"Just $25 Billion" In TARP Losses? Yeah, Right.

So now the federal government wants you to believe that the massive TARP bailout will cost taxpayers "just $25 billion" in losses -- that's a quotation from the Los Angeles Times, as I could never put the word "just" in front of "billion" otherwise.

Here's why I think this number is BS: 

Not only did the banks get the TARP bailout, but they have also been able to "borrow" money from the Fed for near-zero interest rates, while lending it to you and me at double-digit interest rates via credit cards. That is a massive subsidy right there. 

The Alarcon Factor: Ballot Measure Votes Make Litigation Likely

Greetings from Perpignan, France.

But enough about me.

David Zahniser reported in yesterday's Los Angeles Times that the idiot savants -- hold the "savants" -- whom we know as  the City Council cast several very close votes on whether to add various measures to the March 8, 2011 ballot. Several measures, moreover, were voted on several times each. There was a even "do-over" vote because Alarcon said he had tarried at the snack bar rather than show up to vote, and the City Council's computer automatically voted "yes" on his behalf.

You could not make this crap up. America's second-biggest city, and dude thinks his hot dog condiments are more important than voting on ballot measures. Pack a damn snack, Skippy.

So here's the thing:

Elected Officials Can't Tell Their Koreas From Their Vietnams

Sarah Palin apparently thinks North Korea is our ally -- because, you know, it's hard to read those notes on your palm after you hold a cold soda can -- and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson, from Texas, believes we won the war in Vietnam, which is now divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

Tell me again, why exactly are we trying to inflict democracy on the rest of the world?

How The U.S. Should Handle The Coming Korean War

Metaphorical depiction of debt bomb.

So it'll escalate to the point where China gets involved, and when that happens we unleash the most devastating weapon we have against China, namely, the "Debt Bomb." We simply declare that we will not honor any of the U.S. bonds held by China.

Instant victory, instant national debt reduction.

I hope we keep track of the serial numbers on those suckers.

Villaraigosa And City Council Way Above Average -- And Not In A Good Way

A high score is good or bad depending on whether you're bowling or playing golf. When it comes to the unemployment rate, you're playing golf, and Villaraigosa and the City Council have an exceptionally high score -- which is why you need to help replace half the City Council in the upcoming March 2011 election.

The Spring Street Gang's policies are so incredibly abysmal that they have actually pushed up the unemployment rates for the County and the State, as you can see by looking at the rate for neighboring Orange County.  Take a look at the latest figures on the unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for September 2010:

• United States:  9.6%
• Orange County: 9.6%
• City of Los Angeles:  13.7%
• County of Los Angeles:  12.4%
• California:  12.2%

There were 264,863 unemployed people in the City of L.A. in September. If the unemployment rate here were 9.6% instead of 13.7%, then 79,265 of those people would have jobs.

Why is this important? It's important because people need to understand that our problems in this City are not entirely attributable to the recession. Villaraigosa and the City Council have pushed unemployment here in Los Angeles well above the national, state and county averages. 

You think I'm making this up?  Here are the screen shots for your review:

Orange County

When Koreans Attack

So where is the island that North Korea shelled?  It's where the blue dot is below:

View Yeonpyeong Island in a larger map

California Government Is The Blob

Suppose you had to set up, from scratch, the executive branch of California's state government. What departments do you suppose you would establish?

Well, you've got to collect taxes, so you'd probably want a department to do that. There's roads and transportation, so maybe an agency to do that.  Department of education, check.  Prisons, check. An agency to aid the poor and disabled, sure. Some kind of pollution agency? Okay. An agency to license the professions, e.g., medicine, dentistry, law, etc.  Fine. An agency to deal with employment, unemployment and on-the-job injuries. You need an attorney general and courts to enforce the laws. Maybe a few more, right? Fair enough.

Now take a look at the list someone just e-mailed me of the morass of agencies and commissions California has created, all of which are sucking up your and my tax dollars. It rather takes the mystery out of why the state is broke, don't you find?

Here's the long, long, long list:

Support These Three Candidates No Matter Where You Live

Hey, it's an analogy, ok?

In case you didn't know it already, half of the City Council of America's second-largest city is up for election in March 2011.  Regardless where you live, I urge you to visit the websites of the following three candidates and do whatever you can to help elect them:

  Althea Shaw - District 10

David Barron - District 6

Rudy Martinez - District 14

Whether you live in one of the districts up for grabs or not, you had better help elect good candidates to the City Council. Why? Because each of those City Council Members gets to vote on policies and laws that affect all four million of us who live in the 466 square miles that make up this city. Let's recall what they've "accomplished" recently:

• The city was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy just a few months ago, and probably still is, even though revenues are near all-time record highs, down a paltry 2.6% from the year before, because the Mayor and City Council have super-sized spending.
• The city's unemployment rate -- 14.7% in July--consistently dwarfs state and national averages.  
• The city is closing libraries, while continuing to hand hundreds of millions of your tax dollars out in subsidies to millionaire and billionaire developers through the CRA.  
• The city gave $35,000 of your tax dollars to a Council Member Tony Cardenas's brother-in-law to take low-rider cars to Mexico, and additional tens of thousands of your tax dollars to his sister's book store to produce "events."
• The City Council, rather than focusing on improving the quality of life here in L.A., or reigning in spending, instead wastes its time and your money passing resolutions condemning other states and countries for their policies, including Malawi.

The list could go on and on, but you get the idea. Everyone who lives in this City has a vested interest in getting as many good people elected to the City Council as possible. Your job, your property value, your DWP bill, your quality of life, and maybe even your life could depend on the outcome of this election.

It's The "Big Weasel" Tradition: "Anti Gang" Program Steals From Taxpayers

Stealing is stealing, whether you use a crowbar to break into a building or use phony time cards to collect pay to which you are not entitled.

Section 487 of the California Penal Code states that grand theft -- a felony -- occurs when someone takes money, labor, real or personal property worth over $400. Section 424 provides for prison sentences between two and four years for people who make false accounts involving "public moneys."

So why is the "ex" gang member who got caught stealing $550 by submitting phony time cards to the "anti gang" program funded with our tax dollars merely getting fired? Why is he not also getting prosecuted?

Will Villaraigosa do anything at all about this? Of course not. On the contrary, he actually has the gall to claim -- through a spokesman -- that this is a "private affair." Why? Well, you see, your tax dollars were handed to a gang program, which then "hired" another "non-profit," to which this guy submitted the phony time-cards.  So, see, it's really just a private matter between the gang program and the "non-profit." Huh? It's OUR money.  It's OUR problem, a public problem.

The "private affair" spin is idiocy, especially since, when these "anti-gang" programs get their grants, they specify how they are going to spend your money, including whether they're going to hand it to another "non-profit." Every year, tens of millions of your tax dollars are spread around loosey goosey to Villaraigosa's cronies through these "anti-gang" programs, which, in turn, spread money to other organizations.

But I digress. This is all very simple: It's our money. It was stolen. It's a crime. The City Attorney and District Attorney both need to jump on this to protect the public from theft. How about it?  Trutanich? Cooley? Are you going to step forward and fight for taxpayers, or sit back and align yourself with Villaraigosa?

If an investigation reveals the man is innocent, so be it, by all means, clear his name. But there needs to be an investigation. We can't just give people a "pass" on phony time cards or, in the case of the DWP, phony contracts, or in the case of the Housing Department, inflated contracts to employees' cousins.  (You remember the thousand-dollar toilets, right?)

The article in the Los Angeles Times points out that the "ex" gang member gave back the money. So what? The penalty for committing a crime is not simply that you have to give back what you stole. There's also the matter of fines and imprisonment.

So let's see if anyone does anything about this, or if instead there is, as usual, no penalty as long as the only victims are you and me, the taxpayers.

Saturday Afternoon: Time For You To Walk The Walk

Helpful tip:  carrying novelty checks helps open doors.

You say you're fed up with City Hall?  Okay, you talk the talk.

Now it's time for you to walk the walk:

Specifically, it's time for you to join me, Mrs. Moore, Althea Shaw and other volunteers for two or three hours, gathering signatures, door-to-door, to put Althea Shaw's name on the ballot for the City Council.

When:  Saturday, 11/20/10, at 12:30 p.m.
Where:  1700 Orange Grove Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90019
Contact:  Althea Shaw

Note:  If you have questions or comments, don't send them to me.  Send them to Althea Shaw using the email link above.

This is an easy thing to do, and we might even have fun. It won't cost you anything, plus you get to meet perfect strangers and try to convince them why they should sign a petition before they turn the hose on you.

Bring a clipboard, if you have one, a pen, and wear that nice outfit -- you know the one. You look fabulous in that. Plus, I find people open the door more readily if you're carrying one of those giant novelty checks.

ALTHEA SHAW FOR CITY COUNCIL!

[UPDATE:  Visit AltheaShaw.com]

Let's make this happen! Althea Shaw is running for City Council. Imagine replacing Herb Wesson with Althea Shaw -- aunt of Jamiel Shaw II -- in March 2011. Actually, don't just imagine it; make it happen.

Here Are The Three Stories Worth Reading Today

Hey, I read the paper -- "paper" is so last century! -- so you won't have to.  Here are the three stories worth noting:


Story 1: Down In Front
This is SO @#$%-ing "L.A." The airport fees that LAX charges airlines, vendors and passengers generate massive excess revenues, but federal laws prohibit Villaraigosa and the other local career politicians from spending that money anywhere other than the airport.  So to redistribute our money their union and developer cronies -- because why reduce fees to the traveling public, after all? -- they want to maximize construction at the airport, EVEN IF IT BLOCKS THE CONTROL TOWER'S VIEW! 


Hey, I don't even want a concert ticket for a seat with an "obstructed view." So I sure as hell don't want an airline ticket if the air traffic controllers have an obstructed view. You can almost hear the fateful recording of the first accident already: "Hey, Larry, what do you suppose caused that fireball behind the new five-story annex to the Bradley Terminal?" Click here for details. 

Story 2:  Enabling Behavior

The Department of Justice gives your tax money to "sanctuary cities" to help them cope with the problem those "sanctuary city" policies create, namely, illegal aliens. Hey, here's an idea: if a City or County won't enforce immigration laws, tell them to sod off.  Click here for details.

Story 3:  You'll Want To Fly Again An Hour Later

What was it Lenin said about giving capitalists rope? China is going to pull one of its familiar tricks, this time in the aviation industry. It will offer lucrative contracts to western aviation companies, provided they form joint ventures to manufacture avionics, engines, etc. in China.  When the Chinese have thus obtained the know-how needed to do it themselves, they will do so, and bid the western companies farewell. Click here for details.

Why Limit Those Graphic Warning Labels To Cigarettes?

You know about the gruesome new warning labels going on cigarettes, right?

One label shows a picture of a man with a trachceotomy, blowing smoke out of the hole in his neck, to convey the idea that cigarettes are addictive. Another shows a close-up of someone's mouth, with horrible brown teeth, and a lesion on the lips.

Well, if it's a good idea for the government to require warning pictures on products, why draw the line at cigarettes?

Public Policy Quotations Du Jour

1.  "We have an awful lot of conversations about how much it costs to keep people in prison, and very little discussion about what it costs to let them out,'' Police Chief Sergio Diaz told reporters at an afternoon news conference.  


[As quoted by the Los Angeles Times, in an article about the arrest of a parolee for the murder of a police officer who was also a war veteran.]

Forty-Eight People Planning To Run For Office In March 2011

Here are their names and the offices they seek.  Click each page to enlarge it:

Yet Another Doomed Program For The Homeless

If you crossed "Groundhog Day" with C-SPAN 3, you'd get an approximation of public policy in Southern California towards the "homeless."

The career politicians keep announcing, again and again, that they're going to solve "homelessness" by subsidizing the construction of some edifice, and then making it really easy for "homeless" people to get services. Today's paper has yet another example of this reinvention of the wheel.

The problem is, policy-makers keep overlooking this one teeny tiny circumstance that dooms their efforts: "homeless" people are, generally and clinically speaking, batshit crazy.

And They're Off!

It's that time of year again, when there's a knock at your door, not for candy, but for a signature on a petition to put someone's name on the ballot in the City of L.A.'s next election. Sign those petitions, would you? Signing a candidate's petition does not obligate you to vote for him.  You can read about the would-be candidates in the Daily News.

City Hall's Unequal Protection

Did you read the article in the Los Angeles Times about the company called Progreso Finaciero that lends money to "Latino immigrants" at annual interest rate of 34.5%?

Why does the City of Los Angeles have rent-control laws to prevent landlords from charging market rates, while allowing that company charge illegal aliens 34.5%?

Doesn't the whole "economic justice" rationale require the government to prevent willing buyers and sellers from entering into contracts that some career politician has determined is "unfair?" Perhaps there's an exception for Latinos preying on illegal aliens.

NASA Deserves WAY More Credit For This One

Maybe it's just me, but I think the media is not making a big enough deal of something NASA just pulled off.

American scientists managed to get a spaceship, called EPOXI, within 435 miles of a comet, called Hartley 2, that is hurtling through our solar system at 27,560 miles per hour, snap some photos, and zap them back to Earth.  Check out the video below:

Think about the brainpower it takes to pull off something like that. Wow.  (You can read more at NASA's website.)

Thank you, NASA scientists, for continuing to dream big and pull of miracles. You are continuing one of the finest traditions in our culture, Western Civilization, namely, exploration and scientific advance. I, for one, am in awe.

The Economics Of Running For Office

Today Steve Lopez asks whether it was extravagant for Meg Whitman to spend $50 for every vote she got.

To put that in perspective, let me give you some numbers from our last Mayor's race here in L.A.

Villaraigosa spent $3,383,536.26 on his campaign, and received 152,613 votes, which works out to $22.17 per vote.

Yours truly spent $294,673 on his campaign, and received 71,937 votes, which works out to $4.09 per vote.

Villaraigosa received 55.65% of the 274,237 votes cast, thus avoiding a run-off by just 5.65% of the vote, representing 15,494 votes.

So he spent over 11 times more money than I did, but avoided a run-off by just 5.65% of the vote.

Was it unreasonable for Meg Whtiman to spend $50 per vote against a well-funded, well-known opponent, whose party has far more members than hers? Your call.

The more interesting question to me, because, after all, I'm very self-absorbed, is how very little it would have taken to scare up an additional 15,494 votes. What if the media had covered the election? What if John and Ken had bothered to tell their listeners about me, and urged them to send money?

Over 1.2 million L.A. voters who had voted in the October 2008 presidential election SKIPPED the March 2009 mayoral election.  If just a few of those voters had showed up, we might live in a very different city today.

Instead, the way things are going, many of us are hoping to live in a different city soon -- but literally, rather than metaphorically.

Power Politics -- Solar Power Politics

Villaraigosa, through his DWP commissioners, is actually REDUCING subsidies to homeowners who install solar power panels on their own homes.

Why would he do such a thing? Glad you asked.

Villaraigosa is cutting solar subsidies because he and his special interest groups, in particular, the unions, cannot profit from a program where individuals have the freedom to choose among competing vendors from the free market system.

Instead, Villaraigosa and the DWP union want a solar power monopoly, or as close to a monopoly as they can get. They want to build a massive solar "farm" out in the middle of nowhere, and they want the DWP and its employees to be the ones who install any solar panels within the city limits.

It does them no good if you go out and hire some private company that neither contributes to Villaraigosa's campaigns nor pays dues to the union officials who back him. Cutting out the middle-man has no appeal whatsoever to the middle-man.

And THAT is why this supposedly "green" progressive is taking action to prevent people from going solar.

By the way, don't fall for the "no money" ploy. As we know from rate-hike wars, the DWP is awash in cash, and is raising funds specifically for solar and other "alternative energy projects" (e.g., Mexican geothermal). Villaraigosa has the money to promote private solar; he just opposes it.

Villaraigosa wants solar power only to the extent that it will generate political power for him.

Time To Fire Whoever's Running The California Republican Party

Outside California, Republican candidates achieved sweeping victories.  Not only have they taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives, but they've added to their numbers in the U.S. Senate, and at least 10 states "flipped" to Republican governors.

Here in California, however, Meg Whitman, the party's candidate for governor, despite record-breaking spending, not only lost, but lost by 12.2% (i.e., 53.6% to 41.4%).  The Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Carly Fiorina, lost by 9.2% (i.e., 51.9% to 42.7%) -- and did so even though the liberal San Francisco Chronicle refused to endorse her Democratic opponent, Barbara Boxer.

Meanwhile, care to guess what you'll see if you visit the California Republican Party's website? Would you believe a picture of the Democratic Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, and an essay on his concerns over voter turnout? See for yourself:

Do you know who the leading spokesman for the California Republican Party is? Do you know the name of the guy who gets out there and makes the case in this state for Republican policies? Yeah, me neither. Because if there is such a guy, he is invisible.

Have you seen any signs at all that the California Republican Party tries to identify and support good candidates? Or do you instead get the impression that candidates "self-select," while the California Republican Party sits by and watches?

The California Republican Party is, at the moment, essentially irrelevant. It plays no meaningful role in: getting good candidates to run; explaining to voters what policies would supposedly help this state; and winning over Democrats, Independents and undecideds rather than driving them away by insulting their intelligence.

California is now a one-party state. If Republicans hope to change that, they have to begin by firing everyone who is currently running the California Republican Party, and replacing them with people who care, who are articulate and telegenic, who will work to get good candidates to run, and who can explain to people what policies Republicans would adopt in this state, and why those policies would supposedly be good for everyone.

Don't blame voters. It is the party's job to win voters over, not voters' job to figure out why the party is supposedly good for them.  As far as Republicans in California are concerned, the party's over.

California Budget Redux

Here's your bar graph du jour, to give you a feel of how much money the State of California collects and spends each year. I extracted the numbers from documents at the Department of Finance's website.

What stands out to me is that they keep spending more than they take in, and they're spending more now they they were taking in back in 2006 and 2007 -- pre-recession.

Brown and the Legislature need to cut that spending by around $20 billion per year, minimum. If instead they try to impose an even greater tax burden on employers, in this economy, well, elections happen, don't they?

Ballot Measures: Good News and Bad News

Prop 26 passed, which is actually great news.  That's the one that should stop the trick local politicians have been using to raise your taxes without getting the required approval from two-thirds of the voters. Now, fees will be treated the same as taxes, and can be raised only with voter approval.

Also, if you're in a Mexican drug cartel, you'll be glad to know Prop 19 failed. That means you won't have to compete with law-abiding citizens who could grow pot and sell it for a fraction of what you charge. Instead, California's voters have opted to continue the same policy that made Prohibition such a rousing success -- for organized crime.  Congrats, drug lords.

Looks Like I Jumped The Gun On Replacing Cooley

The latest from the Secretary of State indicates Harris is ahead:

Who Will Replace Cooley As District Attorney?

The LA Weekly has good articles and funny pictures.

Assuming L.A. District Attorney Steven Cooley wins the race to become Attorney General, who will replace him?

Possible candidates include:

• L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who apparently started running for the position months ago by staging various PR "events;"
• Deputy District Attorney David Berger, whom I supported for City Attorney in 2009, and would support for any office;
• Jack Weiss, who ran for City Attorney and lost to Trutanich;
• The other fellahs who ran for City Attorney (e.g., "the good Weiss");
• Kevin James, who is, after all, not just an attorney but a former prosecutor; 
• Someone within the District Attorney's office now (e.g., the guy who ran against Cooley last time); 
• Gloria Allred;
• Leo Terrell, who describes himself as the "fair minded civil rights lawyer" and hosts a show on KABC.

It would be nice to have someone who goes after corrupt public officials, and fraud in government (e.g., illegal aliens getting benefits to which they are not entitled).

Don't look at me, man. No way am I running for that office, or any other.

California Economy Poised To Collapse As Political Ads End

Dude!  Party's over.

Economists have determined that the only thing keeping California's economy alive the past two years has been political advertising.

Meg Whitman's advertising budget alone saved an estimated 175,000 jobs in advertising, television, radio, journalism, printing and immigration law.

As all the campaigns come to an end today, expect unemployment claims to skyrocket next week. You can also expect to see more ads during your favorite TV show for other TV shows. And your radio station will be touting its new format of "fewer commercial breaks," as if it were a favor to you rather than an economic necessity.

Want To Send A Robot That Looks Like A Man To The Moon?

More robot news! Would you give NASA $450 million and 1,000 days to send a man-like robot to the moon? NASA hopes so. You can read about it in the New York Times.