IMPORTANT READS

DATELINE HOLLYWOOD-We’re in a VIP Room at the Avalon Hollywood. It’s a celebration the likes of which this reporter has never seen. An impossibly good looking private host escorts us through a private door to a VIP Table where Tom Joad sits snugly behind a velvet rope, sipping Dom Pérignon poured out of a Magnum at table side.

FIRST PERSON REPORT-My parents love true crime shows. They love Dateline, 20/20, you name it. Lester Holt and Keith Morrison are like family friends at this point. It’s been this way since I was in high school, and I remember my sister and I finding it funny how much these morbid shows entertained our parents until we got hooked on the stories too. But there was always a running commentary from our parents. 

VETS FOR PEACE SPEAK OUT-The U.S. president, Donald Trump, revealed his inner nature again earlier this week when he retweeted a series of anti-Muslim propaganda videos from the deputy leader of an ultranationalist, neo-fascist hate group in the UK. Trump sank to a new low in terms of the blatant falsehoods and myths he will invoke and propagate to incite enmity against Muslims.

DEFINING THE DEBATE-The first time I remember being sexually harassed at work was at my second job ever, working at a bookstore. There was a man there who always tried to work sexual innuendo into every conversation we had.

COMMUNICATIONS POLITICS--The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced it will next month vote on a plan to repeal net neutrality laws that require internet providers to give consumers equal access to all content online. A repeal would be bad news for everyone  --  especially women, whose voices, causes and businesses are often shut out of mainstream media. 

MUSINGS BY MIRISCH-There’s something about Pixar and senior citizens. The world’s leading animation studio, groundbreaking within an art form traditionally associated with children and families, seems to be at its absolute best when making pictures featuring senior citizen characters -- perhaps the least traditional of animation characters -- in prominent roles. 

NEW GEOGRAPHY--The Republican Party’s road to the 2018 mid-terms looks increasingly like Pickett’s Charge, the Confederate assault on fixed Union positions that marked the high-water mark for the southern cause. After achieving its greatest domination of elective office in 80 years, the GOP seems likely to get slaughtered.

AT LENGTH--It seems like it was just two short years ago that we lived in a country that was moving forward past historic racial divides with the election of the first black president —a man who brought intelligence, grace and compassion to our highest office without a hint of scandal. 

420 FILE—(Editor’s Note: For Californian’s ‘drug war’ is descriptive of the Golden State’s relationship with the US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. CA needs more help from its representatives in DC to protect the voter voice that approved the legalization of marijuana. Here ‘s the latest on the battle with Sessions.)

HOLIDAY HEALTH ALERT--Diestel Turkey, sold by Whole Foods and other retailers at premium prices, says on its website that its “animals are never given hormones, antibiotics or growth stimulants.” 

CORRUPTION WATCH-Suppose Los Angeles Democrats had the choice for U.S. Senator between a Democrat candidate with a history of sexual dalliances with teenage girls and a White Supremacist.  For whom would they vote? 

WEINSTEIN WATCH--Joe Biden is known for his folksy charm.

Joe Biden is a man looking for his moment. Behind those famous aviators, he’s surveying the landscape to see if 2020 might just be his year to fulfill his presidential dreams.

ASSESSING OUR CULTURE OF IGNORANCE-Public ignorance is an inherent threat to democracy. It breeds superstition, prejudice, and error; and it prevents both a clear-eyed understanding of the world and the formulation of wise policies to adapt to that world. 

WAR POLITICS--A veteran who had sought help from a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in New Jersey killed himself in front of the building after his mental health needs were neglected, an investigation has found.

CORRUPTION WATCH-“Am I my brother’s keeper?” asked the world’s first murderer. This week the United States Senate GOP answered Cain’s question, “No, we are not our brothers’ keepers.” In adding a tax bill amendment which would repeal the Mandate from ObamaCare, Senate Republicans affirmed that we are not responsible for each other’s welfare. For the GOP, “each man is an island.” 

THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN’--You've probably seen one of the many gender-neutral bathroom signs that have popped up over the past couple of years. On the face of it, the message they convey is simple: Anyone can use this facility. 

GUEST COMMENTARY-More governors need to show their courage. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has proposed a budget calling on existing government employees and retirees to bear the costs of proposed pension reforms because citizens and taxpayers have already contributed enough to the retirement system. The proposed changes include higher contributions by employees and lower post-retirement increases for retirees. 

HULLABALOO--Here's your president in China, completely reversing everything he's ever said before and sounding like Chauncey Gardner:   

WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET?--Many of the recent stories about sexual abuse claims against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and other powerful actors, journalists and executives mention settlements either they or their employers made to silence women who accused them of misconduct.

POLITICS--Democrats are fighting again. The trigger this time is former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile’s forthcoming book, which says that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was given significant control over the DNC long before she became the party’s nominee.  

CRIMES OF INTIMIDATION-With all the current stories about endemic sexual harassment in the entertainment industry from the likes of Harvey Weinstein, Bill O'Reilly, and others, I find it surprising that one critical point is never discussed in the media: What Weinstein, O'Reilly, and others have engaged in has little to do with sex and everything to do with criminal assault, battery, and other crimes of intimidation by men with profound feelings of inadequacy.