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.