HOLIDAY TRAVEL

Twice in the last week I have found myself trapped in Santa Monica, faced with the daunting task of getting home to Fairfax. What used to be a thirty-five to forty minute drive has become a grueling, ninety-five minute crawl.

As I battled along Olympic Blvd., inch by inch, I knew the local news would be doing their painfully predictable stories on holiday travel: unending lines at LAX; multiple flight delays; packing tips for getting through security more easily; spikes in gas prices. It occurred to me that it was all part of the same problem – gross incompetence.

Hundreds of thousands of daily commuters didn’t just appear one day out of the blue, they came one at a time to meet the demands of the ever-expanding business community. The daily gridlock they create is the fault of the people who are supposed to manage traffic, the people we elected or appointed to plan and build for the future. But they have failed – miserably!

Daily traffic jams in Los Angeles are caused by the lack of a serious mass transit system, the city's preference for business over residents, and a cavalier attitude toward population density vis-a-vis highway capacity. In short, totally avoidable problems have been cause by shortsightedness and inaction.

Most people don't want to be bothered with governmental processes, they just want government employeesto do their jobs. Feel the same? Feel free to share your thoughts with Rita Robinson, General Manager of Transportation, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, at (213) 972-8470, or email her at: http://lacity.org/LADOT/index.htm I’m sure she’d be glad to hear from you. Happy Thanksgiving!

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CARDINAL SIN

It’s encouraging to see that the Catholic Church in Los Angeles, led by Cardinal Roger Mahony, has not taken its eye off the ball. Unmoved by the pleas of student families, Mahony decided to close Daniel Murphy High, a local Catholic school that has been turning out well educated, well behaved young men for more than fifty years. The Church has more pressing problems; it can’t seem to find the $175,000 needed to subsidize DMH. Oddly enough, Cardinal Mahony didn’t have any trouble finding $85 million to settle last year’s sexual abuse law suit.

Well, at least the Church won’t have any trouble moving the students from DMH to other schools – they’ve had so much practice moving sexual predator priests from one parish to another, shielding them (and the Church) from the law. Besides, the sale of DMH’s land will bring in $25 million to $40 million, depending on the market, which should help to refill the coffers of the completely tax-exempt Church.

I don’t know about you, but I think Jesus would be proud.

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POLITICS AS THEATER

After the Las Vegas Democratic debate, a debate that was hardly democratic, it seems we’re moving into a new phase of the campaign: politics as theater.

Act I began with a full cast of contenders: a leader, a comeback kid, a new guy, party stalwarts, and comedy relief. By the close of the act, lines had been drawn and characters had been more clearly defined.

Ac II opens with political commentators deciding who the front runner is, who has a real chance to catch her, and who might as well go home. But this play is at least partially improvised, and there’s no telling what the actors might say and how the audience might react.

Without trying to handicap the race, here’s my assessment of the candidates at the beginning of Act II, in no particular order:

CHRIS DODD has a crucial combination of legislative experience and a laser-sharp mind. If he were younger and thinner he’d be leading the pack.
JOE BIDEN has the best sense of humor but lacks a focused message.
HILLARY CLINTON benefits from Bill’s political machine, improves with each debate, but plays fast and loose with the facts, especially her claim to 35 years of devoted service. The only thing inevitable about her victory is that 2008 seems like a good time to finally elect someone who isn’t a white male.
BILL RICHARDSON is a great public servant but a poor public speaker. He would make a valuable presidential advisor.
JOHN EDWARDS is passionate, compassionate, sincere, and eloquent. He is hampered by a 2nd place aura.
BARACK OBAMA, despite his short tenure in national office, is deeply qualified for the office. A victory for him would be a victory against historical American prejudice. I am concerned, however, about his inability to give short, straight answers to simple questions.
DAVID CUCINICH, who started out asthe comedy relief, has become the soul of the Democratic debates. Even with the miniscule amount of time he is alloted by moderators, he speaks his mind with total disregard for consequences. He is too short, doesn’t have a presidential, aura and probably doesn’t have a chance, but his loss will be our loss.

The viability of the race is hampered by the media. They’re daily handicapping serves no purpose, other than to boost their own ratings, and is detrimental to the process. It seems to me their job is to report the news, not to create it. Still, I can't wait to get to Act III.

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HILLARY

Toward the end of last week’s debate, Hillary Clinton stumbled badly over the issue of drivers’ licenses for illegal aliens. She tried to suggest that it was the best of several bad choices, but ended up sounding like she agreed, then disagreed, then agreed again. The other candidates pounced.

Campaign aside, here’s the argument in favor. Licenses would help law enforcement identify and keep track of illegal aliens; only qualified drivers could get them, making the roads safer; proof of insurance would be required, making everyone safer.

Here’s the argument against. There is no evidence whatever to suggest that the Department of Motor Vehicles is remotely capable of certifying anyone’s identity. Quite the contrary. The sheer volume of license applicants makes it impossible for overworked, underpaid DMV employees to do anything more than stamp forms. Osama bin Ladin could apply for a license as Rube Goldberg and get it.

Anyone who has driven in America knows that the phrases “qualified driver” and “licensed driver” do not necessarily belong in the same sentence. The DMV would give Stevie Wonder a license. My 89-year-old mother recently renewed her license for five years with a written test: no driving test, no medical questions, nothing. My mother is a fairly good driver, but they didn’t know that, and I suspect they didn’t care.

Proof of insurance at the moment a license is issued is not a guarantee of maintenance. The DMV, like most government offices, function on an assumption of honesty. Not to disparage illegal aliens, but we know they broke the law to get here, so ... ya know?

The solution to the immigration problem is not to impose some special set of conditions on illegal aliens, but rather to strictly enforce existing regulations against employers. That seems fairly obvious.

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IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

For several months after 9/11, America’s airports were filled with armed soldiers. I suspect it was a classic case of closing the barn door after the horse was gone, but it delivered a powerful message: freedom is fragile.

President Musharraf of Pakistan has just declared a state of emergency rule in that country, the equivalent of martial law. He suspended the constitution, arrested the chief justice of the supreme court, suspended elections, closed down the TV stations, cut off phone service to the capitol, and sent soldiers into the streets to maintain order. There were some mild protests at which 500 people were immediately arrested.

Musharraf blamed his actions on reported threats of armed aggression, which may or may not have been true. It hardly matters. Some analysts felt this was an attempt on his part to retain power. Pakistan, it should be noted, is one of our major allies in the middle east, a country supposedly on the road to democracy.

I can’t help but wonder if George W. Bush isn’t watching this drama unfold on TV ( since he doesn’t bother reading newspapers ) and thinking to himself, “Shoot, do you s’pose I could do that here? I’ll bet I could.” And I’ll bet he’s right.

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SUBWAY

The Times had a lengthy article yesterday about a change of route for the proposed “subway to the sea.” For years the MTA has wanted to use the Wilshire corridor, which currently has the largest public transportation ridership. Now they are considering Santa Monica Blvd. as a possible alternative. Hmm.

First, where is it written in stone that the subway to the sea has to be a subway? God knows Los Angeles needs a better transportation system, but instead of digging a hole and then building a train, why not just build a train – or better yet, a monorail – and save half of the proposed $6 billion budget. In the 1960s a European company offered to build a monorail system in Los Angeles for free. I’ll bet they still have a phone. Why not call them?

Second, today’s ridership figures are based on our ineffective, out-of-date bus system. A fast, efficient, clean, quiet monorail would unquestionably pull in millions of new riders, whatever route it follows.

Finally, the real reason the MTA has been unable to secure the Wilshire route for the subway is that the wealthy and powerful residents of Hancock Park don’t want it there. They are afraid it will impact their pristine lifestyles. Well, boo-frigging-hoo! Imagine the nerve of the city, wanting to transport the general public through an exclusive neighborhood. We should probably give our Hancockers an additional tax cut – this is on top of what they’re already getting from Mr. Bush - to make up for the emotional stress. I feel just terrible.

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HOMELAND INSECURITY

For anyone who still can’t see that terrorism is a straw tiger and airport security is a complete ruse, here are two pieces of information that should tighten your focus a little. First, using undercover agents to try and sneak lethal materials onto commercial flights, Homeland Security constantly tests the effectiveness of its airport screeners. The latest test results showed that as bombs and bomb parts passed literally under their noses, screeners failed to spot it 75% of the time. Seventy-five per cent! I don’t see how they could do much worse.

Second, prior to this latest test, a Homeland Security executive sent a memo to all airports, warning them in advance about who and what to look for . . . and they still missed 75%.

The inconvenient truth here is that securing airports from terrorism in a country in which several hundred thousand people fly every day is simply not a do-able task. Perhaps realizing this, or perhaps not, the Bush administration has opted instead to allow Americans to fly under the illusion of security: it isn’t any safer for you, but it’s a lot more profitable for the airline industry.

The existence of terrorists isn’t enough to keep me from flying, any more than the existence of lightning keeps me from walking in the rain. It’s always something. You pays your money and you takes your chances. What does scare me is a government that is willing to rob its citizens of their civil liberties in the name of security ( which it doesn’t provide ) and citizens who are willing to be robbed. It’s time to push back.

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