This is a city that is so broke, so lacking in civic pride, that it can't even afford to pay for a parade for the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers.
Our city officials with their inflated salaries and egos go begging like the tens of thousands of penniless people walking our streets. The only difference is they cadge a million here, a hundred thousand there, from billionaires who think they're helping the city when all they are doing is helping conceal a failure of leadership.
And then they have the nerve to take the day off so they can join the festivities and stand in the limelight of the champions who worked so hard to earn their place of honor.
For 18 months, they have fiddled while their overspending burned a hole in the city budget so deep that they soon won't have the money to pay the bills without borrowing staggering sums and selling off the city's assets even as they know they are on the road to bankruptcy.
Not a one of them has the nerve to actually tell city workers that thousands of them must be fired and those who remain work harder for less money.
Instead, they talk of temporary measures like furloughs and deferred raises as if the problem will go away next year or the years after when the cost of pensions will be nearly as high as the cost of salaries.
Even that talk is just for show because they are working behind the scenes to offer lucrative cash payments if anyone is actually fired while getting ready to cut a deal to provide enhanced pensions with lifetime health benefits to those who retire at the ripe old age of 55.or so.
This is a city going broke because our leaders have failed us.
They are indifferent to the harm they have caused, seemingly oblivious to how they have made things worse, not better.
And why should they care? They are secure in their posts as long as they serve the circle of special interests that fund their campaigns and strip away even the pretense of democracy.
Our elections are no more an exercise in democracy than
those in
Even when the people of LA do rise up and defeat City Hall, as they did on Measure B, our officials go right ahead and do whatever they want regardless of the will of the people.
In LA, politics has become a back room deal and policy-making a pay-to-play game where everybody wins except the people who pay the bills.
Personally, I love a parade but I wish we really had something to celebrate about, something that had the whole town dancing in streets and chanting "I love LA."
It's great the Lakers won and they deserve to be honored. I just don't want to see the mayor and City Council out there today posing for the cameras as if they were the champions instead of the bums they are.
Ron Kaye
I wish a reporter would ask the Mayor and city council members what playoff game they went to. The Mayor goes to the tijuana Chivas games but NOT ONE LAKER CHAMPANIONSHIP PLAYOFF GAME. Neither did city idiots. CAN WE SAY HYPOCRITES
And I cannot wait until we finally overcome the CITY HALL GANG. Revolution, Bastille,
Boston Tea Party - yes, I cannot wait.
We have a tremendous opportunity to make a big difference in the city council with the election in CD 2. Let's do a "Measure B" and elect a real "home town" Distrist 2 person who is honest really desires to work for us instead of "special interest" and "their own agendas!
That means...No Paul Kerkorian, No Chris Essel,
No Cindy Montanez, No Tamar Gatzlan, No A.V. sponsored politicians. No anybody just because they have money and can buy the vote. Let's all get behind a long term resident of CD2 who knows our district and wants to go a good job. They won't need money they will have us campaigning and supporting their effort. That person will be setting the example for the rest of the city.
Go People!!!! We can do it!!!
Believe me, it isn't for a lack of trying to locate a community friendly resident/experienced activist willing to put their life on the line and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to run for this important seat.
The Sherman Oaks part of CD2 would love nothing better than to have one of our own running for that job. But, we well know should Wendy Greuel decide to endorse a candidate, most people will just follow her lead and put that person in office.
Now, the opportunity to find our own super candidate isn't over...there is a organized coalition of homeowner/resident/pro-resident Neighorhood Council members who will be meeting accordingly. If interested, let Ron know.
Listen to the boos.
Does anyone doubt the true attitudes of voters in this City?
The City Council and the Mayor are failures.
Their crooked behavior has bankrupted this City.
Any doubt whatsoever that there is a mood for a recall?
Why didn't the mayor attend any games?
Was he concerned about too many boos on national TV?
Was he begging Boss D'Arcy (DWP IBEW 18) for money for the governor's race?
Was he cutting deals with the union bosses that would raid the pension plans?
Was he drinking $500 bottles of wine with the press corps?
Was he at high end Westside restaurants?
Yes Ron our leaders have failed us along with the apathy of Los Angeles voters for not getting out and vote against them. This is the real problem along with true leaders not stepping up to the plate to hit these bums out of the park. You can vote on reducing their salaries to get attention but the truth of the matter who's out there to take over from our current ego maniac mayor and free spending city council?
Who gives a shit about the Lakers and their loser fans -- why the city would have picked up any of the bill for a private profit-making organization's parade I have no idea. What's wrong with this picture. Jerry Buss and his friends that own Staples Center should as a normal part of business pay these costs -- they can afford it. Don't forget it's all entertainment.
Wow,
Yes lets forget that booing at all politicians at any sports event is a long held American tradition.
Ron, how about you show some tape of a politician being praised at a sports event in the last 50 years?
I think your YOU TUBE library will find they are routinely booed.
Just another hater trying to find his place in the world.
In fairness, it wasn't just the mayor who was met with less than enthusiasm. When Jan Perry went out onto the field to welcome the crowd, announcing that she represented the area, she was so underwhelming that right afterwards, the announcer announced that Jan Perry would be coming out to welcome them -- forcing Jan Perry to walk back out to the field to tell him that she just had, prompting a chuckle from the tv commentators.
And THEN Bernard Parks came out to announce that in fact it was HE who represented the Colisseum, and the announcers chuckled that yes, that was true, even though she represented the Staples Center. I don't think any more of them went out, although of courses the Mayor was there first, having been glued to Kobe all day.
Look, if anyone has a right to be there it was Antonio -- he stuck his neck out and said he'd hold a parade no matter what for city unity, while Perry and Parks had said the city would pay for half of it, setting off a firestorm of protest that the Mayor then had to make up for by getting private sponsors to foot the bill.
This way the people got their parade, admittedly at the cost of almost 2000 cops unfortunately made necessary by the gangbangers Monday night. But NOT to do this when Orlando would have had a huge parade had the Magic one, shaming L A, would have been a black eye on Los Angeles.
The Mayor's getting private donors to foot the balance of the bill not paid by the Lakers (who did pony up but come on, they also bring lots of tax revenue and are one of the few bright spots we have -- Beckham and the Galaxy flaming out) SHOULD HAVE molified everyone except of course, Ron Kaye here who now accuses these donors of just "covering up mistakes" by the Mayor and Council, echoing the likes of Philistine Kevin James who screamed last night that he's not a Lakers fan and doesn't see why he and his fans should pony up a dime of if when the gangbangers just rioted on Monday night. (Since Kevin James was THE Numero Uno backer/promoter of Trutanich and still is, giving him, his campaign manager-Antonio/ Weiss basher -- surprise -- John Thomas, Cooley (who just last week on his show pompously called that "a race between good and evil," and Zine (who made so many openly slanderous, legally actionable comments that I can't believe no has sued him yet), I have to question his sanity as well as integrity.)
After all, how can you really HATE the Lakers and not understand their iconic status in this country? How can you claim to care about Los Angeles and YET BE MISANTHROPIC ABOUT THE LAKERS? Don't even the old, flabby, suburban, cranky Republican white guys who ride Harleys under the delusion they're still actually cool, and populate SLAP meetings figuring out how to save the city from politicians, like basketball?)
Not that I want to rain on anybody's parade, but I recall there were parades through downtown L.A. when the Lakers won the NBA championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Hundreds of thousands attended all three. Go back and check the news stories at the time. Who footed the bill for those parades?
The rallies were at the parking lot across from Staples Center and not at the Coliseum. Not possible to hold a rally for that large a crowd at Staples anymore since LA Live was built. So it's the Coliseum or no rally. So, no more rallies?
I remember rioting around Staples Center after the Lakers won the NBA Championship in 2000. No police presence then. Richard Riordan was Mayor then and Bernard Parks was Police Chief. The criticism of the City and the police was much more muted. Let's not forget this was at a time the Rampart Scandal was just coming to light. Were things worse then or better under Riordan and Parks?
What's so bad a parade and a rally? Pasadena has a big parade every year on New Years. Lots of police and security. City of Pasadena spends a lot of money. People in Pasadena must like their parades.
Is there any truth to the rumor that Louie Pugliese is considering CD2? I would think that with his record of garnering anti-establishment votes, he could be a game-changer. He pulled 60% of CD2 in the school board race. Isn't he also on some commission?
The city can save more money by having city officials, appointees and their staff take a furlough for their day at the parade. Why do they feel they can take a day off with pay and watch the parade. What an abuse. Someone should review the tapes and those that were sitting in the chairs. Tickets were dropped off all over city hall by Staples lobbyist. City officials, appointees and their staff should be at work or take a furlough.
Ron,
I only wish your your comments came with a feature that we could email them to our city council representative and mayor.
I know I've written to them over and over again, pointing out their indifference and guess what?
They're indifferent to the letters. They never bother replying to anything.
Antonio flacks spinning hard on the boooing. The nation was watching so of course it was beyond embarrassing. Antonio didn't get booed last year when he was at the dodger game. I bet he will if that happened now cause the message throughout the city HE'S A FAILURE. Does he still have 17 deputy mayors, 26 city cars, 93 staffers and not one laid off yet? Did you notice Kobe's man standing between him and the Antonio making sure he didn't stand next to him. The body langauge was obvious. Insiders say Lakers can't stand Mayor. He's the joke of the nation and you can't try and spin that to a positive.
I don't know how Janet presumes to have "inside" info about how the Lakers think, but such people always claim to know such things. In fact it the fans had no patience for the mayor, Parks or Perry, no one but the Lakers -- that's who they waited hours to see. I don't think it's personal. Though I admit it looked silly the way the mayor stayed glued to Kobe, which just showed how short he was. I'd have avoided such an obvious attempt to get into photos myself. And the talk shows have had a lot of fun with the way he said "party" sounding like "potty." Unless he was trying to sound like Bratton from Bawston which I hope not, he should get elocution lessons. He's not as dumb as he sounds sometimes. Really.
Anyway, what do you care what those people think? One minute you people are saying that the only people who showed up at the Colisseum, spending hours getting there by 9 a.m. and then waiting hours more for the rally, were losers with no jobs or anything better to do on a weekday. Which may or may not be true: there were lots of guys with very little hair and too many tattoos, but Kevin James says his personal friends were there too. AH, that explains it.
18 months of overspending?
18 months ???
Try 18 years.
I just wonder how many of these Lakers fans are:
1. unemployed (a whole bunch I'll bet)
2. cutting school
3. never vote in city elections
4. don't know anything about the city council
It's just sad. Politicians run amuck with taxpayer money all over the globe. If the voters want it to stop they have to rally, complain, educate the city council, and organize. But instead too many people sit around simply complaining and not doing anything else.
We get the government we settle for.
I'm very glad the Lakers and rich people paid for the parade. What shocks and saddens me is that the city council and the Lakers are so completely out of touch with the suffering of the people in this area that they didn't plan this way of paying for it in advance. It was a good idea they all jumped on at the last minute---no forethought was involved.
They are out of touch with all the suffering. It's so very sad. And the potential voters are out of touch with them.
I just read that David Beckham was flown to Finland on Monday for surgery on an Achilles tendon injury. I hope not that this could end his playing career.