Hillary Clinton impresses at electrical union training site in the city of Commerce on Friday

On Friday, I drove down to Commerce to see Hillary Clinton at the IBEW-ETI Training Site in Commerce. There were about 300 of us plus many from the local electrical workers union in addition to plenty of camera persons and members of the media. Mayor Villaraigosa, Speaker Fabian Nunez, Lt. Governor Garimendi and even Chelsea Clinton were also present. My ticket to fame was that I sat at the top bleachers, about 10 feet from the stage, and the man next to me got up and yelled" Hillary will you marry me!". My uncle later told me that he heard that sound byte on the radio.

I was very impressed by Hillary Clinton - her smarts, her ability to plan and the organization of her ideas - She spoke practically and not idealistically. She truly impresses as a politician and legislator - and no debate or soundbyte can adequately cover the intelligence and pragmatism she delivers in person. I saw Mitt Romney a few months ago and these two are like night and day. Romney really played to a mob mentality and spoke in rhetoric and spewed populist conversative messages that made me feel itchy just being in the room. Clinton, on the other hand, speaks like a professor - clearly and intelligently and straight to the point - There's no sugar-coating with her.

I was very glad she addressed her stance on the Revolutionary Guard in Iran (in response to an audience question) and distinguished the roles of the clergy vs. president in the Islamic Republic in Iran and that country's role in promoting terrorism abroad. Mostly, I admired her pragmatism and the so-called Stimulus Plan she put forth. Her plan addressed the importance of conservation and the promotion of alternative energy sources especially in the expansion of what she called "green collar jobs". She also would expand unemployment insurance to those who require it, and offer the health insurance packages available to members of Congress to the public at large. For a complete transcript of the event (applause and cheering witheld), there is a link on her website: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=5143

Shame on KTLA for airing adult animation during after-school hours

Shame on KTLA for airing "Family Guy" weekdays at 6PM. I just sent an email to the station managers appalled at their programming decision to broadcast an adult-themed cartoon so early in the evening when children may watch. Right now on January 14, the episode has cheerleaders taking off their blouses and kissing in a fountain - and this is just one scene amidst a slew of sexually provocative images meant to entice the misogynistic pervert Quamire.

Programmers seem to take for granted how far animation can take sexually-charged material and create images that can be even more loaded than anything real. I encourage other KTLA (channel 5 Los Angeles) viewers or those in cities where "Family Guy" airs on CW affiliates during the day, to contact your local station managers and comment on this situation. Despite the fact that a "viewer discretion" message appears briefly before each episode, what child is constantly monitored?

Also, KTLA has a history of airing intelligent cartoons such as "Animaniacs". I fear parents may not be aware of the adult content of "Family Guy" and trust KTLA to air animation that's more considerate of their viewers - especially at such an early time slot as 6PM.

"Family Guy" does have some humorous moments. However, these are murked by the sludge of sexual jokes created by a largely male (if not only) group of writers.

If KTLA chooses to keep the show, so be it. But air it at midnight instead of "Everybody Loves Raymond" which should be moved to 6PM - I mean, come on! As it is now, "Family Guy" has much more sexual content than the pared down PG version of "Sex and the City" which KTLA airs at 11:30 PM.

I like KTLA and am an avid Morning Show fan. It's a wholesome family program that surpasses every other local and national morning news show out there. If KTLA chooses to continue airing "Family Guy" in its current time slot, however, I will have to take my allegiance elsewhere.

LAUSD’s Monica Garcia unveils new district goals

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

LAUSD’s Monica Garcia unveils new district goals
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board President Monica Garcia addressed members of the Studio City Chamber of Commerce at their monthly First Friday Club meeting January 4 at the Daily Grill in Studio City.

The gathering marked Garcia’s first community appearance in 2008.

Garcia, 39, shared stories from her educational path growing up in East Los Angeles and attending UC Berkeley. “There were so many Garcias in the Chicano studies classes that I got somebody else’s ‘F,’” she recalled.

Garcia received a heavy dose of identity politics at the school, whose emphasis on pushing minority quotas led to her now-amusing realization that “I was a person of color, which I had no idea.”

She joked that she was “shocked that my life was so much in peril” growing up as a Latina in a working class family in the barrio – labels that identified who she was as a person.

The experience, she said, fuels her drive to “change the belief system” in the LAUSD to put the 50 percent dropout rate into perspective rather than just viewing it as a statistic.

Garcia, along with a school board that was newly elected last May, has worked with Superintendent David Brewer III to devise a strategic plan that would change the course of the LAUSD.

“We do a very, very good job in L.A. with some kids,” Garcia said, citing Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School downtown as one of 28 national blue medal schools.

But despite such exceptional standouts, LAUSD still failed to meet three out of 46 yearly California assessment criteria that included language arts for special education, language arts for English learners, and graduation rates. “LAUSD cannot stay the same,” said Garcia.

As a result, the board has devised an eight-part resolution to move LAUSD forward and bring about needed change. The resolutions include recruiting top-notch teachers, training principals and administrators, paying employees on time, and refocusing facility use.

To address the low graduation rate, the “Diplomas for All” resolution has set the bar high – a graduation goal of 100 percent by 2015. To keep the district in check, a system of metrics will be used to evaluate its progress during reports to the community.

“We have an imperative to change our graduation results. We have an imperative to be the district of choice for teachers and principals and parents,” said Garcia, who said she was excited to be involved in Los Angeles education.

Garcia said the LAUSD is currently waiting to hear from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, since 80 percent of the district’s funding comes from the state level. “Our challenge today, really, we have to wait for Sacramento to tell us how much pain we’re going to endure with this budget crisis.”

Concrete Frequency - A work in progress for LA Phil programmers

The Los Angeles Philharmonic presented “Concrete Frequency” on Tuesday, January 8, at the beautiful Walt Disney Hall in downtown. The event was a musical experimentation that showcased about 12 musicians who performed songs somehow influenced or reflective of city life. The stage was tres cool –designed like a hip living room – and all the musicians relaxed on mismatched chairs and couches in the softly lit background while one by one singers performed up front.

Some of the performers got it right. The group “Biirdie” started things off. The folksy foursome had a retro quality and smooth harmonies reminiscent of the Mommas and Pappas. Their song “Life in a box” was very apropos to the theme as it told the story of apartment dwelling. Although their performance was pleasant, they opened the night for what I would call a sea of mostly whiny folk rockers – men with high voices who sing from the back of their throats rather than from their gut.

There were a few glaring exceptions – performers who really had something special – such as Michigan native Annie Stela, a tougher millenium response to the frail 90's Fiona Apple. I liked the way Stela delivered her words - in the vein of Nellie McKay – somewhere between singing and speaking – happy and angry – which fit her metal city bite of an accent very well.

The evening was full of performers who could play and sing, but couldn’t speak worth a lick. Case in point – Angeleno native Money Mark, once keyboardist for the Beastie Boys, came quietly on stage, and if he even said his name, I certainly didn't hear him. But all bets were off when he started to sing. I was particularly blown away by his second number, “Color of my blues”, which for me, was the highlight of the evening. It had a self-described New Orleans feel - especially since he played on the piano - and reminded me somewhat of early Billy Joel but more current and relevant for today's generation.

The other standout of the evening was Norwegian Sondre Lerche who had all the physical components of a rock star. His silver glittery guitar strap, rock and roll coiffed hair and charismatic banter could really make any teenage girl swoon and want to learn Norwegian. I later looked him up and found that despite his young age, he not only penned the entire soundtrack for the film "Dan in Real Life", but already has numerous albums under his belt.

Most of the performers that night had a similar look - the men were in tight jeans and prepped out in button-downs or blazers or farmboy shirts, and the women looked extra-feminine, especially Zooey Deschannel – who wasn’t even able to introduce herself coherently and sang two songs that weren't connected to the urban experience (they were also not written by her).

Although it was a good try by the programmers of the series, I would recommend a better attempt in the future to create some sort of coherence between the performers so that the musical journey better follows the theme of the evening.

The addition of visuals could also be used to better evoke the theme of city-inspired tunes. I would also invite fewer performers, and allow musicians to bring out more accompaniment – the redundancy of solo performances - alone with their guitars, or on the piano – was a little much.

Musician sites:

http://www.myspace.com/biirdie
http://anniestela.com/
http://moneymark.com
http://sondrelerche.com

New Hampshire Debates - Applause for Clinton's bid for "change" as first woman president

There was a major shift in energy between the republicans and the democrats during the New Hampshire debates tonight. During round one, the republicans were largely focused and well-spoken, even Ron Paul, who everyone else snickered at. For the republicans, I was most impressed with Huckabee's knowledge of world affairs, his eloquence and his tempered manners - I am surprised at myself for being impressed with him since I know his religiously-fueled politics are not my cup of tea. McCain also came across well, which I think he always does.

During round two, all of candidates looked tired, and frankly, their lack of energy bored me. I don't blame them. After days and days of campaiging in Iowa and now New Hampshire, they all looked like they could use a nap. Also, Richardson completely distracts from the top three frontrunners. He needs to go back to New Mexico and focus on his UFO-museum. His myopia in foreign affairs makes him completely unsuitable for world politics.

None of the democrats jazzed me up. I was looking to be "fired up" by Obama, but instead found his words to be labored, although he does have a nice voice. He also looked so aged for a man only in his late fourties.

Clinton had some good moments (she also looked better than Obama). During the change vs. experience discussion, she rightly said that having a woman president presents a change in government contrary to anything the US has elected before. I'm glad she said it, because commentators have mentioned the fact that Obama would be the first Black president - a phenomenal feat for US standards - whereas in my opinion, having the first woman president would be an even greater achievement. I think people almost forget that Clinton is a woman - her long history in the political eye seem to connect her more to her husband than her own gender.

I look forward to seeing the results in New Hampshire. Based on the debates this evening, I'm more interested in the outcome for the republicans than the democrats.

Caucus in the west

Inspired by Louise Roug's article on Column One in the Los Angeles times today, I've decided to be a political tourist. In her article, she follows a local couple from Van Nuys who venture to Iowa to partake in a political process that we Californians often experience only in sound bytes. The couple in the article had such an amazing experience attending candidate events, running into Bill Clinton at their hotel, and all in all resparking their interest in politics. I contacted Louise Roug and am now going to plan my own political tour here in the west - Nevada in a couple of weeks. Anyone interested?

Happy New Year

Now let's watch the Rose Parade for 12 hours straight!

All the best in 2008,

Nazbanoo