Los Angeles Needs to Grow Up

Major cities throughout the world are noted for their skyscrapers. Los Angeles lacks that distinctive architectural image.

The tallest building in Los Angeles today is the 73-story U.S. Bank Tower, which rises 1,018 feet (310 m) in Downtown Los Angeles and was completed in 1989. Among the next nine tallest buildings none are more than 858 feet (262m) tall. They are 52 to 55 stories high. Among that group of ten the last one was completed in 1992. Among the 34 buildings that are at least 400 feet (122 m) tall two were completed in this century and the rest were primarily completed in the 60’s, 70, and 80’s.

Korean Air’s $1-billion hotel skyscraper. Rendering of the 73-story Wilshire Grand hotel and office building to be constructed in downtown Los Angeles. (AC Martin Partners)

Cities either grow or shrink. Los Angeles has filled its land space with low rise structures. If we are to grow it must be up. When you add the new Korean Air 73 story building to new high rise developments in Hollywood and elsewhere you know the city is in growth mode. These new structures will be magnets for more new business. Most of us want to be part of a growing economy.

A proposal for two skyscrapers that would flank the Capitol Records tower in Hollywood gained the approval of the city’s planning department Tuesday despite push-back from dozens of disgruntled residents.

An artist’s rendering of the project near the Capitol Records building in Hollywood. (Handel Architects)

Those who continuously fight against tall buildings, public transportation and other elements of large metropolises are dreaming of another time when land was plentiful and the idea of big city life was something that only those east of the Mississippi could appreciate. Los Angeles has the second highest population in the nation. Metropolitan Los Angeles encompasses more than 10 million people. It’s time we started acting like a very big city.

Bar Joke

Guy goes into a bar in Louisiana where there’s a robot bartender! The robot says, “What will you have?” The guy says, “Whiskey.” The robot brings back his drink and says to the man, “What’s your IQ?” The guy,” 168.” The robot then proceeds to talk about physics, space exploration and medical technology.

The guy leaves, . . . but he is curious . . . So he goes back into the bar. The robot bartender says, “What will you have?” The guy says, “Whiskey.” Again, the robot brings the man his drink and says, “What’s your IQ?” The guy says, “100.” The robot then starts to talk about Nascar, Budweiser, the Saints and LSU Tigers.

The guy leaves, but finds it very interesting, so he thinks he will try it one more time. He goes back into the bar. The robot says, “What will you have?” The guy says, “Whiskey,” and the robot brings him his whiskey. The robot then says, “What’s your IQ?” The guy says, “Uh, about 50.”

The robot leans in real close and says, “SO, . . . you people . . . still happy . . . with Obama?”

Los Angeles Mayoral Race

This article in the Los Angeles Daily News tells that “Traditionally, voter turnout for mayoral elections is less than 40 percent for runoffs and less than that for primaries. Some city elections have drawn less than 10 percent of the 1.7 million eligible voters.”

Why vote when the likely winner for mayor is someone who cares more about the labor unions than about the city? I took the 2013 Los Angeles Budget Challenge at the city web site and to my dismay learned that the city has projected revenues of almost $4.7 billion and still cries for more. I have not heard one candidate for mayor talk about living within our means. That of course would require some straight talk and no one wants to do that. The public is disgusted and a majority see no worthwhile candidates.

My highest priorities are police and fire protection. Everything else is one, two or three steps below those priorities. At the end of the survey the results are provided with the most favored allocation of money to my choices and the current budget plans.

My choices resulted in a lower spending plan than the most favored choice and well below the current plan. Still my ideas would leave the city with a deficit of $50.1 million.

So what are the candidates for mayor and city council saying? Nothing about balancing the budget. Even worse they lack any vision for the city. The leading candidates for mayor are One Republican with no city government experience and Three Democrats all with city experience are all tied to their past and all with connections to city labor unions.

Is it any wonder that turn outs for city elections rarely exceed 50% of registered voters.

Republican Party Tearing Itself Apart

We are watching the Republican Party going through some very troubling times. Democrats could not be happier. Those in the “progressive” party should not be watching with glee. The commentators on MSNBC ought to do more reporting and less celebrating. The two party system has worked well for most of this nation’s history.

I find it surprising that I would back Karl Rove for anything. Compared to the Tea Party he is a moderate. There are no photos of Tea Party leaders. I do not know who their leaders are. And finally Huffington Post has created a Karl Rove page that is at least fun to read.

I subscribe to the Tea Party Patriots e-mail letter system to keep abreast of their thinking and campaign plans. This morning I received this plea for money (every organization does that) and their campaign against Karl Rove. I have deleted the money pleas lines but the rest of the e-mail tells me that the GOP may be about to break into two parties. The highlighting, underlining, and bold font is theirs.

Dear Patriot,

Karl Rove’s new “Conservative Victory Project” is nothing but an anti-Tea Party hit team that is gunning for our candidates.

So, grassroots conservatives must now all band together and fight back. We must defend the Tea Party!

We formed this brand new PAC to help Tea Party candidates challenge entrenched big-government Republicans for the nomination.

But, in light of recent events, we need to also be ready to defend our conservative incumbents as well.

The establishment is gunning for us. They want to crush our movement. We have to fight back!

Just last month a former top GOP aide in the House called for the purge of Tea Party-supporting congressmen from the Republican Party.

Then, last week an anonymous senior Republican declared to the Politico news website that their plan was to “marginalize the cranks, haters and bigots — there’s a lot of underbrush that has to be cleaned out.”

That’s what the liberal GOP establishment thinks of people like you and me. They believe that ordinary citizens who dare to stand up and fight for our country are “cranks, haters and bigots.” To them, their fellow Americans are “underbrush” that needs to be cleaned out!

Karl Rove and his cronies say they are now going to “pick” our Republican nominees. He said in a Fox News interview that he’ll even try to drive incumbent conservatives out of politics if he personally doesn’t consider them electable enough!

The Republican establishment is going to spend millions on private investigators, opposition researchers and a torrent of negative ads aimed at destroying every Tea Party conservative candidate or elected official in America.

Rove will target their personal lives, he’ll dig into their family backgrounds. And, if necessary, he’ll simply make up some dirt to smear any Tea Party candidate who gets in his way.

He’ll never debate issues. He’ll never provide solutions to the big-government mess he and his establishment buddies helped create.

Rove and his liberal allies only believe in the politics of hate and division, and they want to crush the Tea Party!

If Karl Rove and his cronies have their way Rand Paul, Michele Bachmann, Steve King, Mike Lee, and Tim Scott will all be driven out of Washington on a rail so that Rove and his big-government buddies can continue to enrich themselves at the expense of you and me!

Patriot, the fate of our movement is at stake. We must be prepared to fight back. Our country cannot survive much more of this.
We will support good conservatives who want to shake up Washington against entrenched liberal Republicans who want to continue to ruin America.

And, if necessary, we’ll support any Tea Party incumbents who are targeted for defeat by the establishment’ political goons.

Unfortunately, our opponents have lots of money. They’ll raise millions from liberals who share their goal of destroying the Tea Party. And they’ll raise even more from special interests that benefit from big government.

We can’t hope to compete with Rove or allies in the spending race. But we can out organize and out hustle them. However, I need your help to do just that.

We are going to organize and train local Tea Party groups to win primary elections.

We are going to support good conservative candidates who will go to Washington and help fix our fiscal mess.

And we are going to call out “Republicans” who vote like liberal Democrats with ad campaigns that blanket their districts or states.

Once again, we are on our own. It’s the Tea Party versus the corrupt Republican establishment. And the fate our great nation is at stake.

President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Speech

It’s easy to listen to a one hour speech and believe you understand every word. Reading the president’s words at your own pace might provide further more complete comprehension of his meaning. He said, “nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime.” You should read his proposals and try to understand how that is possible.

The complete transcript is here.

Liberals must be thrilled. Moderates are less enthralled and conservatives are most likely appalled. I am in the less than thrilled category. Obama appears to be a replica of LBJ. Remember the “war on poverty?” Lyndon Johnson also brought us the Vietnam War. Obama appears to be bringing us the Drone Wars.

The State of the Union – 2013

Sorry Mr. President. Very few of your ideas will become law.

President Obama told us of his dreams to enhance American life. For the most part they are dreams that are unlikely to become reality. He offered ideas that “will not cost government a dime.” How does he propose to provide early childhood education for every child that is four years old? Where will the money come from to provide high school tech training?

His answer is take the money out of defense spending, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Tell that to AARP and the defense contractors.

We are in for four very difficult years in Washington.

Heart of Hollywood – Temple Israel Of Hollywood

Warner Brothers, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios and other long forgotten movie studios all had one thing in common. They were the all the creation of Jews. To this day Jews are a prominent part of the Hollywood scene. Geffen, Katzenberg, Iger, Spielberg are all Jews. There are others too who do not have common Jewish surnames.

David Bancroft

Click here!
http://youtu.be/VDp_KZvyXNo

Kate Upton Returns to Sports Illustrated

There is plenty to appreciate here!

Good Choice, Sports Illustrated

Impact of Technology on the U.S. Economy

If only businesses would start re-hiring all those people who lost their jobs in the Great Recession everything would be as it was. It won’t happen like that! Globalization and technology have changed everything.

The Mobile World Congress is a show of the latest cell phone and tablet technologies. It will occur February 24 to February 28 in Barcelona, Spain. The facility used is a new state of the art convention centre called Fira Gran Via consisting of eight halls. With over 1,500 exhibits, it is a reminiscent of CES and Comdex that have been held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This is a wake-up call that the United States is not necessarily the center for new technologies.

The Gran Via Convention Centre

No business will hire employees in the western world when the job can be done for far less in developing countries. Workers in China, Mexico, and elsewhere are willing to work for $1USD an hour. Workers in the United States, Canada, U.K., Germany and other industrialized nations cannot pay their bills on that rate of pay.

Businesses of all types try to solve their employment needs by looking for automated equipment rather than hiring. The benefit is lower cost for services rendered where ever labor is needed.

From cars to bread, robots dominate modern production

On-line Digital Camera Review owner/editor Jeff Keller, “The smartphone became the preferred photo tool for many.” The web site closed down effective December 31, 2012.

Newsweek’s final print publication mailed out on December 24, 2012. The final issue is dated December 31, 2012. The cause was a decline in advertising revenue. The magazine’s owner will attempt a digital version that will be available only to subscribers.

Borders bookstores have closed. Barnes and Noble stores are closing too. E-readers are this year’s sought after device. Barnes and Noble’s Nook is one of those readers.

Modern manufacturing isn’t based on human labour; it’s based on the robot. Still, most people cannot grasp the breadth of automation in factories. We still picture plants full of human workers toiling to make our cars and furniture, just as we imagine our meat comes from animals in a barn. The truth is much more awe-inspiring, perhaps even frightening. The factories of today have some human workers, but huge portions of assembly lines are 100% mechanized. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects automotive jobs to decline 18% by 2018 despite expected increases in production. Robots eliminate the need for more workers.

What is the United States doing to sustain its lead in technology and grow its economy? Arguing about gun control, immigration, and government debt.

The Playbook

“keep secret its legal justification for killing without a trial”

Barack Obama is the enhanced George W. Bush!

Newsweek’s latest edition (February 1, 2013) on iPad, Android, and PC only, offers an article that describes the protocol for the targeted killings conducted by drones. According to this article the U.S. administration has been developing “explicit rules and procedures for when lethal force is justified.” Justification includes the legal right to conduct such killings of bad guys even if they are American citizens. This set of rules is referred to as “the playbook.” Newsweek reports that the playbook has evolved from the targeted killings that have been conducted in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen. Playbook killings could be conducted, according to Newsweek, wherever the United States detected terrorists that are a threat to the American homeland. The playbook goes into detail about who the targeted individuals might be and does exclude drivers, cooks and others who are part of a support staff within a terrorist group. Thus Somalia, Mali, or any other place on Earth could be part of the playbook’s rules and procedures.

Not addressed in the Newsweek article is the legal justification for killing Americans who appear to be traitors, such as Anwar al-Awlaki, without a trial. The administration, I believe is skating on thin ice. The Huffington Post reported January 2, 2013 “The Obama administration will be able to keep secret its legal justification for killing without a trial an American suspected of joining al Qaeda after a federal judge on Wednesday dismissed most of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times. Both the ACLU and The New York Times plan to appeal the decision.”

Wow! If the government can keep the justification secret then what else can the government do to its own citizens? al-Awlaki was clearly a traitor to the United States but killing him without due process is a stretch.

Is it any wonder that there are people in the United States who want to have all weapons at their disposal?