It's true the union owned democrats are bankrupting the state and local governments with their outrageous pensions and benefits. It is also true that the repubs are simply saying no. Although saying no is a lot better than saying yes to the crap the dems are pushing.

I've read and understood your comments, Mr. lbresident. Thank you for sharing them.




good white stripes joke.

So what is your solution ? Blogging???

The Elecotorate spoke.....the power base shifted.....what do you propose to do ? Gripe ??

Your Union bashing mind set is another red Herring......the 'Unions' have shrunk, and shrunk, and are far less powerful then in years before, but certain myopic blame merchants tend to see them as the root of all, or substantially all, evil.

Horse feathers.

So why don't you send a letter to the Editor in the Press Telegram, heck, try the NY Times, or LA Times, calling for the Residents mandate that we immediately, and unilaterally repeal any and all Union representation for Police, Fire, the Teachers,the Steel Workers, City Empolyees, the bulk of the Port, the Machinists, Aerospace workers, and all of the rest of those poor working slobs merely trying to get a fair shake.... and see how far you get with that ?

Please, put on a Super Man suit and parade around Naples shaking a Tamborine and spewing about a ''Tea Party''. You are paying too much taxes....your net recepits could be higher..dang.....must be the little guy again.....not Wall Street fleecing the average investor's 401K again....or Goldman Sachs getting a sweetheart bailout under John Corsine....and friends....it is the lowly Unions, out there in the sun sweating their ass off to fix your streets, or infrastructure , enforcing the law, teaching your kids, breathing the toxic air in the Port.....not your special interest, special deal, loophole milking buddies as a key cause ?

In many ways, certain Unions helped build the American Middle Class along with other forces, so does it all begin and end with outlawing any means of collective bargaining or right for employees to assemble, and bargain as a constituency ? Please.....

Greed, special interest Lobbying, earmarks, influence peddling, corporate off shore tax loop holes, and the exemption riddled, certain sectors get a special deal IRS Tax Code is to blame too ?

Tax each and every US Corportions pretending to do business offshore, but actually functioning in the USA, evenly, apply a lower, fair, even handed flat tax to all individuals or businesses, at a lower rate, claw back these obscene Anti Trust exemptions which favor some at the expense of others, put the bite on all of Mr Bush's buddies in the Oil Industry, and send a bill to the Country's who we have footed the National Defense bill for, going back to Japan, Germany, France, and the Middle East and others, and see where our balance sheet ends up ?

Who pays are cost of War's Res ? Is that also the Unions fault ?

The Unions are the root cause.....uh huh.....??

How many retired local Beaurocrats live in Naples? And are DeFacto Multi Millionaires from bilking out Pension system, spiking their salaries, and squeezing old City Hall for all that it is worth ?

A Union problem ? Uh huh.

Kindly,( and as logical to some)

The King of Spain ???

Dear Sir,

What a waste of intelligent, well thought out, information sharing. I cannot believe that I've actually found a person on this blog who has a clue.

The Sean Hannity-Rush Limbaugh-Tea Bagging-Corporate Automatons on these sites just spew the Big-Money vomit-talking points of "blame taxes and the little guys." They rarely look at the corporate welfare (in the trillions), the corporate tax loopholes (which allow most Billion-Dollar Corporations to pay almost NO taxes), and the insane influence peddling that these corporations inflict upon our political system.

To blame unions for the sad state in California (or our nation) is the most preposterous propaganda diarrhea these people have promulgated. The fat-cat, millionaire/billionaire aristocrats in the United States have convinced these low-to-middle class non-thinkers to do their dirty work for them.

Meanwhile, the folks making millions and billions of dollars by dismantling manufacturing in our country and moving it to Mexico; the ones that make millions and billions of dollars by avoiding taxes with off-shore scams; the ones that make millions and billions of dollars by short-changing the very country which provided them to opportunity and infrastructure to make their money; continue to shake their heads at their good fortune of having masses of blind, ignorant talking heads, and laugh all the way to the bank. All this, while they gut-and-destroy our middle class, and by that, our nation.

We are quickly heading to a feudal system in the country. Don't kid yourself, the war on unions, and the free trade push, and the huge increase in wealth concentration at the very top, and the eroding middle class, are all part of a very deliberate scheme of the super rich and greedy. They only want more and more and more, and unless we wake up, it will soon be too late to stop them. This is unpatriotic.

You want to talk about our forefathers and the constitution? Our founders FEARED corporate wealth and power. They formed our government and institutions to STOP THE CONCENTRATION OF WEATLH AND POWER. That IS NOT democracy, that is "Corpocracy," and will soon lead to a very few having all the wealth and power, and the rest of us tilling their fields, and working their land. Look at virtually all of western civilization's history. The "middle class" is rare, and only present in civilizations that have GOVERNMENT REGUALTION that curbs the power of wealth and corporations.

I've gone on too long...I'm sure the right-wingers got lost after the first couple of lines.

Good luck to you, and God Bless America!!

Thank you kndly Sir. This Resident guy may just be Mr Randy Gordon blogging for certain interests of, or for, the Chamber. If not, they seem to kneel at the same altar, greed and self interest.

This town has a lot of problems, and City Hall needs some areas cleaned up. Having the worst, or second worst Air in America, the worst ocean in California, rife influence peddling, worrysome lack of transparency, escalating gun violence, school cut backs, police cut backs, ethical lapses all over, and this cloistered Old Guard first mentality, seems far more troubling to many than an all out assault on the withering Unions ?

Excellent Essay, compelling choice of words. Astute reasoning. More to kick around soon. Working on a big Law Suit to fix a few messes around here, and set the stage for meaningful reforms.

Thank you for advancing the debate and sharing your passion to be fair, and do good, by all, not simply towards the chosen....or exceptionally self centered , or inordiinately greedy.

RETURN MY PERSONAL PROPERTY TO ME.

RETURN MY PERSONAL PROPERTY TO ME.

blah blah blah

I've read and understood your comments, Mr. lbresident. Thank you for sharing them.

Blah Blah Blah,,,,,that advances the debate.....


At least you did not rant and rave about our fine friend Tonia Reyes Uranga again !! What a wonderful lady ! She truly cares about her constituents !

Brown power Res, and Black Power, and Red Power, and Yellow Power, and GAY power, and people power, and Residents First.


Gotta go crank that FUNK classic,,,,, '' You gotta fight the powers that be''

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRkw9UnVhug


Time is truly wastin'
There's no guarantee
Smile's in the makin'
You gotta fight the powers that be
Got so many forces
Stayin' on the scene
Givin' up all around me
Faces full a' pain
I can't play my music
They say my music's too loud
I kept talkin about it
I got the big run around
When I rolled with the punches
I got knocked on the ground
With all this bullshit going down

Time is truly wastin'
There's no guarantee
Smile's in the makin'
You gotta fight the powers that be
I don't understand it
People wanna see, ya
Those that got the answers
Red tape in the way
I could take you in easy
That's just half the fun, oh boy
Seeking satisfaction
Keeps me on the run
I can't play my music
They say my music's too loud
I kept talkin about it
I got the big run around
When I rolled with the punches
I got knocked on the ground
With all this bullshit going down
Time is truly wastin'
There's no guarantee
Smile's in the makin'
You gotta fight the powers that be

If you & I can - we got the power
Fight it, got the power fight it........baby, baby
Fight it, fight the power

Against better thinking I am going "advance the debate". The problem is while unions once were a strong component of developing the middle class and should be commended for it, the unions (public employee unions in particular) no longer help the middle class. They destroy every industry they dominate from auto to airline to gov't. The tax base can no longer afford their demands. It is just not possible to continue the existing structure. The solution (since you asked for one) is to require public employees to contribute at least 50% of the cost for pensions. It's that simple. Tonia (since you brought her up) looks absoultely incompetent when she complains her district is flooding while simultaneously fighting every single reform that would provide money to fix the problem. Keep your poems, songs, and incoherent bloviating about job creators errr I mean big bad business to yourself. I concede there are reforms necessary all around but if you want to advance the debate, let me know why employee pensions shouldn't be reformed. Or just write another page long poem.

Howardx, please read and understand. Thanks!

ha! never!

Keep trying, not remotely persuasive, nor profound.

Nor original, nor compelling.

Ask Steve James, and LBPD, Rich Brandt, and the Fire Heros, and our maligned, underfunded and overstrecthed educators how 'destroyed' they are by their Unions.

Pay your taxes Res, and give the little guy a chance to grasp for the brass ring too.

You have yours, it's somebody elses turn.

New Regulation number 1. All Journalists have a State guaranteed Living Wage !! Pension, and Bene's ??

Bill The Res's of this world.....who need more money for Yachting, and Trips, and Golf.

Ask Steve James? Ok, that makes sense.

I do pay my taxes. And I am the little guy.

It's impossible to to educate a crazy person I suppose. Can't say I didn't try.

OH Right....the '' little guy'' from exclusive Naples, typing away from Multi Millionaire row, whining like a baby that he has to help pay for the services he receives, enjoys, and has become used to. The angry old High Pecker who hates the Tonia Uranga's of this world for trying to raise people up, or rise, and then rise again? The elitest Fat Cat who rails against people, or concerns from the West side.....

''Educate a crazy person.''....Who made you the final arbiter of anyone's mental facilities Mr Big Shot? Did the ''Bill O'Reilly fairy '' bestow some unilateral right to you to Repeal the US Constitution as well ? And the Free and Fair debate clause? Is your Royal prononcement the Official Recission of any and all 1st Amendment Rights ? The abolishment of the Equal Protection Clause ?

How about the Right of Assembly....as in collective bargaining....clubs, societies, organizations and other Lawful groups?

Your education often appears to be a degree in being a pompus, self centered, self serving tight wad with little to no concern for his fellow man, or abject want of charity towards others in their festering, jaded, hardened, me me me heart.

That statement amounts to...''If I am not correct, or if you dare disagree with the great....me....you must be....crazy !! '' Uh huh. Millions of crazy people trying to live somewhere in the middle, be tolerant towards all, fair towards all, kind towards all....and we are crazy.

And any cultural shift towrds a more progressive national, state or local agenda....as if by some broad based, popular cultural evolution of sorts, or gained societal enlightenment.....is evil. Bad. Wrong. A pox upon your guided house? Please!

How convenient,,,,Uh uh better go summon your man servant to polish your Rolex.....and lay out your Tuxedo....

To the Opera....James......

If Long Beach, as a majority of voters, fail to see the wisdom of going to the shooting range with a Union Label target. 'unions' are at best, a small aspect of a far more vexing set of factors, not necessarily problems.

However, you have the unmitigated gall, and audacity to conclude, not merely opine, or assert ;

''The Unions destroyed America'' They are the Actual and Proximate cause of all that stains our beloved flag.....Oh right

And his Majesty and most Royal 'HIGH'-ness proclaims........I insist so....thus it is written,!!,,,,thus it is done.!!....like you are the Great Pharoh building the pyramids in pre biblical times or something......dude.....that oozes bloated, hyper inflated ego, self importance, defacto impotence, and a troubling, if not scary sense of subjective, self aggrandizing, embarrassingly self absorbed sense of entitlement ?


Before you go branding anyone CRAZY....what is your claim to fame? Do you have 5 degrees and the honors that went with them, or simply an Agenda from the far far right, an axe to grind and then burnish on the average guys Levi's ? And a big bowl or sour grapes ?

If we need your 'Education', we'll ask for it......until then, your opinion is simply that, your opinion, and by taking a look at the local, state wide, or National Picture, in the context of this economic cycle, it's business, societal and political realities, some might say that your ' Yacht' is taking on more and more water.

Bummer. Better slash taxes, de regulate again, ban Unions and send me a rebate to buy another yacht.......but stay out of my neighborhood.....

One might conclude, A fortiori ( by force of the most powerful reasoning)....that you are increasingly....All wet.

Now go polish you BENZ and count your Millions.

Real people have work to do and a load of local Neo Con problems to fix.

And a lot of charitable work to continue with. For the greater good.


''A Governement of the People, by the People, and for the People''. Not just whining rich people.

''With liberty, and justice, for ALL''. Not just Richy Rich.

''We hold these truths to be self evident...that ALL, not just the fat and happy, men are created equal'' and are bestowed with the inalienable right Life , Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness''

Your Life seems pretty miserable, you get off on attempting to deny other people their liberty, and you might be wise to strive for more happiness, as long it is not perennially at the expense of others, especially the average person, or the little guy.

Res, you are absolutely powerless to change this alone.....and you are impotent in the face of the voters absent a constituency. Your consituency has plenty of points to assert, wonderful, but you have to be legally blind, and deaf, to think that your philosophy is gaining momentum, or traction, credence, or meaningful, demonstrable viability.?

Assess the political or legal, or societal landscape ?

Be realistic, not merely bitter. Prioritize our real, actual problems, and 'Unions' are not even on the radar.

Oh, since you live in Naples, you might like this one. We commissioned a PHD study to demonstrate how much Naples and the Peninsula have sunk due to Oil Extraction, absent adequate water re-injection. You see the oil industry gets special cost saving exemptions, and must drive the bottom line by being less than a good neighbor at times.

Since you LOVE such things.....love this. Your home has sunk, lower to the water line, due to inadequate water re injection by the Bixby's, Thums, etc. to boost profits....non union style.....over 40 inches in the last 41 years ??

DeLong knows about it, so does the City......happy with your Government ? The De regulated Oil Companies ? Driving the bottom line by slashing, shifting, or deferring present day costs to future generations ?

My goodness...

ditto!

Let's see...who recorded that song...the Red Herrings?

The Isley brothers guitarist loved Jimi Hendrix, so he played a right handed strat with a left handed neck a lot, and would where the head scarfs, Hendrix clothes, and be all Hendrix esque.....Marshall Stacks wah wah pedals

Billy Brown, Marty Resh and High Steppin' used to crank this funk rock all over the town, and had a very tight Funk band going there.....and the line '' I try talkin about it.''...reminds us of testifying to deaf ears downtown


''When I rolled with the punches'' you know, go along , try to believe the long stretch story....

''and we get knocked to the ground'' reminds you of where playing nice around here can get you around here, steam rolled by the powers that be......for a while....

So too often, so many of us kinda feel you gotta Fight the powers that be....

And hey.....many of us walk out of City Hall empty handed and get a gut full of all ''This BULL SHIT goin' down ''

And when you add up all of the hours some morons cause you to waste.......hey ''Time is truly wasted''

But we fight the powers that be....and win our rounds....

LOL The RED Herrings !! The Red Hot Chili Herrings

They played Bogarts for us over and over....til Haleel O.D.d RIP

During my days of covering Long Beach hip-hop, I spent some time with Ron Isley in his Golden Lady Studio while he collaborated with Warren G. I'm just sayin'.

Wielenga oozes Street Cred..so you jammed with Isley.....and Warren G......fess up you Artiste you...we knew you were holdin' out on us...

Did you laugh when Res choked on the 50,000 bet re the Wetlands is a Red Herring and not one of many of 2nd and PCH's negative impacts ??

uh uh uh CHOKE !!

OK Res.....25,000 $ We give half to a Coastal Preservation Charity......better yet Bill Pearl and Dave Wielenga.....

Fight the Powers that Be( F'd Up ).....all day and all night...for life.

Dave is so, so, so modest......it is time to let you all in on his rumored prior gig in the 70's.

Some people think that the lead singer here is Paul Rogers, who went on to front bad company.....but sources say it might be Wailing Dave.....

He has the pipes....huh ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH5wbYP5xkQ

RETURN MY PERSONAL PROPERTY TO ME.

RETURN MY PERSONAL PROPERTY TO ME.