Aiding And Abetting

Where is the outrage over the murder of American citizens by illegal alien gang members? Doug McIntyre asks and answers that question in a terrific column, published in today's Daily News.  Rather than my summarizing it, I recommend you read it.
   

And thank you, Doug McIntyre, for expressing the outrage that at least 72,000 of us in L.A. feel, i.e., those of us who voted for me for Mayor in 2009, feel. Supporters of Jamiel's Law will always feel contempt for Mayor Villaraigosa, City Council Members Dennis Zine, Jan Perry, Bernard Parks, Eric Garcetti and everyone else at City Hall for continuing to aid and abet the murder of American citizens like Jamiel Shaw, II, by maintaining Special Order 40 and the related police policies that make Los Angeles a sanctuary for criminal gangs.
   

In contrast to Doug's excellent essay, today's L.A. Times includes an astounding bit of pro-illegal-alien propaganda, worked into an editorial on why we shouldn't worry about the court-ordered release of thousands of prisoners from California's prisons. Check out the last two clauses in this quotation:

"Despite all those releases, crime rates are at the lowest levels since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. Serious crime and arrests have been dropping in California and across the nation for years. While criminologists do not have an easy explanation for the huge crime decline, the evidence points to more effective policing, improved prevention programs for at-risk families and an influx of immigrants, who traditionally have very low crime rates."

I'm calling "BS" on that assertion.

Bullet Train? More Like Slug.

California, a state with a multi-billion dollar deficit, which is under court order to release prisoners due to overcrowding, has a Legislature that is busy aiding and abetting the violation of federal immigration laws and -- I'm getting to it -- spending billions of dollars it does not have on a so-called "bullet" train, the first leg of which will go from nowhere (Borden) to nowhere (Corcoran), which is essentially the same as going from the south side of Fresno to the north side of Fresno.

But hey, a journey of a thousand miles begins with one billion dollars, so let's be fair:  how much faster will this train let people travel through California upon completion?

According to the website of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, some day you will be able to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in as little as -- drum roll, please -- two hours and 38 minutes. Wow. That number is impressive, compared to traveling by ordinary trains. 

The number is far less impressive, however, when you compare it to aviation -- a mode of transportation used by actual human beings, as opposed to, say, freight and cattle.

How To Fix Golf In Three Simple Steps

Golf doesn't have to remain the agonzingly dull waste of bandwidth it is today. Three simple steps are all it would take to fix golf:

Step 1:  Change the name to "Extreme Golf."
Anything with "extreme" in the name is going to be better. Plus, you're not getting younger players without it.

Step 2:  Base the scoring on speed, not strokes.

If I want to see a bunch of men walking around on a lawn, well, why would I want to see that? Let's see people running, moving as fast as they can. Don't make the winner the person who gets the ball in 18 holes in the fewest number of strokes.  Instead, make golf a timed event, and make the winner the person who gets the ball in 18 holes in the shortest amount of time.

Yes, City Hall Is Still Screwing You

How long does it take you to save up $12,000? Far longer than it takes City Hall to squander it.


Your boondoggle du jour is this:  Villaraigosa and the City Council handed over $12,000 of your tax money to some outfit called "Poor Dog Group" to "conduct one program of theatre arts in the Netherlands." Hey, I'd like a free frikkin' trip to the Netherlands myself. Tulips and dikes -- what's not to like? Contract No. C-118811:

The fun doesn't stop there.

Law For Lawyers

If you're licensed to sue, or otherwise find the law interesting, you may want to take a look from time to time at a second blog I've set up to focus on legal matters.  It's called Law for Lawyers, but you don't have to be a lawyer to read it.

Culture of Corruption: Another Guilty Plea From City Hall

The culture of corruption at L.A.'s City Hall continues:  a second building inspector is pleading guilty to bribery. Perhaps he can call someone with a Gold Card and get out of it.

Gold Card Scandal Is But A Grain Of Sand On An Oil-Soaked Beach

The scandal du jour at L.A.'s City Hall is Gold-Card-gate, whereby corrupt politicians -- redundant, I know -- let their cronies escape liability for parking tickets.  The local paper says residents are "furious" about it.

But this oily, sleezy scam is merely one of thousands occurring each year in this town.  Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are routinely handed out each year, by these same politicians, to billionaires.  Tens of thousands of dollars go to friends and family for such absurd "public services" as taking low-rider cars to Mexico for an exhibition.

There's An Election Today In Los Angeles

Yeah, it's raining. Yeah, it's the Community College Board. But if you vote, you get an exceptionally cool "I voted" sticker.

Vote for Gutierrez.  Here's a link so you can find your polling place.

POST-SCRIPT:

Oh! As Amy Alkon (syndicated columnist on whom Governor Schwarzenegger tried to hit while in traffic on Lincoln) reminds me -- see comment below -- there IS the matter of that Congressional seat up for grabs, too!

SON-OF-POST-SCRIPT

I voted, as had 13 other people in my precinct by 4:30 p.m.

Sam

Sweetest dog ever.  We'll never forget you, Sammy.  Good boy.

Art and Architecture in Los Angeles in 2011

Why did they bother with the statue?

You Should Google More During Your Commute

How can we get people to Google more frequently?

Easy! Get them to use the internet during their commutes, by building cars that drive themselves.

Google rocks. Read all about how the company is lobbying Nevada for permission to deploy the robot cars:  click here.

Obama Gives New Meaning To "Basically Complete"

Today, President Obama proclaimed that the fence along our border with Mexico is "basically complete."  I am not making this up.

The fence is "basically complete."

I don't know about you, but I, for one, plan to embrace his linguistic strategy wholeheartedly.

Let's say it's your turn to wash the dishes. You rinse, maybe, one plate. It's time for you to announce that washing the dishes is "basically complete."

Trying to lose 20 pounds? Well, if you leave one of those three doughnuts on the plate tomorrow morning -- say it with me -- your diet is "basically complete." Congrats, slim.
  
The best application, however, is to use Obama's newspeak against the federal government itself. The IRS says you owe $20,000 this year? Send 'em a check for $500, and tell them your payment is "basically complete." Actually, if you try that one, there's a good chance you'll see a completed fence, every day, for three to five years.

Assassinating terrorists in one thing. Assassinating the English language is another. I don't mind presidents who disagree with me about policy.  That's okay.  But I don't like it when my president lies so blatantly and badly that it's actually insulting to my intelligence.

Your Guide To Fleeing L.A.: Costco Locations In America

As you consider where to re-locate upon fleeing Los Angeles, you may want to make sure there's a Costco nearby:

Trutanich's Latest Publicity Move: Blame The Deep Pocket

Henry Potter - Evil Banker

So City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has elected to sue a bank which made the mistake of lending money to people who wanted to buy homes in the City of Los Angeles.

Judging from the article in the Los Angeles Times, Trutanich says the bank foreclosed on the properties and then effectively became a slumlord. What are the signs of that? Well, the houses are run down, there's graffiti, there's prostitution, squatters, gang members and other criminals.

And we're supposed to believe that's the BANK's fault? Are you kidding me?

Osama's Death Means New Life For Hollywood

My movie poster is ready. All I need is the pitch meeting.

We're looking up, from the ocean floor, seeing the bottom of that big aircraft carrier, as we see a splash off the port side....

The camera backs up -- I forget what that's called -- to reveal that the body is drifting towards the wreck of an old Soviet submarine, one that had a nuclear reactor.

Cue the music. . .   "Octopus's Garden."

LA Times Analysis of Kevin James For Mayor Overlooks Fact That Republican Party Of LA County Can Elect Him Just By Showing Up

Take an umbrella with you tomorrow, because pigs are now airborne:  the Los Angeles Times has finally gotten around to covering the best candidate for Mayor, namely, Kevin James.  Read all about it.

The gist of the article is that Kevin James will have to build coalitions to win.  


In fact, however, the numbers show that all it would take for Kevin James to become the next Mayor of America's second-biggest city is for Republicans to show up. 


The reason is that voter turn-out in L.A.'s local elections is shockingly low.  Indeed, over 88% of the City's voters simply skipped the 2011 election. Just skipped it.


I've done the math for you before, I'll do it again here now.  Here's the short version:

• There are over 287,000 registered Republican voters in the City of Los Angeles.
• In 2009, Villaraigosa was elected with about 153,000 votes.

Do you "get" the significance of that?


If the Republicans just SHOW UP, Kevin James wins.

Local Government Goes Fight Club: Full Employment For Lawyers

Remember in Fight Club when Edward Norton realizes he is also Brad Pitt, and he had actually punched himself in the face that first night? It's kind of like that.

Click on picture for motion

The Los Angeles Unified School District is suing the City of Los Angeles for selling it contaminated land for a school.

Who will win the lawsuit? The lawyers. Who will lose? You, the taxpayer. You are paying for both sides of one lawsuit, in a fight over who gets to spend your tax dollars. Brilliant.