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Thu, Mar

Divide and Conquer: Donald Trump Is Not the Problem

CORRUPTION WATCH-Although the Orange Buffoon suffers from a couple diagnosable personality disorders with episodes of paranoia, Donald Trump did not cause our problems. If Trump-a-Doodle and his shenanigans should disappear overnight, nothing would change. “The fault, Dear Brutus, is not in our (reality TV) stars, but, in ourselves….”Julius Caesar (I, ii, 140-141). 

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Beach-Boys? Board-Boys? Testy Scrap Underway to Name ‘Official CA Sport’

DEEGAN ON CALIFORNIA-Who will be honored? Will it be the beach boy (and girl) surfers, the board boy (and girl) skateboarders or even the snowboarders?Thousands of boys, girls, men and women in California and beyond enjoy all three sports.But which is the most reflective of California andworthy of being named the state’s official sport by the California Legislature? Hint: two of the three (surfing and skateboarding) will debut as Olympic sports at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 

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Justice Stevens’ Suggestion that the Second Amendment be Repealed Doesn’t Scare the Younger Generation

GELFAND’S WORLD-It is interesting that John Paul Stevens, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, has just published an essay calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment. Just like the fact that the term democratic socialism isn't scary to the younger generation, there are -- suddenly -- a few calls for amending the Constitution in this way. Perhaps the idea doesn't scare the younger generation because the prospect of being murdered during second period English scares them more.

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It’s the Stupidity, Stupid

BELL VIEW--Dehumanization: the process by which tribal politics justifies every excess. Donald Trump may be a crook, but he’sour crook in a crooked system. His policies may be cruel, but the cruelty is the point when those people are the victims. After all, they have no inner lives. They exist only to victimize us. 

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If Crime is Down in LA, Why No Improvement in Arrests?

RANTZ & RAVEZ-I attended the LAPD Mounted Unit open house last Saturday at their headquarters near Griffith Park and listened to the mounted unit officers discuss their unique and specialized ability to ride a horse in a major metropolitan city with traffic congestion, pedestrians and other serious hazards. The expertise of these mounted officers is impressive, to say the least. The well-trained and experienced officers and horses serve an important function in crowd control during special events and in patrolling high crime areas. When you see the mounted officers, stop and let them know you appreciate their service. 

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How Can Republicans Call Themselves ‘Christians’?

MY TURN--We can almost set our clock around post-Thanksgiving time when we will begin to see the start of the ranting about the prejudice in saying “Merry Christmas”. One has to wonder if it is part of the church sermon schedule and parishioners are given a list of what they think are disparages that fall upon their religion.

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Can Arts Education Change the Punitive Practice of Juvenile ‘Justice?’

FIRST PERSON-Last Thursday at KPCC's Crawford Family Forum in Pasadena guests Fabian Debora, community connection director, Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network; Kim McGill, organizer with Youth Justice Coalition; and Dave Mitchell, deputy director, LA County Probation Department of Residential Treatment Services Bureau, gave an inspired presentation on how using an arts education program has been successful in breaking patterns caused by a dysfunctional, punitive model that has resulted in hyper-expensive often lifelong incarceration and criminal recidivism. 

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ACLU to Greyhound: Keep Border Patrol Off the Bus

IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS-Riding a bus while brown is not illegal, of course, but the letter of the law and how laws are actually enforced are not often the same thing. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, having skin that’s darker than pale is an increasingly common reason for U.S. immigration agents to interrogate a passenger — without a warrant, without probable cause — on private buses across the country, far from any border. 

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LA’s Politicians and Academics: Shills for Real Estate Speculators

PLATKIN ON PLANNING-The urban growth machine, including its enablers in public office and academia, dish out endless cover stories to camouflage their hidden agenda of priming the pumps of real estate speculation. When one of their self-serving theories bites the dust, they quickly advance another one, knowing they can depend on the corporate media and “business-friendly” policy experts to quickly pickup the beat. 

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Supportive Housing Is the Compassionate, Long-Term Solution to Homelessness L.A. Needs

 

Everyone in L.A. knows homelessness is one of the biggest challenges facing our region and last year voters delivered a clear mandate: Help people come off the streets and into homes. An overwhelming majority supported ballot measures to raise nearly $5 billion to tackle the issue. The funds will build housing and provide services to the more than 50,000 people in L.A. who have nowhere to sleep at night. 

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Why the Diversion of Baseball is a Mirage, not an Oasis

@THE GUSS REPORT-Opening day of the 2018 baseball season is on Thursday, but the joy of the diversion of the game and season is no longer enough to shield us from the things that punch us daily. Still, the Dodgers host their nemeses from the north, the San Francisco Giants, an adversary in a battle dating back a century to their days in Brooklyn and Manhattan respectively. 

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Voters Have Approved More Than $1 Billion to Help the Homeless. All City Hall has Come Up With is …. Words

DEEGAN ON LA-There are over one billion voter-approved dollars and taxes in the pipeline to help our homeless, thanks to Proposition HHH (housing) and Measure H (supportive services). Now comes a new pledge and a slogan that have been added to the rhetorical arsenal. The big picture, however, tells us we still have, according to LA City Council, 25,237 homeless people sheltering on sidewalks throughout the city. Even though there have been dozens of expectations and promises made over the years, the number of homeless is rising. But now there is money to go with the talk. 

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The March For (All of) Our Lives: No B.S. about It!

GELFAND’S WORLD--I was a little concerned that the number of people showing up for the march against gun violence might be lower than expected. After all, it's been a month since the last mass shooting, and you know how the American people are always being accused of having a short attention span. Instead, the streets were packed and the rally area going from the City Hall to the Music Center was jammed. 

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The Adults Have Flunked, So Put California Kids in Charge of School Spending

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--California education finances are an unholy mess—with incomprehensible budget formulas, a new equity funding program that doesn’t produce equity, and cuts to schools even during the current economic expansion. And our state’s so-called education leaders steadfastly refuse to fix the system. (Photo above: Camino Real Charter High wins national Academic Decathlon.)

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LA’s Planning Process from Hell!

PIECEMEALING IN HOLLYWOOD-If you've ever been involved in the approval process for a project in your neighborhood, you know it can be a long and complicated ordeal. Developers, city officials and citizens can spend years arguing over various issues, but there are good reasons to review everything carefully. 

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