Mission Accomplished!

I don't know if most large cities are as utterly dysfunctional as is El Pueblo de Los Angeles, but it seems to be following a pattern set by the state, originally seen (in this country) in the US federal government. Since these governmental entities attract power-mad controller types, these individuals see the way to increased power (over others) is to control as much of the infrastructure as possible.

Trouble is, these little fascists are neither very smart nor very imaginitive. To them, it's a one-size-fits-all world. Ultimately, their grandiose control schemes fail. Today, el Pueblo de Los Angeles is failing, the state of California is failing and the federal government of the United States is failing. Various petty little dictators are biting off way more than they can chew and trying to control far more than can be controlled.

In this case, I'm spotlighting the LA Unified School District and the LA Police Dept.

Seems there's a children's prison down in South Central called the Santee Education Center. There is also a severe gang problem in the area. Many youngsters ride the LA Metro buses to school, which stop at an intersection two blocks from the children's prison. The kids have to walk the remaining two blocks.

Seems that local gangsters often prey 'pon the kids, harassing them about gang affiliation and/or robbing them of cash and valuables. Finally, officials of el pueblo decided to do something. They added another bus stop only one block from the children's prison.

Patience, my friends, it gets better from here.

According to stories in the LA Times, including this one, at the inauguration of this new bus stop, a bus carrying Antonio Vinaigrette, el alcalde del Pueblo de Los Angeles, schools Supt. David Brewer and Santee Principal Vince Carbino, a posse of LAPD officers and news reporters (an unconfirmed rumor states that the new bus stop cost $7 million) was tagged by a student!! Tagging, for those of you in south Indiana, is scribbling graffiti 'pon the outside of the vehicle with spray paint or a magic marker.

The lad, wearing a gray hoodie and looking very mean, wrote his handle, "Zoner," on a bus window. He bolted when he realized that a news reporter was taking pictures of him through the very bus window 'pon which he was scribbling. El Alcalde, who reportedly was quite angry, wanted the police to catch and arrest the kid, but cooler heads prevailed as they realized they might cause a traffic problem in the street. Mr Carbino was sure he could locate the youngster through school records.

I would have loved to have seen the Keystone Kops chase routine that might've erupted at that point. Too bad; a great opportunity was missed.

A tip of the old battered fedora to Doug McIntyre, talk show host at KABC-AM in LA, for asking why the city isn't, instead of creating a new bus stop, going after the gangs, arresting those who commit crimes.

Meanwhile, children's prison officials battered each other trying to get at the mike to be first to say that they don't want this tagger punished; his action is a "cry for help."

I wonder if Charles Manson's 1969 Tate-Bianca murder spree was a "cry for help."

I fear for the life of the Republic.

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California