The Fake Angeleno

Stunning New Pictures From The Tiananmen Square Protests

Here's an image I can't resist posting: Long live the Goddess of Democracy...

LINK: [BBC Photo Gallery of Previously Unseen Tiananmen Protest Images]

2005 Flashback: Why the 44-Year-Old Most Junior Member of the Senate Should Consider Running For President in 2008

Looking back, it's hard to believe we've come this far.

The Senate operates as both America's incubator of presidential ambitions and the retirement home of its failed candidates. The well-known curse of the Senate is that it both elevates politicians to within striking distance of the White House and burdens them with the baggage of a complicated voting record and the stench of the Beltway.

This is why Barack Obama must run for president in 2008.

Obama, you may remember, is the lanky 44-year-old from Illinois elected to the Senate last year. He is the most promising politician in America, and eventually he is going to run for president. The case for running now is not that it is the perfect moment for him to run. It's not. It is just that it may be the best chance he will ever get.

Ryan Lizza is a very smart man -- no wonder the New Yorker snapped him up. 

TPM Intervews Shepard Fairey

TPM Media's Elana Schor caught up with Shepard Fairey for an interview yesterday about the history and future of his iconic Obama campaign posters. 

And --  this is a huge disservice to a great artist -- but I can't shake the thought that Fairey looks frighteningly like Kenneth from 30 Rock...

Quote of the Day Courtesy of L.A. Observed

Says LA Biz Observed's Mark Lacter:

"Practicing journalism is a little like playing the ponies: Everyone thinks they're an expert. Except that they're not."

Of course, he'd be referring to Sean Penn...

Limping Out of the Back Door on Pennsylvania Ave.

Kind of a bad news day for #43:

Says the AP: Bush backed off strict mortgage rules in '06, caving to banking-industry pressure.  The rules were "remarkably prescient."

Bush also told ABC's Charlie Gibson his biggest regret as President was the Iraq intelligence failure.  "I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess," said the departing commander-in-chief.

I know the "Emperor Has No Clothes" metaphor has been done to death and back again, but the guy looks pretty naked, helpless and pitiful right at the moment.  

Election Day in L.A.

It's a gorgeous day here in Los Angeles.  Some rain early this morning has cleared the air; people are walking around a little taller; and many folks are quick to flash a grin of solidarity. 

Dare I say it: Hope is in the air.   

Driving to work this morning, I noticed my four mile commute was strewn with polling places -- all with good-sized lines.  Encouragingly, there were volunteers with "No on 8" signs standing on nearly every corner. 

Though I wish I could spend this election day with my old friends in New York and my family in Illinois, it feels great to be here in Southern California with new friends, looking forward to a new President. 

For anybody that's interested, the L.A. Now blog is keeping a nice running commentary going today. 

Also, don't miss this explanation of why one liberal blogger didn't vote for Obama.

Fake Angeleno friend Adrienne Crew has a great post on L.A. Observed about prepping to be a poll worker in Culver City.

Making the Case...

Barack Obama for President:

NO on proposition 8:

Promised Pumpkin Propaganda

Happy Halloween.  I love you Los Angeles!  (You love me back.)

As a reminder of what's at stake Tuesday, I offer you this excellently carved (by Jessica) message of change over more-of-the-same, engagement over posturing, sunshine over secrecy, strategy over reaction, and, yes, HOPE over fear. 

 

The Fake Angeleno endorses Barack Obama for President of the United States of America.

WeHo Man Hangs Sarah Palin in Effigy; Condemned For Going Overboard

In case you hadn't heard about this.

Proposition 1: 10 Billion Dollars in Bonds for High Speed Rail?

I'd meant to post some measured and weighty commentary here on each of California's twelve ballot propositions, but a busy working schedule has gotten the best of me.  I'm afraid my blog reasoning about how to vote will have to be severely elided.  Still, I'm going to try to give it a shot 

First off, here's a decent summary of proposition 1 on Ballotpedia.

Prop. 1 asks voters to approve the issuance of $9.95 billion of general obligation bonds. This would partially fund a $40 billion, 800-mile high speed train under the supervision of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The train would run between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with Anaheim, California, designated as the southern terminus of the initial segment of the high-speed train system. Estimates are that the train system would be completed in 2030, and that it would take passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles in about 2 hours and 40 minutes.

I'm naturally inclined to support any kind of governmental support for expanded rail service: My dad's a long-tenured employee of Amtrak, and I've been enjoying intercity rail travel my entire life.  Beyond the personal connection, who wouldn't want to skip the airports and travel from downtown LA to downtown SFO in three hours -- skipping the airports entirely and enjoying the roomy comfort of a modern railroad car?   

Opponents of prop 1 don't argue that high speed rail is a bad idea, rather they make a three-pronged case against the measure based on conservation, prioritization and skepticism.  Here are the three rebuttal points: First, parks and open spaces would be threatened by rail beds.  Next, California's priority rail transportation project should be building out infrastructure for metropolitan-area commuters to alleviate regional traffic congestion. Third, with America's lousy track record of getting fleeced by European rail contractors, whose to say 10 billion will be the final bill?      

All three are valid arguments, but I'll still be voting yes on #1. 

California's a big state: surely a rail line can be built with minimal environmental damage...  And we should be moving forward on BOTH high speed rail and intra-city transportation projects.  Finally, while budget overruns will probably be inevitable, I feel this project still justifies the added cost.