October 1, 2012

Brief requiem for Occupy Los Angeles

Today Alma and I heeded the warnings on television and went down to the Venice Boardwalk rather than going to the 1-Year Anniversary proceedings of Occupy Los Angeles downtown. (Forecasters were predicting dangerously high temperatures inland and even unseasonably high temps along the beaches. They were wrong about the latter.)

To honor Occupy, I wore my 99% T-shirt (generated by the t-shirt operation at the original Occupy Los Angeles that screen printed many t-shirts and distributed them for free). Alma and I walked on the boardwalk for almost 4 hours and not one person had anything to say about the '99%' prominently displayed on my t-shirt. Not one person. Wow!

Oh yeah, and Alma and I saw two separate instances where the destitute were eating discarded food scraps right off the pavement of the boardwalk and one instance of a person fishing through a trashcan to retrieve someone's discarded beverage to drink. This all within spitting distance of beachfront residences that start at $2 million and go up from there.

And to think I actually thought Occupy was going to change things for the better. I actually thought it was going to be my generation's 1848 or 1917. Doesn't look like it. Charles Dickens is spinning in his grave.

Oh yeah, and the LAPD drove their patrol cars up and down the boardwalk (and bike path!) with lights flashing. Who knows why?

October 1, 2012

Great, so now Muslim- and Islam-bashing is allowed by DU. See transcript below:

At Sun Sep 30, 2012, 11:25 PM you sent an alert on the following post:

It wouldn't surprise me if Muslims believe that Jews murdered the hijackers on 9/11... (n/t)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1443016

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

YOUR COMMENTS:

How is this anti-Muslim slur any different from anti-semitism?

JURY RESULTS

A randomly-selected Jury of DU members completed their review of this alert at Sun Sep 30, 2012, 11:29 PM, and voted 3-3 to LEAVE IT ALONE.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT and said: We don't need this kind of hate at DU.
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: I don't think it's meant to be a slur. It's based on the article.
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given

Thank you.

**********************

Well, at least 3 DUers found that my objection had grounds. Not sure what to think about the 3 who didn't find the remark objectionable. I guess tie votes go to the bigot now.

September 21, 2012

When You Need to Take a Break (My First Photo Essay):

Author's note: My wife is an accomplished plastic artist who has recently begun to branch out into digital photography. We frequently take walks down at Venice Beach in late afternoon and early evening. As September has continued, we have seen more and more clouds in the sky over the Pacific. These cumulus and cirrus clouds have the benefit of producing some killer sunsets and I'm including a few of my wife's photos from our walk on Monday, September 17 for your viewing enjoyment.

I'm still something of a newbie with Photobucket, so I beg your indulgence for any shortcomings these photos may have fallen victim to moving from my wife's cellphone camera (a legacy Samsung) to DU. These photos are in roughly chronological order from earliest to last.

Pacific Parasailing - Ten Minutes 'til Sundown



We see this boat parasailing almost every day we are down at the beach. While you cannot see it in this photo, the sail itself is yellow with a black smiley face on it.

Venice Beach - Five Minutes 'til Sundown



The Santa Monica Mountains and Malibu are distant in the far horizon and, depending on the season and one's vantage point, it sometimes appears as if the sun sets into these mountains and not into the ocean.

The Washington Blvd. Pier - One Minute 'til Sundown



This pier marks the boundary between Venice Beach and Marina del Rey. Although the pier no longer functions as a pier for boats to dock, many fishermen go out on it to fish as do walkers and gawkers.

Sundown








Lifeguard Stand - Five Minutes after Sundown



There are lifeguard stands about every 50 yards on the beach. During the high summer months most of them are open daily but, after Labor Day, most of them are closed.

Lone Seagull - Ten Minutes After Sundown



It's a seagull's world. We just live in it.

If you have any comments, I'll be sure to pass them along to my wife. Here's hoping everyone enjoys and relaxes this upcoming weekend.

September 12, 2012

Questions about the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (LLFPA) of 2009 and its impact\effects:

1) What exactly does the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 do?

2) Will the LLFPA produce equal pay for equal work by men and women? If not, what will its impact be?

There's a raging debate on FB right now and I do not trust much that I read there. I do trust tremendously what I read here.

I will try to respond to all substantive responses.

Thanks in advance.

September 10, 2012

Teacher Strike Begins in Chicago, Amid Signs That Deal Isn’t Close

Source: New York Times

CHICAGO — Teachers in the nation’s third-largest school district went on strike Monday morning after negotiations for a new contract collapsed, giving some 350,000 students an unexpected day off but leading to frustrations among parents and indications that a settlement may not be close.

Chicago Public Schools and the union representing teachers have been embroiled for months in a bitter dispute over wages, job security and teacher evaluations.

Coming as the school year is in only its second week after the summer break, the strike will affect hundreds of thousands of families, some of whom spent the weekend scrambling to rearrange work schedules, find alternative programs and hire baby sitters if school is out for some time.

At Lane Tech College Prep, on the city’s North Side, most of the high school’s 250 teachers had already assembled by early Monday morning as they prepared to staff picket lines. They wore red union T-shirts and carried signs saying “Honk If You Love a Teacher.” Many passing motorists responded with incessant horn blowing.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/education/teacher-strike-begins-in-chicago-amid-signs-that-deal-isnt-close.html?_r=1&hp

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Saw a couple LBN threads about an impending strike, but none in LBN that reported the strike as officially on. Apologies if I'm duplicating efforts.

September 4, 2012

Just Say No . . . to Socilism:

I swear you just can't make this shit up! Belongs next to the 'Get a Brain Morans' series, imo.