Opinion

Stupid Rosemead City Website

The next time certain Rosemead City Council members brag about their wonderful city website, ask them why they can't manage something as simple as posting the agenda to the website.  The last city council meeting (January 23) was never announced on the website, and the agenda was never posted to the website.  I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think they announced or posted the previous city council meeting on the website, either.  And, of course, they have never posted minutes of the meetings.  Considering how much time they spend discussing the minutes in chambers, you'd think this was something important enough that the entire city ought to have access to them.  We shouldn't have to pay to make sure that they are keeping an honest administrative record of their actions.

Ninth Circuit Wonders or Blunders

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A recent ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court (Padilla vs. Lever) states that political material in a political jurisdiction must be in all applicable languages of that jurisdiction, not just English.  The Ninth Circuit Court covers the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Let's consider the applicable languages in the nine States that the Ninth Circuit Court covers.  They are: Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Italian, Korean, Russian, Hindi, Persian, Urdu, Gujarati, Serbo-Croatian, Finnish, Armenian, Hebrew, Mon Khmer, Navaho, Yiddish, Hmong, Lao, Thai, Hungarian, Achumawi, Ahtena, Alelut, Apache, Assiniboine, Atsugewi, Blackfoot, Cahuilla, Chehalis, Chetco, Cheyenne, Chinook Wawa, Clallam, Cocopa, Coeur D'Alene, Columbia-Wenatchi, Coos, Cowlitz, Cree, Crow, Cupeno, Degexit'an, Ekyak, Gros Ventre, Gwidh'in, Haida, Han, Havasupai-Walapai-Yavapi, Hawaiian, Holikachuk, Hopi, Hupa, Inuktitut, Kalapuya, Kalispel-Pen Dórreille, Karok, Kashaya, Kato, Kawaiisu, Klamath-Modoc, Koyukon, Kumiai, Kuskokwim, Kutenai, Luiseno, Lushootseed, Maidu, Makah, Maricopa, Miwok, Mohave, Mono, Nez Perce, Nisenan, Okangan, Paiute, Panamint, Papago-Pima, Pomo, Quechan, Quinault, Salish, Serrano, Shasta, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Tanacross, Tanaina, Tenino, Tewa, Tlingit. Tolowa, Tsimshian, Tubatulabal, Tututni, Umatilla, Ute, Walla Walla, Wasco-Wishram, Washo, Wintu Yakima, Yakui, Yokuts, Yuki, Yupik, and Yurok.  I've probably missed several and please forgive me if I have.

"Give 'Em Hell, Harry"

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This one's long and a little bit of an indulgence on my part.  If you liked the open letter, you'll like this essay.  If you didn't like the open letter, you won't like it.  So if you're a Wal-Mart sock puppet, don't blame me if you read this and get all offended.

The Arrogance of Jay Imperial

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What kind of a crazy world do we live in that any judge would even for a second believe that canceling an election somehow protects the voting rights of Rosemead citizens? 4,200 confirmed, registered voters in Rosemead signed the petitions to ask for a recall election of Jay Imperial and Gary Taylor. State law does not give a city council the discretion to decide whether or not to hold an election once a sufficient number of signatures have been verified.

Internal Memo about Walmart Benefits

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Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
By LOREN STEFFY

In an old store on the town square in Bentonville, Ark., sits a wooden desk that changed the world.

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It once belonged to Sam Walton, humble furniture from which he gave birth to what is now a retailing empire with $285 billion a year in sales.

The trip from Walton's original store to Wal-Mart's world headquarters is a few minutes. The journey from Walton's desk to the internal memo about Wal-Mart benefits that surfaced last week is far longer.