Delete This Department: Cultural Affairs
Do we really need a governmental agency to promote September as "Latino American Heritage Month?"Well, we've got one. The Department of Cultural Affairs has an annual budget of $9.8 million.
Why are we taxing the hard-working people of our city $9.8 million every single year so some bureaucrats can promote their vision of "culture?"
It gets worse, of course. Of $9.8 million budget, just under $5.4 million goes to salary and expenses, and the other $4.4 million is given away as grants.
So, if you think of this as a charity to support the arts, the "overhead" is eating up your forced contribution as the taxpayer/donor. Would you willingly contribute to a charity where only 45% of your dollar winds up going to the needy?
Let's get rid of this agency, get government out of the "culture" business, and spend this hard-earned money on something more important, like, say, keeping children from getting shot on their way to or from school.
Posted by Walter Moore @ 8/27/2006 09:06:00 PM
46 Comments:
Let's NOT get rid of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Nothing wrong with our officials creating more cultural awareness in a city that lacks it.
This is the real reason Mayor Hahn lost the election. When he cut the funding to cultural affairs.
People seem to think it was the pay to play allegations when in fact , in a city full of artists and being the media capital of the world the MAyor sent a message to the arts , movies and all , that was not a priority.
So no , No one would dare cut the funding for Cultural affairs in this administration.
It is good to hear that Cultural affairs is no longer in the red.
I didn't even have to scroll down to know this post was started by "Moore is a better bigot."
This is the SAME "wacko" that said on this SAME blog a couple weeks ago he could tell which Latinos, getting off a bus to vote, we're "illegal" -- just by LOOKING at them, from a second story window over the parking lot.
Was it the way they walked, Wacko. . . could you see their "wet" backs through their shirts. . . did they have a third-world gait. . . ???
Maybe you can also help the lawyers in the O.J. case figure out what the "black" voice sounds like.
And here some people thought the local Republican party wouldn't support him for mayor because he was too "liberal" for them.
Nope, because he's a closet bigot, who can "see" people's nationality and citizenship, in the color of their skin, that even scared the GOP away. Please cut to the slave-chase, Wacko; these tepid attacks on other races are so boring. Why not intern all Arabs and limit Asians to "learner's permits" that require them to have Anglos in the passenger seats when they drive.
Just get to it, Wacko. We all know you want to:
"America for (WHITE) Americans. Hell if we'd wanted this crazy quilt of darkies, we wouldn't have bothered slaughtering the injuns (and we NEVER would have brought over so many nigras, if we ever thought they'd STAY -- or survive the "jobs" they were put to off the big boats).
What's with the retarded talking adverts?
What gets Wacko's attention? Latino American Heritage Month. Pretty transparent, dude.
Moore in 2009: No culture, no class, no leadership! (And No Latino Americans)
L.A. needs "Latino American Heritage Month" about as much as an aquarium needs to have "Fish Month."
To 2:20:
1. Give us all a link to where I supposedly make the statements you attribute to me. Your reading comprehension leaves much to be desired.
2. As usual, you have no basis for addressing the merits of the argument, and instead trot out your "anyone who disagrees with me is a racist" ad hominem attack. Go to the library, and check out a book on logic and rhetoric.
3. Explain to the rest of us why we should be taxed so that bureaucrats can give our money to artists. Why do we need the middleman? Why can't we pick which musicians, artists and plays we want to patronize?
4. Actually, it wasn't this month's particular waste of tax dollars that caught my attention. Rather, one of you whined that there was no original reporting done here, so, always aiming for customer satisfaction, I started looking at L.A.'s organizational chart. The Department of Cultural Affairs -- about which I had forgotten -- jumped off the page. I looked up the budget figures for it, and went to its website to see what it was doing. Three guesses what was front and center.
There are many of us who absolutely agree to get rid of Cultural Affairs. Its the biggest waste of our tax dollars and the fact that all those people running it are making major bucks is absurd. Antonio in fact added more money for this dept. No one knows what the hell they do except tell people in a community what type of graffitti murals they should have. Then when the community gets uproared because they want that the assholes in Cultural Affairs does it anyway.
HOORAY HOORAY
SCHOOL TAKEOVER PLAN OPPOSED BY DYMALLY
Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton), who heads the state Legislature's black caucus, said Sunday that he opposes Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to gain substantial authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The group, which also included Assemblymen Jerome Horton of Inglewood and Mark Ridley-Thomas of Los Angeles, and state Sen. Ed Vincent of Inglewood, discussed whether to take a united stand against the bill, but it was unclear Sunday whether all of the participants were persuaded to oppose it.
When our city is safe and clean then you can begin to talk about spending millions of tax dollars on a non-essential bureaucracy.
You now damn well Antonio, Fabian and that slut Gloria Romero are wheeling and dealing.
dailynews.com
....While few in the Capitol halls say they are publicly willing to discuss - or even acknowledge knowing about - any specific political favors being traded to keep the mayor's legislation moving, most agree the wrangling has been rampant.
Villaraigosa says he has not made any promises in exchange for support, although some legislators see opportunities for leverage as the mayor gambles his political career on the bill.
"Those conversations are inappropriate and did not take place," the mayor said. Critics who suggest backroom deals are being cut note that maneuvering began as soon as Villaraigosa backed off total mayoral control when it became evident the teachers' unions would not support it. Amendments to appease various legislators and interest groups followed.
Villaraigosa says the amendments were minor fine-tunings. But state Sen. Dean Florez, a Bakersfield Democrat, says the bill has lost its original focus. "This bill has been diluted completely. When you come to Sacramento, be prepared to compromise," Florez said. "What's unusual is nobody is talking about the kids."
Yeah, we aren't hearing a damn thing about the kids anymore just abut Antonio's power greedy strong arming.
The pressure has left some lawmakers griping behind closed doors that they're not voting for the bill on its merits, but out of fear of retribution from Villaraigosa and Nu¤ez.
Mayor Sam or Walter post this as a thread please.
WORD GAMES..COUNCIL'S MEASURE R LANGUAGE IS DESIGNED TO DECEIVE
MEMBERS of the Los Angeles City Council used every sleazy political trick in the book to put their dream of weakened term limits on the November ballot. So we shouldn't be surprised - just disgusted - that in formulating the ballot language, they were every bit as dishonest.
Unless a court intervenes first, when L.A. voters go to the polls they will see Measure R, titled, "Councilmember term limits of three terms; city lobbying, campaign finance and ethics laws. Charter amendment and ordinance proposition."
Note the first deception: "Council term limits of three terms."
Almost sounds like a pro-term-limits measure, doesn't it? Vote yes to impose term limits on the City Council!
Except that council members are already limited to two terms. The effect of Measure R would be to give incumbents a third term, thereby letting them hang around even longer. But city pols are hoping that uninformed voters - who sometimes don't read past a proposition's title before deciding how to vote - won't figure that out.
Then there's the wording of the question itself, which begins, "Shall the Charter be amended and ordinance adopted to: change Councilmember term limits to three terms"?
"Change" is a conveniently ambiguous word. It neglects
to inform the uninitiated that the limits are being "changed" to make them weaker.
"Lengthening" was the more accurate term that City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's staff chose when it wrote up the measure's original language. But the council voted to alter the wording in favor of the new, deceptive language that doesn't actually tell voters what the measure would do.
Nice, huh?
About what we'd expect from a council that packaged the plan with a bunch of faux ethics reforms drawn up by lobbyists, all in the hopes of confusing the public into thinking the measure has something to do with cleaning up government - which it doesn't.
On Thursday, a Superior Court judge will decide on a motion filed by opponents who argue that the more honest language should be restored. Let's hope the judge does the right thing and smacks the council down for its lack of integrity.
Then let's hope that voters do the same in November.
Walter:
You ARE a racist. Just admit it and get on with that sad existance you call a life. You will NEVER hold a REAL elected office, and I doubt anyone will EVER appoint you to anything.
And if you actually had "real money", you wouldn't be spending your time on MS all day.
Daily News Opinion
WORD GAMES..COUNCIL'S MEASURE R LANGUAGE IS DESIGNED TO DECEIVE
Today's anti-arts and culture posting by Moore (does anyone else even post here anymore?) confirms yet again that this blog is completely out of touch.
Yeah so out of touch that you continue to come and post your negative crap. Mayor Sam gets more hits then other blogs.
go somewhere else moron and quit whining and complaining like a pms'ing female.
11:08
More hits than other blogs? REALLY?!? Thats a fucking joke. Especially during the last several months.
11:32 p.m.
Just what sort of 'CULTUREAL AWARENESS" do you think is being created in this city??????
You are either a moron or a Mexican!
This city LACKS CULTURE for one reason! I has been Mexicanized by illegals and their LEADERS!
Whatever "culture" Mexico has (and I can't think of one single positive cultural trait possessed by Mexico and Mexicans)....it belongs in MEXICO!
Mexico has NO culture!!!!! Period!!! It is a culture of corruption and illiteracy!!!!!!
And we have imported the worst of the worst from Mexico!!!!!!!
Unless and until we get rid of the Mexican corruption in city hall, it will NEVER stop!
Yeah...I saw a lot of "CULTURE" in Maywood last Saturday! Hundreds of Mexicans taking down the American flag at the P.O. and stringing up the buzzard flag! Heard lots of "fuck you Americans" screaming from the mouths of Mexicans! Saw lots of dirty, filthy streets and people!
Yeah...that's culture for you!
I bet AV was dying to join his brothers in Maywood, but he is too busy trying to change his 'spots'. He will never succeed, however, because he is one of them and will never change!
Culture? BS!!!!!!!
Bloggers, don't take the bait from 11:24 & 11:32. Soon, our redneck friend's mind will crack, and he'll flee into the bible belt of the CA desert.
What is disturbing is that neither Mayor Sam nor Walter Moore do anything about these bitterly racists posts. They never get deleted, which makes me wonder why so many non-white bloggers keep coming back to this site.
PS, they day that someone impersonated Walter Moore and posted racists remarks attributed to him, the post was deleted in a matter of hours.
Double standard?
12:11 p.m.
Who in the hell do you think you are???
Let me guess...you must be one of the Mexican racists (legal or illegal) in city hall!
If you fu**ing Mexicans think you can stop us Americans from sending your brown asses back to Mexico, you are sadly mistaken.
Tell you amigos to stop the crap about this 'being their land', Americans..go back to Europe, etc.
You people are criminal border jumpers and have NO RIGHTS IN MY COUNTRY!!!!!! And that goes for the Mexican mafia in City Hall!!
Do you think the internet is just for anti-Americans like yourself? Think again!
So, mi amigo....SHOVE IT!!!!!!!
Its not just Americans there are a lot of Mexican Americans in this city that want those damn illegals out of here. I'm sick and tired of my tax dollars being wasted on a bunch of lazy ass people who take advantage of the free services. Boot them all out.
And one more thing....do you think Mayor Sam is the only blog in town????
Why don't you try to shut down American Patrol, SOS, American Rennaissance, FAIR, and all the hundreds of other blogs that tell the truth about your sorry brown asses.
This is OUR country and we want you OUT! Comprende?
THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD...and don't you forget it, asshole! And you just watch us at the ballot box in Nov and March, asshole!
Fuck you!
Thank you, 12:29. p.m.!!!
I rest my case!
It's not about shutting down blogs, you inbred hick. It's about bitter racism spewing out of snouts like yours.
I can tolerate Walter's inane idea about shutting down Cultural Affairs, because he is coming from an economic-conservative standpoint. He does not need to tell latinos to "take their sorry brown asses back" like you do.
My problem is that he and Michael Higby tolerate your vitriol, yet when the onus is on them, they will immediately delete comments.
And to send you on your merry way, I am a fourth-generation son of Nisei parents. If you don't know what Nisei is, maybe you need some cultural enrichment in your pathetic life.
Higby ---
Look at your blog...because of Walter Moore and his ilk, it has become a racist, bigot-minded hate fest.
This blog started out as a place for LA politicos/people who care about Los Angeles to talk their minds and share inside gossip to those outside of City Hall.
You know as well as everyone else that the #'s for your blog has declined steadily after you and Trujillo were outed...but those #'s plumetted after the primary elections because you let people like Moore run this blog. Let him have his own racist blog and go back to what it used to be.
"BREAKING NEWS"
AB 1381 passes Senate on a 23-14 vote. George Runner (R) Lancaster voted yes.
Time to get the lawyers ready.
12:49 pm: No one outside of city hall cares about the stupid gossip inside of it. What used to be on MS? Who's the cutest female CH staffer. This is intelligent banter? Sexism chat is better than racist chat?
The blog should be shut down simply so that you idiot city hall staffers, who (how long has it been since someone reminded them?!) work on the public dime, actually do something more relevant than hanging pole banners or closing alleys.
I beg to differ. there is a need for a City politics gossip blog, and MS just isn't filling it now that Walter Moore took over. can someone please start a new City politics blog?
also, did anyone else notice how fast Moore deleted the posting about his shady-looking real estate website? I guess Moore can dish it out, but it's clear he can't take it.
NEWS ALERT:
I posted a way too long summary of what happened today on the Senate floor regarding A.B. 1381. It passed, but I recap the whole meeting in case you missed it under the "Sunday, No News" thread just below this one -- see Aug 28 2:15PM post at bottom of page.
If you have kids in LAUSD, read it and weep.
Zuma Dogg
There was nothing shady about Walter's failed real estate firm,Castles Without Hassles!. I'm sure he just deleted the post because he wants to clear his phone line for calls about the boat he's selling to cover his losses.
Walter can dish it out, and take it!
MEMO TO THE "LA ANTONIA TIMES"
The nitro has brought my heart back from the "BRINK". After reading your editorial on AB 1381. I had to clear my eyes to make sure that paper in front of me wasn't the "GREEN SHEET". Further, the heart took another shock upon viewing Scribes Blume"s article on Assemblyman Dymally coming out in opposition. Now in the days ahead, start following the "trail of favors". Start doing the math and report the cost to the taxpayers for their "rollover" to "BOSS POLLO".
NOTE TO ASSEMBLYMEN ASHBURN AND RUNNER. YOU TWO ARE THE NEW "DORIS ALLEN" OF CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN POLITICS.
NOTE TO THE "KENNEDY REPUBLICAN" IF YOU SIGN AB 1381. KISS YOUR PARTY SUPPORT GOODBYE.
Moore at 7ish a.m.
That's not a DENIAL, Wacko, in fact that's a close to a confession and a closeted bigot like you is going to cop to...
Innocent non-bigots begin by saying "I never said that". . . not "show me the post where I said that" (. . .after I had it removed because of what it revealed about me!)
Granted, you probably learned that kind of "non-denial" from your political betters that got 100 times as many votes as you -- but plain words are still more definitive:
"I never said that"
"I never wrote that"
"I don't think that way"
(I know you can't actually say those REAL denials (because your real writing is probably cached somewhere), but I thought I'd at least show you how honest, innocent, non-bigots deny things. In case you ever run into one, while out slumming.
Or, are you still staying awake nights trying to figure out what the definition of "is" is??
12:44
I used to drive '96 Nisei, but it starting using too much oil, so I traded it for a '01 Issei (the SUV). Runs pretty good on the freeways, but when I accelerate at stops it goes VLOOOOOM, VLOOOOOM!
Elect Zuma Dogg
CD14 Candidate
Re: 4:02
I rest my case.
Some pinhead makes up a false statement, attributes it to me, and when asked to prove it, CANNOT.
Very convincing!
Look, you can't help that you're stupid. We all understand that. But you can refrain from typing and lying.
I'm sure all your friends think you're really intelligent, and, by all means, go chat with them. But this blog is for grown-ups, and real public policy analysis.
Conspicuous by its absence, from all the postings today, is anyone who can articulate why we should be taxed so that bureaucrats can spend our money promoting their view of culture.
Let's talk about reading comprehension. You rant about the tax payers of this city funding the Cultural Affairs Department, but if you really looked at the budget, you would have seen that not one penny of the department is funded through the general fund. The primary source of funding is through the TOT (hotel tax). And frankly, that is the disgrace. Arts and Culture play an important part of defining us as a people and the city should be doing more, not less in this regard. Those arts programs that you so easily dismiss are that very thing we need as part of a comprehensive plan to engage our youth and offer positive outlets outside of gangs....and being part of a plan to make sure our children can walk to school without being shot.
By the same token, Walter, conspicuous by its absence, from all YOUR postings today, is your disapproval of the racists comments made by anonymous posters, like August 28, 2006 11:24 AM & August 28, 2006 4:07 PM. These are equal opportunity bigots that feed off of your tolerance for such language.
As a contributor to this blog, I expect more from you. You seem intelligent, yet your lack of action on the above items add credibility to some of the other posters' claims that you harbor discriminatory ideals.
Walter Moore is not just a real estate agent, he is in fact a real estate BROKER. he will sell you... Castles Without Hassles!!!
and if you believe that, there's also a little bridge in Brooklyn he could sell you!
Walter,
I've just wondered why Cultural Affairs, El Pueblo, and Recreation and Parks Departments can't all be merged into one department.
Take a look into Public Works. They have seven HUGE departments working under the official title of Public Works! It surely wasn't like that in my day!
Walter you should be very happy that these morons posting obviously are running scared of you otherwise why bother. You are posting stuff they don't want people to know. Keep up the great work and the hell with them. IF they don't like what's on here they should go elsewhere. But again they're a bunch of whinning crybabies because you're making Antonio and his depts. look badly and the people are finally getting info on the corruption going on in city hall.
The Lotus Festival wouldn't happen without Cultural Affairs. Sundays Live---the longest running live classical music chamber broadcast in the US---would have never happened. Eight to ten million is about $2 per person per year. Day of the Drum fest. The Hollyhock House, the Watts Towers, tons of art centers that teach kids real things are supported by Cultural Affairs, for pennies. We should be so lucky to realize the kind of return we get from Cultural Affairs from other City Departments.
Mailander gave Walter a fair hearing and posted a softball interview with him on Martini Republic. But even a Republican like Joe can't agree with Walter on this one.
7:38, no one is "running scared" from the new master of MS Sister City. We just know he is out of touch with the realities of LA.
10:12 PM
Exactly. Wacko is just not with it. Many here today pointed it out. But I think the Nisei brother put it best, calling Wacko out for failing to denounce blatant race-baiting.
My theory is that Michael Higby and his collaborators are up to something, so he's letting Wacko run amuck.
I am perhaps one of people most critical of the Cultural Affairs department. I hate to inform you that the Cultural Affairs department (warts and all - it's as badly run as almost every other department is) most liekly brings far more into the city coffers than it costs. Our city does a pathetic job of supporting and promoting the arts economy, as well as arts education.
Most of the $4 million+ in grants that the Cultural Affairs department issues every year goes to the education of young people, in many cases providing the critical arts education that the LAUSD is failing to do. Arts education is a key component in helping students develop critical thinking skills, and often provides a "push" that makes the difference in getting students interested in core elements of their curriculum. Smarter students make for a stronger economy when they come into the workforce.
Much of the salaries in Cultural Affairs goes to teachers and other individuals who are directly delivering service to their community, especially teachers. The department has several staff members who do the complex work of installing and maintianing art exhibitions. It is both ignorant and incorrect to imagine that the salary portion of the Cultural Affairs budget goes down some imaginary bureaucratic hole.
Much of the budget for the Cultural Affairs department does not come from taxing residents. It comes from the hotel bed tax and the 1% for the arts funding that comes from commercial development (most major cities have an analogous program).
Cultural Affairs is acutally a pathetically underfunded department. the City of New York spends $300 million + annually on arts and culture, which is why people travel there to spend wads of cash as tourists or in other areas of New York's well supported arts economy. Los Angeles is currently seen as an international hotbed for the production of contemporary art - yet we do not have the kind of tourist or collector economy that would accompany that activity in any other major city. The City of Los Angeles' continued and ongoing failure to realise the importance of promoting and developing the arts economy has been dulling the economic benefits of the tremendous amount of activity and work being done in the region.
I do agree that the turn in the 90's to spend much of Cultural Affairs' effots on ethnic festivals was a wrong turn for an agency with such limited budget and staff resources. Although LA's diversity is perhaps its greatest asset, the Cultural Affairs department really should be concentrating on encouraging cultural tourism and arts education.
Walter - I'd like to address this particular statement (briefly)
Explain to the rest of us why we should be taxed so that bureaucrats can give our money to artists. Why do we need the middleman? Why can't we pick which musicians, artists and plays we want to patronize?
Very litte money is given by Cultural Affairs directly to artists for the purpose of artmaking. The city isn't out buying paintings from sad sacks who can't sell them otherwise. Most of the money that is given to artists is either for services that the city has contracted for (public art projects, Metro rail stations, performances, education...). The only program I can think of where funding goes directly to artists is the COLA Award program that provides $10k grants to mid-career, Los Angeles based artists. The COLA program, like the much larger MacArthur Genuis Grants, provides critical stimulus to many of the city's finest artists, and is extremely well run.
When it comes to cutting out the middlemen - Few of the funding decisions that Cultural Affairs makes are made directly by staff. Decisions as to "who designs this metro station" or "who gets to be a COLA" artist tend to be made by committees of qualified individuals with relevant backgrounds to the project.
Joseph - you have great points about the huge value that the DCA provides given its pathetic funding, but it is a department that is effectively on life support and is failing to deliver services at many of its facilities, and many of the programs you named live in constant danger of losing their funding or support. The Watts Towers, for instance was kept open through the end of the Hahn campaign by blowing the entire savings and budget of the Friends of the Watts Towers. Without that funding, the Towers would have had to stop offering tours completely.
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