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Saturday, November 18, 2006

Saturday Open Thread

Remember Father Guido Sarducci's five-minute college degree?

Of course you don't. You were born, like, 10 minutes ago.

He was a comedian who would teach you, in five minutes, everything you would have remembered from your education if you had gotten a college degree 10 years earlier, which is to say, not very much.

In that same spirit, here's all you need to know about today's news: a teeenager was murdered in the Valley, by other teenagers; raccoons are on a rampage of violence in Venice against homeowners' pets; the County, flush with cash, is flushing away your money on 15% pay raises over the next three years and, therefore, all of eternity (can't wait to see the pension funds come due on that); and last, but not least, the FDA has given new meaning to "you MUST be gellin'," by approving the re-release of silicon gel breast implants, as opposed to those unnatural saline jobs.

Oh, and there's one more, the one that bugs me probably even more than paying a grifter $2.7 million. What is the most distinctively "L.A." tree? What tree, when you see it, induces calming tropical thoughts? That's right: the palm tree. So naturally, the City Council wants to get rid of them. Just when you think the City Clowncil could not possibly do anything more stupid, they come up with a novel way to reach a new low.

Per the L.A. Times: "Councilwoman Hahn said the city's move away from palm trees was spurred in part by a public works analysis of satellite imagery that suggests that only 17% of Los Angeles is covered by a tree canopy. The average U.S. has 28% shade coverage."

Well THAT certainly proves the palms are fault, doesn't it? I mean, the lack of trees couldn't possibly have anything to do with the ongoing replacement of houses, with yards, by giant apartment complexes with zero set-backs, could it? And comparing L.A. -- with its 3.9 million people crammed into 469 square miles -- to America's "average" city certainly makes sense.

Hey, Janice, instead of giving tax dollars to developers to build more and more, why not use that same money to buy land all around the City to create "pocket parks" full of trees so families can have somewhere nice to walk in their own neighborhoods?

Nyah. There's no campaign money in doing something for the public interest, is there?

Okay, people, time for you readers to go out there and earn some money. The City's millionaires are counting on you to generate the taxes they need to turn a profit on their next construction project.

But before you do, blog away.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Aren't you being unfair to Ms. Hahn? Of course not. Each day there is enough done by at least one of our councilpeople to let us know why they get the big bucks. As an astonished Jack Benny used to say (even before there was Father Guido Sarducci), "WEEELLL!!??"

Since elections are over I suppose the councilmembers will retreat into their own world of special interest agendas and blow off the public until time comes again that they need votes. Meanwhile, I expect that they will be working on getting more of that lubricant, MONEY, for their political machinery to fend off any future office challengers.

Along the way, we will continue to suffer more gems like the one you cited from Ms. Hahn. And we have to give her the big "Duuhh?" for this one.

BTW, remember it was our dear Mayor AV who said that the days of big yards (where you usually can find a tree or two) are GONE, and that L.A. is changing. More or less, his message was, "Accept it." Thank you, you great social architect.

I would like our councilpersons to get more REAL. Their salary raises are so neatly detached from their control- "What, another raise for me? It's set by the law, not us- Can't do anything about it." Such a clever device. Blah. Getting real means to get down to business on GANG violence, work on some tough love instead of buckling under to every special interest with a big mouth or big checkbook.

People are dying from these civil terrorists and all the sadness for the victims- and many there are- should open the eyes of the powers that be. Put away your proclamations and stop hurting you arms slapping yourselves on the back (Hi, Mayor) and do SOMETHING meaningful.

How are we supposed to enjoy Trees if there's a chance you or someone you know might be shot. I don't think there is an "acceptable level" for such deaths.

Anybody can be victimized by gang violence these days. And let's not forget, councilpersons, that the TRASH "FEES"(aka, "taxes") were created to get more cops onboard... so apply it to that end. I wonder why someone would want to get a job where their career could end in an a matter of moments, either through death or injury, or having a particular action dissected until it's found "out of policy" or worse.

rg in lovely e.r., a part of CD-14, Hello, Mr. Huizar.

November 18, 2006 8:04 AM  

Blogger Walter Moore said:

Great points re the Mayor and the murder.

We should also point out that, while telling the rest of us to let go of our selfish desire to have even the tiniest of yards, he himself moved into the Mayoral Mansion, in a gated community, and has his chauffeur drive him to work. Why not instead move into an apartment in a high-rise downtown and walk to work?

Oh, I forgot: he's never in the office anyway.

And yes, Ms. Hahn and Clowncil Members, how about you take care of the hundreds of murders per year before moving on to whether our city is photogenic when observed from space?

November 18, 2006 12:30 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Is Ms. Hahn or any of the other Clowncil members aware that 100- year-old trees are being taken down all over the city by their developers which are then replaced by a couple of seedlings that take 100 years to grow to be, yes, 100-years-old?

They were arm-twisted into expanding the Tree Ordinance, but guess who has the right to make the discretionary decision to allow the trees to be taken down anyway? Why the City, of course.

Sure they are aware of all this! Do they give a damn? Hell, no!

November 20, 2006 10:47 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Has anyone been to Sierra Madre? They don't have many, if any, palm trees, but they save all of their old trees at any cost. What a beautiful little town.

Gail Goldberg and the councilmembers ought to go for a view and have lunch at one of their great restaurants. Maybe they would learn something.

November 20, 2006 10:51 PM  

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