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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (51982)	7/25/2004 11:55:09 AM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 89467

Why won't the Canadian gov allow Fox News in Canada, censorship. But they allow Al Jezerra(sp). Pathetic. You canadians see the world though a gov. supplied lens

To: longnshort who wrote (51982)	7/25/2004 1:42:22 PM
From: Proud Deplorable	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

"you don't know what Freedom is. Pathetic" maybe not but I love it.

To: longnshort who wrote (51982)	7/25/2004 2:03:25 PM
From: Proud Deplorable	Respond to of 89467

You have Freedom? Silliness at City Hall -- not Silly String -- remains L.A.'s big problem Nothing epitomizes the problems in Los Angeles city government better than the saga of Silly String. Moved by the apparent urban dangers of the multicolored strings of compressed foam that come out of a spray can, the Los Angeles City Council faced intense pressure to impose a citywide ban on using the silly stuff in public places. Morally indignant council members said it was no joke. The chemical goop endangers the environment and can even lead to retaliatory violence. Who knew? Nobody did, because it wasn't a problem outside of Hollywood, where a few business owners complained to Councilman Eric Garcetti about the annual Hollywood Boulevard Halloween celebration that involves copious use of the squirtable goo. It's messy and a pain to clean up. But council members should have anticipated that such draconian reaction based on just a few complaints would open them up to ridicule and contempt. What's next? Supersoakers? Whoopee cushions? Will we see hundreds of small children being hauled away in handcuffs? By Friday, the council was chagrined enough by the reaction to its overreach that the proposal had been whittled away to just a ban on Silly String in Hollywood on Halloween -- as if there will be many cops around to enforce it. Even the minor-league moralists who were once so fired up over this peril kept their mouths shut, and the council passed the ban without a word being spoken. This silly episode illustrates a very real problem at City Hall. The council members spend much of their time and energy working on ideological issues that are irrelevant to life in the city or attacking nonexistent problems so their subjects don't notice that the city's falling apart, the streets aren't safe and traffic is getting worse. The Silly String distraction isn't some isolated incident. It goes on all the time. The nation's highest-paid municipal officials don't earn their keep. Silly String was never the problem. Silly politicians are.