LA City Council Ships $1.6 Million for a Book Fair in Another Country; Zine Stands Tall
Well there you have it! The sponsoring Council Member Tom LeBong and City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department General Manager Olga Garay made it seem as if the Federal Government is shoving grant money down LA's throats, forcing them to spend it on a book fair in another country. Garay referred to the receipt of the grant as "Winning a jackpot!"I'm saying another country because the country where the book fair will be hosted is irrelevant to my opposition.
Kudos to Dennis Zine for stepping up to speak against this crazy proposal and for voting against it.
The race baiting began when Council Member Tony Cardenas said he was outraged that anyone would even question the City's participation in the book fair. Cardenas claimed that criticism of this is based on the fact that Mexico is involved. Council Member Jose Huizar agreed. Apparently the Council Members didn't listen to Doug McIntyre or myself say Tuesday morning we'd oppose this if the fair was in Iowa, Iceland or even Inglewood. They don't get it and they're intellectually dishonest.
Garay also accused "the airwaves and the blogs" of giving out misinformation and "hate mongering." What hate mongering? I'm personally offended and expect Garay to personally apologize for that remark. Garay also remarked that the City sponsored a similar effort in Europe a few years ago and no one complained. That's because we didn't catch you that time Olga. We'll keep watching those agendas so you won't have to worry about us picking only on Mexico.
When the city is in trouble, when services are cuts and fees are hiked this type of action just sends the message that our Council's priorities are all screwed up. It has nothing to do with Mexico.
The bottom line is the City nor the Federal government has no place being involved in the arts at home or abroad. Think of how much local tax money the Department of Cultural Affairs sucks up that should go to police, fire, street repair, etc.
Labels: dennis zine, doug mcintyre, los angeles cultural affairs, tom la bonge, tony cardenas
Posted by Michael Higby @ 8/13/2008 04:00:00 AM
19 Comments:
What a bunch of arrogant assholes. All they had to do is take a drive around Los Angeles and see the horrible conditions of the libraries especially in CD14 and Reyes district. Someone pllleeeassseee kick Huizar, Cardenas, Reyes asses and make men out of them. Enough with the damn Mexico bullshit. Go be a politican there you idiots. Word has it that at the next meeting these fools go to all hell will break loose because of their stupidity and failing to do what's right with our tax dollars for their own damn city.
FINALLY THE VOICES OF REASON. CITY COUNCIL MORONS SHOULD LEARN FROM THEM.
Daily News...Deport more gangsters, L.A. County Board of Supervisors says
By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer
Hearing from dozens of residents fed up with crimes committed by gang members who are illegal immigrants, the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday asked Sheriff Lee Baca to prioritize and consider expanding a controversial inmate deportation program.
Since the program started about two years ago, sheriff's officials trained by federal agents to screen for illegal immigrants in the jails have interviewed more than 20,000 inmates and referred more than 11,000 to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for possible deportation.
Under the Tuesday motion, the board asked Baca to direct the 12 custody assistants conducting immigration interviews to give the highest priority to inmates who are known gang members. They also asked Baca to provide recommendations on whether he needs more staff for the program.
"The motion will guarantee that every gang member is going to be reviewed by the Sheriff's Department as to their legal status and efforts will be made after they are convicted and sentenced to be deported," Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said.
Outrageous. Where are the recalls?
Wow. WOW
Figures LEBONG would be the one to make the proposal. What an elitist *****. And an utter joke of a Democrat and a politician.
And yes, this is all about Race. (I'd hope everyone in LA is sick of listening to the little crybabies play the Old Maid race card by now -- EVERYONE.)
Gawd I want these creeps gone and a reasonable group of actual human beings in their place.
Cardenas is a hopeless case, and his comments continue to be tinged with his own perception that everyone is racist. Cardenas has to anticipate that condition is the cause of criticism of any city actions and he makes preemptory strikes to balance it all.
The charges of "misinformation" made yesterday about the radio commentary were themselves MISINFORMATION. Nobody said they personally HEARD the statements, but that never stops them from taking their turn at propagandizing.
They look like dopes when they do that (o.k., and lots of other times, too.).
Tony Cardenas and Jose Huizar took the blame for acting on 1.) misinformation, and 2.) their own prejudices and racism.
"The word prejudice refers to prejudgment: making a decision before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case or event." Source: Wikipedia
Richard Alarcon and Jose Reyes usually find a way to take their turns at promoting diviseness but we were thankfully saved from that for another day.
an L.A. opinion
LA Opinion - excellent point.
Cardenas' mock outrage was almost sickening. His comment "I can't believe we're even discussing this."
We can Tony, when you're going to outlay millions of taxpayers' dollars to fund junkets for artists, we're going to discuss it.
As much of you want to find the racist bogeyman it doesn't make any difference if it goes to Mexico or Montana.
Get a clue Tony. You looked really bad yesterday.
If the city council wants to promote reading to the children of Mexico, they should invest the money in Los Angeles libraries and reading programs. Or use it to reduce the cost of books for children who qualify for the AB540 programs.
Quit backpedaling. Your objectios had EVERYTHING to do with the fair being in Mexico.
Nice fantasy but not true. Listen to my radio interview and read the original piece. This was never about Mexico itself. That was made clear well before Cardenas' ignorant rant.
The issue is that this is federal money, and Higby and other fools have been getting the ignorant public worked up over thinking our city money was being given to Mexico.
The question remains, who's at that festival in Guadalajara and why is it such a big deal for our LA artists to go there and show their stuff? It IS about Mexico vs. Europe in that the other comparable occasion mentioned was a promotion of LA art at the Pompidou Center in Paris -- which got world attention, and recognition that LA was more than gangs and Hollywood.
Philistines like Higby may not care about art, but Europeans do -- they actually discuss artists, books and music and consider them vital to being a "civilized society." So it helps with LA's image, tourism etc. But what world opinion will be focused on Guadalajara and this fair? If it were a big worldwide event in Mexico City, that would be different. What benefits accrue to LA from participating in this? Cardenas and Huizar/Garcetti's getting worked up on "mexican racism" and reacting to idiots like Higby and McTired skirted the real issue.
12:47 --
SHUT THE EFF UP.
For the record, Smith voted, "NO", Zine voted, "Yes" on the $1.6 mil.
This sounds like a foreign aid program.
Since when is the CITY of Los Angeles a sovereign
nation. This, and departments for assistance of
immigrants are the job of the FEDERAL government.
The city has no business spending my tax money for
foreign aid programs, even if the spending only
consists of using city paid time to apply for grants
from the feds. Let the feds do foreign aid.
While I agree with the NEA awarding grants on the basis of highlighting the arts and artisans of Los Angeles, I have a problem not so much with the locale of the Book Fair, but what another commenter earlier alluded to: who will this really benefit?
What is also sorta weird, is that Los Angeles gets the nod of Special Guests, and yet has to foot the bill for everything, from travel to the construction of a special pavillion highlighting Los Angeles' literary world.
It's tantamount to inviting you over to stay the weekend with me at my house; except you have to pay to have a guest wing built on to my property before you arrive. You'll have to pay for all your travel (even though you are my honored guest), every expense while you're here, and then when you leave, you also have to pay to tear down the new guest wing you just paid to have built onto my house -- all so you could be an Honored Guest.
WTF?
Usually doesn't the host take care of such expenditures and amenities?
I'd love for the NEA to pay for some cultural awareness here in our city for our children.
Now THAT WOULD BE LIKE WINNING THE JACKPOT, Olga Garay, you dumbass.
xoxo
According to the City Council's records, Zine voted FOR this boondoggle. No one voted against it.
I stand corrected: the vote I found was from February, not the other day.
Where'd you dig up that photo of Zine with a moustache? And doesn't he look even MORE sinister that way (even without the leather gear). Why do men who lose their hair think that keeping some on your face distracts? (MEMO: It only calls attention to the fact that there ain't no hair on your head, Zine. Good idea, removing the thing.)
Where'd you dig up that photo of Zine with a moustache? And doesn't he look even MORE sinister that way (even without the leather gear). Why do men who lose their hair think that keeping some on your face distracts?
The City can not balance the budget. so they raise the trash fees, DWP fees. parking meters. tax on phones and cell phones including text mrssagimg.
The list goes on and on but they find $1.6 Million for a book fair in Mexico, did the city council catch the same sickness that caaused brain damage to Mayor Villar who doesn't know how to run a city much less balance a budget after giving city employee's a 25% raise.
Tony Villar is suppose to be Obama's Pitcher , but he really is a catcher.
And all you Pendejos who listen to Villar and La Raza that Obama will unite families and bring about immagration reform and amesty, go back and review some of his speaches on immagration where he states they need to go to the end of the line. Sound like go sit in the back of the bus. Obama is a Racist
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