No Budget Crisis When It Comes To Villaraigosa's PR

Ron Kaye reports that Mayor Villaraigosa is hiring -- with your tax dollars, of course -- someone to work as his "New Media Director:"  Here's the job description of the person who will Tweet for the twit:

Thank God that, while the City doesn't quite have enough money for librarians and firefighters, there's still plenty to add yet another sycophant to the Mayor's perpetually expanding PR staff.

If You Were My Facebook Friend

CRA Boondoggle: You And I Told 'Em So Long Ago

Greek mythology time: Cassandra had the gift of prophecy, but the curse that no one would believe her. Thanks loads, Apollo. The result, as the painting depicted here illustrates, is that she wanted to pull her hair out.  (Okay, I made up that part.)

But, Cassandra, darling, the nearly 72,000 of us who voted for yours truly for mayor in 2009 feel your pain. Here's why:

The local media -- and even the national media -- are reporting widely and repeatedly on Governor Brown's "novel" idea of abolishing L.A.'s Community Redevelopment Agency, and others, like it, throughout the state, that dole out your tax dollars as corporate welfare.

Hello!? McFly!?  Yours truly and the nearly 72,000 people who voted for me have been urging the same solution for years.

On March 23, 2008 -- nearly three frikkin' years ago -- as a mayoral candidate the local media elected to ignore, I specifically proposed shutting down the agency in my essay entitled "How to Close L.A.'s 'Budget Gap,' Cut DWP Rates and Eliminate Trash Fees."  Allow me to quote therefrom:

Stop Saying "Literally" When You Mean "Figuratively"

Betty means that both literally and figuratively, see?

Stop saying "literally" when you mean "figuratively," "honestly," "very," or anything else besides "literally."

It's word abuse, and it makes you look stupid.  So just stop it.

'Nough said. I'm glad we had this talk.

City Council Takes Care Of BFF Billionaire Developers

Today, the City Council voted unanimously -- 12-0 -- to approve the fraudulent conveyance of $52 million of taxpayer money to politically connected billionaires who fund their campaigns, by way of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).  David Zahniser has the details at the Los Angeles Times.

Moral of the story: friends don't let friends vote for any incumbents.  Do not, under any circumstances, vote for any of the following career politicians on March 8, 2011:

Where In The World Is Jose Huizar?

City Councilman Jose Huizar was too busy promoting himself at restaurant openings this morning to bother showing up on time for his job -- you know, the job we pay him six figures to do?

As a result of his failure to show, and City Councilman Koretz's failure to show -- Koretz invoked the "Sideway" defense of "stuck in traffic" -- the City Council lacked a quorum and sent home all the taxpayers who had taken time out of their schedules to address their officials.

What did members of the public want to discuss? According to the Los Angeles Times, Huizar's constituents wanted to give him an earful about his frenemies list:

Villaraigosa Should STFU About L.A.'s Crime Rate

If mayors in California were graded on crime-fighting, Villaraigosa would be in the bottom of the class.  You heard me:  bottom of the class.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, "safer than the 1950s." We've heard it again and again.  It's baloney. Let me tell you why:

If you analyze the latest statistics from the FBI, i.e., those from January to June 2010, you can determine the crime rate not just in the City of Los Angeles, but also in the other 63 cities in California with a population exceeding 100,000 that keep track of their crime systematically.

Now, judging from the amount of crowing Villaraigosa and his politically appointed police chief have been doing, you would think L.A. has the lowest crime rate in the state, wouldn't you? You would be wrong.

If you rank all 64 cities from those with the lowest crime rates to those with the highest crime rates, the City of Los Angeles is . . . drum roll please . . . Number 48. In other words, 47 big cities in California have lower crime rates than L.A., and only 16 cities have higher crime rates.  (See beautiful table below.)

L.A.'s Republican Party Gets A+ For Instant Improvement

For the first time in. . . ever?. . . the L.A. Republican Party has posted the names of Republican candidates running for local offices. And not just for the City of Los Angeles, but for all sorts of elections that most of us probably don't even know about.

Good for you, Republicans! That's a great first step. This can really help get out the vote and the support for your candidates. This is how you can use the interweb to try to improve the quality of life here in Southern California.

Another Villaraigosa Clown Arrested

The City of Los Angeles must have established a Department of Irony.

The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and dozens of other media sources are reporting that yet another of Mayor Villaraigosa's so-called "gang experts" has been arrested.


Apparently, someone was having a swingin' time at L.A. Live after midnight.  That's right, L.A. Live, which you and I subsidized the heck out of. The Times reports it as follows:

Do L.A.'s Reporters Know There's An Election On March 8?

Journalism is supposed to be the Fourth Estate, i.e., not just a business, but part of the foundation of democracy. Democracy doesn't work if people don't even know there's an election.

Does anyone in L.A. know there's an election on March 8, 2011 that will decide the future of America's second-biggest city? No. Have you seen any TV news stories letting the 1.5 million registered voters know that half the City Council's seats are up for grabs in just a few weeks? No.

Our Fourth Estate is broken here in Southern California.

Contrary to popular belief, it actually does matter who gets elected to local office -- at least, it matters in a city with a multi-billion-dollar annual budget and a population bigger than that of 23 states.

L.A. Republican Party's Talking Points For March Election

Get your "Marcel Marceau" on, people. Here's a screen shot of the L.A. Republican Party's talking points, taken on January 22, 2011, less than eight weeks before an election in which several Republicans are running for City Council in America's second-biggest city. Plus, note the "upcoming meeting" -- last week.

Here's Your Cheat Sheet With All The City Council Candidates' Websites

Wouldn't it be nice if there was one place you could go to find out who the City Council candidates are, their bios, their positions on the issues, etc.? Well, here it is.

Set forth below are links to the websites of each candidate or, more precisely, each candidate whose website I could find.  (If you can help me fill in the blanks, please do.)

Guess What Happens When You Give The L.A. Republican Party Constructive Criticism

Hey, remember that nice 19-minute video yours truly prepared, suggesting a 10-step plan of action for the L.A. Republican Party to start making a difference in local elections?

You'll never guess what happens when to try to help someone who has a problem, and who's in denial.  Rather than my summarizing the exchange, I'll just let you read the email between one Andrew Barnett (AndrewBarnett@Yahoo.com) and yours truly, including my horrid typos, because every second I'm banging out stuff like this is time for which I cannot bill:

Two Great Ideas: Delayed "Send" And State Bankruptcy

"Modern Family" is the funniest show ever.

Here are two great ideas for you, one from me, and one from people in Congress.

Great Idea 1:  Delayed "Send"
How many times have you hit "send" on an email, only to realize, seconds later, that you forgot to attach that thing you said you were attaching, or that maybe one particular recipient wouldn't appreciate that particular joke?

After watching an episode of "Modern Family" in which the plot involved an ill-sent email, it hit me:  Why not have a setting on your email so that when you hit "send," you don't actually send that very instant, but you instead merely put your email on a launch pad for, say one, two, five or even 10 minutes -- your choice? That way, you still have some time to make a change if an afterthought hits you.

L.A. Republican Party Still Dead

Remember how I showed you, a little while ago, that the Republican Party of Los Angeles County had nothing at its website about the Republican candidates running for City Council in America's second-largest city?

Betty Can Help You Relax

Just gaze at the picture and feel your troubles melting away....

Ten Percent Can Topple Cardenas, Wesson And Huizar

Spoiler alert:  these guys are NOT popular.

Do you realize what a tiny percentage of each district's registered voters it would take to get rid of City Councilmen Cardenas, Wesson and Huizar in the March 2011 election? Sure you do; you read the headline; just 10%.

Does L.A.'s Republican Party Have A Pulse?

On March 8, 2011 -- less than two months from today --America's second-biggest city will elect half the members of its City Council for the next four years.

What is the Republican Party of Los Angeles County doing to help the Republicans who are running for those offices? What is the Republican Party doing to get the names of those candidates out to the 273,000+ voters in the City who are registered as Republicans?

Not a damned thing, that's what.  Take a look at today's screen shot from the "candidates" page of the website of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County:

Today's CRA Agenda: Orgy Of Welfare For The Rich Continues

Peel me another grape, would you?

The CRA is like some kind of game show, where the goal is to give away as much taxpayer money as quickly as possible.  Read this from Ron Kaye's blog:

ACTION ALERT: The Community Redevelopment Agency Board meets at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Garland Center, 1200 W. 7th St., to rush through approval on a variety of projects, including $648,100 for guidebooks and mobile apps for downtown, Koreatown and Hollywood and increasing the subsidy to the Broad Museum from $35 million to $53 million. CRA staff also will report on the notorious 1601 N. Vine St. office project and the gift of $4 million to its developer Hal Katersky. 

Ron has the details at his blog. Yours truly has to get to work; there are bad guys who need suing in this town, as you know.

Seven Thousand More Reasons To Dump Cardenas In March

You know you're subsidizing low-riders, right?

Budget, schmudget. When you're a member of the Spring Street Gang, there's always plenty of money for friends and family.

For example, if you're City Councilman Tony Cardenas -- who's up for reelection on March 8, 2011 -- you don't care how many librarians and fire fighters are furloughed. Come hell or high water, your sister will receive her regular payment of thousands of taxpayer dollars for her "non-profit" organization, Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural.

What do we taxpayers receive in return for the tens of thousands of dollars -- or is it over $100,000 by this point? -- poured into Cardenas's sister's operation?

We get "creative services" for $13,500, or "music education programming" for $30,400,  or "music education services" for $13,000. Sure we do.

According to the City's contract website, the latest change to her contract was made on January 12, 2011, adding another $7,000 to sister's bank account last month:

How Do You Steal A Billion Dollars In Plain Sight?

How do you steal a billion tax dollars in plain sight?

If you're Mayor Villaraigosa, you simply have your political appointees enter into a sham "contract" between the City and one of its agencies, called the CRA, whereby the agency is "indebted" to pay the City a billion dollars.

That way, when Governor Brown tries to cut off funding for the agency to balance the State's budget, you say, "Oh! Sorry! No can do. You see, the agency has a contractual obligation to pay that money to the City."

Yeah, right. Good luck with that one, Tony. I'll be surprised if even L.A.'s corrupt City Council wants to take sides with Villaraigosa and the Billionaire's Club against Governor Brown and California's taxpayers.

This Commercial For AT&T Is Funnier Than Most Sitcoms

In Defense Of Insults

Ricky Gervais was hilarious at the Golden Globes. He was also carrying on a proud and noble tradition of Western Civilization by engaging in a vital part of our culture: hilarious insults.

Have we, as a nation, forgotten the art of the insult? It's an art demonstrated by such great thinkers as Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, Don Rickles, and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. And Dorothy Parker.

Let me give you a few examples:

Who's Running For City Council?

Who's running for City Council? The list of of candidates is set forth below.

Yours truly recommends you support -- and by "support," I mean send at least $25 immediately -- the following three candidates:  David Barron in District 6; Althea Shaw in District 10; Rudy Martinez in District 14.

Are there any candidates you like? Post a comment. Tell the rest of us why. And if you yourself are a comment, hey, post away. Over 12 people read this blog each month, so we're talking votes aplenty to be swayed.

Hey, do you know where each district is?  Here's a map:

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Did you notice what's wrong with the picture? What's wrong is that the overwhelming majority of the 1.5 million people registered to vote in the City of Los Angeles skip local elections -- like the one coming up on March 8, 2011.

Result? A city, teetering on bankruptcy, run by corrupt politicians who squander your hard-earned tax dollars on their cronies.

The good news is, they haven't figured out a way to screw up the delightful climate yet. Not locally, anyway.

RADIO ALERT: Marinko To Interview Moore On KABC 790

Rob Marinko, Sphinx.  Note comma and spelling, please.

Tune in no later than, say, 9:05 p.m. tonight, to hear yours truly interviewed by Rob Marinko on KABC 790. (Ideally, you will have already tuned in by 7:05 p.m., when Rob starts.) You can also catch us "streamling live" via KABC.com.  The subject: local politics.

All You Need To Know About Huizar

Hypothetical time:

Suppose you're one of 15 City Council Members in America's second-largest city. That city is teetering on bankruptcy, and has an unemployment rate much higher than the national and state figures. There's a massive pension debt bomb looming; employees are put on furloughs; library hours are curtailed; and yet, hundreds of millions of dollars are handed out every year to politically connected developers, "non-profits," and politicians' family members (e.g., giving Tony Cardenas's brother-in-law money to send low-rider cars to Mexico).

What should you do?  What problem should you tackle first?

Fraudulent Conveyance: Will City Council Ratify CRA Scam?

I preferred "Existentialism and Bankruptcy"

Nearly a billion dollars -- that's how much we're talking about.  And it's your money, you, the taxpayer.

Governor Brown had the audacity to suggest that, in light of the state's budget deficit, schools and fire departments are a higher priority than handing out hundreds of millions of dollars of subsidies to politically connected billionaires and millionaires.

Villaraigosa and his puppet masters couldn't just sit by for that kind of craziness, could they?  Noooooo.

They therefore pulled a stunt we in the legal trade call a "fraudulent conveyance." Ignoring the standard statutory public notice period, Villaraigosa's appointees on the CRA board made some kind of quick-and-dirty deal this morning -- the details of which have yet to be publicized -- whereby $930 million of assets would be transferred immediately from the agency to the City government.

The object of the exercise was to put the billion beyond Brown's grasp.

VIDEO: Ten-Step Program For L.A.'s Republican Party

Yours truly presentingslideshow to Westisde Republicans.

Time for some brutally frank "tough love:"  the Republican Party for the County of Los Angeles is little more than a social club for the elderly -- and I say that with no disrespect for social clubs or the elderly.

The party could and should be a powerful force for improving the quality of life in Southern California. So yours truly has created a video slideshow setting forth ten specific steps to move the party in that direction.

Warning:  For most people, it's probably not worth 20 minutes of your time to watch this. However, if you're a Republican anywhere in Los Angeles County who's interested in making your party relevant, give it a try. After all, you can just stop watching it if you don't find it worthwhile.  Okay, here goes:

The Lesson Of Tuscon Isn't Civility, But Civil Commitment

The lesson of Tuscon isn't that we need more civil debate -- though we do.

Rather, the lesson is that we need to put crazy people in mental institutions.

We don't do them or ourselves any favors by letting them wander around. Waiting for them to hurt themselves or innocent third parties before intervening is the public policy equivalent of Russian roulette.

State legislators around America should be working with psychiatrists to draft new legislation making it easier to get crazy people off the streets and keep them off the streets.

Ten-Step Program For L.A.'s Republican Party

UPDATE:  If you would like to watch a NARRATED version of the slide show, click here.  The video posted below just shows the slides, without the narration; faster, but less informative.

****************************************************

Here are the slides in the presentation I gave to the Westside Republicans tonight. Maybe later I'll add some pithy audio, but these at least give you the gist of the presentation. If you're in the Republican Party, and you want to help make L.A. a nice place to live again, you may want to invest four-and-a-half minutes watching this.  [CLICK HERE FOR NEWER VERSION WITH PITHY AUDIO]

Villaraigosa's Phony Rationale For Re Parking Lot Ripoff

The following passage from David Zahniser's latest article neatly sums up the completely phony justification Villaraigosa has given for selling your parking lots to his campaign contributors for a song:

Villaraigosa and Santana contend that parking garages are not a "core service" of City Hall and should therefore be turned over to a private company. Those statements drew a sharp response from Laura Lake, co-president of Save Westwood Village, a group that opposes the inclusion of the Broxton garage in the proposed parking deal.

If the city opposes subsidies for parking garages then it should also embrace the decision by Gov. Jerry Brown to eliminate its redevelopment agency, a department that routinely doles out subsidies to businesses across the city, Lake said.

Some redevelopment "has been socialism for the rich," Lake said. "And if this city believes in the marketplace for parking, they should believe in the marketplace for redevelopment."

What Part Of "Temporary" Don't You Understand?

Several years ago, California's taxpayers agreed to "temporary" tax hikes that were supposed to enable Sacramento to balance the budget.

Guess what happened? The Legislature spent every single penny of that tax money, and then overspent by billions more.

Now that the temporary tax hikes are finally expiring, Governor Brown wants us to fall for the exact same thing again. Just give him a few more years of extra taxes, he promises, and this time, he'll really, really, really close the deficit. Promise.

No frikkin' way. Sacramento had its chance.

Invitation Reminder: Westwood Wednesday Night

You didn't forget, did you?

Wednesday night? Westwood? You, me, a projector, a screen and a Reuben sandwich?

Click here to see your invitation.

Even Washington Post Rails Against California Bullet To Nowhere

Artist's conception of bullet train's too short route.

Hey, Governor Brown, I've got another way for you to prevent the waste of billions and billions of taxpayer dollars:  step away from the bullet train to nowhere.

I've railed against this boondoggle before. (Get it? "Railed against?")

Now even The Washington Post is no longer on board. (Get it?  "On board?")

So here's what you need to do:

L.A. Billboard Law In A Nutshell

If you'd like to learn about L.A.'s billboard laws without spending hours or losing your will to live, there's an article you might like in this month's Los Angeles Lawyer magazine. Here's a link to the magazine in PDF format. The article starts on page 9, is entitled "Deciphering Los Angeles's Billboard Laws," and was written by attorney Aamir Raza.

Go, Jerry, Go! Brown Cancelling 48,000 Cell Phone Contracts

Can you hear me now? I am loving this guy more by the hour! Governor Brown is doing the right thing AGAIN: you and I will no longer be paying for 48,000 cell phones used by state employees.

Governor Brown Gets A+ On Welfare For The Rich

Welfare is for the needy, not the greedy.

That is why I have always opposed "welfare for the rich," i.e., programs that redistribute income from Joe Taxpayer to politically connected companies. The City of L.A.'s primary pork delivery system is called the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).

Delight was therefore the emotion that resulted from my reading the following passage in today's Los Angeles Times about Governor Brown's plans to cut California's budget deficit:

Villaraigosa's Parking Lot Ripoff, or Why You Must Teach Your Children Logic

Consider the following quotation from an article in The Los Angeles Times regarding Villaraigosa's attempts to sell your parking garages to special interests:

"The mayor said in his letter the city can no longer afford to manage parking garages and told council members that they must 'accept this economic reality' and stop using taxpayer money to keep hourly rates low. "

Huh? Or, as the kids say today, "WTF?" Reading that passage set off every BS detector in the house.  "Using taxpayer money to keep hourly rates low?" Give me a break.

Here's Brown's Budget For Your Lunchtime Enjoyment

Want to see your new governor's new budget proposal? It's online here:  ebudget.ca.gov. If you're not THAT into it -- and who is, really? -- this table gives you the big picture. 

Put Crazy People In Mental Institutions

Can we please start confining crazy people to mental institutions?

This weekend's murder illustrates that they are a danger to others. Why do we wait until after a crazy person had killed or injured someone to lock them up?

Crazy people are also a danger to themselves. We don't do them any favors by turning them loose to live on the streets, in a world that, due to their mental illness, is extra terrifying and confusing.

Mental illness is different from physical illness. We need to recognize that. Letting a person whose brain doesn't work decide whether to stay in an institution is, well, crazy.

Fun Fact About California Budget Crisis

"An estimated 70 percent of the taxes collected by the state now goes to local governments."


So says The New York Times. I had no idea. That's huge.


This very interesting fact will be important in coming weeks, months and years, because apparently one of Brown's key ideas for balancing the state budget is to cut back on the amount of money the state government redistributes to the local governments.

You're Invited To My Presentation Wednesday Night In Westwood

You -- yes, you -- are invited to come see me in person this Wednesday night as I present my brand-new slide-show to the Westside Republicans, entitled, "Ten-Step Program for L.A.'s Republican Party."

I know, I know:  I'm not a Republican, and I never actually won an election, so why in the world should they listen to me? Well, before Edison discovered exactly which filament worked in a light bulb, he discovered dozens and dozens of methods that did not work. Maybe it's like that.

Plus, it's going to be Jerry's Deli in Westwood, so you can nosh, albeit and your own expense and caloric risk.

Attention Lazy L.A. Journalists: It's About Villaraigosa's "Budget Crisis"

Why do L.A.'s "journalists" never ask the Mayor, Miguel "DUI" Cortines, and the City Council about cutting the CRA's budget?

Nearly $600 million per year in subsidies to politically connected developers and businessmen -- why is that more important than police and libraries?  Repeat: NEARLY $600 MILLION PER YEAR.

Don't take my word for it, lazy local media. Look at the actual friggin' budget, with your own eyes. No, don't take some politician's word for it, either. Look at the actual @#$% budget for yourself. And don't buy some lame-ass claim like "oh, those funds can't be cut." Or "that's a special fund." That's BS.

Cutest Video Ever: Penguin In Japan Shops For Fish

Villaraigosa's Plan To Sell Your Streets Hits Pothole

Long story short, because someone is rushing to Court for an 8:30 a.m. hearing:

Remember how Villaraigosa was going to paper over the budget deficit resulting from his over-spending? He planned to sell YOUR parking structures, and YOUR street parking, to private companies for a song. This would produce a short-term infusion of cash -- long enough to get him through the remainder of his term -- and jacked-up parking prices for you and me for the 50 to 99 years thereafter.

Villaraigosa could simply jack up the parking rates himself, but then he'd be the bad guy (rate-hiker) instead of the hero (cash infusion), and what would all those nice out-of-state contributors who buy parking lots think about the money they "invested" in his campaign?  (Click here for one of my prior essays on the subject.)

Ticketgate: Six Months, Three Investigations, Zero Action

More than six months have passed since three different agencies started investigating Ticketgate.

You remember Ticketgate, right?  If you want the details, click here for an essay I wrote back on June 27, 2010, entitled "Ticketgate: Villaraigosa's Illegal Scheme to Promote Himself at Taxpayer Expense."

Alternatively, here's a recap:

The Future Of Warfare: Stealth Robot Laser Blimps

Yours truly, based on his vast military education and research, predicts that the future of warfare -- actually, I think we probably already have them -- is stealth, remote-control and/or robot blimps.

Think about it:  they can hover silently for just about ever; you can make them virtually invisible; and they have got to be cheap to build. How many airships could you park in the skies above, say, Afghanistan for the cost of one advanced fighter?

Plus, forget about equipping them with missiles. That is so last century. They will have lasers.

When I write that techno-thriller I keep threatening to write, these will be the main character. . . .

Here's a very interesting illustration from Northrop Grumman, a defense contractor. I found it after I came up with the idea.  Hey, you think I could get a job coming up with new ideas for weapons?

Northrop Gruman "Skystrike" illustration

Anyway, remember:  You read it here first.

You say you want more? Okay, click "read more" to see more beauties:

Politics 101: Try To Avoid Looking Like A Kook

Does Cosmo have a fashion do's and don'ts for politicians?

Maybe, because City Council candidate Stephen Box FINALLY got the message, and lost his creepy chin pubes -- that is a perfectly legitimate Clueless term, BTW -- and his Jackie Stewart cap. He also switched from a brown sport jacket to a dark suit with a tie. Good for him. This will enable voters in Council District 4 to at least listen to what he says.

If I were a paid political consultant, this make-over would have been a precondition of my contract.

Oh yeah.  You blend.  (My Cousin Vinnie.)

Before and after.

OBSCENE: Schwarzenegger Commutes Nunez's Son's Prison Sentence

In the Schwarzenegger remake, you CAN.

Turns out you CAN get away with murder in this state, provided you're politically connected.

Outgoing California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has commuted the prison sentence of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez's son.

Prosecutors charged the son, Esteban Nunez, with the murder. To avoid a life sentence for that crime, he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault. Now his sentence will be a paltry seven years instead of a paltry 16 years.

I wonder if Schwarzenegger has the guts to meet with the murder victim's parents and explain why one of their son's killers should walk free. Here's the L.A. Times story on this perversion of power.


There are two classes of people in California: those above the law, including elected officials, their cronies, and illegal aliens; and the rest of us.

Start The Year With A Laugh

Do you ever set out to do something, and get distracted along the way? Me, too. In fact, I posted this video while folding clothes, which I accidentally started doing instead of sweeping up the needles from the Christmas tree, on my way to the gym...