ASS BACKWARDS

Jan. 18 – 07

The government moving ass backwards at high speed, as usual. .

In Washington, CNN reports that, “The Senate will begin considering a non-binding resolution next week opposing President Bush's new Iraq policy. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, predicted the resolution would gain Republican support and would ‘do more to change the way in Iraq that any other thing that we can do.’

Reid went on to say, "If there is a bipartisan resolution saying we don't support the escalation of the war, the president's going to have to take note of that. I think that's the beginning of the end, as far as I'm concerned."

Yeah, right! I’m sure the president will take note of that. It's more likely that Wayne Newton will win the WWF championship. A non-binding resolution? Please! Sounds like my first two marriages. If the Senate wants to put this cowboy in the corral, they should pass a law, cut off spending, do something that has some teeth in it. Act like you got a pair.

In Los Angele, the city is considering adding a short second lane to Laurel Canyon. Not quite the length of a football field, the proposed lane would run south from Mullholland Dr. at the top of the canyon, the idea being to alleviate the traffic jam caused by two lanes from the Valley side merging into one lane on the city side. Opponents say the traffic jam will not be alleviated, only moved 270 feet down the hill. Plus, the proposed lane would encroach on what is now a wildlife preserve.

Hmm. Some of us are old enough to remember driving over Laurel Canyon on the way to Universal – the studio, not the theme park – hitting Mullholland Dr., looking to the right, and seeing . . . nothing. No houses, no apartments, just a naked hillside. What did they think would happen when they added 10,000 people to that barren hillside? My guess is they figured there was a profit to be made in the construction and sale of new housing, and if that caused a traffic jam, they didn't live in the neighborhood, so they didn't care.

The city's efforts to uncork the traffic jam is going moving ass backwards. An extra lane won't alleviate traffic, but fewer cars will. What the city really needs is an effective public transportation system, one that is actually aimed at the public, not just those who are too old, too young, too poor, or too disabled to drive a car. A real transportation system, a monorail, for instance, would take most of the daily commuter traffic off Laurel Canyon, preserving it not only for wildlife but for residents, as it was originally intended.

Growth is a good thing, but random growth leads to chaos. Planning gives everyone a better chance for a better life. Wouldn’t it be nice if the city, just once, considered its residents first.

a foot on either side

Bartley B