City Union Workers Have Learned Nothing From Caramel Mocha Frappucinos

Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!

Talk about penny wise and pound foolish!

City workers have rejected a proposal whereby they would keep their jobs merely by agreeing to pay a paltry five percent of the cost of their health insurance.

Five percent! Just five crummy percent! And they said "no."

David Zahnhiser has the story -- he works on Saturdays? -- at the Los Angeles Times.

Ninth Circuit Delays Hearing Till After Election But Arizona Contemplating Workaround

The United States Court of Appeals has rejected Arizona's request for an expedited hearing in mid-September on Judge Bolton's preliminary injunction.  Instead, the Court has set the hearing for the week of November 1, 2010.

I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the timing of elections. That would be way too cynical, don't you think?

Anyhow, Arizona is not just going to sit around waiting and whining.

Yet Another Rat Jumps Off S.S. Villaraigosa

Some rats take longer than others to realize the ship is sinking.

The Los Angeles Times and the LA Weekly have reported that Mayor Villaraigosa's Deputy Mayor, Jimmy Blackman, resigned today, after having worked for Villaraigosa for 12 of the past 13 years.

Immigration Protestors Guilty Of Global Warming War Crimes

You know those ten geniuses who decided to tie up traffic for five hours for their self-indulgent hand-holding in the middle of the Wilshire and Highland?

How many cars do you suppose they tied up during that period?

How many additional "greenhouse gases" were released into the atmosphere while traffic halted and engines idled?

Arizona Has Already Asked Appeals Court To Hurry

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's legal team acted fast: they have already filed a motion in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to expedite its review of Judge Bolton's order on the preliminary injunction.

You say you want to read the motion?  Be my guest:  click here to read it.

Bottom line: Arizona wants the hearing on September 13, 2010.

Audit, Schmaudit: Kiss Millions More Good-Bye

On June 16, 2010, City Controller Wendy Greul sent Mayor Villaraigosa a draft of her "audit" showing that his "gang" program has produced no measurable results.

Villaraigosa responded by doing what any responsible manager would do when confronted with that troubling information:  he rushed to spend millions more of your tax dollars on his boondoggle program before the City Controller made her report public.

On July 19,2010, for example, Villaraigosa signed a contract amendment to give another $540,000 of your money to one of "contractors" who are supposedly "implmenting" his program, namely, Kush, Inc.  That pushes the total amount of your money that Kush, Inc. will receive to over $1.1 million.

Just who are the people at Kush, Inc. providing the services for which we are paying so dearly?  You can't tell from the "non-profit" corporation's website. 

Duct Tape Can Save Arizona's Statute

Oddly enough, I've got good news about Arizona, and I have other good news.

The good news is that certain key provisions in Arizona's new immigration law survived Judge Bolton's preliminary inunction. 

In particular, the judge let stand the provision prohibiting Arizona officials, agencies and political subdivisions from limiting enforcement of federal immigration laws. Translation: sanctuary cities are now illegal in Arizona. 

Furthermore, the judge upheld the provision requiring state officials to work with federal officials to combat illegal immigration, and the provision letting citizens sue if state and local officials violate the new law.

The other good news is that Arizona doesn't have to sit around while its lawyers appeal Judge Bolton's order. Instead, the legislators and governor can simply amend the law to fix the provisions to which the judge objected. Using my lawyer super-powers, let me propose the following bits of legal "duct tape" to fix the statute:

Arizona Judge Grants Republicans November Victory

Open borders advocates will presumably be jumping for joy at the ruling, announced just minutes ago, granting a preliminary injunction to prevent Arizona from enforcing its new immigration law.

Enjoy it while it lasts, people.

Judge Bolton has justed handed the Republican Party a slam-dunk issue in the November elections. 

Save Movie Jobs? Why Not Save ALL Jobs?

The City Council knows exactly how to keep jobs in Los Angeles, and exactly how to drive them away.  That is why, in its desire to keep film jobs here, the City Council is poised to offer "tax breaks and refunds" to that particular industry.

So why in the world don't they try to keep ALL jobs here? Why don't they eliminate the City's business tax altogether?

I'll tell you exactly why: Because they derive their power, and raise contributions for their campaigns, by retaining the ability to treat people and companies unequally.

Villaraigosa's Gang Program Still A Boondoggle

Google "Big Weasel"

You may have heard a sentence or two on the news about the City Controller's so-called "audit" of the Mayor Villaraigosa's so-called "anti gang" program, aka the "Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) Office." 


The audit is 98% bureaucratic blather, but buried therein are some facts guaranteed to make your taxpayer blood boil. Buckle up. Here goes:


-- Villaraigosa spends $18.5 million of your money on this program every year.


-- Villaraigosa has, since February 2009, actually increased the size of the staff assigned to the GRYD from 22 to 37 -- a 68% increase.

What Color Is The Sky On The Planet SEIU?

Artist's conception of Planet SEIU landscape.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the SEIU is criticizing the Engineers and Architects Association for accepting "unprecedented and dangerous" contract terms in negotiations with the City.  


What are these union-busting terms?  Let me quote from David Zahnhiser's article:


"Under the proposed pact, workers in the engineers' union would pay $20 per doctor visit, up from $10. Its workers would no longer receive $15 per month to enhance their life insurance and disability insurance. And union employees would pay 5% of their monthly healthcare premiums, according to city officials."


Wait, that's it? That's the supposedly onerous terms that will destroy labor?

The Department Of People Living In Cars

Hey, here's your opportunity, finally, to cash in on the ongoing boondoggle that is City Hall.


Step 1: You're going to need to form a "non-profit" corportaion, ideally with a Spanish name, like, "Viven en los Coches."


Step 2:  Negotiate an option to lease a parking lot from, say, six p.m. to six a.m., seven days a week. 

Law Firm Teaching City Controller Bankruptcy 101

According the Daily News, Latham & Watkins, a large downtown law firm, has prepared a 46-page Power Point presentation for the City Controller on the pluses and minuses of declaring bankruptcy.

I'm thinking the "pluses" will include:

• The Court will appoint a grown-up to manage the City, rather than leaving the big checkbook in the hands of Villaraigosa and the rest of the Spring Street Gang;
• The City will avoid all the onerous "poison pill" contract provisions that make it more expensive to lay off employees than keep them on the payroll;
  
  

Milk Police Are The Last Straw

Get it?  "Last straw?"

There is a security camera video from Los Angeles Times that has pretty much convinced me it's time to change my voter registration from "Decline to State" to "Libertarian." You and I, it turns out, are being taxed to pay for milk police.

Milk police!

To prevent adults from knowingly consuming "raw" milk, the government sent police, with their guns drawn, into a raw foods grocery store! GUNS DRAWN! You can see it in the video.

And this is just the latest example of a national trend.

Did He Fall On His Head? Villaraigosa's Latest Whoppers

The Daily News recently asked, "Has Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Checked Out?"  His response is too comical to ignore.  Check it out:

The People Demand More Photo-Ops

In response to the criticism that he spends too little time doing his job, and too much time flitting from one photo-op to the next, he says he "probably overreacted to that" and -- this is a direct quotation -- "Now, people are saying I need to get out more."

GM Buys Sub-Prime Lender And Screws You

So we taxpayers bailed out:

• a bunch of billionaire investment bankers who made bad investments;
• car companies that made ugly, over-priced vehicles no one wanted;
• banks that made loans to people who could never repay them; and
• speculators who bought those loans.

And what do we get for it?  More of the same, apparently. 

Pardon Me, L.A. Times, But Your Bias Is Showing

Bias can be pretty funny sometimes.


Today's Los Angeles Times, for example, features a story about how Arizona's new immigration law is supposedly bad for business because it's driving illegal aliens out of the state: "Fleeing Phoenix out of fear of Arizona immigration law" by Nicholas Riccardi.


Someone buys a tote bag at Mr. Katchi's store in Phoenix. According to Riccardi, that "means that another one of Katchi's customers, mostly Latino immigrants, is packing to leave the state before what is touted as the nation's toughest law against illegal immigrants takes effect July 29." Uh oh.

Will Federal Judge Find Arizona Law Unconstitutional?

Will the federal judge rule that Arizona's new immigration law is unconstitutional? 

I'm going to stick with the following prediction I made back on July 6, 2010, at the Mayor Sam website:

"For what it's worth, and for the record -- we have a record, right? -- I think parts of the law are constitutional, and parts are not."


"The parts that merely require state law enforcement agents to enforce federal law are constitutional."

Good News: Rosendahl, Parks, And Pension Reform

Finally, some good news about L.A.'s City Council and the City's pensions!

City Councilmen Rosendahl and Parks have introduced a motion to direct the City Administrative Officer to study and report on the feasibility of adopting a "hybrid" pension, as other states and cities have done, to solve the City's looming pension crisis.  The vote on the motion is set for tomorrow.

Good for Rosendahl and Parks!  Thank you, gentlemen, for taking on a high-priority issue.

Corporate Welfare For Convenience Store Owners?

The Philsopher Kings of Spring Street are at it again, with another brilliant scheme to rob Peter to pay Paul:  corporate welfare, 7-11 style.

The plan is to take tax dollars from families struggling to keep food on their tables and roofs over their heads, and give that money to the owners of convenience stores to pay for remodeling.  And when I say "give," I mean "give."

Each owner would receive:

• $75,000 for remodeling, which the business owner would not have to repay, and which is misleadingly referred to as a "conditional loan;"
  
  

Will Trutanich EVER Stop Asking For Contributions?

Politicians accept contributions while running for office to pay for TV and radio ads, yard signs, bumper stickers and so on.  

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, however, has continued to solicit and accept over $100,000 in contributions even after winning the election and taking office.  And at least $75,000 of that money went straight into his pockets, to repay loans he made to his own campaign.

Among his contributors are lawyers in law firms that receive contracts from -- you guessed it -- the City Attorney.

You Still Think Trutanich Is Better Than Weiss?

You say you still think City Attorney Carmen Trutanich is better than his opponent, Jack Weiss would have been?

I would have agreed to you -- up to the point he started spend taxpayers' money to help the ACLU and MALDEF sue the State of Arizona in an attempt to invalidate that state's new immigration law.

The City Attorney has a duty to obey the law, not just obey orders. Sometimes, one has a legal duty to disobey orders.  If the City Council gives the City Attorney ultra vires orders, he must decline to follow those orders.  It is no defense to say he was "just following orders."

Cardenas And Hahn In LAX Conflict Of Interest

The LA Weekly reports City Council Members Tony Cardenas and Janice Hahn have accepted contributions and other assistance from companies vying for valuable airport contracts.  

So when they decide which companies will get the contracts, will they base their decisions on what's best for the public, or what's best for their contributors?


We shouldn't have to wonder.  We're entitled to elected officials who don't put themselves in these conflicts of interest.

Daily News Wins "Caption Of The Week" Award

I thought this was a very funny caption for a very funny picture, featured in the Daily News for its editorial on how Villaraigosa, who never really did his job in the first place, doesn't even seem to be phoning it now.  Read all about it -- and put in your own two cents' worth -- at "We Ask:  Has Antonio Villaraigosa Checked Out?"

City Union Too Clever By Half?

There's an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about how various cities in California are replacing their employees with independent contractors: "Cities Rent Police, Janitors to Save Cash."

You want a crystal ball for L.A.? That's it.

The SEIU, through its current crop of puppet politicians downtown, has obtained sky-high salaries and golden parachutes galore for its members.  The resulting cash and pension obligations, however, are unsustainable, since the Spring Street Gang must also hand hundreds of millions of our tax dollars per year to two other special interest groups, namely, billionaire developers and "ex" gang members.

Video Of L.A. Clean Sweep Launch Party

Here's all 50 or so minutes of it.  If you hit play, then pause, then give it a few minutes to load, you can "scroll" forward or back to taste.  Is the 21st Century great, or what?  I've asked that they cast George Clooney to play me in the motion picture version.

L.A. Clean Sweep Kick Off, a big hit! from Michael N. Cohen on Vimeo.

Failed "Political Consultant" Tries To Divide L.A. Clean Sweep By Attacking Yours Truly

The shirt goes on the inside, Skippy.

So yesterday, after the wildly successful L.A. Clean Sweep launch party, I got a call from a reporter asking if I had any comment on some statement by some guy I never heard of:  Michael Trujillo.

What did this Trujillo fellah say? Nothing new. He merely trotted out the same lame and exhausted straw man that the open borders crowd has relied on for years to try to intimidate people:  he claimed I must be racist because -- like 74% of America -- I want our immigration laws enforced.

Wow. Is that really the best you've got, Skippy? "Racist?" That's it? You've had months to prepare, and that's the best you could come up with to try to divide and conquer L.A. Clean Sweep? What's your second argument? Do you even have a second argument?

America's Overwhelming Support For Arizona's Law

Have you seen the latest CBS poll on Arizona's new immigration law? Wow. Seventy-four percent of the respondents believe the law is either "about right" or "doesn't go far enough."

I guess the tactic of calling people "racist" to intimidate them into silence about illegal immigration isn't working any more. It's like when that kid pointed out that the emperor had no clothes.

Good. Let the open borders crowd deal with the merits of this debate for a change. Let them try to explain why illegal aliens are above our laws, and why we should export jobs and import poverty.

L.A. Clean Sweep Launch Party Huge Success

You would not believe how many people came out, on a day so very hot that my wife's sunglasses literally melted, to begin a peaceful revolution to replace half the L.A. City Council on March 8, 2011.  So let me prove it with a picture:

Everybody was there, including, for example:  Mayor Riordan, Mayor Sam, Ron Kaye, Doug McIntyre, Kevin James, Dr. Shirley Svorney, Jack Humphreville, Suzy Evans (on whose last name my brain seized up), David Berger, David Zahniser, the eight people who read my blog, and community leaders from all the heck over the place.

Is Janice Hahn Clinically Brain-Dead?

If her last name were not "Hahn," is there any way Janice Hahn would be on the City Council of America's second-largest city?

The question arises because, in her latest press release, City Council Member Hahn reports excitedly that she is working hard to spend your tax money subsidizing a company called Porteon that wants to make electric cars.

Well, "cars" is something of an over-statement. The finished product looks more like what you would get if you handed a golf cart to the cast of "Pimp My Ride." If you visit Porteon's website, you can't even see a picture of the "cars." What does that tell you?

Solve Your iPhone Problem With iGlove

Oh, like this is the stupidest thing you've seen today.

Billionaire Broadsided: Enter The Dragon

A funny thing happened on the way to the CRA's rubber-stamping of yet another round of corporate welfare for billionaire Eli Broad at your expense: competition.

Or, rather, what happened was attempted competition, which the CRA did its best to ignore. The CRA's commissioners put their fingers in their ears and sang "LA LA LA LA LA" really loudly for two minutes of public comment, thus invoking the "hear no evil" clause of the Brown Act.

Do The Math: L.A. Clean Sweep Could Work

Do you know how many votes -- or how few -- it takes to get elected to the City Council? Here are some hints: 

• The City of Los Angeles has a population of nearly four million people;
• The City comprises 15 Council Districts;
• Over 1.2 million L.A. residents voted in the November 2008 election.

You may be thinking something along the lines of, "Let's see, if I divide 1.2 million voters by 15 districts, that gives me approximately 80,000 voters per district, so I will guess that it takes 40,001 votes to get elected to City Council."


Wrong.  Way wrong.

Today Is "Be Kind To Billionaires Day" In L.A.

Hey, if you happen see a billionaire today, be sure to give him a hug, a $14 cigar and a nice tin of caviar, would you?  It's officially "Be Kind To Billionaires Day" in L.A.

Today is the day that Villaraigosa, through the CRA, will give yet another massive sweetheart deal to billionaire Eli Broad, the details of which I have already recounted for you.

In an attempt to make the giveaway sound less boondoggley -- which could be a real word, as far as you know -- Broad announced, after I posted the details of the deal, that he would generously pay $7.7 million to lease the land from the City, rather than the original $1 price.

The appropriate response to that is:  "BFD."

L.A. Clean Sweep: The Prequel

You know that L.A. Clean Sweep is having its launch party this weekend, and that you and your $20 bill are invited, right?  The goal is to find and support good candidates, rather than kooks, to replace half the City Council in March 2011.

What you may not realize is that yours truly started pitching the idea years ago, and that the number of votes required to win is, in a word, small.  Here's a video of my making the pitch back in August 2008 -- in case you're tired of watching good video elsewhere.

Coach Boondoggle

Does anyone else here smell "boondoggle?"

The L.A. Port has put out a request for proposals for "as-needed management / leadership coaches."  Duties include:  "Provide group and/or one-on-one coaching and mentoring sessions with designated Port staff."

Huh?  Why do I suspect that someone's cousin just happens to have an "as-needed management / leadership coaching" business that will land this contract?

Instead of squandering money on this, I say show employees the only motivational speech anyone ever needs to see:  Chris Farley as Matt Foley, giving his famous "Van Down By The River" talk.

How The Other Half Goes: LAWA VIP Porta Potties

Did you know that there is such a thing as a "portable VIP restroom?"

It turns out there is, and LAX wants a bunch of them. The airport authority has issued a request for proposals, in case you'd like to bid on them.

I don't have any big point to make.  I just think it's funny.  As I learned in comedy traffic school, the Second Law of Comedy is this:  anything involving a bodily function is funny.

I wish all the nasty little chambers of horror were instead the deluxe VIP models, with fresh bouquets, nice sinks with soap and hot water, clean towels, and a waiter outside to give us sparkling water upon our departure.

Hey, who exactly will get to use these, anyway?

L.A. Clean Sweep Launch Party

Ron Kaye's group, L.A. Clean Sweep, is having a launch party this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Mayflower Club at 11110 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood.  Twenty dollars gets you in.

If you can make it, great.  If you can't, however, do please sign up for his mailing list at LACleanSweep.com.  The goal is to find and support smart, viable, non-kooky candidates for the City Council election in March 2011.  That's when half the City Council seats -- the even-numbered districts -- come up for election.

Suggestion for potential candidates: attend, but do NOT wear the "I'm with Stupid" tee-shirt, seriously.

Kevin James Is Coming To Your Neighborhood

How would you like to meet someone who really knows what's going on at City Hall, and get a free, frosty, commemorative mug full of beer to boot?

Except for the part about the mug and beer, you can do just that, because radio talk show host Kevin James, of KRLA 870, is coming to your neighborhood.

Kevin plans to attend Neighborhood Council meetings all over the City, starting with the following:

• Monday, July 19, 2010,  7:00 p.m. - Reseda Neighborhood Council (American Legion Hall, 7338 Canby Street, Reseda)
• Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 7:00 p.m. - Venice Neighborhood Council (Westminster Elementary Auditorium, 1010 Abbott Kinney Blvd., Venice)
• Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 6:30 p.m. - Neighborhood Council Valley Village (Colfax Elementary, 11724 Addison Street, North Hollywood)

City Hall Giving Millions More To Billionaire Broad

You probably don't mind your tax dollars being used to help the blind and crippled, but if you're like me, you just can't embrace welfare for the rich.  That's not liberal, it's not conservative, it's just plain old Right and Wrong 101.

You may therefore wonder why the City of Los Angeles, through the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), is about to give billionaire developer Eli Broad even more of your money than it has already, notwithstanding the fact that the City is teetering on bankruptcy.

Walter Moore's Bio

Judy, Walter, Betty, Sam and Hank

Walter Moore is a business trial lawyer in Los Angeles, California. He writes essays on L.A politics at his website, WalterMooreSays.com.


Moore ran for Mayor of L.A. in the 2009 election, and finished second, with nearly 72,000 votes. He has vowed never to run for anything again except perhaps a bus or airplane.


Moore is registered as a "decline to state," and describes his politics as "a-la-carte-arian:" he supports or opposes a given public policy proposal based on its merits, regardless which party supports it and which party opposes it.


Moore graduated with honors from Princeton University in 1981, with a degree in Public and International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School, and graduated with honors from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1984, where he was an Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He passed the California Bar exam in 1984, and has been representing individuals and business in state and federal courts ever since.  


Moore has written and co-written the official ballot arguments against several local measures. He also wrote Jamiel's Law, a proposal to deny "sanctuary city" protection to gang members.


He and his wife, Judy Moore, live in the mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles. 


Moore's academic background focused heavily on public policy.  At Princeton, Moore took a year of microeconomics, a year of macroeconomics, public finance, mathematical econometrics, Soviet-type economies, Japanese industrial policy, and international trade.  Moore also studied public opinion and mass political behavior, the application of physics to contemporary problems, the history of American cities, international relations, ethics, and other subjects.


Moore worked his way through college, and several of his jobs involved public policy:

• Moore worked for the Florida Department of Education in Tallahassee, Florida, studying computer assisted instruction, and developing population forecasts to help determine how many schools and teachers would be needed.  
• Moore worked for a "think tank" in Cleveland, Ohio, quantifying the costs and benefits of weatherization programs.  
• Moore worked for economists at Princeton, editing reports on heath care financing. 

Moore was on Princeton's intercollegiate on-topic debate team, and acted as director of the program his senior year -- a position typically filled by faculty members at other universities. The debates focused on public policy issues such as military policy. Moore wrote his senior thesis on strategic nuclear policy.


During the summer before entering law school, Moore worked for the Legal Services Corporation, editing handbooks for lawyers representing the disabled.


While in law school, Moore was an Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal.  Besides taking courses in the basics, such as contract law, Moore took elective courses in administrative law, environmental law, accounting for lawyers, international law, corporations, tax law, trial practice, evidence, criminal procedure, and commercial law.


During his third year of law school, Moore also worked as a Law Fellow, teaching legal research and writing, and oral advocacy to first-year students. 


As a lawyer, Moore has handled disputes involving not just commercial and real estate disputes, but also First Amendment issues, FCC licensing, international aviation, and eminent domain.


Besides practicing law, Moore offers seminars, approved by the State Bar for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Credit, on "How to Win at Trial," "How to Litigate Efficiently," and "Public Speaking for Lawyers." Moore is also a licensed real estate broker.


Moore writes frequently on public policy issues concerning Los Angeles, and his essays are occasionally published in the Los Angeles Daily News.

Trutanich Is The New Weiss

We were promised a guard dog, but we got a lap dog, instead.  And I say that with no disrespect to lap dogs.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich promised, when running for the office, to stand up to the career politicians at City Hall.  He was, he said, no Jack Weiss.  He would represent the people, not just rubber stamp decisions by Villaraigosa and the Spring Street Gang. 


Not true.  We got gypped.

You're Paying $80,000 For Strangers' Vacation Slideshows

Here's an exciting business proposition for you:

If you hand me $10,000 in cash, I promise to spend it on a vacation abroad, and when I come back, you and, say, one or two hundred of your friends can come listen to me give a talk about what I did on my summer vacation. I'll even show slides.

What do you say?  You say "no," because you're not a complete idiot, despite all those things your friends say about you.

You, however, obviously do not work for Villaraigosa and the rest of the Spring Street Gang at City Hall.  You see, they're paying people $10,000 a pop to do just that:  take a trip abroad and come back and give a talk about it.

I am not making this up.

Remembering Terry Anderson

Let's start with that voice of his:  mesmerizing.

Terry Anderson’s radio show would have been worth listening to even if all he did was read aloud the ingredients of breakfast cereal. His voice was riveting. Booming -- really BOOMING -- one moment, then practically a whisper the next; relentless rapid-fire delivery mixed with pauses; he could have captured and held your attention even if you didn’t speak the same language. He was that good.

And Terry was hilarious. A boring man could never have coined the phrase, “The most horriblest clown of the week.” Even when he was “articulating the popular rage,” he could make you laugh. Mixing rage and laughter isn’t easy, but it made it easier for those of us in Terry’s audience to keep our spirits up in the face of the seemingly endless onslaught of, well, horrible clowns, week after week, year after year.

Essays Written Before July 9, 2010

To read essays posted at my "old" website, click here:
The original Walter Moore Says website

Walter Moore's Contact Info

Click here to send email to Walter Moore. Please do not call him.