Deferred Appreciation Investment

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi

in Carnegie Mellon Today, October 2008

After graduating from high school, Wayne Cutler, like many of his Long Island classmates, decides not to stray too far from home. He enrolls in a state school in upstate New York and plans to study psychology but ultimately switches to economics. Into his sophomore year, his academic interest hasn’t waned. He even meets with his high school guidance counselor and tells him how much he enjoys his major. After hearing that, the counselor suggests he consider transferring to Carnegie Mellon.

Unlike his counselor, Cutler hadn’t heard of Carnegie Mellon or of its reputation in business and economics. He follows the advice, however, and decides to apply for a transfer.

Evidently, being an excellent tennis player doesn’t hurt his chances for admission. "That probably helped me get in," says Cutler. It definitely helps him become captain of the Tartans’ tennis team—playing number one singles in his senior year. He also takes on a challenging course load in managerial economics. "I didn’t have a lot of time to hang out, watch TV, and eat Sugar Smacks," he recalls.

He does make time for Deirdre Maloney, who is in Pittsburgh completing an internship in her field of vocational rehabilitation. As their relationship grows, he admires her dedication to helping people with disabilities.

Cutler comes up with an idea to help people, too. He knows that many of his classmates are bright, but they lack training in personal money management. So with his roommate and friend David Gustin (HS'84), he makes plans to start a club that will teach hands-on the principles of investing. Instead of seeking start-up funds from Student Council, Cutler and Gustin make some phone calls. They get financial support from Mellon Bank, Federated Research, Value Line, and other financial institutions. He and Gustin raise about $10,000, and in the fall of 1982, about 100 students show up for the kick-off of the Investment Club.

Today, Cutler (HS'83) continues to give strategic advice, primarily to banks and wealth management institutions as co-founder and a managing director of Novantas, an international management consulting firm whose corporate office is in New York City. He also is helping Carnegie Mellon students who have an inspiration like he and Gustin did. The Deirdre Maloney Cutler Memorial Undergraduate Research Fund, named in memory of his wife who died from cancer four years ago, provides opportunities for undergraduate students who have a vision for a project. Additionally, Cutler says the initial $10,000 charitable gift is his message to undergraduates about helping people–a lesson he says he learned from his wife.

When future award recipients ask about the grant namesake, Cutler promises that either he or one of his three children, Shaynna, Brendan, and Wesley, will eagerly share stories about Deirdre Maloney Cutler.

"She was always outward focused," says Cutler. "To me, that's one of the greatest values you can have, focusing on others, not on yourself. That really embodied her spirit."

The Band Played On

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi

in Carnegie Mellon Today , October 2008

On the road home to Pittsburgh after a football game against the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats in Lancaster, Pa., a bus filled with Carnegie Mellon students stops for dinner at a family steakhouse. Diners exchange funny looks. The students may not look out of the ordinary during football games in Gesling Stadium, but they stick out in this crowd. They are Kiltie Band members. And about 100 of them, dressed in kilts, wait to order steaks in a line that goes all the way out the door.

Trombonist and Kiltie Band President Laurel Farmer calls the group a low-key "typical little ensemble," but there's a touch of playfulness in her voice. After all, the Kilties have a loud presence. During their routines at football games, they perform showtime shenanigans, back-and-forth antics with the Kiltie Cheermaster, and the occasional do-si-do. Farmer's outfit alone—complete with knee-high socks and a sporran, a fur-adorned ornamentation hung below the waist—screams Tartan pride. On her red band jacket, she exhibits 30 pieces of personal "flair," buttons and ribbons with such phrases as:

I robots.
Love your body.

In Lancaster, the uninitiated are puzzled, but in Pittsburgh, fans and alumni chuckle, especially when the Cheermaster calls out: "Ye Olde CIT Cheer" after the first offensive play of the game. In response, a horde of Kilties, mostly engineering and science majors like Farmer who share classes during the week, yell lyrics that include:

Square root
cube root
log of e
water-cooled slipstick
CIT!

Fans and former band members who know the words cheer along from the bleachers.

In her hometown of Cincinnati, Farmer was a self-described band geek who practiced disciplined, core-style marching. In Kiltie Band, she isn't required to compete or memorize her music, and the group's director for life, Associate Dean of Student Affairs Paul Gerlach, doesn't expect members to practice beyond two weekly rehearsals. But what the Kilties lack in musical polish, they make up in boisterous energy. And on game day, Farmer and her bandmates like to play their music the way they like to dress—really loudly.

The Kiltie Band is celebrating its centennial anniversary. Since 1908, one element has remained constant—the group's school spirit. If Farmer stays in Pittsburgh, she plans to join the group as an alumna, which is often the case with graduates who remain in the area. That way she can continue to spend time with about 100 of her closest friends.

Naz in Ojai

just arrived in Ojai for a wedding this weekend. I love the drive up north as the scenery smoothly evolves into farmland and countryside and little stores - I haven't been to Ojai before - I should remark that I did see a McCain/Pain yard sign on my way here, whatever that means.

Pulling from the Archives

In the past 5 months or so, I have been busy working full-time, one job in an office plus two others on the ground, and now that I am back in graduate school, my time to concretize my thoughts onto this blog, have been limited. I have a lot I want to write, especially about the recent political discourse regarding democratic vs. republican in the 2008 presidential election. I have witnessed how Obama supporters have reacted to the pick of Governor Sarah Palin as McCain's VP; and some of the reactions I have observed have been rather hypocritical especially in the way they react to her "conservative" positions (I put it in quotes, because I think this dualistic semantics such as conservative vs. liberal, amongst others, is dangerous and convoluted). As I mentioned to my supervisor yesterday, I question Obama as a presidential candidate just like I question (or ideally should question) anyone running for office - but it's the Obamaniacs who really make me worry - So once I get all that together, I will probably do a blog posting. In the meantime, I'm reaching into my archives and pulling out a post from March, still on the subject of politics, and hope you find it edutaining. Look out for 2 articles upcoming in the October issue of Carnegie Mellon Today as well.
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Obama and Schwarzenegger - The artful dodgers

Contributed by: Nazbanoo Pahlavi on 3/14/2008

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep conducted an excellent interview of Senator Obama that airs on NPR today in which he presses on the issue of Michigan and Florida. After Michigan's vote, I remember Obama's comments that Michigan's vote should not be counted, and yet on the program today, he says that he has "constantly" wanted those delegates seated. Really? Because that is not what he said 5 weeks ago. In fact, his tone was pretty unwavering when it came to this. Steve Inskeep asked three, yup, three times whether he would support a re-do. He asked three times because the Senator kept dodging the question. Oh, politicians are such artful dodgers aren't they?

Listen, what the Democratic Party decided on Michigan and Florida is a moot point- why? Because sometimes it is OK, even noble, to break the rules to bring about real change. I don't agree with those who say rules are rules (rules that, according to Obama, even his six year old could have followed) when those bureaucratic decisions superimpose the voting rights of ordinary people. Are you kidding me? And now, Obama complains that those states don't want to pay for it and that's a reason a do-over should not happen.

Shame on politicians for citing money as a factor in allowing the disenfranchisement of Michigan and Florida voters. This is not a Clinton or Obama thing. This is about those voters and Obama should be fighting to get those voters' voices heard. Now, that would be impressive. That would signify that sometimes achieving change means not following rules - especially when those statues are meant to get states like Iowa and New Hampshire extra exposure.

Hopefully, this political squabbling will soon find it's own detente.

In the meantime, I hope that the media will spare some extra coverage on California's atrocious budget crisis. Teachers have already been laid off . One of my classmates in my weekly Shakespeare class who has been teaching for 20 years, got her slip yesterday. She says that 40 are expected to be laid off in the Beverly Hills Unified District alone which includes only one high school and 5 elementary/junior high schools. I am furious that Governor Schwarzenegger cut the education budget - but then again he is a politican (who better than an actor!) who knows how to spin his words - like when he masterfully dodged accusations of his fuel pollution commuting via private jet almost nightly from his home in Brentwood to the office in Sacramento, because he wants to spend more time with his family (what, the state capital isn't good enough for them?). And I am frustrated that California voters opted against the telephone utilities tax to provide a source of funds for public bodies like firefighters and police officers. When it comes to education - we need to get on the money. When it comes to police and firefighters, we need to get on the money - when it comes to individual voters' rights, we need to get on the money. It's a no-brainer.

Man of the Year

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi
Carnegie Mellon Today, July 2008


A few hundred Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descend under the buzz of a helicopter. Nearby streets are blocked off. The target is a New Bedford textile factory that has federal contracts to produce camouflage uniforms for soldiers in Iraq. The agents expect to find about 400 undocumented immigrants, who will be questioned and detained. An hour after the raid begins, the local police chief tips off Marc Fallon (HS'92), a clergyman and advocate for the Mayan community.

Although Fallon considers his Spanish second rate despite the years he committed to his Hispanic ministry, he knows those seamstresses, and he knows their hearts. And he knows that many of the parishioners struggled through civil war in Guatemala and won't answer to any man in uniform who questions them about the whereabouts of their children.

The law-enforcement officials won't divulge names of those taken away, so Fallon and another pastor, Richard Wilson, figure out who didn’t come home. They determine that 121 children are left behind.

The pastors share their list with advocacy agencies, and a community-wide effort takes root. A temporary shelter is created in the basement of Wilson's church. Community college students volunteer to help. So do the YMCA and area lawyers. And an investment banker in Boston, Mass., even matches bail bonds for about 40 of the detained migrants. "People simply decided to trust one another," says Fallon.

Most of the detained caregivers were reunited with their children within two weeks. For their humanitarian work on behalf of the Mayan community and the 361 undocumented workers detained after the March 6, 2007, raid, Fallon and Wilson were co-selected as Man of the Year by The New Bedford Standard-Times.
—Nazbanoo Pahlavi (HNZ'03)

City Coucilwoman caught styrofoam-handed

City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel was caught by KTLA's news crew with a take out lunch in hand full of plastic and styrofoam - just after L.A. City Council has discussed the issue of banning such materials in an effort to curb excess waste and promote eco-friendly products. She was like a deer caught in headlights, but like any savvy politician, she blamed it on the lack of resources in place to promote eco-friendly alternatives. Really? Ever heard of bringing lunch from home in Pyrex or tupperware, Ms. Greuel?

Faithful blog readers will remember some months back when I "caught" Greuel speeding away from a Valley neighborhood council meeting in an SUV gas guzzler. Public transportation? Eco-friendly alternatives? Until politicans put in action what they preach, why should anyone else follow suit?

There is a serious chasm between eco-friendly lifestyles and styrofoam, plastic, private cars and other self-promoting tools by which we have grown accustomed to as a culture of personal convenience. I hear lots of eco-talk, but when I go to Peet's Coffee or Coffee Bean, I still see people buying coffee with disposable cups, rather than bringing their own reusable cups or thermos. Are people just too cheap to spend the $19.95 on a designer coffee cup?

Once politicans, celebrity "do-gooders" (cough, cough) and others start bridging the hole between what is convenient for them and what is sound for the community, we can not reconcile eco-friendly actions into our lifestyles.

School raises “green”-minded students

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

In this week's Sun Community Newspapers www.suncommunitynewspapers.com


Amongst the apartment buildings and Mexican restaurants that line Victory Boulevard just east of Woodman Avenue in Valley Glen, Laurence School stands out as an ecological haven.

Established in 1953 as a kindergarten through 6th grade co-educational school, the campus is filled with green spaces and flowers, miniature ecosystems and exotic plants.

Laurence has been involved in green education for 25 years, according to Lauren Wolke, Associate Head and Director of Admissions, but they have placed an even heavier emphasis on the subject since the school’s expansion in 2004. Now Laurence practices a “Go Global Go Green” motto in campus design, work ethic, and classroom curriculum.

In addition to the beautiful “greenscaping,” the expansion plans made an effort to incorporate green materials in building construction. The floor of the sports court, an outdoor basketball area, is made of recycled tires. Eco-friendly carpeting and non-toxic VOC paint were also used in the classrooms.

For Principal Gary Stern, it is important that students not only learn about conservation and environmental protection didactically in the classroom, but also through hands-on approaches as well.

“I think it’s probably the most timely and compelling issue,” Stern said. “The overarching goal of the program is for the children to develop an appreciation and an understanding of the importance of the beauty of preserving our natural resources and treasures, so that the planet they inherit can be one that can be self-sustaining.”

The administration encourages students to bring “zero-waste” lunches that include reusable utensils and napkins. Small incentives are also used to limit waste, such as a green flag on top of refuse cans when the garbage level is noticeably low.

Students are taught to compost non-dairy and non-meat items such as fruit peels from their lunches. They then use it to fertilize a student-run edible garden. The goal of the garden is to grow herbs, plants and flowers based on chosen themes, which are then sold at a farmer’s market in the spring.

“It shows them the full cycle of life and where foods come from and plants and products and they can see how the cycle goes back into the garden,” said Wolke.

Many students – some as young as six years old – also assume a specific responsibility according to their grade.

Josh, a 5th grade student in teacher Rochelle Robinson’s class, recalled his fourth grade duty. “When you came in to carpool they would collect extra bottles and cans you had,” he said. The fourth graders exchange their recyclables for cash to buy thesauruses and books for a disadvantaged school in the area.

Wolke and Stern shared their techniques at the Green Schools Summit that was held in Pasadena in December. They also strive to integrate their green initiative on the business end by reducing paper use and utilizing flash drives to share information.

“It’s a conscious effort,” Wolke stressed.

The school’s farmers market, which was held May 18, was managed by the 5th grade as their community service project and attended by Laurence School family and friends.

Robinson said she was pleasantly surprised that her students took to the selling aspect of the market, using math skills and even negotiation techniques when interacting with customers. “I think they’re enjoying it,” she said.

The funds raised from the sale were donated to TreePeople, a local environmental non-profit organization that helps plant trees in Los Angeles.

Stern said he was especially proud of a group of third graders who initiated their own “Eco-Team” to do more for the environment beyond the scope of the school’s program. The students held a bake sale and raised money to purchase a kumquat tree they then planted in the garden.

“They themselves are taking a leadership role outside of school in terms of protecting and preserving our environment,” he said.

The Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival June 1

Villaraigosa downplays gang crime spike at Valley VOTE

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

In this week's Sun Community Newspapers


Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke to Valley VOTE members and guests about public safety and education May 12 at Galpin Ford in North Hills.

Villaraigosa stressed the importance of listening to concerns unique to the Valley, which he said has “always felt like the weak sister or step-child in the family.”

“I try to be here, I try to be present, I try to be responsive,” he said.

The mayor said that although gang crime went up by 160 percent last year, that statistic should be viewed in perspective. “You got to understand what that meant. The numbers had been so small before that they went up – it wasn’t that we have now an epidemic necessarily,” he said.

Villaraigosa discussed cuts in the city’s anti-gang initiatives, an issue that he addressed in Canoga Park earlier that evening at the West Valley Family Guidance Center. As a result of two studies – one done over a six-month period by the Advancement Project, a self-described “innovative civil rights and policy action tank,” and another by City Controller Laura Chick – the city decided to reduce anti-gang initiatives and instead focus on “targeted areas to spend limited resources,” he said. A program in the West Valley was cut as a result of the initiative’s restructuring.

The mayor also discussed public education and his highly-publicized attempt to take over the Los Angeles Unified School District. As a result of his efforts and an ensuing lawsuit, Villaraigosa will have control over nine schools and about 18,000 students starting in July.

He said he aims to focus on integrating charter schools into the fold and cited the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, a non-profit charter management program with Richard Riordan as board chairman, as a model to emulate. Villaraigosa said he wants to “really show people what we can do if we have high expectations for kids – spend money locally, cut bureaucracy and really focus on achievement.”

Discussing the budget, Villaraigosa said roughly 767 positions – performed by 350 city employees – will be eliminated due to fiscal restraints. He is seeking six mandatory furlough days to offset the possibility of more cutbacks, although both labor unions and the Los Angeles city council oppose such temporary layoffs.

“One thing about me is that I’m not afraid to make a tough decision,” Villaraigosa said.

The mayor also touted the expansion of airport flyaway shuttles and the success of the Van Nuys airport service where travelers can check in their baggage and acquire boarding passes en route to the airport.

Run run Santa Monica

I am happy to report I successfully completed my first 10KM race today at the Santa Monica Classic in support of Heal the Bay. The course started around Barnard Way near Ocean Park and went through Main Street for a bit before heading onto Ocean Avenue and then up San Vicente to 11th street and then to the Pier. Since I am a local resident, I was familiar with the course, especially San Vicente, and had trained on the incline that was prevalent through much of the race.

Of course, about 5 minutes before 8AM (go time) I had stomach cramps and considered heading back home, kicking myself for not bringing my Alleve - but I persevered and once we got started, the energy of the crowd washed away any pains. I finished in about 1 hour.

Unhappily, there were hardly any cheerleaders along the beautiful course. I like running, but the lack of interaction between runners and no supporters on the sidelines can emphasize the super-singularity of the sport. Towards the end, I found myself cheering myself on, and then was happy to know that I wasn't alone. One participant actually said "Get your ass moving, you have 3/10 of a mile to go". She was talking to herself.

I encourage sports and running enthusiasts to attend races as cheerleaders. Bring your signs and cheer us on!

I did catch up with one of the runners who was in my pace range at the end of the race at the after party on the pier. She told me about a non-profit - check it out here www.climbinc.org

Happy running.

Grassroots campaigners sprout in the Valley

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

It’s the day before the Texas primary election, and a group of largely female volunteers are making last-minute phone calls at a Lake Balboa office used by Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Hitomi Heap-Baldwin, a volunteer from Tujunga, sounds like a seasoned campaigner on the phone. “Did you also know there is a caucus going on in the same day?” she asks a Texas voter. “Can I spend one minute telling you about it?”

This is Heap-Baldwin’s third day as a volunteer here. She is only 16 and a junior at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada.

Heap-Baldwin is one of many young activists involved this election season. For her, volunteering means making phone calls – even if that means skipping track practice. “I can’t just let someone else win if I’m interested in it. I have to do something about it,” she says.

Young adult professionals such as Burbank native Valerie Rothenberg, 26, are also active volunteers. Sen. Barack Obama inspired her involvement in his presidential campaign. “I think Obama especially inspires people to organize,” Rothenberg says. “He said, ‘this is your campaign, you can make a difference.’”

Her grassroots efforts started with 15 people in a friend’s Porter Ranch living room last spring, and grew from there. She was a precinct captain in her neighborhood, traveled to Nevada to campaign for Obama, and organized phone banking sessions at a North Hollywood park. Despite her dedication, Rothenberg, who is a freelance costume designer, has no intention of entering politics professionally.

Grassroots-level volunteers like Heap-Baldwin and Rothenberg are often the most effective agents for a candidate. Their active role is helpful with engaging voters who may be detached from the political process.

Bob Blumenfield, a democratic candidate for the 42nd Assembly District, believes that voters are more receptive to volunteer campaigners. “There’s a passion that’s there – not that paid staffers don’t have that passion; they do – but it’s undeniable as a volunteer,” he says.

Blumenfield has recruited high school volunteers from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys and Oakwood School in North Hollywood. He is planning another recruiting session at Van Nuys High School. He counts on the energy and enthusiasm that young people bring to his campaign.

Republican Tony Strickland also recognizes the importance of young volunteers. “It is extremely encouraging to see young people get involved in the political process at the grassroots level,” says the former Assembly member and current state senatorial candidate for Tom McClintock’s termed-out seat.

Some young activists simply have politics in their blood. Rothenberg’s father, Peter, is a coordinator for the Valley For Obama group and convened the Obama delegate caucus for Brad Sherman’s district in mid-April. Heap-Baldwin’s father, an Obama supporter, would clip news-related articles and hide them in her backpack.

Ashley Ingram, 22, was also raised in a politically active family in Burbank in the 1980s, when her parents volunteered for Ronald Reagan’s campaign. Ingram is a passionate young republican – one of a group that is not as easy to find in a largely democratic electorate like Los Angeles.

“It’s hard to come out of the republican closet, as I’d like to say, especially in the Valley,” says Ingram, who said she often felt singled-out in high school because of her conservative views.

Ingram is sharp and poised with an impressive grasp of California politics. She has already been a paid staffer on two campaigns, including her current position as Deputy Campaign Manager for Tony Strickland. She previously worked for the Rudy Giuliani campaign. She cites the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks and Giuliani’s role in the tragedy’s aftermath as factors fueling her desire to enter public service.



Many political activists refer to both September 11 and the Iraq War as the major events triggering political activism in teens and young adults. Damian Carroll, an experienced grassroots campaigner and current staffer for Assembly member Mike Feuer, says young people are more mobilized today than they were eight years ago, mainly because of those two events in addition to Hurricane Katrina.

“It brought people up to this idea that public service was important; that we had a character as a nation where we could pull together and make a difference,” Carroll says.

Cameron Silverberg, 14, is an 8th grade student at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, and a volunteer for the Obama campaign. “I just think Obama has the ability to really unify a divided country,” says Silverberg. “He has the unique ability to restore what’s broken about America right about now.”


He mentions the Iraq war and its affects on the economy as one of the main issues he cares about. The other is climate change. “He (Obama) really does understand the importance of dealing with it right now as opposed to leaving it to people like myself and my generation where we’d have to deal with it.”

Chad Jones is president of Valley Grassroots for Democracy, an organization that evolved out of a coming together of Valley-based Howard Dean and John Kerry supporters in 2005. At the time, Jones says they weren’t sure whether they wanted to create another democratic club in the Valley but then they realized something.

“If you’re trying to change the democratic party,” Jones says, “which was something we wanted to do – to make it more responsive to the grassroots - the reality is that we had to become part of the system and change it from within.”

He says that teenagers and young adults don’t join as members or participate in club activities as much as he would like. Those who are active are more likely to join the Young Democrats. “We do tend to skew older – 50 plus,” says Jones, who at 37, says he is one of the youngest members of the group.

For those young people who are disinterred in the presidential campaign, the Internet has served as this season’s power tool in reaching out and mobilizing them.

The online presence of Barack Obama has been a major asset in his courting of young voters. His personal page on the social networking site Facebook, for example, has nearly 770,000 supporters listed – about five times the number of supporters listed on the Hillary Clinton page.

“It’s not a top-heavy campaign,” says Carroll, 31, who ran as an Obama delegate in Brad Sherman’s congressional district. According to Carroll, the campaign has done so well on the grassroots level because they encouraged supporters to spread Obama’s message in a personal way. In response, supporters created videos, posted them on YouTube, and emailed them to each other – a tactic more effective than receiving an email directly from the campaign.

When Carroll first got involved in politics in 2003, he used the website Meetup.com to connect with fellow progressives. He recalls his first meeting at Dupars restaurant in Studio City, a gathering that eventually resulted in his involvement with the Howard Dean campaign.

The internet has also been important in strengthening Congressman Ron Paul’s popularity. Steven Vincent, a Studio City yoga instructor, used Meetup.com to organize Ron Paul supporters in Burbank and North Hollywood. He says one of his groups now has about 300 members.


Vincent does not look like a typical republican. On a recent day, he is wearing a neon yellow T-shirt with a Ron Paul slogan emblazoned across his chest. Although Vincent is in his 40s, he has a youthful energy that befits his political activism.

“If you had told me before March [of 2007] that I was going to register republican and campaign for a republican candidate, I would have told you that you were really crazy,” Vincent says. He mentions Paul’s “unrehearsed quality” and his Gandhi-inspired writings on peaceful non-intervention in foreign policy as traits that appealed to him.

Vincent represents a group of people not necessarily young in age, but new to grassroots politics. Grassroots work, such as phone banking or precinct walking, can be a catalyst for volunteers who continue stay active beyond their first political campaign.

Vincent, who jokingly admits he had always been a “lifelong member of the no-confidence party,” says he will continue his activist work despite Paul’s defunct bid for the presidency. He plans on participating in a grassroots distribution of Paul’s forthcoming book, The Revolution Manifesto. He also wrote an article on Paul for the February issue of LA Yoga magazine and plans on doing more writing. “It’s a movement; it’s not a political campaign,” he says.



Heap-Baldwin is also active in her community. She started her own website called Teensthinkgreen.com to promote eco-friendly lifestyle alternatives for teenagers.

For the young activist interested in a career in politics, grassroots training provides an invaluable foothold. Ingram’s training gave her experience no bachelor’s degree could replace. “We all had to pay our dues and put in our free pay and interning and getting beat up for a while, but it was completely worth it to do what we do now,” says Ingram.


Seasoned grassroots campaigners often tout the importance of passing on their training to the next generation to keep their political party or organization alive.

When Carroll first got involved in politics, the then-president of the Young Democrats of the San Fernando Valley encouraged him to get involved in local groups. Carroll ultimately became president of Young Democrats and now remains on the executive board as communications director.

“I don’t feel representative so much anymore,” Carroll says. “I’m looking to find who are the young people in our club who are up and coming – who are ready to take on more of that leadership.”

Since he first joined in 2003, the club’s membership has increased from roughly 40 to 300 members. Their budget also reflects that growth.

Ingram says college republican groups often fall apart when a president or a core group graduates. She made sure that the club she founded at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita had stable leadership before she left.

For Blumenfield, there is an innate sense of duty to mentor and recruit young people.

“I got involved in politics when I was very young,” he says. “You know, it changed my life in many ways – and I want to help other people have a similar experience.”

Children's Art Project of Marrakech

Sponsored by
ONCE UPON A TIME ON PLANET EARTH

I received this email today from Ron Modro, an American friend who lives between Paris and Morocco. He is in the process of creating many collaborative and globally-focused projects included this one focused on artwork and the children of Marrakech.
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The traditional arts and crafts of every country tell a unique and powerful story of the culture that created them. When those arts and crafts are lost, a large part of the culture is lost as well. Therefore, it is with great enthusiasm that we announce the creation of THE CHILDREN'S ART PROJECT OF MARRAKECH, to encourage and promote the traditional arts and crafts of Morocco, as part of the ONCE UPON A TIME ON PLANET EARTH mission to create positive change through education and dialogue.

There are many children in the villages and communities around Marrakech that come from disadvantaged families with little money, and are unable to buy even the most basic school supplies. Some parents are barely able to make a living, while the richest families send their children to private schools.

THE CHILDREN'S ART PROJECT of MARRAKECH will soon begin accepting donations of ART SUPPLIES (i.e. paint sets, drawing paper, easels, colored pencils, coloring books, crayons, paint brushes, etc. No monetary donations can be accepted...yet).

The project will sponsor ART CONTESTS in local schools for the promotion of cultural and educational activities, designed to help students adjust to the world of technology and globalization, while maintaining and sharing their own culture with the rest of the world.

Each participating school will host an art contest and choose the top 10 submissions for the final round of competition. The winner of the competition will be awarded New Art Supplies to encourage and promote their interest in the traditional arts of Morocco. The finalists and the winner of each contest will be photographed along with their submitted artwork, and then displayed on my web-space ( http://solitashouse.spaces.live.com ) for people around the world to see. Through this project we will hopefully encourage the students to become interested in pursuing a career in the traditional arts of Morocco, and to share their incredible culture with the world.

THE CHILDREN'S ART PROJECT of MARRAKECH will also be accepting donations of school supplies (i.e. writing paper, pencils, pens, chalk, etc. everything you would buy a child for the first day of school), to be distributed to the schools of disadvantaged communities in and around the City of Marrakech. For more information on where to send your gifts, please write to ronmodro@littlebookofman.org

Please feel free to forward this announcement to your friends and colleagues.

Peace,
Ron Modro
(Founder)
ONCE UPON A TIME ON PLANET EARTH
http://www.littlebookofman.org

Dare not to drive

It's Earth Day. Take the bus, ride your bike or walk to work. Go ahead, I dare you.

David & Layla screening at Noor Film Festival

The film David & Layla will be presented at the closing event for the 2nd Annual Noor Film Festival. The film starts at 6:30PM and will be screened at the Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills. For more information, go to http://www.noorfilmfestival.com/films.html#DandL

The candidates take a stand on US presidential boycott of Beijing games

Although I think that the Olympics should be focused on athletics instead of political demonstrations, I am reminded of the Berlin Games in 1936. If anyone had taken a stand against Hitler, we can only fantasize how history may have unfolded differently. I think that in hindsight, the US would be foolish to say they did the right thing in participating in Berlin. In life, we can't always departmentalize different areas when politics is so often infused in everything we do.

Hillary Clinton is advocating that Bush take a presidential stand and not attend the opening ceremony in Beijing because of China's rocky relationship with Tibet and the country's support of the Sudanese government.

Obama has said he is of "two minds" on this subject. This may just be a convenient way for him to not piss anyone off.

I can see the pros and cons of Hillary making this statement. I am impressed that she takes such stands, because it shows she is not of "two minds" and will make bold and resolute choices. In such a position of authority, the president has to make difficult decisions.

This issue of the president's boycott of the opening ceremony will not affect US domestic policy or many issues such as the economy or healthcare that make us worry.

But if Obama can't make up his mind on something relatively insignificant, I question how he will act when it comes to serious US concerns.

For my part, as much as I want the Olympics to focus on the hard-working athletes, we're kidding ourselves if we think the this is some kind of lovefest where political activity has no part. It's a competition! And if there's nothing wrong with athletic competition, there's nothing wrong with peaceful political competition that opens dialogue on important world-wide issues.

If you think about it, it's really the best opportunity for it.

Zine criticizes proposed DWP and trash fee increases

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

In the week's Sun Community Newspapers

Los Angeles City Councilmember Dennis Zine (3rd District) and Board of Public Works Commissioner Ernesto Cardenas spoke at the Valley Vote meeting held in Van Nuys last month.

Zine candidly addressed what he sees as flaws in our city works structure.

“We know that our system’s collapsing, the infrastructure is very, very old,” he said on the need to upgrade the city’s aging water system.

Zine said he does not currently support a rate increase until measures are taken to provide dedicated oversight to ensure DWP money is not transferred into the general fund to cover the city’s current $37.7 million deficit – a shortfall that will swell to a staggering $460 million starting in July for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Zine is also critical of the suggested trash fee increase to $38. He said that in the last few years it was increased from $11 to $26 to free up general fund money to hire more police officers, but since the money has been “diverted,” proponents want to increase it again because the general fund is in a deficit. Zine said that other cities pay $38, so it’s easy to accept this increase.

Zine said he wants to be honest with voters that the money is going to be used for what they say it will be used for. “We have to be candid with the people who vote,’” he stated.

According to Zine, Los Angeles’ budget crisis is in line with the nation’s economic downturn and he predicts a hiring freeze for the city in addition to layoffs if city employees don’t accept a reduction in their compensation packages.

Board of Public Works Commissioner Ernesto Cardenas, who was appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa to the position last year, discussed the importance of street services and how his experience as an engineer in the private sector at AT&T relates to his current position.

“If you don’t put your money into maintaining your infrastructure, it’s not going to last too long,” said Cardenas, referring to the 6500 miles of streets in the city. He said that 1000 of those miles are in “failed condition” and gave an overall grade of “C-“ to Los Angeles surface streets.

Cardenas further spoke about the city’s purchase of a “cold-in-place” asphalt recycling machine (which the City secured from a German company for roughly $2 million) to conduct street improvements more quickly and efficiently. It recycles old gravel on the spot, canceling the need to dispose of old gravel at a waste dump before laying down new layers. He said that the city has recouped the money in one year, but a lack in funds prevents further purchase of an additional machine.

L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich will be the featured speaker at the Valley Vote April 21 meeting held at the Galpin Ford dealership in Van Nuys. For further info, www.valleyvote.org

Rapists in the ranks

Sexual assaults are frequent, and frequently ignored, in the armed services.
By Congresswoman Jane Harman
March 31, 2008
PUBLISHED IN LA TIMES

The stories are shocking in their simplicity and brutality: A female military recruit is pinned down at knifepoint and raped repeatedly in her own barracks. Her attackers hid their faces but she identified them by their uniforms; they were her fellow soldiers. During a routine gynecological exam, a female soldier is attacked and raped by her military physician. Yet another young soldier, still adapting to life in a war zone, is raped by her commanding officer. Afraid for her standing in her unit, she feels she has nowhere to turn.

These are true stories, and, sadly, not isolated incidents. Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.

The scope of the problem was brought into acute focus for me during a visit to the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center, where I met with female veterans and their doctors. My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41% of female veterans seen at the clinic say they were victims of sexual assault while in the military, and 29% report being raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and the downward spirals many of their lives have since taken.

Numbers reported by the Department of Defense show a sickening pattern. In 2006, 2,947 sexual assaults were reported -- 73% more than in 2004. The DOD's newest report, released this month, indicates that 2,688 reports were made in 2007, but a recent shift from calendar-year reporting to fiscal-year reporting makes comparisons with data from previous years much more difficult.

The Defense Department has made some efforts to manage this epidemic -- most notably in 2005, after the media received anonymous e-mail messages about sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy. The media scrutiny and congressional attention that followed led the DOD to create the Sexual Assault and Response Office. Since its inception, the office has initiated education and training programs, which have improved the reporting of cases of rapes and other sexual assaults. But more must be done to prevent attacks and to increase accountability.

At the heart of this crisis is an apparent inability or unwillingness to prosecute rapists in the ranks. According to DOD statistics, only 181 out of 2,212 subjects investigated for sexual assault in 2007, including 1,259 reports of rape, were referred to courts-martial, the equivalent of a criminal prosecution in the military. Another 218 were handled via nonpunitive administrative action or discharge, and 201 subjects were disciplined through "nonjudicial punishment," which means they may have been confined to quarters, assigned extra duty or received a similar slap on the wrist. In nearly half of the cases investigated, the chain of command took no action; more than a third of the time, that was because of "insufficient evidence."

This is in stark contrast to the civilian trend of prosecuting sexual assault. In California, for example, 44% of reported rapes result in arrests, and 64% of those who are arrested are prosecuted, according to the California Department of Justice.

The DOD must close this gap and remove the obstacles to effective investigation and prosecution. Failure to do so produces two harmful consequences: It deters victims from reporting, and it fails to deter offenders. The absence of rigorous prosecution perpetuates a culture tolerant of sexual assault -- an attitude that says "boys will be boys."

I have raised the issue with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Although I believe that he is concerned, thus far, the military's response has been underwhelming -- and the apparent lack of urgency is inexcusable.

Congress is not doing much better. Although these sexual assault statistics are readily available, our oversight has failed to come to grips with the magnitude of the crisis. The abhorrent and graphic nature of the reports may make people uncomfortable, but that is no excuse for inaction. Congressional hearings are urgently needed to highlight the failure of existing policies. Most of our servicewomen and men are patriotic, courageous and hardworking people who embody the best of what it means to be an American. The failure to address military sexual assault runs counter to those ideals and shames us all.

Jane Harman (D-Venice) chairs the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence.

Clinton's lost face time

Our culture's double standard on appearance puts her at a disadvantage.
By Michael Kinsley
March 27, 2008 Taken from LA TIMES

The conversation was about how tiring it must be to run for president, and someone -- a woman -- said that, on top of everything else, Hillary Clinton has to spend an hour and a half getting ready for each day's campaigning.

She didn't mean that Clinton was studying her notes or making sure she knows the name of the mayor of McKeesport, Pa. She meant that the candidate was doing her hair, putting on makeup, deciding what to wear or at least thinking about it even if she has someone to decide for her. And so on. Other women thought an hour and a half seemed longer than necessary, but the bottom offer was 40 minutes. And that's just in the morning. Shorter versions of the morning ritual go on throughout the day.

And how long does it take Barack Obama or even John McCain with his war injuries to shower, shave and put on one of a dozen identical dark blue suits, a white shirt and a red tie? Let's not be completely naive and posit that these men also take a dab of makeup here and there. So let's say 20 minutes.

Any man who has twiddled his thumbs waiting for his wife or opposite-sex partner to get ready to go out should not have been surprised by this. But all the men in this particular conversation were taken aback -- and so were the women, as the reality sunk in. Every day for almost two years, the candidates campaign. The average day is probably 15 to 20 hours. The average amount of sleep could be four hours. Yet, every day, the male candidates can sleep an extra precious half-hour or more -- or spend the time cramming for the day -- simply because our culture doesn't impose the same rules on them about their appearance.

And these really are rules. Sure, there are women who take no more trouble about their appearance than most men do, and men who take more than the typical woman. But a middle-aged woman who is the first of her sex to make a serious run for the presidency is not going to be a pioneer in indifference to looks. One revolution at a time. She has got to look put together, all day, every day.

Clinton doesn't seem especially vain about looks, whereas Obama has dropped hints that he may well be. Nevertheless, if it ever came out that Obama was spending an hour primping every morning, it would hurt him, not help him. Whereas if Clinton were known to spend an hour dressing and primping, no one would be surprised. And if she looked as if she had spent much less than that, it would hurt her.

A year ago, the big dinner-table question was whether it is a bigger disadvantage in running for president to be an African American or a woman. It seemed for a while as if neither one was a particular disadvantage. In fact, the prize for biggest burden of prejudice to be lugging around the primaries went to Mitt Romney for being a Mormon. Cautiously, we were starting to congratulate ourselves on having moved beyond race and sex. Then came the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and Geraldine Ferraro, and we were plunged into a "conversation about race." Ferraro said that Obama's race might actually be an advantage.

This is implausible. But let's go back to gender: What about his advantage in being a man? And I don't mean anything fancy and psychological. I don't even mean the double standard that allows the media to report on how a female candidate dresses while ignoring this crucial issue regarding male candidates. We'll get past that some day.

But even then, it will take a female candidate longer to get ready to campaign than it will take a man. In most occupations, this 20 minutes doesn't make much difference -- especially compared with the disproportionate time that women still spend housekeeping and child-rearing. Of course, after the election, no one will care if the president is well-coiffed when answering that 3 a.m. phone call. But in a close-fought election campaign, every minute counts. If you figure 20 minutes a day over a year and a half of 14-hour days and six-day weeks, it comes out to an extra two weeks of campaigning or sleep for a male candidate.

This issue goes back to the early days of "women's lib," of course, when opponents of the movement talked about "bra burners" and made crude jokes about unshaved legs. It was considered an advance when it became established that a woman could dress like a woman and still be a business executive or lawyer. And Hillary Clinton, even if she loses, has established beyond all doubt that a woman can be a credible candidate for president. But she'll have to be one who needs even less sleep than her opponent.

Michael Kinsley, a contributing editor to Opinion, is The Times' former editorial page editor. He is also former editor of the New Republic, Slate and Harper's.

McCain in California

John McCain is campaigning in California with 6 events scheduled in the next few days. I just checked out his website to see what events are open to the public, and unless I am willing to spend $2300 on a preferred ticket, or $1000 just plain unpreferred, to see the "presumptive"(anyone else sick of that word?) republican candidate speak, I'm out of luck. It looks like all of the advertised events are either private ones or fundraisers.

Let's hope that changes and that he will campaign in a democratic way to inform all voters, not just the rich or party-connected ones, about his platform. This is what I so appreciated about Hillary Clinton. She had three appearances in three weeks all at venues open to the public. John Edwards also had one. As well as Mitt Romney. I hope that trend will continue, since it is the only opportunity for some of us to really learn about the candidates.

Here's McCain's California schedule:

http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Calendar/

03/24/2008
La Jolla Finance Luncheon
La Jolla, California

03/24/2008
California Finance Reception, Palm Desert
Palm Desert, CA

03/25/2008
Orange County Fundraising Luncheon
Newport Beach, California

03/25/2008
Los Angeles Finance Reception
Los Angeles, California

03/26/2008
Speech before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council
Los Angeles, California

03/26/2008
Pebble Beach Finance Luncheon
Pebble Beach, CA, Finance Lunch

03/26/2008
San Francisco Finance Reception
San Francisco, CA

Shoddy news spellcheckers

So last week while the Las Lomas project downfall was covered on the news, I noticed that two separate mainstream TV channels kept misspelling Councilman Greig Smith's name. He was one of the vocal city councilmember's who opposed the large-scale development project. I started to think that I may have had it wrong. But no. I know the spelling of his name because I'm a frequent visitor to the City's website and keep abreast of what's going on in the city. I'm disappointed that Los Angeles city news outlets don't even know the correct spelling of the elected officials. And I'm the one without a full-time job.

Festival of Solo Women at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood

Why Wright is wrong for Obama - JONAH GOLDBERG

Taken from today's Los Angeles Times OP-ED

The candidate's message of unity is suspect if he doesn't divorce himself from the controversial pastor.
March 18, 2008

Barack Obama will reportedly give a major speech this morning at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, addressing the controversy about his extremist pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

Obama needs to do two things. First, he needs to make it incandescently clear that Wright doesn't speak for him in any meaningful way. If he won't do that, his campaign is a fraud and he is not qualified to be president.

Second, he needs to explain to black America why Wright's views are so poisonous.

By now, if you've paid any attention at all, you've read the quotes and seen the video clips of Wright at the pulpit. A supporter of Louis Farrakhan, Wright has echoed his view that the U.S. government created AIDS to perpetrate a black genocide. He suggested that America had it coming on 9/11.

His most infamous from-the-pulpit sound bite -- at least to date -- is this from a 2003 sermon: "The government gives [blacks] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America!"

Obama and his surrogates are denouncing attempts to link the candidate and the views of his pastor and mentor. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) on "Fox News Sunday," for instance, said, "Guilt by association is not typically American. We've all been around in places where people have given speeches or said things that we've thoroughly objected to, totally objected to."

OK. But even Obama didn't spin it that way. More implausibly, Obama claimed that he'd never heard his mentor say anything of the sort, in public or private.

Obama has been a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years. Wright baptized Obama's daughters; he officiated at Obama's wedding. The title of Obama's career-making book "The Audacity of Hope" is from a Wright sermon. Wright worked with Obama as a community organizer. Saying you were out back catching a smoke during one sermon or another won't cut it. The issue isn't what Obama sat through, but what he stands for.

Even Wright's tone is poisonous.

Obama righteously deplores "divisiveness." And yet he literally worships at the altar of division. He wants to transcend race, but his black nationalist church and his liberation theology pastor consider race permanent and central issues.

Obama claims that he's a different kind of politician, but his "repudiation" of Wright last week is traditional pol-speak and nothing more. To listen to Obama, you'd think he was the only person in Chicago not to know that his minister is a hatemonger. Either Obama is the worst judge of character in living memory or he's not the man he's been portraying himself as.

Or there's a third option. Perhaps Obama didn't hear Wright's bilious rhetoric because it blended in with the chorus around him. This is the fact that Obama really needs to address if the "Obama movement" is about more than getting the junior senator from Illinois elected.

What does it say that Trinity United Church is the most popular in Obama's old state Senate district, with a membership of 8,500? One of Wright's flock responded to the controversy by telling ABC News, "I wouldn't call [Wright's theology] radical. I call it being black in America." NPR's Michelle Norris explained on "Meet the Press" that Wright's tone, at least, is "not something that is unusual" in black churches.

A Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 29% of blacks surveyed said Wright's comments made them more likely to support Obama, while only 18% said the opposite, and half said Wright's comments would have no effect on them.

That is a symptom of a problem that platitudinous "hope" cannot alone remedy.

A 2005 study by the Rand Corp. and the University of Oregon found that nearly half of African Americans say they believe that HIV is man-made. More than 25% think that it's a government invention, and one in eight say it was created and spread by the CIA. Just over half believe that the government is purposely keeping a cure from reaching the poor.

And please, spare me the rationalization that blacks have reason to be conspiratorial. Doubtless there's truth to that. But that doesn't make the conspiracy theories any more true or any less destructive.

In the 2005 issue of Social Science Quarterly, Sharon Parsons and William Simmons tried to explain why conspiracy theories like these persist in the black community. Part of the answer, they concluded, is that black politicians have no interest in dispelling them. Paging Sen. Obama!

Obama preaches unity. Well, real unity requires real truth-telling and the ability to tell right from wrong, and Wright from right.

I, for one, have no interest in being united with Wright or anyone who insists that America is an evil, racist, damnable nation bent on murdering black people -- and I suspect neither will many general election voters.

Obama's power base is made up of black voters and the upscale left-wingers who condescend to them. Well, it is time he spoke truth to that power. If the eloquent, self-proclaimed truth-teller and would-be first black president can't manage that, he should go straight from would-be to never was.

jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com

Won't you wear a sweater?

I got this email today:

In honor of what would have been Fred Rogers' 80th birthday this Thursday March 20th, Family Communications, the non-profit which he founded, is asking everyone to wear their favorite sweater in tribute to Mr. Rogers' faith in community and togetherness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVeyLr2fGNA

David Newell, who played "Mr. McFeely" the mailman on The Neighborhood and the Public Relations Director of Family Communications, says the following:

"We're asking everyone everywhere — from Pittsburgh to Paris — to wear their favorite sweater on that day... It doesn't have to have a zipper down the front like the one Mister Rogers wore on the program, it just has to be special to you." You can find out more information at the FCI link below:

http://www.fci.org/NeighborDays/sweater.asp

Please share this with your friends and neighbors.

DP/SFV endorses picks for state elections

by Nazbanoo Pahlavi

This week's Sun Community Newspapers www.suncommunitynewspapers.com

The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DP/SFV) drew a large turnout for its executive board meeting at the State Building Auditorium in Van Nuys on March 3.

Fifty-nine voting members representing 22 democratic clubs decided whether to approve the endorsement calendar set forth by the endorsement committee for the California state ballot in June.

Several candidates were present, including 40th Assembly District hopefuls Stuart Waldman, Bob Blumenfield and Laurette Healy. Assembly member Lloyd Levine, who is running for State Senator Sheila Kuehl’s seat in the 23rd district, was also present, as well as Carole Lutness, a candidate in Santa Clarita’s 38th district.

The group voted to pull both Waldman and Levine for further discussion. Recording Secretary Damian Carroll cited Waldman’s longtime involvement with DP/SFV, opposition to the Iraq war and support of independent re-districting as items in his favor.

“There’s a difference between a candidate who has been with the grassroots for a decade and a half and a candidate – a very nice candidate – who frankly introduced himself to us maybe within the last year,” said Carroll.

Bob Blumenfield, an opponent of Waldman’s who is a District Director for Congressman Howard Berman, has already picked up several key endorsements including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Those who spoke against Waldman’s endorsement said it would split the DP/SFV body. “I think for the good of DP/SFV, the best thing we can do is do no endorsement at all,” said Roz Teller.

The motion to endorse Waldman was upheld with a 42-15 vote.

The endorsement of Assembly member Lloyd Levine inspired pointed discussion between his supporters and those of former Assembly member Fran Pavley. “Fran has not been around DP/SFV,” criticized Lyn Klein.
Outspoken opponents to the Levine endorsement were the presidents of the Malibu and Pacific Palisades Democratic Clubs, who cited Pavley’s environmental protection forays as key items in her favor. Levine’s endorsement was upheld with a 42-12 vote.

Eric Bauman, Chair of the Los Angeles County Central Committee of the California Democratic Party, gave an update on the “double bubble” from the February 5 primary election, in which independent and decline-to-state voters needed to punch in a separate bubble when casting Democratic Party ballots.

Bauman said 47,000 additional ballots were counted, with Sen. Hillary Clinton winning 50.1 percent of those votes to Sen. Barack Obama’s 42 percent. Asked whether the results would affect the state’s primary outcome, he said, “We’re checking it out on a congressional district level – it doesn’t look like it.”

Ilene Haber, who will run the national DP/SFV campaign office this fall, stressed the importance of voting in the November general election.

“We have been given a sacred responsibility, and that is not just to represent the top of the democratic ticket, but that is to represent the entire state of California and to run a red-to-blue campaign like this country has never seen,” Haber said.

Members will attend the California Democratic Party Convention in San Jose at the end of March where DP/SFV will vote on the party’s final platform.

Obama and Schwarzenegger - The artful dodgers

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep conducted an excellent interview of Senator Obama that airs on NPR today in which he presses on the issue of Michigan and Florida. After Michigan's vote, I remember Obama's comments that Michigan's vote should not be counted, and yet on the program today, he says that he has "constantly" wanted those delegates seated. Really? Because that is not what he said 5 weeks ago. In fact, his tone was pretty unwavering when it came to this. Steve Inskeep asked three, yup, three times whether he would support a re-do. He asked three times because the Senator kept dodging the question. Oh, politicians are such artful dodgers aren’t they?

Listen, what the Democratic Party decided on Michigan and Florida is a moot point- why? Because sometimes it is OK, even noble, to break the rules to bring about real change. I don't agree with those who say rules are rules (rules that, according to Obama, even his six year old could have followed) when those bureaucratic decisions superimpose the voting rights of ordinary people. Are you kidding me? And now, Obama complains that those states don't want to pay for it and that's a reason a do-over should not happen.

Shame on politicians for citing money as a factor in allowing the disenfranchisement of Michigan and Florida voters. This is not a Clinton or Obama thing. This is about those voters and Obama should be fighting to get those voters' voices heard. Now, that would be impressive. That would signify that sometimes achieving change means not following rules - especially when those statues are meant to get states like Iowa and New Hampshire extra exposure.

Hopefully, this political squabbling will soon find it's own detente.

In the meantime, I hope that the media will spare some extra coverage on California's atrocious budget crisis. Teachers have already been laid off . One of my classmates in my weekly Shakespeare class who has been teaching for 20 years, got her slip yesterday. She says that 40 are expected to be laid off in the Beverly Hills Unified District alone which includes only one high school and 5 elementary/junior high schools. I am furious that Governor Schwarzenegger cut the education budget - but then again he is a politican (who better than an actor!) who knows how to spin his words - like when he masterfully dodged accusations of his fuel pollution commuting via private jet almost nightly from his home in Brentwood to the office in Sacramento, because he wants to spend more time with his family (what, the state capital isn't good enough for them?). And I am frustrated that California voters opted against the telephone utilities tax to provide a source of funds for public bodies like firefighters and police officers. When it comes to education - we need to get on the money. When it comes to police and firefighters, we need to get on the money - when it comes to individual voters' rights, we need to get on the money. It's a no-brainer.

Uploaded Clips - Mystical Turkey

Please note that I have uploaded the clips for all my recent articles, including "Exploring mystical Turkey" which looks really beautiful with all the colorful photographs in the copy. Check it out under the Recently Published Articles to your right.

L.A. Women Theatre's Multicultural Festival of Solo Women

What makes Los Angeles great...

I finally did it. I rode on the Los Angeles subway. Actually, I took the Orange Line from Reseda, changed to subway at the North Hollywood station, made one stop, and arrived at the Convention Center. As a participant in the L.A. Marathon, I needed to get to the Convention Center on Saturday to pick up my bib and bag - an obvious ploy to get me to the health expo which was an advertising maze masked behind the impression of healthy living. Since I have written about public transit and since I have lived in Los Angeles for the vast majority of my life, it was time to take L.A. public transit. Sure, I've done the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, but this is different.

First of all, the Orange Line is darling. It's clean, it's monitored so that riders are aware of how long their wait is, and it is a necessary line for the Valley. The buses were well-stocked with riders, and the recent news that the line will extend from Warner Center to Chatsworth is great. The Valley deserves good public transit.

It took me about 30 minutes to get from the Reseda station to the rainbow-colored North Hollywood Station. We were like an exodus of people leaving the Metro bus, crossing the street, and entering the huge shell of the NoHo stop structure. I dug running down the deep staircase. It reminded me of running down the stairs at the BART stations up north, or the metro stations in Paris. There is something about subways that I really love and that reflects the rush and community of urban living. I was very impressed with my L.A. experience. The subway directions were very clearly labelled, and the trains were quick. I took the train from NoHo to the Metro Center downtown where I changed to the San Pedro line for one stop, and got off in front of the Convention Center.

All in all, the trip took one hour there, and one hour back. It was a bit long, but so is Los Angeles!

So Sunday was the Los Angeles Marathon. For any longtime blog readers, you know that I had a post a couple of years ago where I criticized races where participants claim they run for someone else or for charity. Since I have become a runner and have started participating in races, I have become a cheerleader for runners.

I participated in the 5K race that started at 7:15AM on Figueroa close to the Coliseum. I completed *just* under 30 minutes and hope to really work on my time for the 10K I signed up for in May. My favorite part of races is what happens afterwards (no, not just the free snacks and fruit). I hung out for the next few hours, listening to the great band, talking to people, and then cheering on the marathoners between mile 13-14. I was blown away by the handicap and wheelchair racers who peddled with the strength of their arms and the will of their spirit.

I also saw 2 Zorros, 1 green man, 2 barefoot runners, 1 bikini wearer, Jonny Lee Miller, and 1 "Coat Man" with a waiter's tray in his hands. I sat in between the Coliseum and Natural History Museum next to the nicest couple who had a cooler in tow ready to provide sustenance to their friends who were running. For any Angelenos, I encourage you to mark your calendars now for next year, make some signs, get your friends together and prepare to celebrate Los Angeles by rooting for the marathon runners. It is a great event for the city and a wonderful community experience. Who knows? Maybe I'll participate in the 26.2 mile race next time. And......take public transit to get there.

Forever Stamp

I just learned that the US postage stamp with the liberty bell is known as the "forever stamp" - meaning that no matter what the price increase from now to 2028 and beyond, this stamp will always be valid for the basic first class rate of a letter weighing less than one ounce. This stamp was issued in 2007. So stock up on forever stamps and know that even though they don't say how much they are worth, they will forever be worth it.

Author explores Jewish-Cuban population

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI in this week's www.suncommunitynewspapers.com

I was already familiar with the term “Jewban,” the catchy moniker meant for people of both Jewish and Cuban origin. But at a February 12 book signing at Barnes and Noble in Encino, I discovered that this term reflects a specific community that lives in Miami and represents a sort of bridge between the Jews of South Beach and the Cubans of Havana.

Cultural anthropologist Ruth Behar has put together a collection of stories and photographs documenting the small population of Jews in Cuba in her new book, An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba, published by Rutgers University Press.

Jewish origins on the island go back to the turn of the twentieth century when small numbers of Americans migrated there, soon followed by an influx of Sephardic Turks and later Ashkenazi Jews from Poland and Russia. Strict immigration quotas in the 1920s had forced many aspiring to live in the United States to settle in Cuba instead.

Luckily, Behar said, many fell in love with their life in the tropics and established a strong presence by building synagogues, community centers, businesses, and planning a future on this unlikely island home. In the 1950s, the population of Jews in Cuba grew to about 15,000.

Behar’s interest in this unusual group is not purely anthropological, but also deeply personal – Behar, who is of both Turkish and Polish Jewish decent, was born and raised in Cuba until the age of four, when the Castro regime convinced her family to emigrate. During that time, she said, the Jewish community experienced a sort of exodus, with about 90 percent opting to leave, mostly for the U.S.

“Jews didn’t leave because they were Jews. They left because they were Cuban,” Behar stressed to her audience. The majority left their homes because of the nationalization of property, including small, Jewish-owned mom and pop stores, and a general dislike for working for the new government. Currently, the Jewish population in Cuba is about 1,000.

Behar, who moved with her family to New York, spoke Spanish at home and experienced a melding of her unique cultures growing up as an American. “We celebrated Passover, and then the next week we would go and eat at a Cuban restaurant,” she said.

Behar recalled her early inability to relate with other Jewish Cubans, especially those in Miami, because many had no intention of returning to Cuba. Behar, on the other hand, yearned to go back and was even discouraged by her own family – “that chapter of our diasporic wondering is over,” she remembered hearing.

This set her off on a “spiritual journey” where she began making regular trips to Cuba through the 1990s. The personal relationships she created there and the stories she heard became the source of An Island Called Home.

Ruth Behar is a longtime Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and recipient of several grants including the MacArthur Foundation genius fellowship and Fulbright award. She received Ph.D. from Princeton University, and is currently a visiting distinguished professor at the University of Miami.

Yaroslavsky slams density bonus law at Valley VOTE

BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI in this week's www.suncommunitynewspapers.com

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky addressed land use and the state density bonus law SB 1818 at Valley VOTE’s (Voters Organized Toward Empowerment) February 21 meeting in Van Nuys.

Yaroslavsky criticized the Los Angeles City Council for failing to fully discuss controversial issues before voting to adopt the law, calling SB 1818 the first step toward reversing several important planning restrictions enacted in the 1980s and 90s. These include Proposition U, which Yaroslavsky helped pass in 1986, aiming to tighten the reigns on property developers.

“In the absence of people speaking out to their elected officials, the elected officials will do what comes naturally – and they go to meet business,” Yaroslavsky said.

SB 1818 was passed as a state law in 2004 entitling developers to obtain density bonuses if their proposed projects include at least five percent affordable housing. Such bonuses, or what Yaroslavsky terms “exceedences,” include increased height, a smaller number of required parking spaces, and side yard and rear yard set-back reductions.

The definition of affordable housing is determined by a federally devised schema based on very low, low and moderate percentages of the median annual household income, in addition to senior citizen housing.

Yaroslavsky noted that rent-controlled units could be demolished to build high-end condominiums, forcing out residents unable to afford a new home. This was the situation in a West Los Angeles building he cited whose so-called affordable units were priced around $500,000.

Although Yaroslavsky said he supports high-density projects along public transit lines, this ordinance would affect single family home neighborhoods by clogging up street parking, allowing large, multi-family projects, and discouraging eco-friendly home improvements such as the installation of solar panes – which would be made ineffective due to shadows cast by tall buildings.

The Supervisor said only two entities have the power to refute the bonuses awarded by the planning office – the developer himself and “the sucker who has to live next door.”

He called the City Planning Department, headed by Gail Goldberg, a “new regime” caving in to the pro-growth platform of the mayor and City Hall.

Yaroslavsky urged neighborhood organizations to speak up to counter developers and their attorneys, who have been vocal at city council meetings.

“They’ve used this as a pretext to promote greater density, greater height, all under the guise of affordable housing. It’s a bad ordinance. It’s a bad law,” he said.

Also at the meeting, Valley VOTE member George Truesdell addressed plans for Los Angeles city clerk Frank Martinez to take over the monitoring of neighborhood council elections.

Update

In case you are looking, the jpgs for a couple of my recent articles are not yet uploaded, but are on their way. I will also have articles coming out in a few days, so look out for those too!

Don't be quick to count out a Clinton

By NANCY BENAC, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON - History shows the folly of counting out a Clinton.

If Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign is looking more and more like the Titanic, she may yet prove to be the unsinkable Molly Brown.

Ask Mike McCurry about the Clintons' resilience. McCurry worked for Bob Kerrey, one of Bill Clinton's chief rivals in the 1992 presidential campaign. He remembers the day details broke about Clinton's efforts to avoid the Vietnam draft, just weeks after allegations had surfaced of an affair with Gennifer Flowers.

"He's toast," McCurry told co-workers on the Kerrey campaign. "He's never going to survive this." McCurry went on to become Clinton's chief White House spokesman.

Hillary Clinton was a huge factor in her husband's 1992 victory — and in any number of other recoveries during his agony-and-ecstasy political career. Now, she's the one attempting to rebound from 11 straight primary and caucus losses to Barack Obama.

Obama is well aware of the Clintons' supersized survival instincts. Aides say privately that's one reason the Illinois senator has continued to go after her so directly rather than adopting a traditional front-runner's strategy of ignoring his rival.

"I'd hold the obituary" for Clinton, says David Gergen, who served as an adviser to four presidents, including Bill Clinton. "She, like he, has enormous inner reserves upon which to draw. That's why, no matter what else happens, you can't discount the possibility that she's going to bounce back."

She's already done it once this year, pulling off an upset in New Hampshire after taking a shellacking in the leadoff Iowa caucuses.

"We're going to keep pushing as hard as we can," she promised after placing third in Iowa. She's been saying much the same thing as she fights for victories in Texas and Ohio next week to revive her candidacy.

Trite as that may sound, it's part of the secret to the Clintons' success.

"They never say die," said Mary Matalin, who served as deputy campaign manager of the unsuccessful Bush re-election campaign in 1992. "In all the years I've been watching them, it never occurs to them to throw in the towel. There's no 'What's my graceful exit strategy?' They don't have that gene."

Democratic strategist Jennifer Palmieri, an eight-year veteran of the Clinton White House, sees the same mettle.

"They take a very long view of things, and they expect to win," said Palmieri. "It's something that not enough people perhaps on the Democratic side do — expect to win."

The notion of a former first lady running for a Senate seat from a state in which she had no political connections was written off at first, but now Clinton is in her second term holding the New York Senate seat once occupied by Robert F. Kennedy.

The Clintons' boom-and-bust cycle began long before they arrived on the national scene.

It started with a bust: In 1974, Bill Clinton made an unsuccessful run for Congress at age 28. Two years later, he bounced back and was elected Arkansas attorney general. And two years after that, at 32, he became the nation's youngest governor.

Then, defeat again: In 1980, done in by what he admitted was the arrogance of youth, Clinton lost his bid for re-election to a second term as governor. Two years later, redemption. He pulled off a comeback and never lost another race.

Along the way, the Clintons proved themselves to be tough street fighters.

In 1990, when Gov. Clinton faced a strong re-election challenge, it was first lady Hillary who crashed a news conference held by the opponent and undercut him with documents showing he had praised Clinton's performance as governor.

"That is a group that can take a punch and they can lay a punch," said Palmieri. "They are smart and they're fearless, but they're not reckless."

The Clinton roller coaster ride was far from over.

The 1992 presidential campaign amounted to a running revival show for the Clintons, and the presidency unfolded like a sequel.

It was almost always a team effort, and Hillary Clinton had a starring role in one early and prominent defeat, the ill-fated health-care reform effort.

In 1994, after Paula Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against Bill, it was Hillary who first interviewed lawyer Robert Bennett about helping fend off what Clinton insiders were calling the latest "bimbo eruption." There were other problems, as well. The Whitewater mess had followed the Clintons north from Arkansas, and Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr was investigating.

The midterm elections that year, in which Republicans seized control of the House and Senate, served as resounding repudiation to the president.

By mid-1995, the Clinton presidency was in free fall. Internal polls found that two-thirds of Americans ruled out voting to re-elect him. Aides cringed when Clinton felt compelled to insist at a news conference, "The president is relevant."

Through it all, Hillary Clinton was "a steadying force," Gergen said. "One of the reasons this marriage has worked for both of them is that he could always look to her for help in getting through things."

Bill Clinton was chastened but forged ahead, adapting to the changed political dynamic. In his 1996 State of the Union address, the president who had come to office promising to do so much instead declared, "The era of big government is over."

Voters in 1996 rewarded him with re-election, and he set out to exceed the low expectations set for second-term presidents.

Those efforts were overshadowed by his involvement with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The ensuing investigation and impeachment melodrama tested the Clintons' resilience and their marriage as never before, but they persevered and Hillary Clinton emerged stronger than ever.

She gave a hint of that last week when she told the audience at a Democratic debate, "I think everybody here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life." And that may explain her ability to press forward when the odds appear so daunting.

When it comes to the Clintons, says Palmieri, "The one thing you can almost always say about whatever situation you're in is that you've seen worse. So they don't get rattled. They have a much better perspective about how to deal with difficult days."

___

Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler contributed to this report.

Exploring Mystical Turkey

Article in this week's Sun Community Newspapers
www.suncommunitynewspapers.com

Exploring Mystical Turkey
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI


At 6 a.m. I awoke to the passionate call of a man’s voice, filled with a soft urgency, transmitted by electronic megaphone from somewhere outside my hotel window. As a first-time visitor to Turkey and the Middle East, this traditional call to prayer was my initiation into the Muslim world. A fitting prelude, I thought, for my pilgrimage in honor of Jalaluddin Rumi, the mystical Sufi poet whose 800th birthday was the purpose of my recent trip through the country.

Sufism is the mystical arm of Islam practiced by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Local Angelenos might be familiar with the Sufi practices of the whirling dervishes, a group of whom have performed at UCLA, and whose methodical turning in their long white robes and tall brown hats represents a means of getting closer to the Divine. UNESCO officially designated 2007 as the year of Rumi and celebrations were held in the city of Konya in south-central Turkey, the poet’s place of birth and burial. The city was brimming with scores of pilgrims from as close as neighboring Iran to as far as China and the United States.

As I traveled with an Istanbul-based Sufi music group, my journey was shaped around all things mystical. I felt this in every area from the tombs of well-known Sufi sheiks (teachers) to the Rumi-inspired knick-knacks in the bazaar shops. More than anything, I witnessed it when our bus broke down on the first day of the bayram holidays that mark the end of the Ramadan fasting period. A humble family in the countryside welcomed us into their modest home, offered us tea and fresh goat’s milk, and exemplified the hospitality and warmth I often witnessed across the region.

Istanbul itself is an enigmatic city and the only one of its size to straddle two continents – Europe to the east and Asia to the west. I saw this melding of east and west in the modern, retail-filled streets of the cosmopolitan Taksim area that teemed with youths eager for the nightlife. I saw it too at the striking Hagia Sophia, a house of both Muslim and Christian history, which welcomed tourists daily and beckoned seagulls every night to circle its grandly lit dome.

Before setting off on my trip, I had heard a lot of good things from friends who had been to Turkey. I discovered this has less to do with place and more to do with people. One member of the music group I traveled with – a German native who married the group’s founder – said something I found particularly fitting. She told me that the people of the Occident think with their heads, while those of the Middle East think with their hearts. Whether suitable or not in politics, it proved a pleasure in travel.

Obama Camps calls this the 11th hour? How does that make Pennsylvania feel, Senator?

So the Obama camp, after always claiming victory even when he was an underdog, is now calling this the "11th" hour when still may states are left to vote - even through the month of May. He likes where he is, thank you very much, and doesn't feel much like competing anymore. My friend in Pennsylvania, who is a democrat and still undecided, represents scores of voters in the remaining states who, I'm certain, would not appreciate BO's attitude.

The most troubling stance the BO camp has taken is the stiff disacknowledgment of Florida and Michigan voters. Since when should bureaucracy stand in the way of the voice of the people? ''Now, when they believe it serves their political interests, they're trying to rewrite the rules,'' Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, told reporters in a telephone call. ``Now, at the 11th hour, the Clinton campaign is trying to rewrite rules that were firmly established, and I don't think there's a lot of appetite for that in the country or a lot of appetite for that at the DNC.'' (Taken from Miami Herald)

Hmmmmmmmmmm...doesn't sound very unifying to me. I would urge the Obama camp to find a way not to disenfranchise Florida and Michigan voters. Obama wants a change in Washington? How will he do that when he upholds rules that disenfrance voters and doesn't propose an amendment, an alternative, or a means to voice their votes? How can he talk change, when he can even do it in his campaign?

Firecracker Run pictures - Where's Naz?

The Chinatown Firecrack Run results and pictures are now posted on the event's website at www.firecracker10k.org . I just want to point out that I found myself in three pictures. Now, if you have a few minutes, here's how you can find me.
Go to the website. Click on the multimedia link on the lefthand navigation. Select the first album that says 2008 Firecracker Run (Year of the Rat). Now click on the album for Pre-Race Photos. I'm in photo numbers 100, 101, 102 - I have the orange bandana, white cap, and army print sleveless.

Villaraigosa plays fairweather politics

So Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa endorses and campaigns for Senator Clinton, but now that the heat is on, he gets all ambiguous and supportive of Obama on the Tavis Smiley Show? It's unfortunate that he can't step up to the plate and support Hillary when he is considered one of her main supporters, especially now when she needs it. Obama and Clinton are not the same, and the cause for supporting a democratic candidate should not trump supporting the individual based on their ability, strength, and merit.

This is the time when Mayor I'm-not-voting-for-him-next-time, and other supporters, need to keep their word and learn how to follow-through and speak smartly and coherently on behalf of those they campaign for. Villaraigosa's ambiguousness and equal praise for both candidates made him appear as a fairweather supporter who would back anyone who was ahead in the polls. Shame on you, Villaraigosa. Get it together and use these media opportunities wisely, or get out of the way.

Artwork for Valentine's Day - Fragonard at the Getty Center

Show off your charming intellect by taking your sweetie, or your own sweet self, to the Getty this weekend for the opening of the painting exhibition called "Consuming Passion: Fragonard's Allegories of Love". Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French artist from the late 18th Century.

The exhibition runs through May 4, 2008.

Here are some of the paintings on exhibition. These images were taken from the Getty.edu website.