By Sandy Sand
Correspondent
This is pure snark, morgue humor, cop humor, newsroom
humor…whatever you want to call it, so don’t send me hate mail, and
besides, it ties into what I’m going to say.
These damn little gangsters better take sharpshooting practice so they hit their “mark” and not innocent bystanders.
For the sake of public relations and political correctness, cops
from the guys on the street all the way up the ranks, police will say
they don’t want to see any life taken, not even a gang banger’s.
The truth is — and I know because when I was a police reporter I
heard them say it — they don’t give a rat’s ass when one banger offs
another one.
I don’t care either. If they want to make war on each other, more
power to them. As far as I’m concerned they can be rounded up, locked
in the Coliseum and have at it.
Death to the finish just like the good ol’ days in Roma. The city can even sell tickets to sweeten the coffers.
But their right to have their little turf wars ends at our right to
walk our streets safely, or have our children play without fear in
their own front yards or even in their own living rooms.
The thought of some people having to sleep in their bathtubs so they’re alive to wake up in the morning is chilling.
It’s outrageous. It goes beyond the pale. There isn’t a word in my thesaurus to describe how horridly awful this situation is.
We wring our hands and moan about all the death and killing of innocents in Iraq, but we’re living in Iraq West.
We may not be dodging IED or grenades, but we are dodging bullets, and who’s to say that IEDs won’t be next.
The killing of children or mothers trying to stop taggers rates
banner headline, not be just another headline…not like just another
fender bender.
The truth is, and it’s a very harsh, ugly truth — nothing will be
done about the gangs until they invade rich, white neighborhoods.
Only when Sadie Gotrocks’ nanny takes Roscoe Hayvenhurst Gotrocks,
V, for a stroller ride through the neighborhood and they get
“drive-byed” will real action against gangs happen.
Money talks, poverty dies a lonely death in the streets.
A perfect example is the press release I got yesterday from the
swaggart, braggart, who only does meaningless look good, feel good
things, West Valley Councilman Dennis Zine. Here’s his press release:
Councilman Zine Convenes
Los Angeles Regional Paparazzi Task Force
|
What: |
A regional task force on paparazzi will convene to hear testimony |
|
When: |
Thursday, July 31st, 2008 |
|
Where: |
Los Angeles City Hall 200 N. Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 |
|
Who: |
Councilman Dennis P. Zine |
|
Why: |
Paparazzi are becoming increasingly aggressive in their tactics, |
Why is this more important than going after the gangs? Because famous
rich people, who can afford their own security are demanding it.
I don’t know the statistics, but the paparazzi can’t affect more
than 1/10,000 of L.A.’s population, where gangs affect hundreds of
neighborhood and thousands of people.
But who’s getting a task force? The rich and famous.
We’re not rich. We’re not famous, but we do own the ballot box. If
the powers that be don’t listen to our pleas maybe they’ll listen to
our votes when we vote them out of office.
It’s time they started working for us…the people who pay their salaries.
When was the last time in L.A. that an innocent by-stander was killed in a paparazzi drive-by shooting? And while some deluded people still blame the paparazzi for Princess Diana’s death, I blame a moron driving a Mercedes Bent with an over the legal limit blood alcohol content.
BB!P
Here’s a way to get the bangers off the streets so that people can have a life, AND the paparazzi out the the hair of those poor put-upon stars who only do what they do so they can live anonymously.
Pay the bangers to kill off the paparazzi! They’ll terrorize the rich neighborhoods while they’re capping all the camera creeps, and the rest of L.A. can get their lives back together.
The big stars will be oh so grateful when the last paparazzi is gone after a few months, and the bangers can use all the money they earned to get training for a good rewarding career, say as photographers or something.
I’m not a fan of Zine, and suspect this paparazzi law is intended to give him a national profile — which it has, for at least his “15 minutes,” putting him on Dr. Phil and misc. talk shows. Odd that the cities are WeHo, Bev Hills, and Calabasas only — Chief Bratten didn’t sign on, believing that existing privacy and trespassing laws are adequate if properly enforced; other city officials and legal advice from LA, as I recall, was that more study would be needed before they could sign on. But Zine is rolling with his own version, and apparently has Baca agreeing to at least show up.
It’s false however to claim that the paparazzi are not harmful, and that such laws affect “onlyu 1/10.000″ or as Fred Flintstone tries to do, absolves these bottom-feeders from harm at all. They ARE a huge menace, following celebs up close with their telefotos, forcing them into dangerous maneuvers sometimes to escape a virtual blockade. Or more concern, the paparazzi ruin a whole street or neighborhood, like they’ve done for Britney Spears’ area, and did when Paris Hilton was going to and fro from jail, from her L A home just above the Sunset Strip, and later to her grandpa’s Holmby pad. The paparazzi obstructed people from getting up their own streets, hit some cars, parked in driveways and trespassed, choppers buzzed for days, and one of them even “fell” under a Sheriff’s car, claiming to be pushed by his pals. Look at Robertson/ Melrose/ Beverly Hills hotels and restaurants where they camp out, giving chase — it’s a matter of time before they hit or kill a civilian. Shame on “Fred Flintstone” for dismissing the role of a pack of hounds chasing a woman in a car, even into obviously dangerously high speeds. If Bratten is right that the laws are there but we need more enforcement, then he’d better train his staff to do so and respond when neighbors call.
This issue has nothing to do with gangs, however; just because cops can be better trained in one area WHEN NEEDED doesn’t mean they’re not able to deal with gangs and serious crime, as well — especially as gang units are a special team. Probably Bratten will tell us he just doesn’t have enough people yet — but from what I can see he and the City have made significant strides recently.
Bratton, Rocky Bullwinkle, the Mayor, Jack Weiss from Public Safety, and I think some of the feds recently announced that the city would seize cars and homes of gangbangers caught with drugs or arms, hoping their families would put pressure on them to give up the life. Because it involves families, however, some groups and Councilman Richard Alarcon expressed opposition that it’s “unfair” to family members; but I think it’s a good start to forcing parents and spouses to be more proactive when they know they have a gangbanger in the family. If you all agree, why not express support for enforcement of this law — I haven’t heard anything since it was announced a couple of months ago, whether anyone has been prosecuted under the law, or if it’s on hold due to the critics. Maybe someone out there knows and can report back.
I’m really ticked off about the plastic bag fee hike — since I have both 2 cats and a dog, those plastic bags are indispensible at home and on walks. Also great liners for small trashcans. I’ve reused all my bags, that otherwise ow we’ll have to buy. The vast majority of this litter comes from “poor” areas, as the Assemblyperson who first proposed the law (not Feuer) made clear; but they’ll still throw their fast food wrappers and boxes and everything else on the ground, instead of walking a few feet to a trashcan, so there will still be this filth flowing into sewers to the ocean, but we’ll be hit with another fee. Plus, it’s utterly impractical to buy bloody meats and dripping milk, juices, yogurts and veggies shedding their peels, and throw them all into a canvas bag. That will be unhealthful, the bag will become filthy and an endless cleanup job, and watch, there will be an outbreak of food-borne diseases like salmonella, from mixing the juices. (I’m not Jewish, but the Orthodox Kosher rules sprang from these health perils.) For families who carry home multiple grocery bags, those little cloth bags just won’t do — and paper is no less biodegradable, and when not double-bagged in the trashcan, is useless.
BUT it sounds so “PC,” the Dems in the Assembly who can’t balance a budget and spend and spend “for the poor,” and the illegals because the very idea of enforcing immigration laws is “right wing” to them, can’t wait to impose this extra tax and burden.
IF they must do this to feel useful, 25c is way too high — in Spain, there’s about a 3c tax per bag, and that’s enough to get about half the shoppers I saw to re-use their own — which works fine for small loads. If half the people reduce usage, that’s a lot without the unfairness of 25c. But Richard Alarcon expressed concern in Council (there may have been others, I caught only part of the debate) that unless there’s at least a 25c tax, the local and state governments wouldn’t have enough revenue to split — he was afraid the state would take it all. Jackals fighting over our carcasses.
The guys who fret over the plastic bags do so with so much zeal and commitment mainly just to leave their own mark on the political-social landscape as forward looking persons. It’s a safe area and who cares if there’s collateral impact on workers in the industry, they’re just peons. Reyes and the rest of the council members who spoke at Fridays meeting (this and all meetings available on video and audio on the city website) are in the spotlight-hogging group. But just start to talk about any serious accountability for suppressing and otherwise dealing with the gang problem NOW and it sends them into a double-talking, hand-wringing snit. No one wants to get tough. They might get hurt.
I predict again that you will see action only when the pain hits home for one of them, and even then only reluctantly if they consider their mutual pledges of inaction among the council. This, of course, could be handled well by Mayor Tony V. if he wanted it to happen, but he’s got his own agenda and the council follows him.
The council members invariably praise each other for their “leadership” when each one decides his or her comment is essential to the “gabfest” during each of the Friday awards and presentations, aka “the dog-and-pony show.”
SOME of these recipients are worthy recipients, but TOO MANY times this is used for shameless self-promotion by the council members to get their face in front of the camera and embed the image of “I’m doin’ all this for you out there.” And for most of what they say in their meetings, I think to myself, “Oh, is THAT so? I think some ad hoc public-involved debates at strategic moments while they make their unopposed statements, full of assumptions, hyperbole and outright lies, would move the meetings along while exposing the b.s.
If “leadership” actually were present in such profuse quantities as they would have you believe, things would already be done on the Jamiel’s Law matter and on cessation of the spending frenzy that led to and continues the economic rape of homeowners and other residents.
We give them too much credit and do not seek accountability- maybe, as in some neighborhood councils, the NC and CM have developed too cozy a relationship. Remember the movie, “The Body Snatchers?” The council is spreading itself all over and the mayor’s got a few pods ready for his agenda to carry on after he’s gone.
How did that movie end, anyway?
Anonymous 8:27 so misunderstands my husband’s sarcastically ironic humor.
If my dear Fled Frintstone weren’t so busy tonight doing his once a month civic duty as a volunteer rock cop for the city of Redbock he’d be writing this himself.
You see, he’s out there patrolling Gritney Spearmint’s neighborhood and clearing it of rockarazzi.
Even we cavish Redbockians know that Gritney can afford her own security. But beyond that, we don’t have to be klunked on the head with a boulder to know that there are already enough laws on the books to take care of the rockarazzi.
Loitering, stalking and noise abatement are three examples.
Even our ancestors the Neanderthals could have figured that one out.
Even we know task forces are for going after gang members who are the “real” drive-by shooters, not shutterbugs for a profit.
Fred and Wilma’s own joy in their “humor” notwithstanding, she still concludes that paparazzi aren’t a problem — wrong. If there are enough laws on the books to take care of them, they’re not being enforced because they do pose very significant problems and safety hazards. Maybe to commenters living in a tract in Woodland Hills or elsewhere, all that even sounds petty, “humorous” and even glamorous, but it most assuredly is not. Just because those shooting with guns is a bigger problem does mean cops don’t need to be better trained to respond to paparazzi problems, and that neighbors haven’t been seriously angry about them: the cops arresting a couple of persistent stalkers on Mulhholland really is a good sign.
When will you all accept that LA is a totally lost cause? It’s a big sewer full of illegals, gangbangers, D-listers, crooked pols, the worst traffic in the US, overpriced everything–it is a dying city–let it rot in peace–move on to better places–LA doesn’t deserve your time and/or attention (and nothing will make a difference–it was lost years ago)
Of course, I expected that the rank and file would feel that they have a vested interest in the comings and goings of that One percent, and therefore have to protect the Neon Peons from the shocking crime of having their images captured.
Oh the horror! Oh the humanity! Oh, I can hear Sean Pennrock hurling a camera to the ground from the hands of a rockorazzi.
If Rock Angeles is in trouble, perhaps it’s not just the fault of stone headed politicians. Perhaps it’s the gravel brained mentality that says we have to cater to the rich and spoiled instead of being concerned about our own best interests that has put LA, and so many cities around the United States of Rockmerica, into their current state of decline.
But then again, we know that the comings and goings of Miley Cyrock, Paris Rockton, and Gravelly Spears eclipse any other problems in Redbock, or anywhere else.
BB!P
Fred and Wilma persist in being at war with “the rich” who are affected by or live near celebs and have their quality of life ruined as a result, and think it’s all a joke — one reason this absurd “army” of Ron’s has imploded on itself before it’s started. But hey, you’ve got Zuma Dogg and a handful of others anathema to anyone at City Hall, so no doubt your bunch of out-of-touch seniors angry at the world will conquor all. Not.
Your misplaced war against “the rich” has sounded all along more like clear class envy than anything else, and so you might as well join forces with the Eastside and San Gabriel Valley against the “evil rich” who you presume to reside mostly on the westside. (With the exception of your like-minded reactionaries there who continue to fight the Expo Line to its logical extension to the sea, the subway and all mass transit — sure that creating more “car pool lanes” out of thin air will solve our problems instead.)
No wonder you call yourselves Fred and Wilma Flintstone — you truly are from the jurassic period. You surely bring comfort to the hearts of those at City Hall who’ve wondered what this SLAP is all about and who is involved. Carry on.
Gee, folks, there was a time when we didn’t have plastic bags at the grocery store. We got by.
And regarding people who reuse the bags for throwing away dirty diapers or as pooper-scoopers while walking their dogs –> the goal is to recycle the bags so they can be used to manufacture more bags. That’s part of the problem. People haven’t been recycling them.
My Dear Anonymous 1:18,
“No wonder you call yourselves Fred and Wilma Flintstone–”
At least we have names. You, on the other hand, must be a graduate of LAUSD who cannot read.
We are Mr. & Mrs. Fled Frintstone, and if you are going to malign us and misconstrue what we said, at least get our names correct.
Please give our best to Zine and all the city council when they hand you your not well-earned pay check for doing a lousy job of flacking and spreading misinformation for them. In the biz, people like you are known as “trolls”, and not honest brokers of opinion.
IT’S A MATTER OF PRIORITIES, not class warfare.
All the anonymous people (or one person), who skewed the priority of going after the paparazzi with a costly, time-wasting task force, versus a task force to go after illegal and home grown gang bangers are to be pitied.
Fortunately there are more of us S.L.A.P.-happy people in this city than there are of you, and we will keep on fighting to make the streets safe for everyone…even you.
Sandy Sand, AGAIN, it’s NOT an either-or of dealing with the paparazzi more effectively to ensure public safety OR dealing with gangs — a civilized society requires both, “even for you.” And for Fred and Wilma Flintstone, you types always assume anyone who doesn’t agree with your provincial views is a “spinner” for City Officials. How sad you both are — DON’T “make the streets safe” for me,
the “even you.” You guys do you thing with Zuma Dogg, leave me out of it. Odd though, that you’re even dissing Zine, the one Councilmember who showed up at your event, foolishly or not.
Clearly, you have a very, very narrow window of what counts as “correct” opposition: I guess if I could put myself into the mindset of someone over 65 living in a tract in the Valley suburbs, I could figure it out. But why would I want to? That lifestyle was always periphery to “the city” and dependent on the economic engine that drove it and made it happen: your thinking you can live in total patronizing opposition to it is as delusional as it is futile. You’d have to engage in the real world, and see LA as an international city and not just a provincial bedroom community of one, in order to change it for the batter.
Super-Duper site! I am loving it!! Will come back again – taking you feeds also, Thanks.
Excellent job.
Great post!
I have been to your posts before. The more I take in, the more I keep coming back!