By now anyone that still pays attention to the 2008 democratic primaries has probably heard Senator Barack Obama called “elitist” and “ignorant” for his comments on rural America being bitter. These comments seem like a potentially damaging gaffe, a gaffe being inappropriate words or actions that can damage a candidate’s support quickly and possibly end victory hopes. A small reminder: at a recent fundraiser, Obama said it was difficult to win the support of working-class voters because they are frustrated by a declining economy. He is quoted as saying that “they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Despite his possible good intentions, his word choice was a bad one. These comments seem to be another hit to his campaign efforts, following the harsh criticism of Obama’s pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright for his racist and anti-American comments.

In a fundraising email McCain manager Rick Davis said to supporters that “these hard working men and women aren’t ‘bitter.’ They love their country, their faith, their family and their traditions.” Clinton’s campaign is also taking advantage with numerous attacks on his recent misstep. Although the comments may not effect his current Democratic nomination, it will cause him trouble in the November election. Obama’s recent comments will raise questions by independents and blue-collar voters, essential support for presidential hopefuls.

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“What are you writing?” he asks inevitably. “You’re here every morning early.”

Running on caffeinated fuel, all synaptic pistons firing, I’m writing away, polishing up my next novel, The Sufi’s Ghost, and what happens? The stranger sits nearby. I keep my head to my laptop screen, taking cover. The stranger always comes in, white guy with the curly afro gray hair and suit, no tie.

“Just work,” I say. Impromptu conversations at Starbucks always carry the opportunity costs a waste of perfectly tuned caffeinated inspiration humming along. It’s never smart to admit to any creative endeavor, not here in Orange County, California where every man, woman and child engages in nose-bleed unbridled enterprise.

Many a corporate professional speeds down the wide boulevards here, chasing after that promotion through the office political maze. Corporate automatons abound, wearing their pay checks in fine German cars. Engines of our economic strength, they live in the fast lane with hardly a smile, only a denial that they’re part of the middle class. Delusional nouveaux riches, they vote right-wing just to feel like they’re part of that class of real wealth.

“You’re here early too,” I say. “What is it you do?”

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Hailing a cab is one of those techniques New Yorkers have learned from a young age. If they moved to Los Angeles, they’d have trouble using their skills. One unique fact about the bustling town of Los Angeles is that unlike most metropolitan areas, cabs are not coloring the busy streets yellow. The reason there are so few cabs in the busy streets of this city is because they can’t stop.

Contrary to popular myth, it is not illegal to hail a cab but it is illegal for cabs to impede traffic or park illegally. Since almost all areas in Los Angeles are notorious for heavy traffic, taxi cabs find it difficult to stop without risk of large fines. Cabs will still pull over in these areas, but it is not without risk which many drivers are not willing to take. Taxi drivers are claiming that these regulations are hurting business and making it difficult to make ends meet. General Manager of Yellow Cab of Los Angeles claims that his drivers spend around 60% of their time waiting at designated stands. One cab driver had accumulated over $300 of tickets for stopping in a red zone and dropping off a disabled passenger in a bus zone. Parking enforcement hands out numerous tickets to cab drivers for small violations; sometimes the fines are larger than the earned fare making it hard for cab drivers to earn a living. That doesn’t even include the rising cost of gasoline that is hurting all businesses. As Los Angeles grows in population and traffic, there seems a benefit to creating a taxi-cab culture similar to other large cities.

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George Bush uses the Christian faith and its symbols to work miracles for winning political battles. Let’s hope the American voters become savvy about these tricks.

Sometimes, when seeking inspiration, I hang out on the lower side of San Pedro, LA’s harbor area, where I talk to the homeless people and those who inhabit another dimension. Other times I just walk down the street to a Catholic Church and hang out with the parishioners. After talking with acquaintances there, I realized many people had actually voted for G.W. Bush simply because he talked about God. In this regard, Bush has mastered modern politics, so let’s give him credit for manipulation at least.

Then, alas, the questions came to me. Does the local church reflect the nation’s way of thinking? Is a man who talks of God necessarily a follower of Christ’s teachings? Does God-talk make a man more moral? Then I recalled how my good friend Machiavelli once told me how he set down one of the most explicit doctrines for modern politics while advising a sixteenth-century prince, counseling him to do whatever was practical for the sake of power, and that it was highly effective to use moral principles and especially religion to achieve success.

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A few weeks ago at a Van Nuys warehouse the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials sent out alerts before starting the raid. Following the public outcry that stemmed from a Massachusettes based deportation last year, the ICE is reaching out to civil rights groups before conducting a raid. The separation of women and children for days at a time lead to many health issues in Massachusettes including dehydration and traumatic stress to small children.

The Van Nuys raid went a little smoother. ICE contacted social service agencies to learn before hand if there would be small children that would need care while their parents were detained. They asked if any suspected illegal immigrants suffered from chronic health conditions or if anyone required special assistance. Numbers of lawyers accepting pro-bono cases were handed out at the time of the raid. The lawyers on site however were not allowed to accompany the immigrants into the interview rooms and possible legal assistance was very limited. A conjunction against ICE was filed promptly stating this was in direct violation with the constitutional right to representation.

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Sexypolitics.com is a new website that proves that to be informed, is to be SEXY. The site allows you to quiz your knowledge and learn things about Obama, Clinton, Arms, websites, local news and much more all while watching someone undress. And, what a better way to learn about politics than with watching people get naked?! When you get questions right, the person of your choice takes off an article of clothing, if you get it wrong answer than you get mocked! It’s awesome. You simply go to the site, select the type of quiz you are going to take, select the person you want to watch script, a bit of music, and then answer the right questions and watch them get naked!

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Francisco Castaneda was born in El Salvador and like many before him, was a man who dreamed of a better life. And like Victoria Arellano (a detainee of the San Pedro detention center who died June 2007 from AIDs related complications due to the negligence of detention officials), died at the hands of immigration officials February 16th, 2008. Castaneda was arrested for possession of and intent to sell methamphetamine. Eight months later he was transfered to an immigration detention center because he did not have legal residency. Shortly after his transfer Castaneda began to suffer from a growing lesion on his penis. After visiting the facility doctor a biopsy was authorized…and ignored.

Just last week the long drawn out trial regarding Francisco Castaneda finally came to a close after Judge dean Pregerson delivered a verdict allowing Castanedas family the full right to seek damages from the government. Pregerson blasted health officials by saying that their:

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• 7 year-old chokes on tooth and dies at dentist - Jacqueline Martinez, a 7-year-old girl died after she apparently choked on a tooth that had just been pulled out in Riverside at New Smile Family Dental. The girl was struggling as the dentist pulled a molar, and the tooth lodged in her airway. “The cause of death is still pending,” coroner’s spokeswoman Sandy Fatland said Wednesday.
• Fire Captain died from ameoba infection - Matt Moore, 43, a 17-year veteran of the Murrieta fire department who reached the rank of captain, died from a rare complication called meningoencephalitis, an amoeba which invades the brain. Experts from the CDC (Center of Disease Control) say these amoeba live in nearly half of the lakes in warmer parts of the country. While infections are said to be rare, they have spiked in the past year. Moore leaves behind a wife and three teenage children.
• 15 illegal immigrants rescued off the coast of San Diego - Fifteen illegal immigrants aboard a rickety boat were rescued by U.S. authorities off the San Diego coast this morning after an apparent botched maritime smuggling attempt. No one was seriously hurt, though some of the passengers were dehydrated and sunburned, authorities said. The 24-foot boat, which carried 11 men and 4 women, was en route from Mexico to Southern California.

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For the first time since 1999, U.S. Department of Homeland Security has considerably raised fines/penalties to employers hiring illegal immigrants to work for them. The act is in response to Congress’ failure at passing immigration related legislation in 2007.

“Congress didn’t give us comprehensive immigration reform, so we’re going to do what we can with the tools that we have, and frankly we’ve made progress and done quite a bit,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

As a result, the increase and date of effect is as follows:

“The increased fines will take effect March 27. The minimum penalty will increase by $100, to $375. The maximum fine for a first-time offender will jump $1,000, to $3,200. And the maximum fine for repeated violations will rise $5,000, to $16,000. Fines are assessed on a per-person basis, so an employer with 10 illegal immigrants on staff would pay 10 fines.”

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In the industrialized world, the state of a country’s economy is constantly measured with words that seem to allude to something alive. For example, the economy can be referred to as something that is either suffering, healthy, or in a state of recovery. The stock market specifically, allows us to gauge the health of an economy as if it were a thermometer of sorts, providing the “temperature” of a financial system. Though the stock market is not necessarily an accurate assessment of economical health, it is nevertheless insightful. One has to wonder, what if we were capable of monitoring the health of an issue such as the safety of our city as we are to do with out economy. While criminal statistics are surely available, perhaps we can explore beyond mere numbers, the status of crime in Los Angeles at this juncture of the year.

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Last Saturday, several hundred people gathered bright and early at Fairfax High School. They dutifully stood in a long, snaking line before being escorted, in small groups, into classrooms normally occupied by bored and restless teenagers. Once in the classrooms, the hopefuls prepared themselves for the worst: the dreaded civil service examination.

On this day, it was the position of Management Assistant that brought the throng of hopefuls out into the cold morning air. As he watched noticeably agitated drivers circle the school’s parking lot (which happened to be full) 10 minutes before the start, one man remarked that he had given thought to ditching the test, but knew he would be unable to lie convincingly when his wife asked him about it once he returned home. What he failed to mention was the Management Assistant position was worth a few hours of discomfort on a Saturday morning. Management Assistants, as all of the assembled knew, eventually become managers whose titles begin with words like “Chief” and “Director”.

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