Now, as some of you know, I go to Berkeley’s Public Policy school.  However, I have no problem congratulating UCLA for picking up an occasional guest lecturer with an excellent history, Wesley Clark.  The former (and future?) presidential candidate will give occasional lectures and spend a lot of time in our fair Golden State.

Wesley K. Clark, a former NATO commander and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, will join UCLA this fall as a senior fellow, university officials plan to announce today.

Clark, who is expected to arrive on campus about Oct. 1, will teach occasional seminars, publish policy papers and organize and hold an annual conference on national security, officials said.(LA Times 9/18/06)

Invariably these days, Labor Day is occasion for progressive intellectuals all over the country to show up on community radio talk shows, academic symposia, and newspaper op-ed pages to ponder the question: Whither labor?

With union density what it is (13% overall, less in the private sector), it’s a discussion worth having, and having often.  Happily however, here in California, we have as muscular a labor movement as ever (or maybe not ever, but in living memory).  If I could post pictures here, I would put up a nice one from this morning’s L.A. Labor Fed breakfast at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, where just about every Southern California Democratic officeholder above dog catcher showed up to honor the organizations that fight for what we now apparently refer to as the “middle class,” and that we once knew better as the working class.  With that kind of political juice, breakfasters were safe to table the discussion of Labor’s Future in favor of that of what unions need to get done between now and November to get a new governor in Sacramento.

The big news of the night: the California Teachers Association has worked out an agreement allowing it to affiliate with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

That may sound less than earth-shattering to those who have other interests than the political machinations of union bureaucrats, but it is actually quite significant.  The 335,000-member CTA is an unaffiliated union, meaning that it does not belong to the California Federation of Labor, the state’s governing body of the AFL-CIO, and by extension, nor to the L.A. Fed, the county’s AFL-CIO governing body.  Yet the teachers union is, arguably, the single most powerful campaigning and lobbying organization in the state.  And the L.A. County Labor Fed is not just another Central Labor Council — it is a legendarily capable labor council.  It has helped launch the careers of many California political stars, including Antonio Villaraigosa.  Fabian Nunez was the L.A. Fed’s political director before winning his seat in Sacramento.  The combination of these two formidable outfits is promising indeed.

So, some good news for Labor Day in California, an occasion usually devoted in progressive circles only to nostalgia and hand-wringing.

Yup, Mel owns Malibu.  Sorry all you SoCal residents.  Now that Mel owns it, he’s going to put it on Apocalypto watch until the End Times.  It’s true.  He said it (well at least the owning Malibu part), and it appeared in the New York Daily News, so it has to be true.

The actor … told the cop he “owns Malibu” and would spend all his money “to get even with me,” Mee said in his report. (New York Daily News 7/29/06)

And that’s not all.  It seems Mayor Gibson was driving drunk in Malibu, exceeding the speed limit by about 30 mph when he got busted by the L.A. County Sherriff’s Department.  It also seems that the Passion director isn’t a big fan of us Jews either.  (The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…his father is a well known Holocaust-denier.) 

See the extended…

He goes on to blame the Jews for all the wars and throws in a nice touch of misogyny for good measure:

According to the incident report obtained by TMZ.com, the Road Warrior embarked on a belligerent, anti-Semitic outburst when he realized he had been busted.
“F—–g Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” Mee’s report quotes him as saying. “Are you a Jew?” Gibson asked the deputy, according to the report.
***
TMZ quoted a law enforcement source as saying Gibson noticed a female sergeant on the scene and yelled at her, “What do you think you’re looking at, sugar t–s?”

He better be careful, the Christian Right might have lost its favorite movie star.  You just don’t go dissing on the Jews who start wars.  Are you trying to get in the way of the Rapture Mr. Mayor Gibson?  Sheesh.

Andrew Sullivan also writes about TMZ.com’s revelations of deleted portions of Mel Gibson’s police report.  (h/t Democratic Daily).  Sully thinks he threw away his career:

Either this is an extremely elaborate hoax or it’s the end of Gibson’s career. It contains every anti-Semitic trope imaginable – from the darling of the Christianist right.

Well, I’m not sure if Gibson can be reformed, but maybe he should start with some drunken rages about how the End Times are near to get back in their good graces.

(Go watch an Inconvenient Truth (hopefully, again) and talk to a great environmenatalist, Fran Pavley – promoted by SFBrianCL)

cookie jill wants everyone in socal to know about a special screening of al gore’s “an inconvenient truth” this saturday:

join us on saturday for an afternooon screening of “an inconvenient truth”, and hear from state assemblywoman fran pavley on current legislation authored by speaker fabian nunez and primary co- author fran pavley.

— more —

if you have seen the movie, join us again and hear what you can do here in california. bring a friend who hasn’t seen it as of yet. if you haven’t seen it yet; this is a great opportunity to do so.

tom mullens, chair, socal grassroots

come join us on saturday, july 29 for a screening of an inconvenient truth and hear from assemblywoman fran pavley about her assembly bill to curb the effects of global warming. she and the speaker of the assembly fabian nunez have co- authored ab32 – solutions for global warming (for more information, see http://www.solutionsforglobalwarming.org).

tickets are $10 through actblue. you can also rsvp to [email protected] – the tickets will be available at the theatre starting at 2:15 pm.

the afternoon starts with assemblymember pavley’s presentation and introduction of the film at 2:40 pm, followed by an inconvenient truth at 2:55 pm – please arrive no later than 2:30 pm to get your seat and catch the entire event!

if you have seen an incovenient truth, join us again and hear how the state assembly is working to curb global warming.

haven’t had a chance to see this movie? now is a great time to do so – bring a friend and experience the truth of global warming, while supporting socal grassroots.

laemmle’s monica 4-plex
1332 2nd street
santa monica, ca
90401310-394-9741
map & parking information

to find out more about assemblymember fran pavley of the forty-first assembly district, visit her office website.

The Jerry Lewis scandal looks like it could be worse than the Duke-Stir Affair.  Sure, Duke was taking bribes. Lewis, however, is actively running a corruption organization.  He seeks to spread bribes around the SoCal GOP Congressional Delegation, past and present.  And he’ll take a taste every now and again.

Redlands-based ESRI has received a federal subpoena as part of an ongoing investigation into Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis and his ties to a Washington lobbying firm, a company official said Wednesday night.  The company, which specializes in mapping and geographic information system technology, is one of more than 28 Inland companies, local governments and institutions that are clients of Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White. (Riverside Press 6/29/06)

More on the flip…

ESRI has received millions of dollars of non-competitive contracts from the House Appropriations Committee, which, oh by the way, Lewis is chairman of.  The Appropriations Committee under Lewis has become corruption central, with earmarks flying fast and furious with little regard to the cost of anything or the capabilities of the companies.  These no-bid contracts end up getting subcontracted out repeatedly so that the government barely knows, if it does know at all, who it’s working with.  The failure of Katrina bussing is a direct result of such a subcontracting.  The original contractor subcontracted out, who in turn subcontracted out again.  When crunch time came, the busses were nowhere to be found and FEMA could do little but look on as people were left in squalor at the Superdome.  But don’t worry, Jerry Lewis gets plenty of money for the Inland Empire!

Lewis has helped secure more than $1 billion to the Inland area in recent years, including more than $90 million to ESRI for projects that include work on reconstruction plans in Iraq.
***
But ESRI has received earmarks — the special projects inserted by lawmakers into federal legislation and often without public debate.  In a letter to employees in May after media accounts about a possible investigation into Lewis, ESRI president and co-founder Jack Dangermond said the non-competitive awards the company has received support the government in times of emergency.
***
Copeland Lowery clients have received millions of dollars in congressional earmarks, a practice under increased scrutiny by federal authorities. Firm partner Bill Lowery is a former congressman and a close friend of Lewis, R-Redlands. The firm has also employed former Lewis staff members. … [N]o charges have been filed against Lewis or Copeland Lowery.

Yet.

This, apparently, is something that Tom Harman’s office wants to get out, so much so that they sent it to the Capitol Morning Report.  A friend of mine thought I’d enjoy it.  He was right.

Tom Harman’s legislative director, Tiffany Conklin, sent over a tale she says highlights Asm. Bonnie Garcia’s reputation as “a fireball.” It occurred Tuesday evening when about a dozen Republican legislators shared a dinner at Katana Japanese Restaurant on Alta Arden Expressway to celebrate Asm. Russ Bogh’s 37th birthday. The group was seated around a hot grill as the chef was preparing various Japanese dishes. Conklin continues: “The chef was in the process of pouring a flammable liquid on the grill when the spout on the bottle came loose and a large fireball spread across the counter and caught Garcia’s blouse on fire. Senator Tom Harman, who was sitting next to Garcia, quickly put the flames out by vigorously patting her down with a wet napkin. Garcia was not injured but was badly frightened. After the flames were out she quickly announced, “See, I’ve always told you guys these are real. If they were plastic they would have melted.” She thanked Harman for his quick actions that prevented her from receiving any serious burns. Harman was reportedly heard to quip, “The pleasure was all mine.”

I’ll just leave it up to you to come up with your own funny comments. 

The Washington Post did an investigation into some of the real estate sales made by members of Congress.  The targets in this article are Ken Calvert (R, CA-44), Gary Miller(R, CA-42) and Denny Hastert.  Calvert first:

Last year, Calvert, the California Republican congressman, and a business partner bought a four-acre parcel near the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, Calif., for $550,000. He then secured $8 million for a planned freeway interchange 16 miles away, an additional $1.5 million to support commercial development around the airfield, and sold the property less than a year later for almost $1 million.(WaPo 6/22)

Wow, that’s a pretty sweet deal.  He makes almost a half of a million buck just for slipping in a few earmarks.  Miller’s story is pretty much the same:

Miller, the other California Republican, helped secure $1.28 million in last year’s highway bill for street improvements near a planned residential and commercial development in Diamond Bar, Calif., that he co-owns with a top campaign contributor.

Ho-hum, Ho-hum, what’s a few million amongst great friends, especially when it’s taxpayer money.  Good Work guys, you are the best taxpayer-fleecing Reps since, well, uh, Duke Cunningham.

From SFGate Politics Blog:

Villaraigosa, a former speaker of the state Assembly and a likely candidate for governor in the near future, won compromise on proposed legislation that would give new autonomy to the superintendent of the Los Angeles United Schools District from the school board but at the same time, give the mayor a central role in choosing the superintendent.

While some have criticized the move as a power grab intent on enhancing the mayor’s standing on education issues, Villaraigosa told reporters that he wanted the chance to help improve test scores in poor performing schools.

***

But the deal also makes the mayor accountable for classroom performance of the 730,000-student system, which now has a dropout rate close to 50 percent. Villaraigosa, who came from a hardscrabble neighborhood of Los Angeles, said students in the low-performing schools deserved better. (SFGate Politcs Blog 6/21/06)

I’ve not yet seen the full agreement, but I think it’s a big risk that Villaraigosa is taking.  LA Schools are not traditionally the building grounds for a great political career.  But, if he is able to have any measure of success it will be a boon to his political future.

The SacBee notes that Antonio Villaraigosa is lobbying legislators in support of his schools plan:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa visited the state capital Monday to try to persuade holdout Democrats and other powerful lobbyists that his bold plan to take control of the Los Angeles Unified School District will work. The plan is in danger of collapsing in the Legislature, where Democrats are deeply divided over its reach and potential impact on teachers.
***
“This is a bill that will fundamentally reform our schools,” Villaraigosa said at a press conference. “We will not allow any individual to deter this. This has to be a collective effort. … Let’s be clear about this: The opposition to this bill was about the general principal. There are those who believe that we shouldn’t have accountability.” Villaraigosa has anchored his mayoralty to his proposed takeover of the 730,000-student system – the second-largest in the nation – which includes schools in Los Angeles and more than two dozen smaller, suburban cities. The plan is modeled on similar takeovers in New York City and Chicago. (SacBee 6/19/06)

You know, there are worse things than city takeover of the school systems, like say the state having to bail out the district.  I’m not pointin’ fingers, but I see Oakland skulking in the back of the room over there.  But, I’m not sure if we should be rushing to alter the fundamentals of school governance before we have a real idea of what a replacement system would be.  Are we going to just toss out the elected officials of the school board and replace them with city officials?

But, these concepts are not fully cooked in my mind yet.  I plan to do a little research on these issues and come back at the issues.  In the meantime, if anybody else has strong opinions about Villaraigosa’s plan, let’s hear ’em.

Jerry Lewis’ big patron has broken up! The lobbying firm of Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White will be breaking up along party lines:

The lobbying firm whose ties to Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, are under investigation announced Friday it is splitting into two groups.

The three Republican named partners – including Lewis’ friend and former California congressman Bill Lowery – will continue to lead the existing firm, while the two Democratic partners will form a separate partnership.

A statement from Copeland, Lower [sic], Jacquez, Denton & White attributed the decision to “the current media focus on the firm.” (S.D. U-T 6/16/06)

Well, that sound you are hearing must be Jerry Lewis’ heart breaking.  The incestuous relationship between Lewis and former Rep. Bill Lowery has caused some to subtly hint that this could be far worse and far-reaching than the Duke Cunningham case.  Of course, Lewis and Cunningham can’t really be separated.  They are truly two parts of the same illegal scheme.  The Duke-stir just wasn’t soooo clever.  He just took cash and stuff directly.  Lewis has his good friend Lowery pick it up and distribute it out to his entourage.  As Howie Klein describes it:

So how has Lewis been getting his slimy mitts on the dough? It’s not that complicated. His closest crony, a former fellow-corrupt Southern California congressman, Bill Lowery– like Lewis, an extremely hypocritical right wing maniac– is Lewis’ bagman. You want to buy an earmark, you pay Lowery. Then Lowery kicks back to Lewis and his family members. Very simple. Lowery’s Inside-the-Beltway lobbying firm, with a well-known, and well-deserved, reputation for being able deliver whatever its clients need from the Appropriations Committee, is called Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White. (Down with Tyranny 6/18/06)

This district is a highly conservative one, so I’m not expecting any miracles.  What I am expecting is an arrest and conviction of man who is plundering our government for his own personal uses.  For more on Lewis’ situation, keep an eye on Down with Tyranny.