For months we here in and around El Pueblo de Los Angeles have been regaled by Antonio Vinaigrette, el alcalde, with his song of woe regarding the city's financial shortfall--never once blaming himself for his dozens of wasteful and useless programs. Listen to any local news broadcast and you'll hear of proposals to cut programs--never the useless ones which give millions to people whose main characteristic is that they don't feel like working for a living, but rather to lay off teachers and police officers.
Laying off a few of the useless layers of management and administration is never suggested, but just those who do the work--however poorly.
Drive the length of Wilshire Boulevard , if you dare. Everywhere along its length--from downtown to the Miracle Mile financial district to wealthy Westwood and on into wealthier Brentwood, and you'll find yourself bouncing and banging about like a medieval farmer in an oxcart over a cobble road, fighting to miss the bigger and deeper potholes and rough, poorly done patch jobs.
There are a couple of exceptions: As one drives to the west, he'll eventually find himself entering the city of Beverly Hills. It's easy to tell you're entering Beverly Hills. Suddenly Wilshire Boulevard is a smooth, asphalted throughway, virtually devoid of irregularities. Keep driving. Soon, as Rod Serling used to say, There will be a signpost. It says: "Welcome to Los Angeles." The sign isn't necessary, as the street immediately becomes bumpy and full of cracks and potholes again. Like flipping a switch.
To one who lives in el pueblo, it's embarrassing. It's entirely the fault of el alcalde, who likes to lavish city taxpayer money 'pon the gang thugs with whose parents he once lazed on the sidewalks of East LA. Sidewalks which were in much better repair then, than now.
Alcalde Vinaigrette has, acording to this story broadcast on KCAL-TV, recently announced a new wasteful plan to throw away city funds: another gun buyback campaign. KCAL, affiliated with CBS News, appears to approve of this scam, and reports it in glowing terms.
A number of pickup points have been established at which one can take his $600 Glock, turn it in for a certificate worth $100 worth of groceries. What a deal! Your really mean-looking $1500 rifle or carbine is worth $200 in groceries.
El pueblo, ever looking for new ways to throw away money, isn't even going to resell these little treasures to honest citizens to turn a profit, but they're going to destroy them. So they say.
The Invisible Man could undoubtedly sneak into the dens of any of several of el alcalde's pal's and find the best of the weapons that will be scammed from the more stupid gunowners who will go for the groceries.
Better yet, it's all "no questions asked!" Any criminal can steal a gun, kill a member of a rival gang, then have his girlfriend turn the gun in for some groceries. The murder will never be solved.
There are actually people (not many) who will give up a perfectly good gun for $100--el pueblo has no shortage of really dumb people--though most of the guns they get will be useless old chunks of metal that no prudent individual would dream of trying to fire.
But Wilshire Boulevard will remain bumpy and full of potholes. As will Santa Monica Boulevard, Imperial Highway, Ventura Boulevard, La Brea Boulevard and countless others. El Pueblo de Los Angeles will remain in dire financial straits as this alcalde and the next continue to waste money on all manner of scams and boondoggles, filling their own bank accounts as part of the deal.
Remember: VOTE FOR NO INCUMBENTS!
Warm regards,
Col. Hogan
Stalag California
Addendum:
This past Friday night, the Street Department actually repaved a few blocks of Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood. They did an excellent job, which shows that they can. Oddly, or not so oddly, all the local news shows made a super big deal about it, including interviews with local denizens, a couple of workers and (predictably) even a couple of City officials. What this tells me, is that this is rarely done, and is cause for special notice whenever it happens.
In a city like Los Angeles, a crew should be working on one street or another full time, year after year. We have no shortage of streets that desperately need repaving. Programs like the gun buyback simply waste money that could help pay for things like this.
8 comments:
I have yet to meet a leftist who feels that throwing more money at failed, useless programs is a bad idea
"Any criminal can steal a gun, kill a member of a rival gang, then have his girlfriend turn the gun in for some groceries. The murder will never be solved."
I was thinking about something similar the other day, haven't these fools ever thought of this?
MK,
Back in the 1930's, in a heavily Hispanic part of LA, an artist painted a mural on a wall in a city-owned public park. Over the decades the mural, which certainly doesn't trigger any jolly-juices in me (it's actually kind of primitive and ugly), has faded and has been grafitti'd and weather-beaten.
El alcalde, at the behest of the district's City Councilman, has earmarked a high six-figure amount to have the horrid thing restored. There's no reason why those in the neighborhood that want the mural restored can't take up a collection and pay for the restoration themselves--if anyone besides the City Councilman actually wants it restored.
There are many wasteful things of this kind voted funds (instead of taking care of the real business of the city) in every city in the US--and in your part of the world as well.
This gun buyback is a program fraught with racism. At whom do you think the program is aimed? Is it a coincidence that most of the drop-off points are in Hispanic and Black parts of el pueblo.Vote for no incumbent!
Just thinking, I have a rifle and a shotgun that neither one is worth $200. Ya think I oughta bring 'em out & cash 'em in? Naa, I don't think so. If only to piss off the bourgeois that is the gobverment.
On another note, have you noticed how Vinegarette apes (no pun intended) King Obama? I'm thinkin' that he practices every night in front of a mirror.
Steve,
A guy I work with grew up in the same neighborhood as El Alcalde. Says he was a shrimpy little wannabe who hung out with the gang guys as much as they'd tolerate him. I also hear he has an appointment with a plastic surgeon to get his ears enlarged.
Most of the guns that get turned in are worth less than the $100 or $200 they'll give for them--either that or the pissed off girlfriend steal the guns and turns them in for the money.
If I were going to turn in a gun, I'd make damned certain it could never be fired again. Let one those scammers try putting that in his private collection.
sasob
SA,
If I were going to turn in a gun, I'd give them the bullets first!
There was a motion before city council to use politician brains to fill the potholes; however, it became painfully clear that the first pothole would have exhausted the entire supply.
TF,
Yeah, and they'd be waffling all over the road.
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