GM and Uncle Sam

Well, isn't THAT special! Uncle Sam has finally grown some huevos and laid down the law for GM and Chrysler: you take public money, you are accountable to public officials. Bye bye, Rick Wagoner! (Hmmm...wonder what color HIS parachute is...).

Isn't it interesting that all these capitalists are suddenly beating at the door of the GOVERNMENT to bail them out of the piles of CRAP their self-centered over-indulgences have created over the years? How long did they think world markets would tolerate their stupidity? They learned nothing from the 70's and 80's...now they have no right to cry when the big "guy" with the money bags actually wants a say in how they run things. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

And please don't blame this on unions. Car companies in places with far more restrictions and responsibility to workers aren't in the mess that GM and Chrysler are in...this cannot be blamed on offering fair wages and benefits. It's the result of big business greed and stupidity.

And don't expect the government to make things much better. It's big business in the public sector too. But maybe, MAYBE, we're beginning to see a new level of accountability, and some hope for those who have, forever, been living at the whims of people with money and power. The only REAL freedom in the world has been experienced by the rich...and it's time, finally, for a change.

Joel Stein on charitable giving....

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-stein27-2009mar27,0,3207801.column

In his op/ed piece, Stein challenges the traditional idea of deductibility for charitable contributions...it's worth reading.

"Blowin' in the Wind:" Disaster in Malibu, California

An article in the Los Angeles Times this morning (Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!) highlights the terrible difficulties people are facing in today's rough and tumble economy. It seems that a beleaguered family in the slums of Malibu, California, is beset by the stench of Bob Dylan's portable toilet. It's so bad, they say, that they have trouble sleeping at night, and have installed large fans in their yard to try to blow the offending odor away. Alas, poor souls.

No, I am not making this up.

And to make matters worse, it turns out that Mr. Dylan (you remember him, don't you? That radical guy who sang about justice and all that?) has had relationship issues in the past. When he was building a guard shack on his property it didn't meet code for accessibility, and so he promised he wouldn't hire "any handicapped people" to work there.

That's right, while the world is in a tailspin and the most vulnerable and marginalized among us are being pushed even closer to the brink of disaster (or over the edge!), these filthy rich folk are bickering over fumes and promising not to hire people with disabilities? My heart is overflowing! Perhaps we should take a collection...

What the future holds

This morning I was driving on the LA Roller Coaster (also known as the Pasadena Freeway) and I got to thinking. As the road twisted and turned, I recalled that it holds the title of LA's first freeway, and was met with great eagerness when it opened at the dawn of the age of the automobile. Back then, folks were excited about the growing symbol of American prosperity: a car in every garage. Roads, and eventually freeways, would take over wherever streetcars had once been a major mode of transportation. For many it's hard to believe that the Los Angeles area was once home to one of the world's most comprehensive public transit systems...the famous Red Cars.

Now, of course, there are many who lament what was once hailed with exuberance. Those who sit in traffic on smog-choked freeways, driving to work or school so far from suburbia are realizing that something has gone wrong. This isn't a dream...it's a nightmare. And what we wouldn't give to have the old Red Cars back?

There's a lesson in all of this, of course, and it goes way beyond the lack of sustainability of the culture of the automobile, or nostalgia over a mode of transportation that has vanished. What are we doing, today, to plan for the future? How are these plans, even if well-intended, leading toward results that will be as untenable as we experience the results of yesterday's dreams today?

In some ways it would take a crystal ball to answer that question. But it's not completely outside of our power to think beyond our exuberance to the potential realities of tomorrow. And while we may not, ourselves, be living with the results of our good or ill planning, chances are someone we love will. And who among us wouldn't want them to look back with fondness on a generation that showed true vision for a positive future?

OK...a little premature...

You can't blame me for getting a little worked up over this whole Prop. 8 thing. It's enormously frustrating.

We live in a representative democracy, and far be it from me to suggest that the majority is not always right. But you'll have to excuse me, because I have roots in the German culture, and something tells me that there's a lesson to learn there...that maybe just because a majority of the population thinks something is right, doesn't mean it is.

I'm pretty sure that's why we have courts in this country...to keep things in check. That way, even if the majority DOES decide to take away the rights of a minority, there are level-headed folks who can say "Whoah! Let's think about this. Let's think about our founding principles and not be quick to trample on the rights of the 'few' just because there are 'many' who think it's a good idea."

But that is precisely what is happening in California...and all over the world, for that matter.

Couch it in whatever religious terms you like (we've separated religion from the state for a reason!), it simply IS what it IS. The State of California offers privileges to some people and not to others based on sexual orientation.

Hate is Legal in California....

Or whatever...as long as a simple majority of the people say it's OK, the constitution of the State of California can be altered to SPECIFICALLY limit the rights of minority populations.

Well...isn't THAT special?

You know what? The lives of real people are affected by this, and it's an outrage. Real people are tired of waiting for popular opinion to catch up or get with the program. Real people with real life issues facing them square on are tired of waiting for so-called "moral" people to come to their senses and realize that they are RUINING peoples' lives. Real poeple who live real lives are forced to remain second-class citizens with rights that are separate-but-equal (at best).

It's WRONG.

It's WRONG.

It's WRONG.

So...what's next? What course of action can real people take? How can they go on with their lives in a place where they are not allowed to do what the majority of the population is allowed to do?

Ken Starr want's to halt the recognition of same-sex marriages, basically invalidating 18,000 couples' real life experience...as if it never happened. There's a place in hell for that kind of hate.

This is a sad day for California.

This is a sad day for America.

This is a sad day for the world.

What the %$#^@&????

Oh, it sounds innocuous enough...cute even. Young McKay Hatch of lily-white South Pasadena, CA, crusading for a cuss-free LA county (and beyond). Isn't that nice!

Actually, no, it isn't nice...it's a really BAD idea.

First of all, limiting anyone's speech, or even suggesting its limitation, based on one's personal perspective of what is profane opens a very dangerous door. What you think is OK may be deemed pornographic to someone else. Do you REALLY want the LA County Board of Supervisors involved in the determination of what language it's OK to use?

Second, young McKay's perspective is clearly rooted in a religious perspective that is not reflective of any majority or tradition. The Bible speaks specifically about the misuse of the name of God to the end that some traditions won't even USE a name for God...but the Bible never predetermines what kind of language is "clean" or "dirty." "Oh Pickles" may just be offensive to cumcumber farmers is Peoria...but that doesn't mean McKay should be told not to say it.

It's all a sham perpetrated through youthful ignorance by people set on turning the world into a place that looks and sounds just like they do. Why are people so uncomfortable with variety? It's the saltiness that adds the flavor...or so I've heard. Sure, it's true that words matter...but so do the words that never get spoken because of overzealous censorship.

Greak, McKay...don't cuss. And tell others when you are offended by their language. But don't tell us what it's OK for us to say or not say. That's just un-American.