Good Times

It is easy to diss the Los Angeles Times. It does so many things so badly. But when they do something right, it's only fair to point it out. So, kudos to the folks responsible for publishing this photo in the Health section earlier this week. It made quite an impression:)

The hot guy in the photo is Ahmad Saleh, 32. He is doing one-hand push-ups.

Yacht Party

I recall an episode of the West Wing, where Sam Seaborn, Rob Lowe's character, chastised congressional Democrats for suggesting he pepper a presidential speech with what he considered cheap, caricatured attacks on Republicans as favoring tax breaks for yachts and swimming pools for the wealthy.

Well, not so fast, Mr. Seaborn. Apparently, here in California, the increasingly hard-line, ideological and flaky Republican caucus in Sacramento is refusing to address the yawning state budget deficit by closing a tax loophole for yacht purchasers.

The Courage Campaign, a network of progressive activists, wants to call the GOP out on this and is trying to rebrand the state GOP as the "Yacht Party." The organization is raising funds to help the following ad to get the message out:

Breaking: Marcus Allen Withdraws

Breaking News from LA City Hall: we've just been told by City Hall sources that Marcus Allen has withdrawn his name as the mayor's nominee for the city's top fiscal post.

In March, Villaraigosa nominated Allen, his former deputy chief of staff, to succeed Karen Sisson as Chief Administrative Officer. Widely respected in many circles for his work in the city for more than a decade -- including work for Villaraigosa, City Controller Laura Chick, and the office of the Chief Legislative Analyst -- Allen's nomination still ran into trouble.

The CAO is responsible for the city's multi-billion dollar budget, labor relations, and debt management. It is considered the highest non-elected position in city government.

Allen's nomination was vigorously opposed by the Los Angeles Daily News, which warned of a revolving door between government and lobbying. (He went to work for a lobbying firm when he left Villaraigosa's office.) He was also opposed by a few councilmembers often opposed to Villaraigosa, including Councilwoman Jan Perry.

Word at City Hall is Allen withdrew his name over money. Sisson makes about $220,000. Allen demanded $290,000. Those who opposed Allen used the salary issue as political cover to scuttle the nomination.

Winter Soldiers

The Congressional Progressive Caucus will hear testimony tomorrow from nine members of Iraq Veterans Against the War as part of "Winter Soldier" hearings examining the ongoing problems with the U.S. war in Iraq.

According to the veterans group, "Winter Soldier on the Hill will allow the US Congress to be more fully informed about the situation in Iraq through soldiers’ eyewitness accounts of the on-going military occupation, while they debate (more than likely for the last time during the Bush-Cheney administration) the funding for U.S. military operations in Iraq."

The hearings start at 6 a.m. PST. CSPAN3 will broadcast the hearing live. If you don't get CSPAN3, you can watch it on the CSPAN website. Or you can listen on Pacifica Radio 90.7 FM, KPFK.

On Pins and Needles

Tomorrow at 10 a.m., the California Supreme Court is scheduled to announce its ruling on the issue of gay marriage here in the Golden State.

Will California follow in the footsteps of Massachusetts and become the second state to legalize same sex marriage? According to this post at Towleroad, many observers think so.

Regardless of what the court decides, the City and Lambda Legal–among others–will be staging an event in West Hollywood at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and San Vicente at 7:00 PM.

On his blog, Andrew Sullivan waxes typically eloquent on the import of the moment:

"Those in favor of civil equality better get ready. The gay civil rights movement will never have waged a battle this big, this expensive or this important. We can win at the ballot box as well as in the courts and legislatures. And the good news is that the Republican governor has said he will oppose any initiative to take marriage rights away, if they are granted. Hold on tight."

America's Shame, Continued

The Washington Post continues its week-long series on the U.S. government's disgraceful treatment of immigrants being held in detention. I mentioned the first part of the series earlier this week. Today's installment reveals that many detainees are given psychotropic drugs against their will:

"The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country, according to medical records, internal documents and interviews with people who have been drugged.

"The government's forced use of antipsychotic drugs, in people who have no history of mental illness, includes dozens of cases in which the "pre-flight cocktail," as a document calls it, had such a potent effect that federal guards needed a wheelchair to move the slumped deportee onto an airplane."

and . . .

"Such episodes are among more than 250 cases The Washington Post has identified in which the government has, without medical reason, given drugs meant to treat serious psychiatric disorders to people it has shipped out of the United States since 2003 -- the year the Bush administration handed the job of deportation to the Department of Homeland Security's new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE.

"Involuntary chemical restraint of detainees, unless there is a medical justification, is a violation of some international human rights codes. The practice is banned by several countries where, confidential documents make clear, U.S. escorts have been unable to inject deportees with extra doses of drugs during layovers en route to faraway places."