Taxes is not Charity

This past week I read an article in the Daily Breeze that indicated that religious leaders were backing the "tax the rich" proposition in California, and in general support raising taxes to support "social justice" causes. In addition, just this past month I ran into someone that thought it was Ok to be taxed more. PLEASE stop the insanity. Paying taxes is not the same thing as "social justice" and is not the same thing as giving the poor. It may be true that a portion of taxes go to the poor in the form of welfare benefits, etc. But most of it goes elsewhere to fund the police, fire department, teachers, building projects, the deficit, any the many other government departments that have nothing to do with the poor. Combine the fact that taxes are a forced tithe and I don't know why religious leaders would support it. Forced tithes were never in Jesus' play book. Jesus wanted people to give freely. I know that some religions do require tithing, but forcing all Californians to tithe would be wrong in any religion. Charity on the other hand is given freely and more of the funds given to charity actually goes to the needed. When only a portion of taxes actually go to the poor, it should not be equaled to funding charities and addressing social justice issues. When taxes are forced not given freely it is more like robbery then charity. Please stop the insanity. We need to re-educate our religious leaders that charity is Christ like, taxes are not.

USS Iowa and SS Lane Victory Should be Together

It is exciting to have the USS Iowa coming to San Pedro. The old Todd shipyard employed many Pedro people and put the Navy front and center at our port. Before the Air Force moved in we had Navy housing and a strong Navy presence. Over the years with the downsizing of our military and the consolidation of its sites we have lost touch with the Navy. It will be good to have them back. However, though our community leaders did a good job lobbying to bring the USS Iowa to town, I think the Port of Los Angeles did us a disservice by keeping the USS Iowa and SS Lane Victory separated. I appreciate that the two might be right down the street and a red car ride away. But imagine the synergy of having visitors park in one lot, with the ability to easily visit both. If we want San Pedro to be a destination town we need to make it easy for people to see the great items in our town. Keeping the SS Lane Victory and USS Iowa separate makes no sense.

Better Land Use in San Pedro

When you drive around San Pedro there are lots of vacant lots and undeveloped property. In some cities the local neighborhood works with the property owner to adopt the lot. The neighborhood also works with the city to post the correct signs about no dumping, etc. A great opportunity for San Pedro is to have the Dalmation American Club and the Muller House team up to clean up the lot on 16th and Beacon. A simple lot clean up could improve parking for both of these valuable local institutions. And if they chipped in for a single light post the parking would be more secure for night time events. San Pedro is a great town, we can make it better by cleaning up and re-using the vacant lots.

No Freedom From Government

President Obama's Administration talks a good game about equality, unfortunately the deeds do not follow the words. This past week the Administration announced the plan to make religious health institutions pass out contraception and support abortions. The logic is amazingly flawed. Abortion is often sighted as a women's right to choose. Yet institutions cannot choose to be free of the new rules. And christians, muslims, and many religious people that work in the health industry are having their freeedom of choice trampled on. These religious people's freedom of choice is to obstain from abortion and contraception. Where is America's religious freedom when the Government is choosing one belief over another. One one side, the government believes that abortion is not murder. On the other side, many people believe it is murder. There is no equality when the Government picks one side over another. We believe in freedom in America. When governments support some beliefs over others, America is weeker.

San Pedro Exceptionalism

I just read the January version of "San Pedro Today". There is definitely alot of enthusiasm over Joe Buscaino's win in the LA City's 15th district race. It is great that another local person makes the LA City big time. And it is good that we bring a fresh face to politics. I like many others are excited about our town's future. But I like our chances moving forward NOT because we have a new elected official. I am optimistic because of our great civic pride and the "Do It Ourselves" attitude. It is great organizations like Eastview Little League, the San Pedro Softball Association, the skate park under the freeway, the "Clean San Pedro" crew, the San Pedro Boy's and Girl's club, and many many more that do not rely on the government. These organizations work to make our town better despite the government and should be soluted. It is our "San Pedro Exceptionalism" that should have been listed in the "San Pedro Today" paper. We have Pedro Pride. Pedro Exceptionalism is one of the things that makes us so proud.

Republicans are Dolts for Poor Spin

At the National level the Republican party has the worst public relations team on the planet. They are lazy and are getting schooled by the Democrats at every turn. Like it or not, President Obama is a likeable figure. So, the Republican attempt to demonize him comes across as hollow to many independents. As the economy continues to limp along slowly getting better, President Obama has the opportunity to make the case that he has lead America through the Great Recession and is on a path to a better future. The Republicans for some reason are too lazy or too wimpy to point out that it was the Democratic Congress that drove the economy into the ditch in 2008. And it was the Republican congress voted into office into 2010 that kept President Obama from running the economy into a ditch again. It was the Republican congress voted into office in 2010 that kept President Obaman and the democrats from spending more. And despite the Democrats stating that the sky would fall if everything they wanted was not approved, it hasn't. Without everything the Democrats wanted the economy is slowly recovering. If the Republicans can improve the economy with only 1/3 of the government, just think what they could do with the Presidency and the Senate. Unfortunately, the Republican's don't know how to higher a publicist. And the Republicans don't know how to make a distinct case about why they are better than the Democrats without demonizing a likeable guy, President Obama.

Welcome to San Pedro

I love living in San Pedro. And I love our Pedro pride. Just recently the community rallied together to cover up the billboard with the bikini girl on Gaffey Street at the end of the 110 Freeway. Now my hope is that we rally together to add back "Welcome to San Pedro" to the walking bridge over Gaffey. The walking bridge is the first thing you see when you come off the 110 freeway and enter Pedro, and it should be the thing that welcomes everyone to our great town. Lots of towns have water sheds or signs that welcome people into town. The walking bridge is our unique landmark that we should use to welcome folks. "Walking to San Pedro" use to be there. We need to bring it back.