sujabikemodel Friday, July 30 Something.       

Saturday, July 31 Else.

Sunday, August 1 Boy, what a pretty day! Great day for me to take the kids to Disneyland … How’s that? Disneyland just raised the admission fee to $76 per person? … Boy what a pretty day! Great day for me to take myself to Disneyland.

Monday, August 2 Last week I wrote a bit about how Long Beach Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal had wasted a lot of people’s time to be named vice mayor and then, as soon as she’d gotten what she wanted for her resume, informed everyone that she’d be absent from council meetings from late August until mid September, a period when the council will be discussing and debating critical issues like budget shortfalls and service reductions. Well, I got a letter from Lowenthal’s chief of staff, Broc Coward, which attempted to explain why Lowenthal won’t be available:

“With regard to your comments in last week’s Vector Control on Greater Long Beach, you may be interested in knowing that Vice Mayor Lowenthal’s absence from late August to mid September is the result of needing to attend two family weddings in India.  She is very close with these family members and does not wish to miss such momentous occasions. And as much as family members wish they could determine such dates, they are simply along for the ride when the invitation arrives.

As a result, Vice Mayor Lowenthal has been working with staff to install the appropriate internet phone software and plans to participate in the council and budget discussions via teleconference. The budget issues facing Long Beach are far too important to miss.”

Uh-huh. Look, Broc, here’s the deal: I have a family. I would imagine most of Suja Lowenthal’s constituents have families, and I bet we love our families every bit as much as Suja Lowenthal loves hers. But there are times when all of us have had to miss family functions—even weddings—because it conflicted with a job, a Little League game, a charity function we had committed to and, perhaps, were being paid to perform. It’s a drag, sure, but this is what grownups do—grownups make choices, sometimes hard choices. And this is the problem with your boss: the only choices she ever seems to make are ones that benefit her quest to become the most popular kid in school. She’ll put all her time and energy into procuring a nothing bit of fluff like the title of vice mayor, but when it comes to the hard business of actually doing her job—the job SHE ASKED FOR—she’s suddenly nowhere to be seen. All I’m saying is it’s time for your boss to do her job. It’s time for Suja Lowenthal to grow up. (Oh, and nice try on the teleconferencing dodge but anyone who’s been on the phone to India to talk about their sick computer knows that ain’t gonna work.)

Tuesday, August 3 Let’s see, in the span of, like, two days Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcon is indicted on 24 felony counts, including that he doesn’t actually live in the district he serves. You know, kinda like Suja Lowenthal, just on a more-permanent basis. Then Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who represents the cities of Hawthorne, Gardena and Westchester, is accused of seeking federal assistance for a bank with financial ties to her husband. Add to that Laura Richardson’s title as one of the most corrupt members of Congress and the City of Bell recently distinguishing itself as the most corrupt city this side of Deadwood. Good thing there are no significant challenges facing the region. God does provide.

Wednesday, August 4 U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker rules that Proposition 8—the 2008 ballot initiative in which Californians voted to ban same-sex marriage—is unconstitutional. While Walker’s ruling is hailed by civil libertarians it is decried as yet another example of judicial radicalism—Walker’s radical agenda being that he believes people should be able to marry who ever they want. You see, the type of people who support Prop 8 are usually conservatives who believe that government, and the judiciary, should not be interfering in people’s lives, you know, unless it’s to tell them who they can fall in love with, when they can have a baby and what they are to do with their body. Besides that, you’re absolutely free to buy as many guns as you want! An Los Angeles Times story about the decision quoted Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in San Diego as saying that congregations across nation will be praying and fasting for a ban on gay marriage to be restored. Let me just say that I not only support such measures but encourage like-minded people to stop eating. Immediately. Completely. For as long as it takes. And it could take a while. Also, I have it on good authority that the Almighty really favors those who have enough faith to walk aimlessly, and blindfolded, through traffic. Amen.

Thursday, August 5 And such.