Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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PETA, the acronym for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, bills itself as an "animal rights" organization. Founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk, a former animal shelter worker and deputy sheriff, PETA is now an international group of purportedly 6.5 million members that has appointed itself the voice of animals who can't speak for themselves. But with a voice like PETA speaking for you, you're better off mute. The fact is PETA kills animals. They have killed tens of thou...
A white woman suggests we 'interrupt' our perceptions on just about everything in order to combat systemic racism; a black man suggests the opposite the black community accept its true free agency in order for the individuals who comprise it to determine their own fates. Both are accomplished and respected professors. You decide who makes more sense. A well-groomed, intellectual-appearing racial relations facilitator in her early forties, Robin DiAngelo is currently enjoying...
Aside from budget problems and services cuts, one of the most important issues bothering Santa Monica citizens is the unfolding of events on Sunday, May 31, the intelligence the day before and statements by senior staff and Council members after. This past Tuesday, Sue Himmelrich introduced Item 13C, intended to bring about an independent investigation of the May 31 related matters. She stated that her rushed language was unfortunate and all the Councilmembers present (Ted...
That black lives matter is not a controversial opinion. In 2020 United States of America, well over 99 percent of the population agrees with this idea. Yet since March 25 and the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, this slogan has been chanted, chalked on the sidewalk, spray-painted on buildings, and parroted by cowed corporations and obedient politicians as if nobody already agrees with it. There is no controversy here. Only a handfu...
This commentary/critique/observation should not be construed, rendered, or inferred to minimize, trivialize, diminish or make light of the seriousness, gravity, and solemnity of the Coronavirus/Novel Coronavirus/Covid-19. Please Stop, Refrain, and Put an End to Using, Adopting, or Availing Yourself of the word "UNPRECEDENTED." My favorite book of all time is The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Mr. Goldman died in November 2018, and for those of you who didn't know him, he...
Close to 60,000 signatures have been gathered as of this writing asking for the recall of Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud. Most residents of the city are furious about the wide-scale looting that occurred during and after the "mostly peaceful" protest that paraded from Montana Avenue and down Ocean Avenue early in the afternoon. The City of Santa Monica has received 350 damage reports with 150 retail businesses claiming significant damage from the unrest on Sunday,...
Parents of school-aged children may be surprised to learn that their local school district is considering adopting a policy allowing medical marijuana on campus. Effective January 1, 2020, Senate Bill 223 (a.k.a. Jojo's Act), allows California school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education, to adopt a policy allowing a parent or guardian to dispense prescribed forms of cannabis to their student on school grounds. The law does not permit students to possess...
Earlier this year back in a time when we were able to touch each other, then-City Attorney (now city manager) Lane Dilg put a halt to The Plaza at Santa Monica, a mixed-use development proposed for a City-owned property at the corner of Arizona Avenue and Fourth Street that will positively transform the Downtown. Dilg said in February that the project, favored by people wanting to see a city progress for the better and opposed by those who reject change, possibly violated a...
By: Marcel Gemme The COVID-19 pandemic has been harsher on America's senior population than any other demographic. This is especially true of the significant subset of seniors who live in long-term care facilities like nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Healthcare establishments have been struck hard, with news stories coming in at an alarming rate from all over the nation. The numbers are sickening, with some individual facilities reporting up to 70 deaths and over...
I'd rather die on my feet, then live on my knees. I've become very disheartened. The Leftist media has successfully convinced a significant number of people that it is necessary for us to be isolated for an indefinite period of time and now that the Left has gotten us locked down, they don't want to let us out. This is a perfect opportunity for them to finish Agenda 21's goals. The globalists dreams are coming true. First it was two weeks, which we all thought was reasonable...
On March 16, the City of Santa Monica, the County of Los Angeles and the State of California almost simultaneously began shutting down businesses, beginning with bars and gyms. Within days, both local and state authorities had shut down all but "essential" businesses. The length this lockdown was supposed to last was extended several times until the current deadline of May 15. Ostensibly, the reason for shutting down nearly all economic activity was to allow hospitals to ramp...
Dear City Manager and City Council, While reading Pro Developer Group Santa Monica Forward's letter about our city's finances, we're reminded of Naomi Klein's seminal work, The Shock Doctrine. In it, Ms. Klein posits that crises are often used as tools by those with power to push through agendas they had long sought but were unable to achieve through democratic means. A crisis provides the disruption and turmoil powerful interests need to accomplish long sought but unpopular...
"I discovered to my joy, that it is life, not death, that has no limits." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera One of the casualties of Covid-19 has been our system of justice. The First Amendment to the Constitution, granting freedom of assembly, freedom to practice one's chosen religion, and even freedom of speech is being trampled upon in the face of the corona crisis. The fact that this illness may possibly be no more dangerous than the seasonal flu pandemic...
The worldwide attempt to control the recent worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 is an overreaction and a "fiasco in the making.” Scientist John Ioannidis. In most of the disaster movies we grew up with (think Jaws, for example), the town's politicians ignore the warnings from a scientist that the end is nigh. Making the disaster much worse. It may be politically incorrect. But before we return to the stone age, we need to consider the possibility that the emperor has no clothes. S...
The city's Chief Resilience Officer and its Communication Officer reported on the state of the city's response to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Santa Monica City Council meeting on Tuesday. Other than presenting the same outlines you have already seen of the disease's presentation, contagiousness, and personal measures to help prevent infection, neither public official had much to add. Certainly, there was no plan presented to prevent the spread of the disease to the city and...
An email sent out Tuesday by Dr. Ben Drati, School Superintendent for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, seeks to explain the response of the district to the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus outbreak and possibly to allay the fears of the community. UPDATE: SMMUSD sent an email out at 9:10 pm Wednesday night announcing the cancellation of the Stairway of the Stars rehearsals and concerts. They are also cancelling field trips, assemblies, performances, fundraising...
The House of Representatives passed Speaker Nancy Pelosi's unprecedented crackdown on the pharmaceutical industry. Her bill, "H.R.3," would allow the government to dictate prices on a broad array of drugs, with the promise of bringing domestic prices closer to those in foreign countries with government-run healthcare systems. H.R.3 is savvy politics. Nearly eight in ten Americans say prescription drugs cost too much. But government price setting is not the solution. Such...
The “New Way Forward Act”. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? A “New Way”, new is always fresh and clean, right? And “Forward” is better than backward, isn’t it? Sort of like “Hope and Change”. But then it depends on what you are hoping for and what changes you want made. I may hope for a limited government, individual liberty, energy independence and a strong economy. Someone else may hope for government control of production, free college and Medicare for all. The Left count...
SMCLC citing to a Rule 2202 AQMD mandatory report, Santa Monica Civic Light Commuters says that 65% of Santa Monica municipal employees drive to work in single occupancy vehicles. They then use the limited parking downtown to park for free all day. While our City government continues its policy of making parking more difficult and expensive for everyone else, they continue to not apply the rules to themselves. Their message to residents: "do as we say, not as we do."...
Over the past two years eight lawsuits have been filed by clients and former employees against the City’s sole provider of homeless services, The People Concern. A current lawsuit by a former employee, a case manager, alleges that her supervisor repeatedly asked her and her co-worker to sign various forms and/or applications on behalf of the organization’s homeless clients. These forms included budgeting forms, low-income housing forms, compliance forms, policy and pro...
Radical changes are coming to the cityscape of Santa Monica within the next three months, according to comments made at the City Council meeting December 10. The council was struggling to react to an assessment made by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) that the city would have to zone to accommodate 9,118 units by 2029. Of those units, 69 percent would need to be affordable. The current population of Santa Monica is 93,556. 9,118 is the number of units...
On Tuesday December 17th, the Santa Monica City Council will be voting on a set of zoning recommendations for Pico Blvd. submitted by City staff under the Pico Well-being Project. Residents have seen an increase in private investment in our neighborhood while at the same time long term residents feel a real threat to their ability to live and thrive in Santa Monica. In response to the increase in gentrification and land speculation the Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA)...
There have been 32,000 more individuals that have stated Roundup has caused their cancer since the LA County Board of supervisors banned the use of any glyphosate-type weed killer on county property. The presence of RoundUp is alarming- In the United States alone, 26 million pounds of Roundup are sprayed every year on public spaces. As discussed in your article, even after this shy step toward protecting public health, there are reports of RoundUp still being sprayed on...
Those who know me, know that I am feeling my own mortality these days. It isn't just the wad of cotton that's taped to my face, as a result of my second surgery to remove a cancerous growth behind my right eye. It isn't just my 59th birthday. It isn't just the death of my brother at 65 last year, from a mysterious illness that turned out to be a combination of Sarcoidosis and early onset Alzheimer's disease. It's the realization that I have become older and wiser and...
1. Kashmir has always a part of India Kashmir is a legitimate and integral part of the Indian state. There was an Instrument of Accession signed on October 26th 1947, which merged the princely state of Kashmir into the Union of India right after partition. It is a part of Indian as any of the other states. Any claims made by adversaries that Kashmir is independent or not part of India is simply false. Pakistan has zero moral or legitimate claims on Kashmir. Even the UN...
