Last Week At LAPD Is Why Young People Increasingly Say ACAB

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - Stylish merch and insular, politicized law enforcement is how the Los Angeles Police Department loses the youth branding war, its officers and the future.

There's little doubt that the LAPD's passive-aggressive non-response to a media inquiry I made last week is due to its embarrassment, and perhaps feeling cornered, by my two latest columns.  They detailed how it and the LAFD covered up disturbing recordings of 2021 domestic violence and murder/suicide threats by LAFD Deputy Chief Kristina "Kady" Kepner against her then-live-in-love-interest and, in a separate alleged incident, against current squeeze, LAPD Detective Scarlett Martinez, all three of whom are women.

That's why today's column at my free Substack also explores why current anti-LAPD sentiment is as easy as 1312, or in the parlance of today's youth culture, ACAB, which means All Cops Are Bastards or All  Cops Are Bad.

And then there's the ill-conceived Twitter poll that the LAPD ran and subsequently deleted, but not before a critic captured and questioned.

Go check it out and sign-up for a free subscription, where I'll soon have updates and tinker with new features.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Hot Briefs on the Los Angeles (and Beyond) Political Machine for Monday

With two weeks remaining before the November Presidential (plus down ticket) Elections, the cabal of Social Media Entities (Facebook and Twitter), along with Legacy Media Mediums (exampled locally by the LA Times), are engaging in blatant Screening and Censorship of Breaking News, that deprives the Electorate of objective, factual content to make an informed decision at the Ballot Box. 

The likes of the LA Times, Facebook, Twitter and other Legacy Media Outlets, are openly Screening and Censoring Information in blatant Acts of Election Interference.

** Blogger's Notes: With two weeks remaining before the 2020 November Presidential (along with down ticket) Elections, its no understatement to declare that the results will have a profound impact on the future of the American Republic and the Freedom of Expressing Factual Content ........., now under duress. 

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Is La Wendy Stiffing the Hired Help?

Much ado has been raised as of late about Wendy Greuel's $15 an hour minimum wage plan. Then, an observant Tweeter caught this:

Yea, what's up with that?

Bedtime Snack from your Uncle Sam

Happenings around the LA political world to chew on before you go to bed...just about every one of these stories constitutes billable work for Political Consultant/Private Citizen John Shallman.

Greg NOT Greig

City Attorney candidate Mike Feuer wants you to remember that opponent Greg Smith is not Greig Smith, former Councilman. So he has sent out a mailer. No matter. The only two names you'll need to know come the general election is Smith and Trutanich.

Clinging to her Mayoral campaign, Wendy Greuel, in a Bob Dole move, sends a piece to mailboxes accusing fellow candidates Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry of lying about her record. Next thing she'll be telling us she paid for the microphone.

Jan Perry puts out a mailer with Wendy Greuel's Republican voter registration. Wendy shoots back with a photo of the pixie at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. It was probably shot right after this great moment for LA Democrats:

A big day in endorsements for Wendy Greuel. First, she got the nod from Orange County Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, best known for her "colorful" Christmas cards and alleged affairs with military officers turned lobbyists. Later in the day, Wendy was backed by the far more boring  Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles; the endorsement now raising significant concerns with tenant and affordable housing advocates.

Hey, Loretta!

Meet Dante Atkins. DailyKos blogger and Democratic Party activist who may be Wendy Greuel's worst nightmare. Atkins is a prolific Tweeter with fairly frequent posts at Twitter hitting hard on Greuel's misdeeds and missteps. Of note, Atkins catches that Wendy's new "Truth Squad" web pages is still claiming the millions of dollars Greuel says her office save the City, yet debunked by the LA Times, and the slimeball move by the Greuel campaign to release the past arrest record of a reporter who made public records requests of the Controller's office.

Familiar with the Hollywood Community Plan? Wendy Greuel was against it before she was for it, most likely the result of a come-to-Jesus sit down with Boss D'Arcy. Former City Planner and hero to low-density activists, Dick Platkin, writes at Ron Kaye why the Plan, based on completely inaccurate data about the expected growth of Los Angeles, is a really bad idea. If adopted citywide, it could lead to massive densification and perhaps high rises in bucolic places like Sunland-Tujunga, Studio City, Valley Village and elsewhere. But Wendy now LOVES it!

We alluded to Wendy's "Truth Squad" (snicker)...LOTS more on that in the coming days.

And finally, if you want a laugh in this election season (and we all need one about now), check out the Twitter page of @eric_garcetti. Nope, not that Eric Garcetti, but a fictionalized version of the District 13 Councilman turned Mayoral candidate who Tweets that "The #ecofriendly future #vegan in me wants 2 say "No" to #tacos de carnitas but the #Latino side of me keeps saying "Si! Si!"" and that "#teamgarcetti has harvested enough rainwater to irrigate every lawn in Studio City today!" This Eric Garcetti not only wants to be your next Mayor but "Your next best friend. Your next everything."

Sweet dreams!

BREAKING: Food Trucks and Politics - Dinner Time GOTV for Box!

If Stephen Box pushes veteran Tom LaBonge into a run-off tonight; it may be because of the Food Trucks.

Bottom line is this - old school Tom HATES the food trucks and has tried to make their lives miserable. Stephen Box has been quite supportive on the other hand and has earned massive support from the trucks and their foodie fans.  Box has even organized meet-ups of trucks and voters that have been quite successful.

Something interesting is happening right now - in a scene perhaps reminiscent of Egypt the downtrodden masses are using social media to turf out a decades in power dictator.  Twitter is abuzz with food truck operators and fans tweeting out the vote for Box.  

Developing.

DailyKos: "We're....f'ed"

The left leaning client state blog of the DNC, DailyKos smells the blood in the water and they're really, really mad at their own leaders. A report at the media watching blog MediaShift documents Republicans are far more savvy this cycle at using social media than Democrats basically beating the left at the game it invented in 2008.  Red leaning Facebook friends and Twitter followers are far outpacing those on the blue.

Here's Kos himself:

Don't look now, but Republicans are crushing Democrats in the use of social networks.

R's have an avg. of 38,718 FB friends and 14,009 Twitter followers.
D's have an avg. of 8,260 FB friends and 2,591 Twitter followers according to HeadCount.org

This stuff matters. Republican consultants have embraced the social networks as a way to spread their message in a way that our shitty Democratic ones have not. What online advantages progressives have -- the blogosphere and sites like ActBlue -- have been created outside of the establishment's grasp. Otherwise, we'd be even more fucked.

Like what I have to say?

Hi! I'm Matt_Szabo.

http://twitter.com/Matt_Szabo

Like what I have to say?

Matt_Szabo Posted at 11:26am from TwitterBerry
Mayor: Los Angeles is a "world class city." Providing police and fire protection is "what we do."

Matt_Szabo Posted at 11:25am from TwitterBerry
Mayor just told reporters he will not ask AEG or the Jackson family to cover city expenses for Michael Jackson memorial.

Matt_Szabo Posted at 3:09am, Jul 11, 2009 from web
Let's hope next week's Michael Jackson memorial hearings provide more substance than showmanship. Mayor agrees w J Hahn. http://bit.ly/jzDTL

Matt_Szabo Posted at 1:47pm, Jul 10, 2009 from web
RT @RevCarr The Tidings (Catholic weekly for Greater LA) excellent profile of Rev. Carr's gang reduction efforts. http://bit.ly/ZNX4V#fb

Matt_Szabo Posted at 3:31am, Jul 10, 2009 from web
John & Ken discuss MJ memorial cost w CM Zine. Listen carefully. Mr. Zine discredits his own $4M assertion. @12:00 http://tinyurl.com/m3tgsf

Matt_Szabo Posted at 8:10pm, Jul 09, 2009 from web
The City deployed $1.37 m in ADDITIONAL public safety resources than it otherwise would have. Same accounting we used for Laker parade.

Matt_Szabo Posted at 8:08pm, Jul 09, 2009 from web
We respectfully disagree w CM Zine's $4 million assertion, which assumes the city otherwise would not have deployed ANY officers.

Matt_Szabo Posted at 7:57pm, Jul 09, 2009 from web
@KFIAM640 *** FOR THE RECORD: The total cost to the city for the MJ memorial was $1.4 million ($1.37 to be exact). Breakdown forthcoming...

Matt_Szabo Posted at 7:15pm, Jul 09, 2009 from web
Good follow-up by Times on LAPD crime maps, w thorough explaination by Chief: http://tinyurl.com/lepwx5 LAPD reax: http://tinyurl.com/m7ygvk

Matt_Szabo Posted at 1:54am, Jul 09, 2009 from web
Nothing to LAO's Myr V "tweeter uncovered" post. Mayor either tweets himself, or I approve w direct authorization http://tinyurl.com/mnk2ge

Matt_Szabo Posted at 1:12am, Jul 09, 2009 from ShareThis.com
LA Times headline on LAPD crime stats badly misleads. LAPD reports ALL crime stats. Comp glitch caused mapping errors. http://shar.es/hEUn

Matt_Szabo Posted at 6:36pm, Jul 08, 2009 from web
@KFIAM640 Correction: Cost to city is $1.4m, not $1.6m ... RT@KFIAM640 t-rae here...in the news, szabo says total cost to taxpayers?$1.6 mil

Matt_Szabo Posted at 6:12pm, Jul 08, 2009 from web
RT @villaraigosa Our statement on the #MJ memorial donations here: http://bit.ly/k0cJ6 Donate here: http://bit.ly/ABdlp

Matt_Szabo Posted at 3:55pm, Jul 08, 2009 from web
Total cost for additional city services required for the MJ memorial service is approx $1.4 million - far less than expected by some ...

Matt_Szabo Posted at 11:58am, Jul 08, 2009 from web
Will release info on donations thru the MJ site asap. City treasurer having trouble w large response & several crashes http://bit.ly/ABdlp

Open thread for Wednesday

Open thread Wednesday, folks. Suggested topics include the Mayor's sweatheart deal on early retirement for City employees, groundbreaking on the Orange Line extension being 4 years ahead of schedule, and whether or not highly-paid Public Works commisioner Ernesto Cardenas is Tony's brother. So what do Ed McMahon and Phil J have in common? And oh yeah - the Mayor's Tweeter seems to have sprung to life again. What gives?

Blog away, dum dums.

Suspicious Fires Erupt in Elysian Park; Mayor's Budget Cuts Firefighting Rangers

A number of suspicious fires erupted in Elysian Park at around 11 PM Saturday evening causing minor damage due to the swift response by Los Angeles City Park Rangers and the LAFD. Other agencies responding included LAPD, OPS, and Los Angeles County Sheriff who were spotted passing residents roused by the noise and, in some cases, smoke.

According to residents, small fires are common in Elysian Park, but these fires were very different up to and including the hardcore response they received, with numerous agencies' helicopters buzzing the park for hours. LAFD Twitter stated that more than 90 firefighters responded to this incident, which is a very large allocation for what they reported as just a 2-acre fire.

Los Angeles City Park Rangers were observed by residents as first on-scene with firefighting units. The Rangers' division - part of the Department of Recreation and Parks - has reportedly had patrols in the area as well as in other parks as a precaution against the dry conditions throughout the past week, a week that coincidentally marked the second anniversary of the devastating Griffith Park fire.

Although the swift emergency response is in part responsible for the minimal damage caused by this fire event, it is worth noting on this politics blog that counter intuitively, Los Angeles City Park Rangers are not funded with other so-called vital emergency services in the Mayor's budget, but are prioritized by the police-obsessed Villaraigosa with all other Department of Recreation and Parks' activities, including trash collection and restroom cleaning.

In fact, as activists pointed out at the Budget and Finance Committee hearings, the Mayor's 2009-10 budget actually cuts ten Park Ranger positions plus their Chief position, regardless of the fact that the state agency that certifies and accredits these types of organizations (CA P.O.S.T.) requires them to have a chief.

Yet simultaneously, a stubborn Tony V holds firm to his 'hire 10,000 LAPD officers' obsession. At a time when LAPD is blasting stats saying crime in the City has decreased to 1950s levels, the 10,000 number appears to hold little if any real needs significance. It's more likely just a nice, round number, divisible by ten, that looks good in headlines and on resumes.


Wonder what the people whose Elysian Park homes were spared by the quick response of the Rangers think of the Mayor's budget priorities? My impression as I hung up the phone was: "Not a whole hell of a lot, right now."

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Monday, Late Edition

Following President Obama's remarks during his recent Tonight Show appearance associating his poor bowling performance with the "Special Olympics" a disabled man who is a national Special Olympics champion in blowling says to the President "Bring it." Kolan McConiughey, a mentally disabled man considered one of the nation's top Special Olympics bowlers, with five perfect games to his credit told the AP "He bowled a 129. I bowl a 300. I could beat that score easily."

Meghan McCain writing at the Daily Beat interviews Supriya Jindal, the first lady of Louisiana.  Surpiya, a chemical engineer regularly completes Soduku Samurai puzzles.

Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota may be about to join the big government league of so called Republicans like Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Pawlenty wants to hatch a scheme where the state would attach a device to your car and bill for the miles driven. At what point does government get out of our lives?

Some of the great promise of social networking sites like Twitter includes getting a peak into the mundane personal lives of celebrities. For example, We learn that Kim Kardashian didn't invite her sister Kourtney to dinner with some old high school chums.

Live Twittering of the Neighborhood Council

Starting in about an hour, get live Tweets from my Neighborhood Council meeting at twitter.com/mayorsam. Woo hoo!

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Wednesday

If there is a tipping point for the City's controversial practice of offering special event fee waivers - that is covering the costs of traffic control, police, trash, etc. for events held in the City, history may show that it was Tuesday when the Council approved over $3K in waivers for something called :"Dyke Day." Many gays and lesbians were offended at the approval of an event that many feel includes a derogatory term; many other Angelenos were offended that Tuesday the Council approved another $75K in the waivers at a time when Los Angeles may be facing bankruptycy. The word of "Dyke Day" kicked up quite the meme in the blogs-LA-phere with coverage at LAist and RonKayeLA.

The Beckford Elementary School Parents Blog gives a good blow by blow of the scene from Tuesday's LA Unified Board of Education meeting where teachers' union members and other activtists were on hand to protest planned teacher layoffs. The District will send layoff notices to about 9,000 employees as a precautionary measure should the LAUSD actually have to reduce staff later this year.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is leading the pack in the number of people who are following his micro-blogging "tweets" on the Twitter service. Newsom has over 43,000 followers while potential opponent Mayor Villaraigosa has just 798. Your favorite old, dead Republican Mayor has 48 followers and I'm not even running for office.

We send our best wishes to Downtown Central City East Blogger Don Garza. As you may know Don has been living and blogging from Skid Row for several years and has experienced health problems due to his living situation. Don now has an opportunity to create a blog design firm and had his first presentation Tuesday. Good luck to Don who not only wants to earn a living but use the resources his business will provide him to help the homeless. That's not only admirable, it's the way things should be.

Franklin Avenue reports on a new local digital channel for New York City created by NBC, "New York Non-Stop." Of course comes the usual whine "Why don't we have this in LA?" But, as even the Franklins note, LA does have an NBC digital station, the excellent KNBC News Raw. The station is able to use the expanded time it has to cover imporant issues in-depth and has recently produced well-done reporting on the nonsense at City Hall and outshone all the local media in covering the recent elections. On the other hand, New York Non-Stop is the usual namby-pamby crap seen on shows like "2 on the Town" or "Eye on LA" that covers what yuppies had for dinner or some artist that is building the Mona Lisa out of trash. Nice stuff, but we already have that programming.

And finally, Valley Doll says she's heard a rumor that a member of the City Council we all know and love may have knocked up their "partner." Congrats on the coming bundle of joy!

Ask Eric Garcetti

Got this blurb today

At 3pm today, Eric will hold a live chat at crooksandliars.com, where he'll answer real-time questions in the comments. Hope you'll come by and join the discussion.

I posted it on Mayor Sam's Twitter page.