Obama Evolves

Following the annoucement that President Obama now supports gay marriage (since he was for it before he was against it and is now for it) reaction was completely predictable ranging from the openly gay chairman of the Los Angeles Democratic Party, Eric Bauman, saying "This is not just a victory for the LGBT community; it's a historic day for all Americans," to former Arkansas Governor and Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, calling on supporters to "make sure Congress and our state legislatures are stacked with conservatives who don't want our President and the federal government defining marriage for us."

Quite frankly, though I agree with the Biblical view on homosexuality, I don't care if gay marriage is legal or not.

I have repeatedly argued with conservatives that seeking a government means to enforce traditional values is no different than what liberals do to indoctrinate minds towards their out of the mainstream views. When it comes to marriage, it's an issue that should belong to the church and to individuals as a whole. Seeking government bans is just a big waste of time, and gives a wedge issue to polarizing politicians such as Obama to rile up the base.

There's a significant number of gays and lesbians who are opposed to higher taxation, the growth of government and the socialist-like, anti-business policies of the Obama administration. However, the GOP's manic focus on gay marriage (which I mean come on - how many Lesbian couples groomed by LL Bean are actually staging nuptials?) is out of whack when we consider the far more serious and defining issues facing America today.

Christians in particular would do far better to follow Christ's example of love of those who are sinners, bring gays and lesbians into the fold, love them, support them and let God handle the rest.

Doing otherwise, plays right into the other side's hands.

In the meantime, we've got a country to save.

Left Wing 9th Circuit Puts Gay Marriage on Hold Until at Least Christmas

Man the Republican judges giveth and the liberal judgets taketh away.  The Mayor will have to wait a few more months for a gay wedding photo opp.

(Remember who opposes gay marriage: Barack Obama, Joe the Biden, Mrs. Obama, Mr. Bill Clinton, Mrs. Bill Clinton. Who supports it: Arnold, Mrs. Bush I, Mrs. Bush II, Doug McIntyre, Walter Moore, Mayor Sam)




From the Chronicle

A federal appeals court in San Francisco issued a ruling today freezing a judge's decision that overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request by backers of Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay and lesbian marriages, to stay the Aug. 4 ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker pending their appeal.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/16/BAEE1EUOIF.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0woa3vy00

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Thursday

Mulholland Terrace brings to our attention perhaps a poor employment decision made by Councilman Bill Rosendahl in the hiring of new spokes-hole Jon Fairbanks, an import from Canada.  As MT notes could Rosendahl not find a gay publicist in all of Los Angeles? More of concern is the audit trail of stories written by Fairbanks, a scribe out of Quebec, who blogs about "Anglophone bitches" and desiring to keep those women who like to party with gay men out of the bars.

Read more »

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Thursday

 

Dopey Los Angles City Clowncil Members found yet another potential landmine in it's goofy boycott of Arizona's SB1070: They would have to end SuperShuttle service at LAX because the popular airport transport service has an office in Arizona. The Council voted for now to ignore that fact and let the shuttles run.  Oh and continue to pay the city over a million dollars in fees.

By way of Griffith Park Wayist we learn that Anthem Blue Cross CEO Leslie Margolin is resigning.  Anthem came under fire earlier in the year for allegedly raising rates on cancer patients.  Bonus points if you can remember the recent State Assembly candidate who benefited from a nearly $100K independent expenditure from Anthem Blue Cross?

Time for me and JoeB to have the last laugh. It's official Phil Jennerjahn announces that the goofy effort to recall Mayor Villaraigosa has failed.  Phil blames the economy saying political fundraisers aren't doing well.  That flies in the face of last Saturday's Clean Sweep kick-off turned out 200 locals in the heat and raised several thousand dollars. It's all about organization Phil.

Don't tell Carmen Trutanich but the City of Oakland has approved a plan to allow four industrial pot growing facilities to locate within the East Bay's city's limits.  Hundreds of applicants will compete for the license to one of the four spots with the hope of becoming the "Silicon Valley of weed." Speaking of Trutanich looks like Walter Moore, who is currently the target of a jihad by Villaraigosa flunky Mike Trujillo, is on his a jihad of his own against the City Attorney.

Members of one of Mayor Villaraigosa's favorite unions, UNITE HERE, plans to shut down traffic during rush hour Thursday evening on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood.  The union is pissed off that hotel janitors are not paid the same wage as computer programmers.  If that's on your commute, plan an alternate route.

Filmmaker Shawn Nee has produced a short documentary that tells the sad tale of an elderly gay man whose partner died and the man lost his home because Social Security does not recognize domestic partnerships.

Why Domestic Partnership is not Enough

This poor man. You don't have to approve of homosexuality nor does your church have to allow gay marriage. But to deny rights to people simply on the basis of lifestyle is just evil.

As of July 2010, the United States Social Security Administration does not recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships as valid relationships.

Consequently, thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender seniors are denied Social Security benefits every year.

This is the story of a 65 year old man in Atwater who lost his partner of 32 years and is losing his home because he doesn't get his partner's benefits.

Kudos to filmmaker Shawn Nee who produced this short piece.


Thank You For Your Call from Shawn Nee / discarted on Vimeo.

Carmen Goes Butch

Carmen rides in the LA Pride Parade while Bill Rosendahl can't figure out how to button up his shirt.

 Okay this blog has long been supportive of equality for gays and lesbians and was a member of Republicans Against 8 and strong advocate of marriage rights for same sex couples.   But do we really need hack politicians pandering to these people and quite frankly showing up in stereotypes that only depict a small percentage of actual gays and lesbians? The sad truth is that most of these LBGT organizations are positioned severely to the left and work to keep the community on the Democratic party plantation.  Despite the reality that many gays are quite conservative on fiscal and government matters.

I don't know if the Log Cabin Republican Club was part of this parade but assuming they were Carmen could have made a bolder statement to ditch the butch outfit and ride with them.  This would not only stand in opposition to the pervasive left wing dominance of so called LBGT civil rights organizations but a sure signal to troglodyte Republicans who must simply give up their hatred toward the Gay community, at least in California, in order to win and release us from the yoke of socialistic government policies.  Moderate Republicans in office such as Trutanich, Cooley, Smith, Zine, Baca, etc. should be speaking out louder for gay rights within the GOP and stop pandering to the liberals.

But Sarah, doesn't gay marriage hurt the economy?

Part 5 of 7:

Are domestic partnerships the same as civil marriages?

Part 4 of 7:

Is there another way to overturn Prop 8?

Part 2 of our 7 part series:

Prop 8 and Obama and Jasmyne, oh my: Part one

My latest appearance on the Joey Panto show. I talk about Prop 8, Obama, Jasmyne Cannick and other racist 'journalists,' and more!

Another response to more vitriol from Jasmyne Cannick, formerly of L.A. Times

In response to this drivel from everyone's favorite self-hating Black lesbian:

I don't even know where to begin. There is so much wrong with your view Miss Panther, so I'll do my best to show you exactly what, but it's safe to say that your conclusions are a chaotic mess at best. Here goes:

'... the fact remains that two people getting married, same-sex or not, has no financial impact whatsoever on the rest of us. None. We may not like it, but at the end of the day, gay marriage doesn’t take food from anyone’s mouth, clothes off of anyone’s back, or a roof from over someone’s head. But judging from the way we acted, you would have thought that it did.'

Oh Jasmyne, you poor dear. Are you ever right about *anything*? Ever? Not only would overturning Prop 8 invite bright, talented gay people to California in droves, but gay marriage has already produced this result in Massachusetts. Furthermore, there is an economic backlash (and rightly so) against those who decided that in a time of economic crisis, their money was best spent on stripping a minority class of its rights.

'At the end of the day, it was a poorly run campaign predicated on the premise that because we’re Black (in my case Black and gay) and benefited from the Civil Rights Movement, that by osmosis we’d oppose the measure'

In fact it was a poorly run campaign, but not because it didn't do enough to reach out to Black people. This is the second time you've made this critique and the second time you have not provided examples of what it could have done better. We're only talking about a vote here - No on Prop 8 didn't guilt the Black community into helping out and certainly didn't ask for its hard-earned money. I also didn't see a pro-African American measure on the ballot for No on 8 to support. Did you? So what did you want exactly? Did you want a gay rights organization to throw an African-American pride parade or something?

Maybe they shouldn't have stopped there. Maybe they should have done the same for Mexicans, Italians, the disabled, children... you get the idea. Your point here, once again, is moot. And once again I will remind you of a time when Blacks and whites could not intermarry. So yeah, I think a lot of gay people safely, but clearly incorrectly assumed a fellow marginalized community would come to its aid.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Black religious leaders seem to have forgotten Dr. King's words in order to focus on Deuteronomy instead. You can't blame No on 8 for that, now can you? It's not their job to remind you, just like your lesbian self claimed it wasn't your job to spend a minute or two talking to people about Prop 8 when you were campaigning for Socialist-In-Chief Obama who so far has done NOTHING for Blacks. Voting No on 8 was just the right thing for the community to do and now you blame the 'gay agenda' for distracting Black Congresspeople when it's more likely said Congresspeople are being motivated by their own guilt in not having done the right thing in the first place.

Indeed the current economic crisis has NOTHING to do with race or equal opportunity so once again your confrontational attitude towards those who are either not black or pandering to the Black community is frightening race-baiting and does nothing to further your causes. Do you REALLY think that Blacks are 'at the bottom of the food chain in California' exclusively or completely? Do you REALLY think it's because they're Black? Have you looked around at all? You don't see an near-exponential increase in the number of poor people of other races - especially whites? Are you living under a ROCK? It's about time you realize that we're all in this together.

I sincerely hope that nobody shares your distorted, overly militant views after reading your articles simply because you write like a self-proclaimed 'expert' on race relations and end your paragraphs with the word 'message.' Word.

Gay Civil Rights Movement Must Emulate Black Civil Rights Movement

You may not know that the architect of Martin Luther King's movement for African American civil rights was a gay man.

Bayard Rustin was the chief influence behind the legendary minister's efforts to seek civil rights for Black men and women through non-violent means.

Rustin has street cred because, among other things, he served over two months on a chain gang in North Carolina for violating Jim Crow laws, back in the 40s folks.

Then, Bayard went to India to study non-violent revolution with disciples of Mahatma Gandhi which had a huge influence on Martin Luther King.

I understand gay people's frustration with those who voted for and supported Proposition 8.  I voted no and I'm pissed.  But the gay rights movement will not win friends and influence people by hating on those whom it's politically correct to hate on - basically white conservative Protestant Christians (and please remember folks that I, Jeremiah Wrignt and Barack Obama belong to a LIBERAL Protestant Christian denomination, the United Church of Christ which has more street cred on gay rights than any other church in the world so this doesn't affect me).

The gay rights movement MUST tell the stories of their families and their lives to the world, just like King did.  A movement of love and understanding will win the day as opposed to one of hate and recrimination.

I am pretty sure Bayard would agree.

NAACP Chairman and longtime civil rights leader Julian Bond talks about gay rights and Bayard Rustin's contribution to the cause.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Wednesday

Your favorite government servant - DWP General Manager H. David Nahai - got busted wasting water and power so now he's getting the conservation religion. Blogger and new Sister City Hero Alan Mittelstaedt blew the whistle on H. David seeking a public records request for the GM's utility bills - following which H. David came clean. Apparently Mittelstaedt got so far under H. David's skin that Nahai claimed the blogger was "harrassing" him.

On the heels of the Lakers' big loss in the NBA Finals former Laker Shaquille O'Neal is gloating, joking with reporters "Kobe couldn't do without me." The last time the Lakers won a championship ring was when Shaq was still in town. The NBA legend has even gone as far to record a rap video poking fun.

Random question of the day: In light of the current mortgage crisis, much ado is made about "predatory lending." How often though do you hear the media talk about "irresponsible borrowing?" Its time to hold individuals accountable for their actions and not exclusively blame government, business, or others when the chips are down.

You may remember an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where a con man tried to sell naive Ozark millionaire Jed Clampett local landmarks like The Hollywood Bowl, the freeway system and Griffith Park. In real life, a reported former boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway has been accused of fraudulently trying to sell Vatican landmarks.

And finally for whatever reason there has been much discussion on the blog about City Council President Eric Garcetti referring to his live-in female lover Amy Wakeland as "his partner." A number of our readers feel that this is a term historically reserved for pre-legal marriage homosexual unions and that as a heterosexual Garcetti should refer to Wakeland as his girlfriend and hopefully soon, his fiance. Prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage, domestic partnership was an option for gay couples but it was and is still not available to heterosexual couples if at least one partner is not yet a senior citizen. Therefore Eric needs to marry sweet Amy as do 45 year old Helen Hunt and her described domestic partner 47 year old Matthew Carnahan. As an ordained minister, I am happy to perform the service for free. After all, doesn't a future mayor need a First Lady and not a First Partner? (By the way before you start yammering and posting about me being politically incorrect, we're just having a little fun here. The truth is now that same-sex couples are finally getting the rights they deserve; some heterosexual couples should celebrate by taking marriage more seriously.)

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Monday

Same-sex marriage begins in California on Tuesday. However gays and lesbians who marry will not have the same rights as heterosexual married couples, particularly with respect to Federal matters such as taxes or Social Security and may have issues if they own property in other states and have children. An article in the Daily News breaks this down and offers advice for additional steps and documentation that gay couples will have to consider to avoid problems later.

Former Neighborhood Council leader Jim Alger takes on Walter Moore at CityWatch in a screed against the free market and the right of people who work hard to increase their income the opportunity to buy the vehicle they wish. After misspelling Moore's name Alger senses a global conspiracy amongst the oil companies who wish nothing more than to poison children and increase global warming.

Los Angeles firefighters are up in arms over a new policy issued by the Department. Firefighters who have tattoos must either cover them up with clothing or bandages. Does this policy apply to the Mayor too? I can understand that Fire Department brass may be nervous that some folks could get the impression that firefighters with tats are gangbangers. But the truth is that many LAFD members are former military officers where it's common to get tattoos. The Department's policy is unrealistic and a slap to the men and women who give their lives everyday and are increasingly getting little for it.

A website is beginning to start polling support for announced and potential candidates for Mayor of Los Angeles during the 09 campaign. Mayor09.com wants you to email them your choice for Mayor as they begin a series of polls to be issued over the next several months.

Steve Hymon reports that ridership is up on the MTA's Red Line, Gold Line, Purple Line, Blue Line and Orange Line over the last year. Interestingly the Green Line has dropped in ridership. High gas prices are surely spurring at least a few folks to use public transit where they can.

We have a reader who is frequently obsessed with former Assembly Speaker and Mayoral candidate Bob Hertzberg. He seems to think I'm equally obsessed with the hugging former pol. To paraphrase former President Richard Nixon, let me make one thing perfectly clear: I am not supporting Bob Hertzberg for Mayor. Nor is he running - unless Magic or Caruso don't.

Just because you live in a poor neighborhood doesn't mean people have to dump trash on your streets. But it's happening in low income communities in Los Angeles and apparently the City doesn't have the resources to help these people creating an ever increasing cycle of despair and opportunity for more crime.

If anyone thought that in the wake of Hillary Clinton's departure from the race that women voters would not switch to Barack Obama they were wrong. The LA Times says that females are "lining up to vote" for the presumptive Democratic nominee. Probably time for McCain to pick Sarah Palin as VP.

Britney Spears may be considered for an Emmy. That's right that is not a misprint. Producers of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother are planning to submit the pop diva for recognition for her two guest starring spots on the show.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Tuesday

Jon Regardie gets funny again and gets inside the head of Mayor Villaraigosa imagining what he might say as he departs on his latest junket, this time to Israel. In Regardie's piece, Villaraigosa might say that his trip "will establish both trade and symbolic ties between Los Angeles, the city of the 21st century, and Jerusalem, the city of the first century. Average them out and you have the city of the 11th century."

Those of you who worried about longtime Villaraigosa foot solider Mike Trujillo having to visit the Canoga Park office of the Employment Development Department following the withdrawl of Mrs. Bill Clinton from the Presidential sweepstakes likely need not worry. Tony Castro reports that insiders within presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama's campaign planning on sending the Villaraigosa machine in search of Latino votes in Texas, Colorado and Michigan. Pack your bags Mike.

How do the idiot bureaucrats in Kern County decide to opppose the recent State Supreme Court ruling allowing gay marraige? They'll issue licenses but they are ending performing civil ceremonies for all couples, straight or gay. Just keep on being dinosaurs and sink the Republican Party until the socialists take over for good morons.

The LA County Superior Court is disputing the facts in a new documentary airing on HBO about the case of Roman Polanski, who at the age of 44 was alleged to have drugged and raped a 13 year old model back in 1977. Polanski later plead guilty to lesser charges of unlawful sex with a minor, however he fled the country prior to sentencing. Today, at age 74 Polanski still remains on the lam living and working in countries that would not extradite him to the US.

And finally, we reported yesterday that Eric Garcetti is being pushed to run for Mayor, yet David Markland reports on the campaign of another "Garcetti" who is seeking the District Attorney post in another "city." Roger Garcetti is the odds on favorite for District Attorney of Gotham, part of the guerilla marketing for the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight.

Why Clerks Should Perform Gay Marriages

Following the Supreme Court's ruling that allows same-sex marriages in California, a number of county clerks are balking at performing the marriages or issuing licenses based on their political and/or religious beliefs.

While I can respect the individual views of these individuals and their right to have them, government employees are duty bound to follow the law and to treat all citizens equally. As of now, same-sex marriage is the law. If there are government employees or officials who can not enforce the law then they need to either find a new job or transfer to a position that would not put them in a role where they would be required to perform the marriages.

This is somewhat akin to public college or school officials who want to ban military recruiters from coming on campus. However the law states that schools that receive federal funds must allow the recruiters on campus. If the people who work on the campuses don't agree with that, they need to find another job.

When government employees begin to think they have the authority to shirk the law, we're in trouble.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday

Did anyone read Greg Nelson's last post on CityWatch? I am not really sure what he was talking about; something to the effect of attracting better candidates for the City's Neighborhood Councils having something to do with whether or not the City provides public funding for sports stadiums. If you figure it out; let me know.

The New York Observer is reporting that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is holding a fund-raiser for Mayor Villaraigosa in the Big Apple next month. No truth to the rumor that Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is planning a benefit for Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's mayoral campaign.

We mentioned Bitter Bernie's telephone campaign on behalf of postage stamps; one blogger asks a great question: why didn't Bernie call his constituents before the price of stamps went up? In the meantime, while Bernie was busy telling stakeholders their comments to the Council were not necessary, he received the endorsement of Magic Johnson.

Interesting article in the LA Weekly about the recent State Supreme Court decision permitting gays to marry in California. At the time the case was about to go through "tolerant" Democrats squirmed and wanted to stick it back in the closet. But it was Republican judges that made the difference.

And finally, we teased a new writer here on the blog Thursday. We won't torture you anymore; we're pleased to announce that Jamiel Shaw, Sr. - father of murdered teenager Jamiel Shaw, II - will be joining the blog as a contributor to share his thoughts on a number of issues. Stay tuned for Jamiel's first post very soon.

Hot Sheet for Wednesday

Yesterday's primaries in Kentucky and Oregon, (Clinton took Kentucky, and Oregon went to Obama) put Senator Barack Obama in the lead with the most pledged delegates.

Recalling the lengthy road he has traveled,Obama told a boisterous crowd gathered near the Iowa state Capitol: "Tonight, Iowa, in the fullness of spring,with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville,we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people,and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for president of the United States."

Just another night of fatal shootings in the Valley: The DN reports of a night marred with violence and a lock-down of a North Hollywood neighborhood; a car full of men open fire at a man in Northridge (his injuries reported to be non-life threatning); while in NoHo, two men are fatally shot and five others wounded in two separate, but (according to police) related shootings.

Moore (LAPD's Deputy Chief Michel Moore) said the North Hollywood shootings may have involved a car-to-car exchange of gunfire as there appeared to be a number of cars involved. In the Northridge shooting, the victim's injuries were not
life threatening. He appeared to have been wounded from a shotgun blast fired at a long distance, Maarschalk said, adding he was not cooperating with police.

The gunman who opened fire at a church carnival in Granada Hills over the weekend has now been formally charged with three counts of attempted murder. Fernando Diaz Jr., 33, is accused of using a semiautomatic .22-caliber rifle to fire into the carnival just before 11 a.m. Saturday at St. John Baptist de la Salle Catholic Church.

Rob McKay at the Huffington Post suggests that when it comes to campaigning, Small is the New Big in Progressive Politics:

The next stage of the on-the-ground campaign will be the battle for the swing states in the general election. The grab for this group of voters has generally been coordinated by a seasoned team of professional campaign staff operating in war rooms and spending millions in mobilizing voters. But new efforts among progressive voters, musicians, and grassroots groups are saying the way to be
"big" in '08 is to "go small." And how resources are spent in this election and after,could determine whether the Democratic Party is about short-term voter excitement or permanent citizen engagement.

File under: Doncha Hate When That Happens?: Will Corporate America's Chairpeople ever learn the difference between the "reply" and the "forward" button when it comes to email? Countrywide Financial Chairman Angelo Mozilo gets schooled on the differences.

And finally, one wedding and announcement of an impending wedding hit the news: Sorry boys, but Jessica Alba quietly wed her boyfriend and Baby Daddy Cash Warren yesterday, while George "Mr. Sulu" Takei of Star Trek fame announced his intention of marrying long-time love Brad Altman:

The actor announced on his website that after 21 years together, he and Brad Altman,his business manager partner,were "overjoyed" to be able to marry legally and were "enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married".

"Our California dream is reality," wrote Takei, 71, on his site georgetakei.com. ""No more 'separate but equal.' No more second-class citizenship. Brad and I are going to be married as full citizens of our state."

Ain't love grand? Congratulations and best wishes to both happy couples!

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Tuesday

"Oh no not Parks!" I almost thought this was a joke. Walter Moore posts a blog item with a clip of a Bernard Parks for Supervisor autodialer message. At the beginning of the message Bitter Bernie talks about a serious issue facing the County - the price of postage stamps! Walter makes a good point with Janice Hahn chasing alligators and roosters, Jan Perry at war with McDonalds and former motorcycle cop turned Clowncilman Denny Zine making the world safe for Britney Spears that there isn't a whole hell of a lot of leadership in LA.


(Video by Zuma Dogg)

Now that gay marriage has been approved by the California Supreme Court, Los Angeles County is expecting a deluge in marriage license requests. "It's going to be a busy spring," Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told the Whittier Daily News. "The Supreme Court made sure of that."

An anonymous poster on a post about Laurette Healey's alleged shady finances takes to task people who post anonymously on blogs. Boy, now who do think posted THAT?

When voting for Judges in next month's primary make sure you don't vote for an alleged Klansman. Bill Johnson, running for a local judgeship, "under the name James O. Pace, he wrote the racial exclusion as a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution and a 1985 book supporting it. Under the name Daniel Johnson, he ran a losing race for Congress in Wyoming in 1989 with a Ku Klux Klan organizer as his campaign manager." according to the Los Angeles Times.

Zuma Dogg gets big props from a Silcon Valley blog. The writer of Letters from Silicon Valley posts "Zuma Dogg gave me the inspiration to look harder and seek information."

Free Associated Press reports that Republican Presidential candidate John McCain has launched a website in Spanish, "The Straight Habla Express." On the site McCain details endorsement from Latino leaders such as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who said "Carrera y oculta! McCain es el diablo!*"

* hopefully you realize Free Associated Press is a joke blog.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday

We told you this was coming back during the Summer of Love. AnVil not only wants to clean your toilets, he wants you to drink from them. Toilet to Tap is back! And Ron Kaye reminds us how it fired up the secession movement back in the 90s and how the Daily News under his leadership led the charge.

Couple of interesting items in light of the State Supreme Court's ruling that allows gays to marry in California. Joseph Mailander observes that the lone Schwarzenegger appointee to the Court joined the minority who ruled against overturning the state's laws banning gay marriage while three of the four Justices who voted to overturn the ban were either George Deukmejian or Pete Wilson appointees. A fact of course that blows out of the water conservatives claims that the Governor's less than right wing stance is responsible for this. In a related, stunning development, Zuma Dogg has proposed marriage to openly gay Councilman Bill Rosendahl. Big loser in the whole thing? AnVil since San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will get all the credit and all the gay Democratic political support and money come the 2010 Democratic Gubenatorial primary.

We've talked about the Rocky Delgadillo obsessed billboard NIMBYs and the MTA's new videos on the wall of it's subway tunnels. CurbedLA has a piece where one billboard NIMBY says he'll leave town if Angelenos decide they are in favor of billboards. Check out the comments section of the post; many great contributions.

Ever tried to hail a cab in LA? Unless you're at an airport or a few select hotels or other locations it's illegal. But that is changing.