Letters
• Voting Dog - Leandra K.
Carmone
• Election Congratulations -
Gonzalo Santos
• Time Traveler in
distress - recordkeepingjuu eqc
•
Victory Dance - John Davis
Voting
Dog
Dear
Beachhead,
I heard a dog got to vote in
Venice.
I have a dog, 1 bunny, 2 fish,
3 frogs, ,2 clams, 1 fresh water snail, and I’m bird sitting 2 parakeets
who also live in Venice.
How come my
pets didn’t get to vote?
For
example, what I’m concerned about is safe streets so everyone can walk
their dogs, clean and fresh water so all animals can live a healthy life just
like us kids.
Thank you for all your
consideration,
Leandra K.
Carmone - age 9 turning
10
P.S. tell me where to sign
up.
************
Election
Congratulations
Dear
Beachhead,
Congratulations to the
newly-elected Progressive members of the Venice Neighborhood
Council!
May you accomplish great and
exemplary things in Venice Beach, wielding wisely your hard-won majority control
of the Council (12/21). The whole world will be watching - or at least, for the
time being, those of us following the story in the pages of The Beachhead! This
is, indeed, quite a breakthrough for grassroots community organizing --
socially-relevant electoral politics at its best -- and may signal a revival of
progressive local social activism throughout California, if not the country,
after such a prolonged hiatus.
While
the state and national levels of big-monied-but-bankrupt politics implode and
self-destruct in recall "earthquakes" and mendacity-riddled, war-obsessed chaos,
respectively, the good people of Venice Beach are quietly showing the way on how
we, of this almost-hijacked country, can begin to turn politics into the
people-enhancing, peace- & justice-building, noble activity it can be
again... as millions of others around the world, to whom you are connected, have
never stopped demonstrating!
Be an
ontological Zapatista wherever you
are!
Viva the Progressive-led Venice
Neighborhood Council!
In joyous
solidarity,
Gonzalo
Santos
Co-Chair, Latina & Latino
Caucus,
California Faculty
Association
Sociology professor,
CSU-Bakersfield(*)
(*) Affiliations for
identification purposes
only.
**************
Time
Traveler in
distress
Hello,
I'm
a time traveler stuck here in 2003. Since nobody here seems to be able to get me
what I need (safely here to me), I will have to build a simple time travel
circuit to get where I need myself. I am going to need an easy to follow picture
diagram for a simple time travel circuit, which can be built out of (readily
available) parts here in 2003. Please send me any schematics you have care of
the Beachhead. I will pay good money for anything you send me I can use Or if
you have the rechargeable AMD dimensional warp generator wrist watch unit
available, and are 100% certain you have a (secure) means of delivering it to me
please also reply.
Thank
You
recordkeepingjuu
eqc
------
Dear
recordkeepingjuu eqc,
Thanks for
writing. You wouldn’t believe how many people thought I wrote that article
on page 8 last month!
Jim
Smith
**************
Victory
Dance
The City of Venice is great.
People are dancing everywhere, in kitchens, at work, on the street, and even in
the garage. Since the overwhelming victory of progressive candidates to our
Neighborhood Council, joy is
rampant.
When I heard the good news I
let out a victory cry. A tsunami of Venice Citizens washed over the devilish
small-minded blow-hards, finally.
Of
the vast mix of people in the LA Basin, Venice is by far the coolest place. The
tightly bound community still retains it’s diverse historical roots and is
a center of international tourism. The language on the boardwalk blends in to
one world voice as people gather in great numbers every weekend to celebrate
life, art, music, and the sea.
The City
of Venice held its own territorial waters three miles seaward until Los Angeles
annexed it in the forties. Venice was lost because Los Angeles threatened to
withhold water supplies.
But through
the decades Venice demonstrated it’s resilience in the production of
poetic art in the fifties. The sixties found Venice an island of peace and
expression in a decade of war. Weed coupled with rock and roll probably had
something to do with the no holds barred attitude that defines Venice today.
This attitude was well established by
our founder, Abbot Kinney. The man had a vision, cornered the English market on
another type of weed, tobacco, and spent his fortune to found Venice. He was not
afraid to challenge LA City Hall and he would be damn proud of the Progressive
Candidates today.
We all know nothing
happened here between the late seventies and now. But at least Disco did not
replace the drum circle. Then came the internet and a new
century.
In poured the yuppies wearing
little glasses and chatting about computers while spending two bucks on a cup of
coffee. They were ok but behind them came the greedy developers who have no more
respect for Venetians than Bush has for Iraqis.
Think of the Team Venice loosers as
lapdogs of the City Council, sucking up to power as they shed their skins of
integrity.
The losers did every thing
in their power to cheat. The old Communications Officer failed to convene a
meeting of the Communications Committee and withheld the membership list from
all but her sister the President. And that same Officer was running for
re-election. Hmm, that list must have been a
comfort.
And the First Vice President
followed suit by making major changes to elections procedures all by himself,
but he was caught by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. They demanded a
public meeting and it was had.
And the
President routinely disregards the California Open Meetings Law and the Bylaws
of the Neighborhood Council she
founded.
She has a good mind but has
apparently let the smell of political power dilute the good she envisioned. Who
knows, maybe she will not stay lost to the dark side. But she better straighten
up and fly right if she is to lead.
And there
is hope for others turning as well. But as for First Vice President Greg
Fitchitt, forget it, for he can’t even see the sun in the
sky.
LA has treated Venice like a
bastard stepchild long enough. Those creeps that tried to cheat their way to
office in our recent elections have acted like mini clones of the City Council.
Some of their techniques are to ignore the public at meetings by disrespecting
the Brown Act, a State Law. Here is a piece of that law that describes what the
people deserve;
“In enacting this
chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards
and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the
conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their
actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted
openly.
The people of this State do
not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in
delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what
is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The
people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control
over
the instruments they have
created.”
So now Venice arises.
We can be a City again. Perhaps we will take Marina del Rey with us by forming a
Port Authority.
Nothing can stop us
now, not cheaters, fools, politicians or a combination
thereof.
So dance the dance of power
Progressives, you earned it.
John
Davis
Posted: Fri - August 1, 2003 at 08:35 PM