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| Voted for civility |
"Hats off to the Sierra Madre Weekly for so accurately describing our town’s Bully Pulpit! Two generations ago, “bully” was an adjective meaning superb/wonderful. Now it describes some of our elected officials, they’re arrogant bullies on the pulpit that is our City Council!! ... Remember when elected officials served as “humble servants” of their constituents? Well, there’s nothing humble about the outrageous behavior exhibited in Council chambers by certain, seated members. Watch some of the meetings!! It’s not difficult to identify the culprits, their demeanor is as embarrassing as it is inappropriate ... Now we have a clear choice in Sierra Madre, and a chance to clear the air of the foul behavior that has tainted the civility of our City Council. Voters can reject others of this ilk and elect three candidates who, I know, will put responsibility before rhetoric and character before character assassination ... I’m voting for Moran, Mosca and Walsh. Thank you all for running, and for giving us a chance to save Sierra Madre." - Robert "Bob" Matheson in the March 27, 2010 edition of the Sierra Madre Weekly
That would most definitely be an olds. Now here is this week's edition of the Sierra Madre Tattler Weekend News:
Pedophilia: Orientation or Crime? (American Spectatorlink): Modern Western society views the expression of sexuality as a primary component of human identity. As each autonomous individual can form his own happiness and welfare, sex is an essential component of human flourishing.
As sex leads to the creation of life, it is indeed an essential human act. Yet the West is currently trying to isolate sex as a pleasurable, inconsequential form of recreation. The paradox rests in the very fact that it becomes banal, while also life-affirming and essential to our identities.
The issue rears its head in the latest definition of “pedophila” in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V). In it: the American Psychiatric Association (APA) drew a very distinct line between pedophilia and pedophilic disorder. Pedophilia refers to a sexual orientation or profession of sexual preference devoid of consummation, whereas pedophilic disorder is defined as a compulsion and is used in reference to individuals who act on their sexuality.
Now, “unconsummated pedophila” is just an orientation. As Father Z clarifies, when a society changes the language, they are also affecting the definition. It is now imperative that we tolerate “pedophilia.”
The reason we must accept such perversion is that “people must be allowed to celebrate sex and sexuality, ‘one of the few freely-given pleasures in life,’” as spokesperson Paul Christiano of B4U-ACT said to NeonTommy.com, a university news site for the USC Annenberg School of Communications. The group advocates for “‘minor-attracted persons’ to be open about their sexual preferences in a supportive atmosphere.”
(Mod: Would not registering a "minor-attracted" resident who spent time in a Canadian prison for transporting a large amount of highly explicit child pornography qualify as helping to create a "supportive atmosphere?" If so, then Sierra Madre is apparently ahead of the curve on this issue. Maybe that came with the endorsements.)
Additional AOL Patch Local News Sites Lose Staff(Benzinga.comlink): AOL owned hyper-local news website, Patch, which had 1000 writers working in 900 national locations in December 2012, is now down to 14 designated market areas (DMAs). New Patch CEO Bud Rosenthal outlined the move in a memo Wednesday morning reported on Poynter.
Rosenthal said the fully staffed outlets would be in those Patch towns “with the highest traffic and revenue.” They include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Hartford, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington D.C.
Other towns in those DMAs will be “lightly staffed,” and all remaining DMAs will remain open, but will not be staffed. In other words, users can contribute comments, post events, and conduct discussions on boards on those sites, but paid reporting will cease.
Patch central staff will post to unstaffed sites daily and the sites will be screened to make sure content is appropriate.
Rosenthal closed the memo by saying, “I know the communities you serve appreciate all that you do for them – and I in particular would like to express thanks for your continued commitment and patience as we work through this period.”
(Mod: I take it our local Patch would be one of the "lightly staffed" sites. Which probably explains why it is also "lightly read.")
Sen. Ron Calderon removed from California Film Commission (Whittier Daily Newslink): State Senate leader Darrell Steinberg Thursday removed state Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, from the California Film Commission following a report by Al Jazeera America that Calderon solicited bribes from an undercover FBI agent posing as a film producers.
Steinberg sent the letter to the commission about 4:40 p.m., a source with knowledge of the email said.
“Given the circumstances as detailed in the (FBI) affidavit, it seemed appropriate that Sen. Calderon no longer served on the commission,” said Mark Hedlund, spokesman for Steinberg.
Al Jazeera America Wednesday released an affidavit to the U.S. District Court in Sacramento from the FBI seeking a search warrant. Calderon is accused of accepting a total of $60,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as film producers.
According to its website, the California Film Commission works to keep “film industry jobs and projects in the state.”
The commission has an advisory board of 21 members appointed by the governor, Senate pro tem and speaker of the Assembly. Calderon was one of those appointees.
As of Thursday evening, Calderon was still listed as a board member on the commission’s website.
Mario Beltran, spokesman for Calderon, stated the senator had no comment in an email response.
(Mod: You know it is an interesting day for California journalism when the news organization that broke the story about this corrupt bum Calderon was Al Jazeera America.)
Steinberg picks a bad day to receive Hollywood support(Sacramento Beelink): Timing is everything in politics, although not always in a good way.
On the same day Al Jazeera America broke the story of a Hollywood-themed FBI sting ensnaring state Sen. Ron Calderon, a campaign committee of Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg reported several contributions from Tinsel Town movie interests.
Steinberg’s 2018 campaign for lieutenant governor collected more than $27,000 in donations from director Steven Spielberg, his wife, Kate Capshaw, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife, Marilyn Katzenberg, according to a filing with the secretary of state’s office.
Steinberg is mentioned several times in a 124-page FBI affidavit, but has not been implicated in the case.
“The senator is proud to be supported by thousands of Californians, including these individuals,” Steinberg spokesman Jason Kinney said of the donations. “As is our strict policy, there was absolutely no connection between this outside fundraising and any policy or pending legislation.”
By the end of the day Thursday, Steinberg moved to remove Calderon from his slot on the California Film Commission.
(Mod: It is worth noting that the father of Sacramento local planning rights confiscation is now embroiled in this nasty Calderon corruption case. I hope Al Jazeera gets Steinberg as well.)
Woman with ‘Syndrome X’ dies at 20 but still looks like a toddler (New York Daily Newslink): A woman who died last week at the age of 20 never aged. Brooke Greenberg, of Reisterstown, Md., puzzled medical professionals for years because she still looked and acted like a toddler. Doctors eventually dubbed her extremely rare condition "Syndrome X."
“While the outside world may have noticed Brooke’s physical stature and been puzzled by her unique development state, she brought joy and love to her family,” Rabbi Andrew Busch, who delivered the eulogy at the funeral, told the Daily News Monday.
“Her parents, three sisters and extended family showered her with love and respected her dignity throughout her entire life.”
The family realized something was wrong as Brooke's younger sister aged past her, so they brought her to see many different specialists in search of answers. But her condition baffled all of them. Doctors told the Greenbergs to prepare for Brooke's death several times. They even picked out a casket and clothing for her funeral years ago.
"The older she gets, the more unbelievable it gets," her mother, Melanie Greenberg, told WBAL back in 2005.
Scientists studied Brooke's DNA in hopes to learn more about human aging and extending youth, the local NBC affiliate reported.
(Mod: The problem with eternal youth is that it requires eternal parents.)
Intruder is fatally shot by homeowner after ranting about zombies (Los Angeles Timeslink): A man who was hallucinating and had been ranting about zombies was later fatally shot by a Yorba Linda homeowner after allegedly breaking in, authorities said.
A Yorba Linda couple woke about 3:15 a.m. Sunday to the sound of a man screaming in the backyard of their Wendover Road home, authorities said. The husband reportedly yelled at the man, while his wife called 911.
Paul Michael Bracamontes, 22, threatened the homeowners and then broke into their home by shattering a glass door, authorities said.
The husband shot the intruder, sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said. The couple's baby was in the home at the time, he said. Hallock did not say how many shots were fired from the gun, which was registered to the homeowner.
Relatives of Bracamontes told detectives he had been hallucinating at a party Saturday night and had made several “inappropriate” comments about zombies, authorities said.
(Mod: Not to in any way belittle the deadly nature of this story, but how exactly do you make an inappropriate comment about a zombie? Is there a "supportive atmosphere" in the works for them as well?)
Chain Saw Massacre Averted At Nevada County Bar When Man’s Weapon Stalls (CBS Sacramentolink): An Auburn man brought a chain saw to a bar fight after an argument over inappropriately touching another man’s chest, Nevada County Sheriff’s Deputies said.
Stinky Mulligan’s Bar was turned into a real-life haunted house when deputies said Weston Cecil Burton, 31, touched another man’s chest.
When the victim slapped Burton in the face and pushed him down, Burton allegedly went and grabbed his chain saw from his truck, started it up, and brought it into the bar.
“This place is so wackadoodle, that only in a small town could you get something like this,” said Brian Lowenthal, who runs the shopping center.
Even a man in a skull mask is spooked by what happened. “I thought I was funny when I read it in the newspaper, but when I thought about it, I don’t like that bar anymore,” he said.
Not surprisingly, nobody in the bar was eager to step up to stop the suspect wielding his weapon. But before Burton could do any damage to his victim, witnesses say his chain saw stalled, and cut out.
That’s when patrons jumped in and grabbed the chain saw. Burton took off, but he left his credit card at the bar. He was later arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon. He posted bond and was released from the Nevada County Jail.
(Mod: You really do have to love a town with colorful locals.)
Daylight Saving Time Is Terrible: Here's a Simple Plan to Fix It (The Atlanticlink): Daylight saving time ends Nov. 3, setting off an annual ritual where Americans (who don’t live in Arizona or Hawaii) and residents of 78 other countries including Canada (but not Saskatchewan), most of Europe, Australia and New Zealand turn their clocks back one hour. It’s a controversial practice that became popular in the 1970s with the intent of conserving energy. The fall time change feels particularly hard because we lose another hour of evening daylight, just as the days grow shorter. It also creates confusion because countries that observe daylight saving change their clocks on different days.
It would seem to be more efficient to do away with the practice altogether. The actual energy savings are minimal, if they exist at all. Frequent and uncoordinated time changes cause confusion, undermining economic efficiency. There’s evidence that regularly changing sleep cycles, associated with daylight saving, lowers productivity and increases heart attacks. Being out of sync with European time changes was projected to cost the airline industry $147 million a year in travel disruptions. But I propose we not only end Daylight Saving, but also take it one step further.
This year, Americans on Eastern Standard Time should set their clocks back one hour (like normal), Americans on Central and Rocky Mountain time do nothing, and Americans on Pacific time should set their clocks forward one hour. After that we won’t change our clocks again—no more daylight saving. This will result in just two time zones for the continental United States. The east and west coasts will only be one hour apart. Anyone who lives on one coast and does business with the other can imagine the uncountable benefits of living in a two-time-zone nation (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
(Mod: Don't forget that sometime tonight your clocks should be set back an hour. Otherwise you're going to miss the first quarter of a lot of football games.)
I hope you have found this edition of the Tattler Weekend News to be an enriching experience.
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