the country.

But great for keeping blogger dreams alive.

I'm going to buy a recorder tomorrow. Just in case.

Can you haggle for a banana or at Banana?

Apparently, you might be able to, which is weird. I will try this at Nordstrom. I doubt it will work. Maybe I can bring in the daily paper. Whatever day it is, I'm pretty sure I can point to another article about how the economic sky is falling (Thanks, Bush administration!) and hope they'll have pity.

Stop poisoning my mind!

Marxist professors or sensitive students? is the question debating between two columnists in the Times today.

Does it have to be either/or? Can't they all be nitwits? Yeah, they can.

The "crazy marxist" corner bases its argument in data showing overwhelmingly liberal-leaning departments at universities - as evidenced by political contributions and self-identification. But those views shouldn't seep into the classroom. Right, I'd agree. Why does the available data support that profs are politicking in the classroom?

The "sensitive students" camp cites the same stuff I'm talking about and blames, rightfully, pissy students and, worse, knee-jerk, scardey cat administrators. They are the worst.

So who's the baddy? Or should we just seal off colleges completely and hope they come out alright and readjust later?

Copy! Copy?

The Daily Journal scrapped their whole copy desk. A newspaper with no proofreading?

Wow, nutty.

Celebrity Death Match, Blogging LA Style

What's worse? Drivers who block intersections or gang violence?

Hmmmm.

Actions have consequences. Film at Eleven.

Mirthala Salinas, one of Villaraigosa's other, other women, has spoken to a magazine about her affair with the Mayor, and how she feels bad, and didn't know the affair would have such far reaching consequences.

Did the consequences need to reach any further than those immediately involved - the Mayor, his wife, their kids to make the who thing a bad idea?

They're both morally culpable, of course. I hope this doesn't read like I only have a problem with her. He's a repeat offender.

But the number one thing to take from this article: Girl, get new friends:

Salinas said her friends encouraged her to take a chance with the mayor.

"I felt special," Salinas told the magazine. "OK, putting the whole world aside, the media scrutiny, the people hurt, I felt special. It was a beautiful feeling."

Sorry, You're Going to Have to Stay in Iraq

General Patraeus says that we shouldn't withdraw anymore troops because of the recent surge in violence.

Let's send more troops, see, see, a drop in violence; take a way some, ooh a surge; put some back...

It starts to seem like a game of trial and error. Don't the generals have a better idea than let's try this, oh no, that didn't work.

Bumper fish

What do our bumpers say about our ethics? Our tolerance? Our bigotry?

I find Darwin fish offensive. First, there's the smugness. The undeniable message: Those Jesus fish people are less evolved, less sophisticated than we Darwin fishers.

The hypocrisy is even more glaring. Darwin fish are often stuck next to bumper stickers promoting tolerance or admonishing random motorists that "hate is not a family value." But the whole point of the Darwin fish is intolerance; similar mockery of a cherished symbol would rightly be condemned as bigoted if aimed at blacks or women or, yes, Muslims.

As Christopher Caldwell once observed in the Weekly Standard, Darwin fish flout the agreed-on etiquette of identity politics. "Namely: It's acceptable to assert identity and abhorrent to attack it. A plaque with 'Shalom' written inside a Star of David would hardly attract notice; a plaque with 'Usury' written inside the same symbol would be an outrage."

But the most annoying aspect of the Darwin fish is the false bravado it represents. It's a courageous pose without consequence. Like so much other Christian-baiting in American popular culture, sporting your Darwin fish is a way to speak truth to power on the cheap.

I think that's an amazingly powerful statement. We're like that, though, aren't we, as a culture? Do we have more of this crap here in LA because of our tried-and-true car culture? But the real point of this column is a frighteningly critical film from the Netherlands that uses raw images and shocking language to argue against Muslim immigration. Super bad stuff. So the columnists greater point is:

It's fine for Muslim moderates to say they aren't part of the cancer; and that some have, in response to the film, is a positive sign. But more often, diagnosing or even observing this cancer -- in film, book or cartoon -- is dubbed "intolerant" while calls for violence, censorship and even murder are treated as understandable, if regrettable, expressions of well-deserved anger.

It's not that secular progressives support Muslim religious fanatics, but they reserve their passion and scorn for religious Christians who are neither fanatical nor inclined to use violence.

Some of the points here are a bit nuanced too link together clearly. But still - my thoughts have been provoked.

Long live the peripheral canal!

Or at leastthe legend of the peripheral canal, as part of our colorful aquahistory.

Absolut stupidity

Absolut apologizes for Mexican vodka ad, though I can't really figure out why.

The ad said "In an Absolut World" and showed an old map from the 1830s when most of the Southwest was Mexico. The article says "Mexico still resents losing that territory in the 1848 Mexican-American War and the fight for Texas independence." Really? Maybe. But c'mon, aren't large parts of the South still kinda resentful about that Yankee victory?

There were dozens - DOZENS! - of complaints on, like, a website and stuff. Man, heated. Seriously, who cares. Mexico isn't going to wage a war to take the land back. We're going to keep making bone-headed and offensive comments about it already seeming like they have taken it back.

Stupid.

Finding the limits of our religious fervor

Tolerance has its limits. Intolerance has its place. Even those on the religious right can find a place where their god just won't go. Like this compound in Texas - home to a fundamentalist sect that broke off from LDS and in the course of freely exercising its religion, molests underage girls. They're married off, or used as wifely prototypes from their pre-teen years - at least that's part of what led authories to take nearly 200 people from the compound.

Stories like these should make us more honest about just how far we'll push the First Amendment. I like having limits. I like that we'll admit we have limits. 'Cause this kinda stuff is just wrong.

Now, what about Scientology?

Disney Princess Poison

Is this really a novel topic for a column? If so, I'd be happy to enlighten the Times readers about the unrealistic expectations placed on young women by magazine models and advertising. At $5 a word.

It's Hiram's fault, tell him to stuff it

LAT columnist George Skelton rightly calls out Senate Dems for their politically stinky recall effort against Reep Senator Jeff Denham. It does seem a bit pot/kettle when the FBI investigated Speaker Pro Tem goes after someone over a vote. Mmmm, tasty!

Hiram Johnson would turn over in his coffin. The reform governor, about a century ago, gave Californians the initiative, referendum and recall. All were tools of democracy designed to provide ordinary citizens with the ability to fight Sacramento and special interests. The recall specifically was aimed at defrocking scalawags.

But the concept of direct democracy by aggrieved citizens -- if it ever was practiced -- has deteriorated into an instrument used by special interests to con voters into doing their bidding when elected representatives won't. The recall has evolved into a bludgeon to bully or bump off an elected official whose public policy actions another politician or faction doesn't like.

Too bad we can't recall Hiram Johnson.

Yeah, no kidding. What a mockery.

Nunez strips members of committee assignments and plum offices. That kind of behavior, though childish to someone, is all in fair play. Perata's way of doing business . . . let's just say, given the opportunity I'd recall him in a heartbeat.

Mexico pledges help to expelled Mexicans

This is one of those happy-yet-sad stories: the Mexican government is offering more help to Mexicans deported from the US, including full bus fare back to their hometowns, rather than the half they paid previously.

My isolationist self says, good, get-gone, law breakers, while my knee-jerking liberalness says "no, wait, help them come back, even our weak economy is stronger than their home economy." But no, the best response is in the middle and probably towards sending them home. But it's certainly a positive step from Mexico to have a better infrastructure in place to receive people going through a pretty (literally and figuratively) unsettling process.

Bike Around Town

Long Beach also started the City Bike Share program. It will provide 16 bikes for city employees to use in and around downtown.

Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga said the program also is "great for the bottom line" - financially and literally. It will allow city workers to save money on gas and get more exercise, she said.

"We're going to have some beautifully trim people at City Hall," Uranga said.

The city employees who signed up also recieved a free helmet. Sweet.

Bye-Bye Sex Offenders

Long Beach passes new laws about where sex offenders can't live. Namely, anywhere.

But, yeah, they still don't know how they can enforce that.

The Political Cycle

Nunez aide, Ricardo Lara, drops out of AD 46 race, where Mayor Villaraigosa's cousin or relative or something is running and, instead, Lara ends up appointed to the Planning Commission, courtesy of the Mayor.

Isn't it wonderful how everything works out for everybody? Oh, not for you. Too bad.

The village of Alhambra

The Times has an interesting profile of Hillary's mother and her SoCal upbrining. Doesn't sound like it was easy.

Today a low-profile, mostly Asian and Latino suburb of more than 87,000 people, Alhambra, along with nearby San Gabriel, provided a home -- though not always a happy one -- for Dorothy Howell from the ages of 8 to 18. The stories she would tell her daughter about those difficult times in Depression-era Los Angeles County would help inspire Clinton's interest in public service.

"Learning about my mother's childhood sparked my strong conviction that every child deserves a chance to live up to her God-given potential and that we should never quit on any child," Clinton wrote in the 2006 edition of her book "It Takes a Village."

Cynics will point to Hillary mining her mother for more political storylines perfect for these sorts of stories, but I think, and maybe I've had too much Easter candy to think clearly, that we all have stories that sound American. Because we are, aren't we. We all have our character building crap that, if told well, can inspire others and if not told at all, inspires only us. Or should. Because the alternative is defeat.

What a world in which we live

Compare the subject of the post below with the subject of this article, also sharing the LAT homepage's above-the-fold equivalent.

A chilling Easter accomplishment

First off, this is heart-wrenching. But I'm left with an immediate need to know more about the Time staff reporter who wrote it. Is it an American? An Iraqi? Someone else? The image of the child will stay with me.

But here's the main headline: U.S. toll in Iraq reaches 4000.

It's a drop in the casualty bucket compared to past US wars and non-declared military actions. But in modern warfare, where we can pretty much automate anything and have, it seems unnecessarily high, doesn't it? Chances are you've been able to ball-park the US death toll since the war started, five years ago, but can you quote the number of wounded? How about the number of Iraqis killed? Neither population's people should be worth more or less, but we'll always know how many of "ours" are gone.

As it is Easter, I can help but want to say, with deepest sincerity, that everyone should be ours.

But they aren't.

Richardson Endorses Obama - What happens next?

Obama lands the Richardson endorsement. Once upon a time, Bill Richardson was the Next Big Thing, seen as the perfect Hispanic candidate because he is Hispanic, but with the difficult-for-anglos name to hinder those who would other wise think he's just kinda tan. There's a potentially bigger mine of Hispanic than black voters out there, so Richardson should've - "should've" - reached the White House before Obama. But that never happened. So we have Richardson endorsing Obama instead.

So will he be on the short list for VP?

Oh, and in case you missed this Hispanic angle:

"As a Hispanic-American, I was particularly touched by his words," Richardson said, putting his arm around Obama and declaring in Spanish that he is "a man who understands us."

Richardson is the nation's only Hispanic governor. Hispanics have tended to support Sen. Hillary Clinton in her quest for the Democratic nomination.

Ah yes, the H-vote.

This is a slightly more predictable turn in an otherwise less predictable race.

Only Tito's is worth 30 days

A Rialto man is facing 30 days in jail for scamming Del Taco. He got nabbed because he put his scam on YouTube. Yeah, so what's dumber, that it was a Del Taco, or that he put it on YouTube?

Of course, what kind of a** rats out someone who scammed Del Taco? Really.

Best part:

On Tuesday, Echeverria pleaded guilty to misdemeanor burglary and received a sentence of 30 days in jail, three years' probation and one special condition: a ban from the Rialto Del Taco.

"I tried to get him to stay away from all Del Tacos, but the judge said just the one," Deputy District Attorney Doug Schaller said.

Poor DDA.

Eight years, people. Eight.

Hillary Clinton released her schedules from her time as First Lady but the Times says:

Federal archivists on Wednesday released 11,000 pages of schedules from Hillary Rodham Clinton's eight years as first lady, but the material offers little to support her assertion that her White House experience left her best prepared to become president.

The records show her to be an active first lady who traveled widely and was deeply involved in healthcare policy, but they are rife with omissions, terse references and redactions that obscure many of her activities and the identities of those she saw.

Is that really the correct use of the word "terse?" Anyway . . .

If anything, I think this article highlights our discomfort with having a lady president. She spent her time doing traditional First Lady things, like talking with other chicks and kids and stuff. And she has the names of people with whom she had photos taken redacted. But we have a right to know! As if.

I don't care what her calendar says nor do I care to have reporters tell me what to care about or why, or more to the point: tell me what other people (candidates) have to say about what is important and why. Blech, no thanks.

And the only thing most people seem to care about? Where was Hillary while her husband was doin' an intern. Oh, her husband was unfaithful, did you hear about that? Apparently it was a really big deal that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands in another country and the wrecking of our economy.

Wait, wrong President.

You may be depressed, but the economy probably won't be

Not that it will be good, but compared to the Great Depression, our recession ain't even close. At least, that's what the Times's Michael Hiltzik says.

Both then and now, Americans faced the popping of bubbles - stocks then, housing now - but our unemployment rates don't hold a candle to the near quarter of the country out of work in the 30s. Cool, so no Depression. Phew.

"I've been asked many times whether we will have another Great Depression," says David M. Kennedy, a Stanford University history professor and the author of "Freedom From Fear," a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the Depression and World War II. "My standard answer is that we won't have that one again -- I'd be surprised to have one of that seriousness and duration. But that doesn't mean we wouldn't have a catastrophe we haven't seen before."

Oooh, right, so it could be a different kind of Great - a new one with which we'll be unfamiliar and won't necessarily notice coming on? Awesome. I feel better. This totally makes me want to take my rebate check, run out, and . . . . stick it under my mattress.

Happy St. Patrick' Day!

Tonia Reyes Uranga

Tonia Reyes Uranga managed to stop Bonnie Lowenthal from getting the early Democratic Party pre-endorsment.

The whole pre-endorsement process if a completely confusing and, from my understanding, kind of a waste of time. But, with Lowenthal not getting the early endorsment it gives Reyes-Uranga more time to campaign and for us to get to know her. Which is pretty much a win right now for Reyes Uranga.

Their district covers Long Beach, San Pedro, Palos Verdes and some of the Ports.

Sweet equity

Meet the only homeowners in SoCal whose walls are still made of gold. Honeycomb is gold-colored, right?

While their house smells sweetly of honey, as a concept, I find these houseguests slightly scary.

Cheap Gas or Our Kid's Future

Nunez proposed an oil tax to pay for education. But it seems we don't want to help our children as much as we worry about cheap gas.

Good choice, people.

"Oil companies in this state aren't conducting bake sales so they can get by," said Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank). "Our schools are."

Get Out of the Way

It seems what was suppose to be a competitive race for Speaker's Nunez's seat is just being cleared instead. Two of the top contenders, Ricardo Lara and Arturo Chavez, decided not to run after some 'pressuring' from the top Latino politicians.

Lara, who is Nunez’s district director, got into the race with the speaker’s backing. But Nunez reportedly made a decision to back Perez, the political director of the United Food and Commercial Workers and Villaraigosa’s cousin, who had the backing of Villaraigosa and Durazo.

The clearing of the field in the 46th helps begin the healing process between Nunez and Durazo, who tangled over tribal gaming compacts in the Legislature last year.

It's so nice when these types of decisions are made without the unnecessary input of us.

In-n-out: bad for business but good for tummies!

Seems the drive-thru lines have other businesses mad because long lines block access to their shops.

I'll come shop with you guys right after this double-double. Promise.

On the serious side of a lighter note

SNL is being called pro-Hillary. In response, they promise to give more people sh*t more often:

"The show happens too quickly for any of us to have an agenda," added [Seth] Meyers [one of the show's head writers], who donated $1,000 to Obama in January. "And our egos as comedy writers are too big to ever let our own political loyalties get in the way of a joke. So we aim for whatever is the richest to be satirized on any given week."

They say the show's mantra is that it is against whoever is winning. That makes sense - we're an underdog worshiping society. Isn't that why all candidates need to be the outsiders, even when they are inside?

Michaels believes one of the factors fueling the perception that "SNL" has a bias toward Clinton may be Poehler herself, who plays the New York senator as a woman laboring valiantly to ignore the jibes sent her way.

"People can confuse the charm of the character with the person," he said.

That's a heck of a statement, isn't it? True, too. Quite a credit to Poehler.

The Obama camp gets points for taking the jokes in stride:

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the candidate is not concerned that his rival is getting a lift from "SNL."

"Frankly, Barack Obama knows he's good enough, smart enough and, gosh darn it, he's won more states, more votes and more delegates, and that's what probably matters more anyway," he quipped, à la Stuart Smalley.

And here's some pictures of comedians in politics and politicians on comedies.

Predictable headline arrives late

Race emerges as substantial issue in Democrats' campaign

What? That's crazy! Who'd have thought. . .

I hoped, of course, that we might avoid the issue. There's barely anyway to talk about Geraldine Ferraro's comments because they are hopelessly grounded in a deadly third rail. Clearly the danger we could barely talk about has been realized: we can't be open about the issue. We end up either patting ourselves on the back for promoting a black man and a woman (oooh, aren't we an advanced country now!) or we fail to acknowledge identity at all and just look stupid. Or safe within a voting booth, we let our inner racist and/or sexist romp through across the ballot.

And then there's this comment from the above-linked article:

In the latest sign of a racial rift, two prominent black pastors warned Wednesday that if Clinton is the nominee, black voters could become so discouraged by the campaign that they might stay home in November. . . .

Rivers, one of the country's leading Pentecostal ministers, said black voters were especially offended by Clinton's suggestion this week that Obama could join her on the ticket as her running mate. "Blacks aren't going to sit back while the winning candidate is told to sit at the back of the bus," he said, adding that the Democratic Party and Clinton risk handing the election to the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain.

What the hell? See, that almost sounds like a threat. In a weird, multi-layered sort of way. That sort of comment from Clinton is absolutely no different than what any candidate fighting to get back to the top would say and in fact I believe Obama has made "I'm the presumptive nominee" comments as well. We can't allow either candidate or either candidate's coalitions to expect different treatment. Argh, it's hard to even make these sorts of comments without feeling like you're dancing on the edge of a cliff!

But the candidates acknowledged that a campaign pitting the would-be first female president against the would-be first black president was destined to touch delicate nerves in a party built in part on coalitions of blacks and women.

See, now that comment makes sense. This is the real problem here, isn't it. Which vital constituency is truly prized? Whose turn is it?

I truly believe that regardless of the final Dem nominee, all Dems will come back together to support that nominee. We might lose some, but basically just the ones who'd have voted for McCain anyway.

If we, as Democrats, blame the race or gender card for later McCain bleed, we will be engaging in intellectual dishonesty. Period. Voters in states I can guess will get blamed with racism later have been losing Dems for years now. And this year it WILL be the economy, stupid.

Don't let the sexy blame be the enemy of the rightful blame - because it's from identifying where the rightful blame lies that we can really change in the future.

Our Schools, Our Children

This weekend, we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the school walkouts back in '68.

The schools were so bad back then even the students couldn't stand it. And now? The graduation rate at those same schools is still depressingly low.

Obviously, there's still alot of work to be done.

Another walkout?

Mailing it in

There seems to be building agreement on Florida holding a do-over, but mailing it in:

The Democratic National Committee stripped Florida and Michigan of all their convention delegates -- a total of 313 -- for holding their primaries too early, making both contests meaningless. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won both states, but no delegates. Her rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, did not appear on Michigan's ballot.

But the disqualification of Florida and Michigan has created a headache for the Democratic party due to the unexpected closeness of the race between Obama and Clinton. Officials from both states are trying to figure out how best to resolve the issue before the national convention in August.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean said a mail-in primary is "actually a very good process."

"Every voter gets a ballot in the mail," the former Vermont governor said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "It's comprehensive, you get to vote if you're in Iraq or in a nursing home. It's not a bad way to do this."

As for who pays, Dean said, "That is a problem," reiterating that the party needs its money for the general election campaign against Republican John McCain.

Ah, money. There's the rub, eh? A mail-in ballot seems to cut some of the overhead and perhaps make access a bit easier - especially for Floridians abroad. The price tag looks to be around $6m. That's not so expensive, right? But the DNC doesn't want to foot the bill because it needs that money later.

Would it be a total conflict of Clinton and Obama split the costs? After all, they are the ones who want the election really. It's a $3m gamble if you don't make the cut (or does Florida apportion? I don't know.) Could that work?

Pause for a moment to notice what's going on around us

Probably not in your neighborhood, wherever you're reading this, but near enough - an exit or two away - the next neighborhood down.

We're still killing each other. Note this heartbreaking column on one street that, until now, had been an uniquely peaceful. And in it, this thought, that really stuck with me:

It's easy to mourn the so-called good kids, but making the city safe again requires us to love even the kids who aren't such innocent victims.

Shouldn't we be attacking or invading or something?

Spain's ruling Socialist Workers Party is ahead so far in the Spanish elections - edging out the conservative Popular Party. Wait, is this one of those times when the names try to mean one thing but the parties stand for something else? Okay, fine, I don't know much about the Spanish political system other than we generally don't pay THAT much attention to what goes on over there over here. It's like Northern Ireland. They have all this violence but it only seems to make the news if there's an semi-credible argument that their homegrown terrorism may actually be Al-Q related.

At any rate - one of their parties has the word Socialist in it. Can we stand for that?

Spring ahead into the mall

Daylight Savings Time starts this Saturday night/Sunday morning - don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour. This is the time change that makes you late, so watch out.

Of course, it's all political, this DST nonsense. I like the extra light after work, but it was JUST getting to the point where it was adequately sunny in the morning to perk me up when the alarm goes off. We'll be right back to getting up in the dark now. Anyway, though, it's political - people shop more in the light and the extra light drives people to the stores and the Chamber loves DST and the economy needs it, etc, etc. Alright, I guess. But even the farmers don't love it - and I thought they were part of the original reason for DST. Oh well.

Homeschool kids have shot at normalcy

Poor homeschoolers. They get a lot of crap, don't they. They may end up more mature than their peers because of their one-on-one time with adults. But they also may end up a bit less socialized. And there's the whole religious angle too, but we'll leave that out.

But uh-oh, the California courts are on to you, homeschooling parents: "A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution."

[T]he appeals court said state law has been clear since at least 1953, when another appellate court rejected a challenge by homeschooling parents to California's compulsory education statutes. Those statutes require children ages 6 to 18 to attend a full-time day school, either public or private, or to be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child's grade level.

"California courts have held that ... parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. "Parents have a legal duty to see to their children's schooling under the provisions of these laws."

Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said.

I didn't know that at all. Granted, I only knew like 3 homeschooled kids growing up and I knew they went to some mystery school for homeschooled kids a few times per week - so maybe that cuts the mustard legally (though even as a youngin' I didn't understand why, if they were avoiding school, they'd still go to a school, but whatever).

Predictably, people are lining up on both sides for the likely appeal. CTA is all for the ruling, homeschooling parents and conservative think tanks with suitably religious leanings are against it. Of course, then I read the following argument from a parent and I don't have to try to hard to side with the court:

Homeschooling parent Debbie Schwarzer of Los Altos said she's ready for a fight.

Schwarzer runs Oak Hill Academy out of her Santa Clara County home. It is a state-registered private school with two students, she said, noting they are her own children, ages 10 and 12. She does not have a teaching credential, but she does have a law degree.

"I'm kind of hoping some truancy officer shows up on my doorstep," she said. "I'm ready. I have damn good arguments."

Are LA County truancy officers judges? Do they have the power to interpret the law? Right, no, they don't. They can apply the law though, and nail you for violating it. A law degree does not a teacher make. What an idiotic comments.

I'm a product of public schools - some good, some bad - and I think schools are about more than just the subjects in them (though it'd be nice if they could focus on those again too - not Jack O'Connell's warm and fuzzy requirements of relevance and some other b.s. "r's" that aren't 'riting and 'rithmatic). Kids need to learn to live in the world with all the people who live here with them. Those that agree and disagree. Those that are nice and those that are jerky. This should be an awesome case to watch get dragged into the public eye though.

I'm sure the brouhaha created over this will echo that eminent domain case from a few years back that did NOTHING at all but confirm existing law, but that foes saw as a chance to decry activist judges or some such nonsense. That's the danger of highlighting reality in a new media world.

Raise Taxes, Don't Raise Taxes

While the Democrats are swearing that they'll raise taxes, the Governor continues to be cryptic on the subject.

Yesterday, he squirmed around the definiton of a tax increas again.

"Well, you know everyone has their own position," he said. "I have mine. I think we should not get caught up on what is something called, and what is the definition of something because that doesn’t bring anyone any health care. It doesn’t bring anyone any education. It doesn’t hire teachers. It doesn’t expand our education programs or anything. What we need to do is fix problems and just put everything on the table and not debate what the definition of something is. But just say, everyone has to participate and everyone has to contribute in order to get this done.”

Um, huh?

What You Didn't Know About Karen Bass

Things you didn't know about the new Speaker.

Like she was a cheerleader and she doesn't smoke.

Come Back to LA Villaraigosa

Villaraigosa is out of town AGAIN. And no, it's not for anything related to the city. He's still campaigning for Hillary.

And even the LA Times is thinking enough is enough.

The Race Is On

Ricardo Lara kicked off his campaign to replace Fabian Nunez.

Of course, what makes it really interesting is who he's running against: Villaraigosa's cousin.

LA Represents

Yay LA! Way to keep it in the family, kind of.

Fabian Nunez is passing on the Speaker-ship to LA's own Karen Bass.

The announcement was made last night after many more secret, closed door meetings. Why? Because that's the way democracy works.

Still Bass and new Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg are both considered much more on the up than their predecessors. We can only hope.

Surf's up! Pilings down!

For those lucky enough to live by the shore - how have you fared? The high surf has beaten the crap out of local piers and beaches and even swept some unlucky few out to sea. Most have been rescued, except for one 23 year old who is still missing.

Here's a tip from a bean who grew up by the breakwater: when the waves start to crash over wherever you're standing - move the hell away! Seriously, water is strong stuff. Try this test: get a firefighter to hose you down. Are you still standing? No? Right, the ocean is even stronger.

MexiCAN

Just because tacos are so damn good.

"He wanted tacos. The victim, a 35-year-old Fontana man, had just bought about $20 in tacos from a stand at San Bernardino and Fontana avenues and was riding home when the bandit confronted him.

“He approached him from behind, saying, `Give me your tacos,”‘ said police Sgt. Jeff Decker. “He grabbed the bag of tacos, punched him in the face and began to flee.”

The victim demanded his tacos back when they were taken. “The suspect then pointed what appeared to be a black handgun at the victim”."

Because it was SUCH a good law the first time around

It turns out Jessica's Law may actually have increased sex crime risk.

It turns out when you don't let people live anywhere, they turn homeless. And homeless people are harder to track. Especially homeless sex offenders.

And since most sex offenders are acquaintances or family members (which is messed up anyway), this law really didn't do much except violate a whole shitload of civil rights.

Re-deregulation

The LA Times has a complicated and interesting article on the energy utilities and deregulation.

The Supreme Court is set to hear a case this week on whether the contracts signed during the crisis 7 years ago can hold up.

If you're wondering why these things matter, check your utility bill. Customers of Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric are still paying for the energy mess circa 2000-01.

A sample bill from Edison lists the ways.

There's the "DWR bond charge" to repay bonds the state Department of Water Resources issued so it could buy power during the crisis. And there's the cost of the electricity the agency bought -- and is still buying -- under long-term contracts. Edison's bill lists that as "DWR generation."

Then there's the "trust transfer amount," earmarked for repaying 10-year bonds that funded rate reductions for the first four years of the deregulation plan. The utilities' customers are paying an estimated $3.4 billion more than they will have gotten from the rate rollback.

Finally, there's the competition transition charge, which Edison calls "ongoing CTC." That reimburses the utilities for expensive energy contracts and power plant investments that weren't fully recovered when the companies sold them as part of deregulation.

The CTC is getting smaller but will be on Edison bills until 2028. There's little chance of relief on the bond charges. But the cost of DWR's power contracts is another matter. The state believes it is due between $1.45 billion and $3.08 billion on four contracts that were never renegotiated -- money that could go back to electric customers in some form, possibly by reducing or eliminating future charges.

That's what the Supreme Court fight is about.

And on top of that, the Public Utilities Commission is considering re-deregulating the utilities. Isn't that what got us in trouble in the first place?

Super-Deciders.

Here is the list of superdelegates in California.

Ah, democracy, so wonderful how important people get to decide with no regard to your vote.

St. Valentine

My computer is back together again and it's nice to be back! You'll notice, also, that I enabled comments, so feel free to leave them.

If you'd like to watch a great video of the Mayor paddling through Lower Owens River, find it here.

"This is a great opportunity to see and feel this restored habitat, which we had desecrated for 100 years," Villaraigosa said after stepping out of his canoe. "I feel gratified."

You know, after he helicoptered in with his entourage and helicoptered out. I bet he felt gratified.

LA may also be closing most of its health clinics. Which is good, because it's not like LA has a lot of people with health problems and no money.

And our lovely Fabian Nunez met with the Mexican President a few days ago.

And what did they talk about?

"Sitting on opposite ends of the speaker's couch, Núñez explained, in Spanish, the significance of his office, saying at one point that he found it 'interesting' that his personal office space is 'larger than the governor's.' "

Definitely more important than
the budget cuts that are getting voted on today.

Someone please put these people back to work already

Yea, more TV! Or more importantly, fewer annoying emails from my WGA friends about how well their workouts are going, how much time they've spent surfing, lunching, whatever.

So hopefully, by Wednesday, it'll be pencils up!

Can we be car uncultured?

Blogging LA's outspoken and always thought-provoking David Markland suggests 10 ways to improve LA's public transit - most of which do less to improve public trans than to discourage car driving. Of course, that strategy probably would improve public trans if you operate on the theory that the more hostile a place is to cars and the more people that are thusly driven (ha! pun!) to buses and rail, the higher the demand for improved services would be. Or, you might just end up with some serious road rage and resistance out there.

I agree with his suggestion #4 - to install "stand to the right" signs on all escalators. Amen to that. Idea #3, though - "Ban additional conditional use and building permits for parking lots except for those adjacent to outlying MTA stops" - I'm not such a fan of. His #1 idea for the Mayor and city council to be forced to ride trans to and from city hall I agree with in so far as they all should do it every so often just to check it out, but I'm not sure about making it part of the job description.

I'd like to see suggestions for improving public trans in a way that makes it more attractive to drivers without needing to effectively punish drivers.

Can you photograph your ballot in the booth?

One LA blogger gets some static for trying. The short answer is: you can't take pictures of other voters if that sort of thing is aimed at intimidating them, but otherwise, go for it. The even shorter answer is: don't try to argue with a volunteer poll worker. Just move it along.

Beware the 'bubble trouble'

As my fellow blogger indicated below, some stuff was goin' down in LA County today, apparently, with an extra bubble causing trouble for Decline to State voters. Even the SF Chron picked up the coverage, using it to highlight some of its own area issues.

I'm sympathetic. Voting shouldn't be made purposely more confusing, or even allowed to be inadvertantly confusing. But at the same time, read the directions, right? And further more, pick a damn party. There, I said it. If you want to vote in the Democratic Primary, then register to be part of the Democratic Party. Don't wuss out with excuses about wanting to avoid direct mail, etc. That's the weakest of weak sauce, kids. Pony up that opinion, make a stand, and avoid any problems with extra bubbles later. Sheesh.

1-800-COMPLAIN

Is actually a toll-free number I want to start.

But, today, if you notice anything going wrong with voting or any shady shit, let the good people over at Mayor Sam know.

Vote, Vote, Vote

Today is the day to vote, for your information. And voter turnout might just set records. It seems some people (me) are a little excited.

Though it could be a little while before we necessarily know anything about the Presidential race. Especially if we have to wait on Alaska and American Somoa.

In Case You Were Watching the Superbowl Instead

Maria Shriver showed up, fresh from an equestrian show (?), to give a suprise endorsement to Obama. And yes, that IS Oprah in the background.

Know Your Rights

Obama's people sent this out: (not that anything shady ever happens in LA)

VOTER RIGHTS SUMMARY

Precinct captains and observers may play an important role for the campaign at polling places that do not have an attorney monitor observing the facilities. Below is a summary of a voter's rights, and you may be instrumental in protecting these rights if you observe any of these rules not being followed at a polling place. You may not interact directly with the voter and the poll worker, however. You should note down what you see that violates any of these rights, and quietly mention it to the poll manager. If the problem is not rectified, call the CA Obama Election Protection Hotline.

Voters have the right to cast a provisional ballot if their name is not listed on the voting rolls. However, if a voter is at the wrong polling location and has time to get to the correct polling location, we encourage them to go to the correct location instead of casting a provisional ballot. If the voter can't get to the correct location before poll closing (8pm), he or she should request a provisional ballot.

Voters have the right to cast a ballot if they are present and in line at the polling place prior to the close of the polls (no earlier than 8pm).

Voters have the right to vote in the Democratic primary if they are not registered with any political party. (Decline to State) To do so, they should indicate that they are voting in the Democratic primary. If their ballot asks which primary they are voting in, they must mark "Democratic" for the vote to be counted in the Democratic primary.

Voters have the right to cast a secret ballot free from intimidation. Signs, banners, and passing out pamphlets or cards for any candidate or ballot initiative are not permitted within 100 feet of the polling place, and by no means inside the polling place.

Voters have the right to receive a new ballot if, prior to casting their ballot, they believe they have made a mistake.

Voters have the right to assistance in casting their ballots, if they are unable to vote without assistance. Voters may take someone into the booth with them to assist.

Voters have the right to return a completed vote-by-mail ballot to any precinct in their county.

Voters have the right to bring children under the age of 18 years with them into the voting booth if the children are under their care.

Those new voters who registered to vote by mail may be asked to show ID. The voter rolls will indicate which voters are subject to this requirement. Other voters should not be asked to show any ID. For those voters who do need to show ID, many forms of ID, including many without a photo, are acceptable. Some examples of acceptable photo ID are: driver's licenses or IDs from any state, student IDs with photo, health club IDs with photo. Some examples of acceptable non-photo ID are: a recently dated utility bill or bank statement, or the official sample ballot from this election that was mailed to the voter. If you are at a location that is requiring all voters to show ID, or is insisting only on photo ID, call the Election Protection Hotline immediately.

Polling locations must open by 7am and cannot close before 8pm. If a polling location runs out of ballots or other supplies, supplies must be replaced immediately. If you are at a location that runs out of ballots, has not opened at 7am, or is attempting to close before 8pm, call the Election Protection hotline immediately.

Exit pollers are permitted to be closer to the polls than people engaging in canvassing or visibility. Unless you have been specifically directed to do so by a campaign staff member, you should not attempt to collect exit poll information yourself at the polling place.

OBAMA ELECTION PROTECTION HOTLINE NUMBERS:
LOS ANGELES: (310) 801-9546 or (310) 779-0816
SAN FRANCISCO/BAY AREA: (415) 606-6043
0AKLAND/EAST BAY: (510) 520-5025
SAN DIEGO: (619) 770-7105

Attorneys will be monitoring these phone lines all day on Election Day. Please call to report any problems at a poll or any conduct that seems inconsistent with the rules above. (However, if all is well, no need to report this to the hotline, so we can keep the phone lines free for others who may have concerns to report. Thank you for your cooperation

Throwdown at the Kodak Theater

Item! If you missed star spotting at the Golden Globes, don't worry! The California Democratic Debate had all the stars you need!  That guy from Seinfeld? Check! Diane Keaton? Check! - and looking awesome as usual clothed head to toe in . . . clothing.  And is that Mayor Villaraigosa? Why yes it is!  And was that Debra Bowen on stage at the start? Awesome!

Gavin Newsom! I wonder if he and Antonio threw down outside.

Oh, and there were a couple of candidates talking about stuff - mainly health care - for quite awhile. That was cool. There was some bitching, which is cool. And some agreement, which is cool.  There was a lot of cool. It's LA after all. I'm not necessarily closer to having a candidate. That's not so cool.  At one point, each candidate got to list their resumes. Suddenly, it felt like we were watching a high school election. Kinda like this: http://slatev.com/player.html?id=1377935786

Hispanics and Blacks

Mayor Sam reports that the Mexican American Political Association endorsed Obama. *clap*

So, I guess all that crap about Latinos not voting black was, well, crap.

President Nativo Lopez said this in his statement:

"We have observed with utter disgust the use of racially divisive and polarizing tactics employed by the Clintons, both Hillary and Bill, against Senator Barack Obama, not the first presidential candidate of African American origin. This is something that we would have expected from Republican candidates, but instead it surfaced from the bowels of the center-right institutional currents of the Democratic Party. The tactics are absolutely deplorable and clearly demonstrate what the Clintons think of all people of color."

I'm not sure I agree with his view of the situation entirely, but I was sick of hearing about how minorities always vote for thier own minorities. It's nice to see a little disagreement. It's almost like we can think for ourselves.

On a related note, the Clintons were suppose to campaign in South Central, but the black churches said no. It seems they're kind of pissed about the Clinton's use of race in bashing Obama. Hmm...

And, as everyone got worked up about the 'person who called clinton the first black president endorsing obama', why don't we try to remember what she meant when she said that. It certainly wasn't a compliment.

A public service announcement

Please, don't get too crazy over Sunday's big game. You shouldn't. After all, there's no L.A. interests at stake anyway. No team, no worries, right?

That's good, because apparently big games can kill.

Reader poll: what mayhem cometh?

So, there might be a "subway to the sea" for reals? Check it out.

Okay, I'll bite - lord knows we could use the public transit and lord knows if anyone gets the good stuff, it's the Westside.

But here's our question - if they do complete the project, it will be destroyed in the first film about it by:

A) A tsunami
B) An earthquake
C) A confused California Grey Whale
D) Whatever is eating New York
E) A tsunami caused by an earthquake caused by whatever is eating New York that wedges a California Grey Whale in the subway tunnel

Enter your guess in the comments below!

ICE is Coming

ICE has a warning for immigrants, oh wait I mean 'illegal immigrants': we're coming for you. They will be increasing their raids and crackdowns this year.

And it's just getting worse and worse:

Martinez had been warming up his car waiting to take his children to school when agents arrested him. Though he is a legal resident, he was convicted in 2002 in the oral copulation of a minor - his wife's younger sister - and sentenced to three years' probation.

So he was arrested for being Latino?

There Go The Lights

Since it started it raining, more power went out.

Because why would we want our power to work when there's bad weather?

SoCal MOC Love

... Given to the President tonight as he gets a big kiss hello from Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, fetching in a traditional power red suit. But why does everyone need to look so happy to see him?

Of course, tonight, perhaps everyone is happy to greet him because it is his LAST State of the Union. Pretty cool!

Time to stop living in the now

I know it would be hard for pundits to do, but maybe, if they just try a little bit, they could back the hell off making final determinations about events that are still unfolding. Like right now. All around us.

Remember that scene in Spaceballs? No?*

The LA Times has a teaser headline on its front page saying "Super Tuesday Could Cut Obama Down To Size." Seriously? Was he more than the correct size again? Just because of Saturday's South Carolina results? I'm not discounting his victory, I think it's great. But really, this was the year of the Hillary until Iowa and then again once we made it to New Hampshire, and, come Super Tuesday, it likely will be in some big states. And don't get me wrong, I would LOVE the national convention to be a nail-bitter of delegate lobbying and network newscasts, but, c'mon. Can we all have just, like, half a break?

*Dark Helmet: What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?
Colonel Sandurz: Now. You're looking at now sir. Everything that happens now, is happening now.
Dark Helmet: What happened to then?
Colonel Sandurz: We passed then.
Dark Helmet: When?
Colonel Sandurz: Just now. We're at now, now.
Dark Helmet: Go back to then!
Colonel Sandurz: When?
Dark Helmet: Now.
Colonel Sandurz: Now?
Dark Helmet: Now!
Colonel Sandurz: I can't.
Dark Helmet: Why?
Colonel Sandurz: We missed it.
Dark Helmet: When?
Colonel Sandurz: Just now.
Dark Helmet: When will then be now?
Colonel Sandurz: Soon.
Dark Helmet: How soon?

Prop 13's Birthday

The budget crisis is bad. Really bad. And it's going to hit us at the bottom the hardest.

And despite the Governator's promise that 'we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem', the fact is we definitely have a revenue problem.

Where did the revenue problem come from? Prop 13's massive property tax cuts crippled local governments and lead to pretty much all problems we have right now. And Prop 13 celebrates it's 30th birthday this year.

CityBeat looks back on Howard Jarvis and the passing of the Prop, with quotes from Jarvis on the effects of the cuts:

“What we’re really doing in the public school systems is nothing short of manufacturing people for the welfare rolls.”

and we don't need libraries since, "63 percent of the graduates are illiterate, anyway”

LA to turn garbage into energy

And that's actual garbage, not the shit coming from people in charge.

Hoping to make landfills relics of the past, the city wants all 3,600 tons of trash picked up daily from Los Angeles residents to be recycled or turned into compost or alternative energy by 2030.

But don't worry they aren't planning on doing this just for environmental reasons. The city hopes to make $100M annually.

Gangs

Saturday a teen's birthday party resulted in a shooting that led to two deaths and one student hospitalized.

Now, police are concerned gangs may have crashed the party.

Several sources had said the party was advertised on Internet sites such as MySpace, which may have attracted the wrong crowd.

That's what police should do, ban MySpace.

Instead, they want to tax gangs. MayorSam makes this point:

One of the reason's Janice Hahn's gang tax is such a bad idea is that it would turn the policing of gangs into whack-a-mole; we'll spend all this money here but they'll pop up there.

The Presidential Race, California and Latinos

Maria Elena Durazo gave her endorsement to Obama this week.

Obama has been trailing Clinton in California, particularly among Latino voters. But Durazo ould turn that around, especially if she has the resources of the LA County Federation of Labor. Unfortunately, though, she'll be taking a leave of absence from the Fed to campaign for Obama, so how will that play out?

Clinton, on the other hand, has the (rather loud) endorsement of Villaraigosa and Speaker Fabian Nunez.

"Many Latinos are not ready for a person of color."

We're about 20% of the California electorate, so how are we going to vote?

Bad Math

How are our schools suppose to teach our students, when our Governator can't even do his math well.

At the same time he was suppose to release public info about the sanctions facing our 'failing' LAUSD schools today he's asking for our schools to cut $36M this year.Wait, the year that's already half over? Yeah, that one.

Cut the programs that are addressing the reforms to fix these failures? Yeah, those reforms.

This is just bad math.

Tax on Talking

The phone tax, or more officially known as Measure S, will be on the ballot come Feb 2nd.

Mayor is calling it a 'tax reduction', but is it?

If you ask the voters to reinstate a tax after it’s been thrown out by the courts, it’s a new tax. But if you beat the courts to it — by convincing voters to approve a slightly lower tax before the higher one is invalidated — is it a tax “reduction”?

That's right. The courts area hearing cases about this tax, right now, that might throw it out completely.

The fight around this Measure is the most heated debate in the city, and that's counting the presidential primary on the same ballot.

From the Daily News:

Everything about this tax stinks of the type of bad policy dreamed up by a delusional Los Angeles City Hall crowd in the throes of its addiction.

Britney

Oh well, if today was the State of the State.. That's boring news, involving old people.

More importantly, Britney Spears is falling apart. Again. Just like lots of other people.

And the Associated Press decided this is a 'big deal'.

From: Baker, Frank S.
Sent: Tue 1/8/2008 11:58 AM
To: News - Southern California Editorial Staff
Subject: Britney
All:

Now and for the foreseeable future, virtually everything involving Britney is a big deal. That doesn't mean every rumor makes it on the wire. But it does mean that we want to pay attention to what others are reporting and seek to confirm those stories that WE feel warrant the wire. And when we determine that we'll write something, we must expedite it.

Thanks.

Frank

The Storm

The local news has been warning of storms to come, but this morning I didn't see a whole lot of anything.

Apparently, we need to keep waiting.

The city is preparing warning systems and shoring up for emergency conditions.

A flash-flood watch was issued for recently burned areas from this afternoon through Saturday morning.

In case, the fires weren't enough.

Or, you could just use the high-winds as an opportunity to go surfing.

From SF Gate

The New Americana?

Pasadena Weekly runs an interesting story on David Gonzales and his Homies characters.

After being criticized for glorifying Mexican gang culture, he's sold millions of little toys, created comics, video games and now is featured at the Pasadena Museum of Art.

“This is Americana. This is the world that — what’s that guy from the Saturday Evening Post, that painter? Norman Rockwell. He painted his world. The people he saw were farmers, little country kids at the pop shop. I’m painting the world I saw, this part of Americana. I really believe this is folk art; this is Latino, Hispanic, Mexican-American, barrio folk art, whatever you want to call it, and that’s all it is. No one can deny these characters exist in Latino communities,” said Gonzales.

Lots of characters exist, but he didn't choose to paint them all, did he.

And one part of the government sues another part...

'California' is suing the 'government' over emissions standards.

As ridiculous as some aspects of this are and regardless of the fact that every politician who wants to seem environmental is leeching on, I think there's still probably some value to the suit.

When the Environmental Protection Agency is stopping the state from enacting standards to, I dunno, protect the environment, someone's not doing their job right.