After taking some time from posting and just observing what's going on, it's hard to be positive about the political situation and the economy, but sometimes seeing reality hit high-profile figures is satisfying for the good and the bad things. Just to be brief- for a change- here's some of what I have noticed in case you have been too busy to see such items.
It's good to know that the Mayor is able to break out of that phony friendly, handshaking, photo-opping role he plays when he showed his displeasure, or even some real anger, when he responded to the City Council's budget committee's recommendation to put a hiring freeze on police. You will remember that this 1,000 officer goal has been Tony's major hook to hang his had for any accomplishment and this is about all that's left in his administration that he's almost achieved.
And that achievement is an expensive one. Mayor Tony, in effect, "threw the L.A. residents under the bus" as far as costs to be paid, boosting the trash collection fee by triple what it was, cancelling the "step-increases" of a gradual increase over 3 years for "quick cash." That STILL did not pay the bill as promised and the charges continue to get this thing happening, at all costs, at all costs TO US, not to TONY. It's a political tool, one thing he needs for his Governor's race aspirations. So his anger (and it may be "rage") overshadows all common sense from a position of economic survival of the city. I hope the Council does not yield on this point. See below for what I mean of disappointing Council performance.
They told you "L.A. residents have to pay for this service like other cities and not expect it for free anymore." I think Greig Smith was that messenger of baloney- what was so annoying about his statement, and he can be as annoying as any of the CMs, is that it was all a lie.
Being a lie spoken in City Council chambers is nothing new. It's come to be part of the procedure, like expecting that ball players will sweat while playing their games. But the trash expense WAS part of what was part of city planning in budgets and SUPPPOSED to be in the lump sum tax bill. Only now the change was that the Council got their marching orders from the Mayor that they needed to "generate more revenue"- so the "trash fee" was extracted to become a separate item so they could justify attaching a separate bill to create more billing for residents.
That was one fraud of many that continue to be perpetrated against the L.A. public. The Mayor has hit the cover of L.A. Magazine in a big way. "Failure" printed boldly across his photo- something that will get his attention, no doubt. It's coming out Monday and the picture is the big clue to what the content of the article will demonstrate.
Better news-Lincoln High alum Carlos Moreno of the Summer Class of 1966, who may be more precisely addressed as Hon. Carlos Moreno, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, is on the "short list" for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill in a vacancy that is created by the announced retirement of Justice Souter.
In the Chicago Tribune's Washington Bureau blog, "The Swamp"- you will find some reader comments after the main story that gives you a brief summary of the situation. http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/05/carlos_moreno_supreme_court_ca.html
I haven't seen Carlos Moreno in recent years, but I have seen him from time to time since leaving Lincoln High, mostly before he was a judge, and less frequently afterwards. He's been a supporter of alumni activities and in my opinion a good person- and importantly, there's lots of judges who are nowhere near that, too. But combining those contacts with what I see of his work and opinions as a judge, it would be a very satisfying selection all around to see him replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.
Justice Moreno is the only male on the "list" according to one network's story. "Women Dominate Supreme Court Short List;President Obama Is Considering Mostly Women As He Narrows Down List Of Possible Successors To David Souter," the CBS News blog, dateline: WASHINGTON, May 13, 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/13/politics/main5012138.shtml If you consider that the Obama administration is trying to be all things to all people, something that makes it very susceptible to not working out well, the appointment of a woman to the position is urged by many groups, of course, The appointment of a Latino (or "Hispanic," as the governement calls this group, a label that I thoroughly despise as being completely a synthetic creation of government, and misleading- not to mention that having "panic" is a word is another undesireable) is another goal, and there's Latina candidates for the position, as well.
If Justice Moreno is to prevail as nominee, he has to overcome that and other competition. A Latina nominee would hit two goals for the administration, and that's one point. A condition that I have observed in Latino involvement in political things, and most things, for that matter, is that there's lots of "in-fighting" among competing groups within the Latino cultures- and that's a plural that I insert, since what's included are many different groups and cultures under that label. When one gets ahead, you can count on someone or group to jump in and derail the move for any of a number of reasons.
When people talk of the "Latino Community" (or "Hispanic Community", ugh) it's a fiction. What is that? I might as well insert here my disdain for those who jump in front of the news cameras and say, "We represent the "_______ community' and we say......." Really? Who voted them in? All a fiction and positions and words that are generated when there is a commotion of a social or political movement in progress. But all that behind us, we can see that the female Latina jurist, U.S. Appeals Court judge Sonia Sotomayor is a prime challenger for the position.
Whoever is selected will have to get through the confirmation hearings to finally get the appointment approved, so whoever gets the nod will have to manage this item that may or may not be a huge obstacle, but other nominees have been kept from the appointment at this point.
Well, that's my little blurb, prompted by many who anticipated I would write about Justice Moreno, as if I didn't know about it, but it's still a positive item that will take care of itself, and the upcoming local elections are so pressing for all that they represent in day to day life, that I did not give much thought to this judicial matter. Good luck on this, Carlos.
More to come on all of this later. One more thing- DON'T vote for outgoing City Council Member JACK WEISS- total bad news. Carmen Trutanich for City Attorney- a seasoned attorny and with actual prosecutorial experience and not a rubber-stamp rookie for Mayor Villaraigosa like Jack, his shadow, is. The more you know of Jack Weiss, the more you will dislike him for what he does and has failed to do.
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