Remembering an Inspirational Family

I had a good friend, JP Blecksmith. We went to high school together. He was a top student, quarterback of the football team, captain of the track team, hilarious, generous and all around nice guy. After high school, he attended Annapolis and then was deployed to Fallujah, where he acted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines. In November of '04, he was shot and instantly killed while clearing a rooftop for his platoon. Fox was kind enough to do a several day mini-documentary on JP and his platoon, which really showed the kind of guy he was. I wish I could find a clip. More information on JP can be found at http://www.jpblecksmith.org/.

Shortly after his death, his mother, Pam, was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer, which she battled for three years before finally succumbing in January of 2008. Pam was an extremely accomplished woman, with Stanford and MBA degrees, an extensive White House career, constant community volunteer work and a loving wife and mother of three. But, most impressive, she was the strongest and sweetest woman I've ever met. She never complained about being sick or losing her son, who was her best friend and pride and joy. I visited her in City of Hope, shortly after an extensive procedure to remove the cancer, which had, by that time, spread throughout her body. Despite her weakened condition, she was as perky and sweet as ever, while gently refusing to talk about herself, asking, instead, about my life and everyone else's.

Whenever I'm faced with adversity or sorrow, I try to remember the Blecksmiths and all of their selfless sacrifices. JP's memory receives most of the glory, because of his untimely and heroic death, but Pam was the true hero of the family. She was the silent and courageous backbone for all of them.

Pam and Ed Blecksmith at JP's funeral.

A Quality Rant

A nice little article by Victor Davis Hanson.

I'm not really with him on the American male accent thing, though.

So Disappointed...

This is no longer new news, but I'm still so disappointed. LA could really use a man like Caruso in office. And now is the perfect time for him, politically. I'm not even really a fan of his developments, but this man knows how to get things done quickly, efficiently and with integrity. I know he is facing a lot of pressure to run, so the fact that he decided not to, makes him even more admirable, especially since he sites his family as the reason. Oh well, hopefully, next time.




Caruso says thanks, but no thanks

Kevin Roderick

Developer Rick Caruso has been saying for a while that his running for mayor is only a question of when, not if. Well, it won't be this time, he announced today in a statement.

For the last few months I have been considering a potential run for Mayor because I care a great deal about Los Angeles. I grew up in Los Angeles, attended school here, started my business here and have invested a great deal in this community, both in time and resources. I have raised my family here. I love Los Angeles.

As I considered a run for mayor, given my experience both in the civic arena and in private business, I am confident that I have much to offer this city, both in terms of leadership and a passion for improving our community. For me personally however, my first consideration had to be whether, for my family, this was the right time for me to run.

And, while I am genuinely grateful for all the encouragement I have received from people all over this city to run for mayor and the confidence they put in me, I have decided that the obligation of serving as mayor would put a burden on my family that is too much at this point in their lives and, as a result, I will not be a candidate in the upcoming campaign for mayor. Having worked closely with Mayors in the past, I understand the commitment necessary to properly fill that role, and it is not the right time for me to commit myself wholly to the City at the expense of my family, particularly my young children.

My most enthusiastic cheerleaders encouraging me to jump into this race have been my four children. However, my wife Tina and I have always put our children first and I think that it would be better if the two youngest children were a little older before they make the sacrifices that are required of the families of elected officials. I hope there will be other opportunities for me to run for mayor, but my children will only be kids once.

Having an interest in serving my city is not new to me. I was proud to serve as President of the LA Department of Water and Power Commission for nearly 10 years, and to serve as President of the Police Commission during a very important time for the Department. Serving Mayors Bradley, Riordan, and Hahn was a great honor for me. Having served in those roles, I saw firsthand how important City Hall is to the everyday lives of Los Angeles residents. I have seen how much can be accomplished when the tools available to our leaders are used in a manner focused on solving problems and making our city more livable.

I have also built a business in Los Angeles, and understand from the private sector side, how government can help and also fail those trying to start a business, build a career, and raise their family here in our city. Right now Los Angeles is struggling. The LAPD, despite promises and increased taxes, remains understaffed. Instead of improved transit systems, we see more and more red tail lights. And economic redevelopment and improvements to our most underserved communities continues to lag.

These are very, very tough economic times. This City needs leaders that have a singular focus on improving the quality of life for all Los Angeles residents. There are good people in City Hall, and it is my hope that collectively, they can refocus their efforts on our City's problems in the months ahead so we realize Los Angeles' full potential. This was a very difficult decision for me to reach because of my devotion to this city, but today my role will remain as an interested and active private citizen and I will focus for now on my family, my business, and my community-based charitable activities.

Too Funny...

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Couldn't have said it better myself...

Check out this blog post from The Mud Pit.

Let's Peer into the Future...

A Perfect Storm
By Thomas Sowell

Some elections are routine, some are important and some are historic. If Senator John McCain wins this election, it will probably go down in history as routine. But if Senator Barack Obama wins, it is more likely to be historic-- and catastrophic.

Once the election is over, the glittering generalities of rhetoric and style will mean nothing. Everything will depend on performance in facing huge challenges, domestic and foreign.

Performance is where Barack Obama has nothing to show for his political career, either in Illinois or in Washington.

Policies that he proposes under the banner of "change" are almost all policies that have been tried repeatedly in other countries-- and failed repeatedly in other countries.

Politicians telling businesses how to operate? That's been tried in countries around the world, especially during the second half of the 20th century. It has failed so often and so badly that even socialist and communist governments were freeing up their markets by the end of the century.

The economies of China and India began their take-off into high rates of growth when they got rid of precisely the kinds of policies that Obama is advocating for the United States under the magic mantra of "change."

Putting restrictions on international trade in order to save jobs at home? That was tried here with the Hawley-Smoot tariff during the Great Depression.

Unemployment was 9 percent when that tariff was passed to save jobs, but unemployment went up instead of down, and reached 25 percent before the decade was over.

Higher taxes to "spread the well around," as Obama puts it? The idea of redistributing wealth has turned into the reality of redistributing poverty, in countries where wealth has fled and the production of new wealth has been stifled by a lack of incentives.

Economic disasters, however, may pale by comparison with the catastrophe of Iran with nuclear weapons. Glib rhetoric about Iran being "a small country," as Obama called it, will be a bitter irony for Americans who will have to live in the shadow of a nuclear threat that cannot be deterred, as that of the Soviet Union could be, by the threat of a nuclear counter-attack.

Suicidal fanatics cannot be deterred. If they are willing to die and we are not, then we are at their mercy-- and they have no mercy. Moreover, once they get nuclear weapons, that is a situation which cannot be reversed, either in this generation or in generations to come.

Is this the legacy we wish to leave our children and grandchildren, by voting on the basis of style and symbolism, rather than substance?

If Barack Obama thinks that such a catastrophe can be avoided by sitting down and talking with the leaders of Iran, then he is repeating a fallacy that helped bring on World War II.

In a nuclear age, one country does not have to send troops to occupy another country in order to conquer it. A country is conquered if another country can dictate who rules it, as the Mongols once did with Russia, and as Osama bin Laden tried to do when he threatened retaliation against places in the United States that voted for George W. Bush. But he didn't have nuclear weapons to back up that threat-- yet.

America has never been a conquered country, so it may be very hard for most Americans even to conceive what that can mean. After France was conquered in 1940, it was reduced to turning over some of its own innocent citizens to the Nazis to kill, just because those citizens were Jewish.

Do you think our leaders wouldn't do that? Not even if the alternative was to see New York and Los Angeles go up in mushroom clouds? If I were Jewish, I wouldn't bet my life on that.

What the Middle East fanatics want is not just our resources or even our lives, but our humiliation first, in whatever sadistic ways they can think of. Their lust for humiliation has already been repeatedly demonstrated in their videotaped beheadings that find such an eager market in the Middle East.

None of this can be prevented by glib talk, but only by character, courage and decisive actions-- none of which Barack Obama has ever demonstrated.

This makes me want to move back to the safe haven of Maine.

Another rant against uninformed voters

Why do we, as a country, condone and promote ignorant voting? Nothing annoys me more than the "Get Out the Vote" movements. Why do we want uninformed voters helping to make important decisions about our country? Why don't we have an "Educate the Vote" campaign? Instead of being so concerned with people voting, we should be promoting knowledge and understanding of the issues that face us. And if people were educated about the issues, they would have more of an incentive to vote. This uninformed voting only leads to these knee-jerk, empty decisions.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone who knows nothing about any of the issues, and who couldn't tell an Obama policy from a McCain policy, waxing on about how they plan to vote for one candidate or the other. Although, in California and in my peer group, it definitely is largely Obamaniacs. I have no doubt that the rest of the country has plenty of uninformed McCain supporters.

I just have trouble wrapping my head around the idea that we give free Starbucks to people as an incentive to vote. The people that should be voting are the people who would vote without free coffee, not the people who have to be reminded and prodded.

I'm tired of people expecting a pat on the back for voting when they know NOTHING about the issues. You should get a pat on the back when you LEARN about the issues.

And I am so sick of hearing about how much of a historic election this is. Get over it people. I guarantee that it would not be considered to be such a historic election if the black candidate were on the Republican ticket. And the fact that we are making such a big deal over the color of Obama's skin, just goes to show how far we still have to go, rather than how far we've come. As I see it, this is a step backward, judging a candidate by the color of his skin, rather than on the merits of his record. Heralding a guy, who's party promoted him prematurely because he's a slick speaker and an uber politically correct choice. Never mind that he practically has no experience, poor judgment and is the most leftist candidate of all time. But, I digress.

The point is, people need to start doing their homework. Especially, smart, educated people, who have the time and resources to do such. Put down the People magazine. Turn off American Idol. Educate yourselves! Don't vote based on what someone at the office water cooler says. Learn about the issues. Figure out where you stand and then the choice becomes clear. These candidates stand for such radically different ideals, that it is utterly incomprehensible to me that anyone could have trouble deciding between the two.

And for those of you who don't like either choice, join the club. But you have to work with what you're given and vote for the America that you would rather see. Get involved. Education is the key. Sitting back and B-M-W-ing does nothing. Do something! Make an effort. Educate yourselves and then educate others. Learn about local candidates. And stop voting based on who looks more presidential.

As a side and final note, a very wise friend recently said:

You just described 90% of Obama's voting base. They know absolutely nothing about the issues, and they don't care. It "feels good" to vote for him. Kelly, you could tell them that Obama is going to execute their families and they'd still vote for him. They don't care about facts. Period.

I have a theory---it's a product of our TV/Internet generations, with short-attention spans and a taste only for dessert---nobody eats vegetables anymore (i.e. reading, researching, discussion, analysis, etc.). They only want easy answers (like their favorite TV shows) and simple solutions (like their e-mail splurges and text messaging).
Our society is deteriorating from the inside out...in an similar way that the Roman Empire destroyed itself from inside. As the Romans took over more & more people, tribes, villages, towns, they gradually lost their sense of Nationalism and cohesion. It became more about "me" than "us." The sense for a cause greater than oneself was lost. That is exactly what's happening to us, and Obama is the messiah for those who want handouts, for those with no appreciation for hard-earned success, and for those who want to alleviate their white guilt.

Welcome to the new U.S.A. You can scream, or you can dig into your little corner of the universe and enjoy it as best you can. That's what I'm doing.

It is so true. People vote based on what benefits them, personally, rather than what is best for the country. This short-sighted, me-centric society is the heart of so many of our problems. Look beyond yourselves, people. Try extrapolating a bit. It won't hurt, I promise.