What Is Wrong With Kevin Roderick...
...is what's wrong with the LA Times and much of the status quo elite in this town who are either blind to and/or complicit with the actions of the kleptocracy that is destroying this City.
Yes, Roderick is fiddling while Rome burns.
A bit dramatic, yes. But contrast the two blogs this morning of two grizzled old newspapermen, Westside White Guy Roderick formerly of the Former Firshwrap of Record and suburban freedom fighter Ron Kaye, immediate past helmsman of the MOLDY GREEN SHEET (aka Daily News).
Roderick's main piece on Mayor Villaraigosa this morning:
"Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, art collector Cheech Marin and local arts leaders will kick off the first annual LA Arts Month at 10 a.m. at the Japanese American National Museum."
In other words our Mayor's most important task today is to join a man who made millions pretending to smoke pot in movies (and funny movies they were) at an art museum.
On the other hand over at Ron Kaye:
"Yes on B campaign manager Mike Trujillo, under questioning from Shaffer, called the council's power to complete change Prop. B at any time "tweaking it." Talk about a "false and miseleading" statement."
With the Mayor, Council and a few well-heeled special interests they are about to foist a plan on voters - called immensely flawed by the City's own staff and consultants - that will signficantly raise power rates, cripple any chance to allow the free market to develop a green industry in LA and grant alarming new powers to the Council on a number of issues.
Yet Roderick sips lattes, signs books and polishes his Pulitzer either blind to it all or just doesn't care.
We shouldn't pick on Roderick alone because it is the same disease that the Times has (save for David Z and a scant few other journos who pay attention), all local TV, other blogs, even the Daily News these days.
And they wonder why no one is reading the papers anymore.
Yes, Roderick is fiddling while Rome burns.
A bit dramatic, yes. But contrast the two blogs this morning of two grizzled old newspapermen, Westside White Guy Roderick formerly of the Former Firshwrap of Record and suburban freedom fighter Ron Kaye, immediate past helmsman of the MOLDY GREEN SHEET (aka Daily News).
Roderick's main piece on Mayor Villaraigosa this morning:
"Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, art collector Cheech Marin and local arts leaders will kick off the first annual LA Arts Month at 10 a.m. at the Japanese American National Museum."
In other words our Mayor's most important task today is to join a man who made millions pretending to smoke pot in movies (and funny movies they were) at an art museum.
Yes, Roderick is fiddling while Rome burns.
On the other hand over at Ron Kaye:
"Yes on B campaign manager Mike Trujillo, under questioning from Shaffer, called the council's power to complete change Prop. B at any time "tweaking it." Talk about a "false and miseleading" statement."
With the Mayor, Council and a few well-heeled special interests they are about to foist a plan on voters - called immensely flawed by the City's own staff and consultants - that will signficantly raise power rates, cripple any chance to allow the free market to develop a green industry in LA and grant alarming new powers to the Council on a number of issues.
Yet Roderick sips lattes, signs books and polishes his Pulitzer either blind to it all or just doesn't care.
We shouldn't pick on Roderick alone because it is the same disease that the Times has (save for David Z and a scant few other journos who pay attention), all local TV, other blogs, even the Daily News these days.
And they wonder why no one is reading the papers anymore.
Labels: kevin roderick, los angeles daily news, Los Angeles Times, mayor antonio villaraigosa, Ron Kaye
Posted by Michael Higby @ 1/06/2009 10:02:00 AM
27 Comments:
you're observations are correct but they really don't compete. kaye breaks news and offers hard-hitting commentary on publlic affairs. roderick is concerned mainly with the la times, sometimes other media and cultural gossip. i'm not sure what you do, higby. report on zuma dogg and go with anonymous tips that never pan out?
trujillo will be crying when we all vote for zuma dogg
maybe he can campaign for prop b with walter
ha ha
The ad on the Roderick article is for the LA Times.
Kevin is an aggregator and a news/gossip hound. As for opinions, he doesn't formulate them very well. You're an opinionated guy, you don't understand him. Relax about it. People who need news need informed voices to tell them what the news means, and Kevin can't quite ever do that. There are always these kinds of quibbles between the status-quo front page guys (Kevin) and the opinion page/activist guys (you, Mailander, Kaye, et al., though Kaye's migration is recent). They've been going on since newspapers were born.
What you old fat white people don't understand is this is a Latino city and we have a Latino mayor. Get used to it.
The Jews like Roderick have come along and sorry your white Valley days are over.
We won.
Thank goodness Roderick writes about a variety of things, from art events to store openings to hirings and firings at media around town, without a clear axe to grind. Unlike you guys and Ron Kaye, whose crusades are tiresome and center on a few issues and personalities, and always against the westside (except for a few blue-haired NIMBYs who use him and vice versa).
What's wrong with alerting people about an art opening downtown? My only beef with Cheech Marin is his politically-biased bent when it comes to collecting "Chicano art" if the recent exhibit at LACMA is an indication. But I'd rather see these political views, even if anti-cop and predictably anti- "gringo," in art than in violence on the streets. And so what if the Mayor shows up to promote arts and culture in town -- obviously, that's not part of what the Weekly derides as his "11% worktime on city matters," but every Mayor does it.
Look at Bloomberg, former NYC Mayor Koch, etc. -- when you have a flamboyant or charismatic Mayor it brings attention to the city. Which we never had under Hahn. But would I prefer him to have more political or intellectual smarts, like Bloomberg? Maybe, but then Bloomberg is a real ball-buster when he doesn't get his way. At least Antonio delegates more to good people and listens to various parts of the community -- he does try more than most of the Latinos to get outside his ethnic box. (Then you make fun of him for putting on too many "costumes" and dancing at events all over town.)
And you're doing what about it, Fat Boy?
You're fiddling with Zuma Dogg while Rome burns.
It's the same damn thing. You give a platform to a homeless guy who stinks and uses double negatives while making an ass out of himself 3x a day for years.
Anything short of finding a viable candidate to challenge the midget is the same as anything Roderick is doing.
Thank goodness Roderick writes about a variety of things, from art events to store openings to hirings and firings at media around town, without a clear axe to grind.
Did you really mean that? You must not read Roderick's blog. HE always has an axe to grind.
Roderick's stuff is fluff; primarily of interest to rich white people. Ask Paco at Henry's Body Shop if he gives a crap about Cheech's art collection. But he might be pissed his kid's school sucks, his street isn't paved and that the City is building massive condos in his hood.
Zuma Dogg probably has written more today about City Hall than Roderick has in a lifetime. Roderick likes to talk about meangingless bullshit and then post pictures of hot girls when he can.
I would imagine there's an element in LA that relates to that crap but Roderick would never cover any serious issues with the City.
Eric Garcetti got married. LA Observed had it before you. He got it from the regular news media. They got married on Sunday. Who had the scoop?
Is Higby just very jealous of LA Observed and Kevin? Yes. LA Observed is a more highly respected blog. Everyone knows that Mayor Sam is just nasty, insane, personal attacks, gossip and racist remarks made by a handful of nuts and Higby himself. He definitely allows these racist, revolting remarks to be posted. He doesn't care that he violates the terms of service agreement.
Who is Roderick? Who cares if Council President Eric Garcetti got married with partner/longtime girlfriend.
Mr. Kaye is reporting on FACTS that will allow constituents to make a well informed decision on March 3 regarding Proposition B.
Let's not forget that Higby also posts under names other than his own in order to create a "conversation."
No one gives a shit that Garcetti got married. He fucked us for years and never even sent flowers.
Don Culo warms our hearts. He posts anonymous about others posting anonymous. Be advised when you hear "racist" that's our Don.
I think Higby is also jealous he does not have a blogger who posts heartwarming tender stories of his abuelita's menudo and her delicious antics of drink gin fizzes.
Garcetti married his partner? I thought Prop 8 passed?
Happy Birthday Don!
Will Garcetti introduce the little lady as his "wife" or will she still be referred to as his "terrestrial companion"? I pray she separated her assets and signed a prenup.
domestic partner
No one is voting for Zuma Dope - he will get less than 1% and declare victory, prolly in Council the next day. Just let him do his schtick.
And of course there is Michael Higby, the Walter Winchell of the Millenium. Matt Drudge X2 or more from what I see.
Unfortunately, there will be too much muscle behind Prop. B. and it will pass (I said unfortunately,) Complain all you want, but Unions have an army of people who know what they are doing and you all have Ron (who is good, but not enough), and some cleveland guy who tried to be on Howard Stern, was kicked off, and now shows up with a dirty beanie, sunglasses, homemade shirts and a stoner guitar player, who literally screams during council for two minutes, and is sometime accurate, but most of the time is not. HOOTY HOO!!
Yes, a winning combo. And it's all Rodericks fault?
It's not that Kevin can really do any more than Ron per se when it comes to B. It's just that his, the Times, and the local TV media's priorities are all fucked up when it comes to what's going on in the city. We have one of the most corrupt local governments since the days of Frank Shaw, in fact, worse yet the people don't know about it.
It's not as sexy or fun as Richard "Cheech" Marin, Eric Garcetti's legal partnering or great meals under $35 but it touches every aspect of our daily life, more than anything Arnold, Obama or any other level of government does.
With the way our city is going, there won't be much opportunity to enjoy all the air-puffed things Roderick enjoys.
That's the issue.
For Higby to say that the city touches our lives far more than anything Obama or Arnold do is just literally short-sighted, political myopia. Sure the city is nickel- and- diming us to death over meters (none of them questioned it when Bill Rosendahl kept excitedly calling it "gold in the gutters" -- even though many comments on blogs pointed out the obvious, that small businesses that rely on it might lose business and hence the city lose business taxes.
But the state is spending billions of our money on social programs, likely won't have money for our tax refunds, just IOU's, and the feds have indebted us to so many billions upon billions for wars and bailouts that the numbers are just too big to count.
LAUSD;s wasted billions while in LA all the hugely expensive new schools, many so badly designed or sited they have to be fixed before the paint is dry, while ocmmunity college system wasted billions in the last bonds so is raising more to build the buildings they promised the first time and never built. (All these "bonds" add hundreds a year to every house.)
And that's the point: we just can't grasp the magnitude, while change jangling out of your pocket for meters is tangible. That's also why the biggest crooks are on the national level: when they steal and scam at such enormous amounts, the average person can't "picture it" and just shakes their heads.
News: David Z reports that the U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower courts ruling against the city, and said that its 2002 ban on billboards was NOT a violation of the billboard litigant's freedom of speech -- score one for the city and billboard activists, finally.
The L A Business Journal reports that the Mayor has created a Trade Council to boost foreign trade/ jobs and the list includes the female head of East Asia bank (clearly a move for the Chinese/ Asian markets, smart move) and various people with experience in banking, the airports, ports (S David Freeman), etc.
Wonder if the Weekly considers this part of his 89% "not working" time. Admitted the guy isn't the sharpest blade in the drawer when it comes to academics, the bar issue just being one case in point, and he seems to have little attention-span for detail: but if he uses his Ever-ready Rabbit energy to put teams together of good people who can get things done, that's something. Let's see what comes of this.
Higby- Whatever, why argue on this blog. It is nothing more than character assasination most of the time anyway.
I think what 4:14 had it wrong,you are not Winchell or Drudge, but more like Hilton Perez.
I thought most of the keyboard warriors here wanted Villar over Mayor Poopy anyways,or am I wrong?
If I am let me be the first to say Cram it up your cramhole, or blow it out your bunghole (Bad News Bears Reference)
Are we keeping track of how many posts are by Trujilo, Ace, Uli and Roderick? I could at least six by Don Culo. I could ask my abuelita.
7:04
The Mayor is interested in Asian trade so he can go on more overseas junkets with the gorgeous Sabrina Kay.
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