Dispatches from LA
This morning I received this invitation to attend a public hearing in LA:
Folks…
E&N is short for the Los Angeles City Council’s Education & Neighborhoods Committee … Composed of Richard Alarcon(Chair), Janice Hahn (Queen Mother) and Jose Huizar (when he attends) E&N is meeting … in VAN NUYS TODAY … MONDAY, April 23, 2007, 5pm at the VAN NUYS CITY HALL 14410 Sylvan Street. How many of you even heard of the E&N, heard that they were coming here, (or) can be at this meeting? Do you have an opinion about the items on the agenda?
- Do you support West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa NC’s proposal to change the name of their community from WEST VAN NUYS to LAKE BALBOA?
- Do you think that last Saturday’s “Congress of Neighborhoods” was too expensive (for DONE, for our City)?
- Do you agree/disagree with the recommendations of the President’s Joint Commission on Los Angeles School District Governance?
- Do you know what these items are all about?
- Is DONE’s “outreach” any better than the NCs (or) any more effective?
Do you care? Are you listening? Will you respond to this email?Will you be at City Hall, make an appearance and voice your opinion this evening? What are Neighborhood Councils all about, anyway?
The invitation was posted by a respected member of the community, but I could not help sensing his frustration. Here’s my response:
Hi Daniel,
I won’t attend and here’s why:
During the past 50 years, LA politicians have delivered to our city the worst pollution, the worst crime, the worst schools, and the worst traffic. They have made LA a safe haven for gang members and foreign criminals. They’ve turned LA City services into places where complexion and gender trump excellence, and union membership trumps public service.
As an LAPD training officer, I was pressured to pass dangerous recruits simply because they were the right color and gender. But if I told the public that the mayor forced the LAPD to accept trash bags like Rafael Perez, David Mack, or Kevin Gaines into our ranks, I would have been attacked administratively.
I first heard about the NC idea during the 1990s when I was still an LA cop. I worked out of various Valley City Council offices and handled citizen complaints for those offices. My de facto job was to keep the phones from ringing. As long as I prevented headaches for the council offices I could keep my job.
It was cushy and I was well-liked, but I have a problem with LA cops who run interference for city politicians. Cops should be working for LA’s residents, not the politicians. But when I sided with a citizen who crossed swords with one of Michael Feuer’s campaign contributors, I found myself back on the street. Oh well, the LA air was much fresher than his office anyway.
As the Neighborhood Council (NC) idea grew, I saw it as a place where City Council members could direct their political gadflies. As long as gadflies were spinning their wheels at NC meetings, Council members would not hear them as often. NCs do little more than add another layer of bureaucracy to an already bloated and dysfunctional city bureaucracy. And for many, the grinding bureaucracy takes its toll and wears members down.
Nevertheless, I set my cynicism aside and joined an NC as member, board member, and treasurer. I secured our non-profit status, cleaned up the books, and participated for several years.
LA City is one big extortion racket. Politicians break our windows with stupid policies and then tell us that unless we pay more taxes, they can’t educate our children or protect our homes and businesses.
LA is in the middle of a fifty-year-old decline. During most of that period, Democrats have enjoyed exclusive control in the local and state legislature. They have appointed hundreds of leftist judges and enjoy a cozy relationship with the ACLU. They have profited from unions at the expense of public education and health care. The media is complicit, anesthetizing residents with stories of cops and robbers and traffic accidents and senseless shootings and peace marches and so on while burying LA’s real stories.
And what’s on this evening’s NC agenda?
- Should we rename the neighborhood of a sewage treatment plant to Lake Balboa?
- Was the “Congress of Neighborhoods” too expensive?
- Do we think the latest LAUSD Commission will make any difference to our children?
- Is DONE as useless as NCs?
It’s obvious that LA voters haven’t felt enough pain from the Democrats who control LA and Sacramento. It’s obvious that the LA media is friendly to the corrosive nature of local government.
When indoctrinated Arabs in the Middle East stub their toe they blame the Jews. When the lights go out, it’s the Jews. Spoiled food – Jews. Leaky roof - Jews. Diabetes – Jews… and so forth. LA’s indoctrinated and stressed do the same thing:
Bad schools – Republicans
Gridlock – Republicans
Crime – Republicans
… and so on.
The LAUSD has demonstrated the value of stupefied children. Without information, natives rely on superstition and emotion. If LAUSD produced high-performance students, Democrats would be threatened - for smart people don’t rely on unions to guarantee artificially high wages. If parents could choose between charters, vouchers, and public schools, the LAUSD would boast the best schools in the world, or not exist.
After enjoying what is pretty much exclusive control within the City Council, County Board, and State Legislature for fifty years, how much longer will LA voters keep blaming Republicans for THEIR problems, and how much longer will voters wait for Democrats to clean up the messes they created?
Until voters wake up, changing the name of a cesspool isn’t likely to generate much excitement in my household. We’ve spent our lives in this city. Between my wife and I, we’ve generated hundreds of millions of dollars in business and crime prevention throughout the City of Los Angeles. The difference between us and most LA politicians, judges, and lawyers is that we actually made a positive difference for our community. When was the last time one of your politicians, judges, or lawyers saved tax dollars or generated business or tourism revenue for LA?
Nope, after decades of contributing to LA we’re moving out. We’ll be far enough from the smell, but close enough to watch them swing in their cages. I’m learning that when you’re no longer caged with those moonbats they can be quite entertaining.
Enjoy the zoo and call it whatever you want.