Media Bias on Waxman -- Easy Reader News

Easy Reader News

is an unapologetically liberal apologetic publication in the South Bay. One of their cover pieces last year highlighted former El Segundo resident Rosanne Barr's abortive run for President as a Green, then a Peace and Freedom candidate.

As if a third-party run by a third-rate comedienne is even newsworthy, let alone noteworthy.

Easy Reader News

is a liberal organ, one which regularly printed editorial cartoons by E. Wunder, whose leftist policies are unmistakably obvious. The liberal bias in South Bay media needs to be exposed.

Here is the first of a series of conservative indictments.

　

I had submitted a few times to their "Letters to the Editor" Section. The ER editors printed some of my pieces about decriminalizing marijuana, or about the Post Office Blues which were forcing Redondo Beach postal workers to work into late night hours. They even published my extended praise for Hermosa Beach City Council leaders, including current Mayor Kit Bobko, for brokering an extended deal with E and B Natural Resources about oil drilling and future revenue streams, which would allow the city of Hermosa Beach to avoid costly litigation fees and potential bankruptcy.

　

Then I read a letter in the late August, 2012 edition of ER, in which Hermosa Beach resident Julian Deveroux commented that Hermosa Beach is turning into "Little Santa Monica" because of the progressive bans on smoking and plastic bags, and the devolving deviant behavior beneath the Hermosa Beach pier.

Sadly, I could think of another reason why "Little Santa Monica" would be an apt title for this wealthy Beach City: Santa Monica-based Congressman Henry Waxman, whose hegemony of tax-and-spend nanny-state liberalism is now infiltrating South of Dockweiler to the Beach Cities, as the district as joined with part of Waxman’s former 30^th district courtesy of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

The unsightly oversight chairman even paid an undisclosed visit to Councilmember Michael Keegan’s Hermosa Beach home August 29, 2012, which ER reported in the same issue as Deveroux's letter. "Why were the voters in the area not informed sooner about Waxman's visit?" I wondered. What is Waxman hiding?

　

I had commented in another letter about this telling comparison between Hermosa Beach and Santa Monica, but ER refused to run the piece.

I cannot think of a more unqualified candidate to represent the Beach Cities, including my home in West Torrance, than the same Congressman who bullied baseball players in 2009, yet had no standing knowledge of the standard steroid laws in this country when questioned by a constituent. He went after Tobacco executives in 1994, yet he did nothing during the Congressional Post Office scandal, which brought down House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Illinois). And what about the "Congressional check-kiting scandal" which broke at the same time, which brought down the entire Democratic majority! Where’s was the imperious oversight Chairman doing then?

In open committee, he has declared that he did not know what was in his own Cap and Trade legislation, he brazenly assumed that "We’re not broke", even though this nation is now facing a $16 trillion national debt, to which his signature legislation "ObamaCare" will add significantly.

In the August, 2012 article, Hermosa Beach Democratic Club President Diane Wallace claimed: "We need people from both parties who are willing to work with other. . .One of the things (Waxman) reflected on is how he has been so successful in Congress because he has a good working relationship with Republicans." He shoved Cap and Trade, including a last-minute three hundred page, amendment, without input from Republicans. ObamaCare received no insight from Republicans. Both bills passed with opposition from Democrats as well as Republicans on the slimmest of majorities. This man even threatened to throw one Republican out of committee because he demanded respect for normal order.

In the same August article, Waxman commented: "If there’s ever a chance that anybody’s going to try to close that air force base [in El Segundo], they’re going to have to do it over my dead body."

After picking his district and voters for over thirty years, Waxman so readily assumed that he’s going to swing into another term in office.

He did win the election, but by a mere five votes compared to his 60% plus average in the previous three decades.

ER

reported a different result, treating Waxman's independent challenger Bill Bloomfield as

a "long-shot". Bloomfield funded the major electoral reforms in this state, both of which Waxman opposed. Bloomfield's campaign shook up Waxman enough for him to launch commercials and advertising for the first time in his thirty-eight year tenure. If Romney had not depressed the voter turnout, Bloomfield would likely be in Congress today. Waxman chalked up his tenure to accomplishing individual favors for constituents, yet he has not amended the Clean Water Act, and he ignores LA County's homeless veterans.

　

But that's not how ER sees it. The unabashed bias of Beach Cities reporting needs to be challenged, because media bias alone accounts for some of the challenge which Republicans and conservatives face in local as well as state-wide California races.

Brent Roske: "Congressman Henry Waxman, Will You Marry Me?"

Yesterday (August 12), I received an email from Hollywood Web producer Brent Roske. He informed me that he wanted me to cover him for his race to represent the 33^rd Congressional District, which stretches from Agoura Hills all the way down the Santa Monica Bay to Palos Verdes, but also includes West Torrance, where I live, a newly-drawn district (or gerrymander, depending on your feelings about being joined to constituencies by the thin strand of Dockweiler Beach) recently won by Westside fixture Congressman Henry Waxman.

I have been covering Waxman for a long time. When I learned that he was campaigning to represent me, I did everything that I could short of run against him myself to stop him. I knocked on doors for Bloomfield and made phone calls. I even spoke with constituents in Palos Verdes, Torrance, Redondo Beach, and Santa Monica to get the word out.

Roske officially declared his intent to run on August 9 in Malibu, another section of the new 33^rd, but a long-time section of Waxman’s outreach. Then again, the Congressman had not visited the Malibu coast in four years until 2012, with the likelihood of an independent from Manhattan Beach taking his seat.

I also started a blog “Waxman Watch” (waxmanwatch.blogspot.com) to cover the campaign and record Waxman’s previous gaffes and policies, many of which remain inimical to the best interests of the state of California, his constituents, the country, and above all the Constitution. I was surprised when someone else mentioned my blog.  South Bay Beach Cities publication The Beach Reporter highlighted my attendance at a January, 2013 town hall meeting in Hermosa Beach, one sponsored by the Beach Cities Democratic Club, which hosted Congressman Waxman after his election victory. A few members mentioned me to the club President, who tried to get me to sign in as a member of the Press, which I refused to do, since I am a private citizen reporting on a public figure.

(http://tbrnews.com/news/hermosa_beach/waxman-holds-town-hall-in-hermosa-beach/article_4facf85c-6bd7-11e2-94b8-0019bb2963f4.html)

Roske shot me an email, along with two articles about his intentions to run. Interesting. At least someone’s out there willing to put up a fight.

Or is he?

I asked him some questions about key issues relating to Santa Monica Bay residents. Does he support the Subway to the Sea? What are his thoughts about Obamacare? His views on marriage and abortion? How about all of those homeless veterans in the Los Angeles area, who still do not have a home at the Brentwood VA, where they belong?

No answer, yet.

I looked over a Variety.com piece which announced Roske’s intent to run.

(http://variety.com/2013/more/news/web-producer-to-challenge-henry-waxman-for-congressional-seat-1200561145/)

I was not pleased with what I read.

“He is running as an independent, placing emphasis on entertainment industry issues like runaway production.”

The entertainment industry is important, I get that. He wants to run as an independent. Bloomfield did exactly that, and still voters did not trust him. One resident in Manhattan Beach, a transplant from Beverly Hills, shared his reservations, even though he was still upset about Waxman’s blocking the Subway to the Sea. Another voter in Venice told me that every politician has someone backing him. “Independent” alone does not guarantee trust.

Then I read:

“Waxman isn’t a bad guy but he was elected the year I was born. He’s had enough time, and he should be running in Maryland which is where he lives,” Roske said.”

Are you kidding me? Roske is French-kissing the Congressman the same way that Romney practically French-kissed President Obama during their third debate in the 2012 election. If Roske thinks he’s a good guy, then why run? Why should I vote for him?

Waxman lives in Maryland. So does US Senator Ed Markey, yet he won the special election to replace John Kerry by ten points, notwithstanding. Maryland as a home address is not enough to unseat an incumbent. Give me a break!

He’s proposing that if he wins, he will “share” the position with Waxman for the first year, a type of mentorship. Waxman told Roll Call last month, “I appreciate his kind words about my work in Congress. I also appreciate Mr. Roske’s novel proposal and will think about it some more, but I suspect there would be workability issues.”

Congressman Henry Waxman’s “workability” issues include his uncouth behavior with colleagues. But then there’s Roske’s basic views:

My politics are pretty basic: keep your hands off my God, my body, my income and my personal life. (http://roskeforcongress.com/)

Waxman’s tenure has been inimical to all of these precepts, from mandating health insurance purchases to taxing carbon credits, to ignore homeless veterans, to voting for wars. Why does Roske claim that Waxman is a good guy?

Yet if the web producer likes Waxman so much, why not forget the campaign and pop the big question:

“Henry Waxman, will you marry me?

Prop 8 was just invalidated, and a polygamous hook-up will probably not ruffle Waxman too much, since Roske does not plan on running against Waxman’s record, but actually praises it!

While Roske plans for a wedding, I’m still waiting for a real challenger to Waxman in 2014.

Someone Will Challenge Waxman (?)

From the moment that I learned that Congressman Henry Waxman was seeking the 33^rd Congressional district seat, I wanted to do what I could to stop him. The power-broker who killed the Subway to the Sea, the leader for the (Un)Affordable Care Act, the Oversight Committee Chairman who pursued steroid abuse in baseball (yet knew nothing of the basic laws regulating the substance) was not going to have an easy election to represent me in Congress.

When I saw his fumbling on the documentary “Bigger, Faster, Stronger”, I resolved that he needed to leave office. An encumbered incumbent all-too-comfy with his seat in the House of Representatives, who took his constituents for granted enough that he could brazenly claim as chairman of the House Energy Committee that he did not know the contents of his Cap and Trade Bill: he needed to go.

I helped out with the Bloomfield campaign as much as I could. I made phone calls and passed out pamphlets, anything to prevent another two years of Waxman. There were a lot of things that I liked about Bill: he pushed for tort reform, he stood up to public sector unions, he donated to charities, and he helped push Prop 32, which would have prevented unions from using their members’ compulsory dues to fund political causes.

I did not like his liberal stance on issues, like Cap and Trade, but I was willing to hold my nose rather than throw up altogether over Henry Waxman.

Bloomfield ran a strong campaign, despite perceived inconsistencies on key issues, and his lack of aggressive campaigning.

He was a Republican who became an independent, a move which showed some integrity, but a majority of voters did not support him. Waxman won, but by a mere five points, the lowest in his Congressional career.

In 2013, Waxman and his party are facing an unprecedented tide of recrimination. Obamacare will be in full swing, yet at the same time Obama has been delaying its implementation. So have the voters throughout the country. Those governors who supported the Medicare exchanges are finding that few people are investing in them, while insurance companies are leaving entire states or going out of the health insurance business entirely.

Someone will challenge, Waxman, but who?

Waxman Preps for 2014

Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles, South Bay) is prepping for 2014. Waxman has more to worry about not just because of Congress’ sagging approval ratings, but the rising opposition to his signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act. Here are some quotes from his letter e-blasted last week:

“With the 2014 election just ahead of us, I wanted to share with you why I intend to seek reelection next year, and why this next election is so important to our Democratic values.

What Democratic values is the Westside Congressman referring to? Would it be the growth of the welfare state at the expense of the general welfare? He must be alluding to a penchant of state-sponsored encroachment into private industries like the auto makers and health care. The GM bailouts bailed on the retired teachers and police officers of Indiana, whose pension funds were robbed to pay off union supporters. Obamacare has turned into a careless train wreck forcing employers to cut hours and pushing insurance carriers out of the healthcare business altogether.

“I am leading a coalition in the House of Representatives that is focused on reducing the risk posed by climate change.  

Climate change is a hyped-up amalgam of pseudo-science. From the thirty thousand PhDs and college instructors (and growing) who dispute the severity of rising temperatures, to the unprecedented cold snaps this year, the argument about climate change is merely a change of argument to distract voters from pressing issues, issues which Waxman has only made worse.

“I feel the same way about my efforts to make sure the landmark health reform law is implemented in the best possible way. . .

The law is impacting families, alright, negatively. Small businesses are still filing lawsuits to enjoin the employer mandate. The House of Representatives, in respect to the will of the voters, have voted repeatedly to repeal the misguided, distorted, gargantuan legislation.  Waxman claims to have a grasp on the details of the issues. Ha! He did not know the basic laws regulating steroid abuse in baseball. He has instigated no serious investigations into the wasted misuse of the Brentwood VA,  where private firms are operating on land designed exclusively for the care of our veterans, thousands of whom wander the streets sick and homeless.

He did not know the key components of his own Cap and Trade Bill, about which then ranking Chairman Fred Upton (R-Texas) propositioned him. He attempted to shove a three hundred page amendment on the same bill at the last minute. During a terse Congressional Budget Committee hearing, Waxman declared that he did not even know that General Motors went bankrupt.

“I am dismayed that partisanship in Washington. . .When President Obama was elected. . . 

“When President Obama was elected” – the current President is the source of the hyperpartisanship in Washington. Obama (and Waxman) has one agenda: an aggressive, Progressive expansion of the state, which will endanger the United States’ standing in the world as well as the preeminence of the United States Constitution. If Republicans and conservative Democrats are willing to stop the Obama-juggernaut, then the voters are willing supports. An unprecedented 53% of voters want Obamacare repealed. They share concerns about the decline of American prominence in the world, and at home. An unprecedented five terrorist attacks have occurred on American soil under the Obama Administration, as well.

“Virtually every measure I have sponsored and worked to enact has been the result of a bipartisan effort. . . 

Waxman is reliving glory days of the past. Instead of celebrating that no one will smell cigarette smoke on an airplane, when will he provide tents and immediate care for homeless veterans in Los Angeles?

“In fact, the only major law that I have worked on that lacked Republican support was the Affordable Care Act, which will bring immense benefits to the nation, Los Angeles and my district.” 

Waxman apparently does not read the Los Angeles Times (then again, who does?) There is nothing beneficial about a 2,500 page law and the tens of thousands of pages of regulations following which will micromanage doctors, ration care, and restrict access with higher costs and greater regulatory burdens, A retired teacher in my district had four doctors in one month because each professional chose retirement over reading and writhing through the reams of Obamacare regulations.

The unions which supported Obama are now demanding waivers from the same health care law. Part-time employment has become the norm for hourly workers, as their employers cannot afford.

Waxman’s record on bipartisanship in the last five years is minimal and disgraceful. His health care law passed with a bare majority, and a significant minority of Democrats opposed the law, along with every Republican in Congress. He claimed that Democrats could lose seats in order to pass the legislation, as well. His hyperpartisanship has actually hurt his own party as much as any comity in Washington.

“Thank you and I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.”

Congressman Henry Waxman will see me on the campaign trail, all right.

Please visit “Waxman Watch” (waxmanwatch.blogspot.com) for more information.

Congressman Henry Waxman's Letter of Intent for 2014

Congressman Henry Waxman is already prepping for his 2014 election campaign. His frequent references to bipartisanship reflect the shifting political realities which he faces following the California Redistricting Commission Reforms plus Prop 11 open primaries. Another Democrat can run against him, as well as an established Independent or a libertarian-leaning Republican.

The sixth-year itch will decimate Democratic numbers in Congress, as they have in previous elections with a second-term president. Waxman has more to worry about with the next election year not just because of Congress’ sagging approval ratings, but the rising opposition to his signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

Dear Friends,

“With the 2014 election just ahead of us, I wanted to share with you why I intend to seek reelection next year, and why this next election is so important to our Democratic values.  I have devoted my career to public service because I have always believed it is a great calling.  I want to continue my service because I am in the middle of several efforts that I believe matter a great deal to our country.” 

What Democratic values is the Westside Congressman referring to? Would it be the growth of the welfare state at the expense of the general welfare of all citizens? He must be alluding to a penchant of state-sponsored encroachment into private industries like the auto makers and health care. The GM bailouts bailed on the retired teachers and police officers of Indiana, whose pension funds were robbed to pay off union supporters. Obamacare has turned into a careless train wreck forcing employers to cut hours and pushing insurance carriers out of the healthcare business altogether.

Democratic values which mislead voters about solvent entitlement programs, yet neglect to provide a plan for shoring up the steep losses, are values that voters do not need to endorse.

“I am leading a coalition in the House of Representatives that is focused on reducing the risk posed by climate change.  I've been deeply involved in this issue for many years and recognize it won't be resolved by 2014.  But given the devastating consequences climate change has for our country and our planet, I intend to continue this fight”.

Climate change is a hyped-up amalgam of pseudo-science, From the thirty thousand PhDs and college instructors (and growing) who dispute the severity of rising temperatures, to the unprecedented cold snaps this year, the argument about climate change is merely a change of argument to distract voters from pressing issues, issues which Waxman has only made worse.

“I feel the same way about my efforts to make sure the landmark health reform law is implemented in the best possible way because the decisions over the coming years will impact millions of American families.”

The law is impacting families, alright, negatively. Small businesses are still filing lawsuits to enjoin the employer mandate. The House of Representatives, in respect to the will of the voters, have voted repeatedly to repeal the misguided, distorted, gargantuan legislation.

“ My role as the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee gives me a strong platform to influence those choices, and to shape a federal budget that not only promotes economic growth, but protects our seniors and the most vulnerable in our society.  These challenges -- and others -- won't be resolved by the end of this congressional term, but I want to see them through.  And I believe my experience, my knowledge of the details of the issues, and my ability to work with my colleagues will enable me to make significant contributions to reaching the best policies possible.”

Congressman Waxman claims to have a grasp on the details of the issues. Ha! He did not know the basic laws regulating steroid abuse in baseball. He has instigated no serious investigations into the wasted misuse of the Brentwood VA,  where private firms are operating on land designed exclusively for the care of our veterans, thousands of whom wander the streets sick and homeless.

He did not know the key components of his own Cap and Trade Bill, about which then ranking Chairman Fred Upton (R-Texas) propositioned him. He attempted to shove a three hundred page amendment on the same bill at the last minute.

During a terse Congressional Budget Committee hearing, Waxman declared that he did not even know that General Motors went bankrupt.

“I am dismayed that partisanship in Washington has grown to become an end in itself and that our country and institutions are weaker for it.  When President Obama was elected, the situation deteriorated further and congressional Republicans said their number one priority was to make him a one-term president.  Even in this corrosive environment, however, I continue to look for opportunities to craft bipartisan solutions and to get significant legislation enacted.” 

“When President Obama was elected” – the current President is the source of the hyperpartisanship in Washington. He has one agenda: an aggressive, Progressive expansion of the state, which will endanger the United States’ standing in the world as well as the preeminence of the United States Constitution. If Republicans and conservative Democrats are willing to stop the Obama-juggernaut, then the voters are willing supports. An unprecedented 53% of voters want Obamacare repealed. They share concerns about the decline of American prominence in the world, and at home. An unprecedented five terrorist attacks have occurred on American soil under the Obama Administration, as well.

“Virtually every measure I have sponsored and worked to enact has been the result of a bipartisan effort with strong Republican partnerships. Most of my greatest legislative achievements have passed by large bipartisan votes, and sometimes unanimously, in the House and Senate.  These include the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the Orphan Drug Act, the Waxman-Hatch Generic Drug Act, the 1986 and 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments, the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, the Ryan White CARE Act, the Nutritional Labeling and Education Act, and the Food Quality Protection Act.” 

Congressman Waxman is reliving glory days of the past. Instead of celebrating that no one will smell cigarette smoke on an airplane, when will he provide tents and immediate care for homeless veterans in Los Angeles?

“In fact, the only major law that I have worked on that lacked Republican support was the Affordable Care Act, which will bring immense benefits to the nation, Los Angeles and my district.” 

Congressman Henry Waxman does not read the Los Angeles Times, or the financial reports of California insurance companies. I have not read so blatant a lie as “the Affordable Care Ct. . .will bring immense benefits to the nation.” There is nothing beneficial about a 2,500 page law and the tens of thousands of pages of regulations following which will micromanage doctors, ration care, and restrict access with higher costs and greater regulatory burdens, A retired teacher in my district had four doctors in one month because each professional chose retirement over reading and writhing through the reams of Obamacare regulations.

The unions which supported Obama are now demanding waivers from the same health care law. Part-time employment has become the norm for hourly workers, as their employers cannot afford.

“But while I look for opportunities for bipartisanship -- and have the record to prove it -- I am also known for exposing waste, fraud, and abuse and fighting hard when Republicans try to undermine our essential programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  As I mentioned above, I am now leading the fight to stop climate change and protect our spectacular beaches, which also requires speaking out forcefully against the science-denying policies of House Republicans.  I bring to both my negotiations and my battles the convictions of a lifelong Democrat. I am especially grateful that my efforts have been endorsed in previous years by the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, the National Organization for Women, and labor and business groups alike.”   

Waxman’s record on bipartisanship in the last five years is minimal and disgraceful. His health care law passed with a bare majority, and a significant minority of Democrats opposed the law, along with every Republican in Congress. He claimed that Democrats could lose seats in order to pass the legislation, as well. His hyperpartisanship has actually hurt his own party as much as any comity in Washington.

“I am honored that I to have had your support in the past and it is my hope you will support my campaign in 2014.  I cannot do this without you, so please consider making a contribution to my campaign. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.”

Congressman Henry Waxman will see me on the campaign trail, all right. I will be watching, and so will voters, Please visit “Waxman Watch” (waxmanwatch.blogspot.com) for more information.

“Regards,

“Henry A. Waxman”

On Waxman's Open Forum on Gun Violence

Congressman Henry Waxman hosted a forum on gun violence, mental health, and community restoration in Santa Monica on July 15. Joining him were his liberal colleagues LA County Board Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, along with state Senator Ted Lieu (whose new senate district includes Santa Monica ), followed by Santa Monica Mayor Pat O’Connor. From Washington, Pamela Hyde of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration joined the forum, along with Jacqueline Seabrooks, Santa Monica’s Chief of Police, who had previously served as police  chief for crime-ridden Inglewood. Dr. Nancy Greenstein, the Chair of the Board of Trustee for Santa Monica College, followed by Suzanne Verge, Los Angeles Chapter representative of the Brady Campaign to end Gun Violence, also attended.

The company of experts and activists discussed the causes, consequences, and potential cures for the gun massacre on June 7, 2013 in which assailant John Zawahri  killed five people and wounded three more, including staff at Santa Monica City College. Young John Zawahri had been committed in 2006 following a perverse perusal of assault weapons online in 2006. Five years later, he attempted to purchase a firearm, yet following a background check, he was denied the purchased. He then assembled a firearm using parts of a gun, so that his order could circumvent loopholes in California law. A troubled youth, isolated and unable to reach out, apparently lashed out.

Regarding gun violence, Congressman Waxman, his legislative colleagues, and the city leaders who joined him in the public forum should have discussed the merits of expanding gun ownership, not just restricting access to guns. The appalling attention paid to controlling the guns should have dissuaded any serious policy expert from continuing along this hollow path of inquiry. Previous safeguards to prevent gun violence had already been implemented, and yet Zawahri still got a gun. The same sad reality that men and women can remain undetected for long periods of time yet engage in violent acts still eludes the talking heads and reasoning minds of our time. The shooter in Aurora, Colorado had passed every background check to purchase a firearm, and he had no record of mental illness. No matter how many laws our local, state, and federal governments may pass, the evil in men’s hearts can still motivate them to circumvent those laws, arm themselves, and commit crimes.

The premise of many liberals, and one fully manifest among the civic leaders and activists in the July 15 forum, is that human beings and human interactions are perfectible. They refuse to recognize the fallen nature of mankind. No matter how enlightened, no matter how educated, man’s propensity to commit crime, to engage in evil cannot be preempted perfectly. This is a fallen earth, yet the progressive impulse evident in Santa Monica leaders still resists accepting this fool-proof premise. Of course, Santa Monica’s city motto reads on its seal: Populis felix in urbis felic: “Happy people in a happy city”. The assumption that the right government, the proper laws, and effective civic policies will end gun crimes is just ludicrous. Santa Monicans should take note and recall the most repeated phrase at the forum: “It could have been worse.” Rather than focusing on what went wrong, public responses to gun violence need to see what went right: armed personnel subdued Zawahri, stopped the carnage from further Advancing.

Yet instead of recognizing the failures of this fallen world, the forum continued with the unspoken premise of “people are basically good” with right laws and proper interventions. Congressman Waxman suggested “Friendship circles” for our youth, so that they won’t be bullied, then become bullies. For Congressman Waxman is an expert on bullying. His tenure in Congress of shutting down colleagues and blocking dissent in other public forums is well-known. The panel discussed mental illness at length, both causation and control. However, the mental illness problems which plague the greater Los Angeles area touch on the wider issue of homelessness, which Waxman should have discussed, and which relates for his failed oversight of the Brentwood VA. The likelihood has increased disturbingly that a homeless person on the street will be a veteran who has returned home, yet has not received adequate health care.

Because the gunman assembled a firearm with detached parts, Congressman Waxman suggested more gun laws to close those loopholes.  As a former law student, Waxman should consider initiating his own comprehensive review of the empirical literature assessing the effects of gun control. CNN conducted such a study in 2004, and their researchers discovered, confirmed by liberal academics and conservative pundits, that gun control does not work. Not controlling the guns, but expanding access (and empowering armed citizens) discourages future gun crimes. Illinois became the latest state to enact concealed-carry laws, and Chicago’s crime rate dropped. Perhaps Santa Monicans should consider the same.

Homeless People, not Belongings, Deserve Attention, Congressman

According to the ruling in Lavan vs. City of Los Angeles, upheld by two federal court injunctions, Los Angeles retains the authority to remove abandoned belongings on public thoroughfares, but cannot remove goods which clearly belong to a homeless person just because they remain unattended for a period of time. Property owners still wonder about the blight of homelessness in their communities, while civic activists either celebrate homeless persons or worry about the plight of poverty which afflicts them. Lawyers merely litigate the property rights of the homeless persons. Instead of arguing about the homeless man's belongings, why don't city leaders, civic activists, and lawyers attend to a more important issue: why are there so many homeless in Los Angeles?

First of all, the individual may be a veteran who has not received proper care from the Veterans Administration. The Brentwood VA has turned into a private club for pet owners, laundromats, and solar panels, yet tens of thousands of wounded warriors still wander the streets. Instead of discussing gun violence and mental health in a Santa Monica City Council open forum on July 15, Congressman Henry Waxman should have discussed the neglected transient homeless veterans.

Second, the growing problem of mental illness has not been addressed effectively. The gradual expansion of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has catalogued more diseases, yet has provided no solutions. The governmental expansion into health insurance has decreased quality care and access for practitioners and patients. Waxman's signature legislation, Obamacare, has only exacerbated this problem.

Then there are those who are struggling to find a job and get back on their feet in this anemic economy. A government which taxed less, spent less, did less (that we would see less of altogether), would help ensure more business, more commerce, more opportunities, and less homelessness.