LA WATCHDOG--On Tuesday, December 3^rd, Councilwoman Nury Martinez was elected President of the Los Angeles City Council, effective January 5th.

CAL BUZZ-California Sen. Kamala Harris quit the presidential race Tuesday not because, as she put it, “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.”

RECONCILING THE PAST--Thomas Jefferson may have written that all men were created equal in the Declaration of Independence. But he, along with so many of his fellow plantation owners, was still complicit in the institution of slavery.

PLANNING WATCH-The mainstream and alternative press are in rare agreement that the worsening climate crisis places humanity at the abyss.

EASTSIDER-Boy do we have a feast of elections in 2020; City Council (even numbered districts), County Board of Supervisors (District 2 & 5), District Attorney, LAUSD (all but one), Assembly District 43 & 53), and a bunch of Cities and Judges! Here’s an overview. 

ALPERN AT LARGE--Part of the problem with making laws is that they have to be enforced.

@THE GUSS REPORT-There are big post-mortems on why California Senator Kamala Harris failed miserably in her campaign to become the 2020 Democrat nominee for president.

CLIMATE POLITICS-As the ecological crisis deepens, nearing the infamous Tipping Point – taking us closer to planetary catastrophe – we are being led to believe that an imminent “greening” of the world economy will deliver us from a very dark future.

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--Is it still worth getting to know your neighbors? 

DC DISPATCH-In a normal judicial proceeding, when the Court speaks, it does so through orders. A court order is a command issued by a judge. If a judge orders you to appear for your speeding ticket hearing, failure to do so can result in a bench warrant or a default judgment. Penalties can also include jail time and fines. 

RANTZ & RAVEZ-It was early Sunday morning and I was at a drive-thru car wash in the West Valley wiping down my car.

OTHER WORDS-Like nearly all Americans of a certain age, I was told in school that tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana are gateway drugs — and that is why marijuana should remain illegal. 

GUEST COMMENTARY--We may be months away from ending the U.S. military draft, once and for all. After a court ruled that the male-only draft was unconstitutional, a Congress-appointed Commission has been studying whether or not to draft women into the U.S. military.

GELFAND’S WORLD--It’s been twenty years since we had a decade with a proper name. Since the year 2000 we’ve had “the oughts” and then the pretty much illegible  teens.

ONE MAN’S OPINION-“They have ears, yet they do not hear” has always been true. December 4, 2019 was no exception.