Let's start this discussion by raising a question: how much do you think a small city manager makes, say, in the Midwest. I will note, according to PayScale.com, salary/bonus packages of city managers, based on some 300 data points, ranged from $60-123K.
Okay, now suppose I told you that a blue-collar suburb of a major metropolitan city has a population of 40,000, one in 6 of which lives below the poverty range. What do you figure? Maybe the bottom third of that range?
Now suppose I tell you we are talking about Bell, CA, a suburb of Los Angeles. I expect that my reader is wary--all bets are off when we are talking about La La Land. So let me start which was sparked by a Los Angeles Times investigation; the Associated Press reports:
- Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo made $787,637 a year, getting a series of raises since being hired in 1993 at $72,000. [Has your own pay gone up by a factor of 10 over the same period?]
- Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia made $376,288 a year
- Police Chief Randy Adams earned $457,000 — $150,000 more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.
Now if I told you being on the city council was a part-time position, what do you think the mayor and 3 of the the four other members of the council make? By now, it probably shouldn't shock you they average about $100,000.
The three individuals listed above have already resigned under pressure, and the grassroots organization the Bell Association to Stop the Abuse has targeted the other members of the Six-Figure Club, wearing shirts with the saying "My City is More Corrupt Than Your City". (I'm a huge mark for this grassroots organization.)
Just a word to the Bell Association--do you have any idea what public pension in the state of California that the $800K/year city manager will be drawing? Your job is only half done...
Oliver Stone: A Has-Been Director on a No-Return Path of Irrelevance
Probably the most influential film I've ever seen was not an Oliver Stone flick in the theater. It was a dated WWII documentary film I saw in high school. Nothing had prepared me for what I was to see: stacks of emaciated, nude corpses, a murder factory, the haunting eyes of a young female victim staring into the camera. There are a number of staggeringly evil things in life I'll never understand, including the Akazu genocide in Rwanda and the killing fields in Cambodia. I think because of the Jewish roots to my Christian faith I was particularly horrified by the Holocaust, even though it happened years before I was born.
Now, of course, I realize that Oliver Stone wants to promote his projects and one of the ways one can keep himself in the public eye is to do or say outrageous things. So now Oliver Stone is working on a project for a premium cable network of an alternate history of the US that "Rush Limbaugh is not going to like". He vows to put a more human context for "scapegoated" villains like Hitler and Stalin. Oliver also dismissed atrocities against Jews during the war, comparing the larger number of Russian casualties, and revived old prejudices of Jews controlling the media, etc.
Enough, Mr. Stone! I haven't paid to see one of your films in years and probably wouldn't watch them if the download was free. I'm not into conspiracy theories and revisionist histories, and your doing things like palling around with socialists or Marxists like Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro doesn't inflame my passions; it simply validates your poor judgment. It's not surprising a progressive thinks he or she "knows" what conservatives think, but context doesn't not make a monster a saint. Yes, the Russians suffered horrific losses during Hitler's invasion. That simply reflects the multi-dimensional aspects of Hitler's crimes against humanity.
Political Cartoon
Lisa Benson notes that Obama's economic policies seem to be on the wrong track and don't seem to be getting anywhere. But have no fear--if he runs out of gas, he'll fuel up on the nation's credit card.
Quote of the Day
There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.
Mother Teresa
Musical Interlude: Chart Hits of 2006
Justin Timberlake, "SexyBack"
Daniel Powter, "Bad Day"
Natasha Bedingfield, "Unwritten"
Bon Jovi, "Who Says You Can't Go Home"
