Who Cares?

Events effecting local communities rarely receive national attention. Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina are two that really received massive media coverage. The BP oil spill on the Gulf coast was another attention getter.

The greater concern ought to be government attention when the impacted communities are those of the wealthy versus those of the poor.

In Los Angeles the Southern California Gas Company had a huge natural gas leak, reported to be the largest such leak in American history, near the Porter Ranch neighborhood may cause vomiting, nosebleeds and other short-term symptoms, they say, but they have assured residents that it does not pose long-term health risks. The leak was first reported Oct. 23, 2015. The leak was stopped last week and permanently capped yesterday.

Porter Ranch has a $121,428 median household income (2008 dollars), high for the city of Los Angeles and high for the county according to the Los Angeles Times. Since the leak thousands of residence have been relocated by the gas company at their expense. The area has been blanketed with law firms offering to process suits against the gas company. The real Erin Brokovich visited the area representing a law firm.

Meanwhile the Exide battery factory in Vernon, an industrial community 15 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles has been operating since 1922. That factory has been spilling lead, arsenic, cadmium and other toxic metals on the ground and contaminating homes and yards in surrounding communities as well a ground water in the surrounding area these past 90 years. The people living in the nearby residential communities are all low income residents estimated to total 110,000 people.

Now the Exide company has agreed to close the facility. But where has the government been since 1922? Where was Erin Brokovich all these past years?

Will anyone in Michigan see jail time for the Flint, Michigan contaminated water system? Not only will there be no jail time it is unlikely anyone will lose their job.

Unless there is money to be made no one cares.

Recalling the George W. Bush Presidency

Remembering one of America’s worst presidents!

It appears that the folks in South Carolina have forgotten some major events that occurred when George W. Bush was president. Not all were his direct fault but he and his administration, in my opinion, did not take sufficient precautions. I did not have to refer to any publication or website for these occurrences. They are all clearly in my mind. They should be in yours too.

September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City did occur eight months after he was inaugurated into office. The prior administration had warned of a possible terrorist attack.
Hurricane Katrina occurred on the morning on August 29, 2005. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale–it brought sustained winds of 100–140 miles per hour–and stretched some 400 miles across the Gulf coast. The History Channel says “Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely desperate.” The Bush administration was widely criticized for its slow response to the disaster.
The invasion of Iraq occurred in the spring of 2003, the United States invaded Iraq in order to overthrow leader Sadaam Hussein (1937-2006), whose regime was accused of supporting international terrorist groups and possessing large caches of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). No WMD were found. 4,486 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq.
He began his presidency with a federal budget surplus; however, factors such as the enormous cost of fighting two wars (Afghanistan and Iraq) and the broad tax cuts led to annual budget deficits starting in 2002.
The 2008 financial crisis was the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. The president was mostly absent from the efforts to save the economy. Instead it was his Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, who made requests to congress for funds to support the banking industry.

Perhaps the above listing of George W. Bush’s major administration failures would be a reason to suspect another Bush would not be welcomed to the White House.

What do you see?

As explained on the Today show today. The picture is either a duck or a rabbit. If you saw both it is contended that you are a more creative person.

Analysis of GOP Debate on CBS February 13, 2016

The debate was a disappointment for me. The moderators failed to focus on anything that might change public opinion. Donald Trump has been leading in the polls and nothing was said that will change his lead.

The first thing that should have received greater attention is the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. A one minute of silence was nice gesture but where were the questions about selecting a replacement? Instead all who were asked said the next president should select a replacement but no discussion of ties in voting during the current court session. No discussion on selecting a new justice who will not be politically motivated.

North Korea now appears to have a ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. mainland and yet there was not a single question about addressing the obvious threat.

President Obama is hosting a meeting of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and possible additional members to the president’s TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership). Not a single question about our relationship with those countries and no discussion on the impact of free trade agreements.

No discussion about Social Security and Medicare and how to keep them financially healthy.

Instead there was discussion about eminent domain. That is not a topic that will determine who should be selected as the president.

One other thought. If the number of candidates continues to total five or more the field will be split and that will power Donald Trump’s lead in the polls that has remained in the 30% to 35% range.

Another Day in Hell?

Nope. It’s just winter in Los Angeles.

Summer weather, beautiful views, everyone out in shorts.

We are in the midst of one of the warmest summers, oops I mean winters, in history. Some parts of the metro area seeing 90°F temperatures. San Fernando Valley 87°F. This will continue for at least another week.

Entrance Road to Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles

Observatory seen from Griffith Park Entrance

Downtown Los Angeles tallest building is US Bank on the left, Wilshire Grand under construction will be the tallest in 2018. From the Observatory parking lot.

Hollywood Sign and Broadcast tower. From the Observatory parking lot.

The city and the sea 20 miles in the distance, look carefully and you will see the ocean on the horizon. From the Observatory parking lot.

All photos taken on February 8, 2016 with Panasonic FZ200.

“To dream the impossible dream.”

Don Quixote: “To dream the impossible dream.”

What do all the “establishment” candidates have in common? They all promise to balance the budgets, lower taxes, eliminate tax cheaters, and of course keep America strong. The problem is that those are the basics of the job of president.

Americans want more from their president. They want to vote for someone who can offer a new and improved America. The want an America that destroys the bad guys and raises the opportunities for all Americans. They do want health care for everyone, a free or low cost education for their children, and the elimination of poverty.

Americans want health and happiness for everyone. They want someone who will “make America great again.” All of those wants without any cost.

The outsiders are the group of candidates that offer those results if only you will elect them to the presidency.

Thus “we will build a wall and make Mexico pay for it”, defend the constitution, and provide free universal health care for everyone. Those are the leading visions of the “outsiders.”

Looking at the history of our presidents I see a trail of broken promises. The war on poverty, the war on drugs, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, Hope and Change all have one common result and that is failure.

I like this quote from Bernie Sanders that at least acknowledges that one man alone cannot bring about change:
“No president, not Bernie Sanders, not anybody else, will be able to bring about the changes that the working families and the middle class of this country, that our children, that the seniors, our seniors deserve.” Sanders continued, “No one president can do it because the powers that be, Wall Street with their endless supply of money, corporate America, the large campaign donors are so powerful that no president can do what has to be done alone. And that is why — and that is why what Iowa has begun tonight is a political revolution.” – See more at: http://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/world-views/10450-why-i-support-bernie-s-revolution-incremental-progress-is-not-good-enough#sthash.Xmw9NSox.dpuf

So I will probably vote for Bernie and dream the impossible dream even though I know nothing will change.

A $1,000 Pill in the United States Costs $4.29 in India

As reported in BusinessWeek magazine (January 11-17, 2016 edition) the treatment for Hepatitis C in the United States by Gilead Science’s Sovaldi costs $1,000 a pill or $84,000 for the entire treatment. However in India the same medication is being manufactured by an Indian company as a generic with another name but is the same medication. The cost is $4.29 per pill.

Some medicines are sold in Canada for one-third (1/3) the price that Americans pay for the identical product. Aciphex and Dexilant are among that group.

Senator Bernie Sanders has spoken repeatedly about our broken health care system that does not provide health care for everyone. Medicare is not permitted to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies but must pay the rates those companies set.

Why hasn’t our congress addressed these issues? The simple answer is that pharmaceutical companies have the lobbyists who influence our representatives and provide the funding for re-election.

No matter who is elected president in November 2016 it is a good bet that this situation will not be changed in any significant way as long as we keep sending the same congress representatives and senators back to Washington.

Ridiculously Resilient Ridge means No El Niño Rains

The “Ridiculously Resilient Ridge,” sometimes shortened to “Triple R” or “RRR,” is the nickname given to a persistent region of atmospheric high pressure that occurred over Southern California. Finally today there is an article about this condition in the Los Angeles Times. The well-known weather forecasters are all in agreement that as long as this condition continues there is a likelihood that the predicted El Niño rains for this part of the nation will not occur. Apparently they cannot predict when the high pressure ridge will dissipate sufficiently to permit consequential rain in the Los Angeles-San Diego region.

Yesterday the temperature was in the high 70s and low 80s in the Los Angeles area. Other than an expectation of 1 to 2 inches of rain on Sunday January 31 there is a forecast of moderately warm dry temperatures for the coming week. The condition will be caused by that RRR.

Local KABC-TV chief meteorologist Dallas Raines, certified by the American Meteorological Society, has been voicing doubts about El Niño for the last month. He does an excellent job of explaining air circulation and high pressure.

As an amateur rain collector since the last El Niño I can report that to date my rain gauge has collected just of 6.5 inches of rain compared to last year’s 8.4 inches of rain. Obviously 1 to 2 inches of rain this weekend won’t change the current trajectory of a very dry year.

Happily the storms in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are significant and that will ease the drought. Meanwhile Southern Californians will continue to lounge by their pools and spend their free time in the parks.

The Downside of Minimum Wage Laws

OPI is a nail polish manufacturer in North Hollywood California. They employ about 400 people at that facility. The company is owned by Coty Inc. That company has ten brands of cosmetics. They have announced their decision to move the manufacturing facility to North Carolina.

The North Hollywood facility includes marketing and sales offices. You can be fairly certain that no more than 10% of that 400 employees are involved in the marketing and sales. Those jobs are relatively high paying office functions. In other words about 360 jobs will be leaving the North Hollywood facility.

Cosmetics manufacturing consists of many low paid jobs. The minimum pay in California is now $10 an hour. That minimum in North Carolina is $7.25 an hour. It doesn’t take a genius to understand why the manufacturing is moving out of California.

The idea of raising the minimum pay is commendable but how much consideration was taken on the impact. There will now be 360 low paid factory workers without jobs.

Toyota moved most of its operations from a Los Angeles area suburb just two or three years ago. They moved to a Dallas Texas suburb. No doubt the cost of labor played into that decision.

There is the question. Have we really helped the poorest paid in California when jobs are driven from the state by higher minimum wage laws?

Boyle Heights and the 6th Street Bridge

June 16, 1933: Dedication ceremonies of 6th Street bridge and viaduct, built at a cost of $2,383,271. This photo was published in the June 17, 1933 Los Angeles Times.

The 6^th Street bridge and viaduct in central Los Angeles was built in 1933 to connect the downtown area with Boyle Heights; a hilly residential area that provided modest cost housing for many people working downtown. It became the city’s first major Jewish community before World War 2. As the city evolved, and people moved to the suburbs, the area became a major Mexican American community after that war and still has a high Spanish speaking community but now with an unsavory gang reputation.

Horizontal red arrow points to plastic bagging that is covering part of bridge that is crumbling onto cars and people below. Graphity on bridge.

Today to reach Boyle Heights via 6^th Street means driving through the heart of the Skid Row district in downtown. This is not a pleasant drive as we learned this past Sunday.

So who uses this boulevard and why are people making a big deal out of the planned destruction of the bridge because it’s falling apart?

Perhaps there are memories of the homeless who used to camp on the bridge’s sidewalk or it’s the people of Boyle Heights who have some romantic connection parking there to view the downtown skyline.

Police were called out to clear bridge of pedestrians on Tuesday night after about 100 people blocked traffic.

The police were called out to clear the roadway as some people walked out into the middle of the street.

A great view of downtown skyline that might help many recall wonderful times.

The designer of the new viaduct, Michael Maltzan, and city leaders are scheduled to participate in Wednesday morning’s final walk before closing the street for the teardown.

Incidentally the old bridge cost $2,383,271 and its replacement opening in 2019 will cost $449 million.

The font for this posting is typewriter “Courier New” in honor of our past.